The Wild Rumpus

Tender Mercies

2012-02-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

Its pretty much still a new year. Hallelujah. Last year was hard. And crappy. Seriously. There was nothing I wanted to blog about. Plus, I'd heard people mention that all of these family blogs were so unrealistic and only posted about the good and the happy and not real life. So I wrote off dumb, stupid, show-off blogging. And then...

You can see where this is about to go, right?

And then a few nights ago I perused our "old" blog just for fun. What do you know. Its pretty great to go back and see pictures and read about what my little family has done in the past few years. There were things I had already totally forgotten about. And I miss it. I miss journaling about the big accomplishments and the little daily moments that make our life really good, in spite of the hard stuff. Everyone on the planet has hard stuff. But everyone also has really, really good stuff, too. The stuff to be thankful for. The Tender Mercies.

See these people? They are my tenderest mercies and my drive-me-crazyests. But mostly they are tender. And despite my crusty attitude, they are growing and changing and experiencing. So I am back to post pictures and record the silly and the important moments in our life. Our family journal. Because we are here and our life is good.

2011 In A Lot Of Pictures

-Spring-

Jr.Jazz and Daxon's first real pair of Jordan's. Tyler was more excited about them than Dax. But that's OK. Serious basketball players need serious equipment, right? And we are nothing if not, uh, serious.

About the first eight months of Zoe's life were spent in this chair. Safe on the counter next to mama, away from brothers who would love her to DEATH. This particular moment I believe we were getting ready for the park.

Asher learned lots important stuff and at school last year. This was one of my favorite projects he brought home. Gums and teeth made from pink play dough and Lima beans. I though it was super funny and maybe just a tiny little bit creepy.

Another favorite hang out spot for Zoe Girl. That nightgown I looooved. See how here feet were sticking out the bottom because it's really for a little new born? I put it on her until it was so small it was ridiculous.

See what I mean about the chair?

In March Hayes...

turned eight, (Eight?! When the when did that happen?)

got Baptised and Confirmed,

and started Cub Scouts. He was also lucky enough to fit perfectly into Grandpa Evan's scout shirt. And because Grandma Crandall was so very Grandma Crandall, it was in perfect condition. Better condition than Daxon's 1.5 year old scout shirt. I am no so Grandma Crandall. That's OK.

I am so very proud of the Grown Up Kid (not a little boy, not a young man yet, thank heavens) Hayes has become. Funny, happy, smart. Amazing.

Daddy and girl at the Zoo.

A Real Game. As in soccer. Not as in the opposite of an imaginary game.

A dragon at Sunday dinner.

Clearly I wasn't kidding when I said I take her picture almost daily. Notice her proximity to the chair. I'm positive the instant after this pic was snapped she was popped right into it.

Ash graduated Year One of Preschool

Thanks Miss Jamie!

Dax participated in his first Hersey Track Meet. I totally remember Hersey Track Meet Day every year from third to fifth grades. I did not usually (or ever) excel at track meet-like events. But the important part is that I always thought it was a super fun day away from the classroom.

Dax is in the far left lane. Like his mother before him, he didn't come away with any medals, but he did have a super fun day away from the class room.

Zoe around 9 months. Learning about the one sport at which her mother really is good. Doesn't she seem right at home in Hobby Lobby? Naturally.

Let's leave it there for now. 2011 to be continued.

6 Months!

2011-02-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

Can you believe this girl has been around for 6 months?

I think I take her picture every day. Really.

At six months Zoe's big accomplishments include: Trying really hard to sit up by herself. Excitement and kick, kick, kicking a lot. Standing on any available lap. Huge smiles and lots of happiness. Belly laughs. Sucking of her left thumb. Sleeping throught the night. She also loves loves the boys. They talk to her and she lights up like a Christmas tree. Even more when they hold her and -heaven help me-Dax carries her around like its his job. Her goals for the near future include: holding her bottle by herself, branching out her food varities, and rolling over. This last goal might have already been acomplished if she ever had a chance to lay on the floor and even try.

Knee socks on chubby legs. Need I say more?

We kind of like her a lot. I guess we'll keep her.

A Big Day and a Christmas Party in February

2011-02-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

After four attempts at a date, Zoe finally got a blessing and a name on February 5, 2011. Woo hoo!Is she not the sweetest thing you've ever seen? I thought so. Me too.Caitlin Rupp was also very sweet and shared her baptism day with Zoe. It was so neat to have the family together to celebrate these two beautiful girls. I so wish I had a picture of Catie and Zoe. The problem is that I'm not great at pictures on days that are slightly stressful and fully fun. I have almost no pictures of the boys' blessing days, so this is at least a step up.

And after the blessing the real fun and important part began, at least according to the boys . A Christmas party! With presents! In February! Tyler's family didn't have a chance to get together over the holidays, so we thought, why not? Who doesn't love a Christmas present, whenever?Crue. Seriously want to bite his cheeks.

Thank you to everyone who was able to come and help us celebrate Zoe and Caitlin's big day. To have the love and support of the people we love is the best blessing we could ask for. Johnstons, Callan, and Grandpa Dave and Grandma Julie, and Grandma and Grandpa Wiley, we were thinking of you and missing you!

School Stuff

2011-02-19T15:56:00.001-08:00

Asher's class has gone on quite a few field trips. The latest was to the Post Office. I just love that face. It makes me happy. (second to the end on the left)

Daxon's class learned about communities by creating one: Welcome to Rock Falls. We heard

a lot about this project as they were working on it. Definitely a favorite of the year.

Everyone got to be a citizen and be in charge of one of the buildings. Dax built the town hospital and helped with the Army base.

Say cheese! Seriously, I know.

Its About Time

2011-02-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

Whew. Zoe's an eater of cereal now. Even though Dr Knochel said 6 months, I couldn't take it anymore and started her at more like 5 . Yay for staying full and sleeping through the night.

2011-02-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

So sometimes having the tent live in the family room isn't so bad. It makes awesome sleepovers when awesome Max comes to stay.

Christmastime 2010

2011-02-19T14:21:00.001-08:00

Christmas is always such a great time of year, and 2010 was no exception. A few highlights from our Holidays:

Of course we had to visit Santa

All of Grandma Jo's kiddos. Use your awesome imagination to picture Zoe bundled to the bundle hilt in the stroller just off to the side. Also, brave, brave Krew. And Jaci.

The last day of school before Christmas break we were cursed, or, ok, maybe blessed- if you're one of those moms who are super prepared and ready for the holidays long before they start. You can always assume that that will never be me-with the first ever snow day that I can remember. Truly. Around these parts it takes a lot for things to shut down due to weather. But this day it actually happened. Being a true scout, Dax built a snow tunnel/cave/fort.

Hayes began construction on a wall from behind which to throw massive snowballs.

Ash did a little sledding, a little building, a lot of hot chocolate drinking.

And Hello! I made my very first ever from total scratch Cinnamon Rolls! They took forever, by the way. I don't know what I was thinking. It must have been all that snow. And the Christmas music. I was in a mood I guess.

The Nativity. Another first for our family, but definitely not a last. L o v e d it. Such a fun way to remember the Reason for the Season.

For some reason I started a tradition of making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve evening when the big boys were really little. The boys always love it, even if it makes me hate myself a little bit every year :)

Asher asked for an "inside tent" about a week and a half before Christmas. Santa may or may not have been a little stressed out by it, but he sure delivered. The tee pee is as big as our tree and lives occasionally in our family room. Thanks a lot, Santa.

2010-12-12T22:52:00.000-08:00

At our ward party the kids were all asked to participate in helping to raise money for others by writing a letter about what Christmas means to them. Sometimes Hayes' niceness outweighs his obnoxiousness. Actually, a lot of times.

2010-12-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

I mean come on. I spend a lot of time staring at her.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-12T21:50:00.001-08:00

The Berretts were nice enough to invite us for Thanksgiving. Little do they know we think a trip to the Berretts is a pretty great vacation. A hot tub and a real live movie room. Not to mention 9 pies for 10 mouths and the chance to hang out with some of our favorite people. So much to be Thankful for.

See that ping pong ball practice thrower machine? Yes, thats it's technical name. See those kids standing against the wall? Uncle Crae calls this game Flinch.

Laurie and Crae also introduced us to the true meaning of Thanksgiving Jello: Slurping Contests. No hands allowed.

Thank you Berretts! We had the best time!

Happy Thanksgiving to All and to All a Good Night.

2010-12-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

November may be over, but I'm still Thankful. Thankful for all the boys who live at my house. Tyler was able to get tickets to a few Jazz games through work and who did he choose to take? His little peeps. All alone with no other grownups. I wouldn't want to do that. I guess that's the difference between us. I think they had just a little bit of fun.

Thankful.

Just a Long Post About Dax

2010-12-11T22:25:00.000-08:00

Dax turned Nine Years Old clear back in October. And truly, nine is old! Ask Tyler. He has been waiting almost ten long years for a spark of independent interest in sports to surface in at least one of the boys. The spark has finally been struck in Dax. Whew. Although I have to admit it doesn't burn quite as brightly as the Interest in Star Wars Spark. Or Obsession. Potato Patoto. In the past year Dax has really started to love basketball and football and plans to go pro in both sports. He will play for the Miami Dolphins during his off-season with the Bulls. So of course I'm really looking forward that. Bo Jackson who? That is one of the many things I love about my boy. For him, the possibilities are always endless. He can grow up to do anything and he is always excited about whatever it is he is involved in. In world where kids grow up way too fast, he is still happily a kid.

He and Tyler played one-on-one almost every night last summer and his interest hasn't faded yet. He asked for a new Bulls jersey for his birthday and tickets to see them when they come to town. I have some very cute video footage documenting said one-on-one games but my computer is uncooperative. It makes me want to swear, as a matter of fact.

He also played and loved Flag Football this fall. Tyler was the team coach. The Dolphins won some and lost some, but no matter the score they rocked it each and every game.

Daxon is also going to write a novel. Not someday. Today. He's been working on it for a while now. It's actually a series called The Storm Children. He's going to send it to publishers over and over until someone loves it. After all, that's what JK Rowling did. You know I love a bookworm.

He's done a little skateboarding

And he is becoming quite the fisherman.

This might be my favorite picture of Dax from the past year. Fishing with Grandpa Dave on the Big Lost River in Makay

He caught the first fish that day with his new pole:)

And then there is the intense love of all things Star Wars. Especially unmentionably ugly t shirts that shame me. He had a Star Wars movie party for his big day. Return of the Jedi on the projector screen with lots and lots of pop, candy and friends.

But lest you think Daxon is all sunshine, rainbows and awesome math tests after this braggy post, let the record also state that he has been known to stomp his foot at me until I would like to remove it and has started muttering under his breath when he thinks my back is turned. As I said, he is still a kid, although I can see the teenage years coming and I'm not that excited. But I do so love this oldest boy. Happy Birthday Dax!

Oh Great

2010-11-12T13:40:00.001-08:00

- 3 Months -

Now how am I ever going to get anything done with a baby who looks at me like that?

Nitro Circus

2010-10-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

We are thankful for Tyler's job everyday. Not only just because he has a job, but because he has a job where he is challenged and appreciated and can do something he's really good at. We are thankful even on the crappy, stressful days. And we are thankful because its turned out to be a pretty sweet place to work sometimes. A few weeks ago, they had their end-of-summer party. The summer season is a pretty big deal for APX. So naturally, to celebrate a successful season they built a motocross track on their front lawn and had Nitro Circus preform. Now, I know absolutely nothing about Motocross or Supercross, or whatever its called, and even I was impressed-it was super fun.

The view from the window by Tyler's desk

Tyson Rupp, Tyler, Dax, Hayes and Ash with Travis Pastrana and some of the Nitro Circus crew

The Nitro Circus Grand Entrance - of course they jumped out of a helicopter

APX managers (Tyler on the front row next to the #5) waiting for Travis Pastrana to jump them

The first jump

And another

Broc, Jaci and Callan

Hayes with just a leeeetle bit of his J Dawg smeared around. We don't believe in napkins. We just use our freshly autographed shirt. What the heck.

Camillie and Ash, awwww

Ok, so I know you'll be shocked when I say that I made us a tiny bit late. I mean, that's not me at all cough, cough. By the time we got to the meet and greet we were at the end of a really long line, resulting in the fact that they ran out of t-shirts. Dax got one that fit, Hayes got a man's xtra large and the rest of us got... the shaft. Sorry Tyson. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that. We still got to meet the celebs and enjoy the show. Plus, if you ask the boys they would say that the free J Dawgs, candy and COKE were the !bomb! and the party in their mouths was pretty cool in and of itself. By the way, if you've never had a J Dawg, you simply must. They rock the hot dog world. And I'm a firm believer that people who say they don't like hot dogs are just big fat liars.

The handsome Mr. Tyson Rupp

Totally 4 Years Old

2010-10-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

My everyday, all-day, cheek-to-cheek best friend turned 4. And let me tell you- when you have two big brothers to keep up with, 4 years old is older and bigger, which is both good and bad, happy and sad. Ash has to do everything the big boys do-ride bikes, skate board, play video games, go to school, play basketball and "fitball" and talk snotty. But for 6 hours Monday-Friday he can still be just 4, thank goodness. He LOVES to sing, color, secretly watch Dora and UmiZoomi play Batman, read stories and mop. Yes, he is the official mopper of the kitchen floor. I'm not kidding. I have FOUR children now. I'm just glad the floor gets mopped at all. Plus, he likes it, I promise! His besties are still Addie Jo and the twins, although he's starting to branch out and play at friends' houses around the neighborhood. That part of getting bigger doesn't make me so sad-I did mention that we're pretty much cheek-to-cheek, didn't I?Um, before I had any children I swore my kids would never be the kids in desperate need of haircuts riding their bikes around the neighborhood in pjs they'd had on for 48 hours with dirty faces and too-small moon boots in July. Huh. Wonder at what point exactly it became ok.Lunch at Dad's work-we love Impressive skateboarding, due to a very patient dad. Also placing the blame for the flip flops squarely on the patient dad. That is a canyon trail. Thank goodness he still has ten toes. He is, to my great surprise, the most gentle of all the brothers with Zoe. I think they are going to be two peas in a pod. And probably big trouble.The morning of his birthday he woke us up yelling "I'm four today!"As you know, I dearly love his longish hair. He dearly loves gel and (faux)mohawks. So I gave in last week, and what do you know, there was a pretty adorable kid under all that hair.

Happy Birthday Asher Bo Basher! We love you soooo much!

She's Home!

2010-10-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

Miss Zee finally came home on Saturday, September 18, weighing in at 6lbs 2oz. The Monday before she was discharged she received a blood transfusion because of a low hemoglobin level. Apparently a super common occurrence with preemies, but still, I was a little nervous. Turns out those smart doctors happen to know what they're talking about. It was just what she needed to get her here with us. Seriously like magic, before the transfusion was even complete she began to turn the corner. When our fabulous Dr. Knochel explained how a baby's body works and why she needed it I was again amazed at the knowledge and capabilities of modern medicine. In the following days she was totally weaned off her oxygen and began to eat like it was her job. (Which it so was). Her stay in the NICU lasted 5 weeks and two days. Now she's gaining around an ounce a day and at her two month check up she was a whopping 7 lbs 4 oz! We've had her home for 5 weeks and we are just falling deeper every day:)

A cute Coming Home Outfit is a must. Ginormous Flower also a must.

And the brotherly love begins...don't worry Miss Zee, I'll protect you
I just couldn't help myself
A girl's gotta have cute toes. Just don't look too closely at my crusty, desperately-in need of-a pedicure feet. I'm making an effort.

Zoe Girl

2010-09-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

What can I say about the sweetest baby that ever was? I'm sorry- I know we all say that about every baby, but this time its legit. She really is the sweetest. And she's doing great. As of today she weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and is offically one month old! She's getting bigger and stronger all the time. In fact, its almost like she's a real baby! As opposed to a tiny breakable doll we couldn't even touch. Her lungs are totally healthy, although she's still on a trace of oxygen and will probably come home with it. She just seems to like that yicky thing in her nose. No one has told her yet that its not very cute. But then, some girls can pull off anything:) We've been able to get rid of all of her IVs, including her pic line, so a huge wahoo! for that. The last hurdle to jump is eating. The hospital has a pretty strict protocol about oral feedings which we are working our way through. Most days I just like to complain about how dumb it is. Even though I really know it isn't. (Well, it kind of is) Patience is hard. Frustration is easy. Its a good thing she's worth it! Tyler has been amazing and hasn't missed going to work early one time so that he can stop and visit Zoe and feed her a bottle. She's already got him under her spell. Uh, yeah. I think we all saw that coming a mile away. And of course he's got the boys doing their thing so I can be gone. He's working so hard to take care of us all, and I just love him to pieces for it.

We get to hold and feed her at least three times a day right now. There is just nothing better than rubbing that fluffly baby hair on your cheek. Its my favorite.

I have yet to remember to take my actual camera to the hospital. I know. Therefore, all my pictures are from my phone. They don't even do her awesome beauty justice: Not quite one week with the cpap to help her lungsPic line in her head and a Miss Piggy nose from the cpapA new nightieWell hello there, Pretty Girl

Bath Night

Aww. Dax is in love with her. Hayes loves her but is less interested. Asher, not so much. I think he can tell his world is about to change...

One month old!

This video is of our first time to help bath her, when she was about 2 1/2 weeks old. It was unexpected, so Aunt Camille filmed with my phone. Not great quality, but super precious. If you are offended by naked baby parts, feel free to not push play:)

Thank you to everyone. For remembering Zoe in your prayers. To nurses and doctors who are wonderful to us. Awesome neighbors and friends who have done so much. And of course to our family for being there and loving us. And loving our kids enough to repeatedly babysit. And then babysit some more. We are blessed. Thank you!

Preschool Rocks. Seriously.

2010-09-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

This day was a long time coming. A very long time. Ash has been certain for quite some time now that he is missing out on something good everyday when the big boys head out for school. He re-he-ally wants. to. go. too. There have been tears. There has been wailing. I think there may even have been some gnashing of teeth. For this reason I am a believer in Two Years of Preschool. It works for us. So finally Asher's Big Day has arrived. Watch out World. And Miss Jamie.

2nd and 3rd

2010-09-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Second and Third Grades, we have arrived.

As a small side note I would just like to say that yes, I am shallow. For the entire part of my life that I can actually remember I have considered the buying and strategic planning out of school outfits the most important part of the the first week or so of school. Especially important is the FIRST DAY. I am slightly irritated that the boys have now grown up enough to have an opinion where school clothes are concerned. I still want to do all the picking and get the cool clothes. They too want the cool clothes, its just that our idea of cool greatly differs. I just have to publicaly state I do not think Star Wars Clone Wars shirts are cool. Or cute. Same goes for Sponge Bob. A few years ago, I would have outlawed them. But these boys are wearing me down. At least they didn't make an appearance on the first day. And seriously. This is the best picture they would give me. You should have seen the others. They were just too excited to hold still. Oh well. All that said, they're still the cutest 2nd and 3rd graders I know.

A Mission to Toca-door

2010-09-02T07:31:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Julie received a mission call to Ecuador, or as Asher told Crae, (in a loud, highly-enunciated voice) A MI-SHUN TO TOCA-DOOR (duh). After two weeks in the MTC they arrived in Ecuador last Saturday. We are all very super excited to hear about their adventure as they go and have frequent conversations within our little family about what they are doing, what they are eating, what kind of a building they are living in, etc. It has brought much focus on missions and missionary work in general to our lives for which I am grateful because I have to say, I often find it amazing how much information the boys don't absorb. Mostly when the information is delivered to them via my voice. Not even in one ear and out the other, but usually right over the tops of their heads. Then, every once in a while, I find it amazing how much information they actually retain. At their farewell, Dave used the analogy of the seeds in an apple compared to missionary work. You can count the seeds in a an apple, but you can't count the apples in a seed. I think. Now, you have to realize that our bench, which held all boys and cousins, was a slightly rowdy bench. Pretty much nothing got through. Then yestereday, which was about 4 weeks after the farewell, I was peeling peaches and Asher was asking me about the pits. I told him we could plant a pit and it would grow into a peach tree. Out of the blue, Hayes piped up,"Yeah. That's just like what they say in church. You can count the apples in a seed, just not the seeds in an apple." Not sure the actual meaning penetrated, but it just goes to show that when grandpas speak, especially in church, boys listen. At least a little. So, Grandpa Dave and Grandma Julie, we love you, we miss you and we can't wait to talk to you! Thank you for being such great examples to us all:)

Baby Z!

2010-08-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Due to some not-fun complications, our sweet Baby Zoe made a surprise appearance almost eight weeks before scheduled on August 12 at 11:39 am. She weighed in at 4 lbs 1 oz and was 17 inches long. I think I might have been the most swollen, miserable person on the face of the earth. Ok, maybe not the entire face of the earth, but it did feel that way. (Hello-look at my hands and nose and, ok, entire face. Super cute) Baby Z is still in the hospital, but improving and getting bigger everyday. Learning to grow some patience is not an easy thing to do when your baby isn't living at home with you, but we feel so blessed that she is healthy and has no major issues other than smallness. We have lots of pictures and lots of updates that may someday actually make it to publication, but for now, Welcome to the world Miss Zoe! We're so excited you are here:)

Yay For SnowBird (In the Summertime)

2010-07-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

It's always one of the highlights of our summer. We're lucky enough to get to stay at Snowbird for a whole week every year with Tyler's family-they've been going for somewhere around 30 (yes, that's three-oh) years now. And every summer, without fail, someone asks me, "What do you do at Snowbird in the summer time?"

Well, we do a LOT of this:

Some of this kind of stuff:

Dax playing Minute to Win ItShooting off rockets

The ever-popular GAME ROOMGrandpa Dave doin' it Shuffle Board style

And then of course we throw in some of this:Tyler and Asher on the new ropes course(yes they are each wearing a safety harness)Ren, Max and Hayes

Dax and Hayes-too cool for for school or parents on the lift and the Alpine Slide this year

Asher and Porter mastered the Bungee Tramp

Dax on the whatever this thing is called

All the cousins at the top of the tram

Asher, Hayes, Dax and Max

So as you see there is plenty to keep us occupied. These were just a few of the five gazillion pictures we took this year. In the measely ten years I've been we've also been known to fish a little, hike a little and even craft a little. There has been story time, birthday parties, golfing, x boxing and girl's Spa Day. You name it, the Geldmacher's have tried it. While all of this stuff is totally fun, my favorite part is that we mostly do a whole lot of hanging out with family we don't see very often. And of course we engage in a TON of my most favorite pastime- eating. But as I try not to take any pictures of my huge seven-months-along self, let alone with food in my mouth, you'll just have to use your imagination for that part. Trust me, it tastes fabulous, it's just not pretty.

And that's what you do at Snowbird in the Summertime.

Summer Chores are Hard

2010-06-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

We started a chore chart this week. After about two days, Hayes said he didn 't really like it and he's tired of folding his own blanket-which is the easiest thing on his list. Yeah, I'm tired of folding that blanket too. I guess he better get used to it. I'm pretty much a slave driver.

They didn't seem to mind this particular chore so much. How often does the car need to be washed?

2010-06-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing around here, and we're trying to soak up every minute. We've already finished a session of swimming lessons. The best part is that Asher finally got to participate in his own class and not just watch from the sidelines. And you know that means I got to sit in a chair in the sun all by myself for 30 uninterrupted minutes nine days in a row. I love swimming lessons. A lot.

We Heart the Yankees

2010-06-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

After skipping the whole baseball scene last year, the boys were really excited to play again. And holey moley what a difference a year makes. We have a little catching up to do, to say the least. But they have an awesome coach and have made up some serious ground. They're both doing waaay better than I even thought possible during the first practice. And I can't believe how much fun it is to watch them play. The amazing thing is that for a coach pitch team that isn't even supposed to keep score, they've won every single game. Ask them:) Dax with a totally powerful base hit

Hayes right at home in right field. I swear that's what I always played too. So again, maybe sometime soon they'll start to take after their dad where sports is concerned...

Trying out second base

Bless his heart, the coach even had enough patience to let Hayes try catching. Slightly painful to watch, but everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?

And last, but certainly not least, the infamous Crotch Shot. Because Real Men and Ball Players don't care who's looking.

R.I.P. Leopard Head

2010-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hayes owned Leopard Head for just about a month and a half when his life came to a gruesome and untimely end. We really try to be good lizard owners, but happy, healthy lizards just don't seem to be in the cards for the Geldmachers. Remember Skid's tail incident? Please don't turn us in to whatever animal protection agency out there might find this alarming. We really do try. The boys love the lizards kind of like Tommy Boy loves his sale/roll/pretty new pet. Anyway, Dax, Hayes and a friend were in their room last week when one of them came screaming-I mean really, really screaming down the hall, "we killed Leopard Head! He's DEAD!" I ran to the room to find Dax and the friend sobbing. And yes. A very severely injured Leopard Head. Apparently someone-not sure who- was holding the lizard and he jumped out of the hand to the ground. I also don't know if Dax jumped out of the way, or tripped, or what exactly but he stepped on the lizard. And squished it. With his bare foot. And I don't mean invisible-to-the-naked-eye internal injuries here, either. This was gruesome blood and actual guts stuff. Dax and the friend were seriously traumatized. Sobbing, upset, traumatized. Hayes never cried or really acted upset. And to his credit he never blamed Dax or got mad. I think he could tell Dax felt bad enough already. He just asked me to help dig a hole in the flower bed, which I did, although I too was slightly traumatized at the sight of the guts. Hayes colored a few pictures for Leopard Head and made him a paper headstone. I called Tyler and asked why does this kind of stuff never happen when you're home??? Dax cried some more. He felt very sorry and responsible. Hayes just kept telling Dax that it was ok and accidents happen. The next day Dax came home from school with this:

It's about the size of half of a poster board, so it's not small. I asked Dax when he made it and he told me he just asked Mrs. Moody if he could do this while the rest of the class worked on something else. Okaaayyy...... The guy with the tear on his face just about breaks my heart. You can't tell in the picture, but the drawing of the water bowl says "I will buy you a new lizard." Not sure if that's a good idea. But I do like the use of just a little glitter and there was also a candy glued to it. Awww.

So there you have it. Rest In Peace, Mr. Leopard Head.

When It Snows For Spring Break...

2010-04-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

So this year for Easter and Spring Break, we decided to embrace the (stupid stupid) snow and just go with it. Thanks to Tyler's dad, we get the opportunity to stay in fun condos at Powder Mountain every once and a while. With some convincing that cold is as much fun as warm-which I don't think anyone, anywhere really believes-we packed up Grandma Jo, Callan and Jaci, and Aunt Paige and her kids and drove into the snow.

Tyler decided that it was high time the big boys learn to ski and hello, there couldn't be a more perfect place. Of course, this is where he skied growing up. Saturday turned out to be beautiful with lots of fresh new powder. Because of little #4 on the way I couldn't go, so Tyler bundled the boys up, bought 1 adult and 1 child ski pass and took each of the big boys for a half of the day. I must say when it came right down to it, I was quite jealous. And I also must say that I'm so very glad that Asher's best friend, Callan, came to swim, play and entertain him all weekend. It totally took the pressure off me:)

They both loved it. I think it was a good thing for each of them to have some time alone with dad. When Tyler asked Hayes if he would like to go to the lodge for a snack after the next run he said that Hayes answered,"Sure, Dad. I just want this to be a great day with just me and you. It doesn't have to be all skiing. It can be the lodge too."

Of course we had to color Easter Eggs so that, as Asher says, the Easter Egg Man could find us. Is it just me, or does that guy sound a little creepy?

The condo lodge had an egg hunt at which we were semi-successful

All in all, a very fun Easter weekend. Thanks to everyone for braving the snow with us:)

Seven Years

2010-04-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hayes turned 7 on March 11. He's practically all grown up if you ask him. But I think I'll keep him a little boy a while longer:) For his birthday he had a Lego party and received another Leopard Gecko, which he named Leopard Head. Very creative, I know. So now there is Skid and Leopard Head. Tyler wants to change them to Skid Row and Def Leopard, which I think really shows his age, don't you agree? Plus no one ever said we were good pet namers.

Haysie (I'm not really allowed to call him that anymore) is in 1st grade and doing awesome. He's great at making friends and really gets excited about everything- everyday is the best day ever. But he does have one true love. Something the mother of a seven-year-old can be really proud of. Here's an example: every parent-teacher conference we go to his teacher asks him what he thinks are a few things he is really good at. I'm assuming she means things like reading or telling time or art, all things at which I think he is really good. Every single time the first thing he says is "video games." So that's about it in a nutshell...

Hayes, I love you! You always, always make me happy:) Happy Birthday buddy!

We Got Skills

2010-03-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

This season was our first attempt at Jr Jazz, but so not our first attempt at the the Art of Appreciating Basketball. Or, Basketball As An Art Form. Tyler has a solid belief that one should have a deep love for all things basketball (and college football, if we're going there), especially where the Jazz and the Cougars are concerned. He has for some time now done everything humanly possible to draw the boys' interest to this love. This includes basketball parties, basketball jerseys, creating team posters to use at home during the game, going to actual games, and sometime even playing basketball. Also the Holy Grail of at-home basketball activities, teaching the boys to keep track of players' points using box scores. The boys, of course love all of it, but mostly just because they love their dad:)

So as I said, this was our first year for Jr. Jazz. It was actually a really good program for the boys. They spent most each hour each week learning skills in a workshop and then played in a short game at the end. We um, need the skills practice to say the least. I just hope for Tyler's sake that at some point they begin to take after him in this department, because my basketball skills are just about as good as my bow hunting and nun chuck skills. They did have a ton of fun and were really excited for basketball each week, which is the important part, right?

Scouts is Awesome

2010-03-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

In February Dax received his first badge-his Bobcat-at the Blue and Gold Banquet which also happened to be the Scouts 100th Birthday party. He was pretty excited and pretty proud of himself. In case you didn't know, you're super cool when you're old enough to go to Scouts. Grandma Jo invited Dax over to help him make his Blue and Gold cake for the cake auction. She said he was very "hands-on" and didn't really want her to help, but in the end allowed a few suggestions and maybe some help with the letters. The cake was much admired at the auction and sold to the Geldmachers for a whopping amount. And I must add a thank you to our wonderful scout leaders. It can't be an easy job to have what must seem like several hundred eight-year-olds at your house on a weekly basis. You guys rock.

Christmas 2009

2010-03-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Christmas was so fun! The boys are at such a great age for that time of year. It's sort of magical for them. Oh, except for Asher. The problem is that he is never Big Enough, as evidenced by the fact that he really hated everything Santa brought him. Seriously. It started with not getting a snow board like the big boys and never really got better. He asked for Rocky the Robot Truck for months. But after the snow boards, nope. Hated it. It was super adorable, that throwing a fit on Christmas morning:

Thank goodness for Aunt Camille. She might only have girls at her house, but I think she knows a thing or two about little boys because Ash loved his present from the Jewetts.It was a beautiful day, so we took the boys right out to test their balance on their new boards. We have some perfect hills behind our house. I won't say the word "naturals" came right to mind, but they did pretty good for their first time. By the time we went home they could both stay up all the way to the bottom of the hill.

And believe it or not Asher actually became one with his super duper sled and even liked it a whole lot. Will wonders never cease.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thankgiving in Cedar City with the Wileys. It was super fun and super delicious. The Berretts were very kind and offered us their beautiful new condo in St. George for the weekend. We accepted, of course. It was also super. Thanks Berretts!

There's nothing better than a chocolate cupcake and a roll in the leaves before the big meal. I fully support chocolate cupcakes at any time. Especially on holidays. And days that end in y.

The twinnies got festive in several dance costumes before their leaf jumping. Oh to feel beautiful in spandex.

On Saturday we asked the kids to choose an activity that they would like to do. Being the ambitious little buggers they are, they picked hiking. We decided that was an excellent idea-especially after our super star eating all weekend-and we took them to one of our favorite places from back in the day, Red Cliffs.

I wandered around for a significant amount of the weekend without doing my hair or my makeup. I think I'm getting lazy in my old age. Don't worry, I'm ok with it.

Some of us even climbed up the holes carved in the wall using the rope. It seemed very high and daring over that waterfall.
Yay for boys that pick to go hiking. Also very super.

A Baptism and A Halloween Party

2009-11-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

Dax got to be baptised and confirmed on Halloween day, 2009. It was an awesome day for him. And what happened in Sacrament the next day was even more awesome. The Bishopric invited him up to the stand to congratulate him, announced him as a new member of the ward and also invited him to sit with them. They gave him a brand new Book of Mormon as well. As he was standing up there, I noticed a whispered conversation going on between him and the Bishopric councilor. Notice in the picture that he is holding scriptures. Tyler and I gave him a Book of Mormon and a scripture case for his baptism. You can see where this is going, right? Um, yes. He politely informed the Bishopric on the stand in front of the entire ward that he didn't really want their Book of Mormon. He got one with his name on it and everything just yesterday. Thanks, but no thanks. Uh Huh.

Now on the note of that little jem, here's where I get a little mushy. It really was amazing for Dax to have the opportunity to go through this special experience. To become a member of the church and to get to have the gift of the Holy Ghost! What a blessing. I don't talk about it as much as I probably should, but I want my family to know that I have a testimony of the Gospel. To raise these sweet boys into righteous young men who will hold to the rod in this scary world is a great responsibility that I worry about. A lot. And to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion to them brings such comfort. I am so thankful for Tyler, that he was worthy to baptise Dax and be an example to all the boys. I am thankful for all of our family and friends, for their support and love. I am thankful that we are an eternal family. The Gospel is true. We are known, and we are unconditionally loved.

After the baptism, we of course had a rockin Halloween party. It was so fun to share Daxon's special day and Halloween with cousins and friends.

A little Rock BandThe Trick or Treat crew

2009-11-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

A scary Phantom Skeleton and the Wolf Man on their way to school

Happy Birthday Dax!

2009-11-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

Dax turned 8 on Oct. 24, 2009. I have so been loving his age lately. Not a baby, but still young enough to Believe It All. He is such a great kid. Responsible and kind and thoughtful and smart. And such a boy through and through-the blaster slash shooting noises are just getting more realistic all the time. As is the wrestling slash fighting. He is turning into quite the chapter-book reader and has a mind for math like his dad. He also has a mind for Transformers and Star Wars. And much to Tyler's relief he is really starting to like sports. But my favorite by far is evidenced by a paper he brought home from school a little while ago. His class had been talking about individuals and appreciating that everyone is different and special. On a worksheet they answered questions about themselves. One of the questions was "I like ____." Dax filled it in to say "I like imagining." For some reason I just loved that little sentence. It's so him, ever since he was tiny. He loves to imagine and he is good at it:) I think it's great that that is something he knows and likes about himself. I hope he doesn't outgrow it or its coolness anytime soon.

Waiting with some friends to get the party started

We went to Pirate Island Pizza. Needless to say, it was a big hit. And left me with a little yearning to go to Disneyland, for some reason...

I love you Dax. I love to see you ride off on your bike with your friends, I love to hear about the newest Transformer you've created (to a point, anyway) I love to listen to you read, I love to look at your drawings. I love you.

Oooo, oooo Whitchy Woman See How High She Fly i i's...

2009-10-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

I'll say just one word. Ok, two. Witchy Weekend. Already jealous, aren't you? There's nothing like a Girl's Weekend. That's right. A. Whole. Weekend. For just the girls. Did you forget I live with only boys?

This weekend happened because of much hard work, including tears and some swearing, on the part of Camille. Who then had to miss much of the fun. In looking at the pictures you will notice that Camille and JoEll are absent. The morning after we started the party in Salt Lake Addie Jo was admitted in to the hospital with pneumonia and they went home to be with her. Because they are moms, and that's just what you do. Thank goodness for moms.

Nothing like a witchy picture to make me want some serious photoshop skills and a diet I can stick to. While still enjoying donuts and Pepsi.

Granddaughters

I have no words except that this just seems right, somehow.

Cheers!

Notice the large glitter eyelashes paired with big black hairy moles.

You try holding up those eyelashes.

This was fabulous! I highly recommend Witchapalooza at Gardner Village, as well as Girl's Weekends in general.

As for Addie, she is still in the hospital. It will be one week tomorrow. Today she received chest tube number two. It has been a rough and very frustrating week for her, as well as for Broc and Camille. The doctors think she may be starting to slowly get better, but still has some yucky days in front of her before she can go home. Addie and Camillie, you girls are my girls:) I love you both!

Cornbelly's

2009-10-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

What's more fun than Cornbelly's with cousins? Again with the messed up camera.l-r:Max, Catie, Tyson, Livvy, Hayes and Dax
The corn "sandbox" was a big hit with all the boys.

We took up almost the entire train. Because we rock.

We always have such a great time with Tyler's family-it goes by too quickly and we don't get to see them enough. And we give Cornbelly's an enthusiastic thumbs up!

My Favorite Three Year Old

2009-10-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

My Mr. Asher Asher Bo Basher turned 3 years old on October 4, 2009. I can't believe he's so big. But he can. And then some. What's not to love about Ash. The way he talks. The killer dimples. The squishy on-the-mouth kisses the big boys won't even dream about giving me anymore. Even the unibrow. Love it all. And then there are times when he says things like this: As I'm picking him up from Camille's-who babysits him everyday, bless her heart- he starts throwing his usual fit. He never wants leave her house. Its way too fun. It daily reaches the point where it is not cute anymore and I carry him screaming to the car. This particular day he is calling me the name he calls everyone when he wants to be especially mean, which is "baby!" in his meanest voice with his meanest look. (I'm sure it has nothing to do with his brothers telling him he's the baby) So I say to him."Fine. If its so much better here, then maybe Camille will let you live with her." He looks at her and starts to cry. Which makes me feel bad until he says- wait for it- "but I really really like Daddy." Again. What's a mom not to love?

We celebrated Asher's birthday for about three days, which greatly confused him on the fourth day. On the Friday before we went to the dinosaur museum with Grandma Jo and Camille and the girls. I didn't take my camera, and also didn't realize that the settings on my phone camera were a little messed up. Oh well.

Enjoying the highly delicious sliders at Marley's in the Harley Davidson complex

Next we celebrated with Grandma Jo, with whom he shares his birthday. She asked for a yard work party. And that's just what she got. Which explains all of the cuteness in the following pictures. We were doing yard work, people! We can't be gorgeous all the time! Loves, Loves BatmanAnd Loves Loves, Loves Mickey Mouse Club House

Almost as much as we love you:)

Autumn

2009-10-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

A few Sundays ago we took a drive up the canyon and hiked the Grotto. It was a perfect day to roll down the windows, turn up the ipod, and sing at the top of our lungs while enjoying the gorgeous scenery. Plus, its nice to take advantage of just being together sometimes.

Until we reach the point of too much togetherness, which happens pretty quickly in the car...

On the way back to the car I handed the camera over to Dax:

I kind of love that this was the last picture I found on the camera after he was finished:)

Uh, Does This Make Me Look Bad?

2009-09-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

While I do like to joke about it sometimes, the answer is no. We do not beat our children. Even when they are extremely obnoxious. Which is a lot. And yes. That is a cast on another broken arm. Hayes fell on (or off, more like it) the playground at school last Friday. While Tyler was there. We did the responsible thing and took him to the doctor all the while thinking," Its not broken. We couldn't possibly have another child with a broken arm. He's fine." And the doctor thought he was fine too. No pain, no swelling. Just obnoxiousness. So we went home and went on about our business. Saturday I asked Hayes to fold a basket of towels and suddenly his arm was in excruciating pain. Enough pain to prevent him from folding. Yeah right. Fold the towels. But in his defense, it was starting to look swollen and puffy. By Monday-three days later-it was still sore enough we went back to the doctor (actually Grandma Jo was the lucky one to spend her entire day there-thanks mom:) and sure 'nuff, it's broken. I think Hayes was secretly a little happy about it.

Every once and a while, they're not obnoxious. Every once and a while, they're just so cute I can almost believe it will last.

First Grade, Second Grade

2009-08-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Ok. Tell the truth. Am I the only one to breath a huge.sigh.of.relief on the first day of school? We had a fun summer and I love these adorably handsome boys more than can be said, but Hello. We were all ready for this day. Although I am having a hard time believing they're both this big. Dax is excited to be a second grader and have just a little more clout and Hayes can't wait for the Big Kid Playground and Lunch At School. In fact, Hayes came home after the first day and before I could get a word out he said in a very level and serious voice, "I know. You want to know how it was. Well, it was the best day of my life."

And in a fabulous start to the school year we missed the bus on the first day and today, four days in, we've had our first fake sick day. There was lots of moaning and groaning about sick bellies until about 9:05. By the time I had called in to work and excused them from school it turned into a video game playing, bug catching, snack eating party around here with no sign of a sick tummy anywhere to be found. Hmmm. 1st and 2nd grade and they're already sneaky little buggers. I can tell I'll have to keep my bull-crap-o-meter finely tuned this year. Just kidding. Sort of.

"We've Never Had a Broken Bone in Our Family..."

2009-08-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

Those were my exact words 2 days before Asher decided to cowboy up and ride Jen like a horse. Which she sort of is. Needless to say the ride didn't last long and we ended up in the emergency room. Ok. So it wasn't right away. 2 1/2 year olds fall a lot. Sue me. Now what's really fun is telling the Dr. that our small child was riding our Great Dane and fell off. I don't think they could tell if we were serious on not. I believe I predicted Ash would be the one last year when we had him in the ER. Now if I can just keep him off the tramp...

Random Summer Fun

2009-08-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Provo Freedom Festival had a very impressive reptile show. All the more impressive as it was FREE. Somewhere, Tyler is screaming like a little girl...

Catching Crawdads while camping at Strawberry was waaaaay better than real fishing any day. Just ask the boys. Not to mention we had much better luck. Who knew you could have so much fun with some raw bacon and a piece of string?

Camping at Yuba was fun this year but very strangely super-duper cold.

Tyler got front row tickets to a Salt Lake Real game at work. It was really cool. This may show my extreme ignorance of the game, but I had no idea soccer was so scarffy. Do they wear team scarfs at all soccer games?

They also gave out chicken buckets as the preferred form of headwear. This, of course, appealed greatly to us.

This is What I Get When I Go To Work

2009-07-21T16:35:00.001-07:00

See that adorable head of hair? Its my favorite. My very favorite. Its perfect. Its just Asher. Now look a little closer. Hmmm, there's definitely something going on on one side there. I wonder...

Yep. That's sure a big glob of something. A big, gooey, knotted glob. Gum? Syrup? Candy? No sir. Just a little Metallic Battle Bug Glitter Slime. With which to cover your Metallic Battle Bug, of course. Or to goop into your hair.

Ah, no. That's not coming out. Believe me we tried. And just to make it even more yummy, we smeared some peanut butter on it to see if that would help. Nope. It just produced screams like I was trying to rip all the hair out of his head just to be mean. Ok,I need a minute here. I think I'm going to cry a little. We're going to have to cut this out.

Tears. (mine, not his) Cut. Gasp. Cut. Cut. Sigh.

Ok, maybe its just the boy that's adorable. Lots of hair or not.

I'm A Blogging Slacker

2009-07-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm a total blogging slacker. There are several reasons on which I can blame this. #1: Our wireless router died and until we buy a new one my lovely, CONVENIENT laptop is useless for blogging and in order to access the internet I have to squat on my bedroom floor and crane my neck up at the tv in a very awkward, very annoying way. Yes, I know that makes no sense. Ask Tyler. He is the hooker-upper at our house and although I love him dearly, we all know this kind of thing get done a little half-a**** around here. That's just how we roll. Plus if the computer is hooked up to the tv then it records stuff for free. We really like free. And we LOVE recorded tv. Lots of it. Reason #2: unlike anyone else (heavy sarcasm), I have been uber busy and feel as though I have totally missed the first half of the summer. Poor Picked on me. Actually it's a good thing. I quit one job and started a waaaay better one. Let it just be said that cashiering at Walmart should only be done as a last resort. Now I get to work in a nice office and am done by one everyday and we are settling into our new routine quite nicely, thank you very much. There. Now you know my reasons. Because I know you all care. Really just because I enjoy rambling. On to the important stuff.

In June we went to visit Grandpa Dave and Grandma Julie at Mackay and check out the new four wheelers and the new boat. I was super fun and Grandma and Grandpa took very good care of us, as always.

Mackay is a fun little mining town with tons of trails and even some ghost towns. Its a good place to explore.

We went in this mine just a few feet until it was blocked off. Very creepy. Makes working at Walmart seem like maybe the second worst job. And yes, that is the classic "I can't hold it any longer" pose you are seeing.

We tried, but got nothin'. Fish have an aversion to Geldmachers.

Awww, so sweet. When you can't hear what they're saying.

And now this afternoon we're off to join the rest of the riff-raff at Payson Lakes-and hopefully take full advantage of the rest of the summer:)

The Good Old Summer Time

2009-06-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Flip flops, a swimsuit, a farmer's tan , a sticky popscicle face and a very tired boy at the end of the day: summer is officially here :) Woo Hoo!

Worst Mom Ever. Almost.

2009-05-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

First let me start this post by saying that over the last 7.5 years I've come to this conclusion: there is no other profession or position on earth that produces the level of guilt that comes from motherhood. Not even fatherhood. Sorry, but its true. There. Now on to my most recent cause of extreme guilt:

Did you see those super cute pictures and the video of Hayes graduating and participating in his class program? Well, the first grade didn't have a graduation ceremony (you can only graduate so many times) but they did have the First Grade Program and Picnic Lunch to which parents were of course invited. Here are the pictures and video of the super cute songs they preformed:

Oh wait. That's right. There are no pictures and there is no video. Because Daxon's mother missed the entire program. For no good reason.

Last week Dax brought home a note which I could swear listed the program time as 1pm. We promptly lost the note. No biggie, I can remember one event's date and time. Fast forward to this morning. Several times I had the thought occur that maybe I should call and double check the time. But as fleeting thoughts tend to do, it fled my mind a least a few times before it remained long enough for me to actually pick up the phone and call the school. At exactly 11:22 the secretary informed me that the program started at 11:30. I was dripping wet and naked. Well, under the robe. After the ensuing rush to get clothed and to the school, we arrived just in time for the gym doors to open and the kids to come out for the picnic portion of First Grade Program and Picnic.

This should not be a huge deal. One program out of a million. Yeah. Try telling that to a very sad first grader. The worst part was he is now old enough to do that thing where you try really hard to keep the tears back by blinking a million times. But that never really works and a few aways squeeze out. And the "how come you didn't come" and "I looked and looked and couldn't find you" really are heartbreaking. It made me cry just a little bit. Not to mention that I had no lunch for the picnic...

Well, ok. There is one picture. In the park at the picnic with his teacher, Mrs. Ellis. (Who, by the way, was a great teacher really helped Dax excel this year. )The good thing about motherly guilt is that kids have unconditional love and tend forgive and forget quickly. Thank goodness.

Pomp and Circumstance

2009-05-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hayes Rocks. He offically graduated from kindergarten and is now offically a Mr. Smarty Pants. We absolutely adore Mrs. Holt. Dax and Hayes both got to have her for kindergarten. She also rocks. In fact, I'll say it again: we adored Mrs. Holt. And She Rocks.

With his best friend, Daniel

Just a little taste of the program. You've gotta love it.

Its been quite a year. Now its up to you, First Grade.

Sand Dunes

2009-05-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Spring Break weekend we went on our first camping trip of the year. I won't lie, it was freezing cold the first day. But fun won out over the cold this time. We just bundled and didn't stray far from the fire. As always, the boys loved every second of it. What's not to love? Dirt, an open fire you can poke at with a stick and not get yelled at (well, not every time) and four wheeling. Asher totally discovered a need for speed this trip. Hayes already had one. Poor Dax mostly has a need to stay safe-which to him is not the same as a need for speed:) Cold enough they even had to sit by the fire to color. Yes. We colored while camping. I don't know.
Ash seems to really be enjoying that marshmellow. And he really loved that headlamp. It made his hair very large. But that's not hard to do, either.

Oakley braving the powerfulness of the powerwheeles with Dax

And thank you so much to Camille and Broc for letting us dominate your four wheeler the entire weekend. And for taking the boys on at least a million rides. And thanks to Grandma Jo and everyone else for keeping the boys an extra day. They were in camping heaven.

2009-05-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

We spent conference Sunday at the Rupps with the Bells enjoying the sunshine and the cousins (aren't cousins the BEST when you are little?) and the Rupps new four wheeler-thingy.

Emmie, Max, Hayes, Asher and Dax

Tyson and Tyler.

Tyler loved the ride more than any of the kids and was only reckless enough to be responsible for one accident involving his oldest child and copious amounts of blood. Which, interestingly enough, revealed that Daxon's front tooth was always that big and always hung a little lower than the one next to it. The dentist said so. The next day I took him because I was positive it was going to fall out after the accident. But no. Really his tooth is fine and just looks like that. Hmmm.

We're All Nice

2009-04-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Um, yes. This child belongs to me. Although, in my defense he has had a haircut since this picture. I just wanted to jot down Asher's latest. He's now learned how to pout and hold a grudge. He's totally got the whole crossed arms/glaring/huffing and puffing thing down. Where do kids learn that? And if he is mad at anyone or if he gets in trouble (he's two and a half, so that never happens) he yells as loud as he can "YOUR'RE NICE! YOU'RE NICE TO ME!" And then he tattles "Mommy, Daddy is nice to me." So I say, " Yes, he is nice. We love Daddy." and he always agrees "Yes." It makes me laugh every time. I'm going to appreciate this now while its the worst thing he says when he doesn't like me:)

Team Jacob Rocks

2009-03-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday night Camille hosted the best Twilight party ever! And yes, you are seeing correctly. We are each wearing a Twilight shirt. Except for Grandma- but look closely and you will see she is sporting the largest Twilight button JoEll could find. We've offically crossed the line. And we're ok with that. The night started with a delish dinner and dessert and we even enjoyed some official scratch and sniff Twilight conversation hearts. Then on to the main event! A pajama party in Camille's basement. Seriously, it took about three and a half hours to actually watch the movie because we had to pause it to comment so much. I think Jaci is actually in love with Edward. Like really, really, make out with your pillow and pretend its him eleven-year-old crush perma grin in love. I think I laughed so much I might have peed my pants just a little:) And this is just the begining. #2 comes out in November-and you can bet we'll be there with our shirts on.

"Happy Six Years Old Haysie!" And "Meet Skid"

2009-03-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my Haysie Baby turned six. I can't believe it. Well, ok I guess I can since he likes to act 14. But yesterday he was truly a sweet six-year-old loving his birthday. It started off with a bang. I mean a lizard. Hayes LOVES lizards and snakes, and since Tyler is not a huge fan of snakes (a screams like a little girls when he sees one fan) we got Hayes his VERY OWN pet lizard. A real live one. The liz is a Leopard Gecko named Skid. Skid because when we opened the cage we said, "Now, be very careful until he gets used to us he'll be very skittish." Hayes caught on right away and said "Skittish! Skittish is the perfect name! What does Skittish mean?" And so, he is officially Skittish, Skid for short. Or Skiddy Skiddy like Ash says, which sounds a lot like kitty kitty coming from him.

I can't get Hayes to smile nicely lately. He always wants to pull a weird face. I guess its a six-year-old smile.

He got to have his very first friend party which he really really loved and I really really loved when it was over.:)

Now, don't go judging my lizard cake. I never said I was a pretty cake maker. But I try, and I like to tell myself that counts for something. Plus, thankfully, it doesn't take much to impress a six year old boy.

Hayes is not only an obnoxious, eye-rolling teenager trapped in a little boy body who loves Sponge Bob and video games. More than all that, he is my sweet little boy who adores to be kissed and cuddled and snuggled when he thinks no one is looking. He says the most sincere, heartfelt prayers. He loves school and riding the bus and has already learned how to effectively fake sick on Sunday morning and make a miraculous come back by Sunday afternoon. He is a smart, good boy. And something I love about Hayes that I hope never changes: he is his own person. He dosen't care what anyone thinks-he knows he's cool. Now if I can just channel that knowledge for good and not evil...

Fox in Sox

2009-03-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

It's Dr. Seuss week at the boys' school and today Hayes's class had Fox in Sox crazy sock day. He was just thrilled I said he could wear shorts, because, you know, we've all been going through strep throat and I'm a good mom like that. Dax is still sick and didn't get to wear his crazy socks, so he's a little bummed. And of course Hayes would only give me a geeky pose because he dosen't want his picture taken. But we are pretty geeky around here...

Here Goes Nothin'...

2009-02-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

Ok. I have been thinking about this post for a while, and it makes me nervous, which makes me ramble. So as I am about to ramble, prepare yourself: In in the past eight or nine years in an effort to decorate my house, I have discovered that I LOVE a good project. Especially if it involves paint and a blank wall, or paint and a really ugly piece of old furniture. I've fixed up many DI finds, garage sale treasures and hand-me-downs. I've painted/refinished numerous sets of kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Some things have turned out beautifully, others not so much. I think my husband has come to the conclusion that I am a crazy person more than once. But I really do love to do it. I get a sense of accomplishment from it. Plus, as a mom it doesn't involve children or dinner or dirty toilets. Anyway, I'll try to get to the point. I've always thought that if I could do this for a living it would be a dream job. I'm aware that something like this will not support my family. I'm not that much of a crazy person. But lately I've seen a few shops and sites where other people are doing exactly what I want to do, so I decided why not give it a try. I'm starting out very small and I don't know if it anything will ever really come from it, but at least its an excuse to feed my habit! I created another blog- thefinehouse.blogspot.com -on which to post my projects and get some feedback, which is the nervous part because normally I'm perfectly happy to not know what people really think. (Not that my house is the fine house, but isn't it a cute name? Plus I love that song and the very fine house was already taken in the land of bloggers.) So to finish my long-winded explanation, please take a look at my new blog and if you feel so inclined, let me know what you think.

Happy Valentines!

2009-02-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

Jelous of my Valentine's Day, aren't you?

I Heart Kyle Korver

2009-02-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

I guess if Tyler can have a man crush on Deron Williams (or D Will-that's right, look at me, I know the lingo), then its ok for me to have a little crush of my own. My reasons for crushing on Kyle Korver are twofold: 1) um, he's pretty cute. Have you seen him? 2) For a few months now, random, unrelated people haved said things to us like, "we watched the Jazz last night and we think Asher looks like a mini Korver." Seriously, a lot of people have made this comment-at least more than two :) I got to see firsthand last night just how cute Korver/Big Ash is because Crae was super-duper nice and sent Tyler five tickets to the Lakers game that he wasn't going to be able to use himself. Thank You!!! We took Dax and Hayes and Grandma Jo and it was FABULOUS! Tyler so wants the boys to love sports, and I think last night might have sealed the deal. They cheered and boo-ed and jumped around and I am telling you-Hayes danced and clapped and bopped his head until I thought it would fall off. I don't think he can help it-he just feels the beat:) It was an awesome game to see, close scoring all night and in the end the Jazz won 113-109. Thank you again Crae, we loved it.

Dax in his free Jazz hat cheesing it up

Super Bowl XLIII

2009-02-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

While I'm sure that Tyler, Broc and Callan would disagree, I have to say that I think the two 30-second commercials in 3D were the most anticipated and appreciated part of Super Bowl night. They were extremely effective commercials as well: it is now imperative that we see Monsters VS Aliens in 3D as soon as possible:)

And because Camille is such a neglectful mother and I am such a shameful aunt/hostess, one of the twins-Oakley, specifically- snuck away and highly enjoyed this large dish of tasty, horse-meat based dog food as her Super Bowl after dinner snack. Mmmmmm. Ok, so I'm not totally sure that it's made from horse meat. Pretty sure it's not, as a matter of fact. And yes, it is a very large, yicky bowl. But then, I have a very large, sometimes yicky dog. But still. Yummy.

Grandpa Crandall

2009-01-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

Last week my Grandpa Crandall passed away. An event like that always brings memories and emotions to the surface. At the viewing and the funeral I had the chance to visit with family and cousins I grew up with and reminisce about being little. Like many of my cousins, one of my favorite memories of Grandpa is riding on the back of his motorcycle to the mine to find Fool's Gold. And riding horses. And watching Grandpa change the water. And the witch house at Keetley and the squeaky bed in the kitchen there. And the big rock in their front yard at home. And for some reason, my sister and I both talked about the smell of Grandma's pantry-so good:) Remembering Grandpa of course brought up memories of Grandma and talk about my dad, both of whom we all miss and I'm sure Grandpa was overjoyed to see, among so many others. I'm always telling my kids how blessed we are to be an Eternal Family. Times like this truly bring that blessing into perspective. To be together forever! Yay. I am so thankful for the sure knowledge of the gospel. And for my heritage. We love you and will miss you Grandpa.

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of...

2009-01-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoon, I took out a bottle of sparkling cider that we forgot to open on New Years Eve. Now, being the super-crazy partiers that we are, the boys instantly recognized the bottle. Hayes: Hey, what's that? Is that a PIRATE drink? Dax! Mom has a PIRATE DRINK!!! Dax came running and was extremely worried when he saw the bottle. Dax: Mom, pirates drink wino. Why do you have wino? I calmly explained that it was just apple juice in a fancy bottle and it was ok for us to drink it. Dax: Oh, Ok. Well wait just a minute. He disapeared and returned wearing his Disneyland pirate hat. Dax: (very seriously) I thought if I was going to drink a pirate drink, I better wear my pirate hat. Well duh! Why didn't I think of that?! And not to be outdone, Asher had to have a hat to drink his as well, so he got the magician hat. Why not? Magicians can be winos too, i guess:)

Christmas 2008

2009-01-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

The boys left Santa some green dinousar cookies and 9 carrots for the 9 reindeer. This year Dax wanted to be extra nice and leave Santa a note with the treats-I mean, it was Christmas Eve, after all, and going the extra mile couldn't hurt, right? He composed it entirely himself-which I'm sure that you figured out when you read "we lick you". We did not actually lick Santa, but we do LIKE him:)

Must Be Santa

2008-12-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

Haysie's kindergarten had a little Christmas program. He was so excited for us to all come to his schoool and watch him. And he did such a good job! Doesn't this kind of thing always make you smile? I think I'll be a little sad when the boys are too big for construction paper Santa hats and class programs. Although, sometimes that day seems a very, very, very long time away:)

Nine Years!

2008-12-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary, Honey. I love you forever.

A Little Backwards, Just Like Me

2008-12-09T22:00:00.001-08:00

Ok Julie, I stole this picture from your blog, so thank you. No, this picture is not from Halloween, as the Clone Trooper costume may suggest, it is from Thanksgiving. As I was adding the post about cutting our Christmas tree, I realized that I had skipped right over Thanksgiving. Skipping over Thanksgiving and going straight to Christmas is something I don't approve of in general. Don't you hate it when stores start the Christmas season before we've even thought about Thanksgiving? So this is a lame attempt to make up for breaking my own rule.

We had Thanksgiving with Tyler's family on Friday. For the actual day of Thanksgiving, we met Angie and Colby for DINNER OUT. You wouldn't think DINNER OUT on Thanksgiving would be THAT big of a deal. Colby said he drove eight hours just thinking about some good Chinese, so the hunt was on. Let me just say that there are very few places open on Thanksgiving, and this includes Chinese buffets. So we decided to hit good old Chuck-A-Rama for our Thanksgiving dinner. (Plus, LeeAnn gave us coupons ) To our great surprise, Chuck-A-Rama is apparently an extremely popular spot for Thanksgiving. What???? When we arrived, the LINE TO EAT THANKSGIVING DINNER AT CHUCK-A-RAMA WAS OUT THE DOOR AND INTO THE PARKING LOT. Seriously. I repeat: What???? So we went to the Village Inn next door, where there was no line at all and had French Toast. The kids were thrilled.

The next day we celebrated with the rest of the family at Norm and LeeAnn's church, where we had a delicious, normal Thanksgiving dinner with no French Toast. The kids all put the stage to good use and preformed a talent show. What a blessed mother I am to have such talented kids. Hayes did some sort of very serious dance while Ren provided a beat box (is that right?) and Dax dressed up in his Clone Trooper costume and shot a nerf gun at Tyler. I mean the talent was astounding. Then Dax surprised us and sang a version of the Star wars march song in the microphone which can only be appreciated if actually seen and heard. I think I laughed until I cried.

We had such a great time, it makes me realize the thing for which I am the most thankful: My Family. How great it is to have people to love and who love you.

Oh Christmas Tree

2008-12-09T20:30:00.001-08:00

Jaci, Callan, Camille, Broc, Emily, Addie, Dax, Grandpa Wiley, Hayes and Austin (Grandma Jo and the twins are sitting in the truck)

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Camille invited us on their annual trip to Fish Lake to cut Christmas trees. What this picture does not show is the hurricane-force wind whipping around, thus the many, many, many layers. The wind made it pretty dang cold, but it did not keep us from our goal. We came home with some beautiful trees and had a lot of fun in the process. And some extra credit goes to Callan, who because Tyler had to work, took really good care of me and the boys. I'm sure the back seat of his pretty truck has never seen so many goobery crumbs, not to mention a very nice jacket we managed to soak in chocolate milk. He, Broc and Austin did all the hard work while I, Camille, Jaci, and the kids mostly did a lot of pointing at possible perfect trees. So thanks for letting us tag along guys, we love you all and we love our tree:)

Disneyland!

2008-11-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

Chip or Dale?

Star Tours. The boys favorite this time around-how fitting for Jedi warriors!

Brother Bear

Being silly at Thunder Mt. Railroad
Just getting there

Woody!

Broc, Addie, Grandma Jo and Hayes on the Teacups

Dax and the Mouse

Sea World

Hayes and Grandma Jo petting the stingrays. This was Haysies alltime favorite thing we did. He even brought home a pet stingray he named SkullRay :)

We were lucky enough to go on vacation during an absolutely gorgous week in California. The temp was around 85 degrees and we didn't really have to fight any major crowds. We literally walked right onto all the rides, met a lot of characters and even got picked to be in some of the shows. So if I try and not think about all of the hold-my-hand-hurry-up-watch-where-you're-going-don't-EVER-walk-where-I-can't-see-you-STOP-whining-hold-still-you're-kicking-the-person-in-front-of-you stress of taking kids somewhere like Disneyland, it was the best week ever:) That and I would really like to forget about the fact that after arriving in California first Hayes then Dax developed PINK EYE IN DISNEYLAND for pete's sake and then promptly passed it on to Camille and then Addie Jo. But really, in spite of disease and the occasional attitude, we really did have an awesome time together. (Is 'awesome' still an acceptable adjective? ) Thank you so much to Grandma Jo for getting us all there on a plane, which was waaaay better than driving.

And a seriously big Thank You to LeeAnn, who not only watched Asher for 6 days and 5 nights- which is a really long time to have someone elses's two-year-old in the first place- but who watched Ash even after he developed pink eye AND a raging case of the flu, which we didn't know about until we got home because LeeAnn is the nicest person on the planet and didn't want to tell us and ruin our vacation. Thank You Thank You Thank You. I can't say it enough. Thank You for taking care of my baby:) And thank you to the rest of the Rupps for watching Kung Fu Panda with Ash approx. 38 times over the course of the week. After about 8 times it gets pretty rough. You guys are the best. Really.

While we were at Sea World, the adorable Addie Jo was asked to participate in the dolphin show, but she really didn't want to. So Camille told the guy we had two more kids with us and he said send down the five-year-old. Hayes refused to go also. So, by process of elimination, Dax and Tyler were in the dolphin show! It was pretty cool. Take a peek:

As you may all remember, we like Star Wars just a little bit at our house. Disneyland now has a Jedi Training Academy, where a lucky few can learn the secrets of the Force. You can imagine the importance of the Geldmachers attending a training session while there. Yay for us, it wasn't a very busy day and both Dax and Hayes got picked for the same session:

And again, a BIG THANKS to everyone who helped watch kids, dogs and work so that we could go. We had a blast:)

Going Private

2008-11-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

I admit it: I am a totally naive person who gives everyone (execpt, Tyler would argue, him) the benefit of the doubt and I generally don't like to believe there are "bad guys" with bad intentions out there. But lately, in the interest of protecting my family, I've been considering blocking our blog from the world at large. I know that this is going to cause extreme anxeity to most of you, as you are all dying to read the next thrilling post containing a slice of life as a Geldmacher. I will send out invitations to everyone I think is interested-lucky, lucky you! And if someone accidentally falls through the cracks, well then too bad so sad for you. You are now outside the circle. Just kidding! Send me an email and I will happily invite you back into our super-cool super-exciting life:) Plus, we all know I couldn't really block anyone out- I get all my self-validation from the number of comments I recieve. So who knows, maybe going private will send me into a spiral of depression. I guess I'll have to wait and see:) Now I just need about a month or two to actually do what I just committed to.

Lagoon

2008-10-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

Max, Hayes and Dax on the Kontiki at Lagoon. I've been a picture slacker lately, so we don't have many from that day, but I found this still shot from the video camera and thought it was cute. Those boys sure have a good time together. I always love nighttime at places like Lagoon -the dark and the lights make it seem even more fun. Tyler's family always tries to go in October for Frightmares and if the weather is good I highly recommend it. The weather that day was beautiful, although I think everyone in the state (and possibly the surrounding states) realized it was a great Lagoon day because it was pretty busy. But the good company and the rides made up for the crowdedness (is that right?) and we had fun. Thanks everyone for going with us:)

Dax Is No Longer Six-and-Three-Quarters

2008-10-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Friday was Daxon's 7th birthday-he's so big I can't believe it! And of course he had a big friend party of which I have not one picture. Not one. I got so caught up in managing the party that I didn't take any. And it was cute! A non-scary haunted house with everyone in costume. Tyler filmed some video, but it's mostly my VERY loud voice trying to be heard over all those boys and some disturbing shots of my muffin top revealing that my t-shirt was a lot cuter 5 (or 10) lbs ago. Not good for public viewing. Anywhooo, back to Dax. As he likes to say, lately "I'm really into Pokemon and Star Wars". And he received a lot of both, but a whole whole lot of Pokemon. So he's very happy and I have just several thousand more cards to read from and hear about. And thank you to my sister who gave him a hideous Clone Wars poster for above his bed. And now here comes the part where I brag about how amazing Dax is. He is so stinkin' smart I'm a little afraid. I love to hear him as he is learning to read, he's nearly on a second grade level. He spouts random facts that are usually accurate. He loves school. He has always had a great imagination. He's a good friend, a great big brother, and he is (almost) always willing to happily do what he is asked-pick up his stuff, do his homework, put on his seat belt, whatever. And he is blessed with that natural boy ability to make varying gun/fighting noises surprisingly realistically. Oh yeah, and I love that he still has that little kid confidence to draw whatever he wants-usually dinosaurs-and think that his drawing is sooo good. Dax is a happy, good-natured kid who makes me happy to be a mom:) I love you buddy-Happy Birthday!!!

Two Years Old!

2008-10-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Asher turned two yesterday and my sweet baby isn't a baby anymore-although he is still pretty sweet, just with some stinker mixed in. He makes me smile and laugh out loud and I just can't get past the dimples. And I hope that I never forget how he talks right now. Its just so him:)Happy Birthday Ash, we love you so much!

Happy Birthday JoEll!

2008-10-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday(yesterday) Mom! I know you didn't want any obnoxious "nifty to be fifty" announcements, so I'm making this a "50 and Super Hot" announcement instead:) I just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you for being my mom. You have always, unfailingly been there for me. You are beautiful and smart and kind and fun. Way fun. And I can't remember you ever telling us to get out of your sight:) So Happy Birthday-I love you. And my offer for a REAL 50th Birthday party still stands.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race-Right?

2008-09-27T15:15:00.001-07:00

If that's true, then our yard may be in Gold Medal standing. The word "steady" might be a bit of a stretch here, but "slow" definitly applies! It's finally coming along and we keep trying to believe that it's very cool that we have done everything with our own two hands. But in reality lets just face it-digging in the dirt sucks. And other people want to be paid to do it :) Now the sprinklers are in-thanks to Tyler, the top soil is spread-thanks to me, and the million and one rocks are piled in a very cool rock tower -thanks to the kids. In the intrest of saving money, we spread grass seed today so EVERYBODY PLEASE, cross your fingers for our grass to grow! And maybe someday there might actually be plants and trees and sand under the playground. Slowly.

An Important First

2008-09-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

NO-thank heavens-this is NOT my butt. It belongs to a fortunately anonymous stranger:)

"Rise and shout the Cougars are out..."

Last week Tyler decided the big boys were ready for their first BYU game, and I think-no I KNOW-that he was more excited about this fact than they were:) It was very fun and a big part of this is because, as you all know, we Geldmacher's love TREATS and PRIZES, both of which we got at the game. The other reason we had such a good time is because Tyler is much, much, much more patient that I am and when the boys were over it by half time he packed us up and we left, no problem, no pressure. I'm sure that it had nothing to do with the fact that for the second game in a row, BYU was killing it one gazillion to ZERO by halftime:)

Legs

2008-09-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Yes. This is what you think it is-a tarantula. At least that's what it looks like to me. Huge, hairy and scary. To put his size in perspective this isn't just a pint mason jar. It's pretty big, like half a gallon. Much to my horror Tyler caught him in the road by our house. I've heard rumors that our neighbors have seen these around, but wasn't sure I believed them until now. Hayes named him Legs and hit the nail on the head when he said, "Whoa! He's freaky but I still like him." Camille hit the nail on the head when she said, "I hope there aren't any in your basement. Or your bed."

Soccer in the Rain

2008-09-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Dax is Goalie

Grandma Jo, Dax, and the umbrella clobbering the camera is Asher

Hayes is extremely excited by all the action around the goal. And check out the double rainbow!

This week it poured rain for Daxon's soccer game and sprinkled on Haysies. I thought they would complain, but they both-especially Dax-loved playing in the rain. PS-maybe calling Pokemon "my own personal Hell" was a slight exageration, but somedays I wonder.

My Own Personal Hell

2008-09-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

Untill recently, I thought that no one could possibly be more obbessed with anything that could annoy me like the CONSTANT talk of everything transformers. That was before my children were introduced to the parent-hell that is POKEMON. For those of you who are still blissfully unaware of Pokemon, it is a game of trading cards that no children actually know how to play, but they must obtain gazillions of cards anyway to organize and "trade". Every card has about eight thousand facts about the particular Pokemon on it which my children, especially Hayes, need read aloud. Several times. For every card. There are situations such as the one that happened today: Dax just walked in the door from school. Hayes (with a naughty smile): Dax, guess what I did today while you were at school? Dax: What? Hayes: I secretly traded your cards! Chaos ensues. And of course, Asher never misses anything so he is constantly trying to mess up someone's most important card-But mom! That one's RARE, REALLY RARE(as if they know what rare is)!-or take off with as many cards as possible. And then there's the whole no you may not take them to school, I don't care if (fill in the blank) does. No, you don't need to trade at the bus stop. NO NO NO NO!!! Just to top it all off, did you know that you can rent Pokemon movies and even see the cartoon on tv? JOY! Ok, now I've got that off my chest, I think I can breath through my nose again.

Like a Kid on Christmas

2008-08-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

NO, its not really Christmas but according to Tyler it is the most wonderful time of the year-the college football season has offically started. So, in order to really experience the wonderfulness of it all first hand, this year he purchased BYU season tickets-just like his dad did when Tyler was growing up. AND THIS AFTERNOON IS THE FIRST GAME!!!! AND THIS YEAR IS THEIR YEAR! (He says that every year) So here's a great big WOO HOO for Tyler:)

Kindergarten FINALLY Started!

2008-08-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yay for Hayes! Today was the first day of kindergarten, and let me tell you it was a loooong week between the first day of first grade and the first day of kindergarten-there were a few times there I thought we wouldn't survive the wait. He was very excited and not nervous one bit. Thus the blurry picture-he couldn't hold still for two seconds, the excitement just wiggled out of him:) He also couldn't wait to finally ride the bus with Dax after walking him to and from the bus stop for so long. I realize that I'm biased, but I think that he just may be the cutest kindergartner I've ever seen!

Dax is a Grader

2008-08-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Daxon started first grade today! As he puts it, this offically makes him a "grader" (you know, a first grader, second grader, etc.) and no longer a little kid. This is a bittersweet day for me. I always thougt I would jump for joy the day even one of the boys got into all day school, but I have to admit this is almost harder for me than it was to let him go to kindergarten. He really wanted to ride the bus with his friends, but I insisted that I should take him the first day and make sure he was ok. When we got out of the car, he started speed walking in front of me and when I called for him to wait, he told me that it would be weird if I followed him the whole way. Excuse me! I didn't think he would be embarrassed of me until at least second grade! I guess he really is growing up.

Payson Lakes

2008-08-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Dax made friends with this dragon fly

All my boys:)

Saturday evening we REALLY needed to get out of the house before some member of the family ended up with some form of bodily injury-either by accident(them wrestling until I wanted to scream) or purposeful(them wrestling until I wanted to scream). We decided to drive up Santaquin canyon and ended up at Payson Lakes. It was absolutely beautiful there and totally worth the gas money it took get everyone away from the tv and video games and outside. We had a great time exploring together and it reminded me how much I love my little family. Yes, sometimes I do need reminding:)

I can already tell, Asher is going to be the ONE...

2008-08-10T09:08:00.002-07:00

In the ER-no I'm not crazy enough to bring my camera here, this is from Tyler's phone:)
About one week later

Almost two weeks later

After three boys and almost seven years of major accident-free living, a trip to the emergency room was bound to happen. And of course, we made the trip for Ash. I have a sneaking suspicion that he is going to be the child that really gives us a run for our money-or our lives. He has absolutely no fear and is constantly trying to keep up with his brothers. About two weeks ago he fell off his scooter and sliced around his eye in an almost perfect circle. Of course, because I'm such a wonderful parent, I wasn't watching and I'm not sure exactly what happened. He was already on the ground bleeding when I got to him. It looks like he somehow fell on the end of the handlebars. It turned out not so bad. By the time we got to the emergency room and actually saw a doctor, the worst cut had stopped bleeding and was staying shut, so they just glued him up-no stitches. Now I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope this is as bad as it gets. Knock on wood:)

The Grotto

2008-07-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Taking a break 30 seconds in-this is the point where I thought, oh boy, this might be a loooong hikeCrossing the bridge-and I think Dax has to go
We made it to the waterfall!
Ash spent the whole time throwing every rock he could pick up

Last Friday we hiked up to the Grotto in Payson canyon with my friend Jimi and her adorable boys, Hayden and Rylan. It was so much fun! It's a pretty short hike but with a lot of fun adventure-y stuff for the boys. The found several "short cuts" from the trail which were really long cuts up a steep hill and back to the path again, and they had to cross the raging river on a log twice. They definitely felt like Indiana Jones. At 21 months, Asher thinks he is at least 6 years old. There were some pretty steep up and downs on the trail, but he WOULD NOT hold my hand or let me help him. He fell flat about 26 times but was very tough and now has some scars to impress the girls. The waterfall was perfect to splash around in and the boys even found some dinosaur bones to bring home. Literally, Hayes carried an entire backpack full or rocks all the way back to the car without once say he was so tired he couldn't take it anymore, which is what he usually says. And I have to thank Jimi for inviting us because my mom and Tyler both told me what a good mom I am for doing fun things with the boys. I had no idea I had them so fooled-especially Tyler! He's around to witness all the meaness. Secretly my reason for taking the boys anywhere is usually totally selfish-its because at home THEY DRIVE ME CRAZY!!! So thank you, Jimi, for helping me keep up the act:) Plus, we had a blast.

Remember when...

2008-07-23T22:10:00.000-07:00



		I will marry batman.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in the beach in our fabulous House.
		We will have 7 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a peach mini coop.
		I will spend my days as a magician, and live happily ever after.

I stole this from Jennifer Rawlings because I loved MASH! And I have to say, things haven't changed that much. It was still fun and I still did it about nine times in a row trying to get it to come out perfect (not quite-I mean batman is pretty hot, but didn't he just beat him mom and sister or something? Honey, you are way better than batman:) Does anyone else remember folding the paper into that thing and how much fun it was? It also made me remember how we used to make our "futures" by cutting pictures out of magazines of what we would look like grown up, our husbands, our wedding, our house, etc, etc, etc. Boy, had I only known back then how close I would really come! I mean, my life could totally be cut from a magazine and idealized by young girls! Seriously. One other thing this made me remember is that we also used to love movie trivia and made up our own game called-get ready, we really flexed our creative muscles here: "The Movie Guessing Game". So here's a really good one from one our our all time favorite movies: "Oh why-o why-o why-o did I ever leave Ohio?" Let me know if you remeber!

Woo-Hooo!

2008-07-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Today there is a true cause for celebration: the Chevron by our house finally opened! Woo-Hoo! We have been staking it out and eyeing it for signs of life ever since they broke ground. There is just something so right about knowing that my next Pepsi is always only 60 seconds away:) Love it!

Snowbird!

2008-07-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

You know summer has finally arrived when it's time for Snowbird! Tyler's family has been going there for a week every summer since he was little and now its a family favorite. The boys can't wait for it and they talk about it all year long. A whole week of eating, swimming, fishing, playing games, more eating, you get the picture. And here's a special shout out to Angie and Colby, because thanks to them buying a bigger place, the Geldmacher's (both sets) finally got their own room! Grandpa and Grandma have always been very generous and let the moochers (us) share their room and we are very thankful and always have fun, but I must say it's not too shabby to have your own spot to park it(even though its not really ours). We had such a good time, everyone was a little sad to go home. Dax even squeezed out a few tears on Friday night because he was already missing everyone. And I can't sign off without my favorite new quote "Oh my freak. Oh my hell" Sorry, Hiedi if I'm over doing it-you've just gotta love these little boys and their PG ferteen transformer movies :)Ok, so I didn't realize this would be the first picture, but hey that's a cake! Happy Birthday Tyler
Haysies first time on the climbing wall
Dax is finally driving alone!
backflips

More Snowbird

2008-07-15T22:54:00.001-07:00

Grandpa's Hike
At the top of the tram
Cousins at the Alpine slide
The fishing pond
Rupps Rockets-I loved this picture. Check out every adult

I Repeat: We DO NOT Have the Mumps!!!

2008-07-15T21:26:00.001-07:00

The day after we got back from Yuba, Ash woke up looking pretty scary. Lets just say his face was swollen not beyond recognition, but definitely to the point of near-deformity. I'm not overreacting-look at the picture! Needless to say, it freaked me out and we ran to see the doctor. "Mumps," he said. No way! We are all immunized! Who gets the mumps?! Seriously, I didn't think they even really existed anymore. I've never know ANYONE who was sick with the mumps. The Dr. sent us for a blood test and we had to sweat it out for four days- freaking out anyone with small children who might be capable of contracting our disease, by the way-to find out its NOT THE MUMPS! Hooray! What did he have? Good question. Thankfully whatever it was is now gone. And no, Broc, I don't know what's up with my disease-ridden family:)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2008-07-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

Tyler is 32 tomorrow-and he's got some greys to prove it :) So, in honor of his birthday, I decided count down my Top Ten favorites about Tyler:

10: The dimples. Trouble from the start.

9: The eyes. Again, did me in from the very beginning.

8: He holds my hand in the car.

9: He is smart enough to always tell me likes my hair, no matter what.

7: He still calls me 800 times a day. I may roll my eyes, but I secretly love it.

6: He dosen't care what anyone else thinks-he truly believes HE is the coolest person he knows:)

5: He is really tender hearted.

4: He pretends not to, but he loves chick flicks and family Disney movies.

3: He totally cracks me up.

2: He is a very selfless foot-rubber.

1: He has Friday night sleepovers in the living room with the boys-every Friday night.

1: He is the best dad on the planet (sorry, other dads) and he loves being a family.

OK, so I could have just kept adding onto number one, but lets not get crazy:) Just kidding honey. I asked Dax what his favorite thing about Daddy was, and he couldn't choose between going to work with him or that Daddy will always play games with him. Hayes was sure his favorite thing was the XBox. I said, not your favorite thing, your favorite thing about Daddy. He said playing the XBox with Daddy. Big surprise there. And Asher's newest phrase is "Daddy. Hooome." This can either be said as a question or an exclamation, depending on Tyler's location.

Tyler works so hard to take care of our family, and I'm sure that I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate it. I love you love you love you so much and I don't think there are three luckier little boys anywhere. Happy Birthday! By the way, you are 32, not 33. On occasion I am wrong-just not on very many occasions:) And I put some Dave on my playlist-just for you

Yuba

2008-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Since I was a little kid, the Wiley family has gone to Yuba for long weekend of boating and playing in the sun almost every summer. Because of some vicious wind/sandstorms in the past, we've tried a few other places over the years. (Uncle Bret vowed he was never returning to Yuba) But we-Whittiers included- just keep comin' back to the sandy beach at good old Yuba. This past weekend was beautiful. The sun shone(is that right?) the wind didn't blow much, and the water was good. But hello, I must really be getting old because a few times skiing behind the boat and one really good wreck and I am still REALLY SORE, three days later. Plus, no matter the amount of sunscreen applied, everyone always gets at least a little sunburned. But the soreness and sunburns are worth it, because I always forget how much fun it is to ski, or ride the tube, or whatever. All the kids are growing up and getting really good-you should see Natalie standing on the kneeboard:) And since everyone else makes wakeboarding look so fun and easy, I thought, no biggie, I can totally do that. Um, not so much. After drinking half the lake, I decided to stick to skiing. My body has been pointing straight for too many years to suddenly try and balance sideways. Tyler says that thinking I have to be sideways is why I can't do it. Like he knows. He kept asking what foot I would put forward on a skateboard. How many years have we been married? Has he ever SEEN me on a skateboard??? Anyway, I kept trying to get Dax and Hayes to try the little, tied-together skis, but they're not quite brave enough yet. Maybe next year. I think Asher was the best sport, he never cried or got ornery when it got hot, he just played played played. It was fun for all, we can't wait for next year.

Justified

2008-06-22T23:43:00.001-07:00

OK, so recently I've come to realize that my addiction to this blog has rendered me incapable of going anywhere or doing any sort of activity without obtaining photographic evidence of said activity. I was beginning to feel like I was going a teensy bit overboard in my compulsion to post-until today. There was a speaker in sacrament who talked about the importance of keeping a personal history-which is basically totally in support of a blogging habit! So I decided that this is my attempt to record some sort of journal for my family. That way, when the boys are older I will have proof of what a wonderful mother I was and what a magical childhood they had. Because, you know, I don't take pictures of the beatings:) Anyway, for those of you who view the Rumpus regularly, thank you for putting up with what is really probably just me showing off my family. I'm sure the obsession will loose its allure someday, but for now, stay tuned for more pictures:)

Disclaimer: No children have actually been beaten...

Another Saturday

2008-06-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

We seem to be having some pretty successful Saturdays lately-I'm not sure why, but I won't question it:) So this Saturday we tried fishing. Dax keeps saying he's pretty sure that he is now old enough to not be afraid of a fish if he could just get the chance to go fishing. Tyler bought an inflatable kayak last summer that he is in love with and wanted to take it out. Sidebar: I must admit that when he bought the kayak I rolled my eyes and said something about that being sooo stupid. It wasn't nice. I admit it. Back to yesterday. There is a small reservoir right below our house, so we decided to try our luck. As we left, Dax, Hayes, and I all adamantly expressed that we did NOT want to ride Tyler's canoe thingy. Turns out the fish weren't really biting (Dax doesn't have much patience to leave the pole alone for 5 seconds) but the kayak was a big hit! Every one of us got on and loved it so much it was hard to take turns. Tyler even "trolled" Dax around with his pole.

2008-06-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

You can see our neighborhood in the background.

2008-06-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

Isn't this gorgeous? Sometimes I forget how fortunate we are to live where we do. I feel very blessed.

Just one more thing that you WILL have fun doing...

2008-06-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

Boy, a picture really does say a thousand words. Notice how thrilled Dax, Hayes, and Tyler look in that first pic. Yep, it's our first year of T-ball. I say 'our' because I had the great idea that Tyler should coach and I should be his assistant-which is a little too much like my day job now that I think of it...:)Did you ever notice that the assistant does all the work and gets none of the credit? I'm joking-of course I take the credit! Actually, though coaching has been really fun. At least up to the third inning when its our turn to take the field. Then everyone gets a little tired and we all want to lay down, assistant included. The boys are having fun and getting better with each game. Dax can really hit the ball and is improving on his catching, Hayes has stopped picking up the ball and running to third everytime he hits it off the tee, and Asher hasn't bashed anyone directly on the head with the bat since the first practice. We're really coming along.

The Skate Park

2008-06-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we drove past the Payson skate park and when the boys actually expressed interest, dare I say excitement even, in doing something active without being forced (you WILL go outside and you MAY NOT come back in for ANYTHING until I say)we turned right around and went home for the scooters. They were almost as excited about the skate park as Tyler. He kept stealing Daxon's scooter, I think because he loves the sound of Dax whining. Right around the time that they started to loose interest a car full of teenagers pulled up with their skate boards. They were really pretty good and instead of big kids scaring the boys off, Dax and Hayes suddenly became braver, stronger, and had more stamina than just 30 seconds earlier. They were both convinced of how cool they were and have decided the skate park is the place to be.

Not Quite Skinny Dipping

2008-06-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today after a family reunion in Stansbury Park we decided to check out the Saltair and the Great Salt Lake with the Bells and the Rupps. I have to say when we got there I was unimpressed. But Ren and Tyler had the kids down the beach walking out to the water as soon as we got out of the car and it turned out to be really beautiful out there. The water stayed shallow forever-it almost seemed like we could just keep walking across the whole lake. Wading turned into playing and splashing for the kids and before we knew it they were all soaked. LeAnn had a few of them take off their pants to stay warmer and keep the salt from rubbing on their legs too much and just like that every kid was swimming in their undies in the Great Salt Lake. Well, not just undies, shirts too. Hayes was really open to the idea of skinny dipping, but we told him we had to draw the line at swimming in his tighty whities. I'm going to have to save a few of those pics for future blackmail:)

PS-Tyler's Grandma Hayes (who grew up in Grantsville, not far from the Saltair)told some great, funny stories about going to dances there when she was young. I loved reading how they danced to live orchestras would hide in the bathroom from the Grantsville boys until the Tooele boys got there:) And Tyler swears he remembers going down a huge water slide there when he was little. The stories intrigued me, and because I'm a dork, I looked it up. The Saltair has a pretty interesting history. I would love to have seen it in its heyday. Anyway, if you're also a dork you can check it out here or here

2008-06-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Wading in the lake with the Saltair in the background.

2008-06-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

While I just adore posting such a lovely picture of myself, this was the only one that shows the amazing view across the lake. The only camera we had with us was the one on Tyler's phone, so I'd say not bad:)

Yellowstone

2008-05-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to see Grandpa Dave and Grandma Julie and they took us to Yellowstone. It was a fun trip, and included all of the essential elements of a classic family vacation: a lot of time in the car, a lot of sight-seeing, a little too much togetherness and a little to much throw up. And don't forget the souvenirs-you know us and PRIZES. Yellowstone was beautiful, if a little cold and rainy. It didn't rain enough to keep up from seeing all of the important stuff-Old Faithful, the bubbling hot geysers (sp?) waterfalls, and animals. Mostly buffalo. We heard rumors that there were bears roaming around, but we never got to see one. The buffalo were cool though. One walked right by us through the parking lot on his way to the bathrooms (at least thats were it looked like he was going) and a herd of moms and babies caused a traffic jam as we were driving. The boys loved the Dragons Mouth spring because it looked, sounded and smelled like a dragon lived there, I chose Artists Point as my favorite and Tyler was really impressed with the Old Faithful Lodge, which actually puzzles me as this was the site of the throw up incident. Asher just liked any moment he could get out of his seat. Grandma and Grandpa were wonderful to put up with us all-thank you so much for taking us, we loved it and we love you!

Kids Summer Reading

2008-05-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

I'm excited because I think that the big boys might finally be old enough for me to try reading easy chapter books to them this summer. We tried it briefly and they seemed to actually be able to focus on it for a few minutes-miracle of miracles! I have a few in mind, but its been ages (obviously) since I looked for or read chapter books on that level. I'd love suggestions on some for little boys. (And if you look at my sidebar, some for me too :)