Feb. 1st

I originally had January 25th scheduled for our wedding day. Then a few months before and before it was too late to reschedule some events, like the temple or confirm the location for the reception. I decided I just didn't like the "sound" of the date 1/25. And I actually really didn't want my anniversary to be in January. My birthday is in January, that is enough. And when I realized the next Saturday would be February 1st. I liked it so I called and changed it and then notified people, including Greg - ha! And I am so glad I did. It was a great wedding day weather wise and we had a better anniversary date. According to my opinion. :)

Years before I was in Las Vegas with my mom and we drove out to the LV Temple grounds one night. And the view of the city lights and strip was so pretty. I took a few pictures and then was inspired to do my engagement photo at night time, someday, with city lights in the back ground. Fast forward several years later. I was getting married, Greg was in law school in Baltimore and flew back to Utah for Thanksgiving and so we had to do all that we could while he would be in town. So the day after the holiday, we had our pictures taken. It was an insanely busy night in downtown SL, you know the lighting of Temple Sq. x-mas lights, concerts, back then the malls were still open so for Black Friday shopping. There were thousands of people. And there was a bad inversion going on. So it was not great visibility. Bummer! But I knew what I wanted. So we went to the base of Ensign Peak and used the foggy city lights as our back drop. And then headed to Temple Sq. to get some shots there as well. Too bad Greg was going in phases making his hair shorter and shorter. So for the pics it is kinda long, even he didn't like it. Oh well.

So this is us in November 2002. We were engaged and excited to be in love and all that fun stuff. This is the picture we used in our invitations.

I was so worried getting married in the winter. I wanted my pictures to be great and not ruined by my red cold nose or purple hands. And we got lucky and had the warmest record day. Didn't even "need" a jacket. I wanted one, but not needed :) Anyways, for the picture below when our photographer posed us with my veil "making a tent" I totally didn't want to do it. I thought it was cheesy and in the picture Greg and I are laughing at how stupid we thought it was. I remember muttering something to Greg. Towards the end of our reception we did the usual and cut the cake and gave each other a bite. Sweet and clean. In the picture Greg is giving a "Wahoo!" or something, and I guess I'm cleaning frosting off?
Since we hid our cars they weren't able to be decorated with "Just Married" or anything. So a few of Greg's friends took some TP and "wrapped" us. I have it on video but this was the only picture I have of it.

It was a fun day. I love going back and watching the wedding video. Greg and I just sit and smile. Happy Nine Years! Goodness where has the time gone? I have a great husband and 4 great children. I'm so glad we met, dated, realized we were falling in love, decided to get married, planned it, and did it!

desperate bath

I haven't taken a picture since Christmas. That's unheard of for me. Rare, never have I gone so long without snapping a few pics. I grabbed my camera to try and make up for it. Only during Rafe's bath time. Nothing special. I was desperate to update on our little family. He is cute and a baby so he gets the spotlight. He will sit and kick, kick, kick. Notice the water wavy and splashy. And he'll usually hold his hands together in his lap. And then Bodie always has to help. He helps by getting everything wet of course. I don't know why, but I've never bathed Rafe with any of his brothers before. Maybe I'll venture out and do the younger 2 together next time. So exciting at our house, I know.

Cool Day

Yesterday was pretty neat, it was 1/12/12. When will that happen again? And it was neat because it was my birthday! Other than changing 7 poopy diapers, don't know what's up with my younger boys? And breaking up a couple fights with the older boys it was an ok day. And I was able to get out and leave the house and did some shopping for myself.

January is close to half over and I have nothing to blog about. Um, well New Years Eve was fun. We partied and fondue'd with the Denzer and Ball families. Came home and let Jax and Creed stay up till 10pm and watched the ball drop in Times Square. They were enlightened about the holiday and were so excited. Then we were in bed ready to crash, rung in our new year and lights out by 12:07pm. Goodbye 2011, you were a good one.

In January so far... Jax has been sick with multiple things, missed a few days of school.

Creed is having the "terrible two's", I mean five's stage. Goodness me!

Bodie has recently been finally saying "Rafe" with an "f" instead of "Ree".

And Rafe is finally babbling a lot and enjoying more solid and finger foods.

Toes Recap

So I wanted to quickly show the healing process on Rafe's toes after his surgery so I can get this blog printed. Here are his little feet 2 days before surgery. (29th of October 2011).

The "before" picture.

Poor little guy. All red and swollen still. But the black stuff is the stitches and scabbing. Sorry if it's gross. His skin grafts are taking, yeah! And yes his toe nails are dirty, but hey, they've been covered for weeks.

Scabs/stitches are almost gone but still a little swollen. We did clip and clean his toe nails after these pictures. :)

And this was actually taken Jan. 11, 2012. But I am back tracking for the blog post to be in 2011. Anyways, looking good. We still keep them moisturized and his scarring will fade over time.

Happy little feet. Ready to run. Or crawl, we'll take either.

Quick Trip

A few days after Christmas my whole family took a fast trip on the Front Runner train up to Ogden and went to the Union Station museum and back again. What a bumpy ride, really? A few of us were feeling queasy on the ride up. While at the museum the kids had fun running around and playing. Bodie closed his eyes while "posing" for every picture. It was a fun time with our kids being cousins and us siblings and g-ma/g-pa.

(here we go left to right, Noah, Bodie, Creed, Jonas, Erin, then Bodie, below is Amy, Bodie, Karl, Jax, then Rafe, and my mom) Jax couldn't sit still. Upstairs, then downstairs, all over the place. It was fun for the kids.

The Christmas Post

A quick review, we had my families party on the 23rd at my parents house. It was a nice surprise to have my brother Drew, his wife Alecia and kids come all the way from Oklahoma for x-mas. We kept the secret from my parents. And boy were they surprised to see them walk in the door. And we got to meet their cute little baby Laney. I wish I had pictures to share of that day, but it was fun and enjoyable. We took a quick updated family picture, ate, played games, acted out the nativity, we had a nice long day. Then x-mas Eve we were at Greg's parents and ate, visited, opened some gifts and cleaned up and went home and put our boys to bed while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads. What are sugar plumbs? Anyways, at 7am all the boys woke at the same time. We made them wait until I fed Rafe and changed diapers then we headed to the family room after I had the lights and music on and camera's ready to go. :)

A before and after presents picture!

Bodie, Creed, and Jax all happy and excited with some favorite gifts this year.
Rafe was very entertained all morning with wrapping paper and all the activities going on.

He spent much time rolling around with this big piece of wrap. He loved the shiny bows too.
Cheesy Santa hats for everyone!
Finally the day after x-mas Jaxon was able to play with his most asked for gift the Tether Ball. He is one happy boy. Poor Greg got a nasty cold on x-mas Eve. So on Christmas he was sick. But it didn't last too long, now just a lingering cough.

Another great Christmas. A wonderful season. I love the ages of my boys and the exciting spirit they have about Christmas. Greg and I are enjoying these fun years. Jaxon even heard Santa's sleigh bells while going to bed x-mas Eve, Creed was kinda excited but kinda scared at the same time. Makes me smile. I love this time of year. A time for giving and believing.

Hung with Care

How do we already have 6 stockings? Count them, six! There are so many we couldn't really fit them on our fireplace this year. So we are using the stair railing. It's so crazy when I think about it sometimes. But at the same time, how neat is that, to see so many hanging? I especially like how Rafe's (the new one of course) is the only flat stocking and straight name tag. The rest have been hung and used with a little care. It will be a fun Christmas morning.

We've been enjoying the season so far. Drinking Eggnog, listening to the music, saw Temple Sq. lights, and this weekend some family Christmas parties. The Lorenzon grand kids sang Rudolph. We practiced with our boys the day before. And Jax was pretty good and remembered most all of it. He was the loudest one so I heard him the best. Bodie decided he didn't like being up there and slowly made his way off the stage. Passing by Jax, Creed, cousin Ryan, Lucy, and Will.

4 peas in a pod

My pod of boys. Boy are they boys. It gets crazy at our house. First thing in the morning till after bedtime in the evenings. My day is like... always driving to and from schools, feeding everyone, cleaning, running errands, fixing dinner, doing homework, changing diapers, yelling to stop the fighting, trying to keep the house straight, stopping more fighting, the battle that is bedtime. Not being able to talk to my husband until after bedtime. My list could go on.

I asked them what they think of their days. And they say, eat breakfast (magically appears) get dressed (clothes clean and ready), go to school (they don't walk) Jax threw in how LONG his day is and he misses me because he's gone so long :) then we get to watch TV, play, wrestle, fight, eat snacks, have dinner, dessert, do goals, mom nags to get those done and homework, then off to bed, and they get to play and laugh in bed until mom or dad says to stop a few times (too many times). Or Bodie who says goodbye and waves when he goes to bed. And his ritual is to ask for more water in his sippy cup every single night. Just because. And Rafe of course is fussy until his bottle then he's happy and gets excited when he sees his blanket to go to bed.

But what would I do without with all the crazy boys and busy loud activity in my home? With all my heart I am grateful for my home and my family and all the load that comes with it. I need to be more patient with my parenting, not yell as much, and enjoy all my time with them while I can. I can see that they grow up way too fast.

Just us

Look at the camera. Hands out of your pockets, smile, open your eyes, look at the camera, get closer, I said hands out of your pockets, and LOOK AT THE CAMERA, put your hand down, put your hand down!, smile normal, open your eyes, look at the camera. Oh well, it'll have to do.

We'll always keep trying.

Jax's 7th Time

Jax loves having birthdays! Little baby Jax is all grown up. He is a full on kid now. I'm always taken aback when I think how fast time is going by. Shocked at how old Rafe is getting, let alone the older boys, especially Jax.

Here is Jax as a baby at 3 weeks old, about 2 months and about 6 months old. He was a great baby. Such a happy, good natured little dude. He still is.All about Jax: Jax's favorite thing to do is anything art. Drawing, coloring, cutting, taping, you name it. He always has to hurry and make something. He enjoys a few TV shows, like Sponge Bob, ICarly, Wild Krats, he'd kill me for saying this but we record My Little Ponies and he wants to be in a band one day like on the show Big Time Rush. He is always making up songs. He claims to be one of the best Tether ball players in the first grade, he refuses to wear a coat or jacket, it's a battle every day. He is so good at getting ready in the mornings and brushing his teeth. We are always after his brother Creed to hurry and get ready. He loves going to McDonald's, his favorite food is pizza and chocolate cake. He usually has toast every morning. I beg him often to please try eating cold cereal but he won't. For church he always wants to wear a tie to be like his dad. He wanted me to say that he can count to 10 in Spanish and 29 in french. He enjoys the french portion of the school day better than the English, even though he can't speak it. He blows me a kiss when he walks away from the car every morning. He is a good helper with his younger brothers. He has a very curious mind. Always questions. My list could go on, but I'll stop.

Jax has been so excited for his birthday. Counting down everyday. Finally it came. He always wants to be older. One day our only child, cute baby and then bamb! 4 kids and baby Jax is now a 7 year old! I'm sure every year I'll freak out about how old he's getting.

Well he wanted a ninja cake. So I figured I'd just make one and stick a little ninja figure guy on it. Well, you can't find ninja anything anywhere. So I made some Chinese ninja throwing stars and got some miniature cake ninja's and tall candles to help make it look a little "cooler". He thought it was great. Bodie blew out his first candle and Jax did the rest. His main present this year was a bigger bike. He loves it! In fact right after school he was out riding it. He was still getting used to it and was all over the place. He tried bringing it into the garage to park and get off and slammed the handle bar into the back light of our car. Thus busting the light. Jax was so upset and crying over what an awful birthday it was and how he didn't have $100 to fix it and never wants to ride his bike again! Goodness, after I calmed him down and let him know accidents happen, he was ok and ready to celebrate the rest of his day.

In the picture, he's on his bike first thing in the morning, showing me a ninja move, and I love his facial expressions while opening presents. We had his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents over for cake and ice cream. He didn't even eat any until the next day.

I hope his 7th year goes by a little slower.