The 'M' Hepplers

The 'Pink' One

2010-08-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finally adjusted to all this pink in the house. Evie is 4 months old, and changing every day! Especially recently. She rolled over for the first time this weekend, and is a huge chatterbox. She squeels and babbles all day long to her toys, and she makes this hilarious choking sound in her throat when she's excited. As you can see she has enormous blue eyes, and she has started chewing her fingers. She won't suck them, just chew them, and its always the same two. She is great at a routine (just like her mother) and sticks to her schedule wonderfully. We had her sleeping through the night in June, but since the first week of July she gets up once a night. She is just growing so rapidly!! I can't give you her current weight yet, her 4-month appointment is in a week, but I'm sure she is keeping with the tradition of her brothers and keeping above the 85th percentile. She is the BEST baby. She needs no attention whatsoever, and is happy laying on the floor underneath her hanging toys for hours. When she's tired we just wrap her up tight in a blanket and lay her in her crib and she is asleep in minutes. I don't think we could have asked for a better baby. Well....a little less spit-up would be nice :)

The 'Active' One

2010-08-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

Jack is almost five and thinks he's 7, like his big brother. In his eyes there is no difference between them. Jack gets to go to headstart this year, and I am so glad. He really needs to be in a school-like environment. Jack is basically the complete opposite of Kale. Like his dad, Jack has the biggest imagination. You give him a pile of legos and in minutes he is presenting to you a great creation, complete with elaborate description. He LOVES to color and draw, mostly draw. His pictures usually include his family. Jack loves to run and play and be outside, and doesn't have the patience for video games. Jack is my real cuddler. He curls up so well on your lap....and in your bed. He is struggling with wanting to be a big boy, but not quite ready to give up some of the perks of being a little boy. I think its hard because he can see the pros and cons of each in his two brothers, and he just isn't sure where he wants to be. He loves to help me as well, and even though he was the one least-interested in his little sister when we first brought her home, he is the one who gets the most smiles out of her now. And he loves to make her smile. Through Kale he is picking up letters and counting, and begged me all summer to unbox the books from our move. He is the one who makes the biggest noise when I get home from work, never failing to run to me and give me a hug, no matter what he's doing.

The 'Chubby' One

2010-08-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

What can you say about a two-year old. Luke is textbook two. He wants what he wants, period. And you don't wanna see what happens when he doesn't get what he wants. Other than that, he is a really fun kid. He has the BIGGEST personality. He is a huge ham, and can make you laugh no matter the situation. He loves to pull faces and get you to copy him. He wants to do anything his brothers do, which is probably one of my bigger problems on a daily basis. He is just too little to do most of the stuff they do, and then the two-year-old comes out in him, if you know what I mean. I think he is finally starting to thin out though. He is still VERY chubby, but I think he's growing height-wise, and since he's decided he doesn't want to eat anymore, he's stretching out all that chub. Luke doesn't talk. At all. Okay, I guess he says about six words. It's very troublesome, and frustrating. We are trying to teach him a few signs, and his first two signing words were 'more' and 'cookie'. Lucas is a lover, but NOT a cuddler. He is incredibly independent and refuses to hold your hand when we walking anywhere. He is a scaredy cat. He won't ride any rides at the amusement park, and hates being in the air. But that boy can make us laugh.

The 'Smart' One

2010-08-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

The K-man starts 1st grade tomorrow. Wow. I can't believe one of my boys is going to be gone all day. I am so excited for him. He LOVED kindergarten and did so well! There isn't a subject he doesn't have a handle on (if you can call them subjects in kindergarten.) It is so much fun to have a boy this age. He is such a huge help to me around the house, and with his younger brothers and sister. He loves to do chores, and get paid for them. Right now he is saving up for a new Wii game. I love watching my boys get older and seeing their personalities come out. He is just like his mom in the way he gets things done. He has to have instructions, step by step preferably. He loves to follow them, and know he did it right. When it comes to legos he has to have the instruction booklet or else they are just a big pile of stuff. He doesn't enjoy coloring or drawing much, but building things or figuring out how things work is his forte'. He LOVES to dance, and loves to be the boss. He starts soccer for the first time next week. I am a little nervous because he is at least two years behind all the other kids his age, but I am sure he will catch on quick. His favorite thing in the world is playing video games, and second to that is watching his dad play video games. He is really branching out in the food he is willing to eat. He used to be such a picky eater, but now will try things willingly and actually likes them. He is incredibly sensitive and gets his feelings hurt very easily. He wants so badly to make people happy and gets upset when he realizes he has disappointed you. It is so fun to grow with your children, and I am loving this age!

Lukie turns 2!

2010-06-23T08:20:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my little Lukie is two! We had a really mild birthday for him this year. Grandma and Grandpa Mineer were in town to see Evie and visit great-grandma, and Grandpa bought Luke an ice cream cake for his birthday.

By the time it got home Luke and the boys were already in bed, so we had ice cream cake for breakfast the next morning and opened presents with Grandma and Grandpa.

Luke was terrified of the fire on the cake, but once the candles were blown out he dug right in.

Kale's finishes kindergarten!

2010-06-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

Kale finished Kindergarten in June and his program was so adorable. His last few weeks were filled with field trips and fun activities. He loved kindergarten, and is a great reader, writer, and counter!

Here is Kale and his teacher Mrs. Stephens.

and his best friend, Olivia. They have been friends since the very first day of school.

Here they are getting ready to 'perform'

She's here!

2010-06-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

We welcomed Evelyn to our family at 8:09 am on April 28th. This labor was a lot longer than the other three, and, unfortunately lasted all night long :( My doctor this time wanted me to come in at 8 pm on Tuesday night to start labor, expecting that I would sleep all night, wake up in labor, and then labor for a few hours. Well....he should have listened to me because he was wrong. The medication they gave me to trigger labor actually started me contracting right away instead of the 6-8 hours he expected, and I spent the next six hours laying in bed waiting for my water to break. Finally at seven thirty in the morning my doctor came in for rounds, broke my water, and she was ready to come within 20 minutes. Even though I've known since December that she was a girl, I cried when it was official. I think a part of me just wouldn't believe it until I saw it. She was so alert in those first minutes, and when they laid her on my chest I said hello to her, and she turned her head and looked right at me.

She was awake for over an hour, just checking out this great big world. My best friend and sister-in-law was able to be there for the delivery, and was so special to have her there. The following day Mark brought the boys in to meet her, and they were so excited.

They came flying into the room, and Kale wanted to hold her immediately. He got to feed her a bottle, and thought it was so funny when she sucked his fingers.

Luke was a little intimidated by her but once we put her on his lap he was all smiles.

Jack was a little indifferent. He was excited to see her, but not too interested either. It is so much fun to have a little princess in our home!

watch it grow

2010-06-03T12:29:00.001-07:00

Easter

2010-06-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

I only have one shot of Easter for some reason.....Compared to last year it was a very quiet holiday.

First Tooth Fairy Visit

2010-06-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Mark and the boys spent the week between Christmas and New Years in Montana, while I stayed home alone and worked. When they left Kale's tooth was pretty loose, and every night on the phone I made sure Mark new how upset I would be if he pulled it out while he was in Montana, because I wanted to be there for the experience. So...when they got home I was so glad to see he had no holes in his smile. Then the night they got home, New Year's Eve, while I was at work, I got a picture message from Mark, and this is what I saw when I opened it.....
oh, I was heartbroken! I mean, look at that face!! You can tell he was upset, but trying so hard not to show it, but excited all at the same time, and I wanted to hug him so bad! Kale doesn't do well with pain at all, and I know losing a tooth can sometimes hurt just a little, but for Kale a little is a lot. I found out later that those tears dried on his cheeks weren't from the 'pain' but from the anticipation. He had bitten into an apple and his tooth was basically sticking straight out the front, so he and Mark yanked it out, and the waiting, and having dad's big fingers in his mouth got him a little nervous. But he made a point to tell me that it didn't hurt at all :)

Kale turns six

2010-06-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kale turned six this year, and every one of his birthdays makes me cry. For some reason his are harder on me than the other boys' birthdays. Must be because he's my first, and by the time Jack will turn six it won't be such a big milestone for me. This year we had a small present/cupcake party at our house, just the five of us, but then we met the Mineers at Chuck-E-Cheese's to play, and then to Arctic Circle for ice cream and cupcakes a few days later.

Mark and I were really excited about our present for him....we finally got that boy a Nintendo DS, and he was so excited. I just couldn't capture it on camera though.

I think Chuck-E-Cheese was designed with boys like Kale in mind (and his dad, of course) These guys could have played for hours and hours. And I was surprised at how much fun even I had.

Here's the little dudes chillin at the Cheese

...and the big kids at the Circle....

.....and the big boys too!

Happy Birthday Kale, we love you so much!

Christmas, 2009

2010-06-03T11:36:00.001-07:00

Christmas was fun, and low-key for us this year. This was the first year we weren't within driving distance of any grandparents, which was fun and sad at the same time. It was nice to not have any company or go anywhere, but kinda lonely. I also had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas day this year, so we celebrated a few days early. We had a talk with Kale and asked him if it was ok if we called Santa and re-scheduled, and he said, 'no problem!'

Here is Kale playing with his favorite toy, his legos. This kid is so in love with legos!

And here is Jack with his favorite toy, a new train set. It's great because the trains are battery powered and drive around the track all by themselves.

And here is Luke with his favorite present, a barrel of cheese balls. He pushes the barrel around the house and snacks all day long.

Here are the boys in their Christmas pajamas from Grandma Wendy. This was the first year I didn't know what they were going to look like, so it was fun for me to watch them open them as well.

All dressed up for church!!

Oh....and we have another Christmas surprise as well........we are pregnant! We found out in August that we were expecting, but decided to keep it a secret from everyone until we were able to find out if it was a girl or a boy. My entire family came down the first weekend in December for my niece's baptism, and we told everyone over lunch that we are expecting a little girl in May. We are all so excited, and a little anxious about what a little girl will bring to a house full of boys!

December 2009

2010-03-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

And here are a few shots of December....

The boys got new bunkbeds for Christmas, and Luke moved from the crib to the toddler bed, all in one night. It was a huge success! The boys love the bunkbeds, and Luke hasn't gotten out of bed once.

Grandma Janice wrote and published a children's book this year, and here she is reading it to Kale.

When Grandpa came to visit he and mark and Kale changed the brakes on the car. He was such a good helper!

November 2009

2010-03-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

Just a few random cute shots of some going-ons in November...

Here are the boys watching the air popper. It was super exciting, and the caramel popcorn it made was icing on the cake!
Luke has finally figured out how to monkey up onto the table, and he lives up here, literally. It's impossible to keep him off of it.
The big boys showing off their fall craft.
Luke has a fettish for eggs. Two different instances at the grocery store where he got into the egg carton in the cart and tried to bite into them like an apple. On this particular day I had brought in all the groceries and had the bags lined up on the floor in the kitchen while I was unloading. After putting them all away I realized I was missing a carton of eggs. Right about then Jack came in telling me something about Luke and eggs, so I ran into the toy room and found this......raw egg on the carpet, in the toys, on the table. YUCK

First good snow

2010-03-04T08:07:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few pictures of our first good snow of the year. Funny how we get so excited for it in November and December, but dread it in February.

Disney on Ice (Princesses)

2010-01-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

In November I won tickets on the radio to Disney Princesses on Ice. I had told Jeannie the week before that I was planning on win the tickets, so when I actually did, it was kinda funny. The original plan was that Jeannie and I were going to take her two girls and have a girls night out. Well, it just so happened to land on a weekend when Jeannie was out of town, so after lots of debating, I decided to take Mark and the boys. The place was full of little girls in princess dresses, but I thought the boys would love it anyway, and I was right! It was such a fun thing to do together, and they really enjoyed every minute of it, even Mark!

(I didn't think enough ahead to take my good camera, so all the pictures of the actual performers are dark and unclear.)

Mmmmm, apples

2010-01-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

These are just a few cute pictures of Luke eating an apple. He would perch on this little stool and chomp away. At this point he only has 8 teeth, all in the front, but he managed to eat just about the whole thing.

Kale's first field trip

2010-01-12T11:51:00.001-08:00

I was able to go on Kale's very first field trip with him. They were learning about the letter 'S' in school, so they walked to the local 7-11 and got slurpees.

Here is the entire class in front of the sign
Kale using the scanner

Since this field trip they have gone to the bank and Mcdonalds as well, all within walking distance.

Halloween

2010-01-05T11:45:00.001-08:00

For Halloween this year we opted for Star Wars, obviously, it was a lot of fun!

Jack as Darth Vader
Han Solo and Princess Leia

Luke as Yoda

and Kale as young Anakin Skywalker

May the Force be with you

Tubes in the ears

2010-01-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

The weekend after we moved to Utah Lucas got sick, and proceeded to be sick non-stop all summer long. That first appointment we assumed he had RSV since his cousin Carson had it as well, and they are notorious for sharing sippy cups, bottles and binkies, but he also had an ear infection as well. Throughout the summer every 2-3 weeks it was another trip to the doctor for another ear infection. That boy was drowning in antibiotics, a staple with every meal it seemed like. Unfortunately, the surgeon wouldn't do tubes until he had at least six ear infections in a six month period, and we finally met the quota! We scheduled his appointment, went in for his pre-op and all was ok. The day we went in for the surgery, he had another ear infection, ironic huh? They did the procedure anyway, deciding it would be more beneficial to get it over with, and it went off without a hitch. We went in for his post-op ten days later, and he had an ear infection. We treated this one externally, and I don't believe he has had one since. He has been cutting all four molars for the last 2 months, so he has been cranky and snotty, but we haven't seen any of the signs of ear infection, so hopefully we are cured!

This was at the very first doctors appointment. Three hours long, chest x-ray, breathing treatment, and he slept through almost the whole thing. That is how I knew he wasn't feeling well.

Another doctor appointment
Here he is on Easter, sick.
Sick boy in mommy's bed
Even sick on his birthday

This is just a cute picture :)
This was taken in the recovery area of the surgery center, just coming out of it.
In the car headed home, with his brand new bear from the surgery center.

sleeping it off.....

Hogle Zoo

2010-01-02T13:49:00.001-08:00

I love the zoo. I have always loved the zoo. We decided to try to squeeze in one trip at the end of the summer, and it was crazy. It was really hot, and really packed, and Mark and I couldn't wait to get out of there. I really want to go back again and really enjoy it, but we had to go when we did cuz they had tons of new babies this summer! An elephant, giraffe, and three tigers were the big draws, and that baby elephant was so darn cute!

Kids are so cute

2010-01-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

So, I got home from work one morning, at 2 am, and could tell there was something on the floor in the living room, but it was dark, so I wasn't sure. I flipped on a small light, and there was little Jack, snoozing on the floor, too cute!!

Grandma comes to visit

2010-01-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

In September my mom came to visit us for a long weekend. She came all by herself and we had so much fun!! (Strangely enough I don't have a single picture of her, just a few random shots of stuff we did.) We spent a few hours at a great park in Salt Lake that has a really fun water feature and went to the planetarium and saw an under the sea 3-d movie. On a different day we went to another park and had a picnic and wandered through a small farmers market we stumbled upon. We also celebrated Jack and Casey's birthday while she was here with lots of cousins and aunts and uncles.
Luke, Casey and Lily on the moon
ALL the kiddos exploring Mars

If you look closely you can see two little babies climbing the stairs in the most amazing water feature ever!

Lily and Jack and the big family picnic.

Jordan, Casey and Kale and the family picnic

Here's the big kids at the water feature

Jack (and Casey) turn 4!!

2010-01-02T13:12:00.001-08:00

Jack turned four this year and we had a fun fun celebration! The morning of his birthday we just opened a few of the presents we bought him and ones that were received in the mail from distant realatives, and then we had a big dinner at a park with cousin Casey and tons of other family members!

Trip to Montana

2009-10-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Well, in the end of August we made our first trip back to Belgrade since we've moved. It was really weird reversing the normal drive, but it was so fun to go back. Mark's dad turned 70, and we planned a semi-surprise John Wayne movie themed party for him. Everyone dressed up, and we had a popcorn machine, John Wayne trivia, and an ice cream sunday bar.
This is the boys in front of a monument dedicated to sage brush. I think its kinda silly, but Mark is in love with sage brush so we had to get a picture.

These are all of Lynn's grandkids who made it to the party, standing with the duke.

Mark dressed up like his dad for the party. There were many times we all mistook Mark for Lynn, and he was a good sport about it.

First Day of School

2009-10-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Mark and Kale both had their first day of school on August 24th this year. It was so exciting! Kale absolutely loves school, and its so cute when Mark leaves in the morning and says to Kale, "have fun at school buddy!" and Kale yells back, "ok, you too dad!"

This is Kale at his desk at school, and that is his teacher, Mrs. Stephens, behind him.

Right front and center for circle time!

Just Lucas

2009-10-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

These are just a few adorable pictures of Lukie. This kid is too cute for his own good!
Stuck under the bar stool

Daddy drew a tattoo on him...

Random August

2009-10-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

August flew by, and I don't have a lot of pictures to show for it. We started out the month with our first trip back to the bitterroot since we'd left. We went back for creamery picnic and I don't think I took a single picture. Then it was back to Utah for a few more family reunions, some fun outtings like Lagoon, and then the first day of school for Mark and Kale. We finished out the month with another trip to Montana, this time to the Gallatin for Mark's dad's 70th birthday.
The kids playing on the snake statues outside the Mayan. Horrible food, fun experience for the kids....

At a family reunion. Kale never fails to find the kid with the DS

Vegas!

2009-10-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

On our way home from California we decided to break up the drive and stay in Las Vegas for a few nights. We got there on Sunday night and stayed in Circus Circus. That night we didn't do anything except eat at the buffet, which wasn't really good, except for the chocolate milk :) Monday we just hit a few of the free attractions. The Tigers at MGM, MnM world, etc. It was so hot, and we were so exhausted, and so tired of spending money, that we actually decided to leave and go home first thing Tuesday morning, even though we had a whole nother day of stuff planned for Vegas. We were glad we went home, it gave some time to actually relax before I had to go back to work. The next time we go to Vegas it definately will NOT be in July.
This is the whole family in front of New York New York, but the nice guy taking our picture wasn't able to get any of it

Mark and his lady friend

We caught the 3-D movie and m&m world

aren't they so cute!

California Family Reunion

2009-10-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is way more of a photo post, but there was just so many good ones! Way back in the end of July, we decided to load up our van and attempt a 14 hour drive to California. Yeah, crazy, but it was so worth it! We had our family reunion in California this year, and we were so excited to go! I had to work the night we wanted to leave, so I loaded up the van before I went to work, and drove the car in. Then, at about one o clock am Mark loaded the boys into the van and came and picked me up from work around two (am.) Kale wasn't feeling well at this time, so we laid on the cool grass outside my work hoping it would go away. Finally we got in the car and headed for the freeway, only to find out the onramp we were headed towards was closed. So, after zig-zagging back and forth, back and forth, we finally found on onramp that was open and we were finally south bound. About ten miles after that, Kale notified us he was going to be sick, and I pulled over just in time for Mark to haul Kale out of the back door of the van and throw up all over the parking lot. Whew, just missed one there! Finally about three o clock we were ACTUALLY on our way, and all three kids are wide awake. Not what I had planned. We arrived in Parowan about six in the morning, just in time to have breakfast with Casey's family before they loaded up and we started our caravan for the rest of the drive. We drove right through Vegas and ate lunch at a cute little diner out in the middle of nowhere. At one point Casey and I split up, and he took one route, I took the other. Ours was really fun, we passed fields of flowers, orchards and orchards of all kinds of trees, and even a field of oil pumps. We arrived just in time. The whole family, and by whole family I mean over 70 of us, were all decked out in captains hats and enjoying pizza by the ocean, watching the seals and birds fish. The rest of the stay in California was just heaven. Our rooms at the inn were AMAZING, the beach was beautiful, the town couldn't have been better. We didn't do a whole lot while we were there, just enjoyed the environment and the family. We played in the sand and water, walked the farmers market, had good food with the family, and of course our usual talent show. When it came time to leave it was probably one of the hardest things to do. We can not wait to go back!
Luke riding on the luggage card. We could BARELY fit all our stuff on one, its amazing what one family can manage to cram into one small minivan.

My little beach boy.

This is me and my embarrasing organization. I put each of the boys clothes for each day into a bag and labeled it. That way in the morning I could just whip out a bag and wala, all the clothes right there, no digging! I know, I know, you're all jealous, right?
Kale running in the waves
Jack running in the waves
This is the beach. The pinkish building on the hill in the background is the inn where we stayed.
Robert, Katie, myself and Mark in the ocean

One of the best thing about family reunions is all the cousins! I don't think I dealt with Luke once the whole time, he was in good hands with Amber!
This is the view out our window
sand babies

This was taken the night we got there. It was freezing.

Look-a-likes

2009-07-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few pictures of myself and Luke at about the same age. Everyone says he looks like me, what do you think?

The Perfect 4th of July!

2009-07-09T13:35:00.001-07:00

We tossed around a lot of ideas for the fourth this year, but ultimately decided to not overplan, and just go with the flow. We started out the morning with a parade. We had a perfect spot, and including Jeannie and her kids, we ran into a friend of ours and their family.
(here comes the next float!)
The weather was ideal for the parade, and the kids got tons of candy. I love that 99 percent of the candy thrown at the parade was salt water taffy, seeing as we had a view of the salt lake :) After the parade we gathered at the Gill's for a quick, thrown together bar-b-que, yum. After visiting in the air conditioning during the hottest part of the day, we all went our separate for a very short period of time, before we met back up with Casey and Jeannie's for dinner. Again, we opted for indoor eating instead of attempting to juggle crowds, 7 kids, and 90 degree heat and the local festivities. We killed a little bit of time, and then headed over to the park to mark our turf for fireworks. We all went and bought a treat from the vendors, and settled in, waiting for it to get dark.
(these kids wanted snow cones)
(and these ones wanted cotton candy)
The fireworks were amazing, even though we were getting showered with debris :) I couldn't have planned it better if I tried!! I love the fourth of July.

Father's Day Campout

2009-06-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

Last year we went camping with the Richards over Father's day weekend, and we decided that we wanted to make it an annual event. What a fun way to celebrate Father's day each year by going camping. This year we had decided that Mark would take Kale and Jack, and go with my brother Casey and Casey Jr, since Luke is at a TERRIBLE stage right now for camping. Saturday morning we got up and packed everything in the van, all ready to go, when we read the weather report...."A line of strong storms, with heavy rain and gusty winds and possible hail is moving into the Wasatch Front. Some storms will have hail, frequent deadly lightning and heavy flooding rain. In other words, some severe storms are anticipated today. Keep an eye to the sky and head inside of a sturdy building if a strong or severe storm approaches. Lightning is Utah's number one weather related killer. Don't stand under a tree, lift a golf club or become the tallest object in any area, or you may become the latest lightning statistic. Also, don't camp or hike near canyons, washes, gullies during heavy rain because flash floods can cause fatalities. Widely scattered afternoon storms will return on Father's Day."
Needless to say, we decided to postpone that ACTUAL campout. Instead, we built a tent in the front room, laid out sleeping bags, and even made s'mores (in the microwave). Mark, Kale and Jack slept out there, and had a blast! Hopefully next we will actually make it to the campsite :)

Airforce Week

2009-06-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

This last week Salt Lake City celebrated Air Force Week. They had all kinds of activities going on down town....paper airplane contests, art shows, performers, imax movies, and over the weekend Hill Air Force Base had an open house and air show. We were really excited about this because everything was free of charge!! We had planned our week so that Monday we would go to the Aerospace Museum on the base, Wednesday we would go see the Fighter Pilots Imax movie, Friday Mark wanted to go to the art exhibit, and then Saturday we would see the air show.
The museum was fun, and we all walked away with a flattened penny, so it cost us a total of $1.53. The boys wanted to get in the planes more than anything, and thankfully they had a flight simulator, so they at least got to sit in a cock pit. We planned our entire day around the Imax movie on Wednesday. We had a playgroup at the park that morning, then had a picnic, and headed down to Gateway mall, getting there over an hour before the show started, only to run into this.....
We were so disapointed! All the other showings the rest of the week were at Thanksgiving Point, and in the evenings, so this was our only chance to go, darn it! Instead we walked down the mall, attempted to play in the fountain, but since the only one interested in going in was Luke, we left and then went for ice cream.
We were mostly excited about the air show though! We packed a nice cooler of lunch, snacks, and drinks, loaded the picnic blanket into the car, and left at about ten am for the base. We didn't even make it onto the freeway before we were at a complete stop, apparently EVERYONE was taking advantage of the free airshow. AFter a mile or two of creeping, the traffic started to move, and as we slowing took the first exit for the base, a traffic cop was standing there and informed us that there was no wait at the next exit, so we swerved around him, got back on the freeway, and sure enough, the next exit was completely empty, and took us directly onto the base immediately. At this point Mark was giddy! Just being on the base was exciting for him. He kept pointing things out, and practically jumping up and down. Thank goodness I was driving! We drove through the ENTIRE base, right onto the big 'parking lot', and were in only the third row of cars, whew! As we were waiting in line for the metal detectors, the opening ceremonies started, and we quickly scurried through the crowds, found a patch of grass, laid out the blanket, built a tent for Luke, and enjoyed the show. Seven hours is a long time for the boys to sit in the sun, so Mark and them wandered around, checking out the planes on display, the booths, and the inflatable jumper. The performances were AMAZING! There were prop stunt planes, WWII, Korean War, and Cuban missile crisis reinactments, and lots and lots of fly-bys. The Thunderbirds were the last to fly, of course, and they did NOT disappoint! I found out later that 290,000 people were at the show that day, which explains why it took us two hours to get home!!! Definately an experience we will NEVER forget!

Mother's Day

2009-06-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great mother's day this year! I say we because one of my requirements is that we have a fun day together as a family, because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't even get to celebrate this special day. We often celebrate mother's day on Saturday, so that we can go do something fun, and this year was no exception. It just so happened that Saturday was also Luke's birthday, ANOTHER reason to have a blast! We started out the day by loading everyone into the van and heading up to Heber City. I had been dying to show Mark what a beautiful town it was. It was a little over an hour to get there, but all three of the boys slept all the way, and we got their just in time to have a nice lunch outside. It's a little embarrasing that tiny things like the boys eating all their lunch, with NO whining is what made it the best lunch ever, regardless of what we ate. We turned right back around and headed back, but decided to surprise the boys with a stop by Lagoon, our local amusement park. We bought season passes this year, and have already gone about four times!

After Lagoon we decided to go to Toys R Us. I was hoping to find something perfect for Luke for his birthday, but as we left both Kale and Jack had brand new toys and all Luke got was a free ballon. He wouldn't have been happier with anything else though, he played with it for hours!

Kale and Jack have been doing some work around the house for months, and they have been saving every penny, so we let them each pick a toy out (within their budget). It was really fun and overwhelming for them to get to pick nearly everything they wanted. Kale has been saving up for about a year now to buy the Lego Indiana Jones game for the Wii. Back when he started saving it was $45 bucks, and I felt bad knowing that he would probably never get it all. For Easter his great-grandma gave them each ten bucks, and he walked into Toys R Us with a total of 20 bucks. I was all prepared to show him the game, show him that it was more money that he had, and teach him a little lesson about saving, but to our delight, it was now reduced to $19.99. Oh, you should have seen that boys face light up when he realized he could buy it! Now that his piggy bank is drained, he is focused on saving up for the Lego Batman game now. Jack had about $18 dollars, and we spent about an hour looking at every single toy in the store, trying to get him to pick something. He just could NOT decide. We finally got him to settle on a transformer (while prying the stuffed Bolt from his fingers). By the time we got home the boys were exhausted and went straight to bed, what a great day! Of course, the following morning I got to sleep in, while the boys made me breakfast, and I didn't have to lift a finger all day. My boys love to spoil me:)

Happy Birthday, Lucas!

2009-05-18T11:25:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my baby is one! He is such a fun boy, and we just can't imagine life without him! I love that his name means bringer of light, because he has definately brought a light into our home that shines brighter every day.
Since Luke and his cousin Carson's birthday are just two weeks apart, we decided to have a party for them half way in between. We had a big turn out with lots of cousins, and lots of cake!
Luke was sick with his second ear infection in three weeks, and I had to wake him up from a long nap for cake.

mmmmmmm

but it only took a few tastes of the cake to cheer him right up!

Uncle Ryan and Aunt Tara gave him his very first Utes paraphernalia!!! Welcome to Utah, Lucas!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2009-05-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

Best purchase ever! Two thinkgs I've noticed since we've moved down here: one, there always seems to be a slight breeze, and two, there are a LOT of wide open parks! Knowing this, I had set my heart on getting the boys kites for their Easter baskets. I'm not sure what I was thinking, since all my own memories of kite-flying involve frustration, anger and tears. I did it anyway, and found some kites at Wal-Mart for 99 cents. I laughed to myself, knowing I was getting myself into trouble here, buying cheap kites that I figured would never make it in the air. I WAS WRONG. We went out back one day, and Mark got both kites sky-high, to the very end of their strings. I was in awe! The best thing about them is that they involve no continued work at all! Jack would send his kite up into the sky, and once it reached the very end, he would just run around and play, never letting go. This amazing one dollar kite just sat up there, following him everywhere he went, never crashing, never bombing, just doing exactly what it was supposed to do. It was such a pleasant afternoon laying in the grass and watching the boys run and play!

Easter Morning

2009-05-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't think Mark was going to be with us to celebrate Easter this year. He was still residing in Montana at the time, and wasn't sure if he was going to come down for the weekend or not. I went ahead and "told the Easter Bunny what to bring", even though I was planning on waiting until a weekend when Mark was home to celebrate. I am so glad that I didn't put any of it off, because Mark surprised us on Saturday afternoon and showed up at Casey and Jeannie's house. Hooray! Easter morning was fun, and the boys loved stumbling across their baskets as they searched for the chocolate eggs. We kept Easter really simple this year, not filling the baskets much at all, but everything we got seemed to be so loved and appreciated, that any more stuff would have taken away from it all. It really was a perfect Easter.
Lukie and his chocolate bunny
Jack and his chocolate bunny

and Kale with his chocolate bunny. I will NEVER have an Easter without chocolate bunnies!

Kale found his basket in the coat closet

Jack's was under the table

and Kale found Luke's behind the couch.

Hunting for chocolate eggs.....

Kale counting the eggs

Easter Sunday

2009-05-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

I got to host Easter dinner at my house this year!! I was so excited! My mom bought me this pink china when I was in high school, and I have NEVER gotten to use it. With a house full of boys, its hard to find the right occasion to pull out the pink. Janice had this beautiful table cloth and napkin set that I've loved for years, and I was so excited when she gave them to me!!! I just knew they would go perfectly with my dishes.

Jack hunting for eggs My adorable Luke!! (he was sick this weekend, as well as nearly every weekend for the last two months, but he's always smilin!)

Racing for those eggs!

Grandma, Grandpa, and the egg hunters.

And they're off! Casey and Mark managed to hide 60 eggs in our teeny tiny front yard.

Playing in the park across the street.

Dressed in their Easter best.

Easter Tea Party

2009-05-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Every year since Jordan was a baby, Grandma Janice has thrown an Easter tea party. They are incredibly extensive with activites, food, gifts, and this year she even included a little dress-up. This was the first year with the five kids together, and they didnt' all fit at the little table, so Grandma did the party in shifts, with Grandpa entertained the others outside.

Here is a picture of the first group waiting patiently for Grandma to get it all set up.
Grandma brought a hat for each child, and necklaces or bracelets too.

They got to pour their own tea (apple juice), and eat off the beautiful bunny tea set she has had since I was a child.

Grandpa had bubble guns outside, and afterwards they all did a fun craft.

We look forward to Grandma's tea parties every year, and even if we don't get to be there with her, she sends out a tea party in a box! We love you Grandma!! and Grandpa!!!

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit

2009-05-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

My dad and step-mom came to visit all of us for Easter weekend. It was so much fun to see them....it had been a month since we'd moved from Montana, and we really missed them! The first day they were here we went out for an amazing brunch, and then played at the children's museum in Ogden for a few hours. It was tons of fun!!!
This is Luke crawling all over a giant map of Utah

Kale dressed up as an engineer.

And Jordan the fire(wo)man

In the midevil section the boys found this castle play set. jack climbed right up on the table to get in the middle of it. I practically had to drag them away.

The babies playing.....the look on Luke's face is priceless

Kale and the giant chess set. We are working on teaching our prodigy the skills of chess, but for now he just knows where all the pieces go.

oh, and I forgot to mention that I met President Obama! He's taller than I expected, but very friendly. Oh, but his jokes are a little 'flat', *snicker*

(I dont' have any other pictures of Jack cuz he kept disappearing on me!!!)

Dying Easter Eggs

2009-05-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I do this!!! EVERY year I get all excited about dying easter eggs, and every year I'm the only one who really gets into it. Mark wouldn't even notice if we skipped the whole activity, and the boys stay interested in it for about 3 or 4 eggs, but I of course dye dozens. I think it's more of a girl's activity, and definately mostly just a photo-op :) I'm thinking about skipping it next year, but we'll see. Mark was still living in Montana while we were in Utah, so we had to make sure to do this on one of his visits home. It was fun, but probably more fun for me than anyone else.

This is Kale and his hilarious rubber face! This kid has the BEST expressions

Makin momma proud

2009-04-22T12:32:00.001-07:00

Well, Kale took his role of big brother very seriously today, and he made me proud. We went to meet Jeannie and her boys at the park this morning, and there were a lot of kids there. Casey Jr and another little boy got in a little playground fight, only it got a little scary cuz it was up on one of the platforms, and Casey nearly got pushed off. Kale was standing on the platform as well, and he jumped right in between Case and the other boy, pushed the other boy and said, "you are being a BAD BOY!" Now, maybe I should have disciplined Kale for pushing the boy, but I was so proud that he defended his cousin! And it wasn't like he had joined in the fight, he was just getting that boy away from Case and telling him that his behavior was bad. This was also a fun thing to watch, because I KNOW Kale would have done the same thing if it was Jack, but he and Casey don't click really, and the fact that he stepped in anyways showed that he loves his little cousin, and he is going to look out for him despite their differences.

Moving Day!

2009-03-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

So, here is the story of our move......
We had decided in January that we were going to move down to Utah. Mark was going to go back to school, I was going to go back to work, and it all needed to happen by May 18th, which was Mark's first day of school. Well, there was this job that I had heard about that would be absolutely PERFECT for our situation (for myself), and I found out on February 21st that they had re-opened the position. We had already planned a trip to Utah for the first week in March at this point, and after applying for the job online, my next step was to take an exam in SLC on March 13th. This posed a bit of a problem since we were coming HOME from Utah on March 9th. So, this was the plan.....February 27 Luke and I jumped in the car and drove to Boise. Amanda and Rob were blessing their baby on the 1st of March, a Sunday. That same Sunday Mark, Kale and Jack loaded up the expedition and headed to Utah, and I met them there on Monday morning. Our plan that week was to look for apartments, and leave on that Friday to head to Bozeman to say goodbye to our good friends, the Richards, before they left for New York. We were going to spend the weekend in Bozeman, and head back to Lolo to start packing things up. I was going to fly to SLC on the 12th to take my exam, and then fly home, where we would load up the u-haul, say goodbye to Montana, and be living in Utah by the 21st of March. That WAS the plan. Instead, in our four days in Utah we found an apartment that we had to get. It was in a beautiful location, in our price range, and the landlord offered it to us, no questions asked. The problem was that he wanted it rented immediately. He couldn't hold it for two weeks. So, we thought about it and realized that there was really no reason we were waiting to move down on the 20th, why not do it on the 12th?!?! So, thats what we did. We put the deposit down on the apartment, made it home after the trip to Bozeman, and started packing. Monday we started packing, and had a wonderful anniversary dinner at my mom's house that evening. Tuesday we packed some more, and had dinner at my dad's that night. On Wednesday we brought the uhaul up and Katie and Robert, Mom and Tim, Dad and Janice, and Heidi and Brian all came to help load it. We loaded the whole house in about 3 hours! Mom brought pizza for everyone, and we said our goodbyes right there, in our big empty house. We stayed at my dad's that night, dropping off the boys at about 7:30, and heading back up to the house to do a little last minute cleaning and organizing of the stuff that was left. The next morning, Thursday, we headed out. We got a late start so didn't get in until about 7:30 that night, unloaded a few things, and spent the night at Casey and Jeannie's. The next morning had to go fast, because we had to have the uhaul unloaded by noon so I could head into Salt Lake and take my exam at 1:30. Talk about cutting it close. But we did it, and we're here, and happy so far. Well, for the most part. Mark is still up in Montana, trying to sell the business. We miss him a lot, but are getting by, having lots of fun, and appreciating the help from Jeannie every chance she can get.

Here are a few photos from the road.......

This is Monida pass, crossing from Montana into Idaho

I believe this is Malad pass, just before crossing from Idaho into Utah

Grandpa and Luke....

2009-03-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

During the last few weeks before we moved, we spent a LOT of time at my dad's house. Most of that time was spent re-flooring most of the main floor, but we also spent a lot of time there for dinners and just for fun. My dad and Luke are the best of buds, and here are just a few pictures of them together.

(This last one is bad, I know, but deep down its cute of the guys.)

Last picture in old house....

2009-03-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

As was going through all the pictures in my camera, and I realized that these are the last ones taken in our old house. (frown) This was on Valentine's day. My mom had stopped by that morning with cute little puppy dogs for the boys, and I had just got done making Mark's favorite chocolate pie. I had given Kale the spatula to lick off, and he was sharing with his brothers.

It's kind of a boring post, I know.

Way.........way behind

2009-03-26T18:20:00.001-07:00

I know, I know! I haven't blogged in forever, I'm sorry, but I have a good excuse, really. We moved! yeah, in about 1 week, we decided to move, found an apartment, packed, and moved. Crazy, I know. But yay! Anyway, there's a lot to say, lots of pictures, and lots to catch up on, but I'll do it one post at a time. For now, a cute pic of the boys.....

My Valentines.

2009-02-20T13:52:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post an adorable picture of the loves of my life. I told these guys at the dinner table on Valentine's night that I was the luckiest out of all of them. I had four valentines, and the four of them all had to share one, how lucky am I!?!?!

Girlfriends, already?!?!?!?!?!?!

2009-02-20T13:22:00.001-08:00

Ok, this is going to be a long story, and the details are already slipping away, but it needs to be put to paper so it is never forgotten, heheheheh. Last Sunday at church, two different girls from church attempted to get Kale's attention in just the few minutes it takes to walk from his classroom to the car. Both of them happened to be beautiful platinum blondes, and Kale managed to successfully blow both of them off. This bothered Mark very much. These were cute girls, and Kale was clueless! He quickly prompted him to say hello and other common courtesies. Mark talked about it for the next 45 minutes. About how Kale attracts the ladies but is totally clueless and nonchalant. "Come on kid, pay attention, these girls are cute!" So, fast-forward about 4 days.....

Last night at the dinner table, out of the blue Kale starts talking about a girl. She had a black dress with white buttons, and hair like mommy's, and blue eyes like mommy's. But she's not in his class, she's in the class next to his. I'm trying to figure out who in the world she is. I know the girls in his class, so I start asking questions.

"Is her hair brown like mommy's, or blonde like Jack's?"

"Like mommy's."

"Is is straight or curly?"

"Curly."

So then I start running through names of girls that I know are in his class, (and this boy is terrible with names.) He said no to all of them. So I ask,

"Is she in your class?"

"No."

"Do you like any of the girls in your class?"

"No, none of them have eyes like mommy's."

Talk about melting my heart! It's glad to know this kid knows what he wants! Then he just starts this monologue about how he wants a girlfriend so that he can married and wear a ring like daddy, but he doesn't like any of the girls because they don't have eyes like mommy's. He says he wants two girlfriends. One of them to be mommy, and one to be a kid like him. (Isn't he adorable?)

At this point Mark is panicking.

"Kale, it's okay to have friends that are girls, but you don't need a girlfriend until you're ready to get married."

"But I want to get married dad, and wear a ring."

Mark is getting really deep at this point, going on and on about how he doesn't need a girlfriend until after his mission, etc etc. I tried to reign him in. Honey, lighten up! He's five, and it's adorable! Maybe he was being too concerned, and maybe I wasn't concerned enough, but we both got a great laugh out of it. And you sure can bet we're going to find out who this mystery girl is on Sunday!

Luke's hair

2009-02-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

So, when my little Luke was born I was thrilled that for once I had a baby with hair. Granted, it wasn't much hair, and frankly he looked like an old man. He had a perfect ring of hair around the largest part of his head, with none on top, whatsoever. Well, it's been growning, and growing, and growing, and what used to be a perfect circle of a curl at the base of his neck has now turned into a tail. It's adorable and hideous all at the same time. Mark keeps threatening to cut it off, and I insisted that he wait until I got a picture of it. So, here is the picture of my 9 month old's tail. cute, eh?

New Year's Day sledding

2009-01-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

My dad organized a sledding trip on New Year's day. We had so much fun! We spent about an hour and a half running around all the snow in my dad's yard, then drove to the school in town and sled down the hill. Kale was so brave! He started out on the smaller hill, and after only 2 runs, he wanted to go higher....and higher. He finally made it all the way to the top of the hill, all by himself. About halfway down, he rolled right off the sled, got up, and climbed right back to the top of the hill. I was completely shocked. Kale is normally a big chicken, and he wouldn't even let me ride with him! "No mommy, I don't need you to ride with me." Jack, who is usually my daredevil, he wouldn't even go near the sled run. He and Mark spent the entire time on the playground. Some kids from our church showed up right when we got there, and it was so much fun watching them take the run, and getting some air!

This is Robert and Kale catching some air off of their big run down the hill. You can't really see Kale, but he's in there, you can see his red mittens....

Janice and Luke, trying to keep warm

My sister Kate and her boyfriend Robert, and their two dogs, aren't they adorable!

My dad, me, and my Lukie

My boys, love 'em love 'em!!!

Kale is five!

2009-01-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

I'm having a really hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that my baby is five years old! It's less about him being that old, and more about me being at this stage of parenting. I'm going to have to be the responsible adult now. Get him to and from school, pack lunches, help him with homework, etc etc. Maybe its too early for me to worry about all this stuff, that I should wait until September, but it has really been on my mind. I remember so well MY parents when I was just five/six years old, and its hard to accept that that is who I am now.
Kale's birthday was great! We had a teeny tiny party the day before his birthday, with just our family, cake, and a few presents. On Monday, his actual birthday, we took him (and Jack and Luke) to a movie, and his very favorite restaurant. It was a very last minute decision, and I'm so glad we did!

Christmas morning

2008-12-25T10:12:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from Christmas morning.....
Here is Luke with Aunt Heidi and his first Christmas ornament.

This picture is hilarious. It is Kale and Mark, sitting at opposite ends of the table, each assembly a lego kit, heheheh

This is a picture of the living room early in the morning, before the boys came upstairs
This one is so funny too! It's Kale, reading the instructions, trying to figure out how to transform his Optimus Prime.

This isn't a very good picture, but I love it. Jack got a Little Einsteins Rocket, and he just runs in circles around the house, flying it up and down, up and down.
This is another not-so-good picture, but I had to show these adorable hats my mom made for all the grandkids.

Mark, Kale and Jack all got cowboy hats, I love this shot of Kale.

Jack's drum from Uncle Casey and Aunt Jeannie.

Look at all the boy toys!

Stockings!!!

2008-12-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

Aren't these stockings beautiful! My mom cross-stitched one of these elaborate stocking for EACH of her grandkids, what a treasure! Luke's wasn't finished this year, but we'll be proud to show it off next year.

Christmas Eve jammies

2008-12-25T09:54:00.001-08:00

Every year my mom makes all the grandkids new flannel pajamas for Christmas, and we almost always open them on Christmas Eve. This year just might be my favorite, although the ones from Kale's very first Christmas barely come in second.

Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Every year my step-mom takes the boys for a morning and they make gingerbread houses together. This usually also works out to be a great opportunity for me to go Christmas shopping without them! Here are the pictures of the completed houses, just minutes before they were devoured!

Best baby ever!

2008-12-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

I can't get over what an amazing baby Luke is. Most of the time its like he's not even here. When he's awake, as long as he's not abandoned in a room somewhere, he's perfectly quiet. He loves to watch his brother's play, they keep him occupied for hours. When he's tired, I just lay him in the bed. He puts his little head down, waits for me to cover him up, and I don't hear a peep for at least an hour or two. Just this morning, he was playing on the floor. Apparently his brothers had left, but I had no idea he was alone. He made no fussing sounds or anything. Mark asked me where he was, and I stated, "probably on the floor where you left him." Mark had glanced at the floor, near the basket of baby toys, but there was no Luke. After further investigating, we found he had rolled across the room, and fell asleep.

Apparently he was bored with his brothers gone, so he closed his eyes, waiting for their return. What a good boy!

Potty Training Jack

2008-12-10T18:46:00.001-08:00

Well, we've been debating for a long time about whether or not to potty train Jack. He has shown no interest whatsoever, so its been easy for me to put off. Jeannie and I talked about getting Casey and Jack trained before she moved, but Jack had his cast on, and I just couldn't imagine trying to potty train a three year old who can't wash his hands. Right about the time that Jack got his cast off, however, little Casey J took the plunge. After a day or two, he was basically potty trained. Well, this made me REALLY commit to doing it. If Casey J could do it (even though it wasn't HIS idea) than I knew Jack could, it was just a matter of me sticking to my guns. So yesterday I decided it was time. I took him out of his pajamas, and sat him on the toilet. He cried hysterically! "The poops are gonna bite me!" I glanced at Mark who was giving me a look portraying that maybe he wasn't ready. I didn't care, it was time! After two small accidents that morning, he had it down pat! He didn't even say anything when he had to go, he would just go in, stand at the urinal (yes, we DO have a urinal, how can I not with 3 little boys in the house!) and let it all out. Hooray! We went to my mom's for dinner that night, and he had a few accidents there, but that was to be expected. Today is day two, and he is doing great. He is 100% for going #1, but we still can't get him to go #2 in the potty.

So, even though he still won't poop in the potty, I consider this a HUGE success! An entire day with no wet accidents, I'll take it!

Deer Hunt

2008-12-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it! I shot my first deer. I decided that I was ready. I'd been on enough hunts, and shot enough guns, that I knew I'd be able to do it. There's not much of a story behind it. We just threw the whole family into the expedition, drove down to Mark's uncle's property in Hamilton, and drove around until we found the herd. I really had my heart set on my first deer being a buck, and lucky for me, there he was. He wasn't too big, but he was standing just 50 yards from the car, dumb as can be, so I took a shot. It was exciting. The only thing I remember is Mark yelling, "Nice shot hon, nice shot!" over and over again.

Mark's aunt even made it THAT much easier on us by driving the tractor over. Mark hoisted the buck into the bucket, and she drove right into the garage. Mark didn't even have to use any muscle to get it hung! So, after he skinned it, and we loaded it into the back of the expedition, we were finally on our way back home, and Mark spots another buck, about 60 yards from the car, just lying there, staring him down. He couldn't resist. Bang!

I was a tiny bit peeved because he just couldn't give me my day. Not only did he have to go and shoot a deer after mine, but it was a bigger buck than mine too!

Really, I'm just glad that I got my first one, and that we have some more meat in the freezer. Next year I'm going for a mule deer, these whitetail are just too small :)

How many days?

2008-12-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Now, you may think that the title of this blogs eludes to some kind of countdown until Christmas, but you're wrong. This three word phrase is Kale's response to EVERYTHING! When he's forced to sit and eat a dinner he protests to, "How many days until I have to eat this?" When we're driving to Grandma's house, "How many days until we get to Grandma's?" When we're getting ready for bed, "How many days until bedtime?" The one he does get right is..., "How many days until Santa comes?" Apparently we need to start to teach him the different ways to measure time; minutes, hours, days, YEARS!

Mom

2008-12-05T11:57:00.001-08:00

My adorable little three year old calls me mom. At first, he was calling other people mom, like his friends mothers. I figured they could be mom, as long as I was mommy. But recently, and especially today, he has been calling ME mom. "Good morning, Mom." "I love you, Mom." "I'm playing pic pac toe, mom!" The first few times it was cute, but I don't like it anymore. I knew eventually that they would outgrow the mommy stage, but I didn't think it would happen at 3!!! He and I just had a long discussion this morning about the differences between a baby, and a big boy. We are getting ready to potty train him, and he seems very stuck in the middle. He adamantly protests the idea of him being a baby, but refuses to give up the diapers for some big boy underwear. I pushed and pushed and pushed that he should want to be a big boy now, and not a baby like Lucas, but I didn't realize he would grow up so fast, in just a few hours! Today he's calling me mom, tomorrow he'll be borrowing my car.........slow down kid!

The Elves

2008-11-24T06:54:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

the boys

2008-11-13T10:45:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to quickly post some cute pictures of the boys. I think all three of these pictures capture who they are exactly! Enjoy!

Halloween

2008-11-13T10:26:00.001-08:00

I know it's late, but I'm finally posting Halloween pictures. It's been SUPER crazy since the 31st, and I'm just now finding the time. Our good friends Dustin and Tammi brought their three boys over from Bozeman for the weekend, so we got to take them trunk-or-treating with us. We spent the rest of the weekend playing cards and taking it easy. Then the Monday after we all packed up and trekked over to Bozeman for the week to get some work done at Mark's parents' house. We came home on Sunday just in time for Casey and Jeannie's trip home. We spent Sunday-Tuesday night with them, and I had just two days to unwind to hop on a plane and fly down to Salt Lake to go with Jeannie to the New Kids on the Block concert! And of course, just a few days after I get home is my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving!
Anyway, back to Halloween. I decided months ago that I wanted my boys to be Mario and Luigi. As you may know, I LOVE to dress them up in coordinating costumes. They have been Batman and Robin, Buzz and Woody, and now Mario and Luigi.

As the costumes evolved in my mind, I decided to incorporate the whole family (which is something I've been wanting to do for a long time.) So, Luke was Toad, the little mushroom guy, I was the princess, of course, and Mark was Donkey Kong....sorta.

And here is a photo of the whole group, we had so much fun!

And so it begins......

2008-10-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

"Good afternoon. We're gonna have a great jump today. Okay, first crank a hard cutback as you hit the wall. There's a screaming bottom curve, so watch out. Remember: rip it, roll it, and punch it." Squirt

Do any of you recognize that quote from the adorable little sea turtle in Finding Nemo? Well, it may as well have been said by my very own adorable little Jack-Jack. Jack is ALL extreme, ALL the time, and we knew it was just a matter of time before we would start having experiences like the one we had this week. Check it out!

That's right, barely even three and he's had his first fracture! Now, here is where I should plug in some awesome story about how it happened. Maybe he was using the railing on our back porch as a balance beam, and fell the 12 feet to the ground. Or maybe he decided to take our battery powered four-wheeler down the flight of stairs. Possibly he scaled the pine tree in our front yard, or maybe he was even chasing the flock of turkeys. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I actually don't have the great story I expected to have for this occasion. He and daddy were wrestling on the bed, and he fell backward onto his hand. That's it, that's the story.

The near 48 hours it took to get from break to cast, now that is where the story is. True, its no fall from a tall tree, but 48 hours is a long time for a little boy to live with a broken wrist. At about five o'clock on Monday afternoon, Jack hurt his wrist, and I felt right away that something was wrong, but it didn't swell up or anything, so I convinced myself that it was just a sprain or bruising. So, we suffered through a long night of him up over and over, because he just could not find a comfortable place to lay his hand. Tuesday morning I wrapped it in an ace bandage, and took off to a few meetings. When I got home at about one, I still couldn't shake the feeling that it was broken, so I called our doctor here in town, and she asked us to come in so she could look at it. So at three, we met with her, she squeezed it once or twice, and decided that an x-ray was needed. So then Jack and I raced into town to get to the Lab before they closed, and he had his arm x-rayed by 4:30 that afternoon. Since it was so late, we didn't expect to get the results from the x-ray until the following morning, so we were facing another possibly long night, ugh. Fortunately, the ace bandage held it in place pretty well, and we all woke the next morning pretty well-rested. After a bit of phone tag, we found out at 12:30 on Wednesday that his wrist was in fact broken, and that our local doctor had made an appointment for him with the Orthopaedic Surgeon in town, at 3:15 that afternoon, 46 hours after the initial break. So now, we have 4 weeks to go with our little monster and his 'green arm', as he calls it. What a long couple of days....

No More Gobble Gobble Gobble!

2008-10-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have read my blog from the beginning just might remember my 'love' of our local turkeys. Well, since the county that we live in is a special draw only, Mark applied for a tag, and to my joy, he got one! So sure enough, my mighty hunter stepped out our front door, and filled his tag, right in the front yard. True, this is only 1 turkey of the 27 or so that we've got gobbling around here, it's a start! A start to quiet the gobble, and a nice start on Thanksgiving Dinner!

Luke's first cereal

2008-10-09T17:53:00.001-07:00

Well, our chunky monkey has finally been allowed to eat solid food! Well, mostly solid. I've been waiting for this day, hoping maybe cereal would sit in his tummy better than liquid formula. I sat him down in his bumbo,

gave him the first bite, and he was hooked!

He kept grabbing the spoon from me, and then sucking on his fingers vigorously. It was almost as though he thought the yummy new food was coming out of his fingertips.

I had to practially duct tape his hands down so I could get the rest of the bowl in him! Needless to say, our beefy baby just may be getting beefier....

Happy Birthday, Honey!

2008-09-25T06:22:00.001-07:00

The big THREE-OH! It's hard to believe you're thirty years old this year! (You don't look a day over 42 ;) I just wanted to say that I love you, and that I am so lucky to have you in my life. You are an amazing father and husband. You are so generous and selfless. I hope you had a great birthday, and I hope that this year brings you everything you could ever wish for.

Lagoon

2008-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

What is a trip to Utah without a day at Lagoon? We took Sunday afternoon to hit the amusement park. It had been 3 years since I'd even been to Lagoon, and even longer since I'd ridden any rides, since I was pregnant at my last visit, so I was super excited to try some of the newer rides. Jeannie and I bought all the kids matching T-shirts, so it would be easier to keep track of them, aren't they adorable?!

The kids rode all their rides first, then us adults took turns watching them while two of us at a time rode the big kid rides. We were there for about 5 hours, and it was just about perfect. The weather wasn't TOO hot, the kids were pretty much behaved, and I got to ride the WICKED!! Sa-weet roller coaster!

The zoo

2008-09-15T12:39:00.001-07:00

Bless her heart! On Saturday, Jeannie offered to watch Luke while Mark and the older boys and I went to the zoo. Bummer that I didn't take very many pictures, but it was fun having an outing just the four of us.

Happy Birthday, Jeannie!!!

2008-09-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Our second day in UT was Jeannie's birthday (hooray!) We had been planning on going to Tepanyaki for dinner, one of those Japanese grill restaurants where they cook the food right at your table, and make awesome onion volcanos. It was probably the best restaurant experience I have had since having kids! Besides amazing food, there was no wait time (on a Fridaynight!), and the kids were 100% entertained.

9-11

2008-09-12T08:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday marked the 7th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center. I can't believe it was seven years ago! I still remember so vividly where I was and what I was doing that day, even that week. That day will be to us like the day of Kennedy's assassination is to our parent's generation, and the day Pearl Harbor was bombed is to our grandparent's generation. Everyone will have an answer to the question, "Where were you on September 11, 2001?"
It was a Tuesday morning, and I was suppossed to be at work at nine. I always had the TV on while I got ready for work, and that particular morning I was talking to my mom on the phone, so the TV was muted. I got off the phone just as I needed to head out the door for work. When I went to the TV to shut it off, I saw the image of one of the two towers smoking, and thought to myself, what movie is this? I shut off the tv and left my apartment, having no clue of what I just saw. When I arrived at work I could tell something was wrong. All the salesman, who were usually dispersed throughout the store, were standing at the front counter in a big group. As soon as I opened the doors they all turned to me and said, "have you seen?" Not knowing what they were talking about, they walked me over to the wall of big screen tv's (I was working at Vann's, an appliance and electronics store) and thats when I realized that what I had seen on my TV at home was not a movie. I looked just in time to see the second plane hit. My co-workers and I stood there all morning, surrounded by TV's, and watch the towers fall, and all the commentaries afterwards, including replay after replay. It was so surreal. Everywhere you turned was a TV showing the footage. Needless to say we had no customers that day. In fact, the only person who came in the doors was a photographer for the local newspaper. He photographed all of us perched on stools, watching the wall of TV's, with faces in our hands, and tears in our eyes. The next morning on of his photographs made front page of the paper. I was in college that year, and campus was alive with patriotism. On the Friday after I remember walking through the student union building and buying a purple ribbon to pin on my shirt. After that I went to our local Stake Center to watch President Hinckley's address. It was so beautiful, comforting, and uplifting. I remember everyone saying that it was not a time to hole up and be sad, but I time to be strong. We should not look at it as an end, but as a reason to unite. I was in the market to buy a new car, so I took someone's advice, to invest in the economy, and I drove home that Friday, the 14th, and bought myself a new car. The salesman took a picture of me infront of my new car that day, and I will never forget it, because you can see the purple ribbon still pinned to my shirt.

Beautiful Wyoming

2008-09-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

We only had a quick stay in Wyoming, but we always love it. JoAnne takes such good care of us while we're there! The boys got to ride the horses a bit, got a ride on the four-wheelers, and best of all, I got an entire quiet, peaceful day to work on my stitchery. (which, by the way, I did finally finish and get to the framers!)

This last picture is the view out the back door of the house we are planning to buy whenever we make it down there, isn't it gorgeous!

Yellowstone

2008-09-11T06:36:00.001-07:00

Well, we are finally back from our 12 day vacation to Bozeman/Wyoming/Utah, so get ready for some posts!
We decided to take the park route from Bozeman to Wyoming because we had high hopes of running into my dad, who had rented a Harley and was going on quite the road trip to end up in South Dakota to see Andrea's new baby. Sure enough, we passed this Wild Hog just north of the South Entrance. We waved eachother down and agreed to meet at a nearby picnic area. The boys loved to see Grandpa and his motorcycle, and each got a ride.

I got the best treat of all when dad shared some of his chocolate covered raspberries from Bear Lake. We only had a quick 10-minute visit cuz Dad wanted to make it through the park before it got dark, so we took a quick pic, said our goodbyes, and left our separate ways. We Love You Dad/Grandpa!

evidence

2008-08-18T12:01:00.001-07:00

So, here we have some evidence to two very different crimes. First let me set up the scene. This picture is taken of my very tall upright piano, the little shelf where you rest your music to read while you play. On top of the piano is the tv. So, the first crime is the very obvious one, that I really need to dust a little more often. The second crime involves little Jack. Apparently the no TV rule wasn't approved by him, and while I was downstairs working its pretty obvious he decided to climb up onto the piano (barefoot, as you can tell) to push the power button. He thinks he's sneaky, but he needs to watch a little more CSI!

Where has the summer gone.....

2008-08-16T21:21:00.001-07:00

Here it is, the middle of August!! I have barely accomplished anything I wanted to do this summer, argh! And now, I'm busy busy busier. In one week I am leaving for our vacation to Utah, our one and only, isn't that sad? Last year I made 4 trips to UT in 6 months. I'm way behind. In this one week I have to somehow find the time to work (both jobs) and finish this cross stitch I've been working on for a year and a half. It was suppossed to be a gift for Casey and Jeannie's sealing, but it will be finished, it will IT WILL!! This is what it looks like now....

And this is what it will look like when it's done, all I have left is the tall tree on the right! Then, on the 27th of this month Amanda will FINALLY find out the gender of her little 'bun', and I can finally get started on finishing her baby gift. I've already started, but got haulted when I didn't know what color scheme to go with. So then, after we get back from our trip to Ut/WY, I only have about 2 weeks to get that done before her shower the 20th of September. I really don't consider myself a procrastinator, though it sounds like I am. It's more a timing thing. It just so happened that Amanda's shower is only 3.5 weeks after her ultrasound, it's not my fault, honest. I'm trying my hardest to get what I can finished without knowing if the rest will be pink or blue, but I also HAVE to finish this stitchery by the end of the week. I just won't allow a perfect opportunity for Jeannie to come with me to get it framed slip right by simply cuz I can't find the time to finish it. Also, sometime before school starts we want to squeeze another camping trip in with Dustin and Tammi, but the possibilities are getting bleaker and bleaker. (Does that sound right?)
So, I feel like time is just slipping through my fingers! Kale is about to start his second/last year of preschool, Jack is gonna be 3 in less than a month, and Luke is already in size 2 diapers!!! How on earth did that happen?

brothers

2008-08-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

Kale
Luke
Jack

Here are pictures of each of the boys at about the same age. Just thought it would be fun to compare them. I really think Luke is a mix of the other two, that's why I put his picture in the middle (instead of chronologically).

Luke

2008-08-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Tiny Lucas. Although, he isn't so tiny, his uncle Dustin calls him this, and its just adorable cuz he says it with a little accent. We have lots of nicknames for Luke; Squeeker, Munchkin, Little Buddy, and Pukous. As you can guess by his last nickname, he is a spitter-upper. Not just a little hear and there, but puddles and puddles worth. Its disgusting and gross. But, even though he pukes so much, he is just so adorable! He can't help but smile if you're looking at him. He will even smile while he's crying, as long as you're looking at him. He is a very strong little boy, and has already rolled over from tummy to back. He loves to be upright, on his feet, in the bumbo, and lately, the johnny jumper. His legs are still weak, but he loves to use those muscles. He looks so much like Kale when Kale was a bay, but I see lots of Jack in him too. I think he has Kale's mouth, chin and cheeks, and Jack's eyes. He sleeps through the night as has for about a month and a half now, I'm so lucky!! I can't wait to start feeding him solid food, just so I can hope for less laundry, but at the same time, I hate feeding babies, its all messy and gross, and you know me and my food phobias....

Jack

2008-08-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

Where on earth do I start with this one. He is my challenger, my stubborn, independent fireball. He has a face that will melt your heart, but a scream that will pierce your eardrums. He is 150% boy, unlike his older brother. He loves anything messy, dirty, loud, creepy, crawly, you name it. He can't walk past an ant on the sidewalk without making sure its good and dead. He has two completely different personalities. The sweetheart who will do anything you ask with a smile on his face, and the independent who would say no to anything that was not his idea, even ice cream. Jack-Jack Parr from the incredibles is the pure embodiment of my own little Jack-Jack. Sweet and innocent, yet evil and destructive. He is always dirty, and of course, doesn't care at all. He's a daredevil, and NOTHING scares him at all. I know his life is gonna be full of adventure; base jumping, sky-diving, rock-climbing, you name it. I think my favorite thing about him is a combination of how little he is, yet how big he is in other ways. He's this tiny little boy that says the most profound things, does the most acrobatic stunts, and truely thinks he's almost five, just like his big brother. I rarely get cuddles or kisses, but when I do, they are priceless. He loves to sing, and when he wants to sit on my lap, he comes up to me, in his high little voice, and says, "I want to sit by you." You just CAN'T say no.

The K-Man

2008-08-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

So, since I'm absolutely HORRIBLE at journaling, and it terrifies me that some day I will forget all of the adorable things my little men do every single day, I am going to try my darndest to post a blog about each of them on a regular basis.

Kale. I am having the hardest time wrapping my mind around the fact that he is going to be 5 before the year is up. It seems that everyday I look at him and am dumbfounded by how big he's gotten, and how smart he is becoming. As Jeannie puts it, Kale is the smart one. He's my little genius in the making. He can take on any project and tackle it in a matter of minutes. I am dying to get him into piano lessons, cuz his fingers are so nimble and he LOVES music! And the things he says these days! At the dinner table tonight alone he opened up his brain to us. Telling us all about his ear drum, and the the black circles in his eyes get smaller when the lights come on, and that his tongue is covered in polka dots. He has his own special super hero power, he calls them his "Super Eyes." When asked to show them to you, he'll look at you, cross his eyes, and exclaim that it makes you two people! Again at dinner, he was explaining to us all about mermaids. When Mark asked him what they looked like he said that they have a tail and squishies, as he puts his hands over his chest. Mark was slow to catch onto this, so he asked what he meant. Kale then explained that they have clam shells over their pink polka dots. Apparently this marks the END of him showering with me :) He is my very biggest helper, which is a huge step from where he used to be. I love this age because he loves to make me happy, and bribery works much better on him than Jack. He really understands the concept of cause and effect. I clean up my toys, I can play the Wii. I hit my brother, I get in big trouble. I get him to hit me first, HE gets in big trouble, etc. Although I don't get the long cuddles and lengthy hugs from him that I used to, he will ALWAYS give me kisses whenever I ask, he is such a lover! I can definately conclude that I am in love with this age! The gap between us is smaller, and it is so fun to watch him learn!

Hooray for August 1st!!

2008-07-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

Oh, and just to let you all know, Griz Football tickets for the 2008 season go on sale tomorrow morning!!!!!!!

Summer

2008-07-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, it's been a while since I've posted, I know, I know!! I guess it's been one of two things, either I don't have anything good to say, or I've just been way too busy, you pick. Summer is hot. That's about all there is to say, really. I just got to spend 3 days with 2 of my most favorite people ever, and that was not nearly enough!! Come back girls, come back!! In the beginning of July we had our very first Randy Mineer family reunion! It was lots of fun. We ALL managed to attend! We spent 4 days at Seeley Lake in a beautiful cabin. We ate good food, had fun with the kiddos, and played in the lake, what more could you ask. Can't wait to do it again!!! Mark and I are now trying to squeeze way too many activities into whats left of the summer. We still have Creamery picnic, the fair, a trip to UT, camping again with the Richards, and hopefully a trip up to Flathead Lake. On top of all that, we still have our business to run, and just listed our house in the paper, so our weekends should now be full of open houses and showings. Cross your fingers and hope that we sell it this weekend so we can squeeze in some fun for the rest of the summer.

Father's Day Camping Trip

2008-06-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Crazy at it may sound, we decided to go camping for Father's Day weekend, keep in mind, Luke was only 5 weeks old.

We had decided to meet some friends of ours from Bozeman, so we randomly picked a campground that would meet us in the middle, so Lost Creek State Park, here we come! This was a primitive state park about 10 miles outside of Anaconda, and it was for the most part, very beautiful.

Apparently nearly all the trees had suffered from beetle kill, and most of them had recently been cut down, so the ground was quite sparce, just covered in tree stumps. It was nearly impossible to find a location to pitch our tent, but luckily for us the closest camp site to the water pump happened to have the perfect spot!
We got to camp and got it all set up, tent, grill, firewood, etc.

We went on a short hike to the falls,

and then threw some pine cones in to the creek,

and decided to head into cell service to find out what was keeping our friends. Well, turns out their truck had decided to break down on them, and they were still stuck at home, probably not coming. Bummer we thought. So we went back to camp, made dinner,

then smores, and after putting the boys to bed got a call from Dustin saying that they had fixed the truck (he and Tammi replaced the fuel pump, by themselves, in their driveway!) and they were on their way. Sure enough, they pulled into camp about 1:00am. Throughout the weekend we played in the woods, "hiked to the falls", fished, and just hung out. On Sunday we went to Fairmont hotsprings (post to come later) Besides the freezing cold nights, the camping trip was definately a success, and we are planning on going again and again. We are also in the market for a cheap, small, used camper, tenting it is just too much for me :)

Grandpa's helmet

2008-05-20T13:22:00.001-07:00

Grandpa rode his motorcycle up to our house last week to cuddle the new baby,and the boys went nuts over his helmet. It was so hilarious to see it on Jack, considering it probably weighed more than he does and was at least half his size. Maybe someday soon we'll get helmets for the boys and they can actually take a ride on the bike with Grandpa, wouldn't that be fun?!

He's here!

2008-05-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Ten days ago we welcomed little Lucas into our family, hooray! He was born on Friday, May 9 at 12:06 pm, and weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces. I NEVER thought I'd have a baby bigger than Kale, but apparently I pulled it off. He is the sweetest most beautiful baby in the world! He has such a great disposition! He sleeps all the time, rarely cries, and even when he's awake he's perfectly content. The Lord knew exactly what he was doing when he sent this sweet soul to our family. There is no way I could handle a fussy baby and my two older boys all at once. The boys love him, it's obvious, but they're not too interested in him yet. He's a little boring for them, I think. They check in on him a few times a day, but other than that, they go about their own business. I am having a hard time getting good pictures of him on my camera, but here are a few. I had a great friend of mine take some pictures of him this weekend, and I'm sure she had better luck than I did. Check out her blog to see a few of them.....www.impressionsbytammi.blogspot.com or click on the Impressions By Tammi link under my friends on the right side of this page (he's the 8-day old)

I hate turkeys!!!!

2008-05-06T16:46:00.001-07:00

Okay, so part of the appeal of living up in these beautiful mountains is the abundance of wildlife right out my door, but come on! Turkeys are ugly, and their poop is nasty, and their gobbles are obnoxious! Not to mention the horrible effect they have on the men in my family, especially my two year old! When the turkeys first appeared on the scene, I admit, it was exciting, interesting, and fun. But then my sportman of a husband decided to invest in bags and bags and bags of chicken/turkey feed. Yippee! I am constantly fighting for his attention, because the turkeys might look different today than they did yesterday, right? And heaven forbid he not watch them every spare moment he has. All day long Jack cries, "I can't see the turkeys, where are the turkeys." Until, of course, he finally spots one, then its, "I see a Turkey! I see a turkey!" ALL DAY LONG!! And now we have a resident flock of 10-15 birds, who can be seen on our property at any given time of the day, especially at 5:30 in the morning, directly below my open window......GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

Everything is done, but the waiting....

2008-04-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

When we realized baby number 3 was on the way, we decided it was about time to finish another bedroom in our house to make room for yet another Heppler. It's been a long, long process, but we have finally finished the big boys' new room. It was rough for me at first to move them all the way to the basement, but my anxiety didn't rub off on them whatsover, it was a very smooth transition. Now, except for a door, and something decorative on the walls, their room is complete, and it looks like I have a few eight-year old now, what big boys in their big beds! With their upstairs bedroom now empty I was able to transform it into the new nursery. I had no plans for a theme, just going to put what I had in, and go with it (this is my third.) Well, to our delight, once I had it all put together, it somehow morphed into an adorable little cowboy theme, complete with stick horse, cowboy hat, pop guns and cowboy boots. This room still has some need for decoration on the walls, but all-in-all, it's finished as well. Now all we have to do is wait another 5 weeks to make our home complete.

Look Ma, I did it!

2008-04-04T14:09:00.001-07:00

I recently decided to take on one of my more difficult projects, and I finally finished it! We got handed down this hideously ugly, yet insanely comfortable chair from Mark's grandmother. Apparently it is approximately 50 years old. When we lived at her house, Kale fell in love with the chair, and she decided to bequeeth it to him. So, I had since decided to recover it, or at least make a new slip cover for the chair, since it is absolutely the best chair to have when there is a newborn in the house. Anyway, as you can see, the chair is finally complete, and sitting patiently in our nursery.

Adorable

2008-03-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

I am officially a grown-up

2008-03-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it! I decided to hand over the keys to my last desperate attemp to cling to my youth, and traded them in for a mini-van. That's right folks, I am officially a soccer mom! Believe it or not, I actually love it. It is so much easier to drive these kids around in a nice spacious van, and now we don't have to worry about strapping the infant carseat to the roof! Hooray! So, everything is almost in order for this baby to come, just have to wash the clothes and put them away, and find where in the heck I've stored the bottles for the last year and a half.

3rd time is NOT a charm

2008-03-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

I hate to be the whiny pregnant lady, but the third time around for me is definately the hardest. I thought I had it all planned out, being pregnant in the winter and early spring, to avoid the heat. Having my starting weight where I wanted it, so I could be better about the weight I did gain, I even bought an eliptical to stay in shape and keep my weight gain down. The beginning was good, almost great. I was doing a really good job of keeping my weight where I wanted it, and besides the fatigue, I was feeling good. Then I hit 20 weeks.......We had just found out it was another boy, which was exciting, and a tiny tiny bit disappointing, all at the same time. My back started to hurt really bad, and I was feeling short of breath a lot. I though it was a little early for the back pain, but just grinned and bore it, I was carrying another human being after all. Well, at about 22 weeks we did an ultrasound and my doctor mentioned excess amniotic fluid. What? Well, him being the doctor he was, he kinda left it at that, and scheduled me for another ultrasound in a month. So, for the next month I proceeded to do research on excess amniotic fluid, or polyhydramnios, if you prefer the medical term. According to the internet and pregnancy books, my back pain, shortness of breath, and instant weight gain (10 pounds in 1 month, 7 in the next, yuck!) were all key symptoms. The causes were the scary part. I was reading about birth defects, and preterm labor, and lots of scary stuff, but still had to wait 4 weeks for any answers. Finally I was able to see the doctor again, and once again he assured me that there was excess fluid, but not a TON extra, and that everything would probably be fine. So, I decided to just forget about it, not to worry, and wait for the baby to come. Then, a week later, he called me and told me that he was making an appointment for me to see the prenatal specialist in town, for yet ANOTHER ultrasound, a high-definition one, no less. Thankfully I didn't have to wait 4 weeks, only 2 days! So, after an hour in a dark room with a very nice nurse, and an amazing video of our baby, the specialist informed me that he cannot see anything wrong with the baby, and that there is probably nothing to worry about, except the great possibility of yet another BIG baby, great! So, now I still have the constant back pain, a gigantic belly, sleepless nights, and 2 more months to go. Oh, and to top it all off, my silly body keeps going into false labor, not fun, not fun at all. The best thing out of all of this is these beautiful photos we were able to get of our next little Heppler boy, isn't he cute?

Boys are so fun

2008-03-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

As much as I would love to have a little girl, I am truly in love with my boys! When I see them play together and the way the tell me they love me, I am so much in heaven. Its extra specially special when I see them with their dad. I am so blessed to have all these boys to take care of me and love me!

6 Years

2008-03-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone keeps telling me I need to start a blog. I don't see why people would think what I have to say would be so interesting, but I LOVE reading my friends blogs, so maybe they'll enjoy mine?
Today is our 6 year wedding anniversary, WOW!! In so many ways its flown by, and in so many ways it seems like it should be way more than six. Mostly because we have a 4 year old, a 2.5 year old, one on the way, our own business, and a new house. Shouldn't I be 35 by now and have at least a decade of marriage under my belt? Who's idea was it to give me all this responsibility?
The last six years have been a blast, and for the most part, rock-free. We're pretty darn lucky I think.