Wasn't It Just May?

Seriously....where has the time gone? Last time I checked, it was May and we were playing flag football. Eli had so much fun playing with his friends on coach Ben's team. He also was able to play with his best friend Logan. He was a great player this year. We say instead of calling him ELI PAULL CRAWFORD, we should call him ELI BALL since he ALWAYS has a ball in his hands!

 

Ok. Ok...so he has a Gatorade in both of these pictures. USUALLY he has a ball in his hand. Even at home, he wakes up and goes out to the garage and starts kicking a ball, or lays on the carpet and throws a ball up and down. He is one determined kid!

 

This year was a first playing on Coach Brown's team. Mason has loved hanging out with Tait this year. There were a lot of his good friends playing this year! We love them! Joshua, Brayden, Tait, Crew, Joseph, and Ethan. Tait's dad is an excellent coach and really helped Mason overcome some of his fears that he had playing for the a different team last year. It's interesting to see what a difference a coach can make. He needs someone to be positive but push him. I loved that when he would make a mistake, the coach would put him back in to show him he could do it instead of taking him out to "punish" him. Mason was able to make some great plays and was the able to enjoy being the quarter back some of the time.

 

 

 

Abbie took her 2nd year of ballet and loved having her friend Elyza in her class. It's always nice to have someone to carpool with! Abbie is a cute little dancer. I will say I think she is a little silly out there. Her facial expressions cracked us up! Not sure if she will continue this year, but she sure loved MS Robbin! We might be going for hip hop next year, who knows. She sure has a lot of rhythm and loves dancing! She was even breaking out into a big dance on a diving board Saturday night during a pool party! You just never know when she'll show us her dance fever!

 

 

 

 

Abbie started off the year with Mr. Sessions and ended the year with MRS. Lewis. Mr. Sessions retired during the year. Abbie has become a great reader and loves math! I will say she did a lot of talking too! Little Miss Social! Hopefully she'll be able to curb that a little better this next year! She wanted pictures with several friends....take notice on the cute boy she's standing next to. She seems to have a crush on Drew this year. She has good taste. He's cute, popular and the smartest boy in the class! What's not to like, huh?

 

Mason is ending 5th grade? No way! How did my little boy grow up so fast? I LOVE MRS CAO! She is such a terrific teacher! The kids learned so much and really had respect for her! They had a lot of fun too! She was firm but FUN! I enjoyed helping in her classroom every THursday and getting to know her.

Here they are on the last day of school playing Dodge Ball. Such fun memories! Here we come summer!

 

 

Eli did really well in 3rd grade. This was a pretty tough year since he had a VERY strict teacher! I'm all about firm and stuff, but sometimes she seemed a bit GROUCHY. I guess I'm that way sometimes too, so who am I to talk? lol...anyway, here they are playing a fun game on the last day of school. The thing Eli loved most about this year was that his best friend Logan was in his class with him!

Parenting Ain't for Whimps!

I remember as a kid playing dolls and watching moms and thinking how much fun it would be to be a mom myself. I still love holding babies and smelling their soft loveable skin. There is something about kids being around that makes everything that much more special and memorable. I love being a mom, I love the hugs and kisses, the laughter, watching them grow and learn. I don't think I've ever felt so happy but never so sad or discouraged!
I'm not a writer, so I'm sure I won't be able to articulate my feelings on paper...but sometimes I wonder how I'm going to end up with good, well adjusted kids! Seriously! I know we can't force them to always chose the right...so we have to persuade them. So, where is that instruction book for each kid? I need those intructions!
I want to be fun, so I let them stay up a little later, eat a little too much junk food, watch tv at a time they shouldn't, play outside a little longer, etc..... you get the point. But is it just me, or does that stuff backfire on you?
We are doing the best we can and hope it will be enough. I don't want to be so strict that they feel like they need to rebel or give them so much rope that they hang themselves with it. Where is that middle ground? I know it really comes down to being close to Heavenly Father and being guided as to the best way to raise these kids. After all, they are HIS children and He sent them to us to teach them and help them return to HIM. I am grateful for such a great husband. David is so kind and gentle. He really does back me up and I"m thankful for him. I'm glad that as we were correcting our child tonight that we did it in a kind, and respectful way. And in the end, the child was happy and giving tight hugs to dad.
If anything, I guess I'm getting a little glimpse into how Heavenly Father feels when we disobey. He wants us to be happy, but has to let us make our choices. Why do we make it so hard on ourselves sometimes?

Family is Everything!

I love getting away from the busy life I lead sometimes. I am grateful for the life I have, but I appreciate the moments that I can get away and focus on the people I love the most. My FAMILY! Immediate and extended! I love the way our kids are so excited to see their cousins. Even though their ages range so much...they love each other so much! Even church was a fun activity as you can see.....

 

David is such a great husband! I love my DAvey Doo....

 

Aren't these earings just gorgeous? LOL....Abbie found them lying under a tree and figured they'd be great jewelry...

 

My family....can't imagine life without them! I have a quote on my wall at home that says "When I cound my blessings....I count you twice!"

 

I'm trying to get pictures posted from the trip we are currently on. ONe day I'll get caught up! Until then, I'm enjoying the wonderful memories we made in Carlsbad, CA with Aut and her family!

Carlsbad, Here We COme!!!!

Autumn and Gus were given a week at a time share Condo in Carlsbad, CA and were SOOO kind to invite us! We have been looking forward to this since THanksgiving when we were invited! We could wait to see our cousins and be in such a FUN spot all together! And to top it all off...it was free! We could ALL use that kind of place to stay, huh?
I'm sure the pictures won't do justice to just how beautiful this place really was, but I"ll try to capture the fun we had here!

 

Here is the front of the condo where we stayed. I guess it is a mixture of hotel and condos....it's in a great spot right up from the beach! WE literally could walk out of the gate, accross the street and down to the beach! SOOOOO fun!

 

We arrived Saturday evening...so the next morning, we tried to start the day off right and go to church. WEll, we should get the blessings for trying....but I'm afraid all we were able to do was take the sacrament because there was standing room only in the foyer! I have NEVER seen a place so crowded!

 

The kids just had a ball together. I am so grateful that my kids love their cousins so much. We weren't super close to the 7 cousins we had growing up. I want to make sure that my kids know their cousins better than that! Since we live far away from any cousins, we really try to make an effort to see them at least once a year. Abbie and Lucas were 2 peas in a pod the whole trip. It was really cute how much they were together!

 

Aaron is a little heart breaker. He is such a cutie pie! We all just couldn't get enough of him! He is definitely a busy boy. ALways closing doors, getting into the toilet, climbing up on things, you know, you're typical toddler. BUt those dimples and chubby legs and all of that just made us want to come back for more and more kisses! The kids loved being around him. SInce I can't have anymore kids, I love to have a baby around for them to have that experience of loving a baby!

 

THe first thing the kids want to do whenever we get to a hotel or condo is SWIM! I think they swam 3-5 hours a day! They couldn't seem to get enough! THey would go in the afternoon and were ready to go back again in the evening. THis was really turning out to be a fun LOW BUDGET trip! A condo has a kitchen...so we cooked all but one meal in 6 days and went swimming alot! TERRIFIC!

 

This guy is the love of my life. I don't know where I'd be without him. He is such a gentleman, and so kind and loving. I love the dad he is to the kids...I love that he calms me down and puts everything into perspective, I love the example he is to me....he just makes me want to be a better person! He's here trying to catch a couple of sun rays and getting ready to go toss the ball to the kids while they are jumping into the pool....

 

Abbie and Lucas were jumping into the water together holding hands. How precious is that? Lucas got really brave in the water this trip! Much to him mom's delight!

 

The boys played ping pong several times. IT's fun to see them go and play things together. It does a mom's heart good. I love having them be this age. They are still my little boys, but old enough to entertain themselves and have a good time. I just love my boys!

 

ON Memorial Day...the condo had a whole celebration. One of the things they did was have this lady come in and show them some different kinds of animals and reptiles. Mason was chosen to come up and help hold this snake. EWW...I can't stand snakes, but Mason sure liked it! Abbie got to go and touch it too. GOod for them....keep it away from me though!

 

What is it about the beach that just brings out the excitement? The sound, the smell, the people all around, the sand, I dunno...but Abbie could hardly contain herself as a wave came rolling in.

 

Here they are giving boogie boarding a try. Eli did really well! He got the hang of it and made it look fun! OF course I didn't do it cuz the camera would get wet. :)

 

The kids brought their DS games. Those were quite a hit! It was really cute watching Lucas and Sam sit by Mason and Eli to see them play their games. We made sure to have them share, but it was fun that they all sat together and enjoyed the games.

 

Gus is a GREAT and MARVELOUS cook! Oh my goodness! That guy can make meat taste like....a little piece of heaven! I didn't think to take pictures before we ate, I just captured a picture of a LITTLE bit of leftovers...we just kept eating and eating cuz it tasted so good!