He's home! He's home! He's home!

Last week, on Thursday, March 3 my long lost little brother returned from his two year mission in Lithuania.  It was a pretty nerve wracking week - I had some stress induced stomach problems; Wyatt had double ear infections and missed two days of school; Elliott had some sort of virus with a 101.4 degree fever.  Inspite of all our personal challenges though, that kid still came home.

And it was glorious.

Seeing him.  Giving him a hug.  Reintroducing him to the kids.  Pretty cool.

Two years is such a long time.  I realize that in the grand scheme of life, two years is a very small percentage, but it was worth it.  My brother is so tall and handsome and smart and grown-up.  He is of course, the same goofy dorky kid we all love, but he is so much more than that, too.

















Yesterday, Quinn and I got to spend a couple hours in the afternoon with Uncle Willie.  As soon as he came in our house, he went straight to the fridge and the pantry - just like always.  He wandered around our house, upstairs and into the basement.  He smiled and giggled and tried to talk to Quinn.

We went to Deseret Book.  The woman helping him thought I was his mom.  He's home, I guess.  Everyone thinks I'm his mom.

We went to lunch at Cubby's and I answered all his questions about family and America and food trucks.  He likes food trucks - well, he likes kebab stands, so pretty much the same thing.

Then, we went to Target, and he pushed Captain Quinn around in the cart and we looked at all the toys.

We came back to my house, and he read books to his former best friend, who is starting to warm up to the whole idea of Uncle Willie.  He went with me to get the big boys from school, checked out the pantry one more time when we got back, and then he headed home.

He is a good boy and one of my best friends.  I am so happy he is home.

Meranda and Pedro Sanchez

My beautiful cousin Meranda was married on Saturday to Pedro Sanchez.  It was a wonderful day spent celebrating their eternal union and I was so happy to be a part of it.

And, there was a taco truck.

Love you both and congratulations.

The end of Basketball

Elliott and Wyatt played basketball this year.  Wyatt's was a learning league, and was chaos almost every week.  But, he had fun, made some new friends and did a great job and made at least one basket in every single game.  Elliott was in a third grade team league and it was a little too intense for a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds, but he really improved and in his last game, scored 6 points (two of which were free throws) and had at least 10 rebounds.  A regular Dennis Rodman.

There isn't much else to say, but I did take pictures with a real camera at each of their last games.  Enjoy!

February blahs

We are at the end of our first week off-track.  The boys sort of get screwed out of vacation time with year round school, but no more so than their November and February breaks.  For both, the weather is rotten, the air not safe for breathing, and we're pretty much trapped indoors with our screens.  Add to that, regularly scheduled stress induced freak out sessions by the mom, and it makes for a challenging break.

Lately, my brain is crammed with too many things to think about and that could be the reasons that I've had a migraine for 11 days.

I worry about my friends.  My best friend since 7th grade had surgery this week to remove breast cancer.  I'm so worried about her.  My aunt has cancer with a cloudy prognosis.  I worry about her, too.  I have a million and one things wrong with me that no doctor can figure out.  I worry about that daily, as well.  It's difficult going to doctors with legitimate complaints and having said doctors look at you like you escaped from the loony bin.  I exercise and eat right and cannot lose weight.  My diabetes control hasn't been the best lately.  Then there are the swollen legs and the acute pain in my left foot.  Ug!  And the headaches!  Screw those completely.

I worry about my children.  What they watch, what they do, what they don't eat, how they interact with each other and their friends.  I worry that they have to spend too much time with me, but then I worry that I get in their way and just need to let them be.  I worry that I'm not doing it right, that I buy them too much crap (giving them too high of expectations), and that we are too easy on them.  But then again, they do need to help with jobs around the house, or how else with they ever learn anything.

I worry about my husband.  His job stresses him out, in turn stressing me out.  Between work, and church commitments, and spending time with his kids, and all the things that I do every week, we never see each other, or talk to each other.  There isn't a baby sitter to ditch the boys with every week for a "date" and so it's just us, trying to squeak out time with each other as we fall asleep every night, or trying to have a conversation in the front of the car with the eaves droppers in the back.  Ug!  Being married is hard work.

I worry about my small little business.  How do I grow it just a bit bigger? How do I take better advantage of ETSY?  How do I find more shows to sell my items?  How to I manage my time and my money and the mess I make in the house without a dedicated "Annie's junk room".

And then, the future?  Cars, vacations, basements, messes, family time....there is just too much to even try to list.  Well, actually, I have a list but my list is, I learned this week, very different than my husband's list.

Go figure.

All of this is enough to drive any one crazy.  And I have a pretty good life with really good kids and a husband who tries hard.  It's just exhausting, isn't it?  Trying to keep everyone a float with out drowning.  Keeping everyone happy, without losing yourself.

Or maybe, it's just February.

February might be the worst.

Wyatt, the middle child

January saw a post about Quinn's milestone, starting preschool.  About Elliott's ninth birthday.  But, I realized the other day, in true middle child fashion, January passed without much mention of Wyatt.  So, February will start with an update on Boy #2.

I'll admit it right off the bat, Wyatt gets lost in the shuffle.  He often struggles to find his balance with his brothers, and his role with the parents.  He is the first to get his homework done, but the last to get dressed after a shower.  He is the first to kick Elliott, or slap him in the butt while they are brushing their teeth before bed, and the first to scream the "broken arm scream" when Quinn takes a Lego guy without asking.

Regardless of the emotional roller coaster this kid rides, I am so happy he is my boy.  I think we don't tell him enough that we are happy he is our boy.  He is charming and funny.  He has a quick wit and amazing dance moves.  And, most important to me right now, he has become an amazing reader.  Last week on Monday night, we sat with a magnetic drawing board writing hard words for Wyatt to read.  He didn't miss a beat and even figured out Yosemite and Eureka.  Those are tough words for a first grader.



Wyatt is am amazing student and loves school, maybe even more than his kindle.  He has a mind that can see in space and shapes (very different than his literal "world is flat" older brother) and he can build things with Lego's, in mind craft, and even with Jenga blocks that shoot to the sky and amaze with their creativity.

Lately, this kid sort of gets a bad rap for being a tad bit dramatic and uncooperative.  He claims he is the only child in the whole world who has to do jobs, but forgets the complaints as soon as he is handed the money that he has earned.  Which, by the way, he safely squirrels away in his wallet and bank.  If you need a loan, he's your man.  He is naturally a saver of money, a hoarder of Lego's, and love little boxes and bags to store all his treasures.

He has become a great little basketball player, started eating a few new foods like chicken nuggets, and has a laugh that is so infectious, no one can keep a straight face when he gets going.



Wyatt already knows everything, before you even tell him.  It's an amazing trait to have, and I'm not sure what it all involves, but he already knows.  Everything.

This boy of mine is well loved by all.  He doesn't get the spotlight as often as he should, but I hope he always knows how much we like him.