Rebecca's Blog

Apparently I'm not doing my job as "Good Mommy," because I'm not keeping up with my blog, so – to appease the complainers – here is my next post.  Unfortunately, this post took place way back during Memorial Day weekend, so I don't have all that much to say, except that I was stupid enough to get into a bathing suit and I managed not to step on a sea urchin this time.  Seriously though, we had a fantastic time.  My kids were meant to be beach bums.  Too bad we live 300 miles away from one.

This outing was to Chrystal Cove – a beach off the Southern California coastline.  There's a bit of a hike to get down there, so it's less crowded and absolutely gorgeous!

Michael loved the sand and enjoyed letting it run through his fingers.

Ben loved playing keep away from the waves.

Elizabeth boogie boarded almost the entire time we were there.

Yep.  That's me in the horrid swimsuit that was WAY too big.  Can't believe I put this on here.  Don't expect to see anything like this on here again.

More boogie boarding.

OK, so Ryan's going to kill me for this, but there were just so many cute pictures of him and Michael on the beach.  They just HAVE to go up.  Let's face it!  If there are pictures of you with baby, they are subject to blog fodder.

This is the only close up I managed to get of Elizabeth.  She is getting more difficult to photograph as she refuses to cooperate.  In this one she is actually trying to run past me as fast as possible to try and make it so I couldn't get a picture of her.  What she hasn't figured out yet is that she can run, but she can't hide!

This picture made me sad.  There's a similar one of me as a teenager.  All this picture says to me is that my baby girl is growing up into a young woman.

When it comes to throwing sand, Josh is a pro.

I was so proud of this picture.

Remember when I said Michael loved the sand?  Well he didn't love the waves so much.

Not quite sure what she's doing, but she's cute!

Ah.  Brother and sister with their youngest children.  This actually took place first.  Actually, I believe all the pictures are in reverse order.  Oh well.

Like I said, we had a great time.  Can't wait to go again!

I love Easter.  It's a holiday where the kids have a bit of fun, but – most importantly – we are able to remember our Savior and the sacrifices he made for us. 

Our Easters are fairly low-key.  They start with the unveiling of the Easter baskets left by the bunny and the traditional breakfast of Easter eggs and sausage.    Every year the bunny brings something to remind us of our Savior and who we are – children of our Heavenly Father.  This year it was jewerly.  Elizabeth got a young women's values bracelet, Sariah – a CTR necklace and the two older boys received tie tacks with their favorite Book of Mormon heroes on them.  Being a little young for jewelry, Michael was given a board book about our Savior.

After all that, we headed to church.  Or course, that means they get to wear their highly anticipated Easter clothes.  Say CHEESE!

Ben, stop sucking your thumb.  Joshua SMILE!

Yeah, well, what can I say?  The more kids we have, the harder it is to get decent shots with everyone smiling and looking at the camera.  I gave up and decided you will be getting personality instead of perfection.  Personality is more fun anyway, right?

After church is the part everyone looks forward to the most – the Easter egg hunt at Papa and Gaga's house.  Even Elizabeth still enjoys this.  I love that you get a great view of the temple from their backyard.  Kind of appropriate for the occasion, don't you think?

All in all we had a wonderful day.  There is no better way to spend the day than with family.

I want everyone who reads this to know that I have a testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I am grateful that he suffered and died for us that we may live again in the presence of our Father in Heaven.  I am grateful that he made it possible for me to have this beautiful family forever, not just until death do us part.

Every year at Christmas, we have an entire week of activities planned, starting with Christmas Eve and ending New Years Day (or a day or two later depending on what days of the week the holidays fall on).  This last Christmas season was no different.  With spending time with my family Christmas Eve and Day and going to California the week after, there was nothing but fun to be had.

Unfortunately, our schedule of events wasn’t quite what we had anticipated, so, instead of a blog outlining our schedule of outlandish fun, we’re going to outline what really happened with some blips of fun mixed in.

2010 Holiday Schedule

December 20-22:  Clean, clean, clean in preparation for Santa’s arrival.  He doesn’t come to dirty houses.

December 23: Michael has stomach flu.

December 24:  Last minute Christmas shopping.  There was a mistake made in a purchase that didn’t get caught until the night before.  After nap time, head to parents’ house for annual Christmas dinner of fried shrimp and egg rolls with the extended family.  Have a really nice program of scripture reading and caroling.

December 25:  Wake up 5:30 am thanks to the discovery of a new friend, Venus, at the house.

Parents, having had 2 hours sleep, shove kids back in room and tell them they have to wait to do anything until 8 am.  Kids grumble, but relent.

Once it’s a reasonable hour, go downstairs and open gifts, followed by traditional breakfast of apple oven pancake, sausage and the cruddy sugar cereal Santa brought the kids.  Play.  Eat chocolate from stocking.  Nap.  Head to Gaga’s house for additional gifts, dinner and dessert.

December 26th:  Josh and Sariah get stomach flu.  Illness lasts half a day.  Go to Gaga’s and Papa’s for left over dinner.

December 27th:  Travel to California.

December 28th:  Ryan and Benjamin get stomach flu.  Open presents from Grandma and Grandpa B.

December 29th:  Elizabeth and Mommy get stomach flu.

December 30th:  Grandma B. gets stomach flu.  Grandpa B. and our family go to see Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D.  (It was quite good and there’s definitely eye candy in it for the females.)

December 31st:  Mommy and Grandma B. go shopping.  Have a pizza and pie party for New Years.  Stay up late watching movie.

January 1st:  Mommy spends day in bed with a gall bladder attack.  (For those who don’t know what a gall bladder attack is, it’s about 1000 times worse than the stomach flu and as painful as contractions during labor.  In fact, I would much rather be in labor than be having a gall bladder attack.  If you want to know how truly terrible one is, ask me.  I’ll tell you, but I’m not going to gross out the readers with gory details.)

While Mommy is sick, Daddy takes kids to the park to finally play with the cousins they’ve been dying to play with all week long.

January 2nd:  Mommy has second gall bladder attack, delaying the drive home one day.  Severly dehydrated, Mommy goes to ER with Daddy when, at 10 pm, the attack shows no signs of ending.  Mommy learns to love pain and nausea medications.

January 3rd:  Trip home delayed again due to bad road conditions.  Mommy does laundry and recovers from illness.

January 4th:  Go home.

Bet you wished you spent Christmas with us!

Q:  What do you get when you combine several months of no blogging with hundreds of stored pictures?

A:  A picture heavy post.  And that’s what this is!

Last Fall we were lucky to be able to spend quite a bit of time with Ryan’s family.  We had a lot of fun and some good adventures.  Unfortunately, my son broke my camera, so we’ve gotten kind of lax taking pictures.  Fortunately, I have a father-in-law that take stunning pictures, so he’s the one to thank – or blame – for this very picturesque post.  Lucky for you, since there are so many pictures, you won’t have to hear much from me on the subject.

September 18, 2010 – Mt. Charleston

I know, I know.  You’re tired of hearing about Mt. Charleston.  We spend a fair amount of time up there, so you’d think we’d be over the whole picture taking while we’re there thing, but this was my in-laws first time up there, so it had to be documented.

I must say we had a lot of fun showing them this little piece of greenery in a sea of brown desert.  The kids did fabulous on this hike categorized as super easy – a hike that climbed nearly 1000 feet in a little over a mile.  I don’t know how that qualifies as easy, but we made it up and down safe and sound.  That’s what counts.

At the end of the trail, there was a small bit of a waterfall that the men and Elizabeth had fun trying to climb.

Then, of course, there’s the necessary family picture to prove we all made it.

Apparently Sariah decided she was going to be a mountaineer when she grows up – or perhaps she already is one.

A family photo reminding us how hard it is to actually get Elizabeth to pose for one.  When she finally agrees, she can’t help but be silly.

Down, down, down we go.

Michael enjoying angel food cake after a long and exhausting hike.

September 25, 2010 – Little Corona

The end of September took us down to California for a baby blessing.  While there, we spent a warm September Saturday at the beach.

We had smilin’ babies…

Dirt throwin’…

Hand washin’…

Fortress makin’…

And cousins.

Lots of cousins.

Grandma was there, along with Grandpa.  He took the pictures.

But, if you ask Elizabeth, aside from the cousins, the best thing was the boogie boarding.

Check her out!

In fact, it looked like so much fun that Josh wanted to give it a try too!

But where was I?

Here.  Sitting.  Doing nothing.

Why? … Because I stupidly stepped on a dead sea urchin – an injury that would keep me off my feet for a month before it healed completely.

What will we be purchasing before we head back to the beach?  …  Water socks!!

October 30, 2010 – Oak Glen and Halloween

Halloween was a five day weekend for us last year, so we headed down to California once again, thinking it would be fun to spend Halloween with the cousins for a change.  You know what?  IT WAS!

Growing up, October was never complete without a trip up to Oak Glen.  A couple years ago, I introduced this little tourist trap to the in-laws and I guess they liked it ‘cuz we went again this year!  We picked apples and had a picnic.  I must say it was a really nice day.

Before we go on, I must point out the bandannas.  At some point during our trip up there, we all had one on.  No, we don’t belong to a biker gang.  The fad got started somehow last time we went so I guess the tradition stuck.

YEAH RIGHT!!  It’s always him!

Michael with Uncle Jared.  He looks scary (Jared), but he’s really nice.  How scary can he be when I can beat him in arm wrestling?  (Bwah hahaha.  Love ya Jared!!)

This is how the younger kids got back to the car.  It was a bit of a hike from the car to the orchard.

The farmer and the dell, the farmer in the dell…

11 our of 13 grandkids.  We missed you Sam and Owen!!

The Briggs Clan minus 4.

That night we went to a trunk o’ treat with the cousins.  We didn’t get a whole lot of pictures, but here’s a group shot.

Notice the quality difference?  Yep.  These were taken on Ry’s camera phone.

And the cutest costume award goes to MICHAEL!!

He wishes!!

Well, I probably ought to end this little post.  If you’ve made it this far, well, I’m honored.  It was quite long.

First, let me reassure you all that, yes, my family and I are still alive.  We have been since birth and plan to continue to be for a number of years to come.  However, due to our increasing numbers (no I’m not pregnant, I’m speaking in general terms) I find that I no longer have the time I once did to spend time writing blog posts, no matter how much I’d like to.  I do plan on writing more, though.  I have much to catch up on and aquaint you with.  Having said that, on to my post.

If you’ve been my internet friend for a while, you may have wondered if I have parents.  You may have observed that an awful lot of posts revolve around adventures with Ryan’s family, but not much is said about my own.  Let me put your curiosity (if you have any) to rest.  Yes, I do have family.  In fact, I have a mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law and two little nephews (one brand new).

Now, before you jump down my throat for rarely acknowledging them in my posts, let me explain.  My lack of post equality arises not from lack of seeing my family, but rather the opposite.  You see, my poor parents live but 20 minutes away from us, allowing us to wreak havoc in their lives almost once a week.  Unfortunately, this close proximity causes me to forget to document time with them, thus the oversight in the blogs.  Ryan’s family, however, lives 4 hours away, so much ado is made about visiting them and documenting these visits.

Now, I’m not making excuses or saying it’s OK.  It’s not.  I fully accept responsibility for my neglect.  In fact, to even the score a little more, this post is dedicated to them – proof that I do have parents.  Unfortunately, I can’t take credit.  These pictures were taken by my dad in July of 2010.  I just received copies of them a couple of weeks ago – thus the lateness in posting about them – and, of course, since he was the one to take them, there are no pictures of him and only one of my mom as he was focused on capturing his grandkids.  I will try to do better in the future.

SO, if you are curious about what a typical day with my parents looks like, continue on.

Mt. Charleston

When my brother and his family visited in July, we thought it would be nice to show them some of the surrounding area.  Despite the fact that Chris and Triana had been married 5 years, she had never seen some of the nature type places that surround us – and we thought it about time she did.  Thus the picnic to Mt. Charleston was planned.  Unfortunately, in true Ord spirit, we were quite late and arrived up there just in time for the picnic areas to all be closed.  Thus our picnic turned into tail-gating.  It was still a lot of fun, though.

Swimming

One of my kids favorite things to do in the summer is to go swimming at Papa and Gaga’s house.  On this particular trip, not only did Sariah finally learn to swim, but my dad (Papa) got out his under-water camera and had some fun with the kids.

We were very sad.  Despite our best efforts, we didn’t get on any kind of a family camp out this summer.  Thankfully, the ward had one, so we were able to enjoy one night in the wilderness and hear the relaxing sound of the breeze blowing through the pine trees.  Actually, we kind of got our fill of the wind in one night as it was blowing approximately 45 mph.  From what we can tell, all the kids in the camp slept great.  The adults, however, spent a sleepless night holding the tent walls and ceilings up as they were hitting their families in the head.  Thankfully, though tired, most seemed un-phased.

Our kids, like most in the camp, had a blast.  This was Michael’s first camping trip and, though bedtime was a little rough, he loves being out in nature, so he was in Heaven.

The place we camped is called Camp Stimson.  It’s up Mt. Charleston and is owned by the church.  Included on this nice stretch of land is everything needed for an adventure: trails, a zip line and a monkey bridge.

Now, this bridge may not look very high, but once you get up there and look down, your opinion changes.  Negotiating yourself off the makeshift ladder and onto the bridge is a bit of a trick.  There is no rail or platform to give you any sense of stability or security.

Once on the bridge, you feel the stretch of the rope and hear its creak as you walk.  Immediately the thought that goes through your mind as you cross is, “I really hope this thing holds until I get across.”  Then you start to come up with a plan of survival in case the rope snaps.  Is there enough clearance to hold onto the rope and swing, or do I just aim and fall on the tallest surface?

Given my extreme fear of heights, crossing a bridge like this is usually off my list of things to do.  However, I’m also the type of person that likes to prove I can do what anyone else can do, especially when they say I can’t.  Once my husband alluded that I couldn’t, there was no going back.

Just a cute picture on the bridge over the stream that ran through the middle of camp.

Once we broke camp, we headed over to a trail with some friends and took a walk.  The kids enjoyed balancing on downed logs and wading in streams.

After all was said and done – and we were headed to the car – Michael was exhausted.  I can’t imagine how uncomfortable this sleep position is.  I guess when you’ve had a good time and are extraordinarily tired, you don’t care what position you’re in!

On June 26th, my mom and I took off for a couple days to go to Utah.  Jaimie, my cousin and flower girl for my wedding, was sealed for time and all eternity to her sweetheart in the Salt Lake temple.

OK.  Before I go on, I must point one thing out.  When I first took this picture I thought it was to perfect picture.  Then I noticed something that really bugs.  Aaron, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KISS WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED!!!!

OK.  I’m good.  Now we can continue.

This is the bride’s only niece.  She belongs to the oldest daughter of this larger-than-life-personality family – a family I love dearly.  Isn’t she adorable?  Consequently, she is also the flower girl of this shin-dig.  (I’m sure she would have been the flower girl if she were hideous too.  It’s just a plus that she’s so dang cute.)

Awww.  All the girls.  The one on the left with the crazy sense of style is the flower girl’s mommy.  The shining mother-to-be is carrying grandma’s #2 grandbaby.  (That’s #2 as in order, not importance.)

One thing you must know about this family is that although they are thoroughly schooled in the proper way to do things, they put their own spin on it.  This was very much in evidence at the reception – which was of a Moroccan theme complete with belly dancers.

And, scary enough, this is how my nephew, Gavin, watched the belly dancers.

Awwww…  The glowing parents to be.

Momma and flower girl.

My cousin Katie with her little one.

Then there was the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Oh, sorry, it was the cake.  Unfortunately, this beautiful Moroccan themed cake started to get a little saggy under the lights.  I thought it was quite impressive, though, despite the tilt.  And, to make it even better, there was a funfetti layer!  I took some home to my kids.  Thanks Aunt Kim – my kids loved it!!

The little black splotch you see to the left of the picture is actually part of the groom’s cake.  It’s shaped like a grand piano.  I’ve been told that Aaron plays the piano very well.  Maybe someday I’ll be able to hear it.

On a different note, on display at Temple square there is a replica of the Salt Lake Temple.  The detail is amazing.  They took the wall off two sides and showed what the interior looks like.  I was able to see this beautiful model while I was waiting for the bride and groom to appear after the sealing.

On our way home the next day, my mom and I took a different route.  I’ve never been through Manti, so we thought it would be fun for me to be able to see the Manti temple.  Unfortunately, it was the weekend of the pageant so the chairs and equipment was set up all over the lawn, but it was still magnificent.  The above picture was my first view off this beautiful building.

The view from the other side.

All in all, I had a wonderful weekend.  It was fun to get away from the ever-present chaos of home and spend some time with my mom.  The sealing was beautiful – the reception fabulous and memorable.  It was definitely a much needed boost.

OK, so I’m hoping not many people see this, but I needed to document Michael’s first time in the pool.  Hopefully Michael is so cute that all the focus in these pictures are on him and not the other person holding him.

As expected, Michael loved the pool.  He seems to have no fear of the water.

Speaking of fear, we wish Josh would get some.  He has no problem jumping into any water no matter how deep.  We’ve tried to get the fact that he could drown through his obstinate skull, but haven’t had much luck.  Hopefully this means he will pick up how to swim more quickly than his older siblings, who have been too scared to learn.

Like Benjamin’s stylin’ goggles?  He won’t go in the pool without them and mainly stays cautiously on the steps.  He will venture out into the shallow end occasionally on a flotation devise, but not often.

Sariah finally figured out that she’s tall enough to stand in the shallow end.  This has brought a little more bravado into her life.  We FINALLY (after several years of lessons) have made some progress in teaching her to swim.  Now that she’s able to just put a foot down when she feels she’s sinking, she’s not so afraid to try – well, sometimes.

And here’s our fish.  Elizabeth loves to go swimming.  She dives for stuff on the bottom and does cannon balls in the deep end.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t get the opportunity as often as she’d like.

All in all it was a very  fun evening at Papa and Gaga’s house.  We just need to get the younger 4 more comfortable in the water.  I guess I look at swimming like potty training.  Both skills are necessary and each child that reaches either goal is a load off my back.  The only difference is that they get more practice on the potty than in the pool.  Oh well.  1 down.  4 to go.

There are some friends for which a description is hard to come by.  Those who know them know that the best description is their name because their name has meaning.  They are so special, so unique that words are unable to do the job properly.

Heidi is one of these people.   Some may try to describe her and come up with words such as funny or outgoing.  My personal preference, though, is sunshine, because that’s what she is – boisterous, hysterical, loving sunshine.  She is Heidi.

I was fortunate to have this sunshine as my best friend my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college.  She was my Maid of Honor at my wedding over 11 years ago.  Unfortunately, the years have separated us and we mainly keep in touch via facebook, but I still hold her dear to my heart.  She drew me out of my shell, gave me confidence and was the best friend for which one could ever ask.

The day after Thanksgiving I finally got to see my friend again.  It was the best of circumstances.  The weather was beautiful, the setting perfect and my friend was more radiant than she has ever been.   As I sat in the San Diego Temple watching Heidi be sealed to her eternal sweetheart, I couldn’t help but bask in the light that shone abundantly from a very special friend.

To add to the splendor of the day was just the pure joy of being able to visit the temple in which my husband and I were sealed and witness the sealing of this new eternal family in the same sealing room in which we knelt.

Heidi was beautiful, as always.  And, as always, she was just pure Heidi.

I don’t know when or if I’ll be able to see my friend again in this life.  She lives many miles away, but I will always hold her in my heart.  Though my kids will always remember her as the girl who taught them to burp, I will always remember the sunshine she brought with us on our childhood adventures.  I wish her eternal happiness and may her sunshine grow even brighter as she embarks on her new adventure.

(Music:  Dead Mans Party by Oingo Boingo.)

This year we decided to use our creativity and create Halloween from what we had at home.

This not only included costumes, but jack ‘o lanterns as well.  I was a little unsure about how this would go over.  Pumpkins are a HUGE Halloween tradition – at least for me.  My worries, however, were in vain.  The kids loved being creative.  In fact, Elizabeth loved it so much that she wants to make them instead of carve them every year.  I don’t know that we’ll go that far, but we did have fun and will probably do it again sometime.

OK, so Michael’s costume wasn’t homemade.  It was a hand-me-down from Joshua, but doesn’t he look cute???

Joshua’s was a hand-me-down too.  I know the picture isn’t great.  We took turns posing and when it was his turn, he laid down on the floor and started rolling around.  This was the best “pose” he made.  At least he tried.

Ben’s pose was only slightly better.  How do you explain to a five-year-old how to tilt his chin?  Oh, and in case you didn’t figure it out, he’s a train engineer.

This is our little fairy princess, Sariah.  I was so proud of myself.  Sariah and Ben’s costumes cost a total of $7.  Between the stuff we already had and DI, we did fairly well.  I still can’t get over the fact that we found a pair of fairy wings the exact same color of her dress.

Elizabeth the Black Widow was Elizabeth’s first sewing project courtesy of Gaga.  Elizabeth made the two stuffed legs.

Our trunk all decorated for the trunk or treat.

Here’s a close-up of our homemade jack ‘o lanterns, lighted by stringing Christmas lights through holes in the sides.

In case you’re wondering, Ry and I dressed up too, though I don’t have any pictures.  We stole the idea my sister-in-law had a year or two ago.  I was a Mounds and Ry was an Almond Joy.  The original idea was to tape the candy bars in the shape of the first letter of our candy bar on our shirts.  However, appendages being what they are, a big giant “M” made with candy bars that said “Mounds” didn’t really look appropriate for a ward trunk or treat.  I settled for one taped to my shoulder.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!!!