Holiday Highlights

Christmas eve - James told me he would substitute me as the official cookie maker since I was already cooking 4 other items and he noticed how tired I was.


Karaoke caroling with a portion of the Wirthlin Family.




William excited about a gift from Uncle Rick and Aunt Gemina...just what he wanted from the German toy catalog. He said "I didn't know they knew German".


Maryanna running to the Christmas tree to see what Santa left.


Paul playing his new bongos.


Peter in his new "bad guy" cape that Maryanna helped make for him.


Clara braving the use of her feet with her new walker - also showing off new outfits for both her and her baby.


Staying in our Jammies until 2pm.


Automoblox! Santa brought 2 but Paul was so jealous of these cool toys he went out the next day and bought 3 more for the rest of the family.

Last minute Christmas sewing

Next year I plan to finish my Christmas sewing and my Christmas cards before December. Saturday night Paul and I were both up past 2 am... I was buzzing on the sewing machine and he was stuffing, and addressing Christmas cards. We accomplished both tasks just in time but we both felt like zombies by Christmas morning.

I made Jammies for the four older kids, an outfit for Clara, and two doll dresses with bloomers. All were wrapped and under the tree by Christmas eve. I did not make anything for Paul but did replace the zipper on his favorite hoodie and had it waiting with the other homemade gifts.

The items themselves are not that remarkable but I am so happy that they got finnished in time!

All the Fabric was ordered from reprodepot.com and sewzannesfabrics. I especially love the Japanesse print for Maryanna's nightgown (Thankfully she has yet to discover princess Jammies). I used Burda and Simplicity patterns for the boys, Maryanna's nightgown was kwik sew (with much needed alterations to style), and Clara's all reversible outfit is an Alison's Original that I have perfected after 5 babies. I guess now I can start thinking about Easter dresses.....if I don't get too distracted by any other projects.

Christmas Card Challenge 2007

We have been busy with so many holiday projects. Homemade gifts, cookies, hand dipped chocolates, 2007 DVD slide show and Christmas cards. The Christmas card has been the biggest challenge. When we had two kids our cards were out the day after Thanksgiving....I think it has gotten later and later each year. This year I'll be happy if I send them out by Monday.

Half the challenge of it was taking a family picture. Hope you enjoy the reality of it in these photos. I finally gave up on the self timer and got my Dad to shoot one of us in his backyard. I think you all should recieve it in about a week. Next year I'll either send a "reality card" or hire a professional photographer. How my parents got our family picture with 17 kids.... I have no idea. That was even before the days of photoshop and swaping out heads.

Picture #1- Red Butte Garden after taking all the kids "home school pictures" thankfully all their individual shots turned out great!
Picture #2 - 4th of July up at Bear Lake with my first set of tie-dyes
Picture #3- Wirthlin family Olympics
Picture #4- Decorating the Christmas tree after church

Even better than TV

We picked up this HUGE map from IKEA a few days ago. It is so big we don't really know where to put it. In the meantime it has been leaning up against the wall in our kitchen. The kids have enjoyed it so much that we may leave it there. James and William spent about 2 hours infront of it one morning just talking about all the cool places in the world. You can see how they set little chairs up infront. I think the map looked cool but I am delighted at all the entertainment it provides as well.

HappyDecember! Happy Snow!

Christmas decorations go up early here in Utah. Yesterday Peter asked "why does everyone think it is December except for us"? I spent about a week recovering from our fun trip to Michigan and then the stomach flu so I told the kids we couldn't get the Christmas stuff out until December. So today's the day. To add to the festivities we woke up to piles of snow. Paul got to test out my Dad's new toy this morning - he may become the next "Mr. Plow".

To add to all the activity James starts ski school this morning up at Brighton. Later, we'll meet my siblings in Deer Valley for a little party then head over to Heber to ride the Polar Express. What a perfect day for fresh snow!

Sewing projects for babies

Here are a few of the sewing projects that were on hold as I finished William's fish costume. The long sleeve bibs/smocks are from the Japanese pattern book Marie' sent me. Just in time for Thanksgiving and all sorts of holiday feasts and Jell-O salads, these bibs will save me from the annoying task of spot washing. They are backed with waterproof fabric and will be easy to toss in the wash unless I think they are too cute themselves and feel the urge to spot wash them.

Then we have Clara showing off my second homemade cloth diaper. The first one I sewed was just as cute, a soft pink velour but was soiled before I could catch a photo. I made both as pocket diapers because they dry so much quicker. The outer fabric is lined in PUL to make it completely waterproof and the inside is a soft organic cotton/bamboo fleece. I am still working on the perfect soaker pad (which sits inside the pocket). The ones I made where 2 layers of organic Hemp jersey with 4 layers of diaper flannel sandwhiched in between. They were fine in the day but did not do the job overnight. I may stick with the micro fiber fuzzi bunz inserts and just sew my own super cute diapers. The only problem with this diaper is it is Maryanna's favorite and she always wants to wear it. I guess I should just make her one in a training pant style.

Cloth Diapers

I made the big switch to cloth diapers early in September and after two months I am convinced it has been a wise choice. In this picture Clara is sporting a cute pink "all in one" and Maryanna is showing off her favorite "organic cotton" pull up.

Here is a short list of my pros.

-They are gentler on Clara's sensistive bum
-It is better for the enviroment
-I will save $
-They are so cute!
-They helped Maryanna Potty train (because of less absorbancy she could recognize the feel of pee)
-They are very user friendly

On the other hand here are a few con's

-I may end up spending more money because they are so fun to sew
-I am unsure how I would use them while traveling on a long trip

I would love to offer support and info for anyone who is interested in such a transition. With all these babies coming I'm curious who will be the next to switch over. I'll just have to keep sewing some super cute ones then I'll be sure to get you all hooked.

Happy Halloween

Here is our crew of trick-or-treaters. We have Paul as a Utes football coach, James the spider, William the fish, Peter the lion, Maryanna the chicken, and Clara the bunny. After 2 hours of trick-or-treating they ended up with a pile of candy weighing 9 lbs. 1 oz. We counted 174 pieces and James is anxious to produce a bar graph to display the variety.

As for the costumes and jack-0-lanterns we pulled them off without a minute to spare. William's fish costume was quite challenging to sew because of the 4" foam. I broke so many needles that I had to sew it with sunglasses on to protect my eyes. I then began to have concerns for my sewing machine and opted for the painful task of sewing it by hand. It took several more days than anticipated and I now have a nice callous on my finger. It was worth it though for my little ocean lover William. Also, its one size fits all so Paul wore it to work for some good laughs. James' costume was simple enough. We stuffed some tights and stitched them on quickly before he was out the door for trick-or-treating. He said he did not get as much attention for his costume as William but didn't mind because he felt like "a master of disguise" creeping in the dark wearing just black. As for Paul, I promised him a Ben Franklin costume years ago. I haven't even started it yet but in the mean time he was pretty creative pulling off the coach look. Now he has an excuse to buy some more Michigan gear for next year's Halloween. We can thank Old Navy for the other three costumes!

Funny funny Peter

Here are a few more funny ones. He never stops talking until he finally falls asleep. Here he is - finally asleep- on the bench at the top of our stairs.

"Mommy how do batteries work? Is our heart kind of like a battery?"

"Mommy I need someone to teach me how to fall asleep"

"Mommy I feel so sad.....I'm just not strong enough yet"

"I like to rub soap and water on my tummy and man nipples to make them look stronger"

Pumpkins for everyone!

Last night for Family Night we had great adventure. William said it was one of our best. We were invited to a private 400 acre farm full of pumpkins and animals. The kids could not believe how many pumpkins there were - William estimated over 600 but James said ten thousand. There were pumpkins for everyone, fat ones, tall ones, small ones, round ones, oblong shaped, white and green ones, and there was even one shaped like a jelly fish. We picked one for everyone.
After the picking the kids piled in the back of Becca's truck and headed off to the buffalo pasture. We don't know how many buffalos there were but there was enough to completely surrond our cars. We smashed some pumpkins on the ground and the animals enjoyed eating the guts and shells. I don't know what was more fun watching the bison eat or smashing the pumkins. James said - smashing pumpkins. We completed the evening with a little camp fire and lots of yummy treats. The kids were fast asleep as soon as we pulled on to I-15 and headed home.

Just a few more pics - enjoy

Homeschoolers don't stay home

Here's how we kicked off our school year.
p.s. did you notice all the tie dyes....

Deep Thoughts by Peter, age three

Here are a few of the recent funny ones....

"Mommy, when I get bigger will my voice change"?

"Mommy, I don't ever want to see a person get buried.... why can't they just bury the heart and brain and save the body"?

"Clara, why don't you like George Bush? he's the president"

"Mommy, how close is Baghdad? is it closer or farther from Yellowstone?"

"Mommy, when I get older after I'm an elephant dentist I'm going to be a a really strong wrestler and then when i get really strong and tough I want to be a Michigan football player because they really need our help"

"One touch with nature and the whole world is kin"

This Shakespeare quote was carved on a bench in a grove of trees at Redwood National Forest. I guess you could also state "One touch with nature and a family crammed in a mini van for miles on end still love each other and even more". We could not get enough National Parks! What started out as a day trip to Yellowstone and a weekend in Spokane visiting family turned into a great adventure of the pacific northwest. From mountains of Washington, Oregon coast, and northern California we were smitten by rustic log cabins, fragrant sea air and crashing waves, geothermal activity, sand dunes, scenic views, towering redwoods, and stars so bright you could practically grab them. I don't think my kids will ever have to experience Disneyland after this trip - it would be far too disappointing. What a joy it was to spend time together as a family connecting with something so real - nature.

Super DAD!!!!

Here's Paul carrying more than his share of the weight hiking around Redwood National Forest. He attracted just as much attention as the magestic trees themselves as several other hikers stopped to chat and chuckle about the commical site. We figured there was about 85 lbs. of additional weight hanging on him. That made Paul stop and think a moment how it great it would feel to shed a few of his own extra pounds. Paul sure loves our children though and is willing to work and sweat a little harder for them. Not only did he carry at least two kids on all of our hikes, Paul drove the entire 3,200 mile tour of the pacific northwest listening to the chronicles of Narnia, Wrinkle in Time, and Paddington Bear. Thanks Paul!

To Dye For!

The boys are all around hovering over this message and a bit nervous because they are taking the title very literally. Well these clothing items aren't really to die for but maybe worth losing a little bit of sleep for. We became quite obsessed and completed over a 100 items for family and friends. It is a messy task so most of the work was done after hours between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am so that no babies or toddlers would disrupt the process and then completely dye themselves and whatever they came into contact with as well. It felt like Christmas every time we opened and rinsed a new article of clothing......oh the joy of vibrant colors! If your life is feeling dull just slip on a tie dye t-shirt and awaken to a happy and carefree world. James has requested to do this again next spring. I don't know if I can wait that long. I think we may try batik in the meantime. FYI - I got the inspiration from Dharmingtradingco.com

Why I don't get around to posting

Maryanna keeps us all on our toes. Here she is showing off all sort of tricks. Doing pull ups on James and William's bunkbed. I don't know how she thought of that or where it came from. Certainly not by my example or the boys - she is the only one in this house doing pull ups. I'm just glad she happened to have her diaper on so I could take the picture. The breakfast shot of her feeding Clara is discrete enough to share. Maryanna likes to dress and undress quite often. She loves shoes and is wearing Xiao Xia's in the one picture with the stroller and mine in the other. I never know what to exspect when I check on her. Some mornings she is completely nude, others she'll have her pjs on inside out but her diaper off and sitting next to her in her crib. If I'm lucky I can catch a few crib acrobat stunts as pictured in this collage. Not pictured but just as note worthy are her episodes of dragging Clara across the floor, scooping up Archie's poop in the backyard, pouring her own Cheerios, eating out of the garbage, washing out her own potty chair, climbing out of her car seat, bullying her older brothers and pulling them down by their shirts, wearing Daddy's basketball shorts as a huge dress, putting her brother's boxers on her head, unraveling yards of dental floss throughout the house, pumping hand soap into my salad, decorating herself with a Sharpie.....I could go on and certainly will as this blog continues throughout the rest of the year. This just spells out why I may not seem as connected online anymore. I really can't turn my back for a minute. That is my excuse and I think it is a pretty good one. So sorry Marie'- you are really my only audiance here so I should also apologize for not sending you that really cute skirt pattern and posting pictures of it. Stay tuned.... I'll hopefully have that up soon and a pattern in the mail to you.

Fun Run! by James

At 7:30 am June 2 2007 we started the race. It was cold at the beginning when I was running so fast . Then I started to slow down . It took me 48 min 52 sec to finish the whole 3.2 miles. I was happy when I got popsicles after the race.

Thats my Life

Here's little MooMoo getting great practice putting her baby in the back of the car and then the stroller... and then back again. She missed those good ol' Philly days where our main form of transportation was simple- just walking.

"Jumping Slide"

William said "this was a perfect thing for Daddy to buy for our home. We just played on it all day after Daddy put it together. We had to do the garden before we played on it. Weeding was more boring than the water slide but I'm glad we did both"

Everyone loves a good book

I never did have a chance to comment on this great photo. For one thing, the kids just don't sit THAT still for me. But I was lucky to quickly grab the shot before the battery died out on my camera. That book was one of my favorites when I was little! Even more precious though is the image and sweet reminder of why Paul quit banking.