No words, just smiles

Okay, so a few words. We made several visits to my Granddad who is living in a long term care center now. It was hard saying goodbye today, but we are so thankful for all the time that we spent with him this trip. We love you Granddad!!

Coming and going

Yesterday I uploaded tons of photos from the little camera so I'll have lots of posts soon, however today my computer won't connect to the Internet. (I'm using my folks' now but have no access to photos).

This morning as I was getting ready I was thinking about our trip to Kansas. We've had a great time and created many wonderful memories with my family (and my sis and I haven't even started our drive back yet with our five children!) Talk about a chance to create family memories! :) Whether we're all screaming, laughing or crying, it's a trip we'll remember.

As I was thinking about these last couple days we have here, I couldn't help but get a little sad. The kids and I spent the last few days up at my sister's (Josh flew back last Thursday). It was fun to be there at her house and hang out. I helped her rearrange her living room and hang stuff on the walls. I miss that I can't just run up there any time and help her out or that our kids can't play together more than once or twice a year. Don't get me wrong, I love our life in Idaho, but I am sad about all the things we miss by living so far away.

Last Monday we took the kids to the zoo, then did some shopping and finally hit the pool with my brother. It was great-we were the only ones there until the very end. Plus, the pool was designed really well. It's L-shaped going from 2 to 3 1/2 feet, so the girls could touch a lot. Then there is a deep end with a board. All the girls jumped off to Ry and I. They had a blast. We went back to his apartment and had some pizza before heading back to Lace's. It was hard to leave him as I don't know for sure when we'll get to see him again. Hopefully he'll make a trip to see us this fall when his work slows down. Otherwise it may be next summer again. Fortunately, we had gotten to hang out with him the first weekend we arrived. Josh and I went over to my aunt/uncle's to visit friends and listened to him tell stories! I forgot how funny he is; oh the adventures of a young, single guy.

Now when you're living the day to day, you don't really have time to stop and think about being sad, but this morning I had some extra time to think and ponder. As I said, I wouldn't change where we're at or what we're doing, but it's only natural to miss family and friends who are so far away from us. I am thankful my parents gave me roots and wings though. And I am thankful for Josh and the kids, as well as his family and our friends back home. Idaho has become my home too. It will be nice to get back and get into the routine again; however, my time here just feels too short, yet again. My grandma is planning a dinner tonight, so we'll get to see everyone one last time before we take off, so that will be nice.

Some of the fun things we've done here include:
-Jayten tried his first foods
-we went swimming at two different pools
-we went to a couple fairs
-we've gone for several walks
-the girls played with their cousins and lots of toys that were "new" to them
-we visited with my grandparents
-we took a large family photo (the last one was Dec 07 and we've added two babies since then)
-the girls played on a huge water slide in the backyard
-the girls played dress-up with more cousins and friends
-we went to the zoo
-we had lunch with a high school friend and her daughter
-we learned to appreciate the hot and "dry" summers of Idaho as opposed to the hot and "humid" summers of Kansas
-and much more

The girls are getting a little homesick. I don't blame them. They miss their daddy and so do I. Plus we have a new little niece/cousin to meet when we return. It will be great being back home, but for the next two days I'm going to keep enjoying the Sunflower state, my little hometown and my family.

Happy Anniversary

The hubs and I celebrated 7 years of marriage today. I can honestly say that even though we've had our ups and downs, there is no one else I'd rather go through this crazy life with. I can still see us laughing together when we're 80.

We were able to enjoy a nice evening out while my folks watched the kids. We went out for Mexican food in a neighboring town. Mine was really great--thinly sliced seasoned beef on homemade flour tortillas and pico de galo. Yum! Josh ordered a chimichanga and honestly, it looked like the ones we get at Costco and microwave! We both just had to laugh. I did share mine with him and then we headed to Sonic for some dessert drinks. We weren't gone that long, but it was nice to just get away for a few hours. I really love spending time with him. :) When we got back, the kids and I took a walk with my parents and stopped by to see my Grandma. We're having a great time seeing family and hometown friends. We have more visiting to do the rest of the week.

Anyway, here's to many more years together with my hubby. Love you honey!

Heading out

We're heading out to visit family and friends in Kansas this week. Can't wait to see everyone. I probably won't be blogging much, if at all, but will have plenty of updates when we return. Hope everyone is enjoying summer; it's going by soooooo fast!

Much, much better

Our little guy and his little blue cast. Much, much better.

So, here's the story:

Thursday night I had Little J on the changing table getting ready for bed; it was about 9 p.m. Emma needed help in the bathroom so I told MJ to watch him while I helped E. On my way back, Josh needed something so I got distracted helping him. As I walked back into the bedroom I saw E pulling J off the dresser. She pulled the whole cushion off with him.

I scooped him up as fast as I could because he hadn't started crying yet and I thought maybe he was okay. Then, he did get really upset. I finally got him calmed down and he was able to eat, but when I moved him he started screaming again. Talk about mommy guilt. I felt awful. I couldn't get him calm again and it seemed like he was in pain, although he had no marks and I knew he didn't hit his head. So I told Josh I was going to take him in. He stayed with the girls and got them to bed. I called my friend Dawn on the way and she called our other friends. She and Christi met me at the ER.

It seemed like forever to get checked in, but finally the nurse called us back. When she took him out of his seat to weigh him he started crying again and we thought it might be a leg. Once the doctor came in and he was out of his seat and lying on the bed, we realized he wasn't moving his right leg at all, it was pretty limp. The doctor checked everything else out then we waited for x-rays. Again, it seemed like forever.

By this time, I was starting to feel ill. My girlfriends thought it might have been the adrenaline letdown, but when I was back with him for x-rays (a horrible ordeal to have put my baby through) I ended up getting sick. I ended getting sick five or six times while we were there. It was awful. Sidenote: E had gotten sick one time on Wednesday night, but I didn't think much of it. Little did I know this was only the beginning.

When the x-rays came back, it showed he had broken his femur bone right about the patella, but fortunately it wasn't displaced. They put a splint on it and gave us the number for the orthopedic doctor to call on Friday morning.

My friends got me home as I was too sick to drive. It was 3 a.m. when we walked in the door. J had been able to eat and sleep while at the hospital and after the splint was on and he had some Tylenol he didn't fuss at all. We were able to get some sleep when we got home.

The next day I called Carla to see if she could come get the girls as I was still feeling bad. I called the doctor's office and they said they wanted to see us first thing Monday morning to put the cast on. This would give time for the swelling to go down otherwise the cast might end up too loose.

MJ got sick once that morning and later we found out she had gotten sick in the night too. But, then she felt fine. J and I stayed in bed all day. That afternoon is when he started getting sick. I felt so bad for him.

Saturday was a much better day for both of us. I finally felt like myself when I woke up. I have never been so sick. Really, never. That was the worst and fastest moving bug ever. It finally hit Josh Sunday. Poor guy. I guess this has been going around the community a lot lately.

Monday morning we went in to the doctor and J received his little blue cast. The doctor said little ones heal really fast. We'll go back in three weeks to take it off and re-x-ray it.

We're all feeling back to normal and Jayten doesn't seem to mind at all. He still wakes up happy, talks and smiles and stills kick a lot.

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers on our behalf this past weekend. Even though I was an emotional and physical wreck at times, I also felt at peace knowing we were surrounded by people who cared about us and that ultimately God is in control of all of this. We are so thankful that he didn't have a worse injury too. Praises for that! Josh and I both admitted we probably move too fast through this world and need to stop and pay attention more and not sweat the little things, like toothbrushes and paper jams!

There's a splint on my leg?

He really didn't seem to care at all on Saturday. He was back to his happy little self.

Much better

That's my baby, the day after our trip to the ER and after the stomach bug went away.

Much better.

My Poor Baby

Yes that's my baby boy.

That's him sleeping on our bathroom floor.

That's where I realized I should leave him rest after he got sick in our bed and after he got sick all over me in our rocking chair and after he woke up in his crib and started getting sick again.

Yes, my baby had the stomach flu on Friday. I've never had a baby get the stomach flu. I didn't really know what to do.

His pattern was eat, sleep, wake, get sick, look up at me with a pitiful look, then repeat. It was hard. I was so sad for him.

That is my baby on our bathroom floor with his leg in a splint.

That was the morning after our six hour stint in the ER.

My poor baby.

5 months old

Little J is five months old! It's crazy how fast this time is going. Here's a few things about him right now...

-he loves his hands and has found his feet too

-he loves sitting in his bouncy seat and kicks his leg back and forth making him bounce. When he's on the floor he kicks both legs together

-he makes lots of noise, grunts, coos and goos. He's a lot louder than both the girls.

-he still gets up about once a night, usually around 4 a.m.

-when he wakes in the morning he is very happy and does most of his talking

-he's a great car sleeper and has adapted well to sometimes busy schedule

-he's had his first trip to the ER (more about that later)

he has two bottom teeth

-he has rolled over from tummy to back and from his back to his tummy (with adult witnesses this time)

-when he sleeps he rolls to his side and holds his hands together like he's praying. It's really very sweet.

-he nearly always laughs or smiles when he sees his big sisters, and usually smiles at everyone he sees

-he's grabbing at toys and loves to put them in his mouth

-he still loves his pacifer

-tummy time is more fun for him now

-he's the sweetest baby and we love him to pieces

Emma's dress

Well I finally sat down one afternoon and whipped out Emma's dress. Again, sew, I mean so easy. Just a seam up the back and a hem. I used fabric to make her straps. The hardest part was turning the straps rightside out! She went outside to model for me. She saw all the Angus heifers and kept saying, "Angus, cows mooooooooo!"

Catching up

I've just been playing catch up on the blog. I still have several more posts to get up before we leave to go see my family this week. If I don't get to them, I'll be even more behind when I return! I found this awesome way to turn your blog into a printed book and it includes photos too. You can check it out here. So, I decided that since I'm behind on scrapbooking and this blog is my way of journaling what's happening in our lives right now, I can put each year into a book until I can get all caught up with my albums. Hopefully that won't be too long though. I really miss traditional scrapbooking sometimes.

J loves his exersaucer

Ballet, anyone?

When we got home from McCall a couple weekends ago, Emma went downstairs and came back up in this little get-up. She kept saying, "Ballet, I go, ballet!" Funny girl!

Fourth of July weekend

We went up to McCall to the family cabin during the Fourth of July holiday. We hadn't been up during that time the last two years-last year we were moving and the year before we were heading to Kansas-so it was fun to make it back up this year. Josh's family always goes for that weekend. We left Thursday night and made it up around 9 p.m. It wasn't quite dark yet so we sat out on the boat house around the fire.

On Friday, we got up and helped Carla with breakfast then put on our suits and headed down to the water. MJ and E immediately headed for the beach. It turned out to be a beautiful day. This is the only time of year I lay out and soak up some rays, so I was glad it was so hot. We enjoyed building sand cakes and then went out on my inlaws' boat in the afternoon. Both the girls went tubing with their Aunt Michelle. They had a blast. Both were holding their arms up yelling excitedly. MJ kept acting out the plane crash from Madagascar 2 as she was out there. Although we couldn't hear her we knew she was talking the whole time. And sure enough, Mich said she did talk the whole time.

Josh played golf that day with his Dad and brothers. We enjoyed a big dinner with all the family that night. Us big girls stayed up and watched Bride Wars that night. Cute movie.

Saturday included another trip out on the boat. This time I went tubing with the girls. When I went to get in the tube with MJ, I stepped in and was kind of uneven and I flipped the tube. Both of us got dumped in the water. It actually felt really good because it was so hot that day. MJ did really well. She stayed calm and I helped her swim to the boat. Emma and I almost got flipped out during our ride, but she just kept laughing the whole time. We enjoyed our annual walk to the gardens too. Mackenzie took Josh's little camera and took photos of all the flowers. It was funny to hear her talk about trying to set up different shots. She tried to pose Emma and I for a few too. That night we took the boat out closer to the marina and town to see the fireworks. It was a nice display, shorter than in years past, but still impressive. When we got back Matt and his friends set off some fireworks for all of us. We also were able to enjoy the neighbors shows as well.

It was a great weekend of playing on the beach, jumping on the tramp, relaxing, bbqing and visiting. We just love it up there. It's an amazing view and you just can't help but sit back and take it all in. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our country's independence and to stop and remember all those who have served and who continue to serve for us.

God bless America!!

She's our little singing and jumping girl.

MJ in the tube with Michelle.

Michelle brought up a radio and put in a CD for the girls. They danced out on the lawn for quite awhile. MJ also showed us her routine she's learned in ballet class.

We walked down to Charlie's Gardens, a beautiful garden tucked away amongst the trees. It's a tradition to walk through every year. This year they added some more stone work so the girls stopped for a photo by the tallest one.

Emma and Aunt Mich getting ready to tube. She absolutely loved it and didn't want to stop. This was on Friday, then we went out again on Saturday and she and I did it together.

Mackenzie was really excited to try tubing this year. She loved it too!

We enjoyed playing in the sand building sand "cakes" instead of castles. We had a sand cake challenge-similar to the Food Network Challenges. E, MJ and all built our own then Carla judged them. It was a lot of fun just hanging with my girls.

Little J enjoying his first boat ride on the lake.

The girls also enjoyed cruising on the water.

Can't beat a colander, sand and water. This provided for hours of fun.

Swimming in the star.

J's first trip to the cabin. He enjoyed sitting on my lap on the dock while we watched the girls playing. MJ was 9 months old when she made her first trip and Emma was three months. Little J turned five months on July 5. I took his little bathing suit, but he never made it in the water.

Where is this girl's mother?

Does this look familiar? Maybe you remember this and this. Seriously, where is this girl's mother? You would think she would learn to hide the lipstick!

New dos

Both the girls got summer haircuts last week. I thought it was time for a change and they both like their new looks, especially Mackenzie. She was all about posing for the camera.