Back to School Blues

We are one week into the routine of back to school, and already, the blues have set in.  Not from the kids, who are still loving every minute of it, but from me.  I miss having my sidekicks, well, at my side.  The house is too quiet, and Joseph just doesn't talk enough (ok, not at all).  Today was Emma's first day of kindergarten, and she was SO EXCITED!!  She doesn't get on the bus until after lunch, but she insisted on getting up and ready to go with everybody else at the crack of dawn.  We ended up changing into a CLEAN shirt after she got PBJ all over the first one.  Tomorrow, I'll try to talk her into waiting until AFTER lunch to put on her new school clothes. :)  I kept it together, and didn't sob as I put her on the bus for the first time, but I wanted to.  I miss having my little sweetie here with me. 

Reed started 2nd grade last Tuesday, and seems to be doing well so far.  His teacher is very soft-spoken and sweet.  I'm hoping that she can handle all those rowdy cute boys from our primary that ALL landed in her class.  She will probably be just fine, but the 7th ward boys may just give her a run for her money :)

Charlotte is in 5th grade this year, her last at the elementary.  I have missed her constant chatter at home.  She is having so much fun catching up with friends, and making new ones, that the chatter is full steam once she walks back in the door. 

Madi started Middle School this year, and I DID cry as I watched her get on the bus.  I blinked and she went from a tiny baby to a beautiful young woman.  I just know that I will blink again, and she will be getting married and starting a family of her own (boy will I cry then).  She is loving Middle School, and doing very well.  She had a little trouble with her locker, until her teacher showed her the trick to opening it.  I was worried that she wouldn't be ready for Middle School, but I guess it was just me that wasn't.

There are a few benefits of having the kids gone all day, and I love finding the good, so here goes:

• I am much more productive if I get up and get going when they do.  This morning I cleaned the house, mowed Grandma's lawn, and picked green beans, all before Joseph woke up from his morning nap.
• When I clean up the house in the morning, it stays clean all day long!!  LOVE that feeling.
• When Joseph goes down for his afternoon nap, I can do WHATEVER I want!!  Nap, read a good book, soak in the tub, whatever I want.  Having time for me, after 11 years of always having at least one toddler around, is HEAVENLY.
• When the kids come home, they are so HAPPY to be here!!  They shower me with hugs and kisses, and I feel loved.  As a Mom, there is nothing better than that feeling.

Just wanted to share a few pictures of the kids on their first day back to school.  They are such cuties, I can't help but love them.  Hope this school year will be a great one for all of the WILDE ONES at my house :)

California Dreamin'

So I missed blogging last Sunday because we were out of town.  We took the kids and my parents to visit my big brother in Santa Cruz, CA.  We had such a great trip, I didn't want it to end.  I am still in recovery mode from the nine people stuck in a twelve passenger van for FOURTEEN HOURS trip home, so I am keeping today's blog short.  Just a couple of things that I have learned over the past two weeks, and our big trip:

-it is a TON of WORK to pack up five kiddos and two grown-ups and all the gear they need for a week.(But TOTALLY worth it)

-no matter how much you love the people involved, 14 hours in a van with them is a REALLY LONG TIME (again TOTALLY worth it)

-no matter which way you go through the great state of NEVADA, all you see is brown and sagebrush (no wonder they have gambling, why else would you go there?)

-spending time with my family is ABSOLUTELY my FAVORITE thing to do.(which you probably have guessed by now)

Just a few pics of our fun trip.  So glad we had the chance to go, I'm really hoping that we can go back again SOON!!  We had such a great time with Jeff and Dawn and their kids, I so appreciate them hanging out with us for the whole week :)

One more thing I learned- my big brother has turned into an amazing man.  I watched him care for and enjoy his children, and I was just so touched by the love he has for them.  He really is such a great dad.  He is so patient and understanding, and he just had such fun with them.  I loved having the chance to watch him enjoy his children. I already knew he was a great man, I guess hanging out with him for a few days just reminded me.

If you ever get the chance to visit the Santa Cruz area GO!!!  It is well worth 14 hours in a twelve passenger van!!

13 Years of (mostly) Wedded Bliss

Today Logan and I celebrate our thirteenth wedding anniversary.  I can't believe how fast the time has flown by.  It seems like yesterday that we were newlyweds, trying to figure out how to blend two very different personalities and lifestyles.  What a change it was for me to move to the country and become a rancher's wife.  I'm pretty sure that I wasn't all that Logan expected, either, but he was willing to learn and grow alongside of me, and build a happy little family together.  I am so thankful that he took a chance on me.  I think that it has turned out to be a pretty good choice for both of us.

When Logan and I first met, I was just starting to turn my life around.  I had moved back home, and started going back to school at Weber State, which is where we met.  I was attending church and meeting with my Bishop, trying to gain my own testimony, and become a better person than the girl that I was. 

We started dating, and I really liked this kid!!  That scared me, because I was sure that he was going to run the other way when he got to know me better.  I can still remember when he first told me that he loved me and I said that he was crazy.  I still remember him telling me that those things in my past didn't matter, and that he loved me for the good person he knew I was.  That's when I knew he was a keeper, and the perfect guy for me.  A few weeks later he asked me to marry him and I said YES!!

We were sealed in the Bountiful Temple on August 7, 1998, and I was scared!!  I was sure that Logan was going to realize what I already knew, that he was making a terrible mistake!!   I was so nervous that I was sick to my stomach, and I said yes at the wrong place, and had to say it again.  But, we made it through the sealing, and he didn't run off screaming in terror :)

Thirteen years and 5 kiddos later, we are still happy and in love.  Yes, there have been sorrows, trials and tears.  On occasion there have even been arguments and yelling (very LITTLE, of course)  Mostly our life and home has been filled with joy, laughter and love.  I am so thankful that Logan was willing to make the biggest mistake of his life and marry me!!  Happy Anniversary Sweetie!