Amazing kids....

I already know that I have awesome kids......but they confirmed it again this weekend! Breakfast in bed! Madellyn was the chef, the other big kids kept the babies' entertained, because I was not allowed out of bed! It was wonderful!

One of those days........

When you get out of the shower and your 3 year old looks like this..........





You know it's going to be one of those days!!

Morning assembly........

This is what my mornings usually look like!!

Special dates!

Breggan got to go on his special date, and of course he chose to eat at Panda Express! They other highlight of the trip was watching the dogs' tag be made! I love how easy to please kids are!

It's hard to be 18 months old!

Sometimes you can't even stay awake to finish your lunch!

Rio

Looks like Rio is getting lots of love around here!






She loves to cuddle up with Breggan when he's playing his DS.



Such a cute puppy! (The babies' still don't care for her much! Hopefully overtime she will grow on them! ). So far we are really enjoying her! :)

Madellyn is almost 12!! (YIKES)

Because Madellyn will turn twelve this year, she was invited to attend a Young Women’s activity called New Beginnings!  I was shocked when she was invited, because I think I’m in denial that she will be old enough to be in Young Women’s!

It was an amazing night!  As I sat there with all those young women, our church leaders, and their families, I realized how amazing these people are!  I also realized that if Madellyn was going to continue and age on me, there were no other people that I would rather her be around!  Made the whole turning 12 idea a little bit easier on me!  (but just a little!)

St. Patty’s Day 2011

I know I’m a few months late getting this up!  But once again….better late than never!

Rylee in green jammies…wish I could say I planned that one!

Green Eggs and Ham for breakfast

Next was 4 leaf clover braids for Madellyn and Aubree’s hair!

  

  

Dallin the cake decorator!

This handsome Cub Scout needed to decorate a cake for the Blue and Gold Banquet!  He was so excited to decorate the cake all by himself!  The kids love to watch “Cake Boss”, so he really wanted to put some of the skills he’s seen on the show to the test!

He knew what colors he wanted to use, and what “tips” he would be needing!  It was so fun to watch his creativity and determination to make his cake look just right!

 

Happy 1st Birthday Rylee! (4 months late)

Mom, Breggan, Sydnee, and Rylee were in Utah for Rylee’s actual birthday.  So we decided to wait and celebrate when we got home. 

We decided to have a ladybug cake for Ry.  Luckily it was easy so, I thought I could do the decorating!  (Give Bill a rest since he had just made a butterfly cake the day before! )

Bill was leaving town early, but wanted to be part of the cake fun.  So we woke everyone up at 6, to have cake for breakfast and open presents!

Rylee totally knew what to do when a cake was placed in front of her!

* One year info:

*At one year Ry loves, to eat!  Anything we are eating she loves!  But especially loves yogurt, rice, and any kind of cereal!

* Ry LOVES Madellyn, I try not to get my feeling hurt that sometimes Rylee chooses Madellyn over me! 

*Loves to go in the car!  Doesn’t care where we are headed as long as she gets to go along!

* loves her daddy!  When she hears the garage door, she hurries to the top of the stairs to wait for Bill!  Sometimes is disappointed when she has mistaken the dryer for the garage door!

* Loves books and baths!

* Is an awesome sleeper!  Sleeps through the night..(finally), and still takes 2 great naps a day!

Rylee you are an amazing little girl!  You have the sweetest little personality!  You are always so happy!  I love to listen to you talk and play in the mornings in your bed.  It’s such a great start to my day!  We love you like crazy!  We can’t believe you are already one!  Time seriously goes by WAY too fast!!

Happy 7th Birthday Aubree (4 months later)

 

Mom, Breggan, Sydnee and Rylee were  in Utah for Aubree’s actual birthday, so we had cake and presents when we got home.  While we were gone on her “real” birthday Bill took her to pick treats for her class, took her, Dallin and Madellyn roller skating, and finished the night off by going out to dinner!  What an awesome dad!!

I loved taking Aubree out for a special lunch to a place of her choice.  She chose Panda Express!  (she was most excited about leaving school early I think!)

 

 Aubree wanted a butterfly cake, so the master (otherwise known as Bill) went to work!  Here’s the masterpiece!

 

Her favorite present was her new “puppy”.  She is one of those kids that can’t seem to have enough stuffed animals!  Everyone of them is her favorite, has a name, and gets LOTS of attention!

We love you Aubree!  We are so glad you are part of our family!  You have such a sweet personality, and you love others so much!  We are so proud of all that you do!

This face..........

Look how happy she is!! This is because she is holding her favorite Dora doll. Why did I spend $ on Dora you may ask? It was an incentive....and worth every cent!!



A "big Dora baby" is all the girl wanted!
She accomplished ALL the steps to officially be potty trained!!!!!! Not sure who's more excited, me or her!?!?
Way to go Sydnee! Five kids down, one to go!!

One Day………

One day Bill and I will have nothing else to do with our time,  and we will be able to aerate our yard by foot!!

 

Until that day, we will just enjoy looking at our neighbors gorgeous yard, and know what kind of work it will take to get our yard to look like theirs!! 

The Bird Whisperer

In just a few short days Dallin and Bill have managed to get Ernest (lovely bird pictured), out of his cage and on their fingers! I had no clue parakeets would actually do more than sit in their cage!

What's for dinner?

Yummy cupcakes for dinner!





April Fool's!!!!
Really they are meat loaf with mashed potatoes on top!

Sydnee Stuff…….

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago, Sydnee had her first stay at the hospital….Maybe Pneumonia, maybe just a virus.  All we know is she was sick!!   Unfortunately she had a GREAT time at the hospital.  It was a children's hospital , so they do everything possible to make it a great stay for the kids.  (Maybe too great!)  Because now Sydnee asks about 20 times a day for her daddy to take her to the doctor.  If she has any kind of ache or pain, she’s convinced she needs to go to the doctor.  (I think she forgot how sick and miserable she was at the hospital!)

*Sydnee still thinks "Daddy” is the greatest thing on earth!  In fact, we ask her what daddy is and her response is…”a great guy!”

* Syd is such a girl!  She LOVEs anything with princesses, she always needs to be wearing her high heel dress up shoes, have her purse on her shoulder and her crown on her head!  Oh and you can’t forget the tu-tu, in Sydnee’s world the tu-tu matches EVERYTHING!!  As she dances around the house she tells us that she is a beautiful princess!  Or sometimes she calls herself a beautiful ballerina.

* Sydnee likes to be the disciplinarian in the family.  She will let the guilty party know that they are in “big trouble” and they need to go to their room and go night night! Boy don’t mess with her!! 

* Sydnee and Rylee have started playing so well together now.  It is SO much fun watching them!  They take naps at the same time, but Sydnee never stays in her bed, she always falls asleep on the floor right next to Rylee’s crib, and they play and play until one of them finally falls asleep!

Such a fun girl! 

Ry at 11 months

Highlights from the month include……

FINALLY this month decided to sleep through the night!  Makes for one very happy mama!!

Got another tooth!

Waves bye-bye and night-night ALL the time!

Loves to play with Sydnee and any toy that Sydnee may be playing with!

Loves to splash in the bath.  This girl can get a whole bathroom wet! 

Walks along furniture.

Learned to crawl up stairs while at Grandma’s house.  Doesn’t go down stairs yet, she just waits at the top of the stairs dangling on her stomach until someone comes to rescue her!

Still an awesome eater… she’s the only one of our babies that will eat a banana.  This girl can down a banana in NO time!!  Spaghetti is also a favorite, as well as Gingersnaps!

We love this girl so much and can’t believe that she is already 11 months old!  Time flies by way too fast!!

Christmas 2010

 

Love the excitement as the kids wait on the stairs!

Once again Santa seemed to find our kids!

Sydnee was so excited with the new Dora items that Santa brought!  She had been asking for over a month for a Dora from Santa.  Anytime anyone would mention the word “Santa” Sydnee’s response was “Santa, Dora” we would then have to answer her with “Santa’s going to bring you a Dora?”, otherwise she would continue to say it over and over and over again!  Luckily Santa came through for her!

A New Wii game, a scooter and a large remote control truck is what Santa brought Breggan!  (and the new Webkinz in his stocking!)

A Wii game, a Bionicle, and a K’nex is what Dallin got! (Dallin also got a new Webkinz in his stocking!)

(This is the finished K’nex project a few days later!)

 

Aubree was tickled with her new scooter, her unicorn “pillow pet” and the “minute to win it” Wii game.  (and all the fun “girly” things in her stocking!)

Madellyn was loving her new clothes, an alarm clock that she can plug her i-pod into, and her “Just Dance 2” Wii game.  (Plus the I-tunes gift card in her stocking!)

As for Rylee….I love how easy they are at this age!  A few new toys and new binkies and she was thrilled!! She was perfectly happy crawling around looking at what everyone got for Christmas!

Christmas was so fun this year! Sometimes not traveling, and spending the holidays  with just our own family is really nice!   We are so thankful for everything we have, and love the time we got to spend together with one another!   We ended the day with yummy ham, and funeral potatoes and lots of leftovers,  playing new Wii games, and enjoying the rest of our holiday loot!

Christmas Eve 2010 (I know I’m late!!!)

Little chefs!

Cool house!

Christmas Eve was spent making homemade popcorn balls with Bill.  (yummy!) Driving to Post Falls to look at a REALLY cool house that is decorated with lights that “dance” to a radio station, making homemade pizza, and of course the one present of jammies, and a new game for the family! This year the game was “Uno Flip”, which the kids all LOVED and it was one of those games that the parents don’t mind playing either!

We also read the nativity…complete with a shepherd with a Santa Clause hat, another shepherd with a light saber, and a naked Cabbage Patch for the baby Jesus. (Which kept getting stolen by the shepherd in the Santa hat!)