In like a Lion

March always seems like the longest month. It's a full 31 days after the shortest month of the year. Somewhere in that looooong stretch we managed to make it through.

Speech meetings, Student Led Conferences, poem recitations, book reports, Dr. Seuss Day, field trips to Peter Piper Pizza and the Zoo, Youth Conference, birthday parties, softball. . . all that stuff in the first 2 weeks and not one picture.

The only pictures I have from the first two weeks are of us making cookies. Because honestly, if anything sums up my life, it's making and eating cookies. On any given week you can guarantee this occurred in my house.We had 4 extra kids for a weekend and I got a glimpse into the fun of early morning seminary and the appetites of teen age boys. I can't believe how fast we went through everything -- milk, eggs, bread. . . toilet paper.The girls even made Luke a train sugar cookie. And don't worry -- a haircut for Luke was also on the list of things we did in the first few weeks of March.

The next two weeks of March were Spring Break! I had visions of long lazy days with lots of cuddling and crafts. The kids, however, did not. They wanted to be entertained. NOW!

So we jammed packed the days. Playdates, the park, crafts. . . whatever I could think of. One day Ellie and her friends ran a Day Camp to learn babysitting skills. They all determined that being in charge of a group of kids is harder than they imagined. Ellie said the hardest part was "when the kids wouldn't listen to you." I somehow felt validated as a mom.

One of the activities they planned was to sell lemonade to raise money for Japan. It was very spur of the moment, but they had the best time mixing the lemonade, making signs and talking to all of the customers.

We also made a trip to the Zoo with friends. This is probably not a big deal to most, but I HATE the Zoo. The last time I went to the Zoo I was 9 months pregnant with Sadie and went only as a last resort since that stinker would not come. So over 4 years ago. I hate how much it costs and schlepping the kids all over to squint in *hopes* we see an animal. This year we lucked out -- Karen got us all in for free and almost all of the animals were up and entertaining.
The bad side -- it was freakishly hot. Around noon we were looking for a place to eat lunch when we passed the Komodo Dragon exhibit. Nate was dying to see a real life dragon, but when we stopped the girls informed us that they were "dying" and "literally going to pass out." There may have been some eye rolling going on too. Hooray for pre-teen girls! When we finally found a shady spot it was close to the water features and we ended up with a lot of soaking wet (and half naked) kids.

I'm not a big St. Patrick's Day fan, so usually we pretty much ignore it other than wearing green. But this year for entertainment's sake I turned all the toilet water green, made the milk in their cereal turn green and even made rainbow pancakes for dinner.

There was also a sleepover where the girls played their favorite game: Serious Business
I have no idea how to play the game except it seems you say, "Serious business. . ." at the beginning of every sentence and it involves a headlamp, but the girls love it.

The second week of break was marked by the visit of my most amazing sister, who came to entertain us while Dustin in Philly for the first of 3 straight weeks of traveling. It was so nice to have her company!!The nights were a lot shorter when I had someone to talk to and she always manages to entertain my kids. It was a blur:

painting pictures for Livy's room

(this is Nate's)

Midnight Runs to Sonic

I believe this is Nate telling us about how he almost DIED from rolling the window UP on himself when his head was hanging out the window.

making doll houses shopping
Build-A-Bear -- Livy is modeling the new Hello Kitty slippersthe park
sleep overs where Nate ans Sadie cuddle Lola so she couldn't sleep
BYU basketball
lots and lots of games (pictionary, Guess Who, Charades, Boo. . .)

photo scavenger hunt
even more baking. . . especially for our Bake Sale.

The kids had so much fun with their lemonade stand, they decided to to do a Bake Sale the next week to earn even more money. In the end, they earned over $200 to donate for relief for the people of Japan. I am so proud of them!

We also filled the March nights with GNOs, birthday parties for friends, hanging out with old neighbors, and lots of basketball watching. I may have been too invested in March Madness this year, but we can save that for another post. Along with my culinary adventures. See how I leave you hanging with *such* great cliff hangers. To be continued. . .

Ragnar 2011-- Up and Running

*** Disclaimer: This post was written by my sister after copious amounts of begging from me to just do it for me. While hilarity is guaranteed, truthfulness is not. *** Back to the blog:

Ragnar 2011: I put a year by it, so that must mean I plan on doing it again. If I only planned on doing it once, it would say Ragnar. Period. But it was so much fun, I'm already jazzed up for the next one.

If you haven't heard of a Ragnar, let me point you to the website for more details: Ragnar Del Sol. If you havem SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH! It was basically a 200 mile relay race with 350 teams of 12 runners. Each runner runs 3 legs which are predetermined and listed with length and difficulty and you assign your runners from there. The first 6 runners are in van 1 and you rotate out with the next six runner after everyone has run one leg. I was runner 3, which meant 21 miles total. Our team had a lot of newbie runners, so they opted for the shorter legs putting them in van 2 and leaving me with a nice big empty van (well, Dustin had agreed to do it too, so I had a van of two). True to our team name, Commitment Issues, we had a hard time getting a full van of 6, but finally with less than a month to go, we had a committed six willing to run 110 of the miles. I should mention that what Van 2 lacked in experience they MORE than made up for with enthusiasm and team spirit. They were the drive behind the whole thing and without them it never would have happened.

Thursday night I was running around in full panic mode. 6 sleeping bags, 6 pillows, 6 reflective vests, my clothes, food for everyone, switching out the vans, stuff for all the kids, Ellie's concert straight to dropping them all off with friends. When I got to Karen's I literally started crying from all the anxiety and stress. I didn't want to leave my kids. I didn't want to run this at all. Why did I think this would be fun??

Finally I pried myself away so we could take off to the airport (which was a disaster because NASCAR was also this weekend) to pick up the only 4 runners friends we could talk into this (from NY, PA and TX) and proceeded to get a dinner of champions: Burger King. Because that is exactly what you want to eat before you're going to be stuck in the car with people for 36 hours. When finally reached Wickenburg and settled in for a total of 4 hours of sleep before we had to run and then... my sister took over my blog as I threatened to cut her baby's fingers off for touching my TV. She's a little hazy on the details because let's face it, she tuned in and out of the story several times, AND I've given her the liberty to make up any and all details so here you go:

At 4:30 the next morning we found out that we WERE THE NEXT CONTESTANTS ON THE PRICE IS RIGHT. But seriously, that was Brad's ring tone, and yes, it was the most annoying ever. I took it upon myself to be the perky one, does that surprise you? I gave everyone a good foot rub and a stretch out, we loaded ourselves into our stylin' mom van and hit the road.

Stop One: The Safety Briefing.

As you can see, Team Commitment Issues takes safety very seriously. In between hearing horror stories of head ons with semis and Brad feeling the need to rock a stylin 3-6 months size shark/dinosaur hoody we tuned out on safety and in on straight up fun.

Don't we look excited?
Before you wonder for the ten millionth time, IS DUSTIN HALF GIANT, the answer is, YES!

At 6:30, Brad, runner numero uno ran first for 8 miles UPHILL, Casey was #2 and then ME. This is the face that greeted me as my first seven miles was about to begin:
Well, that face and an anonymous runner about to be flattened like a pancake. Apparently we weren't the only ones who felt a certain way about a certain mandatory safety briefing.

And if you're wondering what the number one thing on my mind was at that exact moment: pooping. It should have been on how I was going to entertain myself for seven straight miles with nothing to stare at but the luscious brownery of deathly desert earth. But no. I was going through all my old pooping haunts on my regular runs. The gas station on the corner, an abandoned field, friend's houses. You get the point. It was a pretty boring run, I'll be honest, especially when you've got a one track mind on the porcelain god.

But I DID end up passing a man who informed me pre-run that I *might* possibly be able to pass him by the end... a hot minute later.

Don't you wish you had my arms? Ragnar 2012 will be done in the wheel-barrow position.

Then Sarah, then Dustin, whose music mishap did NOT send him into a deep enough depression to make him even half desperate for a radio disney-fied IPod, courtesy of yours truly.

Dustin took us into the exchange to switch off with Van 2 who greeted us with chocolate chip cookies (guess who ate them all) and oreo truffles. I *heart* van 2. They were all showered and clean and still excited for the run ahead of them. We were tired and stinky and desperate for icees.

We hit up Cracker Barrell where I ate food that weighed more than my youngest two children combined. And lots of water, to pad the fall. No seriously, I replaced my entire blood supply with water. Ice water. And a chicken sandwich.

Next we hit up Lifetime Fitness to work out. No point missing out on a routine and a creepy naked gym shower. Oh and a eucalyptus steam bath. Please note, that THIS, as opposed to the rest of the story *did* indeed happen (only we didn't work out, we stretched out).

And then we went all hobo and slept on the front lawn of a random high school until the exchange. In the middle of the night I woke up to find a cougar standing over me. And by that I mean my husband, Dustin Robin Rogers, BYU fan, extraordinaire.

After a seven hour window of opportunity for an early evening meal, we started our second leg energy free and in a frantic panic to get to Subway. We dropped Brad off for his first run with the promise of a hearty foot long by the end of it. Well, thanks to lax immigration laws, language barriers and the hazards of the food service industry we wound up late at the exchange, the clock ticking away time.

After that we all committed ourselves once again to Team Commitment Issues, kicking it into high gear. And that was before my night run became a high adventure nightmare.

We live in the suburbs, of a desert. On a clear day in Arizona you can see 600 miles, because there are no hills. Okay, that was clearly a lie. You *could* see 600 miles if it weren't for the mass exodus of people that have made their way to Arizona and populated it greatly. So to prepare for my climb through the mountains I did stairs: in a well lit, expensive parking garage in a Beverly Hills-esque mega mall. But in the pitch black, I took an off roading acid trip run into a whole new world of magical terrain. Sand, dirt, mud, sprouting wings and running straight on top of a lake, you name it, I did it. Wild Cat Spotting Total for the run: 6 coyotes, 1 cougar and a werewolf. He looked a great deal like Jacob to be honest. And at the end I felt like this:

But our van kept chugging along. And by chugging I mean speeding, quickly and without pause. The chair people of the race even nicknamed us team lightening for our relentless speed and dedication to all things Ragnar. Even if on the inside we felt like this:


And by the time our van finished we headed to the community center for some zzz's. D. Robin Rogers brought an air mattress for added comfort but when I met the glares of running demons being awaken from their exhausted slumber at the sheer volume of an echoing air tank I pretended not to know him.

By the time we hit our third run we were ready to be showered, done and have a medal around our necks. So we decided to absolutely kill our expected times. 7.7 miles in under an hour for me thankyouverymuch.
And that's the anti-climactic ending to the adventure that was Ragnar Del Sol 2011.




And of course, one last shout out to my wonderful sister who literally blogged this for me with a poem she wrote me the evening before, in less than ten minutes, please note the line about me almost dying, it is highlighted in bold for your pleasure:

You’ve trained and trained, you’re fit and trim
But now it’s time to sink or swim
That pun, in this case, just made no sense
For running is the talent with which you are blessed

...So off to Ragnar my sister does go
It’s going to be hard and might even blow
But conquer it she will for she is a beast
Her reward will be glory and a calorie counting-less feast

Maddy you are, the world’s greatest inspiration
To go on this journey without the slightest hesitation
Climbing mountains and dodging the fastest of cars
Filling your car with oranges, knives and granola bars

In the middle of the night you’ll be strutting your stuff
While I’m sleeping like a baby you might huff and puff
But a runner’s high like absolutely no other
Who knows, by the end, you might shout, “LET”S DO ANOTHER.”

I think you are crazy, but seriously the best
The perfect big sister who aces every test
You make us all proud with your energy and heart
Now go off on your journey and do your part.

Talented

For Girl's Camp they have asked the leaders to preform a 3-5 minute "talent." Now, I don't think I'm talent-less, but pretty much all of my talents do not lend themselves to a 3 minute demonstration on stage. I really dislike the whole idea of forcing people to fit their talents into a performance.

When I was in HS my Principal asked me where I was going to college, I said BYU. He didn't believe me because he didn't think I was Mormon. When I insisted that I was, he said, "But, you don't sing." There are so many fantastic talents that don't involve singing, dancing, music, acting. . . and sometimes it feels like if you can't do something along those lines, you must not be talented. So in honor of all the others out there who don't fit the "Mormon Musical" mold, I give you a list of some of my most amazing talents:

1. Super Hearing -- I can probably hearing you chomping on your cereal right now. And I'm probably annoyed. Nothing can drive me crazier than my dad eating a banana. And poor Dustin cannot fall asleep before me at night, because if he so much as *breathes* loudly I will kick him for waking me up. I know each time my kids go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and I know when they are sneaking food out of the pantry. They think I'm some sort of psychic genius, but it's my crazy ability to hear every single noise.

2. Super Sweet Tooth -- I have never met a dessert I didn't like. I can inhale a dozen cookies in less than 5 minutes. Especially if they are warm and I have a mug of milk. I remember someone offering me *a* cookie once and being totally confused. Did normal people only eat *one* cookie? Because I wanted 5! Luckily, I'm pretty good at making treats, so I can make myself something and gobble up half of it without anyone knowing how much I ate. Then I will force the other half on my friends or children. My kids actually turn down sweets because they are so prevalent at our house.

3. Super Speed -- I can accomplish 8 tasks in a single bound. When I decide to do something, it gets done, and it gets done ahead of schedule. I even eat fast. It does mean that I'm usually waiting on other people a lot, which just gives me *more* time to get stuff down. And then I sit around and wonder why everyone I know is so slow (mostly my husband).

4. Super Bossy -- There are million things I want to do and I probably want you to do them with me. I will then convince you that running dozens of miles each Saturday, dressing up in 1920'a garb, or driving all over the East Valley with nothing but random clues is the best idea ever. (see don't I look convincing??)

Then at some point I will come up with another brilliant/fun/super awesome idea and decide that I don't want to be in charge of it, so *you* should do it. And you will because I made it sound so glamorous. I will then remember how bossy I am and start interfering until I have pretty much taken all control back.

And so I ask you -- which of these talents should I share on the stage at Girls Camp?

Lovin' It

I have to hurry and get Valentine's Day in before February is over.

I am not one of those people who thinks Valentine's Day is a "made up holiday" and over-rated or over-celebrated in any way. I love a good excuse to show people how much I love them, especially on a day where lots of sugar and pink are involved.

Since we had just gotten back from an over-the-top vacation for just the two of us and I spent the weekend devoted to our Young Women's fundraiser, we decided to keep it small and really focus on the kids.

OK, *I* decided to keep it low key and focus on the kids. Dustin spoiled me as usual. I ended up with a new necklace and purse from everyone, plus the best lunch date ever.

Per tradition, we got the kids some chocolate and flowers in the morning and then sent them off to school all nice and sugared up. Dustin took the kids and me out to lunch at Brio to celebrate the day. I don't know if any boy can ever live up to the standard Dustin has set for spoiling his girls!Sadie and Luke were amazingly well behaved. Our lunch took an hour and a half and they sat the entire time. On their butts! And didn't yell or whine or drop food on the floor. Sadie used a napkin instead of her skirt. And Luke used a fork instead of his hands! And they ate all their food. Even dessert. Sadie thought the restaurant was very fancy and was pretty excited when they brought out the tray of desserts to pick from. Even more excited when they showed her the one with custard and fruit. Maybe it's just the older two that are heathens in public places??

So after my very favorite Valentine's Day date EVER, I got to go to the school parties. Nate was hilarious as always. He really wanted me to watch him play Bingo. At the end I wanted to hurry and take some pictures with his friends. Nate was in quite the goofy mood.
I'm pretty sure that's a monocle he is making. He had to go line up for recess when I happened to notice he was standing next to Allie. I told them to smile, when I notice Nate's hand. . . It's only cute for so long, but right now he's young, so it's still *so*stinkin*cute!

Then we rounded out the day with a homemade heart shaped pizza. I know, I know, everyone does that. I'll come up with something more exciting next year.

Someday My Prince will Come

But for now, my heart belongs to Daddy.I know what you're thinking -- my family is ridiculously good looking. Oh wait, that's just what I'm thinking.

Every year, Lifetime throws a Daddy Daughter Dance around Valentine's Day. Last year we were in Maui at the time and I was really sad we missed it. So were my girls as the gym advertises the heck out of it. So as soon as stuff started popping up this year, I signed the girls up for everything. The dance! The hair! Th make up! The nails!

Sadie talked about the dance non-stop for the two weeks leading up to it. She made up songs, told Dustin how he should spin her when they danced, talked about going to the salon and how she wanted her hair. All her funny little comments were worth the money right there, but seeing them getting ready was priceless.

Sorry there aren't as many pictures of Ellie as there are of Sadie. Sadie needed a little more supervision than Ellie, so I spent most of time with her.I love the look of concentration on her face. She was very serious about the whole thing
The salon was full of little girls getting ready for the dance and they all fed off of each other's excitement. Sadie was a bit of a novelty because she was the smallest girl there, so as usual she got more attention than she ever truly needs.
Sadie overheard a conversation between two moms worrying about how fast the time would go and since her little brain picks up EVERYTHING, all I heard for the next hour was, "Time is going to go by so fast when we're trying to get ready. We better hurry."

I let them pick out some of my jewelry and once they picked out their dresses and tried to get some pictures. Of course Sadie is always so cooperative.I believe she is dancing at this point in time. I keep forgetting to go in a photoshop that fake tattoo out. Also, I am insanely jealous of the hair. I want my dad to take ME to a Daddy Daughter Dance.

Sheryas and Anjini came along for the ride too.After this they were off for their carriage ride, to meet the princesses (which were all the childcare workers, so Sadie was thrilled that her favorite, Lauren, was Cinderella), dance, eat, craft, get goodie bags. . . and all that stuff that makes up happily ever after.

The End.

We were busy -- so I got fat

Alternate title: I have no self control.

January and February have been good to us! We certainly haven't been lacking for entertainment. Birthday parties, training for Ragnar, Church, school, kids. . . And of course being spoiled rotten.

Wicked!
For Christmas our husbands sent 4 of us away for the weekend to stay in Tucson and see Wicked. We left our 14 kids (but took sweet Aly with us) and headed off for a relaxing girl's weekend. I can't believe I got to eat so many meals with both hands!! Actually I can because I gained plenty of weight from all the good eats. I literally ate dessert twice in one night. We also stayed up late talking and Rickie and I got in a good hill workout Saturday morning. With so few hills (or none, I should say) around here, it was a nice change of scenery. Wicked was amazing, but spending time with these girls was probably the best part. I always feel so much love when I am with them.

Birthdays!
For Meredith's birthday I got to go out with some other of my very fun girlfriends -- the M's. We did breakfast at TC Eggintons (where I did really well until they bought Meredith a chocolate chip cookie birthday pie -- someone had to eat it!) and got the world's slowest pedicures. I felt rather guilty about indulging so much in the space of a week, especially knowing we were leaving a few days later for. . .

Grand Cayman!
Dustin and I headed off for the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman for 5 nights ad 6 days. Actually, the first night we stayed at the Marriott Resort there using points and then switched over to the Ritz for the rest of our stay. The Marriott was nice and we enjoyed it, but once we were at the Ritz we kept remarking on how the Ritz made the Marriott feel like a Super 8 (it's actually very nice, the Ritz is just that fantastic). The service was amazing. We went snuba diving by a ship wreck, saw sharks from a submarine, and held star fish and jelly fish while we kayaked in the mangroves. We also went to the most gorgeous beaches and sat around the pool enough for me to get 2 books read. The people who were there were so entertaining and intriguing. . .and the food. The food!

Eric Ripert made me fat. Dustin is a big time foodie and in the month of January he hit Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in NYC and Graham Elliot's restaurant in Chicago. So when we saw Eric Ripert's Blue in the Ritz, we decided we had to eat there. I could not stop eating the cilantro sea salt rolls and the food just coming and coming. When we left I asked if I could get a roll in a to go bag since they were so amazing. They brought us our bill and this teeney tiny to go box and we were on our way. Or so I thought until our server came chasing us down with an enormous bag. I guess the little to go box was actually macaroons, and the giant bag contained a boat load of rolls. I couldn't NOT eat them. And we all know rolls are best fresh. . .

Fast forward a few days and we had a boat excursion from 5-8 pm. We ate an early dinner and decided to hit up Blue for their sticky toffee pudding for desert (seriously so good). Well if you go for *just* dessert and they remember you, they still bring you a basket of your favorite rolls. And then dessert. And then the tray of dessert samples. And then the macaroons. And if your waiter is from the Philippines and you force your husband to speak Tagalog with him, you get another ginormous bag of rolls to take back to the room with you. I probably ate 2,000 calories of rolls every day. And now you are probably bored out of your mind, but I really love food.

We also saw the Gin Blossoms
And also a HUGE thank you to my parents who watched the kids. My kids look forward to their week alone with Grandma and Papa every year.

Katherine!
When I came home I swore I would not eat out for a month. Except I had scheduled a GNO with all my old girlies for the very next night since Katherine and her ADORABLE baby were in town. I may have hogged Chase the entire night. I love these girls so much and I miss most of them since they have moved away. It's always fun to get back together.

And then I swore I wouldn't eat any more junk food, but the next night was our Ragnar team party. And there was the Girl's Camp Kick Off, and we fed the missionaries and you *have* to give them dessert. Followed by a bridal shower, and then I invited Karen over for lunch and it would be rude not to offer my guest dessert. The next day there was a birthday party and the Stake Valentine's Dance, which had tables and tables of candy and desserts. We were probably the youngest people there, but we really killed it on the dance floor. Maybe I burned off some of the candy I ate?? Please forgive the scary eyes. My phone did not do the greatest job ever, but we were laughing over how funny this picture would be.

On top of that we were doing out Girl's Camp fundraiser last weekend which included supervising the girls while they babysat 27 kids for a few hours, stuffing 200 candygrams and putting together 80 treat plates. And then the delivering. . . I *needed* to binge on those yummy treats. Besides, someone had to be quality control.

So Valentine's morning I woke up and swore that Monday would be the day that I did not eat sugar. I'm guessing you know what happened -- Dustin wanted to take me and the kids out to lunch. They were so well behaved we had to get dessert. Look! Luke ATE! With a utensil! And Sadie sat still!! Definitely dessert worthy.

My Visiting Teachers showered me with oreo balls, PB krispy balls, chocolate covered popcorn. . . and my sweet friend brought me homemade sugar cookies. I decided the best thing to do would be to eat them all in one night so I wouldn't be tempted. And Tuesday Ellie made sugar cookies at Activity Days and made one for each of us. How could I NOT eat the cookie she made for me?

But. . . TODAY! Today is the day that I don't eat dessert. Because tomorrow I'm making orange rolls for a brunch.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

AKA My Kids Really Know How to Freak Out and it's All My Fault

I tend to have anxiety a lot and really exaggerate the effects of things in my mind. My children have unfortunately also inherited this trait. Last month Dustin was out of town 3 out of the 4 weeks and then add in all his make up work and church duties and it was pretty much me flying solo for the month. I should also mention that Dustin is use the voice of reason and the only sane person in this family. Without him around to keep us all firmly rooted on the ground it got slightly emotional some nights.

1. About 30 minutes before bed time, Nate looks at me and asks, "What's a kidnapper?" I then launched into a spiel about how kidnappers want to steal children and lock them in rooms and not feed them and so you should never ever leave your mom or dad when you're in public or open the door to a stranger. See how I feed this kind of behavior??

The next thing I know the kids are FREAKING out. What if a robber comes to our house? So I show them our alarm system. What if they break in the window -- will the alarm still go off? Yes. Then they insist that I turn on the alarm and show them where all the lasers are. Nate is the worst. He wants to know where he should go if the alarm goes off. What if he's asleep and doesn't hear it go off? What if the bad guy steal all of his Legos? So finally I've come up with some sufficiently good plans and I get them all settled down and into bed.

Half an hour later, I'm ready to crawl into bed when I remember that Nate is assigned to bring snack for the class the next day. And I literally have no food in the house. And the kids are all in bed, so I can't run to the grocery store. I'm digging through my pantry when I remember that my neighbor, Gina, is a major stockpiler, so I'm sure she has something. I call over and while she's running low, but she does have saltines (which I should mention were a BIG hit with the Kinders). Gina offers to run them over to me since I'm all ready in my PJs so I go over to open the door and WAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIILLLLL! The alarm goes off, waking every single kid -- except for Nate. How he sleeps through the hysteria is beyond me, but it takes me another hour to get the girls settled down again.

2. My kids really like me. And I find it flattering. Really I do. But sometimes I need a little room. On Sundays all sorts of sweet people sit near us so they can help out with the kids, but my kids all fight over who gets to sit closest to me. I try to bribe them to go sit with someone else so I can have some personal space and it *still* doesn't work.

So one particular Sunday the kids were feeling really attached to me. Daddy had been out of town and then I had gone away Friday and Saturday with my girlfriends for a much needed break, and then Dustin flew out 12 hours later. Right around bed time, Nate (who is usually the catalyst for these sorts of things) starts crying, "I don't want to grow up." Then everyone starts sobbing. They are never leaving me. They won't go to college. They don't want to be moms and dads. They want to live in my house forever. Some gems include, "If I grow up, you will get old and when you get old you will DIE! And even if you die, I'll still need my mom," and "What if my kids don't like the BYUs?" I gently try to explain that one day they will actually want to leave, believe it or not. To which Nate replies, "You don't even know what I want. Right now I want to spend time with my dad."

Oh my gosh, I wanted to cry!!! The killer was knowing Dustin was only going to be home for a day before we left on our trip. But they were spoiled by parents (who reports know moments of mass hysteria), and we're home now with NO travel plans for the month. . . yet.

And hopefully one of these days I'll download my pictures from my girls trip and our week in Grand Cayman.

Birthday Girl!!

While Dustin was off at the great blizzard camp off of 2010, I took the kids shopping for Sadie's birthday party. A whole three weeks early -- because I'm awesome like that. I pride myself on my amazing planning skills.I even had all the goodie bags stuffed for these cuties 2 weeks before the actual party.

Then suddenly it was back to school and all the projects, volunteering, trying to finalize our Ragnar team, planning for Wicked and the Grand Caymans, Dustin traveling, getting the fundraiser for Girls Camp put together and I did NOTHING for Sadie's birthday party. Literally, I didn't even get all the invitations out. And then worst part -- I realized Dustin would be gone for her actual birthday.

The Saturday before he left, we decided to have a little family party and invited some family friends over to celebrate with us. Sadie requested "souflalalalaflalfff" for her birthday dinner. What? Soufellalalflaf. So finally I asked her to describe what it was. "It's the chocolate cake that Daddy makes that goes up and up and up." Oooooooh, souffle. My girl's got good taste for a four year old.Even better than ONE souffle is TWO souffles. Dianelle and Shreyas are foodies who always are trying out the best recipes, so Dianelle challenged Dustin to a souffle bake off. And poor Shreyas and I had to be the judges. It's rough to be me sometimes. I mean, I had to run 13 miles that day in preparation for all the calories!

The competitors:
Poor Dianelle used a new recipe so hers didn't rise unfortunately, but it did come with a really yummy orange sauce. Dustin won (woot woot!!), but I still managed to eat all the leftovers of both. And maybe a lot of sauce and ice cream. I probably should have run 20 miles.

Then we opened presents including this fun one form my parentsYou can use it with iTune. Unfortunately, I haven't uploaded anything form iTunes, yet, so I'm still listening to the same 5 songs like, "Baby Bumblebee" ALL.THE.TIME. And it comes with a microphone. Everyone has had a lot of fun with it.

I also picked out an awesome gift from us!Did you see it comes with 130 pieces? I'm a nice mom.
It's also a big hit. And surprisingly, I haven't found too many pieces all over the house.

Saturday night was fun. And then Dustin left and Sunday night I was sitting there thinking, "I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED FOR TOMORROW." What did moms do before the internet??? I found these cute Hello Kitty cakes and I had stuff around the house that would work.Plus Sadie had convinced me the last time we were at the store to buy the giant thing of cheese puffs. Plus we have lemon trees which always means fresh squeezed lemonade. So we had food at least.

I also had the amazing foresight to buy some games when we were out three weeks earlier. Like Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty and even better. . . a Hello Kitty DVD in case I got desperate. Which I did. One of Sadie's little friends liked my cake so much that she kept eating and eating until she made herself sick and then the poor little girl threw up. A lot. Thank you DVD for entertaining them while I cleaned up. But we survived and everyone had a good time, so that's all that matters. No one cares that I threw this party together in about an hour. There weren't any cute Hello Kitty headbands like I wanted to make or helium in the balloons, but Sadie was happy. Love that girl.

And of course the next day was her birthday which meant MORE birthday love and kisses. She kept saying, "But it's my BIRTHDAY!" anytime I asked her to do something. I think she got her birthday diva-ness from my sister. She picked Wendy's for dinner and we watched Despicable Me while we had a picnic and then I put her to bed at 7:45 because I was exhausted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SADIE! You are so full of spunk and personality. I know we wouldn't laugh as much if we didn't have you in our family. You always bring so much life into the room and your dimples melt my heart. Thanks for always rubbing my feet and doing my hair and coming up with the most fabulous comments. Just today you told me, "I actually won't be eating dessert anymore because dessert is not healthy for you." And I actually believe you. You love fruit more than anything in the world and rarely eat anything else anyway. I love your cuddles, even when it's bed time and you keep coming out because you forgot to give me a kiss. And then because you forgot to give me a GREAT BIG KISS! And then because you forgot to give me a squeezy bear hug. At some point you do need to learn to go to bed and that being cute and complimentary will not get you anything in the world. Love you!!