Steve.Brie.Carson.Landon.Duncan

Christmas, Visitors, and Birthdays

2012-01-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

Just warning you, this is a super long post.

Christmas Eve w/friends. We had an awesome dinner and then the kids acted out the nativity. It was really cute.

Christmas Morning and Duncan's First Christmas!

All ready for church. Poor Duncan, his brothers were trying to keep him there for the picture. Most pictures of him are blurry because he's always running.

Duncan got this bus/ball pit for Christmas. He was a little hesitant at first but now he just dives in.

Grandpa and Grandma Anderson and Heather all came to visit before Christmas. We had so much fun with them.

My mom came to visit us after Christmas. Here we are at the Mesa Temple seeing the lights.

For Landon's birthday, the boys wanted to go play at the mall and get cupcakes.
Landon is one of the funniest kids I've ever met. His personality is rubbing off big time on Duncan. He loves school and is so anxious to start kindergarten.
Happy 5th Birthday, Landon!

Landon blowing out his candles. I wish I could take credit for these cupcakes. They're from Sweet Daddy Cupcakes. They look amazing but they were okay tasting. For the price they should have been way better.

Landon was begging us for an Easy Bake Oven for his birthday. Since we were out of ideas of what to get him after Christmas, we gave in. Steve said it was really fun walking down the girl toy aisle at Walmart buying his 5 year old son's birthday present. :) Boys can bake, too!

Duncan's birthday! My baby turned one on January 8th. I can't believe it's already been a year. We celebrated a few days early because Grandma was going back home and Daddy was going to be gone for almost a week on interviews.

I was trying so hard to get a picture of the 3 of them but Duncan would not stop pulling their hair. The boys thought this was pretty funny.

Duncan with his cake. He loved it. He was really mad when I took it away and wouldn't let him eat anymore.

Daddy was gone and Duncan's birthday was on a Sunday so I took the boys to Burger King on Saturday night.

Here is Duncan on his actual birthday. He's wearing his birthday shirt from Jon and Val. Love it, thanks guys!

Duncan is the funniest and craziest one year old I know. If he's not pulling dishes out of the dishwasher and breaking them on the floor, then he's probably trying to dig food out of the garbage. He is a little tornado who gives the best hugs and kisses and loves to dance. He has 8 teeth and has been walking for about a month and a half. He loves his big brothers and always wants to be with them being crazy.
Happy First Birthday, Duncan. We love you!

Carson's Angry Birds Birthday Party

2011-12-10T16:58:00.003-07:00

My not-so-little guy is 7! Okay, almost. His real birthday is on Wednesday. But still, he is growing up so fast. Which by the way, I didn't get a chance to get a picture with him, he was too busy playing with his friends. Which was totally fine.

Thank goodness for Arizona winters!
We invited Carson's whole school class and his primary class. 22 kids plus him and Landon. I had 2 people call and say their child couldn't make it. I figured a few more wouldn't come, but I still planned on a lot. 7 kids came. 7! Which was kind of nice but I planned on a lot. So to all you parents out there, if it asks for you to RSVP, do it!

My Pig Chip Bucket

Setting up!

My amazing husband made and manned the life size game. He is amazing and there is absolutely no way I could have pulled this off without him. He even stayed up with me until midnight last night getting ready for it.

Trying to get ping pong balls into the blue bird buckets and pig bucket. The kids loved this! I had no idea it would be such a hit.

The cupcakes. I've learned a lesson. Use canned frosting. I made my own (twice because I didn't have enough the first time) and it's not great. I found a recipe online that adds brown sugar to the buttercream to make it a little sweeter and it made it grainy and gross looking. Tasted okay but looked bad. And it made a huge mess making it. So next time, I'm all about the canned frosting. Saves a lot of time and cleaning.

Okay so when I was coloring the frosting, I thought it would be cute to do green frosting with blue sixlets. Which was what I thought I had. Nope. I had green. So it's a big green cake!

The gift bags. The plus side to not all of the kids showing up? I have tons of bags left for Landon's birthday party which will happen in about a month and the bags are already done!

The partiers minus Alex, Carson's best friend. He had to leave early for soccer.

My little Duncan! He is a walking fool. And he always has his hands up in the air when he walks, too. Super cute.

Steve and I got pictures with the only child that wasn't too busy. I meant to have one of the parents take one of our family before it ended but I totally forgot.

Although all of my kids are in this picture.

Happy Birthday, sweet Carson!!!

December Already?

2011-12-02T12:10:00.002-07:00

The day after Thanksgiving, we had our annual Gingerbread House decorating party thanks to Grandma Becky who sends us a package of them every year. This year we each had our own little individual ones. That was pretty fun.

Steve's, Carson's, Landon's and then mine

Visiting Santa. Carson was in a GREAT mood. He for some reason was very nervous although he wouldn't admit it until later. Then we got to Santa and he was totally fine. When Santa asked what he wanted, he said, "More school." Good luck with that one Santa. Landon said he wanted a Transformer which was news to me. I hadn't heard that one before and I'm all done shopping so hopefully Santa will pull through.

Duncan wasn't scared at all. He could have sat there all day. He thought it was great. Steve had to stay far away to get pictures. We weren't going to waste $30 on a few pictures and they wouldn't allow any kind of cameras inside Santa's area.

One thing I will definitely miss about Arizona if we move is Winter. It's December. This is awesome. Although it has been pretty "cold" lately. Like 55 degrees. Luckily it has cooled down, it wasn't feeling very Christmas-y until the last few days. But I do like 70s.

Our last T Ball game. Nice swing, Landon!

Getting his trophy from his coach.
Yes, I realize his baseball pants are more like MC Hammer pants but they were $6, can you blame me?

Just As Big

2011-11-11T08:58:00.002-07:00

Duncan wants to do everything his brothers do. He hates to be confined by the pack 'n play or his exersaucer. He loves to play, especially with other kids. I recently started teaching preschool and he loves having the kids at our house. He gets so excited to play with them.
He's not running around the house quite yet, but he is definitely getting more comfortable with walking.

I found these mustaches at the dollar store before Halloween and thought that Carson and Landon would love to play with these. It didn't occur to me that Steve would want his own set :)

Baby Bond Villain

Carson got creative one night. He built this bench out of legos and decided it needed more. So he cut out parts of a person and glued them together, then folded him to sit on the bench. He also drew birds on the paper on the bottom that the man was feeding. You can also see there are bird seeds drawn on there.

We went from extremely hot, to a couple weeks of perfect to a little chilly. I bundled Dunc up because he is getting a cold. He loves his new swing. I put him in there and the three of them played outside for quite a while, while I made dinner. I love that my kitchen faces our backyard so I watched them the whole time. But they were pretty distracting. They were so cute, I had to keep coming out to get pictures.

Honestly. How cute is that?

While I was inside, I heard Duncan laughing hysterically. This is what I came out to.
Life is pretty good.

Halloween Fun!!!

2011-10-31T21:41:00.001-07:00

My Star Wars Nerds
I honestly can't even tell you what the names of their costumes are except Yoda and that they're Clone Troopers.

Happy First Halloween!

Landon's spider that he made in preschool.

We went trick-or-treating with some friends and their family. These are her parents. She was so embarrassed by them but I thought they were so cute and hilarious!

Carson's lunch that I made for him today. He had no idea that I was doing it. Under the toy brain is a sandwich in a plastic ziploc bag, not touching anything. He refused to eat any of it and decided he'd rather go hungry. I thought it was pretty funny. But I never thought he would react like that. Guess my practical jokes will have to wait until he's older.

U of U Campaign

2011-09-24T16:12:00.003-07:00

Okay, I might be a little home sick. Or just Steve sick. He's in Utah for the month doing an audition rotation at the U. Which is great! I know he'll do a great job and hopefully they'll rank him high enough that we can get in. I decided to make Dunc some shirts today and my home sickness just happened to inspire one of them. There are a lot of pics of him in it because I couldn't choose which one to post. So you get them all.

Duncan now has 4 teeth and can walk all by himself with the walker. He thinks he can walk so he keeps trying but falls. I'm pretty sure he'll start walking without the walker any day now. Which is crazy since he's only 8 1/2 months old!

He's really excited about this campaign ;)

My new found love with my Silhouette. Ok, I didn't use my Silhouette but I did use the software that I have for it and the images that I have on there. Love it!

This past Monday before Daddy left, we hit up a D Backs game. It was so fun. They won 1-0 off of a home run hit which broke the bat. It was pretty cool.

Trouble

2011-09-17T15:49:00.001-07:00

This week, Duncan has learned a new trick. How to pull himself up. Now that he has learned this, he thinks he is no longer obligated to take naps unless he's already asleep when we put him in bed. Which we never used to do. He was so so good at falling asleep by himself and I loved it. Now it's a fight.

Family Pictures

2011-09-12T22:35:00.002-07:00

I updated these pics already on the side but I wanted to put them on a post so you can see them better. If you want them bigger, you can click on them.

Attempting to get a pic with Grandma and all of the grandkids. This was the best one. Maybe in 20 years it will work.

Thanks to my cousin, Jessica who did an awesome job with what we gave her. I wonder if it was as frustrating for her as it was for us? The kids (especially mine) were difficult. As soon as a camera is pointed at Carson and Landon, the fake smiles come out and Carson thinks the sun is trying to attack him. Here are some examples.

I think it's funny that Landon and Duncan are pulling the same face in this one.

And it doesn't help that Landon looks like he got into a fight. He actually had a mosquito bite his eye a couple days before. This looks much better than it did.

Dunc's New Obsession

2011-09-11T16:24:00.001-07:00

I know I've already posted pics of Duncan playing in here but these are too cute not to. Sorry they're kind of blurry, he was moving a lot and let's face it, I'm not the best photographer.

Got up on his knees all by himself!

Duncan's new thing is always trying to stand up. He loves walking when we hold his hands.

Crazy Fun Week

2011-09-06T11:06:00.002-07:00

Steve had this last week off so we got to do lots of fun stuff. We went bowling, got ice cream, went to a movie, ate out a couple times, played games, and got doughnuts. Here are some pics from this week.

We tried to teach them how to bowl the right way but they refused.

The boys love to help feed Dunc

Time to start baby proofing!
Dunc has become a handful since he started crawling.

Duncan's new play area.

7 Months Old!

2011-08-25T12:27:00.003-07:00

As requested, here is a picture of Landon in comparison to Duncan. Yes, these are two different babies.

It's been a big month for Duncan. He can sit up, he started crawling, he has two teeth, and at his 6 month appointment, (at 7 months old) he weighed 18 lbs 12 oz.

Summer Part 6 and Back to School

2011-08-18T16:02:00.002-07:00

Hanging out before we left for AZ

The night before we left

Can you tell I love sleeping pictures?
This was on the drive back to AZ.

The twins

2 Teeth! He got his first tooth on July 23rd and then 2 weeks and one day later, he got the 2nd tooth. He had the hardest time with teething. But as soon as the 2nd tooth came in, he was great.
It is so hard to get a good picture of his teeth without him moving. Sorry they're a little blurry.

Watching a little tv

First Day of School!
Carson has a little problem with the sun which is why he's squinting even though they're in the shade and the sun was behind our house.

After school

1st grade has Carson's approval. Can you tell it was like 105 degrees that day?

Playing while I get ready. They really like their brother.

Summer 2011 - Part 5

2011-08-14T17:16:00.003-07:00

Our Charity Bake Sale
Steve and Laura fighting with the sign to get it to stay up. They eventually won.

Miss Maya selling the treats

Duncan loves to play outside

Our Advertising Team
Landon, Carson, Griff, Strat, and Raleigh

Our taste tester, Oliver. After a while we turned the sprinklers on for the kids.

James and Duncan

Park City! On our way to the pool.
We went up there for my nephew Strat's baseball tournament. We stayed in a suite with my mom and my sister's family. So much fun!

Dunc's first time swimming. He absolutely loved it.

I put Dunc in his bumbo, turned around, and turned back to this. We no longer use the bumbo.

My Grandpa Jardine aka Grandpa Popcorn with Duncan. Grandpa is really sick right now with Leukemia and Pneumonia in addition to a few other things. We love him so much and wish him the best!

Summer 2011 - Part 4

2011-08-14T17:05:00.002-07:00

Attempting to get a picture of my mom and all of the grandkids on her birthday.

My dad on Father's Day with James and Duncan. James is my brother's boy who was born just 3 weeks after Dunc.

4 generation fudge making lesson from Grandma Walker.

Just Carson

The annual Jardine campout. Steve left his jacket in Arizona so he was lucky enough to wear the awesome USU sweatshirt. I don't think he thinks it's awesome. At least it's not a BYU one.

Just Landon

It was sooooo cold that night. Although we didn't sleep over so we only had to deal with it until after dinner time when we went home.

Landon's mosquito bitten eye.
And of course we had family pictures taken about 3 days later. By then it wasn't completely swollen but it's still very noticeable. I'll post those when I have them.
This happened to me when I was a little girl and we have a picture of me sitting on this same piano bench with my eye swollen shut.

Summer 2011 - Part 3

2011-08-14T16:53:00.003-07:00

The amazing Millville City parade. Love that it goes in front of my mom's house so all we have to do is wake up and go outside.

Bear Lake with the Walkers. Every year we rent this building and as many people from my mom's family comes that can. There are always lots of kids, this picture doesn't even have all of them. We had a bon fire one night which is where I got West Nile Virus. That was the sickest I think I've ever been. I don't suggest getting it.

Playing at the park in Bear Lake

Playing in Bear Lake

This is the back yard of the place that we rent out. The kids like to use it for digging instead of actual volleyball.

Waiting in line to launch water balloons into the lake.

Carson

Landon

Our ward (I still consider it my ward. It's the only ward I was ever in until I got married) Relief Society's softball team. We played the Young Women and we won! I think the fact that most of us were wearing tu-tus helped. That was so much fun, it made me want to join a softball team.

Summer 2011 Part 2 - Baseball

2011-08-11T09:34:00.001-07:00

My brother-in-law, Dave coached Carson's baseball team this summer. Dave's son, Strat was also on the team.

Dave pitching to Carson.
This is Carson's first year playing Coach's pitch.

Our team played all 4 games in the tournament. Our first game, we kept tying so we'd have to play another inning. We ended up playing 8 innings that first game and it took almost 2 hours. It was so fun to watch. A little more stressful than I imagined.

They won 2nd place in the tournament!
Sorry about his hair.

I wish we had a picture of the whole team but we never did that.

Summer 2011 Part 1

2011-08-11T09:12:00.002-07:00

My cute sister-in-law, Laura made us another Welcome Home sign. She is so cute. Thanks Laura!

Duncan meeting Grandpa Jardine for the first time. I wish everyone could have seen him when he was a newborn but I guess later is better than never!

Family baseball game at my dad's. This summer was pretty much all about baseball. More to come about that later. Sorry there's a binki in the picture.

Grandpa with Duncan

Some of the cousins.
Carson, Strat, Griff, and Landon. These boys played hard all summer. We sure miss them!

The boys riding bikes. Griff didn't have his bike so Landon let him use his and he used the "baby" bike.

Helping Grandma with yard work! Good thing we have lots of boys.

Carson's Kindergarten Graduation

2011-05-26T14:07:00.003-07:00

The official graduation picture

Carson with his teacher, Mrs. Brown. We are going to miss her so much! What an amazing teacher she is.

Me and Carson by the cake and cupcakes I made for graduation. The cake was supposed to have fondant stars on wires sticking out of the top but the stars were too heavy for the wire I had so I improvised and stuck them on top to cover up the holes I made with the wire.

Walking up to graduate.

Receiving his diploma from Principal Anderson. Sorry it's blurry, I was really shaky.

The after party!

Poor Dunc. He has had a cold since Monday. Yesterday it went from a little cold to something really bad. After his nap he started gasping for air. I immediately called his doc and they told me to come right away. I did and long story short he has croup and an ear infection. We have to do 5 breathing treatments a day plus antibiotics.

They weighed him again and he weighs 16 lbs 8 oz now. He has gained 1/2 lb since May 9!

Rice Cereal for the Chunky Baby

2011-05-25T08:55:00.001-07:00

Here is Dunc after eating his first bowl of Rice Cereal. He absolutely loved it.
At his 4 month appointment, Dunc weighed 15 lbs 15 oz and was 26 inches long. He was in the 74% for weight and 86% for height.

Dunc likes to pray before he eats :) Either that or he fell asleep during the prayer.

And this is how we found the boys sleeping when we checked on them last night.

The novelty of having a baby isn't wearing off. Thank goodness.

This is for my mom because the other picture I posted wouldn't go bigger once you clicked on it.
This is Landon's class on the last day of preschool

Landon's Class

2011-05-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

This is Landon's preschool class. Lydia, Jay, Caleb, Bradley, Sariah, and Landon.

Thanks for the picture, Heather!

Tomorrow is his last day and we are going to miss this kiddos next year. We will especially miss Jay since he is moving in just a week and a half.

I'm still trying to find students for a preschool I'm going to be teaching at my house this coming year. Please let me know if you're interested!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the wondeful moms I know. You have all been such amazing examples to me and I try to be like each and every one of you in one way or another. I'm so sad not to be with all of the moms in my life today. We love and miss you all!

I cannot believe I have 3 kids. Today Dunc is 4 months old and it still blows my mind. I think it's so uncomprehensible for me because my parents have 3 kids. I have as many kids as my parents! Weird.

Anyway, today has been amazing. Well, other than trying to get Carson to cooperate for pictures. He is willing to take one and then we're done. But when you're trying to get 4 people (3 of them kids) to look at the camera, smile, and not move, it's pretty hard to do. Dunc just wanted to play with my necklace the whole time. Oh well.

The boys made these vases with the tissue paper flowers at the library on Wednesday. And we made the flowers with their pictures at preschool on Thursday. Obviously it was at my house and that's why Dunc and Carson have them, too.

At Home Depot, the first Saturday of the month, they have a free project for kids to make. This month, the project was plant holders for Mother's Day so Steve took the boys. They even bought real flowers to put in. It's hard to tell but behind the real flowers are wooden tulips. When the boys got home from making them, we let them go out back and paint them. They did an awesome job. Carson's is on the left, Landon's is on the right.

Our First Mother's Day together!

Preschool

2011-05-05T13:11:00.002-07:00

I have decided to teach preschool next year. If you are interested, please contact me. I started a blog that will go private once all of the spots are filled. All of the info is on there. Check it out!

http://buzzingbeepreschool.blogspot.com/

Easter & Cake

2011-04-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

At Carson's school yesterday, they had the first annual Take The Cake, cake decorating contest. This was taken before the contest with one of his best friends, Alex.

Alex took 1st place and Carson took 2nd, they did an awesome job! There were 7 kindergartners in all that they competed against.

Here is Carson proudly displaying his ribbon with his Black Widow Spider. He came up with the idea all by himself.
We were all so excited for him.

Also at Carson's school yesterday, was the wedding of Q and U. His class put on such a cute little play. Here is the wedding cake that I made for it. It's a mess. It was so hot while I was doing the fondant that I couldn't ever get it to work right. Good thing is was just for a kindergarten class.

While I was making the wedding cake, I let the boys play the Wii. I needed a babysitter for Dunc, too and it turns out he also enjoys the Wii. The boys even gave him a controler to play with. Don't worry, it was only for the picture and then I took it away.

Coloring Easter Eggs!
Happy First Easter, Duncan!

The boys after coloring eggs.

Bath Time

2011-04-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

Dunc loves a good bath and usually falls asleep as soon as we get him dressed. He is getting so big and we are having so much fun with him. He LOVES his brothers. Just when I'm about to tell the big boys to stop being crazy because they'll probably scare the baby, Duncan usually starts laughing. He loves when they're loud and crazy. Which I guess is a blessing since the boys are usually loud and crazy. But pretty soon there will be 3 maniacs. Oh man. But for now he is a sweet, happy little guy. He's been sleeping like a dream. Sleeps 7 or 8 hours a night, eats and then back to sleep for another 3 or so hours. He loves to stand up and as soon as he figures out how to move his arms, he will be crawling like crazy. He's constantly kicking and moving his legs when he has tummy time.

We had an interesting Easter Weekend. Saturday was great, we had an Easter party at Steve's school. There was an Easter egg hunt, cookie decorating, crafts, a bounce house, blow up slide, and of course the Easter Bunny himself. Right in the middle of the festivities, our camera died. I figured it was the battery but it was not. Steve said it sounded like it had been dropped even though it hadn't. He looked it up online and it turns out that with our camera, screws come loose all the time and end up inside and breaking it. So now we only have a few pics from Saturday even though we haven't uploaded them yet (if we can) and none from Easter Sunday. Which is actually ok because we had the stomach flu at our house so there wasn't much to document anyway. Tonight we'll dye eggs to make up for lost time.
Anyway, hope you all had a fantastic Easter Weekend!

3 Months Old

2011-04-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, these pictures should work this time. Again, if they don't, let me know.

Getting a massage from my bro with the pink fingernails. It was April Fool's Day.

This was the hardest I've ever heard him laugh.

Random Pictures

2011-03-21T10:49:00.002-07:00

Duncan just had his well child check today and he weighs 14.6 pounds! Gotta love a chunky baby!

St. Patrick's Day.
Apparently my older boys don't own anything green. There is some green on their blue shirts, though.
This is my favorite picture to date of all 3 of them together. Maybe because they're all dressed with their hair done and smiling :)

"It's me first St. Patty's Day!"

Go Utes! Now we need an Aggie's shirt :)

Chunky Dunky

2011-02-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken on Valentine's Day at 5 weeks old.
As of Wednesday, he weighs 11 lbs 1 oz and is 21 1/2 inches long. He has gained 4 lbs 1 oz and grown 2 1/2 inches since he was born.
Where did my little guy go? He now has several chins and has rolls just about everywhere.
I have to keep reminding myself that at least he was small at one point unlike Carson. At Carson's two week check up, he was already 10 1/2 lbs and was 21 1/2 inches at birth.
Duncan smiled on purpose last night for the first time when Daddy came home to play. It's so fun to see him grow and start to do new things but I'm so sad to see my newborn go. I've already boxed up some clothes that he's grown out of.

Checking Out Their Little Brother

2011-02-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

I really have no words for this :)

Duncan's Blessing

2011-02-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our first family picture!
We should have taken pictures before church so we would all still look put together. Carson refused to tuck his shirt back in or let me do his hair again.

Steve's family (minus Jon & Val) came to meet Duncan this weekend so we decided we would bless him while they were here. I'll post more pics of their visit later.

The circle.
Jason Miller, Ed Stevenson, Ron (Steve's dad), Steve, Duncan, Curtis (Steve's brother), and Brian Larkin.
Dave Foster was also included in the circle but they left before we took pictures.

I missed having my family here but they weren't able to make it. Originally we were going to do it this summer in Utah, but we aren't even sure if Steve will be making it to Utah this summer and we won't know until about April or May so since it was such an unknown, we decided to just do it now.

I'm so grateful to all of our friends here who came to support us. It meant a lot having that love and support especially when my family couldn't be there. Thanks!

Can't forget Superbowl Sunday! Yes, I think it was meant to be that Duncan was blessed the same day that the Packers won the Superbowl!
We played Rock Band during the first quarter but we started watching at the start of the second quarter and got Duncan dressed properly for it. Thanks to the Andersons who gave me that outfit when I had Carson because they knew I was such a big Packers fan. By a "big fan" I mean, I'll watch if they're in the Superbowl :)

3 Weeks Old!

2011-01-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

The big boys love their little brother so much. Sometimes too much. I keep waiting for jealousy issues to kick in but so far they haven't.

Duncan has become a much better sleeper. For 3 nights in a row, he only woke up once and then I had to wake him up each morning at 9:00 to eat and get going. He has been so much fun and we love having him here. Carson asked me today if he can have a little sister. That would be fun, but not now. And a few days ago he asked if we could have 100 more babies. I said no and he said "Ok, how about ten hundred?" :) Uh, no.

Grandma Jan's Visit

2011-01-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

There's nothing like having family visit when you've just had a baby. My mom came when Duncan was a week old and was so much help, especially with the older two. Duncan wasn't sleeping well at this point so it was nice to have my mom's help. Luckily, I was feeling really good by the time she left. But I was still nervous to take care of these three boys. We've done pretty well, though. Steve has also been a tremendous help and I don't know what I'd do without him.

Goodbye lunch at the Cheesecake Factory

The boys love to fight with their light sabers. Any visitor we have gets sucked into this game.

Playing Toy Story Yatzee - one of our favorites.

Grandma Jan & Duncan

More Pics

2011-01-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Chillin' with Daddy

Sorry this one's blurry.
The boys love having a little brother. Landon keeps telling him that he's his best friend. They are always wanting to hold and hug him. Thank goodness there haven't been any jealous feelings... yet.

He really looks like Landon as a baby.

Baby Zoolander's "Blue Steel"

Poor Dunc got circumcised today. He's sleeping it off right now. He was not a happy camper after. Who would be? He really didn't even want to eat. He would eat for a second and then cry and then eat and cry. It broke my heart. Why they don't do it in the hospital here is beyond me. Baby is still sleepy, Mom is still out of it. Poor kid. I am dreading changing his diapers. Hopefully Steve will get home from work before that has to happen.

Meet Duncan

2011-01-12T23:24:00.001-07:00

Duncan James Wheelwright
7 lbs 19 inches

Meeting their new little brother/partner-in-crime.

When we tell people what we've named him, the response is always "Oh, like Dunkin' Donuts?" And my response is, "Yes, and we'll spell it with an apostrophe, too!" We had a nurse that would only call him Donut. Which I didn't mind because she was an amazing nurse so I forgave her.

Gotta love bath time

I tried to post pictures with his birth story below but I guess they wouldn't work. Hopefully these do, let me know if they don't. I wish my computer would let me post more than 4 at a time, I'm not sure why it won't. More pics to come!

Introducing: Duncan James Wheelwright

2011-01-12T17:55:00.004-07:00

I promise not to get too detailed with the birth story. Anway, I'll try. I went into labor Thursday night (the 6th) at 10:00. It was feeling like the real thing but I was really hesitant to wake up the kids and our friends who would be watching them just to get to the hospital and have them tell me no and to go home. But by about 12:30 I was convinced we needed to go in. We called our awesome friends, Jason and Laura Miller to let them know. The hospital is about a half an hour away so by the time we got the boys up and all of us ready to go, we got to the hospital by about 1:45. Steve and the boys took me up to OB Triage and then left to take the boys to Jason & Laura's. The nurses did the initial assesment and yes I was having super strong and close contractions but I was still at a 1 and 40% like I had been for weeks. They were going to have me go walk but called my doctor first to see what he wanted. Because my contractions were so frequent and intense, they were worried about my uterus ruptering since I'd had two previous c-sections and was trying to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceserean) this time. So the new plan was to get me to a room, get me my epidural and break my water. Steve still wasn't back yet. I immediately called him and asked how close he was. Luckily he was just pulling up and would be in soon. He came in right as they were getting me ready to go. We got to the room and things didn't go quite as quickly as they had told me but it was still pretty fast. I got my epidural at 3:45 am which was awesome! I was still at a 1 and 40% and I am so glad I was able to have my epidural so early. It scared me at first because even though I was numb, I was still able to move my legs. I asked the resident and he said that is actually the perfect epidural. The one where you are completely numb but can still move. He was right. After a while I still wasn't dilating so at 9:00 am Friday they inserted a Cooks Balloon into my cervix to manually dilate me instead of using pitocin. Within a few hours I was at a 4 and they took the balloon out. At 1:00 pm on Friday they broke my water. Then after that I slowly dilated to a 5 and then was stuck for quite a while. Which is exactly what happened when I was in labor with Carson. I got stuck at a 5 and my epidural stopped working so I was begging for a c-section. Not this time. My epidural was still great so when the resident and nurses came in telling me we needed to start talking about having a c-section, I begged and bawled and begged some more to please give me more time. They called Dr. Nelson and he agreed to give me 2 more hours. If I hadn't progressed at all by then then they would have to do a c-section. Two hours went by and I got to a 6! I was thrilled. They gave me another 2 hours. I got to a 7! They agreed to give me another 2 hours. After that, Duncan started having problems keeping his heart rate up with contractions. They had placed a fetal scalp heart monitor on him because he had been moving so much it was hard to keep an accurate reading. 2 hours had almost passed since my last exam and Duncan was having a hard enough time that they decided to prep the OR and call my doctor for a c-section. Which I was fine with because it was because Duncan was having a hard time, not because my body wouldn't progress. The nurse decided to check me one last time before we went to the OR and to our astonishment I was completely ready to deliver and he was so low they were afraid he would be out before the doctor got there. They had me push through 2 contractions with the nurse and resident and then told me not to push anymore. Dr. Nelson got there and I pushed through 4 contractions and he was out. This might be TMI so don't read if you don't want to but the delivery was amazing. Dr. Nelson delivered the head and shoulders and then had me reach down, put my hands under his arms and pull him out the rest of the way. Some people have reacted weirdly to that but it was truly amazing to be able to deliver my own baby and pull up him onto my chest. Such a perfect ending. Duncan was born Saturday January 8th at 1:50 am. After 28 hours I finally had my baby and via VBAC which I still can't believe was successful. I am amazed that it worked.

This might also have TMI. After the doctor stitched me up, I suddenly gushed a lot of blood. He went in to find the problem and repair. Turns out I had torn a blood vessel. They fixed it but thought I would be ok. Saturday morning at 5:00, they went to move me to Postpartum. I sat up in bed and immediately became nauseous and dizzy. They laid me back down and said they would try again in an hour. 6:00 came around and they came back in. I sat up in bed and I was ok. They stood me up and got me into my wheel chair. I immediately became nauseous and dizzy again. The next thing I know they are telling me to open my eyes and I literally can't. Then I remember them waving an ammonia stick in front of my nose and that it was an awful smell. That's the last thing I remember until I was back in bed and having them ask me if I knew where I was, etc. Which I did. I remember looking at Steve and seeing this terrified look on his face. I have never seen him like that. And knowing Steve, that's not good. He is a very calm, everything will be fine kind of person. So seeing him so freaked out really freaked me out. They took my H & H levels and I was at an 8 for all you medically educated people who actually knows what that means. For the rest of us, I was at a 13 at some point before that and because I had lost so much blood it dropped to an 8 which is borderline needing a blood transfusion. Because of the risks involved with a blood trasnfusion, they decided to first try pumping me full of iron through my iv and see if that works. They also decided to keep me in Labor and Delivery instead of moving me because they are better equipped to handle emergency situations. After several hours they took my blood again to test it. It was down to a 6.9 but because I wasn't having other symptoms and was able to get up with help and not pass out they decided to move me to postpartum and watch me from there. The next test I was at a 7.3 so because it was getting better they decided not to do a blood transfusion. They kept me until Monday afternoon and because I still wasn't having other symptoms, I was released. It's been really nice being home, especially because Steve has been Superman and has been able to take time off of this rotation to be home. We have also had some amazing friends and neighbors helping with the kids and meals. I really don't know what we would do without them. I've only had one incident since we've been home. I tried to shower yesterday and after about 10 minutes was again nauseous and feeling very faint. I called Steve in and he helped me out and to lie down. Usually when people tell me I look pale I laugh because I am naturally very pale. But this time I wasn't so much pale as I was grey. Last night my lips got a little pink in them and I was so excited because I don't look like I'm dead anymore :) Anyway, recovery is not so much fun but I am so grateful I was able to have a successful VBAC and that I'm not recovering from a c-section. Believe it or not, that was way worse for me.

Duncan is a great baby except for one thing. He refuses to sleep unless he's being held. It's awful. We have tried EVERYTHING. He was that way in the hospital, too. Most nights I'm up until 3 or 4 trying to figure something out and then I eventually give in and just hold him while we sleep. Which I know is extremely dangerous and it scares me to death but I'm at the end of my rope. If you have any suggestions, please please please let me know! I may have already tried it because I've been so desperate but I would love to hear any advice you have. My nurses at the hospital even gave up hope.

A New Year

2011-01-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Here are the boys on Landon's Birthday wearing their new ties that they got for Christmas. Carson is big enough that he has now graduated from the clip-ons to an actual tie.

Landon is officially a Sunbeam! He seems indifferent to it which surprised me, I thought he would love being out of nursery with "the babies" as he called the other kids. I think he misses the treats :)

My kids are officially Arizonans. Apparently 40 degree weather feels like the coldest thing ever to them. We did have a cold front this past week but that didn't keep them from going outside. It did make me realize that we are going to have a rough time moving to a place that has real winters.

They both got Crocs for Christmas from Steve's parents and they wear them everywhere. Which is nice because they can do it on their own and I don't have to tie shoes with my big belly in the way.

Enjoying their new swing set.
This was one of the best ideas we've ever had. They love it and are constantly outside which is great for my sanity.

Carson helping Landon. Love it.

Hopefully my next post will be of our new little guy!

Christmas

2010-12-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

This Christmas, we stayed home in Arizona and had a nice, quiet Christmas. We had all come down with the flu the day before so it worked out well that we hadn't planned much. The boys weren't too sick so they were able to spend all of Christmas day playing with their new toys.

Here are the boys in their pajamas they got on Christmas Eve.

Here they are sword fighting. However, they call them Light Sabers. Even though they now have several light sabers, including foam ones.

This was our tree BEFORE Santa came and not including the swing set we gave the boys. I think our family goes a little overboard on gifts :) And by family I mean grandparents and aunts and uncles. Not us.

Here is Steve on Christmas Eve setting up the swing set. Luckily we're in Arizona and the weather was great. I'll have to get pictures of the boys using it and post those soon.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Sorry our pics aren't super exciting, it was a very relaxed day.

Letters To Santa

2010-12-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

Translation:

"I have been good and I want a blue light saber. I like Christmas and that's all. Oh and I want a sword."

I was helping Carson with his spelling up until light and then I decided to let him do it himself, it would be much more fun to look at now and in the future. I love that he spelled Christmas with a Q.

Hopefully you don't need a translation because I wrote this one but just in case, Landon says,

"I'm being good and I want these toys so bad. A Star Wars Wii game, and another light saber, and a jack in the box. That's all I want. And a spring that bounces. And a sword."

Carson's Friend Birthday Party

2010-12-11T18:26:00.004-07:00

Carson's actual birthday isn't until Tuesday but I figured it would be easier to do his party on a Saturday.

We kept it very small this year. Last year, we invited his whole preschool class and it was chaos. This year, we invited all of the boys from his class (5 including him) and 2 from Primary. Being on bed rest and throwing a birthday party don't go well together. I can't thank Steve enough for all the work he did. There was no way this would have worked without all of his help. He is truly amazing.

Blowing out his candles. He looks really happy!
I showed him this picture and asked why he doesn't look very happy and he said he just couldn't take his eyes off of his cake, he loved it that much.

The party go-ers.
It's crazy to me that it's December. It was about 80 degrees while we were having the party. A little too hot to be running around like crazy. The poor kids were sweating to death.

Taking the Jedi Oath.

Receiving his diploma from the Jedi Academy. Even though I know nothing about Star Wars, I know enough to know that it's weird that Darth Vader is handing out the awards. I get it, but it's the only costume we had.

To see more details about the party, click here.

Happy Birthday, Carson, we love you!!!

Awesome Day

2010-12-08T22:43:00.002-07:00

33 1/2 Weeks.

This one is for family and friends who aren't in AZ so they can see how enormous I've gotten. Steve loves that I've taken over his t-shirts.

Enjoying my birthday Krispy Kremes. For those who haven't seen my post on Facebook, you get a free dozen - yes DOZEN of their glazed doughnuts on your birthday.

These were my gifts in addition to my Silhouette that I got a few weeks ago. The boys got me a Nerf gun since I was the only one in the family without one. Now we can have family wars. I love having a house full of boys. Steve surprised me with roses. I love them and I love him even more. What an awesome husband. Thanks to my great friend, Christine, we were able to go out on a much needed date last night while she watched the boys. Thanks Christine!

The highlight of my day.

In Carson's class, each child gets a turn being Cub of the Week where each day that child gets to share something about them. This week is Carson's week and today he was sharing his favorite song. It was a Phineas and Ferb song and after that one was over, another one came on which happened to be somewhat robotic. He immediately stands up, not only in front of his class, but there was also a 7th grade class there, and teachers and some parents, and starts doing the robot. He was the only one and he did it for the WHOLE SONG. And he didn't stay in one place either. He walked around the room with a serious face on doing the robot. I was so glad I got there early. It totally made my day. When it was over, everyone started clapping. It was hilarious and I'm pretty sure the 7th graders thought he was the coolest kindergartner ever. Oh and he was wearing his Star Wars shirt. It's a good thing he's so cute or else I'd worry about him ever getting a date when he's older.

Poor Landon

2010-12-06T10:52:00.001-07:00

This is really how we found them sleeping last night. We accidentally woke Landon up with our laughing and flashing of the camera and all he could say was, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." Steve dragged Carson off of him and then he was fine and went back to sleep. Carson never knew what was going on. I'm scared if we ever have a fire because nothing wakes that kid up.

So Much To Be Thankful For

2010-12-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Since we didn't go home for Thanksgiving this year, my dad and his wife, Annie came to us. It was nice not to have to travel. Especially being as big as I am now. And since they had a HUGE snow storm. This was much better.

The boys got to play lots of football with Grandpa. He's determined to teach them how to correctly play. He's decided Landon will be a Running Back and Carson will be Defensive Tackle. I think. I don't really know.

And the boys were determined to teach Grandpa how to play Star Wars. We didn't have a third light saber so he had to improvise with a plastic cooking spoon, a toy truck, or a plastic baseball bat.

This is Landon running away from Grandpa with the truck.

My favorite part of Black Friday? Putting up Christmas decorations.

Nerd Day

2010-11-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

At Carson's school last week, each day they were supposed to dress a certain way. Wednesday was Nerd Day and they were very excited about this. Yes, I said they. Landon also dressed up.

We had a hard time finding nerdy clothes that fit. They refused to wear different shirts because later that day, my friend was going to watch them while I had a doctors appointment and she was going to let them play Lego Star Wars on the Wii. So they HAD to wear their Lego Star Wars shirts. I said, "Well, at least they're Star Wars shirts." And Carson goes, "Mom, Star Wars is not nerdy." I quickly gave in instead of letting him in on the truth :)

He's very good at being a nerd. I wonder where he gets that from?

Just kidding, honey. We love you!

The Great Pumpkin

2010-11-01T10:03:00.002-07:00

Making Oreo Ghosts. We put the Oreos on sucker sticks and then dipped them in white chocolate. We used mini chocolate chips to make the eyes and mouth. They were really yummy.

Halloween night was such a fun night. Steve missed out on the fun because he had to work, but the boys and I made sure to have fun. Especially since it was on Sunday and we wouldn't be trick or treating. We got in our pajamas, made the Oreo Ghosts, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, watched Casper in the dark and pretended we weren't home for trick or treaters, and went through all of their candy to decided what they should keep. You'll read more about that in a minute. For lunch on Sunday, I made Pumpkin Pancakes. They were awesome.
Even though this was our Sunday night, our weekend was FULL of Halloween fun. On Friday, Carson had his school Halloween party, we had Steve's school's Halloween party which includes trick or treating and tons of crafts and games in the cafeteria for the kids, our current ward's trunk or treat, and then Saturday night we crashed our old ward's trunk or treat. They were all lots of fun.

I read about the Great Pumpkin on another blog and introduced the idea to my kids. I didn't think there was any way in the world they would go for it, so I prefaced it by saying it was something I read on a blog and I won't make them do it. The idea is to keep your kids from eating tons of candy. This lady said that each year, after trick or treating, she lets her kids eat as much candy as they want. Then they leave the rest in their buckets on the table and during the night, the Great Pumpkin comes and takes it all away but leaves a present. I changed it a little when I told my kids about it that instead of getting to eat as much candy as they want Halloween night, that they each get a sandwich bag and get to pick out their favorites. My kids LOVED the idea and have been so excited all week.

As you can tell by the picture above, they filled their bags as much as they possibly could.

This is the candy they decided to give up to the Great Pumpkin. AKA Mom and Dad. I was hoping they would leave more of the good stuff. But Carson insisted on taking all of the Kit Kats. In exchange, the Great Pumpkin left them each a football in their buckets. They loved it and were so excited! Carson says he wants to do this every year. I'm still surprised they went for it.

Wanna Cuddle?

2010-10-31T11:26:00.001-07:00

I love when I come in to kiss them goodnight after they've fallen asleep and find them like this.

This is honestly one of my favorite times as a mom. They absolutely adore each other.

Even though they now have bunk beds, they still sleep in the same bed. They just rotate which bed they use! I wonder how long this is going to last. Let's hope it's over before their missions or else their companions will be in for more than they bargained for :)

Halloween Preview

2010-10-23T21:23:00.001-07:00

Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker

Steve probably won't be too happy about me sharing this story but I think it's too funny not to share. First, let me preface this by saying I have never seen Star Wars or pretended to know anything about it. My boys were introduced to Star Wars this summer by their uncle Brian and have been obsessed ever since. Well a little while ago, Kid to Kid was having their Halloween costume unveiling and I was determined to be there and get costumes. Low and behold, I found them! I was so excited and saved tons of money. They even came with accessories. I got home, and we tried them on the kids. They even fit right! Then Steve let me in on a little secret. Landon's costume was actually Princess Leia. I bought my son a Princess Leia costume. It doesn't have the hair buns and it came with boots and a gun and belt and everything. Looked like Luke to me! So Steve has been determined to make it into Luke. I guess he didn't like the glitter bands on the sleeves or something. So off to Walmart he went tonight (right before a Halloween party we were going to) to find something to make it Luke-ish. He found a white t-shirt, cut it, and wrapped it around Landon. It totally works, right?

PS
If you see or talk to Landon, DO NOT mention that he's wearing a Princess Leia costume. Please!

Although here, Landon isn't helping the fact that he's in a Princess Leia costume. Steve finally agreed to let me post it because it's just too cute not to. Sorry Landon!

I guess this is where Landon got his pose from :)

These were our very last minute costumes. Steve is a Truck Driver and I am the truck. This was my idea so don't think he's awful for coming up with it or anything. Ok, the wide load sign was my idea and then he came up with the truck driver. But I won the prize tonight for the cheapest costume! My friends are so sweet. The boys were so excited that there was going to be a contest for the best costume so they were asking the host all night when the contest was going to be. So some of my friends decided that because the boys were SO excited about it, that they should win for the best matching costumes. I was so embarrassed that it was basically rigged just to make them happy. Especially because there were some amazing matching costumes. My friend, Heather made their family's costumes and they were unreal. Her husband was Captain Hook, she was Wendy, her daughter was Tinkerbell, and her son was Peter Pan. Then there were the Supermen duo, the goth family, Harry Potter and Hermeine, etc. They were all really good. But the boys were thrilled to win. Thanks girls!

I had to post this picture. I think it's pretty sad we were able to pull off this costume with clothes we actually own. FYI, that's my vest.

Craft-tastic

2010-10-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

I've started yet another blog. This time, it's for my crafty side so I don't always have to post those on our family blog. I've only posted a few of my projects but I will add more that I've recently done. I hope you'll check it out! http://craft-tastic.blogspot.com/

Nesting Begins

2010-10-11T19:06:00.002-07:00

Yes, lately I have liked things cleaner. However, when I nest, it's more about decorating. I like to move furniture and make things. It has gotten bad enough that I can't sleep at night. All I do is think of all of the things I want to make and what I can rearrange. I have actually started a list of all of the things that I want to do. So far, there are 20 things on the list and I just started writing it last night.

This used to be our Christmas Stocking hanger. And it was just plain black. But since my boys have started school, they just throw their backpacks anywhere. So I took off the hooks and mod podged this super cute paper to it and had Steve re-do the hooks. Now they always have a place for their hats and backpacks and don't have an excuse for not hanging them up. I want to re-do their ugly yellow dresser to match this but I don't have enough of this paper. I got it a long time ago at SEI and I can't find it at their online store or in any other store that sells SEI paper. If only I were in Logan :(

My Monday Project.

Since I've been pregnant, I've really wanted to get one of these. I've looked around and I haven't found one for less than $40! That's crazy! I hear that people make their own all the time. I found a tutorial for it online last night so this morning I went to Hobby Lobby and bought what I needed. It seriously cost about $15 for everything. I would love to embellish it more with buttons, etc, but I think there's already a lot going on and that it doesn't really need it.

Now I just have to decide what project is next.

This weekend while Steve was here, we went to a few garage sales in our neighborhood. This was one of our finds!

The boys are now in bunk beds. As of right now, they still sleep together but we'll try to fix that sometime before they're teenagers.

Our other find I don't have a picture of, but it's a big wooden book shelf that we got for $10!

Today's Spooky Craft

2010-10-09T17:36:00.001-07:00

My kids have really been in the Halloween spirit lately (especially Carson) and have been begging me for more decorations. With the situation that we're in, Christmas, 3 birthdays, plus the new baby coming up I hate to spend money on Halloween decorations. Carson had the brilliant idea of making decorations out of things that we are recycling. He's my little tree hugger :) So I of course hopped online and googled recyclable Halloween crafts. This was a popular one that came up.

How to for 1 ghost:
About 7 -10 plastic grocery bags
Black marker
Ribbon
Safety Pin
Yarn

Draw a ghost face on one grocery bag. Ball up the rest of them except for two and put them inside to form the head. Place the leftover two grocery bags in the back of the ghost, open side down, and tie the ribbon around all of the bags to form the neck. Cut all of the plastic bag loops to make it look scary. Put the safety pin in the top of the head and tie the yard into that to hang up.

Carson with his ghost.

Landon with his ghost.

My ghost.

Gotta love cheap decorations!

Carson's Kindergarten Picture

2010-10-05T16:46:00.001-07:00

(Sorry for the glare)
He's been having a rough time working his real smile lately. He always pulls this baby out. I was considering having him do retakes but then both of his top front teeth came out and I figured this was probably a better option. He's still a handsome little devil.

Waste of time or Worth the time as long as I get to keep my sanity?

2010-09-30T19:08:00.001-07:00

Since Steve is away on rotations, I have been doing everything I can to keep myself busy. Well, except clean. I guess anything fun ;)
I'm addicted to Mod Podge-ing (?) and I'm trying to find anything in my house that I can make cuter.
Here are some things I've done... since last night

I'll make the new little guy's name if we can ever pick one.

Just trying to make Halloween decorations out of things I already had. Funny how I just had some candy corns lying around. Maybe this way I won't eat them.

I've had this recipe book for 5 1/2 years now and everytime I get a new recipe that I like, I write it down in here. It wasn't so cute before but now I like it!

Okay, I didn't make this. I won it at Bunko. But I did add the ribbon so I could hang it up.
Too early for Halloween decorations? Tomorrow is October!

Lava River Cave

2010-09-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Since Steve has left for his next rotation for the month, we decided to do something fun as a family before he left. We drove to Flagstaff to hike the Lava River Cave. We really had no idea what to expect except that it would be cold and we would need flashlights. The cave is 3/4 of a mile long and there is one way in and one way out. Oh and it's underground.

This is the point that I made us turn around, about 1/3 of the way in. We were basically crawling over these huge, sharp rocks. Not the best idea for a 3 year old, 5 year old, and a pregnant lady who has no balance. Plus there was a crazy shirtless guy (it was 40 degrees in the cave) whose girlfriend had their only flashlight and left him in the dark to crawl his way though. I was afraid he was going to stab me to get my flashlight.
Anyway, we had lots of fun and the boys LOVED it. And it was great to get out of this horrible heat.

These are their lava rocks that we let them bring home.

Carson Lost Tooth #4

2010-09-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Process:

Working it...

Working it harder...

About an hour later...
Success!

Writing the Tooth Fairy a note

He was so proud that he pulled it out himself. He would let Steve help loosen it but then he would quickly make him stop so he could do it himself. He even wrote some of the note himself. I am so impressed with how quickly he's learning to read and write. He spelled My tooth (to start the note) all by himself. I was very surprised and proud. Good work, buddy!

Our First Pet

2010-09-14T21:37:00.001-07:00

If you can see it, there is a tiny baby gecko in that rubbermaid container. Landon found it on our patio tonight and the boys (including Steve) wanted to capture it. As soon as it was caught, they decided it was our new pet. We got it some grass, ants to eat, and rocks to climb on. Then Steve looked up care for a Gecko. Boy is it harder than I expected. So we sat the boys down and talked about maybe letting the gecko go and getting a fish sometime. Landon couldn't care less. Carson, on the other hand, sobbed. It broke his heart to think that we were going to let his first pet go. And it was a really sad cry, not a bratty, tantrum cry. It really made me and Steve feel bad. We caved and told him that if he would let us let it go, we would go get him a fish. Tonight. Luckily it was only 7:00 so off to Petco we went to buy this new little guy. Carson has named him Vader - for Darth Vader and Landon has named him Dorothy - like Elmo's pet fish. So we officially have our first pet. Hopefully it will live long enough that we won't have to deal with the whole death issue for a while. Carson has already said that when it dies, he wants to keep its bones so it can "educate us". Not kidding, those were his words.

Carson's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-29T18:23:00.001-07:00

Sorry it took me a while to get these pictures posted, our computer was having a hard time recognizing our camera.

I know this is totally cliche but, I really cannot believe how fast the last 5 1/2 years have gone by. He seems so grown up and I feel like he'll be leaving on his mission before we know it.
He is loving school although he's still nervous when I drop him off.

Carson's first day of Kindergarten.
Landon was also ready although his first day of Preschool isn't until this Tuesday.

Our little genius
He missed his first week of school because we were in Utah, so after his first day, his teacher gave me all of his homework from the past week. She told me he doesn't have to do it but he can if he'd like to. He did. He did his homework for that day plus ALL of the homework from the past week. His teacher was very impressed. And then he was very disappointed to find out that they don't have homework over the weekends. Maybe I'll just have to make some up.

Our little goof

Carson trying not to fake smile and Landon in his fighting stance

3 Boys? Are you serious???

2010-08-17T20:05:00.002-07:00

Yep, it's a boy! And surprisingly, we are very excited. I thought I would be disappointed and sad but I'm not. Of course I would love to have a girl but I am really excited for this little guy. However, I am a little nervous about how I am going to handle having 3 boys. I feel like I can barely handle the two that I have.

He looks tangled. Hope he's ok!

Profile Pic.

Sorry the pictures are blurry. I'm not the best photog

Nerdy Landon

2010-08-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

He puts on these glasses and becomes a whole other person. He was so funny.

I swore I would never post pictures of me pregnant. But seriously guys. 15 WEEKS! That's it!

Pregnancy Insanity Anyone?

2010-07-27T13:26:00.002-07:00

My Camera

This is a very embarrassing story. I blame it on the pregnancy. On the 4th of July, we were doing some little fireworks outside with the kids. I was taking pictures, but after a while was needing to help the boys with something. So I thought, I'll just set it here (on the back bumper of my car) and grab it on my way inside. Did I? Nope. Later on, the Hyrum fireworks were starting and we couldn't see them very well from our house so we decided to go to a nearby hill to watch. We were late so we hurried as fast as we could to throw the kids in the car and go. The next day, I noticed I couldn't find my camera anywhere! I looked all day. I remembered that I had set it on the bumper so I went racing outside, looked on the driveway and the road, but it wasn't there. I figured I had brought it inside. That night, I got an email from my cousin saying that a guy from his work contacted him about a camera that he found on the street of Millville. He said he looked at the pictures, looked me up on facebook, and saw that we had a friend in common. I wondered how he was able to look me up on Facebook just by pictures. Turns out, I had taken a picture of my ultrasound to show to family and it had my name on it. Thank goodness for good samaritans, right? So I have my camera back. But it doesn't work. Luckily the memory card is ok and we can get the pictures off of it.

Telling my husband wasn't very easy. I was so embarrassed and knew that we couldn't afford another camera right now. So what did he do when I told him? He laughed. He is so amazing. He laughed! I know I wouldn't have reacted that way. I am so blessed to have such an amazing guy. Not only that, but when he FINALLY came to Utah, he surprised me with a new camera. Well, not new new. He got it off of Craig's List which is totally fine with me. But it's new to us and we love it. So not only did he take the news extremely well, he rewarded my ditziness. Gotta love him.

And not just because of that. I have been losing everything. So far, I have lost...
Our EBT card - had to get it replaced
Landon's hat - we finally found it
Carson's hat - I blame him for that one
My lip trio (A Mary Kay case for lip gloss, etc) with stuff inside - finally found it
2 pairs of ear rings - finally found both of them at my grandma's house

I'm sure there's more, I just can't think of it right now.

Daddy is FINALLY here!!!

The boys and I were lucky enough to be able to spend this summer in Utah with family. Sadly, Daddy had to stay behind for 5 weeks of it doing his surgical rotation. But that's also part of the reason we came. We knew his schedule would be crazy, which it was. A lot of his days were 13 hour days plus studying and writing up case reports. We are so excited to have him back. Although he is staying an hour away doing a rotation in Layton but we'll do what we can to see him often.
When Landon talks about him, he refers to him as "The Daddy who left us." As opposed to...? I told Steve and it broke his heart. But it is kinda funny.

More pictures to come now that I actually have a camera :)

Baby #3 Is On The Way!!!

2010-06-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

And luckily, there's just one!
I am due January 23rd, making me 9 weeks.

We told the boys last Wednesday after our first appointment. They were NOT happy. Landon folded his arms and stomped out of the room. He said that the babies in nursery are mean to him and he's afraid this one will be too. He's still getting used to the idea. Carson was also mad and pouting. He said the baby will get all of the attention. Stinker. By that night he had really warmed up to the idea and was very excited. Thank goodness, he still is. The last few days, I have really started to pop out. Which sucks that I'm only 9 weeks but look like 16. I told my aunt last night and she goes "Yeah, I thought so." :) Apparently it's pretty obvious so it's a good thing we're telling people now.

Our timing couldn't be worse. Steve will be doing a rotation in Tucson (3 hours away) for the whole month of January. I know you don't hear this often, but hopefully I'll be late. I found a Dr. who won't make me have another c-section even though I've already had 2. But I can't be induced so I have to go on my own. Chances are, I'll be late anyway.

Now to catch up on everything else. Sorry I've been slacking. We moved into a new house 3 weeks ago. Not only did I have a cold at the time that lasted a week, but I was also super tired and nauseous. I'm sure the 110 heat didn't help. My sweet sweet mother-in-law came for 5 days after we moved to help us get settled. Because I was so tired and sick, she basically unpacked our whole house. I think I slept the whole 5 days. It was great and I owe her big time. I am so blessed to have great in-laws who I adore. Thanks Becky!

Steve took his board exams the week after we moved. I am so proud of him and all his hard work. He feels pretty good about the tests which is a huge relief to me. I'm sure he did great. We'll get the results back within a few weeks. He is officially a 3rd Year Medical Student!!! I can't believe how fast time has gone by. He is starting a kind of orientation today for rotations that start next week. His first rotation is his surgical rotation which I'm sure he'll love even if it will be busy and crazy.

Does Anyone Need a Washer & Dryer?

2010-05-25T16:51:00.005-07:00

Sorry if this post is tacky. We're getting a little desperate :)

We're selling our washer and dryer if you're interested! They're the Kenmore 80 Series and we're asking $300 obo. We've never had a problem with them. Our new house already has some and we don't want to store these for 2 years and then probably have to move them cross country.

We're also having a garage sale this Saturday, the 29th at 8:00 if you want to stop by. There will be lots of good stuff!

Speaking of desperate :) we are moving Monday morning, the 31st and Memorial Day at 8:30 am if anyone wants to help.

Carson's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Carson receiving his diploma and his teacher, Mrs. Chowdhury. We LOVE her.

Carson, Landon, and Mrs. Chowdhury

Avril kissing Carson. I told her to for the picture. Since she's been kissing him all year at school I thought we should get a picture of it at graduation. The other day Carson came home and told me she was trying to kiss him. Then he goes, "That girl is trouble. " Ha ha, so cute.

He wasn't very happy with me for telling her to kiss him. He was so red, but he's kind of smiling. I think he liked it.

5 Down, Millions to Go

2010-05-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today is our 5 year anniversary! We made it! :) I don't really know what to say that won't sound totally cliche. You know, I married the best guy ever, great husband, father, best friend, etc, etc. It's all true, but sounds lame. And everyone does it. I will say this, it hasn't always been easy. There have been days that have sucked :) But here we are today and we are so so happy together and where we are in our lives. I thought moving to Arizona and medical school would ruin our marriage but it has done quite the opposite. We are closer now than ever. He truly is my best friend and I love him so much.

I feel like I've aged 20 years :)

Sweet little Carson.

Our Wedding Cake - some of the best tasting cake I've ever had!
Steve's uncle, Chris made this for us as our gift. He did such a wonderful job and we love him so much. He is battling cancer right now and we just want him to know how grateful we are to him for all that he has done for us. Such an amazing guy.
We Love You, Chris!

Disneyland Part 3

2010-05-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

A Bug's Life 3D Experience
This is in an underground cave. As we were going in, Carson was very apprehensive and cautious. I told him it was probably just a big cave full of bugs. You should have seen his face. We laughed so hard.

Woody

Jesse

Aladdin & Jasmin

Happy 80th Grandma!

2010-05-01T17:03:00.003-07:00

A couple days ago was my Granda Walker's 80th birthday. They had a big bash today to celebrate. All 10 of her kids were there. Here is the picture from it. I wish so badly we could have been there.

My grandparents are in the center. No, that is not all of us believe it or not. From my grandparents down there are 100 people if I got everyone. 7 out of the 10 kids live within 20 minutes of each other and my grandparents. Most of those that live in Cache Valley get together once a week and Grandma and Grandpa's house. I used to be one of them. Sunday nights are very lonely for me now :) I am so grateful for such a huge and crazy family. Because of this I have always wanted a big family. We'll see how that goes.

Janee Elizabeth

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!

Disneyland Part 2

2010-04-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

Tigger, Landon, Grandpa Jardine, Carson, and Eeyore. Or as Landon calls him, Yorney. At the end of the trip, they each got to pick out a small stuffed animal and that's who Landon picked. Every night he has to sleep with "Yorney".
The characters at the parks had some of the biggest lines. Many of the characters we weren't able to meet because of that.
These were the first ones that they met. I think they were surprised with how big they were.

This was our first day there and it was quite rainy. Not very cold, just wet. Which was actually kind of good because there weren't quite as many people there.

The ride of all rides. Buzz Lightyear.
We went on this ride probably 10 times. They LOVED it. I highly suggest hitting this one up if you go. You can rotate the "space ships" that you're in and it's a laser game. There are targets throughout the ride that you shoot at and it keeps your score. Just for the record, I'm a level 4 :)

The boys LOVE carousels. I mean, they're fun but really at Disneyland this is what you want to do? Oh well.

Disneyland Part 1

2010-04-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

My dad and his wife, Annie, decided to come and visit us. While they were here, they took us to Disneyland and California Adventure. Steve wasn't able to come because of school and studying and we missed him.
I thought California Adventure was so much fun. Maybe cuz it was my first time, who knows. The Califronia Screamer (the rollercoaster) was AWESOME! It took a while for my dad to talk me into it. Then he couldn't keep me off. So much fun.

Me and the boys

Grandpa, Annie, Carson, and Landon

Landon

Carson

MANY MANY MORE PICTURES TO COME!

Not Much Else To Say

2010-04-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Except I am so glad that they love each other.

Mom & Suzie's Visit Part 2

2010-04-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Landon

Griffin, drying out

Grandma & Carson at the Cheesecake Factory

Maya, Suzie, Griff, and Strat

Thanks so much for visiting. We had so much fun and loved having you here. You're welcome to visit anytime.

Mom & Suzie's Visit Part 1

2010-04-17T14:35:00.001-07:00

Here are most of the kids, we're just missing little Oliver who's about 4 months old. These silly kids were swimming in the pool every day even though the water felt like ice water. Crazy. I think they were so happy to be here in the sun while it was snowing in Utah.
There's Maya - 10, Strat - 6, Griff - 4, Landon - 3 , and Carson - 5.
It would have been really fun if my brother and his family could have come, too. Their little boy Raleigh, is 1 1/2. Then we would have had 6 boys here under 6.

Easter dinner

Carson with his new adorable cousin, Oliver.

This was after their kickball game the Saturday before Easter. At Steve's school, they had a huge celebration with an easter egg hunt, face painting, bounce houses, cookie decorating, etc.

Shark Teeth and Savings

2010-03-25T19:10:00.001-07:00

Carson has shark teeth. Something he's always dreamed of. One of his permanent teeth is growing in behind his baby tooth. Therefore, he has multiple rows of teeth, like a shark. As of tomorrow I'm pretty sure he's not ever going to think that's cool again. His permanent teeth are coming in faster and bigger than his little mouth has room for and faster than his baby teeth are willing to come out. So tomorrow at 3:30, poor little Carson has to have two teeth pulled. Hopefully his mouth will grow quickly so they won't have to pull anymore. I almost cried when I heard the news. Although after seeing his tooth I was pretty sure that would have to happen anyway. But having the dentist (who is awesome) confirm that, was not good news. I myself am deathly afraid of getting shots in my mouth. I wish they could just put him to sleep for the procedure. I then had to decide if I should go with him and be there for him even though I might make it worse by crying myself or do I send Steve and abandon my baby??? I might jump ship on this one. But he will have his daddy there to take care of him. And Steve is such a sweetheart, he knew that this would be hard on Carson so he went and bought him a Wii game to console him afterwards. Oh and Carson has no idea what's about to happen tomorrow. So if you see or talk to him, don't tell him!!! Wish us luck and pray for the little guy.

On a lighter note, I got some great deals! And even though there are diapers in this picture, No I am not pregnant. But I can either save them or give them as a gift. Anyway, those diapers and 4 bags of candy.... ALL FREE!!!

And I just discovered a deal today on Hip 2 Save.
At Toys R Us, if you bought both movies, you got them each for $16.99. And I had two, yes TWO $10 off coupons. So I got both of them for $6.99 a piece, so $13.98 total! The best part? Each one has a movie ticket for Toy Story 3 which we would have taken our boys to anyway. Now they'll get in free.

Growing Too Fast

2010-03-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

He's only 5!
Carson informed me yesterday that his flip flops were a little too small. When I looked, his foot was hanging off the back by about an inch. I guess I'm a real observant Mom. Oops. Off to Old Navy we went and bought him new flip flops. He calls them his Pirate Flip Flops because of the skull and cross bones. And they have to have a fabric strap, not plastic like mine or his foot won't fit in. They're very thick. Anyway, this is his new one on the left and mine on the right. He is growing way too fast!

Spring Training

2010-03-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, this wasn't at the game, obviously, but I had to post it.
Brothers Gotta Hug!

Steve suggested we take the boys to a Spring Training game. I was so excited cuz he's been so busy lately. We didn't go last year and we regretted it. It was so much fun. On Monday nights it's Family night with a package deal of tickets, hot dogs, chips, and a soda. So we got the whole experience. The boys loved it. Good idea, Daddy!

It's the Padres and Mariner's stadium. The Padres played the San Francisco Giants the night we went. We didn't make it all the way through. It got kinda cold and the boys had seen enough to make them happy. We got to the 5th inning, Padres were winning 4-1. Not really sure who ended up winning that game.

Warning: Reptiles Ahead!!

2010-03-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well, hello everyone. It's Steve. I'm blogging (gasp!) because I wasn't sure if Brie could stomach this post.
On Sat the library was having a big shindig with arts and crafts, a book sale, little performances etc. We went and looked and the other stuff for a moment but our main purpose in going was to see...... The REPTILE MAN!!! Let me back up. When I say "we" I mean myself, Carson and Landon. Brie was too scared to come - (It's probably a good thing too. It saved some people from being trampled when she would have run screaming from the room) ;)
So, the boys and I went together. It was a lot of fun and this guy had some really cool lizards. Ones I can remember: some spikey lizard from the desert, a Blue-tongued Skink, a cool legless lizard that I'd never heard of before - looks like a snake but he pointed out the differences that make it a lizard.

A giant Rhino Iguana that was almost as big as Landon. (see below)

Speaking of Landon, he was pretty excited going into the library but as the bigger reptiles came out he got a little scared :)
Carson, on the other hand, loved it. He was soaking it all up.

Snakes: there was a Hog-nosed snake, a Jungle Carpet Python that lives in trees and can hang by it's tail, a ball python that curls up in a ball when frightened, and the grand finale: an African Rock Python (I think) that was easily over 20 feet long!!! Check out the pics.

We had a blast! Brie could barely handle hearing about it. Ha ha ha!

Why Do I Suck At This?

2010-03-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

I am sick.
Coupons: $23.99
Walgreens Register Rewards: $7
I Paid: $53.73 w/tax
Total Savings: $52.72

How did I still end up paying that much? I had almost $25 in coupons on top of all of their deals!!!
I'm going to break down some of my deals to show you how awesome they were and how this still doesn't make sense.

Deal #1 Walgreens had a deal where if you buy Gillette Fusion Cartridges you would get a Gillette Fusion Shave Gel for free. I also had a coupon that if you buy the cartridges, you get a free razor. So I bought the cartridges and got the razor and gel for free. The problem is is that the cartridges were $14.

Deal #2 I had a coupon for $3 off of an Oral B Battery Powered Toothbrush. They were on sale for $1.79. I bought two so I paid .29 for each toothbrush.

Deal #3 Venus Razors were $8.99 a package. Gag. Their deal was if you buy one you get the 2nd for half off. Plus I had one $3 off coupon and one $2 off coupon. So it was basically buy one get one free.

Deal #4 DayQuil was $4.49 on sale and I had $1.50 off coupon. So it was $3. Which is pretty good for what it is.

How is it that I had $24 in coupons and it was still that much? I honestly would have thought that that would have been how much I paid before coupons. I guess I need to get better at this before I go shopping again.

My First Super Savings Trip

2010-03-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry boys, a lot of this will probably be "girl stuff".
I didn't go crazy this time. Just wanted to try it out. And for the record, I still think I paid too much but it was a good first time try.

Retail: $37
Coupons: $12.25
CVS Extra Bucks (Money you can spend next time): $15
Paid: $28 w/tax

The toothbrushes I got a great deal on. They were $4 with $4 extra bucks for next time, so basically free. And I had a buy one get one free coupon. So I got 2 toothbrushes for $4 with $8 extra bucks. Pretty good, huh?

An Adventure

2010-03-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

I am starting on a new adventure inspired by a girl whose husband goes to school with Steve. She is amazing with saving money and using coupons. For those who know my mom, she also does very well with clipping coupons. So I grew up that way but have never really gotten into it myself. I use them sometimes if I have them but I don't really go searching for coupons and deals.
With the situation that we're in, we can definitely use the extra money right now. So I am going to start on my Savings Adventure today. If you have any tips or suggestions, I would love to hear about it. Also, if you live close and have coupons that you don't use, PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY. Or let me know and I'll come and get them.
Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Suess

2010-03-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Dr. Suess' birthday and at Carson's school they're celebrating all week and I think next week, too.
And apparently Dr. Suess has a book called Wacky Wednesday. Who knew? Today was Wacky Wednesday at Carson's school. They were supposed to come looking as wacky as possible. This was the best I could do without putting him in a dress. Which I told him was an option. He quickly turned it down.

Yesterday, they read Green Eggs & Ham. Ever since he's been begging me to make it. So this was his dinner tonight. Gross, huh?

But he gave it 2 thumbs up. Crazy kid.

Spring Break So Far

2010-03-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Steve's first day of Spring Break. We decided to celebrate by having a picnic at the park and play for a while.

The boys playing soccer.
I was playing but someone has to take pictures! It's rare that Daddy gets a break so we have to document it.

Carson doing math at the park.
When he got out of the car and saw this, he was beyond excited. I believe his exact words were, "They have math at the park? Awesome!" He has the body for sports but the smarts to be a scientist. He says he wants to be a Palientologist. I'm not sure if I spelled that right, I should ask Carson :)

Climbing the "rock wall"

Landon was obsessed with this girl. For a while she was kind of playing with them on the playground. She then went and laid down on the bench. Landon kept saying hi to her. When she wouldn't say hi back he just kept on until she would. Or he would come and tattle on her. It was really funny.

Funny Landon Story

2010-02-28T15:26:00.001-07:00

First, this picture has nothing to do with the story.

Yesterday, Steve and I were still asleep when the kids woke up. So they came into our room and started climbing all over us. They were so excited that Daddy was here. It was his first day off for Spring Break and normally by the time they wake up, he's already gone or just up and getting ready. They decided to take full advantage of this. While Landon is climbing on him, Steve goes, "Landon, are you a monkey?" We start teasing him saying we see a tail and pinching his bum. Landon stands up, puts his hands on his hips, gets this real serious and mean looking face and goes, "I am not a monkey! I am a boy! I have a penis and a bum and knees. Not a tail!" We were laughing so hard. And then he started climbing again.

More of Carson's Work

2010-02-23T18:17:00.002-07:00

The other night, Carson asked me and Steve why we wanted to marry each other. So while I'm being all sweet telling him why I wanted to marry Steve, he goes, "Pull my finger." Oh Carson. So sweet.

This post is mostly for his grandparents. This is what Carson did during Scrament Meeting on Sunday. He has become obsessed with math and spelling lately. Which I love! We didn't help him at all. We just wrote out the equations and he does it. Crazy, huh?

Carson's Lunch Order

2010-02-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

So over the weekend, Carson really wanted to work on his writing. He told me he wasn't going to talk anymore and just write what he wanted to say. That didn't last too long since he's just learning how to write. But when we were deciding what to have for lunch, he was determined to write his "order" for me. Pretty cute, huh?

It's hard to read, but PLEASE do.

2010-02-12T13:07:00.001-07:00

This was on the news in Utah. It's hard to read, I sobbed the entire time and still am. Please read it, it could save your child's life. It really hits home because how many of us have "just for a second" run out of the room and left our little ones in the bathtub? Pretty sure we all have. This could be any of us. And never again will I leave them alone in the tub. This is what the mom wrote on her blog about what happened.

"We had a terrible and tragic accident at our home on Saturday morning.

It was a typical Saturday... We had just had breakfast as a family.

Matt had gone on an unplanned mountain bike ride, alone,

but was waiting for a buddy to call and possibly join him.

Kaden was playing video games on the Wii in our family room.

Trevan, was watching cartoons.

As usual, the babies were a mess... covered in breakfast.

I'd just come home from the gym. I needed a shower.

I usually take them in with me. It is easier, faster and less of a mess to shower them.

(I think they had their first actual bath together just a couple weeks ago.

They loved it! I actually video-taped them because it was such a novelty!

They splashed and laughed and played for hours!

I thought I needed to take the time to let them do that more often...)

I started to get undressed to get in the shower, right next to the tub.

I took pajamas and diapers off my little boys and ushered them into the shower.

As we passed it, Daynen begged to get in the "Hot Tub" (our big, jetted Master Bathtub).

For once, we weren't in a hurry to go anywhere.

I started their water.

I put them in the tub with their fish toys and their boats.

I set out their towels. I played with them a few minutes while the tub filled.

I ran their water a few inches deep. I turned off the faucet.

I poked my head around the corner into our bedroom to check on Trevan.

(He'd been sick on Friday and had thrown up 23 times. I think he lost 5 pounds.)

He was lying on top of the covers because Matt had made the bed.

He looked skinny and cold and was shivering in his underwear.

I asked him if he wanted a blanket, he said no.

I told him he looked cold and suggested he go get his pajamas on.

He said he was too tired to go get them.

And... so I left...

Which turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.

Please do not try to sugar-coat things for me.

I am responsible. I am the Mommy.

I should have been more attentive.

I should never have walked away from that tub.

I hope to forgive myself one day... Right now that feels impossible.

But I walked down the hallway to Trevan and Daynen's room to get Trevan his pajamas.

I should have come straight back...

But I noticed Daynen's bed was still unmade.

And I saw the Laundry basket full of clean clothes

that Matt had carefully set on the end of the bed that morning,

ready to be put away when Trevan did his chores.

So I thought I'd be nice and do it for him.

I took the shirts Matt had hooked over the side and hung them on the rod in Trevan's closet.

I took the folded stack of jeans and placed them on the shelf.

I straightened the row of shoes on the floor.

While I was in the closet, I got out a diaper and onesie

so I could get Daynen dressed when I got him out of the tub.

I closed the closet door...

Basket in hand, I stepped over to the dresser to put away the socks and underwear.

I heard a muffled shout from Trevan.

I set the basket down, alarmed.

Then Trevan came running,

"Mom! Mom! Bronson drowned in the tub! I think he's dead!"

I ran.

It was very far to the bathtub.

He was floating on his back. White. Lips blue. Eyes rolled back. Gone.

Daynen had his arms under his shoulders and thighs, trying to lift him.

Our eyes met.

He looked tiny and helpless trying to keep his brother afloat.

Trying to heave him out.

"Mommy! I so saw-wee! I twy to get him out!"

There was too much water.

It was up past the jets. Running at full speed.

One of them had turned it back on.

.
I lunged.

I pulled him out. Wet. Cold. Dripping.

I laid him on the floor on our bathmat, next to the shower we should have taken instead.

He had no pulse.

He would not respond.
.

I screamed for Kaden to call 911.

He was already there. Phone in hand. Dialing.

I began CPR.

I should have gone to Relief Society.

We just had a CPR course... I stayed home that night.

I forgot to pinch his nose.
.

I blew air into my baby's lungs. They filled and rose.

He sputtered. Water leaked from his eyes, nose and the sides of his mouth.

I blew again, pleading with him.

He had no pulse.

I pressed down on his chest with both hands shaking, counting.

Praying.

I blew into his mouth and nose again. Air filled him. He sputtered.

I blew again, hard. He began to vomit.

It was everywhere, on both of us. I turned his head to to the side. I cleared his airway.

Again, I blew. Again, I pressed.

Again, his breakfast ran onto the carpet at the side of his head.

Any second... Any second.
Any second his eyes would flutter and he would take a breath.

Any second he would would sit up.

Any second I would wrap my arms around him and thank God for the close call.

Any second he would be back with us.

Any second... but he did not wake up.

The Emergency Dispatcher said they were almost there.

I shouted for Kaden to go unlock the front door and wait. To show them where to find us.

He was so brave. So responsible.

He waited with the door wide open, watching in the cold

the long, loooong minutes until they arrived.

The Police Officer pulled my shoulder up and back from where I hovered over him, blowing.

I begged him to save my baby.

The Fireman grabbed under the armpits and lifted him from the floor mat

running out the door with my heart in hands.

I scooped Daynen up into my arms, cold, wet and dripping

from where he'd stood shivering and watching me try to bring his best friend back to him.

I told him it was not his fault.

I ran back down the hall to get him dressed.

The Police Officer followed.

So many questions...

How long had I been gone? How long had he been under?

How deep was the water when I came in?

Was it hot or cold?

Had he slipped? Had he been pushed?

Did he hit his head?

I didn't know... I still don't know...

I will never know.

We will never know.

I told my boys to be fast. To get ready to go to the hospital. To get in the car.

I got Daynen diapered and dressed.

This was not happening.

Where was Matt?

Please call Matt. Someone call Matt.

But Matt won't answer. His ipod will be in. He won't hear his phone.

He was going for a long training ride. He could be hours.

He'd just left.

I would do this alone.

Could I do this alone?

Downstairs, the Officer told me I could not drive.

Told me my children should stay home. Told me to call a neighbor.

SO many choices, which one to choose...

Angi appeared out of nowhere.

She was in my kitchen, an angel in a t-shirt,

"What can I do?"

"Stay here with my babies."

She hugged me, I knew she'd been prompted to come.

But where was Trevan?

He was missing. Why would he run off? Where would he have gone?

Was he okay? He must be terrified...

I remembered I told him we needed to get to the hospital as fast as possible.

I felt that I should look in the car.

I opened the door to the garage and could see his silhouette,

swaying slightly in his middle seat of the car.

There he was, sick as can be, dressed with his shoes tied, all by himself...

buckled into his seat in the car.

Ready to go. So obedient. So resourceful. Bless his heart.

Another beloved, respected neighbor stood in my entry.

"Oh Steve," I said as he pulled me to him in a supportive embrace.

"I know... I know..." he said.

And as I looked into his eyes, he did.

No judgement.

Bless him for understanding.

Someone handed me my purse.

I walked out the door with the Officer.

The strikingly beautiful wife of our bishop, Annette, stood eagerly on the sidewalk.

I told her Bronson had drowned.

There were few words, but her compassionate eyes

told me she would help to see that everything was taken care of.

I glanced up.

Concerned neighbors were everywhere.

The guilt of what I had done washed over me like a wave.

I had left Bronson alone. He was gone. He may never come home.

My poor boys. I had abandoned their brother.

I had created this mess for them to deal with.

I had taken Bronson away from everyone who loves him.
.

The Officer escorted me to his car.

The front seat was cluttered with and boxes and papers.

He opened the door and put me in the back where the criminals sit.

Fitting, I thought. I did this.

Not on purpose, of course, but out of negligence.

I bowed my head in shame, not meeting the eyes of the sweet neighbors we drove past.

I wept the empty cry of the helpless.

I prayed to God to spare my son.

I prayed he would be okay.

I promised I would never let myself become distracted by something so unimportant.

Something that can wait.

We hit every light red on the mile and a half drive down the hill to the hospital.

We drove with no siren at traffic speed.

I wanted to get out and run but my door would not open from te inside.

We pulled into the Ambulance loop at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.

I could not get out of the car! I was trapped!

I felt claustrophobic.

I waited the eternity that it took for the Officer to walk around to my side and unlock the door.

I ran, purse dangling over my shoulder, through the doors of the Emergency Room.

A Valentine's Craft

2010-02-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

I saw this on my cousin, Lisa's blog who got it from her sister-in-law, Nikki. I immediately knew that I wanted to make one. It was so cute. I had never modge podged before so these didn't turn out great. And the letters I bought (from stinkin' Michaels) are too thin to stand up by themselves so I had to buy a board to have Steve drill them into. Not kidding, the night after I bought these I found out that Hobby Lobby just opened and I could have gone there. Dang it. Oh well. Here is the finished product. Maybe next time I try this it will turn out better.

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately, we really haven't been doing a whole lot.

An Amazing Girl

2010-01-31T16:58:00.001-07:00

This is my cousin, Lisa who is a nurse and has flown to Haiti to help with the relief efforts. They've set up a clinic inside an LDS church that was still standing and she said didn't have a crack in it. Pretty amazing. Her husband, Dallas, is keeping his word and updating their blog about everything that's going on. If you'd like to check it out, go to http://dallasandlisa.blogspot.com/. There are some pretty amazing stories and I cry everytime. She was even on video that KSL showed when they were sending orphans to Utah to be adopted. She's in the green scrubs with a red hat. In one video she's carrying a child who's wearing her hat. She is such an amazing person and I aspire to be like her. I am so proud of her for being able to leave her family and husband to do this. Good luck, Lisa! We love you!

Crazy Rainstorm

2010-01-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Our backyard during the huge storm.

This is old news for the folks from AZ but a few days ago we had a huge rain storm and a TORNADO WARNING! Luckily there never was one. Anyway, just wanted to post pictures of how crazy it was. Since the ground is so hard here the water doesn't soak in, it just sits on top. I wish I would have gotten pictures of the parks. They looked like small lakes. Ridiculous.

Hiking in January

2010-01-17T20:26:00.001-07:00

Not only are we hiking in January, but we're in t-shirts!

This is at the top of our "hike". It was more of a stroll, which was nice because we all had our kids with us. You can tell we didn't hike up very far. The "mountains" here aren't very big. This was more like a hill. But it was tons of fun.

This tomb is at the top of the "mountain". It's the tomb of the first governor of Arizona. Interesting. And just behind it, you can see into the Phoenix Zoo.

Ed, Brooke, and Esley Stevenson, Us, and Jason, Laura, and Jack Miller. Ed is in school at Midwestern with Steve and Jason attends ASU's Law School. Laura was one of my bridesmaids and we met Brooke just after we had Landon. Steve, Ed, and Laura all grew up together in Ogden. I am so glad they all live down here, too.

Happy Birthday, Landon! Part 2

2010-01-02T21:45:00.001-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Landon!
I better not have too many kids, especially this time of year. I. Am. Exhausted. These parties are kicking my butt and we haven't even had a friend party yet for Landon. It was just us and my mom. But we did have a crazy fun day.
First, we went to the Desert Gym where the kids ran around and jumped on trampolines in the floor and played in the foam pit.
Later we had dinner at "Kung Fu" Panda Express (Landon's choice) and then saw The Princess and the Frog which they loved. We then came home and had cake and opened presents.
Since Landon is our little Rock Star, we thought it appropriate to do mohawks for the boys and a guitar cake.

Having dinner at Panda Express.

Chilling this morning.

For those of you who actually know what guitars look like, please ignore this picture. Thanks!

I guess it was pretty good! Man, Pillsbury sure knows how to make 'em! :)

Happy Birthday, Baby!
I'm so glad that my mom was able to be here for it. But I'm so sad that she's leaving tomorrow. Thanks for all your help and spending time with us, we will miss you tons!

Happy Birthday, Landon!

2010-01-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Landon! I can't believe my baby is already 3 years old! Seems like yesterday that we had him and now here he is, obsessed with farts and poop. He thinks that it's hilarious! And if you react, he thinks it's even funnier.

Carson was in love with his little brother from the moment they met. He was so good to him and didn't have a hard time adjusting at all.

This was my "tiny" baby. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz, a full 2 pounds less than what Carson was at birth. He seemed so small to me compared to Carson, I felt like I was going to break him.

I can't believe I'm actually posting these pictures. Just remember, I gained a lot of water weight and let's face it, I was miserable.
C-Sections and I don't get along well. And I'm totally not one of those girls who go in with their make up on , their size 2 jeans packed in their bag to come home, and looking perfect. I am very much a realist. I know it sucks and I wear pajamas home.

Our first family picture minus Carson. Not really sure where he was. I was very drugged at the time. Thank goodness.

More San Diego Pics

2010-01-02T00:17:00.000-07:00

First, I've got to wish Landon a happy birthday! He is officially 3 years old! Since it's just after midnight, I don't have any pictures yet of his actual birthday (crazy, huh?) so I'll post again later.

Waiting in line for the 3D Polar Express Experience.

I love this picture of Landon!
Waiting for the Shamu show to start... do you see a trend starting? Most of our day was spent waiting.

Again, waiting for the Shamu show to start.

At the San Diego Temple

Santa's So Great

2009-12-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, Santa gave our family a trip to Sea World!
Here are a few pictures from our trip to San Diego.

Eating our lunch at Sea World. A couple minutes after we took this picture, our entire table was sprayed with poop from a bird sitting just above our table. Good thing we were done eating. But oh my gosh, it was so disgusting.

The San Diego Temple

Ocean Beach. This was our boys' first time at the ocean. They had so much fun playing in the sand. It was way too cold to let them go in the water, though. Then we had lunch at a place called Nick's. We were on the second story with a gorgeous view of the Ocean. We met Steve's cousin, Scott at the beach because he lives just a block away. Thanks for hanging out with us, Scott!

I'll post more pictures later, I have so many!

How Sweet

2009-12-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

Carson has been teasing me all day saying he doesn't love me. I told him he better be nice because I have a really awesome Christmas present for him that he's not going to get if he's not nice. He started guessing what it was.

Carson: Is it a Lightning McQueen Control Car?
Me: Nope, it's better.
Carson: Is it dinosaurs?
Me: Nope, it's better.
Carson: Is it a picture of Jesus?
Me: Aww! (Trying not to laugh) No, it's not that.
Carson: Is it you?
Me: No, it's better.
Carson: Is it Grandma?

Thanks a lot, Carson! :)

Consider This My Christmas Card

2009-12-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

Do you like my cactus?!

I didn't do a Christmas card this year, or any other year for that matter. I really want to, but guys, it costs a LOT of money. Even just in stamps! Plus, isn't a blog basically a year round Christmas card? Anyway, here it is.

This past year has flown by. Steve is now in his second year of med school at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. We just found out yesterday that he matched for rotations (3rd and 4th year of Med School) in the Glendale/Peoria area which is AMAZING news because we get to stay where we are, which we love. He is doing a great job, even if he doesn't sleep half the time.

I am a stay at home Mom which I love and wouldn't choose anything else. But let's be honest, it's extremely difficult. I love to bake (and eat) and blog (obviously). I love doing projects. Since we moved here, I (with Steve's help) have made a box garden, a headboard for Carson, refinished a kitchen table and chairs that I also recovered, and several little crafty ones. It gets expensive when I get bored. :)

Carson just turned 5 and is in preschool. He loves school and has made lots of friends. Which is one of the reasons why I am so happy we don't have to move. He just had his 5 year well child check yesterday and is in the 95% for height and 92% for weight. He loves dinosaurs. That might be an understatement. He is absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs. He will watch documentaries on the Discovery and History channels for hours if I let him. He is a very cautious little boy. He is pretty rough and likes wrestling but if you try to get him to jump on a trampoline, well you would laugh. He hangs on to the net (if there is one) and begs anyone on to stop jumping. He finally got to the point where he would kind of jump but wouldn't have his feet leave the tramp. He is one of the sweetest little boys I know and I am so happy for that.

Landon will be 3 in a week and a half. Blows my mind that my baby is almost 3. He and Carson are best friends and are always together. Landon loves everything Carson does (except when it comes to food, then they're pretty opposite). He adores his big brother. But he is a lot more daring and crazy than Carson. Trampolines don't scare him at all. And yes, my 3 year old is already asking if he can have a motorcycle. He's like my little rock star. He loves guitars and being absolutely crazy. But he also has that very sweet side to him. He loves to give kisses, but only if you tell him you think they're gross and you don't want them. He likes to tease. He even told the Bishop and his counselors on Sunday in Nursery that we don't like kisses at our house. I heard that from one of the counselors.

We have made some amazing friends the last year and a half that we've been here and I am so grateful for them. I couldn't do this without them. We have an awesome ward family and I do consider them my family. They have also been a huge support. I was so sad when our ward split and we lost some of them.

I am so grateful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My life wouldn't be what it is without him and the gospel in my life. I am so grateful for our living prophet, President Monson. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband and all that he puts up with from me. He is always so supportive of whatever crazy idea I have. He is a wonderful father and I know will someday make an amazing doctor. I am so blessed to have my two crazy boys in my life. I couldn't imagine life without them.

Merry Christmas! We love you all!

Carson's Big Day

2009-12-14T20:50:00.001-07:00

What. A. Day.
It's Carson's 5th Birthday and wow, I am exhausted :)
We invited his whole preschool class (18) plus a few neighbor kids. Luckily, not all of them came. Altogether (including my boys) there were 12 kids. I invited the parents to stay since they don't know me very well and probably don't feel super comfortable dropping their kids off at a stranger's house. So most of them did. Which was great, they were super helpful. Thanks!

Carson & Landon with the T-Rex Cake.
We played pin the head on the T-Rex, made dinosaur masks, and decorated dinosaur sugar cookies.

I know what you're thinking... that must have cost a lot, right? ;) Yes, a lot of my time and patience. I bought a cake pan thinking this shouldn't be too hard. And it wasn't TOO hard. It was however, annoying and required a lot of patience which I don't have. But I think it turned out pretty well. Carson wanted red frosting so it looked like it was covered in blood from a battle. I said no.

The partiers.
Sonny, JD, Camden, Brooklyn, Avril, Olivia, Landon, Keyshyah, Andrew, Carson, Porter, Emmy (Olivia's little brother, Evan is in the background).

Carson chose Panda Express for his birthday dinner. Can you tell he's getting too big for kisses from Mom? Sad.

And also a big shout out to my friend, Jenn Curtis who is here on "vacation". I made her work her butt off today. Thanks Jenn! You saved me. My kids adore her. They are going to be so sad to see her go tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Carson!

2009-12-13T19:26:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is Carson's 5th Birthday. How it's already been 5 years, I have no idea. Many things have happened since then but it also seems like yesterday. I am so grateful to have this little teddy bear in my life. Especially in the beginning when it was just the two of us.

When I was pregnant, I was attending group counseling at LDS Family Services trying to figure out what I should do being a single, pregnant teenager. I prayed and knew that I was supposed to parent instead of place him for adoption. I didn't know why but I knew that that was the answer that I received. Now I know. Without this amazing kid, I wouldn't have met my husband or be the person I am today. I truly believe I recieved personal revelation and I am so grateful that I did. I love you, baby!

This is my gigantic baby. He weighed 9 lbs 9 oz. He looks very beat up here because I was in labor for 17 hours ending in a c-section. His arms and legs even had bruises on him from the doctor pulling on him. Poor kid.

Here he is at 2 weeks old, MUCH prettier. He was such an amazing baby. Always happy, slept great, and super cute!
He is the sweetest little boy I know and an awesome big brother! Landon looks up to him and wants to do everything Carson does.

He was about a month old here.

This was his tux for mine and Steve's wedding. Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

Wish me luck with his T-Rex birthday party! We invited his whole school class - I didn't want anyone to get their feelings hurt. So yes, 20 kids in my house. :) Good thing I love him.
Happy Birthday, Carson!

Awesome Day

2009-12-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday and it was a great day. Thanks to MANY people.

First, Steve surprised me this morning with McDonald's breakfast.
Then I went to playgroup with my friends and let the kids play for a while. Afterwards, we went to lunch to celebrate. Which I was so grateful for because I was really not wanting to sit around the house all day. Thanks guys!
Then Landon and I went shopping until Carson was finished with school and had lots of fun.
After Steve was finished with school, we took the boys to the mall to see Santa. The Nazi's at the mall wouldn't actually let us take a picture of them with Santa - lame. And I wasn't going to pay $20 for 4 pictures either.
Anyway, after that we went to Chili's for dinner, who doesn't love that?!
Then more shopping :) I like to pick out my own presents.
Then I got to come home and cuddle with my husband while watching the end of The Biggest Loser Finale. I won't give it away if you haven't seen it yet.
And then last of all, I finished the tree skirt I've been working on for a week or so.

My boys were so cute today making sure they were extra good and believe me, when they did get a little out of hand, it wasn't below me to remind them it was my birthday. I'm all about guilt trips :)

From Steve and the boys I got a really cute sweater from Old Navy and a cupcake/cake container to keep them fresh and for transporting. May sound lame but I like it.

Awesome, awesome day! Thanks everyone for the phone calls, texts, emails, and hanging out with me! And I'm so grateful that the horrible weather we had yesterday didn't continue onto today. It was beautiful outside.

At the mall before seeing Santa. Carson actually has me stumped. He has two Lightning McQueen Control Cars that have both just stopped working. He suggested leaving them out Christmas Eve for Santa to fix for him. What do I say to that?!

At Chili's after dessert. Of course, it was Chocolate Molten Cake.

So goofy.

My Tree Skirt!

I didn't have a pattern and I wish I had because I made it a lot harder on myself.

Our new nephew

2009-12-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

Stratford, Griffin, and Oliver (My sister, Suzie's boys)

Congratulations, Suzie & Dave! I'd like to welcome little Oliver Kirk Simmons to the family.

He was born on November 30th weighing 9 lbs 14 oz! Good work, Suzie.

I'm sad that we missed seeing him by 2 days but he looks like a cutie.

Love You Guys!

Landon's Potty Trained!!!

2009-12-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's official. Landon is potty trained!

It didn't take quite as long as it did with Carson but we didn't start as early, either. I wanted to make sure he was absolutely ready before we tried. We promised him we would buy him a "big boy bike" when he was finished. He got his bike last night and loved riding around. The only downside to this is he now thinks that because he's potty trained, he gets to go to school with Carson. So everyday when I drop Carson off, I have to explain to him that he needs to be just a little bit older and then he can go to school. And his response is, "But I AM a little bit older." Usually tears follow. It breaks my heart for the little guy.

One day I even tried using guilt. I said, "If you go to school then I'll be home by myself. What would I do?" And he said, "You would sleep and eat all of the food in the house." Ha ha, thanks Landon. He's probably right.

Post 4 - Visit from the Toothfairy and more

2009-11-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Carson had been complaining for a few days that his tooth hurt. So I figured, we'll take you to the dentist when we get back. But Friday afternoon, while we were at a Christmas party with Steve's family (since a lot of us live out of state and are only in town then), Carson tells me he needs to go to the bathroom. He comes out pretty quick and shows me his loose tooth. My reaction? Tears. In front of Steve's parents, siblings, aunt and uncle, cousins, everyone. It was so embarrassing but I couldn't help it. My little boy is growing up and it's happening way too fast. We get home that night and again, he goes to the bathroom to check something out and, it's gone! The search was on for the missing tooth and my cute sister-in-law, Laura finds it on the floor. He thought this whole experience was pretty cool.

I wrote the letter but he was telling me what to say. And then he signed his name. Sure enough, the Tooth Fairy came and left a dollar and a letter and didn't even take his tooth. Carson and I were debating whether or not the Tooth Fairy is a boy or a girl and he decided it's a boy because Peter Pan is half fairy half man, so the Tooth Fairy must be a boy!

We hung out with Brian, Jill, and Bailey one night and it was lots of fun. They love playing with Bailey even though they might be too crazy for her sometimes. She's a very dainty, sweet little girl and my boys are, well boys.

Had to throw this one in. This is Jon, Steve's brother. Being goofy as usual.

Post 3 - Saying Goodbye

2009-11-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Giving Grandpa Popcorn his Christmas present.
This was really hard for me because last year saying goodbye was the last time I saw my grandma Jardine before she passed away. It's hard leaving never knowing if you'll see them again before you come back. I am so so thankful that we have the gospel in our lives. My grandparents were married in the temple and however hard death may be, it is so comforting to know that we will have them again. It might be goodbye but not for long.

One of the hardest parts of this day was watching my grandpa cry. I've never seen him cry. He is one of the toughest guys I know and always will be. He told me he hates the holidays now that grandma's gone and it broke my heart. I hugged him goodbye and the tears started flowing for both of us. Then I look at my dad and he's crying! That was really hard seeing grandpa suffer like that. But I love that he loves grandma so much. They really were one of those cute old couples that still kissed and truly took care of one another.

Carson doesn't like goodbyes and tries to get away as fast as he can.

Saying goodbye to my dad.

Post 2 - Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-29T15:53:00.001-07:00

Kathie, Brent, Rachel, Carson, Heather, and Mark.
We spent the morning with Andersons (sorry this isn't the best picture) and had a Thanksgiving Breakfast with them. It was lots of fun and the boys loved playing with them. Thanks so much, guys!

Onto Thanksgiving lunch with Steve's family. Meet the newest addition to the family, Teddy. This is my brother and sister-in-law's new puppy. I instantly fell in love and want one so bad. I'm pretty sure his fur is softer than my hair. Thanks Jon & Val for letting me maul your puppy.

This is my adorable sister-in-law, Elizabeth, who turned 13 the day after Thanksgiving (hence the bow on her head). She is an amazing harp player, which she must be since my in laws were willing to haul her harp from Colorado to Utah and back.

Carson, Elizabeth, Grandma Wheelwright, and Landon building a gingerbread house. Unfortunately, the gingerbread house didn't make the ride from Salt Lake to Logan and had to be disposed of. But Grandma was thinking and gave us another kit to build one when we got home to Arizona. Thanks Becky!

And thanks to Becky's family (Jim, Barbara, Chris, Robert, David and Heather, Becky and Ron, and all the kids) who made Thanksgiving and our joint birthday party awesome.
The birthday party was for Elizabeth, Becky, Me, Carson, and Landon since our birthdays are all so close.

Post 1 of many from Thanksgiving Break

2009-11-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Carson, Strat, Griffin, and Landon
The two in the middle are my sister, Suzie's boys. My boys had so much fun playing with them while we were there visiting.
Good luck to Suzie's who's having another little boy sometime in the next two days who they're naming Oliver. Sorry we missed ya, buddy! That will make the 7th grandchild on my parent's side, but the 6th boy under 6. There's Maya - 9, Strat - 6, Carson - almost 5, Griffin - almost 4, Landon - almost 3, Raleigh - 1, and then Oliver. We need more girls in this family!

The boys with my mom.
We gave everyone their Christmas presents early.

Steve holding my brother's little boy, Raleigh. He just turned 1 and is hilarious!

The boys with my dad. We had just watched some of my dad's home videos of his deer hunting trip. Carson loved it!