Sunday Afternoon

I have to admit to everyone how much of a weenie I am. I had a very hard Sunday afternoon. Scott is currently serving in our ward as the Elder's Quorum President. He purposely chose Fast Sunday to be his busy day so he didn't have to think about the fact that he's fasting. Which is great, except I get to spend it alone with crazy kids eating right in front of me and going crazy because daddy isn't here. I was also fasting, which I don't do well with. I'm pretty sure I'm borderline hypoglycemic. It does me in for a couple of days. But I felt like we were really in need of a blessing right now.
I had Julia's "bestest friend in the whole wide world" Elisabeth here today as well. She is a pistol. It is just one "good" idea after another. They scrounged things out of the study I didn't even remember were there and made kites and then just had to go and fly them. While they were at the park there were some boys there killing baby birds with bebe guns, and Elisabeth got in there faces and was telling them why they shouldn't and almost got herself and Julia shot with a bebe. Then she pulled a huge rubbermaid container of costumes down from the top of the playroom closet (I'm still amazed no one got hurt). The next thing I knew Julie and Elisabeth were climbing up the two twin box springs we have stacked upright in the study in their underwear. I just about lost it! I think the thing that bugs me the most is that when she's here Hadley turns into a plaything. They haul her around like she's a babydoll and do crazy things with her like she isn't a real living human being. It's definitely NOT my favorite!
Everyone today commented on Haddie's double sproutlets. I thought they turned out rather cute myself.

In all fairness

So, Scott was reading "our" blog tonight (the one to which he has NEVER contributed) and commented on how the Haddie/Heather/Scott comparison was not fair because there was not a picture of him included.
I'll give him that I guess. So here's the same picture of Haddie and a picture of baby Scott, and in all fairness, she looks an awful lot like him too.

Taking a moment to complain

Okay, I told myself I wouldn't do it. That I would just move on and let it go. But frankly, I'm a little annoyed. Okay, more than a little annoyed. The bishop called me two weeks ago, and I was pretty nervous as Scott handed the phone over because I had recently spoke in church, so it couldn't possibly be that, it must be about a calling or something. Instantly, I tried to think who was up to be released and which terrible calling would he dish out. Was the joke ever on me@!*@! He asked me to speak--AGAIN. I spoke the last week in May, and now I will be speaking tomorrow. That is three months. THREE MONTHS! I almost said something to him, but I thought, "What kind of person argues with the bishop about a talk over the phone?" And it probably wouldn't do any good anyway. He'd probably just say, "Oh! I'm sorry! Well, would you speak anyway?"
And I object! Pursuant to the ex post facto, habeas corpus of course!

Caution: Danger ahead (those with a quesy stomach may wish to skip this next entry)

I have now dubbed Haddie, "Danger-baby II." For those of you who remember Ben as a baby, he was crazy. I use to always say that we would have a "still alive at five" birthday party for him if he made it that far. Haddie is proving to be of the same material. Three times now I have put her down in the kitchen for less than two minutes and have turned around to find her vanished. Inevitably, she is upstairs! It makes me highly concerned for her safety. I'm going to have to figure out some way to block off the bottom of the stairs. Yesterday, I had done the same thing, put her down for a minute or so to have the use of both hands, when all of a sudden I hear excited baby babbling. When I finally locate Hadley, I find her atop of our kitchen step stool. She had climbed up to the top of it under her own power. She was also diggling her fingers into that blender full of homemade pizza sauce. She is a spitfire. Come to think of it "Danger-baby II" may not be an accurate enough title.

More crazy photos

I hesitiate to post this picture, because I look like a freak, but I will anyway for the sake of blogging accuracy. I was having a great day on Thursday. I was freakishly happy. This was another picture Emmy snapped when she was in her photo frenzy.
I took down the three picture frames that were above our fireplace and replaced them. It's definitley a little lacking in visual interest, so, Kristi, if you're reading this, I need some vinyl lettering help. I want a big "Family" to go over the top picture. Then I want a smaller phrase, "The most important things in life aren't things" to go inbetweent the big picture and the little ones on the mantle. I was also thinking that I'd put two more 5x7s on the wall on either side of the big picture with some curly q lettering. What does everyone think?
I have loved these hooks that I put up in the music room. I need to go out and buy two more so that everyone in the family will have their own hook. Right now we only have four up, and I have one more I haven't put up yet. But we use these hooks to hang-up swimming suits and towels in the summer, and back packs and jackets during the school year!
Another random snapshot. Julia's face looks like this a lot, she has a lot of energy and excitement. I'm jealous sometimes of how exciting and fabulous things are to Julia. A enviable trait to be certain.

Emily A.K.A. crazy photographer

Emma was snapping pictures like crazy the other day. This is only 4 pictures of 12 that Emily took of Haddie in this exact same position. I think it's funny how different they are even they are so alike. I'd like to know exactly what she was thinking, because some of her faces are pretty funny!

The First Day of School

Here they are, ready for the big first day of school. Our principal will be moving higher up into administration, which makes me very sad because he has been an outstanding principal and I worry about who will replace him. I guess that doesn't really have anything to do with these pictures, so moving on. We had a great first day. I was worried that kids would have trouble waking up, but they were all SO excited they woke up super early.
Ryan was so excited to be starting 3rd grade. As he informed me when he got home today, "Mom, I'm going to have a lot of homework, you don't even know how much." I was tempted to say, "Ryan, I earned a bachelor's degree." But I restrained. It will be rough this year with increased homework and TAKS testing, YIKES!
The pose says it all, LOL! Actually, Julia was feeling quite nervous when she left. The only thing she told me about her day was that the teacher didn't pay any attention to her, didn't even call on her ONCE! I'd go with exaggeration here, but Julia would NEVER do such a thing.
Emily came down the stairs bawling this morning, "Mom, I didn't ever go to sleep." I highly doubt that, but I wouldn't be surprised if she slept poorly. Kindergarten is a big step, every day away from home when you have never done it before is vastly daunting! She was all smiles when I came to pick her up. I think school will fit Emma like a glove.

Small Irritations

Everyone tells me how much Haddie looks like Scott. And it's kind of starting to bother me a little bit. I guess I have insider information, because when I look at Haddie, all I see is. . .










Baby Heather. For those of you whom I haven't yet told, we actually named Hadley after me. Hadley means, "a field of Heather." And like all of our kids, I think she was very appropriately named. She is a lot like me.

Mourning

To a large extent, tonight, I am mourning the loss of my youth. I used to love roller coasters. Scott and I were all excited because we had found a great deal on two tickets to Six Flags ($25 for both!). I had found friends for each of the kids to spend the day at, and today, we headed out to Six Flags. We got into the park, split a funnel cake and then got on the Batman ride. I thought I was going to die! I was so motion sick by the time the ride was over, I had to exert a tremendous amount of energy not to throw up right on the platform. I thought it would pass, so we walked a bit and Scott got on another ride. By the time he was done, I was feeling so sick that we left. I am embarrassed and truly saddened that my body just is no longer able to handle such excitement. No more amusement parks for me, my day has passed! I also feel sorry for my Scottie, his fun was cut WAY short all because he has a wimpy wife!

Here's for you Brian

My brother-in-law Brian requested pictures of our garden. He grossly overestimated my gardening prowess. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. I planted the peas and beans too late and they were fried by the heat and eaten mercilessly by bugs (I still can't decide how I feel about using pesticide in my own garden, and I have tried natural solutions like garlic and cayenne, but they are labor intensive. Any other suggestions are certainly welcome!)
You can see my overgrown row of Swiss Chard that I never have the energy to go out and pick so that I can steam it for dinner. I didn't adequately thin the beets, so they never grew to more than tiny stubs. You can see some of the purple dragon carrots that I planted, they've grown well despite never being thinned. And most of what's visible is the two cucumber plants that have overrun the garden.
You can also see my failed attempt at tomato plants in a giant pot. Maybe I'll have more time to do a better job next year. I think I'd also like to add on another 8x8 foot along the retaining wall. We'll see!

Cousins

Cousins came to play because the electricity at their house was being temporarily turned off (all in the quest for a lower rate!). It was fun to have a day to spend with cousins. Ben and Lyvia are especially good friends. Here they all are in the morning watching some tv.
The two babies loved to bug everyone by crawling around and making trouble.
The babies got very dirty after lunch, so we stuck them in the sink for a bath!

Cowgirl Museum

The Ft. Worth Children's Museum is currently under construction, so the exhibits are all housed in the Cowgirl Museum. So, I guess we got two for the price of one. Here's Ryan building with the thousand of wooden blocks they had.
Here's Julia looking through a cool kaleidescope.
Here we are all watching a movie about Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl.
Haddie's turn to deliver the mail.

The Children's Museum

At the beginning of the year, Scott and I decided to schedule a few family days during the summer. This was one of those pre-planned "Family Fun" days. A lot of our favorite ideas were foiled, because rain was threatning. So, we decided to drive downtown to the Children's Museum. It was a hit. Ryan and Julia at the "ATM".
Ben playing with the expansive collection of wooden trains and tracks.
Daddy and Emily "delivering the mail".
Haddie had her own ideas about what was fun to do at the museum. Mostly crawling around trying to find things to stick in her mouth.

Crazy play day!

We had a crazy play day the beginning of August. There were 15 kids and 4 moms all under one roof. It wasn't even really planned, it was just one of those spontaneous, crazy, but great days. Despite the chaos, I think all involved had a great day!
Here are the moms trying to look tired out, but we were all pretty happy to have some good friends to talk to!

Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Bluejays

Last night Scott and I took Ryan and Julia to the Rangers game. It was a lot of fun, and a great game to watch. The Rangers came from behind to win the game in the ninth inning! A lot of great catches and awesome hits! I think Ryan and Julia were only in it for the treats, but they loved to scream and shout when everyone else was screaming and shouting. Between them they ate 2 bags of cotton candy, 1 Jumbo dog, 1 carton of Dibs ice cream, 1 thing of popcorn and 2 bottles of water. It was terribly hot outside. I wish I would have brought three or four bottles of water just for myself. I was also wishing that the Rangers would install industrial fans to cool off the audience during the Texas summer heat. Another cool thing is that we got 4 free coolers for being among the first 10,000 fans that night. It was also "Mormon night" at the Ballpark in Arlington. Coincidently, there's an LDS guy playing for the Rangers this year-- #10 Michael Young. He had a pretty good night.

My sweetie pudding pie

My little baby is not so little anymore. She thinks--no, she knows that she is one of the big kids. She tries to follow them up the stairs, and she always wants to be standing. She pulls herself up on things that are not stable and then wonders why she falls. The poor baby got two big goose eggs, one on each side of her forehead, the other day trying to be a big girl. Despite the trauma of trying to keep up with her and keep her from seriously hurting herself, she is the apple of her mommy's eye. She is really at a fun stage!