A Letter From Our Kids

Dear Mom,

First of all, we wanted to let you know what a great Mom you are. We can tell that you are really trying hard and we have learned a lot of important things from you. Sometimes, however, it seems that the image you project of us to others isn’t totally reflective of reality (at least not how we see it). While we are usually really good kids (and you tell us as much), reading your blog sometimes seems like it is meant to be the strongest form of birth control available. We, as your offspring, are concerned that there is a disconnect here. Since we have experienced so much happiness within the context of our family, we just want to make sure that this joy is not diminished by colorful accounts of our more embarrassing moments.

So as not to offend, we are writing this letter to you in a way that accentuates some of the most positive aspects of your parenting. At the same time, however, we make an attempt to demonstrate how these same aspects can sometimes lead to natural conflicts-of-interest between our development and your desire for an orderly home. Almost consistently, however, you have put our needs above your own, and have not allowed yourself to slack on the parenting in favor of a temporary and imaginary picture of the perfect family.

First of all, we wanted to thank you for having all of us so close together. We don’t know of very many families who have had 4 kids in 5 years (with one on the way as well), and we understand that things can get a little bit out of hand sometimes. We are sure that you understood this as you planned your family, but you chose to have us anyway. Well, we just wanted to let you know that it is working. We are all extremely close friends with each other, and we are establishing strong family ties now that will last for the rest of our lives. We love to play with each other, but I know that sometimes we get caught up in a “groupthink” mentality, and we apologize for the times when it leads to bad outcomes. Please cut us a little slack- we’re kids. We say this not by way of excuse, but as a reality check for you. Seriously, go and find a parent with a young child and ask her if it ever gets frustrating. Now, multiply that frustration by four. Stuff happens- and with more of us around, plus the ability we have to play off of each other, a lot more stuff is going to happen than you might see in a family with fewer and more spread apart children. I hope that you can see, Mom, that this is understandable (although not excusable), and that the strong relationships that we have with each other are more important than a few frustrating days every now and then.

Next, we wanted to thank you for instilling within us a sense of creativity. We seriously feel sorry for some of our peers who do not know how to play because they have fallen victim to the “screen trap.” So many of them are incapable of thinking of fun things to do without a tv, computer, or video game to guide them. Consequentially, they are being influenced by their world way more often than they are having and influence on it. We, on the other hand, are already learning valuable lessons about how we can bring about change in our surroundings in order to make them more desirable for us. Sometimes, however, what is desirable to a 3 year-old is not the same thing that is desirable to a 30 year old. But only sometimes. We understand that you are bigger and stronger and smarter than we are, and it would be easy for you to force things to be your way all the time. But you don’t. And as your children, we see this as one of the best things about you. By letting us do things sometimes without interference, we are gaining confidence in ourselves that will carry through into adulthood. This, to us, is worth getting in trouble every once in a while for accidently taking things too far.

Another thing that we see you doing is teaching us how to engage our critical thinking skills, even at this young age. You have raised us all to have extremely inquisitive minds, and to question nearly everything. Further, you have taught us that we can discover answers to these questions for ourselves, and that sometimes this process involves experimentation/exploration of the unknown. We know many, many parents who are scared to allow their children to engage in this sort of behavior. Unfortunately, we have seen their siblings grow up to a state of paralysis when it comes to intelligent decision making, leading them to look constantly for external sources to dictate to them how to live their lives. And we can understand how such a life, while it may be easier and even safer, cannot be lived as fully as one in which the individual takes control for themselves. So thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We know that by giving us these important skills and attitudes, you are relinquishing an enormous amount of control. But as we learn how to use these tools of inquiry, we know that we will be better equipped to make proper judgments about our world when nobody else is there to guide us.

With this, we also feel the need to issue an apology. Since we are just learning, we sometimes investigate our surroundings in a way that may seem destructive to those who already know the answers to our questions (one example we can think of is when we were putting rocks in the air conditioner). We understand this, and we understand that you could make your own life a lot easier by simply quashing our natural tendencies to investigate our surroundings. But you don’t. Instead you let us discover, and explore, and experiment, even if it means that things get broken sometimes. But don’t worry- we are starting to understand that the natural consequence of breaking things is that we have to buy new things, and that this can be extremely expensive (in terms of toys). Consequentially, we have begun to be a lot more cognizant of our experimental methods- A quick glance into the playroom reveals that our R&D budget is starting to look pretty skimpy.  

Finally, we want to thank you for allowing us to experience natural consequences. Rarely do we show you this sort of gratitude in the moment, but just know that we understand that it is not always easy for you to do. When we refuse to bring a coat to the park, for example, even when you tell us we should, you have shown love to us by allowing us to go cold. Consequentially, we have seen you endure not only whining from our own self-imposed misery, but judgmental looks from other adults as well. But we understand that you will never allow anything really bad to happen to us, and that by teaching us these important lessons we now have intrinsic reasons to do things rather than simply following rules that don’t make any sense to us. Because of your teaching, we have also begun to learn how to project our actions into the future, making educated guesses about what the probable outcome would be before any action is even taken. This, we feel, is an important life skill to learn, and is worth a few bumps or scrapes every now and again. So, thank you.

In closing, we want to let you know how good you are doing as a mom. The very fact that you are trying so hard stands out to us as an example of what a good mom is. That does not go unnoticed.

With Love,

-Evelyn, Adalie, Jackson, and Maren (Your little loinfruits)  J

For today’s blog post I want to do a review of our vacuum cleaner. I know this sounds dull, but any family with young kids knows that the vacuum cleaner is an important- no, an essential- appliance to have around the home. And besides, telling about our vacuum cleaner is the silver lining to a certain ‘incident’ that happened this week.

We chose our vacuum based on Amazon reviews and the reasonable sticker price. We bought it hoping that it lived up to all that was said about it, because we have a carpeted dining room and 4 messy kids. After having it a couple of years, I can confidently say that it has proven itself time and time again. Whether it is lettuce, soggy mini-wheats, spilled flour, or rubbed-in pieces of play-dough, our vacuum has done a supreme job of keeping our dining room (mostly) presentable.

But that was all just warm-up. That was the easy stuff. Yesterday, our little Hoover survived the real test. The test of the “food-storage massacre.”

I should start this story by clearing Evelyn’s good name. She was at her friend’s birthday during all of the events that I am about to describe. Rachel was gone as well- Christmas shopping until it was time to get Ev. That left me at home alone with Adalie, Jackson, and Maren.

It was supposed to be quiet time, but they were all playing downstairs very nicely with each other, and I thought that separating them would entail more work on my part than just letting them play. Besides, I was busy playing the guitar, and trying to enforce quiet time would surely take me away from my music. And so I decided to let them stay downstairs in the playroom. This is also a good place to mention that the playroom closet is also the place where we keep our food storage. We keep the closet door locked, and it has never been a problem…until now.

Well, as they say- time flies when you’re having fun. And those who know me will understand that playing my guitar is one of my favorite pastimes. And so I played for a full hour-and-a-half without ever looking up. It was only when I took a break to get a drink of water that I looked at the clock and realized that I had not heard anything from our children this entire time. I smiled and thought about what good kids they were. Being the awesome dad that I am, I decided that it would be cool if I went down and invited them to watch a Christmas movie with me. That would be good ‘kid time.’

Now usually after this much time, I will go downstairs expecting to see a mess. Our kids are creative and imaginative, and they will frequently make forts, roads, stores, etc. out of our basement. I don’t mind this, and I normally encourage this sort of play. For this reason, was surprised when I got down the stairs to see everything in its perfectly clean and untouched condition. It was almost as if the kids weren't even here. I could hear happy voices coming from the play room though, although the door was shut. This was a bit unusual.

I opened the door.

… … … …

There are very few times when I don’t have anything to say. This was one of them. I just looked around in shocked silence. And then I looked at each of our kids. And then they looked at me. And without any more provocation that this, they started crying and slowly made their way to their rooms to put themselves in time out.

I let them go (although I did make a mental note to spend some time pondering the deeper psychological implications of their response to my sudden arrival and subsequent silence). I then assessed the damage.

It was complete- in a completely bad, catastrophic sort of way.

Someone (probably Jack, since he is smarter when it comes to mischief making) had figured out how to stack toys up to the point where they could jimmy the lock on the storage room closet. It then appeared that they had systematically gone through each individual item and, if they could, opened it and poured it on the floor. Thankfully, the canned goods were impervious to little hands. Everything else perished. And I mean EVERYTHING.

Flour, sugar, mashed potatoes, rice, beans, oatmeal, gravy, taco seasoning, spices, noodles, etc. - all were spread across the floor in a chaotic (and almost artistic) rendering of- well, of nothing. Of a mess. That’s all. Just one, big, ugly, expensive mess.

And this brings me to our vacuum. This was a job that only the toughest machine could handle. And it did so with an aptitude and skill that can only be matched by the aptitude of my children for creating the need for such a machine. It was almost as if the vacuum developed a personality- a determination not to be beat. It did not discriminate- everything from flour to large plastic dominos was easily swallowed up into its patented wind tunnel of a body. I was especially thankful for the ease of emptying the canister, as it was completely filled a full four-and-a-half times before the carpet was clean. I also have to praise the suction strength and ease of use regarding the detachable hose, since it was needed to reach into all the nooks and crannys of the room. Finally, I must recognize the machine for its efficiency. In less than five minutes I had completely undone the mess that had taken several focused and devoted child-hours to create. Yes, our vacuum is good at what it does.

And now I guess we better just hope that we don’t need food storage any time soon, because it is going to take a long, long time before our kids are able to replace everything that was lost.

But I guess that is what I get for not putting them in quiet time.

PS: To those who wonder- our kids went to bed that night after spending a good two hours cleaning without any help. Also, the “toy fairy” visited our home- a malevolent winged creature who steals toys from irresponsible children to give them to kids who will appreciate them more.

PPS: Also, for those who wonder- we have a Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Upright Vacuum, which can be purchased from Amazon for 99.00 and free shipping.

Us and our wonderful kids in our Sunday best before church

This morning I awoke quietly and lay in my bed.  The first thing to greet me was the strong fresh smell of pine. My door was closed, but the smell was able to penetrate in to wake me up.  What a wonderful way to begin the day!  I look forward to that smell every time I enter the house, hang out in the living room, or wake up in the morning.

Yesterday we drove to a local farm, located our perfect tree, cut it down, and went to a warm building to enjoy hot chocolate while other people shook out our tree and wrapped it for us.  What a great way to go!  We had the fun of picking a still growing tree, but we didn't have to do all of the work. Also, it was only slightly longer than the perfect amount of time to have our kids out in the 7 degree weather (windchill of -11). Brilliant.

Lets go back 12 months or so to last Christmastime.  Our tree, really just a branch, stretched the limits of our Christmas tree base... Because the trunk of our little branch was so little.  This year our lovely tree finally made it in to our base after a little bit of scraping and prodding to get the large trunk to fit (sort of).  Soon after, however, we heard a whooshing sound and looked in time to see our graceful 10 foot tree do a swan dive onto our carpet.  Our little base was twisted and bent beyond recognition.  Needless to say, we have a much better tree this year. After purchasing a new base and setting up our lovely tree I am still finding out new reasons why I love our home!  The tree space in our living room was created for tall, wide, and lovely Christmas trees.

Last year I had to physically take the needles off of the tree and break them to get my Christmas tree smell fix.  This year I can smell Christmas nearly everywhere in our home.  I am one happy girl!

Yesterday we decorated the tree as a family while listening to Christmas carols.  Everything is perfect except for the fact that I have no idea how we are going to untangle the lights that we put up there.  I managed to buy lights that separate into three strands... We wound those around the existing lights and we are just hoping that we will untangle them when the time comes.  For now, we will just enjoy the beautiful tree, glorious smell, and magic of Christmas time.

I need to mention that no matter what we do Christmas related, all of the three older kids (especially Evelyn) are quick to point out that Jesus is the main reason for the Christmas season.  I love this.  I can not tell you how many times I was called out by one child or another who was announcing that Jesus had been born and I needed to come and see Him.  My favorite time happened yesterday after we had finished decorating the tree. Evelyn came to my room sporting 2 large branches behind her back that we had trimmed off of the tree. She informed me that she was an angel and that I was a shepherd. She told me to 'fear not' for Jesus was born in a manger, and that I must follow the star to come see Him. I am grateful for my kids who help me always to stay in the real spirit of Christmas.

On Monday, Widget (our Christmas elf),made his appearance.  He brought with him a tray full of brownies and a thank you message written in Cheerios (for the pictures the kids drew for him). I had heard from Santa that Widget has been a little bit of a troublemaker this year.  He has been pretty mischievous so far!  The kids love it.

I am loving the holidays so far. I feel blessed in so many ways this season.

I will post a Thanksgiving post soon!  We had an excellent trip to Utah to visit my family.

Hooray for Christmas time and hooray for best friends

Widget, our mischievous elf, took selfies with each of the kids the other night

Here are the kids while we had hot chocolate while waiting for our tree.  It was a brilliant idea to offer free hot chocolate along side high priced caramel popcorn and cinnamon rolls.  :)

We are excited to see family for Thanksgiving! 3 more days!

Yesterday we were all in the car. About the time that we turned onto our street, Addy and Jack started fighting. Evelyn asked- "Why are you guys fighting?" Addy responded very matter-of-factly- "Oh, because we are almost home!"

I love our children.

On Friday it was a cold day- it even snowed a little bit. I went outside with the kids to play and Addy got cold. Evelyn took off her coat and gave it to her. I asked Evelyn if she was going to be cold, and she said, "Yes, but I will help Addy how to be happy."

I love our children.

I am often asked if I have kids. When I answer that I have four, and tell people their ages, I am often met with a look of shock. Mostly, this look is because I look pretty young to have four kids, but at least part of it is usually because our kids are so close in age. Occasionally someone will make a smart comment like "you know how that happens, right..heh, heh."

Right. And then I usually respond by telling them how wonderful it is having our kids close in age. I mean it. My kids aren't just siblings. They are truly best friends. They play together. They fight with each other. They learn about things together. It is so fun to watch them interact that I can't help but feel bad for brothers and sisters who are years and years apart. It would be so lonely!

Anyway- back to our week. As I mentioned (I think) in another blog, Rachel and I recently got cross-country skis. Yesterday we went to Farragut State Park which is a mere 20 minute drive. Surprisingly, we haven't spent a lot of time at this place, and the purpose of our visit was mostly exploratory. Well, I am so glad that we went. I think Rachel and I will spend a lot of time here this Winter (and Spring, and Summer, and Fall). There are almost 50 miles of trails here, and most of them are groomed for skiing. There are several warming huts, as well as cabins that you can ski into to spend the night. And it is all so close that it would be easy to drop off kids for a couple of hours and go there for a Friday or Saturday date together. We are excited.

Well, here are some long-overdue pictures of Halloween. We hope you all have a great week!

It is 5:00 in the morning and I'm not totally awake yet, but I had to post something. Prepare yourself for a scattering of thoughts with no cohesion whatsoever between ideas. Here goes.

I've said it before, and I'll continue saying it every year- I love Autumn! It is by far my favorite season. I have started walking to work in the morning instead of riding my bike because I love the crispness of everything and the atmosphere and I just want to be out in it.

Of course with Autumn you also get the funnest holiday of the the entire year- Halloween! We made the most of it by going to two ward parties (the last one was just last night) and trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. We will have candy at our house for a long time...unless it mysteriously starts disappearing in about a week.

Rachel and I have also been enjoying a lot of time together lately. This weekend we went to a movie together- something we haven't done in years. It was fun. Also, we bought some x-country skis in preparation for the snow.

Business is good- like, really good. It makes us happy.

It snowed the other day- briefly. It still made the kids extremely excited and they all put on their snow clothes and went outside to play.

We will have pictures as soon as our camera cooperates and connects to the computer.

It is a shame that taking pictures or video is frowned upon in the chapel.  Our children make me SO happy!  I enjoyed watching them sing and say their parts for the primary program  Every year our primary (ages 3-11) takes an entire Sacrament meeting to do a cute little program.  Generally this is a mixture of singing and having each child say a little part.  Adalie, Jack, and Evelyn memorized their parts and have been repeating them almost daily.  When the time came, however, it was a different story.  Adalie let her teacher whisper the words for her to repeat, Jack had to be carried up to the stage and the teacher ended up saying his part, and Evelyn interrupted the teacher (who tried to whisper it in her ear) to recite the part perfectly.  The kids make up his/her own part, and Jack's part was met with laughter and commentary from around us.  It was- "My favorite creations are rocks because I like to climb them!" I quite enjoyed sitting with Maren and Logan and being an attentive audience member for my sweet kids.

Logan was partially responsible for organizing our church Halloween party.  We had a great turnout!  Our activities included a pumpkin carving contest, potluck, mingling, and lots of dancing.  Unfortunately, Logan's phone battery was dead (our camera) and we did not get any pictures!  We will make sure to get a lot on Halloween night.

Whenever there is sunshine we try to get outside to go exploring or go to the park.  Here are some pictures of our exploring adventures and other pictures from the week.

Evelyn decided she wanted to try a cooking "experient." I collected her supplies as she requested them, and she figured out how much of each ingredient to add.  Her result?  A really good tasting sweet concoction.  I think it tasted like sweet lemon bread.  Nice work!  She used every ingredient I would use in something like this.  I also noticed that she added what seemed like reasonable amounts for each ingredient.  I was impressed.

Fairy house in the park

The next few pictures are from our explorations of Corbin Park

Rachel's Week

This week was all about me. That does not happen very often, and I fully enjoyed it.

Before I get to my week I have a confession to make...

I. Like. Shopping.

I have never really liked shopping. It was a chore to be done and, due to my tendency to be picky, can last a LONG time. Recently I have discovered the art of accessorizing.  I enjoy scarfs, cute layers, and even a necklace here and there. Luckily (I think) I am still really selective in what I will buy. 

'My' first night was on Wednesday.  I had an itch to get out of the house and have some 'me' time.  I have been looking for a new skirt or dress and I wanted to go shopping. By myself. Alone. Without children. Logan easily agreed. During dinner he announced that him and the kids were going to have a 'Papa Night!' Evelyn immediately asked me to leave and inquired if they could have a fish Papa night.  Did I mention that I have a wonderful husband? 

Anyway. I was able to go on a quiet drive into Coeur d'Alene and browse through some of my favorite stores.  I didn't buy anything, but that is typical. At the end of the night I felt completely better.  

Another 'me' night was actually a Ladies Night Out!  I have a few friends out here, but I have been struggling to meet new people and actually have time to get to know them.  Six of us went to a local Mexican restaurant and chatted for almost three hours.  Again, Logan was home having an excellent 'Papa Night' with the kids.  His night involved playing hide and seek in the dark, making treats, and having a papa movie night.  Did I mention that I have a wonderful husband???

Every Friday morning is Papa library morning. Did I mention that I have a wonderful husband?  He takes all four kids to the hour long library story/craft/snack time while I have some time to devote to keeping up my interpreting skills (or whatever else I feel like doing).  

Logan and I had a date that began on Friday afternoon at 2 and ended at 9 that night.  We planned on going rock climbing in the afternoon, but after searching we couldn't find our climbing gear.  We decided to go biking on a trail we found in Liberty Lake instead of climbing.  As we were loading the bikes we remembered that the climbing stuff was all in the shop because Logan had been out with the kids on our climbing wall. We decided to continue with our plan to go bike riding.

I have always wondered what enjoyment people could find with mountain biking uphill. Little did I know that I was about to find out...

We took the bikes out and began our 3.5 mile ride to the waterfall.  We have done the very beginning of this hike with our kids and the trail was really mellow.  I did not realize that it quickly became an uphill climb for the duration of the hike.  

After some deep breathing, shaky legs, and sheer determination I made it to the top!  I was pretty proud of myself.  Also, I must mention that the ride back down was absolutely exhillarating.  There was no one on the trail and we could go as fast as we wanted.  I will admit that Logan went faster than me, but I impressed myself with my speed.

We arrived home around 5 and each of us showered.  At six our babysitter Anna showed up.  Logan and I went to Outback Steakhouse for our monthly Heartwood meeting.  I enjoy these meetings and this one was unique because it was our first 'yearly' meeting.  We have officially been open for a year!

Instead of buying dessert at the restaurant we went shopping for ice cream and brownies.  We continued our date at home with brownie sundaes and Star Wars Episode II (We are in the middle of watching the series).

What an amazing day!  But my 'me' week did not end there.

On Saturday morning I woke up and got ready to leave from 9-2.  It was Super Saturday for our ward. This is when mass amounts of women get together and do crafts that they had signed up for ahead of time.  Each craft has someone in charge to teach people how to make it. We talk. We eat lunch. We craft. This is my kind of event.

Today we went to church and the speakers did not show up.  Logan sent Evelyn on a secret mission to give a note to the bishop. Logan was the impromptu speaker and he did a fabulous job. Did I mention that I have a wonderful husband?

The cherry on top for this week was the fact that all four kids were perfectly well behaved through ALL of Sacrament Meeting.  What a fabulous way to end the week. 

Here are some pictures of this week and last week.

I love family night!  This is our idea of family night treats (donut holes on a string). It is also another way for us to create humor in our lives. 

I think it is time to invest in a second bike trailer.  Adalie is sittin' pretty in a bike seat on the other bike. 

Eskimo Adalie

Exploring buddies

Proof that I can, in fact, ride a bike. Unfortunately we could not get the camera to work in order to show proof of the fact that my wonderful husband was there as well.

Today you have the unique opportunity to look into the lives of the four Hazard kids.  Here are some of the things that are happening with our littles.

Evelyn
Evelyn is in her second month of kindergarten and she is loving it!  It sounds like she is having a great time with all of her new friends.  A few days ago she came home and announced that she had formed a recess club with a big group of friends.  "The explorer club" meets everyday at recess to explore and find new things. Yesterday's find was a big log that was too big to carry. Evelyn has many friends, but her best friend is Teagan.  They met during orientation and they "have the exact same color hair and many other things that are the same!"

Evelyn waltzed into the room the other day wearing her rapunzel dress (the bottom had ripped and she had it slung over her shoulder), a dress up bowler hat, and my heels.  She sashayed around the room and I made the comment, "Wow, it looks like you are showing a little leg there."  She wrinkled up her forehead and in a confused voice said, "Mom, I'm only showing two."

Our sweet girl is reading and writing like a pro!  She writes long letters and many party invitations (her new thing) daily.  She is doing an excellent job sounding out her words and writing them.  She is getting very good at reading big words on her own as well.  At her Kindergarten open house her teacher told us, "You have one very smart little girl."  We sure love her!

During the closing prayer at family night this week Evelyn was freaking out.  She didn't want anyone near her.  Jackson gets a kick out of these moods and instantly glues himself to her side.  It is pretty hilarious to watch because he has a cute little smile and she is absolutely mortified!  The whole time he keeps exclaiming, "Evelyn, I just want to BE with you!" Anyway, we finally moved him and Logan went to sit with her. She freaked out because he was too close.  Logan slowly inched away until she said he was a comfortable distance.  Just to taunt her he scooted forward a tiny bit. She freaked out. He kept testing her limits and we found out that she has an imaginary line an estimated three feet and four inches from her body.  Do not cross it even by leaning forward.  She is serious.

Jackson
Jackson has a confidence that is unmatched by any kids I have seen at his age.  I remember one of his nursery leaders approaching me and saying, "When Jack walks in the room he is automatically in control.  He owns this room."  That was when he was 18 months old.  There is no denying that he was born with this trait.

I went on a lunch date with Jackson to McDonalds last week.  We ate lunch and chatted for a while before he played on the toys.  I decided to sit back and watch what happened when he didn't have siblings around to play with. He walked up to a boy that was about a head taller than him and said in a cheery voice, "Lets play!" The little boy grinned and they ran off.  A few minutes later he showed up and announced, "We are playing bears." After the pronouncement both of them growled menacingly to prove their point.

A few minutes later the little boy had to leave.  Without missing a beat Jackson approached another little boy (much bigger than Jack) and asked if he wanted to play.  About five minutes later Jack had four boys following him around and playing airplanes with him. He was calm, cool, and collected as a natural leader. Both of the games were his idea, and all of the other boys naturally gravitated to him as their leader.  He may have been the youngest... He certainly was the smallest.

Jack has speech twice a week.  This  year he seems so much more mature than he did last year.  He loves going (big change!), and he listens and follows along perfectly. Last week Logan took Jack to class.  He told me about what had happened after class.  The teacher brought all of the kids back and Jack exuberantly told them all 'Good Job!' with a high five.  Then, he walked up to one of the moms and told her 'Good Job' and gave her a high five as well. After he was finished he turned around and strutted out the door.  For those of you who know Jack you know that he definitely has a strut.  Even his walk exudes confidence.

I am such a proud mama!  I love that little man.

Adalie
I would like to explain our happy little Adalie with a phrase that may some day be her bumper sticker.  It would simply say, 'I would rather be at home.'  Adalie LOVES being at home, and whenever she hits her 'out of the house limit' she will kindly let us know that she would like to go home.  Unfortunately, this happens whenever we try to do something fun outside.  On Friday we went on a family bike ride on the Centennial. We stopped for a a break at a little exploring place by the river.  It took about three minutes for our sweet Adalie to say her line.  She decided to sit out most of the exploration and instead settled on some magic rocks that she found.  A few blogs back I told the story of Adalie walking in our house after a long vacation and exclaiming, "I love this house!" She definitely does.

Adalie would also have a wooden sign in her house that read, "I would rather be cuddling." I sure love to cuddle her!  She is up for a cuddle any time of day. Her hugs are awesome and would last for an hour if you let them.

After church today Logan was showing the kids the thumb trick (it looks like he is taking off his thumb).  Jackson was intrigued, Evelyn was trying to figure out how it was done, and Adalie was in the fetal position screaming and crying.  I think it was the pretend sound of pain that Logan made when he did it that tipped her over the edge.  Logan quickly picked her up and cuddled her while offering to show her the trick.  She saw how it worked and was still freaked out.  She refused to even look at his hands even though she knew it was not real.

Maren
Little Miss Maren is a delight!  She is happy, content, and sweet!  For those of you who know her, you know that she is also very independent and refuses to be told what to do!  She is definitely improving in this area lately.  As of a few weeks ago it would have been torture for her to allow you to hold her hand.  She does NOT want to feel restricted in any way...  A few weeks ago she reached up once and held my hand.  I said something like 'I love holding your hand.' She immediately yanked her hand away and yelled 'NO!' So much for that little victory.  The last few days, however, she has reached up to hold my hand a few times.  These moments do not last long, but I treasure them.

Maren is 20 months old and starting to find her voice in everyday communication.  Her favorite two words are 'hi' and 'bye.' She feels the need to say hello to everyone and everything throughout the day.  Whenever I get her out of bed she must say goodbye to her room before we leave, when we leave the car her car seat gets a fond farewell.  Whenever I pick her up in the living room she will immediately grin and start saying goodbye to everyone.  I think she takes it as her cue for nap time.

Yesterday we were getting ready to go to the library.  Jack was in the bathroom and Maren came in.  Jack immediately said 'Go out.' Maren looked him in the eye and firmly said, 'No.' A crazy yes/no battle soon ensued.  This happened three more times before we left.  Jackson asked me why Maren kept saying no.  I responded that it was because he kept saying yes.

I have observed lately that Maren is very content being alone and doing her own thing.  She likes to explore and wander around.  She is good at finding things that entertain her.

Also, recently she has begun to enjoy reading books with me.  She will bring books over and plop herself down on my lap.  Her attention span has gone from a three page book to an eight page book.  Not very long, but definitely improving!

I love watching all of the kids learn, grow, and develop into sweet little people.  It is amazing the individuality that each child comes with. I know this sounds cliche, but it is true that each of them are so very unique.  I love it!

Evelyn's blog post

(Dictated by Evelyn)

I was holding a match book and I was bringing it to mom.  When I was walking I accidentally opened it up.  I was pulling and I accidentally got a match out. I tried to put it back in but I held it under and pulled it out. It accidentally caught fire. I threw it in the grass and was scared, but it didn't cause a fire. After that I went and gave the matches to mom and said I was sorry. I won't do that again.

My teacher's name is Mrs. Juliano and she is a good teacher.  If we always are good she lets us play with her play doh toys, and she is a very very nice teacher.  I like her.  I like the bus. My bus driver said I am a delight to be on the bus. Teagan is my best friend and also Micah. I have a Micah in my class just like my neighbor (he also loves Kaitlin).

(At this point she broke into song)
Kaitlin and Micah have the longest name, yes they do hoo hoo!
Kaitlin and Micah have the longest name, yes they do hoo hoo!

Computers is very fun. I like my computer teacher. computers are the best thing and I love it!

I love my brother and sisters and my mama and papa are my best mom and dad ever!  I also know how to spell mom and dad.

(Another song)
It's m-o-m space a-n-d space d-a-d ! Yeah!

Conference is the best thing ever.  I loved it and it was good.  I wanted to watch every one.  For conference bingo you put the candy on if you hear the word, and if you get five in a row you win and get to eat all of the candy off! We played it for Sunday morning.

My mom was sick today.

I am a good little girl.

Once upon a time I got stung by a bee and it hurted really bad.  Papa put toothpaste on it and it felt better really quick. Then it felt all better. I love my Papa!

This year during the the commencement exercises at BYU, Elder L. Tom Perry spoke to the recent graduates. His message addressed an issue that is a continual challenge for me, as well as one that has blessed my life with purpose and direction. The topic? Balance.

See, I DO stuff. Boredom has never really been a part of my life. Instead, some of the hardest decisions I have ever made have been what NOT to do. What not to major in (they all looked so interesting), what not to read (there is so much good literature out there), what schools not to attend (they each had their own strengths), and which places not to live (so many beautiful areas) have all been hard choices for me to make.

But it gets worse. Not only do I want to do EVERYTHING, but I want to do it all well. I don't just want to be a good husband, but I want to be the guy who spends tons of time with his wife, continually surprising her with fun ideas and engaging her in constant dialogue. At the same time I want to be an awesome dad- the dad who kids listen to because they respect him, but at the same time, the dad who all the other kids wished they had because I do cool stuff with them and take them cool places and treat them like real people and not just pets. While doing this, I totally have ambitions to be one of the best dentists in the state of Idaho, if not the entire country. I hope, one day, to be teaching other dentists through my writing and through lectures, how to do their jobs better and give the best possible care to their patients. Oh- and I also want to have a highly successful business, with several different offices and dozens of employees. But not just dental offices- oh no. I also want to own a sandwich shop, a real-estate company, and an international non-profit organization to provide health care and educational opportunities for those who lack the proper resources to pursue these things on their own. In my community, I want to be highly involved in organizations such as the LDS church, the chamber of commerce, and the rotary club. Along some of these same lines, I would like to get involved in local politics one day so that I can further serve those who share this beautiful part of the country with me. And of course, while I am doing all of this I will want to maintain my hobbies. I want to rock climb like Chris Sharma, play the guitar like Tommy Emmanuel, and build motorcycles like Tony Stark (just kidding on this last one...sort of). I also want to train for and complete the Coeur d'Alene IronMan. Besides these hobbies, I hope to continue my education with further degrees- one in History, one in Philosophy, and one in Music. And, although I surely have a lot on my plate, I need to remember every day to do my exercises, scripture study, social networking, and leisure reading. I also need to take a few minutes a day to relax and do nothing.

Whew! So, that sort of gets things started. I could go on, but I won't. And the thing is that I am totally, one hundred percent serious about each one of these things. At the same time, I realize that they probably won't all happen- can't happen. Because unfortunately these things all take TIME. Time that I don't have. But I will still go after them. It's what I do- make impossible goals and hope to end up somewhere close to where I was aiming. 

But getting back to my original point: Balance. It is hard sometimes to decide which things to allocate my time to and which ones to hold off on. Some things are obvious- Family and Faith come first. I also try to make sure I am always doing something in the other categories as well- Self, Community, Business, and Profession. But it really is a challenge. So, I guess I've just got to say thanks to good ol' L. Tom for the timely message (We've been on a first initial basis every since seminary. I can't say why.). 

Anyway- let's back up a little and go over the week. We had Evelyn's open house where she got to show us her class room and some of the projects she has been working on. Addy and Jackson's pre-school is in full swing as well and they are enjoying it. Maren is crazy- in a good way. Except for when she is throwing food because that's not so good. Rachel is working hard at interpreting and advertising for our business. She also teaches pre-school, does Achievement Days for our ward, and keeps our home from self-destructing. 

As for me- I'm just doing my best to stay balanced.

(Sorry- no pictures this week)

So...It's been a couple of crazy weeks for Rachel. Here's the story.

Remember a couple of weeks how I said that Rachel had gotten that dream job? If not, then go back and review. It was a great job. She was stoked. Well- she totally aced the interview and they told her that the job was hers contingent on a successful background check. Knowing that she had no "skeletons in the closet," Rachel happily assumed that she was home free.

Well, a little over a week ago she got a phone call from Sorenson (her employer) informing her that a background check revealed a complete lack of the college degrees that she had claimed on her application. A little irritated, Rachel explained that there must be some mistake. She would call the college that she graduated from right away and figure things out.

She called the college. Here's where the bad news hit. They had no record of her graduation! According to them, she had not received a degree! What's more, her records didn't even show that she had an Associate degree. At this point she started panicking a little. What? No degree? What about graduation? What about Summa Cum Laude? What about her job that she got as a teacher after she finished school? This misunderstanding was getting out of hand. Frantically, she made a few more phone calls, and the bad news was only confirmed. She had no degrees. None. Academically, she was back to square one- high school graduation.

How could this happen? The school she graduated from (UVU) said it was because her Bachelor degree hinged on the Associate that was transferred up from another school (SLCC). Apparently, they didn't double check on the transferred degree until after graduation, at which time they found a discrepancy (and conveniently forgot to tell Rachel). Basically, the Associate didn't transfer, so she couldn't get the Bachelor.

OK...But why didn't the Associate degree transfer? And why was she cleared for graduation by UVU before they had ensured the completion of all the required coursework? While we still don't know the answer to the second question, the first was quickly resolved by calling SLCC. They politely informed Rachel that the Associate was never transferred because she never earned it. What?! Why the heck not? Well, it looked like she never completed a freshman level sign language course. Never mind that Rachel had actually taken the class. Never mind that this course was a required prerequisite to virtually every other class on Rachel's transcript. The papers said she hadn't taken it, so that was that. Oh- and just in case you were wondering, it is a class that could not be tested out of (even though Rachel is now a nationally certified sign language interpreter), nor could it be taken online. The only way to get credit for the class would be to physically attend SLCC for another semester.

So, basically what is came down to was that Rachel didn't have an Associate or a Bachelor degree because the papers said that she never took an intro-to-sign-language course. And just like that- 5 years of hard work was gone. Dream job- gone. Dreams of going back to school for her Masters- gone. Credentials for future employment- gone. Done. And just to rub salt in the wound, when Rachel explained all of this to Sorenson (future employer), they informed her that she would NEVER, EVER be able to apply for a job with them again, even if she did get the degrees back, because she had committed the unpardonable sin- falsification and manipulation of information on her application.

Rachel was devastated.

She spent a lot of time on the phone in the next few days and weeks. She petitioned her case to the highest possible place at both schools. She explained, pleaded, begged, argued, fought, re-explained, negotiated, and talked with pretty much anyone who would listen. She was desperate.

And you know what? It worked.

It was tense for a while, but it finally ended up working. She will officially graduate in December of this year. So, Congratulations Rachel!

Oh- and about the job. She totally got it. She'll be starting in January.

Phew! What a scare.

Anyway. Other than that, things have been going really great. Here are some pictures.

I got a new guitar. I LOVE it. It's a Fender Strat. Beautiful. Simply Beautiful. Rachel told me I need to engrave the back of it with five simple words- "I love my wife more." I think she was only half joking.

The rest of these pictures of photos we found of Addy and Jack's birthday party. Rachel did a superhero theme. This, of course, is the cake. 

She made capes for all the kids with their initials sewn into them. Still, some opted to wear the ones they brought instead. Also, each kid made a superhero mask upon arrival to the party.

The heroes in silhouette. I did the cityscape. In case you didn't notice, it's Cleveland. I think it's pretty good.

Flying over the city!

They got lots of cool presents for their birthday, but their favorites are the bikes that Rachel and I got for them. Also, I don't usually look like a possessed demon. Only sometimes.

If you are a mom or a dad, or a grandma or grandpa, or a kid or a teacher, or have ever been a kid once upon a time, then you have probably, at some point, read this book. It is a classic. Here is an excerpt:

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

I have something to say to the mom in this book- come stay at our house for one hour and then you will realize how easy you really have it. I mean, honestly, how easy would it be if there was only one child to keeps tabs on? And a two-year-old at that! Seriously- put the books up high, lock all the closets, don't leave your watch laying around, and close the bathroom door. Problem solved- these are easy solutions. See, when she comes to our house she will immediately realize that she is way, WAY out of her league.

Here is the story that we would tell:

Once upon a time, a mom had a one-year-old. And a three-year-old. And another three-year-old. And a conniving too-smart-for-her-own-good five-year-old. This mom did everything right, but the kids made a plan. This plan was carefully constructed to expose the enemies weakness. They called it the "Hazard Child Reign of Terror," and it was highly effective.

First, the two three-year-olds threw rocks and pillows at the pictures that were hanging up downstairs until they fell off the wall. They then proceeded to break them apart (also with rocks) and spread the pieces around the room. Thus, having successfully created a barrier of glass shards around themselves, they feel safe in taking a box of crayons to the windows, walls, television, and handcrafted furniture. Phase 1: complete.

Enter the five-year-old. She comes and tells mom and dad what is going on downstairs. When the parents go to investigate, she quickly sneaks into her parents room (which she knows is off-limits), gets a chair, and takes her dad's really nice electric guitar. She quickly drags the instrument outside and promptly and deliberately drops it off the deck, permanently breaking it along with a small portion of her father's heart. Phase 2: complete.

Dad is too shocked and upset to give any sort of level-headed discipline right now, so mom goes out to pick up the shattered remains of the guitar. Unfortunately, three-year-old "A" beats her to the prize, and defends it fiercely by wielding a large stick and threatening to hit his mother if she gets too close. The five-year-old, in the meantime, is loudly proclaiming her innocence in the whole affair. Unable to manage both children at once, mom calls for back-up. This succeeds in getting both parents outside. Phase 3: complete.

While Mom and Dad are thus occupied, three-year-old "B" quickly runs back upstairs, into her parents room, and hides under their bed. While there, she sees Mom and Dad's fireproof safe with all their important stuff in in. A smile starts to form.  Doing some quick calculations, she decides that her parents will be occupied long enough to give her the time she needs to carry out her task. Just to be sure, however, she goes out to the kitchen, gets a chair, and unlocks the pantry. She then opens all the doors to the bathroom, and calls the one-year-old in for her part. Only then does she go back into the parent's room, lock herself in, and begin looking for a key.

Meanwhile, three-year-old "A" and five-year-old mastermind have successfully detained their parents in the back yard by inserting small rocks into the central-air conditioning unit until it no longer functions. Thus occupied, Mom and Dad are not even aware of anything going on in the house until they see the one-year-old come out onto the deck, soaking wet and holding a toilet plunger. They run inside only to find that the kitchen pantry has been emptied, as well as the entire contents of all the bathrooms. Oh- and Mom's brand new cell-phone is sitting at the bottom of a toilet, kept company by several toys, Dad's electric toothbrush, and a large white onion. 

Mom and Dad decide to put all children into their rooms- except that three-year-old "B" has mysteriously gone missing. And then they find her, sitting atop a pile of "treasures" that were once safely secured under the bed. Many of the papers are colored on or torn, including the title to their new car, Dad's college diploma from BYU, and his Idaho Dental License. Mom and dad have had it. The put the kids in their rooms and lock the doors so that they can clean the mess and regain some of their sanity. Phase 4: complete.

Now that the kids have ensured their privacy (Mom and Dad don't want anything to do with them at this point), they begin to work on their windows. First come the blinds, in pieces. Then the glass. Then the screens. Freedom, sweet freedom. Phase 5: complete.

After about a half hour, Mom and Dad have finally pieced the house together. They sit on the couch and rub their temples, trying to hold on to whatever remnants of sanity might still remain. Then they note that the house is actually pretty quiet. Very quiet, in fact. They relish the silence for just a half second until they realize that the house is too quiet to be natural. They share a look of dread and start rushing downstairs to check on the children, but are stopped by a knock on the door.

When they open the door, they see their neighbor standing there. Behind them are their three children. Naked. Stark naked. "I found your kids playing in my front yard. I though you might want them back," he says. He then rolls his eyes and gives a look of disgust as the parents usher them all back into the house. As he leaves, he mutters under his breath that he can take care of his (only) child- why can't they do the same.

Later that night after the kids were sentenced to hard manual labor and solitary confinement...

It is 10:30. All the kids are asleep. Finally. Before retiring to their bed, the mom and the dad both go in and see their children asleep in their rooms. They aren't nearly as scary when they're sleeping. Each child gets a gentle kiss, a warm smile, and a tight hug. Despite the day's events, Mom and Dad go to bed supremely happy that God has blessed them with four such amazing children.

The End.


PS: This story pretty much sums up our week.

We also had Addy and Jack's birthday party on Friday. Unfortunately, they got a hold of the camera and erased all the pictures. Just know that there have been brief- very brief- moments of peace and harmony scattered throughout this crazy week.

I finished last week's blog with Donny's visit to our house. It was fun having him here. One of the highlights of the visit for me was going down to the RV dump and watching him clean out the toilets from a big trip he had just finished. Man- you could not pay me enough to do that on a regular basis! I won't get too into it here, because it wouldn't be appropriate, but whatever sentence I would write about it would require the use of the words squirt, splatter, and revolting. I guess I can technically say that I helped since I turned the water on and off for him, but for the most part I just tried to stay out of the way (literally). 

Anyway, here's a call out to all the engineers who might be reading this- if you can invent a better toilet system for the river, then you WILL have buyers. There's not a huge niche for it I suppose, which is probably why it hasn't been done yet- but someone has got to do something. Seriously. Here are the qualifications:

• The system must be portable enough that it can be taken on and off a raft on a regular basis.
• The system must seal itself well enough that it can be shaken vigorously (or go off a waterfall) without causing major problems people sitting around it.
• It must be able to be thoroughly emptied/cleaned without the requirement of a HAZMAT uniform.
• It can not use disposable bags/boxes- I guess enough people have left these bags behind that many rivers do not allow them any more.

Okay. I hope I haven't ruined your day by making you read that. And despite that escapade, we did do some fun stuff with Donny. We had a family trip to Cabella's where Jackson got lost. That was exciting. We also went rock climbing in the rain (reminiscent of a few "classic" trips I can think of), and had a lot of fun at the house with the kids. One night we had a camp fire and told stories about past trips. The kids all had a good time with him, and they are hoping to see him again sometime soon.

But that's not all that happened this week. Not by a long shot. Besides the great weekend we had, Evelyn has now been through her first week of kindergarten! She is so big and was very excited to get on the bus and go to school. She has already made lots of friends, and she likes her teacher, Mrs. Juliano. She says she hasn't started homework yet, but she really wants to. She is most excited to learn about reading, and she is already anticipating a party her class will have in a couple of months. The part she likes the least is the half-hour nap that her teacher makes the class take every day. (I have to say I would agree. With all the griping teachers do about having too much stuff to teach, it seems they would take advantage of the time a little better than forced boredom. Seriously, Evelyn grew out of nap time years ago).

One other thing about Evelyn. She is smart! Yesterday Rachel decided to do an activity in our driveway where the kids traced their outlines onto paper and then colored them. Well, Evelyn traced her outline, and then proceeded to draw diagrams of the circulatory and digestive systems. As far as I could tell, they were anatomically accurate (for a 5 year old), and included parts such as the aortic arch, small intestines, large intestines, arteries, and veins. I have no idea where she learned this, but when I asked her to talk me through it she made it clear that she knew what she was talking about. I am impressed, proud, and a little worried. I hope her teacher is ready for her.

As for Addy and Jack- they turn the big oh-four tomorrow. It is fun to watch them grow more and more, but sort of crazy as well. Four years!? How? When? Time goes so fast. Some relatives have been asking what they want for presents. Well, I asked them and Jackson said he wants a motorcycle and Addy finally decided on a pet mermaid. Since Rachel and I aren't planning on getting them any of these things, you are welcome to send them in the mail if you want. Good luck.

Maren- the poor girl is teething. At least that's what I would like to blame. She has recently taken up screaming like a banshee and throwing anything she can reach. Today in church her nursery teacher brought her to me during class. The teacher looked like she had just been in a fight. Maren looked like a demon possessed child from a well-done horror film. It was a bit unnerving. Currently she is literally writing on the floor, rolling around in circles and whimpering like an injured animal. I hope this passes soon.

So, that covers Evelyn, Addy, Jack, and Maren. Now it's time for Rachel.

Rachel got some very exciting news this week. She applied for a job with Sorenson a while back and she found out that she got it! For those who don't know, this is a telephone interpreting service. Since they never know what kind of calls will be coming in they require very highly qualified interpreters, and it is a tribute to Rachel's skill that she got the job at all. Oh- I should also mention that they pay very well. Like- Rachel could make more than me if she wanted to- and I'm a dentist. But that's not even the best part. The best part is that Rachel totally gets to set her own schedule. She can work as much or as little as she wants, and whenever she wants. According to Rachel, it is like a very intimidating dream job that she is excited to jump into. In a couple of weeks they are flying  her our to Portland for an all-expenses-paid training trip. The next weekend is the same. I know that Rachel loves interpreting and I am so proud of her for doing this.

Other than that, life goes on as normal. Business is good. Family is good. As for me-I've been playing the guitar a lot lately.

I. Love. The. Guitar.

Alright. Have a great week!

Two people, dressed and ready for the day. This is Evelyn's first day of school.

We start them young. Jack has the tongue thing going- he may have a future in a rock band.

This is Evelyn. On Tuesday she is going to her first day of kindergarten. On Friday I went to the store with her and we bought all of her school stuff. It's all pretty crazy- it doesn't seem like she's old enough for school yet. At the same time, however, it seems like it has taken forever for this day to come. She has been ready for this for a long time.

Besides getting ready for school, there hasn't been a whole lot going on this week. Rachel wrote in our last post about the hectic month of August and we are still trying to catch our breaths.

Yesterday we all went to the discovery park for a while. They have a pretty good sized rock wall there for the kids to climb on, and our kids all did a great job. The only downside was when Addy, with the trust that only a child could have, totally flung herself off the top into my arms without giving me any warning. Keep in mind that the wall was about 10 feet high. I caught her, but sort of hit her in the face in doing so. I told her I was sorry. She hugged me, and between sobs said "That's okay- even papas make mistakes sometimes." Dang. Kids aren't supposed to know that until they are teenagers, right?

Yesterday my cousin, Donny, called. He had just finished running a nearby river and was wondering if he could come stay with us for a while. Of course! The kids were all excited to see him too, and I don't think they have left him alone for a minute since he arrived. I have the day off work tomorrow for Labor Day, so we'll go do something fun.

Well, that was pretty much our week. I also want to mention that I have been maintaining another blog called "Logan's Podium" at loganspodium.blogspot.com. It is mostly a writing exercise for me, but if you are interested in seeing what some of my deeper views on things are, then you can either follow that blog or check in from time to time for new content. If you do, then make sure you read "A letter to my readers" on the side bar.