Camping Trip

 We took a family trip at Mt Rainer, and camped at Ohanapacosh for a couple nights just last week.  I have to say, for having a extra child, and puppy, it was a lot more fun than last year.  The kids had a blast and got along amazingly well! We went on several hikes, and even Owen walked almost the entire way.  We drove up to Paradise, and Sunrise, which were both absolutely beautiful. We will for sure, be making this a tradition! 

Owen's 2nd Birthday!

On July 23rd Owen turned 2!! We had a small little party with just the family and I made him Minion Cupcakes.  He loved them, as you can see by the picture. 

Owen is the happiest little boy, and has been since he was a tiny little baby.  He is laid back, and very goofy, just like his dad.  He is also very mischievous...(I think that part he got from me!) and constantly sneaking into things he isn't supposed to be in to.  He is a daredevil (I also think he got that from me)...he jumps off anything and everything, even the bunk beds! But behind all that boy, he is also one of the sweetest little boys even! I am one lucky momma to have him! Happy Birthday Owen!!

Update

Ethan's Baby Blessing in March

 Jackson's machine pitch team made it to the Championship games and finished in 3rd!

Visiting the Fire Station with his Preschool

 Joshua graduating from Preschool in May

My little brother James and his family came to visit all the way from New York.

Here is all the cousins together! 

 Cute Picture of Owen passed out on Ethan

Another cute picture of Owen waking up

Our new baby girl, Zoe

Ethan @ 6 months

Wrestling Season

This was Jackson's third year doing wrestling, and each year he gets better and better.  

Jackson is in a tough spot because he is short and stocky.  He weighs more than most kids his age, but is also a lot shorter.  He is almost always wrestling kids older and much taller than he is.  He first year wrestling he did not win a single match.  It was hard to watch each week and see the disappointment in his face.  He would always ask us if he'd even win a match. and we'd always tell him yes, but he has to keep working hard and staying focused. That he did.  His second year, he finally won a couple, and his third year this kid won more times than not and places top 4 or better in every tournament. He even  placed first in one. I am super excited for next year, and really hoping to get Josh to try it out too!

Easter

Easter Sunday we woke up, found our Easter Baskets, the boys gorged on candy, and then attempted to sit reverently through church.  I think maybe the Easter Bunny should start coming while were at church.  I will have to let him know next year! :) 

After Church, we did an Easter Egg Hunt with the boys.  Jackson is very competitive, so of course his was the first one sprinting out so he could get the most eggs. 

 Owen didn't really care... he instead played in toys. 

 Andrew would open up each egg as he found it to inspect what was inside.

 And Josh just tried his hardest to keep up with Jackson. 

 As you can see, Ethan was a little upset he didn't get to take part in the Easter Egg Hunt. 

Andrew's Birthday

Of course, I am behind again...
So here we go with lots of new posts hopefully! First,  Andrew turned 3 on March 23.  He loves Ninja Turtles so I made him a ninja turtle cake and he got a couple of ninja turtle toys.  He loved it all. Andrew has always seemed older than he is to me.  He speaks very well, pronouncing many things better than his older brother even, and is only a couple pounds lighter than Josh even though they are two years apart.  He is such a sweet, happy boy (most of the time... he definitely has the stereotypical red head temper that comes out from time to time)!   Scott always calls him our miracle baby because after having two c sections, and being told that is all I would ever have, Andrew made his own plans.  He decided to arrive just a day before my scheduled c-section, with a very quick labor, on a night that the best OB in the world just happened to be on call! It really was crazy how it all worked out.  So I am very grateful for our little miracle, proving to me and every one else that there really wasn't anything wrong with my body and I could birth a baby like women were made to! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Andrew!

Ethan's first month

Ethan has been such a joy his first month.  He is finally starting to stay awake a little more often.  He loves watching his brothers running around like maniacs. He's given us a couple sweet little smiles. He is a great nurser, and is gaining weight like crazy, already weighing in at 11lbs! We are so happy to have him in our family! :)

Joshua's Five!

Happy (late) Birthday Josh!!

Joshua had his fifth birthday on Janurary 24. You can tell by the picture above how bashful he is.  They celebrated his birthday at preschool with cupcakes and a birthday song.  

When he got home from preschool, grandpa Gordy was waiting at home with some awesome "Army guy" toys! 

Later that night, we had pizza and cake and open presents. we even got a surprise visit from Grandpa Mark! 

He loved it! He got legos, and a sweet batman piggy bank. 

Ethan Matthew

Our little man arrived Saturday February 9, and 11pm.  He was 8 lbs 4 oz. and 19 in. long.  He made his 6 days early, which was so wonderful after Owen being 8 days late! I had been having contractions on and off all week with this little guy, and even my Dr. must have known he'd be here soon because I was getting nightly phone calls from him all week too.  He kept telling me I better come in early this time, because he knew the he'd come quickly and didn't want me to risk having my baby on our 45 min. drive into town.  

Saturday morning we decided to go into town and do some shopping in hopes to walk this baby out.  I was having very random contractions, some strong, some weak, some close together, some far apart.  By the end of the day, they were finally getting stronger, but still very random,  stopping for 20 to 30 minutes sometimes... it was getting very annoying! :) 

Anyway, we decided we better just stay the night at my mom's that night instead of driving back to Connell, and it was a good thing we did.  After getting the kids to bed, labor finally got started, and so, I did as my Dr. said and headed in early.  The last two, I literally came in at the very last min... so I was really nervous about going in so soon...  I'm weird, I know, but I am not really a fan of the hospital.  I got checked in, and was only 5cm.  I was preparing myself for a long night, but luckily exactly two hours later, Ethan Matthew made his arrival.  We had another drug free labor (except for an iv...I am required to have one, because of my 2 previous c-sections... if something we to go wrong, they can quickly get drugs into me if needed) and while it wasn't quite as easy as Owen's delivery, it all went very well.  We are so very happy Ethan is here.  Is has been such a sweet little boy.  It is still weird to think that I am now a mother of 5! 

Fall/Winter 2012

I wish I wasn't so horrible at keeping my blog updated!! Since last post, we have had Jackson start 1st grade and Joshua started preschool. 

Jackson' s 1st day

 Joshua at Country Mercantile with his class. 

We had an awesome Halloween. We stayed in Connell to trick or treat for the first time ever, and the boys have a blast.

 We have 2 oopma loompas (or however you spell that) and army guy and a 49ers player. 

 Then we celebrated Jackson's 7th Birthday!! Wow, where does the time go?? 

This is the first time I've done an actual Birthday Party with friends over, and Jackson had so much fun. 

It was army themed.  The shot little army guys with squirt guns, had an obstacle course, and even got to shoot a bb gun. 

 Then came Christmas... It was a small christmas this year, just us at our house in Connell.  Santa brought Jackson a DSI, Josh got army stuff, Andrew got a space ship and Owen got a Scout. 

 Im pretty sure Owen's favorite gift was candy canes.  He went straight for his stocking, took out the candy cane, and started eating it, wrapper and all... he didn't care for any of the presents under the tree. :)

Oh, and somewhere during this time we also found out that #5 would be a boy!! Yah for boys!!
Next post will be Joshua's Birthday and hopefully a new baby!! :)