Make 'em laugh...

Bonus points to the 1st person to name the movie this pic is from.
So today was one of those days where I'm laughing b/c if I stop, I'll be mortified by a few choice event. It was my first Sunday playing the organ for the entire congregation. While my practicing has gone very well, and I'm picking it up faster than I thought I would, my nerves haven't gotten the memo yet...so playing for an audience was a big deal. I got to church nice and early, practiced the songs, played some prelude music and then 5 minutes before the start of church I was rudely interrupted by a blaring foghorn in the congregation...after a few seconds I realized I had forgotten to turn off the alarm on my cell phone, which was sitting in a pew very far away from me. So I stopped playing and said to the congregation, "That's mine." Someone got up and turned it off for me. Embarrassing moment #1 down....just 3 more to go. Opening song went well, yippee! Then it was time for the sacrament hymn...which I was a little frazzled about...and started playing about twice as fast as the conductor wanted me to. Of course I could sort of see this out of the corner of my eye, but was too busy trying to hit the right notes to really concentrate on her beating out the rhythm. Finally, on the second verse I began watching and slowing down. So throughout the first verse I could hear some in the congregation try to singing to her tempo, and most singing along to a blaring, too fast organ...what a mess! Only 2 more to go. After that I sat down in the pew w/ Donald and the kids. Claire climbed up on my lap and was looking at her "Friend" magazine. I was listening to the speaker, when I looked down and noticed that Claire had pushed my skirt all the way up to my hips (must have been in her way when she climbed up on my lap).....aaack. I quickly pushed her off my lap and pulled my skirt down. I really hope no one noticed. I was wearing black tights (kind of like pants, right?) so hopefully no one got a shocking eyeful. Only one more to go...So I get to Relief Society to play the piano, and Debbie tells me which songs we are singing...not a big deal, I usually just sight read my way through them anyway. Well, today a little practice would have been good b/c I didn't play a single right note the last bar of the closing song...no joke! Everyone, including myself was laughing by the end of the song. Way to close the meeting. Aaaaannnnd I'm done! and look, all that before noon...just think what the next 10 hrs may hold?! Can't wait.

And here's the retrospective for 2009

Cooking w/ the kids...this is one of their favorite things to do. My mom made them each an apron for Christmas 2008.
I realize this is a terrible pic of me....In my defense I was 2 1/2 months pregnant and feeling crummy. This pic was taken on my bday. Donald took all the kids to the dollar store so they could pick out a present for me. Jillian got me an angel figurine, the twins got me head bands and barrettes (notice my hair) and James got me a vegetable peeler! Donald tried to talk him into something else, but to no avail. The end of April I took a week long trip to Hawaii! I stayed w/ my friend
Mayda and had so much fun!That spring Donald built a permanent fence/arbor around our garden. Pretty!
Jillian was in her school musical-BUGZ --she had 3 lines in it and was very excited. I think I would have enjoyed it more w/ subtitles. Echoey room, soft voices, speach impediments, heavy breathing into a touchy microphone...'nough said.
We had our sisters' reunion at my mom's house in June. Had a great time, wish Jen could have made it.

Sara did an internship on Orcas Island and stayed/played with us a little before and after. This is at Pikes Place Market. Walking to the Oak Harbor 4th of July Parade. The kids all dressed themselves (as usual), check out James' socks!
James and Jillian put on a show called "the flying bears". Check out the cool wings they made for their bears.
This is a cat that began showing up at our place this winter...we named him Baby Kitty, or maybe that's his name b/c we were too lazy to name him. We've been feeding him along w/ our two cats. Don't know where he came from, but he loves any and all attention which makes him a perfect (purrrfect) match for Hannah.
Claire is our little dancing princess extraordinaire. Here she is in action.This was taken the day I was admitted to the hospital for Sophie's birth...no, I did not get dressed up just to go to the hospital...we were at church when we realized it was time to go. Here's Sophia Joyce...born on Oct. 19th.
Thanksgiving at our house w/ Nana and Papa.

It's about time!!!!

I know, right?! Been way too long since I've updated this thing...and now it's to the point where I don't even know where to begin. My biggest problem w/ the blog is that I don't particularly enjoy writing...and when I'm tired (which is all the time) my desire to write decreases even more! Since I last wrote we've had birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and I've had trip to Hawaii (Huh WOW ee as Hannah says it) and a sisters' reunion...and we added another sweet little girl to our family. I guess I'll start w/ talking about Sophia and her entrance into this world. If you don't want the details of labor just skip to the next paragraph (I'm only supplying them b/c some of you have asked). I began having good strong regular contractions on Sat. Oct 17th. They were about 15 min. apart...and uncomfortable enough that I was having trouble sleeping. By Sunday they really had kicked in and after sitting through an hour of church they were less than 10 min. apart. Since I usually progress rather rapidly after 4 cm I thought it best to get to the hospital. So we did. I was only at 2 cm. They told me to hang out, walk around and come back in an hr. So we did....and when they checked I was at 3 cm. Within a few hrs I was dilated to 4. So we waited....and waited... (the Dr. gave me an ambien to help me sleep the night....I'm thinking it was as much for his benefit and mine)and my contractions actually stopped for awhile that night. The next day they started back in again...and we waited and waited....and I was still at 4 cm. SOOOO, they broke my water....that didn't do anything, they gave me pitocin , that didn't do anything (just the same nice strong, painful contractions, but no progress) That was when I finally asked for an epidural. Long story short (too late) Sophia's head was resting against my hip and my body wasn't gonna progress until she decided to drop down into place. By this point I was getting pretty hungry, exhausted, worried and frustrated (I'm sure all the hormones weren't helping)....I was also wondering if I was gonna be heading to the OR for a C-section. They checked me at 4:00pm and I was STILL at 4 cm and very close to tears. Then about 15 min. later the nurses noticed a change in Sophia's heart rate and came to check on us....they glanced down and said..."don't push, she's coming out and we need to page the Dr!" Lovely! With the epidural I didn't even realize I was giving birth. Kind of crazy! Half a push later Sophia Joyce Mayne was born Oct 19th at 4:18 weighing 6lbs 14 oz, and measuring 20 in. She's a very sweet, mellow, happy baby...and I can tell already she's going to be a talker. She responds to almost everything we say w/ her cooing...it's pretty funny...none of the others were quite this communicative at this age.So that's been the biggest news of late...We had a few rough weeks w/ sickness and nursing issues after she was born, thankfully, my mom was able to come and help out. I couldn't have survived w/o her. My parents also came up here for Thanksgiving and Sophia's baby blessing. It was great having them here. Nov was a record month for rain, which was unfortunate to have while my parents were here, but we still managed to play tourists. Of course, since they left it's been very dry and cold here...usually the blanket of overcast keeps us a little warmer, but not this Dec. I'm thinking my primroses may not survive it. I am enjoying the blue skies and sunshine though...and the fact that the days are beginning to lengthen. Jillian had been praying for a white Christmas but it didn't happen this year. Hopefully we'll get a couple days of snow for the kids to enjoy. We still managed to have a great Christmas. I think I enjoy it more now, as a parent than I did as a kid...although it's definitely more work. :)Claire and her polly pocket princesses

New PJs from Grandma!

Next year will bring a few changes...I'm going to be playing the organ at church (something new I've been learning) and we have 9 am church....I figure we'll be getting up very early to make it there in time for me to play prelude music. I'm not looking forward to the Sundays Donald has work. I'm also the Achievement Day's Leader. It's a bimonthly faith building activity for the girls ages 8-11. I'm really excited about getting to know the girls better, working with them on some of their goals and participating in activities that bring them closer to Christ and increase their understanding of the gospel.

I have to share this...b/c Claire is definitely her mother's daughter....I used to be quite the daredevil and luckily had the coordination necessary to not injure myself. When I was young we had a little mini trampoline and one day I decided to try to run, jump, flip and land on the other side. Luckily I was successful on the first try but I remember the look of horror on my mom's face when I had her come watch me for the first time....interesting how the idea of failure had never entered my mind.
The other day Claire, age 4, called me into the living room...and then (as I stood in horrified stupor) she did a flip from the recliner onto the couch and landed on her bottom. To which I responded, "Wow! That was crazy." In all serious she retorted, "No mom, THAT was awesome." I pray she's coordinated enough that she won't break her neck in any of the other awesome stunts she tries.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!! I'd like to say that I'll be better about updating the blog in the new year....but I'll admit it's not anywhere near the top of the priority list...so don't hold your breath.

Just Bugsy

Hi all! We're very excited to announce that we're expecting baby # 5. I've been feeling pretty crummy lately, but today I had long moments of no nausea. Wahoo! I'm hoping THAT part of it is behind me. I'm 13 weeks along, and starting to look chubbier...not pregnant though. Had an ultrasound and yes, there is only one baby in there. Phew!

We broke the news to the kids a few weeks back. That night at dinner time they were discussing names. The kids couldn't fathom not having twins. Here are their name suggestions:

Jillian likes Evangelina (not sure where she heard it. It's pretty but a mouthful).

James is convinced we're having twin boys and wants to name them Harry and Max.

Hannah likes the names Rachael (after her favorite babysitter) and Zane (Zane is her closest friend in preschool). Zane of course is off the list along w/ all other names that rhyme w/ Mayne (and there are a lot)...Elaine, Blaine, Duane, Charmane, Dane...
Claire (who has named every one of her dolls and stuffed animals after her Aunt Lisa) said in her prayer that night, "Please bless baby Bugsy and baby Lisa in mommy's tummy." So I think we're going with Bugsy...atleast that's what we'll call the little tadpole, until it loses its tail and we know its gender.
There's been lots of other stuff going on here as well, but I'm tired and lazy, and not in the mood to write about it all now, so it will have to wait. Hope you're all well!

Favorite Pictures of 2008

So I've been slacking on the blog front, so here's a little retrospective of the previous year. These are some of my favorite pictures from last year. Hope they make you smile.
At the Mayne Ranch in MO.

Our weekend away, Olympic National Park.

Claire jumping off the bed to Donald. I have pics of them all, but she's the only who leapt from the bed w/ no sign of fear in her face.

James and his tinkertoys. Here's his transformer. It's a rocket....

....it's a robot.

Claire and Hannah w/ faces painted.

Lisa and Jillian at the family reunion.

Elias playing alphorn at the family reunion

Just past Aspen, CO on the way to independence pass. The highest paved road in the lower 48.
All Boy! Independence Pass, CO.

Hannah puddle jumping in our driveway.

My cheering section at the Whidbey Island Triathlon. My friend Deb took this picture. Donald is such a great father, and I think this picture shows that.

Getting a quick drink before I begin my run.

Hope we can make as many great memories in the years to come!

Cabin Fever

Life's been a little nutty here. I realize it's been a long time since the last blog, so here are a few highlights from Nov. and Dec. Nov. was a busy month w/ our Enrichment Dinner and The Thanksgiving Holiday. I have a new enrichment leader, she's absolutely fabulous. The dinner went very smoothly and we had a great lesson on keeping Christ in Christmas, followed by some musical entertainment. The Lamb family invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. We provided a few desserts and salad. We had a great time eating, visiting and working off our meal playing football afterward. They have such a great family! The kids had a terrific time there as well, which was a huge bonus, especially considering there weren't any other children their age.

Two of the regulars in the backyard.


Two of the captives, watching as Jillian and I wait for her school bus.

The day after was a rainy football game involving people from church. I decided to go play, since I never get to and love playing. I was, of course, the only girl there, but to my surprise (and theirs, I think) managed to hold my own playing w/ the guys. I had a lot of fun, but awoke the following day sore and with a huge bruise on my thigh. Definitely worth it! ;-)

December brought our cookie exchange (great idea). I ended up w/ 6 doz. cookies (all different varieties) which were distributed between our family members and the neighbors. We also got a Christmas tree at a tree farm around the block from us. We had our ward Christmas party on the 12th. I was Mary and sang Mary's Lullaby w/ 2 of the angels. Poor Claire had been sick for a few days so she and Donald stayed home.

Snow fight!

Now for the excitement...I do most of my Christmas shopping throughout the year, so as to avoid trying to budget for it and schedule time for it when there is so much other stuff going on. Thank goodness for this b/c we've been snowed in for the past week! Oh, don't be alarmed...we don't have a lot of snow, but b/c it rarely snows here everything is put on hold when it does. Some of the roads are plowed, but most aren't sanded, which makes them pretty slippery, and no one has snow tires.

It started Sat. night. Jillian and I drove up to Anacortes to see The Nutcracker. It was beginning to snow then. We had a great time. To quote Jillian, "It was even better than I ever could have imagined!" After the performance we stopped and got dessert and then headed back. Most of traffic was going about 20 mph (on 50mph highway). Then we rounded a corner and stopped. Traffic was as a complete standstill for about 30 min. Then we slowly began the trudge home. It took about 2 1/2 hrs. to get back! Thus began our exciting week...no school for the kids, no church 2 Sundays in a row, no Christmas party for Donald's work. I haven't driven anywhere in the car since last Monday...and I'm starting to go a little mad being holed up in the house w/ my kids all day, everyday. It would be fine if they would go outside and work off some steam, but all but Jillian are big babies (just like their mama) when it comes to the cold. We'll spend 30 min. getting them bundled up to go out, 15 min. playing outside and another 15 min back inside stripping off all the snowy clothes as they whine in front of the fire about their hands or feet hurting them. I haven't decided if it's worth the effort. I did voluntarily go out and gather/chop firewood yesterday afternoon and I felt much better after that. I'm hoping the roads are better this week. We're supposed to get together w/ Lisa (my sister) and Russ up in Ferndale on Christmas day. Pray the weather will allow it.

Adding Frosty's hat

Frosty and Hank

Posing w/ Frosty
Funny quote of the week: Claire was throwing an impressive fit the other day and Hannah asked me what was wrong w/ Claire. I said, "Oh, she's just being a little crazy." Hannah looked at her and then responded, "No, I fink she's being a whole lot of crazy."

Alternate Twilight Screenplay

Alright, I just had to add this. It was written by a fellow named Eric Snider who attended BYU the same time I did. I became a fan back in the days when he wrote Snide Remarks for the Daily Universe (BYU newspaper). http://www.ericdsnider.com/snide/my-rejected-twilight-screenplay/

Enjoy!!

"Impressive, most impressive, but you are not a Jedi yet."

What is it w/ boys (by boys I mean any males born after 1965) and Star Wars? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching the movies, but I think most boys have at one time or another been obsessed w/ Star Wars. About a month ago we began watching the Star Wars trilogy (episodes 4-6) w/ Jilli and James (one movie per week). Jillian thought it was exciting, but hasn't revisted any of it since. James, on the other hand, has been making lightsabers for each of us out of construction paper (mine is purple) and has changed all our names... Hannah is Yiota, Claire is R2D2, Jillian is of course Leia, and James responds only to Luke, somedays I'm an ewok, somedays I'm Obi Wan. This has, for the most part, been entertaining and fun, although we now have enough "lifesavers" laying around the house to equip an entire Jedi army. The best part was earlier this week when he and Jillian were picking up their belongings in the living room. As soon as I told him to clean up he dashed out of the room and returned wearing a cloak (a Harry Potter robe that was in w/ the dress-up clothes). The hood was pulled over his eyes, and from the way he was bumping into the furniture it was evident he couldn't see. He was carefully feeling around the floor w/ his feet for toys, backpacks, shoes etc. and then picking them up and putting them away. I finally asked him what he was doing. "I'm using The Force to clean up." Whatever works.
Potty talk, well actually it was a dinner conversation...some of you may find this innappropriate, but I'm recording it for posterity. The other day Hannah passed gas rather indiscretely at the dinner table. Right after Jillian asked, "Hannah, did you toot?" Hannah's matter of fact response, "No, my bum burped." Alrighty then.

Trina, this one's for you! The other day Jillian stepped off the bus and all I could say was, "WOW!" She had been wearing her turquoise sweater over the shirt, so i didn't realize how mismatched she was. I had to take a picture! Poor Jilli, she apparently has inherited my lack of fashion sense. I was lucky enough to be blessed w/ 4 younger sisters who saved me from fashion faux pas, gave me trendy hand-me-downs and took me shopping. Let's hope for Jillian's sake that the fashion disaster genes skipped Hannah and Claire.

It's been a really busy week here are some highlights: Sunday we had a ward fellowshipping dinner at our house. It was a lot of fun and we got to meet some really nice people. 25 people came, which is kind of a lot for our little house, but it was nice and cozy.

Wednesday, Debbie and I did our weekly bike ride. We went 18 miles. I'm so grateful I have this time set aside each week. There are so many beautiful areas here on the island, and Debbie and I chat the whole time...except while ascending some of the steeper hills. So far we've been blessed w/ great weather each Wednesday. As I look out at the heavy clouds and rain-soaked kids, I wonder how much longer it can last.

Friday (Halloween) we stopped by our neighbors house so the kids could show off costumes and say hi...then we headed to a Halloween Party/trunk or treat at the Keyes' house. Lots of fun. We left before making it all the way around b/c the kids were starting to show signs of extreme exhaustion, and we thought it best to leave before any had a meltdown.

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!