Witch Born Contest

Ok, I'll admit it.  I'm a bit in love with the books Witch Song & Witch Born.  I'll be honest.  I was hesitant to read Witch Song.  I'm not a big fantasy genre reader.  I read it because I was going to CA and my girlfriend highly recommended it to me.  So, I stole her copy & read it on the way home from CA.  After I read it I couldn't wait for the second one to come out.  The second one, Witch Born, will be released Sept. 5.  Because I'm awesome (ha!) and know people, I've already read Witch Born.  Honestly, it was as good (or better) than Witch Song.  I don't say that about a lot of sequels.  I am highly anticipating the prequel and am disappointed that there are currently no plans for a third.  I will however tell you this: YOU can win a copy of Witch Born!  All you have to do is visit the author's site and follow the directions!  You can find her blog here: http://amberargyle.blogspot.com/  What are you waiting for?  Go enter to win!

National Night Out Against Crime

Every year for the last several years Hyrum has done a National Night Out Against Crime on the first Tuesday in August.  I've taken my kids several times and they always seem to have fun.  I had forgotten it was tonight until a friend of mine mentioned she was going to go down.  So, we braved the crowd and went down to the city square.  They always do a free dinner of hamburgers, potato chips and a drink.  I was happy - it's free, my kids (most of them) eat it and I don't have to cook. :)  They have the fire trucks, the ambulance, usually at least one DWR vehicle. Children's Justice Center, Life Flight and several other organizations there.  This year we ate our dinner and then headed over by the trucks.  When we got over there I saw the mom of one of Nash's friends so I sat and talked to her for a long time.  Because of that I didn't get a ton of pictures and I didn't get pictures of the kids climbing on everything they came into contact with!  I did manage to snap pictures when Life Flight came in though!

Brookelyn spotted the helicopter:

The closer the helicopter got the more she pulled this face:

Right over the the field where it was going to land:

Right above us:

I think the pilot hovered over us and came in super slow in order to give more of a wind!  It was crazy!  I didn't anticipate that much wind for that long!  I was impressed Brookelyn didn't cry about it!

After they landed:

Sister wasn't quite so sure she thought the helicopter was as cool on the ground as it was flying in the air:

Before the helicopter came in the officers told the kids to stay back until they gave the go ahead to come up and check it out.  When they gave the go ahead there were kids EVERYWHERE!

I did manage to snap a few pictures of the boys on the fire truck.  Caleb was trying to get to the top but it was too high without mom's help:

The kids were happy because they got to play on all the emergency vehicles and at the park.  I was happy because I had an adult conversation and didn't have to make dinner!  Now, if I can get them all to settle down and go to sleep it will be great!

Wedding cakes, nebulizers, boots & Grandpa's house

The entire month of July I worked on creating gum paste daisies for the tops of cupcakes for a wedding.  The wedding was August 2nd.  Much to my relief, all 100 daisies and cupcakes were made! The only thing I was worried about was the color.  Kiersha had asked me to do a sage green.  I told her I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to make it turn a sage color.  She told me that it was ok as long as it wasn't hunter green.  Well, it wasn't hunter green, but it wasn't exactly sage green either!  It was a pretty bright green!  Thankfully everyone really likes the cake and cupcakes so it all turned out ok!

 For the wedding cake, I did one nine inch and one eight inch cake and stacked them.  Putting the ribbon around the bottoms was tricky because the cakes weren't straight up and down around the edges.  This made it so there was a little bit of a space between the top of the ribbon and the cake.  Luckily I was able to figure out how to make it work so that it wasn't super obvious!

 Set up at the reception:

Brookelyn has had a rattle in her chest the entire summer.  I asked the pediatrician about it at Caleb's well check.  He told me to try giving her some decongestant as it might be caused by the runny nose she's got do to the molars she's trying to break.  Well, I tried the decongestant one night.  She proceeded to cough until she threw up.  Thus, we've been doing the nebulizer.  The first night we did it she wasn't such a fan.  After that we had to have her sit on dad's lap while she did it.

Little sister recently discovered she fits in the drawer below the tv.  Mom is not happy about this one.

I took the kids to Kmart to get a few last items for school shopping.  I saw these sweet little cow girl boots and couldn't resist buying them for Brookelyn.  They are a bit big, but they will be perfect come fall!

Last night we went down to Grandma Terri's and Grandpa Larry's house to make tin foil dinners and home made ice cream.  The kids were in the pool nearly three hours (Jack and Jade were there).  The kids had fun and the food was good too.

Grandpa Larry even did a double ch-da with the girls!  I love the look on B's face!  She does this every single time someone dances with her!  Glad I was able to finally catch it on film!

And, in other exciting news, Brookelyn decided she's going to walk now!  For about two months she has been taking three or four steps and then plopping down on the floor and crawling the rest of the way.  This past weekend she just decided she was ok with going about 10 steps.  Now, she's walking across the room!  She still plops down and crawls after she goes a little way but I think I can safely say she's officially walking!

Caleb's Well Check

On Monday I took Caleb to the pediatrician for his four year well check.  I'm one of those mean moms that had him get shots.  He only had to have 2 and he was so brave!  He didn't cry, he just said "Hippopotamus, hippopotamus!"  (Thanks for that trick Grandma Terri.)  The good news is that now he's got all his shots until he turns 12.  Yep, Kindergarten shots are DONE.  Yay.  Dr. Clarke always gives my kids a book when they come in for a well check.  This year Caleb got a Curious George book.  He had me read it to him while we waited for the nurse to come in with his shots.  He was excited because it had a train in it.  He showed the book to his dad when we got home and he had his dad read it to him again.

Caleb's Stats:
Weight: 34 lbs -- 32nd percentile (Yes, I am aware my 1 year old weighs 27 lbs & my 4 yr old weighs 34 lbs.  I am quite certain Brookelyn will surpass Caleb rather quickly.)
Height: 38.5 inches -- 13th percentile
BMI: 16.1 -- 66th percentile

Average height for a four year old is 40.3 inches so he's a little short, but we knew that. :)
Average weight for a four year old is 36 lbs so he's a little smaller, but we knew that too. :)

Things about Caleb:
1-He is an extraordinarily picky eater.  He won't touch the food on his plate if there is a sauce of any kind on his plate (spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayo, ranch, etc.)
2-He still loves pink milk and doesn't want to drink white milk at all.
3-He likes to refer to himself as "Cowboy Caleb".
4-He would wear his cowboy boots, hat and chaps everywhere if his mother would let him.  Oh, and he informed me a week ago that he also needs spurs now.
5-He is FINALLY using the potty regularly.  We still have a few accidents here and there, but for the most part, I think he's finally decided it's not so bad.
6-He loves dirt.  If he isn't in the house playing toys, he can be found out back behind the fence digging in the dirt.
7-He has recently picked up on Nash's, "Mom.  I love you." at random times during the day.
8-He likes to snuggle with me.
9-He's as stubborn as his mother.  Not sure this is a good thing.
10-His dad put training wheels on Nash's old 2 wheeler Spiderman bike about a month ago and he loves riding it with the big kids.
11-He says some of the most hilarious, random things I've ever heard come out of a kid's mouth.

I will admit that Caleb is my challenging child, mostly because he's got my personality.  He really has grown into his own person and wants so much to be just like his brother and his dad.  He loves his family (extended family included) and has recently started telling us just how much he loves us.  He likes to help mom with chores and I think he's enjoyed having his own chore list so he can earn some allowance.  He's pretty good to go play by himself or with other kids.  He's got quite the imagination and vocabulary but will usually let his sister or brother boss him around so he can play with them too.  He likes to wear his flying suit, Karate suit, ninja suit and any other suit he can create.  He lets his sister dress him up in her dress ups or sometimes even doll clothes, and will willingly show them off to mom - no matter what he's dressed like (and I've seen some good ones!).

We love you Duleb!

An eventful week in photos

On Sunday, we got to meet our new cousin, Weston.  He is super cute and so, so tiny!  When I heard he was 8 lbs 14 oz I expected him to look enormous like Brookelyn did.  Not so.  He's just a teeny, tiny little butterball.  He's super sweet and Samantha was perfectly content to just sit and hold him.  She didn't like sharing him with her brothers or mom, but she was willing to.  We can't wait to love on him some more soon.

The other day I made spaghetti for dinner.  I always just give Brookelyn the noodles plain (no sauce).  Turns out I should be giving her sauce.  I was going around the kitchen cleaning up a few things when I noticed she had taken command of Nash's dinner plate.

A few minutes later and she had complete control of Nash's plate.  She finished up all his noodles and left hers untouched.  Guess I'll have to start putting sauce on hers so she won't steal anyone else's!

After she finished her spaghetti she needed a bath (there was sauce everywhere, but she was happy).  Sister's hair is getting so long.  I keep playing with the back of it because it's almost long enough in the back for a tiny little pony tail (she'd still have to have 2 on top because the top isn't long enough).

 On Monday Caleb came inside looking like he'd just taken a dirt shower.  He looks up at me and says (with really wide eyes), "Mom.  I just found a REAL LIVE bug in your flowers.  So I squished it.  With my fingers!"  Then he made the sound I'm sure bugs hear when they walk and he wiggled his fingers like bug antenna!  A little bit later we were at my mom's house.  She's got a bunch of wasps that hang out by the filter of her swimming pool.  We were watching the boys through the window when Caleb screamed like a banshee.  Turns out he tried to squish a wasp with his fingers.  Don't think he'll be trying that again any time soon!

This little monkey has learned a new trick every time I turn around.  I was NOT happy about this!

Every time I get my camera out to take a picture Brooke will say "CHEESE!" but she doesn't always look at the person with the camera!  She was looking at Nash instead of me!

This little girl LOVES her musical instruments.  She has this little xylophone that she loves.  She's recently figured out how to turn on the keyboard as well.  I'm fairly certain this one will be starting dance lessons when she turns three.  Just like her sister in more ways than one!

Last night we took Trav's parents' jet skis out to Hyrum Dam.  Trav dropped the kids and I off at the beach and then wen to unload the skis.  The water is super low right now.  I put Brookelyn's life jacket on her because, let's face it, the girl is fast!  I sat her on the ground by the water and she was perfectly happy...until the cold water touched her!  She and I spent most of the night up on the grass..

The water touched her:

Caleb was happy to throw mud in the water for awhile.  I was happy it didn't hit me!

Watching her sister and brother in the water her reaction is always "Ooooo"

Sam & Caleb swimming in the water

Her balance is getting really good.  She can totally walk when she wants to.  I've recently discovered that as long as she has something in her hand, she dares to walk.  Whatever she's holding does not need to be anchored to the floor, she just needs something in her hands!  Silly girl.

My view of Sam & Caleb from way, way, waaaay up on the grass.

Brookelyn entertained herself up on the grass with her life jacket buckles, dumping out the diaper bag, crawling away from mom & toward the drop off onto the sand & mom's shoes.

She also found 3 pair of sunglasses she rather enjoyed playing with!  Can you see all three pairs she has on?

Nash decided it was a good idea to bury his feet in the sand.

 Brookelyn took a 3 second nap while up on the grass.

This little girl has latched onto her daddy since he came home on Monday.  He picks her up and she just puts her arms around him and lays her head down on his shoulders.  She'll stay that way for a good 30 minutes.  Not sure if it's because she misses him and finally realizes it or if it's because she has four molars coming in and doesn't feel the greatest.

 Poor Caleb was freezing when he finally came out of the water.  He kept telling me, "Mom.  I'm freezing AND I'm turning purple!"

 Brookelyn has developed a shoe fettish.  The girl finds a pair of shoes and she crawls off as fast as she can with them!

There were a few Young Women groups at the beach and a lady from one of them was nice enough to snap a few pictures of me and the kids.

As we were waiting for Travis to come get us after loading the jet skis Caleb told me, "Mom.  The clouds are beautiful!"  That kid has the same kind of vocabulary as his big sister!