Family Pictures!

My Dad took these pictures for us yesterday & I was extremely happy with them... It took a little patience with wiggly & distracted children, but my Dad did a GREAT job & was even able to capture some of those "extra" moments. Thanks Dad!

Labor Day

Labor Day this year was a little disappointing, mainly because we had sick kids, so not everyone was able to participate in fun of the whole weekend, but we did the best we could.  On Saturday, I took Bailey to my family's campground at East Canyon & hung out & ate homemade ice-cream while we sat freezing around the campfire (something I don't think I've ever done before!), while Laron stayed home with sick, throwing-up kids.  Then on Sunday, Laron went up to Idaho Falls our niece Adalyn's Baby Blessing while I stayed home with the sick kids.  And finally by Monday, the kids seemed to be doing good enough, so we attempted to hit the last part of my family's campout.  We surprised everyone by showing up just in time for BINGO, which Skyler & Kimberly really loved & Skyler had fun playing Frisbee golf.  He did pretty good for a 4-year-old!  My sister Emily also announced that she is expecting her second baby, so we're excited for her!  Afterward we headed over to Laron's Grandpa Pace's house to hang out & wish him a "Happy Birthday!"  All in all, the weekend didn't go entirely like we'd planned, but we were glad we all got to get out at some point & join in all the fun!

Summer Recap

So, Summer is about over with now, but we've certainly enjoyed it while it lasted!  Kimberly & Skyler LOVED being little buddies & HAD to go outside at least once a day.  Sidewalk chalk was one thing they enjoyed, and even though Kimberly couldn't draw much yet, she would always draw a bunch of lines in a row & call them "fireworks"!

Not that everything went as smoothly as we'd hoped for... I guess that's expected when you have a new baby to get used to. The pictures above sum-up nicely what we HOPED our days to be like & what they ACTUALLY usually turned out to be (notice everyone crying in the top picture!).

 One day the kids were supposed to be eating a roll in the kitchen & I caught them sneaking around the corner to see me... Look at those guilty little faces!

Over the summer the kids got new bunk-beds (thanks to Grandma Vicky!), Kimberly learned to say her prayers (& Skyler LOVED to help her!), they colored out on the porch with their new little table, they went for rides in Dad's wheelbarrow & they played & played & played!  We also noticed that we have a bat in one of our trees in the backyard, so the kids have loved staying up a little late & watching it fly around the backyard eating mosquitoes!

Me & my cute girls!

The matching dresses make me love them even more!

Kimberly has developed quite a personality over the summer... Something Laron said once kinda sums her up: "She's not always happy, but when she's happy, she's a riot!"

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last week I celebrated my 26th birthday & it was a pretty good one! Laron had to work, so I knew ahead of time that it would just be me & the kids all day, & I knew I would feel sorry for myself if we just sat around the house waiting for Laron, so we made some plans of our own...

That morning we took ourselves out to eat & had a free birthday breakfast at Denny's (we just all shared the free meal) & then we headed over to my parent's house... I ended up going to a Bridal Shower with my Mom & then she surprised me by taking me to Ross & watching Bailey for me so I could pick out a few new things! That's something I haven't done in a while! So nice! Then we went back to my parent's house for a while and then headed home where Laron had a nice meal, flowers, peach shakes & presents all ready & waiting for us. And then after he left that evening for work, me & the kids watched a new movie together, complete with special movie snacks given to us from a neighbor.

All in all, it was a perfect birthday! Probably the best one I've had since being a mom... I guess I just finally figured out that having a birthday no longer means that I get the day off or that everything is really going to be "all about me" that day, because I'm still a mom, no matter what day it is, which translates into me taking care of everyone else's needs all day too. But despite that, I still had a really great day & felt very loved. Aren't birthdays great?! Too bad they only come once a year!

Bailey's Baby Blessing

At the first of the month we blessed our sweet little Bailey...  It was so fun to have a day all about her & to really celebrate her contribution to our family.

She was SO well behaved & even showed off her adorable smiles for the camera!  I sure love my little girl... She makes this Mama proud!

A big thank-you to everyone who came... It's always so fun being surrounded by all those we love!

We love you Bailey!

Summer Fun w/ Grandma

My mom is a school teacher, so over the last two summers, she's tried to come over once a week to hang out with the grandkids & to help me out in whatever way I'd like her to.  With having a baby in June however, having her over every week is the only way I think I survived the summer!  She'd take the kids to the park, watch them while I ran errands & even weed my garden for me.  Most importantly, she gave my kids the attention I felt like I couldn't with a new baby in the house & she gave me something to look forward to every week.  Thanks again Mom for getting us through the summer!

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!

An Amazing Big Brother

Skyler has been an AMAZING big brother lately, to both of his sisters... Ever since we had Bailey, he has really gone out of his way to watch after Kimberly. He holds her hand & leads her around, and he protects her & gives her hugs whenever she needs it. And she's needed it a LOT lately with all the changes, so thanks Skyler for being sensitive to her needs & taking good care of her! You're the kind of big brother I always wished I'd had!

He's also been super sweet with Bailey. He's always asking to hold her & cuddle her & loves to help me burp her. His Grandma also recently gave him this little rocking chair from when she was a kid & somehow he just knows that rocking chairs are for rocking babies in... And let me tell you, he's a natural!

He even gave me a hug the other day just when I needed it. So thanks again Skyler for watching out for us girls! We know we're in good hands when you're around!

Relationships

So I've been thinking tonight about relationships... There are SO many people in our lives with whom we interact & they ALL influence us in some form or another. I've been more specifically thinking about all the relationships in my life that have influenced my life for good. My husband, my mother, my father, my neighbors, my children, my sister, my high-school friends, my grandparents... the list goes on & on. But what's been interesting to me lately is that these relationships can still impact your life once they are over. Even after a grandparent has passed away, or after high-school is over, or after you move far away from a close friend, they still have an impact & influence on your life. Their memories, things that you learned from them, & how they made you feel all seem to stick with you over the years. That being said, while realizing how grateful I am for so many of the relationships in my life, I am also extremely grateful that relationships can continue beyond the grave. What a sad existence it would be without all the people we know & the memories we've shared with them!

Another thought that's been on my mind today is from an article I recently read from an LDS mother who was trying to enjoy being a mother more, instead of just viewing it as a chore. One thing that helped change her point-of-view was realizing what a blessing it was to spend every day with some of her most FAVORITE people in the world! And with the craziness in our lives lately of learning to adjust to having 3 kids, it has really helped me the last couple of days to step back at those hectic times in the day & look at my kids and think, "Wow, these ARE some of my very favorite people in the world... Aren't I lucky to get to spend so much time with them?!" And at those times when I am able to pause for a moment & really see the dimpled grin on Kimberly's face or the way Skyler holds Kimberly's hand to lead her to another room or to sit & listen to Skyler's sound effects as he plays, I wonder how I could ever be happy doing anything else! How lucky I am for these precious little relationships in my life... my favorite little people in the whole wide world!

My Little Brother "Timmy"

Well, last week my little brother Timmy (sorry Tim, you'll always be "Timmy" to me!) went to the MTC. After a few weeks, he'll be off to the mission-field in Conception, Chile. They certainly are lucky people to have him coming to serve them! I know he'll make a fabulous missionary, and yet we'll miss you while you're gone. Skyler especially! But good luck anyway & we'll see you in 2 years!

And luckily Bailey was born when she was, because then you at least got to meet her before you left! She'll be all grown up though in 2 years! Good luck again!