fall break: week two

We loaded up the kids and drove to Utah a week ago Saturday. We actually made our very best time and arrived in 9 hours and 50 minutes. We literally stopped only once in Page, AZ for only 20 minutes to get gas and to use the restroom (I had packed food in the cooler). Way to go kids! Liv even napped for about an hour. Amazing!



We were able to spend the week with my parents in American Fork. I took some photos of my parents on Sunday. Doesn't my mom look wonderful, not to mention beautiful? You're looking good as well, Dad :).

I've gotten lots of e-mails and calls regarding my mom's health lately. Thank you for your love, prayers and concern on her behalf. My mom seemed to have more energy last week than when I last saw her in August (she is eating more), which was a very good thing. I was able to go and sit with her for chemo on Wednesday, and it was just great to be with my folks in their home and to spend time visiting.

I haven't gone into much detail on my blog about the specifics of what is going on with her medically. Who wants to talk or write about yucky cancer?! She has Stage IV pancreatic cancer, and they discovered on Friday that she has blood clots in her leg which has been causing pain and swelling. My folks are troopers and are maintaining a positive attitude and sense of humor.

I love you, Mom!!!

We were able to visit with Rob's folks and two of his sisters and their families on Friday evening before we returned home on Saturday. The kids had fun playing with cousins and going fishing with Grandpa Pete. Unfortunately we got stuck in traffic for an hour just outside of PHX and so the ride home took 12 hours.

One funny thing from the trip: Hewitt discovered Grandma Sycamore's Bread at my parents' house and fell in love! Once when Rob offered him a second piece he said, "I just can't get enough of it!" Thankfully my mom sent us home with an entire loaf and on our drive home Hewitt called out from the back seat, "Can I get some GSB?"

fall break: week one

Our kids have been on fall break since Hewitt's birthday. We stayed very busy on week one and spent lots of time outside (it helps that the weather had cooled considerably).

Here is a pic I took of Liv with my phone at the park:

And one of Hewitt taking a break for a snack at the zoo:

I brought my camera to the park one day and got some cute ones:

The boys passed off the words to all of the songs for the primary program in church, so their chorister (aka "the balloon lady") came over to make each kid a balloon of their choice as promised.

Tosh and Burke requested swords:

(Burke in "Gryffindor" colors)

And Hewitt wanted a big cupcake:

Brenda was nice enough to pose for a picture and to make (napping) Liv a dog on a leash. Thanks, Brenda!

Liv was very happy to not be left out in the balloon fun:

A very busy and successful start to our break!

memory monday: old funnies

On my old blog I had a sidebar where I would write funny things that the kids said or did. I never copied these quips into a post (and thus these funnies were not printed when I made my old blog into a book). I re-read these when I accidentally went to that blog instead of this one today, and thought I better get get these down for posterity! It's so fun to remember what the boys said and did when they were younger. They grow up so quick!


Hewitt was just telling me about a new game he created where you can't touch the ball with your hands or feet. He said, "You can only hit the ball with your leg or foot-wrist." And so I clarified, "You mean your ankle?" (10/8/09)

Me to Hewitt: Whatcha doin?Hewitt: Arting. It's making art.(10/2/09; Hewitt's 5th b-day)

Two jokes by Burke:What does a storm wear?Thunderwear!What do you call King Kong's feet?Big Foot!(9/26/09)


I had the following conversation with Tosh:
Me: Are you a boy or a girl?
T: BoyMe: Is Livvy a boy or a girl?
T: Baby
Me: Yes, but is Baby Liv a boy or a girl?
T: Girl
Me: Is Daddy a boy or a girl?
T: Big boy
Me: Is Mommy a boy or a girl?
T: Mommy a babe! (Not prompted, I promise! 9/3/09)

Hewitt had set up a bunch of toy figures and Tosh was trying to play with them... Hewitt was telling Tosh not to touch them and I asked him to share the toys or to go and get some more figures for Tosh to play with. Hewitt said, "These are not toys! They are art!" (9/3/09)

We were driving along a road near our house (a rather quiet highway, really) and Hewitt suddenly exclaimed, "Mom! I just found the road to our old house! Keep driving straight!" I looked up and realized there were some big mountains in the FAR distance. Hewitt clearly thought he was staring at Utah. (8/28/09)

Hewitt brought home a little "Groundhog's Day" craft that he had made at preschool and kept calling the groundhog a bear. When I tried to tell him it was really a groundhog he looked at me like I was very silly and said, "It's a BEAR Mom, not a CORNDOG!" (2/2/09)

I explained to Burke about the recent airplane crash into the Hudson River and knowing that he would be very concerned, I quickly told him that all of the passengers were just fine. He looked at me with a worried look and said, "What about the birds? Are they okay?" (1/15/09)

I have a trunk full of old performing costumes from when I was a kid. Hewitt saw the trunk in the basement and told Rob that he wanted to open up the "treasure chest." Rob asked him if he knew what was in the trunk/chest and Hewitt replied that it was full of clothes. When Rob told Hewitt that he didn't want him to make a big mess Hewitt said, "I won't make a mess, I will just get out one clo." I guess that "clo" would be the singular form of clothes... (1/13/09)

Burke is always mentioning how he wants us to have lots more babies because he wants "hundreds" of brothers and sisters. I was explaining to him this morning about how it gets harder and more dangerous to have babies as a woman gets older...he looked at me and said, "Well, you look young Mom, like 19!" Then he leaned in closer and said, "Well, I do see some indents in your skin around your eyes (those would be wrinkles--thanks for noticing)." (12/26/08)

Hewitt blew his nose and must have accidentally gotten some snot or tissue in his mouth because he said, "Yuck! That tastes like cow dung!" (12/24/08)

Tosh got to Hewitt's cup of water at the table today and dumped it all over Hewitt's lap and onto the floor. Rob asked Hewitt, "Are you a little wet?" and he said, "I'm a BIG wet!" (12/24/08)

Rob was playing "Memory" with the boys and when Burke got a few matches in a row Hewitt said, "Wow Burkie, you're on fire!" (11/08)

We just bought some sod for our park strip and while Burke and I were looking at the pallet, I mentioned that some of the pieces looked like crabgrass and that we needed to find the best pieces of grass to buy. Burke looked at the sod for a little while and said, "None of it looks like crap grass to me!"While I was flossing Burke's teeth he said, "Wait--I need to tell you something." I paused flossing and he said, "You sure know how to be a good mom!" (now there's a treasured compliment!). (2008)

Hewitt watched Rob kill a fly in our kitchen and then asked, "Did he cry? Did he want his mommy fly?" (2008)

I told Hewitt that I was going to get Tosh a snack and asked if he would like one. He paused and then said, "I'll take a milkshake." What am I, a drive-up window? (2008)

Hewitt was asking for toast today and when I pulled out the bread he said, "No, the 'letter O' toast!" I finally figured out that he wanted a toasted english muffin. (2008)

Burke came down for breakfast and said, "Mom, it might not look like my bed is made and you might not like it, but it's really stripes that I did as a design on my bed." (2008)

Hewitt has really liked eating plain tortillas lately. When I asked him if he wanted one he said, "Oh. Sure. I'll have a mamma mia." (2008)

Hewitt understands things very literally. When Rob told him that he "needed to fly" this morning (go to work), Hewitt asked, "Where is the fly? In the house?" When Rob asked him if he had a runny nose he said, "No. It's just boogers." (2008)

When Rob was leaving for work he hugged the boys and told them to "be good for Mommy and do exactly what she says." Burke said, "OK bye Dad, you be good at work and do exactly what your boss says." (2008)

We were discussing prophets in the scriptures for Family Home Evening and when Rob asked Burke which prophet(s) wrote the Book of Mormon Burke said, "Nephi, Jacob, Enos..." and continued to name the books in order. Rob and I were pretty surprised and couldn't help laughing. (2008)

I was just eavesdropping on Hewitt while he was playing with his toys and heard him say, "Ladies and jumpingmen..." (2008)

Burke was heading off to a neighbor's house to play and stuck his head back in the door and called, "I'll be traveling by bike." (2008)

When the garage door opens for us to drive in, Hewitt will pretend to be scared and say, "Oh no, it's the garage mouth! He's going to eat us!" (2008)

Hewitt got distracted and starting playing with his toys during lunch and when I reminded him to please keep eating he said, "But Mommy, I'm working." (2008)

Our three musketeers back in 2008:

happy 7th, hewitt!

Hewitt had a busy week; he lost his first tooth and then turned seven today!

On Monday night I noticed that he had an adult tooth growing in behind a semi-loose tooth. Hewitt worked on wiggling it all evening, and then Rob popped it out right before bedtime. He was so excited to get a visit from the tooth fairy, and sounds so cute with a slight lisp now.

Our tramp is finally in the ground, with the retaining material around it. There is still some work left with getting gravel, building up gravel/dirt around the tramp and finishing everything up, but we can finally get a sense of what having a finished yard might look like!

Rob used metal roofing material as a retaining wall between the tramp frame and dirt:

Hewitt seems to have had a nice birthday. We didn't leave the house once today which was nice. We watched General Conference on the computer (Hewitt liked that he didn't have to get dressed up for church today!), played together as a family, and ate Hewitt's favorite foods: Waffles with fresh berries and whipped cream for brunch, and then homemade spaghetti and french bread for dinner.

I gave Hewitt a fresh raspberry with a bit of whipped cream on it while I was working in the kitchen and he said, "Wow! That is like a miracle!"

Hewitt got some nice gifts including Harry Potter Legos, the Harry Potter Lego Dictionary, a scooter, field hockey set, camera, and a jump rope from his siblings (possibly the favorite gift):

Testing out the jump rope:

A week or two ago I was talking with Hewitt about his birthday and asked him what kind of cake he would like. Hewitt's choice is always chocolate cake, but I asked him to think about what he might like on the cake. He's had a pirate, Star Wars, and cool robot cake among other things in previous years and I told him that we'd have to come up with something that he really likes. He thought about it for a few seconds and then said, "I want our family on my cake!" Sweet Hewitt. I am enjoying what I refer to as a "sweet spot" with him lately. I appreciate that our challenging toddler has grown into such a laid back and great kid in general. I feel so thankful to have him in our family.

Per Hewitt's request, here is his "family" cake:

He thought I was going to draw stick figures on the cake and was surprised and pleased to see our "bobble head" family when I revealed the finished product.

Happy Birthday, Hewitt John. We love you so much!

"it warms the cockles of my heart"

This expression reminds me of my mom. I've heard her use it often. I had a couple of those simple, yet 'heart warming' moments this week that I want to jot down before I forget them.

On Monday, Burke was up a little later than usual finishing homework (he had soccer practice and then our family went to the park with some friends for a birthday party). Hewitt was already in bed and when I went up with Burke to say goodnight I told him not to talk to Hewitt because I thought he might be asleep. As I was closing the door, I heard Burke starting to talk. I began to feel upset since I had just asked him to be quiet and to go right to sleep. I opened the door to tell him to be quiet and heard him say, "Goodnight, Hewitt. I love you."

Hewitt's birthday is right around the corner. We stopped at the mailbox on the way home from school on Wednesday to discover a birthday check for Hewitt from Grandma and Grandpa Pete. Normally, Rob I will just buy something for the kids "From Grandma and Grandpa" without the kids being aware of us cashing their check and selecting the gift. Since Hewitt is going to be seven (!), I thought that maybe he would like to make a few suggestions of what he might like (we've already purchased our gifts to him and I haven't yet asked him for any input). He was shocked to see a check in his name, and got very wide-eyed looking at the amount (super cute). I asked Hewitt to start thinking about what he might like to buy for his birthday and then moved on to putting together a snack and talking to Burke about homework, etc. About five to ten minutes later, Hewitt says, "Mom, do you remember when we went to California last year? Remember when we went into that gas station and Liv really wanted that doll [and cried a ton when we didn't buy it]? I want to buy that for her."

Heart melts.


Our days and nights have been much better since I put a gate up at Liv's door. She stays in bed, and naps and sleeps just like she used to...at least for now. Hewitt lifted her out of her room and got her dressed on Wednesday. Granted she wore a Minnie Mouse swimsuit cover all day, but it was sweet and I love that Hewitt still takes care of her, reads to her, and even brings her his treats from school sometimes.

The big hole is getting deeper. Rob tells me it will be done tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath or anything. Hewitt helped Rob on Tuesday morning before school:

Liv watched them and played under the trampoline. Here she is showing her favorite silly smile:


It's actually cooling down a bit at night FINALLY. We still hit low 100s during the day, so it feels like "normal for most people" summer now. I'll take it. Maybe I'll start venturing out during the day to the park or zoo soon. We'll see. Tosh got a low fever on Tuesday night and now has a asthma/allergy cough. Hopefully we'll all be healthy and get out to enjoy autumn soon.

15 years later...

Rob and I met 15 years ago today! It was at a retreat up Hobble Creek Canyon, UT with the Young Ambassadors. It was the first time that the band guys and singer/dancers were introduced. Rob and I were on the same team for a scavenger hunt. Most of you may know that we didn't give each other a second thought at the time (and probably had our first real conversation about 5 months after meeting). For the record, I only realized that we first met on September 12th just a couple of weeks ago when I was going through a box of old things and found a flier giving directions to the cabin in Hobble Creek. When I reminded Rob that we were on the same team, he admitted that he didn't remember that at all but only that his team won the scavenger hunt! Not surprising.

So I neglected posting last week (again). We stuck around home for Labor Day weekend and spent a lot of time on the yard. Rob was (thankfully) feeling better after being quite sick for two weeks. I finally went against my "no digging" policy and put on my work gloves and helped Rob dig and move gravel for several hours. We are still a few inches short for the tramp and so Rob hired a 19 yr. old kid we know (leaving on his mission in December) to hopefully finish it up soon. I keep reminding Rob of how crazy he was to start this huge digging project in late July! We have finally had a few days that haven't gone into the 100s. This has been the warmest August in Phoenix on record!!! I guess we'll always remember the hottest August as the one when Rob dug a big hole.

We were pretty much burnt out on 'labor' around the house on Labor Day, so we mostly hung out and played with the kids on Monday. Rob was doing some crazy things with the kids (see photo) until I put a stop to it.

A couple of random pics of the younger kids: Wow, is Liv a handful lately. Do I say this every week? Not only is she as busy as ever getting into drawers, climbing on everything, dumping boxes of crackers on the floor, pulling off her diaper and going poo on the carpet, etc. (sigh), but she is suddenly having sleeping issues! She has been an amazing sleeper since she was tiny (napping well and sleeping through the night). She is now fighting naps about every other day and getting out of bed multiple times at night. What is happening!?! I know that 'the nap' is a war I will eventually lose, but I am determined to win many more battles. The all-time low was this weekend when she woke up at 4:45 on Sunday morning, fell asleep late on Sunday afternoon and then didn't go to sleep until 11:00 Sunday night. She ended up in bed with me (for the first time in her life) and then was up again at 5:00AM this morning. Age two doesn't last forever, right? Good thing she is so cute.She is talking more and more each day. A couple of my favorite things lately is that she says "Shaw" for "Tosh," and if I ask her something like if she is ready for bed or if her diaper is stinky she will say, "No I not."

So soccer season is here once again. This is the first year we have all three boys playing. We have a few overlaps in games, but never all three kids playing at the exact same time which is a good thing since there are only two of us.

Here are a couple of shots in the new jerseys:

Tosh looked so cute in his shin guards and cleats, although he was a little low energy at his first game. I took all the kids in for flu shots on Friday and I heard Tosh telling his coach that he couldn't run fast because he had gotten a shot at the doctor. :(

I had two episodes this week where something struck me funny and I got laughing so hard that my laughter turned to tears, which turned to complete weeping. One of these was in a public setting and it was a little embarrassing... My emotions are a little out of control to say the least. I've read a few things lately referring to blogs as being somewhat fake, and though I must admit to trying to focus on positive things to write about on here, I try to be real about my ups and downs. Even though it's been a rough year, I look around at what others are dealing with and I feel incredibly grateful and blessed for my current challenges and trials. I am really trying to find more "joy in the journey," and to just take things one day at a time.