Things that made me happy today!

I am going to try and blog a picture everyday or every couple of days about what makes me happy! 

This is our beautiful view from our apartment.  Grandma Baxter told me it looks like a third world country.  She's right and when ever I look at it it can be a little depressing.  So today we went to the dollar store and got some sidewalk chalk to make it happy! The boys had a blast!

I took the boys to a park today! I could only sit on the bench, but the boys climbed trees and practiced drop kicking a ball.  Jared meandered in all the grass. It was a happy moment in time!

Brad gave me a great back rub tonight! He and the boys are all enjoying match madness.

My visiting teachers are awesome! They were so kind to come today and let me complain.

Hyrum made us pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

- - -stitches- - -

Saturday night, right after family scripture study, the boys were a little rowdy. I few bags of groceries were still out, waiting to be put away.  Hyrum was laying on the floor and Jared found a can of soup.  He loves to play catch, that boy.  And he threw that can to Hyrum.  Although he was just two feet away, that can sure did some damage to Hyrum's face.  His front teeth sliced right through his lip.  His top gums were cut in many places.  Blood was clotting as it gushed out of his wounds.

We got the blood to slow and really looked at it.  Yep, this was gonna need stitches.  Of course I still called my brother Dave to confirm. At the ER, they stitched him up as I held his hands.  I told Hyrum to squeeze my hands if it hurts.  My boy didn't flinch through the shots,  stitching or all the tugging on his lips.  He was incredibly brave and strong! He got three dissolvable stitches and three blue stitches.  His lip was completely sliced about a half an inch. 

Today Hyrum got them removed! 

Before:

And during:

And after;

 

Once again, Hyrum was brave and strong. He told me afterwards how much it hurt.  That silly kid. .. he wanted to save the stitches and the scab.  So the kind nurse got tape and a tongue depressor and displayed those stitches on it.  

Bryan enjoyed watching it all down.  And telling everyone that he is already a doctor and when he grows up he is going to be a cowboy doctor robot.  And then he let everyone know how shy he is. .. What a nut :)

We'll leave off with that. 

St. Patricks Day

We have had the leprechaun in years past, green pancakes, footprints, the works.  One year we even caught the leprechaus shadow. This year.  I wasn't feeling up to that.  I found the kids green shirts in the laundry baskets and topped out at that.  We have had a lot of medical issues lately. But the guilt and desire to do something set in.  I love holidays! I had found a few ideas and recipes and made the choice to put in that effort and push through the pain for my family.  So I made a nice dinner:

 Yes, disposable dishes are a must right now.

 And I had already made a banner! Ya! I love banners! The kids loved the meal and want it as a tradition! Hyrum did a great job with the shiscabobs. Which I have no idea how to spell...

SPICY SALSA VERDE CHICKEN

PREP TIME

 1 hour

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 10 mins

A bright, refreshing and spicy green salsa recipe served over grilled chicken.

Author: Gina Matsoukas

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

1 cup basil leaves, packed

1 cup cilantro, packed

½ cup parsley, packed

½ jalapeno pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 small shallot ,chopped

zest of 1 lime

juice of ½ lime

3 tablespoons orange juice (fresh is best)

salt & pepper

1 lb. chicken breasts

extra virgin olive oil for grilling

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a blender.Blend until puréed.Combine chicken breasts with half the salsa mixture in a large bowl, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.Heat a stove top grill pan (or outdoor grill if it’s not 8 degrees where you are) over medium heat and grease with extra virgin olive oil.Place chicken breasts on grill pan and cook for about 5-7 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through. This will depend on how thick your chicken is.Once cooked through, remove from grill pan and spoon remaining salsa over the top of each chicken breast.Serve with a lime wedge and garnish with cilantro.

It was delish! And Brad loved the cilantro!

Happy St Patricks Day!

Sometimes it is just nice to have someone to listen :)

I only have a few minutes.  Life is pretty busy right now.  But it has been a long time since I have just posted about everyday, same-old same-old... in other words just life.  Life isn't perfect right now, but it is full of perfect moments!

• Moments when I wake up to go hit the gym.  Jared, who had somehow found his way into mine and Brad's bed in the middle of the night, reaches for me when I get up.  He, eyes still shut, reaching both hands and leaning for me until he is almost off the pillow.  Then he silently says, "Mama?" and then pats the pillow where I was laying.  It is so sweet and something that always makes me feel so loved!  He also sings, "Basssss.......ket..BALL" over and over and over in the car!  It never gets old!
• I love watching Bryan.  He talks to everyone.  At the grocery store.  At the gym.  On the trail.  On the ice.  Anyone he makes eye contact with, he has something he needs to share with them.  I love how the people here generally aren't too busy to listen to a cute little five year old as he shares his world and perspective with them.  Bryan is also crazy about Legos and I love listening to all his manly sound effects echoing though our apartment.
• Paul is hooked on basketball right now.  He craves going to the gym and counts down the days/hours to when his Pee Wee Basketball starts.  The other day he and his friend Brenner played one-on-one before practice and I was so happy to see him light up and enjoy playing some ball with a friend! Paul also ran a whole mile the other day with me!  I was so proud that he did it, overcoming side aches and all! He impresses me!
• Hyrum, on the other hand, dreads basketball.  He isn't assertive or aggressive and is annoyed at being left out.  But that little smarty pants is always using his brain.  You see, he knows there are half the kids on his team just like him.  The kids who AREN'T the ball hog, who feel left out, who just want to go home.  Hyrum was a team captain and picked all those kids to be on his team for some scrimmage.   Which was easy, the other team captain wanted all the "good" aka "ball hogs" on his team.  SMART.  All the ball hogs on one team, and the mild, well mannered boys on another.  Hyrum said the ball hogs were all fighting over the ball between themselves the whole time.  While Hyrum's team has the best time and passed the ball around and each got to take shots!  Hyrum also goes running with me.  I love that.  LOVE IT!  He went FOUR miles with me the other day.  Although, I did have to listen to him talk about video games the whole time.  It amazed me how much they mean to him and how complicated they are.  My kids don't get to play a lot of video games, they have a mean mom :). 
• Brad makes me happy every time he looks me in the eye with a smile and pulls me in for a hug.  I sure love him and love that he loves me.  He tells me every morning how beautiful I am.  As do the rest of my boys.  Brad also just got diagnosed with diabetes.  He's got is real bad.  We are working together to eat more healthy and give him the time he needs to be at the gym.  He is so motivated to lose the extra pounds and hopefully get his health back.  I am so happy that he is working so hard and is so dedicated!  It scares the heck out of him, I think, to have hunting taken away from him :) His goal right now is to lose 20-40lbs in 6 months and see where we are at from there!  And btw...  This scares the heck out of me too...

Life is too good to be true at times when I look at those sweet, perfect moments and notice all the love, joy and craziness around me, I realize how truly blessed I am.

MOVING on!

 Well hello long lost blog!  So much has happened since last time I blogged...  For starters, we are moved to Wyoming.  I am going to focus on that.  Keeping it positive!  I need to, because, just like I lectured my children on this morning, we need to look for the good.  It will make us happier in life!

• Things we love so far in this wonderful state- people!  The people here don't look down on us for being hunters or listening to country music!  How wonderful, right? 
• The windmills are beautiful!  We went for a drive the other night and it was just before dusk, they were amazing!
• I have meet some super nice people that have just taken me in as a friend.  Two in particular:  Lindsey and Michelle.  They have been a blast to run with and just be with! 
• The ward seems awesome, the bishop and his wife are just grand! 
• There is a great trail we have ridden bikes on and ran on and walked on.  I love the trail! 
• Brad loves his job!  That is good!  He works reasonable hours and we feel more secure here than we have felt in years.  
• There is a Smiths here, I love shopping at Smiths.   
• There is a great Rec Center.  I am a sucker for good rec centers.  We go all the time, even if it is just for a half an hour to shoot some hoops.
• Lindsay and I have been swimming quite a few time.  I love the lap pool and they have a huge separate pool for kids.  It is a great set up!  Also they let little kids in the hot tub!  Bonus!
• The sky is so big here!  Sunsets and sunrises are pretty!
• I get to be a Primary teacher with another cool lady.  The kids are fun and so cute!
• There are a lot of parks around here that are really fun!
• My kids have really nice teachers!
• We get to see deer or moose every morning on the way to school.  I love all the wildlife.
• I have a neighbor that has different colored hair all the time, that is amusing, admittingly.  Ok, that might be it, I am really scrapping the barrel there :) 

Hyrum!  He is still trying to adjust.  He is very confident and does his own thing and if others want to join, they are more than welcome to.  That has it's pros and cons.  He is having a hard time finding a good friend.  Some days he has a lot and some days he has none.  He is really advanced academically.  His teacher worries about him getting bored because he already knows what she is teaching, so she gives him the marker and has him stand up and teach the class the math lesson.  Flattering?  Yes.  But that also has its concerns.  I love him and want him to keep learning and growing too.  I love Hyrum so much and hope and pray things start going better for him all across the board.  We did have some friends over last night for the first time since moving here.  Hyrum had fun.  So hopefully things will start looking up!

Paul.  I love Paul!  He is a roll-with-the-punches kind of kid.  He is usually just happy-go-lucky.  This move has been hard on us all, even Paul.  But he seems to have friends to play with at school and, dude, I am shocked that he is doing as well as he is in school.  He is out performing the state average and district average by more points than Hyrum in Math!  He doesn't show off that he is as smart as he is, so it makes me just giggle with joy that they have these tests that show how smart they really are.  He is working really hard on learning to read.  It didn't come completely natural for him, so he is putting forth a ton of effort!  He reads to me over 40 minutes a night.  He is still Mr. Athletic and enjoys when we head to the rec center. 

Bry-Bob!  He is very... very......  opinionated.  And he is generally quite loud about it.  He is trying really hard to not hate it here as well.  haha.  He misses having a yard and friends more than I can tell you.  He needs room to run, he has more energy than most.  It is really really cold here already, and so it is hard to take him out all the time to give some of that energy some freedom.  When we go to the rec center, he spends most of his time running in circles and up and down the bleachers and across the rock climbing wall, over and over again.  He is so happy when he has some adventure and room to explore that imagination of his.  Bryan is a joy!  I love watching him grow up and love what a sweet boy he is to me!

Jared is so loved.  We all just love him!  He has started going around giving us all "Knuckles" that Becky's boys Cade taught him.  He gives hugs when somebody cries.  And he dumps out every dish or box of cereal left of the table.  He won't go to sleep now that he can climb out of the crib.  And he loves going to the rec to play basketball. That kid LOVE balls and nursery!  He keeps us on our toes, that is for sure! 

 

Brittney took our pictures last month and I couldn't be happier with them!  She did all these, plus some ones of us in red that will be as our Christmas card!  I really appreciate them and can't believe she got so many good goes with all these young boys!!!!

 

For Halloween:

I made these hats and shirts.  I am really happy with how they turned out!  I guess that is another thing I can be happy about.  The place we live is really small for a big family and mostly easy to keep clean, so I have a little bit of time to do fun projects!

 

 

 

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One of the many...

 

So we will be leaving our home and moving.  Brad has found a great job and he is takin' it!  I am glad!  And super sad.  There are many things I will miss dearly.  I love my life here.  I love my neighbors.  I love the trails.  I love the kids and the families here.  I love my calling.  I love the stores here.  I love the parks here.  I love the rec center.  I love the Stake and Ward Leaders here.  I love so much.  My heart just aches thinking of the people who have touched my life here. 

 

One of the many thing I am going to miss is this:  Running with my best friend Carolyn

 Another one of the many things I am going to miss is this:  Swimming with more of my best friends Tammy, Stacy, Marcie, Carolyn and Paige and Maegan too.

I have had the best, the VERY BEST, support group of friends and neighbors.  They have been there for me and my family through the toughest of times...  They have been my sisters and my friends...

 

I love them and appreciate them always!

 

Please also take note that each picture makes a statement (the no swimming, no running).  It makes me laugh, even as I cry!

 

I am a Women of Steel

WELL....

 I am so happy to say I have done one more thing on my bucket list!  I did my first triathlon yesterday!  Sweet!  It was cold and wet and windy and freezing and fun!  I feel extremely grateful for the chance to do this!  We are watching our money really tight these days and would have never done this without the help I got.  My aunt Larene does this every year and offered to help my pay for it so we could do it together---

 Here we are!  Me and Larene! 

I signed up!  And then, realizing you can't just do a tri without gear and what not, I started to get a little nervous.  My sister offered to let me use her bike and so did Carolyn.  It was way more convenient to use Carolyn's.  Not only did I use it for the race, but Carolyn let me use it for training-which was super kind.  The petals were clip ins, so I looked around for a place I could rent some shoes.  Nothing.  I called around to see if I could use someones.  Nothing.  The shoes are so expensive, like almost a hundred dollars!  Yikes!  I found some for $15 at a bike store near by.  Seriously amazing deal (apparently they have been on clearance for 2 yrs waiting for me lol)!  My husband encouraged me to get my own suit as well, since I ruin things by accident somehow when I barrow things...  Jess had offered hers, but I did end up getting my own.  It was on clearance and the lady at the store I got it gave me even more money off the clearance price!  Triathlons are not only a lot of work to train for, there is quite a bit of gear to get as well!  So plan for that if you ever do one!  It came together just fine, I don't feel like I spent too much and I think I found me a new hobby!  And I never will forget all the wonderful people who supported me monetarily, verbally, and by letting me use their stuff!  It means a lot!  I really think this opportunity and my marathon are more than I deserve in our financial circumstance.

The race was great!  Like I said, it was cold!  I never, ever wear a tank top, but there I was in my tank top, freezing, waiting for the swim.  I seated myself in wrong...  Or everyone else did.  The water was wonderfully warm, but the other swimmers were dreadfully slow.  I got stuck behind one girl, and passed another in that short 300 meter swim.  In my bare feet I ran across the parking lot to my bike and got everything on and went on my way.  But my shoe was bugging me!  So I took it off and adjusted it.  My thought was "that just took 30 seconds of my time for nothing."  My shoe was still bugging me.  The bike ride was just under 13 miles.  The uphills were steep, with headwinds and rain.  The down hills were amazing and fun!  Transitioning to my running shoes was hard!  My fingers were totally numb and tieing my shoes took forever!  I did terrible on my transitions.  I didn't practice them though.  The run was good.  I started out really slow, because I couldn't feel my legs or feet and it just felt awkward.  But half way through I finally started feeling my toes and could take off!  It was a 2.9 mile run.  Triathlons are pretty challenging.  But man, my joints feel so much better after a tri than a marathon!  I might convert to save my knees!  I came in 4th place for my division.  Which sounds pretty great for my first tri, right?  Well, I am so bugged!  I came in 31.2 seconds behind number 3.  I was SO CLOSE to medaling.  So close...  Next year :)  Hopefully... I have to buy a bike! 

While I was doing my tri, the rest of my family was doing a mile race!  So we ended up with no pictures of either of us actually competing.  The boys seemed to love it, and they love the cool tech shirts even more!  They ran it with our wonderful neighbors the Smith's.  We sure love them!  Also the day before Hyrum took 4th place at his Cub Scout Rain Gutter Regatta!  Way to go Hyrum!