Misfits

I soooo wish I had gotten a picture of these kids BEFORE they removed half of their embarrassingly, awkward, so wrong in every way on every child wardrobe.

The picture tells nothing, but my mind will have to remember the hilarity.

Jen and Jer were down for a weekend and we met them at Grand America for a swim and dinner.  It was right after Christmas so the hotel was still pretty full.

We paraded our 5 cute-ish and 1 cute, cute baby (no picture) around the hotel while Jen and I reverted back to the good old college days maturity level.

When we finally got to the elevator to go to the pool we finally all noticed how stupid our kids all looked. 

  

Unfortunately they're ours to keep and I think Ansen and Jeremy have had the same thoughts a time or two about me and Jen.

Introducing . . .

Zoey!

(Thank goodness I made a dog quilt for no reason a few years ago.  I have no idea what we would have done otherwise.  No idea.) 

And Bear.

(awww . . . brothers)

My mom and dad have talked about getting another dog for years and though my mom was hesitant, she went with it.  I promised we'd keep him if she decided in the end it was too much (of course Ansen had absolutely no idea about that).

And the mauling began . . .

Barely Made It

to two events so far this year. 

I had to park in my own made up, "creative" parking place, give the ticket taker guy my wallet as security (because I didn't have time to buy the ticket) and run my (and Drew's) fool head off to make it for Olivia's Festival of the Trees performance. 

It was a close, close call, but I made it. 

  

The second grade at our school decorated and donates a tree every year.  Parents donate money and all the classes make different ornaments.  Then they go on their fieldtrip to see their tree and sing.  It's really cute and they get really excited.

 

And then I made it to the last 5 minutes of the state fair the 5th grade puts on.  I didn't feel as anxious about this one since I had helped put the finishing touches on the project I was going to see the night before.  Really Addie did most of it, I just helped out in the vinyl department.  

Addie decided to do Maine, for obvious reasons.  Grandma and Grandpa Hatch sent her a whole bunch of stuff to help her out.  Pinecones, pictures, flags, pressed leaves, moose things, blueberry jam, a shirt, ear muffs and just a whole bunch of stuff.  They best part was Grandma found maple candies and lobster candies that the kids are still asking Addie for more of. 

Poor thing had to wear her same Maine shirt two days in a row for her presentation since they switched days up on her . . . but she lived.    

Shut the front door . . .

We sent the kids on a scavenger hunt for Family Home Evening. 

Along the way, they gathered up a dog toy, a quilt that said "dog love" on it . . .

but it wasn't until they found dog treats and a leash in the dyer that the wheels started to turn . . .  and they figured out we were getting a dog.

They were totally shocked.

And they knew who to thank first . . . 

And we went to go meet our future puppy for the first time.

AND found out Banna and Branda were getting one too!

She's no fool . . .

 . . . but he is. 

Liv kept asking me to carry her coat and I kept saying no . . .

I found this scenario a few minutes later. 

The History of the Problem

Before marriage, I thought Ansen and I were the perfect match.  We both grew up with sheltie dogs and loved them dearly.  

In the beginning of marriage it was discovered that I was against loaded guns in the house and he was a against dogs in the house . . . not so perfect of a union after all.  The set up became we'd trade - a dog or a gun.

Over the years, Ansen has gathered a supply of "special tools" and I have not acquired A dog in return.  By all accounts, I think that I should have 10 dogs by now.

The problem escalated by our children's love of dogs.  Let's not forgot Addie's first sentence was - "It's my buddy Rowdy (my family dog)" and that she was only motivated to potty train so she could earn a dog leash for her fake dogs.

Addie's letter to Rowdy towards the end for him . . . "Rowdy, We love you, we want you to stay alive.  Rowdy, we can give you the shot."

Our vacation to Oregon was a memorable one because the girls never forgot Burton and Abby that they spent the week with at my Aunt & Uncle's house.

I knew we could have a dog, but I wanted it to be indoors and I wanted Ansen not to hate it. 

We played with all the neighborhood dogs.  Lisa and Matt got Susan and then Sophie, which kept us content. 

Two years ago Ansen relented and a dog was to be my birthday present . . . but we

couldn't commit and lucky for use we didn't because I got in my car accident.  (And don't worry . . . Ansen did not miss an opportunity to remind me how thankful we were to not have that dog through all of the recovery).  

So then I had to start all over with talking Ansen into it and going through the research of our family's "perfect dog." 

In the meantime, we also became the best dog sitters around.

 

We were conditioning Ansen . . .

And it got harder to ignore the joy in their hearts.  

Cheer 2013 -2014

In full swing with the Cheer Season . . . but we're getting more used to it now and we're going for two.  It feels a little more like I know what we're doing and I'm a little less stunned by the the craziness of the cheer world. 

Olivia is on Youth White Sparklers and just seriously amazes us.   We thought she was not one to put in 100% every time or even for more than 2 minutes . . . but we were so wrong and so very glad to be wrong.  She's followed instructions to a T, she has a huge, bright red smile on the entire time and she has even been happy with waking up at 6:15 to get there on time.

Her team has 2 first places and 1 second place with 3 pizza parties earned for perfect performances.  Life doesn't get any better.

Addie is on Youth Blue again, but feeling a little more confident and comfortable this year.  They've earned 3 first places and 3 pizza parties for perfect performances.  It's been fun to see her progress.

And still an option out there . . . brothers are free with a paying sister . . . so there's still a chance we could have 3 in cheer pretty soon . . . heaven help us.

And lucky for Chris . . . or maybe just for us . . . Chris was here for the friends and family night. 

Happy Two Year Anniversary!

We hit the 2 year anniversary of my car accident!  And we celebrated . . . which we totally should because we made it to this side of something hard.  And celebrating helps us remember we can do it again when the next "something hard" comes along. 

We headed to a family favorite - Window on the Wasatch for dinner.  Never heard of it?  That's because it's the hospital cafeteria.

I am so incredibly grateful for my car accident.  I have learned so much in the last two years about myself, about my Heavenly Father, about my marriage, my family, strength, hope, service and accepting service, compassion and patience.

I would never trade any of it, not for a second.  I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that knows our needs and answers our prayers.  I'm grateful for the personal growth that always come with "hard."  



And Drew was thankful that he picked bubble gum flavor and no one really wanted a taste of his ice-cream.