What a Goofy Bunch!

Well, our family vacation to Disneyland was very successful. Short, sweet, and inexpensive...and we all had a blast. The best part for me was getting to spend time with my little family without all the usual distractions.

The kids loved getting to meet Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy.

Newport Beach

It was a little chilly and very windy, but the kids didn't seem to mind. They loved playing in the sand.

I didn't plan on swimming at the beach so I didn't bring swimming suits. However, we were there less than 5 minutes before Tanner fell in the water and got all wet. He had to play in his underwear while his shorts dried.

More Pictures

My kids never cease to amaze me. They are so full of wonder and excitement for life. They are also full of questions. I use to think I was pretty smart until my kids started asking all kinds of never-ending questions that I can't seem to answer to their satisfaction. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be their mom and I am grateful for their questions because it gives me the chance to learn and grow along with them.

Looking forward to it!

I don't mean to wish the time away, but there are a few things that I am looking forward to:

• When watermelons are in season.
• Our trip to Disneyland (with our free tickets through Disney's volunteer program)
• Taking the boat out on the lake.
• Watching Anthony ride the speed boat for the 1st time.
• When the baby sleeps through the night!
• When my little brother comes home from his mission.
• Being skinny again. Although I don't see this happening anytime soon, I still look forward to it with longing.
• Home-grown tomatoes.
• Consistently warm weather as this spring has failed to deliver.
• Spending lots of time with family.

Yesterday and today we had Stake Conference and we were privileged to have Elder Johnson from the 70's speak with us. Amazing!! He has such enthusiasm and is so light and loving. It made me feel so good and have the desire to be so much better. We took the opportunity this afternoon to pack a little picnic and visit the Temple and spend some family time outside with the beautiful weather. I am so blessed with so many wonderful things.

I can't get the pictures to load, but here is a video of Tyson riding his bike without training wheels. He had a flat tire when I filmed this, so he can't go very fast. You can also see Tanner riding his wiggle car.

Happenings

For awhile I thought I wasn't ever going to blog again, but alas, here I am. Staying busy as a wife and mother. We are in the middle of a couple of projects. Mostly, I just wanted to get some pictures up of the kiddos.

Project one: paint the living room a lighter tan color. Check.

Our cutie pie!

Happy Easter Egg Hunt.

First time in a bathing suit. Check out those amazing legs.

Oh yeah, I'm officially off "sweets". 12 days and counting.

My Sweet Baby

Just as I thought we might get lucky and miss the sickness that has been going around...bam! Kate got admitted to the hospital for 2 days and 1 night with pneumonia and RSV. She responded well to the antibiotics and is getting better, but it was so sad to see her so sick and hooked up to all the machines. We are grateful that she is recovering.

And Just Like That...

...Two months flew by

Well, we made it through the holidays unharmed and fairly healthy, although I can't same the same for the rest of my family as I have had three nephews with pneumonia an two of them hospitalized for several days. The most we brought back was a severe head cold that knocked me out for a week straight and I am still recovering and feeling the effects.

Christmas was wonderful and everyone was home. We had a great time, I only wish there had been snow to take the kids sledding. I have to admit, it is nice coming back to warmer weather.

January holds a slew of celebrations for us. Our anniversary of 6 years, my birthday and Anthony's birthday all fall within 12 days and not even a month after Christmas. So we get all our partying out at the beginning of the year.

Kate is growing at a miraculous rate, weighing in at 10 lbs 6 oz. She is getting quite chubby and I think she will start looking like Tyson. In the past week her colic has gotten a little better. The best part is that she has started smiling a lot. It is so rewarding. The boys love her to death. They are not rough with her, but constantly want to touch her and rub her head and kiss her and get in her face. The poor girl doesn't have any room to breathe when they maul her. Three kids are definitely more challenging than two were for me, but Anthony is amazing and helps out so much. I also have some great friends and neighbors that have helped by taking the boys and inviting us to dinner.

The pictures above were taken by my cute friend, Kamill, when Kate was 4 weeks old. I think they turned out great. Thanks Kamill!

Barely Keeping Up

I've been a little more occupied than normal, what with a new baby and all, and I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water. My sweet neighbor took my boys for a couple of hours each day this week just to give me time to shower or clean up the house or rest. I forgot how time consuming it is to take care of a little one. Nursing alone takes hours out of my day, but I am really enjoying Kate. She is not quite sure what makes her happy yet, except she knows she likes being held. At her two week checkup this week, she weighed an ounce less than she did at birth, so her growth is normal. My boys love their sister, and are constantly rubbing her head and saying how cute she is and giving her kisses. Tanner loves to hold her and cuddle her. Although the adjustment is a little difficult and tiring, it is so fun having a new baby around.

Because I haven't had time, or an Internet connection, I haven't had time to post about Thanksgiving. We had dinner with the Anderson's on Wednesday night. This was the first time all the new babies had been together (keeping in mind Kate was only three days old). Suddenly, they all looked huge compared to Kate. It was so fun and Christmas should be even better.

From oldest to youngest: Jaeley, Bostyn, Bo, Colt, and Kate

5 sisters with 5 babies in 6 months. This will probably never happen again in our family. We sisters sat around arguing (not really) about who would win in a race between us all and never did anything about it because we are all too out of shape. Except Melissa and Laurie raced and that was enough entertainment to last the night. So now we have challenged each other to a race and set a goal of doing the 5K at the 24th of July!

We had Thanksgiving at the White's and the food and company were great. I spent the morning resting, so I wasn't around to take many pictures. We opted to stay home from the Howell family party so I could rest and recuperate and Anthony played on a flag football team. It was freezing cold. He managed to keep his knee in tact, but totally sprained his ankle and it is still healing. I think he must be accident prone. Overall, it was a good weekend.