Welcome Home!!

My darling little brother Jamison returned from his mission yesterday!!  It was an exciting day!  It has been many years since our whole family has been together.  He had a wonderful mission in Mexico and two years flew by for us.  It almost seems as if he never left.  We are so happy to have him home!  The family grew by two sisters-in-law and three new nieces since left.  All of the sudden our family seems so big!  The kids ran to him when he came off the plane and about mauled him to pieces.  It was pretty awesome!  Hurray for missions and hurray for the end of missions!

A Few More Wedding Photos

 The cake....

 Snacking....before Austin's eardrum ruptured...

 Mr. and Mrs. Pena....

 Smashing the cake....

Cake aftermath....such a fun night!!!

Summer Wedding

Matt's little sister Kailee married Zach Pena last night. Everything was so gorgeous. Kailee designed everything and made most everything along with other members of   the Sorensen family. She had a vision of how it would look and it turned out perfectly! The entry to the wedding site (Matt's parent's yard). . . .

 A beautiful quilt made by the groom's grandmother.

 The backyard, pre-wedding.

 The ceremony site.

 Isn't it gorgeous? The Sorensen family definitely know how to throw a party.  Kailee made all the green flower balls   that lined the aisle.

 Dinner is served.

 This is where the cake goes.  I know I have a photo of the cake somewhere.

 Photo wall.

 Kailee and Zach and the nieces and nephews. Zach inherited a whole crew!  He became an instant uncle last night.

 The tables. Meagan adding a few finishing touches.

 Me and little Sydney girl walking down the aisle. Jen and Mikel and Meagan were close behind.

Kailee and her pop waiting for their cue.

More to come!

Congrats Kailee and Zach!

One More Note for Michael

Dear Michael,
I just want to let you know that you are the most awesome young man I know. Thanks for being such a great example to all of us and for going into every situation with a great attitude. You are such an awesome, amazing talented guy and I feel very blessed to have you as a brother. I don't tell you these things to give you a big head (I mean, it is already naturally kind of large) but because they are all true. You are my hero!! I love you.

Happy 15th birthday!!

Love,
Laur

Birthday advide from Zack

Dear Michael,
Happy Birthday. I hope you are having fun. I want you to play with your fun Rescue Heroes. (the guys with capes.) I hope you enjoy your movies over there. And again, Happy Birthday. And, have fun reading books. And, don't cross the street without looking both ways. Listen and learn from your parents. have fun outside. love zack.

Dear Michael,
Happy Birthday.
love,
Derek

Michael,
Bye.
Love,
Austin

Happy Happy Birthday

(a little birdie told us you would like nothing more than a blog post dedicated just to you today)

Ode to MICHAEL

your sweet Moves on the basketball court rock
the way you always Include others
Constant vigilance is necessary to protect ourselves from your side jabs
you are the Happiest kid we know (excuse me, 15-year old)
there is no charge for Awesomeness, or attractiveness (from Kung Fu Panda)
Everybody loves michael
please come Live in utah!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Teaching R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Conversation at the dinner table last night:
(Zack is setting the table and sits down in a chair.)

Me: Zack, will you please go sit on the bench seat next to Derek? It is hard for me to sit in that seat right now.
Zack: Is that because you are so fat?
Matt: Zack!! You can't say that to your mom!
Zack: But she is so fat!
Matt: Zack, we do not ever call people fat.
Zack: It's just mom.
Matt: Zack, when you talk about people like that, it hurts their feelings.
Zack: But it doesn't hurt mom's feelings, she is just fat cause of the baby.
Matt: You don't know what hurts people's feelings. Mom will get skinny again sometime, but you don't EVER tell anyone they are fat because that is RUDE.
(I was long gone at this point, hiding in the pantry because I was laughing so hard.)

Today I took the boys to the dinosaur museum while Matt was working. When I took off my jacket, Zack looked up and said, "Mom, that sweater is way too small for you." Thanks, son. I can always count on you for complete honesty.

Because We Have Missionaries on the Brain

Derek (sweetly): Zack, I will miss you when you go on your mission.
Zack: You will?
Derek: Yes. Will you miss me when I go on my mission?
Zack: Sure.
Derek: Will you be so, so sad?
Zack: I guess.
Derek: Will you cry?
Zack (witheringly): Why would I cry?

(Like he didn't sob for days leading up to dropping James off at the MTC.)

The MTC (for Mom and Dad who requested photos)

The very short drive from Lehi to Provo.
We made Jamison wave goodbye to the hospital, his second home away from home.
Getting out of the car at the MTC.
Zack is starting to get worried. (He was the only one who shed actual tears, but he was really tough and waited until James was gone.)
Missionaries help unload the luggage.
Austin, waiting patiently for ANYONE to get him out of the car.
"Oh, really? I did not know that."
One more piece of luggage.
Don't worry, mom, he didn't lift them all by himself. (Austin is finally getting out of the car.)
Zack, Austin, me and a 28 week belly and Jamison.
Post hugs and goodbyes, Matt requested one more photo. We sent him on his way. He was so happy! Due to new regulations, no family members can enter the MTC. It is stop and drop only. We were literally on the MTC grounds for less than five minutes. We are so excited for James, he will be a fantastic missionary.

The Last Night

We (all the brothers and sisters...minus Uruguay Michael) got together last night for dinner and goodbyes. I caught Jamison just about to swallow.
Some game the little cousins invented called " back wrestling."
David, making an interesting point.
Tara (2nd oldest), Chris (4th), Jamison (5th), me(oldest) and David (3rd). (That would be my son trying to squeeze his way into the photo.)
My family plus some brothers. After we ate, James had to say goodbye to Tara's family and David. The rest of us headed back to my house and then on the Stake Center where James was set apart as a missionary!

(Maybe now would be a good time to mention that the Stake President thought I was Jamison's mom. It's true. I guess I should just be proud that someone would think I raised such a great kid, but I am more confused. Since this is the second time this has happened with Jamison, do people think I am a young looking 40 something mom (who is still bearing children) or that I had a child as an 11 year old? Hmmmmm......Matt and my brothers about died laughing as we left and got in the car. Then this morning, Zack woke up early to draw a picture of our family for James to take. When he showed it to me, he said, "Mom, you are bigger than everyone else, but it is just because you are pregnant. If you are not pregnant when Michael goes on his mission, I will draw you smaller." Thanks, Zack. Just so you know, in the picture, I was a foot taller and at least a foot wider than everyone else in the drawing, including Matt and Jamison. Overall not a great 24 hours for my self-esteem. I overheard Matt this morning saying to the boys, "Doesn't mommy look great? Isn't she so beautiful and young?" Thanks, Matt. Nice try.) Jamison moved his mattress into Zack and Derek's room for the night so they could have a sleepover. We didn't stay up too late packing and all got to bed at a decent hour.

Presenting the Dinner at My House After Jamison Speaks in Church Prior to Leaving on a Mission (Not a Farewell)

There were people in every room of my house. Even the unfinished basement.

There were over 90 people here...holy cow.

So many of Jamison's favorite people came.

The line just kept coming and coming. Matt would come and give me updates on how many people were left so I could figure out how much food we still needed.

Some of my parent's missionaries came to say goodbye.

Jamison and some future missionary nephews.

Dave and Doreen, cousins on my dad's side.

Grandma and Grandpa Boothe were sad to say goodbye, but so excited for him.

Breakage

Yesterday seemed like my day for breaking things. When I fist found out I was pregnant, I was perusing the Old Navy Maternity section looking for some jeans on clearance. I found some! A nice looking pair for $1.99. Yes, one dollar and ninety-nine cents. The catch was that the maternity panel had a slight tear in the side where the stitching had not held together. No biggie, I thought, I am sure they will last a little while and they were $1.99!! The jeans came home with me. They soon became my favorite, they were fitted enough to not make me look ginormous and comfortable enough to wear frequently (or daily.) The rip in the maternity panel was right where the panel met the jean fabric. As the months passed, the rip became a little bigger. The other side began to pull away from the jeans as well. (Keep in mind this was along the back side of the jeans. If I ever bent over a little too far I would hear a little rrrrrrrriiip. I always made sure to wear an extra long shirt when I wore the jeans, just in case.

Well, yesterday was the day. I was driving my brother James up to Bountiful to meet my sister and she was going to pick him up for some last minute pre-mission shopping and family visits. Lehi to Bountiful is not very far, only about 40 minutes. I do get really uncomfortable in the car, but as long as I am not driving I can change positions and it is fine. But when I am driving, I get this horrible cramp just above my ribcage. The longer I sit in the same position, the worse it gets. This happens every time I am pregnant, but not usually this early. It started to get really bad in Salt Lake and by the time we reached Bountiful, I needed a stretch. Once I parked the car, we were just waiting for Tara to show up. I first stretched my legs as far as they would reach in the car and then bent forward to stretch my back. That is when I heard a HUGE rip and felt some cold air on my back. I reached back to feel the damage and realized that the entire panel had pulled away and there was no way I would be able to keep my pants up when walking around. So the pants are toast, the fabric is so stretched out I don't think I could fix it with my minimal sewing skills. But that $1.99 did last 6 months!!

The second thing I broke was a lot more than $1.99. This weekend my little brother is speaking in church before he heads off on his mission next week. After church, there will be a humdinger of a shindig over at my house, since that is the day most of the family will be saying goodbye to him. In preparation for the big day, I have been methodically cleaning my house. I had everything fabulously clean last week and was doing a great job of maintaining until everyone came down with ear infections and colds and now it is not looking so good. Well, yesterday, I decided it was time to finally clean the fridge. Not just a wipe down of the inside, we are talking taking every shelf out and scrubbing. I was almost done, the fridge was glistening, all I had left to wash was a glass shelf that is over the vegetable bin. It is the lowest shelf in the fridge and where we usually keep milk. As I was washing it in the sink, all of the sudden it completely shattered in my hands. Glass flew everywhere. I can't believe no one was hurt. I quickly locked the kids in my room and cleaned up the floor first. Then, I gathered the big pieces out of the sink. Then, I spent 45 minutes picking the shards of glass out of the sink with tweezers, to make sure none fell in the disposal. Aaack. I found out today a replacement shelf is $85. Seriously? There is is no way the shelf is worth that much. So for now, my vegetables are getting lots of fresh air and the milk is up at the top of the fridge while I decide how badly we need a shelf there. Kenmore is trying to con me, I know it.

My Grandma Wears Booties....Does Yours?

We went to visit my grandparents this past Sunday. We arrived at their house before they were home from church so we just hung out for a bit until they came. When they walked in the door, I immediately noticed that my grandma, who is quite the shopping/clothing fanatic, was wearing booties. And they were rockin'. I thought it was so funny, because I consider booties too hip for me, and here my 78+ year old grandma was wearing them and looked awesome. You go, Grandma!

Time to Update

The last few weeks have been crazy/busy and fun. No time for blogging. We have been having a blast with lots of family things going on. This past week we had my brother Michael staying with us for a few days. On Weds. we headed down to Seven Peaks Waterpark for lots of good fun, including Matt teaching my brother Chris to do a backflip off the rope swing and trying to teach me. Never got it, but I kept trying. I totally admit to wussing out everytime. Then on Friday it was time to send little Michael back to Uruguay. We had some packing craziness trying to stuff everything my mom asked us to send back into the suitcases and keep them in the weight limit. We were so glad he got to spend some time with us this summer. My boys had so much fun with him. What a great uncle! Derek hadn't seen him since he was about 16 months old, but he warmed up fast. One day I heard Derek say to him, "Michael, I wuv you!" Michael was thrilled. And then when Michael was at my sister's for a few days, Derek came up to me and said, "Mom, when Michael coming home?" Pretty cute. Two weeks ago we had a family weekend with my mom's side at our Lodge in Victor, Idaho. It was so fun to hang out with aunts, uncles and cousins and let the kids run everywhere. The boys golfed, we swam, went on hikes and played tons of games. Here is a picture of all my siblings (plus a few of my children and their cousins) in Victor. This was the first time we have all been together in two years!
The weekend after that, we headed to Manti, Utah for a wedding, my cousin Jen (middle) married Nolan (who I met that day) and holy cow, were they cute together. This is a picture of all five of us girl cousins on my mom's side. Jana, me, Jen (the bride) Tara, and Alli. It had been a loooooooooong time since we have seen eachother. I am the oldest, then Tara, Jana, Jen (who are sisters) and Al, who just gradeeated high school.
And finally, attempting to take a family picture at my Grandparent's house last week. Let's just say we struggle. But it was fun. We have a few more backpacking/camping trips planned for August (3!) and the day after we get home from the last one, Zack starts school! He can not wait. Fun times.