i have been horrible with keeping up on the blog. I have to remember its in place of actually writting in a journal. heres the scoop;

hunter is now in 5th grade and apparently in the market for a future girlfriend. he got in the car the other day from school and asked how old he had to be to have a girlfriend. immediately wyatt says, "why? that's a weird question". hunters reply was, "wyatt I'm getting older. it's natural." wyatt, "well, it's still weird. you MUST like someone." I thought it was so sweet and typical of hunter to ask such a question. since he was 5 he has been a rule follower. I say since 5 because before that kids and adults were afraid of him.

i got the dreaded email from wyatt's teacher last week. apparently he has problems keeping up in "several" areas (several? do they even cover that many in 3rd grade) and that she wonders if he has ever been tested for attention problems. Let me just say, every successful man I know was a problem child. They either had behavior problems, attention problems or BOTH. I'm not worried. Besides, Wyatt is super cute, sweet, funny, and smart!

The highlight of Savanna's week was starting Hip hop at the dance studio. To sweeten the pot, the first routine she learned is to a justin beiber song. heaven. She loves school. last week i helped out in her classroom and was so proud to see she wasn't in danger of failing. She has been doing well with reading, writing, and keeping up on her fashion sense. Ever since she was a toddler, she would choose a new dress over a toy. I thought it was funny that the teacher told me she had been complaining of a tummy ache but at lunch time she was totally flirting with Ryan. Ryan is the boy that she thinks looks like Justin Bieber, except with glasses.

This has been an awesome summer. Lots of lazy mornings, late nights, old friends, and amazing new ones.

June started off with Wyatt gone for a week with cousins. He was definitely missed but its always nice having a break. The house was just not the same without him. He is the one that supplies the most laughter. Yesterday he had his best buddy over and they had a whole war set up with legoes, army guys, bombs and Halo guys. Wyatt was the commander and in charge of the secret code to enter the compound. His friend was trying to guess the password....open sesame, detonate, nuclear, boobie trap, poison, prisoner, grenade. Basically anything harmful. After two minutes of guessing Wyatt says, "actually I forgot what the password is. Lets just go with the first one you said."

Hunter was taken on a great trip, which he has already forgotten about. My hope was to hold it over his head for the next 6 months. Regardless, I had a great time staying with my brother and his family. I love my sister in law! Cant wait for them all to move back. The next trip will be with Savanna to Disneyland and I believe Wyatt has decided on Austin, TX.

Savanna has used the summer to conquer the swimming pool. She has always thought that she could swim but the truth is she couldn't. She looks like a little poly wog. We've been stocking her closet with "back to school" clothes all summer. We have the first day of school outfit narrowed down to two.
Today is the first day of school...therefore summer is officially over in this house. I think we did some pretty fun things and had a few really boring days (which is what summer vacation is all about).

Onto a new school year. Hunter will be rockin' it in 5th grade with the teacher he really wanted and his two best friends and cousin in his class. My visions for him this year are to stress out less, get in trouble at least once at school and kill it at fall baseball.

Wyatt got the teacher he wanted as well and his two bestest friends are in his class. When we went to meet the teacher last Friday she asked Wyatt what his favorite subject was and he answered, "recess, art, and counting money". My goals for Wyatt this year are to stop screwing around in the bathroom with paper towels at school, have more confidence with school, and have a awesome football season.

Sav is in kindergarten and is all about the social aspect of it. Her pre-k teacher is teaching kindergarten this year and we were fortunate enough to get her. The teachers aide is new and Savanna said she has a really cute face and dresses fancy. My goals for Savanna this year are to feel successful with school, stop rolling her eyes when she doesn't like something, actually be able to talk to men (she gets so shy and acts like she is too sleepy to even say hi), and to love her hip hop class!

I miss my babies.

I miss seeing Hunter first thing in the morning watching "Ghost Diaries".

I miss Wyatt's sweet words to me. A couple of days ago he was describing his Candy Land world. In the center of town would be a giant mountain made up of Oatmeal Cookie Frozen Yogurt with my picture and the word "mom" above it.

I miss Savanna trying to act like a teenager. She has her valley girl lingo down pretty well; with a twist of a lisp.

I love when they call me. Savanna is always the first to talk. Every conversation is ended with "i love you mama".

Wyatt is the worst on the phone. When its his turn to talk he just sits there. He doesn't even start the conversation with a greeting. I can tell he's there by the breathing.

Hunter is always the most talkative. Fills me in and lets me know what Wyatt has done wrong that day and why punching him in the face was warranted.

I'm so lucky to be their mom.

I am in love with my nephew. He is the cutest thing and at the funnest age. He was really talented at making this face and running into walls.

His sisters are equally as adorable. I was fortunate enough to go to the American Girl Doll store with them while in D.C. This place is magical/creepy. The excitement lurked around every corner. You could have your dolls hair styled by one of the many professionals. I'm still curious how they interview for this job and more so the people that actually apply. They must practice at home all day long. In the bathrooms, there are hooks that you can place your doll on so they never have to touch the ground AND so they can always be watching you.

Staying with my brother and his wife was the best part of the trip. We could've stayed at home all day and I would've been completely satisfied. We did have fun on our outings to the zoo and around town.

Hunter and I spend one whole day exploring the historical monuments. He was in heaven. I think both of our favorite was the Lincoln Memorial. It was awesome having all day long with him. It reminded me of how fast time goes. I am looking forward to more trips together which each of my kids.

After spending three days in D.C. we took the train up to NYC. Hunter did not like it. I have been there a couple of times so I had forgotten the initial shock to all that is happening around the city. We hopped on a double decker bus and went uptown, stopped and had lunch, and then got back on the bus and traveled down town. It is such a great way to see the city on a limited time.

The next day was completely devoted to the Cake Boss. Hunter was introduced to this show by his cousins, so I have them to thank for the $90 round trip cab fare, 3 hour wait to even set foot into the bakery,and $60 worth of cupcakes and cake. It really was worth it because Hunter was absolutely drunk with happiness. We had lots of time to talk to each other and other crazy people waiting in line. The bakery was so tiny and it was not something I would ever want to do again.

I was so anxious to get home into fresh air and less crowds! and most importantly to family and friends. I miss all the little ones in my life; wyatt has been going full force with love notes and saying the sweetest things to me.

I gave up board games a few years ago. I had bought so many when the boys were just way too young; all of them were destroyed and my visions of a fun time were too.

So last night we bought Monopoly and it was amazing how well it went. It lasted over 90 minutes with tears ONLY towards the end.

Savanna practiced her adding and stealing skills. Wyatt quickly bought every property he possibly could with the upgraded Spongebob pineapple house to the Krusty Krab. Hunter was the banker, property manager, and eventually the winner.

At one point I owed each of the boys over $200 each. Wyatt quickly convinced Savanna to give me some money. He said, "Savanna think of how much mom does for you. And she just bought you those sparkly shoes." All the while, HE has a fat stack of $100's. He is definitely my smoosher....before we went to bed he tells me this is one of the best days of his life. Except the time he and I went to the Dinosaur Show (this is always his number one). Then he said, "well everytime I see your face its the best day of my life." Seriously, could there be anything more cheesy or sweet than that?

Yesterday we found a dead duck and the Barbies went naked hot-tubbin. Summertime is awesome.

The weather has been wonderful just to be outside. Crazy for AZ. The mornings always fly by in the summer because the kids sleep in until at least 9. Then it is laziness for the next few hours until they get bored and hungry. So far their diets have consisted of frozen pizza, chex mix and soft pretzels.

We went swimming at my friends parents house yesterday and Wyatt comes up to me and says, "mom, do you think Bambi (the mom) has gum balls?" I said that was kinda a weird thing to have on hand but what is it you are chewing on right now? Wyatt said, "oh, its a gum ball." Ok?... So you want a gum ball but you are actually already chewing on one? Wyatt, "ya. This one I found on the balcony stairs and I just want to know if she has any more." Nice! I know exactly what its from too; the party we catered there last week.

Which brings me to the video clip below. Another word Savanna doesn't know how to say and Hunter and I think its too cute to teach her the correct way.

Graduation was so funny to watch. Savanna did her usual dancing with each song. She is such a joy to me! I love having a girl to balance out the two crazy brothers.

So summer is here and I cant believe it! Today we have friends over and experiencing the first pains of boredom. I explained that summer is suppose to be boring and these will be the most memorable days. They seemed less than thrilled about that.

At least their summer is only 7 weeks long. Growing up and having 3 months at home with two brothers, while our parents at work, was pure torture. I can't even remember how many times we would call my mom to ask her what we could have for lunch, david is bugging me, what are you going to make for dinner, when are you going to be home? I'm a little jealous that my mom had a job to escape to.

Count down to mine and hunter's trip to D.C., going to my friends cabin and some solo trips are what I am looking forward to.

I love the age my kids are at. Wyatt and Savanna both like to sleep in and Hunter loves waking up early, just to have the t.v. all to himself.

Saturday afternoon was so relaxing. At home, Lego's dumped out everywhere, frozen yogurt for lunch, boys getting along and savanna being her sweet self. The morning did start with a death. I came down stairs and Savanna was on the couch saying,"I'm super sorry mom. My hamster beat-ted up Wyatt's hamster." I looked in the cage and wyatt's hamster was missing it's head! I get a paper towel and take it out of the cage and toss it in the trash. Wyatt comes down stairs and Savanna delivers the bad news. She has a way of saying "super sorry" that kinda sounds like shes really not; just wants to sound like a teenager. I'm pretty sure his hamster died because he would do the monkey bars across the top of the cage. One too many falls and he died. I never knew that the other hamster would eat it though. So gross! Anyways, Wyatt was more concerned about seeing what it looked like with it's head eaten off. Kinda strange since he loves animals more than anyone I know.

This weekend I was reminded how lucky I am to have these sweet angels. They are each so different yet fill my heart up in ways only they can. Wyatt told me the other day that being a kid is hard. I knew what he meant; having his parents divorced. It broke my heart. Then I realized that I still am the same parent, just with higher standards. My kids have had to learn some pretty hard lessons this past year; nothing I thought I would ever put them through. It does get easier everyday and the most important thing is to communicate. You never know what lies are being said!

Savanna's new word to describe a weird man is "creeper". We were looking at a Disneyland book, getting prepped for our girls trip, and she saw the pirates from "Pirates of the Caribbean". This is what she said about each one, "him's face I don't like. Him is bald. And this guy is just a creeper!" She has been talking more adult-like, except for the mistreatment of pronouns. The other day Wyatt was bugging her and she said, "Wyatt I know you are doing this intentionally."

So this is the last week of school. Hard to imagine that Hunt will be in 5th grade. I'm so excited to take him to D.C. in June. He has always wanted to go to New York too. So I surprised him...We are going to take the train up to NYC for the night. His favorite show is Cake Boss, which is in Brooklyn, so that is a definite stop! Cant wait to see the city again and this time with my cutie pie.

I think I am getting old; i cried several times today because of the sweet things my babies did for me.

Savanna brought me my present to my bed. It was a cute picture frame she made with her beautiful picture inside. Then a book of all the things she loves about me. The cutest thing she wrote was, "I love how my mom wears make up and dresses."

Hunter made me breakfast. Waffles, ice cream with granola, and a bagel with cream cheese. Good thing I'm not on Adkins diet. He also made me a coupon book. The best coupon was for doing homework and getting the kids ready for bed.

Wyatt's presents started the week before with a beautiful mug he made in clay class. He also made me a book about what he loved about me.

Later in the day we saw African Cats at the movies and then went to the bookstore and everyone picked out a new book. It was a beautiful day with my babies.

The weekend was busy with catering events. It doesn't seem like work because I'm with my best friends! But this particular event was at a dairy farm. Just as the night was ending I saw this toad out of the corner of my eye. It was so big I thought it was some random garden statue. Then it hopped. My immediate response was "how am i going to bring this home to Wyatt?" When I finally picked it up I realized just how big it was. Seriously, the size of a small puppy.

I didn't believe it when Savanna told me her tooth was loose. Like everything else, she is in a hurry to grow up. The past two days she says she can only eat frozen yogurt or cake pops; anything else hurts her tooth.
By 5:00 tonight that thing was hanging by a tiny root. I was so glad she let me pull it! I don't usually get sentimental with monumental things like this but it is a little sad.

The video clip above was shot in the dark so you cant see anything. I could listen to this all day; actually I did listen to the giggling all weekend. I had sent this to my friend because she has been victim to my sisters snoring in NYC. La Jolla was so much fun!

This past weekend my sister and I loaded up 8 kids and headed to my mom's house in Payson. Saturday they had a big Easter egg hunt, face painting, petting zoo and pony rides.

This face painter was amazing. Love the bunnies and tiger. Wyatt's looked so natural on him. Hunter's on the other hand...I thought he got Darth Mal and I told him it wasn't very Easter-ie. He was offended that I couldn't tell it was a Cardinal. Whatever it was, was freaky.

We went to Fossil Creek; which was gorgeous. My mom and aunt brought their dogs and it was so much fun to watch them play in the water. Made me miss June Bug and Jimmy. Although Jimmy would have been barking the whole time and June would've sank.

Love being with my kids and nieces and nephews. I can't wait for my other three to move back from D.C. Just want to visit them one more time! Which brought about a discussion this morning....

I told the kids that I would take each of them on their own trip. Hunter really wants to go to D.C., Wyatt San Francisco and Savanna Disneyland. Hunter's trip will have to be first since my brother is only going to be in D.C. until November. Instantly Wyatt said that since Hunter would be first, to just forget about his trip to San Francisco. Good times in the morning! Love driving them to school; especially the dropping off part. I've decided I will take a couple of vacations solo; starting this weekend to La Jolla.

As Wyatt was walking away I told him I love him and he says, "I love you too.....sometimes." I swear that boy lives to make me cry.

Thank goodness its not even possible to have a pet chicken in my place. I don't have an ounce of backyard and I'm so thankful.
Every year the second grade study the development of chickens. Eggs are ordered and the incubators are set up in the classrooms. Its always been really exciting for the kids. I don't know if its true but Wyatt said that the teacher would let the kids keep a chicken if they asked permission from their parents.
Wyatt just loves anything baby size. I am reminded of when he was 4 years old and found a nest in the backyard tree. Two eggs were inside. That poor mama bird was probably scared to death of Wyatt. He even got a ladder and would just sit and wait for those eggs to hatch. He was trying to convince me of why he should get one of the eggs. He said he could keep it warm and feed it worms when it hatches. Then he says,"It's only fair. There is two eggs. She gets one and I get one. That's what sharing means."
I love this kid...even though he told me tonight he was going to run away. I had someone tell me once to just say, "ok. go." I did that...and it worked! Its good to take advice from someone that was just like wyatt.

i love easter because of the colors. also, i try to go all out on easter baskets; any excuse to buy my kids presents. i think its more fun for me than them. seriously, i hope they always want christmas stockings, valentines, easter baskets and halloween parties. and maybe someday they will get the hint and do the same for me!
no school on friday and my last class is that same day...yay! heading up to my moms with my sister and 8 kids. my mom lives in a golf community of retired people, who all love kids. Saturday is an all day easter egg hunt. Like over 1000 eggs. i'm sure there will be tears of someone not finding enough.
Surprisingly there was no tears this morning when i discovered savannas hamster was not in the cage. i remember her playing with it last night and saying she wanted to put it in a different cage. of course i asked her this morning and she said she put it back in the cage and it must have let itself out. apparently, they hadn't made an emotional connection because she asked,"me get another one?"
so excited for summer! only a few more weeks left of school and then headed to san diego for a week. love traveling. and my sister just surprised me with a trip to La Jolla the last weekend in April :)

we've got some work to do; moves and song selection can use a little help. after having watched this i can't believe my sister said savanna and i dance the same. i mean, i never do cartwheels.

its always nice having a weekend without kids. love spending time with my friends and having time to think in total silence. but by sunday night i am really missin them! cant wait for them to get home.


a couple of things i miss about june bug not living with me anymore is her laziness and her tail. now, if only my voice made everyone this happy.

Savanna had a great birthday. All weekend she reminded her brothers that they had to be nice to her and do anything she wanted because it was her birthday.

Saturday night her friends came over to scrapbook, play at the park and watch Tangled.

Opening presents was stressful because everyone was crowding her. She would've preferred to open the presents by herself to ensure no one would be messin with them. She got a huge stuffed dog, two barbies, gift cards and princess c.d. player that only plays BippidyBopidyBoo and Whole New World (shoot me).

I got her an American Girl doll with a hair brush. She was so excited to be able to brush this dolls hair; since her first doll has a crazy weave that you are not suppose to even touch! So now we have a African/American, Caucasian, and next on the list is an Islander.

We had a great weekend celebrating this little girl. She brings so much laughter and joy to me and her brothers. We love you Savy.

Wyatt was so excited Wednesday after school. Apparently three kids got busted for saying this,

roses are red
violets are blue
i have 5 fingers
and the middle one is for you.

It was right at dismissal so the teacher said their punishment would be coming Thursday morning when they arrived at school.
Thursday came and that morning wyatt didn't feel like going to school and then a light bulb went off. He said, "oh wait today is the day we find out what happens to the kids that were saying that bad stuff. I definitely want to go to school today."
We were talking about it on the way to school and I said, "I can't believe those kids know the f-word."
Wyatt says, "oh so that's what it means when you use your middle finger."

I'm a awesome mom for two reasons...that wyatt even knows what the f-word is and now he knows how to use it without words.

My baby turns 5 on Sunday. This birthday is the hardest for me because I remember when I turned 5.

Finding out I was having a girl was one of the best days of my life. I thought that I wanted to have 6 boys. After having the two, it was time to switch it up. And now I only have three babies altogether. :(

The memories I have most about Savanna is always having her named picked out. Remember the movie Savanna Smiles? I thought it was such a beautiful name. Savanna Christi it would be.

The first night I brought Savanna home from the hospital Wyatt was a nervous wreck. He kept checking on her and said he should probably just hold her all night long. The boys were so excited to have a new toy to touch. Wyatt said he would trade all his toys in the world if I would have a hundred more babies.

Savanna hardly cried. Loved her bassinet and crib. She would wake up and play with her feet until I came in and got her. Hated fruit baby food; only liked the veggies. Her hair grew in like grass; straight up until it weighed enough to force itself down.

When she started crawling I could find her in my closet pulling clothes down. She loved to put clothes on her head and crawl around. She would stop and pull it off her head, hold it out to look at it and then put it back on her head. Her first word was cookie but she said it "cooka".

Now I can have a conversation with her and we talked about lots of things. I love hearing her thought process. She has a problem with using pronouns and I still don't want to fix it. For example she will say, "Me go with you mom?" or "her said I couldn't." Its just too cute.

Savanna is super shy. She prefers women over men, unless the men have softer voices and don't demand anything from her. The best way to get her liking you is to ask a couple of questions about Justin Bieber and then sit back. Its amazing how many boys she has crushes on. She likes the older ones; it seems we both find one in particular very cute. She met him a couple of weeks ago at my best friends parents house.

favorite food: vanilla frosted donuts, pancakes, chocolate milk, cheese burgers, candy corn, poppy seed muffins and ribs.

favorite show: maggie and the ferocious beast, iCarly, max and ruby and american idol

favorite song: katy perry's 'teenage dream', justin bieber's 'baby', ke$sha, fergie

scared of: E.T., my best friends husband (sorry David), sharks

loves: her pink blankie, falling asleep with our foreheads touching, animals, her best friend/cousin Lilly

needs improvement: worst morning breath ever, distinguishing the difference between lying and "just kidding", sharing all her toys that happen to be "really special" that no one else can touch, brushing her hair

talents: picking out great outfits, painting her own fingernails, tap/ballet, writing her full name, getting people to do whatever she wants