I just have to take a minute to sit down and remind myself that every outing is not always an adventure. I took all the kids to Wal-Mart for groceries this morning. Nikki got in the car and said, "I'm thirsty." Fine, we head to the water fountain when we get in the store (but you know she really wanted me to buy her a drink). Then we passed a display of animal cookies and Nikki said, "I'm hungry." Oh great, I forgot snacktime before we left. Sorry, we'll eat when we get home, but of course that didn't help her mood. She earned herself an extra chore today. But I accomplished all the shopping even with a baby crying and trying to wiggle himself out of the buckles in the cart and a whining 6-year-old and an 8-year-old who would lose track of time reading every package she passed in the aisles. Whew! Then we got to the car and Nikki noticed that we had a flat tire. Okay, maybe I won't make her do that extra chore. Thanks for the good eyes, Nikki. I load all of the groceries and all of the kids in the car with the instructions that they could eat a banana and feed one to Ryan, too. I broke out the spare tire and jack and was so grateful to be prepared. I was also praying that I could either get the tire off myself or that someone would stop and offer some help. It took a minute for me to figure out which side of the jack went up and which one was supposed to be on the ground. I was beginning to think that I must look like I really had things under control because no one was stopping. Finally, this nice man stopped and started lowering the jack back down. Wait, I said, that's going down. He says, in broken English, yeah you have to have the tires down to get the lug nuts loose. Oh, good thing he stopped. When he got the spare tire on, that was flat, too, but he said I could probably make it to the nearest gas station. So, I thanked and him and jumped in the car and said a prayer with the girls that we could make it home, which was closer than any gas station. On the way out of the parking lot I saw that Wal-Mart has a tire center and stopped in there. It would have taken them another 45 minutes to an hour to fix the tire, and I had ice cream, milk, cheese, butter, the whole nine yards, and 3 hungry kids including a sleepy baby. So I asked them to just fill the tire up so I could get home. You're not supposed to put air into a doughnut spare tire, but they did it and said we would probably make it. More prayers. So then I look in the back seat and thought that on top of it all Ryan had thrown up. No, the girls said that was just from them feeding him bananas. Gross!
Now we're home, groceries are put away, lunch has been eaten, the baby is sleeping, Nate is bringing home a new tire because I don't have time today and probably wouldn't make it to the shop anyway, and I feel like I'm starting to breathe again. The kids were so good, and I didn't really get upset about it, and I'm really glad everything got taken care of so smoothly without a huge emotional breakdown or car breakdown on the side of the road.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Ryan is stepping. I can't call it walking yet, but he is taking steps here and there. He gets so excited and proud of himself that he falls down. Or he just can't wait to get to me and lunges. I just love him.
The girls started track out this week, and it has been really fun having them home. This is really the beginning of our summer except for our two week trip to Utah. It's been nice to just be here. Nate even got to stay home with us one day, but he slept most of the day. He went for a physical and they gave him a shot to update his immunizations. He's still recovering.
I went jogging this morning, and I felt good enough that my mind wasn't thinking the whole time -- just breathe, breathe, not that much farther. That only happened going up the last hill on the way back. Other than that my mind was free to think about how beautiful it was outside, how good it felt, how blessed I am. It was really nice. It is amazing to think how far I have come in the last few months. My heart is getting healthier. I'm excited to see how far I'll be able to run when I'm 40.
Kiddos are awake. Time for the rest of the day to begin.
The girls started track out this week, and it has been really fun having them home. This is really the beginning of our summer except for our two week trip to Utah. It's been nice to just be here. Nate even got to stay home with us one day, but he slept most of the day. He went for a physical and they gave him a shot to update his immunizations. He's still recovering.
I went jogging this morning, and I felt good enough that my mind wasn't thinking the whole time -- just breathe, breathe, not that much farther. That only happened going up the last hill on the way back. Other than that my mind was free to think about how beautiful it was outside, how good it felt, how blessed I am. It was really nice. It is amazing to think how far I have come in the last few months. My heart is getting healthier. I'm excited to see how far I'll be able to run when I'm 40.
Kiddos are awake. Time for the rest of the day to begin.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Kitchenaid
I love this Kitchenaid -- it's very useful and saves a lot of time.
I love this Kitchen-aid, too -- he just is more timeconsuming than helpful.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Pictures galore
Well, I didn't post all 700 pictures, but I came close. It was a wonderful trip.
Traveling to Utah. The girls liked the plane better than Ryan.
Bridal Veil Falls
JW & Alli doing dishes
Getting ready for family night
Nikki & Eliza
Bear & Wolf Discovery Center
A bald eagle with her baby
Geysers
This was a whole herd of bison that were trying to cross the road. Pretty neat.
Waiting for Old Faithful to blow!
This is cute, but I like the one Emma got of Nate better. :)
The best travelers
Lexi & Brenna
Beautiful!
Gosh, these things are big!
My poor sick, sunburnt baby enjoying the beauty.
She looks like a girl on a mission.
We got stuck in road construction, so Mike and Lydia jumped out of the car to get their feet wet in the freezing cold, rushing river where an elk could have jumped out the bush and gored them any minute. So we see who teaches Lydia to be so daring. :)
We were in the car A LOT. The girls took over 400 pictures to pass the time. Here's a little taste.
Sherrie as our singing time leader
Spencer and Jake had all the kids' attention with their puppet show.
Can you see the moose? I was happy she was on the other side of the river from us.
Spencer was so great hiking with his little posse of girl cousins. They love both Spencer and Nate. 
Brenna and Luke were cute little buddies.
Kellee brought a whole bag of craft supplies, and I think the pipe cleaners were Hannah and Emma's favorites.
Dance party!
The Bass Gang
Hannah and Nikki LOVE Grandpa Robbins' trains. He has a whole room in his basement filled with tracks. It's really cool. Ryan loved them, too, but he wasn't allowed near them.
Provo's Freedom Festival Parade on the 4th
We had a lot of fun visiting with the Littles. JW & Gary told their sailing story that gets us laughing so hard it hurts.
Chuck & Eileen
It was so hard to get a picture of the babies together. Here's Ryan and Wyatt -- kind of.
And Baby Ammon is just the most easygoing kid I've ever seen. Love him!
Ryan is just about opposite. Love him too!
Jayden, Hannah, and Nikki put on the funniest little show for us. It was so creative and funny!
Wow, this is a special picture considering how much this baby loves his mama.
At the Robbins' family picnic
Whitney, Gabe, and Nikki
With Grandma Geneil.
The Robbins
Nate's nephew, Matt
Swim party!
It will be 10 years this September since Nate and I were married in the Mt. Timpanogas temple. His parents can see the temple from their doorstep. We tried to get some good pictures, but at the end of our trip it was kind of hard.
Back in NC, but the luggage took FOREVER to get out on the baggage claim. What troopers these kids are!
This is my naked baby because he blew out his diaper minutes before takeoff (Nate and I really don't fit in the airplane bathroom at the same time. It was pretty comical and gross trying to get things cleaned up), and no I didn't have an extra outfit in the carry-on. I had extra clothes for me and Nate, but not the baby. Really smart.
We're excited for our next vacation, but I'm glad there will be a couple of years for me to rest up and get ready for the next one. This one wore me out!
Bridal Veil Falls
JW & Alli doing dishes
Getting ready for family night
Nikki & Eliza
Bear & Wolf Discovery Center
A bald eagle with her baby
Geysers
This was a whole herd of bison that were trying to cross the road. Pretty neat.
Waiting for Old Faithful to blow!
This is cute, but I like the one Emma got of Nate better. :)
The best travelers
Lexi & Brenna
Beautiful!
Gosh, these things are big!
My poor sick, sunburnt baby enjoying the beauty.
She looks like a girl on a mission.
We got stuck in road construction, so Mike and Lydia jumped out of the car to get their feet wet in the freezing cold, rushing river where an elk could have jumped out the bush and gored them any minute. So we see who teaches Lydia to be so daring. :)
We were in the car A LOT. The girls took over 400 pictures to pass the time. Here's a little taste.
Sherrie as our singing time leader
Spencer and Jake had all the kids' attention with their puppet show.
Can you see the moose? I was happy she was on the other side of the river from us.
Spencer was so great hiking with his little posse of girl cousins. They love both Spencer and Nate. 
Brenna and Luke were cute little buddies.
Kellee brought a whole bag of craft supplies, and I think the pipe cleaners were Hannah and Emma's favorites.
Dance party!
The Bass Gang
Hannah and Nikki LOVE Grandpa Robbins' trains. He has a whole room in his basement filled with tracks. It's really cool. Ryan loved them, too, but he wasn't allowed near them.
Provo's Freedom Festival Parade on the 4th
We had a lot of fun visiting with the Littles. JW & Gary told their sailing story that gets us laughing so hard it hurts.
Chuck & Eileen
It was so hard to get a picture of the babies together. Here's Ryan and Wyatt -- kind of.
And Baby Ammon is just the most easygoing kid I've ever seen. Love him!
Ryan is just about opposite. Love him too!
Jayden, Hannah, and Nikki put on the funniest little show for us. It was so creative and funny!
Wow, this is a special picture considering how much this baby loves his mama.
At the Robbins' family picnic
Whitney, Gabe, and Nikki
With Grandma Geneil.
The Robbins
Nate's nephew, Matt
Swim party!
It will be 10 years this September since Nate and I were married in the Mt. Timpanogas temple. His parents can see the temple from their doorstep. We tried to get some good pictures, but at the end of our trip it was kind of hard.
Back in NC, but the luggage took FOREVER to get out on the baggage claim. What troopers these kids are!
This is my naked baby because he blew out his diaper minutes before takeoff (Nate and I really don't fit in the airplane bathroom at the same time. It was pretty comical and gross trying to get things cleaned up), and no I didn't have an extra outfit in the carry-on. I had extra clothes for me and Nate, but not the baby. Really smart.
We're excited for our next vacation, but I'm glad there will be a couple of years for me to rest up and get ready for the next one. This one wore me out!
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