Friday, August 21, 2015

Weekend with my Idaho Gals

It was so hard to leave Idaho mostly because of this wonderful group of gals that I found! I've been blessed to stay in touch with them and I was thrilled when they said they were coming to Utah for the weekend! 

I met up with them at Cheesecake Factory for a delicious dinner and we all shared some dessert. 
 The next morning I met up with them at Ikea where we did some serious damage shopping! I had Rylee with me since she was only a few weeks old but it was very refreshing to get out of the house and shop with almost no kids!
After lunch at Zupas we then hit the Traverse Mountain outlet mall and did some more damage there. Shopping is also good for the soul! And thanks to my wonderful hubby who held the fort down and let me get out and enjoy these fun gals!!

Minute to Win It Couples style

Our good friends, next door neighbors, and now new bishop invited us to a couples Minute to Win It game night! We went to dinner at Dickies and then the fun began! We are lucky to have such cool neighbors the Lopez's. Here they are trying to get the pennys out of pantyhose.

 Each couple was supposed to bring 3 games and I wanted to do this one but Chad said it would be too hard. I explained how the right way to do it but he didn't want to take that game. THEN someone else brought it and....
HE BEAT ME using the tactics I explained earlier! Turkey!!!
 Face the cookie is always for a good laugh.
 The Eashs were also there who are also some good friends of ours.
 This is sadly the only game I beat Chad at...stacking blocks, on a plate, on your head! Wahoo!!
 We tied at Shake It and they voted for a redo and then I lost :(
 Our bishop sure knows how to shake it!!
Michelle's zumba music helped me get in the mood.

 Stacking the dice on a stick in your mouth was another game we did.

 And we only made the men do this one...but we put shaving cream on their heads on top of a shower cap and threw popcorn at it. Whoever got the most to stick won!
There is something really refreshing about throwing handfuls of popcorn at your husbands face. I had a wonderful time with this one and I haven't laughed like that in a long time!

                                                          Laughter is good for my soul :)
                                                                       Thanks friends!

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Portuguese Camp

Carter is soon starting 1st grade and we have entered him into a dual immersion language program at his elementary. He will be learning Portuguese! Half of the day will be completely is Portuguese and the 2nd part of the day will be totaly in English! I have only hear good things about this program and I am so excited for him to start! 

To kick it off, they invited Carter to a week long camp where they meet their teacher (who only ever speaks in Portuguese) sing songs, learn dances and learn about the culture a bit. There were professional dancers who performed complete with drums and everything. And a group came in and taught the kids Capoeira which is a cross between martial arts and a dance. It was very interesting!!

Carter is in yellow below.


He was a little nervous about it but overall I think he loved it and is now a little more excited to start 1st grade! YAY!!

Father of the Year

I was afraid with the excitement of the new baby that Chad would get overlooked on fathers day...and I sure hope he didn't feel that way. We all tried our best to make him feel special. The kids pulled him out of bed nice and early and showered him with gifts. 
 He is the breakfast maker around here so afterwards he got to make us all breakfast.

Carter got him matching ties so they got all dressed up as twins! We all went to church but just for sacrament meeting. I brought the 2 youngest girls home with me.
 Wow is all I can say when I look at this picture. FOUR KIDS! And he handles them all like a champ. He is the patient one at our house and I'm so glad for all his wonderful qualities that make him such a great person, dad, and husband. I know my kids will have fond memories with their dad from growing up. He takes time to play with all of them whether it is dolls or legos it doesn't matter.
 While I worked on dinner I fed Brielle lunch and I guess she was pretty tired from the week too and passed out in her chair.

 We had a yummy dinner and one last surprise of ice cream sandwiches from coldstone. Seriously delicious!
I'm always grateful for all Chad does for me but this year my gratitude has increased so much. Between knee surgery, being pregnant, delivering a baby and trying to recover from it, having the flu 3 times (despite getting the shot!) and so many other things he has waited on me hand and foot so much. He really deserves a husband of the year award. There have been many times my heart has filled with love for him as I watch him be everything we all need and take care of each of our needs. I'm so BLESSED to have him as my husband and the father of my children. LOVE YOU CHAD MAN!

1st week photo dump

A month has already passed and here I am finally getting around Rylee's first week home! Life is definitely much busier! I came home tuesday morning and went straight to bed! But it wasn't long before we hopped back into the real world.  
Carter and Mollie both had soccer games and it was their last games so i felt like I should be there so we all loaded up and went. The kids were extra excited to show Rylee off and because their grandparents were there! 
That afternoon both grandparents showed up and this beautiful bouquet of flowers from Chad's work. I normally don't care much for flowers but when its a big beautiful display and it didn't come from my checking account I love it! And I really enjoyed looking at it all week.

 Anther surprise was these little pink roses bloomed just in time for us to come home from the hospital!

My parents stopped in and Dad & Adam held Rylee then had to get on the road to help Tony move to St. George! Mom stayed to help me for a few days.
 Then the lounging around and cuddle time began. We all snuck in as much time as we could holding Rylee. The kids have been very helpful and well behaved and we all love her so much!



 We did a LOT of front porch sittin' while the kids played in the yard and the adults chatted.

 I love this picture! Brielle makes this face and an "OHHHH!" sound whenever she gets near her.

 Saturday afternoon we had some more visitors, The Calls! The kids were excited to see their cousins and have a pool party.
 Chelsey made some more cute sandals for Rylee.
 For dinner we went out to Shanes favorite restaurant La Fountain!


 On Sunday dad stopped back by to pick up mom and take her home. He got to stay a little longer this time.

 I'm always so grateful that my mom comes and stays and helps with the kids. It ensures that we all stay happy and it was hard to let her go! But I knew I had to get back to real life sooner than later.
 I went to bed feeling a little ill and the next day had the full blown flu! Oh it was so awful and I begged Chad to stay home one more day. New moms shouldn't be allowed to get sick!!
 But I got lots more snuggle time in bed with Rylee and it was much needed.
 After I was well I felt the baby blues trying to sneak into my life and I knew it was time to get out! So we loaded up the kids, packed a lunch and grabbed a bag of bread to feed to the ducks at the park and went for a picnic. The sunshine did my soul good and only had a few days I was feeling down.

Here is Brielle giving some loves

 And Carter and Mollie are never far if I set her down for a little bit.
 I've loved having a summer baby and sitting outside enjoying the weather. Rylee seems to like it too and is happiest when she is outside. So this is how we sit....alot...and I love it.
 Hello bright eyes!

 My baby holding my baby! More loves from Bri. She's always quick to point out her eyes and nose. Cute kiddo.

 While I had the flu Chad was changing Rylee and we noticed her umbilical cord had fallen off at 6 days old! The next day we gave her her first bath. I had lots of helpers...
 Brielle was more interested in poking at my bum crack while I was bent over and I couldn't do anything about it! She is going to be my funny baby. She is constantly tickling and is quick to point out a bum crack or belly button that is showing.
 She wasn't a huge fan...So tiny!


Time has flown! But we are all enjoying our family of 6. But I am content to say that this could be the last baby. It has been a little hard since its summer time to not be able to camp, swim, bike, etc and I'm just really ready to be done with the baby stage as sweet as it is. We will see if Heavenly Father has different plans but Little Miss Rylee could be the last!