The Groves Gathering

25 Rules

2012-01-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

So 2012 has arrived and I have lots of goals popping in my head this year. I am usually one not to make resolutions but I suppose that is what the new year is for: changing things, improving things, having a fresh start. This past year has been busy and I am hoping in this year that I will have time for the things on my to do list, but I can imagine I will really be chasing after my boys (may it at least help me be fit)! I came across "25 Rules for Mothers of Sons" on Pininterest (yes, I am addicted too) and of course I loved it since I have four of these little guys. It is worth reading.
http://studerteam.blogspot.com/2011/11/25-rules-for-mothers-of-sons.html?m=1

Are you ready for some football....

2011-10-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...isn't this the cutest little football you've ever seen? Totally, right! This is our little Reagan supporting his brothers at their football games this fall. The boys have finally finished their football season. They played, well...they played and Ethan did a bit of twirling too. LOL. I got this cute hat from Etsy and Reagan has almost outgrown it already. He is going to be wearing it again this Halloween and will be Daddy's football and of course, Dad will be sporting the BSU jersey. The kids are busy, thus keeping me busy, but I try my best to do some girly things along the way. Well, now I have a screaming child in the background, so my post will have to end now, but hope you enjoy the pic.

School

2011-09-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

Boys on ~~1st~~ 2nd day of school

I have been so excited to have school start again and the boys, well, they didn't actually get excited until it really was the 1st day of school. It was more work this year to get all the necessities needed and thanks to Dad's help, we managed to be ready. The boys were up bright and early and we were all ready to go with 20 minutes until the bus arrived and when the boys actually have time, I let them watch some morning cartoons while they wait. Little did I know the bus was going to be 10 minutes early and I wouldn't have time to snap that 1st day of school photo. Luckily, I managed to see the it rounding the corner or we would have missed it completely. The poor kids had to run the whole way to the bus stop. Bad mommy!

When they arrived home, I was quite confused because Ethan came by himself and Caden was nowhere in sight. Ethan walked in the door and said, "I missed you, Mommy" and just about burst into tears. Oh, melt my heart! After a confusing discussion and Caden arriving home 5 minutes later, I found out there had been some bullying on the bus and Ethan had been scratched on the hand by another boy. Caden had begged the bus driver to let them out at his friend's house for a band aid (because he didn't want to listen to him scream any more) and they let them out (WHAT!). So our neighbor drove Ethan to our house and Caden opted to walk home. Seriously I wasn't too pleased with the whole situation (I can be somewhat paranoid). I was quite heartbroken that Ethan had experienced this. I wish I could be there to protect my kids all the time. Kids can be so mean sometimes (and so can we adults), but that is just a part of growing up. Unfortunately, we have to learn how to deal with these things. After some hugs and kisses, things were better, and we talked about their day. I was happy to learn that that they both had a good time and E even managed to eat some of his lunch. So the next day we were up early again and this time I drove them to school to ensure I would get some 2nd day of school pics instead of the back of their heels running after the bus. :)

Good Morning, Sunshine

2011-08-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Our little Reagan is 5 weeks today and Sam and I say that it feels like it has been forever. Usually people say it has gone by so fast and while these past few weeks have somewhat flown by-our feeling of lack of sleep has not. :) Reagan was up bright and early this morning and I decided to take a picture of his morning hair do. He has such crazy hair. I'm just not really sure what to do with it but let it do it's own thing. Reagan is such a noisy baby; he grunts and does this (what I think is adorable) billy goat noise. He reminds me of Caden when he was little in that respect.

I have to admit that the adjustment has been difficult. I have heard the 3rd is the hardest, well I have to say it is the 4th for me. Really, I think that probably depends more on the child. Reagan prefers to be held...ALL the time. Then you add in caring for 3 other boys and things become chaos. I really try to keep up, but right now crayon is on the windows and pencil on the wall, my laundry bin is overflowing, and we really watch our step in the baby/craft/computer room, but hey, at least I managed to clean the bathrooms. My hubby has been wonderfully understanding as most days he comes home to a not so clean house, noisy children, and dinner unprepared, and still manages to greet me nicely. So it has been hard not doing the things I think I'm responsible for and the things I want and would love to do. I'm not blogging about this because I want a pity session. My life is good and I am blessed with so many simple things, but I have felt like no one really understands what I'm going through (even though I know better) and then I received a wonderful letter from my mother-in-law and a phone call the other day from my own mom. Here were two women in my life who let me know they loved me, were thinking of me, and just said things that affirmed to me that they understood. Sometimes we just need to be reminded. So my hope is that perhaps when you read this post that you will send a note or pick up the phone to call someone who you have been thinking of and remind them.

Boy # 4

2011-07-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

We added another little boy to our family on Monday. We named him Reagan Michael. Mom and baby are trying their best to get some rest so we will post more on our new guy later on.

Butterfly Mobile

2011-07-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

So a few months back I found some cute butterfly mobiles on Etsy and thought to myself, "I can make that". I decided to give it a try and cut some butterflies using my Cricut out of vellum and some sparkly white paper. I also picked up some crystal beads to add. I went to work not having any plan, meaning I just starting stringing them randomly with no measurements or how many to even make. A few nights into this and I began to think I would be adding this to my growing pile of unfinished projects. I was also worried that it wouldn't turn out as it was just looking like a gigantic butterfly mess. So this last week, I decided I had better give this one more lasting effort and finish the dang thing. Amazingly, I did just that and it looks better than I expected. I would hope to have a plan if I did this again, but highly doubt it will be attempted. Here is my FINISHED project and just in time as I have only 5 more days until my due date. I certainly won't be putting this even close to little hands to grab and choke on, but for now it makes a cute hanging decoration in baby's room.

Krupp Scout Hollow

2011-07-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of June, we took our den to Krupp Scout Hollow for day camp. The weather was just perfect (we were concerned about rain), and the groups were just the right size. This is the second year I have attended day camp and Caden's first year. They had some really great activities for the scouts and our den chose to do archery (this or the bb guns). Our theme was super heroes and each station did a great job of working the character connections with each superhero, such as Faith for Zorro and Courage for Superman.This photo below is all the arriving scouts playing capture the flag. The first year I went, I was so worried about losing a boy in the conglomeration but I have relaxed a bit since then. The boys did capture the leaders' flag a few times this year.

These photos below are an obstacle course that each scout did on their own. We walked through it once and I was impressed with the set up. The scouts worked hard to get through this activity.

These photos show the scouts learning about different animal tracks. They stamped a bunch of the animal tracks on paper, which is more of a bears requirement to fulfill I believe, but they still enjoyed it.

Next we hiked our way to the archery grounds and the scouts were pumping with excitement here. With that being said they still managed to be still and listen closely to the leader explaining the rules of archery and how to hold the bow and release the arrow. They each got to shoot one with a leader and the rest on their own. Caden hit the target on his first try by himself. I was impressed as we leaders got to shoot also and it really isn't that easy. Ever since then, Caden has been practicing his archery skills, thanks to Grandpa Grover having some bow and arrows lying around at his place.

At this station the scouts made leather bracelets that they engraved designs, names, or whatever they wanted into them. I thought this was a great hands on activity and it was nice that the scouts had something to take home to share with their families.

We then enjoyed our homemade picnic lunches and the scouts played some fun activities and visited the store (can't remember what they call it, but full of fun items for boys to purchase). I followed some of our group to the parachute and that was just fun to watch them playing in. I might have joined in if I hadn't been so pregnant.

We finished up the remainder of our day with other fun activities and closing ceremonies. By the time 2:30 pm rolled around, I was ready to get home and rest, but I was glad for the opportunity to see my son enjoy his first day camp and hopeful he doesn't get tired of me always being there, at least for a while.

Our wolf den at the end of day camp (of course my son is not smiling)!

Update

2011-06-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

Life at the Grover household is going well. School has been out for almost 3 weeks now and the boys are enjoying it so far even though the weather hasn't been so great. We will get one nice hot day and then a week of rain and wind. I am enjoying some days of actually sleeping in. The oldest boys are up early, but turn on the TV in the morning and Will has been sleeping in occasionally. It is absolute bliss on those mornings when I might get to sleep in until 7:30 or 8:00 especially now that sleep is becoming more difficult for me these days. I think pregnancy sometimes prepares you for the little newborn. I see that our pregnancy ticker has us down to 47 more days. WOW! We are so not prepared. I have purchased a box of newborn diapers and white onesies, but that is the extent of our preparedness. Not knowing the sex of the baby does have its disadvantages...but the decision was made and at least I'm sticking to it. Sam insists it is a girl, at least to me, but he insisted we were having a girl with our first and you can see how that turned out. :)

Speaking of Sam, he has now finished his master's degree. I believe it took 3 years to finish the task. I am so very proud of him. What an accomplishment! He is happy to be done and not spending his weekends on homework. Good timing, too, as life is about to become even busier for us.

Here are some photos of our Will keeping busy himself. He is into everything and goes everywhere now and is just as clever as the rest of the boys at finding ways to get what he wants.

The Trampoline

2011-05-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

I have always been against having a trampoline despite the fact that my family had one growing up. I blame it on watching too many episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos. I am just terrified that my kids will get seriously injured on one. So when Sam asked me yet again this year about getting a tramp for the boys, even I was surprised when the word yes came from my mouth. I am not sure why I did; perhaps because I am pregnant, or perhaps I didn't want to hear it anymore, or perhaps, after so many stitches, I have realized my kids will get hurt one way or another. ALL the boys were so excited when the trampoline arrived.

The wind was so chilling this day but the boys were so excited that they all worked to get it together. Getting those springs hooked were the worst part. It got to the point were I couldn't even pull them hard enough to get them hooked in. I'm not really sure how Sam managed it.

We did get the netting, but we let the boys jump a bit before attaching the rest. William even enjoyed it. He would walk on and immediately call for Caden and Caden would jump with him. I was shocked to see him loving it. Will is much braver now and likes to jump on his own even when the other two are jumping about. He is a tough kid. I have to admit that the tramp has even become one of my favorite toys. No, I haven't been jumping on the tramp (bad idea when your this pregnant). But the boys love it and can entertain themselves for a while, which is just heaven for me, and I really LOVE seeing them have so much enjoyment from it.

So Many Projects....

2011-05-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

We are trying to make room for the new baby that will soon be here and that means moving my craft room to well...I don't really know yet, but in the process I have been trying to finish up some projects that I have stashed away. I have finished piecing two quilt tops together that are now ready to be quilted. This is the most recent one that I have done.

I actually won this Moda fabric from the Quilt Shoppe that was in Rigby and have finally gotten around to using it. I am a beginning quilter so I purchased a book of quilt patterns that uses jelly rolls, and totally ignoring the part that said this pattern was for advanced quilters, I picked this star pattern. I mean really how hard could it be? Yeah...okay. I cannot tell you how many times I was using my seam ripper on this. With a baby on the way and so many other projects to do, I finally gave up on perfection and just sewed on despite the flaws. I think it is still cute. Speaking of cute, here are some pictures of my little helper who likes to take out the pins for me.

Will does a good job taking out those pins and even putting them away, but you have to keep up with him! I learned my lesson when I tediously pinned two large pieces together and then left it to run some other errands only to find that all of my somewhat perfectly placed pins had been removed! Oh well, I still adore him. So now I have packed up all my sewing supplies and fabric and placed it in the basement storage. I now move on to catch up on my scrapbooking. That will be a challenge.

Baby 4 Ultrasound Pictures

2011-04-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

THE BOTTOM OF BABY'S FEET AND POSSIBLE HAND IN THERE TOO.

BABY IS GRABBING FOOT WITH HAND. MY FAVORITE!

SIDE VIEW OF BABY

So I know that it has been a while since my ultrasound, but I thought I would post some photos from that appointment. I did a horrible job on the scan of those photos, so sorry about that. The baby is healthy as can be and the sex is unknown, at least by me. Sam could know by a wink wink from the ultrasound tech, but if he did, I never saw it and he is not letting on to me that he knows. The baby is 25 weeks now and is doing so very well. I would say that this is the most active baby I've had before birth and being able to feel that movement is one of my favorite things about pregnancy. It is always thrilling for me even at 5 in the morning. Prego Mom here is doing great. I finally bought some maternity clothes today, which I really dislike doing, although I will say that maternity clothes have really improved since my first. I just don't like to spend money on something I'm going to wear for just a little while. We have a stash of maternity clothes that has made the rounds with the sisters, but alas, my sister Jen is pregnant right now. I was hoping to wait it out until then (she is due May 1), but it is just not happening. Hey, 25 weeks isn't bad. I just can't hang out in PJ bottoms all the time.

Dinner Time Conversations

2011-04-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

This is just a funny thing that happened at our dinner table a while ago...

Caden, our 8 year old, said this, "Mom, I know a bad word that we shouldn't say."

"Umm...really," I say, holding my breath.
"Yeah, my friend at school told me what it is and it is a baaad word," he replies.
At this point, Sam and I are looking at each other with wonder on our faces at what possible word he could have learned of. "Okay," I say, "Why don't you tell me what the word is and I will let you know if that is a word we shouldn't use."
Shaking his head in disbelief that I would ask such a thing, Caden replies, "Oh no Mom, I'm not going to say it. I know it is a bad word. I'm not going to say it".
"It's okay, honey. Just tell me what it is".
Now my son is just squirming in his chair and grinning from ear to ear, still in disbelief that I want him to say this word. "No way, Mom. I'm not going to say it, but I know how to spell it."
"Okay, spell it for me".
"A-S-S".
"You mean ASS," my 6 year old blurts out in his loud, squeaky voice.
Sam and I again look at each other, first relieved at discovering which "naughty word" Caden had learned of, and second bursting into laughter at Ethan's comment. You see it was all very innocent of Ethan. He is sounding out his letters to build words, so it wasn't that he knew what it was, he just put them to together and came up with the right word. Now Sam is just laughing. I am trying to hold it together. Caden is shocked and starts pointing to his brother saying, "Oh Ethan, you just said a bad word".
So I start to go into lecture mode and tell the boys what the actually meaning is and that it can have a different meaning if someone uses it for a different purpose like name calling, blah, blah, blah.

Usually our dinner time conversations consist of the 2 eldest boys trying to talk over each other or stating how yucky their dinner is and Sam and I "coaxing" (yeah, right) them to eat and Will is always in the background happy as can be wanting something more that we haven't already put on his plate, but every once in a while we learn something new or have a good laugh over what the boys are saying.

Great to be eight!

2011-03-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know my son's birthday was way back in December, but I thought I would write about it anyways because turning 8 seems to be such a fun age to be!

A great thing about turning 8 is being baptized. These are photos of Caden the day after his baptism because apparently I wasn't well prepared that day, but he is still just as handsome and silly the day after. He is holding his new set of scriptures and scripture bag up proudly that the Grover Grandparents purchased for him. (Thank you!) So very proud he chose to be baptized and hope he will follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost in his life.

Another thing about turning 8 is becoming a cub scout! Caden jumped right into scouts with his 1st pinewood derby. He was sure that car was going to be the fastest and well....it wasn't, more like one of the slowest. Ha ha! He, and Dad, handled the heartache well though (not usually one of his strengths) and had a great time anyways. He is excited to be a cub scout and have these activities with his friends, but maybe not so much his mom (I am one of his leaders). This age seems to be a fun one so far although he seems to think he knows it all already...

Here are some other fun photos this winter. Here is our sweet "Willibear" as we call him waiting at the school to pick up big brother, Ethan. I almost can't stand that cheesy smile of his; just makes my heart melt and my lips widen.

Caden and Ethan in the snow covering the porch steps in Island Park. It was so deep and beyond a workout to actually walk to the front door from the road. Try doing that pregnant and carrying a toddler. I stopped many times along the way. :)

Here is Sam trying to shovel the snow off the roof. He worked until it was dark and was so exhausted and frozen (so were we inside).

William eating the snow, of course!

Another shot of the boys playing in the snow. Yep, it was that deep and those lightweights don't even sink to the bottom!

Here in the valley, most of the snow has left us for now. I am eagerly awaiting spring to make its appearance and can already see the daffodils I planted last fall poking their green tops from the ground. I am excited. Yes, it is the little things for me. I know this summer will be a busy one for our family and Sam has already tried to talk me out of planting a garden this year, but it almost feels wrong not to. I'm not sure if I will be able to keep up with the plants and lawn this year as I am sure my round, pregnant self will be running after Will who gets faster and more clever every day. But that thought still doesn't keep me from wanting to plant and eat some fresh peas from the garden. I just might have to convince all those boys (and man) to help. :)

Family

2011-01-27T19:37:00.000-08:00

Ever since William was born I have been wanting to get family pictures done. Well it took us almost 2 years to let go of all the excuses and get it done. Tara Miller from Urban Photo took these for us and can I say that my boys have never been naughtier...okay maybe not quite that bad, but I am surprised that we actually had pictures where we were smiling. William was crying from the start, Caden had just gotten home from school and was bursting with energy, and Ethan was refusing to smile. Really, I thought all the pictures were going to be awful. Luckily there were a few in there that were actually cute. My boys are just looking adorable, so adorable that I can look at these pics and forget how they were behaving that day. I love that there are photos of just Sam and I because that rarely happens, I love William "cheesing" it, Caden is beyond photogenic, and I love the photo of Ethan on the tracks. He was so in the moment running and choo-chooing.

We got these pictures at the beginning of November and little did we know it, but we were expecting another little one. Fast forward to the middle of December and we were shocked to learn of it. Now it is January and I think we have gotten over the shock. I say shock because Sam had a vasectomy (without getting his special test later) over a year ago after our 3rd child, and yes, the child is his, so I say. Ha ha! (I have welcomed him to have that test done because once it is he will forever be hearing me say, I told you so!) I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and found that baby is due July 24. I am so excited. Really a wonderful gift as I thought my pregnancy days were over and despite the exhaustion and sickness, I am overjoyed with the thought that I get to experience this again...but also sometimes petrified that I will be a mother of four. As for Sam, well he needs more time adjusting to all this. Our boys seem excited by a new sibling and surprisingly, they both want another brother. Ethan even says that he will hold the baby this time. I asked him why he didn't last time and he replied that he was afraid the baby would wake up and cry.Aahhh.

A SPOOKTACULAR TIME!

2010-11-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

The boys had a great Halloween this year. The weather was just beautiful. This has been the first Halloween in a long time that it hasn't snowed, rained, blown, or been freezing cold. Here are some pictures from the holiday celebration.

Will really loves to wear glasses. Just ask Daddy...

Caden wanted to be a police officer this year, but all he really cared about was having handcuffs.

Getting goodies from Grandpa Grover.

Ethan dressed as a train conductor. He has always been into trains...and treats!

Will is scared of Grandpa Jensen right now!

I made that!

2010-10-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

I feel like one of my kids right now when I say, look what I did!

This is a cub scout flag I made for our den. Back in September, our handbook suggested to make a den flag. The boys traced their hand prints and then we cut them out, but for weeks I have been thinking about how I was going to make a flag. I have little sewing knowledge and am just learning as I go. Very little sewing was done here. I wanted the hand prints to be removable so I stitched them to the flag, so that when our cub scout goes to bears, he can take his hand print as a memento. Also, I added some decorative stitches on the sides of the diamond. The rest was done with my friend, fabric glue. I printed a copy of the wolf badge from the internet and used this to cut out the shapes. The wolf was a challenge. I happened upon a projector from a handy someone and used it to trace the wolf onto the felt with fabric paint, then I filled in the rest later. It was a bit tricky and I had to use my own artistic abilities (surprisingly, I have some). It certainly is not perfect, but I think it turned out great!

Okay, for my other project. I purchased a couple patterns off of etsy and made this bag to pack all the stuff we take to church. Remember I said that I have little sewing knowledge. Yeah, I also don't know how to cut patterns out. I won't embarrass myself too much here, but more than a few mistakes were made. I am still in awe that I really made this. Who would have thought I could be such a crafty person?

Whoa!

2010-10-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

So it is really sad that the entire summer has gone by and I haven't even made one post during that time. Our summer was busy and short. The garden was terrible since our Idaho summer was a late start and early ending. We dealt with many doctor's visits and some issues with the house that really have just turned our hair gray. We are now finishing up one of those house issues and have a new patio in our backyard. It still needs to be sealed, stairs need to be built, and then perhaps we will have a short moment of peace. I have been impressed with my husband's abilities to fix things that he has no idea how to fix in the beginning. He uses every resource available to figure it out and the internet becomes a real valuable tool in those moments. I also laugh at how he can have such a difficult time when it comes to cutting and measuring items. Oh yeah, he is not going to like that I said that, but I seriously appreciate the fact that I am not the one having to do that.

The boys are back to school now. Caden is in 2nd grade and Ethan has started kindergarten. They are both doing well and liking their teachers. William is such a good boy and is becoming more active every day. Tonight he stuck a bean up his nose at dinner time. No one even saw him do it, but I noticed his eye was watery and he kept messing with one nostril, so I investigated. Sure enough, a big bean was stuck in there. Surprisingly, we have never dealt with this before. We tried tweezers, the "sucker" (we call it, you know that bulb syringe thing), and only got half of that bean out. Will was screaming so much at this point that we decided to move him to the couch and see if that wouldn't help. Luckily, in his fit of anger, he blew that bean right out! I am hoping that perhaps he now knows that putting things in your nose isn't such a good idea, but then putting a ball of yarn in the toilet isn't such a good idea either...but that is another story.

Catching up

2010-06-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

School is out and summer is beginning, well sort of. Here it is just windy or raining or both. I have been trying to plant the garden these days and have been busy doing that with this small opening of sunshine we are having. It has been difficult to do with Will as he just stands in one place and cries. He doesn't really seem to like the grass and our lawn isn't really level so it makes things harder for him, therefore I have been trying to plant when he is napping, but that often is not enough time to get rid of the weeds that are currently booming where my garden is suppose to be. I have wondered this year why I am even bothering with a garden, but the thrill I get of growing food from a tiny seed has overcome my laziness again. Here are some pics of things that we have been up to.

William enjoying his first birthday cake. He was timid at first but soon dug right in!

Ethan at preschool graduation. What a cutie!

The boys riding the kiddie rollercoaster at Bear World on Mother's Day weekend. They had such a great time. Kudos to me who was snapping lots and lots of pictures without a memory card in the camera! Serious blond moment. Dad saved the day by snapping some photos with his phone.

These photos are from later that evening. The short version of this story is a trailer gate fell on Caden when the boys were messing around on it. We took him to the emergency room where he got over 20 stitches. It was scary. It had been such a lovely day and things changed so quickly. On Memorial Day we were back for another ER visit when Caden got hit in the head (by his brother, an accident of course) with a golf club. He got two staples that time. In Cade's own words, "I'm having a bad time", and he certainly has been. I am crazy protective of him and seriously considering wrapping him in bubble wrap. I just try to breathe when I see something as a potential accident waiting to occur which is mostly everything. What I am now realizing is that we might want to be prepared on Father's day. :0 Although we now have a hefty hospital bill coming our way, I am so grateful that my boys are healthy with a few more scars that is true, but that they are safe and just as normal and active as they were before.

Guess Who Turned One!

2010-05-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

Willliam!

Our littlest boy just turned one and I think our family was all excited over the matter. I have tried to cherish all the baby moments and get in all the cuddles I possibly could with William, but it still went by too fast. Will is now tenderly walking with quite a few falls, but has been fearless in the whole learning process. He always keeps on going. He is saying Mama, Dada, kitty, and last night, bottle, and a bunch of other sounds we haven't figured out yet. He has two bottom teeth and the two top ones are now just cutting through (fun times). He has learned much from his brothers already and thinks wrestling around on the floor is the greatest thing ever. Also, he is now sleeping through the night. YEAH!!! I think he had a good birthday and I just love the 1st cake thing. I will have to post pictures later because I left the camera on from the said event and now the batteries are dead, but it was so fun to watch.

Apparently, I need to get a job!

2010-03-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

Last night during dinner my husband informed me that I needed to get a job. "Oh yeah, why is that," I said. "So we can afford to feed this boy," he said. I just smiled.

Over the past few months, Sam and I have been amazed by the increase in our oldest son's appetite. Let me give you an example. Almost every morning Caden wants eggs, either scrambled with cheese or fried which he has with 2 slices of toast and occasionally he will ask for french toast. Then he is off to school with his snack tucked away in his backpack and lunch is served there later on. When he returns home, he heads straight for the pantry for a snack. I can recall doing just that as a kid. Everything pretty normal, I guess. Then dinner last night. He ate 4 rolls with butter and jam, 3 small baked potatoes with butter, two slices of cheese, and a couple helpings of cottage cheese, and that is just what I can remember. The boy is seven! I can't imagine what he will be like as a teenager. And....I have 3 boys!

When I was a kid, my family spent a lot of time with another family who, well, they are just like my brothers and sister, and another set of parents, I guess. Hard to explain, but they were very close to us and I love them. Well, there was a total of 7 kids between our families and we went on many, many camping trips. I can't imagine trying to feed 7 hungry kids, but 'our' parents did it. When it was time to eat, I just remember it being like a big stampede for the food. You had to get there quick or nothing would be left. I still have this innate desire when I'm in a big group of people waiting for food, to get there quick! Well, the oldest of us kids seemed to have a bottomless pit of a stomach. I can recall everyone talking about his appetite. I don't think I have ever seen anyone to this day that could eat like he could. Even my brother, a waif of a kid growing up, could eat so much as a teenager.

So when I see my seven year old eating like he did last night, my thoughts go back to these moments. I wonder what his appetite will be like as a teen and if I will ever be able to keep our pantry stocked with 3 teenage boys and their friends. Sam is right, I will need to get a job!

Look out below!

2010-02-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

Every night before Sam and I go to bed, we always go and check that our boys are asleep and in their own beds. We often find Caden in Ethan's room on the top bunk or couch and sometimes on the floor. This night however, Sam was going down the stairs to check on them and almost stepped on an unforseen object.

This little object was Ethan under his "Halloween blankie"'.

Can you believe that he is actually ASLEEP!

I am amazed how kids can fall asleep so quickly and sleep just about anywhere. I have had my kids sleep through fireworks, in the barber shop while getting their hair cut, in the middle of a conversation (with themselves that is), on the couch sitting indian style, half standing on a pile of blankets in the laundry basket, and so on. Wouldn't it be nice at times as adults to sleep like that and not have so many thoughts racing through our minds, although I do have to mention Sam can fall asleep almost as quick! How I will miss these fun little moments. It becomes increasingly difficult as the boys get older to actually get them to sleep, but when they do....oh, such sweet little angels!

Happy New Year

2010-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year....can I still say that when we are half way through the month of January? Obviously I didn't make a new year's resolution to update the blog more often. I gave up making new years resolutions a few years ago. I didn't want to deal with failing all the time :O I did however make one this year and that is to have all the Christmas shopping and birthday shopping done by December 1st for 2010. I was a little fed up with making all those last minute purchases. I am actually hoping that this will help me enjoy the holiday more by not stressing on what is left to be done. Well, here is hoping I don't fail and the rest of you who made resolutions reach your goal. Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

Here we are and it is already Christmas Eve. Our house is certainly buzzing with excitement right now. I decided to post our Christmas letter (it is a bit jumbled from the margins) in case we happened to miss sending you a card this year, but we hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

It seems so amazing that it is already that wonderful time of year,

Where families gather from all around
and gifts are shared with cheer.

And so it is with grateful hearts, we write to you once more

To wish you happy holidays and hope great tidings are in-store.

2009 was a big year for us,
our family changing yet one more time,

Adding another little boy has the family turning on a dime!

Little William came to us this April, so healthy and so grand,

With golden locks a plenty, bright blue eyes,
and perfect little hands.

The other boys play with him like a toy, which Will thinks is so much fun;

He is rolling, laughing and always getting his way,
so happy to be the youngest one!

Caden is on the downhill side of Mrs. Black's first grade class;

He loves reading, math, running and screaming,
and playing in the grass!

His first year of soccer was trying, but he loved it all the same;

He was a great goalie and team-mate
and found adoration for the game.

Ethan is still in preschool, learning so much everyday;

He is the happiest little boy always talking and wanting to play!

It matter not with who, when or how, for picky he is not,

Enjoying anyone willing to play with him,
while sharing anything he has got!

Angie is running ragged, outnumbered now four to one,

Doing her best to keep the family schedule
hoping someday her scrapbooking to be done!

She has honed her mommy skills
and with the doctor on speed dial,

Keeping ALL the boys healthy and in line,
while clothed and fed all the while!

Sam is ready for the snow and has counted the days
until it blanketed the ground,

Still working on his Master's Degree with thoughts never far
from his sled and it's reverberating sound!

So the time is here at last, where we celebrate
the birth of the greatest of us all,

Gathering together as friends and family in lands big and small!

We are so glad you're a part of our lives
and know to our hearts you are near;

Until we see you next time...
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Holiday Fun

2009-12-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Our lives always become a bit chaotic this time of year with birthdays to celebrate and holiday fun (and stress) to be had. We had a good Thanksgiving this year again. My husband wanted me to post my brother devouring the turkey. He is always fun to have around and so is his family.
This year each family member said what they were thankful for. I loved Mike's son's comment, "Me". We laughed about that for a while. Only a child would say such things, but I like the fact that he loves himself and has confidence in who he is. I, for one, could certainly use more of that in my life. Kids are so honest and I love seeing things through their perspective.

We celebrated Ethan's 5th birthday this month. I can't believe that he is 5 already. I know moms' say things like that all the time, but really it has flown by. I still think of him being younger than that, but that could be from his behavior some days. Here are some fun things about Ethan.
*Ethan loves to talk and talk and talk. He really never quits. He even talks by himself during bedtime until he falls asleep.
*Ethan loves to talk to anyone. He has never been shy and will strike up a conversation with complete strangers.
*He loves movies. We call him our T.V. junkie. This is the one time where he will be somewhat still and quiet, at least for a little while.
*He is a picky eater. I am not a mom to cater to everyone's desire to meal times and basically it is you take it or leave it attitude, but this boy would rather leave it which leads me to my next comment.
*Ethan is stubborn. Unfortunetly, he has inherited this from me.
*He has such an imagination. I love to listen to his stories which are always different and he can play with one toy and be happy with that all day.
*He is smart. All moms say that I know, but really, I think he is pretty smart for his age.
*Ethan is loving and supportive. He is quick to tell people, "Good Job!" and he is one that I can always count on for hugs and kisses unexpectedly. I am hoping to hang on to that for as long as I can.
*He is tough. I recently got him his last set of vaccinations for kindergarten and he surprised me when he didn't cry, but said, "Owww.....that hurts," as he scowled at the nurse.

Happy Birthday, Darling!

I have been trying multiple times to get some family pictures to send with our Christmas cards this year. Well, we tried that and it didn't work so well, so I tried taking separate pictures of the boys and as you can see that didn't go so well either. Trying to coordinate all that is like trying to nail jello to a tree. These are some of the rejects.

So Christmas is fast approaching and we have another birthday to celebrate next week and I am so unprepared. It is a struggle for me to focus on the true meaning of Christmas among so much stuff and drama, but I try. We are blessed to have the funds to give to our loved ones this year and blessed to be so healthy. I am happy to celebrate with William and as always the kids have a way of making Christmas so exciting.

So It Begins...

2009-09-07T19:39:00.001-07:00

So I have tried multiple times to post lately, but have been unable to finish any of them. They just end up going into my drafts section so while this one says September it is really October 5.

This picture is the first BSU game of the season if I'm not mistaken. Anyone who knows my husband knows that he has been counting down the days to this one moment. He was lucky enough to get tickets from his brother in Boise and had a wonderful time as usual. He has already set in motion the yearly boys get together to see the game. I have no idea who BSU is playing only that it is in November. I am lucky that my husband is only into college football otherwise I might go mad with him so obessed over sports all the time, but then comes snowmobiling....then golf....then....oh well. Sam is a lot of fun and truthfully my life would be just so darn boring and depressing without him.

The boys have started school (I know it was over a month ago) and everyone is doing well and enjoying it. I have really appreciated the quieter times at home with Will, but that time just flies by. Cade struggles with doing his homework and it was a big frustration for both of us to get it done. He now gets a reward for doing it WITHOUT WHINING! It has been helpful and while I hope that he will enjoy it sometime, I honestly don't ever remember my homework being fun.

Here is a cute picture of William looking like he is saying a little prayer. He is growing and changing so much. He has already outgrown the adorable little outfit in that picture. Sam and I go back and forth on who he looks more like Caden or Ethan, but he is developing his own look these days. Will is also rolling over and now sleeps best on his belly. I wish I could say he is sleeping through the night, but he is still up 2 or 3 times a night and on rare occasions more. He seems to be getting into more of a schedule with naps and feedings and speaking of food...the boy is becoming a tank. We started him on cereal at 4 months and have continued from there. He is a good eater and always is interested in what we are eating. He already prefers the sweet stuff which his daddy is sure to give him and I am trying to keep everyone from feeding him "table" food when I'm not looking (you know who you are)! C'mon, the boy isn't even 6 months yet and I as his mother should be the first to feed him such wonderful things. Okay....I think I will move on now.

Our family is doing well despite a few sicknesses lately. The boys are excited for Halloween and are hoping to be characters from Star Wars. I can see them now running around hitting people with their lightsavers. Oh my boys are never boring! I remember being sad that I wasn't going to have a little girl, but now it just seems right that I have all boys. I can only imagine the things that will happen with all these boys, but I think that I would rather not...Hee, Hee.

William

2009-08-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

SMILE!!
I am keeping my mommy so busy that this is all she has time to post right now!

Oh so busy!

2009-07-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth (my sister-in-law) and William on his blessing day. She was looking so cute that I decided to post her picture instead of mine. :) Thanks to everyone who came to the blessing. We had a wonderful time.

Our family went to Island Park and stayed at my in-laws cabin. We didn't know we would be sharing the place with a squirrel who visited us often at meal time and I am talking about INSIDE the cabin. That explains all the hidden peanuts all over the place. We had a good time even though it rained and we didn't catch any fish. This picture is of Caden at a kids pond in Island Park. He really likes to fish and loves it when he catches them, but then don't we all?
This would be me trying to fish with the baby strapped in front of me. It was drizzling a little so I was trying to keep him covered.

Ethan finally got his first bike and helmet. He was so excited! Caden finally took the training wheels off of his bike. We had tried to take them off before, but he got into Daddy's tools and put them back on, so we let it be. A few weeks ago, I caught him in Daddy's tools again, but this time he was taking them off. He has been riding training wheel free ever since.Check out that cool scar of Ethan's. He and Caden were pulling on each end of a rubber band cord I use for exercising and well let's just say that Ethan didn't let go of his end when Caden did and the handle came flying back and nailed him in the head. We took him to the doctor for stitches, but they used glue instead and now he has quite the mark. He is a tough boy and will have some stories to tell some girl about all his scars when he gets older.
Cade and William before the soccer game. This is the first year we have put Caden in sports. It has been a lot more fun for me to watch than I had anticipated. He is really timid about kicking the ball and tends to just jump up and down when he gets excited (like when he plays the Wii), but he is learning and I think having some fun. William is growing every day and is now 3 months old. He is starting to coo and smiles often. I can now give him a bath for a few minutes without him screaming the entire time. What a relief!

Well, the summer is just flying by and I am really hoping to go camping more in these last few moments of the season, but I can barely keep up with all my kids and housework these days, so I am hoping that school might bring me some time. Caden will be in 1st grade this year. He is not too excited to go back to school and I don't think he realizes that he will be spending most of the day there, so it will be interesting to see how he handles it. Ethan will be back in preschool and is so thrilled to see Mrs. Thompson again. Sam has been telling me that he is getting hassled about not having new pictures of William on here, so I will try to get more on here later. Hopefully, we will have some family pictures taken soon.

What a day!

2009-06-03T09:59:00.001-07:00

Caden with kindergarten teacher

My sweet William

Ethan with preschool teacher

Already this morning has been a busy one filled with many surprising things. First, my two oldest boys were up at 6:00 a.m. I don't mention the baby because he is up at least 4 times a night! So I am fairly tired already. Then I discovered that those two oldest boys had killed the fish with a concoction of a green marker, Windex, and Pledge (and that is all they fessed up to). I am not upset, but more relieved that I don't have to be the one cleaning the tank and feeding it anymore. I am not an animal hater, more an animal lover, but as any parent knows, your children's pets can sometimes end up your responsibility (especially with young children); otherwise, they might starve to death. Caden was sad and demanded a new fish, but it is just not going to happen. I don't want another pet dying from the boys' experiments.

I then was shocked to enter the boys' bathroom and discover the mess that awaited me. With toothpaste smeared all across the vanity and other things I won't mention smeared across other unmentionables, I was dreading my responsibility of cleaning said bathroom, but I slapped on my rubber gloves as high as they would go and scrubbed and sanitized away. It is a nice feeling to see a clean space....at least for a few hours.

So with a little baby still sleeping away and not in my arms, I decided it might be time to update the blog. While I was doing this I also was trying to catch up on some blogs I follow and was shocked, SHOCKED I say, to read that I had won a prize. It is a jelly roll of new fabric (that won't even be in stores until September, how cool). I won it from Kati Cupcake (look at my blogs I follow to see) for posting a comment on her blog. She sells online and also owns The Quilte Shop in Rigby. It is really beautiful stuff and I am so thrilled.

It is now 11:30 a.m. and I am wondering what other surprising things might happen to me today, good or bad and wishing you all good things today.

More baby pictures

2009-05-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome, Baby!

2009-04-28T10:42:00.001-07:00

William Samuel Grover
Born: April 23, 2009
Time: 5:40 p.m.
Weight: 6 lbs. 7 ounces
Length: 19 inches

Cowboy...Take Me Away!

2009-03-31T19:37:00.001-07:00

I know that some of you have heard Sam and I praising Leading Edge Preschool and perhaps even get sick of hearing it, but we just can't seem to help ourselves. We love how organized the school is and the ways the teachers make learning fun for the kids. I won't start bragging about it again, but wanted to share this cute photo of Ethan on cowboy day. This kid has such personality and is such a boy! I love how he is making guns out of his hands. I don't particularly like it when he is shooting people with the pencil he got in primary (anything can be a destructive weapon with boys), but he never fails to bring a smile to my face. I think I have a picture of clown day somewhere and am really disappointed that my camera wasn't working on wear something ugly day. We spiked his long blond locks up and sideways, put on the ugliest shirt we could find and adorned it with a bright, thick gold chain necklace (which he thought was cool) and he still managed to look cute. That's my boy!

Suggestions Please!

2009-02-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

For every one of my pregnancies Sam and I have always had a girl's name picked out, but alas here we are having another boy and are again struggling with finding a name that we both love. So I thought that some of you who actually read this blog might be willing to make your suggestions to us. You never know...yours might be the one we pick!

Snow Much Fun!

2009-02-17T13:04:00.001-08:00

This photo above is of my brother and his family with my little Caden looking so silly with those huge goggles on. Our family is enjoying all the snow we have been receiving this winter. I really just like to look at it more than play in it, but the boys have been having a good time, even Ethan who tends to get cold quickly has been out in spurts to do some sledding and Sam can often be found snowmobiling with his buddies. He and Grandpa took the boys snowmobiling yesterday afternoon. I was certainly invited and Sam assured me it would be okay, but I really didn't feel like going against doctor's orders and trying to keep myself on a snowmobile almost 7 months pregnant. Instead I enjoyed a quick visit with my sister and then some nice and quiet alone time. Now if I could only get more of that. :)

Born to boss the boys!

2009-01-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

My sister found this card for my birthday with this cute little girl on the front that says, "Born to boss the boys". It was quite perfect for me at the time as two days before Sam and I found out that we are having another boy. I am thrilled to be having another baby and a healthy one also, but I was surprised at my disappointment that it isn't a girl. I know a lot of people were rooting for it. Sam assures me that this is our LAST child, so it was harder to swallow the fact that it is something that just won't happen for me. So.....a box of Twinkies and tissues later, I was feeling better about it. I was just born to boss the boys. Hopefully, Sam and I will do a decent job of raising them. I can only imagine the things that will happen with just boys in the family and hope that me and my boys can survive them.

Birthday Madness!

2008-12-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

I have been stressing for weeks about the boys' birthday party or I should say parties. The boys' birthdays are 8 days apart (almost 2 years), so it becomes a little complicated when planning their day. Caden really wanted to do his own thing this year and I thought that would only be fair, so we held an afternoon party with some of his school friends. He was so excited! Once they started arriving, he just walked around with this adorable smile on his face. I thought I would go simple, as last year it was a bit crazy, so we did one craft, then had cake, and opened presents with just a bit of time to play around. It went so well.

Later that same day, we held a much larger party for family and friends. Our house was filled to the brim with people. We served dinner and sang Happy Birthday to Ethan (Caden had his earlier) and then both boys opened presents. It felt so good to finally be getting this over with. My mother-in-law told me to enjoy it and I'll admit she was right. I had put a lot of thought and time into the event and wasn't taking a moment to sit back and enjoy. So I was grateful for the reminder and I did enjoy having my family celebrate my boys' day with me. It was a lot of fun. The boys turned 6 and4 and I am amazed that it has gone by so fast. I hope each of us will take a moment among the sometimes stressful holiday (or birthday) events and as my mother-in-law says,

"Enjoy It"!

Due Date

2008-11-10T08:07:00.000-08:00

So I have been to the doctor a few times and now have my due date which is May 10. My first appointment they told me April 28th, but it was changed on my second appointment when I actually met with the doctor. He did an ultrasound to confirm it, so he said that shouldn't change. I'm adding a week or two to that actual day since both of my boys were overdue. I would post the ultrasound pictures, but it is difficult to pick out very much. Everyone keeps asking when I will find out the sex of the baby and I'm estimating that it will be in January. I am really excited and interested to see how my little boys will behave with the new one in our family. Yesterday, Caden was asking if we would bring the baby to church. He was really concerned who would take care of him/her and worried that the baby wouldn't be quiet in church. I just giggled! He then said that maybe we should stay home and keep the baby comfortable (his words there). That should tell you how much he enjoys church. I feel like I should be having a baby soon because December is approaching and that is what I am used to. I think this is going to be one long pregnancy.

We're Expecting!!

2008-09-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are expecting...a new baby that is. Most of you already know this, but hey, I'm excited. I haven't actually been to the doctor yet so I don't have a due date for you, but we are guessing it will be in May. As for that doctor thing, I have really been putting that off. I really loved my OB-GYN in Boise and I just haven't been able to find one here that even compares. So for now I am asking a lot of friends (which don't really even have one doctor in common that they go to) for referrals. I did finally grit my teeth and set up an appointment with a new doctor. I am really hoping I find a good one.

I also have two friends who are pregnant. They happen to be those girls that really look good when they are pregnant and also drop that baby weight weeks afterward. Yeah, you know the ones. I am not one of those people. I increase in size everywhere. My skin breaks out something terrible and I am left with a pooch that will never go away. I may have to avoid them for a few years. Ha! Ha! No, I won't. They are good girlfriends. Even with the terrible things that come along with my pregnancies, I really enjoy being pregnant. It is such an amazing experience and I just love, LOVE, when I feel the baby move for the first time. A wonderful feeling and I can't wait until that happens with this one. Sam strenuously tells me to enjoy it because it will be our LAST....that is disheartening, but probably true. I will try to enjoy the moments, especially when the not so fun stuff comes along. I would love to hear some of your favorite experiences from those of you who have been pregnant. So send me an email or leave me your comment!

Fun with the Bills in Driggs

2008-09-10T08:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Codi!

This past weekend we met the Bills family in Driggs, ID for a get together. Codi's birthday was coming up and Curtis surprised her by bringing her up to visit. I think we all had a good time visiting and watching the kids play together.

The boys were so excited to see each other. They played hard this weekend and were sad to see each other leave. This is a picture of Russell climbing the rock wall with the Tetons behind him. This kid has some amazing strength not to mention he is absolutely FEARLESS.

Pictured above is Caden, Russell, Weston, and Ethan.

What a beautiful couple!! And just look at that little pregnant belly on Codi. She is always looks so cute when she is pregnant and when she is not for that matter :)

That is the best family picture we could get of the Bills. Just try and get a 5 and 3 year old to sit still while two other hooligans are running around in front of them.
This is Ethan walking the balance beam. He had a death grip on my hand and was terrified I was going to let go even though I swear he could have done it himself.
A picture of the boys on the swings. These were certainly a source of a little contention for the guys. With four kids and only two swings they had to do a lot of sharing and they did pretty good for the most part. After posting all these pictures, I think that maybe next time I will try a slide show. Something else for me to figure out. We had such a good time with the Bills family and it went by so quick. It was nice to relax and catch up a bit with them. Hopefully, we will be seeing you again soon.

Scrapbooking

2008-09-10T08:14:00.001-07:00

I am really behind on my scrapbooking...about a year behind that is. These are some layouts I did of our kids and the Bill's kids when we visited them in Seattle. I thought they turned out so cute so I thought I would share.

Cade's 1st Day of Kindergarten!

2008-08-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Caden started Kindergarten on Thursday. I have been so nervous about it (he is my first). I have been stressing if he would remember which bus to get on, which door to go in, where his class was, if he would be starving, and if he would actually make it home again. Among all these things, I have really felt unprepared just because I didn't know what to expect. I suppose I should just get used to it because he is my first after all and you really do learn a lot with your first.

Caden was really excited to start Kindergarten. I think he was more excited to actually ride the bus. We picked out all his school supplies together and his new school clothes and I wondered if I should have just been doing this myself for how uninterested he was in doing these things, but the first day arrived and he was up at 6:30 a.m. fully dressed in his clothes that we had laid out the night before. That is when I realized how excited he was. I persuaded him to lay in bed with me until the clock turned to 7:00 a.m. only to be asked every five minutes why the clock wasn't changing to seven. So, I dragged myself out of bed and cooked eggs and toast as requested. After taking care of the hair and teeth and a few other things, we had plenty of time to take some fun pictures before he headed off.
This is Caden with our cat, Tipper. You think that she would have learned to run away when she sees the boys coming, but they always seem to catch her. Poor thing.

Caden with his new backpack. I really wasn't planning on buying a new one, but he really liked this one and I well I just couldn't resist getting him one. It is a very important day after all!

Transformer shoes that he just loves.

Clothes shopping didn't take Caden and I very long. There just isn't as much variety for little boys as there are for girls. I guess it just makes my life easier. This is a shirt that he picked out. Such a boy thing!

Not a very good picture of Cade catching the bus, I know, but I was trying to snap this photo while running after him. Once he saw the bus, he just started running towards it and that pulled at my heartstrings a bit and I started chasing after him. I must have looked so crazy. Once he was gone I got Ethan dressed and we took a drive to the elementary school (because I was really going into town anyway). We watched all the kids unload from the buses and go into school, but I never saw Caden, so we sneaked inside and peeked into his classroom and there he was sitting all alone at his desk concentrating on getting his pencil box open. It was the sweetest thing. I left quickly so he wouldn't know I had been spying on him and waited 20 minutes just to get out the the school parking lot. It was a mad house.

Well, he is so grown up and enjoying school for now. After Labor day Ethan starts preschool. Yeah!!! That boy is a handful. It will be nice to have both boys gone for a few hours a few times a week. I have a lot of ideas about what to do with my time to myself, but most likely I will actually get to have a shower and fix my hair :)

Artwork

2008-08-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

If your kids are anything like mine then you are probably drowning in all the papers that are accumulating in your house. Between what the kids bring home from school and those special things they like to make at home our house is a mess of artwork strung from top to bottom. My kids also get insanely upset if I should ever try to throw away their artwork, but some of it does have to go, so I have started to scan some of my favorites. The kids think this is really cool because they get to see their pictures on the computer. In fact, when I was scanning some of their pictures, they hurriedly starting making more (not really what I wanted to accomplish). So here our some of my favorites to share with you and brighten up my boys' faces. Note that Caden is more of a drawer than Ethan, he just really likes to cut things up.

Our Anniversary.

2008-07-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

Sam and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on the 17th. I can't believe that it has been 9 years already! This year I wanted to celebrate a little differently than the dinner and movie that we usually do. Sam has been doing some computer work for our brother-in-law, James. James suggested a fishing trip as a trade. I can't tell you how happy I was when I heard that. I LOVE to fish and getting Sam to go is not always easy. So for our anniversary we had a fishing trip. Sam's co-workers kept on teasing him about how much trouble he was going to be in for taking me fishing on our anniversary, but they don't know me too well. In fact, for me, it has been the best anniversary to date.We got up about 5:00 that morning to get things together and take the kids to Grandma's. It was cooler than I had expected and I grabbed the first jacket I could find. Boy, was my husband not happy when he saw that I was wearing his BSU jacket. I assured him I wouldn't wear it in the boat. Well, this is proof that I totally lied! He must really love me. This was the first fish I caught that day. I was so excited!This is James, our brother-in-law. He is married to Sam's sister, Michele. James is the manager of Heise Expeditions and has been a river guide for over 13 years. Sam and I have only fly fished once before and James is such a great teacher. It was easy to learn with his instructions not to mention that he is fun to be around. He is a great fisherman. I was impressed how he could place the fly in just the right position and make it look so easy.This was Sam's first catch of the day. We are all just laughing because it was just a little thing.The scenery was beautiful while we floated the river and the river was freezing cold. Sam and James both waded in, but I could barely put my feet in for 30 seconds.
Sam and I had such a great time. We caught a lot of fish and only kept one for me (so sorry James about your no fish cooler). I managed to keep the same lucky fly throughout the float and Sam, well if you know Sam, he managed to lose more than a few. HEE HEE!
It was a great anniversary and one memory that is sure to last. Thank you so much James for taking the time and energy to make this happen for us.

Sam-thanks for making the last 9 years so wonderful for me and I look forward to the many years we have ahead of us. I love you (even if you don't like to eat fish)!

Celebrations

2008-07-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July celebrations. Our family celebrated in Driggs, ID at my in-laws "cabin". We have spent our 4th up here for the last three years and seem to always enjoy it. I really like not having to deal with crowds and crowds of people just to see a parade or fireworks show and the scenery just can't be beat.

When we arrived the place had been flooded from irrigation, so the kids spent the day playing in the water and even some grown ups played water badminton (I won't post those humiliating pictures). The next morning the early risers (not me) enjoyed watching the hot air balloons go by. Usually, they fly right over us, but this year the wind was blowing them away from us, but my husband did manage to get some pictures.

Later we all went on a hike. I believe I like this the best. It is an easy, but beautiful hike to go on. The kids enjoyed breaking rocks with Grandpa and putting them into their backpacks. Caden's backpack ended up being too heavy for him, so his cousin carried it for him. Thanks Jaser!

That evening we drove in town for the fireworks show and watched the neighborhood come alive with fireworks and realized later that the BIG fireworks were in Victor. Oh well, at least we weren't the only idiots who thought they were in Driggs. We went back to the "cabin" and started our own fireworks show. We all went to bed late that night :) It was a fun 4th of July weekend, but I was exhausted and glad to come home when it was over even though I have piles of laundry to do now. Who am I kidding? I always have piles of laundry....

A Little Dirt Never Hurt...

2008-06-18T12:05:00.001-07:00

This week our family has been enjoying the warm weather after a couple weeks of chaotic wind and temperatures. The boys and I have been working outside every morning and I have had to deal with my boys coming into the house a bit dirty (not to mention myself), but no complaining here; I am enjoying the sun. However, this morning I caught Ethan in the house (I had gone in thinking he needed to make a bathroom run) covered, and I do mean covered, in dirt! A small statement said it all, "Caden threw dirt on me," he said. I decided to grab the camera so that I could share my shock when I saw him. Hopefully it brings a smile to you.

YEAH!

2008-06-12T10:13:00.001-07:00

After searching through many free blogging templates, I actually found one that was cute and worked when I tried to load it. Yeah! :) Thank you to the cutest blog on the block for making such a sweet background and providing clear instructions on how to upload it. I will hopefully be adding more fun things in the future, but for now I really need to get some other errands done. Also, if any of you bloggers out there have any fun blogging items you have come across PLEASE SHARE with me. I am totally new to this and could use any advice or tips you have. Thanks.

Trying this again.

2008-06-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm trying this blogging thing again. I keep looking at some friend's blogs and think, well maybe I should do that. This will be the 3rd blog I have created and need to post (or at least I think I do) to get things set up. So wish me luck!