Pick your battles!

So getting Zarley ready for school is usually not an easy or fun task, she usually lays around throws a fit etc... On this particular morning she got ready quite easily and was ready to go to school. Her hair not combed and these adorable brown and white polka dot leggings, not so adorable with the blue and white striped shirt she paired them with. So here comes the pick your battles part. Do you let her go to school looking like this when usually getting her off to school is not a easy task or do you pick this as one of your battles? I picked it as a battle. What the picture doesn't show is that she still has the leggings on under the skirt. but her hair did get fixed and the leggings weren't quite so noticeable. Wow she has such a sense of fashion doesn't she?

notice she isn't as happy in these as she
was in her own choice.

The moment he has waited for/ The moment she dreads

So anybody who knows Mike knows he loves hockey and cant wait for his boys to play, I however do not share this enthusiasm. I would like my cute little boys to have teeth. However this Sept Owen discovered all of Mikes hockey sticks in the garage. He really liked to play with me, we would hit a ball back and forth and I have to say he is pretty good. It was really a nice way to enjoy the last couple of warm summer weeks. I wanting my boy to keep his teeth hope he doesn't remember how much he liked it come spring. However today would much rather be outside playing hockey with my 3 yr old then be inside freezing as the first snow of the year hits.

Zarley played a little to.

Xavier enjoyed it to, but the sticks were a bit

to long for him

what makes you sad?

You know how when your kids hurt your hurt right? Well since school started I have noticed that Zarley seems to be having a hard time adjusting, Her infamous fits have started back up which is always hard on everyone and very trying of my patience. Her sight seems to have set her back a bit trying to adjust to how things are really suppose to look. ( a issue I have a lot of guilt about, not knowing your child cant see can do that to you). Anyway this afternoon a neighbor girl told me that she saw Zarley crying at recess and that she wanted me, this broke my heart, I asked her about it and she said she didn't have anyone to play with (her buddy Jackson was home sick) Everyday is a fight she doesn't want to go to school and after school she is sad because she doesn't have anyone to play with. All the other girls in the neighborhood have afternoon kindergarten and when they are home they don't seem to get a long with her any way they as they like to tell her are "popular" and she is not. All these things just make me want to cry, she is a funny little firecracker if you take the time to know her and I hate seeing her struggle and such a little age. How do you know when to step in and when your being a mother hen? I have to give a shout out to Maddie one of her favorite cousin I'm sure, she will play with her when the other kids won't she takes her to Walgreens on her scooter and they often have sleepovers together its so cute! I haven't ever had this problem with Winter she seems to make friends everywhere she goes so if anyone has any experience with this I'm listening.

what makes you feel old?

So today I took Xavier to his 15 month appointment and started thinking wow 15 months already, where has the time gone, then I started thinking I am getting old. Then I started running down the list of things that make me feel old.

winter to big to dance in the rain

Zarley old enough to dance in the rain

Xav figuring out a power wheel

Zarley learning to ride a 2 wheeler

Zarley doing her first homework assignment

Owen going out the door for first day of preschool

first school picture by the apple tree

Owen walking into school

Owen and Jackson coming out to the car after

there first day of preschool! They had a good time

They told me they rode bikes in the sand, and played

batman with capes. They were so cute!

As cute as they were this only added to my oh my gosh I am getting old, not to mention I took Zarley to her first day of dance for the year. She is on the mini team this year so she will go to competitions and stuff. I just think she is still to little but apparently not. So I ask what makes you feel old?

Mike

So I was blogging about Zars first day of school and texting Mike at the same time, because that's how we communicate, he asked if I was blogging about him, I said no, he asked why and I said because its not all about you. So then I decided to give him a shout out. The above picture is Mike with Owen and Xavier at Lake Powell this last weekend.
Mike took the 3 little kids to Lake Powell along with the rest of the Howard clan Winter had school and dance try outs and I had work so we stayed home. Not nearly as fun I know. Thanks Mike your the best.
So I am home alone most the time because Win had school and of course lives in her own world, I thought I would take advantage of my time and do some cleaning and much needed organizing. Amazingly What I cleaned stayed that way, there was none of the below:
1. No little people following you as you clean messing everything up.
2. No little fingerprints to wipe off the walls appliances windows etc...
3 NO huge size 12 shoes to trip over when you walk in the door because that's where they were kicked off.
4. NO dirty clothes sitting on the bathroom floor.
5. No clean clothes on the bedroom floor because that's where clean clothes go right. Dirty clothes go either on the bathroom floor or if I'm lucky they go into the laundry basket.
6. No pile of Mikes pocket remnants on the kitchen counter, where he empties them.
7. Worst of all when I came home from work the kitchen sink was not full of dirty dishes, the counter wasn't covered in what was left from breakfast and lunch.
8. MY bed wasnt a jumbled mess when I went to get in it, it stayed mostly made.
The truth is I actually was quite bored when I was home. I missed Mike and the kids more than I thought I would. I thought I would enjoy it more instead I kind of missed all the things that drive me so crazy on a regular basis. Thanks for the time alone. I love you.

My Zarley the kindergartner

So Zarley started kindergarten this week, at 8:30am none the less still not sure what I was thinking with the am schedule. Oh well right no more 10 am rising for us any more.



Ready to walk to school for the first time

me carrying her after she tripped on the way

Standing in front of school. She is so cute!

Waiting in line to go in. No I didn't cry !

One of my all time favorite Lake Powell trips

So we did our Lake Powell trip this year it kind of ended up being a sisters trip plus the tweens, seeing that only my parents, Josh and his fam and Troy, Blanca and Auggie were the only ones unable to make it this time. We missed having everyone but we all had a great time.

Mike and I left thurs am (3 am, not to difficult for us seeing Mike has a crazy schedule). When we got there we had breakfast and Mike slept in the car for awhile, then we headed out for the dreaded spot finding job. Most of the day was spent doing this, such pressure trying to find a spot for everyone, that will be good enough. Mike was loosing patience probably due to the lack of sleep. Poor guy! So we finally got everything set up and we were getting ready to go out and finally enjoy the wonders of Lake Powell when the wind kicked up and our tent blew over and the EZ up started to blow away ahh! While trying to get the tent back up we realized the poles had snapped and there was no way it was going to stay up, the sky was turning black and we werent sure what we were going to do for shelter. The water was rough the sky black and we were sure we were doomed for the night. Not to mention Winters crazy fear of storms. We didnt think it would be a good idea to make the 30 min trip back to the marina, then I got the fantastic idea of putting the ez up into our tent to at least hold the tent up for the night. We had made plans to meet everyone else at the Marina early in the morning and show them the way to our spot. We figured if we could make it through the night we could go to walmart in Page in the am for a new tent. Luckily it workd not the most comfortable but it was shelter. At this point mike was completely frusterated, yelling about the @$%##@ day and what a waste. Poor Owen got yelled at for being a whiney @$$%#$@. He then realized that things could only get better from here and his mood started to improve (for the record I thought he was doing fine considering the amount of sleep he had gotten maybe 2 hrs he is the one that said he was bad.) Anyway the sky cleared a little and the night actually ended up being pretty nice and we even went out for an evening swim.

Mike was right things only got better from there we got a new tent in the am everyone else came and we all had a really great time. We went to Rainbow Bridge which was really fun. We all tried surfing which most of us loved I believe. Even Winter tried it usually she has to be forced to try things she has a lot of fear, that I dont understand. Anyway we did a lot of tubing wake boarding etc... There was the ever famous "king of the Molecule " as it was this year . So much fun ( previous yrs it has been king of the water tramp etc..) It was so much fun I can't wait for next yr..

To all my campsite buddies, Hey whats your moodring?

the car ride down

Really Winter ? who wears those things?

Owen and xav wrestling inside the tent inside the tent

doesnt it look cozy inside?

some king of the molecule going on
Shawna, Mike, and Zar on the tube
Some more king of the molecule, Mitch losing
Xav cheesing it up
The walk to Rainbow Bridge, This is actually Mike
trying to teach Hayden how to put the moves on a girl
What a great uncle right?!

Fam picture at Rainbow Bridge
Shawna and Madz, the boys making Zar into a mermaid


isnt she a cute mermaid

Surfing adventures, Zar and mike doing it. She was brave