The Garbage Man and enough drama for the mama

I absolutely freaking LOVE having a little boy. It isn't a secret that when I found out Creed was a boy I was a little nervous...I mean boys are way different than girls. And now I am so thankful he is different and awesome in his own little boy ways. 

Creed has had a fascination with garbage trucks for about a year now. He won't even take a nap if the garbage man hasn't come for the day...He was on first name basis with ours until we just recently got a new one. It was common for us to walk the whole street house by house watching him work.

 So a light finally dawned on me the other day....I wonder if you tube has garbage truck videos.....I should also preface this by saying I don't think Creed has ever in his 3 years sat still for long enough to watch any kind of show.....I googled garbage truck videos and called Creed in...He sat there mesmerized for a half hour....

I told him we had watched enough and we had to turn it off and wow DRAMA! I didn't know he had it in him. I have always loved his boy nature of getting over things fast (wounds, irritations, etc). I don't know exactly how long he cried on the floor kicking and screaming but it was more than 45 minutes....more than enough drama for this mama! But I love him for it! The kid is committed to his loves. And we have since watched a few more videos with the exact same response.......I love that he is passionate about his little fixations...now if I can just convince our neighbor who fixes garbage trucks to take him for a ride he will be in heaven.....

Buddy love!

Loading and unloading "garbage" in his dump truck....

PS...now he is also requesting a recycle truck and recycle man to play with......

Entraprenuer of the Year...that would be Brent (and Daryl)

Brent and Daryl Zitting....their was a video that went with this but my mad computer skills won't allow it to be posted....oh well....

So you all (as in the two people who read this and future posterity) might not know but the last few years have been stressful.....VERY STRESSFUL....Life took some turns and it wasn't in the direction that I ever planned on traveling.
Brent has always wanted to start his own business since his first day in BYU MBA school. I have always wanted a really secure peacefully employed spouse. I married an engineer after all...then I talked him into going to business school.... I got what I wanted for the first several years of Brent's career. Ford paid well and had great benefits and life was awesome for me. Brent was always bored and felt like a small fish in a really big sea. Not awesome.
 So we jumped ship and headed to GES. It was less optimal for me in some ways...there wasn't a gym to work out in close proximity to our house and the housing market in Las Vegas was crazadilly so we ended up renting a house instead of buying one...but I still got to be home with the girls doing what I wanted to do so it was good. Brent got bored again quickly again since it was all business and no engineering. He found a new exciting job and we jumped ship again and moved to St George.
It was nice for me to be close to my family and Brent's family and the warm weather works wonders for my Stills Disease. And we had just been in our horrific car accident and so we really appreciated having family close by to help when I needed it. Let me say I am really thankful we were able to live everywhere we have lived and gotten to know the people we have. We were where we needed to be at the time. And now we have been blessed to be here.
Brent's job in St George was exciting...too exciting...He worked at least 80-90 hours a week, sometimes more. If I wanted the kids to be able to see him we would take a picnic dinner to his office and eat there. I suddenly felt like a single parent and even when Brent was home he was soo tired he just wanted to do nothing. And there was always the little question in the back of our heads of whether we would get paid or not or how stable the job was...BUT work was fun and he was HAPPY and challenged every day....and there was always something new to think up and work on and the start up he worked for was small so he got to feel and fall in love with the small business atmosphere....But as most start ups do it ran out of money. They asked employees to stick around...they wanted to keep their employees as soon as they got more funding....So Brent hung around and played video games for three weeks.....And you know owning your own business doesn't look so scary after the start up then video games.... :)
So Brent and one of the guys he met at the start up decided to start up their own business....
That was like 5 years ago and they have since started several businesses (first witting innovations then cannibal cycles and cp500 and now smart tank) and worked like crazy men and we have lived a very simple life style....There has been stress and living off savings and it hasn't been my ideal situation of a cushy secure paycheck. But Brent has been home more and we feel more like a family again...I still get to stay home with the kids and to make it interesting we added two more kids during all this. And Brent is HAPPY.... I am so proud of what Brent and Daryl have done.
During a time when the whole economy was in the crapper they have started successful businesses and created jobs for several families and paid them a good living wage. They didn't get hand outs or favors from anyone. They built these businesses  by sweat and blood and tears and will power and smarts and prayers. They have lived on less and paid their dues. Finally, financially this year has been better and less stressful.
They are in the process of starting a new business and we were surprised to learn they won an award from the chamber of commerce called something like entrepreneur of the year for their second business Cannibal Cycles.....We got to go to a fancy dinner and dress up...It almost felt like prom except I am twenty years older and my body has busted out four kids....Anyway, it was a really great evening but it was most great that Brent and Daryl finally got a little recognition for all their hard work.
 And just for the record....After the first few years, owning your own business isn't as stressful and end of life as I expected....It's all good....but I am knocking on wood....that's also just part of owning your own business....Enjoy the good and be prepared if things change....

Geography bee....huh, who knew?

Cami is the champ! at least at her school... She brought home a geography bee packet one day and I am constantly looking for stuff to challenge her so I told her she needed to learn 10 of the facts a day until the geography bee. We even looked up stuff on our new globe we got for Christmas...Well that lasted a couple days until we got distracted with other projects....
Then one day she came home from school and said"Guess what? I totally won the school geography bee. I get to go to the district one now...." Huh, who knew....I guess she absorbed a lot those few days of study before I forgot about making her study or even when the geography bee was....I would love to see how she would have done had she really studied.
The district bee was apparently a much more formal competitive affair than I was expecting and Cami psyched herself out a little in the nerves department when she saw how formal it was....She did well but missed a question she totally knew the answer to...a great time to learn a life lesson about being a good sport in winning or losing or preparation makes a difference or just that she is super loved whether she totally kicks bum or not....Hopefully all three lessons were learned.

Valentines...love in the air....or on the table...

This year we spent most of Valentines day at Cami's soccer tournament. The weather was awesome and the games were really great too. There was plenty of dirt for Creed to play in. There were lots of distractions/friends for Jocelyn to play with. Taryn enjoyed playing with Jocelyn and reading a really good book. And to top if off Cami played really well and enjoyed it. In the end they lost in the gold medal game in a random horrific wind storm...like they would kick the ball and it would arch all the way around....It was heartbreaking.....but sometimes heart break games teach more than kicking every one's bum.....

BUT we came home to our valentines day love meal tradition where everyone gives me three things they love most. I chose one thing from each persons list and try to make a cohesive meal with it. We bust out a table cloth and china (which doesn't ever happen except for valentines day)....

Papa Weight was staying with us and that made it even better....although next year I might try making him something more meal like and less treat like....

I made stake for Papa, peanut butter whip for Brent, chocolate fondue with pretzels for Cami, fruit dip and orange chicken for Taryn, chicken nuggets with ketchup for Jocelyn, and blackberries for Creed....It is always really interesting and telling to see who picks which food....

Everyone got their traditional socks so they could remember with every step they took that Brent and I loved them...even papa got some...And overall it was a great love day....We are all so lucky to have each other!

Sweet Sweet Camilla

Oh this sweet sweet girl turned 11 and I can honestly say that it has been 11 completely wonderful years. Cami is often quiet and content to sit back and watch life. But she excels and shines when she has to man up and be center stage. She is organized to a T. She knows what needs to be done when and what she needs to pack and makes a thousand mental lists a day. She doesn't have too many "oops I forgot" moments. She is a serious planner.
Cami is unselfish and helpful and wants to be kind to everyone. More than once a day she asks "Mom what can I do to help?" She is smart and a critical thinker which is fabulous but most importantly she is becoming a really good person. She makes good choices....as in choices that make her happy and make her who she is. She always watches out for the feelings of others...
And while she is definitely an oldest child who likes to be in charge she is usually very aware of how her siblings feel. And she is her siblings biggest champion...If Taryn has a rough day at school Cami literally takes names of perpetrators and you can bet Taryn isn't picked on again....Creed trusts her and is more comfortable hanging out with her than any other babysitter. Jocelyn loves being included by Cami and Cami always makes sure that Jocelyn's opinions are not over looked, even when they include my little pony and strawberry short cake....Cami has a funny sense of humor and loves star wars. She loves horses. She does not love combing her hair or taking showers or anything that she considers "girlie."
She got to celebrate her birthday starting with cousins a little early. A week later she went out to the traditional breakfast with Brent and then had her friend party. The next day we had a little family party with cake and in town family. I think she was celebrated very thoroughly....as she deserves to be because she makes our lives so good....

We celebrated the weekend before the big day with our Lutze and Miller cousins when they came down for a soccer tournament. Natalie and Cami have birthdays close together so it is always fun when we can do cake and party action with both of them...

Cami had a big party with her school friends the day before her birthday. She planned the whole thing herself from the activities to the decorations to the food. She and I had a "date"/shopping trip and it was so much fun to just focus on her and what she liked and wanted....She chose cupcake decorating, murder games where you die dramatically, obstacle courses, pizza, and blue/green balloons and streamers....Simple things make her happy...

Since her real birthday was Sunday we had a little family party action with a chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, covered in oreos and like 5 kinds of ice cream....She is definitely a chocolate girl....

I hope she wished for awesome things in this next year because awesomeness seems to follow where ever she is....

Creed...a love story...

Creedy boy is such a loved loved boy. Each day of his life he has been loved on and smooched and cuddled and mothered (by me and three sisters) and teased and laughed with....Seriously his life is a love story. 

He LOVES the garbage man, ambulances, fire trucks, cranes, and any large moving vehicle. He loves peanut butter and chocolate...sometimes by the spoonful. He loves emptying trash cans and carrying them all over the house. He gets really upset if he can't put the new trash bags in the cans after we empty them. The other night while doing family calendar I was saying "Monday we have (blah blah blah...Tuesday we have blah blah. Wednesday we have and he busts in with screaming "the garbage truck!" 

He loves busy town books, rumble in the jungle, and going to nursery class at church. He is still my little boyfriend and tackle hugs me every time I come home from even a short errand. He smiles pretty much all day. 

He pottied trained like a champ, except the pooping part...Every time Grandma came over for like two weeks he would have special underwear poops just for her...In all fairness that was the same time that Taryn partially chopped off her finger so I was gone a lot at Dr appointments and he had a lot of opportunities to treat Grandma to his treasures...But after a couple weeks he was a champ at that too....His favorite word is poop and he REALLY likes to yell it out during prayers or church or at stores. He thinks toots are the funniest thing on the planet and burps are a close second...

He likes getting his hair combed like the girls (either in a faux hawk or flat-he chooses) and he loves vitamins....

He is an outside boy and will play outside as long as I will let him, especially on the swings (although he doesn't particularly like being dirty). He is tough and when he gets wounded the drama only lasts a couple of seconds. He is a masterful climber and routinely challenges my catching, chasing, and saving skills.

I love when he wants to tell me something he grabs my face with his hands and forces eye contact....like every time. He speaks really well and has always been a great communicator. He has strong opinions about what to wear every day and every night...which pjs to wear is a hard choice for him so sometimes he has to wear multiple pairs at a time. 

He loves his cuddles but is still rough and tumble when he is playing around the house. He does a mean flip into the love sac. 

He is just so stinking lovable that it is no wonder we are all whooped.