Pictures anyone?

If anyone is needing or wanting family pictures, my friend Wendy will be here in Eagar next weekend, the 16th and 17th. She is coming to take our family pictures and we absolutely LoVe her! She is amazing. So if you are interested leave me a comment or email her.

Random picture overload

A bunch of the cousins at our family reunion.

Kenzi's very favorite comfy pants finally bit the dust. She was so sad. She literally wore those things every spare second she could. Kenzi finally lost her first tooth. She has been wanting to, she is almost 7. She had to have a little help from the best tooth puller, Papa. She cried a little but afterwards she was thrilled.

We have been SO busy these past few months. I have 600 pictures on my camera to prove it! So when I get in my house (all the way) I will have ALOT to blog about. For some reason my Mom's computer won't let me download them. It did download these few random pictures though. We have had lots and lots of fun. We celebrated both Luke's and Kyron's birthday, our 12th wedding anniversary, haircuts, playing with cousins, the first day of school, first steps, first teeth, first missing teeth, family reunion, football practices and games and of course the process of building our new beautiful house. It is finally finished and I promise to post pictures as soon as I can. We couldn't be happier with it. Luke has been gone to Texas this whole week so we haven't got much moved in. So we are still here at my parents house for the rest of this week. The kids have been so helpful. It is so much fun to see the joy on their little faces when they see all of our stuff that has been in storage for so long. It is like Christmas at our house. I just haven't had the time to sit down and write about it. Plus not having pictures to go along with it isn't any fun! So here are a few pictures that really don't make any sense but it's all I've got.

Kooper of course did this too the poor little Jett. She didn't seem to mind too much. I could just hear him laughing hysterically and when I went to see why, this is the mess that I found.I must say this is a first for me. Out of all 5 kids she is the only one who got her teeth in this order. She is the cutest little thing ever. Looks like she could be either a bat or vampire for Halloween? We all laugh and laugh at her when she crinkles her nose and shows off her teeth. It is too funny!Kooper walked up to me and said, "look Mom, I have a mustache! It was pretty clever, I'd say! He reminds me a little bit of Kyron in these pictures. What a monster though!
Kyron got an electric guitar for his 11th birthday! He was so excited. He will be starting lessons soon and he can't wait. I still can't believe that he is 11. Makes me a little sad to think about it. He is such a sweet kid and I am so lucky to have this handsome little guy as mine. Plus he is a total mama's boy and isn't afraid to show it. I love it! I wish that I had more to share, well I do but they will just have to wait!

My baby is one

Bare with this post because for some reason my pictures won't arrange and so they are so random. Of course I didn't get to many pictures of her because I was too busy filming it instead. She wasn't too sure about all the attention but she liked it. We had been singing happy birthday to her all day and that part she loved. She would do a little head bobbin' to it. It didn't take her too long to figure out her cake. She loved every bite. I noticed that because she is #5 that it wasn't too exciting for anyone else except Luke and I. I think that is probably the only thing about being the last baby that stinks. Everything has already been done 4 times before so it just isn't that exciting to anyone. I think the best thing about being the baby (besides being spoiled rotten) is that she gets 4 times the love and attention than the others did. She gets laughed at four times as much, she gets four times the kisses, four times the playing, she gets pushed in the swing four times more, she gets four times the treats. She gets four times everything! She never has to cry because she gets whatever she wants from any of the other four. I would say we are all lucky to have this bonus in our family.

Kali turned one on Tues. July 21st! I honestly can't believe how fast this past year has gone by. It seems like it was yesterday when the Dr. told me I was 3 months pregnant. I was in shock and couldn't believe that I was going to have another baby! I WAS DONE! It took some time getting use to the idea. As soon as it sank in, which took awhile, we were all SO excited. We are so blessed to have this sweet little girl in our family. We are thankful that Kenzi secretly prayed her here. She has got to be the best and easiest baby ever (next to Kason). She just hangs out and loves more than anything to be with her brothers and sisters. A few things about our little Jett.

• she walks all over the place
• she clicks her tongue
• she waves to everyone
• she loves to take baths
• she sucks her two little fingers
• she is the best sleeper
• she loves the stairs
• she crinkles her nose when she smiles big
• weighs almost 15 lbs.
• almost wears a size 1 shoe
• loves to eat and eat
• dances whenver she hears any kind of music
• gives huge open mouth kisses to anyone
• she is so cute

I can't imagine our lives without her. I can't get enough of her. She is always so excited to see me, even if I just left the room for 5 seconds. The kids always want her and she is so entertained with all of them. She especially loves her crazy brother Kooper. I am so glad that they are so close. He needs her as much as she needs him. I love that she is the tiniest little thing. It makes her being my baby last that much longer. She can't get close enough to me for a snuggle. I am thankful everyday of my life for her. She is one of the greatest 6 blessings in my life!

Happy Birthday little bug!

What we've been doing

A few of our family picturesAll the grandkidsIt was so hot outside!

It is Summer and we are definitely busy! We went to Phoenix for a few days with Luke's family and we had a blast. We missed our yearly trip to San Diego but we are already planning for next summer. So instead we went and stayed at a really nice water resort and had a wonderful time. It was fun to go and relax and enjoy each other. We got family pictures, ate good food and got lots of sun. The kids loved the huge water slides (so did Luke and I) and the little ones loved the water. Then this past week we went to the lake with my family. My brother Nate has an awesome boat and he gets these really nice houses right on the lake. So we all went and had more fun. The kids fished and fished and fished. They even went night fishing until 1 in the morning. Then got up the next morning at 5 to do it again. I am glad my brothers let them tag along because I am not crazy about fishing. We all had a great time on the boat (especially Kenzi). It is so fun to see everyone and have a good time together. I just wanted to give a little update on everyone since I am such a slacker and too busy to sit down and write about the things we have been doing.

Luke has been gone since June 6th. He was asked to go help with the rainbow people. Anyone who knows about the rainbows know that he is in for quiet a time. They gathered in New Mexico this year. By the 4th of July there should be 20,000+ of them there. He has been busy non-stop since he got there. He won't be home until the 10th of July. We miss him terribly but we don't have to much time left. We missed him when we went to Roosevelt too! He is so smart and good at what he does. They need him there. Chasing hippies is alot of work:) They do some pretty crazy things. He loves his job though.


I have just been busy doing the normal things that you do with 5 kids and no husband. I turned the big 30! Luke got me an amazing camera and I couldn't be happier with it. I love watching my house go up (pictures to come later). It is going to be absolutely beautiful. All I can say is my Dad is amazing (he's building it) and I love him! It is so fun to see my kids so excited about it too. I just love summer! It is my favorite time of year. After 1 1/2 years I finally changed my cell phone number from Nevada to Arizona. I still haven't changed my license, and it just expired (sshhhh) so I now have to.

Kyron made the baseball all-star team and is loving it! He is an amazing little pitcher and is learning all kinds of new things. The games start next week so we'll see how it goes. He is super competitive and loves to play. He is such a homebody and he has friends calling him all the time to go play but he rather hang out with me. He screens his calls (teeheehee). He is such a good brother. He loves Kali. He is very sweet with the little ones. He teases Kenzi relentlessly but I guess that is normal, right? He also has started the braces process. His teeth are super crowded so it is going to take awhile before he even gets braces but they are doing all kinds of work on his mouth. He has to have 4 teeth pulled and a bridge put in on the top of his mouth. The dentist said, "It is a good thing he is already cute but he is going to be a lady killer when he is all done!"

Kason loves hats and is trying to earn a new Boston Red Sox hat. He doesn't like the cheap ones, he likes the $40 ones. So he has been trying to earn money for this certain one. It is kinda funny. Everytime I ask him to help out he says, "can I earn money for that?" So he has been working all month to earn money for this hat. He is usually really helpful anyway but lately he has been extra helpful. He loves one on one time and he is really tenderhearted. He misses Luke terribly and has to talk to him everyday. He also loves Kali and has been paying extra attention to her lately. He is always worried about Kooper because he is always into something. He is an amazing little babysitter. He is Kyron's biggest fan and is excited for all-stars next year. Kason loves to watch Wipeout! He laughs and laughs. That show is a family favorite.

Kenzi is doing hip hop dance right now. She is still so deathly shy. So I really like it when she does something and she likes it. She wouldn't do anything if I didn't make her. She has gotten alot better though. She is sweet and plays with Kooper ALL day! He will do anything she tells him to do. She likes to pretend that he is her dog and he does it! She has a tender spot for animals. She begs for a real dog everyday of her life. She likes to play house and school or anything where she can be the boss. She loves to swim and loves to ride the tube fast on Uncle Nate's boat. She is just a little mommy.

Kooper is wild! He is so entertaining and keeps us laughing all day everyday. 2 weeks ago we went to two emergency rooms trying to get a rock out of his ear. They had to eventually send us to a specialist and he had to go to a surgery center to have it removed (LONG story). Will he ever learn? Probably not, but I am okay with that. He is just going to be our child that we spend lots of time in the ER with. Good thing I have good insurance. He is such a good boy but super busy. He loves Kenzi. He plays so good with Kali too! Whenever he is tired he says, "I wanna hold you." He loves horses and would ride one all day if he could. He is going to be our little cowboy, but he doesn't like boots. He rather be barefoot. His feet look so sad. They feel like leather. Oh, well! Last night he walked up to me with his hand down his pants and said, "Mom, I have a hole in my butt!" Kason, Kenzi and I were literally on the floor laughing. I just hope he doesn't put anything in that hole! He has a thing for putting things in the holes of his body! Yuck!

Kali is 11 months and is sweet as can be. She is weighing in at 15 1/2 pounds. She is just teeny tiny and petite. She loves to jump and clap her hands. She tries to follow Kooper everywhere. She adores Kooper. She loves to be popped on the tramp. Yes, popped! She giggles so hard. She also likes to wrestle with the boys, mostly Kooper. There is just something about him that she loves. Whenever she sees him she is all smiles. She isn't walking yet but is very close. She is a great sleeper, as long as she has her bed. She loves to eat. Her favorite is oatmeal and waffles. Anytime she hears the bath water she crawls as fast as she can to the bathroom. She loves baths. She is a total mommy's girl. She just can't get close enough to me, and I love it. She loves to snuggle. She loves to suck her two little fingers when she is tired or sad. We are all crazy about her.

So that is about all that we have been doing. We are excited about the 4th of July. We miss Luke but he will be home soon. I am really going to try harder not to neglect my blog. We'll see how it goes:)

No More Secs

A funny little story about Kooper that I just had to share.

Whenever Kooper needs something or needs me and I am busy I tell him just a second or in a sec and hold up one finger (so I guess this is what I do). So the other day he was asking me for something over and over and I just kept telling in a sec over and over. Finally he holds up one finger and says, "NO MORE SECS MOM! (say it and think about what you just said) LOL

That definitely got my attention.

Seriously he makes us laugh all the time. Look at his sweet little innocent face and those super duper blue eyes and long eyelashes. Don't let them fool you because he is the biggest little stinker ever.

Way too long

It has been way to long since I have done a post. It isn't that I don't have anything to blog about because believe me when you have 5 kids there are plenty things that are blog worthy. I have at least kept up on my book so that is nice to know. Between the 4 baseball games a week, starting our new house (yippie), seeing family, saving our turtle, pushing Kooper in the swing ALL day, watching Kali try to walk (yes walk), laundry, cleaning, end of school programs, making 2 quilts, remodeling my parents bathrooms and so many other things that I can't think straight I just haven't had time to get on the computer. I know that if I do sit down at the computer I will check out all the blogs that I so love to read and then I won't even getting around to a post of my own. I still have been trying to check in on everyone, and even though I don't leave a comment I do love to see what you are all up to. Hopefully things will slow down soon but I actually don't see that happening for sometime. Did I mention we started out house!!! HUGE SMILE on my face right now!

This last week was a rough week but ended great and we have so much to be thankful for. First of all my WHOLE family was in town. Daniel and Chelsee blessed their sweet baby Layne and so everyone made the trip for it. My brother Daniel gave Layne and amazing blessing and I just love the feeling when a baby is being blessed. She is so sweet and I was dying to see her. I haven't seen everyone in...way to long so it was so much fun to see everyone. I just loved it! Amanda brought Kason's friend, Kyle from Vegas for the weekend and they had so much fun seeing each other. It is funny how they act like they just saw each other yesterday and they didn't even skip a beat. Good little buddies they are. We sure enjoyed having him.

Kali started feeling yucky last weekend. By Monday she was really not doing too good so I took her to the Dr. I honestly thought she probably had an ear infection or something that was just not making her feel good. She ended up being admitted to the hospital. We got there Monday and were released Wednesday. She was super lethargic and had absolutely NO energy. Was was really dehydrated. She was throwing up and had diarrhea really bad. The Dr. said he had never seen a baby so weak. She couldn't even lift her head up off the pillow. She couldn't even put up a fight when they put the IV in her teeny tiny little hand. She just looked at me and said Ma ma ma ma! So sad. They thought she would only need to be in there for 24 hrs. to get hydrated. She ended up having to stay for over 48 hrs. She just layed on me and slept for a good 23 hours a day for 3 days. They ran the IV and antibiotics and that got her feeling better by the time we left. I went crazy sitting in the hospital all day. But there was nowhere else I would have rather been. She is such a sweet little baby. She had all the nurses just loving her. I couldn't have done it without the help of my family. What lifesavers they are. My Mom kept all my laundry up and when there are so many of us that is alot of laundry. It is so nice not to worry about my kids because I knew they were in great hands. Mom, Dad, Shana, Sandy and Roger, I love you! Thanks for all your help! We are so happy that Kali is feeling more like herself. She is such a tough little thing. I snapped a few pictures with my cell phone of her in the hospital.

To top off our weekend Kenzi, Mom, Kali and I went to Phx. I wouldn't have gone (believe me I thought about not going)but Kenzi and I had tickets to Taylor Swift and she had been waiting for this concert for 3 months. We bought our tickets that long ago and she was so excited about having a girls weekend. So we went! I don't know what my favorite part of the night was so here is a list of things that Kenzi did that just stole my heart.

1. waking up at 5 am that morning with pure excitement
2. saying this is going to be the best night of my life a million times
3. looking in every store in the mall for the perfect dress to wear to the concert
4. getting her paper and pen ready for an autograph from Taylor
5. watching her get ready
6. putting lip gloss and blush on
7. watching her twirl in her dress
8. paint her fingers and toes
9. tell me she had butterflies in her tummy
10. fix her hair just perfect
11. practice singing loud like we were at the concert
12. fall asleep on the way to the concert
13. wake up ready to have a good time
14. run into the concert as fast as her feet would go...in the rain
15. tell me "hurry hurry Mom"
16. scream with excitement (she just doesn't do that, she is so quiet)
17. smile as big as her lips will smile
18. dance dance dance
19. sing every word and twirl her glow stick
20. scream this is the best night ever
21. tell me I am the best Mom ever
22. tell me she missed Kooper
23. fall asleep just before the concert was over (her eyes just needed a little rest)

2 tickets to Taylor Swift $100

+ 1 Taylor Swift shirt $25

+ 1 glow stick $5 +

1 cotton candy $5

+ 1 orange crush $5.75

+ time with Kenzi= PRICELESS

(she did her own make-up)

What a way to end a crazy week. Kenzi and I had a wonderful time and we are definitely going to go every year. I don't think I have honestly ever seen her so happy! She was one happy little girl. I loved every minute of it. Best of all Kali slept for my Mom the whole time we were there. I was worried because she had been so sick and clingy all week.

My pretty boy with a black eye

Of course Kooper is the one child of mine that gets a black eye. Two days before this happened he fell and split his bottom lip open and underneath his upper lip.(might explain his why he has chipped teeth)
I didn't actually see how he hit his eye but he says he hit the ottoman (which is soft).
He must have hit the ottoman and bounced off and hit something else, because he really hit it hard!
I should have gotten pictures right after he did it because it is almost 2 weeks old here.

I have just came to the understanding that he is always going to get hurt and look like he got beat up! I must say though that he doesn't cry much and he is one tough little dude. Having older brothers has probably contributed to his crazy dare devilish little stunts. He can totally hang with them...if they let him:)

Kason's 9

Happy Birthday to Kason!

(yesterday)

How sweet is this boy!!! On the outside he looks like a little rowdy punk, long haired skater. His baggy shorts or pants and long hair is definitely deceiving and masking the ever so sweet personality that lies beneath. He has one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen. His emotions are real, his desires to be good are true. Anyone that knows him, knows how genuine he really is.

9 things about Kason that I love:

1. His big chicklet teeth (he is going to have the best smile when he grows into his teeth)
2. He loves to try and be just like his Dad
3. Loves to be tucked in every night and always gives the biggest hugs (no kisses though)
4. Competitive- Always tries his hardest in everything he does
5. SO sensitive (he has the biggest crocodile tears I've ever seen)
6. Nice to everyone- very loyal
7. Can be quite the stinker (to say the least)
8. He loves to eat
9. He loves life and all the new adventures it brings

I love everything about Kason. He is such a special part of our family. What would I do if I couldn't love on this boy everyday. I am the luckiest Mom in the world!

Finally

I am doing a post!

We had such a FUN time in Mesa.

We hadn't been down there in a LoNg time!

The concert was great.

The kids were all so happy!

It was just a great weekend and so fun to spend time with family.

This is all of us that went to the concert.

We had PERFECT seats.

It was just held in a small little joint.

We had front row seats on the balcony and could see perfectly!

The kids went down closer to the stage a few times.

Their first concert was a hit!

Thriving Ivory
State of Shock

Company of ThievesLuke, Kason, Kyron, Shelbi, Jen and me

Tim and Tori

Amanda and Kevin

Me, Shelbi and Jen

Me and Amanda
Shelbi, Kyron and Kason

Not sure what happened

to his front tooth! He is so tough and he is always getting hurt by doing things he just isn't quite big enough to do. I went to brush his teeth and found half of his front tooth missing. I asked him what happened and he re-enacted himself hitting his face on the floor. So who knows. I honestly haven't ever seen him cry very many times because he is hurt. He is so tough! Oh' well, I am just glad that it isn't a permanent tooth. He is still as cute as can be. He loves to help bake and it shows all over his sweet little face!

Daddy daughter

Kenzi has been waiting for the daughter dance for 3 weeks. It was a cowboy theme so they got dressed up and went dancing. Although she wouldn't dance with him until the very last dance. She had so much fun seeing her friends and having some one on one with her dad. She was all smiles when she got home. I am the Activity Days leader now and so we did a fun and easy little project yesterday. They made these cute little lanterns. The girls thought it was so much fun. In case you ever need something fun for your kids to do here are the instructions.

(These pictures aren't very good. They are much cuter in person)

Start with a pint-size canning jar. Apply with a glue stick to the undersides of 3-4 11-by1/2 in. strips of cotton fabric. Wind 24-gauge wire three times around the neck of the jar, then twist together the wire ends and trim. Cut three 12-inch wire lengths, loop one end of each around the neck wire, and twist to secure them. Thread on beads. Holding the three wires together, slide on a large bead, then twist the wires into a single strand. Wrap the strand around a fat marker (I used my finger) to make a loop, twist the end around the strand and trim. Put flat glass marbles and a tea light in the inside of the jar.

Tip: use an uncooked spaghetti strand as a "match" to light the candle

Hang outside and enjoy!

It's official

It is official, Kali loves these two fingers! For awhile she went back and forth between her thumb and these fingers. Then about a month ago she made a choice. She is such a good good baby. She can soothe herself and when she is really tired she just wants to lay on her belly and suck her little fingers. She takes after me because when I was a baby I sucked the same ones.

Here are a few other pictures of her just because

I think she is the cutest little thing!

Amanda's 22

22 things about Amanda

1. She is the "baby" of the family and my only sister
2. She loves Disney movies
3. She gets picked on alot (and handles it great)
4. She has big dimples
5. She is funny
6. She always sticks her foot in her mouth...always
7. She is emotional (she misses us)
8. She is great with kids
9. She has great shoes
10. She is thoughtful
11. She loves to eat...sweets
12. She always is doing kind things for others
13. She loves to talk
14. She likes to fart and burp (sorry but you do)
15. She has big boobs
16. She has an amazing husband (we all love him because he married her)
17. She is a bit of an airhead
18. She tries hard
19. She laughs alot
20. She is so much fun
21. She is spoiled
22. She loves me!

What would I do without her.

She is the best little sister ever.

She always keeps us laughing and is just super sweet!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Only candy

The kids went and picked out their cards and treats for the Valentine's party at school. Kyron informed us that he is ONLY going to give candy away. He will not even be writing his name on it either. He doesn't want anyone to know that they are from him. When I asked him why he only wanted to give candy and no cards he said, "because someone really might think that I want them to be mine, or that I think they are sweet or something like that. They might take it serious and I don't want anyone to think that I like them."

I had to just laugh.

I am so glad that he doesn't like girls....yet!

(at least I don't think he does)

He said, "Mom you can just be my Valentine!"

I love that he wants me to be his Valentine.

I know it won't last forever so I better enjoy it!

Strangers

This weekend the boys wanted to walk to the park, all by themselves. This is just one of the perks to living in a small town. While we were living in Las Vegas and Flagstaff this would have never happened. The park is probably a little over a mile. Anyway, before they left I was giving them the stranger talk. It went down something like this...

Me: Boys watch out for strangers.

Kyron: Mom, we know, we know (sigh).

Me: Okay, just checking.

Kason: Mom, we live in a small town now and we don't have to worry about strangers anymore.

Me: I know, but you never know. You still have to be so careful.

Kyron: We are careful Mom.

Kason: A stranger might pull up in a car and say, "so you want some candy?"

Kyron: And we'll say no way and just keep walking.

Me: That's right, never ever go near a strangers car.

Kyron: They might say we have a puppy, come see it and we'll say no way and run home.

Kason: No, I'd say, oh yeah show me your puppy first.

Me: KASON!

Kason: giggle giggle

I think Kason needs a little more work on stranger danger!

He gave me a good laugh that's for sure!

Little piggies and a turtle named Squirt

Kenzi loves to get Kali all dressed up.

She even loves to paint her little piggies.

Aren't they SO cute?We have a new tiny pet.

His name is Squirt.

We bought him off the side of the road in New Mexico.

Not sure if he is legal or not but the kids are sure loving him.

We all hope he will survive Kooper!