Aside from the crap they leave all over the house, they really are little darlings.  It's April 24th today, in the year two thousand twenty five and I'm feeling grateful for my 4 awesome children.

 Ivan is a junior in high school. He gets straight A's. He misses class WAY too much, but still getting good grades so he feels justified. He is a busy kid. He has spent a lot of time with Will Lewis, on his grandpa's farm and has decided he would like to ride bulls. He's done a lot of learning and research online, joined the Joe Frost bull riding school, the high school rodeo association and this weekend will be his 5th rodeo! About 3 more to go this season. It's so scary, and crazy and yet fun. He and his friend Will work at the cemetery and football is now starting up again. All that, and then hanging out with friends, we don't see a whole lot of him. Last weekend he went to his first  school dance; Jr Prom. He likes to wait until the last minute to do things and it drives me nuts, but I love him and it's fun when we can joke around with each other and when he scoops me up and carries me around. I would love it if he would put some product in those nice curls of his, but he doesn't seem to care about them.  I guess I better move on from it. Ivan's a good kid. I can't believe he'll be a senior next year-on his way to adulthood. 

Jack is a freshman at the Jr High. He recently tried out for the high school tennis team and made it so we have been busy with tennis practice and match's each week. He has also taken up golfing. He's still playing the piano. He does his lessons, but never the recital, however they are having a talent show with the tennis team so I'm excited for him to play in that. The boy does still like his electronic devices. I'm trying to help him to learn that he can put his phone down while he is finding something to eat in the pantry. He's a sharp looking kid. Pretty particular about his hair. The style is blown up and out. He wears it well. I don't love that he leaves his towel on the floor and keeps getting a new one, but I love that he showers, so that's good. He's a good kid. He's funny and smart and also gets straight A's. 

Well, it looks like I started this post in April and never finished. It's now the end of August and I guess I'll finish with Emery and Kate

Emery has suddenly switched from a little girl to a teenage girl. Mostly with how she looks, she's always had a bit of "teenage" in her personality, but now her looks are catching up too.  She just started the 8th grade. She is still best friends with Austyn and in addition to her, has a nice, small little friend group who are very good and supportive to each other. She likes to text me and ask me to bring her something for lunch a lot.  She also gets straight A's and has been so good at keeping track of all her classes and work load since she started Jr High. She likes to bake things and is still good at trying new foods. She always wants crumble cookie. Last year we moved her from Central Utah Ballet, where she loved going and had 2 of the cutest little friends, to Jazz N Place a competition studio here in Lehi. She was so brave to make the move and made friends easily.  She has taken her mothers annoyances to a whole other level. She can't stand the way anyone thinks, moves or smells. She's always disgusted with someone. When she's not voicing that, she's actually pretty quiet. She doesn't have a lot to say when I bug her about how dance was or how school was. She actually can be very sweet and thoughtful. She is very into make up and facial routines and all that is trending. She wants to be going to Sophora all the time. Or Target. She's smart and we love her so much

Kate has been a lot of fun. She and Ellie are still forever friends and enjoy each other so much. She just started 3rd grade and gets to have her cousin McKay in her class. She is a good friend to others. We have received that feedback from  other moms and teachers. She is good with adults and always has  a good relationship with her school and church teachers. She is thoughtful and likes to write us letters and draw us pictures. She started dance at the Dance Club this year, the same place Ellie goes. She's funny and always has a funny little come back or expression. She's still sleeping in our bed. She eats too many Nutella sandwiches and won't practice her violin, but we love her so much anyway.

Little Treasures

 My kids are so cute. They like to leave me little gifts all over the house. Things like dirty socks, in all sorts of places. The best is when they are inside out. It's gross enough just to touch them, these ones I get to stick my hand all the way inside and pull it right-side out.  Dirty under pants, normally outside the bathroom door, but they can also be found on the living room floor or the bedroom floor or the laundry room floor...... next to the laundry basket. Empty chocolate milk jugs, dirty dishes, wrappers, toys, hair brushes.... those are just the ones I've discovered so far today. I sure hope I'm not done finding. It's so fun.

My Little darlings

The New Year 2025

 I have a problem. I have a whole slew of things I would like to do or become, a grand “to do” list, yet I haven’t the brains, the energy, the time, the patience, or anything else to get them done so they sit on a list on my phone year after year. I want to read books with my kids, write book summery’s for myself, read scriptures regularly, go to the temple more, keep a journal/update blog on a regular basis, organize photo’s, print past family pictures we’ve had taken and they’ve never left the hard drive, practice piano, play the games we’ve gotten for Christmas in years past and haven’t played, be consistent with kids and their chores and allowance, exercise, do a service project every month, never eat out, never yell, never get annoyed and the list goes on. Instead I just clean my house everyday and stare at the wall or “run into Ross.” I’m literally waisting away as a human and I’m only 49. I can’t remember anything, I don’t know the answer to any questions I’m asked, I can’t make a decision, I’m always frustrated at how life works. I don’t know how people do it. If I wake up, get my kids off to school, read, pray, exercise, clean house and shower and get ready, I feel like it’s almost 1:00. I guess then I can plan dinner, which is a whole world of work in and of itself if you want fresh food and homemade. Then there’s the frustration of everyone being home at the same time to eat it and we’ve got to run kids to and fro in the midst of it and get it cleaned up.  I’m just too tired for it all. My energy and my drive and passion for anything have up and left me. 

But it is January and here I am journaling/updating the blog. I want to write about our boring day to day. Today we have Delta and Piper. Their aunt lives across the street and they are staying with her for a while until their parents figure out some things. We got to know them a couple years ago when they stayed with their aunt. They are back and so we get to watch them once in a while. Delta is 6 and Piper is 2. They are sweet, darling little girls and we love having them. I had Kate stay home from school to help play with them.

Christmas was delightful. It seems to come and go so quickly and Utah hasn’t had snow the past few years so it’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit. This year we got our Christmas pajamas the first of the month and went to pick out ornaments, but there wasn’t much of a selection so we came home empty handed. Later in the month I found one for each kid. Dangling ammunition for Ivan, a golf cart for Jack, a lip gloss mini verse for Emery to make into an ornament and an elf for Kate. Kate got an elf to remember the year our elf, One Eyed Willie, got a little more creative. Usually he just moves around each day, but this year he tried to ski down the stairs, take a bath in a bowl of marshmallows, fish in the sink, use the toilet and other fun things. It was sad to see him go

This was the first year we ALL got matching pajama’s. Usually it’s just the kids, but I’ve really enjoyed mine. I also gave them each a little, tiny tinsel looking tree with a string of beads to wrap around as decoration. 

A couple other traditions are- the food exchange party at my house with my family. This year I arranged the plates on the table into snow men and placed a popper thing on each. Not sure what got into me. We also keep a mailbox in the tree and when we see someone at home, school or play, doing something nice we write it down and put it in the mailbox to read at night. I try to read Christmas stories to the kids. We decorate the tree together with music playing. We drove to Ogden the night kids got out of school for the break to see some lights and window displays. We donated to a couple things, but I had high hopes of doing an actual service project, yet didn’t. The past couple yrs I’ve wanted to take money envelopes and slide them through the doors of this small apartment complex here in Lehi and we haven’t done it. This year I was FOR SURE we were going to make it happen…… We didn’t. I know we can do it next year. I just know it. 

It was a busy, but fun month and now we are back in school and back to a routine.