"A Few of My Favorite Things"

By: Hilary Weeks

Oh, this is the truth somedays!!! Enjoy!!

Until We Meet Again

Big, Bigger and Biggest...

My Biggest...

5th Grader and last year of Elementary School! SCARY!!!!

I love your freckles, handsome boy! My Bigger...

Preschooler for one more year and then off to ALL DAY Kindergarten and riding a school bus NEXT year!! SCARY...and very, very sad for her mom that is pretty much obsessed with her!!! You are beautiful, girly-girl!! My Big...

1 1/2 year old CLIMBER that is into everything and has the attention span of a gnat!! BUT who brings me endless amounts of smiles, laughter and snuggles! Even with your butched hair that I cried many tears about (literally!), you are still the cutest and most handsome toddler around - if I do say so myself!!!

I wonder if the neighbors saw...

I have realized that having kids is just an open invitation for embarrasing moments. That is just a fact of life. It is just something they are good at! At least - my kids are!! The happenings of this morning have made me reflect back on some of those times and get a few chuckles while remembering.

How about the time when Zach was I think 3 or so, (Marci, correct me if I am wrong on this, since you are the culprit) we were out visiting my family in MO. My sister, Marci, Zach and I went to the grocery store for a few things. Marci thought it would be fun to challenge Zach to scream as LOUD as he could, not really thinking he actually would. Guess she didn't know my child well enough to know that the word, LOUD and Stimpson children go hand in hand! So Zach proceeded to scream as loud as he possibly could!! To the point that it sounded like he was being abused! I quickly shut him up, and gave Marci the evil eye and smacked her (I think...if I didn't, I should have!), to which she and Zach then laughed hysterically.

Or how about when just recently, we were at an equestrian center looking at some beautiful horses. We had instructed the kids that the rules asked that we not touch the horses and bother them. So when Chloe saw an older man that had long grey hair petting a horse, she exclaimed very loudly, "Dad, why is that lady petting the horse?!" "Shhh" said Chris. That didn't satisfy Chloe because she really wanted an answer so she asked again and again. And yes, he heard.

Or how about after checking out at Costco and while waiting at the front of the store (in front of the checkout lines) for my new phone, Parker reaches back in the cart and proceeds to dump 18 eggs out all over the cart and floor! The poor clean-up lady! Luckily, she was very pleasant, but I was mortified.

But the funniest memory to pop back in my head was of my wonderful Zach. Oh, my Zach. He is quite the funny dude. Always has been. But he has embarrased his parents oh so many times! On this particular day, he and I were at home in our little apartment in California. He was about 2 years old and talking in complete sentences. I had a woman from church whom I didn't know real well coming over to bring me some stuff for Young Women's. Before she came, I had to use the bathroom. She got there right before I finished up and rang the doorbell. I told Zach to hang on and not get the door, but he was so excited to see who it was that he ran to the door and let her in. I then hear him say, "My mom will be out in a minute. She is pooping right now!!" I quickly finished my buisness and went out to greet our company, completely embarrased!

Why did these memories pop back into my head today?

Well, often while Chloe, Parker and I eat breakfast, we call my mom because Chloe usually has something to tell her. So, today was no different, except for she really wanted to dial the number herself. So, I proceeded to tell her the number....1-919...to which she accidently dialed....1-911. I quickly hung up in the middle of the first ring, hoping that I caught it early enough before it connected through and then proceeded to dial my mom's number for Chloe.

Uh...well...I guess I wasn't fast enough! The dispatcher soon called back to make sure everything and everyone was fine. I explained it was an accident from my 4 year old. She took my name and made sure things were fine and then hung up. I clicked back over to my mom, and told her what had happened and we laughed.

Not to long after that, I get a knock at my door...it was two young cops! My dog is out in the front yard and he is thrilled for visitors, so he proceeds to say hello and shed all over one cops nicely pressed uniform! So, I open my door, quickly grab my dog, explain the situation again. All the while, these two young cops, who looked fresh out of highschool and I am sure did not have kids...where not ammused! They wouldn't crack a smile and while proceeded to write down my name and birthdate, the other very dramatically brushed his pants off. After assuring them everything was ok, they went on their way. I closed my door and then got back on the phone with my mom! I said, "Hmmm, wonder if my neighbors saw them?!" To which she assured me that they most likely did and we laughed some more! Embarrasing! (although, I am sure it could have been worse!)

Embarrasing moments....I am glad that I get to have them because that means I have darling little children to keep me on my toes and to bring me much laughter!!!

And a cute picture of my girly that started the fun memories today...

BOSTON

Chris and I were super lucky to be able to have a weekend getaway to Boston at the end of August to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary! We were so excited to go and spend time together - alone - without other distractions. Sadly, we realized that the last small getaway we had was about 5 1/2 years ago in Colorado for Valentine's Day. Not cool! We stayed in Boulder and then went cross-country skiing all day. It was quite fun!!

Taken in 2005 - XC skiing trip getaway for Valentine's Day

It was about 2 months before Karleigh passed away. (we are not counting our house hunting trips that we usually go on every couple years with the kids. Those really aren't a vacation because they are stressful and full of chaos!) So, after 5 1/2 years...we were due for a trip! Lucky for us, we had some free hotel nights and another gift card to use for food! Yippee!!

Brittany, John and Abby were fabulous and wonderful to offer to keep our kids while we were away! How wonderful it was to know that our kids were in good hands and having a good time with their relatives. We sure are going to miss them when they move!! They got to go swimming and watch movies and just play, play, play!! Thank you, Brittany and John for everything!!! Can I just add a little blip about my cute sister-in-law, Brittany? She really is one of the sweetest girls I know. I think she was about 12 or 13 when I first met her while Chris and I were dating. She shared her room with me when I came to the Stimpson's house to meet the fam and I have adored her ever since! She is very soft-spoken and is always kind to everyone she meets. She is beautiful and darling and a fabulous mother! I love watching how gentle she is with her sweet Abby. I love her!

We left on Friday afternoon and drove down to the Boston Temple to do a session. That was a great way to start off our weekend! It is a beautiful temple, inside and out! But really, aren't they all?!

The next day (Saturday) we caught a cab to take us to Long Wharf where we caught our boat to go whale watching!! So fun!! Neither of us have ever been out on a boat in the ocean, plus to get to see some huge massive animals...we were excited! While we were riding the boat for an hour to get out to the whale feeding grounds, we both agreed that we would love to someday do all kinds of outdoor-sy trips. Ya know - like go on a safari, visit the Amazon, Austrailia and many more places were listed! It's ok to have dreams, right!

(Note to self: do not spend a lot of time curling your hair when it is just going to get whipped around crazily by the wind on the boat!! Uh, yeah, not smart!! It was straight after the boat ride!)

The whale watching trip, although crowded with people trying to catch that awesome glimpse of the whales, was actually even a bit romantic! Just the thought of being on a boat in the ocean with the man I love... Well, anyway... we followed a group of about 3 whales. They didn't give us too many tail fin shows, but it was still fun to watch them blow the air high above the surface and to just watch how gracefully they move. Beautiful, magnificant animals! Seeing these huge animals just gave us an even greater appreciation for all the beautiful creations on this earth. Amazing!

Looking at Boston from the boat as we headed back to the wharf.

After getting back from whale watching, we found a little outdoor restaraunt there on the wharf and split a small yummy pizza. We sat and chatted and laughed and laughed. It was super relaxing and many fun memories were shared. After lunch, we went to the IMAX theatre and watched a couple 3-D movies. We then decided to walk around the north side (or the Italian section of town) and window shop and look around. It was packed with people, but still so fun to just be in a big city, holding hands and being together! It was fun to be with Chris in that big, BIG city! We found a cute tiny little Italian restaraunt to eat dinner at. We enjoyed the intimate, quite setting - but mostly, enjoyed each other's company!

I thought this clock tower was really neat, but I couldn't get a good picture of it. So, being the nice guy he is, Chris spent forever trying to get a good picture. With all the lights everywhere, it was hard to get the camera to focus right where we wanted it.

Outside our hotel was the Paramount theatre. We needed one last snapshot of us before heading home on Sunday.

I am so grateful we were able to build the memories we have from our 12th anniversary getaway in Boston! It really made me stop and think about how easy it is to go about our daily lives and just get into the hum-drum of daily living. I miss spending one on one time with Chris - more than just an hour here and there. But if that's all that life with kids, church callings, work and life will allot, then I will gladly take it. It is so important to step out of the norm every once in a while and spend time reconnecting with the one you fell in love with. But it doesn't have to be on a trip, either. It can be in the little things you do every day for each other. The kind note left in his lunch, the ironed shirts, the flowers for "just because I love you", the phone call just to check to see how the other is doing, the backrub after a long day at work (even mommy work!), nice long love letters (one of my favorite!), snuggling up on the couch for a chat and laugh, reminising of fun memories, and the list could go on. I have realized that I do not do enough little things for Chris. I know that I try, but oftentimes I fall short. I have made a goal to do better at letting him know in tiny little ways that I love him. And I have also made a goal to try to notice all the tiny little things he does to show his love for me - because there is a lot, and I often am to sidetracked to notice.

I am grateful for the man I fell in love with 12 1/2 years ago. I am grateful for the memories we have. I am grateful for the lessons we have learned and where we are today. I am grateful that we have weathered many storms together. I have a good husband. He is a good man. He is a talented man. He is extremely intellegent and very good at anything he sets his mind to. He loves his family and is the best dad anyone could ask for. He adores our darling children and that in turn, makes me adore him even more! We are far from the perfect couple. Those storms, well, they have knocked us down many, many times. But I am thankful that we have been able to brush ourselves off and keep on pushing. I am grateful for the man that I get to call MINE! He is wonderful and I don't tell him that enough.

I am looking forward to the next getaway trip! I don't know when it will be, but I sure as heck hope it doesn't have to be in another 5 1/2 years!!!

I love you, Chris! Thank you for the fun trip and then even funner memories!!!

Summer goals...

Schedules?... Goals?... I have never been good with the schedule thing for my kids during the summer. Those two words just never went together in my mind.

Right before I moved from Arizona, I went to a Relief Society Enrichment night and the lesson was on summer goals for your kids! Perfect! It was almost summer time! I had already tried to do little things over the summer, but it would always fizzle out by the end and there was really no incentive, besides Mom said so. This woman seemed to have an amazing family. She raised 11 kids - all of whom had graduated from college! She wanted to teach them how to work, and how to work hard. She wanted them to be as self-sufficient when they left her home as they could, so she would give them their summer goals of things she wanted them to learn depending on their age.

Having a reward at the end of the summer was always the key to making it work. She had many of them learning how to bake a loaf of bread each summer. She said that that last week before the reward deadline, she would have flour flying all over the kitchen as they scrambled to get their bread made (since they had put that off!). But she said the mess was worth it!

She has even written a book about her goals for her kids and if I can remember the name, I will post it. I really want to order it. She said something like the kids summer breaks add up to 3 years of time over their whole school career. That is a lot of time that shouldn't be wasted!


I have always really, really wanted my kids to be self-sufficient when they become adults, so her lesson really hit home. I want them to know how to do lots of things - even things that don't seem important or that big of a deal (especially to the kids)! I am glad I went to that lesson. I had always had thoughts in my head of what I wanted them to be doing, but nothing ever fully sticked.



Last summer, Zach was in charge of doing his own laundry. He had to carry it to the laundry room, wash it, fold it and put it away. No, he didn't love it, but that's ok. He can now start a load of laundry when needed. I haven't made him continue to do it throughout this last year, but someday soon, he will get to be in charge of his laundry. (yes, it was a bit obnoxious for me since he would be doing laundry when I needed to use it, but I guess it taught me to be more patient too!)So, this summer, I decided to give them several goals to work on throughout the whole summer - and to make a chart and have it posted!! Totally an important part - for them and me! I asked him to sew a simple pillowcase. Straight lines - easy. He offered to make a matching one for Parker too and I made one for Chloe. He built a bike ramp out of wood scraps - cutting the wood himself and screwing the nails in. (yes, I supervised...my 10 year old was using a jigsaw and drill!! Yikes!!) He made dinner for us one night and also learned to iron a shirt! Yeah for Zach!! Chloe and Parker also had their goals too and were proud of themselves when they finshed them...or at least Chloe was. Parker...well...he didn't really care. I guess I was the proud one!

I woke up one morning to yummy smells and some clanking around in the kitchen. Zach came up shortly after to tell me that breakfast was ready. He had made us all pancakes!! What a sweet boy!! They were quite yummy too!

I really think that having the goals posted for the kids really helped to keep them (and me!) remember what they were working on. If they were bored, I could tell them to look at the board and see what they could work on. I think we will be doing this every summer!!

They DID IT!!!

So this summer started out way different than most....we picked up and moved across the country!! Like...WAY across the country!! And...a very wonderful part about moving was that I was not 8 months pregnant!! Not FUN!! It amazed me at how different moving can actually be when not huge and uncomfortable, needing to find dr's right away, then having a tiny little one to care for along with the other kids, and being exhausted from no sleep and too much to do (with unpacking, etc).

I was determined to make this summer different from many others. #1 goal - HAVE FUN WITH MY KIDS! #2 goal - set up a schedule and actually try to stick to it! # 3 goal - get Zach as adjusted as I could before he started school in a new place. I can say that....we did it! While we needed to adjust the schedule to different circumstances, it was good to have a base to work from. But we really did succeed on our most important goal - we had LOTS of fun! (I know these next posts on our summer adventures may bore others, but I need to get them recorded. Feel free to skip them if you would like)

And the prize at the end of the summer for doing their jobs and goals...a FUN trip to FUNTOWN amusement park!!! The kids really were excited all summer long for their reward, but still saved many of their goals (uh-hmm Zach) for the last couple weeks before the deadline. If they didn't get their goals completed, I told them that I would find a babysitter for them while the rest of us went and had FUN!

Here are lots of pictures from our FUN day at FUNTOWN!!

Driving the old antique cars

Looking out above the park on the Ferris Wheel! (for the record...I don't love ferris wheels! Never have!)

Bumper boat FUN! I love the look on their faces!

Darling Parker driving his own little mini bumper boat. He was kind of nervous... but was having a great time. He just keeps a serious face, but if you know him well...he is totally having FUN!

Chloe on the mini bumper boats.

All Chloe could talk about before going was how excited she was to ride on the carousel!

I don't remember the name of this little contraption, but it was awesome...and quite freaky! Chris and I took turns riding on it with Zach. When you got to the top, you could look out and see the ocean! FUN!

Don't crash us, Zach!

I thought Parker was about to fall out of this airplane because they didn't know how to pull the stick to make them level out! They had a great time!

More boat FUN!

Chloe LOVED this ride! She went on if over and over and over while we waited for Chris and Zach to get back from a ride! So cute!

Parker would cry when he had to get off the swings! He had SO much FUN on them!

I just love how Parker is the driver!

Go-Carts...one of Zach's favorite FUN things to do...and the track wasn't even that great! Chris got a dud car and wasn't able to go fast. Maybe it was just a let down because they waited in line for about 45 minutes!!! Boo! The first drop on this roller coaster was quite freaky and FUN at the same time! Zach insisted we sit right in the front...doesn't he know his dear old mother isn't a fan of heights! And heights at a fast speed...! No really, I do love roller coasters! It is just a bit nerve racking while I wait!

The first drop...Chris couldn't resist buying this picture...

We had a great time and had LOTS of FUN!!! Goals are great to have and the rewards are even better!!!