All About the Kids

I know I have mentioned before, but May is such a busy month around here.  It is ALL about the kids and rightly so.  I try to take full advantage of being involved in their various activities, because I know one day they won't want me to tag along. 


Kallie's class went on a fun field trip to the Heise area to hike.  All year long they have had pen pals from another 2nd grade class in our district.  The kids are from the little school of Teton and they had never met each other before this hike.  It was so fun to watch the kids make instant friends with the mystery person they had shared letters with all year long. 

The hike was just right for these kids and had some really pretty lookout points.  I love to see Kallie mingle with her friends.  She really has a great class with lots of non-dramatic girls.  Our school only has one class per grade so these kids stay together.  With fifteen girls in the class, you would expect some drama.  Honestly I never see or hear any.  They all play together at recess, sit together at lunch, attend each other's birthday parties, and giggle together on the bus.  Kallie would be more than happy to have any single one of these girls over to play.

 

 

 

 

Kallie stuck right to my side the whole day and fell asleep on my shoulder on the bus ride home.  I loved every second of it, and her and I both decided that we need more time for just us. No Boys Allowed!

 

Birthday Girl Wants a Zebra Cake?

Kallie's actual birthday landed on Mother's Day Sunday this year, I teased her that she was trying to steal my day from me! After a crazy weekend in Lagoon, I was scrambling late Saturday night to get my Sharing Time ready for church. Not to mention birthday gifts wrapped, the window done, and things in order for my family to come celebrate Mother's Day.   Somehow I managed, and Kallie woke up one happy girl! She unwrapped her gifts of a swimming suit, baseball pants, and some fun new pens and paper from Cole.  The boys then led her outside to the neighbors shed where we had been hiding her new bike.  I was hurrying to get ready for church so I didn't go with them and the quantity of the pictures that they took was....one!

 

She was pretty excited about a new bike.  Her old one was way too small and had flat tires!

Kallie has been asking for a zebra birthday cake for a long time and I have stressed myself for months over how my uncreative self was going to manage that one.  I almost resorted to a grocery store cake when I found the idea for this gem online.  Brown licorice for the mane, and brown sprinkles for stripes, now that I can handle.  I still hadn't figured out what to do for an eye at this point but finally resorted to a Junior Mint!

A new favorite birthday tradition is decorating the door with pictures of the birthday kid.  Kallie loved seeing pictures of herself as a baby and so did the rest of us.  I can't lie though it made me really sad.  I get a lot of anxiety when I think of how fast my kids are growing up.  They just keep getting funner and funner but I wish time would slow just  a bit.

Kallie was pleased as punch with her cake and so therefore it was a success.  My siblings all thought it looked like a sock but what do they know?

Our little puppies were the highlight of the day for sure.  With eight puppies there was plenty to go around.  The kids mauled them to death but loved every second of it! Kallie wasn't too thrilled with this, she is grossed out by the puppies and was frustrated that her cousins didn't want to do anything else.

Bentley especially loved those things, she would squeal with delight each time she got near them.  It is a miracle they survived her though!

 

We sang the "Angell Rendition" of the birthday song which means that everyone sings as loud and as off tune as possible.  It is a horrific noise I tell ya! We all hung out on the deck and enjoyed the nice weather. 

 

Later on we went to G&G Crapo's house to talk to Braxton on Skype.  The kids wanted to ride their bikes over there, I figured I could keep up with them walking and pushing Hagen in the stroller.  I was so wrong!! I had to run the whole 2 miles with no ponytail, bad shoes and way too many layers of clothes.  I was an embarrassing, sweaty mess by the time we got there, but those kids had so much fun riding their bikes there. 

My Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day this year was extra special for me. It just so happened that it was my Kallie Jo's birthday as well.  I thought it very fitting to celebrate a day for mothers with the precious spirit that I was a mother to first.  We had a fun filled day of birthday cake, family dinners and talking to Elder Crapo on Skype.  I feel blessed beyond description to be the mother of my children.  

My Mother's Day gift came early this year and not in the form of an item of any kind, but it was the best gift ever.  I know as mothers we never feel fully adequate in our job.  At least I don't.  Each morning I promise myself that I will be a better mother today.  Each day I come up short. My short temper wins more often than I would like, but I am trying and gaining better control each day.  I don't read or play with my kids enough, and each evening is filled with regrets for the mistakes I made that day.  Every night after my kids are asleep I tiptoe into their rooms, tuck their blankets under their chins and after a kiss on the forehead I silently promise that tomorrow will be better. 

As I reflect on the last eight years that I have been a mother, I realize the leaps and bounds of improvement I have made in the mothering department.  I feel bad that Kallie had to be my guinea pig, but grateful that she is patient and forgiving with me.  My Mother's day gift came while we were at a "Mom's and Muffins" night at the kids school.  They read little snipets of interviews that they had given the kids about their moms.  When Kallie was asked what my favorite thing to eat was, she answered "healthy stuff" and when asked what my favorite thing to do was, the response was "read".  I know it may sound stupid but I beamed inside because even with all the mistakes I make every single day, I do a couple things right!  My kids don't love to eat healthy but they recognize that I do.  My kids may not love to devour a book right now, but they can see that their mom enjoys a good story.  I was elated that without consciously making the effort to do so; some of the very few good habits I have are noticed by my kids.  It gave me hope that maybe I am and can be a good example to them.  Maybe every day isn't a complete failure! If nothing else maybe someday they can read this and know I tried! 

This small gift ignited a fire in me and I have a renewed determination to do and be better.  For my sake as much as theirs!!

Lagoon Competition 2013

Kallie's clogging team made it to Nationals in Lagoon again this year.  She was so excited to go! (It may or may not be the only reason she wants to be in clogging, I really haven't figured that out yet;) Anyway we went down the night before as she had to be there early in the morning.  The kids love sleeping in a hotel and were silly little monsters the whole time!   It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and no wind! Kallie and her team found a nice little corner to practice and beautify themselves. 

 

The boys sat in the shade and Cole climbed a tree while they were waiting.  Boys aren't into dancing all that much, but they were being good sports since they knew that they would get to ride the rides soon enough.

 

 

Kallie's team did great and if I heard correctly they got 1st on both dances.  It really has been a great season for Kallie, she has learned a lot and has wonderful teachers.

After we got Kallie all changed we were starving so we ate some extremely over priced hamburgers and fries and headed off to ride the rides.  I got basically no pictures of us on the rides because we moved from one to the next too fast. 

 

Cole is my little daredevil and wanted me to ride the Wild Mouse with him.  I was hesitant to take him on it because it is pretty intense for a five year old.  He was white knuckled the whole time and a little scared but loved it! Kallie and Weston were happy to stick to things such as the train and the water rides. 

Just like last year, we had a blast with out two big kids.  Hagen stayed home with Grammy! We went crazy until the kids got tired and then we just packed up and headed home.  Kallie and Cole were really most excited about a giant bag of cotton candy and an ICEE for the car ride.  They are so easily bought!! I love them!

 

Birthday Party

Miss Kallie Jo turned 8 years old, Finally!! (I feel like the years have flown past, but she is one of the youngest in her class so this day has been long in coming for her!)  I am a pretty crappy mom and haven't been one for birthday parties, ever.  I mean we always do something special with our family or cousins but as far as a big friend party, it has never happened.  I decided that an 8th birthday is a pretty big deal so I caved and we partied it up! Okay I actually took the easy, lazy mom route and took the girls bowling and ordered some pizza.  Kallie only wanted pan sugar cookies so that made it all the more simple.  She was more excited about her zebra napkins and plates than anything!

Of course all the pictures got put in here in the wrong order and let's face it, I am simply too lazy to fix them.  The girls had a lot of fun bowling, eating and running around like a bunch of crazies! They are the giggliest bunch I have ever seen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't that birthday girl the cutest thing?  I had a lot of fun being around all of Kallie's friends.  They are a great group of silly girls.  There were four or five that had other commitments that night and we missed them as I am sure they would have added to the craziness! 

Kallie is thrilled to be eight years old and can't wait to get baptized in June!

Clogging Recital

 

Kallie just had her end of year clogging recital.  She had a lot of fun this year and has improved a lot.  I have a theory with my kids that they have to play a "sport" for a few years until they are good enough at it to know whether they like it or not.  That has been the case with Kallie and clogging.  We tried jazz dance and gymnastics for awhile but she just didn't seem to really enjoy it much.  After the first year of clogging Kallie wasn't overly excited about doing it again but I made her do it the next year.  She liked it better, and this year she has really liked it a lot.  She is getting to where she knows the steps and can do the dances instead of just standing up there looking cute. It has been a challenge for her though.  Unfortunately she got her mother's coordination!

She was very excited when her older friend from school, Aysiah was in her class this year. It always makes it more fun to have a friend. 

 

 

Libbie and Grandma came to watch Kallie and she was thrilled to have an audience! I really cannot believe how fast this girl is growing up on me.