Fun with Rosalee and Zeke

Life with dad (Jan - Feb 2011)

2011-03-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

Say Cheese!

We just love dogs! (thank you Grandpa)

One of our favorite things to do with dad is read books. This is Zeke's favorite it's called Dinasourumpus.

While staying with dad we went to our cousins house where we played and played all day long.

Halloween 2010

2011-02-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

One day I will get caught up, one day I will get caught up...
For Halloween we decided to stay around Blackfoot and take the kids trick or treating in our neighborhood. Apparently the house is on a popular street that gets a lot of kids. At first we just had a few kids trickle in but after our first trip around the block we were swamped! I stayed at the house to pass out the candy while Jesse took Rosalee out for more candy. I felt bad when a huge group of people showed up at the door and I ran out mid group. I started passing out some of Rosalee's candy to them. I figured the kids didn't need THAT much and I would feel bad to turn away kids after my door was already open. As soon as that group left I turned off a bunch of the lights and hid with Zeke until Rosalee and Jesse came home. We finished off the night by eating more candy than we should and watching The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown cartoon.

We bribed the cowboy to stay in his stroller with a green lolly... it seemed to work well.

Apparently lollys have no effect on keeping hats on little ones. SIGH

The cowboy and his mama

Rosalee posing for the camera and showing off her outfit. I made the jacket and skirt, she had the white shirt, and my mom got her the wings. She told me she wanted curly hair and to have it red "like Ariel" so I happily complied

I also got carried away with the glitter spray... as you can tell by the giant spot on her head. It took a few days of washing to get it all out.

Sans hat, he's ready to go!

Rosalee's wings weren't staying up properly and it was pulling her jacket off. It was bothering me so right before we left I ran inside and got a hair clip to hold everything together. I think it turned out really cute.

Oh Idaho... :)

Rosalee was really great at saying "please" and "thank you" for the candy. She also cracked us up at the random things she'd talk about or get distracted by...

After several houses, Rosalee's legs got tired so she went for a ride on Dad's shoulders.

Jesse did the make-up on his friend. He's suppose to look like a crash victim. I think his arm looks nasty so they did a great job!

Yeee-haw!!!!!

Attempts at some shots with Rosalee

Jesse took this one for his mom

After round two of trick or treating Rosalee came home and stripped off her top. Then she insisted on eating some chips (she got them at one house) while watching a cartoon. Here she is watching Charlie Brown.

Speaking of The Great Pumpkin...
Here is Zeke in his Halloween pajamas.

Making cookies... and a mess

2011-02-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

One day last October (Oh yes, I still am THAT far behind!) we decided to make sugar cookies as a family. The dough turned out SUPER sticky so we covered the counter in flour to roll out the dough. Rosalee had more fun playing in the flour than actually working on making the cookies. After several attempts NOTHING worked. The dough just wasn't right. I'm not sure what I did wrong but it was not going to make decent cookies. We ended up just eating some dough and tossing out the rest.

Playing in flour

Happy girl with a cookie dough mustache

Cleaning the cookie dough mustache

Zeke playing with his dishes. He was making blowing and spitting sound effects at me.

CHEESE!!!!!

Mom and Rosalee

Oh how I love my kids!!!!! I seriously went out of the room to check on Zeke and came back to find Rosalee swimming in flour on the counter. She had taken the lid off, got a scoop, and then put it on the counter just like before. Only this time instead of rolling out dough, she decided to roll herself. :)

My reaction to seeing Rosalee swimming in flour on the counter...

Cute little Zekey. Oh I could eat up his cuteness!!

"Look at my dusted hands! I am just so silly!"

Zekey in autumn

2011-01-25T15:50:00.001-08:00

Autumn is my favorite time of the year! I love when it's sunny and blue sky, but cold enough to see your breath in the morning. I also love seeing the leaves on the trees change color and fall down. When I drive over a pile of leaves and they shoot out behind my car it makes me think me smile. I love letting the kids play in the leaves because Rosalee gets just as excited as I do.
One day we went for a walk and I took a few pictures of Zeke. I love how blue his eyes look against the background colors. I just love that kid period.

This picture should have the caption "SQUIRREL!!!!" with it. I was just about to take this cute smiling picture of Zeke and then he turned to watch a squirrel run up a tree. Notice his finger pointing to the tree?

Peek-a-boo!

Trip to Gram Terry's Farm

2011-01-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

In the middle of October the kids and I had the chance to go to Washington with some friends. I thought the kids would hate the long drive but they did AMAZING! Nothing that fruit snacks and apple juice can't fix. :)
While in Washington we had fun playing on the farm. Zeke learned about the bull. He now says, "da bull da bull da bull" whenever he looks out the back window. It's funny because he'd say it and then if we'd take him out back to see the bull he'd laugh hysterically. Rosalee was really excited to help do the farm chores every morning. As soon as she'd see someone get boots and a jacket she'd run over and start putting her own boots on. Her job became feeding the birds. I'm not sure how, or why, but the white peacocks are all known as "eekeys" now. It was really cute watching her spread the bird food out and talk to the birds about whatever was on her mind.
The boys kept themselves busy with psychotic things like riding untrained, green horses and going skydiving. Part of me would like to skydive one day and the sane, normal part says NO WAY!

The reason we go to head to Washington was Shawn was taking his horse to be boarded there. He was nice enough to take everyone and anyone who asked for a ride around the pasture. The kids LOVED it! My extended family even came out and got to ride Mayzee. The best was when David was trying to get her to move and she backed all the way up the hill. David wants to be a cowboy SO bad! There's potential... we've got it in the works.

The kids were so so so happy!! Alyssa kept asking for more turns and Rosalee just laughed like she always does.
One morning Rosalee informed me that it was her turn to take the pictures. The following are some of her best. Most of the ones she took cut off half of the person's face so I was happy that there were a few that look nice.

One sunny (but cold) day we went for a trail ride down in the Orting valley. I got the ride the pony Junebug who stands A LOT shorter than the other horses. Surprisingly though she can really move and keep up with the rest when she feels she's being left behind. I wouldn't have minded except that her trot is SO bouncy and my feet weren't in the stir-ups properly. (Oh yes, I am that short!) By the end of the ride I would have promised you that I had a bruise on my bum.

Later that day we had an early birthday party for Rosalee. Even though it was 3 weeks before she birthday I thought this would be the only time my parents would get to be with her near her birthday. Rosalee told me that she wanted a pink kitty cake so I did my best to fulfill her wish.

As you can see by the HUGE smile on her face she LOVED it!!! I used Hostess cake snowballs for the cheeks. They only had green ones (being close to Halloween) so the cat got to be very colorful. The whiskers are black licorice strips and the ears are broken graham crackers.

She's pointing to the eyes and ears on the cat.

I used some candy hearts for the nose and mouth and milk duds for the eyes. I am NOT artistic in the least so I was really shocked and pleased with how the cake turned out.

Then I decided it would be funny to put cake on people... as you can see, I lost. The poor cake, it never saw it comin'.
But everyone, especially Zeke, loved the cake. I thought Rosalee would object to eating her kitty cake but she had no problems with digging right in!

Nothing beats eating sugar on sugar in your underwear!
Rosalee was SO tired from a busy day that she passed out asleep. My mom put her in bed and then I realized that she was still in her underwear. So I sent my mom with pajamas to put her in. Then AFTER she came back downstairs she asked me, "Is she suppose to sleep in underwear or a pull-up?" I told her a pull-up and she said, "Oh..." She stirred when my mom put the pajamas on her so I was nervous to try and take them off and put her pull-up on. My mom told she to "not worry" because she "would handle it". The next morning this is what I saw-

Superhero Rosalee!
My mom just slipped the pull-up on over her pajamas so if she did have an accident it would at least keep the bed dry. I had to try SO hard to keep from laughing out loud! As soon as Rosalee woke up enough she asked me, "Mom!? Why is my panties on weird?" and I fixed the issue.
We spent the rest of the time hanging out and having fun on the farm. My mom got out her camera and took some pictures of the kids. I love Zeke's outfit! It fits right at home on the farm.

"CHEEEEEESSSSSSSSSE!"

I will never get enough of those eyes! Rosalee and I call them his "lady killer blues".

Attempting to get caught up...

2011-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

Sadly I'm at home from work today sick with bronchitis. I'm lying in bed wishing the nasty cough will stop with little to no energy to get out of bed. So I've decided to bust out the computer and wireless Internet so I can get all of my 2010 pictures up on the blog.
One day I was playing with Zeke and I realized how long is hair was getting. In the 14 months of his life he's NEVER had a haircut so I thought it was about time.

He's so cute but the hair needed to be trimmed.

Rosalee has SUCH a great smile! I couldn't leave her out.
So I got out the scissors and clippers and started working on Zeke's head. At first he just sat there and didn't care. I'd stop every now and then and give him a snack so he'd stay still. (I know food rewards are bad but I was desperate to get him to not move!) Once the treats stopped working I decided to give him a break so he could get his wiggles out.

After the first round of cutting. Notice the shaggy hair around his ears? I was scared to DEATH of cutting him so I left that part for last.

Cute Rosalee said that Zeke's puppy needed to have her picture taken.
After twenty or so minutes I went back to cutting Zeke's hair... this time he was less than enthused.

After many tears and wiggles his hair was FINALLY cut! As soon as he was let go he was just fine. I think he was more upset about having to stay still than having the razor on his head.

This is 14 months worth of hair.
I'm oddly shocked by how little hair came off of his head.

Before I could be done with the camera Rosalee said that Marie the kitty needed her picture taken too. I think my addiction is photography is rubbing off on her...

Annie's wedding

2011-01-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

The day after Jenny and Hayden's wedding Jesse's cousin Annie got married. Annie and Chris were kind enough to ask Rosalee to be their flower girl in the wedding. She was really excited to wear a princess dress and get to play with all the other princesses. (Every time we see someone in a wedding dress she calls them a princess, I think it is SO cute!)
My sweet Rosalee in curlers, getting ready for the wedding

I couldn't leave cute Zekey out. He decided to wave at me while grunting.

Here's beautiful Annie with our dear Rosalee. I can't believe how much these two look alike. Rosalee could easily be Annie's younger sister. I'm so happy with how cute Rosalee's hair turned out with using the curlers.

Showing off her princess dress

Saying "cheese" while waiting to walk down the aisle

Happy sweet angel baby!!!

Zeke's motto- party hard, crash hard
Good thing Gram Terry has a comfy shoulder

Rosalee with the bride and groom, Chris and Annie

Rosalee sitting with GG

Allie our niece

It was a LoNg drive back to John's house with an odd amount of traffic and road work. While driving 15 on the freeway Zeke made a smell and scream that lead us to getting off the road. As we stopped I noticed that the car had gone over 100,000 miles. We bought it just shy of 3 years ago (from the time the photo was taken) and in that time we've doubled the miles. Oh well, at least we can say we lived!

Catch up

2011-01-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

I've had pictures on my camera and computer from the end of September that I need to put on the blog. Life has gotten crazy, weird, sad, and every other thing in the last little while so the blog has been put on the back burner. I'm hoping that within a few days I'll have everything caught up and explained so we're all on the same page.
In the end of September Jesse's sister Jenny got married to Hayden. It was a chilly, sunny wonderful day in Logan, Utah. The kids behaved well and everyone was in a great mood. We're so happy for Jenny and Hayden and are glad that they've found each other.

A family shot in front of the Logan temple
(The hill is SUPER steep! 4" heels in soft ground = less fun)

Tia in her bridesmaid dress

Rosalee posing... I love that kid!

Zeke with Aunt Tia

Rosalee and Mommy

The happy couple just minutes after being married for all time and eternity

Aunt Jenny with her niece and nephews on the James side

Jenny's side of the family that came to the wedding.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Gavin and Rosalee are holding hands. It is SO cute! They love each other and it makes me really happy.

Another attempt at a family shot... notice how Rosalee decided to dance around? Ah kids...

Last attempt... children stay still and look at the camera when held by their parents

The couple with Jenny's parents and grandparents on the James side

Hayden and Jenny with her siblings

Jenny and Hayden with her siblings and their spouses

How we really feel... :)

Jenny with all of nieces and nephews. I love how Hudson decided to run and dance around.

Zeke with Allie and Sydney

Jesse with his two younger sisters

My mom and me

This picture is ADORABLE!

Like her reception shoes? You should because they are the EXACT shoes I wore for my own wedding! It's nice to know they can be brought out of the closet and used from time to time.
I would love to show pictures from the reception but I hate the pictures that my camera takes with low lighting. Rosalee and Gavin spent the entire night together dancing and playing. When Rosalee would go to the bathroom Gavin would worry about where she went. It makes my heart burst seeing them together.

Misc. pictures from the camera

2010-11-01T13:25:00.004-07:00

I'm still playing catch up on my pictures, but I'm slowly getting there.
Between the time of Jenny's bridal shower and Jenny's wedding we just hung around the house here in Blackfoot but I was able to get a few fun photos of the kids.
One morning I gave the kids strawberries for breakfast. THEY LOVED IT! They both kept asking for more and I felt bad that we only had 1 container. I guess it's for the best because too much probably would have given them a nasty stomach ache.

While I was cutting more for Zeke, Rosalee snuck into the sugar and made her strawberries "beautiful with yummy glitter". The scoop in the bucket is a 1 cup measuring cup so she ate about 3/4 a cup of sugar for breakfast. MMM MMM GOOD!!!!

We went to Shawn's house to ride horses a few times. Mayzee (the horse) is now at my mom's house (I'll get to that post soon) so I wanted to let the kids ride her as much as possible before she left. I just love love LOVE how happy my kids get while riding a horse! Rosalee squeals with delight and has a goofy grin the entire time. Zeke now grabs the pommel on the saddle and points his toes out like a little cowboy. I could just die from the cuteness!

Rosalee has been asking me to do her hair a lot more lately. She loves having "princess hair" and she doesn't seem to mind that I really have no idea on what I'm doing most of the time.

Rosalee is quite the character now. She loves dress up, acting, singing, and dancing. I love to just sit back and watch her. On one particular day Rosalee found a rubber glove and a strainer and made herself a nice little costume. She was dancing around singing about chickens and a farm. Her imagination astounds me!

Jenny's bridal shower

2010-10-31T14:10:00.004-07:00

Jenny had a bridal shower in Blackfoot, Idaho two weeks before her wedding. I took videos of the games we played and her opening presents but my computer is AGAIN not allowing me to upload them. Soon, hopefully, I'll make one huge post with all of our videos from the past few months.
After Jenny opened her presents we decided to make her a dress out of the wrapping paper. I think we did a great job!

To make it even better we made Jenny walk back to the house (2 or 3 blocks) in her fancy dress. I ran ahead and told Hayden to walk outside and find her. He looked shocked and confused but was still willing to hold her hand.

I love my Gavin friend

2010-10-13T08:14:00.003-07:00

During the week that Lindsey and the kids were here in Idaho we found random fun things to do to keep the kids entertained. Jesse was cleaning out the garage and found a package of fireworks left over from the 4th of July. Then being the guy that he is, he got the toy cannon from the pirate fort... Can you see where this is going?

I wish Jesse took a movie instead of pictures because of the squeals, screams, and giggles from the kids. Their eyes were the size of dinner plates and they all had smiles from ear to ear. It was beautiful!

During the week Rosalee and Gavin really bonded. They would sit together and watch movies, play outside in the fort, swing on the swing set, and just had a great time. Rosalee told me several times then, and now, "I love my Gavin friend." But now that he's back home in Utah she usually says, "I miss my Gavin friend." When she found out that Gavin has a birthday in November she INSISTED that they have a birthday party together. I told her I'd make her a Tinkerbell cake here and even that didn't change her mind.
SHE
MEANT
BUSINESS!
So we're going to Utah for Thanksgiving and then the Friday or Saturday after we'll be having a joint party. But how could I say no when they're so cute together!?

For the love of horses!

2010-10-01T13:24:00.008-07:00

Lindsey and the kids stayed for the week after Labor Day because the next Saturday was Jenny's bridal shower here in Blackfoot. John took Dennis's car home so Lindsey would have her car here to take the kids places. On a nice day we went out to visit our friend Shawn from scout camp to see his horses.
Shawn is going on a mission for the LDS church soon so my mom is going to take care of his horse Mayzee while he's gone. I wanted Rosalee to start getting use to being on horses now so when we visit my mom she'll be a pro at it. Plus I thought it would be fun to get out of the house and I assumed the kids would love being on the horses.
When we got to Shawn's house all of the kids acted hesitant about riding. I can't blame them when the horse, June, is taller than I am at the shoulders! So Zeke got to go first. Why? Because he's too small to protest!

He was smiling and giggling the ENTIRE time! We just found out that Zeke has low muscle tone and I knew from teaching that horseback riding can be beneficial. So aside from teaching him to love riding, I wanted him to have some physical therapy as well.

Once Gavin saw that the baby would ride the horse he was willing to hop on. He rode around with a cute smile and seemed to really love it. When we asked if he wanted another turn he said "no" and just played in the yard. I'm just glad he was willing to try it.

Maddie is the family cowgirl! She hopped right on June and kept asking for more turns. Every time June came back up to us she'd say, "Maddie's turn!" and would be sad if it wasn't her turn.

Hudson giggled and seemed to really like riding June. He wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Maddie, but he did ride three or four times around the yard.
Next came Rosalee's turn...
She had been talking about riding horses for WEEKS so I thought she'd be as excited as Maddie.
WRONG

We started out by just having her pet the horse and then she said she was all done. Jesse said we needed to push her limits a little so he grabbed her leg and swung her up on June. Shawn and June were very sweet and patient with Rosalee and didn't move for a few minutes.

Rosalee finally calmed down and, with Jesse right by her side, she let June take a few steps. 9 feet later she was "ALL DONE!" and leaped off June into Jesse's arms. I was really sad but she said that she'd ride again but only if the horse was a little horse.
We gave Maddie and Hudson a few more turns and finished up with Zeke.

Next we went to the summer pasture to meet Mayzee. As soon as I saw her I was IN LOVE! I keep half jokingly tell Shawn that he might not get her back after his mission.

She hadn't been ridden very much all summer and had never had children on her so Shawn was nervous about having the kids ride her. We let them walk up to her, pet her, and then brush her. While Maddie was brushing her she kept grabbing her back and pulling herself up taller. Eventually she just swung her leg up and I helped her to sit on Mayzee. She really liked being up there so I let her sit for a few minutes before getting down. After seeing Maddie sit on Mayzee Rosalee told me, "Mama I can ride the little horse because she's my size."

Grandma's birthday at the fair

2010-09-30T09:55:00.010-07:00

John, Lindsey, and their kids stayed an extra day during the Labor Day weekend so they could celebrate Jesse and John's mom's birthday. This year was the 40th anniversary of her 19th birthday and she decided that we should go to the fair to celebrate. (Apparently that's what all the cool people do.)
We started by going to the ride area only to find out that the rides wouldn't start for a few more hours. So we walked on and found a free kid play zone. The kids would have stayed there all day if we let them I bet!

Jesse and John playing basketball with their dad
Next we walked over to the petting zoo area. This is other area that I bet Rosalee would have stayed at all day if we let her. Last year the main area had all the goats running around and they kept nipping at the kids hoping to get some food. I guess this year they realized how annoying that was and all of the animals were in pens.

I love this little puppy because she looks like our old dog Roxie

The petting zoo at the Eastern Idaho State Fair is tricky. All of the animals that you see and pet are available for adoption. That way your kid can love on the dog and when they demand to take it home you can't say, "Oh but it belongs to the nice worker." One of the ways they earn money to pay for the food is to have a train ride for the kids.

Despite not being the biggest fan of rides Rosalee did get excited over riding the train at the petting zoo. Last year she was determined to ride in the pink piggy car and, with a great memory, she again picked the pig to ride in.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After riding the train we walked around and saw some of the livestock animals. The kids really loved seeing the horses. I thought they would be nervous around such large animals but it was quite the opposite.

While petting this horse a lady with a fancy video camera starting taking a video of Zeke.

After looking at the animals we decided to get the kids a snack. We all agreed that ice cream would make a great snack for the kids.

Yummy mint!

"Strawberry because it pink and it is tasty."

The kids with their ice cream

Happy kids = happy parents!

Zeke LOVED the turkey leg as big as his head! I swear he ate 1/3 of one by himself.

Apparently John is not a fan of boiled crawfish...

Nothing says HAPPY BIRTHDAY like a giant turkey leg for lunch

Zeke is becoming QUITE the ham! He was VERY VERY VERY happy to eat his tiger ear. (A tiger ear is what most people call an elephant ear only here they are sold by the Boy Scouts as a fundraiser. We thought if we bought several we could donate that money to the "Hire Jesse James fund". Hopefully soon we'll see if that panned out!)
After lunch we did what any smart parents do- we took the kids on rides!
Rosalee was excited about them until we bought the tickets and she saw the rides up close. Even if she could ride with Gavin, hold Daddy's hand, AND get a treat she wouldn't budge! We walked around and she picked the boat to ride on. She wasn't thrilled about it, but at least she wasn't screaming her head off.

Sadly Zeke was too tired to ride.

I guess there is something about the fair that wipes Zeke out! Remember last year? He's gotten so much bigger, but I guess somethings are still the same.
Rosalee was excited to ride the merry-go-round but only if all the cousins and her dad rode with her. Jesse let her pick out which horse she wanted and you can tell by the look on her face that she was truly happy.

Gavin and Rosalee laughing up a storm on the merry-go-round
After we ran out of tickets we found a place with some free toys for the kids to play with. We stayed here until it was time to go home. It was a great day because the kids loved it and we didn't have to spend a lot!

Labor Day weekend

2010-09-28T12:00:00.005-07:00

I am less than a month behind on my blog posts- WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Seriously, you should be proud of me. I have more videos than pictures from this weekend but blogger hates me today (and yesterday) and isn't allowing me to post any videos. Our family (the James side) REALLY is better animated so as soon as I can get things working, I'll be sure to post the videos!
The theme this year was "Back to the Fifties" and Grandma James planned a great weekend for everyone. Sadly not everyone could be there but we did have Great Grandpa and Grandma James (better known to our family as GG and Grandpa GG), Grandpa and Grandma James, Tia, John, Lindsey, Gavin, Maddie, Hudson, Kristi, Jared, Allie, Kaylee, Sydney, Jesse, Marie, Rosalee, Zeke, Uncle Russ and Lorrie, Dusty, Casie, Chris (Annie's then fiance... brave guy!), Aunt Kim and Russ, Erika, Adam, Daxton, and Drew.
When we arrived we had lunch and got everyone settled in. Rosalee had fun jumping from bed to bed trying to pick out the best one to sleep on. A few hours later we had our cupcake contest. Jesse made some raspberry mousse and pumpkin mousse cups that I thought were FANTASTIC! They ended up winning the Peoples' Choice so way to go Husband! Lindsey made these peanut butter cup cupcakes that I could have eaten until I got sick. I think everyone agreed because she won the Tastiest Treat award.

GG made cupcakes for all of the kids to decorate and eat. Everyone had a great time but I think Zeke had the best time...

Thank you Linz for this adorable picture!!!

For dinner we had hot dogs, root beer floats and milkshakes. Following dinner we had a sock hop. On the invitation GG wrote-
"All the kids and Mom and Pop
are invited to our big SOCK HOP.
Be creative and decorate those feet
then plan to come and dance and eat.
Maybe your socks will win a price
for holiest, prettiest, daintiest, strangest,
funniest, or largest size!"
*We are sorry to inform you but NO PRIZE
will be given to the smelliest!*
My husband was excited to win the holiest sock award and I don't mean he was wearing his Angel Moroni socks!
We spent the rest of the evening playing games. When I get my videos uploaded you'll understand why most of us spent the night laughing until we cried.
On Sunday we went to GG's sister's cabin and had a family church, lunch, and auction. During the church service we had a tribute to GG's father who would have been 100 this year. It was neat getting to see how many people can stem from one man and his wife. The Keller family set up a fish pond for the children to play and win prizes while we set up the auction. Rosalee was VERY VERY excited to win, what she calls, dress up toys. I didn't realize how excited/happy Rosalee would be to have dress up things until this day. She wore what she got, asked for more dress up things during the auction, and told me that we can play dress up "all the time".

Here she is fishing for her head dress

She is in LOVE with this and wears it almost daily!

Zekey fishing for a car

Rosalee took as many turns as she could get! She kept getting more dress up items and would squeal with delight at whatever she caught.

Baby Sydney taking a turn fishing

Maddie in the crown she won
During the auction we bought a hat (for Rosalee's dress up trunk), some hair things (for Rosalee and I to share), some antique toy cars (for Jesse), and some popcorn (for Zeke). We stayed well under budget and left with less than we donated so I consider it a very successful afternoon!

Rosalee proudly showing off her dress up rings and stickers

My cute kids

2010-09-27T11:24:00.003-07:00

The past months consisted of scout camp, trip to Washington, trips to Utah, Labor Day, bridal showers, illness, and two weddings. I've also been busy canning, making Halloween costumes, making clothes for weddings, making cupcakes for weddings, and trying to wrangle my kids. But some how in between all that I've captured a few photos of the kids that I think are ADORABLE!

My little Zekey rocking the faux 'hawk. I love doing his hair like this and do fully believe he's the cutest tough guy on the planet.

Recently I looked at Rosalee and thought, "Where did my little kid go!?" She looks like a kid now. Not a baby, not a toddler, but an actual kid.

Zeke, like his sister, has learned to give us the rascal face. I find it hilarious when babies make this face so I can't help but photograph.
One great thing about having a kid learning to pull up on furniture is making trips to the ER. Zeke was pulling himself up on the hearth of the fireplace, slipped, and then had blood dripping down the side of his head. We washed him off but the blood kept coming so we took him to the ER. The cut wasn't very long, but it was rather deep, so the doctor decided to clean it and then seal it with surgical glue. The nurse wrapped him up in a blanket to keep his hands out of it and he SCREAMED like a banshee! I left the room for it but I could hear him yelling all the way from the waiting room.
The actual cut healed nicely and cleaned up well. The glue that ran down the side of his head took several days of hard scrubbing before it fully came off. So for a little while he looked like he had a weird bruise on the side of his face. His little scar is still there, but now it just looks like a thin light red line. Oddly his dad and him have identical scars now.

djjdffffjff- Rosalee typed this and told me it says "Zekey bekey"

Cousin birthday in Utah

2010-09-27T08:49:00.001-07:00

I'm still playing catch up with the blog, but hopefully soon things will slow down (Yeah right!) and I'll be current. The pictures from this weekend are the ones that make me the maddest about our camera. It does NOT take indoor, low light pictures for ANYTHING! Oh well, at least I have some form of documentation for future memories.
These pictures were taken during Jesse's birthday weekend at Kristi's house in Utah. His birthday is August 20th, Sydney's is August 14th, and Zeke's is August 12th so we planned on having a joint party for them. Another reason we headed down is Kristi is finishing her basement so Jesse went to help frame and hang sheet rock. Rosalee LOVED getting to spend the whole time playing with her cousins. She got rather upset with us when we told her that we had to go home... It's annoying to deal with her upset, but it makes me feel good that she likes them so much.

While at Kristi's Zeke found a man cave to call his own. I put a blanket in it because he kept crawling in there and playing. Eventually he went in, got comfy, and took a nice hour nap.

Rosalee found a stuffed animal dog and told me to take a picture of, "this cute little guy".

What is better than napping in the man cave? Lounging in your underwear in a man cave!

Jesse's birthday cake! He wanted a cobbler so Kristi was nice enough to make him two- a peach and a chocolate raspberry.

Jesse LOVES oatmeal cream pies so he was very happy to get these for his birthday.

I realize these look crappier than if I had taken them with a camera phone BUT you get the idea of what was happening. Zeke and Sydney got matching pink and blue rattles and sippy cups. I really like them being twin cousins it adds a new level of fun.

Zeke kept a death grip on his new sippy cup all night long. Thank you Aunt Kristi and Uncle Jared!

We gave Sydney a laughing pink monkey and she thought it was great.

Maddie was having fun playing with Zeke. She was acting like a little mom saying things like, "Here you go baby" and "Have a drink".

Look at how he bends! Weird right?
Well it was things like this that landed him in physical therapy.

I love Hudson's curls!!!

The end of our trip to WA

2010-09-20T20:54:00.002-07:00

The last few days of our trip we spent hanging around enjoying not having to do a whole lot. Here are some of the pictures from then.

This is the first time Zeke pulled himself up to a stand. Rosalee had asked for a little table to eat her breakfast on so we let her sit at a bed in breakfast table. Zeke saw the eggs, crawled over, and was up! I was watching the video of him eating his birthday cake so I quickly changed the mode on the camera and caught him in action. It made us SO happy to see him stand up because we were afraid he was delayed on his physical development. (Don't worry, that didn't last long and he's now in physical therapy. But that will have to wait for ANOTHER post.)

One afternoon while Zeke was asleep Rosalee asked if she could paint in her new coloring book. I got out some cardboard, put her in clothes I didn't mind getting messy and let her go to town. I'm pretty sure she made 7-10 pictures that day. When she thought I wasn't looking she'd sneak a few swipes of paint on the dog's toenail. (If you can't tell, that giant red mass behind Rosalee is my mom's Saint Bernard Holly.)

I love the funny positions Zeke sleeps in!

Rosalee watching cartoons on our air mattress bed

A close up of Zeke passed out on the couch

Only at Grandma's does she get away with eating Popsicles for breakfast!

Zeke's 1st birthday!!!

2010-09-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

After going to the fair we came back and played in the 'gator pool in the yard. Rosalee was nervous and protested getting in but at least the other girls had fun! I also find it funny that it was ZEKE'S birthday and he had older women in attendance... is this a sign? Let's hope not!

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This is the "adult cake" and it doesn't look as pretty because it accidentally got squashed. Sad, but still sinfully delicious!

We were having Zeke's party at the farm so I made him a farm cake. I don't think I'm very creative but I'm pleased with how the cake turned out. I made a funfetti cake mix and then made grass out of green frosting, dirt out of miniature chocolate chips, and a mud pit out of chocolate pudding. I like buying the gift and being able to use it as part of my decorations for two reasons- I don't have to try and make a fondant pig and it gives him something to play with while the rest of us eat.
All I know is that my son had a great day! I can tell by all the smiles and giggles how happy he was. It's hard to pick a favorite moment from the day because everything went so well but I do really enjoy watching him destroy his cake.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Trip to Washington/Day at the Fair

2010-09-17T20:49:00.001-07:00

For Zeke's first birthday I wanted to do something that would be big and fun. But the issue was trying to figure out what would be entertaining to a 1 year old and his almost 3 year old sister. When I found out that the local county fair started on Zeke's birthday I knew immediately what we were doing!
I called my cousin and she was great enough to take the day off of work and bring her daughter and niece out to visit. To make it even better, her mom/my aunt, also came out. My mom and dad also came with but had to leave early because my mom got called into work. It was great having so many family members around to help celebrate with us.

When I told Rosalee that we were going to the fair she kept asking if she could ride a horse. I was pretty sure that there weren't any but I told her we'd look. We found the horse barn, but there weren't any to ride.

But there was one to pet!

We walked around and looked at all of the animals. Rosalee would get so excited over some of them and other she could care less about. It's funny to see how much of a personality she has at times!

Next we found a play that is put on by the audience. It didn't start for a few minutes so we went to watch the children barrel racing. As soon as we walked over a girl fell and then was drug by her horse... NOT what I wanted Rosalee to see! So we hurried back to the pirate show and tried to put the scary situation from our minds. The woman asked for "the biggest kid of all" to help out in the performance and in my loudest voice possible I shouted, "OOHHH OOHHH HIM, PICK HIM!!!" while pointing at Jesse. He was such a stud to actually go through with it.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The video is about 20 minutes long, but if nothing else just watch the first minute or two so you can see Jesse's full costume and the attitude he had for the show. Rosalee still begs me to play the video over and over and she'll say, "Thank you Daddy for being a pirate." to Jesse at least 5 times while watching it.

You know me, any excuse for a family picture! I like Rosalee in the first one better so if I could crop her from that and Zeke looking at the camera from the second then we'd have a nice shot, but oh well!
Last year when Jesse worked at the fair Rosalee loved every second of it! She rode all the rides and loved them... minus the carousel. On that one she frowned and clung on for dear life. So naturally I thought she'd love the rides again this year...
WRONG!

She screamed the first few times around and then kept trying to stand up and jump off. I'm not sure what happened between last year and now but it makes me sad to see her having, what she believes to be, such an awful time.
How did Alyssa do?

Just fine.
So Jesse took her on a few more rides.

After riding some rides we went to get some food. My favorite fair food are the scones. For those Idaho/Utah people reading this let me explain what a REAL scone is! It is NOT a fried donut thing served with honey butter. It is a sweet biscuit filled with berry jelly. It is fabulous and if you haven't had one you should cry.

The smugs on my kids show the amazingness of a fair scone.
Next we walked around some more and eventually ended up at a face painting booth. We were looking for a painting one but found an airbrush one instead. No biggy right?
Wrong #2 of the day
Mariah and Alyssa went home with cute paintings on their faces. Rosalee?

She got a dot and that was freaky enough!
The day went great and I was so glad to have shared it with my extended family. Zeke had a blast and even if he doesn't remember it when he's older the look on his face will always be a reminder.

Trip to Washington/Lunch Date

2010-09-14T10:34:00.002-07:00

As you can see by the faces of the kids they had a GREAT time eating their lunches! Our new tradition is to have Wednesday lunch at the Rainier Room of the Clover Park Technical College. The food is amazing and the prices are fantastic. I was nervous about taking the kids out to eat because I wasn't too sure how they'd like anything fancier than french fries, mac-n-cheese, and hot dogs. (I say that but I honestly cook pretty good and usually try to add variety to our meals.) Rosalee has a gourmet sandwich with fries and only ate the fries. (Was I surprised? Not at all.) Zeke went to town on whatever he could get his hands on! My meal came with grilled watermelon and Zeke was in heaven!!! I love grilled watermelon and apparently so does my son. (If you've never had it I promise that you will love it and add it to your barbecue menu.) I'm always surprised at how much I eat and how little our bill is. They even had this beautiful cake that I swear was winking at me... SO, I bought it. But then I remembered the cute cake I was going to make for Zeke's birthday. Then I came up with a BRILLIANT plan. The cute cake was for the kids. They could make a mess of it and no adult could complain. The fancy cake, from the college, would be the adult cake and then we wouldn't have to worry about eating cake that had little kid fingers stuck into it.

Trip to Washington/Animals of the Farm

2010-09-14T09:48:00.003-07:00

Rosalee loves all the animals on Grandma Terry's farm. Her favorites are the cats by far. Sadly her cat, Koshka, disappeared right before we came so Rosalee was sad. But the orange cat, He-Man, was friendly enough to let her snuggle him in my mom's bed. The black cat, Black Jack, would run up to her and love all over her when she went outside so I think she was happy.

Rosalee cracked up laughing at the cat sleeping in garage window so I took a picture of him.

This poor baby was all wet and alone outside one morning so we brought it inside to see if we could revive it. After a few hours of snuggling under a blanket the bird was up and ready to go. My mom took him to a friend's house and the last time I heard it is doing great! Rosalee named it (We won't know the gender for a few more months.) Lotte like the blond girl from The Princess and the Frog.

Trip to Washington/Play Hard, Crash Hard

2010-09-14T09:36:00.002-07:00

One of the many things I love about going home is that the kids get WORN OUT! This means longer naps, better appetites, and no fussy at bed time. Zeke was all over seeing new animals, new people, and just play, play, playing. Eventually that caught up to him...

Trip to Washington/I want to shhhwinngggg!

2010-09-10T13:50:00.003-07:00

One Christmas morning 15ish years ago I woke up to find a yellow slide sitting under our Christmas tree. My dad and uncle then built, using a kit, a small swingset for us and as children we spent many hours out there. Now my own children love it just as much. Every time Rosalee would see the swingset she would loudly say, "I want to swing!" Only Rosalee would pronounce swing as shwing ala Wayne's World. I promise that the slide is in fact yellow and after watching the video at my parent's house I promptly went outside and scrubbed the slide until it was neon yellow!

After taking a few pictures my husband reminded me that we bought a video camera for a reason. In true Rosalee fashion, she waited until I was recording to become concerned about potentially stepping in the dog poop. Oh the fabulous sound bites I have from her!

Trip to Washington/Random Zekey Cuteness

2010-09-10T11:49:00.002-07:00

My parents have a couch that has been well loved. Part of the couch has a crevice that is perfect for holding in little babies while they nap. One morning we were getting breakfast ready and I looked over to see that Zeke was awake and just hanging out in his personal canyon on the couch.

OOOhhhhhh, lint!
That morning my dad made strawberry syrup and I guess Zeke is a HUGE fan! He must have sat in the highchair for almost an hour inhaling the stuff. Good job Grandpa!

Trip to Washington/6 year anniversary

2010-09-09T20:21:00.003-07:00

I always sit down and intend to start updating my blog but then things happen- the kids are hungry, I need to can some beets, you know the usual things that happen around here! So for the few people that tell me they read this daily, or at least look to see if I've posted anything new, you're in luck! I have 200ish photos/videos that I uploaded today and I'm going to spend the next few days putting them on here. It is going to take me a few days to get caught up but I figure that's better than just making one large post about the past month.
For several reasons we decided to head to Washington for the first week of August. We got married in Portland, Oregon on the 6th of August and wanted to go back to Oregon for anniversary was one reason. Another reason was my dad's side of the family was having a reunion and we thought it'd be nice to attend that. The final reason was Zeke was going to turn 1 and we wanted to share that with my parents. While in Washington I decided I was officially over it was our camera. The battery would only stay charged for 10 minutes and to buy another battery would cost almost as much as a new camera. So I let Jesse pick out a new camera for our anniversary. He has ALWAYS wanted a video camera and with the kids being older and cuter I gave in. The camera has a "photo" button but I haven't figured out how to make them look higher quality. If the lighting is low at all they look as crappy as a cell phone photo. It makes me super sad so I'm going to experiment more with it.

This is the first picture taken on the new camera. After taking it I got really upset that we bought the camera because I could tell that the picture looked grainy. Jesse claims that once I mess with some settings the pictures will get better but I'm not convinced.
BUT, this is a picture of Rosalee in the train station in Tacoma, WA. My parents bought our family train tickets down to Portland for the day and as you can see, Rosalee was very excited.

Like I stated above, I was really upset with the camera so I decided to take a movie to see if those turned out any better.

Here's sweet Zekey on the train with Jesse

Here is my brother Jesse on the train. Yes my brother came with... oh yeah, UBER romantic right!?

Zeke was very excited to show off the straw wrapper. I swear the kid played with it for 20 minutes.

Rosalee LOVED the train! She was so bright eyed and excited to see everything outside the window. If you have extra time PLEASE take your kids on a train to your next destination! They don't have to wear a seat belt, they can move around the train, and they can see what is going on outside. The 2-3 hours passed rather quickly to our surprise.

I just love this kid!

See?

Oh, and him I guess. :)

Play hard, crash hard

Proof that I do in fact exist
Once we got to Portland we took a shuttle to a rental car place. My parents also helped us get a rental car so we could drive around the city and out to where the temple is. (It is the Portland temple, but it's actually in Lake Oswego. Weird, but it is what it is.)

This was the first time Zeke got to sit forward in a car and he LOVED it! He kept laughing and smiling every time he realized he could still see me.

At the store we bought Rosalee a hat to wear because we knew it'd be sunny. I like that it is PINK so we can't lose her in a crowd.
It took us longer than we had hoped to get to the temple but there was a nasty accident on the freeway. Sadly the temple was closed so we couldn't do a lot while we were there. Jesse was afraid we'd get into trouble just for walking around the construction areas so he asked a guy if we could take some pictures. All I wanted was a picture of us near one or two of the places we took pictures on our wedding day, but I let Jesse do what he felt was right. It was kind of weird to have some random guy follow us around, but I'm happy that after 6 years I finally got to go back!

Notice barefoot Rosalee? Well being the wonderful parents that we are we each thought the other person was going to grab her shoes. It wasn't until we were on the train and 30 minutes south that we realized our kid was going redneck for the day. I did manage to pack some socks for her in the diaper bag though. Mother of the year!

This is one of my favorite pictures so I wanted to go to the fountain and get some more.

Like this one of Rosalee and me

And these attempts at a family shot... Zeke was too entertained by the fountain to look at the camera and Rosalee was too busy being shy or giving me a flower.

I think this one is the best personally.

Zeke and Jesse

I have a picture of us at this spot, on our wedding day, in a frame packed away in the garage. Hopefully I can print one of these out and put it next to it.

My brother lacks photography skills as you can see he chopped my head off... BUT the main focus was the shoes. Why? Because I wore those beasts 6 years ago on my wedding day. Oh yes, I wore platform flip-flops with a wedding gown. Classy, yes?
After leaving the temple we decided to go to the mall. Yep, we're THAT cool! We wanted to go for multiple reasons- we could get Rosalee some shoes, we could get some food, and the mall has an ice skating rink. My husband loves to play hockey so I thought it'd be fun for him to go ice skating.
We got to the mall and sent my brother and his friend off. Then we bought Rosalee some really cute sandals (I like that she was spoiled on MY anniversary.) and then headed to the food court. There was a Cajun place that Jesse thought I would love. Um... it was cooked by some Asian people and had chow mien and an optional side dish... At least the chicken was good!

She would line up her food and then eat it. It was hilarious to watch!

Enjoy the food court home movie!

Zeke didn't mind that the jambalaya was really fried rice with some Tabasco

Jesse hates this picture but I couldn't leave him out!

SMOOTHIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Proof that I do indeed eat
After lunch we went to the ice skating rink to check it out. Jesse kept saying all we were going to do was watch the people but when we got there his eyes light up like Christmas morning. So we were presented with a dilemma- How could we all go skating? I went to the shoe rental guy and asked him what the smallest size was. Kid 7. PERFECT! That is Rosalee's size and we knew that because we had JUST bought her some new shoes. Oh and those socks that I remembered to pack, but not the shoes? She could wear those with her skates! So Jesse got to take Rosalee ice skating for the first time and Zeke and I got to chill and watch it.

At times like this I am very happy we bought a video camera

After a few minutes she got the hang of the fact that she had to move/glide her feet along the ice.

Zeke was mesmerized by everyone! Especially these two teenage girls that were doing jumps and twirls.

A very happy dad and daughter moment!

Jesse skating sans the kiddo

More of Jesse skating

I debated taking this one as it would mean I have to admit we drove around in a mini-van. I know the commercials say it is the Lexus of mini-vans, and it was nice, but never again people!

After a fun day we took the train back to Washington to spend some time with my family. It wasn't quite the anniversary I was expecting, but since when does ANYTHING in my life go the way I think it will!?

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According to Rosalee

2010-08-11T20:10:00.002-07:00

Tonight Rosalee was being her usual monkey self and climbing from the couch to the chair. My mom was worried that she was going to fall and hurt herself but I just laughed about it. I told my mom that Rosalee's song should be "Defy Gravity" from the musical Wicked. I then proceeded to explain to my mom that the song is one that the wicked witch of the west sings and then we laughed about Rosalee being a witch. Rosalee glared at me and said, "I am not a witch!" She turned her head up into the air and said, very matter of factly,
"I am not a witch Mama, I AM A DRAMA QUEEN!"
How can I argue?

The past month

2010-08-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

SO much has happened in the last month! We survived working at scout camp, celebrated the 4th of July, Jesse's sister got engaged, Zeke got a few more teeth, I learned to swim, and a few other odds and randomnesses. Our camera battery is being stupid and only holds a charge for a few hours at a time. This makes taking pictures VERY difficult! I'd take some pictures at noon and then when I'd try to take a few more at 6 pm the camera would be dead. So a lot of my summer camp pictures are on other peoples' cameras. Which means when they upload them to a blog, Facebook, etc. I will steal them and post them on here.
We'll start with the right before camp pictures. We started out super excited about getting to spend 6 weeks in Island Park and sharing the experience with our kids. We knew it would be hard and exhausting but we were still excited.

Right before heading up to camp Rosalee had a fit and did a back flip off the couch. Her face smacked into the coffee table and the end result was a nasty black eye.

Rosalee loved coming home on the weekends to have her cousins be at her house. It was a giant slumber party from sun up to sun down.

Jesse's mom bought some yo-yo balloons for the kids to play with and they LOVED it!

Beth bought Lindy and Rosalee some swimsuits and they a blast playing in the bathtub together.

Dennis was VERY excited to get some new lights for his car.
For the 4th of July we went to Rexburg and watched the parade. Dennis's old car (see the above picture) got to be in the parade. For the first part of the parade the three oldest grandkids got to ride in the car. When they got to where we were sitting they jumped out and Rosalee insisted on getting in. At first I was told she giggled and smiled but then after a few minutes she just stared out the window with big eyes at all the people. When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's house we found out that Trouble was missing! After having I had a heart attack and a good cry, we found her at a house, playing with some children. Then we went on to enjoy the day with food and duct tape swords. Oh yes, I did just type that.

This is my first, but not my last, injury from the COPE course at scout camp. We were doing the "human cookie maker" and the boy had a knife attached to his pocket. As he was passed down the line the clip on his knife sliced up my hand.

Hayden, Jenny's boyfriend (now fiance) made duct tape swords for all of the kids. I thought the older kids would enjoy them for a bit, but everyone (even the adults) played with them for HOURS!

Each kid wanted to pose with their sword for me

Death to Uncle Jesse!

There goes Grandpa's nap...

This is the crazy sword Hayden made for Jenny. It's insane to think that it's made from duct tape, camping foam, and a PVC pipe.

Hayden in his full battle outfit

Jenny joining in on the fun

We're bad!! Grrrrr!!

Beth ready to go for a ride on Kelly's motorcycle

For fireworks we went to an elementary school in Idaho Falls and watched the big show that is shot off from next to the temple, on the waterfront. It was a very pretty show and it was nice to be able to share it with most of Jesse's family. The best part was this was the first year that Trouble was able to relax and be around fireworks. Thank goodness for medicine!

My niece Allie's birthday is on the 4th of July so the next day her mom made her this beautiful cheesecake to celebrate.
After the 4th we were back to scout camp. This time we actually had boys come. (The first two weeks consisted of training and girls.) It was busy, crazy, great, and definitely worth it!

We survived the first day of scouts, huzzah!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com
Our humble home for the summer

Jesse loved fishing at night at the lake

Rosalee loved playing in the dirt along the shore

Zeke and I enjoyed being outside... expect for the mosquitoes, those things are EVIL!

Phebe enjoyed being crazy and keeping me entertained.

How Zekey kept himself busy while Jesse and I were working
There were a few days that we were able to break away from the scouts and have a nice afternoon of fun. On this particular day we went down to the swimming area and had fun in the water. I continued to learn how to swim, Jesse had fun out on a sailboat, Rosalee enjoyed splashing around, and Zeke had a nice nap in someone's camper.

Every Monday and Friday we would hold camp wide fires and Rosalee LOVED singing along with all the crazy, silly songs. There is one song that she randomly sings all the time. One day she woke up and said part of the song as she popped out of bed.
One specific campfire (pictured above) involved a pioneer/mountain man, a native chief, and a group of pirates. Weird, yes. Enjoyed by scouts, YES.
One weekend we came home from church to see Hayden sitting on the chair. I was very confused at why he was at the house, especially without Jenny. Then I walked into the kitchen and saw chocolate milk and cinnamon rolls and understand EXACTLY why he was there! The best part is while he was there I received a text message from Jenny telling that she has gone to look at rings and she hopes to marry Hayden but she wasn't sure when he was going to propose. I almost died with laughter, but I kept quiet about it.

Jenny and Hayden were up in Island Park with his family for a few days and I convinced them to stop by and visit before returning to Utah. When they came I took them to the COPE course and had them try it out. Hayden beat himself up on the giant's ladder but he seemed to have fun. Jenny didn't get to do much because a nasty storm came in.

One of my new passions is shooting skeet with a shotgun. I went up to the firing range and was scared to death about it. I used a normal shotgun and about fell on my butt! I had a nasty bruise for 5+ days on my upper arm and it hurt like crazy. Then I convinced the camp director that more scouts could work on the shotgun merit badge if we had a youth size shotgun and he went for it.
I LOVE THAT GUN!
They named it "Little Rosie" after Rosalee because they say, "It looks tiny and cute but then out of nowhere it'll kick you like a mule!" I'm still not very good but at least now I have a gun to use that actually fits my freakish childlike arms.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

How we do things at camp! PS- My husband is great. I truly do love and appreciate his wonderful enthusiasm.

We have an interesting tradition at camp called Gravity Check. Someone yells it at campfire and then a group of staff jumps off the stage into the lake to make sure gravity still works. It's insane, but so is most of boyscout camp! I'm deathly afraid of water (Seriously, it's insane how much I hate the water!) and for whatever reason I thought it would be a good way to get over my fears if I jumped in the freezing cold lake. I was scared to death, despite having a PFD, but I went through with it. While running down I was convinced I was going to pee my pants and when I jumped I just about vomited. But I lived. I probably wouldn't do it again, but at least I can say I did do it. My friend Phebe (above) was kind enough to dress up silly and do it with me.

The guy in the bright vest is Mike. He's one of the lifeguards and I told him to stay RIGHT NEXT TO ME so I wouldn't die. He's such a good kid for putting up with my psychosis. The last picture needs some explanation- At this point I was feeling okay in the water but once I was able to put my feet down I felt the nasty slimy sticks near the shore and I about lost it. Hence my lovely face...

To show me how proud he was of me, Jesse made me a cute bouquet. What a man!

This is John Jeffs, but everyone calls him Spaz. If you saw the kid on Mt Dew, you'd understand why. One day we decided to have a bedhead competition and I won! I'm not sure whether to be proud or not... But I like that we're nappy hair twins.

Here is Phebe repelling on COPE. When I did it my eyes were closed and I was whimpering like a dying dog. The whole time I kept saying, "Closer to the ground, just get closer to the ground." Oh yeah, I hate heights AND water!
One day we went up to the COPE course for our lunch break and Jesse had A LOT of fun! I swear he was like a little monkey up there. The rope course is 30 feet above ground and you are your own belay. I was told 1,934,345 times that the harness could hold a car but I was still convinced that I was going to die.

I was VERY impressed at how quickly he moved around up there! At the end he jumped off the zip line and went upside down... that was until they yelled at him and told him to stop. Apparently those harnesses aren't made for that and he could have fallen to his death. Oops!

This is my crazy friend Shawn. He stole my socks (Okay he asked to borrow them and I foolishly agreed.) and then wore them with his daisy duke scout shorts while working up on COPE. He told me if he wore them that I had to come up on the course. I was hoping if I just laughed at him and took some goofy pictures I'd be off the hook... no such luck.

This is my friend Hailey. We look alike and act alike so people called us twins. I'm pretty sure that half of the staff STILL thinks she's my younger sister. She isn't a fan of heights but she decided to go up and try out the course. She went once before and screamed like crazy. This time she was hesitant, but she still did it. So I thought the same would happen for me... HA!
During Girls' Week I decided to try COPE. I was nervous as all get out, I asked permission to pee myself and to vomit, as well as screamed and yelled like a crazy person. I made it across the bridge- I was slow and scared, but I did it by myself. Then I wrapped myself around the pole and buried my face in Shawn's backpack until it was my turn to get down. When it came time to zip line I had to have Shawn push me off because I couldn't do it. I curled up in the fetal position and bit my lip, but at least I didn't pass out or puke on someone. So when I saw Hailey being brave, my husband the monkey, and Shawn in the crazy socks I thought I'd give it a second go. WRONG choice!

Here I am going up the ladder. Nothing too crazy here. I was thinking I was stupid for doing it, but I kept climbing. Then I got to the top and froze. I had to have Shawn help me up onto the platform at the top.

Here I am sitting on the platform feeling like I just might vomit. Shawn is there trying to convince that I'm not going to die, but I was pretty sure he was lying to me.

Now I'm thinking that I can do it. I did it before so OF COURSE I could do it a second time.

So I took two steps by myself and I froze. I could see the third step (Look at the first picture though. The third step is A LOT further than the second one! They trick you and try to make you crazy!!!) and for whatever reason I couldn't make my leg extend out to it. I'm pretty sure I even told Shawn that my legs were too short and that I had no sense of balance as excuses for why I couldn't move. But being the good guy that he is, he came across, held my hands, and helped me across. I felt super stupid (I did better the first time for Pete's sake!) but at least I didn't die. Plus every time I'd go to look down Shawn would tell me to look up. Then I'd see him in those ridiculous socks and I'd laugh and for one second forget that I was 30 in the air.

When it came time to zip line down I thought I could jump but I made Shawn push me again. Oh well, I didn't overcome my fears but at least I tried!

We kept a stash of treats in our cabin for the kids and one night I came in to see Rosalee in my bed with a fist full of Cheetos. I had just ran out to the bathroom but I guess that was long enough. (SIDE STORY- We only had 2 flushing toilets in the entire camp and I refused to use the latrines so I got a key to the real bathrooms. Thankfully they were just across the road from our cabin.)

This is the face of someone happy to be able to NOT wear scout pants EVERY day, NOT smell like mud, blood, and sweat, and NOT have to fill out another purchase order.

In case you didn't know, I bruise SUPER easy. These bruises came from climbing up the caving ladder on the COPE course. I was shaking so bad that the ladder kept banging up against my legs.
While at camp Zeke turned 11 months old! In one week from today he'll be 1 and I can't believe it! He just keeps growing like a weed!
*He know has 5 teeth*
*He LOVES milk and is almost completely weened from me to his sippy cup*
*He waves "hi", plays peek-a-boo, and gives high 5s on command*
*He says Mama and more and knows what they mean!*
*He crawls and wiggles ALL OVER. He still crawls upside down, but he's starting to normal crawl more and more.*
*He pulls himself to a stand if you hold his hands and will stand up if propped on something sturdy.*
*He eats and eats and eats!!! If this is a foreshadowing of the teen years we are in SERIOUS trouble!!!!!!!*
*He loves to feed himself and becomes annoyed if you try to feed him*
*He still takes 2 naps a day, but has a hard time going to bed at night*
*He loves to be held and will cuddle up to anyone willing to hold him. He got the nickname of Cuddles at camp because of this*

This was taken at 11pm on the 12th. It wasn't me being clever and taking a 11 month old picture at 11, I almost forgot to take one and had to hurry up and snap one. I know, Mother of the Year here I come!!
During the summer Dennis (my father in law) built a play fort in the tree in the yard. It was a lot of fun to come home on the weekends and see how much he'd done on it. Plus it gave us something fun to work on during our time off on the weekends. Here it is from start to finish. He started it back in June, but I wanted to wait until I had all the pictures to post together.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3- My nephews were able to help build it while they were here from Ohio. Oh and it became a pirate fort, hence the flag.

Decorated for the 4th of July

Rosalee would get SO excited every weekend to come home and see more work done on the pirate house. She has spent most of the time, since being home, but there playing around. I think sometime before the end of summer we'll have a sleep over in it.

Rosalee ringing the ship's bell

Not all pirates are mean

The toy canon
My father-in-law would like to make it eventually shoot water

The front of the house

Our crow's nest

The inside decorations

Peek-a-boo!

There goes the neighborhood...

How can someone so cute be so dangerous!?
Before we left we got Zeke a birthday present. I've wanted to get the kids a pool but being at scout camp all summer slowed that down. I saw the COOLEST kid pool EVER and just HAD to get it! So for Zeke's first birthday he got a 'gator pool. He wasn't too sure about it, but Rosalee LOVES it! We even brought it with us to Grandma Terry's house in Washington as requested by Rosalee.

This is by far the coolest looking kid pool I've ever seen!

Rosalee LOVES having a pool to play in!

BIG splashes!!

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My water baby!

Despite his face, I know I'm loved

I love, love, LOVE this picture!!!!
Something I love about summer is the smell of sunblock and watermelon on a tiny baby snuggled in my arms.

My tired little man

I was trying to get a video of Zeke being cute, but he wasn't in the mood I guess!

New game- bobbing for fishies

Nothing says "Summer fun" like a bbq in the yard! Rosalee was really excited about cooking hotdogs on the fire.

Craziness with cousins

2010-07-18T12:25:00.001-07:00

I feel like a horrible slacker because I have been trying to post these pictures for a few weeks now. We have to be at work at scout camp on Sunday by 6:30pm and then stay there until 10 or 11 am on Saturday. It takes around 2 hours to get home to Blackfoot so my time at home is limited. Between laundry, grocery shopping, and paying the bills, blogging has sadly been pushed to the back burner. The other "great" thing about living in two places is that last weekend I forgot to charge my camera battery before I left camp so I had to wait to get pictures until after the 4th of July parade. Then this weekend Jesse packed the car and didn't grab my purse which has the camera in it. Happy times! But I'll live and EVENTUALLY I'll have my pictures from camp and the 4th up on here.
The following pictures are from when I got home from Arizona up to when we started working at scout camp in the end of June.

After being contained on an airplane, Zeke was beyond excited to party and play.

Allie and Jesse decided to make some cupcakes for the "cousin party" while we waited for Beth and the kids to show up.

Zekey's new girlfriend... ooohh, ahhhh!

Gangsta baby!

Ta-da!!!

My nephews were impressed by Zeke's crazy upside down tricks so they decided to imitate him.

All of my nephews FINALLY in the same place!

This was going to be the all girl shot but Rosalee threw a royal fit when she was asked to wear a hat.

All of the grandkids

After pictures we played a few games with the kids

My Rosabug and me
Blackfoot Pride Days came again and this time Jesse was home to go to it. Jenny came home and brought her boyfriend (now FIANCE- story to come later) home to meet the family. Everyone fell in love with the guy so we're happy he's going to be a part of the family this September. While at Pride Days we watched the snowmobile races on the lake. Every year I laugh at how stupid the people are, but it does make for GREAT entertainment!

Zeke became quickly excited by the loud sounds of the snowmobiles. You know you live in a small town when you sit down at the lake and realize the person next to you is the lady that delivered your son! Doctor B was thrilled to see how happy and healthy Zeke is.

My wonderful husband

After the races we went on the giant inflatable slide. Rosalee was nervous so they let me go with her.

This is Hayden (I call him Poprocks) and he is 22, from Utah, and loves Jenny more than the air he breathes.

Another shot of my stud of a husband

Hayden, Jenny, and Jacob went on this psycho looking ride. Oddly Hayden was the one screaming like a little girl...

No day is perfect without looking at some fancy old cars. (Or at least according to Jesse) I had to laugh at the air conditioning on the red car because it reminds me of my hair drier.

We had a movie night with the kids and Rosalee gorged herself with pineapple and cherry tomatoes.

My nephews giving me their best warrior poses. The best thing is the following pictures are from a Sunday. That's right, we have duct tape sword fights on Sunday afternoons once church is done. Don't you wish you were a part of my family!?!?

Fear me!

I'm not sure how or why, but I found a little man on the tree fort.

The boys with their toys... who knew that duct tape could entertain men of all ages for hours!?

While the boys were playing in the yard with the swords Rosalee walked around and looked at all the flowers in the gardens.

These two are eerily alike!

I love Rosalee! Her face in this picture says it all.

Water play = Happy kids

Sydney

Hello Mr. Blue Eyes!

Fun times in the sprinkler. My nephew Tyler cracks me up with his poses.

Oh Zekey... So he crawls ALL OVER ALL THE TIME now and gets into pretty much everything he shouldn't. He still crawls upside down but he also will army crawl if he feels he needs to get somewhere quickly. One night I was in the living room and I heard a splashing sound followed by a giggling delighted baby. I went into the kitchen to see that Zeke had spilled the dog's water on the floor and was swimming around in it. To make it better his shirt says "messy" on it.

Apparently I'm a jack of all trades because I got to give my niece a few highlights before leaving for scout camp.

She was SO SO SO excited to have some blond in her hair!

What!?

2010-06-15T22:29:00.006-07:00

Yes, my baby boy is now 10 months old. We went to the doctor to make sure that his upside down crawling stunts aren't going to hurt him so I have some recent stats. He is now 30" long, weighs 19 pounds, has 2 teeth, and is a mover and a shaker!
The doctor said that he's making appropriate growth in crawling and that it is okay if he still goes upside down at times. We just need to make sure he goes on his belly at least a few times a day so his muscles will fully develop. Around 13 or 14 months if he isn't walking along furniture, or walking by himself, then he might need some physical therapy. But his neck and head are fine and his muscles are developed like someone twice his age!

Zeke can finger feed himself and prefers this to eating baby food in the jar. We almost have to starve the kid to get him to eat some. He would rather eat Cheerios and Vienna sausages all day thank you very much.

Zeke has a hard time falling asleep at night without being nursed first so Jesse gets to snuggle him. I'm totally jealous of this and wish he thought of me as more than food or a pacifier. While in Arizona he fought me for 20 minutes to go to sleep but fell asleep for Anna in less than 5. Good for people who want to snuggle him, sad for Mama!

Zeke's bright blue eyes make my heart melt. I also love his chubby cheeks and ankles. I think it's great that he will crawl to him and say "Ma ma ma ma ma" the entire time. He clings on to my shirt at times and refuses to be put down. It isn't often, but I enjoy it when it happens. I love watching Rosalee give him kisses, sharing toys, and pick out his shirts and bibs. I think it's funny that he tries to eat our shoes.

Sorry kid, I tried to get Dad to meet us in Arizona with a U-Haul!

Fun in sunny Arizona

2010-06-15T20:20:00.009-07:00

I not so secretly want to move to Arizona so any chance I get to return there I TAKE IT! One of my dearest friends Charlene, aka Chuck, got married and I was asked to part of the wedding line. (To think our friendship started in the BYU-Idaho cafeteria over Swiss cheese...) My old roommate, and fellow special education major, Anna also lives in the Phoenix area so I asked if I could stay with her for the weekend. Anna has a son who is Rosalee's age so her life is just as crazy as mine which is nice because then I don't have to worry about my kids being in the way. Much to Rosalee's protest only Zeke and I went to Arizona this time though. Jesse and Rosalee went to Utah and stayed with my sister-in-law while we were gone so Rosalee could play with her cousins. Thankfully the flight from Salt Lake to Phoenix is short so Zeke slept the entire time. I (like always) was nervous the entire flight but I had nice people next to me who talked to me and kept my mind off of being terrified. (I love to travel but DO NOT like to fly!)

When we landed in Phoenix it was 6 pm but it was 20 or so degrees warmer than Idaho. I was excited that we had to wait on the curb for my friend so I could enjoy the heat. As you can see, Zeke didn't mind the heat either!

Again I didn't take a picture with my friend Anna, but at least I kind of got a picture of her son Braden. It was 100+ every day (FABULOUS!) so Braden filled up a pool for him and Zeke to play in. Zeke liked splashing in the water but didn't enjoy getting splashed. I was nervous to have him outside so much because his tender skin has yet to see some real sun.

On Saturday the 5th Charlene and Jose were married in the Mesa Arizona temple. It was a beautiful ceremony and thankfully Zeke behaved for Chuck's sister while I was inside. But good tempers don't last long... he was tired, thirsty (It was 106 degrees), and over it. So I turned him around to spare the world the face of an angry kid.
After the wedding we had a luncheon at the church and then I put Zeke down for a nap. During that I got to talk with some of Charlene's family and friends. Right before we took the pictures I decided to reapply my deodorant because I didn't want to be the smelly one. I wasn't thinking about the heat because I had left my make-up bag in the car.... When I grabbed my deodorant I opened it and a gush of white liquid sprayed ALL OVER my black skirt! I had 10 minutes to clean my nasty self up before the pictures so I pretty much panicked. By some miracle my skirt came clean and all was well in my world. I also felt better when I found out that Chuck's step sister's phone battery broke because she had stuck it down the front of her shirt during the pictures at the temple. Apparently boob sweat will break your phone. Who knew?

You know you think we're sexy!

The ladies

The bridesmaids with the happy couple

Showing Jose some love

The reception was decorated very elegantly and the food was fabulous. They had meatballs the size of a golf ball that Zeke and I enjoyed devouring. Zeke also entertained a few people with his upside down crawling and spinning on the floor. A Michael Jackson song came on and Zeke went crazy rolling and crawling all over the place. Some older man asked me how I taught my baby to break dance and it made me laugh out loud. Zeke fell asleep and while he slept, I danced the night away! Jose's dad takes the cake on best dancer though. He is outgoing and crazy- it was amazing! Charlene is going to enjoy having him as a father-in-law.

Good ol' traditions

I had to get one more picture of Chuck and me before the night was over.

Normally I can't do my hair and have it turn out cute. But to my surprise I got it to look EXACTLY how I wanted it to for church on Sunday!

While in Arizona Zeke perfected the army crawl! Anna's sister in law is from Brazil and I'm not sure if it was her beautiful dark hair and skin or the Portuguese she spoke, but Zeke was in LOVE. He would crawl all around the room after her and to her if I put him down. Then back at Anna's house he found some balls that he decided were fun to chase around the house.

I decided to stay an extra day in Arizona so I could go out to dinner with my cousin Bridget. Okay so it was partially her and partially because I didn't want to return to 65-75 degree weather... but I fly stand-by so I can do what I want! I went to a Thai restaurant with Bridget and her fiance Josh in Gilbert. Zeke ate yellow curry chicken and rice and was a happy baby. Josh also did a great job of keeping him entertained so I could eat and talk with Bridget.

Double bonus of staying late was that I got to see my friend Cory (from choir in junior high) before I left. He saw on Facebook that I was in Mesa and told me that he lived there. So after dinner with Bridget I went out to dessert with him and his wife. I had red velvet cake for the first time and was told that they use beet juice to color it red. (If beets tasted that good in Russia I would have stayed!) Zeke liked stealing Cory's glasses, spilling ice water all over my lap, and eating cream cheese frosting. If you ever go to Gilbert you must stop by Liberty Market and eat some cake!

Sadly I returned to Utah on Tuesday and froze while they turned on the air conditioning. (It was only 75 outside!) I did miss Rosalee and Jesse but I am even more convinced that the Phoenix area is the place for me. I keep looking for jobs there and praying that I can end up there. If you like me, you'll do the same!

Memorial Day weekend

2010-06-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been busy for us. I love summer for that exact reason. That and I love, Love, LOVE the sunshine and heat. (More to come on that when I post about my visit to Arizona.) For Memorial Day weekend we had a bunch of Jesse's family come up to Idaho and stay with us. Rosalee was very excited to have her cousins come to play with her at her house. She liked it so much that when it was time for them to go, she got really upset and asked if she could see them again really really soon.
The weather was hit and miss so we spent a lot of time inside playing but the kids didn't seem to mind. We got our garden planted and the base of the swing set up so it is starting to feel like summer is coming around here.

Rosalee wanted me to give her "princess hair" for her cousins to see.

The kids got involved with John and Jesse helping out build a storage rack for my father in law's car.

Dirt- a child's best friend! The kids spent hours and hours playing on the dirt mound in the yard. It's almost sad that we're planning on getting rid of it. My favorite was when Rosalee was digging in the dirt with her fairy doll. Apparently she felt that the doll's pointed wings made a good shovel spade.

Two days apart but very different in size and attitude! Zeke is longer and heavier than Sydney but Sydney crawls and can pull herself to a stand on the couch. It's fun to watch them grow up and be so close in age.

Rock the 'hawk! (Oh yes, that was an intentional hair style.)

All the boys, big and small, helped get the garden ready while the girls planted the plants.

My father in law used his convertible to pull up the swing set. I had to hold back from laughing, but he did it without ruining his transmission.

Zeke is his mother's son and is NOT a fan of chocolate!!!!

Mothers' Day Week in WA

2010-05-21T08:15:00.019-07:00

I've been trying to get this posted for about a week now but between computer issues and the kids it has taken me longer than I had hoped. So now without further delay, our vacation pictures!

The first day the kids and I stopped in La Grande, Oregon for a night in a hotel. I could have gone the entire way to my parent's house, but I'm sure we would have arrive in tears and exhausted. Zeke slept until we stopped for lunch in Boise and then he slept until 20 minutes before we got to the hotel. It was HEAVEN! Rosalee was excited because the hotel was next to a McDonald's and she was convinced that she was going to have chicken nuggets for dinner. The McDonald's had a play area so I gave in and she got her chicken nuggets.

Exploring the hotel room

The next morning as soon as Rosalee woke up she asked, "Is it time for Grandma Terry's?" When I said "yes" she jumped out of bed and ran to the door. She demanded to get in the car and leave immediately! I tried to get her to eat some breakfast but she wasn't in the mood. So I took a banana and muffin from the breakfast area and let her eat them in the car.
We drove so fast (not speeding, just excited to see Grandma fast) that my mom wasn't able to meet us for lunch because we were almost to her house when she called us. When she asked what Rosalee wanted for lunch she screamed, "I want to be at Grandma Terry's house!" She was afraid that we were going to stop and eat so she refused to answer.
When we got to my parent's we were greeted by the barking dogs and screaming peacocks. Rosalee almost broke her arm trying to get out of the car seat to see the animals and Grandma.

Lucky Bird- sadly later in the week he died after the dog "played" with him

On Mothers' Day I was having such a wonderful time that I forgot to take any pictures! We spent the morning at church and I was given a plant and some strawberry shortcake. Zeke found it amusing to smear the cream on his face. Later that afternoon my aunt, uncle, cousin, her husband, and daughter all came out and we had a fabulous dinner. We ate brisket (YUM!) and some other things... all I can remember now is that tender, delicious brisket... The girls had fun playing outside on the swing set and with the cats. Zeke showed us how strong his fear of facial hair is by screaming and crying at the sight of my heavily bearded Scandinavian uncle.

On Monday morning we woke up and enjoyed being on vacation! The kids snuggled on the couch with Koshka and watched as much Dora and Diego as one mother can handle.

When I FINALLY got the kids dressed it was time for more cartoons. Don't you like the stare and attention she gives? Too bad I don't get the same treatment!

Tuesday was a lot like Monday. We just ran some errands, but mostly hung out at the farm. My kids didn't mind so neither did I! Rosalee found some of our old toys and played with them. Her favorites were some plastic pig toys she found in my brother's room. (Again notice the stare and refusal to stop staring at Diego.)

On Wednesday we went back to my brother's school (he's in culinary art school) and had lunch. To make it better we had lunch with my dad's cousins. The last time I saw these women I was 4, maybe 5 and my brother was breaking into all of the cars. Cathy (the one in the black top) is making a video scrapbook of my dad's family so I've been sending her pictures over the past few months. It was nice to finally meet her in person. Diane (the one in the yellow top) is my dad's double cousin (Grandpa's sister married Grandma's brother) so I think she looks a lot like my Aunt Billie. We all had a delicious lunch and enjoyed sharing family stories.

On Thursday I got together with my friend Tiffany. We've been friends since Kindergarten so I try to see her as often as possible. I went over to her house to pick her up and Rosalee found the room with the toys. There was a bag of make-up that Tiff's nieces play with (they are older than Rosalee) and Rosalee decided to put on some "Tinkerbell sparkles". That's what I get for leaving her alone in a room with girly things!

While I was taking her picture she wanted me to take a picture of the rock she stole from Tiff's front yard.

Our plan was to take the kids to the park and then walk down by the lake. But for whatever reason the park isn't open on Thursdays! So we went to a different park but they took out the toys for the kids. UGH! At this point the kids were asleep so we drove up to Tiff's old house and she showed me that it is now two houses and a giant garage. Gross. Why do things have to change? Our next option was to call up Tiff's friend Carmen and go over to her house. It was a gorgeous sunny day and Carmen lives on a lake so I was all for it!
We went for a walk down to the lake and I let the kids play. Rosalee kept looking for some fish in the water, but sadly she didn't find any. She did manage to get her feet and pants soaked though.

This is when she was "testing" the water. After she found out it wasn't that cold she kept dipping her feet in and splashing around.
Next we walked around the woods and found an old burned down home. Rosalee climbed into the fireplace and tried to take some of the rocks. I tried to take her picture but she said it was Tiffany's turn so we took one of her instead.

On the walk back Rosalee said her feet were sleepy so I got to carry her home.

Zeke clung on to Carmen.

I'm glad Tiff stole my camera and took some pictures of me because I feel like I'm never on this blog and I'm the one who keeps it going!

Everyone loves a good bum shot!
This isn't the best picture, but I have one like it from every time we get together. The oldest one I have is from April 27, 1991 at Tiff's birthday party.

While we talked Rosalee watched Sponge Bob and Zeke crab walked around the living room.

On Friday my mom's friends came over and they brought us these for the kids!

I gave the picnic table to my mom and said it is for when the kids come over to visit. But the double heart chair is ALL MINE! Sadly we don't have space for it (We're still in my in-law's basement with a garage stuffed to the max.) so I left it at my mom's house, in my old bedroom. One day it will either go in Rosalee's bedroom or in my family room.
We spent the rest of the time running around the farm, enjoying the great weather.

This is Piper

Rosalee loves her cat!

My parents have a pesky raccoon that is eating all the birds so they set out a trap to catch it. I was hoping that they would so I could show it to Rosalee, but sadly it didn't come back.
On Friday night Zeke was sleep so I took Rosalee out for a walk around the farm. She was really interested in the dandelions and kept picking them. It was cute to sit back and watch the curiosity of a two year old at work.

I do exist! (Try not to be scared of me without makeup please.)

This is Blackjack, my mom's newest cat. He is so cuddly that he wouldn't stop rubbing up against my leg long enough for me to take his picture! The funniest thing he did was jump up on Zeke while he was under a blanket nursing. Oddly I was the only one bothered by it.

Apparently the cat thinks we got the table for her...
One of my favorite things about going to my parent's house is the food. My dad and brother are fabulous cooks! My mom has a few recipes that she does that are great, but other than that... buy a frozen pizza! One thing that I love about my dad's cooking is he likes to cook. By this I mean, he does it all from scratch because he likes how it tastes. For example, instead of buying a bag of frozen strawberry goodness he put some strawberries in a pot and slow cooked them with a few sprinkles of sugar for our strawberry shortcake. These are the same people that a week before cooked a brisket for 7 hours just because they knew it would be that much better. (It's a good thing I don't live there anymore or I'd seriously be 300 pounds!)

What can make a baby smile like a crazy person? Having homemade strawberry shortcake for breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Every spring my parents get some pigs to raise to eat. This year they got five pigs- three girls and two boys. Two of the girls are a brownish red color and I think it's cute. (Well as cute as a pig can get.) Rosalee enjoyed keeping the pigs lean by chasing them around the yard.

Mmmm... bacon standing! (Lindsey- Take your pick!)
One of my other favorite things to do at my parent's house is to play on the old swingset. Now that Rosalee is older she can climb on it and have a lot of fun.

My little monkey child- always and forever climbing on things!

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Be amazed at my skill!!!
The last days are bittersweet, but the sign of a good vacation is not wanting to go home I guess.

Zekey with Grandma Terry

Rosalee playing outside on the swingset with my dad.

The men folk passed out after listening to some funky reggae like music, followed by some blues and jazz.

This is Rosalee's cat (Koshka) that lives on the farm. I love her green eyes.

Zeke is 9 months old!

2010-05-19T15:28:00.006-07:00

I spent the last week in WA with my parents, family, and friends. I was set on sitting down and uploading all of my cute picture with hilarious commentary but then my computer decided to spaz out on me! The program that I use to upload, and edit, all of my pictures is being weird and freezing. Until I figure it out I'll just make a quick post about Zeke turning 9 months old.

This is Zeke "crawling" at my mom's house

Yes, he is upside down using his feet to push up and his head to maintain balance

We went to Zeke's doctor appointment yesterday and everything is going great! We were concerned (not really, just curious) about his "crawling". Zeke still moves around upside down using his feet and his head. Occasionally he'll stop and pose like this (See the above pictures) and we wondered if it is going to hurt his neck at all. I asked the nurse and she looked confused so I put Zeke on the ground to show her what I meant. When he took off her jaw HIT THE GROUND! She said she had never seen it before but would ask the doctor about. In came the doctor who watched my son in amazement. Instead of saying, "Oh yeah, it's totally normal, I see it all the time," he went to go get the other doctors so they could see it too. 5 adults stared in awe at the world's youngest gymnast moving around the clinic floor. (I put a blanket down first because I can't imagine what kind of fun things would be lurking on a doctor office floor!) None of them had ever seen a baby do that before. The physician's assistant was shocked and claims that in 15-20 years he'll see Zeke competing for the gold in the Olympics as a gymnast. They all agreed that if it were hurting him, he'd just stop doing it. One doctor said that Zeke has a "real gift" and if we "foster it appropriately" could lead him to being a very successful gymnast, yoga teacher, wrestler, circus person... (Okay, I added the last one in.) The doctor asked me to bring Zeke back in one month so he can do a physical evaluation on him. Crawling helps to build coordination and cross lateralization of the brain. (Yeah me for having a degree in Early Childhood Education!) The doctor honestly isn't concerned, he just wants to make sure all the bases are covered.
So Zeke is healthy and just a little extra special!
He is also 18 1/2 pounds (20th percentile), has a head that is off the chart because it's that big- 19" (just like his sister!), and is 29 1/2" tall (85th percentile).
He refuses to eat baby food in the jar, unless he's really hungry. He'd much rather eat big people food or drink milk. He is still being breastfed and always informs me of when he's thirsty. This usually includes, but is not limited to, the smacking of his lips, pulling at the front of my shirt, leaning into a cradled/nursing position, and signing "milk" at me.
He has two teeth and loves to chew, chew, chew!
He loves toys, he usually goes for the dog's toys, but anything that squeaks, lights up, or beeps is a guaranteed favorite!

He is happy almost all of the time. When he's excited he makes all kinds of squeaks and squeals and has earned the name of Squeaky Zekey.

Be careful not to...

2010-05-05T17:54:00.002-07:00

leave the room for ANY reason and leave a bowl of baby food peaches near the baby unattended.

leave your closet open and your shoes at arms reach of a toddler.

leave a stepping stool near the art supply drawer, ESPECIALLY if your child SAW you put the chalk away earlier in the day.

Princess hair

2010-05-03T22:21:00.003-07:00

I've admitted several times in this blog about my serious lack of girly skills. Slowly (oh so slow!) I'm getting better at doing hair, picking out cute outfits, and painting fingernails. Rosalee isn't the biggest fan of getting her hair done (something I've also blogged about before) but every now and then she'll be in the right mood. On Sunday I asked her if I could do a "fancy hair-do" for church and she said, "Yes, you give me princess hair please Mommy."

Um... okay... will do?
So with a lap full of small rubber bands, a comb, and some detangler spray I went to work. I think the end result turned out pretty great!

She was REALLY excited to look like a princess!
Rosalee then insisted that she get her picture taken with me. It was hard to squish a wiggling two year old and me into the picture with my short arms, but we made it work!

When I asked someone else to take the picture Rosalee decided she wasn't going to smile anymore. She was over it. She already smiled once and that was that.

So I convinced her to send some love to everyone.

She calls this her "rascal face kisses"

Cute videos

2010-05-03T21:30:00.003-07:00

I have two cute videos of the kids that I want to share. The first one is of Rosalee and Zeke during lunch time. Rosalee is a wonderful big sister to Zeke! Sometimes she can be overly helpful, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. The second video is of Zeke playing with Trouble. He loves that dog! He especially loves her toys (even though he has 1,000,000,000,000,000 of his own!!) and thinks it's funny to play keep away with them.

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Oh to be 2!

2010-05-03T20:41:00.004-07:00

If you are two you have the magic ability to play hide-and-seek while napping.

If you are two you are given play clothes to wear and then are allowed, if not encouraged, to get messy.

"I'm Queen of Dirt Mountain"

When you are 2 sliding down a dirt mountain is the BEST THING EVER!!!
Being 2, you are naturally extremely curious about everything. This can, and usually does, lead to trouble and/or pain. For example, one might think that it is a good idea to take this car-

and ride it down these stairs, crashing in a blaze of glory upside down into the door-

But because you're two and innocent God shows mercy on you and miraculously allows you to walk away with one small bruise, no concussion, and no broken bones. (Although your mother will have a heart attack!)

She landed with quite a THUD on her head. We were convinced she'd have a concussion, or at least a good goose egg. But nope, nothing!

Timmmmmmmmberrrrr!!

2010-04-28T19:22:00.004-07:00

The power company said our trees are a real threat to the power lines so they needed to go. That was a few months ago... BUT they finally came out yesterday and started the job. Due to how many trees we have, how many power lines we have in the yard, etc. the job ended up taking two days. At first I thought the yard would look weird, but I actually like how it looks now. Being able to see the soccer fields behind the house makes the yard look bigger and the sun shines in our house longer now which is great.

Here's the left side of the yard before the workers began. Notice the BRIGHT green shirt? They were trying to figure out how to get the far tree down without taking out 7 different hot power lines.

The right side of the yard before they started

Bye tree tops!

Rosalee wanted to get a picture of the man "up high in the bucket being silly" so I helped her with the camera.

The nice men left me some palm trees, how nice!

The tree on the left is SO tangled in the power lines that all they could do (on the first day) was top the tree and make it even with the cedar.
Day Two
This is the picture that Rosalee INSISTED I take of the "monkey men up in the trees". I honestly find it a little insane that these guys were up in the trees with spiked boots and a chainsaw hanging off their hip.

Our yard now!

All that is left is a LARGE pile of firewood, some level to the ground stumps, and the one lone cedar tree. We like the cedar, it blocks the ugly power line pole.
Now I can FINALLY start the garden!

Yummy, yum, YUM!

2010-04-28T09:31:00.006-07:00

I LOVE MESSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I decided it was time to introduce Zeke to sensory time the other day. I wasn't sure how he'd react but he was IN LOVE with the yogurt. Most of it ended up in his hair or on his shirt but I wasn't really doing it as a meal, so I didn't mind. Plus it gave me an excuse to mop up the floor.

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I'm not sure what happened to the second movie. It looks normal on my camera and on the computer so I think it got messed up while uploading. SORRY!
I also have another Rosaleeism to share~
She was in bed getting ready for her nap and I heard her crying. I went into her room and she told me that she had bumped her head on the headboard. So to make it better I started kissing her like mad while saying, "I'll make it better." After giving her 1,000 or so kisses she turned to me and said, "Now I make you better." I leaned back waiting for my 1,000 kisses when Rosalee said, "Here's your shot!" Then she pinched my arm and giggled!
This next one JUST happened while I was typing this post. We have some guys from the power company removing our trees (I'll post that later). Two men were up in the trees limbing them to make it easier for the tree to come down without taking out the fence, a person, etc. When Rosalee saw the men she excitedly screamed, "MOM! We have monkeys out here!!!!"

Rosaleeisms

2010-04-23T13:49:00.003-07:00

Rosalee cracks us up with the things she says at times! I've written down some of the wild and silly things she says on random pieces of paper. I've decided that I better post them on the blog or I'll end up losing the papers.

During our road trip we arrived at the Out of Africa park early and were waiting for the gates to open. I was changing Zeke's diaper when Rosalee said, "I'm stinky." Jesse wanting to know if she had messed her pants asked her, "Why are you stinky?"
Her response, "Because I'm fabulous."

While using the toilet Rosalee looked down and said, "WHOA! That's a lot of pee kid!"

"Mama, will you dance crazy with me?" I start dancing around and she says, "NO! Not like that!" When I asked her how I was suppose to dance she informed me, "Shake your booty, Jenny taught me how!" (Thanks Aunt Jenny!)

"I can't go to sleep, it's too crazy!" We then told her to just try and sleep, the usual things parents say to their kids- just stay still, close your eyes, count sheep, etc. She told me, "Mama you sleep first and then I can see how to do it."

Arizona is a no go

2010-04-21T13:39:00.002-07:00

I'll keep this short and sweet.
Jesse was offered a job in Arizona working at the Out of Africa Park. He was offered $10/hour plus tips from driving the safari bus. It's not a lot, but we were willing to make it work. Jesse was willing to go to Alaska and fish this summer so we could use that money to live off of when the other money wasn't enough. We want him to get the experience in his field so we were just going to do it.

Jesse got an email from the owner saying that he wouldn't be able to pay Jesse more than $10 and he didn't think that would support our family. He didn't want us to struggle and blow through our savings. Plus he was afraid that we'd have to leave in a year so Jesse could find something with better pay. With that, he took back the job offer. He said Jesse would have made an excellent worker, but he needs to go somewhere with better pay.

We were upset. I want to live in a warm climate and Jesse wants to work in something related to his field. We both thought the idea of working with rhinos and giraffes daily would have been fun for Jesse. But now we're back at square one. No job offers, not even a prospect. This was his first interview in 14 months of applying for a job.

We're focusing our frustrations on our garden. We're hoping that the Lord has something wonderful just around the corner for us so we'll look back on this denial as a blessing.

My green thumb

2010-04-21T13:08:00.004-07:00

My name is Marie and I garden barefoot while wearing hot pink.
I love, love, LOVE gardening! There is something magically rewarding about digging in the dirt and then having thousands of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables to eat in only a few months. Last year I really wanted to start a garden but being 6 months pregnant, having an 18 month old, and a husband in Alaska, things just didn't get going. This year I was planning on just doing the small garden area that the previous owner had, but my father-in-law decided we should go big. So we are!
First, my father-in-law tilled the ground along the whole side of the yard. Then I thought I could start planting some spring plants (In Idaho we plant things to eat in early summer that people in the south plant as a winter garden. *Sigh.*) Then my father-in-law decided we needed more dirt. Dirt can't hurt, right? Well we got 12 yards worth!

To be fair, the power company said they need to take out 4 of our 5 trees because they are tangled in the power lines. So we are going to be using most of this dirt to cover up the tiny stumps left behind. (One, maybe two, of the stumps will be turned into a tree fort. More on that later.) So my dear husband and I went to shoveling yesterday. Our backs are sore and it's fabulous! Rosalee also got to "help" in the dirt and she's pretty much the happiest kid EVER! We've also told her that she gets to have a garden this year. Again, super excited. This is why-
1. She won't dig in the large garden because she'll have her own space to dig.
2. She won't pick and eat all of the tomatoes when they are still green. She will have her own tomato plants to do whatever she wants with.

3. We're starting a new tradition. Since the garden is technically my in-law's we'll turn Rosalee's space into the grandkid garden. Every year between Mothers' Day and Memorial Day (Yes, we have to wait THAT long to plant most things outdoors!) whatever kids can come to visit will get to pick out some plants and plant them in the grandkid garden. Then when they come to visit during the summer they can dig, pick, replant, etc. as much as they want.

Rosalee has informed us that she'll be planting strawberries, pretty flowers, and baby (cherry) tomatoes. She will have from the play house over about 4-5 feet for her garden. I'm pretty sure we'll decoratively fence off the rest of the garden to make her area extra inviting.

I haven't been able to start planting my seeds, but that doesn't mean I haven't started my garden! On Monday Jesse and I put in 15 raspberry plants. Sadly they just look like sticks in the mud now, but by June/July I should have some delicious berries to gorge myself on!

Rosalee helps by digging in the dirt and carrying sticks and rocks out of the garden area. Zeke helps us by just hanging out. We love having a calm, happy, non-clingy kid!
The trees will be removed tomorrow (Ironically on Earth Day...) and then we should be re-tilling the land this weekend, weather permitting. Then I'll be planting peas, carrots, potatoes, sweet onions, and radishes. We'll also let Rosalee plant her strawberries and maybe her flowers if she picks ones that are early planters. If we're still here in the end of May, we'll plant tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash.

Tired?

2010-04-21T12:46:00.001-07:00

Miss Personality

2010-04-21T08:18:00.004-07:00

Rosalee is becoming such a character! I just love seeing her personality grow each day, even if a large part of that comes with some attitude.
She still loves to read, read, read! At night we'll read a book to her and then give her one to read to her babies after we leave. I've sat outside the door and listened to her a few times and the things she does/says cracks me up! One night she asked her baby if he could see the pictures in the story. Another time she told the Tinkerbell doll, "You stay still or I'll not read anymore!"

If Rosalee sees me putting on make-up she'll ask for some. Normally I just give her a blush brush to play with, but yesterday she was CONVINCED that she needed eye shadow. I put some shimmer powder on her eyelids and then blush on her cheeks. She was SO excited! She told Jesse that he NEEDED to take her picture.

Rosalee has also developed a love of taking her own picture.

She's not a fan of getting her hair brushed so I have to distract her with shiny clips. Now she likes it if I put the clips in her hair. She picks out how many, which colors, and where I put them.

"Mommy take a picture of me and my chicken nugget."

"Um... okay."
Grabs chicken nugget and says, "Cheese!"

She likes spending time with me which I love! We paint, garden, read together, and have a lot of fun!

Zeke is 8 months old

2010-04-12T19:43:00.004-07:00

Mr. Blue Eyes is now 8 months old!

*He doesn't crawl but he is VERY mobile! He rolls, does that crab walk thing, and rotates around the room. If he sees something he wants, he'll go for it!*
*He's NOT a fan of baby food! He reaches for our food, cup, plate, fork, etc. but he doesn't like eating his own goo. I've let him eat some banana and toast and he couldn't get enough of it. He likes a sippy cup full of water but he still prefers eating at mom's. ;) *
*While in Colorado he got a tooth! We thought his slight fever was because of the tooth... but it turns out it was the starting of his pneumonia.*

*His pants are starting to fit him better but he still has a skinny waist and a lack of butt.*
*If he sees his sister he rolls over to her and starts grabbing her and babbling at her. He really seems to like her which is great because she loves him back!*
*He can sign "more", "eat", and "milk".*
*He makes silly click sounds with his tongue.*
*He also squeaks and growls when playing. The funniest is when he grunts while nursing.*
*He loves to snuggle if he's sick or tired but if he's awake and healthy he'd rather be rolling around the floor.*
*He chuckles and smirks if you make funny faces or noises at him.*
*He can sit up by himself without falling over.*
*He thinks Trouble's toy are the best! He'll drop all of his toys for a dog toy if he sees one. When the dog was chewing on a bone the other night Zeke started whining and reaching for it!*
*He prefers 20 minute power naps to a real quality nap.*

Last week we took Zeke to the emergency room because he was making a terrible wheezing sound. After examining him, and giving him a chest x-ray, the doctor said he had pneumonia. He was given an antibiotic and a nebulizer to use at home. It broke my heart to hear him wheezing and seeing him have such a hard time breathing. He responded well to the breathing treatment in the ER, but they told me to take him to his doctor that afternoon. When I took him in the doctor asked how he was doing after being treated once at the ER and another time at home with the nebulizer. When I said he seemed a lot better the doctor acted shocked. He said based on how he sounded he was going to recommend hospitalizing him! I asked if we could keep him at home and he said as long as he continued to improve. If he got worse, or plateaued, then he had to go to the hospital. We were told to give him 4-5 breathing treatments a day, an antibiotic once a day until it was gone, have him sleep at an incline, use Motrin and Tylenol for his fever, put saline in his nose and bulb syringe the goo out with every diaper change (or at least 8 times a day), and keep him near a humidifier as much as possible. We had him spend the first two nights sleeping in the swing with the humidifier right next to him. When he was awake I'd put the humidifier next to the blanket he played on or next to his bouncy chair. The best was when he'd start playing with the mist while sitting in his chair. He got such a kick out of it that Rosalee started playing in the mist too.

There's always a way to make the baby follow the doctor's orders!
Zeke is now almost back to normal. He still makes stuffed up sounds every so often and coughs like an old man smoker, especially at night. Hopefully it'll be out of his system soon so I won't worry about him as much!