An Aunt Shauna - Everybody Needs One.

The Beloved's Aunt Shauna is very dear to our hearts and she paid us a special visit a few months back.

This woman. She entertained my children for HOURS. Literally. 

Aunt Shauna played at least 8 different games with my boys, one of them being Monopoly. They taught her how to play "Oh Heckity Toot". She resolved arguments and listened intently to whatever conversational pieces my little people had to offer.

She's not a night person, but she stayed up late into the evening to have great chats with The Beloved and myself. 

Shauna's arms were always open to hold my newborn infant. 

What a break that was for this mother. 

We love Aunt Shauna!

Thanks for the wonderful memories.

See? Resolving conflict, playing a game, and holding a baby all at the same time.

We took Aunt Shauna and Lou's Flat Stanley to the Art Museum. 

And ended our day at Tucanos with full bellies.

Surrounded by Good Men.

Who aren't afraid to love.

Pictures of the baby with some of her biggest male fans:

Little C 

Ruckus

Moo

The Beloved

Papa

Shower time with Daddy

Moo 

All that love makes a girl tired.

And this little one likes to fall asleep on the floor, in the middle of the chaos. She doesn't want to miss a moment of fun.

Sweet baby.

Lou is completely a big sucker for his youngest sister, but I couldn't find a photo to share. Instead, here's one of him teasing (which is a love language) another female family favorite. 

Lou sitting on Sweetrotten

Movie Fans

We're a movie family.

The Finding Dory movie is coming out this summer and I may be more excited than my children. Hurrah! 

For Moo and Ruckus' birthdays we took them to Captain America: The Winter Solider. (yes, we're those parents)Ruckus went pee three times so that was pretty fantastic, but overall, we were entertained. The offspring were completely sucked in. If no kiddie drama occurs during a flick, it receives a big two thumbs up from these thankful parents.

Ruckus awaiting Captain America: The Winter Soldier to begin.

Moo and Ruckus posing with some of their favorite action stars.

The birthday boys - and Sweetrotten off to the L.

Moo posing before the film starts.

What's your favorite movie of all time?

Mine used to be the Notebook, but as I get older I'm like, "Oh my word, those kids needs to put some clothes on!" They're just babies. So young. Not married. And, The Notebook may be The Beloved's least favorite movie. He detests how inconsiderate the heroine is to her new fiance. 

In the chick-flick genre I am a sucker for New in Town. Can't get enough of the Minnesotan accent. 

The Beloved's favorite movie series is Karate Kid, and I think you can't go wrong with Harry Potter or Pride and Prejudice. Yes!

Do you quote movie lines in your family?

In the Craner Fam we quote Lady Hawk and Willow the most. These are some of my favorites:

"Get out of the way peck!" (yep, say that to my kids :) When someone uses the bathroom at my home I say, "You feel better! You've done the right thing!" If someone asks me a questions about where another person went, I almost always want to respond, "she flew away" - but I don't, unless it's my family, because that's super weird.

I've been known to shout out, "Hello Washington" from Black Sheep or, "I got dibs on top bunk". My sister Shannon and I find great joy in the line, "I love lamp" from Anchor Man. The Beloved probably quotes lines from Aladdin the most, which is the best because it typically involves a little ditty.

And just so you know which movies I'm looking forward to THE MOST in 2016, besides Finding Dory, they are: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiars' and the BFG!!! Because we also love to read around here yo. (Disclaimer: The Beloved's 2016 movies faves probably vary greatly from mine.)

General Conference with Kids -

Usually when we go to Grandma and Grandpa Patton's a million (or maybe just 21) grand-kids under the age of 13 are taking over the joint.  But, our last visit to UT was during General Conference weekend and look at the attentiveness of these little spirits; hearkening to the words delivered from modern day prophets. 

It was a lovely sight.

P.S. the General Conference BINGO cards my mom gave me may have helped. :)

Either way, I have some awfully impressive nieces, nephews, and offspring.  

Aunt Amy!

(Sorry the pictures are hard to see)

Aunt Amy with Sweetrotten and Mackenzie

Our baby and Mackenzie getting acquainted.

Mackenzie going after Moo's hair.

We have to put an exclamation point after Aunt Amy's name, because that's how we feel when she and her little family visit.
Amy and baby Mackenzie are in town!
That's the best news ever!
Mackenzie is super animated and loved everyone except The Beloved. His beard was not to be tolerated and she gave it the stink eye for a good thirty minutes. I was impressed with her 
stick-to-itiveness. 
I always tell The Beloved's brother, Jordon, he couldn't have picked a better wife. They truly are a celestial family.
We love you guys!

Thanks for Taking Care of my Babies

(Do you feel this way about inanimate objects? :) 

Dear Fisher- Price Newborn Sleeper Cradle,

Hi there, my dependable old friend. It’s an hour till midnight and you are cuddling my sweet, five month old little girl. Though she is not the first baby of mine you’ve held, she will be the last, and this thought makes my mom heart weep. It is difficult to comprehend that this is the last season you’ll be my ever present companion.

Having you in my life has added an extra measure of convenience and peace. You hold your head high when covered in mustard colored baby-blowout; making life easier with your removable, washable cover. You are off- white and have a gender-neutral pattern of shaded circles, which has welcomed both my sons and daughters. I see dirty little hand prints littering the edges of your frame, left from older siblings leaning in for support, while peeking in at our newest heavenly gift. Some may think you appear unclean, but you are really sprinkled with markings of love and curiosity.  As I stare at you now I never want to wash your cover again; too afraid to launder away those irreplaceable moments.

You are a portable cradle which means my babies have felt at home even when they are not. You fold together so compactly, and stow away nicely amidst the other hordes of cargo shoved into the back of our Ford Expedition. You have never abandoned us for a moment and I can’t applaud you enough for enduring the lengthy road trips and dusty, sweaty camp outs.

You’re not afraid of a little hard work and sometimes your shift lasts 24/7. In the dead of night I’ve reached out to you from my bedside, grabbing hold of your frigid metal leg. We’ve worked as a team as I’ve sleepily rocked you back and forth, back and forth, until no more cries from your infant passenger could be heard. You have comforted every tiny child I’ve entrusted to your care; snuggling them in tight as they sway tranquilly in your lap.

            My newborn isn’t such a newborn anymore and this is probably the final month I’ll have you by my side. I wanted to tell you thank you, thank you for taking extraordinary care of my delicate babies time and time again. Your presence will be sorely missed.

Much Love,

Cammy

The Zoo - It Never Gets Old

L-R
Cousin Brandon covering up the new hole he ripped in the back of his pants. Whoopsies! Cousin Hyrum is holding Ruckus on his shoulders and that's no easy task. Cousin Max is holding Sweetrotten's hand; catering to her every demand - and she has many. Can I just tell you that older cousins are the coolest? I love these boys. I love watching them love and nurture my kiddos. 

 

Moo is taking notes of the various animals as he walks.

Front L-R
Sweetrotten, Moo, Lou, Gwen
Back L-R
Max, Angie, Me, Hyrum holding Ruckus.... still, and Brandon

 How fun it was to go to the zoo with my sister and her offspring! Finally, another adult to ogle at the  anteaters with me. We may or may not have whispered our rendition of anteater "bad lip" reading segments into each other's ears. 

But mostly, she was smitten - because how could you not be?

I will admit we watched YouTube anteater videos afterward.

It's a serious party over here.

Always.

The Ageless Slip N' Slide

I love me some Slip N' Slide memories!

You can collide and it's still the best thing ever:

Sweetrotten and Ruckus

 The spouting water is magical:

Sweetrotten and Moo

 It entertains ages 2 to infinity:

Sweetrotten

 You don't have to conform to the sliding method:

Ruckus

 Gives you the adrenaline of  extreme sports but way less terrifying:

Lou

 Water in the face - bring it on:

Lou

 You can practice the perfect running stride:

Moo

Honored

It's an honor to be the daughter of the most special mom alive, and an honor to be the mother to the coolest kids around. 

And I know.... blah blah blah - everyday should be Mother's Day - but it's not. So you better believe I whispered in my kid's ears as they were walking up toward the church pulpit to sing some songs, "Hurry your buns up there and sing your heart out to me. It's Mother's Day." And after our lovely family neighborhood walk I had guilted my teenager into, I made all my kiddos sit down and take a picture with their Mama, then proclaimed, "Okay, I love you. Thank you for the walk and making my day special. Now, go inside and play the X-box.  I better not see you for one hour while I take a nap." BECAUSE IT'S MOTHER'S DAY folks - and I take full advantage of every spoilage they have to offer.

Family Stroll:

Safe on her daddy's shoulders

Lou taking a moment to pause with Kathy the dog.

Later in the evening we headed to my parent's house to honor this elect lady:

My Mama

My dad waving from the coach; still recovering from knee surgery.

The Beloved. 

I really like this guy.

He grilled kebabs to die for - they were lined with steaks wrapped in bacon, green peppers, smoked chicken, and zucchinis. Delicious.

Plus he was on dish duty all day. There's almost nothing sexier than that. 

 Fun pictures on the swing:

Fabulous selfies:

My Mom. My Pal.

My six greatest accomplishments:

Feeling exhausted after being on both Mommy and Daddy duty all day long.