Suburban Seats Eight: May 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Happy Blankie...

So last night Bill took Hunter and Brock on a "boy's night out" to go see Indiana Jones. They've been looking forward to it for a LONG time! Dad came home from work early and they were off to the theaters. They came home pretty psyched and happy. Good times for dad and sons!

So what did the rest of us do while they were movie watchin' zombies? Well... if you must know- Hannah, Barrett, Bauer and I went to good 'ol Mickie D's for some DELICIOUS (not) dinner and play area fun! It passed the time quickly anyways. Then we came home and put Barrett to bed and Hannah and I got busy making her a blanket.

You see, she's been begging me for weeks to make her a cuddly "happy blankie." Everytime I am sewing-- (which is almost every day) she begs and begs. So tonight, mama pulled through. I got out all my scraps and patched together a pink & green happy blankie for my girl. It took about an hour to throw together and Hannah worked right along side me. She pushed the pedal on the sewing machine like a champ! She was SO excited with the finished product:

Needless to say, she had "happy dreams under her happy blankie!" Love you Hannie!!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Happy 12 years baby!

So we laid in bed this morning listening to our kids argue as they made us breakfast in bed. It was quite funny. They were trying to be so secretive! And it was so thoughtful for them to go to all the effort. I'll spare you the picture of us in bed... but show you the pic of our breakfast and the cute kids who made it. Thanks guys. You say "you owe us," ... little do you know how much YOU OWE US!!!

Last night we celebrated our 12 years of marriage with a special dinner. We went to The Melting Pot in Addison and had a wonderful time doing fondue and chatting it up with our good friends the Tanners and Copelands. Good times, Good times! There was a magician that made his way around the restaurant and he was quite entertaining. It was just a really enjoyable evening. Thanks for joining us guys.

Can't believe it's been 12 years! That's just crazy! Bill and I realized this morning that we started dating in Jan. of 1992. That's over 16 years ago. That means that we've known each other as long as we haven't known each other! He's been in my life for half of it! Now that's just so weird to me! It means I'm getting old... and it's ok, as long as I can grow old with my best friend. I love you babe!

Camping... it's for the birds!!

So we went camping. Yes... we did. With a 12 week old. Uh-Huh, I'm crazy. And itchy. All over. Mosquito's like nursing mama's... we're SWEEEEET!

It was our ward campout and we decided last minute to go. Bill worked 2 all-nighter's for the 2 days preceding the campout, but we still went anyways... (all ya'll in our ward got NO EXCUSES for not going when we went w/ a dad who'd been up for 48 hours and a 12 week old... you're just W.E.A.K.) ha ha.

It was fun-- sort of. Actually, it was really fun! And really HOT! Notice in the pictures that Barrett looks wet, yeah, that's sweat. It seriously NEVER cooled down. The kids had a fun time playing badminton with some other friends. They were pretty good, I was impressed!

We had to chase the racoons away a few times- that was fun. And it was so hot that we roasted marshmallows and then squelched the fire. Thank goodness for the one outlet in the camp shelter to plug a fan into. Bill slept well thanks to that... although he probably would have slept anywhere after his last 2 days of work! I slept in the back of the suburban with Bauer... hoping to escape bugs. Not so easy. The car was full of em. There was just no escaping. My bed never felt so good as when I laid down last night. Thank goodness for a place to call home... with A.C.!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

My husband, Billy

I met "Billy" when I was 16 years old. He was a senior in high school and I was a junior. He likes to say he "put me on the map!" I'll give him that... he was pretty popular. He is fantastic at all sports. He is so talented. My favorite sport to watch him play is baseball. He was soooo good, he could have made it to the major leagues. He played in college and was the best!

He would hit homerun after homerun in high school, and he'd tell me everytime that he hit them for me! Shhhh! Don't tell his mom that, he told her the same thing! He was an ALL STAR! Still is!

So Billy's been playing Softball for a league here in Frisco and I caught a few pictures of him the other night. He's still got it, even 16 years later!

Love you babe... thanks for giving up your professional baseball dreams to have a family with me, you're the best! So proud of you!

Brock's Day at the AAC

Brock got to play arena football at the American Airlines Center in Dallas last Saturday. He played in the afternoon before a Dallas Desperados arena football game. They did a great job and it was all about the experience of being on the field where the "real guys" play!

Most of these kids are the same ones that Brock played fall football with last year, and they'll play again this fall together as well. He's got a pretty good group of buddies on his team, his best bud being Jake Small:

At the beginning of the Desperados game, they caught the kids on the "kid cam," my shot's not the best, but you get the idea.

We got a babysitter for Hannah and Barrett and spent the day with our two oldest (and our youngest, Bauer) in Dallas. We walked around downtown and made our way to Pioneer Park where there are over 60 bronze longhorns "running" down a hill with cattle herders, etc. They had fun with Jake and Luke Small. Nothin' like hanging on the backside of a cow, Brock!

It was a great day! Go BROCK and the BEARS!!!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

8:55 pm

That's what time we STARTED dinner last night. All 7 of us. Between football practice, science fair projects, nursing a baby and backyard play, it just didn't happen until then. Bill drove in the driveway from football with Brock to find a half naked Barrett and Hannah playing in the backyard at 8:20 pm... much to his surprise! Hunter and I had just finished his science project which we'd been working on since 3 pm. And you know what? I wasn't even upset. I re-heated the dinner I had attempted to have done before football and we all sat down and ate together--- at 5 minutes to 9. And I enjoyed it!

This talk given by Elder Ballard at April's General Conference for our church really spoke to me. It has changed how I view life. It was written just for me! :) Here's my favorite part:

First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.
Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

And so we did... at 8:55 pm.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!

What an amazing day! It started out with breakfast in bed... and I am so mad- the picture didn't turn out. They made me an omelette, toast, and fresh strawberries. And they put it on the plate in the shape of a happy face... it was so cute! Loved it! Sorry, no picture of me in bed- that would have been a little R-rated! But here's the kids before they brought it in...

Then I opened up my cards from the kids and from Bill. So thoughtful!

Here's Hunter's book of poetry for me.

My favorite was called "Chef Mom" It goes like this:

My mom is a very good chef,

after dinner there is nothing left.

Her food is so great,

and she's never late.

Even though her food is to die for,

I am always hungry for more. Thanks buddy... love you!

Brock's card was a depiction of me on the cover of "Time Magazine."

This is definitely a "post-pregnancy" depiction... I hope. And you tell me- did he draw cleavage? OR was that just a slip of the pen? There were 3 coupons inside for a footrub, a shopping spree with his allowance (gee, wish I would have paid him more!), and a meal made by him. Can't wait!

Hannah actually gave me her cards at the Mother's Day Tea on Friday... but she "re-gifted" them today as well. So cute!

You can pull the flowers out to redeem the coupon. Fun! I love that the older 3 kids are old enough now to do things that they can create themselves for mother's day. It really is interesting to read how your kids perceive you and what they like best. In one of Hannah's cards she made, she said I was 6 ft. tall and weighed 10 pounds. Maybe she should tell Brock to make my picture a little slimmer. ha ha.

Bauer gave me a nice gift:

Thanks baby! This was after church--- uh huh... all over!

I also got a lovely card from my DH. He is so wonderful. He brought me roses on Friday so I could enjoy them all weekend, and then wrote a very thoughtful message on the card. He also went all out with the breakfast in bed, and with a fantastic dinner tonight. He BBQ'd tri-tip (my fave!), baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and sourdough bread. Then we had caramel milkshakes for dessert. YUMMY! (ok, so maybe I do look like Brock's card!)

My mom sent me this wonderful book. It was so fun to read to the kids this morning. It definitely reminds me a lot of Barrett. Thanks mom! Love you!!!

We ended the day with a game of softball (sabbath style) in the backyard where I showed my boys what a talented mom they have. I think Bill was even pretty surprised after I hit one ball after another over the fence. Yeah, that's right, I've still got it!!

I am so thankful for these 5 kids who call me mom! And for an amazing supportive and HOT!! husband who is such a huge reason why I am able to do what I love everyday!! Love you babe! It's a crazy life we live- but I wouldn't want it any other way!!

To my mom- and my mother in law, you are both such stellar examples to me. I love you so much and thank you for your love and support! How can I fail with women like you to follow? Happy Mother's Day!!!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Just the three of us!

Isn't it funny when you take one of your kids somewhere and people assume that it's your only child? It cracks us up. When Bauer was 4 days old, my mom stayed home w/ Barrett and the older 3 were at school- we took Bauer to his newborn checkup. This nice couple with a 2 year old and a newborn just looked at us like, "Oh, look at them with their first baby... how cute!" Little did they know! Do we even look that young? I guess people are having first babies later and later nowadays. But here's a picture of just the three of us that Hannah took. Kinda cute.

Oh, and have I mentioned how RED Bauer's hair is? It is really quite red! Brock and Hannah (who are both pretty strawberry blonde now) never started out with red hair, they were blondies. But Bauer is starting out red... (what little hair he has) hmmmm! We may be in for a red head with a temper to go with it! YIKES!

Drama Queen

Hannah picked out her outfit today, told me how to do her hair, and posed for these pictures just to show everyone how cute she is! She truly brings all the drama a house full of boys could ever need... and all the joy as well.

Yesterday was a Mother's Day Tea at the kindergarten class for mom's and their students. I left both baby boys home (w/ a friend) and was able to go spend the time with just Hannah and I. It was so fun and special. Love you Hannah girl!

Barrett, the Chocolate Milk Rascal

This kid is hilarious. He cracks me up. Lately he is echoing everything I say. I have to be really careful. Good thing he didn't hear me tonight... ha ha. Here's a few of his funnies:

So the other day he was just driving me crazy and I said, "Barrett- you're driving me NUTS!" He says, "Nuts?" I said, "YES!" He repeats, "NUTS NUTS NUTS NUTS!"

He is famous for having multiple cups of water all day long. I can't tell you how many cups we go through. Well, he thought his cup was actually one of Brock's cups of 7-up and he took a big 'ol gulp, expecting water. After he swallowed he went,

"AHHHH, Dats Goooood."

Last night, while the boys were at the father/son camp out- we went shopping, cuz that's what girls (and boys who are too young to go to the father/son) do! Just as we were getting in the care from Old Navy, he looks at me and then chucks his sippy cup of Chocolate milk out of the car and across the parking lot. I said, laughing, "You little Rascal!" He says, "Chocolate Milk Rascal!" So that's his new nickname. Well, that or "punk." Sometimes I think he thinks his name is "punk." He gets called that quite a bit! (Usually after he goes into destruction mode while mom nurses Bauer.)

And here's a picture of my girly boy who got into my makeup the other day... so cute!

I love you Bubba Bear! You make me smile! Love Mama

Father/Sons Campout

So last night was the night- (don't ask my WHY they choose to do it on Mother's Day weekend... that's such a 'man' thing to do!... yeah, yeah, I know why-- anniversary of the restoration of the priesthood..... so, choose to celebrate it some other time!) Nice rant huh?!

ANYWAYS-- contrary to what it sounded like above, last night was the Father Son Camp Out and mom was excited for them to go. Now, last time I checked, Bill has 4 sons, but he only took 2. HA HA. Next year he's taking 3 for sure! Barrett WILL be potty trained by then! Although diapers might be more convenient than squatting by a tree! Jeez Jules, get on subject! OK, OK, OK! Here we go, pictures!

See Barrett off to the side? Doesn't he look sad? "Please daddy, can't I go!?!"

Taking off in the cruiser...

Ok, so I stocked them up for the campout. They had tons of snacks, the boys had headlamps which were SOOOO COOL! Thanks mom! And they stayed up super late and had really good s'mores! Good times! Oh, and thanks Len for the Cherokee Indian scary stories, the boys loved em!

Mom, Hannah, Barrett and Bauer hung out with friends and ate too much junk. It was a great time! Then Hannah got to sleep with mom since dad's side of the bed was vacant- however, she wandered to my side a little too often! All in all, it was a nice night for all of us!

Anybody lose a $20?

Don't you just love it when you reach in a pocket and find money? Or forget that you had stashed it somewhere and just when you need it, you find it? Well- today was Bill's lucky day! We all went to the pool this morning except for dad... he had to finish mowing the lawns. When he finished, he walked to the pool and just as he was walking up he found a $20 bill on the grass about 10 feet away from the pool area! Now, we were the only ones in the pool area, and hadn't seen anyone else there all morning- so there was NO WAY to give the money back to someone who'd lost it. He just got lucky! Now go buy me a mother's day present honey! :)