3 boys, 3 trips to the doctor’s office, 3 ear infections, 3 bottles of antibiotics

…..broke daddy

……….tired mommy.

When I think of Rulon, I think of Tigers.  He loves them, he always has for some reason.  This year his passion for tigers aligns with  Chinese New year.  It seemed fitting that he would kick off the celebration with his first investigative journalism piece on his favorite furry friend:

I don’t like it when my children inform me they have found a sleeping critter on our property…I really don’t. “Mom, there is a cute little mouse sleeping in the garage!”  ”Mom, I jumped over that bird sleeping in the backyard!”  I don’t like when my children inform me of these “slumbering” critters because then I have to tell them why I am scooping up said critter with a shovel and throwing him into the dumpster…..

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Erik’s sister Kirsten and her husband Dallas?  They are the coolest!  And what is even cooler about them is that they actually think we’re cool!  Well, they attacked us Sunday night. As we sat on our comfy couch watching the Winter Olympics, they stealthy crept up to our front door and plastered the entire thing with dozens of paper hearts complete with funny, kooky phrases.  I love them!

I think Rulon would make a great subject for a flip book:

Lincoln thought this one was extremely humorous.  He also mused over the notion that if Mom was, indeed, “hot” that he might be able to fetch a good price for me so that he could buy himself a new guitar.(Should I be concerned, flattered or just insulted?)

I’ll admit, manufactured holidays that guilt me into spending more money have never been my cup of tea until I had such enthusiastic kids to share it with.  And when you really get down to the nitty gritty of it all, a holiday that reminds us to celebrate the people we love and cherish most isn’t half bad, is it?  Here’s how we celebrated our day:

Valentine’s breakfast…thank goodness for food coloring!

My little helper, Ellis.

My sweet lovable Ruly-guy.

Valentine’s from Mom & Dad!

Will ravenously attacking his poor heart pancake.

Erik and I snuck away for a quick overnight trip to San Francisco this weekend to celebrate his 32nd birthday. His birthday also marks the 10th anniversary of our engagement.  We always joke that good things happen the day after your birthday as we started officially dating the day after my birthday and got engaged the day after his.  It’s been a great ten years and I love my Erik.

Here’s us 10 years ago…..

As you can see, being married to me has caused Erik to lose his hair….

So I’ve been trying to find the time to catch up on my blogging but as you can see my efforts have been in vain.  So I’ve decided that before my bad memory gets the best of me I better record a few choice memories:

Lincoln (1 week before Christmas):  ”Mom, I think I’m on the naughty list.”

Mom: “Why do you say that honey?”

Lincoln: “Well I’ve been making bad choices.”

Mom: “Well, Lincoln have you repented?”

Lincoln (in an anguished voice): “Yes, but I don’t think Santa’s a Mormon!”

(I assured him that even though I wasn’t sure of Santa’s religious affiliations, I am sure he believes in the concept of redemption.)

Rulon (following a FHE discussion about the Holy Ghost):  ”Mom….(head cocked to side and looking up at the sky), Jesus is talking to me.”

Mom: “Oh really…(slightly bewildered and wondering what prophetic news is about to be bestowed by 5-year-old son)..?

Rulon:  ”He says I need to hit Ellis.”

Mom:  ”No, Rulon, Jesus does not tell you to hit your sister!”

Rulon (later that night at dinner):  ”Mom, (head cocked to side and looking up again) Jesus is talking to me…”

Mom:  (this time on my guard)”Yes…?”

Rulon:  ”He says I don’t have to eat my carrots..”

Mom:  ”(sigh), Rulon, Jesus didn’t say that, Jesus likes carrots.”

I think we need to have a review session for our next Family Home Evening…

That’s what we call Rulon, or sometimes just “the guy.”  He is quite the little guy and we have loved having him in our home for the last 5 years.  He is very sweet and quiet yet at the same time is absolutely bursting with energy.  What a funny little kid.  I often say to Erik, I am still getting to know him, there are so many layers.

We celebrated his big day on August 19th with a party at (gulp) Chuck E. Cheese.  We are not Chuck E. Cheese fans but since “the guy” had not had an official birthday party before we decided to oblige.

We found Chuck E. Cheese to be a bit freaky.  Rulon just stood there frozen in place while Ellis’ friend, Vila refused to be put down.

Things started to look up as the kids were able to put some space between themselves and the over-sized rodent.

Rulon got to choose whatever he wanted to eat for breakfast.  He chose a hotdog…..

At the beginning of August we got the chance to take a trip to Island Park, ID (just outside of Yellowstone) where we had a family reunion with my parents and siblings and all of our kids.  We were able to find a huge log cabin to rent for the week that actually accommodated all of us (13 Adults and 17 children)!  We had so much fun exploring the park and mostly just hanging out, relaxing and letting the kids play with their cousins.

Our day in the park.  It was a lot of fun and brought back memories from when we visited when I was a kid.

Me and my cute sisters (Lisa and Angie)

The cousins!

Will and his cousin Brynley (they were born just a few weeks apart).

Ellie and daddy after a long day.

Will was such a good sport to be packed around.

Just a few bits and pieces from some of our favorite summer memories:

Lots and lots of swim meets…

Cooling off in the backyard…

Guitar Hero at Uncle Dallas & Aunt Kirsten’s house!