It's a Hard Life

One night the boys just had a hankerin to paint someone's fingernails... Isabella was more than willing to help them out. I thought it would be a sloppy mess, but it turns out these boys have an eye for detail.

It's tough being the baby sister.

Christmas Crunch

Isaac is the king of one-liners. I was scolding him one day about his inability to focus on a task or chore that I give him. Very simple things like, "put on your shoes", or "brush your teeth" seem to instantly escape his brain, once he sees something more interesting to do.

He looked at me with very sad eyes and said, "It's just hard! For some reason I always forget, before I remember."

My heart was instantly softened, "I know exactly how you feel, Isaac."

I'm afraid Isaac and I share an affinity for being easily, very easily distract ..... oh did I tell you the real reason the chicken crossed the road?

Oh wait, back to the story. Well my distracted nature has cost my parents a lot of headaches and a good deal of money over the years. There is a long list of infractions; locking my keys in my car more times than I can count, sometimes while running and once with a small child in it (I was just filling up my gas tank, relax people) losing my keys, dropping my cell phones into water and on pavement, leaving my blazing hot curling irons plugged in all day, forgetting to turn my oven and stove off, forgetting to look behind me when I pull out of the drive way and hitting a parked car on four different occasions ... you get the picture. I think that's why my dad was smiling the day he gave that responsibility over to another man.

So we were on our way home from the twins Christmas choir performance. Anyway, Shane came straight from work so we were driving home with the boys in our two separate cars. Shane and I are competitive with each other, always, so of course, we were racing.

Shane was right on my bumper trying to find a way around me ... I swear he would've crashed into me if it would have helped him win, as we pulled into the driveway. I didn't pull my car all the way into the garage because I was trying to let Mason out so he could run to the door and win, because winning is the most important thing. Well, in the end WE won, at least according to my version of the story.

I turned off the car and went into the house. A little while later I heard Shane saying my name in an aggravated tone. When I walked out to the garage I cringed... Christmas spirit instantly gone. It's hard to see from the picture, but my garage door resembled an accordion.

I felt horrible. Not a good time of year to be in need of a major home repair. After getting the kids into bed, I crawled into my own bed and cried. My boys took pity on me and came up with a plan...Even though it was supposed to be a secret Isaac came down the stairs and told me what the plan was. They were going to sell all of their toys including their DS's to help pay for a new garage door. What awesome, caring boys I have. I am so blessed.

Well, I'm happy to say the garage door has been replaced ... now the only ding is in my checking account. On the bright side I now have the distinction of being one of the only women who can say that her Christmas present was a garage door.

More Jingle in the Buns this year

I ran the Schlotzky's Jingle Bun Run again this year... only this time it was a half marathon. My hubby and kids were SUPER excited when I told them I signed them up for the 1K... haha :) It's a fun race for the kids because they race against the Big Man, Santa Clause.

I wasn't able to watch them do their race... and Shane didn't take any pictures :( but Isaac informed me that he kicked Santa's butt.

The holidays are a difficult time to run a half marathon and it was really hard to get the training runs in, so I felt very unsure about my chances of doing very well. The weather was great starting out and amazingly, after not enough preparation I felt pretty

good.

At mile 6 I was so excited when I saw these little cuties and it gave me a second wind.

Then came mile 10 ... it had been calm all morning until then, and we ran mile 10 and 11 into some serious headwinds... I just kept my head down and hoped I could put one foot in front of the other. At mile 12 I experienced shooting pain in both of my calves... I've never experienced muscle cramps like that, and it wasn't good... but ran through it. Jackson helped me through the last hundred meters. I was elated when I came in at 1:54... and took 3rd place in the old lady division ages 30-34.

Sadly my friend had a barf-a-thon around mile 7... I wasn't with her at that time but felt really bad for her!! So miserable to run when your stomach isn't happy with you. :( What a tough chick... despite it all she finished 2nd in her division 35-40 women! She is awesome.

This picture really isn't suitable for publication... but our medals are pretty cool so I put it in anyway.

All the Single Ladies

I am definitely meant to be a boy mom... but I love girls! They are so emotional, irrational, and most of all fun! Here is a little video I finally took the time to post. It's from our summer in Utah. This particular clip is from the family cabin in Wyoming, where we were having our family reunion.

These are my cute nieces and crazy daughter... lets just say, after this trip I hoped I never had to hear this song again!

The Backyard Gridiron

The Kick-off...

The Huddle...

The Snap...

The ultimate look of determination... that just makes me smile. :)

Isaac's unconventional blocking technique... I'm no football guru, but I'm pretty sure that's considered "holding".

Bella, going in for the TD...

Bella and Isaac... like fire and ice... but super cute playmates.

All in a days work...

The Halloween Post

I'm sorry, but Halloween is not a happening holiday at my house. To make it worse, it drug on for three days because it was on Sunday. Friday we went to the city carnival, Saturday, the church trunk or treat, and Sunday the neighborhood kids came around and we passed out candy while watching a spooky show called ... the World Series. It was the scariest thing I saw this Halloween... but that's another post.

I was informed 3 days before Halloween by Isaac-- who is always painfully honest, that I am boring because I don't have any Halloween decorations. As always, he was dead on. I felt bad enough to go scrounging around the attic and found some fake (and a few real) spider webs. Which I strung around the bushes in the front yard. Voila! --the lamest decorations in Bell County. I even tried to dress up for the trunk or treat, I put on some hideous looking overalls, wore some pig tails and made myself some freckles, in an attempt to be a fun mom.

Isaac said, "Well, I like it, but it's kind of embarrassing". No beating around the bush for this kid.

So I took out the pig tails, took off the overalls, washed the freckles off and went as my boring myself.

I also got an F in costume design this year... Mason and Jackson went as Texas Rangers baseball players... so pretty much what they wear on a daily basis.

In typical Isabella style she wanted to wear a pink princess dress. (Do you like the webs in the background? It's hard not to brag when you're just THAT good at Halloween decor)

What's the point of wearing a fluffy pink dress if you don't give it a little twirl...

Isaac came through for me this year, wanted to be a skeleton and looked cute doing it.

No BONES about it, this was a fun Halloween :)

Life as We Know It

This morning Shane stepped out of bed onto something soft and squishy... Isaac had somehow found his way to our floor in the night and slept on a bunch of pillows. He had a very rude awakening. He didn't even say ouch, just got up and went on his way. At breakfast I asked Isaac if he felt his dad step on him this morning. "No, I just heard my nuts pop." Milk nearly sprayed out of my nose.

Good grief, with three sons, it's always about the "nuts".

I've heard it said somewhere of parenting, that every day is different but painfully the same. We've had a busy fall, full of adventures, and monotony :) Starting with back to school.

I loved back to school when I was in Elementary... everything about it, the anticipation of seeing old friends and meeting my new teacher but especially the chance to wear new clothes. All the way down to the socks and crisp, fresh underwear. It doesn't get much better than that. I guess it's because we really never got new clothes except for at the beginning of the school year, I remember well the high-waters that I wore in the spring that were made into cut-offs for the summer.

My boys had zero enthusiasm for shopping for new school clothes, even though I bought a few new shirts and a new pair of pants for each of them, they went the first day in the same raggedy stuff they had been wearing all summer. I tried to get them to wear a polo shirt with a few buttons and a collar... they acted like I was like asking them to put on a three piece suit and bow tie. I took a picture anyway... Two fourth graders and one big, very big, first grader.

We scored free tickets to the final Round Rock Express baseball game of the season and it was deathly hot, but we had a good time. Since it was the last game of the season, the boys got to run the bases, which was a big highlight for them, and they got to bring their best buddy Jaden along for the fun.

Here are the boys sporting their rally caps which we have seen a lot of this season.

Don't even ask me how the little 6 year old gangster showed up in our picture.

For the first time in years, I took the boys to get their hair cut by a professional, you know, those people who actually know what they're doing. After giving Isaac a haircut that looked like a rainbow in front, I decided, it's time to make the change.

There's nothing fun about taking 4 kids to get their hair cut. First, the nice people gave them a sucker to keep them quiet. which inevitably becomes a hair magnet... gag... not to mention the blue lips and tongue that inevitably follow.

Bella was being a goofball and dancing around, so the boys were taking her picture. Here she is, playing it up for the camera and getting in touch with her inner diva.

Isaac, was being his usual self. When the nice hair cut lady asked him how old he was he just said, "I'm six, but I don't like to answer a lot of questions." After she forgot about his aversion to questions she asked, "So what school do you go to." Isaac said, "I really just don't feel like talking right now." Where did I get such a cynical 6 year old?

In other news .... I watched my friends little girl, and Bella's BFF, Madison for a few days while they were out of town. We had a lot of fun playing "dress ups" and tea party. Here are the girls all ready for church. Madison wasn't too thrilled about the dress but she was a good sport!

Of course, spending the weekend with the Lewis's means, spending all Saturday at the baseball field. Here is Madison ready for her turn at bat.

Finally, on Sunday after coming home from Church the boys instantly launched a full scale light-saber battle in the front yard. Those never end well. Isaac came in screaming and I confiscated once and for all, these miserable toys that have haunted me for a good 7 years. I made them gather up every last one of those scream inducing weapons. When I saw them all laid out, I just had to take a picture. To my utter dismay, I realized that Shane and I had bought every single one of those aggravating things. What were we thinking?

Finally, Isabella got busted on Sunday when she decided to have herself a little snack. I don't have a clue where she got this nutty idea ... I really don't. ;)

The top 10 of Summer

There are just too many pictures from the summer to post, and way to much typing involved. So I decided to do the top 10... They are in no particular order... I know it's almost October andI'm barely getting around posting summer pictures.

10. Shane had a few interviews while we were in Utah, and accepted a job at Alta View Hospital! I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all. After being in school for 14 years, it's hard to imagine how life will change for us. No more 120 hour work weeks, for one. That's a big one. I'm so excited, and thankful.

9. Shane had some much needed down time... This guy can sleep anytime, anywhere. I love and hate this special talent he has.

8. Lagoon!! What's a trip to Utah without Lagoon? My parents took us to Lagoon, a big highlight for the boys...

You know Bella wouldn't settle for anything less than the PINK boat.

7. Campfire chatter... loved sitting at the campfire and visiting with family. Here are my cute neices and sister in law.

6. Camping out. We went to my family's cabin in Wyoming and had our first family camp out. I know it's sad, my oldest boys are 9 and this is their first camp out with the family. The kids were really into setting up the camp, and very excited to get into their sleeping bags.

Jackson looks so grown up and capable in this picture.

5. Hiking. Oh how I miss the mountains, and a good hike!!! We had a great time hiking with my family in the mountains of Wyoming. I can't say enough how much I love being in the mountains with my family, and not being in a time crunch,

4. Spending time with our wonderful parents!

3. Boating at Lake Powell... according to Shane, it's heaven on earth.

Heaven is:

spending time in nature, with people you love...

two thumbs up...

having a friend who "gets" you...

running down a sand hill with your cousin...

smiles :)

Never being too old to build a sand castle ...

overcoming fears and accomplishing big milestones

2. Being together with my entire family for the first time in 6 years and being able to hold my baby nephews. Here we are showing our true colors.

1. Spending much needed time with the kids and Shane. Here in one picture, my top 5 favorite people.

Summer Recap part 1-- The Race

Our vacation to Utah this year was wonderful... no airline mishaps as in years previous. No suitcase/ child pileup on the escalator, no barfing kids sitting on my lap, no 4 hour wait on the tarmac, like last year. This year, we lucked out and sat in a row surrounded by rows and rows of deaf people. No I'm not kidding, they must have been coming back from a convention. I couldn't believe my luck... Bella could whine and fuss to her hearts content and I didn't have to worry about what anyone was thinking of my inept parenting ... perfect.

The next morning we woke up at 4:00 a.m. and went to run the Deseret News 10K with Shane's family. Mason and Jackson ran it with us... I use the word "ran" very loosely here... maybe "finished" would be a better word for it. Mason woke up bleary eyed and said, "I wish I never let you talk me into this... but I don't have 30 dollars to pay you back " I could tell we were going to have a great race.

Having "run" a 5K with the boys before I knew I didn't have the patience to drag them across the finish line. So I handed that job off to Shane who was happy to do it since he had only done one training run in the past 2 years. I knew Shane was in for a long race. Apparently, not even a mile into the race, he was dragging them both by the hands. Adding to his misery, Jackson had to take a "number 2" rest stop around mile 3... poor kid had been holding it since before the race.

Grandpa Lewis came in first place, as always. At 61 years old he has never been beaten by any of us young whipper snappers. Before you start judging all of us losers, you should know he finished in 42 minutes... that's a 7 minute mile. I came in next at 49 minutes... not even close this year. Then we waited, and waited... I was getting really nervous until I saw Mason running in at 1 hour and 15 minutes. He was by himself and looked exhausted and miserable and determined. It made me very proud to be his mom. I jumped in and finished the race with him, along with my little 3 year old nephew, Lewis.

Finally at 1 hour and 30 minutes I saw Shane and Jackson, poor kid was not a happy camper but he was determined to finish, and I was so proud of him for sticking it out and not giving up. I got choked up as he crossed the finish line. It was hard, and long, and hot... and he proved he could do it at 9 years old. Here he is finishing with his cousin, Eric.

More to come...

Captain Jim Bob

I have a lot of work to do. We just got back from the annual Utah vacation and had a blast but catching up is no fun. I've spent the last few days sorting out bills, shopping for school supplies and unraveling the mess that was caused when our bank mysteriously deducted $400 from our account... apparently there are two Shane Lewis' in this town. Long story...

We started the week off with a little Family Home Evening about family scripture study, since it's something that has been neglected over the summer. It was obvious last night when we were having a little scripture quiz and Shane asked the boys, "Who is the man who raised the Title of Liberty and led his army to battle?"

.... ummmm... Jackson --"Helium? I mean Helaman!"

BUZZ wrong answer. "I'll give you a clue, it starts with Captain"...

Mason answers--"Captain America?" Double BUZZ!!!

Isaac? "Captain Jim Bob!!!" And bursts out in hysterical laughter. Oh good grief.

It's good to be back. I'll get around to posting some of our Utah adventures when I get my feet back under me. Hope everyone had a wonderful summer.

May the "Fourth" be with you!

This picture wasn't from the 4th of July... A few months ago, Bella and I went out to cheer for the injured veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars who were cycling through town on bikes or modified wheelchairs (not sure what they are called). It was sobering to see them, the real people who have been making the sacrifices to enable us, and others around the world to live in and strive for peace.

Many of them were double or single amputees, many of them suffered wounds that could not be seen, but were buried below the surface. They were touched that we came out to cheer for them and say thank you ... even though "thank you" always seems painfully inadequate. They gave us high fives, and thumbs up, on their way. They said "Thank you" to us as they rode on by... it seemed really funny to me that THEY would be telling us Thank you. They had miles yet to ride, but we all knew their journeys were very far from over.

America, I love you! I feel so blessed to have called you My Country all my life. I am reminded again and again, that "Freedom is not Free." Thank you to all the people who are serving our country, and their families. Your sacrifices are unspeakable.

This is the only decent picture that came out of the 4th of July weekend... This little girl has Shane wrapped around her finger.

I hope your fourth was happy and safe.

Take Your Sons to Work Weekend

Shane took Jackson and Isaac to work with him a few weekends ago... It turned out to be a good bonding weekend for them.It was also nice to have two little spies there to tell me what really goes on while Shane is away working....

Isaac: "Mom I'm not supposed to tell you this but, Dad got pulled over on the way home."

Me: "Oh rEAlly. Well why didn't you tell him to slow down?"

Isaac:" Because I was in the back seat eating my hamburger. Anyway, he only got a warning."

Me: "So Jackson, what was the coolest thing you saw at the hospital?"

Jackson: "Well, one of the nurses could do the splits!!!"

Great, glad it was educational.

Here are some of the pictures:

Suited up for a little radiation...

With Sam the skeleton, lookin' stylish with his messenger bag and Rangers Cap

Getting an EKG in the ambulance...

Watching the helicopter lift off...

Isaac ready for takeoff!