Isabelle's Salon Visit

For the last 11 years I've been Isabelle's hairstylist minus one or two times I've taken them to great clips.  I know she'll probably be embarrassed that I'm sharing this.  I guess I've been all the kid's hairstylist.  My training is none and often times I think it shows but it works and it saves money. 

As Isabelle started middle school this year, I thought it might be fun for her to actually get to go to a salon to have her hair professionally cut and styled.  Especially since she's getting more into hair and make up.  So before school started I took she and I went on a Mom and daughter morning together.

Here are a few photos from the trip.

I think she was a little bit nervous as it was a whole new experience for her. 

But soon it was clear, she was loving every moment of it.

The stylist deep conditioned her hair (after a summer of swim team and daily swimming at our house) and then massaged in a hair mask which made her thick, super beautiful hair feel restored. 

Both the stylist and I made a comment how lucky she is to have such thick gorgeous hair, and how lots of women pay a LOT of money to get the colors she naturally has.

When she was all said and done she was super excited and happy.  She whispered to me as we walked out the door, "I feel pretty."  And that comment made it all worth it.  

She's such a beautiful girl inside and out, I hope she always can see what we see.

And I'm not gonna lie, I loved the time too.  I know as the days pass, the moments she's going to want to spend with her mom are growing fewer, so I'll soak up the moments anytime I can get them.

Until next time,

Angie

 

Our fridge

Life can get overwhelming and it can often feel like no matter how hard you try, life well can sometimes beat you up.

This week I'm feeling it and while it seems to be no different than any other week, I just feel tired.  And when I'm tired and hit life's normal bumps in the road, it's easy to let yourself slide into a slump. I was feeling it as I've been dealing with neck and back pain for the last week that interferes with my sleep.  And then when I thought I was going to have a win by ordering groceries in the middle of the night so I could pick up first thing in the morning, I quickly realized that wasn't so great when I ended up ordering groceries to be picked up in Waverly Iowa instead of Arizona. After an hour on the phone begging them to refund my $370 weekly grocery bill so I could reorder it again, I just felt silly, and like it would be really great if I could just get my act together and catch up in life.  

And then I got home, opened my work computer and started to feel defeated all over again.  The emails come in faster than I can ever keep up it feels and well, then I started doubting myself... maybe I'm not that great at this either.  

So then I decided to eat some breakfast and that's when I went to my fridge.  If you look at it from a distance, it looks like a cluttered mess of a whole bunch of different things.  I thought to myself, I should clean this up and get rid of the clutter to make it look nice.  Then I started going through each item on the fridge, and soon I realized that the cluttered look of a mess was exactly what I needed and if I'd just stop and look at what is represented on this fridge, maybe I wasn't doing as bad as I had written myself off to be. 

There's messages like this...

that just happened to appear on the fridge.  No one asked Maddie to write us a note, and she didn't even tell us she wrote it.  It just showed up there.  A moment of gratitude shared with us.

Or this note... another one Maddie wrote in her school journal and decided needed to be put on the fridge.

Or this one... One of my favorites.  Maddie often asks my why Noah had to die and what he was like?  I always remind her we will get to see him again when we get to Heaven and then we'll really find out what he's like. 

And these bright beautiful colorful rainbow houses or drawings, or hearts.  Madelyn always seems to incorporate the happiness of the rainbow into her drawings.  They always make me smile.

Or notes like this from the school... of the good things the kids have done.  Or the kindness Isabelle has shared with her peers.  Reminders of the good the kids are doing, even though you often wonder if they hear you when you try to teach them how to act in the world

And these messages.  

After reading our fridge full of clutter, I stepped back and realized while there are many things in the world I'd like to change, and many things that make me question how good I'm doing or the fear of not doing well, when I look at the fridge I'm reminded that there are things I do well, that there are lives I'm impacting and that to some of those in this family, I'm pretty darn okay.

Looking at our fridge it might seem messy and disorganized and often times that is a pretty good description of our life, but amidst all this chaos, there are a lot of things that are going well and so so many things to be thankful for.

Until next time,

Angie

 

Summer Camping...

 

Earlier this summer, when it was only 105 outside, we took the kids camping to the Superstition Mountains.  For those who aren't familiar, the Superstition Mountains are about 35 minutes from our home so the weather is definitely desert like.  The kids have been asking to go camping for a while, and anyone who knows me, knows my idea of camping is the Hilton or the Embassy Suites.  However, Jarrett found a perfect compromise and after some research found out that the Arizona Park systems has built a series of cabins (and air conditioned cabins at that),that can be rented out for a weekend or week day.  

We joked and said, "H" was for Haskovec (although really for the helicopters to rescue people off the mountain)

So in early June we rented cabin #5 at the base of the Superstition Mountains and for a weekend we Glamped.  Turns out, it was also the weekend of a Super Moon, a full moon and my goodness was the view of the moon rising over the mountains gorgeous. 

It was lovely, yes even I had a good time.  Although it did take me some convincing knowing that everything I had packed was going to have to be unpacked and that all the meals were up to me to figure out when there was no real kitchen available.   But we made it, and who doesn't like chili when it is 105 outside.  

This was me trying to decide if it was worth it to walk to the bathrooms down the trail at night to brush my teeth.  I was exhausted! 

Jennings and Finn had no trouble sleeping!

Getting ready to go hike first thing in the morning.

Michael was a fan of the bunkbed!

The cabin had two sets of bunk beds, and a queen bed in a back bedroom.  They had fans and the best part was we could turn the air conditioner down to 66!  Yes 66!  and that is exactly what we did.  In the morning we got up, went for a long hike up the mountain, yes all of us went, and then when it was too much for Finn, he and I turned around and went back while the rest when on.  And then when everyone was back we tuckered into the cabin and with it being 66 we put on our sweatshirts, wrapped up in blankets, and spent quality time together. 

Later in the day we went to a nearby abandoned gold town and walked around.  We got to go down in an old gold mine, we got to ride a train and we went into this crazy house that was built on the side of a hill and to accommodate any earthquakes because of the drilling, everything was turned on an angle.  It was the craziest thing but super cool to see.

All in all, the camping adventure was great, and we even had smores and a camp fire thanks to Michael's outdoor skills.  Sometimes with a family of our size and the big range in ages we have, it's hard to find something to accommodate everyone's' interests.  The camping adventure was a hit though and everyone enjoyed at least one thing.  Here are a few photos of the fun weekend.  The views were incredible, and these pictures don't do them justice!

Sure grateful for this crew.  A memory to cherish forever.

Until next time,

Angie

July Birthdays! and Jennings turns 4!

Earlier this month we celebrated Jennings 4th birthday!  It's crazy to think he's grown up so fast!  He is such a fun and energetic little guy and we hope that the crazy, wild, endless energy three's is behind him, as we are too tired to keep up. 

Jennings loves many things including playing with his brother Finn and his big sister Maddie.  He's so excitable and loves to discover new things.  I read recently that three and four year olds are like scientists, always discovering new things, investigating, looking for clues and finding wonder in all the world around them.  I think it perfectly describes Jennings.  I wonder what he is going to be when he grows up... sometimes I think he could be a boxer or a mixed martial arts expert, and other days I think he could be a researcher, a scientist, an astronaut or even a dinosaur hunter (the later is the answer he gave when I asked him, second to a firefighter).

Being Jennings mom means I'm constantly listening for silence and concerned when I hear it, or automatically responding to a big thud with, "what happened now?"  He definitely keeps us on our toes and as his former babysitter said, "There's no one quite like Jennings"  And she's right.  As energetic and life-thrilling as he is, we wouldn't want him any other way.

Jennings set up all his dinosaurs and about 2 seconds after this picture, Finn knocked them all down!

We were lucky enough to celebrate Jennings on his special day with family.  Thanks to Anita, Alicia, Andrea and Ryker for coming over for breakfast!  It was so fun to see them!

Then later that afternoon we were able to celebrate with Nana and Papa!  AND we got to celebrate their special birthdays!  Both Nana and Papa turned a very special age this year and we had a lovely afternoon swimming with them.  

We are so thankful for the family that we were able to celebrate with.  We are reminded how quickly the years pass and how blessed we are to have so many people who share love and kindness with us. 

Our family seems to be growing and changing on the daily and as Jennings turns four I feel the sand in the hourglass slipping by faster than I want it to.  I recently talked to a nurse who was telling me about her only child, her son turning 19 and how she wished she could do it all over.   Just one of the many blessings I feel about having a large family is that we get to celebrate these milestones more than just once.  And as excited as I am to celebrate each of the kids' milestones and achievements, I remind myself to be grateful for the times we have had.  While I might want them to not grow up as fast, that isn't the reality of life. 

Wishing Jennings the happiest 4th year of his life and excited to see all that is ahead for him!

And happiest of birthdays to Nana and Papa too.

Until next time,

Angie

 

Belle's Clarinet

Belle (or Izzy) to everyone at school is now in 6th grade... middle school.  That's a subject for a stand alone post but as a part of being in middle school she now gets to try Band as her elective. Her other elective is PE, which she surprisingly LOVES too.

This week Belle got her instrument, the clarinet.  She is so excited and so far has been lugging it back and forth each day.  This week they are learning how to use the "noise makers"  Tonight I asked her to show us what she is able to do.  

She is so excited.  She's learned what the reeds are for, how to assemble it, how to clean it and how to make noises with it.  I'm hopeful she will love band, as neither her dad or I lasted too long in band.  I hope she'll find a true love and keep practicing and playing.  

For now, we will celebrate all the squeaks, the wrong notes and all the learning that is taking place.  I guess we needed a bit more noise in our house. :-)

Until next time,

angie

For the love of trains!

Finn is boy through and through.  He loves trucks, dump trucks, garbage trucks, fire trucks, monster trucks and every other type of truck.  But if you ask him what he really loves.... he loves trains.  

We have a special Choo-Choo train song that Alexa has to play about 10 times a day.  We have "distant train noises" that we have to play over Alexa at night to put us all to sleep, per Finn's request.  We've watched about every you tube video out there on trains, trains for toddlers, Blippi Trains, train shows, you name it... Finn LOVES trains.  

The other day I took the kids to the library and checked out every train book they had, including adult train books.  Finn was in his glory.  He insisted on carrying the books, sleeping  with them and even taking them with him to the baby sitter's house.  

While we have a set of Lego trains at our house, I've been dreaming of getting Finn a wooden train track and train.  Today when the other kids went to school, Finn and I ventured out and I found a set for him.   Oh my gosh you should seen how happy he was.  We called dad and he said "Dad, found train" and then he said, "Thank you"

We came home and he hasn't stopped playing the rest of the day.  He is so happy and watching him makes my heart swell.  I remember when Gabe and Michael were small and how much they loved trains.  Now seeing how big they are, I am cherishing all of these moments, for they don't last long enough.

While yesterday was 6 months until Christmas morning, I think if you ask Finn, he thinks it's Christmas today. :-)

These are the moments... I'll celebrate and remember forever.

Until next time,

Angie