10 Year Anniversary

Matt and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary on the 11th. And I am so thrilled to be married to such a great guy. Today he was gone in trial prep and I'm not used to having him gone on Saturdays. I really really missed him a lot. I love that we laugh over silly stuff, that we act like old people reminiscing about when we were young and received cds for 60 free minutes of internet time, and that we enjoy being with our kids so much. I have loved watching him gain such a strong testimony and be such a great example of service and kindness. I love that we make time for each other to go to the temple and grow spiritually as we discuss the gospel. There are so many blessings the gospel has brought to our lives and I extremely thankful we have each other. Every once in awhile I'll see some of my friends' pictures and updates on facebook about the incredible places they are going and the nights out on the town. While I do hope to someday vacation and a night out sounds enticing I am perfectly content sitting here in my fleece pajamas and fuzzy slippers cutting up grapes and veggies for our toddler between typing sentences. I am thankful for the life I've chosen and the experiences I've been given. We have stood together to face the challenges that have come our way and I am thankful to have a strong partner with a sometimes exasperating sense of humor.

Katherine's Belated Birthday Post

Today is the perfect day to catch up on Katherine's birthday post! I love that she is 2. I love that we can communicate better and I love that she is exhibiting signs of empathy and kindness. I love that she is following directions so much better and I love that she still is as fiery and determined as ever. Katherine has brought so much happiness to our family. She makes me cry sometimes because sometimes when I am watching her I just can't believe she is mine. Today we went to the gardens for a little bit and I am so bummed I forgot my camera. That being said, not having my camera allowed me to really enjoy the moments. Again she insisted on walking instead of riding in the stroller. We stopped at a little green hill under some nice tall trees and enjoyed the nice breeze. I was sitting on the grass watching her chase the leaves as they fell. She'd yell "uh-oh!" and take off running, grab the leaf when it was on the ground and hold it up high trying to give it back to the tree. It took some convincing to get her to know the tree wasn't hurt and that it was sharing its leaves with us. We lingered there awhile, counting leaves into a pile and putting them on our hair to be silly and then walked on. When we got to a bridge Katherine got on her tummy eye to eye with a big frog. It stayed still and she had a lot of fun admiring it and then said "Biya Frog!" and off we went. When we got to the rose garden we went from rose variety to rose variety saying the color and smelling the rose. It makes me thrilled that she could name some of the colors without prompting and I loved just knowing that when she is at the gardens she is really soaking it in too. I was thinking as I walked the path, tearing up occasionally because I am a big baby this week, that each day my body breathes but when I am at the gardens my soul breathes. It sounds cliche but it's really how I feel. When I am there I just get a better sense of myself and have some uninterrupted time to think things out.

Katherine had a fun birthday and had a small party with family and a couple family friends. We sang happy birthday to her and were eating cake when we realized that she was at the table plucking the carrots off of her carrot cake and eating them. It was adorable to see a row of green stems with the carrots missing. She is such an imp and so fun. Her temper tantrums are further apart and today in kindermusik when I thought she'd freak out when it was time to put the parachute away, she helped put it away! It was a neat moment as I realized how she is learning routine. I love that she is becoming more tender. She races to Matt when he gets home and throws her arms around Carter's legs when they come in the door from school pick up. Here's a funny story about my cute girl: She hates the vacuum. I was vacuuming the living room so she was screaming for matt. When she realized he wasn't home to rescue her she started screaming for boots who is a monkey character on a tv show called "Dora the Explorer." It cracked me up that she fully expected boots to come rescue her from being around the vacuum. Katherine loves to play with tiny toy cars and trains, loves shape sorting, pushing her baby in a stroller, and most of all reading books. She brings me book after book just like Carter did. It's been such an interesting experience to read her books that I read to Carter. She has already memorized some of them and sings Old MacDonald and Wheels on The Bus. Hear gibberish gibberish gibberish all to ta town! and gibberish E I E I O. I love being able to really have someone to talk now. At the gardens today she said "Whoa big rock mama wait!" It was so clear and I stopped right away so she could explore the big rock and thought about how nice it was that I had another level to communicate on with her now. I love that I am getting a second chance to experience this great age. I love that I have the perfect girl for me and the perfect boy for me. I am so thankful. I am so blessed.

No August?

I cannot believe I didn't have a single post in August! I know August came and went and it's sad that I don't have anything to document it. I didn't even do a birthday post for Katherine. I'm a pathetic mom. I promise to do a great birthday post, maybe next week. There is too much to write about her being an adorable 2 year old to write it today. Today. We are treading water as school has begun and I've struggled to maintain, adapt, and grow simultaneously. I'll have a day where I am lying on the floor playing calico critters with Katherine and I think life is perfect. Then I'll have a day where I am completely overwhelmed. I've heard this is normal so I'm not too worried. I think it's just the normal life of a mom. So here is the snapshot of me trying my best to be a normal mom. My morning routine often includes running to look at my calendar to see which obligations are on my plate for the day. I don't feel like I have too much to do at one time but it seems that days where things conflict are happening more than they should. Does that make any sense? I am juggling my traditional roles which I absolutely love. There is nothing better than being a wife, mother, daugther, and friend. I am also loving being a primary teacher. I don't mind the time it takes to prepare the lesson, find a handout activity, make copies on Wednesdays, and pass out them to the kids who miss church. The kids are so great and being in primary is the PERFECT place for me. I love the spirit there and that I can sing half of the church time away. I am a den leader which I am honestly still trying to figure out. I didn't realize that in addition to the den meetings, planning a month's worth of them every other month, committee meetings once a month, pack meetings once a month I am also supposed to be keeping track of each boy's progress and personally meeting the ones who don't attend often, and sending reminders. I'm trying to not be resentful that the meeting time can't be changed unless I host it (picture free babysitting, empty cupboards, broken furniture, scattered items, and coughing snotty kids running through my house and then ask me why I wouldn't want to host it). It conflicts with the local Irish dance classes (Carter has been begging for dance lessons) so I'll be driving to Riverton instead of going to the local ones. I'm also an Eagle Scout Counselor which doesn't entail a whole lot since I am failing at motivating any of them or their parents to do a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. So I organize binders to give to them or make handouts, leave messages, facebook messages, get stood up for meetings if I ever get far enough to get one scheduled, make handouts or displays for courts of honor and try to keep my boss updated on the lack of progress I am making despite my attempts. I'm the school council secretary which means I have a meeting every couple of months and write the agenda and then type up the minutes. I am married to the soccer coach who still asks me for help when I didn't even sign up to be team mom. I teach Carter's class idioms every Friday at 2pm. I find myself volunteering for things and then getting stressed about self imposed deadlines. For example if I haven't seen my 3 vt sisters by the second week of the month I start to get frantic thinking we won't be able to visit. It's really silly of me. When I see it all written out I just think I'm either forgetting some other roles or I am just plain silly. It really isn't much. Gotta go it's time to pick up Carter from school and drop him off at his piano lesson. In fact, when I get feeling overwhelmed I should just be thankful I have less to do than Carter. He has homework, piano practice, soccer practice, choir practice, scout meeting, and now because he has begged, he'll have his dance lessons.

Latest Greatest

I love this picture my brother in law took of Matt and Carter. It's from this past weekend when they camped at Mirror Lake and hiked up a mountain. I think they called it Bald Mountain. Matt said they got 90% of the way there and he got a strong impression to turn back so they did. The pictures the rest of the family took from the summit show a sheer cliff and knowing my boys as well as I do I can definitely see why Matt was impressed to turn around. They are adorable and wonderful but klutzy. I am too. I am so blessed to have a spouse who is an incredible father. Matt got some pretty bad rope burns that cut the skin on the backs of his knees on Friday an hour before they left but he still was excited to take Carter camping and hiking. They rafted on the lake and I was told that they looked "so cute out there." I love that Carter has an excellent role model and a dad who loves spending time with him and who would do anything for him.

I love nature hikes and enjoying the beauty of the creations too but I like to be home in bed when it's time to sleep. I hate campground accommodations (or lack thereof) so I was completely fine to miss the Morrison extended camp out and stay home with my little princess. We set up her twin bed which was my twin bed when I was a child. It's a bit bizarre to snuggle with her and realize that 30 years ago I was that little sleeping with that same headboard and footboard. The mattress buying, schlepping, and setting up was a challenge and 3 trips to the furniture store but we got it done. She looks adorable sleeping in her bed, when she actually does sleep in her bed that is. She climbs out and opens her door and runs into our room all hours of the night but it's really cute in my sleeply deliriousness to see this cute little wild haired girl running and then climbing into our bed. So that is the latest news around here. I'm feeling that anxious fear that I haven't done everything that I've wanted to do with the kids this summer and the days are racing by faster than a melting otter pop. My calendar is full of ink along with a list at the top of August obligations to write on the calendar as soon as I print August. Today Carter is at cub scout camp which is all day and on a mountain somewhere. I'm sure he's having a blast while I sit here worrying about him.

Lastly, I am so excited that I now have a bike! I had a mountain bike when I was much younger but with my back problems I really needed a cruiser so a few years ago I gave away my bike since it hadn't been used in many many years. Saturday I found a cruiser at a local yard sale for $20! It's a mens cruiser but it is in great condition and the price made it irresistible. Normally, Matt and Carter ride bikes and I push the stroller. I bought the bike Saturday and when Carter and Matt came home from camping Saturday evening Carter and I took our first bike ride together. I hadn't been on a bike in years so I was a bit nervous but it was awesome. We rode over to the horses in a field not too far from our house and fed them and then just cruised around. He kept calling me dad and then had to correct himself since he wasn't used me riding alongside him. Sunday I rode my bike to drop off all the activity handouts to my primary children who had missed class. It was really fun especially down one of the steeper roads here. I hate how self conscious I am but I love that I can now have that experience. We just need to get Katherine riding a bike now. :)

Having Mr. Carter Home

I love having my Carter home. I can't believe I only have just one more month before he goes back to school. I love how we interact most of the time when he is home all day. He's such a buddy and he's a good kid. I love watching him and thinking about his choices and seeing glimpses of who he'll be when he grows up. He makes me laugh and he makes me worried and he makes me happy. We haven't had many treats in the house and he's been asking for junk food so I started thinking we should have occasional treats. I made him this incredible ice cream sundae complete with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and a cherry. He was really excited at first and then after a few bites said he didn't like it. He had a second water slide party with many friends over and half way through I couldn't find him. A friend found him reading a book at the kitchen table. This morning he asked me what was worse, a dungeon or a prison. I said dungeon and he explained why he thought a dungeon would be a better choice. Hmm...maybe a bit too much reading.

He's read over 20 books this summer, played outside so much that his freckles are perfectly adorable, swam so much he's almost grown gills, given Katherine so many horseback rides that she jumps on him and tries to drag him to the ground, and whined so much about having to go to any stores that I've tried to avoid doing errands just to avoid hearing the complaints. He's decided he's going on a mission to Hawaii or Japan and still trying to figure out if he'll be an astronaut or a scientist. He finished up baseball season, watched Irish dance lessons and begged to start (open enrollment is September), passed off some cub scout requirements, practiced piano less, played way more, and has had a fun couple of months. The stomach aches he was having towards the end of the year are gone and he is definitely cheerful and happy. We've cut way back on playdates and I think he feels a lot less pressure. He's a people pleaser and I've tried to make things fun and to give him options so that he doesn't feel like he's being ordered around. That's not to say that I haven't raised my voice this summer. I did this weekend when he ignored his dad's request to not turn the water on in the backyard since he was minutes away from mowing the lawn and didn't want the grass all wet. But overall I/we've been a lot more relaxed. We've been silly and we've been explorers. We've gone to a few trails we didn't know about and Carter and Matt have been checking out dirt bike paths around here. Katherine and I sank into pond scum when we were trying to identify animal tracks and had to walk home absolutely gross. It was a fun family outing though. I love feeling like I am more fun than awful. The tricky part will be to try to keep my summer state of mind when the chaos of homework, piano, scouts, dance, and my own obligations (and Matt's) begins.

In other news, Katherine has loved her kindermusik class and is having a lot of fun having her brother home. I started giving her time outs when she doesn't stop when I tell her to (think running towards the road and running faster when I tell her to stop and try to get her). She hates her 2 minute time outs so I am hoping that she'll learn to obey the whole stop thing soon. She says so many words and I love hearing what she decides to say. My favorites so far are "strawberries wow!" and "dada mine." I was released from my church library calling. I felt like it was coming but it still felt shocking when I heard the words. I now have a primary class, am a den mother, and continue to be an eagle scout counselor. Matt is totally shrinking. He's lost 30 pounds now. He's just melting away but I am happy that he is happy and that we won't have to worry about so many medical concerns for him. So that's the update. Thanks for reading!

Summer So Far.....

I think I'll go on record and say this is my best summer. I think I said that last year too though and last year was really great and so was the year before (Katherine was born) so I guess I just really really love the summer time. So far we have had such great family time. I love watching Carter and Katherine play. I love how they interact and I love that Katherine can totally communicate with him now. She makes her point known whether it's through her words or actions and it's pretty cute so watch them figure out what each other is saying. We've been swimming several times but not as much as we want because of problems with the pool cover and the heater at the pool. I am still glad we got the pass though because we have gone and we will definitely be going more. I absolutely love going over there at night and getting some laps in when no one can stare at me and I can look up at the stars and hear the crickets and just really soak in summer. We play in the backyard everyday and yesterday Carter and Katherine had a picnic on the platform of the swingset/fort thingy. It was adorable to watch them.

We've gone to Thanksgiving Point a few times and it's been so enjoyable. We went to the farm, the ice cream parlor, the dinosaur museum, and the art gallery all one day that first week school was out. We went back the next week for the gardens and again to the gardens with matt's 2 aunts and a couple of their grandkids. It was fun to see the kids interact with cousins they had never met and we all picnicked there and had a nice day!

Matt took Carter to free day at This Is The Place Heritage Park. We love that place but hate the admission costs so we always go on free days. They left the house at 9am and didn't come home until after 5pm. Carter got picked to be the child to come up to the front for lessons in the school house and got to keep a pioneer marble. He panned for gold and got to exchange his gold at the bank for candy. He loved the private tour of the fire station (no other guests had hiked up to it when they got there), and of course loved the train rides and free ice cream. He did pioneer chores happily and spent the most time at the petting zoo meeting Lula and the other baby animals. We were very sad to hear the next day that the barn burned down the next morning and the animals perished. We had been planning on returning to the park the next Monday (another free day) with Carter and Katherine (she had been sick on the Friday) but we knew we couldn't take Carter and let him see the burned barn and have to explain those animals he had held and petted had died so we are waiting for the rebuild before returning. He's had enough emotional stuff lately as we had to give Kip to a new home. Matt's OCD really acted up with having a puppy in the house and although he had fallen in love with him and brought him home he decided it just wasn't going to work especially with Kip growling and occasionally nipping the kids. Carter and I had a few really rough days but things are getting easier and Carter is torturing Matt by asking for a pet rat everyday.

My dad came to visit last weekend. He flew in Saturday morning and left Sunday and though it was a short visit and Katherine was under the weather we made the short time a wonderful time. My parents are such great grandparents. My dad is just a stellar grandpa. He gets on the floor with the kids and races cars, plays marbles, reads books, acts silly, wrestles, and this time got hit with a wooden oar and a rock both by Katherine who was trying to get the attention back on her instead of Carter. He hardly flinched and then on balanced giving Carter and Katherine attention way better than I can. He's a great dad and a great grandpa and I felt so lucky that he came to visit. We went to my grandma's memorial lunch (7 years since she has passed) and it was so nice to see all the cousins and family. We also went up to Cascade Springs, drove the Alpine Loop, and down through Sundance, stopping at Bridal Veil Falls for more pictures. It was awesome and I loved having that time to spend with my dad.

Today Matt and Carter are at 7 peaks water park. We told Carter he was going swimming somewhere fun. He was asking around about it and I ended up saying 7 peaks. He freaked out. 7 peaks? I'm going there?!! So I say yeah how do you know about that place? And he said Duh mom all my friends told me about it, there are lots of waterslides there. I ignored the duh part (are we really at that age already) and wondered what else he knows about that I don't know he knows. Kinda scary. Katherine and I are home today, packing since we leave for Cedar City in the morning. We are going to a cousin's wedding down in that area and are anxious to check out the sites! I'm really excited about staying in a hotel. So excited. The kids will love another pool and I am just thrilled with the chance of getting away even if it is only for 1 day.

I really thought that I'd be less busy once school was out but I find that I have just created more things to do. It's okay though, I'm totally not complaining. I am having a great summer. It's just funny to me that there ends up being something practically every night of the week even when I thought things would calm down. It's good though. I enjoy the time we are having as a family. We've explored a trail in our neighborhood, gone to Carter's baseball games, walked over to the park a ton, gone swimming, hung out in the backyard, eaten out in restaurants (notable for us since we rarely eat out), and went to some Pony Express Day activities. Our garden is coming along and the strawberries are doing pretty well! Both kids have had one off the plant now and there are a ton of cute baby green ones. Our lettuce, green onions, and cilantro are all harvestable which resulted in some awesome veggie tacos last night for dinner. Can't wait for my tomatoes to be here and I love checking out the tons of baby apples growing on our Gala Apple tree. I love being out there with the kids and looking at the sky. I swear it's better out here. The clouds are so big, the mountain backdrop is jaw dropping still, and it just seems like you can see the curvature of the earth. There seriously are butterflies and robins in the backyard everyday and I can't help but just be so thankful each day for all of God's creations.

Katherine started her first Kindermusik class. Carter did Music Together and loved it and I think it gave him a great foundation for his piano playing. Kindermusik is similar and Carter's piano teacher teaches it so we quickly signed up. We had our first lesson this week and typical Katherine cracked me up. Instead of sitting in the circle playing instruments like the rest of the mommy/child pairs my child was standing in the middle of the circle arms raised,happily dancing. The thing I love most about these music programs is that children are free to interpret the music and their feelings however they want,they are not forced to do what the other kids are doing. I just keep doing what the group is doing and hope that she'll decide to join me but if she doesn't that's okay, it's not wrong, she is free to be herself. And she definitely is and she makes me smile so much.

Carter brings me so much joy too. He and I spent some time cleaning out the star wars toys under his bed and once the garbage bag of broken or unwanted items was gone he started spending more time playing. I filled a garbage bag of stuff out of Katherine's toy box too and she seems more interested in what she has now too. I guess less is more after all. Carter has had a few scheduled playdates with friends and has had a lot of fun. The water slide party was fun but cold so we are planning another one in a couple of weeks. I feel a little guilty not just letting in the children who come to my door to play but I really am so protective of this time that Carter and Katherine have together. Once school starts they will be apart pretty much all day and that makes me want to give them lots of fun experiences together this summer even more.

So to recap we are happily busy with Carter's baseball games, scouts, piano lessons, kindermusik, church obligations, scheduled playdates, and plenty of outings. Last night was a baseball game, Today 7peaks, tonight Carter is in the ward talent show, tomorrow morning baseball game at 9am and then we are off to Cedar City. So yeah that is a sample of how happily busy we are (I wonder if my friends will remember me in the fall?) Life is good and I am very thankful.

Goodbye to Second Grade

I can't believe my sweet boy will be going into 3rd grade in the fall. This year has flown by probably even faster than last year which was a whirlwind. Carter enjoyed his class and I, of course, absolutely love the school Carter is attending. I love volunteering in his classroom because the kids always make me feel like a rock star. It's a big ego boost. There were so many activities it is so hard to sum up the year but there were a million class parties and projects, Carter was a dancing skeleton in the school play, he read a billion books and had a goal of 25 AR points per quarter (which he met all 4 quarters), and sung his little heart out at the second grade music recital. Seeing him up there singing Dixie Land just about killed me. He learned to sing Swing Low Sweet Chariot from his school music teacher and I kid you not he has the sweetest tenor voice that I bet can melt a heart of stone. I have him sing it to me whenever I am feeling like my heart may turn to stone. His teacher said he was friends with everyone and a good helper. I found several love notes, from different girls I might add, and had to talk to him a little more in depth about love. He came home from the school awards assembly with an award from the principal for Excellence. When I saw the principal I asked if it was an academic award or what since it didn't say and she said it was for academics and excellence in all areas which cracks me up. I am proud of him for being a good, smart, funny kid. He continues to crack us up and is as dramatic as ever and as fond of justice and fairness and any federal court judge. He got a huge surprise on pet day at school. I told him that his dad was bringing him home a dog. That evening Matt brought home an adorable little chug he named Kip after Kip Dynamite. He's a cutie and Carter's best buddy. He sleeps in a crate next to Carter's bed and I have to say Kip has been great for all of us. Katherine is starting to share, Carter is getting more responsible and I have a cute little furry friend to cuddle with when Katherine won't let me hold her. Funny how independent 21 month olds are. Carter seems to have grown so much this year. He's physically bulkier though still wearing a size 7 though he's 8 years old. When I look at his face I can see the outline of his teenager face and it fills me with anxiety to think about how few years really lie between now and 18 year old independence. It's been an emotional year for Carter as he has adapted to having an adorable sister who requires more attention than she used to since she's proven herself to be a dare devilish, won't take no for an answer toddler. She's absolutely magical and wonderful but we've gone through a biting phase, a pull Carter off the piano bench phase, and a take Carter's toys and won't give them back stage. Still, he's always wanting to hug his sister and wakes her up in the morning with a kiss on the forehead. She is still his "precious, cutie pie, precious," or his "queenie." Carter has learned a lot of the tough parts in life. He is a very tender soul and so learning history has been a bit gut wrenching at times for him. He was very upset about the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination he learned about as well as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars that he learned about. It's been hard as a parent to watch him try to process what he is learning and feeling. The other day on our way to the gardens I told him one of the most important things I wanted to teach him was that yes evil exists in this world but that there are millions and millions of miracles that happen everyday. I choose to dwell on those miracles. Yes I protest rodeos and flier all the cars in the walmart parking lot with leaflets from PETA but at the end of the day one has to be able to not live in sadness but to be able to rejoice in hearing the birds singing, or watching a bee get pollen from a flower or all the other hundreds of miracles we walk or drive past everyday. It is important to try to make a difference. I've done a good job teaching Carter to not be apathetic but now I am finding myself trying to right the ship without making an over-correction. It is important to stand up for what is right, and to do what is right, and to be altruistic but that being said, we cannot spend each thought on what is wrong in the world, we need to have joy! Can't tell you how many morning scripture times before school we have read scriptures that focus on being happy and how to be happy. Speaking of happiness Carter was very happy to have friends over for an end of the year waterslide party and we are over the moon excited for summer. I am looking forward to a wonderful summer with more waterslide parties, pool visits, day trips, and just time together. I feel sick even think about having to turn back into the homework monitoring mom so I am just going to focus on the second and third aspect of what I think is going to be my new motto Work Hard, Play Hard, Sleep Well.