A Break from Life...

I love weekend get-aways. We were able to go with Jason's family to St. George this past weekend. My sister-in-law Katy's family has a house down there and she invited us all to go. The kids were super excited. We left Thursday night and came home Sunday. Friday was spent hiking around the Dixie Rock and the narrows. While eating dinner that night at Cafe Rio we heard about a 10k that was happening in the morning. So Katy, Kate & I ended up running it. I've ran that far before but that was my first official 10k. Later that day we took the kids to the fountains and although it was a bit chilly, they loved it. Saturday ended with girls night out - shopping the outlets, dinner & ice cream. We found matching shirts for all of the Carter boys, which is a funny story all in itself. We had a great weekend and are grateful to Katy & Dan for inviting us.
Our little family.
Jason & Nati.
Nati, Brax & I.
Jason, Nati & Dylan.
Me, Nati & Katy.
Nati & Maddi - this was as far as swimming went because of the cold water.
Brax having a blast at the fountains.
My 3 cuties.
Look how cute - all in matching shirts.
The kids all slept together in one room.
The 3 runners chilling out after the race - and being a little proud of ourselves for doing it.

Seeing Clearly

It was a big week for Braxton. Much to his dismay/really not wanting to, he got glasses last week. We took him in the week before to get checked and his sight is not so good but we weren't aware of it until now. But..... he got to pick out the frames he wanted and the case. He had to have ones with red and black on them. We made it about an hour before they dropped and were kind of stepped on. So they are already broken in by him. He is now doing so great with them and realizing that he can see. His teacher told us that the first day with them he said "Oh, I can see the question of the day on the board." That kind of broke my heart - the poor kid hasn't been able to see. We are super proud of him for being so brave and wearing them all day. And we think he looks so cute with them.

What a week.

The death bike.
Digging the hole for the hoop.Good-bye to Kaye & Richelle.
Shooting some hoops.
The five Carter boys/men.

Have you ever had one of those weeks? You know the ones I'm talking about - where it's craziness from sun up to sundown. I think I'm at the stage in life where most weeks are like that, but last week was a little more crazy than normal. I'm training for the Wasatch Back Relay in June, therefore getting up at 5:30 every morning to run - so my day starts then and doesn't stop until midnight. You could say that I'm burning the candle at both ends, but that's life right now. Anyway, it was Jason's moms birthday on Thursday and my dads birthday on Saturday. We went out to dinner with Jason's family (adults only which was such a great idea) on Tuesday, I had YW Wednesday, Bunco Thursday, my family on Friday. In between all of that Jason, his dad, his brother Jesse, and the boys put a basketball hoop in the front yard. And on Wednesday I found out that Natalie's bus drivers were leaving us for a better job offer. Normally this wouldn't bother me but these ladies are fabulous. If they can get 9 three & four year olds on a big bus and make it so that they cry when it's time to get off, they have my vote. They love the kids and are so patient. It broke my heart. So Thursday was a bit emotional ( I know - crying over bus drivers... not normal). And Thursday we took Braxton in to the eye doctor only to find out that his vision is horrible and he is getting glasses. Yup, I'm a good mom and didn't know until now. He is nervous about it and doesn't want to be made fun of. So I told him that when he gets them this week we will have a "Glasses Party". He has 2 good friends that have glasses also, so that helps a bit. Also, in between all of this Jason was "encouraged" (boys and their toys) to get a dirt bike. YEAH for me!! He was limited on dollar amount & found a guy in Cedar City that was willing to trade part cash & one of Jasons handguns for the bike. So Jason, Jesse and my two boys headed to Cedar City at about noon on Saturday. They got there alright, but the ride home was horrific. There was a huge storm which caused major accidents to almost everyone but them. They, during one of the several scares, slid sideways off the highway into a mountain. Meanwhile I'm back home almost a basket case. I was texting my good friend Kelly to keep me sane. Jason & I checked in with eachother every 15 minutes or so. At about 9:45, good friend that she is, Kelly comes over to sit with me and brings a valium for me. I didn't take it, but it was a sweet thought. Within 10 minutes of that I heard the best noise ever - the garage door open. Kelly made a quick exit. I think more so that she didn't hear me yell than anything. I cried and hugged them all. Jason says that cars in front of them were hit and cars behind them were hit. We are so blessed that they weren't hurt and made it home. The truck can be fixed, so no worries there. We made it through a crazy week and all in all, we're alive and well. And Jason is taking his new bike out today for a test run..... and so it begins!!

Happy Thoughts

I got an e-mail from my mom the other day. It started out as one of those "pass it on to 10 people within the next 10 minutes and all your dreams will come true" e-mails, which I sometimes don't even look at. But, this time I actually started reading and loved what I read. So, here are some good thoughts for all of my friends and family out there. Hope it brightens your day without you thinking I'm cheesy. They are just some good reminders.


It is easier to preach 10 sermons than to live 1.

When you get to your wits end, you'll find God lives there.

Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on the front door forever.

God doesn't propose to judge a man until he is dead - so why should you?

Peace starts with a smile.

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

He promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

The will of God never takes you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

If God is your co-pilot, swap seats.

Prayer: Don't give Him instructions, just report for duty.

The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about dancing in the rain.

You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.

One tooth, Two Teeth, Three Teeth, Four...

We made a visit to the dentist this last week and it was Natalie's first time going. We talked about it briefly before. Basically told her that the doctor was going to look in her mouth and count her teeth. She was ok with the idea. So, I pick all of the kids up from school that day - which happened to be the Read-A-Thon day so they all had their pj's on - and we went to the dentist. She was fine when the boys were called back and then got nervous when it was her turn. I had to hold her while they cleaned her teeth but she decided to be a big girl and sit alone to have her teeth counted. We love Dr. Hamilton. He was super sweet to her and she is excited to go back to get another toy and princess toothbrush. And we are super excited that we walked away with no cavities!!!

Dirty Little Girl

With the weather starting to get better (aside from the recent snowstorm) the kids have been itching to get outside. So the other afternoon Natalie, Riley, & I went out front to play around for a bit. Playing around turned into rolling on the grass and getting dirt into every facial crevice possible. She had dirt up her nose, in her hair, everywhere. By the time Angie came to get Riley we weren't sure who this lost little girl was. Needless to say, we had bathtime way early that day.

Would You Rather??

Not a great picture of it, but a great question.
The kids with Uncle Chris and Myah.
Brax & Grandma playing the DS.
Dylan and Jaxon cracking eachother up.
Someday the new room will be done so we don't have to sit on the floor.
Fun times.
Poor Myah couldn't get a minute without Nati following her.
Pizza Pie Cafe.

If you read my earlier post about my new best friend this one will make more sense. Last week was total and complete chaos. My only good nights were Friday and Saturday. My brother was in town with his baby so I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. We all went to the fabulous Pizza Pie Cafe on Friday. Dylan and Jaxon were in heaven with all of that food. Then we all went back to mom and dads to play "Would You Rather". It's one of Dylan's favorite games. We laughed until we cried and then laughed some more. My favorite question of the night was "Would you rather always lose or never play?" Good life lesson in a board game. Then on Saturday, after the week from *&^%$#@ was over, I needed a breather without kids. So, us adult kids hung out at moms house. We ate caramel popcorn and - yes more Robin Eggs and watched a movie. It was a great night that ended a hard week. We (mostly Nati) miss little Myah and Chris and can't wait until June to see them again.

Check out the next post on Braxton.

Traveling Teddy

Traveling Teddy and his hand made pants.
One proud boy.
They read stories together....
and ate lunch together.

I totally forgot to post this and it's so cute. For Braxton's kindergarten class they each get to take home Traveling Teddy when it's their turn for "Star of the Week". Braxton's actual birthday week was already taken by another student so we got a week in February. I went in on the Friday of that week and read his favorite story - "David goes to School", and the kids got to ask questions about him. I even took his favorite blanket from when he was a baby and he was super embarrassed. It was funny. Anyway, Traveling Teddy came home with us for that weekend and you are supposed to take him everywhere with you and take pictures to show the class the following week. Braxton's only concern with Teddy was making him some pants. He had a sweater on but no bottoms and this thoroughly bugged Braxton, so I made Teddy some pants to match his sweater. He was so happy to take him back to school with pants on.