Congrats to David and Jessica!!!

The Wedding Dinner:
David and Jessica both come from families with SEVEN kids each, and they are both 5Th in line with 5 girls and 2 boys in each family. So with married siblings all with children of there own, it made for a LARGE family dinner the night before. We were also joined by close family and friends that traveled from out of state for the occasion. We decided it would be more personal and more fun to have a catered dinner at home as opposed to at a restaurant (plus we'd have to reserve almost an entire restaurant to fit everyone!) My Aunt Karina is an amazing chef and came over from CA to cater the event all by herself! It turned out SO perfect....Here's some photos from Friday night...

(we were able to fit 56 people seated inside and only 15 +/- had to sit outside....and the weather in the shade was not too bad, so it worked out great!)

Married for Eternity:





The Reception:






It was SUCH a fun weekend and I was glad I was able to have Blake 5 days early so I could be there to enjoy the fun times with old friends and family.

Chickens anyone??

We woke up Sunday morning to find 2 chickens roaming in the backyard. Yeah, we were thinking the same thing, "what the?" Anyway, the kids got a kick out of watching them peck there way around in the dirt all day, and Tanner would even go chase them around for a while. We weren't sure how they got there, until later that day we noticed a box cardboard box out there that we knew wasn't ours. Sure enough, it was full of chicken poo. Apparently, someone chucked the box over our back wall??? We tried to call the animal people to come pick them up, and sure enough, they were closed on Sundays. Then yesterday was a busy day and we forgot to call. I came home last night to find them chillin on the window seal outside the kitchen window. Almost kinda creepy looking to see them through the window in the dark. We were nice enough to give them some bread crumbs and some water, and to thank us, our patio is now covered in nasty chicken poo.



UPDATE:
After 2 days of searching online and calling every place I could think of to find someone to pick up the dang hens....I found a gal on craig's list and she wanted them and picked them up at 10 pm last night!!!

First few days home...

Blake had his Doctors appt this morning. He weighs 7 lb 14 oz. He's down a bit, but most likely he's on his way back up....we're checking him again next week to be sure. Everything else went great!

He has been a pretty good baby so far. I can not believe how much he has been AWAKE also. Even one day in the hospital he was awake for over 3 hours in a row. And I'm pretty sure it was closer to 5 hours yesterday. Maybe I just forgot and that is normal...It just cracks me up because he just lays around and stares. Almost with an "I'm completely bored" look on his face.

He had his first bath last night. He wasn't too happy at first, but once I started washing his hair he was loving it. Then when he got out he was screaming again-I think he was just cold! It's always fun to see the hair get all wavy when it's wet also....or course it dried straight again.

The kids have been great with him. Payton is a challenge, but more vocally than physically! She's such a little Mom-boss! She's constantly getting mad at me, cause she says, Blake wants this, or he wants that, etc. Like mostly in regards to his sleeping location or the color of his pacifier. They stayed the weekend at my moms, and haven't even been home for 24 hrs yet, so I'm sure it'll wear off.

Blake Kyle Martin

I thought I'd take a second and post some pictures of the little cutie! I know things will be a bit more hectic when I get home, so I didn't want to pass up this down time.

He was born at 9:49 pm on May 30th. It started out slow, and we were pretty sure his birthday was going to be the 31st, but we picked up the pace and he came faster than expected.

He weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and is 21 inches long. Things have gone smoothly so far and everyone is doing great! Here's some pictures....


Getting his hair washed...

Kids...They LOVED seeing him! It was the best part!




Brian was heading out for some breakfast, and Payton got so sad, she wanted to go with him. He took her and she was in heaven! It still cracks us up having a daddy's girl in the house!

1st Grade, here we come!

Tanner was so excited for his show today! I was glad I hadn't had the baby yet and could go see him. He was so cute as he looked through the audience until he spotted us. Tanner also was excited to take some pictures afterwords with some of his friends (Noah was his very best buddy all year) and his teacher Miss Hunot.

Memorial Day 2008

I love memorial day because to me, there is nothing better than a pool party! (well, the beach has it beat, but almost nothing!) Keith (Brian's dad) turned 60 today and it was an even better excuse for a party at Tricia's! The only bad part was it was kinda chilly this year! Well, the day wasn't chilly itself, but we had some cold ones last week, and so the water felt a little like ice water!! It of course didn't stop the kids, but you didn't see too many of us adults in the water...

Prescott, AZ

Brian's Uncle Johnny and Aunt Shelley invited everyone up to their house today for a graduation celebration! They had a daughter graduate from High School and the other from College! We jumped at the opportuniy to go. We don't get our families together enough. The McKowns are how Brian and I met. His cousin Lisa was my best friend at college and Brian worked for her Dad (his uncle) after his mission and he convinced Brian to call me when he was headed up to Utah for the weekend. (I was at BYU at the time) Anyway, so I knew his cousins before I knew him! Also, both Lisa and John Micheal have kids the same ages as ours, so it was fun for them to see each other again, and they played so good together all day!

BOYS

Kyle Tanner and Sam

GIRLS

Maggie Chole and Kamryn

Last Day of Preschool....

Well, for this school year at least! Kamryn had her little ceremony this week. She was so much fun to watch. It's fun to see such different personalities in your kids. I remember Tanner last May at his just standing up there in a complete daze while kids were singing, etc. During Karmyn's songs, though completely off key (have you been teaching her to sing Jared?) she was indeed the loudest. And also had the biggest smile glued to her face. She's such a sweetheart too-she was just as excited that her little sister could watch her as she was that Mom and Dad were there.

Singing some songs...

Kamryn, Janie, Chayse

With Mrs. Shari and Mrs. Kim

Family Night

I went a year without a video option on my camera, and as you can see a few weeks ago I got a new small camera with video! We decided to get the kids on camera last Monday since went the whole year with nothing. I thought Payton's was too cute not to share!

Saturday

We finally had NOTHING on our schedule for Saturday so we decided to clean house all morning, then head to the pool with the kids. We hadn't been since Spring Break, and also once the baby gets here I doubt I'll get to the pool with the kids this summer much at all. We had a lot of fun!

Swimming Lessons

Here's a few pictures of when the girls has swim lessons a few weeks ago. I have done the Infant Swim program with my kids for a few years now and so they just needed a refresher course. Kamryn passed the first week and is SUCH a good swimmer. Payton was up and down. I took her for two weeks (10 min lesson, 5 days a week, but 20 mins away!) She needed one more week to perfect her float, and be 100% but I was done. This is my last full week at home with the girls before baby comes and school is out, so I wanted to relax. Ironically, they start a more "fun" swim lesson today which is also 5 days a week, but in the afternoon (HOT) and also right close by!

Payton

Kamryn

Payton hiding out during Kamryn's turn (thinking we'd forget about her)

Here is a little clip of her swim then roll, and as you can see...she wasn't too good at resting in her float. It was more like a back stroke! I may take her back for one more week in late June??

Someday....

I have a few posts I have been meaning to get to, but maybe tomorrow, or maybe the day after that....I was going to get to it today, but it turned into a long day.

My tests have been going well each week. Usually I get there at ten and I'm out by noon. BUT yesterday they delivered the most babies in a day since they opened and I heard the chime (they play a little song throughout the entire hospital) THREE times alone while I was there today. So, with all these prego women having babies, the beds were a getting filled up fast and triage was overwhelmed. After my BBP ultrasound (from 10-11am) I headed back down stairs and was told there wasn't a bed and to wait. I assumed it wouldn't be too long, but I was SO wrong. One hour and fifty minutes later they called my name. It was about 12:45 when I got hooked up to the monitors. I got discharged an hour later with a normal outcome of-everything looks great(which is expected each week).

However, waiting flew by because the entire time I was anticipating getting to see Jen's new BABY! She had him 5 mins before I got to the hospital at 9:53, and it was almost 2 pm by the time I was able to be done and meet him! He is such a cutie and was doing well, as was Jen. I then got some lunch in me, got the girls from my moms, and headed home to start dinner. Needless to say, dinner got started, but then I quit, threw it in the fridge for tomorrow and decided to go watch the kids ride bikes out front. Quick and Easy French Toast filled our tummies a while later, and the Garlic Lime Chicken and Rice is on hold-for now....

I guess by now I could have had some latest happenings posted, but I was more in the mood to vent! I'll be in touch!

PS. 16 days to go! The doc scheduled me to be induced 5 days early on the 30th. I would have chosen the 25th, but hey, I've never been early before, so I'll take what I can get!! This is good for MANY reasons, but the only bad thing is I'm a prorastinator to the max and now I know I have that long to get everything fully ready so why start now?!?(speaking of finishing his bedding mostly...)

Sunsplash

Brian's Mom works for the airlines and each year we get to go to sun splash. Most of the family couldn't make it this year and we ended up with a few extra tickets. Also, Tanner chose to go to a b-day party instead, so the girls were able to bring their cousins and some friends along for the fun!

We had a great time, and the only downer of the day was that not so smart me somehow managed to leave my keys in the ON position (I had turned them back to roll up a window after the car was off) So, after 4 hours, my battery was dead! I took my sisters car to pep boys, bought some jumper cables, and Brian met me up there to help. Luckily he was pretty close by. I probably could have done it myself, but I'd rather not try!



That night we headed to a BBQ at the Merwin's. We had a pretty notable experience and I wanted to be sure to journal it. This pool is like a super pool. It's two full size pools in one. The first one pours into the diving pool (which is about 3 steps lower than the top pool. Anyway, we got there and I took Payton to the bathroom, then we headed out to the pool. (keep in mind, I had been at Sunsplash all morning, then went home, showered and gotten dressed, and did not plan on swimming tonight) I sat down on a chair and then looked to see what direction Payton had gone in. Where was she?? I had just sat down...Did she go back into the house? As all these thoughts are running through my head I look down at the lower pool where I can only see the top of my nephews head. (he was out of the pool, and with the steps down that pool was 90% out of my view) Anyway, when I saw sweet Brody(3 1/2 yrs old) he is says in his cutest voice ever, "There's a baby in the pool! There's a baby in the pool!" I jumped up and ran over (as fast as my prego body could take me) And there was Payton. About 3 or 4 feet INTO the pool-head under water, arms flappin! There was no one in that pool and she was out of my reach. I immediately jumped into the water, and after I sank down past her a few feet, I came back up and was able to push her to the side. She was not coughing or anything, just whining. I think she had literally JUMPED into the pool when Brody first hollered his rescue call. BUT, IF Brody had not been around and so smart, I would have sat there pondering, "where's Payton" a little longer, and things would have ended differently. So THANK YOU BRODY!

Happy Birthday TANNER!!

Tanner turned 6 today. He was so happy all day long and he made sure everyone knew it was his birthday. He even came up to me this afternoon and said, "Mom, I don't think you told me Happy Birthday yet." I was like, Uh.....Only like TEN times! He was milking it for all it was worth!

He had his favorite pancakes for Breakfast. The kind Maga makes are the best he says! (swedish pancakes) Then we met up with his grandparents for Dinner tonight. Thanks to everyone who helped make him feel special today! We love you Tanner and couldn't ask for a better six year old!!

Sneak Peak...

This week has been pretty busy so far. (Or maybe it just feels busy cause I need to make time for multiple naps a day to get by!) I have been sleeping really well at night, but I still am struggling to keep my eyes open come 9am! They said I'm supposed to get "used" to the medicine, but it doesn't feel like that has happened yet. Plus, that cold is still lingering around which never helps!

Anyway, earlier this week my friend April came over and PAINTED for me! I helped a little, but mostly kept an eye on the kids to make sure Payton didn't find a way to torture Zander, and I did a lot of sitting in the room and watching her. It looks so cute, but I'm waiting for a good picture once I do a few more things. It's nothing out of the ordinary, but it's a step up for me! (Payton's room as a baby was not "done" being painted and had nothing on the wall until she was about 16 months old!) And that was even a huge accomplishment compared to the first two kids nurseries!

Here's a sneak peak! Check back next week...