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!