Matthew's first milestone

Who doesn't get excited when their sweet baby starts learning? These little people are such a blessing to each us. Our little man is so fun and loving! He is rolling over from back to front and rather proud of himself. Soon he'll be sitting up on his own but he's not quite there yet. He is such a treasure and loves everyone he meets. We all love him so much!

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

We decided to visit Brandon and Goldie in Henderson for the Independence Day weekend, Cameron, Jennifer and kids came too! We arrived late Friday night and played games until after midnight. Battling the kids for bed was our biggest struggle. There are ten kids combined amongst the three families so it was a little crazy.

We got up really early Saturday morning to make it in time for the Boulder City parade. Jennifer was a little confused about the time change between Utah (Mountain Time Zone) and Nevada (Pacific Time Zone) so she was up at 5:45am thinking that they were ahead instead of behind which woke most everyone up. When it was finally time to go we loaded up in the cars to Boulder City. Jennifer's stomach really started bothering her so Cameron stayed behind with her. The parade was fun but very hot, at the end of the parade they have a huge water fight including the floats! It was fun but if you're in Boulder City for the parade bring a lot of water and squirt guns!!! The people on our right had water balloons and those on our left had a garbage can filled with melted ice and about twelve super soakers! The kids thought it was great. Cameron took Jennifer to the ER while we were out and they found that her gallbladder is infected and will need to be removed, they got her heavily drugged and let her go home but told her to call a doctor here in St George to have it removed in two weeks. She has to be on a very strict diet until then. What a fun trip to make on the fourth!!!

Later on we headed out to watch fireworks but stopped on the sidewalk to enjoy the neighbors fireworks first. Taylor ended up missing all the fireworks because he fell asleep on the way there and refused to get up. We headed back home this morning and made it just in time for the opening prayer for sacrament meeting! We are glad we made the trip to Henderson and got to see Brandon and Goldie before they welcome a new little one to the family in the next couple weeks. We are very excited for them! I love this country and all the rights and privileges that come from being a citizen. God has blessed us with so much!

8 is great....but 13 is a little much!

The past couple weeks I have been watching Jennifer's kids during the day while she works over at my dad's law office. Suprisingly things seem to go smoother when I have eight little ones running around than my original five. It may be that I don't get to sneak off and play on the computer or talk on the phone and most everyone has a little playmate but I seem to keep very busy and accomplish a lot with this crowd. Eight is a huge amount of work and someone is always getting into something but the kids all play together in their different age groups which is nice. I really have enjoyed having Jennifer's kids around during the day.

Several months ago, I was over at my mom's house when she told my sister-in-law that it is easier to raise five kids than one. I definitely disagree with this thought process! My mom is in the process of raising her sixth child so I don't think she really meant life is harder with one but that one is harder to focus on instead of focusing on yourself and having many more doesn't really give you that option. Plus with more children the little things don't get to you so easily. I am always surprised to hear how "hard" raising one or two kids is. I thought life was easy then and still think it isn't nearly as difficult as people say it is. I have definitely learned to ignore the small things that really don't matter and focus on making life enjoyable. Like my Grandpa says "these are the best years (no matter where you are)!"

A couple days ago I took Matthew to the doctor's office for his checkup while Stephanie watched the kids. When I got back we had my five, her baby and another little visitor over to play, by the end of the day we had a total of 14 kids(13 all here at the same time!!!) That was insanity for me! I am amazed by the women who regularly tend so many children or have that many of their own. You have to be so organized just to make it through the day. I would have to say that my kids were so bummed when the friends and cousins left, five wasn't enough for them.

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Sibling Rivalry

William: "Joshy said I'm stupid!"

Joshua: "No, I said he was the dumbest!"

I am so glad that my two year old has such a thorough way of expressing himself. Now we need to work on manners!

Hair Post: My first hair post

I have always loved looking at hair blogs! The little girls hair are done up so cute. These moms spend a long time making their little girls look so lovely. I thought I would share some throughout my blog for fun. I am far from a professional but still love making my little girl look lovely too. Here is one of my favorite hairstyles for Katelyn. It is fairly simple but looks great and with all her hair it works out very well.

1. I first parted her hair on the side and then separated out some for a hairband. Next put the remaining hair in a ponytail.
2. Smooth out the hair for the hairband and join at the back of her hair with an elastic. The remaining hair is tied into the main ponytail.
3. Seperate the hair in the ponytail into 3 equal sections. Take the first and split in two. Twist both and then twist them together the opposite direction.
4. Finish off with an elastic and then work the other two the same way. Finish off the look with a cute bow or flower.
   

Our Father's Day Weekend

Our Father's Day weekend was very eventful with camping, playing, a BBQ, homemade cards and of course a new tie. Friday night we took the kids up into Veyo to a small reservoir and camped. There was no flushing toilets and the wind blew all night long so I think we really roughed it! I am not much of a camper and was completely out of my comfort zone but the kids had a blast. Katelyn, Matthew and I participated in an Activity Days Recognition night for most of Saturday night while Zack stayed home with the other boys and had a BBQ. We played games afterwards which is one of Zack's all time favorite activities. Sunday morning while Zack was busy at church meetings the kids made him some very nice cards. Joshua and William got busy placing stickers on their cards. William wanted to know what things Daddy really likes so he would like his card. Katelyn and Taylor got more into the other craft things and drew pictures for him. He almost spoiled the surprise getting home early but was a good sport and stayed in the front room while we finished. He really enjoyed all the attention from the kids. I thought the tie was the best though, a true University of Utah fan tie which he proudly to displayed for the rest of the day. After church we had a spaghetti dinner (Zack's personal favorite) and then headed over to my parents' house for dessert. Jennifer went crazy with all sorts of desserts to try out: strawberry shortcake, pineapple upside down cake, s'mores, cookies and jello cake with whipped topping. We all went home with tummy aches!


Zack is a great dad and provider for his family. He is amazing with the kids and loves them each so much. He is so patient and kind with them. They truly love him and I love his gentleness, he can wrestle with the boys, cuddle with the baby and play make believe with Katie all day long. I made a great choice in a daddy for my kids! I love him so much!

Matthew is 4 months old!

6/22/2009 - 4 month visit

16 lbs & 27 3/4 inches

Matthew is such a delight. He is really cooing up a storm and grinning. He loves all the attention he gets! Matthew is starting to roll onto his side. He is starting to actually play with toys so the kids are always giving him lots to play with. He sucks his thumb for comfort which is so cute. I know it will be hard to break him of the habit when he gets older but both of his parents were thumb suckers so we sympathize. We love him so much and are thankful that Heavenly Father has trusted us with such a wonderful child!

Recipes: Bread Making 101

Whole Wheat Bread--made by hand
http://safelygatheredin.blogspot.com
recipe by Jeri Shelton

1 Tbsp yeast
2 cups warm water
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp honey (or 2 Tbsp sugar)
4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup hot water
3 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp honey (or 2 Tbsp sugar)
2 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast in 2 cups warm water. Add salt, honey and four cups of flour to yeast mixture. Mix together until smooth (will be a very thick batter). Cover with a warm moist towel. Let rise until light and bubbly--about one hour.

To this mixture add the hot water, oil and remaining honey and flour. Mix thoroughly--gradually add more flour (1 to 2 more cups) until dough becomes manageable to knead on counter. Dough should be soft and tacky (not sticky and not stiff or dry). When it reaches this point, knead for 10 minutes.

Put dough back into bowl and cover. Let rise another hour until double in size. Punch down and form into loaves. Put into greased loaf pans and let rise until doubled. Back at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans and brush tops with shortening for soft crust. Eat. Groan with pleasure.

Enjoying the little things in life

I was telling the Katelyn how expressive little Matthew is with his eyebrows and so she got my eyebrow pencil so I could draw on his eyebrows. We just got a little carried away after that!

We took the kids over to the Hidden Valley Park to play and they loved it!

Katelyn woke up early Sunday morning puking so we spent the day much more low-key than usual. I kept the little boys and Katelyn home while Zack and Taylor were able to attend church. I decided to dress the boys in their church clothes in hopes that they wouldn't play so rough; it seemed to work. Matthew has become so expressive in the past few months!

Summertime bliss!

Our summertime as been very enjoyable and busy! We have had sleepovers, playtime, swimming, movies, visitors and lots of Otter Pops to stay cool. We had lots of family for Katelyn's baptism and then we have had visitors almost constantly ever since. My Uncle Mike, Aunt Terry, cousin Karen and her husband Spencer came the week after Katelyn's baptism. Memorial Day weekend my Uncle Richard came down with my cousin Mike, his wife Jen, their little ones Adeline and Cameron, my cousin Kara, her husband Bryan, and their kids Emily and Andrew and a special friend. Tim, Stephanie and baby Jaerick moved back to Saint George, then Jennifer came down with her kids to stay for the summer. This week my Uncle Jon and Aunt Rosa came down for a visit too. Brandon and Goldie have stopped by a few times too.

All these things have kept us busy, busy, busy! We are thrilled that we have been able to visit with so much family in the past month. I guess if I wasn't so busy visiting I would have remembered to take more pictures.

Library Time

Our public library features story time for kids and right next to the library is a wonderful water feature for the kids to play in. We went there last Wednesday to enjoy some time away from the house. The kids loved it especially being able to run free. We met up with some people from the ward who do this all summer long. We are going to try and get there earlier next time around! Great way to entertain kids!

There is a stream that runs right through the park which the kids loved!

Matthew really did not seem to mind the water at all.

It is a blast!