This is where Tanno has been sleeping since I took his crib down.

Amazing that he can sleep soundly on a barstool, yet has a hard time falling asleep in his own bed.

Notches in Time

I took my children's crib down a few weeks ago. I was taken aback at the flood of emotions that ran through me as I was disassembling the worn, teeth marked bed. By the fourth boy it was being held together by a rafting strap, plastic ties and a lot of love. By the Tanno years as the kids would jump, bounce or build a tent on it, I always found myself saying a silent prayer that it wouldn't collapse and devour them whole. We first got the crib when Carver was a couple weeks old. All my boys as babies have slept in the same crib (or should I say, have not slept in that crib, as goes the Booth boys sleeping habits). It's function I always thought, until now, far surpassed its' looks. But, as I started the disassembling process, its' beauty became much more than skin deep. I reminisced about the never ending games of Peek-A-boo through the side railings, that always garnered pure delight and giggles. The marathon games of hide-n-seek where a little Booth baby was always found hiding under the same blanket, in the same corner, but the joy of being found never appeared to be repetitive or redundant. Then there were the countless number of tumbling and acrobatic feats performed within it's walls to the accolades of a onlooking brother. I suppose that this was the early training grounds for our boys ability and love for climbing, balancing, tumbling and jumping without fear. A slew of lullabies began to play in my head as I unwound the rafting strap; Silent Night, the I love basketball song (the one from a NBA commercial awhile back), A Dream is a wish Song (from Cinderella), a slew of country songs that were 80% made up, I am a child of God, A Child's Prayer, etc. And then I thought of all those long, long nights where it seemed as if a little baby would never fall asleep and I would never be able to lay my sleepy head down. Somehow those moments, now, seem like nano seconds. When I removed the side of the crib that is supposed to move up and down (I believe it only worked for Carver), my hand felt all the bite marks along its' profile. They were like notches made on a primitive calender marking time that somehow slipped by without anyone noticing. And then I found myself humming the "I love basketball song" and tearing up.

Time share

Just to clear the air. If any of you receive a phone call saying that you were referred by Chad and Kelli Booth to attend, not a timeshare presentation, but a "vacation club" presentation, I am pretty sure that it was a different Chad and Kelli Booth. We would never fall to the temptation of a free gift if we wrote down your names......we are too smart to fall for those shenanigans. BUT, in case any of you do end up attending here are some pointers.

1. First, find your happy place in your mind. Their lips are moving, but all you need to do is stay in your happy place. The mind is a terrible thing to waste!
2. When they ask you, "Where is your dream vacation?" Respond,"in my backyard in a tent." (the word tent is Key, always mention how much you like to camp and "rough it!") Gush about how much you love your home and how much you love BEING home!
3. It will help your cause if before the presentation you can develop a phobia of traveling.
4. When they start telling you the story about the father who took his handicap daughter to Italy...........hold back the tears!!! DON'T under any circumstance let them see you cry. To be honest with you, I think I have heard that one before.
5. Any time they mention the word "owner" in your mind replace it with the word "sucker."
For example when they tell you if you were an OWNER you could vacation in Minnesota the third week in January for $40,000.00, you need to mentally re-phrase that as if you were a SUCKER you could vacation in Minnesota the third week in January an so on.
6. Finally,the presentation time is a good time to mentally release those swear words that have been building in your head all week. Once you have let them out, return to that happy place mentioned in tip #1.
May the Force be with you.

Words to Live By

Be Your own Kind of.......................

SUPERHERO!!

Believe and become the hero of your dreams.

I can relate!!

A wealthy woman was shopping on Rodeo Drive in L.A, when she passed a beggar on the street who was holding up a sign that said "Haven't eaten for Days." After the woman read the sign she turned around and said to the man,"Gee I wish I had your will power!"

I currently have no defense against anything made out of sugar and fat, hence this joke gave me a good giggle.

The hunters take their mark

They have been trained not to waste time shaking the egg. Zero in on your egg and move on to the next one. This is one area in life where numbers count. You either go all out, or go home. This is our family's approach to Easter egg hunting. Below the competitors take their marks. The following picture is proof that there are no free rides in our egg hunts. You have to be willing to work for your candy filled egg.

Zachie stretching it( I love Alex dashing in the background).



Taylor. reaching for it.Nanner heading to an overlooked egg.

Zachman dashing to an egg.

The dynamic duo. Lu Lu and Nanner heading over to "phase II" of the hunt -Mystery Lane."

Carver bust'n a move. Carver was running so fast that all my other pictures of him turned out blurry. Taylor smiling.

LuLu looking over her spoils.

With that post........we bid Adieu to the pastel treasures until next year.

Taxes by Number.

This is what I looked like late last night as I was doing our taxes.

This is what was was happening inside my head.................

This is the only way I effectively knew how to solve my dilemma.

Here is my tax story in numbers. One bag of chocolate -extra strong. Two f bombs dropped in my head (do you believe that?). Three mini bags of chips. Four bitten off pen lids. Five times I caught myself grinding my teeth. Six anxiety attacks. Seven Capri suns (tropical punch flavor -hey they are sort of small). Eight times I had to go to the bathroom during the night. Nine times I questioned my computer's loyalty to me. Ten times I deleted the same form over and over. Twenty times I was surprised at my own incompetence. I have officially E-filed our taxes. I commented on facebook how I am now going to apply to rocket science school. Here was my sister-in-law Jenny's response: I'm trying to finish ours, too. I think I'm defeated...differential calculus, organic chemistry, War & Peace, all understandable... the tax code, complete confusion! I have to say Jenny you nailed how I feel about taxes.

Easter Sunday:

1. Carver told Zachie that the Easter Bunny is fake and that it is just Mom and Dad.

2. Zachie was wondering all morning why we had to go to church on Easter?

3. Taylor didn't wear socks to church.

4. I could smell Taylor's sweaty feet all during Sacrament meeting.

5. Carver did his hair in the drinking fountain @ church.

6. My feet and legs were so blue/white that I didn't get to wear my Easter sandals to church.

7. While at church Zachie's primary teacher proceeded to tell me that Zach told his class that the Easter Bunny was just mom and dads who go to the store at night and buy eggs.

8. I didn't swear in my head once during all of church, believe in miracles, they happen!

9. We had an Easter egg hunt with cousins, two-hundred and thirty four eggs were found in a matter of minutes.

10. Tanner is a natural at hunting Easter "heggs" -he definitely has the gift.

11. Chad re-hid eggs in the same spot for Tanner all day. Tanner found them every time. I am not sure who liked it more, Chad or Tanner.

12. The sun was out, and while looking for Easter eggs, I saw some crocuses blooming. They looked so beautiful, they were brilliant purple, surrounded by dots of pastel colored eggs. A perfect moment; the beauty of mother nature surrounded by the pure joy of children.

13. Zachie also told his primary class today that this life is really heaven.

14. Today it sure seemed like it.

Hop....Hop....Drag.

Happy Easter!!! I always love this time of year. Growing up I have fond memories spending this weekend down in Moab, Goblin Valley or Boulder hunting for hidden eggs among the sand and sagebrush. We had epic egg hunts......there was always an egg hunt for the children and then one for the adults. If you look close at this picture I am sure you will find a plasic egg or two. It was there amongst the sandstone and desert air that we were first told the story of the Chainsaw Bunny. He is the Easter Bunny's brother and the real "Easter" Bunny of my youth. I was taught early that when you hear the sound, Hop......hop.....drag................Hop...........hop...............drag. It can only mean one thing..........the Chainsaw Bunny is near. Last night, just as I was about to drift to sleep......off in the distance I heard a dog bark and a faint sound that I recognized; hop....hop...drag, hop...hop....drag. The familiar sound lulled me to sleep. I dreamt of a sand stone covered valley dotted with little plastic eggs. Leave it to my Dad to think up a story that combines a fluffy bunny and a chainsaw.

Happy Easter!!!

BRINGING BLING TO NATURE

Zachie had a field trip to the nature center for his preschool, he got himself dressed and I thought he was ready to roll just after pulled on his shoes. As we got out to the car he ran back into the house because he forgot something. Turns out he forgot his bling. He found Carver's soccer medal threw it around his neck like he was P Diddy sporting a large diamond encrusted necklace and was out the door, proud as punch! Nothing like wearing your brother's soccer medal around your neck to give you extra style points.
(Here he is making a funny face, but please do appreciate the plastic wrapping that is still on the medal. I just couldn't bring myself to take the plastic off).

He wore it all day -plastic and all! AND I only over heard him ONCE telling the kids in his class that the soccer medal was his. I am one proud mother! Look how comfortable he is wearing it at the end of the day, as he is sitting next to Nanner. Whoever said vanity can't buy happiness, didn't have an older brother with a shiny soccer medal.

Calling all Runners and Non-Runners!!

Snowcrest is having the greatest fundraiser this year. Ragnar is sponsoring a fifteen mile relay team race to raise money for the school. Time to grab your running shoes, walking shoes, flip flops or sandals... you can run in teams of three, five or more. Make up how much you want to run or walk, they don't care all they really want is your money (just kidding!) The cost is ten dollars per person and you get a t-shirt if you sign up before April fifteenth. The actual race will take place on May 9th @ 12:00 Saturday. No excuses. Be there. Contribute. Feel the sun on your face and the wind in your ears as you pass the cheering crowd. Use it as a goal to warm up for the Ogden Marathon. Make a date or girls day out of it. Create a famly team. If you are an alumni of Snowcrest, time to muster up some of that 'ol Skyhawk pride. If you didn't go to Snowcrest and squashed us in all sporting events, now is your chance to make amends. Anyone who is anyone will be there. See you there!!!

Nick's Celestial Vision

I Have blogger's Block, the only thing I can think to post on is Nick's idea for celestial lingerie. I have been having a hard time working the story into a family centered blog, but at this point I am just going to give it a whirl. My brother-in-law got an idea to start a celestial lingerie company. The worst part about the idea is it was inspired by a shirt I was currently wearing. I am not one to be self conscious but I did find myself being so while wearing my "celestial lingerie" shirt -It has little see through segments, on the arms only!! Well, needless to say, I haven't worn the shirt since. BUT, I would like to give a shout out to my brother-in-law and his soon to be start up company: NICK"S Celestial Lingerie. So if any of you have a need to add that extra spark into your undergarment attire OR, if you are looking for just the right gift to give your girlfriend, mother, mother-in-law, wife or I want to say husband, but I don't know if Nick is going to be starting a Men's line, I will have to ask and get back to you later) -Give Nick's Celestial Lingerie a call and place an order!!

Above is me touching Nick's back with my inspiring celestial shirt (Ha! I just misspelled shirt by leaving the "r" out...................I guess I could call it that, BUT I don't use such language, especially now that I am a role model). It is hard to see from the picture why this shirt (or sh** if you use profanity) is so inspirational, but there you have it none the less. Blogger's block over.............Thanks Nick!