The friends

Oh how I love when I am able to get together with my sweet high school friends! It just doesn't happen very often anymore, everyone is all over the place! I keep wishing that everyone will move back to St. George so we can all be together. I know I will always live here so I am selfish and want everyone else to move back. I love how it is never awkward no matter how long it has been, we just laugh and talk like we used to. This was just a small group of us this time but still tons of fun. I'm just glad we have Kristen to organize these things or it would never happen!

Jeepin'

We took the kids off-roading in the jeep for the first time. It's funny because I am NEVER in Matt's jeep, so as soon as I got in I was taken back to our dating days:) We used to go jeeping a lot when we were dating but once we got married and had kids that pretty much stopped. So it was fun to go again.
I kept reminding him that he was responsible for 3 kids-2 in the backseat and one in my belly, so he couldn't go too crazy! The kids liked it for the most part, Kash would get scared when he saw the sheer drop offs and would scream, "No Dad, NOOO!" We would tell him that we were not going to go down the cliff and he would say, "otay."
They were funny in the backseat singing random songs. My favorite had to be Ella singing, "I am proud to be an American." I think we will have to take them again soon.

Our first stop we got out to enjoy the view.

It was pretty funny to look back and see this:

And this:

We got to the top and tried to get a picture of the kids together...

Cody bottomed out pretty bad on this one. The kids kept asking if Coco was going to be okay.

And best of all we made it home safely and in time for brownies and ice cream.

Group Effort

We have discovered that being a home owner is a lot of work. Just managing our yard alone has been overwhelming. We spent a lot of money on yard equipment and then we figured out that you actually have to USE it. Between getting the lawn mowed every week, Matt and I doing a little bit of weeding each day, and trying to figure out how to trim the overgrown plants....I am leaning towards a gardener! It has been kind of fun though having the four of us go out and work in the yard together. And as you can see, Kash doesn't mind helping out one bit!

More Ella

Here is my insightful Ella-this conversation took place after church while we were eating lunch.

Me: Ella, what did you learn in your class today?
Ella: Um, well I don't really remember, BUT.....Heavenly Father was in my class today!
Me: He was??
Ella: Ya, and Jesus was too.
Me: Wow, really?
Ella: Yep, Heavenly Father, Jesus, AND President Monson!
Me: thinking wow, my cute 3 year old is at least thinking about or recognizing things...this is good. And before I could respond....
Ella: And the Sea Witch was there too, Mom!! (from the Little Mermaid in case you didn't know)

Typical Ella

I need to be better at documenting the things my kids say. They say the funniest things but I never write it down which means I never remember it. So starting right now, I am going to try to at least post about it. This is something Ella said that we thought was funny but I think you had to be there! Matt and I had gone on a much needed date night while my grandma, who the kids call "Bo" babysat. After we picked them up and were driving away this is the short conversation that took place:

Ella: "OH NO! I forget to tell Bo something!"
Me: "What did you forget to tell her?"
Ella: (very seriously) "That I love her."
Me: "Well, we'll be sure to tell her that next time we see her."
Ella: Silence and then in a loud wailing voice filled with utter despair..." OHHHH what have I done!??????"

And then the hysteria set in. I guess she just couldn't believe that she would forget something so important.
We quickly picked up the phone and called Bo so Ella could talk to her immediately.




Ella is such a little drama queen. Her preschool teacher says its the "Ella show" when she is there and believes she will win an Oscar in a dramatic role. She is such a handful but she is so funny and says the most clever things. People keep telling me that girls and drama are one and the same but it should get better once she turns 4? Well, her birthday is coming up and I don't see much changing by then but I guess we will just wait it out and see.

Jumping, baths, and birthdays

Karlee and I took the kids to California this past week. We were sad because it rained most of the time and we were hoping to spend our time in the sun:( But we made the most of it and on Saturday it was beautiful and we were able to go into LA and shop! Because of the weather we decided to try out Jump n Jammers which is an indoor play gym/bounce house type thing. The kids loved it and so did the adults!

This is the dance floor that would light up with different types of games to play. Ella, Carter, and Tyson are dancing it up!

Here is Kash at the top, he was obsessed with shooting the balls down into the middle.

Whitney, Mom, and Kar racing down the slides.

This is where you put all of the balls and then they shoot up into the air.

Poor Kar attempting to lift Kash...

Ella and Kash love taking baths in Nana and Papa's tub. They go crazy with all of the bubbles-here is Ella "washing" Kash's hair.

Showing off her muscles.

Kash was loving being completely covered!

We were able to celebrate Whitney's 24th birthday with her while we were there so that was fun.

Trying to get a picture with the birthday girl.

It was Whitney's 1st birthday with a husband! aww cute:)

a small scare

I woke from my Sunday nap and quietly went in the kitchen-everyone else was still asleep. This happens so rarely that I wanted to keep it this way for as long as possible. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Ella outside. My heart skipped a beat thinking something wasn't right. She was on the patio draped over a chair. Her arms and legs were hanging from either side of the chair, unmoving. Her hair was a big mop hanging above her arms, I couldn't see her face and all I could think was, "why isn't she moving?" I ran to the door, opening it loudly but she didn't move from the noise. Had she passed out? Why was she in this weird position? I ran over to her and felt her back, I didn't feel her breathing. "Ella!" I half screamed. Her head jerked up as she groggily looked at me. She had fallen asleep. I picked her up and brought her in the house and laid her on the couch. I asked her what she was doing out there, remembering before I took my nap she had been outside. I figured Matt would put her to bed before he took a nap. I guess he let her stay outside, or forgot because she said, "Well mom, Dad locked me out!" I guess after a few hours of playing outside and not being able to get in she just got too tired and laid across the chair! I must have still been a little out of it from my nap thinking she wasn't breathing and freaking out a bit:) I'm just glad it wasn't too terribly hot outside seeing that she had changed her clothes and was wearing a long sleeved turtle neck dress. Oh well. Everyone is still alive and well at the McLaws Household. At least for now.

Tent Time

Matt is always making different tents and forts for the kids to play in and when I saw this one I got a little nervous. He tied everything to the light fixture! I could just see Kash hanging on the sheets and the whole light coming crashing down. But it turned out to be fine and when I looked inside I saw that Ella and Kash were not the only ones enjoying the fort-all of my sisters were in there too!

Changes

I have been dreading the day when I would have to convert Kash's crib into a toddler bed. I loved being able to stick him in there and not worry about him climbing out. Ella was climbing out of her crib at a much younger age, but I have been lucky so far because Kash hasn't been able to due to his GIANT size.
A couple weeks ago the kids were taking a nap so of course I took the opportunity to lay down too. I woke up to both Ella and Kash playing downstairs. I asked Ella how Kash got out, and she proudly said, "I taught him how to climb out!!"
So because of this and largely because it is getting very hard for me to lift him in and out of his crib (he is not only heavy but I'm prego with sever sciatic nerve pain!) we thought it was best to make the change. I really didn't want to do it because I thought he wouldn't take a nap anymore, and I desperately need him to! But he is seriously the sweetest boy and has not once given me any problems.
This little boy has such a tender heart and I just love that he will cuddle with me and give me loves. He loves to put his cheek against mine and I love the "gushiness" of his. My favorite thing that he says lately is, "thanK mom." With an emphasis on the "k". He is always willing to share with his sister even if she isn't always willing to share with him. I could go on and on about this, and especially about his crazy all-boy side:) But basically, we just love our little Kashy man.

As you can see, the toddler bed probably isn't going to last very long, we should probably upgrade him to a queen!

Easter Festivities

Easter weekend was really fun because my entire family was here! They all stayed at my house so it was one big party. Matt, who is always in charge of the "Easter Party" said he was going to downsize this year and not go all out like he usually does. Well, he couldn't resist so he did the usual HUGE party. There was so much going on with a bounce house filled with balloons, relay races, games, and an Easter egg hunt. I had so many pictures so I did a couple of collages.

This is the beginning of the Easter egg hunt, and the little kids got to go first. I was worried they wouldn't get a lot of eggs with all of the big kids, but they ended up with WAY too much!

When Nana and Papa first arrived at my house they gave Ella and Kash both a gift. Ella loves her little doll house.

And Kash is obsessed with his race car track, he watches those cars go around and around and never gets sick of it.

The kids with their Easter baskets on Easter morning.

These guys did NOT want their picture taken first thing in the morning! -except karlee who is always a good sport:)

It was tons of fun and Matt's reasoning for planning such a big ordeal is that it might entice everyone to come every year! He hopes this continues to be a tradition and that everyone will come together for Easter. I hope he is right. Maybe next year we need to have pony rides or something?

Easter Eggs and April Fools

Gina and her kids came over to dye Easter eggs. The kids actually did really well, a lot better than last year! There were very few broken eggs, unlike last year when every egg Kash and Adam touched ended up cracked:) All three of them had a lot of fun making a big mess.

Here is Ella concentrating:

She is finally starting to like to smile for the camera! Although she rarely looks directly at it, which is frustrating.

Adam of course was covered in dye in no time! He would have 3-4 eggs going at a time, dipping them like crazy.

At first Kash sat back and observed Adam...

I love this-he is always resting his face in his hands.

And then he wanted in on the action.

He always has that tongue out just like his daddy.

When Ella first saw that her hands were dyed she got really upset, but then she thought it was funny to scare us.

Our finished product. I still can't believe how many survivors we had!

Baby Eme just as cute as ever, maybe next year she can have a few eggs to color.

April Fools: A story for me to remember.

When I picked up Ella from preschool her teacher walked her out to me and said, "Ella has something to show you." The way she said it I knew it was bad news. I bent down to her level and asked her what it was. From behind her back she pulled out a red slip of paper. Oh no. Not a red slip! Every day the kids get a green slip for being good, and I had never seen anyone with a red slip in the entire year she has been going! I turned to her teacher and asked her what this meant, what happened??? Then Ella said, "mom...." Then she pulled out another slip of paper from behind her back, and this one was GREEN. Ella immediately starting laughing like crazy! "Oh my gosh Ella, is it April Fools day today!?" "Yes, I tricked you!" and continued laughing hysterically. She thought it was the funniest thing ever, and I thought it was pretty funny too, seeing that she really had me panicked there for a minute!

Thirteen

weeks is how far along I am. Yep, I'm pregnant with baby #3! I am due October 6th. This has by far been the hardest pregnancy yet. I have been SO sick and miserable. I know I was exhausted with my previous pregnancies but this time it is even worse. I can barely keep my eyes open. I can hardly make it through the day without a nap! I am just now starting to feel a little bit better. I am not quite as nauseated but still very tired.
We joke that it must be twin girls because I was much more sick with Ella than Kash, and now I am way more sick with this one than Ella. It has to be all of those girl hormones, right? Plus, I am already showing. I have heard that you start showing more quickly with each child, and now I know it is true. You can't tell that I'm pregnant, it just looks like I've gained some weight-which I have.
So my guess is girl, although I have been craving all of the "boy" things. I want anything salty, and my favorite has been Mexican food. So I guess we will see when we get the ultrasound. I can't wait to find out, that is when it starts feeling real to me. Then we can get organized and plan things out. I just hope by then I have some motivation-I have not been wanting to do anything! My house is a disaster, it takes all my strength to make dinner, and my kids are lucky if they are dressed. So hopefully by then I will want to put together a nursery, think of a name, and get ready for this baby. Hopefully.