Time.

In Utah it can drop 30 degrees in one afternoon.

Yesterday: high 70's today: low 40's

It was raining cats and dogs when the kids walked to school today.

Yes, I made them walk. I always do...we are 17 steps away from the school path. Plus a little rain won't hurt them.

M E A N W H I L E,

Mace's new pastime:

He jumps and jumps and jumps and jumps (from the 6th step)....in his underoo's and batman/superman

(it's reversible!) cape.

He loves it.

Typical boy.

and lately.

My life is a whirlwind.

It's all going so fast. Time that is.

My time is ticking down and down and down....

The stress is crazy. So much to do.

Every day I cherish this place:

Here's a few of my FAV's:

My view of the mountains from my front yard, my lovely chats with my sisters, spending time with my best girlfriends, playing hoops and soccer in our backyard, hanging with Gpa and Gma during Jazz games, playing with all of our BEST cousins.

And also all the little things:

my new blossoming cherry tree, the color of my kitchen cabinets (ohh i seriously love my colors), watching Ash swim her last days on her team, saying goodbye to our cute neighborhood, running my favorite routes, driving up to the mountain house, being 5 houses away from 2 of my sis's, my 3 favorite windows full of light, my big bathtub, Jake playing soccer w/ his buddies of 4 years, wednesday cafe rio w/ my girls, hanging on my front porch with the sunshine..

all of it.

all of it I love.

all of it I will miss.

so much.

I hope that I can make new happy places.

It will take time.

yes, time.

I know.

Now off to the rain, a houseful of children and friends, a husband (yay), cooking dinner, and spending the last of my time well.

Here, in S.L.

my time....is ticking and ticking....

xo!

LIFE: dad, carnivals, sunshine, LOVE

oh man we had a fab-u-lous weekend.

(Jake's soccer game. look at our view!

the boys wrestling. as usual :)

The sun was shining, dad was home (for a long time!), we had soccer games, birthday parties, hot dates, and a carnival:

cotton candy, horse rides, potato sack races, snow cones and face painting....

can life get any better?!

On Sunday,

I taught my last lesson to my cute little Sunbeams.

I had all 9 kiddos there. It was bittersweet.

Their cute little faces and sweet smiles...

I am going to miss them.

I told them all that I wasn't going to be their teacher anymore.

They didn't understand at all, but I (sadly) gave each of them a big hug goodbye.

(My handout for my Sunbeam lesson on manners.)

And strangely enough with Ry home, this weekend feels like normal again.

Life goes on, we have school, homework, soccer games, birthdays, dinners, church, cousins....

the big question is:

are we really moving

in less than

a month?

Wow, even Ry who feels that he has already moved (he's been gone for 9 weeks...) admits that coming H O M E feels good. (oh how he's missed the kids!)

But he also knows that our N E W H O M E

feels so good too.

To think that our lives will be so different in a month.

wow. but we are ready.

It's almost

T I M E.

~cheers to a fab-u-lous, happy weekend

together!~

(and CO will be full of just us Stott family together...bring it on!)

xo!

Birthday Bash Boy

You know a birthday is a success when



the birthday boy throws up.

literally.

but just kidding.

Really I felt bad..

Hot dogs, cake, ice cream cones, soda, cotton candy, a loot bag

And then

you go

jump and jump

on a

Bouncer....

hmmm.

not a good mix.

at all.

5 minutes after lunch, Mace came a running AND didn't make it to the bathroom, he hit Ry (luckily not me...but really us mama's despise throw up right?! and we are usually

the ones dealing with it!)

Ry cleaned it up (thank you!) and presto, Mace was fine.

He was not (flu) sick he simply ate to much

and bounced to hard.

Whoops, upset tummy from the bouncer, that was my fault.

It was my idea for a carnival themed party..but should of had them eat last.

BUT throw up aside,

The Birthday was a HIT!

The weather was (luckily) beautiful!

Mace

was

such

a

happy boy.

The kids loved the bouncer.

They jumped and jumped.

It had a hoop inside so I put 8 mini balls in and they loved it.

They would jump, come eat bbq hot dogs, then get on our play set, go shoot real hoops on the basketball court and

then jump again on the Bouncer.

Such an easy and fun party.

We played Mace's favorite games too:

He had his best cousins, his best friends, a bouncer, treats, games, all the fun a 4 year old would want....

He was so darn excited all week long

In fact, he NEVER stopped talking about it..

And yes, I do parties almost every year.

Birthdays only come ONCE.

I want my kids to feel special on their big day.

I always decorate (for cheap!), do a friend birthday party, their favorite dinner and a few gifts...it doesn't take much. (and this year he only got a few gifts b/c we did a bigger party....)

Thanks to all who came and helped celebrate.

Thanks to gma and gpa for helping Ry and I on our crazy day. Soccer games, swim meets, and birthday parties....

a typical Saturday around here.

Glad we could celebrate Mace's birthday here, in

Utah, one last time.


Happy Birthday Mace.

Good news.

Good news: We've been gettin' O U T lately.

(Wheeler Farm. Aunt Brookie with Jake)

and good news:

Spring has sprung!

my weeping cherry...so pretty.

good news:

I had my first Spring run.

with Mace that is...

Oh glorious day.

And yesterday, good news:

the sissas sat in the 72 degree warm sun.

It hit 72 degrees and an emergency text went out..
meet at the top of Flat Iron Park..12:30 for some sunshine love.
Lunch, diet cokes, and good chats.
Funny thing is, we had no kids with us. (except Baby Penny! yay)

They were all in school! But we still went to the park..:)

New phase of life for all of us....

And more news, I got to see

my favorite view on my run..

and the best,

fabulous news for last:

No more phone chats every night, n o p e.

Dad's coming home and staying for 10 straight days.

(meetings in Salt Lake. all week long.)

(mace's favorite book Ry reads a kagillion times when he is home)

That is suuuuch good news.

Thank goodness.

I am tired.

and the

kids and I

miss

you

way to much around here.

Good news all the way around.

Enjoying my few last weeks here.
xo!

A beautiful spring swimming day

(Ashlyn in blue walking to her first event...)

I still remember Ashlyn's first day of swimming.

She was nervous and excited....

the only one to make the team that day.

She dove into the pool and never stopped.

She loves it.

She is a different person in the pool.

She has gained so much confidence in swimming and it has taught her a lot:

Hard work, commitment, effort, strength, and to always do her best.

I love watching her swim.

She has been asked 3 times to go up to the highest level.

She would train every single day.

She is now 3 days a week and with the move in mind,

she has decided to wait for CO to make the move up.

(more time for her friends)

But she loves it.

She loves to swim, her new friends, her coach's...

I am so happy she has found a talent she loves and excels at.

Saturday was a perfect spring day for a Championship meet.

Ashlyn's big day had arrived.

(she is waving hi to me)

All 9 teams gathered to C O M P E T E!

Ashlyn picked her 3 best events:

100 I.M, 50 yd butterfly, and 50 yd Freestyle




It was hot and crowded and so many swimmer bodies everywhere.

We camped outside the door in the cooler air

We knew it would be a 4 hour meet with 9 (not 7) teams competing.

She warmed up and was event # 3, #36, and #39.

Lucky us...the very beginning and the very end.

I had just come from Jake's game and had Mace's party in 2 hours. (stress)

I stayed as long as I could.

Austin came with me to watch his twin sis.

Ry was coming after Jakers game.

Her first event:

The 100 I.M.


Swimmers, take your marks..... GO!

Ashlyn dove in and her arms soared above the water with her butterfly stroke.

Her body was strong and she was pulling high above the water.

I was proud of her, she had come a long ways.

She was in the lead going into backstroke and pulled ahead.

Breastroke is third lap and her least favorite stroke.

She knew she had to be ahead enough to keep her lead.

At the end of lap 3, the other girl pulled ahead (about 2 seconds)

with just freestyle left.

Austin and I were yelling at Ashlyn at her turn..

"GO, go, go...KICK those legs. Go, go, go!"

Man her legs kicked up and Ashlyn caught up!

They were neck to neck with 10 feet left...

5 ft, 4, 3ft, 2ft, and DONE!
In swimming,

first and second can be within one one hundreth of a second.

I looked up at the electronic timing board:

Stott, A 1.31.15

Adams, S 1.31.05

Ashlyn got second with 10 hundreths of a second.

Oh good job girl! I was so proud of her!

She looked up at the board and then at me, and I gave her the biggest smile.

She smiled and she knew she did good.

Love those mama moments.

(my paycheck moment)

We went out to the cool air

and of course had to call Dad right after....

She did so good!

Ry was proud of his girl and

sooo sad to miss her event. Jake's game went to long, but his team won, still undefeated after 3 years. But as a parent, it is so hard to split time between kids. Ry and I go to every game...We love it.

I had a few minutes so we went and sat at the duck pond.

It was so pretty that day: warm and sunny.

Ash loves any moving animal so it was relaxing to go sit at the pond with her in the sunshine and watch all the ducks.

I felt so bad that I had to go...

Grandma and Grandpa were coming to replace me so I could go on to

Mace's big birthday party.

I had 12 kids coming...I had it all ready in the morning but I had

20 minutes

to get from Sugarhouse to Sandy.
Ashlyn went on and swam her butterfly and freestyle.

She placed first in both events.

I can't say as a parent how proud we are.

Really if she got 6th or 1st. Just so proud of her to put herself out there and work towards a goal. Like I said, Ashlyn loves to swim. She is a fish..

I am glad she loves it too.

I already found her a new team in Co.
Love you girl!

Overall Dimple Dell took 2nd out of 9 teams!

way to go girl! love you.

Song: "We the Kings, "We'll Be a Dream."
(oh yeah.)

All in a day

I wish I could be Ashlyn and sit all day in the warm sun.

Yesterday was beautiful.

(Ashlyn at her Championship swimmeet looking at the

duckies in between races. Sugarhouse)

Last night I went to bed with a headache like I've never had.
A busy day:

~6 mile run, (lovely!)

~ Jakes soccer game, (won, Jake w/ 3 goals)

~Ashlyn's championship swim meet, (awesome! new times)

~Mace's Birthday bash, (crazy fun)

(all the loot that goes with it....decorations, balloons, bday cake, prizes, games, candy bags, lunch!)

~Dinner with some of our FAB friends, (love them)

and gathering at my house after. (ahh clean, clean:)

It was such a great day. (yeees!)

But.we.never.stopped.moving.

so much going on always. (yup)

But it got me thinking....

L I F E and Colorado.

Man we got it good here. (S.L)

Life is sweet.

Friends and family mean the world.

We are blessed.

I went to bed thinking about all of our LOVE:

cousins, aunts, grandma's, grandpa's, good friends,

sports teams we love...

a lot to give up.

But then I realized maybe I am not "giving it up."

No, in our new home town, we will add..

we will add to our list...

new friends, new neighbors, new sports teams...

The kids hearts, my heart, it will all be okay.

An adventure away, but one that will lead us to new things.

For that new thought I was grateful. I needed that.

I will do blogs later of all our fun.

I got some great pics...

Off to church, husbands, kiddos and one messy fun house!

xo

Mace

Mace.

The blonde hair green eyed boy.

Everyone always asks if he is really mine.

Yup I say, he fits right into the Stott fam.

He's happy, moving, and always on the go...

He loves to laugh, dance, and wrestle with his bro's.

He loves bananas, cooked carrots, pancakes, and brownie batter.

He loves his 6-pack cousins, to read books, the sunshine, and his kitty Layla.

He never ever stops. really. He needs about 7-8 hours of sleep. that's it.

He takes all my energy so that's why he was saved for last.

Love that boy.

This weekend is Mace's 4th birthday.All his cousins coming over for a last

birthday bash. It will be quite the day.

Mace is STILL awake (late nap) with me at 11:58 , singing about his birthday party with cotton candy, bouncer, hot dogs, and games.

Plus his Dad is coming home soon and he jumps for joy every time I say it.

It's been quite the ride with Mace.

Four great years.

If I think about it, I will cry.

My mom is right, hang on to all the memories, because the time

just goes so darn fast.

I love it.

I love being a mom.

Off to bed and a busy weekend!

Happy (almost)Birthday Mace.

p.s. Today Ry and I officially scheduled OUR move. The second time I just cried....we are leaving within 6 weeks.. So excited and (almost) ready, BUT nervous, anxious, the unknown...

wow, here we go!

Penny Hazel.

We welcomed a new baby in the Brown family!

Congrats to first time parents Brett (my little bro) and Angela.

Penny Hazel

Born April 5th

8lbs. 3 oz.

21 inches

(~Penny is also my mom's name...sweet huh?!)

Ohhhhh seriously she is soooo cute.

The best pic is at http://www.brettnang.blogspot.com/

Love you guys! You will be great parents.

(and can't wait to see Penny today at lunch! Yay)

St.George Love. #1 of 3.

I took thekids on a road trip last week.

It wasn't really planned. Spring Break was the week before.

But we had crummy weather (that week) and canceled our trip down south.

Well the following Tues I woke up to more snow/rain. (ugh!)

Ry had been gone for almost 2 weeks:

training in Chicago and Denver.

(plus we have only seen him twice in a months time (24 hrs each) bummer.

He was also studying for his 4 big exams:

Health Law, Health Insurance, Life Law and Life Insurance.

The stress of doing it all alone, the house, the kids....(we needed a break.)

I had an idea:

To call my favorite Hotel down in St. George and if they had an opening,

we were going.

I called and they only had "One room left, 2 queens, P O O L S I D E."

Done. Done. Done. That's all it took,

I heard the word poolside and we were going...

It was meant to be! (right?!)

The kids came home from school,

we packed up and left early the next day.

We wereheaded to the S U N N Y S O U T H!

St. George is all of Utah's getaway.

It is a four hour drive to sun,

warmth, swimming, hikes, canyons, Zions, Snow Canyon, etc.

We love it. And I am retiring there. (yes!)

I sure hope people don't catch on to how amazing St. George is.

Us Utahn's LOVE it!

The kids and I went down early Wed and stayed through Friday night.

Ry was flying in late Friday and we needed to get him at the airport. (yay!)

and yes RY was so nervous that the kids and I were alone on a trip, but I assured him this is practice for CO! He was good with it and said," call me 100 times and be careful! Oh and use the Garmin!". I knew my way down South AND didn't need directions thank you!

(Red Cliff's canyon. Leeds, Ut)

Can I just tell you, it was heavenly. Really.

The kids loved it. I loved it.

We were driving straight to that sun and not stopping till we felt

the warmth on our skin.

It 's crazy how much sun effects our mood.

Salt Lake has been cloudy for at least

3 weeks straight. (typical Spring weather)

But we needed a change from routine, we missed Ry,

the weather was no fun, and the kids and I needed some fun.

We needed to get outside! fresh air.

Our agenda every day:

lots of hikes, sand dunes, exploring, swimming, and eating out.

We went to Snow Canyon on Wed and hiked! It was so warm and so happy. THe kids were running up and down the trails. We hiked up a large volcano and Mace was NOT happy. He was scared to death. It was steep all the way up and Mace could not walk it, so I picked him up in my arms and away we went.

Here is a pic of us at the top:

OH it was fun!

The kids found lizards, cool rocks, and explored all the nooks and crannies.

They were smiling and so happy to get out and just be kids.

I was loving it too. (have I said that yet?)

Then we went off to the Sand Dunes and played all night!

On thurs and Fri we did the SAME!

We hiked every day, swam and ate out.

I will post a few more collages/pics of our days!

Love it!

(and keep going down, I can only do 4 pics at a time!)

St. George Love #2

Mace was a trooper for how much we hiked.

I think I carried him at least half the way on all hikes.

Ooooh he loved looking at the

streams for baby fish, he looked for lizards and snakes, he ran around in the dirt, he threw rocks and built mud volcanoes.

Loving Nature and the Earth.

Exploring all day long.

(I took school on the road!)

The kids couldn't get enough of the water holes.

They played and played....

The temp was 73 sunny degrees.

perfect.

People would come in and out,

but the kids were thrilled to have their

"Secret Water Holes" all to themselves!

The water was freezing but the kids were determined to swim!

They all got in up to their necks!

(except Mace)

The best part of the trip for me:

(besides the kiddos)

the S C E N E R Y, the views, the rocks, the streams!

Nature at it's finest.

I think I took 148 pics.

I love to take pretty pics.

I have one more post. This 4 pic is killing me!

Can't wait for our new computer.

One more below!