Valentine's Day

Valentime's (as my little ones would say) day was a little different this year.  We had a lot going on (crazy day for Richard at work, service project, and a funeral, to name a few) and a sick kid too.  (We have been passing around pink eye in our house and it was Megan's turn.)  But we made the best of our hectic day and it turned out pretty good.
My favorite valentine's:
Breanna

Katie

Jonny

Rebecca (what's with the face?) :)

Richard and Megan (doesn't she look so sad?)

Richard wanted to take me out and spoil me for V-day, but things were quite crazy.  We did manage a late lunch/early dinner together at BJ's.  Have I mentioned how nice it is to have a built-in babysitter or two?  Awesome.  Anyway, Richard spoils me all the time and so I was ok without extra expensive stuff for V-day.
We came home and made our traditional V-day meal for the kids.  Steak, coconut shrimp, mashed potatoes and gravy, asparagus, garlic bread, and sparkling cider.  They love it!

Another candy cake masterpiece for dessert.  :)  No plate breaking this time though.

Just one more pic, mostly for blackmail sake someday.....

This is how Jonny went to bed.  Shoes and all.

We love you, son.

We love Arizona winters!

We can't get enough of this gorgeous weather!  The kids are outside every chance they get.  They love to ride on their bikes, ripsticks, or roller skates.  They jump on the trampoline, play basketball or soccer, and run around crazy.  I love it!  Lately, we have gone on several family bike rides, since Katie can now ride without training wheels.  Jonny desperately wants to ride his bike but can't keep up with us quite yet, so he gets to help with Megan in the trailer.

We always make a detour through the retention basins to go up and down the hills.  Fun stuff!

Wish berries!

We have gone on a couple of hikes too.  We are getting pretty good at all smiling for the timer on the camera!

Megan loves to play in the sand!  And to eat it too.

Don't you love Jonny's outfit?  It was getting a little chilly but I guess his legs are numb enough.  Hey, at least he is wearing shorts.

Soak it up kids.
Summer will be here too soon.

Megan turns 1!

I can't believe January is over already.  I really meant to post this sooner.  Oh well.  Anyway, Megan turned 1 last month!  She is a petite little girl who is very strong-willed and knows what she wants.  We love her so much and are so happy to have her in our family.
Here's the birthday girl looking at her AMAZING candy cake that her dad made. She can't wait to get her hands on it.

Here's another shot of the cakes that Richard made.

And then the cake plate broke!  The cake took a nasty fall.  SO SAD!

Most kids ate it anyway.

We had both sides of the family over, which makes for quite a bit of people.  We decided to go with a luau theme, mostly because we like the food and we had decorations already.  :)

Megan was just waking up from a nap when it was time for cake and presents, so she looks pretty dazed here.  But let me assure you she loves her presents.  Besides this cute picnic basket, she also received a play camera, some birthday money, and a pink ride-on car.

All of our kids have loved getting their birthday cake and really going at it.  Megan loved her cake and ice cream too, but didn't like getting very dirty so she is probably the cleanest of our kids' 1st birthday cake pictures.

Before dinner, we attempted to get all the cousins to line up according to height.  We got most of them, although there were too many to squeeze into one shot.  So here are the littles . . .

And the big kids . . .

Thanks for coming to help celebrate Megan's birthday!

On her 1 year check-up at the doctor, she weighed 17 lbs (9%), she measured 30 in. long (76%), and head circumference of 17 in. (9%).  We are trying to get her to eat lots of high calorie, high fat foods, but she is just a skinny little thing.  No worries though.  I just want to be able to put her in a forward-facing car seat.  :)

I have to admit, I was/am sad about this milestone.  Megan is our last baby.  I won't get to have another little tiny baby (until grandkids).  I will miss this.

(Megan at 1 month old.)

I won't miss the colicky stuff though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!  We love you!

"Apparently, someday I'm going to miss all this crap."

(Sorry for my crude language.  Just keeping it real.)  :)
Have you ever watched the show "The Middle?"  If not, go do it!  (ABC Wednesday nights at 7:00pm.) It is one of our favorites (not really for the kids, but nothing bad in it, just they wouldn't appreciate it).  Anyway, it is about a family who lives in the middle . . . geographically, economically, and parentally (that's not really a word).  They are so down-to-earth and that's mostly why we love it.
So I thought today that I need to bring my blog more down-to-earth and show a tiny bit of what things are like at our house.

If anyone should drop by unannounced (which really doesn't happen very often) and make it past the semi-clean living room, this is likely what they would see on any given day . . . my family room couch covered in clean laundry piles, waiting for the kids to get home and put their clothes away.  This is about 2 loads, with another in the basket that needs to be folded, and this is about average for each day of the week.
Constant. Laundry.
I am not brave enough to post pictures of other messes that are currently in need of my attention.  Yikes.  I'm too prideful.
I keep wanting to blog about things, but always feel pulled in many different directions.  Or that my blog isn't exciting enough, or witty enough, or that my family isn't as perfect as so many others out there.  But since this is a record of our family, I should post about how things really are and not worry so much about making things perfect.  (Man, I seem to have to learn this lesson over and over in different aspects of my life.  You'd think I'd get it by now.)  So, I am really going to try to blog more and try not to worry if it isn't perfect, but so that we'll have a record of it...cuz my brain doesn't remember so well anymore.  Time goes by too quickly and the kids are growing up too fast.
So back to the blog title; it is one of my favorite quotes from The Middle.  I think it to myself frequently when one of the kids is throwing a tantrum, or when I'm trying to get the kids to do their jobs, or when I walk into my house after having a great time at the park to a STINKY dirty kitchen and realize I have SO much to clean.
Again.

Apparently, someday I'm going to miss all this crap.

Crazy Cousin Christmas!

What a fun week we had with the Towne side of the family (well, minus Steve's family - they were missed!).  Jeanie (my oldest sister) and her family came down from Oregon the Monday before Christmas.  The rest of the week, the kids had a great time going on bike rides, ripsticking, having sleepovers, and all sorts of other fun stuff.  We had 12 kids, 12 and under.  Good times.  One highlight was going to the zoo (zoo, zoo...how about you, you, you?? Sorry...reflex.).  Here are the kids in their shirts they decorated the night before at a sleepover.  They loved petting the stingrays.

Whew!  We made it.

We all had a really good time all week.  My dad and stepmom, Kay, arrived Friday night and we were glad to have them stay at our house. It was fun to have company ("Grandma" Helen was here too) for our traditional Christmas Eve pajama picture.  (Megan already crashed by this point.).

Santa came and the kids were so excited!  We told the girls they couldn't come out of their room until at least 7am.  So they did.  Wow.  Katie and Rebecca got new bikes.

Megan loves her new piano.  Being her first Christmas, it was so fun to watch her take everything in.  From the lights, to music, to wrapping paper, she loved it all.

Breanna got a ripstick.  No broken bones yet.

Jonny loves his racetrack.  Maybe as much as Richard does.  :)

Yeah, he is pretty awesome.

After all the presents were put away, we all got ready and went to our ward.  It was so great to have everyone there for the Christmas program.  Gary was the choir director, I accompanied on the piano, Jeanie accompanied on the organ, Lori had a solo, and Richard, Rebecca, and Dave sang in the choir.  It was wonderful.  I was more nervous than I have been in a long time, because I am certainly not as good as Jeanie on the piano.  But despite a few glitches, it went very well.  Tears flowed as we all felt the true spirit of Christmas, which is the Spirit of Christ. (It is mighty difficult to keep playing piano when you are crying.)  I could also sense that our mom was present and was rejoicing with us as well.  It was certainly the best Christmas gift I got this year.
After we wiped our eyes and gathered all the kids (much like herding cats), we took a group picture.  The largest gathering of Towne's in a long time I think.  Rob even added Steve's family so we are all together...at least in spirit.  :)

Christmas Newsletter 2011

Hello again! In case you feel like you’ve missed out on our annual newsletter, don’t worry. We haven’t sent one out for a few years. You are in luck this year though!
Our newest addition Megan was born this past January. Although the first several months she was colicky, she is very happy girl and likes to clap and “sing.” She is now walking everywhere! We are so glad she is here and feel like our family is complete.
Jonathan is now 3 years old. He is all boy and loves any kind of ball. He really enjoyed our trip to Montana this summer and caught his first fish with Uncle Tom (more about our trip here). Even though he is rough and likes to play hard, Jonny has a sweet side too and is always entertaining.
Katie just celebrated her sixth birthday. She started kindergarten this fall and is reading like a pro. She recently had a trip to the ER where she had to have stitches on two fingers (details here).
Breanna is 9 years old and in fourth grade this year. She enjoys tumbling class with Becca and is learning to play piano. She is a great helper with the younger kids or fixing things with dad.
Rebecca is 12 years old and in sixth grade. She is our babysitter extraordinaire! She plays the flute and piano and is doing great on both instruments. She really enjoyed going to science camp in April.
Carolyn doesn’t have much to say about herself. Her biggest achievement this year is having 5 kids and not going (completely) crazy.
Richard ran his second marathon in October (read more about it here). He is still working at Apollo but his position has slightly changed this year, giving him a bigger work load. He also fixed up our backyard and it looks great.
This year has had its share of trials, but we rejoice in our many blessings and are thankful for the lessons and strength our trials give us. We are so thankful for family and friends like you, and we are especially thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ. May we all keep Him at the center of our lives throughout the Christmas season and always.

Look Who's Walking!

So yeah....Megan is walking.  I haven't wanted to post this because I really don't want my last baby to be growing up so fast.  She has been walking for a couple of weeks now.  I thought maybe it was just a phase she was going through, but apparently not.  I forced myself to take some pictures of her this morning, even though she isn't all dolled up.  It is hard to take pictures of a constantly moving/getting-into-trouble target.

Jonny was trying to help Megan stay still for the picture.  Thanks bud.
She is now 11 months old.  I'm not sure how much she weighs, but she is not very chunky.  She is a climber too.  She works her way out of the high chair seat belt and, if we aren't watching closely, will stand on top of the tray.  She hates to be confined and already thinks she should be able to do all that her older siblings are doing.  Stop growing up now, I mean it!  (Anybody want a peanut?)