LAUGH OUT LOUD.....

My little monster, as I affectionately call her, has some real doozies as of late. She is my precocious 3-year-old. More on why she's a monster later...

Me: Monster, you haven't even touched your dinner!
Monster: Ok, mama (immediately putting her hands on her food and looking at me as if to say, "Alright, I touched it!")

Monster to Carpet Guy: My mom has bras, but we don't. Do you have a bra?
Carpet Guy: Well, maybe I should. (Ha!)

Monster: I like fish in my hand, but not in my mouth. (I couldn't agree more, by the way.)

Me: What should we do tomorrow, Monster?
Monster: Re-decorate the house.


G had a little crush on a girl in his class, Madison K. One day he was so excited when I picked him up.

"Mom, mom!! I have something so awesome to tell you!!" He told me that Madison L. had told him that both she and Madison K. had crushes on him. I said that was really nice and it's because he is so kind and a good friend. He was beaming and then asked, "Mom, what does crush mean?".

About a week later I was helping out in G's class and I complimented Madison K. on her picture she was coloring. She said, "Thanks! G tells me I am the queen of colors because I'm so good at coloring." What a flirt!!

They were celebrating G's un-birthday at school, since he has a summer birthday, and I brought in donuts for the class. His teacher relayed a funny story from the morning.

Apparently, they were making ladybugs, and each child could name their ladybug. When she asked G he said,

"I want to name my ladybug 'whore'".

His teacher asked him to repeat it, because surely she didn't hear it right.
But he repeated, "whore".

She thought it was so funny because she knew, of course, that he had no idea what that word really means.

So, I did some discreet investigating to find out where it came from. He said, "Mom, my ladybug had fangs and was scary, so I named him "Horror" like a scary movie.

When he says it, it sounds like the other word. I still don't know how he knows about horror movies, because he's never seen one. But hilarious, nonetheless.


B: "We're gonna just cook up this dog and eat it!"
G: "No we're not. We don't live in China."


B recently came up to me and said, "Mom, I have to tell you something very important. Remember that time a long time ago when Monster cut my hair? (This was about a year ago). Well, I told you it was Monster who cut my hair, but really it was me. I lied and I'm so sorry."
The funniest part is that Monster admitted to cutting it when she didn't. I suppose she's just used to always doing the bad stuff.


B: "Mom, does Ursula on Little Mermaid wipe her bum when she goes to the bathroom?"
B: (answers her own question), "She probably doesn't because she's mean and bad."

B: "Mom, let's play Papercut, Scissors." (instead of paper, rock, scissors)

A GIFT FOR CHRISTMAS

I'm cleaning out my computer's hard drive and stumbled across this paragraph I had copied and pasted without a reference. I hate when I do that. But I love its message. There is an immeasurable value on time spent with someone. It is a true gift of love. The possibilities of this gift are endless.

"A loving person has concern for the welfare, progress, and happiness of the loved one. He not only has concern; he does something about it by making his resources available to the loved one. Loving is giving. It is the giving of material things to others, but even more important, it is the giving of one’s time. Among the gifts a father gave to his son for Christmas was a letter that read: “To my dear son: During the coming year my gift to you is one hour of my time each day for you to use as you see fit.” Isn’t this an act of love?"

ABC's OF ME

I was recently asked to write a short post on the ABC's of me. It's much harder than I first thought. But I decided to go with what FIRST came to mind. So here goes......

A – Almost 30. If we’re counting backwards. Ok, I’m 37.
B – Blessed with amazing family surrounding me. Awesome parents, six siblings, my own version of Mr. Darcy, and four funny kids.
C – Courtney is my older sister by four years. I used to steal her clothes until she grew up and I grew out.
D – Dance. I love to turn up the I-pod and dance and sing. The sillier the better.
E – Elections – I vote in every one, even though I can’t stand politicians. I take my right to vote seriously.
F – Fear of cockroaches - a real fear. If I find one, I can’t kill it but I can’t do anything until it is dead. This requires outside help.
G – G-Cup - as in the cup-size of my bra. Yes, it does exist.
H – Hubby is funny and generous and isn’t afraid to join in on the singing and dancing.
I – “It’s good to do hard things” is my motto and something my kids are surely sick of hearing. But I’m gonna keep telling them anyway.
J – Jump. I can jump freakishly high for being so short.
K – Keeping Up With the Kardashians is a guilty pleasure. (this one isnt' true anymore)
L – Laughter. I love to laugh and I inherited a loud, boisterous laugh from my dad. Think Julia Roberts’ laugh, only less feminine.
M – Mexican food is my go-to meal. I could cook it and eat it for every meal, every day.
N – “No” is not in my vocabulary, but needs to be. It’s something I’m working on.
O – Organized. Being organized makes me oh so happy.
P – Pumped for the new Twilight movie. Team Edward all the way.
Q – Quantas-lay-hay. A made-up word from our childhood made-up language, the Ooban-Dooban Language. Synonym: dork or goober. I still use this.
R – Rarely get jealous. It’s not in my nature, thankfully.
S – Swimming. I have always loved to swim and I’m pretty good at it, despite my non-swimmer’s figure. I used to teach swim lessons and plan to again.
T – The Sound of Music is my all-time favorite movie for so many reasons.
U – Ugly feet. They look like hobbit feet with the same strange, sideways pinky toes that Court has.
V – Volleyball, softball, track, tennis, ping pong. I.LOVE.SPORTS. Love to play them and watch them and I’m pretty decent at them.
W – Won’t break the rules – I am a rule-follower.
X – Xmas is my favorite time of year. I love the spirit of the season, the reminders of what matters, traditions, the lights, playing Secret Santa, the music…all of it.
Y – Yep, I’m a Mormon. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and boy do I love it.
Z – Zero tolerance for whining and complaining.

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, GAGE

Prince Gageafus (Gage's name in our storytelling) has turned seven!! Here is a letter I wrote to him:

July 4, 2011

My Precious Gage,

Happy 7th Birthday to you! These seven years have gone by much too fast for my liking. You are growing up and I want to hold on to these years as much as I can. We are living in Snowflake for the summer and I love how much time I get to spend with you. There aren’t any distractions, so I get to have you and your sisters all to myself. I love watching you play with them, discover new things outside, go fishing, catch crawdads, excel in your swim lessons, ride your first quad. The other day you asked me if you could walk all by yourself to Grandma and Papa’s house, and you did. I can feel your pull toward independence. You want to prove to me and yourself that you can do things on your own. And boy, do I know it. You are so responsible and dependable. You are a great help to me and I know that I can always trust you. You follow the rules and choose the right. You are an awesome example to your sisters, who adore you and look up to you.

You are a great example to me and Daddy too. When you get up on Fast Sundays and bear your testimony, I am amazed at your courage. You are so brave and follow the warm feeling you get in your heart. You remind us to laugh, have fun, and be silly. There is nothing better to me than your smile and laugh.

I want you to know that I believe in you. I know that you can do anything and be anything, as long as you work hard and practice. It is good to do hard things. If something is hard, that means you will grow and learn even more. I know you can do it. You are my boy of steel!

I want you to know that I love you all the way up to the galaxy and back. I will always love you no matter what. I love you so much and want you to be happy. The best way to be happy is to obey your parents and our Heavenly Father. I know that you know this already. I want you to know that I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He loves all of us. I know that He wants us all to return to live with Him and Heavenly Father again as an eternal family. We can do this by following our prophet, President Monson, who is good and true. Always remember the feeling you had when we were sealed as a family in the temple. Remember what a special day that was. Remember how we held hands and were joined together forever. Remember looking in the mirror at all of us and seeing our images go on forever. Remember to pray always. Pray for every reason. You will find happiness and answers in your prayers.

I hope that you feel special today. I hope that you feel like a king! You are so precious to me. I will always be your Mama.

Always All My Love,

MORE RANDOM PICTURES FOUND

This is our crew as juniors/seniors at Alhambra High School in 1992. It was a fun group of girls. I'll start from bottom, left to right: Stephanie Hunt, Gabi Pentecost, Kate Malay, Tauna Campbell, Kathleen Ashton, Leslie Ingallina, April Groskopf, Jaki Marksbury, Carrie Boland, Me, Sarah Warner, Marci Cordova, Staci Green. Missing are Julie Rohlfing, Jennie Vargas, Vicki Trumble, Pam Durazo, Rita Hernandez. Most of these girls I went to elementary school with too. I have stayed in touch with my dear childhood friends, Kathleen and Kate. Facebook has helped the rest of us stay in touch.

This was a page that we took out in our senior yearbook dedicated to all of us and our memories together.

This is my 8th grade graduation picture. I am on the bottom row, 2nd from the left. My mom made that dress, just as she made all of my formal dresses, including my wedding dress.

Bella reminds Courtney, my sister, and me a lot of Courtney. Courtney did this side-by-side comparison.

This is my childhood home in Phoenix. It was at the end of a cul-de-sac on a huge lot. We moved there the summer I turned 5, and moved away after I graduated high school, the summer I turned 18. I loved this house - especially all the memories it holds. I bawled the day I drove away in my 1977 Honda Civic and waved goodbye to my parents and younger siblings as they drove off to Snowflake. To prove how much I dislike change, the first home that Rob and I owned was this EXACT model in Tempe.

This was the Haag's house, right next door. They had Matt and Mike, who was my age. We had so much fun with them growing up. I still tell my kids stories about all of us neighborhood kids.

This is Christmas of 2009. My dear sisters-in-law, Lora and Pam.

This is a picture of my brother, Nathan, in action playing football at ASU. He received all kinds of accolades and was even drafted by the Cardinals. He was/is an unbelievable athlete and I was always so proud to be his sister.

Senior year at Alhambra - Spring Fling Dance, Spring 1992. Bottom, left to right: Leslie Ingallina, Jennie Vargas, Gabi Pentecost, April Groskopf, Stephanie Hunt, Julie Rohlfing, Kate Malay, Kathleen Ashton, and me.

High school graduation, May 1992. I was honored to speak at our graduation ceremony.

My senior prom, April 1992. Jerry Hahn, a longtime friend from the ward I grew up in, was my date. Once again, my mom made my dress. I absolutely LOVED it!! Pictured: Tauna Campbell, Kathleen Ashton, Me, Leslie Ingallina, Stephanie Hunt, April Groskopf, Kate Malay, Gabi Pentecost.

RANDOM PICTURES FOUND

I've stumbled across these random pictures on my laptop and thought I would make little notes about what they are all about. They are completely random and out of order and I will do my best to remember dates.

This one above is in Maui in May of 2005. Gage was not quite one and we took him along with some friends to Hawaii for about a week. We are at the top of a volcano, Mount Haleakala, where they do bike rides at sunrise down the volcano. It was beautiful at the top. Notice how happy and unsuspecting we look in this picture. What we didn't know was we were about to experience one of the most terrifying moments of our lives. We all were in these rainsuits with helmets and placed in line according to size. The guys, of course, were all in the back of the line. Our guide was in front and kept reminding us to maintain a minimum speed of 18mph. The ride was difficult, at best, because it was steep, fast switchbacks all the way down. Zig then zag, then zig and zag again. We shared this small road with all the traffic, including lots of oncoming traffic. On our left was oncoming cars and on our right was pure sky. There were no guard rails - just a death drop off the mountain. My friend, Kim, was just in front of me and I could tell she was struggling. After about 9 or 10 switchbacks, she started to lose control. I yelled to her to put her brake on, but she couldn't stop in time and I watched as she plummeted to what I was sure was her death. I let out a blood-curdling scream that was sort of out-of-body and came from way down inside my guts. It lasted about 30 seconds. All the others heard the scream and knew something terrible had happened, but didn't see it and couldn't tell which of the yellow rainsuits was missing. I threw my bike down and ran to the edge, positive I was going to see her still free-falling. But just at that spot there was a slower graded cliff and she was about 30 feet down, safe and sound. She was beaten up and definitely shaken up, but overall ok. Rob and I were happy to ride in the van with her the rest of the way down. I couldn't stop trembling and was not about to get back on my bike. At the bottom of the volcano, when there was about 4 miles left, Rob and I got back out and finished it out. We were all so grateful that she was ok. I can promise that I will never do that again.

This picture was taken in April 2010 at the Mother/Daughter Enrichment night for Gilbert 2nd Ward. This is Bella with Carlee Johansson.

We went camping at Blue Ridge Reservoir in the summer of 2010 with our friends Chrystie and Kevin Penrod and Amy and Leif Johansson. There was a fire tower close by that is difficult to describe just how high it was. Gage could not even go up the first flight of stairs because of his intense fear of heights. We tried to coax him, but he was literally shaking. Not Bella. Before we even knew it, she was already at the top. There must be at least 20 flights of stairs that are open-faced stairs. She ran back down and right back up again. She is fearless. I must admit that I was intimidated by how high it was too. She is pictured here with Leif and Carlee Johansson.

This picture was taken at a cabin we rented in June of 2010 in Pinetop. It was so beautiful there, especially when it rained. The kids loved to play outside in the rain.

All of this group of pictures are courtesy of our nieces: Chloe, Annaliese and Lily. We all adore them and wish they either lived with us or lived closer. They are so much fun and play with the little ones so well. They are 19, 16, and 11 and that doesn't stop them from being silly with the kids. I love that about them.

This is Gage at about age 3 with his buddy, Lincoln Johnson.

Here he is again with Lincoln and his cousins.

I can't figure out how to move this picture to the top. I'm a blog dummy. Anyway, this is pre-death bike ride. Once again, look at our smiling faces. We have no idea what is about to happen. This is my good friend, Kim Johnson, whom I went to high school with and she just happened to marry one of Rob's friends. Thankfully, she is still alive to this day.

FATHERS

We are driving down a bumpy dirt road (which, by the way, is not super comfy when you're huge and pregnant) with our three kiddos and the hubby thinks it's hilarious to frighten our unsuspecting children by pretending to see a bear. They give him the exact reaction he wanted confirmed by his satisfied smirk and I asked, "Why do you do that? Do you like to hear them cry and whine?" His answer: "Because that's what Dads do." And you know what? He's right.

It brought back a flood of memories of my own Dad doing just those kind of things. I shared a room with my two sisters, right next to my parents' bedroom. Hours after we had gone to bed, all the lights out, a figure resembling my Dad creeps into our room holding a flashlight shining upwards under his chin. He was making a scary noise that can best be described as, "muuuuwwwwaaaaa". We screamed in terror and he laughed and laughed as he kept inching toward our beds. I knew it was him and yet I was still frightened. This little scare tactic never got old to him and we never got over our fear, even though experience should have taught us better. What is it about dads that make them get such a kick out of torturing their kids in this way? Or maybe it's just my Dad and my husband who do this?? I doubt it.

The thing is, these are my fondest memories of my Dad growing up. The times when he was scaring us, or getting on the floor wrestling with us, or balancing us on one hand while lying on his back, giving us piggy-back rides, or horse rides - this is what I remember most. I think fathers have this keen ability to become childlike and relate to their kids on their own level. It really is a gift. I love to see my Dad continue these traditions with my little ones and it really makes me appreciate how goofy and silly my husband is with the kids.

Because I know they will remember and cherish those goofy moments, just as I have.

Happy Father's Day to all you crazy, torturous, scream-inducing Dads!

ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE......

.....or more lovingly referred to as "AMA". That's me. I hate that at the age of 36 and expecting my fourth child in August, I am "advanced maternal age". I realize that the risks in pregnancies and deliveries increase after the age of 35. I know that there are all kinds of studies and statistics to prove this fact. But I still HATE this new moniker of mine.

Because I am AMA, I was sent to a specialist to get my routine 20-week ultrasound where they found everything to be perfectly perfect. But, because of my AMA, they could only GUARANTEE me perfection if I agreed to an amniocentesis. "Is there cause for concern that would necessitate an amnio?", I nervously asked. Their response was that they found nothing alarming or noteworthy, but if I wanted a GUARANTEE I would need an amniocentesis. They asked me THREE times!! THREE!! I am so grateful that my husband was with me to assure me, once we were safely outside, that everything is fine and they are just trying to do their job and be thorough.

Is anything a guarantee?? Did I need to worry? Would it serve me better to know that there MIGHT be a problem so that I could prepare myself? Or is it better to live the rest of my pregnancy in ignorant bliss?

I just had a follow-up with my OB who said, "I see you went to get your ultrasound and everything looks great. How'd you like that whole 'AMA' thing?" Bless her.

She proceeded to tell me that she has 10 patients right now over 40 who are having babies. This reminded me that my grandmother gave birth to my mother in 1940 at the age of 40. She must have really been an outcast!

Don't get me wrong....I am fully aware of the increased risk. Really I am. And it IS a valid concern.

I guess the bottom line is, I don't feel advanced - in any sense of the word.

BELLA AND NATALIE

Bella has a BFF....Natalie Narducci. These two girls LOVE each other. They have so much fun together playing all kinds of games, riding bikes, playing dress up. All of these pictures are courtesy of Karla, Natalie's mom, who is awesome at taking pictures and being so creative with her kids. She is always capturing these great moments, which, thankfully, I benefit from. Bella adores Natalie and asks for her all the time.

PARK DAYS

When Gage has early release from school, he gets out at 9:45am. This particular day I decided to keep him out and take the kids to Freestone park to play. The weather has been awesome and it's a huge park full of all kinds of things to see and do. We started out rolling down the hills and then racing up the hills (a good trick to get them and me some exercise). They played on the playground for a while and then Gage wanted to follow the train track all the way around the park. So we sang songs and acted goofy while we walked on the track. We stopped to look at the ducks, watch the waterfalls and then on the way back to the car we played "Follow the Leader". We had so much fun! The icing on the cake was there was a track team there doing drills and the coach gave the kids popsicles. It was a perfect morning!

There is this great park by our house that the kids LOVE. It has tons of green grass full of dandelions that they run around and pick to make wishes.

We have to squeeze in as many park days as we can before it gets too HOT!!!!!!

FUNNIES

APRIL FOOLS

Gage wanted to play a joke on his teacher for April Fools Day. Rob suggested Gage tell her that he just found out that we are moving and today is his last day in class. Gage pulled it off without a hitch and his teacher was so sad. Until he revealed the joke. She sent me an email telling me how convincing he was. Gage loved it!

SMOOTH MOVES

Gage has a little crush on a girl in his class, Madison K. One day he was so excited when I picked him up. He told me that Madison L. had told him that both she and Madison K. had crushes on him. I said that was really nice and it's because he is so kind and a good friend. He was beaming and then asked, "Mom, what does crush mean?".

About a week later I was helping out in Gage's class and I complimented Madison K. on her picture she was coloring. She said, "Thanks! Gage tells me I am the queen of colors because I'm so good at coloring." What a flirt!!

They were celebrating Gage's un-birthday at school, since he has a summer birthday and I brought in donuts for the class. His teacher relayed a funny story from the morning. Apparently they were making ladybugs and each child could name their ladybug. When she asked Gage, he said, "I want to name my ladybug 'whore'". His teacher asked him to repeat it because surely she didn't hear it right. But he repeated, "whore". She thought it was so funny because she knew, of course, that he had no idea what that word really means. So I did some discreet investigating to find out where it came from. He said, "Mom, my ladybug had fangs and was scary so I named him "Horror" like a scary movie. When he says it, it sounds like the other word. I still don't know how he knows about horror movies because he's never seen one. But hilarious, nonetheless.

Bella: "We're gonna just cook up this dog and eat it!"

Gage: "No we're not. We don't live in China."

UNIQUE

Bella has a little friend, Liam, that goes to Joy School with her. She really likes Liam and talks about him a lot. "Mom, I really like Liam. He is so unique!"

Bella is so, so sweet and has a happy heart. She tells everyone how beautiful they are, she sings and dances around, she gives unexpected hugs and kisses and tells you she loves you 50 times a day. She readily obeys with a good attitude and will ask, "Am I a good listener, Mom?" Every day she has a new name she wants us to call her. Today it was "Flower". Yesterday it was "Alexa", and another it was "Brooklyn". She is the first to give up a toy, or her chair, or spot on the couch if someone wants it. (Usually Paisley).

Bella recently came up to me and said, "Mom, I have to tell you something very important. Remember that time a long time ago when Paisley cut my hair? (This was about a year ago when the two of them were in the kitchen and part of Bella's hair was cut.) Well, I told you it was Paisley who cut my hair, but really it was me. I lied and I'm so sorry." The funniest part is that Paisley admitted to cutting it when she didn't. Oh, the power of suggestion.

Bella: "Mom, does Ursula on Little Mermaid wipe her bum when she goes to the bathroom?" (Thankfully, she answered her own question)

"She probably doesn't because she's mean and bad."

Bella: "Mom, let's play Paper, Cut, Scissors." (instead of paper, rock, scissors)

Paisley is growing more and more independent. She wants to do EVERYTHING by herself and for herself. And, boy, does she have a temper. She'll get frustrated trying to do something and start to rage, but she still doesn't want ANY help. I actually think it's a good quality if she can learn to control the temper. She still "leg-locks" her blanket every night. She LOVES the movie "Tangled" and wants to watch it all the time. She'll say, "I want my hair long like Rapunzel" and she'll flip her head over and brush her her hair. She always wants me to do a "down ponytail" which means she wants her ponytail to go down her back as long as possible. But it has to be just right....OR ELSE!! She wakes at the crack of dawn, which now is pretty early and brings me the brush and ponytail holder to do her hair. She is one determined girl. She loves to sing and dance, but also loves to play catch and wrestle.

FIRST SWIM OF 2011

There were a couple of very hot days in March and it made all of us want to SWIM! I still didn't brave it, but the kids sure did. They had a ball and didn't even care that the water was still freezing. I remember doing that same thing when we were little. We practically swam year-round. They haven't gone back in yet since, but those hot days are right around the corner!