Pioneer Day 2013 Parade

If you read my previous post, then here is the proof in pictures that the Plain City 4th of July Parade was pretty much the same as a parade you would see in Monticello--note the tractor picture of Taj with a big grin on his face. For a kid that is obsessed with motors, gears, levers, and tires, small town parades are the jack pot for him because we get to see A LOT of moving farm machinery in a small town parade.

We usually spend the 24th in Monticello every year. It's kind of the one holiday that everyone tries to make it back home for. It's right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas, only somehow I think the kids think a parade and candy and fireworks are a little more fun than turkey and stuffing. This year we won't be able to make it, which is a HUGE bummer because I really wanted to be there for my 10 year class reunion and catch up with some old friends.  I catch up with old friends every year anyway over the 24th--you just need to go to the annual softball tournament and you can pretty much run into MHS alumni from every class that ever attended MHS. Besides missing my old friends, the kids are going to miss out on jeep rides, four wheeler rides, and playing with Papi, my parents' old golden retriever. Little man is set to make his appearance any day now (I hope!), so heading south will not be on the agenda this year. Thank goodness we found Plain City because at least we can still take the kids to a parade.

Here's to hoping the next post will be a debut of little man!

 

 She wasn't two yet in this pic. I love those little piggies in her hair and it makes me sad to think that she won't ever be this small again. Why does watching your kids grow up have to be painful???

 He looks so small here too. He's going to be 6 years old this year and he's starting kindergarten. I don't know how I'm going to handle having him gone EVERY day to school. I'm definitely going to miss driving around an assortment of jeeps, trucks, four-wheelers, trailers, motorcycles, and boats up and down the stairs and around the coffee table in the living room with this boy while Haiven naps in the afternoon. He has quite the imagination-never grow up Taj!

 Me and my Granny Martha. She's known as "Granny" in my house because the kids got too confused with two "Grammas" in Monticello. I sure do love this ol' spitfire of a grandma!

  My brother was new daddy in this pic. Kids grow up fast in one short year and now his little man isn't so little anymore and he's into EVERYTHING! That boy is an accident waiting to happen. I forget how busy little boys can be. He's reminded me of what I have to look forward to when this little guy finally decides it's safe to come out!

 

 You would think the two tough guys in the picture could have mustered up a smile--come on guys the parade was a little more exciting than that! That's my dad and brother by the way and their personalities are much livelier than depicted. My mom looks beautimous of course and happy to be there with her number one fan on her lap!

Happy Freedom Day!

This year we decided not to brave the enormous crowds and hot temperatures at the annual 4th of July Parade in Kaysville. We've attempted watching the Kaysville parade twice and both times were epic fails. First of all, we didn't know you had to set up chairs 24 hrs in advance at exactly midnight the day before if you even hoped to get a glimpse of a float. The chairs line main street of Kaysville and they're at least four or five rows deep.  The most coveted spots are where there will be shade of course, so there is some logic to the chair placement. You forget to set up chairs and sorry, but your SOL. You will see nothing but the backs of peoples heads and the tops of canvas shade canopies. We know because that's what happened to us.
Second of all, there are so many people there that your kids don't have a prayer of obtaining even one piece of that nasty salt water taffy or a tootsie roll. You even try to get close to the road and you have to fight off three rows of kids, not to mention the super staunch parade police that rain down their fury on any child that steps over the line to grab a dum-dum.
ANYWAY, this year we decided we actually wanted our kids to be able to see a parade AND to get some candy too, so we headed north to Plain City, a small town that reminds me of home. We knew we were in the right spot when all we had to do was follow the crowd to the main drag in town only 30 minutes pre-parade and easily find a spot to set up camp.  This is such a neat little community and it reminded us so much of home. There was a nice family across the street giving away free scones, fresh fruit, and ice-cold bottled water before the parade began. I was extremely grateful because I had to skip breakfast so we could make it to the parade in time. We tried to offer them payment and they of course refused. People are different here, definitely small town, and it was good to feel like we fit in. The kids loved the parade which mostly consisted of horses, bikes, tractors, trucks, four wheelers, and a smattering of floats. It was just like a parade you would see in any small town in Utah, totally reminded us of Monticello. I'm pretty sure we will be going back for the 24th and next year for sure! All you other city folk stay put though--Plain City is ours now. Go find your own small town to celebrate in!

 Haiven was definitely into the free candy part of the parade. She actually picked up most of the candy. I practically had to dump Taj out of his chair to get him to pick up a piece of candy--it was okay though because Haiv had them both covered.

 It's pretty obvious what Taj loved most about the parade. We are still talking about the tractors we saw that day.

 Probably one of my favorite pics!

 The kids especially loved the dog on the four-wheeler. Poor kids, they would kill to have a dog, but I just CANNOT even fathom cleaning up after a dog right now, especially now that I will have THREE monkeys to take care of instead of two. I can barely handle my kids poop and puke--there is no way I can handle a dog's! Yuck! Someday when the kids get older and can deal with the fun realities of owning a pet, THEN they can have one!

Haiv was not loving the fire trucks and police cars blaring their sirens and horns. She was absolutely terrified and I think her daddy was loving every minute of it.

A Day at the Lake

Last summer when we visited Papa and Grandma in Monticello, we spent an afternoon at the lake, Lloyd's Lake that is. You won't see any boats or jet skis on this lake, but you will find mud and LOTS of it! Oh and mosquitos too, which turned our afternoon into about half an hour.  It's pretty obvious who had the most fun and who cried the whole time because she got a little mud on her toes and fingers. She is so girly and I LOVE it! We are pretty positive that we are done having kids and so knowing that Haiv will be my only girl makes me cherish these moments more than ever. I would probably be okay to have a 4th if someone could guarantee me I would get a girl, but alas there are no guarantees when it comes to babies and the thought of having three boys to wrangle gets me biting my nails with a mixture of anxiety and fear, so three it is!

If I weren't so great with child, I would take them back for the annual Pioneer Day celebration in Monticello and we would try out the lake again. I know a certain little boy that would have no qualms with getting muddy a second time around. All those pictures of him smiling and laughing? That's Taj being a regular ol' big brother and laughing at his sister's obvious distress at having mud all over her. He's standing over my shoulder laughing at these pictures right now--such a boy! Sometimes I wish we lived in a small town like Monticello where I grew up. We've found that it's a lot harder to get into the wild up here in the city. Seems like we have to drive and drive just to find a trail to hike or a lake to walk around and even then, these places are crawling with people. I guess we took for granted how easy it was to take a 5 minute walk and be alone on the mountain if you needed some space. It's no wonder my kids never want to come home when we visit Monticello--there's so much to do and explore OUTSIDE! They never watch tv while we're there and it seems like we do too much of that up here. There is just something about growing up in the country that cannot be replicated in a city. If only it were easier to make a living in a small town!

 

 

Cheap Sunglasses

What kid doesn't love a pair of cheap sunglasses? These pictures were from summer of last year and amazingly we've only lost the camouflage safety glasses (which really isn't a tragedy because Brannon used to sport them too even though I told him he looked like an insect when he wore them) 

Haiv still sports the glasses in these pictures, so yay us for not having to purchase another pair this summer to get lost or broken!

4th of July 2013/Baby Blessing

These pics are from the 4th of July last year. Our favorite part about the 4th is definitely the fireworks (and the food). Fireworks are super expensive, so we just get enough to put on a show that any 5-year-old would enjoy. Aerials aren't needed to impress this bunch. Throw in a few fountains, some sparklers, and a smoke bomb or two and we're good to go!

 Little Miss Thing was so scared of the fireworks that we just had to put her to bed and then finish our show. I'm hoping she's outgrown it a bit this time around, but I doubt it! She is THE biggest scaredy-pants I've ever known.

Aww, the classic sparkler pic. I actually hate that particular type of sparkler Taj is holding. All of a sudden it began crackling and spraying sparks EVERYWHERE. Pretty sure they were meant to be held while wearing a fire-protective suit. We ditched the rest of the box in the trash. I didn't even get sparklers for this year's show--seems like someone is always getting their hand burned on those stupid things anyway.


I can't remember exactly what month is was that my brother blessed his first baby, but I found these pictures from the big day. I do recall my brother starting the blessing off wrong and all us VERY irreverently trying not to laugh.  How rude, right?! That's my family for you. You can be sure that you will never take yourself too seriously with this bunch.

 We are just missing my sister Marci and her hubs Brian. They have since added a fourth grandchild to the mix, Little Miss Cora Mae.

 My parents with the grandbabies.

 Obviously my kids adore my dad. He's been a celebrity in our house since Taj was born and I don't think he minds that in the least. It's nice to feel adored, right?

Forgotten Moments

It's amazing how much a person can forget over the course of a year, say for example, how small their kids use to be and the everyday moments that made up our lives. These are just some photos that I found that didn't ever make it on the blog. I taught Jr. High at South Ogden Jr. High a second year last year and with that came a few new responsibilities at work and even less time at home to do the things that I used to do. I found that working even part-time was extremely draining when coupled with taking care of kids and our home. I focused all my energy on my kids and my job and that left room for little else, which would explain my absence on the blog for so long. I don't know how single moms do it, but if you know a single mom, help her out, give her a break because raising kids and working is the hardest thing I've ever done and I'm not alone!

Working was a good out for me and it helped me to advance my teaching license so that if or when I go back to teaching, that I can be competitive and not stuck in the same pool as entry-level teachers--not that entry level teachers are bad, but I'm too old be considered entry-level and I graduated from school WAY too long ago to be hot-of-the-press like all those new education grads. I didn't think I would stand a chance of getting a job, so upgrading my license was a good thing in the event that something ever happened to Brannon or his job. It will give me the advantage I need to get a job if I ever need to. So to all you moms out there with professional licenses, DON'T LET THEM LAPSE! You never know when you might need it and I know as a teacher that if I were to let my license expire, it would take a lot of time and money and more school to get it renewed and it's just not worth it, especially if you need a job NOW.  

I remember when I first dropped Haiven off at daycare my first year back at teaching. She was 10 months old and she cried, A LOT. It was awful. Those first three months back working were hell every time I had to leave these two at daycare and I wondered if what I was doing was worth it. I wondered if it was worth it when Taj would ask me why I was leaving him there. It hurts too much to think about the 20 months that I lost with them because I chose to go to work. They grew up fast in those two years and as I look at these pictures, I realize that there is no way I will ever get that time back. These pictures were from last summer, my time off with them. We tried to pack a lot in that summer before I had to go back to work. The only thing that keeps me from being too hard on myself is the fact that I have chosen to stay home for awhile now. I achieved my goal of upgrading my license and gaining valuable teaching experience that will help me if going back to work ever become necessary for me. I used to think that being "just a mom" wasn't enough for me to feel accomplished, but not I realize that being a mom is the only occupation that will ultimately be the most fulfilling "job" that I ever do in this life. No job out there can compare with what being a mom has done for me. I've grown and progressed in ways I didn't think possible and been strengthened in areas that I didn't even know were weak. These two have made me a better person and I now realize the great responsibility I have to lead and guide them through this life safely. That's a HUGE responsibility, but I'd rather be putting all my efforts into my family instead of a career. I can't fathom facing my Father in Heaven and having to tell him that I cared more about my career instead of my family. I think that I will have gotten the whole point of life all wrong and have done a major disservice to my kids and family. The whole reason we are here is to help each other make it back, not to further our own selfish desires. If at the end of my life I can say with full confidence that I did everything I could to raise my kids right and to help them gain a testimony of their Savior, then I'll feel that I've done my job, the most important one: being a mom.

I used to be obsessed with finding out what career I'm meant to do in this life. I made it my life's quest for the last seven years to figure that out and I never seemed to get an answer. I prayed hard, I searched, I pondered and prayed, and still no definite answer--at least that's what I thought until I realized a small voice had been telling me the whole time that now was the time for being a mom--that now was not the right season to pursue dreams of no eternal consequence. Until I read an article on FB titled "Am I Enough," I didn't realize how little I valued my job as a mom. I didn't realize that my kids are enough to make me feel accomplished, that I didn't need a worldly title or recognition to feel accomplished. Why couldn't my kids be enough? I felt immediate remorse and shame over all the time and energy I spent pursuing things that I felt were more worthy goals than taking care of my own children. I'm just thankful that I finally got it and that I figured it out before my littles grow up and leave me.  So I guess you can say that I have a fresh take on motherhood and I'm am thankful for the privilege and honor of the title mother. I can say with full honesty and not an inkling of a doubt that being a mom is all I want to do for the rest of my life. I know there will come a time when I will have more time to pursue other interests, but for now, all my best is going to these guys.

 

 

All of these pictures are from Summer 2013

Sabbatical

So I guess you can say that I've been on sabbatical for the last year. A lot can happen in a year and I realize that I am quickly coming up on a year since I last posted. Holy crap! I didn't realize HOW long I've been away from the blog. Obviously, there is some catching up to do and I have already chewed my fingernails off and eaten a dozen Oreos today contemplating how many posts it is going to take to get caught up. My goal is to get caught up before this baby comes in the next two weeks. Didn't know I was expecting? Oh well, add that post to the list! I've also decided to stay home from teaching for awhile, so I'm hoping to get back to my regular blogging ways of posting at least once week. So I guess you could say the Morse Family blog is up and running again. New updates and posts coming soon!