God Bless America

Happy Independence Day!

Not a great picture, but it is really hard getting 4 kids (two of them babies) to even look at the camera.

After having a delicious BBQ at my parents house, we headed over to our friends, the Belnaps, house to have some more fun. Trent loves this holiday (probably because he gets to set things on fire and watch them explode) so it's fun to get together with our friends who love the holiday as much as Trent. The kids had a blast riding their bikes in a neighborhood parade then had a huge water fight, before we headed back to the house and had a pinata.

If you look closely you can see Trent running! Luckily this year we did not start a fire as we had in previous years. We love Idaho in that we can let off the big mortars and have a huge show. They are amazing here and almost as good at the city ones

 We love the country that we live in... and for all those who have fought to give us those freedoms. God Bless America!

HOT HOT HOT Summer

This last week has been miserably hot here in Idaho. It has reminded me of growing up in Madera with triple digit temps every day. I have been trying to make the hot summer months more bearable by doing a few fun activities. Once or twice a week my parents babysit the babies so I can take Bailey and Nick out to do something fun, like swimming.

Nick and the babies enjoy the cooler evenings

My sweet Madison. They had their 6 month check up yesterday and she is at 13 lbs and doing great. Her hair is just starting to make an appearance...hooray!

Look at those eyes!  Mr Jackson is now 16 lbs. While he is still small for his age, his head is in the 90th percentile. The Dr. was a little concerned that it is so big and continuing to grow so fast that she ordered a head ultrasound today to make sure that nothing is wrong. We get the results on Monday and hopefully it is just a lot of brains filling that cranium of his. We sure love this boy!

We enjoy looking out over the valley and this day there was smoke from a fire drifting across the sky

Bailey and her cousin Sunny love playing together...even in their pajamas

 I took the older kids and my mom to our annual tradition of watching Fireworks at the God and Country show. Trent and my dad did not hesitate to volunteer babysitting that night

Nick and Carson having fun and keeping cool in the shade

 Bailey and Lexi (notice Bailey's tooth is missing.) She lost her first tooth this week and was very excited

Bailey and here friends gathering before the show

playing in the mud at Grandmas with cousins Aaron and Sunny

We have had so many adventures this year, that it is nice to have a rather low key summer at home with the kids. Tomorrow is the 4th and we cant wait to have fun with friends and watch more fireworks! We are take the babies this time and hoping the night wont be too terrible!

1/2 Birthday

 

The Babes are now a whole 6 months! I can't believe that time is flying by so fast. I love these little mischievous bundles of  joy. They are sure a LOT of work, but so much fun. Their little personalities are starting to shine through and we are getting to know them better each day.



Our little Jax is loud, loves to be cuddled and held, and just wants to be around people. He is strong and just wants to stand up and look around at whats going on. He sings himself to sleep and loves music.

Maddie is such a happy baby. She likes to be picked up, but is also content just sitting in her chair and looking around. She loves her baby food and eats like a champ. Her brother spits out most food and doesn't love it, but this girl starts shaking with excitement when she sees her food coming! She is happy and sleeps pretty well, even through her brother screaming.

 

I am one happy, and sleepy, momma. My four kids are so much work and sometimes I think I'm gonna go crazy from all the energy and constant work, but love them all so much.

Happy Dads day

 Happy father's Day to my crazy, and fun loving Husband, who is a wonderful father to our (slightly under dressed) kiddos. And yes, Jackson is missing from the picture because its really hard to hold two babies on your head!

And here's the missing baby, with my wonderful Father and his dog Bob! So Grateful for everything my Dad has done for me and taught me throughout my life. He is such a great example to our family, love you dad!

5 months

1st Grade music Program

We made it back from California just in time for Bailey's first grade music Program. She did a great job! (She's in the third row up, 4 from right)

So glad that Daddy could make this performance since there was a song just for the dads!

Bailey's good friend, Aspen

Saying Goodbye to Grandpa

I had to get closure and be near grandma, so we loaded up the car and all four kids and headed to California. This is the first time traveling with the babies so we didn't know what to expect, but we knew it wouldn't be easy.

The babies did really well the first two days. The first day they slept most of the way to Reno. It was harder getting a cheap hotel with 4 kids. Most of the hotels charge extra for more than 2 children, and for adding a crib. We found one that was reasonable in downtown Reno. My parents were in a car following us and got a room next to ours. That evening their car was broken into and their side window was smashed. They had to do a quick fix with cardboard and a garbage bag so we could hurry on to California. The kids did pretty well on Day 2 and we were surprised how well the drive went.

On Friday we had a nice memorial service for grandpa. He didn't want a funeral so we did a family memorial service on his ranch with a few of his close friends. This was the first time all of the cousins have been together in years.


below my mom is speaking at the memorial


Here is my family- minus Matt's wife and daughter



my parents and their grandchildren - below

And the whole family with grandma. 

After we said goodbye, we knew that grandpa wouldn't want us to be sad, so we enjoyed the rest of the visit. The kids had so much fun on the ranch, riding horses,climbing trees, finding cool bugs and animals, and just playing in the dirt!

 Smiling with Auntie Pam

Then we headed to the beach for some fish n chips and playing in the sand

Overall the trip went well and better than I expected. I was so glad that I got to see grandma and spend time with her on the ranch. The kids and I were enjoying it so much that we didn't want to go home. We headed back to Reno, then to Boise and luckily it was rather uneventful.