Maybe it's time for an update?

Yikes! Two months since my last post. A LOT has happened in the meantime. I tried to post a while ago but my stupid computer shut down in the middle and I was too ticked to start all over again. I HATE the windows automatic update!!! I never know it's even there until suddenly everything shuts down on me to restart... ugg.

So we went to fabulous LAS VEGAS!! Just Adam and I for four days the weeek of our anniversary. It was beautiful to be in that heat! (For me anyway - Adam thought he was going to die.) We did a lot of walking the first day, which I enjoyed immensely until some time that evening when I was having a TON of pain in my left foot. It felt like my ankle and leg were grinding together. We stopped at some crazy little Hawaiian shop in the mall at Planet Hollywood so I could buy some padded flip flops in hopes that it would help. They did help, a little. I spent the rest of the trip icing and popping ibuprofen. (Went to the doctor a week later and it turns out I managed to injure some ligament that wraps around the ankle - by walking. How stupid is that??) We walked through most of the casinos. Hated Circus Circus. LOVED the Mandalay Bay. That is totally my kind of place. We went to the Shark Reef there. It was a little spendy, as were all things on the strip($3 Mountain Dew!!) but pretty cool. I think Sea World or the Oregon Coast Aquarium is cooler and probably a bigger bang for your buck but it was still worth seeing. The fine art gallery at the Bellagio is totally a waste of money. WE HATED IT! There were some beautiful Renoir's on display but there was also a pair of pants made out of window screen and a plastic globe hanging from the ceiling on which they were projecting a human eyeball - all in a room the size of my stupid rental house living room. The absolute highlight for me was the last night we were there when we went to see Cirque du Soleil's KA. I had been told it was incredible and it totally delivered. It was beautiful and artistic and captivating. An hour and a half show with no spoken words and yet you're still mesmerized! The stage is a prop for the entire show. It is on hydraulics and can be raised, lowered, horizontal, vertical and more. They also project images on it for a lot of the scenes. It was just magical. I can't do it justice. Search it on YouTube - you'll see! =o)

Miss Paige started school August 25th. Yes, I cried. It has been a bit of an adjustment to not have her here all the time but honestly, it's pretty peaceful without her and now that I'm a couple months into I'm really glad for the time I get to spend with Porter one on one when Sarah is asleep in the afternoon. Most days he wants me to come snuggle him while we watch a movie and it's pretty sweet. Paige is absolutely loving school, which I knew she would. She is just academically minded. She is already spelling some simple words like the, one and two. She loves to just put random letters together and try to sound them out. It's very cute. I'm sure she'll be reading before we know it. Her favorite thing is to come home from school and do 'homework', which means coloring in a coloring book. =o) It's fun to see her learn, grow, and make new friends.

Our progress on our house is moving along. I think we have bids in for everything but the propane, as I realized last night as I was falling asleep. We still feel like we are going to be close to our estimates, which is really nice. We are learning a few things - like concrete and wells are REALLY expensive. I feel like an expert on septic systems after doing our DEQ submittal, in fact the Teton County Sanitarian told me I should become a consultant for other people doing their own. I can think of more fun things to do with my time but Adam says it'd be worth it for $1000-1500. Maybe. Our paperwork for our subdivision approval is in the DEQ in Helena. We drove down and hande-delivered it last Tuesday which means the clock is ticking and we will have back in 60 days or less from then. We are hoping and praying for more like the end of October though. We'll see. And if you want to add us to your prayers, we'd be grateful.

I finally got a calling at church - 2nd counselor in the Young Women's Presidency. It is a super busy job. I love the girls. They are sweet and good and trying their best. I love that. Adam's calling is Elder's Quorum secretary. It's totally Adam's speed and very low-key. I think he really likes it.

Lots of people have been asking when baby #4 is going to come. Let's just say that we're not even thinking about trying to add another one until the house is built and we're moved in so talk to us in a year. Right now I am really enjoying having an almost 2 year old and no baby. We've never done this before and I am a much better mama this way. I am a miserable pregnant woman and I don't do well without sleep so the newborn stage is a mixed bag. Sarah is a pretty lucky girl to still have me all to herself. She is the sweetest little girl. She has a ginormous smile almost all the time, even when she first wakes up. (She does NOT get that from me...) She is very maternal and adores her brother and sister and daddy. She waits all day for Paige and Adam to come home. She can't wait to see her grandma and uncles and aunts and always wants to know where her cousins are - which is actually a funny thing because for the longest time she was calling Jerob "annie" (auntie) and it was making him furious. She started calling him Jer-by on Sunday. We'll see if he likes that any better. I guess it's probably better than being called Wade like Porter did. =o) All cousins are "Kaylie" to Sarah. Also funny because she has a TON of cousins whose names end with an 'ee' sound (Haleigh, Kamrey, Kinley, Kaylie, Rylee, Cydnee, Madi...) Guess it was too confusing so now they're all just "Kaylie" but when she sees them she screams "Kaylie!!!!" and has to run to give them a hug, even in the hallway of the school each morning when we drop Paige off. It kinda tugs at my heart. I just love that sweet little girl.

We have all been sick here the last two weeks. Some kind of weird sore throat-coughy-runny nosey thing. I finally went to the doctor today and got on antibiotics because I have been sick for almost 10 days. I have fluid in my inner ear and swollen tonsils but no sinusy weirdness. It's very strange. Poor Porter kept saying "Mom, my throat is up in my mouth!" The only one who hasn't been severely affected is Paige. She is just the carrier who brought it home from school apparently. Super fun.

I got to teach a lesson recapping General Conference this last Sunday. It has been an interesting experience because I listened to all of Sunday and took notes. I loved Elder Packer's talk. Interestingly enough, there has been an uproar about that very talk by the homosexual community. I have witnessed some of this backlash on Facebook and it really has been a little difficult for me. I don't know how to lovingly respond to someone who I think is wrong in their opinion. I was really grateful for the statement released by the church in response to the 800 page petition that was delivered to church headquarters today by a large homosexual group. It said things better than I ever could have. I do feel that it's a sin to engage in such activity. My heart grieves for any person who has large struggles in their life. I don't think they're any less of a person or think they should be discriminated against. I have my own personal demons that I deal with all the time. It's painful to have someone say or imply that you are somehow unworthy of love because of who you are or how you are. I don't have all the answers but I do pray for more understanding on all sides. I think we have to agree to disagree and be friends anyway. Practice more kindness and compassion. Actively live the Golden Rule. Love one another.

Summer?

I am freezing today and it's mid August. YUCK. I am also exhausted. Could be lack of sleep, could be carb overload, or it could be that the turn in the weather is prompting me into early hibernation. =o) I am having a terrible time getting anything done today. I have spent a good chunk of this week on the internet but mostly doing useful things - like reading all 103 pages of Montana DEQ septic regulations. I am trying to save a $2,000 by doing the DEQ submittal for our lot division myself. We are exempt from tons of things because it is a family transfer but unfortunately not from having to prove to the state of Montana that we will not contaminate anyone's drinking water, including our own, with septic drainfield yuckiness. We also have to prove that we will figure out a way to get rid of storm water in a way that will be practical and not wash away the entire hillside. Did you know that you have to prove such a thing?? Me either. It really is amazing the things that you dig up once you start investigating real estate. For example, we found out that Teton county owns a 30 foot strip of land on either side of the section line from a road that used to be there in 1930. So we actually will be surrounded on two sides by my mother in law's land, one side by the BLM, and the other by Teton County. Turns out that the neighbors house and garage are built on Teton County's land. Don't know who screwed that one up.

We are approaching our 7th anniversary next weekend. I don't know how that happened. I swear it's been like 2 years and I'm still in my mid-20's. And how'd I get three kids?? (Don't answer that literally...lol) I still am so happy that I got so lucky. I don't know if all people really have soul-mates but I know the Lord definitely worked it out for us. I am super grateful for answered prayers. We were joking about our anniversary the other night. Adam says he wasn't thinking. He should've had Mike throw a bunch of stuff in the vows. Good thing for me that it's too late now. =o) I will post more anniversary goodness later but now the dryer is calling and I have more laundry to fold. ::yawn::

Playdoh's fun for everyone!

Comments here, there and everywhere

*I will add pictures but it's not cooperating right now*
So FYI, I constantly blog in my head. Seriously. Sometimes it keeps me up at night thinking 'I really should blog about that!'. I'm such a dork, I know. =o)

Our lives are plugging along. Not a ton of exciting things but at least we're consistent! First of all, we are getting started on our house. We went out last Tuesday and staked out the perimeter of the house. It was so fun AND informative. We made a few changes afterward, like widening the garage and expanding the laundry room so there's no jog in the exterior walls. Making the garage bigger totally broke Adam's heart and making the laundry bigger totally broke mine. I made the changes in time for Skinny to take the plan to get bids at a couple different places. I am actually in the process of redoing it now that Skinny has had someone look at it because of some changes that needed to be implemented. I think it may be a continual process for a while but it's good to know that it gets us somewhere! We met with the surveyor yesterday. I had heard that the survey was pretty expensive and holy moley is it ever! Estimate is $2000-2500 just for the survey of the lot, $500-1500 for lawyer fees, and another $2000 if we have to have an engineer do the DEQ submittal. Plus the state has 60 days to review the DEQ submittal once we get it submitted and if there's something they don't like, we have to change and resubmit. Pray for us that the government decides to cooperate! I'm hoping to get our houseplan redone today so that I can get a materials list and start getting bids from lots of places for lumber, windows, concrete, etc. According to my book, the bank likes you to have bids from several different contractors, even if doing the work yourself just to see what would happen if you got injured or sick or whatever. It's definitely gonna be a learning curve!

I am now watching the Bender bunch every other Saturday while Crystal's at work, at least until Skinny is done this fall. I had them last Friday and Saturday because their daycare was closed. The older kids have so much fun together and they play pretty well. I almost never know there's extras, except that I have to make twice as many sandwiches at lunchtime. =o) Keira, however, has decided that she doesn't like Sarah. It's kinda funny. Sarah really just wants to play with her and be her friend but Keira wants nothing to do with her, doesn't even want her in the same room! She lets out this ear-piercing shriek every time Sarah comes in the room, gets closer than 5 feet, and especially if I hold Sarah. Gramma Jo Bean says that she does the same thing with her dog. I pretty much think that's hysterical. I am trying to tap into my pre-kids creative side and come up with activities for the kids to do while their here. It helps me have a break while they're entertained and it gives them something to look forward to! Friday we decorated birdhouses. Nothing fancy, I just bought the $1 balsa wood birdhouses from Joanns and let them go to town with washable markers. Once they were done, I gave them a quick coat of polyurethane. They loved it, although I did have an itsy bitsy problem of Porter and Kamber coloring all over themselves. Really all over. Porter even colored his junk red. (What is it with kids coloring all over themselves?? Sarah draws all over herself every time she gets a pen. Crazy kids!) On Saturday, I made edible playdough. It's pretty cool stuff. It has peanut butter, oats, honey, powdered sugar, flour, etc in it. Kind of like an eggless PB cookie dough. Then I set out bowls of sunflower kernels, chow mein noodles, chocolate chips, raisins and the like for them to work with. They all dug in and started making stuff, except Sarah. She picked up her hunk and just started eating like it was lunch-time, that silly girl. They had a great time, though they did gross me out a little when I served them lunch since they were still playing and they crushed their Cheese Nips into the dough. Truthfully they didn't eat much of it and I'm actually kinda glad because I think it would gross me out to watch someone eat something they had just played with for an hour or so. YUCK.

Monday we got to go to Lewistown to see our friends the Allens. Rachel and Shiloh live way out in the DC area so we don't get to see them much. We got the news that they would be visiting Shiloh's family for the week and the boys made a plan. When we first arrived, they were getting ready for a horse ride. Shiloh's mom asked Paige if she would like to come with her while she took care of a couple things and Paige came over and asked if that would be okay. I said yes, that she's a friend and Paige hopped right in and left. I couldn't believe it!! She is always so shy and reserved around people she doesn't know, and especially when she's out of her comfort zone. Jan must have that special touch! Me and the rest of the kiddos followed down to the office after the riders left. Paige was there playing hide and seek with Mariah, the daughter of one of the employees. They were obviously fast friends and I was shocked again at Paige being so outgoing! They added Porter to the mix and kept on playing. It was fun to watch. Once Adam, Rachel, and Shiloh were back, we all headed to Shiloh's parents house. They just took us in and took care of us: made us lunch, gave my kids snacks, cleaned up after us and the whole deal. There are few places in this world that I feel that comfortable and that's saying a lot! We got to take our kids swimming at the Lewistown pool. They were like little fish! Watching baby Harper 'swim' with Shiloh was pretty fun too. It was also nice that Rachel and Shiloh's sister Arielle were taking as many pictures as I was. Don't know what it is about swimming but I just love pictures at the pool! All the boys went fishing after we went swimming. Adam caught 2 fish, one of which Porter reeled in. The funniest thing about it was that when they got back we asked Porter lots of times what he did while they were out fishing and his only answer was 'Nuffin.' Must've made a huge impression...lol. Paige and Shiloh's nephew Jordan played so well all afternoon that I didn't see Paige for hours. At one point they must have been playing house because Jordan's mom, Jill, heard Paige call him sweetheart. =o) They fed us an awesome dinner of kabobs and then we had to reluctantly head home. We got home around 11 pm but it was worth it. I even managed to stay awake the whole time due to Mountain Dew and copious amounts of good chocolate.

So on a final note, congratulations for making it to the bottom of this post! Just to satisfy my curiosity, will you please leave a comment? It doesn't have to be anything earth-shaking, a period, asterisk, or something will do. I'm curious if anybody actually reads this thing. =o)

The Great Outdoors

We just got home from camping at Gibson Reservoir. Literally. I still smell like campfire. The kids are covered in dirt. That right there proves we had a great time, right?

We loaded up after church and headed out. We set up camp and I attempted to cook dinner. I say attempted because I had this genius idea. I bought charcoal briquets and lighter fluid so I could just cook with them instead of having to build a fire every time I need to make food. Smart, right? Nope, guess not. I went through two batches just to get my dutch oven to brown my hamburger. I finally put Adam's boy scout skills to the test and made him build me a fire to finish the meal. It worked great! I retired the briquets after that.

We went fishing after dinner down by the boat ramp. Let's just say we are NOT fishermen. We bought Paige and Porter their own Barbie and Buzz Lightyear kiddie fishing rods before we went. Adam let them carry them from the Suburban to the water (i.e. not that far) and in that time Porter managed to break his. Apparently if you give a fishing pole to a 3 year old he will wind and wind and wind and wind and wind and wind it until all the line wraps up in side the spinner and breaks off. It's pretty sweet. Adam got him and Paige's rods set up and I sat on the beach with a pair of pliers taking apart Porter's rod so I could assess and repair the damage. In the meantime, Sarah fell over a rock and took out a chunk of her right cheek on the tackle box. (Did you even know that was possible??) Once I got the repairs finished, we got Porter set up and the three of them went to fishing. They managed to catch nothing and lost about 6 hooks to snags on the bottom. Paige just kept asking when she was going to catch a fish and why it was taking so long and telling us that just sitting there was boring. Seriously. I swear if you look up fishing in the dictionary it says boring. Fishing = Boring. The end. (lol)

Sarah was exhausted and cranky by the time we got back to camp. Adam helped the older two with Smores while I got jammies out and made beds up. We all finally got into bed and it was like someone had slipped Sarah something. Paige and Porter crashed almost instantaneously and Sarah was just bouncing off the walls. She is the craziest kid like that! You put her in her crib and she crashes. You put her in bed with another human being and she gets a second wind and goes crazy. I had to lay there and rub her back and tell her to lay down constantly before she finally gave in. I don't even know how long it took because one minute I was laying there fighting her and rubbing her back and the next minute I woke up and everyone was asleep!

After breakfast this morning we drove down the bridge and took a little hike. We showed the kids the Indian handprint stuff on the cliff-side, Checked out wildflowers - me and Paigey's favorite, and looked for places for Adam to fish. We found a nice little place that had a sandy beach and a rocky point where Adam could go out and cast while the kids played. It was almost like magic. The kids were happy as could be playing in the sand and Adam was out there casting and withing 5 minutes he caught this little brown trout. I'm not sure who was more excited, him or the kids! He came running over to show the kids the fish on the end of his line and looked at me with this big smile and said, "This is the first fish I've caught since I was 12!" We got pictures of Porter and Adam with the fish, then Adam decided to put him in a little water to let him breathe and that little sucker came back to life and wriggled right off the hook! Well, after one success it was on. Adam was determined to catch another one. He kept moving us further and further and further and further down the trail looking for another little place to catch a fish. He started telling the kids that he would pay them a dollar to catch him a grasshopper for bait. Paige was pretty much appalled at putting a grasshopper on the hook. So funny. She looked at Adam as he was baiting the hook and asked, "Is he DEAD??" Adam replied, "Well, he ain't happy!" You should have seen her face...hee hee. We finally convinced Adam to head back to the car. As we were climinb up the hill to the trail, Porter said, "Mom, I'll give you three dollars to carry me up the hill!" We tried to drive down to show the kids the diversion for the irrigation canal but there is a NO TRESPASSING sign courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. I wouldn't let Adam take us down there. Seriously, who wants to get busted by the Feds??

After lunch I was sitting in a chair around the fire pit. Adam asked what I wanted to do with the afternoon. I looked up and told him I was doing it. He was pretty unimpressed. We eventually took another hike down Mortimer Gulch trail so he could show us the back part of the lake where he and Mark had ridden last summer. (For more on that story you should check out the post last June about Adam being crushed. Morbid side note - Paige looked at the river at one point and said "Mom, can dogs drown in that river?" Me: "Um, yes... they can." Do they ever forget anything??) Let's just say that afternoon hikes with tired kids in the hot sun don't work out so well. We made it down to a point where we could see more but these crazy wind gusts kept coming up that were freaking the kids out. I can only imagine what it's like to be that little and have such a wind come up when you're standing in the middle of a somewhat narrow trail. Sarah almost fell asleep in my arms by the time we made it back to the car. At one point, Adam was even carrying both Paige and Porter. We got back to camp and Adam tried to go lay down with Sarah in the tent so she could take a nap. See above. She went crazy again. I went to go lay with her and Adam took the other two. Guess who fell asleep. Yep, me. Sarah crawled out and went to play. Another side note - Adam learned that if you think that taking your children's shoes off will keep them from wandering far, you're wrong. Kids can't feel pain apparently. Shoeless children will run all over the place in the forest.

We decided to cut things short after dinner and come home. All we were really missing was one more night sleeping in the tent cause we had alread cooked our smores right after dinner anyway. Those crazy wind gusts kept coming up and who cares about sleeping in a tent when you can sleep at home?? Not me!

Rough Stuff

I am having trouble sleeping. I found out yesterday afternoon that the 3 year old little boy of a friend was accidentally killed last Friday. I remember when his mom was expecting him, when his dad blessed him in sacrament meeting, and most of all that he was born just shortly after my own sweet 3 year old boy. It has been all too easy for me to imagine what they must be going through. His dad lost track of him for a few minutes. How many times have I lost track of any of my own children for a few minutes?? I didn't freak out. I assumed that they had just run off a little ways but couldn't be too far. Especially at a family gathering. Especially at the end of a fun day. A day where it would be hard to convince my own little ones to leave. How my heart grieves for them. I am so grateful that they have the gospel and they've been sealed in the temple and that it gives them some peace knowing they'll be together again. But it makes me think.... how will they answer when someone asks how many kids they have? how will they feel when his birthday rolls around? at Christmas? at a now painful 4th of July? I talked to my sister after I found out. Her response was "This kind of stuff makes me want to crawl into a hole with my kids." Me too. Maybe it's a reminder for me to be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little more loving, a little less busy and a lot less worried about time.

Long May She Wave

I get a little introspective this time of year, being around Independence Day and all. I was once accused of being un-American and perhaps un-Patriotic because of my love for Germany and the German people after serving my mission there. I have to tell you that it stung a little (okay, a lot) but it has made me think about my feelings about being an American. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY. I am grateful for my freedom and for being governed in a democratic republic, even if we have crazy politicians who don't always handle things in the way I think they should be handled. (At least they have the freedom to mess up and we have the freedom to vote to change our leadership or not - there's something to be said for everyone have a choice, just ask anyone who survived a communist regime or dictatorship!) Did you know that I get misty eyed every time the flag goes by? (Yes, I was crying a little behind my sunglasses at the parade on Sunday.) Or that I cannot make it through singing the Star Spangled Banner without choking up? It's true! And why you might ask? Because I know for sure the God Blessed America. No other country in the world was established by such wonderful God-fearing men as ours. Seriously, can you even utter the phrase "God Bless America" and not feel a twinge inside? So, I love this country. I consider myself tremendously patriotic, not in a left wing or right wing or any other wing way. Just in a middle-of-the-road, middle America,from the peaks to the plains, from sea to shining sea, from the North to the South kind of way. Isn't that what makes America great?

Floating out in Cyberspace

So guess what... I got a comment on my last posting about the ramen noodles. I'm not sure who you are, Lauren, but you've got me thinking. I didn't protect my blog or any of that because it's mostly to keep family up to date and I thought to myself, "Who in the wide world is going to stumble upon me in all of cyberspace??". Well, guess what, apparently it happens! Somebody is reading what I wrote and LIKING it. So weird. I mean, I'm the first to admit that I adore cyberstalking my friends and family plus random blogs that I have stumbled upon to fuel my obsessions. (Sewing anyone?) It feels great and strange all at the same time. Who knew??

Someday it will be funny....

So yesterday I was blissfully taking care of things around the house. I cooked lunch for my children - ramen noodles (you're impressed, I know) and gave them a bunch of grapes. I stepped out of the room to make a phone call. I heard the children laughing but that's fairly normal. They spend lots of time trying to make each other laugh (don't know whose children they are =o). I came back in the room to check on them to find the worst possible mess EVER. I'm not kidding!! They had gotten into a food fight and there were ramen noodles everywhere - all over the table, the chairs, the floor... they even managed to throw them into the living room and the hallway! Seriously, it was like 200 square feet covered in ramen!!! Obviously the older two were the culprits because the baby was covered from head to toe in noodles and then they had capped it all off by dumping the crumbs from the Cheese Nips box over her head! They tarred and feathered her - food fight style! (It occurred to me as I was washing the Cheese Nips out of Sarah's hair that I really should have taken a picture. ) I forced Paige and Porter to crawl around and pick up the noodles. Today I will get out the trusty vacuum cleaner to get the rest. (Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad in a normal dining room but we have carpet right now so there is no quick sweeping up of the mess. You have to let things dry out so you don't gum up the vacuum....ugg.) I did take a couple pictures of the room but they don't do it justice. To all those who read this, go ahead and laugh. Just wait a while to ask me about it unless you wanna see my best grumpy mom look, k?

Rain Rain Go Away

It's supposed to be summer here. That's what the calendar tells me. So far we've just had lots of rain and cold. As I sit here, we should be getting rid of day 3 of swimming lessons but it's a downpour outside and I just can't bear to make my sweet little girl put a swimsuit on and go out in the that rainy cold world!

We branded yesterday. It was a wee bit late. Some of the calves were GINORMOUS! We managed to get through it without anybody getting severely injured. There were a few interesting moments thanks to Uncle Mike and Tanner - hooray for the Perrys =o). Aunt Crystal did manage to get sunburned. As of last night she said only her face hurt. (Wonder how she's feeling today.... hee hee.) How 'bout closer to Mother's Day next year??

OH YEAH... suppose I should update you on the housing situation! We actually live somewhere! We found a little house to rent right in the bustling metropolis of Fairfield. It is smaller than our other house was but it works. It has three bedrooms, one small bathroom (as La Neige put it "That's the smallest full size bathroom I've ever seen!!") and a large fenced yard. It is really close to church and the school, which will be perfect this fall, and we have been able to walk to the park and post office and library so far. If the weather ever cooperates, we'll be walking everywhere! It is dated but clean. The landlords are very friendly and are very willing to let us make improvements to the place. I've already installed new flooring in the entryway. I hope to do a little painting in the bathroom and maybe in the living room if I can ever figure out what color goes with nasty '70s goldish orangish brown carpet.

We are still ironing out details to break ground on our new house. There is lots of red tape involved. (Are you really that surprised?) If Adam didn't have to work, things would move more quickly but as it is he has to handle everything on his days off amongst all the other million things he always has to do. I'm not complaining. We are making slow progress. At least I don't have to fight red tape with three kids tagging along - that would be sooo fun.

I am an aunt again, officially. Nicole's 4th girl, Kinley, was born May 22. She is the tiniest version of the Leiser girls weighing in at 6lb. 11 oz. So far she looks just like all her sisters did at birth but shows inclinations to be a fairer version like Kayla. She's very sweet. Paige is finally old enough to like babies. She got to hold Kinley and you should have seen the look on her face. She was completely enamored. If you know Paige, you can guess at that shy little look of joy she had! It was so sweet. She just stared and stared and told me about all the tiny little fingers, toes, etc. and how soft her skin was. I have to admit it was a pretty sweet moment for me as a mom too. There are more babies on the way in the next year and that is pretty exciting too - thank goodness none of them are mine though!! I'm very content to enjoy everyone else's right now. =o)

Porter is hilarious as always. He has moved on from Spiderman and Batman. Now he is Ironman. Instead of putting the Bat-suit on, he now tells you he's getting "angry eyes" when he's turning into Ironman. He totally does all the motions - shoots fireballs out of his palms, puts the power source in his chest, bends his wrists and stiffens up to 'fly'. It's pretty sweet. We took the fam to Ironman 2. Paige and Porter hated it. Guess Ironman is only awesome when he's Porter. It's funny to hear Paige and Porter incorporate it into their imaginative play. The other day I overheard the following "Oh thank you Ironman" "You're welcome Restaurant Girl" Porter comes and asks for some fabric scraps because "I need some food for the Restaurant Girl!" It's funny and wonderful that they can play together and still be who they want to be. (Hmm... I think there's a life lesson in there somewhere.)

I still need a maid. I feel like I can never get anything done or caught up. Such is life. I have a mound of laundry waiting to be folded, another mound waiting to be washed, and a sink full of dishes. Quite frankly I'd rather sit on the computer or sew or read or something more fun that my household duties. UGG. Guess I really should go try to get something done. Maybe I'll reward myself with a trip to the fabric store this afternoon =o).

Moving!

So did you hear that we're moving?? Yep. It's true. Where are we moving to you ask? Good question. I got no answer right now. We will be officially homeless for the first time ever. It has been a little stressful for me but I think it's gonna be okay. We are keeping our eyes open for a rental and looking at camp trailers. So far the rental situation around here is sketchy. Mostly they are small, dumpy, or expensive and actually most of the time, they are all three! Camp Trailer is not ideal but hey, it's better than sleeping on somebody's couch with my three kids. =o) The plan for now is to put everything into two storage units. We will stay at my mother in law's, at a hotel, and eventually the kids and I will take off for my parents house for a week or two depending on how things work out. Maybe we'll actually be there so long that my mom will be sick of us, though I'm honestly not sure that she's capable of such a thing. Really just pray for us that something works out and that I don't lose my mind in between here and there!!

It's Spring - Almost

Life never slows down around here. Sometimes I wish it would but I have great hope that the lazy days of summer will help out with that! Paige is almost done with her year of preschool. It has been so fun to watch her learn and grow!! She was playing a game on the PBS kids website the other day (pbskids.org) and it was a spelling game that asked the kids to spell words by sound. She nailed every one. She is also hilarious. I do not know how her little brain functions but she comes up with amazing things. For example, the other day she said to me as we were driving home "Mom, I think I'm going to have seven kids when I grow up." I said, "Oh really?" She said, very confidently, "Yep! but if I have more than seven, I'll be like oh my heavens!!" Yesterday, as I was sewing, she came to talk to me and said, "Mom, it would be crazy if I dressed up like a clown and went to school one day. And if everyone laughed at me, I'd be really upset... But that didn't happen so don't worry!" Porter has the wildest imagination. Lately he will tell me that he's turning into Batman and he will take his hands and act like he's putting on the Bat-suit from his head down to his toes. Once he reaches the toes he starts physically acting like he's Batman. It's just too cute. He also loves to be my puppy. He especially loves it if he climbs up on the couch and I say "Bad dog! Get off the couch!" Sarah's language is really blossoming. She says cow and moos. Yesterday she started mooing as soon as we pulled into Grandma's driveway. She adores animals. It makes me sad that we don't have a dog right now because she loves them so much! I am still sewing like crazy. I just can't stop!! I also started learning to knit because I keep running into so many cute patterns that are knitting instead of crocheting. It keeps my mind and hands busy. I really like that!

Wanted: One maid. Willing to work for free....

So I have been on a creating spree. I am learning how to crochet and I LOVE it. It's relaxing, almost mindless and portable. It's almost the perfect hobby. I have made a hat, several pairs of beaded socks, and now I'm working on a bag and another hat. I guess I just have the itch to create! I just made the Easter dresses for my girls too. They turned out darling and they were super easy. I bought the pillowcase dress pattern from macymade on etsy.com for $3, the fabric and ribbon for $10, and little t-shirts to go under them for $3.50. That puts me under $20 for two Easter dresses. I think that's pretty sweet. The only problem I have is that I can't create and clean at the same time. It's times like these when I really wish I had a maid but I can only afford a free one. Any takers?? =o)

It's snow much fun!

Paige, Kaylie, and Kamber (Paige does not know how to take a picture without posing!)
The return trip of Porter's loop. See that look of terror on his face?

The maiden voyage.

Even the dog ran along.

Grandma Jo Bean is currently having a greenhouse constructed at her house by Uncle Skinny. He brought all the little girls with him to play with all my little ones. During the afternoon, the sun actually came out and so they all wanted to go out and play. Adam became the entertainment committee. He started up the 4-wheeler and hooked a calf sled to it and gave the kids rides around and around the pasture in front of the house. The girls loved it and wouldn't get off. Porter took one trip and half way through, he started screaming, "I'm scared! I'm scared!" He did eventually take a trip around with me holding him, but only if my arms were wrapped tight around him. (So much for my tough little boy! lol)

One year older and wiser too....

'Tis the season for birthdays at our house! Here are the pictures of the celebrations:

(The computer won't let me rotate any of them today so you get them as they are - sorry!)

The birthday boy ready to blow out his candle.

Riding his dino like a bull.

It's a dinosaur!

Brand new Wranglers from Grandma Jo Bean!

A football blankie so Daddy can have his back.

Getting started on his gifts.

A cowboy cake for my little cowboy.

The kids wanted to "eat" the candles off Adam's cake.
Porter actually took a bite. YUCK.

I forgot to bring candles so we dug in Adam's mom's cupboard. He wanted it as a '454' because it a good caliber gun and engine.

Sarah's favorite place in Grandma Jo Bean's kitchen.

The birthday boy and his cake.

Sarah did not like frosting on her hand.

Sarah's sweet Teddy Bear cakes.

Poor girl got sick on her birthday. You can see how flushed her cheeks are in this picture.

She was really not sure what to do with the presents.

The toothless wonder!

Paige finally lost her first tooth yesterday! I am so happy and sad at the same time. Happy because she has been having problems eating because of the tooth hanging on by a thread and sad because it means my baby is growing up! She lost it while watching TV. Apparently she was standing in front of the TV and wiggling her tooth when it popped out. She was so surprised that she just started hollering "MOM! MOM! MOM!" and when I found her she had this huge grin and blood streaming down her chin. The tooth is MIA. I don't know where it went but we're going to have to let the Tooth Fairy know the story in a note when Paige goes to bed tonight. She has not stopped grinning and had to call and tell all the grandparents because she is so proud to be so big! As you can see from the picture, lost tooth number 2 will not be long!

How many trips to the doctor can the Hatch family make in one month?

We are setting an unfortunate record right now. Someone in our family has had to go to the doctors office for something unusual for the last six weeks now! It all started with all three kids getting pink-eye on New Year's Eve. That is one heck of a way to ring in the new year! We went to Billings 48 hours later after we were no longer contagious to spend some time and celebrate the holidays with my family. It is always fun to see them. Adam and I got to go on a real date and go to the temple together, which had not happened since Sarah was born! Adam also got to go to Cabela's. While we were there at Cabela's, Porter started SCREAMING that his ear hurt. We ended up taking him to the Immediate Care place at the hospital and ta da! He had an ear infection. I got to spend almost an hour waiting at Walgreens for his prescription. The following week, I got to take Porter back to the pediatrician because it looked like the pink-eye was making a comeback. Then the next week, Adam started texting me at work that he was having a "gut ache" as he calls it and wanted to know if I had one too. I didn't. I asked where his pain was and he informed me that it was all over his stomach but mostly on his right side. I immediately started freaking out that it was his appendix. He wouldn't leave work to go get checked out but he did agree to go after work. Turns out it was a gall bladder attack but the nurse did yell at him for waiting so long to come in with lower right quadrant abdominal pain and told him to listen to his wife next time. (Thanks Nurse Kim!) A few days later Porter came down with a cough. I wasn't terribly worried about him. It just seemed like a typical cold until a couple days in when he couldn't stop coughing at night and started complaining of headaches. I got him in at the pediatrician's office. Turns out his oxygen level was low (in the 80's) and he had a 102 fever. They gave him a breathing treatment, steroids, and flushed one of his ears which was massively infected AGAIN. Finally, last night I was cooking dinner. I heard Porter start to cry but that's not anything abnormal with my three crazy children. It's probably more abnormal for them to be quiet. (In fact, Adam and I have discussed many times how incredibly stupid we were as children. We thought we were SO sneaky and we always got busted. How did our parents know?! Sneaky=quiet. It's such a dead giveaway! lol) Turns out that they were real tears. He had jumped off the arm of the couch and managed to split his chin open on my great-grandma's traveling trunk which now houses our DVDs. We got to rush to Immediate Care again. (You know it's bad when one fo the PACs come out the door to go home and wants to know what you're in for this time!) Luckily it wasn't terribly deep so we were able to get away with "liquid stitches" (why do they call super glue liquid stitches??) and a band-aid. The best part was how angry he was that they had no spiderman band-aids and had no sugar free suckers like they do at the pediatrician!! I do have a regularly scheduled appoint for myself next week but I'm really hoping that this is one streak we can put an end to!