Kyrie

Here are some more pictures of our precious baby. At first we thought she looked just like Hayden. But now that the swelling in her face has gone down we've changed our minds. Chris thinks that she looks more like Dusty now. I think she looks just like a Kyrie. We think she is beautiful and couldn't be happier. All I want to do is sit and hold my baby, I just can't get enough of her. The last 3 nights I haven't gotten much sleep, but I can't complain - it just means more time that I get to spend with her! She is such a sweetie and I am so greatful that she joined our family.

Our precious baby

Kyrie dressed in her first outfit.
What a big day for Hayden, he is now a big brother.
Dusty loves his new sister.

Ready to go home.

Introducing...

Kyrie Belle Scott was born on Friday December 26, 2008. She weighed 7 lbs and stretched to 19 1/2 inches long. Happy Birthday Kyrie!
Her brothers are already torturing their sister. The baby nurse asked them if they wanted to pick out a ribbon for her head and they came back with 3. You can't really see it, but there is an orange bow on one side of her head, a pink one on the other and a big Christmas bow on top.

The happy parents

After some hard work of trying to keep this baby in, we all thought she would be born too early. Well to our surprise, I went in to be induced just 6 days before my due date. They broke my water at 7:42 and she was here at 9:39. She would've been here about 40 minutes earlier if we hadn't been waiting on the doctor to get to the hospital. So it was a really short and easy labor/delivery. We are so greatful that I was able to carry her for so long. We have seen many blessings with this pregnancy and we thank all those who helped pray for us! We have a strong and healthy little baby girl.

just some adventures

We've had a couple of new experiences here in Denver, Colorado. Shortly after we moved here we decided it would be fun to take the kids to the 2nd Madagascar movie. We found a movie theatre and paid a big admission fee (I was thinking at this price, we might only get to go once a year). Well come to find out, it wasn't a normal theatre. We asked where we could purchase some popcorn and were told we do that inside the theatre room. We walked in and it was a real place to get dinner and a movie. There was a table in front of the seats with a menu, a few condiments, and a roll of paper towels. You could order pizza, sandwiches, fries, popcorn, dessert, and drinks. You fill out your order paper and stick it in a slot and a waiter or waitress comes to get the paper, and comes back with your food. That was one movie that we decided it was best not to order anything, it was pretty expensive. We have found a different theatre to try out for our next movie experience.



Our next adventure was going to the flea market. I have been to one before in California when I took a field trip with my art class, but Chris had never been to one and had no idea what they are about. We were out cruising around, not knowing where we were going next, and came across the Mile High Flea Market and decided to stop. We mostly just looked around, but we did find a couple things to spend some money on. I found this cute bag that I had to have, and we found a pair of shoes for the baby. I wanted to buy a blessing dress for the baby, but I couldn't find one small enough. And Chris wanted to buy the boys some Denver Bronco jersies, but since we hadn't planned on going there we didn't have enough cash. We may never go back to the flea market again, but Chris can now say that he has been to one. The kids thought it was so much fun that for some reason they thought it was a circus.

We have had a lot of fun being here. It's so cool to see so many animals in a big city. We have seen deer, there are squirrels, prairie dogs, and bunnies everywhere. And we have seen several coyotes roaming the subdivisions. I love being so close to the Elementary School, there is a perfect hill across the street for the kids to go sledding, and lots places for bike rides. It was really nice outside the other day and we enjoyed a family bike ride. Of course there are always things to do in a big city, but I'm greatful to find the things that our little family enjoy.

We made it!

Well it has been awhile since I've posted but we did make it to our new house. We've been here for a month already! We've spent a few weeks getting the house in order, and I've even gotten some painting done. I've painted the 5 smallest rooms so far. All of the walls were white and I need some color. So here it what the outside of our house looked this morning. We got a little snow last night!
And here is the baby's room. I decided to paint pink and green this time. Chris will just have to get used to all of this pink.


As far as the baby goes, I've been complaining that she'd be born too early, now it's time to complain that she's not here yet. Since we had planned on her being here by now, it kinda seems like she's late. I still have 3 1/2 weeks left, so I guess everyday that she stays in is for the better. I got new Christmas clothes for the kids and I planned on taking pictures of them together. Hopefully she'll get to wear her Christmas dress before Christmas!

And here is a picture of our moving truck. Those doors that are open are about in the middle of the trailer, it was a big truck! And we filled it up to the top, front and back except for right where the doors are. Now we know how much stuff we can accumulate for the next move (not much)! It's unreal how much of it was packing supplies though! Half of each box was packing paper, I couldn't believe all of the paper and boxes we were left with. They individually wrapped everything, even things like deoderant and hair brushes. Hopefully we won't be moving again for a VERY long time!!!! I'm with Dusty, he wants to know why moving has taken us so long. He wants the whole process to be done in one day. Wouldn't that be cool, find a house, sell a house, pack, move, unpack, and organize all in one day!

Dusty's tooth

A couple of weeks ago Dusty lost his first tooth. We waited and waited for that thing to come out and we teased him about it because it was just hanging there and he wouldn't let us pull it out. He was so protective about his tooth, and then one morning it just fell out while he was brushing his teeth. Chris was in the bathroom with him and as I walked in Dusty held out his hand with the tooth in it, and a big grin on his face. The next thing I saw was Dusty falling straight back, and it seemed like slow motion, but I still couldn't catch him in time. He passed out and fell, hitting his head on the hard tile floor. Chris scooped him up and laid him on our bed. He was sick for awhile and went to school looking like a ghost. I felt so bad for him, but in a way thought it was kinda funny! He passed out over losing a tooth! Dusty is definately my kid! That's just the way that some of us are, and I know some people will never understand, but now we know to watch that kid in certain situations. Ever since he got a loose tooth, Dusty has been really interested in his mouth. I have caught him several times looking in his mouth with a mirror. One day he came and asked me if Vampires had pointy teeth like this (as he was drawing the shape with his finger), and I said "yes". He got a concerned look on his face and opened his mouth and pointed at his 2 pointy teeth and said "Well, look!" I know that he was really worried about having pointed teeth and being a vampire, but I couldn't help but burst out laughing. So whether he's looking like a ghost or a vampire, his smile sure is cute with a hole in it!

Family pictures

The move

So it looks like we are moving this week after all. The packers come tomorrow morning, our stuff should get loaded on Thursday, and delivered to us in our new home on Friday or Saturday. We are so excited! We will probably be saying good-bye to our town of Vernal either Thursday night or Friday morning. Vernal has been so good for us, we will miss this place. But we are looking forward to our new life in the big city.

YEA!!

On Halloween we finally closed on our brand new house in Denver! What a headache it has been, we have had to go through a relocating company hired through work, which is supposed to make things easier. It has been such a big process, and the paperwork has been unreal. In ways it has been easier, but there are so many different people involved in this transfer process and it has been difficult to get everyone involved working at the same pace. Even a few hours before we were to close we were unsure if it was ever going to happen, but everything finally came through. We should be moving sometime this week, as soon as it is possible for the moving company. We had a very tiring and hectic day on Halloween, but we did make it to some trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood, which was an easy way to meet some of our new neighbors. Then we got to sleep in our new house on the air mattresses. The kids were so excited. After being there in that house for a couple of days makes it seem a lot easier to move out of this one. I am excited to get moved out there! Hopefully things will go smoothly for the girl trying to close on our Utah home this week. While in Denver I also made it to my first OB appointment with my new doctor. At 29 weeks, I had to start going in weekly to be checked, so I was greatful to get in while I was there for a few days. I have been put on modified bed rest, and I got my 2 doses of steroid shots to help develop the babys lungs faster. My mom has been worried about us moving and me doing too much to put my house together when I should be down. But mom, there should be no worries, Dusty has spent a few HOURS talking about where everything is going to be placed in our new home, and what he is going to do. He is quite the organizer. He also said he'd get me food and water, so it looks like I'm in really good hands. I really can see him unpacking, organizing and decorating. The last few years when I've pulled out the Halloween and Christmas decorations, he has all the decorating done before I get a chance to do it, he is so funny. So it looks like I'll have plenty of help!

Update

I was tagged by Leslie, however in most of the categories I don't have 8 things to list: Favorite places to eat - for being in Vernal for the last 4 1/2 years, I don't even know! Seriously there are not good places here, service is horrible in Vernal and we don't get out much anywhere else. And tv shows? I don't really like watching tv, and what did I do yesterday? Nothing! I pretty much do nothing anymore but talk on the phone and lay down and read. What I am looking forward to though is everything falling into place on this move and what I wish for is a strong healthy baby! So there's about the best I can do on the tag right now, sorry Leslie! I kinda have a one-tracked mind right now until we are moved. We have been on a roller coaster with the house issue, for awhile things look really good and then all of the sudden everything is unpromising. On the house we are selling, the girl that wants to buy just requested an extra week on all of her deadlines, including closing. And the house we want to buy, just 2 days before we were wanting to close, we found out that the house didn't appraise for what was planned, it appraised for $16,000 less than the sale price! So our relocating company talked to the appraiser and found a few problems, so he was able to up the appraisal $5,000. The builder isn't really willing to let it go for much less than his sale price, so we've had to order a second appraisal. So I hope that this second appraisal is a little higher and the builder will go down on his price. The builder has to realize that if it appraises low twice, then what are the chances that anybody will be able to get a loan unless he comes down. So now our closing date is set for this Thursday. So I'm hopeful that we will be moving soon, but there is still a possibility that we won't ever be able to close on this house. It's hard not knowing what tomorrow will bring or even what today will bring. Am I moving this weekend or not, will I be moving into a home or a hotel? It drives me crazy not knowing these things!! I hope it all works out this week so that we can get moved. I am not very patient and it's hard to get it off my mind when I don't have much to do. Actually I have a lot to do, but I'm trying to be good and stay down as much as possible. I went to the doc on Friday and at 30 weeks, my cervix is 40% thinned. Just a week prior to that I was 20% thinned. I have been planning on having this baby early all along, but now it's looking like she might be earlier than I hoped. The good news is the stitches in my cervix are still doing their job, keeping it closed. But the more I thin, the greater chance I have of dilating. If I dilate at all, they have to cut the stitches, and when the stitches get cut, ready or not - here she comes! And I am not ready, and neither is she. If she comes while in Vernal, they will have to life flight her to Salt Lake, so I hope we get to Denver before she comes. I really hope that my body will surprise me and let her stay in. I really don't want her to spend her first few weeks in the hospital, I want her home with me.

SOOO Busy!

Yep, we have been so busy lately. Life is busy, but we especially have a lot going on right now. Chris has accepted a job transfer to the Denver, Colorado area so we are moving. My mom came out last week to stay with the boys while Chris and I went looking for a house. We found one that will be good for us, but more important to me - the location will be good for us. It's in a brand new area within walking distance to the elementary school, so I won't have the worry about Dusty being on a bus in a big city. I get to hand deliver and pick up my child which makes me feel so much better! We have visited his school, and we love it! Anyway, we put an offer on the house and they accepted. It's a new house, so as soon as it's finished we get to close, possibly even the end of next week. When we got back home here, we got this house listed and less than 24 hours we had an offer! After a few days of negotiating, we are in contract and hopefully will close on it by the end of this month. Things are finally moving quick, which is what we want and need, it's just hard to have everything happen at once. We were really hoping for all of this to take place a couple of months ago so that it wouldn't be right at the end of my pregnancy. This pregnancy is high risk and I don't want to be on bed rest when we're moving! But I also don't want her to come too early! So we will do whatever we have to do to keep in her in as long as possible. So we are selling a house, buying a house, getting a different job, new schools, different life-style, and a new precious addition to the family pretty much all at once! I'm excited for the adventure it will be for our family. It has been really stressful for us, but I think it will make us stronger and closer together. It's a really good opportunity and we figured now is the best time to do something like this, when they kids are still young. At the same time it will be hard to be even farther away from family. And it will be so hard for me to leave Vernal - I love it here, I could stay here for the rest of my life. Vernal has become home to me. And my house, how do I ever leave my house? My house is going to miss me too! It has never recieved so much love before. It desperately needed some TLC, and I gave it a lot of that! It went from something that I hated to something that I love. It is so hard to turn away and leave something that I have put so much of myself into. I made it just the way I like it! There are still a few things I was hoping to do down the road, but it has come such a long way from what it was. I feel like I'm leaving a piece of me behind. Chris thinks I should just be excited about getting into a brand new house, which I am greatful for. I could never turn around and do what I have done to this house all over again. I will always be fond of this old house. The house and I have been through a lot together! And it's mine, I made it mine and I love it now! Oh well! I guess what's really important is that I get to be together with my little family. Wherever we are - it can become home (I hope so anyway).

QUIRKY

I have been tagged to see how quirky I am:

1. It's not really a rule to take your shoes off when you enter my house, but all 3 boys of mine do so I put out a basket to collect the shoes. Now the basket overflows so I set a rug under the basket, which now most of the shoes end up on the rug. If the shoes are put in the basket, I don't really care how they are. But if they're put on the rug, I'm always arranging them so that the pairs are perfectly lined up, side by side and if they have laces, I tuck the laces inside the shoe. It drives me crazy! I notice it mostly when I'm at the table, and I will get out of my chair during dinner to straighten out the shoes.

2. I can't stand it when Chris pulls a shirt off a hanger and it leaves the hanger sticking up. I'll crawl out off bed to fix the hanger. Sometimes he purposely flips the hanger up just to drive me crazy (and it works!)

3. I don't know why but before I go to bed I like to make sure the upstairs doors that are inside the house are all the way open. I don't like them left half way open, because then I might run into them in the dark if I get up for something. I prefer the door knob to be touching the wall. (Once at college the phone rang during night hours, and I had been asleep. I heard the phone ring and I got up as fast as I could thinking I wouldn't get to the phone in time and ran into my closed bedroom door - hard!) On the other hand, I have to have all closet doors pushed shut completely!

4. I have to make sure the rugs on my floor are straight. The rug in the hallway moves a lot with us constantly walking through there. Sometimes one end of the rug will be touching the wall and the other end is several inches away. I am constantly straightening out the rugs, and I have Dusty do it for me too! Usually I don't even have to bend over to do it, I just grab a corner of the rug with my toes and pull it straight with my feet.

5. I am constantly putting lotion and chapstick on. If my hands even get wet, lotion comes next. But when I get out of the shower I run into a problem. All of the sudden my teeth feel like they need to be brushed, I need chapstick, and I need lotion on my hands and feet - all 3 need to be done instantly. Whichever of the 3 tasks I choose to do first, by body aches for the other 2. I guess if I brushed my teeth before my shower, that would eliminate 1 problem, then it would just be a war between getting chapstick or lotion first.

I tag: Cassi and Sothea

Losing teeth already?

So Dusty just came and found me and told me that one of his teeth felt wobbly. So I checked and sure enough, he has his first loose tooth! I can't believe it! I thought he seemed too young for this so I just got on the internet to check it out, and it said that children usually start losing their teeth at age 6. So I guess he is old enough, it just seems that things like this shouldn't be happening already. My kids are growing up way too fast! However he is very excited about the loose tooth and the tooth fairy. We just went to the dentist a few weeks ago and although he has beautiful perfect teeth now, the dentist said he'd probably have braces by the time he turns 8. His baby teeth are so close together and there's not much room for all of those big teeth. But I guess we have awhile to worry about that. Looks like he's going to start getting rich from the tooth fairy!

karody

I've been doing a lot of scrapbooking the last couple of weeks, and while I scrapbook the kids like to play with a bucket full of my foam alphabet letters. Dusty was arranging the letters, spelling little words like dog, run, and bag. I can hear him sounding out each letter to make words. All of the sudden, he got excited and said, "Mom I spelled karate - k a r o d y"! I was impressed that he tackled on such a big word, and he spelled it just like it sounds. He is just in his 3rd week of kindergarten and way smarter than I was at that age. I give credits to a little toy computer he has as well as the Leap Frog Movies, Letter Factory and Word Factory. That is how he has learned to sound out letters and blend them together. I love that he learns so much while having fun.

Happy Birthday to HAYDEN!!!

Hayden is now 4 years old! His birthday falls just 1 day after his brothers. He was born almost 5 weeks early but completely fine and HUGE!! I was greatful he was early, I can just imagine what another 5 weeks would have done to him. We have always combined the boys parties into one, but decided that starting this year they needed their own. Hayden was determined to have his birthday yesterday with his brother and even told me that his teacher said it is today (yesterday). I tried to convince him that I am his mom, and I was there when he was born, and I know when his birthday is. So he had a long wait. This morning I had to give him a breakfast surprise like we did yesterday for Dusty. He has been so excited, and lucky for him we didn't make him wait until after dinner to have his party. Chris took the day off work, so we took the boys to Wingers for lunch, then came home for presents and cake and ice cream. He also wanted to pick out a cake from Wal-mart, so I lucked out on baking. I'd ask him what he wants for his birthday and I got "Well, what do you want on your birthday mom?". So I was clueless, and used one of my sisters ideas. He got a book, coloring book, the Barnyard movie, and a gun that shoots cans off a log. He also got cards, letters, money and phonecalls. All he wants for dinner is CAKE, I can't get him to pick anything else so I guess we'll have pizza tonight. Then we're going to blow up the air beds, and watch his birthday movie and have a family sleep over in the living room. So that is our birthday excitement! I am so glad for Hayden to be in our family, and I'm greatful that I get to be his mother. He teaches us so much! He is totally a Daddy's Boy! He loves his dad, he looks like his dad, and acts like him as well. He is such a strong little boy. He isn't afraid of ANYTHING, including going out in the dark by himself. He thinks he has to grow up just as fast as his brother, and is always right beside Dusty doing the same thing. He is the best brother and friend one could ever ask for. He loves to sing and "get jiggy with it". He is also the sweetest thing there is, he just melts my heart at times. I have learned how much fun he is when his brother is at school and he will actually interact with me. He is totally different when it's just him and I love our time together. He might even be turning into a mommas boy (Chris doesn't agree with me!). It seems unreal that he joined us 4 years ago, time goes by fast when you're having fun and staying busy, and Hayden has for sure kept us busy! We love you Hayden, Happy Happy Birthday!

Dusty is 6 years old!

A few months ago Dusty said he wanted some kid kind of peanut butter and jam for kids to make their own sandwiches for his birthday, and then one day he showed me in the store what he was talking about. He has also wanted a "big bag of paper". He is always taking my paper out of the printer and one day opened the door on our computer desk and said "Wow, where did you get that big bag of paper? Maybe you could get one like that for me!" So what some exciting gifts he got this year! I decided to throw in some paint with all of that paper, a game, a Speed Racer car, and the Speed Racer movie. He also got some cards, letters, money, and phone calls. I think he had an exciting day!
Here he is with the cupcakes that he wanted. He has wanted cupcakes from Wal-mart with whistles on top like he saw once in the store. Unfortunaltely, they don't have the whistle packets anymore, so we bought cupcakes and added our own whistles.
Since I was going to make Dusty wait until after dinner to open his gifts, I didn't want him to feel that he had to go through most of the day without it feeling like his birthday, so we started the day with a breakfast surprise. After we got Hayden on the bus this afternoon, Dusty said that I had to wait in my room while he made ME a surprise lunch. He came and got me when it was ready, made me close my eyes, lead me to my chair, then let me open my eyes to see my surprise. He had opened a can of applesauce, dumped it in a bowl, and covered the top with animal crackers. He also had a piece of bread cut into the shape of a heart. I so wish I had taken a picture of my lunch. He made some for himself as well, and had to chow it down with only fifteen minutes left to eat and get ready for the bus. It was so cute! I love little things like this! I can hardly believe he came to us 6 years ago. He has been fun since day one! I never knew I could love like this. He has spoiled me and I am so greatful that he is mine. I can't imagine life without our Dusty Boy. He has been one of the cutest little boys ever. I'll never forget when he was just a few weeks old, we would lay him under the living room fan at my parents house and he would go! His arms would flap up and down and his skinny little legs would move like he was running a marathon. I swear that boy would run miles laying there! And as he got more mobile, he didn't run in place as much, but he still was constantly on the go. He is like the energizer bunny that just keeps going and going and going. His is my biggest best helper, my cuddle bug, and my comedian. He is growing up so fast! He gets chased by all the girls at school (I don't blame them, he is a cutie). He also let me know how embarassing it was that I waited for the bus with him with wet hair. How awful it would be to have the other kids see me that way!! We love our Dusty Boy! We have thouroughly enjoyed these last six years with him. Happy Birthday Dusty!

2 Years

I can hardly believe that today is a two year mark for my family. I'll never forget that day, 2 years ago when Tina shared with us tears of sorrow as well as tears of laughter. Tina was such a good example to us all, through her last few events she gave us comfort, she confirmed to us that this life is not the end and that we will see her again someday. She promised to always watch out for us. She faced her battles with faith, strength, courage and acceptance. She showed that even in the last moments of life, that chapstick is still a necessity (see Chris it is!) She taught us so much! She touched many lives in her short 20 years on earth. We promised her that her two little boys will know of her and her love for them. She has great love for her nieces and nephews as well. She was always so good to the little kids and they love her for it. She does not want to be forgotten. I don't think it's possible to forget. She definately won't ever be forgotten at our house. It makes me so happy when my children randomly talk of her. They randomly blow her kisses to heaven. Or they shout out from their beds "good night mom" , "good night dad", and sometimes really loud hoping that she can hear, "good night Tina". It touches me to know that they think of her. As much pain as we have felt, and as much grieving that has been done, and as hard as life gets, it was worth every moment that we shared with her. We know that she is not completely gone, we know that she is watching us and helping our families, and we know we will see her again. I am so greatful for the knowledge that we have. I am greatful for my family, I am greatful for my little sister, who was also one of my best friends. I am greatful for all that she taught us. We have many memories of her that we cherish. We do love and miss you Tina!

Monster Truck Showdown

We were able to go to the Monster Truck Showdown!! Really, Chris and I didn't think it was all that great, but the boys loved it. Dusty loves cars and trucks, especially monster trucks and Hayden's favorite movie is "Transformers", so this was a perfect show for them. At the end, they brought out the specialty vehicles, which were transformers, and they shot fireworks at each other. The boys thought it was AWESOME!

1st day of school

So here are the boys on their first day of school. They both go to afternoon classes, so we had a long wait that day. They were so excited! Dusty wore his backpack all morning long, and he kept running to the corner to see if his bus was coming. They both seem to love their schools, but we can't get much out of Dusty about what goes on at school. He seems to think that it's his new world and none of our business! I ask questions and the only answer I ever get is "I don't know", with him also showing a huge grin. I'm greatful for both of their schools, but especially Haydens! I love that he listens to every word his teacher says and obeys her! I try to use her at home ("Hayden, your teacher says..."). Sometimes it works, I just really wish he'd obey me like he does her. It really is a scary thought to have my kids leave without me and for them to be out in the world in someone else's care! But it hasn't been quite as hard as I thought. When they both left on their separate buses, I was able to go inside the house - instead of following the bus to school! It's hard to let them do these things, but at the same time it's so fun and rewarding to see them grow.

Not much going on

Lately we haven't been up to much to post about, although we have somehow managed to stay very busy. I was excited to step outside yesterday morning to find that it felt like fall. I love fall! A couple of weeks ago we went to Denver for Chris's work and we stopped in Vail, Colorado and it was perfect weather! It almost felt cold. When I stepped outside, the weather put an instant smile put on my face. There is just something about that crisp in the fresh air that I love. So anyway, I was pretty excited to feel that at our house! This morning I even turned on the heater for a couple of minutes.

Last Thursday we finally got Hayden's tongue clipped. We tried to have it done when he was 10 months old, but the Doctor we went to said "We don't really do that anymore, it's an old fashioned procecdure". And for some reason I took her word for it. But then we noticed it really was causing problems and we have wanted the procedure done for a long time, and now it's all over with. He was tongue tied, and it looked uncomfortable besides causing a few problems. We had him in speech therapy, but he couldn't even do most of the exercises because he didn't have any flexibility. It was also hard to brush the back side of his bottom teeth because his tongue was in the way. It also made it difficult to shuffle certain foods around in his mouth. So now that it's over with, speech therapy will be more successful! I've already noticed a difference with his T's and D's. I thought he would be a little bit miserable after the procedure, so the day before it was done, I took him to the store, let him pick out some popsicles, and told him when he got home from the hospital, he could have as many popsicles as he wanted. He took total advantage of that - we got home from the hospital around 10:00 a.m., and that day he ate 11 popsicles!! However, he wasn't miserable at all - he never complained about it hurting and he ran around all day.

Hayden will be starting school again tomorrow (just 2 days a week), and Dusty will have his first day of kindergatren on Wednesday. I will finally get some time all to myself (until baby comes!). I am so excited, just for those few hours each week. I haven't had time like this for 6 years! For 6 years, it seems like my life has been all about kids - lots of kids! I have done a lot of babysitting, which I am done with! I don't know if I want to do that again on a daily basis. Kids have run my life for 6 years, but actually I can't imagine it any other way. And that's how I want it to be - But I am excited for a few hours of just me!

Our little Angel

So here is a picture of our baby girl. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. Although she might not come out looking like Dusty, I think she looks a lot more like Dusty than Hayden. She has the long, skinny face with a big, round forehead and a big nose - just like her oldest brother. Hayden has a short, round face and a flat forehead. So I'm thinking that she'll look more like an Anderson. But whatever she looks like, we're really excited about her joining our family.

Our Weekend

So here is the rest that I wanted to post about our weekend - last weekend that is. We headed up north for a little family reunion. We got to see everyone except for Dallas and Erick's family. It was also Wheat and Beat Days so we got to enjoy a parade and fireworks. The kids painted shirts like they do every year, and they also had a big swim party. It was a lot of fun. While we were up there, we also got to spend a little time with all of the grandparents up there. Then we took the boys to Lagoon on Monday, where we had some more fun. One of the first stops was the Wild Mouse - Chris took Dusty. I was almost mad that he took him on that ride, but Dusty loved it. Then just before we left, Chris took Dusty on the Colossas, where they rode in the front cart!!! My little 5 year old! He was actually 4 inched too short, but they let him on anyway. I was so nervous! Dusty is so skinny that I could picture him slipping right out his seat. I can't believe he agreed to go on that ride, he is so brave! Hayden loved the Monkey cages, the Tidal wave, and the Music ride. Then that night we headed home and met Chris's dad in Ogden so that he could ride home with us to spend a few days at our house. The kids showed him just how wild they can get. I hope we didn't wear him out too much. All of the kids gained up on Braden's brother, Jairon. They chased him around and beat him with their pirate swords.

Chris, Hayden, and Rylee at the parade

Dusty

Hayden

Hayden, Rylee, Dusty, Alek, Gavin, Kenzie, Joye, Jaxon, Sara, Taylor

Dusty's dream come true, a car just his size!

Fun at Lagoon -a -Beach

'Ashaweena' Reunion

We decided to go with our first plan for the weekend and head up to Garland. We had a lot to do and a lot of fun for the few days that we were there. Because life happens, we didn't get to do all that we wanted to. We were really hoping to take the kids to the Minatonka caves and to Bear Lake before finishing our way home. I'll post more about our weekend soon. But one of the first things we did do was get together with some friends for a picnic. In 9th grade we called ourselves "Ashaweena". We used to have a lot of fun together. Although we stayed at the picnic for just a short while, it was fun to see everyone. I tried telling Chris he needed to be there because back then he was usually with us girls anyway. He didn't like that idea much, but he did stay for a few minutes when he picked me and the boys up. And good thing he was there to take a picture of us five and all of our kids. So here's the old Ashaweena group: Kate, Barbara, Cassi, Robyn and Me.

Dusty was right!

So I had an ultrasound this morning and we're having a little girl!! We are so excited! We don't know what to do with a girl, and I think Chris may be in a little shock. He's always talked of having all boys - but if you could see him with little girls, I think you'd see there's not much to worry about. But he was sure we'd have another boy, and Hayden also, he really wanted a little 'bruvder'. But Dusty on the other hand would say, "I know it's going to be a girl, and I KNOW I'm gonna be right!" And so he was! I've already finished painting the nursery, and about 3 months ago I purchased a boy crib set, and a girl crib set, both which matched the paint. Now I guess I'll be returning the boy set and spend that money on some little girl things. Chris knows I'm headed down town today and is afraid I'm going to break the bank. So it looks like we're going to have to get used to having some pink in our house!

What a sad day!

One of our neighbor buddies was killed this morning while he was riding his motorcycle. I haven't heard any of the details of what happened. I've been over to see his wife, who is left with 3 little kids, one 4 year old, and newborn twins. I just cannot believe what she is left to deal with, although now she is holding up strong. I know there will be times that it will hit her like a brick wall. But it doesn't hit just once - it hits you over and over again! Thank goodness for family members and friends that will be there to help. Everyday tasks will become so much harder for her. Even grocery shopping - how do you fit 2 carseats in a shopping cart and have room for groceries? I'm sure things like that are the least of her worries right now as she has so much to deal with. I feel the need to be here for her. I consider her as a friend - I am also her visiting teacher, and her sons primary teacher, and Chris has been their home teacher. I want so much to help her in any way that I can, and I know that she will need help for weeks to come, so I hope that she doesn't get sick of me. Like I said, I don't know the cause of this accident, but to anyone that comes across a motorcycle, please be extra cautious and respectful, whether you're in a vehicle or on the bike (Braden!). Well we had a lot of plans for this weekend, and so to everyone we had plans with, don't be surprised if we're not there. Depending on when the funeral is, we might not make it as we feel the need to be here.

We love the mountains

We love to go up to the mountains!! We are so lucky to be so close to the mountains, and being in the basin, we have several to chose from. We go several times every year to enjoy a little ride, roast hot dogs, and take a little hike. I always think the mountains are pretty, but this day was especially pretty!

4th of July

We decided to go to Blanding for the 4th of July this year, since we are unsure if we'll have the opportunity to go another year. We enjoyed the parade, carnival, fireworks, food and family (we got to meet new baby Taylor!) The kids had fun just running around. We went to the family ranch and the kids loved riding Uncle Clayton's horse. We had plans that night to pitch our tent and stay the night, but just as Chris started pulling out the tent, he was informed of a bear in the area. So he headed over to where it was and saw it for himself. Although it was exciting for some to see the bear, it did change our plans for the night! We had a promise to keep, so when we got home we set the tent up in our yard for the little boys. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Sara, Dusty, Hayden and Rylee riding in the back of the truck trying to find the bear.
Dusty and Hayden at the Elementary school after our long wait in line for an icee.
Hayden and Chris on the horse.
Dusty and Chris riding Jack.
Hayden and Rylee making castles and cakes.
What dirty kids! Dusty, Sara and Rylee