Joshua is 10!!!

We officially celebrated Joshua's birthday on Saturday.....his way!  He started the day by getting up at 5AM before anyone else - WHY?  Because he was so nervous about his FIRST 5K!  He ran in the Run from the Sun race with Ben.

Joshua loves to try anything!  He loved running in this race - he averaged around 8 minute miles.  Next year, he is going to train for it!

This is Ben being his usual self.....

Joshua did tell me afterwards, "Dad really did push me..."

We then went to Joshua & Logan's soccer game....

Ben let Joshua play forward for at least 2 quarters.....he was all over the field.  I saw him score at least 3 goals and assist on at least 2 other goals.  You would have never known he had run a 5K a few hours earlier.

We then came home to "Welcome the Athletes"  to the

2009 Birthday Olympics!

We had all the athletes "Check In" -

they gave us their "stats" and made t-shirts for the big event!

Then the "Opening Ceremonies" began.....

Our opening ceremony audience was SHOCKED and AWE-d by the amazing talent....

We introduced each athlete as they struck a pose on the platform....

Logan's Pose

Logan Stephan's Pose

Mason Knollmiller's Pose

Mason Crawford's Pose

Dallin's Pose

Let the Games Begin.....

First they had to stretch....

Joshua decided on every single one of these events.....

They did the long jump....

They did the "discus" throw....

They did a "shuttle run"...

They all ran the 1/2 mile....

They all died after the 1/2 mile....

They did a javalin throw and basketball....

All in all there were EIGHT events.....and as we waited for Coach Ben to tally all the events and scores......we opened presents and ate cake!

(Logan and Emma were so excited about the "trick" candles we put on Joshua's cake)

Another shot of the cake with all the athletes listed...

We couldn't have an olympic party without a "closing cermony" and awarding of trophies and medals....

More Awards....

Joshua had a great birthday!  He kept thanking me for "such a great party" and couldn't believe what "great presents" he got. 

We finished his great celebration with a yummy dinner at Costa Vida.....one of Joshua's favorite places and food...burritos!

We love having Joshua in our family - he is such a sweet boy with one of the biggest determined minds to do anything and everything.  He is a great example to all of his siblings (and parents) and he really is fun to have around!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

"I'm Finally FIVE!"

Happy Birthday Emma LuLu

I have never seen someone SO excited for her birthday!  Emma wore a special birthday outfit to school from Grandma Janet.  She was so excited to get her "purple crown" at school.  After school, Emma and Mommy went to get our toes painted!  A very special treat for Mommy too! 

Emma even got her fingernails painted and had cute flowers painted on.

Here is an upside down view of the "finished products"!

The next day was the big

"Butterfly Birthday Bike Parade". 

Emma had many many ideas for her birthday party.  She especially wanted to have a bike parade (however, she wanted us to look for clues while on the bikes.....glad we didn't attempt that idea!)

Here is a picture of the bike parade of girl friends!

This is half way down the street - we had many different levels of bike riders!  We rode to a park around the corner and made "butterfly" necklaces. 

Then we biked back to the house! 

We decorated butterflies.....

We ate butterfly sandwiches....

We decorated butterfly sugar cookies...

And of course had a butterfly cake!

Some of Emma's friends....believe it or not, about 10 of these girls live right in our neighborhood.  Emma is lucky to have such great friends live so close.

After decorating cookies....had to take this picture of Beau - he sat in at least 3 girl's cookies.  He thought he was so funny!  I think Beau had just as much fun as anyone! 

The day after the big party....Emma wore her new neclace - thanks Lexi - and her new hairbow - thanks Izzy! 

We sure LOVE having Emma in our family!  She is such a big help to Mom - especially with Beau.  She does so well in school, loves her friends, is a great cleaner around the house and loves to be with her family.  She loves to dance, play soccer, play the piano, play "school" and ride her bike. 

Happy Birthday Miss Emma!

Halloween 2009

"Calling all Cowboys & Cowgirls"

We had such a fun Halloween this year.....we started with the annual Jerome Street spaghetti dinner at the Waldron's.....(thanks Rolayne for planning!) and then went trick-o-treating around the neighborhood.  Beau thought he died and went to heaven after the first house gave him a sucker!

Logan LOVES his cowboy boots.  He has worn them everyday to school.

Joshua's favorite line...holding up his gun and "Gonna Make You Famous"

Emma was so excited to wear a pink sparkle cowboy hat and boots!  She even wore it to dance class that morning!  I am not sure if my kids will all agree next year on one theme to be - this might have been our last "family dress-up!"  (Or I just might have to sew 7 costumes next year!)

HALLOWEEN AT THE GYM

This was Halloween at the gym - my Friday morning step class - yes I am 8 1/2 months pregnant wearing a pageant dress!  Jennifer said she had this great costume that she was sure would fit!  This is what she gave me 10 minutes before class was to start!  Yes, "Miss Understood!"  Oh well, we definitely got some good laughs!

This Weeks Top 10:

1. Fall Break!!!  It actually was SO NICE not to be running around to everyone's events and practices.  We even cancelled scouts, all three soccer practices, Beau's therapy sessions and had a really fun week just being together!  We went to a Red Mountain JV Football game together as a family on Thursday - we watched a couple friends play - my boys are obsessed with football.  I think they will be heartbroken if they aren't playing one day JV Football.  It was also so fun to have Ben home from work a couple of days to enjoy the break!
2. Emma's need to vent without getting in trouble....So, she says, "I am THINKING BAD WORDS!" 
3. Family Pictures!  Yes, we are trying to get everything done before baby #5 comes!  As we are driving over to take pictures, Ben tells everyone that taking pictures is never fun, so we should just smile and get it over with.  Then he bribed everyone with frozen yogurt and renting a movie if we all follow directions.  Needless to say, we were done in record time and it was very "pain-less"!
4. Logan and Joshua's conversation in the car on the way over to a wedding reception:  Logan says, "Josh, do you ever wonder who you might marry?"  Joshua responds, "Yeah, sometimes.  But, I will probably end up going to college in Maine or something and so I won't have even met her yet."  College in Maine??????
5. Cancelling Cable!  Yes, we finally made the big plunge.  Well, Beau helped make the decision by putting the remote in a full cup of water and then clap.  So, we made it for a whole week with basically no tv - even during fall break - and survived!  So, we decided to make a "cable money jar" and put the $50 a month that we spent on cable to go towards a trip to Disneyland.  It is amazing to see the kids creativity come alive as they  build forts and play school  instead of watching shows.  It also has helped that the weather has been so nice.....
6. Outside, outside, outside!  We swelter during the summer for the weather we are having now!  I am so happy that my kids have been riding their bikes, playing at the park across the street, playing in the sandbox in the backyard and jumping on the trampoline.  We even ate outside 2 times this week.  So of course everyone but Mom jumped in the pool - I am the only non-member of the October club.
7. Play with cousins! Thank you to Natalie who hosted all the munchkins for a Rock Band party.  Seriously, I have never seen Joshua so excited to go to anyone's home to play!  It also was so fun to see all the little boys running around.....thanks for entertaining and supplying the donuts Natalie.
8. Blood work for Beau!  Ok, this was very tramatic, but needs to be noted for this weeks accomplishments.  Our pediatrian has ordered several tests for Beau -one being some blood work.  So, I packed up all the kids and took them to the lab.  The only one so happy to be in the waiting room was Beau!  Logan was sick to his stomach the minute we pulled into the parking lot.  Joshua was worried that we were late for the party at Natalie's and Emma wanted to be in the room with the nurse to draw the blood.  Beau instantly turned UN-happy when they couldn't find any of his veins.  It took three of us to hold him down and they finally got enough blood from the front of his hand.  
9. Sewing!  Yes, I love to sew.  I am busy sewing Halloween costumes...hopefully they will be done BEFORE Halloween.  I also need to learn some new chorography for the gym next Tuesday, so this will probably be the last blog entry for awhile.....
10. Training.....yes the boys continue to "work out" with Ben.  This past week they "installed" a rope that hangs from the ceiling in the 3rd car garage.  Ben has the boys climb the rope to "build their hand strength, their back muscles, and ??????"  I walked out into the garage yesterday to find Joshua out there swinging back and forth on the rope.  I asked him what he was doing and he told me to watch him swing across this "9000 foot drop" to see if he could make it to the other side.  I had to laugh at his imagination.  Needless to say, they were all begging for lotion to lather up their raw hands.

Who knows what awaits this next week????

Life is good...

What MADNESS has the MECHAM clan been up to?

It's been a long spell with NO blogging....but, we have been busy doing many many things....

Here is everyone's top 3 list:

Beau Geddes:

1. He has officially turned "TWO". And he loves to tell you he's two! We had a fun family dinner for him on his birthday and ate cake and ice cream. We also had a fun swim at Mesquite pool with some cousins and friends! We sure love Beau!

2. Beau has been practicing his jump shot!

He still goes to speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy once a week. His favorite words this week are "Joshua, bus, sucker, QT, ball, football, MOM, pool, two, on, off, mine..."

And he is pretty happy all the time!

3. Beau is growing out of all his clothes.....He now is wearing Logan's old 4T clothes.

Emma Antonette

1. Emma just started up Dance with Ms. Jennifer again - Combo II. Jennifer is so great with Emma - she calls her "M&M's" and Emma has informed us that only Ms. Jennifer can call her that!

2. Soccer has begun again.....THE RED LADYBUGS! I love being able to coach her team again! She actually does a great job in the games - is very aggressive, but her favorite part about the team is the hairbows and red socks! Go Ladybugs!

3. She LOVES school! I just had her parent teacher conference today - she is doing fabulous in everything. But, her most important part of the day is coming home and reporting who got "their name on the list!"

Logan Ashby

1. Logan loves "game time" for soccer. He begs Coach Ben to let him wear a mohawk and spray paint his hair orange. Luckily, Coach Ben won't let him.....Go Orange Crush! Logan has scored in every game so far - he still has his "BIG BOOT"!

2. Logan is also doing great in school - Mrs. Witt said, "Logan just has a twinkle in his eye." Plus, he is one of the only kids with 100% on behavior/homework and seat work for the first 6 weeks....WHO KNEW????

3. Logan is still staying busy with SCOUTS and PIANO. He loved earning his gymnastics belt loop with Paris Bland. He also frequently has a great helper during piano practice time!

Joshua Benjamin

1. Joshua started playing the violin this school year. He BEGGED to be able to play in the school orchestra.

He also continues to do great at the piano too.....lots of practicing! (He also gets the same great helper!)

2. Joshua also loves soccer! He loves having his dad as the coach! He is also doing the running club at school - so he likes to get up and run a few miles before going to school. He is trying to get to 125 miles before the club ends.

(We are really working on applying deodorant......he doesn't seem to think he stinks!)

3. Joshua loves being in Webelos! He just HAD to sell Scout-o-Rama tickets - so he could earn a patch for his uniform. (I discouraged this highly, but of course he did it anyways and sold them for the whole pack.) He also loved earning his Gymnastics Belt loop!

Benjamin Jess

1. Had a birthday in JULY! We actually spent his birthday DAY at Knotts Berry Farm, but then we had a little surprise party for him at JesterZ - a great family, fun comedy club.

The comedians had Ben come to the stage and they built a "special scene" around him!

It was a great time!

2. Ben is also really busy with scouts - he was just made the scoutmaster and enjoys working with these 12 year old boys. He is taking them on a campout tomorrow.....

3. Ben is also the best coach around. I always have people calling wanting to know which sport he is coaching next and how they can get their boys (and girls) on his team. He really loves working with Joshua and Logan and their friends - and he is getting quite good at it. He just recently finished a 24 hour course of Intermediate Level Soccer coaching - he really likes soccer now....again....WHO KNEW?

Lori Christyne

1. Taxi Driver and Committee Member......

With 4 busy children, I feel like I am constantly in my car....with carpools for orchestra, classroom helpers, many therapy sessions, the gym, scouts, etc., etc. I am also loving being more involved in our community by serving on the HOA board and also on the Franklin PTO board this year. Time Out for Women is coming up soon - I have enjoyed helping get the "word" out for this great event and working with really fabulous women! Can't wait for the actual event on October 9th!

2. Piano Lessons, Scouts. and the Gym!

I just got switched to being a Webelos leader. I really enjoy working with Joshua and his friends. It is a lot of work, but I am learning a lot too.

I also am loving teaching piano lessons. I have about 15 students now and love that they practice and seem to enjoy coming to lessons.

Yes, I am still teaching all my classes at the gym. This past month was all new chorography. That always seems to consume my time for about a week. Thank heavens that is over. I still am amazed that people continue to come to a fat pregnant lady's class!

3. Still Pregnant.......and canning fruit for when the baby comes! I am officially 7 months pregnant - only 10 weeks to go! I have been getting boxes of fruit from the Utah "fruit lady" and canning peaches, pears and tomatoes....

That pretty much sums up what madness has been occurring around here.

Happy September!

First Day of School 2009

Franklin Northeast

Joshua 4th Grade

Mrs. Hulihee

Logan 3rd Grade

Mrs. Witt

Emma Kindergarden

Mrs. Bornowski

Yes, Emma started school this year! She was all signed up for another year of preschool when the school called and said they had an opening for her in the mornings. She absolutely LOVES it!

Logan & Joshua love their teachers too! Joshua has the spring relay team all planned out and is already starting to "Go for the Gold" in his class reading program. Logan came to the breakfast table having applied deodorant, slicked his hair and squirted massive amount of MY perfume. He cracks me up.

They all love school! I am so happy! Beau is home with mom ALL day long. He does have 3 hours a week of different kinds of therapy. He is loving his occupational therapy - it is pretty much one on one play time for Beau!Happy School Days!

"Sweet Things Are Meant To Be Shared"

Mark Your Calendars Now.....
TIME OUT FOR WOMEN

"Sweet Assurances"

October 9th-10th, 2009

I am helping out again this year for Time Out for Women. The event is taking place this year on October 9th and 10th. The theme is the "Sweet Assurance" that the gospel brings in troubled times. The line up of music and speakers is amazing! There is a group discount still being offered through September 10th. See the attached link and let me know if you are interested in going!

http://ldsliving.com/e/tofw/tofw_phoenix_reg2.html