The wooden anniversary!

It all started on this night. Jake asked me to marry him. I can't believe it was over five years ago. Time flies by. Five years ago Jake and I were married (at an unreasonable time for those who remember. It was also Jake's idea to get married so early in the morning for the "morning light" in the pictures. ) It was five years ago that we were sealed to McKay. Five years ago that she was running around the house at four in the morning saying she was going to the temple. WOW! It's really not that long of a time, but a lot has happened in five years.
The first night of our honeymoon we stayed in Idaho Falls on our way up to Montana. Who knew we would end up living there years later. I never would have guessed it at the time.

We stayed at a few different places in Glacier. We were here during the attack of 9/11 with no T.V. It was a crazy honeymoon. I would love the chance to relax and have a second. I think we all would.

We spent the day working at the house and running errands. Very romantic! :) I love you Jake!

P.S. Happy Anniversary Betsy and Nate! (It would be hard to forget that one as well.)

10 week old magic numbers!

Katanya had her 10 weeks check up (2 month) last Thursday. She is a proud 11 pounds 9 ounces. She is on the charts as a normal baby and is in the 50th percentile for her weight and a little over the 15th percentile for her heighth. Everything is still going great. She is starting to be awake more and not sleep all the time. She is also starting to smile (just a little).

Lunch time

We took Jake lunch at the spa on Friday. The kids ran and played and I just snapped some photos. To my surprise they ended up really cute and there was no hasseling to get them to smile. Katanya keeps on getting bigger. She has graduated to the 3-6 month clothing! She also has her two month checkup this week (actually 10 weeks) along with the dreaded shots. I will post the "magic numbers" when we get them.
Kirsten and Cruz eating there lunch while they are playing. McKay was still at school.
Jake was catching a snooze after his lunch. You would think that all he does is work?
Cruz playing with a wheel. He has gotten the smile part down whenever I point the camera in his direction. I really like this picture. No one knew I was taking it.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to school we go.....

McKay's first day of school pose by herself.........and below with her siblings......

McKay finally started school yesterday. After this crazy summer, I was looking forward to having some structure back in our life. She is in the third grade this year. She is half way thru elementary school (do I feel old). I was also thinking yesterday that there will be a time in my life where three of my kids are all in elementary school together. And now the thought just occured that there will be three in high school together (9-12th) OUCH!!! Anyway she had a good time and came home excited to do homework. When we went to take her this morning, I went to take a picture and the other two kids went running up next to her and smiled. I didn't even have to say it. Man are they trained. You will also notice that they were still in there pajamas though. I am so not a morning person. I was on the other side of the camera in my pajamas as well. We started McKay in the school she will be going when we move so for now I have to drive her. Once we move the bus stop is right infront of our house. I will love that once again.

Kirsten started "preschool" as well. I am doing it at home to reduce the risk of bringing more germs and colds home this winter with Katanya being so small. Her comment was "Mom, how can you be a mom and a teacher?" My reply, "Moms can be a lot of things." She is excited learning the sounds of the alphabet as well as writing her letters and numbers. I did the same with McKay when she was preschool age because we were traveling and living everywhere at the time like Cedar City and Escalante. (The days that we were more in Utah than we were in Idaho, sad but true.)

As an update with Turbo Jam, I have done it 16 days in a row, (granted Sundays are a rest). I haven't lost "a lot" of weight but as of last night I had lost 5 1/2 inches of my waist and 4 off my chest. As well as a little off the hips and arms and thighs. I still love it and am going strong!

A Birthday of a Princess!

Kirsten's birthday was Sunday, August 20th. (Same as Hannah, as I have read...Happy Birthday Hannah). She had turned the big age of "4". She got to pick her cake, dinner, and treats, along with all the other choices for today. (ie: movies, games, lunches)..........Here is the day of PRINCESS KIRSTEN....
First was the pictures of the Princess with all the siblings. (We had every intention on making it to church that morning, but due to a "abnormal" reaction / rash I got the day before and Saturday night, we didn't make it. I seriously looked like an alien. It was wierd.)The "cook" made the strawberry cake but she got the best part......licking the icing.Finally time for presents. She waited almost patiently the whole day. We had our friends over for dinner, cake, and ice cream. She had chosen Hawaiian haystacks with brocolli and oranges for dinner. I was amazed that she had made such a wise choice.
A card from Grandpa with ....... Cash money. (Yo momma)The traditional pose with all the presents surrounding her. When Jake and I had asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she had a hard time trying to think of something. We jokingly asked her if she wanted a car. She looked at us and said "A real one?" Jake said "yes". She looked at us and said, "that's too much money." Then Jake asked her if she wanted money? Her reply was "Dad, you can't give me money, that's not a present." I hope she keep this attitude when she gets older. :)Peace and quiet! Kirsten snuck off to enjoy her new "Littlest Petshop" playhouse and new pets. McKay and Kirsten have gotten into collecting these cute toys the past couple of months.

Last but not least. The cake. She wanted a "pet shop" cake with a flower. So I had her choose her favorite pet shop and I attempted to draw it with icing. It was the first such attempt with anything in icing, but it satisfied her. And that is the end of our long Princess birthday. (The dress has lasted quite a few years. It was the dress when Jake and I got married that Mckay wore. It has been used as a church dress, a Halloween costume (Cinderella), and passed on down to Kirsten now. It is getting the use out of the money we spent on it.)

Turbo Jam

So, after I got the six week permission slip from the doctor, I started a workout called "Turbo Jam". I saw the informatial to it when I was pregnant and it sparked my interest. Anyway I have completed almost a week of it and I love it! I have set goals, and we will see how close I can come, (including the awful before picture). I was talking to Betsy about it when she was here, (I hadn't bought it yet) and she had seen it too and almost bought it. It's a program by Beach Body that you do cardio, major abs, toning, dance, and Tia Khan Do (?) all in one workout. I did a similar program called Power 90 by them after I had Kirsten and I loved it. Although I quit it after the 90 days, but I met my 20 goal weight loss. Another thing is it hasn't gotten boring yet. And I have also noticed that since I had started exercising, I have been a much happier person. (Ask Jake). Gotta love those endorphins. We'll see how long the program can last with everything that is going on.

Funny kids Part Deux

I love it when your kids say the cutest things. Like I have said before, they are so innocent and can just say it so sweetly. I have a few more that have cracked us up.

McKay wants a lamb for her birthday. We told her if she read everyday without missing a day that we would get her one. Anyway a few days ago we were in the car and she said, "Mom, shouldn't we start looking on the internet for a lamb?" I guess that is a sign that Jake and I buy things off EBAY too much.

Kirsten is the one that comes up with most of them. Kirsten was talking to Axel in the backseat and out of the blue she said "I hate boys." Axel asked why? Kirsten replied by saying, "Cause they always talk like this," then she drops her voice and said "Hello". Then she piped in again saying "and it sounds really ugly".

At the end of school last year, McKay brought home a paper on "The Black Hen". She had to read the story and fill out some worksheets on it. It was about a Lutin (French elf) that did magical stuff for a lady and granted wishes and worked. Anyway on the worksheet, one of the questions were "At night, what would you want your Lutin to do for you?" She had written, "Make my mom and dad have more babies". I was astonished. I had no idea what had inspired this. The only thing I can possible think of is it was after the ultrasound and we had said this would probably be our last. I wonder what the teacher thought of that one though.

This is one of my favorites. We were eating dinner and Kirsten saw a picture come on our screensaver on the computer. It was of a couple years ago. Kirsten looked at me and said, "Katanya was still in heaven mom, huh?" I said "Yes". She said " Jesus wasn't ready to let her come down yet." I replied, "Nope." Then she looked at me and said, "When Jesus is ready to send them down, a delivery bird takes them and puts them in your stomach where they go." It wasn't a question. It was cute to hear her explanation and I wanted to keep it simple and not ask for trouble so I said, "Yep, how did you know?" And she just said, "I'm smart." Then today we were watching Dumbo and the part where they delivered Dumbo came on and she ran over to me and said, "See, this is how I know." I am still not going to say anything against the contrary though.

I love hearing little kids talking and hearing their explanations. It just amazes how much their little brains think.

I love sister, she loves me....

Jake took this picture the other night. I thought it was worth posting. It was right before bedtime.

"Uncle Axie"

So after Jake put the girls down tonight, and I had come home, I was putting Cruz to bed. Jake was holding Katanya downstairs. I put Cruz in bed and "tucked" him in. On my way out I noticed the girls bedroom door was shut. That was odd, so I wondered naturally what they were doing. I opened the door and this is what I found. The lights were out and Axel was feeding the girls a ham sandwich. Lately they have tried to pull the trick of "I'm hungry" after they are in bed. I warn them ahead of bedtime to get a snack if they are hungry so I know it's just a trick to stay up longer. Axel fell for it. Kirsten had told him she was hungry and so he went downstairs and made a sandwich. Nonchalantly he took the sandwich upstairs and "disappeared". It was quite funny actually. When Axel, Cruz, and I ran to Walmart today, Cruz insisted that Axel hold him. He has gotten used to Axel being around. (Needless to say, Cruz peed all over him.) The kids have also enjoyed playing games and teasing him. Axel introduced my kids to water balloons. Then he tried to say he didn't want to get wet. Didn't happen. They have enjoyed playing games, both outside and on the computer. I have never seen a kid as happy as McKay to watch Axel play games on the computer. He is a real good uncle to have around. On the picture below, Axel was "wheelbarrowing" with Kirsten. She could actually do it pretty good. She could go faster than McKay. McKay also liked to sneek up on him and tackle him. As for the title, Kirsten calls Axel, "Axie". He doesn't really like it, but hey it's a three year old. He told her it's either, Axel, Ax, or Axeman. Doesn't work, it's been Axie for weeks.

Progress

There are quite a few things that are "progressing" quite nicely. Katanya had a weight check yesterday to make sure things were going good and she is a proud seven pounds fifteen ounces! That is two pounds in two weeks. The doctor called her a "tanker" and said everything was looking great. They said she would be on a schedule of a regular two month old when she was two months. It still seems wierd to me because her due date was the 13th of August. She is doing a lot better outside the womb than she would have inside. All my babies have been in the six pound range, no bigger than six pounds six ounces. It's amazing how strong willed and determined she is.
Jake was in Beaver for five days and when he came back on Tuesday he said Katanya had gotten so much bigger. I don't know how much he meant but she probably did. Even Axel commented how big she had gotten since they had left. She is completely out of the preemie clothes and into newborn. They fit her just right.
Look at those cheeks!!!!A few other things that are progressing is finally the house. As I mentioned earlier, Jake and Axel went down to Beaver and started the cabinets. Not only did they start, they finished them as well. They are completely done except for putting the handles on and assembling the doors to the cabinets. They turned out really nice from what I have seen. I will take pictures when they are up in the house.We went to the house last night as the men unloaded the cabinets in to the garage. The kids had a water fight with Axel (surprise surprise). I had told them they would get cold but they still got wet. Kirsten suckered dad's shirt off his back and McKay continued to get wet. For her, it was all about getting Axel. She has enjoyed having him around. Cruz played in the jeep and would throw the water balloons at the grass so he could get more. As he would throw them he would look up and say "Pop!" As for the rest of the house "progressing", they finally started sheet rock yesterday. They said that it would be all hung at the end of this week and then it would be finished in a week and a half. I have heard it goes a lot faster after the sheet rock is up. I hope this is true. I am excited for the paint to see how our colors come together. Our goal is September first to be in. I took this picture and posted it for fun. I often tease Jake and say these are his "TOYS". He doesn't like it when I say that. It just looks like he has so much fun in them that they are "TOYS" in a way.

The Big 30!!!!

Jake turned the Big 30 on Thursday. The kids enjoyed making out a celebration of the event. They picked balloons, a present, card, and the best part...putting thirty candles on a Shrek birthday cake. (I was lazy this year and didn't make a cake.) Happy Birthday!!!!

Crazy!

That's the word to describe my life lately. Four kids, WOW! Don't get me wrong though I love all of them. It's just how busy life is and how much each kid demands. We are all happy though. A lot has happened the past week so here we go......This is a picture of Katanya the day she came home from the hospital. She was discharge at 5 pounds 3 ounces. The next day we went to the doctor's for a checkup and she was 5 pounds 7 ounces! Everything checked out fine and they said they would see her in a week.

At nights, since it has been extrememly warm and not windy, we go out to the house and let the kids run around to let their energy out. One night Jake let Axel "try" to drive our old work truck on our large piece of land. No worries though, he didn't ever make it out of first gear. It got him all excited for driving however.







Betsy came to visit us for three days. It was really fun to have her and her kids up. The first night we went out to the temple greenbelt and fed the ducks. We took eight loaves of bread and had a blast.


One of the many geese. Toby and Isaac feeding the geese and ducks. McKay throwing pieces of bread. Not a minute after Aspen left did Mckay ask when we can go visit. She had fun with her cousins. Jake and Cruz and Kirsten. Katanya stayed fast asleep in her caseat / stroller. Betsy and Hazel by the river. Hazel decided that the bread was better in her mouth than the ducks. We also loved her squeaker shoes! All of the kids (except Katanya) on the step. We really enjoy family!

Katanya turned one month old a couple days ago. On Wednesday we had our one-week-from-discharge checkup. She was 6 pounds 1 ounce! She has the cute little "chubby preemie" cheeks and a fat little tummy. The doctor said she was doing really good and everything looked great. She also really enjoys her baths. She has fallen asleep a few times in the warm water.

One of our own little miracles!

KATANYA IS HOME!!!!!! Who would have though 23 days ago that this little miracle would be home and breathing and eating on her own? When we went into the hospital this morning to feed, the doctor came to us and said she was ready to go home. She had eaten all of her feedings yesterday and there was no problem with her oxygen. We brought our carseat in for her "carseat challenge" (this is where they hook them up to the moniters and watch them for an hour in the carseat to make sure they can handle it.) I then quickly began running around trying to get things ready to bring her home. They had told me last night that she would be home by the weekend but I never thought it would be today. McKay made it home and shortly after we picked her up and brought her home. I have gone from two kids back to four. Wow!

The kids are so excited. They all want to be big helpers and hold and feed her. As she gets bigger and a little time goes by, I won't be so paranoid. I sometimes feel like a first time mother with a preemie.Jake and I teased this morning about how we wanted to wait til August to start trying for a baby. Then when things "happened" we had said we would be in our new house before the baby was born. Then more things happened and we were hoping to be in the new house by the time the baby came home. Now we are just happy to have the baby home. Sometimes you don't have control of the situations you are given.

She looks so tiny in her carseat. She looks a lot bigger than when she was first born. She has gained more than a pound in a little over three weeks. When the doctor told us she would be going home today. Jake looked at me and said, "How come you didn't tell me?" I had no idea either. He is a little more nervous than me having her home. I have been with her more in the hospital and seen how well she was doing. I suprisingly wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. Must be the "mother" instincts.

Her is a picture of her dressed and all. Right now the preemie clothes fit perfectly. If she is anything like Kirsten, they won't fit for long! Once again, we are very thankful and appreciate all the love and prayers that have gone out to us! I know that is what helped our whole family. Thanks for all that also came out and helped! WE LOVE YOU!