Because we just can't help it!

So it's been a while since our Flamingo shenanigans so it was time to do something...Beach Balls it is.

We just love our friends the Yeates so much, we wanted to show them! Of course this kind of thing happens in the middle of the night in PJ's after we've spent the evening getting slap happy from laughing so much. The people at Walmart probably thought we were above average crazy for that store!

Jake's Wolf badge!

I love helping the boys through scouts. It was so fun watching Tyler go through cub scouts and work so hard and it's been just as fun the second time around. Jake earned his Wolf award tonight, so my mom necklace is getting heavier!

Supermom vs. Reality Mom

I had a thought the other day as I was standing in line at Walmart. I find that this can be a great time for introspection because it's a nicer practice than grumbling about being in line. On this particular day my thoughts weren't 100% peaceful given that it was Saturday night and I was accompanied by Two 11-year old boys and a 9-year old boy. The voices inside my head sounded something like this:

Supermom: "I really should calm those kids down, people will get annoyed at how loud they are"

Reality Mom: "Oh stop it, they are fine, they are 11 and this is what they do, look at how cute they are"

Supermom: "Look at Tyler's hair, I've got to make him cut it. That man behind us is wishing me and my kids would just get out of the store already and that mom two lines over is probably thinking of how my kids will grow up to be menaces to society"

Reality Mom: "Actually that man behind us is smiling at the kids in a 'I totally get how you feel right now' way. And that mom, she almost looks a little wistful doesn't she? Maybe she misses when her kids were little."

Supermom: "I shouldn't be letting them get 3 different flavors of ice cream and toppings, they are going to grow up to be...." at this point the conversation gets really redundant but the important part of it is who won the argument and it was won by one simple sentence that we don't say in our house:

Reality mom: "Shut up, seriously, you are no fun"

The truth of it is reality mom usually wins in my family. The reality is, kids don't look perfect, they don't act perfect, especially in Walmart where all kids go to get out every tantrum they've had the decency to hold in all day long. You are only 11 on a Saturday night for a short time, where it's still cool to hang with your friend and your little brother and your mom at the same time. The messier a project is, the more fun you have while doing it.

My kids won't remember anything about the cleanliness of my house but they will remember that sometimes at dinner our family laughs so hard it becomes a choking hazard. They will remember that when they came home from school mom was ready to hang out with them instead of worrying about cleaning something or organizing something just in case someone shows up at our door to inspect our house with white gloves.

To all my lovely friends with little tiny children, please stop apologizing when your littles come to my house and knock stuff over. If I cared, I would have moved the stuff. To my amazing friends who are the mothers of my son's friends, please don't bother to apologize for a messy kitchen or a messy living room. I know what you're going through, these boys are like golden retriever puppies. They are full of energy and don't seem to know how big their paws are. I feel like Tyler knocks over more stuff now than he did when he was a toddler!

I can't help that supermom still creeps out in my head, but the least I can do for humanity is tell her to shut up. Because no one needs another person trying to be perfect in all the wrong areas. I would rather try to be a perfect mom and to me that looks like a mom who loves her kids unconditionally. A mom who cares more about their feelings and what they are learning from life than what other people think of them. A perfect mom realizes that there are no perfect answers, no perfect kids, no perfect house but an abundance of perfect ideas. And maybe those ideas will inspire little moments of reality-supermom, where I can be supportive, fun, and the house is clean and dinner is made and that's awesome! But of all the things I've learned on this mom journey, the ability to let it go was my best idea ever!

Field Trip to the Park

Perfect way to cool off!

 We took a day away from the books to check out a new park for a picnic and to see which animals were hanging around. Of course I can't resist a chance to take photos!

 

I just love spending time with these guys! We had a great time checking out baby ducks, baby turtles, and pulling garbage out of the pond.

Tyler's Birthday Party

11 Years old is a lot louder than 10. I know this because I had the glorious opportunity to haul 3 11 year old boys to Lenexa (35 minutes away) for Tyler's 11th birthday party. You wouldn't think 3 kids could really make that much noise but they can rival the old-fashioned steam engines for ear splitting-sound-barrier-breaking experiences.

Tyler wanted to go to Lifetime and rock climb with his buddies and we decided it would be fun to go to Spin Pizza before hand for dinner, cake, and gelato. It was really fun hanging out with these kids and it was a chance to get to know his friends a little more. They are a great group of kids, we feel so lucky that Ty has found friends that he likes and we like so much.

Here we've got Brayden, Tyler, Carter, and Jake. No we were not intoxicating the kids, they are crazy enough as it is! They ordered gourmet Root-beer for their drinks.

The pizza here is rockin and they have Gluten free for me so I really like it. 

Rock climbing was fun, I would like to bring them back sometime when the outdoor pool is open so we can get more of the energy out before the drive home ;)

Arrow of Light

To say I'm a proud mama would be a grand understatement. Tyler has finished his final and highest award of Cub scouting, the Arrow of Light. I have no idea how many hours have gone into this and it would be hard to try and figure it out, especially since I'm really crummy at math. We'll just say it was a big focus of our lives over the last year.

What this also means is that he is finished with Cubs, and has moved into the Boy Scout uniform. He's also moved up to 11-year-old scouting. Now we begin the work towards his Eagle. Gulp.

I may be biased but isn't he awesome?

Ty got his Arrow of Light at the same time as his friend Brayden. His scout leaders did a great job of making them feel special with face paints, an arrow and an awesome plaque to mount the arrow on. 

Here he is right after crossing "the bridge" to scouting and being welcomed into boy scouts. He moved up to the red neckerchief, very handsome!

Proof that no matter how big you are, it's still cool to love you mom. Real men hug their moms. 

As my way of honoring Ty's hard work I made him a blanket with all of his scouting awards. They are too small to see, but I've attached all of his webelos pins at the bottom, I think there were like 14. He really worked so hard, it was really fun to make this for him and he loved it!

Fred

Fred is Tyler's pet Leopard Gecko. I have to admit, if someone had told me that someday I would own a reptile, I would have laughed. Fred was  one of those moments when in an effort at cutting down on saying "no" I found myself backed into a corner within 4 months.

Tyler asked one day if he could have a Leopard Gecko. I told him, do a research project, see what it takes to own one. In my mind I was pretty sure that Tyler would no longer want to mess with it if it meant research. Oh how wrong I was. Tyler got to work, building a multimedia report on everything Gecko related. He learned what they need to survive, how to tell if they are sick or thriving. What they eat, what nutrients they need, how warm they like to be, and so on, and so on...

I said "ok, now you need to earn 50% of the ENTIRE cost of the Gecko." The total cost of said Gecko for all the equipment and food would be $275. I figured that would now be the final straw and the end of it.

I will say this about my Tyler, when he sets his mind on something, he will get it done in prompt timing.

Meet Fred:

Tyler quickly started doing chores, saving money, talking to Grandma, the usual money making tactics ;) and came up with $82. Then we got the Petco ad in the mail and guess what was on a 50% sale that month. Yeah, everything you need to buy a Leopard Gecko. It went from costing $275 to $140 so off we went to bring our new family member home. 

I actually have really grown to love Fred. After I got used to his eating live crickets and shedding, it was all downhill from there. He's a cool little pet and Tyler love him so much and takes such good care of him that it makes it all worth it. 

Photography Class

So the boys and I are taking an online photography class as part of homeschooling. I wanted to stick up some of the photos they've taken. These were taken by Tyler.

And here's some of Jake's creations:

They really did an amazing job with their first creations. They aren't liking the next assignment where they don't get to choose the subject. We'll see how it goes!

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Utah!

 The day after Christmas found us driving  to Utah. We decided to go by way of Nebraska and Wyoming because there would essentially be less mountains. What we didn't plan on was a 17 hour drive turning into a 24 1/2 hour drive. We felt what -10 feels like in Nebraska and across the Utah border at 1am we felt how warm 18 could feel in comparison. After the scariest drive of our lives we made it to my parent's house at about 2:00am and promptly crashed.

We got to see my brother and his family on their way back to Kansas, the kids played in snow. I took some yoga at the South Valley Lifetime(which made me really sad that I didn't live there anymore)and had a great family visit.

My parents have a new puppy, Annie who is the fluffiest, cutest, wildest little thing I've ever seen! She was the star of the trip and left us really wishing we had(and grateful we didn't have) a puppy.

I thought this would be a nice time to take a couple photos of my parents so I've included those as well.

The Last Santa Letter

Here is the last letter Santa wrote for the dudes. Sniff.

Dear Tyler and Jake,                                                                                  December 24, 2012

                  Merry Christmas boys! You have grown into such wonderful young men this year. I have loved watching you learn about service and friendship this year. It has come to my attention that you have grown up enough to realize that I am not what you have always thought I am, I would like to tell you my thoughts on that…

As your testimony of the Savior grows, it is time for me to move into the background and memories of your Christmases, don’t be sad, if you look at it from another direction, you will see that I am always here.

I was created for this world to help you learn about Jesus By believing in me you learn for the first time what faith means. To believe in something you cannot see. So that as you grow and realize that while some things are not possible in this world, there are more amazing, miraculous things that happen every day. Celebrate Christmas every year knowing that a little baby was born in a stable to give the world hope. He was sent here to show us love and joy.

Believe in magic, it is real. It may not happen like the stories of reindeer and elves, but it is real. As a little one you experience it by writing a letter and leaving cookies for a jolly old man in a red suit. There are other times in your life you will find it. The first time you fall in love, it will feel like magic to have someone love you back. Then one day you will marry the person you Really love and looking into her eyes will feel like magic every day. Eventually you will have little children of your own and the first time you see them, it will feel like Christmas morning all over again. They will believe in me and you will get the chance to help them believe in something they cannot see, and you will know magic again. Never stop believing in wonderful, amazing things.

I love you both very, very much. You are both an example of love, kindness, and service. You take such good care of your mommy, and you are such good friends to your dad. The little animals in your home love you because of your gentle-ness and care for them. Chloe the cat, although she is wild and crazy and tried to tear up the Christmas tree last night loves to snuggle with you both because you make her feel safe. That is something very special. Fred the Gecko, even though he doesn’t show it, feels like he can depend on you, Tyler for all of his needs to be met. Jake, Tweedle-Dee feels special because you never tease him about being over-weight. You love him for who he is and he is grateful for that. Ozzie the dog wishes he could be here with you but he understands that he needs to get healthy before he can leave the shelter. He loves you both for being willing to wait for him to get better.

Remember that I love you and Christmas will still be as fun and exciting as it has always been. Merry Christmas dear children.

Love,

SANTA

Christmas Catch up

 That space between laughter and tears...yeah, I didn't ever find that space this Christmas eve. I stayed pretty much on the tears side but first lets cover the laughs. 

Each Christmas Eve the big jolly man leaves something on the tree for our pets. The obese hamster (who has been slimming down due to a New Years resolution to lay off the sunflower seeds) gets a full sized walnut. The cat gets a laser pointer. This year Santa had a brand new bag, literally. After Fred the Gecko joined us we discovered that Fred's most loved thing in the world is crickets. I felt like this was incredibly hilarious as I tied a ribbon around a bag of live, jumping crickets. The main problem was that the cat REALLY wanted to chase live crickets around the house, live crickets chirp, and Santa puts these pet gifts on the tree.

If you can't see why this would produce a really funny situation let me re-state it:

Live crickets on the tree, chirping in the middle of the night with a 9 month old kitten hearing the crickets on the tree and wanting to chase them. First we tried tying the bag tightly to the tree - No go. Then we tried locking the kitten upstairs - really no go. So we hid the crickets under the sink and figured we'd get up super early while she was asleep to put them on the tree. That worked just fine and the tree was still standing Christmas morning - Bonus.

The tears. See that letter in the photo next to the crickets? That is the last letter Santa will write to my children. Because they no longer believe. What do you say to your children, from Santa when they know it's you and they wish it wasn't? 

I spent a very long time pondering this and what I came up with was the hardest thing I've ever written to date....I will post it separately, it deserves it's own space. It was hard to let go, oh so hard. 

Christmas morning still was full of excitement  even the cat was excited, probably because she could hear the crickets....

My favorite part of the day...Tyler really wanted a BB Gun but never thought he would get one. He always said if he had a BB gun he'd want a Justin Beiber poster for target practice. Well we decided that sounded like fun. Christmas morning when he opened a Justin Beiber poster he knew exactly what was in the gift tied to it and he freaked out! It was awesome seeing him get so excited!

Jake was dying for a couple wii games and Ninjago legos, we were happy to comply, I love legos like nobody's business so I was thrilled to have a new lego lover in the family.

Funny side note---yes that is our T.V. It is as small as it looks. If it concerns you that our TV is less than 1,000 inches across let me tell you couple things about our family that will ease you mind about how "deprived" we must be.

We made a decision a long time ago that Television would not be part of our lives. We do not now, nor will we ever have cable. I don't recognize the names of the shows people watch on TV because I've never seen them and my life moves forward very peacefully. I would rather spend my evenings interacting with the people sitting next to me than zoning out. That being said. I love movies and we do watch our share of those. Not enough to warrant a TV that could feed a small country, so we stick with our perfectly fine, working TV.

That being said, my disclaimer is this...if ever the cable company offers a way for Brian to see football, me to see basketball, and everyone to watch baseball without all the garbage and add on channels, I will be purchasing whatever TV makes me feel like I'm courtside at a Jazz game the next morning. :) Everyone has their weaknesses.

"Gingerbread" houses

We went for a stress free decorating year and used graham crackers. Loved it! Here's the new thing, pretzels. They are all the rage for cool gingerbread houses around the world. (At least around our world). We built towers, columns, Turrets (don't ask, I think Tyler and Brian's creation was some sort of fortress complete with gummy bear soldiers.)

We had gold coins as stair steps, M&M walkways, and Hershey kiss trees going up and it was wonderful. What a different a year or two makes! Decorating these was actually really fun since the boys got a little older and more capable. When you don't have to do every little step for them it actually becomes quite the creative process!

Family photos...in 22 degrees

Why is it that every time we take family photos it's below freezing? Maybe that should be my goal for the year, no more winter photos! Especially since my home is so "Summer", you'd think I would have thought that thru earlier in my life.

This year I wanted to really expand my photography skills and do our own. I figured worse case scenario was that I try to do them and they bomb so I hire someone anyways.

I didn't have to go scrambling for a photographer, as luck would have it, because they turned out great! With the help of the boys we got every shot I was hoping to get. Jake took all the couple photos, Tyler did the setting for a few of the family photos as well as the "push the button and run man".