You Have Four Kids?!?

Outside of the LDS community four kids is considered to be A LOT! By LDS standards four kids is a small to average number. I got to thinking today about the typical responses I get from people when they hear I have four children after such an encounter. I realized I have begun to enjoy telling people I have four children just because I get a kick out of it.

The most common response is just a look of absolute shock and a repeating of the statement that I have four kids as if they can't quite wrap their head around it. This is often followed by "you don't look old enough to have four kids". Or "you don't look like you have four kids". Which always leads me to wonder what does someone with four kids look like? My favorite is when people try to tactfully ask if they are all from the same man. Upon hearing that yes, all four children have the same father there is an even bigger expression of shock and amazement. Many times I am asked if I plan on having more children. I do not. But sometimes I think about messing with people and saying yes. My own niece recently asked her Mom why I had so many babies (she is 5).

I asked Chris what kind of responses he gets when people hear he has four kids and he said his most popular response is, "You know how you get those, right?" To which he likes to reply, "I think I've almost figured it out." He was very jealous that people tell me I don't look old enough to have four kids. He says no one ever tells him that.

Another fun development is if people meet Whitney. Whitney looks like she could easily pass for at least 15 but is in fact only 12. People have started to make comments like, "did you have her when you were 12?" By LDS standards I was actually a little old for my first baby when I had her at the elderly age of 23. Fellow members were starting to ask me if we were having problems conceiving.

When people hear that all four children were planned pregnancies and not "surprises" I can see that their estimation of my intellect is thrown into total confusion. I assume they are thinking along the lines of learn about birth control lady! And then the look of horror to know that I would willingly choose to have that many children! While pregnant with Landon my obstetrician lectured me on the perils of having so many babies after I complained of fatigue and back problems.

No doubt about it the question of if and how many children to have is a hot topic. I consider it to be a very personal decision and not one to be taken lightly. I do my best not to judge others on their choices and reserve the right to have a little fun with mine.

St. Paddy's Day 2011

I was trying to get a cute shot of these two on St. Patrick's Day but Landon was not cooperative. Ashlyn giving him loves and posing nicely while Landon tries to wiggle away.

One of the differences between boys and girls.

Notice Landon's devilish smile and Ashlyn's dramatic pose. Nothing says Happy St. Paddy's day Sis, like a bash to the head with a wooden Thomas train.

Because your outfit always needs a little pink even on the biggest green day of the year!

Our Good Luck Charmer.

Photographic proof that I do fix Ashlyn's hair. Because someday I am sure she will ask me why her hair was never styled. Naturally she pulled it all out 5 minutes after I left her at childcare at the YMCA. Even though all the childcare girls told her how cute it looked!

Fairy Tales & Fantasy Ballet

Ashlyn and I enjoyed a fun girls night out last night. We started off the night with dinner at McDonalds. Ashlyn's favorite restaurant. McDonalds and ballet...they just compliment each other so well, do they not? BYU's theatre ballet came to Tucson to perform Fairy Tales & Fantasy. When I saw the posters at church I knew it would be perfect outing for the two of us. Prior to the performance they had a Prince & Princess Party. The children were invited to dress up and meet the dancers. They also received goody bags and served refreshments. I asked Ashlyn if she wanted to wear her ballet clothes or her princess dress. To further her on going campaign of getting new ballet clothes she decided to wear her princess dress. All the while dropping obvious hints that she was not happy to wear either. And that what she would really like is a new ballet girl outfit. She has been complaining that she is tired of her old ballet clothes and wants new ones for awhile now.

Ashlyn with Red Riding Hood.

The pink girl was the first photo she wanted taken. Ashlyn very much has her own ideas and opinions about things. As she munched on her plate of cheese cubes and brownies she took it upon herself to be the fashion police for the night. Yet another instance where I couldn't help but wonder where she comes up with these things. She was saying things like, "What is she wearing?" Why is she in a Santa dress? Christmas is over!" and "Does that girl think she's a vampire? That dress is ugly!" I gave her yet another lecture on how the outside of a person is not what is important. She critiques my clothes as well and has no problem telling me when she does not approve of my wardrobe choices.

To pass the time until the show started I took some photos of us. Ashlyn loves to have her picture taken and then look at them. This entertained her for some time.

They just got better and . . .

better!

At one point they invited all the princes and princesses to come on stage and dance. Probably the high light of the night for Ashlyn. Ashlyn spent the whole time behind this dancer trying to copy her every move.

Pinewood Derby Districts

Some of the Bears waiting for the racing to begin. Gavin would be the handsome boy in the center and back. ;)

Whitney had a soccer game at the same time as Gavin's derby. We decided Chris would take Gavin to his derby and I would take Whitney to her game. I had to depend on Chris to take photos for me. He also had Ashlyn and Landon so he didn't take many photos! Gavin was 4th place. Chris was just as disgruntled as last year because the track they use is horrible. Two of the lanes throw the cars off, causing damage to the cars. Which is what happened to Gavin's car last year. Chris also feels like they are not checking the cars closely enough for illegal wheels and such. Lots of parents were complaining, just like they were last year. Hopefully they will make some changes by the time next year's derby comes around.

All the Bears cars.

Snow Day

This past Sunday, February 27th, we woke up to snow!!! Tucson has been having record breaking lows this winter. People's pipes have frozen and they have had shelters open at times because some people don't even have heating systems. My kids don't even own coats. Today the high was 78 degrees. When it gets below 60 degrees I break out my flannel jammies. Snow covered cacti is just plain weird!

This shot was taken in Tucson after a lot of snow had already melted.


We drove about 20 miles north towards the mountains to Oracle, Arizona where there was probably around 7 inches of snow. The kids had a blast playing in the snow even though they did not have snow boots or proper snow gear. I for one hate to be cold. They were all wet but we still had to drag them away.


Snow covered cacti?!? Craziness!

I think Gavin was the most excited about the snow. He refused to keep his hood or hat on, driving me wild.

Landon eating some snow. Yummy!

Someone else put in all the hard work of making this snowman we just took advantage of the photo op.

Poor Landon was sick and not feeling his best. Really this was Ashlyn's and Landon's first time playing in snow.

Snow Angels!

Awhile back I made the mistake of watching America's Next Top Model while Ashlyn was in the room. She was mesmerized! This was months ago but she still has spells where she likes me to take photos of her while she does her top model poses. The middle pic is my favorite of the day.

We had quite the battle over her pants. I put her in boot cut jeans so she could wear pajama pants underneath. She has only wanted to wear skinny jeans for some time now. She kept sobbing and telling me that these pants were not her style!

Bike Rodeo

On February 26th our pack went to a bike rodeo at the Double V Scout Ranch. It started at 9:00 am and we had a bit of a drive so we met up at 8:00 to hit the road.

As you can tell by my hair it was a windy day! It was also overcast and a little cold for Tucson but thankfully no rain. I finally got a scouting shirt and broke it in that day. Since I am the bear den leader and Gavin is a bear, I have been teasing Gavin that he is to call me Mama Bear at all scouting functions and I will call him Bear Cub. He is not a fan of this idea though. Ashlyn says she will call me Mama Bear though and I can call her Baby Bear. :)



All my cubbies, ready to go!
Back row, left to right: Andrew, Adam, Jack, Jace, Gavin and Kobe
Front row: Quaid and Trei



The BB range was open and the boys had to impatiently wait for 30 minutes for their turn. It was pretty funny/sad as they all just stood their staring longingly at the boys shooting ahead of them. Their were many remarks like, "when will it be our turn?" and "why is it taking how so long?" and "how long has it been now?" The gentlemen in charge of the range then had to give them a lecture on the rules. He stressed the fact that they should NOT run to the guns but WALK. There was no running but I think some speed walking records just might have been set.

Look at that pitiful face! Gavin's gun ran out of ammo and had to be reloaded in the middle of his groups shooting time.

Andrew, Quaid, Gavin and Adam with their targets.

The archery range was also a big hit with the boys.

Gavin almost hit the bulls eye.

Jace and Gavin coming in from a bike trail. I was so proud of our boys! They were very well behaved and looked out for one another. By the end of the day we had some pretty worn out cub scouts.