T-Ball

Wally started T-Ball a couple of weeks ago and has been so excited to get out there and hit the ball. The minute we arrived on the field for the first practice he ran all the bases and he has been pretty good at getting the hang of the whole thing. The only problem has been his getting bored in the outfield, but he is not the only one by a long shot. Kids are wandering or staring off into the distance all over the place out there. It is so cute to watch these little ones run the wrong direction, sit down and play in the dirt, or as one little boy did, throw the ball at the fans in the bleachers instead of to home plate. Luckily we were all good at ducking.

Wally gets hot and tired by the time the last few innings come around, so we have to give him pep talks to finish the game, and of course, we couldn't get through the game without Will running out on the field and me having to chase him down. It was so sad because then he laid his head down and kept saying, "I wanna play into the baseball game." In a few years bud!

The Astros number one player.

Batting...

Running...

The Astros number one fan.

It Is Not Fun When...

It is not fun when you lose power for days at a time. We know this because it happened two weeks ago.

It is not fun when the tornado siren goes off during your kid's nap, and you have to wake them up and carry them to the basement while thy cry because they are scared. We know this because it happened a week ago. I also learned that my kids and I would not be a quick moving group in an emergency.

It is not fun when your power goes off, (again) while a big mixture of homemade ice cream is churning away because neighbors are coming over to enjoy it. And it is not fun when you have to go tell them never mind on the ice cream and throw it down the drain because it goes bad after then power being off for almost ten hours! We know this because it happened last Sunday.

It is not fun when you are awakened in the middle of the night by a terrified baby and (again) tornado sirens, and you have to haul sleepy children to the basement where yet again, the power goes off for twelve hours! At least Del was here to help me carry them all down this time. We know this because it happened last night.

Tonight Del is staying over at Youth Conference, and we had better not be forced to learn just how "not fun" another night of this can be!

My rant on the excitement of living in tornado territory. We are ready for tornado season to end. Our flash lights are getting far too much use!

In For A Swim

My kids love nothing more than the five dollar plastic pool in the back yard. Last night we let Georgia take her first dip in the pool with the boys. This girl could not have been happier. She was so determined to get up the slide, and then shoot back down and land, usually with her head under water, only to jump back up and try again. Wally and Will think that watching her is pretty hilarious, and Del and I think that her chubby little baby body is a hoot in her pink polka dot swimming suit. We LOVE summer. We have to live it up around here! Wally found a bird's nest. He was so fascinated by it, so we had to snap a picture. My kids and water, equal hours of fun!

If You Can't Beat Em', Join Em'

I let my basement and my kids bedrooms sit for five days looking like something wild had run through them. (Something wild had run through them. Four little boys for two days of play!) I realized as I was cleaning it all up today that I had not let it drive me crazy until that moment. Something that is very unlike me. So now I must ask myself the question, "Am I becoming more, or less sane?"

It's Good To Be Home

It is always good to be "home" in Utah with all our family. And, it is good to be home in my own house after a good visit. That is exactly what we just did, visit home. Thanks to Del taking compassion on my homesickness while he was away fishing in a canoe on the the Boundary Waters, I took the kids back to see Grandma's and Grandpa's. I was very nervous about flying with all three of them by myself, but they really were amazing on the flight and in the airport. Even when our DVD player wouldn't work, and the kids couldn't get to sleep on the plane, they were good. The only breakdowns came in security, both times, when Will had to take off his shoes. He does not like that. And when we were walking down from the plane to the terminal and Will and his car seat fell out of the stroller and hit the door jam in front of the gate packed with people. I got some weird looks after that, but it is not like that doesn't happen every day of my life.

Good Things Utah. Lauren arranged tickets for me, my mom, and my sisters to go to a taping of this cute morning show in Utah. It is just kind of a current events and popular style show hosted by these woman. We had fun and got our picture with them after the show. There weren't all that many of us in the audience that day and they wanted us to be enthusiastic enough in our applause to make it sound as if there were. That is a lot of pressure! We did our best!


All the cousins on my side of the fam.


My baby girl.


Grandma and Grandpa.

Owen and Grandpa on the motorcycle.


Emma, Georgia, Nikole, and Cadance.

Wally at the Bingham mine. The kids loved this. I thought it was really cool too. Those trucks are as big as my house! Worth a visit weather you are young or old!

Will and my mom in the rain at the mine.

Wally and cousin Gabe on the ferris wheel.

G

Graduation Day!

Last week was the first of what are hopefully many graduations in Wally's life. The pre-school graduation. I am proud of Wally for making it through. Last year, I really wondered if that would happen, but now he is so excited to move on to kindergarten, so it was all worth it, On to moving from primary to young mens, junior high promotion, seminary graduation, high school graduation, college graduation, and whatever else you want to attend a ceremony for Wally, I'll be there! I love you!


Okay, this was staged, I accidentally turned my camera off for the actual receiving of the diploma and handshake. His teacher was so nice about it.

Brothers

Wally and his diploma.

Father and Son's

I wanted to post the pictures that Del took of the boys last week at the Father and Son's camp out with our ward. He also took the boys to a nearby lake and they caught fish with a piece of line and a jig attached to a stick. Del didn't have a pole, so he rigged up what he could, and the fish were hungary! The boys LOVE going out there with him. Like father, like son. I guess I better learn how to fry up a good fish with all these outdoors men in the family!


Wally holding his fish.

Will holding his fish

Wally with his friends Warren and Clay

Warren and Will. The boys think that Warren is about the coolest thing around because he is almost three years older than Wally, so they idolize him. Good thing he is so good and cute Candace! We are sure going to miss you guys!

A Regular Day In May

Well, as the title clues you into, We are having some pretty steady times around here. I guess that would translate to boring and sometimes that is just fine by me. So I thought I would just type up an update on everyone and post some random pictures.

This morning we woke up to the tell-tale tarps that would indicate that someone ACTUALLY, FINALLY, wants to live next door to us! When we moved in almost four years ago, we joked that the lots right next to us will end up being the last to go, and with the exception of only a very few more, it has been true. I think our builder has actually even sold out. So I am interested to see what this house looks like. Now we just have to hold our breath that it is not smurf blue or something. I'm telling you, THAT joke had better not come true!


My tulips took their time blooming this year. I finally got a picture of them.They were the last of all the tulip friends out there to show off their pretty petals, I swear. But now, mine are in bloom while all the others are gone. I love them, it means Spring!


I found this picture lost deep inside my camara. I don't even remember taking it. What should we call them? The "Bandaided Bandits?" So silly. Wally's latest news is that he graduates from pre-school in a week. Will is in the midst of an adamant refusal to potty-train. He begs me for a diaper when I put underwear on him, and yells "Oh no, it's coming!" as he has an accident all down his legs. I know that now I have to wait for him to be ready, but I am sad because he can't go to his fun little summer day camp if he is not out of diapers. Maybe next year.


Here is one of Georgia doing what she does best these days, getting into everything. She has been running a fever for two days and isn't a very happy camper. But she is a cutie as always. She is very fluent in her language, and is talking constantly. Whatever she is saying involves a lot of "sha, sha, sha" sounds. Her latest is trying to fold her arms while we pray. So sweet.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I love you Dad, and hope your day was great. And thanks for being so nice when I called you crying because I looked at the wrong month on my calendar and thought I had missed calling you on your birthday. I am glad I actually got it right on. But I am a dork, so thanks for loving me anyway. You have been so good to me and our family, and I will never forget all that you have done for me, the big things, as well as the little! You are such a great Grandpa too, and the kids LOVE you!

Mother's Day Tea

I was able to go enjoy the Mother's Day Tea at Wally's school. It was a lot of fun to be with just Wally for a while and see him in his classroom. They kids made place mats for the moms and sang us a song. We had lemonade and cookies, and played with the toys.

Me and my Wally

This is my place mat. They were hilarious! We were all comparing the funny things our kids had said about us. This is what Wally wrote about me:

My mom is 27 years old. (super impressed he remembered how old I am. Most of the kids put 10 or 13 or some funny age.)
My mom looks pretty because her hair is yellow and she has green eyeballs and her name is Jessie. (my eyes are blue, but close enough.)
I like when my mom makes dinner for me. She makes all kinds of food and all kinds of stuff. ( This is so sweet to me because Wally is always talking about how I make dinner. It is as though this is something he can count on and he takes comfort in it. It is a regular part of his day, and I just love that it gives him stability, so I thought it was cute he wrote about it.)
My mom always tells me, "Be nice." (among other things I always tell him)
My mom is funny because she makes this funny face, rolling eyes and sticking out tongue.


The class singing us some songs. Wally just stood there and smiled. No singing for him.

Wally and Jacob. I hear all about Jacob, and according to his mom, he talks non-stop about Wally.

Improvised sword fight.

Me and my guy.