Burn Camp 5K

A last minute addition to our weekend ended up being a high-point for April! Bj loves spending a week each summer with children who survive the physical and emotional effects of burns. This fundraiser has been on his radar and a last minute change in our scheduling allowed our entire family to participate! (Even though Ash and Cars were confused and only ran half of the race) It was fun to participate in this event and rub shoulders with everyday heros who change lives. They also included a raffle and silent auction where we were able to get Aj and Carson a "Flash" and Iron-Man" cape/mask motif, and a water bottle for Ash. 

 

 

Hide and Seek

2-20-17

 

Musicial Bones

He manages his ukulele quite well, and has been loving his electric Uke since Christmas, but has recently decided he wants to learn how to play the guitar and piano as well. He does not want a teacher, quite, but has consulted the educational stylings of professor YouTube and has found his own version of success. I hope the determination this young man has stays with him throughout his life. 

He never ceases to amaze. 

 

Cousins

It seems like only yesterday that Kellie and I were waiting for these month-apart cousins to be born. Even though they have only lived in the same state for three-ish years of their lives, they remain close and thoroughly enjoy each other's company any chance they are given. Now that the Pitts family is stationed in Guam we are soaking up as much time together as possible. A great thing about this duo, is sometimes it is actually a trio and Ashlyn is on Kyra's other arm. I love watching them interact and enjoy life together. 

Aquarium

December 10, 2016

The most common word spoken when a camera is pointed is, "smile!"  Well today,  I didn't have to say it. They were actually enjoying each other's company. I even snuck away to the gift shop for a little bit to do some Christmas shopping and came back to these three aliens that inhabited my children's bodies. 

An older gentleman even stopped me to comment how wonderful it was that my children were getting along so well. (I thanked him then politely explained my need to capture the rare moments)

Maybe one day I won't feel the need to post every time my kids have a harmonious afternoon. 

Parenting Fail

As we were waiting for AJ's final ortho consultation-

Too funny not to save for the future:

Aj: (ecstatic) "mom, I am worth 2 million dollars in this game!"

Mom: (genuine and lovingly) "Aj, you are worthless". 

Pause...

Mom: (shocked) "I MEAN PRICELESS!"

Aj: (containing laughter)"wow mom". 

weird

Sometimes it's just fun to be weird. 

Crazy face

This is part one of "operation fill cavities".   AJ's last dentist visit revealed 5 cavities. FIVE! Today was 1 of 2 appointments to fill them. His next visit is next Monday.  We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get the kids out of school and to the dentist, but luckily Amie came to our 4 wheeled rescue (Thanks Amie!!) while Bj and his Dad were able to fix the Volvo (in time to pick us up after the appointment!).
It was funny watching AJ with a numb right side of his face. He was also pretty loopy from gas and was continually shocked that his visit was a whole hour. "I think it was only really 10 minutes!".  It was also fun to watch him lift up his arms like he was floating... then soaring through the sky...?? Although he is not allowed sugar for the rest of his life, we enjoyed the comic relief he offered us. 

Halloween!

My kids did not even bat an eye when I told them I would only put up Halloween decorations if they helped me.  Since no one offered, we had no festive decor.  It may become a tradition since no one really cared.  We still had plenty of candy... as a matter of fact, we had an abundance.  Since I bought candy about two weeks early, and BJ decided to buy two boxes of snack-sided Doritos to pass out to trick-or-treaters.  The original plan was for AJ to stay home and pass out the booty and I would go with Ash and Cars, but Aj decided, last minute, to go as a "parkourist" and collect candy with friends.  So he left, then Ash (Queen of Hearts) went with Macey Francis (White Rabbit) and Tesla Schaffer (Black Cat) and Carson ("Conner" from assassins creed) went with Joseph.  I stayed home.  It was quite lovely.  I was tempted to blow out my jack-o-lanterns and binge on almond joys and doritos, but I did not want to be left picking up half eaten bags of extremely cheesy chips for the next year.  So I put in MockingJay (part 2), and kept the remote handy so I could pause it every minute, open the door, and throw treats at kids so they could get on their way.  All in all it was a delightful night.

My favorite part of the evening was when Ash and Cars came home and sorted their candy.  I got a kick out of how carson organized his candy:
Sweet: Candy bars, soda pop, etc
Suckers: things on sticks
Sour: sweet tarts, war heads, fun dip, etc
Chewy: Starbursts, air heads, gummy bears
Spicy: Hot Tamales, Doritos
Non-Candy: toothbrush, toys, etc.
The other thing that made me laugh was after Ash organized hers (more agreeable with my logic... and probably the rest of the planet) she counted the items in each category and logged them in her notebook creating a graph of treats.  A girl after my own heart.

Happy Halloween!!!

oh. wow.

AJ ordered these "shorts" for his birthday.
Zelda themed.
There are no words.
none.

This Dude Is 15!

This dude is 15

I can remember so many details of the day this budding man made me a mom. After 14 hours of heart wrenching, worrysome, labor, Dr. Stuart decided C-section would be necessary to get him here. It turns out AJ was starting his Parkour training in utero and flipped around and through our umbilical cord creating a knot. Every contraction would tighten the bond and lower his heart rate. Every year I have vivid flashbacks of these, and many other emotions from his first few days in my arms. 

Now as we celebrate his 15th birthday, we are so proud of who he is and the direction his life is taking. He is definitely a free spirit and constantly has us on our toes (every phone call from the school raises my heart rate just a little bit), but he has an incredible mind and empathetic soul. He has a special way of making our hearts swell at the same time as we roll our eyes. A classic example is last night when he brought his scriptures to me and said, "you gotta read this!".  I was so excited that he was reading his scriptures, and wanted to share, then when I started handing them back he was watching my expression expectedly and before I could offer my thoughts he exclaimed, "Jesus totally roasted those dudes!"... Like I said, swelling-heart, rolling-eyes.  We absolutely adore this odd mix of the gene pool. 

In keeping with my loose tradition, here are some interview responses as Aj begins his pre-driving year of life:

Favorite teacher: Mrs. Schiffman

During down time he: plays xBox and parkour

Future career: Navy seal or sniper

Favorite food: pizza or shepherds pie

After school snack of choice: cereal

Pet Peeve: stupid people

(Eggs: scrambled AND fried, eggs AND bacon (as per request) Gift from Carson (he even gave him some of his rare Pokémon cards😍) And dinner before the BYU game with Dad, Grandpa Joe and Uncle Steve. His day: breakfast as mentioned, check out of school for lunch, go to Culver's before two hour surf session at Provo beach, go home to get ready for 8:00 BYU football game. "Best day EVER!" )

 

Airborne

August 27, 2014

I had a TON of homework. Ashlyn was at her friend, Jordyn's for the day (celebrating her birthday), we had already tackled a tough loss with Carsons soccer team and helped Brooke and Paul move, and I knew if I went home and turned the boys loose, they would spend the day on the tv or other electronic devices. So instead, I toted my laptop into airborne and set the boys loose for two hours while I plowed into my "Christian Worldview" class. 

9th Grade

August 23, 2016

Here he goes.  I think I am more nervous than he is.

Back to school

Routine.
In our little neck of Utah, ninth grade is still considered junior high. That doesn't make it any less terrifying for mother to send her child off to it. Especially AJ. This kid has a knack for getting into trouble. He seems to be missing some part of the brain that encourages you to think before you act. I'm told it is a "teenage trait", but somehow that doesn't quite pacify my trepidation. Nor does the fact that AJ was begging me yesterday… Quite literally begging, to postpone the ninth grade until he could go through with his sister… In two years.  This kid needs school more than anyone. Not necessarily for the education, he comes to that quite naturally, but for the structure and discipline.  Needless to say, I did not give into his incessant begging, as he started his ninth grade year today. The difference between AJ and Ashlyn is actually quite comical. When just comparing their educational pursuits, we have an extreme variation.

Weeks before school, Ash makes a spread sheet outlining outfits with coordinating shoes, accessories and a plan for how to do her hair. (That really happened) She makes sure we do our back to school shopping, early enough for her to take care of all of her school supplies she anticipates needing. The week before school starts, she gets her schedule and a map of the school and highlights each classroom she needs to find and decides the best route to take to maximize her time between classes. This is also the time she designates to organizing her backpack. She make sure she has enough pencils, glue, scissors, colored pencils, markers and any other school supplies she thinks she may need in the right place in her backpack and in her binder... That has been aptly tabbed, filled and organized according to her schedule. Within the week before starts we take a trip to the school and she verifies her mapping skills as she walks out her plan. The night before school starts she lays out everything she will need in the morning, showers, blow-dry's and straightens her hair, and gets to bed early. 

And then we have AJ.

The month before school starts when I ask him to go back to school shopping with me, he says "just grab me a shirt and some shorts and I'll be good", to which he quickly adds, "never mind, I can just find some stuff on Amazon and send you the link".  The week before school starts he thinks he has a month left of summer. The night before school starts he finds a pencil tucked in the side of the couch next to some popcorn crumbs and says, "hey, doesn't school start tomorrow? I think I will take this with me".  He goes to bed after 10:30 and when I wake him up in the morning he finds some clothes from the laundry couch, tucks his pencil behind ear, and climbs in the car.

Carson's back-to-school system is a good mix between his two siblings. 

What's a mother to do?

My insistence on a nutritious breakfast is the bane of my children's existence. Since Friday is the only school day that they are allowed cereal for breakfast, I am up extra early making sure I can get ready for work in time to make something suitable. I help Ashlyn with any necessary last minute organizing or getting – ready needs while AJ sluggishly goes through the morning motions, all the while Carson is sleeping soundly tucked away waiting for his wake up time.  He started school a week before they did and is already proficient at making the most of his morning.  So I have A plate of warm eggs on toast for AJ, A glass of carnation instant breakfast for Ashlyn, who can't ever eat before 9am, and some eggs staying warm for Carson who will wake up in thirty minutes.  They eat their respective meals and jump in the car after I wake Carson up and tell him I will be right back to fix his hair.  Carson eats then goes back to sleep on the couch until I get back 10 minutes later.  I fix his hair (heaven forbid if I don't) and head to work.  Thank Heavens for Heidi who gets Carson to school each morning so I can get to work on time.

And then we do it all over tomorrow.

and the next day...

and the next.

St. George Temple

August 11, 2016

When AJ turned 12 he was given a "Baptism's for the Dead trip" To any temple in Utah.  Of course he chooses the St. George temple.  So because Grandpa has Thursday's off, they Left Wednesday evening, got there in time for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, spent the morning at the temple, then went swimming and to the lava caves in snow canyon (stopping for a good parkour pic along the way).  Then they were on their way back home.  AJ loved every second of the one-on-one attention he was getting.  He also loved the names during the baptism.  They were mostly native american indian names that were very literal, like "Chief. Moose Big Foot" and such.  I was a little bummed he chose to miss the waterskiing trip, but proud that he chose baptisms over it.  He never ceases to amaze me.

Cousins

August 1, 2016

These two have always loved each other.  Even though AJ has a "Look" in the top pic, it is playful and Kyra is returning it.  I wish I had a forward facing picture from this trip! I came across this other one of them from the last time they were at a lake together and looked through every picture I took while they were here hoping to find another side-by-side.  This was all I had.  Oh well.  They are adorable, always have been, always will be.

Genetics

July 30, 2016

I am sometimes surprised how gigantic my son's mouth is.  It reminds me of the movie, "Coneheads"... in a way.  Until AJ, I thought Jamie had the biggest mouth I had ever seen.  But apparently my son is part snake and can detach his jaw to allow for a wider opening.

Herriman vs. Copper Hills

July 27, 2016

After Carson's soccer game today, AJ asked if we could stop at Copper Hills and get a few videos for his "Parkour Portfolio".  We didn't realize that he was wearing a contraband shirt until Copper Hill's Principal came out with an armful of shirts saying, "You can't do that here! At least not in that shirt!"  To which he tossed AJ a shirt, and Carson, and me.  The boys were over the moon! Then, of course, AJ had to express his gratitude by getting a few shots at Herriman High wearing a Copper Hills contraband shirt.  

Sunsets

July 17, 2016

I love sunsets.  I get it from my parents, my mom in particular.  I know everyone appreciates a beautiful sunset, but my mom has always pointed them out with such awe and reverence that I have often found myself doing the same.  I was pleasantly surprised when AJ asked to borrow my phone so he could take a picture of the sunset tonight.  He has such a good eye for photography that I immediately agreed and was not disappointed when he brought back this shot.  Sunsets have a way of putting things into perspective for me unlike anything else.  I have seen them in many different parts of the country and maintain the best sunsets are seen from atop the Wasatch mountain range overlooking the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island.

Aj Ukulele Concert

June 30, 2016

Aj has been loving his ukulele lessons with Megan Thomson.  He has picked it up very quickly since he started at the beginning of the year.  Megan is such a great teacher, and AJ has not even put up a fight when it is time to go to class each week! Now that Megan is heading off to school, AJ is in search of a new teacher.  Whoever it is will have some fun shoes to fill! Good luck at college Megs!