It's Amazing

It's amazing how little minds come up with big ideas. Ethan wanted to put on a show for me. Him & Lexi used the chair as a stage & did tricks & dances for me. He told me to put up the blanket & where to put the chair. I thought it was a very cute idea & their performance was spectacular.
Ethan showed Lexi how to do it & she did her own little rendition. It was adorable & I look forward to the next one

It's amazing that Makelle is up & walking. I don't know how it happened, every time she would get up to walk some little child was there to push her right over, or pick her up, or even try to "help" her. But she is walking everywhere now, so I figured it was a good time to put shoes on. She loves them & doesn't do to bad walking in them.

It's amazing that our garden produced as much as it did. This is me & Jeff's second year planting a garden. We are still figuring out tricks & what works & what doesn't. Guess what, pumpkins worked! We had a fun time picking the pumpkins together.

Yes Lexi is eating a tomato like an apple. I don't get it, but she seemed to enjoy herself. Our zucchini & squashes have also done well. We're so lucky to have a garden & eat the fruits of our labor

The Diaper Fairy

Lexi decided to regress from potty training & started pooping in her panties. This happened at least twice a day, sometimes more. I found it easier to put her back in diapers. She was still peeing in the potty, so I still considered her potty trained. I was complaining to a cute friend of mine & she suggested the diaper fairy. The fairy comes while she's sleeping & leaves behind a special gift. While we were in Disneyland I talked to her about the diaper fairy & what was going to happen, and asked her what she wanted the diaper fairy to bring her. By the time we got home from Disneyland she was pretty excited for her to come. So we gathered all of her diapers & put them in a basket by her bed. When she woke up the fairy had taken all her diapers & left her some make up.. (she's such a girl!) She understands there are no more diapers & has done so well! She has pooped in her panties once & had to clean it up. She got poop on her hands & hated it. I made it clear that it's her poop & she has to clean up her accidents... of course I cleaned up after, but when she wasn't around, so that she knew it was her responsibility. Lexi is now potty trained.. again & hopefully it will work for any of you struggling to potty train your little ones.

Disneyland, "diego" zoo & Sea World

Our trip started early Monday morning, we left for the airport at 6 am. We barely made our flight, security was super busy! Ethan & Lexi enjoyed their first airplane ride. Lexi kept saying, "Hold on, hold on tight." Makelle on the other hand cried most of the time & was not enjoyable. I don't blame her though, it was quite early & she was rudely awakened. We had a rough time finding our hotel, we went the wrong way a couple times, but we finally found it & headed off for Disneyland. The second we stepped in Ethan threw a fit cause he wanted to buy the first thing he saw... and the tantrums continued!!
The first character we saw was Captain Hook. Lexi was scared of him. Ethan was excited & Makelle really didn't care.

In Mickey's house, they were mad at each other & wouldn't sit closer together. I thought we were in a magical place, so the fighting would stop, but... I was wrong!

Here they are fighting over Mickey's chair. A little embarssing? I'd say so! It did make me feel better when I saw other parents dealing with tantrums too. They fought a lot, they continued their fighting in their sleep!! "Stop kicking me!" "You're on my side." After that we put them in seperate beds & things were much better.

In toon town they have a little play ground, Makelle was so excited to get out of her stroller!

Lexi looks a little worried, "He's touching me!!" She likes her personal space. Ethan loved seeing all the characters he sees on TV

This was the best part of my day! Lexi chose a new purse filled with good stuff for her souvenier. She hasn't let go of it since. She fell asleep everyday & missed out on some rides. But I was happy because she wasn't whining or crying.

This is included in the best part of my day. She usually fell asleep the same time Lexi did, so we had peace & quiet for a few hours. Bliss!! Makelle found this bear at one of the shops & would not let go of it! We tried every stuffed animal & character in the store & she pushed 'em all away. She had her mind set, she's a girl who knows what she wants. We were lucky to have my in-laws with us on the trip. My father-in-law doesn't like going on the rides, so he stayed with the sleeping girls when there was a ride that I could go on.

Ethan picked out the most annoying sword in the world for his souvenier. But I always knew where he was, it was that loud!

Makelle cuddling her two favorite things in the world. I don't know what I would do if we ever lost either one.

Goofy's line was always so long, so I just snagged a picture. He was always moving, so it was hard to get a good shot.

Waiting for the Buzz Lightyear ride. It was Ethan's all time favorite ride. Why? Because you get to shoot guns!! We went on it probably 3 or 4 times in a row, the line was short & it was fun for the kids to shoot the targets.

Mulan wouldn't touch the kids. They were soaked! There was a splash park type place in the Bug's Life & they loved it! It was so hot!

I think Minnie was Lexi's favorite. Makelle was puzzled by all the kissing noises she was making

Mater & Lightining Maqueen. Ethan was fascinated!

The next day we headed over to California Adventures. Ethan loved the Toy Story ride over there. More guns! The line was super long, but worth it, it did go pretty fast. And that is where we saw the Bawden's... any of you Harvest Park friends remember them from the other ward? Lexi enjoyed the swining ferris wheel ride. We also saw a Bug's Life 3D show. The kids hated it!! I thought it was good, but the kids thought it was scary. I also took Lexi to the Muppets 3D show, it wasn't really scary, but she didn't like how close everything got.

Ethan didn't enjoy the rides that were dark or got you wet. But he was a good sport & tried most of them. I wish I could've gone on more, but it was still fun to watch the kids enjoy the magic.

Thursday we headed to San Diego. Ethan kept calling the zoo the diego zoo, instead of San Diego. I was hoping he wasn't connecting it with Go Diego Go & be disappointed when he wasn't there. Ethan liked the bronzed animals more than he liked the real ones. He had to get his picture taken next to every one he saw.

They have a cute little play ground for the kids. They all enjoyed it!

I love Lexi's cheeser's.

Makelle loved exploring & getting dirty... anything but that stroller ...AGAIN!

These are the tigers. Apparently they have 4, but can only bring out 2 at a time because they don't get along. It was cool to see them so up close. They also have 2 lions, we got to see them chewing on big huge bones. The San Diego zoo is huge! I sure got my workouts in walking up & down those big hills.

The polar bears were the most exciting part. They were so active & playful, we spent the most time watching them. This was the first time I'd ever seen a panda bear. It was so cute! And of course we had to get the picture of the elephant stomping on the kids.

Friday we headed over to Sea World. They had an awesome penguin exhibit. And the kids got to play with the starfish.

They got to see a sea turtle

Ethan thought it was so cool

I didn't forget about Makelle. I know there's not tons of pictures of her. But she was good to either sit in the stroller or sleep. But by this time she was getting ancy.

Of course we had to see the Shamu show. The kids didn't particularly love it. They didn't want to sit down & watch anything. But I love to watch these animals. They amaze me!

There was 3 performing, I had an older man with a really big hat sitting in front of me, so I didn't have the best view, oh the things we do for our kids.

They had a really cool shark exhibit as well. You go underneath the ground & the sharks are swimming all around you.

They had a cute polar bear exhibit, but the bears weren't as active as the ones at the zoo.

Saturday we headed home! We are all pooped. The kids had fun enjoyed the rides, & really didn't want to leave. Makelle did much better on the plane ride home. She slept most of the time.

Ethan & Lexi enjoyed their new coloring books & watched a little TV. Before we knew it we were home! I'm happy to be home! Vacation is a lot of work, but we enjoyed our trip & hope to do it again when the kids get a little older.

Thank heaven!

Since becoming pregnant I have had NO energy... not even a little. It may seem like an over exaggeration, but I could barely muster enough energy to give the kids the things they needed, making them a little more independent. They've been so good to help out. We did do some swimming, and camping, but mostly just staying inside, out of the heat! Since the nights are cooler we are hanging outside a little bit more & the kids are much happier.

Makelle is taking some steps & getting closer to walking.

Lexi is finally getting alone time with mommy. Ethan has graduated staying home & is now at pre-school 3 days a week. He is loving it & has made some friends & even learned a few things. I love having the time with Lexi, I can finally dedicate time to just teach her... Makelle naps while Ethan's at pre-school, so it's been convenient.

I'm now 14 weeks & getting some energy back.

The kids were so helpful one day in helping me clean up the play room, they picked up all the toys themselves. As you can see some things really should've been left on the ground

They were so proud! And so was I!
My brother-in-law & sister-in-law have been trying to have another baby for about 5 years. They have one little girl who's 6. And attempted to adopt twice, both adoptions the parents decided to keep the baby at the last moment. It has been heartbreaking watching them go through this. She is now about 20 weeks pregnant & having a boy & an adoption finally went through for them, they just brought home a little boy named Ryder. We're so happy for them! Prayers are answered, even if it did take 5 years.

Oh the joys!

We got to spend my birthday weekend up at our cabin. The cabin is one of my favorite places to be, I learned so much up there growing up & have so many fond memories. I hope it's around for a long time so that my kids can make fun memories up there as well. We took a lot of "hikes" as Ethan called them, but they were more like walks. Me & Ethan had a little mommy/son time & took a long walk together. It's so nice to have that one on one time together. After that one on one time Lexi decided she wanted it too. So I took a walk with her too, this one wasn't so enjoyable as she wanted me to pull her in this tiny wagon. I was holding Makelle as well, so it was awkward & hurt my back. But we still had fun being up in the mountains & exploring.

Makelle absolutely adores stuffed animals! Once she gets a hold of one she has a hard time letting go. It's so cute to see her cuddle the animals & love them to pieces.

When Grumpy got up to the cabin he took us all to the shooting range. Lexi & Ethan were lucky enough to ride in the back with Spencer & Amber. They enjoyed being with the big "kids." They were so helpful and helped find all the clay pigeons that didn't get shot.

I am now officially 25. And for a wonderful birthday present Makelle decided to throw up all over her carseat on the way home from the cabin. What a wonderful present, right? After we cleaned it up as best we could with scented baby wipes & germX, we rode home with the windows down! She ended up just having a little too much oil in her tummy from the lasagna & was perfectly herself after throwing up.

Each of my children are such a blessing in my life! They bring so much to the family, so much happiness & joy. I can't wait to see what the next one will bring. They're all so different & I can't imagine what this one is going to look like, or be like. We got to see the heart beat today & everything is looking good. I'm excited to welcome another baby into our family!

Spencer & Amber are married!!

Spencer & Amber joined in holy matrimony for time & all eternity Thursday Aug. 13th. The ceremony was beautiful! Of course I cried, my only brother tied the knot. It was just yesterday he was kicking us with his cowboy boots & eating an apple everywhere he went. I'm so happy for him! He's lucky he found a girl that likes to hunt & fish just as much as him.
There was a lady there from Amber's ward that was doing balloon animals & things for the kids. Lexi got a pretty flower, & for most of the night she was making me smell it. It kept them entertained for a while considering how long of a day they had had.

She made Ethan a sword, hat & hilt. The batteries in my camera died yesterday so I took a late picture. He is absolutely in heaven!

The kids were so patient waiting for all the pictures to get taken. It's so nice they have cousins around the same age to keep them company. It was so nice to see old friends at the reception. It was a long day, waking up at 6 & getting into bed around 11:30. The kids were pretty good sports & slept in a little bit. All in all it was a good day & congrats & Spencer & Amber!

A very eventful weekend!

More camping! After this trip I'm all camped out! It was a lot of work this time for some reason, but we made it. Makelle did this for most of the weekend, just played on the stairs of the trailer. It was tough because she wanted to crawl everywhere, but she kept eating rocks & leaves. This seemed to keep her attention for the majority of the trip.
Ethan caught his very first fish on his very own pole. He was so proud of himself. This is daddy gutting it.

Makelle loves her daddy. She got a diaper rash & diarrhea while we were camping, so she wasn't always her happy self, but daddy can usually get a smile out of her.

Grandpa is a brave soul & let Lexi drive the four wheeler all by herself. She's one crazy driver! Lexi & Makelle were on the 4-wheelers for a lot of the trip. When I couldn't get Makelle to calm down I would take her on a slow ride & she would calm right down, until I took her off, she loved it too much to give it up.

A couple people brought their dogs on the trip. They were very well behaved & Makelle absolutely adored them! She's pointing to the dog & whining to go after it. She was very soft & loving to the dog & always wanted to be by them. She's actually signing dog & saying dd- code for dog

We took the kids to the zoo last weekend & got to see the new baby giraffe. He was born the day before we got there & was already about 6 feet tall. Makelle loved seeing all the animals & pointed at everything & laughed & smiled. Yesterday at church Jeff took Lexi to the bathroom, as she was running to the door to catch up to Jeff she ran smack into the bathroom counter. It knocked her flat on her back. Jeff cuddled her & tried to make her feel better, until she moved her hand. Blood was gushing everywhere! He came to get me & we rushed her to Insta Care. The nurse looked at it and said 3 or 4 stitches & she'll be as good as new. He put some numbing gel on & we waited about 25 minutes to get her back for the stitches. She was so good through the whole thing, she only cried when she saw me crying, so I tried to be brave for her. Jeff took her back & they cleaned it out. Come to find out it was way deeper than they initiallly thought. Jeff got to see her skull. I'm so glad I wasn't back there, I definately woulda fainted! Jeff even got a little queasy. They ended up having to give her a numbing shot inside her cut. Jeff said that was the hardest part for Lexi, it took a little while & he had to help hold her down. They said that if she didn't hold still during the stitching that we would have to go to the ER to have her sedated. Jeff said she did so awesome! She just sat there, which if you know Lexi it's next to impossible for her to do such a thing. As long as she could see Jeff she was fine, but when the doctor's arm got in the way of her view of daddy she got a little worried. 3 deep stitches & 6 surface stitches later she is whole & happy! Any time someone asks her about it she says "all better, all done." She was so brave, braver than me. The big picture in the middle was taken today of her stitches, Jeff took a picture of it before the stitches, but it's pretty gory so I won't post that one. We missed most of church, but we thank friends & family for all their concern for Lexi, she felt so loved!