Guess who is 7 months?

THE CUTEST!!!!

Casper, Wyoming

On Thursday Chris found out that he had to go to Casper, Wyoming for work and me and the kids decided to hitch a ride. We left Friday afternoon and got to the hotel with just enough time to find some dinner and go to bed.

Here's out little sleeping beauty. Kyrie slept so well, right between Chris and I.
I snapped this picture of our hands while she was asleep, the poor girl can't ever get away from my camera.


While we were in Wyoming, we got to eat at McDonalds, Old Chicago, Cold Stone Creamery and Wed Wompster (Red Lobster). I've now had the wood fire-grilled salmon with rice twice at Red Lobster and it is so YUMMY! Red Lobster has always been one of Chris's absolute favorites, and I never liked it, but it is now on my list of favorites too. Too bad it's also one of the most expensive!
Here's our little bubble boy!
And our video game player. This kid LOVES video games! And all he gets to play at home is PBS kids on the home computer, which we hardly ever turn on since it is slower that you could ever imagine.

And Kyrie got her very first kids meal. I ate the food and she ate the toy.

And of course we went swimming. Chris called and told me all of the possible hotels we could stay in and I said I didn't care as long as it had a swimming pool and free breakfast. We all had a good time in the water. Just before we were to get out, I decided to sit in the hot tub. I'd dip Kyrie in for just a minute at a time and then pull her out so that she wouldn't cook. She would reach down for the water and complain, so we had to get back in the pool so that she could stay in the water. Our little girl loves to swim!

Thankfully this time it's her finger, she was playing with this water bomber ball and kept trying to suck the water out of it.

Hayden has no fear when it comes to swimming, which really scares me. He has actually had a couple of close calls too! So I am determined to keep him in the baby float for as long as possible. I remember before he was even two, he thought he could do it "all by myself". He didn't want floaties, or Chris or I to help him.

Can they really see through these goggles?

Too bad nobody likes Kyrie, not even her dad!


After swimming, we went to the mall in our pajamas. We went to check out the pet store and they had American alligators for sale! Who would want an alligator?

This one was about 3.5 feet long and cost $400.00. Chris's idea was to eat him.

This one is a baby and was about 1 foot long. He just looks mean!

After looking at the pet store, we grabbed a bite to eat, just in time for the mall to start closing up. So we tried heading out, and a guy asked if I'd like to try some lotion. I said sure. I never got to try the product he used to lure me in with. He then wanted to show me some magic. He was quite the salesman! He was here from Jerusalem training some new employees, and people from the East are all about bargaining, and he had to try his hardest on us! We did end up getting some salt from the Dead Sea to exfoliate, and also some body cream. We didn't do any bargaining, he just kept throwing us deals. He was really funny and very nice. Hayden kept saying, "He's crazy, huh dad". We'd quietly say, "Yes". This guy even gave us a plastic bag for "free" (as a gift) to carry our products home in. WaHoo! We did end up with a good deal though . When we got back to the hotel, I used the products on my hands and feet, and they still felt really good and soft when I woke up this morning. But I don't think I'll be buying many of his products, I don't think he'll be there to bargain over the internet!

Our free breakfast. When Dusty found out that we were going to stay at a hotel for a couple of nights, he got really excited! And his #1 reason was that we were going to get a really yummy breakfast. He sounds picked on, I promise I cook breakfast - sometimes!

Summer 2009

Our summer is almost over! The boys will soon be back in school. I really thought that we were going to be able to accomplish a lot this summer, and it seems that it just passed right by us this year. We haven't been able to do the things that we usually do to enjoy the summer and I guess it's because those things are now too far away. I miss the little things like being able to head to the mountain for a picnic, the parades, rodeo, demolition derby, family reunions, 4-wheeler rides - pretty much everything we used to do! One of my friends took me to Boulder last week. I had never been there so I was excited to go. We went up into the mountains to a river. There are hiking trails, biking trails, and a playground. My friend says it's one of her favorite places to go, and I learned that about 50% of the people in Colorado love it there too! There were SOOo many people! It was almost impossible to even find parking. We had to wait for people that were loading up to leave and wait for their parking stall. And the traffic to get there...nothing like I'm used to to get to the mountain! But I can see why my friend likes it, and I'm glad she took me there. It is beautiful.

Dusty found tiny pieces of gold flakes and he spent quite some time trying to catch one, which he eventually did!

Hayden picking up the perfect rock...

...to throw down the waterfall.

Dusty walking along the rocks

The water was freezing! I dipped Kyrie's toes in a few times, and I walked around a little bit, but I couldn't seem to get used to the ice cold temperature. The cold didn't stop the kids or the hundreds that were there tubing. It was a fun day! And I was proud to report to Chris that I was able to find my way home without following my friend, or using the GPS! I am starting to feel like I know this area a little better!

SERIOUSLY, HOW CUTE IS SHE? I think that she is absolutely, perfectly adorable. She now says "Mama", and I LOVE it! She usually says it when she's tired or hungry - or when she's had enough of her brothers.

For the Fourth of July Kim and AJ came to help us celebrate. We started the day with a ward breakfast at the park.
We had pancakes, sausage, and fruit - all of Dusty's favorites. It's amazing how much bigger his little stomach gets when his favorite foods are served. He ate a lot of food! I rememeber when he was little he hardly ate anything, he just wanted chocolate milk all day. I would complain about how little he ate. My dad would just tell me not to worry, that he would make up for it some day. This day must have been one of those make up days!

I don't think Hayden even touched his plate, like always if there is other things to do and see, filling his stomach is the last thing on his mind.

Kyrie was just as happy as could be and shared a whole bunch of smiles!

HaPPY ReD WHiTe aND BLue!

Hunger Rash

Kyrie gets a weird rash above and below her right eye and also on right side of her head when she eats certain foods. She has the biggest problems with fruit and otter pops. The rash develops within taking 3-4 bites, and fades within minutes after she's done eating. I mentioned it to her Dr. during her 6 month check-up, and took a jar of food to show him and he said he'd never seen anything like it. He said it wasn't anything to worry about, but he wanted me to make a list of everything she ate and mark whether she reacted or not with each food she ate. So I called him back with the results and he checked with a pediatrician allergist, and I was told I needed to stop feeding her the foods that make her react and to get her right in to be tested. So yesterday I took her in and the Dr. said since she was reacting to fruit and the reaction sets on so quickly, he was really worried about her having an allergy to nuts (which can be really scary). So she got poked all over her back, and was tested for the most common types of food allergies, and fruit. She did so good during the testing other than she wasn't too happy about having to be on her belly. And the results....she is allergy free! Yea, she is such a picky eater I was worried about what I would do if I had to eliminate foods that she will eat! The Dr. said she must have a non-typical reaction for some unknown reason, and it may be because her little body is still considered immature, and she may or may not out grow this. Chris's explanation all along has been that it's just a little hunger rash!

Half Birthday!

What a CUTIE!!! Kyrie is now 6 months old! She is so loved. Chris and I, of course, love her so much. I cherish every minute I get with her. And her brothers absolutely adore her. They are both so cute with her. I love to see the exchange between them. Kyrie is one lucky girl to have brothers like them. She adds so much to our family and I'm so thankful we have her. What a blessing she is, believe me, I could go on and on about how wonderful she is. She is so special, and words just can't describe how I feel about her. She has always been fun, but she is getting funner and funner all the time. She is also getting bigger and bigger, especially now that she has caught on to what food is all about. This last week she has finally accepted food, at least some of it and her little body is packing it all in. She has really filled out this week. She is now rolling all over the place, loves to play with her toes and be gently bounced on the trampoline. She loves to feel the textures of EVERYTHING and is constantly scratching to feel and hear the sound things make. She is so happy! And I am so spoiled!

catch up

I haven't been able to post much about our summer so far. I can't believe how fast time goes by and how busy we have been. We haven't had big plans for this summer, but I was hoping to get a bunch of small projects done, and thought for sure I'd have time, but where do I find time? I've also promised swimming parties for the boys, and we haven't had time for that, but I've been using the stormy weather for an excuse on that one! One of the things I was looking forward to this summer was our 10 year class reunion. I wasn't too excited about going until last summer we ran into Reuben Martinez, a classmate. It was so fun to see him that it got both Chris and I excited about seeing other classmates. We headed over to Utah a week early with Chris having hopes of helping on his grandma's farm. But the weather again changed the plans. It was a good weekend to go though - my grandparents were also visiting so we also were able to see them.

My grandparents with some of us grandkids/great-grandkids

We had a lot of fun at the reunion. On Friday night we went to dinner and it was so good to be able to see everyone and hear what they are up to. We had lots of time to visit. I was really hoping more people would've showed up though! Katie worked so hard planning and preparing and I couldn't believe how few of us were there. I didn't have many close friends in school, but I was still hoping to see everyone! But it was good to see those who were there and I'm glad I went!

Katie had the Brigham pool reserved for awhile on Saturday for all the families.

The weather looked threatening, but the storm held off until we were done.

The boys loved this slide! Dusty went down it himself several times until the lifeguard told him he couldn't go down with his arm bands on. He tried it once without them and I thought he was going to drown! The water coming off the slide had just enough pressure to keep pushing his little body down and he couldn't get his face out of the water. Luckily Chris was able to get there to assist him. The lifeguard that was right there at the end of the slide didn't even pay enough attention to see it happen.

While we were there we also got to do a little fishing at the Malad river. Dusty can get the line out in the water better than I can. He is a good little fisherman. He is getting braver by the minute, he even picked up a worm! Believe me, this is a big deal for our Dusty Boy!

Kyrie's first fish! She tried to hold it, but I wouldn't let her. I know my daughter, and I know where that fish would've gone. It could've also been her first taste of fish!

I don't know who caught the biggest fish, Sara or Hayden.

Dusty's fish. He cast the line out and reeled it in all by himself. Grandpa went down to the edge of the water and helped him unhook it.

And here is Hayden with his big fish. He was so excited!

Dusty was playing with the girls and they wanted to play dress-up, so of course he played too, what a good sport! He said he was the dad. I saw him and instantly ran to get my camera. It was so hard not to burst out laughing! But I knew if I laughed he would've taken it right off, and I wouldn't have these cherished pictures! Chris would probably prefer it that way.

In this picture he is sporting 1 high heel. What a good looking guy!

Will I ever have a reason to blackmail?

And here is Hayden's dress-up, he is by the way, a princess!

And here is all four of them!

Kyrie was such a good sport during the photoshoot. I can't believe all that poky grass didn't bother her.

And last of all.....

... Dusty has finished his second year of soccer. This year he actually knew what to do and he wasn't afraid of the ball! I couldn't believe the difference in how he played from just 1 year ago! This year we also loved the coaches, especially the assistant coach. It's always fun to have your daddy coach!