Lazy Summer Mornings...

This post is going to be pictureless (is that even a word?), but a couple cute/funny things have happened the last few days and I want to write them down.

Last week the boys (Cooper and Carson) were out feeding the calves and they needed help with something.  I went out to help them, then decided to water my flowers before coming back in.  Lainee and Ashlin were supposed to be getting dressed for the day.  When I came back in I came in the front door.  I could here Ashlin talking from a distance, but didn't know where she was.  Little did I know, she had gone out the back door looking for me.  When I finally found her she was coming back into the garage.  She had taken off her pajamas and diaper, then put on her pink cowboy boots and gone outside- completely naked!  I just laughed when I saw her.  She kept saying ouch and scratching her belly.  We have really bad mosquitos in the morning, and she had bites all over her bare bum and belly.  I told her, "Ashlin, you can't go outside naked!"  She replied, "But I was looking for you mommy!"  I wish I had taken a picture, but she was so itchy I just hurried to find something to put on her bites.

A few days ago I woke up and decided to enjoy the quiet house while the kids were still sleeping.  Randall was already gone to work, so I stayed in bed and read for a while.  I heard Cooper wake up; he came into my room, crawled in bed with me and snuggled up.  As he was laying there I couldn't help but smile and think to myself... I am so grateful for this moment.  Cooper is 8 years old and I don't know how much longer he will want to snuggle up to his mom.  The doctor made a comment about 3rd graders (the grade Cooper is going into) starting to turn their attention more toward their friends than their families.  It made me sad, and more aware that I need to spend as much quality time with my children as possible.

Out of the mouth of babes...

Carson said something really funny the other day.  He was at a friend's house...

Carson: "You know, helicopters can fly without anyone driving them.
Friend: "Ya, that's called auto pilot."
Carson: "Yeah, so there's someone named 'Auto' sitting in there flying it, huh!"

Haha!  Can you tell he's watched Wall-E  a time or two?

A Birthday and a Baptism!

Cooper turned 8 on June 1st.  His birthday happened to be on a Saturday, and since our church building has it's own baptismal font, Cooper decided he wanted to be baptized on his birthday.  He had his own special program, and it made for a very special birthday.  A birthday I hope he'll never forget.

I've watched this firstborn child of mine grow from a beautiful newborn baby, to a happy toothy-grinned toddler, to a sociable pre-schooler, and now to a handsome, quick-learning, determined and stubborn, sensitive, caring and helpful 8 year old boy.

Cooper was so excited to be baptized.  He planned the whole thing out--- who he wanted to speak, who he wanted to invite, and what he wanted to eat for the dinner afterward.  He invited lots of friends, including many who are not members of our church.  It was neat to see them come and witness a Church of Jesus Christ of Latte Day Saint baptism.  Yes, my 8 year old little boy is a better missionary than his mom!  It comes quite naturally to him.

We had a wonderful turn-out.  Most of our family members were able to make it.  Randall's family came just for the day--- his sister Maureah was in the process of moving to Texas.  Many of my family members (my parents, brother Wyakin, sister Shalani, and sister Kiana and her husband Spence, came and stayed for the weekend.  It was nice to have visitors, especially my family.  I love them and I don't get to spend nearly as much time with them as I'd like.

Cooper looked so handsome in his new suit jacket he received for his birthday.  And he looked so clean and pure and HAPPY in his white baptism suit.  I'm so grateful for a wonderful husband who was able to baptize Cooper.  Randall is a great dad, and I'm more thankful everyday for the best decision I ever made- to marry him.  I can't imagine my life without him.  He loves me and our children more than anything.  He is a worthy priesthood holder who loves and honors God.  He is hard-working and super intelligent.  I've thought about my choices leading up to marrying him a lot lately.  (It must have something to do with teaching the young women in our ward- I worry about them and about the choices they are making now that will affect them for the rest of their lives!)  I am grateful for good parents and good friends who were good examples to me and encouraged me to set goals and not settle for anything less than an eternal marriage.

I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and cares about me and my family.  I am so thankful for that knowledge---it has helped me get through many difficult and trying situations.  I hope I can instill that knowledge in my children.  They are growing up so fast and I feel like the amount of influence I have on them is quickly diminishing as they grow and spend more time at school and outside of our home.

So proud of my boy!

I wish I would have taken a few more pictures, but I was so busy running around trying to make sure everything was in order that I forgot to take pictures.  Next time I'll assign someone to take pictures for me!

Cooper with his Grandma & Grandpa Raymond

Cooper with Aunt Maureah & Scott... who just moved to Texas :(

 

Spring Break Fun

The boys enjoyed their Spring Break from school last week.  Actually... we all enjoyed their break!  We kicked off the beginning weekend with a trip to Eastern Idaho to visit grandparents and family.  Randall's mom had given all the adult girls tickets to Time Out For Women- a conference for women with motivational speakers and performers, put on by Deseret Book.  Randall and the other dads took care of the kids, and we attended the conference Friday night and Saturday morning.  The conference was wonderful- I came away feeling very enlightened and inspired.  It was fun to hang out with Randall's mom and sisters and have some girl time.

Saturday evening we celebrated a few birthdays, and Sunday morning Randall, his Dad, his brother Kade, and brother-in-law Brian sang a beautiful musical number in church- "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy."

Sunday evening Randall and Brian headed home so they could work.  Cali and I stayed a few extra days.  Monday we went to see my family for the day.  We went to get lunch with my mom, visited with my Grandma Wilcox (she's nearly 92 years old and still looks great!), then we picked up Shalani from school.  Dallin brought Suri out for dinner and the kids enjoyed playing with her.  Wyakin came in from working for a bit, much to Lainee's delight.  Lainee has a unique bond with her uncle Wyakin--- it's really cute.  Before we left my dad was sure to give and receive lots of bear hugs!  We love visits with Grandma and Grandpa.  We visited with my good friend Emily before coming home Tuesday.  We really had a fun trip.

Friday we took the kids to Wahooz in Meridian for a family fun day.  We went bowling, the boys rode Go-Karts, and Lainee and Ashlin played a few arcade games.  We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse- a family favorite before heading home.

 

 Cooper getting set for his first Go-Kart ride!

 

Carson wasn't quite tall enough to go on the go-karts by himself, so Randall took him on the big track.  They had a blast and finished in 1st place!

See that #12 on top of the leader board?!!!

Saturday the kids hit the locoal Easter Egg hunt, then our good friends Paul and Joni came for a visit with their 3 adorable kids.  After they left I put the kids to work in the yard picking up all the branches that were scattered all over the lawn from the spring wind.

I'd say we had a fun and busy week!

Happy Easter 2013!

Easter this year was on March 31... my birthday!  This is the 2nd time in my life Easter has fallen on my birthday.  The first was in 1991 when I was 9 years old.  It makes for a pretty special day!  I looked it up and the next time Easter will be on my birthday is in 2024 and 2086.  So, unless i live to be 104, it will only happen once more in my lifetime.  Since it was also 5th Sunday at church, Randall was home for an extra hour and helped get the kids ready for church.  It's so nice to have some help on Sunday mornings!  As a result, we were ready for church early and had a chance to snap a few pictures.

 

I am truly blessed to have such a beautiful family.  The day was absolutely gorgeous.  A balmy 73 degrees, sunny and NO wind!  We went for a walk/bike ride, visited with neighbors and enjoyed spending time together as a family.  It was a terrific end to the kids' spring break week! 

I am truly grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice he made for me, my family, and all mankind. Because of his ultimate sacrifice, I can enjoy my family for all eternity!

 

We took the kids to the Easter Egg Hunt in Grand View on Saturday. I was helping the girls, so they are the only ones I was able to get pictures of. They all had fun, and after it was over they handed out chocolate milk and toothbrushes.

 

 

 

Feeding the Lambs

We have some friends with a lot of orphan baby lambs.  They asked Randall to take a look at a few of them that were not doing very well (there is always a need for a good veterinarian!).  We took the kids over there during feeding time so they could help with the bottles.  The kids loved it!  The little lambs are so cute and fun to watch.

Little League Basketball

Cooper was able to play Little League Basketball for the first time this year.  He just finished up his season last weekend.  Randall was his coach, and I think they both enjoyed spending the time together.  Cooper improved sooooo much!  He was on a team with boys in 2nd to 5th grade.  Cooper was the very youngest on the team, and I think the smallest.  He learned so much and is wishing they could have a few more games.

Now we'll have a few weeks off before baseball season begins again!

Cooper with his friend Layth- yes they are in the same grade... Layth is 9 months older and very tall for his age!

Cooper and Coach Dad

Cooper playing some defense

All Dressed up for Church!

The kids wanted to wear church clothes from Grandma Wilcox today.  Lainee and Ashlin each received a dress from Grandma for their birthdays.  Cooper and Carson both received a nice sweater vest from Grandma for Christmas.  I think they looked great adorable!

I didn't get a picture of Cooper, because he had gone with Randall to his early meetings before church.

Lainee turns 4!

My little Lainee bug had her 4th birthday!  Where has the time gone?  She was soooo excited for her birthday.  She kept asking how many more days til her birthday.  Having Ashlin's birthday just 9 days earlier made her even more anxious.

For her birthday, Lainee invited her friend Avery over for a day of princess fun.  Lainee, Avery and Ashlin dressed up in princess dresses, had their nails painted and watched a princess show while Ashlin was napping.

 

 

Lainee wanted a Dora cake for her birthday.  I had an incredibly busy month going, so I took the easy way out and ordered some Dora figurines from Amazon (thank you Amazon Prime- shipped to my door in 2 days!).

 

My sweet little Lainee is a bit feisty at times, really girly at times, and very tom-boyish at times trying to keep up with her big brothers.  She loves coloring and any social activity.  She loves helping me cook and bake in the kitchen, and is a wonderful big sister to Ashtlin.  Now that Ashlin is a little older, they play together very well while the boys are gone to school.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

 

Lainee in her new Dora nightgown she received for her birthday.  Ashlin also received a Dora nightgown for her birthday, except in purple.

Lainee when she woke up on her birthday

 

Ashlin turns 2 years old!

I can't believe my baby is 2 years old!  Ashlin is my only child to have her 2nd birthday without a newborn baby in the house.  It's kind of crazy to think that I am entering a new phase of my life.  I'm moving away from babies and diapers and into school-aged activites.  It's sad and exciting all at the same time.  Randall and I are quite content with our four children and feel complete, at least for now.

Poor Ashlin had a bit of a crumby birthday.  Her birthday was on Sunday this year, and I woke up very early Sunday morning with Lainee saying her tummy hurt.  I thought perhaps she was too hot from having too many blankets on, so I sent her back to bed.  A few minutes later she was up again, this time I took her straight to the bathroom, and the vomiting began.  As I stood there with her, I realized I didn't feel all that well myself.  30 minutes later Carson was up and throwing up.  I followed a few minutes later.  It was a miserable morning.  Cooper had stomach cramps, but felt ok otherwise.  Cooper was my hero that day.  Ashlin never got sick (thank goodness!) and Cooper got her out of bed, changed her diaper, helped her get dressed, got her breakfast, and turned on a movie to watch with her--- all without being asked.  I was a bit delirious and couldn't even take care of myself, let alone my children.  Randall had gone to church- he wasn't sick either.  By 2:00 in the afternoon we were all hanging out on the couches instead of in the bathroom- a marked improvement!

I blame it all on food poisoning- from Ashlin's birthday cake no less.  She wanted a rainbow cake for her birthday, so I made 7 rainbow layers.  It was a made from scratch cake with lots of eggs, and with 7 bowls to lick, we all tasted a lot of raw cake batter--- all of us except Randall and Ashlin.  They say your chances of getting salmonella from raw eggs are something like 1 in 20,000 eggs.  I guess our luck ran out!

The infamous cake

Needless to say, we celebrated Ashlin's birthday a day late.  And even though I finished making Ashlin's cake, I couldn't make myself eat any.  It did look beautiful, though!  Ashlin is my jabbering toddler.  She says more works than most 3 year olds, and speaks quite clearly, forms 5-6 word sentences on a regular basis, and acts much more grown up than a 2 year old most of the time.  She loves playing princess with Lainee, and loves to be my helper.  She also loves to go with Daddy whenever she can, and she gives THE BEST hugs!

Ashlin showing off her style in her new Dora nightgown, upside down sunglasses and pink cowgirl boots!

Ashlin showing off her silly side- those are Mr. Potato Head glasses ;)

Happy Birthday my little lady!

Brrrr!

We've had a bit of a cold snap this month.  It started at Christmas time with our first real snowfall.  And we're now nearing the end of January, and the snow is still here!  That has to be a record for our neck of the woods- at least in the 5 years we've lived here!

We even had some below zero temps.  Living in Star Valley, Wyoming, below zero temps were common during the winter.  But since moving to Grand View, Idaho, I've become a wimp and accustomed to warmer weather.  I think the kids went for 3 weeks straight without going outside for recess at school.  (And it showed!  The kids at school were all getting very restless!)

I took a few neat pictures of our frosted trees...

Merry Christmas 2012!

I haven't been very good at updating my blog lately.  December was a very busy month!
Randall had surgery on his finger again on December 3rd.  We weren't sure exactly what was going to happen when we went in... the doctor (a very good hand surgeon- Dr. Kloss) told us he would decide which of 3 options was best when he got into the surgery and could better assess the situation.  One of those options was removing the finger... we're thankful that option was not chosen!  The procedure that was chosen, the z-plasty, was probably the most desirable option as far as healing time, and invasiveness.  Plus, he didn't have to go back in for a 2nd surgery 2 weeks later!  Yea!

Snuggled up with dad and reading a book!  The kids enjoyed lots of snuggle time with Dad while he recovered from surgery.

 

Randall had a cast on again for almost 2 weeks, and he was in a fair amount of pain during that time.  He had to take it easy and hang out at home for a while.  The kids and I enjoyed having him around a bit more.

We took the kids down to Salt Lake City and saw our friends Paul and Joni and their beautiful kids.  We made a stop at Temple Square to see all the beautiful Christmas lights.  Wow!  We haven't been since Cooper was a baby, and it sure was neat!  Ashlin especially love all the "pink" lights.  She would say, "Look mom, yellow... look mom, blue... ooohhh, look mom, PINK!"  She is such a yacker, and acts much more grown up than she actually is.  I wish I could make her, and all my kids for that matter, stay little a bit longer!

Cute kids all dressed up for church!

We made a gingerbread house!

We enjoyed a nice Christmas at home, complete with our traditional Strawberry and Cream Crepes for Christmas breakfast.  Santa Claus made his deliveries and the kids played all day with their new spoils.  Cooper and Carson had requested new ropes, wallets, spurs, and a few other things.  Dad was a good shopper and gave Cooper a fancy pair of spurs and Carson some new chaps.  Lainee wanted a Sleeping Beauty doll and Ashlin wanted a Cinderella doll.  I love it when they're easy to please!  We really do love our quiet and simple Christmas Day's at home with the kids.  It snowed Christmas night, much to the kids' delight.  They had a blast playing in it the next two days before we headed out to visit grandparents.

We headed over to Southeastern Idaho for New Years weekend- we first made a stop at the Raymonds for a party with Randall's family.  We delayed it a bit, because Scott and Maureah had been in Texas for Christmas, and their return flight was cancelled.  With a lot of hard work we were able to find them another flight and they were only 1/2 a day late instead of 2 days late like the airline originally told them.  It was nice to all be together.  We even made it to the Clark Christmas party this year!

We also attended the Schneiter Christmas party where we made some quilts to take to Primary Children's hospital, put together laundry kits for the Rexburg Family Crisis Center, and gathered several large boxes of food items to donate to the Rigby Food Bank.  We are all so blessed, and it's nice to have an opportunity to give back.  The kids received some money for Christmas from grandparents, and they all decided on their own to use a portion of their money to help Randall and I purchase items for the food bank.  I was so proud of my little munchkins!  It's moments like that, that make me feel like just maybe I am doing something right as a mother.

Ashlin taking a bath in the sink at the cabin.  All the kids have bathed in this sink when they were little!

Ashlin all dressed up to go outside in the snow.  Isn't she cute!  I wasn't very good taking pictures this year.  I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that we all had lots of fun!

The winter wonderland scene as we left Island Park.  It really is beautiful up there!

To finish off our grand trip, we headed up to Island Park to spend some time with my family at the cabin.  Everyone made it up there for at least a little while.  New Years is pretty much the only time of year we're all together, and it's become a tradition we all look forward to.  Like last year, we were lacking a bit of snow, so there was no snowmachining.  But there was enough to pull the kids around on sleds with the 4-wheelers.

All-in-all we had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!  Here's to a wonderful 2013!