Pumpkins

Creed the Jack-o-lantern. I've been teasing him all month how his teeth are like Jacko teeth. His top tooth came out like last spring and still hasn't come down. We're keeping our eye on it. Hopefully nothing drastic will have to be done? And I love Creeds pumpkin. The star eyes and it's matching mouth to Creeds. He's creative.

 

 

Halloween traditions. Always fun and messy carving and cleaning the pumpkins with dad. Creed was quite sick and so we had him draw some faces to be carved. One had swirly eyes, and I told him it wouldn't carve very well, so maybe we can leave that as is and he could do another. So that's where the star eyes came from. And I had Bodie try and draw his face. And he did 2 little dots for eyes and straight little line for the mouth. All about an inch big on his huge pumpkin. So Greg made his whole little face a big round eye. So Bodie's has the big round mouth/eyes. Jax is hovering above his and proud that he carved his own this year. And you can kind of see Rafe's little round pumpkin in front, with all the scribble. I loved that. And my mini ghost one. And Greg/Rafe's is in the middle.

 

 

Side note: Today is day number 10 of Creed being sick. 9 straight days of a fever and cough. The cough was getting better. But I can't believe how long the fever lasted. Really?! Enough already. His Dr. finally got the right mix of meds and Creed is feeling way better. Back to his old self. Slept all night for the first time in a week and a half, fever is finally gone, appetite back (some what) he's a whole new kid. Right in time for Trick-or-Treating tonight! Yeah!

Heart Strings

These boys tug on my heartstrings. Oh how I love them. I love being their mother. I always want so badly to be better and do better at being a mother. I need patience. It's always a work in progress. I want to have a kinder more peaceful home. We are always working on that one. I know it's hard for me and hard for them. They fight with each other, yell, tease, whine, and cry. I want to make some laws and changes in our home so the fighting calms, the yelling STOPS, and whining is minimal. I have some ideas so we'll see if it all works. Family is forever and they/we need to show it! There are lots of great moments though. Lots of cute things said, funny laughs and squeals, sharing, helping, and playing together. I think these boys love being brothers.

 

 

It's gradually happening...

No more baby food in the pantry, bottles were put away over a year ago, I don't know what to do with all the burp cloths- rags? The diaper bag is more of a toy- sippy cup - Sunday bag. My clothes are no longer dirty in spit up and hardly ever covered in smudges from sticky fingers anymore, the older boys can bathe on their own - no mom allowed. I pass by the tubs of formula at the store and don't even glance and am excited that soon it will be the diapers I can pass by forever! We probably could get rid of our high-chair. We gave away our double stroller. My 3rd child's bed no longer needs the safety bar. And the biggest right now is this...

 
 

It makes me emotional. I fought Greg all summer and didn't want to and couldn't take the crib down. It tugs on my heartstrings I tell ya. Rafe sure loves his new bed. He loves to show it to everyone!

And this kid, being so proud and happy and the most excited to get his Wolf badge. Being his mother makes me so proud. And this moment tugged on my heartstrings because it reminded me of how old Jax is getting.

 

 

So many new phases of life. We are entering or already have entered the next one. Baby be gone. :(

And you know, in the same breath I could say I'm getting excited and enjoying the ride to big kids.

viral?

So Creed has had a bad cough all week. He's missed a few days of school. But he's also had a fever all week! Since Monday he's been battling this illness. With no cold, but just a dry cough, and the fever, we thought for sure he must have pneumonia. Here is his chest x-ray, and him getting it done up at Primary Children's MC. And clearly there is something in his lungs, like the right side? But they say it's just a virus. Ugh! So there is nothing we can do. But Creed and his brothers all thought seeing Creed's skeleton was pretty neat. And I can see that his clavicle (collar) bone has healed nicely from a few years ago. I think this is Creed's 3rd x-ray in his life. Oh boy what a boy.

 

I do have to say, Creed is tough. If it were Jax who was this sick, we would have him waking us all night long, he'd be whining and crying and hating it. But Creed is a trooper. He has been so tired, not much of an appetite. But he is a good mellow sick child. While others are whiny and dramatic.

If he has a hard time sleeping, (with all his coughing he doesn't sleep much) he does LOVE for me to come to his room and give him an "eye me-ssage" (massage) he likes for me to stroke my hand around his face and over his eyes. Oh and then flips over so I can scratch his back. He milks it at 4 in the morning I tell ya.

Sunny Diego

Greg had a conference in San Diego, or as I call it Sunny Diego. So I joined him for a few days last week. It was awesome weather. It was sunny and oh so warm. We went to Coronado beach one day, it was like 80 degrees. Why is it when I'm on a vacation away from the boys (to get away) I wish they were with me? They would have loved it. The tied was coming in, there were all sorts of beach life to see. Sand dollars, alive and not - but perfectly kept, thousand of muscles/clams on the rocks waiting for the water to rise, tide pools, gold shimmery sand, people catching HUGE clams and airplanes and helicopters every 5-10min. flying right over head to the base. And the water was warm. Man, October in San Diego seemed perfect!

 

I took a stroll to go meet my hubby one day to go over to Sea Port Village, this was the view outside our hotel. And then a silhouette of Greg posing on the beach.

 

 

Here are a few selfie's we took. Us being on vacation.

 

I always enjoy California. I especially enjoyed the quick flight, the warm temperature, sleeping in for as long as I desired and then stayed in bed even longer, eating yummy food, seeing a new movie in a theater, walking around the streets, working out when I wanted, a little shopping, and being with my man!

 

I wish it were longer. When we were at the airport to go home, Greg mentioned he couldn't wait to get home to see the boys. And I said, "Really? You are?" - ha ha. I sure didn't want to get back. I mean, I love my boys, but I love a little away time!

 

And it was all made possible by our moms taking care of our children while we were away. The boys talked about all the fun they had on their fall break. Pumpkin patch, cousins, Red Butte Garden After Dark, going on walks, and playing. I'll have to show pictures of them, when/if I get them. So a big thanks to the Grandmas!

Seeing Red

675 hand prints! It's Red Ribbon Week at the boys school. And I volunteered again. It's always a fun week. One of my tasks was the banner. I had to staple or tape every students hand print - oh and teachers. So yes, I took several hours over several different days to get them all up. All 675 + teachers. It was tedious. But it's fun to see the kids so excited when they find their hand they signed or decorated. I, of course, put Jax and Creed's hands front and center, easy to find :). Bodie and Rafe were good sports in messing around while I did it. Man, whose going to replace the bulletin board, and take out all those staples? Yikes.

 

 

And don't get me started on the 675 students at their school that was made to house like 400. It's ridiculous. And the number will just grow the next 2 years as more French Immersion students enter. The play ground will be taken up by portables. The building is the smallest in the area. One small little lunch/gym/multi-purpose room with no divider. It's kind of sad. But they have the best teachers there to make it worth it, oh wait, they don't, never mind. ha! In defense, some are good. We've had 2 of them. With a new principal maybe he'll push for better and greater? I can always hope right?

 

I had to show these pics of the silly boys showing their green hair on Crazy hair day. I guess they felt they had to pose as monsters. Creed had many faces. But I narrowed it down to these 2. Jaxon wanted 2 green horns in the front. And Creed's was just all over. But man if I had a girl, oh the things I could do? Jax was funny, he didn't want Creed to use the green. He said everyone always says how much Jax and Creed are alike, he didn't want them to be alike with green hair either. I told him, too bad, and he should love it and say thank you, I know when they say something. :)

 

Soccer - NOT!

This fall we put Bodie in soccer. It was last minute, but we thought heck - he loves to kick balls so why not? But my oh my. The kid wouldn't play. The first few games I couldn't get him to go on the field. Then I had Jax go out there and hold his hand. I did it, but then Rafe had to follow and that was too tricky. Anyways, so we finally got a game where Greg was able to come. And he did it. Went out on the field that is. We bribed Bodie to stay on the field with his team. He didn't even have to kick the ball, he said he didn't want too. He was the lucky number 13. I grabbed a few pictures of the few times he would be on the field.

 

 

 And here by the last game, he played, and kicked the ball. He's finally warmed up to the whole soccer idea. And now it's over. But he is a happy little boy with his trophy. (And I wasn't there).

 

 

 He can be one stubborn little boy. He certainly does things at his own pace. He wouldn't go to preschool, and now he finally will. Then he wouldn't ride carpool in anyone else's car, but we finally had our first time last week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the second. And he rode on a day that Greg was home to have him do it. I think it's actually all me. If mom's around he won't leave me. If it's dad, then he'll do whatever it is. Like for our Primary program practice, Greg took him in and he sat up on the stand and did it. But as soon as he saw me, he came down and wouldn't do it. And when it comes to learning his alphabet letters, writing his name, or counting... forgetaboutit!

 

 *

Real quick I wanted to mention our ward's Primary Program. I cried as usual. Bodie was great. He sat up on the stand the whole time, the only Sunbeam to do so. He didn't sing, but he sat and played with his lip and looked around. At one point I leaned over to Greg and asked "where did all the sunbeams go?" A few were with their families, one with the leader, the other was on the floor and Bodie had his head down so you couldn't see him. It was funny. But Bodie did get up and say his part. Even though the only word I understood was "happy". But he did it! Jax and Creed did great too. When Creed would sing I could sure hear him belt it out. It was a neat meeting. I love that all these little kids are loving, learning, and living the gospel!

 

The Lorenzon Fam

We had some pictures taken a few weeks ago. We swapped with our friends. I took theirs, they took ours. That evening we did our first pose, it was all normal with 4 crazy kids. Then moved on to the second pose. And that's when Rafe barfed all over! Yes, he threw up all down the front of his shirt, his shoes and the ground. He was complaining of a tummy ache. He had diarriah earlier and we just figured it was going to happen again. But no. So while he was between pukes we snapped some more pics. This one below hasn't been edited. So you can see his wet gross shirt.

 

 

The Lorenzon boys! Here is a happy Rafe just after another episode. After 2 more pukes, we decided to call it quits. Watch where you step while at Wheeler Farm. Ha ha. He had a total of 5 times. But he learned how to use the pan and hold it up when we got home. He was a trooper.

 

My mom's done!

I wanted to mention our evening we had for my mom, April Williamsen. We had a little party in her honor. She is retired from working for the church for over 24 years! The same evening was the start of the last Church History Library exhibit that she puts together every conference-time. It is the "Treasures of the Collection" this time it was on the prophets. It's always really interesting. She displays lots of "neat" things that the public otherwise wouldn't ever see. And she also is in charge of and puts together the monthly Lecture Series the Library hosts. Both of those events are "her babies".

 

Her years working for the church have been in the Historical Dept. She started doing the requests for copies of Patriarchal Blessings, then she worked for years in her dept. and worked with all the archives and photographs the church has. She loved it. She was the go-to girl for anybody and everybody needing info. She has been acknowledged in many, many, books people have written, articles, and even videos. If you were ever wondering if there are original photos on the Kirtland Temple, or when they moved the Eagle Gate statue in downtown SLC, she can find and show you exactly what you needed. And then they merged the Historical Dept. with the Church History Library when it opened a few years ago. She is certified with the Utah Library Association and a Church History Specialist. And then she became the Library's Public Programing Specialist. She's also compiled photos and wrote a book herself on the history of Temple Square. She just needs to get it officially published. Man, what are they going to do without her?

 

I'm sure it will be weird for her to not go into work everyday. But I know she is also welcoming the fact that she doesn't have to go into work everyday. Her new normal will be quite an adjustment. Her new endeavor is to be home and take care of my dad. He is to the point with Alzheimer's that he really can't be left alone anymore. The timing for her early retirement was a blessing and has worked out by a thread on the time my dad needs a full-time caregiver. So I pray for them both and their future. My mom is amazing. I can't wait to see what projects she is able to do now and to see her relax.

 

So last Thursday my siblings and I threw her a retirement party. Everyone talked about how great she is. They will miss her. We are proud of her. We had lots of yummy desserts, the grandkids got to play, nice decorations, visiting, and seeing her last Open House Exhibit.

 

In the collage are various pics of that night, in the lobby of the Library, the clean up with table cloth forts all over -courtesy of all the grandkids there, and one of her several weeks ago at the podium to her last Lecture Series she hosted at the Assembly Hall. 

 

 

You Go Girl! And no more skirts!

Girls Fun City

Hi! My friends from high school and I go up to Park City every September for our annual girls weekend away. I don't know why I say high school - Go Vikes! I've known most of them since the sixth grade when my family moved back to Utah. And some of them have been friends since they were toddlers. It is always a fabulous time. I am always so tired. We are up way too late, and we just chat, laugh, eat, shop, play games, snack, laugh, snack some more, and we try to venture out and do something.

This year a few of us were feeling brave and went to the Olympic Park and did the extreme Zip-line. I wasn't really scared until right before. They make it as scary as possible by strapping you in and your knees with your whole body leaning against a door that flies open and you go shooting down the mountain. It was a blast! I would totally do it again. Only if the wait in line wasn't like 2 hours long! What!? At least we got a lot of good chatting in.

 

I really wish we had a group photo of all of us. We weren't thinking I guess. But here is a few of us.

 

Here's the dilly on my good old friends:

Amber- was my zip-line buddy, and more importantly my Birthday buddy. I've known her since we were just finishing the 9th grade. My family then moved to Bountiful and into her ward. When I met her I knew we'd be life long friends. There seemed to be something familiar about her. (Maybe because she reminds me of Monica from the sitcom Friends?) We were college roommates and she was my BFF at the time- until she up and got married on me! We were spring chickens - ha ha. I can tease her. And I hope to be friends forever.

 

I happened to move into the Parrish Canyon Ward in Centerville the summer before 6th grade. And in that ward is where I belonged. All these life long, together forever friends I would meet. We were all the same age, and we still get together every month. Very rare and unique to have that.

 

Aspen - we moved to Centerville a week apart from each other. So we were both the "new girl" right before the 6th grade. I remember thinking, everyone likes her better than me. ha! She is awesome! I am so glad we are friends. She is great at humor and a brilliant writer. I hope to be friends forever.

 

Alison - I met her in that ward, she was always in the "friends group" that I was a part of. She always had the cutest neon clothes. I've always liked Al's laugh and smile. Oh, and her hair. And she has to little mini Alison's at home. Darling blonde girls. I hope to be friends forever.

 

Elizabeth- she never comes to Park City -Boo! but she was my first friend in Utah. I played with her often that summer. I have always been so grateful for her. We walked to Jr. High together, and hoped someone would pick us up in the awful snowy days. She is fun to be around. I hope to be friends forever.

Jolene - I remember the night we "became" friends. At a Merrie Miss sleepover. We dominated the Ping-Pong games. Always BFF's. Junior High, High School, whenever. She was a staple I was always with. I would spend hours at her house. We had good times as young single adults too. She is in many pictures I have. I hope to be friends forever.

 

Becky - Friends Forever. So many memories with Becky. Another friend I spent hours with. Many pictures with her too. Visiting at college to being roommates for a while before I got married. She is the epitome of fun. I'm so glad she is in my life. I hope to be friends forever.

 

Britnee- She was friends with my ward friends, so that's how I met her I suppose. We would hang out in high school. And she married her high school sweetheart! She is talented, has gorgeous hair and is a "real cool" person. That sounds corny, but she really is "cool". She tells great stories and is another fun one. I hope to be friends forever.

 

Tawna- I met her in high school. She is always so nice, selfless, and very pretty, she makes pretty kids too. We are sad she is currently living in Idaho - boo! And we are hopeful she'll be back again someday. We won't lose contact. She is a good friend to have. I had a lot of great times with her while other friends were all up at Utah State. I hope to be friends forever.

I do wish I lived closer to these friends-o-mine. It would sure make it easier to see them more than our once a month get-together. I'll just have to work harder at texting or something. :)

Extremely Shy

So this kid is my shy one. Here he is back on the 1st day of preschool. What a cute handsome big boy. Happy at home. He seemed excited to go to school. Although he refused to take his back pack. And he refused to go calmly once we got there.

 

 

The week before in his orientation, he wouldn't have anything to do with the teacher, or talking, or any kind of skill at all. A few weeks before school, we got a new ward Primary Presidency. And that's when it all started. He got scared I guess, seeing all these new ladies in Primary, and he had a substitute teacher that week. So he freaked out and cried. They had to bring him to me. This went on for several weeks. He gets all scared and cries and won't do anything or go anywhere.

Same with soccer last week. He refused to go on the field. And at school, I have to walk him to the door, then I say goodbye and turn and run away. Literally. He's finally stopped crying and screaming, but he isn't quite going on his own free will. And I still have to leave quickly before he gets all attached.

Weird new behavior for Bodie. So now my shy boy is extremely shy and scared to do anything! Ugh! I'm ready for this phase to be over.

 

School is moving right along. Creed loves it, but is also bored out of his mind. It's all review and easy stuff for him. I guess his kindergarten teacher jumped ahead. And Creed comes home with new band-aides every week. Cuts and scrapes all over. Some of them he might have needed stitches.

And Jax is Jax. Complains often about what he doesn't like, he really doesn't like his English teacher this year. But he loves his friends and is usually a big help in the mornings trying to get everyone out the door.