THE JACOBS

Jacobs Scavenger Hunt

2012-01-27T15:38:00.003-07:00

Back at Christmas time I was extremely busy. One day I was trying to get all of the neighborhood gifts ready to be delivered and the kids were just driving me crazy and I couldn't get done what I needed to. So Rob decided we needed to find something for them to do. He decided to send them on a scavenger hunt. He made up a list of things for them to either find or do. The list was crazy things that we thought they would never finish but would keep them busy for a while. We also told them if they finished it before 2 hours they would get a reward. So they headed out with this list.

1. Bird Nest
2. Stray Cat (it was to be brought home and shown to us)
3. 4 Feathers
4. 1 Red Rock
5. 1 Dead Spider
6. Do 1 chore for Steve and Ellen (our next door neighbors)
7. Take cookies to the neighbors
8. Find a mouse for Kitty Cow (our cat) (we were sure this would never happen)

They had to bring all the things home and show us so we knew they really did it. I never thought they would catch a stray cat, or find a mouse, and possible wouldn't be able to get to a nest. We have a lot in our trees but I knew they couldn't get up to them. What do you know....THEY FINISHED THE LIST! They found a nest across the street that had fallen out of the tree. They brought home a stray cat (it may have belonged to someone but it didn't have a collar and we hadn't seen it before so we counted it as a stray. They went next door and did chores. Ellen had written to give them bonus points because all 4 had done a chore. They got their feathers from Steve. He gave them pheasant feathers from his pheasant pen. They found all the other things except the mouse but headed out to deliver cookies and on the way back found a mouse in the neighbors lawn. We were shocked they were able to do the whole list. I'll tell you what...We have some seriously ADVENTUROUS kids. They keep us on our toes for sure. Oh, and just in case you are wondering...don't worry...the cookies were all wrapped up and they still washed their hands before delivering. Don't want you to think I was sending out contaminated cookies!!!!

Basketball Girl

2012-01-16T22:12:00.011-07:00

Railey decided this year that she wanted to try basketball. She is playing Jr Jazz with other 4th-6th graders. She is having fun and learning a lot. It is great for her to have something that is just for her. She has had 3 games so far and has 6 more. Its fun to watch her. She is normally very shy in front of others but she is coming out of her shell and having a good time. She is number 13.

Getting ready for the game

Warming up and shooting baskets

Favorite People

2012-01-16T22:07:00.001-07:00

I had to post this picture because I just LOVE it!! Kids just Hangin' out with dad!

Tooth Fairy is Going Broke

2012-01-16T21:39:00.006-07:00

With all the little people in our house it seems like someone always has a loose tooth. Lately the tooth fairy has made several trips to our house. Robby just lost another tooth and Ryder finally lost his first one. He has been quite upset for about 6 months that he hadn't lost one yet. Robby and Ranger both lost 2 this last spring and summer, and now Robby just lost his top 2, but Ryder hadn't yet. He was so excited when he found that he had one loose, and luckily it was loose enough we got it out the next day. He was thrilled to finally get some money like his brothers from the tooth fairy. Now it looks like Railey is getting ready to lose a couple more. The Tooth Fairy is going to be broke!

Pulling out Robby's loose tooth

Robby..no front teeth

Ryder...so happy to have lost a tooth

Christmas 2011

2012-01-16T21:17:00.002-07:00

We had a good Christmas. We let the kids see their stockings and the pillow pet that Santa left for them, but we had them wait to open the rest until after church. We had a nice program at church. It was good to have the spirit of Christmas before we started in on all the presents. The kids enjoyed their gifts and they were very happy. It was a great day!
Our Christmas Tree

The kids Stockings and pillow pets from Santa

Kindergarten Christmas Program

2012-01-16T20:58:00.002-07:00

The Kindergarten put on a Christmas Program for us. They were told to wear their nicest clothes to school. My boys were so excited to dress up for school. They couldn't wait. Who would have thought they would have wanted to wear church clothes. They looked so cute and handsome. The program was the cutest thing I have ever seen. They did such a good job singing and doing all the actions to all the songs. Afterwards, they kept asking me how much I liked it.

Robby

Ranger

Ryder

Triplets Turn 6

2012-01-16T20:24:00.005-07:00

My baby boys are growing up. They had their 6th Birthday back on December 16th. This year they are in kindergarten so they each got to take a different treat to school to hand out to the class. They were so excited about it because a lot of the kids in their class had already handed out treats on their birthday so they couldn't wait for their turn to be the birthday kid. They had a birthday party with their friends after school. They all had a good time. It was their first party with friends. We made 2 cakes. We had to have one for the party and then one for the family. The kids ate one entire cake at the party. The boys loved their cakes. They love cars so they thought having car cakes was awesome. When they were little I thought we would never make it to this stage. And now that they are in school its hard to believe it came so fast. They are growing up so fast.

The Cakes....Race Car For The Party

Our Version of the General Lee....(The Boys Love the Dukes of Hazard)

Opening Birthday Presents

We Were Making Memories

2011-11-13T20:27:00.003-07:00

I went to Blanding back at the beginning of October. Rob had a deer tag down there and was there hunting so I took the kids for the weekend to visit Grandma and Grandpa. One day we went up and over the Blue (Abajo) Mountain and we came across this tree. I remember when Ashley and I carved our names in the tree...or I should say many trees. We used to drive over the mountain all the time growing up. We spent a lot of time that summer (1996) driving all over the mountains. I have the best memories of growing up. It was crazy to come across that. We were making memories...and they came flooding back when I saw this!

School Pictures Fall 2011

2011-11-13T17:29:00.002-07:00

These are their new school pictures for this year. They look so grown up. I still can't believe the boys are in kindergarten. Railey is in 4th grade this year. I remember 4th grade like it was yesterday. Crazy!!
Railey

Robby

Ryder

Ranger

Happy Halloween

2011-11-13T17:05:00.003-07:00

This year for halloween all the kids wanted to be things they had been in previous years so I was happy to pull out the box of costumes and be done with figuring out what to do. The pictures of the kids are at their halloween parades at school. Ryder was Spiderman, Ranger was Batman, and Robby was Superman. Railey was a witch. They kids wanted me to dress up so I pulled out a wig we had and painted my face. People always say clowns are scary...and yes, I'm a little scared of clowns after seeing the pictures of myself.

Ride on the Fire Truck

2011-11-13T16:49:00.006-07:00

Every October the Oak City Fire Department puts on a chili dinner for the town. After the dinner they give rides on the fire truck. My kids love to go. They thought it was the coolest thing to ride on the fire truck.

GoodBye Vernal

2011-11-13T16:27:00.002-07:00

We moved back to Oak City from Vernal at the end of August. I haven't gotten around to blogging for a while. This is the house we lived in for 10 months while we were there. I was happy to say goodbye to it. It was hard to live so close to neighbors and not have a big yard for the kids. We had some nice neighbors and a great ward. It was nice to have things close for shopping and school and things like that but we are very happy to be back in Oak City. The kids are very happy to have our yard back and to be back by all their friends. Now that we are all settled, it kind of feels like it was all a dream.

Wild Indians

2011-11-13T16:14:00.002-07:00

I've always known my kids were a bunch of wild Indians. This is what you get when you leave them alone for a few minutes. Railey decided to paint the boys faces. They thought it was a great idea. They were so excited to come and show me what Railey did. Since they were already painted I just let them run around all day like this. They played the part well. I'm sure the neighbors were very appreciative of all the noise. But they had fun. And I'm sure they will never forget it.

Home Sweet Home

2011-08-04T22:37:00.002-06:00

To make a long story short...we are going to be moving back to Oak City. We had an opportunity to buy the house we lived in for a few years before moving to Vernal so we are going to go back. We loved living in Oak City. It is a really great small town. We had great neighbors and a great ward. I'm excited to go back and pick up where we left off. I'm excited that the kids won't have to adjust to another new place. They will be going back to the only thing they have ever known. We moved into this house when the boys were just 1 year old. They have asked constantly since we moved to Vernal if we can just go back home to Oak City. They are very excited and happy to be going back. I'm not looking forward to the mess of moving again, but I know it will be worth it in the end. We can't wait to get our big grassy yard back. And I'm thrilled to get my huge garden space. I didn't do a garden this year and I missed it. I've been saying all summer that I was homesick for my lawnmower so I will be glad to get it out of storage and start mowing the lawn again. These are a few pictures of the house from when we lived there.

The front of the house

The back of the house

A view of the garden from the deck just off the dining room

Happy Birthday Railey

2011-08-04T22:11:00.004-06:00

Railey turned 9 years old today!! I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She came into the world as a little spitfire and she is still one today. We love her so much. Railey will be starting 4th grade in a few weeks. She is excited to go back to school. She is very smart and loves to learn. She loves to read. She is a little bookworm. We have to tell her all the time to turn the lights out and go to bed because she wants to stay up reading. We are lucky that we don't have to push her to do it. This year she wanted me to make a Candyland cake so that is what we did. It turned out really cute and she loved it. She got a lot of fun games and things for her birthday. She is a good kid and we are lucky to have her. We love you Railey!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Lake Fun

2011-08-01T22:00:00.006-06:00

We have been taking the boat out to the lake. Most times we have taken it to Steineker Resevoir. It is only 3 miles from our house. We have also gone to Red Fleet. Its not much farther. We have spent time fishing and playing in the water. It has been a lot of fun. We pack a cooler each time and have lunch on the boat. The kids think that is great. The have each caught fish, and they have each been pulled around the lake on the tube. I was surprised how easily they got out in the water. They wanted to go so bad and they wanted to go fast. I was more worried than they were. They just lay back there and yell for us to go faster....except for Railey. She doesn't care to be pulled very fast.

Ranger Fishing and Ryder

Robby

Railey Fishing

Ranger and Robby in the boat

Robby being the flagger when someone was in the water

Me on the tube...showing them its not scary. They all wanted mom to go first

Rob on the tube

Railey on the tube

Robby on the tube

Ryder on the tube

Ranger on the tube

Pet Chipmunk

2011-08-01T21:51:00.003-06:00

We have a chipmunk living under our front porch. The kids think it is very cool. They love watching it and leaving bread crumbs for it. They have taken bread and left a trail from the front door to his hole and then watch him come and take the pieces of bread. Our cat loves watching it too. He sits right in the front entryway window and watches it. You can tell he really wants to go get it. It has been pretty entertaining for the kids.

Family Pictures

2011-08-01T17:04:00.014-06:00

We had a lot of family pictures taken over the 4th of July weekend. Here are some of them. I'm glad to have some updated ones.

Our Family

Rob and Natalie

Jacobs Kids

Railey

Jacobs Boys....Robby, Ranger, Ryder

Jacobs Boys

Railey and Natalie

The boys and Rob

Railey and Rob

The boys and Natalie

My Parents....Jerry and Kaye

My sister Keri and her husband Gerald and their kids...Riley, Brett, Eric, Devynn, and Dana.

My sister Sheila and her husband Travis and their kids...Kyle, T.J. and Brinlee

My brother J.J. and his wife Kayela and their kids...Trey and Asa

My brother Courtney and his son Dominic

The whole Family

My parents and their children...Courtney, J.J. Natalie, Keri and Sheila

My parents and their kids with their spouses

My mom and her daughters

My dad and his sons

My parents and all their grandchildren

All the boys in the family

All the girls in the family

Catch Up Post

2011-07-13T16:47:00.005-06:00

So I have been a big slacker with our blog the last few months. My computer has issues so I haven't been using it that much. We thought we were never going to see winter go away. It stayed cold here for so long but then when it did warm up it got hot. I feel like we skipped spring altogether. And now the summer is going so fast. It will be over before we know it. We went to Blanding to Grandma and Grandpa's for Easter. We went to Kindergarten round-up at the end of the school year to get the boys ready for kindergarten. They can't wait for it to start. They have been building a new Elementary School for the area where we live which will be ready for the start of school this year. All 4 of the kids will go to it.

Both Robby and Ranger have now lost 2 teeth. Ryder hasn't lost any yet and he isn't very happy about it. He wants to lose one so the tooth fairy can bring him money like his brothers.

We bought an older boat (1985 Cheetah) this spring and have spent a few months fixing it up. It now looks good. We just started taking it out on the lake. Its a lot of fun. The kids were scared at first when we would go fast but they got used to it. They had fun fishing from the boat. We now need to take the skis and tube and start playing in the water.

We went to our annual reunion (Bradford) over the 4th of July weekend in Blanding. It was great to see everyone. Usually there is always someone missing but this year everyone was there. We had a lot of family pictures taken. I will post them when I get them.

Rob's sister Valoree and her family have moved back to Utah. We are very happy to have them closer. Her husband Jason just started working for the same company Rob works for. He has been staying with us while he is here for work until they can find a place.

We are staying busy. It seems like I should get a lot more done but these kids and everything else keep me running. Rob's work keeps him busy so we try to spend what family time we can on his days off. We have a lot of fun going and doing things together. Rob is getting all their bows ready for them to start shooting. They all got new ones for Christmas but Rob hasn't had the time to get them going yet. The kids play outside pretty much every day. They ride their bikes nonstop. They have pretty much worn them out. They are such energetic, busy kids. There is never a dull moment at our house.

We are doing good. I will try to keep the blog more current.

Ice Fishing

2011-02-24T09:54:00.005-07:00

We took the kids and went ice fishing this last week at Pelican Lake. We had such a good time. We took the 4 wheeler and our big sled. We put all our stuff and most of us and the dog in the sled and it was so easy to get everything out on the lake. It took us a while to get all six holes drilled in the ice. The ice was almost 2 feet thick. Once we got the holes done and all the kids set up we waited for the fish. We were all getting tugs and nibbles on our lines but Ranger ended up being the only one to actually bring a fish out. Even though he was the only one to catch one everyone had fun. We drank hot chocolate and had goldfish crackers for a snack. When we were done fishing, we loaded everything up and we went for a ride around the lake in the sled. It was a great day!

Railey and Ryder Fishing

Robby and Ranger Fishing

Ranger and Dad

Ranger and Mom

Ranger kissing his fish for good luck

Pizza Night

2011-02-24T09:44:00.002-07:00

For dinner one night we decided to make our own pizza. The kids had lots of fun. They each made their own. It was fun to watch them all do their own different from the others. The were so excited about it. And they were excited to be helping make dinner. Its fun to see that such a simple thing can make them so happy. They can't wait to do it again.

Nothin' Cuter Than Puppies

2011-01-04T21:32:00.002-07:00

Who doesn't love a puppy? It just too bad they can't stay small forever. Our puppies are now just over 4 weeks old. They are so cute. They are doing very well. They are starting to show little personalities. There are 5 of them. My kids want to keep all of them. Too bad I'm a mean mom and my kids don't usually get whatever they want. We are going to start them on food tomorrow. They act like they are ready for it. Here are a few pictures to show how cute they are.

Our Giant New Sled

2011-01-04T21:10:00.004-07:00

For Christmas our family got this new sled. It is absolutely huge. The entire family can fit in it. It is 7 feet long, 4 feet wide and the walls are 18 inches high. It will be a lot of fun. We will also be able to use it for ice fishing. We can fit all the fishing poles, chairs, ice auger and everything in it and just pull it and we won't have to pack all our stuff. We are hoping to do some ice fishing this winter. Rob got a nice ice auger for Christmas. Steinaker Reservoir is about 5 minutes from our house so we won't have to go very far. Here are a few pictures of it being pulled around with the
4-wheeler in our backyard.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T18:14:00.004-07:00

It turns out Santa found us this Christmas. Our kids were worried that because we moved that he might not know where we were. They were also worried that even if he knew where we were that he might not be able to get in the house because we don't have a chimney at our new house. They were talking about this between themselves one day and I heard them talking about how maybe he could use the little tube in the laundry room (dryer vent) to get in. I thought that was so cute. However...I am pretty sure the Santa that comes to our house is not getting through a 4 inch round tube. I told them Santa is magic and has magic ways to get into all the houses. Then Grandma sent us a magic Santa Key, so that solved the problem. You hang it outside on your door on Christmas Eve and he will use it to get in. So we hung it and he got into our house. We had a good Christmas. The kids got a lot of fun things. It was a great day. It seemed like it took us forever to get everything unwrapped because they got so excited about each thing they had to stop to play with it. Its a lot of fun to see them get excited. When Ranger opened his name present from his cousin he whooped and hollered. It was a remote control truck. He went on and on about how great it was and then he said, "I've been waiting for one of these my whole life." They keep us laughing with all the funny things they say. And I tell ya...the leapster 2's and the games that Santa brought for the boys have kept them pretty happy. They love them. He just should have left some A/C adapters to go with them. We just might have to buy a few of those. But even with the amount of batteries they are going to go through, it is well worth it. It has stopped them from stealing Railey's leapster out of her room and fighting over who gets to play it once its stolen. Plus, they are teaching them all kinds of things and they don't even know it.

The loot Santa left

Just getting started....seeing what Santa left in their stockings

Railey's School Play

2011-01-04T17:49:00.003-07:00

Railey's school class put on a play for all the parents and families just before Christmas. They did the "Wizard of Oz" with a Christmas twist. All of the kids did such a good job. It was a pretty long play and all of them had their lines memorized and hardly needed any help at all. They did a really cute song and dance. Railey was very excited to do the play. She was the color "Red" for her part. She talked about it nonstop for weeks before. She had a lot of lines and she did a great job! The boys kept telling her after it was over that they really liked it and they told her over and over what a good job she did. It was fun to see her get up and do her parts.

Kitty Cow Returns!!!

2011-01-03T18:16:00.003-07:00

Prayers are answered. The kids have been praying day and night for Kitty Cow to come home. Wouldn't you know the minute I posted that he was gone he came back. The house just erupted in noise and screaming. Not sure what happened to him but he is very hungry and cold. And I think he is happy to be home. YAY FOR KITTY COW!!!!!!!!!!

Kitty Cow

2011-01-03T17:52:00.002-07:00

We have had the best cat the last 3 1/2 years. He has been so good with the kids. He is friendly and just has a fun personality. And he is just a cool looking cat. He has been staying in the house a lot since we moved. When the Christmas tree went up he found a spot he liked under it and hung out there a lot. I found him several times with ornaments hanging from his collar. When I asked the kids why they were hanging them from kitty cow they told me he was royalty and the ornaments were his jewels. He wandered around the house with them hanging from him. We love him. Sadly enough though...he went missing a few days ago. When he wanted to go out he would sit at the door and when he was ready to come back in he would sit and wait on the mat till we let him back in. He went out one day and never came back. I'm sure he didn't run away. It has been so cold that he hadn't been staying out for very long and some days he didn't even want to go out. I think something happened to him. The kids are pretty heartbroken. They miss him a lot. The keep going outside and calling for him. Usually when they would call him he would come running. I wish I could be wrong and that he would just show up but I'm not holding out much hope. We loved him and will miss him a lot. He will not be an easy cat to replace.

Triplets Turn 5

2011-01-03T16:50:00.004-07:00

I know I say this a lot but seriously....where does the time go? I cannot believe these little guys are already 5. They had their 5th birthday on December 16th. It has been quite an adventure the last five years. We didn't know how in the world we were ever going to handle triplets but somehow we have managed to survive...barely. We are very grateful for each one of them even though they test us on a daily basis. They are each so different..in looks and personality. They are trying very hard to teach me patience. We love them so much and I am grateful the lord trusted us enough to give them to us even though there are days I fear we are failing. I couldn't imagine what life was going to be like before they got here and now I can't imagine what it would be like without them. Happy 5th Birthday Boys! We love you!

Boys 1st Birthday

Boys 2nd Birtday

Boys 3rd Birthday

Boys 4th Birthday

Birthday Cake

Each of them blowing out their own 5 candles. We prefer to let them blow on their own cake. Three kids spitting on a birthday cake doesn't make it very appetizing.

Opening their birthday presents. They all got a sleeping bag and some new trucks. And they got the Hot Wheels Track "Criss Cross Crash" They have wanted it for a long time.

Playing "Criss Cross Crash"

Rob's Doghouse And Puppies

2010-12-15T21:32:00.004-07:00

This is a picture of the doghouse Rob built. Its big and cozy. We needed a good doghouse. It is cold here and we knew that our dog would be having puppies. It is insulated and we have a heat lamp for when it is extremely cold. We have a themometer hanging inside so we always know what the temperature is. The roof is slanted so the snow and rain will run off, and it is also has hinges so we can lift the roof up for easy access and to clean it. So far it works great and our dog loves it. It stays about 70 or 80 degress inside. She had her puppies and they are now 10 days old. They are staying nice and warm. They are very cute. They should be opening their eyes anytime now. Puppies are fun and cute. Its just too bad they can't stay puppy cute forever.

Glasses for Robby

2010-12-15T20:53:00.003-07:00

Robby now has a new look. We found out last month that he needed glasses. When they were in preschool in Delta they had a vision screening at the school. They actually took pictures of their eyes instead of just covering one side at a time. We got a letter later stating that Ryder and Ranger had passed but that Robby had failed. His eyes have a little different shape than they should. So we took him into the eye doctor and they confirmed that he did need glasses. He has been wearing them for a few weeks now. He does pretty well with them. The adjustment wasn't too bad. I am grateful we found out early before kindergarten. I would hate to see him go to school and struggle because he can't see well enough. And according to him...his glasses are the coolest because they have Spongebob on the inside of the frames and little bubbles.

Made Me Laugh

2010-11-03T13:55:00.002-06:00

My day always begins with starting the laundry except on Sunday. I headed into the laundry room Monday morning to find this note on top of the washer along with Railey's pillow.(Her pillow that is shaped like a flip flop)

I got a pretty good laugh out of it. So I fixed her pillow and then I began to wonder why she would have such a big pile of laundry. All of the laundry was done as of Saturday. So I sorted through her hamper and there were a lot of clothes in it. Just not any clothes I recall her wearing. Just clothes she had pulled out and then decided not to wear but instead of hanging them back up they got tossed in the hamper. Sound familiar to anyone else????? I just thought it was funny she would write a note and the way it was written gave us a good chuckle. I showed her each article of clothing later and asked her if she wore it and she just smiled, rolled her eyes and said "oh..sorry." So I asked her if she could get the putting clean clothes in the hamper problem solved and she laughed. OHHH...what a funny girl.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T13:42:00.003-06:00

The kids were all super heroes for Halloween this year. I had intended to get creative and make costumes this year but that didn't happen. The timing of the move just made things too crazy and I just didn't have enough time.
We found out about our new ward just in time to go to the trunk or treat. So we ended up going to our wards party and we didn't knock on doors for trick or treating. It was great. By the time they made it around the circle of cars they had more than enough candy. We were home by 7. They had a good time and we were able to meet a few of the ward members.
Railey-Wonderwoman, Robby-Superman, Ryder-Spiderman, Ranger-Batman

Saying Goodbye to Oak City

2010-11-03T12:46:00.002-06:00

We have lived in Oak City, Utah for the last 4 years. They have been a really great 4 years. We moved there shorty after Railey's 4th Birthday, and the boys were just little babies. It's hard to believe how fast the time went. Railey is now 8 and the boys are almost 5. It was a great home for us. We truly loved our time there. We met so many wonderful people which we will never forget. We will really miss Oak City and everyone there. We made a lot of really good friends. We will definitely have to go back to visit. Railey is already planning a trip back in the summer for the annual "Oak City Days"
Rob took a job working for Savage Trucking back in August so we relocated to Vernal. We spent the last couple of weeks moving. We are now settling in and adjusting to our new life. I think we will like it here. Railey already really likes her new school. She is making friends and adjusting well. We were worried about how she would do. She cried for a good part of the trip when we left Oak City for the last time. The boys are excited. They think its just one big adventure. We hope Vernal will be a great home for us.
This was our home for the last few years. We will miss it and the gigantic yard.

Happy Birthday Rob!!

2010-09-26T17:52:00.003-06:00

Rob Celebrated his birthday this week on the 25th. His birthday is special because it was also his dad's birthday. We just hung out at home and had cake and ice cream. He was lucky enough to have the day off. These are a few pictures of him over the years. We love him very much and we are so grateful for all he does for our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! WE LOVE YOU!!!
This was from one of his trips to Africa.

Back to School

2010-08-26T22:34:00.004-06:00

School started again this week. Railey is in the 3rd grade this year. Mrs. Delna Bliss is her teacher. She started back on Wednesday. She was happy to go back. She really likes her teacher. She came home so excited about her new class, and she was happy to see her friends from school. I am so glad she enjoys school. I can only hope that continues.
The boys started preschool this year. I can't believe my babies are old enough to go to school. They were so excited they could hardly stand it. They were excited to ride the bus. All 4 kids get on the same bus at 7:30. And I thought that getting everyone ready for church by 9:00 was hard. Guess that will be easy now. As soon as the bus came to a stop at our bus stop, the boys just took off and got on. They didn't even hardly tell me goodbye. I thought I would melt and cry when they left but I DID NOT CRY!! They think they are so grown up now. I told them I would follow the bus the first day to make sure they made it and then I could walk them to their classrooms. When we got to the classrooms they headed right in and started playing. So I left and had a few hours to myself. A FEW HOURS TO MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was really strange and quiet. But I don't think it will take me long to get used to. The preschool/kindergarten bus drops them off right in front of our house so I don't even have to go to the bus stop. They had a great day and are very happy to be big school boys. They LOVE that they each have their own backpack. They had all kinds of things to tell me about their day. It was really cute. Our babies are growing up!!

Railey's first day of 3rd Grade

The boys in front of the bus after school

Ranger

Ryder

Robby

Hummimgbird

2010-08-17T23:07:00.003-06:00

We have had a lot of fun watching the hummingbirds this summer. We put a feeder out on the deck next to the sliding glass door. They come in and drink all day long. My kids get excited every time. We sit in the kitchen or out on the swing on the deck and just watch them and listen to them hum as they fly by.

Our Garden of 2010

2010-08-17T22:26:00.003-06:00

Our garden this year is doing great. We planted a few weeks later this year because the weather was so crazy this spring but things are really going nuts now. We planted cantaloupe, pumpkins, watermelons, carrots, onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, habaneros, tons of tomatoes, crookneck, zucchini, cucumbers, cherry and grape tomatoes, honeydew melons, and a ton of green beans. We also planted giant mammoth sunflowers. Some of them are about 8 ft. tall and just starting to open. The kids have had a lot of fun watching them get so big. We have a few pumpkins but one of them is around 50 lbs already. The green beans have gone crazy. Rob now calls me beaner. This last week I picked 2 overflowing 5 gallon buckets full. I've been picking them about once a week. So far I have bottled around 70 quarts. Guess its a good thing I love green beans. My tomato plants are loaded and are now starting to ripen. All my peppers have done awesome. I can't believe the amount each plant can hold. I picked a 5 gallon bucket of bell peppers yesterday. I have already put a lot in the freezer so I gave all of them away. We have been very blessed with our garden this year. I guess all that praying we did for it must have worked. Its nice to see all the time and work we have put into it pay off. And its a lot prettier to look at than all the weeds and stuff that was back there before.

Railey's Baptism

2010-08-17T21:54:00.003-06:00

Railey was baptized this last Saturday. It was a great day. She has been excited to be baptized for a long time. She was baptized in the church in Leamington about a 10 minute drive away because our church here in Oak City does not have a font. The baptism was at 11:00. Grandpa (Jerry) said the opening prayer, I gave a spotlight, Grandma (Kaye) gave a talk and Rob baptized and confirmed her. Her primary teacher (John Kapler) said the closing prayer. She chose the songs "When Jesus Christ was baptized" and "When I am baptized" for her music. It was simple yet very nice. Afterwards we went back to our house and had a dinner (menu of Railey's choice.) Marinaded grilled chicken, dutch oven potatoes, corn on the cob and rolls. It was yummy. Railey couldn't wait to eat "dutch" potatoes. That is what she calls them. And we have Grandpa to thank for cooking them for us. For dessert there was apple pie and ice cream or ice cream cones. It was great day. In sacrament meeting on Sunday she was called up on the stand and they presented her with her certificate and a triple combination. Then in primary they did a spotlight on her. She felt pretty special. She looked so pretty in her white dress and the white flower Grandma gave her in her hair. It's hard to see her grow up so fast but its wonderful to see her make good choices. We are so proud of her and love her so much.

Happy Birthday Railey!!

2010-08-17T21:12:00.003-06:00

Railey celebrated her 8th birthday on August 4th. It's hard to believe she is 8. She had a little party with a few friends. She got to have 2 cakes. One for the party and then another for the family. She got a new bike and helmet from mom and dad. She was pretty excited. This bike has gears which she thought was awesome and now she loves it because she can ride with us and keep up. Her and Rob have been going for bike rides in the evenings. This bike should last her a few years. She got a lot of nice cards in the mail from different family and friends, along with some money which she quickly decided what to spend it on. All in all she had a good birthday.

Ryder Teaches Himself

2010-08-17T20:56:00.002-06:00

Ryder taught himself how to ride a bike without training wheels. He went outside and stole Ranger's bike and just started riding. The kids came in one day from outside and said "Mom! Ryder is riding Ranger's bike all by himself." So I go look and sure enough he was riding all over the place. He came up to me and said, "I'm so cool cause I teached myself." He was pretty proud of himself. So we took the training wheels off his bike too. I have to admit though, they are a little scary. They act as if they have been riding forever. Now they try to pop wheelies and come skidding to a stop. Crazy boys!! I only wonder how many ER visits we have in our future.

Rodeo

2010-07-25T23:37:00.003-06:00

Our kids have never been to a rodeo before, so we decided to take them to the one in Hinckley they have every year. They had a pretty good time other than it was really long and pretty slow moving so they were ready to go home by the end. I'm glad it's only a 15 minute drive to Hinckley from our house. We put all their names in for the drawing for muttin bustin. Railey and Ryder were drawn out so they got to ride the sheep. They did awesome. Railey stayed on for a long time. She didn't fall off until he pretty much ran into the fence and knocked her off. I think there was only one other kid that stayed on longer than she did. She was pretty proud of herself. Ryder stayed on longer than we expected too. I think he could have stayed on longer if his little legs and arms weren't so short. Robby and Ranger wanted to go too but did pretty good with understanding that it was a drawing and some kids get to and some don't. And it helped that all the kids got to go down and chase the calves that had money stuck to them. Of course they didn't get any but they did get a sucker for trying from the Rodeo queen and they were happy with that.
These pictures are not the greatest. I was sitting clear across the arena from them.
Railey getting on the sheep and ready to ride.

Railey walking back after she fell off.

Ryder waiting his turn.

Ryder getting on and ready to ride.

Summer Fun

2010-07-25T23:24:00.003-06:00

Just chillin' and eating otter pops. Not too often do we see all 4 of them this close and nobody is bothering anybody else. Love the moments like these!

Another way the boys like play with the pool. They love to race their trucks down the slide and see them land in the water and make a splash.

And He's Off

2010-07-16T12:54:00.004-06:00

Ranger has been asking us for months when we were going to take his training wheels off so he could ride like Railey. We kept putting it off thinking he wasn't ready but he kept at us so we took them off this week and within just a few minutes he was riding on his own. He is still a little wobbly but he is doing great. I can't believe it. Way to go Ranger!! I guess that just shows us that each kid does things when they are ready.

Bradford Family Reunion

2010-07-16T12:08:00.002-06:00

Last week we had our Bradford Family Reunion. We headed to Blanding on Wednesday. On Thursday we all went up to the mountain and we camped until Saturday. We had tons of fun. It was really great to see and spend time with family. The kids were excited to sleep in the tent and be able to run wild for a few days. We did lots of fun things. My sister Keri made a quilt top for each family and we decorated them while we were there. And then everyone in the whole family signed each quilt. We were able to tie and bind a few before we came home so now we have a new quilt and the kids think it is so neat. We also decorated t-shirts one day. Thanks to my sister-in-law Kayela who brought her cricut and spent hours cutting everything that everyone wanted. They turned out really great. There was a pinata one day and the kids were in heaven with all the candy they got. We had excellent food at every meal. One of my personal favorites was the potatoes. You can't beat my dad's dutch oven potatoes. They are so yummy. And mom's homemade rootbeer is incredible. Nobody makes it like she does. It was a wonderful weekend that just went by too fast. I think I am very lucky to have the family I have. They really are the best.
Ranger and my nephew Trey

My nephew Riley decided to climb clear up a huge tree. Crazy kid.

Our quilt top

Some of the nephews playing horseshoes.

The neices and Railey

My Awesome Parents

Everyone gathering candy after the pinata broke

Rise and Shine Sleepy heads

Catching Up

2010-07-06T10:38:00.005-06:00

So I have been told by more than 1 person that I have been slacking when it comes to our blog, so I guess it is time to try to catch up a little bit. Life just seems to be crazy and busy all the time. The last few months have flown by. The end of the school year was busy with all the activites they did. Railey had field trips to the movie theatre and the swimming pool. They had parties and a fun day at school. I think the last few weeks of school were all play. She is excited about summer and about going into 3rd grade next year.
We got the garden planted the end of May. The first week of June Rob and I went to Estes Park, Colorado to attend the IHEA (International Hunter's Education Association) annual conference. It was held at the Stanley Hotel. (from the movie "The Shining") Its a neat old place. The kids went to Blanding to stay and Grandma and Grandpa's while we were gone. Grandma took them camping and they had tons of fun. We had some free time in between meetings and things we had to go to so we were able to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was really beautiful. We saw a lot of wildife and even got to go to the Continental Divide. There were places that still had 10 feet of snow or better. It was a long drive to that part of Colorado and back (a good 12 hrs each way) but it was fun to see and go through new places. The rest of June we pretty much spent working in the yard and garden and doing things at home. We stayed home for the 4th of July this year. We went to the parade and fireworks in Delta. Its hard to believe we are already into July.
They had a few of these trees carved to look like this.
We thought they were really neat.

This elk was putting on quite the show. We sat and watched him for a long time.

We were lucky enough to be there on a day when the sheep were spotted.
Rob hiked up and got pretty close to them and got some great pictures.

Nat's Nursery

2010-04-05T21:12:00.004-06:00

This year we decided we wanted to try and grow our own starts from seed for our garden instead of buying them at the nursery. We found the seeds for 10 packets for $1.00 so we got a lot of packets. I think we have everything we want to grow and shouldn't have to buy anything if it all grows well. I found the trays fairly cheap and we can reuse them next year. We set up a couple tables in our basement and hung a shop light over them. They are in the same room as our fireplace so the room is nice and warm. They are looking really good. I also decided to try to do all my flowers by seed too. Those seed were also 10 for $1.00. For just a few dollars I have planted over 300 flower containers. Question is will they all produce something? I hope so. I have a lot of space in my yard. The more flowers and color, the better. I love to watch things grow and bloom. I love to spend the entire day in the yard and can't wait for it to warm up so we can. Let's just hope the starts continue to grow well and turn out to be great plants. Only time will tell.

Easter

2010-04-05T20:43:00.004-06:00

On Saturday we went up to the park here in Oak City at 9:00 a.m. for the easter egg hunt. It was freezing cold and it had been snowing that morning. They hunted for eggs and it was over and we were home by about 9:30. They had fun, and they got quite a few eggs. They dove into the baskets and started on the candy as fast as they could. Robby was excited because he got a quarter in one of his eggs. We colored eggs in between the sessions of conference.
On Sunday they woke up to find that the easter bunny had filled their baskets with eggs and lots of candy. The boys each got a little baseball and a mit. Railey got a baseball and a bat. They love them and can't wait to take them outside to play with them. (if the weather would ever get warm enough) Railey left a note for the Easter bunny and it was full of questions for him. He answered it and left it in her basket. I forgot to take pictures of their baskets on easter morning.

The boys waiting to hunt for eggs

Hunt is over and ready to go home
showing off their loot after we got home from the park

coloring eggs

Railey

Ranger

Ryder

Robby

Meet Dayzee

2010-04-05T17:02:00.003-06:00

Our female dog "Savvy" as many of you have already read about, had a couple of accidents that really banged her up. We tried to do everything we could to help her get better and heal, but just as she would start to do better she would re-injure herself again. This happened several times. She got to where she wouldn't even try to walk anymore. She pretty much gave up. She wouldn't do anything but just lay down and cry. She had started to bite and snap at everyone too. We finally had to make the decision which we felt was better for her and put her down. It was very hard but in the end we felt it had to be done. We will remember her and the good times we had.
But on a happier note, we got a new little puppy. She is actually Savvy's little sister. They have the same parents, but this puppy was from the next litter. We have named her Dayzee. She is brindle colored, and she is one fiesty puppy. She thinks she is the boss. She loves our other dog "Deke" and she pretty much thinks she is as big as he is. She chases him around the yard and she attacks him. And she does NOT let him take food from her. She growls and chases him off if he even gets close to her when she is eating. It is funny. He has learned not to even try. But they are friends and they cuddle and love on each other too. We think it was good for "Deke" to have her. He was bonded to "Savvy" and we think he would have been pretty lonely by himself.
They are a couple of fun dogs. Our kids love their pets.

DAYZEE

DAYZEE AND DEKE

10 YEARS

2010-04-05T13:48:00.003-06:00

We celebrated our 10th Anniversary on March 25th. It's hard to believe we have been married for 10 years. Where does the time go? It has been a crazy, but great 10 years. I would never have imagined our lives would be what they are today. We can't complain. We have been very blessed. We have incredible family and friends. We have 4 great kids that keep us on the go. I know we were supposed to find each other and build a life together. I wonder what another 10 years will bring. You think you a know a person when you marry them but man are we dumb. But all that matters is that you really KNOW you are supposed to marry them. I knew a lot about my hubby when we got married but I have learned a lot more and he is an amazing person. We are lucky to have each other. He is my best friend. Here is a list of a few things I love about Rob.

1. He is very passionate about the things he believes in.

2. He is incredibly smart. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of information he has locked up in that brain of his. When he reads something, it is forever stored in his mind.

3. He is not scared of anything. (except maybe heights)

4. He has a deep appreciation and love of the outdoors and wildlife.

5. He has a HUGE sense of humor.

6. He is extremely clever and witty, and quick. It is impossible to get the last comeback when you are kidding around.

7. He enjoys learning new things and enjoys trying new things.

8. He LOVES to read. He has a great appreciation for books. He has always been a bookworm.

9. He has a love of guns like nobody else. He can tell you anything about any gun. He reloads a lot of his own bullets. If you want to see a smile on his face, put a gun in his hand.

10. He's a fun dad. He is a big kid at heart, and always up for an adventure. It is not uncommon for him to climb into the kids' little wading pool and swim with them. I don't even do that.

And there are many, many more!

LOVE YOU ROB!!

Bunnies Sold

2010-04-05T13:25:00.003-06:00

Railey's rabbits were old enough to be sold so we hung a few signs up. This is a picture of the sign. Within a couple of days all seven of the babies were sold, and the phone kept ringing with more people wanting rabbits. She was wishing she had more to sell. She was so excited about the money she got from them. Now she has to take part of the money and buy more food for them. But even after buying food, she will have a good amount left.

Growing Bunnies

2010-02-18T11:38:00.003-07:00

The baby bunnies are now 3 weeks old. They actually look like rabbits now. They are pretty cute. They are hopping in and out of their nest, and are eating hay and pellets. Railey was so anxious to be able to hold them. We started letting her hold them this week and she keeps packing them around like a baby. We keep telling her that she can't take them away from their cage but she wraps them up in a blanket and carries them around. We could never get her to play with dolls but give her an animal and she will mother it to death. The first thing she does when she gets home from school is run out to the rabbit shed and see them. It has been a lot of fun to see them grow.

This one is sitting in the palm of my hand so you can kind of see how little they really are.

They like to sit and eat while in the hay dish

Baby Bunnies

2010-02-05T16:05:00.003-07:00

We have Baby Bunnies!! One of Railey's rabbits had babies. There are seven of them. She is so excited. We had one litter before these ones that didn't survive at birth, so she is in heaven watching these. They seem to grow bigger everyday. These pictures were when they were 7 days. They are now 9 days. When they were born they look like little bald rats. They are not cute. But after just one week, they are already covered in fur, and have doubled in size. They climb all over each other and make little squeeky noises. They are pretty cute now. They should open their eyes in the next day and should be hopping out of their nest in the next week. We already have people offering to buy them. IFA said they would buy whatever we didn't want so they could sell them for Easter. Railey is excited to earn money from her rabbits. She just can't wait until they are big enough to get them out and hold them. She is such an animal lover. We will post more pictures as they grow.

January Trips

2010-02-05T14:56:00.005-07:00

In January, my kids got to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a few days while I went to California. Rob had a tradeshow to do in Sacramento. He wanted me to go with him and help. And it was also my birthday that weekend so he wanted me to come and spend the weekend. My parents offered to take the kids so I could go. My dad came and picked them up. Rob had left earlier in the week to drive down and get everything set up, so I caught a flight out of Salt Lake on Thursday and met up with him there. We had a good weekend, even though we were pretty much just working. We went out to dinner for my birthday. That was nice. It's great to be able to visit with each other without having to talk over the noise of kids. We don't get to do that very often. When the weekend was over my dad brought the kids back on Monday. My kids had a great time. They were so excited to play in all the snow. Blanding has had a LOT of snow this year. The kids love going to Grandma and Grandpa's. They are still talking about it. I have the best parents ever. They are too good to us. Thanks mom and dad for the nice break. These are a few of the pictures they took while the kids were in Blanding.

Ryder eating an icicle

Sleigh riding down the hill from grandma's carport
Grandpa and boys

Robby

Check out all that snow

Railey

You can barely see the top of the fence

What you see when you walk out the door

Shooting

2010-01-06T12:27:00.004-07:00

Rob got me a handgun for Christmas. It is a Smith & Wesson .38 special, model 64. It is a nice gun. I am excited to have it. I wanted one that was just mine that I could shoot and get used to. We went shooting the other day to try it out. It was really fun to shoot. Railey has her own little 22 that she got for christmas 3 years ago just after she turned 4. Rob painted it a really pretty pink and put her name on the stock. She has loved having it. She loves to go shooting with dad. So we took her gun with us too so she could shoot some and we let the boys shoot a real gun for the first time. They thought it was pretty neat that they got to shoot Railey's gun. They all got safety glasses and earmuffs for christmas so they wanted to try them. They were always taking Robs earmuffs so we decided to get them all their own pair.

Rob teaching Ryder and helping him shoot for the very first time

Teaching Robby and helping him shoot for the first time
Teaching Ranger and helping him shoot for the first time

Railey loading and getting ready to shoot

Me shooting my new gun

Rob shooting my new gun

Sledding

2010-01-06T12:06:00.002-07:00

We took the kids sledding last week. We didn't have to go very far to find good hills. There are a lot of sand dunes around where we live. These ones were only about a mile or so from our house. The had a really fun time. The boys haven't really spent a whole lot of time out in the snow. They all got new boots for their birthday and they were so happy and excited to have snow boots. It's kind of funny to see what they get excited about. I wasn't sure if they would be scared to go down the hills or not but they loved it. We took our dog Deke with us and he had a lot of fun too. Our other dog Savvy stayed at home. She is still trying to recover from her broken leg. Deke would chase the sled down the hill after them. He ran around and sniffed the snow and ate it. After we were done we headed home and had hot chocolate. It was a fun time.

The Gang

At the bottom of the hill

Catching a ride from Dad

The were so bundled up they could hardly walk. They could barely get up the hills. Most the time they had to get on their hands and knees and crawl up. It reminds me of the little boy "Randy" in the "Christmas Story" movie.

Look how far we've come...Taking a look back.

2009-12-27T21:26:00.008-07:00

Our boys just celebrated their 4th Birthday on December 16th. Every year as they turn another year older I remember back and think of all we have gone through to get to the point we are at now. This year I had a lot to think about as they have changed and grown up so much. The past 4 years have been incredible. I would never have dreamed that this is what my life would be like, but now I couldn't imagine it any other way. It has been an amazing, crazy, busy, stressful, fun, challenging, exhausting, wonderful 4 years. There are many, many great memories, and there are some not so great ones, but none the less they are what got us to where we are. We have been blessed with some great kids, even if they do drive us absolutely crazy. There have been many days I seriously thought I would not survive the day, but somehow at the end of each day we are all still alive.
I found out that I was pregnant with triplets on July 13, 2005. I already knew I was pregnant but not with triplets. I had gone to my first doctors appointment the day before and they could not find a heartbeat which wouldn't have been too concerning normally but I was measuring very large for how far along I was. So to find out what was going on, they wanted me to have an ultrasound. They were concerned that maybe something was wrong with the baby and maybe I had lost it. I was working the night shift, so the next morning I went to the ultrasound after I got off work. Rob was at home with Railey and it was early in the morning so I told him I would just go on my way home. So he told me to call him as soon as I knew what was going on. I went into the ultrasound and the lady had turned the screen so I wasn't really able to see. She was very quiet for a long time and I just knew she was going to tell me I had lost the baby. When she finally spoke she said.."I'm seeing triplets" My response was "HUH?" Then she turned the screen and showed me each baby and all their heartbeats. I was speechless. After finishing I headed out to my car and I got in and just sat there. And then it hit me and I just started to cry. So I called Rob and as soon as he answered he said.."What did they say? Is the baby alright?" I said "Well, so far the babies are fine." He said.."What? We're having twins?" I said, "No, they said we're having triplets." He said.."You're such a liar." And then I started to cry again. He then realized I was not joking and told me to get home. I headed home. I called my parents as I drove home. As soon as I got home and showed the picture to Rob he started making phone calls. I had to work again that night so I should have slept during the day but that just didn't happen. The next couple of weeks until it really became reality are pretty much a blur. I was pretty sick throughout the pregnancy and very tired, but I did pretty good. I worked until I was 18 weeks along. At that point the doctors told me I needed to start taking it easy. I did very well other than getting big and uncomfortable until about 27 weeks. At the point I went into labor and they admitted me to the hospital. They were able to stop labor and give me the steroid shot for the babies, and I was released after two days and able to go home for the next month. But from that point on, I was on strict bed rest. My entire family came to St. George for Thanksgiving and my parents took Railey home with them. We figured it wouldn't be long until I would be having them. They left on Saturday, and by Monday when I went in to see the perinatologist they readmitted me and told be that was where I was going to be until I delivered. They were able to stop labor a few more times with the use of magnesium sulfate. Not a pleasant experience for me but worth it because we were able to buy some more time. I felt awful while I was on it. After 3 weeks in the hospital, the boys were taken at 33 1/2 weeks by C-section. What a crazy experience... multiple doctors, tons of nurses. Robby was born at 3:38 p.m. He was 4 lbs 4 oz and 17 1/4 inches. Ryder at 3:39 p.m. He was 3 lbs even and was 15 1/4 inches, and Ranger at 3:40 and he was 3 lbs 12 oz and 16 1/2 inches. Each one of them gave a cry as soon as they were born. It was so amazing. I could not believe how tiny they were. They showed them to us and immediately handed them off to the neonatologists, and then they were taken to the NICU.

The boys very first picture

25 weeks pregnant (already bigger than I was at 40 weeks with my first pregnancy)

28 weeks pregnant and getting bigger
31 weeks pregnant and living in the hospital

32 weeks pregnant (barely able to stand without falling on my face)

Robby 4 hours oldRyder 4 hours old

Ranger 4 hours old

This was Christmas Day 2005

They were 9 days old.

Ryder and Ranger (almost ready to be out of the isolette)

Robby (just out of the isolette)

Life was very crazy for a long time. It still is, its just in different ways now. This was how I used to feed them when I fed them by myself.

Crazy became our normal. This is the first time they got to see Santa.

This is their first Birthday. And not only is it their Birthday but a celebration for me because I survived the first year. I still don't know how we did.

When one found trouble they would teach it to the others.

Their 2nd Birthday. They grew so much that year.

I think back to how I used to not even be able to bathe them together because it was dangerous. I seriously couldn't put them all in together because I couldn't hold on to all of them. But now they can play in the swimming pool all together and they have a blast.

Their 3rd Birthday

They love to read books.

The love to cause trouble and get into trouble which leads to lots of timeouts.

They love to play outside and ride their trikes and bikes.

They love to help in the garden and they drive their Tonka trucks out to help haul in the vegies.

I used to think we would never be able to go anywhere again, but slowly we are venturing out. We took them all to Lagoon this last summer and they had tons of fun. And we did too.

We had our pictures taken at Lagoon.

I love this picture because they are all playing nice together. And that is very typical of Railey to try to get them to do something that she wants. Its moments like these when I find them doing things that make me smile.

Their 4th Birthday Cake

We have to give them a cupcake to blow candles out on because we don't think anyone wants to eat cake that 3 little kids have blown (spit) on.

Birthday Presents

We have come a long way in the last four years. I think about all the visits to the Emergency room and the few hospital stays and hope that those are in the past. We spent their first 2 Christmases in the hospital, and when they were really little they would pick up every little bug that went around. Just 2 weeks after we got them home from the hospital they were all 3 readmitted for RSV. The next Christmas we ended up taking them in on Christmas Eve. They had the flu and RSV and we ended up staying. We have had other ER runs with Robby. Mostly because of his asthma. He can't breathe when he gets sick, even if it was just a cold. But this last year has been so much better. He seems to have grown out of the worst of it. We haven't had to give him a breathing treatment or any of his medicine in almost a year. I am so glad. We finally finished potty training this year. I am so excited not to have to buy diapers or pullups anymore. For a while there I thought it was never going to happen. I began to wonder if I would be sending one to kindergarten in diapers. But we are now completely done. I would say that potty training was one of the most challenging things we have gone through, along with the lack of sleep. That first year was so exhausting but even after that it seems like someone was always waking up. I went a long time without sleeping through the night. Now that I can I am so grateful. Sleep is wonderful. It kind of makes me sad to think about how all the baby in them is gone, but I am grateful they are growing and healthy and happy. It's just hard to believe they are four years old already.

Savvy Dog

2009-11-29T17:31:00.005-07:00

About a month ago our dog got hurt, but we really didn't know what happened. We were in the house and heard her just start yelping and crying. We could tell by the sound that something was wrong so we rushed outside to find her lying on the grass. She had hurt her leg somehow and couldn't really walk on it. So we watched her for the next week or so, and she started to bear weight and eventually started walking and then running again. We figured she was back to normal. But then last Saturday afternoon, Railey came running in the house and said that she had just tripped and fell on the bricks in my flower bed and she was hurt again and wouldn't move. She was really hurt this time. We could tell she was in a lot of pain. She was crying and couldn't hardly even move. Of course there is not vet around on the weekend so we decided to wait until Monday and see how she was and then take her to the vet. It was a long weekend. She was very miserable and bawled for two days. So finally on Monday we took her to the vet. The x-ray showed that she had a crack in her hip, some damaged ligaments around the knee, and a fresh break in her leg. He figured the crack in her hip was older, as well as the ligament damage. We are guessing that was from the first accident (we don't really know what happened on that one, we were thinking maybe she fell off our deck, but we're not sure). It had started to heal and was doing pretty well when she took a tumble onto the brick. He figured that just snapped the bone in her leg in half. So anyway, she is now sporting a new look. She looks pretty ridiculous, but hopefully it will allow her to completely heal. She is supposed keep it on for 6 weeks. The first day or so was a little hard for her to get around but now she seems happy just to be able to move. She has started to use it like a peg leg, and it doesn't really slow her down anymore. She goes up and down the stairs just as fast. She isn't able to bend her leg at all, and it is helping to keep the hip immobilized so it can completely heal as well. The vet said he figured because she is so young she should do pretty well. We feel so bad for her. She really is such a sweet dog.

Halloween

2009-11-04T11:11:00.003-07:00

For Halloween this year, Railey wanted to be a witch and the boys were a bunch of monkeys. (I thought that was very fitting) They love to sing the monkeys jumping on the bed song (as they are jumping on the bed) This was the first year we actually let the boys walk up to doors and trick or treat. The last couple of years I pushed them around in the stroller. They were so excited to go, but we only made it around the block with them. About half way around they starting saying they wanted to go home and didn't want to go to anymore houses. I think they were tired of walking and carrying their buckets. So we finished the block and went home. Railey got to go with a friend after we took the boys home so she was pretty happy. The kids had fun carving their pumpkins (or watching us carve them) and thought it was really neat to light them up. I let them each pick out their own pumpkin at the store a few weeks ago. They thought it was cool to have their very own pumpkin and each time we went outside they had to tell everyone which one was theirs.

L to R Railey's Robby's Ryder's Ranger's

Red Ribbon Week

2009-11-04T10:42:00.005-07:00

Last week it was Red Ribbon Week at school. Monday was Crazy Hair Day, Tuesday was wear a tie day, Wednesday was Funny Hat day, Thursday was dress in Red day, so she wore her school shirt which is red but we forgot to take a picture, and Friday was dress in your Halloween Costume.

Monday

Monday Tuesday
Wednesday

Friday

Decorating Halloween Cookies

2009-10-28T11:46:00.003-06:00

This year the kids (especially the boys) seem to be extra excited for Halloween. The boys ask me several times a day if it is Halloween, and if they get to go trick or treating. They have been packing their pumpkin buckets around for days. So on monday I made sugar cookies in halloween shapes and we decided to let them decorate them for family home evening. They were so excited all day. They couldn't wait to decorate their own cookies. They kept calling them "boy" cookies. They had tons of fun icing them and putting on sprinkles and candy corn. They probably would have used the entire bottle of sprinkles on one cookie if we would have let them. We made a huge mess, and they were sure to tell me about it and tell me I that I needed to clean it up. It made me laugh. The last two days they have asked if they can decorate more cookies, so I assume it's safe to say they had a good time.

Antelope

2009-10-28T11:35:00.003-06:00

One day last week we were driving down the highway just a couple of miles from our house and we saw these pronghorn out in the field. We didn't know there were any this close to us so we thought it was pretty neat. We had to take some pictures just so we could prove that we actually saw them. They are not the best pictures but you can at least tell what they are.

Cutting Firewood

2009-10-27T17:08:00.005-06:00

We have spent several days out in the hills cutting firewood for the winter. The kids like to go and play while we cut and then they help carry and load the truck. They get so filthy but they have a good time. I usually strip them down at the door when we get home and put them straight in the tub. They dig in the dirt and find big sticks to play with. We have been lucky enough to avoid any major catastrophies. We took the dogs on the last 3 or 4 trips and they had fun. The boys chased them around and everyone got pretty worn out. Railey likes to find trees she can climb up in and hang out.

The boys and their puppy dogs

Rob cutting up a tree

Boys hangin' out in the back of the truck

They found a good tree on this day

Taking an apple break

My Crazy Crew

Railey and Robby chillin' in the tree

Deke And Savvy

2009-10-27T15:25:00.005-06:00

In the last couple of months we got 2 new puppies. They are both Mountain Kerr's. They are bred to be hunting dogs, but also good family dogs. They are great with kids. The first week of September we got Savvy. She is the lighter blonde one. Then the first week of October we got Deke. He is the brindle one. We had him picked out for over a month but he wasn't big enough to bring home yet. They are both very cute. They have been a lot of fun. The kids absolutely love them, so much in fact they sneek out of the house whenever they can to play with them. (Ranger especially) I wasn't sure I was ready to have more animals. Mainly because I didn't want to have anything else to have to take care of, but I caved in the minute they got home and have loved them. It helps that we have a big back yard that is all fenced in so they have room to run and play. They seem to really enjoy each other too. They play all day long, and cuddle up together to sleep. I hope they will be good dogs for our family for years to come. It will be exciting to see what they can do hunting. Both sets of their parents are good hunters. Savvy already loves to tree our cat and will not leave him alone if he comes around them. He tends to stay in the front of the house now. He doesn't really care for the dogs. He would rather sit on the other side of the fence where he feels safe.

Deer Hunting

2009-10-27T15:01:00.003-06:00

This year we had the oppurtunity to get a handful of deer. Rob and I both drew the antlerless tag for the area where we live. This year if you happened to draw that tag, they gave you two tags, so we ended up with 4 doe tags and then Rob also had his buck tag for the muzzleloader hunt. We filled all the tags. We were able to kill all of the does within about a quarter of a mile from our house. It was nice not to have to drag them forever. They were all in a place where we were able to back the truck right up to them, and then just toss them in. Then we were home in just a minute. I'm not exactly sure where he got the buck. I didn't go with him on that hunt. We were very happy to get the meat. (Even though I was sick of cutting it up by the time we were done) We bottled all the does and did burger and steaks out of Rob's buck. Rob shot a pretty nice buck. It was good sized.

Back to School

2009-08-24T22:53:00.003-06:00

Railey started back to school last week on the 19th. She is now in 2nd Grade. Its seems like she was just starting kindergarten. She kept saying she wasn't ready for summer to be over and go back to school, but we went to back to school night and the minute we left the school she was very excited to go back. I think she was a little nervous because she is going to a different school this year and she was concerned she wouldn't know where to go. They have had two different elementary schools here but this year they combined and did some changes. They now have a preschool, kindergarten center at the one school, and then 1st-4th grade at the other school, and moved the 5th grade to the middle school. She felt comfortable at the one school after having spent the last two years there but now is in the other. We made sure to walk around so she would know where to go. She rode the bus to school on the first day but wanted me to follow it to the school and walk her to her classroom. So I did, and as soon as she got to class she said she was fine and she would see me after school. She got Mrs. Farrell for her teacher. She was excited about that. She knew who she was from school last year. After she got home from school that first day I asked her if she was able to find her way around and she said, "oh yeah, I'm totally fine, I know where everything is now." It kind of made me laugh. All nervousness was gone.
I took Railey school shopping by herself this year. We left the boys at home with dad and spent the day with just the two of us. It was a lot of fun. When shopping with the boys we try not to go anymore places than we absolutely have to. It was great to go to lots of different stores. We could just jump out of the car and head in.....and not have to unbuckle, buckle, unbuckle, buckle, unbuckle a million times with all the carseats. We found some cute stuff for her. We went and had lunch at Cafe Rio. She made sure to rub that in her dad's face when we got home. It was a good day. She commented several times how much fun it was not to have the boys with us. I was glad to have been able to spend the day with her, and have it be a day just for her. We need to do that more often. She is growing up way too fast.

Otter Creek

2009-08-24T21:45:00.008-06:00

Rob and Railey took a trip to Otter Creek this last week to go fishing. They wanted to do something else before school started. They didn't have much luck with the fish but they had a good time anyway. Railey was a little disappointed they didn't catch any fish because the last time they went they caught quite a few and she actually caught more than dad. But she was pretty happy because she got to drive the boat all by herself. Since they didn't have any luck with the fish, she got to drive it around for quite a while. She thought that was pretty cool. She kept telling me how good she was at driving. She even told me to call her "Captain" because that was what Rob had been calling her. She thought all the birds, especially the cranes were really neat. So I guess you could say the day was a success, even though the fishing itself was not.

At the end of each fishing trip you always have to show what you caught (or didn't catch)

Oak City Days

2009-08-23T14:44:00.008-06:00

Every August here in Oak City, they have what they call "Oak City Days". It is a celebration that lasts all weekend. People come from all over. There are people who were raised here, some that have family that live here now, people from Delta, and many others. They have a parade on Friday night which kicks things off, then they have all kinds of activites for all different ages. They have a rook tournament, ice cream social, movie in the park (all the teenagers take couches up to the park and watch a movie.) On Saturday they have a 5K race in the morning, a choir concert, a turkey shoot, basketball tournament, mud volleyball, horseshoes, and lots of other things. Thay have a big pit barbeque dinner. They cook the food all night in a huge cement pit up at the park. Then all day Saturday the entire park is filled with booths with all kind of stuff. There is all different kinds of things to buy, lots of games to play, a trout catch, and tons of fun for everyone. This year there were a bunch of the blow up jumping houses for the kids. Our kids had a lot of fun that day. Railey started the day with being dunked in the dunk tank. She wanted to sit and be dunked. They had cotton candy, and snow cones. They jumped in the bounce houses for a long time. They had one with a huge slide on it. Except for Robby, they all loved it. We couldn't get him to go. Ryder and Ranger went over and over. Ryder always look scared coming down, but would laugh at the bottom and then head back to the top. Ranger looked like he was loving it. We did finally talk Robby into going up but once at the top we couldn't get him to come down. So he was up there for a while. Then he finally decided to climb back down the ladder. After lots of coaxing and bribing we got him to go back up with Ryder and Ranger. We told Ryder and Ranger not to let go of him, and pull him down the slide when they went so he wouldn't be stuck at the top again. We weren't sure if they would but they held on to him and pulled him down with them. Once he got to the bottom he wanted to go again but he didn't get to because it was time for the trout catch. For the trout catch, they go by age groups, and it is timed, so you have to hurry and try to catch the fish or you won't get one. Last year, Railey tried but didn't end up with one. For the kids ages 3 and under they let an adult in with the child. They let you kneel at the edge of the pool and try to help them catch a fish. Rob, me and a friend each helped one of the boys. We were lucky and each of the boys ended up with a fish. They aren't very easy to catch bare handed, but each of us caught one for the boys. They were so excited. I was just so worried that now because all of the boys got one, that Railey wouldn't get one, because we couldn't help her, but wouldn't you know, she got right in and instead of catching one in the pool, she would flip the water out of the pool when the fish would swim by, and she flipped a fish right out of the pool. Then she hopped out and got the fish off the grass. I was so happy for her, especially after not getting one last year. We took all the fish home and grilled them for dinner, after each kid watched dad gut and clean their fish.

Railey going down the slide

Ranger (Mr. Fearless) Ryder(looking scared but really loving it)
I love this picture. The little boys telling Robby its not scary.
He says it is but is going up with them anyway.

Now at the top, Robby's not so sure but they aren't letting go.

We are at the bottom yelling up to them, "Don't let go, just pull him down"And away they go, and Ranger still isn't letting goEverybody waiting for them to fill the pool with fishRefilling with fish for the next group.

Railey's age group is next.And the 7 year olds are off
Railey with her big catch

Robby with his fish

He got very sad after this because he found out his fish was now deadRanger the happy man

Ryder was happy to have the fish but wasn't sure he wanted to hold

it much with his bare hands. He wanted it in the sack to carry it around.

Our fishermen with our dinner

Railey's 7th Birthday

2009-08-23T12:56:00.005-06:00

Railey celebrated her 7th Birthday on August 4th. We can't believe she is already 7. She had a fun birthday. She loves bugs and animals so we did her a lady bug cake with 2 smaller lady bugs. She really liked the cakes. She got a lot of fun things including a game, a new pair of pajamas, a puzzle, some play make-up. She got a card with money from grandma and grandpa. She was so excited about that because she loves to get mail. She also got a card with $7 from Aunt Jeneal in Washington. She loves animals so much and has been wanting more for a long time, so she ended up getting some bunnies. She was so happy to get them. She went with Rob up north on her birthday to get them. We now have 8 Rabbits. She loves them. She knew if she were to get them that it would be her responsibility to take care of them, along with some help from dad. She has really done a good job caring for them. She spends a lot of time out with them. She packs them around like babies. Hopefully she will continue to like them and like caring for them. They are really cute and fun to see.

Holding "Flopsy"

So far he is the only one with an official name

Railey Sleeps Outside

2009-08-23T12:30:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago, Railey kept telling us that she wanted to sleep out all by herself. She wanted to sleep on the swing on the deck, so we decided to let her. She got her little sleeping bag and pillow and a few other things and spent the whole day getting ready for her sleep out. I kind of thought by the time night came she would change her mind, especially with it being dark, but I was wrong. When it was time for bed, she went right out. We got her tucked in and left a little light on in the kitchen so she could see if she got up during the night and she went right to sleep. We kept checking on her and finally went to bed. She came in about 3:30 but only because she said she was hot. We told her she could get in her bed, and she did, but then about 10 minutes later she came back in and said she was going back out. So she headed back out and stayed out until morning. I was a little surprised she actually did it. She was pretty proud of herself.

Getting her all tucked in

Ready for sleep

Summer Happenings

2009-07-19T23:34:00.004-06:00

We have been having a great summer so far, although I am not very happy about how fast it seems to be going by. It seems like just yesterday when we were waiting for it too quit snowing and warm up so we could finally get outside. The winter was so long and I was more than ready to see the warm weather. I can't believe we are nearing the end of July already. Where does the time go? Before we know it, the kids will be back in school. I guess we just need to try and enjoy the rest. We have kept busy this summer. We had our trip to Lagoon. The kids are still talking about it. My mom came to our house on June 30th and spent a couple of days with us, then she took the kids home with her for a few days. They had a great time(the kids anyway)...you'll have to ask my mom and dad how it was for them. My kids love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. We had bounce-back tickets from Lagoon for only $9 which we hadn't planned on using but decided to go again with just the 2 of us. It was a lot of fun. We were able to jump from ride to ride pretty fast so we did all we wanted to do in about 4 hours. We did some others errands while we were in Salt Lake, made a Costco run and then we went to Cafe Rio for dinner. We had a fun day. It's amazing to me how fast I can do things when I'm not toting a handful of kids. I spent the other couple of days getting caught up on a lot of things. I spent one entire day outside in the yard and garden. There is always something that needs to be done in the yard. One night we took our bikes up the mountain about 9 miles and then we rode them home. We missed the kids, but enjoyed the peace and quiet. Thanks mom and dad. It was a nice break. We went to Blanding to pick up the kids and spend the 4th of July. I don't think I had spent the 4th in Blanding in over 10 years. It was fun.
Our yard and garden are now what I'm spending a lot of time on. Our garden has done pretty good. We are now starting to get a lot of stuff from it. We have cucumbers coming out our ears. We have picked a lot of Zuchinni. I have started picking tomatoes, and it doesn't look like it will be long before I have a lot that are ready. All of the peppers have grown really nice. I saw a few ears of corn starting to come out from the stalks so that is exciting. We can't wait to have fresh corn on the cob. The kids ask all the time when it will be ready. The onions, green beans, and melons are growing good too. We picked a bunch of green beans and bottled our first batch the other day. I haven't tried them yet. Hopefully they will be good.
The kids love to go into the garden when its time to pick the vegetables. The boys drive their big dump trucks out there and they think they need to "haul" the stuff back to the house. It's really cute. Railey loves seeing things grow, and she is constantly out there "checking" the garden for me. Ranger asks me almost daily if those "matoes" are for his "mato juice". He loves tomato juice and is intrigued with the idea of me making it for him.
Last friday night we went to Salt Lake to attend the wedding reception of Rob's cousin Jordan Jacobs. It was a quick drive up and back that evening but it was great to be able to visit with a lot of Rob's family. We don't get to see them very often.

For family home evening this week we spent time in the garden

The kids with some of the things we picked
Its always been my dream to have a family picture in front of a corn patch

(yes, I'm joking)

LET THE CANNING BEGIN!!!

The first bottled green beans of the year

This is what I picked tonight but it was getting dark

so I didn't get to a lot of the garden to check everthing.

I'm sure I'll have a lot more tomorrow.

Lagoon

2009-06-27T23:55:00.007-06:00

LAGOON 6/24/2009
We went to Lagoon this last week. Rob's sister Valoree and her fiance Jason came up from Nevada for a few days to visit. We all went to Lagoon together. We had a great time. We drove up to Salt Lake early Wednesday morning so we got there just as it opened. We went in for a few hours and when everyone got hot and hungry we headed out to the parking lot for lunch. We had packed a cooler. Then we headed back in for the rest of the day. The kids had tons of fun. They loved all of the kiddie rides and most of the bigger rides. There were a couple they were not fans of. They especially did not like the "Title Wave." They loved all of the rides with water. They thought it was cool that we were getting wet. They were giggling and having fun in the water. They really thought it was funny when mom got absolutely soaked on "Rattle Snake Rapids." And they liked the "Log Ride" and getting splashed. Railey was the perfect size. She was just big enough to ride most of the adult rides as long as one of us was with her but she was still small enough to go on all the kid rides too. She was quite the little dare devil. She loved the roller coasters and the scary rides. She would scream like crazy while on the rides but as soon as they ended she would ask if we could go again. She even went on the one called "Wicked" with me. I was pretty proud of her. She has been talking nonstop about it since we got home. We went and had our pictures done in Pioneer Village. Rob has wanted an old fashion picture like that for a long time. So we now have one in black and white to hang up. He says that it will be our Christmas card. So I guess time will tell. It was a long day, but it went too fast. By the time we got home it was nearly 1 a.m. But all in all we had a great day spending it with family. It was really nice to spend time with Val and Jason, and it was great to get the kids out and do something extra fun with them.

The whole crew at the end of the day

Old Fashion (serious)

Old Fashion (happy)

All the kids

Ranger and Robby

Railey and Ryder

Ryder couldn't have been happier driving a yellow boat

RAILEY

RYDER

RANGER
ROBBY

New Bikes and Time Out

2009-06-15T10:38:00.004-06:00

NEW BIKES
The boys got new bikes this last week. We have been going for little rides in the evenings with the kids and the boys have been riding their little trikes. They think it is so much fun. They pedal their little legs as fast as they can go. We decided they needed some bikes with rubber tires instead of the little plastic ones they have on the trikes. There are not too many sidewalks where we live so it was kind of hard for them with the trikes to go on the roads not to mention it was very loud. You could hear us coming from a mile away. So Rob went to Walmart while he was up north and picked some up, along with some helmets. They were so excited to get "big boy" bikes. We didn't tell them that we got them at first. We told them that Dad brought a surprise back for them and we gave them the helmets. So we put their helmets on and they wanted to go for a ride. We had set the bikes up side by side in the driveway so they would see them when they headed outside, but they went straight to the garage to get their trikes so we had to redirect them to the bikes. They went nuts over the new bikes. They have had a lot of fun on them already. They love them. And they actually still like the trikes too.

They thought they were just getting a picture taken with their new helmet.

They didn't know about the bikes yet.

Just figuring out how to ride them. They couldn't figure out the brakes for a

while. They kept asking what happened and why they kept stopping.

TIME OUT

I had to post a few pictures that show one of the ways I use the corners in my kitchen. There are 3 corners that are fairly close but far enough away from each other that they work perfectly for naughty little boys. Close enough together that I can keep an eye on all of them at the same time. My camera couldn't really get all of them at the same time, but in the bottom picture you can see the head of the 3rd. They don't usually all end up in the corner at the same time but they have their days when all of them help each other get into trouble. They were actually in trouble when I took these pictures. This particular day was one I do not want to repeat. But I did tell myself I needed some pictures for later on. Someday the boys will look at these and think they are funny. (I hope)

A Little Bit of Everything

2009-06-03T11:08:00.010-06:00

GARDEN
I finally got my garden planted a couple of weeks ago. I worked like crazy to get this space cleared in hopes of having a garden this year. But I got it done and was able to plant. I planted a lot of corn on the cob, purple onions, yellow onions, carrots, cherry tomatoes, about 75 tomato plants, lots of jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, broccoli, all different kinds of squash, a lot of green beans, cucumbers, some watermelon, and some cantaloupe. I don't know if it will all grow good but so far it seems to be doing well. The corn is up and getting taller everyday. The tomato plants are looking much stronger since they were planted as are the peppers. All of the cucumbers, squash, green beans, onions and carrots are up and growing. The tomato plants are starting to flower and I even have 3 little tiny tomatoes on one plant already. I am so excited. Watching the plants grow and flowers bloom is one of my favorite things. I planted a ton of flowers this year all over the yard. I love to go out and look at them. And the smell is even better. So if everything continues to do well, hopefully I will be very busy in a couple of months. I want to bottle salsa, tomato juice, green beans, and who knows what else. Rob said he thinks it will be cool to open up a bottle of salsa and know that we grew everything it took to make it. We have kind of been on a food storage kick lately. It is a great feeling to know that we now have a year supply for our family. And now we are working to add to it which hopefully this garden will let us do. It was also nice to have the kids see it and get excited to grow it. They helped clear out all the rocks while we were tilling and I let them help me plant a few of the things. Now I just need to teach them to weed it. These pictures are not the greatest but you can kind of get the idea.

GRANDPA PALMER

On May 23, 2009 my grandpa Palmer (my mom's father) passed away at the age of 97. What a wonderful man he was and what a great life he lived. His funeral was on May 28, 2009 in Blanding, Utah. He was such a great example to all of us and he will be missed. But we are also very happy for him. My Grandma passed away in July of 2007. Grandpa had been very lonely for her. They had their 77th wedding anniversay just a couple of weeks before she died. Not very many people get that many years together. What a reunion they must have had. They also lost a son at the age of 8 to polio and never stopped missing him, so how wonderful it must be for them to be with him again. We have many wonderful memories of Grandpa and Grandma that will never be forgotten. They were the best grandparents anyone could ask for.

Grandma and Grandpa with my boys shortly after they were born.

Grandma was so excited and Grandpa couldn't believe what miracles they were.

Grandpa giving hugs and kisses to the kids.

Check out Robby's face and what Grandpa is doing. Typical.
Grandpa always played with and teased the kids.

My boys having their last cookie with Pockee

Grandma and Grandpa's headstone

My Grandparents children L to R Shirley(tobe) Ileene,

Margaret, Lyman, Karma, Kaye(my mom)

OVERDUE VISIT

Over memorial weekend I had the oppurtunity to see an old roommate from school in Cedar City back in 1997. We hadn't seen each other since my wedding more than 9 years ago. We have tried to keep in touch over the years somewhat but hadn't actually seen each other. It was so great to see her. She was coming up to to Hurricane and Cedar for other stuff and drove up early and an extra 2 1/2 hours to my house just so we could spend some time together. We had a really nice visit although it was way too short. We will definately have to do it more often. You're the best Janelle. Thanks for coming to see me.

RAILEY TEETH UPDATE

We have been back to see the dentist again for Railey's teeth. The took some more x-rays and they looked good. He didn't see a fracture like they thought there might be before. He said he thought she had healed nicely and that everything looked normal. He said we just need to watch as the teeth come in and make sure they are not discolored. Hopefully they will be good. Her new teeth have already come in quite a bit. So now we start the jack o lantern teeth phase, and hope for the best. I just know she will end up in braces eventually. I will be shocked if she doesn't. I had them and so did Rob. So for now we will enjoy how cute she looks with missing teeth.

Bike and Bunks

2009-05-11T10:56:00.003-06:00

BIKE
Railey is finally riding her bike without training wheels. She used to have a little tiny bike with training wheels and she outgrew it so for her 5th birthday we got her a new bigger bike. She loved it...or at least the looks of it. We couldn't get her to get on it and ride it for anything. So finally a couple of months ago, she decided she would get on it and try. And she got really fast with the training wheels. She was riding up and down the street constantly, but she still wouldn't let us take the training wheels off. Then one day she came in and she was telling me about our little neighbor who is only 4 and rides his bike all by himself. So Rob told Railey she was big enough to ride and if she wanted to ride she had to do it without the training wheels and he went and took them off. He went out and helped her ride for a little while and within no time she was riding all by herself. It was fun to see her be able to do it on her own. After that, all she wanted to do was ride her bike. We told her that she always needed to tell us when she was going to ride and that she needed to have her helmet on. So one evening we were all outside and we were doing some yard work in the back yard while the kids played. Then we hear all this screaming and Railey comes running around the side of the house and she is all bloody. She had just crashed her bike. We didn't even know she was on her bike. I looked in her mouth and it looked like the 2 front teeth (which were already loose) were pretty much just hanging there, along with one tooth on the side. So I thought no big deal..we'll just finish pulling them out. There are just baby teeth. But once we got it to stop bleeding you could see a tear in the gum above the teeth and we couldn't pull them or it would tear it off. So we ended up taking her to a dentist the next morning. They did some x-rays. They said they didn't want the one tooth on the side to come out yet, and they didn't want pull the front 2 until the gum healed some. They also put her on some antibiotics because they thought she already had infection up inside. They couldn't tell but they also thought there may be a fractured on one of the new teeth coming in. So we took her back to the dentist about 4 days later and the gum looked tons better, so he went ahead and took out her 2 front teeth. We have to take her back again next week and they will take x-rays again and see what it looks like. Hopefully everything will be OK and they won't see a fracture or any other damage. I do think however, that she learned her lesson. Wear her helmet. And tell us when she is going to ride. Come to find out, she wasn't wearing her helmet when she crashed, and had she been , she probably wouldn't have even hit her face. But since that day I have not seen her without her helmet. She also thinks its pretty cool to ride her bike up to her bus stop, and then be able to ride it home after school. And she has a lot of fun riding with the kids in the neighborhood. And she does look pretty cute toothless. That tooth fairy lost a lot of money because of that crash.

BUNKS
We got the boys bunkbeds this last week. I wasn't sure how safe it would be to have them while they were so little but because there is just not enough space in their bedroom to put 3 twin size beds, we really didn't have any other option. They had still been sleeping in their crib/toddler beds. We got a new bed a while back so we put our queen size in Railey's room and gave her twin to Robby. So we just need 2 more beds. The little boys have been asking when they were going to get big boy beds like Robby. They were very excited to get their beds. It was so cute. They kept telling me they didn't need their baby beds anymore because they were big boys now. It worked out great because we were able to give the cribs to a family in our ward with twins, and then another family with a baby. I took the boys and went to Payson on Saturday to do some shopping. We got them some bedding sets with cars that matched and they thought that was pretty cool. They actually couldn't wait to get in bed and sleep in their new beds and blankets.
They love climbing up and down the ladder. Ryder especially loves it because yellow is his absolute favorite color.

So Happy to See Spring

2009-04-27T13:51:00.005-06:00

We have been ready for spring for quite a while. The kids need to be able to get out and run. It has been a really long winter for us. We have been going nuts lately being cooped up in the house. I am very tired of cleaning up mud and snow and everything else tracked in during the winter.(Railey has a habit of walking through mud and pudddles on the way home from the bus stop.) I will be so happy not to have to put on all those little shoes, socks, coats, gloves, and hats. Just keeping track of all of them makes me crazy. I love flip flop weather. The kids can put them on themselves and they love wearing them. We had a couple of really beautiful days and we took advantage and spent a lot of time outside. I love to see the flowers poke up and bloom and the grass all green again. I know its nuts but I enjoy mowing the lawn so I was happy to mow it for the first time again this last week. I can't wait to plant my flowers and watch them grow. We've been trying to get the back part of the yard all cleared and ready to plant a garden this year. Hopefully we will have success. With any luck, maybe I will get some tomatoes. I'm really hoping to get a bunch so I can bottle juice and salsa.

Railey was a good sport when the boys wanted to wear her helmet and ride her scooter. She was willing to trade and ride one of their trikes.

While playing outside, Robby found an old pair of safety glasses in the garage. He put them on and he called himself "Daddy Robby" all day. Robby is holding the door open so Ranger can ring the doorbell about a hundred times. They all have to ring the bell everytime we come home or come in from outside.

The boys reading Dad's books. We usually don't let them take them alone but we had some that had been damaged and some that were used for displays, so we gave them each some of their own. They were so excited. They have been carrying them around for days and telling us that dad made these "Little Jake" books.

Potty Trainin' and Nose Pickin'

2009-04-16T13:42:00.006-06:00

I'm sure you can guess by the title of this post what we have been dealing with lately. Some days I think we may never actually be done with the potty training. Ryder is doing well..still has a few accidents, Ranger will go as long as I always take him about every 10 minutes..if I don't remember to take him he won't tell me. I try to take him but I forget a lot or I get sidetracked with something else. Robby still doesn't want anything to do with it. I did get him to sit on the potty the other day but of course we didn't get any results. I keep hoping that one day it will all just click for them. That would be a great day. I can't wait to stop buying diapers. It is so hard for me to hand over the money that we spend on them. I keep thinking of all the other things I could do with it. I know the day will eventually come. I am not the most patient person so I guess that is probably one lesson I need to learn from it. I was very lucky when training Railey..she picked it up fast and never had accidents. Lately, the boys have decided that picking their noses is the thing to do. I also think it is contagious between them..it's like if one sees another one do it their finger automatically goes there too. Gross!!! In our house it's like there is a recording that goes off every few minutes of "mom..a booger" At least I can be grateful they tell me about it and they ask for a tissue. And every night without fail..as soon as we put them to bed and leave the room I give them about 1-2 minutes and someone will call out "I got a booger" or "I need to pee mom" What do you do? You can't get mad at them. I know that sometimes they do it to stall but I still have to let them. I know that one day we will think back about this and laugh and have good memories. I know this is just what everyone wanted to hear about. Sorry..but it seems to be one of the main events in our lives right now. I will show you some courtesy though by not posting a picture of it.

2009-04-15T20:28:00.001-06:00

Our 4 little bucket heads...I came into the living room and they were all wearing their Easter buckets...they thought they were pretty funny.

2009-04-15T18:05:00.002-06:00

Done egg hunting and getting ready to go home. They were freezing at this point.

2009-04-15T17:57:00.000-06:00

Railey with her cousin Brinlee after the hunt..Cold but Happy.

2009-04-15T17:50:00.001-06:00

The boys are trying to patiently wait for them to say GO so they could start looking.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-15T17:39:00.002-06:00

We went to the park here in Oak City for the Easter Egg Hunt. It had rained all night and it was cold but the kids were so excited to hunt eggs. The boys had a lot of fun this year. This was really the first year they really cared about getting as many eggs as they could and keeping them. We colored eggs the night before and they thought that was pretty cool, but of course I forgot to take pictures.