Dear Dad, please do not go out of town anymore. Mom feels way too justified to take us out for junk food when you're not here. She's determined to not even use the microwave until you get home.

Corben purposefully shuts his eyes everytime someone points a camera at him. Well Corben, hope this is better.

Next we went to visit great-grandma and also got to see grandpa Greg while we were there. We were able to knock out our week's requirements of cookies and candy while we were there.

Then we went down the street and watched the Christmas parade. For once, we thought a parade was too short! That pleased Mom because it made for less whining!

As we drove home from the parade Lance said, "I wish Dad would've been there," and all the kids agreed.

We ended our 13 year tradition of trick-or-treating in Kaysville this year. Missed seeing Gayla. The kids have been phasing it out as they get older & this year they all insisted we go in our neighborhood. Jeremy started a Halloween tradition last year (stolen from his old friend). He puts a movie on in the garage and grills hot dogs to give to friends/neighbors who come trick-or-treating. He's loved doing it and a lot of the neighbors get a kick out of it. The kids also loved it when they got done with trick-or-treating. They never last very long, which was a good thing this year since I'm trying so hard to diet & I usually steal over half their candy.

Brody is dressed as a Power Ranger, though unless you're a hardcore fan you can't tell what he is because he wouldn't wear a mask or let me come within 10 feet of him while holding Halloween make-up. Jace is, of course, Spongebob. This costume has served us well. Glad Kira bought it for our exclusive use.

Zack was changing his mind about costumes until the night before, and this is what he decided on. He kept saying he was a dead zombie & I kept lecturing him not to say dead zombie, as zombies are already dead. I just don't want my kids to sound unintelligent. Corben had the great idea that he could go as a living zombie, no costume required.

Lance was pretty much the best Frankenstein I've ever seen. He's got the perfect tall lanky body, and he was a champ with getting the make-up on. Usually they're such squirmy worms that it's all smeared, but he is one patient kid.

This was hilarious. Trev & a bunch of his friends dressed as evil looking clowns. Trev went one step further & brought his unicycle to school & rode it in the school costume parade! It was so funny. His uni skills are aMAzing.

No picture of Corben because despite the fact that he completely disobeyed my insistence that he is too old to trick-or-trick & went anyway, to make matters worse he didn't even wear a costume! What a geek. And he wouldn't even share his candy with me. Jeremy finally found it hidden in his school backpack which I was then forced to accidentally rip in my struggle to get it from him to get some candy.

I don't know why (fear of my kids with knives, I guess), but I really loathe pumpkin carving. I loved that Jeremy was walking on thin ice with me just in time for pumpkin carving night. He INSISTED I take a nice long bath while he supervised the carving. I missed the whole thing! Yay! The kids did a great job. Their pumpkins looked awesome & we had delicious seasoned pumpkin seeds for days.

My cuties on the first day of school

Better late than never, I need to write about my baby Ainge turning 14 last Sunday. Unbelievable, especially because of all my kids, I remember his baby years the most. Obviously we went through a lot together at the time, but I just cannot believe it has been that long. Corben's birthday present request wasn't quite as quirky this year as in years past; he wanted a guitar. Luckily I have Jeremy to rely on for things like this and he is the one who researched & ultimately ordered it. I wouldn't have had the first clue where to get a guitar or even what to look for. Corben can't be completely unquirky, of course, as I also got him the Mario (yep, of Nintendo) t-shirt he has been begging for for weeks.

I'm so proud & impressed with Corben's talents. He's never had any lessons to speak of but he is constantly working at teaching himself how to play different musical instruments, and he has an AMAZING singing voice. He is in the advanced choir at school this year, which his school counselor told me is a big compliment for an 8th grader. He has even written several songs. One of them Jeremy and I were so impressed with that we played it for anyone who showed up at our house. When Gifford & Shirelle came over & heard it, Gifford was so sure that Corben had plagiarized the song that we had to get on the internet for several minutes googling the lyrics to make sure they didn't show up anywhere. It was pretty funny.

Corben remains, by far, my most obedient child. I NEVER have to ask him twice to do anything. He is very sweet & loving, in his own special way (i.e. doesn't like to show ANY emotion). He is very smart and makes mediocre grades at school, but this is after NO effort is made on his part (now that's talent!). And I know it's only a matter of time before this current phase ends and he lets me cut his hair!

I'm so thankful for Corben & for the young man he is turning into, and for fighting against all the challenges that were thrown his way as a child to come out a better person for it. Love you Bud!

We continued our Pioneer Day tradition this year of waking up in the middle of the night (3:30 a.m.) to run in the Deseret News 10k race in SLC. Jeremy impressed me by registering for it as well, but then we realized he would be gone to scout camp. So this year it was Kira, Dave, my dad, Denny, & me. It's so curious how despite all the hideous factors of doing this race (getting up in the middle of the night, running, etc.), I always look back on it with joy & excitement, & know I'll do it again next year. It makes me feel so good to accomplish something that ten years ago I never would've thought possible, & it's even better doing it with my awesome family. I'm especially proud of my dad. At 58 years old & having spent part of the past year recovering from cancer, he completed the whole race. It was a neat sight watching him jog toward the finish line. Of course Denny, having never run 6 miles in his whole life & doing the race on a whim, left us all in the dust.

Of course with Jeremy & the big boys gone, it was a fun treat to scrounge up a babysitter, let alone one who would be willing to come over in the middle of the night. At the last minute I had the thought that maybe they could spend the night at Rob's house. Luckily he & Alisha are so laid back & generous that even with the last minute notice they gladly agreed. And I had Cami on stand-by all morning in case I didn't make it to pick the kids up in time. I didn't, since my dad couldn't get off the bus (ha ha!), so Cami went & grabbed them and had them all fed by the time I picked them up. Where would I be without my awesome family?

Many lessons learned this Mother's Day. First and foremost is to stop having ANY expectations from my kids, then maybe I won't be disappointed. I was telling everyone today, I don't know if their fighting was actually worse today, or if it just seemed that way because I foolishly expected them to behave better. Jeremy, on the other hand, has definitely made some progress from years past. Instead of spending money we don't have on a lame present I may or may not like, he spent the last two days taking care of the kids and doing everything around the house so I could sit around and be lazy all weekend. Bless his heart, it doesn't come easy. One of his big responsibilities was Sunday dinner with Steffensens and Denny. I had requested that he grill and make his delicious homemade ice cream and brownies to go with it. Well, the ribs were delicious, but when he went to make the brownies he found that, SHOCK! Brownies need eggs! And we were out of eggs! I told Kira that I secretly like when stuff like that happens because it proves how lost our husbands would be without us.

I got so many gifts from the kids: chocolate, bubble bath, a Tinkerbell puzzle (thanks, Jace!), some cooking stuff, and several cards and crafts they made in school. I was very spoiled! I've got to single out Corben, though. He is the only one who didn't even attempt to buy or make me a gift, but he is the only one of the kids who made an effort to try and help around the house and make our home a little more harmonious by getting along with his brothers, and I am so grateful for that. I think that's the gift any mom would prefer.

I'm going to repeat what my sister said today. I'm so grateful I've been blessed with these wonderful children so Mother's Day can be a happy time about me and my kids, and not a sad day where all I can do is miss my beautiful mom. Mother's Days were so hard the first few years after she died, but slowly they have turned around and now I have tender memories and thoughts about her throughout the day, but not the devastation I had before. I only hope my kids remember me with such fondness as I remember my mom.

Finally an update from one of us!

It isn't often that I update this, I think this is my second post. I've made a habit of reading this frequently, and today, I finally recognized a couple things.

First, I have a deep love for my family, so much that I am nearly brought to tears when I read Kelly's posts. It's kind of embarrassing at work when I look like I've been crying, but it is ok, and helps me remember what a great family I have. Kelly loves our boys, and would do anything for them. I know that, and I love her so much for it. I love that she has this blog, though I wish it was updated more frequently by either myself or her, but she is a busy person and I understand.

Second, I realize that I should be updating this way more. It would be a lot more fun to read if I shared some stories on here of things I do with the kids (aside from my persistent lecturing). Things like: Nearly being ejected from Trevor's soccer game (I'm the head coach), playing '21' with Corben and Trevor and their friend Avery (of course, I always win because I'm awesome:O), trying to keep Zack from seriously injuring himself (nearly happens every day), or letting lance go to scouts instead of soccer (I'm the head coach here, too), helping Brody and Jace (they are not twins you know) have internet access, or netflix access...lol, it's funny how much they do on the computer.

I have to say how proud I am of each of my boys. Corben is doing well in school now, and has joined the track team. He competed for the first time last week, and placed 3rd in one of his events, and ran in a couple others, doing quite well for a 7th grader. Trevor is Trevor...he loves sports, and his favorite is whatever is currently being played, soccer/baseball now, football/basketball in the spring. Lance is such a precious boy. He has his own set of issues, but he is so easy to please, and loves to play soccer. He also likes to read, and has taken after Kelly in her addiction to puzzles. Zack is always going to be full of energy, at least we hope so. If things go my way, he'll be our retirement fund:) He is great at soccer, and is a lot like Trevor in his love for sports. He is becoming a really good reader, and does good at school. Brody is a lot of fun. He's very opinionated, and not afraid to vocalize it. He is best friends with Jace, and looks up to his brothers. He is excited to start Kindergarten now that he's gotten past his shots. Jace is a peacemaker, like Kelly said in her earlier post. He loves to watch Brody play the computer, and loves to "control" when watching netflix. He, too, is excited to start kindergarten, especially since his shots are over with as well.

Kelly is a trooper...That's the all-encompasing statement, but let me expound a little. She does at least 3 or 4 loads of laundry everyday, cooks dinner at least 6 nights a week, keeps the house under control, cleans the kitchen, goes to the gym everyday, helps with soccer, scouts, primary piano playing, family night, goes to a book group (though I don't think any of them read the book anymore), helps her sister when she can, helps me with my hometeaching families, does puzzle after puzzle after puzzle, puts up with me (This is a big one), helps with homework for 4 kids, soon to be 6 kids in school...the list goes on. She is awesome, and I love her for all that she is and all that she does.

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far.

My babies are 5 years old. They will be starting kindergarten in the fall. This is impossible. We went and registered them last week. They were both very distraught and begging to be home schooled because their brothers have scared the tar out of them about getting their kindergarten shots. Once that's out of the way, though, they will be very excited. They come with me to Zack's kindergarten class every week to help with a few minutes of paperwork, and they can't wait to be in the class themselves. I struggled for months with the decision of keeping them in the same class or splitting them up. I asked everyone I could think of for advice, and finally came to the tough decision to split them up. As I was signing the papers and specified to split them, Jeremy decided he would finally voice his opinion, which was to keep them together. Although months later than I would've liked, I was glad to let him make the final decision.

Jace is definitely the peacemaker of the two. He worships the ground Brody walks on and gives him whatever he wants. He is a happy kid and tries to be my helper.
Brody is a little more willing to speak his mind. He won't do anything he doesn't want to, and he still knows how to throw a GREAT tantrum. Although he's more of the "take" and Jace is the "give" in their relationship, he still loves his twin brother more than anything.

Their very most favorite thing to do is watch "Netflix." And that's what they say, they don't ask to watch a specific show or movie. It's always, "Can I watch Netflix?" They will most likely put on Phineas and Ferb or Rugrats All Grown Up. If I won't let them watch T.V., their next favorite thing to do is play games on the computer or my ipod. If they're not allowed to do those things they enjoy jumping on the trampoline, playing in the dirt, or playing with their toys. They are still inseparable. They do everything together. My greatest hope is that they will always be this close.

Every time I'm reminded of how old they're getting I reflect back on their infancy. I know I've talked about it before, but to this day it baffles me that we all came out of that alive. And again, I will freely admit there's no way that would've happened without Auntie Gayla's weekend sleepovers, Grandpa Cardon's twice a week afternoon babysitting, and Kira having the other four boys, well, 24/7. I will always have regrets that I didn't make more effort to enjoy them as babies, but I will always be so grateful for the help that got me through that tough time. There's no way I could've done it alone. I guess I should acknowledge that Jeremy was right there with me for the midnight feedings, diaper changings, and general pulling out of hair, but he's the dad! It's his job!

I love these boys so much and I'm so happy they came into my life!

Happy 11th birthday to my sweet Trevor. We had a fun weekend of celebrations. We had Grandpa Cardon and Tami and Nate for dinner on Saturday night, and the Steffensens and Denny on Sunday night. I'm a little concerned with how obsessed he was, both nights, with using the lighter to light his own candles.

Jeremy and I got him a unicycle. He's been obsessed with the things for months now. We have three different neighbors who have one and one of them is usually in our garage because Trevor is borrowing it. I get a kick out of the off-the-wall items my kids become obsessed with. They are so funny. He is very good at riding it, though I can't decide how safe it is.

Trev is my most difficult and my most loving child. He has a temper that can heat up at the drop of a hat and you better watch out. But he's the first one to give me hugs and tell me he loves me. He is also our family's little clown. He always has me cracking up. I know he's probably WAY too old to be doing this, but when he gets out of the shower he runs all over the house naked. And he doesn't just run around, he dances. His favorite move is vigorously shaking his, uh, "hips." Fortunately he won't do this if we have visitors, but Jeremy still thinks he's too old and usually gets after him to put some clothes on, but I usually can't stop laughing to lecture him.

Trev is a great friend. He doesn't judge anyone, and will be anyone's friend that wants to be his. He loves to play and have fun. He is so good about including his little brothers when he is hanging out with his friends, which I appreciate so much. He is playing basketball right now and loving it, and he is an awesome player. He's going to give soccer another go in the spring. Jeremy will be coaching his team, so that will be fun for him. Then it's on to football. He tries his very best at everything he does. He is my sweetheart and I love him to pieces!

We took another fabulous family vacation to Disneyland last week. I'm still not recovered from having to come home. It was so fun! Jeremy really wishes we would expand our horizons and try and think of other vacation destinations, but I have no desire. I totally love Disneyland! I enjoy watching my kids' excitement, but I think I would have a blast being there by myself! My favorite rides are Alice in Wonderland and Small World, so much to everyone's chagrin I guilted them into coming with me. They were all troopers. Well, most of them were. Jeremy spent the entire Small World ride whining and making fun of the characters.

We had a nice hotel and of course the little kids loved that aspect of the trip almost as much as being at Disneyland. Just like last time, I got a real vacation because Jeremy did all of the laundry and tidying of the hotel. Most of all I just love the complete togetherness of being with my family. I can't figure it out, because of course there was a ton of fighting and disobeying, but there is just something about spending several days together with no other concerns that makes me love and appreciate my family even more.

On our last day at Disneyland we let the kids shop for a souvenir. For reasons I can't fully understand, Corben has been mildly obsessed with Kermit lately. So he obviously chose to buy a stuffed Kermit. He had been begging for it all week and was beside himself when we finally bought it. He wouldn't let it out of his sight. Anyway, on the drive home he was being a pest, so I reached back and grabbed Kermit out of his hands and stuck it on the dashboard. Jeremy then grabbed it and did this:

Kermit's leg was hanging out the window flapping like mad. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I had to laugh even harder when I turned and saw Corben's look of murderous outrage at what was being done.

My sweet little Lance was baptized last Saturday, and we were able to enjoy a very special day together with our loved ones. I don't know what I'll remember most about this day in the future: the amazing spirit, the wonderful messages that were shared, being supported by family and friends, or the fact that Lance had a cold sore that hurt so bad he couldn't even smile. Poor little guy. He didn't let it ruin his day, though. He was a trooper. He has such a tender spirit. He didn't do much visiting with anyone, but you could just tell that he was so content to be surrounded by so many people who love him.

Kira and Rob were very gracious about being asked to speak, and they both did a wonderful job. Corben played a musical number on his ocharina and did fabulous. And even though BJ and Brooke had to drive down from Provo AND had an accident on the way (of the potty variety) they still arrived as soon as they could. And many other family members made special arrangements to be there (shout out to Denny for calling in sick. You're SO sweet!)

We had a fun dinner afterwards. Due to the fact that we were leaving early the next morning for vacation, we had it at a church house. GREAT idea. It went wonderfully. Everyone was so helpful and wonderful, my heart was just bursting by the end of the day.

Since Jeremy and I both have good-sized families we decided to keep it a relatives only event, but Lance insisted on inviting Dan and Eddie. They were two of the coaches on Corben's football team that Lance got to know from being waterboy. They are two of the most amazing men I've ever met. I've never known anyone to bring Lance out of his shell like they did. Every day they made him feel so special, treating him like he was their best bud. He hardly speaks a word to them, but he has come to totally love them. I'm grateful for people like this, and for our wonderful families who are always there for us.