Its a culture thing..right?

So let me preface this by saying first that I do believe in the teachings and the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that members are generally a happy group with high moral standards and frankly it is a breath of fresh air compared to what is going on in this world. I love seeing teenagers who have an innocence about them and families just striving to find some kind of safe haven in their homes from the crazy world around them. I like the culture for the most part..BUT there are some things that make me feel..well..crazy? embarrassed? Like I want to punch someone in the face bc of the amount of cheeziness Im feeling at the moment?? I dont know. I cant put my finger on it. Maybe its just the "rebellion" that is in me. Let me give you examples:

First, there are some hymns that the latter day saints like to sing that make me nuts! ie:

"As Sisters in Zion" lyrics: "As sisters in zion, we all work together, the blessings of God on our labors we keep, We'll build up his kingdom with earnest endeavor, we'll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak". I dont know exactly what it is about this hymn that makes me crazy, maybe its the tune, maybe its the cheeseball lyrics.. whatever it is, everytime it is sung I cringe in my seat.

2. "Put your shoulder to the wheel" chorus: Put your shoulder to the wheel, push along, do your duty with a heart full of song, we all have work, let no one shirk, Put your shoulder to the wheel.

first of all, What wheel?? second, "do your duty with a heart full of song.." what are we Snow White??? And then, "Let no one shirk." what the crap is "shirk" is that even a word?? What if I said to my kids. "Soyer stop your shirking and clean your room!! C'mon Oliver, put that shoulder to the wheel!!" Or is it that I would say "Soyer, quit shirking!" either way, Lame. They would roll their eyes at me, which is exactly what I would want them to do If I ever said that to them.

3. "In our lovely Deseret" some lyrics: "That our children may live long and be beautiful and strong, Tea and coffee and tobacco they despise, Drink no liquor and they eat but a very little meat, they are seeking to be great and good and wise.." Okay.. so I get that the teachings are to refrain from things that could damage the body, but do we seriously need to sing it exuberantly in a song?? That is just embarrassing.
There are others.. and I will stop mentioning them.

Other things that make me crazy in the mormon culture... and a few of these I have mentioned before but are worth mentioning again..

1. Denim skirts

2. Holiday sweaters with matching jewlery

3. Mini vans with stick figure families on the back of them

4. scrapbooking..

5. "cute" little wooden crafts and bows on everything

6. jello

7. bad silk flower arrangements in the home and at every lesson they teach.

8. BYU fans that only like BYU bc it is affiliated with the church {oh no you didnt!! .. oh yes I DID!} calm down Stacie and Kathryn, Im not talking about you.

OKAY OKAY, I will stop. I just had to get that off my chest.

MY BIG BABY!

My baby is turning 6! I cant believe it. When I found out I was pregnant with him, to say I was upset is an understatement. I cried and yelled and wanted to punch Scott for putting me in this state for the 4th time. It took me a good two weeks to get over, but I couldnt imagine life without my beanie in it now.

He has a smile from the time he wakes up in the morning until he goes to bed. To him, Life is a party and anyone is invited. He is a ball of energy and I LOVE that about him. He is fun. He loves to play. He loves to wrestle and will do so with any willing participant. He is the first to try new things and is my little athlete. He loves to throw a football or a baseball around and is actually really good at it.

He is an entertainer. He loves to be in the spotlight. Bean is full of mischief. He loves to tease and tell little fibs to "trickted" us. He giggles all day long and we can always count on him to make us laugh. He is witty and silly, creative and imaginiative.

But Beanie has another side to him. He is the first to give you a big hug, tell you he loves you and climb on your lap to cuddle in close. He is the most affectionate of all of my kids. He has a BIG tender heart and when his feelings get hurt, they get really hurt. But like all kids, he is quick to forgive and love you again. We can always count on him to give us a big giant smile and a whole hearted hug. So what would we do without him? How could I have ever been mad at bringing this little stinker into the world to brighten all of our days. Happy Birthday baby!! I love you.

New Years Eve

So!! Picture this!!

...and then, we got in the car and started driving....

.....and then, he started barking like a dog!..

So then did he play dead??

Or, did you grab his butt!!

ya know, I always wanted to be a ballerina.

Then he revved up the motorcycle...

And then we got jiggy with it!!!

You feelin it??






And after that crazy story, Erin made a homemade concoction for beauty masks...

It was girl time, in the bathtub with blueberry/yogurt masks to soften our skin!

Feels good and tastes great too!!! Big girls and then... The little girls...

And then it was finally Midnight, so out on the porch we go to make as much noise as we can for at least 5 minutes...it is awesome.

And Zach, who is deaf, LOVES to blow on the noise makers as hard as he can and make it as loud as he can..He still cant hear it, which makes him laugh even harder at all of our reactions. He takes the deepest breath he can and blows as hard as he can, the noise maker raises its pitch by at least 4 octaves and the kids laugh their heads off. It really is funny. {especially to all the neighbors}

Snow day

We took the kids sledding on New Years Day. There was fun to be had by all.

Does this surprise you?? didnt think so.

Everyone jump on Izzy!!

Soyer is making sure Scott does'nt leave him behind.

Wipe Out!

Pretty soon the sledding got boring and we went to the tennis courts to have a snowball fight.

You cant really see this, but Scott is pelting the kids over and over. They were getting really sick of it.

Case in point.. Oliver buries his head in the ground crying out of pure frustration.

And Soyer didnt think Scotts snowball to the face was very funny. I think Scott forgets that they arent his age. Or is it that he forgets he's not their age... Time for Mom to step in, DONT WORRY KIDS, I'LL GET HIM! GOT HIM!!!!

Taking him down, now its revenge time!!!

No matter how old you are, its always fun to get out and play.

Inspired by Dr. Laura {who bugs me} and New Years Resolutions.

Okay, so some things I have learned in life thus far...
1. There is something liberating about getting older. You tend to not care as much what people think of you and you can "let it go" a little easier.
2. It doesnt matter how old you become, you can still be in the best shape of your life. And that feels good!
3. You are what you eat.. literally. You put healthy foods into your body, you feel healthy. You eat junk food, you feel junky. Not just in body, but in mind. This is something you are told your whole life, but the older you get, the more it just clicks. {factoid: did you know salmon decreases depression by 50%?}
4. Eating the cheeseburgers and fries with a chocolate shake is YOUR choice. And YOURS alone. No one made you do it.
5. Being happy is also YOUR choice. Its not anyone elses responsibility. What if you were the last person on earth and there was no one else to blame...then who's fault would it be? Gods?? That is a contradiction in terms. God wants you to be happy. So CHOOSE to be happy.
6.Its okay to take time for yourself. This one is hard for all the mommys out there. But if you do it, you will be a better mommy, and doesnt everyone want the mommy to be happy??
7. Ive begun to appreciate the "older" people in my life. I have found I become less annoyed by them and more interested in what they have done.
8. You are an idiot if you dont listen to people with a better knowledge and understanding of what it is you are searching for. ie. you want to know more about business, listen to an experienced businessman/woman...you want to know more about behaviors in children..listen to an expert. {which btw, isnt always someone with a degree, sometimes its a good grandma} Do Not think you can figure out life on your own. fyi.. you dont know everything. In fact, the older I get, the more I realize I know very little.
9. We are all in this together. And I mean In this life...together.. No one is exempt from that fact.. Next time you are annoyed with someone, think to yourself "we are in this together" I know this one is hard to do, but when I do it, I become more understanding.
10. And last but not least..your cool new shoes dont make you run faster, bananas do.

Potty talk

Potty talk is hilarious if you are
a. a kid under the age of 11
b. a boy of any age including 41
c. if you can get any sort of rise from anyone.

Scenario:
Every other week we go to Grandma Smiths in Kaysville for dinner and we drive by the Chevron refinery which smells horrible.
It ALWAYS starts with Scott who says "Soyer!! ewww, you stink!!!" to which Soyer will laugh and say "Oliver!!! that is a really stinky toot!!!" To which Oliver, depending on his mood for the day will [a.] either laugh and continue the banter onto Izabele and giggle, or [b.] Scream at anyone and everyone "I DIDNT DO IT!!!!!!!!" and when he screams or as we like to say "communicates Oliver style" we know to not go there again until next time. But on a good day it will continue to Izzy and she will laugh and say " Sen!!! you stink Sen!!" And Senekah will in turn roll her tween eyes and yell at all of us, " YOU ARE THE MOST ANNOYING PEOPLE!" {but she says it hiding her smile, bc we all know that she really does think its still funny, its just not cool anymore} And then they will all gain up on me. To which I turn it all back on Scott, and thats when it usually ends. EVERYTIME, Scott and the kids think its the most hilarious thing. I have to laugh to myself when it starts up, and one thing I can always count on, is that it will.
So really, is there anything more funny then potty talk?