A Turnaround

Tonight, the kids are all in bed, finally,  tucked in and I am in the next room on my computer.  I usually check email, etc. on the computer until I know they are asleep and then go downstairs to clean up.  So I am on the computer and I hear some crashing around the in the bathroom.  Finn is out of bed.

Me (annoyed - Day 4, rough day 4,  of Jeramy gone, patience pretty thin today, kids finally in bed and someone is daring to make me put on my mothering hat again) " Finn, what are you doing?  Why aren't you in bed?"

Finn:  "I'm looking for the other smiley face." (bath toy)

Me (annoyance escalating):  "Finn, get back in bed.  You don't need to find the other smiley face right now."

Finn (completely serious):  "But Mom, I need to find the other smiley face........ it's my destiny to find it."

Annoyance immediately dissolved, replaced with deep belly laughs and warm fuzzies for my adorable little guy.   I'll probably still be smiling when I go to bed tonight.  Thanks for turning my day around, Finn!

And just for the record I do have two other children - Ella & Chase - whom I equally love and adore.  I realize so many of my more recent posts are about Finn but he is just at that age when the craziest and most humorous things come out of his mouth.  His little brain is putting things together and having so many little light-bulb moments - usually with a few crossed wires - that it makes for a lot of fun.  I remember Ella being the same way!  

More to come on my other kids soon :)

Labor Day

This morning when I went to get Finn out of his crib, I opened the door to find him holding on to the front rail, standing up! It's the first time he's pulled himself up. He looked so big but little at the same time. It was so cute I had to grab my camera. Wow, just the past week he hardly seems like a little baby anymore! I wish he would stop trying to grow up so quickly!

The majority of the day was spent "laboring" in the yard. We've been gone so much this summer that our yard has been a little neglected. We mowed, trimmed shrubs, weeded and shoveled rock. Not very fun, but the yard looks so much better.

We then decided that the poor kids needed a little fun so I loaded up Finn in the Burley (in his car seat) and attached it to my bike and Jeramy walked with Ella while she rode her bike and we went over to the park for a while. Finn had a great time in the swings, laughing and giggling. Do you love Finn's crazy faux-hawk? Just like his daddy's, but his hair's a little long.

This picture of Finn reminded me so much of one of Ella's first times in the swing. I went through some old pictures and found one of Ella at exactly 7 months old. It's kind of fun to compare the pictures of the kids - on the exact same swing and the same age, almost to the day. Such cutie pies!
While Finn was swinging away, Ella had a great time riding her bike around the park and then kicking the soccer ball around on the soccer field. She starts soccer this week and was excited for a little practice session.


Not our most fun, memorable Labor Day, but it was a productive day and fun to be together as a family.

Before I Was Your Mother.....

The other night I was talking to my sister-in-law, Lisa, about doing some photo books. She was telling me about a really cute template through Heritage Makers called "Before I Was Your Mother". It reminded me of when I used to scrapbook, I had always wanted to do a scrapbook about me. I have a ton of programs and tickets, notes, etc. saved from high school and college that need an organized home, but I mostly wanted to document that part of my life so my kids would someday know that I'm more than just a mom - I'm a person who has hobbies and interests and have done and enjoyed a lot in my life

Then today, on the drive home from church Ella somehow started talking about what she wanted to be when she grew up. She was talking away, rattling off a big list of potential careers - a cowgirl, dentist, vet, dancer, roofer (we're in the middle of getting a new roof). I guess she wasn't sure what she wanted to be the most because she asked me and Jeramy - "Can I be anything I want?" We told her "Anything!" Suddenly she was quiet then goes "Mom, you aren't ANYTHING!"

Even thought it was really funny (and kind of sad) and I explained that I used to be "something" but now I get to be "nothing" so I can be her mom all the time, it did get me to thinking. What would I tell me kids about myself before I was their mother? Off the top of my head here a few specifics (besides sister, daughter, etc.)

So Ella, before I was your mother....

1) I was a student. I went to school at Ricks and BYU and graduated with a Bachelor's and Master's in Accountancy.

2) I was a cheerleader. In junior high I was a cheerleader for football but by high school I decided cheering outside in below zero temperatures was nothing to cheer about! In high school I cheered for the basketball team and our cheer squad won provincials all three of my high school years.

3) I went to lots of concerts! I have always loved music and when daddy and I moved to Denver there were a lot of opportunities to see some great bands! Some fun concerts I've been to: Barenaked Ladies, Depeche Mode, U2, No Doubt, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Coldplay, Sarah McLachlan, The Killers, The Fray, Gwen Stefani.

4) I had a "career". A week after graduating from BYU I sat for the CPA exam and somehow managed to pass all four parts! (must have been a low curve that time) A few months later I started working for Ernst & Young, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, as an external auditor. I also worked at a little startup (that went belly-up after a year) called CopiersNow as an accountant and IT project manager and then at First Data Corp in Coporate accounting.

5) I was a piano student and teacher. I started taking piano lessons when I was 8 until I was 16. During that time I did the Royal Conservatory of Music program complete with theory (yuck!) and exams. For a few years in high school I also taught lessons to a few students.

As you can see, Ella, before I was your mother I was "something"! I did have a job, even a career, I guess. But I knew it wasn't the "something" I wanted to do forever. When I became your mother I happily gave up "something" for "nothing" and have never looked back! Today, I told you when you grown up, you can be anything you want! I hope you find that "something" you are passionate about and want to be, but more than that I hope someday you get to experience how wonderful being "nothing" is.

Yoga Baby

Our sweet little Finn is already trying to crawl. He suddenly seems so grown up! Didn't I have him just yesterday?


Anyway, I snapped a few pictures of him scooting around. He is so funny trying to move. I don't think he has quite figured out he's supposed to move on his hands and knees. He spends most of his time on his hands in feet with his little backside in the air - kind of like downward facing dog. Then from that position he will stick one of his legs out and balance on his hand and one foot. It's so cute and so much fun to see him learn and grow.

Pictures

We just got our family pictures back from Rebecca Cooper. We did a photo session with her in Canada. It was a bit stressful, mostly in part because of my very uncooperative 4-year old! I was really nervous we wouldn't get any good pictures but I was really pleased with them - Rebecca is so talented!

I created a new blog header (top of the page) with some of my favorites. Here are some more of my favorites.

O Canada!

Well, we just got back from our trip to Canada. We have tried over the years to go back for July 1st - Canada's birthday. It is also the birthday of the town of Raymond - my hometown. It is such a fun time to be home - there are so many people around and lots of fun activities and family traditions.

Our trip to and from Canada was LONG - yes, we drove - but the visit went by so quickly. With so much family to see it always seems way too short.

One of our favorite things we did was eat at Chopstix, Jeramy's dad Gary's new restaurant in Lethbridge. It is similar to a Panda Express, which is not in Canada, but much yummier. Not only is the food better, but also the decor and Chopstix has a drive-thru. After eating there two times, mine and Jeramy's unanimous decision for best dish goes to Lemon Chicken!

Another -errr- memorable thing we did was have family pictures done. It did not go well! Ten minutes into the session we were getting eaten alive by the mosquitos and Ella was having a meltdown, despire numerous bribes involving ice cream and Polly Pockets. A little while later both kids fell asleep, which was actually quite cute. It will be a miracle if we get a decent family picture. The girl who did our photos, Rebecca Cooper, does amazing work so I'm optimistic that at least something turned out - stay tuned......

We also had a chance to go to Ridge Lake with Jeramy's dad, Bryan . He brought out the boat and we had a great time tubing (after waiting in the cars for an hour for the rain and lightning to clear). Ella was a maniac in the tube and was constantly giving Bryan the thumbs up to go faster.
As for my little snuggle-bug, Finn, he just burrowed down into his life jacket and took a snooze.

One of my favorite things about the trip was the fact that I did the Raymond 10k! Despite planning on doing the race for about3 or 4 months, I only ran about 5 or 6 times prior to the race and my longest run in training was 4 miles. Needless to say, I felt a little unprepared for the run. But on race day me, my sister Kim and my sister-in-law Jessica were there ready to run. I ended up running every step of the race with a finish time of 1:08 - which I realize is slow at an11-min pace but I was just happy to finish!

A few hours after the race we ended up going up to Waterton with my family. Whenever we go home, Waterton is a MUST in my books! Even if it is almost always windy it is still great to go. While there we stopped at Cameron Falls, had lunch at one of the camp kitchens, drove up to Cameron Lake and a did a short little hike with the kids. On the way down from Cameron Lake, Jeramy and I stopped at "our rock "and took a few pictures. The picture we ended up using for our wedding announcement was taken on the rock - fourteen years ago! YIKES! Now every time we go up to the lake, we stop and take a picture. After our pictures we headed back down to the townsite for some ice cream at Big Scoop - a must do!

We were able to visit with my good friend Melissa McKendrick at her parents home in Welling. It was so great to visit. While we were inside visiting, they got the horses out so the kids had a chance to ride a shetland pony. Ella was in heaven! Finn seemed to have a good time too!

On our last day of Canada was the Raymond parade. Such a fun tradition - especially now with all the little ones. It was rainy at the beginning but turned out to be a nice day. After the parade we all went to my parents house - grandpas, grandmas, aunts, uncles, counsins, etc. to eat and visit for the afternoon. It was great to catch up with everyone. The evening, and our trip, ended with fireworks. The next morning it was back on road back to Colorado. Now that the drive is a behind us, it was a great trip and we look forward to next year!