Ford Life

Two for Two

2011-12-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

profile; head center (black circle eye); body curled up right side

Boy proof:)

side view - head on right; leg/knee on left; ambilical cord center

Baby #4 laying on back- head/profile in center (rt- forhead; lft- chin)

Well, we were able to take a little peek at our little babers! This little GUY, seems to be healthy and well. This makes it much more real and exciting. Here are a few pictures of his first pictures.

Grandpa Stones

2011-09-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Stones, me and Adelle Jan. 2010

Well, I think it finally hit me last night that Grandpa passed. I was making a written list of memories…and it made me miss him. He will definitely be missed. Such a wonderful man. I love him.
My very first memory of him includes driving up to the Texaco station after a long drive from California or TX with him standing outside of the station store doorway. We always knew there was a treat involved when we saw Grandpa first thing! He was a very giving person. He always set up the swings for us whenever we arrived at the house, and we so looked forward to the swings! It was always fun to watch him open the mysterious shed in the back of the house- chuck full of exciting unknown items- just waiting to be explored (though we never did, until I was in college b/c if I recall correctly, it was usually locked). Even when we twirled those swings until the chains broke, Grandpa never got after us. He quietly made his way to the shed or his notoriously messy truck to retrieve the needed tools and repaired them.
One time, when the back room was just completed, minus the carpet and possibly the dry wall. Tara and I were probably only 3 or 4, maybe 5 and we decided to start chalking all over the cement foundation/floor. Grandpa sat there in his very well known jumpsuit, didn’t say anything to us, so we thought it was ok- though when Grandma arrived on the scene, we were out of luck! He was pretty laid back.
The image of Grandpa contains several dominate characteristics- his wonderfully happy and sparking eyes that would often get misty when you told him you loved him or said goodbye. Then his wonderful laugh where his entire body chuckled in sync with his laughs. It was perfectly contagious. He loved genuinely and tenderly.
I had the opportunity to live with Grandma and Grandpa for a year while I attended Utah State from August 1998- May 1999. During that time, all the wonderful characteristics of Grandpa were made even more evident. He always tried to give me money when I went on a road trip (along with the numerous bags of food from Grandma)or even sometimes when I went out for an evening. He never refused a treat. He loved his bolo ties, stayed up late watching Johnny Carson reruns, always left his evidence of mechanic work on the bar soap, hesitated to talk about his war days, and always gave wonderful hugs goodnight.
I will always remember Grandpa Stones with gentle tender love, the love he always showed. I will definitely miss him, but know that I will see him again. I look forward to that day. I love you Grandpa!

This picture was taken in January of 2010- the last time I saw Grandpa. I’m thankful we took pictures.

Lastly, I hope his dear wife is fairing well. It must be very, very difficult to lose a spouse. Thinking about you Grandma!

Spring is HERE!

2011-05-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

So we decided to get 6 chicks and 2 ducks! Yes, we are accustoming to rural life. Shane spent all day building a chicken coop yesterday. I'll post more on that later.
For preschool one day we were studying the letter "R". So I made rainbow jello cups for the first and last time- way too long of a process! But Brinly was so excited to have a left-over rainbow treat when she got home from school, she wanted her picture taken with it. Jello isn't something my kids are very accustomed too, so it was special! (And yes, she cut all her hair off after watching Tangled...the power of media).

Our first blossom after a long winter. It was note worthy!

My new project is our garden. I am doing all I can to make a GREAT garden this year, from starting my plants to clearing an area to plant them in. I'm really excited about it and am thoroughly enjoying it. I'll post an updated picture of all my starts soon. They have doubled since this photo:)

Spring is Coming....

2011-05-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

Katie made it just in time to see a good part of our winter melt. We spent a lot of time outside for the first time in many long wintry months. Cade was overjoyed.

Adelle just wanted to eat ice. She is an ice fanatic!

Cade tasting the melting snow dripping off the roof. So cute. His personality to a T.

Katie's Visit

2011-05-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time while my sister, Katie, came to visit during her spring break. Obviously, it wasn't so SPRINGY here...but she doesn't get too much true winter down in southern Utah, so it was fun:). I do think she was cold though. The first night, I peeked in on her while she was sleeping and she was under 3 blankets and a sleeping bag:) But we had fun...even if Katie did white wash me! Love you Katie!

Just a little explanation here- We were making homemade tortillas. Katie is wowing my kids with her "skills" of throwing a ball of dough in hopes it becomes flat like a pizza:). We picked up several off the floor after that. We had a great time. Katie was awesome. My kids followed her example and we basically had dough everywhere:). Good times.

On our way to or from the airport. We wished we could have made it to actually go in the temple, but it was closed for cleaning. For some reason we seem to always find that weekend to plan a trip to the temple:) . Oh well.

Can Opener

2011-03-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

Our can opener broke. It's always smart to have a back-up on hand. Fortunately, we do. It would make life miserable if you were living on dry and canned foods, without a can opener!

2011-03-21T07:44:00.001-07:00

We are down to 11 days…and we are definitely missing a few items. I’m LONGING for fresh veggies….if only it was gardening season or I had a sprouter. Sprouting is something I’ll have to discover another day. As for now, I’m definitely looking forward to April 1st shopping trip! Cucumbers, I miss you:). We have carrots, but they are getting old.
Next, cheese and butter are something many of us think we can’t keep much of on hand. I have frozen cheese, which is ok, but leaves the cheese crumbly when thawed. But I have learned there are several alternatives.

Cheese:

I discovered these bad boys several years ago, and am using them quite regularly now. They are good. My cheese-loving children (only 2) will eat it like normal cheese. It works great in casseroles and even in scrambled eggs. The retailers of this cheese claim it melts. Well, it does, but it’s definitely not the normal melting of cheese. It is made from cream and is called “processed cheese”. Though it isn’t like Velveeta- it is sliceable and grateable and has real cheese texture. Though it doesn’t taste like real cheese to me, it will do. It tastes more like American cheese.
I have also learned you can wax your own REAL cheese and keep it for years. This lady give the 411 here .
I WILL do that if we ever live somewhere we can buy bulk cheese. (no Sam's or Costco in this little town).

Butter:

These are AMAZING. Ingredients- cream, salt. Made in New Zealand. It is super creamy and a little sweeter than our butter here in the US. But it is REAL BUTTER! I’ve stored mine for over 4 years now, and it is perfectly fine. I would definitely keep this up in my storage. With all that wheat, we are making a LOT of bread- we need butter to go with it! I did have a friend who didn't care for the taste. So, it may be wise to try it before you stock up on it. Most of the sites I've browsed sell a sample can, 1/2 and full cases. Same for the bega canned cheese.

As for the kids and I, we are baking a lot. We are down to one loaf of frozen bread. I am totally utilizing my bread machine. It makes amazing dough, which I can bake in a normal bread pan, if I wish or us to make bread sticks, scones, rolls, etc.- all of which, my children have thoroughly enjoyed making (making a mess:)). This is Adelle and I watching something bake (I don't recall what at the moment).

Household items:

Several years ago, I decided I would buy our household items in sets of 12. One trip I bought 12 shampoo bottles (various brands, types). The next, 12 conditioners. Another time, I bought 12 packages of toothbrushes. Next 12 boxes of toothpaste. Etc, etc. Thus, we are pretty well stocked in that department. I haven't had to buy shampoo & conditioner, lotion, toothbrushes for years! We are almost of out of kid toothbrushes. I have had to replenish our toothpaste several times as well as floss. Bar soap keeps FOREVER. Just make sure you LOVE your bar soap b/c you might get sick of it:).

Diapers were a big concern for me. Several years ago, I made my own cloth diapers, and purchased several as well. I use them. Not on a daily basis- but I a lot myself so many disposable diapers a month. Usually by the last week, we are using cloth. Sometimes I use them more often. Definitely stretches the budget.

Paper Products:

TP- IMPORTANT! I don't want to use leaves. Though if you keep newspaper or magazines- they could be substituted if absolutely necessary:).

Paper towels- I utilize these tremendously. They are NOT a necessity though. I could just use rags if needed, but I do keep at least 1 bulk package on hand.

Soaps:

Laundry detergent- I have 12 small bottles of SUPER concentrated liquid soap. I ordered them actually by error on Amazon on time, but have been grateful for them. They will keep us CLEAN:). They can also be diluted as various cleaners.

Dish soap- we would run out of this in a matter of months. I only keep a few bottles on hand. we go through about 1 bottle a month. BUT would go through more if we didn't use the dishwasher. Dish washer detergent may run out this week:) Joy.

Hand soap- I only keep a couple bottles of liquid hand soap refill on hand. We could use the bar soap if that ran out.

Heat Source:

We recently purchased a kerosene burning portable heater. It is killer cold here in the winter, and KNOW we would really be in a bad situation if we lost electricity. So, we purchased a heater and a few gallons of kerosene. We've tried it, and it's great. Heats super efficiently. Next, we need to stock up on kerosene.

Next months challege: 72- hour kit

Week 4

2011-03-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Fridge looking a little bare. We are down to about 1 1/2 dozen eggs, no milk, no fresh veggies or fruit except some onions, leeks, and lemons. Freezer is depleting as well. We have a few bags of frozen veggies, one loaf of bread, no ground beef, a turkey breast, a few chicken breasts, and some frozen beef tips. Cold cereal is almost gone as well. All in all, meals are becoming a little more challenging to put together. We opened several of our freeze-dried and dehydrated cans. The freeze dried peaches are a winner- they were half gone the day we opened them. TVP chicken strips are a good snack food- my daughter LOVES them. They work in stir-fry as well. Banana slices, getting old- no-one wants to eat them anymore. Freeze-dried peas- GOOD. We've just snacked on them, I haven't tried to rehydrate them yet. Dehydrated mushrooms- AWESOME if you like fresh mushrooms. We've actually run out! I'll never buy canned mushrooms again. These wonders hydrate just like a fresh mushroom and taste WONDERFUL. Definitely a keeper. Dehydrated spinach- haven't tried yet. I will though soon. I'm dying for something green to eat!

Eggs- I LOVE fresh eggs. I have several versions of powdered eggs- scrambled and whole. I've used the whole powdered eggs in baking, with minimal variance from fresh egg use. This is the powdered scrambled egg. It cooks up great, and is very simple. My kids haven't noticed a difference yet. I can. It has a slightly salty, not-a-fresh-egg taste. It's tolerable. Not my favorite though. Maybe we'll try another brand to see if there are better options. Too bad we don't have a hen:). But we rely on eggs for many breakfast meals.

March Madness: Week 2

2011-03-08T09:29:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd better include a picture of the pantry as well. Here it is at the beginning of week 2. I also want to be accurate- I have a deep chest freezer in the garage as well. Fridge. Shelves are starting to show...some a little bare, but still plenty of food.

This week I fulfilled a goal of mine- I learned how to make tortillas (whole wheat ones to boot!). They were super easy and good. I found the recipe here.

Also, with all ingredients on hand, I successfully made my son's birthday cake! Yes, it does have a cow-pie theme;)

So far this challenge hasn't changed our routine at all. It feels normal. We are using powdered milk (which I have learned that there are MUCH better tasting powdered milks out there- some taste just like fresh milk- if you need brands, let me know and I'd be happy to share). Dinners have been pretty easy and breakfasts as well. Lunches are always hard for me...my kids don't care for left-overs very much.

Also, I am pretty sure of a few areas we will be low if not completely depleted by the end of the month:

1. Dishwasher detergent (Shane's gonna be less than thrilled about that one...)

2. Zip-lock sandwich baggies (hopefully enough Saran wrap will make up for that)

3. Garbage liners (since we aren't shopping, we are not replenishing our grocery bag supply to use as garbage liners)

4. Feminine hygiene (sorry, you are really getting to know me...but I want to be REAL)

March Madness: Week 1

2011-03-08T07:32:00.001-08:00

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am all about preparation in many ways! This has stretched into the area of emergency preparation. Over the last 4 years or so, I have collected and organized a large amount of food, dry goods, and home essentials to provide us with a satisfying independence. The goal: to be self-sufficient for months, and eventually years. As an immensely blessed American society, we rely on our retail network HEAVILY. We are, for the most part, dependent on it. Many of us, rely on stores to feed ourselves and our families on a daily basis. I challenged myself to count how many times I went the the store in a week. My typical goal is once or less- but more often than not I go two or three times. I venture to say that there are many that do much more than that. How many times have you run out of diapers at 6pm on a Saturday night? Or realize you are totally out of milk, and your kids will only eat cold cereal for breakfast with milk? Do you have to make the run? I do, often.

So, our March Madness is this: We will rely solely on the contents within our home for food and household items for the entire month of March. The only exclusion will be fuel.

To document the process, I will post a picture of our fridge at the start of each week. I also, will be documenting our daily meals (I won't be posting those).

March 1st:

Does the chaos of the fridge alarm you? It does me...:)

My Little Alien's

2011-03-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Brinly and Cade went to a "Space"-themed birthday party of a friend.

They went as aliens...pretty darn cute ones.

Cade and his weird self.

Brinly with her lushous eyelashes. Adelle had to get in on it. She has one little sparkle on her right check...its kinda dangling there, but she's proud!

Rural Style Valentine

2011-02-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

Limited restaurant choices (and limited means) allowed us to continue our home-made Valentine dinner. Brinly and Cade have learned to love the "special" aspect of this dinner. They moved the kitchen table to the middle of the living room and set a little kid table up as well. As you can see, they thoroughly enjoyed it. Cade is a bit perturbed because he wanted to be at the big table not the little one.

We enjoyed salmon burgers, potato wedge fries, strawberry shakes, vinaigrette spinach salad, shrimp cocktail, and heart-shaped rolls. We had to save 2/3's of it for another meal:)! It was yummy, and the company was even better!

Shane woke up early (and I mean super early- before his normal leave by 6:45am early) to make these beauties! Side note: if found a big glob of white chocolate in the trash, so I think several attempts were made. They were SO yummy...makes my mouth water just looking at them!!

More Sledding Fun

2011-02-22T14:20:00.001-08:00

The outing ended with Brinly and Cade crashing into each other. They are still asking if we can go again:).

Winter Wonderland

2011-02-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

We live in the winter wonderland zone, for sure! We made a Saturday outing of sledding one afternoon and enjoyed a local slope (though it was actually quite difficult to find ONE hill in these parts). We lasted for a little while. It was really cold. Adelle HATED it, and bawled the entire time! The falling snow kept falling in her eyes and she couldn't take the aggravation...and I think she was probably cold. It was frigid.

Washer Crud

2011-02-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

I honestly have to say, I am very proud of this accomplishment. My washer has been semi-stinking for several months now...and I've done everything from washing with bleach, vinegar, lemon juice, etc. SEVERAL times, to no avail. Fortunately, I have a little bit of appliance savvy (thanks to u-tube and various Internet sites), and was able to take my washer apart and found the culprit of the stank!

NASTINESS in the outer plastic barrel....ewwww (TMI, I know):

So, I did what any frugal fanny would do, covered my nasal passages to save my lungs from the hazardous fumes and particles, grabbed an old toothbrush and started scrubbin.And, wha-la! That was all the way around the washer. Can you see the stark contrast????!!!Now, no more stink! And I saved myself a service call and a few dollars, and got a pretty good work out, if I do say so.

If anyone is interested in learning the HOW of this process, let me know- I'd be happy to share:).

Santa Came To Town

2010-12-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

Proud to say we have one child who would sit with Santa without bawling at this age! She was perfectly content and smiling even. Who would'a thunk?:)
Cade hugging Santa. He really was a cute Santa.

Brinly was really into it this year. She sat and talked to Santa for several minutes, despite the line behind us!

Merry Christmas!

I couldn't leave out Shane's amazing accomplishment this year. He decked the house with boughs of lights that we've been hauling around for 7 years:). Doesn't it look great!!

Blizzard

2010-12-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

Blizzard:

1. Strong Winds

2. Heavy Snow

3. Low Temperature

Difference between snowstorm and blizzard- the gusting winds.

Our blizzard cancelled church this morning, and so far has cancelled one day of school (tomorrow). Brinly's first snow day ever! FUN! Now, lets see how stir crazy we get:). Shane still has work, boo-hoo. But he's enjoying our new snowblower! Now, we need to get a winter survival car kit put together for both cars. We REALLY need that here!

Anyway, these are pictures of our recent fun.

Merry Christmas

2010-11-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

2010-11-28T18:00:00.001-08:00

2010-11-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

2010-11-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

Juicing Continued

2010-10-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Next, put your grapes in your steam juicer. Wait patiently for them to cook down.... Drain the juice into a sterilized jar.Process the jars for 5 minutes (I have a steam canner).

Allow the jars to cool 24 hours before storing.

There you have it. Simple, cheap, nutritious grape juice.

Grapes of Wrath...

2010-10-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Not really...it is SO easy to make grape juice! Seriously, here's how it's done:

First, have a great time picking whatever type of grapes you have access too (these are concord in early fall):

Elbow Grease

2010-10-26T17:14:00.001-07:00

So, here is the inside in a nutshell. It tooks some serious work to get it all put together, and obviously, it isn't quite tidy:). I don't have any curtains up yet, but eventually....

Living Room

Dining Area

Kitchen
Pantry (yippee...still working on organizing it all)

Mud Room (much needed for these parts in the winter)

We Moved...AGAIN...

2010-10-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

Well, to our dismay, the beautiful home we were renting sold and we were forced to move. In our little town rentals are HARD to come by...especially ones made for a family of 5. We were very fortunate to find anything that was built later than the early 1900's! This house isn't our dream house and has had it's issues from the getgo, but we are very grateful for it.

I have to say, every time I drive up to it the Brady Bunch theme song starts playing in my head...anybody else get that impression from this house??

It is on a large piece of property (large from my experience) that some time prior was an apple orchard. It now has at least 7 apple trees, 2 peach trees, a couple cherry trees, a pear tree, a grape vine (which I made grape juice from- will document later), and possibly a plum tree- though we're not sure about that one.

2010-09-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

Several months ago....

2010-07-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Adelle did this! It took me a moment to figure out what had happened because I left for just a moment and returned to this. Well, as we have since learned, she is quite the escape artist. She HATES being strapped into ANYTHING...car seats have been a sworn enemy since day 1. So, what happened, she stood up in her highchair (even though she was snugly belted in), started crawling on the tray, only to try to sit back down...all while chewing a chicken nugget. She was snug as a bug...absolutely no ability to move. We all had a good laugh.

Shane's Famous

2010-06-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm driving down the road with Shane's mother, and I see this billboard in the distance. I didn't realize Shane was in the picture (2nd from the right) until we got this close! Pretty neat. Not very often you find yourself on a bill board!:) Thought I'd share. We were all beaming with pride when we discovered it.

Sleepin' & Eatin'

2010-04-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Does this little dress remind you of anyone? Ali, this was yours...and in your honor, she also has no hair:) These kids must have been really tired this week. They both fell asleep while eating! I always think this is so cute.

Sleeping Cade. Now, who does this remind you of? I think he looks A LOT like Tyler in this picture!

Mom would die if she had been here, but Adelle thoroughly enjoyed her first meal of spaghetti, as documented below! What a mess!!

Pretty darn cute if you ask me!

Cade's 3rd Birthday

2010-04-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

Cade was thrilled to have a BLUE birthday, as he called it. We had blue cupcakes, he was in Heaven. He literally is a little OCD when it comes to blue. He literally will separate anything blue and has to have them all to himself (for example, when he plays blocks, he takes all the blue ones and builds with those ONLY, and if anyone else takes any, he has a royal fit!). Opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa Ford.

Construction, here he comes!

My little boy turned 3! Hard to believe. He is a joy to be around. He talks like crazy and has since he was 18 months. He always has funny questions and stories. He is a very tender and loving little boy. He is forever telling me he loves me and giving me loves...at all the most random moments (and sometimes very convenient, like when he's in trouble):). We are so glad to have him around!!! Happy Birthday Cade.

Our New Home

2010-04-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

This is our new home (no matter how temporary, it is still our home- I've had to teach myself this). We will be here at until mid-July at least. The front room:

The walkway from the front room/front door:

The family room and kitchen:

I didn't get pictures of the rest of the house, but there is an unfinished basement (which is WONDERFUL for the kids to run around in), a guest room on the main floor, dining room (which we use as an office), and the upstairs bedrooms. We've enjoyed it and hope we can stay longer!

Valentines (yes, I'm behind)

2010-04-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Shane was wonderful on Valentine's Day. He made an EXCELLENT dinner- grilled bacon-wrapped shrimp! (making my mouth water just writing about it!) And as you can see he had lovely decor, including a beautiful orchid plant (which just last it's last petal- a month and 1/2 later). It was a fun Sunday. Handsome Cade ready for church.

Shane and I.

Cute little family I have!

The fun whole wheat Valentine's cake:) It was pretty good, but has more of a crumble texture than regular cake. Next time I won't make it so big.

Beautiful Winter

2010-04-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

The stark contrast of life here in northern Michigan to Las Vegas is represented here in these postcard, picture perfect winter scene. Isn't it beautiful?! This are pictures looking out our front door and out the back door. Mind you, it was DEFINITELY COLD...and we are still adjusting to that, but it was beautiful. We arrived here in time to experience about 2 weeks of a true North Michigan winter. It was pleasant, even though we don't own a slow blower and Shane had to shovel our driveway almost every morning:) We'll definitely have to invest in one for next year...we'll see how we fair for an entire winter!?

We MADE IT! Finally.

2010-04-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, we were all very grateful to make it to our destination!

Adelle was probably happier than anyone to get out of her seat! Look at that "crunchy" face, as Cade has dubbed it:) (she now has four top teeth)

Our first glimpse of Alpena.

The road to our home with a cute little covered bridge.

Almost there....

2010-04-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Shane and I treckin' along... We stopped at our old home in Nebraska to check it out for Mom and Dad. It was VERY nostalgic! Fun to reminisce, for sure. And, as tradition continues, we got a flat tire. Yes, they aren't very "exciting" anymore, honestly, they are getting old:) This one set us back about a day, but all-in-all we were very blessed that it was nothing more than a rear flat tire....and we were close to a walmart:)

Shane was a good sport about changing the tire in the FREEZING cold and wind! Fortunately, it didn't take too long and the kids stayed content in the car.
This made me laugh. This little guy got to sit shotgun the ENTIRE trip from LV to Alpena! HA! I was in the back with the kids most of the time, occasionally driving.
Oh, the love my Shane has for plants! Sadly, it did not make it, nor did any of our plants...it was the end of Shane's bonsai hobby. :(

PartVI- Day 2 & 3

2010-03-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

Our second and third day were pretty good...until, well, you'll see. But we stopped at a train station- A REAL TRAIN STATION- to Cade's udder astonishment! He LOVED it to say the least. We didn't ride any train, just walked around and checked them out.

(yes, that was a no-make-up day...and a rough pervious night look:)

Stopped at the familiar Lincoln monument near Lincoln, NE.

Here we are int he car...fun times:) (well, mostly).

Goodbye Part V- On the Road

2010-03-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Our first day on the road was a smooth one. We stopped in Wyoming...(these pictures are out of order, but I can't seem to move them for some reason).
The end of the day- fun swimming! Our hotel as lovely- nice bed...Hampton Inn is the way to go.

We stopped at Little America- yummy icecream.

This is the official good-bye. Yep, it was sad. Don't like thinking about it...sniff, sniff.

Driving through Logan Canyon was BEAUTIFUL! This is a picture of coming down towards Bear Lake...if you can see, the lake was completely covered by a blanket of clouds. It was really neat in person.

Goodbye Part IV- Loganites

2010-03-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's time to get this posted! We said good bye in Logan, and Jami and Mom came up at the same time...so it was SO great to see them again-though we had to say good bye again as well!
Jami was a good sport watching all the kids for us while we made one last trip to the temple (as we knew we wouldn't be able to make it as often here in MI- the closest one is 4.5 hours away). We were able to visit G'pa Stones. Doesn't he sparkle with joy!? What a wonderful spirit he has. Loved to see him. And I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of G'ma Stones with the kids!! I have really kicked myself for that slip-up! But she was great to see as well.

Cade enjoyed watching Grandma sew on her embrodery machine:) It has lots of buttons you know...Cade's favorite thing!

Our family (minus Adelle and adding cousin Addie), prior to Shane and I going to the temple.

I just thought that 4th North was GORGEOUS! It was all covered in a light covering of ice due to the inversion...and it was just magnificant...don't ya think? So Pretty, had to share.

Saying Goodbye Part III- Grandparent's Whicker

2010-03-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a day with the Grandparents Whicker. Aren't they such a happy couple! I think we wore grandpa out, after his hard day's work- but he's still smilin'!

Silly Cade.

Brinly took a likin' to her Great Grandma W.'s needle work. She was right next to her the entire day watching her work her magic with her fingers, thread, and needle.

So, Grandma got her her own little set of sewing cards to help her learn. She LOVED it! Brinly has a lot of sewing genes in her family, so this may ignite that flame!

Sisters.

Hulse Home- Goodbye's Continues...

2010-03-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

After the Harward's we headed up to visit with Kathy and Scott before we headed north. Our trip felt so last minute...thanks for putting up with our planning! We did go to the SL visitor's center... that is always enjoyable and uplifting. I always come away from there with a redetermination to be a better mother, who teaches my children more directly and consistently the principles and doctrines of the gospel. This time was no different.

Here is Jaydon and Brinly with the Christus.

Here we are walking around the Conference Center- obviously, we were cold-- we have since adjusted somewhat to the Michigan winters (this was a rude awaking to the bitter winter from our tame Las Vegas winters). Kathy makes us look pretty wimpy in her little jacket...my kids and I ready to go hike the glaciers:)
Cade found the trains...Geo, Geo Trax (as he calls them) are his number 1 favorite toy- fortunately, Jaydon was willing to let Cade go to town with them. He loved it.

Adelle, our little cutie, began crawling right before we left on our trip. This captures a little of her new found freedom of exploring. She really enjoyed the zippers on our suite cases. Cute girl.
Thanks for the great visit Hulse's! We miss you.

Humility:

2010-02-26T08:40:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I learned more lessons this morning…
1. Don’t hesitate when you are prompted to stop what you’re doing and say your morning prayers, b/c you might forget.
2. Don’t underestimate how easy it is to wreck in slippery, snowy, and icy road conditions. Yep, on the way to school this morning, we hit a pretty slick area, started fish-tailing, started spinning (then I hit the brakes- which I know is a NO-NO in this situation)…and spun across the road into a lamp post and fire hydrant. Fortunately, the Lord protected us all. Adelle started crying, but settled down after a few minutes. Brinly said that it was “FUN” to crash…as did Cade (which is a direct result of too much TV, in my opinion…reality is not there).
3. People in Alpena are incredibly NICE and bend over backwards to help you. FOUR People stopped to see if we needed help! In LV, when I had my flat tire, not 1 car stopped (which I was glad b/c LV has some scary folk). One especially kind couple, the parents of a gal in Brinly’s class, stopped and took Brinly to school, and then came back and took us home. So very kind.
4. Always find someone to put on your child’s emergency contact card…even if you don’t know anyone. The school was hesitant to let this couple pick up Brinly after school, b/c it was just over the phone….I didn’t have anyone to put on it b/c I literally didn’t know anyone…still don’t…except for this couple, now.

Anyway, we made it home and have all the arrangements made to get a rental and have the car fixed. I’m scared to go driving in this weather now…I’ll be driving SUPER slow, and people are going to think I’m crazy. Oh well. I don’t what to go through this again. I’m starting to think I’m a bad driver…too many accidents.

Things I've Learned This Week:

2010-02-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

1. Don’t leave a bottle of laundry detergent capless on top of the dryer and leave home. Your washer may become unbalanced and vibrate that ¾ full- 92 load- bottle of concentrated liquid soap to the floor…and soak up comfortably in your carpet.
2. Don’t let your 2 year old wipe his own bottom after using the toilet. He might wad up the entire tp roll and flush the toilet. The toilet might in-turn start a flood in your new rental home.
3. Don’t ignore your impression of “that sounds like water running…” when you hear the toilet flush upstairs while you’re on your computer.
4. Don’t store your paper goods on the floor of the bathroom closet b/c the toilet might overflow and ruin your stock of tp and paper towels.
5. Don’t say, “Do you want me to do that to you?” when your child does something mean to the other child- they might in turn use it on each other.

And it’s only Thursday

Good-Bye Part1: The Harward's

2010-02-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

Jami and James graciously allowed us to stay with them in their basement apartment. We had a lot of fun. Brinly and Addie always enjoy playing together and you'll see below what Cade fell in love with.

Adelled was given some ice cold peaches and the reaction was this face:

Poor girl!

Jami and Adelle hit it off as well. Adelle really savored being held by her Auntie Jami.

Not such a great picture of myself, but I couldn't leave without pictures with my sisters!

Cade's love continued- trains...it'll be a theme throughout our entire trip.

Brinly and Addie having a great time!

New Home in Michigan

2010-01-14T14:16:00.000-08:00

This will be our new home in Alpena, Michigan! Nice 5 bedroom for less rent than we were paying in Las Vegas with probably 3 times the space!! I'm excited to see it.

Dryer Anyone??

2010-01-03T21:51:00.001-08:00

Ok, we are moving, and won't need our gas dryer anymore. If anyone is interested just email or call...Here's the 411:

Whirlpool Gas Dyer Model # WGD5700SW

Only 2.5 years old- only reason we are getting rid of it is b/c new place is electric

Originally $529 asking $275

29", 7 cu. ft capacity, 5 cycles, 3 temperature options, tumble press cycle and more

Wide open hamper door

White

Moving on the 7th- email or call with questions.

Officially....

2009-12-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

a PA-C!! Shane passed his board! Now, just to sign a contract and find a home and we'll be set. A lot of changes, but here we come professional life.

2009-11-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

Sleeping Baby...

2009-10-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

I love my children, all of them. Not one of my children learned to sleep through the night until about 1 year old, not one. I am sleep deprived for a year at a time, and it is aging me for sure. So, if you have a secret, please reveal...I must be doing something wrong. This is my third attempt, and it has proven the most difficult thus far. HOW DO YOU TEACH YOUR INFANTS TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT? I am not into cry-it-to-sleep techniques, maybe that is my problem. I am anxious for sleep!

Back to School Continued

2009-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

We made it to the class room, lined up outside and her day as a kindergartner officially began. She later commented on the backpack in frint if her. It was pink. It had princesses. It was coveted.

In line waiting to go in.

Captured by her teacher's enthusiastic welcome. BTW, when we met her teacher a few weeks earlier, Brinly was overcome by her beautifully BIG hair...she now wants curly hair just like hers.

My baby girl, all grown up. I remember MY first day of kindergarten, how can she be starting hers? It is so hard to believe that she is entering the real world... so innocent. The reality of her not being mine, but Heavenly Father's really hit today. I love her and miss her already! BUT progress...that is what life is about...progress.

Brinly's First Day at School

2009-09-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Brinly started the grand excursion of formal education today....Kindergarten. She was excited to say the least. No tears, hardly even a goodbye. She was thrilled. She took the bus to school and though she had no idea how to get to her classroom she followed the crowd looking and acting as she did! I had to run to catch up with her to show her the right direction.

Before school with brother. He was quite disappointed that he wasn't able to accompany her on the bus.

Brinly cheesing before school.

At the bus stop, Brinly walked up to the other kids, without reserve. Mind you, she said nothing, but looked on as if she was telepathically having a conversation with the other children:) More telepathic conversing. Then, she boarded the bus without hesitation. She didn't look back, not even a wave...and she was off...one step towards her ever-growing independence.

Adorable Four Eyes

2009-09-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

Can you believe how cute she looks!?! Our little Brin has a slight astigmatism (did you know that is how it is spelled?...me either), so was suggested to get some glasses. I think she looks so great. Of course, she chose PINK frames (though, very subtle). Anyway, I had to show her off...she'll be all ready for Kindergarten on Monday!! Yippee.

We had a family eye appointment today. Shane and I have 20/20 vision...great! Though I have to say, having the dilated exam done isn't exactly my favorite!

Brinly's Bday

2009-09-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

Brinly's birthday was celebrated several times, this was the friend celebration with her good friend Zoe. They had fun with their "doll" cakes.

More Adelle smiles!

This is my favorite open mouth smile:)! So great. She has even let out a few giggles here and there.

More Pigeon Fun

2009-09-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

The Latest

2009-09-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

We had a fun outing this week to Sunset Park and fed the ducks our leftover bread from the class I taught for RS on bread (I had WAY too much bread!). Cade and Brinly LOVED feeding the ducks, and Cade loved to feed the pigeons, which I believe is actually illegal here.
Adelle is smiling up a storm! She has been really cute socially- she is interacting really well and even rolling over now (from back to tummy). She has been a joy. She still isn't sleeping super well, but is doing better than the first 6 weeks.
Cade is still smoothering his little sister. He will come up to her and say "I love my sister." with a cheesy smile, as shown here.

Give me your opinon...

2009-08-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

https://wethepeoplehealth.com/content/sos.html

What do you think about this?

My Dad is the Coolest...seriously.

2009-08-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

My Dad 1988 ready to complete mission.

So, my father is a retired AF pilot. He flew several different aircraft during his career- including the U2 spyplane, aka the Lady Dragon (b/c it was so difficult to fly & land). While completinga 3 yr assignment in England, I remember one afternoon walking home from school with my Dad and attempting to explain my utter amazment that he was actually getting PAID to fly airplanes! I just thought, how cool that was b/c it must be so exciting and down right fun to fly a plane- and getting paid for it was just this wonderful bonus to the experience:)
Anyway, he would come home with different parts of his flight suit- his helmet and gloves are what I remember specifically (and one other item that was a mystery to us at the time- my dear sisters would remember that, ha!).
This video was recently discovered of a real U2 flight. It reafirmed my "My Dad is the coolest" mentality! You have GOT to watch it. The only difference is usually there is only one cockpit- the one in the video must be a trainer plane. Seriously, watch it-here is:

Adorable:

2009-07-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Amidst our illness, Adelle gave me the best conversation yet! It was just adorable how hard she was trying to verbally mimic my words. While she was talking her eyes started to water and her skin turned blotchy- that much effort was being put forth. She was trying SO hard. It definately brightened my day.

Life with Three!

2009-06-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

So life with three is interesting and very tiring! Though there have been some pricless moments- proven with the below pictures. i love these pictures! The kids adore Adelle and these capture the tenderness of these moments.

Lowes has a fun free project for kids every other Saturday( nationwide) and Shane took the kids to enjoy creating this fun pirate ship.

Some sibling love:)

4 days old

2009-06-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

Our little Adelle is ADORABLE, if I do say so myself:) These are some pictures of her 4 days old. She is now 8 days old and we are finally feeling like things are beginning to become somewhat routine (though I'm sure everything will continue to change). Adjusting to three is definately challenging, but we are making it through. I love those little feet!Wide eyed and alert.This is just to show how small she is- that is my fat foot. She is so small, her body- head to bottom- is barely longer than the length of my foot (approx. size 9).Sleeping soundly in her new bouncer. So sweet.

Chasin' Pigeons

2009-06-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Shane took the kids to the park. This is waht they enjoyed the most! Pretty funny.

Little Adelle is here...

2009-06-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Just arrived home after 24 hours in the hospital.

Adelle was born June 10th at 10:24am weighing 6.0lbs, 19 inches long.

She is really sweet and her big sister and brother are enjoying her, as are her Mommy, Daddy, and Grandmas and Aunties. I am very tired and sore and hopefully will be able to rest more now that I'm home (hardly slept in the hospital at all). I'm off for a nap while the kids do the same!

2009-06-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

Made it through...

2009-06-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

My sister, Ali's wedding was beautiful! I made it to the sealing and everything, amazingly enough- even with a scare in the early morning hours before the wedding (contractions for a couple of hours). It was a wonderful setting, with beautiful weather-honestly, they couldn't have gotten better weather in St. George for JUNE..it was unbelievably cool. Ali was beautiful, Perris was very handsome. They make a great couple, don't ya think?!

The cake turned out nice. Bigger than I wanted, but it was nice and even tasted good:) Transporting a cake is an interesting task, but it all worked out well with only a few mishaps.

Brinly and Cade were adorable in their little outfits, as was their cousin Addison. They had fun together for the most part- with a few moments of teasing and arguing:) Don't they look adorable?:)Brinly and Cade had a good time on the temple grounds playing in the shade of this enormous tree (don't you love it?). We miss those good old trees!! Peak-a-boo. Love them.

Flower Dress

2009-05-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

So, my sister and Mom were gracious enough to make this beautiful dress for Brinly. It is so cute. I finished the final things today (button, beltloops, ironing, etc.). It is just adorable. Take a look at the final product: Brinly is thrilled.

Wedding Cake Trial #1

2009-05-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, my sister is getting married in June and asked me to do the wedding cake. I had to do a trial run...this is it. It isn't perfect, but I thought it turned out pretty good. Anybody want some?? Shane doesn't even like cake, so we are seriously going to have some major leftovers! It's all homemade too b/c I didn't have any cake mixes on hand:)

If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Proportion wise, I'm not sure if it needs to be a little taller on the bottom layer or not? The ribbon and flowers are just what I had on hand- they'll be different- yellow ribbon and probably roses for the flowers.

36 weeks and counting...

2009-05-08T17:01:00.001-07:00

I am tired...this pregnancy is just getting more weary every day. I can't seem to get anything done b/c I can't bend over, climb stairs too many times, stand for too long, sit for too long, and am forever having braxton hicks contractions. I'm just at that point where everything is uncomfortable.
I really am grateful that this has been an uneventful pregnancy; I guess I'm feeling a bit impatient. I need to keep busy, but can't seem to do that b/c my body won't allow it! Anyway, just venting. I'll be wishing I was still pregnant in a few weeks when I'm not sleeping a wink and taking care of three children!

Camping Valley of Fire

2009-05-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

We always end up camping when I'm just beginning and just ending a pregnancy! I just had the suspision I was pregnant when we went to Zion's last fall, and found out later that I was....and we just went camping this weekend to the Valley of Fire and I'm 35 weeks pregnant;) Crazy, I know. But we still had a good time (minus sleeping). Enjoy the video!

Goose, Goose, Goose. . . DUCK! FHE-- April 27, 2009

2009-04-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Toilet Training - April 27, 2009

2009-04-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Cade's New Outfit - April 2009

2009-04-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

Behavior Incentive Charts

2009-04-26T22:05:00.001-07:00

We finished our behavior charts today. It was a fun project to do with the kids (well, Brinly helped and enjoyed it). This is our final product. Our little frogs will jump from lilly pad to lilly pad (both forward and backward depending on behavior) until they all reach the ultimate prize (which currently is a trip to the pool- as represented by the beach scene at the bottom of the chart). Everything is interchangeable, the "incentive" at the bottom is just velcroed on, and so are the lilly pads. Just to change it up, we'll do different things each month or so- we have butterflies and dragonflies for later and worms/caterpillars, and lots of other fun stickers (Walmart 97cent stickers are great for this!). We'll see how this works:)

Boots & Smiles

2009-04-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

Cade is hilarious with my boots. He honestly wears these boots more than I do. But this captures his enjoyment! Cute kid.

Home Depot Workshop

2009-04-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Home Depot does this great monthly workshop for kids ages 3 and up for FREE. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the hands on aspect as well as their cool aprons. We went for Brinly's preschool field trip, but Cade got to join in the fun as well. They made easels. We'll definately do it again. Each time they participate they get a pin with a picture of that day's project to put on their apron. Fun.

Cade with a hammer- ahh! He was in heaven.

To say it was a little noisey with all those preschoolers hammering is an understatement:)

Painting the assembled item.

The finished product- oh the pride!

Pregnant Privleges

2009-04-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

I thought this was too good to pass up! I just happened to be next to a Baby's R Us and thought it would be fun to browse with the kids in anticipation of our upcoming arrival and they had upfront parking just for ME! It made my day:) There is only one other place I have seen this before and I believe it was on a military base commissary. Such thoughtfulness (or is it a retail scheme?).

And here, just for documentation purposes is my prego self. Only 8 weeks left! I deserved that parking spot, eh?!

Job and Behavior Charts

2009-04-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have felt like I need to be a little more prepared for this baby's arrival, so I am trying to re-establish a job chart and a new behavior/incentive chart. I finished the job charts yesterday (well not quite- I still need to get all the jobs in order and find a pocket to store them in of some sort). I have yet to do the incentive chart, but have an idea in place- I'll post that when I have a chance. Pretty simple, but that is what we are going for! We used them this morning- it definitely helped...hopefully it will continue- we just need to make it a consistent routine to check the chart.

Cloth Diapers

2009-04-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

So, this is what I've been spending all my extra time on the last few months (well, not entirely). Cloth diapers- I know, most of you think this is madness. I'll explain a few things. One, this is so much cheaper than disposables! Seriously, in 2 years the average child has close to $1500-$2000 spent on his/her diapers! And most kids aren't out of diapers in two years (at least mine aren't). This was an expensive project, and a time consuming one, but will have cost

a fraction of the two year disposable expense...and will be utilized for more than one child. AND it really is easier than it seems. Cade actually prefers them b/c they are cotton soft...though with the cover he does have a bubble bum:) It's pretty funny. Honestly, the reason I began this adventure is b/c of my desire to "BE PREPARED" and not rely on the commercial world as much as possible.

I made 26 one-size diapers and 6 large covers, 1 extra large, and am working on making covers for newborn, small, medium, and more extra large. This is a cover and the diaper.

This just shows the size range of these diapers. They are patterned after a commercially produced cloth diaper (http://www.motherease.com/ for anyone interested- and no, I'm not selling these) but are a little different due to my own preferences and materials. They have multiple poly-resin snaps to adjust the size by folding and snapping. They've worked well for Cade. We still use disposables at night b/c he's a heavy wetter (though he leaks though most ANY diaper at night)...we are still working on a solution for that.

My next feat is making the AIO (All-in-One) diapers that are the cover and diaper in one piece. As well as some small size diapers b/c I'm afraid these one size diapers won't fit for a few months. I'm using the http://www.verybaby.com/ pattern for both of those and the smaller covers. I'll post the results. Here is a pic of the AIO diapers- I think they are pretty cute (mine will have snaps instead of Velcro though).

PS. Thanks for the tips, Geneva!:)

Last One, I promise

2009-04-01T16:57:00.001-07:00

I know this is a lot of one event- but Disneyland is a once in a lifetime thing for our family:) This is the last bunch of pictures for our posterity.

Disneyland Trip Continued

2009-04-01T16:54:00.001-07:00

Disneyland Trip Continued

2009-04-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Disneyland Trip Continued

2009-04-01T16:45:00.001-07:00

This was to die for! Cade was mesmorized by the fireworks, and totally made comments every second like, "Wow, Mom!", "I love it, Mom", "Look at the rockets!". Everyone around us got a kick out of it.

Disneyland Trip Continued

2009-04-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Fun Rides:

(No, that's not me, it's my twin sister! I wish I looked like that, but she isn't an ounce pregnant either!:))

Disneyland Trip

2009-04-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our Disneyland trip started and ended happily (minus a day of pre-labor pains). Our trip was a success- two young families with 5 children under the age of 7 minus both fathers/husbands, one electric wheelchair bound grandpa, one engaged couple (who I must add are still engaged after this crazy familiy initiation), a happy Grandma, one 7month pregnant woman, one sick 21 month old, and two lively Aunties:) It was crazy non-the-less and so tiring, but we had fun. And we only lost one item- Lyndsey's camera.

Honestly, it was too crowded for the age group we were hauling around and I've decided it would be better when the kids are a bit older- but still it was fun.

We did learn a great ticket to beat the ride lines- that is- take a wheelchair bound grandpa with you and you'll jump the lines almost entirely! We had to wait still on in a few areas- but for the most part, Dad got us ALL in the wheelchair access entry almost every time. Fun memories.

First, the swimming fun:

Grandpa, Katie, and Cade enjoyed a secret swim the night we arrived in Anehiem. Cade LOVED it and once again had no reservations about jumping into the pool (which got him in a bind one time a couple days later). They had a great time.

(Dad looks like he's in pain in this picture:))

This was the last day we were able to swim, though it was really too cold to swim, but the water was warm- so they survived. They enjoyed the cousin, auntie, and uncle time.

Random

2009-04-01T16:00:00.001-07:00

Two really cute pictures:

Cade came up to Brinly one day while watching a show and politely asked her if he could sit on her lap. She (amazingly) willingly complied. I thought it was too cute to pass up documenting:) I loved it! Cade hardly fit on her lap- it only lasted for about 15 minutes (if that), but a pretty long time for siblings to be that close:)

Next- this will be a classic. Shane convinced Cade that if he pushed a little dot on the handle of the ice cream scooper that it would make his car beep (Shane simultaneously pushed his remote lock button in his pocket). It was hilarious. Cade still tries, as does Brinly, to push the "button" on the scooper every time it is out and both are often severely disappointed when it doesn't work. Ha- oh, the classic humor of Shane Ford (ironically, it distinctly reminds me of my own childhood memories of my own father:))! Here is is faithfully trying to make the "button" magically make the car beep.

Recreation

2009-04-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the great recreation system in our area and utilized the indoor pool pre-season. It was super cheap, the kids loved it and I got a kick watching:)

Cade was like a fish- loved the water and would jump in without hesitation.

Brinly was a little more reserved. She enjoyed her freedom wearing the complimentary life-jacket.

Lots of fun!

Kindergarten...

2009-03-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Cute picture of our Brin, who registers for Kindergarten this week! Ahh- how is she growing up so fast?

Birthday Boy....

2009-03-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday party a week earlier at Mom and Dad Whicker's. We were cowboys and girls:) It was nice to have everyone around- even Great Grandma and Grandpa Whicker, and Ali and Perris were there. Lots of fun!

Our little guy really turned two on Friday! It started out with flax seed buttermilk pancakes, flipped by the Birthday Boy himself.

The day was fun of activity. Brinly's little preschool group had a fun tour of Krispy Kreme- Cade came with and they both enjoyed themseves thoroughly.

Last but not least we went the mall, had dinner at Red Robin (complete with free almost entierly free meal and sundae's courtesy of the Red Robin Birthday club). As you can see Cade was happy with the meal:)

Following the meal, we went to Build-a-Bear. Cade chose a puppy dog and named him Doggie. It was fun to have an interactive activity!

He is filling the bear here (with the help of the worker) by pushing the foot pedal.

Then he added the heart.And gave it a bath! (combed the fuzz off). Pretty fun day! We sure are glad he entered our family 2 years ago. He is a happy, happy boy full of light and joy. We love him!

My little Sista!

2009-03-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

So, my little sister is engaged! Exciting!! This is the picture I got of them in their "planning" stages at Mom and Dad's. It was fun to watch them make plans and brought back a TON of memories. Oh, the days of planning a wedding...
Her fiance Perris seems like a really nice guy...SO similar to Shane in humor and lack of seriousness personality:). They seem really happy together. We look forward to their wedding on June 6th!

Resources

2009-01-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

My friend got new couches and was willing to give us her old ones. They needed a good cleaning and a few repairs, but they look great now. I'm excited to have matching furniture!

We're Having A....

2009-01-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

Alien...no just kidding:) This is a 3D ultrasound of our 15 week old baby (now 19 weeks). I decided to have this done for a Christmas present to surprise Shane. It was fun, I've never done an ultrasound for pure entertainment:) Mom, Dad, Lynds, and Kate came with me. It was great. So, we are adding a little GIRL to our family (proof below, I think). Brinly is more excited than I ever thought. She prays every night that her new baby sister will grow up and come out. And she often points out items at the store or clothes that are too small and says- "Oh, that can be for my baby sister!" In fact, just yesterday, she put an entire rack of little pink onesies into our shopping basket- in hopes to give to her little sister:) I'm glad she is so excited- we are too.

Coastside

2008-12-29T06:35:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we headed out to Oceanside, CA to visit Troy and Becca. We stayed in a timeshare and enjoyed the short visit. This met our goal of going to the beach, though it was too cold to do any wading:) But we saw some interesting animal life, including a seal and huge pelican.

Here we are on the boardwalk.

Cade enjoying the ride! His facial expression is worth noting.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Morning

2008-12-29T06:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was an exciting one. We were all eagerly anticipating Shane's return! He actually walked in the door several hours before we expected him- so it was a great surprising reunion. Oh, we were so glad to see him. As you can see from the picture below, Cade was in the tub when he walked in, thus the towel:) It was a wonderful Christmas Eve.
Of course we had to do the traditional Nativity reenactment. Brinly HAD to be Mary, and enjoyed playing the part. Cade was Joseph- for a minute or two- but he looked really cute:) Lynds and Kate helped as well. They were great sports to do this with the kids.

Look at that cute couple!

Christmas Snow

2008-12-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

Well, if you haven't heard, Las Vegas got snow- like 5 inches of solid sticking snow mid-December...quite the novelty here (30 years since it last snowed like this in LV). We were grateful to be here to enjoy it b/c we miss true winter! It so happened that just two days prior I had gone to Good Will looking for snow gear for the kids b/c we were traveling up to northern Utah a week later, and found snow suits! So, they were set, and played for a good couple of hours in the beautiful white wonderland. It made for a great memory- the only missing component was SHANE! But he was getting plenty of snow in Denver:)

Please ignore the snot on my son's face-- this was the only picture I could get of all of us.

Brinly making snow angels- she loved it! I think it spawned a few Virginia memories. She would have stayed out longer if I would have let her:)

Cade truly enjoyed the snow- except for the few times his mittens fell off and his hands were touching bare snow. He is warm blooded you know- he has lived in the heat most of his life. We was really cute...he's pick up snow and show it to me and say "See, see!" in a super high-pitched excited voice.

The snow kept falling all evening and into the night. By morning, about a third of it had melted and by the end of the day it was all gone except for in a few shadows. Loved it!

Christmas Festival

2008-12-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

We tried to keep really busy while Shane was gone just to keep me from going too crazy. One weekend we went to the Henderson Christmas Festival. It was fun, but so windy that we didn't get to do as much as we had liked, but it was still fun for us.

Brinly and Cade both enjoyed the petting zoo IMMENSELY. Cade kept calling everything a doggy. Fun.

They also had a snow pit. Even though we were seriously lacking in proper snow gear, the kids enjoyed the ice mess:) I did get nailed in the face by a lovely strange child once.

Brinly enjoying the snow- she still remembers Virginia winters.

This was so humorous. Cade's first experience sitting on Santa's lap. I knew it would be rough b/c he was having serious stranger anxiety ever since Shane left, but it was shear horror for him. Brinly looks cute as usual. She was very excited to have the experience. This was at the Ethal M. Chocolate Factory, and they passed out free chocolates to all the kids after their photo.

We have enjoyed decorating a gingerbread house every Christmas. This year I wasn't up to making my own, even if that usually consists of graham crackers...so we went the Walmart route:) It turned out better than any of our previous houses...though it didn't quite taste as good. The kids definitely had a good time...mostly sneaking licks and candies.

One more

2008-11-12T05:44:00.000-08:00

One more picture from the Children's Museum. This wind-tunnel was a popular place for the adults- we all had to try it. The winds went over 100 mph!

I would never have posted this picture- it is awful of me, but Brinly is super cute. Shane made me:)

FOREVER

2008-11-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I am so behind in blogging! It has been a crazy month. Shane left for Denver the day after Thanksgiving and returned on Christmas Eve- all for his first rotation (basically a condensed residency). Both of my kids were sick when he left, and seemed to get sick every week he was gone--making it a super long month! We were definitely glad to be reunited!!
So, now for catch-up:) At the beginning of November, Shane's sister's family came to visit. While here, we went to the Children's Museum. It was expensive, but the kids had a good time. That's why we went. Here are a few pics.

This is Brinly pretending to be an airtraffic controller. It was cute b/c they had all these different stations of make-believe and the kids really enjoyed the pretending aspect.

Another make-believe station. I thought Shane looked pretty darn handsome in that fireman uniform! Brinly is adorable as well.

Cade loved this just b/c he could play in water- getting himself entirely too wet for a November afternoon. It was to meant to build waterways to teach current and flow, etc.

Now, these peaked my interest- large bubble making equipment. Brinly is standing inside a ring of soapy bubble-making liquid and she can lower and raise the ring to form an enormous bubble around herself. We actually never got this one to work, but she had fun trying.

Another bubble thing. This one worked well. Shane seemed to enjoy it more than Cade- he liked popping it though:) It was a fun day!

New Additions

2008-11-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

So, a few things have been added to our family. Last Friday we added a 2008 Nissan Sentra! Hooray for two cars! It is a a nice one and Shane is happy to have a car, as am I:)

AND... we are adding another little life to our family June 8th, 2009. His/her first pictures were taken last Thursday. We are excited, an anxious to get this pregnancy on the road--I've been pretty sick for the first two months, but it's getting better and better as time goes by. Brinly was really cute after we told her. We explained that it was a secret for awhile, and a few days later she came up to me (while sitting next to Shane) and sweetly whispered with excitement, "Mommy, is it okay if I tell Daddy you have a baby in your tummy?". I LOVED IT! So cute. Of course I told her yes, that was fine:) Now, if I could just figure out what to wear that fits around this pudgy looking/feeling belly! This inbetween point of regular and maternity clothes is hard for me. I am almost 10 weeks...

Happy Pumpkin Play

2008-11-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed carving our pumpkin a few days before Halloween. It is the first time we've actually carved a pumpkin in in a few years (we've painted them in the past...just easier and safer with the kids). Nonetheless, this was fun. It turned out better than I thought:)

Brinly and Cade enjoyed lighting our witch-on-a-broomstick-jack-o-lantern

every night prior to Halloween. Very fun!

Self Explanitory-Silly Kids

2008-10-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

Hats...

2008-10-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

So, Cade has really enjoyed hats lately...and this shot was so dang cute, I had to include it. He is wearing Daddy's hat, and looks just adorable.

Zion, Beautiful Zion

2008-10-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

We had another unique camping trip this week...our first to Zion National Park. It was actually quite enjoyable. The kids slept well and the weather was just perfect. The mountains and scenery are breathtaking. Mom, Dad, Lynds, and Katie joined us for a drive up the canyon and were very satisfied by the experience. I think they'll go back soon.

We saw more animal life than we anticipated, including the turkey's above. We also saw a deer, elk, a ram of some sort, squirrels, and many lizards. Interesting.

We managed to complete one 1.2 mile hike up to the lowest of three Emerald Pools. It was interesting hiking with two small children...as you can see, Shane got quite the work out:) The entire hike took us about and hour and 1/2. It was quite the trek with these kids, but fun.

Afterwards, we found a large grassy area with an enormous shading tree to rest under. It was beautiful.

This is at the peak of our hike--the lower Emerald Pool and falls.

We utilized the free shuttle--we are waiting in the shade for it to arrive.

The famous arch in the canyon. The picture doesn't do it justice. Much of the canyon was just majestic.