Butterfly Garden

A couple of weeks ago the two younger boys and I went on a bit of a fieldtrip with some friends of ours to a local Botanical Garden. The kids love running and playing and they really liked the butterfly garden. Brice wasn't too sure of the butterflies getting too close, but he enjoyed seeing them and Hayden loved getting as close to them as he could.

Diapers, Diapers, Diapers and more Diapers

I just wanted to express my apperciation to the inventor of the disposable diaper. I have been changing diapers for 8 years straight now, with I am sure another 2-3 years to go and I can not imagine if I had to use cloth diapers that I myself I had to clean out and take care of. Changing some about kill me when I am able to get rid of it right away into the trash can. So again a huge THANK YOU goes out to the disposable diaper man or woman, you are right up there with the chocolate man.

And it Begins!

I thought that with the end of summer I would be getting a little bit of a break with the 2 kids in school all day and 1 in preschool two days out of the week. I don't know who I was kidding because now is when the real fun begins of homework, and all of their extra activities. We put Ashley in Cheerleading, Ethan in Flag Football, and Hayden in a Beginner Soccer. Ashley and Ethan both started piano this year also. Although seperatly it doesn't seem like too much, when you put it all together I can not even keep my own name straight let alone the schedule of their games and practices. They all love what they are doing, and I love watching them!!! It is tons of fun to watch them grow and develop even if I feel like I have run miles by the time I am done getting them there and entertaining the others while we support the one who at the time is developing a talent. We only have a about a month of the sports season left, so I was telling Jeremy that it really isn't a big deal and we can make it work, when it dawned on me that this is just the begining. Imagine what is will be like when all 5 of the kids are involved in different things. I guess this is where divine intervention will come into play and it will all work out, so for now I will just take it day by day and enjoy watching them grow!

Wonderful time of the year

We had a great summer with the kids this year, but as school approached I found myself, like the commercial on tv, singing "its the most wonderful time of the year". Don't get me wrong I love having my babies at home with me, but by the end of the summer they need school!!! They need someone else to entertain them because I just plain start running out of ideas and energy. They were so excited getting all of there new school cloths and supplies. We did our annual fashion show for daddy, and I was busting at the seams at how cute they are. This morning they were ready to go and it did make my heart ache to realize that my little girl is already in second grade and that my little boy is no longer in kindergarten. They each had no reluctance as we walked into their classrooms, Ashley didn't even need me to help her unload all of her supplies. Each one was still eager for a hug goodbye, which I cherish because I know that too will most likely pass with time, where they don't want to love on me in public. Hayden made me feel better by telling me "mommy your my teacher and my school is at home with you." I am anxious to see them when they each get home to see how their first day at school went.

Camping Again!!

Each year a bunch of members from our ward go on a camping trip. This year even though our previous camp out of the summer was crazy we decided to go. We had a bunch of fun and not even one trip to the doctor or even bandaide was needed this time. We spent some time our first day driving trough the beautiful mountains and doing a little hiking, we decided to stay away from one trail because of the wording on the sign, we knew it wasn't for us or should I say for our kids we like them a little too much. You can read it below. We finished with a trip to some local waterfalls, the kids loved playing in the water at the base, and Jeremy loved sliding down. Click on the link below to get the full effect of my big kid and to see how big the falls actually were. Lets just say that my heart was pounding as I watched him climb up and "slide" down. All in all we had a great time!!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZrAJniniAw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeEfqStNk_o

My 6 year old stud!!!

My Ethan turned 6 this past week and had a wonderful birthday. It was the first time that his actual party was on his birthday and he loved it! He is such a fun and loving kid, I am so proud to call myself his mom and to see a little bit of me shining through him as he grows. Doesn't he look like such a little stud muffin sporting his new suit? He decided that he like the star wars shirt with it best and was very sad when I told him he could not wear it like this to church.

From the mouth of babes...

Jeremy and I have been keeping a secret for quit awhile, one that we only shared with family and just recently shared with our kids. We knew as soon as we told the kids that the secret wouldn't last for long, but decided to ride it out as long as we could, well it all came out this Sunday right in the middle of sharing time in primary when Ethan decided that he would announce to the world that we were going to have a baby at Christmas. I have never turned so red in all of my life, and I was thankful that Jeremy just happened to be in primary this Sunday too so he got to share in the embarrassment with me. We are very excited about the new addition that will join our family this holiday season, it took us by surprise, but we couldn't ask for a better Christmas gift! So I can now vouch for the phrase that truth flows from the mouth of babes and can give the advice to anyone that if you don't want the world to know, don't tell your kids.

Let Freedom Ring

We had a great time this 4th of July. Jodi and her family came up for the weekend to get some furniture, so they stayed through the 4th. Every year our church throws a big bbq with activities for the kids and adults, tons of food, and they finish it off with a really good show of fireworks. We all had fun. The kids loved the water games and fireworks, the only one who wasn't too sure of the show was Brice, so Jeremy covered his ears with his hands and the poor little guy eventually fell asleep that way. He was so cute, all of the kids were. The fun of fireworks now for me is watching all of their little faces light up with each new bang.

Great Men!

I have been very blessed in my life to be surrounded by great men! I never had to wonder growing up or even now if my dad loved me. He was always quick to say it to each of us kids, and the words that always followed were how much he loved my mom. The influence this made on me was one to my very core, it let me know how important family is, but at the very heart of the family is the marriage of the mother and father, and that we should always put that love first. My dad is the best I feel I had an advantage of being the youngest to get a bunch of one on one time with my parents. I love just being with them and joking with them. My dad is quick on his toes with advice and words that make it seem better, always bringing things into an eternal perspective and helping me realize what really matters. I feel eternally blessed to call myself his daughter! It is his example that led me to the man that I now share my life with.

There are no words for how much I love Jeremy, but more than that there are no words to describe how happy it makes my heart to have him be the father of our beautiful babies. He is absolutely an incredible father. I love watching him with each of them. Their little eyes light up when he is around. He makes each of their days better just by being their dad. He is a wonderful example for them and always puts us first in his life. Even when he is pulled in a million different directions we know that we come first. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for having him in my life. I know Jeremy is the man he is because of the example of his father who is also a great man!

My father-in-law is one of the most loving men that you will ever come in contact with. He shows so much love to all those around him.He has such a great sense of humor and it makes you happy just to be around him. I know that all the things I love about Jeremy as a father he learned from watching his dad, and by taking his advice and council.

I know it may be a little late, but I want to wish all 3 of these great men a Happy Father's Day!!!!

Mother of 6

My sister Jodi spent most of the month of May moving, so I decided that I would help her out by watching her two girls for a week, knowing that my kids would love it and that it would give her one less thing to worry about as she finished her move. We had a great time for the week and I must say that we handled all six fairly well. Even the 6 hour car drive to take them home was pretty good. We had a fun filled week and would love to have them back anytime!


Our trip to Plaza Fiesta, a huge indoor playground, that my sister Jodi absolutely hates, so I decided I would spoil her girls with an outing to play there.
























































Dinner out at Arby's! We handled it well and only got a few odd looks from the other people having dinner, and all the kids were on their best behavior. Everyone loved it except for poor Kaitlyn who looked like I had just placed raw meat in front of her, but she did good and ate enough to get a chocolate shake for desert.














Another fun day at Monkey Joes an indoor inflatable play ground. We had to keep them all busy so that they would sleep good at night!






































































My friend Natalie went to lunch with her husband for her birthday, so at one point I had a total of 11 kids. They were all great and we even conquered lunch together! All are in the picture, but one who was sleeping.














What a fun week for the kids!!