Another year over.....

so 2010 is coming to a close. i have mixed feelings about this year, it's been a good one, we got a squishy, beautiful baby, but i feel it's been an emotional year as well. i think you always feel that way after having a baby, it's such a HUGE recovery and adjustment. emotionally, mentally and especially for me, physically---but enough about all that, maybe sometime i will find another extra 15 minutes and blog more details but for now, let's focus on the events of 2010 in the gatherum family...here are some of the highlights {for me}

*this is the first year that our house and yard really came together, we have been working NON-STOP for FIVE long years on it and i felt that it was really awesome this year--JUST in time to put it on the market---maybe we are just crazy-who knows!

*we had our 20 week ultrasound and found out that our 4th baby was healthy, thriving and growing right on track, we also decided we weren't going to find out the sex--the funny thing is, the ultrasound tech told us that the baby was being VERY generous-so we totally could have found out, for some reason, her saying that made neal and i think we were having a boy...it just added that much more to our EXTREME surprise in july!

*we commemorated the 4th anniversary of nathaniel's death and the 5th of my moms...funny how i can now put these days on the lists of "highlights" from the year-it's taken many, many years of healing and grief to be able to list these days as anything but sad, so that to me is major progress, thus making it a highlight of my year!

*we switched the kids rooms around in anticipation for #4, painted, redecorated and made them all really cute.

*we started in the hellish i mean exciting CRAZY world of competitive soccer--holy cow, i NEVER knew something could be SO time consuming. jury is still out as to whether we are going to continue with that for the time being or hold off a few years---i am STILL recovering and it starts up again in less than THREE months---the kids did great though and they improved and learned a lot!

*boe turned SIX!

*neal and i celebrated NINE years of being married! holy cow-time FLIES by, in another 9 years, gage will be SEVENTEEN!

*neal got a sweet promotion at work--i am so proud of him!

*we got the BIGGEST surprise of our lives, when on july 15th, we had a baby GIRL! i kept asking my doctor if it was really a girl and he asked me if i knew the difference between boys and girls!

*ryder turned TWO!

*neal turned 34-OLD MAN-with the GRAY hair to prove it!

*we blessed lucy

*we went to bryce canyon for a week and lake powell for another

*kaylee got MARRIED--my littlest sissie is now a married woman, it was THE most beautiful day ever!

*neal got himself neutered-i KNOW this is TMI but most of the three peeps that still read this blog are family or very close friends and they already know and they know that neal and i have a very inappropriate sense of humor...so sorry if you are a random reader and this offends you---it is AWESOME to know that we are done--LOVE having babies and LOVE my kiddos but SO happy to move onto the next chapter of our lives.

*gage turned EIGHT!

*gage was baptized!

*we celebrated lucy's first halloween {she was the CUTEST lil pumpkin you ever did see along with a perfect harry potter, a "NICE" lion and a rad hip hoppin' michael jackson}, first thanksgiving and first christmas. she pretty much slept through it all!

*i turned 33!!! the jury is still out on how i feel about that one!

and here we are on the last day of the old year. there is something about this time of year that gets me sentimental. reflecting back on events and happenings. evaluating situations and thinking about how i could have done things differently or better. all in all, i feel this was a year of self exploration, of many, many realizations and reflection. i have made many goals for the new year. sure i have the old stand-by of "getting back into shape" i have discovered that no matter how thin {or not} that i am, i ALWAYS have this goal, so it doesn't really count. i want to focus on the inside this year (although, i feel that i need to be honest and give full disclosure for a moment--i am planning on getting a rockin' bod back AND getting breast augmentation {read: boob job} this year, so i am not going to pretend to be completely... um, pure? ;) continuing on, i really want to focus on being a better person, being more patient and kind and empathetic and less judgemental. everyone has a story and sometimes finding out those stories can change perspective and opinions. speaking of opinions, i am going to try to be less opinionated too---i know this one is a STRETCH, but i'm gonna try. i said T.R.Y! i have realized that while i am trying i can always TRY harder, so i am going to. i think my number one goal for 2011 is going to be to try to live in the moment. i have a hard time with this. i have a tendency to look ahead and always plan for the next big thing, i am going to try to enjoy the little moments of life that make it real and that truly matter. i am going to try to live everyday so that if something were to happen tomorrow, i WOUlDN'T have a regret from yesterday. i hope that each one of you has a happy new year, that you look back and reflect on another year over, and a new one just begun!

Halloween 2010

this was the first year i let the kids choose what they wanted to be. usually my OCD self likes to have a THEME to halloween. since this is the year of letting things go, i told them to have at it! this is what we got: Micheal Jackson, Harry Potter, a (NICE) lion (because he is PETRIFIED of lions and would only be one if he could be a NICE one) and a lil' pumpkin.



the kids got to wear their costumes to school on friday. it was fun to get lots of use out of them. this is a picture of our little friends brock and parker who looked AWESOME! parker was the best lil' pirate i've seen and brock looked C.L.A.S.S.I.C as brett micheals. hahaha, i was dying when i saw him!me, ryder and lucy went with my dad and kim to the parade friday morning and then we stayed and helped out with the class parties. it was a fun-filled sugary day! saturday we got a TON done around the house and yard and that night my dad and kim came over for the traditional chilli diner before trick-or-treating. it was rainy and cold but the kids had a great time. it was ryder's first real year of going door to door and he loved it. i am SOOO glad that the candy has officially run out-with ALOT of help from me ;) i LOVE halloween--such a great, fun time of year.

my three little guys...and the big one too!

here i am playing catch-up AGAIN!!! oh well, better late then never i suppose. i decided that instead of going backwards, i am just going to move forward...birthdays, christmas, new years and everything else before, after and in-between will just not get blogged this year...
my kids are all at such fun ages, there are so many things i don't want to forget about them RIGHT NOW so i thought i'd do a bit of catch-up on each of them...

GAGE----
at 7 1/2...he is in the 1st grade, has mrs. durrant whom he LOVES, is doing amazing at reading and math and generally loves school. he has lots of friends both boys and girls, though based on the love letters that get sent home to our house, i think the girls have a different idea about their friendships with gage then he does! gage started soccer up again and did AWESOME! we had him try out for a competition team and he made it! he will soon start the U8 academy with USA soccer. they will have practice twice a week for the whole summer and will then play as a team this coming fall season. it is SO fun to watch his games and he has become a very good, very aggressive (in a good way) offensive player. gage LOVES to watch tv and play video games, therefore we have to put time restrictions on these activities, otherwise, he would do them both ALL DAY LONG!!! gage loves to play outside with friends, ride bikes, run around, jump on the tramp and play on the swings. he also L.O.V.E.S. to read and will ask to stay up late reading in his bed. we recently switched the rooms up in preparation for the baby and gage now has his own room which he is very excited about. i honestly can't believe that he is almost EIGHT years old-it blows my mind. gage is a great eater and will pretty much eat anything except tomatoes. his favorite foods are pizza, cereal and sandwiches and anything i cook ;) he is learning to play chess and recently participated in a multi-school chess tournament. he would like to start tumbling lessons so he can learn to do back handsprings and flips on the tramp. the trait i most appreciate in gage is his ability to examine a situation and act accordingly. he is very sensitive to others feelings and cares about his friends and family.

Boe----
at six. boe is still my most energetic kid. he is ALWAYS happy--he is ALWAYS willing to help out and he loves to please. boe is in kindergarten and has mrs. winegar whom he loves. he has made lots of new little friends and LOVES to have playdates. he is reading so well and is working on his handwriting (poor kid got his mom and dad's genes and is LEFT-HANDED). boe has been taking violin lessons for the past 4 months and is doing awesome! i have to say, it is sometimes a challenge to teach my own child, but for the most part we get along and it works. boe has also been playing soccer again and did great this year. we signed him up for the pre-competitive academy (you have to be seven to be on the comp team) and he hopes to make the comp team next year. boe is determined and aggressive and LOVES to win. he has become an excellent dribbler this past season and loves to make break aways during games. boe is a TERRIBLE eater, something we have been working on since he was about six months old. he is getting a *little* bit better but unless dinner is VERY basic, it is a fight to get him to eat. his favorite foods are grilled cheese sandwiches, tacos, spaghetti and cereal. boe is an awesome big brother to ryder and they are best little friends. in the recent room switch, boe and ryder became roommates. they LOVE it and i often find ryder in boe's bed or vice versa in the morning. ryder is going to have withdrawals next year when boe is in school full-time. the trait i most admire in boe is his ability to ALWAYS be happy. he looks for the positive in every situation and it takes a lot to get him down. he is mine and neal's little buddy and loves to shadow us throughout the day.

Ryder----
at 23 months...holy cow!!! where does the time go??? i SWEAR i was just pregnant with this little guy and now he is walking, talking AND potty-training himself! ryder is so much fun. he is easy-going and for the most part extremely LOW matinience. he loves to play and cuddle and be held. we have affectionately referred to him as silent bob because until lately, he hasn't talked much. he does know a bunch of sign but as far as verbal skills, he was kind of lacking. the last couple of weeks however, he has become a talking machine. he says mommy, daddy, neal (which i think is hilarious), gage, boe, ellie (our dog), zep (our other dog), papa (grandpa for my dad), melmo (elmo), baby, baba, no, uh-oh, side(outside), milk, yes, see ya, bye bye, out, tub (bath-tub) and probably a few more that i can't think of. he can also sign most of these words which has been great to be able to communicate with him. neal is still ryder's most FAVORITE person in the world, he LOVES kitties and has the cutest meow ever. he loves animals and LOVES to be outside as much as possible. i cannot believe that we are just 1 month away from celebrating his SECOND birthday! i have so enjoyed having a baby in our house again. they are so loving and accepting and forgiving. i love the presence that follow ryder wherever he goes.

i am 36 weeks (and counting!!!!!) along---can't believe that my last pregnancy is almost over---while i can't say it has gone by particularly fast, i can say that i have *tried* to enjoy it---i don't know how successful i have been, this has not been an easy pregnancy, but i am so grateful for the opportunity to have children---since i have been feeling better the last few months, i have started to really look forward to having this baby. secretly i think it *might* be a girl, but then i just don't think that is really possible so i am planning on a boy and i have to say that i am totally happy with that if that is indeed the final outcome. i mean, come on, four cute little boys who LOVE their mommy---what more could i want or ask for---we have an induction date set for July 15th so we are just 4 SHORT weeks away from finding out what this little person is. we have a cute boy name but we are EMPTY in the girl name department...

neal is still super busy--i have no idea how he handles all the balls he has up in the air at any given time, but somehow he always does and always ends up doing amazing at everything--he is my hero. he was recently promoted at work and now holds the title of SALES MANAGER for the LAMAR office in Salt Lake! this is a huge opportunity for him and he is doing great at it. with the promotion comes a lot of added time and stress, but i don't know anyone else who can handle stress as well as him. he NEVER (well, RARELY) takes it out on me and the kids, he leaves work at work and comes home to us and is the biggest help to me. there is no way i could have made it through the first 4 months of this pregnancy without him. he picked up all of my slack and then some and helped keep everything running smoothly. he's the best. he recently went through a mid-life crisis and bought himself a motorcycle. i am still on the fence on this one. i have been SO against it for so long, but he has wanted one for FOREVER and you know, who am i to squash his dreams--so after much um debating and discussion, we were able to come to a compromise that we were both happy with and voila! neal is now the *PROUD* owner of a Suzuki Boulevard. ask him about it next time you see him, he is practically GIDDY and for a fairly emotion free guy, that's saying A LOT!!! today is our NINE year anniversary! can't believe how the time flies by. we have had our ups and downs, some of them caused by circumstances out of our control and some caused by mistakes that we have made, i hope that at the end of it all, these hills and valleys have made us stronger then we were when we started out on this journey. i KNOW that there isn't anyone else i would rather be on this trip with. love ya sweetcakes.

well, now that this sounds like a chrismas card letter or something, i feel pretty caught up on our lives. i am very happy where we are. i am LOVING life in my thirties and i can't wait to see what the next THIRTY TWO years have in store for us---BRING IT ON!!!

it's boe's birthday, shout HURRAY!!!

my little boe-boe turned six yesterday, june 7. we had a FULL, FUN weekend celebrating and wrapped up the festivities last night. i only let my kids have friend parties every other year starting at six, so boe was SO EXCITED to have all his friends come over for a STAR WARS party.

it was a C.R.A.Z.Y day. we had gage's soccer game at 10:00, boe's party from 12:00-2:00, boe's soccer game at 3:00, family dinner at 5:30 and the family birthday party at 7:00! seriously insane, but it all turned out great and i was glad to get it all over with in one day. my dad is a STAR WARS fan-atic and surprised my kids on Halloween by dressing up like Darth Vader (in the COOLEST DV costume EVER) so pretty much from there on, boe decided he wanted granpa kent to be darth vatder at his party. my dad was SOOO nice to oblige and he and kim pretty much spent the day at our house (i so don't know how i would have done it all without their help, thank you thank you---soooo much!)

anyways, so we had the kids come over at noon. we started with lunch, space dogs in a blanket, vader's tators, succulent space spheres (cut-up fruit), yoda soda and leia's light saber cake & ice cream. while the kids were eating, DV showed up and let me just say their reactions were great. they LOVED it. after lunch, we had set up some fun game stations: Space ball saver (gave the kids each a pool noodle (light saber) and they had to keep balloons up in the air w/out letting them drop to the ground), orbital rotation station (hula hooping to music), vying for vader (shoot a life sized poster of DV w/silly string while blindfolded-this was for sure the HIT game of the party), capture vader (wrap each other up w/toilet paper), battle with the dark side (battle DV w/their sabers), jedi id station (i took pics of each kid w/DV, had neal go develop them at the store during the party and had the kids decorate a picture frame, then sent home the picture w/them as part of their party favors), and jedi training(DV put on a little light saber performance for the kids and gave them some tips to becoming brave jedis).

we wrapped the party up with presents and cake and then sent the little cuties on their way. it was a lot of work but oh so fun! i love seeing my kids happy--i will say that i have decided that taking a bunch of kids somewhere for a party is probably A LOT less work and i am going to HIGHLY suggest this to gage this year ;). thanks for all the amazing gifts from our friends and family-boe scored big time and his older brother is just a wee bit jealous!
sunday we spent the day putting together some of boe's new legos, boe LOST his first tooth and both the tooth fairy AND the birthday fairy made appearances at our house that night. (the bday fairy at our house comes and decorates the birthday boys' door to his room with streamers, my kids L.O.V.E this simple little tradition.)Monday we celebrated by playing ALL.DAY.LONG. i told boe he could do whatever he wanted. we went to McDonald's and pretty much played legos the rest of the day. it was great, a good excuse to not do any housework and to just enjoy my little boy, who is getting to be not so little anymore. boo.

happy happy birthday boe-boe. here are my top SIX things i LOVE about boe...
*he is so happy-this is not an exaggeration, he is a happy, sweet little person.
*he is nice to EVERYONE. you don't even know how many mom's love boe to play with their younger kids, he is so sweet to them.
*he is super witty and sarcastic. it is hilarious to get him going. he totally "gets" adult humor.
*he LOVES his mom and dad. he is our super amazing helper. always right there with me doing laundry or weeding the yard, always helping neal move dirt etc. and the conversations during these times are priceless.
*i love his innocence. yesterday while we were putting legos together, he blurted out "so when am i going to get my wishes, my money and ds games?" i looked at him kind of funny, not getting what he was saying and he said, "you know, the things i wished for when i blew out my candles!" i just started laughing SO HARD.
*his sense of himself. he is so confident and comfortable with himself. this is a trait that a lot of adults do not have, yet my six year old has it down pat. i hope it is something he always keeps with him.
these are just my top six, there are so many other things i could write, but we'll end it there for now. Love you boe, hope your day was great! xoxoxoxox mom

It's Your Birthday SHOUT Hooray...

Today is my little Boe-Boe's FIFTH birthday! I cannot believe how BIG he is! Five years has gone by way too fast. Boe starts KINDERGARTEN in just 2 short months and I am going to miss my little buddy A LOT! Boe wanted a "SPEED RACER/HOTWHEELS" birthday this year. We are officially celebrating next Saturday. I'll post pics of the party afterwards.
Here are just FIVE of the MANY things I love about Boe:

1. He is always HAPPY.
2. He LOVES his family and friends.
3. He is HI-LARIOUS and SARCASTIC (I have NO idea where he gets that from)
4. He is ALL-BOY!
5. He is adventurous and brave, he'll try pretty much anything at least once.

We LOVE you Boe-hope you have a VERY happy day!

Love,
Mom, Dad, Gage and Ryder

A loose tooth, "I wanna be brave", A whole lotta baseball and three months away from turning ONE!! In other words, a long catch-up post...

Holy cow! It's been WAAAAYYYYY too long since I last blogged. I have a lot to catch up on, thought I'd give an update on the kiddos and then go from there. First off, I have decided to hold off on going private for a bit. I haven't had the unwanted comments for a while, we'll see how that goes. Thanks for all of your emails, I'll hold onto them in case I do decide to go private.

ANYWHO...Let's start with Numero Uno. Gage has his FIRST LOOSE TOOTH!! He is sooo very excited, he's probably one of the only kids left in his class who hasn't lost a tooth and he couldn't be more happy about it! He says at LEAST 10 times a day, "mom, I cannot believe I have a loose tooth!" And, "mooo-om, did you forget I have a loose tooth?!?!?" So cute, can't wait for the tooth fairy to make her first appearance in our house. He is almost done with KINDERGARTEN!!! I cannot believe it. He is SUCH a great reader and LOVES math and is pretty much obsessed with Legos. He is playing baseball again and is doing really well.

Onto CRAZY number two. No, really he is (crazy) I mean. Boe is soooo excited for Kindergarten. He went to Kindergarten Orientation with Neal and had a lot of fun. They went to McDonald's for lunch and then got to go to the school and take a tour and get a treat in the lunchroom. He thought it was great. He knows his letters and sounds and I am hoping to get him on his way with reading before school starts in August. Boe dressed up as clown for circus day at school and today he dressed up as a fireman for "What I want to be When I Grow up Day" because, "I wanna be brave mom, brave like a FIREFIGHTER and save people, or maybe save ducks..." Um, okay Bobes, we sure do love you you little nut job! Boe is so fun and always sarcastic and except for the few times when he drives me NUTS for not listening and keeping on task, I have so much fun with him. He is doing AWESOME in t-ball and can't wait to play coaches pitch next year and he too is totally into legos. I have legos EVERYWHERE in my house.

Ryder turned NINE MONTHS on Monday April 27! Time FLIES when you aren't pregnant I tell you...He had his well-child check-up yesterday and is in the 7% in weight and 43% in height. He is crawling like crazy, cruising around furniture, standing on his own and I'd bet he'll be walking in the next month or so. He says "Da-da" "ba-ba", he knows yes, more and no in sign language and he waves bye-bye. He has THREE bottom teeth and although he is into EVERYTHING, he is still so pleasant and happy. He LOVES his brothers and enjoys "playing" legos with them-they enjoy it as well :) He LOVES table food, I think his favorite is spaghetti and meatballs, but he will pretty much eat anything we give him. We are enjoying his immensely.

Phew! I am glad to get caught up. I will post about Mexico, the half-marathon, Easter and other random activities in the next couple of days or so. I know you are ALL on pins and needles waiting!

Thankful For...

these four. I don't know what I'd do without them. In these times of economic strife, uncertainly, war, turmoil and sadness, it is easy to forget about ALL THE GOOD that still exists in our world. Love you...

Snow Day...

Here are my two cute little snowmen waiting intently to go play outside in the first snow of the season...Love them!

Boe's Hooky Spooky...

Boe's preschool had a Hooky Spooky Halloween Program. It was so cute! Each child had a part, either a joke or a trick. Boe had a joke. It was: Why do mummies make such great empoyees? Because they get all wrapped up in their work! HAHAHA! Boe did a great job and knew all the songs! We love you Boe-Boe!

Boo! It's Halloween...

We had a fun Halloween, well, all of us except Gage. He got sick on Tuesday of that week and got better on Saturday and literally missed out on all the fun. I felt so bad for him! Gage and Boe were firemen, but Gage REALLY wanted to be a vampire, so as I mentioned in my previous post, Kim made him an awesome cape and I told him that if he posed for pictures for me at the fire station, he could be a vampire on Halloween Day and Night. He was so excited but was still too sick to go to school on Friday. He slept most of the day and woke up at about 4:00 on Halloween afternoon, feeling much better. We got the kids all ready, Boe made a "Brave" and adorable if you ask me, firefighter, Ryder was cute and cuddly as a Dalmatian puppy, and Gage was literally UNRECOGNIZABLE as a SCARY, blood thirsty vampire! Kim, my dad, Ashlee (who came into town for her fav holiday) and Johnny came over for Chili and cornbread and then we took the kids out trick-or-treating. Gage only made it to about 10 houses and then he was feeling sick again, so we went home and Neal took Boe out for another hour or so. I always know when my kids are sick because they will lay around and veg and sleep. If they aren't sick, they aren't laying around! Anyways, we had a great time despite Gage's ailments and I am happy to report that he woke up Saturday completely on the mend. Don't worry, I've already planned my "themed" costumes for next year. Since my kids are getting older, I have to plan around them and their interests. I think Boe will make a splendid Darth Vader, Gage will be the perfect Luke Sky walker and Ryder will complete the picture as Yoda! Hope you all had a fantastic Halloween!

These Two Brave and Fearless Firemen...

and their cute, little dalmation puppy, want to wish all of you a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween!

Ryder Roo's First Trip to the Zoo...

We decided to take advantage of this BEAUTIFUL weather and venture out to the zoo. It was a lot of fun and the animals were really active. We went on a Monday and had absolutely no agenda. I thought I'd let them play until they were worn out.

We spent a good majority of the time by the splashing elephantand watched the penguins swim for a good half hour.


We watched the bear LAZILY lay on the edge of the rocksand had fun trying to find the cougars that had camoflauged themselves in their enclosure.
Gage was finally able to find both of them. One was in the cave and the other was hiding up on top.

We got up close and personal with the leopard,and we were entertained by the giraffes at lunchtime.
We took the train ride and played in the water fountain. I have to say that taking three kids to the zoo by myself was a bit of a challange, but we came away relatively unscathed. Gage and Boe are just so dang busy and active. They want to DO everything and SEE everything and they think they are big enough to do it all by themselves. We ended the day with some delicious ice-cream.

It was fun and I love spending time with them. And what did Ryder do all day while we were having so much fun? He slept the ENTIRE time! What a great baby!

Red and Yellow and Blue and...

We had Brookie and Libby over to make some fun rainbow cookies. Here is the recipe and directions if you are interested in doing it with your kids. It was a fun activity and the kids LOVED it. I like the recipe and am going to try using it for sugar cookies. I think the cream cheese is what makes it so good.
Anyways, enjoy and let me know if you try it and like it!




Rainbow Cookie Recipe
3/4 C. Butter, softened
3 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 C. White Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 3/4 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
4 Paste Food Colors
Lollipop sticks (optional)

Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. In another bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Stir until a sort of dough forms. Divide into 4 balls and tint each ball of dough with food coloring. Wrap and chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. For each cookie use 4 balls (1 of each color) to make 1 big ball. Shape the big balls into 12 inch long rolls (like a snake) and starting at one end, coil roll to make 2 3/4 inch round cookies. Place cookies 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Insert sticks if you want to make lollipop cookies. Bake 8 minutes and cool.