Bancroft Family

BFF’s

2012-02-16T10:49:00.001-08:00

So do you have that one friend that you can’t ever remember not being friends with? I do. This is Tiff. She and I have been best friends since we were toddlers. My mom and her grandma were also best friends. We both even moved away for a year in first grade and ended up at the same elementary school! What are the odds of that happening? When she was 14, she moved to California, but the distance didn’t stop our friendship!

Here we are on our baptism day on November 2, 1985. I can’t believe I still remember the date 27 years later!

My mom let me fly out to Cali at the end of my senior year. I was only 17. Tiff and I toured Alcatraz and Pier 39 in San Francisco all by ourselves and hit the beach in Santa Cruz.

We lost touch for a few years (my fault because of all my life-changes), but picked up right where we left off when she and her hubby brought their 4 kiddos to visit Christmas 2010.

I had one of the best Christmas presents so far this year when Justin surprised me with a plane ticket to see Tiff. He had contacted her, unbeknownst to me, planned a whole weekend visit and she was in on the surprise. We hung out, ate out, talked non-stop all while visiting the Oakland Temple, Santa Cruz and San Francisco (for old times sake) and Monterey Bay. I enjoyed being a part of her family life and seeing her beautiful children.

Home Sweet Home…That’s all Folks!

2012-01-30T20:12:00.001-08:00

I feel like these last few photos will be used primarily for “before” pics when I get to re-doing these rooms. I frankly ran out of steam by the time I got to the boys’ rooms. I have many ideas for future wall treatments. We have all white paint downstairs and while I am actually enjoying having a totally blank slate, I have visions of board and batten, vertical and horizontal stripes (not in the same room), faux brick, and more in mind for the future. I told Justin that I have been known to get the painting itch, and one day he might come home to a newly painted room. But those were the days before 6 kids, so we’ll see.

First off, we have Cameron’s BYU room. A “house divided” was unacceptable a few years ago, but now Justin has come to the realization that it is what it is. Cameron was brainwashed from a very young age to be a Cougar fan and that will simply never change. I didn’t do it. It’s not my fault. Justin and Grandma Adele even showered Cam this past Christmas with BYU pajamas, hoodie and Jimmer basketball jersey.

Colton’s room makes up for Cam’s room. It sports U of U stadium turf and signed memorabilia from Coach Whittingham. Colton is extra special. He gets a tv in his room where he now watches Barney, Blues Clues and Baby Signing times during his quiet time. His special-ed teacher said the compression of a hammock-like swing, which we are currently searching for, would be good for his development. That, with his new slide, practically makes a playground in his room. Lucky boy! This room, so far, has also been Colton-proofed. The décor is out of reach, the pictures are pretty much glued to the wall so he can’t swing them and pull them down, and I have a handy new baby monitor with camera that I can watch his every little move from upstairs to keep him from rolling his nightstand around, banging the blinds, or tearing his closet doors down. It has a talk-back feature so if he starts doing something dangerous, I can tell him to “move away” and he does.

Wyatt’s room is in the beginning stages of a cabin retreat. He got the furniture that Grandpa Leon built for his mom, so it is very special. It is dark since his room is the only window in the basement with a window-well, which makes it even cozier. It’s the perfect environment for sleeping in…which is not good for school days.

The boys’ bathroom is pretty sparse. I already had this décor in our previous home and I still like it, so it will do for now.

The Laundry Room. Let’s just say that I don’t hate doing laundry as much as I used to. We had such a small laundry room (can’t really call it that) before that as I would change loads, I had to balance on one foot, brace myself with one hand on the door frame and grab the wet, twisted laundry with my free hand and shove it into the dryer. While doing this balancing act, the clothes would often times fall into the kitty litter which was located directly under the washer door. I swear a lot less now that I have a room that I can walk into to do laundry.

I’m going to take a little break from organizing and decorating to see one of my very best friends in California this week thanks to a very generous Christmas present from my husband. I feel like I have a good start on our home, but I know there’s a lot of projects in my pipeline to come thanks to “blog land” and Pinterest.

The End.

The Man Cave

2012-01-30T12:43:00.001-08:00

If I can’t find my husband, I know where he is hiding out…in the man cave. It’s the only request he had when we decided to build a new home. I thought it was a little extravagant and wasn’t fully on board with the idea at first, but we have already spent a lot of time with our family in friends in here.

I replaced a few of his old favorite movies on blue ray for an anniversary present (I know, romantic) and got him a popcorn trolley for Christmas. The kids love serving up and munching on unlimited amounts of popcorn!

We have already used our home theatre for family night, date night, football and a UFC fight night. The presidential debates are even more fun to watch in HD on a 132” screen. I didn’t know Mitt Romney had so many wrinkles! We plan on creating many lasting memories in this room!

Home Sweet Home…Part II

2012-01-27T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here is our master bedroom. Justin wanted a main floor master away from all the other bedrooms. And now I have him and the blackout curtains to thank for the quiet, dark Saturday mornings away from the kids and noise we have to sleep in.

The crown jewel of the master bathroom happens to be the double sinks. There is nothing worse than sharing a sink with your spouse when getting ready. These puppies have saved our marriage.

Our half bath is nothing fancy, but it is right inside the entrance from the garage and keeps the kids from running through the house just to use the restroom.

Since we are going to have teenagers in the next few short years, I thought it would be best to separate the girls and the boys. We decided to put all the girls’ rooms upstairs, and all the boys’ rooms downstairs. Here are the girls’ rooms:

Britney’s Room - I asked each child what was important for them to have in their rooms. Britney wanted a new desk. She loves art and office supplies, so now she has a place to create.

Brooklyn’s Room – The design of this room was such a happy accident! Brooklyn brought home her “scribble art” that she created at school. It was such a fun design, I wanted to somehow incorporate it in her new room. One day, I just happened to be shopping at Kohl’s (I never shop there) and saw the comforter on her bed 80% off. I snatched it up because it matched her scribble art perfectly. I love it when things like that happen!

Matti’s Room – Matti’s favorite part about her room is the bay window. In the future, I want to incorporate a window seat for storage and a place in the sun to read and relax.

There was way too much pink upstairs, so I had to balance out the girls’ bathroom with a little blue, green, brown and white.

We needed a place for the kids to hang out with their friends. The bonus room above the garage does just that. You can’t see the gaming devices and library from this angle, but there’s a library, comfy place to read, place to play board games, air hockey, school, dolls, listen to music and more. If I ever hear the kids say they’re bored, I am going to freak out since they have so much to do up here!

We turned the downstairs family room into a game room… Justin and I also had to have a place for us to play with our friends!

Next tour: Rest of the basement including the boys’ rooms, bath and Justin’s theatre aka: man cave (he won’t let me take pics until his Rocky poster arrives…and it just did).

Home Sweet Home…At Last!

2012-01-26T10:51:00.001-08:00

It seems as if we are making the habit of ringing in each new year with a bang! Two years ago, I quit my teaching job to stay home. Last January we were sealed for time and all eternity. This year, we have a new home. Maybe next year we will have a new addition to our family. That is on the horizon, but not yet…

Moving is stressful. Plain and simple. Although we had the help 0f our awesome neighbors and hired movers, who moved an estimated 8+ tons of furniture, there is never a dull moment in the Bancroft household. Amongst running out of boxes, and willing neighbors running in and out of our old house to help move a few boxes the night before the movers came, a usually bubbly Matti laid on the couch, suddenly very sick. After giving her a blessing, she was taken to Instacare, where we found out she had come down with pneumonia. Not good timing. My stress level with Christmas, moving, a very sick child and putting on an education workshop for church was almost too much to handle. So thank you to all the neighbors, friends and grandparents who picked up the slack. I wouldn’t have made it without you!

Over the next few blog posts, I will share the results of the organizing and decorating I have been doing in my “spare” time. We are planning on staying here for the long haul. It will be fun to see all the changes in decorating I will be making over the years, so this is just a starting point. This is the 4th house I’ve built, Justin’s 3rd. My track record has shown that I can usually have my house unpacked, organized and decorated within about a week. I just can’t function surrounded by chaos and boxes. But this beast has kicked my butt. We have been here 3 1/2 weeks and I have most of the organizing and decorating in the main areas done. A house and family twice the size has more than taken twice the time.

Building a home that is “ours” was one of the steps we needed to take to blend our family together, so I’m glad this dream has finally become a reality.

Here’s my office. This is the room I get to collapse in. Once things calm down, I plan on blogging, reading and creating something in this space.

The piano room is off to the left of the entrance. Most people would use this room as a formal dining room, but we aren’t that formal, and we needed a place for our piano. I am trying to re-teach myself to play, and Britney is moving right along with her lessons. I put a collage of our wedding photos in here. I love walking by this wall. It is a constant reminder of our eternal goals. We need a lot of reminders to get us through daily life and the challenges and surprises that come along with it.

Here is the gourmet kitchen. Hope that doesn’t mean I need to become a gourmet chef. I have daily cooking for 8 down now. I’m glad I have the tools and space to do it. I’m also glad I had the guts to put in a white kitchen with a house full of lots of dirty hands. I love the way it turned out. I think it is classic, and will never go out of style.

Here is the birds eye view of our living room. I greatly appreciate Doug and Milt for helping Justin hang that monster of a mirror. It is almost 7 feet tall and just the thought of hanging it was causing Justin to have nightmares. He was dreading it. But all in the name of decorating, it’s done, looks great and hasn’t fallen off the wall. I consider that a great success.

My morning is over. The special ed bus will be pulling up any minute. Hope you enjoyed today’s tour and I will be back soon!

Christmas Wrap-Up

2012-01-26T10:01:00.001-08:00

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on since our move, so here we go!

Christmas, frankly, was a blur this year. We ended up moving our belongings into the new house just 3 days after Christmas. I left the living room in tact for the holiday, but that’s all that was in tact. It was kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants year, but we pulled it off.

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, and we had 9am church, we let the kids know in advance that they would have to wait to open presents until after church! Ouch! We are harsh! The benefit to that is that our kids looked so lovely on Christmas morning and we began the day with the true spirit of Christmas. I loved it.

Explanation…

2011-12-22T17:00:00.001-08:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here’s 2000 words explaining my blog neglect:

Amongst all the moving chaos, we are trying to enjoy the Christmas season as well. Here’s what we have been up to:

We saw the Christmas Lights at Thanksgiving Point, watched Holiday movies (“Elf”, “Fred Clause” and “A Christmas Story” have been some of our family favorites this year) and have read lots of Christmas books. Each year we buy one new Christmas Book, have everyone sign it and each night we read one story. We were given a jar at the beginning of the month with strips of paper with uplifting holiday activities for our family to do each night like “do something for someone without them knowing”. I think the kids like drawing out slips of paper more than actually completing the activity, but at least we’re trying. We also decided let the kids draw each others names so they can learn to enjoy the process of gift-giving. On on of our family nights, we bought some toys to donate to “Toys for Tots” and thanks to Grandma Carmen, the kids have even gotten to bake a little. I’m packing up the kitchen, so despite all good intentions to bake, I’ll have a great excuse not to now.

There’s nothing that brings the spirit of Christmas more than music. We enjoyed Brooklyn’s choir concert and the Christmas sing-in. I am sad that this is that last time I will get to see Cam “sing”…(or try to. Yup. He is monotone and off-key most of the time, but he has other talents).

It is quite possible that you won’t hear from me until next year. I am looking forward to 2012. I think there are a lot of great things in store. I plan on starting a few new hobbies after settling in. Merry Christmas!

Tis The Season

2011-12-08T11:43:00.001-08:00

As a blended family, I think it’s important that we come up with our own holiday traditions, and the only way I could set the tone for that was to buy all new Christmas décor. Last year while the “cat” was away at the Utah/Notre Dame game, the “mice” went shopping at Taipan Trading to “play”.

Since we are moving less than a week after Christmas, I wanted to keep things as simple as I can this year, but still have a festive atmosphere. The girls wanted to help me decorate the tree, so I taught them how to stagger the ornaments. It went up in a jiffy with all their help. I didn’t even rearrange it after they were done. They did such a fabulous job and with a little bit of teaching are becoming real assets to the family. They even helped Grandma Carmen decorate her tree this year.

The stockings are hung…although not by the chimney because there is not enough room for 8 stockings with a family this large! I made nametags for the stockings and bought bells at the dollar store for a little added touch.

Each year, I like to add something new. This year I added framed ornament photos of the kids above their stockings for a little more bling. Gosh, I love Hobby Lobby, which is where I purchased these frames (half off, only $2 each).

I have been asked if I keep my table set year round. And the answer is “yes”. I have had many dishes broken with the kids clearing off the table, but I have learned to buy an extras because I know from past experience that in a house with 6 kids, décor gets broken. But I would rather have a space I enjoy living in than a sterile environment with everything put away just because I have children.

This year, I fell in love with these winter plates that I found at TJ Maxx. They go perfectly with my Christmas table scape! And yes, one has already been broken. I had to teach one child that when clearing the table, you can’t pick up the setting by the placemat to move it…

Harley followed me around today while I was taking pictures. She likes to sit under the tree and, as seen here, play with the trim on the stockings! She has enjoyed the Christmas decorations as much as everyone else!

Matti’s 6th Birthday

2011-12-08T10:18:00.001-08:00

This is the poster Matti helped make for her birthday spotlight at school. It pretty much sums up what this 6-year-old is all about. Matti has always been my little “sunshine”. As grandma Carmen puts it, she is always “full of joy”. She has a spunky, cheerful, creative spirit that will always brighten your day.

She is addicted to coloring. When we tell her it’s time to clean up, she always has to color “just one more thing”. And as you can see on her poster she wrote, “I love my cat”. She loves to make beds for Harley (see Harley in the laundry basket below) and dress her up in doll clothes.

She also loves mermaids. I’m not sure what started the fascination with them, but this is the 3rd year Matti has been a Mermaid for Halloween. They are her favorite toy.

I couldn’t imagine life without this cute little girl. She reminds me of me in a lot of ways. When I was little I could entertain myself for hours playing with my cat and making art projects like she does now. I have pictures of when I was little doing the same things at the same age which brings a smile to my face!

Losing Her First Tooth In Style

2011-12-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

The night before her 6 month check-up, her tooth was literally dangling by a thread, but we couldn’t get it out because her teeth were too dang tiny to grasp. So, we asked our dentist to do it. When I went back to watch him pull her first loose tooth, there Matti was, with her shades on, watching tv, headphones turned up. Needless to say, going to the dentist isn’t so bad anymore.

P.S. The tooth fairy had the night off since Matti wanted to keep her tooth!

Camouflage

2011-12-06T10:52:00.001-08:00

This isn’t a great picture. My finger is in the way and the room is dark. But it was one of those moments that I just had to grab my phone and snap a pic when I walked by Wyatt’s room yesterday and this is what I saw…

A Typical Sunday

2011-12-06T10:49:00.001-08:00

It doesn’t matter how early I wake up on Sunday. We have fallen into the habit of always being 10 minutes late and we end up waiting in the hall for the sacrament. My goal for the new year is to get there 10 minutes early! This particular week, I enjoyed watching the kids pile on the couch and entertain themselves and each other while waiting. The girls are reading “The Friend” Magazine and Cam and Matti are entertaining Colton. It’s such a joyful moment when your kids do what they’re supposed to do without being asked!

Double-Digits

2011-11-29T15:56:00.001-08:00

I was chastised today. One grandma, who will remain nameless, expressed her feelings of being tired of checking our blog and seeing the same thing for 3 weeks straight. So I thought I’d better get something new up on the blog to stay in her good graces.

What have we been doing? Although I’d like to say I have been taking it easy, putting my feet up and relaxing, we have had a lot going on. For 2 of those 3 weeks, 3 out of 8 of us had strep (including me) and 5 out of 8 had a bout of the stomach flu (including me). In the middle of that, I promised Brooklyn a “friend” party this year and had to keep up my end of the bargain. We also decorated for Christmas, I’ve been working on a big project for church, and I’m not only getting ready to move by organizing, purging and compartmentalizing, but I’ve been a little obsessed with how I’m going to decorate almost double the square footage we have now on a fairly small budget. Oh, and we got family pictures, I’m putting together Christmas cards and trying to make this holiday season merry and bright with the bazillion (not sure that’s a real word) other holiday things to do besides the regular motherly daily duties (like the 10 loads of laundry which was washed, folded and put away yesterday)… So, now that I know my kids have clean socks and underwear for at least the next 7 days, I guess I can spend the next few days catching up on the blog.

Brooklyn is ten years old. Justin couldn’t believe it. I’ve already experienced the trauma of my firstborn hitting double digits and almost hitting my mid-thirties, but he is just getting started. (I’m older and wiser than him for those of you out there that aren’t aware of that fact). Although the kids want friend parties every year, it’s a little expensive and crazy to do that with 6 kids. After much deliberation, we finally agreed to let the kids have a “friend” party on the even years, starting at age 8, since those are the majority of the “milestone” birthdays and a family party on the odd years. Everyone is happy with this compromise.

Brooklyn wanted a swimming party…in the middle of November. It ended up being a hit with the kids, our whole family could go and not necessarily be a part of the “girl” party, it kept the mess and entertaining at the pool and the kids were happy with an ice cream cone on the way home.

Brooklyn and some of her best friends enjoying her swim party.

A is for Apple

2011-11-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

Colton likes apples. I ordered some really expensive “organic” apples from Winder Dairy and put them in the fruit bowl on the counter. When I looked at them more closely one day, there was a little bite taken out of each one. Nice. Yesterday, Justin was talking to someone on the front porch. When he came back in, Colton had one in each hand and was switching off taking bites out of them. I’ve moved them into the fridge before, but I just don’t like cold apples. They hurt my teeth. I’ve moved the fruit on top of the fridge, but then we forget about it. I put our garden fresh yummy home-grown tomatoes in the fruit bowl this summer and apparently apples and tomatoes look a lot alike to Colton. He took a bite out of a few, but soon discovered it wasn’t the delicious crunch he was seeking and spit it out all over the floor. As you can see he likes apples so much that he eats the entire thing. The only evidence that’s left is the stem.

Progress on Our Casa

2011-11-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

For family and friends out of state or those who live nearby but haven’t gotten a chance to see the progress of our house, here it is today. There were 13 vehicles of various genres of workers working today. I think they are trying to get as much as they can done on the exterior before it snows tomorrow, that’s right for those of you living in warmer regions of the country, SNOW!

I’m sure it will look better without the dumpster and work vehicles in front of it, but it is taking shape. Framing is nearly done and the HVAC, plumbing, roof and electrical are being done as I type this! We don’t have a move in date, but we are happy to see constant progress!

“Hell”oween, I Mean Halloween

2011-11-04T13:41:00.001-07:00

It is my least favorite holiday. I would rather celebrate Arbor Day, Veterans Day, or even Bosses Day over Halloween. I guess I am the scrooge of Halloween if there is such a thing. This year, Justin and I played it smart. Some people said we were “cheaters”. Others called us “lazy”. But they didn’t have Colton to keep track of or push around in a stroller he’s too big for. So we came up with “Truck or Treating”. Yep. We drove around in the truck and followed the kids around the neighborhood. Colton was content with me feeding him Smarties, Justin was content not chasing Colton. I was content because everyone else was content. The kids thought we were awesome parents because we cut down on their candy gathering leg-work. When they finished going up and down a street, we hauled them to their next trick-or-treating destination within the neighborhood. I think we just found a new Halloween tradition.

Brit the cheerleader, Matti the Mermaid and Brooklyn the Hawaiian girl in the back of the truck ready for trick-or-treating,

Colton’s 4th Birthday

2011-11-04T13:21:00.001-07:00

Let me tell you a bit about this “little man”. Colton has definitely kept us on our toes, as I’m sure you’ve seen in past posts. He is certainly an enigma. We are constantly trying to figure out what’s going on with this kid, and I don’t know if we are getting any closer to an answer. We thought he was deaf because he didn’t have eye contact and played in his own little world, but got his hearing checked and it was fine. He constantly had ear infections, so we got him tubes. He couldn’t stick out his tongue, so we thought a tongue tie was the only thing holding him back from talking. 2 ENT’s said it wasn’t bad enough to clip, the 3rd one agreed to do surgery and once in there found his muscle pulled so tight that it was one of the worst tongue-ties he had seen. He still wasn’t talking and was severely developmentally delayed. Early intervention which included speech, occupational therapists and horseback riding therapy, helped us teach him how to chew, drink from a cup, eat with a fork and spoon, and teach him to follow one-step directions. He had the most foul diapers I have ever seen. I talked Justin into getting Colton’s blood tested, and we discovered he had Celiac’s disease (gluten allergy). So we put him on a gluten-free diet. We got him tested for Special Education, and he tested in the 1st percentile in all 5 areas of testing. He went to 2 specialists at the University of Utah, and each came out with a separate opinion, which got us no closer to figuring out what was wrong.

We recently took him to a 3rd evaluation to see if we could get an Autism diagnosis. After 2 observations, multiple tests and a large fee to get this all done, he has currently stumped the doctor/psychologist and we are still awaiting an answer. We thought he might have had a seizure, so our next step is an MRI and many other tests to see if he has Seizure Disorder. We don’t understand the spinning, fascination with lights and fans, the repetitive motion or the rocking. His brain is functioning at a very low IQ which is why he learns at an alarming slow rate. If he is taught something, his brain can’t access the information he has learned, and nobody knows why. All we want to do is help him learn, grow, progress and develop normally. It is beyond frustrating.

I had no idea when I married Justin the obstacles we would be facing with Colton. It has not been an easy road. It has caused sadness, contention, frustration and strife. But one thing is for sure. This boy is a special spirit. Even though he has been crying a lot lately (I call it “CNAR”, Crying for No Apparent Reason), he has always had a sweet disposition. He is never mean. He is a good traveler in the car. He is loving, and he loves to give hugs when you ask him to do something, and he doesn’t want to do it (he especially does that to his teacher at school). The kids love him and life would be boring and dull without him. I guess 5 other kids weren’t enough to teach the 2 most impatient people in the world (Justin and me) patience. We love you, Colton. Happy 4th Birthday!

Colton enjoying his gluten-free Rice Krispie Treat…no cake for this boy!

All Happy Together

2011-10-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

For family night, we continued another Halloween tradition; decorating a haunted gingerbread house. The decorating was fun, but the thing I enjoyed the most was taking a step back, glancing around the room and watching everyone content, doing their own thing while awaiting their turn. Cam was building Legos, Wyatt was popping the bubble wrap the house came in, Matti (seen in the background) was coloring her “scribble art”, Brooklyn was working on some art as well, all while Brit was taking her turn decorating. The TV was off and we were genuinely enjoying being together (I think Justin was enjoying putting Colton to bed. If not, he enjoyed the night after he was down). Sometimes it’s not the activity itself that’s important, the activity is the catalyst in bringing us together.

Sneak Peek

2011-10-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

The process of getting family pictures taken for a family of 8 is not fun. However, the girls got their braces off and have beautiful smiles now, and all of the kids have grown so much since our last picture (only a year and a half ago) that it was time to suck it up and do it again. All I wanted was ONE picture with everyone at least looking decent to hang in our new house. We haven’t gotten all the proofs back yet, but here is just a sneak peek of what we have seen so far:

I often feel tired, no, exhausted with our day-to-day life. Caring for a family of 8 is no easy task, especially when “clean your room” means throwing all your clean clothes (that mom just spent 12 hours washing, drying and folding) you don’t want to put away back into the laundry hamper for mom to wash again (that was the “teachable moment” this week)! But when I see these faces, I am reminded that motherhood is a great calling and I am doing the greatest thing on earth and one day (maybe not today) it will all have been worth the effort, sweat and tears.

Remember that little crying spree we had with Colton in Disneyland? Well, Justin woke him up from a nap for pictures (although he rarely takes naps these days, this HAD to be the day he fell asleep) and he was fussy, cranky and of course CRYING! He cried before, during and after these pictures, for a total of about 2 hours straight. I’m amazed these pictures turned out at all. His face was splotchy and snot was running out of his nose from crying.

Justin wanted a picture of just the two of us. Although I was reluctant, I like how it is super romantic with the sun shining down through the trees. Thanks to our friend and neighbor, Cassie, who took these shots. She did a great job capturing the Bancroft Bunch as we are now, October 2011. We are definitely a little older, a little wiser, and little more tired than we were a little over 2 years ago when we became one, but the kids are also smarter, easier and more helpful as well.

P.S. I will be keeping the family picture under wraps since I am saving them for Christmas cards. Gotta leave some surprises!

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

What is it about the pumpkin patch that’s so enjoyable? Here are the top 5 things we like to do while we’re there:

5. Search for and pick the “perfect” pumpkin.

4. Get lost in the corn maze.

3. Climb on the tractors. This patch has about 15 lined up just waiting to be climbed on! Not even Cam can resist!

2. Give each other wheelbarrow rides

And the #1 Reason we like to visit the pumpkin patch is to hang out with each other!

Which Witch is Which?

2011-10-24T11:23:00.001-07:00

Fall Break. What a great time to go on a witch scavenger hunt. At one of our favorite places, Gardner Village, we searched for a variety of witches including a witch landing her broom backwards, a witch with an “eye” phone, a witch fishing with dynamite and more. I think there were around 15 in all to find. We topped off the day with a trip to the old-fashioned candy store and a cookie from the bakery.

Visiting Gardner Village this time of year has been a tradition since we moved back to Salt Lake from Logan when Cam was just a toddler. He used to love it. Unfortunately, he was bored out of his mind this year and totally disinterested. When I asked him, “Which witch was your favorite?” he replied, “I don’t care”. He wasn’t being rude, he really just did not care. Here we go teenage years. What do you do with your kids when they outgrow traditions? Do you change them (the traditions, not the kids)? But what about the younger kids who still like to do them? Do you make the older kids participate anyway or do you just let them stay home and hang out with friends? I’m beginning to cross that bridge of autonomy and letting go with my tween and I’m not sure how to deal with it yet!

The Beach Boys…And Girls

2011-10-23T14:36:00.001-07:00

Our visit to Oceanside was a last-minute decision (like, there’s the exit, let’s take it) so we were not prepared with a change of clothes, towels or swimming suits. We didn’t even have a blanket because we had to make room for luggage. The kids were told they could play in the water up to their ankles, walk along the beach and hunt for shells. Hmmm. I guess our kids think their ankles are by their chests, because by the time we left, they were soaked, cold and itchy the whole way back to our hotel.

There’s really not much that feels better than burying your feet in soft, warm sand.

Taking Our Wild Animals to the Wild Animal Park

2011-10-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Our California trip (not vacation; vacations are restful) began at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. A bird show, tram safari ride to see many wild and endangered species, and petting zoo were just a few of the fun activities we enjoyed.

One of the kids’ favorite things was feeding nectar to the Lorikeets:

Colton learned the hard way not to pet the Lorikeets. They will bite. It hurts. And you will cry.

BEFORE AFTER

Here are a few of our favorite species we got to see in this baby factory. If you look closely, you can see the mama gorilla carrying her new baby. Since owls are my new favorite animal, I just had to snap a picture of this handsome guy. Last but not least, have you ever seen a 3000 pound nursing Rhino? Neither had we.

We’re BAAACK!

2011-10-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

If it seems like we have been MIA, it’s because we have been busy enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth, aka: Disneyland.

As you can see, we bravely brought Colton along with us this year. We got cold feet and almost canceled the trip a week before we were supposed to leave. But, his Special Ed teacher provided encouragement saying she thought he would absolutely love Disneyland. And we felt guilty not taking the other 5 after we had gotten them excited about going. But he did not like the rides. The first day, he only cried after getting off the rides. Here, he is on his very first ride on the Matterhorn:

The second day, he cried before, during and after the rides. In fact, he learned to start crying as soon as we got him out of the stroller and the entire time standing in line…

Granted, Tower of Terror is scary, so he was justified in crying on that ride, but The Chew Chew Train, Little Mermaid and slower than cold tar bumper cars?

We thought the rides, lights, treats, and action would have gotten this reaction from Colton. We could have saved a lot of money if we only would have known that a simple light-up bubble blowing toy would have made him this happy and excited.

Another problem that needed solving was Matti’s height. She was an inch too short to go on the Indiana Jones ride. She wanted to go sooooo bad, so we broke some rules. We folded napkins, put them in her socks and carried her through the line so they wouldn’t get compressed.

Although we generally had a good time, we aren’t going back for years and years after this trip. And, by the time we are brave enough to go again, the kids will probably be too old and disinterested in many of the attractions, so we justified making her a little taller just this one time.

Adventures in Babysitting Colton…

2011-10-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

We are sitting in the movie theatre enjoying Smurfs with the kids on the big screen. The phone rings. It’s the babysitter who is home with just Colton. Justin exits the theatre to answer her call and doesn’t come back. Wondering what happened, I found him in the hall, still on the phone. Was it an emergency? What was taking so long? Well, this is what happened:

Colton got a hold of some keys. Not just any keys. The keys that have a remote. Not a car remote. It looks like the remote to lock and unlock your car, but it happens to be a state-of-the-art remote that sets the house alarm and turns it off. Well, unbeknownst to our cute 14 year old sitter, he set the house alarm. Oh no, that’s not all. Of all nights, we were doorbell ditched. When she opened the door, the alarm went off.

That’s when the fun just began. Her phone dies while on the phone with Justin. She gets her mom’s phone and has Justin and the alarm company on each ear. The alarm doesn’t turn off with the code, so she has to manually power it down with step-by-step directions from the alarm company which included screwdrivers, wires and boxes, and going to multiple locations in our house to disarm it.

Luckily Colton slept through the whole thing. He is a sweet boy. I guess just like any other kid he has a way of getting into things when your back is momentarily turned. But for some reason, his silence and strength magnify the trouble he gets into. He literally has to be watched every second. And that’s why we pay our sitter well. She is a trooper!

Last Ride…For Now

2011-10-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Ever since Justin sold his Harley earlier this year, I’ve heard nothing but longing from him for another one. To pacify himself, he rented a Street Glide for a day. About 200 miles and a fun double date with our riding buddies later, he returned the bike with a little bit more satisfaction. Now he knows exactly what he wants when another mid-life crisis comes along and our house is built, furnished, landscaping complete, truck paid off and he’s done with his masters. He is planning on about 3 years from now, but my bet is that he will find a way sooner than later.

Our scenic ride around Utah Lake. It was so beautiful, I just had to grab my iphone and snap a pic. I love seeing the shadow of us cruizin’ on the open road.

We Have a Hole!

2011-09-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ok. So this may not seem exciting to anyone but us. Mind you, this simple step of moving dirt has been 3 months in the making and we are more than excited to see some action on our lot.

Wyatt’s 7th Birthday

2011-09-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

Wyatt got to celebrate his birthday Moes family style aka: stretched out for a couple of days. We all went to Olive Garden with several of the Grandparents. He got to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa Langston and the family on Thursday and finally when Dad was home on Friday he got to open his presents from Mom and Dad. It was a Transformer, Lego and airplane birthday. Happy birthday, Bubba. Love, Dad

Colton The Great

2011-09-25T17:38:00.001-07:00

Colton has one great magic trick called, “The Disappearing Act”. Whenever you take your eyes off of him for just a split second, he quietly disappears. He’s there, then without a trace or sound, he’s gone. He doesn’t make any noises or sounds since he is non-verbal, which makes him incredibly hard to track. That is exactly what happened today at church. We arrived our usual 15 minutes late and while waiting for the doors to the chapel to open, Justin turned his attention away for just a second and Poof! Colton vanished! Where had he gone? After looking in numerous classrooms, the bathroom, and up and down hallways, he was no where to be found! Colton decided to wander into the chapel and up onto the stand where the Priests were serving the Sacrament bread. He has a knack for finding food. Especially food he is allergic to. And can’t have. Luckily, one of the priests picked him up, sat him on his lap, and a neighbor brought him out. Mind you, we were still looking for him in all the nooks and crannies around us. Another story of “Colton the Great” keeping us on our toes.

I missed most of the excitement. I had to run Matti back home because she had worn her Nike sandals to church with her pretty dress and I didn’t notice until we got there, so she had to go home and change. Good thing we don’t live miles and miles away. There’s never a dull moment in our household.

Cruisin’ on a Two Wheeler

2011-09-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

“I just can’t believe it mom. I can balance on a tw0-wheeler. I just can’t believe it”. Another milestone has been hit with this little bundle of energy. This weekend Matti has been practicing her newly acquired skill of riding a bike without training wheels. She went from wobbling and falling in the grass to cruising in just a few hours. All she wants to do is ride her bike every waking second. Her coach and cheerleader, Britney, is seen here cheering her on.

Breakfast of Champions

2011-09-23T14:15:00.001-07:00

The kids had cinnamon rolls for a special breakfast treat today. Well most of them had cinnamon rolls. After the children left for school and the dust settled, I found these leftovers on the counter. Nothing like cinnamon roll frosting as a healthy way to start the day. Yep. This one had been licked clean. Would you like some cinnamon roll with your frosting?

Parenting 101

2011-09-23T13:47:00.001-07:00

I am learning it’s just as important to learn what not to do as it is to learn what to do. Today, I learned not to leave the trampoline too close to the deck, or play set, or anything at all. The landscaper that takes care of our lawn moves the tramp around the yard to keep the lawn healthier. Today while I decided to sit down at my desk to catch up on some computer time, Matti closed the blinds so I could not see outside. She kept running in from outside saying, “Mom, you’re still there?” I knew she was trying to hide something, so I opened the blinds and caught her climbing on the deck railing ready to jump over the safety net onto the trampoline. I asked, “Matti, have you been jumping off the deck onto the tramp?” She of course blamed her older sister saying that it was “Brooklyn’s idea yesterday. She double-dog dared me”. I can expect this from an 11 year old, but a 5 year old? She’s fearless, to say the least.

It brought back vivid memories of jumping off the roof of our childhood house using a garbage bag as a parachute. (It didn’t work very well, but there were no broken bones) or my big brother, Casey, lowering our nephew from the roof of our house tied to a rope. (Mom was shocked to look out the window and see her toddler grandson dangling in front of the window). It’s so hard to get mad at because we did the same stuff when we were kids. I just have to laugh and be thankful that I caught it before anyone got hurt. Not in the mood for an emergency room visit.

The Window Watcher

2011-09-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

If you drive by our house, you will most likely see a cute little face peering out the window. Looking out the window is one of Colton’s new favorite past times. But that’s not all I want to share about this story. You see, there’s more. Brooklyn went to let Colton out of his room after quiet time and he was soaking wet, from his waist up. We couldn’t figure it out at first. Did he pee straight up? Where did all the water come from? Justin went to his room and found a wide-open window, screen missing, nightstand and carpet soaking wet. We looked outside, found the screen on the ground along with Colton’s 2 favorite blankets. Apparently it wasn’t enough to watch the rain. He felt like playing in it too. I had cracked the window an inch or two so he had some fresh air. Big mistake. He is so strong that he pushed it all the way open and pushed the screen out too. I’m just glad he didn’t break the glass and fall out.

Colton takes baby-proofing to a whole new level. Here’s what’s on our list to “Colton proof” Colton’s next bedroom (and I’m totally not kidding): Shatterproof glass with blinds between the panes, solid wood door, no bifold closet doors for him to pull off the hinges, baby monitor with camera (so we can keep a better eye on how he is creatively and destructively entertaining himself), and probably a pull-string light switch that he cannot reach to turn his lights on and off at 2am. This kid definitely keeps us on our toes.

Rivalry Week

2011-09-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

Little did we know the history-making game that was about to occur when we snapped this pic. Utah had the widest margin victory against long-time rival BYU, winning by a whopping 44 points and we were there to personally witness it. Justin and I were surrounded by BYU fans that were disturbed by their own team’s performance. All I care about was that my husband got his money’s worth out of the tickets he purchased for this away game and that he came home a very happy (Utah) man.

BFF’s

2011-09-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Meet Cam’s new friend, Bridger. He is in Cam’s 6th Grade class at school. Don’t adjust your screen. I did not photoshop anything. He is 11 years old and he really is that tall. When Cam brought him over, I ran downstairs to introduce myself. I was certainly surprised when I peeked behind the door and had to look up to say, “hello”! I asked him if he was the tallest kid in class and he said he wasn’t! It made me realize that sooner than later, Cam will hit a growth spurt and I will be looking up to talk to him too.

One, Two, Buckle Your Shoe…

2011-09-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

I try to buy kids watches with faces so they learn to tell the time. I bought Matti shoes with laces so she would have to learn to tie her shoes. And this week, she did. She is so proud of herself. The sad thing is that I think she can tie shoes better than Cam. My fault for buying him shoes with velcro all these years…

Reading Buddies

2011-09-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

As moms, we can’t do everything ourselves. I’ve tried and I just end up burned out and overwhelmed. All of our children are required to read (or be read to) 20-30 min each night for school. In my case, I can’t listen/read to 6 children every night. I know how to run a large classroom, and that’s what our household often feels like, so I often incorporate strategies I used in my classroom at home.

Every Friday I had the 6th graders help with my 3rd graders taking turns reading to each other. Both groups benefited from this interaction; they made new friends, gave service and I got to be efficient with my time. So, why not put this into action in my own home? This week I started having the older kids take turns reading to the younger kids. We started out with a 15 minute time limit (they weren’t super-excited about my hair-brained idea) and read short stories from Highlights Magazine or our church magazine, The Friend. When the timer went off, they surprisingly kept reading. I sat down and supervised to keep them on task and listen in, but how awesome is it that I just saved a ton of time, my kids get to build relationships with one another and they become better readers in the end?

A New Milestone

2011-09-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

The one who used to not care about what was going on in the world around him now cares. As soon as the big yellow bus pulled up in front of our house, he turned to go the other way. Colton did not want to get on the bus to go to school. You can see it in his face!

His teacher couldn’t believe how much he had grown over the summer. She thought he had gained at least 10 pounds. Not only did he grow physically, Colton also grew in awareness of what was going on around him which is huge in his development. We have been working on this with him for 2 years. At 20 months old, when I met him, Colton was oblivious to what was going on around him. We thought he was deaf because of his lack of interaction, eye contact and response. I took him to get a hearing test, and he passed with flying colors. We then tried animal therapy. Every Friday he got to go horseback riding to help get him out of his own little world and increase his awareness of what was going on around him. His progress has been slow, to say the least.

He is finally getting pickier in his food choices, when once upon a time this glutton would eat whatever he was given. He has wants. And he cries and gets upset when he doesn’t get what he wants just like any normal kid. We took the kids to Olive Garden for lunch one day. Colton was so upset that he couldn’t have a breadstick. He wanted one so bad. The rest of us were eating them. He reached for one over and over. He didn’t understand that because of his Celiac’s Disease that he couldn’t have one. But the point is that he wanted something and pointed to it. His favorite (annoying) toy needed new batteries. He brought it to Justin for him to fix. Justin put new batteries in it and Colton couldn’t have been a happier boy. He points to go outside, and there’s no getting through a drive through leaving him out when everyone else gets a treat.

So, I guess the moral of the story is to be careful for what you ask for…you just might get it! Although this new awareness has opened up a lot of challenges, his teacher assured me that as soon as he figures out how to get what he wants, he will go back to being his mellow, sweet self. In the meantime, we are happy to see Colton hit a new milestone.

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

At 7:15 this morning she ran into our bedroom dressed and ready to go and said, “Mom, I’m ready for my first day of school!” Matti was nothing but excited to start her first day of Kindergarten. With the older kids at school, Matti and I have had lots of time together this past week. She is definitely a “momma’s girl”. She still sits on my lap and runs lots of errands with me. But, as attached as she is, she also sports an independent side. At the sound of the bell, she fearlessly lined up with the rest of her peers and walked into her class with nothing but poise.

Student of the Week–Wyatt Bancroft

2011-08-29T15:27:00.001-07:00

The kids were surprised when they heard Wyatt’s name over the loud speaker first thing this morning during Monday announcements. Chosen as this week’s Student of the Week for First Grade, Wyatt’s teacher said he was a great listener, obedient and kind. He is already a great reader and writer and she likes his smile. What a fun surprise!

Ready, Aim, Fire!

2011-08-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

I’ve tried to avoid them my entire life. Guns in general make me nervous. Toy guns were not allowed in our house for a long time. I didn’t even allow them in video game play. But now I have a son who really enjoys going shooting and since has learned gun safety through scouting. As happy as a kid in a candy store, Cam was giddy when Justin took him up into the hills by our house for some target practice.

Back to School 2011

2011-08-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

This morning couldn’t have gone any smoother. The kids woke themselves up, showered, got dressed, combed their hair, fed themselves breakfast and were ready for school on time with beds made and rooms straightened. Was I dreaming? Part of our success was because clothes and backpacks were set out the night before (and we did supervise to keep things moving). Even though the girls’ blow drying their hair was Wyatt’s alarm clock (we heard him tell the girls they were being too loud), there were no complaints, no fighting, no tardiness.

Since we had a good morning, I wondered if the day continued to be as good for the kids as it was for me (haha). Everyone had someone to sit by at lunch. Good. Everyone came home hungry and happy. Good. During their after school snack, I asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was and they all had something they liked about the day. Good. Here’s what they said:

Wyatt: “Recess” (I expected this to be Cam’s answer since this has been his favorite thing about school since Kindergarten)

Brooklyn: “All the art we made”

Brit: “Everything”

Cam: “Getting to know everyone” (Cam has always been really good at making friends. It truly is a talent of his. This year all of his friends are in other classes, so I am happy to hear that he met some new people)

As Justin yelled “goodbye” to Cam, we got a “nod”. Surprisingly, it was watching Cam head into 6th grade that brought tears to my eyes today. What a great start to the school year! It’s gonna be a good one!

“H” is for “Hee Haw” Farms

2011-08-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

As we walked up to the petting zoo, Grandma Carmen glanced over an saw a brand new lamb. The little newborn was still wet and hadn’t even gotten up on all 4’s yet. In fact, the workers on the farm weren’t even aware of its new arrival! We unexpectedly got to experience a once in a lifetime event!

Mama sheep and her newborn baby…

My filthy animals: Wyatt the goat, Brooklyn the sheep, Brit the horse and Matti the piggy. Notice Cam isn’t with us. We have officially hit the tween years with him. He would rather stay home and play with his friends than go on all these fun adventures with us.

Dear Blog,

2011-08-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

I originally started you because it was my first winter at home with 6 kids. I had spent the previous 2 years staying busy with my teaching career. I have to admit, going from 3 to 6 children was (and still is some days) a shock to my system. In the dead of winter I started having a hard time finding the good in each monotonous day filled with cooking, cleaning up messes, cooking again, cleaning up again, entertaining, watching, teaching,helping and disciplining children, trying to keep my house clean, repeating myself over and over and just plain being cooped in through a long cold winter. It was driving me crazy.

I wanted to use you, dear blog, as a catalyst to look for the good, positive things each day, and it has served its purpose, for nearly 6 months now. However, now posting every day has become more of a chore than fun, so I am happy to say that I am moving on to a new chapter. That chapter is going to create a new and improved me. Through this period of adjustment and change, I have learned that in the process of trying to be the perfect “supermom” of 6, I have become exhausted, cranky, tired, boring, stressed, and unhealthy because my life is totally out of balance. The turning point was going to the dentist this summer. Even though I go every 6 months, since I had been last, he had noticed my worn away teeth. I had started grinding my teeth in my sleep as a result of stress which resulted in waking up with daily headaches and still feeling exhausted, even after a full-night’s sleep.

So…I am going to try to seek balance emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. I am going to take care of my body by eating well and taking the time to exercise. I am going to make time to hang out with friends and neighbors. I am going to learn some new things and find some new hobbies, and I am going to make scripture study a priority. I am going to get a babysitter when I feel overwhelmed. I am going to wear the cute clothes and jewelry I already own and not sweats and t-shirts. I am going to put makeup on every day. I think I will be an even better mom and wife if I learn who I am, feel good and love life again. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Please don’t feel abandoned. I am still going to post and share, just not every day.

Love,

Kari

Day 173–“G” is for “Green” Lunch

2011-07-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered that planning a meal around “green” is too healthy of a color for lunch. It was more like, “green snack”. I could see the disappointment on Cam’s face when I brought out a tray of green fruits and veggies. I may have redeemed myself with lime-flavored popsicles at the end, but the kids already requested “orange” lunch and planned a menu of cheetos, macaroni & cheese, carrots and orange Creamies for next time.

Day 172–“V” is for “Visit Gardner Village”

2011-07-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

This turned into another educational trip, by accident. I guess that’s what happens when the kids hang out with 2 former teachers (mom and grandma) for the day. Grandma Carmen discovered that the kids could complete a scavenger hunt throughout the village and get a free lunch at Archibald’s (one of our favorite restaurants) so we did it. We learned a few new things about the history of Gardner Village like how tall the water wheel is (16 feet if you were wondering), which house didn’t have an indoor bathroom until the mid 1950’s and that the Spa used to house small arms during WWII.

Justin should have come with us. He thought Gardner Village was built about 15 years ago….

Day 171–Christmas in July

2011-07-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

History repeated itself today when Matti and Britney decided to find things from around the house, wrap them up and give them to me and Justin. I used to do this when I was little. In fact, it was one of my earliest memories. I was in Kindergarten and wrapped up a comb for my mom to open for Christmas (I can only imagine her excitement when she opened it). Today, you should have seen the delight in Matti’s eyes when we spread the gifts out on the bedroom floor and opened them one by one. She actually found the joy in gift-giving!

Day 170– “Fandom”

2011-07-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

Justin puts on a “Tapout” t-shirt, and I know we will be spending the evening with friends watching the UFC fights. When it comes to watching sporting events, I always know what team and sport we’ll be watching before the event has even started. All I have to do is look at what my husband is wearing and I know who we will watching and rooting for, what teams are playing and where we will be going. In fact, it has a name. It’s called, “fandom”. My husband has it, and it knows no bounds. He couldn’t even attend our first Real Salt Lake game without his “fandom” (dressing as a fan of the team he is rooting for), which usually includes a jersey and a hat. Dressing in normal street clothes is a “no, no” and Justin wouldn’t be caught dead in anything other than his sports attire at a sporting event.

The worst “fandom” experience ever was when he made me wear a Rams jersey to an Oakland Raiders game last year. In a sea of black and white, there we were, wearing blue and gold. I’m surprised we made it out of there alive. If there was one game to wear street clothes or silently cheer for your team, that would have been it. I couldn’t get to the hotel fast enough to change into clothes that wouldn’t get me shot, beaten or verbally abused.

Day 169–More Wedding Bells

2011-07-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

No one has gotten married (except me) for over a decade in my family and now, we have 2 weddings in 2 weeks. I met my cute nephew’s fiance, Kristen, this weekend. As she opened her gifts, we were asked to share advice with the bride. At first, I laughed at the thought that I was about to give advice on marriage, but then I realized that I have learned a thing or two about marriage in my life experience thus far. I shared the counsel from Elder David B. Haight’s son (who sealed us in January) to speak with a soft voice and hold hands. These 2 simple things, when we remember to do them, help us have so much peace, harmony and joy in our home and relationship.

From left to right: Me, Kristen, Mom (Carmen), Lissa and Katy (front)

Day 168–Happily Ever After

2011-07-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

Life has unexpected surprises. If you have yet to be surprised, consider yourself lucky and watch out! Today, my niece started her new life with her sweet husband that treats her well and gained 2 new daughters. I am happy that she is happy and wish her the best! Congratulations Nicolette!

Day 167–Procrastination

2011-07-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

I like to make lists. I like to have a plan. I don’t like to leave things to the last minute. I like preparation. With that being said, I have been a real estate agent for 6 years. Since I am raising a family of 6 young children, I thought I would put my license on inactive status when renewal time rolled around. Well, since we purchased our home last week, and I am now my husband’s agent, I get to somehow find time for 18 clock hours of continuing education to renew my license before it expires in the next week. Yay. No stress. No pressure. You may not hear from me until August, but at least you’ll know that I didn’t fall off the face of the earth. I am just studying in my “free time”.

Day 166– Yours, Mine & Ours

2011-07-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

No, I’m not talking about kids (yet). I’m talking about the advice we got from a really smart lady with a blended family of 10 kids. She pointed out that in order to make a blended family work, we really needed to focus on working towards making things “ours”. So, we started out with a joint bank account a few months ago and have moved on to the second step, which is building a home that is neither “his” or “mine”, but “ours”. Yes, later down the road we will have a Bancroft bundle, but no announcements today. We are taking baby steps, and that is just a figure of speech, no pun intended.

I am a week and a half behind on the blog because we have been busy researching builders, scoping out lots, studying floorplans to accommodate a family of 8, and selecting the colors of wood, granite, carpet and cabinets that are all going to come together by the end of the year to produce a home of our own. We love our neighbors, school, church and location, so we are moving about 3 blocks from where we live now and we can’t wait!!!

We will be building a different elevation of this house, since this one isn’t an option in our neighborhood. The 3 girls share a room now (yes, just like the Brady Bunch) and it is just like a dorm party down there every night. The kids will be in shock and lonely when they all have their own room, but Justin and I can’t wait for the peace and quiet as a result of separating them!

Day 165–The Tooth Fairy Strikes Again

2011-07-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Actually, we need a guest bedroom for the tooth fairy, since she visits so often. This week it was Cam’s turn to lose a tooth. Who will be next?

Day 164–“O” is for “Outdoor” Smores

2011-07-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Last year, we made an indoor tent under our dining room table and made indoor smores, which is my kind of “camping”. This year we put the fire pit to some use and made some authentic outdoor smores for our alphabet summer, letter “O”. Having Colton around the fire sent me into anxiety mode, and I had an extra load of laundry to do because everyone smelled like camp fire, but the extra work was worth these smiles. (That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway…)

Day 163–Life Lesson

2011-07-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

The room was completely silent. As a belt test requirement, each Taekwondo student performed a series of forms and/or kick sequences in front of not only their instructor, but other students and parents. Today Cam had his green belt test. During the test he could not execute a certain form correctly. The instructor stopped him and let him start over, three times to be exact, but Cam just couldn’t get it. Everyone in the room passed their belt tests and moved on, except for Cam.

The instructor said he had been a little too “nice” in the past passing students when they really shouldn’t have passed their belt tests. I want Cam to pass his tests because he learned Taekwondo correctly and I admire his instructor for upholding such high standards. Yes, I wanted him to succeed so badly that day. It was hard to watch my 11 year old “fail”. Cam was upset and tried to blame the instructor for teaching him wrong. I had to set him straight. He needed to learn to take responsibility for his actions, be humble and admit that he was wrong and ask his instructor to teach him the correct way to do the form again, and learn patience in the meantime. He learned that he needed to practice harder and do better next time. I can’t think of a better way for him to learn the life lesson that it’s ok to fail, and you can turn those failures into great successes.

Day 162– “P” is for Popsicles at the Park

2011-07-15T10:56:00.001-07:00

There just happened to be 2 boys selling popsicles at the park. As the kids swarmed around their blue cooler, these little businessmen turned our outing into Alphabet Summer, Letter “P”. We have been experiencing monsoon weather for the last week and a half, so these popsicles came at the perfect timing for our first sunny 90 degree summer day in awhile.

Day 161–What Love Looks Like…

2011-07-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

This morning, Brit climbed in bed with none other than Harley. As soon as she wakes up in the morning, the search is on for her furry friend. Brit loves this cat. We were laughing because Harley kept purring and softly touching Brit’s nose. I think she loves us as much as we love her.

Day 160–“Kari Out”

2011-07-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Fortune Cookie Says: Your name is going to be on the take out box…

Day 159–“N” is for Nature Walk

2011-07-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

We took a nature walk around the lake to see how many different kinds of animals, birds, spiders and insects we could spot along the way. In just a short walk, we saw: fish, dragonflies, ladybugs, birds, seagulls, geese, ducks, ants, hornets, butterflies, worms and spiders just to name a few.

Day 158–“D” is for Daybreak Lake

2011-07-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Although I would have liked to take the kids to a “real” beach, they still enjoyed feeling the sand between their toes and building sand castles at Daybreak Lake.

Day 157–American Vacation

2011-07-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

As opposed to “European Vacation” to the average American, I suppose visiting the states to the Europeans is “American Vacation”. Meet my oldest brother, Ronald and my sister-in-law, Jose. They are native Hollanders living in a village called “Abcoude” in the Netherlands. He is the oldest of 8, I am the youngest. There is a 23-year age difference between us.

While growing up, Casey and I knew that we had a brother in the Netherlands somewhere. Growing up as an only child, Ronald had no clue that he would be the oldest brother of 5 other half siblings and 2 step siblings in the United States until about 8 years ago, which was the first time we met. Ronald’s mom and my dad were married a mere 3 months. The couple divorced and Ronald was given a different last name as an infant. My dad was unable to track him down in Europe. My brother found my dad through the American Red Cross and brought his wife to the states to meet the family he never knew he had in 2003.

I remember during that first meeting, I kept catching Jose, his wife, staring at me. Later I found out that she was in disbelief in how I resembled their oldest daughter, Karen, who was just a few years younger than me. We both had blonde hair, blue eyes, a similar build and our two front teeth even had the same small gap in between them. We all couldn’t believe how Ronald had similar mannerisms (ie: talking with his hands) and stature as dad.

In 2004, Casey, and I, along with dad, visited Ronald and Jose in Holland at their home in Abcoude to get to know them better and meet our nieces, Karen and Daphne. Ronald graciously took us to many of Amsterdam’s tourist attractions such as the Van Gogh Museum, Rembrant Square, The Anne Frank House, The North Sea and even the Red Light District (we went during the day, haha). We even met our “Oma” (grandma) for the first time together. At the time she was 94, and is now 100.

Since then, Ronald and Jose have visited the states 2 more times and even brought their best friends, Pauline and Ruud, who have also become good friends of ours. They love visiting Park City (the men spent half a day in the Tommy Hilfiger outlet store and Ronald was their best customer that day). They are in awe with how inexpensive, houses, cars, gas and clothes are here. They love to take my dad’s truck and visit the surrounding sights and cities. They are currently visiting Yellowstone and will be touring the U.S. for the next 5 weeks.

Ronald and his family are an important part of my heritage. They represent my family roots and where I come from. Last night at dinner, we discovered that we have the same nose. How did we not notice that before? We are both teachers and real estate agents as well. I am so glad to have them as a part of my life and hope to visit them in Holland again soon.

From left to right, top to bottom:

Me, Mom, Pauline, Jose, Ruud, Ronald, Justin and Dad

Day 156–Lost and Found

2011-07-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

She was lost…so we thought. Matti, Brit and Brookyn were enjoying the lazy river. Justin and I waved as they floated by on their tubes. But then, I only saw Brooklyn and Brit. Panic set in immediately. Matti was there one minute, gone the next…a parent’s nightmare. I searched the river and pool. As I headed over to scout the waterslides, I stopped by our chairs, getting ready to freak out, when I glanced over and saw a lumpy towel on the chair. Inside that lumpy towel was Matti, fast asleep.

Day 155–Fire, Fire!

2011-07-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

What 11 year old boy doesn’t like fire? Since he is currently a Boy Scout, we let Cam light all the fireworks on the 4th of July this year. Anytime there is a candle to burn, Cameron is more than willing to take care of lighting it. On her birthday, he lit Brit’s candles, let her blow them out, and lit them again. I finally had to take the lighter away in fear that all the smoke from the blown out candles would cause the fire alarm to go off!

Day 154–Britney Turns 9

2011-07-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

9 years ago today, I had my first baby girl. I was so excited for a girl that not a day went by that she didn’t have a bow in her hair and a cute matching outfit. Here we are 9 years later. My daughter is growing up. She has braces, plays the piano, picks her own outfits, does her own hair and is starting 4th Grade in the fall. I love you, Brit!

Day 153–Project Tiki Torch

2011-07-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Justin and I have a few favorite shows that we cuddle up to and enjoy watching together after the kids to to bed. One of our current favorites is Yard Crashers on the DIY network. Because of the show, Justin wants to do all kinds of over-the-top back yard projects like installing a water feature, outdoor fireplace and french drains, even though we don’t need them. I just smile and nod when he starts talking about doing “projects”. He is not a project-person (although he is really good at picking up the phone to get professionals on the job). Instead of digging up the yard, he started with a smaller project…thankfully.

We have a lot of mosquitos this year to do the excess rain and living by the lake. So, Justin came up with his very own self-created DIY project. Today, he went to the home-improvement store and created these tiki torch stands. He put pvc pipe into a pot, poured Quikrete around it, then slid the torches right into the pipe to hold it upright. We have 4 of these on the 4 corners of our deck that keep us from being eaten alive in the evenings. Good job honey.

Day 152–My Dad’s Story—The Cliff Notes Version

2011-07-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/21415

Published July 5, 2011

“You know, you're married to a page in history,” a friend once told Carmen Moes.

There’s no better way to describe the life story of her husband, Hubert Moes (pronounced “moose”).

Today, Hubert Moes is a tall, handsome man wearing bifocals and house shoes. He has a Dutch accent and soft voice but is by no means soft-spoken. One minute, he’ll be getting teary-eyed talking about an emotional moment in his life. The next, he’ll be on his hands and knees to illustrate a story. His whole face lights up when he smiles — and that happens a lot. “Hu” is always cracking jokes.

Carmen says her husband is quite the character. “Oh that’s just Hubert” is a bit of a catchphrase in their home, she said.

Hubert returned in early June from a cross-country motorcycle ride to Washington, D.C., by way of California for a special Memorial Day gathering at the Veterans Memorial. A three-week journey like that is incredible as it is.

But Hubert is 78 years old.

“He doesn’t know he’s old,” Carmen said.

These days, Hubert splits his time between spending time with family, riding with the Temple Riders Association, restoring a Triumph TR6, serving in the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple and being an all-around cheerful man.

“He’s just all the good things you can say about anyone,” said Don Mortenson, a sealer at the temple who works with Hubert and used his story in a fireside.

But Hubert's life — and personality — haven't always been this way.

“My story as a child and a teenager was not pretty”

Hubert was born in 1932 to a Dutch father and Indonesian mother in what was then the Dutch East Indies.

World War II was full of atrocities, especially Nazi concentration camps and the genocide of Jews. With a very European-focused history, it’s all too easy to forget what happened in Asia before Hiroshima.

Beginning in 1941, the Indies was overrun by the Japanese. Hubert was living with his family on the island of Java, which was rich in oil, rubber, rice and coffee — all a major draw for the Japanese armies.

In 1942, Hubert, the oldest of six children, was taken with his family and put in an internment camp. The young boys were considered “men” once they were 10 years old. Hubert reached that age after about a year in the camp and was moved from where his family was held to an old monastery housing more than 7,000 men and boys. They were forced to work in fields and on a railroad.

Prisoners were given very little food to survive on. Adults died by the tens daily. Hubert and another boy once stole two bananas from a Japanese-owned tree because they were hungry. As punishment, they were beaten and locked up in isolation for 40 days. He and the other boy communicated by knocking on the wall between them.

“After a while — no more knocks,” Hubert said. The other boy was dead.

Hubert spent 3 1/2 years in the camp until they were freed in August 1945. His family fell apart, and his life spiraled out of control.

“I carried that with me, that hatred toward the Japanese and even toward other people, for a long, long time,” Hubert said. “Consequently, my attitude towards people was pretty negative.”

His wife agrees. “Everybody was an enemy to him after the war … a lot of times it was the people closest to him.”

That hatred took him into a world of heavy drinking and smoking that lasted through much of his service with the Dutch air force. In April 1960, while stationed in the Netherlands, he collapsed. The doctor found spots in Hubert's lungs, and his liver was almost completely gone. He was given six to eight months to live.

“I got shocked,” he said. “I got scared.”

He started to clean up his act, and soon a young naval officer asked Hubert if he could give her a ride to church. It was an LDS Church. Hubert was baptized Aug. 5, 1960.

“And by the way,” Hubert said, leaning forward and lowering his voice a bit, “the young ladies were so pretty in church, and I was single,” he laughed as Carmen sighed.

Shortly after Hubert joined, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints needed some people who could build chapels. Hubert had his visa ready to go to the United States. But in an experience he said was “like Samuel,” he was awakened in the middle of the night and told to stay and serve. His service helped him in more ways than one.

“That was simply something that I had to do … to get rid of the urge.” His more structured life during his 2 1/2 years of service helped him resist the need to smoke or stop in the bar on the corner.

Not changed enough

Although he had quit drinking and smoking and had joined the church, Hubert still struggled for about 45 years. He suffered from chronic migraines and nightmares.

“I’d see the bayonets still coming, and the Samurai still coming, and the beheadings,” he said of his nightmares.

Two marriages failed because he was just too hard to live with. His 40-year marriage to Carmen hasn’t been without struggles, either. Ten years into their marriage, Carmen took the kids and left temporarily.

“There wasn’t even a profile for him, he was so screwed up,” she said. But he sought help, and Carmen came back.

“She worked real hard and used her skills to make me change and think differently,” Hubert said of his wife.

He remembers talking years ago to former fellow ward member and Japanese internment camp survivor Gene Jacobsen, author of “We Refused to Die.”

“I remember the cigarette burns on my body and the stabbing with the bayonet. I said, ‘I cannot forget that.'" Jacobsen told him to forgive the Japanese because it would change Hubert's life as it did his.

“He was able to refine himself and get over it, and I didn’t,” Hubert said. “I had to carry it with me.”

Hubert's final turning point happened just more than 10 years ago when James Matsumori, the current president of the Washington D.C. North Mission and husband of former general Primary presidency member Vicki Matsumori, was called as the stake president over Hubert's old stake in Murray, Utah.

“It felt like I was kicked real hard in the butt,” he said of finding out about the calling. At the time, he was serving as the stake’s satellite specialist. In the years Hubert worked with Matsumori, he grew to love and respect him.

“He is the most wonderful man that I’ve ever run into, especially (for being) Japanese,” Hubert said. His relationship with Matsumori helped change his view of all Japanese people.

”They had a conversation and big hug where everything just kind of melted away,” Carmen said, describing a particular Sunday morning that found the two men setting up for a broadcast.

“We were just bawling like little kids,” Hubert said. “That was the point that I — sorry, I may get a little emotional — that was the point that made … the change in me. … It was the bottom line and the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.”

A second life

“Well, after that was taken care of and I was able to change my system, not to accuse them (the Japanese) anymore, not to carry it anymore, I became a normal person,” he said, starting to choke up.

“Almost,” his wife interjected. The two laughed together.

“He’s over it so much that it’s almost like it’s another person’s life,” Carmen said.

“Now it is a story,” Hubert said. He is able to talk about it openly now, and he uses his story to teach others.

Hubert learned an incredible lesson of forgiveness and said, “You cannot honor our Heavenly Father if you hate your neighbor.” He has accepted that everyone, including anyone who is Japanese, counts as his neighbor and that it is “dumb” to not let go of things and forgive.

“You cannot with that attitude and that feeling in yourself, there’s no way that you can be uplifted and happy,” he said.

Hubert has certainly been humbled by his experience.

“What I learned over the years about the gospel as it is taught to me and about living it, and looking back, I have absolutely no business of walking on this earth today.”

Hubert lives in a beautiful home in Riverton, Utah, just a three-minute drive from the temple he serves in. He considers his service there to be payback for a good life, success, a good home and “a fantastic wife.”

He has told the story of what he calls his “first life” in firesides, presentations and to others who simply ask. His “first life” is far behind him now.

“I am happy,” he said. “I am free.”

Day 151–“C” is for Cowabunga Bay

2011-07-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Matti calls it “Calabunga Bay”. However you say it, summer just isn’t summer without a visit to the local waterpark. The kids were big enough this year to ride everything without an adult, so I paired them up and let them run free.

Day 150–God Bless the U.S.A.

2011-07-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

I love my husband. He is a Marine, and I am proud of that. He loves his country. He is patriotic. And there’s no one I would rather be celebrating our nations birthday with. It’s people like him, past and present, who have sacrificed, served and made our nation what it is today.

Day 149–All-American Tradition

2011-07-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

The 4th just isn’t complete without homemade ice cream. Grandma Carmen used an old family recipe passed down from generation to generation. Along with the recipe came stories about how there was no electricity on the farm until she was 10 years old. The crank on the ice cream machine had to be turned by hand. Whether cranked by hand or by electricity, this sweet treat is worth the work and the wait!

Day 148–White House Trivia

2011-07-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Did you know the White House has 6000 visitors a day, 32 bathrooms and it takes 570 gallons of paint to cover the outside surface? What a better way to show our love for our country this weekend by learning more about it? Today we played White House Trivia. The kids learned some interesting facts about our nation’s capitol and I got to put part of my Patriotism unit to use one more time!

Day 147–Flipping for Flip Flops

2011-06-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

While shopping for a printer stand at none other than Hobby Lobby, we ran into a shelf full of flip flops just waiting to be decorated. The girls picked their own ribbons and started tying away, proudly creating their very own designer footwear.

Day 146–Lego Land

2011-06-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

No, not the one in California, the one in Cam’s bedroom. He will disappear and put together an entire kit that would take a day or two to assemble, in an hour. He creates and redesigns over and over. He loves Legos because they can be fixed if they break. Although this 6th grader is growing up too fast, I can appreciate that he still likes to play with his Legos.

Day 145-A Girl With a Spring in Her Step

2011-06-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Matti doesn’t know how to walk. She dances, twirls, hops and jumps to get from point A to point B. She was born with a song in her heart and she just can’t keep from dancing whenever she hears music. The latest performance she was a part of was “The 12 Dancing Princesses”. Before her performance she reassured me by saying, “Mom, I know all the moves”. And she did.

Day 144–”J” is for “Jump” On It

2011-06-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

Joy was written all over their faces as we walked into a warehouse full of trampolines connected from end to end. It’s a kid’s dream. But it’s a parents dream too because at the end of a mere hour of kids jumping, bouncing, flipping and hurling themselves into the foam pit, they come home tired and ready for bed, just as mom and dad planned. Topped off with cold water and an ice cream cone on the way home, it’s a win/win situation for all.

Family Night @ Jump On It

Day 143–“Don’t Eat the Green Part, Colton!”

2011-06-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Colton eats pretty much anything and everything. He eats entire apples, leaving just the stem behind. This is the first time we gave him a slice of watermelon. He kept trying to eat the green part, so I yelled, “Don’t eat the green part, Colton, eat the red part!” After reminding him a few times, this suddenly became a game. He would put the green part to his mouth just to see if we were watching. Then we would all chant, “Don’t eat the green part, Colton!” and he would laugh hysterically. There’s a lot more going on in his mind than we give him credit for!

Day 142–Boys Day Out

2011-06-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

While the cat’s away, the mice will play! While I was packing up camp at Youth Conference, Justin, Wyatt, Cameron and Grandpa Hubert headed out to Wendover to see an Air Show. The highlight was an F-16 fly by. Cameron said it was so loud, it made the ground shake! The boys were amazed and entertained by the “Heavy Metal” stunt team.

Photo taken by Cameron’s phone

Day 141- Colton And His Big Boy Bed

2011-06-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

The crib is gone. Colton is a big boy. He still didn’t mind sleeping in the crib. In fact, he hadn’t figured out how to escape from it yet. One thing he did know was how to jump and do “bum drops” in it. The bottom had fallen out and was being held together by zip ties.

It is naptime and Colton hasn’t figured out yet that it’s more comfortable to sleep in his bed…

Day 140–Youth Conference 2011

2011-06-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you mix 25 teenagers, 4 leaders and 3 cowboys with 32 horses? A beautiful 2 hour horseback ride through majestic mountain scenery!

“Through the Eye of the Storm” this year’s Youth Conference theme. Just as the eye of the storm is the only peaceful place found in a real storm, teenagers today likened that to their own lives. They seek that peace in a stormy, tumultuous world where evil influences surround and tempt them. They were taught that this could be achieved by keeping their “eye single to the glory of God”.

Youth Conference is a time for youth of the LDS church to remove themselves from the outside world to be spiritually fed. It’s also a time to get to know those of your same faith and values a little bit better. What a better way to do that than experiencing high-adventure sports such as horseback riding, zip-lining and rock repelling together? Through facing our fears, whether it was horses, heights, or camping,we grew together as a youth group.

Day 139–My Newly Discovered Talent

2011-06-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

I would consider myself a “girly girl”. I don’t shoot things and it’s not in my nature to want to do so either. I found out during an activity at Youth Conference, that I am really pretty good at Archery. Those around me (who were all teenagers) called it “beginner’s luck”. So, as their fearless leader, I shot another round. During that next round, 4 out of 5 arrows hit the target and I earned the nickname, “Robin Hood”.

Day 138–Kari’s Top Ten Reasons to Hate Camping

2011-06-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

Reason #1: Bugs, Reason#2: Outhouses, Reason #3: Can’t sleep at night because it’s too darn cold, Reason #4: Sleeping in a tent is just not comfortable, even with an air mattress. Reason #5: Dirt, Reason #6: Cold showers, Reason #7: Everything and everyone stinks like campfire and sweat, Reason #8: Blisters from hiking Reason #9: No electricity, Reason #10 Yes, that is the flat tire that I got driving up the rocky dirt roads. Ugh! This is not my idea of “fun”…

Day 137–Games With Grandma

2011-06-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Playing games is a family tradition from Grandma Carmen’s side of the family. When she was little, her cousins, aunts and uncles would come over to play a family card game passed on through the generations called “Euchre”. Whenever any siblings and their families came over, we would have to play a round of Euchre, which we still do to this day. We would also compete in UpWords and laugh playing Balderdash. Taboo and Rook were also a few favorites.

Today Grandma is still carrying on the tradition of playing games with the kids. Rummikub, Boxers and Briefs and Farkle are some of their current favorites to play. Here, she’s got Brooklyn, Britney and Matti playing a round of Rummikub and they are loving every minute of it!

Day 136–Father’s Day 2011

2011-06-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is my dad. (see left below)

He is a one-of-a-kind guy. When I say there’s no one like him, I really mean it, and those who know him would wholeheartedly agree. He loves his motorcycle and new little red Triumph. He serves faithfully in his church. He is currently a temple-worker at the Oquirrh Mountain Utah LDS Temple and loves serving the Lord and helping others. He can fix anything. Really. Anything. If he doesn’t have the right tool to fix something, he will make a tool. He is almost 80, and his mother is still alive…so he genetically possesses the “longevity gene”. If I got that gene, I am only 33 and have a lot of years left in me. He is a POW of WWII and survived beatings, starvation and torture during capture in a Japanese Concentration camp as a child. He has determination. He immigrated to this country with just a few dollars in his pocket and didn’t speak a word of English (Ok. He admittedly knew 4 words of English. “I have a home” was what he wrote on his citizenship application to prove he knew English). After furthering his education and learning to speak English, he turned a meager start into a wonderful life with a large family, a beautiful home and a loving wife. He is funny and makes us laugh, probably because he isn’t trying to be funny, he just is. He is a current event junkie. He watches Fox News 24/7 and likes to be informed on what’s going on in the world.

And that’s a little bit about my dad. Happy Father’s Day!

Day 135–Little Cousin Ady

2011-06-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

We love Ady. We usually only get to see cousins once or twice a year, if we’re lucky, but Ady got to fly on a plane with her daddy to visit us for the weekend. I’m not sure who entertained who more, but we love to see this little lady.

Day 134–The Value of Vacationing

2011-06-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

1 Tank of gas = $85

Park City Museum Tickets = $25

Alpine Slide Tickets = $55

Kimball Art Museum / Olympic Park = $3 donation

A week away from housework, enjoying one another’s company and making memories = PRICELESS!

Day 133-“A” is for “Alpine” Slide

2011-06-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

You could slice through the energy in the car with a knife on our way to the Alpine Slide. The kids could not wait to experience the twists, turns and speed of the carts whizzing down the mountain. The ride up to the top of the mountain on the ski lift only compounded the excitement.

Colton even liked the slide. At every turn, drop and bump, he giggled. In fact, he laughed the whole way down. Justin grabbed the camera out of his pocket to capture the look of the pure joy written all over this boy’s face.

Day 132-My Little Swimmers

2011-06-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Mom: “You have 5 more minutes to swim, then we need to go. It’s time for dinner.”

Children (whining) “But we’ve only been here 3 hours and 45 minutes and you said we could swim until 6:30”

Mom: (stomach rumbling, magazines read, lists made, thirsty, tired and bored) “You can come now, or you’ll be locked out of the room.”

Children: (stalling) “Can we swim again tomorrow, and this time until 6:30?”

Mom: (walks away, down the hall and ready to go up to the room without stalling children who are still swimming and won’t get out of the pool)

Children: (see mom is serious…get their butts out of the water, quickly gather pool toys and run to meet mom before the elevator door closes)

This dialogue continued on 5 out of 5 days. The kids could not get enough of the pool. When I asked them about their favorite part of the week, their reply was of course, “Swimming”.

Day 131-Olympic Park

2011-06-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Olympic Park was next on our list of places to see. The sun was out and the ski jumps were in use as we watched freestyle skiers practice their flips, landing softly in the water below.

The Olympic Park Gallery displayed memorabilia from the 2002 Winter Olympics. Cameron and Brooklyn were the only 2 alive when the Olympics were here! The other 4 weren’t even a thought, ha! What we didn’t expect were the hands-on exhibits where the kids could learn facts about snow, avalanches, Winter Olympic events and even ski downhill like an Olympic skier. The best part about this venue was that these activities were totally free!

Day 130-“X” Marks the Spot Treasure Hunt

2011-06-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

I wanted to throw in a few educational experiences into our vacation (I can’t help it), so we ended up at the Park City Museum on Day 1 to learn about the place we would call “home” for the next week. Located right in the heart of Main Street, this 12,000 square foot museum was one of the kids’ favorite places to visit. The Museum provided a treasure hunt for the kids to follow, which lead us through a path of the rich history of theatre, mining, skiing, and even the old jail located in the basement.

Day 129-Watch Out Park City, Here We Come!

2011-06-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

We planned a last-minute getaway to Park City where we stayed at The Canyons Resort. I told the kids all about how cool housekeeping at the resort was going to be. They didn’t have to make their beds! They could throw their wet towels on the floor! And they wouldn’t have to hear any nagging from me to clean their rooms or do their jobs for not one day, not two days, but an entire week! They jumped for joy, and so did I.

Day 128-We Love Our Grandmas

2011-06-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Our kids are dang lucky. The Bancroft kids have 4 grandmas and the Giles’ have 6. Blended families are difficult, but this happens to be one of the perks of being a part of one. Since I never had a relationship with either of my grandparents due to circumstances beyond control, I am so glad our children have their grandparents to hang out with, help, play games with, learn from, get extra love from, to see their performances, attend school activities, cheer on their achievements, and to watch them develop and grow. Justin and I appreciate all the love, support and help they give our family.

Day 127-So You Think You Can Dance?

2011-06-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, this girl can dance. I can always find Brooklyn with a group of friends or sisters with her radio blaring, dancing and choreographing moves to the music. This week, she got to attend dance camp at the high school, then performed in the local city parade. Justin, who is a “parade hater”, even endured through this one with few complaints to see Brooklyn show off some of her new moves.

Day 126-Sweet Treat

2011-06-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

3 of my children have been away for 4 days and I won’t see them for 3 more, so I am blogging them as an excuse to see their sweet faces because I miss them dearly!

This summer I splurged on a snow cone machine. It already paid for itself simply by the sheer volume of snow cones that were made and eaten the first weekend of summer. Hopefully it will eliminate the begging for money as the ice cream man drives by, and hopefully it will help them earn money when they open their own neighborhood snow cone stand.

Day 125-Bye Bye Butterflies

2011-06-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

We received them as larvae. We watched them eat and grow into to plump caterpillars. We patiently, but eagerly waited for their transformation while in their cocoons. They emerged as beautiful mini Monarch butterflies. And today we let them go. We planted some flowers that attract butterflies just for them. Hopefully they will stick around our back yard and come visit us again.

One just wouldn’t leave Wyatt and clung onto his shirt for a bit!

Day 124-Colton’s Top Three

2011-06-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Colton’s top three favorites include sand, food and water, not listed in any particular order. He played in the pool for almost 4 hours straight. When I called out his name to for this picture, he stopped what he was doing to look at me. To most, this would not be a big deal, but looking at the therapist (or anyone) for up to 3 seconds upon request was one of the goals he met during school this year. Some of the other goals he achieved were sitting during circle time, following 1-step motor instructions in imitation with partial prompt. Since he had reached these goals, his teacher let him skip summer school and she is excited to see him again in the fall. Go Colton!

Day 123-Boys and Their Toys

2011-06-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

I’ve discovered it starts early in life. Boys admiring each others toys. One boy gets something new. The rest of the group circles around the new object like vultures zooming in on their prey. They have to touch it, try it out, have contests with one another to see who is the best. This apparently stays with them throughout their lives and as they get older, just turns into bigger, more expensive toys like motorcycles, cars, golf clubs, flat screen tv’s to show off to their buddies. Weird.

Day 122-Let The Sun Shine

2011-06-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Temperatures reached the 80’s today. It hasn’t been this warm since last August. We are taking full advantage of the warm weather today by eating every meal we can out on the deck. Sunshine and warm temperatures make me happy. Maybe part of my happiness is because the mess and noise stay outside. But most of all Justin and I love watching our children play together, laugh, smile and simply enjoy being kids.

Day 121-ABC Summer: “W”ater Play

2011-06-04T18:27:00.001-07:00

A 3D shark swimming pool complete with 3D goggles, water guns, slip ‘n slide, water hopscotch and some friends were just a few of the items necessary to make our Water Play Day a success. Grandma came to visit this afternoon. Colton, Matti and Brit were fast asleep. The water had worn them out. With those kinds of results, I deem water play day a successful start to our ABC summer.

Day 120-Last Day of School

2011-06-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

They are going to school as 3rd graders and will come home as 4th graders. If I was still teaching, Britney and Brooklyn would have been in my class this year, and I would have loved to have them. They are great students, creative, make friends easily, try hard, are helpful and love learning.

Next year, all 6 kids will be attending the same elementary school. Colton will continue in Special-Ed preschool, Matti starts Kindergarten, Wyatt starts 1st grade, Brooklyn and Brit 4th grade and Cam will be in 6th grade. I wonder if that’s a record? If it’s not a record, it sure is a parent-teacher conference nightmare…

Day 119-Alphabet Summer

2011-06-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

It appears that I am ready for summer. And it’s a good thing because the last day of school, if you want to call the whole hour and a half that the kids are at school a “day”, is tomorrow. I got the Alphabet Summer idea from none other than my creative sister-in-law. The kids and I brainstormed an activity for each letter of the alphabet. With a few modifications to our growing childrens’ interests, we created our list for 2011. They are less interested in being crafty, so we added some excitement which among other things, includes fire, hiking along steep cliffs and speed. Bring it on, summer!

P.S. I had our poster ready to go when the kids said, “Mom, where’s R & S”? So that’s why it is slightly retarded. It’s amazing I ever complete a task with all the daily interruptions. Ugh!

Day 118- Class of 2023

2011-06-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, that’s right. The kids in Wyatt’s Kindergarten class are going to be the Class of ‘23. My mom’s first response was that she wasn’t going to be alive then! My first thought was, “Wow, I’m old”! Justin wasn’t paying attention because he was checking the news on his phone. It seems so far in the future, but I’m sure will be here in the blink of an eye.