A butterfly, a bike, a bra and a legend.

This boy of mine... the one that has kept me hopping for almost 11 years now.  This boy that has so much energy, emotion and heart packed into his small body that I wonder sometimes how he keeps it together as well as he does. This boy that has been on my mind a lot lately. For this boy I pray and push myself to better understand what this mom should be.

Today I just don't know.

I found this blog post buried in with many other posts that haven't made it past draft status, and it feels like a good time to celebrate this boy of mine.

This summer in Juniper all the boys caught a butterfly they sat around and watched it amazed by it's movement and struggle. They were so gentle and soft, such a rarity I couldn't help watching, amazed at these creatures we call boys. 

They built a shelter, a shelter that looked suspiciously like a sacrificial alter...but they swore it was a shelter... I think I believe them.

Apparently there's not enough work to be done on the farm, so boys put this bike together from mixed parts.

Have I ever mentioned how easy it is to be amused on the farm? This was amusing....very amusing.

Again....amusing....

Inappropriate, yes. But amusing none the less. So amusing in fact, that it didn't stop here. Dylan looks pretty silly in a bra too, so does Max the dog, not to mention Grandma's beautiful little girl statue in her garden. I chuckle just a little....then a little more when I think of Mary getting in trouble for it.

And then there was Rocky.

Austin and Dylan discovered Grandma's collection of the first four Rocky movies and thought they were awesome. Who knew. The eye of the tiger came alive again and they couldn't get enough. They even talked like him...sort of...very amusing. Austin was so inspired by Rocky overcoming his trials again and again...the training sequences were by far his favorite. A few weeks after we got back while  Austin was watching youtube Rocky songs I mentioned something about the story behind making the movie. I can't remember what I said, but something clicked in Austin's head and he asked, "Rocky's not real?" It felt worse that when he found out about Santa Clause. He was crushed. I felt like there must be something I could do to keep the dream alive, but I didn't know what. 

Then it hit me.

"Your gonna eat lightning, and your gonna crap thunder!"

No, that's not it...

The eye of the tiger.

"Now when we fought, you had that eye of the tiger, man, the edge! And now you gotta get it back, and the way to get it back is to go back to the beginning. You know what I mean?" -Apollo Creed

I'm not sure what he meant, but "Eye of the Tiger" became our family theme song. So much that last week when Bingham had to run a quarter mile for his PE test he sang it to keep him running strong. "But Mom," he told me later, "I sang it quietly so the other kids wouldn't know my secret"

Bingham's Mom

Bingham is a big little man in kindergarten now and loving every minute, almost. I think if he could go to school in his pjs, all would be good. I love kindergarten. I love it when my kids come home using words like "illustrator" and singing cute songs about what will the weather be today or how to form numbers. He has a wonderful teacher who despite the pressure to get ready for spring testing (yes, even in kindergarten) she insists on having fun.

Friday was show and tell and they were supposed to bring something to school to share with the class that started with the letter M and had to do with their family. Bingham picked me....MOM! I tried to convince him that a picture would be just fine, but no, he wanted the real thing. I would be lying if I told you I wasn't a little excited to go. It gave me an excuse to cut out of work early and go hang with my son's new best friends. I love going to the school and hearing, "Hi Bingham's mom!" (or what ever kid they know me by). It is by far my favorite title ever.

So I get there and Bingham comes and takes me by the hand and leads me up to meet his class. When his teacher asks if he can share a little about me he just says, " I just love her so much!" Awe...so sweet. Then the teacher asks if I'm a good cook...."No, not really, but I still lover her so much!" Good thing he followed that one up with a big ole hug or it would have been spinach soufflé for dinner for sure.

Next Door

Going home is bigger than it used to be. Now it stretches next door to Melissa's house. Melissa is the awesome lady who married my brother. Then had four awesome kids and one day, bought a big piece of plastic so we can slip and slide down her back lawn.

Good times.

We don't have hills like this in Penrose. 

Eve likes hills.

 Dylan is such a kick...he has an expression for everything and boy can he work 'em when a creamy or in this case, a camera is involved.

Bingham didn't get up enough speed to make it to the bottom, but he had fun crawling through the puddles anyway. 

Austin just wishes for a little more bulk so he can keep up with Dylan.

Olivia has the most infectious laugh. I'm not kidding. It's epidemic.

Sydney is this quiet little fireball. Later she killed the push-up competition and didn't even talk any trash.

 I need to have Dani next door...it's just not fair that the middle is clear in GREEN RIVER. Not cool.

Love this picture of crazy cousins...each one their own little personality, it speaks volumes all by itself.

This is Ben just relaxing in the shade. He has no idea of what's up ahead. I don't know who started it, but it was a serious, all out game of catch Uncle Ben. He ran and ran and ran around til he got tired so he climbed a tree. So they shot him with water guns. So he hopped on the 4 wheeler. Not sure, but I'm thinking every farm/atv rule in the book got broke in a matter of 5 minutes.

Then he said if you shoot me with a water gun, I'll throw you in the pool. Silly Ben. What was he thinking? They lined up for turns to shoot him and get thrown in the pool.

Probably, funnest game ever invented.

Why Oh Why...

I post so few pictures of myself, so why this beauty?

Because this...this is a day to be remembered.

Remembered as the last day I spent in glasses.

I can't tell how many times I have saved and prayed for this day, only to have it slip from my grasp when something else comes up.

But not this time.

Oh, it was close....there was a plumbing emergency that went from $200 to $800 in less than an hour...but somehow we recovered and there I was with my hair in a net ready to get lazered.

I wasn't even scared....hence the goofy photo.

It's been a week now and every time I wake up and look out my window, first thing, I am amazed. 

I run, shower, nap, and read things up close and far away with out sticky dry contacts and blurry vision. No more glasses slipping down my face. 

I will never take it for granted.

Weddings and Spiffy Clothes

Once we made it to Utah it was time to get ready for Doug and Kimmie's wedding. I was privileged to be in charge of the kids during the wedding (my own forgetfulness again), and it was fun to follow them around and get some pictures in a beautiful place with them all spiffied up.

My two beautiful girls no doubt discussing their sore feet after walking around for an hour in fancy shoes.

Such a poser this one, but so handsome it makes me giggle.

Waiting, waiting and waiting....

Need a soft seat? Bingham is willing!

Left Hanging

Last time I posted was Bingham's Birthday...

in January.

Oh my.

I often drop the ball. These are the facts. It is as much a part of me as the times I come through and these fumbles tell their own story... hopefully one day I can put that into words. For now it is as simple as two words. 

No excuses.

So after a solid 6 month break of leaving this blog hanging, I thought it very appropriate to come back with our hike to...

Hanging Lake.

We hiked it last year and it was so fun we decided to do it again.

We left a day early for our summer vacation to Utah/Idaho so we could enjoy the hike on our way and spend the night in Grand Junction. It was much warmer this year than last (notice Eve's flushed face). 

Even though I emphasized that this was a family hike and we should stay together, Austin heard "this is a family hike and we'll all meet at the top." 

I can't wait for the day he is just as excited 

about the journey as the destination.

There was a floating log that stretched way out into the lake. It started out thick, flat and easy to walk on and gradually got skinnier as the lake got deeper. It was all so picturesque watching Austin lead Bingham out across the clear blue green water...and then I saw them wobble and the mom in me woke up and urged them back to land. This wasn't the "careful mom" worried about her kids drowning...I'm sure they both would have been fine. This was the "oh no everyone's watching mom" worried about the no swimming sign and the image of my kids being the ones to disrupt the delicate balance of the ecosystem of this beautiful lake.

Cooling toes off in the water is a much safer, less noticeable venture.

Soni found a different log to explore, this one went straight up a waterfall

5 Big Ones

Bingham turned five this week, and I keep having flash backs to Eve's 5th birthday. She seemed sooo grown up, I was so excited for her. Now it's Bingham's turn and I'm having a hard time putting him in that grown up category.

But he is.

He is quite capable of all those big boy things; dressing himself, cleaning up his toys, getting his own snacks (ketchup sandwich is the current favorite) and a myriad of other things.  Not so grown up as to not be able to finagle and extra treat or favor from his brother and sisters. Something tells me that skill will last for many years to come.

This year Bingham wanted to go to the dinosaur museum with his friends and then to McDonalds for ice-cream. I gotta say, easiest party ever.

All his friends love dinosaurs too (I know, so strange for little boys), so we brought a lot of excitement to the museum on a slow winter afternoon.  It was a fun place and as a mom who has read all the books and been to many a dino museum, even I learned a thing or two.

Then to McDonalds. 

And ice cream.

This is Bingham's friend Shark Boy. 

I'm not kidding, that's what they call him at preschool. I had to track down his mom durning pick-up time to get his real name and of course a phone number, because apparently they're inseparable at school

Buddy number two and Bingham's partner in crime every Friday afternoon.

And we all know Soni...but what in the world is she thinking?

After McDonalds we went to the park and froze our nay nays off while the boys let the wind blow bubbles. It was well worth it though since it rated in Bingham's top three for the whole day.