The Adventures of Carson & Ash–Part 2

"As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen!"-Winnie the Pooh

I came across that quote the other day, and it reminded me of my two funny boys who find adventure together wherever they go. I just love their ages... their imagination... their friendship... this summer.  I wish I could freeze these two boys right where they are and keep them from growing up. They delight me to no end.

Whatever pose Carson does, Ashton copies–every time!

 Finger Painting in the Bath

 Shooting the passing cars behind our house.

 Shooting me!

 Perfecting their glare.

 Making a fort under the stairs.

They even watch TV with weapons.

 They occasionally put down their weapons for something a little less manly... like ballroom dancing. It's getting popular in this house.

 Loving Cake-in-a-Mug... 

a fun pinterest recipe that the boys thought was the coolest thing ever.

 The boys surprised me the other day my planning matching out-fits.

 Their poses kill me... so funny.

More football poses. 

 Playing Red Rover through the sprinklers with friends.

The beloved car carts at Albertsons.... Whoever came up with these was the smartest person ever. Sometimes I go there JUST for these carts.

Why I Hate Mother's Day

It's coming. In just two days.

 MOTHER'S DAY... the day that I'm supposed to enjoy over all others.

But I don't.  And let me tell you why...

First of all, don't get me wrong.  I love celebrating my own kick-in-the-pants mother and totally angelic mother-in-law.  I don't, however, love celebrating me (as a mother).  First of all, you have to go to church and listen to the youth speakers sniff and sob about their own perfect mothers. They drown you with quotes and stories about sweet, lovely, self-sacrificing mothers which, instead of inspiring me, gives me a total guilt complex. Then, you're given store-bought gifts when in reality, the best gift in the world would be just to go 24 hours without touching someone else's pee or poo, or to have 8 hours of continuos sleep, or even just to discover what's causing that smell in the van!  Next, you're given these gooey cards written by some unknown person from Hallmark who sings your praises.  You're told, "You're the best Mother ever!"... when the truth is... I know I'm not.

Let the evidence speak for itself:

 Bad Mom Example #1: I know I don't feed my children healthy enough.  I buy pesticide-sprayed, processed food and feed my children chocolate everyday.  Because of course, if they stopped eating it, I'd have to too... That's not happening!

 Bad Mom Example #2:  My sons are completely obsessed with weapons.  'Nuff said.

 Bad Mom Example #3:  My kids are completely on their own for at least two hours everyday while I give my full attention to the neighbor kids for piano lessons.  The picture above shows what I was shocked to find after two hours of teaching... In a rush, I dragged sleepy Ashton in from the car and disappeared to teach.  He slept this way, face-down on hard wood for two hours. Good news–He did manage to breath somehow.

 Bad Mom Example #4:  I only volunteered in my kids' class ONCE this year.  Worst. Mom. Ever.

Bad Mom Example #5:  This picture speaks for itself.

 Bad Mom Example #6:   My husband tells me that photos like this should really disturb me in this day in age... but I find it absolutely hilarious.

Bad Mom Example #7:  This is a staged photo. No one decorates the tree but MEEEEEEE!

 Bad Mom Example #8:  My three year old still drinks from a bottle for comfort because I seem to be suffering from "Four Children Syndrome." In other words, I just don't care anymore.

Bad Mom Example #9: As much as I try to teach them otherwise, my kids are slobs and ill-mannered!

Bad Mom Example #10:  I am not an animal lover.  (My moms swears that this means I have a black soul and will surely not attain the highest degree of the Celestial Kindom.) Thus, I refuse to buy my children a dog. That's why we get pictures like the one above. My kids are probably all going to grow up to be cat/dog rescuers with reeking houses filled with at least 30 furry friends.

See?  Definitely not a perfect mother.... But that's only half of it! I also hate Mother's Day because one day a year, I am treated like a queen:

"Oh no, Dear! I'll change that diaper! You just sit and relax."  

Or... "Sit down, Mom. We'll clear the table!" 

 And how about... "We made our beds without being asked, Mom!"

See, that's all great.  Fantastic, really.  But what makes me mad is that it allows me to see what they're all actually capable of, but only willing to do ONE DAY A YEAR!!!  The next morning... 

Finished.  

Back to normal.

 Mom does the work of twenty.

Oh well, I guess getting pampered one day a year is better than none...

'Good thing that motherhood is worth enduring Mother's Day!

Easter 2012

A birthday the week we moved in, Easter the next... life goes on whether you're ready or not.  We somehow pulled it together and had a nice Easter Sunday--even dyed Easter eggs after church since our normal routine had been bulldozed by the move.  We attended our new ward for the first time.  It felt strange, but we found comfort in celebrating the one thing we all share in common... the love and hope that our Savior gives us.   It was a wonderful day.

Look Who's 6!

That would be....

CARSON LUKE STEVENS!!!

In honor of the cutest six year old ever, let's take a walk down memory lane and bask in his cuteness.

5.1 pounds of cute.

Easiest (and cutest) baby during a family photo session--hands down.

One year old birthday party... so cute you could die!

Halloween at two years old.  I want to eat him up-he's so cute.

Age three--demonstrating his undying love and spot on sense for costumes/characters.

So tough... and cute.

Four.   Seriously?  Gap model-worthy cute.

Age 5.  "Do I dazzle you with my excessive cuteness?"

And do you know what makes Carson so cute?  Not his bright blues eyes, but the sparkle in them.  Not his dimples, but the reasons he makes you laugh.  Not his face, but his inquisitive, creative personality. It's hard to describe Carson if you don't know him... but he's one of a kind.  That's for sure! He is a joy and a wonder.

I have never looked forward to a child's birthday like I did Carson's 6th.  His birthday fell on the closing date of selling our home.  It was a week of upheaval, hard work, mess, change, tears... but I knew that by Carson's birthday, the bulk of the work would be completed--so I lived for that day--telling myself and my  family that we would celebrate like crazy on Carson's birthday.  And we did.  We left the piles of boxes where they stood and enjoyed a day of play after a very, very long and hard week.

We began the morning with gifts... adding more weapons and costumes to our already mass supply of them. (I know this because I had just MOVED them.  It killed me to buy MORE STUFF!)

Carson's going through the Power Ranger phase... a phase each boy must pass through.

The kids had a blast at IF's new trampoline park. Wore them out good!

We ate at Red Robin, watched the Muppet Movie (greatest movie ever), and shared cake and ice cream with cousins.  And please forgive the lame cake candles.  I couldn't find the regular candles, so we compromised with these.  (You know... 5 + 1=6?) Hey, it was a sheer miracle that I was able to bake this cake from scratch given the mess I was in. 

It truly was a day of celebration... and rightly so.  We love our CUTE Carson so much!

Plenty of Piano

March 2012 is going down as the craziest month ever.  Of course our buyers would select the one month I loath to close... the Piano Marathon Month!  The first weekend of the month is piano festival.  I was actually too overwhelmed with relocating our family to get too stressed about festival.  For the first time ever, I gave my all to each student during their lesson time--but then allowed myself to let them be accountable for their preparation.  I just didn't have the time and energy to fret like I normally do.  I had 16 of my 20 student participate.  Here are my favorites.  Glad they're taking this so seriously.

A picture of how all students and teachers are actually feeling on festival day!

The second weekend in March was my Spring Recital.  Carson has been begging to participate for a few years now--so this year he got to play "Dinosaur Music Night" even though he hasn't officially started lessons.  (Thank you Grandma Stevens for teaching this to him while babysitting.)  He was so confident and cute up there.  

The King

Okay... I'm going to brag now.  (Isn't that what blogs are for?) Kyler is proving to be quite the Brainiac.  (It may seem weird to take a picture of a report card, but I had messaged this to Justin who now receives snap-shot updates of our lives since he travels so much.  It just happened to go great with this story.)Yea... 99% averages.  Not too shabby.

Do you remember doing multiplication wrap-ups as a kid?  You know--those plastic multiplication cards where you have to string the problem to the answer?  Rimrock's entire 3rd grade participated in a "Wrap-Up Competition."  For weeks, the kids practiced at home and at school--timing themselves to see how quickly they could complete all 12 wrap-up cards.  Every day, Ky's class would dub a King, Prince, Queen, and Princess of the wrap-ups.  Kyler was consistently King of the class... but how would he stack up against the other classes?  That question spurred Kyler to practice HARD every night.  After school, he and his buddies traded in their basketball for wrap-up cards--racing against each other--trying their best to beat Kyler!  Man, Kyler was so fast...  He averaged 10 seconds per card.  (Each card took me at least 20!)

The night before the competition, Kyler was already nervous, and when he's anxious, his Tourettes increase.  I was nervous that his blinking would affect his speed and focus.  I talked to Dr. (Aunt) Brooke about our dilemma and she prescribed a dot or two of natural 'calming' DoTerra oils.  When I told Kyler about how the oils would help him, he got a huge smile on his face, but then his face suddenly fell.  He said that he wouldn't use them because "it would be cheating."  (How did I get such a purely good boy?)  I assured him that it would be like eating a healthy breakfast or stretching out before exercises.  After much discussion, he agreed to consider it and take them in his back pack.

The day of the competition was the day before we were moving.  I was stressed, overwhelmed, and emotional as I was frantically packing--but even with such a high pressure day, my thoughts and prayers were with Kyler.  This little competition meant so much to him, and he had worked so hard to prepare for it.   

At 3:00, he entered the house with a sad expession... and then slowly revealed something from behind his back... The King of the Wrap-ups Prize bag.  (The trickster!)  He won by about a millisecond.  (Hallelujah!)

The King's Winnings

And yes, he did apply just a dot of oil at recess...

 A dot containing gallons of mental confidence!