McLaws Family

My First Time Repelling!

2012-01-11T16:10:00.006-07:00

Yes I live in St. George where there is a ton of opportunity to repel, but I have never been. It might be because I have a slight fear of heights OR that I have 3 small children at home and would much rather my husband get to go. I'm sure its the second. But after Christmas my mom insisted on watching the kids, even though I begged to stay and help her. Matt had to pretty much throw me in the car! The real reason we were going was because Karlee and Jaren were in town and they had been wanting to go. They are the adventurous ones! Nikki also went who is now an expert because Matt had taken her for the first time a couple months ago when she was here. At the last minute we also took Kash, and I am so glad that we did. Being the middle child sometimes he needs that extra attention (he has two very demanding sisters!) and he loved it. So Cody came over with the gear and we were off!

I'm not going to lie, I was scared. I might have peed my pants a little.

This is my attempt at a "happy" face.

I'm supposed to be going down at the same time as Matt...Yep that's me still at the top.

I did it! I'm really quite proud of myself.

So happy to be alive and able to hug my hubby!

Nikki and Karlee going together.

Of course the newlyweds took a moment for a kiss!

Jaren and Karlee

The boys kept coaxing us to "jump". Nikki was pretty good at it!

After some encouraging Karlee got the hang of it.

I think my big toe might have left the rock.

Kash had so much fun climbing all over the place.

It is so pretty and it was such a PERFECT day.

Nikki took Kash on a little hike.

He found a rock to climb through.

If someone wasn't actually holding Kash's hand we had him clipped in so we knew he wasn't going anywhere!

He had no fear up on that mountain!

I'm so happy we took this sweet boy with us.

Sisters. I think we grew closer after this terrifying experience:)

Nikki found this whole in the rock and thought it was the perfect hiding place to scare Matt as he walked by. Wait for it....Wait for it....

And there you go.

I think I might actually do this again. Maybe.

Christmas Day

2012-01-10T20:05:00.005-07:00

Christmas fell on a Sunday this year so when the kids woke up (at about 9 o'clock...my kids are not early risers), we opened stockings and then went to church! It was fun being able to go to sacrament meeting with the whole family, and then we got to come home to open presents!

Here are Ella and Kash about to open their stockings from Santa.

Evie enjoying her Christmas breakfast of my Mom's traditional Breakfast Casserole.

Everyone all dressed up.
Nana and Papa with the grand kids.

Kash with his new dart gun.

Nikki and Mandy

Ella Grace

Kar excited about her new shirt!

But I think Kash is a little bit more excited about his gift! The one thing he asked for was a remote control car, and that's what Santa brought him!

Mom and I in our matching Uggs.

My 5 year old asked for clothes for Christmas! Is that normal? She also asked for a REAL puppy, hence the clothes.

Kash's gift to Matt and I that he made at preschool was his hand print with the cutest poem on the back. It made me cry!

Matt finally got his blu-ray! Before this we were manually spinning our Dvd's to get them started.

Evie was napping while we opened presents so when she woke up she opened hers by herself. We didn't think that she would care about it but she was totally into it. She wanted to take the paper off herself and then open the box right away!

She kept standing up on it and doing a dance.

So excited about her giraffe from Nana, she kept biting it!

As soon as she got the paper off she took it to Karlee to open it up! She already knows how this works!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-04T14:05:00.007-07:00

Christmas Eve was dinner at our house with our traditional handmade Mexican tamales, chili, and clam chowder. We ate, had a program, and opened a few gifts. It was a lot of fun and the kids were SO excited for Santa to come!

Papa, Liddy, Nana, Ella, Karlee, Nikki

Liddy and Evie trying to touch the ceiling.

Jaren and Ella relaxing together.

Liddy playing with her grandpa and great grandpa.

Mandy arrived just in time for the program. She had been working all day at Nordstrom and drove straight to St. George from Provo. Everyone attacked her when she walked in the door, including Kash.

Papa can't get enough of his babies!

And I can't get enough of this sweet chubby face!

We were so lucky to have the great grandparents there celebrating with us.

Liddy and Whit

My dad conducted the program and my mom read part of a talk from Elder Holland.

The men sang "Silent Night" accompanied by Jaren on the guitar.

Ella and Kash sang and acted out "Once there was a Snowman"

Ella performed "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

I love these two!

Evie entertained herself with Papa's glasses, her shopping cart, and Ryan's toothbrush!

And then Matt read from Luke and we acted out the nativity.

Ella and Kash opened their presents from Nana and Papa-matching Mario pajamas! They were ecstatic.

My most favorite girls ever.

Bowling, Baby!

2012-01-04T13:39:00.006-07:00

After bowling at Thanksgiving and having so much fun we decided we had to do it again at Christmas. We had EVERYONE together this year so it was a blast! All fourteen people stayed at our house so it was pretty crazy. Maybe that is why we went....to get out of the house!

Here are the girls, ready to get our bowl on!

Oh and don't forget Ella, my little poser.

Ryan showing off his bowling moves.

Kar and Jaren

Kash is quite the bowler.

Daddy talking them through it.

Ryan making this picture even better!

Karlee and Nikki

The babies...playing all over the bowling alley floor, headbands long gone, and everyone desperately trying to avoid them smashing their fingers!

After one game of bowling these two were off to play the other games!

My sweetie pie Kashy Man.

My other sweetie pie...mullet man? Matt had been growing out his hair and at first I liked it but then it got WAY TOO long. He said he had never grown it out long enough to put it in a ponytail so that was his goal (yea for me). I begged him to cut it before all of my family came, so he did. He cut it into a mullet. Hot, I know.

It was so embarrassing as he sported it at the bowling alley, all smiles. Everyone was staring. It took us about 20 minutes to notice that the guy bowling on the lane next to us also had a mullet, and it was NOT a joke.

Dearest Friends

2011-12-30T16:02:00.002-07:00

Over Christmas Break my girlfriends from high school got together for lunch. A lot of these girls I only see once a year so it is always so much fun to catch up. There is something about the friends you've made growing up that is so special. I am so lucky that I have stayed in touch with these girls. Of course we have all made new friends and live in different places but we can still just pick up right where we left off! So after our FOUR hour lunch we are all caught up and hopefully it won't be another year before we get to do it again.

Polar Express

2011-12-30T15:49:00.003-07:00

Kash was so excited for the Polar Express at preschool. All the kids dressed really warm and then they got to go on a train ride to see Santa! They had hot chocolate, donuts, and got to sit on Santa's lap. I quizzed Kash down about what he and Santa talked about and he said, "Well he said I was VERY heavy." (Bless Santa's heart my 4 year old does weigh 50 lbs) "And he said that I had a hat just like him!" And of course he told him that he wanted a remote control car because that is all he's been asking for. I'm so glad he had such a fun day!

Here he is at the train station getting his ticket and giving Ms. Mickell her Christmas gift.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T19:19:00.008-07:00

The Craft Family came to St. George for Thanksgiving again this year. I LOVE when my family is here, we always have so much fun.

My grandparents had all 5 of their children together so we took advantage and had a family picture taken.

Our little family.

My little pilgrims! I thought it would be so cute to get them in their hats but Kash was not in the mood!

Papa and Evie

My mom had the great idea to go bowling the day after Thanksgiving. I always forget how fun bowling is. It was Ella and Kash's first time and they had a blast.
Here is Kash, who did NOT need any help.

Ella on the other hand did want some help, she could barely lift the ball!

Matt gave her a pep talk because she thought there was NO way she could throw the bowling ball that far:)

Matt helped her the first time and after that she was good to go.

Papa showing off his skills.

Nana and her excellent form.

Nikki was feeling pretty confident because she is on a bowling team in Idaho!

What?!

Papa and Evie Lyn

Matt was the one to beat.

Bowling Babies!

At least we looked good, right?

Evie wanted to play with the bowling balls the whole time so we were constantly making sure she wasn't getting her fingers smashed.

Yes, this is her cheesy grin that she does all the time.

We love Aunt Nikki!

We had to keep passing this baby around so she wouldn't take off down the alley.

I think we are going to have to make this a tradition.

Pre Thanksgiving fun

2011-11-29T19:02:00.005-07:00

Gina invited us over to make Thanksgiving treats. We made the cutest little acorns, and multi-colored sugar cookie leaves. Here are the kids listening intently as Gina gives the instructions.

Ella and Adam about to make their acorns.

So excited about her finished product.

Kash ate them as fast as he made them.

I'm pretty sure Emily enjoyed herself.

I love this face.

Concentrating so hard.

Kash showing off his sugar cookie.

Evie eating everyone's masterpieces.

And once we got home Evie went straight to her rocking chair. She loves sitting, rocking, climbing, and falling on this thing!

Sure glad we have fun cousins to play with!

Funny Kids

2011-11-29T18:32:00.003-07:00

These are some random pictures of our day to day life. I've gotten really bad at taking pictures in my old age so when it does happen, I feel lucky.

Kash coloring with tongue out and head lamp on.

From my kitchen window I witnessed the attack of the killer box. Ella chased Kash around and around the trampoline. They were laughing so hard, and I was too.

Too quiet=RED lipstick. Evie had gone in my bathroom, shut the door, and of course got into the messiest thing possible....my red lipstick that I had just purchased for Halloween.

This would NOT come off of her body. For the next week I had people say, "Umm have you seen this rash on her stomach?"

The Angry Bird Trio. Kash is constantly stealing my phone to play Angry Birds. This time he decided to take it and hide under the coffee table. By the time I found the little thief he had two accomplices by his side!

These three kids of mine sure are a lot of work. Good thing I kind of like them.

To Zion We Go

2011-11-11T14:39:00.004-07:00

We went to Zion for the weekend with Mike and Gina and their kids. Matt's brother has a resort up there so we were able to stay in the nicest cabin! I really couldn't believe how nice it was and immediately wanted to stay an extra night. The bath tub was amazing and probably my favorite part! Of course we ended up going on the first really cold weekend of the year. A storm was coming in but we went anyway. The main thing we wanted to do was take the kids fishing. It was actually really nice weather the entire time EXCEPT for when we were actually fishing. So what did we do? We went fishing in the snow.

Ella reeling in her fish.

Kash got to use his new Spider Man fishing pole that Mike and Gina got him for his birthday.

What made it so fun was that just about every time you cast out you would get a fish!

Adam is a pro fisherman by now.

Emily all ready to go!

Gina trying to contain Evie.

So when we got too cold we headed to the car to warm up. This is where I was most of the time. Someone had to stay with Evie, right? So the kids would warm up and then head back out to catch some more!

Mike and Matt were a little more disciplined than the rest of us and stayed out the whole time.

As we were heading home we pulled over to see the buffalo coming in for dinner.

Halloween Night

2011-11-11T14:05:00.005-07:00

These kids were ready for trick or treating! They couldn't wait to get out there. We are so lucky to live in St. George with the nice weather. It was perfect for trick or treating.

Once again Mario all dressed up.

And little Luigi.

Costume change! Our neighbor offered us this Monarch butterfly costume for Evie to wear. She is the cutest chubbiest butterfly ever. Here she is spitting for the camera.

Our first stop is always Bob and Dobo's so they can see their great grand kids in their costumes. Dobo always has a special treat for them.

They were so excited to get their Halloween cups filled with candy.

Evie with her new Halloween book.

Evie with her sweet great-grandpa Bob.

Next we headed home to go trick or treating in our own neighborhood. I had to get one picture of the three of them together before we started.

Ella and her cute friend Megan.

Ella and Ella Kate.

This was the cutest ever! Ella and Kash have friends that are brothers and they were all matching! I love it.

Matt lives for scaring the kids on Halloween. He hid in the bushes with his mask on and when the trick or treaters started up the walkway he jumped out and started shooting them with his paintball gun! It was just air of course but the loud, "POP POP POP" combined with his yelling was pretty scary! I was so concerned about the little children and kept warning friends that I saw while we were out to not go to my house! Soon we started getting kids that were coming just for the "show!"

Mandy had lots of help passing out the candy.

Evie couldn't be happier!

We had a lot of fun and now at least once a day my kids ask how many more days until Halloween!

Pre-Halloween Fun

2011-11-11T13:26:00.006-07:00

We had lots of Halloween activities this year. Both Ella and Kash had parties at school and we also went to two parties as a family. By the time Halloween was over we were all sick of dressing up!

Here is Kash all ready for his preschool party as Mario. Kash is OBSESSED with Mario so there was no question of what he was going to be this year.

He is constantly saying, "Me Mario!" in his "Mario" voice.

And Ella's costume? Luigi of course! She hasn't been something "girly" in quite a few years so next year I am pushing a princess! I want to do her hair and makeup for once! (She also mentioned she was ready for a change from the boyish costumes). This is her in the Halloween parade at school.

Our friends had a pot luck party with a huge bounce house for all of the kids. Matt and I even dressed up this year.
We were Spanish Dancers. These costumes were actually Matts' parents dance competition costumes! Matt went all out with his shirt unbuttoned, a gold necklace, and his hair was slicked back with a nasty little curl on his forehead!

Our little lady bug Evie climbing into the bounce house.

Corinne also had her annual Halloween party. We ate dinner, carved pumpkins, and the kids got to paint their pumpkins. It was especially fun because Mandy came into town! She went as Khloe Kardashian. Check out that booty!

Some of the girls that dressed up.

Corinne and I. She just whipped this pirate costume up straight from her closet!

Catching Crawdads

2011-10-17T14:06:00.006-06:00

Mike and Gina invited us to go out to Red Cliffs with them. It was really fun and made me realize that we need to be doing more of this kind of thing with our kids! I think we keep using Evie as an excuse, but she did great. Mike brought glow sticks for all of the kids. He would throw them in the air and all of the kids would run after them and gather as many as they could. Then they had their own "flashlights" to hold plus we made necklaces for them so we could always see where they were at. I thought this was the best idea ever and they had tons of fun with it. Then we sat by the fire and roasted hot dogs and made yummy smores. Afterwards the Alton's showed us how to catch crawdads! Crawdads are the ugliest things ever but fun and easy to catch. It was such a fun night.

Here are the kids picking up the glow sticks.

Yes my baby crawled around in the dirt. Yes, she is barefoot. And yes, she LOVED it.

The boys showing off their muscles.

Emily didn't want to be left out.

Taking a break.

Mike is quite the multi-tasker. He can roast marshmallows and hold a fussy baby at the same time.

Kash and Ella roasting their mallows.

Emily and Evie

Crawdads are nocturnal so we had to wait until it was dark and then we would look for them with our flashlights.

This is the first one Matt caught and when he showed the kids it bit him and they started screaming!

Ella took it very seriously.

It took Kash a while to catch one but in the end he caught a fish and a crawdad so he was happy.

On the way home Matt and Kash and Ella came up with a plan for next time. They decided they would catch a bunch of crawdads and take them home with us and put them in our fish tank and keep them as pets! Great.

Evie's 1st Birthday

2011-10-04T14:37:00.006-06:00

Evie is really one year old! It is hard to believe how fast time goes by. While we were at the marathon I kept thinking, "wow, I was in the hospital at this time last year." Life has changed a lot having a baby in the house again but she is so much fun and we love love love her. Here are some facts about our little one year old:
*She is still a BIG girl. At least 23 lbs. Her 12 month clothes have been too small for a while now, bless her little heart!
*She is not walking yet but crawls everywhere and gets into everything.
*She loves to play upstairs so she is constantly climbing up and down our very scary steep stairs.
*She is a daddy's girl. If Matt is holding her and hands her off to me she immediately starts crying! If Matt is in the room she is right by his side.
*She has been sick for the past 2 months! Ear infections, colds, teething. It has been awful. The first 9-10 months of her life she was such an easy baby but things have definitely changed around here! We have been in and out of the Dr.'s office a lot. She has been clingy, upset, and constantly crying the poor thing. We are hoping once she gets well she will be back to her easy going self.
*She loves her brother and sister and is almost always happy if they are playing with her.
*When asked, "How old is Evie?" She will hold up one finger but she refused to do it on her birthday so I did NOT get a picture!
*She is a chatter box and makes the cutest babbling noises.
*She usually sleeps through the night and if I give her a bottle around 7:30 she will stay asleep until 9am.
*She takes one good nap every day.
*She has always been a good eater but lately she throws her food onto the floor and tries to climb out of her high chair.

We almost cancelled her party because she was not feeling well but decided to go ahead with it. She was actually much better than I thought. I was sure she would scream through the whole thing but she didn't! She definitely wasn't smiling much but I think she had as much fun as she could.

The decor: pink pink pink. I actually already had my house decorated for Halloween so we just had this small area set up.

I made these party hats for the 3 one year old babies. Evie, Lola, and Amelia(who will be one next month).

I desperately wanted a picture of the three of them in their hats, they were so cute all lined up!

Evie even kept her hat on for me, but still no smiles.

She wasn't sure what to do.

I guess she didn't like it because she wanted out of there!

The baby table.

Flora and Lola.

She finally got happy when she started playing on the trampoline. This was her first smile of the night.

Cousin Amelia is exactly one month younger than Evie.

Opening presents...I think she was a little overwhelmed.

She took everything out of the box and through it on the floor. Clothes are not very exciting.

Happy birthday sweet girl!

We are your family

2011-09-25T19:09:00.003-06:00

Kash was sent to the backyard to eat his very messy cookie. Matt was about to turn on the football game but noticed Kash alone in the backyard. He grabbed a cookie and went outside to sit with him. They sat side by side talking and then there was a moment of silence. Matt was about to say something but suddenly Kash asked:

Kash: Do you have a Dad?
Matt: Yes, but my Dad died.
Kash: Is that what happened to your mom, too?
Matt: Yes.
Kash: It's okay dad. You have a family because we are your family.

September 19th

2011-09-23T17:06:00.004-06:00

The day after we got home from California was Kash's actual birthday. We got home after 11pm and I went to bed around midnight. Someone else however stayed up until 2 am blowing up 170+ balloons! So we were able to keep the new tradition alive and he awoke with balloons covering his entire room!

I wanted to try a new tradition of a birthday doughnut. They thought it was pretty fun.

Then we had a small party at McDonald's with some of his friends.

He insisted on passing out the cupcakes.

I love this picture of his best friend, Will.

Yes, it was a little scary letting him pass them out!

Kash, Will, Dallin

Emily really liked her cupcake.

Kash is just the sweetest boy. He is always making sure I'm okay and I'm always surprised how nice he can be to Ella, when he doesn't always receive the same treatment from her! When he sits down to play with Evie he is always so soft and uses the cutest voice. He is really so excited to be four and is always talking about it. The day after his birthday he woke up and the first thing he asked me was, "Mom, am I still 4 today?" When I told him he was, he said, "YES!"

Kash is 4!

2011-09-23T15:42:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Kash's 4th birthday while we were in California. Him and my dad are only a couple days apart so we had a double party! Kash is VERY into Super Mario Brothers right now, so that was the theme this year. He got lots of "Mario" gifts.

He wasn't too thrilled about the alphabet book...

Ella picked out this Mario car for Kash and the Luigi car for herself.

We are in desperate need of boy dress ups at our house! So now Kash can be decked out as a knight.

My sweet mom and sister made Kash's Mario birthday cake. It turned out SO cute.

He thought it was the coolest thing.

The birthday boys with their own cakes. Kash had to have Mario and my dad had to have German Chocolate.

Ella and Kash got to dig right in!

About the last hour of our drive home these three were out! Oh how I love them when they are sleeping:)

LA County Fair

2011-09-23T13:07:00.003-06:00

My dad said all he wanted for his birthday was for us to come to California and go to the fair with him. So, we did! It has been a tradition for the last couple of years and this year was the best so far! Ella has always loved it and had no fear when it comes to the rides and this year, Kash was the same. He wanted to go on every ride over and over again. It was so fun seeing him loving it so much.

Here we are just arriving. Liddy, Ella, Kash, Evie

Mandy and Evie

Ella was dancing to the music as we walked along.

What studs! Papa Ben and Kash Man.

Whitney, Mom, Mandy

They went down the big slide countless times.

Bumper boats! Luckily they didn't get wet.

They even liked the roller coasters.

The bumper cars were a little advanced for them, they didn't go very far!

Matt took them on the ferris wheel which of course was SO high. Once they got to the top and it started teetering, Matt said even he got nervous! He had the camera in his pocket so he snapped a pic of them at the top.

And Evie with one of the many prizes that the kids won.

I definitely know what we are getting my dad for his birthday next year!

Kash goes to Preschool

2011-09-09T12:34:00.006-06:00

Kash had his very first day of preschool. He was so excited and so dang cute! Ella started school about 2 weeks before so he kept asking when he was going to get to go. He was so happy when the big day was finally here. And it was a huge bonus that Nana was here so she was able to come with us!

Tough guy showing off his Spider Man backpack.

Oh I love this sweet boy.

Here he is just arriving at school.

Following the footprints to the door.

Finding his name.

Hanging up his backpack (this takes practice).

And finding his seat! I kept saying bye buddy and he just started working on his stickers. It is probably a good thing that my kids don't care that I leave them at a strange new place. That means there is less of a chance of me crying!

And here he is being picked up. He is still smiling! I think he is going to LOVE school. I am so excited for him.

P.S I have heard him multiple times playing with Ella and saying, "Ok my name is Mickell and your name is..." His teachers name is Miss Mickell:)

Party on the Tramp!

2011-09-09T11:55:00.002-06:00

We had 6 kids sleeping on our tramp! We had four of my cute cousins sleep over and everyone (including Ella and Kash of course) wanted to sleep on the trampoline together. Once they were all asleep Matt went out there to take some pictures.

Here is the whole group. They all slept through the night and didn't even wake up too early, which I was very happy about!

Kash and Julia

Sydney and Braden

Ella and Lauren

We love having parties at our house:)

Gymnastics

2011-08-31T10:01:00.002-06:00

Ella decided that she did NOT want to do dance anymore, she wanted to do gymnastics. So, that is what we are doing! The first day she was the only one in the class, so it was nice for her to have one on one time with the teacher. The second week it was her and her good friend Megan. Ella did great the first 10 minutes and then the rest of the 40 minutes was spent sprawled on the floor, crying and clutching her stomach. If she wasn't on the floor her teacher was holding her, trying to give Megan a lesson. Apparently she was starving and could not function! I had to pick her up from school and go straight to gymnastics so I had brought a snack with me. She never asked for it on the drive there and I never thought about it. Well she sure remembered she was hungry during her lesson! Note to self: force feed her before the next class.

Here they are warming up doing jumping jacks.

Stretching.

For some reason these are the only pictures I took of her.

Yes this is my son wearing socks and flip flops. Pick your battles.

And Evie hanging out having a snack.

Downtown Carousel

2011-08-31T09:54:00.002-06:00

The kids have been wanting to ride the carousel downtown for a while now. I took them to the splash pad and then afterwards we went for a ride. They had a lot of fun. I love how nice it is and how its only 50 cents a ride! Every time we went around they would wave and yell at Evie who was watching from the sidelines.

Kindergarten, really?

2011-08-31T09:23:00.004-06:00

I cannot believe that I have a kindergartner. My little Ella Grace is in Elementary School! Before she started everyone kept asking me how I was doing, if I was having any major meltdowns, but I was just so excited because SHE was so excited. I debated about holding her back but she made the decision for me. She wanted to GO! I worry that she is on the younger end and just so tiny, but she is very smart and loves school so much. I think she will do great!

She even picked out her own outfit.

This is her trademark pose.

Kash was very supportive!

She really wanted a picture with her baby sister.

My sweet girl! I didn't want to let go of her.

She was so excited that Aunt Nikki was here on her very first day.

Ella and Kash took off walking together. I love that the school is just around the corner.

As they were walking together someone said, "Are we sure Kash isn't the one going to kindergarten?" He is just so much bigger than her!

Lining up with her class.

And here they go heading to class! This is where Matt and I got teary eyed! Luckily we held it together. She didn't have a hard time at all. I'm screaming, "I LOVE YOU!" And Ella is just like, Bye...whats the big deal?

Beach House 2011

2011-08-03T13:18:00.011-06:00

Another fun year at the beach! We love our week at the beach so much and always say that we should really make it a two week stay. This year was a little more challenging with at 10 month old crawler. Evie actually loved the sand and the water but she was sick the entire time, which was hard. Also her nap schedule was tricky! She never lasted too long down at the beach before she needed to go back up to bed. Ella and Kash were so easy, they just played and played. Everyday they would ask if it was time to go home, and how many days we had left. They did NOT want to leave! About halfway into the week I dropped my camera in the ocean:( but somehow I still have tons and tons of pictures.

This is how we transported Evie up and down the stairs everyday. It was a good work out, she isn't exactly a light load.

She would head straight towards the water so Matt dug a giant hole to try to contain her. It didn't last long...the next day he went a bit deeper!

Kash and Ella loved playing in the ocean. They were always asking someone to take them out in the waves. I was surprised how far they went out, they weren't scared at all.

Ella clutching to Matt's head!

Kash and Ella

Kash getting a ride.

Madeline was so nice to take Kash out so much!

Kim, Evie, Heidi, Lauren

Ryan and Nikki are so cool.

These two newlyweds couldn't keep their zinc-covered hands off of each other! Poor Jaren's face kept getting burned!

Evie loving the water.

Kash giving Nana a kiss in their matching hats.

Little Liddy was an angel at the beach! I was a bit jealous, I'm not going to lie!

Ella and Sydney

Ella showing off a hat and sunglasses that she found lying around.

Kash just being a boy.

Had to get a picture of the boys in their matching suits.

These 4 rule the boogy boards! Sydney, Braden, Lauren, Julia.

Ella, Lindsay, Kash

Super excited about something.

I just had to get some pics of Evie in this teeny tiny bikini!

Check out that belly.

Kash Man cheesing it.

He is such a sweet big brother to Evie

It melts my heart to see Kash and Ella play so darling together. They really are best friends.

Whitney and I really wanted pictures of Liddy and Evie in their matching swim suits. They were NOT happy about it. These are the only ones where they are not totally screaming.

We love the beach and we love spending time with our cute family. Can't wait for next year!

Aquarium of the Pacific

2011-08-03T13:05:00.003-06:00

Vacation! We finally went on a much needed family vacation. Every year we go to the beach with the Craft Family. We decided to go to my parents house a couple of days early to play. One of the days we were there we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It was SO cool! The kids absolutely loved it and so did the adults.

The best part, and where we spent the most time, was the sharks. We were actually able to touch them which was awesome. All Ella talked about before we got there was how much she wanted to touch a shark and then of course when she had the chance she got nervous! The people there were so great and really made the kids comfortable. Both Ella and Kash loved it.

Kash touching a sting ray.

We were also able to touch sea urchins and jelly fish.

My cute boys.

Papa and Ella checking out the jelly fish.

Love how good I look in this one...

The kids with their cute grandparents!

Taped Up

2011-07-07T17:49:00.002-06:00

Ella told me to come look at Kash and when I did I found him all taped up! She wrapped him up with scotch tape and then taped his mouth and eyes shut! He is such a good sport. He thought it was funny until I took the tape off of his face....then he was ticked! I wonder when he is going to stop playing Ella's little games?

Part 3

2011-07-07T17:35:00.003-06:00

That night we went over to Mike and Gina's for a barbeque. We ate and did fireworks at their house and then we headed in town for the big firework show.

I'm not sure what she cares about more, the sparkler or the cookie.

More cookies!

I love their faces in this one.

Evie enjoyed the fireworks from her stroller.

Kash didn't care for the loud ones, he would run by the car every time!

Pure amazement! They loved the big firework show, it was awesome.

Cutest cousins

What a fun 4th!

Part 2

2011-07-07T16:57:00.007-06:00

Later we went with our friends to AntiGravity. They have indoor dodge ball, bounce houses, and trampolines where you can run, jump, and literally bounce off the walls. Unfortunately Matt's knee has been hurt so he didn't play and I had Evie....but next time we are getting in on the action!

Kristen and Dave were hard core and tried everything! Next time Matt and I are going to have to challenge them.

4th of July...Part 1

2011-07-07T16:24:00.006-06:00

Our 4th of July festivities started with our ward breakfast and bike parade. The night before we decorated the kids bikes together as a family and it was pretty fun! Matt gets really into this kind of thing so its kind of funny:) So we walked over to the breakfast all decked out. We ate and then got ready for the race/parade. All of the kids were so cute!

Lining up for the race...

And their off!

Kash in action

Action shot of Ella

Posing with their bikes:

Happy 4th of July!

Camp Out

2011-07-07T16:19:00.003-06:00

Matt was going to set up the tent for the kids to sleep in but then he asked them if they would rather sleep on the trampoline. Of course they were thrilled! They had never done that before and thought it was the coolest thing. I think Matt ended up sleeping out there with them about half the night, and the rest on the couch nearby! They did really well out there and much to my surprise they even slept in!

Photo Time

2011-07-07T16:08:00.003-06:00

Most of the time when Evie wakes up from a nap she plays happily in her crib for a while. A lot of times the kids like to go in her room and tell her good morning and play with her for a bit. This time they had the camera and were trying to take pictures of her. I got her out of her crib and put her on the floor and they continued their photo session, taking turns with the camera.

I tried to be sneaky when I realized Matt went in there to play with her. I crouched in the hallway with the camera, but Evie noticed me right away.

The Little Mermaid

2011-07-07T15:45:00.002-06:00

Girls Night Out! I took Ella to see The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn. It was really fun because we went with a bunch of her friends and their cute moms. It was a really late night and really hot, but well worth it. I couldn't believe some of the special effects, it was amazing. I recommend seeing it, and now I want to see Grease!

Mya, Raimee, Kennady, Lexie, Halle, Lily, Ella

These two cuties wanted a picture together!

First time swimming

2011-07-07T15:36:00.002-06:00

Evie is usually napping while we are at the pool or I just sit on the edge and get her feet in. So this was her first real time in the pool and she loved it. She kicked those chunky legs of hers and splashed around like crazy. We are going to have to get her in more often because she had so much fun!

Daddy's Girl

2011-07-07T15:30:00.002-06:00

Evie is such a daddy's girl. She absolutely lights up around Matt. As soon as she hears his voice she is all smiles and is looking around for him. No one can get her to laugh like he can. They are pretty cute.

Ella's doll

2011-07-07T15:24:00.002-06:00

I think Ella is going to have a lot of fun dressing up Evie when she is a little bit older. But for now, she has Kash.

Bath Time= Crazy Time

2011-07-07T15:12:00.002-06:00

I'm still amazed at these moms that tell their children, " Ok go jump in the shower, and don't forget to wash your hair." What? Excuse me, your child can bathe them self? Am I ever going to be at that point in my life? I can't imagine it. Right now I have three kids that need complete assistance and supervision in the bath tub. Luckily my dear husband bathes the kids 95% of the time, so I can have a break in the evening. Sometimes he puts all three of them in there together and its craziness! They are so funny washing Evie and playing together. I guess one day I'll look back and miss bath time.

Bikes Bikes Bikes

2011-07-07T14:46:00.003-06:00

Ella got a bike for her birthday and I was planning on getting Kash one for his birthday in September. After 1 day of Ella having her own bike I decided I couldn't wait that long! They were constantly fighting over it! Kash wanted to ride it and Ella didn't want to share...it was awful. So a few days later we took Kash to pick out a bike. I convinced Matt that it just wasn't worth waiting. I would rather have them be able to enjoy their bikes all summer, and play together, then wait 3 months. So happy early birthday present Kash!

Its funny because I think he would actually rather ride Ella's sometimes because his is a little bit too big for him. The next size down was almost too small so we went with the bigger one to last longer. He just can't ride it quite as fast as he can on Ella's smaller one. But he is getting the hang of it. The training wheels look kind of funny on such a big bike so we will have to teach him to ride without them soon!

But he is so cute on it and they are even cuter when they are riding together.

And while we were out watching the kids I caught a picture of Matt torturing Evie!

My little fish

2011-07-07T14:09:00.004-06:00

Ella and Kash had two weeks of swimming lessons this year. Ella had lessons last year but this year I put them both in the same class. They did so great! Ella is a lot more timid than Kash, who really has no fear whatsoever. This boy will do flips off of the side, jump off anything, and attempt to swim across the pool like its not a big deal. We have been swimming a few times since they finished their lessons and they are both pretty much swimming! They really can swim across the pool now. Now I am on even more of a high alert than I was before! Its scary because they really think they can swim so now I have to watch their every move! Its funny to see the difference between them. When Ella is swimming she looks frantic, her eyes are big and she paddles really fast. But when Kash is swimming he is all smiles, and almost lazy, as he floats around, does spins under the water, and rarely comes up for a breath!
Here they are at their lessons:

Evie and Liddy

2011-06-20T15:49:00.002-06:00

My kids finally have a cousin on my side of the family! Sweet Liddy is about 4 1/2 months younger than Evie. Whit and I just know that they are going to be the best of friends. We had to take a few pictures of them side by side to see the size difference. I know Evie is twice as old at the moment but I'm pretty sure she is quadruple the size!

Ella the photographer

2011-06-20T15:41:00.002-06:00

Ella and Kash both enjoy taking pictures with my camera. I usually don't know about it until I am downloading them and there are 20 of a doorknob. Well, the same thing happened with these pictures, but I guess it was a photo session of Kash on the trampoline. I don't know what she said or did to him but as you can see he starts the session literally jumping for joy and ends completely distressed.

The Family Party

2011-06-16T18:03:00.004-06:00

We had a small family party for Ella and we were lucky to have some of my family in town for it! My mom, Whitney and Liddy, and Nikki were all there. Kim and Heidi and their kids, Robin and Braden, and my grandparents came too. We made yummy Mexican food for dinner, the kids played on the slide again while Matt had fun spraying them with the power washer, and we just hung out in the backyard!

Ella of course loved opening her presents.

Karlee and Jaren got her a dress.

Kash got her this gift...
And then attacked her with a big hug!

The highlight was her new bike!

She has been wanting a new bike for awhile now, so she was pretty happy about it.

Her cake was supposed to be a giant cupcake but ended up being more of a mushroom. Oh well.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

The Friend Party

2011-06-16T16:30:00.006-06:00

Ella's party with her friends was CRAZY! I was planning on about 9 girls but we ended up having 17 kids! All of the siblings and neighbor kids saw what we were doing and wanted to join so we just kept adding more and more kids. We had a giant water slide which was the main attraction....kids of all ages have fun on this thing! We also had our little pool set up to swim, the trampoline with the sprinkler on it, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and a treasure hunt. It was pretty much chaos but lots of fun. Luckily my mom, Whitney and Liddy, and Nikki came for the weekend so I had lots of helpers. With the heat from being outside and the stress of 17 kids yelling at me for drinks, towels, toys, etc, I guess I got a little stressed out and ended up breaking out in fever blisters all over my lips! But other than that it was a success. After everyone left the only thing Matt said was, "I think we are going to have friend parties every other year."

Ella is SO excited to finally be 5. She is the youngest so being the only 4 year old has taken its toll! Now she says, "But mom, Lily is 5 1/2!" Ahhh I just can't win.

Warming up in the sun with Ella Kate.

London and Megan blowing bubbles.

Sidewalk chalk was great for a break from the water.

Lining up for the treasure hunt. Matt hid a TON of rocks in the sandbox. They loved this part and got to take home their bag of rocks.

Evie came outside to check out the action.Opening presents

Ella loves flowers so we made these flower pots for dessert.

Singing happy birthday

Blowing out her candle. I can't believe this little girl is 5 and will be going to kindergarten. She is small for her age and will be one of the youngest in her class so it just seems like she is too little to go to school! She is really excited about it though. She is very smart and very curious and I think she will do great. We love you Elle Belle.

Ella's Birthday week

2011-06-16T16:18:00.002-06:00

Ella had more of a birthday week than a birthDAY. On her actual birthday she awoke to balloons covering her entire room. She thought it was so great! When Kash woke up and walked by her room I heard him say in a tired confused voice, "What the!?" I think they could have played in their all day. Then we met friends at the splash pad and had cupcakes. And we went to a dinner at the church where they sang her happy birthday and gave her a plate of pink cupcakes. A couple days later she had a friend party and a couple days after that a family party. It was birthday overload.

chubby wubby

2011-06-16T16:02:00.003-06:00

Chubby wubby is what the kids often call Evie. She just keeps getting chubbier and chubbier and we love it! At 8 months she is about 20 lbs. She sits up by herself but occasionally loses her balance and tips over. She still wakes up sometimes during the night....I'm about ready to let her cry it out! She has two bottom teeth so far. She loves food! She prefers real food over baby food. She is still an easy going baby but can definitely throw a tantrum these days. She gets up on her knees and rocks like crazy so she will probably be crawling soon. I'm in no hurry for this to happen though. She loves her dad and her brother and sister so much!

Yes this is a roll on top of her knee cap!

Sydney's Baptism

2011-06-16T16:00:00.001-06:00

We were able to go to Cedar City for our cousin Sydney's baptism. She looked beautiful in her white dress that my grandma made for her! It was fun to spend this special day with her.

E+K

2011-06-08T08:49:00.004-06:00

Matt took the two older kids camping while I stayed home with Evie who was sick. A couple of weeks later Ella told me the following story while we were eating breakfast.

Mom, when we went camping with Dad, we were going fishing and Dad brought his knife. And then we stopped and he carved some letters in a tree. You know what the letters were? It was an E, because thats me, Ella. And then a plus (makes the sign with her finger in the air) and then a K, for Kash. Mom, it was like so cute I almost cried!

The Dance Recital

2011-05-24T17:15:00.006-06:00

This might be our last dance recital for awhile. Ella decided that she would rather take gymnastics so we are going to take a little break from dance. She just never really wanted to go to class but once she was there she was fine. I think next time I will put her in with some neighbor friends and I bet she won't have a problem going. Her recital was hilarious. Matt and I both thought she regressed! She did much better at the last recital and when we talked to her afterwards she said that a certain girl was always in her spot! That made sense because the entire time she was looking at the floor where her tape was and she was always kind of behind another girl. Maybe we will have better luck with gymnastics?

Surprise Surprise I could not get this girl to give me a real smile. She got so frustrated and finally said, "Mom, I don't know how to smile!!"

You might notice she is sporting straight hair. She had been begging for weeks to straighten her hair so for her recital we finally did. She loved it and said she wanted straight hair forever.

This was the first dance they did.

And this was the second.

Kash got a little bored and ended up laying down in the aisle.

Evie and Matt cheering Ella on.

Miss Evie in all her chubby glory.

Her teacher Ms. Trista.

I love this picture!

The traditional ice cream afterwards.

Evie enjoyed chewing on her lid.

Preschool Graduation

2011-05-24T16:44:00.005-06:00

Ella has officially graduated preschool! She will be going to kindergarten and cannot wait. Her preschool teacher this year was so so good and she loved going. Her graduation was really cute, they sang a bunch of songs for us and of course Ella stood out because she is the smallest one by far! I cannot believe my baby girl will be going off to school in the fall.

They sang the silliest song that made everyone laugh.

Just after receiving her diploma.

We love Ms. Heidi!

She was excited to give these cake pops to her cute teacher.

This is her friend Kenlee. I am sad this is the only picture I got with a friend.

Kash wore her cap for the rest of the day!

New and Improved

2011-05-24T16:39:00.002-06:00

We got a sand box for the kids last summer but Matt was never satisfied with it. He always had the intention of expanding it and really utilizing this awkward space. Well in one Saturday he busted this out and the kids LOVE it. He decided to leave the existing sand box and build around it so there would still be some shade. We have neighbor kids coming over all the time to play in it. It is such a good size and the best part is Matt made a cover to go on it so we don't have to deal with the cats!

More Evie

2011-05-24T15:02:00.002-06:00

This girl is growing up fast! She is "sitting up" now. She mostly sits up with her hands in front of her to balance. But once that head of hers veers to one side, she doesn't last long! Most of the time she starts sitting up and somehow rolls herself to her belly, but she is getting stronger.

Warning: This is NOT a boy! Blue jammies, no bow, no hair for that matter...this is an awkward faze! But she is the cutest thing:)

She was LOVING being on the trampoline with all these balls!

Oh wow we love this girl.

Evie at 7 months

2011-05-06T16:53:00.007-06:00

Evie is still as sweet as ever. She is so happy and content. I really cannot believe what a good baby she is. I think we keep waiting for her to turn into this teething monster, but so far she has been perfect! Here are some of the things she is doing at 7 months:

*She loves to be on the floor with toys and once I put her down the next thing I know she is across the room. She doesn't crawl or even scoot, but she ROLLS. She rolls fast and she knows how to get where she wants to go.

*Her favorite thing lately is her excersaucer. She plays in that thing forever. She likes to sit in it in the house and play with the attatched toys, and loves to be in it outside and watch Ella and Kash play.

*She is a great eater (surprise surprise). She eats rice cereal, oatmeal, and fruits and vegetables.

*She is just now cutting her first tooth, so we will see how this affects her mood!

*She gets laughing hysterically. Especially when Matt or Ella is playing with her. The funniest thing is when she is next to Lola, who is also her age. She laughs uncontrollably at her and it is so funny! Lola doesn't even have to do much, but Evie laughs SO hard.

*She still wakes up at least once at night, but goes right back down.

*She has discovered her tongue, so it is always out.

*She makes the loudest noises...Mandy thinks she sounds like a zombie!

We really cannot get enough of this sweet little girl.

I have always wanted to have girls that I could put in matching outfits! They are 4 years apart so it doesn't happen very often but when it does it is so fun!

Here she is with her new found toy-her tongue. (And its hard to miss the double chin, no neck, and rolls!)

Playing at the splash pad. Ella is always lying down next to her and wants a picture taken.

She loves loves this toy!

Lots of kisses

2011-04-27T17:26:00.004-06:00

All three kids were in our bed one morning and Ella and Kash were loving on Evie. They were being so cute with her.

She was getting kisses from all angles!

We have pictures of all of my kids like this and they look so much a like:

Fashion Show

2011-04-27T17:08:00.002-06:00

The cute girls in our neighborhood held a Fashion Show starring Evie and Ella. They were so funny; planning out all the outfits, having different categories, having a judge, and even a pink runway. I didn't realize how much thought they put into it so about halfway through I told them to stop so I could get my camera, and Matt got the video camera out. So I missed most of it but here are a few.

This is Evie in the "Diva" category.

Ella in "Western Wear."

Evie also in "Western Wear." She is wearing all of Ella's clothes and they pretty much fit! Just check out those thighs.

"Summer Time"

I love that they are going to have such fun memories with these neighbor girls.

Because I'm a Boy

2011-04-27T10:08:00.003-06:00

Evie had a dirty diaper so I set her on the changing table. Kash, who is always fascinated with poop, followed me into Evie's bedroom.

Kash: Is she poopy?
Me: Yes
Kash: I want to see!
Me: Kash, why do you always want to look at poop?
Kash: Because I'm a boy.
Me: Oh....actually ya I guess that makes sense.

I continue to change the messy diaper.

Kash: Wow, that is Nasty!
Did her have quesadillas?

Easter Overload

2011-04-25T16:23:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my cute husband we once again had a great Easter. He plans everything out and makes it really fun for all the kids. I have a LOT of pictures, so here they are:

Kash, Evie, and Ella right before we headed to my grandparents house.

We had lots of cousins this year. Mike and Gina and their kids, Doug and Tiff and their kids, and Kim and Heidi and their kids. Needless to say, the bounce house got a little crazy!

These are most of the kids, only missing a few. Tanner, Joel, Adam, Kash, Sydney, Julia, Ella, Madeline, Braden, Emily, Lauren

Here is Matt explaining the game he came up with using his work van. He blacked out all the windows and taped play money all over the inside. Then he stuck all the older kids in at once and they had to collect as much money as they could. They then counted it up for cash prizes. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.

Ella went in afterward and got all the left over money.

This game used these giant balls for relay races. It was so funny to see these little legs sticking out as they ran around the yard!

Towards the end of the night Nate brought his girls over and Evie and Lola played. They are only one day apart and they were so fun to watch. They kept trying to hold hands and touch each others faces.

Happy Easter!

Easter morning

2011-04-25T16:22:00.000-06:00

Easter morning we had a small Easter egg hunt at home and the kids opened their baskets.

Matt read a letter from the Easter Bunny explaining how many eggs there were. Ella was already so excited.

Searching for eggs

Posing with their baskets.

They were both really happy to get Tangled. Kash grabbed it from Ella and started shaking uncontrollably he was so excited!

Ella has my sweet tooth and is ALL about the candy.

Easter Eggs

2011-04-25T16:21:00.004-06:00

We had lots of cousins over to our house to dye Easter Eggs. Gina and her kids were there as well as 3 of Doug and Tiff's kids who were in town from Montana. It was a lot of messy fun!

Emily, Tanner, Lindsey

Kash and Adam are so dang cute together.

I think every one of Ella's eggs were pink!

Joel cheesing it for the camera. When we were just about done Joel accidentally spilled a whole cup of bright blue dye all over himself and the floor! I thought Matt was going to pass out haha!

I LOVE this pose from Emily!

Cutie Kash

Matt supervising.

I wish Lindsey lived closer to us, she is the BEST helper ever.

Two years in a row Adam's hands have been dyed totally green.

We decided next year we will do this project outside.

Park Play Date

2011-04-25T16:21:00.003-06:00

Every Tuesday some of the moms in the neighborhood do a play date at the park. I love how funny this picture is. Some looking, some not, some eating, some shirtless, etc. These are such cute memories.

Where's Ella?

2011-04-25T16:20:00.000-06:00

Matt went to check on the kids before we went to bed and told me to come upstairs. We were standing outside of Ella's room and he whispered "Try to find Ella." It was dark and it took me a minute but then I saw this mop of crazy hair sticking out from between her headboard and mattress. I can't believe she fell asleep like this.

My green thumb

2011-04-25T16:16:00.003-06:00

I have lived in my house for over a year and these are the first flowers I have planted. I have really wanted some by my front door so I finally did it. I don't know a thing about gardening so I thought I better take a picture while they still looked pretty! It has been a couple of weeks now and they definitely don't look as good as they do here. I should probably rip them out and put fake ones in! That's how bad I am.

Karlee and Jaren

2011-04-25T16:08:00.003-06:00

My little sister Karlee was married in the Los Angeles Temple on April 9th. Her and her cute husband Jaren are the most darling couple! They are so so cute together and he has the most amazing family that we were able to meet and get to know. They have a tradition of an "Advice Dinner" the night before the wedding and it was so fun. They prepared a delicious meal and then whoever wanted to give advice was welcome to. He comes from a family of 13 children so it was overwhelming trying to remember who was who but they are seriously the nicest people I have ever met. I am so happy for Karlee to be a part of this sweet Soleberg Family.

These are the only pictures I had time to take! Not even a single one of the bride and groom, I am so sad. I will have to steal some from Kar. These are all taken outside of the temple while we waited for them to come out.

I wish I could show you all how beautiful Karlee looked:(

Lounging

2011-04-25T15:03:00.003-06:00

These two were just eating their lunch and lounging in the backyard together.

I tried to stick Evie in there but she wasn't having it. She looks bigger than Ella in this picture! (She almost is...)

Family of Five

2011-04-25T14:58:00.001-06:00

Our attempt at a family photo...too bad I have a mullet:(

Shower caps and shots

2011-04-03T10:06:00.004-06:00

Ella wore a shower cap for the first time and she thought it was the coolest thing! She has SO much hair.

The band aids on her arms are from the shots she received at Kindergarten registration. I cannot believe my tiny little Ella will be going to school this fall. She couldn't be more excited, she talks about Kindergarten all the time. She is really smart and did well at the testing. She will definitely be on the younger end, and she is small, so I just hope she doesn't get overwhelmed. I explained to her that she was going to have to get shots, and she said, "I don't care Mom!" She was literally singing down the school halls, "I'm ready for my shots, I'm ready for my shots!" All of the other moms were amazed at her attitude, but I'm telling you this girl really wants to go to kindergarten! If its going to take a couple of shots to get her there, she can handle that. I've debated about holding her back, but at this point I don't think she'd let me!

6 months and cereal

2011-04-03T09:50:00.002-06:00

Evie is 6 months old and I am just now getting around to feeding her rice cereal. You would think I was feeding her steak and potatoes by the look of her thighs, they are seriously enormous! She has been eating this for the last couple of days and seems to really like it (I'm not surprised...I was pretty sure she would enjoy food) although it is quite the process. She is still figuring out how to work that tongue of hers so it is a mess but by the middle to end of her feeding she gets the hang of it.

It was quite the family affair...I was feeding Evie, Matt and Kash were video taping, and Ella was taking the pictures. You can tell by the angle of these pics that someone little is taking them!

Triple Time

2011-04-03T09:45:00.003-06:00

Matt was giving Ella and Kash a bath and I thought we should stick Evie in too. It would save time and they would have fun. Well her tub kept floating around and she kept sliding down and they were all a little squished so no, it didn't really save any time. But yes, they did have fun!
You can't really tell from this picture because by the time I had everything covered up they didn't want to smile anymore!

This is the Life

2011-04-03T09:41:00.001-06:00

Holding her own bottle...legs crossed...nothing better.

Line it up

2011-03-27T17:13:00.003-06:00

Lately Ella and Kash like to get everything out of the garage and line it up on the driveway. Ella is the one who is very particular, and wants everything a certain way. Kash mostly just does the heavy lifting for her. I can't help but smile when I see everything perfectly lined up like this. It sure does entertain them, so I am all for it. I thought I might as well benefit even more from this arrangement by putting Evie in one of the strollers. She was perfectly happy sitting there watching her brother and sister play.

Karlee's Bridal Shower

2011-03-26T18:06:00.004-06:00

My cute sister Karlee is getting married in April and we are so excited! I was able to surprise her and show up at her bridal shower in California. It was a quick trip; my Grandma and Aunt Robin and I left at 5 am Saturday morning and drove home Sunday morning. I am so glad we went, it was short but so so fun to be there for Kar. Whitney's mother in law Lisa hosted it at her beautiful home and it turned out really nice. We had a delicious brunch and enjoyed chatting with everyone.

A few of the guests...

Karlee was so excited for her kitchen aid mixer. She loves to bake more than anyone I know.

She got a very special present from our grandma. She passed down our great grandmother's china! Yes, we were all jealous.

She was HILARIOUS opening lingerie (what did she think her sisters would get her?!). She was SO embarrassed and wouldn't show a thing. It didn't help that all of us girls were cheering from across the room. Bless her heart.

Mandy sat by Karlee as she opened her gifts and wrote everything down. She was across the room from the rest of us so we kept making fun of her and taking her picture. This is her signature "thumbs up" pose.

Sweet Liddy! I made sure to get my fair share of holding this little thing. You really have to soak up that newborn stage, I already miss it.

I see you

2011-03-26T18:02:00.002-06:00

Evie was having fun playing with her blanket and when I went to check on her I only saw this giant flower and two big eyes peeking out.

CuPcAkEs

2011-03-26T17:23:00.003-06:00

Some of our neighbor girls were over playing so we decided to make cupcakes and decorate them for St. Patrick's Day. They had lots of fun!

Ella, Kash, Carley, Evie, Lacey, Sydney

5 months

2011-03-25T17:42:00.002-06:00

Evie at about 5 months...I just snapped these while Matt was holding her. And yes, she really is this chubby.

P.S. I was trying to find something green for her to wear for St. Patrick's Day and Ella picked something out that was a size 12 months. I told her no, that was too big. She insisted we try it out so we did and.....yep it fit perfectly.

AGAIN!

2011-03-25T17:38:00.002-06:00

Once again we have another Costco purchase by Matt. This giant ball which the kids adore. They have so much fun playing in there and rolling around. Matt likes to get them in there one at a time and roll them around FAST. I don't know how they haven't gotten hurt or thrown up. We have neighbor kids that come over just to play in this thing!

A Dad Thing

2011-03-25T17:35:00.002-06:00

I always have a picture like this with Matt and the babies. I also have pictures of my dad holding his babies and my babies. Must be a Dad thing? I love it.

Evie and Ella

2011-03-25T17:16:00.003-06:00

Ella loves her little sister. I can always count on her to check on her for me, or keep her entertained for a few minutes while I finish something up. She will often lay down next to her and play with her and talk with her. Evie absolutely loves the attention. I have even found Ella reading books to Evie and it melts my heart. I'm so grateful that Ella has been such a great helper, I don't know what I'd do without her. I just love my girls.

Magical Powers

2011-03-08T09:07:00.002-07:00

Ella was sitting by me trying to take my anklet off of my foot. She didn't say a word, she just quietly studied it and messed around with the lock. I kept talking with Matt, knowing she wouldn't be able to unlock it. Then she triumphantly held it up for us to see, she had taken it off. I could see she was very proud of herself so I said, "Wow Ella how in the world did you do that? I didn't think you would be able to get that off, its pretty tricky." She said, "I know, me either...... maybe I have magical powers like a PROPHET!"

Playing Catch Up

2011-03-03T09:58:00.002-07:00

I've been absent from the blogging world for quite some time now. We have been really busy but also blogging hasn't seemed as fun to me lately. I've been in a blogging rut. But because this year I am going to print out my blog in place of my scrapbook, I HAVE to keep it up. So I've done 12 posts in the last 2 days! I am up to date and feel so relieved. I am going to try to be more consistent so I don't get overwhelmed.

Nana and Papa's

2011-03-02T12:50:00.003-07:00

While we were staying with Whitney we went to my parents house to visit. They live only 20 minutes away from each other. I can't imagine how nice that would be. 5 hours is a long trip with 3 little kids. Whitney doesn't know how good she has it! It was nice for Evie to have one on one time with them without Ella and Kash trying to get all of the attention.

I've learned to keep a bib on this girl at all times because she spits up so much.

We wanted to play games so my mom got her exersaucer out so Evie could sit up and play near us. She really liked it, I guess its time to get mine out too.

Favorite Things

2011-03-02T12:49:00.003-07:00

Evie does these two things all the time. 1) rolls from her back to her stomach. I think as soon as I put her on the floor she immediately rolls over. It doesn't take her long to get sick of being stuck on her tummy. There has been one time where she was on her stomach, and I left the room for a minute and came back and she was on her back. So she has done it at least once! I think we will all be a lot happier when she figures this trick out.

2) she loves loves to play with her feet. She is obsessed. If she isn't grabbing or eating her feet, its her hands. But her feet sure our fascinating.

Sweet Liddy

2011-03-02T12:41:00.006-07:00

Evie and I went to California to visit Whitney and her new baby, Liddy Kate. She is the sweetest thing, and even though she is a good sized baby (she was born 8 lbs 4 0z) she just seemed so tiny next to my Evie! After only a few months I had forgotten how little newborns really are. Whit and I are so excited to have our girls so close in age, we just know they are going to be the best of friends.

Little Liddy

Here they are together.

Ryan and Liddy, Papa and Evie

Whitney is so on top of things and was already wanting to do her own photo shoot for Liddy. Everything was so cute and she got some really good ones. I tried to stay out of the way while they took her pictures so this is the only one I got.

While Liddy was taking a break we decided to try a few with Evie. She would NOT smile. Really, she did not smile once. I was so mad but I still took a ton of pictures.

Chubbiest cheeks.

Had to get a full body shot, check out those rolls.

I don't know why she had her mouth open the whole time! She would not keep that tongue in her mouth.

Evie with Aunties

2011-03-02T12:24:00.003-07:00

My kids don't get to see their Aunts nearly enough! These pictures are of Nikki holding her and playing with her and trying to get a picture with her smiling. She would not crack a single smile! But we all got a good laugh when Evie spit up ALL OVER poor Nikki! It was pretty funny.

That is a LOT of spit up. Nikki was pretty grossed out but as you can see she was still able to keep texting.

And Mandy "posing" for the camera.

Nana wanted to hold her once she was all cleaned up and naked!

Evie has spit up a lot since day 1. It's so frustrating. I do think she has gotten a little better in the last few weeks so I hope she gets over this soon!

Little Hands

2011-03-02T12:14:00.002-07:00

I thought this was cute of Evie holding a toy for the first time. She was just hugging it and eating it and talking in her crib. I am so sick of her growing up! It is going by way too fast. She grabs at everything, I think her favorite is my hair unfortunately. When she is in the bath she can grab the faucet and pulls it towards her so the water will run right in her face. It drives my crazy. It is fun to watch her eye something and then put so much effort into touching it, grabbing a hold of it, and putting it straight in her mouth.
I was telling Matt that I don't remember not wanting Ella and Kash to grow up; I needed them to grow up. For my sanity. But with Evie it breaks my heart that she is getting so big, so it must be because perhaps she is my last??? This really ticks Matt off when I say this! He has already been talking about baby #4 for months!

Valentine's Day

2011-03-01T17:44:00.006-07:00

On Valentine's Day the kids got these presents and a special breakfast. They thought it was pretty fun! I love that they think I'm cool, I wonder how long that will last?

I love these morning faces.

This is as creative as I get: heart toast, pinkish eggs, strawberries, and pink milk.

Ella all ready for school in her Valentine outfit. She loved her heart shirt and necklaces.

We made a "heart" poke cake. They loved the strawberries and the pink inside.

Kash loving licking the beater.
I love this boys' eyes.

Being silly.

And these are of Evie, just because she is cute.

Creepy one-eyed Mandy...

Mandy really makes it difficult to take a picture of my child!

Happy Valentine's Day!