7, 9 and 5

Where did summer go? It seems like yesterday when I made "the" phone call and sobbed hysterically on the phone over where Mckenna was going to sit at school. I can't say that I haven't cried since that day but I've tried to fill each moment with something to do to create memories which also included trying to make the time stop and avoid the inevitable.

We, or I, tiled our back porch, we celebrated a graduation, participated in All Stars and sports conditioning, more wisdom teeth removed, spur of the moment trips, signing up for college classes, purchasing items for college and lots of playing. No time for blogging and recording all our fun. I am certain I will have plenty of time in the near future.

Time didn't stop and the inevitable has finally arrived.

In 7 days, Mckenna will start Kindergarten, heart wrenching, she's a big girl now. 9 days after that we will take another trip, across the country to take Jessika to Idaho. 5 days later we will fly back to Florida and leave Jessika behind, in her own apartment, heart wrenching, she's a big girl now.

Life. Will. Be. Different.

I try to imagine how my days will be filled after September 8th. I will have 6 hours and 15 minutes to do WHATEVER I want to do. Alone. I am not going to lie, some tiny little part of me is a little excited, but the bigger part is just plain sappy. Sad and happy all at the same time.

Life. Will. Be. Different.

My house will stay cleaner. The house will be quieter. I'll be able to finish a project without being interrupted by playing games, being told a story or telling a story, watching or listening to Nick Jr.. I will be able to be more efficient when I shop. I will be able to save money because I will have the time to look for better deals and use coupons. I can go to Home Goods, Ross, TJ Maxx and Marshalls and look as long or as little as I want. I can go to the gym and workout as long as I want. Mike and I can go out to lunch when he's in town. As I am running errands during the day I'll be able to listen to whatever radio station I want to listen to without looking for a "girl song". I'll be able to keep up with my blog. I'll learn what Skype is and how to use it so that 2,446.09 miles won't seem that far away. Yes, that is exactly how far it is from our front door to Jessika's front door.

As heart wrenching as the days ahead will be I have convinced myself that life. will. be. just. fine.

Seat Assignments and Storing Supplies

That's all it took to bring me to tears. Pathetic, I know.

In 5 months, Jessika will go off to college and Mckenna will start kindergarten. Perhaps I should buy stock in kleenex. The last couple of weeks I have mastered how to cry, actually sob, keeping all the tears in my eyes. I decided yesterday that I would add to my list of places to call, the dreaded elementary school. I can't get time to stop so I might as well just go ahead and register Mckenna for school. Somehow the school that was the last on my list (that I have had for a week) suddenly became the first on my list. I called the school and was happy to hear that we missed Kindergarten roundup, only to save Mckenna, Mike and myself the humiliation of not being able to keep my composure. The nice lady on the phone gave me all the information that I needed to bring to the school to register Mckenna. I think the list of documents has grown since I registered Cody 10 years ago. I asked her if there was going to be another open house. I was so proud of myself up to this point since I was able to keep my composure. This nice lady quickly informed me that on the day before school starts there will be a meet and greet where she can meet her teacher, get her seat assignment and see where she will store her supplies. She continued to talk but I have NO idea what she said. I cried so hard I couldn't even talk. It was all I could do to be able to get out "thanks". Luckily I didn't give her any information so that she would be able to identify me. I asked my dear friend Amy to pick up the packet for me so I wouldn't have to step foot in the school. I know if I would have gone into the school it would have been a dead giveaway that I was the pathetic mother on the phone. However she may get a clue when she sees my truck sitting outside of the school all day waiting for the school day to end.

The other pathetic part of this is just as I started sobbing, Jessika walked into the kitchen to witness my patheticness. (yes I just made up a new word) As I hung up the phone she asked me who I was talking to. I told her, she offered me some comforting words, "mom you should be crying because I am leaving, at least you have Mckenna around the house for another 12 years!" Thanks Jessika!

Having another baby is not an option because they just grow up and leave, besides the fact we already have 7, so I am thinking I need to find a hobby quickly!

Shopping

Mckenna LOVES shopping and anything to do with shoes and clothes. She loves looking at all the clothes taking them off the racks and holding them up to her to see if they fit.

While at Target today Mckenna made this observation:

Mckenna: Mom look at this dress! Isn't it pretty!

Me: Yes, Mckenna it's beautiful!

Mckenna (in a not quiet voice): Well mom it's too big for me and too small for you because I am 4 and you are 40 and you have to be 8 to wear this dress!

Not just yet.....

While at Busch Gardens today, Mckenna and I rode on the Stanley Falls Flume ride. I usually don't do anything that resembles a roller coaster, but being the good sport that I am took Mckenna on it since she thought it would be fun. In the ride you have to get in a log (not really it just looks like one) and float around and go up and down a couple of "hills". Mckenna was fine on the first two and then on the last big "hill" she really didn't like it and was really ready to be done. This is the conversation we had after we got off the ride:

Mom: So Mckenna was that a lot of fun?

Mckenna: No, not really.

Mom: Why not?

Mckenna: Well, I thought I was gonna die on that last one!

A Partridge in the Pantry

December started out to be a fun month for 2 of the kids. Jessika had 2 of her wisdom teeth pulled out, she only has 2, so they both came out. She was a very good patient even though she was very nervous since she has never had any kind of surgery or medical procedures in her 17 years of life. She doesn't remember the drive home, going through McDonald's, what she said to the dentist or the long talk we had on the way home. Just kidding she wasn't talking and it's evident by how drugged up she was. The jury is still out on what she said to the dentist while she was under.

Notice how sunny it was in the background when we drove through McDonald's but by the time we got home it was pouring down rain. So dear old dad came to the rescue with an umbrella to help her stumble, um I mean walk in the house.

Sorry Jessika, we had a good time at your expense.

Our next big event was Cody and his braces. He has had them almost 2 years. It was a memorable day for us because it was Jessika's 16th birthday. Because he has followed all the orthodontist's instructions he was able to get them off a little early.

It took me a few days to get used to not seeing all that metal in his mouth. He was so happy that he was finally able to eat his favorite meal -- chicken wings with bones. He also has made up not being able to chew gum for the last 2 years and has chewed gum I think everyday since he has gotten his braces off. Personally I am happy they are off because he chewed on EVERYTHING he possibly could the last 2 years, pens, cups you name it he chewed on it!

Our next event was a few Christmas concerts. Danielle's school chorus performed at an open mall. Although it wasn't cold and didn't feel like Christmas, the kids did a great job getting us in the Christmas spirit. Dani got to sing a solo again this year! She loves to sing and has a great voice.

The next week Jessika had her last Christmas concert. Her and I both are counting the first of the lasts of her senior year. I can't believe that my little girl will be graduating high school in a few short months.

Mckenna loved singing Christmas carols. She made up her own words to some of them until she memorized the right words. Her favorite Christmas song was A Partridge in the Pear Tree no matter how many times I told her what the real words were she said "No mom, it a Partridge in the Pantry!!" (annoyance emphasized) All the other kids were unfortunately not amused by her and Danielle's singing but the two of them loved it and that's all that mattered.

Since we were headed to Utah for Christmas this year Mckenna was really concerned that we weren't going to be home for Santa to leave her presents. I tried my best to convince her that Santa would be coming to Utah this year. One day as her and I were baking Christmas cookies we had a conversation that went like this:

Mckenna: Mom, um how does Santa come in the house? Does he come in through the chimney?

(This was fun to answer this one because this is the first house that we have lived in that there is a fireplace -- all the other years Santa has to come in through the front door)

Mom: Yes, he sure does.

Mckenna: Well, if we go to Utah he won't know where we went.

Mom: Sure he will we will leave him a note under the tree and he will bring your presents to Grandma and Grandpa's house and leave them under the tree.

Mckenna: Well Grandma and Grandpa don't have a tree.

Mom: Yes they do.

Mckenna: No...Mom they don't. I saw it there last morning when I was there.

Mom: They have a Christmas tree I am sure.

After going back and forth about them having a Christmas tree but Mckenna reminded me several times that it wasn't there this summer I asked if she wanted to call and ask. She of course said YES!

Mckenna: Hi Grandpa!

Grandpa: Well hello Mckenna how are you?

Mckenna: Grandpa do you have a Christmas tree?

Grandpa: Yes we do.

That was it she was satisfied that Santa would be coming and she stopped worrying about it. Mind you she doesn't get on the phone much and just talk but to make sure that Santa would come it was well worth it!

Boys Campout

Since it was cooling off Cody and Michael decided that they wanted to camp out in the backyard. The funny thing is that when we were camping last summer, ok we were in the RV but it was still camping to me, they wanted to sleep in the tent outside of the RV. They tried once and ended up coming back into the RV because it was "too cold". The truth of the matter was they were just plain scared.

After promising that there would be no pranks in the middle of the night we agreed. Of course they agreed to no pranks, but we didn't. About 6:00 they went out and started setting up their tent. They built a fire because they wanted to cook their own dinner (yea) and not to mention it was going to be 45 degrees Friday night. I guess Mike and I really do trust them or really didn't think about 2 teenage boys being unsupervised in the backyard with a fire all night. But I am happy to say that they didn't do anything that they shouldn't do and they didn't throw a WD40 can in the fire either. (More about that story later)

So with their boxful of hot dogs, buns, water and condiments they were set for the night. They said their goodbyes and headed out to the backyard.



After some fireside chatting and eating their dinner, they must have come in the house every 15 minutes or so. We tried explaining to them if they were truly camping they couldn't keep coming in the house every few minutes.

After coming in the house the millionth time, Mike invited them to go and watch a football game at a friends house that started at 10 pm. They quickly jumped at the chance of getting out of sleeping out in the cold, um I mean being able to spend some quality time with Mike watching a football game. When they returned at 1:30 am they went straight out to their new room, um I mean their tent to follow through with what they had originally started out to do.

The survived the night, even though it was cold and we decided that we would be nice, for now, and didn't scare them.

Mckennisms

Mckenna and I were watching TV one day she has this new found fascination with commercials and the things they are trying to get young kids to want. A particular commercial came on with a doll.

Mckenna: OOHHHH mom I wanna buy that.

Me: Do you have any money

Mckenna: No, well (long pause) daddy does.

Me: Ok but do you have any money?

Mckenna: Um do you have money?

Me: Yes

Mckenna: Well I will buy it with your money!

Me: Mckenna it's my birthday today.

Mckenna: It's your birthday AGAIN? How many birthdays do you get to have?

Me: Can you give Mckenna her medicine?

Mike: Well sure, I'll just hop right to it (dripping with sarcasm)

Mckenna: Well dad can I do it with you?

While taking a walk with Mike one day....

Mckenna: So dad, when you get to be small like me, will you chase lizards with me?

Why all the updates you ask?

Well I owe it all to my dear friend Lynn. She is one of my very best friends, next to my husband. We have been friends for more than half of my lifetime. We met back in 1986 when we worked together at Jewelers Financial Services. She is one of the most beautiful, caring, compassionate and understanding people you will ever meet. She has the ability to make friends easily and make you feel like you have known her your entire life. She's funny. She has the right words to say in any situation. She loves ice cream as much as I do. Her and I share the same love for Barry Manilow. We have been accused on more than one occasion for sharing a brain. She has been a support to me in trying times and good times. The best thing about our friendship is that we can not talk for a while and when we talk it's like we just talked yesterday. She is the sister that I never had. I am so grateful that she is a part of my life. I am so grateful for her friendship and love for the last 23 years.

While I am writing this, she is walking the 3 day/60 mile walk for Breast Cancer. She has been cancer free for 3 years. I am so proud of her and all of the things that she has gone through and overcome. As we chatted the other night, she was hoping for some cooler weather. The temperatures are not cooperating here in Florida, it's going to be in the high 80's low 90's for the Halloween weekend so she was a little concerned about the heat. I told her that since I wouldn't be walking with her I would do something challenging myself....updating this blog. I am not so sure why it's so hard for me to do this, it just is. I can safely say that her journey will be more fulfilling than mine.

Dora!

Being the youngest child, Mckenna usually has to do what the older kids are doing. I feel guilty sometimes because she doesn't always get to do all the stuff 4 year olds get to do. Not that she is neglected by any means, she gets her fair share of things, it's just the little kid stuff that you do as a family when all the kids are younger. I thought it would be a great idea to take her to Dora Live! She loves Dora -- so much in fact that she can count to 10 in Spanish. Thanks Dora! I tried to convince some of the older kids to come but they weren't having any part of it, and really you can't blame them. So Mike and I decided to get tickets and take her.

A couple of days later my friend Amy, who is the mother of Mckenna's good friend Zade mentioned to me about going to Dora. Zade loves Dora just as much as Mckenna does. So we all went. Zade most often calls Mckenna Dora we've figured out it's probably because she looks so much like Dora.

When we started our journey into the theatre, I am not sure which one of the kids insisted on holding hands but they ended up holding hands the entire way into the theatre. So cute! They were so excited about going and it was fun watching them talk as we were walking in.

Zade had to take a break from the hand holding thing, because well the rocks looked more appealing to climb on. Mckenna waited patiently for Zade to get the whole rock climbing thing out of his system. She is learning this skill at a very young age.

We finally made it in the theatre. Mckenna looks like she's in pain, but she's really not. Actually, I think that this was right after she saw the guy who played "boots". It was not a pretty sight and could be scary for a little child. They both sat through the performance and had a great time.

After it was over, Mckenna desperately wanted to hold Zade's hand but he wanted NO part of it. He went and saw Dora with her and that was it, he was done.

Zade was hanging back to escape Mckenna's demands to hold his hand.

Finally Mckenna was satisfied with just walking next to Zade. Thanks Amy and Zade for coming with us and thanks dad for sitting through Dora!

A day at the beach with friends

Mckenna doesn't have many girlfriends. In fact, all but one of her friends are boys. Not that a 4 year old has hundreds of friends, it just worked out that all of my friends who have children her age have boys. I think she likes having boys as friends just because they let her have her way and they listen to her when she tells them what to do.

Back in August, we went to Ft. DeSoto for a picnic. Alex is usually petrified of the water but somehow Mckenna convinced him that it was ok to go for a swim. This summer while we were in Utah, Mckenna taught herself how to swim. She was trying to teach Alex as well since she is a certified swimmer at 4!

After playing in the water, it was time for a little lunch. I was bringing Alex his lunch and Mckenna and Alex decided that they should say a prayer before eating.

After eating, they were a little thirsty, or they really just weren't done playing in the water. They were playing with the drink cooler and I suggested that they go and play with the water faucet.


They had a blast playing. What I didn't capture on film, is after they were done with their drinks they had made quite a pool of water. So they just sat right down in the mud and played.
Here they are showing how strong they are. Notice the little mud puddle they've created. Mckenna is quite lucky being the last child, or maybe not. Dirt doesn't really bother me as much as when the other kids were older so she gets to play in the mud, dirt whatever she gets herself into.

Note to self.....

You probably shouldn't put a cake in the oven, set the timer and then go take a shower, and put no one in charge....

No, it's not chocolate....

It's vanilla.....with burnt frosting?

More random vacation pictures

This was the last night before we were heading back to Salt Lake. This was about the closest that Mckenna got to Curt the entire trip. She always warms up to him on the last day. One day, Curt, you will be her favorite uncle.

I think that they are wondering what the heck everyone is doing. Maybe that was when dear old dad was dancing to YMCA?

Mckenna was very proud of her pirate treasures. Notice in the background lots of legs -- this was the only picture that I took of everyone playing wallyball. Um I think that's what they called it. Anyway this is what everyone was doing in their spare time. Sorry I can't explain to you what wallyball is except it's played in a raquetball court with a volleyball net.

Every year, they have pool games one afternoon. I am not sure what they are trying to do with or to Danielle but she is being a good sport about it for sure!

Cody repelling down from his walk in the trees. To get up their you have to climb up a tree log and then up this climbing wall. Then you get to walk around on a very thin wire up in the trees. Our whole family did this with the exception of Mckenna, Dani and I. I can safely say that I will NEVER attempt to try this!

Cody getting ready for his first dance. Notice all the stuff in the back ground the boys lived out of their suitcase for a week.

Jessica walking in the trees!

Michael following Jessica in the trees.

Mike and I with his sister Sherry after our hike up the the waterfall. The four of us took a nice leisurely hike up to these waterfalls. It was so nice to smell the fresh mountain air and take in the beautiful sights.

Michael and Cody with the cousins at the dance. They were too cool for words.

Summer Vacation

I know it's almost Halloween and I am just posting pictures from our vacation. But, it's not entirely my fault. Our camera broke so I couldn't get the pictures from the camera until yesterday. Ok well I could have if I would have taken the memory card out of the camera and put it in the computer -- but honestly I didn't think about it.

Back in July we took our family to Utah, yes 8 of us. In case you were wondering, this is what it looks like when you pack for 8 people for 2 weeks, 8 checked bags and 16 carry-ons!

Notice the anguished look on the faces of these children.

There is no room for ANYTHING after we strategically place every piece of luggage and child in the car. We got to the airport and arrived safely in Utah and didn't leave anyone home alone!! That was a feat in and of itself. I know there are other pictures of the airport fiasco but I am not sure which computer they are on and honestly I am so far behind I just better keep going for now. Just trust me when I say that in Tampa we got a lot of looks when we were walking through the airport with 6 kids and lots of carry-on luggage.

The pictures are a tad bit out of order but if I don't do this now -- it won't get done! The second part of our family vacation was spent with the rest of the Jones family at Aspen Grove. It's a family camp run by BYU. We always have a great time and you have to admit the scenery is beautiful!

Mckenna caught her "whopper"

The Jessikca's trying to look cool by NOT swimming.

All of the grandkids in age order from oldest to youngest minus three grandkids Mckenna was done taking pictures so she is far right just out of the camera view. One is on a mission the other is at school.

Here are all the grandkids in height order.

Everybody loves Jessika!

Mckenna learning how to get a real old fashioned drink from the hose at Aunt Ramona's house.

The first week we were in Utah the Jessikca's went to Especially for Youth at BYU. They got to ditch the rest of us for the week, live in the dorms and hang out with a bunch of kids there own age. I tried to convince them to let me stay but they weren't buying it. They had a blast, even though the air didn't work in their room. But good thing they have a great dad because he ran to the store and got them a fan so they wouldn't be too miserable.

Behind the smiles they are really ready for us to leave so they can go check out the scenery.

Walking to the dorms -- they are so cool with their matching tie-dye shirts. They made those as well as matching bandanas that said Jess #1 and Jess #2. I don't think we ever got pictures of those. They also had these huge sunglasses -- oh to be young again!

The kids minus Mckenna with Grandma and Grandpa Jones.

There are more pictures but this blog won't cooperate so for now this is all I am posting so I can move on and catch up!! So stay tuned for more of our Utah adventures......