This post is for a certain Bro in law who has a fancy for fish and flowers....

The Geraniums are going crazy this year

And everyone knows "there's nothing better than a finicky Agapanthus!" Name the movie! They are blooming a bit early this year, usually we have the "fireworks" flowers for July!

The Trumpet Vine is pretty to look at, but a haven for huge black bees and it takes over eveything in its path...it has to go soon.

I am so excited to fianlly have these growing in my yard this year, they are one of my all time favorites and I can't wait to dry them! We also have white Hydrengeas.

And last but certainly not least, I have two Gardenia bushes right as you walk into the front door and I love the smell of them...I may have to move them because I think they are getting a bit to much sun.

So big A, if you ever did move here it would be lots easier to grow these beauties than in that cold state that you live in!

Oh, and for your fish viewing pleasure, we could always high tail it down to Monterey Bay, or Maya pulls a pretty cute fishy face indeed!

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!

The Naptime Routine

Lately, this is what it takes for the princess to take a nap...

1 binky-check

1 blankie (only her pink,purple and green striped blankie will do)-check

1 sippy cup- check

3 dolls-check

1 (sometimes 2) carebear- check

1 ellie-check

1 blankie for dolls, bears, and ellie the elephant- check

and

1 horsie pillow- check

All naps must be taken on mom's bed not in the crib

If you are missing any one of these elements, you hear the little footsteps coming down the hall to get whatever it is you forgot....which I hear now....looks like its 2 carebears today!

Oh Dave's Aching Back!

So, my husband is on drugs...the kind of drugs that make him fall asleep mid-sentence, the kind he MAY NOT operate machinery with, or drive with or even talk on his cell phone with...but it is a good thing.

Dave had back surgery yesterday. The actual procedure only took a little over an hour and was performed by a very small neurosurgeon with big head little man syndrome (seriously the guy has the personality of a doorknob!), but it was a complete success and he is home.

Already his is walking straighter, his mood is much lighter, and I can see the old David slowly coming back. Let's just hope he learns a bit of a lesson and treats his growing older everyday body with a bit more respect!

I am so glad that he was able to get this surgery, it really has been hard to watch him be in so much pain. He is a hands on type of guy, especially with his kids so it has been different around here for the last several weeks, but it will be better soon. I just hope he can survive me, his non nurse maid kind of wife ( I really hate to take care of sick people, but I am being nice, I promise!)and Maya Papaya who loves to take care of her daddy!

By the way, it states on his post surgery instructions that "tea" parties with your two year old are a definete must to get better!

Home Again!

We are finally all home after two very busy weeks in beautiful Utah.

We always have so much fun when we go to visit family, Maya loves all of her

cutie pie girl cousins and especially likes hanging out with her Kinners. They love each other so much and it is so fun to watch them play together.

All the kids were thrilled to be able to attend Nannie's neighborhood Easter egg hunt. We have not been able to make it for a couple years and it was fun to be there in all of the chaos again. The egg dying party on the night before with all of the cousins was a favorite. Maya did much better this year with collecting candy and eggs and gathered up plenty of the good stuff for mom to munch on this year! She was all about the dum dum suckers! The boys were all over the eggs worth money, and everyone left with a over flowing basket full of goodies. Thanks Nan!

Maya and McKinley had a Easter dress photo shoot thanks to my little sister Marilee. She rocks in the photography department, she amazes me! I LOVE every picture she took.

After Easter it was all about the wedding. My little brother Mike and his sweetheart Ashley were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 28th. It was a beautiful day. Friday night they had a wedding reception and it was really fun to catch up with so many friends that I do not get to see often. The boys and Maya had a great time. Maya loved dancing to the music and just running around with all the kids.

So now we are home, catching up on laundry, life, homework, and definitely going through what I have lovingly named Utah Detox with our sweet girl who has not been told "no" for two weeks. If I told her no, she found her nannie!

Baseball has started up for Matthew and Jake so that means 4-6 games a week plus hitting practice...I should just move to the ballpark for the season! Dave will have back surgery soon to fix him all up so he can play with us again which will be great, if we can get through the surgery part of it. Please keep him in your prayers.

As you can see, life does not slow down at all...

Silly Boys...girls can wrestle too!

Tonight I am home with just the three youngest, the big boys and dad are gone to youth activities and other church meetings. It is fun to have the non teenage group to myself once in awhile, we can be as silly as we want and no one rolls their eyes at us!

So tonight after dinner we headed out on a walk...well, I walked, Maya rode in her stroller, Jake rode his scooter and Matthew rode his wave board. We went almost two miles! Makes for tired silly kids. So after we came home this is what happened-

Piggy back rides

Picture the boys hauling Maya all over the house while Maya is singing

"ride pony, ride pony down to town, watch out Maaaayyyyaaa doe fwall down!" and then laughing hysterically as the boys "drop her".

Then I was really impressed when Matthew had her on his sholders and she did this while saying "oogie, oogie"! Think she has been given a few noogies in her life time?

Then Matthew and Jake got the great idea to make a human pyramid which resulted in everyone falling and that started the wrestling between the boys. It did not take long for Maya to yell "Boys! Stop at ite NOW!!" while shaking her finger..hmm I wonder where on earth she has heard that before? And then when they would not stop, she joined the fun.

I am happy to say that my little princess can hold her own when it comes to wrestling with her big brothers!

Cute kids...

This is just a cute picture of Maya watching her beloved "go iego go iego". That show is the only thing that will stop my girl in her tracks and she will sit still through the whole thing. I have to admit I love that 22 minutes sometimes!

For Amy

Okay, I got tagged by my sis in law Amy and I thought it might be fun to play along...I have been tagged several times before, but really don't do this sort of thing on my family blog, so Amy, you gotta know I love ya to do this!

What were you doing

20 years ago: Okay, this dates me big time! I was enjoying my senior year in high school, listening to the best ever era of music, thought I was pretty cool for a small town girl, driving a VW rabbit, and working at Party Pals in the town I grew up in.

10 years ago: I had three handsome little boys, I was pregnant with little boy number four, we were remodeling my Root Ave. house due to an unfortunate dishwasher fiasco, life was moving right along at warp speed.

5 years ago: I was being a mom to four very busy little boys which obviously zapped my brain cells cause I can't really remember what I was doing-But I am sure it included Soccer, baseball, basketball, refereeing, disciplining, and lots and lots of laughing!

3 years ago: We had moved to our current home, decided to adopt and was in a full fledged paper chase to bring our baby girl home, We saw Maya's sweet face for the very first time on a computer screen, we were preparing for our trip to Taiwan and we cried many tears during the agonizing wait.

1 year ago: I was adjusting to being the mom of 5 kids, helping Maya adjust to her new life, finding myself after a very brief bout of post adoption depression, enjoying life with a sweet little girl in the house and enjoying the girls department at all my favorite places to shop!

So far this year: I have been trying to organize this house a bit better, I have been working on getting my jewelry business going better, we have enjoyed a quick trip to Monterey, and we are preparing for a trip to Utah soon.

Yesterday: I went walking in the morning with Maya, spent the day trying desperately to figure out why Miss Maya was so out of control ornery and trying to make her happy, worked on my jewelry business, attended a court of honor (boy scouts) for the big boys and got pinned by Tanner who earned his who advanced to a Life Scout, came home and got kids to bed and watched David Archuleta (?) kick some bootie on American Idol--love that kid!

Today: I walked my two miles with Maya, I should not be on this computer, I need to get tonight's jewelry show in order, I need to make a dessert for Dave an Jake to take to Cub Scouts tonight, I will spend the better part of my afternoon pretending like I am in preschool 2nd, 6th, 8th and 10th grade again as I help the crew with homework, and I will not eat chocolate!

Later tonight: Jewelry Show and my DVR-ed episode of American Idol, pick up for tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Another jewelry show, early out day for the boys, more walking with Maya, more not eating chocolate, and the other mundane things that I do everyday like picking up, laundry, sweeping the floor, playing with my girl, getting bossed around by my girl, etc, etc, etc.

This year I hope to: accomplish many goals I have set for myself to help me find a bit more balance, have more fun, keep exercising, take better care of myself, play more with my kids, and be a better mom and wife.

I will post new Maya pics soon!

Did you just say that?

Really, I don't know why these ignorant people seem to find me. Maybe it is because I am ultra sensitive to being watched in public? You see I come from a Ginormous family...12 kids, 2 parents, one marriage, all single births thank you very much! and we all got pretty used to being counted and talked about when went out as a family...and then I moved to California where the norm is to have 2.5 children, and I had 4 boys...now let me tell you, that gets certain people talking too. Oh and lots and lots of "Oh honey, are they all yours?" followed by many "God bless you's" to which I always answer "He DID!"

Anyway, Now we have our beautiful little adopted girl which really only adds fuel to the fire when we are out as a family or instantly makes David and I "the poor couple who could not conceive on their own so they had to go to China to get a child" when we have her alone. And seems to make me a magnet for very rude and obnoxious people to come chat with when its just Maya and me.

What I hear most often:

"Your daughter is beautiful, what is your husband?" (Umm, last time I checked he was a man!)

"If you already had four boys, what on earth made you decide to get another one?"

"How much did she cost?", "What did she set you back?", "I bet she cost you an arm and a leg!", and "What does it take to get something like that over here to the states?" (to which I answer, She did not cost me one penny, I paid for all the legal fees involved to bring her home, she's priceless, or just give them a blank stare and walk away)

"Why would you go and do that when you have kids of your own?"

And " Aren't you glad you signed up for a whole lifetime of that?" (said by a rude woman at the ballpark when my baby girl was throwing a fit because it was 100 plus degrees outside and she had sat through 2 games and did not want to be there anymore.)

Now I am so used to these questions and statements that they really do not phase me much anymore and I can quickly tell if I am going to need to get away from a person or if they are genuinely curious about adoption and not in a malicious way. Besides, most of the time you can redirect a question away from the personal stuff and unless the person is really DENSE, they get that they are being to personal.

But this last one got to me, there we were at our local craft store and after a very brief "Is she adopted?" conversasion with a lady in line--which went really well, she turned to me and said " It's just a shame that you did not get one with whiter skin, then she would look more like you." Okay, really did you just say that to me?

Number one, She is my daughter and we do not even see her skin color until people like you point it out to us, I really do not care what color her skin is, white, black, brown, purple, green, whatever. Number two, I can not believe you just said that in front of my 8 year old son...now I have to explain to him why you said that and he is "colorblind"! Third, I really, really hate that you feel it is a shame for my baby girl not to have whiter skin and that she will have to deal with people like you for the rest of her life!

Okay, sorry, ranting is over. I do want you all to know that I know that simply by adopting we opened ourselves up for each and every question and comment. I am not opposed to answering questions about Maya's adoption at all and even welcome them. I asked tons of questions before we adopted, and I am even drawn to families that I know have adopted. But when simple questions turn to small attacks on my daughter's ethnicity, or my mental state as to why I would choose to adopt when I have four perfectly good boys at home, the momma bear in me comes out!

That being said, I want to thank all of the people who simply say "She's beautiful!", "She's one lucky little girl" (No, I am the luckiest girl because I get to be her momma!), or simply smile and say nothing at all.

So here you have it, a not so brief lesson on what not to say to a family who has been BLESSED by adoption.