a dream

testing, testing...123.

Excuse me as I brush off the dust from this computer here.

Hello everyone. Aaaahhhh...it feels good to be back in this soft chair again and see what's been happening in all of your lives over the past couple of months.

We have been moving children to different bedrooms...which is a function of having a large family I guess. So, no more office. Annie and Savannah have a new bedroom downstairs, which is in the making. yada yada.

Anywho, it's been busy 'round these parts. So, brace yourself...this will be a little longer than normal. If you want to check back in next week, I completely understand. (As I'm typing this, I can see my husband outside with a large flashlight, looking for mice. There is construction going on in our neighborhood, so we've had an infestation of vermits. ugh. My husband is obsessed. I'm actually very grateful for this obsession and hope that it comes to a close very soon).

Kate and Joseph's combo birthday party came off like a charm--complete with a "belly jumper" (aka: bounce house) and chili dogs.

And then, I dreamed a little dream. Or maybe it was actually real. Our family ventured off to a tropical paradise. I know we went because I have pictures. Everything was a dream. I remember the way Hawaii smelled and how it felt. I remember how much I loved playing with my family in the clear, warm Pacific (because our side of the Pacific is much too cold for me) and how course and soft the sandy beach felt between my toes. I remember eating plenty of shaved ice--Hawaii takes 'snow cones' to another level...we enjoyed that level immensely. I remember waking up with my kids (well, actually, my 2 yr. old probably woke everyone up. He was on a sleep hiatus) and driving all around the North Shore, checking out the beaches at 6 a.m. and then hitting Ted's bakery for some melt-in-your-mouth square doughnuts and chocolate coconut pie that I am still thinking about. I remember spending a couple of days at the Polynesian Cultural Center and watching my children watch the shows. While Austin observed the large, muscle-y Polynesian men banging on large drums and grunting loudly, he whispered without moving a muscle and taking his eyes off the show, "I wanna do that." Yes, along with every other man in this world. I remember walking around the Hawaii Temple grounds and being so happy (despite the fact that Annie was super sick with mono and yet was still such a trooper; and, a hurricane was headed straight for the island that week. Thankfully, she's doing better and the hurricane never showed. miraculous). I remember eating Giovanni's garlic shrimp served out of a little, crowded trailer and coconut shrimp served out of a dilapitated shack. Still, it was wonderful. I remember having my sister Adrienne with us and loving every minute of her cheerful, fun, laughing, easy-going self. I remember going to the swap meet in the rain and buying 9 Hawaiian t-shirts, some earrings, some sandals, and 2 ukeleles for my two eldest daughters (the poor Japanese man probably didn't make a dime off of my husband). It was a dream I'll always remember. And, to top it off, we gave up our seats on our flight (it was overbooked) to score 7 plane ticket vouchers to use within the coming year! It was the cherry on top!

Thankfully, we had such a trip because now I am up to my earlobes in soccer cleets and homework folders.

Tomorrow is Savannah's birthday. I'm thinking about my baby that is growing too fast. I love her freckles and her hula-hips. I love that she is our "Sleeping Beauty" and always has been. I love that she tells me how pretty I look on a daily basis-- especially when I don't deserve it. I love that she is always so concerned about the 'whereabouts' of her younger siblings. She is such a light in our lives. We love you sweet Savannah. You just keep getting better and better with each passing year (just don't make those years pass too quickly)!

I have over 100 lbs. of peaches that I picked two days ago (I know. I went a little overboard. I realize I have addictive tendencies. I'm just glad that it's peaches). At least when I'm peeling, I'll have plenty of thoughts to keep my mind busy.

Goodnight everyone...sweet dreams. Think: crashing waves and rustling palms, maybe some soft ukeleles in the background. heaven.

an epic journey

hello? hello? Is anyone there? Good grief. I have not seen the likes of this blog for quite some time now. Well, I take that back. I have, actually. However, I wasn't the author. Someone sneaky and generous (a little too generous I might add) has been here. So, thank you LOML and thank you dear ones for all of your birthday wishes and generous words. You are indeed too good to be true!

We have been travelling to and fro, here and there, over the river and through the woods...all the way to Grandmother's houses. Our adventures included a visit with Adam's family (there's a nice ring to that..Addam's family...hmmm). We slip and slided, shopped, ate lots of goodies, movie-watched, talked, and relaxed. They are very wonderful people who can patiently put up with this rowdy bunch of ours.

Also, we enjoyed our annual Grandma's camp in Salt Lake with my family. My mom has hosted Grandma's camp (nearly a week of fun-filled, cousin-filled, activity-filled, delicious food-filled fun) for, I think, five years now. Eventhough the stomach flu ravaged through our Grandma camp, everyone, true to form, remained chipper and undeterred. Even with some sleepless nights, we still had some serious fun climbing Ensign peak, visiting Temple Square and Heritage Park, rolling down the hill (instead of watching the baseball game), playing in the creeks, and having dinner picnics. Wowsers.

We took home some wonderful memories of both homes. Last night after we pulled in the driveway, we all were so beat that we just plopped on the couch and talked about birthdays. Kate's is this Saturday and Joseph's is in August. Joseph loudly exclaimed that he wanted a "belly jumper" at his birthday. We all looked at each other and laughed. Eh, sonny? Was that a belly dancer or a jolly jumper? Let's hope that for all of our sakes (and reputation) you meant the latter.

Glad to go, and definitely glad to be home. I better get off to bed so I can face my laundry tomorrow (and you know how that goes)...

night, night.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Yes, I've succombed to the dark-side and "hacked" my way into my wife's blog (OK, it really only took signing in... but to us illiterate bloggers it appeared to take the same amount of time and technical expertise as constructing the space station). However, even without that disclosure, it wouldn't take a literary genius to quickly come to the conclusion that Alexis' "ghost writer" needs some coaching from the master herself.

Alexis is on literary leave right now (ie. vacation) and I've been self appointed on her Birthday!!!(July 9th) as her Numero Uno Fan to celebrate the writer and person behind these words and stories, chronicles and inspirational thoughts. Too often we only see and hear the author's perspective from their eyes looking out, but don't have the opportunity to step back and from the outside reflect on the author. I can't pass up the opportunity to tell her and the world of "Blogonia" how much I (and we as family/children, and friends) love and admire her.

All who know her realize that not only is she a gifted writer and communicator, but also a compassionate and tender mother and wife, a dear friend with a listening ear, and a motivator and Superwoman (I have personally witnessed her stopping speeding tricycles, leaping large buildings - aka laundry piles in a single bound, and spotting with her laser vision my hidden chocolate stash through cabinet doors). It isn't infrequent that she is able to juggle 6 or more active children, running between piano, soccer, school, errands, meals, church, while on the phone, balancing on one foot, being understanding of a husband who is coming home late due to meetings, and maintaining a great sense of humor, purpose, and perspective. Whewww.

So you may ask, when does she find time to blog, jog, or chase the dog. I don't know, and that my friends is the mystery; how does she turn a 24 hour day into 30 hours of accomplishments, and make each of us feel like we have her full attention and interest while time is standing still?? It is truly one of her many gifts.

I've always loved the way she smiles and laughs. She has a natural beauty and is absolutely gorgeous when she is dressing up on Sunday's or special occassions as well as just relaxing at home. She finds joy in the simple things of life; flowers, moments with our children and talking to a friend, going for walks, practicing a piano piece after the kids are in bed, and a fresh green salad. She is a tenacious worker, and unstopable when she wants to accomplish something, an outstanding chef, a master budgeter, and a fabulous tennis player. Most of all, she loves the Lord, shares her testimony and experiences freely and often and desires to do what's right in every situation.

I find that I'm in love with this incredible woman more each day than the day before and realize how lucky I am in our marriage. Thank you to so many of our friends and family for your love and support of Alexis! I know she and I value your friendship greatly.

I love you Alexis! Happy Birthday!

The Men in our Lives

I love Father's Day (I love holidays). As a little girl, I remember trying to gather all my money (which was mostly change) and purchasing something my dad really could use, like tweezers, or in Lauren's case (my sister), yard darts (family joke). Since Father's Day was always in the summer, we would usually be on a family vacation and would bring our gifts and homemade cards with us to the Texas hill country. I love my Dad. He can fix anything...broken pipes, rooftops, bicycles--anything. His laugh is unmistakable and contagious. Wherever we would be, people could pick out where the Rumseys were sitting, they could spot/hear my Dad's laugh. I loved that. He was a pilot, so I loved seeing him in his sharp uniform coming through the backdoor and then trying on his pilot hat-so official. He is an Athlete (with a capital A), sometimes exercising several times a day (much to my mom's chagrin). But, us kids were always proud of that. He competed in the Hawaii Ironman, Deathrides, marathons, triathlons...and I loved cheering him on. He now is our biggest cheerleader, as we try to boost our exercise regime. When my sister finished her first marathon, my Dad was the first one she called. He was thrilled. When we would leave for school in thr mornings (when he wasn't on a trip), he would usually be in running shorts, sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of oatmeal, and reading the paper. We'd give him a hug goodbye and he'd say, "Bye baby. Don't talk to cars and watch for strangers." It always made me laugh. Happy Father's Day Dad.

My husband is too good to be true. He is everything I ever wanted for my children. He loves playing with them, singing to them, holding them, laughing with them. I couldn't imagine parenting in this life without him. Happy Father's Day sweets.

Adam's father is wonderful. I love how each Dad's style is so unique and yet so fitting for their family. Grandpa T is so supportive and loving. He can spot a deal a mile away and can also fix anything. He can answer any question about the scriptures, I love that. He is one of my best customers at dinnertime, always so gracious, "Um, Alexis. This is some of the best corned beef I've ever had." Makes me feel good.

I love these men in my life. They are Fathers indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhqRMP9meMc

Summertime...and the livin' is easy

School ended yesterday. And I cried. Why, oh why do children have to grow so quickly? The older they get, the faster the time flies. Okay. I promised myself that I wouldn't go down this path. It doesn't do any good.

So, eventhough my children just ended the fastest school year of their lives, it is now summertime. I love summertime. I get my children all to myself (is that selfish?). We can go anywhere, do anything. We can stay in our pjs until 10:30 a.m., lying on our floor in lazy fashion, quizzing each other on state capitals...and be perfectly happy. Summertime is the perfect solution for my time handicap (another weakness). Just last week, we had company for dinner. They asked, "What time?" I said, "Oh, 5-5:30." "Which one? 5 or 5:30?" "Well, whichever. I'll just be happy when you get here." (I know this makes my pilot, punctual Dad cringe to read this).

We had a final week of assemblies and programs. Savannah sang as a sloth (the animal?), Annie danced and sang wearing a poodle skirt, and Kate played the piano in front of the school like a pro. Whew.

The first day of summer was spent at the beach...all day. We're all tuckered out from too much fun. Can that even exist? Well, whatever it is, we're tired, but relaxed. I think tomorrow we should sit on the porch and sip lemonade. I can picture it now...mmm. Summertime...and the livin' is easy...(porgy & bess style, of course). I know this pace won't last for too long, but I'll enjoy it in the meantime.

Kisses.

Full Circle

We've come full circle. We celebrated our anniversary at Chick-fil-A (which I think is a couple of steps above McDonald's). The kids had a school fundraiser there, so we gazed at each other over a delicious chicken sandwich and hot waffle fries (and did I mention that lemonade is a dream come true?). He brought home some gorgeous yellow roses: "Oh my goodness! They are yellow roses of Texas!!" "Yes, that's the idea." Lovely.

And, now it's your turn. Everyone has a good story to tell. It actually brings all those twitter-pated feelings back to the surface. I'll be waiting...

On a totally, completely separate note...I have to tell you about my incredible, brave, compassionate sister Adrienne, who is in Nepal at the moment (yes, the country). She called me at 10:30 Sunday night and talked and laughed about the experience she's having, while helping at an orphanage there. amazing. We laughed and cried, talking about those little children (ages 4-13), their kind 'parents' and the poverty that surrounds them. She explained that the children only have about one, worn-thin outfit, and pretty much nothing else. Food is very scarce and funds have diminished (they don't receive any government assistance...and no one else does either really). I told her we wanted to help, anything...$, blankets, shoes, pen-pals, clothing, toys...whatever. She said that would be wonderful.

So, this is a call out to all of you...my brilliant, resourceful, generous, compassionate, wonderful friends. I will keep you posted on how we can help. But, will you? This could be a teachable moment for our families. Thank you. I love you.

Once Upon a Time...the end (but not really)!

Happy Anniversary love!