John

Well, I was 'tagged' by my sister-in-law to do a little questionnaire about John so here goes. . .



1. What is his name? John David Balsmeier

2. Who eats more? I am not really sure. He probably does, most of the time. He is always on or off some kind of crazy diet and dieting is against my religion, but I am often pregnant or nursing.

3. Who said "I love you" first? He did. I was actually in shock considering we had only known each other a couple of weeks.

4. Who is taller? Him, easy. He actually calls me a midget on occasion.

5. Who is smarter? Me, of course! No not really, we just know different stuff.

6. Who is more sensitive? Me, hands down.

7. Who does the laundry? Me!!!!!!!!!!!!

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? John

9. Who pays the bills? John. We have a great system-John goes to work and makes the money, and I spend the money so he has to figure out where to send all that hard earned income. Works for me.

10. Who cooks more? Me. I cook just about everything. Occasionally on Saturdays he will go and pick up donuts, I don't think that really counts though.

11. What meals do you cook together? None really. Once in a blue moon he will want to cook something fancy for Sunday dinner and I'll help him out.

12. Who is more stubborn? Um, that's tough. We are both pretty stubborn.

13. Who is the first to admit they were wrong? It depends on the situation. We are both are both willing to admit we were wrong, if we were wrong. I am positive I am never wrong though, so it must be John

14. Who has more siblings? John. There are 7 kids on his side and 4 on mine.

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Well, my first instinct is to say that I do but he is pretty definite on the things that are important to him.

16. What do you like to do together? We like going out to eat and to movies. We also enjoy bike riding and spending time with the kids.

17. Who eats more sweets? That would be John.

18. Guilty pleasures? Who's mine or his? Well, mine would be buying myself or my daughter the umpteenth pair of shoes I just can't resist. John's might have to be the sweets. Like I said he is always on some kind of diet but he can't resist cake!!

19. How did you meet? We actually met on a blind date. He was out here in CO visiting a friend, an old family friend that happened to be one of my best friends. Her and I were home from college in UT for the Thanksgiving break. She was gong out and didn't want John to stay home or be a third wheel. She talked me into my first and last blind date. You'll have to ask John about his suave and smooth behavior, not only on the first date, but his farewell when he left for KS.

20. Who asked who out first? Like I said, we were set up.

21. Who kissed who first? Well, that would be John kissing me on like our third date or something. Not to say I didn't kiss him back.

22. Who proposed? John asked me to marry him. We had known each other for just over two months. Are we seeing a pattern here? John moves fast! No sense in waiting if you know what you're supposed to do I guess.

23. His best features? I love his eyes and his smile. I know they're not physical, but I love his work ethic and how he teases me and plays with the kids.

24 What is his greatest quality? Hmm, it's hard to think of just one. He has a good sense of humor which makes our marriage interesting and fun. But his charitable spirit is really amazing to me.

Well, the rest of July hasn't been as exciting as the Fourth. I am, however, anxiously awaiting the arrival of August. First, we go to Lake Powell the 2nd to the 9th and then my daughter's birthday is the 21st. I get so excited for her birthday and I am not really sure why. Could it be because I get to go shopping for my little princess, or because I get to plan a party (like last year's elaborate princess bash)? Well, actually it is. That is why her b-day gets me all excited but then I think, "Oh no, she's another year older." It doesn't sadden me but gets me thinking how fast it all goes. She will be four next month, next year she starts kindergarten. That is crazy.

I know I talk about Abbi all the time but she is my princess. With my luck, and John's genetics, she might very well be the only one I get. Despite my love of little girl things, I love my boys so much. I love all my kids so much. They teach me everyday. I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for sending them to me. I know that he would not send such precious cargo to me unless he had a plan and resources here to help me teach them. I am so grateful for my husband. He is a good man and a great father and husband. John is a kind, honest, generous person and I am so very glad he has always been worthy of the priesthood he has been trusted with. Sometimes, through out our marriage, he has tried to take on too much, to be there for and help everyone, and it has been a struggle for him, our marriage and our family. I am thankful that he has grown to put his family, our family, first.

I feel very blessed to have the family I have. I am grateful John and I both agree to live our lives and raise our children according to the Father's will. We are working hard to build good foundations for our children through what we teach and our example. I know I am trying so hard to do what is right but I worry so much. I worry about my daughter's self-esteem and image, I worry that my sons know the importance of the priesthood they will one day hold and that it is God's will to marry and respect and fulfill their own family. I know some of these things are far off, but I also know that what and how I teach them now will affect their future.

"Future"--that's a funny word. The future is so bright and my children's "future' seems so far away. But with how quickly four years has passed, it may not be so far after all.

Well, we had plans to stay here for the Fourth but Aaron and Jessica had their baby (yeah!!) on the 2nd. Therefore, the plans we had to go boating with my parents were shot because they were going to leave for UT on the 3rd. So John and I, after much discussion, decided to head to KS. After all, we won't be seeing John's family again until Christmas, unless plans change. Anyway, we spent the Fourth of July weekend in KS. It was a good time. The nice thing about the Fourth in KS is that you can do your own fireworks right in your back yard, which we did. The years we lived in KS for this holiday, John spent a lot of $ on fireworks. With the trip out there and all, $20 was our limit on some small one for the kids. But the day was saved when three of the younger siblings covered the show. Now, you have to understand that this family can't just do a few cool ones or a couple little ones--NO, it has to be a show. I mean the neighbors set up chairs in the street to watch the show we put on. We're talking seven people lighting fireworks consistently for over an hour. It's a production.

So Kathi (my mother in law) invites a ton of people over for a BBQ. Right before people start showing up the boys leave to go buy the goods. You see, the longer you wait, the more they will discount the stuff they want to get rid of. A couple of truckloads later the BBQ is well under way. The weather was really agreeable and the food was great. Kathi added up 100 people at the house for the occasion. We eat and talk and the kids play (we also had a huge Blues Clues bouncer) and they do the small fireworks that entertain them in the daylight. Then the planning starts. You can see my brothers-in-law, John and the other helpers at the back of Kathi's massive yard setting up and talking about timing. Then the sun goes down and the firecrackers start. They think it's great to get the giant roll of black cats to have going for sound effects, I guess, while the fireworks are going off. So the noise starts, as if huge explosions in the sky weren't enough, and then the show starts. It was a wonderful show, I will admit. My kids loved it. Well, Ike slept through it all, but Jake and Abbi thought it was great.

After the show, we had some sparklers and roman candles for the kids. I was helping Abbi with a roman candle (those are the ones that you hold the tube in your hand on one end and the spark or firework shoots out the other) and I had it faced the wrong way-toward her, not away. It went off and hit her right in the chest. She starts screaming and I rip off her shirt and take her inside to get some cold water and ice on it. Now, as I am typing this I am thinking, "Clara, why are you telling the world that you shot your daughter with a firework? It might be something that will win you the elusive Worst Mother Award but not something you should announce to people."

Well, I am telling you, not because I necessarily want the world to know my momentary carelessness, but what happened afterward. Like I said I took her shirt off and brought her inside. I am actually very calm in these situations (if you know my brother you would understand I have a lot of experience with them), so I have her on the counter in the kitchen tending to her wound and her screaming. My brother in law got me some ice and my sister in law was telling me what I should and shouldn't do, mentioning the hospital and all kinds of unnecessary stuff. I have ice on her stomach and through her sobs she asks me, "Mommy, can we do another firework? And this time can we point it this way." I can not help but laugh. She hadn't even recovered from her injury, much less stopped crying, before she wants to do it again. And she had to throw in that she thought pointing it away from her body would be a good idea.

What a tough little girl!! John took her outside to do some more roman candles (Mommy is no longer allowed to assist with the fireworks for obvious reasons). She thought that they were great. We found out the next day that her wound turned out to be no real wound at all, just a little red dot on her chest.

In a nutshell, we had a great BBQ and a huge spectacular show with no injuries. Until I entered the picture. We now know that if you are to get hit with a firework, make sure that it is a roman candle. All in all, it was a good trip. Allen and Megan had their open house the following night and that was a lot of fun as well. We drove back on Monday. And given all the debate we had whether or not to go in the first place, we are glad that we did.

Patience

My brother and his wife are expecting their first child--any day now. In fact, she was due on the 25th of June. Unfortunately for her, she is still pregnant. I would be dying if I was over my due date. With Abigail the doc scheduled me to be induced the day after my due date (I came a few days early so I didn't need it). I think with Jess, my sister in law, they used the cream to try to induce labor and her and Aaron have been going on long walks, but nothing has worked. I think that her doc is actually on vaca this week so her next appointment isn't til next week anyway. I would just like to say I am sorry Jess and I hope that your little girl decides to make her debut earlier rather than later and I hope that your patience hangs in there.

My grandma has been in town visiting and it's been really great to see her. As she has been here at home with the kids and I all during the day, I am a little self consious about my parenting. You know, I want my grandma to be proud of me not thinking, "OH my gosh, what the heck is going on here." Amidst this self scrutiny, I have noticed that my patience has, in fact, decreased with each child I have had. Like the more children the less patience. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? I am so incredibly grateful for each of my children and I hope that they know I love them despite how stressed or upset I act sometimes.

Adorable

If you look closely at Abbi's ear here, you'll notice something... ya, I got her ears pierced. I was thinking of doing it for her 4th birthday so I went to the mall to look and ask the questions I had. She saw this pair of flower earrings and she wanted them pierced NOW! No fit really, she was just very sure that she was ready and needed them. Surprisingly, she picked the blue flowers, not the pink ones like I suspected she would. After the first one, she cried for about 15 seconds and then said that she was ready for the next one. She cried after that one too, for about 30 seconds, then she wanted to see her "pretty earrings" in the mirror and then proceeded to ask me if I had any money for the carousel. Anyway, she was very brave and now she shows everyone and says, "I love having my ears pierced."

Someone asked me the other day if she was a "girly-girl', you know princesses and pretties. I didn't really know how to answer that. She loves princesses and Barbies and dressing up and now earrings, but she also really enjoys the 'boy' stuff. She likes to play with Jake's trains and cars and she loves the tractors in the sand box. On the other hand, she makes a fuss about what clothes she is wearing and if they match. she is also a pretty fearless little girl. It made me proud at Lake Powell last year that she went tubing and all kinds of stuff. So I guess she is a girly-girl and then some.

The boys are really great too. John is relieved that the dressing up didn't last long with Jake. For a while there he wanted to dress up like a princess with Abbi. Now he won't, he'll put on his cowboy stuff and they pretend that he is the prince. Jake also has decided that Cars is his favorite movie, well it's a toss-up between that and old Donald Duck cartoons. He is always climbing on stuff, I turn around for a second and he's on the window sill. It's safe to say that he is all boy. And Isaac is just so sweet. He smiles and laughs all the time. He thinks everything is funny. He has been sleeping through the night since about two months old, well, except for last week. He was waking up during the night and, not only could I not figure out why, I just couldn't handle it. I get up at 5 AM to go to the gym and I just can't swing that when I am up all night with a crying baby. A lot of frustration was present merely because I had not a clue as to what was wrong. He wasn't hungry and we hadn't changed anything. Anyway, whatever it was he is over now and we have peaceful nights again.

So my princess and my boys are doing great. Too bad those peaceful nights don't carry over into peaceful days. Abbi and Jake have been fighting a lot today so I better go take care of that. I think a nap right about now would be wonderful.

Pretty in Pink

So here it is!! My helmet came this past week. I actually haven't worn it on a ride but I do occasionally wear it in the house. ( Abbi and jake think it's funny when I put it on.) John had ordered a riding jacket and some other stuff. He also got all that stuff this past week so he is pretty set. I have to say though, the helmet he got is not nearly as good looking as mine!!

Magic

When Abbi was just getting potty trained, over a year ago now, we went to a restaurant. At this restaurant she told me she had to go potty, so I took her, naturally. Anyway, when she was finished and had gotten off the toilet, it flushed, all by itself. She was fascinated. She asked me how the toilet could flush on it's own and I tried to explain mechanics of this amazing product. I realized it didn't sink in when she asked, "Is it magic, Mommy?" Not wanting to re-iterate the whole conversation I had just had, apparently with myself, I responded,"Yes, Abbi, it's a magic toilet." From that moment on, they were magic toilets and she gets pretty excited about the magical experience of using the restroom at certain places.

As far as what the heck this has to do with anything, well, my van has magic doors!! Abbi thinks it's the greatest that the sliding doors will seemingly open and close by themselves. She likes to pull the handle or push the button that starts the magical motion. While she is a bit confused about the real process of these amazing contraptions, I agree that they are magical. It is absolute magic to me to have the process of getting three kids into the car made a bit easier. That one part of my day goes a little smoother and stress free. (Well, not exactly stress free.) Have I mentioned that I am really liking my new van? I told John that the next van we get is going to have to have the automatic tailgate on it too!!

Speaking of John, I did take a ride on the motorcycle and it was a lot of fun. My pink helmet has still not arrived, I know you were wondering. On the first ride I took we noticed there was this funny noise every time John shifted or we went over a bump. We thought it was the shocks, they are, after all, older than I am. When we got back to the house John made a discovery, it wasn't the shocks that were making the noise. In fact it was the weight of my big rear on the back making the fender hit the tire!! Now, John may have thought this but he didn't say it (Good boy) and he tightened up the springs. We took it out again and it only happens if we go over a pretty big bump. New shocks are a little pricey so I guess maybe I could lose a leg or something and lighten the load on the back half of the seat.