Summer showings

This morning I discovered that preparing the house for a showing is a whole new ball game with four kids at home all day. I actually thought it would be easier to clean with the big boys around to help out, both with chores and the little kids.

Um, not so much.

By the time 11:00 a.m. rolled around I was completely stressed. If the kids were in the house, they were making messes and waking up Lexi. If they were out of the house, Gavin was escaping the backyard and everyone came in and out a hundred times for this and that. Keeping the wood floor and the sliding door clean with such shenanigans was impossible.

As I was cleaning -- and mothering, and feeling exceedingly overwhelmed -- a scripture passage kept running through my head. It's from Doctrine & Covenants 121: 7-8:

"Peace be unto thy soul. Thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but for a small moment;

"And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high, and thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

Oh, how I am trying to endure this phase well! I was also comforted by the words to "Be Still, My Soul," a portion of which reads:

"Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

I am always grateful when such things come to mind during stressful times!

Once the house was ready to show, we got in the car and had to be gone for 90 minutes. I was pretty sure that I couldn't manage such a feat. But manage I did....after a little pep talk from a friend on the phone.

We started at McDonald's. A kind soul offered to carry my heavily-laden tray to our table when she saw me balancing Lexi on one hip and the tray in the opposite hand. Lunch was mostly pleasant. The boys darted in and out for bites of food as they played. I caught my breath and spooned yogurt into Lexi's mouth in between her bites of chicken nuggets.




While we were at McDonald's, Garry called to tell me that someone else wanted to see the house today; their showing was scheduled just after the first one. We had to be out until 2:30.

So instead of going home for naps, we went to an indoor playground called Whit's End at the Focus on the Family Welcome Center. I had heard great things about this place, most notably the admission price: free. The boys had heard friends talk about Whit's End, as well. The kids were thrilled, and I was glad for an indoor "safe zone" where we could hunker down for a while.

Um, no.

I wish someone had warned me that Whit's End is a maze. My four kids ran in four different directions. I just had to trust that Zach and Tyler would be OK; it was tons of work just keeping track of Gavin with Lexi on my hip. I silently prayed that no one would get abducted or hurt. Several people commented on how I should have brought a friend to help me. The hour we spent there was completely exhausting. I was sweating when we left. Sweating, I tell you!

I did manage to snap a few pictures:





Today's showings went really well -- especially the first one. On Sunday we have scheduled a second showing with a family who came last week. Their agent called yesterday to say her clients are very interested. We are ever hopeful that someday soon -- very soon -- this crazy phase of life will "lead to a joyful end."

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Every time I comb the boys' hair, they complain. Exacerbating this problem is the sad fact that the boys and Garry have gone far longer than usual without haircuts. Life has been busy and the house must always be clean, so a series of kitchen haircuts always seems like too much work. Zach and Tyler have been begging (begging, I tell you) for buzzes.

I'm not a great fan of the buzz, but I have to admit that a buzz is very low-maintenance and cool in hot weather. So I struck a deal with the boys: I would buzz their hair on the first day of summer.

That would be today.



One down, two to go.





I couldn't bear to buzz Gavin's hair, so I just trimmed it up a bit.



This full dustpan is equal parts gross and fascinating!



I have no idea what to do with this mop....except let it grow. Girl hair is a mystery to me.



I still don't love the buzzed look, but it's a step up from a razor shave, which is what Zach wanted. And the boys' hair will have time to grow out before family pictures in August. And I scored myself some Cool Mom points, too. I always need those!

Last day of school

June 2 was the last day of school. Finally!
With a bunch of snow days built into the school year, this day
has been a looooong time a-comin'. We are all ready!



I can't believe how much these boys have grown during this school year.
Zachary, especially, seems to have shot up a foot.
And Tyler was so young and inexperienced back in August.
Now he is confident and ready for first grade!



Zach's class didn't have any activities for the families to participate in on the last day, but the Littles and I attended Tyler's kindergarten graduation. As planned, we snuck in just before the program started and I stood in the back with the stroller. The downside is terrible video footage and no pictures of the actual ceremony, but the upside is that the stroller fit back there (the gym was totally packed) and I could feed the Littles contraband fruit snacks and graham crackers to keep them quiet.

Tyler held up a "T" during a cute alphabet song. He jammed to the music the kindergarteners (all 93 of them - 5 classes) sang, too. His sweet dance moves were fun to watch. Tyler accepted his diploma with a huge grin on his face! After the program, we went back to Tyler's classroom for cake and some pictures.

Here is Tyler with his best buddy, Carter. Ty and Carter are both moving this summer. I'm glad one won't be left here without the other!

So now begins our summer! We are excited to open the next chapter.

Friends+food=fun!

Our family was delighted to attend a barbecue with friends to celebrate Memorial Day. We had already put in a full day with our Pikes Peak adventure, so this relaxing evening was the perfect way to end our day.

The three other families in attendance -- the Murdocks, the Harveys, and the Lovejoys -- are all connected through dental school and current dental practices. However, I had an interesting link to all of them: visiting teaching! Way back when we were newlyweds, Garry and I moved into the same BYU married student ward as Kym and Jon Harvey (at Harmony Square). I became Kym's visiting teacher, and we also worked in Relief Society together. We parted ways about two years after that, and in April, boundary changes put us in the same ward again.

Two years ago, the Murdocks moved into our ward here in Colorado Springs. I became Adri's visiting teacher, and she was a delight to visit. When we switched wards, I lost Adri but gained Kim Lovejoy, who is Kym Harvey's neighbor. It is so interesting to note how small the world is in the LDS community. I feel lucky to be connected to these amazing women!

Our evening with these fun friends was delightful. The weather was perfect for relaxing on the back porch, and the company was great. I was so pleased that the kids were (mostly) very well behaved! Garry and I were actually able to enjoy pleasant grown-up conversation most of the time. That is a rare treat.

L to R: Chad (standing), Jon, Kym, Josh, Kim, Peter, Adri (standing);
Lexi, Garry, Katie, Davis, Madison

The kids played and played until Lexi was suddenly READY FOR BED. We had fun fun fun while it lasted!

Thanks for the fun, friends!

Purple mountain majesty

We spent Memorial Day on Pikes Peak. This is a mountain I have wanted to summit since the day we arrived in Colorado Springs. I always assumed I would hike to the top (all 14,110 feet), but I haven't made it happen yet. Yesterday the family reached the summit in our van. What a great trip!

We took about 200 pictures, selected 45 favorites, and pared down from there. There are still lots of photos in this post! Click to enlarge...

Here is a view of Pikes Peak as seen from the freeway near our home. Although we can't see the peak from our yard, a spectacular view is just around the corner. I revel in the beauty of that mountain on a daily basis!

I was very happy to see this sign: the road is open to the summit! We attempted this outing last weekend, and called the ranger station for a weather report a few times since, but high winds prevented us from getting to the top. Even though we called ahead yesterday, we didn't quite believe that the weather would cooperate until we arrived. As it turned out, the weather was glorious!

The temperature at the foot of the mountain was 86 degrees. We were enjoying the air conditioning in the van, but the rangers suggested we turn it off as we began the 19-mile climb up the mountain. So we rolled down the windows. The kids thought the wind in the van was hysterical. We fed the kids a steady stream of crackers and water to alleviate any altitude sickness that might occur.

I was immediately captivated by the beauty of the scenery. I loved the vivid contrast of red rocks, green trees, blue sky, and white snow (yes, snow!). I marveled at the stunning variety and perfection of God's creations. As we hit the timber line (at 12,000 feet), it was amazing to see how the landscape was suddenly barren.

Just before we reached the top, I was astonished to see people skiing and snowboarding down the mountain. The icy "ski runs" were only a few hundred yards long, but they were extremely steep! Watching the people go made me pretty nervous, as did the windy roads with no guard rails. Garry laughed at my phobias. I was glad he was driving.

We finally made it to the summit! The views from the top were simply stunning. The sky was perfectly clear, so we could see for miles and miles (hundreds?). The temperature was a brisk 45 degrees, but we were prepared for sub-freezing temperatures. Even the wind was calmer than expected. The kids fed quarters into the telescope machines to see out into Colorado Springs. We took tons of pictures to commemorate the moment and capture the amazing view.

Garry took several shots of the Colorado Springs valley and stitched them together on the computer in a panorama. Pretty incredible!

The monument we posed in front of celebrates Katharine Bates, who penned the words to "America The Beautiful" while atop Pikes Peak. Her words were certainly stirring as we stood in that spot:

O Beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesty
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee.
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Each of us selected something from the gift shop to commemorate our time there. Then we made the drive down the mountain. I savored every minute of those beautiful views! The boys saved quarters for some view finders they spotted on our way up, so we enjoyed the beautiful vistas up close on our way down. We also stopped at Crystal Lake on the North Slope for some pictures. That would be a gorgeous place to spend the day!

On the way out, with "America the Beautiful" in our heads, we remembered the soldiers and freedoms we celebrate on Memorial Day. What a wonderful land. What a wonderful day!