Summer is almost over....

I have been naughty, naughty, naughty!  I haven't kept up on the blog and I feel just horrible.  This blog is an opportunity for me to de-stress, brag, relax, keep record, compare and reminisce.
Since I don't have a lot of time to post, I will just put up pictures for the next few days and hope that will make up for me being neglectful.

Mary pushing baby David

Sarah and Mary playing in the best toy ever:  A BOX

More play in the box

Joe having his way with the box

Dad holding David.  Having a great time.

The kids enjoying a corn-on-the-cob breakfast.  Best breakfast EVER!

Summer is officially here!

Today is the start of summer break.  The kids had a wonderful school year and, I am happy to announce, that both Sam and Sarah will advance to the next grade.  Whew!

A Happy Mother's Day

Ahhhh! Another Mother's Day!  The day turned out to be a good one.  Mike made the family breakfast while I rested in bed.  The kids didn't help but they didn't hinder, either.  Some of the kids made cards or notes for me and presented them to me.  Sam made me some flowers out of tissue paper at school.  I decided to wear them on my wrist to church.  I got lots of compliments!  Mary made me a little purse out of paper with a note and a picture of her and Joe (Aunt Melinda helped her make it at preschool).  Sarah wrote me a note. It was a good day. 
After church we ate a yummy dinner at the Lee's.  It was a good ending to a great day.

A song for David

Here's a song for David that I wrote (not really wrote, just sang from my heart):

Dip in the tub, dip in the tub.  Today you're gonna get, get a dip in the tub.
You played in the dirt and you rolled in the mud, you're gonna gonna get, get a dip in the tub.

Well, he didn't scream (that much) while in the sink, a.k.a tub.

Here's the post-bath song:
Dip in the tub, dip in the tub.  You just got-a dip, dip, dip in the tub.
You played in the dirt and you rolled in the mud.
Mamma just dipped your butt in the tub!

Happy Easter

I am looking forward to a wonderful Easter Sabbath with my family! I hope you have one, too!

Easter Egg coloring

If you read the previous post, you'll see how busy I was yesterday with the kids.  In addition to taking them to Golf Land for goofy golfing, eating and minature golf, we spent a good part of the late afternoon coloring  eggs.
The kids had a blast dipping and turning and spilling (you know that something was gonna spill when lots of kids are involved). We colored egg shells - I plan on stuffing them with confetti.  Sam's friend, Annabelle, was over; she colored eggs with us.

Good Friday was good for the Lee Family

The kids don't have school today.  I am actually very happy about it: don't have to get up and go,  no homework to turn in, no lunches to pack and no kids to pick up. I got to sleep in a bit (notes of sarcasm) and I made breakfast after 8!  Talk about a slow morning (higher pitches of sarcasm).

With that said, I had plans to take the kids to a resort to hang out pool-side and chill for the day.  Instead, due to a massive middle-of-the-night stomach ache and *other stuff*, I changed plans and took them all to Golf Land/Sun Splash for a day full of fun. It's much closer to home, partly inside and,  I KNOW where the restrooms are! Anyways, the activities started off with the twins joining other 3-5 year-olds in an Easter egg hunt.  There were so many kids there I was worried about loosing one of mine, specifically Joe (come back next week to read about the kid's Spring Sing). I have to say that this place had the event well planned, well contained and well stocked (this is important for moms of little kids)!  Even with all the kids there,  they were allowed to collect 10 eggs each (not bad). 

  

 

 

We had some time in between the younger kids and older kid's hunt so we spent the next hour or so goofy golfing.  It was so fun to see the kids hit the golf ball a zillion times with the mini putters and claim it only took a few hits to get the ball in the hole. Ha!  I let Sarah, Joe and Mary skip around the course - it's so much easier that way.  Sam HAD to golf in order and putt at each hole.  It dragged on a bit and the younger kids were getting tired.  I took them inside to redeem my food coupons, a slice of pizza and a drink.  They ate and enjoyed every bite! When they were done, Sam came in looking for us and he was ready to eat.  He was hungry, too. He ate every bite.

Here, Mary is not happy that I am taking photos. 

The time finally came for Sam and Sarah to hunt for eggs.  They had a good time, as well.

Very tired and a bit sun burned, we came home.  But, we didn't stop there.  We colored 3 dozen eggs.  What a mess we made.  Pictures tomorrow.

Happy baby boy

This little boy is happy, most of the time.  He cries when he's hungry, tired, or wants his butt to be cleaned.  Other than that, he is the best Lee baby thus far.  We sure love him!  And, this is his equally happy dad. we sure love him, too!

Thank goodness for big brothers

I asked Sam to help me out with the baby while I finished up last minute morning to-dos.  He was able to quiet David down and keep him entertained for me.  Love it.

General Conference weekend

We had a wonderful weekend watching General Conference.  Well, it wasn't a calm and quiet as we thought it would be. I don't really remember it being as loud as it was this time around.  Oh well, I guess that is the life we have now, with 5 children ages 9 years and under.  Even though it was absolute chaos, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I enjoyed each talk, that I could hear, and learned a lot about being thankful, patient, forgiving, happy, mindful, etc.  I will have to take time to go back and read or watch, via the computer, each talk in order to really appreciate the words and counsel given.
On Saturday, the twins were invited to a birthday party in between sessions. The party was held at the neighborhood park for a little boy in Joe's primary class.  I was worried that they would run off or misbehave but I took that chance and dropped them off. When I came back, the were happy and told me that they a blast!
That evening, Mike headed of to Priesthood session and I took the boys to a baby shower (just where they wanted to go, I'm sure).  Even though I had to take kids with me, it was fun. Who doesn't like going to a baby shower?  Other than the great gifts and food, it was neat seeing family that I hadn't seen in some time!
We watched Sunday morning session at home.  During the break, we headed over to Mike's parent's house and ate fajitas and talked about this and that. The kids played and had fun with their cousins.  We attempted to watch the afternoon session with the in-laws but it didn't work out that way. We came home and finished out the afternoon session in the comfort of our own home.
The rest of the night was quiet and peaceful.

Oh, and it was really neat to hear one of the speakers, Elder Pratt, mention my great-grandparents, John and Ida Whetten! He talked about how they were faithful at paying their tithing.  That's where I get it from!

Enjoy your week!
Julia  

Park day and out to dinner on a Thursday night

We spent the good part of the middle of the day at the park.  I am sad to say that the weather is not as nice as it used to be.  Summer is forcing her way into my life and I am not happy about it.  The hot weather brings out my worst traits.  Why is this so?
A man who watched Mike's trial over the past two weeks wants to take us out to dinner.  It's a very nice gesture and we accepted.  This man spends his winters in AZ (a snowbird) and summers in Utah.  He is a retired defense attorney and enjoys watching criminal trial while here on vacation.  Go figure.  Anyway, he happened upon Mike's trial and became fascinated with it.  He thinks Mike did a bang-up job (of course he did).  Sadly, or maybe not sadly, the jury's verdict was:  Hung Jury. In a few months, Mike will have to retry the case.  I sure hope he is able to win the 2nd time around.  Second time is a charm, right?

EDIT:  So, I was totally wrong on who this guy was that sat in on Mike's trial that week.  He turned out to be a really awesome man.  He is an attorney but I am not sure what kind of law he practices or practiced.  We ate at Pinnacle Peak Patio with other members of his family. It was a great night of good food and good converstation.  The funnest part about dinner:  everyone we met that night knew a member of my family or a friend or a co-worker. It was fun making all the connections and associations to other great people.

Monday, Tuesday

What a weekend!
I spent Friday and Saturday morning with my sister-in-law selling our old/no longer needed goods at a garage sale. We were able to get rid of a good amount of stuff that just cluttered our homes. As far as making some money, we did alright.
Sarah and Mary were invited to separate parties and spent the afternoon having fun celebrating their friend's birthday. For the first time, Mary was invited to an all-girl party and went, sans Joe. I was worried she was going to miss him and act up and be naughty. When I picked her up she was happy to see me and show me her Build-a-Bear dog she made at the mall.
Later that afternoon (5:00pm - is that late afternoon or is it considered evening?). Anyways... Later that afternoon, the entire family went to Costco to eat pizza and do some last minute necessary shopping for Sunday dinner.
We had a quiet Sunday morning, followed by a typical Sunday meeting(meaning the kids were a bit roudy at church) and topped the day off with Sunday dinner with Mike's family. Yum!

Another week is over

Now that the school week is over, I can rest. Rest from getting up early, making lunches, bathing kids (yeah, I know), driving kids to school, picking them up and making sure homework gets done! I am so excited!
I decided to do a spontaineous (sp) BBQ. I ran to the store and purchased charcoal, hotdogs, buns, chips, and soda. I rushed back to the house and grabbed mustard, apples, catsup, plates, cups, ice, a lighter, napkins, two kites and tongs. Mike helped me pack the van and off we went to the park! It was a wonderful evening. The weather was sooooo nice. Of course I forgot lighter fluid so, while Mike ran to the store to pick that up, I flew a kite. Why is flying a kite so relaxing?
Mike got back quick and soon the dogs were ready to eat. Yum, yum.
I am sad that I didn't get my camera out. The kids played well with other kids at the park and Sam's friend, Annabelle, was with us.
Joe and Sam played with the fire, sort of. These kids have the pyro gene on both sides of their family.
Okay, it's late. I must rush off to bed.

Pinewood Derby...

Tuesday night was a blast! Why? Pinewood Derby!

This was Sam's second year participating in the derby and second car designed with his Uncle Jake in mind. This year's car theme was "Don't Tread On Me." Mike found a picture of the flag on the internet so, he printed it out in color and cut around the edges and inside the snake's coils. Then, after making the car by cuting off excess wood and sanding it down smooth, he painted it the flag's colors: black and yellow. Oh, Sam did help sand the car.
After the paint was dry, Mike installed the tires and it was ready for the detailing. I simply mod-podged the lettering and symbol on the car and let it dry. By 6:00pm on Tuesday, it was ready for weigh in. The car happen to be lighter than standard weight so a few weights were added to the bottom of the car. By 6:30pm the car was ready to race. Grandma Whetten was right there with us in the first row cheering Sam on. It was so cute to see his siblings cheer him on, especially Sarah! She is his biggest fan.

There were 13 cars racing in a total of 78 (?) heats. Sam was (almost) consistantly in 2nd place the entire night. He didn't win, place or show in the finale, but he didn't care. The night was AWESOME.

Oh - the little kids had a blast, too, because one smart mama (not me) brought a mini race track and cars - just perfect for Hot Wheels!