Snapshot of our lives

Inspired by another bloggers post, I would like to do a "snapshot" of the life of the Ruizes right now. You know, what it's like in our house right now, at this moment in our lives, to look back and remember in years to come.

There is always, always, a pile of dishes in the sink that needs washing in the morning. With six of us in the house, that sink seems to fill as fast as I can wash and empty it. We still don't have a dishwasher, so I spend a lot of time at the sink. The girls rotate by month who's job it is to help put them away.

Our kitchen table is always covered with papers. That table is the hub of the house. We eat, do homework, do art, play games, and everything else under the sun there. It's a constant struggle to keep it cleared. And it's beat to heck. We are down to three matching chairs, and the other three are all random chairs from the house. I'm guilty as the rest. We did a modge podge art project and I smeared it all over the table not knowing it wouldn't come off. We are just waiting for the kids to grow up a bit before replacing it. It's been well loved and used.

I watch a little girl every morning and then feed her lunch and take her to kindergarten. I visit teach her mom, and it's my way of helping someone out. Plus Sophia likes having someone around to play with.

Sophia is really starting to be able to read, thanks to preschool. She loves to have her back scratched and always asks for it. She has a cute little short haircut, but it is always sticking up everywhere and she hates when it is "all staggity (static)." She says the best prayers and is really thoughtful. She prays to be more modesty, honesty, more obedient to her parents, to be kind to her sisters, and all sorts of other lovely things. I've thought about sneaking a tape recorder in one night, just so I capture them. Is that appropriate? She is also racing that scooter from her birthday all over the house. She will do circles around the kitchen table and I just know she's going to catch my toes one day.

Julianne loves her hair. She likes to have curlies (when I use the curling iron to curl the ends). She likes playing beauty shop and fixes all of the dolls' hair. She can't handle attention and will pull away if you try to hug her or if you smile at her she will scowl at you. She is still super loud and I'm always trying to tell her to use a quieter voice, especially when Max is asleep. She's a major movie addict. But despite being a typical 3 year old, she is also very generous and is always willing to share what she has with her sisters. She's not greedy, like the other two tend to be. She is also really good at playing by herself if she has to. She's got a pretty good imagination. She loves to dress up in dance clothes and is really wanting to go to dance class. She does about four outfit changes a day.

Gabriela is now getting rides to school in the morning. Grandpa came to her defense and didn't like seeing her out walking in the morning. She is still struggling with having a bad attitude about homework and piano. Although I think piano is getting better. She gets super upset when she gets caught doing something naughty, like being dishonest, and will run to her room screaming that she'll never be a good girl. So needless to say, I give a lot of pep talks around here. She's loving the school play. She really likes to feel special and doesn't want to be lumped into a group. She does a lot better when she's treated like a big girl.

Max, well, he can be a pill. But he's cutting his two bottom teeth and is constantly crying if you're not holding him. He got his first real haircut last week and he's super cute, but I about died because once she started with the clippers on the sides, I thought he was going to be bald. Sophia was crying because Max was screaming the whole time and she thought we were hurting him. She has a soft heart for her brother. He also loves to pull his socks off and will do anything to get them off. He still can't roll over and he's a bit of a prince. We are trying to be better about laying him on his belly to play.

We eat sandwiches just about everyday for lunch. And we are still drinking a lot of green smoothies.

We eat mostly organic food, or at least all natural. We only drink water, and occasionally milk.

Saturdays we usually pick up pizza from Papa Murphey's.

Miguel just got released from being Elder's Quorum President. It's a little bittersweet for him. But I think he's excited for his new calling, but I can't tell you yet, because he hasn't been sustained in church. But I think he'll do great at it.

Young Women's is great. I'm really getting to know the girls and I love the leaders I work with. It's a lot of work, but it's fun work.

Miguel is gone all the time with work. I do dinner most nights by myself, which is so hard, because that is Max's most fussiest time, and the kids are begging for food, and there is homework to be done and piano to be practiced, and baths that need to be taken, and I get really overwhelmed. But that is the life of a spouse of a real estate agent. I've tried to develop a thick skin.

I'm usually always home. The thought of getting out in the cold with the baby is not that appealing to me and I can't leave for more than two hours before I have to either pick somebody up or drop somebody off to preschool or school.

My allergies are out of control, but I've go the asthma controlled. I'm constantly fatigued, which makes me frustrated.

I'm super happy that I have great friends who help me when I'm in need, whether it be a listening ear, watching my kids so I can run errands, or inviting me to do things. I really appreciate them.

We still are doing a baby sitting swap on Friday nights with two other families. But I'm wondering if my girls are wearing out. Gabriela, I know, is over it and doesn't want to go play "with boys." So I don't know how much longer it will last.

My girls color all the time. We have coloring papers from one end of the house to the other. They draw on everything.

So there you have it. That's us in a nutshell. If I think of more, I'm sure I'll add it in later.

What a Weekend!

4th of July weekend is one of our favorite holidays around here, and there is no better place to be than Provo. We have so many activities that go on during the Freedom Festival that we never seem to make it to everything. But we always, and I mean ALWAYS, go to the Balloon Fest. It's crazy to have to wake up at 5 a.m. to get there, but Max helped us out this year. We ate the Kawanis all you can eat pancake breakfast and watched all the balloons inflate. After we ate, Miguel took the girls to get a closer look while Max and I hung back by our chairs and people watched.

 New this year was the Star Wars balloon. I guess they had these guys hanging out  under the balloon too.

 Here's a better look, just for you Mom, of this balloon. Crazy thing was, he didn't go up in the air for more than five minutes. He pretty much hopped the street and hung out behind the trees, where he peeked out every once in a while.

 Afterwards, we headed over to the Home Depot to get a fire pit. We've been dying to roast some marshmallows. While we were there we realized that a kids workshop was going on, so we got our kits and came home for a special lesson in hammering and building from our own master builder, Miguel. They made coaster sets. Wasn't too thrilled about having those hanging around my house, but the experience was priceless.

 On Sunday, we had Max's baby blessing. But I'll make that it's own post.

On Monday we headed out for the big parade. The weather was perfect and overcast for most of it. They kids semi-enjoyed it this year. Julianne was ready to go within the first thirty minutes. We might have to rethink this tradition. It seems like every year Miguel and I ask ourselves was it worth it. It sounds cooler than it really is. Our cute little niece stayed with us Sunday night so she could go with us in the morning.

 In true Ruiz fashion, Max sported his 4th of July outfit!

 We then met the family back at our house for an afternoon of fun. We had a barbeque complete with Hula Burgers, grilled corn, patriotic banana splits, and more. We played volleyball, bocce ball, played in the pond, and had a great time.