What's with Boys and Mamma's Heel's?

I've been meaning to post these for a while. Anderson is my only baby that just loves to wear my shoes! He's such a cutie and a wonderful son! Everyday he gives me something to laugh about! I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful children, each one brings so much to our family. :)





I'm going to love showing these to his future wife, someday...!

Crazy Days!

It started on Wednesday:

5:00 a.m.-woke up to go walking

8:00 a.m.- went back to sleep

9:00 a.m.-woke up again, and faced the kids

10:00 a.m.- everyone had had breakfast, was dressed, and doing school-- I started cleaning for book club, since I wast the host

12:00 p.m.- Lunch, clean kitchen, and more school-- more housework for me

1:45 p.m.- telephone rings, it's the Relief Society President, "Trina are you still planning to come and meet with your new Compassionate Service Assistant?" I look at my watch, and remember that we had an appointment scheduled at 1:30-- so I hop in the car, no shower, hideous, would be the word, and arrive 30 mins. late! Then my new assistant wants to give be a hug, and I'm cringing, hoping I don't smell. I thought I made a wonderful impression, since this is the first time I've actually met her.

I haven't been writing things down in my calendar like I should, and I know better(from previous really embarrassing moments), and still continue to make this mistake from time to time.

2:30 p.m.- I'm back home, Cleaning, all the while saying to myself "the house didn't seem to be this messy, why is this taking so long?"

3:30 p.m.- Prepare food for book club, and then realize that I haven't anything planned for dinner.

4:00 p.m.- Take a shower, finally!

5:00 p.m.- Ask Aaron to bring home pizza for dinner-- still cleaning!

7:00 p.m.- told all kids to get their p.j.'s on, and that they will be going to bed before everyone arrives. They just keep saying, but we want to have some of your leftover refreshments, when everyone goes home(mind you, this is usually around 11:30 p.m.). I'm STILL cleaning.

7:45 p.m.- Aaron finally gets home from work, with dinner, and that leaves us with only 15 minutes to eat, including cleaning the kitchen again!

8:00 p.m.- I rush all the kids to bed, finish setting up refreshments, and then they arrive!

12:00 p.m.- I hit the bed with no recollection of falling asleep.

Thursday-

I slept in till 10:00 a.m.! I hate it when I do this! The day's half over. At 10:01 a.m., the phone rings, and I remember I'm watching kids while my friend goes to the doctor. 10:05 a.m., they arrive, I'm still half asleep, trying to get into mommy mode. 10:15 a.m.-- my children's K12 teacher is calling for a conference, which usually last around 45 mins. I hear kids doing who-knows-what outside my door!

I finally get off the phone with her, start my older kids on their school work, clean up the disaster that was created, make lunch, and fix a bottle for the baby.

1:30 p.m.- the kids are picked up, I run to the grocery store, come home, make dinner for our family and my friends family, since she's not feeling well.

5:30 p.m.- drop Morgan off at the church for a scouting fundraiser.

6:30 p.m.- I finally sit down, and talk to my mom. Contractions start coming. At 7:00 p.m., I lie down to see if they'll go away, and they start coming every five mins. I decide I should go to the hospital, and they slowed down to just 4/hr. They said the outer wall has opened, but I haven't dilated, which is common for women who have had many children.

12:00 p.m.- I hit the bed, did I mention I have a o.b. appointment at 9:00 a.m.!?!

Friday-

I go to my appointment, and the doctor says I need to slow down, and rest more. Really!?! Come home, feed the kids lunch, put Anderson down for his nap, and sleep till 4 p.m.--I'm following the doctor's orders. The kids were awesome, and completed all the school work with out me.

I really need to learn how to balance my life better! My mom says, that you know when you doing just the right amount, because your happy!

*Emilyanne* in Utero

Here she is... our newest addition, Emilyanne. O.k., we've had these photos of her for quite sometime now, and I'm just now getting around to blogging them. I guess a few of you have noticed, that I'm either all or nothing(and I mean months), when it comes to blogging. When I'm really bored, as I have been lately, I blog quite a bit. When I very busy, I just drop it completely from my list of priorities. I don't like the fact that I'm inconsistent, but, what's a girl to do when she feels completely overwhelmed!?!

So anyways, back to Emilyanne. You may have seen the asterisks by her name, that's because we still have a few other names we're contemplating, but for now, we're calling her Emilyanne Elise!

Check her out: Isn't she beautiful!?!


I think this is the cutest picture! The ultrasound technician did a great job catching her little nose and mouth.






Three more months to go!

Yes, This is AZ!

Today the temperature in Tucson reached 101°, so we decided to beat the heat by taking a trip up Mt. Lemmon. Some of you know we had planned on doing this last week, however, Morgan, Sarah, and Aaron ended up visiting Urgent Care instead. Everyone had a virus, so it wasn't as bad as we thought, but the day didn't turn out at all the way we had planned.

We decided to visit Summerhaven, it's elevation is around 8000 ft., and about 30° cooler than Tucson. It took us about an hour to get there, and wow, it was a nice change(not only in temperature, but scenery as well).

We decided to scope out several of the campgrounds, and visit the Gift Shop. We got the kids a little treat and relaxed a bit.



















This is Christian's, "I have to go to the bathroom REAL BAD face!"


We also went on a small hike with the kids. The trail became too narrow and steep for the kids, so we had to turn around sooner than we had hoped.



We started at the Butterfly Trailhead. The kids got a kick out of the trail's name. Anderson was tired, so Aaron carried him most of the way.






It was a great day!

Spoiled!

My Mother's Day was so terrific! I felt SO LOVED by all my family. My Husband, kids, parents, and even friends all made me feel very appreciated.

My kids have been so concerned about Mother's Day all month, and what I would like them to get me. I guess they don't realize, even though I've told them numerous times, that all I want are hugs and kisses, and maybe a card. I truly mean this, and it breaks my heart that they feel like they have to buy something pretty to make me happy. I thought I'd share some of the ways my family showed their love for me this Mother's Day:

First of all, the boys hugged, kissed, rubbed their runny noses on my shirt, and snuggled with me spontaneously throughout the day!

Sarah worked really hard on this card, and used some of her newly learned art skills, via K12. Notice all the different shapes and lines she implemented.



Kaitlyn made a gift at Activity Days, and she so wanted to give it to me, but she didn't finish it in time. She also made these lovely cards.


Not to mention lots of hugs and kisses!


Madison made this plaque for me. It is AWESOME-- don't you agree!?!


Morgan made this sinful treat--thank you Morgan!


My very caring In-laws sent me this very thoughtful card.


Aaron gave me a nice back rub, and...


a new haircut!


And now I'm about to do it all over again! Life couldn't be better!

Gems of the Day

Aaron took Morgan and Christian to the Father/Son outing last night. The boys were so excited, and even though Anderson was too young to go, you could just tell he knew that he was getting left out! He cried after the boys left, until I decided to walk down to the swings. His tears transformed into smiles! Next year he should be able to go. I sent Aaron with the camera, and here's what he brought home. I think we'll be camping on Mt. Lemmon a little more often.







They came home, and then Aaron and I went on a date, a very special one. One of the things that I LOVE about living in Tucson is the fact that my Grandparents are buried here. They died when my Mother was five, so I never got to know them. I feel close to them, however, through the stories family members have shared, and I know they must have been wonderful! My mother asked me to bring some flowers to Grandma Vera, so that's what Aaron and I did. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to do this for her.