brrrr

I've decided that it's much more fun to watch my kids play spring sports when it actually feels like spring.  But it has been a cold week!  Here's a run-down of our week:  Tuesday night, Sam played baseball in a serious wind storm.  (Wind and baseball games don't go together very well, because the wind blows the dirt from the field so hard that you go home with dirt in your ears.)  Wednesday night, Sam played in a cold soccer game.  Thursday night, Luke had a soccer game and Sam and Luke both had baseball games.  The thermometer in my car said it was 42 degrees, and I sat out in the cold for 4 1/2 hours watching these darling boys of mine play in their various games.  42 degrees!  There was even snow on the soccer field ...

But then Luke scored his first goal of the season, and suddenly the cold didn't bother me anymore, and it was all worth it.

Emery and Luke have baseball games tonight.  I do hope it's a little warmer.

details

One of the reasons I started this blog was to document what our life is like now.  My kids are growing up way too fast, and I know that in a couple of years I won't remember the little details about them now unless I write it down.  So, here are some of those little details that I'm talking about ...

1.  Emery has the biggest binder on the planet.  I don't know how he lugs that thing around!  I also don't know how he finds anything in it, but apparently he does, because he gets fantastic grades.

2.  When I make sack lunches for Sam and Luke to take to school, I usually draw a little picture on the sack ... a smiley face, a heart, whatever.  Well, Sam wanted to make the lunches for today, and I smiled when I saw that he drew a picture on Luke's sack ...

3.  Luke has a collection.  He's been working on it for a couple of months now.  Some kids collect rocks ... some collect state quarters ... Luke collects those cardboard tubes from empty rolls of paper towels and toilet paper.  He was especially thrilled when he found a gigantic one at the house we're building ...

4.  For some reason, Sam and Luke love to watch that segment on the Today Show where Willard Scott shows pictures of all the old people celebrating their birthday this month.  It makes me laugh to listen to the comments Sam and Luke make about the people.  For example, this morning they were watching it and it showed a photo of a guy who's turning 100.  Here's their dialogue:

Sam:  "Whoa, that guy does NOT look a hundred!"
Luke:  "No, he only looks 98."

random thoughts on laundry

Yes, I'm writing a post about laundry.  Why?  Two reasons ... first, because laundry is a huge part of my life.  And, second, because I'm avoiding the four loads of laundry that are waiting to be folded right now.  Anyway, here's the deal.  Laundry and I have some issues.  I'm really good at the washing and the drying part, but for some reason I'm terrible at the folding and the putting away part.  It's a vicious cycle, because the longer I avoid folding it, the bigger and bigger the pile gets, and I want to fold it even less!  Plus, it really doesn't help that between all the regular clothes, plus trying to keep all the soccer and baseball uniforms clean right now, and the clothes they wear to all their practices, I feel like I'm doing laundry constantly!  (And I only have three kids, I can't even imagine the amount of laundry in families with more!)

I'm always surprised at the things I find in the washing machine that have come out of my kids' pockets.  Most common items:  candy wrappers, golf tees, money.  (Where in the world are they getting all that candy in the first place?)  Anyway, those things don't bother me too much because they don't make a mess.  Other things give me grief, so I'm making some new "laundry rules."  This little number will be posted on my fridge until it sinks in ...

I don't think these rules will make me any better at folding and putting everything away, but they might make it a little easier when I do get around to it!

mistaken identity

Wow, this is a crazy time of year!  With all three boys playing baseball, two in soccer, and three taking piano lessons, mixed in with the usual school and church stuff and the fact that we're building a house, I'm pretty much living out of my car (and it shows)!  Lots of time (and gas) is spent running these boys to various practices, lessons, and games.  It's busy, and some days I feel like I'm losing my mind, but I wouldn't change it for anything!  I love that my boys are so busy they don't have time to be bored.  I love to soak up the warm weather as I watch them kick, bat, run, score, etc.  I love to see their faces and arms turn from winter white to golden tan in a matter of days.  I love to socialize during games and practices after hibernating for months on end.  Emery had his first baseball game tonight (go Angels!), and then went straight to the golf course to hit some balls.  These pictures pretty much sum up our lives right now ... hitting golf balls in a baseball uniform!  "Hey, batter, batter!" or wait, "Fore!"

spring break

We spent spring break in St. George with my parents, my sister, and her kids.  What a great week!!  Really, what could be more fun for my kids than having an entire week off of school and spending that week with their cousins and grandparents?  Not much!  We packed a lot into that week, too.  Swimming, golfing, tennis, frog hunting, bike riding, ripstik riding, kite flying, Easter egg hunting, and eating out (of course!).  We even managed to squeeze in a little "history tour" one afternoon as well.

The kids started off the trip with plenty of candy after having an Easter egg hunt on Saturday afternoon.

Luckily, the Easter bunny found us Sunday morning even though we were out of town.

The first few days were a little cool and windy.  Perfect weather for hunting for frogs by the river ...

riding bikes and ripstiks ...

and flying kites.

Even Grandma Net got in on the kite-flying action.

Monday it rained.  Hard.  So we went to the Sand Hollow indoor pool.  The kids thought it was fabulous!

One afternoon, my mom took us on a little tour about my great great grandfather ... James Montgomery Whitmore.  He was in the first group of settlers sent to Dixie by Brigham Young in 1861, and he was killed by indians in the St. George area (Pipe Springs, AZ) in 1866.  We visited the land where his home was, his gravestone, and the encampment site for the early settlers.  There is now a monument there that tells about the "Dixie Pioneers."  Very cool.  (And Luke's favorite part of the whole trip, I might add!)

The rest of the week was spent playing at the park, swimming, and playing tennis and golf.

  

All that, plus: one kite stuck in a tree, one trip to Instacare, one lost ripstik, one new ripstik, daily visits to see a hog, and lots of great memories!

dandelions & skinned knees

I love springtime.  And, along with the typical signs of spring like warmer weather, birds chirping outside my window, and flowers and trees starting to "come to life" again after the cold winter, there are a couple of things that always remind me that spring has arrived ... dandelions on the grass and skinned knees on my boys.

Welcome, spring!  Time to re-stock my supply of band-aids!

April Fools

I've never been very good at April Fools jokes.  Maybe it's because I kind of forget about it until it's actually April 1st, and by then I don't have time to pull anything off.  I made one memorable attempt exactly thirteen years ago.  I was pregnant with Emery, and I was about 32 weeks along.  I was working at a pediatrician's office and Ben was working for Franklin Covey.  I thought I'd pull the best joke ever on him.  So I called him during the day and frantically told him that my water just broke.  He started absolutely freaking out ... "Oh my gosh! ... we're going to have a baby today! ... should I meet you at the hospital or should I come and get you?" ... etc., etc., etc.  It was at some point during his "freak out" that I realized this joke wasn't that funny.  He was so excited that we were going to have the baby, and he was being so cute with me, and I felt like a total dork when I said, "April Fools!"  Then I apologized profusely for the horrible, mean trick I had played on him.  So after that failed attempt at an April Fools joke, I took a break for a few years.

Until the year I put plastic spiders in our bed ... on Ben's side.  That was actually pretty funny.  And I was quite proud of myself for my success.

Now that my kids are old enough to understand what an April Fools joke is, we decided it was time to get them.  But I didn't want to do anything that would make a mess, because I know exactly who would have to clean it up.  (Like, who in their right mind would ever put saran wrap under the toilet seat?  Yuck.  I definitely don't want to have to clean anything like that up.)  Anyway, we decided it would be funny to wait until they were asleep last night and then move them all into different beds.  You know, so when they woke up this morning they would be in the wrong bed.  The plan was to swap Luke and Sam into each others' beds, and move Emery onto the couch so he could still wake up in time for junior high. 

Well, we tried it, and as it turned out, the joke was on us.  We had successfully swapped Sam and Luke, but before we even made it downstairs to move Emery, Sam started having some crazy "night terror" and he was walking around the house all upset and scared.  By the time we calmed him down, we didn't have the heart to put him back in the wrong bed, so we quickly moved Luke back into his own bed, and then Sam went back to bed.  What a fiasco!  It would have been quite comical to have watched me and Ben trying to carry sleeping boys all over the house, get them all settled in the wrong beds, calm Sam down, and then sneakily move Luke back into his bed before Sam realized that something was up!  Once again, a failed attempt at an April Fools joke.

Maybe I'll go back to plastic spiders.