A Few Weeks Ago, I Laughed

I was with the kids. They did something funny. Or, maybe it was only funny to me. And, I laughed out loud. It was the kind of laugh that starts in your toes and shakes your whole body. My kids lit up. It felt awesome. I said to myself, "I definitely need to do that more often."

A few days later, we took the family snowshoeing. That provided lots of laugh-out-loud moments.
Katie Jane rode in this backpack and never made one peep. I love her.
The whole family off on a snowshoe adventure.
A lady in the neighborhood made matching stocking caps for our family. Then, I found out she made matching sets for every family on the block! Sophie and Ian model their new duds. I love those two. When did they get to be so grown up?
Isaac made us laugh out loud the entire time by accidentally-on-purpose falling into the snow in the most dramatic way, over and over. I love him. All of the kids were real troopers which made for a great family day. It was nice to remember that it's okay to be outdoors in the winter. We had so much fun, that Brian and I are taking the older two on a moonlight hike with snowshoes tomorrow night. Thanks Weber Pathways for the free family fun.

What a beautiful place to live.

The Unwrapping of Gifts

Brian and I are celebrating eleven years of marriage later this month and lately I've been thinking about all of the ways that our lives together were like a big present waiting to be unwrapped all those years ago on our wedding day. There were so many questions waiting for answers. Now, I feel like several of the big questions have been answered, such as:

How many children will we have? Four.

Boys or girls? You will have two and two and they will be unique and wonderful beyond your wildest imagination.

Will I enjoy being a mom? Too much to express in words.

Where will we live? Ogden.

Ogden? Yes, Ogden.

Will I like it then? Strangely, you will love it because: Ogden is Awesome (Bill says so)Will we ever live overseas together? Yes, you will have crazy adventures in China when you have three of your four kids.

Will Brian ever be one of those photographers whose work is featured in art galleries? Yes, but not because he followed you on an adventure to document Bedouins in the Middle East in your early years of marriage.

Will one of us be published? Yes, Brian.

Will Brian abandon his ambitions to be an artist sans "starving" and return to school to be a smooth talking lawyer? No.

What will Brian do for his career? He will be a photojournalist. He will be awesome. In fact, you will receive the Best Christmas Present Ever in 2009 when he is hired full time by the Deseret News.

Congrats on the new job babe! I'm so proud of you.

Here's to the beginning of the rest of our lives.

A Very Merry Christmas

From our family to yours.

Long Weekend

Today I asked Ian what he wants for Christmas.

Me: What do you want for Christmas Ian?
Ian: A Jet Pack
Me: A Jet Pack? What is that?
Ian: You know, it's a backpack and it shoots fire out the bottom so you can fly.
Me: Ummm . . . pretty sure those exist only in the movies.
Ian: Yeah unless I grow up and invent them.

Today I admonished Isaac to not go outdoors with no shoes on.

Me: Don't go outside.
Isaac: I want to!
Me: It's winter and you don't have shoes on.
Isaac: But my feet are hungry to go outside with no shoes on.

On Thanksgiving, my kids ate the following:
Turkey, rolls, olives and ice-cream sans pie. Are you kidding me right now? The day after Thanksgiving they visited their grandparents' house and were offered a lunch of Thanksgiving leftovers. Instead, they ate tortilla chips with melted cheese. What the?

Question: Can girls begin puberty at the age of eight?

And, finally, a true story that happened to me today. An editor at the newspaper called me with some questions. The entire time I was trying to talk to him, a certain four-year-old who shall not be named was screaming at me and throwing matchbox cars in my direction to get my attention because working from home is sometimes awesome like that. I apologized for the noise and he said, "No worries. I'm so jealous actually. I'm an empty nester now." So, after I hung up, I hugged my four-year-old a little tighter.

Kids.

My Name is Ian

My wish:
To Learn to Fly

What I like Most about school:
My teacher

My Favorite food:
Pizza

Favorite Animal:
Dinosaur

A person I admire:
My mom

I like: Math

What I do Well:
Ride my bike

Autobiography by Ian
My name is Ian. This week I turn seven. One of my favorite places is Classic Fun. In my backyard I made a giant leaf pile and rode my bike through it. I took a trip to China and learned a little Chinese when I was four. I have a cookbook that I can make lots of treats from. I have a sister who is eight, a brother who is four and a baby sister. My baby sister is really cute and whatever she grabs she sucks on. My dad is a photographer and he published a book called "I Am Ogden," with a picture of me in the very back. I like to go to Bear Lake and Eat Doritos. I play the piano. The end.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY E-MAN!

I Love This Time of Year

Hope everyone is enjoying the end of Fall.

I hope to be back to blogging (and reading blogs soon). Whew! Having four kids is whipping me. Good thing I love them so much.

How Bold Are You Today?

When we lived in China, the Deseret News hired Brian to cover Gov. Huntsman's trade mission in Beijing. I, of course, hauled myself and the family along and was rewarded with a first-class stay at the Ritz Carlton.

Brian was detained around the clock documenting the Governor's every move. So, I took those kids, ages 5, nearly 4 and 1, and we spent our days exploring the city. Isaac rode in a baby backpack and Sophie and Ian took turns riding in the umbrella stroller I was pushing.

Nowadays, the very thought of such an excursion makes me have to go lie down from exhaustion. Who was that girl? Where did she get her energy?


(Isaac hanging upside down on daddy's back while we wait in line at a wedding reception)

Tonight, I snuggled Katie up in the ergo, put the other three on scooters and we headed over to the elementary school for a little carnival. Well, the other three were suppose to be on scooters, but, since Isaac had just woken up from an unexpected nap, I mostly carried his scooter and from time to time carried him and he cried the entire walk. I found myself wondering how many more years there are before I'm done hauling kids to school carnivals? I remembered the girl who had purposely ventured out into Beijing, only knowing three phrases in Chinese. Who was she anyways?
(Isaac and Izzy prepare to take Steve's car for a joyride)

We survived the slew of goodies and the long lines to play on inflatables and then began our leisurely walk back home. As I walked home, I remembered boarding an escalator with my three tiny children and my stroller in a crowded mall in Beijing and looking up to see a Levi's ad sporting some hot models and their pet alligator that posed the question, "How Bold Are You?"

Gee, I was feeling pretty jazzed up bold right at that moment and that statement, "How Bold Are You" resonated through my mind and helped me get through the day.

But, the more and more I thought about the question, the more and more I felt a little guilty for my pride. The more and more I realized that it took a lot more boldness to brave the quiet trials of motherhood when I had my first two babies a mere 20-months apart. When I often wondered if I was a complete failure and if anyone else had ever had such dark days of motherhood? Those lonely days took much more courage than a day in Beijing with three small children and all the high rollers from the trade mission standing around in their suits high-fiving me for my boldness.

(The kids [Sophie] enjoying an ice-cream sundae party to celebrate their completion of a marathon -- in which the parents -- mostly meaning me -- haul the kids to the track 26 times so that they can complete a mile each day)

(Then, said kids are finally rewarded with an ice-cream party and little trophies though sometimes it is even more of a marathon for the parents -- aka me -- to coax them into running a mile than it is for the kids to run a mile -- Lexy and Manthy pose with their trophies)

And, tonight, when I remembered those thoughts that I had on that day in Beijing, it brought me a little comfort. Because, I find that I'm kind of back to those long days when the baby is teething and the four-year-old is giving you a run for your money and so on and so forth.

And, even as I ask myself if the season of school carnivals and other such noisy and messy fiascos will ever end, I see a little old lady standing there all alone admiring my little ones, saying, "I miss the days when I was a young mother . . ."

Deep down inside, I know.

These are the days to remember.