You Know What?

You know what??  There IS an upside to NOT folding laundry--yes, that is my GIGANTIC pile of clothes that is overtaking the downstairs.  Here it is.....every ounce of clothing in the closet and drawers get worn and they realized, "hey, I actually do like these pants!"  Clothes have been worn that were before avoided.  And since I'm too lazy to fold, they're too lazy to dig.  Gotta love it!

(well, not love it, cuz the clutter is actually driving me crazy, but maybe appreciate the "new" upside!

Happy Birthday, Aiden!

I'm gonna break from our regular catch up posts to give a shout out to my baby boy who is turning 1 today!  Aiden, you put a smile on all of our faces and our family wouldn't be complete without you!  Love you, baby boy!

(by the way, he is SUCH a daddy's boy!)

I know I'm partial, but he is one cute kid! 

Conner's Baptism and More Summer Fun!

So, where were we?  Oh, that's right. Onto June.  Just a few short days after school got out, Jared's sister, Leah, and her husband and kids came to visit.  They live WAY too far away and it was such a blast to get together, have fun, eat good food, go to some fun places, and just spend time with each other.

Not that you can tell by reading this, but this is like attempt #5 to blog.  If it’s not one thing, it’s another, and really, I can’t be bugged, cause I know I’m a mom and all, but I’m still kind of bugged. Thanks for letting me vent.  Ok, Back to the Enbody Family visit and Conner’s baptism.  Leah, Louie, Tyler (18), Kendal (16), Mackenzie (4, ALMOST 5), and Nicholas (2) drove out from Redding, California to be with us for some summer fun and Conner’s baptism.  Tyler graduated from High School just a couple days before (woot, woot!!) and then they jumped in the car and headed our way. And might I add, that they hauled a whole lotta equipment they didn’t have to, just to help us with a MASSIVE home project on their vacation—cause they are awesome like that!  One of the things Jared and I have wanted to do since we moved in this home was knock out the low kitchen soffit ceiling with the ugly light box. Since Lou owns a small drywall company back home and is an EXPERT, we thought we’d make him work for his stay—ha, ha. Not really, but everyone was kind enough to help us, despite it was their vacation, despite it would make the kitchen unusable during their stay, despite the mess it would make, despite it was their vacation (did I say that already?).  It was a family effort, with Tyler and Kendall helping clean, Leah stamped the new ceiling texture, and everyone had to be willing to deal with a modified kitchen in the front room.  Not to mention, we twisted the girls’ arms to go shopping quite a bit so we could get out the house and let the men do their thing (as they pound their manly chests)!! 

But somewhere in there, we were able to go to the Provo Beach Resort for a night of fun. The Mayan Restaurant—and when we told Kendall there were divers that dove into a small pool in the restaurant, she thought we were lying! Yes, we proved her wrong and had a fun night!  Also, Keir and Robyn were able to join us and all of the adults were able to go to the Salt Lake City Temple to do some temple work for Louie’s grandparents and great grandparents—it was such a special experience!  Then the Enbody family was able to go to Temple Square and the Conference Center together, just as a family, to be able to have that experience together!  
                   (i must have been a lame photographer cause I barely have any pics of their trip--sorry!)

Macky on the Merri-Go-Round--all smiles!

Nick--sorry for the blur

A little less blurry--notice the smile on that cute boy!

Oh, and last, but definitely not least, Conner’s baptism!  He was baptized on June 11, 2011. It was such a surreal, yet super special experience having my oldest child baptized.  Grandpa Packer and Aunt Candice were the speakers, and Uncle Louie and Uncle Cameron were the witnesses, and Jared performed the baptism and confirmation.  We had our dear friends, The Maile Girls, sing a special musical number, and with all the love we felt from family and friends that attended, it was an amazing day!  One I hope Conner never forgets and will always be able to look back on and remember how loved he felt.  Afterwards, we went up to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a yummy lunch of homemade Costa Vida salads and burritos.  And for dessert, one of Conner’s favorites, Fatboy ice cream sandwiches.  We played the day away and had fun visiting with family we hadn’t seen in a while (Aunt Mary, Kayla, Jacob, and Krissie).  Thanks everyone for your love and support in attending Conner’s special day!

 Louie, Nick, Kendall, Conner, Mackenzie, Tyler, Leah

 Grandpa having a tender moment with the special boy

 Cousin Jessica, Conner, Aunt Robyn, Ashley

Dad, Conner, and Mommy

Aunt Candice and Conner

 Grandma and Grandpa Packer with the special boy

 That expression is priceless!!

 

I think that about wraps up the first couple of weeks of June.  THANK YOU Enbody family for sacrificing all you did to come visit us in good ole Orem, Utah!  You live entirely too far away and we absolutely loved having you here!  Not to mention the facelift on our kitchen is AMAZING and we  more than love it!  Thanks for giving up a huge part of your vacation to help us make our home not only look better, but way more open and spacious!  Oh, and might I add, Macky and Dylan were 2 cute peas in a pod and had a grand time playing about and just being cousins!  And Tyler and Kendall, you put up with quite a few little boys all at once, so thanks for being troopers!  And Leah, you are my hero!  Really, I strive to be like you and how amazingly patient and kind you are! And Louie, you are a great patriarch to a great family—well done, brother, well done!  WE LOVE YOU ALL!! 

Ya Think???

Ya think it's about time I pull my head out of you know where and finally freakin post?  Ya think a six month hiatus from posting is long enough!!  Ya think I feel like a looser of a friend, sister, mom, wife, and anything else for neglecting this so long?  Ya think I have OODLES of pictures to share with you?! Ya think I owe any of you an apology for being MIA for so long? Well, on all accounts, the answer is YES!! Yes. Yes. Yes. And I'm so super sorry.  I wouldn't blame any of you if you stopped reading this and haven't and won't ever return.  I really, really will try harder to stay up on life...well, I don't know if I'd go as far as life, but how bout this blog.  Yeah, I'll try to stay up on this blog. :)

Here's the dilemma...I definitely don't wanna overwhelm any of you with an overload of pics, but some are just so dang cute I can't pass them up.  Not to mention I use this as a journal/timeline for our family.  So, again, apologies ahead of time.  If this is too much for you, I'm truly sorry.  I'm just realizing that since my BABY is turning 1 next week, yes, I said ONE, I'm realizing we missed out on the last six months of pics for him. Bear with me as I try to update our crazy, fun, yet boring, spring/summer/fall for Scoubes Family Blog.

So we left off at Conner's Birthday and the surprise trip to Disneyland, Sea World and the beach.  It was also Dylan's 4th birthday and we had an amazing day at Disneyland that day and Dylan was treated so extra special!

The Boys at Sea World

Mom and Conner riding the Atlantis ride as Sea World--do you see me screaming my head off?

It was Dylan's Birthday and he got a special picture with Buzz Lightyear!

(This was especially exciting because he was told he was too short to ride space mountain with Dad and the older boys and was crying until we saw Buzz--we chased after him and were the 3rd people in line! Melted the tears away!)

The Famous Disneyland Family Pic

Love these 2 kiddos!  They would have tried on every hat if we had let them!  These were their favs.

Dylan also got chosen as a Jedi to fight Darth Maul on his Birthday--he was rather intimidated!

Conner was also lucky enough to be a Jedi on our last day there.  The force was definitely with us

Everywhere we went, we were a spectacle with FOUR boys, in matching shirts at that (easy way to keep track of the rugrats!)  Yes, 4 boys, and no, we're not crazy.....yet :)

Aiden was lulled to sleep by the calm ocean waves.  It was close to the longest nap of his life!

Dad and his boys at Huntington Beach soaking in the rays and waves

My adorable muscle men (Taj is part of the adorableness!)

All righty then, that's gonna do it for our trip pics.  Some other fond memories include:

• Seeing dylan covered in his blanky on the drive down--his creative solution from blocking the sun so he could see his Nintendo DS. 
• Sitting by the pool with Melissa and Shailynn while all the boys went back and forth and back and forth from the pool to the hot tub. 
• Loving that Aiden was still cuddly and sweet and LOVED kissing me while I bobbed my jaw next to his--guess ya had to see it, but it's still a favorite to this day!
• Conner going on California Screamin and absolutely loving it and wanting to ride only that over and over--I think 2 in a row was our limit.
• On the second day Dylan was allowed to go on Space Mtn. (height is subjective, right?!) and after he got off he was scared out of his pants.  His reaction: 

Me: Did ya love that or what? So fun, huh?  (trying to buffer the fear)
Dylan: No. It was scary. I never wanna go on it again......well, I kind of liked it"  And by the time he saw his brothers, "IT WAS AWESOME!"  Funny how it went from never again to AWESOME and wanting to do it again! 

It was a trip of a lifetime for the Scoubes fam and hopefully one that won't be forgotten for years to come!!  Dylan still asks every so often when we're going back.  Yeah, not for a LONG while, buddy.

In the next few weeks after that, we had a kindergarten graduation for Oliver, a preschool program for Dylan, and school came to and end (thank goodness!)  I was over the homework and daily battles with Conner, not to mention the tail end of school STUNK for Conner, poor kid.  And surprisingly, it wasn't his fault.  "Really?"  You might be asking yourself, but being labeled is NEVER fair to the kid and his teacher and peers were having enough of a negative effect that his anxiety and anger that his bad behavior escalated to the point of weekly therapy appts and even the contemplation of adding some meds.  That's another story in and of itself for a later time.  All I'd like to say is that having his meds dialed in have made A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE and seeing the happy Conner (who once was) return in full force-- funny and hilarious, kind, tender, and much more under control has been such a blessing and our family is all around much happier!!

Ok, I've already been at this computer for WAY too long.  But it's good to be back.  My kids are tired of me ignoring them, so we'll continue this in the next few days.  As a sneak peak, we'll continue with Leah (Jared's sister) and her awesome family visiting for Conner's baptism.  Oh boy, the summer's just begun!  Hang in there with me, I hope I'll make it worth it ;-)

Thanks for any of you have tuned back in and we'll talk soon!

Tired...and a little lazy, too!

Hello everyone!  Sorry it has been so long since I posted last!  All I have to say is I'm tired....well, that and I feel a little on the lazy side--when it comes to blogging, that is.  I did laundry for 4 straight days, from the moment I woke up till bedtime and finally got caught up--YIKES!  So now that my house is in order, I feel like I can get caught up on other aspects too, such as blogging.  As a quick recap, we had a great b-day for Conner, an awesome family vacation to Southern California, and even funner (is that a word?) birthday celebration for Dylan's 4th birthday at Disneyland!  I have a ton of awesome pics and some funny stories to share.  So once I can get my act together and get the pics downloaded, you will have some good laughs coming!  Thanks for the patience and love.

Birthday Surprise

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY to my sweet, loving, FUNNY, kind, brave, adventurous, smart, spiritual and all around awesome CONNER JAMES SCOUBES!

 I can't believe I'm old enough to have an 8 year old, but more like where did these last 8 years go?!  Sometimes I think it was barely creeping by, some days lasting FOREVER!  But mostly, it's gone by pretty dang fast.  My oldest boy is 8!  We're having a birthday party for him today, after school, which I've never done before (it's always been on a weekend).  But this weekend we have something EXTRA special for the boys planned.  Shhhhhh, it's a surprise.  Most of you probably know already since I can't keep my big mouth shut, but tonight, as one of Conner's Birthday presents, we're telling the boys we're surprising them with a quick trip to Disneyland!  Even better, my amazing sister is hooking us up to go to Seaworld with my nephew's preschool class and it's only gonna cost us each $6--I know, amazing, right?!  I'm so stinkin excited, but even more excited to see their reactions and excitement at the news as they open their clues.  I'll be sure to take pics to document it and hopefully we get some priceless expressions!! 

My day started bright and early making the little dude breakfast in bed.  Per request, it was puff pancakes, strawberries, sliced oranges, and orange juice.  And the day isn't gonna be slowing down anytime soon.  Gotta frost the cake, wrap the surprise clues, get the house tidied up and fold the GINORMOUS pile of clean laundry (and you all know how much I like that :) I'm gonna have the boys help me decororate for the party once they're home from school and do some last minute birthday stuff.  We only do parties on even years, which I am SO ok with!  They are a major hassle, as much fun as they are.  We're doing a Scooby Doo party, complete with a Scooby cake (by me, of course) and a Mystery they have to solve by finding clues and doing different fun activities at each clue--such as the Ghost Stomp, Bone Tag, Mummy Wrap, and pizza and cake/icecream, followed by presents and one last clue.  Hope it goes smoothly and the kids have a blast!  Again, I'll be snapping pics left and right, so I'll try not to overload you in the next post.

Really fast, in other recent news, and since I've been totally MIA lately, baby Aiden is rolling over.  He's still an angel, happy and sleeping through the night--YAY!!  Oliver is loving soccer and is sad his season is almost over.  And.....

Dylan is turning 4 next week!  We are actually going to Disneyland the day of his birthday--how much fun is that?!!!   I know Aiden is the baby, but there's something about looking into Dylan's big brown eyes that makes me still think of him as my baby...well, all the boys are my babies, but, you know what I mean..right?!

Ok, I've really gotta sign off. Too much to do.  Hope all is well on your end of life!  Not sure if I'll have time to post before we leave on Saturday. Love to you all!

Laundry

Does anyone despise laundry like I do?  Man, it's my nemesis!  I know I already talked about it on Facebook, but it's creating this dark, gloomy cloud over my day today and I just wanna crawl under a rock and ignore it!  Wait, that's what I've been doing for the last week and why it's rediculously out of control!  If you know me, you know I don't do stinky. I really try to stay on top of cleaning and keeping my house smelling nice, even if it is with a wall flower from Bath and Body Works.  One way I console myself of having 4 boys is by saying, I may have 4 boys, but I do NOT wanna live in a house that smells like 4 boys.

You think people would mind if I sent my boys to school in dirty, stinky clothes?  It may just happen....one day :)

Ahh, a nice quiet Sunday morning

Let me tell you, this is what it's all about!  Getting the boys ready on the earlier side for church, having them read books, while listening to church music--LOVE IT!

 Oliver absolutely loves Aiden, making him smile and be happy.  He'll stop what he's doing to help him, make silly faces at him, entertain him...whatever makes Aiden happy. 

The ever doting big brother!

May all Sabbath mornings be this pleasant (yeah right!)

Soccer Game, Take Two...

So we attempted soccer game #2.  We practiced, we pushed, we raced.  We did our best to prepare Ollie for his 2nd attempt, hoping it would be a positive experience.  And guess what?  It was! 

This face says it all

Not a tear in sight!

He practiced with his teammates (it helped that dad was on the field with him)

 See? Number 15 is vying for the ball! 

And after the game he was still happy, saying he LOVED soccer and I quote, "It's a blast!" 

 Thanks for trying again Oliver and for all the love and support from Dad, Grandpa and his brothers.  And Cyndi, thanks for sharing the story about Nick, it actually really helped Oliver feel like he wasn't alone in feeling the way he did!  You are a part of his success!  Soccer is officially a Scoubes Family sport!  Now let's just cross our fingers when Conner's first baseball experience rolls around it's a positive one!

Spring Break

I knew Jared would be traveling during the month of April, but of course it just had to fall on the week of Spring Break.  So I decided to still venture out and do some fun activities with my boys--some with the help of my right hand woman--Candice.  The boys had been begging to see this....



It was cute, but a little slow.  However, the boys have been quoting it and singing the songs from it all week, so it was a success in our house!

We also were able to see some friends of ours that we hadn't seen in WAY TOO LONG!  They were nice enough to come along with us to the Living Planet Aquarium, up in Sandy.  Conner LOVED petting the sting rays, but Oliver and Dylan wouldn't even consider it.  I want them to try new things, but realized I can't force them (gosh darn it!)  We got some cute pics and the boys loved seeing their best girl friends, Marley, Gwen and Daphne.  And Aiden and I loved Hailey's and Dex's company as well!! 

 Sting Ray touch pool

 Loving the penguins 

 How big are you compared to a penguin???

 Just my size

 This is a cool mural on the wall (not a live pic)

 All the kiddos!

 The whole gang, moms and all!

Then we had a couple of days of cold and rain, but on Friday it cleared up and we went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point.  The boys were in hog heaven (ha-ha)

 

 Conner was lucky enough to hold a brand new baby goat!  So cute!

 This is a RARE occurrence...that Oliver actually pet an animal, and a horse no less!  

 My 3 little bandits

 Conner had no problems feeding any of the animals--horses, cow, pigs, and the alpaca (sp?)

 Dylan would do it with the help from mommy

 Conner riding Nina, the horse

 Oliver riding the pony, Missy

 Dylan riding the pony, Sugar

 And we can't forget little Aiden!  This cute little boy was such a trooper with the cold breeze and so happy despite being wrapped up like a nun :)

On the wagon ride

 We hit the park a couple of times and enjoyed a couple of sleepovers up at Grandpa and Grandma's with Aunt Candice.  Despite daddy being gone, we still managed to have a fun and relatively happy Spring Break!