Speaking of Dads with big hearts......

I ran across this picture this morning while I was picking up.  Camry made it a little while ago and I want to frame it because it's so cute.  Our whole family is hearts with Than's the biggest....by a long shot!  A true depiction of our cute little fam.  But really....does mine have to be so small???  Maybe she was just making me feel good for making mine real skinny. :)  Love that little artist Camry. 

Summer Mornings.

I love summer mornings.  This morning was a very typical summer morning.  Since Than is gone, all the kids (not Gentry even though we tried unsuccessfully the other night) slept in my bed and it's always a fight about who gets to sleep right next to me.  Claira lost out tonight even though she worked her best tears about how she'll see a monster if she's not right next to me.  We read a chapter of The Mouse and the Motorcycle and were asleep by like 9 and then I woke up on my own at 6 (yuck!) and just lied there for awhile reading until one by one, all the kiddos woke up and we were all just snuggling and Gentry woke up and we brought her in and she snuggled with us and we laughed at all of her tricks.  Her latest is trying to hide her pacifier in my shirt. She's made it like her little pocket for when she doesn't want to have her paci any more and the kids think it's HILARIOUS.  We all give her lots of kisses and hugs until she pushes us away.  We read another chapter in the mouse book.   I just love that time.  We don't have to rush off anywhere.   We can just chill and laugh and hang out until the kids figure out they can go down and watch TV while I make breakfast.  I'm making puff puff pancakes even as I type and then I'll become the mean mom again and have the kids pick up their rooms and do one extra chore....that's been my goal at least and it worked yesterday!   I have to get all of our last minute camping stuff done today...OH!  And take penny into the groomer by nine.  I guess we do have something to do this morning after all but I can handle that one.  I can't wait until tomorrow when Than gets home and we head off to Fort Bragg!  The kids are so excited and keep talking about collecting sand dollars and pieces of glass from Glass Beach.  I'm excited for all of us to be together for a few days.  

Since it's stilll on my mind, I should note that yesterday marked the 17 year anniversary of when my dad died.  I thought about it all day on and off yesterday.  Angelee texted me and said she was thinking of me.  Seriously how does she remember things?!??!  She has an amazing memory.  All day as I was thinking about my dad and I had this thought of, "What does my dad think of my life?"  He loved me but mom said he had a hard time with me sometimes because he thought I was sort of selfish and prissy, which I was so he was totally right on that one.  I really do think he would be proud of me and how I turned out.  I'm a much different girl from the 14 year old he knew what he was alive, but much the same.  I hope that he would think that I was smart and funny, even though I could just see he and Erin would just be two peas in a pod with their quick remarks.  I think it would have been a kick for him to have grandsons since he never got to have any boys of his own.  He'd love Pacen and Roman but then all the girls would be wrapped around his finger.  I imagine him a lot like Grandpa Gentry.  A little quiet but tell a dirty joke here and there and make some killer food.  And he could teach Than how to properly grill.  That is a relationship I wish I could have seen.  Than and Dad.  The two are not a lot alike but they both have a gigantic heart, Than just wears his on his sleeve a little more.  I like days when I think about my dad.  We were just so little when he died, 12, 14 and 16, looking at other 12, 14, and 16 year olds I feel bad for us.  But now I really have to go since I've wasted some productive time typing away here.  I love you, dad!  My kids are learning a little more about Grandpa John now that they are older and get life a little more.  We have fishing stuff now so Than can take Pacen fishing even though they will terribly need you to send them some vibes when they actually go since Than knows next to nothing about fishing.  

Jana's Visit.

Was it only last week that Jana came to visit me???  I'm pretty sure it was.  It was our first official week of summer break and it was the perfect way to kick off the summer.  They were here Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and we swam practically the whole time.  They were lucky because the weather was fantastic and warm and perfect swimming weather and our pool had just gotten swimming ready.  I was surprised at how much they swam in our pool just because it's so cold.  There is no heating system besides the sun and I've been in twice and only for about 2 minutes because then I'm freezing!  One day they woke up and got in the pool, then we went over to the neighborhood pool, and then when we came back they jumped on the tramp and swam in our pool again.  They were crazy!

Here is Benji being brave! By the end of the week he had his life vest off and was getting truly brave.  He even jumped off the diving board!  So did packer!  And Cali....with a little help from me.  There was a moment at the pool with me watching the babies....Raymond was crying for his mamma, Gentry was crying for Jana's camera and Cali was crying because she really wanted to go off the diving board but was scared so I left Gentry for a minute crying on the concrete, took Raymond in my arms and then walked onto the diving board to help Cali jump in...really I took her by the arm and tossed her in but she was happy.  Oh, and there was Rose who was either in the pool with Jana or crying on the side of the pool to be in with Jana.  It's all a blur now.  Those are the moments that stick out when you have all those kids together!  And I missed getting looks from other people saying with just their faces, "Those girls have waayyyy too many kids!"

This is Packer's "cool" look.  And the snorkel mask was a hit!  Shhhh, someone might be getting one for his birthday in a few weeks.  I should have just bought two because I can see the fights now. :)

I love these pictures of Jana.  She's just a big kid.  I love it. 

These girls were pretty good friends.  It's too bad that they don't live together anymore but it's like they have when they are together. 

 This is the cutie pie Raymond.  He was a happy little guy most of the time. 

And this is the cutie pie Liam.  Angelee and LaNell came to visit on Thursday to add to the chaos.  That made 12 kids 8 and under.  CRAZY!  But they all played well and had fun swimming. 

 Hey look!  Than was home for a few minutes!  Here's the proof. 

 I love taking random pictures of people.  Especially when they are nursing. :)

 You can always count on Angelee to put a few random pics on your camera. 

 The four of us plus two babies. 

We tried to fit in a few boggle games and despite what you may have read on facebook, I WON!  Actually, on one of our last games I believe Jana ended ahead but we really hadn't finished yet and I would have won had we had another round. :)  I love how big I write and how small Jana writes.  It reminds me of high school.  

 The very last thing we did before they drove away was get some ice cream from Rite Aid.  I promised anyone who jumped off the diving board some ice cream, and believe me, they did not forget!  

These babies were asleep on the 2 minute drive to the store so I stayed outside while Jana took the crew inside.  I like my job much better!  

And then they drove away and I will admit, I got a little teary eyed.  It's sad that I only get to see them a few days a year but they are always super fun and exhausting days.  I'm glad that we can still see each other every now and then and that our kids play so well together still.  Jana...come back soon! 

Ugh.

I'm really sick of seeing my face when I open my blog but I just haven't had a chance to do it.  I hate being so dang busy.  This week was particularly since our yard guys were here Monday through Friday, Than was training some peeps so he was basically gone all week and this morning he left for scout camp so he'll be gone until Thursday (boo), we had two swim meets this week, both of which I had to do by myself which wasn't terrible but it's just busy and chasing Gentry around is getting harder and harder since she is getting faster and faster.  But the kids did awesome at both of them.  Pacen got a personal best time in two of his strokes and Camry got a couple first place finishes which is always exciting.  Right now it's 9:30 pm and I still have to do my sunbeam lesson for church tomorrow and I'm lacking motivation to do it.  We are going camping on Thursday (trying to leave for Fort Bragg literally two hours after Than is supposed to be home from Scout Camp---crazy!) so I packed all the kids clothes and shoes this afternoon and got some cleaning done.  I got mad at Pacen because he just cleans soooooo slow and then I sort of yelled at him and then he started crying and said, "I'm just a bad kid!"  No, you're not but you seriously clean slower than anything ever.  But he does get that from me.  Then he rephrased it and said, "But I'm just a bad listener."  Yes, that could be true but then I just felt bad like a mean mean mom.  I was just tired and grouchy and sick of Than being gone and sick of our yard being worked on.  We had an awning built this week and we are just not happy with it so every time I look in the back yard it makes me unhappy.  It'll cost us more money to change it which we don't really want to do but we are really not happy with it.  And then I went out to look at some of our new trees and the dang deer have already eaten part of my brand new cherry tree.  WHAT THE HECK is up with that?!?!?!?!?!?!?!  I HATE the deer right now and I have no idea how to get them to stay out of our yard.  I just want to have fruit trees in my yard and a garden and they are making it near impossible.  Oh, and they ate my new flowers in my front yard.  I chose flowers that everyone else had thinking that hey, everyone else has these and they are fine but no, they ate every flower off of mine and I think it just made me in a terrible mood today.  Combine that with Than being gone and knowing that we have to do something about this awning and knowing that I have to make all the decisions because Than doesn't have any cell reception is not making me happy.  Can you tell I just feel like complaining right now?!??!?  I actually feel better writing this all down because I've just been keeping it all in today since I have no one to talk to about it here and the kids don't understand how upset a person can be about some stupid trees. :)  And Gentry was just being a pill today.  She seriously is obsessed with the toilet and I think I need to baby proof it for a while.  Four kids and not one baby I had to really baby proof my house for but she is doing it.  She took a cup and filled it with toilet water and dumped it on my carpet as I just got done yelling at Pacen for not cleaning his room.  He really had like 10 things to pick up off of his floor and I pointed them all out to him and it probably took him 25 minutes to do it.  WHAT?!?!?  And then having Gentry dip her pacifiers in the toilet and put them back in her mouth and have Camry and Pacen laugh at her so she thinks it's the most hilarious thing ever and then dump toilet water on the carpet did not make me very happy.  Just one of those days!  And Gentry has an issue with her diapers and is constantly taking them off if she doesn't have a onesie on.  And again, the kids think it's hilarious and they laugh and she's so proud of herself and she's laughing and then she's ticked when I put one back on her and tries to take it off through her clothes.  Oh, what am I going to do with that girl?  But how can you be mad at a face like this for very long????  Picture courtesy of Robin the photographer for the swim team. 

Right after this picture was taken she pulled off that purple flower and ran over threw it in the pool.  She's just so sweet!  

Okay, I need to stop being negative and write all the positives of the week.....it could be a short list. :)

***I used our kids bowl free coupons and bowled for free Monday morning!  You can get yours too at kidsbowlfree.com.  Nice little ad there.  Too bad I don't get paid for it!  The kids loved it but didn't like having to come back for swim practice.  I'll  probably take them again this week because they really liked it.  Pacen was upset because he didn't win.  I told him that it was because he was a new bowler to which he replied, "No I'm not!  I'm not a new bowler!"  Overall a really good time but the snack bar wasn't open yet so we couldn't get french fries.  That was sad, probably just as sad for me as it was for the kids.

***We attended a little going away party for some friends.  It was nice to be out and about with people in our ward on a Monday evening.  It was HILARIOUS because it was really cold that night and I didn't think about it because it had been a nice day so none of my kids had jackets.  Claira was in a little tutu and tee-shirt and she was freezing so my friend offered to go get her a jacket.  She only has boys so it was a little blue hoodie and Claira absolutely refused to wear it because it was "boyish".  So instead, she froze and looked for fading sunlight to stand in for warmth.  She never put the jacket on the whole time.  She is a girly girl.

***Tuesday---did I do anything fun???  I really need to blog everyday.  My memory is fading quickly. I know we had The Habit hamburgers for dinner because I was too tired to cook and that was delicious.

***Wednesday--I had to do a big shopping trip for Than's scout camp so my friend watched the kids so I could do it.  It was the kids' swim meet and I was proud of myself for going for the first time all by myself.  It's so funny because I really do get such a high when the kids do well and I really get bummed when they don't do so well.  Not because I want them to be the best (well, I sort of want that too but shhhh) but because I hate to see them be disappointed.  Pacen was really bummed today about his freestyle time and I felt so bad for him.  He works really hard and is out in our pool all the time practicing his strokes and he'll catch up.  It's only his second year and it's his "down year" where he is on the young end of the group so it's harder.  But he's doing great, he's just not getting any firsts like Camry is because Camry is having an "up year" where she's the oldest.  Oh the woes of parenting.  You just want your kid to win all the time!  Just wait until it's something that really matters and I'll be toast.

*** Thursday--I pretty much did nothing all day and felt pretty good about it.  This was the day when Than came home at 6:55 and said, "Wow! It's really good to be home early tonight!"  That is not normal.  Something has got to change somewhere because he's running himself ragged between work and young men's and we hardly see him.  I can't wait until we go camping this weekend because he will be all ours for a few days.

***Friday--Worked out and then took the kids to the library.  They have been begging me for the library and I finally went and had to get a new library card because of course I had lost mine since I had only been there once and had to pay a 7 dollar late fee from that one time.  I'm not good at the library but I need to be better.  The kids got tons of books and were so excited to read and have been reading ever since.  I LOVE that.  Again, Gentry was a monster and kept running away and bit the corner of  a book off.  While I was holding her helping someone else find a book.  Seriously?!?!?!?

Than was home getting ready for scout camp so we got to have dinner with him.  He read a book to the kids and they were in heaven.

Today Than set up for the swim meet and then headed out.   Poor guy.  I really do feel bad for him but it makes me really respect him for how hard he works.  I know he does it for us and to serve Heavenly Father but it is hard sometimes.  This week I've been grouchy about it and complaining but that doesn't do anything for anyone except make a bad situation worse.  I really do wish he had cell reception though.  This is going to make for a very long week.

Claira had a very cute "worst" today.  She said her best was the swim meet and watching TV all day (true) and her worst was cleaning (true) and that Daisy got to go watch Brave and she didn't.

I just uploaded my pictures and I have over 400 I need to go through.  Yikes.  That's my goal for tomorrow after church.  The kids can watch a movie and I will get somewhat caught up.  Now I have to do my sunbeam lesson but at least I'm feeling a little more motivation to do it after venting on this here blog.

Crossfit

I dread putting this picture on my blog but Kristin already posted in on Instagram so it's already out!  And I document our whole life and this is part of it.  I do crossfit with my friends every Monday and Friday mornings.  I've been doing it fairly consistently since February.  Before that, I started and then Kristin (who is in charge...a certified crossfit trainer and she's buff and can do like a million pull ups) had a baby and then we started again and then she tore her achilles tendon and then we started again and I really love it.  It's nice because I'm not like super skinny or anything (that's because I eat a LOT of food by the way...it's a weakness what can I say?) but I actually have muscles and I haven't had muscles in a long time.  I can almost do a real pull up but not quite but I can do a little jump and pull myself up the rest of the way which may not sound like much but believe me...it's a lot for me!  I've never ever been able to do that.  Crossfit is like what Bob does with the Biggest Losers and you use kettle bells and do box jumps and push ups and burpies and you have a WOD (workout of the day) and you do it and it doesn't look like much on paper but it kicks your butt!  It's fun and challenging and I really like using my body. 

Today was a partner workout.  This is Megan.  We had to carry each other as part of our workout and her little 120 pound frame had to carry my huge 150 pound frame and it just wasn't fair to her but she's buff so she can handle it.  I seriously am drowning her and she's like a little monkey on my back.  Oh well.  I told kristin my arms looked toned in the picture so at least there's some sort of proof that I'm stronger.  But really I look forward to it every monday and friday.  It's the only workout I get in these days so I gotta make it worth it!  And I think it's good for my RA to be more fit.  I was pretty much bones for a while and that wasn't doing me any good.  If you haven't ever looked into crossfit, you should!  It's totally trendy now in most places but it's really awesome.  If you come and visit me, you can go to one of Kristin's workouts.  Today I really wanted to throw up.  And it's really funny because we just all bring our kids and especially now that it's summer and more people are coming and school is out, it's pretty crazy!  Everyone who does it has at least three kids and occasionally some of the babies cry....like today when I hit one of them with this wooden bar that we use to stretch!  Oops!

Than just walked in and said, "Yeah, you notice how Megan looks like she's dying in that picture!"  Yes, I'm like a giant in comparison. :)

Father's Day

Father's Day came and went in a whirlwind.  School got out, we had a swim meet, Jana came on Tuesday which equaled three days of craziness and fun, Lanell and Angelee came on Thursday which was more craziness and fun, then everyone left that night.  Friday came and we had to get ready for the weekend which was a swim meet, a BBQ with one of Than's friends at work and his wife, and then getting ready for Father's Day because instead of just keeping it simple we invited Than's parents over which is always better even if it's a little more work..  Whew!  Am I glad that it's Monday morning right now?!?!  It was fun....loads of fun....but I just want to sit around and do nothing.  And by that I mean, go work out with Kristin, go to swimming, help Than with his scout camp dessert food, make two pans of brownies for a going away party tonight and plan something for FHE.  It never ends.  

But Father's Day, even though it was thrown together, went very well I think.  I think Than could feel the love.  I ended up buying him a TV since ours was old and didn't fit in our space anyway with our entertainment center since our TV room is so small.  We needed something to hang on the wall and it's going to be awesome. 

He really wanted Eggs Benedict for breakfast but I totally dropped the ball on that so I threw together a yummy omelet with homemade salsa (from the bbq the day before) and avocado.  It looked delicious.  

Then it was getting ready for church and Pacen couldn't find his shoes and I had to get snack ready for nursery and there was a toy stuck in the printer so it wouldn't print and then Than wanted to make some popcorn for his class since they were having a little going away party for one of his boys and then the popcorn maker started smoking and filled the kitchen with popcorn smoke.....it was like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  But we made it to church eventually and it turned into a good day.  

Than's parents and scotty came over and we BBQ'd again and I made some delicious Key Lime Pie...I did do one thing Than requested!.....and only bought a frozen store bought apple pie for Walt because I knew there just wouldn't be enough time to do a homemade one.  Than and Walt played some cribbage and some games with the kids.  We all chatted and had a very good afternoon.   

Than and his dad.  Than is lucky to have both of his parents and one set of grandparents still living.  And it's great to be closer so we can do things like this.  Than and his dad are a lot alike.  They both work hard and play hard.  They both love their families and love God.  And they both love the cougars! :)

Than is a great dad.  He is super busy.  One of the busiest people that I know and he works so hard to balance everything.  But it's hard and it doesn't always work out but he doesn't give up and he works hard to keep making things better for our family.  And the kids love him.  He always gives them big squeezies before bed and makes inappropriate comments about farting at dinner.  He is just like a big kid himself. 

 With Dad and Grandpa.  

 Gentry....our white trash baby as Than called her yesterday.  She always starts out looking cute but after naps and spilling a drink all down her dress and pulling out her hair, she ends up looking like this. This is her "cheeeese" pose. 

 Just the dads and their boys.  

This was Claira's card.  I can't find Pacen's and Camry's.  She was sooooooo proud of it.  Her little three year old drawings and so cute. 

 This is what she told me to write:

We have a happy family, happy kids.  We are the Hancock's.  The girls and happy and the boys are happy.  We want to go to Disneyland.  I like Daddy.  I like mom.  We go to church.  We have a happy family.  We love daddy. 

 That pretty much sums it up!  

Growth.

Open house happened in May and we got to see all of the kids' work.  They were soooooo excited.  And I was excited to see their work too.  Than came late so it was just me at the beginning and we went to Camry's room first and Pacen was very patient while we looked at her things.  In Pacen's room, he had a list of things that he showed us around the room.  Oh...I should take a picture of him and his whale sculpture.  He was very fascinated with their whale unit and would read about whales and tell me all the different types of whales and why they were different.  I love when they get excited about learning.  

This was Camry's "Cloud Journal".  They wrote once a week about whatever was going on with them. I was amazed to see her growth this year.  Kindergarten is an amazing year.   

This was her very first cloud journal.  Three letters. 

This was the next week.  Isn't that amazing after one week?  

 Then this was one of the last cloud journals she did.  Holy cow!!!!  She's a writer!  Real words and sentences.  She is very proud of how well and how much she writes. 

 Both Pacen and Camry have so many things I want to keep for them but I know that that is not necessary.  I have it all in a box and one of my goals for the summer is to re-organize their boxes and condense so they can see what they did when they were kids.  They're work is so cool and I love to see what their little brains are thinking of.