Keeping It Real with the Wyett Family

The Mom Behind the Camera :)

2012-01-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

Okay, this post is for my bestie Jackie who is always asking to see pictures of me on this blog! Here I am! About a size and a half left to lose, but looking SO much better. :) It's funny because I have been thin practically my whole life, and I totally took it for granted. Since struggling with my weight, I am so much more excited about getting thin than I ever was when I was thin. I am actually stronger and healthier now than I have ever been even when I was much smaller. I feel like I need an entire make-over to celebrate! I have spent so many years buying clothing and accessories based on the price tag or comfort (or just taking what others give me). I think I have finally found my "style," and I can't wait to get these last few pounds off and start investing in a quality, hip, "new" look!

I also got my hair cut this week- trying the bangs again. I think I like them!

The lady also layered my hair in the back- makes it look so nice and full! I love having curly hair. Who would have EVER thought I would have naturally curly hair? It was fine and straight as an arrow the first 30 years of my life! Sometimes those hormonal changes can be good. :)

If anyone needs some motivation or wants to know more about what I am doing health and fitness-wise, click on my Beachbody and Shakeology links on the right hand-side. I would love to help you feel as good as I do!! XOXO

January 17, 2012

Bradley's Birthday

2012-01-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Bradley turned 8 yesterday! He received a bunch of presents, but one of his favorites was his new BMX bike. It even has stunt pegs on it which he thinks is very cool. He taught himself to ride it in less than an hour- I was impressed!

James was able to stay an extra day and spend the day with Brad on his actual birthday! We went to the Bob Jones Trail and he rode his bike about 3 miles. We came home and BBQ-ed, watched Star Wars, and played with all his other new toys. It was a really great day! My sweet husband spent the majority of it cleaning out the garage to get everything ready for Bradley's upcoming party. Savanna and I even were able to sneak away and do some clothes shopping. I've had to get rid of practically all of my clothes! I am not in the size I want yet, but I needed to get a few things to get me through the next couple of months. I am starting to really enjoying shopping again...this could be BAD. :)

Poor Ben has been having a rough couple of weeks with all the excitement over Brad and his birthday and baptism. We got him a little something to ease the blow of Brad's bike and other presents. It helped...a little. :) One of the other gifts we got Bradley was a beginner chess set. It's called No Stress Chess, and I highly recommend it if you have small kids and want to teach them chess. The boys played it several times yesterday, and they practically know how to play Chess now. Super fun to see my 6 year-old beat his 8 year-old brother at Chess! That cheered Ben up a little too!!

And meet the newest Boy Scout! He has his first Wolf den meeting tonight! He says he's nervous because he doesn't really know what scouting is about or if the other boys will like him. This is all new to me too, but I can't imagine anyone not liking Bradley! He is such a wonderful, kind, intelligent boy. I have no doubts that he will do great in scouting, earn a ton of badges, and make some great friends.

Happy Birthday, Brad! We love you tons!!

January 16 - 17, 2012

A Brief Summary

2012-01-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

To be very honest I haven't had the time to blog. Soon after Christmas I became very ill. I was sick for close to two weeks, but finally broke down and saw my homeopath and was completely better within 3 days of taking the remedy he gave me! I wish the natural, more holistic healing wasn't so costly. Even though Dr. Fine's fees are very reasonable for what he does, it is still an expense that we have not budgeted for. I just kept thinking I could kick the illness on my own, but my body needed a little extra help. I am very grateful for him. He took my call on a Sunday afternoon and I was at his home within an hour...I guess that is the added perk of the natural, holistic way. You'd never reach your MD on a Sunday, let alone be invited to his home for an appointment!

I had just finished my first 30 days of Turbo Fire before I got sick. During those 30 days I lost another 5 lbs and 6 inches! I did have to take a break while I was down, but I am back on the ball this week and looking forward to losing my last 10 inches!! I even went out on a limb and ordered my dress for James' graduation- it is amazing and they only had it in a size 6 which I guess is okay since that is the size I will be if I lose these last 10 inches.

James is doing great! He is getting a bit tired of the song and dance of the academy, but they finished their physical training and have now moved on to some of the more "fun" training. He was able to shoot guns for 2 weeks, and now they are spending a good deal of time beating each other up (which he says is super fun too). He has some crazy bruises, mostly from falling on his own baton. You'd be amazed at how hard it is to do hand-to-hand combat with a gun belt and baton around your waist! He's out right now at a night class learning how to search buildings...sounds spooky to me, but he thinks it's awesome. I guess that's why he's the officer and I'm the stay-at-home mom. :)

Our little Emma's personality is really starting to shine. She is such a girlie girl. She loves putting on my shoes and walking around in them (see the video below). She has also starting to say a lot more words. She can't say the "b" sound and replaces all b's with the "d" sound. So when she says bye, she says "Dye!" She says Dady (rhymes with baby), and Dadley (Bradley). She calls both Brad and Ben Dadley. Fortunately Ben thinks that is hilarious! She is becoming more and more independent which I am really enjoying. She still wants me a lot, and still nurses quite frequently, but once she is full and clean she will play for hours on the floor with her toys and especially her books. She is eating a ton, and has put on some weight finally. I haven't weighed her recently but you can see that cute toddler tummy poking out of some of her shirts. It's almost time to move her into 18 month clothes!

Bed time is always fun. She gets super hyper right before bed and runs around the house squealing and destroying the place.

Then she gets real serious and quiet...that's when you know it's coming.

Total meltdown! And...it's off to bed!

The boys have been learning about money. We got them an awesome game to learn the value of coins and to help them learn to count money. It's called Exact Change and you play it a lot like Uno but with cards that display nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars, etc. They were so excited they went to the bank and traded in some of their quarters for half dollars and gold dollars.

Right before bed the other night they both lost a tooth! What are the chances? I was very happy because Brad lost his first and that usually puts Ben in a"woe is me, my brother's going to get a dollar from the tooth fairy and I'm going to get nothing" mood. But he had a tooth that was super loose too, and all it took was one tug and voila!

Ben calls this his headstand squat. Looks painful to me, but he does it a lot so it must be fun!

All of my kids love to read. Even little Emma will bring you books and sit quietly while you read to her. I LOVE it. My boys read a lot at the table while they are eating (which is all day- so they read A LOT). Brad will often have the newspaper or the funnies out while he eats- he's an old soul, that one.

Savanna is not enjoying her Charter school anymore. She has realized that with public school comes a lot of required, "busy" work that keeps her from learning about the things she really loves. We are trying to figure out the best course of action to take. We originally agreed to keep her in there at least until the end of the year to give it a fighting chance. I have seen some good growth, and I'm not fully convinced she has learned all she can from this experience just yet. But either way I know she will find her way. We may pull her out and have her finish out the year on her own, and then possibly have her start taking some online college classes in the Fall. Lots of choices.

Well, it is Friday night and I am SO looking forward to my husband coming home tomorrow! There is a possibility that he may be able to stay until Monday and celebrate Brad's actual birthday with him because it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Misc cuteness

Emma tries to walk in my flip flops

January 2 - 13, 2012

And A Happy New Year!

2012-01-13T21:05:00.001-08:00

As usual we put together our "Dream Posters" for the New Year. It's always a fun and therapeutic project to think of what you want to accomplish at the beginning of a new year and hang up your inspiration to remind you throughout the months to come. I have found that as I get older, my goals become fewer...probably because I keep adding children and other great endeavors to my life! But it has become more about quality than quantity. This year I am choosing to focus on my top 3 priorities (this is utilizing Chalene Johnson's book "PUSH" which is all about goal setting) which are: My relationship with God, My Health, and My relationship with my family. Of course there is still much to do within these 3 priorities but I have plan and it's going to be great!

No surprise that Bradley's poster revolved around his faith. He wants to read scriptures, listen better at General Conference, learn to play hymns on the piano, and be more like Jesus. He is SO excited about his upcoming baptism. He talks about it every single day. He is having his baptism and a party, and getting a new bike, and starting cup scouts- it's a lot of excitement for him and his poster shows it!

I love Benjamin. I am always impressed with his posters. He said that he wants to get strong, and learn to surf, and go on a boat, and listen to music...and follow the Prophet. :)

Savanna poster's a bit blurry...and honestly it looks like more of a catalog for clothing and accessories than a dream poster to me. She did add the 3 main points of our mission statement in the middle (To be obedient, respectful, and grateful). Her reasoning was that if she learns to do these three things well, she should have no problem receiving permission and the means to have all the other stuff on her poster. I get it...sort of...

We actually took a break from schooling for 2 whole weeks! We haven't done that on purpose (no illnesses or births or other interruptions) in a very long time. It was SO fun! Savanna enjoyed sleeping in and playing with her hair and makeup. I had a lot of extra time to do some organizational things around the house and lounge around a bit. I spent a good deal of time planning out Brad's baptism and party...it was very nice. We even made it out to the beach!

Have I mentioned lately that we live in the most beautiful place ever??

December 17, 2011 - January 1, 2012

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-13T19:56:00.001-08:00

I am finally getting around to sharing our Christmas pictures! All I can say is that it was a wonderful, magical holiday season this year. James was able to be home for 3 nights and 3 days, we had the missionaries over for our big Christmas Eve dinner, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights, we went to church Christmas morning, had a wonderful brunch and opened all of our presents, rested, played, and read scriptures- it doesn't get much better than that!

We made lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner- I found gluten-free brown rice lasagna noodles at the health food store, and it turned out AMAZING!

We introduced our new tradition to the children: letting them open one gift on Christmas Eve (their new pjs), but then also let them each open one more just for fun!

Ben opened up some dinosaur K'NEX.

Do you think that Bradley likes his dart board??

Savanna made out this Christmas! Clothes, money, make-up, a spiral curling iron, more clothes, a smash book, an itunes gift card....yeah, she was a very happy girl!

Emma loves her Little People farm!

And her new tent. :)

But the hit of the gifts was the boys' Nerf guns! I have always thought that my boys would never have toy guns but with their dad being a peace officer and all, and them being boys, they have turned almost anything into a "weabon" or a gun! I have to say these Nerf guns are pretty cool. We bought a couple of extra so Dad and I could play too. Mostly Dad plays...I think he had even more fun than the boys!

After Dad shot Brad in the eye, we started making them wear protection!

Emma's second Christmas dress.

It was a long, but wonderful day! The kids played with all their toys, Savanna disappeared into the bathroom for most of the day, we ate leftovers, and watched movies. It was awesome!

The day after Christmas my sister and her family came for a visit. Her daughters are adorable! They played nicely with Emma while their dad, James, and my boys spent the majority of the day having Nerf gun wars, and building Lego and Hotwheels sets. I've never seen two grown men having so much fun (see the videos below if you don't believe me)! They broke into teams and had home bases and strategy meetings and everything. My boys were in absolute Heaven. It was so fun to see them bonding, and just being plain ol' boys! They don't get much of that roughhousing with Dad gone.

Little Gabby.

And Princess Sofia.

Ben got a basketball hoop! He has been having so much fun practicing his skills. Bradley has too. That's the cool thing about having kids so close in age. They are possessive of their new toys for about a week or so, and then they just start sharing everything. It's not fun to play by yourself, so it just makes sense. So really it's like they each received double the presents! :)

And Brad got a Hotwheels track that attaches to the wall. I have been amazed that most of it has actually stayed on the wall despite the dog and baby running around!

The Nerf Gun Wars....to our surprise, Ben was a little timid in these wars and Brad was relentless! Ben hid most of the time while Brad ran around like a mad man shooting anything in his sight!

The Nerf gun war ended when Brad and Ben collided, scratching Brad's face pretty good. He took it in stride and moved on to his other toys. So far that (and getting shot in the eye- poor Brad!) have been the only casualties!

And Legos...

And Hotwheels...

I have not been able to get Emma to drink out of a cup, despite buying almost every kind of sippy cup they have on the shelves! But she saw Sofi drinking out of this one and took to it. I went out the next day and bought 8 of them! She has been using them every since. Go figure they are the simple "take and toss" plastic cups. No fancy straws, no handles or special features...but she likes them! :)

Brad's Creations.

Nerf War

The Battle Continues

Emma opens her present

December 24 - 26, 2011

Teenagers...I Don't Buy It!

2011-12-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

I think teenagers are a myth. By my own definition, a myth is simply a story people come up with to explain something they don't understand. Most people will agree that they don't understand teenagers. They don't understand the way that teenagers think or speak or dress or behave, and have created a "story" that justifies somehow this craziness. I don't buy it! I don't think that young people need to become teenagers at all! I think they can skip most of the drama and misery, and go straight from childhood to being a youth. They'll be much better off, and so will their parents!

What is the difference between a teenager and a youth? I came across this insightful article called Youth v. Teenager by Michael Platt, Ph.D.

You can access the pdf here: http://tjedonline.com/docs/YOUTHvTEENAGER.pdf

Dr. Platt claims that the teenager saga was in fact created, and is not very old at all. The teenager did not exist before WWII, and was created mostly by neglect and parents allowing other sources, television being a big culprit, to educate their own children.

He describes the youth as "...young people who wanted to become adults. However confused, wayward, or silly they acted, however many mistakes they made, they looked to the future, wanted to make it different from their youth, and planned to...Youths associated with other youths, sometimes dressed alike, talked alike, but never separated entirely from their teachers and parents. When you saw youths with their parents, they were not pretending to be unrelated to the family. After all, they wanted one day to become like their parents, or like their grandparents, or like their teachers. Their heroes and heroines were such people."

I think we would all agree that most young people would not be described like that now. It is very much all about them, all of the time. They do not want to prepare for adulthood or work hard for what they want or need. They have found other heroes through the media and various other places that have displaced the parents' power to influence them for good. So many factors created this "Me Monster," this teenager. Divorce, television, lack of supervision, lack of interaction with extended family- especially with older people such as grandparents, lack of faith or a moral compass, too much time on their hands to get into trouble, or not enough time left alone to pray, ponder, and plan their futures all have contributed to this sad tale. The modern world is amazing, but kids these days (teenagers at least) never give themselves quiet. They constantly have cell phones, TVs, gaming systems, or music plugged in their ears. They have become "parent deaf," and tune out the world if it does not tell them what they want to hear.

BUT, I believe there is hope!! Now in the midst of raising one of my own, I tell Savanna on a daily basis to rid herself of this silly myth that she has to be teenager. To skip it all and go straight to being a youth! To use this time to prepare for her adulthood. To strive to love learning and growing, and to listen to those that have gone before her and learn from their successes and failures. I believe that many tribulations can be avoided by learning from another's experience. Many of these vital lessons and values can be found in classic works. We have also limited many distractions in our home that have a tendency to drown out thought, reason, and overall growth (the time-fillers and time-wasters of the modern world), and spend ample time together as a family unit. We give her lots of time to read, discuss, plan, and learn new skills. Of course our faith has played a big part in helping her focus more on "youthly" attributes as well. In our church the programs for young people are even called Youth Programs, Young Women, Young Men, etc. She is not perfect and still has many interactions with her peers, many who are in the teenage category, but I see her striving to do better.

Teenagers want so badly to be free to do whatever they want but even when they are given these freedoms, they are still unhappy. There is always something ELSE they need to be happy. So really there is no point in striving to be a teenager. They may appear to have more fun and privileges on the surface but they will always choose to be miserable! James and I have made it clear that if Savanna acts like a teenager, she will be treated like one. You can not trust a teenager. They do not act with reason or think of the consequences of their choices and therefore have limited choices to protect themselves and others. A youth, on the other hand, weighs his options thoughtfully and acts according to what is best, not only for him, but for the majority. He still makes mistakes, yes, but feels genuine shame and tries to do better. A youth will be given many more privileges than a teenager because he will handle them responsibly. He will also be happy with what he has been given while still looking forward to earning more freedoms in the future.

Many parents out there are raising teenagers and then reward them for their bad behavior with the tools that are creating the problems in the first place! Savanna sees her friends treating their family members badly and then getting a new iphone for Christmas...it frustrates her that her life doesn't work like that. But the bottom line is that when she enters adulthood, she won't have the teenage excuse to fall back on. If she doesn't learn to work and act appropriately NOW, she will not get the desired results in the future- that is just life!! I hope that she writes her own story...not a myth or a copy of someone else's story...but HER genuine story, one with purpose and lasting joy. And I believe that transitioning from a child to a youth is the only way to do this.

That's my soapbox for tonight.

December 22, 2011

Our Funny Family

2011-12-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

James is officially HALF WAY through his academy!!

Life here has hit a good groove. I feel like James and I are on the same page and even though we are very much living separate lives right now, we are still connected and united.

The kids and I have hit a good groove too. I have finally started getting up early! 5:15 am I feed the baby, pray and study my scriptures, workout, and then shower all before the rest of the clan is up! Having all this time to get centered and take care of myself has revolutionized my day and my mothering. I am so less stressed out or resentful because I'm not trying to take care of all my stuff while four children also need my attention! NOW, I just need to get to bed earlier so I can be consistent with this new routine! I have set up a study area next to my bed and am beginning my study of the Doctrine and Covenants tomorrow. I am very excited as this is the only standard work of the Church I have not read in its entirety! I'm not sure how that is possible, but I am going to remedy that next year. James suggested I use the Institute manual, and I am going to do just that. I am also going to set up my workout area the night before with the DVD that I need and all the equipment ready to go. With a plan and a little preparation there will be no room for error!

The kids and I have been having our Family Home Evening lessons regularly. Every Monday night we set aside some time for a little lesson or activity to help bring us together or to work on things that will make our family stronger. We wrote a family mission statement a few family nights ago. I've been wanting to do that for years, and it actually came out very smoothly and simply. The children wrote part of it, and we have started reciting it at our family devotionals each morning. The first part says, "As we strive to be obedient, respectful, and grateful we will create a loving and happy home..." Savanna came up with this part! We have been taking the opportunity this holiday season to focus on the gratitude aspect of our family mission statement. We made a list of 100 things we were grateful for on this white board. It didn't take long at all and the kids were amazed at how much they were grateful for when we were done! I had this grandiose idea of memorizing The Living Christ as a family. I figured if we focused on Christ we would be the most obedient, respectful, and grateful family around! I think it was a little to much to tackle right now, so we've decided instead to memorize several verses in Doctrine and Covenants Section 88 that discuss how the Lord wants us to organize our homes to be more like the temple and focused more on Christ. So far we have memorized verses 119 and 120- I'm feeling impressed with ourselves!

Darn camera blurs 9 out of 10 of the pictures I take! Any way, our sweet Emma Leigh is doing well. She recovered from her illnesses and is toddling around causing destruction everywhere she goes! Just this past week it has been especially destructive. I turn my head for a minute and ALL the DVDs are on the floor or all my Tupperware is scattered around the kitchen. Toys are everywhere, and she has just figured out how to open her dresser and loves to take out all her clothes and unfold all of her blankets and carry them around with her! All harmless and pretty easy to pick up, but it is a continual battle! On a happier note, due to my new morning routine, she now sleeps from 7:15 pm to 5:15am, nurses, and then goes back to bed until 8:15! It's wonderful, and she is so much happier in the mornings now that she is getting more sleep (and so am I)!

Benjamin is still playing basketball and assures me every week that he is the best player and can make a goal any time he wants (I keep telling him they're not called goals, but he still calls them that). He keeps trying to find ways to go back on the roof. He took off his shirt while jumping on the trampoline and threw it up on the roof. He comes running in and tells me he has to go on the roof to retrieve it. I don't think so, Ben. Nice try. Good job losing your shirt! He is such a funny kid. I had to make a return the other day. All the children were speculating whose gift I was returning and if it was because they had done something wrong. Benjamin informed Savanna that it was her present I was taking back because she isn't grateful and doesn't take care of her crap! Oh my...I wonder WHERE he heard that! I'm working on being more subtle and diplomatic in my comments to my children...it's a definite work in progress. :)

Speaking of Savanna...we went to Vons last night and the bag boy was totally flirting with her! She was giggling and smiling at him (in fact, she didn't STOP smiling all night)! He was at least 17 or 18...not cool! I know she is a beauty, but she is still so young to me when I look at her. It is all happening so fast. I don't think I'm ready!

Bradley is doing so well at his piano! Like everything that boy does, he gives it his all! He is getting so excited about his baptism! He will be getting baptized January 21st at 11am. He is also excited about starting cub scouts. We are going to get his uniform and all of his patches and accessories next week so he is ready to start right after he turns 8! He will be a wolf. I don't know much about cub scouts but I have signed up to be a parent committee member and have a feeling I am going to learn quickly!

Emma still loves Marley!

That's the skinny, folks!

December 12 - 22, 2011

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-21T21:06:00.001-08:00

Traditions are so fun. Every year they bring a sense a spirit to the holidays. They can be as simple as hanging up each Christmas card on our wall for everyone to enjoy, or as complex as traveling long distances to see extended family like I did as a child almost every year for Christmas. I have thought at length about the type of traditions I want to create with my family. There are a few things that we do that have just become traditions naturally, and others that have taken greater effort to repeat year after year. Here are a few of our favorites:

Instead of the Advent calendars with the little pieces of chocolate counting down the days until Christmas, each year I pick 24 Christmas classics to read to the children. When our pile of books is gone, Christmas has arrived! This has been such a fun tradition. There are books we pick year after year because we love the stories and we can't imagine not reading them during this time of year. Above is my all-time favorite Christmas story by Patricia Polacco, "Christmas Tapestry." See if your local library has a copy. I can't get through this book without getting teary (and for those of you who know me well, that is saying a lot!). It is a beautiful story about Christmas miracles and true love. On Christmas Day we torture the children by reading the account of Christ's birth in Luke before we open presents. It's short...and they survive!

Other traditions that have happened more naturally include enjoying our big "Christmas feast" on Christmas Eve and inviting the missionaries to join us. I do enjoy cooking but I don't want to spend my entire Christmas day in the kitchen. I always make extra food on Christmas Eve so we have plenty of yummy leftovers for Christmas Day, and we can all relax. This year we are having spinach lasagna with Caesar salad, whole wheat Tuscan garlic bread, and apple cider. :)

We also do our dream posters every New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. The kids love this craft, and it's fun to project all the goals and growth we want to achieve the following year.

And lastly, this year I am starting a new Christmas tradition. This is one that many families do, but I think it is practical and fun (two of my favorite words as a Mom!). We are going to allow the kids to each open one present on Christmas Eve night- it will be some comfy, new PJ's. Kids always need new PJ's, and it will also be great to have them all in PJ's that don't have holes or stains for Christmas pictures the next morning! Ah...you see my genius??

Merry Christmas, again! I am feeling so grateful and excited for this holiday! I can't wait to share all of our pictures and festivities!

Dec 22, 2011

Hope for the Holidays Benefit Concert

2011-12-21T20:44:00.001-08:00

Our boys were asked to sing in a holiday concert benefiting the San Luis Obispo County Food Bank. It was held at a local Seventh-day Adventist Church this past Saturday night. They were the only children asked to participate, and they ended up singing two duets: When Joseph Went to Bethlehem and The Nativity Song. They did SO well and had an absolute blast (They love to sing and perform for people)! The evening was very sweet and fun with local talent singing and playing instruments. It was a great way to really kick off the celebration of our Savior and hone into what Christmas is really about. Bradley and Benjamin will be singing again in church on Christmas morning which I am really excited about. I am so happy that Christmas falls on a Sunday this year! Not only do I get my husband home, but we get to go to church and hear beautiful music and see all of our friends- it's going to be wonderful! Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

My Beauty Queens.

Princess Emma Leigh in her Christmas dress and Mary Janes.

The Program

The Biography Table

They boys' first song! Brad was a little nervous, but he ended up belting it out in the end!

And, their last song! I only recorded the first 3 verses- they sang all five and were cute as ever!!

December 17, 2011

2011-12-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

True to my word, I started my Turbo Fire program on December 1st! The jury was out for a few days because the moves were fast and I had a lot of new choreography to learn. Surprisingly after doing it for a little over a week, I am able to keep up pretty well. It is super fun- mostly kickboxing and hip hop mixed together. Great music, and I really, really like the trainer Chalene Johnson. I thought she was going to be a little too peppy for my tastes, but she really gets me motivated and keeps it fun. I will be doing it until the end of February and will be in my size 6 sexy dress a week and a half later for my hubby's big graduation!

Chalene also came out with an awesome book called "PUSH." It is basically a 30 day goal setting seminar in book form. Savanna and I are reading it together and watching a series of videos she put out that go along with the chapters. You read a chapter per night and do the "homework" she assigns and by the end, you have a blueprint for success. It's been a great project to do together. Savanna really has amazed me with some of her goals, and I'm excited about her being exposed to another mentor to walk her through the steps of achieving them. Savanna is starting to get the hang of her Charter School as well. Balancing her time has been a struggle with having school 2 days per week and assignments that are due on specific days. I'm not sure she was quite ready for all of this required work, but she is learning some great tools and skills in the process. Many pros and cons when teaming up with a public school. But I keep reminding her that it is HER education. She can make it as deep and interesting and complete as she chooses. Her teacher is great, and is willing to personalize lessons to help Savanna achieve her educational goals. There is the political mumbo-jumbo (attendance, state testing etc.) and busy text book type work which I think is such a waste. But, good things are happening and overall I feel good about her being here right now. We are going to give it until the end of June to decide if there are more pros than cons for continuing with the Charter.

Savanna is still involved in her youth colloquium. I am leading one this week about The Secret Garden and then in December we will read and discuss Anne of Green Gables. I loved the message of The Secret Garden. I read it with the boys and for those of you that haven't read it, it is basically about a young boy and girl who have fixed beliefs about their health and capabilities. They find this Secret Garden, and as the plants and animals come alive in the garden these youngsters find that when they change the way they THINK, they begin to come alive too. They call it magic. I asked the boys what the magic was and Brad responded quickly, "It's the garden, of course!" Ben interrupted, "Nope. It's believing in yourself. That really comes from Heavenly Father." That kid really does get a lot more than he lets on some times!

I am sad to say, that we held our last adult colloquim. I have been hosting it for two years, but the members have been dwindling and the last two said they weren't available for next year. I thoroughly enjoyed those meetings, and have tried many times to invite others to join us. People are just so busy, and frankly I don't think they see the point in reading and discussing classic literature. I'm thinking of selecting one or two books next year and doing an online book group. Maybe a Facebook group or something informal where people can comment when they have time, and I can post some questions or thoughts of my own. Not sure just yet.

Our goofy boys. James recently found out that he was the oldest member of his class at the academy. Apparently the other cadets now refer to him as Grandpa which our children thought was hilarious. Here is Brad doing his impression of Grandpa, aka Dad. :)

He runs fast for a Grandpa!

November 28 - December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas is approaching! I finished ALL my shopping this week, despite our setbacks (mostly due to the fact that I did almost all my shopping online- LOVE it!). The boys sang at the Ward Christmas Party (see video below). Ben was a shepherd and Bradley was one of three wise men. James came home on Saturday and put up our Christmas lights...so we are ready! This is our first Christmas in our new home. We never bothered with exterior lights on our rentals, but it seemed like a must this being our first home and our first Christmas celebrated in it. They are simple, but pretty. We figure we'll buy a little more each year and pretty soon our house will be very festive.

Benjamin kept telling James to be careful on the ladder. My favorite part was when Ben offered to help James decorate the top story because he was really good at walking on roofs.

My attempt at getting a picture for the Christmas card. This was the best one. I'll post the rest, but my Sis is going to try to work some magic on Photo Shop to get it just right!

And here are my darling nieces, Sofi and Gabby! They are coming up the day after Christmas, and I can't wait to see them!

Boys Sing at the Ward Christmas Party

They have also been asked to sing at a benefit concert for the local food bank. They'll be singing two duets next Saturday night- will video for sure!!

December 10 - 11, 2011

The Footage You've ALL Been Waiting For...

2011-12-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

Benjamin's basketball season is in full swing and is seriously the high light of my week! His face is lit up like a Christmas tree the entire time as he runs back and forth and bounces around the court. It also helps that his team has won their first two games. Benjamin, himself, had absolutely nothing to do with those wins but he is excited nonetheless! Ben just is in his own little world. He likes to run, but doesn't really bother to run where the ball is (and often times will be on the opposite side of the court when EVERYONE else and the ball are at the other end- see video below). He has gotten the ball twice and has managed to dribble and pass it to another team mate though. He's definitely learning and like I said, he is having so much fun. There is nothing cuter than one of Benjamin's big toothless grins. Just makes my whole day!

Speaking of toothless grins, Ben lost his first tooth today...well, he lost his first tooth naturally! He is very excited to see if the Tooth Fairy brings him a dollar. :)

The Ben Basketball Bounce

"Ben, the ball is OVER THERE!" :)

He FINALLY got the ball!

December 3 - December 11, 2011

Surprise!

2011-12-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

With the help of James' sister Wendy Sue, Emma and I were able to drive down to Camarillo and surprise James for his birthday. We had just surprised him the week before for Thanksgiving, so this really took him by surprise! Wendy stayed with the older three, and Em and I arrived at James' hotel right around when he got out of class. To be honest, it was an uneventful night. I made us a quick dinner, we put the baby to bed, and James was asleep by 9:15pm. This is not an unusual occurrence when we get together. We are both so overwhelmed and tired with all that we are doing separately. I think also that we both feel so much more at peace when we are together and that helps us relax and sleep better. At any rate, it was wonderful to see him on his actual birthday, even for a little bit.

James is doing so awesome at the academy. He aces every test, he is keeping up with the rigorous physical training, and even ran 5 miles this past week (his longest run ever). He is learning some great tools about controlling and disciplining himself (among many others). I am also learning a great deal about having confidence in my abilities to run the house and take care of the children on my own. We have both found that we are much stronger and braver than we thought possible at the beginning of this adventure. The Lord is blessing us a ton as well, and answering our prayers left and right. We will still be so relieved when it is all over and we can get on with our normal lives, but I hope that we take all this learning and growth with us into the next phase of our lives. I'm sure we will. Only thirteen more weeks!

The baby and I ended up staying Friday as well so we could have another night with James. It was a really fun day. I realized that I have never been alone with Emma for an entire day since she has been born! I've always had James or one of the other kids (or all of them) with me or other family members. It was so nice. We went for a long run, had a picnic in the park, watched HGTV (that is a dangerous station to watch when you own a home!), and napped. Then when James came home, we took him out for a belated birthday dinner. He got to choose ANYWHERE he wanted to go...it was his birthday after all. Did he choose burgers or pizza? Nope. He chose, of all places, a GREEK restaurant! Who is this impostor?? He ordered a chicken wrap with hummus and pita bread, and I ordered a falafel and chicken plate. The food was awesome! We are definitely going to return to this place!

Those were the highlights of our trip. The baby did not sleep well the first night, and was up almost all night the second night with a slight fever. Her fever continued and rose for four days and nights. I thought maybe she was teething because there were no other symptoms at all except that she was tired and refused to eat anything. On day five she broke out from the crown of her head to her toes in spots. The Dr. confirmed that our poor little Emma had contracted the German measles, aka Rubella.

You can't really see the spots too well in the pictures, but there were literally hundreds and hundreds. Fortunately, Rubella is much milder than the regular measles and requires no medical treatment at all. It's called the 3 day measles and true to it's name was gone in exactly 3 days after the rash broke out. She is back to running around, eating, and being as cute as ever (And, she did break a tooth during this week also- poor gal!). So far everyone else is fine. Tired and little stressed out, but fine. :)

At Daddy's Hotel

Still At Daddy's Hotel :)

Last One...For this post :)

December 1 - November 9, 2011

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

2011-11-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

We decided to decorate for Christmas on Sunday! The house feels so warm and cozy. We ended up putting the tree in the school room/nursery so the dog and baby didn't destroy it all in one day. That was a good move! I can go in there and read, or the boys can do their lessons next to the lights, but then we can shut the door so Trouble 1 (Marley) and his side kick, Trouble 2 (Emma), can't get in!

Once again, the boys built our fake tree. We are going to try to buy some garland so our house smells like pine though. I love Christmas time!!

November 27, 2011

Emma is 15 Months!

2011-11-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

My blogging would not be complete without updated pictures of our little princess. Oh how I love this girl! She brings so much laughter and joy to our home. In the midst of teenage drama and little boy strife she makes us laugh and brings us together. We can be in the middle of a battle of tears and yelling and she will toddle in and say "Hi Na Na" or "Hi Mama" and we just start smiling. If anyone is upset she goes over and hugs them. She loves to blow kisses, especially at her Daddy. She says many words now: Hi, Mama, Daddy, Doggie, Na Na, All Done, Up, Down, No, Mmm, Uh Oh, Weee, Nigh Nigh, Ow, and Hey. Pretty much covers her needs. :)

She is a little monkey. She loves to climb on things- chairs, couches, beds, dogs, people. She recently has discovered a love for slides. She loves going to the park or just playing in the front yard with the two little plastic slides we have for her. Except she refuses to go up the ladders. She only likes to try to climb up the slide itself. She can do it with a little help, then turns around and slides down and tries to climb back up again. Never ending fun!

I wish I could say she was sleeping better these days. She still thinks she needs milk at 2 or 3 in the morning. I make her wait until 4:30, but am going to try to extend that until 5:15 pretty soon. I am hoping to start getting up at 5:15 to give her a little milk and put her back to bed. Then my goal is to stay up to pray, read my scriptures, exercise and shower before she and the rest of the crew are up for the day. I am excited to find some time for myself...I wish it wasn't quite that early but it will have to do! Seminary days add to her sleeping troubles. I usually just get her back to sleep around 5 and then have to wake her up an hour later for the carpool. I put her in her car seat, PJ's and all, and off we go! She's been a real trooper about it, but it is a serious pain!

Like my other 3, she began walking at 14 months. She has been taking a step here or there for a couple of months but she starting really walking last week and now she pretty much just walks everywhere! It's amazing how fast kids learn when they want to do something.

Don't let that sweet face completely fool you. She has quite a temper on her when she doesn't get her way! She will scream "HEY!" if you take something from her or tell her no. She has been known to throw herself on the floor, and lately she has started to smack people (mostly her siblings) if they do something she doesn't like. In her defense though, they often pick her up or move her body around like she is a little toy. She is getting to that age where she wants to do everything herself and she doesn't like to be manipulated so she let's them know loud and clear! I don't know where she gets her fiery attitude from! :)

November 3 - 8, 2011

Fun!

2011-11-28T21:53:00.000-08:00

Our boys decided that they wanted to look like their dad. So when he was home yesterday, he shaved their heads. I always think they are adorable, but it is seriously hard to tell them a part when their hair is cut like this! They have been dressing alike too and calling themselves twins. Bradley had a little cut on his forehead so Benjamin purposely rubbed his head on the floor and gave himself a rug burn in the same spot! Not his brightest moment. I told Brad he better not be knocking out any teeth to look more like his brother. He assured me he wouldn't!

The boys have been having fun making forts out of card board boxes in the backyard. I especially like all the signs they wrote. :)

Savanna looked gorgeous for her formal dance. I even let her borrow my wedding tiara which apparently was the envy of all the other girls. She said the music wasn't as good as the Halloween dance, and she was getting over a cold, but overall she had a great time.

Benjamin has been on a destructive mission since James left. Emotions are raw around here and his temper has gotten the best of him several times. It seems to be the worst the day or two after James leaves. This past week by Tuesday Ben had broken the toilet seat, the swing set, the large baby gate that sectioned off our living room, several cabinet knobs, and my laundry room shelf! Thank goodness for good home teachers and a handy husband! All was fixed by the weekend. The baby gate, however, could not be fixed so I spent hours spackling, painting and rearranging our living room. Don't tell Ben, but it looks SO much nicer and bigger. I LOVE it!!

I said I would never take the kids here, but a friend invited us to Chuck E. Cheese for a family night. Surprisingly it was actually really fun. A little too loud and hectic, but the pizza has gotten much better and the kids had a blast. The boys said it was the greatest night of their lives! They won 950 tickets which bought them several cheesy, plastic toys and some candy. They make a killing at this place!!

Oh, and the MOST fun, Ben started basketball! This is going to be so entertaining. I just can not wait for his first game! He's only had one practice and one clinic, and the kid is seriously uncoordinated. The funny part is though, he thinks he is FABULOUS! He has a hard time focusing and following direction, plus he kept running around with his hands in his pockets half the practice and so when anyone would throw the ball at him it would just bounce off his chest or face. I kept yelling, "Ben, get our hands out of your pockets!" but he said they were too cold. Their team name is Dr. Chocolate...not sure what that means but whatever. His first game is this Saturday, and it's going to be seriously great!

November 3 - 28, 2011

Visitors, Vacations, & Holidays

2011-11-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...it has been WEEKS since I've blogged! Between visitors, vacations, holidays, and a broken computer I've had my hands tied. There is too much to tell and I took WAY too many pictures to post, but as always I will give you the highlights. Top News: 8 weeks DOWN, only 15 more weeks of James' academy! ONLY...yeah right. :)

Grandma Kathleen came for a visit at the beginning of November. It was great having an extra set of hands around the house again. She was able to spend time with Emma, take the boys on an "adventure," give me a little break, and even see Bradley's last soccer game. She always teaches me something during her visits. This time she shared with me that she has kept a daily gratitude journal for a long time. I thought that was a great idea and started one the very next week. I write 5 things I am grateful for each night before I go to bed. It's simple and takes very little time, but has brought me a lot of joy. What a wonderful way to end each day. :)

Later in the month, Shelly and Hannah came for a visit. This was the first time they have seen our new house! Of course the boys had a blast with Hannah, and we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving while they were here since James would be away on the actual holiday. I decided to do my own spin on the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner (big surprise, right?). We served pumpkin/turkey chili (AMAZING BTW...will put it on the food blog asap!), kale salad, green salad, cranberry sauce, whole wheat Tuscan bread and butter, green bean casserole, and raw apple cider. It was a great meal with great company. So many things to be thankful for this time of year and nothing seems more important than family time.

We have been down to stay with James at his hotel twice this month. One weekend the three littles and I went to stay with him for a Saturday/Sunday (Savanna stayed behind to go to her Formal Church Dance- pictures to follow!), and then all of us ended up surprising James by coming down for Thanksgiving Day and stayed several days. The kids love to stay with James. I'd like to say it is because of him but mostly it's the free buffet breakfast the hotel serves every morning, the heated swimming pool, and the awesome park across the street. Really it is a fun place to stay. I go to the gym, go for walks with beautiful views of the mountains, swim, play pool, watch movies....yeah, it's pretty nice.

Some how James has managed to study and write all his papers while we are with him. The baby has even started napping better while we are there. It is cozy having all 6 of us in a 450 square foot space with only ONE bathroom, but totally worth it. We even brought Marley this last time and he was great. We stayed with James Wednesday through Saturday and then he came home for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Four whole days of family fun. :)

Emma Leigh made a friend, Emily.

Emma is walking!!

Benjamin, AKA Spiderman!

More Emma. :)

November 3 - 8, 2011

On a Personal Note

2011-11-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

This may come as a surprise but after much thought and prayer we have decided to enroll Savanna in a Classical Charter High School. It is a hybrid program, meaning she goes to school two days a week and then will continue to be home schooled the remaining five days. This classical academy follows the Trivium Method (and is in fact, called Trivium Charter School). Trivium Method focuses on three elements of a Classical Education:

[1] General Grammar

(Answers the question of the Who, What, Where, and the When of a subject, and lays the foundation for a student's advanced studies.)

[2] Formal Logic

(Answers the Why of a subject, and teaches a student to think through arguments.)

[3] Classical Rhetoric

(Provides the How of a subject, and teaches a student to express himself with originality and force both in writing and orally and apply his acquired knowledge in his life.)

As these disciplines are learned and practiced together, they form the overarching, unified system for establishing clarity and consistency of personal thought called the Trivium.

Other elements that define a classical education: Most of this knowledge is acquired through CLASSICS (not textbooks), and is studied in chronological order split into four time periods: Ancients, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and Modern Times. Savanna is currently studying ancient history so all of her other subjects (science, art, music etc.) also revolve around this same time period. This helps the student's studies fuse together nicely. It also gives her a clear picture of what was going on in the world in a variety of subjects at different times in history, and how they are related and build upon each other.

For more information on a Classical Education or the Trivium Method, here is a GREAT article:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education/

At Trivium Charter Savanna is learning Science (Biology- a subject known to the ancients), Ancient History (currently they are studying ancient Egypt), and Writing with a heavy emphasis on Rhetoric- learning to express the ideas in her head cohesively and apply them to her life both in written and oral form (lots of public speaking, papers, and group projects). She is responsible for doing math, English, grammar, spelling, p.e. and other electives at home (music, art, foreign language etc.).

Why did we choose this route? I believe that Leadership Education fuses very nicely with the above definition of a Classical Education. In deed in many respects one could substitute the Grammar element with Core Phase, Logic with Love of Learning Phase, and Rhetoric with Scholar Phase. Leadership Education is not about home schooling or public schooling, classes or hours alone in study. It is about the attitude and needs of the individual student. Savanna is painfully aware that SHE is completely 100 % responsible for her own education. It is not my job or her teacher's job or anyone else's job to educate her. She is the only one capable of doing that. That being said, it is Savanna's education and so it was Savanna's choice. James and I have felt that we have given her a lot of freedom the last few years to choose what she studies, how long she studies, how she studies, etc. But there have been times where she did not perform in a way we felt met our expectations and we have given off a vibe (or straight out told her) that we were unimpressed or disappointed. I have realized that in many ways I am still controlling her education through my reactions. I would give her my advice (and I have had LOTS of advice to give) and she would not follow it, and I would make her wrong for it. Overall I feel that due to my desire for her to succeed and also my fear that she would fail, I have given her the impression that I do not trust her judgment and I do not have confidence in her ability.

For the first time, I am REALLY going to let her make a decision in her own education. And then I am going to spend some time genuinely building her up and letting her know that I have her back, and have the utmost confidence in her ability to not only make the right choice, but to be successful in the choice that she makes. This will be a new road for both us, and one that I hope brings us closer together. I am feeling really good about this. I think it may provide some healing on both sides. Also, the way this program is designed still puts me as her main Mentor, and gives me a chance to be heavily involved in her studies both at school and at home. I think it will be fun to help her with projects, and can even involve the boys in what she is learning outside of the home. Because it is a charter school they give us $350 per year to pick curriculum for Savanna's home studies including many books on our Leadership Education lists. Every child is different, and Savanna feels that this would help her so we will get behind her and let her give it a shot. Classes can serve a great purpose, especially for an older child like Savanna who is very social and thrives in a group environment. Ideally a student should be heavily entrenched in Scholar Phase before committing to classes, but I am thinking that a change of environment and outside Mentors will push Savanna to academic levels she may not have achieved at home. That is my gut feeling.

My biggest problem with this charter decision was that I didn't want to make it based on fear. Fear that if she stayed home she would never get an education, job, degree, etc. I wanted the decision to be made on Faith. Faith that it was the right path and the right time. But I have realized that even though I am her mother and I am privy to revelation that will help my children, this may be a great opportunity for her to learn how to study things out in her mind, pray about them, and then follow through with her own inspiration. She has visited the campus, studied the pros and cons, and has prayed about it. She feels she should attend this school at this time, and so she started this past Tuesday. Already I am seeing her struggle with making sacrifices so she has time for her school work. She does not have as much flexibility, and she is still required to help around the house, take care of herself, and get to bed at a decent hour. I think she will figure it all out in time, and I am hopeful that it will be a positive experience all around. We will take it semester by semester and do what is best for her.

Man, being parents is tough, but what a blessing that we have so many resources available for our children's education. It is also a great reminder that what works for one child may not work for another, and what works at one time for the same child could change as she grows. Pulling Savanna out of public school almost 4 years ago was absolutely the best choice we have ever made for her. I have seen her grow and blossom in so many ways at home. So this Charter school may be what she needs right now to motivate her to the next level, but we will be revisiting this issue continually to know how long it will be needed. We will see how it goes!

November 1, 2011

We are Moving Forward

2011-11-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

James made it home again and officially has completed his first MONTH of his P.O.S.T. ! I know many of you reading this are probably thinking how fast it is going but it has seemed like an eternity to me! The weeks do seem to be going a bit faster and I have gotten in a pretty good groove around here, but I still hate it. What can I say? We kind of like each other! I told him when he graduates he is never allowed to leave us again...EVER! He wholeheartedly agreed.

Emma loves going to Brad's soccer games. Bradley has only 2 games left! He did so awesome this past Saturday- he scored FOUR goals in the 1st quarter! Even the other parents were saying things like, "Wow, Bradley is on fire!" Both the boys want to start Basketball in December...I'm looking into it.

Daddy was able to fix Emma's jogger stroller this weekend which made us both VERY happy!

Our visit with James this weekend was awesome. We were so exhausted from our weeks that we tried to watch a movie Saturday night and wait up for Savanna to get home from her dance but I don't think we even made it until 10pm! We decided to stay home from church the next day and have a family day. We carved our pumpkins, watched some Halloween shows, cuddled, and played. James was able to finish most of his homework. It was really nice.

Emma Leigh has had a rough start to this week. Not sleeping well, fevers, and getting some new teeth. The car broke down and we got locked out of the house all in one day. Plus the boys tend to really misbehave the first few days after James leaves again. They managed to get put to bed early AND lose all their Halloween candy within 2 days. Too harsh? I don't think so. They discovered that they could climb on the neighbor's shed to get up on his roof and then jumped off onto their trampoline! Thankfully no one was hurt but these boys are seriously making me old. I'm not kidding! I found two wrinkles on face just this week! I'm going to look like an old hag by the time James gets home if they don't cut it out!!

Grandma Kathleen is on her way to help me get through the rest of the week and then my honey will be home...two more days...I can do this!

October 29- November 2, 2011

Happy Halloween...Again

2011-11-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Halloween was fun around here. We did all the festive stuff- pumpkins, dances, carnivals, dressing up, candy- it was fun, but I'm sure glad it's over! There is too much going on around here these days!!

We carved pumpkins this weekend while Dad was home this Sunday.

The boys love the messy part! I ended up sprouting our pumpkin seeds, and then putting them in my dehydrator with Himalayan sea salt- really good!

Savanna's princess pumpkin.

Daddy, the master carver!

Ta-Da!

Savanna dressed up as Mystical Barbie for her very first youth Halloween dance on Saturday night! She has not stopped talking about the dance since then. Apparently it was the best night of her life! She was asked to slow dance four times, and just had a ball dancing and hanging out with her friends. :)

This is her "new" photo cheesy smile. I like it, but her real smile is even better.

Like this!

Or like this! :)

On Halloween night Emma had a fever (new teeth coming), and absolutely hated her Halloween costume. This was another hand-me-down from Savanna and was so perfect because her nick name around here has been lengthened from Lady to Lady Bug. She wasn't having it. I even tried to distract her with some treats and clapping...

Almost happy...

No dice!

She was in the costume for all of 5 minutes and then we decided Savanna would stay home with her while I took the boys to the Halloween Carnival at a local church here in town. Savanna made Bradley promise to win her a cake in the cake walk!

There has been too much going on around here and the boys have two large totes full of dress up outfits, so I refused to buy new costumes this year. They were totally fine with this and both found great outfits and looked adorable. Bradley was an army man complete with secret "weabons" like his map which he rolled up and stuffed in the back of his shirt, his binoculars, and his belt (which he said he could take off at a moment's notice and use as a sling shot). ;)

Can you guess who Ben is?? Ben insisted on wearing this weird, gross, plastic finger that he got as a prize from the dentist that afternoon for not having any cavities. He wore it for several days...until Marley ate it.

The carnival was awesome! They had games, tons of candy, free popcorn and nachos, a bounce house, face painting, Smokey the Bear and fire trucks...And Ben was the one who won an entire cake for Savanna in a cake walk (Thank goodness because Bradley tried about 6 times, and we would have been there all night)!

The boys trick or treated around our little complex for a few minutes with Savanna when we got home, and then it was time to sort the candy. In our usual fashion they each picked out a few treats to save and the rest went into a bucket to be left for the Switch Witch. I totally forgot about the Switch Witch this year! The boys reminded me that she switches kids' leftover candy for prizes or gifts. I was all out of those, so I had to improvise.

They each received 4 quarters from the Switch Witch, and were absolutely elated! I know...only a few more years where I can pull that one off!!

I did a have a few treats, but did my workouts and stayed on track for the rest of the week! I hit a huge goal this week too- 50 pounds gone forever!! I am very excited. Creeping towards the finish line, and it feels great!!

October 29 - 31, 2011

Time Flies When You Are CRAZY Busy!

2011-10-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

This week has been super busy, and has just flown by. James was able to come home again last Saturday afternoon for about 24 hours. We even got out and saw a late night movie (The Three Musketeers- eh, it was cool but I like the Kiefer Sutherland/Chris O'Donnell version way better. It seems like movies these days are all about the special effects and totally neglect the plot...it's unfortunate).

Best of all James was able to see the boys perform in their Primary Program on Sunday. He hasn't been able to do that in over 3 years! They did wonderful singing their hearts out and both remembered their parts. Sundays have become the "sad day" around here because that's when Dad leaves again. We decided when he leaves we are going to make Sunday nights movie night. So we popped popcorn and watched "Enchanted" this week. It was very fun, and left the boys feeling happy again.

We finally finished watching General Conference this week! I have found that watching an hour at a time is great for the kids, and it also allows me to really absorb the information piece by piece. What a great conference. I love recording the general topics from each talk in my journal to see what the general "theme"of Conference seemed to be. This time I felt that the underlying message I was supposed to receive was the no matter what my Heavenly Father loves me. He knows me personally, and he is concerned for me and is aware of me. This has been a trying month for me, for sure. I have been through some rough times, and I would say that this experience now is right up there with some of them! However I have felt an abundance of God's love for me. I have been blessed greatly in many ways during James' absence, and am starting to learn some of the lessons I hoped to achieve while he is gone.

(On a funny note: during conference the camera panned across the panel of general authorities sitting up in the stand. Benjamin looks at me and says, "Wow, a lot of old people go to General Conference!")

We were able to get out and have some fun this week, too! We ran the Bob Jones Trail, got some of our favorite apple cider from Creekside Farm in See Canyon, and then stopped by Avila Barn to see the Fall decorations.

The boys still love to feed the animals. Emma was very interested in the animals this time too. She barked at most of them, but we eventually taught her to moo at the cow (see the video below)!

These guys were a riot!

The Barn has a really cool hay maze the kids love to run through. I think the boys went through it about 5 times before I coaxed them to leave!

They love the toy store at Avila barn too. Of course the boys wanted me to buy them everything and when I told them no they informed me this day wasn't very fun at all. It's amazing how the tide turns so quickly.

Bradley had his second piano lesson. Sister Smart was very impressed with how well he played his songs. She gave him 3 more songs to practice, along with two more new notes. He is still very excited!

Benjamin has not hurt himself at all this week (although he has hurt others...it's a work in progress). Emma is eating up a storm! I think she finally figured out that this eating thing is fun. So far her favorite snacks this week: scrambled eggs, rice bread, and kiwi. I love that she is eating more. Now if I can get her sleeping past 4 am and drinking almond milk from a cup, I will have a little more rest and freedom!

Savanna had her awards night for her Personal Progress Program. She borrowed this dress from a girlfriend, and got all dolled up. She sure is beautiful!

The Cultural Hall was decorated lovely. The theme was " The Red Carpet" so all the girls dressed fancy, and they served apple cider in champagne glasses with chocolate fountains and velvet cupcakes. It was a very nice evening. Savanna received a special award for being "The Most Prepared."

The girls.

Savanna is still attending seminary. She seems to be adapting to getting up so early, and has been diligently reading her scriptures every day. She was reading in Amos the other day and was talking about the scripture that says that God reveals His secrets to His prophets. She said she remembers this scripture mastery by thinking of Famous Amos cookies and picturing the prophet eating cookies. Ben yells, "His name is Anus?" Then Brad chimes in, "Who would name their kid after a butt??" Then Savanna laughed so hard that she fell on th floor! I'm really surprised we get any learning done here at all some days!!

James is coming home again in 2 days...

I CAN'T WAIT! :)

Ben feeding the goats.

Proof that babies don't need any special, fancy toys!

Emma meets the animals, up close & personal.

October 22 - 27, 2011

Other Family News

2011-10-19T22:16:00.001-07:00

Other family news: Since Ben decided to give himself a haircut there was nothing left for us to do but shave it all and start over. James did the honors while he was home. The problem is that I overheard Benjamin telling Bradley that he purposely cut his hair so his dad would have to come home and fix it, and since his dad came home he now thinks his master plan worked. I have been telling him over and over that James was going to come home any way. Who knows what that kid will cut off next if he thinks Dad will run home and fix it!

Speaking of cutting things: Benjamin, while jumping over Marley's vomit in our hallway, cut open his ear on the corner of the wall (This is my life- I can't make this stuff up!!). It looked pretty deep so I took him to the urgent care. The doctor went back and forth about stitching it (This was the same Doc who stitched his eyebrow a couple years ago). He finally got a second opinion from another doctor (The Doc who did his X-rays when he broke his elbow!) and decided it would be fine as long as we kept it cleaned and applied some prescription ointment. Fortunately it is healing fine. Dang boys!

Emma learned to eat Cheerios this week from her friend Aurora. She totally choked on the first one and then said, "Mmm" and popped another one in her mouth! Well, we all have to learn to eat some time!

Emma is finally eating other foods as well. I figured out that she eats a lot more when I eat with her, and she likes what is on my plate way more than what is on hers! Her new favorite foods this week, steel cut oats and mashed avocado. She's not digging the pureed baby food anymore. She likes her food to have texture. Can't blame her for that one. She is talking like crazy, and is full of energy and life- just adore her!!

The kids have been learning a lot this week. They pulled out their binders and did a bunch of worksheets and art projects. Benjamin is doing wonderful on his reading and is even learning to write and spell at the same time. Bradley is taking his piano practicing very seriously, and has the three songs down pat for his second lesson next week!

And Bradley decided to make this cool art wall. :)

October 16 - 21, 2011

James' Visit

2011-10-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am totally slacking on the blog lately! Just been a tad busy around here playing Mom and Dad, among other roles. :) But, James was able to come home for the first time late Saturday afternoon (on Savanna's Birthday) until about 5pm on Sunday. It was so wonderful to have him back home! The time was short, but we were able to spend a lot of quality time together alone and as a family.

Can I just tell you that his academy is CRAZY? The officers are mean and nasty, yelling at the cadets all day, making them do an insane amount of physical training, and surprising them with new rules all the time. They also assign a huge amount of homework. James has been averaging about 4 hours a sleep per night for the past 3 1/2 weeks! And they still expect him to be sharp and alert the next day and ready for whatever they throw at him!

The biggest thorn in his side: Memos. Some times the officers assign memos as punishment (if you screw up or don't perform well you will be assigned a memo to write, due the next day), and some times everyone gets assigned a memo just because or to solidify a principle the officers want them to understand better. A memo, short for memorandum, is basically an essay. They are usually 300 to 500 words in length. No biggie, right? Especially for someone like James who is a great writer. NOT. These memos have such strict criteria that it literally takes him hours to write them. For instance, he has to hand write each memo in pen. There can be NO mistakes whatsoever, grammar or otherwise. All letters must be the same size. The lines must maintain a 1 inch margin and must be evenly spaced...it basically has to look like it was typed. He uses a bunch of special tools to make this work. And if there is anything wrong, anything at all, it will be returned for him to completely redo along with any other homework the next night!

Here is the finished product (click the picture to make it bigger). He hand wrote this!! It was returned to him the next day simply because he forgot 2 commas...and he did it all over again!!

You're amazing, Babe. Really amazing. And you are holding up so well. We miss you, and are so glad you have been able to come home a little!!

October 15 - 16, 2011

Happy Birthday, Savanna!

2011-10-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

Our little baby is growing up! Savanna turned 14 last Saturday!! It was a really fun day, and I think she had a blast. :)

Even though she could have slept in, her brothers were too excited to give her their presents. Benjamin gave her about a dozen colored bobby pins that he had been secretly stealing from her bathroom drawer for who knows how long. She was very grateful to get them back!

Bradley made her a nice card and gave her his last dollar. He has been checking the mail every day for the past week looking for birthday cards for Savanna. He was very concerned that people forgot about her, and he wanted her to know that he had not forgotten.

James and I gave her a bunch of make-up, a make-up bag, and mirror. She was very excited. Now let's hope she gets the hang of it quick! Lately she's been going a little crazy with the purple eye shadow. Kind of looks like someone clocked her-twice. :)

Goofy Ben.

Emma imitating goofy Ben. :)

I made her a big breakfast, and while I did my workout she watched her new favorite Disney flick "Tangled" with her siblings. Then Auntie Heather arrived to dye her hair blond, give her a make-up lesson, and take her shopping for dresses!

Before

After!

James arrived home in the late afternoon, and we all met up at Chili's for her birthday dinner. They took FOREVER to bring us our food and totally screwed up our order, but fortunately everyone behaved and they brought Savanna a huge, ice cream shake (to go) for free!!

Emma's new favorite food- guacamole!

Happy Birthday, Savanna! We love you!!

October 15, 2011

I'm Making Progress

2011-10-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

I am very hesitant to posts these pictures...I'm sure you all have noticed there are not many pictures of ME on this blog! Ah, what the heck! I am doing well with my exercise. You can check out my transformation story and updates on my weight loss journey here:

www.teambeachbody.com/holliwyett

The upper right hand corner has my fitness blog posts with all the sweaty details of my exercise program, diet, and results. In the mean time, here are the pictures I promised.

Before Photo Taken 7/21/11

After Photo Taken 10/13/11- Half way through my Power 90 program

I personally don't see a huge difference in these photos, but I can totally tell a difference without my clothes on (I will spare you all those photos)! Things are shifting, my waistline is appearing again, my tummy is flatter, muscles are being defined- all good things!!

October 13, 2011