6.29.12

So remember this MESS?  Well it now looks like this...

So much better!

On another note, the kids are outside doing this right now...

It's a "blessing and a curse"

(Name that T.V. show)

6.28.12

If only I could do this all day and nothing else... *sigh*

It has been a long couple of weeks. Not necessarily in a bad way, just a busy way.  Nick's days off last week were spent traveling which is fun but not necessarily relaxing.  This week all his days off he is spending at scout camp about an hours away.  When he does work it is 12 hours shifts so he is gone from 7-8:30.  The kids are all usually in bed and all the hard stuff is done by that time. Don't get me wrong, it is nice that he's home early enough so that we can spend some time together. At his old job he didn't get home until 11 PM.  However, it would be nice if he was home for those magical hours between 5 and 8 PM if you know what I mean!  Yesterday I told him that I am ready for MY day off.  He laughed but agreed.  So while I feel a little bad leaving him to hold down the fort on HIS day off I am still planning an outing alone the next time he's home for the day.  I wonder what I will do????

I skipped this last week

Last week I missed my "Like it, love it, can't live without it" post so here it is...

Even if it is a stretch to say I like it when my kids do this... I remember back when I used to love it so it counts!

6.26.12

This is my life right now!

We are in the midst of a project.  It is taking longer than I expected.  We switched the girls'd bedroom with the play room.  The other room is all nice and clean now and all three little girls are moved in.  Now to conquer the new play room.  I am not looking forward to it!

Like it, love it, can't live without it

Little Feet

Good Times

I really wanted to post the video we made for Nick's Father's Day gift but I can't get it to upload:( While I work on think i will post about the lake instead.

First and foremost there were Red Vines involved.  Can you tell by her dirty face she's been enjoying some?

Ainsley has knee boarded with her uncle one other time, but he always stayed out in the water with her.  This was her first time out there all by herself and she did great!  I'm so proud of her forgiving it a try because I know she was nervous to go alone.

Blythe also had her first successful wake surf with her daddy.  We tried last time but she freaked out as soon as the boat started moving.  this time she wanted to try again and she actually enjoyed herself:) Good thing Nick has super skills and can surf and hold a kid at the same time!

I was a little sad that I didn't get to surf or anything because I had to leave early to get back to the other kids.  You see the boys got grounded from going to the lake so my sister stayed home and watched them and Farrah.  Kaylie had mutual and since everyone wasn't done skiing I left early to go get the kids so she could leave.  There was just one little problem.  I was planning on driving Candice's car, but after they dropped me of at the dock and I walked to the car I realized that it is a manual transmission and I don't know how to drive one!  I've only driven stick a handful of times and it was way back when I was first learning to drive.  So embarrassing:(  I tried to call the cell phone and tell Nick to come back and get me but he never heard it ring so I ended up hanging out on the dock for ahile waiting of them to come back.  I had some interesting adventures that kept me busy while I was there.  Maybe I will tell you about them some day!

I Wish...

Getting ready to go on a short trip to the lake.  With all the cleaning and packing that's going on you would think we were going to be long a lot longer than one night!  All of it has me wishing I had some of this...

Like it, love it, can't live without it

Family Bike Rides

Are they all yours?

Are all those kids yours?

Seriously... they can't all be yours?

Are you a teacher?

Are you babysitting?

Do you run a daycare?

Don't you guys have a television at your house?

Haven't you figured out what causes that yet?

Do you need me to pay for you to get your tubes tied?

5 kids wow... so your done right?

Aren't you worried about over populating the world?

These are all things that people have said to me when I was out and about with my kids.  I usually joke back and say "Can you believe it... we had them all on purpose?"  It doesn't bother me too much to get these comments, but every once in awhile there is someone that I think maybe should have censored themselves a little bit?  It can get kind of annoying to have to defend my reproductive choices at every check out line I stand in.  The funny thing is that Nick and I don't really feel like our family is that big.  You would think we had 20 kids the way some people react.  

We live near a lot of retired people so a lot of the comments are also positive about how they remember raising their own kids.  I don't mind those ones.  They are sweet and remind me not to take these years for granted because someday I will be the granny at the grocery store:)  The thing is I'm pretty happy with my life and with my family and even if the world has a hard time believing it I wouldn't have it any other way!

Sweet Summer Time

Today my kids are bored, and it is not a pretty thing.  They fight a lot when they are bored, they also fight a lot, did I mention all the fighting?

So far we have been doing pretty well most days.  We have a schedule that allows for something fun, or an outing almost everyday.  They also do chores every morning.  This means that by three or four o'clock they are usually at least a little worn out and will watch a movie together while I start dinner.  We go to the library, swim, attend movies, read like crazy, play in the sprinklers, hike, ride bikes, play with friends, and usually do something extra crazy like bowling or the mall when Nick is off work! 

Well Thursday is "have your friends over to play" day, but that fell through.  They were disappointed to say the least.  I had a bunch of boring stuff such as, bill paying, grocery list making, and meal planning to do.  So I have been doing it.  This means they have been cooped all day and that signals the fighting to begin.  

I think we finally reached a compromise.  It is working for now so I am going with it... The two older kids lock themselves in the bedroom with a dollhouse.  Crazy number three plays outside in the sprinklers alone.  (That is the most fun way to do that didn't you know?  Then you are totally in charge of the hose and it is always your turn to spray yourself!) Blythe intermittently tortures the baby and lies on the couch fighting not to give into the nap she refused to take earlier this afternoon.  The baby is a pretty good sport about it all as long as I am in sight and feed her little snacks, both of which I can do while I write this post:)

Guess I better take advantage of the lull in fighting ( I told you about the fighting right?) to go make dinner.  Uh-oh someone just yelled "I'm never gonna play with you again" and someone else started crying.  It was nice while it lasted.  For the record, sometimes being out and about in triple digit heat with all these kiddos is easier than being home with them! If only I can remember that tomorrow when we're out on that town and I'm wondering why we left the house:)

A Project...

We're working on a project for Father's Day and the kids are so excited to finish it.

Mother's Day

My favorite part was that Nick was actually off work.  He has worked the last three or four years on Mother's days it was kind of amazing:)  Not going to church alone with five kids was a great gift!

Back when we went on our anniversary trip Nick let me pick out what I wanted.  He bought me some new beads for my Pandora bracelet.

I woke up with what I think was a scratched eye.  I couldn't open it very well and it was really painful.  So if I look a little weird in these photos that's why:)

We went to church and then I played card games with the kids while Nick made dinner for us.

Here he is slaving away in the kitchen:)

The kids made me a lot of really sweet hand made cards and gifts at school and church.  We all know those are the best kind too.  Thanks to my sweet family for taking care of me on Mother's Day.

Like it, love it, can't live without it

Taking five kids on a hike by myself... It turned out better than I had hoped... really!

San Juan Hill Ride 4.21.12

Another really late post... don't worry this behind the times thing is going to continue for awhile. On one of these weekends that we made a trip to Gilbert to ride, my little brother took a spin on Nick's bike.  He liked it and the riding bug bit him too.  He almost came to do Tour de Mesa with us but I though better of having him do a 70 miler for his first ride:)  After riding it in the bad weather I was glad we decided not to have him come. He also wanted to do Tour of the Tucson Mountains but it was his Prom.  He was waiting patiently for a chance to ride so one weekend when Nick was working I drove  up with his bike and we met my FIL for a short ride at South Mountain to see if Trevin really wanted to pursue riding.

We started at Don's house and rode to South Mountain and down San Juan hill.  It was a fun little ride.  I dropped a little behind the guys just in time to get a flat tire.  Here I am fixing it.  I got my wheel all set and realized that my co2 cartridge was empty!  Luckily all the other riders that passed me were very friendly and one guy let me have one of his.  Right after he left Don and Trevin rode up.    

San Juan is an out and back and after waiting for awhile they came back to check on me.  Don took over the repair and we continued on... for about a 1/4 mile and then my tire popped again!  The noise startled my brother and he looked back at me.  He made the mistake of braking without unclipping his foot and he went down!  He cut his knee a bit but I'm pretty sure only his pride was hurt.  I think it's good to get those falls out in the beginning when you have the excuse of being a new rider.  It's much embarrassing later... trust me I know;)

We also ran into my aunt near the restrooms when we stopped for water.  She was doing a run on one of the trails.  It was very random but kind of fun to run into her.  We finished up our ride (26 or 28 miles?) and Trevin decided he was still into it.  We drove home and spent the rest of the day searching craiglist for a bike:)

Tour de Mesa

This one is a long time in coming! Way back on April 14th Nick and I rode in the Tour de Mesa.  It is a 70 miler and I was lucky enough to rope my FIL into riding with me.  Sadly these are the only photos I got of the day:(

The good news is I was feeling pretty good after completing the 65 mile Chandler ride two weeks before.
The bad news is that the weather was miserable.  It was freezing and rainy and oh the wind! Luckily I threw my arm warmers in at the last minute or I would have been one sad cyclist.  Nick told me not to pack his and he was lucky his dad brought an extra jacket for him just in case.

We started out ok but within a few mile we were riding into a bad headwind and I was struggling.  At about mile 5-6 I gave up on trying to stay with Nick and just let him go.  Since Don was riding as a bandit (not registered) he said he didn't mind sticking with me.  After a few miles we changed direction and found a pretty good group to ride with.  I had a few mechanical issues with my shifters that plagued me for most of the ride.  Don cautioned another rider who almost ran into him while rubber necking at the sight of a down biker and got yelled at.  This guys was insane!  He came back multiple times to scream in Don's face.  It was kind of amusing that he got so upset over something so insignificant, but it was also kind of scary. We followed our usual tradition of giving everyone we rode near nicknames based on their appearance and we ate jelly beans:)  We took a long bathroom break at the 50 mile mark.  As a woman, wearing bib shorts makes it a huge pain to go to the bathroom.  Imagine wearing a swimming suit with clothes over it and having to get all the way undressed at every pit stop.  Add to that a jersey with full pockets to take off and hold in the small space of a portable toilet and you start to get the idea:)  After that came the Usery Pass climb.  It was a killer just like last year.  I kept busy reminding myself that I did this the previous year in super hot conditions while 5 months pregnant.  That and arguing with Don about the actual mileage of the climb pretty much occupied me and it passed faster than I though.  The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful.  I got kind of tired about 4 miles before the end and had to slow down my pace a bit.  Don took off right before the finish line and headed to work.  My time was a little disappointing, but considering the weather I wasn't too down on myself.  Nick even had a few hard patches this year!  Already looking forward to next year.  gotta work on my hills!

I liked it

I recently read this article and I though I would share.  It opens like this:

"When Dan and I got married, we were 25 years old. Now, we're staring down the barrel of 40. Looking back, I'm surprised we didn't self-destruct just for the heck of it. Now that we are older, we are perhaps surprisingly also wiser. Here are the things we have learned over the years that helped us stay married and even happy for 15 years. (Beyond that, you're on your own. I can't promise another 15.) Our list does not resemble the ones you'll find in Cosmo or Ladies' Home Journal. We have never had a regular date night, nor do we prioritize "communication" or play sex games or see a therapist. He doesn't bring me flowers every Thursday and I don't cook his favorite food very often. But we do have some other ideas. "

 Maybe it's the non-sentimental side of me shining through, but I love how straight forward she is.  I think Nick and I are a little non-traditional when it comes to our relationship.  Our expectations of each other are different than a lot of couples I know, and we definitely have our own style when it comes to give and take.  In fact we tend to tease each other to show affection or ease tension, weird right? But it's who we have always been.  Maybe that's why reading about a couple that's not perfect or mushy, but is happy, and has take the time to figure out what works for them is a little refreshing.  Enjoy...

A pretty perfect day

Nick was home yesterday and we decided to kick off our summer with a family outing.  We had a great time hanging out together.  We left the house with the mission of getting Ainsley's ears pierced and maybe bowling.  We did that and more!  The kids were mostly well behaved which is all we ask for in this house:)  It was one of those really enjoyable days, and I was reminded why I love my little family.  We made memories together and there isn't much more I could ask for in this life of mine than good times, fond memories, and a day of fun.

Vacation

We've been out of town for the last two weeks!  Here's a peak at what we did...

Went on a road trip...

Visited the beach...

Returned to Az and hung out at Grandpa's house.

Night Ride with the family

Played with cousins

 Celebrated this girls 8th birthday... and much much more!

We had a ton of fun, but it's been a long two weeks and we're happy to be back home.  This week we're working on officially settling into our summer routine:)