Oops! I forgot!

I forgot to post Five for Friday yesterday.  Oops.  I was really busy doing... nothing!  Actually I didn't realize it was Friday, until Spencer called and asked if I wanted to go on a date.  By then the only thing I was thinking about was that I had to hurry and clean the house and make sure the kids were fed.  So we could head out the door before 6. 
Such is life...always late.

1.  We went camping at Ensign Ranch last weekend, and had a blast!  Eating smores, and chillin' was exactly what we needed.  Jr.,Tricia, and family came along too.  The kids were so excited to explore and collect leaves, we didn't see them much.  We were going to spend 2 nights there, but the day we were supposed to leave I was feeling really lazy, and didn't pack.  So we decided to just spend one night instead of 2.  I really wish I wasn't a loser because 2 days would have been fun.  Oh well.

2.   Emily said the cutest things this week.  We were driving back from Yakima, and she saw the moon behind the clouds and said " Mom, look at the moon...it's hiding because no one likes it."
Yesterday, we were on the couch cuddling and she started to fall asleep.  Not so good, because it was 5p.m. and if she takes a nap later than 1p.m. she won't go to sleep until 12 in the morning.  So I nudged her and said "Emmy don't fall asleep."  With sleepy eyes she said " mommy, my eyes told me they were tired and I have to put them to sleep."  How could I say "no" after that? So CUTE!

3.   Had a weird experience on Wednesday morning.  I was running late (again) and I was in a hurry to take Kaden and Emily to school.  I told Kaden to hurry and brush his teeth and meet me in the car.  I pulled the car out of the garage and was waiting for him in the driveway.  Honked a couple of times, and was getting angry because now I was really late!  Kaden comes running out the garage door, and as soon as he is out of the way I close it.  As I'm backing out I hit the gas hard, and the car goes nowhere!  I'm like "What the heck?!" So I put it in park and then put it in drive and hit the gas for a second time. Again, the car goes nowhere.  "Crap!"  I put it in park again and then realize that I had it in DRIVE! not REVERSE, which is what I wanted in the first place.  Those two times I had it in drive, I had hit the gas hard.  What scared me was that if the car had worked I would have drove straight into the garage, ruin the door, deploy the air bags and hurt Kaden really bad, because he had his saxophone on his lap.  Someone was watching out for me for sure!

4.   Sophie got strep this week.  She was miserable!  I felt so bad for her.  She didn't eat for three days, because her throat hurt so bad. Not fun!  Took her to the Doctor and she was surprised how bad her throat was.  Got some antibiotics and she is doing much better.  Now, I'm just hoping now one else gets it.

5.   Went out to dinner with some friends last night.  Spencer and I are pretty faithful about going on a Friday night date.  We always do the same thing every week, which is go out to eat, just the 2 of us.  I love my husband and I love spending time with him, but doing the same thing every week gets boring.  So when some friends invited us to go out, we jumped at the chance.  And we are so glad we did!  We hadn't laughed so hard in a long time.  We had the best time! Thanks Jeremy, Heather, Tiffany, and Spencer!  Next time it's on us!

Five for Friday.

I saw this on one of my friends blog, and I thought "What a GREAT idea!"  Just some happening of the week, thoughts, maybe some pictures, and hopefully some insights or "ah ha" moments to share with all my fellow bloggers.

1.  I am learning that a clean house is not MORE important than taking time to play a game with my kids, or color on the floor.  Kids grow too fast and I want my kiddos to remember mom playing and hanging out with them.  Not ALWAYS cleaning the house. It seriously has taken me 15 years to learn this lesson, so I hope it's not to late.

2.  I really like my husband!  I know that's like a given, but I thoroughly like spending any time possible with him. 

3.  Kaden got really disappointed today when he was practicing his saxophone.  He was upset with himself because he wasn't playing the notes just right and he wanted to do it perfectly.  Had to explain to him that it is going to take awhile to get it just right and that he need to practice and work hard. Sadly, that is a trait he gets from me.  I do things and I expect it to be perfect the first time.  Not to self...need to work on that.

4.  Going camping tomorrow.  Excited, but not excited.  It seems like a lot of work for just a day.  I have to step back, and remember that this family time is a memory the kids (hopefully) will remember.

5.  I can actually walk this week.  So HAPPY about that!  Still not 100%, but slowly getting there.  Bending still hurts, sitting in cars, and walking down steps are not fun, but at least I'm not crawling like I was last week.  Thank goodness for Brandon!  (Chiropractor)

Well that's pretty much it in a nut shell. 

Tiny ACTS of SERVICE mean the very most!

Thank you Babe! For taking care of me when I needed you the most.

Thank you Brandon for for making chiropractic house calls to get me back to my ol' self.

Thank you Jr. and Tricia ( more Tricia, than Jr.) for coming over and cleaning my very messy house and feeding us a wonderful dinner!

Thank you Jen for watching Emily after pre-school.
Thank you Natalie for driving Sophie to school.
 
Thank you Heather for watching Emily, and coming over to trim my bushes for me! 

Thank you Marci for your willingness to take and pick up my kids from school.

I can't express the gratitude I have for each and everyone of you!  You willingness to serve has been a huge Example to me, and I only hope I can return the favor sometime.  Thanks again for the GREAT people you all are!  My Family has been blessed  by your kindness.

Blogging? ...What's that?

    I know...I know, it has been a long time since I have had the time to blog.  Thank goodness for a GREAT and WONDERFUL husband who took time to post some of the fun things that have happened to us during the summer months. 
     Time really does fly!  I think of all the marvelous and wonderful memories we have made this past summer and it just reminds me of how fast my kiddos are growing.  I realize that once that moment is gone, you can never get it back.  It has made me think that maybe, just maybe I need to stop what I'm doing and just enjoy the moment.  It seems that I get caught up in all the mundane chores of my daily life and forget what is most important to me.  And that is my FAMILY.  So this is a post for my kids.
      Brianna.(Beenana)
         You truly have blossomed over night!

This year you turned 12 and I can honestly say I swear you were just a baby a couple years ago.  Now your talking about boys, wearing make-up, wanting a pair of high heels, into the latest fashion, starting Young Womens, babysitting, hanging out with your friends, talking on your cell phone into the wee hours of the morning, and asking questions I'm not yet prepared for.  You truly have become a BEAUTIFUL young lady.  I am so PROUD of the choices you are making and your setting a WONDERFUL example for your brother and sisters.  I could do with out all the DRAMA, and the COMPLAINING, but that is what makes you, YOU!  I know I'm going to look back on this time in your life and SMILE.  Because, this is the BEGINNING for you.  You're going to look back on you life and remember ALL your firsts.  Your first CRUSH ( Ethan ), your first kiss (which by the way, your WAY TO YOUNG, wait 5 years or so), your first dance, your first date, the first time you drive a car (heaven help the other poor souls on the road) the first day of college,etc...
I LOVE you Brianna!  For the person you are and the person you are becoming.  Stay TRUE to yourself and close to the Gospel.  I'm now going to quote Grandpa Hernandez (something I promised myself I would never do)  Remember WHO you are and WHERE you came from.  He used to say that to me every time I went out somewhere. And now it will be something you will hear from me every time you go somewhere.

Kaden (Buddy).
    To my ONLY son.  You too have grown up to fast!

You are my BIGGEST helper.   You are the GO GETTER for the whole family.  And NEVER once do you complain.  You make me so HAPPY!   I love how you tell me, you never want to leave me when you get older.  When I asked you what your were going to do when you go on your mission.  Your reply was " Mom, I want to go on my mission, but I just DON'T want to MISS you too much!"  I then asked what you were going to do when you go to college and then find a wife.  You looked right at me and said " Mom, I'm not going far for college and didn't you know when I get married, we are all going to live with you?" ( Maybe you should wait and ask your wife where she would like to live.  I can guarantee, she will not say with her In-laws. )  You amaze me with your creativity, and your mad Lego skills. I have seen you build the most amazing cars, airplanes, towers, houses, and space ships. I remember one night I was already in bed and I heard this loud noise coming from your bedroom.  I went to investigate, and I found you in the middle of your room with thousands, and thousands of Lego's all around you. My first reaction was to get mad and ask you what were you thinking playing with Lego's at 12:30 in the morning.  But the look of pure excitement that came from your eyes, prompted me to ask you what you were building, instead.  You couldn't wait to show me everything you had built.  I took a picture of you surrounded by all those tiny Lego's(knowing I would have to pick them up in the morning), and shook my head as I walked back to my room.  I LOVE you Buddy!

To my SoSo, my Sofa loaf.  I waited 5 long years for you, and you were my wish come TRUE!

 You my child, are my lover.  I love how you love to cuddle with me.  You always ask me to save YOUR spot next to me.  You absolutely love to give hugs! That is just one of my favorite things about you.   
You are my little sponge!  You thoroughly love to learn.  You SOAK up everything and are so eager to know everything.  You are always asking questions and sometimes when I ask you something, your responses are so grown up.
 I LOVE to watch you and Emmy together.  You are so PATIENT  with her.  I can see how much you love her, no matter how mad she makes you.I am AMAZED that you taught Emmy how to ride her bike(without training wheels).  You had just learned yourself, and next thing I know your calling me outside to watch Emmy go down our drive-way on her Dora bike.  You were so proud of her and I was so proud of you!
 You are always thinking of others.  Just today, we went to McDonalds and everyone got something to eat except for Kaden. (he was at home)  Everyone was enjoying their food, and you weren't eating.  Then you said "Mom, I'm gonna wait to eat at home so I can share with Kaden."  Today, you were my example and everyday I am reminded of what a special spirit you are!
You are an unmovable mountain!  Stubborn to the core. (I think you get it from Dad's side of the family. But shh...don't tell anyone!)  But, nonetheless we love you! My little SoSo, you are my little ray of sunshine, and I LOVE you more than the stars in the sky!

To my little Emawee! My little surprise package!

I LOVE you, I LOVE you, I LOVE you!  You are the baby of the family, and you know it!  You get whatever, whenever, however you want it.  Yes, you are spoiled to the CORE!  And not just by me.  By everyone!  How could we  ever deny you anything?  One look from those big brown eyes and we turn into MUSH! 
You are so sweet! And I love how, all you want when you get older is to lose a tooth.  You talk about it almost everyday.  I personally think you just want  the tooth fairy to visit.  But according to you, losing a tooth means you will get older, turn five, and get to go to Kindergarten.  Why you would want to get older, I don't know. I want you to stay just the way you are. SWEET!
I have never seen a more smiley person in my life, until you came along.  You smile 24/7!  I love waking up to your cute BIG smile.  It makes my day everyday!  And your sense of humor is like no other.  You are constantly doing and saying the cutest things.  I wish I could walk around with a video camera to catch all of you silliness, and HAPPINESS. You ARE my favorite Emawee in the whole wide world. I love you!

I could probably go on and on, but there is truly not enough time.  Just know I love you with all my heart.
One of my all time favorite quotes says it perfectly.  "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it."  And YOU ( my little ones) are definitely WORTH IT!
Love you more than you KNOW!
                Mom

A plethura of stories.

You'll have to forgive in advance the mish mash of stuff I'm gonna post. Just a bunch of quick hitters, some kinda fun, some not so much.

The other day, I was getting ready to go somewhere and Emily asked where I was going. I said that I was "Going Far Far Away on Judea's Plains". She immediately jumps up and says, "Oh Oh, can I go Daddy". (slight pause), then she says,"Lucky". With a J-Lo type sass. It was cute.

Kaden came to me a few days ago after I had asked him to load the dish washer. He proceeded to tell me that he did his very best, but he could not fit all of the dishes. With out uttering a word, I unleashed "the look". You know, the one where you drop your chin, rais your eye brows and stair directly into his eyes. He first sputtered a bit and tried to say he tried really hard. The look was reiterated by reversing the angle of the face and causing one eyebrow to raise above the other. He slumped down a bit and said," Um, maybe I should go down stairs and just try to rearrange it and fit them all in". Then he just quietly turned and reloaded the dish washer. Me and Susi must have laughed for 5 minutes.

Last night we hear a loud BANG and a high pitched scream (one you would expect from a leetler geril) I went upstairs to find Kaden on the floor crying and Brianna trying to convince him he was over reacting and that having the door slammed on his forehead really should not hurt. After all, he'd done the same thing to her and it didn't hurt at all. It's amazing how early kids begin to employ (or at least try) to employ the power of suggestion.

I pulled Sophies first tooth out the other day. The thing was hanging by a no more than 3 gum cells. That little girl put up a battle that would have made Rocky Balboa proud. She absolutely did not want her tooth pulled out. It took at least 20 minutes of convincing wrangling and a touch of brazilian jujitsu to finally get that kids tooth out. I was sweating profusely by the time I got the little sucker out. She is one stubborn little girl.

Me and Susi got to go to California for our 15th anniversary. It was a blast. We got to meet our friends Mark and Lisa and go eat at the Cheese Cake factory. It was great. We then spent an entire day at Disney Land and another day at Magic Mountain. We got the Platinum Flash Pass which allowed us to go to the front of the line and ride each ride twice. I had a few choice words directed my way from people who waited 2 hrs while I happily butted in front of them. On our way out, we stopped right before LAX to gas up. Not a great idea. Just FYI, those people who look like gas station attendants and pump your gas are not gas station attendants.... Very weird.

The day at magic mountain had some negative effects on Susi. Her back went out a week ago today. As it turned out, she pinched her siatic nerve and was pretty much resigned to crawling all week. The only other time I've seen her that uncomfortable was when she had Kaden. And that was only becuase her spinal block wore out.. She was in major pain. She was very lucky to have a great friend who came over and made in home Chiropractic calls for her. Our fam also took care of us by making food.

I went down to Provo a couple of weeks ago and got to play 54 holes of golf with my brothers. We also went to the BYU - UW game. It was awesome. There's nothing like going to Lavell Edwards Stadium with a sold out crowd and competetive game.

That's it for now.