More finds in the Camera!!

I have just completed two of the busiest months of my life...
whew!! A few pictures of the festivities...

Our easter 'peep' show...

Tanner before he performed at the annual Hip Hop recital,
they were Wandering Clowns and won 1st in all of their competitions
this year...it was a really cool dance...

Dale & Keaton just before Father & Sons, I should say
SON because the others were overbooked and couldn't go...

Tanner won the talent show at his school this year,
he & this young lady did an awesome ballroom dance to
"King of Anything" (they even got a standing ovation, which says
alot coming from middle schoolers!)...

Shay's 18th birthday ice cream bash, with 40 of
his closest friends...

And of course, graduation....

The 2nd annual 'burn all of our homework' party...

And the group at Disneyland for Senior trip...

Wow, I might need a nap!

(Baylee and Keaton were along for the ride as well but somehow managed to stay out of most of the pictures)
The goal for summer: RELAX!!!

One for the journal...

Because I don't keep a regular journal, this will have to suffice... (I might brag for a minute so bear with me)

A few weeks ago, Tanner walked in front of his entire school, sat down at the piano and played and sang to screaming fans, a mash up of several popular songs. He was in the final round of his schools 'Thunder Idol' competition and his performance was awesome. I was a proud mom.

This year, Shay is on the 'just announced' Region Champ Desert Hills basketball team. The other night he drained the 3 point shot that won the game in overtime. I was a proud mom.

But it's times like these that REALLY make a mama proud...

I dropped off Tanner, alone to watch another schools production of the Miracle Worker.

I said, "Tanner, are you sure you want to go alone?"

He replied, "Yeah, I am sure that I will find a friend there."

Just as he was getting out of the car, he saw Maddie and Macy, two sisters that go to his school and just happen to have downs syndrome.

They saw him, came running and gave him a big hug.

Tanner walked off with them....one arm around Maddie and one arm around Macy.

About a year ago, a cute girl encouraged Shay to come help at Special Needs mutual with her. He has been going every week since then. He has formed a great friendship with two boys in particular. Last night was their annual road show. It was all about happiness. My otherwise reserved son danced and sang to Walking on Sunshine to a packed house at the High School.

My kids are getting it, through the example of some great friends, they are getting it.

I was an inspired mom.

Well, no wonder...

I have found the solution to the problem. I have been looking at things the wrong way. This morning, after a grueling PowerSculpt class at the gym, the instructor said,

"Good Job, have a great day and stay away from the sugar!"

Funny...I had been thinking that because I worked so hard I should go home and reward myself.

Hey! Look what I found in my camera...

one of the blessings of the calling...baseball, (and one cute kid)...

fun at the lake...

if Baylee's personality could be captured on film,
this is what it would look like...

kid's quilt retreat, those girls are getting good...

swim camp, Baylee trying to earn enough money for
an ipod touch...

trip to Park City with the Larsen's...

annual Cinco de mayo party...

broken wrist, biking at young men's...

hip-hop dance recital...

there's an update...whew, I barely remembered how to do that!

Changes...

Last week, I watched my 8th grader kiss a girl and tell her that he loved her...
he was acting, but still...

Yesterday, I went to the maturation assembly with Baylee...
(which, I must say, was rather cheesy, especially when they said
"Once you get things figured out, you'll hardly notice anything different"
to which I wanted to say,
"LIES!!! It's miserable and you notice it every month......BUT, it's worth it.")

Today I am going to the high school to sign my child up to take the ACT test...
yes, ladies and gentlemen, that means college...

Little Snippets of Joy...

After a week of children throwing up, fevers, EXTREMELY bloody noses, leaking roofs, installed carpet that wasn't quite right and a paint finish that was REALLY not right, I figured it was time for some snippets of joy...

*Desert Hills beat Pine View in probably the most exciting basketball game I have ever been to.
(hence, the extremely bloody nose)

*After church yesterday, my children, in support of their Dad, went straight to their rooms and changed into their Saints attire & sat & watched his beloved team win the game that will take them to the SuperBowl for the first time in 43 years. (I don't care if the offense was weak or if Brett Favre threw a crazy interception....a win is a win and the SAINTS are going to the SuperBowl!!) WHO DAT!!

*Watching Tanner & Baylee, who quite frankly spend most of their time fighting, sit down together & cheer each other on as they got to another stage in Super Mario Brothers.

*Keaton asking me if he could get a facebook account. ??? Are you kidding me? He's 6 and just learning how to read. I had a good laugh though.

*Getting a call from my 'bff', informing me of a new Jane Austen mini-series on PBS.

*After a long, taxing week, sitting down with a bowl of Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream and watching that very Jane Austen mini-series on PBS.

Signs that maybe I might be going crazy...

Apart from the fact that I have nearly given up blogging altogether and that I haven't cleaned my house in over a month...

this is the reason I believe that I have finally gotten too much on my plate...

The other day, having a rare moment at home, I thought I should cook dinner. I went to the fridge/freezer and thought "mmmm, I don't think I remember how to do that." Which led me to my second thought, "WOW...just how long has it been since I have done that?" Which led me to my third thought, "just exactly what has my family been eating since I did that?"

Fast forward to today, when I actually prepared dinner...a simple chicken & rice casserole. Easy enough, right?

When I went to pull it out of the top oven 2 hours later, I was horrified to find that I had turned on the bottom oven instead. Can you say "what do you want on your sandwich?"

Crazy indeed...pure loco.

Social dance & a kid loving high school...

We are all shocked that Shay has taken to dancing like he has,

in his words, "Best class, ever!"

on a side note,

Saturday as we were coming home from Soccer

Keaton exclaimed, "I'm unstoppable!"

My first thought, "Wow, he needs to be humbled."

I am blaming this on Dale because the next thing Keaton said was,

"Mom, what does unstoppable mean?"

The IV drip I like to call family...

I have an idea that will make me rich.

Self-confidence in liquid form (& no, I am not talking about Diet Coke).

Just a little IV drip each night to put back a little "I don't care what others think of me" into my daughter's bloodstream. Rich, i'm telling you.....millions.

My mom said it will get worse before it gets better. We are going to need it STAT.

Until then, I have to say a big thanks to cousin Ali (who happens to adore Baylee and was just as good as an IV) and to a thoughtful Grandma (picnics and carnivals work too).

what FALL looks like at the FORBES (through FOTOS)

Of course, there is college football...

and flag football...

Shay trying to explain the line of scrimmage to 5 year olds

cut back for a TOUCHDOWN!

and then there is soccer...

* it should be noted that Dale is coaching both

then there is the blooming social life...

Tanner's birthday party

Shay at Homecoming

and a few design jobs for me...

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

but...

Fall is my favorite time of year, I love the crisp mornings, the mellow days, putting on sweaters, wrapping up in blankets, eating soup and finally, finally...the end of 100 degree weather.

Stretching...

I figured that since I was employed by a Technology College, I should become more 'technical'.

This is my latest purchase, isn't it pretty?

(Yeah, I might be able to work it.)

Tuesday I had class on how to use a smartboard, yugma and a gadget named Elmo.
I have learned to use (& barely understand) terms like Kaizen blitz, Six Sigma and

Lean Manufacturing.

And tonight, I am going to read about fire and rescue accreditation.

My comfort zone has officially become a thing of the past.

Quick change artist...

On average, Keaton changes his clothes 3 times a day.
The outfit must match the activity after all.
I was mortified though, to see his pile of shorts as I did the laundry this week...22.
No wonder I can't catch up on laundry.
Clearly, the boy needs a talking too.
And then it hit me...

How, how (?) does he have so many to begin with?

Working...

I have entered the work force again and I am now employed by Dixie Applied Technology College.

There are a few things that I have learned by working...

1. Since I am not around to do everything, the kids miraculously figure things out on their own, who knew?

2. I manage my time so much better when I am busy, and I have been BUSY!!!

3. I kind of like it.

However, sometimes the best laid plans...

It is back to school time and I have been stressed a bit about Keaton and working out babysitting for him before Kindergarten, I had it all arranged for the first week. Things looked as if they were ready to go...

Yesterday, Dale called me and said Keaton came home with a headache...

Ten minutes later, he called and told me Keaton had thrown up all over the floor.

And this morning, I had to call in to work, because he continued to throw up all night.

Have I ever said how much I love the stomach flu?

In any case, here are the kiddos on their first day....(this pose was painful for Shay and Tanner, can you tell?)

Summer fun...

Cousin Natalee came & stayed for a few weeks...

a great time was had by all

swimming...

sewing...

trip to Price...

baptisms...

pasta factory...

soda sale...

and if you have ever met her, you would know that there was alot of other things as well,

kitchen kids, plays, pottery, all night parties, movies...to name a few.

So much fun, the kids are already having withdrawals.

Who knows how we will ever get used to a schedule and school again.

Love you Natalee!!

Boredom...

Remember how I made the mistake of saying that I might actually be bored?...

Yeah, well, never mind.

Talent...

It really is unfair that I came to earth not being able to sing. Yeah, I know, I have other talents, blah, blah, but singing is one that I really wished I had and no amount of practice time in the shower is going to make it better.

I hope that there is a place in the next life where I can live out my dream,
where I could play the part of Galinda "with a ga" or even more appropriately, the part of Elphaba.

It would be an awesome part of heaven don't you think? My mom could be a ballerina, Shay could play on an NBA team, Dale would be working at Rivals.com, and my Dad would be sitting in a cow pasture as Sarah Brightman serenades him. Ahhh....

I guess I will just have to settle for being a spectator. Which I was. The other night. And can I just say, that it lives up to all the hype. If you get the chance, I highly recommend it...

Amazing amounts of talent on that stage...

Camping, surgery-ing, sleepover-ing, designing, reading & summer-ing, OH MY!!

Signs of summer:

Doors opening and closing, opening and then closing again, bringing all types of children in and out. Black hand prints on the walls (a sure sign that I need to power spray the driveway, again), popsicle remnants on the concrete, late nights, later mornings and the endless question....Who can I play with now?

I recently returned from girls camp, Shay is at basketball camp, Tanner is leaving for scout camp next week and Keaton is going to flag football camp, he was a little nervous about it and said "Who will I sleep with?" (Apparently he thought it was like Shay's where he slept over. )

On returning from girls camp, I found out that Shay needed surgery on his nose, so we spent the day with the same nurses, in the same hospital, going over the same things as a few weeks ago. I must say, it is much nicer to be on this side of the deductible.

We haven't seen much of Baylee this summer, she is our social butterfly, the older she gets, the bigger and stronger the wingspan. The girl has made an art out of play...and sleepovers, she is rarely seen without a friend.

The past few days I have been working for some friends, helping them set up and decorate a home that will be used as a company retreat. Furniture, bedding, decor, and a full working kitchen!! Last night, we purchased seven full carts at Target. It is rather fun to spend other people's money and I am finding that I do love using my degree, so much so that I am going to get a business license and dabble in it a bit more.

Sounds like a crazy summer, eh? I am amazed at how much time sending my kids to school takes and how much time I save having a son that drives, sometimes I even find myself positively bored. I have even ventured out to the library and I am currently making my way through a stack full of books.

And can I just say, Where did this weather come from? I am a bit nervous that because we are enjoying such wonderful temperatures now, summer might extend into November. Who knows, maybe it's global warming... In any case, I am loving it.

Come on now Shay...

I keep telling him that he needs to be less confrontational.

You would think that he would listen to his mom.

I don't know what to do, he's always picking fights.

No really,

he had a run in with a teammate while going for a loose ball,

can you say OUCH?

& yes, the nose is broken.

Peer pressure...

The other day Tanner went to work with Dale. For 12 hours.

There was alot of time for conversation.

Tanner came home & was sharing with Baylee some of it, here is what I heard...

T: "Did you know that when Dad was a teenager he wanted to be in this club
where they had initiations, and he had to climb a tree naked?"

B: "Really, why would he want to be in that club?"

And I thought,

please, please, please let her always feel this way, & act accordingly.

(Dale is going to be so happy that I shared his life story with ya'll)

Milestones...

I remember turning 16. Vividly. I remember 14, 15..........16!!! It seemed to take forever, but it meant one thing to me....
Independence.
I had a thing for independence.

Here is my picture of the day...

I took Shay to get his drivers license at 7:00 am.
On the way home, I looked over and saw him smiling. He was giddy.
He was planning out his day, driving to and from school, how he was going to pull back the sunroof, what music he would be playing, where he was going to park.
Independence.
I don't know how I feel about independence.

In the back yard of my parents home, a nest was built and a robin laid some eggs. That robin protected those eggs so much so that my Mom was afraid to go out back. We watched the eggs turn into baby birds and then one day the Mom showed up with a worm & perched herself on the opposite wall of the baby birds. They knew she was there with a worm and opened their beaks, waiting for her to come and drop it in. She didn't. She sat on that wall, forcing her babies out of the nest. Waiting for them to fly. And sure enough, that's just what they did.

Faith.

This letting go, this forcing him out of the nest thing is hard, knowing that he is on the cusp of so many decisions, mistakes, challenges and dangers. Knowing that the best thing for him is to gently force him to fly.

Thank goodness we are not exactly like the birds and have to do it in a two week period of time.

So, Happy Birthday, and Independence Day Shay!!! We love you!!!