March Madness

I keep putting this off - most of our March photos are on Handsome Hubby's phone and I keep forgetting to get them from him...

So, here's a rundown for the month of March - I began the month with a cold and ended it with a different one... the 30 degree temperature changes were killing me!!!  Anyway, back to what we've been doing :)

OTG Boy started us off on March 1st by being chosen to participate in the science fair.  No awards - but, good experience.  He and his partner wanted to see if they could reverse polarity of magnets by exposing them to an electromagnet.

This first weekend of the month Handsome Hubby, OTG Boy and The Professor had a scout campout.  Bubba was invited to a birthday party.  Junior and I had a little mommy-son time - very rare!  Handsome Hubby and OTG Boy arrived home just in time to clean-up and head out the door for the Stake Conference Priesthood Leadership Meeting - they were part of the special musical number.

We had a great weekend of Stake Conference... and then back to real life... all the lessons... all the school... all the scouts... and OTG Boy made it into the Junior High Festival Orchestra and practices started that Monday.  The younger kids liked it, because that meant instead of Bubba riding the bus home - I'd pick him up and take everyone to the park while we waited for OTG Boy to get out of school.  Then we'd drive to rehearsals as quickly as possible.

Off to a great start, until Tuesday morning.   Before school had even started the school nurse called.  Bubba had been hit in the head by a flying rock out on the playground.  The nurse said the bump was about the size of a quarter and assured me Bubba was fine.  Around noon I received a second phone call - Bubba was not feeling fine.  Long story short - if that bump was the size of a quarter - that's the hugest quarter I've ever seen!!!  And by the time I had Bubba home - I could tell he was not ok - so, off to the doctor we went... and discovered Bubba had a mild concussion.  The doctor wanted to help Bubba understand why he would need to be careful for the next couple of weeks and not play too rough - he did a good job explaining why injuries to the brain can be serious.  So good in fact, that when Bubba woke up the next day, he just looked at me and said, "Mom, don't you even love me?!?"  I was a little confused.  "Yes, why don't you think I love you?"  "The doctor told you to wake me up and check on me during the night... and YOU DIDN'T...  I could have died!"  I was shocked.  You see, Handsome Hubby and I took turns faithfully getting up every two hours during the night.  We'd wake Bubba up - he'd even talk with us.  We thought he was doing just fine.  Apparently, it turns out - he didn't remember any of it.

The next night our Bishop stopped by.  He released me from my calling as the Primary President.  Honestly kind of happy - kind of sad... but I was running on very little sleep - so it was kind of a blow to realize I wouldn't be working with the kids and leaders anymore.  Of course, you don't have to wait long for your next growing experience - I am now the ward music chairman and music director.

So... here we are and the week's not over yet.  The next day Handsome Hubby took the final test to complete that MBA he's been working on... and you guessed it, he PASSED!!!  MBA is done, oh yeah!  He is so smart and such a hard worker - I am very, very proud of him.  His graduation ceremony will be in July... but he's already received his diploma and transcripts so everything is official.  It's great to have him around again!

Next came Spring Break - and we sprung... we spent a night in Flagstaff and then headed to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We hiked along the rim... it was so beautiful - and the kids even found a few piles of snow to play in.  So, even if it was just for a day - our get-a-way was wonderful - the perfect break from our crazy life.

We finished off the month with the JHFO concert for OTG Boy.  Pack Meeting for Bubba.  Karate Graduation for The Professor.

Whew!!!  I'm glad we made it... now for April!

It's Quiet... too Quiet

Last Friday morning I was helping The Professor with his math. It was pretty intense. After about 20 minutes of working hard, I realized I hadn't heard even the tiniest "peep" from Junior. Any mom will tell you, that's just not good.

So the hunt began... after checking a couple of rooms my heart sank and I new exactly where he was - the forbidden "Big Boy Room."

I pushed on the door - it hardly moved. I pushed a little harder, cracked it open enough to see that a chair and scriptures had been stacked against the door to block it shut. Pushed a little harder and caught Junior's face of panic sitting in the middle of a giant mess. He had pulled out every game, every basket of stuff, clothes out of drawers... you get the picture. He had trashed his brothers room. Without blinking, or looking away, he solemnly said,...

"Mama, don't look at any of this."

Anything Happening at HaHa's House?

I never thought I would say it, but I was talking with Handsome Hubby the other day and all of the sudden I found myself saying how much I missed the good 'ole days of having only one car and two kids under the age of two.

Did I just say that?!?

Yeah, I did... WOW.

For me, life seems to cycle. Sometimes I feel like everything is amazing and then I feel like everything is insane. Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed - you can tell by the lack of blog posts :) Professional blogging is definitely not my thing - but keeping in touch with friends and family - I thought that should be pretty do-able... I thought.

So, I thought I better get posting so you'd know what was going in HaHa Land!

Handsome Hubby

New calling in the church, Scout Master! With the new calling a new something to drive. Our little old Saturn was having problems right & left... so he got to get a little something he's been wanting for years!!!

The Professor, Handsome Hubby & OTG Boy

Headed off to the Stake Camporee Last Fall

He loves his new toy!

He's studying like crazy to finish-up the MBA - he's doing great - and we are ALL looking forward to graduation! With all of his extra-curricular, life at work is pretty crazy, too... new owners, new bosses, new responsibilities - if you're curious give him a call - he'll tell you all about his adventures.

OTG Boy

On the Go, as usual. Biggest changes - he just registered for high school and I am in total denial! In the meantime, he's doing great with school he's in orchestra and choir and also decided to learn the mandolin for Fiddle Club. And just for fun decided to be part of the Year Book Club, too. He has his eye on engineering, but I have to say he's pretty good with graphic design - yearbook club has brought that out. Summer is over, but he's still volunteering at the library - good kid - works hard.

He also loves to play goalie and took weight training as an elective this year.
It's official - he's a teenager!

The Professor

Absolutely loves his classes for school! Online schooling has been a huge blessing in this kid's life. However, he likes to get out of the house sometimes, too. He has so much fun going to his scout activities and tells me everyday about his amazing leaders. He's worked up to a blue belt in his martial arts class and can make one of the best "intense" faces you have ever seen. The Professor's biggest change?

Braces!

I tried and tried - but no matter how many pictures I took - he still came out looking like a teenager. I guess this little boy is growing-up, too.

Bubba

Bubba loves to have fun! His favorite subject in school is recess and his second favorite is lunch :) You get this kid together with his friends and he does not stop talking! He's been working hard at school and making definite progress with reading & spelling... and the kid is a math whiz! The only day of the week he actually enjoys homework is math day - any other day I think he'd actually prefer having a tooth pulled... if he just didn't have to do homework!

Bubba's biggest news is that he was baptized this past year and it was so fun to have family in town! We were lucky to have both sets of grandparents, a couple of aunts, a couple of uncles and a lot of cousins come by for the happy day... it was really great to see everyone!

Junior

Well, what's not constantly changing about this little man? The one constant? He's still a daddy's boy! A day without Daddy is just wrong! He loves playing High Ho Cherri-o and Candyland. His biggest accomplishment since Christmas - Potty Training! No more diapers at HaHa's House!!!

HaHa

Now you can see why I miss the no car - toddler days. Back then I spent my time, all day - pretty much everyday - at home. No commitments. No craziness. No needing to be four places at the same time while Handsome Hubby is out of town. Just walks to the park with my double stroller and playing in the backyard.

These days I'm driving kids everywhere and trying to organize schedules. I spend my days helping The Professor with school. Reading and singing with Junior. Working on spelling lists with Bubba and trying to keep up with OTG Boy.

Junior, HaHa & The Professor the park in Fountain Hills

It's hard to find a picture of myself - I'm always behind the camera :)

Life is definitely crazy... but... definitely good!

And I am thankful, every day, for the boys who make my life amazing!

I'm a Mormon

I recently updated my profile at Mormon.org - if you'd like to take a look just scroll down my blog and click on the button that says "I'm a Mormon"... or click here.

Our Favorite Hang-out!

We love going to the Arizona Science Center!

When you walk in they have a telescope you can look in - really it's a video camera... it projects your eye onto a lens of a giant telescope hanging from the ceiling. If you stand back far enough you can get your whole face on the screen instead of your giant eye.

Over the summer they had a really fun special exhibit called Mazes.

The kids loved it. They had labyrinths you could walk through - of course - with all kinds of science activities along the way. They had mazes to follow on the floors, rope mazes and all kinds of maze games.

OTG Boy's creation!

Bubba and Junior decided to build a house!

These foot mazes were fun... and tricky!

We couldn't tear Bubba away.

The Professor a-"maze"-ing structure :)

These marble mazes were so addicting - OTG Boy and I agree - we need to buy one!

The "Big" Camping Trip

The last week of July we headed for the mountains...

it was wonderful!!!

It was monsoon season - very rainy - very cold...

It was so much better than sitting at home in the 112 degree heat!
It was beautiful!!!

The kids had a wonderful time!

The Professor overcame his fear of bugs (mostly) and spent a lot of time enjoying the forest - he also helped Handsome Hubby with some cooking and passed-off a few scout requirements.

Junior was in heaven - and endless supply of sticks, strange bugs to look at, hiking & mud!

My little comedian - Bubba - if you've ever seen "Open Season" you may recognize Elliott :)

The boys loved fire building - but Handsome Hubby will tell you, he was impressed/shocked/if not a little frightened with my fire building skills.

OTG Boy spent a lot of time playing, but most of his time fishing.

Junior gathering firewood.

The only picture with me - and it's blurry... oh, well :)

We were trying to get a picture of our new tent. Handsome Hubby and I bought it as our anniversary gift to ourselves... after 14 years we've outgrown the tent my aunts and uncles gave us for our wedding. This one is fun it has room dividers, so The Professor & Bubba shared a room, Junior slept with Handsome Hubby and I, and OTG Boy had a room to himself... everyone was happy AND had plenty of space!

We had a good time - while Handsome Hubby took the boys off for their own special dad/son time (either fishing or hiking) I stayed at camp and played with the boys 0r went for short hikes. If it wasn't raining we were outside playing, making God's Eyes and pet rocks. During the downpours we'd be in the tent playing Scrabble, Mancala, UNO, drawing or reading... it was great - no technology allowed - except for Handsome Hubby - somehow that iPad kept finding it's way out ;)

4 Days & 3 Nights of camping - it was so nice to get away!

Summer Round-up

No need to worry about Junior - he can hold his own just fine!

Dear Family & Friends,
You're probably wondering what we did with ourselves this past summer... especially since we didn't take any big vacations, missed ALL the family reunions, and basically haven't left the state since last summer. (Well unless you count Handsome Hubby - he's been off on business trips to California & Texas... but I don't... I like to travel too!)

If you ask the kids they'll tell you they did chores ALL summer - and they did - but here at HaHa's house we pay on commission so, honestly, it couldn't have been that bad - they were pleased with their summer incomes.

So here's the rundown...

Handsome Hubby - worked a lot, studied a lot, has enjoyed his calling as an 11-year-old scout leader, and is basically functioning on very little sleep - I can't believe how much he accomplishes in the day. Thank goodness the MBA will be done by next summer!

OTG Boy - and the award for "Not Wasting Time" goes to... yes OTG Boy. Not only did he attend Scout Camp for a week, he spent the summer participating in Swim Team, played on a water polo team, had a couple of scout camp outs (in addition to camp), cello lessons, Young Men activities and he volunteered at least once a week at the library. The teenage years are upon us - this is one kid who's hard to keep up with.

The Professor - karate, karate, karate... lots of karate! Also, since he didn't have swimming lessons I "made" him spend time in the pool everyday practicing all his strokes. Don't worry - plenty of free swim time too... I'm not that mean :)

Bubba - took swimming lessons from the best teacher he's ever had! He loved getting his gummy worm at the end of each lesson... such a good little fish.

Junior - well he spent a lot of time with mommy in the car driving to everyone's activities. However, he played in the pool every day, too - he loves jumping off the side and swimming to the steps (still needs help, but he's doing great)!

HaHa - driving, driving & driving. In between activities we managed to throw in our weekly Summer Fun movie at Harkins, plenty of trips to the AZ Science Center (one of our favorite places), a wild morning at BounceU, oh and we can't forget, plenty of trips to the library - the kids completed the both the Mesa & Phoenix summer reading programs (and yes, if you are wondering, I am "that" mean - they had to read separate books for each - but my kids love books so really it's better to have a challenge) - can't wait to take the kids to their free Diamondbacks game!

Also, Handsome Hubby and I had tickets to see "Little Shop of Horrors" - Handsome Hubby thinks I'm so funny but, I love that musical.

And to top off the wonderful summer "break"? A family camping trip - that will get a blog post all it's own.

Very great summer! I'm trying to enjoy them and keep track of the memories - my little boys are growing-up - I love it, but I hate it.

Hope you all had wonderful summers, too!

Love,

HaHa

P.S. We hope to see a lot more of you in the next year!