Rolling Over

So Beck has been rolling onto his side and trying to get all the way over these last couple weeks.  I figured he would eventually roll all the way over but didn't know when.

This is the first time I found out that he could make it all the way.  Poor thing was asleep like this and I didn't notice until I went to get him up from his nap!  

 So I grabbed the camera and caught him in the act of rolling over.  Such a good big boy!

Tonsils

Yes I admit.  I have had my fair share of hospital stays this year.  This time it was by choice.  I've wanted to get my tonsils out for over 10 years.  Why put it off for so long you ask?  Well first I've heard that the surgery and recovery is awful.  So that's the main reason.  I've just been a big enough wuss all these years.  Second, I haven't been able to justify the cost of a surgery just for something that bothers me.  Third, honestly I've been trying to figure out what I can do with myself and the kids for the 2 weeks they say it takes to recover.  I can barely handle being in bed for 2 weeks but how to pawn my kids off for 2 weeks while I am in bed?  Now that's a lot to ask of someone or a few someones.  

Well, this year I finally figured out how to take care of all 3 of those reasons.  Having a baby and gallbladder surgery takes care of the money issue - I've met my out of pocket max for the year so having my tonsils out will cost me $0.  Okay.  Luckily I have lots of family and great friends who said they would be willing to help with the kids while I recover.  For two weeks?  Really?  We really do have some great people around us if they're willing to take 5 kids on for that long!  My mom, Josh's mom, Hayley, Melissa - just to name a few of the wonderful ladies who have offered to love and care for my kids!  And as for the pain part - I figured I would just have to drop the wussiness and get it over with.  That took a lot.  I went back and forth for weeks trying to decide.  Finally I just called and made the appointment.  After that I felt like there was no going back.  Don't get me wrong I was still really scared even the day of.  But I did it anyway.  This is me right before the surgery.  The smile?  Just a nervous smile.  

 And this is me just a short hour later.  I look like I might be about to die?  Well I felt like it too.  Everyone, including my doctor, warned me that the recovery is rough for adults.  I admit, the first couple of days I was doing ok.  My mom let me stay at her house while Josh was home with the kids for the weekend.  I had a nice place all to myself upstairs - the bed was all set up with a table and lamp next to it, tv, computer, jell-o, water, gatorade, extra blankets and pillows, you name it, my mom had it ready for me.  Even at 33 I'm not too old to be taken care of by my mom!  It was a perfect place to stay for those first few days.

 The kids were with Josh and came to visit me every day.  And the girls brought me little notes and pictures to let me know they love me.

 These sat on the table right by my bed and brightened my day!

 I came home Sunday night 3 days after my surgery.  The next few days I still had people helping out and taking my kids so that I could stay home and rest.  I have to say, I am so glad they did because starting on day 5 I started to feel worse.  My throat started to hurt much more than those first days, I started getting nauseated from all the medication I was taking, then throwing up made my throat hurt worse, then I didn't want to take my medication because it made me sick so then I was in more pain.  Vicious cycle.  I finally called the doctor and asked if all that is normal.  The nurse assured me that it is and that normally around day 5 or 6 is the worst for most people because the scabs that have formed start to slough off and the flesh is raw in the back of your throat.  Great.  It made sense but I felt like I wasn't warned properly for that.  Maybe I was.  Maybe I just pushed it aside.  Anyway, that's what I was dealing with.   

I found this list of things that Rease wanted to help out with while I was gone.  Isn't it cute that she is such a little me with list and all?  She is so sweet and always wants to help.  I will say, most of these things did get done and the house looked great when I got home.

So now here I am Day 8.  Still having a lot of pain but medication is still working.  I haven't been able to eat much of anything since last Wednesday.  Mostly Jell-o and yogurt.  Juice stings my throat and ice cream for some reason makes my stomach upset.  When I need something salty I drink chicken broth.  I have figured out what I need to have in my stomach when I take my pills so I don't get sick.  So I think I'm going to live.  It has been kind of awful.  And it has been hard feeling like I'm asking a lot of my family and friends to take my kids.  But they have been great and very willing.  I love them for that.  And as for Josh - my sweet husband who has to take on everything while I'm down.  All I can say is, he's the man.  He has stayed home from work when I need help, taken the kids wherever and whenever, taken care of meals, gotten the kids off to school, tried to keep the house clean as much as possible, and still tries to squeeze in his things that he needs to do.  He's the man.

BYU Football

We are so excited that BYU Football season is here!  I always dress the boys in their BYU shirts on game day and Liev is always excited when he sees that's what I chose for him to wear.  He says, "are we going to the BYU football game today?"  We have season tickets and the kids do love going to the games with us.  I'm not sure Keen would sit through a game yet - maybe next year buddy!

Chad came into town for the first home game and it was really fun to be back in Lavell Edwards Stadium for a game under the lights!  I love this time of year!

The last game of the season was a cold, rainy one.  But we decided to go anyway.  I took Liev and Josh stayed home with the other kids.  Liev was so excited to be able to go all by himself.  As we were walking over he loved being able to see the Y on the mountain and kept pointing it out to me.  And he learned the fight song and when to clap and when to cheer.  We had such a fun time together!

 Our group that day consisted of a bunch of little kids, so we didn't stay the whole game.  At halftime the score was 52-0 for us so when it started to rain during the break we decided that was our cue to go.  Such a fun day though!

Mr. Beck

Oh boy do we love our Beck. He is the sweetest, happiest, smiliest baby.  We can't get enough of his chubby cheeks and big head! He is doing so good at holding his head up and tummy time.  What a guy!  

And at 4 months old - Dr. Erickson says he's awesome too!  Here are his stats:

Weight: 16.87 lbs - 78%

Height: 26.38 inches - 87%

Head: 17.7 inches - 96%

Sleeping in the closet

For the past few weeks, Liev has been sneaking out of his room during naptime and hiding in the closet.  I've caught him a few times and snapped some pictures, but who know how many times he's done this and I never knew!  He could have spent his whole nap in the closet and I would have never known!  Sneaky little guy.

Keen's cars

Keen was so proud to show me all his cars lined up between the posts.  Don't you love that grin on his face?

Biking down the big hill

So our kids have been riding their wiggle bikes down "the big hill" by our house for a while now.  The next street over is on a big slope so the kids take their bikes up to the top and ride down.  I've never really watched them do it until today.  It looks so fun and they have the system down!

First they hike their bikes up the hill.  I'm not sure why but I always assumed they just rode their bikes up.  This is a much better system.  It's so cute to see them all in a row with their bikes in tow.

Once they get to the top they turn around and just come straight down.  Rhen and Liev are fearless!  They don't put the breaks on at all the whole way down.  Rease is a super scaredy cat and goes onto the grass to slow her down at least 2 or 3 times on the way down the hill.  And Keen - well he does pretty good for a 2 year old!

Josh was so impressed by how fun this looks that he walked up with them one time and rode down on one of the bikes.  He admitted that it was pretty fun but kind of scary to get going that fast.  We love that the kids love doing things outside!

Halloween 2014

Happy Halloween!  We love this day because we all get to dress up!  Even Josh got to wear a costume today for his work party.  The kids went trick or treating at his office then we came back to our house for dinner and more trick or treating around the neighborhood.  There's never too much candy on Halloween!  Hayley and her family joined us with their cute costumes - the triplets were a stoplight and Hayley Caleb and Canyon were the Cars characters.  The Hammers and Uncle Andy came for the party so we had quite the group.

 Rease, Rhen, Izzy and JT took off as fast as they could go trick or treating and we didn't see them until they had hit every house in the neighborhood.  We took our time with the little boys.  They had a great time together and didn't mind that we only went to half of the houses in the neighborhood.  

Halloween is always so fun and we love getting together with family and friends!

"Catch me if you can"

We have had season tickets to Hale Center Theatre this year thanks to dad for getting them for us girls!  It has been a really fun season.  The last play of the season is Catch me if you can.  My very talented cousin Trisha was in it so we made sure to go on a night that she was performing.  It was really cute and such a fun story - and Trisha was amazing!  Such a fun way to end a great season of plays!

Movie Theatre

We had Izzy and JT Hammer at our house for a few days while their mom and dad went on a weekend away.  We had a lot of fun with them here!  One night we turned the girls' room into a "movie theatre" and set up a movie for them to watch - complete with popcorn and treats!  

Another night we went to the actual movie theatre and saw Hotel Transylvania.  It was a little bit of a production getting all 7 kids settled by myself, but we managed.  We got there about 30 minutes early so I had the chance to get drinks, popcorn and treats all sorted and given out before the movie started.  Plus Hayley taught me this trick about bringing in the car seat to strap Keen down during the movie.  It was a life saver!  He had to sit the whole time and actually didn't make a fuss at all!  We love having our friends over!

Halloween Activities

Well Halloween season is in full swing around here!  This kids are so excited to dress up and Trick or Treat.  But even though it's not quite Halloween day yet, there still have been plenty of Halloween activities we've been to.

We went to Grammie and Papa's ward Halloween party.  It was super great with a full on costume contest with prizes and everything.  Dinner and donuts were provided and even trunk or treating to end the night.  We had a lot of fun and the kids loved wearing their costumes!

The pumpkin patch this year was really great!  We took Hayley, Caleb and kids with us this year so there was quite a group of us.  The kids had a great time searching for the perfect pumpkin.  Liev put about 20 different pumpkins in the wheelbarrow until he finally decided on the one. 

 Cider and donuts to end the night - Keen really enjoyed his chocolate donut.

One day at the gym they invited all the kids to wear their costumes and trick or treat around.  Once again - super fun for the kids to get all dressed up.  The girls are off track so they even got to join in the gym fun.  

 And Rhen brought home these cute Halloween decorations she made at school.  She is hanging them up around the house to get us into the Halloween spirit.

 Hope you're Halloween season has been as fun as ours!

Beck's new toy

Beck is big enough now that I've been putting him in the bouncer instead of the swing.  He loves to be upright and see what's going on around him.  And he's been doing so good putting some weight on his legs and they are definitely getting stronger.  Plus doesn't he look so cute in it?!

San Francisco

A few weeks ago Josh told me that he was taking a business trip to San Francisco and wanted me to join him.  I jumped at the chance to get away and we got our plans together.  I have never been to San Francisco so I was really excited to go especially on a trip just the two of us.  He told me that there would be some driving involved because he had a meeting in Thousand Oaks and then the next day a meeting in San Francisco.  I didn't mind.  We got to LA on Thursday morning and rented our car.  We got a really comfortable Dodge Durango with leather seats since we knew we would be spending quite a bit of time in the car.  Josh went to his meeting and I went to Target to get snacks for our 6 hour drive to San Fran.  The time went by really quickly and we had a great time just hanging out, chatting and listening to music.  We pulled in to San Francisco about 10:30 pm and went right to the hotel.  The Giants had just won game 3 of the World Series when we were there and Giants fans were everywhere!  It was pretty fun to see!

The next morning we got up early and headed down to the Pier to have breakfast.  It was a beautiful morning and we sat out on the deck looking over the pier as we ate.  Josh had a meeting later that morning but we had a fun breakfast together before he had to work.

 When Josh left for his meeting I had a few hours on my own to explore the city.  It was my "selfie" time as I got to know the city of San Francisco and do all the touristy things that most people have done.  It was super fun and I had a blast on my own!

 Later that afternoon Josh joined me and we rode the cable cars again up the streets.  This was one of my favorite things to do and such a fun way to see the city!

 We walked through China town trying to find somewhere to eat dinner.  We ended up eating in the Italian district at this quaint little restaurant on the street.  

 We also found the house that was in one of our favorite movies "Just Like Heaven."  It was so funny because we were walking up one of the very steep streets to one of the cable car stops when we decided to stop and take a break.  While we were sitting there we looked up this house to find out where it was in the city and if we could possibly see it.  It turned out to be less than a block from where we were at!  It was kinda fun to see.

We ended the night at Ghirardelli Square and a big fat ice cream sundae.  It was delicous!  We were really tired from a long day of exploring and had to be back on the road early the next morning. 

Saturday morning we got back on the road to LA to catch one of Garrett's soccer games.  6 more hours on the road may seem long and boring but we had a great time.  Spotify became our best friend because we could find any music we wanted and listened to it.  The music ranged from Neil Diamond to Creed, James Taylor to Eminem.  Ah good times!  We also played the people version of 20 questions.  I stumped Josh a time or two and he got me more than once, but it was so funny to see who we came up with.  A few of them; Roseanne Barr, Lance Armstrong, Brigham Young, Dennis Rodman, Mike McCarlie.   Such a fun way to pass the time.

 It worked out perfectly that we were going to be in town for one of Garrett's games.  We have been wanting to see a game since he moved to California so this was a good chance to do it. It was also a game that my dad was going to as well so we picked him up from the airport and shared a room with him.  They ended up tying the game and Garrett played really good.  

We had such a fun trip and it was so nice to get away just the 2 of us!  Thanks Josh for inviting me along!

Our Kids

We love Saturday mornings.  It's a day that we usually get to hang out at home for a few hours, have a delicious breakfast and get some things done in the yard and around the house.  Josh is awesome cause he usually makes something good for Saturday morning breakfast and the kids love it.  While we were waiting for breakfast to cook I snapped a few pictures of the kids.  Josh and I were commenting that we can't believe we have five kids.  Here they are all lined up!

 And being silly!

 As I was taking these pictures I got thinking how fast the time has gone and how I can't believe that, not only do we have five kids, but all five of them are getting so big!  Rhen is now 5 (and counting down to her 6th birthday already even though it's still 6 months away.)  She just started Kindergarten and loves walking to school with Rease and the other kids in the neighborhood.  She is my sweetheart.  She loves to draw pictures and gives them away to anyone and everyone she can think of.  She also loves surprising me by making my bed or cleaning up the room.  She is such a tenderhearted sweet girl and I love having her around!

 Rease is my big girl.  She loves being in 2nd grade and tells me that her favorite part of the day is lunchtime.  She is a super reader.  We read the Great Illustrated Classics books with the girls every night and she looks forward to it all day.  She loves to have fun and is friends with everyone.  She is a great example to all of us because she is not afraid to share the gospel with her friends.  She is really looking forward to being baptized next year.  I love this girl!

 Keen is crazy.  There isn't a better word to describe him because that's just what he is.  He is always into something or making a mess.  He loves to eat and usually makes a mess doing that.  His hair is wild and crazy.  And he is big enough that his feet usually can't keep up with what he wants to do so he is a little bit clumsy.  Overall he is a big, fun, happy boy that loves to give kisses and hugs.  And I have to admit, he is a little bit of a mama's boy right now and I love that he loves me!  What a boy!

 Mr. Beck is the sweetest baby ever.  Seriously he has been the best.  He just blends right into the family and doesn't make a fuss.  He loves all the attention he gets from his sisters and brothers.  He smiles all the time and is so so happy.  We love him so much!

 Liev is a lover boy.  He tells me at least 2 or 3 times a day that I'm beautiful and that he loves me.  He always wants to give kisses and hugs especially before he goes to bed.  And he has a tender little heart that gets hurt sometimes if anyone talks mean to him.  Most nights he takes his blanket and pillow into the girls room and sleeps on their floor because he gets scared.  He is the best boy and so helpful as the oldest son.  

We sure love being parents to these kids of ours!

Beck's Haircut

My boys haven't had good luck keeping their hair as babies.  All of them have been born with pretty thick dark hair but by the time they are 2 or 3 months old, it starts to really thin out on top and makes them look like an old man.  Beck was no exception.  It got to the point that I couldn't take the baldness on top with just a few whispy combovers anymore.  So we got the clippers and decided to give him his first haircut.

This is the day we cut his hair - it's not a great before shot, but you can see how thin it is on top and the sides and back are still pretty dark and thick.  Ugly.

Beck was a trooper and didn't cry at all during the shaving.

 And this is the after shot.  You can definitely tell the size of his head now - large and round.  But oh so cute and much more handsome with his hair all one length!

Unwrapped

Beck loves to be swaddled at bedtime or naptime.  It makes him be able to fall asleep and feel secure.  But usually by the end of his nap he works his way out and ends up like this instead.  It's always that left leg that gets out first and then he can weasle the other parts of his body out - either way he is a cute sleeping baby!

Canning

Canning season has come and gone for the year and we didn't miss a single bit!  We were busy trying to can in between all the other things that go on with life and this is what we somehow we managed to squeeze; pickles, tomatoes, peaches, pears, salsa, beans and grape juice.  For some reason I didn't get as many pictures this year, but here are a few to show what we've done.  Rease and Rhen were even good helpers this year!  I love having our pantry shelves full again!