Derby On

Saturday May 7, we had a Derby party at Lissa's. When we lived in Indiana, we were lucky enough to go to the Derby. I remember wearing a hat and until I got there, I felt like a total nerd, but then when you walk in to Churchill Downs, a hat is a must. 1/3 of the fun is that fashion of Derby and the hats, 1/3 of the fun is seeing those strong beautiful animals run 40 mph, and the last 1/3 is betting and cheering for a winner. The excitement and energy is huge! That year was Calvin Borel's fist Derby win, so ever since we have been his best fans, well at least in Utah.

 We had a party a few years ago, and again this year, at Lissa's house. We all know by now that Lissa is an amazing host, and that Steve's family likes getting together and can appreciate a good pitch-in. I didn't get many pictures, but it was fun. Steve made Derby pie, that was chocolaty goodness, and we had virgin, strawberry mint juleps that were yummy too. There were games and door prizes to boot. The winner was Animal Kingdom. Too bad Calvin, maybe next year little guy!

Easter

There it was Friday before Easter and Easter itself had snuck up on the Easter Bunny. It was payday so I knew that Saturday I would be going out to get a few things. By 1pm Saturday I was frustrated... the problem with pay day is the urge to spend it like mad because I have been waiting on the money to land in my account, but then there is this hesitation because there are 500 things I want to spend it on. I look at a basket and think, "I can probably get a cheaper one", then I see a dress for Jenna and think, "there has to be a better one at the next store". I would go to buy something for their basket and be sure they would just end up ripping it or breaking it. Before I know it- my time is nearly out, and I am empty handed. I was feeling like a cruddy mom, after all, what kind of mom was I? the babysitter had even stole my opportunity and colored Easter eggs with the kids earlier in the week. I was useless!
I called and whined to Steve that shopping, somewhere along the way in life, had lost it's luster. Indecision was crippling. Like a good man, he advised me to get it together, make a choice on what I wanted, and just go do it. After the Easter party at Lana's, and after bedtime, I went to Target. I took Steve's advise and had so much fun. They had an Easter basket and at least partially new clothes for Easter Sunday.
The Easter party was fun at Lana's. It was an indoor hunt confined to a few rooms in her home with over a hundred eggs and lots of kids, they didn't seem to care that it wasn't outside. They had a blast. I am so grateful that the Easter candy from the party and from the Easter bunny is finally gone!
We had some good discussions on the Resurrection as we have been reading a bit from the New Testament this year. We even watched Testaments and Jenna was way into it- things are clicking.Church Sunday was nice. The talks about the Resurrection, eternal families and the love of our Savior were nice. Since church is at 11am,. there was time for the kids to hunt for candy that was hid in the house from the Easter bunny (per Steve's fun family tradition) and play some before getting ready for church. We also managed to get some pictures with the camera timer of the family. It is a rare occasion to have a picture with all of us, and I just love the picture. One of my favorite things about Easter is your "Easter best".

Gagey with daddy at Lana's. He got an egg!

The booty of the egg hunt.

Trev was not that interested in collecting eggs- he ate candy as he came upon it, and had fun with the boy toys.

The Easter Bunny pulled it off

Half the fun- looking at the goodies

In the end, it was a nice weekend. We are grateful to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son and the Resurrection that makes it so we can return and live with Him and our families one day.

Gage...the changing of the poo

Gage is nearly 7 months old now! He is a hauss. He loves his food. Not just milk, but 6 oz jars of anything you give him. Just keep it coming or else. As a result, he no longer has the breastfed baby poop that isn't that stinky and appears mustard yellow. Now it's for-real-poo. Oh, he is growing up. No crawling yet, but he gets up on all fours and rocks and rocks, like he is raring to go. He can belly flop forward and roll to get places. It's just a matter of time until we will need to watch the stairs vigilantly. He did graduate from his Bumbo. It was a near miss. I am glad the babysitter told me before I got the Zac-version. "he fell out and flipped, head first, and then Kristi caught him just before he hit the floor". I got the same story but in a less dramatic presentation. So glad that he is ok and for Kristi's ninja skills. Did you know the Bumbo warning to never put them on a counter is good advice? Who knew?
He is still such a happy boy with chubby cheeks and his trademark dimpled smile.

Never occured to me...

What never occured to me about being a mom...

1. You should be organized and disciplined (does that mean a "grown up"?)..at least enough to make life smoother. For example, this is not organized: Sleeping till 6:45, then hurriedly getting Jenna up at 6:47. Only to find that all of the jeans in the house are wet in the washer. Knowing that she can't wear a dress because her church shoes are too small for her to spend the day in. Then going to the kitchen and finding that there is about a 1/3 c of milk, no cereal and hard butter. That eliminates the option of cereal and toast that doesn't tear when you attempt to butter it...and we all know that I am not making eggs because there is no time...I turned the alarm off, remember!! Jenna has 10 minutes to eat, get her hair fixed, brush her teeth and get her back pack on (bless her heart). We can all see the ways that that morning went wrong. Ah, planning has become more important because there are three more kids that may or may not be awake and hungry...and I can just forget a shower for the morning. Why is my bed most comfy at 5:45?
2.  The amount of pee...in diapers, sure, but in random corners, on the bathroom floor, in the trash, and occasionally in the unflushed toilet. I am not talking about dog pee...I am talking about little boy pee. Why, oh why? Who knew..?
3. That they will grow up...Which means more clothes, and MORE FOOD. We aren't too far from needing 2 packs of hotdogs for dinner. Fast forward 12 years...we will always be broke. They will also have more activities as they grow...running here and there. More homework, more hormones, more conflict. And LESS SLEEP for mom and dad. Now a baby that gets hungry, a toddler that wants a companion, a 5 year old with bad dreams, a 7 year old with growing pains at night....soon we will be waiting up wondering if we taught them well enough to be safe and make good choices.

 I should stock up on good day planners, clorox wipes and carpet cleaner, hotdogs, diet coke to stay awake and sane, and benadryl to sleep.

Gage

I can hardly believe that Gage is 6 months.

I will add more later, but the the quiet has escaped my house, and it's getting wild while I play on the computer.