The Beloved Trophy!

I'm a little late with this post because Jason was finished with his soccer season in February, but better late than never.

This kid will do just about anything for a trophy! He will even play in freezing wind. The winter soccer season in Arizona was MUCH, MUCH, colder than I had predicted. And we found out that the wind blows a LOT here in Vail, AZ.

Jason loves soccer and he loves that trophy. All his special things are placed in a little shrine in his closet and he doesn't like anyone to touch or look at them. But occasionally, I come into his room and find him looking or holding this odd little bobble head trophy.

Jason is a fast kid, so any sport that allows him to run around like crazy for about an hour is a very good thing. And as a parent, I just love to watch him run with that big fat smile on his face. Love IT!

He loves trophies so much, I think we will just get him a giant Trophy for Christmas with his name engraved on it with the saying, "Best Smiler In the Marks Family." That should make him happy for the rest of his life.

Jason's funny saying

"Mom, can I have one of these Chinese Mystery Cookies?" said Jason. Mom replied, "Sure, bud."

Mom made a mental note to write this one down so she wouldn't forget all the funny little things her six year old says.

Mandy's San Diego Trip

Every year the 5th grade a Ocotillo Ridge Elementary gets to go do San Diego. They get to be revolutionary war sailors on the "Californian" (replica war ship). They also get to go out on a boat in the bay and see all different types of wildlife. Kinda fun to get to do these extra activities with kids in her class.

This was Mandy's first trip away from home and she did great! They had to get her up in the middle of the night to do "night watch," she said it was easy and all they did was teach her how to tie knots. She LOVED the wildlife boat the next day, especially the seals. They saw seals, dolphins, crab, turtles, and lobsters. So glad she had a great time!

Everyone here at home missed her very much, even though it was only one night. Jason was crying when he woke up the morning she left because the bus had to leave before his usual wake up time. Ashley didn't want to sleep alone in her room, and they all wanted to stay up to greet her the night she got home. It made us feel good as parents that the kids actually love each other because most of the time we wonder. So I'll take this little moment into my heart and remember that they really do love each other, because I will need that reminder!

Jessica's Wedding

My sister Jessica got married this past weekend. She was beautiful and everything went well! It was so nice to have so many of my siblings and their children there. We were only missing one of my brothers. Pretty amazing to be sitting in the temple with 8 of my siblings! Feeling so blessed that my husband and kids were able to be there for the wedding and reception, in the past I would have flown out by myself, I love living close to my family.

I remember when Jessica was born, I think I was about 11. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen and she had the most darling chubby cheeks. She is one of the siblings that I babysat a lot and got to dress her up and play house with her and pretend she was my little baby. Now she's all grown up, been on a mission and married to a great guy. Love you Jessi! Oh, and just a note to Preston, be careful if you ever have to wake her up in the morning, it might not be pretty. ;-)

Mitchell's First Birthday

Well our little cutie pie is officially one year old! At his year check up he was 20 pounds 13 ounces, and 30 inches long. He has yet to learn how to crawl or walk, but he is close to doing both. I am very fearful of the day he learns to get around because he is going to terrorize this house! He LOVES to walk around in his little walker and get into everything. He runs from cupboard to cupboard and unloads everything inside. I am sure when he is completely mobile on his own it will require many safety devices to keep him in check.

I gave in and bought him a few toys that require batteries. I usually try to avoid batteries at all costs because that means, the said toy makes noise. He loves his little noisy devices and I am under the illusion that these devices will somehow teach him his letters and numbers.

I have bitter sweet emotions as I realize my baby is one year old. The older I get I realize time is speeding up and NOT slowing down. I remember when we came home from the hospital and I pulled him out of the car seat and Mandy declared, "He looks just like a puppy!" We talk about that all the time and how sweet and curled up those newborn babies are, and how much we have tried to enjoy each stage of this little baby boys life. We love you Mitch!

Resolution

O.k., I usually do not write down any of my resolutions for all eyes to see because I don't want to be embarrassed when I fizzle out in February, but I really need to accomplish some exercise goals this year, so I think I want a little accountability! So here goes: I want to do the Casa Grande Triathlon in November, but I am in ZERO shape. I haven't worked out since before Mitchell was born and I'm scared out of my mind!! I can't run without losing control of my bodily functions and I only do the backstroke (I'm too scared to put my face in the water for any extended period of time, I blame this on my fear of water that I developed as a 6 year old child when I watched JAWS -- so scary, I even look for sharks in pools!!). So needless to say, this is going to be quite the adventure. I figured I'd start with the running, so I'm starting couch to 5K this week. I loved the name of the program, because I am definitely sitting on the couch! So wish me luck and say a prayer that I make it through the first week.

Anne of Green Gables

Occasionally I read a little novel to Mandy and Ashley in the evening after the three little ones are down and we have some quiet time together. We usually try to read something fun and after we're finished, we watch the movie. We've read Ella Enchanted, Because of Winn Dixie, the Little House on the Prairie series and several others I can't think of right now. Even though the other books were great, our resent read, Anne of Green Gables takes the cake! I must admit, I had never read it before, but LOVED the movies as a kid. (I also must admit that I had to look up a few words and it was only a 7th grade reading level) Anne's character is so witty and charming and full of love and energy. I have to say that Anne has changed how I view the natural world. It isn't rare to find a good book, but it is rare for me to find something that uplifted my spirits and made me think of all the possibilities life has ahead in such a simple yet dramatic way. My girls loved this book and so did I, we can't wait until Netflix sends us the movie this weekend. I just wanted to jot down my thoughts about it and recommend it to all my blogging friends, not only for their little girls, but for themselves as well. I can't wait to read the next one! To think I have gone all these years and missed out on such a great read.