Marin's

Bleached T-shirts

2012-01-30T14:33:00.000-06:00

Check out Six Sister's Stuff, a blog my friend Kristen has with her sisters. We made these bleached t-shirts last week and they turned out great!!

Hanging Hearts

2012-01-24T22:48:00.000-06:00

I did it! I finally made some decor for Valentine's Day! It was super easy too! I used my Cricut to cut out various heart shapes on my scrapbook paper (or you could cut it out by hand) then used a sewing machine to stitch the hearts into a chain. I used a longer stitch length and after I sewed each heart I lifted the foot and pulled the thread a little to provide the space between each heart. Fun, easy, and done in minutes!

a first for me...

2012-01-21T22:53:00.001-06:00

I went to the gym today.. a saturday of all days and I ran.

I'm working on the whole running a half marathon thing. Crazy as it is, I'm still trying to get to running a mile without stopping. I'm using the Couch to 5k program and have really been thankful for the small steps it takes. Well I have hit a crazy milestone for myself: Thursday I ran for 20 minutes straight!! I have NEVER before done that in my life. Even when I was in track or volleyball in high school I only ran short distances. Quite a thrill! Then on Friday I took an easier day and ran a mile straight. Today I ran 15 minutes, walked 3, and then ran 10.. WOW! Today was one of the few times that I thought of the gym as my alone time and really appreciated it as such. None of this has been easy. I've had to force my mind to get over itself and just shut off and KEEP GOING, and what a high! I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around running for 13 miles but then again I thought the same thing of the 2.5 miles I have done so far!! So, yup, future self look back on this and know that YOU CAN DO IT!!

2012 Motto

2012-01-17T09:29:00.000-06:00

This was a motto I had for myself in 2011 and I think I'll carry it on into 2012. It covers a lot of bases for myself.

Useit up
Wear it out.
Make it do
Or do without!

Begining 2012

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

So now onto 2012. I am one of those people that gets into the New Year-New You/resolution/goal type things. I like the idea of a fresh start!

I began the year making a list of goals for the year and when my list of goals filled up an entire page I began to slow the writing down. Yes there is a HUGE amount of things I want to accomplish. I mean, heck, my head is buzzing constantly with things that need to be done, or I want to learn, or actually finishing a project. I needed to narrow down this list.

So, for 2012 I have goals to:

Run a 5K

Run a 10K

Run a Half Marathon (we'll see about this one...)

Lose 20 lbs

Stretch & touch theground with fingertips

Be 99.9% packed two days before we move.

20 sewing projects

Read 25 books

Journal 365 *more on this later*

Read Scriptures daily

Study each week from Preach My Gospel

Play Each Day with the Kids

Pray Each Day… on my knees

Some projects I want to complete:

*72 hour kits

*Complete my London Book

*A Household Inventory

*Develop a Cleaning System (Daily/Weekly/Monthly)

*A recipe binder/menu planning system

*Tackle me some Pinterest projects. The sewing projects will likely come from there too.

So there we have it. I'll be working on these and quite possibly ranting about a few of them in the upcoming months! Oh the Joys!

Ending 2011

2012-01-15T22:15:00.002-06:00

So, I've been taking a break... a nice two week long break. Pretty much posted my bum off near the end of 2011 and while I'm glad I got it in before the new year, I was happy to finish! 360 posts in 2011. Not too shabby. I took a picture a day for almost every single day. Now 2012 is NOT off to the same start, but I'm ok with that. Don't worry grandparents, I'm still taking photos of the kids and will post some soon.

I want to focus now on some things I did in 2011 that have stuck with me or made an impression on me.

1) Had Baby #3! I may jinx myself for saying this but I have truly enjoyed being a mom this third time around. Yes I'm exhausted and often times I feel like my head my explode from the sheer amount of stuff I have to do, or the disaster my house is in but my little baby girl has been a blessing. She is a new little person that we are trying to figure out so along with that comes an adjustment period. Jessica actually does better for me that she does with Kris at this point. Isaac and Kaylie had such a soft spot for Kris as babies and he was able to get them to sleep SO much easier than I could. Jessica actually SLEEPS. It is a miracle. She naps, for the most part, more than the other two ever did. She is in a smiling/cooing phase that is fun- she starts talking or squeaking at you and it is difficult to get much done because you just want to talk back to her.

2) In 2011 I attempted to take at least one picture everyday. I'm quite pleased with how that project turned out. It started merely as a way of documenting our family and developing a deeper interest in photography was a VERY happy by product. I'm lucky enough to own a sweet camera and now I need to learn even more how to use it. I FINALLY pulled out my zoom lens and 35 mm lens half way through the year and WOW did it change things.

3) I went on a bit of a organizing/simplifying bender in the first half of the year. It was part of some crazy nesting I went through. I look around my house now and it doesn't look like I did much but I know that there has already been some level of cleaning out of my things for when we move. It was made even more clear to me how much peace I receive from an orderly home. I'll just be straight up honest and say the house is rarely white-glove cleaned or completely picked up by any means but when it is even remotely organized I'm so much happier and relaxed.

All in all 2011 went by WAY too fast. I can't believe how quickly time flew. 2012 has so many new things coming our way however, so I'm excited to see it begin to unfold.

December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T23:51:00.001-06:00

Some sweet friends invited us over for some fun tonight. We made pizza, played some games and the kids all played together. Thank you! It was a blast! Here the kids got to decorate their own pizzas.

Here is my pizza I made.. HOLY YUM!!

Happy New Year's kiddo!

My little girl is SO sleepy here. We took away her nap the day before so she would actually sleep when it was time and not stay up until 11 PM!! Silly girl. It was one CRAZY struggle to get them to go to bed tonight as they were SO t-i-r-e-d. But they had a blast.


Happy New Year!!!

December 30, 2011

2011-12-31T23:37:00.002-06:00

Time to take down the Christmas decorations. Isaac found an upopened present in the back of the tree so here Kaylie was attempting to find one for her. Darn, no such luck.

Helping to take down the ornaments

Jessica watches as Kris rearranges the wall unit. This was done in a spur of the moment thing and it makes things SO much better!! The organization of the wall unit now brings such joy to my heart :)

My hard workin' man.

December 29, 2011

2011-12-31T23:30:00.000-06:00

With family in town Jessica has been sleeping in a pack-n-play. Well I came upstairs to this. They had climbed in to help keep her happy. It had worked for a little while.

The mark of true daddy-ship. Painting Kaylie's fingernails with Christmas nail polish.

I walked past Isaac's door and heard him reading. As I backtracked I was able to snap this shot. This just makes my heart SO happy!

December 28, 2011

2011-12-31T23:20:00.002-06:00

The kids got some sweet nerf guns from their uncle for Christmas. George was kind enough to take them outside and let them go crazy with them. They had a BLAST!!

Two brothers... cleaning their guns after some target practice.

December 27, 2011

2011-12-31T23:11:00.001-06:00

Some good times with Mimi and Poppop. Kaylie was playing with the ipad and Isaac practices reading with his new flashcards.

Sticker books!!

Here is what I made for Meredith for Christmas. I had so much fun!

Hopefully Scott has opened his present already, but here is what I made him. I LOVED working with bleach... probably more than I should have. I must have erased the picture of the present I made for my sis in law, Sarah, but man was it cute!!

I also finally was able to use vinyl with my Cricut... gosh I'm having fun.

December 26, 2011

2011-12-31T23:00:00.001-06:00

Not much else in the world can make Isaac as happy as playing games with someone. Make it UNO and he is all set! We had a great evening doing something our family loves to do- family games!

December 25, 2011

2011-12-31T18:00:00.000-06:00

After a great Sacrament Meeting we came home, changed clothes and got ready to open presents. The kids were so excited and I was trying to stay awake after only 2 hours of sleep. It was a great and long process of opening presents and being with family.

Oh and watch out world... and deer. Kris is now the proud owner of a rifle. Trust me. He is one happy guy. Oh and he got a chinois that has been in our family for a very long time. Trust me, he is so happy. Something for the kitchen and something to be manly. Nice.

December 24, 2011

2011-12-31T16:00:00.000-06:00

Cute kids trying on hats that came in the mail.


Kaylie llooks right at home hanging out on Uncle George	's lap.

We finally got to bed about 3 am, but everything was done. Next year's goal: in bed by midnight!

December 23, 2011

2011-12-31T15:00:00.000-06:00

Mimi and Poppop arrived in the afternoon and Uncle George in the evening. Kaylie and Isaac got to each open up a Christmas book from their grandparents.

December 22, 2011

2011-12-31T14:00:00.000-06:00

The great toy purge/organization of 2011. Kris dragged out every single toy in their room and closet. Then he brought up toys that were in the basement. Toys were sorted and reorganized and a bag created for donations. Isaac woke up to go to the bathroom halfway through the process but we were able to block his view from the living room. Kris did an amazing job while I worked on some Christmas presents.

December 21, 2011

2011-12-31T13:30:00.000-06:00

Some pouting turned to fake crying...

turned into laughing with daddy tickling her.

December 20, 2011

2011-12-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hanging out at home with Dad

Merry Christmas to Kris. Macs have officially entered our home, You are making husband one happy man.

December 19, 2011

2011-12-31T12:30:00.000-06:00

FHE covered the Christmas story using our Creche.

December 18, 2011

2011-12-31T12:00:00.000-06:00

My great kids posing after church before church clothes are scattered all over!

Putting finishing touches on the REST of the cookies!

December 17, 2011

2011-12-31T11:30:00.000-06:00

The Christmas package from Scott and Sarah arrived!! They had soo much fun removing the gifts.

Kaylie helped dad clean out the hair clogged rolling brush to the vacuum... I have no idea how that happened! :)

December 16, 2011

2011-12-31T11:00:00.000-06:00

This is a picture Kris took at 3:40 AM when he was finishing up his stollen. Crazy chef at my house!!

Jessica was sitting so contentedly in my lap and making some fun faces. Enjoy!

The kids were playing a game of Zingo (like bingo, but not. Easier for their age group and they are obsessed with it!) Notice who else they have playing with them?

I finished up the birth announcements ....

...and making the Christmas cards. Got them addressed and in envelopes!

December 15, 2011

2011-12-31T10:00:00.000-06:00

Isaac had his Holiday party at school today. The families were invited to come and spend time with our students. They had written some books (Isaac wrote the words all by himself!) and I got to hear Isaac read his to me!

Kaylie loves visiting his classroom. Here she is having a blast coloring and drawing while Izy reads to me.

Here are the four of us. Jessica is wrapped to me- pretty much the only way I can really do 3 kids at the moment when I'm not at home and I can't set Jessica down. She doesn't hang out in a car seat for long and I can't stand carrying around a huge, heavy and cumbersome car seat. But I digress..

The had a gift exchange and Kaylie wanted to help out.

We all watched a slide show of the activities they had been doing recently.

My kiddo LOVES school!

December 14, 2011

2011-12-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

Some good old fashioned coffee table-couch jumping action.

And yes we STILL had more cookies to frost after the kids went to bed. Note to self: Cream Cheese frosting tastes SO dang good on these things.

December 13, 2011

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

We went to play group today and I think I had one of my most FRUSTRATING afternoons with my son in a LONG time. He was ridiculously grumpy, and got upset at the drop of a hat. Other than a few actual provocations from a child he adores yet likes to hit Isaac- things were better with Kaylie. AND at least I got out of the house.

December 12, 2011

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

Kristopher's turn to make bark.. yes, his were MUCH more sophisticated. He made s'more bark, Samoa bark and later that week he made bacon-caramel-marshmallow-whiskey bark.

December 11, 2011

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

Let the cookie decorating begin!

More cookie decorating after the kids go to bed.. trust me we made a TON of cookies.. too bad I also ate a TON. Don't worry-- they were delicious! :)

December 10, 2011

2011-12-31T00:03:00.000-06:00

So yeah, we went shopping for all the supplies to go ABSOLUTELY CRAZY with holiday baking. I love it when butter goes on sale during the holidays.

I made 7-8 different types of bark, and my favorite was definitely the andes mint kind. HOLY YUM!! Kaylie was doing her usual WON'T GO TO SLEEP thing, but that's ok. She helped me sprinkle various toppings at 10:30 pm! Excellent job!

December 9, 2011

2011-12-30T22:40:00.000-06:00

We got a Creche this year to display in our home. The kids were very happy to help take it out of the box and get it set up.

Santa came to visit and the kids and I got to hear him read a story.

Jessica came too- here's the proof.

Izy actually sat on Santa's lap this year (pretty good for him!) Santa is actually a man we know from church. Isaac and Kaylie said that it was Mr. Salt, not Santa. I told them that Santa and Mr. Salt could be the same person, you never know. That seemed to quiet them down.

Later that night we came back up to the school to help wrap presents for the SAA's Angel Tree wrapping party. We wanted the kids to experience the wrapping and giving away of presents to others who may not have them.

December 8, 2011

2011-12-30T22:30:00.000-06:00

Jess- not such a happy baby being squished next to her sister. Kaylie asks for me to put Jessica next to her on the couch a lot. These kids will hopefully get along when they get older.

December 7, 2011

2011-12-30T08:11:00.000-06:00

The chair has magical qualities when it comes to getting Kaylie down for a nap. Most people cannot resist and fall asleep with her while accomplishing the task.

December 6, 2011

2011-12-30T08:07:00.000-06:00

Aaaa...

CHOO!!

Sweet treats from my Visiting Teachers. Yup, I thought this would last us a few days... NOPE! Gone in 15 minutes flat. Thank you! We loved them.

December 5, 2011

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

The kids were hanging out watching a movie. 1) They were all getting along. 2) No fighting. 3) The were hanging out with their little sister. It was a nice break :)

December 4, 2011

2011-12-30T07:30:00.000-06:00

For some reason Kaylie thought it was hilarious to throw herself off of the couch like this over and over again. Her brother's laughter surely egged her on.

If Jessica is laying on the ground it doesn't take long before Isaac and Kaylie swoop in for some smooches and hugs.

Combing out Kaylie's tangles from the bath.

December 3, 2011

2011-12-28T14:40:00.004-06:00

We did something today that I had never done before... chop down our own Christmas tree! So cool. There was a tree farm just 10 minutes from our house. Kris had done this before and was really excited for us to do this. I, as usual, was the one dragging my feet. We had thrown away out 3 ft three that we got our first Christmas (trust me it had reached the end of it's life.) and decided to get a live tree. I kept having images of it going up in flames because of the lights. Anyways,... The kids were such great helpers finding the perfect tree.

Izy was guarding this tree in case we decided to get this one.

Jessica was really into getting a tree, so much so that it wore her out and she slept through the whole thing.

Here is the winning tree.

This thing was so cool it shook the tree quickly to get all of the needles and anything extra off of the tree. I was secretly SO thankful for this machine. I mean come on, who knows what kind of bugs and critters I could be bringing into my house. :)

Kaylie was trying to figure out what in the world was happening to our tree.

Merry Christmas!!

Add caption

Playing around with the apperature and shutter speed. I have a TON to learn about cameras!!

December 2, 2011

2011-12-28T14:14:00.004-06:00

It was not a very good day for me, but here was a bright spot. Sweet Kaylie climbed into the crib to play with Jessica.

December 1, 2011

2011-12-26T22:25:00.000-06:00

Accomplished something I've wanted to do for a while: an advent calendar. Used what I had around the house for the whole thing too: white paper bags, clips, paper and stamps I had on hand. Sweet. AND it was up on December 1!!

November 29, 2011

2011-12-26T22:20:00.000-06:00

Mimi and Jessica saying goodbye before we headed back home to Missouri.

Entertaining ourselves at a gas station while Kris filled up the van.

Gummy worm mustaches. :)

November 28, 2011

2011-12-26T22:16:00.000-06:00

Scott let me play with a crazy wide angle lens.

Blowing bubbles on Kaylie's tummy.

There's a story for you Scott :)

So cute seeing Dad play with Kaylie's hair.

November 27, 2011

2011-12-26T22:11:00.000-06:00

Talk about one happy baby. She was in such a good mood after church that I had to catch a picture of her.

Girlie and her Pop pop.

Scott was playing around with the camera and giving me some photo mini lessons.

Seriously she is SO cool! Making a face for the camera.

We finally got her to try on a cute Christmas dress Mimi got for her. It takes her a little bit to get over her "I don't want to try it on."

I think one of my favorite pictures I've shot in a while.

Playing around with Kristopher's OMM table.

Bed-time craziness going on in the sewing room.

November 26, 2011

2011-12-25T22:58:00.002-06:00

Kris making kettlecorn.

Getting Kaylie's new boots ready to wear.

November 25, 2011

2011-12-23T10:17:00.000-06:00

He he he he.. I can't take the credit for the pictures in the van. My brother had the camera and was shooting away. I'd say Kris was a bit sleepy on the way to lunch at a favorite restaurant in Fort Worth: Joe T. Garcia's!!

Peekaboo!

He can't get enough of his little sister.

I got a MUCH needed haircut. Thanks Sarah! Seriously she has some MAJOR talent!

Oh yummy.. Kris made us some orange rolls. These didn't last very long sitting on the counter.

Kaylie would sidle up to Scott any way that she could. Sit by him, near him, climb into his lap. Pretty cute.

Playing with the Cricut I got in a SWEET black Friday deal. *Happy Dance!!*

Jessica and her Pop pop.

November 24, 2011

2011-12-22T15:17:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

My brother and sister!

Post dinner we were going to a park to play. Obviously we were NOT moving fast enough for a grumpy Isaac! And seriously it gets dark SO early. Sadly we were not able to play for long because of the lack of light and it getting colder. BOO!

Saying bye bye to Mimi!

These kids seriously LOVE Aunt Sarah and Uncle Scott!! It was SO nice for them to spend time with aunts and an uncle this break!

November 23, 2011

2011-12-18T21:07:00.003-06:00

We went to a really fun place in Texas (Going Bonkers!) where the kids can play and climb on things. Fun thing is we can join in too!. They have a Going Bonkers in Missouri that we have been to once and Isaac was excited to go to one with Kris (he wasn't with us the last time.) They climbed all over!

Climbing with Dad!

She seriously has eyes like blueberries!

November 22, 2011

2011-12-13T19:30:00.000-06:00

Pop pop combed Bug's hair- so sweet!

I got to see my awesome cousin, Jen, before we headed out to see Scott and Sarah. Oh how nice it would be to live closer to her and her great family!

We got to see Scott and Sarah's place and the kids played outside, running and drawing with chalk.

Scott showed me more about my sweet camera.

The kids were having fun with their new toys from their aunt and uncle!

November 21, 2011

2011-12-13T19:00:00.000-06:00

We were off like a herd of turtles by 7 AM, Texas-bound. We transported a dog down to Texas for a friend of Kris which left us quite cozy. I guess the turkey frier helped make thing pretty compact too :) The kids did a good job on the trip down, I just had forgotten how exhausting traveling with a small baby can be. We made really good time even after hitting a TN of rain from Oklahoma City to Dallas.

cucumber munching... (I'm sorry but cucumbers are just NOT edible for me. Cucumber is a fragrance used in lotions and body sprays. And I don't eat lotion :)

blessed iphones and their entertaining qualities...

November 20, 2011

2011-12-13T18:30:00.000-06:00

Isaac has a special place in his heart for Jessica, he loves holding her

November 19, 2011

2011-12-10T10:30:00.000-06:00

This is how they "help" me put away their laundry baskets... SO useful!

Here they are acting SOO sleepy, too tired to finish what I asked. Boy do they have things figured out.

November 18, 2011

2011-12-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

Cuddling on the couch.

November 17, 2011

2011-12-08T21:30:00.000-06:00

These kids are Zingo obsessed! It is a game of bingo that they can play easily on their own and most of the time they get along doing it.

November 16, 2011

2011-12-08T13:35:00.000-06:00

Dance party in the living room before Dad headed to scouts. This is one of the best ways to get Isaac out of a grumpy mood. That smile came on SO fast.

November 14, 2011

2011-12-08T13:30:00.000-06:00

Some chewy baby legs got THREE shots today. Poor thing was none too happy. But man did she nap afterwards. Jessica has quite the healthy pair of lungs.

November 13, 2011

2011-12-07T19:39:00.000-06:00

Kris made these incredibly yummy banana muffins.

Like brother, like sister. They would run into the living room, throw themselves onto the couch and then turn upside down.

November 12, 2011

2011-12-07T19:00:00.000-06:00

Her mobile has become fascinating to her now and it buys me a few more minute before she wanted to be picked up.

*sigh* She was not staying in bed. Here is how we found her when we went to go check on the kids before bed.

November 11, 2011

2011-12-07T17:30:00.000-06:00

November 10, 2011

2011-12-06T22:39:00.001-06:00

Dad and Jessica catching up on the days events

Silly face time!

This is a total blackmail picture for the future :)

November 9, 2011

2011-12-06T22:34:00.001-06:00

Dancing and playing.

Looking SO cool!

Sibling love while watching a movie on the laptop.

November 8, 2011

2011-12-06T22:30:00.000-06:00

Sleepy Kris

Lovin' time with Tutu!

November 7, 2011

2011-12-02T13:48:00.001-06:00

Can I say it yet again: I love it when they get along!!

My mother in law, Kelly watched the kids for us so we could go on a date!! As weird as it may sound, we chose the gym. I think this may be only the second time that we have worked out in near proximity to each other. Yup, made me love him even more.

Jess was left in very capable hands. She didn't seem too sad to see us go.

November 6, 2011

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

Sunday morning we blessed Jessica in church. It was wonderful to watch my husband be able to bless his daughter.

Such a little ham.

Kris wanted to show off his healing face! Looking really good.

I was able to snap a few pictures of her when we got home before she was ready for a nap.

A large tub of legos has been introduced to the kids and Isaac is obsessed. He and Pop pop George bonded over it during his stay.

November 5, 2011

2011-11-23T23:44:00.001-06:00

I love her in brown. Almost 2 months old.

Kris made a mincemeat pie.

Obviously loved the bath.

November 4, 2011

2011-11-23T23:41:00.001-06:00

We visited the local firehouse with the SAA children's group. The trip was made easier with my in-laws in town. They helped watch the kids and I kept my sanity.

Some of the fire hoses.

Kaylie watched the man put on the fire fighter's uniform and she still didn't think he was ok. She watched him so carefully. See her hiding her hand?

November 3, 2011

2011-11-23T23:35:00.001-06:00

Settling in for bed time after a game with the kids.

Jessica was so comfortable being held.

November1, 2011

2011-11-23T23:34:00.001-06:00

I made the mistake of eating broccoli, a lot of it. I paid for it dearly with an irritable, crying baby who would NOT sleep! It was an exhausting 24 hr period with little to no sleep. UGH! So happy to be done with that period and to realize NOT to do that again.

October 31, 2011

2011-11-23T23:17:00.001-06:00

Pop pop George arrived today with Legos and Duplos. The kids had a blast and they kept them very entertained!

I'm 8 weeks old! I have giant blueberries for eyes and I'm just starting to smile and coo.

October 30, 2011

2011-11-23T23:15:00.001-06:00

Fall is definitely in the air here.

October 29, 2011

2011-11-23T23:08:00.001-06:00

We had a bunch of fun on this Saturday. We had the SAA trunk or treat, then later that night we had the ward trunk or treat. The kids loved dressing up and Kaylie had the "please and thank you " down very nicely.

October 28, 2011

2011-11-12T22:18:00.001-06:00

Sharpening pencils for some workbook time.

October 27, 2011

2011-11-12T22:13:00.001-06:00

We visited Izy's classroom today for his Halloween party. Here we are watching a video of the kids singing two songs: it was SO CUTE!!

Kaylie loves how this school bathroom has everything just her size.

Finished up carving the pumpkins.

Kaylie concentrated very hard, making sure the wicks were all standing up just so.

I love this little babe.

October 26, 2011

2011-11-12T22:09:00.001-06:00

Been a little while since we showcased one of Isaac's creations.

October 25, 2011

2011-11-12T21:59:00.002-06:00

ARGH!!! I'm not happy.

Happy and placated...

What are you looking at?

October 24, 2011

2011-11-12T21:59:00.000-06:00

Isaac is now getting beginner books sent home with him from preschool to practice reading. It is really cool to see him get really excited about reading, counting syllables, and sounding words out. I love seeing this part of the growing up process.

October 23, 2011

2011-11-12T21:54:00.001-06:00

The boys were cooking, she wanted to be a part of the action.

Oh words can't describe the deliciousness that this was: s'more cookies. Thank you Kristopher!

October 22, 2011

2011-11-12T21:48:00.001-06:00

Praying with daddy.

One of the best ways to hold Jess when she is a bit grumpy.

October 21, 2011

2011-11-12T21:41:00.001-06:00

Kris dared them to put their hand inside the pumpkin. It took some convincing.

She is our chewiest child. She actually was born with a bum to pinch, Izy and Kaylie- not so much, it had to grow in :) She has cheeks that are so cute!!

The smiles are starting!!!

October 20, 2011

2011-11-12T21:25:00.001-06:00

Trouble game pieces fit perfectly on his fingers.

Playing I Spy, but mostly I just wanted to snap a picture of Kaylie CUTE pony tail. She wouldn't stay still very long.

October 19, 2011

2011-11-12T21:23:00.001-06:00

Isaac helping out SO carefully. We made a huge batch of egg rolls for the freezer and he made sure I had a constant supply in the oil.

October 18, 2011

2011-11-12T21:15:00.001-06:00

Jessica + baby doll

Kaylie the caretaker

Kids loving their daddy time

Attempting to enjoy her tummy time and almost falling asleep in the process.

I see you...

October 17, 2011

2011-11-12T21:13:00.001-06:00

I love my baby... but she looks a little bit like a fish in this shot.

Yes dad is offering her popcorn to our 1 month old child. No, she did not eat any.

Kris makes kettlecorn. Oh My Goodness... We now want to add a huge kettle that they make the stuff in at fairs to our dream kitchen so we can make huge batches whenever we want.. like that will ever truly come to pass, just like our brick oven :)

October 16, 2011

2011-11-12T21:11:00.001-06:00

He ran his 3rd marathon the day before... and was exhausted. Kansas City Marathon you were HARD!! I couldn't resist tickling his feet though.

October 15, 2011

2011-11-12T21:08:00.001-06:00

She likes her belly button.

Marathon running is hurting Kris' toes.. several blisters erupted from his latest race.

October 14, 2011

2011-11-12T21:00:00.001-06:00

Come on, who didn't do this as a kid?

October 13, 2011

2011-11-12T20:49:00.001-06:00

Pretty intense faces here... must be watching something a little tense... like MY LITTLE PONY!! Yup, I have some sensitive kids. We only watched 10 minutes of it.

Some serious sisterly love going on here. Can you find Jessica?

October 12, 2011

2011-11-12T11:08:00.001-06:00

Kaylie really wanted to hold her sister. Don't worry, I'm sure the technique will improve with time.

Sadly it was time to say good bye to Mimi. We had a GREAT two weeks with you and you helped restore some sense of normalcy/sanity to my life! Here we are at our own Kirksville airport.

Hanging out until we saw Mimi's airplane take off.

October 11, 2011

2011-11-12T10:57:00.001-06:00

Beautiful Fall afternoon means another time for bikes.

Later on at the park...

Playing with the sand...

October 10, 2011

2011-11-07T15:03:00.003-06:00

Kaylie and the iPad.

One of Jessica's favorite ways to fall asleep.

We made caramel corn with Mimi and Isaac was very excited to use the air popper for the first time.

October 9, 2011

2011-11-07T14:56:00.001-06:00

Izy and the iPad go hand in hand. He is in love!

The kids and I took a walk in the BEAUTIFUL fall weather.

Yes I let her pick out her own clothes... she has style!

October 8, 2011

2011-11-07T14:40:00.000-06:00

Jessica and Mimi

October 7, 2011

2011-11-07T14:36:00.000-06:00

While Mom is in town we have been doing some sewing. Here she is sewing a sheet for Jessica's crib. Kaylie and Isaac like to help pull pins and ask all kinds of questions about the sewing machine.

Rolling out dough for calzones. Jessica is keeping me close company.

October 6, 2011

2011-11-06T16:07:00.002-06:00

Jessica isn't a chunky child, but man do I love her rolls.

A happy and bright eyed girl having tummy time!

October 5, 2011

2011-11-06T16:01:00.000-06:00

She REALLY wanted to hold her sister... she did such a good job!

Dad was burping her/doing some OMM on her back. Either way it was some good daddy time. He doesn't get to see her nearly as much as I do, so evenings are a really good time for them.

hehehehe... well, there she is!

October 4, 2011

2011-11-06T15:55:00.003-06:00

I don't know what it is about Tuesdays at our house, but man do we rack up injuries. Today we were outside riding bikes again and a week after Kris destroyed his face Kaylie had a great tumble while running on the driveway. She was upset, but it was just two healthy scratches on her knees. Some good kisses to help her get better.

October 3, 2011

2011-11-05T16:56:00.005-05:00

My baby girl is 3 weeks old!!

The big kids and I went to the park to play. We had a nice time and it was great to get out of the house!

Warm day + water fountain + silly kids...

He was soaking wet but had SOO much fun!

October 2, 2011

2011-11-05T16:46:00.003-05:00

We had some friends who came in town and we got to spend an afternoon with them! Thanks for stopping by Lemmes! I first me them when I lived in Adak, Alaska when I was in first grade! Kris met them when he and the Lemmes both lived in the same town in Washington.

Our little helpers in the kitchen!

October 1, 2011

2011-11-05T16:39:00.001-05:00

We took a MUCH needed nap after watching General Conference.

Kaylie agreed with the idea too!

September 30, 2011

2011-10-26T22:32:00.000-05:00

Happily my mom arrived this afternoon! We were all SO HAPPY to see her. Unfortunately I didn't snap a shot of the kids with her. But here they are showing off their great aprons she made them.

September 29, 2011

2011-10-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

The SAA had a hayride and picking pumpkins at the Truman farms. The kids love this each year. The day was beautiful. It was my first outing with all three kids by myself and yup, it will take some easing into. Thankfully the older two don't tend to run off by themselves normally.

It is SO much easier to take care of all three when I wear Jessica all wrapped up to me.

Goofy kiddos.

Pressing apples in a cider press.

Kaylie with Troll hair. She wanted to "wear" her baby doll when we got home, like mom did at the farm.

September 28, 2011

2011-10-26T22:11:00.001-05:00

So sweet. She looks a lot like what Isaac looked like at this age.

With this picture I was able to get a glimpse of what they may look like as teenagers.

One of her first baths. The kids were ALL about helping her get clean.

She enjoyed the first half of the bath and then was VERY ready to get out.

Even when she is yelling at me I think she is still one beautiful girl.

September 27, 2011

2011-10-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Her baby doll took a ride with her on the bike.

Going to attempt things on the bigger bike. When Kaylie rides this one she can't push the pedals just yet and needs to be physically moved.

Daddy got home! What a welcome!

*SIGH*

I love fall weather.

It was right after these pictures with Kaylie that I went inside to do some dishes. When riding the big wheel by herself she scoots along. Well Kris was pushing her for a little bit. See how she had her feet picked up? Well, she suddenly put them down, stopping the big wheel and sending Kris over the top of the big wheel and smack onto his face...


Kris came walking inside and asked me to go and bring the kids inside. I looked up from the dishes, saw his face and ran outside to see how the kids were doing. Isaac was doing good, but Kaylie was still sitting on her big wheel and boy was she crying! She had only smacked her lip, but was pretty upset from seeing Kris get hurt. I got them inside and tried calming her down. Thankfully a friend was bring dinner over and it arrived right then. Food helped and so did watching a movie. Kris wasn't sure if he needed to go to the hospital, but he had a decent sized gash under his eye. Turns out the puncture looking wound had gone down to the muscle and definitely needed some stitches. Thankfully we know a surgical residents and one of our friends took Kris to see him. He had gotten called into the hospital and wouldn't be able to stitch him up but took him to another resident (an ENT) who would be able to do the work. He needed 19 stitches to fix him up right under the eye, but thankfully that was all. The rest of the red on his face is road rash and some good scrapes. YIKES. He was only gone for 1 1/2 hours and I had the kids in bed by the time he got home. Kaylie refused to hug or kiss him telling me that she didn't like daddy anymore. I bet that would be scary if I was 2. Amazingly NO blood on the shirt. While this isn't at all the point of the story, I was VERY Happy to realize this while he was gone and I looked the shirt over. It was the men's dress shirt I had made in a college sewing class and was happy he'd still be able to wear it!

These two pictures are after stitches pics. I had only one before stitches and it wasn't a really good one on my phone.

September 26, 2011

2011-10-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

My little babe is 2 weeks old! WOW!

Having some quality time with dad. They don't get a lot of time together, so it is good they can take advantage of the awake evening times.