The Mom I want to Be

A year ago my sweet father gave me a father's blessing that promised me I would be able to be the mom I want to be. That phrase has stuck with me a lot and I am sure I will think about it a lot through the rest of my life. What kind of mom do I want to be?

1. A mom who loves her children.
2. A mom who plays with her children.
3. A mom who loves their father!
4. An active mom!
5. A healthy mom.
6. A mom who is close to her Father in Heaven.
7. A mom who makes the house feel inviting.
8. A mom who talks kindly to her children.
9. A mom who is quick to admit her mistakes.
10. A mom who teaches her children.
11. A mom who reads to her children.
12. A mom who helps her children to love learning.
13. A mom who teaches her children to pray.
14. A mom who makes her children feel safe.
15. A mom who is patient with her children.
16. A mom who KNOWS her children individually.
17. A mom who lovingly disciplines her children.
18. A mom who teaches her children to love the scriptures.
19. A mom who teaches her children to be kind to others.
20. A mom who teaches her children to serve others.
21. A mom who teaches her children to love everyone, regardless of race or religion.
22. A mom who knows the Savior.
23. A mom who loves the temple.
24. A mom who doesn't gossip.
25. A mom who does her best not to complain.
26. A mom who is grateful for all her blessings.
27. A mom who is close to her family.
28. A mom who is a good friend.
29. A mom who knows what's most important.
30. A mom who knows how to have fun!
31. A mom who keeps her word.
32. A mom who apologizes.
33. A mom who works hard.
34. A mom who accomplishes her goals.
35. A mom who runs.
36. A mom who reads.
37. A mom who still water skis when she is 60.
38. A mom who enjoys being a mom.

Edited to add:
A mom who is not afraid to try.
A mom who is not afraid to fail.
A mom who can cry.
A mom who can teach right from wrong, and then her kids will choose.
A mom who listens to the spirit.

I know I am far from perfect, but I am really working hard to put first things first. I love my children and I want to enjoy being a mom. I am grateful for the opportunity to be at home with them and I am striving to use that time as best as I can. I want to be the best mom I can be with MY gifts and talents. (Notice I didn't put a mom with a spotless house. I have to be realistic here!)

How about the rest of you? What kind of mom do you want to be?

Enjoying the "summer" weather

Well, since we didn't get much of a summer, we are making up for it now! The weather has been incredible, so we have taken the boat out and have just been chillin' outside as much as possible.
Friday was a beautiful day. One of the reasons I wanted to go to the charter school was because of the 4 day week. I am going to try not to have plans on Fridays so we can all just enjoy being together. I rode my bike to the Y, with Bryce and Emily in the trailer and Dallin on his bike. Then I talked my kids into delivering flyers for me. They were very good sports. I rewarded them and kept them busy, especially Bryce, with popcorn and candy in the trailer. Then we stopped at the park and ran into one of my really good friends, Molly. We ended up staying there a couple of hours and Sarah was kind enough to bring us lunch and join us! Emily made friends with Molly's daughter and it was cute to hear them chatting! I didn't want the day to end but Bryce needed a nap.
On Saturday, I had a fantastic run with great girls who made the time go very fast (and almost made me forget how early it was!). The family spent the morning weeding and then joined our friends for a bike ride through 2 parks. It was very enjoyable once Bryce stopped trying to take his helmet off. We then had pizza and picked blueberries from my friends' own bushes! What a great, relaxing weekend!
Bryce is so funny now! He loves to put things back in their place(my first child who actually LIKES to clean-woo hoo!) and he loves to make us laugh. Just today he was banging his head against the high chair and we giggled so he kept doing it! He can now climb the stairs and go down the slide by himself, which is so cool, and one of my favorite milestones. His 2 main words are still "dog" and "more" but he understands everything we say. I know as he is able to communicate more he will be less easily frustrated. I also know that since he does like order, I need to work harder to keep to a routine. That is my goal for this week.

Partial Update...more to come...

So, I know you have all been on the edge of your seats, and the answer is: Yes, I was the first one in car line! So, what did I do with Bryce and Emily for the next 40 minutes while we waited for Dallin to actually get out of school? We parked the car and got out and played. We were able to watch Dallin play at recess and we found rocks and pine cones. It wasn't too bad, except Dallin was not as happy as I thought he would be because he didn't know his number. So, when they called his number he just sat there and they went onto the next car #! They finally figured out where he was, but then the magic was lost. (And we had held up car line- yep, that was me!)He was not the first one out. Darn it!

But, he had a great first day of school- cast and all.

I was going to blog about my awesome day today, but I will just tease you with some pictures. I am very tired. We spent PART of the day at this awesome event.
Thanks, Ranell, for a great day! I will write more tomorrow. (Maybe...)

The race is on!

So, it is 2:34. Dallin gets out of school at 3:30. My goal- be the first in car line. It would make his whole day. :-)

Can I do it? We will find out. Stay tuned...

A better day in the life of Kelly...

On Friday, we spent a beautiful day at the fountains. We bought a special cast coverup for Dallin so that he could have some fun too. There is nothing I like more than watching my kids have fun. They have great friends and we had a good turnout for our Park Day. Dallin has been trying to find all the things he can still do with a cast!

On Friday night, Jeff and I got to have some fun of our own. We went to a party at my neighbors where we ate some good Memphis BBQ. Then we played a game of Family Feud and ended the night with some karaoke. Jeff's version of Baby Got Back was not quite as good as his Bust a Move. Stick with what you know, Jeff. :-)



Keepin' it real- Thanks to the hilarious blog, Seriously so Blessed, I am reminded that I want to make sure my blog is a true representation of my life. So, each post I will talk about the great and wonderful things going on, but then I will also mention some of the not so good. Of course, I want the focus to be on the positive, mostly because that is how I like to look at life. But I also want to learn from my struggles and remind people that we all go through some of the same things.

Today, I just want to mention that Bryce is so happy when he is outside, hence the pictures from the fountains. He is still a little difficult inside the house. He is not quite as clingy since he has started walking, but he still doesn't like to be put down. I am trying to just enjoy it and know that the stage will eventually pass. He is a sweet boy and so much fun, especially when I don't need to be cooking or cleaning! :-)

Story of my Life

Message on the answering machine: Hi, my name is __________ and we have a planner of Kelly's here at our house. We found it in the middle of the road outside the library, along with a movie and a book. There are credit cards and a check book in the planner, so you might want to come get it. I think you might have left it on top of your car.


Just a typical day in the life of Kelly. So grateful for honest people. So tired of doing mindless acts such as this one. Anyone else relate? Anyone?

PS
I haven't told Jeff yet.

The Tables have turned...

...Jeff is being cheered on by me. (and my kiddos!) On Thursday Jeff was invited to run on a Hood to Coast team and surprised me a little by saying yes. He has been running since January and has been doing great, but he always told me he thought Hood to Coast was nuts. And, he is right! Running in the middle of the night, getting zero sleep, being in a van with 5 other stinky people, eating bagels and candy, and don't forget about the porta potties- it is not for the faint of heart. But, it is an experience that I recommend to everyone!

So, with one day to prepare for the race, I prepped him as well as I could. His first leg was not until 10pm, so I hauled the kids to go cheer him on. I am proud of him and hopes he has a great time.

(You might notice Dallin's arm is in a splint. He had a little too much fun on the trampoline and then followed it up with a fall at Safari Sam's and broke his arm. He is having a tough time with it. Especially on his right hand when school is starting. If you have any ideas of how to keep him busy besides Guitar Hero, let me know!)
While he is gone and I am a Hood to Coast widow, I have time to think about the last 10 years with Jeff. We celebrated our 10th anniversary on Thursday. Between Dallin breaking his wrist (another story!) and our internet not working, I haven't had a chance to post. So, here goes.
I don't have any of our early pics scanned, so I will need to do that someday! Anyway, we met the beginning of my sophomore year of college. His apartment had internet access in the front room, so there was always lots of people in there using it. (Smart move, boys!) Jeff had a sort of girlfriend, so we definitely started out as friends. I was writing a paper about General Conference and had to use "the computer" so a paper that should have taken me a couple of hours took me 3 days because Jeff kept distracting me. :-) We were super comfortable with each other right away. We had a long talk in the shared laundry room of the apartment complex and ended up talking for hours. I made a bet with him about details that won't be shared (Jeff would get too mad at me) but he lost the bet and took me out for a Zuka juice. I thought that was the end of it, but my roommate Becky said, "You like Jeff, don't you?" I honestly didn't realize I had been falling for him. He took me out on a date on November 21, 1997, and the rest is history! We were engaged in June and married on August 21, 1998.

We have shared many things over the last 10 years. The underlying theme for me is how supportive Jeff has been. We have been through some really tough times, especially the last 2 years, and things weren't always wonderful, but Jeff has always been there for me and done his best to figure out what I need, even when I don' t know myself.

We went through the first 2 years in school together and moving around for internships. We had a lot of fun.

Here are the numbers:

7 different places in 4 states (last move was 7 1/2 years ago- so that tells you how much moving we did in the first 2 1/2 years!), 6 apartments, 1 house
1 BYU Dance
Many Games of Settlers of Catan
10 years of great in law relationships (we are very lucky here on both sides!)
3 kids
2 fertility-med babies, 1 surprise!
3 degrees- 2 BS, 1 MS (Jeff)
1 boat- (One of the best decisions we have made! We talked about waterskiing in one of our first conversations. We both love it!)
3 snow ski trips(including Jeff learning to snowboard, and my pathetic attempt!)
1 cruise- went to Catalina and Ensadada for our 5 year anniversary and we are looking forward to another one in October (thanks mom for watching the kids!)
6 marathons (and many smaller races), now 4 Hood to Coasts!- Jeff is always supportive of my goals and dreams
1 race together (soon to be another one!)
3 pro football games(Rams/49ers in SF)2 Rams/Seattle games, 3 pro baseball games (Dodgers on our honeymoon, 2 Red Sox/Seattle games), 3 pro basketball games (2 Jazz, 1 Trailblazer)
Many, many BYU games
2 pairs of roller blades, 2 adult bikes, numerous kid bikes (still wanting to become a biking family)
1 ER visit
1 Adult ADD Diagnosis(Me, not him!)
4 grandparents passing away, 1 father- Definitely the toughest time of my life, I don't know what I would have done without Jeff
1 "wicked" birthday weekend!


Jeff, you have been such an amazing husband, friend and father. I have loved watching you with each of our children. Thanks for being patient with me as I figure myself out. Thanks for supporting my crazy goals and believing in me. Thanks for letting me stay at home with the kids, even though it is definitely not the easiest job for me. Thanks for trusting me to take care of our kids. I love it! The thing I have loved most about our marriage is how much fun we have. I am glad we enjoy doing so much of the same things, but I am also glad we have our own hobbies. Thanks for letting me spread my wings. I love you and look forward to many more years.

Friends, Fun, Phelps!

I am officially addicted to the Olympics! Who can pull themselves away from watching history in the making? What an incredible ride it has been and it is not even over! We have had a great time explaining to Dallin how hard these athletes work. He loves Michael Phelps and always asks when he is on. Today he told me that when he is in the Olympics, it will be in gymnastics!
I can't believe we are down to the last 2 weeks of summer. It has flown by! I am really happy with what we have been doing and I think the kids have made some great memories. We have not done any camps or huge outings, but have kept busy.
Here are some of our most recent events that I have been too preoccupied to blog about!

Daddy/Daughter Campout- Emily asked about this every morning for the week before. She had a great time with Jeff. They camped in a tent and there was a pool there.

Cowleys visit- Angi and I became very good friends the summer after my freshman year. She married Jared a year after I married Jeff and we spent a lot of time together playing Settlers, (which they were lucky enough to witness our first fight over!) , going to BYU football and basketball games and just hanging out. Over the years we have lived in different states but have always managed to visit each other. Our 3 kids are within a few months of each other and always enjoy hanging out. They came to stay with us for a couple of days and we had a lot of fun showing them our favorite places and going out on the boat. Thanks Cowley family!! We love you guys and we had an awesome time!
Nate had a reason to be nervous on the tube- He and Dallin ended up in the water. It was a little scary for them, but they learned that life jackets really do work! And we learned not to buy tubes from Craig's List! Giant, safe, Costco tube- here we come!

Little Mermaid play- We were able to get tickets to a children's play of Little Mermaid thanks to the efforts of a good friend. You can imagine my little Emily was in heaven! My neighbor was kind enough to watch Bryce and I took Emily and Dallin. The play was very cute and after the actresses and actors signed autographs! This is definitely something we will do again next year!

Girls' Nights Out- Jeff has been very sweet and supportive of some needed time to myself. I went out for some great dinner and a movie with some of my closest friends. Then this weekend, I was able to get out again to go to the coast for the weekend. I love Ranell's condo and the girls who came. It was incredibly relaxing and enjoyable. We did a little bit of retail therapy, but mostly we just enjoyed have time to chat uninterrupted! It is nice being with other women and remembering that we are all just doing our best. These are smart, fun women who I learned a lot from. And, we watched a little Phelps!

We were too busy relaxing to take any pictures, except I took this one at the outlets where I randomly ran into my Cowley friends again later on in theirvacation! Too funny!

Everyday adventures- Going to the library, the park, hanging out with friends, playing in a pool without water- those are some of the other things that we have been doing. It has been very low key overall. I am excited for school to start, but it will be strange having Dallin gone all day. I hope we have been taking advantage of the summer enough. I feel like we have!
Still running and enjoying training with Jeff. We have paid a babysitter to do a few runs together. He is doing so great and may actually be liking to run. We have not always been able to meet up with our group to run, but when we do, it is always interesting. Ask Sarah about the cat story...

That's it for now. When I get a chance I am going to blog about some of the things I have learned. Until then...

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Over the last few years I have written a lot about my dad, which I feel is understandable. It is time to talk about the amazing love of his life, my mother.

She is a perfect match for my dad because she, too, is so selfless and generous. She is always willing to give her time, money or whatever is necessary to anyone in need. She always writes thank you notes, sends letters, and is just the most thoughtful person I know.

She taught her daughters (and son!) how to love others. She is nonjudgmental and treats everyone she meets with kindness. She works for the local post office and knows everyone in our town. They all love her!!

She is the most beautiful, fun loving grandma I know. When she comes to visit, no one can believe she is my mom. ( I definitely look more like my dad!) She is so young and active and loves to play with my kids. They ask all the time when they can go to Grandma Nise's house. I love watching her with my kids, especially my little Emily. She is so kind and loves to send them surprises in the mail.

She has been my lifeline when I have had my babies. I was so disappointed when I had my first C-section and she came and really helped out. With #2 and #3 kid, I really enjoyed my hospital stay, knowing she was taking good care of the house and the other kiddos.

She was always such a great example to me of how to be a loving wife. She always spoke kindly to my dad, and when things were hard at the end, you never heard a word of complaint from her. She treated him so tenderly, it was one of the greatest blessings of my life to witness that love and care. Their marriage is so pure and beautiful and I am so grateful I was born into their family. She was married at 16, had my sister at 19, and it amazes me the maturity she must have had for how young she was! I don't think I truly appreciated this until I was married with children!

I was not an easy teenager and she showed me unconditional love, even when I didn't make the best choices. She always showed confidence in my ability to do the right thing and let me figure things out. She was extremely patient with me (and still is!) Having four teenage daughters so close together could not have been easy! I think she raised us very well!

So, mom, I wish I could be there with you today. I hope you know how much I love and adore and appreciate you and all you do. Happy Birthday!!