May pictures

Sometimes we take random pictures, just because. So when Kendall asked to try my wedding dress on, I said, "Sure," and put it on Alexis as well. She wasn't a big fan, like her big sister.

It's always fun when Grandpa and Grandma come to visit. It took Alexis some time to warm up, but give the girl some food and snuggles, and you'll have her heart.

Our pool is still under construction, which is super annoying. But in the meantime we've been spending time at our cousins' pool. The kids love it.

Kendall went to her friend Stella's birthday party and had a blast playing in the pool and baking sand bottles (or whatever they're called).

Alexis has been trying more table foods, but this is what happens when she gets her hands on some avocado. She loves it, but it's a messy business. Avocado => Bath time

When we aren't at our cousins' pool, we're at the public pool. It's nice to mix it up every once in a while.

Basketball championship

I don't know how I feel about this season. I keep going back to last season and comparing the two. I loved the coaches last season. It was this Mormon guy and his teenager son, and they were super friendly. And I could tell that they really cared about the team, and about each and every player on the team. Plus, it was a really cool bonding experience for this father and his son. Unfortunately, for most kids, this was their first season, and many games were lost before they finally won the last 2 games of the season. This season was the complete opposite. I didn't feel like the team meshed well together. No friendships were created, not for Logan, at least, and the coaches were okay, I guess, as far as friendliness was concerned. But the team won every single game! And the championship game was not an easy one. The other team was tough, sometimes dirty, even. And I guess that's where I was kind of bugged... some kids on Logan's team would play dirty, too. They didn't usually start it. But if a kid on the other team started pushing, instead of letting it go, they'd push right back. The other thing that bugged me was that there were 2-3 kids on the team who were really good, like super good. Well, those kids somehow always managed to keep the ball among themselves. You could almost say that they won these games with a 3 person-team. It's great, I guess, that Logan was a part of this winning team and got a trophy. But not really. I don't like the way it was earned. I hope we'll have a mixture of these two seasons in this upcoming season. I want great coaches, a great team, and a winning streak!

Award Ceremony/Graduation/Last day

It's bitter-sweet, really. Summer is coming to an end (in 2 weeks), and I'm finally writing about the last day of school, 2 months ago. I remember feeling excited that we would create some fun memories together; excited for pool days, science center days, movie theater days, cousins days, bounce house days, trampoline days, and then of course, our much-anticipated trip to Utah for our Family Reunion. I just hoped the kids wouldn't get bored, and they haven't. We've stayed busy this whole time- throwing Alexis' nap schedule completely off in the process. AND, might I add, we've managed to keep our brains sharp, doing 8 pages of homework a day, as well as 30 minutes of chapter book reading. 

Anyway... The first graders had prepared a fun little program for their award ceremony, which actually was almost a whole week before the last day of school. Interesting, I know. The whole first grade class sang a few songs, then they passed some awards for music, PE, and perfect attendance. Then they all split into their individual classes, which meant that I went from one room, to the next, and back to the first, and so on and so forth. I think most parents knew I had a twin in a different class, but for those that didn't, I wonder what went through their minds seeing me walk in and out 10 times within an hour. Haha.

So, Taylor got the award for "Never a Dull Moment," and it is so fitting! He literally jumped up in the air when he received it. After all the awards were passed around, Ms. Grieb put up a slideshow with pictures taken throughout the year. It was super cute. And then all the kids got together to dance to a One Direction song. I love that they did that all throughout the year to get the wiggles out.

Logan got an award for being a friend who always lends a listening ear. Before revealing who the award was going to, Ms. Bornhoft said that this child was new to Haley, and yet he made friends with everyone in the class. She went on for a while, and while she did, she actually got emotional. Meanwhile, I had no idea she was talking about Logan, because the "new kid" thing threw me off, and I thought a kid had moved into the classroom in the middle of the school year. Anyway, I couldn't be more proud of Logan for all his efforts. He ranked #2 in his class, and he worked hard to get there.

Kendall's celebration was on the last day of school. No awards, except again for music, PE, and perfect attendance. Lots of hugs with all the girls, though. 

And then, Michelle threw THE best end-of-the-school-year party, ever! There was a slip 'n slide, water guns, ice cream, and 40 kids, all super psyched that school was over. They all had a blast! We seriously have the coolest kids and the coolest parents in our ward. 

1st grade Field Trip

I got to tag along on this field trip because it was literally down the street, at the community splash pads. It was fun to see the kids interacting with their classmates. Taylor's best friend is actually a girl, Mira. It makes my heart happy to see someone seeing past his quirkiness. Taylor is not the most well-behaved child at school. His attention span is short. He gets distracted easily. And he makes noises and moves around too much. His brain just keeps going and going, all the time. His imagination is never-ending. He has created a world in his mind, and it's his safe place. He goes there every chance he gets, even at school, when it's not exactly appropriate. 

It's interesting to me how the world views talents. Most people would categorize talents into three categories; art, sports, and music. And if someone doesn't belong in any of these, then they must not be talented. But I looooove Taylor's creativity. It's hard to see it now, when the grades don't line up with his intellect. But Taylor is soooo intelligent. But it's not the intelligence most people think of when they think of intelligence, although he does have that kind of intelligence, too, when he puts the effort into it. Taylor will accomplish some great things, things that no one can even dream of. His creative intelligence and his imagination will bring some cool things to life. I'm so glad that Taylor has a friend to share that with. Thank you, Mira, for being Taylor's friend. It brings so much joy to my heart.

Mother's Day

I love having this blog, these posts, and these pictures to look back to. As the years go by, I forget little things, things that may seem unimportant at the time. Details. This blog is intended to remind me of these things, 10, 20, 50 years from now. 

Mother's Day was 2 months ago, and I'm only writing about it now, because... well, life gets busy. It's hard feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things I want to and need to. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love being a mom. And I love each and every one of my children. I remember, when I was a kid, wondering if my parents loved me more than my brother, or my brother more than me. Now that I'm a mom, I've realized that you can love multiple people equally. I love all my children the same. Some days, a certain child may behave better than the others, and that child may be favored more. But that doesn't mean that I love him or her more. And it changes, depending on the day. Just like a certain child may drive me insane one day, then it's a different child that tests my patience the next day.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my children, because I suppose I don't do it nearly enough. I want to thank them for forgiving my shortcomings. I yell. I complain. I nag. I'm not perfect. I know it, and they know it, not only because they see it, but because I admit it. I try my best to be a good mom, but I make mistakes. And I want them to see and to know that it's okay to make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Life is about fixing them, learning from them, and moving on. Of course there are mistakes I make over and over again, but I can't beat myself up about them. 

For some reason, this makes me think about failure and how my children deal with it. Logan gets angry and pouts. He usually blames it on his circumstances. But he'll usually keep trying. Taylor doesn't care so much. He's like, "Whatever, I don't care." And if we push him to keep trying, he'll do it, but he won't give it his best. It's almost like he expects failure to come. And Kendall, she gives up. I can see that she is embarrassed by her failure, and she doesn't want to try again because she's afraid to fail. 3 children, all raised the same way, and they all view failure in different ways and react to it in different ways. As a child, I was probably most like Kendall, except that she tries new things, and I didn't, because I was afraid to fail or not be good at it.

Anyway,... I'm kind of rambling on... The kids all drove me crazy, at some point, on Mother's Day. But that's probably my fault for having high expectations of my children all of a sudden behaving like little angels because it's Mother's Day. Haha. Who was I fooling? Myself, that's who. 

I do love reading their little school questionnaires about me. Like, they all love me because I cook for them and buy them things. Good to know.