Aunt Tara

This past week my aunt Tara lost her 5 year battle with breast cancer.  They threw everything they had at it, but sometimes cancer is more stubborn than us.  She leaves behind a husband and 4 beautiful girls.  The two oldest are heading into their teens, and are promising to be stunners like their mother.  Tara was very gracious, accomplished, and classy.  Her husband is my dad's younger brother Kevin.  When we were kids, Kevin was the fun, bachelor uncle.   He was the epitome of cool.  He went to Harvard, he lived in an apartment near the beach, he had a cool car (which to us meant not a minivan or station wagon).  Heck he lived in California, which was pretty much the coolest thing I could think of.  Kevin would fly two of us kids down at a time for a week filled with fun and all the amusement parks a kid could want.  But Kevin was still a Paulitz.  Which means major dorkdom.  Paulitz's are not smooth, in the best of social situations.  We are nerdy, clumsy, and lack any sort of filter on what we say.  So you can imagine my shock when, my senior year of high school, Kevin married Tara.  That he had somehow landed this woman, was beyond my imagination.  Our family joke is that we are the Idaho hillbillys.  We felt even more hillbilly-ish sitting in the backyard of Kevin and Tara's townhouse at their rehersal dinner. I remember being so impressed with how beautiful and elegant she made everything.    I was fascinated by how easy and seamless she made it seem too.  She even had outdoor heaters when it cooled off in the evening.  I thought she must be some sort of genius, she had every little touch in place PLUS OUTDOOR HEATERS!  I was seriously impressed by that rehersal dinner, because it was the sort of thing I'd love to hose, but never  would.  At the time, I was getting ready to go off to college, I thought if could just end up like her...Then I realized that I don't have an elegant or classy bone in my body and gave that up.  In her last years, I think Tara did everything she could to make sure she wouldn't have any regrets.  She knew her time on this earth was limited, but she didn't let it stop her.  She is leaving her girls with many beautiful memories.  I hope that she is at peace with her Lord, and happy with the life she lived.  Kevin was lucky to have landed such a kind and classy woman, and I'm pretty sure they both know it.

Warning: Kids speed the aging process

 Tonight, while hunting through some photo albums I found this picture.  My first thought was, man I look young, this must have been taken after one of the girls.  No such luck.  I had just had Connor, after 5 days in the hospital.  Sure I look tired, but I look a lot younger than this...

 Me and my Con man at 3 years old.  It seems like I look a decade older.  I have wrinkles, ginormous bags under my eyes.  I just look, I don't know, soccer mom-ish.  Like next I'm going to stick all of my kids in hockey and run for vice president.  My hair looks better, but my face, egads, OLD.  You know how you look at your kids as newborns, then as preschoolers and kindergarteners and think, wow, look how much they've changed.  They look so much older. Yeah, I think it works that way for moms too.

Coincidentally, this would be Connor a few hours old.  Notice that nah, nah, nah, tongue sticking out at the camera like, screw you parents I'm going to do whatever I want.  That would be very much my son.  Maybe that's why I look so old.

One for the Trekkies

Seems as how I was raised in a house of Trekkies, I think it's only fair that I give Star Trek a fair shot in this household of Star Wars fanatics.  We have watched the old Star Wars movies so many times, Dave can now recite what the characters say before they speak.  Having recently acquired the newer ones, they are now the boys main obsession.  When Greg found out he could go on a Star Wars ride, and a Mater ride in the same day at Disneyland, the kid nearly peed his pants. 
So the other day when Dave made the horrid error of calling William Shatner "Kirk Picard"  I realized that something had to be done.  Due to the fact that our local Blockbuster is sadly (tear) being closed, we are switching to Netflix.  Which means we can stream through the almighty Wii.  Which means that we can now stream Star Trek movies.  Which means we will now have forced family fun night of watching Star Trek movies.  Yeah!!  It's just a matter of time before the kids have turned to the Dark Side.  There is no reason we can't love both equally.  Besides, let's face it, my children are doomed to be nerds.  It's genetic.

The best feeling in the world

Connor has turned into Mr. Clingy.  He always wants to be carried and sit on my lap.  Of course he gets away with it because he is the baby.  He has a hard time falling asleep at night by himself.  He likes to sleep with "Gweggy", but Greg doesn't always want to share his twin bed with his brother. So I sometimes lay with him until he gets relaxed enough to fall asleep.  (the kid gets really hyper when he's tired)  Tonight as he was falling asleep, he was sucking his thumb with one hand, and rubbing my face with the other.  I'm thinking to myself how sweet this moment was.  I felt so at peace with the world for that moment with my little boy.  Those are the moments that I try to catalog in my brain in hopes that I will never forget them.  He rolled over, and scooted back to me.  He seemed very relaxed, and as he was snuggling right up to me, I figured he was on the verge of falling asleep.  Then he farts on me and rolls away laughing.  The little stinker just wanted to fart of me!  Sadly, he really enjoys farting on people.  So much for sweet moments.  Ahh boys.

The Ha is 9

Hailey has always been our most challenging child.  Regardless of all the other stuff, she is a strong, determined, and interesting child.  She's the kid who will one minute infuriate you, and the next crack you up.  She has such a sweet, loving spirit.  Even when she's mad at you, she still loves you to death.  (I literally mean to death, she will squeeze you until you are gasping for breath.)

 Hailey has always had her own, distinct sense of style.  If it's sparkly, glittered, or shiny, she will wear it.  She'll probably beg me to buy it.  She got the sequined boots for Christmas, and the sequined dress and purse from my sister.  Basically, if it has sequins or sparkles, Hailey will love it.  We are talking about a kid who has pleather leggings here.

 Always in full exuberance over everything.  It might be snowing, so she should be prepared to catch snow or snowflakes full on.

 More unique Hailey stylings.  She has been referred to as Pippi Longstocking for a reason.

Hailey is a great athlete.  She obviously does not get them from me.  I think she has found her niche in life.  She has a lot of enthusiasm and energy, and she's not afraid to get hurt.  Which works in her favor on the soccer field works in her favor.  If only we could find a way to channel her extraordinary energyv 12 months of the year.
Hailey is truly a special child.  There are a lot of things about her that few people understand.  But she has a HUGE heart, and love's people to the fullest.

Connor's 4 now! (How did this happen?)

I don't know how, but Connor turned 4 in January.  It seems like just last year I had him, and we moved to Spokane.  He has turned into quite the character.  He is basically a miniature Dave.  He looks like a little Dave, he's all boy.  None of that tiny, nerdy Paulitz genes here.  Where Greg's all space and math, Con's all wrestling and sports.

Notice the unbuttoned pants: Connor prefers sweats or unbuttoned pants so that he can enjoy the luxury of waiting until the absolute last moment to use the bathroom.

 Ahh, the Superman costume.  I found it at the Value Village late this summer, thinking it would be something fun Con could dress up in from time to time.  Ha!  He wore the costume day in, day out, like it was regular clothes.  He would proudly tromp around town in that too small, well worn, Superman costume with camoflouge rain boots. It was way to small and paper thin (from wearing it every single day).  For Christmas, I made him a sad, but less ragged, bigger, Superman costume, which he has refused to ever wear.  So, for his birthday, my mom ordered the child a larger, less sad Superman costume.  Within a few days, it was well worn and now means repairing.  It doesn't get the same wear and tear as the old ( I think because it's not flannel like the toddler version) but still.  When you have a kid wearing a Superman costume like it's real clothes, you get some looks.  But as my dad says, I'm a free range parent.

Somehow, this is the only picture I could find of Con initiating a fight.  The kid always wants to fight.  If you offer to read him a story, he'll say "let's fight!"  Which pretty much consists of him trying to punch and tackle you, while you remain defenseless.  He is such a boy.  I mean, the child hums himself to sleep with the Imperial March.  Such a funny boy.  He holds such a spot in my heart, I'm pretty sure he can't ever move out.

Greg's 6th birthday

Greggers had his 6th birthday back in November.  It's hard to believe he is already 6, it seems like it was just last year that I had him.  Obviously, he had a Star Wars party since it is his new obsession.  Tonight he was like "I don't know why but I've just been really into Star Wars lately."  He was so serious about it, like it was a life changing decision.  He is such a serious, mild mannered little boy.   I am always hearing from his church and school teacher what a great kid he is.  I've come to the conclusion, Greg is just a unique boy.  He was the perfect spirit to come to me during a very difficult time.

 My sad attempt at a yoda cake.  I am forever trying to copy cakes I find online, with dismal results.

My little "dream boat."  He has become the crush of Ness Elementary kindergarten.  Funny story from a mom at school.  She was on a field trip with the class, her daughter kept hitting her on the leg trying to get her attention.  When her mom finally looked at her, she said "mom look there's Gregory, isn't he dreamy?"  I feel like this is going to be the story of Greg's school career with girls.