Spring!!

I love the spring. I am not a winter person. Out doors is the best. My kids are outside every possible minute they can. This picture here is a favorite pass time at our house (and in our neighborhood). We have proof that you can use boogie boards in Utah. This one is of Taylors first ride. Now everytime they come out of the garage she gets excited. The kids play a type of chase game with them. The goal is to jump on it when some one is pulling it. It is great to watch. There are a lot of kids that get
involved. It is great to have our circle alive again. We have been able to go see the baby sheep and cows and the kids love it. We have worked in the garden and already have things growing. The flowers are coming up. It is just great. Plus in 4 days Rob and I are going to Hawaii. I am so excited for our cruise. We are going to the Polynesian Cultural Center and doing ziplines, Who said there arent any uses for happy

snorkeling, and hiking. it

will be awesome. meal boxes?

We went camping for the first time this year on

April 16. We went to the west desert. Out toward Dugway.

We went with Michael, Adam, Rebecca, and then some other friends (banks) and theleannas brother. We did lots of Paintball, and shooting.

I was able to finally shoot our AR-15. I actually hit the target several times. it was awesome.

I did better than expected. The kids

got to shoot the paintball gun and pellet gun.

They loved it. They

would collect any pellet and paintball that fell to the ground and didnt break then find rocks and smash them . It was great. Steven bought a gilly suit which made paintball harder. Rob is wearing it in this picture. Their team is ready to go out.

the kids loved to play in the dirt. They dug a huge

hole and played in it. Taylor wouldnt leave on a hat so i

got a picture when she

finally did. The first night was a little cold. Ethan also had a meltdown because he got to tired. Rob and I

didnt

really sleep we were constantly checking on the kids to make sure they were warm. Taylor did better than expected sleeping. That was a miracle. The second night was not to bad. We were all a lot warmer. On our way home, just as we got over the mountain, our tire popped. We had to unload some stuff to get tools out but we didnt know how to get our tire out of the car. Luckily Bryan and Christy left shortly after we did and came to the rescue. Bryan showed us how to use the pully system to get our tire down and helped us get back on the road. We were blessed. We made it home and got cleaned up. The smell of a

campfire filled our

house. I had to wash my Hair 4 times to get the smell out. Ethan had the battle would in our family. He was climbing a tree and fell and got a big scratch down his body. It wasnt too bad but he really flipped out. He wouldnt even let us come

near it and screamed for ever. Rob and Chris held him down while i cleaned it and put a bandage on it. But other than that things were great. Taylor loved her first camping trip. (as you can see she loves donuts too)

Well i am glad that it is spring and things are warming up. we have more camping and gardening in the future. I cant wait. but first.....Hawaii!!!!

these are from our St. George trip. We had lots of fun and completely wore ourselves and our kids out. They absolutely loved it though. Espcially the pool. They believe that is what St. George is all about. it is funny.

Well not much has been going on. Rob made it home safely from Puerto Rico. That was a long 2 weeks. I am so glad that he is home. Church was pretty much impossible with out him. Well at least sacrament meeting. Taylor was trying to crawl everywhere and cry. So i had to hold her. Ethan decided to throw a fit and scream and cry when i told him he had to share his fishies with his sister. When i went to take him out he flipped out even more and went limp so i had to kind of drag him out with Taylor in my other arm. So we were in the foyer for a while (all 4 of us) when we finally went back in Kaylee decided to run out when the door opened. I went out and caught her. I was very mad and frustrated. Ethan and Kaylee both had to go to the bathroom 2 each. I was a little flustered. We made it though all intact. I left with 3 kids living and breathing.

Another annoying thing that happened that was my own fault was that I ordered some pictures

8x10 from walmart. I did it online and didnt check

to where i was sending them.

Last time ordered pictures i sent them to springville for my sister in law. Unfortunately that is where they were sent to. I forgot to change it. So there they sit. I need to go and pick them up. Besides it being far, the weather has been bad and i have 3 small children. So hopefully some day i will make it down there.

Taylor took her first fall down the stairs last week too. I was right near her and told her to stop. she got excited when i started to come and went to crawl head first down the stairs. I got there just in time to feel her leg slip under my hand and she tumbled down our first set of stairs (about 5 steps) she landed right on her face and skinned her nose a little bit. I felt horrible. She has since learned to go down backwards feet first.

Ethan is my hard child. he has a stubborn streak like no other. He is either really helpful and nice or the complete opposite. Things are always calmer when he is not around but he can be a lot of fun. He is such a busy body. Maybe that is just how boys are. He is gaining such an imagination and loves to play with his "buddies". We clash at school time. I am doing preschool with him and many times he wants to just go and play and it turns into a battle of will. I usually win. I know that i have that stubborn streak in me too. He is doing well in his preschool though. Hopefully I will get him ready for kindergarten. He is looking forward to going.

Easter was fun. We are not ones that do a whole lot about the Easter Bunny. My kids know that i am the one who filled the eggs. We did a little hunt on Saturday in the house due to the weather. The kids had fun and loved all the candy. Besides that we didnt do much. We watched conference and had a nice little dinner with our family. It was nice. We talked about the real meaning of Easter. The following day i was looking at pictures in the nursery lesson manual with Kaylee. She saw the one of Christ and Mary at the tomb and told me how Christ was resurrected and came out of the tomb. then she said to me "I want Jesus to come to our house." i replied "you want Jesus to come to our house?" Kaylee replied "yeah, I love him." it was so sweet. I must be doing something right. Hopefully she will hold on to that thought her whole life. I am glad that my kids are learning the gospel. Thats all for now. the kids are calling.

What a day

Well today started out pretty nice. Taylor slept through the night, Kaylee did too and stayed dry in underwear. I was feeling pretty refreshed. The kids ate breakfast pretty well and were happy...until 8:30 am when Kaylee started having a meltdown. Mainly over a binky. (i am so ready to cut hers and throw it away but i was told i have to wait until her birthday.) I wouldnt let her have it. She is supposed to only have it at naps and bed. We fight about it ALL the time it seems and she will cry and scream for a very long time. So today was no different with the binky thing. I tried to convince her to do everything i could think of to take her mind off the binky. We sat and rocked for a little bit and all 3 kids were fighting in my lap. I decided i need 3 legs. (this number could go up if i so happen to have more children) Taylor decided to join in on the crying and screaming and wanting me to hold her too. They both followed me around crying. Nothing seemed to help them be happy. The 2 girls are great competitors. I gave in and sent Kaylee to bed at 9:45. I laid Tay down at 10. Around then Ethan went to Mary's house to play. I was able to get laundry started and unload the dishwasher, and sign Ethan up for baseball when Kaylee came out and walks right in to Taylors room and wakes her up looking for me (i was down stairs) only to tell me she has to poop. so it is now 10:45 and i have a screaming baby again. I think Taylor is teething and that is the main reason she was grumpy today. I gave the kids a snack and then Mason (a neighbor kid) came over to play. Besides the fact they seem to need to come over the gate every 5 minutes this was a welcome visit because it made Kaylee happy and no more crying. Ethan and Kaylee were happily playing downstairs while I fed Tay and began to clean the kitchen. I went down to check on the kids. We have had bad weather today, rain, snow, hail, wind. There was enough snow and hail accumulated that the kids decided to open the back door and have a snowball fight in the house. I walked down to see snow everywhere and the door open. It was on the walls, stairs, couches, floor, and in their hands. Well Mason went home after that and the kids were on clean up duty. This wasnt real successful. We were left with wet walls, couches and floors. Kaylee went to bed shortly after this for real this time. And after Ethan ate lunch i let him watch cartoons for a little bit. Tay was already in bed with medicine so i had some quiet time. I cleaned a little...learned how to do the self clean on the oven and then did some more laundry. Then Ethan calls me down to tell me the portable heater is not working. He was standing near it with a robe on covering the heater to get warm. This must have over heated the heater or something. It works now though.

Kaylee woke up from her nap at 1:30 pretty happy and again told me she had to poop. At least she didnt wake Taylor this time. So i got her some lunch and made Taylor some too because she was due to wake up. They were happy for a while. Mason came back over and he and Ethan went out to play even though it was cold. Things went pretty well the rest of the day. We went to Marys for dinner. It was a sort of birthday dinner for Rob (who is out of town). We enjoyed Cafe Rio. Kaylee was a little bit tired and fought with Nate and then decided she was done and wanted to go home. She put on her shoes and coat and left. I ran out to get her to convince her to stay a little longer. She was hard to bargain with. But i won. So we stayed for dessert. When i told the kids it was time to leave Kaylee came running. Ethan began to cry. We finally got everyone home and called Rob and set up the web cam. This was fun for a few minutes but it is very hard while you have 3 kids competing for attention in my lap and doing weird things in the camera while in my lap. Then Tay began to scream and we called it quits shortly there after. By this time Ethan had said his tummy hurts and i kind of brushed it off. We went upstairs to get ready for bed. I got all 3 in jammies (ethan because he wasnt feeling well needed help). We read our scriptures and by then Tay was screaming because she wanted to eat and was tired. So i sent Ethan and Kaylee to their rooms...they actually went and were being quiet...I fed Taylor. In the middle of feeding Kaylee starts to cry. I ignored her until i was done. I laid Tay down and went to the other room. Kaylee is crying and pointing at something. I look down and see dark spots on the floor and bed. I look up toward Ethan and see lots of Barf. I laughed. I probably should not have. The look on his face was so pathetic. He didnt say a word. Not even to call me after it happened. He was covered along with his bed, pillow the side of the bed which it ran down and dripped on Kaylee's bed, the floor, her leg, blanket, the ladder. It was every where and disgusting. So i got Ethan down bathed him cleaned the mess up started laundry, got the kids beds remade and in bed and Here i am writing this. What a crazy day. I am left with an oven to wipe out , a dirty house and more laundry.

What can I say: I am a mom. This is my wonderful life. I wouldnt trade it for anything. Days will always be tough but there is just something so sweet when your kids ask you to sing them one more song at the of a day like this or Wish their daddy a happy birthday via web cam and make funny faces in the camera. Kids are wonderful and i have the hardest but most awesome job of all. I am a Mom.

Time Flies

Well i am back again. And of course my baby just started to scream....

Taylor has taken her first steps!!! She did on March 4th. We are excited but at the same time that means she can get into more stuff. It keeps me on my toes that is for sure. She is doing well. We are working on weaning and sleeping through the night. Hopefully we can accom

plish both quickly. We are going to Hawaii in just over a month an she needs to have both done by the time we go. She is a good girl though.

here is a clip of her walking. Taylor gets so excited to do walk. it is great. Ethan is doing well. with the warmer temperatures lately he has been outside a ton. It is only March and the boy is tanning up nicely. Just like his dad. He is constantly playing with his friends.

We were able to go to St. George last weekend. It was a nice little get away.

Unfortunately the weather could have been nicer. It rained for a

while on Saturday But we were able to enjoy our time. We went hiking just above the city. The kids loved it. Tay loved to eat the red s

and. We

also went to the volcano cones around the area. It was cool. Unfortunately we didnt make it to the top of the c

one. Kaylee was a little to tired and it was kind of cold and windy so we called it quits. The trail also wrapped all the way around the volcano and was longer than expected. Maybe next time. We didnt get much sleep on the trip either. Taylor had a very hard time sleeping. The Kids loved the hot tub and jumping on the beds in the room. They could live there and be f

ine. Kaylee thinks that hotels are called "St. George." Its funny. this picture ethan took

my kids love to get the camera and take pictures. Too bad that ended in a broken camera once so now i am a little more protective. They did get a hold of it a few times and took about 50

pictures of Taylor. and some of eachother. here are a few:

These are of Mason (the neighbor) and Kaylee. I think they were playing a house like game. They are funny.

this picture is the kids in Dress-ups. I made Ethan an Emperor robe. I wonder if i

should be concerned that he likes the bad guys so much. Especially ones like the emperor. Kaylee is in her princess dress ups as alwlays.

this picture is just how happy tay gets with her daddy!! so cute.

Well we are good. I miss Rob who is in Puerto Rico. He will be there for his birthday. I look forward to seeing him on his return. Hopefully i will be sane. We are excited for spring. We have planted flowers and some of our garden already. We got Hibiscus, Daisy, Lilies, planted strawberries, lettuce and an onion and will hopefully get some more planted in the next few days. I have worked hard on the garden and hopefully will have a nice productive garden. Life is crazy. but i love it. The world is even scarier. I just pray that we will be fine.

take care for now...renee

So this morning Kaylee asked me to get her a drink in a sippy cup and I told her to wait until i was finished feeding Taylor. So i look over a minute later and see Ethan getting her a drink and said to kaylee "oh is Ethan helping you get a drink?" then Ethan replies "Thats cuz Im nicer than you"

my response "you're probably right"

Kids are so great and so funny

Well it has been a while. But we are still good and all alive. Since the beginning of January nothing too exciting has happened. I have had another birthday. the big 27. Rob got me an ipod and I am surprised how much i use it. It is a nice thing to have especially for workouts. I have been good at keeping up with that resolution and also the book reading. I finished book number 2 last night. Right in the nick of time. I have not yet decided on book 3.

It has been nice that Rob has not had to travel as much lately. He has only been gone once so far this year to Wisconsin. There is 2 trips planned to Puerto Rico one the end of March (he will be gone for his birthday) and then he is home a week and then back to Puerto Rico. We will see if it works like that. Trips tend to change. We are grateful for his job though which allows us to pay our bills.

The kids are well over all. They have been pretty healthy this winter. We had the battle with swine flu in October and have only had little colds since. We are grateful for our health. Being sick is no fun. Ethan is getting excited to start kindergarten. This is a big relief because he is a shy boy until you get to know him. A little like me i guess. Big groups are really intimidating for him. We did Itty bitty soccer and he was really scared. the first and last day he wouldnt go out there at all. He stayed by me. The 2nd and 5th day he held his coaches hand and the 3rd and 4th days he just stood around with his team. I am sure it will hit him on the first day of school but we have registered and he is excited as of now. It kind of scares me to send him through a public school system but we will try it at least for now. He asks when he gets to go to real school and said that he will get to do lots of fun stuff in school. I think it will hit me harder then him. So will his birthday. He will be 5 this year. I know that is not normally that big a deal but for me it is a little different. My mom died when i turned 5 so realizing that and knowing my son is almost the same age makes me realize just how young i was and that every day i get with my son after he turns 5 is more than i had with my mom. Life throws us curve balls and it is how we adjust to and hit them that makes us who we are. I hope that i have been able to hit it out of the park.

Kaylee is pretty good. She has had a problem with wetting her pants lately. She peed on the floor 6 times in three days. 3 of those were after i cleaned the carpets. I was a little upset by that. I think I was a little meaner than needed. We hope to break her of this habit and soon. She also wants to go to school. I might look into a preschool or play group for the fall. That would make her happy. She is a smart girl. She already counts to 20 (she is just over 2 1/2) and is learning her ABC's and knows her colors and some shapes. I think having an older sibling close in age is a great help.

Taylor is almost 9 months old. She started crawling the beginning of january and has not stopped moving since. She is a determined little girl. She cruises around the furniture and is gaining confidence and lets go of things and stands for several seconds. She doesnt quite sleep through the night yet. We moved her to her own room and got Ethan and Kaylee bunk beds in the other. Since we put Tay in her own room she went from Waking up 3 times to 1 time. It may not be perfect but i will take it. We need to work on that and weaning her though because Rob and I are going to Hawaii the first week of May. We are going on a cruise and are so excited. Tay loves to eat real food and has pretty much given up baby food. She does pretty well with real food and feeding herself. She is so cute. She is beginning to like Rob more too. She will play with him when i am in the room now too instead of crying and trying to get to me. It is probably because he has been away less often. She is a cute little girl.

As for me, I am well. I just try to keep up with the demands of motherhood. These demands have stretched my limits. Patience should be a virtue I own but never seems to be one i fully can grasp. There are so many opportunities to master patience but i continue to fail. Maybe someday....when my kids are grown with kids of their own. My home never seems to be clean but i try. There is always something to do and never gets done. So in essence i am never bored. I look forward to spring and i know my kids do too. Especially Ethan who has a great love for the outdoors. I am excited to go camping and hiking this year. So is the rest of the Family. We love the outdoors. Life is good and i am greatly blessed. I love the Lord and hope i am able to teach my kids the same. bye for now

Renee