One day at a time

Thanksgiving Craft

2011-11-29T09:19:00.001-08:00

My kids don't like pie, so we made these "pie cupcakes" instead for them.

Mine/Jacobs Mayflower boat

These were really easy and fun! We wanted to do something that was not a turkey... the boats rock back and forth like they are on the water when you bump them.

2011-11-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

Jacob decided to eat the paint...
Hannah was the only one who wanted to carve her pumpkin this year.

Jacob painting

Caleb

Sarah and Joseph

Logan and Jacob in the corn

All our fun cousins that came to the pumpkin patch with us.

Hannah and Jacob

Hannah and Joseph

Jacob

Jacobs nursery Halloween party...he wasn't a willing participant.

We had a fun Halloween week! We went to the pumpking patch with Dennis, Brenda, Kian, Kaden, LeAnn, Rachael, and Logan. Then for Halloween we went to Orem and Played at Trafalga and then went to Grandma Richins house and had pizza and went trick or treating with Ryan, Heather, Ari, Natalie, Shaun and Grandma! (Pictures of costumes to come... when camera found)

The elk hunt....

2011-11-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

My Girls
My Boys

The elk

Joseph splitting wood. (I split some for the first time too!!!)

I was dumb again... I let him talk me into going on the hunt again. So, we went up and stayed in the trailer, froze, ate good food, played in the dirt and ashes, and went on few family horse rides. oh, and Shawn got two elk.

Aunt Jessica and Uncle Coles wedding!!!

2011-11-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

"George" is actually good for something.....none of the clothes got mixed up, wrinkled, or lost before we used them. :)

Jessica and Cole got married!!! It took a lot of planning to get us all dressed, pretty, and down to the temple on time. It was a fun day and we had a party!

Ogden Dino Museum

2011-11-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

All the crew

Jacob

Sarah

Caleb

Joseph

Hannah

We went to the dino museum with Smyths and Tippetts! It was tons of fun and needed to be longer... They loved the dinos, the playground, and the cool gems too.

Funny Jacob....

2011-11-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

Caleb and Jacob... our "busy boys"
Jacob reading a book

He fell asleep... while I made dinner.

Jacob couldn't wait for me to help Caleb get dressed before he climbed in...

Jacob taking a nap on Calebs bum :)

We always end up with tons of pictures of Jacob because all of us love taking pictures of the funny things he does....

Knights of Freedom Summitt

2011-11-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

Josephs shield he made

Sarahs pretty hair

Joseph got to go to knights of freedom summitt this year. He and I were SO excited. It went for two days, and was all about being a "knight" and the skills it would take to be an honorable man. The last part was a battle of the knights against the villans in a huge field. It was fun to watch and the knights won! Then we had a huge dinner with all the families and an awards ceremony too. We even dressed up the other kids as pages and ladies... It was great.

My FAUSETT kids

2011-11-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

This is the kids riding on Grandpas 3 wheeler together (and the Lawn mower) I have some DANG cute kids!

Playing with Hansens!!!

2011-11-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

Sarah and Parker cooking
Hannah, Paige, and Claire shopping

Caleb and Parker fishing

Jacob going for a drive

Me in my pioneer attire

Sarah doing some cooking

Parker and Caleb gathering eggs

Jacob fishing, and Caleb bringing home the catch

Hannah shopping with her baby

Joseph doing his best to win Stacey

We went to one of our favorite museums with the Hansens and had a ball. The kids played happily, we laughed and talked, and we even had a pizza lunch at the park afterwards! What a wonderful day!

School Pictures

2011-09-15T21:15:00.001-07:00

Jacob 17 months
Joseph 8

Hannah 6

Sarah 10

Caleb 4

Every year I try to get a snap of them on the first day of School. These are this years favorites... YEAH for the first day of school!

Daddys birthday

2011-09-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

Daddy had his 32nd birthday and we had lots of fun picking out gifts for him. After he was done opening them all, the kids all jumped on for a group hug (and picture)

Toilet Paper

2011-09-15T20:57:00.001-07:00

So... Shawn loves the YM in our ward. I'm not always sure if it is a good thing. :) He decided to take all the church shreddings and dump them into one of the YM's car... We all knew that paybacks were coming and watched and waited. Well, we woke up Sunday morning to A LOT of toilet paper floating in the breeze. (Unfortunately most of the pictures were after we cleaned up a little and the wind blew a lot down the road )They used like 24 rolls (they bought 48) and then deposited a GIANT toilet in the middle of the yard with a note that had many clever "toilet lines" in them. It was a good laugh and a great conversation piece with the neighbors... Now shawn is working on round two...

Fausett Reunion

2011-07-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sego lilly!!!
We just talked about the state flower, and went up to camp and there they were!!! I wanted to take one home, but was told that was illegal. :( So, when someone else decided to do it, I took these pictures.

Caleb and Jacob could not get enough of the water at camp. :) By the last day I let them go to town and they had a blast!

My cute kids at our camp

While I was cleaning up to go the three littlest sat down in the chairs all tired and just watched. :)

Caleb first thing in the cold morning :)

Hannah and Jacob in their bed

We had a great time with no injuries and no fights (from adults).

chick-fil-a here we come!!!

2011-07-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Chick-fil-a frequently does "free food" days. This one was a dress like a cow and get a free meal day. So, we printed out the costume, cut them all out, taped and hung them on, and drove to chick-fil-a. Shawn even wore one (sorry no pictures of us or jacob) They gave us all a free meal and we had a GOOD night!

Our civil war!!!

2011-07-21T14:44:00.001-07:00

We just finished our chapters on the Civil War. To make sure we "got the idea" :) we had our own civil war with marshmallow guns! We had the boys against girls (family against family) and I dumped a HUGE pile of marshmallows in the middle of the yard (ensuring that everyone would have to be a "target" at some point) :) And we went at it... I have my own gun and did not choose sides, so I could shoot everyone!!! It lasted at least a half hour and the yard was COVERED with marshmallows! It was great!

Jacob figured out how to go up the ladder and down the slide while we had our war! What a fun day! :)

Thanks grandma for the marshmallow guns!!!!!

our 4th of july...

2011-07-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

cole's smoulder...
no explanation

Ari watching the hot air balloons fill up

Ari getting dads hat :)

Ok, so I was a super lame mom and didn't take any pictures of my own kids. But, I did get some of my cute niece and my soon to be brother in law! We got up at 5:00am and drove down to Provo to watch the hot air balloon launch... Just after they started filling the balloons a huge gust of wind came and they all packed back up and didn't even do the launch :( We were all sad and dissapointed, but we decided to go to the parade instead. It was already WAY packed and hot so that only lasted 20 min. So, we went back to my moms and got out her slip and slide, sprinklers, and water balloons. The kids had a blast and we enjoyed the chatting... After dinner we did fireworks (lit by shaun and ryan in the rain) and then came home happy and tired. :)

The girls are off to Bluebell for a week....

2011-07-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Hannah got to go stay at grandma and grandpa Fausetts farm for a week! They have had so much fun! They rode the donkeys, had a tea party, went to cars 2, fished, and had a sleepover with their cousins.

While the girls were gone we did some fun things too. We ate lunch at the park every day, we went to see cars 2 (after being jealous of the girls), went shooting by the lake, and went bowling. Joseph beat Caleb the first game, but Caleb totally kicked his trash the second.

Jacob had fun pushing the ball ramp around...

Fathers and Sons!!!

2011-07-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

Caleb got all worn out and fell asleep around the camp fire. :)

The boys had a blast and had all sorts of cool stories to tell me. They even took pictures with the chain saw to try to scare me. :)

Saturdays with Shaun and Natalie

2011-07-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

Caleb in his soccer uniform
Uncle Shaun decided to wear Hannahs pink helmet...

Uncle Shaun with all the kids on the teeter totter

Caleb has had Soccer games every Saturday for two months. Uncle Shaun and Natalie came up every week and watched the game and then sometimes would come back to the house and play with us! It was GREAT!!!

Lego Day at the library

2011-07-03T08:41:00.001-07:00

the library had a guy come with buckets and buckets of legos... the kids got to build a "car" to race down a big track. They had a blast and never wanted to leave.

My Cute Kiddos...

2011-07-03T08:34:00.001-07:00

My two tornados....

Fun Friday Sleepover night!!!!

In the HUGE camping chair they wanted me to buy... :)

Pictures of Caleb :)

2011-07-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

Caleb cracks me up! He often steals my camera and takes some great shots of himself... He is always flashing his smile to get out of trouble, and is always being a goof. :) We love you Caleb!

Bluebell

2011-07-02T22:48:00.001-07:00

my four cute kiddos at the pond
Sarah on Romeo

Jacob on Romeo

Hannah on the baby donkey

Joseph on Romeo

Jacob on the mama donkey

Jacob on the baby donkey

Caleb on the mama donkey

Hannah on Romeo

Sarah on the mama donkey

Joseph on the mama donkey

Caleb on Romeo

Joseph and Sarah went out and caught the donkeys so we could all ride

Easter Egg hunt

2011-07-02T22:44:00.001-07:00

Me with 4 hours of sleep....

The kids had lots of fun and we came home with lots of candy and Hannah got at prize basket this year!!!!

Jacob pics... he is growing up SO fast!

2011-07-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

SO cute when he sleeps...
He won't eat anything that I eat. But, he will eat ANYTHING Shawn eats...

He is an AMAZING temper tantrum thrower!

He went out and plopped himself down to watch dad fix the car.

His favorite thing to do is Wrestle....

He LOVES Caleb....most of the time :)

Jacob is a hat boy

He has Sarah wrapped around ALL his fingers :)

He is a super MESSY eater, and loves to spread food in his hair

Jacob's Boo Boo

2011-06-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

You can't see it that great.... but Jacob took two identical falls today and did a number on his head! He LOVES to play outside, but that proves to be dangerous for him.. He hit the middle of his forhead on the sidewalk SOOO hard twice, and has a HUGE bruise and "blood marks" to prove he is tough. :( But, he looks really cute in his frog towel..... :)

From Chicks..... to chickens!

2011-06-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well, they grew up like all things do.... They are now about full grown and ready to lay eggs in about 6 weeks! We all love to watch them explore the yard, fight over bugs, get scared and RUN for their coop, and they are so curious and friendly... I am pleasantly surprised. :)

Joe's first pack meeting!!

2011-06-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Tug of War

Shoe relay

Joseph reading the "cheer card" After getting his awards

Joseph was SOOO excited for his first pack meeting! He was so excited to get his awards and to "be like the other boys". They had lots of fun and he is all geared up to work on scouts!

Jacob, Caleb, & josephs B-days... start at the bottom :)

2011-05-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

He also got baptised 3 days later!!! He was so excited and said so many "cute" things that day.

Joseph is 8!!! He got his own BB gun... he was SO excited!

Caleb had a how to train your dragon party. It was his first friend party, and he had a BLAST!

Jacob in ONE!!! He was so cute but didn't want to touch his cake at all. :)
Sorry for the SUPER long post... I am a little behind obviously.

My Cute Kiddos...

2011-05-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

These are my cute kiddos in their Easter outfits. They are getting so big and I just think they are such good looking kids! :)

CHICKENS!!!!

2011-04-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

So... I am a sucker for baby animals! Shawn was very nice to "let" me get 6 baby chicks this year. The kids were so excited and have played with them everyday. They each got to give a name for a chicken (they all belong to all of us) They are Joey, Hercules, Margaret, Elizabeth, Elmer, and Annie. There are 3 white, 2 "golden", and 1 black. We are almost done with the coop and I am SOOO excited!

Winter Wonderland...

2011-04-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

Spring in Utah is always unpredictable.... Even though I was NOT excited for the snow, it was SOOO pretty!

Princess Amerah

2011-03-31T21:43:00.000-07:00

The girls and I (and our girly friends) went to see Princess Amerah! She was so cute and quite the princess! The girls loved it and wished they knew her whole song....

Monthly Reports

2011-03-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

Every month the kids get to do an oral report. This month was on tall tales. Sarah chose El Dorado and Joseph chose Paul Bunyan. It is always so fun to listen to them and watch them "present" themselves and their report.

JACOB IS ONE!!!!

2011-03-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

Jacob turned one this week! He is so cute and fun. He loves to tease, get into things, play with the kids, and make noise. He is almost walking and has finally learned to crawl "normal". We are so glad we have him!

(I love the frog towel I made :) )

The kids exibit at the Church History Museum

2011-03-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

This week we went to the new exibit at the Church History Museum. It is Awesome! The kids would have stayed all day if I let them. We went with our friends so it was even more fun! There are dresses and headbands for the girls, vests for the boys, games, activities, etc..... GO SEE IT!!

Ice cream for Jacob

2011-03-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Jacob got his first ice cream cone with ice cream in it.... He loved it obviously. And, now he won't touch a cone without ice cream. :)

Sunday activities

2011-03-31T20:59:00.000-07:00

Some Sundays we have peace and love.... but there are the other 99 that the kids want me to entertain them all day and to let them do activities that we have decided are not Sunday activities for us. This Sunday however I was getting ready and realized that the kids were very quiet. I went into the livingroom and found all the kids building with legos and getting along great. They did that for almost 3 hours and were sharing so amazingly the whole time. It was heaven on earth for three hours.... :)

Sarah the big sister

2011-03-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

Sarah has become such a good helper and big sister. She is such a patient and loving babysitter. She is a HUGE help with Caleb when my short fuse has run out. :) I can't believe she is almost 10!

ST.PATTY'S DAY!

2011-03-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

For breakfast I made these super cute rainbow pancakes that the kids LOVED and ask for them the next day too (i said no, too much prep)
For lunch we had green mac n' cheese. TOTALLY disgusting and hard to eat.....

But... for dinner we had little shamrock garlic rolls, Broccoli soup, sprite (thanks mom) and rainbow sherbet for dessert! It was wonderful!

The day was really fun and GREEN. All the kids dressed in green and for school we did a paper titled "If I found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow I would...." They had some pretty cute ideas and thought really hard about it. Sarah said she would save animals, give to charities, travel the world, and buy a city. Joseph said he would buy his mom and dad a mansion, and then buy himself a DS and some Pokemon games. Hannah said she would keep it safe and then she would buy fun things. Caleb said he would buy a dragon, a lightning mcqueen, and a night furry. Yeah for holidays!

The two little monsters....

2011-03-12T07:51:00.001-08:00

These are my two little monsters... They are ALWAYS busy, noisy, and finding ways to bug everyone else. :) Next year we will all be in trouble. :)

Making smoothies

2011-03-12T07:49:00.001-08:00

The kids are really into a smoothie mood lately. They can be found making smoothies almost everyday.

Joe is going to be 8 soon!

2011-03-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

Joseph is turning 8 soon and we got to go to the Blue and Gold Banquet for the scouts. He was and is SOOO excited to turn 8 and to go into scouts!

The daddy...

2011-03-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

These are two of the things you will see the daddy at this house do almost every day. He LOVES to snuggle the kids and I. And, he "gets" to study and read a lot for school.

Valentines Day

2011-03-12T07:35:00.001-08:00

These are my pretty flowers from my cute husband on Valentines day! When we first got married I was working at Flower Patch, and really got tired of ROSES. So, he is always so good to get a beautiful mix of flowers. :)

For Valentines night we got a babysitter for the kids, bought them heart pizza and smore pizza, and then we went out to dinner. It was so nice to be ALONE and to talk and eat good food.

My little Mommy

2011-03-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

This is how you will find Hannah at all hours of the day... She takes at LEAST 4 babies with her all through the house and wants so badly for me to let her take them with us on errands. :) Today she has 5 There is the huge "oldest daughter" then there is a sets of newborn twins in the carrier, and then another set of older twins that have their own carriers. :) AND... as you can see she is pregnant with another one "due in a couple months". :)
Jacob is Hannahs FAVORITE doll. Ever since he was "sturdy" enough for her to hold she has been his second mom. She gets him out of the crib (very interesting to watch), she feeds him bottles and babyfood, she plays with him off and on all day, and she is the first one to come to his rescue whenever he whines. :) (right now he weighs 23 lbs and she weighs 32 lbs)

my childrens lovely picture taking skills....

2011-03-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Caleb LOVE to steal my phone and take picture of everything and anything..... here are some for this week. :)

Lock of love for me.... jealous Hannah :)

2011-02-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

She had a sore around her mouth from licking her dry lips :)

So I decided it was time to donate my hair again.... I do this every two years. That way Shawn can enjoy my hair for a year "long" and I can get a new look every two years and also some little girl can feel pretty again. It ended up the shortest I have had my hair since I was 12, but I am learning to do it and it will be fine. Hannah was so jealous of my haircut that she had to cut hers so I cut it for her a few days later. It looks really cute on her and it is MUCH easier to keep looking nice on my "wild Hannah".

January 2011

2011-02-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

This month we went to the capitol building with our homeschool buddies! It was so fun. The kids got to run around and find things in the capitol building to fill a BINGO card. It was just the right amount of "exposure" for our ages... It is so pretty and the kids kept asking me to take more pictures of them :)

NEW YEARS!!!!

2011-01-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

My exploding Bottle of Apple Cider.... that wouldn't stop for 30 min!!! The kids thought it was great, but I was sad because it was my favorite flavor. :(

Sarah and Joseph at 11:45pm

Hannah at 11:45pm

Caleb at 11:45pm

Jacobs first New Years!

Caleb didn't like either of the games... So he played the Wii for while. :)

TWISTER!!!!!

This year Dad had to work so it was just Mom and the Kids... I bought Twister and Battleship, and some apple cider bubbly. The kids thought it was great fun to get me all tangled up, and It was funny to watch them pile on each other. Caleb and Hannah fell asleep right before midnight, but we blew our noise makers, drank our cider, and yelled HAPPY NEW YEARS anyway....and they didn't even move. :) It was lots of fun, and I only wish Dad could have enjoyed it too...

Christmas outfits...

2011-01-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

The Pictures were all fuzzy... But these are my cute kids in their Christmas skirts and ties.

Hannah is 6!!!

2011-01-22T20:21:00.001-08:00

ALL the kids eating cupcakes and icecream!

Hannah wanted (and got) GO GO MY WALKING PUP for her birthday

She had a "baby shower" party this year. We played throw the beanbags into the diaperbag, Pin the binky on the baby, and stroller races. Each girl got to go home with a tiny little baby (made by me....), 3 little bottles, a little pink stoller (that was on the cupcake) and a Cute little purse to put them all in. They all had fun and Hannah LOVED it.

I can't believe that our "little" Hannah is 6. She is growing up so fast! She is so smart, helpful, energetic, and talented. We love you Hannah!

Christmas School week 4

2011-01-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

We learned about Candy Canes and the symbol in Christmas, how they are made, and how they started. We also made a cute craft which I forgot to take a picture of....

This month has been so much fun with our "Studies" and our service each day for our Savior. The kids and I have really made some fun memories and can't wait till next year. We also did a devotional every morning from an advent book from Grandma Fausett. It really helped us remember the true meaning of Christmas and to bring the spirit to our home. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

WEEK THREE CHRISTMAS SCHOOL

2011-01-22T20:08:00.001-08:00

This week we made chocolate covered prezels, watched a cool movie about chocolate from Hershey, drank LOTS of hot cocoa, and went to mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolate factory! It was Great!

Christmas school week 2

2010-12-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

Calebs decorations...
My two cookies :)

Jacob's gingerbread experience...

This week we are learning about gingerbread! We learned where it came from and all the things that have been made from it. We also read two CUTE books called "gingerbread baby" and "gingerbread friends". Then we made gingerbread houses! We will be making gingerbread men/women too!

Christmas School week 1

2010-12-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

This week we learned about snowflakes! It was so interesting! We looked at pictures of real snowflakes, looked at some under our microscope, made glittler ones, and made snow icecream!

our Christmas tree...

2010-12-07T20:16:00.001-08:00

As like every other year... We went out to "the basin" to get our tree. To make a LONG story short, this is Shawn, Joseph, Hannah, and Caleb cutting down our tree while Sarah, Jacob, and I wait down at the bottom. :)

My kids are great!

2010-12-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

My cute kids did all of dinner the other night! Joseph did the cheese sandwiches, Hannah made the tomato soup, Sarah set the table, and Caleb did the ice water!

it's been a while....

2010-11-28T18:42:00.001-08:00

So it has been a while so I have a lot to update. So, here goes....

We learned all about the Indians who lived in America before us...

We learned Indians chants and ate Indian food. I also was crazy and added to our Indian costumes so that all the kids have a full set.

We finished our playhouse (I will try to post finished pics later)
We "landed at Plymouth rock" and made our mark.

The kids finally got to hold their first cousin on the Richins side! Her name is Arianna and she was born 10 weeks early. The girls were in heaven! (especially Hannah)

We had a "grandma day" with Grandma Richins (while dad was gone on the elk hunt for two weeks) And a Aunt Jess day too! We took them both to our favorite park.

Jacob was totally tired out...

Jacob now has 5 teeth and is eating like a monster!!!

We learned about Columbus and made our own Nina, Pinta, and Santa maria boats in a bottle.

We TAMED our dragons, and loved it!

The yard is all cleaned up and ready for winter!

Jacob experienced his first snow and sledding!

And that would get you up to date..... Kind of. Thanks for looking!

YEAR ROUND SCHOOLING...

2010-10-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to try year round schooling. I was a little hesitant at first because I love the summer off as much as the kids but, the pro's were really looking good for me and them. (less forgetting, breaks all the time to plan and play, etc...)

SO, this is our first week off of school after 6 weeks on. There is so many fun things planned and the kids and I are so excited to have a little break and then get back on schedule. We are making Halloween crafts, going to a museum and two parks, having grandma come one day and Aunt Jess come another, we are watching movies, making treats, and just SLOWING DOWN. Also, each day we tackle a room of the house to get it back into shape after 6 weeks of school. So far this is great! We will see what I think this summer....

my HUGE baby...

2010-09-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

So Jacob is a LARGE boy... At his 4 month check up (last month) he weighed 18 lbs and was 28 inches long. That is bigger than Hannah was at 12 months, and as tall as Joseph was at 12 months. I take him in again in about 3 weeks and we will see how much bigger he is...

FALL

2010-09-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

I just love fall.... The air is not as hot, the leaves are so pretty, there are fun things to bake, and we get to do canning. Okay, the canning is a pain in the butt. I am SOOOO glad to be done with my apricots, pears, and peaches. Today I finished making Jacobs babyfood too, and I am DONE with food preserving! Anyway, there is some great satisfaction in looking at all those jars and bags of food storage and knowing you did all that.

Death

2010-09-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

So death is part of life... but how do you explain that to three little kids who have lost 4 loved pets in the last two weeks? About two weeks ago I accidently killed our chinchilla that we have had since Sarah was about 2. Later that week, Josephs guinea pig got sick, and died. Well, unknown to us guinea pigs don't want to live "alone" after their littermate dies so they just starve themselves to death. Hannahs pig died three days later from loneliness... Well the kids were just so sad that their love was not enough for this little pig and that she would do that. It has been another week, and Sarahs pig died from loneliness today. How do you explain to them that it was not something that was their fault or a punishment from Heavenly Father (which is the new idea) and that death is just part of the deal? Anyway, just throwing it out there for thought...

new family pics!!!!

2010-09-02T21:41:00.001-07:00

well here they are!!! I think they turned out pretty cute....

I am thankful for KNEES!!!

2010-08-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

SO.... On sunday we get out of church and I am standing next to the couch ready to put Jacob into his carseat and all of a sudden my knee POPS and I fall to the ground. As I am falling I throw sleeping Jacob on the couch and land in a big pile! Everyone is wondering what is wrong with me for throwing my baby and laying on the floor and I am in so much pain that I can't move, breathe, think, etc... Finally I crawl up onto the couch and tell them that my knee is hurting so bad that I am going to throw up. They run get Shawn, he takes me home and then to instacare. They do x-rays and find that I dislocated my knee and that it didn't go back into the right spot.... SO I get to wear this beautiful hip to ankle "knee immobilizer" for two weeks and then start physical therapy!!!! This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me!

Caleb is Potty Trained!!!

2010-06-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we are basically done potty training Caleb! He has only had one #2 acident in the last three days! We finally found some motivation for him... We have tried EVERYTHING, but he was not interested. But, I finally got him a "BIG bakugan" like Josephs and put it on the shelf for him when he was all done. So after four days of being "big", we are potty trained! Yeah Caleb!!!

Bluebell

2010-06-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our new baby - Chester
Hannah with Chester

Joe with Chester

Sarah with Chester

The Three year old - baby Rain

Hannah and Caleb Riding away...

Sarah on baby Rain

Joe on baby Rain

Spirit and Chester

Hannah with Rain

Caleb on Rain

smiley jacob

2010-06-07T11:21:00.001-07:00

now that we have him on the right reflux medicine Jacob is much happier and smiles at all of us!

Josephs 7th birthday

2010-05-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Well, my little Joseph turned 7 this month! I can hardly believe it... He is growing up so fast and is so smart. Joseph is the stable one in our house and love schedules, math, rules, timers, mechanical things, and anything predictable... this year he had a pokemon ball cake and it was pretty cute (I made it of course) Anyway, I am so glad we have this handsome boy in our family!

SLEEP!!!

2010-05-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

YEAH!!!

Last night Jacob fell asleep at around 10:00pm (which is early for him), I wasn't expecting him to go to bed yet so I didn't get in bed until around 11:00... Well, at 4:30am I woke up and looked at the clock and thought "that can't be right." I looked again and thought "oh no, he must be dead (from sids-my biggest fear)". Anyway, I get up to check him and Shawn says, " I just checked on him, he's okay" So I got back in bed and counted the hours out and thought, "FIVE hours! I just got five hours of sleep, and all consecutively!" That is more than the amount of sleep I have gotten most nights total. I'm sure that he will not do it again, since none of my kids have ever slept that long before almost a year old. But, I got some sleep for the first time in 8 weeks!!! Of course our talking woke him up, but that's okay because I was REALLY FULL... :)

me as a baby

2010-05-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

joe with his missing front teeth, then me with mine...

Well, my sister called and wanted some pictures of me for my mom. I am not good at scanning as you can tell, but I thought since I had them I would post for all of you to see how much my boys look like me.

I am so lucky to be a mom!

2010-05-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, our cute little Jacob is not a very happy baby... He cries A LOT and he sleeps very little because of his discomfort. I find myself getting about 4-5 hours of interupted seep each night only to get up to 4 other chidren in need of feeding, teaching, and loving (all while almost constantly holding Jacob). This last week I have found it so hard to be happy about motherhood... But after watching a clip from LDS clips I realized how lucky I am to be a mom and to have 5 beautiful children, a healthy body, an amazing husband, a great family, and the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It is such an honor that God would allow me to raise so many of his precious chidren and to let me love so deaply in this life. I decided that i need to find a way to slow down and enjoy what my Heavenly Father has blessed me with.

cute pictures of Jacob

2010-04-25T23:00:00.001-07:00

Caleb is THREE!

2010-04-25T22:51:00.001-07:00

Caleb had a race track cake so he could "drive his cars on it". He was very excited to get BIG BOY toys this year!

fun giveaway!

2010-04-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, my cute cousin is doing another giveaway from her new line of wedding gifts! check it out at anaheragifts.blogspot.com she is amazing!!!

Jacob is here!!!

2010-04-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

Jacob Lewis was born on March 28th at 8:54am. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 in. long. He looks a lot like our other two boys, and is our biggest baby so far... Mom and Jacob are doing good, just really tired. The kids all like him (mostly), and everyone has been so much help.

Joe's Last match

2010-03-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well, this wrestling season is over... Joseph has learned a lot, had tons of fun, and he won three of his matches!!! This last match he was awesome!!! He was able to pin the other boy three times in one match! We are so proud of him and all his hard work.

The Depression

2010-03-12T06:46:00.000-08:00

For school this month we are talking about the depression times. The kids totally got into it, and wanted to start saving everything in our house that could ever be used again... I was a little against this idea so we just put a sample of all the things they could think of on a poster. They loved the cutting, gluing, and "designing" of the poster just as much. Caleb of course had to have his own paper, scissors, and glue. After that we ate homeade bread and butter-my favorite!

Clearing the snow with Dad

2010-03-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

The kids were so excited that Dad let them ride on the tractor with him to clear the snow for the horses. They sat and told me all about it forever... Caleb said that Dad drives the "cow tractor". (from the movie cars)

spring is coming!!!

2010-03-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I woke up to 4 inches of snow on the ground... I was very sad and frustrated because I am SOOOO tired of being trapped inside. I really need the sun and the outside air to make me a happy person. (sassy, don't even tell me how much snow you have :) ) Anyway, after the snow melted a little I saw these cute little flowers/bulbs coming up!!! SPRING IS COMING!!! I am so excited! Anyway, just thought I would share me little happy moment.

Josephs first wrestling match

2010-03-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Joseph started wrestling this month! He and Shawn are so excited. Tuesday was his first match and he did really well. He didn't get pinned in either match!

Have-I-Done-Any-Good-in-the-World-Today?

2010-03-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been so sad, frustrated, and disappointed with the world and the people in it (including me). I have watched or heard about people taking advantage of others, abusing others, and just being selfish. I have really been disappointed in the children and youth right now. I am a primary teacher and Shawn is in Young Mens, so I get to work with them a lot. It seams that there is a "I deserve it, or I should be rewarded for it" mentality among them all. I am also not blind to the fact that they are being taught that or allowed to be that way by the adults in their lives. It makes me really sad to see all the selfishness.

So, I started working on this in my own life and in my childrens... After only two days I am starting to see how hard this change will be to make even on my little level. It was startling to notice how many things we take for granted or how often I give in to my children because I didn't want them to have to suffer or "wait". I read this great talk on teaching children respect and it is what I am basing my efforts on. I realized that my children are "disrespectful and selfish" because I am not a very good teacher or example of the opposite. I truly want to be able to follow President Monson in his conference talk and think of others first. That is now my latest "new years resolution" for our family - to become less selfish, more respectful, and to do good every day. Anyway, just sharing my thoughts "out loud"....

Have-I-Done-Any-Good-in-the-World-Today?

Stake Temple Night

2010-02-11T22:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight I got to go to Stake Temple Night. Shawn and the youth of our ward stayed at the church to watch kids so people could go, so I had to go alone. I was really torn whether I wanted to go at all because I am so tired and uncomfortable these days... But I decided that I wouldn't be able to go for a while pretty soon and I should go. It was just what I needed. I was able to feel the spirit, receive messages that I needed in the chapel meeting, and then go and do initiatories and remember all the blessings that were given to me when I went for the first time. (sitting long enough to do a session is really painful now, so I did initiatories instead) I always have such a good time doing initiatories, and I love remembering how blessed I am by my loving Heavenly Father. I really wish that I could go to the temple every week so that I could feel the spirit, be more calm and loving, and relay that to my family.

The babies cute quilt is done!!!

2010-02-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I took the quilt to my moms a while ago and we did all the quilting... Then my cute mom HAND STITCHED the outside edge so beautifully! (my mom is super woman) Anyway, it is all done and is SOOO cute!

Pregnancy pics

2010-01-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I HATE sharing what I look like when I am pregnant.... but I have had a few ask. So, here is a shot of the huge pregnant belly.

Free Zoo Day

2010-01-28T20:50:00.001-08:00

Joseph, Parker, Paige, Caleb, and Hannah in front of the gorilla pictures
My cute kids on the Tigers

These are three of the 5 giraffes there. The baby is getting so big!

Sarah and Stacy when Sarah refused to be in the gorilla picture with the other kids...

Sarah hiding from the camera before Stacy attacked her!

We went to free zoo day again... It was not too cold and the kids had enough fun that we were there for 3 1/2 hours! I was so tired and sore when we got home. There is only one more free zoo day until next winter... Feb 24th for all you "slackers"

Caleb and Hannah

2010-01-28T20:47:00.001-08:00

I was making dinner and heard a lot of giggling, this can be good or bad at our house so I went to see... Hannah and Caleb had climbed inside our "winter stuff tote" and were just so excited about it. They played in there for almost half and hour! They are two peas in a pod, and I am so lucky they did not come as twins! :)

Hannah and Lilly

2010-01-28T20:44:00.001-08:00

This is pics of Hannah and Lilly after they made chocolate covered pretzels for FHE treat....

Family Pictures...

2010-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

So, I have been planning to do our family pictures so that we could send out our valentine cards to everyone (I don't do Christmas cards because it is too crazy for me) Anyway, everyone keeps telling me to just wait until the baby is born so that he is in it. So, for all of you that are expecting a valentines card you will have to wait until "Easter" :)

New Year Goals...

2010-01-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, so as some of you can already guess or know... I am kind of a stressed out, overbearing, over achieving, socially negative, tired, REALLY tired of being pregnant, and kind of pessimistic. Most of the wrath of this ends up on my wonderful husband and cute kids. I get up every day resolved to do better and to not get stressed over dumb things, yell at people who didn't cause my real stress, and to be an example of love... BUT, the day goes on and I have a million things that I wanted to get done that are not getting done. Children have their little issues and the house gets all messed up, school takes longer than I wanted, and I don't have any idea what we are going to eat for dinner, I don't get a nap... Anyway, you get my point.

So, I am trying to set my new years goal to take it one step at a time and to SLOWLY get to the point where I can face my own stress without taking it out on my family, I can let dumb things go and not get upset, and my family can feel loved by me every day. My first goal is to slow down and not over schedule my day. After I feel better about this, I will set another one and let you know how it it going...

My gift to myself...

2010-01-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this will sound dumb to some of you but I do not buy or do anything for myself unless it is an immediate NEED. So, I got this rocking chair when I was pregnant with Sarah and loved it. But... It was not the nicest chair made, and that became apparent when I had Joseph and the seat cushion was DEAD and the arm rests would cut off blood supply to my hands and they would fall asleep everytime I nursed him. (Just a side note, Joseph nursed every hour and a half all night and all day until he was 10 months old!) Well, as annoying as that was, I suffered through it with Hannah and Caleb. (I nurse them in here so Shawn can get enough sleep) WELL, I decided that I deserved to have a chair worth sitting in with the next one since I spend a lot of time there. So, I went to the store and got me a GREAT chair cushion (they didn't have green and I was so sad) It is SO comfortable! Then, I got some leftover foam from another project and some green fabric and made some supper soft arm rests. Now when I sit in this chair I feel like I am a princess and don't want to get out. I know it doesn't look like much, but I am so happy about my new gift to myself!

Hannah is FIVE!!!

2009-12-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

The princess cake

Hannah and some of her presents...

WOW! I can't believe that our beautiful Hannah is FIVE! She had a fun birthday, with a lot of fun new things. We are so happy that she is part of our family! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!

Christmas Morning...

2009-12-30T08:11:00.001-08:00

Shawn opening his tools from the girls.

Caleb with his head lamp.
Hannah with some of her make up.
Joe and his head lamp.

Sarah and her American Doll outfits.

Well, Christmas has come and gone. It was a very nice holiday spent with my family. We got to eat the crazy Christmas Eve dinner, do the nativity play, and the talent show - my kids did GREAT! Christmas morning everyone was excited, surprised, and had lots of fun. I am so thankful for this time of year and the family traditions and time we get to spend together.

I hate going to the dentist!!!

2009-12-23T21:21:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I HATE going to the dentist! I always have. I really hate getting the shot to make you numb, I hate being numb, and I really don't like thinking that they are going to tell me I am hygienically challenged and will have ugly teeth forever. So, just to give you a little background. I NEVER had a cavity until I got pregnant with Sarah. All that pucking etc... did a wonder on my teeth and I had 13 cavities and 4 hours of dental work after she was born - HUMILIATING! Anyway, because I have now been pregnant 5/6 times, my teeth have really taken a beating. Two years ago I paid HIGHLY for a lovely root canal. Well, on Sunday my root canal tooth was a little sensitive and I ask Shawn about it and he said "well, get to the dentist before the new year..." So, I made plans to call the dentist and schedule my appointment. Monday morning I wake up and I have this lovely "growth" inside my mouth attached to that tooth. (I will spare you the details - GROSS) So, I call the dentist and they work me in. To spare you a REALLY long story, they ripped my tooth out!!! I just paid them A LOT of money for that root canal and now it is gone and I get to pay for an implant or bridge! I am not happy! AND I have this huge hole in my mouth until I am not pregnant! AHHHHH! So, I am done ranting - for now... I HATE GOING TO THE DENTIST!

Way fun museum!

2009-12-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Caleb playing with the cars on the map of West Jordan
Joe fishing in the river

Sarah hanging out the babies laundry

Hannah taking care of the baby.

Thanks to Stacy, we went to this way fun museum. It is the Gale Center of Culture and History. They have done a really good job at making history fun for kids. It has a pioneer school house, a "grandmas house" with a kitchen, couch, baby bed, cow to milk, chickens to get eggs from , a laundry line and bucket, a river to fish in, and pets to care for. It also has an old time store with food to pick, a cash register, scale, etc... THEN, it has an indian teepee, a coal mine, a telephone booth, and it is FREE! The kids just get to go and play in all of it and learn history. Anyway, it was fun and we will be back!

OUR CHRISTMAS TREE!!!

2009-12-12T20:36:00.000-08:00

Uncle Luke showing us his best side... and Shawn after he cut the tree!

As some of you know our Christmas tree is always a source of "debate". I grew up with a fake tree... Shawn grew up going out and cutting one down and having a live tree... I really don't mind a live tree, exept that Shawn really likes to go to the same place he went to as a kid to get our tree (that is 3 hours away - one way) and I don't prefer that kind of pine tree... So, every year we have our "debate", and I have only won once. It was not this year... So we drove the three hours out to the basin, looked all over for a tree that I could live with, helped Uncle Luke get a load of fire wood, and then drove home. It is a really cute tree, and it looks so pretty all decorated. So.... I will not complain (today :) ) and will just enjoy our pretty Christmas tree.

I don't want anymore snow...

2009-12-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

A few days ago when SLC got all that snow, this is what our house looked like... Unfortunately Shawn was stuck at work all day so I got to "snowblow" our snow and two elderly ladies that live near us. It took over an hour to do it all, two tanks of gas, and I was sweating and dying when I finished (not self propelled snowblower). The kids had a blast, but I think I am done with snow....

Hogle Zoo

2009-12-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

The Last Wednesday of the month from November to February is Free Zoo day!!! We went in November and it was actually a really good day. The weather was nice, there are LOTS of new baby animals, and there wasn't that many people either. These are some pics of babies...

sledding with DAD!!!!

2009-12-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

On the last snow storm it was Shawn's day off! The kids got dad to take them sledding at the "dinosaur park". We were the only ones there, and it was tons of fun to watch them and listen to their little comments.

babies new blanket

2009-12-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

This is the adorable quilt that I am going to hand quilt for the baby. I am so excited, and in love with it. Each animal is made of a different kind of "fuzzy" material. My favorite is the pig... anyway, just thought I would share and I will have pics when I am done.