{sigh}

I need a break. I need a break from reality. When I was working full time and it was just the 2 of us, when I got overwhelmed I would want to go to a movie to tune out my life. We don't get to go to movies anymore. It's too much work to find a sitter and scrape together enough pennies to pay the sitter and pay to go out. We do occasionally, but not near as often as we should. B was sick all weekend up until he went back to work on Wednesday and so I was "on duty" with my 4 boys and I think it's caught up to me. I am in a funk and I need to get out. When I should be taking a nap with my boys I can't because there's so much to do, but I'm too tired to do any of it so it's a vicious cycle. I need to just take a deep breath and change my attitude and move forward again. Do you ever do that or am I the only one that cycles through this? Feeling like something is missing but you just can't put your finger on it? I don't know. Maybe I'll figure it out one of these days.

I got a pattern the other day to make bowties. I thought I'd add a few of those to my repertoire of craftiness. I also found a website that shows how to do suspenders. There was a lady at the market that asked me about kid suspenders and I thought that might be fun to try, too. But...I need to umph to do it. Need a little ambition.

The other day I was thinking about posting, since I haven't been so diligent lately and I really need to pick it up again. So, I am going to try to post more frequently again like I did at the beginning of the year. It will mostly just be the ramblings of my mind, more for me than for anyone else that stumbles onto this site. There is my warning.

And lastly, this is part of the fun we've had around here. This little guy is very busy, just like the older two. He seems to think this is his favorite place to be. I think he feels big that he can get up onto the fireplace but what a mess. His brothers did this, too, so I am hopeful that he will grow out of it quickly. What a funny little boy...

Happy Birthday...

To my one and only. You are my everything. I love you more every day I get to spend with you. You may not like this day but it is one of my most cherished. xoxo

Birthday party anyone?

Every 1 year old needs a party and Oliver had his. On Sunday we had both sides of our family over for a little BBQ, cake and ice cream to celebrate Baby O's big day. It was a pretty warm day but it was nice to have a little sprinkling of rain and a bit of cloud cover. It seems to be that anytime we plan a party at our house we have unusual weather, be it the first snow of the season the first week of October, to downpours the last week of August. I don't know that we've ever had a "perfect weather" party. Besides that, it was wonderful. Our families are incredible and we're so grateful for those that came to share your love with our babe. Oliver slept through dinner, and once he was awake, he wasn't quite sure about things. In fact, he was quite concerned. We sat him down to eat his cake and he was not happy. He dantily tried his cake and thought about it for a minute (still concerned) so Daddy helped him out. It was good. He liked it. We sucked and sucked on our fingers. Mom, have you tried this stuff? Why have you been holding out on me? Delicious! The end product. Sugar coma has set in. Ok, I'm done, can we play? Happy, Happy Birthday Oliver! We love you!

My dear, dear Oliver,

It was one year ago that I was anxiously awaiting your arrival. You have been a sweet boy since the minute you entered this world. I don't know how I could be so lucky to have such an amazing little boy. You are the apple of my eye and my little buddy. We have a special connection and I absolutly love it. Even though you are obviously a momma's boy, you are happy to see others, to snuggle with another, to share a smile with a stranger. You are so kind. You are so happy. You are so funny. You are so content. I love your chubby cheeks and your babble. I love your hugs (and especially when you'll pat my back during them). You are the funniest crawler. You started out as an army-crawler, but lately you have preferred to walk on your hands and feet with your bum in the air. It is darling and it makes everyone laugh. You love to eat and if the food is not there quick enough you are sure to let out a squeal and let me know I need to pick up the pace. This is especially noticable during church. It's quite embarassing for me, funny to everyone else. Your brothers love you. You and Charlie are going to be the best of friends. He is your watch-keeper. He is my assistant with you. It's been this way since day 1. D loves to bring you toys. I'm sure when you're a little bigger, D will be so excited to have another playmate. Your daddy and I adore you. You are our baby. Thank you for bringing so much joy and happiness to our family. I love you with all my heart. Happy 1st Birthday O!!!

God's Country

A week ago we got back from a quick mini-vacation to Eden, Utah. My parents had a condo for the week up at Powder Mountain and invited us to spend some time away with them. Can I even tell you how beautiful it is up there? You drive up a steep dirt road and then come around the corner and, bam, there is a little retreat right there on the top of the mountain. With the cool, wet, spring we had there is still plenty of snow up there but it is also quickly melting. Around the village there was constant water flow down the dirt road. Temperatures were about 60-65 degrees with sunny skies. I tell you, just a little fresh, mountain air is fantistic for a little rejuvination. I miss, miss, miss my mountains. It's pretty sad that I have not strapped on a snowboard (and probably most of them are now click-on's anyway) since I got married 100 years ago and I haven't been camping since before my twins were born 3 years ago. I am desperatly in need for a little mountain time, but until it's a little more feasible to do that, this was a nice escape. I continually am in awe of the beautiful earth the God created. How blessed we are to be able to live here and enjoy this beauty. I feel a little sad for those that don't enjoy the great outdoors. They truly are missing out on something special. Anyway, while in Eden we watched lots of movies, took lots of walks (usually just down the hill followed by a "go home" or a "I need to go awesome", etc.) and lots of swimming. That was the highlight for the boys. They loved the little kiddie pool and loved their "hoops." Such a fun time and makes me anxious to go to Bear Lake later in the summer.

Missed you at the Market

I have been slacking on my posting because I have been in crazy craft mode trying to get together a little "booth" for our Farmer's Market that started last night. All of a sudden about June 4th or 5th I realized "holy smokes, it's JUNE!!!" and then the scrambling began. It was fun, but way more crowded than I anticipated. I've always hit up our Farmer's Market in the fall and there have only been a handful of vendors but last night there were ga-zillions! The lady across from me said it is like this every year, that it dwindles as the summer goes on. I didn't think I'd sell anything being that I'm just small potatoes compared to those there, but I made my entrance fee back so I guess it was a success. Better than being in the red. Probably the best thing about it was being able to sit there in the shade and watch the wierdos go by and not have to wonder where my kids were and had a night off from screaming. Lovely. Come see me if you're not busy on a Thursday night.

More words

Before I forget I wanted to write down some of the funny things the boys call things.

"ah...ah...purse": Ah-choo/sneeze
"a-a-blintz": Ambulance
"ticka-ticka": Tickle-Tickle
"na-nant": Elephant
"ninch": Grinch
"la-loe": Love you
"Naa-tee": Dylan/Charlie
"purse": Orange

That's all I can remember right now. I sure am going to miss when the boys say things correctly. It's so fun to watch them grow up and learn.