To My 5 Year Old Boy

Dear Rockstar,

5 years old today! Wow. Can you believe how fast time is flying? I sure can't. I know that I write it every year and I will write it again...
Time flies...
and it freaks me out!
As exciting as these Birthdays are and as much as I celebrate you and am just so proud of you and your sisters at each new stage and age...I also get a little sad nostalgia as we (symbolically) close the door on an age that I adored so much. I stay up late on nights like tonight asking myself if I have taken enough time out of all the busyness to really just be in your world with you? Have I played Memory enough times? Have I captured enough Rollie Pollie's? Built enough forts?
I don't know. I sure hope so.
It really is a shame that someone hasn't invented some sort of little contraption to capture your child's little persona at every stage of life to keep and treasure forever. I really wish someone would, because I would keep my little 4 year old Rockstar in a special little space. I can just picture a little jar or something that 20 years from now I could open and experience my little boy in all your glory...the wet dog smell, the inquisitive mind, the adventures, the humor, the proud smile when you've conquered the world (climbed to the top of the street lamp), the endless snuggles, the boundless amount of energy, the innocent little heart, and just how perfectly all boy you are. Completely Snails and Puppy Dog Tails :)
But to my knowledge, nothing has been invented yet, so I write these Birthday letters instead with the hopes that we can all read these later in life and remember.
Oh how I want to Remember.
You.

I hate to admit it, but I think you're my little rebel. You'll walk into the kitchen at any given moment with your big mischievous smile and I think Oh no, what is it this time. Of course, I'll ask you straight up what you have been up to and you will always reply "nothing." I can almost count down the seconds to Lu's scream or Daddy yelling "Who ate all the chips in the food room!" You'll always deny being involved until you can't see a road out. Augh! It drives me crazy and makes me laugh all at the same time. Such a little sneak.

You make us all laugh! Honestly, home would NEVER be the same without you. I think you believe it is your mission in life to make us all have a good time (maybe it is?) You love to have us sit back on the couch and watch you dress up/act out different animals while we try to guess who or what you are. It is hilarious and you get so creative. SOmetimes you will throw a little hip hop in with it and just get super goofy. We love to be entertained and you do just that!

You have the best heart. Really and truly. If you think I or one of your sisters are hurt...It just about breaks you inside. You act real tough, but you're a little softy inside just like your daddy. You're always looking out for everyone.

You're cool. I don't really know what else to say...just that I am pretty sure if I was your age, I would want to hang with you. Heck, I'm 29 and I want to hang out with you. You just have a 'cool' vibe and I think I'm kinda hip just to be your mom :)

You love candy. Oh good golly do you love the sugar. I try to keep the stuff out of the house as much as possible, but you have your ways. A few months ago, we were baffled, because we were finding stashes hidden everywhere....underwear drawer, under pillow, melted all over the dryer (not cool). We finally had a heart to heart and you admitted that you were talking your friend Harlan into giving up his Easter stash (apparently he's a saver) every time you went over there to play. Ha! This shouldn't have surprised us. You also recently talked him into trading his razor scooter for your old broken plastic one. (we gave it back) Little con artist you :)

You think your Daddy is 11 feet tall. You look up to him so much, and I think you should. He's amazing.

You are a dare devil. We have Best friend, Tyler to thank for this. He finally got you out of the dress ups and into scaling fences like spider man. Holy Cow! I don't know if I am excited about this or not! You and him climb up the light pole outside our house all the time. Seriously, all the way to the top, touch the light and then slide back down. I just about swallowed my heart the first time I saw you do it. You got hurt the other day though, so we're taking a light pole break. Thank goodness!

And speaking of Tyler, You and him are hilarious. You guys have a routine down...Doorbell rings, Ty walks in, shirts come off, wrestling begins. If one of you gets hurt than the other is there saying "Be a man! Come on. Be a man!" The hurt one always stands back up, brushes off his pain, and walks with his head a little higher :)
Gosh. I love boys.

You are still amazing at Basket ball. Been saying that since you were a babe, and nothing has changed. So proud of your talent though. We can't wait til 6, because then you can join a real team. Yay for future B ball games!!

We went thru a period of about 3 months when I thought we were in so much trouble with you. You were always yelling, angry, and just getting into trouble every single day. Daddy and I were beside ourselves and I think we hit our breaking points the Sunday that you refused to go into church and chose to sit in the car for 2 hours. Oh my goodness, I bawled the whole day. Of course we checked on you every 5 minutes. You were as calm as can be, but the second we tried to take you inside, you'd go thru the roof hitting and screaming. Finally realized that every single day you were getting negative attention (along with a lot of positive) with time outs and discipline. We decided to ignore any bad behavior and only reward the good. It has seemed to work. We have had such better days with you and I can tell that you are trying you're darndest to make good decisions. Makes me feel bad, because looking back, I think you had started to label yourself as "the naughty one" and you were acting accordingly. You're a great kid, and I feel bad that I don't have this parenting thing even kind of figured out. Thanks for being patient.

You're scared of the dark now. You start every night in our bed. You have to sleep to music. Daddy and I both take a turn tickling your back and telling stories each night one on one with you. Of all our kids, you are definitely the biggest cuddler. Your love language is definitely touch and I love having a snuggler.

You are the perfect older brother. Gigi now follows you to all your friend's houses and you just let her play with you and the buds. You defend her like crazy and are always making sure she is okay. She loves you and she is not the easiest to please :) Thanks buddy for being the older brother a mommy dreams of. I hope you always watch out for your sisters.

You still have your raspy voice. I am so happy that you haven't ever lost this. You're also about as handsome as they come. Blue eyes, shaggy blond hair, darling smile, Cutie pie! Miss Kindra let me know a while ago that all the preschool girls seemed to be crushin on you already. Oh dear, we are gonna be in trouble.

You attach poop to every word and you think it's hilarious.

You are so proud of yourself. I don't know how to put it into words, but every night when I am laying beside you and talking about what a good boy you are...your face just lights up and you get this half smile while you nod your head and I just know that you believe it. With all your heart you believe in who you are. It is my prayer every single day that you will keep this. You should be proud of you. You're a sweet, fun, loving, kind hearted, talented, smart boy and as long as I am your mother I will be reminding you of that.
Do so much good in your life little Rockstar!
You can achieve anything.
Here's to being 5. It is gonna be great!!

I love you all the way to the moon and back again buddy.
and don't you forget it.

Love,

Mommy

A Real Man Wipes Bottoms.

I fell in love with Sonny approximately 9 1/2 years ago.

His big smile, those clear blue eyes, that contagious laugh, and his awkward adorable shyness.

I knew I had a catch on our 2nd date when I asked him what his mother was like...

"She's real pretty. She smiles a lot and is just an amazing woman."

I know. I know.

My heart melted for this man. 

(plus I saw a picture of him doing a back flip on a wakeboard on that same date....which may have been the real reason I fell in love...who knows...but let's go with the mom thing :))

He's kind, good, and (i'll say it) a hottie! ;)

And as good of a man as I knew Sonny was 9+ years ago, nothing could have really prepared me for who he was to become a few years later...

A father.

A real good one too.

I swear this man was made for this role.

He wrestles, He tickles, He hugs, He cleans up throw up, He sings lullabies, He kills spiders, He weeds, He kisses owies, He puts in ponytails, He washes the dinner dishes, He brushes teeth, He cuts up noodles, He plays catch, He rides bikes, He warms bottles, He tucks in, He wipes tears, He reads stories, He catches mice and lets them go (Lu is a cinderella), He glues broken toys, He bites cafe rio straws in half, He plays Simon Says, He gives piggy backs, He cheers, He shares his bed sometimes, He says bum-bum, He can swaddle,

and of course he has changed countless dirty diapers.

He's a real man.

He's a Daddy.

And I am so grateful that I get to witness it each and every day.

I love you more than you will ever know Sonny.

Happy Father's Day!

You are one of a kind.

And I love that you can still do back flips on the wakeboard,

but it's still not as sexy as you changing a dirty diaper.

Okay, that was weird, but isn't it so true ladies??

A man who helps out around the house...is as good lookin as they come.

Amen and amen.

I'm Late! I'm Late! For a very Important Date!

June 1st

I had a YW fundraiser I was helping out with this Friday night,

so I left Sonny home with the kids to help them get ready for a Birthday party celebrating

Twins Juliette and Danielle Jensen.

Their Mama (love you Dialma!) is Peurto Rican and it is in their culture to go all out 

for parties and we sure look forward to them every single year.

This Year's theme was Alice in Wonderland.

The kids were to dress up in something Wonderlandish, so as you can imagine, 

Sonny was in full blown panic when I mentioned that little detail over my shoulder running out to the car.

(insert evil laugh here)

I know it's bad, but I kinda like throwing him for a loop every now and then.

But Naturally, he didn't stay panicked long...

he handed the reins to Big Sister Lu, 

and I gotta say she impressed us all.

 Meet Rabbit and the Cat.

WOw.

Good Job Lu.

I am pretty sure that is a better Rabbit than I could have ever done.

Sonny said she was searching for a pocket watch in my jewelry, but couldn't find one.

Ha. I gotta remember to get one of those for next time.

Would have been the finishing touch for sure.

The kids had a ball, and luckily I was able to pop in for the last half of the party

to watch them paint white roses, and play crochet with the Queen. 

Such A Very Merry UnBirthday!!

Cheetah

Lu had her last and final science project at school June 1st.

ZoO DaY

Each student had to pick an animal from one of the 5 habitats and share 5 interesting facts about the animal.

They were to be in costume and families were invited to walk around the zoo and push

the button (Push me pin) to hear the 5 facts.

Fun!

Lu was so nervous.

(I could tell. She always chews on her tongue when she is scared)

She did such a great job though.

The second someone pushed her little button, she took a deep breath, stared down at her paper,

and read her 5 Cheetah tidbits as fast as she could.

Cute Hallie and Lu.

 The kids singing songs for us.

I Lu also earned my her Dolphin award.

Woo-hoo!

 Cutest Cheetah I know.

Good Job Lulu!

I knew you could do it!

**Lu's 5 facts about Cheetahs**

1. Cheetahs are the fastest land animal on the planet. They can almost run as fast as a car on the freeway. (70mph)
2. Cheetahs cannot roar like tigers or lions. They can purr though.
3. Cheetahs only drink water once every 3-4 days.
4. Cheetahs can't climb trees or see well at night.
5. Girl Cheetahs live alone except when they have babies, but boy cheetahs live together.

Update!

Okay, Life has been CRAAAZY!

Since my last post, 1 week ago, we have had science reports, dance recitals, school graduation,

cleaned our house 4 x for showings, sold our house, signed the contracts,

went to Lake Powell with friends,

found out the house sell fell thru,

and today I showed my house 2x again.

Oh and Sonny took off to St George for work.

Holy Crudiola! It has been a lot,

and this girl is feeling 

tired.

So the whole house thing??

Basically, the first couple to walk thru made a full price offer the next day.

We accepted.

We signed papers, I asked our realtors (with tears in my eyes)

"So it's normal to feel a little sick to your stomach when you sell your house right? Right???"

Their answer (looking at eachother, then at me) "No. People are always excited. ?"

Oh. good. Just checking. :}

They left.

I cried.

for 3 hours.

Not a good little weep either, It was the full blown snot bubble cry.

Poor Sonny didn't know what to do. 

I couldn't even talk.

It just all felt so weird to think that in 45 days my home would not be mine any longer.

Instead we would be living in a rental somewhere in St George searching to find a neighborhood

that would feel right...

But how will anything feel right compared to this little corner of the world?

We love it here.

We have tiny little knocks on our house all day long asking for the kids to play.

Of the 8 houses on our street, 5 have kids the same ages and all are great families who we love to hang out with.

It's paradise.

Potlucks every 1st Sunday of the month, Halloween carnivals, Flashlight easter egg hunts, 4th of july parades, water parties every weekend (seriously throw down a slip n slide in front yard = 30 kids swarming in about 10 minutes!)

It's so great.

I know that I probably sound so negative, and I really don't mean to.

I just also think that it would be a little naive to believe that we will ever be able to find/replace

this neighborhood, 

because we can't.

I mean where are we going to find another street where a neighbor face paints the kids for free??

Seriously, We have a lady just behind us who sits outside and face paints weekly.

I know. Amazing. (no not weird at all.)

BTW, Lulu's favorite thing in the whole world? get her face painted.

Haha. Okay that may be a stretch. We can live without the face paint.

Anyways, bottom line is that this is home.

And it is hard to imagine feeling like somewhere else can feel the same way.

But I know it can and I know it will.

So anyways, I mourned that night and then the next morning I put my big girl pants on

and decided it was time to accept it. (Afterall, what did I expect putting the sign up in the first place...I should have always known that it was a possibility that we would actually sell.)

We left to Powell and got a call the 2nd night that the buyers couldn't get out of a lease agreement

and they had to pull.

They were pretty bummed and I feel bad for them,

but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I also felt a little relief.

I just need a teeny bit more time here.

I gotta say goodbye.

And it aint going to be easy.

THe End.

*And yes, I know that it always takes me 20 sentences to say what I could have said in 1.

I'm wordy. Can't help it.

Eeek! I'm 29!!

Yep. Today is my Birfday!

I am officially starting the last year of my 20's.

I am surprised at how I feel about it too.

I have kind of been dreading this day since I was 17

(I didn't know it back then)

and heard one of my leaders tell me that it was crazy how fast life flew.

She kept telling me that she still felt like she was my age.

I was like (chomping gum and in a mini-skirt)"Yeah right lady, you're ancient!!"

Freak.

I'm there.

But I gotta say,

It feels pretty good.

I take a look at my life and think

not bad. not bad at all.

In fact, I am pretty proud of these 29 years of life.

Has it all been perfect? Heavens no. 

In fact, some years have been down right hard.

But I have a great husband I'm crazy about, 3 darling rascals,

a great family, some of the best friends, and as one of my good friends (love you Julie) put it 

"you're old, but at least you have A house with a purple door."

What more can a girl ask for :)

So here is to my 29th year on this planet Earth...

I think it is sure to be a great one!

xoxo

Memorial Day

As I said before, we headed to STG for the memorial weekend.

We had a busy few days unpacking my parents new house.

I am going to miss their amazing Idaho home and all the fun memories,

but I am so excited for their new place!

(it is so roomy and pretty and perfect for them)

sorry no pics :(

On our way home we decided to stop in Springville and visit Sonny's

Grandparents' graves.

 We taught the kids some cemetery etiquette

(I'm amazed at how many people walk right on top of the graves)

and told stories about some of our ancestors who have passed.

I tried my darndest to talk about my own grandparents, but every time I started

I burst into tears.

pathetic.

I just miss them so much.

 The kids were so great and they loved hearing some of their heritage.

They wanted to walk around and find some little graves.

It was very humbling to find them.

I really don't want to miss a memorial day doing this.

It was a great moment to take some time out and think of the great people are family has come from.

*If you are wondering what the Rockstar has tied around his legs...

wet wipes.

It's amazing what kids come up with to entertain in the car.

awesome.

Better than Christmas?

Mother's Day.

Okay, maybe that is a stretch, but year after year this is becoming one of my favorite holidays.

And this year, my sweet family blew me away!

They treated me like royalty and it was fan-stinkin-tastic!!

All week long, Lulu was prepping me for the upcoming day.

She kept reminding me that on Sunday I was to stay in bed ALL DAY LONG

and not do ANYTHING! Ha. Someone is teaching her well.

The morning all started with them serving me some breakfast in bed.

They were so disappointed to see me already awake and getting ready for the day 

(darn 9 am church...and can you tell mascara only made it on one eye? stink.)

Daddy had them all wear aprons to show that it takes all of them working to do what I do each day.

Cute.

On the menu was watermelon and a green smoothie.

My kind of breakfast.

 Lulu surprised me with the sweetest little book all about

yours truly.

Definitely making the treasure box.

I loooooved it. 

 Her interpretations of me were so great.

What is my mom good at? cheerleading.

(what!??)

 And the Rockstar! He gave me a handmade noodle necklace.

Gosh. I love it. I really don't think it would feel like mother's day without one of these babies draped around my neck!

Thank you baby boy!!

 The last page of the book cracked us all up.

Notice the ending.

 Lu's teacher's name is Diana, so somehow she got a little confused. Ha. I adore her.

The presents ended with a flower pot painting with Rockstar's handprint,

kisses from Gigi, and Sonny gave me the loveliest card full of mushies and a gift card to 

Forever21.

(yee-ha!)

 A few pics snapped before church with the best kids I know.

(and I know a lot ;))

That afternoon we drove out to the UP house.

We hadn't ever been to see it and we live a few miles away.

It was Darling!

 The kids and I decided we want to live here.

(sonny's still on the fence)

 We spotted a park and spent the next couple of hours playing and resting on the grass.

 Such a glorious day.

And I owe everything to this sweet man.

Thank you Sonny,

for making me a wife and then a mommy.

I felt so special this day

and really every day.

I love my life.

Lets Play Music

The two oldies enrolled in a music class this year with our neighbor, Miss Kara.

I have to admit that I didn't absolutely love every second of the work,

(A LOT of parent involvement...talk about the deaf leading the deaf!)

but I was so impressed with how much they learned over the year.

It was fun to see it all showcased in their recital

May 3rd.

 The future of America :)

 The Rockstar and Tyler playing 3 Blind Mice.

 Lulu and cute Genna playing 

"A Frog went a Leaping"

 Miss Kara (such a great teacher!) gave out awards and roses to the kids.

Love her passion.

 I was one proud mama.

Good job Lu and Rocks!

You guys blew me away all year long.

I think Beethoven would be proud.

*side note: did you know that doe, re, mi actually means something musically??

I didn't. I really just thought they were rhymes in a cute little song from one of my favorite movies.

But no! Each one really means something. I don't really know what, but at least I know it's not gibberish now.

Hot Dog!! Maybe there is some music hope for me after all :)

Tulip Festival

{April 16th}

One of our favorite families (Love the Gouldings!) invited us to the Tulip Festival this year.

I can't believe we have lived so close for 4 years and we have never checked this event out.

I think I was just expecting a small little garden of tulips, but there was SO much more!

Gosh. I fell in love with this place.

and so did the munchkins.

Rockstar + Ray

Lola + Lu

 The kids had a ball playing on the hill.

   And Sonny and I tried to figure out how much a waterfall costs...

cause seriously, I want my yard to some what resemble this one day.

It was so pretty.

Tony got cute baby Pepper out and I think my baby girl's heart grew 2 sizes!

Can you see the joy in that girl's face! 

She LOVES everything about babies....that is until I hold one.

Ha. Hope she grows out of that eventually :)

 so precious.

I think we are open for babysitting :)

I have to say the absolute best part of the evening was the Goulding's introducing us to fried doughnuts.

Oh. my. goodness.

They were the BEST little morsels I have ever (and I mean ever) tasted!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them (too busy stuffing my face) except for this one...

I think we bought 3 bags...and there were even some dipped in chocolate!!...

K I gotta stop and get some control here.

*breathe*

They were just so good. Sonny asked the lady if they were healthy.

Hahahaha!! She gave him the weirdest look. He was serious too.

Yep. All natural ingredients: flour, oil, butter, sugar, butter, sugar and cinnamon.

If you go, you gotta get em.

Thank you for inviting us Goulding Family!

Such a great night.

Oh,

And in case any of you fashionistas were wondering...

yes. boxer-bum is totally back in style.

yep

you're welcome :)