Teeny Weeny Bikini

My neighbor and lactation consultant told me that swimming is good exercise for a baby and makes them very sleepy, so we thought we would try it out. Plus we had to see Emma model that cute swimsuit.

Emma's blessing day

We decided to top Father's Day by blessing Emma today. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend. My sister and bro-in-law were in town and we wanted them to be apart of it as well. Emma was perfect, she slept through the whole thing like a good little babe!


I made this dress in my children's sewing class at Ricks College (11years ago). It was such a relief, during this insanely crazy time, to pull it out of the closet and have everything done. All I needed to do was add a few accessories. Whew! Thank you sis-in-law for the beautiful blanket, and Marci for the bracelet.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Kirk. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who is the best dad in the world.

Emma Jean

Emma was born 05/22/2009 at 4:50 AM. She was 7lbs 9oz and 20.5 inches long.

Here we are driving home from the hospital as a family of six. Unfortunately dad forgot to bring Emma's clothes to come home in, so he had to make a mad dash to the gift shop to make amends. They had one girl outfit that was 0-3 months. It was a little baggy to say the least, but she didn't go home naked.

The first meeting between the Irish twins (11 months apart). Neither one seems too excited

These two however were very excited to see their baby sister.

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!!

My friend and neighbor was so kind as to let us be her models for her Mother's Day mini photo sessions at her house. All I had to do was get the kids dressed and she did the rest. I absolutely love these pictures and it is a Mother's Day present I will remember and love forever. Thank you Ashley for these priceless pictures. You are amazing.

Jody is M.I.A. (missing in action)

Where have I gone... Between family vacation to San Fransisco, volunteering in Katelyn's school, field trips, music class, soccer practice, t-ball, homework, Primary, birthdays, retiling our bathtub, doctors appointments for the kids, and of course doctor appointments for me, etc. etc. etc., it seems as if life is just cruisin' by. Here is a recap of our last couple of months.

We drove to Gilroy, CA (south of San Fran) to visit my sister and bro-in-law. We had a great time and the kids were soooo good in the car. We only wish we could have stayed longer and not left a day earlier than planned so Carter could go to the dr. because of a Carter horrible cough and an ear infection. He was such a trooper and was still so good despite his sickness.

Kirk went to the preschool zoo day field trip with Kaleb so I wouldn't have to walk all day long. Thanks Kirk!!! Luckily another dad came along so Kirk wasn't alone. Being the only men, Kirk and Ryan got to pull Ms. Peggy's wagon the whole way (kids and all)

Ever since we moved into our house we have being meaning to tear out the bathtub surround and retile. Some of the tiles were broken and the previous owners "fixed" them by spraying expanding foam into the hole. The result was a really discusting looking bathtub. But I am happy to announce that there is no more expanding foam plaguing our bathroom- yeah!!!

Look at that expanding foam. I can't believe we lived with it for so long.

Kirk and I wondered if our bathroom would ever be a working bathroom again. Amazingly enough we did it!!! We are so proud of ourselves. Now, don't get me wrong... it is not perfect by any means but we learned a ton and it looks pretty darn good and clean. I will post the "after" pictures later. (see disclaimer below)

Carter had many baths in the kitchen sink while the bathtub was under construction. He didn't mind one bit, the only trouble was that the sink needed to be free of dishes before he could take a bath.

Kaleb & Carter had dr. check-ups. Kaleb got 4 shots so he is now eligible for school. He started complaining that night about his arm hurting and so we looked and it was red, swollen, and hard. It lasted for a couple of days and then he was sick to his stomach and threw up. This is the first time any of our children have had a weird reaction to immunizations.

Kaleb weighs 42 lbs and is 43 1/2" tall
Carter weighs 20 lbs, and is 28" tall

DISCLAIMER: I don't have pictures for all of these things listed because our lovely hard drive that is less than a year old crashed and has left me pictureless and fileless. We have never had a hard drive crash so needless to say we haven't been diligent in backing up our files. The last time we did a back up was in 2007- oops!!! Luckily for us Kirk has his ipod that had most of our pictures (small files, but we will take whatever we can get) on it. But as for all my other files, they have vanished in thin air, and I am using a half functioning computer.
P.S. Never buy a Seagate hard drive. Even though the hard drive was recalled they refuse to do anything about it.

"I spy with my temple eye"

This year's theme in Primary is My Eternal Family and so as I thought about the quarterly activities for this year I continually felt like we needed to do some activity that revolved around the temple. I hesitated a little because I wanted the kids to be excited and have fun but also to understand and feel of the importance and sacredness of the temple.

I love the pictures that are carved into each corner of the temple walls and wanted the kids to realize they were there and what they meant so I put together an "I spy with my temple eye" game. It was fun to look at the carvings more carefully and put together rhymes for the kids and so I couldn't help but feel excited as I put together my group activity for the temple. I had such a fun time creating this so hopefully you have a fun time playing it :)

Before we started I gave each child a telescope (Party favors from the party store $2.99/dz) and briefly explained that the pictures represent the gathering of Israel and so all different people and cultures are represented.

Start on the North west corner of the Temple and work counter-clockwise

1. I spy with my temple eye
A woman with a basket, a man with a cane
3 small children crossing the plain.

2. I spy with my temple eye
A scarf, a ship or a boat,
And a man with a very heavy tote.

3. I spy with my temple eye
2 women carrying babies close to their heart,
And a large wheel on a handcart.

4. I spy with my temple eye
A sombrero, a water pitcher on a lady’s head,
And a small donkey that is being led.





I spy with my temple eye
A horse, a headdress with a feather,
And moccasins most likely made of leather.

The Mesa, AZ temple was the 7th one
can you spy when it was done?





7. I spy with my temple eye
A grass skirt, big fish and a ukulele,


8. I spy with my temple eye
A book and an Italian sitting on a box,
And a gentleman wearing tall socks.


9. I spy with my temple eye
7 sets of wooden shoes,
And a windmill with a house nearby.


For more info on the pictures go to http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=3d6f74536cf0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

FYI: The other groups we did at the temple were:
Pictures of the children with temple as background (for Mother's Day)

Christus presentation by missionaries and looking at pictures on the hallway walls of Visitor Center with treats outside.