A few weeks ago we all went up to the mountains to spend some time with grandma and grandpa. It was the black powder part of the deer hunt. There was a splender of colors in the trees and we were so happy to jump off the 4-wheelers and play in the leaves. The pictures we got of the family hanging out together were really beautiful and brought out that in the kids. We all rode around on the 4 wheelers, racing eachother and through the streams. We came away needing a shower!!


Now Sean and I are away on a work trip. Its good for ONLY me because I dont have to go to the conferences-I get to sit and sleep or sleep and shop-its great. Tomorrow is the last day but thats ok we have had quiet time and I think we are ready to get back into the grind of things for a few more weeks. I do hope that there is another conference in like another month. Just sayin!

Just a week until school starts. The kids are having to go to bed a little earlier now then they could before. They are so picked on.

This week should be fairly easy for us as we have the clothes bought and the shoes ready. New socks (theirs had holes in them and while we bought them white they now belong in the darks pile) and a new experience. Patrick starts the middle school. I think I will push to home school him.

Ireland starts the 5th grade with a good teacher. I think I will try to home school her.

Liam starts 3rd grade with Sister Anderson. She will probably ask me to home school him.

Ben starts kindergarten this year and he is so excited and I think I want to home school him.

Shea is still only 2 but I think I will send her to school-She wants to be busy somewhere else. Just kidding. But she is learning her ABC's and her vowels. She also can count to 3 and count from 3 to 1 by herself.

We are slowly coming to terms with the new school year starting. I am not so excited to have the kids gone this year and I am having my own issues with them leaving every year. One day it will be for good and that does not sound so desirable.

On a lighter side it has been a fun summer with Ireland and Liam just starting swimming lessons with a small group in the next town. They will learn alot and I am glad they like it. The teacher is as willing to teach as they are willing to learn. That is good for us. I send Shea to play in their super yard (full of toys and real boats that have been dug into the ground for kids to play in) while I read a book. It is a great set up.

Patrick has just discovered the Tennis Shoe Nephites book series and will have no problems reading the 10 book series before the 27th. Yea Wonder how many pages he can read this month?? I guess we will see. Shea has slowly started using words. Seems like her favorite words are "moph" aka move, "say" aka stay(not to be confused with say aka Shea), and "mine". Patrick seems to be sure she will learn the ABC's before she is 3. She is well on her way. She also makes all of the movements to the songs "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "The Foolish Man", "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree". So that is how we spend our nights at dinner time. Singing church songs.

Our little world is pretty perfect right now. Hopefully, we can stay that way for a long time!!

This week we are finally kinda ready for the 24th of July celebrations. Our town has a huge celebration that starts 2 weeks before the 24th even gets here. So, Sean and I and a couple of friends are on our way to get the parade under control. We love doing the parade and love seeing all of the entrants and their floats. Ireland and her cousins also ride in the parade and throw candy at a pace fitting any race car-you know fast and furious. We love having all of the family here and finally this year we have enough room to accommodate everyone. So we will have all of Sean's family come and hang out for the weekend. The part we could do with out is the sirens going off at 6 am in the morning along with the cannons!

But we are looking forward to a fun filled day with lots of food, entertainment, and family. Hopefully, Baby Shea will cooperate with us and be good-no naughtiness! But I think we have too high of expectations on that one for this year! More pictures when we have them.

I must say that one thing that I find incredible humorous is who the Lord puts together as a "family". That is where you can put that saying "You cant pick your family" comes into play. (rolling my eyes and sighing loudly)

But, I will also say I am grateful for my children and my wonderful husband-who I did pick! Getting through this summer has proven to be a task in many more ways then one. But I think those "tasks" are done.

Well after almost 3 days of seclusion I can honestly say that I would be one boring person with out my family. I would have to provide all of my own entertainment and then go alone to that place to be entertained.


WHAT???? Why in the world would I ever want that? They provide all of the entertainment I need and I am never alone. I like the family thing more.

Busy bee summer

Its been a while but we have been busier then bees. We started baseball and have decided that while the older two kids are really good they might not want to do baseball next year. I think that is a great idea. Last week Patrick caught an awesome pop-fly and Ireland is pitching an inning or two per game. They are going to stick to golf once a week and tennis. They love those. Liam loves baseball and just goes out to have fun. i am glad he dosent take losses personal and is there to just play the game. Sean likes to be the coach.

Between the time of signing them up and starting I was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. Eww. What does that mean? Lots of dr. visits, body scans and blood work. Thank goodness we have insurance to cover most of it. They took the thyroid, 1 parathyroid and a few lymphnodes on May 14, and I did have cancer in most of what they took out. Right now, I am sitting at my moms in her basement on the computer radiating. Not merely because of my beauty but of the radioactive iodine that has a 12 foot span all around me. So, yesterday I could truly say I was "hot" and had a little blue pill. The hardest part is the diet you have to be on. . .no eggs, soy or soy by-product , iodized salt, yellow or red food coloring, no dairy or prepackaged food. No fish product, no butter or margarine and no prepackaged foods. That should pretty much cover everything you can buy that has any taste. I eat fruits and veggies, 4 ounces of meat per day and 4 ounces of grain or pasta a day. Thats it. Grrr. I have been almost a month on this diet and inspite of the awesomeness of the diet you dont lose weight because with no thyroid you dont burn any calories. That is the control center. It also controls body temperature and hormones. Nice huh. Monday, hopefully, I can start the medication and with in a day or so I will have a surge of energy as well as some insomnia. Its a night and day turn around. I guess with all of the sleep you have had you cant not start going the other direction. I am happy for this because it explains alot of my tiredness in the last few months. Sean is happy too for the change as he has watched me go down hill and we both had no explaination for it. He wins the brownie points of the lifetime because he would come home for lunch and I would have to say "I haven't done one thing all day" he would reply with "good hope you relaxed"-now looking back he was somewhat concerned too. I love having answers to questions.

A Snowy Spring April...

So here is the latest on the Sean & Shauna Rawlinson family:

Shea's birthday was yesterday. Grandma and Grandpa Rawlinson came over on friday morning. Dad and I played 9 holes of golf in the morning, which was lots of fun! It's been a while since I've been golfing... We got back in time for Grandma and Grandpa to watch the kids while Shauna and I ran up to Provo to a doctors appointment. The most amazing thing about that is that when we got back, Grandma and Grandpa were still alive! We then had a birthday celebration for Shea, where the kids had a lot of fun bonking her on the head with her gifts and watching/helping her open them. We always love it when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit! =)
We're finally starting to get some grass poking through in the front yard. We spread a bunch of seed a couple of weeks ago, and have been keeping it wet between snowfalls. Shauna spread more seed and a bunch of topsoil this past week, and we are now seeing the rewards of our hard work. We have also been working on the rest of the yard by cleaning up the extra wood from the construction, and cutting it up and stacking it for winter. We have a couple of mounds of dirt to take care of still, but have a good friend who is willing to let us borrow his small tractor to clean stuff up. We hope to get a lot done this summer, but I'm sure we will be improving the yard for as long as we are in the house. :)
Today, we were very lazy. I almost fell asleep twice before the kids woke me up... Shauna got a much needed nap. She has been SOOOO positive. It's almost hard to keep up with her!

We were running to the post office and Ben said to me . . "Do you remember when I won the game the other day-not today"

SWEET! My kids are sooo cool!

Kids are so funny. And to watch them figure things out is even funnier because you can almost see that light bulb light up-

Last night the guys were playing Settlers Of Catan and Patrick kinda bailed out of the game because he wasn't having fun-really I think he wasn't on the winning end of the game. BUT Benjamin came up and it turns out his game was completely different then Patricks game. He kicked trash and boy was dad surprised when he counted up the points and realized he had lost too-but Ben was high as a kite. That was cool-like a little light bulb.

Last week some reality set in and kinda hit us harder then we were ready for. Liam got his Bobcat award and we were so excited. He is almost done with his Wolf badge and if we just plug away a little more then he will have it long before his birthday. I think we will be able to wrap it up at Day camp. We are also going camping in May and will be able to do much more with him to get a few arrow points. Maybe some belt loops. Who knows! I do know he looks much better in his blue scout shirt then I do in my manly brown shirt.

Patrick is the other one that is pushing us to the brink of growing up-He is almost 12. The really cool thing is that everyone has worked with us enough to get him to be able to go to the temple on his birthday to do baptisms. Whew. I think he is happy to be able to go with his buddies. I do hope that he can be calm enough on his first excursion with the youth that he can feel the coolness of being there.

It is frustrating that Ireland is so helpful that we dont want her to go to grandmas for the weekend or anywhere for the night. But we make sure if she is invited and she has been on the right track then she can go. She is so great with the younger kids and I really like it. Strike that I love it. Now if we can get her to clean her bedroom!!!

Shea on the other hand is just frustrating. She can find more ways to be so busy that it seems that she is on a mission to break me. She is winning. But man when she wants to sit with you and brings all three (yes three now) blankets onto the chair and sits and sucks her thumb. Its such an awesome feeling to know she wants to be with you and she is such an angel. *sigh* this is the part that makes you want tomorrow to get here.

Benjamin is just Benjamin aka Double D Towel. Where did he get this nickname?? we dont know but it has stuck for more then a year. He is so alieve and FULL OF ENERGY. I feel better when he is around because he is such a happy spirit!!

The sun is shining and the birds are singing-It really feels like spring here in this little valley. This weekend will be rainy and snowy but by Tuesday we should be back to a wonderful spring day and a light evening with the kids playing in the yard. Of course the dirt isn't much fun for Sean and I but by the time the kids all get a bath and everything is restored to clean we have had a good day and the kids are tired.

Little Shea is still into more faster then I can clean up. But our cupboards are clean again and marker free. So are the stools, the doors and the floor. All marker free. Whew.

We are getting geared up for the baseball season. Its our favorite sport. Its fun to watch the kids figure out the rules. Its fun to sit and watch too on a summer night. Its hard too because we keep so busy and dinners and quietness becomes harder to come by.

Sean and I are enjoying the house more and more. We are anxious for the things to be pulled together around the yard. -you know like grass, shrubs, flowers if we are feeling great. It is quite a feat ahead of us but we are planning on slow and thoughtful and the less we have to maintain the better. So Internet research here we come. Just short of getting fake grass we are going to put things in that just want to grow slowly. Kinda like Sean and I.

Sandra E. Hood. Isnt she sweet. SANDY . . .YOU ROCK!

Baketball fun fun fun

So tonight is a quiet night for the family. Its loooong been since coming and here it is. The kids are walking around a little lost for what to do. The dishes are washed but not dried so I am telling any of them that complains about boredom that I have a load of dishes that needs drying. That clears out the room. Sean and I laugh and think back to when our parents told us the same thing-except we couldn't just leave the room and find a game boy or a computer to play on. We had to use our stupid imagination. More then once in the same day. What in the world is this place coming to???

Last week women's basketball started and thank goodness its over. Well for the week. We got out and going on the court and were relieved when they shaved 2 minutes off of each quarter. Then about 2 minutes into the game I started needing some serious oxygen as well as new shoes. Well maybe some new feet! (but got the new shoes). Then slowly some black dots encroached around my eyes as blood started to flow. Flow is a bad description. I am sure it was full throttle into every knook of my body as I ran--NO-wobbled up and down the court. Here we are still 2 minutes into the first quarter and I was sure I was mad at my stupid mistake-showing up. I was slowly turning into jello...red jello. I think if I had a tan it would be harder to see all of the capillaries that were busting at the surface of my skin. Told you the blood was moving. So fast it didn't even know where to go it just blew up. So some kind of tan is in order. But I lived to tell the simple tale. 13 years since the last time I played. Whew. I didnt die so maybe I will do it again next week.

VALENTINES DAY EARLY

So some days are the days you relax and clean up for nothing and just have a quiet day. I have been waiting for quiet days for along time and now that they are here I am really glad it is in short spurts. But none-the-less I will enjoy the few minutes.

I was also thinking about Valentines day and the things that go on that day. You can feel the love in the air and it is a little exciting to know many of the couples out there say I Love you just a few more times. They hug longer or they make a special dinner. When you have kids you have the same feelings except they are x'5 for me. So its a good day. I guess its the mind set you have for the day. Mine is planned. 4-H in the morning with the kids and then Game Night in the evening with the husband and friends. Then to my sweet surprise last week Sean brought me a beautiful multi-frame frame. Its really nice and a stretch for him to come up with something he knew I would love. And today a beautiful miniture rose planter showed up at the front door. SWEET. To add to the love pile there is the Dr. Pepper he bought for me. Yes-my true love knows me best.
So-lets dedicate this part of the letter to the one who makes me feel like I am the only one in a room full of women, the one that offers foot rubs for no reason. Maybe I would mention in the letter about how fast he fixes my computer when I know there are six sitting on his desk, the laundry that he does when there is no end to it or the starting of my car in the morning so I dont have to get in a cold car. Sometimes, when I am already tired of the day he dries the dishes and puts them away or starts a very hot bath for me to melt away the day. I would love for everyone to see him in the morning when he calls all the kids in for morning prayer so all I have to do is slip out of bed onto the floor with out even opening my eyes. The quiet way he mumbles through helping me hang or move things in the house. I know that is purely out of love. The drooling that takes place when I make anything eatable or the happy attitude he pull out of somewhere deep when he went to bed at 4 am after playing Call of Duty 5. Thats love. See many women expect something great for Valentines day-I get something great for everyday.

Tuesday Ireland had her 10th birthday and it was a fun day. She opted for the small party and the bigger gift. Every other year we give them the choice of a big party with friends and the fixin's or a big gift. They choose-and it keeps us from going crazy each year and they fall on the even birthdays. . . you know 8, 10, 12 . . . I love birthdays and without the everyother year thing I would go crazy !!! Anyway, she had a family party and got the Nintendo DS with the car charger and all of the other things you "need" to have entertainment all of the time. If you dont know what a DS is just imagine a gameboy on steiroids. During the party Patrick also decided he wanted one for his April birthday. Well at least now we know and can plan on his little party and big gift.

Also this week I jumped in and made some bread and cinnimon rolls that were FANTASTIC. They melted in your mouth like when you were a kid and ate cotton candy. Yum-so I had to take a picture to prove that once in a great while I can make something worth my time other then kids.

This is what 10 pounds of oatmeal looks like. . .

Publish Post

25 Things you may not know about me. . .

1. I love the color Yellow. And when you put it with another color I love that color too. You know like Yellow with white or Yellow with red.

2. I cant decorate worth beans.

3. I like to cook but I cant. I am happy to say that hasn't stopped me.

4. Easter is my Favorite holiday. Then July4th.

5. I love to people watch.

6. I don't mind traffic.

7. I want to live abroad with the kids for a year for fun.

8. I love to sing but cant. I get in the car and turn the radio up as loud as I can and go for it.

9. Sean can sing so I stop singing in church to listen to him.

10. I want a horse still.

11. Telling people things that sounds crazy is usually for shock value. What other fun can I have at their expense and they think its real!

12. I LOVE RAIN

13. Sean is the only one for me even though he doesn't think that exists.

14. Crayons. . .Yep I still collect boxes of them and have like 50 boxes of all sizes and shapes.

15. If I were on a deserted island and could only take one object with me it would be my bed.

16. I can make myself feel more guilty when I say "no" then my kids can.

17. I love to eat out with Sean

18. I still believe in Santa and the Easter bunny. WHAT? They still come every year.

19. Church is alot funner when you didn't want to go and then you hear something you are so glad you didn't miss.

20. Patrick, Ireland, Liam, Benjamin and Shea ARE the cutest kids in the world and I feel bad for everyone else. If only they could be so lucky.

21. Watching kids play around with Dad is soo cool! You cant pay for that.

22. I don't have gray hair yet! Yea.

23. I love that while watching some Miss America thing on TLC all the women had their thighs rubbing together. That made me smile.

24. I am ok with plastic surgery if it is putting things back where it was before kids or it just makes you feel good.

25. Camping is alot funner with your own family! I love spending non-electrical time with the kids. . .meaning no game boys, computers, ipods, or televisions.

As you can see we have been a little too bored at night with our family sometimes. We have even let our true colors come out. Its actually been quite funny.
This last week Little Shea set out to have her feet rubbed with lotion. She got it and then got Ireland and Liam. While she sat on the couch she had them rubbing her feet. If Ireland or Liam got up she fussed until they sat back down. It was funny. The funniest was when she was crawling around the house like a doggy. We asked her if she wanted some "nummies" and got her a rummikin full of water. Then we laughed in a circle around her. She loved the spotlight.
Ben is getting better and better at his spelling and writing of his words. I think he likes being at home as much as I like having him here.

Winter days

Well we are working our way into the new year. It is still a very white year and I expect it to be for awhile. This is a blessing and a curse. We love the water but now know where the "hot" or "cold" spots are in our house. The front porch seems to have a magnet for the water run off and the steps and walkway dont get warm enough to keep the water warm thus we have a block of ice at our front steps. I guess next year we will get our heat tape on better. Not just thrown up there-yes literally thrown up there.

Our family activities have slowed down as far as traveling goes. But the other activities have started up again. Basketball is in full swing. Patrick seems to be doing really well inspite of his feet. Hopefully soon he will grow into them but not too soon. He made 4 points out of the 14 the first game he played. Ireland is definately one of the tallest on her team. She is also pretty fast and alert when she is watching the ball getting thrown around so fast. She has the luxery of Dad as her coach again. It is fun to watch them figure things out. Liam started his last night. He towered over most of the kids and did better than most. I am sure we are not bias at all. But his is more of a learning year. Hopefully, this will decide if he even likes basketball as most of the other sports have been weaned out. *Whew*I think next year he would rather take piano and guitar. He has the gift as the other two do.

Benjamin is still very much an active homebody. He would rather be home then anywhere. I can appreciate that. Today we will be working on making special cards for our family and friends. Its our little secret. Then tomorrow we will work on a few decorations to stash on windows and doors. Really he is working on his scissor skills. He dosent know that though. All he knows is he has to write his name 3 times as well as "Mom" and "Dad". Oh and "K" seems to be a hard letter.

Shea is still not talking and still has no need to. She understands everything and will do most everything you ask. She is entering into her 2's and we are feeling it. She comes to us with a new diaper when she . . .well you know. I think in a month or two we will give potty training a try. I am so glad girls learn faster then boys.

Thats mostly it. Sean and I are just doing the family thing. We enjoy when family comes to visit. We enjoy sitting on the computers at night playing Settlers of Catan and he usually is rubbing my feet. I really enjoy that. I think the only thing we dont enjoy is the dishes we have to do every night. I think I shall never buy an appliance off of ksl again. So at tax time we will finally have the dishwasher we thought we had.