First Day of School and More

The summer is getting closer to an end at least seasonally. The heat just NEVER ends here in AZ. Murmuring about my constant state of sweat and climbing temps is my everyday struggle. I just cant be happy when its 115 outside. Im not made for hot weather. I've decided that I should live in the Alps. The desert is definitely not for me. Hopefully in a few years I will look fondly on my time here as I sip hot chocolate by a fire during a blizzard and say "Remember when we lived in the desert and had a pool in our backyard. That was nice wasnt it?".

August is of course, school time. All the boys are attending the same elementary. Asher started preschool there as well as the twins. Its weird to just have Crew and I home together in the morning. It will be nice when it cools off to start jogging with the baby in the morning. Right now Im using my free mornings to teach Zumba at our clubhouse. Its fun and the class gets bigger and bigger every week. Now if I can just lose this stubborn baby weight. I am needing to lose at least 20 lbs still. Scary...
Z&T are in the same 1st grade class. I didnt want them in the same class, but so far so good. The teacher is a guy from Brooklyn NY. Really nice and a has a stellar reputation. Especially for working with boys. He is a mans man and loves sports. I am hoping he can deal with the twins occasional teasing and attitude. Time will tell.


Crew is...well...an angel. He is such a good baby. He is fun and playful and learning new tricks everyday. We all adore him. He is 6 mths now and so fun and busy. He is a big boy and already ourgrown his 9 mth old clothes.

Good morning boys!

I love my feet!


I'll get you!

Ashers first day of preschool. He loves it!
Can these two ever just give me a normal smile?
Frist day of school and Tanners already holding himself. GESH! Typical.








We also have a new visitor to our house. He is about 8 inches long, but its hard to tell by the photo. He sits in the shade of the tree. I have seen him at least 3 times now. YUCK. Seriously, cant I just get a robin or rabbits? Something cute?

Father and Sons

He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

~Clarence Budington Kelland

My Beautiful little boy

I shall cherish every moment. For they only last but a brief whisper in time. Then they are gone. Grown. Away.- I cling to this little baby. He is so precious. I feel overwhelmed at my gratitude for him. I feel overwhelmed at my fears for him. I feel hope in my dreams for him. Its amazing how God gave women such a desire to be with these little precious angels. To love them. To groom them. To mold them. To bring them home to him. Such a gift. Just a moment to hang on to.
My memories are filled with warm thoughts and delicious smells of my sons. I am breathing in each moment right now with this bubbly boy before it fleets. Wrapping my mind around each touch. Each sound. Each feeling. Just for a moment. He is growing too fast.

Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.

~Pierce Harris

Video of our trip and reunion shots

Here is a video of our Utah trip and all the reunions we attended.It was fun to see many of you.I didnt get everyones permission to post these. Hope you dont mind. I compiled some of these photos from facebook posts as well. There is a gem from Mike for your pleasure at 3:37. -Enjoy! Cant wait to see you again. Much Love!

Idaho...Heaven on Earth? Maybe close.

This statement may shock some of you, especially if you know me well.

Im not much of a camper.

Conversely, I can say that I am a CABINPRENEUR.Defined by me as: a person who enjoys the idea of roughing it but does the business of "camping" in a cabin. Thats got EDEN written all over it.With exception of the functioning and frequently used outhouse, I really enjoy the outdoors in a cabin (I used the more modern convenience of indoor plumbing myself).

I loved revisiting the family cabin in the mountains just outside of SunValley Idaho. It was such a refreshing vacation from our mundane activities in the stifling Arizona weather.

The weather was perfect. The water a Redfish lake was a bit too chilly, but it is a glacier fed lake so that was to be expected. The second time we went to the lake the wind had died down and the high was 78. It was a lovely day at the lake. We really enjoyed our cabin adventure. Much to Zachary's dismay we did not see a bear at the cabin (mom was relieved though). I love the dark starry nights in the woods. I was so happy when it got cool at night. So different from sweating all night in your sleep here in AZ.

After a lunch stop at my favorite little burger joint, Paces DairyAnn (in Bountiful)for a "countryboy" with cheese, and grape rainbow, we drove to Logan to meet up with the inlaws for Mikes first taste of Maddox chicken in a decade. It must have been finger-lickin-good the way he snarfed it down with gusto. YUM! I also caught a glimpse of the Brigham City temple under construction. (My only concern is that the roof may not be tall enough for all the big hair and bangs that will be coming in from that area. Hee hee hee)

Then onto Twin Falls. Shoshone falls is very high with water this year and we let the kiddos get out and stretch to an amazing view of the falls and new temple. Both were amazing. I really like Twin Falls. I can see myself living up there someday.

Then to SunValley and the cabin. Mike and havent been back since our honeymoon almost 10 years ago.Its been way too long. Here are some random shots. For some reason I didnt get my camera out when everyone got there on Friday. Sorry Jake, Mariangel, Justin & Kristy. We really did love spending time with all of you.

It was wonderful. Hope it wont be another 10 years till we get up there again.

4 Mth Stats

Crew had his 4 month apt. last week. He will be 5 mths on the 23rd so we are a little behind.
He is doing well and getting ready to eat baby food!
Height : 26.25 inches long

Weight: 16.3 lbs

He is a happy little guy. He discovered his hands and can be seen sucking a finger or thumb at any moment. He is finally sleeping through the night. At four months old, its about time. He does have moments throughout his week where he will wake up and cry for a little bit. Then he figures it out and goes back to sleep. I tried to do every sleep method that invovled no crying but the reality is...
CRYING IT OUT WORKS.
It is hard to know if they are old enough, ready to stop eating all night, etc. So, I always have a hard time with it. Mike is the tough one who can deal with it better than I can.
We did the gradual extinction method for a week. Thats basically where you go in while they are crying to soothe then put them back without talking, then if they continue to cry you add 5 minutes onto the waiting and then go in and soothe. This goes on and on adding 5 min each time. The idea is that crying is kept to a minimum. This didnt work. He just wanted to eat everytime someone picked him up. That is how he soothed. Finally with EXTINCTION it worked. After 1 night of and hour plus crying he stopped waking up all night. We would just peek in occasionally and make sure he was alright, but we didnt talk to him, pick him up or feed him.

Its been so nice to finally get to sleep again.

We really have enjoyed this little man. Love you Crew!

Im so glad he is mine. Can I just freeze time? I love this age

Great Quotes from this week

At Stake Confrence:
"There are always lots of rumors that fly when stake confrence arrives. We do nothing to dispell them becuase speculation is great for attendence".
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Another Stake Confrence Quote:
-Phoenix Arizona Mission Pres. Beck-
"There is no growing in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growing zone".
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During an FHE lesson on the new temple being built here in our area we asked the kids the following. "Do you know what we do at the temple?"

Zach: "We get married there to our sweethearts."
Tanner: "We talk to Jesus there"
Asher: "We see the Christmas lights!!! WOOHOO!"

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I made the boys watch Sound of Music. They were getting distracted during Do Re Mi. Ya know, when they are having a picnic and singing up on the moutain top. I tried to get them back into it by saying "Watch this, I love this part. Its such a cool part." Zach says in really sarcastic voice. "Why?...Do they all fall off the mountain?"

Um, ok. Maybe I shouldnt push these musicals at them. Last time I watched Seven brides for Seven brothers Zach asked "Are they going to get crushed by the avalanche?" When I said "no, but close" he disappointedly said "Darn it".