We are...McLaughlin!

Where to begin...

2011-08-20T13:24:00.002-07:00

So I once again fell off the blogging wagon. Just busy and lazy I guess. I have heard other friends talk about there blogs, and looked at my own lately. When it comes down to it, this is as close as I am going to get at keeping a journal. I love looking back and seeing things that have happened, some of which I would not remember that well without the blog to look back on. So I am going to get caught up and keep this up better. I have missed plenty over the past 9 months. Here's to not missing another 9.

Moser's House

2010-12-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to visit my friend Lisa and her kiddo, Rece, for an afternoon. She is so good to always have a fun project for the kids to do to keep them entertained and busy. This time, appropriately, they made gingerbread houses. They may have eaten more candy than they decorated with. They had a great time building though. Here are the builders about to get started.

We always enjoy the chance to see them. The kids have fun, and I love the chance to catch up with my oldest friend. Lisa is not old. We have just been friends for a LONG time:)

Christmas vacation rock climbing

2010-12-20T15:12:00.001-07:00

The kids have come to expect that my dad will take them rock climbing when we go to Oregon. This trip Bryan and Kyle tagged along. These first two pictures where taken by Bryan, I think, of the kids starting their climbs.

At some point during their visit to the gym Kate appointed herself photographer. The rest of these pictures are a glimpse at the 20 some she took. I guess it is nice to see things from her point of view.

Snowy Drive

2010-12-19T13:42:00.004-07:00

In front of us.

Behind us.

On our way to Oregon for Chirstmas!

Temple Square

2010-12-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Living so close, it just makes good sense to take a trip down to Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights. We went on a week night so it was not to busy. Nice. You may not be able to tell buy our overly bundled outfits, but it was unseasonably not to cold that night. Double nice. We had a great time walking around seeing the Nativities and lights. Then we went and got a yummy dinner at Famous Dave's on the way back up to Logan. What a fun way to kick off the holiday season!

Does this freak you out?

2010-12-17T06:57:00.002-07:00

It should.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-16T20:54:00.006-07:00

For the week of Thanksgiving we went to Washington. Our first stop was Kennewick to meet our new niece Emma and go to her blessing. She is the most darling little thing! It was so great to finally meet her since we have been hearing about how great she is for a while.
Here is Bry with our kids and Emma.

Cute Emma.

Bryan with his sister Brittany and Emma.

From Kennewick we headed to Yakima just in time for the snow. Here is Ian wishing he could go out in the snow.

Kate went out to watch/help Grandpa Dan shovel some snow.

Jake and Kate both spent a lot of time building with Legos making things like this:

This is where they spent a ton of time.

We also had a little birthday party for Ian and Kate while we were there. There were a lot of people around so I think Ian was a little overwhelmed. He did not really get into the cake eating like we thought he might. The rest of us did enjoy Aunt Shae's cupcakes though.

Kate and Ian climbing all over their cousin Wes.

The last morning we were there the kids got a bit of an early Christmas. We did not really have room to take wrapped gifts in the van, and we wanted everyone to get a chance to watch the kids open their gifts. Jake and Kate could not have been more excited! Here they are starting the opening.

This is were Ian spent the morning.

When it was time to leave, it took some work, but Bry was able to get all our stuff in the van. It was a tight fit.

It was great to have a chance to see family. Until next time...

Brave Hunter

2010-12-16T17:02:00.002-07:00

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving Jake's class was learning about Pilgrims and Indians. They made these costumes and each got to pick an Indian name. Jake went with Brave Hunter. He pulls it off pretty well I would say, especially with that tough face.

First Aggie game

2010-12-16T16:18:00.004-07:00

We have lived here in Logan for a lot of years, but the kids and I have never been to an Aggie football game before. Bryan has made it a time or two, maybe with his other family. Some friends got some tickets and invited us to go with. It was a great weather, especially for November, so we took them up on the offer.
Here we are just arriving.

In our seats.

The band

Parents night at tumbling

2010-12-07T15:44:00.004-07:00

Jake and Kate started tumbling at the beginning of the school year. It was a hit. Here are a few pics from parents night last month.
This first pic is from the first day. The rest are from parents night. Here she is with her cute little class. She is the blond with the white shirt and black pants.

This is a partner log roll. They ended up diagonal across the mat, silly girls.

Crab walk.

Balance check.

Blurry, but she is very proud of her star jumps.

Here is Jake running a warm up lap.

Bridge.

Ready for a straddle roll...

Mid roll...

And the finish. I guess he knocked his head along the way.

Balance check.

The assisted handstand.

Though you can not see in the pictures, Jake was not the only boy in his class. It was mostly girls though. He noticed, but did not seem bothered by it. I don't see summer Olympics in our future, but they both love it.

All things Halloween

2010-12-07T14:41:00.006-07:00

We got in quite a few festivities for the Halloween holiday. Here are Jake and Kate ready to go to Boo at the Zoo.

And here they are with Ian and Bryan. I did not get a good picture of Ian's costume. This is as good as it gets.

Kate crafting it up at the zoo.

Next was pumpkin carving at the Williamsons. Kate wanted to clean hers out by herself.

Ian hung out in the high chair watching.

I did the eyes and nose for her but she wanted to do the mouth.

Jake carved his whole pumpkin himself. It was serious business. Look at that stance.

And the tongue.

Finished!

Here is Kate at her school's costume parade.

Here is Jake at his.

Trick or treating with Brynn at the nursing home.

Skeleton with his first sucker. He was a fan.

Ward trunk or treat. The weather was awful so it got moved inside.

Kate won a cupcake at the cake walk.

With all the stuff we did, we were all Halloweened out. Ready to move on to Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Walk

2010-12-07T12:52:00.005-07:00

Same event, different year. One of the things that I love about being here in Logan is all the traditions we have developed here. The pumpkin walk is one of them. Bry was gone for work so I took the kids this year. Here they are with the character cut outs and with some of our favorite displays of the year.

I think we have at least 4 pictures of Jake in this plane through the years. I should post them all together some time to show how much he has grown up.

Her favorite.

Sibling love. I don't think they realized what they were posing for otherwise I'm sure they would not have done it.

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

"Up"

Fall Harvest Festival

2010-12-07T11:23:00.007-07:00

Back in October, we went with some friends to the Fall Harvest Festival. There was so much to do that we did not get around to it all, but the kids seemed to have a good time learning a little about harvest time.

That is Jake in the stripes milking a cow. Kate would not have anything to do with the cows up close so she watched from afar.

Feeding the chickens weeds. Who knew chickens like weeds?

Where Ian spent most of the day.

Giving the saw a try.

She really looks like she is making it work, but it was not moving an inch.

Train ride!

Petting zoo.

Hay maze.

Hay pirate ship.

Jake being punished.

Ok, not really.

Hay slide.

Jumping into hay.

Kate's turn.

I guess hay has a lot to do with harvest. Not pictured was making corn cob darts, corn husk dolls, pony rides, and a black out maze. Ian was asleep in the stroller so I could not leave him so Jake and Kate took their friend, BY THEMSELVES, through the black out maze. I would have never guess that they would have liked something like that but they went again and again. I guess they really are growing up.

The pumpkin patch

2010-11-08T14:57:00.003-07:00

In early October we went with our friends the Hulberts to a cute little pumpkin patch a outside of Logan. It was such a perfect fall day.
Here is Kate with her pick.

Bryan is looking tough with his pumpkin.

Ian and I watching everyone.

Ian thought something was pretty funny while he was crawling around.

Family pic with our picks.

Group shot. There must have been something exciting to the side because both the babies wanted to look at that instead of the camera.

There was also a little playground that the kids enjoyed. Jake was a brave monkey.

Kate was trying to get this dog to fetch.

After the pumpkin patch, we headed back to our house for hamburgers. I had to get a picture of these two just playing by themselves in Kate's room. It is fun watching these tiny ones play together.

We have never been to that pumpkin patch before but we will be sure to go back next year. Good times.

The tape is still around

2010-11-08T14:20:00.003-07:00

These days the scotch tape is mostly used for art projects. The way it was meant to be used. But every once in a while the old tape ways sneak out and we get to clean up things like this:

It is a nice way to tell when Jake has had enough of his sister. And me too for that matter.

Crafting it up Conference weekend

2010-11-08T13:44:00.005-07:00

We found some fun kids crafts online, so we spent a long weekend at home crafting it up. Here are the eager crafters making pipe cleaner spiders.

Here is the finished product.

Next we made some bats. They are kind of hard to see here but they turned out cute.

Though it is not really a craft, we did make Halloween sugar cookies. Here is the decorating process.

This was the last and most involved thing we did. These little ghosts were messy to make but ended up being fun. We had little lights to put under them so they lit up at night, but I never got a picture of that. They were extra spooky though.

A little Ian update for you

2010-11-08T11:55:00.005-07:00

It has been a while since we have told you what this cute growing boy has been up to.

He really likes Kate's room. It may just be because her room is the first one down the hall, but if I can not see him that is the first place I check. Here he is enjoying her princess cash register.

His hair is getting longer and thicker. Here he is right after a bath and you can see that it has some body to it. It is pretty light so you can't see it very well in pictures but at least you can not see the veins in his scalp through his hair anymore.

He can give one heck of a kiss. He does not give them up all the time, but when he does watch out because you will get a lot. And if you find yourself on the receiving end I hope you like open mouth kisses because that is all he gives.

He does not like to be alone when he is sad so he will crawl around looking for someone to pick him up. As you can see, he can be a bit of a mess by the time he finds comfort. And then instead of giving needed comfort, sometimes his mom lets him cry a little more while she gets the camera.

He loves the bath. If the shower doors get left open he will go stand next to the tub and dream of the time he can bathe again.

Here are a couple faces that we see from this boy with so many expressions.

Did you look at this picture and think it was of Kate as a baby? Because it could be. I think he has a lot of Jake and Kate in him ,but here he looks all Kate.

This is his "being shy so don't look at me but I will stare at you" face.

Silly kid.

"How you doing?"

"Quit with the pictures."

This boy of ours is one happy fun kid to be around. If we are out and about he is more than willing to just hang out and take in the sights. It has been harder to keep him on the same schedule because of everyones schedules, but he sure rolls with the punches. He is more shy than any of the other kids but luckily he warms up to people pretty fast. Jake and Kate love him, sometimes a little too much. He sure loves them too. It seems like he is picking up new things every day. It is crazy to think he will be one next week. We are so happy to have Bud Bud around!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-11-02T15:32:00.003-07:00

Bryan was able to come home for Labor Day weekend, which was so fun. It was his birthday so it was great to be able to celebrate with him. Here is his traditional chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting cake. He was actually turning 33 this birthday not 3 like his cake indicates.

On Labor Day we went to a little town called Wellsville for their parade. Here we were waiting for the parade to start. It was unusually cold that morning so the kids are pretty bundled up for it being so early in September.

Ian was not so sure what to think of all the loudness, but luckily Bryan was more than willing to help him feel better.

Waiting for the candy.

Here is the other place Ian liked hanging out.

It is hard to believe this happened two months ago. Man time is flying by!

First days of school

2010-11-02T14:41:00.004-07:00

Now that it has been months since this happened, it is about time it is documented.
Here is Jake. He got a short haircut a week or so before, but it looks super short in this pic. He has always loved school and this year is no exception. His teacher had nothing but great things to say about him at his parent teacher conference and we just found out yesterday that he was Student of the Month for October. He got to have lunch with the principal and all the other Students of the Month today. He sure is a great kid.

Here is Kate. She also seems to love school. And her legs seems to bend backward in this picture. They don't really bend that way though. She comes home with lots to say about her days, including if anyone got sent to time out. We sure love this sassy girl.

Oldie but goodie

2010-09-14T12:05:00.003-07:00

Remember this Bry?

Still so true!

A little more Jake and Ian fun

2010-09-14T09:46:00.002-07:00

County Fair

2010-09-14T09:35:00.002-07:00

I don't know what it is, but every year we go to the fair it turns out being perfect weather. We got the kids unlimited ride passes because they wanted to spend as much time as possible there. In the afternoon Bryan took Jake and Kate to start riding rides while I stayed home with sleeping Ian. They spent several hours and then came home for dinner and we all went back for the evening. The afternoon was warm without being too warm and by dark we all put on the jackets we brought. We had some treats, listened to music, and the kids rode rides till we were all exhausted. What a great time.

Bear Lake

2010-09-13T11:58:00.003-07:00

Even with all the traveling we did this summer we were able to squeeze in a few trips up to the lake. I guess that is part of what makes summer feel like summer to us. Ian was not mobile yet so it made it really easy to keep an eye on him. Jake and Kate love everything about being up there. The only bummer is that it was a bit on the windy side. Other than that there are few things that beat a family day at the lake. Good times.

He must be ours

2010-09-12T21:30:00.004-07:00

We have a picture of Jake, Kate, and now this one of Ian all sleeping in this johny jump up. They jump so much they put themselves to sleep. It is almost like it has magical powers.

Harmonica Jake

2010-09-12T20:56:00.003-07:00

We may not need to worry about lessons if baby Ian is the only one who has to be entertained by his harmonica playing. I love that these two are such good buddies, by the way.

Burns

2010-09-12T15:36:00.004-07:00

On the drive between Meford and Logan we passed through a city named Burns. There is a huge slide at a little park in town that we have never stopped at with the kids before. We thought we would give it a try.
Here they are swinging on the huge swing set.

Ian hung out on the blanket in the shade.

Jake and Bryan making their way up the ladder. Bryan looks like a little kid compared to the slide.

And down they go. The boys said it was fun. Kate did not dare go down. Maybe next trip.

Reunited and if feels so good

2010-09-12T15:23:00.004-07:00

Now that Bry is taking some trips for work we get to see these scenes playing out. This is when Bry was getting to Medford from Houston, where he was working at the time. The kids are always so excited to see him again. I have to admit I am pretty excited too.

Around the house

2010-09-12T14:50:00.004-07:00

Here are a few pictures of around the house happenings while we were in Oregon...
Because I am so smart the three of us got locked out of the house. We stayed pretty entertained though.

Kate clowned around.

I put the kids to work washing the van.

Kate fell asleep almost every time we went to run errands.

Kate and Ian watched princess movies in my parents bedroom. I don't think Ian had much of a choice.

Ian played on the floor. Looking surprised.

Kate watched movies in goggles.

We had a great time. I guess we should do it again some time.

Bowling

2010-09-12T13:54:00.005-07:00

On one of our last days in Oregon my dad suggested bowling. My kids love bowling!
Here is Jake's approach.

This is a little long, but a good example of every time Kate bowled. It took a long time.

Ian was a pretty good sport and spent the time getting passed around. Here he is with Aunt Rachel.

Here is proof that my dad was there too. It turns out I did not get many pics of him:).

Rock climbing

2010-08-14T11:26:00.004-07:00

Another great idea my dad has was to take the kids rock climbing.

Here is Jake all harnessed up ready to go.

And Kate.

Kate was the most brave her first time up the wall. She made it pretty far before she wanted to come down.

Jake was a bit of a spider monkey. He made it pretty far the first time or two, but after that he climbed all the way to the top. That is over 30 feet! For a boy who used to claim to be afraid of everything, he sure seems to have no fear of this. He ended up climbing all the way up four times.

The first time he made it to the top.

And here he is repelling down. I have to admit even that was a little scary for me but he loved coming down the wall "like Spiderman". He did so great we might skip the little league and soccer stuff and stick to rock climbing.

Camping at the coast

2010-08-13T14:23:00.005-07:00

My kids have never gone camping before. My dad thought it would be fun to give it a try. Plus it gave us a chance to go to the coast while we were visiting. It was me and the kids, Rachel and her kids, and my parents.
Here are the kids "helping" my dad set the tent up.

We cooked hot dogs over the fire and, of course, had s'mores. I was worried about the kids being cold in the night so I did not sleep that great, but they sure did. It is nice that Ian likes to sleep with a blanket over his face because it kept him nice and warm through the night.

Here is Jake's sleepy face when he woke up.

And here is the insane bed head that Kate woke up with.

After we packed up camp we headed to the beach before we left for home. Grandpa went with the kids to hunt for shells and crab claws.

Ian sat on my lap making silly faces.

We ate lunch in the cars before we left for home and there were a lot of seagulls hoping for food. My dad decided to get rid of our last bits of bread and he got swarmed.

The kids handled camping really well so I guess we should try it again some time.

A visit to Salem

2010-08-13T09:03:00.003-07:00

While we were in Oregon we took a trip to Salem. My grandparents live there and they have never met my kids. So Rachel and her kids loaded in my van with me and mine. My mom drove and picked up my sis-in-law Debbie and niece Sammy in Eugene and brought them also. We had a really good time. Grandma Joan and Grandpa Bill made a yummy lunch and then our friend Meta joined us for the afternoon. The kids also got a chance to pick raspberries and cherries out of the yard. They didn't really like eating them, but they liked to pick them. After lunch we headed to the pool. The retirement community they live in has a great pool and the water was nice and warm for the kids.
Here is Grandma Joan, Rachel, my mom holding Ian, and Meta pool side.

A.J. and Jamie swim like fish. One day my kids will be like that...

It was so bright I could not seem to get a shot with Jake's eyes open.

Kate, Sammy, and Debbie hanging out on the stairs.

After the pool the kids got to ride the park carousel.

Meta brought some fun toys for all the kids and here they all are enjoying the bubble wands.

It sure was a fun day. We might have to do it again sometime:)

4th

2010-08-12T13:35:00.006-07:00

For the 4th we started the day with church. In the afternoon I took the kids to a friends house, Matt and Jessie, for a fun BBQ. Jessie made a great spread and it all tasted so good!
Here are a few of the kids posing.

Here is Kate with her b.f.f. Matt. She has cake in her teeth. There is not really a huge gap between them.

And here she is enjoying one of her favorite foods, ribs.

Can you feel the love?

After the BBQ we went with my parents and Rachel and her kiddos to the fireworks. The people watching is almost as fun as the firework watching. One of the kids favorite parts is that you can buy paper plates for a dollar each and write your name on them. When it is dark the plates get spread out all over the football field. Then they have 4 skydivers fly in and land on the field. If they pick up your plate when they land you win money. Jake and Kate were so excited for the skydivers to land and Jake was pretty sure his plate would get picked. Unfortunately his plate did not get picked, and he was really upset. Maybe next year.

Here is cute Jamie, Kate, Jake and A.J. waiting for it to get dark.

Ian was a great sport, as always, hanging out in his patriotic p.j.'s.

And here he is pooped out once we got home.

It was happy for us. Hope it was for you.

Hiking Roxyann

2010-08-12T13:04:00.003-07:00

One Saturday my dad and I took Jake and Kate and hiked the mountain behind my parents house. It's called Roxyann. When we first started out I was not even planning on going all the way to the top. The kids surprised me though and just kept going.
Here is Kate working hard. She said she had fun but when I asked her if we should hike another mountain she said," Not with me!"

Here is Jake getting a little break. Both the kids hitched a ride for a few minutes on the way up.

We made it to the top!

A pit stop on the way down.

Jake counted the entire way down and ended up counting to 1,199. The highest he has ever counted. They were both pretty worn out but we all had a good time. We even talked them into another hike a few weeks later, but I forgot my camera so you will have to take my word for it.

Washington

2010-08-11T15:11:00.007-07:00

After we had been in Medford for about a week, we made a trip up to Washington. Bryan's grandma had passed away so we headed up north for the funeral. On the drive up we stopped to eat our lunch at Multnomah Falls. The falls are beautiful, the family picture there, not so much. It was a nice stopping place for us though.

Ian posing in front of the falls.

The kids playing in the freezing cold stream.

We were only in Washington for a few days. It was nice to have the chance to see almost all of the McLaughlin side of the family, even though it was not under the most happy circumstances.

We really did enjoy seeing everyone, even though we don't have pictures to show it. One afternoon the kids played with bubbles in the yard and we did get some pictures of that.

It was harder than it look apparently. She finally decided running with the wand was the best way.

Ian hung out on a blanket in the grass.

Jake running back for a bubble refill. Is it just me or does he look so old in this picture?

Action shot.

The only other pictures we took were of Jake(Osis) and Kate(Piley) jumping on the mattress playing with Uncle Trevor(Pumpkin Head). Pumpkin Head was doing a great job of keeping them entertained.

So what did we do for the summer? Drive!

2010-08-11T14:22:00.003-07:00

Car seats, kids, movies, McDonald's, blankets, and bags. Lots of bags. We have gone a lot of places this summer and done a lot of things. And I have seen a lot of this:

Starting with our trip to AZ in June, these kids have spent 80+ hours in the van. We went out to Oregon, up to Washington, up to Salem, out to the coast, and back to UT. Jake once said,"I'm sick of this van" and I could not have agree more. At least all the driving allowed us to go fun places, see loved ones, and have good times.

Constuction Paper Iron Man

2010-08-11T14:04:00.002-07:00

We were home from Arizona for about 5 days before we left for a month in Oregon. During that time Jake found time to sit with his paper, tape, marker, scissors, and string to make this costume for himself. He is one creative guy.

We went to AZ!

2010-08-11T13:30:00.005-07:00

During the first week of June, Bryan was going to be in Phoenix for work. I drove down with the kids to meet up with him and hang out with Ethan, Ashley and their kiddos. Minus the 24 hour stomach flu, we had a fun time. Jake and Logan act a little insane when they are together, but they get along great and always seem to enjoy themselves. It is nice to see them be such good buddies. It is too bad it takes so long to drive down there, because it would be fun to go visit more often!

How many ways can one girl sleep in a chair?

2010-08-11T12:52:00.004-07:00

Kate fell asleep in the chair in our hotel room in Phoenix. Every time I looked at her she was in a different position. None of them look particularly comfortable.

Isn't this how everyone watches t.v.?

2010-08-11T12:46:00.001-07:00

Jake's last week of school

2010-08-11T08:32:00.008-07:00

Now that school is about to start next week, I had better get the end of last school year on here. The end of the school year brought quite a few actives. A few days before the last day there was a kindergarten program. The kids were all told to come in their "best dress". When I told Jake that he informed me that he does not wear dresses. So I had to let him in on the fact that it actually means your nice clothes. It was a fun little program and the kids seemed super proud. It was Jake's teachers first year teaching. It was sweet because when all the kids were saying bye she was getting pretty emotional. It was nice to know that she cared so much for them. Here are a few pics from the day.

Here is Jake with Mrs. Schmidt. He was a huge fan.

Here he is standing by his cubby.

The last day of school for the kindergartners they had a field day. I went and helped out, but I have no pictures. They did an obstacle course, three legged race, water balloon games and lots of other stuff. It was a hit.

The last week of school for the rest of the school, the kindergartners each had to come back for evaluations. Jake did good and got some awards for getting 100% homework for the year and for bringing more boxtops than anyone in his class. His teacher said he is one great kid and is more than ready to head on to 1st grade.

The day after evaluations was the wildcat run. It is the only fundraiser his school does each year. The kids get pledges, and they train, and run a race. Here he is with his class headed out to the starting line. He is the one in the middle with red/white/gray shorts.

Here he is bringing it home.

Post race smile.

He earned raffle tickets for the money he earned and came home with some fun prizes like bowling passes and free meals at local restaurants.

This year has been such a great one for him that we look forward to what this next one has in store for this kid. I just hope he gets over his extreme dislike of homework!

With Logan for inspiration...

2010-05-25T18:58:00.002-07:00

Look what Jake did for the first time tonight!

Bud Bud's Stats

2010-05-25T14:34:00.003-07:00

Today was Ian's 6 month check up. That's right, 6 months. Can you believe it? I can't. Here is what this big kid is up to these days. He weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 7 oz. That is exactly 12lbs he has put on in the last 6 months. Not too shabby. He is still only in the 12th percentile though. He is 26.5 inches long. He has grown 10 inches and is in the 50th percentile for length. I don't know how big his head is but he seems to not have the same McLaughlin gene that Jake has because it is only the 20th percentile. He is one happy kid. He is not really interested in figuring out rolling, crawling, or any type of getting around on his own. He does love his johnny jump up and saucer. The only problem with taking him out of his johnny jump up is that he thinks he can jump anywhere. He loves to chat and has just started blowing raspberries too. He usually has a toy, his blanket, or his hands in his mouth at all times. As you can see in the picture, he also likes to stick his tongue out. He is getting better at eating solids but is still not ready to go pro at it. We sure are lucky to have this little guy around because he is such a good kid and is so much fun. He is pretty easy on the eyes too.

Different kid, same habbit

2010-05-19T21:24:00.002-07:00

The top is Ian and the bottom, lets hope the pink blanket gave it away, is Kate. They are almost the exact same age in these pics.

Not sure why two of our kids like to sleep with blankets over their heads but lets just hope it has nothing to do with foreshadowing some sort of public humiliation they will face later in life...

Just because he is cute

2010-05-19T21:09:00.002-07:00

Passing the time on a rainy day

2010-05-19T20:56:00.004-07:00

I swear we have toys for her to play with.

This kid turned 6!

2010-05-11T16:34:00.009-07:00

Our old Jakester turned the big 6 on the 29th of April. We started the celebrating by going out to a Mexican restaurant a couple days before. I have a picture of him in a huge sombrero on my phone, but I can't seem to get it on the computer.

At school, on his actual birthday, we sent treats and he got to wear this awesome birthday crown.

We had to wait a few days for the rain to stop, but when it did we had a little party at the park with a few friends. It ended up being windy and cold but at least it did not rain:).

Here he was with the cake. He asked for a cake with dinosaurs fighting transformers. Not the easiest thing to come up with. So I did the best I could, and luckily he is 6 and not too picky apparently because he said it was "the best cake ever!" So not true, but it is his vote that counts.

Here is a little about Jake these days... He loves being a big brother. He likes to tell Kate what to do when ever he gets the chance. Kate usually wants to be doing whatever Jake is doing. We were talking to him about Bry's new job and that he(Bry) would be gone a lot. I asked him if he wanted to be the man of the house while Bry is gone. His face lit up and he said," Yeah. Does that mean I am the boss?" Sorry Charlie, not quite. He also LOVES talking to Ian, usually in baby talk. Ian thinks he is pretty great too because he will typically smile and talk back. Here they are watching a little Curious George together.

Jake loves school. He seems to be learning so much every day. It is amazing to see how much he has learned since the beginning of the school year. That being said, he does not like homework. When he noticed he did not have very much school left he said,"I will be done with homework for the rest of my life!" If only...

He is a ball of emotion. He has had a lot of "best days ever" because he enjoys fun moments so much. When there is something coming up, like Christmas or his birthday, the countdown is almost more than he can handle. You can see the excitement brimming out of him, and he has gotten emotional more than once wanting things to come faster. It can be a little rough when things aren't going his way because you are sure to see a few tears, but it is just because most things mean so much to him. When we told him that we were going to have another baby last year, he got so excited that he cried. How sweet is that!?

He likes so many different things. Transformers, dinosaurs, volcano's, riding his razor scooter and bike, drawing, coloring, taping, asking questions, and playing Wii to name a few. He likes to take my cell phone and take pictures of things. Looking at the pics later is always a good time. It consists of a lot of robots, things he built with blocks, or blurry Ian. I have had pictures of the inside of the toilet also. Fun.

I love that he is getting older but I also love that he will come and snuggle with me on the couch when he wakes up in the morning. He will still hug us goodbye, blow us kisses, and say he loves us when we drop him off at school. I know that will not last forever, but I love it while it lasts. He is sweet, kind, smart, and funny, and so many more things. He has a belly laugh that we get to hear when things are really funny to him, and it is one of my favorite sounds in the world. Some days I don't know what to do with him, but I sure don't know what we would do without him. Love you big kid!

A lazy Saturday afternoon

2010-05-11T16:22:00.002-07:00

These two are friends

2010-05-11T16:16:00.002-07:00

I was folding laundry on my bed and these two were having a good time. To explain Kate"s outfit a little... she got that cute skirt in the mail from our good buddy Jessie(she made it for Kate) and Kate wanted to wear it for the rest of the day. I did not pick out the combo, I promise.

Different kid, same outfit

2010-05-11T16:01:00.002-07:00

Here are Jake and Ian, about the same age, in the same snowsuit. This is also a little proof that they resemble each other some. Lately every one keeps saying how much he looks like Kate, but he has some Jake in him too.

She can't seem to stay on her bed...

2010-05-11T14:54:00.004-07:00

She had never said that her bed is uncomfortable, but we keep finding her like this.

Baby Animal Days

2010-05-11T14:42:00.002-07:00

Last month Lacey and I took all the kids to a little festival called Baby Animal Days. The kids had a great time. I did not get a single picture of Ian and his buddy Jaylee, but I swear we did take the babies. It was one of the first pretty nice days of the year so it made for a nice, yet exhausting, day. The last picture in the slide show was of the kids getting ready for the candy cannon. We were on the back side of the field waiting. The aim of the cannon was a little off because instead of the candy staying inside the roped off area, it hit us. Poor Ian, in the stroller, took a saltwater taffy to the face. The up side of that was that quite a bit of candy landed in the stroller so the kids got some. There were so many kids there that we might not have gotten any if it was not for the bad aim of the cannon shooter. Thank you cannon shooter.

Aquarium

2010-04-08T20:03:00.003-07:00

Dan and Gail came to visit last month. We had a great time with them. On one of the days we drove down south by Salt Lake and went to The Living Planet Aquarium. The kids had the best time. They got to pet a stingray and a sea star. There were so many things for them to see there they could have spent all day.

Checking out the stingray.

The stingrays would swim up on the side. The kids were too scared to touch them then.

I swear they had a great time even though they don't look very excited here.

Not sure what is up with Jake here.

Maybe we should get her some lessons

2010-04-08T16:45:00.002-07:00

Recap

2010-04-08T15:29:00.005-07:00

This will not be in any type of order really, but here is a little of what we have done in the last few months...

These two got to hunt for Easter eggs a few times.

They like to sort their candy. They get that from their dad.

Kate slept in a Christmas dress in March.

Bry and the kids built this robot.

I went to lunch with these cute girls. We were roommates at Ricks, oh so many years ago. Sure love them!

Jake came home from school with a math packet. Kate wanted one. Here is one of the pages from his packet.

Here is the one he made for her. What a nice brother.

Kate worked her fashion magic. Nice belly kid.

We had a fun Valentines day with these two.

We went to a fun Superbowl party and cheered for the Saints. That's why they have the beads. Bry had them from his mission.

Kate played with Ian...a lot...if he liked it or not.

Jake built this "transformer" out of blocks. I think he thinks it is pretty cool.

Maybe now I will stay caught up better...maybe.

Little Bud Bud

2010-04-08T14:40:00.004-07:00

So I have heard a lot of people ask for updates on Ian. Kate has dubbed him "little bud bud" and it seems to have caught on. This past Monday he weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds 9 ounces and is 24 1/4 inches long. Still not massive, but not so tiny either. He is one happy guy, smiling all the time. He sleeps great and loves his big brother and sister.

This video is dark but you can hear how chatty he is these days. We love it.

And here he is today. Can't seem to get enough of this kid.

Snow days!

2010-04-08T13:36:00.007-07:00

This winter did not have as many days good for playing in the snow as we did last year. We did get to get out and enjoy it a bit though. Here are some picture and video highlights.

Ready to go.

Tiny little snowman.

Looks like she has been out there for a while.

Cute kid.

Heading down the hill with Dad.

Here is Bryan giving the snowboarding on a sled (from last year)a second try.

And this last 2 second video is of me and Bry trying to take a picture of ourselves but the camera was on video. Smart.

The Bluths came to town

2010-01-27T21:55:00.003-07:00

The day after Christmas Ethan, Ashley, and their kiddos came to town. It was so fun to have them here, even if we have pretty tight quarters. It turns out I took hardly any pictures. Here is one of the few I took. All the kids together. It is crazy that getting together with just one of my siblings equals 6 kids. That is a lot of kids.

From left to right: Jake, Ian, Logan, Jane, Kate, and Gavin.

Christmas festivities

2010-01-27T18:38:00.005-07:00

This Christmas we stayed here in good old Logan. It was a really nice and relaxing holiday. It seemed like the month or two before hand had been super busy, so it was great to have such a quiet and mellow time. The two days played out as follows: Christmas eve Bryan worked and the kids and I made and decorated cookies for Santa. We went to visit some friends(the Huffakers) early in the evening and then came home to have our traditional dinner of cheese zombies, tomato soup, and eggnog punch. Then it was time to open gifts. The kids were SO excited!

Here they are each holding up their first gift of the evening.

Here is Bry with his huge mug of eggnog punch.

Here is Ian, obviously thrilled with this gift:)

After opening all the gifts from family, the kids played for a while and then they were off to bed. Bry and I got to spend a good chunk of the night doing prep work for the next morning that we should have done before, but never quite got around to. After being up late and feeding Ian during the night, we were hoping Jake and Kate would sleep in a bit Christmas morning. When I heard whispers and footsteps at 6:30 I was not quite ready to get up. The kids did not seem to care too much about how tired I was, they just wanted to see what Santa brought.

Here is Jake just before they started to dig in.

And here is sleepy looking Kate ready to go.

Here is the aftermath of the two of them.

By about three that afternoon here is what everyone was doing...

Ian was just hanging out in his Christmas p.j.'s.

Jake had a very Transformers Christmas so he was transforming away the day.

Kate passed out in the chair watching a movie.

And Bryan disappeared for a while. I found this.

What a great Christmas!

Ian came home!

2010-01-27T15:19:00.003-07:00

December 9th we got to finally bring Ian home. His big brother and sister could not wait to see him.

All ready to head home.

Checking him out. I love how you can see pickpocket Kate's hand stealing Bryan's pen.

Jake's first time holding Ian.

Kate's first time holding Ian.

That is one proud big brother!

An ode to Kate

2010-01-27T14:01:00.004-07:00

December 6th our girl had her 3rd birthday. The last 3 years have flown by, but she sure seems older than three sometimes. The things she talks about and says never stop surprising or shocking us. Here are a few photo highlights from the last month or so...

Always posing.

Boy can she put an outfit together. Snow boots, bike helmet and knee pads? Really?

In her "exercise clothes". Just like mine, so she said. Please tell me that is not how I look when I work out!

Oh the chapstick!

Fake glasses and shifty eyes.

Breakfast with her babies, princess cell phone, crown, and stroller. Can't forget the necklace, bracelet, and tutu. She can be quite girly.

Breaking into her birthday gifts.

This girl keeps us on our toes every day, but nothing would be the same with out her. Who knew a girl could be this fun?!

Decorating the tree

2010-01-27T13:40:00.004-07:00

The first week of December we got the tree put up and decorated. Here are a few action shots of the kids.

Not sure what this is about...

All pooped out after. Was it really that hard?

The finished product.

Our V.I.P.

2009-12-03T13:47:00.007-07:00

This week is a big deal for Jake at school because he is the V.I.P. To say he is excited about it would be a huge understatement. We got the paper to fill out from his teacher, he picked the pictures he wanted to put on the poster and I wrote while he answered all the questions. Since I don't think you can see his answers here are just a few.

Favorite food: Lasagna and Reese's peanut butter cups

Favorite things to do: Go to Thanksgiving Point, Ocean World, and to the beach

His hero: His teacher (he told me it was because he likes how she looks, but we left that part off the poster:)

Food he does not like: Mushrooms and peas

If he had three wishes:

1)Pretend dinosaur bones

2)A pet

3)A swimming pool

And because Kate can't stand not being in at least one picture...

Tiny shoes

2009-12-03T13:32:00.003-07:00

My sister-in-law Janna made these tiny little booties for Ian. I took them up to the hospital last night and tried them on. They fit just right. As cute as they are we are hoping that he grows out of them fast because that will mean that he is that much closer to coming home. He is growing every day and seems to be figuring out the eating thing a little more every day also. He is such a sweet little guy. It will be great to have him around:)

Here is Kate holding one of the booties so you can see how tiny they are.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T21:25:00.003-07:00

After a great morning with the big kiddos at home, a great lunch feast with great friends, Bry and I got to go spend some q.t. with the little guy. Here he is in the middle of getting his hair washed.

After a bath he was a bit worn out, but kept his eyes opened long enough to get a picture taken in this sweet holiday onesie. Not looking so happy:(

Check out their castle...

2009-11-26T21:18:00.003-07:00

and how grown up does Kate look in this picture?

Here's our newest little guy!

2009-11-24T10:58:00.005-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Ian...finally. He was born November 18th at 9:45pm and came in at a whopping 3 pounds 7 ounces and 16 1/2 inches long. He is doing great and hopefully we'll have him home in time for Christmas.

All ready to go to church

2009-11-24T10:16:00.004-07:00

The other day before church the kids wanted us to snap some pictures of them so here they are.

Pretty and Pretty Tough

2009-11-24T09:49:00.004-07:00

Here are the kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes for 2009 provided by Bryan's dad and his dad's wife, Gail. Kate referred to herself (Snow White) as pretty, and Jake (Wolverine) as pretty tough. Unfortunately, Kate got sick this year so Jake took over and was a great big brother for her and got candy for himself and for her. Below is some pictures of the booty.

Family Pictures from September 2009

2009-11-24T08:59:00.007-07:00

A co-worker of Bryan's, Amber Tanner, has been getting into picture taking and offered to take our pictures. Obviously we have recently added a new addition to the family so we'll have to meet up with Amber again sometime, but here are some of our favorites. Thanks so much Amber.

Halloween Cheer

2009-10-29T19:01:00.003-07:00

So bright

2009-10-29T18:50:00.005-07:00

Even though it is still dark out side when she wakes up, if there are lights on in the house, Kate says it is too bright. She comes out of her room with her hands over her eyes and gets her sunglasses on.

Here she is getting the butter out of the fridge for her toast.

Bread next.

Now she is ready to show her sleepy eyes.

Funny girl.

Pumpkin Walk 2009

2009-10-29T16:17:00.002-07:00

Last Friday we headed to the North Logan Pumpkin Walk. Always a good time. Here are a few of the highlights. Kids in cutouts, pumpkins made to look like all sorts of stuff, and some pretty good cookies and cheese sticks.

Fall!

2009-10-29T16:08:00.004-07:00

It was kind of short, but we did have fall this year. Here are the kids with a buddy enjoying the leaves. It is crazy how much fun can be had in a pile of leaves.

Boo at the Zoo 2009

2009-10-29T14:50:00.003-07:00

I guess this might become a tradition. For those who don't remember, at our little local zoo they have crafts and games for kids to play each year around Halloween. The kids had a great time but it was a bit colder than last year. Bry got to come with us this year which makes everything more fun. He was pretty into the scavenger hunt. He found all the right stuff and earned smarties for the whole family. Good family fun.

Here is Bry with the kids, blonde snow white and Wolverine, getting started.

Jake was not wanting to get his picture taken that day so here is Kate with George and the man in the yellow hat.

Posing with "Frank Einstein" as Kate called him.

Kate catching some air at the gymnastic station.

A boy and his tape

2009-10-29T14:47:00.003-07:00

He got 12 rolls in the mail. What a happy day.

They really are friends

2009-10-29T14:32:00.003-07:00

I came in to the living room from doing breakfast dishes and found this:
every dragon needs a baby right? I think he mostly agreed to be her baby because that is the seat he usually sits in when he watches morning cartoons. If she would not move that is as close as he could get. If you look close you can see her hand rubbing his head. So sweet.

The greatest show on earth!

2009-10-29T14:08:00.003-07:00

Mid September we got to go down to Salt Lake to see The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. They call it "the greatest show on earth". I have to admit it was a lot of fun, but that is quite a claim to make:) We all had a great time but unfortunately the camera did not work so well for the actual show because it was so dark. The kids ate tons of candy and watched all sorts of animals and acrobats. A good time was had by all.

Jake was so excited to go but he looks more tortured in this picture.

The fam before the show.

A blurry but action packed shot of the opening of the show.

Seriously, that hair!

2009-10-29T13:11:00.002-07:00

Almost every morning Kate wakes up with a rats nest in her hair. Isn't it cute?! It is a good thing she wakes up so happy otherwise I might never let her out of her room.

23 hours in I.F.

2009-10-29T12:51:00.007-07:00

Back on Labor day we wanted to get out of town, but because of work and church commitments we could not get out of town until Sunday afternoon. We headed up to Idaho Falls(I.F. for those who have lived close by:) for a night to stay with Tyler and Janna. We had a yummy dinner, played games, had yummy breakfast, and went to the surprisingly great Idaho Falls Zoo. The only pics we took were at the zoo, so that is all you get to see.

Ty being a nice uncle and hauling Kate around on his shoulders.

Kate on the tiger.

Jake on the tiger. In his had is a map of the zoo that we got when we arrived at the zoo. He held onto it the ENTIRE time we were there and was always good to let me know where on our map that we were. Such a help:)

Kate on the lion.

We did actually look at animals and not just at the kids the whole time. Check out those huge tortoises!

By the time we finished at the zoo, stopped for lunch, packed up our stuff, and took off we had been there for less than a day. Sad to have to go so soon, but fun while it lasted. We will have to go again sometime, for a little longer next time:)

Jake's first day of school

2009-10-04T10:38:00.004-07:00

Jake started Kindergarten on August 31st. His teacher's name is Mrs. Schmidt, which proved a bit tough to figure out how to say at first, but he has picked it up pretty well since. He's looking like such a big kid these days. We went to parent/teacher conference last week and Mrs. Schmidt had lots of good things to say about Jake. He is one of the best listeners in class, has a really good vocabulary, is respectful, and a good worker.

Bryan's Top of Utah Half Marathon run 2009

2009-10-04T10:08:00.004-07:00

This is Bryan finishing up the Top of Utah Half Marathon, which he ran on August 29th. As a side note we had our 8-year anniversary on August 16th, but we didn't take any pictures. It was fun though and we spent much of the night trying to figure out how 8 years has already passed. Bryan's report on running the 13.1 mile race is as follows. The first 7-8 miles were great, miles 8-11 sucked, and miles 11-13.1 were okay. He wants to run a half marathon again and a full marathon someday too, but he has not committed to when either of those will happen. Here are some other pictures from after the race too.

Friday night fair fun

2009-08-11T19:25:00.005-07:00

The county fair was in town last weekend. It is a block and a half from our house so there really is no way around going. It turns out we are sure glad we did. Bry had to work at a Wells Fargo booth Thursday and Saturday night, so Friday night it was. A cold front moved through so it we started out in short sleeves and I ended up making a trip home to grab coats. So nice. We are excited about the new kiddo on the way, but it was such a simple evening with no diaper bags, strollers, or bedtime worries. The camera was the only thing in hand beside each others hands. The first ride Jake went on Kate just wanted to watch, but after that she was ready to go on everything he did. They went from ride to ride with smiles the whole night. We made a pit stop by all the food and ended up with churros and a shared bag of cotton candy. I think the fact that we had spent the week before apart made being together seem that much better. Just our little family, having a great time, in the nice weather, in our little town. It was like all was right with the world. We finally walked the few blocks home at 10:30 and the kids crashed, sleeping until after 9:30 the next morning. I have to say, for me anyway, it was a night to remember.

Please excuse the fuzzy pictures. Between the lighting and the moving targets, it was hard to get clear pictures.

Here are a few videos of the kids. When they were not on rides, they could not hold still. They were sure funny to watch. Keep in mind they had only shared part of a bag of cotton candy so it was not all sugar rush. I'll blame some of it on the excitement of the night it guess.

The quiz answer is...

2009-08-11T18:05:00.005-07:00

Most of you already know, but we are adding kid #4 to our family this Christmas. Here are a few pictures from the big ultrasound last week. Can you tell it's a boy? A bit too much info?

Though Bryan says this is spooky, the arrow is pointing to his upper lip. To the left of that is his nose and to the right is his bottom lip.Feet. They could end up size 15.The upper left picture is his little bum.

Now if we could agree on a name. It is hard enough between Bryan and I to agree, not to mention the fact that Jake has quite an opinion about it. Hopefully we will get this one named before he is born.

Caitlin came to visit

2009-08-11T15:54:00.002-07:00

Caitlin came home from Oregon with us and stayed for a few days. It was like old times, except she didn't do laundry when she was here. It was so great to have her here. We did not take pictures of anything but here is Kate wearing her sunglasses that she forgot.

All things Oregon

2009-08-11T13:54:00.005-07:00

The last week in July my parents came out, from Oregon, for my brother and his wife's graduation, and we were lucky enough to snag them for a few days before they headed up to Rexburg. One of the days we made it down to Thanksgiving point and the kids LOVED it again. Kate even made it all the way through the IMAX movie this time.

A few days after my parents left, we loaded up and left bright and early for a fun filled week of family events in Oregon. Sadly, Bry could only stay for the first few days, and was missed like crazy the rest of the week. During the week we enjoyed family dinners, church at our old ward, three days at the coast, shopping, Caitlin's sealing, Jamie's baptism, many different sleeping arrangements, and tons of cousins having fun.

Here is a little video of Jake touching the shark at Ocean World. He had been waiting years to do this!

Summer Recap

2009-08-11T12:13:00.009-07:00

Since I have done next to no blogging this summer I thought it was about time to let you all know what we have been up to. The sad thing is that we were not always so great with the picture taking, so some of it you will just have to take my word for it.
The end of June and the first part of July we spent a week in Washington and got to see Bryan's whole family, at one time or another, as well as some good friends. We got to relax, go to parks, ride bikes, swim at Jan and Jim's, eat dinner with someone different almost every night, play some games, watch fireworks on the 3rd, have a big barbecue on the 4th, and relax some more. We all had such a great time. Once again, it is to bad we have so few pictures. Here is a slide show of a very few things that we did.

This was just a pic of the kids looking and acting cute before church one Sunday. Sure love them.These are some cool glasses I found in a box when I was sorting things for our yard sale and Kate loves them. They look great, don't they?

On of the last few weekends in July we got together with two other families and had a yard sale. I love getting rid of stuff! We opened pretty early so we could get closed down early as well. We all made a decent amount cash, cleaned up, and headed to Bear Lake. We haven't got to spend much time up there because of the traveling and other stuff we have had going on. We were so excited to go and the lake did not disappoint. Sun, warmish water, bbq hot dogs(minus the buns, sorry again guys), and relaxing. Definitely one of the funnest things to do in the summer.

Well this is getting to be too long of a post so I suppose I will move on to the next and talk about all things Oregon...kind of.

The newest addition to the family...Scotch Tape

2009-07-15T06:09:00.006-07:00

Jake likes artistic things. Drawing, painting, cutting paper and taping it back together into different shapes. Since he likes to do that last one so much, his grandparents got him a ream of paper and a six pack of scotch tape, among other art supplies, for his birthday. Well the taping of things took on a life of its own. Why stop at taping paper when it can stick to so many things?

If you want your sister to stay out, tape your door nob. Luckily she is two so this strategy worked.

Just in cast that same sister grew three feet and could reach your lockers full of your prized possessions, tape them closed. Kind of.

I think this was being taped on, but not all of it has an obvious reason behind it.Like this one? Apparently tape also doubles as spiderwebs and if you are making your room into a haunted house you just put it everywhere to make things scary.More scariness?These are the remnants of what is left from when he taped some of his stuffed animals to the net.And what toy bin handle doesn't need a little tape?

These pictures hardly do justice to the presence that tape has had in our lives. It is on clothes when I get them out of the dryer. It is on blankets as I tuck the kids into bed. No less than 15 strands of it where used to block his entire doorway, as high as he could reach, to also keep people out. That worked a little too well because he can reach high these days and I could not step over it to get in his room to put laundry away. I find it on the carpet and even stuck to the bottom of peoples feet. The first six pack has long sense come and gone (over 6600 feet of tape might I add) but luckily Jake has a grandpa who would hate to see him go without tape, so he is now on the last roll of his second six pack. That is literally miles of tape that have come and gone through our home. I guess it is a small and sticky price to pay for his good time. Like his grandpa texted me,"His to enjoy, yours to clean up." So true.

Video highlights

2009-07-13T14:27:00.010-07:00

Here are some videos from the last few months also. Fun times.

This first video is yet again Kate limping after scraping her knee. Telling her to "walk it off" is pretty much not going to happen, especially if she is going to walk like that.

This next video is of Mason. He is 2 and loves to wrestle. Then there is Jake. He is 5 and is ticklish and thinks that wrestling is so funny that any skill he might have is rendered useless by laughing. Then there is Kate. I guess her contribution to the whole event is a good back scratch.

Pretty much the whole month of June was full of thunderstorms. A lot of the mornings were nice but by afternoon the clouds would roll in. The kids thought it was pretty fun to watch. Here they were one afternoon watching a storm.

One night just before bed, the kids started playing this game. I don't know where it came from and have not seen it since. Jake tries to explain it but you can't really understand what he is saying. It is fun to watch them have fun together. Even if we have no clue what they are doing.

Some fun news

2009-07-13T14:17:00.008-07:00

So we wanted to share some fun news and Bryan thought of this fun way to do it. We are going to have a little quiz. It will be multiple choice and you can leave your answer in the comment box. Comments must be left in the comment box before any phone calls will be accepted by us to give you the correct answer. Now you don't have to call to get the answer if you don't want to because we will post the correct answer in a few days. If you do call though, remember, we will only give you the correct answer if have left a comment. No calling other people to see if they already know the right answer because that would be cheating and we don't look highly upon cheaters. Good luck and the winner will get the knowledge of having answered correctly. What a prize!?

The fun news is...

A) We are moving...again...this time to the Phoenix, Arizona area because 2000 square foot, 3 year old houses that have 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a 2 car garage are selling for $85,000!

B) Bry is getting into the licenced banker program because he is awesome.

C) Jessica is pregnant, and we're thinking about naming him or her Quad or Quatro since this will be number 4! Pretty cool names, right?

D) After some pre-kindergarten evaluation we found out that Jake is going straight to first grade, following in the similar footsteps of his Uncle Mikel, who skipped 3rd grade.

E) Kate can bench press 50 pounds.

I know. It has been forever.

2009-07-12T16:44:00.012-07:00

Between trips, babysitting, preschool, graduating from preschool, and life in general, I have not taken the time to post. Don't think that I haven't heard about it from MANY different people. Now it has been so long that I can't help but feel really behind so these may not be the way I would have posted them when they happened, but much shorter in the interest of time. Here are the last few months in a nut shell...

While Bry and I were in Vegas, the kids were in Oregon with my parents. Then we joined them for the rest of the week. They were happy to see us when we got there, but I don't think that many(if any) tears were shed in our absence because "dapa and dapa" know how to show a kid a good time. When we got there we got to go to Wild Life Safari.

Here is Jake feeding a goat.Kate would not feed a goat but would pose as a sheep.

I just had so show how comfy this guy looks.
The rest of the time in Medford was spent hanging out with family and visiting friends. The kids love hanging out with cousins.
Kate snuck in time to take a ride in dapa's car...and time to hold Caitlin's kitty.The ride home was long, but Jake is usually a happy traveler.

Kate struggles a bit more with traveling, but she did sneak a little snooze in. Once we got back to Utah it was busy life as usual.

Kate had some serious bed head.

Jake had his big preschool graduation. He had a great year and a great teacher. He was a little sad to realize that he was not going back there but once we told him he had to start kindergarten he recovered quickly. Here he is with his class. His waving hand blocks his cute face.Waiting for the big moment...and here it is. He had to hold his hat on when we was walking. He is growing up so fast.
Kate got a bike from her cousin Jamie while we were in Oregon and it only took a day or two before she was a pro at zipping around on it. Since she has a need for speed we got her a helmet. She also really wanted one because Jake wears his whenever he rides his bike and she must do whatever he does. Here she is sporting her helmet where you are supposed to wear it, on your bike.

She was a bit obsessed for a while so she wanted to wear it all the time. Here she is protecting her head while watching t.v. Safety first I guess.

So there you are...a few happenings from the last couple months. Now on to the next post. This may be the last one you read because it is the oldest so if that is the case, you are done.

Vegas!

2009-05-14T13:29:00.003-07:00

Bryan and I got to go on a little trip to Vegas last week. We went with our friends Reese and Lacey. Other than the fact that every thing is dirty and smells like smoke, we had a super fun time. Here is a little slide show of our adventures.

Happy Birthday Jake!

2009-05-12T13:32:00.004-07:00

April 29th Jake turned the big 5! We went to the dinner of his choice(Golden Corral), and opened a few presents here at home. Then just a few days later we were in Oregon and we got to have a bigger party with more family and friends. He had a great time even though in the video of him blowing his candles out he does not look to excited. The highlights were getting to play with cousins and friends, rainbow ice cream cake, and the pinata.

This boy is so much fun. He is so smart, funny, sweet, emotional, artistic, fast(running), and just so easy to love. It is so much fun to watch him learn new things everyday and always wanting to learn and know more. He is a great big brother and friend to his friends. We are sure lucky to have him around!

That's just where I wanted those

2009-04-30T13:18:00.002-07:00

Who needs a shoe rack and a closet floor when Kate can display your shoes so well all over the room?

Easter

2009-04-30T09:59:00.006-07:00

The kids got to hunt for eggs a couple times, which they loved. Easter morning the Easter bunny had hidden eggs and a few other treats around for them to find, which was a hit. Jake woke up way before the sun was up and told Bryan that he thought he saw "the bunny" himself in the living room. After a quick look around Bryan found that there were no large bunnies in the house and then sent Jake back to bed. He did not make it back to sleep right away though. He spent some time looking around the house to see where some of the eggs were. Not too long after he finally fell back to sleep we heard noises from Kate's room. When I walked in to see her she was sitting on her bed with two open eggs next to her trying to hold the candy that they once held in her hands, trembling. She looked up at me and said(in her deep just woke up voice)," Dees are mine. Da bunny put dem in my room, on my titchen(kitchen)."

Can't spend time looking at the camera when you are finding eggs.

Though it may look possessed, it is really just a sleepy euphoria face.

The kids looked cute as could be in their Easter outfits. I sure was a slacker and did not get a picture of them though. We will dress them in them again one Sunday soon and take a picture then.

Can you make a normal face?

2009-04-29T16:41:00.005-07:00

Not to mention that cool outfit. Here we are at a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. These are the only pictures of Kate that I got. Isn't she lovely?

If they ask to do it it's not mean right?

2009-04-29T14:49:00.004-07:00

This is a random stuff catching up post

2009-04-29T13:18:00.008-07:00

It has been forever, so here are pictures and videos of some events that have transpired in the last month, in no particular order. I can't remember when all this happened...

Kyle came for a weekend and we took him to our awesome little zoo.

My baby grew up...ok a bit dramatic, but he did get registered for kindergarten. He can not wait!

We also found out that this beauty of a picture was given to him by his "girlfriend" at school. We asked what makes her his girlfriend and he said she is,"nice and fun." When asked if she knows she is his girlfriend he said,"I don't think so."

Here is a video of Kate. I don't know why she started doing this but whenever you ask her to show you her eyes this is what she does.

I started watching Brynn again and she loves to dance, much like Jake. Here is a long video with some pretty sweet moves hidden throughout. They are dancing to Jake's "cool" music, aka Bryan's old school hip hop CD.

Kate fell in the parking lot at Bryan's work and got her first pretty decent scrape on the knee. She limped around for several days afterward. I can only imagine what we are in for if real injury strikes. Her weird hitting of the box at the end is just that, her being weird hitting a box.

Jessica and the kids new ride

2009-03-18T15:58:00.007-07:00

Jessica finally got her wish. I, Bryan, was able to find a sweet deal on a minivan at an auction. It is a 2003 Honda Odyssey EX-L/DVD. It's in great shape and has leather, heated seats, rear air, tinted windows, keyless entry, power sliding doors, a DVD player, CD player, A/C, cruise control, stow-and-go seating, power everything, it seats 7 people, and Jessica loves it. It's going to be great for traveling with all the extra room and once we have a couple more kids it will be nice to be able to have a place to put them. Basically, we're pretty cool now and all our friends are always asking us for rides now.

If manipulation had a face...

2009-03-11T10:59:00.003-07:00

it might look like this(smashed nose and all).

Allow me to share a few recent conversations with Kate to demonstrate her efforts at manipulating situations to get things her way.

Let me set the scene. Last night around 5 p.m. I was kneading dough on the table to make pizza crust. A decent amount of flour is on the table. Kate climbs on the bench to "watch".

Kate: "Watch this mom."(flinging flour around with her hand)

Me: "Kate, hands down. If you throw it again you have to get down."

Kate: grabs more flour and flings it again.

Me: "Get down Kate."

Kate: while not getting down and smiling at me," Happy birday mom. You fabulous pretty fairy, whole vide vorld." (since Kate's birthday she thinks that saying happy birthday is just a nice thing to say. She doesn't yet get the celebration of birth part of it. She also thinks if she ends any sentence with the phrase "whole wide world" she is being complimentary.)

I thanked her for her nice words and got her down.

Scene two. This morning. I'm cleaning her dishes off the table. From behind me I hear her come into the living room.

Kate: "Mom I det ready all my self."

Me: "I'm guessing you are wearing your favorite shorts." I turn around to find her with her go-to rainbow striped gaucho pants that she tries to wear everyday. I don't know what I will do when I can't tell her it is to cold for them anymore. We will see them a lot this summer.

Me: "It is to cold for those today love. You need to wear pants."

Kate: "I look pretty in them. I wear them." and she marches back into her room.

Sure Kate, since you think you look pretty in them you can wear them. Who cares that it is currently 20 degrees outside. She is wearing jeans today in case you were wondering.

Scene three. Moments ago. I hear her yelling from the back so I go to check it out and find her on my bed. She is not supposed to get up there unless Bry or I are in the room because she cannot get down herself.

Me: "Kate what are you doing up there?"

Kate: "Jakey (she has been calling him Jakey lately) needs me. I better go. Hop me down."

Me: "You need to stay down from here unless mom or dad is here."

Kate: "I luv you mom. Hop me down."

If she is already starting to work on her powers of manipulation now, it scares me to think of how good she will be when she is a teenager. We may keep her locked in her room.