Reunion!

David's HOME!!!

When I had talked to David on Tuesday to find out when his flight was supposed to come in, he told me 11:30 at night. We were thinking, 'Dang that stinks! That is super late!' But we hadn't seen Dad in five months and we really wanted to be there at the airport when he got home, so we made plans to go up there no matter how late it was going to be. Then on Wednesday, Dave calls and tells me, he lied. And I was like WHAT?! His flight was really supposed to get in at 9:10, and he was planning on showing up at our door to surprise us! I was NOT happy. :( I had planned in my head what it was going to be like, trying to prepare myself for when he got home. I'm not sure, but I might have passed out entirely if he'd done it! haha Well, he got worried that he couldn't make the time frame work out and if I would even be home when he got here, so he fessed up. That punk. :) So Kristie was nice enough to come with me and take a couple of pictures and keep me company on the drive up. She's always way too good to me. When we walked up to the baggage claim area, I saw a bald head and an army uniform and said "I see a bald head!!" and pointed him out to Kristie. We went back and forth for a second asking if that was him, but then he turned around and spotted us. Bethany ran right up and grabbed hold. Maddie grabbed hold of dad's leg and when Sam was ready, he very cautiously and calmly hugged dad (for a long time) and kept giving him kisses. He didn't want to let dad out of his sight (even the last day or so, whenever Dave leaves the room he starts crying and asking "where daddy go!?!"). And me? Well, I bawled like a baby. And Kimball spit up on me. :)











Its been weird and not weird the last couple days. Its hard because its so normal to have him home, but of course not normal! I'm sure we'll be used to this soon, more importantly hopefully Dave gets a job soon! :) We're so happy to have him home and just be together! Yay!

Parties and Pictures!

Its been a fun and busy week! I've been trying to be productive and get things done before David gets home, but now that there's basically only two days left, it feels like I haven't done anything! haha My uncle Wes and his family are here visiting from Mexico, its so nice! I haven't seen Wes in a long time, and I've never met his wife before! So we got together to have sort of a birthday/bbq party and since most of my cousins served spanish speaking missions, we had them come along so Maria could actually talk to people instead of having Wes translate all the time. :) I hope it was nice for her, she's very sweet and nice and I wonder how awkward or hard that would be to not know the language of anyone around you! Also, before the party Lee and Megan came early so we could take some family pictures. Just so you know, I am a very dedicated photographer! How so? Well, we wanted to take some pictures out in the field, so I climbed the fence where there's a hot wire. I thought the wire wasn't on because I'd brushed against it and it didn't shock me. I wanted to make sure it really wasn't on before any of the kids came over the fence, so I pinched the wire between my fingers for all of two seconds and BAM! Yowsers that hurt! So I was electrocuted before we'd even taken any pictures! But I pulled myself together, flattened my hair down a little (wink, wink) and we started over, in the front yard. Away from the fence. It was a lot of fun to take their pictures, they were so good to work with! Megan had good ideas and they were all very patient. Its stressful taking pictures, all that smiling and junk! haha No, with trying to get your kids to look in the right spot and smile and put their hands down and all that, its hard! Addie and Zoe are gorgeous and I just adore them, I had a lot of fun trying to capture them (on 'film' that is!). I took almost 200 pictures, so I'm only going to add a few but I really do love them and I hope Megan does too!
















Whew! That was hard! I wanted to add about fifty more, but hopefully thats a little taste for you Megan! Hope you love them!

Photos

Its my sister in law Janese's birthday today (happy birthday Janese!), its a big week for her because not only is it her birthday but she's also graduating from Central this Sunday! She is the first in her family to graduate college with a four year degree (although Dave's been in school long enough to have one, he doesn't. haha) So the other day we went out and took some graduation pictures, I had a really good time, it was a lot of fun! We went to Point Defiance and the grounds really are beautiful and perfect for taking pictures, lots of variety. The weather was great, overcast and not cold or hot. Janese was a great subject too, was willing to go all over even walking through the soft grass and dirt in her pretty shoes! I hope she really likes her pictures, and I hope she's not mad at me for adding a couple on here! I thought they were too pretty not to share!










We also took some without her cap and gown so she could have a real picture to go up on her parents picture wall, I only added one, even though I think there are lots of great ones to add too!

Dollars and Sense

I don't like money. It seems like it doesn't matter how much money you have, its never enough. You always want more, to buy more things, to spend more money. But I mostly don't like it probably because I don't have any. :) Money stresses me out and that feeling of not having money to pay your bills, or how terrible it feels when a surprise comes up and you just don't have enough. Ugh, its horrible. Also horrible is just barely having enough for bills, and thats it. I don't want to live paycheck to paycheck. I want to be able to save up for stuff, for things we need, for vacations, for Christmas for goodness sakes. I just don't like looking at the bank account and seeing the numbers go down, I want to see them go UP! :)

So with all this going on in my head, and the prospect of Dave coming home and not having a job, I've been feeling a little stressed about money. Then I stay up late at night thinking of things I can do to make money. I would really love it if somehow I could like write a book and be rich and famous from it. But I know it doesn't work that way, you know, unless I write the next 'Twilight'! haha Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is photography. I really love photography and I would love to start taking pictures for family and friends and whoever will pay me. :D So if you live in Washington and want some family pictures, pictures of your kids, whatever, let me know! Or if you have a get rich quick for sure plan, let me know about that too! haha

Do you stress about money? What do you do to make you feel better?

My Wish List

I have such a bad itch right now. No not like a rashy itch. No like, I really super want to decorate! I wish I had my own house. And money. If I did, here's the direction I would go:

Also wishing I had money so I could get a whole new wardrobe and accesories and whatnot. Like this:

If you had money right now, what would you spend it on?

Bits And Pieces

*Its been seriously gloomy weather the last week and a half or so. Glooooooomy.

*We got this new juice from Costco called "Ochango" and now I walk around saying "OoooCHANGoooo!" all the time.

*Bethany's excited because school's almost out and they get to tie-dye shirts.

*Kimball's over a month old now! He has the terrible baby acne and I hate it because not only does it mask his super cute face, I want to pick at it all the time. Oops.

*Sam got pampered today. We trimmed his fingernails. We trimmed his toenails. He got a cut and a shampoo. He's lookin' studly.

*Maddie keeps trying to cook herself things in the microwave while I'm in the shower. Which wouldn't be so bad except then Sam tries to make something too and ends up cooking it for like 8 minutes straight. Hot dogs don't smell good after that much time in the microwave. Neither do cheese sandwiches. Blech.

*Been trying to be crafty lately, made some fun things for a friend and been helping a friend paint in her little girls' room. Can't wait to see it all finished!

And the best bit of news about us? :

*DAVE GETS HOME IN JUST OVER TWO WEEKS!! WHOOO HOOO!!

Four Weeks

Wanted to take some more pictures of Kimball, he's changing so much and looking pretty chubby to me! He was four weeks yesterday and growing like crazy! This photo shoot didn't go so well for me, first my battery was dead, and then Kimball wouldn't stay asleep and Sam wouldn't stay out of the middle of everything. So there's a few pictures of Sam in the middle there where we were trying to get Kimball to sleep and giving Sam a chance to be in the spotlight! Hope you enjoy!

Mothering Four Kids

A blog essay on:

Being a Mother of Four

Being a mother to four kids is a roller coaster. Its ups and downs, yelling one minute, hugging the next. Its extreme emotions from being completely overwhelmed to being completely euphoric holding your baby. Its having no energy to do anything, even when you do have the time to get things done. Its no sleep, and no naps. Its spending nap time staring at your baby's sweet sweet face. Its lots and lots and LOTS of spit up, and even more diaper changes. Its weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and usually not from the new baby. Its being amazed as your kids become older all at once as they assume the role of "older sibling." Its toys everywhere, and cartoons. Disney movies and color crayons. Its hot dogs and frozen meals. Its trying to get into a brand new schedule and probably failing most the time. But still trying. Its lots of help from family and friends and appreciating how much people do for you. Its lots of hugs and kisses. Its sweet baby breath that doesn't last near long enough. Its carpet stains and picking up messes. Its your heart growing double in size one more time. Pretty much, to sum it all up: its just about perfect. Most of the time. (Except for the messes and the poop and the crying.) :)

My Big Boy!

It was Sam's second birthday yesterday! My little boy is not so little anymore, I can't believe how big he's gotten! I was a really horrible mom this weekend and didn't take ANY pictures! :( We had a party with David's family on Saturday, and I know some of Dave's sisters took pictures, maybe they'll send me some! And we had a party with my family on Sunday and I think there were some pictures taken then as well, so hopefully I can round some up! Sam was so funny at both the parties, the whole present thing he's not sure of yet, so it was a lot of fun to watch him open presents. He would open one present, get totally caught up in it, want to open it, sit and play with it, but didn't want to open any more presents. We'd have to distract him and start opening another present, and then he'd want to play with that one. Etc, etc. And all the clothes got thrown to the side, haha! Actually he really likes clothes, so he came back to them at home and was pretty excited about those too. He got lots and lots of fun toys and books and clothes, it was a lot of fun! I was going to get cupcakes from Costco, but when we got there they didn't have any cupcakes left, and then Sam spotted THE CAKE. It was a chocolate and mousse-y and had a big DINOSAUR on the top. He HAD to have it! So we got the dinosaur cake and he was very excited about that too!

Some things about Sam:

~Sam talks really well, and its super cute. He always walks in a room and says, "Hi mom." or "Hi grandma." or "Hi Kristie." or whoever he's saying hi to, you get the point. He's also been saying "Oohhh, DANG!" when something falls or something goes wrong. Too bad I can't blame Dave for that since he's not here!

~Sam loves trucks and dinosaurs and trains. He carries his trains around with him all the time, and he has these two little motorcycles he loves to carry everywhere too. Anything that has to do with automobiles or animals, he loves it.

~Sam loves to give kisses. Especially to Kimball, but he gives me lots of kisses too. He'll tell you where he's going to kiss and then kiss you. "I kiss cheek." *kiss* "I kiss nose." *kiss* Its a fun game. :)

~Sam loves to eat. He also loves to snack. He would bring me a bag of fruitsnacks every ten minutes if I would let him. He was so excited about his dinosaur cake, he licked the plate after and then tried to eat Maddie's.

~Sam loves to pick on Maddie. He's a rough housing boy, and he can get rough with anyone at times, but if Maddie's around--he is going to sit on her, or pull on her or bother her. Gotta love sibling relationships huh? On the flip side, I've been really pleasantly surprised with how good he is with Kimball. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't leave them alone in a room together, but supervised, he does awesome! :)

I love Sam so much, he makes me so happy! Although at times he can make me crazy, he for the most part is such a fun kid! I know people call it the "terrible two's", but I love two year olds, they are so much fun! I'm so grateful to be the mom of this awesome little boy!

(I love this video, we made it to send to Dave and I love to watch it!)

Better Late than Never

This is late I know, but I spent my Sunday busy and with family and I like it that way better! Just wanted to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mom's out there! And especially to my own mom and Dave's mom, where would we be without them?! I'm so grateful to good moms' who do the best they can! Hope everyone out there had a very sweet Mother's Day.


(This is one of my very favorite pictures of my parents, it just makes me happy)

(Bethany and Grandma Bobbie, Temple Square)

Kimball's Photo Shoot

Here's Kimball at about a week and half now, he'll be two weeks on Friday. We love having him here, he's the sweetest thing (what newborn isn't the sweetest thing?) and so far, we think he looks the most like Maddie as a baby. He mostly only cries if we're in the car and he loves hanging out in the boppy (huge thanks for the boppy Megan!!). Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Goings On

Its been awhile since I posted and just wanted to get on here and update a little. So, Kimball is now about a week and a half, he was circumcised last friday and I was a little nervous that something might be wrong, or not healing right, so I took him back in today to get checked out. He's fine, and everything is going great, so nothing to worry about there. Phew. They weighed him and he already weighs 8 lbs. 9 oz., when we left the hospital he was down to 7 lbs. 11 oz. so he's already gained all that back plus 9 oz. What a good growing boy! He's also gained atleast half an inch, can't believe how fast he's changing already! I keep meaning to take some pretty pictures of him, but I'm just not finding the time (or energy really), but I'm going to do it soon! He is the sweetest baby and we just adore him!

The other kids are doing great too, Bethany's a total baby monger, she wants to hold him all the time. Its cute and annoying all at once. ;) Maddie likes to tell everyone that Kimball looks like her because he likes her so much, she's funny. And I'm really happy with how well Sam's doing with Kimball, I was so worried he wouldn't like him and he'd be mean but he's doing so great! He wants to give him kisses all the time and brings his pacifier over and tries to give him toys to play with, its fun to see him being the big brother!

Dave's doing good at AIT, he's been trying to get good scores on his testing, and raise his physical training scores too. Its been so nice to get to talk to him on the phone every day and tell him whats going on and hear what he's doing. I'll be honest, its really hard to have him gone and I feel really sad some days so much I can hardly stand it. Mostly because Kimball's changing tons already and David will miss all of it and I hate that. I also hate having to be both parents and having to take care of EVERYTHING. But if you have to do it, you had better just suck it up and do it right? I'm hoping my crazy hormones can uncrazy really soon too. :)

Well sorry this post doesn't have any pictures to add to it, its a lot more fun to look at cute baby pictures than to hear me whine! Next time, for sure I'll be adding pictures (and maybe whining too, who knows?).