Mush, finally.....

Yes, my baby is nearly 6 months old and I am just getting around to feeding him rice cereal for the very first time......

Is it my lack of time and organization around my house at night, with football, dinner at strange hours, YMYW activities, piano, scouts, dance lessons, soccer practice and homework, I didn't feel like there was even a spare moment to take the time and energy that it requires to feed my little one off of a spoon......

Or is it just me, clinging to every last baby moment with Jiles. Not wanting him to grow any faster than he already is. Even Morgan said yesterday "where is that baby who used to sleep all the time??"

Needless to say, he thoroughly enjoyed every last bite, (once he got the hang of the spoon) - and it was fun to watch him experience something new.

Homecoming for Morgan.....

I woke up this last Saturday morning and was immediately brought back 21 years ago when it was my turn to go to Homecoming as a Junior....this was the first dance that I went to with my future husband. In no way am I saying that I think Morgan has met and is going with her future husband to a dance, but the reality is, it could happen. It could happen sooner than I want it to.

She got asked to go to Lehi's Homecoming...Zach Rasmussen is his name. They have been out several times over the last year or so, he is a good kid. Quiet and really shy, so you can imagine how awkward this moment must have been for him when J.D. stepped in and tried to help Morgan pin his boutonniere on. The poor boy forgot Morgans corsage, not once, but twice. Got on the freeway, realized he had left it, went home, grabbed it, talked to his dad and got the tickets to the dance and walked out without it for a second time. I thought it was cute that he was so nervous. Like I said, this was not their first date, they have probably been out a dozen or so times, but they both acted like it was a first date.

Dances are different these days. It is a whole day event. They started their morning at 7:00 a.m. getting breakfast at the IHOP and then heading off to go bowling. Zach had a soccer game that afternoon, but Morgan opted out of that to come home and take a nap, do her nails, pick up his flower and just get ready for the dance. They went with a large group of kids and had dinner at one of the aunts houses who is a chef of some sort. Morgan said dinner was good. She likes hanging out with Zach. They spent the entire time at the dance - which I was surprised by, and they even danced. Morgan is so funny when it comes to dancing, she is so self consious about it, but she was really happy when she got home. No good-night kiss, bummer, she was sad. Neither of us can figure it out. I keep thinking, he must like her otherwise he wouldn't waste his time taking her out, but there has never been any kissing. Morgan doesn't think he has ever kissed anyone, and she was really hoping to be the first.....we shall see. Maybe on another date.

Another week.....

Football today - what a difference a week makes!!

Drew's team - Alta vs. Brighton 0-14

Jensen's team - Alta vs. East 7-35

This is how funny Jensen is,

he says "we did pretty good today..."

Drew says "dude, you guys got mauled on both sides of the ball!!"

Jensen says "that's true."

Is he really that clueless?? I don't know, at least he is having fun, his coach is the jerk of all time! He is having an absolute conniption fit about losing today, who the crap cares - it is little league football and the boys are 8 years old....let them have fun. Jensen tells J.D. on the ride home today "you know dad, I think we would all do a little bit better if our coach we just more encouraging..." Truly, he is a piece of work. Jensen is having a good time though, just look at the smile. Drew worked the chains this morning in Jensen's game, I think he thought that was pretty cool.

Apparerntly.....

Waking up this morning and getting ready for school and Jensen uses the word.....
Apparently, and funnier than using the actual word, is that he used it right.

Driving down the road the other day (most likely on our way to football practice) and Jensen must have been listening to J.D. and I talking and then asks, "Dad, what does 'to make a long story short' mean??" - it is funny to think what they are hearing and how much they don't really understand or know what things mean. I am glad that he asks.

Drew went to a birthday party last weekend. It was one where there were boys and girls there, I know he is interested in girls these days so I ask when he gets home...
"Did you kiss any girls?"
Drews response.....
"I don't kiss girls, they kiss me." (his face as serious as can be)

Ella and I were driving home from Target and she started thanking me for the things that I had bought her. She needed some new shoes for the fall (way too many flip-flops in her closet right now), some new jammies, and of course some popcorn and icee.


"Thanks mom for the shoes, the jammies, the popcorn and thanks for the hug from you"

Ah, my girl. She is an angel.

Football scores again.....

So we made it a family affair this week with all of us going to Drews game on Saturday afternoon. Looking ahead at our schedules we are only going to have 1 game out of the whole season that overlaps both boys, so for nearly all of them we will all be able to go. It makes for a long Saturday,that is for sure, but worth it. We started out this week having Jensen at his game by 8:00 a.m., just J.D., Drew and I went to that one. Brenna has dance on Saturday mornings and I had Morgan stay home with the little ones, because I knew 2 games would not be that much fun for Ella and the baby. We got home around 11:30, had a quick bite for lunch and then had to have Drew at his game at 12:15. His game started at 1:30 playing Murray.

The boy was on fire!! He had one of his best games that day, we were wondering what was up....he always plays well, but he had a different intensity about it for some reason. Come to find out there was a girl there that he has met at school and she was watching him play. Holy cow, if that doesn't throw the mom for a loop!! Her name is Victoria and she was really cute. She was at the field already, watching her brother play, but she came over to Drews field for most of his game. I guess this is going to start happening with him too. It is the age? They hit 7th grade and become interested in the opposite sex. I have gotten used to it with my girls, but for some reason it feels different with my boy. Why is that? I have been the only girl

in his life for the last 12, nearly 13 years, and now there is someone named Victoria - not so fun, another new phase of my life. On to the lighter note of my post.....

Drews team - Alta vs. Murray 19-6

Jensens team - Alta vs. Riverton 27-20

Both boys won again this week!!

J.D. stopped by Kmart (of all places!!) and found these cute shirts. He got the ALTA ones for me, Brenna and himself and then picked up a Bingham Miners one for Morgan. How nice was that?? He surprised us all with our new presents just before Drews game. Morgan said she felt a little silly wearing hers to the Alta game, but I thought she looked cute. She was going boating later on that day with Charles - the boy from Bingham that we took with us to Lagoon - but she was nice and came to half of Drews game before she took off. I am so impressed with my kids willingness to support one another. It's not like we make them go, they actually want to.

Ga-Loon!!.....

So, here is what I know....I have decided that I have alot to write about because of my many children. Six is alot. There is always something that I could be sharing or saying about my family. Remember, I keep this blog as MY journal. Sometimes I start to feel like I am posting way too often, but then I remind myself, 'this is my life, my journal, my family' - So for all of you reading (a whopping 6 or 7) you will just have to bear with me.

Our summers get cut a little short due to the boys playing football. I am not complaining, just stating a fact. We start to feel a little jilted, because basically once August rolls around, all of our summer activities come to a screeching halt. This summer we had tried a couple of times to make it to Lagoon (my little ones call it Ga-Loon), without much success. Finally, this last Monday, with no school, no work and no football we decided that not much was going to stop us from squeezing this in. It was a perfect day to go. The weather was great, the crowds were great and the company was great. We let Morgan and Brenna bring a friend, and then that turned into Drew and Jensen wanting to bring someone also. Morgan brought a new friend she met at Bingham, Charles - I told him up front I was going to call him Charlie, Brenna brought her friend that has been around for years Lindsay, and Drew and Jensen invited cousins, Jake and Luke. Jake decided that he wasn't up for it and changed his mind, sad for Drew. Then as we were walking out the door we got a phone call from the Coveys, our besties next door, and they told us that they were going to Lagoon that day also. Such a coincidence. We ALL ended up having friends there, even J.D. and I - so much fun!!

Luke, Ella, Max, Meg and Jensen - crazy faces all around!!!

Puff the Magic Dragon, an oldie but a goodie....This is one of those rides that it hard to get a good picture of the kids on it. I thought this was pretty good of Ella and Jensen. Ellas most favorite ride this year and last year is the Tidal Wave. I think that it is kinda funny that she is so brave and likes that one so well. We have had season passes to Lagoon the last 2 summers, but didn't get one this year because of the baby. I didn't think that we would get our moneys worth with little boy Jiles, besides it is sometimes so excruciatingly hot in the summer that I didn't want to do that to my newborn.

It was hard to catch up to the teenagers of the group, so once we did I had to get a picture. This is them while waiting in line for the Rocket - Charles aka 'Charlie', Morgan, Brenna, Lindsay and Mary in the front.

Drew and Ella on the smaller version of the Rocket, Ladybug Bop - seriously one of my favorite rides. This one took Ella some getting used to, it really makes your stomach drop. We still do the peace sign in way too many pictures. I think that all started when we had our foreign exchange student with us, Fuga, and that was a year ago. So funny. Morgan is the queen of the peace sign with Ella coming in a close second.

Jensen, Drew, Max and Wid. It was Wid's birthday on Monday that is why they decided to go. He turned 14, it is strange to think that we have known them for about 11 years now. We have watched their kids grow and they have watched ours grow. It is great to have friends like them. Jensen was really excited, because he was finally tall enough to go on the Jet Star. Last year he tried several times to sneak onto the ride. Stuffing his shoes with napkins to get taller, wearing a hat on the tip-top of his head to seem taller, but this year he was official! He rode it I think 3 or 4 times in a row, he was proud of himself for growing, and being able to go on the ride and for loving it....

I wanted to get one last photo of the day. When people were walking by I think they thought all of these kids were mine, they were counting to themselves, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. People are idiots. I think it is so dumb when they look at a group like ours in disbelief, it happens, people have alot of kids and I am one of them. Proud of, and cherish every single one of them.

My new lawn boy.....

Having a 12 year old boy I must say has it's advantages. One of them being that we have stopped paying for yard care and it is all up to Drew. He has been doing it all summer long and has gotten pretty good at it. When he first started it for sure wasn't up to J.D.'s standards, but he is working at it and learning each time he does it. The lawn has suffered and been neglected since football started, but we have finally made it to only 3 practices per week and so now Drew will have time for the lawn again. I don't know if he is excited about that or not, but he puts on a good face and by looking at his outfit, makes the most out of his time in the yard. Check out the black headband (I have absolutely NO idea where that has come from), the black gloves with the fingers cut out, the cool shades and of course the ipod in his ears. He really jams and gets his groove thing on while mowing. J.D. and I just get a giggle out of him. I thought I would share his cool sense of fashion with all y'all.

He is a good sport letting his dorky mom take pictures of him, I am sure if he knew it was going on the blog he wouldn't have been so willing. Love you Drew, thanks for all your hard work!!

Football scores.....

Drew in past years during football season will ask me "what was the score to....." , of course, I can never remember, so this year I am going to try and keep a running tally of the games they play and the final score. So here it is, our first week of official games.....

Jensen's game - Alta vs. Bingham 12-6
Drew's game - Alta vs. Bountiful 18-0

Both the boys teams won!! Probably won't be that way every Saturday, so we have to enjoy it when it happens....

Not the typical teenager.....

I am sitting here tonight wondering how I got Morgan as my daughter. The girl never ceases to amaze me. We got into a little bit of an argument tonight, which really doesn't happen all that often. First of all let me start off by saying - why don't more teenagers get their drivers licenses when they are supposed to?? - It is weird, but it seems like they are less motivated to drive and so unfortunately Morgan is one of the few that can. One problem though, it is now the law that you must have your license for 6 months before you are allowed to drive with friends in the car. I totally agree with this new law, you can still drive your immediate family, brothers and sisters, parents okay. Also any other adult with a license. It is good, it allows for them to become better drivers, knowing how to handle distractions etc. Morgans time is almost up, 3 more weeks. She has been patient, but then all these other dorky teenagers that don't drive cause problems because she becomes the driver. She is anxious and tonight she wanted to hang out with one of her new friends that she has met at Bingham, of course I want to let her, she is new at the school and has a new friend. Problem #1 - he doesn't drive (even worse he is a Senior who doesn't drive) Problem #2 - Morgan wants to hang at our house (she is kindof a home-body) See where this is going?? She leaves my house before we get home from football practice tonight to head out, pick him up, and drive him back to our house.....chill for a while and then take him back home. Not a good plan. We get in a bit of a fight while she is driving, I tell her just to hang out at his house for a while, then come home. She won't have any of that. She starts to cry, telling me how close she is to the 6 months and how it is so unfair. I feel bad, the girl is awesome, and it is not her driving that I am worried about, it's all the other lunatics on the road on a Friday night. She feels uncomfortable staying at his house and then says "Fine, I will just come home" my response "okay..." and she hangs up. I am fully expecting her to come stomping in the door, slamming the garage door and then going to her room, not to be seen for the rest of the night. You know, typical teenage behavior. What I get instead is a phone call a few minutes later with her apologizing for yelling at me and that she is sorry. Seriously?? She is such an amazing person. Then to top it off, she comes up to our room when she gets home to talk with J.D. and I - she gets it...she is sorry.....J.D. offers to go with her up to the last little bit of the Alta game and get a coke and she goes. Honestly, she is so not the typical teenager. How lucky and blessed are we as parents. I have said it before and I will say it again, she is wise beyond her years, she is an old soul, she is helping to raise us. I feel so lucky.

Girls vs. Boys.....

It's Friday afternoon and the house is buzzing with kids playing. Early day. I have always known that my boys are different than my girls. Today it was quite obvious. Ella was in the house with her 2 cute friends, Meg and Rachel, playing with Cinderella Polly Pockets and all their MILLION little pieces. In the house of course, because it is way too hot to go outside. (I, of course, am thankful that is still warm outside - I always hate it when summer ends). Meg is our next door neighbor, Ella has known her since birth. They are the kind of friends that either love each other or hate each other (that is probably too strong of a word, oil and water those two, sometimes they don't mix). Rachie is Ellas friend, but is Megs cousin - they did okay today. Both girls feel entitled to Rachie, which can cause problems. The funny thing about Rachel is that she is the daughter of one of my good girlfriends from high school. It is sometimes so weird to me that I still see my friends from 20 years ago and now we have kids who play together. Who would have thought. Anyway, back to the girls, little princesses, dress-up, playing games and the polly's, changing their clothes a gazillion times....

Then there are the boys. This is Jensens new friend from school. Jake. They are on each others football team also, which is fun. These 2 you can't drag in the house. They have been in the sprinklers and have shed their matching white shirts (school uniforms, not so bad!!) They end up in the backyard on the hunt to find, and kill grasshoppers. So gross as far as I am concerned, but for them it is pure joy. They are smashing them, squirting them with water guns, or, prepare yourselves, spitting on them. That is the funniest for them, believe me, they thought this was hilarious. For me, grasshoppers are one of the grossest insects ever, don't like them now, and especially didn't like them when I was little, but they don't seem to bother little boys.
Today was my a-ha moment....these kinds of behavior prepare them for the future. Boys will be boys and girls will be girls. Dressing and re-dressing the polly's for the girls prepare them for their own babies, being natural care givers and mommy's. On the other hand are the boys, smashing bugs which allows them in the future to take care of their wives, killing spiders, mice and any other yucky things that might come our way, being the protector. It is fun to watch these differences in our children. Little things often go unnoticed, but today it just hit me at how different they sometimes can be.

The Pink Panthers.....

So I thought "is it really fair that we only go to the boys sporting events???" Heck no, so I signed Ella up to play soccer this fall with some of her cute friends. We had her first game a last Monday and those cute little Pre-K girls had absolutely no clue what in the world they were doing. Just chasing the ball in a pack of pink and purple to be honest. It was quite a change from Jensen and his team who had gotten so good, I quickly reminded myself that they had been playing together for 5 years and that is why. These girls have been together 1 week. Entertaining, yes - Skills, no.
Second game just last Monday was a different story. They seemed to get the hang of it. They started to understand that it was okay to be aggressive and to take the ball and run with it, it didn't matter who's feelings might get hurt, it was time to make some goals. Ella was great!! The first week she was running into her friend Meg when she would look over at me on the sidelines screaming "kick the ball!!" - This week the girl scored twice and almost three times (until she tripped over the ball and fell down right in front of the goal) - oh well!! It was fun to watch and I think she is going to have a great time playing.
One of the best parts is that our coach, my good friend Suzy, holds practices in her backyard - Yay!! No driving, just walk your little body next door and have fun....
Games on Monday nights, which don't interfere with boys football on Saturday, but does interfere with FHE (who am I kidding, we try our best, just doesn't work out so well for us on Mondays...) It's all good, we do spend time together as a family because Morgan and Brenna go and cheer on their little sister, and reminisce about the times when Morgan played soccer at that very field. So awesome to have my big girls WANT to be a part of the little kids everyday lives. I am so grateful to have the kids I do.