Is there anything better than spaghetti? Indeed, not...

We knew spaghetti would be messy so we stripped Mark down to a diaper and let him go to town.  

It's wonderful that Mark can feed himself but he's still not the cleanest.  Yummy, spaghetti is the best!

Oh potty training Mikayla...again...

For 3 days in a row, Mikayla was having her morning tub and requested to get out so she could...um...go #2.  I pulled her out of the tub and sat her on the toilet and she went.  On the 3rd day, I asked if she'd like to wear panties instead of a diaper.  She said she did.  She had a lot of success that first day and a few accidents here and there.  On day #4, she didn't have a single accident all day long.  She's been staying dry during naps and at night time as well.  Wow!

Since the last time we tried to potty train her, I didn't talk to her at all about going to the bathroom, but any time anyone else in the family needed to go, we got really excited about going.  It seems silly, but the idea is to take the pressure off her and make potty training seem really exciting.  So this go round has been totally different.  She will go willingly any time we ask and doesn't fight back because this was her idea.  She wanted to do it.  So she could be cool, like the rest of us.  *wink*  It's been about a week and a half now.  She's doing well but if she has a lot to drink, she needs the potty every 20 minutes.  We're hitting about 75% success with accidents more frequent when she's playing.  I'm pretty scared for church.  Merril is out of town and the idea of being stuck on the stand leading music while Mikayla needs to go worries me.  We'll be taking plenty of back up outfits to church with us tomorrow.  

Even with the accidents, I feel like we're on the right track!  She's excited and that's a wonderful thing.

New family pic...

Once a year we have a family picture.  We didn't even have one last year because I was pregnant so my family picture on the wall is 2 years old.  I don't think it's too much to ask to have my family dress up a touch and smile.  They disagree.  Maybe I'm going about it the wrong way.  There are usually bribes involved.  *exasperated sigh*  

The first Saturday I tried to get them all together, such fits were thrown (by the older kids mind you) that I got so mad that I didn't even want to be in the same state with them.  I left in a huff and drove around mad.  

So we tried again a few weeks later.  Despite my camera being on the wrong setting and a small amount of fits followed by bribery in the form of cupcakes from 25 Main, we managed this picture.  There are a few things I don't love about it, too much sun on a few faces, but I believe it will do.

And now we have 364 days until I will threaten them to sit down and act like a happy family or else they are grounded for the rest of EVER!  And I mean it.  Don't make me come over there.

Merril's at the Autocross...

Merril bought this Audi TT to flip but before he sold it, he raced it in the Autocross up at the old airport.  Basically, you can bring your own car to race on the track and it's timed.  You get several heats to improve your time.  This is the second autocross he's been in.  His brothers, Jared and Justin, raced as well.

The kids and I took the RV, which was good because Mikayla still needs to be pretty close to a bathroom at all times.  

We raced the races from the sidelines with Aunt Rachel.

Cathedral Gorge and Lehman Caves...

Merril bought a new International Scout and the seller lived up by Ely, NV.  Merril suggested we all go, take the RV, camp at Cathedral Gorge and go to Lehman caves.  So we started on an adventure.  Those RV windows are scary big and the kids may not have been properly restrained the entire time.

We got out of town a little before dinner and made it up to Cathedral Gorge around dusk.  We ate dinner and made a fire for s'mores.  During s'mores, it started to rain a little.  We stayed out under some trees for a bit but then decided to go in the RV and go to bed.  It rained with lightening and thunder a lot that night.  The next morning was cloudy but not rainy.  We had breakfast and the kids played around the campsite.

Julie was ready for breakfast.  She's my up and at 'em girl.

Mark gets carted around by his siblings more often than not.

By Daddy too.  This is my favorite shot of the trip!

Cathedral Gorge reminds me of the formations at Bryce Canyon, except on a much smaller scale.

Lehman caves were a few hours away into Northern Nevada so we headed up.  At the caves, Mark got strapped in for an hour-long tour.

In the first "room" of the caves, the lights were turned off (for effect) and after that, Mark could not be quieted down.  He fussed and crawled to get out of the pack.  He didn't have an afternoon nap and wouldn't be consoled.  Then Mikayla started throwing a bit of a fit so we had the ranger radio out that we needed an escort back up top.  Me, Mikayla, and Mark came out of the caves and Merril and the 3 older kids continued on the tour.  The caves had cool calcite formations like this:

The caves were kind of tight and Merril didn't snap a picture of the kids at all and the only one I got before I left was way overexposed and didn't turn out.  The one room I saw was amazing and I would recommend that place to anyone with kids.

Tubing with the littles....

Merril and I have nicknamed our 2 youngest children "the littles."  Last time at the lake, we decided to put them in the tube and pull VERY SLOWLY.  They were tied off right behind the boat with a parent on the ready.  

I worried about them but they had a blast and no went overboard.

Daddy was gone for a week...

Merril went on a Japanese tour through Yosemite National Park and was gone for a week.  That's kind of a long time apart for me.  He hiked and camped with the tour, which is different than the usual hotel/road trip type he usually takes.  The kids missed him.  Mikayla parked next to him when he got home.

Speaking of Mikayla, that girl is a nut bag.  She is always pulling the funniest faces and saying the funniest stuff.  When I was doing her hair the other day, I said, "You look so pretty!" and she said, "Totes adorbs."  Nice one, girlie!

And while Merril was gone, I had some rocks delivered to fill in the sparse patch in our landscaping.  I ordered extra and had enough to finish rocking the terraces on the North side of the house.  It looks so clean!

It was exercise and I accomplished something.  Perfect.

Fall evenings...

Boy it's nice outside this time of year!  We spend a lot of evenings outside because Mark starts to get grumpy during that time of day.  If we're outside, he's better.  All my kids have loved being outside.  Merril and I love to be outside too.  Maybe because I feel closer to God.  A neighbor once said she's never seen anyone outside more.  While I was loving the evening air, I snapped some photos.

Mikayla and Luke love to drive the Jeep.  Luke is kind of crazy on that thing.  We make sure to watch out for toes.

I love what a good little thing Mark has turned out to be.  Not that he was ever a bad baby.  We're coming up on his 1st birthday and babies just get a lot easier after that for me.  He's finally crawling like a regular baby instead of army crawling.  I doubt he'll be walking earlier than the other kids but you never know.  Hopefully he'll let me keep squeezing him for a little while longer!

Secret to happiness...

Oh my children, do you know that I worry for you??  Do you know how much I want you to realize that good decisions lead to happiness??  I'm not saying the Lord protects us from trials if we follow Him.  I'm saying if we make good decisions, that support can carry us through our trials.  Maxine, I don't worry about you so much.  You're stubborn and follow the Lord because that's the road you've chosen and no one is going to tell you otherwise.  Jack, I'm a little afraid you could be swayed because you're easygoing and tend to follow what's going on because that's easy.  Juliet, you want so much to follow what's trendy that I worry you could go down a wrong path.  Please be an example my kids!  Make good friends so it's easy to make right choices. *sigh*  I've watched friends and family have to struggle and experience hardships mostly because of poor decisions.  The Lord sent us to Earth so we could have our agency.  It's such a beautiful gift.  He and I want so much for you to be happy.  So just remember, good decisions=happiness.

Labor Day at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes...

We, or I guess Merril, was invited to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes on Labor Day and we all tagged along.  We piled in the RV at 6 a.m. and headed out. We have a large RV from a trade deal, different from the one we took to Yosemite, and decided to try it out.   It was super nice to have a refrigerator and stove when it came time to cook breakfast.  And getting Mark to take a nap in the A/C back room was pretty awesome as well.  How do they sleep like that?

The kids are fascinated with motor homes.  Julie wanted to sleep in it but we didn't camp, we just drove out for the day.  We had chips and homemade salsa!

Mark was a happy kid after his nap.  He loved to peek out the window at whomever happened to be outside.

Merril was able to ride dirt bikes and came back for lunch and to hang out.

We took the old 3 wheeler and rode it for quite a while until it broke.  We think it's engine rebuild time.  :/  

It felt like camping, but without the sleeping bags.  We have to get rid of the RV though.  Merril and I don't fit on the beds.  It's a huge RV but I bet my feet hang off 6 inches on 2 of the 3 beds.  It was such a nice day out there.

Peach Days...

Yummy Peach Days!  I love our little town festivities!  This year at Peach Days, we played in these hamster balls on water.  HiLaRiOuS!  Best of all, it was really quiet to watch because all the noise is trapped inside.

Maxine was also in a play about our city's history called, "Come See Our Valley."  I learned quite a lot about Hurricane.  

She was a pioneer girl named Naomi.  We made the bonnet and apron and the dress was supplied.  It turned out really cute.  And then I looked at displays of quilting and they were amazing!!  I feel like quilting could be a passion when I'm older.

A 2nd chance at Mark's baby photos...

At the hospital, a photography company offered to take some pictures of Mark.  I agreed, thinking it was a great idea.  After getting home from the hospital and checking out their website, they wanted $150 for the digital copies of the jpgs.  Holy SMOKES!  Not happening.  I didn't end up ordering any but decided to shoot some myself.  I was satisfied, end of story.

Fast forward 11 months: I received an email from the company saying they were going to give me another chance at the digital jpgs for $50 before they deleted them forever.  I was excited and decided to do it!  After downloading them, I noticed the resolution on them was not great.  I could print 5x7s but anything bigger and I was going to start losing quality.  A little disappointed, I emailed the company regarding the resolution.  They responded and explained that for some reason, my gallery of images weren't high resolution and said unfortunately there was nothing they could do and they'd refund the $50 bucks.  So I was able to get all the photos for FREE.  And even though the resolution isn't as high as I'd like, I'm pleased that I was able to get them at all to remember his sweet little body just a few hours old.  Here's sweet baby Mark, 11 months late!

Splash pads are fun...

 Now that the kids are in school, my neighbor Dana and I decided to go to the splash pad with our 2 little kids.  Mark thought the splash pad was sooooo much fun!

He laughed and splashed and giggled.

Best place on Earth for him.

Mikayla had a good time too but I had a hard time chasing her and getting a picture.  

She sat down after a while to dry off and it was easier to catch a smile.

First Day of School 2014...Yay!

"So I love you all but get out of my house so I can get some stuff done."  That sums up my feelings on the first day of school.  I love summer, I really do, but by the last 2 weeks, I'm ready for my routine back.  Julie woke up at 5 a.m.  The rest of them were up pretty early as well.  Maxine is out of elementary school and over to the intermediate school for 6th and 7th grades.  It starts so early: 7:45 a.m!  She has to be down to the bus by 7:05 a.m.  That's going to be an adjustment, especially for her because she tends to sleep in.  But she made it the first day!

Juliet's hair looks messy because it was done so early, it already had time to mess up.  And she wasn't in the mood to pose.  She's in 2nd grade this year.

Jack was all smiles though.  He's in 3rd.

We put the elementary kids on the bus and drove to the school to make sure they got to class okay.  Mikayla was playing on a rock and declared she was "the queen."

The kids were honestly excited to go back to school.  

Julie gave me one smile before the bell.

Mikayla is still just little and won't even be in preschool for another year.  So I have my big kids in school and the little ones still at home for a few more years.

Zion Jeep Tour...

Merril entered a contest for a free jeep tour in Zion and won!  They let us take our whole family, which would've cost over $500.  We felt very lucky!  Our tour guide drove around on some back roads by Zion and we even stopped by the old ghost town of Grafton, UT.  I had no idea we lived so close to a ghost town.  The kids thought the open air Jeep was fun.

It was a fun little adventure to end our summer!  School starts in a week and a half!!