Tuesday has been looming ahead for so long, but now it is come and gone, and the countdown can begin. Trav's first deployment from this base, and the longest we have ever done (which is really not that long compared to almost everyone we seem to ever come in contact with). I would say the last week he was here was a little more stressful than I expected. I was a little irrational and moody, and I am sorry for that (Trav, kids...). It's like you want to fit it every possible fun thing and not waste any moments, and yet I was the one destroying certain moments. Anyway, we dropped Travis off at the squadron in the morning, then went home for breakfast and came back a couple of hours later to watch the jets take off. We got there a little early and had to wait a little while, and the boys had a blast exploring the marshlands and collecting little detached crab pinchers. Noah was very excited and brought them to school to show his class, took them to show our friend Emily, and then to show Kaden's soccer team. But now they are all sitting on my kitchen counter, and I have to say they are a little gross. How do I tell him I don't really want him to keep them?....But that's really all beside the point. Here is everyone waiting to watch...

And here he goes....

and goes....

and goes....

Really, I had debated whether or not I wanted to actually watch him fly away. It seems much nicer to watch him fly back....but I was really glad we went. Much better than saying good-bye at the squadron door and wondering it they all took off okay and on time, etc. I have to admit I felt a little heavy in my chest as I watched him go, but I do feel almost relieved to just start counting down now. And I am soooo grateful to have these four little boys to drive me crazy and keep me company in the next few months. Our friend, Erin's husband flew out with Travis and they don't have any children yet. I don't think I could have handled it very well back in the kidless days. With kids, it's exhausting and a different kind of hard, but they definitely keep you busy and keep life interesting. And mine are now old enough to entertain me with intelligent conversation, and able to do lots of fun things, and they tell me they love me and that I make the best jam, and they play with my hair when I read books to them and give me hugs. So in my view this will me much easier for me than it would for someone newly married, or maybe even harder would be with just a baby, or a couple of them....

Here's to missing Daddy

Oh, and how awesome is technology. Trying to imagine the days where you only got to talk once a week or so on the phone, and those calls were time-limited and there was a big delay so you can't really talk anyway and just have to resort to letters. Now we have email, and webcams, and being able to see each other while you talk. What a huge difference, and how fun is that for the kids! I think I am going on and on too much just because there is a big pile of laundry for me to be folding.

Climbing Wall

It took us this many months after joining the YMCA to finally let the kids try the climbing wall. I wanted to just do it once and for all with Travis here to help with kids just so I could see if it was something I could do without him here, or if I should not bother. Noah did great. He had fun and got to thetop and rung the bell on his second turn. He wasn't so happy about not making it the first time, but he got over it.

Kaden did great, too--He didn't get nearly as far up, and was a little emotional that day for some reason. He was mad that he had to keep going back to the same wall and couldn't do the middle one, which is supposedly harder. But I think I'll give him another chance.

I didn't think Ammon would even attempt it. He always says he will do it when he is a grown up. But he gave it a go, and was so cute. I could tell he was really scared when he lost his grip and was a ways up, but he wanted to do it again later.

End of May Happenings...

Noah is so impressed with his Dad's carving skills, he thought I just had to take a picture of this. We finally go a firepit for our back yard and burned the huge pile of sticks that we've been needing to get rid of. It was great--Trav started the fire and Noah did the rest of the work running back and forth and getting all of the sticks to put in.

Testing out different setting on the camera--must have chosen the wrong one for this setting...Noah's poor flushed cheeks.

Micah having some last moments with his Dad before he deploys. You'd think he doesn't even know he won't see him for awhile. . .

Discipline

This is a picture of two boys who just got into a fight with each other. They are being forced to look each other in the eyes, and it is the hardest thing ever.

Next comes the hugs because they love each other so much and can't help but say they are sorry and feel only good feeling from this moment on...

I think it's important to catch all the moments in our lives, and not just the good ones. And I thought it looked quite humorous to have all 3 sitting in time out spaced out to not touch each other, while Trav patiently ate his cereal. I don't think he wanted me to take a picture of such moments....

Van gone haywire

So I went to the post office today to mail a couple of packages. Just a simple little trip. I couldn't find our normal key with the little remote thingy, so I had the spare which is just a key. I have used it plenty of time before, but today, my van decided to go crazy. We mailed our packages, got into the van, and put the key into the ignition, and suddenly our van started honking wildly at me, I'm sure reporting that I am a horrible stealing person to all around me. And it wouldn't stop! I turned the van on, and the honking raised a pitch. I turned it off, locked and unlocked the doors, turned it on again. Everyone walked past us and stared--I may have just abandoned it and pretended it wasn't ours, if that didn't mean getting 3 kids out and taking them...where? So it let me put it into gear and I slowly drove out of the parking lot and into a less public place, and tried to decided if I dare drive the half a mile home like that on a busy road. Then suddenly it stopped. But there was a blinking light and I had a suspicion that if I opened the door or tried to start it, it would start all over again. Then I decided to get out of the van, lock it, and unlock it with the key. As I opened the door, it started honking again, and I locked myself out, unlocked it with the key, and walla! Twenty plus minutes of humiliation, but at least I didn't get arrested...Usually my embarrassing moments these days always are due to certain children.

Rocket Scientist--NOAH

Man, I am so electronically challenged that I can't even scan a paper that Noah wrote. So I am just going to type it up here to show a little of this boys personality. He wrote it for his PEP class to go along with an illustration of the transportation that he made up. I am so spoiled with this kid. He has homework every day, but he does it on the bus on the way home from school. I don't usually even think to take a look at it and that's probably bad of me. So when he came home last week with this assignment from PEP, I thought "great I am going to have to work with him on this for forever". Then I went outside and watered some plants and came back inside and he had already drawn a detailed diaghragm and written his report. Here it is.....(oh, and by putting this picture on here, I am not bragging or saying he is smarter than average, he's just growing up and has such an analytical mind).

this is the speeder. it is 4,000,459 .m. long! And it go's 700 Bazillion mps!!!!!!!!!!!!! People have to live on it because if they traveled they would be at their destination in one microsecond! It is powered through space by dragons breathing fire into a hollow tube. It is 6,00000 Dollars to live on. For entertainment, there's a window house, zoo and aqarium. There's also a fixing house, passenger bed and feeding house, and hospital. You don't need any safely props except adamant ropes for coming astroids. (super strong and light metal). Ther is a envoirment place for all sorts of envoirments caves, forests, marshes, and jungles. Theres a missile part because it's at war with rockets. The rockets usually fire at the missile place.

Noah kept asking me if he could play the guitar tonight, and I kept putting him off. Finally he came down and put a note in my hands and ran upstairs.

(I wrote a note because I Don't think I can ask you in words)-- in how much time (in minutes) until I can play the G-i-u-t-a-r.

A. three .min.

B. five .min.

C. ten .min.

D. Neither

(write the number in the box)--

So I wrote in the box "googooplex"--and he came down and fell on the floor and laughed saying "NO, please! NO!"

Anything wrong with this picture?

Does this little boy look a little strange to anyone else?...

Here is what a normal Ammon ear looks like.

Saturday's Ammon ear-- The flash made this much lighter than the purple it was.

You can see he has a mosquito bite on his forehead--and I sprayed everyone right when we got there. He also had a couple inflamed ones on his leg, so I thought maybe the ear was also a mosquito--Trav thinks it must have been something else.

We went to a ward campout (in which not one family actually camped out) and made campfire dinners and played, and the next morning Ammon's ear was very red and swollen. Mosquito bite or some other culprit, who knows. But I have never seen anything like it and it had us a little worried. Benadryl didn't seem to do anything, but it wasn't getting worse throughout the day, and now it's gone.

And More Still...

More Video

No one really has to watch this, it's just more of the same with a better camera, that's all. I just posted it for grandparents, and other people who like to watch cute little boys.

Trying out the new Cam

I had such a fun Mothers' Day! I'm not even sure what made it so nice, except that it was a good family day for sure. Here are some highlights that probably put me in a great mood...
--Trav got up with the kids, made crepes for breakfast and set up a little computer/picture clue system to lead me all over the house and computer to find the camera he got for Mother's Day. We have been thinking we need a new one anyway, but with him leaving soon, we realized that it might be nice for him to have one as well as us. Our old one did 30 second videos with no sound. The new one cost half as much as the old one and it's at least twice as nice. Yet it's still nice and simple and small, which is what we need. So these pictures are just playing around with the new one. I keep wanting to take video. I am so excited to have the sound! And 35 minutes of video. Technology is crazy amazing!
--Trav took Micah to priesthood during church and our bishopric supposedly had some special thing for all of the women in the young women room for the 3rd hour. So I went there wondering what cool flower they might have for us, and there was a full up feast set up for all the moms and they served us and talked about how wonderful we were =). It actually felt a little strange to be eating a nice lunch and visiting while we expect a RS lesson, but it was very thoughtful and nice of them.
--During sacrament meeting the primary went up to sing a couple of songs to the mothers. All of my kids except for Micah are in Primary now! Aaaah. Kaden very sweetly took Ammon by the hand and led him up there, and then during the entire 2-3 songs he stretched his neck up and grinned with the best smile and deep dimples and sang right to me. He was so happy and proud. I love those moments.
--We had friends over for dinner, and we love spending time with friends.
--Our friends brought a big ice cream cake for dessert, and it is perhaps the yummiest thing I have ever tasted. Please tell me it's also healthy?
--Trav put the kids to bed. He does that most nights and it's wonderful. But I heard Kaden come out and ask if I could come and give them a hug, and as I went up there, I got the best hugs and kids telling me they loved me and saying "Happy Mother's Day, Mom". (Then Kaden looked up at the top bunk and lovingly said to Noah "and Happy School Day tomorrow, Noah!").


I probably have this kind of picture posted every other entry or so. I just love his smile so much. What a ham.

Another Ham.

So handsome.... We borrowed a DVD from a friend that is the conversion story of Glenn Beck. It was awesome. I love to here people's stories and how they are lead to the church, especially dramatic ones like his. The reason I mention this I guess is because we watched it yesterday and that's what Travis is doing here.

My boys minus Noah, after he was gone to school this morning.

Trav and I tried out the self portrait mode. I sure like this guy a lot. Heavenly Father really blessed me to lead us to find each other. He is so talented and so good to me, and such a good example.

walking progress

Micah is actually walking much better than this but this is the only one I have caught. The kids still exclaim every time they see him, though...."Look, Mom! Micah just walked across the room!!!"--Yes, he's been doing that for a couple of weeks now. This is the first child we have had that all the other kids get so excited at his accomplishments, and new stages. It's so fun.

Oatmeal

Micah LOVES to feed himself. So there have been a few morning when he is a bit crabby and I am trying to get Noah's lunch ready and get kids fed and do lots of tasks at once to get Noah off to school, and Micah thinks he is starving, so I give him a bowl of oatmeal and let him go at it. Noah's description..."He's tries with the spoon and it doesn't work, so he takes a bite with his left hand, then tries the spoon with his right hand and it doesn't work, so he grabs a handful with his left hand". Anyway, it's a lifesaver in the moment and keeps him happy and occupied. But afterwards I have to wonder if it saved me time or not when I have to bathe him in the sink (the other boys loved that!) and clean his chair and table. Hmmm, come to think of it, I still need to do that for this morning. I had planned to go right to the gym, and haven't done that either. I hope that doesn't mean I am not going to get anything done today...

New Project

Travis just had a week of leave all last week, and this is the first time he has ever taken leave and just stayed home. Any other time he takes leave, it's so that we can go somewhere. It was so nice and so fun (and sad to have him go out the door this morning, back to work). We got lots of yardwork and projects done, did some fun things, bought our piano, went on a lunchdate, went grocery shopping together (kind of). We should definitely do that more often. Anyway, here is the storage bench that Trav made with all this free time on his hands. It's fun to see his mind start to whirl as he just decides to make something and figures out how to do it and does it. I have such a talented husband. I like him kind of a lot =).