The joys of Scouts...

I'm falling behind in the blog world, both reading and writing.  I need to catch up, but who knows if that'll happen.  I guess having five children really does keep you a little more busy.  Who would've thunk it?

Anyway, when Corbin turned 8 in November, not only did he get baptized, but he also got the "privilege" to join scouts.  I put privilege in quotations because....well....I'm not so sure if its more of a privilege than its just a lot of work.  Its still new to us, so I'm trying to give it a chance, but I'm kinda grumpy about it. I suppose it gives him something to do besides video games, which is great, but a lot of aspects of it annoy me.  Mostly, I'm annoyed at the amount of work I have to do, and I really just want to be lazy and not do it.  Plus, I don't sew, and it seems like there is a lot of sewing involved.  It all just seems like something Dad's should be in charge of if you ask me.  Anyway, enough complaining.  Here is my little Wolf Scout (I still get confused by the order of animals, but whatever, that's what he said he is) in his uniform-a hand-me-down from cousin Bradley (thanks Earls!)

 A week or two ago the scouts were working on bird achievements (if that's what they are called) so Scott took Corbin and Dex to Birds of Prey here in Boise to pass his off.  Here are some pictures of all the cool stuff they did.

The boys had a lot of fun at birds of prey, so I guess I can't complain too much, but I probably still will.

Can I Just Take A Moment...

To complain?

Winter makes my house messy.  I HATE January, February, and Winter in general.  I don't like the snow, I don't like the cold.  It's 100% miserable walking kids to school when its 4 degrees outside.  There are not many good things that come from Winter (in my own opinion of course), but the worst part is basically being trapped indoors.....with 5 kids.....that miss Summer just as much as me....and make messes wherever they go.

The kids' coats, hats, and gloves end up EVERYWHERE.  Not one of the kids can reach the hangers in the coat closet, so unless I am right there to hang them up, they end up on the floor.  They don't want to play out in the cold, so they play inside.  It doesn't matter what they play, but it inevitably involves taking cushions and pillows off the couches, or ripping sheets off the beds, or putting cups full of water in the middle of the carpet.  I can't keep up.  I will clean the downstairs, and move on to the upstairs...by the time the upstairs is done the downstairs is messy again.  I kind of want to give up.

And that's just the beginning.  My precious 18 month old baby girl is a NIGHTMARE sometimes.  She climbs on everything, rips up any book or paper she can get her hands on, takes silverware out of drawers, spills any liquid she can find (and attempts to slurp it off the floor, or table or whatever she spilled it on), throws everything in the garbage can (such as silverware, toys, books etc), and if the mood hits her right, she will clear a countertop by sweeping her arms across it until it all the stuff that was there hits the floor.  If she could go outside, we would both be a lot happier.

I vote we move to Hawaii.  Who's with me? Stupid winter.

Six Months Post-Fontan

Yesterday it was 6 months since Ivy had her Fontan operation.  These six months have been great!  She is doing so well.  She has more energy (she can walk all the way to school and back without getting too tired), her color is pink (as opposed to blueish-purple), her oxygen sats are at an incredible 92-96% on average (they were about 84% before surgery), her scar looks fantastic, and seriously, you would never know that there was ever a problem.  She is a superstar.  She had her six month follow-up with her cardiologist, Dr Womack this week and he is very impressed with her progress.  He gave the green light to wean her off of her Lasix medication (as long as she is doing well), and said we don't have to go back until summer, and then we will probably switch to annual visits!  Whoo hoo!

We love Dr. Womack! Ivy used to scream whenever he walked in the room, but she has since learned that he is a super nice guy.  When he asks her to lift her shirt to listen to her heart, she does it right away.  She holds still and stays quiet when he does an echo, and she is very friendly with him now.  She loves his red shoes and the fact that there is always a nice piece of candy at the end of each visit.  If we ever do manage to move back to SLC we will be sad to leave him!

Ivy with Dr. Womack back in 2009

13 Things For 13 Years

Today is the 13th anniversary of my first date with Scott.  Just 5 more years and we will have been together for half our lives!  Crazy!  Anyway, in honor of our anniversary here are 13 things you may not know about us.

1.  Scott and I had lockers right next to each other junior year of high school.  I shared mine with my friend Selena, and Scott shared his with his friend, Danny.  Danny and Selena briefly dated junior year, but somehow Scott and I never met or noticed each other the whole year.  We didn't actually meet until senior year, and he asked me if I had just moved there because he had never seen me before.....so weird.

2.  It took Scott just over two months of flirting with me before he asked me out.  He was technically dating someone else at the time.  When I say technically I mean, they had been going out for a few weeks or so, but he didn't like her anymore. He had never broken up with anyone and didn't know what to do and therefore had been avoiding her for a while.  Anyway, he finally broke up with her and asked me out soon after.  She thought I "stole" Scott from her and didn't like me because of it. (For the record, I didn't.  Scott pursued me.)

3.  I got a belly ring (without my parents permission, I was 18) on the same day as our first date, just earlier in the day. The two were not related, just happened to fall on the same day.  When my mom found out about it, she was really mad, but didn't make me take it out.  I managed to keep it for a couple more years until I accidentally ripped it out when it got stuck on part of a door when I squeezed by.  I still have a small scar where it ripped and the ring hole is still there, even though its been well over ten years since I wore a belly ring.

4.  We were hoping to be each others new years kisses for the year 2000.  Unfortunately I had to work (Hollywood Video!  Woot woot!), so Scott went to First Night in SLC with some friends.  No new years kiss for either of us....until 8 days later.

5.  Speaking of kisses...Scott kissed 4 girls before me, I kissed no boys before Scott.  He was my first kiss (insert awww's here).

6.  We broke up twice.  The first time for like 2 weeks, the second time for like 2 days.  Both times were because I wanted to get married, but Scott didn't.  It all worked out eventually.

7.  I ruined Scott's proposal.  I expected it on Christmas 2002 and when it didn't happen I cried and got mad at him.  He then told me that he had planned to do it on our 3 year anniversary which was about 2 weeks later. I ruined the surprise.

8.  We got married on my sister, Britteny's 23rd birthday.

9.  We were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on October 15th 2005, which was 2 years and 2 1/2 months after our wedding and 11 months after Corbin was born.

10.  We have lived in 6 places together.  Our Ogden, Utah 4 plex for 9 months, the garage of Scott's Dad's office in Murray, Utah for 3 months, The 4-plex in South Salt Lake, Utah for 22 months, Our first home in Kearns, Utah for 19 months, The tiny 2 bedroom apartment in Boise, Idaho for 6 months and our home in Boise, Idaho for the last 4 1/2 years.

11.  Out of our 5 children only the 3 middle ones were planned.  The first and last were both big surprises.

12.  In the 9 1/2 years we have been married we've never had a real fight.

13.  We could pretty much spend every waking second together and not be annoyed with each other.  And we kinda do...Scott has been working from home for like 3 months now and we spend a lot of time together, and we both LOVE it.

So there you have it. 13 things that you might not have known before, and could probably have lived without knowing, but I told you anyway.  I am just so grateful for these last 13 years with Scott.  He's such a great guy and our family is truly blessed to have him.

I'm Freezing!!

2013 has begun.  (Who else out there is a little disappointed that the Mayan's were wrong?)  It started snowing the day after Christmas in Boise and has continued off and on since.  Its cold outside.  Unbelievably cold.  I'm not a fan!  Winter is my least favorite season, and by least favorite I mean I loathe it.  However, it is the perfect excuse for me to make some fun new hats! I have tried to make each of the kids a gift for Christmas the last few years.  This year  I succeeded.  Instead of toys I went with hats, because their old ones were getting pretty ugly and worn.  I had a lot of fun coming up with hats they'd enjoy.  

The first (and best).  Sonic the Hedgehog for Dexy.  I love, love LOVE the way it turned out.  You can't really tell from these pics, but he is complete with 8 spikes on the back.  Dexy was SUPER excited about it, and has been wearing it almost non stop.

 Second, Perry the Platypus for Corbin (the just "Perry" version, not "Agent P").  Corbin was not quite as excited as Dex, and the hat is probably not as cute, but I still really like how it turned out.

 Echo refused to be still long enough for a picture, but hers is a silly, striped, long hat with a pom pom.  

 Malcolm's hat is the same as Echo's, just smaller and in blue and orange instead of pink and green.  He actually leaves his on!

Ivy didn't get a hat.  She wears her hair in a ponytail (almost) everyday, so when we go pick up the boys we have to take the ponytail out to put on a hat.  She hates that.  So I decided to make her a couple of big, thick headbands that cover her ears, but allow her to keep her beloved ponytail.  She has a pink one and a white one.

Would it be weird for an adult woman to wear a character hat?  They are so cute I almost want to make one for myself, but I think people would think I'm a weirdo.  Oh well.  I'll just have to make them for other people's kids.

Can Mom's go on strike?

I don't think Mom's who feel under-appreciated can go on strike completely.  They do too much and the family would probably really suffer, however, I think mom's can go on strike from certain things they do.

For example, I am on strike as our family chef.  Yep.  I hate cooking, and the family hates eating what I cook, so I'm just not going to do it for them anymore.  All they ever do is complain about how much they don't like dinner, and refuse to eat it.  Or they force enormous bites into their mouths, start to gag on it, and spit it into the garbage.  No matter how hard I try to make something they'll enjoy, it's always the same.  Honestly, I don't know how most of them are alive with hardly any nutrition.  I'm pretty sick of dealing with the same fight every single night.  They will just have to start scavenging for food.

I'm going to think about myself for once and just make food that I enjoy and not worry about them.  I hope they can survive on cereal, pop tarts and toast.

I feel better already.

Christmas Letter 2012

So I would assume most of you that read my blog have already received my Christmas letter in the mail, but for those that didn't and for my own record, here is 2012's poem.  Merry Christmas!

Sometimes I regret writing a poem,

Way back in 2003,

Back then it was easy.  How would I have known?

How epic 2012 would be.

This year started out with quite a big shock,

Pregnant again without trying,

That’d be number five, if you’re taking stock,

If I said I wasn’t stressed, I’d be lying!

Corbin is eight now and just got baptized,

He’s growing up far too fast,

He’ll be a teenager before we realize,

I hope his awesomeness lasts!

Dexter is five and surprising us all,

He really grew up this year,

The number of tantrums has hit a freefall,

And he’s turned into such a sweet dear!

Ivy is four now and she’s an amazing girl,

Her heart surgery went great,

She loves to dance, sing and twirl,

And she’s the funniest girl in the state!

Echo is a rowdy eighteen month old,

Always keeping us on our toes,

Continually being crazy and bold,

And making messes wherever she goes!

In September our sweet little Malcolm was born,

And promptly gave us a scare,

After a hospital stay, he emerged from the storm,

Healthy and no worse for wear.

In January Scott decided to go back to school,

He started at WGU in the spring,

He takes online classes and feels really cool,

Taking pride in the challenges it brings.

My life’s been a blur these last several years,

There’s more chaos with each passing day,

But my two surgeries are done and my baby is here,

So the chaos is now welcome to stay!

In 2012 we’ve had no regrets,

But we’re happy to show it the door,

So Merry Christmas to you and please don’t forget,

Just what this holiday is for!

Merry Christmas!

Scott, Rochelle, Corbin, Dexter, Ivy, Echo, and Malcolm Brunson