Singles Ward Reunion

On Saturday night we had a 30th Ward reunion/birthday party for Rich. Lynnae invited us over to celebrate him turning 31. This is the ward that Cody and I were in before we got married and I have to say it was very interesting at times. The movie "The Singles Ward" must have used our ward for material! So many parallels. It worked out great that we all paired off with the guys (who were already good friends) and got married because since we were all friends before getting married, it is easy to stay friends after. We haven't gotten together in about two years and it was well overdue. It's fun to see ervyone grow up and expand their families! We all have at least two kids now. Thanks Lynnae for inviting us over!

Take a look at the size of these kids. Ethan is only a few months older than Charlie and Aidan. He is a big boy!

Don't worry, Aunt Kara. Your cute little outfit was not ruined. Oxy Clean took every bit of chocolate out and it still looks like new!

Happy Father's Day!

Sending a shout out to my wonderful dad! I love you oodles and am very grateful to have you as a father. Happy Father's Day!!! -Mud Bug

Today we had a nice and low key Father's Day. The odd thing about church is that in Sacrament Meeting there was no mention of fathers, other than a tiny bit in the welcome and it was mentioned in the closing prayer. The primary didn't sing and nothing special was given to dads. And the talks weren't at all related to the holiday. Cody was a little irritated and I was bummed because I was hoping to get to see Ethan sing for the first time with the primary. Oh well, maybe next year.

Ethan gave his first talk in Primary today! He did an awesome job and we are so proud of him. Cody and I were expecting a little apprehension from him about getting up in front of everyone, but let me just say he has come miles and miles since those first few weeks in Sunbeams. Read this post and you'll understand what I mean! He talked about daddies and what they do for us. I found pictures of dads doing various things and Cody helped by holding the pictures and telling Ethan what to say. Great job E-Buddy!

Cody of course wore his home-made tie from the kids. Ethan and Hailey had a lot of fun decorating ties for Dad, Papa, and the Gov. Ethan even did all of the writing himself! Hailey had fun pouring glue and glitter on them and then slathering them in jewels. Cody is a good sport to wear such a thing!

For dinner we had grilled steaks (a major treat in our house), pan seared asparagus, baked potatoes, rolls (from scratch), green salad, and chocolate cake (from scratch) for dessert. I don't usually do that stuff from scratch but today was special and my man is worth it. Home-made is so much better! But by then end of the evening I was beat. We love you so much Cody and we're so blessed to have you as our leader. You are my best friend and I couldn't have asked for a better partner and father to my children.
Honestly, this was the best picture I could get of them after church. They were restless, tired, and hungry! Including Dad :)

I love watching them read together at night. Cody is an awesome dad and never tires of entertaining and loving our brood.

The Joy Of Jackson

Gina and I started doing a kid swap once a week several weeks back. It's a nice way for Mom to get a little break two mornings a month. One Tuesday I take Jackson, then the next Tuesday Gine takes Ethan and Hailey. Ethan had speech this past Tuesday so we swapped today instead. The kids think Jackson is a rock star. They adore him! They have been looking forward to Jackson coming to play for days.

This morning Ethan said "Mom, let's get cheeseburgers and eat lunch with Jackson." I toted the four kids with me to the post office and I got some looks from people. I'm sure they thought I was crazy for having four kids so close in age. But the kids were so well behaved and they walked in and out of the post office holding hands. I wish I'd gotten a picture of that. After the Post Office we got burgers from Wendy's and went to a really great park. The kids and I love exploring new parks and there are so many fun ones around our area. It was an incredible morning! Slightly chilly in the shade, so I made sure to spread our blanket in the sun. The kids had a blast playing. When we dropped Jackson off at his house Hailey threw a royal tantrum. She loves the kid! We can't wait to play again next week, Jackson!

Painting Pots to Pink Floyd

.....say that three times fast! Today was in the low 50s for a large part of the afternoon. It is June!!! Give us a break already! I am slowly running out of ideas to keep kids happy inside. Enough is enough and we are sick to death of cold weather. Today has been very windy so it only made things colder. We decided to paint terra cotta pots and plant seeds. I gave the kids their own pots to paint and let their imaginations soar. We needed a little music and what better tune to paint to than Pink Floyd. We were in a state of zen all afternoon. It was very relaxing and very stimulating at the same time. Ethan and Hailey even painted Lauren a pot of her own. They add a nice and wacky touch to the kitchen. It will be fun to see these things grow in the next few weeks.

My Girly Girl

I have said it before and I'll say it again. I love having girls and I would be so sad if I never had a daughter to pass my girliness onto. I feel so blessed to have TWO!! Hailey is into all things girl and I love it. Tonight I did something to her that my mother always did to me. I rolled Hailey's hair on sponge rollers! It was a ritual most Saturday nights in our house growing up that my mom would put my sister's and my hair in rollers so it would be pretty for church the next morning. This is something I have to pass down to my daughters. Big hair is in my blood and I can't help it, I suppose because I am from Texas.

Every Sunday I curl Hailey's hair with a curling iron, but I decided to try something different this week. Tonight I gave it a test run to see how she would react to having curlers in her hair. I did it right after she took a bath, around 7:15. Surprisingly she did okay. Lauren thought it was so funny and had a ball rolling around putting the curlers in her mouth. Then while I was reading to the kids tonight Lauren kept trying to grab them out of her sister's hair. Oh little one, your time will come soon enough and you will share your sister's fate!

Hailey was a real trooper sitting for half an hour while I rolled her hair. She got a little cranky, but thanks to "Chicken Little" she was distracted. Immeditaely upon completion she wanted to run next door and show her boyfriends, Kaden and Paul. Then she and Kaden ran around in the backyard for a little while. It was the cutest thing watching her run around in her PJs and hair done up. She is so funny!

Of course it didn't last. After I tucked the kids into bed, Ethan came back out and said "Mom, Hailey's taking her hair out!" Yup, she was sitting up in bed half de-rolled. Oh well. I was totally expecting that. But this poof isn't bad considering it was only rolled two hours before. Imagine what it would have looked like fully dried tomorrow morning! Alas, we will try it again on Saturday!

It Was 5 Years Ago Today

D-Day 2003. It is a day that will live in infamy in our family, and not for the reason you think. June 6th not only holds significance for World War II, but it is the day we found out I was pregnant with Ethan. How ironic. Today marks the five year anniversary of that day. It's a day that turned our world upside down and changed everything. It threw a major wrench into the works for us, but of course it turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise.

Cody and I had been married for ten months and we had a plan. I would finish up school and work for two years and then we'd start trying for a baby. All of the money I made during those years of teaching we would put toward the down payment on a house. Our plan was set and the last week of May I sat in my advisor's office and mapped out exactly what courses I had left to finish my degree. I left her office that day feeling light as air and on top of the world because the end was in sight. A few days later I started doing the math in my head and realized my cycle was terribly off. My boobs were bigger than normal (can you imagine them being any bigger??) and I woke up one morning feeling queasy but I put it out of my mind.

On June 6th I woke up feeling funny again and for the heck of it I decided to take a pregnancy test because I happened to have one on hand leftover from a previous scare. I peed on the stick and didn't think much more about it because I was sure I couldn't be pregnant. I had been on the Depo shot for months and the statistics were highly in my favor.

I will never forget the feeling that overtook me when I saw that second line. After a moment I threw myslef on the floor and sobbed like a baby for several minutes. This could not be happening. Then I gathered myself together and did the only thing I could do. I called my mom. When she answered the phone I was crying and couldn't get the words out. She thought someone had died! Then when I told her I was pregnant she siged and I think she felt relieved that that was "all" that was wrong. She talked to me for a long time and the I finally mustered the courage to call the baby daddy.

I couldn't wait for him to get home. I needed him right then so I decided to call him at work and ruin his day. He was absolutely shocked and didn't know what to say. He raced home and then the two of us went straight to the doctor's office to get a blood test. We had to be 100% sure before we started to panic. After we left the doctor it was pure agony while we waited the two hours for the results. We stopped to grab a bite to eat at the Blue Plate Diner, a restaurant we had visited several times while dating. That place felt so safe as we sat their not saying a word and only picking at our food. I remember I looked over at a booth and saw a young mom with her two small children, one of which was a baby. I recall watching her and suddenly I was overcome with a feeling of peace. I knew in my heart that no matter what happened, everything would be fine.

When we finally got home the nurse called and said I was most certainly pregnant and my HCG count showed that I was actually a few weeks along. The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur. I was grateful that we found out on a Friday because Cody didn't have to be to work the next day. Good thing too, because he spent a large chunk of the weekend curled up on the floor in front of the couch in a near comatose state.

We did a lot of crying and praying during those first few weeks. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time on our one year anniversary. Everything changed at that point and we knew we would be taken care of. No, things went against our plan but it proved to us that the Lord is in control and He knows what is best for us. The second line I saw that day was Ethan and I thank the Lord every day for letting my plans go out the window. I hate to imagine our lives without him and the two babies that followed. So I guess you could say that D-Day actually holds a very sweet spot in our hearts.

A Week in Idaho

Cody had to go to Minnesota this past week for a workshop. I didn't want to be at home by myself so we planned a trip to Idaho. Even though his mom had to work during the day, I figured I'd at least have company at night when I'm most afraid to be alone! The forcast said it was supposed to be sunny and in the high seventies all week. Wow, were they ever wrong. Saturday was good weather and it allowed for an uneventful 3 1/3 hour drive. The kids were great in the car, which I was very grateful for since I was by myself. The rest of the week was very wondy, cold, and rainy.

Sunday was pretty laid back going to church and all. but it started getting very windy that afternoon. Twin Falls is notorious for wind so I wasn't surprised. Sunday evening we made smores in the microwave since it was too windy to build a campfire out back. Bummer. Smores are not the same nuked. Hailey had fun getting very messy. The best part of getting messy is getting cleaned up. The kids love Grandma and Papa's jetted tub. They think it is paradise!

On Monday things were looking good weather wise, so I packed th kids up and we took lunch to the park. There is a beautiful place called Rock Creek Park a few miles from Jane and Allan's house. It is kind of hidden in the canyon and has a creek running all through it with rapids and water falls. So gorgeous! I didn't know you could fish there, so next time we'll have to take some fishing poles. The only bad things is it was incredibly windy. By the time we got back to the house a severe cold front had blown in and that's how the rest of our visit went. Yuck.

On Wednesday we had a tiny window of good weather. It lasted a whole twenty minutes so we went outside and threw pop-its on the ground. Hailey was a little scared. Then we ran out and it was back to being bored.

Later that day I decided to take the kids bowling. There is very little to do in their one horse town but they do have a bowling ally, and a nice one at that. It is clean and doesn't smell bad, like many of them do. We had fun for the first few frames and then the kids got very bored and wanted to play in the arcade.

Ethan's attempt at a picture of us. It fuzzy, but he's not too shabby for a four year old! Most pictures of me are taken by him these days, unless another adult is around which is rare.

That evening Hailey started throwing up and Ethan was bored out of his mind. The whole state of Idaho is sitting on volcanic ground, much like Yellowstone National Park. Hot springs run wild all underground. About thirty miles from Jane and Allan's place is an area that is loaded with hot spring resorts. One place has an indoor pool that Cody has been trying to get me to go to for years. I have always been uneasy about it because I pictured one of those gross European bath houses.

This place (called 1,000 Springs) was not like that at all. It is an actual swimming pool, just like the one at the Rec Center. Only it feels like the perfect bath water and has very little chlorine in it. It was awesome! There was barely anyone there which was great. I wish I had taken pictures but I was holding the baby the whole time. Ethan went off the diving board over and over again all by himself. He definitely has my blood running though his veins. The love of water must be genetic! And I've named Lauren my Mermaid. She looooooves the water and got so excited when we walked in and she saw the pool. She kept dunking her face in the water and blowing bubbles. So funny! We had a lot of fun, just the three of us. When it was time to go Ethan said "Mom, let's come back again. But next time I want Hailey to come too". He is so sweet.

On Thursday I packed the kids up and we headed out of town. But on the way out I stopped in to Jane's office so she could show off her cute grandkids. Ethan introduced his sisters to everyone. Then she treated us to hamburgers and we took them back to Rock Creek Park to eat. The weather was starting to look up but it was still so windy and cold. After that we said out goodbyes and left town. I'm grateful for another uneventful drive. Thank you Lord!