Sadness-that it's been a year since I did any type of blogging. Does Facebook and Instagram count as documenting our lives? Probably not.
This is kind of how I feel my life is these days. Chaotic. Scrambled. Hectic. A little peace sign thrown in for good measure. Some tears and breakdowns....and lots of love. This picture makes me laugh. Taken at the Idaho Museum at their carousel exhibit. Five kids....all bigger. All healthy and relatively happy, I think. Which makes me really grateful because ultimately, these six people are my absolute life.
I'm going to make an effort to start blogging again. If nothing other than for our own sake-I miss documenting what's going on. And I need to publish my other years so that we have some kind of record. Because heaven knows my memory isn't what it used to be.......
Here's a little snippet about what each of my little five have been up to this year.
PIPER- Age 3
This little darling just celebrated her THIRD birthday. How in the world did that happen? Because I'm pretty sure I JUST had her yesterday. She is the highlight of most of our days. She is doted upon by her four older siblings and loves all things Disney-and Dora. She is talking pretty well, but has many other ways of expressing herself, such as fake crying, and hand gestures. Her naturally curly blonde hair makes me smile every day and she has the best bed head in the mornings. She loves her daddy-I think he's pretty much her best friend. She calls most girls "Kenna" when she doesn't know their name and she "lubs" her siblings a lot. Her cousins too. Sometimes she "lubs" complete strangers, yelling to them as we pass. She's a lot of fun and is growing into her big personality. She will start dance in the fall and is very excited to join the ranks. She absolutely keeps up with the other crazies in our family.
PRESLEY- 6 (In about 3 weeks)
So this picture pretty much sums up Presley to a tee. She is spunky, sassy, and loves to copy her older sisters. A master at the "selfie", I find endless pictures on my phone very similar to this one. She completed Kindergarten this year and did really well. She also completed another major milestone when she gave her first scripture in church. Presley can be a very shy little thing. But she is also pretty outgoing when she wants to be. She is VERY strong willed and stubborn. Maybe even a little OCD with certain things. But she is also a wonderful helper and a great big sister to Piper. She is testing the water with her big sisters, wondering just where her boundaries really are. She also danced this past year and blew us away at her spring recital. She has found a passion for dance much like her older sisters. She wanted to try out to be on a competitive team next year at IDS and made the Tiny team. She's already working really hard at perfecting those cartwheels and round-offs. She is very busy and has her own sense of style and a definite idea of what she likes....and what she doesn't. Presley adds a lot of spice to our family-and I hope we can harness her strong will. We're working on it.
LANDON-7
This boy. I almost wrote he is six. But no. He's 7 and will be turning 8 in December. The big 8. I'm excited to take him suit shopping for his baptism. Landon is all boy. But with a super sweet and sensitive heart. He loves sports-anything with a ball, or wheels, he's all over it. Loves to ride his dirt bike with his dad...probably his most favorite activity. He also really likes baseball and has done great playing pitching machine this summer. He has a good eye for the ball and has a great little arm too. He also played his first season of flag football. I wanted to die I was so happy. He scored a couple of touchdowns and overall just had a great time learning the game. He also got to go camping and fishing with his dad which he also loved. He just finished First grade and continues to be an incredible reader. He is also kind and is a good friend to many. He likes to pass out his/my phone number to all of his friends too, which is super nice of him. He eats like a man...which makes me super excited for the teenage years. Stuck in the middle of four girls isn't always easy-but Landon takes it all in stride. He is a good kid.
PACIE- TEN
This little/big girl just had her birthday, yesterday. Her double digit, turning ten birthday. She finished up 4th grade and loved every minute of it. She is a voracious reader-just like her mom which makes me super happy. Pacie is our quiet, funny girl who is often found spending time alone. She LOVES cats, but can't convince her dad to let her have one. (That's another story all together) She is very sweet and kind and is such a great helper to me with Piper. She loves to give her baths and seems to always get the "unload the dishes" job. Pacie is VERY witty and comes up with the best one liners and jokes. Her comedic timing is perfect. She has continued to play the piano...it's not her favorite, but she's keeping at it. And she has a beautiful singing voice. She loves music....Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars top her playlists at the moment. She also has kept dancing and is making amazing progress. She is a very hard worker and never complains. She is very graceful and lights up the stage. She is such a sweet girl and we are thankful for her in our family.
PARKER- Eleven
This girl. My oldest, responsible, pre-teen daughter. There have been a couple of times in the past month or so that I've seen her out of the corner of my eye and wondered who came to visit. Then the realization quickly sets in that it's my girl. Parker just finished the 5th grade and will start her final year of elementary school this fall. She is an amazing student who loves to please her teachers. She also looks for others around her who may need befriending and takes them under her wing...which means as much or more to me than her being a good student does. Don't get me wrong....the pre-teen attitude is creeping in. But she is quick to realize when she's overstepped and gives wonderful apologies and hugs. I know with her being our oldest we are definitely going to have a learning curve with parenting her as a teenager. But we've all survived so far and I think we'll be okay. She also plays the piano and continues to improve. She LOVES to dance. It truly is her passion and she's excelled this year. She works very hard to be at the level she's at and I am really impressed with her work ethic. She never complains about it-but goes and works her hardest every hour she's at the studio. I can really see it taking her far. She loves to Instagram and SnapChat, and is DYING for an I-Pod of her own. But she hasn't quite convinced us yet that she's old enough. Parker came to our family first for a reason-and we are so glad she did. She's a great example.
A little About US
Scott and I are floating along-trying to raise our family and make memories along the way. Scott started a new job in January with Benco and is doing great with it. Same industry-just new company. Changes for sure, but sometimes change is good, and in this case-it was hard, but it was also a blessing. He's liking it and making progress a little every day. Still serving in the bishopric in our Ward and just being an all around good guy. He is a very hands-on and involved dad, which makes me super happy. He is a very hard worker and has sacrificed a lot for his family. Namely racing his dirtbike. He does love to take Landon to the track and they're loving that time together. As for me? I'm still teaching preschool and loving that. This past year I had 34 students, which was kind of hard to believe. But it went great and we made it through the year. I'm also still working as the Office manager/secretary at Infinity and love being there with my kids. It keeps me very busy-but I'm grateful I can work there to help pay for their dance. I never dreamed it would be their passion, but they really love it. I love being a mom and wouldn't trade the hours and work for anything else.
That being said, it's dinner time and I need to be off.
I'm saying, outloud, it's time to restart this blog. Hopefully I can keep it up a little....well, a lot better than before.
