Blanch's

Kaden's first day of Kindergarten!!!

2010-07-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today, my sweet little Kaden-boy started Kindergarten. I can't believe he's old enough to be in school now! Time goes by way to fast.

First, a picture of my good looking kiddo's! This was before we left for school this morning. THe kids were so excited! Kate's preschool doesn't start for another few weeks, and she was so disappointed that she didn't get to stay at school with Kaden.

The kids wanted to show off their new backpacks. Kaden's is a superhero one and Kate's, of course, is Tinkerbell, her very favorite movie.

Me and Kaden on the playground, lined up with his class waiting for their teacher to come get them. I'm all teary-eyed under those glasses!

Kaden and Kate in front of the school.

He had to test out the drinking fountain! :)

In his classroom, after he hung up his backpack.

When I picked him up today, he said that his first day of school was "Awesome!". I'm so glad he had a good day. I love you so much, Kaden!

10 year high school reunion

2010-07-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

So, I'm getting old. I had my 10 year high school reunion on the 4th of July weekend. On Friday night, I had a mini get together with my BFF's from high school. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I'm so glad we got together.

Left to right: Katie Rogers Cluff, Claire Aldrich Porter, me, Holly Heap Browning, Jenny Roser Vasquez, and her baby.

Katie being goofy! She was the only one brave enough to be goofy for pictures.

All of us with our spouses, left to right: Brendan, Nick, Brent, Allen, Freddy

On Saturday morning, our class had a float in the 4th of July parade. Katie and I were brave enough to ride on it, and I'm so glad I did! I didn't really want to but I did so I could throw candy at my kids. It was so much fun! My kids loved seeing me in the parade. Brent took some pictures of me in the parade, and the kids watching the parade. I'm 4th from the right in the hot pink shirt.

Saturday night was the reunion. We had a yummy catered dinner, and watched a picture slide show. We also had to get up with our spouse and tell what we've done since high school. I don't have any pictures of that part, but it was so much fun! I HATED high school because I was painfully shy and people thought I was stuck up because of it. I was expecting it to be all wierd and clickish and awkward like high school was, but it was great! Everyone was so nice and talkative and friendly. I really debated if I wanted to go to this reunion, and I'm so glad I did. I had a super great time!

Bronson's High School Graduation

2010-07-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

My baby brother graduated from high school in May. He was only 8 years old when I graduated and left home, and he was 10 when Brent and I got married. He's a great guy, and I'm proud of him! Love you Bronson!!!

Uncle Bronson with Kaden and Kate. Bronson was growing out his beard for the Pioneer Trek that was in June. I can't believe he had that much facial hair in high school.

Bronson and Mom:

Bronson and Dad:

Just so you all know, I have the best family in the whole wide world! I had lots of fun with them. We trashed Bronson's truck, and he was NOT happy about it. I don't have a picture of the back of it, and I wouldn't post it even if I did. There were some not-so-nice pictures on it! haha

Kaden's Preschool Graduation

2010-07-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

Kaden went to Little Scholar's Preschool with Mrs. Connolly. She was a wonderful teacher. She helped Kaden so much! Here are some pics from May 2010 preschool graduation.

Pledge of Allegance:

Getting the "exact" award from Mrs. Connolly. He was always willing to tell you EXACTLY about anything and everything in his class. If his teacher talked about a whale, Kaden would list a gazillion facts about whales. Hahaha!

Admiring his award:

Singing a cowboy song:

Showing off his artwork. He painted a picture of the earth.

Kaden with the only other boy in his class, his friend Dexter Waterman:

Daddy and Sissy came to watch too! Dad came on his lunch break.

Kaden is such a good boy, and we love him so much. We are so lucky to have him in our family!

Misadventures of Kate

2010-06-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to my parent's house about a month ago. The kids love to help my dad do chores; feed the cows and chickens and gather the eggs (the only kind of chores the actually like to do). My dad handed Kate and egg to carry in the house. He told her to be really careful with it, so she was walking with it above her head. Then she tripped and belly flopped. The egg smashed right by her head, getting egg all over in her hair and clothes. She didn't cry at all but just came walking in the house all egg-drippy. She was quite a funny sight. I snapped a few pics on my cell phone before I gave her a bath. If you look really close you'll see egg on her cheek, in her hair and on the side of her dress. Funny girl!

Kaden's 6 year check up

2010-05-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Kaden had his 6-year check up with Dr. Laks (aka Dr Robin) yesterday. We LOVE Dr Robin!!! Anyway, Kaden is finally making progress on the growth chart. He was 43 1/2 inches tall, which is still in the 10th percentile where he always is. So no biggie there, except for the fact that he's tall enough to ride most of the rides at Disneyland now. Yay! He weighed 34 pounds, which brings him to.... Drumroll.....

0 percentile!

That's right! He's finally actually ON the growth chart for his weight, even if it is just on the bottom line of 0, which has never happened before. He's usually WAY negative. Like negative 15-25%.

Hooray for progress!!!

Nursing school, here I come!

2010-05-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm SO excited!!! I just found out this morning that I got accepted to nursing school at GCC/EAC. I'll be starting in August. I've been waiting over TWO freakin' months to find out. Pins and needles, I tell you! It was torture. I can't believe it.
I'm also very nervous. It feels a little surreal. I feel like I still don't know enough. I'll have to do a lot of studying over the summer.
YAY for moving along in my schooling!

Speeding!

2010-04-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

I was driving down to Tempe with the kids to visit with my mom. My dad has training for work so my mom came with him. While we were driving, Kaden was watching the speed limit signs.

I heard him say: "5 and 5 is 10."
Then he asked: "Mom, how fast are you going?"
Me: "65".
Kaden: "Mom, is 65 higher than 10?"
Me: "yes"
Kaden: "Mom, you're speeding really big. You need to slow down."

He was adding the 5 and 5 on the speed limit sign. 5 and 5 is 10! haha

Also, Kaden started soccer again. I can tell he's getting bigger, because he's getting so much better at sports. He just liked running around the field last year, but this year, he's doing good. He had his second game lastnight and stayed with the ball the whole game. He kicked it tons of times, and almost made a goal once. It's so much fun to watch him play. I sure do love that sweet little boy. his birhtday is in two weeks, and I can't believe he's almost 6!

Finally... A New Post!!!

2010-04-08T10:07:00.001-07:00

Kate turned three in February and she is such a funny girl. In this picture from yesterday, she fell asleep in the car and started drooling. Then the turned her head and her hair stuck to her drool. So funny!

Also, in the same car trip, she had been eating a lollipop that she got from the barber when we took Kaden to get his hair cut. I guess she just dropped it on her car seat when she fell asleep. She was wearing a dress, by the way. When we stopped the car at Taco Bell for lunch and went inside, Kate kept grabbing at her crotch. We told her to stop a bunch of times and told her that it's not appropriate to do that in public. We asked her if she needed to go potty. No. I asked if she was hurting there. She said yes. I thought maybe she was itching from a yeast infection or something. Oh, great! Now we have to go all the way down to the valley to take her to the doctor! Ugh! I even took her in the bathroom and straightened her panties, thinking maybe that's why she was grabbing her crotch. I guess I didn't look close enough. When we were sitting there eating lunch, Kate lifted up her legs, held up her dress and said "look, mom!"

Guess what was stuck to her bum crack??? A half-eaten lollipop! It had been stuck there for at least half an hour and she was all red and chaffed. Poor little girl. It was pretty funny though.

Letters to Santa

2009-11-30T16:29:00.000-08:00

Lastnight we wrote letters to Santa. I thought they were pretty cute.

Here's Kate's:

Dear Santa,
I want a pants and shirt. And cents. And a Barbie and a pony. An airplane can go. I'm a good girl, Santa. I want a carpet stack. Two presents.
Please and Thank you,
Kate

No clue what she wants a carpet stack for. She's very informative though. Yes, Kate, an airplane can go!

Here's Kaden's:

Dear Santa,
Thanks for giving all the kids on earth toys, even if we be a little bit naughty. Since I have been a good boy, I would like a roller coaster that goes over the top of our house, which goes really fast, but not too fast that you go flying, and make sure that your elves can build it. And I would please like a Hotwheels jet set, and a drum set, but not a guitar or a microphone, a real one. That's about it.
Love,
Kaden.

Gosh, I hope he's not too disappointed when he doesn't get a roller coaster for Christmas. I don't know how Santa would fit that one on his sleigh, plus it wouldn't fit in our yard. This kid has high expectations. He also drew pictures of what he wants for Christmas on the back of his letter. The very first thing he drew was a picture of a "toy ticking time bomb". Hmmm, that one concerns me a tiny bit, hehehe.

Also, Kaden brought home a note from school today that says "I am thankful for the U.S. Army and Earth. And my Grandma and Grandpa. Both of them. My mom, dad and little sister!" I'm thankful for you, my sweet little ray of sunshine!

Brent Jr!

2009-10-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Katie sent this to me. Isn't it cute?! She photoshopped Kaden's face in. Too bad he doesn't want to be a UPS driver for halloween.

And just for kicks, here's a picture my Mom took of Kate a few months ago. Silly girl. She sure can stick that lower lip out when she's pouting.

Princess poops

2009-09-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Kate is recently done potty training. (She still has an accident maybe once a week or less, but we've been working on the potty training thing for 6+ months now. Sometimes she's just too busy playing and forgets until it's too late and she tinkles on the way to the toilet.)
Kate also has been fascinated with princess stuff lately and will frequently tell me that she is a princess.
Anyway, I just heard Kate yell from the bathroom "Mommy, I'm done!" so I go in there to wipe her bum. I told her "good job pooping on the toilet, Kate!" Then she said "Did I poop Princess poops, Mom?" Yes, I suppose she did. Silly girl.

Putting things in perspective

2009-08-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

I was in a somewhat sour mood lastnight. Brent got in bed and attempted to snuggle with me, and noticed my sour mood. He then told me that I "have two amazing kids and a husband who adores me". He also told me how much he loves me, and named a few other things, but that's what stuck with me. How could I not cheer up after he told me that?
Thanks for putting things in perspective, Brentus! I ADORE you too!

Kaden boy

2009-07-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Kaden is so much fun to be around. He is the most inquisitive child I've ever met. The questions never end. EVER. He's also a deep thinker. He's always informing me of random things. Anyway, this afternoon, he tells me:

Mom, you have to be two things. I'm going to work at swim lessons, and I'm going to be a police officer. On a TSX dirt bike.

So I guess grown-ups have to have two jobs. When he grows up he wants to be a swim teacher and a cop. He loves motorcycles, and has been saying for ablut six months now that when he grows up he wants to get a TSX motorcycle. I don't think that even exists. How cute.

He also just asked me "Mom, why does Santa have a brother?" and "How do people get electricitied?" (electrocuted) and "Can there be electricity clouds in outer space?" and "How did Jesus invent the earth?" and "Mom, how do people get out of control?" all within the last two minutes.

Man, I love that kid.

Kate's version of "I Am A Child Of God"... And T-ball

2009-07-11T18:45:00.001-07:00

Kate loves singing. I was trying to teach her the words to "I am a Child of God" today. A few minutes ago I heard her singing a new version:

I am a Child of God
And I pooped my pants...

Needless to say, she had just been in trouble for pooping her pants. Silly girl. She makes me laugh.

Also, today was Kaden's last T-ball game for the season. He did really good. He hit the ball well, and while he was in the outfield, he caught the ball several times and threw it really good too. He really seemed to enjoy t-ball this year. (As opposed to last year. He hated it last year.) I'm really proud of him! He seems so much more confident in himself since he turned 5. He's pretty disappointed about not starting Kindergarten, but I really feel like he will do much better (especially in his social development) if he waits another year.

The joys of motherhood

2009-06-23T15:58:00.001-07:00

There are pro's and con's of Kate being able to change her own pull-ups.

Pro: She's very independant, which is nice for me when I'm in a hurry. She can dress herself. Take off her pull=up and put on some panties. She usually throws away her pull-up too.

Con: Sometimes she takes off her pull-up, pajamas and all and just throws it all wrapped up into the dirty clothes hamper. Without throwing away the pull up first.

Sometimes I don't think to sort through every single item in the kid's hampers looking for things that shouldn't be there before I throw it in the washer. Sometimes I just dump everything in the hamper into the washer. BIG mistake. I just went to change out the wash, and guess what I found in the washer? Is that bubbles? Foam? I touch it and its a slimy gelatenous goo. Ew ew ew!!!

Guess what I'm be cleaning up this afternoon? Yay for me.

Herrrrrre's Danae!!!

2009-06-23T15:29:00.001-07:00

That's right! Brent's sister Danae is home from her mission to the Portland, Oregon sign language mission. She got home on Thursday. We went with the Blanchs to pick her up at the airport. We missed her so much, but are very thankful for her great example to our kids. It's great to have her back. Her homecoming talk in church will be this Sunday. This is a picture of Danae holding Kaden at the airport. After she gave everyone a hug, she picked called Kaden over to her and picked him up. He asked her "how do you know my name?" It was kind of funny. Both of the kids took to her right away. Even Kate, who was only 10 months old when Danae left. They spent the entire weekend glued to her side. I'll bet she was glad to have her legs free when we went back home. Anyway, I'm so happy she's home. I'll even admit, I shed a few tears of joy at the airport. :)

Welcome home, Danae!

I know, it's been a while!

2009-06-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

Not much going on here. Kaden's done with school for the summer. He really enjoyed his preschool teacher Mrs. Connolly. She is a wonderful teacher and Kaden has grown by leaps and bounds in her class. We've decided to keep him in preschool next year, instead of sending him to Kindergarten. He's still very small, and I think he could really benefit from an extra year of social development as well.

We've been busy with the regular summer-time stuff. Brent and I took a trip on the motorcycle at the beginning of May. We took a three day trip to Casa Grande, Sedona, Williams, and Jerome. We had a blast, but came back very sore. We've both really enjoyed having the motorcycle that Brent bought a few months ago. We also celebrated our 7th anniversary last week. We rode the bike down to Mesa and went to Red Lobster for dinner. I don't like sea food, so I had chicken. I can't believe it's been 7 years! I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who loves me so much, even if I am a little crazy sometimes!

Kaden had his five year check-up last month. He weighs 30 pounds, and was 43 inches tall. He's only in the 10th percentile for his height, and still negative for his weight. His doctor said that for as premature as he was born, he is doing absolutely incredible. She said his last big hurdle will be starting school and seeing how his social skills are. As of now, I think he's kind of in the middle. Not advanced, but not lagging. He does seem to be a little less mature than other kids his age. It never dawned on me that social development could be affected by prematurity until his doctor said that, but it makes sense. Anyway, I'm just thrilled with how well he's doing. He sure is an amazing kid, and is so much fun.

Both of the kids are in swim lessons. Kaden is in t-ball. We've been to visit Grandma Hathcock and Grandma Blanch. We're having a fun summer, but nothing super exciting. I also just started watching my nephew Corey full time. My sister Heidi just started a new job. Corey is lots of fun to have around. He's such a cute and sweet little guy.

We're getting super excited about this Thursday though. Brent's sister Danae has been on a sign language mission in Oregon for the last year and a half. She's flying back home on Thursday!!! We are so excited to see her and have missed her terribly in the last year and a half. Yay!

Happy Birthday to Kaden!

2009-05-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

So today Kaden is FIVE!!! Crazy to think that it's been five years ago today that my tiny little guy was born. Two pounds, two ounces... So small! He beat the odds so many times. He is my little miracle boy. I still get teary-eyed thinking about his rough start. And I still haven't been able to scrapbook the pictures from when he was born. It's just too hard. Anyway, I am so thankful for that wonderful little boy. He has such a fun personality. He is hilarious, and very sweet. He always knows when I need a hug and is always willing to give me one. He's such a good brother. I can't imagine my life without him. I love him so much!
I love this picture of Kaden. It totally shows his personality; fun, fun, fun!

For journaling purposes, I'm also posting an essay I wrote a few months ago for my English class. It could only be three pages long, and I had to cut out SO much info, but I go a 100% on it. My teacher was very impressed with the story. So if you're up for a little story, here goes:
Saturday is my favorite day of the week. It’s a time to relax and spend time with family. One particular Saturday my husband, Brent and I slept in late since we did not have to go to work or school. We went to a few yard sales to find baby items for our first child who we were expecting on July 22. We came home, ate lunch, and took a nap. I’d had an easy and uneventful, even enjoyable six months of pregnancy so far. Saturday, April 24, 2004 ended up being a day that would change my life forever. It was the beginning of a new chapter in my life.
I awoke from my afternoon nap to a very sharp pain in my stomach. It hurt so bad that I began to cry. The pain faded a little bit, so I tried resting again. I didn’t even bother waking my husband. Then the pain came back, and left, several times. I finally decided to call my mom and ask her what was happening to me. While I was on the phone with her, I started bleeding and I felt like a balloon was coming out from between my legs. My mom told me to call my doctor immediately. Since it was Saturday and the doctor’s office was closed, I spoke with the on-call doctor. Dr. McNeil instructed me to go to the hospital. I woke Brent and after we left, I called my mom to let her know. She sounded very scared, and informed me that she had packed her bags and was on her way to come see me. She lived four hours away, so I told her to stop freaking out and that I would be home from the hospital in a few hours, after the doctor stopped my contractions. I assumed that since I was only 27 weeks pregnant and still had thirteen weeks until my due date, there was no way the baby could be born this early. My mom insisted that she was coming anyway.
When we arrived at the hospital a nurse directed us to a room at the end of the hallway. I was told to put on a hospital gown and get in the bed. I had never been in a hospital gown or bed before, and it felt very strange to be there. My nurse, Evelyn put two large elastic bands around my belly. One was to monitor the baby’s heart rate and the other was to monitor my contractions. The doctor had not made it to the hospital yet, but instructed my nurse to perform a pelvic exam and ultrasound to see if my cervix was dilated. The ultrasound came first. The ultrasound tech came in to my room with the ultrasound machine. She again confirmed that my son was a boy, and commented on how big his feet were. She was not allowed to tell me anything else about what was going on until the doctor read the ultrasound. Evelyn then proceeded to do a pelvic exam. She asked me to spread my legs and inserted her fingers inside of me. She got a very concerned look on her face and quickly ran from the room, almost yelling “That’s a bulging bag!”
Neither Brent nor I had realized the severity of the situation until that moment. We were both very scared. I was glad that my mom was already on her way. Brent called his parents to let them know what was going on. Evelyn returned a few very long minutes later. She explained to us that I was beginning to deliver my amniotic sac, with the baby inside. She had run out of the room to call the doctor again and let her know of the urgency of the situation. Brent’s parents showed up shortly before the doctor got there. The doctor did another pelvic exam before notifying us that I had gone in to preterm labor. She explained that I would be taken via helicopter to another hospital with a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that would be able to care for my son.
While we waited for the helicopter to arrive, Evelyn put an IV in my arm and started giving me Magnesium Sulfate, which was a muscle relaxer that would slow my contractions. Evelyn said she would also need to give me a shot of steroids that would help my baby’s lungs to develop faster, thereby increasing his chance of survival. When I turned to talk to Brent, she stabbed my thigh with the needle and injected the steroids. It startled me and was so painful that I flexed my thigh as an unintended reaction. The needle bent so far when I flexed my muscle that it nearly broke. That shot hurt far worse than any of the contractions I had experienced so far.
While still waiting for the helicopter to come, a high-risk baby specialist came to talk to Brent and I about what would happen with our premature baby. He explained that if my son were to be born that day, he had only a fifty percent chance of survival; that if he were to survive, there was a high likelihood of severe disabilities. This was terrifying news to me. He also told me that for every day I was able to keep him inside of me, my son would spend about three less days in the NICU.
Around 5:00 pm the helicopter arrived and I was loaded on to a gurney. There was not enough room in the helicopter for Brent to come, so he had to drive over in his car. Although the other hospital was less than five miles away, Brent was waiting for me when we arrived. It was my first time in a helicopter, but it felt very strange to by lying down looking up at the sky. It was an uneventful helicopter ride, and I was so relieved to see Brent again. I was so scared, and he has always been my strength during difficult times. I could see that he was very scared too.
The medics rushed my gurney in to a hospital room and moved me to the hospital bed. Then they tilted the bed back so my feet were about eight inches higher than my head. I was told that this was to help gravity work in my favor. I was also receiving high doses of Terbutaline, which is another muscle relaxer, as well as antibiotics to ward off infections.
The next day, Sunday evening, I got a second and final steroid shot. The doctors said that my son would benefit most from the steroids if he stayed inside of me for a full 48 hours after the initial dose, giving the steroids enough time to develop his lungs more and increase his chances of survival. We all had a little celebration on Monday evening.
I remained in that hospital bed, day after day, thankful that I was increasing my baby’s chances for survival. I was completely miserable due to the high doses of muscle relaxers. I could hardly lift my arms or turn my head. My vision became extremely blurry, so I couldn’t watch television, or read, or do anything else that required my sight to pass the time. I had plenty of time to worry. It felt like I was going to be in that hospital bed forever. Brent stayed by me the entire time. He was too worried to leave my side, and slept beside me in my hospital bed. I began to have heart problems due to all the medications I was on and the stress it caused on my heart, and also developed pneumonia.
By Saturday, I’d started contracting very frequently again despite all the muscle relaxers and my condition had continued to deteriorate. My doctors decided that if they continued to keep me on these medications, it would have severe complications for me, and that the baby had a much better chance of survival now than he did one week ago when this started. I was taken to the operating room for an emergency c-section at 5:00 am. Brent stayed by my side through the surgery, and even watched most of it. I was still very afraid that my baby wouldn’t breathe on his own when he was born. I was amazed at how quickly everything went. My sweet, tiny little baby was born at 5:13 am on May 1, 2004, just thirteen minutes after being taken for a c-section. He weighed only two pounds, two ounces.
Within seconds of his birth, I heard the most beautiful noise I’d ever heard. My baby began crying! I couldn’t see him, but I heard his strong little cry for a few seconds before he was rushed away by the neonatal team. After hearing his cry, I knew that he was strong-willed, a real fighter. I knew he had what it took not just to survive, but to fight the hard battle ahead of him and come out on top. He was finally able to join us at home after three long months in the NICU, without any lasting disabilities or side-effects of his prematurity. He truly beat the odds, and my life will never be the same because of this amazing little boy.

Pictures!

2009-04-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

Cute picture of Kate on an Easter egg hunt at Grandma Blanch's. Sadly, that was the ONLY picture I got of the kids on Easter. No shots of Kaden and only one of Kate. Oops! I didn't even get any of them in their Easter Sunday clothes. I might have to dress them up again just to do that. haha

Brent with his new motorcycle. He's found a new love in his life. haha

We had pictures taken last week. Kate was pretty grumpy, and Kaden makes the silly "cheese!" face but we still got some cute shots.

Funny boy

2009-04-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday's are Kaden's day for Show-n-tell at preschool. So, today was his day. He was having a really hard time deciding what to bring. He likes to bring "cool stuff that does neat things". Here's the conversation between Brent and Kaden:

Brent: Do you want to ride my motorcycle to school and show your class?
Kaden: {thoughtfully considering for a moment} No... I don't have all the safety equipment. And besides, I don't have a driver's lisence!
B: Well, do you want to take Sissy (aka Kate) for Show-n-tell?
K: No!!! She doesn't do anything!

I guess Kate's not cool or exciting enough for Show-n-tell. That kid makes me laugh.

Oh, and by the way... Brent got a motorcycle a few weeks ago. It's a lime green Kawasaki Versys. He's so excited about it! I'll post pics later.

Very sad...

2009-04-05T12:40:00.001-07:00

I have some very sad news.

My sister Heidi was about 24 weeks pregnant. Her baby was stillborn this morning. He was born at about 8:30 AM. His name is Levi Michael Pinckard. I guess he stopped developing several weeks ago. The doctor thinks it may be because his umbilical cord got twisted and stopped blood flow. We'll know more about why after a few more tests are run.

Heidi is doing okay. The delivery went well. She is a little sore, and sad. Just keep her and her family in your prayers, please.

NEWS!!! And Kate's first haircut

2009-04-01T07:41:00.001-07:00

I've got some very exciting news. I'm PREGNANT!!!! I'm due in November. Yay!

In other news, Kate got her first haircut yesterday. We just got a few inches cut off the bottom, to clean up the split ends. I fixed it after we got home and it looks really cute. This picture is at the barber shop. I got it cut at the same barber shop where I take Kaden to get his hir cut. It was an impulse decision. Kaden was there to get his hair cut and Kate said she wanted her hair cut too. There is a lady that works there that was cutting another little girl's hair, and she did a great job. So I thought, Why not?! Kate did really good. She didn't fuss or cry at all and she sat pretty still for a two year old. Sorry the picture didn't turn out very good. I took it on my camera phone.
And just another picture of the kids. This is from a few days ago. Kate just HAS to carry around her baby doll every where she goes. They are so much fun. I can't believe Kaden will be five a month from today. Where does the time go???

Yesterday, when Kate was surprised by something (I don't remember exactly what) she said "Oy! Holy Moly!" But she says it very dramatic. Ooooy! Hoooooooooly Mmmmmmmmmmmoly! It's hilarious! I love it when she says crazy things like that. Silly girl.

Oh, and one last thing.... April Fools! HAHA. Everything except the first paragraph is true. Don't hate me. It's just a little April Fools fun! :)

Riding an elephant!

2009-03-17T14:18:00.001-07:00

This weekend, we all went to the Renaissance Festival with Heidi, Devin, and Corey. It was a lot of fun! And really weird too. I'm telling you, that place brings out the strangest people. I saw more cleavage in one day than I'd care to see in an entire lifetime. All those people that dress in Renaissance-era clothing for the festival take their cleavage very seriously.
Anyway, while we were there, Kaden and I got to ride an elephant! It was a short ride, but it was pretty neat. Kaden was so excited, and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I thought for sure he'd be scared, but he wasn't. Ever since the goat incident, he's been very timid and afraid of everything. He did so good with the elephant though! There was also a petting zoo there and he did, in fact, pet a goat! Shocker, I know!
Anyway, we all had a great time. Thanks, Heidi and Dev for inviting us to go with you and for the free tix! Love ya!

Sorry this picture isn't that great. It was taken on my camera phone by Brent.

BTW- we're headed back up to my parent's house again for the first time since the goat incident. We'll see how it goes! Kaden still talks about the goat all the time. He was seriously traumatized. This last week is the first time he's slept good since it happened, and he's only sleeping because we bought him a cd player and a lullaby cd. We've also been leaving the hall light on so his bedroom is really light. Poor kid's afraid of EVERYTHING!

Running Powers

2009-03-04T07:19:00.001-08:00

The other day, after Kaden had been running around all day, he said to Brent and I:

"My running powers are getting low."

Brent said "You mean you're getting tired?"

Kaden- "Yes. I'm running out of running powers."

Funny boy.

Goats and Javelina!

2009-02-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

The kids and I were up at my mom's house yesterday. Kaden was playing outside with Joni, my mom's little foster girl who is 6 years old. Kaden ran inside to tell us that he saw a goat-thing that was "this" big, but Joni didn't see it. Then he ran back outside to play. He was acting just fine. Then about ten minutes later, we hear a blood-curdling scream. I can tell it's Kaden and he's screaming/crying so hard that I think he's hurt really bad. Mom and I jump up and run towards him. He came bursting through the front door and JUMPED into my mom's arms. Then in runs Joni.

Then in runs.... a GOAT!!! Kaden was still screaming/crying in terror while mom and I herded the goat back outside and chased it back towards the neighbors house who owns it. The whole situation was so hilarious, mom and I were trying so hard not to laugh in front of him. Joni didn't seem to be too upset by it, other than the initial scare. (Neither of them got hurt.) Poor Kaden was so terrified that if anyone opened the door, he would start crying again. When it was time to drive back to Payson about 15 minutes later, he made us carry him to the car. We got home after dark and he was afraid to walk in the house by himself. When he got inside, he made us close all the blinds and was afraid to walk by the sliding glass door. When it was time to get ready for bed, Kaden didn't want to walk past the sliding glass door to his room to get ready for bed because he said he saw something outside. Brent and I had about a 10 minute talk with Kaden about being brave, and how there's nothing outside (the goat was at grandma's house, not ours, and it ran away anyway). Brent told him to go look thru the glass and he would see that there was nothing there. Kaden didn't want to but Brent told him he had to. So he runs as fast as he can past the door and into his room. Brent asks him again to go look out the glass, and Kaden screams/cries again "NOOOOOOOO!" Poor kid is so traumatized. So Brent goes and picks up Kaden and takes him back to the sliding glass door to show him that there's nothing out there to be afraid of. I look outside and see out in the darkness.......

A JAVELINA!!! and another and another and another. There are about 15 javelina between our yard and the neighbors. So now Kaden is really freaked out. We've never seen them in our yard in the year-and-a-half we've lived in this house. Brent couldn't believe it. Of all nights for there to actually be something outside in the darkness, it would of course happen lastnight. And I think he'll be traumatized for quite a while. He slept in our bed with us lastnight, which never happens (I don't sleep much if the kids are in bed with us cause they move around so much). He was glued to me all night. If I rolled over in bed, he was immediately at my side again. I wonder if he'll ever want to play outside at our house or my mom's house again anytime soon? THe whole situation was both hilarious and sad at the same time.

Also, a quick note. I haven't posted in a while because I've been meaning to post Kate's birthday pictures, but I haven't gotten them off my camera yet. So stay tuned for that. Hopefully within the next week. :)

Marbles

2009-02-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

So, we had an adventurous week last week. On Tuesday morning, Kaden accidentally swallowed a metal marble-shaped ball that we thought was a magnet. I had to take him to get it x-rayed. It stayed in his stomach for several days (we had LOTS of x-rays taked during that time). We were so worried that he would have to have it removed by having a tube put down his throat to extract it. He had to have a tube put down his throat at 18 months old and had severe complications and almost died. So, you can understand my concerns about having to put another tube down his throat. After lots of prayers and blessings, it finally came out on Friday. When it came out, it was all dimpled and pitted from being in stomach acid for so long. Anyway, we were so relieved that everything turned out okay.
And here's a picture of the kids with their pediatrician, Dr Laks. We LOVE her and see her even though she's an hour and a half away.

What I love about you! (and Bling!)

2009-01-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday was Brent's birthday. He turned 28. We went down to his parent's house in Mesa and had fun hanging out. It's always fun to spend time with them.
This is the only recent picture I could find of Brent that didn't have dead animals in it. :)

Anyway, for the record... I love him so much! He is such a wonderful husband and father. I love that after six and a half years, and two kids he still tells me I'm sexy. (I really don't feel like it, but I'm glad he thinks so.) I love our little inside jokes. What the hell, I mean really! We still have so much fun together, and he is my most favorite person to spend time with in the whole world. It is my greatest blessing in life to be married to my best friend. I love that he will stay awake at night talking to me (or mostly listening to me talk). I love that he makes me laugh, lets me cry on his shoulder, and puts up with my insanity. I'm so thankful for all the support and help he gives me during the craziest times in my life. (Namely, school.) I love that he is working to achieve his dreams. I love that he is crazy about our kids, and he frequently says that we have have the best kids ever. I love that he loves to spend time with Kaden doing the outdoorsy stuff and that Kate is his little princess. He is such a great dad. I love that he supports and encourages my hopes and dreams. I love that he thinks I'm a good mom and he tells me so. (I have my own doubts about that sometimes too. :) I love that he loves me, despite all my shortcomings. I really think we are perfect for eachother. I love you so much, Brentus! Always and forever, no matter what! Happy Birthday!

I thought this picture of Kaden was cute. He's so fun!

Also, guess what else I did on Saturday?! Here's a little hint... See if you can spot it!

The Kids!

2009-01-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

I had a funny conversation with Kaden the other day. He walked in to my bathroom and saw me putting some Proactive repairing lotion on my face.

Kaden: What are you doing Mom?

Me: Getting ready.

K: Is that lotion?

M: Yeah, I guess.

K:(looking very closely at the bottle) Is that Pernactive???

M: Yes, it is Proactive.

K: Oh. Did you order now???

M: Yes, I ordered it.

K: Is it going to clear acne fast?

M: I hope so!

K: Mom, what is acne?

I told him it was the red polkadots on mommy's face. He is such a funny boy. A few months ago he saw someone in an electric wheelchair on the sidewalk. He said "Oh, MOM!!! Look, it's a POWERCHAIR! Mom, can I get a powerchair?" That kid is living proof that advertising works.

On another exciting note, Kate is.....

POTTYTRAINED!!!!!!

Well, for the most part anyway. She's gone the last three days without any accidents. (Except for today, she pooped a little bit on the bathroom floor while she was trying to climb up onto the tiolet. But, she was attempting to get on the toilet and at least she didn't go in her panties.) She still wears a diaper at night, and while we're away from home. Maybe I'll get brave enough today to let her leave the house with panties on, because she's come home dry for the last several days whenever we go anywhere. I've been working with her for the last few weeks. I wanted to get it mostly done before I started school again. She's 23 months old. I'm so proud of her!

Let the insanity begin!

2009-01-07T07:13:00.001-08:00

Or begin again, I should say.

I start school again today! Yuck! I know I said that after that awful Chemistry class last semester (which, by the way, I got an A in, YAY!) I was going to just take one easier class this semester, but... I changed my mind! :) I'm taking English, Nutrition, and Psychology. The first two are online, and the Psych class is on campus. It doesn't actually start until the beninning of Feb and is a six week class on Friday nights and Saturdays all day. Brent and I decided that we want me to get through nursing school asap. We have big plans for post-nursing school, which Brent has forbidden me from disclosing yet. As soon as he'll let me tell anyone about it, I will. I'm so excited about it I can hardly keep it bottled up. He won't even let me tell his parents.

So, I'll apologize in advance for not being around much this semester. Between three classes, three part time jobs, being a full-time mom and wife, I have a feeling I may be spread pretty thin. Maybe it's time to cut back on a few more things, huh? :)

The Little Dictator- Junior!

2009-01-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

When Brent was little he was known as The Little Dictator. Yeah, he was a take-charge kind of kid. Well, I have a feeling his spawn will have a similar nickname.

Today, in the middle of sacrament meeting Kate was sitting on my lap coloring. All of a sudden, she looked up at the guy bearing his testimony at the pulpit and yelled "HUSH!". Then she went right back to her coloring. The people sitting around me all started laughing. I couldn't help but laugh a little bit too.

A few days ago Kate was sitting at the table eating. Kaden was in the living room playing and Kate was watching him. Then she starts telling him "Hush Bru-er (translation Brother)! So much trouble!" While shaking her finger at him.

She's become quite bossy in the last few weeks. It's actually quite funny. She's more bossy than I would expect a not-quite-two year old to be. Silly girl!

Christmas and New Years!

2009-01-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

We've had a great Christmas and New Years. My family came for Christmas on Christmas Eve. Everyone came except for Megan and Chance. They spent Christmas with his family. We really missed having them here! We had a great time opening presents. Kaden got Rockband for Wii and Kate got a kitchen. We've all had a lot of fun playing Rockband. Kaden asked for a guitar for christmas because he wants to be a rockstar when he grows up. So cute!

For new years, we got a babysitter and went out to dinner with our friends Jared and Katie Meredith, and with my sister Heidi and her husband Devin. Yay, it was so much fun, going on a date without the kids. We had dinner at Chili's then picked up the kids and came back to our house and played rockband. We were in bed by 10:00 though, because Brent was getting up early to go hunting. He didn't get anything yet. He saw a few deer but he's holding out for the big one.

We've been potty training Kate for the last few days and she's doing pretty good. She will tell me when she needs to go pee. She's almost filled up her sticker potty chart. She hasn't pooped on the toilet yet though. I think that will take a bit more time. I'm hoping we'll have that mastered by the time she turns two in one month.

Thanksgiving and Kaden's Preschool program

2008-12-12T07:39:00.001-08:00

When my IL's were here for Thanksgiving, my SIL Shanna helped the kids make these cute little turkey hats. They had so much fun! Here are some video's from Kaden's preschool Christmas program on Tuesday. Kaden did so good! It was way cute. It was taken on my digital camera, so the quality isn't that great, but you get the idea. Kaden in on the far end of the front row, in the argyle sweater. He really loves preschool, and his teacher Mrs. Connolly.

Update - Finally!

2008-12-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

I've been putting off posting because I've had so much going on lately and I knew it would be a really long post, so here goes. Kudos if you make it all the way through!

First, I'll start off with our trip to Philly. We had a BLAST! We flew out on Oct 25 and lew back on Nov 1, so we were there for a full week. We stayed with our very dear friends, Richard and Shari Michaud. They have three kids, Brighten - 4, Kanyen - 2, and Carver - 7 months-ish. We all went to see the Statue of Liberty on Monday. On Tuesday we went to Hershey, PA and did the kiddie tour of the factory (with free chocolate samples at the end). It was a really slow day, so we did that like three times. We also saw a cute 3D movie. On Wednesday we saw the Liberty Bell. On Thursday we just hung out and on Friday we did all the fun Halloween stuff. Kaden was Mickey Mouse and Kate was Tinker Bell. We made a killing while we were trick-or-treating. I really loved PA. It was so beautiful, the leaves were changing colors. I've never seen anything like that in AZ. All the reds, oranges, yellows... so pretty! And all the houses are so cute. I love the brick houses with shutters. You don't see very much of that in AZ either. We are so thankful for our friends letting us crash at their house for a week. And so here are some pics from our trip:

An the airplane heading to PA... Kaden thought is was so cool. Kate hated it. It was 5 hours of torture. Which made it kind of misserable for me and Brent too.

Ellis Island outside and inside. The ceiling inside was so cool! It is a really pretty building. It was still used as an immigration port of entry until the 1950's which I never knew. I thought it was only used until the early 1900's.

We are at the base of the statue, but at the top of the pedestal, about halfway up. Look close, we're waving!

This is the view from way up there:

Lady Liberty in front of te NYC skyline. So cool! A few fun facts: the statue was built by the same guy that did another workd famous tower... Eiffel ring a bell? And the statue was originally used as a light house. The torch has bleen replaced several times and the original light-torch is in a museum at the base of the tower.

Our dear friends, the Michauds:

Little Kanyen lost a fight with a blue ink pen in the car on the way to Hershey. He's so darn cute.

On the tour ride at Hershey, us then my cute friend Shari with two of her boys:

Downtown Hershey... Notice the street lights. How fun! Doesn't it just look like a picture-perfect town?

All dressed up for Halloween in Philly... Tinker Bell, Mickey Mouse, a knight, a dog, and a pea pod. So cute!

Inspecting (and eating) the loot!

We had Thanksgiving at our hause this year. Brent's parent's, sister Jodi, brother Branden with his wife Shanna and three girls all came. We had so much fun! The only ones missing was his sister Danae who is on a mission in Oregon, and his aunt Becky and uncle Kris who live in Pine but couldn't come because of an illness. It was such a nice time, and I'm so thinkful to have married in to such a wonderful family. I don't think I could have better in-law's. I really missed being with my family too though. Brent was on call for his second job at the funeral home for the whole week, and he worked at UPS on Friday, so we couldn't go out of town. It was my first time cooking a turkey, and it wasn't too bad! I love Thanksgiving.

For Christmas this year, we will be staying here again. Brent only has Christmas Day off, which is on a Thursday this year. Oh, the joys of working for UPS. He doesn't get to take ANY time off in December, ever. We put up our tree on Monday for FHE. We actually had to buy a new tree this year. I forgot when I sent Brent out to the shed to bring in the tree, that we donated it last year. It was a really old tree that was a pain in the neck to put up. So we were forced to go out and buy a new tree. Which I'm glad, but I wish we didn't have to spend that money this year. We got a pre-lit tree. I love it! It's really pretty.

I've been super busy more recently with Chemistry homework (this is my last week of class and I'll hopefully regain some of my sanity!). I also started working at the hospital. I finished my training a few weeks ago (three 12 hour days in a row- I was exausted!). The day after I finished my training, I watched my friend's eight kids (yes, I said EIGHT!) for six days while they went to NY. They are all homeschooled. And I even took them to 9:00 AM church with me. I am in the Primary Presidency and that day was our primary program in sacrament meeting, so I had to be there. My kids had a ton of fun playing with all those kids, and she paid me enough to pay for our whole Christmas this year.

Here are some pictures of Kaden playing soccer a few months ago. He LOVED it!
Kade and Dad cheering Kaden on:

Kaden's the one on the far right:

A picture of me and my sweet Granny after Grumpa's funeral:

Kaden getting a haircut at "the haircutting store". He says the funniest things.
Before

After

Anyway, I hope you had a good Halloween and Thanksgiving and that you have an even better Christmas.

I love you Granny and Grumpa!

2008-10-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

I just got back in town lastnight after spending three days down in the valley with my Granny. My Grumpa passed away on Wednesday night. It was such a privelage for me to be able to help her and spend time with her. I am so sad for her. And I'll really miss my Grumpa. I'm very glad I was able to see him the day he passed away.
He was such a sweetheart. He wanted Granny to take him home so bad. He didn't like being in the hospital. All the nurses were saying how sweet h was to them though. He cheered up a bit when we brought him a cheese crisp from the cafeteria. He wasn't a big fan of the hospital food. Granny and I decided that we were going to bring him a breakfast burrito in the morning when we came back. He was very alert and pretty coherent as well. He seemed to be aware of his surroundings most of the time, which is a big change from when I saw him last week. I was shocked to find out that he passed away that night. He semmed to be doing so much better than when I saw him last week.
I'm so glad that I went down there to help my Granny. I was able to be with her when she needed help finding out what to do after his passing, and choose a mortuary. I was able to go with her to a small viewing on Friday morning. The mortuary dressed him in his temple clothes and he looked so good. I'm so glad Grandma was able to see him looking so wonderful and peaceful. The mortuary really did a wonderful job with him, and it made Granny so happy to see him looking so good and in his temple clothes.
I'm headed up to Eagar tomorrow for the funeral.

Also, it seems like when it rains, it pours. I just found out from my dad that my Mom was admited to the hospital lastnight for pneumonia. Why does everything happen all at once? I am emotionally exausted.

Anyway, I'm feeling so thankful for my Granny and the wonderful woman that she is. I'm so sorry for her sadness. I love and admire her so much.
I'm thankful that she has been able to be married to my grandpa. They were so cute together. They loved eachother so much. He will be missed by many.

Tagged twice!

2008-10-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged twice in the last few weeks, so here goes!

Seven random wierd/random facts about me:

1.)I have a major sweet tooth. I love sweets! Mainly chocolate. But no surprise there, right?
2.)I have a strange thing about my belly button. I can't stand anything touching it. Brent thinks this is hilarious when he pokes me in my belly button and I have to remove his finger immediately because it drives me CrAzY!!
3.)This one's a shocker to me, but I have minivan envy. Yeah, I know! Me, anti-minivan girl, a minivan?! No WAY! But yes, I do. I'm envious of all my friends that have the convenience of a minivan. I LOVE my Honda Element, but it's downfall will be that it only seats four, so I can never give any of Kaden's friends a ride since we're already full with just the two kids. It's a major inconvenience at times. I've already decided that our next car will be either a Toyota Sienna or a Honda Odyssey.
4.) I'm in the Primary presidency for my calling. I got called there about two months ago. I LOVE IT! In all honesty, I've been in primary before but I never liked it. This time it's different though. I think this is my favorite calling I've ever had. I'm having so much fun and I love the ladies that I'm serving with.
5.) I hate chemistry! But you caould probably already tell that from my previous posts. I'm still playing catch-up. I'll be so glad when this class is done!
6.) I'm uber baby-hungry. I'd be all for getting preggers right now if Brent was ready yet. But he's not quite there. I have very hard pregnancies, and the thought of me getting pregnant scares the bejeebers out of him. So I'm hoping maybe within a year. Hopefully! Brent wants to be done with two kids, and I want just one more.
7.) I love holidays. All holidays. Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.... Although my favorite is Christmas, and I tend to go a little overboard on gifts for my kiddo's. I feel okay about that though, because they don't get a ton of toys the rest of the year (besides birthdays obviously).

part 2:
8 TV shows I love to watch:
The Office
Scrubs
Prison Break
Heroes
House
I don't have much time to watch tv...

8 places I love to eat:
Mackey's Grill (Payson)
Applebee's
Olive Garden
Wendy's
Moki's (Mesa)
Barro's Pizza (Mesa)
McDonald's when the kids get to choose. That's their first choice.
Any place other than my house!

8 Things that happened yesterday:
Heidi and Devin left to go home after spending the weekend with me.
Brent's family stayed for dinner.
I cleaned my house.
I did homework.
I changed a poopy diaper.
I watched a little bit of TV.
Went to Wal*Mart.
Brent got home after four days in Utah at his Grandpa's funeral. I was so happy to see him!

8 Things I look forward to:
We're going to Philadelphia in two weeks!
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas
Hugs and kisses from my kiddo's
A kiss from my honey at the end of the day and first thing in the morning.
Finishing school and being an RN!
Spring! I'm not much of a winter-lover.

8 Things I love about fall:
Nice weather
Changing leaves in the mountains
Being outside
Taking kids to the park
Halloween's in the fall!
Fall/Halloween decorations
?
?

8 Things on my wish list:
One more baby
A new car
A different house (someday)
A carpet cleaner
A new bedroom set for the master bedroom
New bedding for the new bedroom set
A redesigned kitchen and bathroom
New curtains for every room in my house. I don't like the ones that came with the house.

people I'm tagging:
Holly
Leslie
Jolyn
Katie M
Tawnee
Shannon

Busy times!

2008-10-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went up to my parent's and had a fun time. It's always such a nice break to go visit them. Kaden LOVES to be at Grandma's.
We also found out on Friday that Brent's grandpa passed away. He had pancreatic cancer which spread through his whole body. He was only diagnosed about two months ago, and it moved so fast. We are so sad about his passing. Brent really loved his Grandpa. We'll be driving up to Utah on Friday morning. My mom is keeping the kids for us while we're gone so I'm meeting her in Show Low on Thursday morning. We'll be driving back on Sunday, so it will be a pretty short trip. Brent's dad and sister will be riding up with us, and his mom is already up there. She flew up last week to help out and she'll be flying back after the funeral.
Until we leave, I have LOADS of homework to catch up on (I'm still two weeks behind, but I have an A so far). And I have LOADS of laundry to do.
I'm going to try to go visit my grandpa tomorrow. He's in a hospital down in Phoenix, and from what I hear he's not doing very good. I'm so sad about it. He's on ornery old cuss, but I love him. I always call him Grumpa because he's so grumpy, but he loves it when I call him that. I think he likes people to think he's ornery, but he's really sweet inside. He doesn't fool me. I'll be picking up my Granny on the way to go visit him.
Also, I have another job. That makes a grand total of THREE! I have my business that I run part time from home, and I babysit eight kids on Tuesday's and now I just got hired on at the hospital as a CNA working nights. I'll only be scheduled for two nights a month, and I can sign up for extra shifts where I can work them in. I'm excited to be working at the hospital, since it's in the same general field that I'm going to school for (nursing).

Brent's Bobcat

2008-09-21T11:03:00.001-07:00

Brent got his first bobcat last weekend. He is so excited about it. It was only about 15 yards away. It was coming straight towards him (to eat him, maybe?!). It's really big for a bobcat. It has a tiny entrance hole and no exit wound. He's having it mounted in a full body mount. He had so much fun!

Remember!

2008-09-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

I know some of you have seen this before. If so, just pass me by this time. This is for everyone else!

My cousin Brandy, who hosts a morning television show in UT, posted this on her blog, and I wholeheartedly agree with her. I hope she doesn't mind that I'm posting this here too, but I feel the need to spread the word, and I love how she put it. I thought this would be appropriate today, on the anniversary of one of our nations worst tragedies. Please take a moment to read and ponder what she has to say. Here goes:

Friday, September 5, 2008
Media is trying to brain wash people!

I've been very frustrated today and disheartened with the liberal media’s blatant bias. Never before have we seen such an overt, over-the-top, seemingly coordinated effort by press in totality to back the play of a politician. It is shameless how they are working for Barack Obama and against John McCain. As a newscaster it's an outrage to me. Hosting a live 2.5hr morning show Monday through Friday requires me to stay on my political feet. So, for the past two weeks I've been getting by on 3 or 4 hours of sleep each night so I can watch the conventions both democratic and republican. Never in my life have I witnessed such a bias. I used to really respect Tom Brokaw. After listening to his coverage throughout the 2 weeks of conference I have no respect for the man. After Barack Obama finished his speech last week the libs were singing his praises, putting him on a pedestal. When John McCain finished last night, they didn't have a kind word to say and basically ripped him apart. Now, because this is my blog I can state my opinion. Our country is in trouble! We need a President who will fight for us, our freedoms, and our way of life. I'm not saying I agree with John McCain on everything. But, please weigh the candidates. Evaluate both of their stands on issues. It shouldn't be a popularity vote! Obviously, Obama is better looking, better spoken but his ideas are way off course. Think about taxes, his homeland security, military background, experience, his feelings on abortion. The United States of America is playing a game of Russian Roulette. I didn't wear the uniform and serve our Country to watch it fall apart. If you didn't watch the convention speeches please read them. See what each has to say. Watch the upcoming debates. We have 2 months to make our decision. You may think it doesn't matter but I'm hear to tell you I believe it's a life or death decision. Why am I being so dramatic you may ask? Think about this. Russia is threatening us everyday as is Iran, North Korea, Cuba. They want you to vote for Barack Obama. He thinks he can solve the problems diplomatically and wants to pull out all of our troops. Diplomacy is great but you can't reason with terrorists!!! These countries are acquiring nuclear weapons at a rapid pace and if we don't stay on the offensive then we will be back on defense like we were before 911. No body wants war but we must protect ourselves. I honestly believe John McCain is the best Presidential pick that we have and we must vote for him. He knows that Washington needs turned upside down. The dems and the repubs have both screwed things up and need reform. I am hopeful he will do it. I like the fiscal responsibility that McCain and Sarah Palin say they will bring. When stories or commentary come from the media please take them with a grain of salt. They are doing everything within their power to make McCain seem inept and Obama as the countries savior of change...the Messiah as they've called him. Don't be fooled and don't fall into the trap they are setting! We must think, evaluate and decide for ourselves. Millions of American's have died to ensure our rights, and freedoms. Voting is very important. Making an informed vote is even more important. I hope and pray for our Country and for the World that we all do our part as Americans. I love America!!!

Uggg... Chemistry!

2008-09-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm taking an online chemistry class. It's so much harder than I thought it would be! It has a lot more math than I realized. I haven't taken a math class in almost five years. Luckily, Brent's really good at math and he's been a huge help. Secoldly, I learn much better with math subjects if I can watch the teacher do it several times first, then I know how. With this chemistry class I just read the book and I'm supposed to figure it out on my own. I'm really glad that this is the only class I'm taking right now, because I'm spending 3-7 HOURS every day on homework, and trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing. Ugggg!

Anyone want a salich? Potty! And... more pictures!

2008-08-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

First, I just have to tell a cute story about Kaden. For some reason, he thinks sandwich is pronounced "salich". And this kid LOVES pb&j "saliches". That's what he asks to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every day. 24/7. Funny kid.

Secondly, Kate went potty on the toilet a few days ago! She's been acting much more aware of her bodily functions lately. So I bought her a potty seat for the toilet and some Gerber training underwear (the kind with extra padding). She went potty on the toilet like four times that day. And only twice in her panties. She sometimes will tell me when she needs to go potty, so I put her on the toilet. I haven't continued on with the potty training yet. But it's a start! I definately think it will be possible to have her potty trained by the time she's 2. That gives me 6 months! My mom had 6 kids and all of us were potty trained before we turned 2 except one. She's an expert, I tell you!

And now for some pictures!
First, this is the cake my mom and I made for Megan's wedding. It was our second attempt at a wedding cake. (We also made my sister Heidi's cake.) It wasn't too bad. I'm sure you'll be able to spot a few flaws, but don't knock it till you try it! Making a wedding cake is actually pretty hard. That's what two day's worth of work from two women and a lot of stress looks like. The cake in the back turned out the best, and the biggest one in the front was our problem child.

Second, here's a picture of the kids a few months back. I just love Kate's swimming suit. She picked it out all by herself. They were swimming in a little pool at Grandma Blanch's back yard while we were on our anniversary trip. (which was a blast! I don't think I ever blogged about that. If you ever have a chance to stay at Arizona Grand, Do It!!!)

Finally... Pictures! Dum dum da dum :)

2008-08-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

First I'll post a few pics of my kiddo's then on to the wedding pics!

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Mr. and Mrs. Chance Norton:
Megan's dress was so beautiful, pictures don't do it justice. She looked absolutely gorgeous!

What we've been up to....

2008-07-23T23:19:00.001-07:00

I know it's been FOREVER since I posted. So here's a little update. I'll try to post again soon with pictures.

I finished my online summer CNA class on Friday. I got one of the only A's in the class. It was really intense! I'll be taking State Board's to become certified in a few weeks. I'll also hopefully be getting a part time job. I'm turning in applications at the care centers and hospital.

I start my next round of classes also in three weeks. I'm going to become an RN. I'm so excited about it! I've got about 3 years of school ahead of me, though.

Kaden and Kate have both been in swim lessons. Kate loves being in the pool with me for the Mom/tot swim class. She looks so dang cute in her swim suit! Kaden has shown much improvement. He's even jumped off the diving board the last two days.

My little sister Megan is getting married on August 9th! Right around the corner. I'm so happy for her! She's got a great guy too!

Kaden starts preschool on August 11th. He's going to an actual preschool this year instead of doing it at home with me. I've heard great things about his new teacher.

Anyway, that's my little update for now!

NEWS!!!

2008-06-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

NO, I am not pregnant. Nice try though. :)

My youngest sister Megan is getting married!!! She's getting married to Chance Norton from Safford on August 9th. I'm so happy for her. We all really like Chance. He's a great guy. They met on a blind date. Anyway, that's the news.

Yesterday was Brent and my 6th anniversary. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. I've been insanely busy for the last three weeks with my CNA class and working (the small business I run), and Kaden's t-ball and swim lessons that my house has really suffered. It was getting to be pretty trashed. Brent has really stepped it up a notch, and without complaining at all. He's helped with the kids and the housework. Last weekend I was up at my mom's for work, and Brent stayed home to get some stuff done. When I got home, my house was clean! He worked really hard to get it that way too. He's just so thoughtful and considerate and he is being very supportive of my schooling. We didn't do much celebrating yesterday for our anniversary, but we are getting a Wii, and next weekend we are dropping the kids off at my in-law's and going to the Arizona Grand Resort for a night. I can't wait! It will be our first-ever night without the kids. I love you so much, Brent!

Latest Happenings

2008-05-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, lets see what's been going on around here lately....

I've decided to take a CNA class at the community college here in Payson. It will be an online (yikes!) summer course, starting May 27th and ending July 21st. Brent and I both think think this will be a good thing for me to do now, because he's been very lucky in being able to have steady work for the summer. We're not sure how things will be in August, however and that will be flexible hours so we wouldn't have to have daycare if I have to go back to work. Also, if I get a job at the hospital they will pay for my schooling to become an RN. I'm really excited about this and Brent is too. So that will keep me busy during the summer.

Kaden had his first T-ball game yesterday. It was so funny! I think he had fun. He is the youngest kid on his team by far and is about a head shorter than most of them. One time after he hit the ball, he went and picked it up and handed it to a kid on the other team before running to first base. He said he had fun though, and it was so cute to watch.

I'm getting my hair cut on Friday, long overdue! It's been about 9 months since my last haircut!

This weekend we are going camping with my family for Memorial Day. I'm really excited about it! This will be my first camping trip of the summer although Brent and Kaden went on the Father/Son camp out with our ward last weekend. Anyway, it will be lots of fun!

And last but not least, a shout out to my li'l sister Megan. Happy Birthday on Saturday, Meg! I love you so much and I'm so lucky to have you for a sister!

Whew! I'm glad last week is over!

2008-05-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

I had an INSANELY busy week last week. Kaden had t-ball practice on Tuesday. I took both my kids to their Pediatrician down in the valley on Wednesday (that usually ends up being an all-day trip) for Kate's 15 month check up and Kaden's 4 year check up. Kate weighs 15 lb 6 oz, and Kaden weighs 25 pounds. My kids are such little peanuts!
But they are both healthy as can be. Kate got 3 shots and has been feverish and grumpy ever since. I'm hoping it passes soon, I've had about all I can take. Kaden got all his Kindergarten shots (4 total) even though he doesn't start Kindergarten for another year. He doesn't need any more shots until he's 11 though.
Friday was my 26th birthday and kind of a lame day (although on the up side, lots of people did remember me on my birthday. Yay, I'm loved! It just wasn't much of a fun day. Oh, well... birthdays tend to loose a bit of their significance as you get older.). All of Thursday and Friday were spent cleaning for our home appraisal (we're refinancing) on Friday and making phone calls to collect food orders and get my order turned in. That takes FOREVER!!! And I was so busy on Friday that I totally forgot to take Kaden to his last day of preschool. I didn't even remember that I forgot until late last night. I hope he didn't miss too much fun!
We went to Brent's parent's house for the weekend. We went to the bank on Saturday and refinanced our car and Brent took me shopping for my Birthday. On Sunday we went to church with Brent's family then we came home and got to talk to Brent's sister Danae on the phone. She's been on her mission for 6 months now. (Portland Oregon sign language mission. It was so much fun to talk to her! I forgot how fast she can talk though. She's so cute.
Anyway, Whew!!! I'm ready for a more laid-back week! I haven't had such a busy week in a really long time.

Happy Birthday Kaden!

2008-05-01T09:49:00.001-07:00

Here are some of memories from this year.

Here's what he looked like four years ago. Not the best pics, but it's what I had in my photobucket account. He's come so far from his 2 pound 2 ounce beginning! Every year on his birthday, I'm always reminded how lucky we are to have him. I'm so thankful for him. He is so much fun to have around, and is so funny. He makes me laugh every day.

This is the most recent portrait I have of him. From about 9 months ago. My handsome little man!

My little guy is turning 4 today! I can't believe he's this old already. We love you so much Kaden!!!

Tag!

2008-04-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged!
Tag! How To Play This Game of Tag. Post these rules on you blog. Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Here it is...

Joys
1- My husband. He's wonderful, handsome, and I love him to pieces! He makes me laugh.
2- My kids. They are so much fun to be around! I love being a SAHM to them.
3- Church. It makes me happy because I feel like it helps me be a better person. Or at least makes me want to attempt to be a better person. :)

Fears
1- Child predators. The thought of anyone hurting my kids is one of my biggest fears.
2- Spiders. I'm not a big fan of any insects, but those give me the willies!
3- Mice. Words can not express how much these little things disgust me. Confession: Right after we moved in to our house, a mouse ran across my living room floor, just a few feet away from where my kids were playing. After I finished sreaming and freaking out, I called Brent at work and he came home and killed it. Lots of D-con and foam insulation later (filling in the gaps where they come in from under the house), we've been mice free for a very long time now!

Goals (In no particular order)
1- Finish school! I really want to get my degree, although I'm still not sure what to major in. :)
2- Get in shape! Always one of my goals. No specific weight goal, I just want to feel healthy.
3-Be more patient. Another thing I'm always working on.

Obsessions/Collections
1-(Obsession) Sugar, mainly chocolate. Unfortunately for my rear-end, I've got a serious sweet tooth! Bummer!
2-(Collection) I used to collect cow stuff before I got married, but I've gotten rid of most of it now. I still think it's cute though. I've kept a few things for sentimental reasons, having to do with how Brent purposed marriage to me. Very sweet story, but I'll save that for another time.
3- Hmmm, I can't think of anything else at the moment. I'd love to be able to say that I'm obsessed with a clean house (I'm sure Brent would love to be able to say that too). But loving it to be clean and actually keeping it that way are too entirely different matters! :)

Random Facts
1- Brent was the first person I ever said "I love you" too (besides my family). We didn't have our first official date until we'd already been dating for several weeks, held hands, kissed, told each other we loved eachother. We just hung out together all the time.
2- I can't stand Ketchup (HATE IT!). But I love everything else tomato-based. I think I'm the only person I know that hates Ketchup. I'm crazy, I know!
3- The calling I have in my ward has been the scariest one I've had so far, but has also turned out to be fun! I'm the chorister in Relief Society. I have no musical ability whatsoever, I sing like a frog, I don't play any musical instruments, I didn't know how to lead music (besides the basic 4/4). I had to look it up in the back of the hymn book. But I've had a lot of fun learning and growing!

Wow, that was long. Kudos to you if you read the whole thing! Hope i didn't bore you too much! :)

I tag Katie C, Katie M, Leslie, Mandy, Nikki.

Mmmmmm...

2008-04-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made strawberry freezer jam! Sooooo yummy! My friend Katie inspired me. She gave me a jar of hers and it was SOOOOOO good! I'd never had freezer jam before. It's very different than regular jam. Because you don't cook it, it tastes like fresh strawberries! So I bought 12 (yes, twelve) pounds of strawberries and nine boxes of pectin and almost 15 pounds of sugar. I spent all afternoon making strawberry freezer jam! What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment. I tend to get these crazy hairbrained ideas, and instead of starting off small, I think I need to jump in feet first, gung-ho! Mine didn't turn out quite as good as Katie's, but I still think it's pretty good. I did it all in one batch, and next time I think I'll do it in smaller batches. That will be much easier! But now we have a freezer full of yummy fresh freezer jam! Mmmmm!

Kate's one year pictures (at 14 months) :)

2008-04-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

I'm not real crazy about any of these pictures. I don't think the photographer did a very good job. He hardly ever caught her smiling. Anyway, here goes!

Latest happenings

2008-04-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I went up to Eagar for my business. It was so much fun to see my family, including Heidi and Devin. I'm so glad they're back in AZ. I sure missed then while they were in Idaho for two years! And of course, Kaden had lots of fun playing with Dante and Michael, who are my parent's foster kids. On Sunday, Brent and I and the kids went down to Mesa to visit Brent's family. Brent's brother's wife Shanna had baby girl number three on Friday. Her name is Evee Beth Blanch, 7 lb 15 oz. She is SOOO CUTE!!! It was so much fun to hold a tiny baby again. It almost made me baby hungry again. Almost! :)

Kate is walking a lot more now. She walks about 1/2 of the time. She's still faster at crawling so that's her preferred method of transportation when she's in a hurry. Also, she got her first hair cut today! I trimmed her bangs because they were getting in her eyes, and I trimmed the hair at the back of her neck. It had grown in longer on the sides and shorter in the middle, so I just evened it out a little. It looks like a little bob now, it's so cute! And, she's talking a lot more now too. She says "cheese", "thank you", "mama", "dada", "yeah", "no". It amazes me every day how fast she's changing. She's such a sweet little girl, and we are so blessed to have her and Kaden in our lives.

Easter

2008-03-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

We had a fun easter at Grandma Blanch's house. Although it took us three hours to get home on Sunday night because there was a landslide on Highway 87 (Beeline) so we had to go up I17 through Camp Verde instead. Here's a pic of the kids dressed up for Easter before church.

Redneck Tank Top

2008-03-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

My cousin emailed this to me and I thought it was to funny not to share. Thanks for the laugh Misty! :)

Kate walked yesterday!!!

2008-03-19T06:57:00.001-07:00

I was at Enrichment lastnight and Brent was home with the kids. When I got home Kate was already in bed. This morning while Brent was eating breakfast, he said "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you... Kate took like nine steps lastnight!" I can't believe he forgot to tell me that! I guess she was standing at the coffee table and Brent was over by the tv putting a dvd in. He turned around and Kate was walking to him. She got all the way to him and fell down. The most steps she's ever taken before was only three. She's doing all sorts of new things these days.

Also, I've had four different people in the last week tell me she looks like the Olsen twins when they were babies on Full House. I guess she does show a slight resemblence. Little cutie! :)

The Latest- my really rotten day!!!

2008-03-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted. We've had a busy few weeks. All last week Kaden was sick with a nasty cold. It turns out he had an ear infection too. He just finished his antibiotics a few days ago. Also last week I met my Mom and Megan in Show Low for lunch. My sister Megan is going to college in Safford and I hadn't seen her since Christmas. She was home for spring break. I've really missed her! Then I found out yesterday that Kate has Pink Eye. Fun, fun! Luckily Kaden hasn't shown any signs of it, and her Dr said it's not contagious anymore after she's been on the antibiotic drops for over 24 hours. I've also been really busy with the business I took over from my mom back in January. I'm just glad I can do most of the work from home, with the exception of having to travel to my mom's house every few months.

Anyway, yesterday was one of the worst days of my entire life! I feel like such a terrible mother. And I'm dumb enough to confess to you all just how bad of a mother I feel like. It's really humiliating, especially because I consider myself a very overprotective mom, after everything that Kaden's been through. Yesterday Kaden was in the bath. I left him for just a few seconds and Kate managed to CLIMB IN TO THE BATHTUB all by herself! The bath tub comes up to her shoulders, so I dont' know how she got in. When I got back in there just a bit later she was sitting in the tub, fully clothed and soaking wet. She was having a blast (she LOVES the bath), but it scared the bejeebers out of me! She's never climbed on top of the couch or the bed or the coffee table or anything else before, but she climbed into the bathtub all by herself. I'm just so glad that I got back in there when I did, and that she wasn't even a tiny bit hurt by it. I immediately said a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for keeping her safe and watching over her in my moment of extreme stupidity. So a balled my eyes out all day, just thinking about what could have happened to my sweet baby girl. I can't believe how dumb I was!!! Lesson learned. Never ever again will I leave the bathroom when one of the kids is in the bath. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
So, yesterday Kate could have drowned, and she got Pink Eye, and to top it off she hit her mouth on the coffee table yesterday and it bled a lot. She cut her gums and wouldn't hardly eat or drink anything for the rest of the day because it still hurt. Thank goodness kids have such unconditional love, and I'm really glad she won't remember any of it. She had a pretty rotten day yesterday too.

I've Been Tagged!!!

2008-02-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

A- Attached or single: Attached!!
B- Best friend: Brent
C- Cake or Pie: Cake.....mmmmmm, cake!
D- Day of Choice: Saturday!
E- Essential Item: Cell Phone
F- Favorite Color: purple
G- Gummie Worms or Bears: Worms
H- Hometown: Eagar, AZ
I- Indulgence{s}: Chocolate!
J- January or July: In Payson.... I'd have to say July! I hate winter/cold weather.
K- Kids: Kaden and Kate
L- Life is incomplete without: FAMILY
M- Marriage Date: June 8, 2002
N- Number of siblings: 3 brothers, 2 sisters
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges. MMM I love citrus!
P- Phobias or Fears: spiders and mice EEECK
Q- Quotes: nothing comes to mind at the moment. I'm lame, I know!
R- Reason to smile: I have the best husband and kids ever!
S- Season: Spring. It's so beautiful when everything starts blooming, but more importantly it means that winter's over!!
T- Tag Three: Rachel, Misty, Heidi
V-Vegetarian or Oppressor of animal: Oppressor. I come from a long line of hunters. I didn't marry a hunter, but he's been converted my my family and is now a die-hard. In fact, as I type this today, I'm a hunting widow! Hope you're having fun, babe!
W- Worst habit: I'd have to say my sweet tooth!
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound, nothing like seeing your baby for the first time!!(ditto)
Y- Your favorite food: Mexican,Italian
Z- Zimbabwee or New Zealand: New Zealand

Kate's 12 month check up

2008-02-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Kate had her 12 month check up last week. She weighs a whopping....

14 pounds 11 ounces!!!

That puts her at, ohhh, maybe -20th percentile on the growth chart! I'm not sure exactly, but she's way below 0! She is 28 inches tall, so in the 25th percentile for height. She's just such a little squirt! Her Dr has her on a supplement called Duocal for added calories. She also has to be on soy milk now that I've officially weaned her a week ago (YAY!!) because she's allergic to dairy. But she's meeting her milestones pretty close to on time, and she is healthy and happy as can be. She's not quite walking yet. She'll take a few steps then get scared and sit down. Little Stinker! :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Kate!

2008-02-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know Kate's birthday was two weeks ago, but you all know how slow I can be with the pictures sometimes! Anyway, here's a slideshow of her party. Enjoy!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

A Tribute to President Hinckley

2008-01-31T14:15:00.000-08:00

I found this on Youtube. It is an absolutely beautiful tribute to President Hinckley. I got tears in my eyes watching this. He was such an awesome person!

http://tinyurl.com/yvma38

Kate

2008-01-29T14:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a copy on the invitations I made for Kate's birthday party. It looks much better in real life. My scanner sucks. They turned out pretty cute though. I embossed the birthday cake and the ribbon is brown velvet. I really should do stuff like this more often! :)

I just love this picture of Kate. It shows her sweet personality. I can't believe she'll be one on Sunday! She's getting so big, and changing so fast! It's kink of hard to tell in the picture, but her hair has dark tips and blonde roots. I think she's going to be a blondie with curls. Her hair just curled like that when I put it up.

This is a goofy picture, but she's showing off her new teeth. She's up to four now, two on top and two on bottom.

I love my sweet little Kate-Abella (as Kaden calls her) a.k.a. Kate Isabella Juanita Marita Jose Blanch (as my father-in-law calls her)!

Such exciting things are about to happen!!

2008-01-19T22:02:00.000-08:00

I just can't contain my excitement! Next Friday, the 25th, Brent will get his "big raise" at work. And I mean BIG. This is what we have been waiting 3 1/2 years for! Seriously, our income is about to double. Hooray!!!

Secondly, but not any less exciting.... On the 29th, Heidi, Devin, and Corey will be moving back to Eagar from Idaho!!!! I can't wait! I've missed them so much the last two years!

And one last thing... Another birthday shout-out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!! Well, on Monday, anyway. I love you so much! Thanks for being such a great mom! You're the best! XOXOXO

Happy Birthday!

2008-01-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Brent had a birthday on Thursday. He turned 27! Happy Birthday, my Brentus! I love you so much! Thanks for being such a great father and husband. You're stinkin' AWESOME!

hee hee! :)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post and say Merry Chirstmas to everyone. I'm headed up to Eagar today until tomorrow. Heidi, Devin and Corey are visiting from Idaho! I'm SOOOOOOOOO excited to see them!!! It's been over a year since the last time I saw them. Then my in-law's are coming to our house on Sunday for Christmas. That is, everyone but Danae (Brent's youngest sister). She just reported to the MTC on Wednesday. :( She'll be there for 8 weeks then she's headed to Portland Oregon sign language mission. Anyway, have a great Christmas!! Hope Santa's good to you! :)

Thanksgiving and Stuff

2007-11-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

We went to my parent's for Thanksgiving, and had a fun time. I haven't been up to Eagar in a while, and I've really missed my mom! Kate has started crawling everywhere, and pulling herself up to standing. She also has two teeth on the bottom now, and two more soon to come on the top. She said "da da" a few days ago too. That made Brent pretty happy. Kaden is loving preschool and has also started a weekly playdate with a few of his friends in the ward. He has more of a social life than I do! :) Anyway, I haven't posted any pics in a while, so I thought it was time. Here goes...

Here's a few pictures of Halloween. Kaden was a firefighter and Kate was a flower. They had so much fun.

Kate's been crawling all over the place. I found her the other day just sitting next to the wall, like she was posing for a picture, so of course I had to take a few!

And here's a few pics I took of the kids today. I was trying to get a descent one for Christmas cards, but it is SO hard to get them to both look at the camera at the same time!! The top one is my fave.

My baby's growing up so fast!

2007-11-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Kate had her Dr appointment on Thursday last week. She now weighs 13 lbs 3 oz at nine months old. She's in the 25th percentile for her head and length, but still not on the growth chart for her weight. The good news is that her growth curve has gone up instead of dropping like last time! YAY!!! The high calorie supplement I've been adding to her baby food must be working! Her Dr was very pleased with hor progress, especially since she's been so much more mobile lately. (I guess that's when most babies really start to slow down on their growth about this time because of using so much energy moving instead of growing.) So yeah, she's started doing a traditional crawl a little bit, as well as the army crawl she's so good at. Yesterday she pushed herself up from laying down to sitting. She's not pulling up to standing yet, but I think that's coming soon. Also, she got a tooth! Her first one! And I've been bitten with it already. Yeeeoooooooww!

Since I've been talking about Kate so much lately, I thought I would include a funny story about Kaden. The other day he found a white fuzz ball on the floor. He picked it up and said "Look mom! I found the Holy Ghost's nose!" I said "Oh, okay. You can throw it away if you want." Kaden said "NO!" He looked so offended, like he couldn't believe I actually suggested that, and he stuck the Holy Ghost's nose (ie a fuzz ball) in his pocket. I couldn't help but laugh. He is just so darn cute!

The Joys of Motherhood

2007-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

While I think that motherhood is, overall, a joyfull experience, there are times when it is pure bliss! Times in the life of your young child that it seems you'll never be happier in life then right at that very moment. I had one of those moments last week. Kate said her first word! And it was....................................

MA MA!!!

It was the cutest thing ever. She was sitting on the floor playing a few feet away from me and all of a sudden she just belted out "ma ma!" She said it a few more times too, to show off for daddy when he got home from work. Kaden said Dada first, so it was fun to have Kate to say mama first. I love all the baby milestones... laughing, sitting, crawling, walking... but this has got to be my favorite! It certainly made my day and made for one very happy momma! I love my sweet little angel kids!

Life

2007-10-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty boring around here. Not much exciting to post about. Everyone around here got a cold except me. Luckily, Kate had a pretty mild cold. Just a little cough and runny nose. But Brent and Kaden had a pretty wicked cold for about two weeks. They both have a few lingering symptoms but are feeling much better.
I didn't wean Kate yet, because she started eating solids. Yay! So I can add her high-calorie fortifier to her baby food instead of a bottle. I guess it just took me deciding to wean before she would finally give in and decide to eat solids. Anyway, in the last few weeks since she has been eating better, I've noticed (and a few people have commented) that Kate is starting to fill out a little bit. I see a little bit chubbier cheeks and wrists and thighs. I am really happy about this! I guess that high calorie fortifier is working!
We went camping last weekend up by Prescott with Brent's brother Branden and his wife Shanna, and their girls Londyn and Teela. It was so much fun! Kaden had a blast playing with his cousins. And the guys had fun panning for gold. We didn't strike it rich, but still had lots of fun!

Vacation!

2007-10-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

We went to California last week. We drove over on Wednesday and camped on the beach in Carlsbad (between San Diego and LA). On Thursday and Friday we went to Legoland. On Saturday we hung out at the beach. It was so much fun!! Of course, I brought my digital camera, but the battery was dead and I didn't bring my charger. Go Figure. So I bought a disposable one and still have to go get the pics developed. Anyway, while we were there we popped a tire and had to buy a new one for $200!!! For one tire!! I guess our car needs a special kind of tire, and everything is more expensive in CA. Kaden had so much fun at Legoland, and keeps asking to go back. Both of the kids did really good on the car rides and at Legoland. They never got fussy or whiny at all. That sure makes a vacation a lot nicer, when the kids are good the whole time. We had so much fun!
Also, I just wanted to add a few more things. My sister Heidi brought her baby home from the hospital on Wednesday. He is a month old now and weighs over five pounds. They're doing really good.
Secondly, I think I am going to ween Kate this weekend. She still isn't gaining weight very good, and she has a dairy intolerance (meaning I have to avoid eating dairy, which is really hard for me to do). I think she'll gain weight better being on formula where I can monitor how much she's eating and I can also add a high calorie fortifier to the formula. I'm a little disappointed that the time has come to ween her, since I really have enjoyed nursing her, but I think it's for the best. At least I made it to the 8 month mark!

Kate

2007-09-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

Kate had a Doctor appointment yesterday for a weight check. She's 7 1/2 months old and is at 11 pounds 13 ounces. She's gone down even further below 0% on the growth chart. She just keeps dropping down. :(
She's only gained 8 ounces in the last 6 weeks. She had to have some bloodwork done yesterday to see if her being so underweight is caused by any health issues. It was torture! They had to draw blood out of both arms and it was coming out so slow that it took like 10 minutes on each arm, and Kate was screaming the whole time. They still didn't get enough blood. They said they'll try to do all the testing with what blood they got, but she may have to go back in for more blood. My poor little baby. I think all the tests will come back negative though. I think it's just genetic. She takes after her daddy and big brother. Kaden is still only about 25 pounds at three years old, and Brent had always been really skinny his whole life. Brent had all this testing done when he was little too, but was perfectly healthy. At her 6 month check up her doctor told me to hold off on giving her solids for a bit since there are more calories in breastmilk than solids. I have to start giving her a nutritional supplement pouder that adds extra calories. Usually the powder is added to a bottle, but Kate will not take a bottle or sippy cup. So I have to add the extra calorie powder to baby food and see if I can get her to eat more. Anyway, that was our day yesterday.

RVHS

2007-09-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

I thought this was fun, so I stole it from Katie's blog! Fill this out about your years in high school! The longer ago it was,the more fun the answers will be!!

1. Who were your friends? Holly, Katie, Nicole, Jenny, Claire. Those were the closest anyway.

2. What sports did you play? none!!

3. What kind of car did you drive? a Geo Metro!

4. On a Friday nights what were you doing? Football games then the dance after ward, or sometimes all my friends would have a slumber party but I always had to go home at midnight!

5. Were you a party animal? Nope

6. Were you considered a flirt? Nope

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in honor chior for a few semesters.

8. Were you a nerd? Nope. I always considered myself normal, not popular and not a nerd

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No

10. Can you still sing the fight song? Heck no!

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mr Smith!

12. Where did you sit during lunch? I went home usually

13. Name the school full name? Round Valley High School

14. School mascot? E-L-K-S what's that spell? ELKS! ELKS! ELKS!

15. School Colors? Black and Gold

16. Rival high school? St Johns

17. Did you go to Prom? Yes, junior year, no senior year. And yes I was sad about that.

18. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Heck no! I couldn't wait to be done with high shcool and get on with the rest of my life!

19. What do you remember most about graduation? Katie and I though we were so cool wearing these dumb "2000" glasses at graduation that we got on clearance after New Year's at Claire's on one of our many trips down to the valley. We though we were so cool back then!

20. Where did you go senior skip day? I don't even remember having one so who knows??

21. Favorite memory? Just hanging out with friends. I loved taking road trips. I went one with Holly, one with Jenny and several with Katie. So much fun! I also loved being the "office girl". The secretaries that worked there gave me an award when I graduated for working in there so much and I also won the Principal's Award. That was kind of cool too.

22. Were you in any clubs? SADD, and that's it.

23. Where did you go most often for lunch? home with Heath and Heidi and sometimes my cousin Jarrod. We always had fun.

24. Have you gained some weight since then? Oh yeah! I weighed like 110 in high school! I don't think I'll ever be that skinny again! :(

25. Who was your Senior prom date? n/a :(

26. Are you planning on going to your 10-year reunion? As long as some of my friends go.

27. Who was your home room teacher? I don't remember.

28. Who will re-post this after you? Who know's? I don't know if very many people even read my blog. Katie already has this on hers, so the only other one that comments is Rachel! :)

29. Who was your high school sweetheart? HAHAHAHAHA what a joke! I never had a high school sweetheart! I went to a few school dances, but other than that I didn't date, much less have a sweetheart! Not until after high school.

30. Do you still talk to people from high school? Yup

31. Did you win prom queen or king? Not even close!

32. Where did you work in high school? ALCO!

33. What were your grades? B's

34. What was your dress style? Casual. I never considered myself in-style. Still don't know how to be in-style

35. What year did you graduate? 2000 Y2K!

Here he is!!

2007-09-03T07:55:00.001-07:00

My tiny cute little nephew, Corey!! Gosh, he looks so little! It looks like he's got lots of blonde hair.

I have a new nephew!!!

2007-09-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

Heidi had her baby this morning. His name is Corey, and he weighed 4 lbs, 4 oz. He was born 6 weeks early. Heidi had to have an emergency c-section due to severe pre-eclampsia. I'm told that Corey will spend about two weeks in the NICU and Heidi will be in for 3-4 days. Heidi was visiting some of Devin's family in Logan, UT (about 3 hours from Rexburg) so that's where they are now. They are both doing pretty good, considering the situation. I was camping with my parents where we didn't get cell phone service when this all happened, so we didn't find out about it until six hours after he was born. My mom is on a plane up there now. Congrats to you both, Heidi and Devin! We are so excited to get to meet Corey. I'll post pics when I get them!

Kaden started school!

2007-08-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's right! Kaden started preschool last week. He goes on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9:30-11:30. He LOVES it!! We are doing it with a group from our ward. There are 4 kids total, and all the mom's are taking turns teaching. Kaden is almost a full year younger than all the other kids, but he is still having a blast. He's been begging me to go to school every day for the last 6 months.

And one more picture of my cuties!

Also, I got my wedding ring back yesterday. Yay! I haven't been able to wear it in about a year. First I lost weight when I was pregnant and didn't want to loose it, so I didn't wear it. Then, the prongs were loose and I didn't want to loose my diamond. I picked it up from the jeweler yesterday after getting all four prongs fixed. It feels so wierd to be wearing it again. But I'm happy to be able to wear it again!

Me and my Man!

2007-08-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

I stole this idea from Katie's blog!

Basics
1. Who is your man? Brent
2. How long have you been together? 5 1/2 years
3. Dating/Engaged/Married? Dating for 2 months, engaged for two months and married for just over 5 years
4. How old is your man? 26 1/2

You or your man?

1. Who eats more? Pretty equal
2. Who said "I love you" first? He did. We had known eachother for only two weeks, so it freaked me out a little.
3. Who weighs more? We weigh pretty close to the same, but he's a lot taller than me, therefore I'm a little more roundish.
4. Who sings better? Hmmm, I don't know. Probably about the same.
5. Who's Older? Him by one and a half years
6. Who's smarter? Him book smart me everyhting else!! ;)
7. Who's temper is worse? That's a pretty even match.
8. Who does the laundry? Me
9. Who does the dishes? Me
10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me
11. Who's feet are bigger? Brent's
12. Who's hair is longer? mine, Brent doesn't have enough hair to grow it out longer than mine! But don't tell him I said that! ;)
13. Who's better with the computer? Definately Brent!
14. Who mows the lawn? We don't have a lawn...
15. Who pays the bills? Me
16. Who cooks dinner? me
17. Who drives when you are together? Brent
18. Who pays when you go out to dinner? usually Brent
19. Who's the most stubborn? Again, that's a pretty even match
20. Who is the first one to admit when they're wrong? I would have to say me, though he's pretty good about that most of the time too.
21. Who's parents do you see more? Probably Brent's because they're closer.
22. Who named your dog? We don't have a dog. We used to have a dog named Sadie, and we named her together.
23. Who kissed who first? Brent asked if he could kiss me. I gave him some tounge and he was more than a little surprised. He was only going to give me a peck on the lips. He had only been home from his mission for a month and a half and hadn't kissed anyone else yet.
24. Who asked who out? Technically, we didn't have our first date until we had already been dating for two weeks. We met through friends and just hung out every night.
25. What did you do? For our first real date we went to dinner at Buca Di Bepo with our friends Liz and Brian. We were going to go 4 wheeling but I was sick.
26. Who's more sensitive? Definately me!
27. Who's taller? Brent by 9 inches
28. Who has more friends? Me! Brent takes a minimalist approach to friends. He likes to have just a few really close friends. For me- the more the merrier!
29. Who has more siblings? I have 6 he has 4
30. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Hmmm... I would say Brent a little more so than me. And I'm okay with that!

Pictures!!!

2007-08-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've spent literally hours on my computer today, and I finally got some pictures downloaded (Grrr... see post from yesterday)! Yay!!! Here we go:

This is of the kids in the bath last week. Kate's in her Bumbo chair. They had so much fun together! We have a big garden tub in our master bath that Kaden loves to take a bath in. He calls it his swimming pool. Once in a while I'll put Kate in with him for a few minutes, and he loves the company.

Kaden is riding his first bike ever (Grandma and Grandpa Hathcock gave it to him) for the first time yesterday! He's had it for a few months, but we just got the training wheels put on it.

Kaden and Kate love to play together. Kaden loves to try to make her laugh, and Kate just watches his every move. I love to watch them interact. Kaden is such a good brother.

Another picture of Kaden. He's riding a horse ride in from of an antique store here in Payson when Brent's family came up for the 4th of July. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and rode it for about 15 minutes before I had to drag him off.

And one last picture of my little angel. She is so sweet! I just can't get enough of her.

Stupid computer!!!

2007-08-09T16:00:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I got a new digital camera a few months ago for my birthday and I have TONS of pictures on it but my ancient computer is retarded and won't let me download the pictures for some reason. Anyway, I wanted to post new pics of the kids but I'll have to wait until later. I've been fighting this for about a month, and still can't seem to figure it out. My last camera was really easy, but the new one is more hi-tech. It takes great pics, but what good is that if I can't share them with anyone?! Grrr!!!
Anyway, I had professional pics taken of the kids on Tuesday, so when I get those back I'll be sure to scan them so I can share!

Kate's 6 month check up

2007-08-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

Kate had her 6 month check up on Tuesday. She only weighed 11 lbs 5 oz. She went down on the growth chart from the 5th percentile to below 0. I guess she's going to be just like Kaden! The little stinker! :) But she is otherwise in every way healthy. While we were at the doctor's office, Kaden fell off the steps at the end of the table where he was watching the doctor do her thing with Kate, but he tripped and landed on his head. He started screaming and got a big knot on his head. His doctor ran out and got him an ice pack, and checked his eye dilation for a few minutes to make sure he didn't have a concusion. I just thought it was ironic that it would happen while we were at the doctors office.

Holy Cow!

2007-08-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy the last two weeks. After my Grandpa's surgery, he had a stroke. It affected his speech and memory. He is in a rehab center for a few more days before he goes home. From what I'm told, his doctors expect him to make a good recovery.
I spent most of last week at my mom's house helping her out after her hysterectamy that she had a little over a week ago. Things went well with that, except she had a roll of gauze left inside of her. It was removed with no further side effects. She's still a little sore, but doing better every day. She starts her teaching job again next week.
Also, I found out last week that Brent's uncle Kris has to have a double hip replacement and he's only 53, I think. They live up here by us in Pine.
And this really breaks my heart. I just found out last week that my sister Heidi's husband Devin is mostly blind now. He was diagnosed a while back with the juvenile form of Macular Degeneration, and his vision has been deteriorating. From what I'm told, he still has a little bit of peripheral vision. Heidi is due with her first baby in mid-October.
My sister Megan moved to Thatcher to go to college! She will be attending EAC. I can't believe she's that old already. Time sure flies!
My brother Heath and sister-in-law stayed with us over the weekend. The guys went scouting for Heath's upcoming antelope hunt, and Kayla and I and the kiddo's had fun hanging out and going to church.
So that brings me up to date. Boy, this has been a busy and rough few weeks! I will be back later to post a few pics.

Crazy weekend!

2007-07-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy weekend! My Grandpa Good (my mom's dad) had a triple bypass surgery on Friday. It was estimated to be a 3-5 hour procedure, but he was in surgery for over 7 hours due to excessive bleeding. He is doing okay now (after several blood transfusions), recovering a little more every day. He will be in ICU for another day and in the hospital still for a few days, and we are told it will be about three months before he is 100% recovered.
Seeing my Grandpa after surgery, on a ventilator and with drainage tubes coming out of his chest, so pale and swollen was really hard for me. It reminded me a lot of the two times Kaden was in the ICU, clinging to life. Life is so fragile and precious. I'm glad my Grandpa is recovering well though. I want to have him around for a lot longer.
We also went to the wedding of some old friends, Janae Stickel and Jason Richards. It was fun and beautiful. It was so much fun catching up with old friends who we haven't seen in years.

I am so blessed!

2007-07-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

So, here I sit crying, feeling sad and thankful all at once. I was reading my friend Katie's blog from yesterday, (she was talking about the 2nd anniversary of her brother's deaths) and thinking how hard that must be, and about the incredible support she has had from her family. They all just rally around eachother, it seems. (I know you'll be reading this, Katie so I just wanted to say again, LOVE YA, and your family is amazing!!) I feel so sad whenever I think of things like this that happen. Sometimes it's so hard for me to understand life. I really just have to put my faith in the Lord that things will work out in the end, weather it's that we will all get to see our loved ones who have passed on again, or whatever other trials come our way.
I just have to say how thankful I am for my husband, children, and mine and Brent's families, and I love them all so much. And I have such incredible friends, whom I also love very much.
I am reminded of a Martina McBride song called "blessed". It is one of my favorites.

Blessed
I get kissed by the sun each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughing
Down the hall through the bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing
Just soaking up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place
I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones that love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed
Across a crowded room
I know you know what I'm thinking
By the way I look at you
And when we're lying in the quiet
And no words have to be said
I think to myself, I think to myself
This love is a beautiful gift

I think those lyrics sum up my feelings very well!

Happy news!!

2007-07-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted a new enrty in a few months, but for very good reason. We were approached by a couple in our ward a few months ago who offered to sell us their house for a really good deal. We weren't in the market for a house, but it was such a good deal that we couldn't pass it up. They paid an almost $10,000 down payment for us as well as all of our closing costs, and sold it to us for below the appraisal price also. There's no way we would have been able to buy it without their help. So anyway, I've been very busy finding financing, packing, moving, and unpacking. We closed escrow on our first home on July 6th. We are so excited!!

And on to the house. It is a nice 2004 manufactured home (the same size home in a site built would have been way out of our price range at about $300k here in Payson) on a fifth of an acre. It is 1800 square feet, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There is a separate living room and family room. The master bath has a large garden tub, which Kaden calls his swimming pool. He loves to take a bath in it. We have already been having fun doing little projects. Brent can't wait to do some landscaping also. This has been an excellent opportunity for us to won our first home, especially since we already have some good equity in it from the beginning. We are very thankful to the Park family for helping us out so much!

We are all doing good, healthy and happy!!! We would love for anyone to stop by and see us any time you are in Payson.

Welcome!

2007-05-14T17:38:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my new blog! I'm really excited about it. Feel free to stop by once in a while to see new pics of the kids 'n stuff! I'm still learning how to do it, so please be patient with me while I get it figured out!

Mother's Day

2007-05-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I think it's the best one I've had so far in my three years of being a mom. We spent the weekend at my parent's up in Eagar. It was a blast! My mom made the best ever carrot cake from scratch. It was TO DIE FOR!!! So good! We also got to do a scrapbook project. Brent got me a very sweet card and Kaden made a little picture for me in nursery. He traced his hand and put some stickers on it and put it in a frame. It was so cute! And Dad made us all a steak dinner. It was a fantastic day! I am so thankful for the chance I have to be a mom to my wonderful kids. I am also very thankful for my Mom. She's the best, and I love her so much!

And of course, here's a picture of my little one's that I'm so thankful for. Pretty cute, I must say! Kaden sure loves his little sister. He loves to lay next to her and talk or play with her. And Kate loves to watch Kaden do what ever he's doing. They are great kids!