Sunshine in my Heart

Twelve years ago, I gave birth to my first son! My pregnancy with Hunter was moderately difficult, partly because of my physical discomfort, and partly because of our living arrangements. I had "afternoon sickness" almost every day at lunch. When I was 5 months along, we moved to Kanab, Utah for Dax's summer job with the BLM. Dax and I lived in a government camp trailer in an RV park with 1-year-old Preslie. The thin foam we slept on made my hips ache terribly. The trailer also smelled like stale cigarette smoke. Passing the days with a 1-year-old at an RV park in a small town was kinda boring, but kinda cool. Life was really simple. It was that summer we found out our baby was a boy. We were SO excited. We all were hoping for a boy and of all my pregnancies, finding out on this one was the most exciting. Perhaps living in a camping trailer makes you appreciate things more. But I just knew this baby was special and I loved him already.

Delivery Day! 10-18-03

We moved to Logan at the end of the summer to continue schooling at Utah State. My belly got huge and I got many comments, including being asked if I was having twins. Hunter made his debut in the afternoon on October 18 weighing in at just under 8 pounds-my biggest baby. He was such a sweet, calm, and pleasant baby from day 1. Even the pediatrician commented how patient he was at his appointment at 2-days-old, when Hunter had to get his heels poked for his PKU test. He barely cried.

Hunter is a delightful child. He is crazy smart; he loves to read and learn. He is my snuggler, still hugs me lots everyday and sleeps with a stuffed animal he got when he was a baby (cute!). He is aware of people's feelings and never wants to put anyone out. He loves little children and babies and tries to keep them happy. He is kind and doesn't have a bad thing to say about anyone. I love that the most about Hunter. A lot of people have really showy or obvious talents. Hunter isn't showy. He is just himself. He knows what is right and tries to do his best. His natural integrity and kindness is important and the talent that is most desirable in life.

Today in sacrament meeting, the opening hymn was no. 228 You Can Make the Pathway Bright. During the Sacrament, I read the words to that song over and over and they really sank in. I want to live in a way that there is always sunshine in my heart. Nothing would make me more happy than to see my kids do the same.

Hunter got called up to the pulpit by our bishop and we raised our hands in favor of him receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. He looked so tall and handsome in his suit (almost as tall as the bishop). I'm filled with sunshine, just thinking about what a good boy Hunter is becoming. He is making choices that will lead him to a happy life. I teared up thinking about how blessed I am and how much our Heavenly Father has guided me throughout my life and given me these wonderful kids. I care about them so much. There is no other way to raise kids than to turn my life over to Him and rely on his constant direction. Hunter was ordained to be a deacon today. What a stud.

At Hunter's request, we cooked the turkey that Hunter shot this past spring, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and rolls. Crumb cake for dessert.

I have a 12 -year-old son! It's awesome!

 

My Cupcake is Cinco!

 My girl that has been four forEVER is FIVE. Yay. We had a few of her friends over for a slip n slide and cupcakes. Then that evening Uncle Matthew, Aunt Abbey and their kids came to party! Quinn's birthday always ends with fireworks since she was born on Utah's state holiday, Pioneer Day.

Quinn is a joy to be around. She loves to paint nails and is quite good at it. She is everyone's sweetheart and gives the best hugs. She sits quietly in primary and listens. She has a tender heart. She loves to be home and with Mom. She is kinda a vegetarian..prefers veg and fruit over meat. BUT. Her all time fave food is frozen raviolis that come from Wal-Mart. She can out eat a grown-up when we serve those. She is my only child that doesn't have a middle name so she gave herself the middle name, Cupcake. Perfect fit. When my other kids were giggling about her new middle name, she defended herself by telling them that cupcakes are the best and so it is actually a great name. I agree. She is onto something... naming people happy names like Cupcake, and Lemonade Stand (which is the name of a doll in our house) might be the key to a happy life.

 We took everyone fishing nearby and all the kids caught fish. Love it when they bite easy and quick.

 We headed to Vernal to check out the Dino Museum. Some call it the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. So take your pick.

 Love this next pic I snapped of Dax and his brother. They always joke that they look nothing alike but here's proof they are related!...

 We had a fun visit with those guys!
My kids all took swimming lessons. A new pool/rec center is being built in town. Looking forward to that!
This week was UBIC...stands for Uinta Basin in Celebration. It is held in our town and there are fun activities, competitions, and performances all week. Preslie, Mack, and Quinn did a drill team clinic and performed their dances on stage at the park. Preslie signed up and performed a dance solo at the UBIC talent show. We attended an art show, as well as local talent performances.

My littles rode on the drill team parade float. Preslie danced in the parade with her dance studio (farthest on the left).

The week ended with a concert at the park. This year we had a country guy Jason Michael Carroll. Fun and entertaining. It ended with an awesome firework show. We look forward to UBIC every year. Also loved the spicy mango on a stick and mango popsicles from the booths there at the park. Yum.

Dax is the new Young Men's president in our church ward. He will do great!

It's August, so that means cramming every last bit of fun in before school starts! Make it count!

change it up

Wild weeks have come to pass... Quinn got her tonsils and adenoids removed on Monday, Feb 23. The following days were rough as she was in a lot of pain and cried and whimpered through the night for several nights. I felt like I had a newborn; it was non-stop care. I was also neck deep in planning our Relief Society birthday party dinner. Thursday, my brother Matt asked me to take Wyatt for the weekend so he could meet his online girlfriend. Quinn was a wreck, I had days before my big activity, Saturday was my birthday, and Wyatt was sick. Awesome timing, bro. I must be the nicest sister in the world, or the biggest chump. I had a crazy birthday with my 4 + 1 kids. By afternoon, I was so overstimulated so we left the kids for Preslie to watch while Dax and I went out. I did have a good birthday and I love my family, it was just a stressful week.

The morning of my birthday, I was relaxing in bed and I heard Dax and the kids coming down the hall. Dax says, "Ok everyone. Start singing!" Mack busts out, "Here comes the bride!.." I look over and they were standing in the doorway holding a giant plastic owl. I laughed so hard! I love those guys.

My awesome gal friends gave me a birthday lunch! 

We booked our California/Disney trip! We are so excited. The last time I went to Disneyland was in college with the Dixie Ambassadors. This will be my kids' first time.

I have been feeling like I am just getting by and keeping up with my responsibilities as a Mom and Wife. I've thought about quitting piano teaching. I prayed about it this weekend and I received my answer through reading the Book of Mormon, a sacrament meeting talk, and our home teacher's message. I've loved teaching piano for the past 3.5 years; it's a great gig for me and a convenient set-up for the neighbor kids and their Moms. I need to focus more on my own kids now. They are my top priority.

This past weekend Hunter performed in "Seussical the Musical". My friend runs a ballet and musical theater company and she really needed boys for the play. I made Hunter do it; he wasn't into the idea. But this weekend, he told me he had a blast and he was glad he did it.

Hunter is just left of the big tree

Monkey shot. The "Wickersham Brothers" from "Horton Hears a Who"

 Quinn is healed up now. It takes 12-14 days of recovery for a tonsillectomy. Her voice is slightly different. The doc said her tonsils were hu-UGE, as were her adenoids. Great to have that over. She is growing up so fast. I am in total denial that she will enter Kindergarten this fall.

Mack has been up to his old tricks (times one thousand) lately. He is a huge part of why I am quitting piano. I know he needs more structured activities to keep his mind and body busy. He is so brilliant; he literally cannot get enough stimulation. He multiplies large numbers in his mind as Dax and I are casually throwing around numbers in everyday conversations. Like last night at dinner we were talking about Broadway plays. Mack asked what Broadway was and Dax told him it was where really amazing, fancy plays were performed but they cost like $200 for tickets. Mack said, "That's 1200 dollars for our whole family to go." He has done this several other times this week. What 1st grader can multiply? I mean, they just went over double digit subtraction in school. He just needs more. Of everything.

Hunter is a diamond in the rough. He is so darling and smart and kind and wonderful but I forget that a lot because he politely lets others be the center of attention. He is the best 11-year-old on the planet. He loves to read lots of books and also learn about all kinds of little facts about science and history.

Preslie is by far the most responsible female in our home. She loves her dance class and has been begging to do other extra-curriculars. I hope she and Hunter will join the cross-country team this fall. She has recent motivations of getting in shape. She recently saved up for a new iPod. She is a great babysitter and is unstoppable when she sets her mind to something.

Dax has been on work overload but not the awesome kind. Office, administrative, and problem solving. He is going out to work in the mountains this week to clear his head. He is going through a mini-midlife and has been looking up apartments for sale in the Canary Islands. He also bought a new gun.

My mini-midlife consists of another room re-do for a friend, quitting teaching piano, and eating my weight in girl scout cookies. It feels like I'm recently torn between personal interests and the best interest of my family. Balance is the trickiest word to live by.

Be sure to share any Disneyland tips with me!

spending freeze results!

Our family goal in February was to spend ZERO DOLLARS on anything except bare necessities. Here is a report of how we did-

Necessary purchases:

church donations

mortgage

vehicles/gas

utility/gas/phone bills

milk, eggs, bread

Tires. We had previously planned to travel to Idaho in February to see my niece's mission report and my nephew's Eagle Court of Honor. Dax was nervous about the condition of our tires so we replaced them for the long trip as we were due for new ones. Then we all got sick and had to stay home. SAD. 

Vacuum. Our vacuum died lots of months ago. Our neighbors gave us an old crappy one they had lying around. It never worked that well and our carpets kept looking worse and worse. So we bought a new, amazing vacuum. Long overdue!

Popsicles, Sprite, yogurt, juice. Before the spending freeze, we had no idea Quinn would get her tonsils and adenoids removed in February. We splurged on some special foods and drinks for her recovery period.

Major victories(!):

Dax brought a lunch to work everyday in February! This saved us $50-$60.

Our grocery bill for the entire month (for 6 people) was $100, including special food and drinks for Quinn. We used a lot of stuff from our freezer, pantry, and food storage. Great to rotate through some of that and get creative with meals!

We were able to save money this month, pay extra on our house payment, buy tires and a new vacuum without dipping into savings. 

What we learned:

Not spending was a great experience and really opened our eyes to how fast little purchases add up and really make a dent in your budget (because we saw the opposite happen when we didn't make those purchases..that money stayed in our account and in our pockets!) The kids kept us in line every step of the way. We heard this a lot, "We can't buy that because we are on a spending freeze." 

There are so many things we can do without. We really have everything we need and way way more. We just have to look around and remember all of our blessings. "Gratitude turns what we have into enough." 

I really want to take my kids to the beach and to Disneyland this spring. When I remember that, it is easier for me to say no to impulse buys. All of it is just stuff. I want memories that will last forever!

teenage dream, eclair cream, Christmas gleam

I have a teenage daughter! Preslie is 13.

 Chili, breadsticks, a birthday cake, and eclairs were made for the celebration.

At 13, Preslie

• is very responsible. She gets up and gets ready for school on her own and completes all her homework without being asked. 
• doesn't like to be late to things. 
• likes routine and things to go how she has them planned in her mind
• fears dogs and most other animals, men, talking to strangers (especially grown-ups), 
• likes to dance and sing
• is a great swimmer
• memorizes song lyrics freakishly fast
• doodles her name on everything
• is quickly catching up to me in height, and has surpassed me in shoe size
• is unstoppable when she puts her mind to something: knocking out her chores, getting straight A's, earning money for something she wants, etc
• laughs a lot and is fun and spunky to be around
• has a spaz attack when she feels any strong emotion such as fear, lovey-dovey-ness, or frustration.
• is a bit shy to people she doesn't know well but I always forget that about her because she has so much personality at home and with her family

We spent Christmas in southern Utah with Dax's family. 

Some of my favorite moments were:
Having a "snowball fight" in the top floor of the St. George Children's museum. It was all fun and games until my MIL went downstairs and Preslie was down there searching for us and had been for the past 30+minutes. She thought we left without her. Crappy Mom Award! How did I not notice one of my kids was missing?

Other highlights: 

• playing games after the kids were in bed
• good food. way too much food!
• amazing Christmas lights displays
• Everett Mangus
• playing Elf hide and seek with the kids
• having parties in the Cabana out back
• watching the kids perform talents they came up with on the spot
• holding baby Audrey
• Hunter's mentos and diet coke geyser. Also when Mack took the bottle with the remainder of coke in it and spun around dumping/flinging it everywhere.
• Quinn carrying around her coloring book she opened Christmas morning. A reminder that children really do love the simple things.

A cool thing went down after Christmas! The whole Mangus side of the fam got together for the first time in many years. SO fun to reunite and connect with those great people. 50-sh people, I think.

After 7 days of fun, we headed home. Great to get back in the swing of things.

The warm weather we enjoyed earlier in the month is O.V.E.R. The kids and I went sledding at the park by our house on New Years Eve. It was 7 degrees. 

The lighting was so cool from the bottom of the hill looking up.

Little kids in snow clothes are adorable.

That evening, we watched the movie "Romancing the Stone" from the 80s. Mack cut out of there before it was over and I found him upstairs looking on Amazon. He asked if he could order this toy:

"We could totally make that." I said. The next thing I know, he is hauling my sewing machine up the stairs. Mack and I rung in the new year sewing a stuffed Enderman thingy. 

 Happy New Year! Love, Tristie

loving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!

Summer is hauling and there is lots to catch up on so I will just start with the most recent things and work back. Last night I took my girls to Vernal for a night out. We enjoyed school shopping for Preslie, Café Rio, and going to Wool-Mert. That is what Quinn thinks it's called and she says her 'R' really strong and it is adorable. Vernal is growing up! They have a new shopping center going in... JoAnn, TJ Maxx, Ross, Sportsman's Warehouse.. I feel like I'm in the city! Vernal is 30 minutes away and when I first moved here, it was an adjustment not having shopping nearby but now I really like it. Sometimes less options are better. Traffic in our town is mellow, and shopping isn't used as a default activity or recreation quite as much as when you live in the city. I like small town living for the great down-to-earth people, open spaces, and outdoor adventures. My neighbors are on the city council and school board; my voice can be heard more easily. This is a great place to raise my family.

While the girls were playing, Hunter was getting babysat at home by Pokémon and Dax and Mack were working in the hills, checking bear traps and taking wildlife pics. They had a great time. Bears have been keeping Dax super busy this summer.

Many are getting into camp trailers and wandering through town. The dry weather is making them look harder for food. We did get a KILLER rainstorm last week that was GLORIOUS. It hailed ice marbles for a minute and then downpoured for 20 more minutes. Everyone came outside to soak it up. We haven't had rain for months. It was wonderful!

Every summer we celebrate with the rest of the Uinta Basin at U.B.I.C (Uinta Basin in Celebration) which is held right here in our town, just a stick's throw from our house. We are lucky to have the Ute

Tribe as our neighbors and they always put on a show each year. These little boys are so cute all decked out.

 Dax's favorite brother and his family came to visit and celebrate UBIC with us! They have been coming to it for the past 4 years. I snapped this pic at the concert.. I don't know how little Ev fell asleep with all the noise! Can't wait to meet their baby #3 pretty soon.

 I watch my nephew 8-5, M-F while my brother Matt works. It has been an adjustment having another kid in the mix. Great to have him close and playing with my kids everyday. I think it has helped him learn to share and get along with other kids. Being the only child, he is used to calling the shots but it is a different story when he is at my house.. My kids shut him down really quick. They also need to learn to give and take. I have too many little bosses up in here!

 Preslie, Hunter, and Mack all took swimming lessons this summer and they all passed their levels. I am proud of each of them for the improvements they've made. They have learned a lot!

 I cleaned all the baby clothes out of my storage room and gave them away! This has been a process for me. I'm closing a huge chapter of my life; one that is very dear to me.

  I am at peace and know my job is to enjoy my beautiful kids in the here and now. I love my family and am just bursting with gratitude for the chance I have had to bear FOUR healthy children and raise them.

We had Dax's Mom come visit and stay with us for a few days and we had a ball with her. She is the

 most fun and spunky grandma ever. She was like a celebrity at our house. My kids loved having her. While she was here, she made Quinn a birthday fruit pizza and we celebrated. I love my little sweetheart so much. She is a bright spot in our family. Impossible to be sad or mad when she is around.

 We drove to Dax's bro's house on Quinn's b-day (July 24) and celebrated again with those guys. And of course, Quinn always gets fireworks on her day!

 The next day, Dax and I met my bro Tyrel, wife Kaeli, and my SIL Kenzi at Lagoon for some grown up kid time riding coasters. BLAST. Only way to do Lagoon is minus little kids. I think Preslie is old enough to go finally but we needed her to babysit Quinn. My boys played at their friends' house.

We ran down to see my parents and Dax cooked up some yummy ribs for everyone. My parents are so wonderful. My Mom's health continues to go down hill but she still takes time to play games with the kids.

 

I took Hunter in for an eye exam. He looked trippy with his eyes dialated! He will look great in glasses. 2nd kid of mine who needs glasses.. Dax and I don't wear them so it is new to us.

 Dax went to Beaver High Adventure scout camp for SIX days with his teachers quorum. They hiked, repelled, biked, went canoeing, horseback riding. It was intense. It was also intense at my house with me and 5 kids and the worst PMS week of my life. (Which came first: the PMS or the husband leaving?) The kids seems crazier than normal, the toilet in the main bath was clogged for 3 days and I just was ready to flip off the BSA. My dad called mid-week and invited us to go camping with him but I only had my crappy car with bald tires and did not feel like camping one bit. He really wanted us to come so I went and choked down the $600 bill for new tires (needed to be done anyway) and took my kids camping. I am glad we went.

My boys are great hikers. Mack wanted to climb the mountain again when we woke up the next day, so we did! My girls rode with grandpa on the 4 wheeler and Preslie was driving when she got one wheel in a rut and they tipped the machine onto themselves. My Dad was quick to toss Quinn out of the way and she came away unharmed. Preslie was bruised and my Dad was the most beat up but they are all ok.

 

Took a day trip with friends to Starvation Reservior and tubed, fished, and played on the beach. It is a fun place!

We had a round of the stomach flu the beginning of July and I'm the lucky one that didn't get it. Quinn threw up in primary on the floor in front of the Sunbeams. Great timing because our church recarpeted after that! Here's Dax on 4th of July when everyone else was watching fireworks and enjoying BBQ food...

 Earlier that day, my bro Matt and I ran in the Roosevelt RedMud Run. It was 2 miles of mud and obstacles and grueling fun. We had a blast. I hope more of my family will join in and do it next 4th.

Mangus family reunion was at Palisades State Park near Manti. My MIL planned it all and brought her new kayak to share. Fun with family swimming, eating, dancing, making ice cream and making memories.

Most of our family and friends who saw the cover of the July Friend magazine thought the girl on the front looked like Quinn.

 Preslie has a blast her first year at Girls Camp. Kinda calm at our house without her spunk.




I am sad that summer is winding down. I will miss my kids and especially Mack who will be in 1st grade all day. I will miss the warm weather and the carefree schedule. But I am excited to have some time to cook good meals and work on projects while the kids are in school. I have so so many projects I want to do: Scrapbook the kids' school years, Master Bedroom decorate, and food storage just to name a few.

 

Let's end with a Mack quote, Yes?!  So Dax taught a lesson in YM about dating and making yourself worthy for a great wife. He was telling us how it went and Mack piped up with, "I'm gonna spy on the girl I'm gonna marry to see what kinds of things she does. I don't want to marry someone nerdy who drools and falls down a lot."