Braving Camping...

So the day after Skyler's Birthday, we decided to brave-it & go on our Ward Campout. I've been wanting to take the kids camping for a while now, but Laron was always working on Ward Campout weekends & I guess we just never made the time for it on other weekends. And so, when Laron had the weekend off this year, we decided to brave it (yes, even with a 1-month-old!).
The kids LOVED it & were especially adorable in their little camping chairs! 

Bailey woke up twice that night, but pretty much just went right back to sleep (probably because I was praying the entire time that she would!).

Kimberly especially loved all the rocks & sticks around!  What treasures!  Skyler asked if he could bring his new "Bow & Arrow" up camping with us... I think he showed it off more than he actually shot it, but it was cool anyways.

The BEST part about Ward Campout (besides the fact that someone else was doing all the cooking & that we didn't even have to set up our tent because there were leftover tents already set up from Girl's Camp earlier in the week) was after everyone else left... We purposely were the last people to leave & because of Laron's thoughtful preparation beforehand on packing us a lunch & bringing some fun things to play with, we were able to get in some good quality family time before returning home. It's funny how you go camping to spend time with your family & then you end up spending most of your time all mingled amidst other families on a ward campout. So thanks Laron for making our camping experience a success!

Skyler's 4th Birthday!

Skyler had quite a wish-list this year of what he wanted for his birthday... But a "bow & arrow" seemed to be at the top of that list, so he was excited to actually get one.
I also made him a "Superman Cape" (reversable as a "Batman Cape", which I'd hoped he'd be more excited about...  Nonetheless, it DID turn out pretty cute!

He also got a new bike!  (An old one that MY brother's used to use...)  Then Laron made him a fancy pancake breakfast, complete with candles on top & everything!

Next comes a little story:

Once upon a time my parents went to Alaska. Then one day on the freeway we passed a cool looking place & Skyler wanted to know what it was. We told him it was called "Boondocks" & that they have a lot of fun stuff to do there. He asked us if we'd been there before, to which we responded, "No, but Grandma & Papa have been there." Wide-eyed he asked, "Is that Alaska?!" And so we decided it would be fun to go to "Alaska" for Skyler's birthday (especially since we found out you can get in FREE on your birthday!)...

Skyler did "Bumper Boats" with Laron where they bumped into other boats while squirting each other with water!

Then he did "Kiddie Bowling," Laser Tag, rode around a Race-Car Track with me twice & played on a Kiddie Playground. He said he liked "driving really fast" the best.

All-in-all it was fun, but it just seemed like maybe a little too much for a little kid's birthday (especially with a 1 month old & Kimberly who wasn't old enough to do much of anything yet). On our way home Laron & I decided that maybe next year we'll just go on a hike... Lots less noisy & maybe a little less stressful.

After naps we headed over to Grandma & Papa's house for cake & ice-cream. A big thank-you to my Mom for providing the cake, because I realized at the last minute that that was one detail I had kind-of forgotten about!

Then my Dad popped us some popcorn in his new "Popcorn Machine" he got for school. Pretty cool! We'll definitely have to borrow that for a birthday party sometime!

And then, of course, he was spoiled with more presents!

To top it all off, we then headed over to "Surf 'n Swim" for some free swimming with my family... I think this was definitely my favorite part of the day, maybe because swimming seemed so much more relaxing & fun & simple, or maybe because there were extra hands to help with the kids! Either way, it was a fun ending to a fun day!

I don't think I ever realized as a kid just how much parents really do for their kids... I mean, they just don't see all the other drama in the background of their parent's lives. Juggling around a 1-month-old at a theme park, keeping Kimberly happy while she only gets to watch Skyler having fun, running around from place-to-place all day trying to make his special day just perfect. All I have to say is that I'm glad we didn't attempt to throw him a Birthday Party this year!

And oh yeah, Happy Birthday Skyler!

A Day on the Tramp

We've been seeing Kimberly's "grumpy face" quite frequently this week... A little TOO frequently!  Yes, even on the tramp!  So my goal was to at least get a smile out of her, which I think I eventually accomplished... :)

Brotherly/Sisterly love.

I love it!

6 weeks old

So Miss Bailey is officially 6 weeks old now & I can tell she's getting bigger everyday. She's a great eater, doing a little better with the spitting up problems & officially wearing 0-3 month clothes instead of Newborn. The simple accomplishments in life, huh?

Two things that we've learned that Bailey loves is to be on her tummy & to sit on my lap while I play the piano. She also loves to eat & is not quite sure what to do with herself if she's not eating or sleeping... Nor are we yet either I might add!

So I think these last 2 weeks of having three kids has been the hardest on me. I've heard moms say before that they lost a few brain cells being a Mother, but I have literally felt stupider these last two weeks... I feel like certain days & hours are just blurred all together, that I'm going through the motions of life without the higher level of thinking I used to do & that I'm confused and stressed out about things in life that should be relatively simple (like getting everyone packed up in the van & ready to go somewhere!).

Nevertheless, I DO have adorable children & I was so excited to take my girls to church this week in matching dresses (thanks to my fabulous sister-in-law Kajsa!). I was SO proud to have such a good-looking family to show off! And secretly, I've found that I like my children more (especially on those hard weeks), when I dress them up cute. So thanks Kajsa for helping end our week on a good note!