Shutterfly Promotion!

Who doesn't like free stuff? My friend Becky has been on top of all the good deals this year and here is the latest. She stumbled upon a promotion that Shutterfly is offering bloggers right now. They have an amazing line of Christmas Cards and for telling you about them, I get 50 free cards! There are some really cute layouts and many that you can use more than one photo which I personally love! I can't wait to get started but first I have to find some good pictures to use! I keep trying to get that "perfect" family photo but it is really hard with 3 kids and self photography just doesn't cut it. But I will keep trying!

Here is where you can go for more information:

· Holiday photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
· Christmas photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards
· Christmas cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

You can get your own free photo cards by going here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Road to Home

On the road again. We left Reno this morning after a day of fun in the pool and a night at Circus Circus. The kids had a great time and this may become our stop between Saline and home from now on. So we left about 10AM and hope to be home shortly after 7PM.
We'll post pictures once we are unpacked and settled.

Annual Saline Trip 2010

Where to begin. . . .

We have a trip that we look forward to every year from the time we get back home we can't wait to go again. This year with everything going on we have really been looking forward to our escape from reality!!

So this is how it all started, we were going to head off on our annual trip to Saline Valley last Friday (Nov. 5) and that morning we discovered that our truck needed a new radiator, this after $11,000 worth of work we had just put into the truck last month, thankfully most of it being covered under warranty. This time it wasn't covered and cost just as much as we tend to spend on this trip. So after waiting most of the day for the truck to be fixed and wondering if we should still go, at 6:40PM we were finally off. We knew we wouldn't be able to get as far as we usually do but we wanted to at least be on the road. It only took about 500 miles for me to have faith in the truck to actually make it there, or maybe it was all to the springs. Getting such a late start made for a very long second day on the road but we managed. The kids did great traveling.
We came into Saline at night and it was windy and a little bit chilly so the kids and I hid in Josh and Jodi's Sportsmobile while the guys set up camp for us. The whole time I am thinking what in the world did we just do. We put 3 kids in the car and traveled 16 hours to camp in the middle of no where!!!! Now were here and it is colder than usual for this time of year and it was windy.

Day 2 ~ I got up in the morning (way too early) and after feeding Myla I headed down to the shower/tubs, it was then that I had that feeling of bliss! I just stood there looking at my surroundings and being so thankful that we had made it safely to this amazing place and that I am able to share this wonder with my kids.

Without giving ever detail of our trip I will just have to say that we had some great moments and the kids had a blast in the tubs and made sure that they got to "try" all of them. We got to do a little bit of hiking and of course some rock hunting but the weather did not cooperate this year. We had cold and windy weather pretty much every day of the trip. We actually had two nights where we couldn't do anything but hide in our tent from the wind. It was HORRIBLE! What do you do with 3 kids when you can't even sit around the campfire cause it is too windy to even have one??? On Wednesday the weather looked promising, the kids and I got in shorts and headed down to enjoy our time at the tubs and hang out on the grass playing games, etc. within the 1 1/2 -2 hours that we were away from camp the wind picked up, the clouds blew in and that was it. It was so windy that we couldn't even stand to be in the tent and again we invaded J&J's Sportsmobile. Michael and I were actually starting to pack the truck to leave that night. We had had enough!!! We didn't get to do anything we had promised the kids, no good hikes, no sand dunes. . . we felt horrible but really couldn't even fatham the thought of spending another night of no sleep in a tent blown by the wind. Makayla was in tears cause she didn't want to leave, Kaden was in tears cause he just wanted to be home. . . Mom is almost in tears because of the whole situation!! Dad is at a loss, not sure what to do. . . .

We ended up staying the night, we made beds in the back of the truck and all 5 of us slept in the truck, which was great until our air mattress popped in the middle of the night!!! Seriously!! When we got up the next morning and it was still windy we decided we were out of there. Actually, our whole group of people were on the same page in this decision. So we packed up and just as we were loading the final things I went to open the truck and realized that while trying to keep the kids happy while we were packing we allowed them to be in the truck, well, Kaden had locked the doors. . . . and the keys were inside. Now mom is seriously in tears. Thankfully, Jeff came to the rescue and the front passenger door wasn't all the way shut so he and Michael were able to stick a metal rod down and eventually hit the unlock button to get it unlocked. AAAHHHHH! I don't know if you understand the severity of this situation but we are seriously in the middle of nowhere and both sets of keys were locked in the truck. So what else could go wrong, well THEN we were all loaded up kids in their seats and . . . . the truck wouldn't start!!!!! Dead battery. My husband does pack/plan for every situation so we were able to swap out the battery and finally we were on our way home.

I am telling you this story as I sit in a hotel in Reno. We felt so bad ending our trip so short that we are going to stay here and do some fun things with the kids. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a hotel with a pool that is open this time of year?? We finally found one so we took the kids swimming and now I am just trying to relax while everyone else naps. Oh! and while Michael tries to find his cell phone that is somehow lost!!

Lord please get us home safe with no more hickups! May the next family VACATION have a better story to tell.

6 months

Myla had her 6 month check up this morning. She is 15.5lbs, only 30% for weight and 45% for height. We however think she is pretty perfect.

At 6 months she is eating solids like rice cereal, carrots, peas, peaches, pears, sweet potatos, etc. I think she is pretty close to being ready to eat what we have for dinner, pureed of course. She has NO teeth. Can sit and play all by herself, and will do so for a very long time perfectly happy. She HATES to be on her tummy so I am not sure when she will ever crawl, but she doesn't care one bit about being mobile. If you put her on her tummy she immediately rolls to her back. She loves her big brother and sister and loves to just sit and watch them. She is SO happy! She smiles at everyone she meets.

Little Big Kicks

Kaden has started his first year of soccer. Unfortunately, mom and dad want him to play more than he does. He is so shy and unsure of the unknown. He was so excited to go to soccer and talked about it for weeks but when it came time to leave mom on the sidelines he was ready to go home. So Makayla and I took turns helping him out on the field so that he would actually play. Week 2 went a little better and he says he likes to play soccer but this time he wouldn't let dad leave his sight. Any suggestions on how to get this little guy out of his "bubble", I'll take them!!

We couldn't even talk Makayla into playing this year which really stinks. She is afraid she wouldn't know anyone on the team. Yep! That's right she is miss social!! However, when she is out there with Kaden she really wants to play. I have to keep reminding her that she can't be on his team and that she needs to stay off the field. lol I am hoping that I can at least talk her into Softball..

Kids at Play

The other day I was in Myla's room doing some laundry and all three kids were in Kaden's room playing. I didn't think I was gone that long, seriously how long can one basket of laundry take, but this is what I walked into when I came back. . . . and by that I mean I was seriously only 6 feet away. :o)

I have no idea how she got that out of the package, let alone on her leg. She sure was proud of herself though.

Little People have taken over!! The kids had a complete "village" set up, you are only looking at half of it. It stayed like this for several days and as soon as Makayla would get home from school they would go up and pick up right where they had left off.

Back to School

Welcome to First Grade. Makayla is so grown up! She started 1st grade this year and is now in school all day. This hasn't just been an adjustment for her but for the whole family. The first week was so weird to not have her here all day. Kaden misses his big sister but does really well with it. I think he has realized he gets a bit more attention while she is away, but he can't wait to play with her when she gets home. He always wants to take her to the bus in the morning and meet her there in the afternoon to walk her down the driveway.

The First Tooth

While Makayla was camping with her Mema and Papa at Silver Creek Falls over Labor Day weekend she lost her 1st tooth. I have to admit I was a little bummed that it happened while she was away. I would have loved to see her reaction, but she was just as excited to tell me all about it when she came home. The Tooth Fairy came to visit the campground and left her $5!!

Sunflower Days

I was headed to the mall the other day on the back roads and noticed that "Grandmas" Sunflowers were in full bloom. If I didn't have somewhere to be I would have pulled over and taken pictures of the kids, I only had Kaden and Myla with me but it was so beautiful! Well as it turns out we ended up in that part of town at the end of the day and I had picked up Makayla from her Mema's house so I took them to the fields for some photos. The flowers were amazing!! I know I had more fun than the kids, but they were good sports for mom. However, when I got home I realized my pictures didn't all turn out as I had hoped, so I tortured my husband too and made him go again with us so I could get some more pics. Now I am perfectly pleased! :o) These are just a FEW. ha ha.

Sweet Myla. . . . . she is so stinkin cute!

Berry Pickers

We went berry picking the other day! We really had a good time and hope to go back before the season is over. We made lots of jam and a really yummy pie.

Lets just say that Makayla will not make a career out of berry picking! Maybe as a manager. . . she was more worried about who had how much in their bucket than she was actually picking the berries.

Kaden was really good at it. He did a great job with only picking the ones that were ready, and really didn't eat too many which suprised us all. Now if they had been strawberries we may not have left with any in our bucket.

Myla has got to be the happiest baby ever. She is just along for the ride but cooing and talking the whole time with a smile on her face. She is so SWEET!!

A Day at the Beach

A lot of pictures for one post I know, but we had a good time and wanted to share. :o)
On Saturday since it was going to be mid 90's at home we decided to head to the beach with the "Doty" family. Michael was at work so it was just the kids and I joining the group. Lets just say it was not too hot at the beach!! Sunny! But windy and about 60 degrees. . . . .

Isabella and Myla

Annika, Bria, Kaden and Makayla

Kaden, Makayla, Annika and Bria

Kaden hangin' with Papa Lynn

A boy and his dog. .. . .

What goes up, must also come down. . . . and this is how you do it.

Another House Update

I know I have been promising to get new pictures on here but we have really been busy and I haven't spent much time on the computer. So rather than a post for each project we have been working on I am just going to post some pictures of the updates on the remodel.

I don't know if you remember what the front of the house used to look like but the backfill had never been done even after originally construction. Michael used this guys dump trailer and I think about 10 or 15 loads of dirt later we have finally brought up enough dirt from the backyard to create a yard in the front of the house. We are really excited to get the sprinklers in so that we can plant grass. We got a little anxious and already planted some flowers but they should be fine, Michael can work around them when he does the sprinklers and when we do the rest of the yard.

At this point it seems that when Michael finds a good deal on Craigslist that is what project gets done next. So last week that ended up being decking. So. . . now we have a deck out the back. It is SO nice!!! We have used it literally every day since he built it.

We are finally done with the living room, all the sheetrock work is done, lights have been put in, speakers, and now CARPET! Yeah!! We love it, the kids think it is now their "wrestling" room. The office/guest room is also done now. Well, construction finished anyway, I still have to figure out what I want to do in there.

And now we are working on finishing up the downstairs bathroom. Michael is almost done with the tile and then we can put it back together. Then his next project is the entry way, we are going to re-tile it too. He already has everything torn out we just need to lay the new flooring.