I'm Back!

I am alive!  I fell off the edge of the blogging world, but I am back!  For your viewing pleasure and to tease you into coming back to my blog, pictures of my cute ladies!     I may just actually update the big 1 1/2 year hole of my life that is missing here, check back!

Someone Tiny Someone Sweet...

Someone tiny, someone sweet, someone new for you to meet...

Olivia was born on June 16th, weighing in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 19 1/2 in.  I am totally in love with this little angel.  She gets held most of the day and snuggles me at night.  She wakes up in the night to eat and goes right back to sleep.  I am one spoiled mommy! 

About Olivia's "Birthday"... I was induced two days before my due date because we thought this little lady was going to be another 9 pound gal.  I was started on Pitocin just before 8 a.m.  At 8:30, Dr Y surprised me by showing up to break my water.  I received my epidural about 11:30 a.m. My contractions were stressing baby so they had to put fluid back in around her.  At 2:45 p.m., she was ready to make her entrance, but we had to wait for the nurses to finish getting everything set up, and of course, we had to wait for Dr Y (I had to wait every appointment for that guy, so I guess it makes perfect sense to be waiting for him again) .  Once he arrived, I gave three pushes and she made her entrance into this world  at 3:15 p.m.  She began to cry immediately with her healthy little lungs.  Nate and I both teared up at the sweet sound.  Nate cut the umbilical cord and then she was weighed, cleaned, etc. 

On a funny side-note, my mom was on vacation in Costa Rica with my niece, so my cute dad came to fill in.  The nurse closed the curtain when she checked me as well as for the delivery, so he never saw anything, but was there most of the time, anxiously awaiting her arrival.  He wanted to fill in while my mom was gone.  I thought it was very sweet of him. 

This little girl has filled our home with so much love and peace and we are so thankful she decided to join our little family.  We all adore her.

Our Latest Addition(s)

When my husband gets an idea in his head, we are in TROUBLE!  These are the newest additions to our craziness.  There are actually 4 altogether and they are about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks old.   Nate and his sister (mainly Nate) conjured up this grand plan of raising calves for healthy, steroid free meat.  They have to be bottle-fed every morning and night for the next two months.  I did a little of this growing up, so I don't feel like I need the experience, but Nate couldn't resist.  These little guys are smaller than our big Golden Lab, Gunner, but they still have a lot of spunk.  They have big beautiful eyes that melt your heart and so far they have been a lot of fun for us.    Do you really think we will be able to eat these little guys someday?  

Did I forget to mention their names?  T-Bone, Sirloin, Big Burger and well, you get the idea.  The names change every day. 

Out of the Mouth of My Babe

Hailey just received her adorable little white leotard and tutu for her upcoming dance recital.  While she was modeling for us, Nate asked her if he could wear her tutu sometime.  She responded "Dad, my tutu won't fit you, you need a five-five".    

Just Me and Baby

 Me at 30 Weeks in Moab, UT

As promised, a pregnant picture of me.  No mean comments please!  :)   I am now 33 weeks and am feeling great.  I have still been able to work full time and keep up with my kids.  Housework... now that's another story! 

I love hearing what people have to say about the size of my pregnant belly.   Yes, I am sure I am not having twins.  No, I do not have gestational diabetes.  Yes, maybe my "top half" will catch up with the bottom half.   Yes, my belly is getting so big.  Yes, I really do have that much longer.   There are plenty to more to share, I promise.
Although, my "favorite" comment came from my Hailey Bug, "Mom, you look like a bucket."  Thanks, I think!

Now I remember one of the reasons I get a little fussy at the end of my pregnancies!   Seriously people, I know how big and uncomfortable I look.  I have a mirror.  :)  

Baby is measuring big, but that is to be expected.  My other two girls weighed in at 9lbs 3oz and 8lbs 14oz.  Dr Y is predicting another 9 pounder based on my last ultrasound (estimated weight 2 weeks ago was 4lbs 1oz).  I love my big babies, I wouldn't know what to do with a tiny one.   Most importantly, everything looks great at this point.  We are on the countdown!

Brooklynn's New 'Do

Brooklynn has been blessed/cursed with thick, somewhat wavy hair.   When she was a baby, she had perfect little ringlets.  Nowadays, not so much.  Every morning before school, we battle with the curling iron, flat iron, or style it into a braid or bun.  It is seriously too much effort to tame this little lady's mane.  I love her long hair, but it had come to the point that it needed to be chopped or something.  Last week was spring break for her so we decided to do something about it.  I scheduled her for an appointment with my neighbor for a perm and... I LOVE IT!  Brooky was not so sure about the new style until her little cousins kept complimenting her about it.   Her hair shrunk up with the curls as you can see in the pictures, but has since relaxed quite a bit.  It looks adorable!  We went camping over the weekend and it was very low maintenance.  We wet her hair down every morning with a squirt bottle and she was looking adorable.  I wish I would have done it sooner!  Even Hailey is sold on the idea and wants to have her hair permed also.  I think I am going to hold off a little longer for her.  Monday was Brooklynn's  first day back at school with the new style and apparently her hair was a hit in the 1st grade!

Not Hiding Anything?

My little lady, Hailey, is adorable if I do say so myself.  She is definitely one mischevious four year old, however.  She was sitting in my room watching Disney Channel for a few minutes while I was getting ready for work.   When I walked back into my room, she quickly hid her arm, and then our conversation went like this...

Hailey:  I'm not hiding anything, Mommy. 
Me:  Really?  What aren't you hiding?
Hailey:  Just my arm, see?  (she held up her arm with her opposite hand covering her forearm)

Of course she was hiding something... she had just successfully finished giving herself a temporary tattoo.     Yes, I am still Mom of the Year.  How many other moms can say that their four year old knows how to give temporary tattoos?   If anyone is interested in visiting our "Tattoo Parlor," give me a call.  Appointments (and the best butterfly designs) are going fast!  :)

Rumor Has It...

Have you heard the rumor?  Rumor has it I am having a baby... I happy to confirm that it is TRUE!  Nate and I are expecting our 3rd child June 18th and...

It's a girl!

I would have posted ultrasound pictures, but none of them were very clear.  I swiped the cake idea from my cousin's blog (thanks Natalie).  It gave me a good excuse to buy this delicious peanut butter and chocolate cake from Sam's Club.  Curse (or bless) the pregnancy cravings... :)  What can my hubby say?

Brooklynn and Hailey are so excited to have a baby sister join our family.  They were sworn to secrecy, but started telling immediately.   I guess I can't blame them, it's a fun secret to share!   It's becoming more and more obvious what my little secret is too! I will post pregnancy pictures someday.  I am feeling great and am content incubating this little lady as long as she would like (as long as I don't have to have any more of those "invasive" ultrasounds, if you have had one, you know what I mean).

Family Pictures

We had family pictures with my whole family in August. The photographer just sent them back to us. Here are a few of my favorites of my little family. Enjoy!

Mean Mama Bear

I am feeling like a mean mama bear. I left Hailey at her soccer game with a neighbor watching her for about 20 minutes. When I returned, I pulled up just in time to see a kid on her soccer team bumping her and then pushing her to the ground (there is not supposed to be any contact with other players at all). He knocked her down again about a minute later. Her coach was on the field and politely asked him to be nice. Didn't happen! He did it AGAIN and AGAIN. Then another boy knocked her down, then my neighbor's little girl knocked Hailey down also (all because they saw the first little kid doing it and thought it looked fun). I was FURIOUS! Hailey was laying on the ground sobbing, so I hurried out to the middle of the soccer field, picked her up and then walked to the sideline. I don't think I have ever wanted to hurt little kids (and their parents... mostly their parents) like I did last night at soccer. Seriously, who lets their kids push down other little kids repeatedly? I felt a little bit guilty, yet justified by telling her to push him down the next time he tries to push her down! Yes, I am mom of the year :). I would have liked to have taken the high road and talked to the kid's parents, except they disappeared immediately after the game, maybe it's best that I didn't talk to them after all, I probably would have not been very kind. How do you politely say, "Don't mess with my kids unless you want to get hurt!!!"?

Hunter Funnies

My neighbor dyed my hair dark for me on Tuesday. After it was cut and styled also, Hailey (3 1/2 yrs old) said "Mom, you're a freakin' rockstar" Yes, I saying freaking and rockstar a lot apparently. I think I better start watching my "freaking" language! :)

Yesterday as I was getting ready for work, I asked Brooklynn (age 6) to get me a towel for when I jumped out of the shower. Brooklynn quickly brought back a beach towel. I told her that a regular towel would be fine instead, to which she replied, "Mom, this beach towel is bigger so it will cover you better since you are enormous. She has a point, but can I say OUCH!

My girls keep me laughing (and self-conscious) :)

Soccer Season Begins...

Brooklynn had her first soccer game today. In her league, they have 1st-3rd grade boys and girls clumped together. The older kids definitely dominate the field, however, I think she did exceptionally well for her first game. She was timid in the first half, then at half time I "coached" her a little (I am neither confirming nor denying the possibility that I may or may not have bribed her with bubble gum to be aggressive and go after the ball). She was more aggressive and actually went after the ball in the second half, it's amazing what a small bribe will do. :)

Hailey's game was rescheduled so they had another "practice" instead. In said "practice" the kids were taught to kick, throw and trap the ball, play goalie, etc. What the kids actually did at practice was sommersaults, pick flowers and grass, spin in circles, kick the ball occasionally, and more sommersaults. It was hillarious! I attempted to assist the coach with the drills, but it didn't help the kids with their attention spans. What do you expect from 3 and 4 year olds? They were having fun and looked adorable!

For the next month or so, we will be busy with four soccer games a week and two practices. I am thinking that I may not have thought out this whole soccer thing when I signed them up, or maybe I just didn't know what I was getting us in to. As long as they have fun and get exercise, then I think it is worth it. I can't believe my kids are old enough to play!

Basement Makeover

While I was at my family reunion, Nate was busy working on our basement. In 1 1/2 weeks (and with the help of a couple of friends, Adam and Tim), he finished the majority of the basement, working on it after work and on the weekend. He did an amazing job. It looked like a completely different space when I returned home (I call it an Extreme Basement Makeover). Now it is the home of his sister, her hubby and their 4 kids while their new home is built.

The basement has one bathroom, two bedrooms, kitchen, laundry area and a family room. The kitchen needs some work, to say the least. He installed a large base cabinet for the kitchen sink (more cabinets to be added when we can afford them), the counter top is mdf... but it's livable conditions. They have their own fridge that they brought from their old house, but we didn't have a stove, which makes it difficult to feed a family of 6. I was talking to my friend after YW's last week and one of the other leaders showed up. I told her I needed to go look on ksl to find a used stove. It turns out, she actually had two in her basement, one gas and one electric. She told her husband he needed to get rid of one of them. Luckily, he had been busy and hadn't had the chance to throw out the electric one. She was happy to have it out of her basement and wouldn't take any money for it.

With my friend's help, we delivered it to Kylene and Jon that night. Kylene (my sis-in-law) was ecstatic. Three of the four burners work, as well as the oven. She is so happy to be able to fix regular meals again. In Kylene's words, "Christmas came early this year."

Next goal... cabinets!

It's About Time For An Update...

I think it is about time I updated my blog since I have not done so for nearly two months. June and July have been full of happiness, heartache, and everything in between. Some of the most significant happenings include the tragic death of my niece, my father-in-law in the ICU, family reunion in AZ, Brooklynn turned 6, and a new church calling for me. I am posting everything separately, so you can read my cliff notes above, or read details in the next several posts.

Check back later for pictures. :)

Family Reunion Time...

The girls and I just returned from a family reunion held at Camp Silver Creek in Arizona (Snowflake/Taylor area). We made a "quick" visit to Dead Horse Point. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and took lots of pictures there, then traveled on.

In Snowflake, we enjoyed BBQ's, a parade, swimming and more before the big reunion started. While there, I learned of the death of my niece and then my father in law being hospitalized, I was a wreck. I stayed in Snowflake, but it was a hard decision to make.

At the reunion, we enjoyed it all... getting reaquainted with family from near and far, the barrel train, volleyball, softball, carroms, canoeing, swimming, zipline, yummy food, etc.

We celebrated Brooklynn's 6th birthday. We had a tea party, danced to music and then painted the girls' toenails. The girls all seemed to enjoy themselves. I am so grateful for my Brooklynn. She is such a sweet little thing and I am so grateful she joined our little family.

After the reunion ended, we packed up and headed for the Grand Canyon. We enjoyed a lightning show when we arrived and then slept in the parking lot in our camp trailers. We toured the park and took lots of pictures. I highly recommend going there if you have not already done so. We traveled on to the Glen Canyon Dam, took more pictures, walked around a little and boy was I jealous of all the boaters out on beautiful Lake Powell.

We made it home safely and the girls and I were so happy to see Nate after 1 1/2 weeks. We had a grand adventure, but there truly is no place like home.

In Loving Memory of Annie Jones

Some of you know my niece, Annie Jones (on Nate's side). She was in a tragic car accident and died instantly. She truly is an amazing person. I will miss her beautiful smile and fun loving attitude. Here is a link to her obituary.

http://ads.heraldextra.com/articles/2009/07/21/obituaries/346046.txt

One of my favorite memores of Annie is going boating with her. When Nate and I were still pretty newly married, she and her brother, Mike, along with my brother, Spencer, came boating with us to Yuba. It was still pretty early in the year and the water was chilly. She was the first to jump in and did so willingly. She was quite impressive on the kneeboard, took everything we could dish out on the tube, and never stopped grinning from ear to ear. She is one brave young lady. That is how I will always remember her, the girl that hangs on tight, and takes whatever comes her way with a smile.

I am certain she is in the arms of our loving Savior now and she will continue to go about doing His work. Annie, I love you and miss you. You will forever remain in my heart.

Mini Drill Camp

My girls participated in Mini Drill Camp at the high school. It was 3 days long (1 1/2 hours each day), and then were invited to ride in the float with the Drill Team. The girls had so much fun and want to do it again next year. Brooklynn and Hailey are the cutest little dancers (in my biased opinion).

Youth Conference

I was recently called to be YW Secretary in my ward. For my initiation, I went to Youth Conference. It was a 3 day Youth Conference in June. I was able to join them for the last 2 days. The youth had a car wash to help raise money. They raised quite a bit of money to help pay for the expenses. The first day they went to see pioneer homes, then went to Raging Waters. On Friday, I met up with them at the State Capitol Building for a tour (it is much more interesting as an adult, last time I was there I was in elementary school).

After the tour, we ran back to our Bishop's Sister's house (where we had set up camp) and ate an early dinner. We took dinner to the homeless shelter. Half of the youth and leaders served dinner to the homeless people and the rest of us played games with the kids after they had eaten. It was an amazing experience. The food we brought stretched a LOT further than it should have, they had enough to share with the women and children's shelter after feeding 108 people at the family shelter, and still had leftovers to put in the fridge for them to snack on. If you ever start to feel sorry for yourself about not having everything you want, I highly recommend taking some time to serve there. I think all of us came out of there with a greater appreciation for the things we have and take for granted. After finishing there, we had a fireside, then played games and went to bed.

Saturday morning, we had a little morningside where we shared pioneer type stories, most were about pioneer ancestors, but some even included stories about their parents. We cleaned up and went and played "flour ball" (nylons filled with flour... the more holes and runs, all the better). The kids loved it and so did all the leaders. We all came home looking like pinatas... sweat and flour caked all over us. We played, gave service to those less fortunate, laughed, cried and bonded. Overall, it was a very successful and memorable Youth Conference. We definitely have a great group of youth.

Hailey Did It Again

Hailey cut her own hair again, she must be 3 or something! Luckily, this time was not as drastic as the last. She cut a little more off the side. I had been wanting to try something a little different on her anyway, so it was a good excuse to take her to my neighbor, Paula. She has a salon in her basement and is very inexpensive. She was able to work Hailey in that afternoon and she definitely worked her magic. She has more of an A-line cut now with a "back stack." Whenever someone compliments Hailey on her cute hair cut, she says, "Thanks, it's a back stack."

I really liked the old cut, but I LOVE the new cut. Paula is amazing!

FYI: Paula is running a summer color service special, Buy one, get one half off! (meaning, take a friend and go get a new do for summer and split the cost). Like I said above, she is very inexpensive and does a great job. If anyone is interested, let me know and I will give you her number. :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Brooklynn has graduated Kindergarten! We have been busy with all the end of school year fun...Spring Fling, class parties and now Kindergarten Graduation. This was her teacher's first year teaching. I was a little skeptical at first, but I have to say, she was FABULOUS! Brooklynn absolutely loved her and she really pushed the kids to excel. Brooklynn is "happy and sad" about graduating. I totally understand the feeling. I am happy to have her home with me all day. She is such a sweetheart and definitely keeps things exciting around our house.

Just For Fun

I decided to try out these curlers from Sally's. My sister has them for her girls and really likes them. The first round didn't go so well for me, but the girls and I had fun playing around with their hair anyway. We will have to try round two when I am actually home in the morning to see what it looks like. :)

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

I haven't posted for a while, so I thought I would catch you all up on what we have been up to. For Memorial Day, we typically are camping. This year was no exception. Here are some of the highlights from our adventure to Chicken Creek.

Riding through the stream bed

Brooklynn, Hailey and cousin Madison picking the wildflowers

Brooklynn and one of her very favorite cousins, Madison

Me, Julie (sister), Aliece (mom) and Michelle (sister)

Muddy Girls! Everyone was muddy from riding on the 4 Wheelers.

The crew... Brooklynn, Madison, Hailey, Caleb and Ally

Brooklynn showing off her flexibility.

Brooklynn, Grandma B. and Hailey

Hailey Bug

Musings About American Idol

I am a huge American Idol fan! This is the only show that I follow (ok, I follow The Office as well) I have been watching American Idol since the finale of the first season, and have been watching ever since. I have managed to even hook my husband on it. I am not going to lie, I have even called in and voted (just not this season). Michelle and I even texted probably 100 times between us one night, but realized after the fact you had to have AT&T for your text to go through, oops :) Here is my review...

I was sad to see Allison leave tonight. She is an amazing singer. I can't believe she is only 17. She will definitely go far in the music industry.

Adam: Adam has an amazing voice and can hit notes that I didn't think was humanly possible. He is an amazing performer, but his style is a little too dark for my tastes.

Chris: What a handsome face. He doesn't have the strongest voice in the competition, but he is very appealing with his looks and his sweet songs. I am pretty sure when he sings the love songs, he is singing to me. Don't tell my hubby ;)

Danny: Oh Danny boy... I think Danny has a fabulous voice. The judges did not like his rock song, I thought he was awesome until the last 10 seconds of the song. I am a big fan.

My predictions for the finale: Adam and Chris, with Adam winning of course. I would definitely buy cd's from Allison, Chris and Danny, and that is saying a lot. I don't buy many cd's. Although I did splurge for David Archuleta for my birthday.

BTW, did you all see Daughtry's performance on the results shos? He is amazing. My husband bought his first cd when it came out and I LOVE it. I am sure we will be buying his second cd that is supposed to be coming out in July.

I know I am not the only American Idol fan... What are your predictions for the finale?

Bedtime, Shmedtime...

Tonight Nate and I fed the girls a late dinner, by late, I don't mean a little late, it was about 9:15pm. Now don't go calling DCFS on me, they did have a picnic out on the lawn about 4, so they did eat. After they ate, I wanted to watch American Idol, which we conveniently record on the dvr every week (there are way too many commercials if you watch it regular). The girls and I plopped down on the couch, snuggled up under a blanket, and began to watch AI about 9:30. I knew it was way after bedtime, but sometimes, I just don't care. Because of work, I am not at home most nights of the week to snuggle my girls and tuck them in bed. Nate asked me to please put the girls to bed... what a party pooper. Brooklynn protested that she just wanted to snuggle me. Ahhh, what a nice girl. We compromised and I tucked them in and laid down by them until they fell asleep. I know this is not the advice that you would get from professionals, but again, sometimes I just don't care. Nate likes to give me guff that they like him just fine until I get home and then they just want me... I don't see why that's a bad thing. I love my girls and I am happy to squeeze in any extra snuggling time I can. Before I know it, they will be teenagers, and they probably won't like me anymore. So I will enjoy today...

Anyone else want to join my bad mom club?

No Caffeine For You!

After I dropped Brooklynn off at Kindergarten this morning, Hailey was in need of a soda fix?!?

Hailey: Mommy, I thirsty. We need to go to da gas station and get soda.
Mommy: Sorry, bug, no soda for you. I will get you a glass of milk or water when we get home.
Hailey: No pepsi, no diet coke?
Mommy: You can have milk or water, sweetie, soda is not healthy for you.
Hailey: It not healfy for me?
Mommy: NO!

How is a 3 year old addicted to soda and caffeine? Her daddy. He is addicted to Diet Pepsi. He has been the responsible party in the mornings when I am passed out for a few hours in the morning after working my night shifts. Apparently, they have a "routine," school, gas station, home... and Nate has a hard time telling his little ladies "NO" anyway, especially when they do the infamous "Hunter head drop."

I think it is time to put a stop to soda...and I am pretty sure there is going to be one daddy and one little girl that will probably be going through caffeine withdrawals at my house. I realize there are worse things, but 3 year old little girl should not be asking for caffeinated beverages at 8:30 in the morning....ugh!

Disclaimer: This is not intended to bash Nate. He is a fabulous daddy, we all adore him at our house and he really is a "mostly" responsible parent, except for this soda thing. He was raised on Diet Pepsi...we'll blame his parents for this one :) We all have our weak spots, his is caffeinated beverages, mine is chocolate.

We Didn't Like That Salesman Anyway...

Do you ever wonder what a salesman thinks after leaving your door? I was sleeping soundly after working a night shift so this story is second hand.

Yesterday, the doorbell rang and my husband opened the door to find a salesman of some sort. My girls are not shy... at all! They proceeded to talk up a storm, of course sharing TMI! Since Hailey knows all about the birds and the bees at the ripe old age of 3, she decided to fill him in. Hailey proceeded to tell the salesman that she came from mommy's tummy and Brooklynn came from Daddy's tummy (if only it were that easy...). The salesman left without a fuss, I guess they scared him. :)

Since that visit, Nate has already spent over 3 hours on the eliptical getting rid of those "birthing" hips. :)

After... Hailey's New 'Do

At the salon, the stylist and I agreed that her hair needed to be cut short in order to fix it. She did a fabulous job and I love the new haircut. I was sad to see Hailey's long hair go, but I think the short, sassy haircut definitely fits her personality.

Before...

Hailey had been incident free with scissors...until now. Her hair was getting so long and pretty (I know... her hair looks really ratty in these pictures, but take my word for it). Brooklynn came running to me crying because Hailey had tried to cut her hair. So I went to talk to Hailey about picking on her sister when I saw her new hair design. I'm fairly certain the mullet is no longer in style and isn't coming back anytime soon, so I decided to let the professionals take over.

Who's Bright Idea Was This?

Over Easter weekend, my husband and brothers decided it would be fun to go for a ride. I thought it sounded like a good idea until I woke up and it was freezing outside. I bundled up, made some hot chocolate and off we went. It started raining on us as soon as we got out of the truck. As we rode, the rain turned to snow. It was quite difficult to see the trail, so we made our own trail. Nate's idea of looking for elk sheds on the trail was impossible with all the snow.

On the bright side, we were able to try out our new mule, George. He did fantastic, except when we tried to take him away from the horses. He is definitely a herd-bound mule, but I think that can be corrected with a little work. He has a great temperament and you can't beat what we paid for him... FREE! The guy that gave him to us even threw in a one ton bale of hay for us to feed him. We all had a great time, and I can't wait to try this trail again when we can actually see it. :)

Spring Camping Trip

These are some pictures from our Spring Camping Trip over Conference Weekend. We camped with two of my sisters, Michelle and Julie, and their families. My little brother Spencer and his wife, Lindsey, came out to visit for a day. It was freezing! The wind blew most of the time and we even got some snow. Thank goodness for the heaters in our trailers and also for hot chocolate.

We still had a fabulous time. We were able to watch/listen to Conference, play games, ride the 4 wheelers and motorcycle, eat smores and sing by the campfire, but most of all, we enjoyed being together.

Like a Tiger

Tigers are beautiful, majestic animals, right? Normally, if someone said I was like a tiger, I would take it as a compliment. When I woke up today, my shirt had lifted up a little bit and my stomach was showing. I hadn't noticed it until I saw Brooklynn examining the skin on my stomach.

Brooklynn: Mom, you look like a tiger.
Me: (confused)Say what?
Brooklynn: Yeah, you have stripes on your tummy like a tiger.
Me: (ugh!) Thanks, sweetie.

Yes, those beautiful "tiger stripes" are also known as stretch marks. Nate came to my rescue and defended my stretch marks, kindly telling her that she was the reason I had them. It's true, I was definitely NOT a super model prior to having kids, but at least I didn't have stretch marks.

Nate and I had a good laugh about it. It's a good thing I LOVE my kids, because selling them to the gypsies sounds like a good idea sometimes. :)

Warm Spring Days

Pinching Pennies

In effort to reduce our utility bills, we are requiring all members of our household to bath with a friend (or 2). We helped Gunner in the tub for this picture, but while I was at work on Monday night, Nate had the girls get in the tub, he said he heard them laughing and then a splash. Gunner had crashed the party. He looks like he is not enjoying himself, but he apparently enjoyed himself because he went in willingly today and sat right down.
Notice the disgusting bathwater? That is what came off the kids, mostly Brooklynn. They have been playing outside with the neighbor kids, and from the looks of things, they must have been rolling around in the dirt. Isn't it great being a kid?