September is FLYING by! (sick Ray, iFly, Disneyland, epic FHE, and Vegas with Josi!)

The other day I snapped. I completely lost it. I screamed so hard at Parker, I think there was red lasers coming out of my eyes and fire coming out of my mouth. It always upsets me when I prepare a thoughtful meal and he just sits there and takes 2 hours to eat it. It's disrespectful. Being a mother is truly a thankless job but sometimes I just can't handle it! And it's discouraging when Tanner is never home for family dinner/family prayer/family scripture study... We are trying and we strive to do the right thing but sometimes we fail. Our schedules and attitudes prevent us from putting "first things first". And when I'm feeling drained it's hard for me to give to others, especially my family. My greatest fear is that we don't do our best as parents and in the end our children fail. It's a lot of pressure! But the good news is that we have a phenomenal family backing up our faithful values and the spirit to guide us if we invite Him in. His grace is sufficient.... But yes, sometimes I snap. And then sometimes I go to Home Goods for some retail therapy and spend too much money. But our house is going to be on fleek for Halloween! And my bed is a lot cuter than is used to be.

I was also able to get my hair done for the first time in forever. I went to my Mom's stylist in Tustin because I was hoping to donate my hair. But she talked me out of it. It was  nice to get a little pampered and have some "me" time. Especially because my hair desperately needed attention. She cut about 4 inches off, evened out my layers, and died my whole head darker with some red undertones. I let her take the reigns and just sat there while she worked her magic! Kinda fun!

Last Saturday was Parker's first soccer game. He played goalie for the first half and did so well! We love cheering him on as we chase the babies along the sidelines! He is also a good defender because he's the biggest kid his age. He's not super into running but he is a great sport and that's all that matters!

Rayleigh was so proud of her big brother!

Here is Rayleigh once again refusing to take a nap. You'd think she'd prefer her bed but no, she falls asleep in her high chair or in the car. She's just too busy to sit still and lay down!

Sunday selfie! It's a hustle getting everyone ready and to church on time when Tanner has morning meetings but it's so worth all the work! I love church! Tanner and I switch each week who is in charge of chasing the babies around while the other one sits in the chapel with Parker. To caption this picture I said: We are loud and crazy and a little smelly. We yell and cry and sometimes we fight. But we also laugh a lot, hug a lot, and always try to have a good time. Being a family teaches us how to love unconditionally, forgive frequently, and serve each other even when we don't feel like it. It's hard work raising children and sustaining a successful marriage. But the rewards are exquisite.

     Most days I feel overwhelmed with the state of the world. I know I'm not perfect and I fear for my family's eternal welfare. I worry about the influences affecting my children who are out in the world and worry about how much of the world I let into my home. I try to create a refuge, a sanctuary, a little slice of heaven within the walls of our house. I strive to invite the spirit to dwell here, to create happy/loving moments. But I'm not perfect. And I worry. I want to fix it all. I want to protect my children from every hurt, every remorse, every injustice. But that desire is unrealistic and unobtainable. So I worry. But I try. And I rely on my village. And I listen to my local leaders and sustain the apostles and prophets. I guard myself by reading their words and applying sanctifying principles. I apply to atonement to my daily failings and shortcomings. I pray diligently and stand up courageously in what seems like an uneven fight. My family is forever and I'm going to do everything in my power to keep it that way.

I love taking these sweet babies to Disneyland. They love it too!

I couldn't resist and had to give Ray an early birthday present. It's a good thing we have such scorching temperatures until Halloween so she can play in her mermaid swim suit for a few more weeks! She looks adorable and this costume fits her perfectly!

It makes me feel old when Parker's 3rd grade teacher says she was in 3rd grade during the September 11th terrorist attacks. I was a senior in high school!

But it makes me feel good when adults tell me how great Parker is. The neighbor said he is so easy to talk to! (Like, he speaks comfortably and well with adults) I hear comments like that about Parker almost daily and it just warms my heart.

For FHE last Monday night, Jill invited a few families over for swimming, s'mores, and cinema! In case it's not clear from the pictures, it was an amazingly fun evening! The girls all chatted, the kids all swam, and the guys had fun setting up the outdoor movie with huge speakers and everything! We stuffed our faces with s'mores and and didn't want the night to end! The kids were so adorable all wrapped up in the towels and sweatshirts watching the movies after wearing themselves out swimming.

Rayleigh and Ruby. They are so cute together! Jill throws the best backyard parties and I'm so thankful for my wonderful friends and their sweet children!

Tuesday morning was "free kid's breakfast" at McDonald's. So we drove through on the way to school! Score!

I watched Courtney's 2 older girls all day while she was out of town with Mia and they were perfect. So easy! It was especially easy because Ray was at school all morning and then came home  and took a 3 hour nap! Weird, right? Well, when she woke up she had a fever. We were going out that night so I told Audrey to call us if she got any worse (thank goodness for competent baby sitters). Jill wanted to go indoor skydiving for her birthday and Tanner invited us along! ha ha We brought Parker for his first time flying and he LOVED it. He's hooked. Jill's 2 older kids flew too but Austin was a little too freaked out. Tanner and Parker are 2 peas in a pod when it comes to this stuff. I sat this one out and just watched and took pictures which I LOVE doing. We all went out to eat afterwards and it was so fun being out with friends!

When Wednesday morning rolled around I thought Ray might be getting better from her little fever but she was not. Her fever would come and go and she slept a lot.....

That night she woke up and came running into our room. She'd thrown up. So I held her and Tanner cleaned it up. She was burning up and Tanner started to panic. This was around midnight. He frantically started getting dressed and announced it was taking her to the ER. He was alarmed that I was being so calm but I think mom's just have special instincts and know when it's an emergency or not. I asked him to give her a blessing and we got her some tylenol. Within minutes her fever went down and she was happy. Tanner bought all new lightbulbs for our house that you can control with your phone. They do all different colors and have lots of little effects. Ray was enjoying our middle of the night light show when all of a sudden she threw up all over our bed. Party's over! I hopped in the tub with her while once again, Tanner cleaned up the barf and changed our sheets. Her fever was spiking again and she was so tired. We brought her little bed into our room and tried to get her comfortable enough to fall asleep but she threw up again and just moaned all night. She eventually crawled in next to me and we both fell asleep around 6:30am. This was the first all nighter we'd ever pulled since having kids. Our children rarely get sick. But I let her sleep in as long as she could the next morning while I got Parker off to school and kept Jack quiet downstairs. She had a fever on and off throughout the day. Poor thing....

Since she was still feeling sick on Friday, Tanner came home early with some different medicines to help her feel better. (she had a virus so no antibiotics would help...) I took Parker on a Mommy/Son date to Disneyland and we had so much fun! I love spending one on one time with my kids! We got dinner and shared a Mickey rice crispy treat for dessert. We walked around and saw all of the fun Fall decorations and rode California Screaming' twice! We ran into Liz Jergensen and the Mile's too! So fun to have so many friends and even run into them at Disneyland! Our goal before our passes expire is to do everything there is to do at both parks. One activity we hadn't done yet was play the Boardwalk Games. We each played one game and while Parker won a small toy, I won a Mickey which is what we both wanted! We were thrilled! We rode Grizzly River Rapids because we hadn't even been on that together before. And ended the night using our Fast Passes for the new spooky Space Mountain which we both didn't like. I love my number 1 son!!!!!

The next morning Cami came over bright an early to drive with me to Vegas to see Josi! Josi and her family moved down and we could not be more thrilled to have them closer!!!! My mom and dad spent the first half of the week helping them get settled and Cami and I came on Saturday to have a fun Sisters Weekend! Poor Kari couldn't come.... But we had a blast! Before we left Tanner made us a delicious crepe and bacon breakfast. I think he was stalling. He didn't want me to leave! He never gets up that early, even on a work day! Cute thing, I'll miss you too, Honey!

Tanner booked us a room at the JW Marriott and it was soooo nice! On the way in to Vegas I stopped at Mona Kay's to pick up a huge measuring board to keep track of the heights of my growing babies. I've always wanted one and she and Spencer MADE a few! It was so good to see her and so generous of her to give me one of her projects! After we checked in to the hotel, we went to Josi's new house and had a tour! It's so nice and so perfect for them! You don't even feel like you're in Vegas! It's so quiet and beautiful up there in North Las Vegas! We brought Josi back to the hotel and we hung out in the room for a little bit and just talked and got changed into our swimming suits. We actually didn't stop talking the entire time. I'm surprised I didn't lose my voice! Our first stop was to Starbucks for some fun drinks! I'd won Starbucks gift card so we all just got what we wanted! Fun! Then we spend a few hours at the spa just relaxing and pampering ourselves! The spa was so nice and private. We could have stayed there all night talking and laughing but we were starving by dinner time!  (Josi had home made turkey sandwiches for us when we got to her house). We decided to stay at the resort and eat at the buffet which was perfect because we could eat RIGHT away and eat as much as we wanted! ha ha It was sooooo good and just what us 3 mom's needed! With 10 kids between the 3 of us, it was a real treat having some time together just us sisters. After dinner, I drove Josi home and went to Andrea's new house. It was late by the time I got there (like 10:30pm) and she wasn't answering the phone but I had a little house warming/ birthday gift for her that I just wanted to leave on the porch. Little did I know that she'd  moved to another gated community and I didn't have the gate code! Out of desperation I texted Jeff and he woke up Andrea! She'd been asleep! Oooops! True love is when you're friend hauls herself out of a deep sleep to come give you a hug in the "middle of the night". I'm so glad I got to see Andrea and get a little tour of her house. It is beautiful!!!!!! And not just because she's an amazing designer/decorator, but because she bring a sweet spirit into her home that is undeniable and warm. I cannot gush enough about how incredible Andrea is. She's brilliant and amazing and I love her so much. Seeing her was definitely a highlight for me!!!!!

The next morning, Josi brought Matt and the boys over to the resort for breakfast. Cami and I gave Josi and Matt our "free" breakfast so it was perfect! (I'm not a huge breakfast person) There was live jazz playing and the whole morning was just really nice. We took the boys on a little walk around the property and took a couple pictures. I'm so glad Josi is closer to SoCal!!! We are going to have so many great times together raising our kids!!!!!

Cami and I had an easy drive home and enjoyed chatting non stop. ha ha Poor Rayleigh's fever went away but Tanner took her home from church early when she developed quite a bad rash! (She's all better now) I guess pre school is introducing her to a whole new world of germs! :-(

She's also going through a "naked" phase. No matter how hard I try to keep clothes on her she strips them off any chance she gets. On Monday, even though I should have been feeling refreshed and relaxed, I was so short on patience with the kids. They were whining and following me around everywhere screaming and generally being unpleasant. So, I locked myself in my room for 10 minutes to give myself a little break (while the kids banged on the door) and when I came out Rayleigh was asleep on her bed. I guess everyone was just a little too tired to be happy. (Me included)

Tuesday Tanner was able to come home early so I asked him to take me on a date! We went to Disneyland and it was magical. I love that Tanner indulges me and takes me on the kind of dates that I love. I really needed some one on one time with him. He's been working so hard (he's now number 1 in his company), and I've been out of town so it was nice to reconnect. We had dinner at the Blue Bayou which is that restaurant by Pirates of the Caribbean. We'd always wanted to eat there and it did NOT disappoint! It was so delicious! Our drinks were lit up with cute glowing cubes and the wait staff was so nice! We had great conversation and it was very romantic. We had Fast Passes to ride Thunder Mountain and the Haunted Mansion (where we may or may not have made out) and then we grabbed some Mickey Beignets for dessert which I now can't stop thinking about. Tanner played at the Shooting Gallery and showed me some tricks! We took a stroll down Main Street and admired all of the cute Halloween decorations. It was nice to be out on a Tuesday night when not many people crowded the park. Out last stop was the Matterhorn where we were able to just walk right on! Score! We validated our parking at AMC theaters and Tanner was able to get a small popcorn (win win!). I'm so glad we take the time to spend time together and sacrifice our means to have fun, memorable dates. I have a firm belief in the power of dating your spouse! My parents have always been the best examples when it comes to dating!

I haven't busted out my nice camera in a while. But the honest truth is that it's impossible to get decent pictures of these rambunctious toddlers! Sheesh! Today I walked outside to throw away some trash and Jack locked the door. I was locked out of the house. He was crying and could not figure out how to unlock the deadbolt. I was stuck. After about 15 minutes I decided my only option was to cut a hole in the screen door and let myself in. Thank goodness the front door was open! That little stinker! Never a dull moment around here!!!!

We always enjoy park day with our buddies!

Our evenings have become busier since Parker started soccer. But I still always strive to have family dinner around the dining room table. Tanner is 9 times out of 10 NOT here for dinner but that doesn't stop us. It's discouraging when the kids  9 times out of 10 do NOT eat what I thoughtfully prepare for them. Even these cool raspberries that they adorably placed on their fingers were something that they wanted to ear. But alas, I try. And I document so that one day they will THANK me. And maybe I'll learn a thing or 2 myself....

One of the many weird things that the kids do.... I never let them in the pantry so when they sneak in there I find items all rearranged.. or stacked. Or thrown in the trash can- Depending on which kid snuck in there.

Nerd Day at school for Parker's last day! Rayleigh thought it was so funny! Parker did a great job putting his outfit together! He's such a stud. I had parent/ teacher conference for him this week and his teacher is so sweet. Of course he's excelling academically. He needs to stop chatting with his "neighbors" which is the same problem I always had. And he needs to work on his handwriting (Again, the same problem I have). His teacher expressed her concern for the youth of today. She said the problems really start in 4th grade when the kids start to "grow up" a little bit. They start to have phone and bullying becomes more serious. It scares me to death. But I think I want Parker to be involved in student government. I think he'd be good at it and it might help him to have more ambitious and uplifting friends. And honors classes help him to be in a more elite peer group. I can also be more present in the classroom by volunteering. I know he'd love to have me there. Other than that, all I can do is help him recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost and to act on those spiritual promptings. He's going to make mistakes. We all do. But it's going to break my heart when those mistakes (and the mistakes of those around him which will affect him) occur.

Being a wife and a mom is tons and tons of hard work. But dating my spouse, late night cuddles with my kids, and sisters weekends every once in a while make my life balanced and fulfilled! I truly am blessed and I don't want to take one single day for granted.