Buddies

Our friends Niki, Alexa, and Gavin came over to visit today. These boys are 6 days apart(we shared the same due date). Gavin is the older of the two. Thanks for coming over Niki, if and when you move back to Utah, we'll miss you! We met them when Tanner was a baby, she and Greg were our first friends we made once married. (that's right, we're dorks, we went like 2 years with no new friends....) I'm sure we'll still visit on our Utah trips each year....

Are his eyes going green on me?!? Maybe it's the shirt, or just cause he's next to Gavin's GORGEOUS blue eyes! I'm good with green-I just want something besides brown eyed kid number FOUR! (Brian and I both had green/hazel eyes)

Oh what to do....

This happens about once a week at our house, but I just don't get how it happens to all of them on the same night!?! Most mornings I wake up to no one...then out of the blue, I'll wake up to this:

As Blake woke up to eat at 6:15 that morning, I first tripped over Tanner and Payton, then almost landed on Kamryn. I train them young NOT TO WAKE MOM and DAD. So, they just make themselves comfy and I guess we're all satisfied! The only bad thing is....if they wake me, then I can say, "go back to your bed" and they usually do. BUT, if they don't, then they get away with sleeping in my room the entire night. I just thinks it's crazy that we never hear them come in, but I can hear the baby's slightest move in the other room?? When asked what the heck happened at their end of the hosue last night, both Tanner and Kamryn said they had a bad dream. Tanner later told me, "You know what's so cool mom?? Sometimes I have bad dreams in my room, but if I go to your room, then I NEVER have bad dreams...." Glad I can help Tanner....

(don't ask about the ginormous stuffed dog laying on Kamryn....my dad brought three identical ones home from Argentina one year, and they are often found all over the house....)

Joy School

Payton has so many little friends her age in our neighborhood. As moms we decided to do a Joy school for all these little 2 yr olds. The oldest is already 3, the rest are all right about Paytons age or a few months younger. She was SO excited for school to start. She talked about it daily and could list off 6 or 7 of her 8 friends that go....plus she could name most the moms (since 3 of them are her nursery teachers also!) Anyway, she got a pick out a tiny sized backpack last week and she even chose to sleep with it a few times. We started this week and they went two times. She had so much fun, and I LOVED how slow the two hours seem to go while she was away. I got a couple snapshots of her with her "bes-friends" as she calls them. Carson wasn't there, but he is her third little boyfriend...

Payton with Seth and Kamryn

Her with Samuel and Makaila

(Payton has always been taller than most kids her age, but I think she SHOT up recently, because I never noticed she was "that" much taller....)

Monday Night Fun

Some friends invited us to the Lake today and we were so excited when the sky turned from clouds to sun! We picked the kids up from school and headed up to the Lake. Brandon was first in and was skiing like a pro! He's 4 yrs old.

Tanner wanted to try next and he got right up the first time.

Then Ashlyn showed us her stuff.

The Dad's then had to show their boys what they could do in their old age...Brian has a pretty bad sprained ankle, but didn't want to pass up this chance.




We ended the evening with lots of fun tube rides. First all 5 little kids went together...Then the girls, then the boys. Payton was loving her turn out there also! Brandon and Tanner hit a major wave/bump and the tube went flying in the air multiple feet high. Tanner let go and says he was flying like superman. Brandon hung on for life and came down hard on the tube and it didn't feel too good! As we pulled around Tanner was yelling, "That was AWESOME!"




Here are some other favorites of the night. Blake and Emma also were there, and they too had a lots of fun!

New Preschool

Kamryn's old preschool teacher is not teaching this year, so she has a new school! She wasn't too excited about it in general, but at meet the teacher last week I couldn't get her to leave. Hopefully she's having a blast right now and so she'll want to go this year. It was a 2 day a week battle the entire year last year. And now she goes 4 days a week, so I really hope her attitude changes and we can avoid that drama this time around. So far so good.....she had no struggles getting out of the car this afternoon. Then we headed home, put Payton and Blake both into bed, and now I'll get over 2 hours of quiet-time!

Blessing Day

Blake was blessed at church by his Dad on Sunday August 3rd. All our family that is close by was able to come, and my Grandparents came over from California.

2 Months...

12 lbs 4 ounces 64%
24.25 inches 90%

Blake is so much fun. The past couple of days he started "talking" as he smiles. Like little coos and almost a giggle every now and then. He sleeps like a champ too. He falls asleep before 8 and I then I still wake him up between 9 and 10 to top him off before I go to bed. He goes right back to sleep and sleeps 8 or 9 hours until 6 or 7 in the morning. While we were in CA he reverted a tad and I fed him at 4 am each night. We were all in one hotel room and I didn't want to risk him waking up Payton. But once we got back home he got right back on schedule.

The kids just love him to pieces also!!

First Day of First Grade

Tanner was SO ready and excited to go back to school. I had all the kids with me as I took him and so I didn't want to park like three blocks away and walk him to the playground to find his teacher's cone. I mentioned dropping him off and he was ALL for it. He hopped right out and I drove away (feeling so guilty! but seriously-girls had no shoes, bed head, and no stroller for the baby and we literally would have had to park SO far away from the school itself) Anyway, I passed a friend walking and asked her to check on him. She called me later and said he was right where he should be and was have a great time! He's come far from the shy scared little kindergartner. Anyway, his first day of school turned out perfect!

Beach Time

I love love love beach trips. I was so ready for it this year also after being so home bound all summer long. We met up with the Hunsaker's at a Hotel after leaving my Grandma's and the headed to the Beach to visit Brooke and Tyson Homec (who left good old AZ and recently moved back to Palm Desert...) We spent a couple days in the amazing beach weather, and we loved every second of it. Two nights in a row we headed inland and went to dinner at the Irvine Spectrum Mall, and that too was a blast. On our way home we stopped in the Desert to say hi to my Dad and let the kids see his furniture store and so they could see why Grandpa travels to California each week. It was a good break and we are glad to be home sweet home...5 days til school starts!! Here are some favorites from the trip...

Blake is a baby that basically "never" cries......but of course he's screaming in our only family shot of the trip! Little cutie...

Brooke, Lalani, Kristy

Kamryn and her good Buddy Jackson

What it'll be like to have 5 kids in the car (not anytime soon)....w/ 4 in car seats...

Some beach shots: