Memorial Day

We are not out of school yet. That makes Memorial Day not so much of a party as it could be, but we did make a quick trip to Price.  I love the way my mom's family does Memorial Day, they are very deliberate about honoring and remembering loved ones.  As an extension my dad's family gets in on the Memorial Day action...lots of love and thought go into that day.

Conversations with Darin brought up thoughts about how who I am is because of these people.  The crazy, the wonderful, the tenacity, the stubbornness, the forgiving, the judgmental...all of it is mixed up in me and currently being passed to my kids without me being conscience of it.  I am swimming in a Young/Rasmussen soup that only my siblings can really understand.  My kids are swimming in that soup with added Ray and Gee-ness that only they will fully understand.  Thats why family is so frustratingly hard and so important at the same time...and also why it's good to add in-laws so any one flavor doesn't get too strong. 

Dad, the family genealogist, took us even further down the family tree to ancestors who settled the area. 

Always fun to know where your people are from and where they landed.

2 1/2's make a full...right??

I ran another 1/2 last weekend.  This time in the rain.  There are no beautiful photos of Pineview  or the Ogden Canyon waterfalls because wind was pelting my face and phone with rain/hail! I couldn't even get my screen unlocked to play music.  To be honest it was pretty grueling, I was not prepared and then the rain + wind....I was soaked to the bone and my thighs felt like cement blocks! 

I kept plugging along...and finished....gotta be proud of that. My friend Mirissa PR'd in those conditions, she was super over prepared...there is a lesson there.

Later there was another Lagoon trip with some more rain. So good for me to walk some of the soreness off. Byron did Cannibal, Blast Off and Re-entry!   Soren and I road Flying Aces 3X, he is in love. We hit Tilt-A-Whirl because it gave cover from the rain and realized too late our weight distribution made it for a pretty lame ride.

We are going to try it again with physics in mind.

Pioneer Village is more expansive than I remember...huge gun collection! Byron had a school field trip there earlier this week so he had all sorts of cool things to show us.  Love those peacocks.

Then...Log Ride

No one else was riding it so the kids could get off and run right back on.

The sun was shining by then but everyone was wet so only crazies like us were on water rides.

At this point there is ONE more week until summer.  I am sitting here kind if in denial, how and where did the time go. 

Soren and I

It's so great and so awful being the youngest.  This guy gets more one-on-one time with Mom than anyone else. More lunches out, more treats at the grocery store, more park trips. But he also has to sit back and watch his siblings move on to big kid things without him as he inches his way toward being in their shoes. Lagoon has been the latest experience like that, but it has been that way with summer rec., birthday parties, class field trips...in almost everything he has to watch the older kids do it first.  In some ways thats a huge perk as he is usually more excited than scared to try new things but oh the patience it takes! And then there is the whole "been there done that" attitude he faces.

This was a mom and Soren trip to see the chalk art festival while Miriam was in ballroom dance and Byron was at a birthday party.  Soren and I walked both sides of the street picking our favorites.

Especially this one, done by our friend and the boys summer art teacher.

This girl is only a sophomore in high school, can you believe it (boo to the shadow)?

We stopped and split the Chalk Art Special at the Bun basket and soaked in all the artistic inspiration with a sandwich and cookie.

When we got home Soren made this.....

Electric  Cat

Not Finished Yet!

This boy of ours is 9!

Not to toot my own horn but I did get up at 5:00 am to hit an exercise class so that I would be out and about closer to Einstein Bagels to pick up breakfast before the kids woke up. It had to be special, and it had to be early because his birthday landed on a Monday. My birthday eve prep was in danger of being thwarted by the Sabbath. I made it work. 

When I picked him up for a birthday lunch and asked him where we should go he said "wherever you want to go" but I didn't let the easy going middle child get away with that! Finally he decided that what he really wanted was a Neapolitan shake from In N Out all to himself.

So he got it!

And was back to class by the time lunch recess was over.

His birthday balloons and gifts were waiting for him when he got home from school.  First gift, Bear manual along with the light blue neckerchief and tie.  Not a huge exciting gift, but his first Bear meeting was that day and they did a huge birthday party for all the boys to pass off a bunch of games.

It was a bonus party that coincidentally landed on his birthday!!

Directly to soccer after scouts, which he only complained about a little bit while changing uniforms in the car.  When I went to pick him up he asked if he could stay 10 min late to finish up the scrimmage so it turned out okay. 

Then to Menchie's for birthday dinner/birthday treat 

(there is fruit in it...and all those probiotics...it totally counts!)

(or maybe no fruit)

He got Ollie for his birthday which he has wanted for a looong time so he was one happy boy!

Darin had it all charged up and ready for him to play with first thing the next morning.

His party was the next day, I picked up 2 of his friends for $12 buck Tuesdays at Boondocks. It's a gamble to go on $12 buck Tuesday, can be a madhouse...but I guess all the spring sports kept people away, we had the run of the place!  

Lazer Tag, XD theatre, Rollerball, and then the arcade games.  I love 9, I didn't have to do a thing except make sure they used the buddy system. Good thing they didn't need me because Soren can't reach the gas on the driving games so I was kind of busy.

Byron has really nice friends. 

The party will continue all week because we have 9 balloons to suck helium out of!!

Birthday Season Continues...

Darin actually worked like a dog on his birthday; helping Miriam mow the lawn, getting the sprinklers ready, splicing the sprinkler line I accidentally cut with the trimmer, discovering that there may be a water leak under our driveway....(geesh)

We still managed to get some fun in. 2 trips to Lagoon, one with the kids, where we hit The Bat, snuck Soren onto Turn of the Century (kind of on accident), Tidal Wave...then the big kids went on Wicked while Soren and I did some kiddie rides (grow Soren grow!! and also, what were we thinking having an odd # of kids? Lagoon problems...) 

We then hit In N Out, really our only fast food indulgence. 

Darin and I got another trip into the park sans kiddos to ride Cannibal...this was actually my idea.  I always want to do something memorable and exciting on my birthday so Darin was good about letting me do it on his birthday.  First a stop at Twiggs (I am digging that place) then Lagoon where we got on Cannibal twice in a row with only a 5 min wait!! Then Blast Off and Re-Entry because they are right there...and no lines...and in my opinion the scariest rides in the park.  Darin humored me by going on Flying Aces because that is a personal favorite of mine. 

  

He is such a good sport.  

So far I am delighted in our pass choice, I am having a blast reliving my childhood and being introduced to new exciting rides.  The kids are loving it too, feeling so brave conquering fears, and downright phobias in Miriam's case.  It turns out she loves everything she has tried.   I think that has been a valuable lesson in understanding anxiety; sometimes it is justified, but other times it really is all in your head and might be holding you back from really great experiences.  I love that they are all experiencing it together...like I did with my siblings. 

Good Times...Good Times

and now Darin and I are the same age!!

Ocean Animal Party

We had a very successful youth auction a few months ago.  Successful for the youth budget and successful for our family fun!  We scored a ton of massive fireworks for super cheap! The youth provided dinner, volunteered a service to be auctioned, and made desserts that were sold at the dinner.  Some of the desserts were individually sliced for immediate consumption, and some were sold as an entire boxed whatever to be taken home.  Funny thing about that....when Darin took the boys up to buy a dessert they bought the packaged cinnamon rolls THAT WE HAD MADE and proceeded to eat the entire plate by themselves.  I think it ended up being about 2 1/2 cinnamon rolls each.  I thought about stopping the whole thing many times but it is one of the best memories of their little lives so I am glad I sat back and let it happen.

Miriam and two of her friends gave a princess or tea party.  It went for quite a lot of money so when the highest bidder claimed the party I was anxious the girls be flexible and do whatever they wanted. So the 8 year old birthday party turned into an Ocean Animal party. M and her friends rose to the occasion! I wish I had taken photos of the decorations: the octopus balloon hanging from the ceiling, the sea weed and coral streamers...it was so cute!

But I only took photos of the food table.

It rained and hailed during the party which was suppose to be outside. I am once again so grateful for our completely empty basement! Having carpeted empty space down there has more than once saved the day. I don't care about spilled food, or damaged walls.  

Hooray for not feeling anxious to update and furnish!

Mother's Day Views..

Mother's Day weekend 2016...one of my best yet! 

A couple of things that made it special.

LAGOON!

with crazy thrill ridin' cousins.

An hour and a half yoga class I have been wanting to try forever.  Perfect way to celebrate, my comfort zone was pushed, my muscles are sore, but it was also soooo relaxing.  My yoga instructor said beautiful things about mothers, including mother earth...I felt gratitude, contentment, and peace. I find that after stretching and centering myself physically I am especially open to inspiration.

A family game of Qwirkle

The game that is both fun and beautiful!

Pig & Jelly Jar

I have wanted to try chicken & waffles for a looong time.  Hipster style southern food is fantastic!

4 Stars from this crew.

Lots of sweet expressions of love and gratitude all weekend.

Mother's Day ended with fresh raspberry freezer jam and homemade bread delivery from Diedre.

Caleb was earning money for scout and soccer camp by selling his mom's treats so I gladly helped him out. 

So grateful I get to do this motherhood thing. 

So so so grateful I have a mother and mother-in-law to help me along the way.

Also grateful that Darin is here to help me be the best, happiest mother I can be. 

Growing up...

Byron has been over-the-moon excited about the Cub Scout rain gutter regatta. He has loved every step of the boat making process, and has been practicing his lung skills.  But.... I wasn't looking forward to it.  I was nervous about hurt feelings, and sad boys.  My fears grew significantly bigger when Byron came home day of, in tears, from the Chess Club party EVEN THOUGH he got 2nd place in his division for speed chess.  See....I signed both Soren and Bub up for Chess but Soren only went twice and hated it.  He just didn't get how to play and didn't really want to learn.  He was having such a hard time going to school I decided not to push an after school club.  Well, since there were only 4 kindergartners who even signed up turns out Soren got 3rd place which came with a large chess-piece-head trophy.  Byron, who went every week he could, played his heart out, and learned how to lose with grace got this medal for speed chess and a small participation trophy. 

It wasn't fair.

And believe me I explained over and over how Soren's trophy didn't mean anything because he didn't earn it, but his little medal meant something. I also mentioned that all the trophies I had ever won were now in a landfill (or maybe DI), how we could go to DI right this minute and buy and even bigger trophy! All to no avail.  

It just wasn't fair, and he wasn't going to easily get over it.

Can you see why I was nervous about the regatta? Soooo many things could go wrong, broken boats, cheating boys, wet cold kids, crying 9 year olds. 

Turns out it was just another case of me worrying for nothing.

It was so fun! 

Everyone had fun!

And little B is totally over that whole chess trophy thing...just needed to cry about the unfairness of his mortal existence for a minute.  Like we all do sometimes. 

This guy....

Oh he is so fun. Full of music, and dancing, and laughter and great snuggles.
6 is such a wonderful age to be! It's not to old to be held in a lap, the world is opening up through reading, lots of free time and space to dream and be.

Soren is picking up chinese fast and furious, he still LOVES swimming best of all activities, music is a HUGE part of his life which is good since he spends lots of time in the car taking older siblings here and there.  He and I love to find good songs on the radio to sing our guts out to (ask him to sing some Bon Jovi next time you see him).  He really enjoys dancing (hello music!) so I have been meaning to find him a hip hop class...got to get on that.

After much deliberation Soren decided that he wanted to take a friend to Build-A-Bear for his birthday. His brother and sister each have them and now Soren's life is complete!

Then on to Johnny Rockets for lunch.

The staff sang to him backwards and he got an ice cream treat!

Then piano lessons, Modern Display where a worker there gave him a Mega Bouncy Ball because it was his birthday!  Then a rush drive down to Price to make it to Julia's end of the year recital.

Sadly, no pictures. I just sat back and enjoyed the show.

It was fantastic! My nieces danced their hearts out, and the show was amazing with this super hero/super villen dancetraviganza for the finale.  

My dad finished his gorgeous Riviera.  I got a ride to Wal-mart late one night for toothbrushes but sadly it didn't make it to the Moab car show because of a problem with the engine. 

Very disheartening after all that work...but let's just sit back and admire the beautiful car for a moment. I was reminded of an article I read the other day where the author said she was grateful for this "unfair and beautiful life" yeah...that kind of sums it up.

We had a family birthday party for Soren on Sunday...again no pictures...I am slacking so bad in that department! It was windy, and chilly but so fun to watch the cousins play tag all over DinoMine park.  Everyone was super generous with gifts for little S. He made out like a bandit...thats what happens when you time your birthday with a Price trip!