Luke turns Seven...Heaven!!

I haven't blogged in a while. Honestly, its pretty low on my list of things to do...and I feel bad about that. I feel like I've lost what little wit I had and everything I write is pretty dry but I need to get back to recording events and life. For my kids' sakes. I'll start with Luke. Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated Luke's 7th birthday with some wet n' wild fun at a Splash Pad in Westminster.

 

He invited a few friends (Derek, Jack Wetherholdt/Ryan, Audrey Willardson) and his cousins. Everyone ran around, or sat, and got nice and wet.

There was lots of male bonding too.

We hit up Costco for some yummy pizza, Luke's favorite and a cake, also Luke's choice. Don't worry, I offered to make him a cake or cupcakes. I offered to decorate it too. Luke was not going to budge. He wanted to choose his own cake from Costco and that was that. Honestly, I can't complain...less work for me.

One of his favorite gifts came in the mail and his face when he opened the box was priceless! He walks around the house with this big Spiderman Bibble (aka Beanie Ball). I kind of hate the thing but don't tell him I said that.

Luke is still a bundle of energy. He is the one in our family that makes friends the easiest. He is Mr. Popular in his class, which is cute right now for 3rd grade and was cute last year in 2nd but if it keeps up I'm going to be a stress case in his high school years. He says his favorite color is pink, don't ask me where that came from...maybe his cousin Jaxon's influence? He is such a smartie pants too, takes after his dad. We caught Luke "helping" Ethan with his math (mind you, Ethan is an entire grade older than Luke). When I reminded the boys that Luke doing Ethan's homework FOR him wasn't helping him they both felt a little sheepish. I had to laugh...inside. Happy Birthday, Lukers!! We absolutely LOOOOOOOVE you!

Camping at Caspers

Last weekend we headed out camping with the Johnsons, Willifords and a couple of our Oside cousins. It was a short, but sweet camping trip at Caspers.

The kids loved the playground we could walk to from our campsite. It was kind of a big deal for Sadie to keep her tennie shoes on the entire weekend. Phew! Glad we survived that one.

Two minutes after this picture Jake was on the ground crying. We laughed because we had someone crying almost every couple of minutes.

But Ethan overcame a fear of the fireman pole with the help of his dad. Steve got Ethan to commit to going down the pole if he went down first and ta da!!

We love cousins…

especially when we’re marching in formation

and putting on a little fire pit play.

The kids saw a rattlesnake when we first got there. yuck! So glad I wasn’t there! But even more glad no one came in CONTACT with one.

Hooray for camping!! We’re planning a couple more this summer but our boys wish we could just continuously camp all summer long. Little do they know their mom would NOT make it.

Sometimes…

Sometimes when the kids are super restless we pack them up in the car and head to the track. everyone is happier.

especially the runaway princess.

Sometimes, before church, there are lego battles that take place in my living room.

Sometimes we have cousins come over for dinner but we still make them load their own dishes…no matter how cute they are.

sometimes the house is peaceful with quiet children reading and snacking on apples. shhh….

sometimes we find pictures from the past that should have been buuuuurnnned! so then we put them on the blog.. why not?

Sometimes the day just calls for a spontaneous trip to rite-aid for ice cream!

and bathing suits and inflatable mini pools in the backyard.

sometimes the mess is overwhelming…ugh.

sometimes you gotta just jump!

and sometimes songs are meant to be played over and over and over again.

Mother Dear I love you so…

I love Mother’s Day. My family did a good job at making me feel appreciated. The hubs made me a special crepe breakfast, let our boys choose some flowers for me, and my boys showered me with their gifts they made at school. Being a mother has been one of the hardest but best decisions I have ever made. I still struggle with feelings of career loss (even though I never had a career, explain THAT one to me) and all the normal motherhood apprehensions and feelings of self-doubt but Mother’s Day is one of those days I think I’m doing ok and all is right with the world.

 

My hubs needs a big THANK YOU. I could not do it without him. I wish I could say that I never complain (or that other people could say that about me) but the truth is that I do and my hubs lets me complain to him and still loves me for it.

I saw this comic on a friend’s FB on Mother’s Day and loved it. I know lots of Supermoms out there and I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day!

Ragnar Relay Radness

Aw Ragnar, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

1. Meetings, charts and organization. Our team of 12 met many times to figure out costumes (cavewoman type), team name (we ended up with Running Wild), and talk strategy! One of our team members made this groovy little chart to help see how the whole relay would play out for us. I starred my runs on the right. Easy peasy, right?

2. Ready to run! Don’t we look great? I was about to head out on my first run of 8.8 miles in this picture so I didn’t have my costume on. This is the group shot of the girls I was in van 2 with. Mari, Brandi, Janine, Jackie, me and my bestie Brittany. They were so fun!

I DIED on this run. We were in Yorba Linda/Corona and the temperatures rose past 100 degrees F and I was NOT ready for that. The first 5 miles flew by and I felt fine but soon after I was done. I probably walked 80% of the last 3.8 miles and not because I wanted to. Every time I tried to start running again I started seeing stars and felt like I was going to pass out, so it was self-preservation. I hated it. I hate walking when I’m in a race…especially when I know someone is waiting at the end for me to “pass the baton” too.

And this is how I felt after that leg. I was looking forward to LOTS of water, some food and redemption on my second leg…at 12:45am.

3. After our van was done we ate some yummy grub and tried to catch some shut eye. We made the mistake of not checking the map close enough and thought the hotel was farther than it was (DOH!!) so we thought the grass was the best option. Let me tell you, it was not. Didn’t work for me at least. Who needs sleep?

4. Our lovely van! It was packed full of snacks, clothes and sweaty women!

5. Finish line! So after I ran a total of about 20 miles we hit the finish line on the freezing beach of Coronado!

We made it!!

6. And I wore my Ragnar tattoo proudly for a week after. I’m ready to do it all again!

Intimidation

Or what about this one?

I’ve been thinking about intimidation lately. It seems like one of my boys (everyone in my family struggles with this on some scale) really struggles with being intimidated by new people. I was talking to him about doing Splashball (beginner’s waterpolo) this summer and he was adamantly opposed to the idea. Then the more I tried to convince him the more emotional he got and I was really taken back by it. He basically said that he doesn’t like not knowing people and even though there would be one of his friends starting it with him he was extremely uncomfortable with the situation. So I got to thinking about what’s intimidating him…and what intimidates me. Just like my son, people REALLY intimidate me, running hills intimidates me, seeing my neked (yes, I spelled it that way on purpose) self in the mirror frightens me…oh wait.

Webster’s Dictionary defines intimidation as “to make timid or fearful.” Its been a long time since someone has physically intimidated me (ahem, high school). For the most part, its all in my head, its all about me feeling less than someone else. That’s been a lifelong battle of mine and I’m glad to say that I have gotten better at not caring what others think but I’m far from “over it.” But how do I help my children get over it without being completely free of this battle myself? How do I help them be confident in themselves enough that trying something new with new people doesn’t intimidate them into non-participation? I need help on this one.

Eight

 his birthday breakfast request? Cocoa puffs and hashbrowns.

 

Somebody pin me back down because I am floating high. Today has been a day to be remembered. Ethan celebrated his eighth birthday and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His father went down into the waters of baptism with him. He was encircled by valiant men and bestowed the gift of the Holy Ghost. Two of his aunts gave wonderful talks on baptism. I loved seeing Evelyn's picture from way long ago when she was baptized. And Mae's analogy of the gift of the Holy Ghost was right on. I couldn't have asked for a better day for my sweet Ethan. So many friends, his second grade teacher, and our ever faithful family members thronged the pews of the church to show Ethan their support (and it REALLY meant a LOT to me too). I wanted to look at each individual present with us today and really tell them how MUCH it meant to me that they were there. Every time I saw Katie cutting up desserts or Brittany serving up water I wanted to hug them. I have some of the best friends and family a girl could ask for. I know there were many more family members, especially Grandma and Grandpa currently serving their mission in Sweden, that wanted to be there too and we thought of all of you crazy Rasmussens! :)

I can't imagine a better course for my boy to be on. I know this is the first of many steps. I know the way might get a bit dark at times. I know that life ahead will not always be as rosy as it was today. If he can remember the feeling of today then I know he can get through any rough patches ahead. I could see how special he felt in his eyes. 

And now for the birthday recap...

Picking out his own gifts (from his parents and the Willifords) at the Lego Store...this boy's heaven!

 

Bowling party with some good friends!

 

It was a week long birthday extravaganza! My dad even took Ethan and Luke to the Discovery Science Center's exhibit for Star Wars on Tuesday and they had a blast. Happy Birthday, Ethan! We love you google plex!

Conference and Other Shenanigans

Conference weekend is always highly anticipated in our house. The kids get a kick out of not having to get dressed up in their Sunday best and Steve and I do our best to hear and internalize every word said. This April's conference was especially fun because Anna, her boys and Ruger came to enjoy it with us. We ALWAYS love having them in our home and everyone (ok, maybe not Sadie and Steve so much) became a big fan of Ruger's. We tried to entertain the kids with a Conference Bingo game and some peanut M&M's but it was better in theory, honestly. At least we tried. Now I'm glad to have my Conference issue of the Ensign in hand so I can read the talks.

Sadie thought these bubbles at school were pretty nifty. I couldn't believe how well the bubble liquid actually held up. And I read NieNie's book, Heaven Is Here. I enjoyed the book. Her endurance through the struggle of recovering from the plane accident she was in is remarkable. I wondered how well I would fight to regain my own life if it were me. And I always love a book with a good ending.