Exhausted.

This is probably my least favorite time of year.  Christmas is over.  We do so much camping in the summertime that I always have tons of stuff to blog about.  Plus all the birthdays and stuff.  But then January comes and I swear even though it feels like we're still busy all the time it's like we don't actually DO anything.  So there's no pictures until Easter.  We've undergone a major redecorating and construction at work, which has meant that I've been working out of a box since the first week of December.  The good news is that I got an office out of the whole deal and moved in this week. So that's been exciting.  But overall work has been DRAINING.  Don't get me wrong, I love my job.  And I love the people I work with, but man am I tired when I get home each night.

I don't talk much about work here on the good 'ole family blog.  For those that don't know I manage a team of 10 people.  The entire Customer Service Department that is.  So basically I support and help people most of the day.  As soon as I start doing something that I need to do I get interrupted with a question or someone needing help.  And more often than not, it's not someone that works for me.  It's just someone that needs help from me.  Don't get me wrong, I love feeling needed too.  But it's ALL DAY LONG.  And I have to do it with a smile of course.  Some days I come home feeling like I've just been pecked to death my chickens.  Only to get home to my babies .. who then peck at me some more.  I hate that it makes me impatient with them.  I hate that it makes me feel like I never get a moment to myself.  We forgot to do Jackson's homework this week.  I HATE his homework!!  Baylee never had homework.  Baylee still doesn't ever have homework.  Have you ever tried doing homework, while trying to cook dinner, juggling a baby on your hip, watching that your 14 year old doesn't steal some food while you aren't looking, while your 3 year old runs around yelling because all he wants is a little attention??  When all I really want to do when I walk in the door is mentally decompress for a minute (okay really like 30 minutes or even an hour would be nice). Guess I'm sounding a little whiny.  It's just been a long couple of weeks.  And we haven't really been doing anything and so I don't have much to report on.  So that leaves me with late homework to finish up over the weekend. I seriously wish that his teacher would send homework home on Friday for the following Friday.  Then we could do it on the weekend when we have more time.  And I'm just tired.

Oliver has been walking since last month.

I just think he's so darn adorable.

This is a TERRIBLE picture.  Not good iPhone.

But this was Wyland being funny the other day with my microwave potato bag.

Jackson LOVED his camo Christmas PJ's.

Here is is looking very scary.

Clearly he watches Jeramie play way too many video games!

I began my Salt Lake City Half Marathon training a couple weeks ago.

I LOVE running outside in this weather.  Last Saturday it snowed and we

ended up running on a bit of snow / ice pack. But I still loved getting out there.

And I LOVE my regular weekly long run date with my BF Rebecca.

You know what else is disturbing this week?  There was a mother/teacher/wife runner who went missing up in Montana last weekend when she went out for a jog.  Today when I was driving to work (I listen to CNN Headline news on my way in every morning), well turns out they think she's been murdered.  That freaks me out!  She just went out for a run, something I do four days a week!  I think I'm going to add a pocket knife to my pepper spray I run with.  Then listening to Van der Sloot getting sentanced to 28 years in prison for killing that girl in Peru.  Back when Natalie Holloway disappeared in Aruba I went on vacation there just weeks after she disappeared.  So weird.  Then on my way home from work they were talking about some twenty something girl who was pregnant with twins and it appears that she gave birth to them and then killed them both!  What is wrong with these people??  All these babies that keep disappearing out of their cribs in the middle of the night while their parents are supposedly sleeping and then they spend so much time and manpower looking for these kids, when it's so clear their own parents killed them.  It's so sickening.  (How's that for random?!)

As if this post wasn't random enough, here are Five Things Friday, random edition:

1.  I really love McDonald's Fruit and Maple Oatmeal.  And I allow myself it once per week.

2.  It was Zarley's birthday this week and that means her blanket that I have crocheted REALLY needs to get finished TOMORROW so I can give it to her Sunday.  All I have left is the trim, but it's time consuming and the boring part.

3.  I started reading this book, 1-2-3 Magic, Effective Discipline for Children 2-12.  I swear it's AMAZING.  I don't pride myself on having the best behaved children.  For the most part they have pretty good manners (and I am proud of that).  But they can be SO naughty, which just adds to my "I've been working all day and I'm too tired to deal with naughty children" attitude.

4.  I'm really looking forward to going to see War Horse with my mum tomorrow.  I LOVE horse movies (i.e. Seabiscuit, Dreamer, Black Stallion .. need I say more??)

5.  I swear I just did Oliver's laundry and the kid is LITERALLY out of clean PJ's. Tonight he's sporting a pair of size 3 PJ's that I just cleared out of Wyland's drawer.  Fail.

2011 In Review

Wow, is the year really over?  I can hardly believe it.  We spent New Years Eve hosting a game night at our house with Jeramie's family.  It has been a really long time since we've hosted anything at our house.  And we had a REALLY fun time.  We played The Logo Game for HOURS.  It was fun and in the end I actually won.  I think we started playing at like 9pm and didn't finish until about 1am.  We played as six individual players though, so I think if you play with teams when you have that many the pace of the game would be quicker.  It's a really fun game though, and not too hard.  Definitely something I hope we start doing more often.   Game Nights are AWESOME!!  However, because I was so busy being the hostess I didn't take a single picture .. FAIL.

So here's a quick recap of our year. 

January:  I spent the entire month on  maternity leave from work.  Which was so fun to be home with all my kids.  I got my hair cut and colored for the first time in a YEAR.  We took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum, which was a highlight to the month because I was afraid to leave the house with all the kids on my own!

February:  Oliver got RSV at 8 weeks of age. I am so very grateful that he got through it quickly and didn't require a visit to the hospital or anything.  We left Oliver with my mum for the first time and took all the big kids to the Monster Trucks show.  Jackson and Baylee started some indoor swim lessons.  I began the Couch to 5K training program to train for my first ever 5K.

March:  It was a pretty quiet month for us.  We did a lot of swimming indoors, continuing with the kids swim lessons.  Wyland had his first scary pool experience.  Jeramie started P90X and I think quit after like 3 days.  I started my own Book Club, and it was really fun!

April:  We redecorated our kitchen and dining room as well as installing cabinets.  SUCH a big and expensive task, but so worth it.  We celebrated Easter with the family and it was so much fun, water fights included.  I ran my first 5K, and ran it the whole way.  It was such an amazing sense of accomplishment.  I worked hard .. trained hard and it paid off.  I was hooked.

May:  Jackson turned 5 years old.  My mum got a new puppy, Sailor.  The weather turned just warm enough that we could spend some more time outside.  Jackson graduated from preschool!  We took the kids to the zoo.  We headed out for our first camping and boating trip of the year to Yuba Lake, where Oliver experience the torture chamber (aka baby life jacket). 

June:  We went to Las Vegas!!  We took Wyland to Vegas so that we could introduce him to Wyland the artist he was named after.  It was a blast and the kids loved staying in the hotel.  Jeramie and I bought our first piece of "real" art.  It's still in storage until we redecorate our living room, that will be a highlight of 2012 I'm sure!  Baylee went to Camp K, a highlight in her summer every year.  It's always so strange having her gone.  Wyland turned 3 years old!  I continued training for my next 5K.  J'Von turned 10.

July:  We did A LOT of camping. Mike joined us in Yuba with his kids one weekend.  I stopped wearing shorts over my swimming suit.  Jackson started jumping off of the boat in his life jacket.  Jackson also started riding and enjoying riding on the tube.  I bought my first running skirt and was hooked.  Jeramie ran his first 5K, although I don't think he was hooked .. haha.  I was humbled after this second 5K, realizing that if I don't keep up with my training then race day will be harder.  We went to the zoo again.

August:  We went to Lake Powell!!  It was an awesome trip.  I look forward to this trip every year and it never disappoints.  We talked about trying to squeeze in two trips in 2012, not sure if that will happen.  And perhaps that's good, that way it will always feel like it's special.  I think it was this month that Oliver started sitting up as well.  Oliver also started doing some major combat crawling.  Baylee went for a very short ride on the tube, which is a big deal for her.  Wyland went on his first tube ride.  Evan ran his first half marathon, and we came down the canyon to cheer him and Rachel on at the finish.  I started riding my bike again with my friend Rebecca.  We went to the annual summer PWS Swim Party.  Baylee started her second year at Middle School.  We celebrated Jeramie's 32nd birthday.

September:  We headed to the zoo once more before the boys started school.  Jackson started kindergarten and Wyland started preschool. They were both very excited and transitioned well.  We started the task of nightly homework with Jackson.  Baylee turned 14 years old.  I ran my 3rd 5K and placed 3rd in my age group.  Baylee ran her first fun run and did awesome!  My parents came out and supported us.  We ran our first mud run with Evan and Rachel .. AWESOME fun! 

October:  We did quite a few Fall activities, including Cornbelly's and Wheeler Farm.  We also continued to watch a lot of football games (Utes of course).  I began spending my lunch breaks training and I will never stop.  I LOVE LOVE getting out of the office and burning some calories at lunch time.  It reduced the amount of stress I have over trying to squeeze in a run when I get home in the evening.  We took family pictures at Wheeler Farm with the whole family, turned out to be some of our best ones yet.  Took the kids to have their pictures taken professionally.  Carved pumpkins.  Celebrated another Halloween.  I started training for my first half marathon, which included weekly "long runs" on Sunday mornings with my friend Rebecca.  Jonathan turned 15.

November:  We had professional family pictures taken and I loved how they turned out.  We ran our first ever Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot.  So much fun and cold!  I continued my half marathon training, including a 10 mile run on my birthday/anniversary.  I turned .. well .. a year older.  Jeramie and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. 

December:  I ran my first Half Marathon!!!  It was amazing.  Oliver turned a year old!  We spent the month trying to prevent Oliver from destroying the Christmas tree.  Took the kids to Build a Bear to celebrate Oliver's birthday.  Wyland had his Preschool Christmas Program.  Oliver started walking!!  Oh .. and then there was Christmas too.

I feel so lucky.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas 2011

We had another amazing Christmas this year.  Baylee of course was the first to wake up.  Next was Wyland, then Oliver.  Then we had to wake up Jackson, and yet he was the first to bed.  Guess that kid likes his sleep.  So downstairs we headed to see what Santa might have left in his wake...

Baylee finally got the karaoke machine she's been wanting for so long.

Jackson got a new Bat Cave.

Wyland got the Toy Story Garbage facility.

Oliver got a fun learning train.

Baylee continues to be constantly amazed that Santa "knows" everything that she likes.

I love that she still believes.  I hope nobody ruins that for her anytime soon.

Wyland really enjoyed Christmas this year.  He unwrapped each gift and was so grateful.

Would get up and take the wrapping paper over to Aunt Rachel to throw away.

Oliver did pretty good for a one year old.  He actually helped open some.

He's just so cute right now.

We had a little monkey bread after our stockings.

My Wyland loves his sweets.

I love our tradition of mimosas with Christmas breakfast.

After we open our stockings we all tidy up the aftermath and get ready for the day.

My dad cooks us all breakfast.

We had made arrangements to go pick up Jeramie's boys a little early this year.  The original plan was that he would pick them up and we would head over to Jeramie's parents house to visit for awhile.  This is what we normally do. However, it turned out they were not going to be home until much later.  So in the end we made arrangements to go see them the next day.  Instead we spent the afternoon playing some games.  Jackson literally didn't get out of his PJ's the entire day, I'm kind of glad for that.  He enjoyed being comfortable and just hanging out all day playing with his toys all day.  It was nice.

Jackson and Jonathan (I love this picture of them).

Once Mike, Amber and their kids arrived we wrapped up a game and soon it was time to head to the basement for our next round of gifts.  I loved that this year it went at a much slower pace.  I got to see what all my kids and other people were getting as we went.  Rather than just gorging on presents.  I intentionally passed out the gifts I had gotten people one by one so that I could see each person open what I had carefully chosen for them.  And I really think the kids appreciated how lucky they were as well.

Zarley, Grandma and Xavier

The boys are all so cute lined up with their similar shaped presents.

The boys put their new sleds on their backs once they opened them.

This picture reminds me so much of Evan's famous Turtle impression,

it puts a smile on my face every time I look at it.

To say that Wyland loved his firehouse is a severe understatement.

Thanks Uncle Evan for putting it together so quickly!

After we'd opened this final round of presents it was time to clean up the aftermath.

I definitely wish we had a maid!

Mike and Amber then headed on out to celebrate with Amber's family.

The remaining of us played a couple more games.  My brain hurt from the trivia.

But it was super fun.  I LOVE playing games with family.

After much love and fun it was time to head home.

In retrospect, it was an amazing Christmas.  I love our family traditions.  We mixed things up a little this year by moving our traditional big Christmas meal to Christmas Eve and this worked out really well.  It meant that my mum didn't spend all day trying to juggle spending time with the family on Christmas while trying to make a giant meal at the same time.  Instead we spent Christmas day with our traditional big breakfast which always seems to hold us over for a long time and then snacked on snacky type food for the rest of the day.  It was fun to play so many games.  I love playing games and don't get to nearly as often as I wish we did.  I started my Christmas shopping back in the summer time and I'm so glad that I did.  I also budgeted and began saving at the beginning of the year.  This helped with the stress of knowing that I had enough money for everything and I had planned for it all.  It makes shopping so much more fun when I don't worry about where the money is going to come from and I've consciously decided ahead of time how much I'm going to spend.  I didn't go over budget .. in fact I came in under budget by taking advantage of sales.  The only thing that I always find disappointing is that it's all over.  I guess the same goes with vacations too, you're always so excited .. all the planning and looking forward to it and then .. it's over.