So Much Blogging...So Little Time!

Things I should have blogged about and haven't:

End of July: Girls Camp!
I got to go to Girls Camp this year. Our Young Women's President was moving so we all knew a change was coming, just not what or when. So to have this time was amazing!
We had some rain - it only took me ALL day to dry out! The best part (as always) was getting to know the Young Women better. They even scared me so bad I would have wet my pants if I hadn't been coming from the bathroom! I think they are still laughing about it!
I was lucky enough to get to stay right where I was! I love these girls so much and am so grateful to get to work with them. I did have to leave early and miss testimony meeting which was hard because that is like the best part! But it was for a good reason, which leads us to...

Last weekend in July: Baptism Weekend!
Friday my sister, Megan's step son Jarom, was baptised. It was a wonderful evening! Jarom may have come into our family via marriage but he is no less a part of the family. We feel very blessed to get to be a part of his family!
On Saturday my other sister, Abby's son Corbin, was baptised in Lehi and down to almost the very same hour Jeron's sister, Becky's daughter Lizzy, was baptized in Tremonton. It was so hard for us to not go to both baptisms as a family but it was better to divide and conquer then to miss one all together. So we put the big kids names in a hat (it was decided from the beginning Maycie would go with mom) so that no one had to choose. Jaxon and Porter went with dad to Tremonton and Connor and Emma came with mom and Maycie to Lehi. I love both of these kids so much! What a wonderful problem to have, too many baptisms. And that we live close enough to be there!

End of August: Back to School!
I am a horrible mom and didn't really get any pictures this year! If you can believe it though, Jaxon is in 8th grade, Connor is in 6th and Porter is in 4th! Is is so hard to believe my boys are getting so big! Emma is going to the preschool at West Jordan High. The boys all did it and I love that Emma gets to do it too! It is hard to believe she'll be starting Kindergarten next year.

September: Skipping September right now you'll see why in later posts.

October: Eight years ago we had a lot of babies born in our family! Jeron's sister, Angie's daughter Hannah, was baptised. I was supposed to give my first baptism talk ever and ended up so late I missed it. I cried and cried! Luckily our family is so understanding and did everything they could to make me feel better! The most important part is the we didn't miss the actual baptism! We are so grateful for such a wonderful family, and that Hannah is a part of it!

November 1st: Christmas Music!
Are you kidding me? Now I know there are a lot of you out there who LOVE this and would have it start even earlier if you could. I have nothing against Christmas music. But I LOVE Thanksgiving! I love everything about Thanksgiving. The food. Turkey, mashed potatoes, pie! The family. Everyone together, enjoying each other. But most of all I love having a time set aside reminding me how much I have to be grateful for. Something I should be thinking about and remember all the time, I know. And I try! But I love the special time set aside to do so, especially right before Christmas. What a wonderful reminder of what this season is all about. The Birth of my Savior. That He came to this earth as we all did, a small, innocent, humble baby. He grew and lived a perfect life. He then provided a way for me to return to live with Him again through the Atonement. He suffered for my sins, He died for me and then was Resurrected, providing the way for us all. This I am most grateful for because it is what everything else is built on.
So, now that I have had my time on my soap box! Bring on the Christmas music and let's start a most wonderful celebration of our Saviors Birth!

Brothers!

I have already said that our little family worked out just about as perfect as possible. The one thing is that 4 of my 5 kids have birthdays between September 26 and November 15! Poor Connor, stuck in March between mom and dad. The boys birthdays may not be all together but that hasn't stopped them from being good friends and great brothers. Don't get me wrong. They are not perfect and have bad days. They can yell and fight with the best of them! When they were little and we were moving a lot they always had each other. We have stories about paint and frogs and so many more I can't even remember! Most of them are about getting into trouble but what else would you expect from 3 little boys. We have gone from Connor wanting to do everything Jaxon did and Porter wanting to be in the thick of everything his brothers did to them coming into their own things.

Jaxon has done football for the last 2 years and has done really well. He is thinking about Lacrosse in the spring to have options High School.

Connor did Lacrosse this last spring and loved it! It was so good for him, in so many ways. I worried when Jaxon started talking about Lacrosse. It was kind of nice for Connor to have his own thing. But Jaxon going to Connor and asking for help was good for Connor.

Porter did football this year. He has only been asking to do this since he was 4! There was no question when I saw him in his pads for the first time that he was made for this sport.

Jaxon and Porter went to Lacrosse games and learned all about this new sport. Connor went to football games and has learned more about a sport he didn't care about before his brothers played.

Jaxon turned 14 on October 30, Porter turned 10 on November 15 and Connor will be 12 on March 4. That means in March I will have a Teacher and a Deacon with Porter right on their heals. I feel the weight of teaching them. I look at the things they are up against in this world today. The moment I found out Jaxon was a boy the Stripling Warriors became more then just a scripture story. I want to be that kind of mom! I want my boys to never doubt because they know that I know. I am so grateful for them and the joy (and stress =)) they bring into my life! Jaxon, Connor and Porter know that I always love you. Thank you for ... being you!

Sisters!

I have to say, if someone had asked me when I got married how I thought my little family would turn out I'm not sure what I would have said. I just know I didn't expect this! When people would ask Jeron and I how many kids we wanted we would both say 3 or 4 or how ever many the Lord sent us. Jeron was thinking closer to 3, I was thinking closer to 4 and the Lord sent us 5! I cannot imagine our family without anyone of them! I also think it worked out as close to perfect as it could for us!

The girls are 3 years apart and the best of friends. Maycie turned 2 on September 26 and Emma turned 5 on October 7. We were getting ready for the big bed move (Emma from a toddler to a twin and Maycie from the crib to a toddler) so I thought it would be fun for the girls to get bedding for their birthdays! I found at Target I could get matching bedding for a toddler bed and a twin bed! Maycie was very excited and started useing everything even before the big move! But even better then that was what happened on Emma's birthday. I had Emma's bedding in my closet, not hidden very well at all, waiting for dad to get home from work for the birthday celebration to begin. Maycie spotted the bedding and got very excited. Shew knew it wasn't hers but that it was just like hers! That meant it had to be for Emma. I got to spend the rest of the afternoon keeping Maycie from bringing Emma into my bedroom to show her! The moment Emma opened it Maycie was dragging her back to their bedroom to make sure Emma realized they matched!

I looked at the 2 of them and realized how grateful I am for both of them. They both love being a princess, playing dress up and just being with each other. Maycie looks at everything Emma does and wants to be just like her. Emma is a wonderful big sister who loves teaching Maycie how to do things. All I have to do is tell Emma that Maycie is watching her and she shifts into mega helpful mode! And with Maycie all I have to do is tell her Emma does something and there is Maycie wanting to do it too! (I really hope potty training goes this way! =)) I hope and pray they are always this close.

My heart is over flowing with love and gratitude for these two amazing spirits. I want to teach them to be strong and virtuous women who love the Lord. I am truly humbled to be their mom. I love you both very much girls. Happy Birthday to you both!

Wixom Family Reunion (both of them!)

When Jeron and I got engaged one of the things he was so excited for me to get to do was the Wixom Family Reunion! They did it every other year in northern California at a place called Camp Nauvoo. It is one of his fondest memories! Camp Nauvoo (from what I have heard) is similar to the Oakcrest Camp or the new Heber Valley Camp here in Utah. For those of you that still don't know what I am talking about it is a big church owned camp that had a place they could gather and eat together with plenty of room for the whole family to camp in tents or whatever. So I guess like Oakcrest or Heber Valley minus the cabins. I am sure Jeron or one of my sisters-in-law could correct me and give you a much better description. As things in families change I never did get to go to Camp Nauvoo.
They have tried a couple of different locations for the family reunion but haven't been able to find quite the right fit. Especially with the family split between Utah and California (mostly anyway)! The last one we had we went to California and helped put an addition on Jeron's aunts house as a mother-in-law type apartment for Grandma and Grandpa to live in. Grandpa was doing all of the work himself so the family decided to pitch in and give him a hand! Just what family should do. But that was 6 or 7 years ago. 2 years ago Grandpa was turning 80 and we had a big family party here in Utah. This year Grandma was turning 80 and she said she wanted a family reunion instead of a party. So family reunion it was!
Family property (through an in-law) by Delta UT was found to be the perfect fit! There was water to play in, plenty of land to camp on and best of all there were beds for Grandma & Grandpa Wixom and their kids! It was a blast and the kids had a ton of fun with cousins they know and getting to know ones they don't get to see as often.

Maycie in her reunion shirt!

Grandma & Grandpa enjoying the family!

Maycie LOVES babies!

Just so you know a baby is ANYONE smaller then Maycie!


Crafts are always a part of the Wixom Family Reunion!

And Porter took them very seriously!

Aunt Ashley and Thomas.

Grandma Sue with Emma & Claire

Maycie's schedule was a bit off with all the time we have spent away from home! She learned to get her sleep where ever and when ever she could!

Daddy had to check and make sure she was really okay!

She is just that good of a sleeper!

Even the big kids had a blast!

(Can I say how weird it is that Jaxon is one of the "big kids")

Left to right: Aunt Alicia, Aunt Becky, Drew, Hailey, Jake & Jaxon

When given the chance to go for a ride Grandma JUMPED at the chance! It was so cute! She was so excited about it Grandpa kind of had to go weather he wanted to or not!

We left for Delta on Wednesday July 7 in the evening. We got a much later start then we wanted because of football sign-ups so we ended setting our tent up in the dark! We left to come home on Friday late morning. We got home Friday and then turned around and left early Saturday morning for another family reunion! This one was another Wixom Reunion. This time for Grandpa Wixom and his siblings. So alot of people we didn't really know. But we hadn't made it last time so we drove to Burley ID for the 3rd time in about 6 weeks!

It was at some property owned by a family friend. And if you are going to covet something covet this! It is a HUGE man mad pond/lake fed by the snake river with all kinds of fun things to do!

Like a slide....

grass & shade....


rafts...

an island (behind Connor)...

plenty of room for swimming...


a kiddy pool for Maycie (she wasn't interested in the big kid stuff at all!)...

(doesn't he just look too old and grown up?!)

a zip line that you can take 2 riders and drop one off into the water....

a rope to swing off into the water (that is Porter getting ready to go)...

paddle boats (that is Emma swimming all by herself out to the paddle boat!)

wave bye bye!

There was also a swing that you could swing out over the water and drop in. That was fun!

It was alot of fun and very exhausting!

Okay, I know this picture is horrible! But my hand kept shaking in the moving car! But I had to put it in anyway. If you look closely Emma fell asleep with a book wide open in front of her!

For at least a week if Maycie was in the car for more then a few minutes she would get VERY upset with us! We were all very done being in the car. The kids liked to tease me because they were all done with trips but I still had girls camp ahead of me!

We were all sick of movies by this trip so between Delta and Burley we listened to the first Fablehaven and I got hooked! I am so glad we got to go do so many things this summer. It was about all we got to do but so many wonderful memories! I am glad my kids love camping so much and that they love being with their family. I love building these memories with our extended family and some day soon we'll get out on our own! I promise!

Green River 2010

Every year we try and go on a camping trip with my family. It started with when I was a kid. When I was about 13 or 14 we got a full size van. My mom and dad went out and bought a tent. We set off on the biggest adventure ever! Things didn't go exactly as planed but I don't think it would be nearly as memorable if it had! Long story short we stayed 7 different places in 7 nights! By the last day we broke camp (start to finish) in less then 15 minutes with the van more then 100 yards away. Okay it MAY not have been that far, but it sure felt like at least that! After that we did some kind of trip every year. Some big and some small, but something!

After I got married we started going to Bear Lake every 24th of July. Alot of people thought we were crazy, after all we didn't even have a boat or anything! But it was fun. We would go and play at the beach (when there was one!) and just spent time together as a family. Bear Lake was where I told my brother and sisters we were expecting Connor!

That changed from year to year too. Between the family growing and babies being born things can never stay exactly the same. The date and place have changed over the years. There have been a few years we didn't make it. But for the most part we have done something. 2 years ago we went to Arizona. This year was Green River, UT. "Green River? Why Green River?" You say. Well, because my brother and his wife have moved to Blanding and Green River is the half way point, or as close to half way as you can get anyway!
It was wonderful! We came home from my Grandmothers funeral in Idaho on Monday and left for Green River Thursday. I was a little stressed getting us out the door. I didn't realized how much I had gone into auto mode about getting us to Idaho until we were home and I was trying to get us ready to go camping! Nothing was ready and I had more then a few stressful moments. But we got out the door and after a long detour around an accident we finally got there! Once we were there it was just what I needed!

"What did you do? Did you go rafting? Did you do something amazing?" You ask. Well, we did not go rafting. We did so something amazing though! We relaxed! We spent time at the pool that was at the KOA we stayed at! We sat around a camp fire and had smores and a talent show and enjoyed each other!

My sister Abby with her baby girl Kami with big brother Easton! He loves his baby sister sooo... much!

Maycie seemed so independent this trip. She really thought she was just as big as the big kids! You can see it in her walk!

Kami and Maycie love each other so much!

They spent alot of time with each other.

I think Kami was trying to do Maycie's hair. Her mom says she was trying to pull it out because she is jealous that Maycie has hair. She may be jealous now but the day will come that Kami has more so, it all works out in the end!

Aunt Abby was nice enough to sit with Kami in front of Maycie while she got her hair done. It was the only way I could get her to sit still. At home I have the mirror to help!

I am surprised that Kami will let Emma come near her! She loved helping out with her and keeping her entertained! Lucky for Emma Kami is used to alot of attention from her brothers so it worked out good for the both of them. Emma loved giving her attention and Kami seemed okay with getting it!


The cousins had so much fun being with each other!

We have a few hams, if you didn't notice!

Jarom got to learn how to play Lacrosse catch with Connor!

Porter had alot of fun figuring out this lounger!

Connor loved getting to teach some of his younger cousins about Lacrosse!

Jordan, Emma & Maycie. These girls just love being together! I can't wait to watch as Kami gets older. These 4 are going to be quite the quartet!

We found out that Kami really can sleep anywhere!

Look at that face!

This slide was so much fun for the kids! They got it down to doing tricks off the end! This is Porter's karate chop!

Maycie got so brave! She loved going down the slide! She tried to climb up the latter but we decided it best to just set her in a little way from the bottom! At one point she would go down and come up out of the water and point at the slide again!

Connor trying to skip like a rock!

Okay, I know it looks like we are torturing Emma in this picture. But she really did love the slide! This is what it was like every time! She would get so excited and then as she was going down she would have this look of horror on her face! The really funny thing was then she would get out and go again!

Emma did get very brave in the water while we were there.

Jaxon was so funny! I really got to see how grown up he has gotten, but at the same time he is still just a big kid!

Emma got very good at the doggy paddle! I was amazed at how comfortable she was by the time we left!

Connor found he enjoyed diving to the bottom of the pool!

Jared & Jordan

Maycie & Grammy

Jordan was so brave she would go off without anyone to catch her!

Jordan aiming for the green tube....

Jordan in the green tube!

Connor the cannon ball!

Maycie can find any where to put her feet up!

Relax and enjoy! That was our goal this trip and I think Maycie got the idea just fine!

It really was a wonderful trip. We did go across the street and visit the Green River Museum. It was really interesting. It was so hot I thought I was going to die! We NEVER closed the windows in the tent. You figured out another way to change! Even at night I thought I would burst into flames! Our last day there was a scheduled power outage. I wanted to hit my mom and brother-in-law when they talked about loosing power to the trailer and motor home. "Just when I thought I was really going to get hot the air conditioning turned back on!" They really love to tease me! We all got more mosquito bites then I thought you actually could! Except Jeron who LOVED telling everyone he only got ONE! I think the only ones who beat him where the babies. Kami and Maycie didn't get any!

I am so glad we do this. I love the memories we are building. No matter the place or date I hope it is something I continue on with my own little family! I guess we had better get started on some trips of our own!