A Blast from the Past

While cleaning out some old scan files, I came across these pictures. Wow time flies! The first is of me when I was Rigby's Jr. Miss. I was 17 years old in this picture. This picture brings back so many memories! I loved Jr. Miss, and all of my friends who competed in it. In fact, it was my friends who convinced me that I should do Jr. Miss in the first place. I remember thinking that I didn't have a chance at winning...but that just motivated me to work hard and practice all the routines and my talent piece extra hard every single day. I interviewed myself in front of mirrors, and would walk all over the house in my heels so that I was comfortable in them on stage. So when the final night came, I felt so prepared that I just went out on stage and had a blast. That's when I think I realized how much I enjoyed performing on stage. And this is when I was Miss Idaho 1997, just a few years after being Jr. Miss. This year, Miss America was trying to get away from the "beauty queen" image, so they asked all of the contestants to have their official pictures taken without their crowns on. I suppose holding a crown, rather than wearing it makes a difference....to...somebody. I loved that color of lipstick for on-stage. It was called "Siren." Andy proposed to me while I was Miss Idaho, and so we had an 8 month engagement. I was very busy, and he was very patient! I'll have to dig up some more of my pageant photos and post them later.

My favorite part of being Miss Idaho was being with the school kids. I loved visiting the classrooms and talking to each of the children in the classroom. On my very last school "appearance" as we called them, I was walking out of the school to go home when I noticed this little girl just sitting on the sidewalk. I sat down by her and asked her what she was doing. She told me she was waiting for her mommy to come and pick her up. (My, how times have changed! No child would be allowed to be outside the school alone today!) Anyway, I asked her if I could just wait with her and she said yes. So we sat there and looked at ants crawling in and out of the sidewalk cracks. I was wearing my favorite royal blue business suit and crown, and she was in shorts and a t-shirt. She asked if she could wear my crown, so I pinned it on her head and she wore it until her mom came to get her. I don't remember her name...but I remember liking the feeling of making that little girl feel special because "Miss Idaho" talked to her and let her wear her crown. On my drive back home to my host family (the Bucks) house, I cried because I knew that that little moment with that little girl was my very last one with a school child as Miss Idaho. It was a great way to end. My year was filled with moments like that one, and I loved it.

What Were We Thinking?

Most of our family and friends have heard about the drug rep days, the years really. The four years prior to dental school when Andy worked for Merck Pharmaceuticals. But I stumbled upon this picture the other day while unloading the last of our boxes....boxes that have been tucked away and stashed in closets for the past 5 years.

This is a picture of the top salesmen in the Northwest Region, all of which I have to say were on Andy's Idaho Falls team. Go Idaho!

Look at those distinguished, professional, handsome, and classy co-workers...
and we gave all that up for dentistry?

Brooklynn's Spring Soccer

This year was Brooklynn's first year playing organized sports. She wanted to play soccer with Rachey, so that's what we signed her up for. She was so excited to get her cleats, shin guards, and...very bright uniform! When her coach handed us her uniform...I was very surprised at how bright green it was. But she didn't care, she was so excited.

Spring here in Idaho tends to be cranky. Some days it's nice, but it's a lot of cold days and wind...so her fleece poncho came in handy a lot. Her team was so entertaining. They started with 5 players, and then lost one after a couple games, so for most of the season their little team consisted of 4 very dependable kids. In their age-group, they only play 3 on 3, so the coach would let one rest for a while, and then keep rotating them. A few games, only 3 players showed up, so Brooklynn would be running and playing the entire game.
One of the funniest things about her age-group, is that it took them nearly until half-time to figure out which goal was theirs. They'd get the ball, get excited, and keep it going and score....in the wrong goal! They'd jump up and down and be all excited, not even realizing that it wasn't their goal. When they finally figured out which one was theirs....it would be half-time and then the goals would switch. Ahh....oh well.

Another funny thing was that sometimes in the middle of the game, one of them would just dart off the field and run towards the bathrooms without a word to anyone! The coach got pretty good at just making a quick sub to keep the game going. All of us parents and the refs just knew that that child must of had somewhere important to go. Brooklynn would also just stop in the middle of the game and come over to me asking for a drink or snack. I had to remind her over and over that she had to wait until a time-out for drinks. So funny. I think about the World Cup, and how it would be if one of the players just ran off the field to go to the bathroom...or if they decided that they needed a snack. Too funny. Leave it to our Brooklynn.

At the end of the season, they all got medals and t-shirts. This was a particularly cold day. You can see that Brooklynn is wearing her warm-up pants underneath her soccer shorts. It actually snowed that day...the end of May!

Her official team photo....Go Fireballs!!!

Rachel's Spring Soccer

Rachel has always played baseball, mainly because that's what Taylor did. Out in Cleveland they were able to be on the same team for a couple years because they're so close in age so it was also really convenient for games and practices.

One thing about our Rachey though, is that she loves to run, and so this year we asked her if she'd like to try soccer. She was SO excited, it was a definite "YES!!!" So we signed her up, bought her some cleats and long socks...picked up her cute blue and pink uniform and her season began.

It didn't take too many practices for us to realize that...Rachel had found her sport. Rachel and soccer are made for each other. Rachel has the perfect combination of speed, agility, coordination, and aggression that a good soccer player needs. She was so fun to watch! I also quickly learned that unless you have a good camera with good shutter speed, it's virtually impossible to get a good clear shot of your soccer star zipping across the field. So, although I never missed a game or practice, I don't have very many action shots of Rachey. She was a key player on her team, rarely sitting out and then only until she could catch her breath and then the coach would send her right back in. It just came natural to her. They had a great season, and after the last game her coach had a pizza party at his house where he handed out their medals. She made some great friends with the girls on her team, and enjoyed every minute of it.

The "Pink Panthers."

Tay's Team Picture

Here is the official picture of Tay's baseball team, the Longhorns. What a great season for Tay. Good friends, great coaches, and a lot of fun games and good baseball.

Taylor's Baseball Season 2010

Tay has been playing baseball every summer except one since he was 5 years old. During those years, his shoe size has gone from a size 1 boys to a size 6 in mens. Yikes! His foot is bigger than mine! He's also gone from being a lightweight to weighing in at just under 90 pounds. He is solid. I can't pick him up anymore, but he can me. How things have changed! He loves the game. The one season he had to miss because we were moving from Cleveland to Idaho, and missed the sign-ups. He was a little nervous about having not played in so long, but didn't take long to get right back into his game.

This year his team's name was the LONGHORNS...and they were a great team! They only lost one game the entire season...and won the championship game by making some great plays. I think this was the first year of Tay's baseball career where we saw the boys really making some great baseball plays, where we saw all the fundamentals making sense and transposing into some good ball. It was fun to watch.

Tay has played 1st base, pitcher, and short stop out in Cleveland. This year, Andy asked him to try playing Catcher. Wow. As a mom, I have to say that Catcher is such a fun position to watch! Every game I knew just where to sit so that I could have a great vantage point of my boy the entire game, that was nice.

Tay was outstanding. He got so that he could read what the players were going to do, and if they tried to steal a base he would catch that ball and let it fly over to 2nd base or 3rd and threw a lot of outs throughout the season that way. It was also fun to watch him fake a runner out. If they looked like they were itching to run, he'd catch the ball and then fake a throw to 2nd just to psyche them out. It just made me laugh. After a few games, he let me in on a little secret that most of the time, he could figure out a base coach's "steal" sign by the middle of the inning, and so then he'd just watch the coach for that sign and immediately throw it over to the base for an out. Andy and I both laughed, and then cautioned him about that technique, reminding him that coaches can change signals mid-game.

This year was also a great season because Andy had time to coach. Wow, that has been a while since he's had any free time to spend with family! We thoroughly enjoyed it. Tay had three great coaches, and I know he enjoyed having his dad as one of them.Another of my favorite things this season was to hear Taylor cheering his pitcher on. Pitcher is such a tough mental position, and I loved it when Tay could see that his pitcher was tiring, or becoming unconfident or unfocused, and so Tay would start saying things like, "You can do it!" or "It's okay, let that one go!" It was great to watch him and his pitcher work as a unit.

This season was also a little tricky because both Rachel and Brooklynn were in spring soccer, so I was juggling the three kids to their different practices and games. There were some days where they would overlap and have to be to two different locations. Wow. But we survived, and somehow were all able to cheer and support one another!

I think that Matthew's favorite part of baseball was sitting on the lawn mower that's used to condition the field. He would sit on it for most of the game (which almost always lasted over two hours). He called it "the tractor." As long as he had a tractor and food...he was happy. Rachey was my big helper, she would help keep an eye on Matthew and Brooklynn so that I could watch the game... Brooklynn loves meeting new friends, and this little girl was so cute. I just loved her, she would come over and spend nearly the entire game with Lainah and the snacks, or Brooklynn. She was cute. and Lainah would keep me company in her stroller...which she sometimes didn't appreciate all too much. We bought a lot of snack food from Costco during the months of April-July. We also bought a lot of cheese pizza, and gum, and sunflower seeds. We kept Costco in business there for a while.

One of Tay's best buddies from school came to watch the championship game, and Tay was so happy to have Carson there watching. Here's Tay getting his medal from Coach Lott. Friends are the BEST!!!GO LONGHORNS!!!

They're Growing Up

Boy, these past two weeks have been so crazy, and so fun-filled with all of the kids' end of the year activities. I think that Matthew and Lainah and I have spent more time in the van driving to and from activities than ever before! This school year has gone by so fast, it's so hard for me to believe that next year I'll have a 5th grader, a 3rd grader, and a 1st grader.

Rachey had an end of the year bbq at her teacher's house this week, and it was so fun to watch her socialize with all of her classmates, and help get Matthew's drink and plate, and mother little Lainah. She has grown up so much this year. It makes me happy and proud, and it also is a little sad to watch her grow up a little more each year. She does make me laugh though, she is the center of her class social atmosphere. It's interesting to listen to how many times her name is called by her classmates as she flits from one little group to the next. I love it, and I hope she holds onto that quality, of being able to include everyone, and make everyone feel important.

Taylor had a big end of the year party last night at his teacher's "house." His teacher's husband is a professor at NNU, and together they manage the Sophomore boys hall...NNU is out for the summer, so Mrs. Baas planned a big party at the dorm. So after school the 4th graders got on a bus and headed to the party. They had a water slide, lots of yummy food, watched a movie, played games...and when I went to pick Tay up at 9:30...they were all sprawled out on the lounge couches and all over the floor. They were in the middle of watching their class DVD, composed of pictures from the entire year and so it gave me time to just watch. Tay and two of his friends were lounging on one couch. He was in the middle. They looked so tired, but they were all three trying to not look tired, they were acting "so cool." It just cracked me up. I stood there and wondered if in a few years when Tay was at college, if he and his buddies would look just like what I saw last night, and be doing about the same thing. Just a bunch of good kids having a great time together.

Today Brooklynn graduated from Kindergarten. She could harldy wait to get ready for 1st grade tomorrow...but I let her know that she had summer vacation first. She was a little disappointed. I remember her 1st day of Kindergarten, and how small she looked in her big backpack as she turned around to wave at me one last time before going in. She's taller now, and her backpack fits like it should, and we had to buy her several new pairs of jeans along the way because she kept getting too tall for them...but she still seems too small to be a 1st grader. She reminded me of Andy last year at Dental School graduation. She held her head the exact same way, flipped her tassle out of her face the exact way that he did, and as she walked off, she looked back just the same as he did for that one last picture. That was so endearing to me, to see how many of her daddy's personality attributes she has inherited.

I'm a bit of a cry baby, I fully admit it. I've been told before that because I have "so many" children, I couldn't possible care for them and love them or value them individually the way that someone with only one child would. I am thankful every day that I was chosen and blessed by my Heavenly Father to be the mother of my five beautiful and wonderful children. I am also amazed at how I, an imperfect parent, does indeed have the ability to love and care for each of my little ones individually, and I strive every single day to give them each the attention, and love, and care that they need. It helps me to better understand how our own Father in Heaven, who is perfect, loves each of His many many children each as individuals.

So, they're growing up...and I am loving my role as cheerleader, pep talker, should-cryer, nurturer, fashion consultant, book reader, homework editor, friend, and mother.

Heart Melters

Today was filled with great moments. Sometimes I think that every day is filled with similar moments, but I'm either to busy or too oblivious to notice. Today I noticed.

Lainah is my little shadow. She is 15 months old, and I love the sound of her "pitter-pattering" feet running as fast as her chubby little legs will carry her across our floors. Today I was hanging some pictures and wall decor, and she was being my big helper. She dumped out an entire box of nails just so she could hand me one. And when she handed me up that one nail with her beaming little face I just had to stop and give her hugs and kisses. I told her, "Love you!" like I always do, but today...today she said something back. Today she said, "luvoo!" My heart melted.

Brooklynn loves to write. She loves it so much in fact, that she has started writing in Taylor's journal, and Rachel's journal and they are not appreciating that very much. This past weekend I had a Relief Society retreat and we stayed up all night at that awesome cabin doing such things as karaoke and crafts...and I happened to make this cute little notebook. It is all decorated with cute scrapbook paper, and silk flowers and beads and ribbon. I've had it in my room, wondering who to give it to...until today. Today I decided that Brooklynn needed to have a special journal of her very own to write in. So...I gave it to her. Her eyes got huge, and she was so excited that she immediately started drawing a picture in it to give to her teacher tomorrow. Tonight after I had everyone in bed I was cleaning the kitchen and Brooklynn came out. She came up and gave me a huge hug and kiss and said, "Thank you Mommy for making me my flower journal, I love it!" I loved the look in her eyes...I love knowing that in a small way, I made Brooklynn's day today.

While Rachey was at soccer practice, I was trying to hang a picture up over our stairs, and I couldn't reach high enough. My big 9 year old Taylor came over and said, "Mom, if you just let go of the wall, I can hold you up so you can reach." I was afraid to let go, but he said again, "Mom, just let go, I won't let you fall." Tonight I put my trust in my son and let go. He held me up, and he didn't let me fall.

While I was hanging the picture up with Taylor, I wasn't aware that Rachel had come into the kitchen and without being asked had started to unload the dishwasher for me. I came around the corner, and she smiled at me and said, "Hi Mama!" I'm always so behind on dishes and cleaning, it was huge to me that she would do that. All I could do was just give her a big hug.

What actually inspired this post was that just a few minutes ago, I heard voices downstairs and I thought that all the kids were asleep. So, I walked downstairs expecting to have to reprimand Tay and Matthew for being up and messing around. Instead, my heart just melted. I found my 9 year old son snuggled up with his 3 year old little brother on the sofa, reading a book together. It was a book about cars. Taylor was reading the words, and Matthew was supplying all of the sound effects. They didn't even notice me. So, I just quietly watched for a few moments to soak it all in, and then quietly came up to the kitchen to start typing on my laptop.

I know this is a sappy post...but my heart is full. I am so blessed to have these children in my home.

Distractions

Today I was practicing a piece on the piano that I will be playing for the 4th grade choir when I realized that two of my fingernails were too long and were clicking on the keys. I couldn't concentrate after that and finally with a little "huff," stopped playing and decided to go straight into the bathroom and clip them off.

On my way into the bathroom, I noticed Lainah's blanket on the floor, so I picked it up, folded it, and hung it over the side of her crib. By the side of her crib was one of Brooklynn's shoes, so I picked it up and put it on her shoe shelf in her closet. On the floor of her closet, I noticed that the girls' hamper was overflowing, so I picked it up and took it down to the laundry room and sorted the clothes into the right bins. At that point, I decided that now was as good a time as any to start up a load of dark blues because that was the biggest pile and needed attention. While getting that load in, I noticed that the washer and dryer was really dusty with lint, so after getting the load started I took out a clorox wipe and wiped down the top of them both. While I was wiping things down, I decided to wipe off a few smudges on the laundry room walls. Several wipes later, I was at the top of the stairway, still holding the wipes container. With a sigh, I took the container back down to the laundry room and put it away. I then noticed the girls' hamper, and picked it up to put back upstairs in their closet. While making my way through the kitchen, I realized that I was really thirsty so I got a tall glass of water and sipped it down while looking out the back kitchen window. After finishing my drink, I continued on to the girls' room, put the hamper away and then went back to the living room. I sat back down to the piano and started practicing again.

What!?! That awful annoying "clicking" noise was still there!

Ahhh!!! I had forgotten to clip my nails.

With another "huff," I got back up and headed toward the bathroom.

Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day gets better and better each year. I love my five children so much, they are each so precious. I'm amazed at how unique and individual my children are, and appreciate that with all of their unique qualities that our house is as a result filled with many different talents, interests, and abilities...not all of which harmonize all of the time. Motherhood has been an awesome challenge these past 9 1/2 years. When I think back to where I was just after having Taylor, and where I am now, it's humbling to see how through experience we truly do grow.

This year, I think my favorite part of Mother's Day was the morning. Andy and the kids made me breakfast in bed and let me sleep in, which never happens! When Andy brought in breakfast, the kids were all there, beaming and so proud and excited. Fifteen month old Lainah had help climbing onto the bed, and before I knew it, she was right at my side looking up at me waiting for a bite. Matthew also climbed up onto the bed, and then Brooklynn, and then at one point Rachel. They each wanted bites of my breakfast...which was soon gone. After we all ate "my" breakfast, we all went into the kitchen to make some more. What a great memory...eggs and toast and grape juice...and five kids...and one fabulous husband.