Beach Day

We had our little traditional day at the beach on Saturday. It was SO much fun!!! We had 9 families attend this year. :D 26 children were there with us! 

I was responsible for 10 of those kiddos and my primary concern fell with watching Bentley so he didn't drown and taking pics. 

Here are just a few of what I got. You can find the entire album here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3505041419660.144385.1080489001&type=3

My boy

Bella and her friends from Clear Lake :D

Bella & Owen digging a hole or playing in the sand 

sand everywhere!!!!! 

The beach this year was covered in seaweed. Literally, you had to climb up and over it to get to the water! Kids still found places to dig though. 

seaweed and our group! :) 

Kensi 

This kayak was our friend, Mel's, and Bentley was drawn to it! He loved playing around it and climbing in it. 

My Cali girl 

wiping his nose 

Braelyn, Amanda, & Tatumn making mermaids :)

Bentley in a hole Joe made. haha This kept him occupied for some time. And YES, he could get out! 

Me and Christy :D

EVERY one in my family got sunburned really bad except Bentley which just had a spot above his diaper and under his eyes. 

I think this was the worst I've ever been burned and Bella was worse than me. :( She won't let me get a picture but her nickname the day after was Tomato or Tomato Soup and she is blistering today. Poor thing. 

It was SOOOOsososo much fun to be at the beach with family and friends. We can't wait to do it again next year! 

Climbing Out

Bentley is terrorizing me this week. Especially today. Terror! He's into everything and is so grumpy. He's cutting a tooth and hasn't been sleeping well which makes it all worse. I laid him down for his nap and I hear him talking and opening the door then closing it. He reaches over his playpen and opens it and shuts it and does it over again. Then I heard a clunk on the ground followed by crying. As I go in there I know exactly what happened and I found him lying on his back on the floor...outside the playpen. :( Oh no! Now what do I do? No rest for the wicked.

Update: an hour and a half later he was up talking still and I found him undressed and happy butt-nakey. All my girls quit napping at 2. I was so hopeful he wouldn't outgrow naps yet. Ugh. :(

Look what happened when we went to pick up his sisters ;D

Potty Training

Bentley is taking an interest in potty training lately. He often will sit on the potty and try to go. This morning as he and I were getting ready to shower I noticed (and he noticed) that he was peeing in the corner. He quickly stopped and went to the toilet. He sat on it and didn't go so he got back down. Then he went back to the corner and decided to finish. haha

On Sunday at Stake Conference we were sitting on the chairs on the gym floor. I looked over at one point and noticed that he was licking the floor. Yes, licking the floor.

Currently his favorite toy is the vacuum which he calls by name, Iris. He just got done trying to plug it into the wall himself.

If I survive this boy I will be one lucky woman. :D If this boy survives he will be one lucky boy! ;D

Reverence

As I was kneeling and saying my prayer this morning, Bentley so sweetly (after he climbed off my back) stuck his hand down the back of my britches. ;) I'm amazed at how reverent our prayers can be with toddlers. ;)

WOW!

Yesterday was insane. I can honestly say I've never had a day quite like it before and am pretty confident to say I'm sure I will have plenty more in the future JUST like it. Friday night I knew there was so much to do Saturday I couldn't even think about it. I went to bed Friday confident I would wake Saturday and know how to handle it all because there was a LOT going on. I woke up bright and early for a Saturday and gathered (woke) all the kids up for a meeting. We read together for a bit then said a prayer and went to work on making a list of ALL each of us had to get done that day then moved everything on that list to a schedule that ended up going like this:
8:30 girls clean the house, go get milk for cereal, finish up a couple orders for work, start the birthday present for Bella to take later that day, Kensington mowed the lawn.
10:30 shower then the kids ate lunch
11:30 got in the car and went to the bank, get Brae's eyebrows done, waited,  grocery store.
(Still out and about) 1:30- SUPPOSED to drop Bella off at birthday party but instead about 1:45 drop Brae, Ken, Cali off at mall to get what they needed for Mormon Prom and 5th Grade Graduation/Kensington spend her birthday money
1:55- park in our driveway RUN upstairs and grab a towel and sunscreen for Bella then hurry to get her to party a half hour late. Return home.
2:10- unload all the groceries and put them away by myself. FINISH the birthday present Bella was supposed to take with her. Eat lunch. Breathe. Clean the messy downstairs (how did it get messy again when they cleaned in the morning??!)
3:20- wrap present that was still drying (I literally watched paint dry for ten minutes to get this wrapped) and go pick up Bella and drop off present. Mind you my baby hasn't had his nap yet.
3:30 take Bella and Bentley and go drop off movie at Blockbuster from Friday night. Go to mall to pick up the 3 kids. Bentley slept.
4:15- get gas hoping we don't run out of gas after riding with light on for twenty minutes. Go to different store to get juice for baby.
4:45- pull into driveway to receive call regarding Braelyn's ride to Mormon Prom. Braelyn runs inside to get her things then to drop her off at the location to decorate and get ready with her friends. Meanwhile Bella is home getting ready for a sleepover at the same friend's house for her birthday.
5:15- Bentley woke up.  I get home and have fifteen minutes to get myself ready and make sure Bella is ready for her sleepover.
5:30- grab a sandwich, take Bella to her friends then take myself to the Stake Center for Conference (church). I felt like the wind blew me in!
6-8 AMAZING adult session of conference. I absolutely loved it!
8- dinner with Shannon and Jared! So fun. Meanwhile Ken is babysitting for me and our neighbor who also attended conference.
9:15- Bella calls and wants me to bring her a dress for church with her friend.
9:30- Bella calls again and wants to come home. I grab her on my way home
Kensington goes back out to babysit while same friends go to dinner themselves
11- Brae gets home from Prom and gives me a silent treatment bc she didn't like that I was talking to someone on the phone when she got home. So nice after a long day!
11 something (who the heck knows at this point) Kensington gets home and we all have lights off.
Midnight- sleep.

So much in one day. I know I am no where near alone with families who deal with this on a weekly basis. It's exhausting!!! Today I am completely wiped. I need more sleep!

I Guess I Don't Learn Easily

What was I thinking to take all five of my kids (plus a friend) to the mall tonight AGAIN after it didn't go well two weeks ago? Just a glimpse of our trip tonight. When we got to the mall and I pulled Bentley out of his seat he was wet. His diaper leaked and his shorts were wet. I changed him and had to put his shorts back on to go into the mall. He was in a stroller so it didn't matter too much. We got what Ken needed together then she, Brae and her friend went one way and I took the 3 younger kids to get a dress for Cali's graduation. All went well until after she got her dress then was sad that she wasn't getting shoes right then. A promise to get them before the big day didn't seem to suffice. That's when it all started going downhill. I also was running on very little sleep and was exhausted before the trip even began. After the dress I let them play at the mall playplace. When I pulled Bentley out of the stroller his shorts were noticeably wet. So, what's a tired mom with zero patience supposed to do when the 2 year old already got a glimpse of that playplace BUT TO let him go play in a shirt and diaper. I think I was the parent of the year the way other parents looked at me. After a little play time I gathered my kids together to leave the mall and Bentley started screaming and throwing a tantrum about his bum bum hurting. So, I was walking through the mall holding a screaming two year old while pushing the stroller and had both girls upset about something on either side of me. I was already on the verge of a nervous breakdown anyway so none of it was helping. I got to a point where I could call the older girls to tell them it was time to go and through Bentley's screams I could hear Ken say she didn't even find anything to buy. Too bad. We had to go! I walked out the mall in tears. I sobbed on the way home. After we dropped our FRIEND off (totally embarassing by the way) I told the girls to go in and put the younger three to bed and I would be back in a bit. I was going to get a bean burrito at Taco Bell and escape for ten minutes and since the only dinner I had was a sandwich on the run in between a 5th Grade Party planning meeting and the mall to get my kids what they needed. As I told them that I get lip from my oldest about what time I would be home (because she wanted me to watch our show together. I felt like once again someone was only concerned about themselves). As I questioned her attitude it got worse where she was just getting out of my car before it was time then I called my getaway off and MORE tears came (from me! ha). It was horrible. The entire experience. I feel like I give everything to them, to always try to make them happy. No matter what I do, someone isn't happy. Someone still wants more. I wasn't in the right either. It's the next day now and as I pondered before bed what had happened I realized I expect perfection from myself and I am so not perfect. I wish I could have had more patience and been more loving in the mall. Too bad I'm so human, huh. Nice post, eh! Just keeping it real. Definitely not all sunshine and lollipops our way. My poor kids got a mouthful from me last night. Not very Christ-like.

Best Mother's Day Ever

The girls came in and got Bentley on Mother's Day so I could sleep in. Around 8:30 Ken came in to tell me that I needed to come down. After I asked if they could bring it to me in bed, she said I needed to come downstairs. 

This is what I found along with signs down the stairs telling me I was getting closer and a sign downstairs on the wall that read "Happy Mother's Day". 

Isn't this the sweetest thing ever. 

Loved the two glasses of liquid beverage choices! 

My heart was full all morning as I received an outpouring of love from family and friends with so many kind words. 

This was after church. Bentley was in the pants with Ken! They were walking then crawling together. haha

At 6 we went to Shannon & Jared's for dinner, cake and ice cream for our birthday girl, then the Survivor finale. It was such a wonderful day! 

Ashton & Bentley 

This is from a card Bella made me at church:

My mom makes the best: KIDS

My favorite thing to do with my mom is: CLEANING

My mom is good at: HELPING

My mom is as beautiful as: A DAISY

My mom teaches me: TO BE KIND

MY mom loves me because: WE'RE HELPFUL

I love my mom because: SHE ALWAYS HELPS US

I am one happy mom to know I make the best kids and teach them to be kind! Heck yes!! :D

Also, she loves to clean with me?! That's news to me ;)

Cali's card to me:

My mom makes the best: BROWNIES

My favorite thing to do with my mom is: COOKING

My mom is good at: BEING A MOM

My mom is as beautiful as: A ROSE

My mom teaches me: TO BE A GOOD CHILD OF GOD

MY mom loves me because: I AM SWEET AND I AM A CHILD OF GOD

I love my mom because: SHE'S NICE

These are the best gifts ever. I love my family.

Dos Teenagers

Happy Birthday to my non.

She is 13 now. This means TWO teenagers amongst us. 

Help us all! 

For her birthday she and her friend Allison went to Smashburger and Menchies for burgers and ice cream. It was a fun night out!!! 

I love how this girl is confident in herself and doesn't care what others think. She is strong willed, beautiful, fun, funny, smart, and has a style all her own. I'm crazy about her! 

When You're Two

These are the things that make you happy when you're two. He does this every morning after we drop the girls off at school.

Watching him be happy makes me so happy. I know this time is fleeting.

This Home Believes

We have a new believer. My heart melted as I saw a new box and a new letter to the Fairy. This time from Cali. You are only this small once.

Trouble

This is what happens when a toddler gets in your office and you don't know it. He touches buttons. 4 ft of vinyl and about an hour of work is wasted bc the switch was too low and the blade didn't cut the vinyl. Grrr crazy baby.

Bentley's 2 Cute

He loves balloons. 

 He LoVES when balloons POP in the grass! 

 Running in the house to get more balloons. 

 I think we can say that he also was happy with his new DS game. It's with 4-Wheelers.  

 New church shoes from Grandma Bubbles & Chris. Bentley loves shoes. 

 Amazingly enough it only took him one day to learn to ride this. He stands on it and pushes with the other foot. Big kid!! 

 I can't believe two years have gone by. :( 

It goes too fast. 

We love love love our little guy. He brings so much joy into our lives. 

Every. day.

Two.

A couple weeks ago he did something that I have to write down. Before his birthday he would walk his sister's scooters around the driveway & street. He couldn't ride them so he'd just be happy to walk beside them. One night we were doing something and getting ready to come in and he got excited so he started to gallup beside the scooter then run with it. I wish words could describe how cute it was and the way it made me feel inside to see him. 

Too cute. Too big. 

<3

New Classic

If you haven't begun to watch this yet you are missing out. It's amazing. It's set in England in the early 1900's. It's become a ritual for Braelyn & I to sit and watch every night. Love love love. 

The wife is played by Elizabeth McGovern who was the lead in She's Having a Baby. It's lovely and funny & mostly clean. 

Braelyn & I despise Thomas and we adore Mr. Bates as well as the Grandma, Violet. We want Mary & Matthew together. <3

String Fling

Cali had her 5th grade orchestra concert last night. It's a district wide program so there were more than 600 5th graders in attendance. It was well done. I'm so proud of her for learning so well on her violin.

Field Days 2012

Bella's 3rd Grade Field Day

 Mrs. Fagerquist, her teacher 

 Run fast Bella!

 Cali's 5th & Last Field Day. Cute girl. 

Texas Fairy

Bella's fairy has made several visits. I think fairy was hoping after she left the Pixie Dust that would be all. This photo shows the cute dust Bella got. 

Bella left a note that said "Dear Fairy, thank you." Followed a few days by  one that reads "Can I please have your hat?" 

Bella was told in the last letter from Fairy that she had to travel to London. She may be there for awhile.