What's Up?

For those of you who need News and need News now, I'm not the gal you're looking for...I'm a slacker. Thus, it is after a month (or more, who's counting?) that I begin my update on the going on's of our rather rambunctious household...

Joe - completed the Salt Lake City Full Marathon in April. I was SUPER proud of him. He hates running (and when I say hates, I really mean HATES) but did it anyway, and did a pretty good job of it. Not to mention the fact that he finished, and didn't come home on a stretcher (because, let's face it, I would have been on a stretcher). Joe's been working a TON lately, but that's not really new news. He always has a project, or two, or ten, going. He did a shooting course down by Las Vegas for five days and really enjoyed it. It was hard to have him gone over the weekend, especially with limited, if any, cell coverage. It made me grateful that when he's out of town for work it's within a hundred miles of a cell tower and I can talk to him periodically throughout the day...it's the little things people...

While Joe was running the full marathon, I completed the SLC Half marathon. Not as impressive, but it's officially OFF my bucket list! I completed it in 2 hrs 18 min and didn't die...HOORAY! I don't think I would have done it except that I turn 30 this year and I can just feel my body beginning to deteriorate...if this is the peak of my existence, I might as well make the most of it, right?! At any rate, it was really great to start the race with Joe. We were able to run the first 4 1/2 miles together before they split us up. He was my inspiration and I know I couldn't have done it without thinking of him (and all the crap he would have given me if I'd quit)... I love that guy.

The kids got to do an Easter Egg hunt at the neighbors while Joe and I ran our races. They didn't miss us for a second.

I took Max and flew to MASS for five days to visit my sister. Max was an angel on every flight (not much of a surprise there) and we had a great time hanging out with Phil, Maggi and Porter. Max became Porter's mule (literally. Porter would climb up on top of Max and try and ride him...so funny, so sad), but didn't mind much...I suppose he's use to the abuse that comes with being fatter and slower than everyone else around you (once he starts walking this story might have a different ending). He's just the sweetest little guy, you can't help but love him.

The other four kiddos stayed home with Joe while Max and I were away...talk about role reversal. I think Joe and I were both happy to have things return to normal, although I know Joe wouldn't mind being home more, just so long as he isn't required to do the laundry, clean the house, etc...

The best news is that while I was away Joe cracked down on Jack's potty training. Jack has been willing to use the potty, but would never instigate going. If you asked him if he needed to go, he would often go, but should you forget - there were serious consequences...serious. I had done pretty well reminding him to go potty during the days while the other kids were at school, but it was always in the evenings (while trying to get homework done, dinner made and kids to bed) that I'd forget and we'd have poop on our hands (or in Jack's underpants - either way, it was DISGUSTING)!!! By the time I came home from my little vacation, Jack was still having accidents, but within a couple days he started telling me he needed to go potty, before it actually happened! It's been a few weeks now and we've had an accident here or there, but not often. He is in big boy underpants full time and only wet the bed once. I can live with that. He is so much improved, and I LOVE not changing his diapers.

Maxo has quit nursing and is now, thankfully, sleeping through the night! YA!! He still has the occasional bad night, but for the most part he is sleeping all night and I couldn't be more grateful. Now, if I could only get Jack and Ali to stay in their own darn beds, I might get a good nights sleep (they have a nasty habit of coming and getting into bed with me around 4 or 5am, always with FREEZING toes that inevitably get stuck somewhere on my person, which never fails to rouse me from my slumber...imagine that)!

Clay and his cousin Wyatt riding Wyatt's 4-wheeler while we were in Idaho over Easter.

Clay is in baseball again this year. He is enjoying himself, although he was sad not to be on the same team as most of his friends...one downside to having an early birthday I suppose. He made it into the 9yr old cut off and was put on the older team, which means he's one of the youngest players on his team. This isn't a bad thing, except that it's only his second year of baseball and they don't do machine pitch, it's boy pitch. That changes everything. He is adapting well though and I think it's been good for him to push himself a bit more. They won their first game, but lost the last two (Clay did score a run during their last game, so he felt better about losing it than the game before - that loss was a bit harder to swallow). Oh well, he is learning valuable lessons and making new friends along the way...that's life.

The new rage around our house is Poptropica. It's a computer game that Clay, Quin and Ali are OBSESSED with. There are few moments in my day when someone isn't pestering me to play that darn game. I've even been sucked in a few times and cajoled into helping them beat a certain bad guy, or level, or whatever. They're officially addicted...so sad. I am hoping that if it ever decides to warm up (and stay that way) they will be more excited about spending time in the great outdoors and leave Poptropica alone for a few precious moments...we'll see.

We got ourselves season passes to Cherry Hill's again this year. I didn't realize how long it's been since we last did that. When we went in for our pictures, they still had our old pictures on the computer. Ali was sitting on my lap in pigtails...and she was the baby. Crazy. We are definitely looking forward to making the most of them though. It should be a good summer.


I took the kids to Idaho for Spring Break. The kids enjoyed going to the local grocery store in Rexburg and hunting for eggs up and down the grocery isles. They made a killing because few people where CRAZY enough to come out during the freaking blizzard that hit us that morning. You couldn't actually see any of the road because the layers of ice and snow were too thick. Uuuggg. The kids had a good time though, so it was worth braving the weather.