Home....

Yup, we are back in the great state of Kentucky. In some ways our three week getaway was long enough and in other ways it simply made us miss Utah and our families and friends there. I decided if I only go home for a week, then I stay in complete vacation mode rushing here and there, checking off lists, while the days fly by like hours. But if you stay longer you suddenly can imagine yourself living there and realize all there is to offer and what you're missing when you are away. It a tough spot to be in since we have two more years here in Lexington and a year fellowship who knows where after that. Sure we are already eight years in this long trek, but knowing that my little brother Rhett, who will be a senior in high school this year, will be half way done with his mission when we are finally through makes it still feel like the finish line is still not close enough to sprint towards.

Though I am not complaining. On my final day in Utah I watched my younger brother Jeff and his wife Sarah, with the help of Rhett, load all their belongings into an ABF freight trailer. They were headed east towards Wisconsin the next day marking the beginning of their medical school adventure. Rewind to December 2000 and we were the ones packing up our condo in Provo and loading it into the ABF trailer and found ourselves saying goodbyes to loved ones. How the time quickly passes. I am excited for Jeff and Sarah and this new chapter in their lives. I have found most of my dearest friends over these past eight years and I appreciate all I have learned and accomplished while in Lexington and Louisville. I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything- even owning a home with a Utah County zip code.

While the end of living far away is still a bit off, this short break was the perfect way to spend the middle bit of our summer. Baseball was complete, swimming had wrapped up and Rich was going to be crazy busy when we were gone so there was really not much we were missing out on here. It had been two years since we stayed in Utah for more that seven days. Back in 2005 when we were there for two months, I was trying to juggle newborn twins and knew I still had to move from Louisville to Lexington. It wasn't quite as relaxing as this summer was for us all. This time it was about seeing people we love and enjoying all the things Utah has to offer. And that is quite a lot.

I loved that for the first time my girls realized there people they could know and love outside our little Kentucky bunch. They fell in love with their grandparents. They would call for and ask for Grandma all day long. Now when the phone rings, Brynn and Kaitlyn ask if it's Grandma. I found Brynn walking around with a play phone chatting away to Grandma. And when Rich made Kaitlyn get off the table Kaitlyn asked for Grandma. I would too if I were her. She knows who loves her. I'd say she's one smart girl.

We loved seeing all our new family members. Brad and Jana's wedding was lovely and we couldn't have found a better fit for Brad. They are perfectly suited for each other. We girls cooed over all the newborn babies we met- Julianne's handsome William, Heather's little Ava and Kate's darling Oliver. All the sister in laws were so sweet to my girls and let them hover and pat their little babies. They even let Brynn peek while the babies nursed. What saints.

Yes, being in Utah made me see my girls are part monkey and are non speakers, but the words are slowing coming and I've been the counter/table police hauling them off the danger zones whenever I spy them. They might not have a lot to say, but they certainly keep me on my toes- here and there.

Utah adventures were full of friends and family. I got to spend time with blogging buddies, friends from Louisville, old time friends from high school and Lexington lifesavers. Each visit made me realize how blessed I have been to have amazing women in my life. Thank you to all.
We saw all our family, hugged and kissed every grandparent and I look forward to when our visit will be on a more frequent basis.

We also managed to stop at nearly every fun place we could find and eat at every delicious restaurant our stomach growled for. We went bowling, miniature golfing twice, visited the zoo, the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving point, Discovery Gateway Children's Museum, The Clark Planetarium, saw Kung Fu Panda, splashed and slid in the Alcorn's back yard, bounced and dug sand in Amanda's new back yard, played at Chuck-E-Cheese, sang along to the iPod with Rhett, played Guitar Hero with the boys for the first time, went swimming at Jackson's, climbed around McDonald's play land, hit a bucket of ball with Grandpa Jackson for the boys, plus real golfing with Grandpa J. for Josh, bounced and got wet at the Howlett's new home, walked to the pond to feed the ducks, hiked to a waterfall in Payson canyon, temple session for me, endless croquet matches in Salem, ate at Cafe Rio, PF Changs (finally!), Wendy's, Hogi Yogi, Chili's, Papa John's, gobbled banana Creamies, stopped at every Shaved Ice stand we could find, and enjoyed delicious BBQ's at home with both families. Seriously, who could ask for more?!

In fact I had Rich take a stab at how many photos I uploaded to the computer last night from our trip out west. He guessed 180. Nope. 260. Not even close. How about over 1,300! Yes, I am a photo freak. And if you were near me for even a brief second I probably snapped your picture. Thank heavens for digital! I can't even begin to fathom how much that would all cost to print out. I have to admit I wasn't too surprised when blogger informed me I had reached my maximum quota. I paid my 20 bucks yesterday and am hoping they'll allow me to upload new photos shortly. If not, I'll probably start getting the shakes from not blogging about the trip. Sad, but true.

Our trip back home went nearly perfect, which was such a relief since I was flying solo with the kids. Rich had to come back 2 weeks before us for work and even jetted down to Miami for half a week for a board review coarse. It seems that the saying 'no rest for the weary' applies to us quite well. I secured a gate pass from Delta for my mom and I was grateful she got us up to the airport, helped us through security and waited with us at the gate. They were boarding out flight when we got there. I wanted to be the last one on the plane. Yes, I might bump every seated passenger with the 2 car seats, camera case, tote bag and purse I had loaded onto my body, but even 5 extra minutes off the plane sounded good to me. Besides a hold up in first class with Kaitlyn asking me "What's this?" and pointing at every person and then the girls' lack of desire to walk to the rear of the plane (row 34 and 35 for us) we finally did make it to our seats, strap in the gang and I finally stopped sweating by the time we took off 30 minutes later. The girls were amazing. The boys sat in front so they could happily kick away with out me freaking out and soon 3 1/2 hours later we safely landed in Cincinnati. I think I worried Rich a tiny bit when it took us over 35 minutes to get off the plane to the security check point to where he was waiting, but you can only go one speed when you are loaded down with 200 pounds of gear and 5 kids- SLOW.

The girls spotted their daddy from a long ways off and their happy shrill screams hello warmed my heart. It was good be to back together. The second thing to welcome me back was the intense oppressive wave of thick hot air that blasted us as we exited the Cincinnati airport. That is one thing I didn't miss while being away. I love dry climates and mountains. But I also love lawns that don't need to be watered and the intense green found wherever you look here in the Bluegrass. I am lucky that I truly do love both of our 'homes'.

I am finally feeling like we are getting back to the swing of things. The boys watched TV and played video games all day on Tuesday and Wednesday and I really didn't mind. The weather was gloomy, rainy and hot outside (you wouldn't think those three things would go together but they do) and after six weeks of swim team and three crazy busy weeks in Utah I was ready for some serious down time. By the end of day two, all the suitcases were in the storage room, the floors were cleared of clothes and shoes and after a late night marathon trip to Wal-mart with my trusty shopper Kaitlyn there was even food in the fridge. I did laugh though when the checker eyed my crazy full shopping cart (other shoppers were catching items as they fell off!). At the end he wiped off his brow, handed me the extremely long receipt and informed me that was the most food he had ever checked. Guess he didn't know how many hungry mouths I have to feed back home. Then yesterday at Great Harvest an older woman questioned me why I was purchasing so many loaves of bread. I had four on the counter- one for a neighbor who picked up our mail and watered my plants and the other three were for me. I just smiled and told her my kids loved toast. I never question the large quantities I buy, but to some it looks very odd. I guess it's what you are accustomed to.

Through all the goodbyes and hugs and well wishes I didn't get very emotional. I guess years of living away can do that too you. Plus we rarely go longer than six months with out seeing family so I know I'll see them again soon- but I was nearly brought to tears last night. After spending a full hour and two Mr. Clean Erasers scrubbing the kitchen sparkling clean from top to bottom, Kaitlyn rushed in from the garage and tossed a can of diet root beer on the floor. It burst open and whizzed around at top speed hurling brown liquid from the top of the cupboards to the floor boards below. I was ready to sacrifice my body and throw myself on top of the can, but in seconds flat the can's contents were over the room. I wasn't pleased. Not one bit. I often feel like my life is in constant rewind. My days and chores are repeats from the previous one. But in the mist of my anger I recalled something my mom and dad had just said to me. That after a summer full of grandchildren and chaos their house would be too quiet and clean, no sticky floors, no smudged glass and that it was a sad day for all when we left. My heart was soften and I was buoyed up knowing that life does move to quickly and while we bring clutter and messes where ever we go, we are missed when we leave. It touched my heart and nearly brought a tear to my eye. And if there ever was a good reason to cry it's this- knowing you are loved.

Random Bits of Life....

So we leave for Utah at 5 PM tonight. I know our trip was nearly here when my dreams last night involved trying to mow the lawn before it was technically Sunday and finding out Kaitlyn had found a pair of scissors and managed to give herself quite a haircut. Isn't it funny how things we randomly thinking of can appear in our mind while we snooze.

We are flying out of Cincinnati at 8:45 PM and have a direct non-stop flight. This way we won't get stuck in some random airport if their was a delay or canceled flight. I also will be able to fly back with the kids by myself in a few weeks. This will be a first for me. I figure if I sky cap the bags, gate check the stroller and tightly secure the girls in their car seats on board it will work. Our six tickets are three and three in two rows. I'll put the boys in front of us so if the girls kick, they'll only bump their brothers. And if the girls scream for 3 and a half hours, the odds that I ever see another passenger on that flight is pretty slim.

My mom told me to contact Delta to see if she could help me through security and wait with us at the gate, but I told her if they said no, it would be no different than checking out of Wal-mart with my brood in tow. Sad, but totally true. The girls have been complete messes those last 20 minutes lately while we scan our food. Even with the boys around I end up buying a few Push Pops Brynn always manages to rip open with her teeth and a 20 oz Sprite they just HAD to have expressed through tears and screams. Oh well. At least at the airport they lack the tempting treats to entice them away from me. I think they might actually stay closer with all the intimidating security guards at every turn.

So we all know there is a lot of work that goes into getting read to leave on a trip. Rich will only be with us the first week, but the boys and I will be gone for a whopping three weeks. It will be great since it's been two years since we've stayed that long, but there were a lot of things that had to be taken care of because of our long absence. Like cleaning the house. Yup, the girls pitched right in and before I knew it I had the cleanest windows and glass table around. Thankfully they let me vacuum, fold laundry, clean the bathrooms and put out the ant poison all by myself and I wasn't complaining one bit!I also needed to clean up the yard and deep water all the plants. And as I worked I found a few pleasant surprises. Like how my hen and chick had a bloom. I love these space age looking plants because my Grandma Beardall had them in her yard. I will always plant some in every place we live and think of her.The little strawberry plant Trey picked out at Wal-mart two years ago finally produced from fruit. Trey thought they were simply tasty.I also found my three little tomato plants that I seriously never water have little round tomatoes. And one was even ready to be devoured. I thought it was totally early, but it was yummy and I can't wait for more.

Thanks to Ashlee and Co. for taking our hermit crabs. I know they are in good hands. The boys put into A LOT of thought about who they would trust with their little friends and you were on the top of the list!!

One more thing. As I uploaded photos for this post Blogger informed me that I have reached my maximum photo limit. I had heard that could happen, but was shocked to know I had uploaded 4,000 photos. Looks like it's time to slurp this blog into Blurb and get it published or fork out twenty dollars for more memory. I think I'll just have to do both!

4th Fun

Even though Mother Nature tried to foil every possible plan I had to celebrate our nation's birthday, we still managed to find a bit of festivities to make the day feel different and unique.

We started off the day with hugs and waves goodbye to Rich as he had to put in a long day and nearly most of the night at the hospital. With him absent, I knew I was a bit more limited to what I wanted to do with the kids. My first plan was to swim and have a picnic. That didn't seem as exciting or enjoyable when we awoke to a gloomy gray constant cloud cover and a bit of rain.

Then I thought we could spend a day exploring Raven Run, a 470-acre nature sanctuary with more than 8 miles of hiking trails, a nature center and bird blind for nature observation and education. It's only a twenty minute drive from our house. But the thought of massive mud made me reconsider. I inquired if the boys wanted to still check it out, but the lure of the new PS2 games and cool shows on TV took hold and they simply wanted to stay put. Josh explained that he really just didn't want to miss the fireworks. That did need to be considered since it was really late, like 2 PM. I nearly laughed out loud since we had at least seven good hours before the night sky lit up.

Their choice was fine by me. The break from the homework and constant go, did make the day feel special. We needed a quiet day for once. It was nice to actually not go anywhere for a change. Though I did make a quick run to Hobby Lobby for a few more discounted 4th of July decorations. I love that place!

Promptly around 9:30 PM, when it was dark out (thanks to the rain clouds) the fireworks began. You see I don't have to leave my home to witness beautiful displays of color and light in the night sky. I just had to step outside my door. Yes, technically the huge exploding kind are illegal in Kentucky, but they are not in Indiana and Tennessee. So every other neighbor seemed to have flocked either north or south for the good stuff. I was up getting dressed when it sounded like bombs were going off above our house. One quick peek out the window and yes, the fireworks were just above our roof. I was suddenly quite pleased it was very wet outside. The first year Rich was in Kentucky on the 4th, I was in Utah with our newborn babies and Trey. He called and told me how crazy the neighbors show was and that fireworks dotted the sky in every direction. Lexington is the same. People must spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on near commercial grade fireworks. I am always impressed, but a bit nervous for these everyday folk (a few are probably a bit tipsy too) blasting them in the street. It does make for a fantastic show right from your front porch.
We stuck with the legal fountain variety from Sam's Club.Trey begged to buy them and was so excited to watch the huge ones for our finale.
Gotta have some sparklers on the 4th!
MattWe had a little crowd for our display.Kaitlyn LOVED it.Brynn- not so much. She's our first ever to be afraid of fireworks.

Tossing some poppers.Oh, and this is what happens when you don't take out the Sparkling Tree out of the box. Oops.After ours ended, the boys headed down the cul-de-sac for the French's show.I convinced Brynn to tag along.We wrapped up the party around 11 PM since Rich had to be back at the hospital at 7 AM. What a day!

Independence Day

Happy Birthday America!

What a blessing and privilege we have to live in such a country, where freedoms and opportunity are ours for the taking. While no place is perfect, we surely have so much more than most of the world. I am grateful to those men and women, past and present, who have given so much for this country and our people. I am truly proud to be an American!

This time of year helps me to think and reflect on the things I am grateful for. Here are a few things each of us appreciates.....

Kaitlyn: Barbies, her crib and blanket, dogs, our van to go places, strollers, spray bottles, combs and clips

Brynn: Popsicles, her blanket, suckers, Baby Einstein World of Animals, stickers, swimming each morning, sunglasses, clothes and shoes

Matt: For friends, family, my home, school, Toys-R-Us

Josh: Baseball, snow cones, that we don't have a king that bosses us around or makes us slaves.

Trey: Our country, men and women in war, my family, friends, house, food, and my iPod

Cheryl: Right to vote, to voice my opinion, women's rights, women's freedom, to have value as a women, opportunity to go to school, the ability to read, attend and graduate from college, have a job, be a mother, have a large family, drive a car, own a home, to travel, freedom to worship, Mormon pioneers, LDS missionaries and their choice to sacrifice and serve, the natural beauty found in nature, our armed forces, the Olympics and how it brings the world together, modern technology (Internet, phones), good health care (antibiotics, immunizations, doctors and hospitals), the goodness of many people regardless of race or religion, Civil Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

Rich: He's on call- will fill in later

Favorite Thing

I love when Oprah unveils her favorite things. Sure, I rarely catch it on TV, but I love seeing what she has fallen in love with recently. I too have a new found favorite thing. It's actually a gift we gave to Josh for his birthday, but it's been enjoyed by us all (except Rich that is, who isn't a sugar junkie like the rest of us...). I bought a Rival Deluxe Ice Shaver from Wal-mart last week. I also bought 10 different flavors ($1.98 each) so our kitchen has suddenly transformed into a Hawaiian Shaved Ice Shack. I love the machine. You can use ice cubes from your freezer and it works very quickly which is a good thing since we are often feeding the masses around here. The best part is instead of shelling out $2.50 per cup we can now enjoy them for mere pennies whenever we want. Love it! It's a perfect summertime (or year round for us) treat!!

Pinnacle vs Waterford and Midnight Swim

Another Wednesday, another swim meet. This week was at home vs Waterford. It was the final home meet of the season, which meant a party and midnight swim (more like 10 PM swim) after the meet wrapped up. We didn't stay for it last year, so the boys were begging to stick around. I had to stay and label ribbons, so it didn't take much to stay an extra hour and let them splash with their friends. Rich was on call until 11 PM, so I ordered us a large pizza and said bring on the party! Since we are leaving for Utah on Sunday night, it meant it was the last meet for the boys. The practices were so much fun this year since the girls were able to play in the baby pool and the weeks flew by far too fast. I wish we could be around for the last meet and then conference, but are thrilled my brother Brad will be getting married to sweet Jana, so we'll skip out of town a bit early for their big day.6 and under boys playing aroundTwo of my favorite swimmersThe best cheerleaders around- gotta wear red to support the pirates!Up first: Trey swam in his first mixed medley relay. He swam the freestyle legGood job!Off Josh goes in his 25 meter freestyleHe moved up to the first heat. He took third place. Great job!Matt's last race of the year. He gave it his all, didn't stop or touch the lane line and got second place. Way to go Matt!What a pair! They'll move up to the 7 & 8 year olds next summer.
Trey's 25 meter free was a close race. Trey and three other boys all seemed to touch the wall at the same time.Josh swam 25 meter backstroke for the second time. All the boys are in the pool, ready for the beep.He did a great job staying straight and finished in 1st place.Trey also swam 25 meter backstroke. This is classic Trey. The second he finishes he has to check to see if there are still swimmers swimming. To him it's not about time, it's about winning his heat.Every parent has to volunteer for 4 jobs during the season and I had to work my last job that night. I was the first half of the meet ribbon labeler. It's as simple as it sounds and I had done it once before this year. I just take the printed off stickers and place them on the corresponding ribbon so the children can receive them the next morning.It takes a while and doesn't start until after the second half of the meet begins, so I took the DVD player and the girls did a great job staying close by. Whew. What a relief to have that over with!And as a bonus, the boys got to take their ribbons home that night.Once the meet wrapped up around 9:45 PM the pool was taken over by the eager swimmers. The kids chowed down on Papa John's pizza. Even a few scrapes on Josh's leg couldn't stop the party.The girls ate and danced to the music, but didn't get too wet.
Great season fellas! Go Pirates!