Spring Break 'Staycay' Day...somewhere in the middle

The Queen Mary

color of the day:  I guess it's brown

The kids loved hearing all about the ghost legends & haunted encounters while on the QM tour.  I wish we were able to get a pic or video of Izzie glued to my leg as she was screaming her head off and refusing to open her eyes because she was sure the ghost was gonna get her.  A little twisted that I thought it was funny when I'm supposed to be the protective momma?  Maybe-- but it was a good laugh out loud moment.

Taking a break & eating peanuts... random

And we wonder why we have ants that find a way to get in the car?

Spring Break 'Staycay' Day 1

We have loved living in So Cal and having so many vacation-worthy outings within an hour or so from where we live.  When you live in the middle of it all there's hardly a reason to venture away... except when we take 'real' vacations which, with six kids hardly ever happens anyway... cause, let's face it... there's a huge difference between a trip and a vacation.  Typically six kids= trip, two adults= vacation.  Both are great, but a stay-cation with oodles of kids is sooo much easier.

Spring Break on Balboa Island

We don't usually encourage this with our minors... but it was funny.

Brayden was too scaredy-pants to jump in the pic.. maybe that's a good thing

 Who doesn't love a ferris wheel?

...or a merry-go-round for the little ones

The kids had a choice to either play in the arcade, get a caricature...

 ...or play on the jumbo trampoline

We took a drive down to Crystal Cove Beach in Laguna

... and topped the day off at Ruby's Diner

BYU Women's Conference turned into a 5K

One of my favorite girls' trip every year is BYU Women's Conference at the end of April... because it's the best of both worlds.  Fill your spiritual cups, partake of mostly amazing speakers and devotionals with thousands of other women... old & young all there for the same reasons... and most of all because I get some R&R with a few of my favorite people in the whole world!

Pee-your-pants and LOL fun...

Mom treated us to a-mazing massages and our new fave-- the flavored oxygen bar.

We stuffed our faces with mom's version of BYU mint brownies, Cafe Rio, Rumbi, Lion House Pantry, Starbucks--you go knowing you're going to gain at least 5 pounds cause if you didn't, then you didn't really do it right.  We stayed in mom's RV right on campus-- perfect place. Mom made us her version of the famous glitter cup-- can't leave home without it!  

 

The shopping is always a highlight too-- gotta hit all the favorite little Utah boutiques and giant decorating warehouses to file away yet more ideas and spend money you really didn't want to spend...

(and get matching cute hats on clearance)

I always love the 'Evening of Service' ... where thousands of women crank out several projects which benefit women's shelters and various humanitarian needs. The Sharing Stations, which are booths filled with wonderful ideas and 'helps' for our busy lives is always a highlight as well.

I promise we didn't wear the same clothes the whole time...

And this year?  Fun SIL, Tallie, talked me into running a 5K on Saturday.  I'm not a runner.  I wasn't a runner then.  But I was dang proud of myself after I ran with freezing cold ice bombs pounding on my face with soaking wet-to-the-bone shoes.  It was all worth it for the massage and Magelby's Fresh afterwards... and beyond sore legs.

There were record cold wintry temps and conditions the whole week... it's May!  We even drove through a massive blizzard through Central Utah to get there.

And I always leave more than filled and eager to apply all that I learned... and ready for a long nap!

(isn't my momma purrty?)

Summer Bookworms

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

I think because I don't have a home of my own... because I can't go tear down a wall or install tile, build a pergola in the backyard, or start a new design project, my creative outlet is suffering.  So, lately, my pastime of choice has been to stick my nose in a book.  I have loved being transported from the current crazy of our own lives into other adventures I never would have discovered.  And I love peeking in on the boys... still reading at midnight because they just can't put the books down.  Gotta love it when you find a series that captures you.

Brayden and I have been sharing such titles as The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, The Lightning Thief, and I've ventured off to read a few novels about civil rights... The Help, and Little Bee among many others.  The older kids are sharing 39 Clues & Fablehaven... Izzie is a budding reader, and Alexandra can read beginner books on her own, McKenzie & Monson are good readers but prefer not to, and Brayden has even started writing his own book.

Our library has a summer reading program for the kids... if they read the previous week, then they can go to the library once a week and receive fun prizes like stickers and lanyards, and restaurant freebies like frozen yogurt, BJ's, Chick-Fil-A... Such a fun treat since we don't have a fast food budget at the moment.  

Like with many things she does, my SIL, Becky, inspired me to introduce a summer reading marathon with our family.  I have loved having the 'excuse' to spend much of our hot summer days with our noses in books.  We write our completed titles/authors on a popsicle stick with our initial at the end, and add it to our reading pot for a visual representation of how far we've come.  If we reach 100 books by the end of the summer as a family, with each child having read a minimum of 5 books (some love reading more than others), then the kids will earn one Wii game they've wanted... and we'll do a family fun day-- yet to be determined.  

Summer reading can be fantastically fun!  

Basket o' Crap

Do you have one of these at your house?

..for the freezer goodies or other 'treats'...

It works wonders... miracles... turns your kids into little worker bees.  I haven't perused my enormous google reader blogroll for 4 months...until now.  Too many amazing ideas were awaiting me.  Summer crazy solved.  We've always had incentivizing chore & behavior charts ....some more complicated than others.  But the simplicity and loveliness of this idea captured all the summer bribery we needed.  The kids so affectionately named it our basket o' crap... cause that's precisely what it is.  Their own personal store full of junk, crap... the kind I usually don't buy but the kind that makes them clean toilets, wash windows, dust blinds, stairwells, scrub walls, pull weeds, as well as do all their normal everyday stuff like say prayers, make beds, clean rooms... without even whining.  

Miracle worker bees.  

Oh, and it alleviates the kids asking all. day. long. if they can have chips, juice, crackers, gum, etc. etc.  because they know they can't unless they've earned enough points to visit out little store aka basket o' crap and cash them in.  They earn points by completing their chores, including my fave, 'mom's choice,' and being caught doing kind things, treating each other with respect, responding the FIRST time they're called, etc.  They also earn points doing their workbooks and reading, piano & violin practice, you name it--- it can have points!  Now, this is after a day of redeeming... and yes, they can lose points too... when attitudes and mutual respect is lacking.

Each 'room' of kids (x3) share a jar.  Each child has a different color they shaded in at one end of their sticks.  The chore is written on the stick, and they start the day off with the color facing down.  When they complete the chore, they turn the stick, color-up.  Easy peasy... visual representation of progress, and the best part is that they can do it themselves so momma doesn't have to micro-manage.  Chores are expected, so they don't get points for each chore... but they do get one point if ALL their chores are completed.  I wanted this basket o' crap to be attached to the 'extras' and especially an incentive to have less chaos and more order around the house (attitudes included).

   Go make yours today!

All Points Bulletin Re: Alexandra Shay

July 2010:  Alexandra announced.... and has repeatedly reminded us that she does NOT want to be called 'Lexie' anymore.  She doesn't like it that her nickname starts with an 'L' instead of an 'A'.... so she's telling ALL that from here on out that she'll respond to Alexandra or Alex, and with some coaxing from Mom... she might respond to Alexie or Alexa.  Six?  How 'bout sixteen!  Who made these little people so independent and opinionated, anyway?

Alexandra the Great (miss snappy pants)

turned ..... SIX  on April 27th... and I'm late!

We don't want to forget these faves on her important date:

Color: all the colors

Sport: tennis

Animal: a puppy & kitten

Holiday: My Birthday & Christmas

Song: Round & Round (Selena Gomez)

Primary Song:  God Gave Us Families

Celebrity: Selena Gomez

Subject: craft/art time

Car: green zip!

TV Show: Avatar

Restaurant: In-N-Out

Food: cream tuna

Dessert: chocolate cake

Candy: butterfinger

Temple: Salt Lake City

Thing to do: wii

Movie: Alvin & the Chipmunks:  The Squeakel

Place to travel:  Arizona

Book: Rick is Sick, Purplicious

Scripture Story: Noah's Ark

When I grow up I want to be....a Mother & a missionary

Viviana was just as excited as Alexie to celebrate & open gifts...

Ama made her the cutest apron

What birthday isn't complete without lipgloss and jewelry?

amazing copycat strawberry Sprinkles cupcakes

Six Months Closer

Is there a such thing as playing hookie from blogging?  Cause that's where I've been for three glorious months... playing hookie.  And ya know what?  It feels reaaaally good.  But now I'm reaaaally behind in documenting our life for the kids.

Sometimes I wish I could play hookie from my own life as just getting through the day-to-day is exhausting at times (actually, just about every day when the clock strikes 3 I'm struck dumb and want to collapse).

but here we are... six months later... still unemployed.

And Curt's six months closer to graduating with his Master in Psych... (only 5 classes & a practicum)
...and six months closer to starting a PhD program.
Six months closer to Brayden's last year before high school
Six months closer to McKenzie's first year of middle school
And six months closer to Izzie's first year of school--period.
Six months closer to me losing my mind (I do still have some left).
And six months closer to me going back to school for my Masters in ????.

The other night in bed after another exhausting day of summer, I turned to Curt and said, "you realize we only have another 5 years with Brayden at home?"

And then I felt a little panicked.  Only five more years to teach him moral discipline, service, selflessness, teach him truths and consequences, teach him to love life fully, teach him about love and loss, sacrifice, and God.  And that's a heavy load.

So we'll see how long it takes me to load a gazillion pictures from my three-month hookie.  Cause life goes on in unemployment and we're six months closer to forever... living it one day at a time.