steelhead fishing

I'll let Matthew post his own post about the actual trip. This is just what he brought home. My niece and nephew in salt lake wanted to see the fish. Here you go, Tyler and Breanna!

Halloween-i've been waiting for this!!

So, this year I'm proud to say that our kids stuck to a theme. We tried for ninja turtles, but couldn't find an outfit for Jamison. So, we opted for Mario Brothers!! McKinley got dubbed "princess peach" even though her dress isn't the same. And for Reagan....Toadstool! I'm so proud of any project I manage to complete, but this little gem turned out way cuter than I could have hoped for. Here you go....(sorry, I don't know what's going on with the text here.)

 The boys and Mcki's costumes are store bought. Luckily, Jamison's favorite color is green, so he has no problem being Luigi. In fact, he insists. Don't you remember as a kid, always wanting to be Mario cause he got to go first? I do. Mcki reused her dress from last year. She was a good sport about it. I made Reagan's hat and vest. The rest of the outfit is just normal clothes. I fell in love with her instantly!! She is the cutest toad ever! 

 And this scary picture below is what i've been waiting for. Ever since I've cut my hair short, I've wanted to stick it up. This is the best I got. I just got it cut again the day before halloween. Its a little shorter than last time....not super fond of the length......but this almost turned out normal.......well, normal for the 80's!!! Pulled out some old jewelry from high school, and wabam! I worked that night, had to explain to patients that I really didn't do my hair like this normally.

 McKinley had crazy hair day at school.....the day before Halloween. Anyhoo, I actually got up and did something for her.  I think it turned out really fun. They are sparkly pipe cleaners, braided into her hair. Then I attached each one to the bottom of another on to create all the little hoops. She liked it! Luckily, she doesn't have very thick hair, so it didn't take a lot of time.










 So, besides Halloween, Matthew went and took his Professional Engineering test. He has to wait till December to get the results. It is a super grueling test, 8 hours long. Glad I don't have to take it. He says he may have scraped a pass. It'll mean a raise at work, but he'll still being doing basically the same thing. We are glad its over with.
Happy holidays to everyone!
  

Its been a while

So, I tried to post a few weeks ago, but I was trying to upload videos and it didn't ever work. Getting on the computer and getting anything done is near impossible during the day. We've been crazy busy lately at night.
This is an official catch up post......with lots of pictures.

McKinley started second grade. She is loving it and has a great teacher. She spends all her time playing with friends and setting up play dates without asking me. Its rather irritating. It would be okay if they lived within walking or bike riding distance, but some of her friends live far enough away that we have to coordinate with parents. Its pretty sad when I have to call the mom back to find out what our children have planned without our knowledge!! Sadly, I don't think I have a picture of her on her first day. I'll have to take a belated first day pic. 

Reagan had her 6 month check up. She weighs in at a whoppin' 13 lbs 10 oz and is 25.25 inches long. Puts her in the 7% in weight and 24% in height. She is a super small little thing, but never stops moving! She crawled at 5 1/2 months. That is earlier than any of my other children. She is the smallest of all my kids as well. She thinks she's pretty tricky when she pulls herself to standing in her crib. She loves her brothers and sister and loves to laugh at them. She likes to eat baby food and doesn't like to nurse. Keep movin, Ray! We love you.  

She is always up on one leg like this. Then she bounces.

I love this little face!

Matthew turned 30!! Thank goodness I have a friend who makes "service treats"! She made Matthew's cake as we were camping and not home till evening. Thanks, Christy!! Happy Birthday Matthew!

Yes, we really put 30 candles on there. Most of them blew out before i got to him. It was too windy.

Here are some pics from our camping trip over labor day. It was super fun. The location is just south of Pocatello in McCammon. I really liked the area.

Cool little creek running through the campsite.

Awesome boat uncle Garrett made for Gavin. Uncles are way cooler than parents!

I hope these two stay close friends! They are so cute together!

This hammock provided lots of fun for the kids. McKinley could turn upside down in it. I have a pic somewhere, but couldn't find it.

Jamison fell off a swing set at our friend's house and hit his elbow. No big break, but too much fluid on the elbow to see if there is a crack. He's been wearing the brace for 10 days now. A second x ray a week after the event still showed too much fluid. So one more week of brace and another follow up x ray. I really like the pediatrician here. He is very skilled with little children. Jamison is super cranky, which we interpret as pain, but otherwise has handled everything very well. A little ibuprofen goes a long way!

Gavin turned 5!!! What? How is he 5? We got him a new bike for his birthday. He was less than enthusiastic in his first response. Oh well, he likes it and is having a good time riding it. His favorite present was given to him by his friend. Its a little basketball hoop that hangs inside on a door. He loves it! He wanted a green cake. It turned out a little girly looking, but he didn't complain. I made it from scratch from a recipe that was published in "the Friend" magazine. Apparently President Monson's mom made this cake when he was a kid. It was yummy. Even McKinley and our neighbor girl ate it, and neither of them like cake! Thanks President Monson, for sharing the recipe with us! I did use cool whip for frosting instead of chocolate frosting.

 As for me, I've been trying not to drown in housework. We've bottle peaches and green beans recently. Froze corn. I am extremely pleased with our corn harvest this year. Our beans and carrots did well. Zucchini has been plentiful. Tomatos have not done so well. We have 6 plants, but only 2 have many tomatos on them. They are heirloom plants. I don't know if that is why, but they blossom, but no fruit. The blossoms just dry up and fall off. Maybe it was too hot. Who knows? 

That's it. Life has been a bit crazy for us lately. Oh, I forgot to mention I'm playing rec league soccer with a bunch of people at the hospital. I'll have to have Matthew take a picture. Its fun. Between soccer, scouts for Matthew, work for me, and life in general, our nights are awfully full. We've been blessed though. So much to be grateful for.
Until next time!

New Hair

My sister wants to see what my new hair cut looks like. I got it cut a while back to chin length. Neither Matthew or I liked it. I took in a picture of Meg Ryan back in the 90's. This is what I got back.

These are both taken with my phone, so not the best pics. Its a pretty low maintenance haircut. I wash it, apply mousse and some hair texture stuff and let it dry. Sometimes it looks really good, and sometimes I don't like it. Matthew likes it better cause it looks like I try to do my hair. I can't just pull it up in a pony tail.
It doesn't look like Meg Ryan to me. But I think my hair is just too thick. 

 

Here we have a cute little pic of Reagan. McKinley applied the big skirt. Reagan can officially crawl. Actually she started crawling about a week ago. She's pretty good now. And she can finally sit up. She started crawling before she sat up. That is usually reversed. She doesn't have any problems sitting though. (no falling over or anything like that) Silly little girl. Hopefully she crawls for a long time and puts off walking. She still weighs in under 13 lbs. Well, she might be over now, but at 5 months, she was 12 lbs 12 oz. Tiny little squirt.

Boys: Noise covered in dirt

Our friends have a saying on their wall that kind of makes me laugh. "Boys: Noise covered in dirt." It seems that our boys prefer their dirt moist. Very moist. Like mud! 

Perhaps you remember from a while ago (click here June 2009) the following picture of Gavin sporting a handsome mud goatee when he was 2-ish. We blew this picture up big and hung it with one of McKinley when she was 2 in their room.

Apparently he thought Jamison has come of age and needs to know firsthand the joys of playing in mud. What better way to teach than to do? Gardens make excellent mud patches.

We'll blow one of these up big and hang it on the wall so we have a happy smiley Jamison at age 2 forever. We may have to hang their pictures in our bedroom so that when they are teens and all mopey and grumpy, we can remember how cute they once were....

Reagan

I finally got a good picture of Reagan smiling.

She is starting to smile more now, but there for a while she would only smile for me and only in the morning hours. She's kind of a grumpy baby. I'm not one to keep a food diary and see if its something I'm eating, but I have determined that she is sensitive to caffeine. The 2 days after I drink a Cherry coke are pretty brutal. Needless to say, I'm trying very hard to not drink them. Oh...and she can roll over! Cute, tiny little thing. She's coming up on 4 months. Its going by too fast. I'm barely starting to feel like I have a handle on my housework again. And that's only because Matthew has been doing the dishes.

We have yet to decide who Reagan looks like, if any of the other kids. I'll post pictures of them all about the same age. Then anyone who is bored or interested can weigh in.

Jamison-3 months

McKinley-3 months

Gavin-3 months-He was so fat!!

And can I just say, "I love my veggie eating kids!". They will eat more salad than pizza, more veggies off a veggie tray than bbq pulled pork, and they will ask for "healthy" snacks. Who knows if its genetic or not, but I remember eating plain lettuce as a kid. And my mom always told me my skin would turn orange cause I ate so many carrots. (always with ranch) I love vegetables! These pictures are just way too cute!

Can you guess what his favorite color is?

If you guessed green.....you are correct!

McKinley will eat whole lettuce leaves, too. They will all eat raw spinach. I've been eating a lot of that lately for lunch. Toss in a few strawberries, mandarin oranges, canned chicken, and a raspberry vinaigrette......So Good!
Well, Matthew is telling me that it is time for bed. First night for Reagan in her crib. She's getting to wiggly for the bassinet. Hopefully she doesn't wake Jamison up.
Night, all!!

My comments on camping

You should probably read Matthew's entry first. Its the one right below.




Done already? Read on then.......




So, I couldn't figure out how to write at the bottom of Matthew's post. Blogger changed the way we do things and we are still trying to figure it out.
Now you tell me.....how many women with 4 small children, one being the age of 3 months, would want to go camping in the pouring rain and temperatures down to freezing at night? I know of a few that did it. They were the mothers of Matthew and his cousins. However, I wonder if it was raining that year they had a 3 month old? Or if their 3 month old personally soiled more laundry than the other 3 children combined?
I do appreciate Bryant letting us use their old little camper. It kept us warm and dry. And I appreciate Morgan and Sophie letting Gavin and McKinley sleep in their tent. My children are always much more entertained when their aunts and uncles are around. McKinley has taken to Sophie and loves everything she does. She also loves her aunt Emily. Sophie is really in to bird watching and is teaching my kids to classify birds. Its pretty awesome. Sophie always worries about turning my kids into nerds. I don't mind. They are so much more willing to learn with other people. Mom just isn't that cool. (until it comes to me handling blood. They do think that's pretty cool.)
As Matthew mentioned, his extended family has been less enthusiastic about camping in recent years. Not to mention the change in dynamics of Matthew's own immediate family with the divorce of his parents. This camping trip was definitely different.  It is fun to see the brothers together, though, manning the boats their dad and uncles use to drive. Its always kind of poignant seeing the next generation take over what their father's use to do. We missed having Devin with us.
I very much enjoyed it once the rain stopped and it warmed up marginally. I spent most of Sunday morning in the camper with Reagan, trying to keep her warm and dry. Then the children came back from a very wet, rainy boat ride. More trying to keep cold, wet children warm, dry, and entertained. I was extremely pleased when the rain let up and we could all get outside again. We did go on a drive farther up the river. The boys and Reagan all fell asleep. It was a peaceful drive which I thoroughly enjoyed with Matthew and McKinley.
I was extremely pleased that I caught two fish whilst carrying Reagan. It makes me happy to catch fish. We ended up keeping one of mine and one of Gavin's as the hooks were too deep and the fish didn't survive the removal. Gavin was very excited to eat them! He thought we were going to cook them over the camp fire and was some what disappointed when we told him he had to wait till we got home. Silly boy!

Here is a picture of me, Reagan and Jamison, first thing in the morning. Matthew loves taking pictures like this. We have a very similar one of me, McKinley, and Gavin several years ago. I  mostly wanted you all to see little Reagan up close. She's so cute! (she proceeded to spit up all over right after this pic was snapped. In fact, I believe Matthew got a picture of that as well!)
I love my kids. And I love my husband. And I love that my husband wants my kids to learn to love the outdoors. And I love the outdoors.......when its not constantly raining!!! Even then, I don't mind it. I just wished my children were a little older during the rain. We'll pack more games next time. Old school games. No electronics allowed while we camp!! NEVER!