Rebecca's Blog

When it comes to having fun, the Briggs and Mutter kids know how to have it in spades.  Get 11 kids of almost every age ranging from 1 – 14 together and you never know what will happen.  The amount of fun they can cram into a short amount of time is astounding and Memorial Day weekend was no exception.  You've already seen our beach trip and now I bring you …

SWORD PLAY!

Of course, to have sword play, we must have swords and trust me when I say, we were not lacking in swords.  We had an abundance of swords in every shape, size and color – all made from those wonderful building materials known as cardboard and duct tape.  Oh, and a little bit of wood trim – perfect for a stability and just the right amount of injury infliction.

Shall we begin?

Let me start off by introducing our lead knights: Benjamaster and Tylenator!  They save the world from each other's families.

Here's Sariah the Mighty.  With her slight figure she may look harmless, but that's only a guise.  You DON'T want to get this princess mad as her high pitched scream can cause unrepairable damage to the eardrums.

Looks like Christian the Brave may be preparing for battle.  Mighty meditation is the best way to clear the head.

Let the battle begin!

As with all sword fights, anything goes.  This proves the case when the 14-year-old pulls out a sword almost twice as long as the 11-year-olds. 

I wondered if such a stunt reeked of foul play, but luckily Queen Elizabeth proved to be up to the challenge.  She never has been one to back down from a fight.

Seeing his brother in such a predicament, Tylenator has decided to rush to Christian the Brave's aid, giving Queen Elizabeth a mighty wack on the back.

The Benjamaster won't stand for such interference, especially considering the already unfair position that his sister is in.

With a rush of adrenaline and the ferociousness of a tiger, Benjamaster rushes to his sister's side.

Thwarted, Tylenator flashes his most intimidating face in order to scare away the competition.

After much warfare, the battle is finally done and the victor walks away from the carnage.

Haha!  Seriously, the kids had so much fun eating lunch and playing by this nasty little stream.  The swords were Ben's doing.  He made one with his Daddy at home and brought it down with him to his cousins' house.  Once the cousins saw it, they all had to have one – even the 14-year-old, so Uncle Andrew took them all out back and helped them create an abundance of weaponry.  The cardboard and duct tape alone proved to be a little flimsy, so the wood trim was added to bring a little stability.  Well, hind-sight is 20/20.  As I mentioned, it also added a little more pain when it came to blows.  Once they learned to fight without hurting one another, they had a lot of fun.

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!

While in Utah in March, we met this little lady and her parents – my cousin and her husband – at a place called Jump on It.

This place is kid heaven.  It is covered wall to wall with trampolines and bounce houses.  The only down part is that when you have five children, they go in five different directions, so it was very hard keeping track of them all.  They had a blast, though, so it was worth it.  Even Elizabeth liked it.

I think the funnest thing for me, as mommy, was watching Michael.  This kid has no fear.  From going down slides to jumping on trampolines, Michael was determined to do it and do it by himself.  See the upper right-hand picture in the collage below?  That’s Michael not wanting to wait for Elizabeth any longer and deciding to go without her.  Scared Mommy half to death, but he loved it and did it again the next time around.  (See lower left-hand picture.)  The kid looks like a baby doll that’s been thrown down the slide.

Wanna know the funnest part for the rest of the adults?  …  Watching Michael’s mommy freak out over what Michael will do next.  They especially got a good laugh when I frantically “ran” across really loose trampolines to save Michael from jumping off a platform onto the trampolines.  I just barely made it too him, then fell twice trying to get back with Michael in my arms.  These things were the lowest sinking trampolines I have ever seen and impossible to walk on, let alone run.

I am a terrible, terrible aunt/sister.  I have neglected my post of adoring aunt and glided right over a very important event in the Ord family.  Although I hope they will forgive my poor record keeping as it is not only this that has taken me so long to write about, but my own children as well.  This whole blogging thing has all but gone out the window for me thanks to my growing lack of time.

ANYWAY, no excuses.  I am making up for it now with an entire post dedicated to just this special event.

So, in December, my brother, Chris, and his wife, Triana, had their second precious addition to their family.  That makes blood nephew number 2 for me.  This little bundle of joy entered his mortal existence just days before Christmas, enlarging the hearts of all those who meet him.  He is definitely a much desired blessing.

That being said, I would like to introduce you all to Anders.

We met Anders when he was 3 weeks old.  The girls just adored him.

Big brother, Gavin, loves him too and holds him as often as his parents will let him.

The first weekend in March we were able to travel to little Anders’ baby blessing.  We loved getting to stay with my brother’s family and spend some quality time with them.  They are a beautiful little family – and a lot of fun.

My brother’s family.

Thank goodness for church things like blessings and baptisms.  Without them we may never get photo opportunities like this.  Pictured above are all the Ord grandchildren plus one little princess who wanted in on the fun.  Notice how they’re all looking one direction?  I don’t know what we wouldn’t do without Aunt Annelise at times like this to perform the now famous shark song and dance.

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.

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!

Did you know I have a one-year-old?  No?  Well, I do!  You never would have guessed it from my blog, though, huh?

Michael’s birthday was actually quite a fun affair.  We happened to be in California, so we spent the day with cousins and Grandpa B. doing all sorts of fun stuff.  It wasn’t all necessarily in honor of his birth, but we’ll just go with it and say it was, because, let’s face it, he’s a pretty special guy.

So, we started off the day at a farm at the Orange County fairgrounds.

The kids loved seeing and petting all the animals.

The only one unsure about touching them was Josh.

Here’s the new momma of six (no, not all at once) just a couple weeks before baby brother, Ammon, was born.  (And, just so you know, she and my hubby chose the location of this picture.  Not me.  I, personally, would never have stuck a full-term pregnant lady in front of a pig – but then again, I don’t have their sense of humor.  In case of any misunderstanding, Becky is a VERY healthy eater.)

And, of course, there are the required poses with the poorly painted backgrounds where their heads stick out of a hole.  At least they’re having fun, right?

Um…  yeah.  I’m just a little surprised that Elizabeth posed for this.  Her silly side doesn’t usually show itself for pictures.

Sariah’s always does, however.

Ah.  If you’ve ever lost a boy in a place like this, just find the dirt.  Boys tend to gravitate there.  Well, boys and their little sisters.

OR, you may find them crowded around what very well might be an interesting insect.  One only hopes it’s not poisonous.

Everyone say cheese!  How many pictures do you think it takes to get all 14 of us to look at the camera at the same time?  Apparently it’s infinite, because no matter how many pictures we took, this is the best we got.

Finally, as we’re leaving, we find the stacks of hay bales.  Of course, being adventurous kids, ours and the cousins have to climb on them, which was fine because it made a perfect photo-op with Grandpa B.  Everyone was thrilled to take such a cute picture.

Well, everyone except Christian – the 13-year-old who got stuck sitting by three little boys, holding a baby.

After the farm, we headed to the pool for some swimming before naps and the evening festivities.  Once everyone was rested,  we had dinner and Uncle Jared brought out his slip and slide for everyone’s enjoyment, including his.

Now, as Michael’s birthday is in the middle of July, one would expect that it would be somewhat warm, if not downright hot.  This wasn’t the case this particular July evening, however.  What you don’t see in the following video is the kids all shivering in line waiting for their turn to go, but no one seemed to care too much.  We were even lucky enough to observe many different sliding techniques despite the frigid weather.

As if that wasn’t enough fun, here are a few stills:

After everyone had about as much cold fun as they could stand, it was time for the actual birthday celebrations.  Here’s how it went:

Luckily, the joke has FINALLY ended. Michael now says “Nonna” when we ask him to say “Momma.” It’s not EXACTLY correct, but it’s definitely a step above “Dadda.”  Oh, and yes, here are a few more stills, just in case you couldn’t get enough of our one-year-old’s cuteness.

Finally, we gathered round for every child’s favorite part – presents.

Well, that about wraps it up!  Hopefully next year he’ll be a little more excited over his birthday.  For some reason, an oddly shaped box in green paper with blue and yellow polka dots didn’t thrill him too much.  Make no mistake, however.  He LOVED what was inside!

Oh wait!  I forgot one more thing.  What trip would be complete without all the kids congregating in Uncle Jared’s messy haven?  I don’t think we could get by with a trip that didn’t include playing/watching whatever cool, age appropriate video game Uncle Jared might have stashed in his room.

What was I thinking to almost leave out such a treasure?  Apparently video games have the ability to bring together kids of ALL ages, including 24-year-olds.

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.

I figured I need to wrap up my posts about our trip to California in June.  While we were down there, we had a mini-celebration of Josh’s 4th birthday.  Gotta celebrate with BOTH sides of the family when possible.

Then, on the last night of our stay, there was the ever popular and highly anticipated arm wrestling rematch.  Jared, unable to reconcile himself to being beaten by a girl, wanted to reclaim his manhood.  I, having worked out consistently for six months, was pretty sure of my strength and complied without fear.  Here’s how it went down:

Of course, being a lefty, he beat me hands down left handed, but why would I show myself losing on my own blog?  Better to leave you impressed.