Birthdays, Birthdays and MORE BIRTHDAYS!!!

four of our six birthdays fall between June 7 and August 5...talk about a lot of celebrating, crepe paper, cake/ice-cream, presents...and MONEY!!!

Boe turned SEVEN on june 7--since it was his "golden" birthday, he got SEVEN cool gifts. he really wanted a remote control truck (and NOT a SMALL "dumb" one) so that was his "big" gift this year. he got some other fun stuff too. Boe just started the SECOND grade, he is getting so much better at reading, he is an awesome big brother to ryder and lucy, especially lucy. he just can't get enough of her. unfortuanetly, she CAN get enough of him and doesn't let him love on her as much as he would like to. boe loves math and science and has such a logical brain. he just gets it. he just finished up his second year of competitive soccer and he is excited to start flag football this fall. he is still taking piano lessons and really enjoys them. boe is a GREAT friend and has a bunch of cute, fun buddies that he LOVES to play with. all the other mom's always tell me how nice boe is and how much they enjoy having him at their house-this seriously makes me feel SO good! what a great kid! here are my top SEVEN fave things about boe right now:

*his sense of humor. he totally gets adult humor and can even participate in it
*his ability to love. boe is so loving and he still likes to cuddle with neal and i
*his voice, it is seriously so cute. i guess you'd have to know him to get this one
*his lopsided little smile
*how kind he is to his little brother and sister
*his brain-he is so good at math-me, not so much
*his passion for life, he is curious and excited and awed by so much still-i love that he still has that little boy innocence about him

Happy Birthday Boe-Boe we LOVE you SOOO much! xoxoxoxo

my BABY girl turned ONE on july 15th---seriously, where did the YEAR go?! i can't believe it. lucy is so fun. she is drama all the way around. she will throw her head back and scream with the best of them if she doesn't get her way. lucy's hair is SO blonde-i don't even know if you can call it blonde, she is a tow-head to the max. she HATES having her hair done---i on the other hand have waited a LONG time to be able to do a little girls hair and well, it doesn't look to me like either one of us is giving in on this one ;) she started avidly walking around 11 months. she can sign more, thank you, yes, bottle, food, no and milk. she will "say" mama, dada, she can quack like a duck and bark like a dog. she LOVES her brothers, she LOVES her daddy. she is full of life and can take apart a room in ten minutes flat. she loves to be naked and takes her diaper off ALL the time if she doesn't have pants on. lucy LOVES to be outside, she LOVES the pool and she LOVES animals. we are so grateful to have her in our family---happy birthday baby girl-thank you for bringing a little bit of "PINK" into our lives! xoxoxox

my baby BOY turned THREE on july 27---seriously, i remember the day that this kid was born like it was YESTERDAY---how can it have been THREE years ago?! ryder is still the funnest, easiest, most adorable three year old on the planet. he LOVES mickey mouse, CARS, legos, playing house, playing games, reading, riding his bike, playing outside and being with his family (epesh dad-still a TOTAL daddies boy) ryder LOVES dora and got the whole back-pack ensemble set up for his birthday this year. he also loves puzzles and he can entertain himself for hours if you give him a bunch of toys to play with in an empty room. ryder is by far my best listener. rarely do i have to tell him more then once to do something or not to as the case may be...ryder is very opininonated and has his ideas and the way that he wants things done, he is quirky and fun--he is my little shadow in the day and neal's at night when he comes home from work. he adds so much to our family and we love him SO much! here are my top THREE about ryder:

*his little voice and the way he talks-seriously, i could eat him up!
*his loves and kisses
*i LOVE how he KNOWS what he wants, he will make a birthday or christmas wish list six months before the date and he DOES NOT deviate from his list

HAPPY THIRD BDAY ryder we sure do LOVE YOU!!! xoxoxo

neal turned the big THREE-FIVE on august 5---since we have SO many birthdays, we combined neal's and ryder's so our family only had to come out once. neal wanted a raft and running shoes this year and he wanted to pick both of them out...bor-ring...so no fun bday surprises this year from me. that's okay, i already told him i want a BIG combined shopping spree to H&M for my bday and christmas ;) i am not going to lie, this year has been a bit rough on mine and neal's relationship. i don't do well with change or stress and there has been A LOT of both this past year. we had our fourth child which quite honestly put me over the edge emotionally, i had a horrible recovery from her birth and i am not going to lie, over a year later, i am still feeling not quite up to snuff, we put our house for sell and don't worry, went under contract only to have the sell fall thru two weeks before we were supposed to close, life has just been pretty crazy and it's taken it's toll. we are working on it and even though this hasn't been the most rosey filled year, i love neal so much and am so thankful for him. can't imagine my life without him and all his crazy quirks. he works hard for our family, he tries to do what's right, he is an excellent dad who really gets down on the kids' levels and really talks to them. they adore him and i so appreciate how involved he is in their activities and lives. happy happy birthday sweetcakes-can't believe you are such an OLD man and that this is the FOURTEENTH birthday we have celebrated together. xoxoxoxo

HOLY COW-CATCH UP TIME-AGAIN!

i just can't keep up on this dang blog-but it's really my only form of journaling these days so i need to update every once in a while-i am just going to do a BORING update post and will post pics later and maybe ONE of these days, i will get caught up on my life and actually become a regular (reader and poster) again-

here is what has been happening since i last posted (IN JANUARY!!!)

FEBRUARY-we took the kids to disneyland while we were off track. we decided to road trip it this time around and it was great (well, i thought it was, neal HATES long drives and says he will pay the $2k next time to fly)ryder was only a few months old last time we went so he LOVED it-it was magical to watch him see it for the first time. gage and boe loved it as well-they were more into the adventurous rides this time around and boe was SO happy that he was tall enough to ride indiana jones. they both loved seeing the characters and getting autographs and were good sports to go on rides with ryder. we got 5 day hoppers and stayed a full seven days-it was a good time, nice to get away.

MARCH-commemorated the FIVE year anniversary of Nathaniel's death-it's crazy how sometimes five years seems like SO LONG and other times i wonder-wow-it's ONLY?! been five years?!? i sure miss him. soccer started up again and gage started tumbling and boe started piano. busy busy but super fun. we also decided to bite the bullet-we bought an AMAZING lot in bluffdale in an AMAZING neighborhood-started finding houseplans, found a great builder and got our house ready to put on the market. we are currently 6 weeks into the experience(for lack of a better word) we have had TONS of traffic and two semi-low ball offers-but we are optimistic that given time, it will definitely sell. i am quasi suicidal-keeping a house up on any given day is a challenge with four kids, but keeping a house up to par to show with four kids is just about IMPOSSIBLE. hopefully it's ALL over soon...

APRIL-we took our annual trip to st. george over easter. this year our friends the gee's joined us. it was a blast. the kids swam to their hearts content and we did a lot of hiking and playing. snow canyon became our new favorite thing to do there, in fact, i think next time we will camp a few days there as well as stay in st. george. sharon and i took the kids to the wildlife museum, it was amazing all the exotic animals they have there. way fun trip.

MAY-celebrated Mother's day, went to the U2 concert(BEST U2 concert yet and HANDS DOWN the BEST concert I have EVER BEEN TO!)seriously AMAZING-i loved every second of it, in fact i am, as we speak, trying to convince the mister that we should drive to anaheim for the last show of this leg of the tour on June 18 (which would be my SEVENTH time seeing them!!)---he says i should make it a girls trip without him :((( he has seen them 4 times with me-he doesn't love them like i do-so i am sure there are different ways he'd rather spend his time (and money) we'll see what sorts of powers of persuasion i can pull out on him :)

GAGE-8 1/2-LOVING tumbling, almost done with SECOND GRADE-loves to color and create things, loves to read, LIVES to play with his friends, wants to start basketball this fall, is sweet and kind, has a jack-o-lantern crazy crooked smile, is still super into MJ, LOVES his DS, the Wii and TV (seriously would sit and do all three ALL day long if i let him--but i don't!)has a huge heart, is compassionate, caring and aware of others around him, is the resident "funny" kid in his class and all-around loves life. he LOVES lucy and has also started to be super nice to ryder and helps me out IMMENSELY on a daily basis

BOE-6 1/2-LOVES piano and his teacher, almost done with soccer, wants to give basketball, flag football and wrestling a go, has lost six teeth in the past three months, got a PERSONALIZED PICTURE from the tooth fairy!!! LOVES to play outside, is almost in the SECOND GRADE-has a birthday in TWO WEEKS!!! loves his little brother and sister(sometimes TOO much ;) is gaining a fast appreciation for the music of U2 ;) tries so hard to be good-is thoughtful and kind, is sweet and sensitive and STUBBORN-heaven help us! is amazing at math and doing SO MUCH BETTER with reading and is the kid that everyone loves (well, except gage-those two fight like NOTHING else ;)))

RYDER-2 1/2-affectionately referred to as "donkey" because the kid NEVER stops talking to neal and i(is super shy around others though) is my little shadow during the day and neal's at night, loves cars, loves to play outside, loves to sing and dance, loves mickey mouse, is also gaining an appreciation of bono, the beatles and MJ, loves his little sister, idolizes his dad and big brothers, tolerates his mom ;) is the SWEETEST most EASY going baby of ALL time(for the most part-has started a few tantrums but pretty manageable) can count to 15, knows his colors, shapes and the ABC's, has an amazing memory, LOVES his grandpa, is STUBBORN and independent, is COMPLETELY potty-trained(DAY AND NIGHT!!!YAY!!!) LOVES treats and sippies of milk, LOVES diet dr pepper and diet coke (almost as much as me!!) has THE best one-liners EVER (EX: mom do you have a weiner? ME: no ryder is don't HIM: well i think you should ask for one for your birfday...haha)

LUCY-10 MONTHS-WHAT?! is sweet loving and DRA-MATIC--TOTAL girl already! is still super small and petite, FINALLY made it on the charts (1%) in weight at her 9 month check-is just about walking, cut her first tooth this past week, says mama, dada, and no-claps her hands, can sign yes and more (kind of thank you)-LOVES big people food, LOVES her brothers but is still totally attached to neal and i, loves to be held, loves story time, loves to crawl around independently, can crawl up and down stairs, holds her bottle with one hand and crawls at the same time (HI-LAROUS looking!) is still super sweet and easy but definitely knows what she wants and lets you know! is SUPER fun to dress and i am LOVING doing her hair!

well, i think that about covers it. hopefully i can upload pictures one of these days and i can start posting more regularly...haha, i'm not holding my breath!