TWO trophies!

I love being a mom. And I'm loving having three to be mom to. Alice has been an awesome addition to our family. Jack and Jane continue to adore her every move; so much, in fact, that I beg them to give us a little space while I nurse her, or while she's trying to sleep. They can hardly keep their hands off her. I'd be lying if I said I didn't know how they feel. I LOVE to hold her and have her cuddle right into me. It's a whole new thing (at least in the last three years or so) to not have my hands free. I have eliminated so many things from my life since Alice arrived, you'd think I have nothing to do. I'm busy all day, yet my house continues to get dirtier, I keep forgetting important things (like Jack NOT having school on Friday, oops!) and dinners aren't even started until Jeff gets home.

Luckily, I am married to Superman. He's amazingly patient and on those days when he could totally come home and say, "what did you do all day?", he never has. Thank goodness! Some days I want to ask myself that question!

So, in addition to every-two-hour feedings, trying to squeeze a bath in, loads of PINK laundry, and my absolutely necessary power nap each day, here's a little of what we've been up to.

When Abbie was here, the kids played and played. Abbie kept them busy with projects for hours on end, and we all loved it. They were thrilled when it started to rain, so of course ran out to play. I LOVE the rain, and if I wasn't holding my babe, I would have been out there with them in a heartbeat. Jeff was out, although he was just trying to finish mowing the lawn, not necessarily trying to play in the rain. What a guy.

The kids were super-heroes for three days straight, with their own super names with individual powers and everything. Bad guys didn't stand a chance at my house.

Jack and Jeff decided last week they wanted to build a periscope. So, off to Lowe's they went and in no time, they were enjoying their new toy. I love when my boys get going on a project, and this one was super easy and hours of fun.

Papa (my dad) came to visit on his way home from work this week. The kids were thrilled, as always. When preparing to go to Provo to play with all the Rich cousins earlier in the week, Jane exclaimed, "Papa is my favorite cousin!". Although not quite clear on the definition of cousins, this shows how much she really just loves her Papa! We loved the visit, and I loved how immediately cozy Alice was with Papa.

She still has her hair! I worry every time we wash it that it will be gone, and it will eventually if she's anything like her siblings. For now, we're loving it! She really is as sweet as she looks.

Jack had his "Soaring Eagles" award ceremony this week at his school. The children were sent home with a list of 20 things they needed to be able to do 15 of. When he heard he could earn a trophy by completing it, he was all for it! He was thrilled to get to go on stage and receive his trophy. This is Jack with his friends as they were lining up.

And the sillier side of these cute kiddos...

About 45 minutes into the ceremony, they were only just finishing up the Kindergarten students, so we were happy when Jack said he wanted to go home as opposed to waiting for the other six grades to be named. It was like a high school graduation! He had his trophy and honestly didn't care about anything else.... much to our relief! He was happy, and that's all we cared about! Are we terrible? I was overwhelmed by how handsome I think this boy is. I can't get enough of those green eyes and perfect smile!

Jack's been finishing up his soccer season this week. He's loved playing on this team, and I have loved watching him. I've been happy with how the focus has remained on learning and having fun, as opposed to winning. I'll be sad when that emphasis changes because right now Jack is really enjoying himself, and it's not because they are winning! They have come a LONG way during this short season, thanks to an extremely patient coach. Hopefully, in the fall, he'll get the whole concept of moving FAST! We think he thinks too much, and then suddenly, the ball is gone! We get quite a kick out of it.

He was so excited to discover he gets a trophy from soccer too. His first two trophies in ONE week!

Jane and Phoenix are little soccer-watching buddies, although Phoenix wasn't too thrilled about his mom and me taking their picture! Hopefully next year, these two will be playing on their own team.

I've been feeling the pressure to finish up my second-to-last class before graduation, so a good deal of my time has been spent on the computer working on assignments and now studying for my mid-term. Taking classes with a family is certainly not the easiest way to get that diploma, but I'm determined to finish this up and feel like I haven't wasted the last 11 years of my life! I will feel a HUGE relief when I'm done and can spend my free time learning things I really want to learn about, rather than finishing up these last required classes that have nothing to do with my major. If all goes as planned, I'll be done in December. THAT will be something to celebrate!