William-ese vs. Marie-esque

William: I am a bad guy robot that is made out of other bad guy's skin. And my head is made out of a bad guy's heart, that is why my chin is pointy, it is the bottom of the heart.

Marie: I am a mean lady in pink. I can fight you.

July

I keep waiting for summer to come. You know, those lazy days when the kids and I pack up the car and head to the park nearly every day, usually with good friends to hang out with. Or those weeks when every Tuesday or Wednesday we head to the library to play at the park and then go inside for story time. Or those afternoons when we sit outside and the kids play in the water while I relax and soak up some sun.

Suddenly school starts in a week and a half and I haven't even had a chance to slow down yet. My summer has been completely stolen from me. The moments that stole my summer have been fabulous and busy and memorable and wonderful and fun, but still .... I want some lazy days darn it. *sigh*

Well, here's to all the reasons July was NOT lazy. Just one really big reason on this post.

Another trip to California. I can't say that I am sad we made it out to California three times in just over 6 months. I can say that I am sad that in the next 6 months we won't be making it out to California at all.

Anyway, this time a family reunion brought us out there. 6 out of the 7 kids in my family gathered in Simi and then packed up our many vehicles and drove to El Capitan State Beach to camp for a few days.

Anne is officially my best camper, as a baby. She actually let us get some decent sleep at nights and she loves the beach, so our days weren't too shabby either. Her only complaint was that she had to be held or in her booster at the campsite. This girl likes to move and being held does not provide that.

William had a blast with his cousin Ethan, who is just one month younger. Nothing is greater for him than to be around boys. He is ALL boy and is surrounded by way too much estrogen on a daily basis. 

Luckily, there was enough estrogen running around to also satisfy my girly-girl, Marie. Her cousin Kaitlyn, who is 3 years older than her, became her BFF. Marie worships and adores Kaitlyn. As a matter of fact, just the other day she let out a big sigh of despair and said, "I wish I was as old as Kaitlyn." 

Our first day camping we took the kids down to the beach once they had enough of the setting up camp business. It was almost 5 in the evening and we did not expect the water to be nearly as warm as it was, hence the lack of suits on Brandon, Anne, and me. No suit, no problem! for Anne. We could not keep her out of the water. At. All. She crawled right at it and just laughed when the waves would splash her. All my kids love the water, but I think she is my true blue water baby. I have no idea where she gets that from. ;)

The next morning, or maybe the morning after that .... this time wearing the proper attire and enjoying the gorgeous view as we made our way down from the campsite to the beach.

The BFFs, humoring my memory making with fake smiles. 

Haha! I couldn't resist posting this picture. It perfectly captures what William and Ethan spent every moment on the beach doing (i.e. running through the waves splashing each other) and not doing (pulling up his pants).

With great trepidation, I must admit that Sara is the favorite Aunt. Probably because at heart, she's still just a kid like all her nieces and nephews.

The second full day on the beach wore Marie out. She curled up under the umbrella and slept for almost 3 hours. I can't blame her. There is nothing quite like a nap on the beach. So peaceful and relaxing.

Dave and Cory couldn't agree more.

 Brandon and I tried our hands at ocean kayaking. I loved it. I could have spent hours out there. We only made it out once, which was probably my only disappointment of the whole trip.

 Can I tell you how much I loved having so many willing arms to hold this little squirt? This is Dave's son, Christian. He is the oldest grandchild and Anne is the current youngest. Christian is what every young man should be. What a good kid.

 Jayna, another older cousin for Marie to adore ... both very worn out from a long day of beaching and camping. I could use Jayna around on a daily basis to cuddle with Marie.

 OK, if I was honest, which I tend to be ... ;) ... I would say that although the nights were great, Anne did wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 every morning and Marie would often join her. Brandon was a saint and took the girls on a walk every morning so William and I (and the rest of camp) could sleep a bit longer.

 William and Ethan spent about 85% of their time at camp climbing this tree.

It was such a great camping trip and so wonderful to spend time with the family. We left California with a bit of sadness, not knowing when we would all get together again. Let's not make it three years again this time, K guys? 

One Year

July 2010

BABIES FULL NAME? Anne Kinslee

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT SPECIFIC NAME? Anne is my mother and my sister's middle name. Kinslee is  our own creation and went through a series of transformations. I was finally sold on it when we realized that it represents her grandfather's names. Brandon's dad's first name (Kevin) and my dad's middle name (Lee). A bit of a stretch, perhaps, but it brings meaning none-the-less.

HOW LONG HAD YOU BEEN MARRIED? We were a month shy of our 6th anniversary.

WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? We wanted a spring baby, March, April, or May. Fail, fail, and fail. Then another fail, and yet another fail. It was hard for me. I realize that many go through much more sorrow and trial and endure far worse than 5 unsuccessful cycles. Nonetheless, in complete honestly I admit that there were definitely tears on my part through those 5 cycles. When they finally came, we were both thrilled to see those 2 pink lines, naturally.

DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? No. We decided that this would be the one baby that it didn't matter the gender so we chose to wait until the birth. I'm so glad we chose to be surprised. Although, I think we were both still somehow convinced that we were having a boy so it really was a huge surprise for us to have a girl.

DUE DATE? July 30th

DID YOU DELIVER EARLY OR LATE? 15 days early

DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Lots and lots and lots of nausea and fatigue. I puked once.

WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? "The most common thing that pregnant women crave is to not be pregnant."

WHO IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? I really struggled with my kids. I wouldn't say they irritated me, but every time they acted up or misbehaved I couldn't help but think what that would be like with a baby in the mix and it made me anxious and uptight. Not something I'm proud of, but the truth.

DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS WITH YOUR PREGNANCY? I had pre-term contractions starting at 24 weeks. I was never officially put on bedrest, but it certainly gave us a good scare.

HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 2 hours.

WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Brandon. We are now three for three for me being sent to the hospital from my 38 week doctor's appointment. With William it was high blood pressure, with Marie it was low fluids, and with Anne I was dilated to a 5. By the time we arrived at the hospital I was at a 7 and had felt one semi-painful contraction.

WHO WAS IN THE DELIVERY ROOM? Brandon. Dr. J. Some nurses.

WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

DID YOU HAVE AN EPIDURAL? You bet.

HOW MUCH DID YOUR BABY WEIGH? A cute, chubby, and squishy 8 pound 1 ounce-er. Exactly 2 pounds bigger than Marie.

DID YOUR BABY HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS? She had low blood sugars. They were quickly regulated within the first few hours of her birth.

WHAT HOSPITAL DID YOU DELIVER AT? Wouldn't you like to know.

HOW OLD IS YOUR BABY NOW? ONE!

3 months -- October 2010

6 months -- January 2011

9 months -- April 2011

12 months -- July 2011

Our Fifth Year

I once said ... here ... that this video would come before the end of our sixth year. I have been known to make unreasonable goals.

Alas, it is finally finished and it was like a marathon down memory lane. My kids were so little!

Enjoy!

The Buzz

A year (or two?) ago, I convinced Brandon that investing in some clippers would be a very wise decision. I could cut William's hair (instead of paying for someone to do it) and in a few months it would pay for itself. 

Brilliant idea, Bethany. Brilliant. Now I am stuck cutting William's hair always and forever because, well, we have the clippers.

His last haircut we decided to have a little fun, since it is a task I royally hate, and so does he (but in all honestly, I do love the cost savings.) 

I also talked him, and Brandon, into a buzz cut for the summer. So much easier to do!

 The reverse mohawk. I think we might me onto something, don't you?

 Old man - ish. Or mullet - ish.

The real thing. Buzzzzzzz .......

Awwww .... he's so cute!

For journaling purposes, the recently posted events happened in the following order:

Treehouse Museum -- May 30
Joy School Graduation -- June 1
Fantasy Canyon -- June 11
Triathlon -- June 18

I lost the next couple of weeks after that. So if anybody finds them, would you let me know?

The final event that I want to document for the month of June was a hike with Brandon's brother and family. We like to call it the Five Hike.

 5 kids age 5 and under, 

5 (ish) feet of snow; Eliza 5 months pregnant; 

 5.5 hours; 

 55 miles from our house to trail head; 

 555 feet of elevation gain per mile; 

 5 open wounds on Marie; 

 5 minutes of sleep for Anne.

High fives for all the kids (and adults!) for making it to the end.

Some Divine Inspiration

My calling has been stressing me out lately. Or frustrating me. Or discouraging me. All of the above, really.Yeah, you probably think I am Primary President. Nope, just lowly little ward choir director in a new-ish ward where this is anything but a long lasting tradition of ward choir. It is quite the opposite, actually.

I could vent, and gripe, and whine right now. I could explain all the reasons I have felt quite fed up; however, that wouldn't make me feel any better. I already tried it with Brandon and my mother and a friend. Didn't work.

Then I decided to pull out my lovely iPod the other night. Ward choir was far from my  mind, but it was time for some scripture study. I found myself in Preach my Gospel , then D&C 3:19-20. From there I went to my Citation Index app and was directed to a talk by President Eyring from April 2000 General Conference, "Watch Over and Strengthen". It was one of those, "he is speaking directly to me" moments.

"Because you are called by Jesus Christ to His service, you may go forward with great confidence. First, you may be assured that He knows you and your capacity to grow. He has prepared you. Calls will stretch you, often at the start and always over their course, but He will give you the Holy Ghost to be your companion. The Holy Ghost will tell you what to do when your own abilities and efforts are not enough (see John 14:26)."


After telling a story of a young man who was recently called to be Stake President he goes on,


"The Lord is his only hope for success. Most of the help will come through the ministrations of the Holy Ghost. The Lord's servants cannot succeed without it. We can only have the Holy Ghost as a companion if we plead for it and if we qualify for it. And both require a lot of praying, praying with real faith in our Heavenly Father and in His Beloved Son and in the Holy Ghost (see D&C 90:24; A of F 1:1)."


Although Brandon, Mom, and Friend are all willing listening ears, I failed to talk to the one who could really help. In my moments of frustration, not once did I turn to my Heavenly Father. How grateful I am that this time he gave me a tender mercy and still directed me to the words I needed to read. How grateful I am that he is willing to teach me this lesson again, and again, and again. And again. Maybe some day it will be second nature to me. I am sure there are many more challenging callings in front of me to help me learn. How grateful I am for these callings that help me to find my weaknesses so that I, through my Savior, can make them strong.