Normalcy

As of right now our house is back to normal. Carter went back to school yesterday. He couldn't wait to see his teacher and play with his friends he has missed. These past few days haven't been all bad, though. I really enjoyed the one-on-one time with Carter. Having twins, it really is hard to spend individual time with each one. I don't think I have ever just read to Carter before. We enjoyed sitting and reading together. He is quite a good reader.

(As I have been writing for the past 3 minutes, I have already had to rescue my little tornado from emptying out my purse, eating the crayons left out by Carter, and from pulling the plastic wrap all over himself - uuugghhh!!)

What gets me up in the morning?
1. The realization that I have 6 beautiful children that want me a part of their life (at least they don't want to disown me just yet).
2. An awesome husband who I am so blessed and lucky to have found.

Those are the 2 main reasons that I try my hardest every day to help make our home "a little bit of heaven." Why I tackle endless housework day in and day out! Why I make meals that sometimes only two people want to eat. Why I run my kids to school, dance, and church activities.

I am such a lucky person. I am so grateful for my family and the opportunity to be a mom. As my kids are getting older (I have a 12 year old- yikes!) I am realizing how quickly they are growing up and will soon be married, on a mission, going to college, etc. I am trying to have this help me get through the endless piles of laundry. There will be one day when I won't have anybodies to wash except for Byron & I's. I laugh at something my mom recently said about not wanting to wash away finger prints that were created from grandchildren in her home - she wanted to have proof that we were actually there. I'm sure one day I will be that way also when everybody has moved away. I need to not let everything upset me and enjoy life. I have been better at allowing my house to go without being cleaned so I can take the opportunity to play with my children more.

Dallin H. Oaks~ "We should never be discouraged in those daily tasks which God has ordained to the common lot of man. Each day's labor should be undertaken in a joyous spirit and with the thought and conviction that our happiness and eternal welfare depend upon doing well that which we ought to do, that which God has made it our duty to do."

Brotherly Love

Carter & Parker have such a special relationship with each other. I am touched so many times at how connected they are. What an amazing experience it would be to be a twin! I cannot even start to understand what special friends they are to each other. Of course there are the constant fighting days, but all in all the love seems to shine forth.

Tuesday night Carter came up to me saying that he was really itchy in certain areas on his body. After a quick inspection, I came to the conclusion that my poor boy had chicken pox. I knew that this might be the inevitable since so many people in our neighborhood were coming down with it despite getting the chicken pox vaccine. I had to give the bad news to Carter that he wouldn't be able to go to school for a few days. He was sad at the realization, especially when he realized that he would be missing his school field trip.

I was walking down the hall after the kids were all in bed and could hear crying coming from Carter & Parker's room. My first thought was that it was Carter sad about not being able to go to school. After coming into the room I found Parker crying. He was worried about his brother and didn't want to go to school without him. I honestly didn't expect this type of reaction from him. Luckily Byron was close by and quickly helped cheer Parker up.

We drove to the bus stop the following day to drop off Parker. He wanted to wait in the van with Carter since the bus wasn't there yet. He was hesitant to finally leave, but was being such a brave little guy. I started to think about this and realized that he hasn't been away from the family by himself probably ever. He has always had a brother or sister with him wherever he went. I'm sure this was a little scary for him.

Carter missed out on a much anticipated Pack Meeting on Wednesday. We were all able to dress up in our Halloween costumes -- so naturally my children were very excited about this. Carter was so sad. He asked if he could still put on his costume. He was so excited running around in his ninja outfit. As we left the church, I noticed that Parker still had some of his root beer in a cup. He told me that he was saving the rest for Carter - what a sweet brother! I had remembered to bring him home a donut, but didn't even think to get him some root beer. I am constantly amazed at how concerned and thoughtful they are to each other.

Well, he has now survived 3 days of chicken pox. We have had endless oatmeal baths and have applied calamine lotion numerous times. Hopefully these chicken pox will quickly leave so our house will get back to normal. In the meantime, this trial has helped me realize how much love these two brothers have for each other and I am in awe!

"A joy that is shared Is a joy made double." Author: English Proverb

Our Little "Tornado"

I can create havoc in one minute. I like to climb onto everything including our piano, table and my parent's bed. I am going through a stage where I love getting into everything that I see. I have an obsession with my parent's wallets. I love to take everything out of them and carry the contents around the house. My mom left me on the stool eating breakfast the other day and I loved being able to climb onto the counter and take a part everything in dad's wallet. He wasn't very happy about that one. I also love emptying out the contents of everything in our cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. I am trying so hard to keep myself busy while mom makes dinner, but she doesn't appreciate it very much. I like to carry around my dad's shoes and make it hard for him to find them. Sometimes I will put them away in his closet and surprise him or even throw them in a trashcan.

I love to sing the song "I Am A Child of God," "Ring Around the Rosies," and "Clean up." I love spending time outside playing with whoever will play with me. I look forward to having the kids come home from school and get really excited when they come into my view from the bus stop. My favorite foods are yogurt, oatmeal, and shakes. I love saying family prayers. I especially like the part with the family hug and the family cheer ("The Becks"). I love Family Home Evening and think that everybody is sitting on the couches to watch me. I will crawl around the room trying to get every one's attention and make them laugh at me. I also love moving my playpen mattress and falling asleep under it. I am not sure how comfortable it is, but I do eventually fall asleep.

(As you can see - life is never dull around here - and also almost never clean :)

Cookie decorating

For our last outing for UEA weekend, we went up to Allyson's house to decorate Halloween cookies. I had this be in the afternoon for the much needed incentive for the kids to get their jobs done. They were all so excited to go. Allyson was so nice to invite us over. She had all the cookies and frosting ready before we got there. The kid's haven't decorated cookies much - since I don't make them - so they were SO EXCITED! They enjoyed making one after another and eating them during the process. I loved visiting with Allyson. It is really nice to have an adult conversation every once in a while:).
Bradley LOVED the cookies - especially with M&M's on them.
Carter decided that the more M&M's - the better!
Camille with her plateful of awesome cookies.
Rose, Camille & Bradley

After the kids had their share of cookies, we headed to a park close by her house. There was all new playground equipment since we had been there last - including a climbing wall that the boys couldn't get enough of. They were actually pretty good at getting up and over the wall.

Parker, Carter, Johnathan & Tanner
Rose was loving the swing.
Bradley & Camille on a dragon.
We couldn't have asked for nicer weather. Unfortunately we needed to head home after being there about 1/2 hour. We will definitely have to go back soon.

Thanks Allyson for such a fun afternoon. We had such a great time with you and your family.

Below is a video of Myles and Bradley in a swing together. Myles was laughing so hard as Camille was pushing them. I loved hearing him laugh. I'm not sure if Bradley liked it or not since he wasn't making any noises.

FAMILY TIME

IN ALL OF LIVING HAVE MUCH FUN AND LAUGHTER. LIFE IS TO BE ENJOYED, NOT JUST ENDURED.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Since Byron took the day off and the kids were out of school - we planned another fun day away from the house and cleaning :). We went up into Millcreek Canyon for a picnic and to enjoy the beautiful fall colors. I had never been up in that canyon before. We usually go up Provo Canyon or American Fork Canyon so it was fun to have a change. The colors were BEAUTIFUL!!! We had such a great time walking around and enjoying a family picnic. I absolutely love this time of year. I love walking with leaves crunching below my feet and not being able to see the sidewalk because it is covered with leaves. The colors were also gorgeous. We took a short hike and loved how refreshing and fun it is to be in the outdoors. I am sad that this time of year will be short due to the inevitable cold weather that will roll in soon. For now, though, we enjoyed it and took plenty of pictures to remember this great day.

Camille & Bradley
Our picnic - we enjoyed subs, chips and pretzels. The yellow jackets came and made a relaxing lunch turn into a hurried lunch.
My boys - Tanner, Carter, Johnathan, Parker & Byron

Bradley
My awesome husband!
Bradley & Tanner
I love pictures with Byron & I together since it doesn't happen very often.
Bradley
Bradley, Camille, Carter, Parker, Johnathan & Tanner
Enjoying a leisure stroll!

After leaving the canyon, we headed to Hogle Zoo. We enjoyed the 70 degree weather and had these yummy ice-cream cones to show for it. I originally got a churro for Bradley, but after he saw my ice-cream cone he didn't want anything to do with it. He was so messy, but such a happy kid. There were so many people at the zoo, but we still were able to enjoy ourselves. We enjoyed an elephant show and were able to see so many fun animals. The baby meerkats were a hit.

We had such a fun day together. I just love those days where we can run away from everything and enjoy time together.

Creativity

Very bored kids

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UEA Weekend

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Cleaning garage

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Creative children

Byron took today and tomorrow off since the kids would be home for UEA weekend. We decided that we would clean out the garage - a much needed activity. The kid's definitely were not thrilled with the idea of spending their day off cleaning, but ended up having quite a fun time. The creative juices started to flow and before long Byron & I were left to clean as the kids were finding other things to do.

One of these was giving each other rides on the dolly. They would strap the child in with a bungee cord and put a blanket behind the head for comfort. I got quite a laugh seeing them doing this.

Byron collects a lot of things - throwing away screws, old cords, wood, etc. is out of the question. Today for the first time in a while I was able to see how smart Byron was for saving something. He pulled out these wheels that he had saved off of something and let the kid's have them. They grabbed a piece of wood and started to screw them onto the board. Before long they were rolling down our driveway having the time of their lives. We have quite the hill in our driveway, which can make it quite scary to be on something that doesn't have breaks. The shoes were quickly deemed out of the question - so my smart husband had them use a rope pulled behind by someone else to stop them before hitting the road. This activity kept them busy for hours - yes hours!

So not only did we get a clean garage - but we also found some great treasures hidden in there which mounted to hours and hours of fun!

Cute Bradley!
Camille - the mastermind of this activity.
Camille screwing in her wheels. Her first attempt with a power tool - she actually got really good by the time she got to her 15th screw.
Tanner riding down our driveway.
Cute Bradley - he loves his helmet and had to wear it while getting a ride.
Here is a video of Bradley enjoying himself.

Scarecrows

Carter & Parker had Scarecrow Days at their school today. I was lucky enough to be able to join them for one hour in school and help them make a scarecrow. They have been so excited for this day to arrive. Yesterday they made their head during school - so today was putting the body together. I went though some of Bradley's clothes to find some that would work for their scarecrow clothes. It is funny to see the scarecrows now because they remind me of Bradley - and are about his same height. We had such a great time. I felt so honored to be able to help not one, but two children. We put them outside our front door. Carter & Parker are so excited to have them where everyone can see them.

Parker
Carter Carter, me and Parker
Carter and Parker proud of their fun creations.

Caramel Apples

For Family Home Evening last night we made caramel apples. The kids were so excited and couldn't quit talking about them. We definitely had a great time unwrapping each caramel, waiting for the caramel to melt, and then dipping the apples. We dipped 9 apples and then enjoyed eating the remaining caramel. The kids couldn't get enough - it was actually quite hilarious to see them fight for every bite.

Parker enjoying every bite he took. Bradley was so excited and went to the pantry to grab a spoon. Byron handed one spoon to him with caramel on it and at the same time I handed him a spoon also with caramel on it not knowing that he already had one. You should have heard his response when he was handed 2 spoons. We all got such a good laugh out of him.

Carter & Parker eating what was left of the caramel.

Since we had already eaten plenty of caramel, I had the kids save their caramel apple for today. Parker & Carter were so excited to eat their apple at lunchtime. I definitely got my share of caramel apples today. They were so DELICIOUS! We will have to remember to make these next year.

Thoughts . . . . .

I have been struggling with many of the roles of motherhood lately that I wish came easy for me. A few of them being: laundry, making meals, keeping house clean, etc. Keeping a house clean, has never been something easy for me. I LOVE having a clean house, but knowing how to get there is frustrating for me. I actually can get pretty grouchy sometimes when my house isn't in order - and unfortunately it is in disarray most of the time.

After attending BYU Education week and hearing Daryl Hoole speak I went to the library looking for anything she had written. There was a book that was new that I put on hold. When the book finally came in I picked it up and can definitely say that my thoughts of being a mother have changed drastically from reading her book. Now I need to buy it so I can mark each quote or part that stands out to me.

MEALS: One area that really stood out to me was the importance of having dinner together each night. We do have dinner, but sometimes I am not so good at preparing ahead what we will be eating. She talks about how "children - husbands, too! - are about as happy as they are well fed. It is therefore certainly worth it to keep the kitchen stocked, the refrigerator full, and good meals served." By reading her book I have realized just how important it is to have a good meal prepared each day for my family to sit down together and talk. I have gotten discouraged in the past with some of my children who seem to complain about everything I make. I have decided that I simply don't care and will prepare a meal every day and make sure it is done when Byron gets home from work. We end up spending so much for food when I am not on the ball with meals because then we end up going out to eat. I can remember when I was young how excited I was to find out what meal we were having for dinner. There is just something about the smell of food that can do you good. I hope that I can do the same for my children.

LAUNDRY: She mentions that if you only get a couple of things done every day, one of them needs to be laundry. I have seen that if I don't do it for even one day how much I regret it in the following days to come. So my new goal is to at least do one load a day - fold it - and put it away. Daryl mentions how important it is to time a job and realize how quick it really is to do something that you might be putting off for many days. It takes me about 4 minutes to fold a batch of clothes and 4 minutes to put it away. I can definitely find that much time in the day. I also have realized how much easier it is to fold clothes when they are hot, rather than wrinkled and cold.

BROKEN WINDOW THEORY: In NYC there is a theory about a sign of social or physical neglect in a neighborhood invites further neglect or breakdown because it indicates that no one cares. So with our homes - if we have a clean counter and one thing is put on it, soon many things will adorn the counter also - THUS - clutter attracts more clutter. I have realized that this is so true. I have those spots in my house that clutter is always accumulating at. I cleaned off those spots and have realized how clean it can stay if nothing is on it. One day I was being lazy and stuck a pile of school papers there. Soon there were not only papers, but also pencils, books, etc. I realize how easy it is to keep areas clean when I don't allow anything to take up that space.

It is amazing how one new thought or concept can make such a drastic difference. I am grateful for people like Daryl Hoole who write their experiences down to help struggling mothers like myself. So if any of you are wondering about this amazing book, it is called "The Ultimate Career." Now I am off to clean my house and do some laundry.

Tanner Fun!

Tonight I had the fun opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with Tanner. Last month was actually his turn for our "Night Out," but due to such a busy month we haven't had any free time until now. Tanner has been wanting to go to "Liberty Land" since they opened during the summer right down from our house. We got there to find out that they were closed while creating a haunted house - just our luck! Tanner was upset, but didn't want to post pone our night together. He decided that we would go bowling instead.


We headed to "Jack and Jill Bowling" in American Fork. We arrived at 7:30 to find out that in 1/2 hour we would have to be done due to a league coming on. We decided to just hurry up and play a game (just not our night:) We did end up having a lot of fun. Tanner had the bumper up half of the time, but did pretty good when it was down also. I was getting quite a few gutter balls when a man came up behind me and said, "Tricia, could I give you a word of advice?" First of all, this man addresses me by my first name and second of all I came here to have some fun with my son - not to become a bowling pro. I was beginning to feel out of my league when I turned around to see about 30 guys watching us play. I decided to just enjoy our time together and not let them bother me. We ended up having a great time. Tanner scored 58 and I got 65 (only because of a strike that I got on my 9th turn). We enjoyed the quick 30 minutes there and then headed out to get ice cream.

Even though it is hard to break away from the husband and other children to spend the one-on-one time with each child, it is so rewarding!!! I found out some things about Tanner that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I remember how I felt going out with my parents by myself and will always remember those special times.

Thanks Tanner for the special night together!