Heather's Baby Shower

My friend Heather is having a baby girl and so I thought it would be fun to have pedicures and a little lunch date to celebrate. I convinced Candee to go up with me so that I didn't have to drive alone. We went to the Primrose Retreat in Spanish Fork. We met Heather, her mom Vickie, and her sister in law Megan and got pedicures. The pillows we sat on were super soft and it was so fun to relax and visit. After that a few of Heather's other friends met us and we had lunch at the Bistro there. The croissants were to die for! They were sooooooo good! It was such a relaxing day and so fun to be with the girls. Heather is so cute preggers and I am so excited for her to get a girl to spoil. After that Candee and I went to the fabric store to buy stuff to make no sew Tutu's. I hope they turn out cute!

Where does the time go?

I cannot believe September is almost over. Today is the first day of Fall- hooray! I LOVE summer, but I love how the leaves change colors in the fall and the days are a little cooler. Last week we had our very first show and tell at the preschool. The kids loved it! Kadee decided to take a Willow Tree Angel that her grandma Debbie got her for her birthday and Connor decided to take a Lego house he built and his Optimus Prime Transformer that he built the house for. They had so much fun showing off their special things and seem to really enjoy being in mommy's preschool. Connor refused to let me take his picture with his show and tell, so all I got was a picture of Kadee. I swear I tried! Kadee loves dance and was even making up a dance in the grocery store the other day. Connor loves tumbling, he is awesome at doing flips off the balance beams.














This weekend I had a Remicade and doctor's appt. so the kids and I met my grandparents in Provo and spent the weekend at their house. My grandparents are such amazing people. They meet me every eight weeks in Provo and entertain my kids for atleast 2 hours while I receive my treatment. They usually take them to lunch or to the store or play with them in the parking lot. I just really appreciate that they are willing to help me out like that. After my remicade I am super tired, so we went back to my grandparents house and I took a nap while the kids played with grandma. They love to get out grandma's toys and use their imagination. We then went to dinner at my Uncle DR's house and the kids jumped on the tramp with their dog, Duke (yes, they have taught their dog to jump on the tramp)! The next day we met my brother's for lunch, went shopping, and then went to an old West park that my friend Heather found a couple months ago. For those of you who live in Price, it is a lot like the Dino Mine Adventure Park but bigger and a lot busier! The kids loved playing on the train, in the stables, and going down the big slides. My grandparents then took us to dinner at IHOP.

Sunday we headed home to see Rory's elk!!! We are so excited for him! He has been putting in for this hunt for 14 years (or something like that). He got to go hunting with his dad and brothers and had a really good time. He only has 5 weeks left of the POST academy, we are counting down! Congrats on your bull babe, we are so proud of you!

Our First Day of School

So Tuesday, Sept. 1 Connor, Kadee, and I started preschool! I started teaching for the first time and Connor and Kadee started their school year. Kadee is in my morning class and has done really well. She has a friend, Sally, and loves to work on our "projects." Connor likes it to, but he is much more social. His cousin Cole is in my afternoon class and those two can get pretty wild! But in all honesty they have been totally great. I couldn't ask for a better group of kids to have for my first year. Our first week we learned all about the letter A, the number 1, and our theme was All About Me. The kids are such great examples of how to live life. They are almost always happy and excited to be there. I'm sure I will have many challenges this first year, but so far I am enjoying the ride!





































































Kadee with her teacher, Connor was too cool to have his picture taken with mom at school.

Galoon

Ok, so let me start by saying I did the unthinkable... I forgot my camera! I ALWAYS take my camera and I was rushing out the door and forgot it. My mom and sister in law took pictures for me at Lagoon, but I don't know if I will ever get them posted on my blog. So here goes a post with no pictures....

Rory is away to the POST training academy for 10 weeks, so last week I decided to pack myself and the kids up and head to Salt Lake to stay with my grandma (my grandpa was in Colorado). Friday we met my friend Heather and her 2 boys at the park and then went school clothes shopping. I think I had more fun than my kids. I bought Kadee's dance clothes and had a blast picking them out. I really hope she likes dance, because her mama is going to be sad if she doesn't! We came home from shopping and she put her dance clothes on and wouldn't take them off, she even wore them to dinner at the Olive Garden. Connor is such a shrimp. I bought him size 5 clothes and they are so big on him. He was pumped because he found Transformers boxers, thats right folks, those things are hard to come by. He has Transformers underwear, but he LOVES boxers and we have never been able to find boxers with animation on them, it was his lucky day.

Friday we took the kids to G-Force and then went back to grandma's to play. The kids were playing outside and we heard Kadee screaming bloody murder. Rory ran out there to see what was wrong and their was a snail on the porch. I guess my kids have never seen snails before. Once Rory picked it up and showed Kadee what it was they had a hay day. They collected snails and put them in a bucket on the back porch. Every 5 minutes or so Connor had to go "check" on his snails. Kadee said she wanted to find a stick to poke them. Silly kids!

Saturday we met my family at Lagoon. For our birthdays this year my mom and step dad bought all of us Lagoon tickets and dinner at Chili's (yum!). "Galoon" as Kadee calls it, was so much fun. The kids loved the rides and I got to ride the Rocket! It was so great to be together as a family and I realized that we don't do stuff together nearly enough. I know people get busy with their own lives, but it so nice to be around family. Connor's favorite ride was the egg drop and Kadee's favorite ride was the "crashing in things" (bumper cars). She was so funny on those things. The lady kept telling the kids to turn their wheels, so Kadee just went in circles for the first few minutes till she got the hang of it. That night after dinner we stayed in a hotel, which my kids always look forward to. They were able to go swimming and play in the pool for awhile.

We finally made it home and I am missing my hubby! It is so hard to be here by myself and to be the mom and dad to the kids. I am so grateful we have one week down and only nine more to go!

Huntington Lake... aka Crawdad Heaven

This weekend we had the pleasure of going to Huntington Lake with Kyle & Candee, Travis & Sandy, and Ryan & Shauntel. Unfortunately Ryan & Shauntel had to leave early Saturday morning because JR got a really bad ear infection.

So, we got there Friday night and decided to go over to the Emery County Fair. My mom and Gary were there so we ate with them. Rory, Gary, & my mom enjoyed the Lamb while I had Panda Express. My mom bought the kids some toys and while Connor was playing with his a little boy took the flying part. Connor came to me just crying so I went over to find the little boy and couldn't see him anywhere. The lady sitting at the booth saw it happen so she pointed me in the right direction and off I went. I chased the little boy down to the parking lot and politely asked him for the toy back. With that crisis avoided we spent the rest of the fair visiting with old friends and family. I saw a girl I went to college with whom I haven't seen for about 8 years. It was a lot of fun. We also went to visit some friends, Robby and Brandie, that live in Orangeville. It was so nice to see them and visit for awhile. We then headed back to the lake and roasted marshmallows with everyone. The kids didn't go to bed until almost 11, so I swear Kadee was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Saturday we ate a hearty breakfast and headed out on the boat. Rory, Connor, Logan, and Kella jumped in the water and it was so cold! Their lips were just a chattering. We drove the boat around for awhile, but the wind was SO bad that we headed back to the dock. The kids spent the rest of the time crawdad fishing. They had a blast! They were catching them left and right with their raw chicken on fishing lines. At one point Kella went to throw her line in and Connor was standing right behind her, she hit him right smack in the mouth with the raw chicken! I was so scared he was going to get sick! So far he acts fine, but he was not pleased with the taste of raw chicken.



























It was so fun and I look forward to a few more fun trips before summer is over!

What we've been up to!

I used to think that having little babies was the busiest time of my life. Although I was super busy, I am now busy in a new way! July has gone by so fast, I can't believe August is only days away. Connor did swim lessons last week and the week before and had a great time. He passed level 2 so next year he gets to move on to level 3. He had lots of friends in his class and LOVED jumping off the diving board. He had so much fun I decided to put Kadee in lessons this week while Connor was at basketball camp. She loves the water as much as Connor and has had such a great time. She passed level 1 and will get to move on to Level 2 next year.












Connor is enjoying basketball camp and learning so much. They pretty much teach them all the fundamentals of basketball and then let them practice shooting and passing.





We went to the Wellington Rodeo this weekend and Connor decided to ride one of the sheep. He did so great! It was the funniest thing ever and he stayed on for a lot longer than I thought he would. I was video taping it, so I didn't get any pictures, but here are a few of the kids watching the rodeo:

Happy Birthday Con-Man!

Monday my baby boy turned 5!!!!! Yes, I am still a little shocked, where does the time go? He was so excited to turn 5 that he counted down for about 5 days. Every morning he would wake up and say 5 more days, 4 more days, etc. His birthday finally came and it was such a fun day. We celebrated by having a party at the Helper Pool. We invited 10 of Connor's closest friends and had a blast. We swam, had cake and ice cream, and of course opened presents. The kids were so funny. I love how they all huddle so close just to see what the present is. Connor got a ton of Transformers stuff that he absolutely LOVES!!! Later that day we took him to dinner to Winger's. They sang to him and gave him a huge serving of asphalt pie. Candee got a cute picture of all the kids chowing down. It was hilarious, they were so worried they weren't going to get enough, but believe me, there was plenty. We then went to see Grandma Archie at the hospital. A week ago today she went in for a hysterectomy (she had been diagnosed with Uterin cancer). She was doing pretty well, but Sunday she took a turn for the worse so she is back in the hospital. She really enjoyed seeing the kids and Connor was happy he got to "see grandma on my birthday."

Now that Connor is five he has agreed to stop sucking his thumb. We took away his jimmy (a pooh bear blanket he has had since he was born), but luckily Logan, Kella, and Landon got him a new Transformers blanket. He has been doing pretty well with it. I have had to remind him a couple times and last night when Rory went to put him to bed he was under his new blanket sucking his thumb. I figured it was going to take awhile, I am actually really suprised he hasn't asked for his jimmy and that he is doing as well as he is. I bet in another week he will be cured!















Kadee with our neighbor and babysitter Makenna, Kadee LOVES her!


Update: About a month after we took the "jimmy" away Connor found it in the basement. Once again he was hooked. Right before Christmas 2009 he decided he didn't need his jimmy anymore and got rid of it himself. He has all but stopped sucking his thumb and did it all on his own. He is such a big boy and we are so proud of him.