It is that time of year...

Only two more weeks of school for my boys which means two more weeks of non stop projects, reports, finals, swim parties, park parties, end of school parties, graduation parties, finding the lost library book that has been lost since the beginning of the year, more non stop projects and end of year wrap up. May and the first part of June is the only time I really seem to notice I have five kids because two parents cannot be in four places at the same time!

But this time of year is also a favorite, the weather is perfect, Baseball is winding down, it is Mission School field trip time and best of all Santa Cruz time!

I spent Tuesday thru Thursday at Calaveras Big Trees with Jake. This place is awesome and we had a ton of fun learning about those huge trees! It is hard to imagine that the stump pictured below can easily hold at least 250 people on it! We had 60 second graders and 75 adults on it and there was a lot more room. We hiked a bunch and got to play in an ice cold river.

My favorite part of the trip had to be the Mercer Caverns. We were able to go down 165 feet in a vertical cavern and look at all the stalactites and stalagmites, we saw "cave coral", and other amazing things that are only found in caves formed by water. Jake's favorite part was when they turned the lights out and it was completely black, you could not even see your own hand in front of your face. I was happy to have the lights turned back on!

They had Gem Mining set up right out side the cavern, it was fun to see the kids try their hand at gold/gem mining. A definite must if you ever venture that way.

On Thursday we left Calaveras and headed to Santa Cruz. Dave and the rest of the crew were already there...brave Dave to take the kids by himself!

Santa Cruz was amazing and relaxing as always. Every year it amazes me how much I enjoy it there. Believe me, I am a non camper kinda girl, but I do not mind it there. Must be those ocean waves lulling me to sleep each night...or the endless smores!

The kids had a great time-Maya was in heaven at the beach, but between all my kids I am pretty sure we brought a big portion of New Brighton Beach home with us!

Another year a Santa Cruz has gone by and we are back to reality in a big way...just add 14+ loads of laundry and camping clean up to the list of end of school stuff that you read above and wish me luck!

He made it to 14!

Yesterday was Tanner man's birthday, I can't believe he is 14! It really does seem like yesterday that he arrived into this world with his own little agenda and quickly let everyone around him know how things were to be from that day on! He sent his parents into a tale spin with his rough start and then being on apnea monitors for SIDS during the nighttime--I learned to sleep watching those lights blink and often woke up just before all the bells and whistles began when Tanner had not taken a breath. I think that prepared me for all the sleepless nights he has caused and has yet to cause me as we begin this true teenager part of his life!

14 things I love about Tanner:

1- He is a comedian, all of my boys are pretty funny, but this kid can make me fall over laughing sometimes!

2-He is a leader, not a follower and as long as he sticks to the straight and narrow path I have no worries about who he will become or where he will go in this life.

3- His imagination-the stories this kid can come up with in the matter of seconds is well, quite amazing--to bad that the best stories are when he is trying to get out of trouble!

4-His stubbornness- sometimes this is not a good thing, but I do have peace in the fact that if this kids does not wanna do something NO ONE will be able to get him to do it...a great quality for out there in the real world...not so much for getting him to clean his room.

5-He is really quite handsome if I do say so myself!

6-He loves his brothers and sister- Yes it is mostly a love/hate relationship with Matthew and Jake but when he knows they really need him, he is there. He adores his little sister, and his best friend in the world is Spencer.

7-He's a good friend and makes friends quite easily.

8-He has a testimony of Jesus Christ and takes his church responsibilities seriously.

9-His smile- I guess I better love it, it was very expensive! No really, I love it when he flashes me a genuine smile.

10- He is one smart kid- If he sets his mind to it the kid can do wonders in any area...but there is the problem, he has to want to do it!



11-He can play the piano and lately I have loved listening to him learn "100 years".



12-I LOVE to watch him play soccer! He is the type that is good at what ever sport he is playing, but soccer is his love and it shows on the field.



13- I love that he "likes" girls and turns beet red if I ask for names...



14-I love him most because as hard as it has been raising him to this point and as hard as the next few years will be, he teaches me life lessons along the way and has so much patience for his mom.





Happy Birthday Tanner! So glad WE made it to 14!

A few things I've learned by being a mom to the Princess:



~little girl squeals can cause one doozy of a headache by the end of the day!



~She always must think she is in control



~She IS the boss of everybody



~A purse must contain the following items (which are subject to change at a moments notice!)







~I must keep my distance from the little girls department or several "oh so cute" items find there way home. I really should join a 12 step program for this!



~Princess dress up shoes go with any outfit-especially when mismatched!





~If she is this moody as a two year old I am toast when she is a teenager!



~There is drama to be found in every situation



~You should be very scared when she is quiet, it usually means there is a disaster to clean up.



~ Lipstick is for so much more than your lips in a two year olds eyes!



~ Pigtails are really hard to get even!



~ She is so stinkin' CUTE! But I am the momma so I am a tad bit biased!