Kaj is 15 🥹

Oh man...this one hurts a little bit more. There are certain ages I am finding that I can handle more than others, but 15, hits a little different. It's just really close to other milestones that I just can't believe are that close. Kaj is such a great kid, I can't even begin to say the kind of impressive person he has become...but really...he has always been. Kaj has this amazingly contagious laugh, and this great sense of humor. Kaj is a good friend, and very loyal to his friends and his family. Kaj is so good to me. He has always been that way. He has noticed when I have been sad, he has helped immensely on days I have needed help- whether it's cleaning things up around the house or helping with the kids by being a good example. Kaj has friends that he really enjoys now. I can't think of anyone more deserving than to have friends like that. He waited patiently for this. I am so happy for him. He has taken a Leadership class in school this past year (a class I would never have considered)  and that is truly one of his gifts. He is the friend who gathers people together, and thinks of the ideas. He has really come into the music he creates, and though I could never understand quite how he does it, it is becoming a craft that I am quite taken with. He is able to take suggestions with ease and grace, He is the guy that is reliable, and a great conversationalist even with adults. 

He went to a couple of dances this year. One that was by the stake and the other for school. Tommy J is the stake Young Men so that night I got a text from Abby that Kaj was dancing with a girl! So, when I talked to Kaj about it when he got home I was playing it pretty cool, but I did already know. He told me, yes, he did ask one girl to dance. She was from Sisters. I asked him, "so, was she making eyes at you or something?" And he said, "No. She was just standing my herself" 🥹 My boy. He proceeded to tell me how they talked easily, and I know it is because of him, because he has great questions, and listens quite genuinely.  I ugly cried to him on his birthday on the way to school. 

 

Josh Turns 13

Josh is 13 now. It made me think of my own 13th birthday. It was the Beatles party. Remember how awkward I was?! And, I look at Josh and think...how is this my son?! He is easing right into the teens just fine. Flawlessly, really. 

Josh has his days when he is a pain, and the ways he is a pain is just stirring the pot with all the kids, and singing as loud as he can in the house, and.. farting. A lot. But, on the flip side of this teenage boy he is still so kind. He spends endless amounts of time on the trampoline with Lily teaching her to do front flips. He notices the people at school he should be kind to, and goes to include them. He is natural talent in everything, whether it is sports or academics, or really anything he sets his mind to be good at he will dedicate the time to it, and become amazing at it.  He has a very good head on his shoulders, and I really have a lot of faith in him. 

His birthday was actually more chill than it ever has been. I was very pleased that he was content with just keeping it to family plans. I took him out of school early, and took him to lunch. We came home and he wanted to me to play Fortnite! Ha! Which he said I did really good, but I know that's not true. We, then, had cake and presents as a family, and then Kaj, Dad, Josh, and myself stayed up to watch Hunger Games, because he had just read the book. It was a great way to bring in year 13.  I love Josh and I am overjoyed that he is my boy.

 

Times with the Older boys

So, I heard women who are just older than me with kids that are just older than mine would talk about how their older kids at night would just end up hanging around a lot longer after younger kids went to bed. At times, it was discussed in a welcomed way, others times it was more like 😳 "Gosh, it would be nice to have some alone time" way. I am now in that season. 

We will get the younger kids to bed. The younger kids in this scenario is Rowan, Jonah, and Lily. (There are times where Rowan counts as the older." But, my boys will hang out well in to the night with us. I admit that there are times when I really think it would be nice to have some time alone and I will find myself being like: "Ah, You again." Some nights are really fun. I know my mom would be the first to attest how much fun she has with her kids now. 😂 And you never really think how truly enjoyable the company will end up being after so many years of taking care of littles. 

Tonight, Josh had brushed my hair for me, braided it many times,  and then we had cereal together downstairs talking. Kaj was talking about how he wants to grow his hair back out, and I was telling him please no. And we bantered for a minute about such things. Kaj has told me in detail about who has commented about liking his new haircut, and who has not, and I will tell you, that most have liked his haircut. I am no in no way surprised at this. So, I proceeded to remind him how many people liked it. Then Kaj named all the people who had liked it.  

"So, you want to grow out your hair again for a bunch of dudes?!" 

"But, dudes like pazazz!" Kaj said.

"Yeah, but, sometimes dudes are kinda gross." Josh adds from the corner of the room. 😂 And then he proceeded to fart. 

And these are how I spend my nights. 

 

Meg's 40th Birthday Celebration

We came and we conquered. It was so so fun to celebrate Meg's 40th birthday with the sistas and my mom. We were able to kinda pull off a surprise. Of course, Disneyland it always a crowd pleaser. We spent a day in Disney and the other day at California Adventure. We had some really good food, and we walked a ton! It is nuts because just a few months later Meg and her family would decide that they would be moving essentially across the country to Alabama! I am so thankful for my sister Megan. 

She can be calm but also assertive. She is kind, but knows when to speak up for things. She is an amazing mother. She is thoughtful with her responses. She is funny, and fun. She has an amazing laugh. She is thankful, and thankful for the relationships that matter to her. She is a wonderful Aunt to my kids. She is forever an example to me. I really love this time that I get to have with my family.  

 

Lily 6th Birthday

My Shmoo. Lily Bears. Baby. Baby Sauce. Shmooy Gooey. Those are her nicknames. She is such a delight. She is strong, She is learning to read and she is quickly doing so. She is such a fast learner, and she has great questions about things, and she is very well spoken for a 6 year old. She is able to describe her feelings and explain them well. It is amazing to talk to her. She is funny and fun. 

It has been so fun to see this season go by with skiing, she has surpassed me in skill (which- we know is not hard to do 😂) but she is only 6. I skied with her today, and she helped push me out of my comfort zone! She is great sister. She notices when her brothers need something or want something and she is often the first to offer up a way for them to have it. I love reading to her at night time. We have been reading the Narwhal and Jelly books right now, and they are a darling series. She loves going for walks, I love going on walks with her. She loves to talk. Sometimes if we are just listening to music in the car even for just a few minutes she will ask me why no on is talking.  She is also a very great swimmer. She was able to get into a lady in town who it took initially about a year to get into, but we finally secured a spot and Lily is so fun to watch. She is able to do all these strokes correctly and looks darling doing it. She loves unicorns and dinosaurs. She loves running and racing the car home. She loves riding her bike, doing everything her brothers are doing. She like watching Mr. Beast. She does love me..🥰 I am lucky I can say that. She draws so many pictures of me and her together. It makes my heart fly when she brings things home from school. She loves playing games with her unicorns, and she loves being with her girl cousins. 

She is unbelievably special. I cannot believe she is 6...because she only gets older from her. But, that's also exciting and I have to remember that. I have to remember how lucky I am to watch her grow up. She will always be my little girl though, and I hope she can aways come to me for any reason under the sun. I am there for her, always. 

 

January kickoff

The beginning of January kicked off without much changes to speak of. Except for the obvious one, which is Rowan turned 11. He had his first friend birthday party. He invited 2 friends. It was the simplest of all birthday parties. 

We took him to the Sun Mountain fun Center and gave them each a card for the arcade, got pizza, played laser tag, and brought cupcakes. Rowan seemed to really like it, and I think it made him feel like an older kid. We opted to have the other kids stay home, so that Rowan could have this chance with just his friends. 

It's strange having your kids get older. It's strange talking to friends with even older kids than mine. Hearing the stressors in their voice as they explain how hard it is raising "almost adult" children. They don't listen. You tread lightly because you know the decisions are theirs, and you just hope that your advice will land somewhere. I have heard friends wonder if they have taught their kids enough, or they feel like they failed because they feel like they didn't It's nuanced and complex. The friends I speak of have children old enough to think about missions, but they haven't decided if they want to go. My kids get excited to be older. I don't remember being all that excited. I feel like maybe I just enjoyed the age I was at the time. Except for maybe...13, 14, 15 I don't know who enjoys that. 😂 Or the lucky kids these days who seem to be unphased be puberty. When did that become something? I have these beautiful girls that I work with in Young Women's who seem to flawlessly be going through it. Good for them, but really??

We took Rowan to a Choice school option this last week. He didn't really want to go. Mind you- it was a bit my fault- because I had not prepared him at all, because it had actually completely slipped my mind, and Sam got home, and asked about it, and then we rushed out the door. We ended up missing it, but there will be another in March. I just have not known what to do when it comes to middle school and Rowan. I wish he really had one more year in elementary school. It is also weird to think that 3 kids out of elementary and not one of them will go to the same school?  I sure know how to make it harder on myself.  

We will see. In Young Women's the goal for each week is to look for God's hand in our life. I have been slow to look. But, I want to see it. I hope I can see it more. 

 

The Holiday Break

We are just finishing up a bout of holidays. We had Thanksgiving with just our family this year, we were expecting Grandma and Grandpa Jo, but last minute they got sick and couldn't make it out. We enjoyed a walk together with some friends in the morning and then had a  very nice dinner. We had someone from the ward join us, and it was very easy going. 

We are just about to finish the couple weeks off we had for Christmas break, and for the most part, I would say it was very enjoyable. Sam had a lot of time off of work, we had a lot of easy going days, but we also had a great visit with my parents, we had days playing basketball in the gym, we had ski days, we had days building legos at home, and building puzzles, and playing games. I have tremendously grateful kids. Kaj and Josh said thank you so many times Christmas Day, and I just felt very lucky to have such great kids. 

Some other highlights: We enjoyed a Beatles impersonation concert with my parents. Kaj has been hilarious with planning a chocolate milk mile on any occasion he can, and we were able to pull off the first one the day before Thanksgiving ( I truly don't understand why 😂) 

learning how to tie their christmas ties

Marshmallow men with the J's

first season playing basketball

Sunriver

Christmas Eve Christmas Crew