Skrapper

I am WAY behind on journaling what has been happening here...with all the home repair and our Suburban wreck, but we're still going thru it so I want to talk about something more positive. (the workers are officially done with our ceilings and left yesterday for good, so we are slowly cleaning up, moving furniture and putting up Christmas Decor) :)

Skrapper had a great week last week. His class had their spelling bee and he felt a little pressure since Hudson has always made the top 3 since he was in the 1st gr. I hate that they send home the words with only maybe 4 days to study. Why not give them to the kids at the beginning of the year so we can choose how much we want to study and let them go into the spelling bee with confidence??
Anyway Parks came home and said he not only made it into the top 3, his teacher kept going and he won first place in his class. Then he said "but here is the bad news. Some kids lost their list or didn't study so it was just a practice." Ridiculous! Let's give the kids who are irresponsible a second chance instead of rewarding the responsible ones? No worries, they held it again this week and he beat everyone again and will go on to compete in the grade spelling bee in February. He loves studying his words, so that's a plus.

His Jr. Jazz basketball team was undefeated this season. Not only did they not lose any games but they didn't let any team score in regular season except for one team that made one basket. The usual score was always something like 24-0. It seems all the talent is in South Weber because all 3 top teams were from here.
They had their playoff game last Saturday and won. 6-4! Tough game. Parks scored the first basket. Then Parks played against his buddy Clayton, and loved guarding him and blocking his shots. They won 26-8. He made 3 baskets. Parks chose number 20 for Gordon Hayward.

Just thought I'd throw this pic on here...Hudson built this snowman last snowfall, just to tackle him a minute later!

"The Secret" recited by Logan Birt

Parks had to memorize this for school and Logan had it memorized before him, just by hearing him practice it. Parks would get so mad when Logan would fill in the words if he was saying it too slow. ha ha It's hard to understand him with his little 5 yr old accent. :) I think memorization is good so I'm going to start giving him a poem a week to learn. Or even Nursery Rhymes since they don't teach those anymore.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! We're heading to Vegas this year because Hudson has a football tournament. So for the first time we will be away from family on Thanksgiving and probably eating a delicious buffet of all the traditional fixin's in some casino.

I'm putting up our Christmas tree before we leave so I can come home and relax. I'm hoping to have most of my shopping done by next weekend too! No rushing and stressing this year for me. I want to sit home in the evenings listening to Christmas music, making candy, baking cookies and watching Christmas movies.

Bah Humbug!

Ok so I posted that last blog one day too soon. The very next day after being so appreciative and trying to be positive about things,....It rains and the roof leaks. I have had bowls under the leaks for months. One is coming through our light fixture right on top of the piano and wood flooring the other is in the "toy room" over my scrapbook desk, which I thought I cleared off to the side sufficiently. This ceiling had formed a new leak which happened to soak the folder that held 8X10 photos of my children that I've boughten over the years and cannot be replaced. Even some wedding and ultrasound pics were in there along with other one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable pictures.
Needless to say, I bawled. I tried to pull as many of them apart that I could to let them dry. Some were saved even though they have spots on them or the print across their face from the back of another photo and are curled around the edges.
Yes these are the same two spots that have leaked for over a year, that Larry said he fixed about a month ago (without getting on the roof) after he informed me we could not afford a new roof, after I'd called 4 different companies and scheduled them to come out and give me estimates. I agree we can't afford to get a new roof but it's really not something we can "choose" NOT to purchase. The ceiling is bulging and will eventually cave in if not fixed. That will cost us a fortune, so I choose the lesser. I'm also afraid of breathing in mold.
It's not something we can get "fixed" without replacing the whole roof with new tiles. Right now we have 1970 ceramic tiles that most companies will not deal with. Aaaahhhhh!
But trying to stay on the positive about this I just keep telling myself that I can't take pictures with me when I die so.....
it helps a little but it still hurts. Meanwhile it keeps getting wetter and will only get worse as the season rolls into winter!
Frustrated and worried....bluh is how I feel!

Attitude of Gratitude

I am usually a pesimistic, the glass is half full kind of person. But i'm changing. I just want to express how Grateful I really feel lately...and it's not because it's November. This year at the elementary school we are trying to raise money for schools and desks in Kenya. My kids come home and talk about it and it breaks my heart that so many children go without. Without everything! Without a clean change of clothes, without a pillow or blanket or even floors! Without lunch at school. Without water, baths, medical care etc etc etc. Yet they are so thankful for what they do have. My kids are starting to realize that they are very blessed and shouldn't complain about the size of our house or what toys they don't have. And then I feel guilty how selfish and ungrateful I act. I also hear of other groups who travel to impoverished countries. I really wish I had the money to go with them and do something to make a difference. I'd like to someday go as a family and help build a school or something to make a difference. I think it would change my kids lives to see how blessed we are.
We have had a lot of talks at church the past month about Gratitude. And my kids and I have been keeping a notebook and writing 3 things a day we are thankful for.
Of course we always say "Family" but i've thought about it more in depth, like I'm thankful that I could bear children. I'm thankful for a husband who works 2 jobs to take care of us. Even though we are soo busy and life is hectic, I'm thankful that my kids have the opportunity of playing sports, and the piano and that they are smart, healthy and strong.
I look at things differently now, instead of being upset that my roof leaks, I'm glad I have a roof at all! Instead of hating to go to work, I'm glad I am not sick and am physically able to work.
I usually hate the cold, and after such an unusually long warm week for the first of November, it rained and is now snowing and instead of hating it I actually felt happy driving home from piano lessons at 8:30 in the morning seeing the beautiful fall colors and Christmas music was playing on FM 100! I came home to my kitchen smelling good and all clean thanks to my mom. I have cute Logan in his jams to welcome me and give me hugs. I can turn on my space heater and drink hot choc and read a book! Life is really good and I don't want anything to change!
I realized that I am probably in the best years of my life right now. The kids the ages they are is sooo fun. Actually i think 2 years ago was when the best started. Tierra was 15 not yet driving or dating. Hudson just 8 and so innocent, Parks just in Kindergarten and loving school and making cute crafts, Logan just 3 and saying cute things. I'm don't with getting up nights with crying babies.
Now its still great! Tierra is 17 a jr. I don't have to worry about her going off to college just yet. She got a 3.6 GPA first term with some tough classes. Has a small part time job that is close and flexible. She's going to dances, HS football games and hanging out with friends. Hudson loves his teacher and is still practicing football for a tournament in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving. He's also on 2 comp basketball teams. Larry coaches one and they are undefeated, I found him and Parks an awesome piano teacher that doesn't teach traditionally and they are excelling so fast and learning so much more!! (I'm also learning and practicing myself!) Parks is playing Jr. Jazz, and will be baptized in 5 months! He's my little boy with a mans voice! He still loves to cuddle me and is tenderhearted. Logan is home with me one more year. I'm teaching him to read. We color and read books and play games all day. He also plays Jr. Jazz, the youngest on his team and the best dribbler.
I use to get so mad about the boys goofing off and wrestling and all the noise and silly games and now I see that it is fun!!! I love to hear their voices, their laughter. The innocent games they make up and the good friends they are. They still believe in Santa, the Toothfairy and the Easter Bunny, they can still dress up for Halloween. They are entertained with marbles, stuffed animals, dudes, paper and pens or a Disney movie. Hudson just made them all paper laptops this weekend. They play tournaments with their little nerf ball and mini basketball hoop. Their imagination and creativity is endless.
When they are older they probably won't hang out together as much, won't make dumb noises and laugh their heads off. So I am enjoying every minute of this time in my life and theirs.
Anything could change today or tomorrow for the worse. I hope and pray that we stay healthy and safe.
Anything that I dislike I try to counter it with "it could be worse". I hate paying for Hudsons braces and I wish he didn't have to have oral surgery but at least he has teeth! :) I'm not even being funny. It's the truth. And at least we have a job and insurance to get him the help he needs with his teeth. And I can say this with anything that comes along. I just hope I don't get more challenges now that I'm trying to face them with a better attitude.

October fun

I had to put a pic of Gunner and his cake on here since it missed the last blog.

I had my mom over for Sunday dinner. She had bought the kids some pumpkins awhile back so I thought it would be fun for all of us to decorate them. I brought out some craft stuff and Mr. Potato head pieces then told the kids to use their imagination.

Parks made Polamalu, his favorite Steelers player. Awesome facemask! (dad helped him with that part) He had to have blond hair cause it's all we had left.

Gunner was hilarious! He made an "evil vampire minion" that is eating a worm. The purple nose is suppose to be a gun and you can barely see the Mr. Potato head shoes.

The back of Parks' has Polamalu's number of course!

I created a baby and Tierra a lady

Hud was the least interested and done in a minute. His creation was called "pumpkin face". My mom made a girl

Logan changes his daily, added some muscles and matching ears this time. He loves to poke it with a screwdriver to make "blood spots"

Saturday was our annual girls "Deer Shop" with the women on Larry's side of the family. Unfortunately this is the small group that goes every year even tho there are more of us! We went to Fashion Place Mall again. I of course enjoy buying more clothes, that never gets old. Only 2 more years and Tierra will be able to join us. You have to be graduated from HS. She better have a job and her own spending money because she will go crazy in a mall I'm sure!

I love the month of October but it seems to be so busy and stresses me out. Almost like December. We have birthdays, donut day, school class parties, ward trunk or treating, friend parties, preschool fieldtrip, school skate party, Tierra school dance and all the little things I want to do with my kids like haunted houses, corn mazes, carve, paint, and decorate pumpkins, make sugar cookies, a "halloween dinner", and getting the kids costumes together. It feels like we just don't have time to sit and enjoy.

UEA weekend

What awesome weather we've had this fall so far! Thursday we started out our school vacation by using some passes we had to mini-golf at Cherry Hills. The boys then played in Hamster Haven.

Friday Hudson woke up and didn't feel so well. Headache, feverish and soar throat. We drugged him up with Tylenol and went to Black Island Farm in Syracuse with the Ward family. Connor told my boys to wear their Steeler jerseys.We ran into the Ropers at the corn maze, mutual friends of ours with more of my boys friends. So we had 7 boys and 3 girls in all.

No more sand boxes! This popcorn kernal box sooo much fun and you don't get dirty. The boys spent over an hour stuffing their shirts, over and over again.

It was hilarious.We just couldn't get enough of it...it feels so good on your skin.Corbet and Logan waiting in line for the bounce house.Me and my friends Natalie and Courtney and her 2 girlsThe boys were fearless with stunts on the slides. That night we went to Roosters and ate with the Wards. Hudson was feeling worse by bedtime.

He slept from 8:30pm-10:30am then laid in bed for another 30 min. I drugged him up because I didn't want him missing out on Donut day.
Saturday was "Chubs" birthday. He turned 5 and I made him a spider cake. I had a picture of it on here but it got deleted and it's a pain to upload one cause I can't move it down in the sequence!

All he wanted was this Air bender stick that his friend Dawson had so they could duel. He also got the movie "How to train your Dragon" and a new Steeler shirt. Some shirts and money from grandma Bubs and a missionary pillowcase and money from gram and pop.
Then we headed up to pops for birthday spankings.

Wesley, his cousin who was born on the same day in the same hospital.

Looks like Logan is passing up "Woody" in heighth but I think Woody still has weight on Logan! They weighed in at 9lbs 10oz and 9lbs 6 oz when born!

We have a tradition some Saturday in October Diane makes donuts. All the extended family come help cut them out including the donut holes. We fry them, glaze them and eat them til we get sick. We deliver to friends and neighbors too. I can't remember how many Diane says we end up making but its in the hundreds.

Tierra brought her friend Savannah

I also had a pic of me in my apron slaving away but it got deleted too.

We were fortunate to have the other 'Birt' family visit us from Texas. Larry's brother, wife and nephew who is attending BYU

Tierra's friends Aaron and Jeff came to help us devour donuts

Tierra was the delivery driver

Other deliverers went on foot

Me playing tetherball against Jeff. I was the bomb in 5th gr.
Not so hot this day.

Then we hit Dinosaur Park at 7:30-9pm for some spooky fun.

skeletons were hanging from dinosaur everywhere!

lighted jack-o-lanterns

The paths were dark, my flash makes it look light. Logan was afraid of Hudson lying here.

Caught in a giant spider web

Parks was always flopping on the ground to scare us

This blow up guy was playing the piano and turning his head, Logan wouldn't come close to him!

Carnage everywhere!

Once again Larry flew out of town for a week with work. He left on Sunday, this time to Washington DC.