Oops...as the whole summer slips away.

Just realized I never posted about McKinley's birthday. Seeing as how there are a couple other birthdays coming up, I'd better get her on here.

My darling baby turned 9. She thinks she's all sorts of grown up and wants to be included in every grown up activity. I recently got called into the young women's program and now she wants to go to all our activities. She'll be bored of it by the time she's actually in it!

She is a spit fire, who goes her own way. She is ambitious when she wants to be and terribly stubborn. She loves to read, and read, and read. She is athletic and tall and beautiful. Let us be honest.....she terrifies me. I have no idea how to help her along the path of life because she just does her own thing. I'm so glad to call her mine, but also recognize that I need a village to raise this child. So lucky she is surrounded by lovely family who will help her along her path in life.

We didn't have a friend party this year due to some disobedience issues. Happened last year, too. I know, I'm a  horrible mother. She also happened to get strep throat again this year, a week after her birthday. Last year, it occurred on her birthday. Weird. No other times during the year. Really weird. Luckily, no one else got it.

 McKinley is not a cake girl. Love it! (I'm not either) This is one of the few times we crack out our fruit pizza making skills. She and a friend helped decorate it. They had a good time and did an excellent job.

 

 

This can't be the first selfie she's ever taken, but I don't recall any others and I think this one is super cute. She took it while man handling our camera during our huckleberry expotition. I also found a video she took. The cinematography makes you a little dizzy. And I think there is a period where she doesn't even realize she's still filming. Its kind of funny. We love you, McKinley!

Reagan's version of picking huckleberries. Silly kiddo!

 We are trying desperately to get a cute picture of Reagan while she is a young two. We have one of all our kids and we blow them up big to hang on the wall. McKinley's was taken by a friend who was an aspiring photographer. The rest have been taken by Matthew. It is very difficult to get a natural shot of a two yr old on the run, while looking incredibly cute. These are a few of our efforts.

 Hair flipped out.

 Hair curled under. I prefer it this way. But the flipped out version is a better representation of Her personality. The flipped under is her dainty, I'm so cute, version. Ugh! The flipped out is more of the early 90's mullet rocker look. Not my favorite and not how I want to remember her. Curse her selfie hair cut! Looking at these pictures makes her look like she has an alter ego version of herself. Kind of funny.

 This is titled "mom, a puppy!" She loves dogs.

 Before we got our hydroseed down, and subsequently have to water very frequently, Matthew taught the kids the fine art of sleeping in the back yard. He's been so excited to do this as it was a favorite thing for him and his brother as kids. And our backyard is fully fenced, making me feel more comfortable about it. He sleeps out with them because Reagan and Jamison are still a little young to be without adult supervision. He loves it! For a while, Reagan insisted on sleeping out as many nights as we'd permit. She thinks it's fabulous. This picture includes everyone but Gavin. He has an internal radar for Saturday morning cartoons and was already up. Jamison is under the blue camo sleeping bag and McKinley is under the solid blue. Reagan is the little blond head next to Matthew. The kids really are there....I promise.
I've realized I always blog following a night shift. I fell asleep with Reagan for several hours. Matthew woke me up to move to my own bed. And now I think its time to work. Guess I better try to sleep. I don't have a baby sitter tomorrow. Chao.

Lots of stuff

Hmm...so much going on. Not enough time to blog about everything. Finally got my garden in. Yahoo! I'm so excited to see what grows well, what needs to be changed, and how we deal with our new garden area. I'm already hopeful that the weeds won't be as bad as last year. But I'm also hoping, that with having a fenced in back yard, that I can spend more time in the garden. We are getting along with the back yard remodel. Matthew got the sprinkling system running. It had a lot of broken pipes and heads and other randomness that needed fixing. So going to hire someone to blow it out this fall. I've got little fruits growing on my pear and apple trees, and little cherries on my cherry tree. I'm so extremely pleased! We have some raspberry transplants that appear to be doing okay. Probably won't see many berries this year, but hopefully they'll keep growing strong and in a few years we'll have lots and lots! Also got some blackberry starts. I'm still wondering how they will go. I love watching things grow.
Speaking of growing things, our kids are growing up way too fast. McKinley turns 9 on the 17th this month. Here are some lovely pictures from her recent dance recital. They didn't do professional pictures, so these are just Matthew specials. I can't do it, get them all blurry.

Can she just stop growing up? She looks so much older than 9. Doesn't help that she's bigger than most of the 10 yr olds.

My little sister claims I've "gone country" because I make our bread now and I enjoy making muffins from scratch. There is something extremely satisfying seeing these beauties come out of the oven. Plus the fact that my kids think it tastes good. Between my baby and my husband, they eat a half a loaf fresh out of the oven. Sorry...You'll just have to turn your head.

The same sister came up camping for memorial day. I still feel bad for the drive she had to make, but my kids loved seeing their cousin and aunt and uncle.

It is the first year in a long time that it has been nice for memorial day. It was so lovely! We used sunblock in abundance!

The fishing wasn't great, but we caught a few little ones. I did have a big one on, but he flipped himself off my line before we got him on the boat.

Malcolm and Reagan....such cute, messy little critters. They had a good time.

This is what my kids have discovered in our ripped up backyard. They think it is absolutely the most fun activity to do. We dislike it. Makes a huge mess in our bathrooms. How can you fault them, though.

Can I mention, I'm digging Reagan's pixy cut. It is so much easier to take care of. Her long hair was always getting gross with snot, stuck in her nose. Nasty! Not anymore. Its growing on me.

I suppose that's all for now. McKinley is playing softball this year. Its pathetic to watch...a lot of walking involved as her team's pitchers aren't very good. She is practicing as well...but not good enough to use in a game yet. And we had to laugh, one of the first games, when the pitcher struck her out. She came off the field stating "I swear I didn't swing at that one!". Guess no one told her that if the pitch is over the plate, its a strike whether she swings or not. Made me laugh.

Why? Why, why why?

My sweet, darling, little girl found the scissors while I was in the bathroom. Why does all heck break loose when a mother locks that door? Can't a woman go to the bathroom without worrying what is going to happen on the other side?
Anyhoo.....I'll post some cute Easter pictures of the girls first.

 Dying easter eggs. I believe this was Reagan's first time. I don't recall last year....at all.

 The boys having fun. Jamison really enjoyed dying eggs.

 The whole family...I'm behind the camera.

 Easter day. We bought these dresses last year, but Reagan's was too big. I'm glad McKinley's still fit her this year.

Pretty girls.

 This is a result of the picture below. Matthew borrowed the skid steer from a friend. He's been busy smoothing out the back yard in preparation for grass seed. The kids dug a hole and filled it with water....hence the pic above. They enjoy the mud. Us parents, not so much. Lots of baths, lots of muddy clothes.

 Now the scissors. Reagan chopped her hair. CHOPPED! I almost cried.

 She  has the most beautiful long hair. You can see the original length where the ends curl all cute. Then the side, where she hacked it off! And she got the top something fierce, too.

 Do you see all that?! Sob.

 Cute little girl. This was something I couldn't fix at home. Emergency hair salon trip. She was fine the entire time. Was really fascinated watching the hair dresser in the mirror.

 I don't think she liked the hairspray that the lady used. She would not smile after that.

This is how it looks without a style. Not sure how I'm going to style it. Reagan and Malcolm, now more than ever, look like cousin siblings. Cute kids. I bought a bunch of head bands today. Matthew whimpers every time he sees Reagan. He's really having a hard time with her pixie cut.

 

On a side note, completed another triathlon this weekend. Sophie and Emily (my sisters-in-law) came to Pocatello to ride along. This one, the Bengal Tri, was kind of unique. You swim the night before, then bike and run the next morning. It was COLD, and raining. We were soaked after the bike. Luckily, they warned us and I brought different shoes and socks for the two events. My toes were freezing! After the first mile, the run went a little better as I started feeling my toes again. Didn't finish with any special times, but I finished where I expected myself to. Since I  haven't been training for a tri, I was pretty happy just to finish. It was fun! We are already planning on one in July. Anyone is welcome to join us.

Much love and a late Happy Easter to all who might gaze upon this blog.

Spring Time and Bipolarity

With the advent of spring and warmer temperatures comes all of the crazy things that spring brings. Allergies, the weather roller coaster, and mud. Our backyard is still all tore up and the kids got the great idea to dig a pit to make mud. YEAH! for kids being outside and playing. NAY! for muddy children. The other aggravating thing is that every time the kids go outside it looks like we're having a yard sale. I just picked up 3 pair of pants, 2 shirts, 2 pair of underwear, 1 pair of socks and 1 flip flop (I didn't see the other one anywhere outside).

Spring time brings a whole mix of emotions. Bring it on!

We've been busy. Too busy to squeeze in a blog. So, here is a picture blog. Some of these were from before Christmas, but had to show you all what we've been doing.

the "library". Just an accent wall in our living room. The Gray is the color we painted everything else.

This color, chocolate raspberry, is truly delicious! I love how it turned out.

Sledding in the backyard. I love our backyard! And I so love when the kids have fun together.

Before pictures of the kitchen

This was not finished, as it needed several coats, but you can see the drastic difference it made in the kitchen. We are enjoying the pop of color.

Gavin and McKinley skiing and snowboarding. We have videos of them, but that takes more time than I want to spend right now.

This sweet, little, doll turned 2. I love her. She makes me giggle every day. She is so beautiful. She thinks she is so special, because her brothers and sister laugh at everything she does. And her curls! That honey blond hair. She is independent and stubborn and loves dairy products. She lives in a diaper. Happy Birthday, Reagan. We love you so much!

The icing didn't set up right. But it tasted good anyway. Its a melting fish!

Super excited about finding money in her new book. She loves the book, too. We read it every night.

McKinley was Martha Washington in a little classroom play at school. She did a fantastic job. I'm extremely proud of my first attempts to help my child make a costume. The dress is a women's size, altered to fit her. (not altered very well, but the apron covers that!) The hat and apron are made by me. I have to say, I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out. I've never made an apron before.

Martha with George Washington(Tyson), and a soldier (Joey). The soldier is also a friend from dance.

Playing outside in the rain.

This is what happens when we play with glitter at our house. Matthew hates it!

This picture was actually taken just last Sunday. Matthew took the kids for a hike while I was napping before a night shift. Of course, the two older kids fell in the river. Matthew loves getting them out of the house.

 

We are in the middle of destroying our back yard so we can land scape it how we'd like. It looks like a mini war zone. fox holes from moving trees, cut branches stacked to form defenses. Its awesome! Matthew is working on retaining blocks in the garden. It is looking very good. This is were all our tax refund will end up going. Yep.