Claire turns 4!

Claire's birthday was on Wed, but I had to wait to post until today because we celebrated with the family yesterday. Every night last week there were baseball games and then Claire got sick with a fever all day Sat. She pulled through just in time for have a nice celebration. On her birthday night Jesse had a softball game and so we brought cupcakes along with us and the whole baseball team sang to her. She looked a bit shy by it, but I could tell she was loving it. All this week Claire has been telling complete strangers that "it's my bir-day!" While at sonic it earned her a free kids toy, at the bank she got a sucker and so I guess she figured that she would continue to get free stuff if she told everyone. :)

Connie the dress you bought the girls just looks darling on them. I took bella's off so she wouldn't slime it with beans and cake. :)

Jesse designed and helped frost the cake for me since it was mothers day. I think the cake turned out really cute, and most important it was darn tasty!

Claire is the sweetest girl I know! She's very honest and so when she tells me out of the blue, "Mommy, I love you," I know she means it. She's also become a little social butterfly. I just love seeing her make fast friends while at the baseball games. Before her birthday I got out the barbies that I used to play with throughout my childhood to see if she was ready for her own. They kept her mind busy for a few hours and so that's what we bought for her this year along with a doll house. I'm actually looking forward to playing along with her because I still enjoy playing with barbies I have to admit. Having a doll house like this would've been awesome as a kid! :)

Here's a short video of Claire (or should I say Wyatt) blowing out her candles. I wonder if she'll still get her wish? ha ha. It was a little windy otherwise we would've let her blow them out again. :) After cake all of us paired up and played a few games of Croquet. The first game Greg & Karen showed there awesomeness at the game, but the second game Jesse & I dominated! Odoyal rules!!! I think croquet is going to be our game of choice... until the mosquitoes come.

Tagging along for the ride

Every year Jesse has to do a certain number of hours of continual learning for Optometry and so this year we decided to follow him up to Albuquerque and enjoy the weekend with him. He left the day before us at 4am and sat listening to lectures until 5pm. He said it was torture trying to stay awake through it all. Basically his mandatory classes were Friday-Sunday from 8-5pm. I came up Sat. and we met my Mom & Larry at our favorite restaurant Buca's, hit the mall and then hit the hay! We spent the next day at my mom's and the kids were so looking forward to going exploring around her house but it was SNOWING! She lives on the other side of Sandia Peak and so the weather is always 10 degrees cooler. Well, needless to say we spent that day indoors but it's ok because my mom decided to clean out her closet and I ended up leaving with a big black sack FULL of clothes! It's like having a new wardrobe. My sisters will be so jealous, but you snooze you loose! haha It was nice seeing my mom so close to Mother's Day. We're getting ready to go on a trip to NYC in a month and so I'm looking forward towards spending some "quality" time with 2 of my sisters and my niece. There isn't going to be a dull moment.
After my mom's the kids went swimming and had a good time playing some foosball games with their dad. Bella insisted on grabbing the ball any time Jesse was about to score so you can guess who won. :)

Reliving the good 'ol days

This is old news, but I wanted to highlight Jesse's Mayfield Alumni Football game that he played in a few weeks ago. Guys from last years graduating class and on back joined in to play against Las Cruces High. It was a close exciting game. Jesse got word of the game a few months shy of everyone else and probably would've liked having the extra practice time with the team to get to know the plays and what not, but I thought he did well considering. He'll probably do it again next year. He was able to punt and run the ball. Here's a few game ESPN highlights. (Exceptional. Sowards. Play.NOT!)

I don't know much about football, but Jesse said that this is legal so that the other team doesn't get the ball. It was a close game. We ended up getting another touchdown to barely win! Looking forward to next years rematch.

Getting out of dodge

Last Friday Jesse & I were on our last nerve. We were both fighting bad head colds, but on the downhill slide of the sickness. Jesse was still too contagious to go back to work and the kids were driving us crazy because it was way too windy to go outside. 50 mph winds. So, we decided that we should get out of town and go to Mesa, AZ for some R&R. Plus, since it was Easter weekend we decided to go to the Easter Pageant held every year at the Mesa Temple. The kids and I had never been so we I was excited to see the production.

So, after finishing folding the 10 loads of laundry that I was in the middle of doing when we decided to go on this trip, we finally made it "out like a herd of turtles." The first few hours on the trip we were doubting our "adventurous" actions because we just weren't feeling good, we were tired, etc., but after a good nights rest and a laid back day we were glad we went. We spent most of the day just swimming and shopping at the outlets. The Pageant was definitely the highlight of the trip. Thousands of people were there. I tried to capture the awesome production it all was, but pictures taken at night can only do so much. We spotted some Roman soldiers walking around the Temple Visitors Center and struck a pose with them. These guys were HUGE! They had to be at least 6'3". You can tell that Bryson and Cameron feel tough with their swords. Silly boys.

I forgot how BEAUTIFUL the Mesa, AZ Temple is.

Here are some pics from the Easter Pageant.

The children were very quiet for these parts of the play.

Like I said earlier, all very well done, beautiful music and performances by all. One thing that we believe that wasn't mentioned (probably due to the huge task it would've been to change the stage scenery) was that Jesus also visited the descendants of Lehi in the Americas after his Resurrection written about in the Book of Mormon. Because Heavenly Father loves ALL his children everyone was blessed by being able to see Jesus Christ and learn his gospel. Here's a video I found on Utube depicting Jesus visiting the America's after his Resurrection. Just make sure to pause my mood music on the right of my blog before watching this video.

Day at the Alamagordo Zoo

It's been awhile since I've been at the Alamagordo Zoo and had Cody not invited me I might not have made the time to go, but it sounded fun so off we went and enjoyed a gorgeous day there.

Which string to play...

I've had something weighing on my mind lately, maybe it's the hours of scrubbing my old house floors or hours of painting alone with my thoughts that initiated this, but I've come to realize that I have to say good-bye to my cello. As you knew already I picked up a Cello in hopes to learn to play the instrument. I did learn how to play it all by myself...how well? Eh, let's just say there's some things that you just need a teacher to help with. I had an excellent book and play along cd rom that would actually tell me what notes I hit or missed which made it so fun to play along with. I enjoyed the challenge so much!! BUT...I have come to realize (along with most projects I take on) that my time if very limited. Something always suffers whether it's the laundry, time with my family, lack of time to go running (my other love), cooking dinner, just plain ol' things that keep a home running.

Right now I spend every moment during the day that I can over at our old house trying to spruce things up (which I'm just a few days shy in completing). My four small children are dying for my attention, my new house is needing some decorating but more importantly CLEANING, and last but not least my husband needs a wife who's not stressed. I did feel a stress relief when I played the cello, but then I would stop and look around my room at all of the piles here and there that need to be taken care of and that's when the feelings of being overwhelmed would come.

As much as it pains me to do I've decided to return my rental cello and put this dream on hold for now. I know this sounds silly to anyone reading this, but to be honest I'm feeling pretty down about the whole thing. You see, I want so bad to find something that I'm really good at...something that when someone hears or sees it, it will inspire or move them in a meaningful way. I was hoping the cello was my big break. I just have no time to pursue it. Maybe this experience has just reminded me about what my real purpose is. My children are who I can inspire and motivate just by being "in" my child's lives and not going through the motions and that time is ever fleeting. Sometimes you just have to look at yourself and ask, "what the heck are you doing with the time you have?" I've had home improvement so much on my mind that I've forgotten how to fully engage in my child's mind/world and what activites I used to do to have fun and feel close to them. It's just been a challenging few months and I'm venting/repenting. I'll still have my hobbies and dreams, but for now I'm going to live my first and most important dream of being a wife and mother. If I'm doing that right then that's where I'll have true happiness. So, I'm playing the D string. D for Dream. It'll remind me that I'm living my dream already.

Sister Goofiness Part 2

I didn't get a chance to post more about Bryce's baptism weekend and some other things we did that day. My sister June & I always have lots of laughs when we're together. Our sense of humor is so alike. So, while watching Bryce try out his new skate board he got for his b-day we were thinking of the good ol' days when June had her skate board and wanted to see if we could still ride one. I took a try at it myself...ouch!

Here's June doing some sort of Can Can /kick boxing dance?

Here are some other pics while hanging out at the "Kids Kountry."

My nephew Gavin going for the dunk. I can guarantee you'll see Gavin on ESPN someday.

Gathering around the Chameleon cake to blow out some candles

Grandmother bought Bryce a President Dollar Coin Collection for his birthday. She got him started with several President coins. She's so thoughtful. Bryce loves "Gold" coins so he's very excited about collecting these.

Jesse has a new girlfriend named Supra. :) We were excited to see her ready to go. Jesse & Abe worked hours for this race. Unfortunately, due to bad weather Jesse wasn't able to race the straight quarter mile race which is my favorite, but the next day he took Ben out for the curvy track and here's pics of that. Sorry, for some reason the picture quality is pretty bad.



Greg, was getting racing fever. Watch out! In a few years these boys will give you a run for your money. What a great day.

Bryson's Baptism

Bryce turned 8 this month and was baptized. He's now an official member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We were blessed to have so many family members and friends travel near and far to witness this wonderful event and want to say "Thank you all" for that! You made the weekend very special for Bryce. Bryson's Uncle Ben flew in from his research trip from England and gave a wonderful talk about Baptism and his wife Connie played the piano while daughters Cindy & Sarah sang a musical number. Brought tears to my eyes. Thanks girls! Because of communication issues we weren't able to fill the font as soon as we had hoped and so Jesse had to baptize Bryce in water that was only a few feet deep. It worked though. :) I was able to speak on the Holy Ghost which was felt very strong at the Baptism. My sister -n- law Cody made a beautiful cake which I forgot to get a picture of. I'll try to post that soon once I get a picture from her. It was so cute and she put a lot of effort into it. Here are a few pics from the Baptism.

Bryce looks so handsome in his suit.

Our gift to Bryce, a new set of scriptures
My beautiful mom and Larry

The kids getting some energy out in the gym after eating cake.
Silly boys!
Connie, I stole this picture from your blog because it's just too cute!
My sweet mom and sister. So glad you came.


Bryce's night was topped off with a cousin sleepover. Cindy & Sarah played Bionicle's with Bryce for nearly 2 1/2 hours! They put on a "show" of all their creations. They were up til midnight talking and laughing. So much fun for him.
I've noticed a difference since Bryce has been baptized. I complemented him for obeying so well and trying to help his siblings obey as well and he just said, "Well, I'm just trying to be like Jesus and Heavenly Father." I tousle his hair, "that's why where here bryce. Great job!"

Scaredy Cat!

This is just a quick one... Yesterday I took my filthy car through the car wash. Bella has suddenly found a fear for the place. Here's her look of panic. I think it's hilarious. The pure horror captured on her face. It probably didn't help that her nap was only about 45 min long. I know, I'm a horrible mother hu.

You never know when inspiration will come.

Throughout January I was painting frames and so of course the girls wanting to be "painting" something as well. With some watercolors this is what Bella scribbled.All parents know that you just can't keep every single piece of your child's artwork. I was about to toss this in the trash, but paused to look at it. I could see a lanky body with eyes setting on top of what seemed like a sharp pointy nose. To me it almost looked like this thing was grabbing his nose. His backside is obviously bony/spiky in some way. I decided to hold onto it because I'm always looking for some ideas for weird creatures for either myself to draw or my son Bryce (who also likes to draw). Well, after putting it off for almost a month last night I sat in bed and just started to sketch my own interpretation of what I saw in this painting. I had to make a few changes, but this is what I came up with. With some color I think it would be a little more interesting. It's just about the ugliest thing I've ever seen, but his eyes are kind which makes me like him.

Make a wish!!

Cameron turned 6 last week. Wow...6. Where has the time gone I say!! Cameron is something else. There's never a dull moment with him. He's a boy filled with so much energy and zest for the fun things in life. Turning six is I think a time when things change a lot in a child's life. More is expected out of them, they're learning so much at school and getting a taste as to how the world works, trying new activities, being able to read; just one of the early turning points in a child's life. Cameron seems to like school and once his teacher called us just to say that she really enjoyed having Cameron in her class. He had his first soccer game last Saturday and just dominated out on the field, scoring 4 goals. I've never seen Cameron work so hard in a game before. I guess you could say he had "the eye of the tiger." I could tell that he was exhausted, but knew he was pushing himself to work hard. Something has clicked out on the field...his competitive nature; actually, he's always been competitive, it was just amplified. :) Well, I obviously can't say enough good things about the boy. He's a joy to have in our home. We love him so much.

We were able to spend his birthday again in Ruidoso at a Condo. The first day we hung out with Abe & Cody and went sledding. The snow was abundant and the weather pleasant. The next day we took the boys and tried their legs at Snowboarding. Poor Cameron threw up twice coming up the mountain. Then again driving home from the ski resort (Connie knows how car sick Cameron can get). :) We decided to sign them up for lessons. Jesse spent the morning snowboarding elsewhere on the mountain, but I stayed with the girls in the car and we watched the boys biff it over and over. They were exhausted by the end of the day. They did really well for it being their first time and all. Jesse was done snowboarding a little bit before closing time and so I put on his snowboard and jacket and went down the bunny slop a few times. (Don't tell anyone). :) I was reminded that I'm definitely a skier and not a snowboarder, but I'm bound and determined to keep trying.

The rest of the trip was spent swimming, playing and going to the movies. We had a swell time and Cameron at one time ran through the door and yelled, "THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!" Always makes a parent happy to hear that.

Mud fight!

Yeeesss, mud fight both inside and outside our house almost everyday. I haven't seen this much snow or rain in Cruces in a long time. Normally I like all this weather because in New Mexico it doesn't last very long. But lately it's been rather wet and since we don't have grass yet I just dread when I see rain in the forecast. Thank goodness we do have tile or else we wouldn't have a dog! Bandit brings a trail of mud from his doggie door and the kids slip on their boots to play in the little pond we have in front of our house. The other day I walked out and was nearly hammered with a mud ball.

Bella making her own little mess and enjoying every minute of it.

Here's Jesse and Greg clearing out some heavy rock from the rock wall. Look at that strength! :)

Mr. Cool

I've been needing to update the boys pics and so we took off to the hills the other day. Bryce is all about looking "cool." Here's just a few snapshots. I wanted to do more in different locations, but Bella wasn't cooperating. I'll need to go without the girls next time so that I can get more creative shots. I just love my boys.