Living the High Life...

Never let it be said that I am not living a high life of full and varied activities! In one week alone. I have been to the boat races... the theatre... where I met a talented actor... I have taken my eldest with a few very colorful friends for his birthday to the racetrack and an amazing golf tourny.... I attended a gymnastics meet... where I met an exceptional gymnast. Then I took my second eldest and a few friends to play at the gym for a few hours. They must have had a great time because the only shots I got were blurred images of children running, jumping, tumbling, flipping etc. The only still shot I got was of kids screaming... So as you can see I am indeed living a life full of varied and amazing events. Between all these educational, cultural and social outings we play in the rain. and the rest of my time is spent hanging out with Super-Heroes. Batman and Superman to be precise. So there you have it folks. The High Life. Or maybe it is You-Have-to-be-High-to-Live-this-Life. I forget which.

Alex

Alex turned 6 this month and I have failed to tell the world why he is so adorable and easy to love.

I love Alex because he is a go with the flow sort of kid. He is very easygoing and adaptable.

I love Alex because he is a very shy Rollins boy who if he doesn't know someone can act like they don't exist even if they are talking right to him.

I love Alex because he loves to wear his shoes on the wrong feet on purpose.

Here is Alex with his best friend/cousin/brother from another mother/twin Sam. I have a hard time finding many pic's without Sam in it also.

I love Alex because he speaks with a New York Accent. "I'm walkin ovah heyah."

I love Alex because he is a smart boy who loves school and loves to read.

I love Alex because he often just abruptly tells you that he loves you with no prompting.

I love Alex because he is so great about hanging out with his little bro.

I love Alex because he runs with a slight skip. It makes me laugh to see him play soccer!

I love Alex because he always has a messy face. I am not lying. Check out the posted pictures! Sad that this little boy has no mother! I love Alex! I can't help myself. I am lucky to be your mom! Happy Birthday big boy!

News from Team Rollins!

Hey all! I have been seriously lacking in my blogging duties according to my non-blogger sister, Tricia. She won't ever write one but that doesn't give me the right to not write for a few days! I have missed writing however. Thus you are reading this! Here are some of our going on's and random thoughts.....School started. Or hadn't you heard?

I went with Josh to his first morning of Jr. High. No, I'm not one of those crazy moms but the school is under construction and they wouldn't let anyone in before the first day to find classes or open lockers so most of the 7th graders had someone there helping out. We did go an hour early so nobody would see him with his mommy. It didn't work since all the 7th graders had the same idea! I am happy to announce that we got the locker open. And yes, I did have nightmares about it the night before thank you very much!

Alex started Kindergarten.

I thought he would be a bit more nervous but he was thrilled to be going to school with all the big boys! The first day they have a treasure hunt to find all the different parts of the school. Thanks to so many days working with Mom on PTA stuff he finished that faster than any other child. See! There are benefits flowing left and right for sacrificing a year to PTA! He is going to have a great year especially if the teacher likes NY accents. I'm workin' he'e!

From 6 to 2.

The boys have really missed their cousins. It must have been nice to have a large group of friends/cousins/pals to hang with. They always had someone who was willing to walk with them and laugh with or stick up for them. We all missed those darn kids. I have missed the daily morning phone calls from my mom but I have totally not missed seeing Tricia every day. My kids are the only ones who need someone to talk with , laugh with or stick up for them. Darn those kids. Sniff, sniff. Stupid allergies. Football! Soccer! Basketball! I think that is it besides scouts, YM, piano and viola. Retired president takes on volunteer coordinator, room rep tea and monthly newsletter. I should have just been president again. Sigh.

My Joe! This only one at home punk is such a joy! My mom came to one of Jonathan's soccer games and Joe came running up to give her a hug and after hugging her he looks up at her and says "Grandma, haircut?" OK a couple of things.

1. I was so glad I had already noticed and told her it looked good so I wasn't shown up by my baby. and 2. What 2 year-old notices things like that and comments on it? He has this weird thing with the "fuzzies" (yarn ties) on his blanket. He loves them. He rubs them under his nose when he gets tired. If they fall off the blanket, he stores them in his ear. It is just one of those things that he does. I went to the Stake Enrichment Night where the subject was Avoiding Emotional Burnout. Didn't apply to me but I enjoyed hearing about other peoples busy lives. A few things that the therapist/lecturer mentioned that I liked...

• Our culture must be the only one where not only do we feel guilty for the things we do but the things we don't do!
• Do one thing in your life that brought you joy when you were a little kid.
• Make a Things I accomplished today list at the end of the day instead of just a to do list every day.
• If you have a hard time saying "No" say instead "Let me get back to you" then get up the courage to say no and get back with them.
• We had a fun night with some of our EAT friends. The Hallman's hosted and after dinner we went back to their house for peaches and ice-cream. Dave and I stayed way, way too late and it reminded me of my college days hanging out until all hours of the night after Home Improvement! Thanks Joe and Anita!

Spring Break Rollins Style!

Well, we are back!

We had a shaky start as we travelled to Winnemucca and checked into the hotel only to discover that Alex had a horrible fever, swollen glands and a sore throat. I was sure he had strep as it has been going around our neighborhood! What a mess. Lucky for me I had brought some Tylenol so we got him comfortable enough to sleep. Needless to say the first thing we did in California was take him to an Urgent Care! I was shocked to find that though he might have strep his throat woes were nothing compared to his horrible ear infection. Once again showing the medical world that I am indeed the Worlds Worst Mother! Sara and I had spent our time in the waiting room talking about how we need a Dr. in the family if for no other reason than to check for ear infections! Both of us have had the experience of 1) taking the screaming child in and having no infection and 2) taking the child in for a well-child checkup and being told that he/she has a double ear infection! So 10 minutes later I have another "I swear he never even mentioned his ear was hurting" moment! Sometimes I tell you I feel like I need to have my child fill out one of those medical questionnaires before I take him in to the doctor. Do you have a history of ear pain? Does this area hurt? How about this one? I also think I should swear him in before questioning him because he tells me his neck is killing him, which I reported to the doctor but when she asks him he says... Nope it doesn't hurt! It is all a plot to make me look like the WWM! He acutally didn't get better until Saturday night, Sunday morning. Until that point he couldn't walk and if he did he hunched over to the side and kept one hand up by his chest and the other on his head. He looked like a little special child! It was hilarious.
We had the best time with Brad,Sara, Alli and of course Adam, Emma and Ethan! Sara is a brilliant hostess and it is amazing to me that even in the middle of the chaos of remodeling the entire house it is still something you would see in the Pottery Barn catalog! Their house was great before and it will be absolutely amazing when they sell it!

Friday we spent a Very, Very, VERY full day in San Francisco and wore the boys right out! We did Fisherman's Wharf, (complete with clam chowder), the cable car, Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square, the Aquarium and even saw Lombard Street although by this time it was dark!

By far my favorite thing that we did was go to pier 45 and check out the WWII Submarine and the WWII Merchant Vessel. We spent 2 hours touring through those with the boys and talking about what their Great-grandfathers did in the Navy and seeing how they may have lived! It was so cool!






Saturday was Adam's baptism. It was beautiful! There is something to be said for living in a small ward! Adam was the only baptism on that day and all the talks and stories and slides shows were directed right to him. Adam inherited a bit of his fathers fashion sense and was a bit mortified by the white jumper that he was supposed to wear. His desire to be baptized won out and after seeing his own dad in an equally attractive (not to mentioned a bit hiked up on his backside) outfit the baptism program commenced. Alli gave a great talk on baptism and the importance of the gate he was opening that day. Sara had put together a wonderful slide show about Adam and then Brad baptized him. We sang songs as we waited for Brad and Adam to get dressed in their far more stylish outfits and join us again. I then gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost with help from both Josh and Aaron. They told Adam what they have felt like when they fell the Holy Ghost. Then Brad confirmed him. What a glorious day for Brad, Sara, Adam and the rest of the family. We were so glad that we were there. That day alone made the entire trip worth it!

After the after baptism celebration we loaded up everyone this time and went across the Golden Gate bridge (cool) to Muir Woods (awesome). They aren't as big as the giant redwoods (or so I am told) but they fit the bill as far as I was concerned! It was incredible! The world in all it's variety is such a beautiful place. After our hike we took the 1 up the coast a ways to Stinson Beach! The scenery there was breathtaking! I love to see the waves crash up on the rocks and see the ocean stretch out forever. The sun was going down and it was so wonderful. We got out and ran in the FREEZING cold water for a few minutes which was great for some good laughs and many squeals!




Sunday we had a great Easter and thank goodness the Easter Bunny found my boys all the way in Suunyvale! Who knew bunnies were so smart? We went to church and my boys experienced the joy of going to Sara's primary!

We loved the chance to just sit and chat with the family! We love our Rencher cousins and the aunts and uncle that they live with!

Just January!

Well January is almost over! It is so cold. It is even colder around my house than it should be. Whoever designed the heating system in my cute little 38 year old home obviously wasn't thinking about little children. You see as you walk out of my family room into the hall leading to the boys room/bathroom/laundry area is a little light switch. This fascinating little thing is eye level to a two year old and happens to control the furnace. So several times a day when I notice that it seems a bit chilly I go check the switch and sure enough. It is off. It isn't so bad except for 2 nights this week apparently Joseph turned it off right before bed time so we all wake up to a house that is below 50. It is hard to get kids out of bed when it is so cold.
What a fun month it has been. We went sledding and had a great time. All of the Rencher cousins (even Claire) were there. (hey, that rhymes) My kids love cousins! I asked Josh when he was having a "Why did I have to come to this family" day if there was anything he could think of that he LIKED about this family and he came up with cousins. Thank goodness he has some of them! Oh and Joe-Joe was a plus also.

Speaking of cousins! We got the exciting news this month that Brad, Sara and company are coming (oh wait, maybe not, ok now it is back on) back to Utah! I honestly didn't see that one coming. When they presented Mom and Dad with a homemade day planner/calendar for the upcoming year we all thought they were expecting a baby (which is exactly why they did it!) If you read this and happen to see Adam or Emma don't tell them yet! Sara didn't want to face having Adam ask if they were going to Utah yet every 5 minutes from now until June! I guess Brad is coming to start work here tomorrow.

It was really fun on Saturday to go with Tricia to pick out her wedding dress! I realized that I won't have many chances to do that since all I have are boys! I wonder have any of you that are married ever invited your future mother-in-law to go with you to shop for wedding dresses? I think not. Point made! I am so excited for Tricia and Brandon. We went to Brandon's house after to see where they are going to live and see all the changes he is making to accommodate his expanding family. What a nice guy!

We had a fun party here last night with some of my high school friends. It is amazing to see what good guys they have all become. They make me laugh! Dave borrowed Rock Band from Paul and Nate and they stayed until 10:00 playing. I can remember the days where they would call me up and say they were coming to pick me up for a "jam session". We would head over to Matt's basement where they would play music very loudly and play air drums, air guitar and air everything else while they sang the lyrics. All very amusing. Like I said I am amazed they turned out so well!

Alex turned 5! He and I are both happy he has accomplished this amazing feat. I have been telling him for months that 5 year olds....don't scream, get dressed all alone, say their prayers all alone, brush teeth all alone.... and he is actually doing these things. The power of the mom at this age!

Josh went to 6th grade maturation and learned all about being a boy and a teenaged boy to boot! He learned about hormones and about becoming angry and thinking his parents were no longer smart. So everytime he starts getting angry I tease him about his hormones. I know I am the Worlds Worst Mother but it makes him laugh and sometimes for a brief moment I can see the little boy in those surly eyes (can eyes be surly? maybe hostile is a better description). He will be 12 this summer and we just found out that he will be going on the Pioneer Trek with the YM/YW. I can't believe that my son is that old! I must have started having children very, very young!

Jonathan got to go to his 8 is Great program. He is such a good boy! He is so funny though because when I do something he doesn't like he yells at me... "Fine, then I won't be baptized!" When he goes for a threat he goes big!

Dad is into his 3rd week of chemo and he did pretty well this week. He seems to get really sick for the first few days after the chemo and then he feels better for a few days until we start again. I went over to "Grandpa sit" on Friday and he only gagged once the whole time we were there! He has lost 90 lbs and he finally had to go back on the feeding tube because he couldn't keep any food down but we are hopeful that in the future things will get better.

Well I heard that we are having a Carter family reunion over Memorial Day at Grant's Cabin and we are planning a Rencher family reunion at the Homestead over the 4th of July. So all of you to whom these apply please spread the word and put these on your calendars!

Love you all! Kelli