Playing Mom!

Hey guess what I got to do for a few days last week....

I watched my sisters kids! 2 of these are mine, 4 are not....well, technically. I would kidnap every last one and keep them as my own forever, if I didn't think it would hurt my sisters feelings. 

You know what, sometime motherhood is just plain hard. It is good and is filled with lots of amazing moments that make it all worth it, but it is hard! Especially bedtime! Oh heaven help me! Bedtime! My brain and body are begging for relief and it just won't come! Every 2 seconds someone summons me to their bedroom for one more thing they need, or thought they saw, or because of the noise they are producing! Usually with just my 2 kiddos, because of their ages, we say "Head to Bed" and that is that. They disappear and we rarely hear from them until morning. It's a good phase, this one! However, with 3 cousins per room, there was endless giggling (which reminded me of my brother, sister and I growing up and sleeping in the same room on occasion, laughing all night and making my mom seriously frustrated), some fights, a lot of teasing, and a whole lot of NOT SLEEPING! I can say that last weekend gave me a whole new glimpse and understanding why my Mother-in-Law, when my husband was 10, tied him to his bed with a jump rope to get him to stay....he laughed at her the whole time, and made like Houdini and busted out in seconds! With 7 small children, all close in age, it's no wonder she would be willing to try anything! And now it makes for hilarious story telling! 

This last weekend I really thought a lot about the rewards and trials of Motherhood. At all it's phases, and with all it's numbers. I have only my 2 to raise. I had expected and wished for more, but I hashed out all of those expectations here. What I expect, and the Lord's plan for my life don't always line up, but I am smart enough to know that His plan is always far better (and almost always harder) than my own, in the grand scheme of things. 

I guess the things that I most thought about is how important it is to just try to enjoy the journey. If we are constantly focused on the tasks that are ours, we will burn out and feel like a "slave" or "servant" in our own home. Can I say that I totally believe those are thoughts placed in our minds by the adversary! We all feel them from time to time. A feeling like we are losing our identity or so overrun and under-appreciated. I get it. Those feelings totally affect me from time to time, but I have to remember the source of those kinds of thoughts, let them go, and then remember to spend more time enjoying my role as a Mother! I love playing and laughing with my kids! How the heck do I forget that and get caught up in the task list?! And then worst of all, let my task list affect the way I treat them?! Those items on that list may get checked off the list, and they may not, and the ones that get checked off usually show back up the next day. Some days, that is just the way it goes, but when we have spent the day strengthening our relationship with our kids and building their self worth, we have done what is most important, and we feel better about ourselves, more happy, and we have a greater sense of fulfillment! 

I listened to Sheri Dew & Wendy Watson Nelson speak one time about our roles in this life. They taught that we have all been sent to earth with a "to-do" list. This list is full of items that we are expected to complete in this life. It is a list personal to us. Only we are able to complete this list, the way it is supposed to be done. When we are working on this list we feel a sense of joy, peace and fulfillment in our lives. When we are not, we may be busy, but we will not be filled with those same feelings. There will be a lack of peace, joy & fulfillment in our lives. 

I love that! It helps me keep myself in check! My children are on my task list! If I am feeling run down, negative or like I don't have purpose or have lost my identity, I try to remember the source of those feelings, then take a good and honest look at what I am missing or what needs to go and make the changes. 

In Motherhood, with all of it's crazy phases, it is so important for us to remember that this time we have with small or young children is gone in an instant. Believe me! I swear I was just giving Jake his first bath on his first day home from the hospital....and suddenly he is almost a teenager! Before I know it he will be leaving on his mission! It makes my stomach hurt to even think about it! Will he leave knowing how much I love the heck out of him?! Will he KNOW that because I have shown him through the ways I have treated him?

It is my goal to spend more time playing, baking cookies or letting them figure out how to cook something new, reading stories, cuddling and laughing with my kids, celebrating my victories and letting go of my shortcomings! I prayed long and hard....7 years of my life, for the opportunity to be a mother to the children I have. The fact that I have them is miraculous to me! And that is how I need to look at my role as their mom! I gave everything I had to my Dawson, which sometimes fell dreadfully short, but it was still all I could give, and I know it was enough! That is one of the gifts I have been given, with him now on the other side of the veil. He has let me know, in no uncertain terms, that I did more than enough for him! And now I hope that when my other kids are grown I can feel the same about them! 

Alright, now that that is off my chest.....here are a few of our magic moments from this last weekend! Once we found our groove (uh hem, Mallory and her temper and inability to process the madness), it was SO much fun to have a house full of kids! Granted I felt like I was either cooking or cleaning the WHOLE time, but still...We did manage to squeeze some fun moments into the mix, and my kiddos had a BLAST! 

The biggest adventure of them all! The little kids riding to church in the back of the topless monster Bronco! Could there be anything more exciting in their lives?! 

This is me celebrating my victory! 6 kids all bathed, dressed and done up for church! It may have taken me 3 hours to get through all of them, but we were 15 min which made my hubby happy! I think this made me the hero of the day! Yay for me! :) 

Lego parties! These were the moments I loved most! All 6 of them playing together and totally happy! Even Gizmo tried getting in on the fun! A big thank you to the makers of Lego's for making a toy that these kids could play with and be entertained by for HOURS all weekend long! 

HIS First

This last Sunday I had such an interesting impression during the Sacrament.

Jake was about to pass the Sacrament for his first time. This is a BIG DEAL! He has really been so worried about it. Worried that he wouldn't know where to go, worried that he would mess up or get confused....just a whole lot of worry. We had promised him that we would all be praying hard for him. So, he summoned the courage and took his place.

While I was praying for him, and thinking about how much I love this little man of mine. I suddenly had a very strong impression about my role as his mother, and Ryan's role as his father. These roles are a privilege and a calling.

Our children each come to this world with a specific purpose and mission to fulfill and the Lord is entrusting us, his children, to guide these little ones through their lives. He knows us all personally, and so He knows the order in which we should come to this Earth. We were chosen to come before our children, because  the Lord knew that we would be able to give our children what they would need to meet the requirements of their lives. The interesting thing about this feeling was the sense of being a secondary parent, for lack of a better term. Sometimes I think I look at my kids as being totally mine, but they are not. They are His first! He loves them infinitely! He knows their spirits and their potential and their weaknesses, because He, our Father in Heaven, is literally our Father! Likewise, He knows us, our potential and our weaknesses, because He is our Father as well! His love for my children, and His trust in me, as well as His gratitude for the work I am trying to do with my kids, was so profound today! I know where I fall short, and so does He. I think that is why He sent this loving reminder to me today.

Perspective always seems to do a world of good! I can't help but feel a desire to do a little better, be a bit more patient, pray a little more on their behalf, knowing that the Lord will guide me in this role, when I think of my children as His children first!

Grateful Kids Are Happier Kids

I love when my hubby sends me great articles like this: 

GRATEFUL KIDS ARE HAPPIER 

(you should totally take a sec and read it, too!)

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"We know that grateful kids are happier [and] more satisfied with their lives," explains Hoftra University psychology assistant professor Jeffrey Froh in an article this week in The Washington Post. "They report better relationships with friends and family, higher GPAs, less materialism, less envy and less depression, along with a desire to connect to their community and to want to give back."

That's not all. It's also believed to boost immune systems and lower blood pressure over time. In a Temple Univeristy study, patients with hypertension lowered their blood pressure just by calling a "gratitude" hotline everyday. If it's that effective on adults with health problems, imagine what announcing the good things in life at early age can do. 

In a study of early adolescents, Froh found that kids who journaled daily about their good fortune, over a period of two weeks, were less prone to depression and more satisfied with their lives overall. And that optimism and satisfaction made them more likely to take care of themselves physically in the long-term."

Gratitude is a powerful powerful thing, my friends! I am so glad I read this article! It reminds me both the importance of  putting more focus on it within my own life AND the importance of teaching my children the importance of developing an attitude of gratitude. How powerful would it be to live our lives focusing on all that we have to be grateful for, instead of all that we lack?! Of course we would be more satisfied and happy. 


This whole article has inspired me to start a new tradition in my family. Each night at family dinner we are going to go around the table and list one thing that we are grateful for that day. I will encourage the kids not to repeat, if they can help it. I hope that doing this will help all of us  become more mindful of all they have to be grateful for, and that it will help bring us closer as a family! 


Thanks for the awesome article Ry!  

Flecks or Nuggets?

{Image Source}

This story has me thinking today.......

There is a story of a young merchant from Boston, who in 1849, as the story goes, was caught up in the fervor of the California gold rush. He sold all of this possessions to seek his fortune in the California rivers, which he was told were filled with gold nuggets so big that one could hardly carry them. 

Day after endless day, the young man dipped his pan into the river and came up empty. His only reward was a growing pile of rocks. Discouraged and broke, he was ready to quit until one day an old, experienced prospector said to him, "That's quite a pile of rocks you are getting there, my boy."

The young man replied, "There's no gold here. I',m going back home."

Walking over to the pile of rocks, the old prospector said, "Oh, there is gold all right. You just have to know where to find it." He picked two rocks up in his hands and crashed them together. One of the rocks split open, revealing several flecks of gold sparkling in the sunlight.

Noticing the bulging leather pouch fastened to the prospector's waist, the young man said, "I'm looking for nuggets like the ones in your pouch, not just tiny flecks."

The old prospector extended his pouch toward the young man, who looked inside, expecting to see several large nuggets. He was stunned to see that the pouch was filled with thousands of flecks of gold. 

The old prospector said, "Son, it seems to me you are so busy looking for large nuggets that you're missing filling your pouch with these precious flecks of gold. The patient accumulation of these little flecks has brought me great wealth."

Today I am thinking about how easily I get focused on doing too much. I tend to be a person that loves simplicity, but I seem to always wrap everything up in a complicated mess. The funny this is that when I am crazy busy I spread myself to thin. Never really giving enough of myself to anything to make it feel right. However, when I simplify and focus on the small things, the things that make my big picture it's best, life is more peaceful and fulfilling. What makes me forget this?! 

My goal this year is to focus more on the "flecks" in my life. Today I am making a list of all the things that are important to me (scripture study, daily prayers, weekly temple attendance, serving others, spending "fun" time with my kids, taking care of my health, being a crazy amazing wife :), being a better friend, etc). These things will receive my energy. They are the little things in life that make my life rich, blessed and full of happiness. 

Sure there will be things that will require my attention. However, I will learn to give them what they require and then move on.....simplify. 

This totally reminds me of a story a lady told at a convention she was speaking at. She was talking about making treats for her childs school class. She was supposed to bring 20 treats that resembled "12 Drummers Drumming". She stayed up all hours of the night baking large cookies shaped like drums. She frosted and detailed each one meticulously. She was exhausted the next day when she took them to the class. As she set them in front of the kids she sought a bit of ooo's and aahhh's from the children. Instead.....they ate them in like 2 seconds flat and went on with the rest of the party. She said, "It was this point that I realized a Ding Dong and 2 Twizzlers would have worked just fine."

I think about that a lot. How true is that?! Sometimes it is so great to give something our best effort, and others it is OK to just accomplish the task. After all, we are all busy. There is a lot that is required of us. WHY make it harder than it is supposed to be. In my experience, when I give a large amount of effort to the things that are not on my list of things that are important to me, I tend to feel overrun and a sense of failure, no matter how much I accomplish outside of those things. 

Sometimes the nuggets are great, but they are few and far between. The flecks, however, are in everything that is important to us, and as they accumulate, their value is far beyond a nugget here or there. "The patient accumulation of these little flecks [will bring us] great wealth!"

What a Lovely Sight To See!

First the sound of the buzzer. Then the sound of running little feet. Then I walk around the corner to find this......

We are getting settled and back in to our regular routine!

Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!

Our "MOTHERBOARD" has returned and that means life is good!

This little Miss is IN LOVE with doing her own laundry and I am in love with the site of her doing it all, right down to the hanging, folding and putting away!

I LOVE JOB CHARTS!!

By the way, you should head over to OurLifeUncommon, that is if you would like a tour of our new digs!

FHE {Choosing Good Friends}

My oldest son is getting closer and closer to Jr. High. OH MY! Does this ever give me heart palpitations. Jr. High was a rough time for me. I felt lost through quite a lot of it. I didn't have a lot of confidence and found myself seeking whatever friends would take me.

I have learned throughout my life that friends can have a profound impact on our lives. The people we choose to spend our time with contribute to molding our character. L. Tom Perry, in the February 1993 New Era said,

"The friends we choose to associate with are main contributing factors in the formation of our character. We form social habits by association with our friends. These habits can be useful when directed towards the formation of a wholesome personality.

I have found that the right friends have a powerful influence on your life. Choose your friends wisely. Make certain they will help build within you the right standards with which to govern your life."

I wanted to impress upon my kids minds how vital choosing good friends would be in their lives. This was the object lesson we came up with.....

(I have to apologize for the picture quality. My camera was out of town with my hubby and the cell phone was all we had. Not great, but better than nothing! :) )

These 4 bowls of water represent different interests people may have. I had the kids name a few interests that different people may have. We had a group that liked video games and movies, a group that liked driving and race cars, a group that like sports and a group that liked games.

We filled each bowl with pre-cooked pasta. The noodles were representations of people, or friends. We talked about how usually we make friends based on having similar interests as they do. We talked about how it was good to be kind and friendly to everyone, not just those that we spent the most time with, because of our similar interests.

Then we started talking about what happens when a person or two in our group of friends start to make bad choices. As I dropped a few drops of blue food coloring in one bowl we talked about how one of the friends in this group started using cuss words to express himself. Little by little, others started making this same choice.

Before long these choices started to affect, or change the character of each of the friends in the group. There was a little guy that didn't like the cussing, but liked spending time with his friends. We talked about how he decided he was going to stick with the group, but he wasn't going to get caught up in the same bad habits his friends were involved in. Before long, he too was starting to get stained from the bad choices being made in this group.

We talked about how perhaps because the boy was surrounded by these words all of the time, they were the words that came to mind when he got upset and before he knew it a few of them had made their way into his vocabulary.

This group was our video game & movie group. These guys got caught up in playing video games that were violent and movies that were filled with inappropriate language, violence, etc.

Our red guys were getting caught up in drugs, smoking & alcohol. (You can, of course, adjust each groups "sins" based on your feelings and your kids age. Remember, kids are exposed to things MUCH younger. Go bold with this. Bold, but appropriate. If your kids don't hear this from you first, where would you like them to hear it from? Their peers?)

This group is our group of friends that have committed to each other to not allow these sort of bad choices to define them. They lovingly encourage each other to stay clean. They have found that life is MUCH more fun without the cussing, drugs & inappropriate games and movies.

I took one of the noodles from the "good" bowl. He decided he wanted to hang out with the blue group. They had similar interests and he was certain he could spend time with them without getting trapped in the same bad habits. In fact, he thought that he could actually become good friends with them, hang out with them all of the time and maybe they would choose to follow his example and stop making the choices they were making.

Little by little their choices started to define his character. As he was in the center of it, the things they were doing didn't seem so bad and little by little he started making similar choices.

Before long, those choices became a central part of the definition of his character. He was blue.

This was a great opportunity to talk about helping others and setting a good example. It is SO important to do these things. So how do we do it without getting caught in it ourselves. I asked the kids if they thought it would be easier to help a friend out of a deep pit from down in the pit with them, or from the ground above. They chose the ground above. We talked about throwing them a rope, a ladder, etc. The were so many options, but from inside the pit, our only option was being stuck and needing to be rescued ourselves.

I told them that I once had a very good friend that I loved so much. We had been good friends for most of our lives. She was always a good example to me. One day I met a boy that I really liked. I started to date him. My friend knew that his friends weren't the kind of friends she wanted to spend time with. I knew it wasn't a good choice, but I liked the boy I was dating. I promised I wouldn't make any of the choices they were making and kept spending all of my time with them. A while later I could see that my life had changed. I wasn't making choices that were allowing me to stay close to the spirit. I wanted out.

I didn't see my friend much during that time of my life. She didn't want to get involved with the new friends I was spending my time with. When I did see her, I could feel how much she loved me. She helped me remember that these choices weren't the real me. I felt sad about the choices that I had made and I wanted help to get out of them. My good friend was getting married soon. She invited me to her bridal shower. I remember how happy she was to see me. She was about to get married in the temple. I could see the example that she was setting. She didn't know it, but that night was an answer to my prayers. I was in the pit. She was casting me a ladder through her love and example. She helped me out. I let my friends know that I had to change my life and that I couldn't spend time with them anymore. It was hard, because I enjoyed them personally, but the choices we were making all together couldn't be a part of my life anymore.

Although it was a hard thing to do, it was the best choice I had ever made! I was so thankful for such a good friend that set such a good example to me! If she had started coming with us and got down in the pit with me, we both would have been lost. But she didn't. She kept trying to send down help. That is the kind of friend WE need to be.

I gave the kid a noodle and told them that it represented them. They got to pick the group of friends they wanted to be with.

We also discussed how sometimes in our lives it will feel like we are alone. Maybe all of our friends are making bad choices and we feel like we don't have any friends. We talked about how no matter what, we always have our family and we always have the Lord. Those are the important relationships that last forever. They said that they would rather be on their own than getting stained in the other groups.

And then my son Jake took this whole lesson to the next level. That is what he tends to do.

We talked about how we can always repent and have these sins washed clean from us. We read,

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

-Isaiah 1:18

Jake asked if we could spray bleach on the red noodle to represent the Atonement cleaning our sins. I didn't know that it would work, but I thought it would be worth a try. 

It totally worked! It wouldn't work on the green or blue, but totally worked on the red! Great! It goes with the scripture perfectly! :)

The Atonement is the most important part of all of this lesson. We all make choices that we wish we wouldn't have, at one time or another. Some more severe than others. The important thing for our kids to understand is that there is ALWAYS a way out and a way to be washed clean and it is only through the power of our Saviors Atonement.

I am so glad we did this lesson! Mallory talked about it for days after! It will be something we repeat often. Perhaps each year just before school starts!

Let me know how it goes for you, or if you come up with any variations. I always love hearing other ideas!

I've Been Spotlighted!

Have you heard of PowerofMoms.com?

Well, they contacted me not to long ago to do an interview for a spotlight. I loved the questions they asked. I think they are good questions for each of us to ask ourselves on a regular basis! They remind us what we do and why we do it. I loved it!

Wanna read the interview?

Click HERE!

Enjoy!

Will The "SWITCH WITCH" Be Swooping In To Your House This Halloween?

I love the excitement of Halloween! I totally remember trying to decide what I wanted to be months in advance! On Halloween night we didn't get out our plastic pumpkins...we got our PILLOW CASES! We were raised in Utah County, for petes sake! House after house after house...all lined up for blocks and blocks of candy getting pleasure! 

When I returned home with my goods, my siblings and I would spread our treasures out on the living room floor and begin the sorting and comparing! My older brother ALWAYS had the most! I don't know how he did it! If my bag was more than 1/2 way full, his would be over 3/4 full. I always wanted to have more and year after year those dreams went unfulfilled (sniff sniff).

I WAS NOT one of those kids that would sample a piece here and there, keeping my treats as long as I could. In fact....I don't remember a single year when my candy made it past a day or two after Halloween. I'm pretty sure I have a sugar residual running permanently through my veins.  

That sugar residual is likely the reason I cringe at the thought of my kids trick or treating. Ok, maybe not the trick or treating itself. My kids LOVE that. It is the sugar rushing and crashing that makes me want to find a trick to get rid of all of their treating.

THEN I FOUND IT!

My friend Michelle introduced me to the idea of the "Switch Witch". I LOVE the Switch Witch! Here is a sort of run down on how she works.

We send our kids out to trick or treat to their hearts content. Live it up! Enjoy every last sugar coated second of it! Then when they have had all the fun they can handle, they come home, dump out and sort their candy, if they would like. THEN, they pick 5 of their VERY favorite treats! Just 5! The Switch Witch will take no less than 5 short of your entire stash!

Then the kids set out their buckets, letting the Switch Witch know that they would like to make a trade. In the morning, where there was a full bucket of candy, there is now a TOY!

Now, this isn't some go crazy sort of toy. It is amazing what will suffice! For Mallory, this year the Switch Witch will bring her a few new pet shops. For Jake, some other nick-nack, should he decide to participate. $15 each, or less, is money well spent to avoid the endless wrappers and moody children for days following the shmorgishborg.

The kids decide if they want to participate or not. As for Mallory, this year Switch Witch is as exciting as the Trick or Treating and dressing up will be! She can't wait!

If you need a little back story on the Switch Witch, Try this.......

Did you know that Witches collect candy?! They love candy more than anything else in this world, in fact, most witches won't eat anything but candy! Well, there is one witch that has more candy than all the other witches. She is called the "Switch Witch". She is the nicest witch there is. She not only collects candy, she loves to share what she gets with all of the other witches.

Each year at Halloween after all the kids all over the world have had their fun with all of the tricks and treats, they go through their candy and choose their 5 most favorite treats. 5 is important because the Switch Witch knows just how many pieces each child gets. If the child leaves their candy on their kitchen table and she sees that their are 5 less pieces of candy, she knows that this is how the child has let her know that they want to make a trade with her. She swoops in on her broom, holds open her sparkly black candy bag and fills it with all the candy collected...minus the 5 pieces of course, and in return, as a way to say thank you, she leaves the child a new toy in place of the candy!  

After all of the candy is collected, she heads home for the biggest party of the year for all witches everywhere. They dance and play games and snack on candy until they can't eat anymore. The Switch Witch divides every last piece equally among all of her friends, just enough to last until the next Halloween, when the Switch Witch will head out again to switch candy with new toys for kids all over the world! 

Have a FUN Halloween!

The Influence Of Good Friends

With my son Jake nearing Jr. High, I have been thinking a lot about the influence of good friends.

I know a little something about the influence friends can have on your life because of these girls.......

{Me, Brei, Caytee, Rachel, Andrea, Wendy & Stacey}

Last month our friend Deirdre came to Utah for a visit and we decided we needed to get everyone together. Oh, how I LOVE these girls!

{Rachel, Me, Deirdre, Stacey & Brei}

Having these girls as friends was a blessing in my life. I always noticed their kindness to EVERYONE. I always noticed the way that their values were what defined them and directed their choices. They set a great example for me and I love them all so much for that!

These girls have been a part of my life since Jr. High and I know they will continue to be for the rest of my life. I love that!

This is what I hope for, for my Jake. Good friends make such a huge difference. I have loved watching him make new friends, since moving to Utah. He has such a good little group of friends right now and I can't wait to see how that group will grow next year!

What are some things you do to teach your kids to BE a good friend?

{MESSY PARTY} Sending Summer Out With A Bang

{If you would like to see any of the images enlarged, click on them. Especially the collages! There is a lot of goodness there that you DON'T want to miss!}

 

A while ago my friend Brooke posted on her blog about going to a "Messy Party". Bubbles, body painting and lots of fun and then a clean up on the water slide. The idea was GENIUS to me! I LOVED the concept. I wanted to have one!

And so it started.

The ideas got bigger and messier as time went on. This Summer has been the funnest Summer we have ever had and we wanted to send it out with a bang! Pretty soon the date was set, the invitations were sent, over 75 people were on the "Going To Be There" list and we were on our way to the park with over 12 gallons of pudding, 50 pies, 20 gallons of paint, about 10 gallons of cooked spaghetti noodles & a whole lot of fun in mind!

First Stop.......Duck, Duck, Goose with a floury twist.

As the kids started coming we sat them down and had them play "Duck, Duck, Goose". The messy came in when my sister Lisa & I supplied them with a cup of water and a cup of flour to dump over the "goose's" head!

This KILLS me! This is my little brother Parker. Apparently he was nervous about the girl walking past him. He must have been SURE that she would get him, although it looks like she was just going to walk on by.

Hahaha! His worries were dead on! She made a quick turn and soaked him!

Next up.....Hands Free Chocolate Pie eating contest!

My son Jake and I make the PERFECT pair! I have ALWAYS wanted to "pie" someone in the face and he has always wanted to be pied!

We both sort of loved it.....A LOT!

As you can see....this was a TOTAL hit with all the kids!

Even Master Calvin got in on the action!

Now, on to the Battle of the Painted Spagetti!

Four 5-gallon buckets were filled with water & enough flour to make it nice and thick, then a TON of food coloring. We topped that lovely mixture off with as many Spagetti noodles as we could get our hands on. This was definately a fave of mine. You should have seen the colors flying when this mess started! AWESOME!

Oh, and where is the princess in all of this?

Well, she was about as dirty as she cared to get at the moment. See that bit of chocolate on her cheek that is causing her mild irritation? Yeah...she doesn't love messy. Never really has. Poor thing.

Now for the Slip N Slide.....

You didn't think we would use water, did you?!

Oh no! We came prepared with buckets of pudding!

AWESOME!

Can I just say that my hubby ROCKS! He made this a blast for the kiddos! Splatting a bowl full of pudding on a head here and there and keeping the slide nice and slick. Messy is NOT his thing and he was totally behind me on this whole idea! What a guy! Man, I like him!

By now these kids were good and messy and in serious need of a hosing off! But I am pretty sure they were loving every second of it! 

And so it was time for our GRAND FINALE! Did I tell you I started dreaming really big with this whole idea? Well, I meant it! And thanks to a few connections, meaning the two guys in this picture.........

My little brother Kyle (on the right) just happens to be a Fireman/Paramedic in Pleasant Grove and my friend Brian just happens to be his Captain. So, I called them up, told them my idea and this is how they responded......

The ladder was raised 105 feet in the air. Brian was perched...and clipped in, thank you very much, and ready to give these kids about 1,000 gallons of water per minute, for as long as they could handle it!

Can I just say, the view from where I was standing, looking out over the valley was AWESOME! I can only imagine how it looked from 105 ft. above where we were! Maybe next time I will have to see if they will let me check it out! ;)

AMAZING! This was seriously the thing that pushed this party right over the edge! The kids loved every second of it!

I could not possibly thank my little brother, Brian and their team enough for entertaining the crazy thoughts in my head! They were AWESOME!

The obvious choice for a treat to top the day off (as if all the pudding and pie wasn't enough) was

DIRT DESSERT!

Now, this is the point where Mallory thinks that she is FAR too dirty to be anywhere near comfortable (mind you, she was the least messy of all the kids that participated), so what does she do?

 

OH MY!  

This child of mine has NO concept of modesty. As soon as the majority of the kids were gone she figured it was over and she was out of that dirty suit and asking Aunt Lisa for a spray down, lickety split!

Luckily we found some shorts and covered up her hiney!

But Aunt Lisa couldn't get over her little "plumbers crack". Such a funny little girl with all the innocence in the world to make her think that running around naked is A-OK. We are going to have to keep work on that one!

Honestly, this was the funnest party! We all had a blast! A big thanks to all of you that helped me pull this off, especially my Ryan. He spent a lot of time raking spaghetti noodles out of that grass and cleaning up after the mess and not once did he ever curse me! In fact, he actually likes me even more, I think! He is the best! Like E V E R :) Thanks Babe!

I absolutely can't wait until next Summer! We are SO doing this again!!

{PGFD....you're in, right?!}