JACK'S PICTURES!!!!!

After many different attempts, we were able to get pictures of Jack. I am such a bad mom, the last picture taken was when he was 5 weeks old. The other two kids had them done at 5 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. We tried to take him a few times and he would not cooperate, but last Saturday was our lucky day. He was all smiles. He is 8 months old now. I can't believe how fast time flies. He has changed so much. He is so adorable and such a happy baby. We have been so lucky. Since we are getting up there in years, we needed a nice baby. He is starting to move around a little. He hasn't quite figured out that if he moved his legs, he could go much faster. He reaches for things until he finally gets them, he is scooting on his stomach. Oh by the way, he says MA MA. YES!!!! One of my children said it before DA DA. He is very intelligent.

Go ahead a call him Brad Junior. He looks just like him. Brad was freaking out that his hair wasn't combed right. I think he looks handsome. At least he has some hair. Carter at this age was bald, or should I call him Charlie Brown.

Anyway, I just wanted to share our handsome devil's pictures.

Oh, What a Night!!!!

So... January 27th, 2009, will be a night that Carter will never forget. Uncle Judd gave Carter two tickets to the Jazz Game. I was lucky enough to be the other person who got to go. Carter was counting down the days until the 27th rolled in. He couldn't stand it, he was so excited. Reason being...... the only game that Carter has gone to, he was sitting in the nose bleed section. The tickets that Judd gave us, he was sitting down by the court, right behind the basket. The seats were awesome!!!! Che' and Landon went to the game as well. We met up to go eat some dinner and then headed to the game. We were way early. Landon said we needed to go early so that Carter could get some autographs. Well, he got some and he was so excited. I was sitting with Che', watching Landon and Carter trying to get the players to sign Carter's jersey. I started to get tears in my eyes just because Carter was so excited. I can't believe how silly I was, but seeing him get so excited about something that he truly loves, made me a little loopy. We got some great pictures of D Will, Carter's favorite player. I just wish Carter could have gotten his autograph.

I wish I could have gotten Kyle's autograph, I mean Carter could have gotten it. Man Kyle is cute. Carter almost was able to get Kyle to sign his jersey but the security guard was pushing Kyle through since he was late. Oh well. Kyle is very easy on the eyes though, right?

Here is the D Will jersey all signed. I can't remember all the different players that signed it, except I know that Coach Sloan signed it. Carter was loving every minute of it.

I don't think Carter will ever forget this night, but I do know that I won't. You would do anything for your kids to make them happy, and when something so simple makes them beam from head to toe, there is nothing else you can do but to smile and be grateful that you were there to share it with them.

Thanks Judd. You made Carter's day and mine as well. I think you won Jimmy over. Thanks Che' and Landon. We had a ton of fun with you. We love you guys and we need to do this more often.

Life at our house

Things have been crazy around our house the last couple of weeks. We have all been pretty drained. Here is a picture of Ryen wiped out in a bunny suit that is way to small but she wanted to wear it since she was cold.
Carter and his friend Austin did a science experiment at school. Austin's Mom, Alean, helped them out with it, which I am very grateful. I didn't do well in Science with Kit McBride as my teacher. It wasn't my favorite subject. Alean came up with a great idea and had the boys dress up as mad scientists. It was really cute and they did a great job.

Jack is rolling all over the place. One day I put him in his crib thinking he was going to go to sleep. Little did I know, we walked past his room and he was up staring at us. It took us by surprise. Pretty cute though. He also has his 1st tooth. I can't believe how big he is.

So, Superbowl Sunday, Jack wasn't feeling well. I just figured he had a cold. I took him to the sitter's the next day and she called me and told me he was wheezing. I freaked out since it is RSV season. Brad had to take him to instacare and we found out he had a respiratory infection which meant he had to have breathing treatments every 4 hours. Oh how fun. He doesn't like the mask even though it looks like a dinosaur. So... all week long we have been home with him giving him these treatments. I took him to the doctor on Wednesday and the doctor said he had a form of RSV, not as severe though. Thank Goodness!!! He is doing much better but it was pretty scary and very sad. The poor little guy couldn't breathe.

Forgot One

I don't know how this is possible, but I forgot to add Jack's pictures in my last posting. So.. he now has an entire post to himself. I must admit, he is pretty handsome and he loves his food, feet, and anything else you give him. I can't believe he is six months old already. Time does fly when you are having fun.

I will say however, I don't let my child fall horizontally on his chair and leave him there like somebody else I know................................Kim. By the way, Go OBAMA. I hope the country stays in this mood for a long time. Even though I am not a big lover of Obama, I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed. I feel a little bad for George W, wanta reach out and hug him.

Updated Pictures

Okay........ I suck at this blogging thing.... I just decided. I still had a Christmas background and it is now the 20th of January. Oh well, tis the season to be jolly. I now have a background that will work through February... so I am good for awhile. I need help Che'.

Our holiday season was very hectic but a lot of fun. Christmas was very memorable this year. Ryen and Carter had so much fun and were so excited. Jack pretty much just ate the wrapping paper. The kids finally got a Wii. Carter is in hog heaven. He is pretty good not to play it to much though. Ryen of course received many dress up options as you will see. Mari Ann gave Ryen and Avery some Hula skirts and they both ran upstairs and got out of their clothes and put them on. Good thing they left their undies on.
We have had multiple tea parties and a lot of spilled water. I am thankful it was only water.

Christmas Day we were crazy enough to drive up to Idaho in a horrible snow storm. It stressed me out since I did most of the driving. I just wanted to get to Mom's house and not worry about risking all of our lives. We made it safely and had a lot of fun with the family. Brad's family decided to go the Boise for the holidays so we weren't able to see them on Christmas, but got to spend time with them a few days later. Luckily they were able to get home safely as well.

Carter spent a lot of time out to Gammy's and Pappy's over the holidays. He spent a lot of time with his cousin Chase. They had a really good time together. They dug this huge hole in the snow. I don't think you can really realize how large the hole is but Brad said it was huge.

And finally, over New Year's, we went to Idaho again since Mitch and Roz were finally getting hitched. So, that meant we spent Brad's 39th...... yes that is right..... 39th B-day in Idaho. I can't believe I am married to such an old man. Just kidding, husband, I know you are young in heart. I hope he enjoys the last of his 30s. YIKES!!!!!!!! Isn't he cute though?

Finally just a shout out to my Mom.... who never reads the blogs.... but hopefully she will get my message. I can't image having 9 children and preparing a Christmas for them all. Mom, thank you so much for making our Christmases so amazing. I truly look back through the years and remember those days like it was yesterday. I can't believe all the work you put into it to make sure we had the best of everything. I remember watching the slides in the front room of Charlie, David, Steve, and even some of Lynn when they were younger. I remember cracking nut shells and getting sick after eating too many nuts. I loved Charlie stew and miss it and him. I loved making houses out of the presents, and I mean lots of presents. I loved opening my presents and then retapping them so you wouldn't know. I loved being the youngest so I could walk into the living room before everyone else..... okay I was the youngest until Eric decided to come into our family. When we walked into the living room, it was so magical, as if Santa had just left the room. I loved everything about it, but most of all I loved spending time with my family. Nothing takes the place of that. Thanks for all your hard work. As my kids get older and I have more kids, I now realize what you went through and how expensive it must have been for you. You are an amazing lady..... and I am so thankful you came looking for me. I love you!!

The Not-so-Much Polar Express

So, I purchased tickets a month or so ago for the Polar Express, aka Heber Creeper. We have gone to the Polar Express for the last few years. The kids love it, especially when Santa gets on the train and gives them a bell. Well..... the weather did not cooperate with us this year. We had a horrible snow storm this morning. I was barely able to get Carter to his basketball game and up to the church for our Christmas party. I can't even imagine what the canyons were like. I didn't dare chance it. So... we had our own Polar Express party at our house.

I decided to give the kids their new pajamas that they would have gotten for the train ride. They loved them. Then, I decided to make hot chocolate and cookies.

Finally, we popped in the DVD of THE POLAR EXPRESS, and we all sat down and watched it together. It was pretty fun and much less stressful than us driving in horrible weather.

So I asked Carter if he was disappointed that we weren't able to go. He looked at me and said " Geez Mom, I got the play to basketball this morning and go the the breakfast Christmas Party. Then I went and played my soccer game. I went outside and played in the snow and you know what....... there is always next year." What a boy, that made me feel much better about the situation, even though I lost some money. Oh well.... we are all safe and sound.

See you next year, Polar Express!!!!!!!

Baptism Day

So.... the day finally came. After many hours of preparation and stress, the big day came. Carter was so excited about his baptism and that everyone was coming. He was a little disappointed when he found out Jenny's family wasn't coming, but he was excited about everyone else. He was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but acted tough.

Friday night, Brad's family arrived. Mitch had come from SLC and saw the horrible accident that took the lives of a young couple and a young friend of their family's. I knew these people and it saddened me once I found out who it was. Their two small children were in the vehicle with them but survived the accident. I can't even image the pain that their families are going there. I just remember Sheena and Tyler when Kathy was taken away. At least they still had one parent.

Anyway, on to happier things. Saturday we all got up bright and early and headed to Carter's basketball game. Pappy had shown Carter how to dribble with his left hand. He did pretty good. It amazed us all. We arrived back to our house about 9:15 and we had to be at the church at 10:30. I was a mess trying to get all the food ready for everyone, getting the kids dressed, and getting myself ready. We made it on time luckily.

Carter and Brad both got dressed in their white attire. They both looked very handsome. I am so proud of them both. I am so lucky to have a husband that is worthy to baptize my handsome son. I am so proud of Carter for making the decision to be baptized. I think it is a little scary, not quite understanding what you are about to do.

The baptism was very nice. Everything went off without any problems. We had tons of family there: Grandma and Doyle, Pappy and Gammy, Uncle Mitch, Aunt Jessie, Maddie, and Beau, Uncle Lynn, Aunt Lisa and David, Kim and Devin and Hallie (she is so cute by the way), Jennifer and Chris, Aunt Susan and Uncle Judd and Carlie, Che', Cortney and Neil and Mason and Avery, Aunt Mari Ann and Uncle Ron and Houston and Hailie, and John Russell and his two sons, Noah and Jackson. I don't think I missed anyone, if I did, I apologize.




Everyone came to the house and ate the food that I prepared. I think everything turned out okay. Nobody got sick over, at least that I know of. After, dinner I sat in one of our chairs and was totally exhausted. WHAT A DAY!!!!









Che and Kim, this picture is for you, you big nerds. Quit taking pictures of yourself with my camera.















Don't my two guys look very handsome?



















Anyway, I don't know why my pictures are all crazy, but oh well. I just wanted to tell everyone thank you for coming and it meant the world to Carter. I asked him if he knew how much he was loved. He just looked at me. I showed him the picture of everyone at his baptism. I told him that he was loved more than he will ever know. Brad and I have the most amazing families. Thanks for all your support.