A Prince and His 4 Princesses

Maya's Big Day!

2012-02-04T17:21:00.003-07:00

Saturday was Maya's baptism. It was a wonderful day! Everything went as smoothly as could be expected, which I was very grateful for. We had the support of lots of family and friends and it was really nice to be able to visit with them after the baptism.

Our family is so proud of you Maya and your decision to be baptized. You are such a good example for our family!

January Birthday #2

2012-02-01T20:59:00.003-07:00

Maya is our 2nd January birthday and she turned 8. This was a pretty big day for her. Since her birthday was on a Saturday we opened presents, went to her Jr. Jazz basketball game, and then Maya and I went to Culver's for lunch and then to get her ears pierced. I asked Maya if she was scared to get her ears pierced, but she said no. She's a pretty brave little kid!

Just like Karli, Maya got to celebrate 3 different days too. Her actual birthday. Don't mind the mismatched pajamas.

Her friend birthday party. Again, like Karli, she wanted a pajama party. The girls watched a movie, decorated cupcakes, opened presents and just played. They seemed to have a great time!

And her family party. Which actually had to be postponed a week since all of the kids were sick. This was pretty tramatic for Maya to have to wait, but I can't say that I blame her.

And then she will be baptized on Saturday. Our family is pretty excited for that. There will be another post for that big day.

January Birthday #1

2012-02-01T20:46:00.003-07:00

Karli is our first January birthday. She turned 6 this year and got to celebrate her special day on 3 different days. 1st her actual birthday.

2nd her friend party. It was a pajama party for Karli and 3 little friends. I might add that pajama parties are great, there doesn't seem to be as much planning involved! We painted nails, watched a movie, ate treats and opened presents.

3rd her family party.

Happy Birthday Karli! We love you!

Ear Infection Update

2012-01-30T14:17:00.002-07:00

So, I last posted that 3 of the kids had ear infections, well, now the number is up to 4. The only one that isn't on medicine is Halle. We thought she had one on Friday night, but by Saturday, she was fine.

Ear Infections

2012-01-26T16:47:00.003-07:00

Apparently, this is the week for ear infections. Kate started us off on Sunday with one and then Maya and Karli both have one today. Kate's wasn't too bad, but Maya's is really bad and Karli's is a double ear infection with ear drums almost ready to burst. Poor kids!

We Finally Caught the Mouse

2012-01-10T08:39:00.003-07:00

So for over a month we have tried to catch a little mouse that has been scampering around our kitchen. And last night we finally caught it! Hooray! Jarren gave us the idea that finally worked; I guess we should have asked him a month ago what to do.

This little mouse has gotten onto my pantry shelves at least twice, and I was pretty disgusted cleaning up after it. It got out of a sticky trap, somehow avoided being caught in the regular mouse trap when Jason and I both heard it go off, and avoided dying after eating some mouse poison. It also managed to sneakily eat the peanut butter off of the regular mouse trap without setting it off probably about 6-8 times. I'm glad he is finally gone! Although Jason said it was a "cute little guy" as he was carrying it out to the garbage can. (EWW! It is NOT cute!)

Maya and Karli's Christmas Dance

2011-12-20T21:26:00.004-07:00

Maya and Karli had their dance recital on Saturday. It was Karli's first chance to dance on the stage and she was pretty excited. Maya says it makes you nervous because everybody is watching you. Despite being nervous, Maya did great and so did Karli. After watching the dances, a couple people pointed out that a lot of the girls in Karli's class were watching Karli to know what step came next because they knew Karli would know what to do. And Maya knew all of her steps and performed them with exactness. Good Job girls!

Maya didn't want her picture taken for most of these pictures, hence, the slouching and slightly grumpy face.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-20T21:09:00.004-07:00

So, one of my favorite family traditions is making gingerbread houses. My mom has been making them for us since I was one or two years old and I have only missed decorating them 2 years, and that's when I was on my mission.

This is the first year my dad has ever helped put them together or decorate them. It was great to have my dad's help!

This was also Halle's first year to have a house to decorate and she loved it! The first few candies she had to lick before she put them on, maybe that makes them look better?

Kate's Birthday

2011-11-29T17:05:00.004-07:00

Cute little Kate (aka Rapunzel, as she calls herself) turned 4 on Sunday. She was counting down to her birthday last week and I was surprised that she could count down the days all by herself. She is such a sweet little girl. I can't believe she is 4.

This is what she did when we sang to her. She laughed.

It took about 6 tries to blow the candles out. The first 3 times she tried, none of the candles went out.

More Thanksgiving Fun

2011-11-29T16:35:00.004-07:00

We had a lot of fun with extra family in town for Thanksgiving. We all loved being able to see Jason's grandparents and having a little snuggle time with them, was great for my kids.

Maya and Karli and Jarren carried around and pestered grandma's kitties for 4 days. Grandma said the cats probably loved the attention. I say the poor cats were probably ready for us to leave every night. Anyway, the kids were in heaven every day being able to love them.

On Friday we all went to see the lights at Temple Square, it had been a few years since I had seen them. We rode the train downtown and the kids all thought that was great. Halle and Kate sat with their faces pressed against the glass watching outside for most of the ride there. I wish Halle would have sat that good coming back home.

Fall Leaves

2011-11-29T16:23:00.005-07:00

We raked the leaves at our house a couple of times this year, but it seemed like it was colder outside this year. Anyway, the kids didn't play in the leaves, which was actually fine by me, because the leaves get all broken up and it's harder to clean them up when their done jumping in them. I know, what a boring parent. Oh well! Anyway, with Jason's brother being in town we spent a lot of time at his parents house. Jason's brother raked the leaves and then left them in a pile for a few days for the kids to play in them. I know, a good uncle! The kids had a great time playing in them.

Thanksgiving Turkeys

2011-11-27T18:55:00.007-07:00

We were so excited to have Jason's brother, Jeremy, and his family come for a visit for Thanksgiving. We typically only see them once a year, so it was great to see them again this year. It's a tradition in Jason's family to make Thanksgiving turkeys out of gumdrops. This year some of the kids had fun making spiders and other things besides turkeys. They seemed to have fun making them and eating them.

Jarren and cousin Maddie just starting the turkeys.

Maya and cousin Dawson, with I think a spider and a turkey.

Me...with mine and Jason's turkeys.

Kate, completely enjoying herself.

Halloween

2011-11-27T18:45:00.003-07:00

You would think after seeing my kids costumes that I had planned all their costumes with a theme in mind. Nope. The only costume I picked was Halle's, since it matched 3 of the other kids and we already had it. Maya was the one who wanted to be original. The kids made out with a ton of candy after trick or treating at Jason's work and the ward trunk or treat. Since they got so much candy before Halloween we only went to about 3 neighbors houses plus both grandmas on Halloween.

A good witch! Not a scary one.

Go Utes!

This is how Halle smiles in all her pictures now.

Excited to be a cheerleader.

Karli's pretty proud of her pumpkin.

Visit to See the Witches

2011-10-27T14:17:00.003-06:00

Every year me and the kids have fun going to see the witches at a nearby park. This year, for the first time, we took Jason with us. I don't think he enjoyed it too much, but me and the kids did (well, most of the kids liked it, most of the time- the pictures will show you which child I'm talking about).

Jason will be so embarrased to see that his son is wearing a "Y" shirt in these pictures, since our family cheers, "Go Utes!" Oh well, he was excited about getting it from a basketball camp he went to the week before.

Maya's Pumpkin

2011-10-27T14:13:00.002-06:00

Last year in school Maya planted a white pumpkin seed. It grew in its cup for awhile and then we transfered it to our garden. I didn't think much would happen with it, but to my surprise it grew like crazy and was one of the funnest plants to watch in our garden. She ended up with 2 white pumpkins. Good growing Maya!

First Day of School- Part 2

2011-09-28T13:55:00.003-06:00

Karli and Kate started school about a week and a half after Jarren and Maya. Luckily the "K's" started on the same day, it made it easier to wait that way.

Karli likes school, but at first she didn't like recess. I know, what kid doesn't like recess. In fact she even told me she didn't want to go to school one day because she knew they were going to have a longer recess than normal. Mean mom, made her go anyway. Anyway, the teacher got it figured out, she thinks Karli was afraid because she got lost going from the bathroom to the playground on one of her first days of school. Now, she's like any normal kid and loves recess.

Kate loves preschool. Mrs. Charri is wonderful and Kate thinks it's great to have one of her best friends in class.

Jarren and Maya looking like pro's, since they've already done the school thing for a week and a half this year.

Tampa

2011-09-27T12:59:00.004-06:00

I have to start this post by saying thank you to the Simons for sharing their camera with us during this trip. We weren't thinking and didn't take ours.

In August Jason and I and our good friends, the Simons, went on a trip to Tampa, Florida. Let's just say it was a ton of fun! I've never been to a beach before where after a few hours the water is a little bit too warm and you have to get out. I was very sunburned for a few weeks after that day at the beach, but it was well worth it.

While in Tampa we went to Bush Gardens. The first day started out very eventfully. On our train ride over to enter the park, it started to sprinkle and within about 10 seconds it was a downpour. We had no choice but to get off the train and run in the rain for some sort of shelter. Once we realized we were as soaked as we could be, we decided to just enjoy being drenched and walk in the rain. The rides were great. But by the 2nd day of rides, the men wimped out and the ladies had to go on the rides by ourselves. They were content to sit or stand in the baking sun, while we went and had fun on more rides.

Of course while in Tampa we had to go to a baseball game. Check one more stadium off of Chad and Jason's list.

On one of the days we went on a boating trip to see dolphins, it was so much fun watching dolphins play in the boats wake.

Thanks to both grandmas and Jessica for taking care of the kids for us. We really appreciate it!

Jordan Left

2011-09-04T17:02:00.003-06:00

I am so sad..my little brother left for his mission this last Wednesday. I mean, I am super excited for him and proud of him for going, but I still miss him. He will be serving in Long Beach, CA and will be gone for 2 years.

The siblings- me, Jordan, Tyler and Jessica.

The kids all LOVE Jordan!

Jordan, my kids and my niece. My nephew wasn't in the picture.

Dance

2011-09-04T16:56:00.002-06:00

We started the 3 older girls in dance this week. This is Maya's 3rd year dancing, Karli's 2nd and Kate's first year. Kate was so excited. She kept looking at me and smiling during her class, it was so cute.

This week we are letting Jarren start a hip hop dance class. He cried last year when Jason wouldn't let him sign up for tap and ballet, like his sisters. We came up with this compromise.

Jarren and Maya's 1st Day of School

2011-09-04T16:51:00.003-06:00

Jarren and Maya started school this last week. Maya was ecstatic when she found out who her teacher was, it was a boy teacher, and it was the one she wanted. Both of their teachers seem really nice. Jarren is in the 4th grade, Maya 2nd. Karli will start school this next Wednesday.

I couldn't find the camera before school, of course; so these pictures were taken after school.

Curly Locks

2011-09-04T16:45:00.003-06:00

Kate let me put curlers in her hair last week. It was the first time we had ever done it and I thought it turned out super cute. I had 7 curlers left after putting them in Kate's hair and Karli told me that she wanted them in her hair, which completely shocked me because Karli hates her curly hair. Anyway, I thought the 7 curlers would look funny and we would end up wetting her hair in the morning, but it actually was really cute in her hair too.

Karli wouldn't look at me because she didn't really like her hair curly, but we left it.

Halle's Birthday

2011-08-24T16:45:00.006-06:00

Halle turned 2 last week. She is sweet and nice most of the time, but she shows us quite often that she is definitely 2. She is such a fun little girl. We are working on potty training and most of the time she does pretty good.

Moving Stinks!

2011-08-24T16:33:00.003-06:00

Our good friends from across the street just moved to Denver this last week and we all think it stinks! We miss them a lot. They had 1 boy and 2 girls and they were best friends with my kids. They were over at our house or my kids were over at theirs almost every day for the last 3 years, except for Sundays. It will be a little bit of an adjustment for awhile.

However, it is nice seeing the kids play more with each other. I overheard Karli and Kate saying that they are best friends. Maya seemed a little bit bugged by this, she seemed to think they should just be sisters. I've been seeing a lot more of things like this picture lately.

Planet Play

2011-08-15T16:17:00.005-06:00

This last Saturday we spent the day with my family at Planet Play. My little brother leaves in 2 1/2 weeks for his mission, so we are trying to see him a little bit more before he leaves. We ate some yummy food and then played; and then we ate a few more times :) And if you notice from the pictures, we are color coordinated because we had family pictures taken before Planet Play. My kids thought it was great that they got to have a buddy. Kate went with my mom, Maya went with my dad, Karli with Jessica, Jarren with Jason and Halle with me. Maya stuck to my dad like glue, it was so cute.

Jarren especially enjoyed the video games, Katie liked the go carts, and Halle enjoyed the merry-go-round and the little car. We all had a great time, except for poor Kate got a really bad headache towards the end, and unfortunately I didn't have any medicine with me.

Karli thought it was great being able to swipe her own card to get the merry-go-round to go. And as you can see from the picture, she enjoyed being a little bit silly too.

Idaho Family Reunion

2011-08-15T15:52:00.003-06:00

It was time to visit Idaho again, but this time for a big family reunion. Almost all of Jason's extended family was able to come, and so we were able to enjoy 4 fun filled days with lots of family.

Aunt Sheila brought over a kiddie pool, it was never filled up with water, but the kids thought it was great fun anyway.

The pool was so much fun that Kate even decided to have a nap in it. I tried to find her one afternoon after church and couldn't find her anywhere. I had to laugh when Jason found her laying there.

We of course had to visit Big Jud's, one of our favorite burger places. And of course, I once again forgot to take a picture of the 1 lb. hamburger that our family shares. One of these times I'll remember. This time we had lots more kids outside of Big Jud's, thanks to Jason's brother.

We went to Mesa Falls again. We thought we were going to be eaten alive by mosquitos. I think we all got a few bites before we could get the bug spray on. Thanks Laurel for providing the bug spray!

We can't wait to get together again!

Parades and the 4th of July

2011-08-15T15:33:00.004-06:00

Our family went to a couple of parades either on the 4th of July or close to it. The kids all enjoyed getting as much candy as they could. For the parade on the 4th it sprinked for most of the parade, but at least it kept it cooler.

Kate showing us how to enjoy 2 suckers at one time. Pretty smart thinking Katie!

Auntie Holly made us the cute 4th of July bows, which all of the girls loved, except for maybe Halle, she's not a huge bow fan, but mean mom makes her wear them anyway.

Enjoying some nice ice cream after the parade.

Southern Utah Trip

2011-06-22T14:31:00.009-06:00

Jason and I both spent most of our growing up years in Utah, yet neither one of us had ever been to Southern Utah. We decided it was time to take our family, so that our children wouldn't have to admit to the same thing.

None of us knew what to expect on this trip. But we had so much fun. We are still finding sand at our house, which I guess shows how much fun we had.

We started the trip by going to Goblin Valley. This was my personal favorite! None of our pictures even do this place justice. You really have to see it for yourself. Karli cried most of the time we were there because it was really windy and the sand kept blowing in her eyes. The sand blew in our eyes too, but the rest of us didn't mind. In fact by the time we left all of us were completely covered in sand. It didn't help that we put sunblock on right when we got there, so the sand totally stuck to our faces, as you can see from some of Halle's pictures. I think the sand on my face looked like that fake suntan stuff, where you turn kind of orange if you don't rub it in right. Anyway, to look out and see all these "goblins" was just amazing. Goblins are what they call the rocks that look like chocolate that is melting. The kids loved being able to climb without mom and dad telling them to get down. And, Maya kept telling me to "take a picture".

The kids were so excited because the condo we rented had a pool, but the weather was too cool, so the pool was closed the first day. Quite disappointing to little kids. Luckily for us our condo had it's own private hot tub, so the kids thought that was the next best thing.

On our 2nd and 3rd day we went to Arches National Park. It was a ton of fun too. We hiked a lot and were pretty tired by the end. Jarren wanted to hike more, but his little sisters didn't. Maybe next time. Our favorite arch was Sand Dune arch. Underneath the arch there is tons of fine sand. We all sat and played in the sand for quite a while. It was very relaxing. (Of course I didn't get any pictures of it because I was having too much fun just sitting there).

Jarren's Birthday

2011-06-22T14:30:00.002-06:00

Jarren turned 9 this month. He was so excited for his special day. His grandparents all gave him money, and he thought he was so cool with a pocket full of money. He wanted to spend all of his money on Pokemon cards, but I wouldn't let him. I told him he could buy Pokemon cards, but he would have to spread it out over a few weeks, to make sure he wouldn't rather have something else (I'm a mean mom, huh?).

I was nice though to let him have a friend birthday party. He wanted a sports party. So we went to the park and played basketball, football, and soccer. All the kids seemed to have a great time.

I love you Jarren!! Happy Birthday!

Mission Call for My Little Brother

2011-06-08T21:43:00.003-06:00

My little brother, Jordan, got his mission call for our church tonight. He will serve 2 years in the California, Long Beach, Spanish speaking mission. I am so excited for him. And I am so glad he gets to learn Spanish. My dad had to work tonight, so we all went to my dad's store to open it. (Sounds familiar, I opened my mission call at my dad's store too). Jordan will leave the end of August.

The excitement and anticipation...waiting to see where it will be.

The proud nieces and nephews. They sure love Uncle Jordan! We were figuring how old some of the kids would be when Jordan comes home. Jarren will be 11 and Halle will be 4. That is crazy!

The proud mom and dad. They all look a little teary eyed (Tears of joy, of course).

One of the proud sisters. My sister was on a cruise, so she missed being there. Sorry Jess, we missed you, but I'm sure you were having a great time in Mexico.

And last, but not least, the proud girlfriend, Esther. Our family really likes Esther. We sure hope she's still around when Jordan comes home.

Love this Girl!

2011-06-01T22:01:00.003-06:00

It makes me sad to see that Halle isn't a baby anymore, she's a little girl. Isn't she just a little cutie though?

Idaho

2011-06-01T21:48:00.002-06:00

We went to Idaho this weekend, and this is the only picture that I took. Jarren thought it was great having a boy to play with (thanks Tregan for being Jarren's buddy). This picture was taken outside of Big Jud's, it is our favorite place to eat when we go to Idaho. Being a germ nut, I can't think about the way the place looks and just enjoy the food. Our family enjoyed a 1 lb. burger, fries, tator tots, onion rings, mini corn dogs and ice cream (I know, pretty healthy, but very yummy).

The weather wasn't the best, but we had a great time. Jason and I were able to visit the new Rexburg temple. It was so pretty. It reminded us a lot of the Winter Quarters temple we got to go to when we lived in South Dakota.

The kids all had fun making beaded necklaces and bracelets; even Jarren thought this was great. Thanks Diana for the fun and for sharing your beads!

I'm not sure how many times the girls went to visit the horses next door. I hope the horses didn't get sick from all the grass and weeds they fed them.

Karli's Preschool Graduation

2011-06-01T21:36:00.003-06:00

Karli had her preschool graduation last week. It was so cute to watch her sing the songs with her class. She loves to sing. I can't believe it's Kindergarten in a few months. Seriously, where does the time go?

Pinewood Derby

2011-06-01T21:30:00.002-06:00

Jarren was so excited about the Pinewood Derby. My dad and little brother helped him get his car just right. And I actually think my dad was as excited as Jarren was. It was cute to see them get so excited about it. Jarren was disappointed that he didn't win, but he was pretty proud that his car took 2nd, 1st, and then 1st in the different races.

What We've Been Doing

2011-05-20T22:10:00.007-06:00

So... as you can tell I have been a complete slacker in my blog lately. I apologize. Let me give you a brief overview of the last month a half.

Easter
The kids were excited about their new Spring pajamas. It would be nice if it were actually warm enough to wear them.

Hey Jarren, nice Easter basket on your head.

Maya loves zebras, so the Easter Bunny picked out a good pair.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

My brother and his wife are awesome about putting on an Easter egg hunt every year in their backyard. It is something we look forward to for many months before Easter. There are so many eggs that the older kids always end up with full baskets and the younger kids always get enough to satisfy their candy cravings.

You can totally tell that this girl is mine. Look at all the good chocolate in her hands.

Mother's Day

This was the picture we used for our Mother's Day project for our wonderful grandmas. Aren't I the luckiest mom ever to have these little cuties?

Dance Recital

Maya had her Spring dance recital a few weeks ago. She did such a good job! I was so proud of her.

Sorry for the funny spacing. I can't get it figured out.

Culver's

2011-05-19T21:14:00.002-06:00

Can I just say that I LOVE Culver's custard. Jason and I initially fell in love with Culver's when we moved to South Dakota. However, when we moved back home, no Culver's. Well, recently a Culver's opened up about 2 minutes from our house and let's just say it's probably a little too close. I went tonight with my kids and my parents, and I think Black Forest is another favorite!

Girl Cruise

2011-04-05T22:14:00.007-06:00

This past week I was able to go on a cruise with my mom and sister. It was great!!! We left Monday morning bright and early (4:45 am). We then got to spend 4 hours in the fabulous Long Beach airport (if you've ever been to this airport you will understand my sarcasm). We then were able to head to our "Paradise" (the name of our ship, but it truly was paradise to have just a few days where I only had to take care of myself).

We had a great time in Catalina Island. We rented some beach cruisers and headed out to see the island. We saw some pretty things, and we made sure to play a little too. Jessica and I had fun at a local park. We had fun racing down the slide, and acting like kids. We enjoyed sharing a yummy caramel apple and just watching the people around us. We got some sun as you'll see from the picture of us in the dining room later on that evening.

Wednesday was spent in Ensenada, Mexico. We spent the morning shopping like tourists. I found my girls some cute handmade dresses and Jarren a fun puppet. After lunch we went horseback riding in the hills around Ensendada. It was so much fun. I've never been horseback riding before and so I was a little bit nervous, and aside from the fact that my helmet wasn't tight enough and so every time my horse moved, so did my helmet; I had a great time. All 3 of us complained for a few days that our back ends hurt, but it was totally worth it.

Thursday was a "Day at Sea", so we spent the day on the ship. It was nice to just relax a little bit. We had fun eating, playing games, reading, and eating some more.

Friday we left our "Paradise" and headed back to the Long Beach airport for another long wait. What was supposed to be a 4 1/2 hour wait, turned into a 6 hour wait. And of course it was in an airport the size of my house. Thank goodness for Jessica buying me a Milky Way, chocolate makes everything better. Thanks Jess!!!

When we finally made it home I was very excited to see the kids, but they quickly put me in my place. Karli told me she didn't want me to come home because she liked playing with daddy (who took the week off work, so he could take care of them) and Halle hardly acknowledged that I had walked in the door. Oh well, I still missed them.

It was a great week. Thanks mom and Jess for being such fun people to travel with and thanks Jason for being so fun for the kids that they didn't want me to come home.

Toilet Bowl Brush

2011-03-22T21:33:00.002-06:00

Jason walked into the bathroom last night to find that Halle had the handle of the toilet bowl brush in her mouth. For those of you who know me, you know what a germ freak I am. I really wanted to wash her mouth out with soap or sanitize it somehow, but I didn't.

The Zoo

2011-03-20T16:46:00.004-06:00

Jason took a day off work last week and we took the kids to the zoo. We had so much fun! The weather was perfect and being together with our family was great! When we first got to the zoo, Halle called everything a "kitty", by the time we left, everything was then a "monkey".

Grandpa's Dollhouse

2011-03-20T16:36:00.003-06:00

My dad is totally amazing! He is talented in so many areas, and I completely appreciate his willingness and ability to fix many broken things at our house, including cars and household items. He thought my girls might like a Barbie dollhouse; so he made them one. He spent many hours working on it for them, and we absolutely love it! It really is amazing to look at. Thanks dad!!!

No One Likes Being Replaced

2011-02-09T13:21:00.003-07:00

It's time. We finally replaced our 1990 Geo Prizm that we've had since we got married 10 years ago. "Little Whitie" had over 200,000 miles when we bought her and she now has about 236,000. Jarren was concerned this morning when he woke up that "Little Whitie" might me gone; he was very relieved to see that she was sitting out in the road. She'll still be hanging around out in the road until we can either sell her or donate her to the Kidney Foundation. This car has truly been a blessing, we bought it for $1,000 and have spent maybe $400 in repairs. She was our only car for 3 years, she's been to South Dakota and back, and has taken Jason to TRAX and back for about 7 years. Thanks "Little Whitie" for being such a great car! And thanks dad for helping us find her!

Mini Cheerleaders

2011-02-05T16:45:00.003-07:00

Maya and Karli were mini cheerleaders yesterday for our local high school. They went to a practice for 2 hours on Thursday to learn their cheer and dance and then they got to perform during half time last night. They were so excited! We had a great time watching them and the basketball game until Maya drank too much rootbeer and threw up in the hall. Yuck!

Maya is the 4th one from the left.

Karli is the last one on the right side.

Christmas Blankets

2011-01-26T22:21:00.002-07:00

I just have to say that my favorite Christmas presents this year were the blankets that Jason's grandma made for each of my kids and all the other great-grandkids. She picked out the fabric for each blanket with a particular child in mind. My kids sleep with them every night, they absolutely love them. Thank you grandma and grandpa for helping my kids feel special every night snuggling up with their blankets!!!

January Birthdays

2011-01-26T22:00:00.006-07:00

January is a big birthday month at our house. Karli turned 5 and then 10 days later Maya turned 7. Karli was very excited to have family come over for her party, especially her cousin, Riley.

This make-up was probably one of Karli's favorite presents.

Maya was super excited about her bike and luckily for us, their was no snow on the sidewalk, so she got to try it out on her birthday. She was so funny at the end of the day, she said she was so lucky, I think because she had had such a fun day.

Maya has chosen this carousel cake for her birthday a few times, I think it's cute that she likes it so much.

Maya got a haircut a few weeks ago. I love it on her! I think she looks so cute, although I think it made her look older (and sometimes I wish my "babies" could stay little forever).

Nice Mess, Kate!

2011-01-26T21:53:00.002-07:00

I help count the Box Tops for our school. I have worked on getting them cut and organized for a couple of hours these past few weeks. I keep all the Box Tops in a bag in my room. I came upstairs a few days ago to find this mess.

My sweet little Kate decided to dump everything out of the Ziploc bags they were divided into. Box Tops, Campbells labels, milk $.05 lids that were once all separated, were no longer separated. It took me 40 minutes to get them put into categories.

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-15T20:36:00.005-07:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making gingerbread houses. My mom actually let me help bake 4 of the houses this year (only because she broke her shoulder 3 months ago and had to have surgery on it). Usually she makes them all by herself, she's awesome! She's been baking our gingerbread houses since I was about 2, so she knows all the tricks about getting the dough rolled thin enough, how to get the dough onto the baking sheets, and how to get the finished pieces off the baking sheets without them breaking. This comes in handy when you are baking 8 of them.

It's always fun to watch how the kids decorate their houses. Poor Halle had to watch from the Pack and Play; she was a good sport.

All of the kids spent a lot of time decorating. And I was actually surprised that Jarren didn't use that much candy (you get to eat the candy on your house after Christmas).

Here's the crew, after all the decorating was done.

Kenadee (niece), Cameron (nephew), Jordan (brother), Esther (girlfriend), Maya, Karli, Jarren, mom, Kate, Jessica (sister)

Siblings are great!!

The Sisters

The Brothers (Jordan just had surgery on his wrist a week ago)

Out of the Mouth of Kate

2010-12-15T20:35:00.001-07:00

Somebody rang our doorbell tonight and after they left Kate said, "Was that Satan?"

Maya's Christmas Dance

2010-12-15T20:29:00.004-07:00

Maya had her Christmas program for dance on Saturday. She danced to The North Pole Express. She had so much fun up on stage dancing, she was smiling the whole time. It's fun to see her coming out of her shell a little bit.

One of her friends from the neighborhood danced too.

Decorating the Tree

2010-12-08T22:18:00.004-07:00

Starting to decorate.

We're Done!

What do we want from Santa?

2010-12-08T22:06:00.005-07:00

We were able to see Santa this past weekend. It was fun to see the kids sit on his lap and enjoy the magic of Santa.

Halle didn't like Santa until he gave her a candy cane.

Kate's 3!

2010-12-08T21:50:00.003-07:00

Kate had her 3rd birthday right after Thanksgiving. She was so cute, she kept asking throughout the day if it was still her birthday. And when asked how old she was she would say "three" and then hold up a hand of five fingers.

She wanted brown cupcakes for her birthday (brown frosting, but not brown cake). She had fun putting the gummy worms on top.

Kate got a tutu from grandma and grandpa, it's perfect for dancing.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-08T21:36:00.003-07:00

I love holidays, because it means time with the family, no work, no school!

This is me and Halle with my great aunt.

We had our annual whipped cream contest, but we had lots of participants this year. Usually it's just Jarren and my sister, but this year almost everyone played, even my parents.

Fall

2010-12-08T21:31:00.002-07:00

I love pictures of the kids in the fall.

Goin' to the Mountains

2010-10-17T16:35:00.007-06:00

We try to go to the mountains a few times a year, and for whatever reason we hadn't done it yet this year, so we finally made it last week. We had so much fun, the weather was perfect, and the company was great!

The girls and I had fun walking around and looking at different colors of leaves. Halle was pretty interested in them. And Maya had fun walking with a big walking stick.

Jarren had a lot of fun as you can see from these next pictures. He's kind of into making silly faces.

How do you eat a s'more? Karli and Kate had fun chilling in the chairs while they ate theirs. S'mores are the best part of cooking over a fire. Mmm.

Basketball MVP

2010-10-10T18:30:00.002-06:00

Jason had a basketball tournament for work this last week. And me and the kids were able to come watch. They played at Energy Solutions Arena where the Utah Jazz play. And the cool thing was that Jason's team got to be coached by Jerry Sloan, the head coach for the Utah Jazz. Me and Jarren thought that was pretty awesome.

At the end of the tournament they did awards and Jason got the MVP award. He got a basketball signed by the 4 Jazz coaches. He downplayed it all by saying, "I didn't know they gave the MVP award to people who miss layups." He then proceeded to say, "I'll never give the Jazz players a hard time again for missing layups." I guess it's hard to shoot there. Anyway, good job Jason! I'm proud of you!

The Girls!

2010-10-10T18:25:00.002-06:00

I came outside today to see some of the girls doing this. Yes, that is Karli inside the carseat in the stroller, how she fit I have no idea. The things they think of sometimes!

Look who's walking!

2010-10-10T18:21:00.002-06:00

So I know this isn't a picture of Halle walking, but I think it's so cute. This is her new favorite place to sit in the kitchen.

Halle started walking almost everywhere this last week. She's so fun to watch because she thinks she is so neat. I still need to take a picture of her walking, I just haven't yet.

Dance

2010-10-10T18:10:00.002-06:00

Maya and Karli started dance a month ago. I think they look so cute all dressed up every week. Maya really likes it. Karli on the other hand, not so much. Karli tells me every week that she doesn't want to go; and I'm mean because I tell her that I've already paid for it so she has to go. I say the say thing about preschool because every time she's supposed to go she tells me she doesn't want to go. And again I'm mean, I tell her I've already paid so she needs to go. I tell her she should go to preschool so she can learn how to read when she goes to kindergarten. Her response to that is that she likes it when I read to her. Hmm, what do you say to that?

Anway, here's some cute dance pictures. Kate's not in dance but I really think she'd like it. She loves to put on this dance costume and dance around.

She's One!

2010-08-29T16:47:00.003-06:00

Halle turned 1 on August 17. Her 1st year has flown by. She has been such a good baby that I have thoroughly enjoyed having her in our home. Happy Birthday Baby Halle Jo!

She had so much fun opening presents. She never did lose interest opening them. Which was a disappointment to the other kids who wanted to open them for her.

1st Day of School

2010-08-29T16:38:00.003-06:00

Jarren and Maya started school this week. Jarren is in 3rd grade and Maya is in 1st. They were both pretty excited for it to start. And I was too. I wasn't until 3 days before it started, and then the drama started while we were shopping for school shoes, and so after that I was pretty excited for 2 kids to be in school all day. I feel pretty lucky because Jarren and Maya both got the teachers I was hoping they would get. Hopefully this will be a great year!

Chicago

2010-08-22T16:10:00.005-06:00

Jason and I had our 10 year anniversary in July and to celebrate we went to Chicago this last week. It was awesome! It was really nice to have some time alone. I am very grateful for good family and friends who were willing to take good care of our kids!

We stayed in downtown and enjoyed walking by the river, going on a river cruise and watching fireworks, seeing Buckingham fountain, eating some great food, going to the Lincoln Park Zoo (which is free, by the way), the aquarium, and a Cubs game (we sat on the first row, right next to the Cubs dugout; I personally didn't care where we sat, but Jason did, and I have to admit it was pretty cool to be close enough to see the blades of grass on the field).

This eyeball was the first thing we saw when we got off of the train in Chicago. I guess every city should have an eyeball like this.

We used the subway and buses to get around Chicago and I was surprised at how old and rundown the subway stations really were.

Cub Scouts

2010-08-22T16:06:00.002-06:00

Jarren started Cub Scouts in August. I think he looks so cute in his uniform. He has already planted some herbs and made a wood boat.

Boating

2010-08-22T15:51:00.003-06:00

Our family went to Idaho over the 24th of July (Utah's state holiday). We went boating with Jason's aunt and uncle and we had so much fun! The last time we took the kids out on a boat was when Maya was about 6 months old, so needless to say, it has been a long time. The looks on their faces while on the boat was absolutely priceless. Jason got to go water skiing, Jarren and Maya were pulled behind the boat on a tube, and Karli and Kate thought it was great to be in the boat when other people were getting pulled behind it. Maya wasn't afraid about much of anything, Jarren was a little bit more timid.

This last picture makes me laugh. The kids are smiling, but they can't open their eyes because the sun is so bright.

Little Monkey

2010-07-09T10:48:00.004-06:00

I turned my back for a minute last night and when I turned back around this is what I saw.

Halle, at 10 months old, has figured out how to climb part way up our slide. When she would get a little bit higher up the slide, she would then slide down on her tummy. I guess she's just trying to keep up with the big kids.

Jarren's Baptism

2010-07-04T15:57:00.004-06:00

Jarren was baptized last week. It was such a special day. Jason's brother came from California and Jason's grandparents came from Idaho to be here for the baptism, which meant a lot to us.

We are so proud of you Jarren, we know this is an important step in your life.

Dora

2010-07-04T15:51:00.004-06:00

All of the girls were so excited to get to meet Dora and Boots. And Jarren was excited about Spongebob Squarepants. Jarren was hoping that Spongebob would be in water, otherwise he thought he might dry up. Quite the thinker, I must say!

I love how Jarren and Maya's arms are linked. So cute!

Happy 8th Birthday Jarren!

2010-07-04T15:30:00.003-06:00

My little Jarren is now 8. Seriously, where has the time gone! We had a few days of festivities for his birthday. His real birthday, his friend party, and his family party. He was so happy with everything, he got the origami book and Diary of a Wimpy Kid book he had really wanted. Jarren has had a lot of fun building with paper now and his actually really good with it.

The friend party even had a little dancing, which Jarren was excited about.

And I was pretty proud of the sport cupcakes I made. They were a lot of fun to make, and they tasted pretty yummy too.

Idaho

2010-06-09T22:15:00.003-06:00

Our family went to Idaho over Memorial Day to visit Jason's grandparents. It was SO much fun! We fed bread to the fish, saw a waterfall, ate some great food, played games with cousins, and basically just had fun together. It was great!

Last day of school

2010-06-09T22:02:00.004-06:00

I can't believe that this school year is already done. I feel like it just barely started. Jarren finished 2nd grade and Maya finished kindergarten. It's so fun to see the growth that took place with these 2 kids this year. Maya started kindergarten not reading and ended the year being an awesome reader. Way to go Jarren and Maya!

Since they both did so well in school we decided to celebrate with ice cream with some of our good friends, the Simons.

Dance Festival

2010-06-09T21:55:00.003-06:00

I love that our elementary school does a year end dance festival on the last day of school. Jarren has been so excited about his dance. I love how the school gets all the kids, even the 6th grade boys to dance. Each grade chooses a song and the whole grade dances to that song. They do it out on the grass, and it seems like a perfect end to the school year.

Jarren is right in the middle in the brown.

Maya's Pet

2010-06-09T21:50:00.002-06:00

Maya was so excited about her 1st pet, a snail. She picked it out all by herself. She found it in our front yard and felt like it belonged in our home. She even had it sleep in her bed the first night. (Yuck... I know). I thought it was dead a few times, but nope, it just kept climbing in its jar.

Graduation

2010-05-22T16:25:00.004-06:00

My little sister graduated from the University of Utah this month. And we turned it into a fun little family party.

It's sad to think that this day will come sooner than I'd like it too. Maya, stop growing so fast!

The Sisters!

Congratulations Jess! We're proud of you! Thanks for sharing your day with us!

Spring Break in California

2010-04-09T23:03:00.006-06:00

For Spring Break this year we decided to head west and visit Jason's brother and his family in California. Our kids were SO excited to visit their cousins. We were very grateful for Jeremy and Heather's willingness to let us stay at their home for 5 nights. We're sure it must have been difficult having so many extra people at their house. Thank you!

We ended up having a ton of fun and making a lot of fun memories!

Here's all the kids. (And the dog).

We went to the zoo. The kids all had fun; except the noisy peacocks were a little bit scary to Kate at first.

The kids fought over who got to push our new stroller. Halle didn't seem to mind, but it made me a little bit nervous.

We also took a day and went to San Francisco. It took FOREVER to get there with all of the traffic. And it was rainy for a while, but the rain didn't stop us from seeing what we wanted to see. We walked up some pretty steep hills and then rode down in a cable car. Everybody thought that was great fun. We also got to see the sea lions. And we all got to see part of our first Major League baseball game; the San Francisco Giants vs the Oakland A's (everybody's first, except for Jason; remember he's trying to hit all of the Major League stadiums).

We had fun meeting our new cousin/nephew, Thompson. He's 5 months old, 2 months younger than Halle. She thought it was great trying to grab his face and hold his hand.

Decorating and eating cookies was also a highlight.

We also got to play a lot, go to the park, and take a nice walk. Everything outside was so pretty and green.

We had so much fun on our vacation! But with all the fun we had, we were definitely tired when we came home!

Noodle

2010-03-03T15:20:00.003-07:00

Who knew that a 2 inch piece of noodle could get stuck in your nose.

Kate told us last night after dinner that there was a noodle in her nose. I looked, but couldn't see anything, so I wasn't too concerened. She kept complaining about it, so I kept trying to get her to blow her nose. Nothing! Well, at bed time she says, "I got the noodle." Sure enough, a noodle about 2 inches long was in her hand. Disgusting!

6 Months

2010-02-21T13:56:00.003-07:00

I can't believe that Halle is already 6 months old. The time has gone by so fast. She is such a good natured baby that is always willing to give you a huge smile. And I absolutely love her big, blue eyes!

She has learned how to sit up, and is starting to tuck her legs up underneath her, like she wants to crawl.

Halle's 6 month growth stats are 14 lbs. 3 oz. (20th percentile) and 24 1/2 inches (25th percentile). She's still tiny, but compared to her birth weight, of 4 lbs. 13 oz., she's grown quite a bit.

A Conversation with Maya and Kate

2010-02-05T21:42:00.002-07:00

Maya: "Kate, do you want to go outside in the wagon?"

Kate: "You have a booger in your nose Maya."

Isn't honesty an awesome thing! Forget about answering the question, just tell them how it is.

Happy Birthday Maya!

2010-01-26T14:10:00.004-07:00

Maya turned 6 last week. She has been so excited! The day after her birthday she asked me, "Mom, am I 6 1/2 now?" To her there is something special about that 1/2.

Maya is so funny. The only thing she wanted for her birthday was a gloworm. Halle had gotten one for Christmas and Maya kept taking it and sleeping with it. I figured that was an easy present to get her.

On the day of her birthday she got to go on a field trip with her kindergarten class to the aquarium. That was something that made her day extra special. Plus, she got to wear a crown there.

On the day of her family party she told me she wanted a zebra cake, I guess to match her zebra shirt (Thanks Maddie!). However, it was too late for me to try and do that, so she just got a chocolate cake.

When we sang to her this year she only hid her eyes rather than trying to hide her whole body from us like last year. What a shy girl she is, even with just family!

Love This!!!

2010-01-26T14:07:00.002-07:00

I just love this picture of Jarren and Maya. When I asked them to stand next to each other, Maya wrapped her arm around Jarren. So cute! I hope they always like each other.

Happy Birthday Karli!

2010-01-13T16:40:00.002-07:00

Karli turned 4 this week. She has been so excited for her birthday and has been practicing how to hold up 4 fingers for the past 2 weeks.

It's Finally Out!

2010-01-12T16:34:00.002-07:00

Jarren has had a top front tooth standing almost straight out for the past month or month and a half. I was afraid it was going to be like that forever. Well, thanks to the advice of one of his classmates, it is finally out. (Next time you need a tooth out, try twisting it...ouch!)

Good Shot(s)

2010-01-12T16:28:00.002-07:00

Maya made 2 baskets in her basketball game this last Saturday. She only shot 2 and she made them both, that's a pretty good percentage! She was funny, after she made the basket she just turned around and walked the other way. I would have thought there would have been a little bit more excitement on her part. She did give Jason a high five, and she looked over at me, I think to see if I saw it. What a funny girl! Good job Maya!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-01-07T13:37:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making gingerbread houses. We've done it every year since I was probably one; that's a pretty long time. Anyway, my mom is awesome! She baked the pieces for 8 houses. 4 for my oldest kids, 2 for my niece and nephew and one each for my younger brother and sister. The kids all had so much fun decorating their own houses. I was surprised that Kate was able to do a lot of hers by herself.

All the kids had pink cheeks; it must have been hot at my moms house.

This last picture is awsome! Doesn't Maya look happy? It reminds me of her school pictures this year before we had retakes done. She told us she ran out of smiles for school pictures, maybe that's what happened here.

Out of the mouth of Kate

2010-01-06T16:18:00.002-07:00

I overheard Kate say this to Halle today and it totally cracked me up.

"I'm coming Halle...Just one second."

What made this more funny was that Halle was crying, and Kate was getting some animal crackers out of the pantry, all dressed up with my church shoes and Maya's purse. She must have thought that she was the little mother.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-28T14:01:00.003-07:00

Our family just wanted to wish you a very, merry, late Christmas! We had a wonderful day, and hope that you did too. We had a family picture taken for Christmas cards, but it never actually made it into a card. I was a little bit disappointed since this was the first time in about 6 years that we haven't sent them out. Oh well, there's always next year.

Basketball

2009-12-05T16:37:00.005-07:00

Today was the first day of basketball for Jarren and Maya. Jason is coaching both teams, we'll see how that goes. After the second game his throat was hurting pretty bad. Try talking over bouncing basketballs and noisy 5 and 7 year olds, plus noisy fans for 2 hours.

This is Jarren's 3rd year and he was totally excited. Although we will need to work on the pride factor with him. He thinks his team is definitely the best, as far as basketball skill is concerned. His game was at 8am, so just Jarren and Jason went. I'll try to get pictures next week.

Maya was excited, but a little bit nervous. She didn't want me or grandparents to go because she doesn't like people she knows to watch her; it makes her more nervous. I told her I could just hide my eyes sometimes. I guess that made it okay. Maya stayed pretty close to Jason during the game, but she played. She dribbled a little and she even shot the ball once. I was so proud of her! On our way home she said, "I love basketball!"

Thanksgiving Fun

2009-12-05T16:30:00.002-07:00

I think the thing that Jarren was most excited for about Thanksgiving this year was the whipped cream. I know it sounds a little odd at first. But remember Jarren is only 7. My sister, Jessica was a willing player too. (Thanks Jess!) You spray as much whipped cream in your mouth as you can and then whoever can eat it first wins. Jarren won!

Thanksgiving Turkeys

2009-12-05T16:23:00.003-07:00

It's a tradition in our family to make gumdrop turkeys every Thanksgiving. This year we made them at grandma's house. The kids all had fun making them, and had just as much fun eating them. Although keeping track of who made which one was pretty much impossible.

Halloween

2009-11-02T14:03:00.009-07:00

I am so glad that Halloween is over! It has been a crazy 2 weeks leading up to Halloween. I decided to make Maya and Kate's cheerleader costume, however, as anyone with a newborn knows, time completely got away from me. Anyway, my mom stepped in to help get those finished, bless her heart.

I ended up getting 5 kids ready in costumes (including combing hair for 4 girls) on 3 different days for different parties and activities, and that's not even including the school parade for Jarren and Maya. Let's just say those costumes aren't going to be put on again for a long time. Although, I think the kids looked so cute in them.

Kate did not want her picture taken.

I'm sure you can guess which costumes I was in charge of and which one Jason was in charge of. We ended up with Slash (I have no idea if I even spelled it right, I guess I just gave away who was in charge of Jarren's costume) and a Utah cheerleading squad.

Go UTES!

Jarren was very disappointed that only adults knew who he was. We thought at least some of the kids would know who he was because of Guitar Hero.

Maya was even lucky enough to go to the University of Utah game on Halloween with Jason. She got to go trick or treating there and she supposedly got a lot of candy, but she ate it so fast at the game that I never got a chance to hide it from her, and ration it out.

Halle's Blessing

2009-11-02T13:49:00.003-07:00

I cannot believe that Halle is 2 1/2 months old. Where does the time go with these little babies? I took her for her 2 month appointment with the doctor and she is still very little. 8 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long.

We had her blessed at church a few weeks ago. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the pictures.

I love how she was smiling in this one. That was a pretty new thing for her at the time.

We can't forget the proud siblings in this picture. It's a fight to see who gets to hold her. It looks like Maya won in this battle.

The baby acne made her face all red, plus she likes to rub her hands on her face. What a cute little princess anyway.

I Love You

2009-10-16T16:14:00.002-06:00

I was putting something in Jarren's backpack this week and I found a piece of paper that I thought was a piece of schoolwork. I pulled it out to find the words "I love you. Please like me." Taped to the paper was a quarter, a nickel, and a little jewel. I didn't want to embarrass Jarren, but I was curious. When I asked him about it he told me it was for a girl in his class. How cute is that?

Go Utes!

2009-09-30T14:25:00.002-06:00

We just wanted you to see the University of Utah's newest cheerleader.

Best Friends

2009-09-30T14:21:00.003-06:00

What a Doll!

2009-09-30T14:15:00.002-06:00

I pulled the pictures off our camera yesterday and came across this one, it made me smile. Halle really does look like a doll laying on the doll blanket and doll pillow.

Nail Polish

2009-09-17T14:06:00.002-06:00

Can I just start out by saying that I DO NOT like nail polish. I thought I was being such a good mom by painting the fingernails and toenails of Maya, Karli and Kate. Well, afterwords one of my sweet little angels, named Karli, decided that she was going to use 3/4 of a bottle of polish on the wall and the carpet. Lucky for me she chose to hide behind the couch in our living room and do it. So, I guess we'll only have a problem if we move that couch. I was able to remove a lot of it from the carpet with Windex; who knew that Windex cleaned carpet and windows? (Thank goodness for the Internet for that idea). The wall, well the polish pretty much stayed there. I guess it's a good thing we really need to paint anyway.

First Day- Take 2 and 3

2009-09-08T14:18:00.003-06:00

Maya started kindergarten this last week and she absolutely LOVED it! When we got to school on the first day she was acting kind of funny, so I asked her if she was okay and she told me that she was just shy. She was nervous going into the classroom at first, but once she got there she did great. The only other time when she told me she acted shy was when she had to tell the kids in the class her name.

We did have our first clothes battle on the first day of school. I wanted her to wear one of her new dresses. Maya wanted to wear old clothes with her brand new tennis shoes. Of course Maya won.

Karli started Preschool last week too. She was so excited to go to Ms. Charri's class, there was no nervousness shown on behalf of this child. As soon as she came out the door she was telling me everything that had happened at school. I was shocked, I remember asking Jarren what happened at school at Ms. Charri's and he could never remember. One of the differences I guess between boys and girls.

New Title

2009-09-08T14:15:00.002-06:00

It was kindly pointed out to me that I needed to change the title of our blog, since we now have 4 little princesses and a prince. So just for your information, the title has been changed, but for now I am not changing the blog address.

First day of school- Take 1

2009-08-30T15:33:00.003-06:00

Jarren started 2nd grade this last week. He was so excited for the first day that he told me he was afraid he wasn't going to sleep very good the night before. He really seems to like his teacher, although in all honesty, I think he'd really rather have his 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Atkisson, again. He tells me every day that he sees her or he talks to her. I think it's so cute that he likes her that much, she really was an awesome teacher! (I'm hoping Maya will get her next year).

Maya and Karli start school this next week, so their pictures and experiences will be coming soon.

Halle's First Photo Shoot

2009-08-30T15:23:00.004-06:00

I don't like to have my kids pictures taken professionally until they are a few months old, however, I don't like to wait to display a picture of them for that long. So, I just take one at home and have it enlarged. Today was the day to try and get a good one of Halle. Here are some of the results.

Bowling

2009-08-30T15:07:00.003-06:00

Our family went bowling a few weeks ago and the kids LOVED it! It was Kate's first time and she even liked it too. Usually what happens is we get about half way through the game and all the kids have lost interest, but they didn't this time. Jarren was very excited because he got a strike. And while we were bowling he asked, "Mom, why is real bowling so much harder than bowling on Wii?"

Jason was the official helper. He did a great job!!

Kate was pretty excited about her experience with bowling.

These girls are the best of friends!!

She's So Little

2009-08-30T15:01:00.003-06:00

I still can't believe how little Halle is. And she seems especially small when I see her in her car seat and her chest clip and buckle are almost touching.

Halle Jo!

2009-08-18T21:43:00.005-06:00

Let me preface this post by saying that you all get a guest blogger today (a first time blogger, I might add), while Andrea is resting up in the hospital for a couple of days...I hope I can do this post the justice that it deserves!

Let me get the answers to the most common questions out of the way first...Halle Jo was born on Monday the 17th at 9:08 am. She weighed in at a hefty 4 lbs 13 oz and measured a respectable 17.5" long. Similar to what you see on most basketball rosters, I think the nurse may have been a little generous on both her height and weight (a little exaggeration never hurt anyone right?). I guess if you count the length of her hair in her height she would probably measure out to nearly 19" inches. She is doing fantastic after a couple of minor complications that keep her in the nursery a little longer than we had hoped for. But, luckily, despite her small size, she has overcome those issues and is handling things very well. She is doing fantastic!

Now about Andrea....I feel like I can't accurately tell you how she is doing without providing some background information. Having gone early with all of our other kids, Andrea and I both expected Halle to follow suit and come sometime this week, which would put her between 37 and 38 weeks. So, early Monday morning (around 4:30), Andrea got up with one of the other kids (bless her heart...dad just sleeps right through everything!) and noticed that the baby wasn't moving. She ate something in hopes of getting Halle to move, but nothing happened. So after talking to her doctor, they decided to have her come in and check things out (around 6:30 am). After hooking her up to the fetal monitors for a bit, the doctor noticed that Halle's heart rate was dropping and that the placenta (I hate that word) had stopped doing its job, but Andrea's labor, or lack thereof, wasn't progressing. Much to Andrea's dismay, he ordered up a C-section to be performed as soon as they could numb her up. I got a call from her that said "I need you here now" followed by a phone call 2 seconds later from her doctor telling me what "I need you here now" meant. I walked in the OR just in time for them to start the c-section...about 2 minutes later, Halle was born! So, there's the background...

So how is Andrea you ask? I hesitate to comment on how Andrea is doing because there is really no possible way for me to understand how and what she feels. My first reaction to that question, is that she is doing quite well. But, having never been sliced open like that before, I'm 100% sure that I would grossly underestimate the pain and "discomfort" (to say the least) that she is feeling. But, at the risk of being silently mocked by all of the women who read this that have had a c-section before, I am going to take a stab at it. From my own personal observation, she appears to be doing fairly well. Since she hasn't had a C-seciton before, she is trying to get used to not being able to move around and do everything for herself like she has done in the past. Not being able to have Halle in her room until today took a toll on her as well. But, once she got to hold Halle last night for the first time, it seemed like everything was just perfect! There is nothing more genuine than seeing a smile from ear to ear on your wife as she holds her baby for the first time. I'll be honest, I was a little worried about Andrea....until I saw that smile. From that point on, despite the pain, I knew that she would be just fine. Anyway....Enjoy the pictures!