Orange and other bright colors

Phone Dump

2012-02-02T16:45:00.007-07:00

These pictures off of my phone probably give a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the last few months than all the nice organized pictures from my camera. Much more blog-esque. This is good news, and means that I have now begun to remember to bring my cell phone places with me. (after having one for over 7 years now)

After a quadruple-haircut appointment (all of us except M)

The boys earned a jump at Kangaroo Zoo from their incentive chart

Shopping for furniture (and candy) at Gardner Village- we only came away with candy.

New Years Eve countdown to noon party!

Visiting Temple Square for Grandpa's Birthday.

Visiting the Church Museum for Grandpa's Birthday.

Aunt Whit's hot tub.

Experimenting with the science kit M got for Christmas.

The Layton lights.

M as the teacher, E as the pupil, Treehouse Museum.

Cookies and Milk with Santa party.

DH dressing as Santa for pictures at Thanksgiving Point.

Special sign we put out on Christmas Eve.

C on the way home from somewhere, fast asleep.

E in his classroom doing the rubberband station.

M at school during the first grade Pow-Wow.

Taking Christmas card Pictures with our friends.

The Christmas Light Parade, before we realized we were locked out of our car. DH had to wait out in the cold for quite a while waiting for a locksmith :(

C Turns Uno

2012-01-25T19:05:00.003-07:00

Okay, he turned one a MONTH ago (plus a few days) but I'm just now getting to this. Even if I never get to Christmas, I have to at least document the first birthday. He had a good birthday, getting a slide from us and a lot of other fun toys from all those adoring relatives. He got to go out to lunch and dinner that day and blow out the candles on a car cake.

At his one-year checkup he was in the 75-80 percentile for weight AND height, crazy to have my first proportional kid! He started really walking right around his birthday, and now he just runs. He is doing well health-wise, doesn't seem to have the anemia issues we are still battling with E. He can't tolerate cow's milk, but does well with Soy and a variety of solids and baby food. My best eater, really. Worst nursing issues of any kid, but he'll actually let you feed him with a spoon (a first for me) He likes to talk (and make animal sounds) a lot, so he's defying the statistics for a classic 3rd child. He is not really a great sleeper, though he has slept through the night 3 random times in his life, so that's something, right? He has 11 teeth already, including some molars. All in all he is just an active, busy, happy little thing!

Here are some birthday pictures:

New bedrooms!

2012-01-23T10:01:00.005-07:00

The boys all moved bedrooms recently.

M got a new one built for him and was excited to pick out the paint and carpet himself (luckily he chose well or we would have had a hard time with letting him;) He likes robots so I made him a robot quilt and got some awesome vinyl robots from HERE. DH did this whole room himself except the drywall (I helped too) He built a lot of shelving that we thought would be enough but we ended up having to get him a bookshelf as well. So many legos to display.

I modified a curtain I got at a clearance sale and we painted a bed (bought from a neighbor who moved) with paint another neighbor gave us. Bought the table/chair at Ikea and painted it to match the bright orange door :) Lighting from Ikea Kids, he loves his reading lamp. Very budget-friendly room! (well, after it was built anyway)

E wanted to change from a cowboy theme that they had in their shared room to a Lego one. Pretty easy to do, and we put up the shelves he had in their old room.

There is still a lot of "cowboy" stuff in there, but I did the best I could making what he described in vinyl and making him a Lego art name to hang up. He still wants Lego men on the curtains and wants to paint the walls green. We'll see. He sort of got leftover & hand-me-down furniture, so I splurged and let him choose a new lamp (on clearance) at Target. He LOVES it!

C's room is the one M & E shared before. I figured it made more sense to have him closest to our room since we make trips into it several times a night. (grr!) We just moved all his stuff over. Pretty much the same as before, except now he doesn't have to share his room with a bunch of Legos- AND I can actually let him play in there (see the toys everywhere? LOVE IT!)

(I was too lazy to blur out all their names so just pretend I did okay?)

Flashback Friday

2012-01-13T20:39:00.003-07:00

This was M (11 mos.) and DH in Fall of 2005. DH had just started Graduate school and I was 2 mos. pregnant with E, but life was still SO much simpler then!

Flashback Friday

2012-01-06T09:19:00.003-07:00

Graduating from USU with a few of my good friends, Becki & Alf. I can't believe it's been 8 1/2 years since I finished college! I still miss school.

Happy New Year and my "one little word"

2012-01-04T08:56:00.003-07:00

So, my resolution for next year is to have less going on so I am more available to serve others. I happen to be REALLY bad at knowing if someone needs help, and I'm trying to be better about that too. You can help me out by asking me for help if you need it and I'll try my darndest to be available. Thanks!

Oh, and I guess if I'm going to sum up my resolution in "one little word," like these people, it would be "less."

A Harry Potter Birthday

2011-11-14T11:23:00.006-07:00

M turned 7 the end of September and he had a really great birthday. He wanted a Harry Potter party, so we tried our best and he had fun making and putting together a lot of things for the party with me. On his real birthday we had cupcakes for breakfast and he opened some of his gifts. He was super excited about a typewriter from his cousins and golf clubs from DH. At school that day, E, C, and myself came and ate lunch with him at school which he loved! After school he got to go to Boondocks with E and do a lot of fun things. He chose baked potatoes for dinner, one of his favorite meals.

The next day he was out of school and his Aunt Whitney came and picked him up and took him to lunch at Red Robin and to the bookstore where he picked out a Lego Harry Potter sticker book. He had a great time with her!

We all headed down to start the "party" after lunch. We met Grammy & Pops, Grandma & Grandpa, and Aunt Whitney at Gardner Village to look at the witches and get some candy. It was a great time and the atmosphere was very "potterish."

The party was that night at the house and we were joined by Aunty Ann and Uncle Chase in addition to all those that came to see the witches. We had a Hogwarts feast and slayed a dragon cake. Unlike the real Harry, M was spoiled with lots of fun gifts. He especially liked the Harry Potter scarf and Lego sets!

Still can't believe he's 7. He's growing up to be a great kid. He is an awesome big brother and great student and such a fun kid to be around!

A fun Halloween

2011-11-10T16:58:00.004-07:00

It was a pretty good Halloween. C was sick and didn't get quite all the attention he needed from me that day, but I had a lot of help from my mom so he wasn't neglected by any means. The day started with a field trip with the Kindergarten to a nearby farm that had a ton of fun activities for the kids. I had fun hanging out with E and 4 other kids (it was also a lot of work- I won't lie) After that we raced to get C from my mom, grab lunch, do some last-minute grocery shopping, and get back to jump into costumes while DH pulled M out of school early for his office's annual trick-or-treat party (yes, it was during school hours?!) After the party, we got dinner on and had a fun meal with my mom and brother and sister. DH went trick-or-treating for his first time with the kids and I took them out again for another street. It was a fun night.

We had 2 Harry Potters this year (couldn't convince E to be Ron)

and Charlie Brown, who else?

DH was "Roger Workman" from the TV show LOST (Benjamin Linus' dad)

I let C chew on a dum-dum sucker. He seemed to enjoy both ends equally.

One thing the kids had been dying to try was bobbing for apples. It is always talking about it in Halloween story books and they had never had a chance. So after dinner, we stripped off shirts and bobbed. They also really wanted Grandma to do it with them. She was a VERY good sport and proved to be good at getting that apple too ;)

A "boy head"

2011-11-01T10:54:00.003-06:00

So, I kind of feel a little deja vu-ish right now because of C getting a haircut. Back in May 2007, I wrote THIS about E looking like someone else. Now I feel the same way about C. I'm sure it was the same for M, but my memory doesn't go back that far. (or at least my blog doesn't!)

So, the title, "boy head" probably needs an explanation (for some people anyway) When E got his hair cut short, M said "now he has a boy head!" This is not as opposed to a girl head, but a baby head. M was only 2 so it was pretty funny and we always call a short haircut a "boy head."

Anyway, here is the before shot. He is looking like a little stinker about to do something mischievous.

The during: (this is a friend cutting it at our house)

And some afters:

LOVE this little jacket that both M and E, and now C have all worn as little guys!

Me, only with a jetpack

2011-09-26T15:40:00.003-06:00

Interviews with some little boys:

M: Age almost 7, September 26, 2011

Some of your favorites:

Book: Harry Potter- all 3 I’ve heard

Movie: Star Wars- the phantom menace

TV Show: Curious George

Happiest Day ever: When I lost my first tooth- last week

Best friend: Wilson

Saddest day ever: Any day I’m crabby & don’t get my way

Most exciting thing that’s happened lately: Probably planning my birthday party

What do you want to be when you grow up? A spy

Favorite part of school: Lunch

Favorite food: Baked Potatoes and Macaroni & Cheese

Favorite thing to wear: My zombie shirt

If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be? Harry Potter

What is something you want to learn to be good at? Being sneaky

If you could visit anywhere in the world where would it be and why? Egypt, because I love, love, love, love stuff that’s old.

What is your favorite scripture story? Nephi traveling to the promised land

What is something that really bugs you? Sometimes E

What food do you hate? Potato salad

What are you doing for Halloween? At school, I’ll bring a blanket & a pillow & stuffed animal and as many books as I can fit in my backpack and read all day at school

Do you like being the oldest kid in the family? Why? Yes, because I just do

What is something special about you? I’m smart, I love art, and I’ve always wanted to write a book

Is there anything else you want to add? nope

E: Age 5 ½ September 26, 2011

Some of your favorites:

Book: No David! and David Goes to School

Movie: Star Wars- the first one when Luke finds out he’s a Jedi

TV Show: Scooby Doo

Happiest Day ever: My 5^th birthday when I got to go to Boondocks

Best friend: Rave, Macie

Saddest day ever: Sunday

Most exciting thing that’s happened lately: Getting my dart gun, getting my Harry Potter costume

What do you want to be when you grow up? I just want to have a job, the one that Daddy has

Favorite part of school: Recess

Favorite food: Garage Pizza (frozen Totinos)

Favorite thing to wear: Jeans and my green and white striped shirt and my Nikes

If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be? I would still want to be myself, just with a jetpack

What is something you want to learn to be good at? Jump-roping on the trampoline and on the ground

If you could visit anywhere in the world where would it be and why? Argentina, because I just want to go there where Uncle Chase went on his mission

What is your favorite scripture story? Nephi is one of my favorites

What is something that really bugs you? M, he just annoys me

What food do you hate? pickles

What are you doing for Halloween? Dress up like Harry Potter and trick or treat, because I get candy and popcorn balls and stuff. Sometimes I get little toys I think.

Do you like being the middle kid in the family? Why? Uh huh, I just like being the middle kid.

What is something special about you? A talent you have. I’m really good at riding my bike, also climbing, but I can’t climb trees if they have no branches that I can’t reach, or even no branches at all.

Is there anything else you would like to add? Uh uh, now can I go play?

Garden Awesomeness update

2011-09-09T21:43:00.006-06:00

I'm enjoying being outside a lot more now that we are out of the 90's and I thought I'd update on my yard and garden. Sorry this is picture-heavy, but I have fun taking pictures of plants. They HOLD STILL, if you know what I mean.

I'll start with the funny part, then if you don't care anymore you can quit reading. Okay, so maybe this is normal, but I don't know. I planted yellow squash, and the plant did, indeed, produce yellow squash (it is very good, btw) It also, however, decided to produce an acorn squash. ??!!???

Same plant here above and below.

We've had exactly 1 ripe tomato so far. Had it on tacos the other day. Hopefully more to come.

This is one of the 4 peppers I planted. They all look like this. They have grown a few more leaves since I planted them ..........?

Peanut plant. It's grown and turned sort of yellow. Much speculation (and anticipation) from the kids about what it going on under the ground with those peanuts.

Don't think we're getting any watermelon this year:

Carrots are doing just fine. (so's the kool-aid mustache)

Those darn peas just keep producin'. And I keep trying to turn the pickers into eaters, but no luck so far, the charm has worn off. (Don't you just love those little curly thingies?)

Enough veggies. On to the fruit of the matter.

But first, here's a yummy way to eat veggies: Hawiian haystacks with a pepper from our "other" garden (located at my parent's house!) Isn't it pretty? (but not too pretty to eat, I ate it.)

Nice leafy raspberries. Looking forward to next year!

And nice, sweet strawberries:

We got peaches this year! White peaches, VERY sweet and so good :)

Not all of them get eaten fresh either......

Flowers. Can't eat 'em. (and yes, I did narrow these down, there were more)

There you have it. Now get out there and weed your garden!

Random Summer Fun

2011-09-03T07:42:00.004-06:00

We had several outings a week during our summer break, and I got a few pictures of some of them. It's hard to have 3 kids AND try to take pictures, not enough hands! We did some of the usual things, like weekly picnics with friends, dinosaur park, Treehouse museum, and local parks, but also tried a few new things, like the train museum in Ogden, and one trip to the zoo (HOT!) The boys really enjoyed going to Lagoon every week, which was possible because my parents gave us season passes for Christmas. (thanks!) They especially LOVE pioneer village and exploring all the little museums in there. We stayed PLENTY busy this summer, and it was often exhausting. It was fun, but I am happy to get into my routine of actually having time to clean, cook dinner, and exercise. C is doing better being able to nap at home in bed a little more often.

A Camping Birthday

2011-09-03T07:27:00.005-06:00

Happy 30th birthday to me, a month ago :) I still feel the same as when I was 29, weird.

Over the weekend of my birthday, we had the annual camp-out with the extended family on my mother's side. It was a good time, especially for M & E, who love to get dirty and all that, and who were in heaven with a ton of second-cousins to play with. Glad we have those, since there are no cousins for them on my side.

My mom surprised me by getting the whole family involved since I said "no gifts" at the campout. She gave out 30 seperate dollars to her mom & siblings and had them each get me gifts that remind them of me, so I had a lot of fun and meaningful things to open up, it was a fun surprise.

The kids all put on a skit, and we decorated t-shirts and bags and of course most of it revolved around meals. We had sweet pork salad for my birthday dinner and my aunt made my favorite carrot cake. DH, myself, and C went home every night to shower/sleep. We just couldn't handle the thought of trying to sleep with C in a tent this year! Luckily, it was only about a 45 minute drive to the campsite from home. E went home with us the second night as well, he was a tired mess, the poor kid!

My dad got the boys their own fishing poles and took them fishing with DH, it was hot and they didn't catch anything, but they have the idea and are excited to try again some time!

It was fun to see people we don't get to see often and reminisce about old times camping and being with our Aunt Colleen, whom we all miss so much.

skit

My cousin is SO talented, she made these butterflies out of chocolate!

Water Fun

2011-09-03T07:19:00.003-06:00

Another part of our summer was playing in the water to keep cool. We had a great time whether it was in Grandma's sprinklers, Aunt Whit's pool, Grammy & Pops' pool, Lagoon-A-Beach, or squirting each other!

One day, we went to visit Great-Grandma in Hyrum and we played in the water with the second-cousins. So fun!

C and his second cousin, who is only a week older than him. They had fun sharing toys in the pool!

A New Bike for a TOO BIG boy!

2011-08-29T20:47:00.005-06:00

One day about a month ago, E began to refuse to ride his bike. He loudly protested that it was "TOO SMALL!" and he was "TOO BIG" for it! It was true, he is almost 5 1/2 and was riding on 12" wheels. Since bikes cost a lot and it wasn't his birthday or Christmas, we hesitated to just up and buy him a new bike. So DH looked around and found a not-too-rusty one at DI. We replaced the seat (cost more than the bike!) and took it to him for a surprise. He had been at my parents' house so I could get some rest, so we took it to him there. He was VERY excited! He rode all over and his little legs only had to peddle about 1/2 the time as they did with his old bike.

He had fun riding it in our neighborhood's children's bicycle parade. I dropped him off at the starting point and drove back to near our house to watch the parade. I got a call from DH asking me to come since he had fallen and was hurt. I quickly rushed back and applied 2 band-aids and several kisses and he was off to join the rest of the kids, who had just taken off. No sooner had I gotten back to my spot on the parade route than I saw E WAY out ahead of the rest with 1 other boy. I guess he was worried about being left behind and tore off. DH came along WAY later and was hanging back so E could find him. He didn't know that E had been done with the parade for a while!

E way out ahead of the pack

M riding next to the scouts (red helmet, blue shirt)

DH bringing up the rear looking for E!

A visit to Grammy & Pops'

2011-08-29T18:48:00.004-06:00

In July. I know, but I feel like I wanted to document some more of our summer. We visited over Pioneer Weekend, which meant the Snake River Stampede was going on, and we all went! It was my first ever rodeo and the second for M & E. They had been to the Days of '47 last year with DH. We also visited the Boise Nature Center, along with cousin B, and enjoyed lots of swimming, and had a dinner and fireworks for the 24th. DH and I even got a night out with some friends. It was a fun time and a great chance for the kids to spend time with their grandparents.

The nature center:

Legos are a hit wherever we are

The Downtown Boise Farmer's Market

Snake River Stampede

Enjoying the Fireworks with cousins

While we were there, C received his quilt from Grammy. As is the tradition for our family, it was a barbizon quilt hand-quilted with a unique design. M's is blue with Curious George, E's is green with Circus Elephants, and C got a cream-colored one with race cars. They are all darling and according to M & E, they are "magic" and make it so you're not scared at night. Awesome! Since they take them everywhere, they got theirs out to take pictures on with C and his new quilt. My kids sure are spoiled with quilts from their grandmas (and mom!)

C is 8 mos!

2011-08-22T20:49:00.005-06:00

I know I am still trying to catch up on the rest of July and August, but I had to post this today because my baby is 8 MOS OLD!!

I can't believe it has gone by so FAST, it is absolutely crazy! He is so fun and brings so much to our little family and we love him a lot.

He is doing so much, especially in the past few weeks. Gone are the days of him being content to sit and play with toys. He is not very content anymore unless he is moving and getting into everything. He drags his body with his arms, so he's getting quite the workout, because he is 23.9 lbs. He walks around furniture and goes from one piece of furniture to the next trying to eat computer cords, pull off keys and eat them, slobber remotes, and get his hands on anything that doesn't look like it's for a baby.

We had to move his crib down to the lowest since he was standing up in there and leaning out. We also had to take down the co-sleeper in our room that he could stand up in and get to my shelf I use as a nightstand to try and break lamps, glasses and things. I need to get a gate up to keep him from the stairs now. He is a typical sleeper for our family (probably in between M and E in his sleep habits) and I can live with it okay. I'm glad he likes a binki and will start out the night in his crib. I don't know how many times he wakes a night, because I don't really wake up enough to be aware, but it's more than one, and generally ends up sleeping with us for part of the night and part in his crib. He takes 2-3 naps per day and will still sleep in his carseat most anywhere.

Another thing he LOVES to do is scream. He is VERY loud and will just let out a huge bellowing scream randomly. Mostly when he's happy.

As you can see from the picture, he has 4 teeth now, and is probably working on more. That's why the necklace. I ordered it here, you can read about what it does if you're curious. He is a very effective biter now.

He likes food and will eat most things. I have given him cereals fruits, veggies, and some finger foods (cheerios and puffs and such) He is on an antibiotic for a sinus infection so I am trying to give him yogurt to help counteract and he has done fine with it. He is not huge on green veggies, but we'll keep trying. He prefers to feed himself but will be fed. Sometimes he spits it out all over just so he can fingerpaint with it. Today when he was gleefully spitting pureed carrots all over my white shirt I told him "no" and made a stern face. He burst into tears! I am not used to having sensitive children, so if this lasts it may be a challenge for us.

He will still snuggle when he's tired or not feeling well, and he still likes to nurse (though is a stinker about it if we're not lying down in a quiet room these days) He is a little sweetie and generally happy and his giggles are to die for. We are having fun with all his stages, but are wishing he could stay little longer, he seems in a hurry to catch up to his older brothers, whom he watches mimics and adores!

Separation Anxiety

2011-08-16T13:49:00.006-06:00

My little E is having a hard time since school started yesterday. He has separation anxiety. No, not from me. No, not while he's at school.

The problem starts when he gets home from morning Kindergarten. Yesterday I went and picked him up, and before I could ask how his day was, he asked "when does M come home?" Yes, he is NOT loving being separated from his brother, who has been there with him since he was born and is his rock in this world. Can't do anything about it, I'm sure he will adjust.

Seems like just yesterday I was standing with my backpack and new lunchbox ready to start first grade!

So excited to be going to the same school!

I hope the excitement of wearing a uniform doesn't rub off too soon, 'cause this kid can be stubborn!

M is in the same class with a few of his best friends- lucky!

On the rug and (though nervous) telling me to "go now mom!"

The first day went well overall and M is doing great so far with all day and eating lunch and all that stuff that goes with 1st grade. E seems to take school the way he does most of life- it's a mixed bag and easily swayed by his emotions which he doesn't always share. He will find his way.

I for one am grateful to have some sort of structure to my day and be able to exercise and run errands and work in (sort of) peace. Don't worry, I still get in plenty of playing time with this little ball of energy!

4th of July

2011-08-11T09:28:00.004-06:00

Okay, it's August 11th. I've been a little busy, but better late than never, right?

First, a cute picture of C in his "my first 4th" outfit:

This crazy celebratathon actually started the night of the 3rd (or 4th-of-july-eve as M called it) when we went to dinner at my parents house and did some fireworks. Burns on our arms and legs left us questioning the safety of the newly-legal arial fireworks. A fun time was had overall though.

The next day, we decided to attend the parade for the city we actually live in. I know, novel idea, right? I guess I feel like sort of a parade connoisseur, choosing a different parade nearly every year and always finding something lacking. I don't enjoy the long, overly commercialized and soggy Kaysville Parade. The Centerville is nice and early and pretty decent, but I've never lived there so no connection and plus it's a bit of a drive. Hyrum is the traditional parade for us overall, but we have begun to make that long drive less often as we have more kids & ties to our community. (so sad to miss those old cars and Miller's trucks) That left the hometown parade, Layton. It was earlier this year, so we decided to set out some blankets the day before and give it a try. I have to say I was pretty impressed. It didn't reek of opportunistic business owners, very few were trying to shove coupons in your face, and I didn't see a single souped-up truck advertising it's chrome specials. We actually had a few chances to honor our local military (the air force base is here) and there were schools, churches, and city organizations represented. It wasn't overly long and didn't have too much candy. I liked it.

After the parade, we enjoyed lunch out and then had some time to rest and get ready for that night. Along with my family, Aunt Noelle and Uncle Patrick were coming for our dinner, and it was her birthday, so we had to make a cake! We had a great dinner with kabobs, salads, and 4th of July jello. The cake was fun to make and turned out cute.

We did some fireworks outside (this time remaining unscathed) and said goodbye to Patrick & Noelle and headed to some big fireworks in a parking lot nearby. The kids must have had it because they just grumbled the whole time and drove us and their grandparents crazy. We were happy to get them to bed and try to recover from the whole holiday! We are happy to live in this country where we get to choose how to live our lives- happy 4th! (just a few weeks late)

Crazy Idaho Fun

2011-07-18T14:32:00.003-06:00

To kick off the 4th of July weekend, we headed to my uncle's in Idaho and had a wild time feeding fish, playing in the water, picnicking, barbequing, and trying to keep out of the way of the 200 or so boys and dogs that were running all over the place! (I may have stretched the number by a bit, but it seemed like that many)

I'll just say that I'm glad that my cousins have kids for my boys to play with, since they may be pretty old before they have any cousins on my side!

A Birthday & Father's Day

2011-07-16T17:29:00.004-06:00

This year for DH's birthday we had a rock band party. It was fun hearing & watching everyone play! He wanted a cruiser and he got one! Complete with a horn just like M's & E's and a basket on the front. We had lasagna, Olive Garden salad, and Italian Cream Sodas. It was a fun time! Sorry to say, due to the exhaustion from the 2 kinds of Lasagna, I bought his cake for the first time ever. It was really good though, and he liked it even though it wasn't the traditional betty-crocker-yellow-bowl-cake-with-buttercream-icing-made-into-something-cute-and-creative. He still successfully turned 32 and we love him a lot!

Father's Day weekend we went to Bear Lake with some of our good friends. They had access to a family condo and it was just perfect for our 2 families. They have kids about the same ages and they all had a lot of fun together. We did Minnetonka cave, which was pretty exhausting for me because I was wearing C in a front-pack and he gets heavy while climbing up and down 888 stairs! I even had to nurse him while walking on slippery uneven stairs and carrying him in a front pack. Add that to my claustraphobia and fear of E jumping into a crack and you can see why my cave experience was mostly a panic attack! We also swam a lot, played outside and inside, ate raspberry shakes, played mini-golf, went out to dinner, and had a father-son t-ball game. A big thanks to the Jones family for this fun getaway!

Oceanside Trip Part 4

2011-07-16T16:55:00.005-06:00

On Thursday and Friday we went to Old Town and the San Diego Zoo (just our family did the zoo) We had to make our visit to the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center, the kids love that. They had a fun time and we ate at The Coyote Cafe out of tradition (we had gone there twice before).

Chillin at the park with Grandpa. We were glad to have this nearby, as we had time to kill in the mornings with our early-risers.

For fun, some of us rode the "coaster" train home from Old Town.

We had visited the San Diego Zoo once before when M was almost 2 and E was 5 mos. so they did not remember it! It was fun and I'm glad we went, although we were pretty worn out from the rest of the week and it was a lot of walking! The plus was it was a cool day, so we could stand to hike more.

My favorite was watching M take pictures- he loved it.

C seemed to really enjoy the moving ramps. He was laughing a lot!

Me checking out my "relatives" as my family jokes these Orangutans are. (the hair color I suppose?)

We love the "mouse house" made of a giant loaf of bread!

M refused to touch any animals, but E is always brave!

Oceanside Trip Part 3

2011-07-16T16:46:00.005-06:00

Tuesday and Wednesday we went to Disneyland and the beach. It was a fun time! We didn't realize that it was the last day of Spring Break for local schools, so Disneyland was a bit on the crowded side. It was crazy late for Spring Break, we were almost out for the year by then! I fun time was had anyway, and we got to do all the favorites and a bit more.

I didn't have a lot of time when I finally decided to make Disney shirts for the boys, so I slapped together these tie shirts using a blanket I had made for E years ago.

We can't ever miss this, it's E's favorite little known part of Disneyland- making Woody dance!

Mmmm! Dole Whip floats!

We spent an afternoon at the beach after going to some antique shops and out to lunch in Carlsbad.

Oceanside Trip Part 2

2011-07-15T11:13:00.004-06:00

Monday of our trip was spent in a few places as well. DH, my brothers, and M & E all enjoyed a day at Legoland. My brothers had never been so they were curious to see it. The boys had been the year before but loved it again and enjoyed the new Star Wars exhibits. They got a lot of comments on the matching shirts I made them all to wear.

The rest of us went on a 2 hour harbor cruise followed by a yummy seafood lunch and shopping. It was fun and even a bit relaxing!

We ended the day at Ruby's for dinner at the end of the Oceanside Pier.

Oceanside Trip Part 1

2011-07-14T10:42:00.002-06:00

My parents took us all on a wonderful family vacation this year in celebration of my brother Riley returning from his mission. We went back to Oceanside (where we stayed last February) and stayed at a condo there. We had a great time and were able to take in a lot of sights. Here are the first few days.

Myself, C, and my sister Whit flew while the rest drove. Since it was C's first flight, I had to document!

As soon as we got there, we walked down to the beach to fly kites and play!

That night, some of us went for pedis. It was a first for DH and Riley!

The next day was Mother's day. We went out that morning and took a bunch of family pictures. We just did them ourselves with a tripod and they turned out great!

Later on we were able to take the kids to The New Children's Museum, a Children's art museum in downtown San Diego. It was a free day, but not too crowded, so we were lucky.

Wind tunnel they could jump in

These two pictures are from a workshop the boys participated in on perspective. They were given materials to create something and then were photographed so that it looked as though they were on their creation. E's is a church and M's is a catapult. We have experimented with doing it at home since then, the boys love it!

Really cool climbing wall and ropes to climb. Everything is surrounded by art by a different artist and you can read about their interpretations of the area they were given to create. It was really well done.

They LOVED doing these little chariots.

They got to help paint a giant whale with giant brushes. So funny!

After all this, I traded DH for my mom and while DH, my siblings, and my dad attended a Padres game, we went to the international houses at Balboa Park. They are only open on Sundays from 12-4, so we had never been able to visit the insides. It was really interesting. That week, it was Italy's turn to host, so they sponsored a band, food, and other displays. The music was really good, we all enjoyed "Mambo Italiano!"

The boys in front of some of their favorite houses.

We met up with the rest in Old Town and had a great Mexican dinner. Great Mother's Day!

Random May Happenings

2011-07-14T10:35:00.005-06:00

Some other things that happened in May.........

We visited the Bountiful Temple as a family one Sunday to talk about temples.

One of Nolan's Memorial Day decorations

The boys finally got the training wheels off!

C started eating solid food. He is my first child to actually eat baby food, so this is a new experience for me!

Grandpa, DH, and the boys got to go to a Bees game. They liked it!

We have been doing LOTS of things with friends all the time. A favorite is going to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden.

I have to include the Farmer's Market in Salt Lake. I finally stocked up on some more goat's milk soap. I barely made it through the winter with my stash from last year.

C playing with cars. He loves playing with toys!

Grammy's 70th Birthday

2011-07-14T10:06:00.003-06:00

A fun thing we got to do as a family Memorial Weekend was traveling to Boise for Grammy's 70th Birthday Party. It was a fun Luau theme and we had a great time with all the family. Grammy seemed very happy to have all her family around her. We sure love her!

take me out to the (t) ballgame!

2011-07-14T09:39:00.005-06:00

I just realized that the last time I posted a "what we're up to" type of post, it was about Easter Weekend. Yikes! I will attempt in my few snippets of free time to at least post some of the highlights of the past 4 mos. So here goes......

T-Ball! Hilarious to watch. This year the boys participated on the same team. M's 3rd year playing T-Ball and E's first. They had a great coach that really focused on making it fun for the boys. They looked sharp in their red "Angels" uniforms and we had fun sitting with friends every Monday and Wednesday night for a few months to watch. We had something like 5 or 6 games rained out so the season lasted even longer than anticipated. They had fun and next year we plan on putting them on the same team again in the coach pitch league.

Also, I think DH did an awesome job on these pictures!

Stuff I made this week

2011-06-30T16:20:00.006-06:00

I feel like I am extra busy these days making stuff for my etsy shop and doing "fun" (for the kids, mostly) things, so I haven't had a ton of time to blog. I will try to put down some of the fun times before June is over! (I'd better hurry)

Before I do that though, I wanted to post some things I've made this week.

This is for my little brother who LOVES Captain America.

Treats for a lunch I hosted today.

Some shirts for the boys for this weekend.

We made sugar cookies as a fun family activity on Sunday.

I got a silhouette cutter (mostly for cutting shirt stencils) but I've done a few fun projects, these are some little notebooks for the boys.

I hope these skirts fit the little baby they are for- I have never met her!

This one has a onesie-bottom attached to it for underneath.

This is a skirt for myself out of some leftover linen I had lying around. I have always wanted to try doing a bias-cut ruffle on a hem, and it worked out okay, but the fabric was none too stretchy so it could have been better.

Nothing amazing, but beats wearing my maternity skirts from the last 2 summers!

Digging in the dirt again

2011-06-02T21:20:00.005-06:00

Here is the promised garden post. Don't be sad it's so long, be happy it has 0 pictures of my kids!

Since moving in to our home we have made a lot of improvements to our yard. BUT, this has been the first spring/summer that I am able to help much. Being pregnant really throws a wrench into getting down and digging in the dirt. SO, here I am trying again. I have spent a lot of time digging out grass, transplanting, moving things, tearing things out, thinning, and re-arranging. I still have a lot to do, but it is getting to be a bit more how I want it. I have had several failures and hope to be able to start tallying successes.

The backyard has gone through the most change. The previous owners used the backyard, just a lot differently than we do. They had a dog run with 2 dogs, a fifth wheel, a hottub, a trampoline.....you get the idea. We had none of those things and felt a little overwhelmed by the state of the backyard. Gage did a lot of work moving the shed across the yard, tearing out a stone path to put in grass, pulling out 4 huge trees (3 nasty cottonwood, 1 disease-ridden willow) moving lots of rocks, building garden boxes, putting in 3 new trees, and a lot of adding mulch and such to the soil to make it good for more than the weeds that graced the back fence. I did help with some of that, but I'm just now able to help really grooming it this year. We have put in a vegetable garden, a strawberry patch, (then another strawberry patch when we found that one didn't produce any strawberries) a raspberry patch, a huckleberry bush (died) a ton of perennials, some annuals too, and a white peach tree. We were also given 2 trees in Nolan's memory; A flowering crab apple tree from the Auman family, and a Pacific Sunset Maple from my parents. They are doing well and are a nice living reminder of our son. We kept 2 trees that were already there, both flowering pears. We have a lilac and 3 or 4 other bushes from the previous owners as well. We still have 1 spot where it's just dirt/weeds and a lot of weeds in our rocks, but it's looking SO much better already, after just a few years of moving in.

The front yard is a work-in-progress. Most notably, the grass. It is about 1/2 large, round orchard grass that grows at a MUCH faster rate than the bluegrass that's supposed to cover the lawn. We'll maybe tackle that issue this year, maybe not. I have been adding and subtracting from the flower gardens and we'll see. I had to pull out several nice things because they were too full of grass to be saved. They couldn't survive that grass-killing chemical, so out they went! This year on Easter weekend, I bought a little lacy Japanese Maple that I planted in the garden by the house. I also got 2 Coral Bells that have yellow leaves that I really like. Just put in some annuals to color up the "kidney" garden by the road. We'll see how they do.

I have to say I am very lucky to have a husband who will do things like put in sprinkler lines exactly where I need them, rig up watering systems, and whip up a few garden boxes in an evening after dinner. I for sure cannot take credit for the heavy labor of shoveling rocks for hours on end either. (although I did try to help, and the effect it had after quite some time with the shovel was laughable compared to my burly DH) He also makes sure we have plenty of mulch & compost from the dump. (gotta love the dump)

I also have endless amounts of available advice from my parents, who have done this all before and actually know what they are doing. Also the use of a truck. My mom even came over and dug me some holes yesterday! I also have in-laws that would also have tons of great advice if I asked, not to mention a ward full of talented gardeners much better than myself that are so willing to share their knowledge.

I think I have to write a whole paragraph about huckleberries. Probably should be a post of it's own. Here goes. "Smurfberry" muffins are a cherished childhood memory for me. So much that I have done just about everything in my power to replicate that memory for my own children (who am I kidding, I am just craving them for myself) Huckleberry pies, muffins, bottles of deep blue-purple goodness stored in bottles on the food-storage shelves. Just can't put it out of my mind. Did some research. First asked mom where to get huckeberry starts. She bought them at the nursery. Find out they don't have them anymore. Find a huckleberry bush at J & J. Plant it and follow instructions, complete with adding a "soil acidifier" every few weeks. Bush dies after 1 summer/fall. These were not the same type of huckleberries anyway. The ones they grew were annual plants, not a bush like grows in the wild. (new plan- move to Montana and go out to pick them in the wild?) Do some research online. Find out these Huckleberries are of the nightshade family (like tomatoes) and order some seeds. Have 200 seeds, but it's too late to plant them. Wait 10 mos. or so. Purchase an indoor "greenhouse" and start growing the tiny seeds inside. They grow! Into tiny plants. Follow instructions to the letter, harden them outside then plant in my newly created custom-soil made garden boxes. They die! Can't even tell anything was there. So sad, probably more sad than I should be about plants. Go to J & J to get a replacement bush for the one that died. Planted it in the front yard this time with a buttload (yes, it comes that way) of peat moss. We'll see how it does. If it does live and produce berries, I'll bet the birds will beat me to it. How much you wanna bet? Still in search of the nightshade variety of huckleberries. Maybe will call around to more nurseries, maybe will just be depressed and eat some other kind of muffin (until I start to look even more like a muffin myself)

If you've made it this far (I don't know why you would have) here are some pictures to reward you!

Here are some of the front yard:

The blasted huckleberries (starts, then the bush)

And now some of the backyard/garden.

Yes, we're growing peanuts!

And I will have some smurfberry muffins someday, I will!

C is 5! (mos)

2011-05-27T09:15:00.006-06:00

I have been trying to blog this last week, but it hasn't been working for me, so here it finally is, although C turned 5 mos. on Sunday. I wanted to document some of his new mad skills- he has gotten more since the last update.

In no particular order, because I don't have time to order them:

He traveled on his first vacation! We enjoyed a full week in Oceanside, CA. We did a lot of fun activities in San Diego, went to Disneyland for a day, and enjoyed the beach. He was a trooper and it helped that he and I flew while the rest drove. He got his own mickey ears with his name, same size that his brothers are still wearing (the infant size is HUGE!)

The condo had only showers, so here he is in the kitchen sink- he liked it but we caught this face on film- sort of funny!

He is LOVING his exersaucer! M got it for Christmas from Grammy & Pops when he was little, and it is still going strong. 2 other neighbors have also borrowed it as well.

He is definitely a toy kid. LOVES his toys. They help keep him happy during cold t-ball games.

Here he is at 6am. Another new skill is getting up even earlier than his brothers. Awesome!

Knee rolls- an accomplishment in itself.

And this is the skinny part of him!

Obsessed with his feet and eating toes!

Sitting on his own and rolling front to back or side & very strong like his brothers.

SO happy most of the time!

Oh, and drooling even more than before, we must not forget the drooling!

Stay tuned for a post about my garden & yard, if I get time to do one ;)

Easter Weekend

2011-05-02T11:35:00.003-06:00

Easter weekend we were all supposed to go to Boise for a visit. C got RSV the day we were supposed to leave, so I sent DH, M, & E off and stayed home to do round-the-clock meds, breathing treatments, and suctioning to keep C out of the hospital (and make him hate me)

The boys had a ton of fun with the family. I'm glad they went. Here are some highlights.

Going with Pops to the neighborhood's egg hunt.

Having a ton of fun hunting eggs- they got a lot of candy!

Easter crafts with cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grammy.

They celebrated E's birthday and this was a fun beanbag game they played.

Watching robot shrinky-dinks in the oven- that was the craft E wanted for his party.

Another Egg hunt- this time with cousins and in Grammy & Pops' yard!

Mini-Easter-cupcakes. Happy Birthday E!

The much-wished-for green lightsaber!

Spoiled with gifts!

Easter morning- the part I was very sad to miss! Since it was Stake Conference, and the boys had just sat through one the week before, they watched a movie about Christ and had an Easter lesson with DH. They headed home after a yummy Easter dinner and I was SO happy to see them!

I obviously didn't get pictures of myself while they were gone, but my mom came over to help with treatments and she helped C look through his Easter basket. I had Easter dinner with my parents. More of a 4th-of-July menu with Hamburgers, potato salad, etc.. It was nice to not eat alone!

Some Things I've Made

2011-04-27T20:57:00.011-06:00

I really have a lot of other things I could be doing, but I thought I'd spend some time gathering some things I've made this past year. I often forget to take pictures, so there are a lot of things I've made, sold, and shipped that never made it on camera. However, there are a lot I have gotten pictures of. Sorry this is a TON of pictures, but I wanted it all gathered into one post so I could reference it if I needed. Enjoy!

This first one is a diaper bag for a cute baby girl born only yesterday. I used the Sugar & Spice line, from Riley Blake Fabrics, and modified the Amy Butler Everything Bag pattern. I especially loved that I could get the main fabric in a laminated print so I could make a waterproof, wipe-clean bottom and a matching wipe-clean, fold-up changing pad to go with.

Coordinating Easter duds for some friends. I made the skirt, dress, and boys' ties.

Coordinating ties for 2 of the cutest brothers I've seen!

Cute little guy modeling the tie that goes with his sisters' Easter dresses.

This next little girl gets a whole section, since it seems I am her personal seamstress. I started with a newborn quilt, then summer dress she wore when she was just a few months old, followed by a blessing dress, bedroom set, and this year's Easter dress. I wish I could claim making her, she is the cutest little redhead I've seen!

I made the sheet, (plus another one) quilt, and pillows

My boys usually get something made by me for most birthdays & Christmasses. I can't say they are the FAVORITE gifts, but they seem to like getting stuff I've made them.

This isn't a great picture, but I made E a Lego Belt. Also made him the t-shirt to wear that day.

Birthday PJ's

Harry Potter robe I whipped up for Christmas. You can't see the Griffindor patch, but I ordered that online to put on it.

And of course, I'm always making Pilot caps and Lego Shirts for my Etsy Shop. They seem to be the favorites.

This is my Easter skirt for this year, made to match the boys' coordinating green & navy clothing. I didn't wear it for the family pictures, I wore a navy dress, but I wanted a skirt since it's easier to nurse a baby in. It was sort of an experiment with the ruffle sewed underneath into a wide hem. I like how the pockets turned out. Sorry it's a bad picture.

And here is last year's Easter creations. An Easter dress for baby #4, unknown gender at the time, and a skirt for me to match. Couldn't find a great picture of me in it, but you get the idea.

I've made about a bajillion t-shirts, but here are just a few.

Caped shirt that says "Super Bubby" on the front (His nickname is Bubby)

Love this Yoda shirt designed by my talented friend

This is an infant gown made out of an old Beatles shirt of mine. It was WAY too small on C, but we put it on for a picture.

This was also designed by my friend, and just about sums up E

I LOVE that DH and I learned to tie-dye this year. I hope to continue to improve that skill.

If you are a reader who wants to know C's name, this t-shirt I made him may give you a clue. And no, it's not Charles.

I'm glad I can make shirts, because I don't think you can find a Lemony Snicket shirt out there, and my boy M is a big fan. He's on book 10 now.

And a Harry Potter shirt, of course. In fact, this is only ONE of his Harry Potter shirts. (Can you tell the kid likes Harry Potter?)

Okay, I think that's enough for now.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T17:56:00.003-06:00

Well, the dress fits just right. I guessed just right on the sizing when I made it last Easter out of scraps from my Easter skirt. The only thing that I was off on was the gender.

Regardless, he looks cute in his Easter dress!

And I love that he can stand leaning on things now, it makes him look like such a little man! (Well, maybe not in this outfit)

The birthday, part 1

2011-04-21T09:03:00.007-06:00

So it's been over a week, but I've been sick the whole time since then, so I'm a little behind. The title says part one because we are celebrating with Grammy & Pops in Boise this weekend. The birthday boy turned 5 successfully and was very happy all day. It started out at 8am with Aunt Whitney taking him to his restaurant of choice for breakfast; Cracker Barrel! He not only got a delicious breakfast complete with SODA to drink, he got to pick out a present at the gift shop there. He chose a pirate gun that shot nerf darts. HUGE shocker there!

After breakfast, he helped finish up decorating his light saber cake with some yellow stars. Then it was time to drop off the brothers at a neighbor's and he and I headed to Kindergarten Round-up, where he got to go into the classroom with one of his friends from the neighborhood to hear a story and do a craft. He is super excited about going to Kindergarten now.

After a bit of dart shooting and some lunch, he went to preschool where he was the King for the Day. He really enjoyed sharing fruit snacks and m&m's with his class. At the end of school, I brought a poster he and I had put together and we got to tell all about him. He LOVED the attention but acted shy.

After a few minutes at home, Grandma got off work and came over. We went to Boondocks, one of his favorite fun-center type places, where they give you a free unlimited pass on your birthday. He played in the kiddie cove, enjoyed the arcade (he's good- he won 3 big candy bars on 1 game!) and mini-golfed in the wind/rain with Grandma and M. Daddy joined us after work and a fun time was had by all.

Dinner was next- pizza and salad and a lot of grownups who love him. Presents and cake followed and he was a very happy boy.

He has had a TON of fun playing with them, and keeps asking me to take pictures of the creations he makes with the block set we got him. It's pretty cute watching him concentrate so hard to build things.

My E is 5 today!

2011-04-13T12:07:00.004-06:00

I can't believe my SECOND child is 5! I must be getting old(er). E is such a sweet boy. Definately more high-needs than the other boys. Something with that is that when you accomplish something in your relationship with him, you feel more satisfied because you put in so much work. More of a "parenting 505" than a "parenting 101" thing, if you read yesterday's Segullah post. He is getting a lot easier, though. He sleeps through the night in his own bed and follows rules pretty well, especially if there is a reward chart of some kind going on. He is very good with C and had a bond with him before he was born, talking to him all the time in my belly. He was the same way with Nolan, and often includes him in things we're talking about, not wanting one of his little brothers left out. (even if every clerk, photographer, teacher, or random stranger does not wish to hear the story of his brother that died) He even tries to assign Nolan his share of the chores.

Some things I love about him at this stage: his energy, his love for C, his cute little smile, his shyness at unexpected times, his crazy intelligence.

Some things he loves to do: shoot things with dart guns, ride his bike, eat, help me clean the house, dig with shovels, say the blessing on the food, sing or whistle, fight with swords, dress up in various costumes, play with legos or blocks, draw and color, be with his friends and family. He absolutely adores his preschool teacher and loves going to school. He is very social and friendly.

He has a special place in his heart for my sister, Aunt Whitney, and had a great time going to Cracker Barrel for breakfast with her this morning.

I'll have to post pics of his birthday later. For now, here are a few goodies that made it onto his preschool birthday poster.

"Spring Break"

2011-04-11T10:59:00.006-06:00

"Our Very First Spring Break Ever" OR "Why I'm so Exhausted"

This is a picture of our house during spring break. We did a lot of inside activities.

M and E both FINALLY (at least in M's case) learned to ride without the training wheels. I don't have a picture of M, but he is SUPER proud of himself. Still very cautious compared to E, but he's the one with only one ER trip under his belt, so I appreciate it that there are all kinds. Anyway, they rode a bit when it wasn't raining or snowing during the week.

Last Friday was our first day off school. First we had to do a bunch of April Fools jokes. It was fun. I pinned their jackets and underwear together, stuffed their shoes with bags, put ice under their cereal, dyed the milk blue, and made up a huge story about a hot air balloon in the bishop's backyard. That last one they thought was mean, they really were excited about seeing the balloon.

Later on Friday, we went to the dinosaur park in Ogden. The boys had a ton of fun with their friends and I got a huge sunburn on my arms and neck. That pretty much concluded the warm weather portion of our break.

Here is Saturday. E has a matching shirt with C and wanted to wear it "for conference." (?) Aren't they cute? After the conference sessions, me and the boys joined my mom and sister for dinner and then dyed Easter eggs while the guys attended the priesthood session and went to dinner.
On Sunday between sessions, we had a pretend Easter, since we will all be out of town for Easter. Here is the scavenger hunt, which has become a tradition since my Uncle Kelly did it for them.

The prizes at the end were pez and legos and new hats for all!

They hunted candy-filled eggs inside during the hailstorm.

The end of the afternoon session- C chillin' with Uncle Chase. (He's single ladies- look how good he is with kids!)

After that the boys stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover and she took them to a movie & lunch the next day!

Tuesday we visited my good friend Becki at her house. Lunch and bike riding for the boys while the moms and babies visited, good times!

Wednesday we got to meet up with another friend, Mariam. M's request for the break was to visit the Hill Air Force Museum with his friend D. He got his wish and a fun time was had by all!

C insisted on wearing his airplane shirt.

5 boys

The 3 boys who actually cared about the planes.

Thursday a group of friends got together at the Clearfield Aquatic Center for some swimming while it stormed away outside. I think all the moms agreed it was hard to watch kids in a crowded pool while attending to babies & toddlers, but the kids all had a good time. This is the boys before we left in their new swimsuits (well, not E, he didn't grow this year)

Friday morning the kids got to play at Boondocks, possibly one of their favorite places of all time. M barely squeaked by the height limit on the kiddie cove, but they let him in "this one last time." Shoot! Afterwards, they discovered DH's old gameboy and were hooked. (Which was good since I had a church activity at my house and needed them to stay out of the way.) I called and told DH, who stopped by Savers on his way home and picked up another for $5. I LOVE that he can ALWAYS do that somehow.

This is me at the end of the week. I was a little tired and resemble a zombie. I'm glad that the "break" is over so I can recover and have a little break.

We were going to go to Lagoon on Saturday, but it was closed because of more snow and rain. We did pick up our passes though, so here's hoping for next Saturday!

C is 3! (mos.)

2011-03-24T08:17:00.004-06:00

The little C is 3 months now, looking more like a baby and not a newborn- HA ha! He never looked like a newborn. Anyway, he has quite the skills:

Drooling like crazy all the time

Grabbing for toys

Celebrating 3 mos. with mini cupcakes with mini cadbury eggs inside them

Sucking on a binki

Burying his face in our armpits when he is tired and it's too bright

Standing in Daddy's hands

Loving his big brothers- there is nobody better or funnier in his opinion

Haircuts

2011-03-15T13:34:00.006-06:00

I know, he's only 2 1/2 months old, but he REALLY needed a haircut! His hair was weirdly long in the very front middle, and had fallen out on the sides. Plus, I liked his little fauxhawk but it was no longer possible. He wasn't really a fan, but it was quick.

The "Before"

The "during"

The fuss

The "After"

Just a few fun facts about hair:

M was just over 3 mos. when we choppped his mullet off. He had hair about like C's. He now has very straight blond hair, not particularly thick. I still mostly cut his myself, although I took him in today though because we have family pictures next week and I wanted him to look extra nice.

E was born with such thick hair, and it was lighter and more "gold" in color. It never fell out or got mullet-y or weird in the front, just always awesome. He was about 5 mos. and needed an all-over trim when we first dared cut it. He never really held still and it looked bad, I should have paid to have it done. (I do now!) He has SUCH good hair.

Nolan had the least hair of all the boys, but it was still quite thick in the back. I think all the things they taped to him pulled a lot out in the front. It was bright red like mine. Here is a shot of the top of his head.

DH is going in tonight to get his hair chopped. The blow-drying is really getting on his nerves and he has SUCH thick hair. Like, enough for 3 men's heads. I like it long, but I also like it really short. Here he is recently:

As for me, I have an appt. tomorrow for a haircut and have NO CLUE what to do. It is so "frumpy ponytail" lately. Or else "coated in spit-up" I guess that doesn't need quotes, it really is coated in spit-up. I think I need to go short yet again.

Any suggestions? I'm thinking Emma Pillsbury-ish? Those who know me know that I am a nervous wreck/already losing sleep over the picture next week and any support would be appreciated!

New Lens

2011-03-13T21:29:00.002-06:00

DH gets gift cards from work for "healthy living" and this time he got us a new camera lens with it. We have really been enjoying it!

Catching up on February

2011-03-12T16:35:00.005-07:00

Frustration................... last winter I had TONS of time on my hands to blog, but didn't feel like it at all. This time, I would like to write about stuff that's going on, but can't seem to find the time. I am grateful and frustrated at the same time.

February had a bunch of holidays that we celebrated.

The 2nd was the 10 year anniversary of our first date as well as Groundhog's day. We celebrated by starting off the day opening the groundhog's gifts and had a fondue dinner.

The 6th we blessed Charlie. It was so fun to have visitors and get to see people we don't very often.

Valentines was fun. We had a fondue dinner with some friends the Saturday before and then "our meal" (for the 10th time!) on Valentines Day and exchanged gifts. We had pink chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and the kids got an overload of candy. DH and I both gave each other new rings. I am not quite able to wear my wedding ring yet, so the pearl ring is nice to have so I can look married (when I remember to put in on!) His ring is just a nicer replacement of what I was able to afford back in the day.

President's Day was a fun one too! I took the boys sledding with some friends and in the evening we did dinner & a movie with my family. The boys & grandma saw Megamind (thanks Mom!) and the rest of us went to Harry Potter. I have NEVER seen the Kaysville Theater so crowded in my life. C even did really well with sitting through a movie.

We also got to celebrate with my Grandma as she turned 80- it was a fun day and good to see everyone!

Now we're on to a lot of work. I have done a ton of sewing lately and stuff for my etsy shop. We organized/cleaned/did yard work/worked on framing the basement all day today. I'm pooped but there are still 3 kids to take care of. Gotta keep going......

Here are a few pics of the celebrations:

Roy-G-Biv

2011-03-02T12:02:00.002-07:00

My kids are obsessed with ROY-G-BIV, both the concept and the song by They Might Be Giants. We did some tie-dying over the weekend and they sing it non-stop now.

In other news- I think we may have an early teether. He wants to bite everything- he chews his hands and even a few toys already. He also drools a lot. M got his bottom 2 at 3 mos. so I am wondering if we have that going on.

2 mos.

2011-02-23T16:51:00.003-07:00

It was hard watching my little guy get his first shots today :(

He was in the 85-90th percentile for his length! I've never had a child this tall before.

He was 95th percentile for weight- at 14 lbs. 9 oz. This I am used to, but the height is a new thing!

Reader

2011-02-20T19:27:00.001-07:00

Can I just say, it's nice to have another reader in the family! The kids want to be read to all the time, and now I can sometimes delegate. :)

Name and a Blessing

2011-02-06T18:38:00.003-07:00

A lot of people made the trip to be with us today and we had a great time celebrating our boy C!

Some of the men in the circle

C's middle name is David & so is Grandpa's! They are also both the 4th boys in their family and were born in December within a few days of Christmas

What M will look like in 66 years?

The kids had a blast with their friends D & K

Look who got Daddy's dimples

2011-01-28T13:05:00.001-07:00

We can't tell if he has his sideburns yet, but time will tell :)

C me enjoy it

2011-01-18T14:40:00.005-07:00

Okay, so if I'm going to enjoy my life it may help to enjoy it publicly- so here it is.

Episode 1 of C me enjoy it:

These are things I enjoy around my house. And lets face it- this is pretty much where I am almost ALL the time these days, so it's good I enjoy parts of it :)

I really enjoy this wall in my living room- even though it is out of date now.

I enjoy collecting cake plates- they are on top of my wall so I don't have to worry about "decorating" the wall and so they don't break- bonus! Something my children really enjoy is decorating for the seasons. I enjoy their enjoyment of it so I indulge them in it. Here is our wall of snowmen for winter.

I don't know how it happened, but somehow I started collecting pigs. This is my pig cupboard and it already has quite a few pigs in it- including but not limited to a lego pig AND a duplo pig. Can you guess who supplies me with the pigs for the pig cupboard?

I like this ledge now that DH has decorated it. It seemed bare before and gave me anxiety whenever I looked at it. I felt like society expected me to decorate it with some kind of fake ivy or something and I really didn't like that feeling. I am happy that it now houses a playmobil train and station (or Bahnhof as it says) that DH has had since childhood.

I am REALLY enjoying this cute little mushroom nightlight I got in my stocking. I keep it here on the top of our headboard. It puts off just enough light to nurse C in the night, and it can be moved anywhere because it doesn't plug in. You just plug it in the wall to recharge it every once in a while. Also, it's easy to turn on/off, you just push on the top! (I promise Target didn't pay me to endorse this product)

I probably don't have to explain why lately I'm LOVING the rocking chair DH and I got each other for Christmas. (In fact, I'm sitting in it right now)

I seriously enjoy this camera. Very much :)

Anchor for 2011

2011-01-16T22:50:00.002-07:00

So, I think this year my "anchor" will just be to enjoy life. It's pretty simple. I have had 4 babies in the last 6 years. I am pretty wiped out and I don't want to stress- I just want to enjoy it- whatever "it" is thrown at me. Hey, I still have a bit over 6 months left of my 20's- I feel like I need to live that up somehow :)

That's pretty much the goal. So if anyone ever wants to do something enjoyable- give me a call and I'll come along! If not though- I'll be here, enjoying my laundry and my boys (not in that order)

reason i had a baby

2011-01-11T12:17:00.002-07:00

16 days

2011-01-07T20:26:00.005-07:00

I have kept my baby alive for 16 days now. I feel pretty good about that. I am not without my crazy sleep-deprived moments, but I'm still here!

We have discovered that we have thrush (C & I) and it explains a lot of pain I've had these past few weeks. We are trying to treat that as well as deal with C's spitting up and gas issues. He is not usually a very happy baby, but we love him a lot!

The boys are doing well with adjusting to a baby and M is a big help and holds him while I shower, which isn't something I had when E was little, so it has been nice. E is interested in him, but C cries when E holds him, so it's hard for him. He is having a bit more of a struggle- giving up his role as the baby is rough.

Christmas was good, we had a bit more of a low-key day than usual and it was kind of nice. We went to my parents' for Christmas Eve the day I came home from the hospital. We had a nice dinner and program. Christmas day they brought lunch to us and we hung out with the kids playing with their new gifts. I think E's favorite was his "monster feet" and M's his Lego Harry Potter Wii game, but they got a ton of other fun things we've been playing with & reading in the last few weeks.

C's favorite gift (of mine) is the white noise machine giraffe. I am hoping it will help him sleep better. He is wearing the shirt the hospital gave us when we checked out on Christmas Eve.

My mom took the boys shopping at the dollar store to buy presents for us and it was so cute when they got so excited to give them to us. Here is E with a flashlight for Daddy. I recieved 2 identical glass candy bowls- I guess they fought over who got to give me one.

We had a visit from Grammy & Pops & Auntie Ann for New Years Eve and had fun visiting and eating take-out. My Grandma came to visit as well and it was fun to see her without so many people around. We have been going a little stir-crazy staying in, but that's how it is every winter I suppose.

Now I'm just left pondering the questions that probably come up with a lot of mothers: how on earth do I get ANYTHING done with a newborn, and am I EVER going to fit into my clothes again?!

Life is rough when you pull all-nighters

2011-01-02T15:18:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T11:02:00.002-07:00

Have fun ringing in 2011!

Welcome to the world!

2010-12-24T15:46:00.005-07:00

We are home, doing well, and feel very blessed to have our healthy little son for Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!

Come out baby C!

2010-12-18T10:53:00.003-07:00

Here's me in my hugeness. Granted, I'm not as large as last time, but I am really swollen this time, which is not attractive. I am 39 weeks 2 days now, so only 2 or 3 weeks to go, right?

And the decor of baby C's room (slash the lego room- don't know how that will work out when he is a toddler eating toys) I went with a car theme to match his first initial. The quilt and wall vinyl have his full name, it's just blurred out for the blog. You can't really see the mobile very well but that's what's hanging in front of the curtain over the crib. I have things pretty much ready to go and we are going to try at least doing naps in a crib this time for safety's sake. We'll see if the new one works- it's a smallish size from Ikea. At least I can put him in it- our old one was too tall and I couldn't reach over the side. Now all we need is for him to come out!

Pure Joy

2010-12-16T17:34:00.004-07:00

This afternoon I took the boys to a local park to try out their new sleds. Yes, they are 6 and 4.5 and we have never had a sled before now. I can't believe how well they did right off and how much fun they had!

300!

2010-12-15T10:10:00.002-07:00

I have been anticipating my 300th post since I realized 2 posts ago that I was on my 298th.

Well, here it is and I don't have anything brilliant to say. Things are a bit on the dreary/depressing side here. I went into the hospital last night for several hours only to be sent home. This has never happened to me and it was frustrating. I was up most of the night with more contractions and now nothing. It's not that I'm even "overdue" or anything, I still have 8 days left until my due date. It's just hard packing up and expecting to come home with a baby and then NOT. It doesn't bring up happy memories, that's for sure.

Here's something cute to blog about though- M's performances last week. He had a kindergarten program last Tuesday and a choir concert last Thursday. It was fun seeing him do his spanish dances and sing. He sure is a funny boy. He has such a small head (like he can wear a 2T or 24month hat) and his hat fell off in both performances- so it's easy to spot him. He has enjoyed being in choir at school and has had a good time with all the Christmas festivities and parties lately.

Etsy Shop

2010-12-06T15:53:00.003-07:00

It's been almost a month since I started my etsy shop. My Lego shirts are selling pretty well! I've also sold 1 hat so far. My shirt is featured in a few different "treasuries" on etsy- check it out!

Here

and

Here

A full week and some really swollen ankles!

2010-12-05T21:52:00.004-07:00

We've had a lot going on this week!

My brother came home from his mission on Wednesday! It's kind of crazy that it's been 2 years already. We had fun greeting him at the airport and he's been good to have around- he vacuumed my car! We look forward to hearing him report his mission next Sunday.

We have had the elf visiting our house and filling our various advent calendars. One day it told them to look in their stockings where they found little Lego sets- they were pretty excited! The boys do all the advent calendars before we wake up so we never really get to see them do it.

Yesterday the boys had a ton of fun activities. They were invited to a Grandparents gingerbread house making party. Here they are with their creations and their grandparents.

After that party, as well as a birthday party, we went to the Treehouse Museum for the Cookies and Milk with Santa party where the boys got to give Santa their letters, sing songs, ask him questions, eat cookies and milk, and do fun Christmassy things. M loved the trees from around the world.

I have had the chance to meet with friends and socialize as well- My mom has been making use of her jobless time watching my kids and driving my carpools for me.

With all this I am extremely exhausted! I am starting to swell pretty badly like I did with my first pregnancy which makes sitting or needing my hands or arms pretty difficult. At least this time I don't need to "work" (ha ha) I go for my 38 week appointment on Tuesday. We'll see if I am still measuring 4-5 weeks ahead at that point. May be another 10 pounder. They say that baby C seems to be healthy and doing well so for that we are very grateful. "Only" 18 more days until I'm due!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-11-29T20:18:00.006-07:00

I have some pictures of Thanksgiving on my mom's camera, I'll try to remember to get them and post them here. We went to my Grandma's house along with various aunts, uncles, and cousins. We had a good time visiting and eating the traditional meal.

On Black Friday, we had a little tie dye party instead of shopping. It was fun. These photos are courtesy of M, so they're a little weird, but here is us applying the dye and some pictures of the finished products. A gown for baby C, and shirts for all the boys. I also did a blanket for my shop. We did some short sleeved shirts for the summer as well. Clearly, we needed to use more dye. There is still a lot of white, but they still look good and they have been wearing them nonstop since we finished them.

On Saturday, we went to Ikea to buy a crib (I know, we have never used cribs- but we hope to get this one to at least nap in one for safety's sake) We passed by Gardner Village and the boys wanted to stop and see the elves. They had a great time and I got to peruse a quilt shop while they did it!

This picture was on Sunday, they looked cute in their church clothes so we took a picture :)

And lastly , apparently I am not the only one pregnant around here!

Looks like Winter- feels like flip flops

2010-11-24T10:02:00.003-07:00

They say it's pretty cold outside. I went to the dentist yesterday with no jacket and wearing flip flops and got some pretty weird looks :) Kind of nice to be impervious to it, but I'm sure I'm in for a rude awakening the minute this baby comes out and I get cold!

The kids have had fun with the start of the holidays. They are both now to the point where they remember holiday traditions from previous years and know what to look forward to. It's pretty fun, but has been busy trying to fit in all the prenatal appointments and holiday events. It is a lot when you have to go every week and it takes and hour to get there sometimes. We took the boys to a "sibling" class at the hospital we're delivering in and they learned (a lot more than I thought they would) about how babies come into the world. I think it helped them feel important to know it wasn't all about ME being pregnant, but that it was our whole family that is getting a baby.

E finally agreed to get his hair trimmed- and he wouldn't cooperate for any before/after mullet pictures but believe me, it was pretty shaggy before. He still has pretty long hair, just not way long in the back.

M had his first holiday choir concert on Monday for our city's park lighting ceremony. It was pretty cute. He has a few more concerts in the next few weeks and is pretty excited.

The boys got to play outside in the first snow of the season and I promised them I'd buy a sled sometime so we could go sledding.

Nesting?

2010-11-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

Did I start an etsy shop to avoid nesting or to enhance it? Hmmmmm.....

Blah

2010-11-10T08:55:00.002-07:00

I have a little cold, an asthmatic kid with the croup, and the weather is NOT awesome for my nerve pain.

I guess I don't have anything nice to say today, but it has been a while since I said anything on here.

I guess I can say that baby C is doing really well- I had my 34 week appt. yesterday and he looks great! I am measuring (only) 2 weeks ahead so that's about as small as I can expect at this point. He is in position and his hb sounds good.

(Hopefully) only 6 more weeks!

October Binge- Part 2

2010-10-31T14:23:00.002-06:00

Crazy hair and a Boy and his bin

2010-10-26T19:34:00.003-06:00

It was crazy hair day at school- M really loved his hair and wanted me to show everyone this picture.
We started an allowance for each boy this month- they get their age in dollars each month. E has been emptying bins around the house to play with and it drives me nuts! Today he suggested we go get him a new bin and I told him okay he could use his allowance. He is super proud of the new bin. So far he just pushes it around on the floor but maybe someday he'll use it to put things in?

October Binge- part 1

2010-10-23T15:14:00.008-06:00

I feel like the month of October has more activities, treats, parties, etc. than Christmas and Thanksgiving put together! There is SO much for kids to do- I feel like we end up opting out of about half of it but still end up doing a TON! We have done a lot already and have about 4 more activities before the month is over- so I'm splitting this into 2 parts.

First activity was the Enchanted Woods at the Treehouse Museum with some good friends. The kids loved King Arthur sending them on a quest, meeting different storybook characters along the way, and collecting prizes or treats at each place. It was a "non-scary" party and very well organized- we were impressed!

Luke, Superman, Obi-Wan, and Harvest Princess all ready to go in!

Waiting to begin their "quest"

Cutest sock monkey Ever!

One day we went with my mom to Gardner Village to see the witches. It was insanely crowded, but fun. They've come to expect candy from Grandma every time we go- and she didn't disappoint this time!

We've been doing a bunch of Halloween crafts- here is one we did for FHE. We did a few before that and still have sugar cookies in ghost shapes on the list for this Monday.

This is just a funny picture of E. He told me about a month or two ago that he wanted to have "Luke hair" to go with his costume- I have agreed and have only trimmed the front when it grows into his eyes. In this picture, he looks kind of like the Lego guy that I painted on his shirt and we thought it was funny.

I wish I had remembered to take a picture of M before his field trip, but I forgot. Here is E before his. They visited a farm, so he insisted on his "overolls." M went to a pumpkin farm for his too and they both brought home nice big pumpkins.

E had a Halloween program today for his preschool. It was in a barn and the kids sang a whole bunch of halloween songs and rhymes. It was, of course, adorable!

The best part was- he actually sang and participated! After the primary program, I was worried because all he did during that one was pick his nose and sang not one word. This time- no picking at all, and I could actually HEAR him singing.

E with his teacher after the program

A very spoiled newly 6 year old

2010-10-11T22:05:00.008-06:00

I don't know how this gets so out of control. First you tell them they can only have a party where they invite friends every other year. So on the off years it's family only. But you still want to celebrate with family on the "party" years. More and more celebrations and it turns the kid's head into a hot-air balloon. It's crazy but a ton of fun- we all want to spoil our kids, right?

So we had a party with family a bit before the real birthday and it was a surprise theme for M. He LOVES anything to do with ancient Egypt, so DH and I made him a pyramid cake and put some of his Playmobil guys on it to jazz it up. He got Egypt-themed books, a pith helmet, and an awesome Playmobil pyramid and accessories that (shhh!) we found for a tiny fraction of the regular price because they were display items at one of our favorite toy stores. Score! Now we can discuss the details of mummification even more (yay!)

For the morning of his real birthday- I made a fishbowl cake out of leftover batter from cupcakes and we had a little breakfast and he opened his watch from Daddy which he proudly wears every day. I can't say he was AS excited about the homemade PJ's I gave him, but who can compete with a LEGO Star Wars watch?

Later on the day of his birthday- it was time for the backwards party he had prepared for and anticipated for a LONG time. He had a blast coloring the invitations that guests had to read in the mirror. He made an exit sign for the front door and we hung balloons upside down from the ceiling. He greeted them with a "goodbye, thanks for coming" as he handed them their goody bag. We played pin the donkey on the tail (the "winner" being the person farthest from the tail) then opened gifts, some of which were written on backwards or wrapped in inside-out wrapping paper. He was now super-spoiled and rich in Legos, dress-ups, and other awesome toys 6 year olds love. We ate dessert first- which was cake in ice-cream cones, after singing "you to birthday happy" and watching M light the candle. Dinner was upside-down pizza eaten backwards and under the table, followed by "green-light, red-light," a backwards dress-up relay, cold potato, goose-goose-duck, and an over-the-shoulder beanbag toss. Awards were given for the best backwards-dressed boy and girl and he welcomed them as they left. It was fun and totally the type of cheesy humor that kids that age enjoy so much.

Anyway, it was quite the several days of celebrating and the boys have had a great time talking about the party and playing together with the new toys.

Thank you

2010-10-10T17:13:00.004-06:00

A big thanks to all who helped with Nolan's birthday project. We collected over 100 pairs of PJ's for Primary Children's NICU and the boys loved getting to make a card and deliver them. We felt the kind of love from people that we felt last year after his passing and it was a good reminder of the peace and comfort that we had during that time.

Delivering to PCMC

The boys made a birthday bear for Nolan at Build-A-Bear

Nolan's trees- they are doing very well!

Nolan's 1st birthday project

2010-10-01T13:42:00.003-06:00

For Nolan's birthday, we wanted to do something that can help other babies who are sick. The Primary Children's NICU posted today that they had a need for new boy's snap-up infant pajamas, size 0/3 months. So we decided we would collect as many as we could in this next week.

We will be going as a family to deliver them on Nolan's birthday (Saturday the 9th) If you would like to help, drop them off at our house or ship them to us any time before 10:30am on the 9th. (I'm sure we'll go again soon so if you're after this day, bring them anyway)

Thanks for your help!

Reminder: they are friends (most of the time) and other ramblings

2010-09-21T11:07:00.002-06:00

It makes me feel better to see these pictures when they are fighting and sitting on each others' heads.

Not a ton to blog about- I am busy preparing for M's 6th birthday and getting caught up on some crafts. I finally made a tree skirt out of fabric I've had sitting there forever waiting to be made into one. I made a halloween picture board thingy to put a picture of each halloween on, that I think turned out cute. I have been enjoying errands by myself while the boys are at school, and have gotten a bit of rest- though not much. Both DH and I woke up at 4am today and couldn't sleep because we had songs from Sunday's primary program stuck in our heads. AHhhhh! I canned salsa with my mom and DH on Saturday, and we've canned pears and are thinking about doing a bit more canning, but maybe not. I did NONE last year because I couldn't bear the thought of doing it in my last month, but this year I still have another trimester to go so not so much of an excuse.

The pregnancy is going well (on paper) but has been really hard on me. I guess since it's my fourth, it would probably be the hardest no matter my circumstances. I really don't want/need the epidural when I'm in labor, but could I get one periodically right NOW?! Seriously, contractions are not nearly so annoying as carpul tunnel, sciatica, killer migraines, and other joys I get to experience before labor even begins. But really, I am grateful that all my tests and ultrasounds have shown us a healthy baby. Of course, they did last time too, so I'm not exactly entirely trustful.

We have pretty much decided on a name, so I have started to make his Christmas stocking. And I'm to the quilting part of his quilt, so progress is being made despite my desire to hold off and pretend I'm not pregnant. I am forcing myself to do these things and it's probably good. At least he won't feel like a neglected 4th child as much as if I did nothing. We have a lot prepared from Nolan, but I took most of his stuff back, so we're starting over with some stuff. We never had a "theme" for Nolan's things like we did for M (monkeys) and E (elephants). I just never felt anything and really felt different about preparing for him. With this one, he's "C" so his theme is cars and we've bought a few outfits with cars and I've made a car quilt and some burp cloths and shoes with cars. It is kind of fun and WAY more "boyish" than my usually almost-gender-neutral themes and designs. I guess at this point, embrace the testosterone, right?
I'll try to remember to get some pictures of these things sometime if anyone wants to see.

Labor Day Weekend 2010

2010-09-10T13:27:00.006-06:00

We are still recovering from this crazy past weekend (at least I am) We had a very funny Saturday going fishing and then to a real rendezvous (that was a bit reminiscent of the renaissance faire we went to several mos. ago) The kids caught 6 fish and we ate them on Sunday night for dinner. They had fun making medicine bags with "twodog" and "snakes" (painted sticks) at the rendezvous and trying to catch candy shot out of a real cannon by a man named "crazy." It was definitely different from your usual movie or whatever most people do! On Monday we attended a pirate party at the museum- (well, some people went to a movie) It was a really fun party and the kids really enjoyed themselves. It was a full weekend and lots of fun!

Fishing

M caught all 3 of his fish by himself- he did really well!

At the Rendezvous

This picture was taken in a tent labeled "for sail." It is not clear whether the person who wrote it was trying to be authentic or really couldn't spell "sale.""

The Pirate Party

Making our pirate hats

Painted faces

I think they stabbed each other in the heart several times each

The pirate crew

E got chosen to come up on stage at the "pirate training" show and make his meanest face

First day of preschool

2010-09-09T20:29:00.003-06:00

Little E started preschool on Tuesday. He's had a great week and is excited to go back. He didn't want to go and was really nervous so I'm glad he likes it. It sure is a lot of money to pay if they don't like it! I would love to keep him at home and teach him but he didn't really ever enjoy it like M did, so I thought I'd try him with someone else and I think it's a good thing for him. He goes 3 days a week at the same time M has kindergarten so it works out for them to play together and for me to have some alone time to run errands. Weird for me! (well, it won't last too much longer- just another 3 1/2 mos. and I'll have a new little companion.)

Boise Reunion

2010-09-07T09:22:00.004-06:00

I guess I am just catching up for a while. I want to post about this weekend, but first I'll jot down a bit about our family reunion.

Every 2 years we get together somewhere- this year was DH's hometown of Boise, ID. We stayed with his parents and the kids got to see their cousins, which is a rare event and something they really look forward to.

We swam in the neighborhood pool 3 times, rafted the Boise River, picnicked, played games, had a carnival, and decorated cardboard cars for our "drive-in movie." It was a good time and we appreciate all the hard work and effort that went into it!

M with his face painted at the carnival

One of the favorite carnival events for E: archery

E having his palm read at the carnival- we found out later that he interpreted the prediction that he would someday "leave his family" (when he was grown up) to mean that he was soon going to be sent to live with another family. He worried about it for days before telling my mom what he was so anxious about.

Fish ponding

M showed off his mad uke skills to everyone who would listen

Having a picnic at the park after our day of rafting
Creating their cars for the drive-in movie

At the drive-in enjoying the movie "cars"

E splashing it up in Grammy & Pops' pool

Having gourmet s'mores cooked over the grill

August Fun

2010-09-03T10:43:00.006-06:00

Here are some random pictures of stuff we did in August. Not pictured: we celebrated our 9th anniversary and played with Legos for HOURS on end. Also, we had our family reunion in Boise- I will post pictures of that separately soon.

Every time we go to Ogden the boys want to ride the horses they have all over town

E's microphone stand he made for his performances

The annual tradition at the county fair- this time M wanted nothing to do with the animals

Petting Wilbur

E and I stood in line for a balloon FOREVER! It's all he wanted to

The reason M came- the SCIENCE TENT!!!

Grandma's birthday dinner at the Sp. Factory

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Is this chair too big? Helping Aunty Ann shop at Ikea

At Aunty Ann's new apartment getting things arranged

What happens at the father-sons campout stays.....

Another first

2010-08-30T20:36:00.003-06:00

On Saturday I guess I officially became a "soccer mom." Since I had not previously had a child participate in soccer, I technically wasn't. Not that I drive a Volvo or have a dog and drink endless coffee or diet Coke, as the case may be. I think those are the "official US soccer mom requirements," but I'm not sure.

Anyway, E picked Soccer for his sport this year (good thing, because he was too young for t-ball or anything else I know of) He is excited and loves it so far. I will admit to being a bit shocked that a child of mine actually did WELL at a sport. (M has his talents, bless his heart) He is the tallest (I know!?) and biggest of his 5 man team of 4 year olds, so that helps. He knows the rules now, too, so that will help. He is a bit timid but when he dares he can get the ball away and take it down the field (I should say "field") pretty quickly. He is pretty good at defending as well. We'll see what happens when he has to play more than 1/2 the game- he sat out 2 of the quarters this first game.

Sorry, it really sounds braggy! I am just really shocked- I have 0 sports talent so I can thank others for contributing to the DNA. Thanks guys!

Watching the team play while he sat out

It's begun

2010-08-16T13:25:00.003-06:00

I need to catch up with the end of July and our family reunion, but today I have to post about today. My oldest son went to his first day of school! He is there right now, so I don't know how it went yet, but I could tell he was pretty nervous before. I went and waited in line with him until his teacher, Mrs. Susana, brought them in then we waved goodbye and left. I did not cry and didn't see any other moms or dads crying, so I guess we all did okay. He was very anxious to get there all day and kept asking how much longer. He could barely eat any lunch, so he's probably hungry now. He went and got into the car 1/2 hour before it started so I agreed to drive around until it was time to be dropped off. It was funny how he was so excited but so nervous!

Front and back view of him all ready to go in his uniform. He wanted me to get a picture of the Beatles patch we got him for his backpack. If you ask him to he will identify each member of the band and their instrument and which songs they are famous for singing.

In front of the school, then in line with his friend M (who is not in his class, he was so sad) I can't imagine a more awesome smile ;)

P.S.- The banner at the top of the post has finally been finished! I started making it in I think February or March. I made up 16 of the chalk-cloth squares with rivets at the top that can be strung on in any combination to spell different things in chalk. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, except I would have backed it in dark fabric so the light didn't come through quite so much. Oh well- it's done!

Mirror Lake Camping Trip

2010-07-29T13:57:00.006-06:00

At the beginning of the week we left for the Uintahs for a camping trip, just the 4 of us. It was a fun trip, although a lot of work for being cut in half by weather. It's pretty common at 10,000 ft. to get stormy weather, so we shouldn't have been surprised, but we were still disappointed to come home without even getting to make our fire-grilled-cheeses the second night. Our tent leaked a bit so it wasn't really a possibility to stay on in the storm. There were a lot of "firsts" for the boys so that was way fun. Sorry it's so picture heavy, but my camera was left in the rain for several hours and the sun for several before that so I'm just so grateful to still have the pictures that it was hard to choose! (blaming pregnant brain)

This was our campsite- dirt by the road in the sun- all the other 63 or whatever were better, but not too much. Oh well!

As soon as we set up camp, E made a "rock collection"
Checking out our surroundings
Our view of bald mountain from the lake shore
E's "weapon" made by uncle B had to be hauled up- we fixed it with more tape and he used it to protect us from wild animals.
This is the reason there are so many pictures of E and not M- he was in the tent listening to his books.
E cooking his first hot dog over a fire- he has always wanted to do this, especially since he hates smores.
The classic Jiffy Pop for the 3 boys
World's fattest marshmallow- the boys begged to buy these and they made funny smores!
We played about 50,000 card games waiting for dark- most were in the tent after we were getting eaten alive.
Hiking around the lake- the boys did well on their first sort of "real" hike- it was 1.5 miles and they didn't complain once!
One of the 7 animals we saw on the hike- fish!
And the biggest on the list- a deer just feet away munching on grass.
Shining beautiful lake behind my cute boys
Educational spot on the trail about fallen logs
M did a pretty good job taking a picture- I got one to prove I was there!

After this picture was taken I left my camera on my camp chair in camp. We drove to Provo River Falls and looked, then down to Kamas for a picnic lunch and swimming at their rec. center for a few hours, followed by shakes. It was as we were heading back to camp that it started to rain and by the time we got there everything was soaked. The kids sat in the car while we hurriedly packed up our muddy mess and we drove all the way home- complete with getting lost in Heber City. It was quite a day! Another trip to Boise for the family reunion next week and then M starts school- it's been a quick summer in a lot of ways!

Pioneer Weekend

2010-07-28T12:02:00.004-06:00

Pioneer weekend started last Wed. when we went to the Treehouse Museum to participate in the "pioneer school" activity. Thursday was the days of '47 rodeo (just DH and the boys) and Saturday we did slip 'n slide and a cookout and fireworks at Grandma and Grandpa's. A fun time was had! I couldn't help wishing that pioneer day fell sometime when it was a) not as hot and b) not in July (I hate that people mix it up with patriotic themes, which it has little/nothing to do with). Oh well!

Getting ready to leave- in their most "cowboyish" clothes

(remember the vest E is wearing- yep, it was too small last summer)

So the big news that is not news to most people

2010-07-24T07:28:00.002-06:00

is that I am expecting. I loved being pregnant so much last summer that I couldn't wait to do it again! No really, it is crazy having such close pregnancies (babies less than 15 mos. apart), but who wants to have even more than 5 years between living children? It will already be a task trying to remember how to take care of a baby as it is. Here are a list of noteworthy things so far:

- I am 18 weeks and 2 days along today- so almost halfway there
- I am due on December 23rd- Merry Christmas!
- I am (and have been for a while) in maternity clothes full time- #4 is fun!
- I have been pretty sick, at least as sick as with Nolan, but probably more this time
- No, that doesn't mean it's a girl- because he definitely has boy parts
- The baby is measuring right on so far and there have been no problems with the pregnancy
- We THINK he's healthy, but don't for sure know that he doesn't have a diaphragmatic hernia yet- we were able to rule out some other related defects though.
- Yes, I am very nervous about that and experiencing a lot of (negative) deja vu- especially with having another boy
- The gender has been very hard on the children, especially M- don't ask them if they're excited about another brother unless you want an honest answer.
- No, we aren't for sure on a name yet- we have already chosen 6 boys' names so far, (including middles) and it is hard coming up with more! Interestingly enough it is far easier than choosing a girls' name though.
- Yes- I am excited about the thought of having a baby in the house again someday- hopefully it is this one that gets to come home!