Take a look

The cute new family

Madelynne is finally here!

Ethan holding baby Maddie

Whitney holding sweet Madelynne

Ashtyn and our new cousin

The fun blanket doll that my SIL's mom gave Whitney for her birthday

Sunday dinner at S&M's

A very pregnant and nearly over due Kellie (Madelynne was born three days later)

The cute cake Malia made Whitney

Crazy

I am going crazy- it's official. I have been consummed with girls camp this week- specifically the schedule book that I am in charge of making. It is suppose to contain the camp schedule, beautiful inspirational quotes and scriptures, songs, and other various little things for the girls to look at. Well I am finally done!! Well sort of- I still have to give it to my neighbor who is comb binding it and then mount the cover picture- then I'll be done.

This entire calling has been one of the hardest of my life. It has lead me to wonder why it's so easy to lose focus and go over board. We have made and bought so many things to give the girls that I wonder if they will actually even get the spiritual messages that go along with it all. Aren't we suppose to SIMPLIFY?

I know that the actual camp will be a blast and I can't wait for that. I also suppose that part of my problem has been the fact that other things keep popping up that take my time too. Such as taking care of my mom after her surgery. She has to be helped to do everything. I don't mind helping her- but the whole time I am thinking, ok what else do I have to do for girls camp.

It all has lead me to be insane. Last night I was almost finished with the book when the door bell rang and between the two minutes that took and when I came back upstairs to the computer- Ethan had closed everyone of my windows and lost all the info that I had just spent the last hour typing. I told him he was grounded for the computer for life..LOL. He said "I just needed to check out this monster truck website that is on the back of my monster truck." I didn't kill him but felt like it. Although it did occur to me that there is actually an outside world beyond girls camp and maybe I need to spend more time in it.

After that happened I told Jeff to take the kids somewhere very far away and very fun for them. Then I went to the store. I went into Bath and Body Works to look for some secret sister items and I saw this awesome lip gloss that my SIL loves called Cinnamint Mentha Lip Shine. I bought that and also the lemon flavor and they are so good. Lip gloss is calming for me. I love shiny lips. This has the added benefit of freshening your breath too. MMMM.

Fun after all

Ashtyn was pretending to be Ariel on her rock and started singing "Part of your world" so loud

Jeff came home early from work and we went hiking with the kids. We are so lucky to live so close to so many beautiful places. The hike we took today was so perfect for little kids. It was 1.6 miles round trip, so there wasn't time for them to say "I'm too tired". The end is a beautiful waterfall that falls through a hole in the rock. We couldn't go all the way to the falls with the kids, so Jeff took the camera up to the top and took pictures for us. We got very wet crossing the river. It was perfect weather and the route is mostly shaded. Anyone that knows me knows that I am not much of a hiker or camper. I love to be outside and this was just the right hike for all of our abilities. I love the smell of the river and the feel of the breeze that blows across it. There is an unwritten code that everyone follows to keep the trail beautiful for everyone else and everybody says hello as they pass. It really is refreshing to be out of the city and surrounded by all of Heavenly Fathers creations. We had one small mishap at the very end when Ashtyn jumped over a rock and skinned her knee a hundred feet from the car. We saw some ground hogs run across the trail and then a teen age girl screamed out and Ethan thought it was the ground hog screaming and laughed so hard. Then he kept saying "Ground hogs say AAAAAAHHHHH". He told me that he loves hiking. It was so fun to be together as a family.

Things

Do you ever hear a song and you feel like it was written just for you? Two days ago I was in the car and the song "In this Life" came on. It is so beautiful to me. I love it. So I have spent every minute hoping it would come on again so I could find the artist. Today I found her. It is a song by Delta Goodrem. So enjoy listening to it while you read today.

We have had more craziness this week. My mom- that's right I said MOM, not grandma, fell and broke her hip and had to have a total hip replacement. I feel so bad for her, she is not even 60 yet. She has Osteopenia- which is one step before Osteoporosis..so it was bound to happen eventually.

This is a picture of the view from her window

I'm sure that my mom will appreciate me posting this sweet picture of her :)

On Sunday we celebrated Whitney's b-day again with my family. She told me that she didn't want them to sing to her or make her open her presents in front of everyone. She is so shy. Then when we got down to it she changed her mind and wanted the works.

We saw an awesome dragon fly on the house. Here is a pics.

We are spending our 24th at work, the hospital and buying a new vacuum (ours broke). Fun, huh ;)

Camping

This weekend we had planned on going camping with a group of our friends. Our plans had to change when everything happened and we still had my dad with us. The kids were very excited to go (we never go), so they were very disappointed when we had to cancel. Instead we borrowed a tent from Jeff's parents and set it up in the back yard. On Friday night we had our niece and nephews over and we let the kids climb in the tent and watch a movie. We even roasted marshmallows over our grill and made smores. Then we slept out there again on Saturday night. I should mention that only Jeff slept outside on Friday because I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to take my dad to the airport. Then last night I made Jeff drag Ethan's mattress outside for me to sleep on (I am not much of a camper..LOL). It was very fun! It was perfect for the kids and was even perfect at night, not too cold.

Teeth

Ashtyn lost two more teeth this month. Both in the front on the top. I have bad memories of my parents tying strings to my teeth and slamming doors when I was little. Ashtyn's just all have fallen out on their own. Was I impatient or did my parents like to see the teeth ripped from our mouths? Who knows- but we almost blew it last night and forgot to put the money under her pillow- luckily she forgot too so we had time to slip in there.

My uncle's funeral was really good. At the Internet they did a three gun salute- or whatever you call it for military people. He had been in the Navy and the Air National Guard. It was so cool! Then they played the bugle. My dad is still here until Saturday. He has been fixing all the little things we have been putting off in our house- I love that about him. He loves to fix things and he is great at it. Too bad he lives thousands of miles away.

We got our family pictures taken a few weeks ago and I love them. Here is the link to see them. Our log in and password are our last name with the first letter capital and the rest lowercase.

http://carrieowens.typepad.com/photos/shaw-session/

Ethan is now more interested in cars than trains- or at least this week. He loves Hotwheels- but they have to be Hotwheels and don't try to fool him because he knows they stamp the logo on the bottom. He is also obsessed with Speed Racer. We haven't seen the new movie, but we borrowed the old cartoon version from the library and he loved it. Yesterday we went to the store and bought our back packs for school and he chose the Speed Racer one. He was torn because he wanted to buy a Hotwheels car for $1 and thought if he got the back pack he couldn't. He was so excited to get to buy a back pack this year. I can't believe he will be going to preschool. He is so smart.

Whitney loves telling everyone that she is six now. She thinks she is suddenly taller as well. She chose a Hannah Montana back pack and Ashtyn chose High School Musical. I am getting nervous about school because they will both be gone all day. WOW! The summer has gone by too fast.

I bought the girls some adorable little hats for school too. My SIL has a neighbor that sells these and bows and all kinds of cute girly hair accessories. I thought maybe if I buy something new for them to try they would let me do their hair once in a while. They both do their own and that is great- other than when we go out in public and they have ten different barrettes and their bangs plastered to their foreheads with hair spray. Good thing their faces are so darn beautiful!

This shows Ashtyn's missing teeth too!

Crazy Week

This has been a crazy week for us. On Wednesday we got a call that my uncle had suffered a heart attack suddenly and was in the hospital. My aunt was in New York and called me in a panic because my grandma who lives with them was now all alone. She has been living with my aunt and uncle for the past few years after she suffered a devastating fall and lost the use of her right side. She can do a lot for herself now, but she has a heart condition and can't be left alone for too long. I rushed over to get her and bring her to my home and in the course of our preparations my uncle passed away. None of her other children live in state, so I was the only one that was there with her. It was so shocking and difficult. I talked to my dad and his sister and we decided that it would be best to wait to tell my grandma the sad news until more of our family could arrive. My grandma has lost a lot the last few years including all of her siblings, one of her other sons and two of her grandchildren( my uncles own daughter and son-n-law).

I brought her to my house and she stayed over night. The next day after my aunt arrived home we went and broke the news to her about his death. It was heart breaking. Now all of my family is here. There are so many things that will need to be worked out and I know that my aunt is going to need a lot of help. My uncle did everything for my grandma so her future is uncertain. I am so thankful that we have a close relationship and that I was here to help her. I have had the opportunity to see her a lot and help her as much as I can. My kids love her. They are so lucky to get to know their great-grandma. We are so sad for her and my aunt. My aunt had been in New York helping my cousin with his new baby since the 16th of June. The last time I talked to my uncle was on the fourth of July. We were going to stop by and visit them while a few of my cousins were in town, but we had some other things to take care of and decided not to go.

I had a camp certification meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday night and a few other plans for the rest of the week, including Whitney's birthday party. We canceled everything, but decided to go ahead with the party. It turned out wonderful. We had a carnival party. We had face painting, a duck pond, a kissing booth(where you guessed how many Hershey's kisses were in a jar), a fortune teller(where you drew a fortune cookie out of a jar and she read you your fortune), a pie in the face booth(Jeff was the lucky one getting pied- he was such a great sport- but smelled like rotten whip cream the rest of the night), a clothespin drop, and a bean bag game. We had pizza, gave out prizes, ate cupcakes and had so much fun. I'm so glad we did the party. Our kids have been left with baby sitters a lot the past few days and we have had my grandma and dad staying with us, so things have been hard for them.

Sunday night was my uncle's viewing. It is so amazing to me the strength that you get from prayers. In times of trial it seems like Heavenly Father carries you. My grandma and aunt were amazing to watch last night. I couldn't help but cry every time I looked at them. My grandma stood and talked to him and kissed him and thanked him for all that he has done for her. It was so touching. It was also so sad. We are all going to miss him so much. He was an amazing man. At church in young women's the lesson was all about keeping an eternal perspective. That is hard to do. I hate not knowing what the future holds for both my aunt and grandma. They are strong women and I know they can take care of themselves. His funeral is tomorrow. I am going to miss my family so much. Some of them I haven't seen in eight years. Why is that? Why do families wait until weddings and funerals to see each other? Jeff's family has done a great job keeping in touch. Some times I complain that we see them far too much. But I am also so grateful for the relationships I have with them. Life is so short and goes so fast.

Whitney

Today is Whitney's birthday. She is 6 years old. Whitney is kind and compassionate. She cares about people and loves taking care of babies and animals. She has a soft heart and is very sensitive. She loves to cuddle and snuggle. She is a mommy's girl. She is shy and timid in new situations and with new people. She is also a climber and a jumper. She has broken both of her arms jumping off things. She is a teaser. She knows how to get to Ashtyn and Ethan. She is quick to share all that she has with others and she likes to help people feel better when they are sad. She loves to be "fancy". She loves to wear skirts and dress up. She loves to paint her nails and wear lip stick (if we let her). She likes to ride her trike. She likes to play pretend. She loves all things princess. She loves baby dolls. She hates to read, but loves to be read to. She likes to color and write sweet notes to her family. She LOVES chocolate. She loves to be outside. She is smart. She is beautiful. We love her to death!

Whitney was a complete surprise to our family. When I found out I was pregnant with her, Ashtyn was only five months old. I was taking birth control at the time. We were shocked and nervous and didn't know what to think. When I went to the doctor to see how far a long I was- I was two months pregnant. I cried and cried when I saw the ultra sound- we weren't prepared for another baby, but there she was. So small and tiny on the screen. I was hardly sick at all. We named her Whitney because we love that name and Faith after Faith Hill the country singer. She weighed the same as Ashtyn. She had blond hair. We instantly fell in love with her. She was a very calm and sweet baby. She hardly ever cried as long as I was around. She was attached to my hip from the first day. When she was a baby we left her with her aunt and uncle and she screamed the whole time. That was the first time she has ever had to have a bottle and she hated it. Even still she stays close to me. The more we get to know her and see her grow the stronger we feel that she was meant to be in our family. She is the peacemaker. She and Ashtyn are best friends. She is the sweetest little girl. When she gets upset- you leave her alone- but when she is happy she wants to be with her family. She amazes us with her understanding of the world. We underestimate all that she can do. She is an angel. We are so lucky to have her in our family. Daddy calls her Whitey and mommy calls her Lovey. She loves Ashtyn and Ethan. She is amazing and a marvel. WE LOVE YOU WHITNEY!!

This morning she woke up early and got to go to breakfast with Grandma Dinah. We gave her a bike. She was so cute looking at it and sitting on it. Ashtyn and Ethan gave her a Pucci Pup. It's a black scottie dog. She also got some clothes and we'll have a party for her later this week. One of her good friends has a brithday today too- so she got to go to a swimming party. She says she can't wait to be six so she can start to lose some teeth. She will be in first grade next year. Happy Happy Birthday Whitney!

Happy Birthday Whitney!

Work

Here are the girls gettin their groove on to the Dance Revolution Game in the gym..SWEET!

I took my kids to have lunch with their aunt and uncle today. We could probably count this as our adventure for "W" (Work)- we went to their work, or maybe count it as "L"(Lunch)too. We'll see how the rest of the summer plays out.

It was lots and lots of fun! Both my brother and sister-n-law work for the same company. I would love to be able to work with Jeff- he'd have no where to go and hide when we were stuck together in a car for the commute to and from work..LOL. and I could talk his ear off.

I have to say too that they work for one awesome company!! There is a full cafeteria with a menu that puts La Caille to shame. There is a gym- complete with all the exercise equipment you could ever want to use. They also offer classes like yoga and you can have a complete physical program set up just for you. This is a company that cares very deeply for it's employees! It was a very "posh" work environment. Maybe I'll think about getting a job there after my kids are all in school.

We got to see their offices and meet some of their co-workers. The food was great. A big huge thank you to both of them for inviting us!!! We can't wait to go back and do it again.

My Brother

I have an older brother who is 37. He can be very cool or just plain weird! We had a birthday party for him and also his wife who's birthday is the day after his. These pictures pretty much sum him up.

Letter "R" & Letter "F"

We went to the bookstore for letter R. We went with my sister. I love bookstores. Books are one of my favorite things. We could have spent all day reading. The girls love that they know how to read. They picked out all the books they wanted and sat and read the whole time we were there. Ethan loves that they have a train table there. In fact the bookstore was the first place that he ever saw a train and has loved them ever since. I adore children's books. They are so wonderful and imaginative. Some of my new favorites are the Fancy Nancy series. I love this girl. I like to think I was her when I was little and now she reminds me of Whitney and Ashtyn. She loves to dress up and speak french. She is so refined and elegant. What a very fun day!

We went to the Aquarium yesterday. Another adventure where I forgot my camera. We got to see so many cool fish. An octopus, jellies, lots of trout and the coolest thing we saw were sting rays. We got to even pet one. One sting ray swam over to where we were standing and lifted it's fin up on the side of the wall, then it flapped it as if to wave hi and then it poked it's face up out of the water and looked at us for a few seconds. The kids thought that was the best thing ever.

The workers keep the stingers cut so they are not dangerous to touch. We learned that their stingers are made of the same material as human finger nails. A sting ray is what killed Steve Erwin. They told us that when you are stung it is very poisonous and the poison kills all of the surrounding tissue. Steve was stung in the heart and it killed his heart.

The kids wanted to stay and touch the sting rays the whole time. We will definitely be visiting there again soon.