Happy 1st Birthday Jack!!!

Last year at this time, I was recovering from my 3rd C-Section and I was sort of out of it, just ask Mari Ann. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever figure someone so small could make me so happy. I had a good life, a great husband, two good kids (well.... most of the time), a good job, a nice home, etc. Then Jack came along. He has such a sweet spirit. All of us instantly fell in love with him. I am so thankful that he chose us. Our family would not be complete without him. For his birthday, we decided to go to Lagoon. It was fun. Mari Ann, Houston, Hailie, Cortney, Carlie, Mason, and Avery all came. It was Cortney's birthday too, you just need to add a few years to hers. I won't say how many, okay add 24 to Jack's 1. It was the best experience I have had at that place so far. Jack was such a good boy. He was such a trooper. The weather was perfect and there wasn't a huge crowd. The kids had a lot of fun. Thanks everyone for coming with us.

This picture is so typical of Jack. He talks with his mouth closed or he talks out of the side of his mouth. It is so cute, but I do hope that he grows out of it. It may not be so cute when he is an old man.

The infamous 1st birthday cake. I try for each of my kids to make their 1st cake. I went all out for Carter with the turkey cake that I made. Ryen had the ladybug cake that we made in Nauvoo. Jack's wasn't as much work. I really don't have a lot of time anymore. I do think, however, that it turned out cute.

Look at Ryen staring at the cake. She couldn't wait to eat it. Everyone's mouth turned blue from the frosting. It was pretty hysterical.

Jack is the only one out of my 3 kids that dug into his cake. He was very careful though. He enjoyed the frosting a little bit too much. I would pull the cake away from him and he would get all upset. I would push it back to him and he would calm down and start digging again.

One year past and how things have changed. I am so lucky to have three healthy kids. With each new day, I know that I am truly blessed. Happy Birthday Stinker Poo. We love you so much!!

A camping we will go!

So our family decided to go camping over the 4th of July weekend. Many of you are wondering, is this Linda speaking. Yes it is. I am not much of a camper, although I enjoyed Girls Camp a ton especially since we slept in cabins and the wild animals were left outside, but I agreed to go. I had to work on Friday so Jack and I stayed behind while the rest of the family headed to Sunrise Campground. Friday night came and so did some thunderstorms. I got myself packed and Jack and I headed over the mountain to meet the rest of the family. The rain, thunder, and lightning decided to head over there as well. My last camping experience was about 2 years ago. We went camping with the same neighbors and it was alot of fun until the thunder and lightning storm. It freaked me out, especially since we were in tents in a wide open field and I had two young kids inside the tent. YIKES!!!!! This storm wasn't as bad, but it was freezing and I swear I got frost bite. We decided to go to the Lake on Saturday, even though the weather was still not the best. Jack had never been swimming. We decided we were going to have him go for a dip in the Lake. The weather got better and so we suited him up. Isn't he cute!! Brad dipped him in the water and he screamed to high heaven. (By the way, his leg is better. He didn't break it and he is getting better at putting his weight on it, thank goodness!)

Here is Ryen with her friend, or should I say boyfriend. They were with each other alot this weekend. I thought it was cute. They were swimming in the most disgusting water, but they liked it since it was warm.

Carter and Ryen decided to climb a tree at our campsite. The kids had so much fun. Brad and Carter were able to go shoot some paint balls with the fellow boy campers. I guess they had a blast, but from looking at the weldts on them, I don't think it sounds like too much fun. Ryen went with the ladies and the smaller kids into town and they played at the park. This all happened while I was still slaving away at work, trying to support my family. Do you feel sorry for me yet?

Here is a picture of the family leaving the campsite, notice I am not in the picture. I know you aren't shocked by this but there is a very good reason. Jack was misbehaving at camp. All day on the 4th, he was so mean and nasty. I couldn't get him to fall asleep. He wasn't acting like his normal self. It was frustrating me to no end. I wanted to enjoy the time but he wouldn't sit still and he wouldn't crawl around unless he was in the tent. Finally, I had had it. We ate a really good dinner and then headed into town to see some fireworks. He finally fell asleep in the car but I was terrified to take him out. I talked to Brad and I decided to head home and let him scream in our house where it would only affect me, and not a whole campground. The night that Jack and I arrived, he cried and we couldn't get him to stop. There were campers everywhere, and I know that they could hear us because we could hear them. It stressed me out, so I didn't want to go through that again.

The kids had a great time. I am so glad that we had a chance to go. We have good friends that we are able to go with. I hope they will invite us again. They might if I promise not to bring the rain again.