St. George

We have been planning a St. George trip for awhile now. When we were single (my use of the word "single" just means after we were married, but before we had kids) we used to go to St. George all the time with Kenny and Cherice (when they too, were single). We would go on hikes, swim, and go see a play at Tuacahn. So, since we've moved back to Utah, we having been planning on going. First things first, find babysitters for the kids so we could go see a play. So, we brought our two nieces with us, Chelsie and Courtnie. We invited Donnarae down for the fun too. On our way down, I wanted to stop at a place we had gone to over Spring Break when I went to Snow College. It is a place called Red Cliffs. It is a campground, and day use park. There is an awesome hike through red cliffs. From what I remembered from 11 years ago, was that there is a stream/river that flows through the canyon. We used the rocks as a slide, and we also jumped off a cliff into a deep pool of water. Well, dumb me, didn't realize that in June there is no water. So, we went on a really hot hike, realized there was no water, and turned around. I was really sad, cause the kids would have LOVED the water. Here is a picture of all who went. When we realized there was no water, and decided we should turn around I made everyone get together for a group shot. Thank heavens for timers! We soon headed off to our hotel. YEP! A HOTEL! YEA! As soon as we got there, we got into our swimsuits, and headed for the pool. They had an indoor and an outdoor pool. Which was nice, cause then we didn't need to worry about sunscreen. That night the adults went to Tuacahn and watched Cinderella. It was fun. My dad works in St. George, and stayed at the same hotel as we did, so early the next morning, Kenny, Troy, and my dad went golfing. When they got back, we went swimming again, then went to Nielsen's Custard Shop, and then headed home. It was a quick trip (cheaper that way) and was definately fun to get away for a day! To all of you who are still "SINGLE" live it up! Go and do LOTS and LOTS of things! You'll NEVER be "single" again! We had a good time, and the kids did too! Next time, we'll go back in the spring, so we can play in the stream at Red Cliffs!

Bear Lake

We went up to Bear Lake on Saturday, to play with Doug's (Troy's Dad) new watercraft. Pretty much all of Troy's family went up, and we had a great time. I will admit, I was a bit grouchy. Kristin had been up on Friday night until 2:30 coughing, and having a rough time, and I was up with her. Then, we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to leave for Bear Lake. So, I will admit, I was a bit grouchy.

I did have a good time though. I held Haley pretty much all day. I NEVER get to do that! Now that she has a bottle, it's very rare when I get a chance to hold her while she's eating. Haley snuggled me most of the day, she never does that! I loved it! She's definately a Momma's girl.

The boys and Kristin loved playing with their cousins, and playing in the sand. Troy took the boys out on the waverunners, and they were sissy's. They got less "sissyish" as the day went on. I'm sure they'll get used to them. I made Troy take me out on one. Since having kids, I'm not the thrill seeker I used to be for some reason. I used to love playing on waverunners, trying to throw myself off...I did love going out on one with Troy though...I don't think he likes it much, but I did.

Most of Troy's family was camping on the Property that a few members of Troy's family owns. Troy's parents have a Fifth Wheel and his sister and her family have a motor home. Others camped in tents. Most of you know, I despise camping...Oh, I can do it, and I will and I have, but it's not my favorite - SO FAR FROM MY FAVORITE THING! A few reasons why: I think all the stuff you think you need, and buy, costs just as much as staying in a hotel, wierd bathrooms, no shower, wierd bathrooms, dirt, stickers, did I mention wierd bathrooms? Since we haven't lived in Utah, by family, we haven't really gone camping much. We have a tent, but the last time we used it, I was pregnant with Jake. Trying to deal with a baby in the dirt, needing warm water, trying to keep sunscreen on, is a bit of a headache. I'll stop complaining now. I don't think I need excuses not to camp, I can do it, it's just that I don't WANT to do it. But, there are sacrifices you make for your kids, and I think this is one of them. On Saturday night, Troy's parents said we could stay in the living room of their fifth wheel. We were planning on driving home, but it was nice sleeping there, making the day last a bit longer. As we were sitting around the campfire, roasting marshmallows, I spied with my little eye a perfect picture spot! So, I made Doug and Lee Ann pose. Here it is! I love this picture...

Lazy Saturday...

Many of you know that Troy works on Saturdays. It's one of my most boring days...mostly, because other people are doing family things, so we usually just stay home. I have been needing to go to the grocery store, but dreading it, because who in their right mind wants to take 4 kids to the grocery store on a Saturday????????? Not me. Anyways, my dad surprised us Saturday morning, and said he was taking his dogs on a walk. Naturally, Jake and Kyle wanted to go. So, he took them to Copperton to walk the dogs. That put me with 2 kids at the grocery store! WAHOO! So, I found a waterballoon launcher and water balloons at the grocery store, and I stopped at Target for a little kiddie pool. We got home and set it up. Cherice brought Daxton and Kinlee over. The kids LOVED the pool. It was 100 degrees outside, and I thought the water was freezing, but they didn't seem to mind! (Oh, Jake has face paint on, leftover from the ballet bbq - if you're wondering why his face looks funny)

Oh, funny story, Cherice and I were trying to show the boys how the water balloon launcher worked. Cherice and I each had a hold of the handles, and the boys were pulling back the rubber band. Well, they ended up launching a water balloon into 2 backyards over, landing on their deck. Cherice and I dropped the launcher and thought about running in the house...just like we would have done if we were 10...we told the kids that they probably shouldn't aim in that direction, and let them do it on their own...

I love the backyard! It would be the greatest if we could get that cement and fence done...all in time...Anyways, Haley loves being outside too! Here she is on a beach towel! Oh, I took her to the Dr. on Wednesday. She weighs 12 lbs 3 oz! YEA!!!!!!!!!! She broke the 12 lb mark! Maybe her 3-6 month clothes will start fitting now! I bought her size 2 diapers today, hopefully they won't be too big!

When Troy got home, we decided to go to the Herriman Rodeo. I know, I am not a "rodeo" person, but it was a lot of fun. The kids had a blast! Troy's dad used to ride bulls, so it was fun to show the kids something that their grandpa had done. As I was there, I kept thinking what a different world rodeo people lived in, than I live in. I guess that's one of the beauties of America...we all do what makes us happy, or at least we all should! We're off to Bear Lake in the morning, to help "break in" Doug's(Troy's dad) waverunner's that he just bought. It should be a fun day! The rest of Troy's family is camping...but we're just going up for the day. I don't know how camping is going to be with Haley. I imagine it's going to be horrible...just wondering how I'm going to make her a warm bottle in the middle of the night, while she's screaming for one...oh well, a few more weeks until I have to have it figured out. In a few weeks, we are going back up to Bear Lake for a family reunion...we'll see how it goes! Any suggestions?

The Dance Recital

Kristin had her first ballet recital on Friday. She was a cat. She did so good. She got stuck behind a girl, and it was really hard to see her, but she did great. After her dance, we let her come in the audience and watch the other girls. She loved it. She kept telling me she needed to get back on stage and keep dancing! I really love the place she goes. It's called Wasatch Arts Center. Kristin's recital lasted 45 minutes! GREAT! It was a Pre-K and Kindergarten recital. It was nice, so you didn't have to sit through a ton of other dances! They had the other recitals on other nights. I think they split it up into 3 different recitals. I also like it because they want the girls to be modest. I understand that once the girls get older, traditional ballet costumes are a little less modest, but who wants their 3 year old running around looking like a 2-bit hooker in a ton of make-up and immodest clothing? NOT ME! Also, it's not competition dance. They only have 1 recital a year! And, the cost for the costume is $25.00. My reason for putting Kristin in ballet, is not so that she will be a professional dancer, but so that she can have fun, get excercise, and think she's a princess. So far, it's been all I've wanted!

For her actual recital, her hair was in a cute little bun, but I did her hair for ballet pictures like this, because her hair doesn't go very good in an actual pony tail...I don't know why, but it's bumpy on top!

Everyone came to watch Kristin dance! Papa and Grammy, Grandma and Grandpa, even Grandma Great, and Aunt LeAnne! Lucky little girl...

Another Haley update...

So, I received the "official" denial letter from the insurance company. They won't pay for her formula because "it is not being administered through a feeding tube". SO DUMB! Troy wants to appeal it. I don't know what the point is, but he can try, if he likes...I don't have time to deal with it.

I decided to take Haley to an allergist. I haven't started feeding her normal food, and so before I did, I thought it might be a good idea. So, we went today. My insurance wouldn't cover it, and I had to pay $167 out of pocket. It turns out, she's not allergic to anything! NOPE, not even milk...hmmm...the doc said that just because she isn't allergic to it, doesn't mean she's not intolerant of it...wierd...so, back to nowhere, I guess...The allergy test was sad. I had to hold her so that they could poke these things in her back. So, she was crying, and kept looking up at me, I'm sure wondering why on earth I would let someone do that to her. It was so sad...She came home, and fell asleep. Kristin must have snuck in her room, because when I went to check on her, I found these stuffed animals...sweet girl...

Notice Haley's thigh...it's getting chubby...

As for the rest of the kids, Kyle has a few weeks left of school. Jake is going on a field trip to Thanksgiving Point farm tomorrow. Kristin starts preschool July 25th. She's so excited...I can't believe she's that old! All the kids are in swimming lessons now. It's great, because they all go at the same time, but are in the level appropriate classes. I'll have to take a picture on Friday. The boys are doing so great! Kristin will hopefully get there...

Denied...

The insurance company is refusing to pay for Haley's formula. Insurance companies are evil, I believe...loopholes...the doctors and nurses who reviewed her case, didn't think her formula was necessary. FUNNY, she would die without it...seems kinda necessary to me. Here's a picture of her at the beach...she's definately worth more than all the money we're going to be putting out for the formula...

Our Trip...

It is our last night at the beach house. Not so much a beach house, but a house on the cliffs overlooking the beach...It's been nice though. Everyone is asleep, and we are getting ready to leave in the morning. The girls (Haley and Kristin) and I are driving with my mom to Tulare, CA and she is doing a presentation for one of the schools there on Tuesday. Tuesday night, we are headed through Bakersfield on our way home. I am hoping I can drive all night, so we can be home late on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. I am anxious to be home, and get all my work done that has been piling up since I've been gone. Plus, the backyard is ready and waiting for the kids to play! AND, Erin is coming to visit on Friday! WAHOO! I find out in the morning if insurance is going to pay for Haley's formula...keep your fingers crossed...Anyways, back to our trip...

Disneyland was so much fun! (We ran into some people we had known from Oregon, Matt and Shannon Phair. It was fun to see how old their kids were. They moved from Oregon 3.5 years ago.) Kyle was tall enough to go on all of the rides. And he did. He didn't like Splash Mountain the first time, due to the fact that he got A LITTLE wet. And, he wouldn't look at me after Tower of Terror. He liked the rest. All the kids (except Haley) got to go on Matterhorn. Kristin covered her eyes the whole time, cause she was scared of the monsters, but she liked the ride. The favorite was Buzz Lightyear. Seriously, over 3 days, we went on it at least 20 times. It was one of the rides the WHOLE family could go on, and Troy and I kept trying to increase our points. For those of you who don't know, on the Buzz Lightyear ride, you are given a laser gun, and the whole ride has targets through it, and triangles are worth the most points, and if a target is lit up, it is worth more points. My highest was 110,000 points (I was an L-3 ranger - for those of you who understand Buzz Lightyear lingo) Troy's highest (I think) was 245,000. I think he lied. ;) Here's a picture that shows the cars and the guns...

The kids did so great! Really. Kristin had a few girl tantrum moments, but for the most part, the kids were good. It was so fun being on a family vacation, too! We did what we wanted, when we wanted, and we didn't have to worry about other people's schedules. Good times! We bought our Disneyland Trip package through Costco Travel, and got a free breakfast with the characters. Here's the kids with Minnie.

In Disneyland this year, the theme is: A Year of a Million Dreams. They were randomly giving away these necklaces that were called dream fast passes. On the tag on the necklace, they had little tabs, that were good for a fast pass at all the rides. So, basically you didn't have to wait in line at any of the rides with fast pass lanes. On our first day in Disneyland, I saw people with them, and trying Erin's positive thinking trick, I was trying to "will" myself a necklace. On our third and final day of disneyland, with no necklace so far, Troy took the kids on Matterhorn and I waited with Haley. When he got off the ride, 2 workers handed him and all 3 kids a necklace. They walked up to me, and showed them to me. SO NOT FAIR! It was me who had done all the positive thinking, and I didn't get one. It actually turned out fine, because there are very FEW rides we can all go on, and between stroller switch ride passes and fast passes, that whole day, we didn't wait in 1 line. SO NICE! We had gotten to Disneyland that morning at 8:00 and didn't leave until the park closed at 9:00pm. We managed to get on all the main rides at Disneyland and California Adventures in 1 day, with the dream fast pass. Here are the "winners" of the necklaces!

After our 3 days in Disneyland, we picked Jason up and headed to Santa Cruz for Michael's Wedding. While we were waiting to check into the Beach house, we went to the boardwalk. Since our kids wake up so early, we got there before it even opened up, and it was a little chilly. A worker there offered to take our picture.

Saturday morning, before the wedding, we headed to the beach. It was pretty chilly, but naturally, the kids didn't care. They got in the water, and played in the sand. They weren't happy when we told them it was time to go!

Here are the men before the wedding. Except for my dad, he had gotten kicked out of his bathroom, and was the last to get ready.

Here's a picture of the flower girl - Kristin. Maria's niece, Maya, was also a flower girl. She is a little younger than Kristin, and didn't understand the concept, she dumped her basket over, and there was a pile of flowers in the row, but it was so cute! Kristin did what she was told, a little slow, but she did it. Thanks for doing her hair, Katie!

Here's Mike and Maria. My batteries conveniently died immediately following the wedding, so I didn't get any good shots, but my dad did. Sorry I posted the picture of your eyes closed Maria, I just didn't have any other pictures!
The wedding was awesome. Maria looked fabulous. Mike looked as good as he could look (teasing...)The reception was a lot of fun too! Maria's family had made authentic Mexican food. There was dancing. Kyle was really irritated (to tears) that he "shakes it like a white boy". We'll have to work on dancing at home. Maria's nephews (that Kyle had been playing with all night) could really move. Congrats Mike and Maria! Love you guys! Sorry for the eternal post, but I knew if I didn't do it in one shot, it wouldn't get done!

Haley...again!

Okay, so, it turns out Haley has a really bad allergy to Milk Protein. Which is what the doctors thought in the first place, but with her diahrea (hmmm...still don't know how to spell it) she was having on the alimentum, they wanted her to try this new formula, called Neocate. So, he wanted her to try it for a week, just to see. He had this home health company call, and I asked for a sample, and the lady pretty much laughed, saying they do NOT give out samples. (The doctor couldn't even get samples right away, he had to wait for 4 weeks for them to arrive!) She said we could see if insurance could cover it, but most insurances don't. I told her I was going out of town, and asked how much a can was, just to be covered for the trip...OKAY...ARE YOU READY????????? She said each can (which makes about 12 - 6 oz bottles - so, pretty much lasts 2 days at the most) costs $60. YES! SIXTY DOLLARS! It has to be more expensive than gold - especially if we went by weight. I seriously about had a heart attack. She then told me, that she would need 10-12 cans a month. HELLO! THAT'S OVER $600 A MONTH!!!!!!!!! WHO CAN AFFORD THAT? Oh, and she has to be on it until she's 2! YES, 2 years old! That's 18 more months! So, I talked to the doctor, and he said he was going to see if he could get some from the children's hospital here. He was able to get 3 cans, but I had to pay for them, and they wouldn't even try to bill the insurance, but the hospital only (yeah...only) charged $35 a can. STILL! But, when I told Troy, he was like, Oh, $35, that's not bad. I had to remind him how absurd it was that we were excited to pay $35 for this tiny can of formula. I know, in your head, most of you are invisioning costco size cans of formula...HARDLY! Here is a picture of Haley with her new formula. I am posting the one of her crying, cause that's how I feel about it all. The can of formula kind of looks big in this picture, so you have to remember how tiny Haley is (she just hit the 11 lb mark! WAHOO!) So, after being on the formula for 24 hours, she doesn't have loose stools (much easier to spell) anymore. So, the doctor is going to try to work with the home health company and see if insurance will pick up any of the bill. Keep your fingers crossed...otherwise, anyone in the market for scrapbook supplies? :)

Anyways, we're off to Disneyland in 4 hours, (leaving bright and early but not going to Disneyland until Mon-Wed) then up to Mike's wedding in Monterey! Can't wait to be on vacation! We better enjoy it, cause chances are, it's the last vacation we're going to be going on for the next 18 months!

Before and After

Here is our yard before....

Here is the after...

Where there is still dirt on the left side of the picture, will be a concrete. That's where the basketball court will be. We still need to get bark chips for the right side of the yard to go around the 5 fruit trees we have growing, and I am standing in the garden. YEA! I LOVE IT! Here's a picture of the sand boat. I got it at Costco, and the kids LOVE it!

Haley

Wow! It sure seems like lots of posts are about Haley...anyways, here's an update...She is still not gaining much weight. She now weighs 10 1/2 lbs and will be 6 months on Sunday. We are talking to different doctors and trying new things. Her vomiting has gotten a lot better, but now she is having severe diahrea (however you spell it - not a word I spell often). I would take puking anyday! The doctor is trying to get us a sample of a different formula (neocate?). He said it is REALLY expensive, so he wants to get us a sample, in case it doesn't work. I told him that we're already paying for the alimentum(monthly cost: $250), so how bad can it be? He said this new stuff makes alimentum look like it came from a thrift store...yippee...So, we'll see. We go in Wednesday, so hopefully we'll find out more details. We are headed to Disneyland on Sunday and then to Santa Cruz/Monterey for Mike's wedding, so I really hope I feel good about taking her away from her doctors for a few weeks. She is definately my baby and she's spoiled - mostly for obvious reasons, but I got her a new excersaucer/bouncer the other day. I can't wait to take it out and put it on the patio while we are playing out there! (Oh, speaking of our backyard, the sod is in! I just need to take an after picture now! I'm so excited! I love my backyard...the sentence said most here in the past few days is..."Let's go look at our grass". Thanks to ALL who helped! We got sprinklers and Sod layed in less than a week! Yep, I am a slave driver!) Anyways, enough about the yard, here is my precious Haley in her new toy!

The Weiner

So, during Sacrament meeting, Jake was sitting on the floor, and pulled out of our church bag a plastic hot dog, that must have come from Kristin's kitchen in the playroom. He held it up in the air(since he was on the floor, Troy and I were the only ones who could see it) and yelled at the top of his lungs(naturally), "HEY LOOK! I FOUND A WEINER!" Well, Kristin hollered back, "IT IS NOT A WEINER!" Jake then hollers, "IT IS, IT'S A WEINER!" During all of this, Troy and I were scrambling to reach each kids mouth to cover it, but were in the middle of wiping up spit up from Haley, and they seemed to be just out of reach. So, I did what any good mom would do, I whisphered in Kristin's ear, "plastic hot dog", so then she yelled, "IT'S NOT A WEINER, IT'S A PLASTIC HOT DOG, JAKE!" Yep. That is a typical Sunday on our pew. Happy Mother's Day.

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day (late) to everyone out there! Mother's Day was great here! It started out with breakfast in bed. Waffles and OJ! YUM! Then, off to church! After church, Troy made me my favorite meal of late - Rumbi Teriyaki Chicken Bowl - that I started eating, then re-creating at home when I couldn't have any milk. It was so yummy! Then we went to his mom's house to deliver a gift, and then up to my grandma's to deliver a gift. My mom was out of town, in Kentucky watching David graduate! So, we'll have to go visit her on Friday when she returns. It was a wonderful day with family! I got a new entertainment center for Mother's Day! I have been coveting it everytime we went to RC Willey! THANKS TROY! I love you...(Not that he reads this blog...)(Oh, it has since been filled with a 50" plasma TV for Father's Day - with NBA playoffs - we HAD to get it early!)

Here is a picture of my favorite kids(Haley was not happy!)!

Hey!

Okay, the past two weeks have been insane! First of all, we are finishing our backyard! I can't wait. It's one of those things I've wanted done yesterday...Here is a before picture, and hopefully the after picture will come in a few weeks...

This picture is of the west side of our house. Most of this will be concrete for Troy's basketball court. (The trampoline is on the east side of our house)

This picture is of the yard parallel to the back of the house. We are having a cement patio on the left and most of this will be grass. (Our fences are crazy in the back of our house, because our property touches so many other properties. To help figure what the pictures are of, and how they match up, look at the fencing.

Right now, the weeds are gone, ground is leveled, road base (to go under the concrete) is put where it should go, and trenches are dug for the sprinkling system. On Monday and Tuesday we are making sure we have everything where we want it, and hopefully the sprinklers done. Then the following Monday, we can lay sod...anyone is more than welcome to help us out with that! :)

Now for the Haley update. She is not doing good. All last week, everytime I would give her a bath, or change her diaper, I kept having a feeling that she still wasn't good, cause she was so scrawny, I could see her ribs! So, Monday morning, I took her to the doctor for a weight check, and to talk to the doctor about her. I was right, she still wasn't gaining weight. She weighs 10 lbs. 9 oz. Only 4 oz. more than a month ago. Here is a picture of her weight chart. Basically, with your weight or height, you should stay on your specific curve. The doctors computer recorded everytime I took her in for a weight check. You'll notice that she is FAR below the curve she was previously on. If she were to stay on her FIFTH percentile, she should be about 13 lbs now.

So, the doctor decided to put her on the special formula for a week, and have me go back off milk, and pump. Just to see how she does. If there isn't a considerable difference, he is going to re-do some labs and testing. I have kind of decided this week that I am done nursing. Apparently it's not doing her any good. Pumping sucks (ha ha - no really, it does) and she just needs to grow! So, Monday morning we take her back in to see how much she weighs. So, she's on the expensive Alimentum formula now. So, ask your pediatricians for samples, then mail me some! :) We figured it will cost about $250 a month just for formula. Insane, huh? Oh well, if she grows, it will be worth it. So, I'll let you know what happens on Monday.

To top it off, Kyle came home from school today sick again. I think it's strep again! What is the deal? If it's strep, it will be the fourth time in 5 months! Ironically, the only other time he's had it was when we were visiting Utah for Christmas one year. I might have to ask the doctor to remove his tonsils. INSANE! If you know Kyle, and how he is when he is sick, you would totally feel bad for our whole family. It's going to be a long weekend. I am going to take him into the doc in the morning! I love that our pediatricians office is open on Saturday mornings!

On a lighter note, Kristin is hilarious. Ever since her birthday, when I first put sponge curlers in her hair, she requests curlers EVERY DAY! Cause, "I'm a princess mommy". So, she even sleeps in them! I had her wear a hair net, to keep them in. Here's a picture with her right before bed in her curlers.

I've finally figured out the right combination so that she doesn't have a fro when she wakes up! She loves her curlers though!

Kyle's been playing flag football. He'll have to miss his game tomorrow, so then he'll just have 1 game left on Monday! YEA! I hate it! Someone needs to tell his coach that there is no chance they're winning the superbowl this year. Kyle thinks flag football is great, but Troy and I think his coach sucks! He told Kyle to kick the kid with the ball...anything to get the flag, or the football. Troy and I had to tell Kyle there was NO kicking in any sport. The moron coach walks around during the game with a clipboard full of plays on it. First of all, it's FLAG FOOTBALL! This is the youngest age group in the league (which is city rec). They don't throw the ball, cause the kids can't really catch the ball, so they just run the ball. So, either the quarterback scores, or whoever the quarterback hands the ball off to. Anyways, the coach is way too serious. Troy has had to hold me back a few times! I'm not exaggerating! I make my comments loud though (much to Troy's dismay). Here is a picture of Kyle at practice. I love this picture, cause it shows how hard he is trying. He's a good kid.

I've felt bad for Kyle this week. On Monday, when I picked him up from school, he was crying because he missed his old friends and wanted them back! I told him I felt the same way! He is such a social kid, he just wants friends around after school! Hopefully with the yard done, it will give them more to do outside.

Jake is just a cute kid. A devil for sure, but cute. He doesn't listen for anything! He's figured out that it's fun to tease Kristin cause she'll scream and cry. So, I'm loving that all day! But he's so sweet! I've started setting the timer for him to help clean up a room. He loves that! There's something about beating the timer! Here is a picture of him with a calf at Thanksgiving Point Farm Country a few weeks ago. We went with Cherice and the Downs Syndrome group. The kids had a blast, riding pony's, a hay ride, and checking out the animals. They also had a few games. In this picture, the kids were being pigs, and looking for a piece of gum under the whipping cream.

Sorry for the long post! Just haven't updated in awhile! Hope all is well with everyone! Oh, My brother David is getting his Masters Degree from Louisville tomorrow! CONGRATULATIONS! Then he is coming to spend the summer in Utah! I invited him to go to Bear Lake with the Korth family in July. He said he had been thinking about that, and wanted to be invited, so I can't wait! The kids are anxious to have an uncle to pester, if only for a few months! I think Allisun also got her Masters Degree from Utah State a few weeks ago. (I haven't talked to her about it, so I'm not for sure, but I'm almost positive - I think it was close to the wedding, so she was preoccupied). Anyways...CONGRATULATIONS!

Kristin's Birthday!

Today is May 1st. No, not Kristin's actual Birthday, but the day we are celebrating and having her friend party. Kristin is in a playgroup that meets every Tuesday. It is an all girl playgroup, and I scheduled my week for the week of Kristin's birthday so I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone. We decided to have a tea party. Thank heavens for Sarah, or I wouldn't have known what to do...We made little things to eat off the little plates. Little muffins, jello jigglers cut out in little flower shapes, and my mom helped Kristin make little cut out cookies. I had all of the girls show up in a dress up dress! It was so cute! When they got here we made necklaces (probably would have worked better for a 4 year birthday party) and then they decorated little picture frames. I made them all little flower barrettes for their hair, and I took all of their pictures. Then we had the tea party. It was so cute. Kristin has no problem being the center of attention.

The party favors. They decorated their own frames, got a wand, and got flower barrettes.

Here is Kristin blowing out her candles. We had blueberry muffins, since her party went from 9-11 am.

Of course there were presents. She loved everything. She's very easy to please!

Here are all the girls. Aren't they cute? It sure was fun. Happy Birthday Kristin!

This ones for you, Delilas!

Well, Delilas wanted pics of all the Doug Korth Kids Families, so I emailed Allisun's photographer (also Donnarae's best friend) and asked if she would email me the family picture that was taken the day of the wedding for my blog. Being the awesome person she is, she emailed it to me this morning! This is the whole Doug Korth Family. Nobody is missing! We are all there, can you believe it?

Okay, going from left to right are the Owens(Cherice), The Cartier's (Allisun), Doug and Melissa, The Korth's(Kourtney), Doug and LeeAnn, The Robertson's (Raquel), Donnarae, The Korth's(Troy), and the Young's(Becca). So, there are 8 kids, 6 in-laws, 1 girlfriend in-law, and 20 grandkids (10 boys, 10 girls). 37 in all. (I pray I'm not forgetting anyone, if I did, it was a total mistake!)

A little ride

Hey! In March, we bought a bike for me and a stroller that can be pulled behind the bike for kids to ride in. We bought it awhile ago, but the other morning, I decided to take the kids for a ride. The bike stroller is also a jogging stroller. Troy was asleep, and I couldn't figure out how to hook it to my bike, so I just walked with the kids. It is pretty hilly where we live, and I was gone for about an hour and a half. We walked to my cousin Katie's house, and then to a park. It was so nice. Now, if I only had a friend to walk with me...sigh...So, here's a picture of the kids in the stroller.

They loved it! It's great, cause I can squeeze Haley in too! We got this stroller, so that we could go on bike rides this summer. Hopefully, Kyle will be brave enough to learn to ride his bike before the summers over! Troy still has to pick out a bike for himself. He's ridiculous, cause he won't buy a red bike, so it's been irritating looking with him. I haven't ridden a bike in I don't know how long, but the first thing I noticed in riding my bike, is that any slight incline is HARD! I will get better! I have gone and picked Kyle up from school on my bike, and he rode in the stroller with Haley on the way home. It was fun, but I was exhausted by the time I got home. Kyle kept yelling, faster, faster. Hmmm...if he only knew...Have a good day!

Allisun and Beau got married!

Hey! Allisun and Beau were married yesterday, April 21st. My dad watched our kids while we were in the temple. All 4 of them! My mom was out of town, so my dad was on his own. He said they were good. Talk about super Grandpa! All the kids were dressed in church clothes for afterwards, so they had strict rules. Some of which were: no eating, no running around, no wrestling, no drinking, no playing with the dogs...etc...etc... They did pretty good. Here are Allisun and Beau walking out of the temple. Kristin headed on out with them. Silly girl. Beau and Allisun told her to come out with them, and then they stepped out to the crowd and everyone started screaming at Kristin to move...poor girl. She was definately confused. Aren't they so cute? Allisun looked incredible! Beau looked okay himself too! ;) It was windy and started raining a little bit right after they came out. We took a fast family picture and then they stayed around to do pics by themselves.

My dad brought the kids to the temple so they could be there for photos. I really wanted them there to see Allisun and Beau and so that they'll have the memory of that. (I remember being at the temple when a few of my aunts and uncles got married.) So, I told my dad to bring his camera so he could take a family picture of us. I forgot Haley's socks that morning (We had to pack like 3 different outfits, cause we were going to be gone all day, so I felt pretty good that socks were the only things that I forgot, and I ended up finding some later in the diaper bag...) but here is a family picture of us at the Jordan River Temple.

I love this picture. My little (okay, some may think large) family is so cute! I love my boys in suits. They had to wear suits from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm and they told me it was the worst day of their lives cause they had to wear itchy church clothes ALL DAY! Funny story though...my boys and Daxton were suppossed to be in charge of collecting the gifts, and putting them on a special table. Well, the adults would go out and check on the boys periodically. They decided that running to peoples car and loudly asking (okay, yelling) "Can we take your gift please?" before they even opened their doors, was the best way to handle this task. After all 4 of us adults (Troy, me, Kenny, and Cherice) told them that was not okay, numerous times, they were all fired from the gift collecting. Here's a picture of the Owen's family too (Kenny and Cherice). It's so cute! Such pretty tulips at the temple!
So, Allisun and Beau are off to a hotel in Seaside, OR. They are driving right through Portland on Hwy 26 to the beach. We told them when they got to 185th to wave. :) She said if they had time they would drive by our old house, so she could show Beau. I told her that I didn't that would be a very fun thing to do on your honeymoon. They are then going to Seattle for a reception there. Wish I could travel up for it. BUT, we've got my brother's wedding in a few weeks in Santa Cruz, CA. Can't wait for that! Kyle keeps asking me how many more Fridays until it's time. Then I have my friend Amy's wedding on June 14th. It's insane! I'm not used to so many weddings, but it sure is fun! Oh, Troy found out that he has to go to a training for work for 2 weeks in June. Guess where? To Portland! Well, technically his class is in Vancouver, but he's staying in Portland. I wish I could go up with him, but it's directly after Michael's wedding, and Kyle will still be in school...so, I just don't think he can miss more days! We'll see what we can figure out! Anyways, Congrats Beau and Allisun!

Haley update...

Everyone is always asking how Haley is doing, so here's a little update. She was weighed last Friday and was 10 lbs. 5 oz. Definately not as much as we have hoped. In one month, she gained 4 oz. So, she is going back on some medication. I don't think it helped, but we are trying everything. Haley vomits constantly. I am not exaggerating. I think that is a big reason she's not gaining weight, she can't possibly keep food down, but her GI tests told us she doesn't have reflux, but they gave her medication for it just because they didn't know what else to do. It's not suppossed to stop the puking, just make it so it's not painful. I don't think it's ever been painful for her, and I don't think it helps, but I am at my wits end, and have to try everything before we can get referred to a specialist. The medication for this is prevacid. The other medication they're putting her on is called Reglan. It's suppossed to make her food digest faster. Hoping it will digest before she can throw it up. Like I said, I don't think these things made a difference in the past, but we'll see. I am really starting to worry about her. She will be 5 months next week, and is not even 10 1/2 lbs yet. She is still wearing 0-3 month clothes. They are just starting to fit. Some of them are alittle short, but 3-6 month clothes just drown her. Here she is in her Bumbo watching me make dinner.

I know, I know, you are going to say she looks like Jake. I just found a picture that will prove it...check out the eyes! Haley's are nothing compared to what Jake's eyes were. They look like this, cause I said, "Jake, Haley, look at me" and they both turned, this isn't a natural look...

So, that's the update on Haley. She is definately cute though! She's just so tiny, but is still doing things that babies her age are doing, like laughing, and rolling over. We love her!

BYU Blue and White Game

Okay, we had the funnest Saturday ever. It was the day of BYU's Blue and White Football Game. It's the final Spring practice and scrimmage. This year they made it free to the public. Before the scrimmage, they had a kids clinic (also free). The kids got to go on the field, and do a bunch of different drills for each position. The football players were running each drill and were so great to the kids! A few of them pretended that Jake hit them so hard he knocked them over and Jake was thrilled to think that he knocked a guy down. It was so awesome! And you know me, with football, I could take it or leave it. I think I loved it so much, because the boys soaked it in! (All 3 boys!) It was something they have done, that they truly enjoyed, and other than the heat and needing water, there were no complaints! For those of you with kids, you know how huge a "no complaint" day can be! It might have been such a good day because Kristin was with my parents at the farm - My grandparents Harding Farm and we didn't have to worry about prissiness for the day, oh, and nobody took pictures :( After the clinic, Allisun, Beau and Troy's dad met us for the scrimmage. Anyways, here are some pictures of the event. Here is Jake. He is so funny. The advertising for the kids clinic said ages 5-12. Well, there were 2 year olds doing the clinics, and nobody cared. If anything, the players running the drill made it special for the younger kids. So, before we got there, we told Jake he was going to watch Kyle, and he would get to do it next year. He was fine with that. Then once we saw that age didn't really matter, we made him do some drills. He was hooked! Here he is! Oh, it was hard to take pics of the kids doing the drills, I'd get set up, and then a football player would stand right in front of me. Troy thinks I was just trying to take pictures of football players butts. Yea right. Kyle is currently signed up for Flag Football. In fact, he missed his first practice to go down to BYU. He loved it! He was trying so hard. Here's Kyle! I love this first picture of him. It shows how hard he was trying. He's a good kid! Okay, I was packing around Haley in the pack, and a guy bumped into me. He was really nice and kept apologizing. He looked familiar, so I asked Troy who that was. He told me it was Reno Mahe (aka Jr. Mahe). He played at BYU and now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. I told Troy, let's go get a picture with him. So, I walked up and asked him for a picture, and he was so nice. He said, sure, he grabbed the boys and knelt down by them. He was so great about it! The boys thought that was SO awesome! So, here's the picture!

Troy had to take the day off of work for us to go, but it was so worth it! We decided we are for sure doing this every year! (without Kristin) The only bad part of the day was that it was so hot, we got sunburned. The boys didn't, cause I'm so great and had them wear hats, but Haley's arms got burnt (she had a hat on too) and my face and arm (yes, one arm, from sitting in the stands) and Troy's knees. It was still fun though! If anyone wants to go with us next year, let us know!

Easter Weekend

Okay, when I was little, for Easter, we would always go to Copperton Park on Saturday morning for an Easter Egg Hunt. I remember it being the most marvelous thing ever. So, I couldn't wait to take my own kids to the infamous Copperton Park Easter Egg Hunt. Turns out, it was a great memory for me, but nothing like I remembered...does that make sense? It wasn't the most organized event, and it was nothing like I remembered. I have been thinking about it lately, and I've decided that I hold the memory so close, because it reminds me of my Grandpa, and he's been gone now for 7 1/2 years. So, I've decided that while my kids did enjoy it, it wasn't this huge nastalgic (I'm sure that's mispelled) moment for me. So, I've decided to cherish my own memories and let my kids make their own, whether it includes the Copperton Park Easter Egg Hunt, or not. Anyways, here are some pictures.

After the Copperton Easter Egg Hunt, we went to a Uptown Downs (the local chapter of the Downs Syndrome support group - don't know the technical name) Easter Egg Hunt with Kenny and Cherice. For those of you who don't know, their daughter, my niece, Kinlee, has Downs Syndrome. The kids had fun. How can you not have fun while searching for candy? Here is a family picture from there...

Haley just hung out sucking her thumb all day long! She was so good! It was funny, cause I got her a summer hat and she loved it. She didn't cry at all when it was on. All winter, everytime I tried to put a hat on her, she would freak out! She's gonna be a sunshine girl! Yea!

Jake was all about finding eggs. He is a candy-aholic like you wouldn't believe! This is definately his holiday. At the Copperton Egg Hunt, each kid could find 3 eggs. The eggs were empty (of candy) but some had slips of paper in them that you would exchange for a dollar. When you turned in your 3 empty eggs, they would give each kid 3 large size candy bars, and then any dollars for slips of paper. Jake had 2 slips of paper, so came out with $2 and 3 candy bars. When he got his dollars, he was jumping up and down, and Cherice and I laughed that the caption for the picture should be " I gotta dollar, I gotta dollar, I gotta dollar hey hey hey hey". This picture is of him standing in line to turn in his eggs. I think at this point he was nervous there would be no candy involved! Oh, Jake picked the biggest Easter Basket! He didn't care that there was pink on it! Smart kid!

Kyle is a sweet boy...at times. At the Uptown Downs Hunt, he was too worried about staying with Daxton (Daxton didn't feel the same) that he only found 3 eggs. Jake and Kristin probably had at least 10 each. I kept telling him not to worry about Daxton, but to just find eggs, but he was too worried that Daxton was running off. I think before the race, someone told him and Daxton to stay together (not during the race, but while they were waiting for it to start) and he took it literal, so he only got 3 eggs...poor, sweet kid!

Here is Kristin and Kinlee making little bunny sacks.

Carrie and Hannah also hung out with us for the morning! It sure was fun!

Here is a picture of cousins and friends the morning of the hunt.From Left to Right: Kristin, Madi, neighbor girl, McCall, Kyle, Daxton, Jake

Okay, one last picture. It's of Kristin. There's just something so cute about little girls holding dandelions. It won't be long until she's wanting roses!