Three Day Weekend

We went on our first camping trip in Colorado, which was also our first trip without one or the other of our parents. Don't get me wrong, we did have a good time. BUT, that being said, oh my gosh! We only went for one night, which I had thought was a good idea. First trip, short and sweet, break us in just a little. Yeaah, camping is A LOT of work weather you go for one night or three! I am going to go out on a limb and say it is not worth the work for only one night. We spent more time loading and unloading than we did anything else! Not to mention, I managed to leave home without my camera, so I don't have any pictures! I did mention that we DID have a good time, right?

Monday morning we loaded the car with Aaron's 22"s, BB guns and headed for the "grasslands" The girls were a little bit skeptical when we told them what we had planned for the day. We still lived in Idaho, and they were little the last time we went out. When we got there, you could see Aaron start to get excited. They were so funny to watch aim with their little visor on. It looked so awkward, yet they were hitting the box, so they must have been doing something right. It was cute watch them all walk out to check their marks on the targets, very serious stuff! Eli was a champ and just hung out, the noise didn't seem to bother him. Syd did have a good time I promise-though she looks quite the contrary sitting in the back of the Durango. Before we left, we filled a walmart bag with other peoples shot gun shells and still didn't get it all. I can't believe how lazy and uncaring some people are. Aaron was happy to see his little girls enjoy something that he has such fond memories of himself as a boy.

Tis Summer

Summer has officially started at our house. The girls last day of school was the 26th. The girls loved their teachers this year. Aaron was a little skeptical at first, he didn't think they looked much older than the girls! I can't believe it, one more year down- they just keep going faster and faster! Syd has one year of preschool under her belt. She has a late birthday, so we get to keep her home one more year!

Baby update

I had to get some shots of his chubs! Look at that bum hanging out of his diaper-those are 4's!! He is just so squishy and I can't get enough of the little stinker!! And he IS a little stinker! SOOO spoiled-yes by his three sisters, but I am just as guilty! He is a little lounger too. If he has the option of sitting or laying back and chill'n-he's gonna chill! You should see him in the grocery cart! Syd loves to climb into his crib when he wakes up in the morning and occasionally after naps to play with him. He of course loves every minute of it! I especially like it in the morning, allowing me a few extra minutes of sleep!

7 Years Old

Time seems to be going faster and faster. In another year it will be baptism #2! I have been truly blessed with the children that I have been given. Abby is so sweet and loving. She LOVES her baby brother, and is good friends with her sisters. She loves to please, and will do what ever is asked of her with out questioning. She is a joy to have around I love her more than she'll ever know!

We had a fun filled day with swimming, presents and eating out. Abby opened a few presents from her grandparents and then she got a movie and a kite from us. My favorite part of the evening was that she was absolutely thrilled with what she got, and had no expectations for more, so the surprise in the garage was priceless.

I had to through a couple of my favorite baby pictures in, can you believe those chubs!

spring break fun

We made our annual trip home, just the kids and me. We were able to make it for my sisters little girls 2 year birthday party. I miss being around for those small stepping stone moments/get togethers. As always the food was great, knowing that when I got home I was to start my loose --lbs crash diet, I went a little over board with the home made cream of broccoli soup, homemade rolls, sugar cookies, cinnamon rolls and Easter candy. We were at my sisters house for three days and the weather was less that pleasant, so we were stuck indoors. The kids didn't seem to mind, they love playing together. Des decided to try a sugar cookies on a stick, a trick she read in some magazine. I think they turned out cute, the kids were just happy frosting something, what kids doesn't love frosting?

Next was my moms house! The weather was a little warmer, so the kids were able to go outside a little more. Grandma is known for her crafts and projects for the kids to do. They were able to make these cute princess things called shrinky dinks. You color them and then cook them and they shrink into a smaller thicker version. It is crazy to watch. Later when Des came they made them into cute little necklaces. The next project was actually for me, but we let the girls in on the fun. My parents have a wood shop, and my mom has taken up cutting adorable crafty wood for groups in and around the community. This is something that I usually miss out on-living so far away- but I happened to time this one right. I walked away with a "SPRING" and "Free Weeds"! I love how they turned out! While we were working,we noticed a deer in the yard. The next thing we know there were 7 of them. In the ten years that I lived there, I never saw deer come right into the yard, I guess it isn't uncommon anymore. CRAZY!

The Easter Bunny comes to our girls Friday night. Grandma always adds a basket, filled with all kinds of fun goodies and surprises. We went to the towns annual Easter egg hunt( more of a neighborhood eggs hunt anywhere else), It was kind of a bust, they were not nearly fast enough! They were not upset in the least, because of the many egg hunts that they ended up doing, here, there and everywhere, this one had real eggs, and they don't like real eggs. Des and her family came up later in the day. All the kids ended up spending all afternoon hiding, finding and re hiding the eggs out in yard. It was a nice day, again with good food and always great company-with the exception that Aaron was missing. I love Eli enjoying his first experience with the sugar covered bunny, and that toothless gum smile!

We were suppose to leave for Aaron family Saturday night and leave for home Monday morning. Plans changed a little due to the deteriorating health of Aarons grandpa. We didn't leave my parents house until late Sunday morning. We were still able to meet with Aaron's siblings at his parents house. Again the kids had a blast playing their cousins. I love Eli playing with "the boys" It will not be long before he is running right along side of them. Eli with Aarons mom gives a good example of how LARGE he is. He is a fatty for one, but he is tall too! I just got a bunch of 12 month jumpers for summer that are already crouching him, he isn't even 8 months yet!

The trip is still not over!! Heath (my brother) was unable to make it to the birthday party. I still hadn't gotten to see his new little one, so we made a trip to see them Sunday night. Can you believe how tiny he is-at a month old even. Eli still had 4 weeks inside me when he was that size! SERIOUSLY!

So we had a very successful trip! Eli was a great traveler, and there was lots to keep us busy. That being said, it was nice to finally be home!

Snow Day

Monday we picnicked at the park, it was a lovely spring day. There was forecast of a storm to come, but I took it for what it was worth believing that clouds would roll in and the temp would drop and maybe there would be a few flakes. The day came and it started with rain. I celebrated, I can handle rain, that means spring truly is here here. Well the rain lasted for about an hour and then the snow. I believe this was the biggest snow of the season-THE END OF MARCH!! Needless to say school was canceled and the kids took advantage of the warm weather and super wet heavy snow.

Mother daughter night

We got tickets to Beauty and the Beast and decided to make a whole night of it. First we hit Red Robin for dinner-a table for 11, 6 of which were little girls, and three of those 6 were mine! We decided to hold off on the shakes and go for dessert afterwords. The play was not the Disney version, so the girls were a little disappointed that there was no Bell. After the play we ended up at Cold Stone, where the kids played for almost an hour. It was a great night, dinner, entertainment, dessert and great company!

6 months

So he is technically 7 months this week, but these are his "6 month pictures" I can't believe how fast they grow! If only pregnancy would go this fast! I can not say enough how much we love this little guy. He is a little charmer, always with a smile. He knows that I can not resist, which is definitally going to come back and bite me in the long run, but for now I give in and say "he's my baby"

Get the goobers out!

Sydney has a serious fetish with Eli's feet and hands! She is constantly,three and four times a day, picking his toes and fingers to make sure there are NO GOOBERS. I had to make the rule that she is not allowed to do it anymore if I am holding him. She would grab his feet and try to do it while I was changing his diaper. Seriously she is like a little monkey, grooming her little brother for bugs! Eli is actually a pretty good little sport about the process, it me that she is driving crazy.

Valentine Visitor

I love love love my sister!! It has been hard living this far from her, but she has been so good to come and visit as much as possible, which is GREAT, and I appreciate more than she knows. She flew in last Wednesday and we started the visit off with a trip into Denver for the musical Legally Blond. It was a great night, with the help of my friend Marie, who drove and showed us the ropes! We filled the rest of her visit with shopping, dinner, a movie, a visit to a scrap metal zoo, and then there was the built in babysitter for a Valentines date!

The girls were out like a light after the day of shopping, a movie and the zoo! Sunday the girls received their traditional valentine socks and sucker. I am not sure how the tradition with socks will last with Eli in the mix now, I was able to find Incredibles socks for him this year, so I guess we'll see!

Mr. Chubalub

My little man is getting closer to five months now, but these are the pictures taken in the last few weeks. My little, not so little guy weighed in at 18.9 lbs at his 4 month check up. Needless to say there is no worries about his growth! While it does make me a little sad when I see babies his age that are literally half his size, OHHH HOW I LOVE THE CHUBS!! He has been such a happy little guy and we are loving every minute of his sweetness!

Fire Drill gone bad

So I was warming some white chicken chili that I has pulled out of the freezer. I had turned the heat on hi so the it would boil and melt the frozen chunks. Anyway Aaron called me upstairs for some help, and I got distracted until I started to smell burning. I run downstairs to see the whole downstairs filled with smoke! Gasp-where were the children!!!...yeeah they were in the middle of the smoke filled room playing on the computer! Oh my gosh!!! I have no idea what they were thinking, or weren't for that matter. When I asked them how long it had been smoking/smelling- about five minutes. AAAAHHH! No, there was no fire, but they didn't know that for sure. Needless to say we had a little sit down on fire safety, which I thought that we had already done. Obviously we needed a refresher course! Now I am not trying avoid responsibility here. If I hadn't left the chili on hi and then forgot about it, none of this would of happened, I get that. But SERIOUSLY, a simple shout out "Mom something smells" or "Mom, the kitchen is smoking" would have been nice! I can't even let myself think "What if"

This is not a picture of my house- but you get the picture!

Our first Christmas

So this was the first Christmas that my family has not spent Christmas with either Aaron's family or mine. Aaron was more than pleased with this decision, and did his best to keep the kids entertained and start some family traditions of our own. I will admit, I had a few moment when I missed being home, but on the whole he was quit successful!! We decorated ginger bread cookies, sugar cookies for Santa, took goodies to friends and saw Santa on more than one occasion.(Library Santa continues to be my favorite). The kids each drew a name and we went shopping for their Christmas gifts, which they loved! We went out for lunch Christmas Eve, and then sat down and had a family home evening, focusing on the Jesus and his birth, followed by the tradition opening their pj's present. Christmas day was filled with plenty of presents, cinnamon rolls and later in that afternoon we went to Alvin and the Chipmunks the squeakual. So that is our Christmas in a nutshell, our first private Christmas, with out a hitch!

Thanksgiving Trip

We had one very full week of family! We were a little nervous traveling with Eli, but he was an amazing little trooper and we had a great trip. It ranged from making homemade raspberry jam to riding horses, and don't forget lots of loves and kisses from aunts, grandmas and great grandmas. For some reason taking pictures on Thanksgiving day is hard for me, so Thanksgiving day is never on the record.. and that's how we roll!

preschool fieldtrip

The theme for preschool this month was transportaion. So my friend found out that her husbands boss owned his own airplane and set the whole thing up for us, what a sweetie! The kids had a good time, each took a turn inside the plane as co-pilot. What a boss, to take time off of work to talk to your employee's, three year old and her friend! What a great experience for the kids!

Eli's Blessing

It was only a little over a year ago that we were at church and a little guy was being blessed. I looked at Aaron, who was deep in thought and asked him what he was thinking. He said that he was thinking about what he was going to say when he blesses his son. I just laughed, at this point the idea of a fourth child was not an option in my mind, little lone adding a boy to the mix. Here we are a year later and Aaron found himself thinking once again, about what he was going to say when he blessed his son. We are soo blessed to have this healthy beautiful little boy!!

My baby girl is FOUR!

This sweet baby girl was the smallest of all my babies, only 8lbs 3oz. Unlike my her siblings she stayed tiny for the first four months. This had me a little panicked, but as anyone who knows her now with her adorable little body and legs, there is nothing to worry about! Sydney has always had a hold of my heart, allowing her to get away with things that her sisters wouldn't have dreamt have! She can be a stinker for sure, but she is the cutest sweetest, little girl and I am so grateful and blessed for the opportunity to have her in my life!


Eli is my baby now, but Syd has been my baby for sooo long, it is hard to see her all grown up! She decided that she wanted to go to Chucky Cheese this year. On our way there we stopped at Sears to buy a vacuum. We told Syd that was all she was getting for her birthday, thinking that we were going to get a reaction. As we were leaving Chucky Cheese, Syd asks, with great enthusiasm, if she can vacuum with her new vacuum when we get home. She is defiantly Aaron's child!! Syd was spoiled rotten, with clothes, money from all the grandmas, very thoughtful gifts and singing from her little friends, and cupcakes from her preschool teacher. Thanks for helping make her birthday a special one!

Fall Pictures

This was my attempt at taking some falls pictures. I have now learned that for me and my lack of training, pictures must be taken in the morning or just after the sun is behind the mountains in the evening. I haven't been able to get the sun to work in my favor as far as lighting is concerned. I am also counting the days down until I get a new camera for chirstmas, this old one is on its last leg!

Halloween Costumes

I thought that I was going to get away with staying home this year while Aaron went out, but fortunately or unfortunately for him he was sick with that nasty head cold that is making it's way around. With a snow storm just three days earlier, we were pretty fortunate with the weather this year. There was still snow on the ground, and it wasn't nearly as warm as last year, but I have definitely survived much MUCH worse. It was so nice that Syd could keep up this year, no stroller. I savored the moment since it will not be for long.

More Eli

Yes, I do remember that I have three other amazing children that I love to pieces!! But Eli is changing so much every week, I can't help it, please bare with me!

Stone Soup

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a cook! So when we went to Miller Farms and came home with all those vegetables, I had NO IDEA what we were going to do with them! Then the story of Stone Soup came to mind, and I figured that not only would Sdyd have fun, but if we did it with her friend, i might get lucky and not have to be the one who figured out how to make it. Turned out I was right, I read the story to the kids while MY friends stood over the stove! In the end EVERYONE was Happy! We let the kids pick a rock, wash it and put it in the soup, after all what is Stone Soup without the STONE?

Smiles

He is now to the point where he is smiling for reasons other than gas! He is just over a month now, and still changing so much everyday. We still haven't decided who we think he looks like. One minute it is Syd, the next he is more Abs. Only time will tell, maybe he is just Eli!

Preschool Field Trip

Sydney is in preschool this year. She has been waiting since last fall to be going to "school" like the girls. So she was super excited when Abby was in 1st grade, that being the marker that let HER start school. This week we had our first field trip to Miller Farms. It was quit the adventure. There was lots to do and not enough time to do it all. Most of the time was spent on a huge wagon pulled by a tractor through the giant field of corn, pumpkins, potatoes, carrots, onions....and we got to fill a bag.

Mamma Duck

So last night was my first official excursion, by myself with all four! So I didn't have anyone to take a picture of the momentous occasion, but these pics are a good representation. To my very pleasant surprise, Eli slept the whole time, so it actually went well! I lead the crew with the shopping cart, and the girls followed behind with one pushing Eli in the stroller.

More Eli

We are loving our new addition. The girls are as a HUGE help, as they do not like it when he cries, and he cries plenty!! He is training them well. I can't believe he will be a month on Tuesday! The last of family left on Tuesday. I was so blessed to have so much time and help from family, a total of three weeks!! Not to mention a ton of help from all our friends that kept us fed and helped keep Sydney entertained. Aaron and I really appreciate everything...Thank you!!