*

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a little fun we've had the past couple weeks!

We got to meet and pet a couple of Santa's reindeer.

Vegas sledding....

Watching the big brothers go down the snow hill.

Obviously all this snow was trucked in. So fun!

Isaac turned five, and here are some pics of the fun day:

Isaac wanted and pinata and I didn't get one so his nice big brother made one for him :)

He was giving himself bunny ears here.... guess that's what 5-year-olds do!

He helped me make this donut cake out of some Dee's Donuts.

Bennett was the narrator in a Thanksgiving performance for his 1st grade class. He had a little mustache painted on by his teacher, and he did a great job! He was so cute.

Adam surprised us and showed up. I thought he was at work 25 minutes away! It was fun to see him since this was Thanksgiving week and he was only home to sleep (and not much of that!).

She was not very entertained by the Thanksgiving performance :).... that is a distant, glazed look of the 4th child in a stroller at her big brothers school... AGAIN.

I have to hold back to not take pictures every Sunday before church. That always look so cute!

Adam turned 38!

2011-11-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2011-11-01T23:34:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter

Jackson's Costume- a vending machine

Little Red Riding Hood with long, skinny legs.... she got lost in her red riding hood for a minute

Jackson in his costume.... this picture was turned in editing and still came out the wrong way. Hmmmm.... so annoying:)

White ninja posing big time here

She found her way out of her hood!

Cute AND really tough

Casting a spell on me.

UTAH!

2011-10-04T23:58:00.000-07:00

Don't ever visit Utah in the fall! It is SO beautiful there that you'll get all mixed up and think you want to move there. It is really tricky. We need to go back there in a few months when it's all frozen over :)! We went up because Adam's brother was baptizing his oldest and blessing his youngest child on Saturday. We realized we needed more time than 2 days there next time we go! There was so much we wanted to do and so many people we wanted to see and there was no time. So, pretty much, we need to plan another trip up there soon! We stayed with Ashley and Ben in their new house and we had a lot of fun but took NO pictures of them or the baptism

or blessing. Oops! We did get to go fishing and to temple square because I kids had never seen the temple where we were married or the conference center or tabernacle. They loved it!

School Days

2011-09-01T18:18:00.001-07:00

Alli spends part of her day each day playing in her hall. It is kind of like a dog run. She has a hallway that leads to her bedroom, and it overlooks the stairs so there is a fun railing to throw stuff through. We put a gate at the end of the long hall, and it is perfect! She can go up and down the hall getting exercise and when she has thrown all her toys down the stairs she can go into her room and get more.... what a fun activity.

Heading into her room.

Isaac does a great job keeping her happy by playing in there with her.

My 3 school kids.

I've gotten a LOT more quality time with these two this week and I love it!

I am loving these school days! Everyone is worn out and happy and I can focus more easily on my kids individually as well as other responsibilities. I do miss summer laziness and relaxing a little, but it's nice to switch it up.

Now, if the weather would cool off, it would really feel like fall!

Isaac's first day of PRESCHOOL

2011-09-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

Isaac with Miss Marcie

This day is big-time! It has been long-awaited and talked about for months. Isaac is always 0verly ready for all milestones because he watches his big brothers and plans for his big moment. It is SO cute. He picked out his shirt and backpack and spent a lot of time wondering which things to put in his backpack.... lots of discussion! His teacher is so nice and his class has cute kids, so I think this will be a good year for him!

2011-08-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

2011-08-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

They didn't seem nervous at all! And they could not be cuter. Both got the teacher they had wanted so everyone was happy!

Happy Birthday Sweet Alli

2011-08-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

Well, Alli turned one as you can see... she got a beautiful little birthday outfit and shoes from my mom and dad... thanks! She was a little difficult to work with in getting a good picture. There are about 50 shots of her crawling away or hitting me! But here are my favorites :). Escpecially the one where I told my dad to turn Alli's face towards me and she strained... she is hilarious!

2011-08-24T14:11:00.001-07:00

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2011-08-24T14:09:00.003-07:00

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2011-08-24T14:09:00.001-07:00

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cousins!

2011-08-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

July = vacation month

2011-08-16T20:01:00.001-07:00

July was when all of our summer vacations took place... and it was great! We played for 3 weeks straight and even had time at the end to recover at home and pull it back together before Adam had to go back to work! Perfect! There are a million pics below, but I can't get the text where I want it so I'll just say what it all was:

We've had a couple of fun visits from Grandma and Grandpa Greene who just returned from a mission to Taiwan! We hung out and went rollerskating one day. The kids were so happy to see them after about a year and a half. They brought the kids some fun gifts.

We had a fun 4th of July at our house! We played a lot of football in the front yard until it got dark and then did fireworks with some friends. Alli slept through almost the whole thing!

We've gotten to see Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins a lot on their way to and from Utah and also a fun trip to visit in California. They are always so fun to be with! One of the times they were here we went on the new bridge on the Hoover Dam. It was REALLY high and hotter than... you can even imagine. Kind of fun and kind of creepy to be up so high! Then we went below and walked on the dam a little.

Jackson had his first appointment in over a year with the diabetes study at Children's Hospital of L.A. and it was so fun to see his awesome nurse, Meredith, who we all love.

We went with my parents to the Science Museum in L.A. I don't know what the real name of it is but it was really fun for my kids! Isaac is still talking about the earthquake simulator and Jackson and Bennett loved the giant cockroach and the chair filled with cigarette butts. We loved spending time at the beach and hanging out with my mom and dad!

We came home from California and had our good friends from Texas visit us for a few days, then we left and went with them to Lake Las Vegas. For the locals, it is a great deal! I love it there and want to go back. There was a little fake beach at the hotel that the kids loved with a waterfall right behind it and the kids played happily for hours. I think what I'm trying to say is that we need to live at the beach :)!

Last fun stop was St. George for the Greene Family Reunion. It was a full week of fun and relaxing! Lots of swimming and playing with cousins. Of course I didn't take enough pictures but we did race cars, hiked, and went bowling... and swam a ton. Not to mention the moustache contest, capture the flag (with only a few minor injuries), and golf for the boys. It's so nice to have great in-laws! My kids especially enjoyed the grass... kind of sad that nice grass is a big deal if you have desert landscaped yard. There is one picture of Jackson and Bennett playing a game where Adam would throw something and they would have to go find it in the grass... like an easter egg hunt. Oh and there were monetary prizes. So it was serious! So funny.

Well, I could go on forever and post even more pictures (if you can believe it), but I won't!

4th

of July

Alli

2011-08-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Alli will be one this Saturday and she is SUCH a fun girl! She can pull herself to standing position but is not even thinking of walking yet. She hits a lot and shakes her head yes and no everytime you ask her a question. She sleeps pretty well and eats pretty well as long as it is on her terms. She babbles and tries to talk. Mostly she just crawls around exploring and tearing things up, literally! We are so in love with her of course!

Bennett turns 7

2011-08-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

Bennett turned 7 on June 29th so naturally I'm posting it on August 16th.... we had a very busy July! Bennett took a couple of friends to see Cars 2 for his birthday and we had some cake afterwards. Such an easy "party"! And he had so much fun! He is a wonderful boy and we love having him in our family.

Isaac's Preschool Graduation

2011-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

How often do you get to graduate in a swimsuit?

Here he is with his class (missing McKenna). They were such cute little friends!

The 2 boys... Cooper and Isaac.

We did a "joyschool" type of preschool with some other moms this year and it went really well! All the moms and kids were awesome and Isaac REALLY looked forward to going each time.

Now on to another year of preschool and then kindergarten. He is growing up WAY too fast!

Happy Birthday Jackson...... a couple weeks ago....

2011-06-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little (really big) boy turned 10 on May 29th. He didn't want a birthday party, which was a first, so I was really worried about making his birthday a big enough event... so it lasted DAYS! Like, 5 days! Here he is on his actual birthday:

And I guess Bennett wanted to carry on the tradition of getting attention on his brother's birthday. I always have atleast one picture of Bennett doing something funny in the background on Jackson's birthday and I guess this is the one this year.

We went out to lunch with the Jones and the Bucks the day before his birthday and we sang happy birthday (again) to Jackson. Alli was really busy during lunch. Never stopped moving and made a gigantic mess.

Ben, Ashley, and Lincoln were staying with us that weekend and that made everything more fun!

These two never stopped talking and laughing through the whole lunch.

These two are so much alike... and SO sweet and cute.

This was one of about 10 shots taken in about 3 minutes... and every single picture is a different pose and different expressions.

Isaac LOVES his daddy.

Jackson wanted to make his own cake this year.... and decorate it with legos. He had a lot of fun making it and it gave him something to on his actual birthday which was on a Sunday.

Jackson and Maddie. Madison is so cute with all the babies.

This is not in order, but here was the first of the celebrations.... the Bucks were on their way to UT for a funeral and we had a birthday breakfast.

Happy Birthday Sweet Jackson!

Best Baseball Season Ever!

2011-05-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

The coaches loved Isaac because he was the youngest one on the team (by about a year), but SO into the game and SO serious about his skills. What a cutie!

Nice play Ben!

Bennett has a crazy good arm.

Isaac was so cute, he would slide into base almost every time.

Similar "baseball ready" positions!

Isaac batting...
he would hit it from the coach's pitch a lot and he would laugh and get so excited every time. It's almost like he didn't really expect to hit it! He was SO fun to watch.

Bennett walking up to bat & stretching with the bat?

Isaac on 3rd base.

Ben got some great hits in. This league has the coaches pitch and if you can't get it in the first 3 (or 4 or 5) pitches, then you use a tee. Bennett got to where he never used the tee and Isaac didn't need it most of the time either. They really improved!

Ben tagging the runner (and knocking him down)

I don't know if it was the fact that we had 2 boys on the same team, that the park they play at is 4 minutes from our house, the weather hasn't been too hot, the great coaches, or just that the planets had aligned.... but we had a really fun season of baseball!

Good Times

2011-05-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, technically this was not a good time for Alli. I just wanted to get a picture of her when she gets mad and has two pony tails. She immediately reaches up and pulls them. It is SO cute.

A much happier moment (2 seconds before the angry picture).

The early morning club... me, Jackson, and Alli.

Here is Isaac with his mother's day gift for me. (Thanks Eliza!) He was SO excited about this gift. He brought it home from preschool and then every morning when he woke up he would ask me if it was Sunday yet. The day finally came and he was getting in the shower when he asked me. I said it was Sunday and he FREAKED. He ran to his room and brought in a wrapped gift with a cute card. He was adorable watching me open it and pointing out all the details to me. I just love his personality so much!

Jackson and I playing a little legos at bedtime. His favorite thing to do with his parents.

Bennett lost his first tooth!! It was a big deal around here, and he pulled it himself. The tooth fairy came and left him some cash. He looks so much older with a missing tooth, and SO cute!

All the boys play soccer every Friday and this one is the only one who talks about it the other 6 days of the week :)! Unless, of course, it's a baseball day. Then it gets put on hold while we talk about baseball.

We had a ward campout last weekend and the boys had a lot of fun!

Getting crazy in the tent late at night with the war cards and some licorice.

Happy Alli at campfire

Really loving life

At campfire- I think Jackson was annoyed with me (for some good reason I'm sure)

True Red Socks fan camping

And here is one more shot of the missing tooth.... and Isaac is just soaking it all in. He loves having older brothers!

This is what I wake up to:

2011-05-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

And this is a little "lego scene" that Jackson made:

He wanted me to take a picture of it and I thought it was hilarious! He loves the lego a day blog and keeps wanting to make his own.

Easter Overload

2011-04-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

I love Easter! Here are the kids after church today. The before church pics were sparse since church starts at 8:00am!

I think the older two boys are really understanding the reason for Easter (after years of FHE lessons, primary, and talking about it). But isn't that how it is learning anything? Repetition :)! Especially Jackson has asked questions about the death of Jesus Christ and the ressurrection a lot this year. I love watching them grow up.

Someone loves her big brothers as much as they love her!

Cute little buddies

We went to the Springs Preserve during spring break. I love going there. It's clean and nice and you can't tell you are in the middle of Las Vegas.

Isaac felt really grown up with his map while at the Springs Preserve. He kept stopping to consult it and study it. I had to get a picture of his serious studying.

In the rabbit burrow!

Beautiful father and daughter

We also went rollerskating TWICE over spring break! The first time we went with friends and I had all 4 kids and no spouse. I realized quickly that we HAD to have both parents there to help little kids skate and take care of Alli.... they wouldn't let you skate with a baby in your arms. Alli did great both days and enjoyed the lights and music.

I have actually never been rollerskating with Adam in the 12+ years I have known him.... I was totally surprised at how good he is! He was a little offended at how shocked I was about it:)!

Isaac is learning pretty well and did great at keeping his feet in the right position. He never cried or got discouraged when he fell.... he just kept laughing and laughing.

Bennett improved a ton from the time we got there to the time we left. He wanted us to pull him around the rink and not skate himself... funny boy. He might need to try water skiing!

Also we have done a LOT of easter egg hunts. We did have a few days at the beginning of the break where we were just home while our car was being fixed... and easter egg hunts seemed to be the only thing that everyone always wanted to do.

Humiliating Tuffy:)

Easter eggs are Alli's new favorite toy. When I clean up and put away all the Easter stuff, I will definitely save a few eggs out for her. She LOVES them!

HAPPY EASTER!

Day One of Spring Break

2011-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

We have no big plans this year for spring break. In fact, we have one car while our other is being fixed, and Adam has the one car at work with him! So we are super exciting! Yesterday we did a combination of cleaning the house and easter egg hunts. I must say that when there is no school, no scouts, no tennis, no baseball, and no chance to go to the store, we really get the house clean! Cleaning without interruptions is like a dream come true.

We had a good FHE to get ready to celebrate Easter. Once the kids were in bed I took the car and went to Walgreen's to do some couponing. I am trying to get good at the whole couponing thing so I can go on the show Extreme Couponing. Just kidding...... I just learned how to do it about 3 weeks ago and it is kind of fun and sometimes time-consuming. I'm giving it a few months before I decide if it's worth it.

Alli LOVED the Easter eggs. She has never been as content as she was yesterday in her whole life! She played by herself for over an hour. Just sat there picking up egg after egg, trying to shove it in her mouth. She never got frustrated by the fact that they wouldn't fit.... she'd just try the next one. There were like 200 so it kept her busy.

Here are some shots of the boys doing their laundry. Jackson does his own. Bennett does his mostly on his own. Isaac brings his down, puts it in the washer and switches it to the dryer. Now I'm teaching him to fold, and he puts his all away. Can you tell what job I hate the most? I'm pawning it off as quickly as I can!

Boulder City Train

2011-04-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

We went and rode the train a couple weeks ago after baseball.

The boys loved it.

We had multiple failed attempts at a family picture because of the wind. Atleast Adam's good looking.

The kids in the mail car. Isaac and Bennett are in their baseball pants.

Another great shot of us: Adam talking, me squinting with wild windy hair, Isaac trying to block the sun and wind out of his eyes.....

It's as if Alli has never seen her dad before. She kept looking at him!

On the train.

Fun day!

The boys are cute too....

2011-03-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that since I've had Alli, there are about 8 pictures of Alli for every 1 picture of one of her big brothers. I have to get better at that. For now, here she is from the month of March! And, there are a couple with her brothers too.

First time eating rice cereal.... yes I am weird and don't give my kids any solids until at least 7 months. She LOVED it.

They think it is so funny to watch her eat. She gets crazy and wild.

Here are her favorite leg warmers. :)

St. Patrick's Day... Alli is trying to jump off the couch here.

This is a classic picture of her playing in her saucer. Non-stop motion.

I love the look on her face. This is a look I get a lot.

Happy in her sunshine shirt.

Like I've said before... intense.

Playing with her doll in her crib... Bennett has named this doll Baby Emma because that is what he wanted me to name Alli.

Those are her favorite toy... her shoes.

The Buck Family Visits Us!

2011-03-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

We had a great month of March. First we had the Buck's visit and some of the boys went to Nascar. Those who stayed home had fun going to Rocket Fizz and playing!

Alli LOVED her only girl cousin on the Hawkins side! Maddie was so great with her.

She is scooting around a little...

She gets sassy sometimes.

Early morning trampoline time.

What is this all about Bennett?

Breakfast by Adam

These three play so well together. It is so fun to get them together.

And Tuffy plays well too.

Lego time. Jason is too cute!

Thanks for coming guys! Until the next Nascar race.....

January & February

2011-03-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

We are still alive and happy.

Here we are at the Surprise, Arizona zoo. It is our favorite zoo. It's really small and the animals are active and fun to watch. The boys each got to feed the giraffes.

I took the boys on the log ride and sat in the back so I wouldn't get too wet. Of course I miscalculated and got drenched! It felt great and the boys thought it was hilarious.

Bennett age 6 1/2

Isaac age 4 loved the camels

Jackson age 9 1/2

Adam and Alli 6 months

That is it for zoo pictures.... but here is a cute one of Isaac:

I had a weekend with my old roommates from Ricks College. We had a lot of fun!

This was a common pose when we took pictures in college so we squeezed onto this couch to recreate it.

This was Alli's Christmas dress. I love it so much. We forgot to take pictures when she wore it at Christmas time.

December

2011-01-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

This post will be too long, but we did a lot in December...

This picture is actually Jan. 3rd, but oh well. The kids were so happy to wake up to snow! They played happily all morning in it, and then it melted by lunch time. I was reminded why we live in Las Vegas and now I can stop wondering if we should go back to Idaho. I hate driving in snow, all the clothes and gear, and putting gloves or mittens on small children. So there it is.

snowman on the trampoline

this is our street looking at the mountain

such cuteness

she rolls over now and is kind of a maniac

GOLFING!!!! This is what Isaac lives for...

Town square park maze

Bennett figured out how to cross his eyes, so all pictures are just more fun that way.

In December, Bennett's best friend came to visit from Texas. We all love her.

They have fun together. Precious little arranged marriage!

Sweet Isaac turned 4!

We had a fun party... lots of games because that is all Isaac cares about.

He wanted a soccer cake.

Gingerbread Houses

Bennett had his first awards ceremony for kindergarten.

My parents spent Christmas with us this year and we loved it! It was so much fun!

Here they are before church on Sunday

Grandma brought crafts for Christmas eve... such a hit!

Tuffy got dressed up and ran in the room where the boys were trying to fall asleep on Christmas eve! What a festive little dog!

He wouldn't hold still for a picture....

The boys freaked out, they were so excited and Tuffy looked hilarious!

Here is Alli waiting for Santa to come!

Alli and Grandpa on Christmas morning.... she is pointing at the presents.

Grandma and the kids... we took a lot of this shot and not one of them had all the kids even facing the camera.... so funny!

I don't know who put this group of animals and toys together, maybe Isaac? He seems proud of it!

Ta-da!

A little elf.

Hello!

2010-11-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

This Halloween was Chaotic!

2010-11-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

This Halloween we had so much fun... but there was so much happening that we took no pictures! We went to fall festival, trunk-or-treat, and passed out candy on the real Halloween night. So I had three chances where the kids were dressed up and I missed them all.

Wow.

So, the day after Halloween as I started putting all the Halloween stuff away, I realized this and got the kids to dress up for a quick picture.

"Um, mom, he's squeezing my head."

bow to your sensei

cutest ninja ever

just an arm move

don't be afraid

here is a small part of the costume he wore... also had a beard, bandana, and ears....
he made it up on his own

optimus prime

poor alli. such a good sport.

tuffy had a jail dog costume. he hated it!

cozy jammies

Air show! 2009

2010-11-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

Last year about this time, we went to the Nellis air show with the Bradfords.... it is clear that I only took my camera out once and took a few pics with none of the Bradfords... but here it is anyway!

FUN!

Ranch Nov. 2009

2010-11-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

Last year we took a fun trip to the Grand Canyon with our friends. We had so much fun...

Here is the helicopter we rode in.

Here is a view from above... we stayed in one of the cabins and it was awesome. You can stay in the teepees too but there is only one bed, so we wouldn't all fit.

We took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. It was amazing!

Here are Jackson, Bennett and I in the air... Isaac was too young to go up in a helicopter.

Cute Adam.

Isaac wore his boots of course!

Jackson practiced roping and got pretty good.

Bennett wore his boots too and here is a picture of Isaac about to be hit by a wooden bench swing.

Here is Bennett riding a horse!

Isaac's turn on the horse.

We went on a trail ride... here is Adam, Sophia, Omar, me, Jackson, and Mica.

Jackson did great on his own... wasn't his first time.

Trying to get a family picture but this guy just jumped in at the last minute!

Cute, happy kids....

Cute, little friends... Jackson and Juliana.

Omar and Virginia at the campfire.

Me with Bennett and Mica and Julie back there with Jackson.

Halloween 2009- (only a year late)

2010-11-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

Last year, about this time of the year, my camera was having issues, the computer was having issues, and we were getting ready to move, we got new church callings, had health problems, etc. These are all the reasons why I didn't blog for a while, but here is some catch up....

Isaac would wake up every morning and bring his "hee-ho" downstairs (it's a stuffed monkey). He would put him in a chair and sit in the chair next to him and drink a sippy cup of milk.

SO cute.

This was Halloween last year! We had a little party at our friends house. Adam was Edward scissorhands, but he is not wearing his scissorhands here. I was a lady in a robe with crazy hair.... lame, I know.

Trunk-or-treat... the frog is about to be cut up. Jackson was a guy riding an ostrich and Bennett was Bumblebee the transformer. I-I was a frog.

Eating donuts with no hands at another Halloween party.

Ben is skirting the rules here to eat his donut as quickly as possible.

Forget the rules, I want a donut. This is Isaac's other costume!

Here are J and B at the scout field trip to the shark reef.

I love him.

Here is the man on the ostrich... his school does a costume parade and his costume was a BIG deal! I'm not sure if he was embarrassed or pleased.

Such a sweet boy.

Here is Bennett with his best friend Sadie before preschool started.

So excited for Halloween... handsome little guy.

ben & tuffy

2010-10-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

I realized that I have hardly any pictures of

Bennett without Tuffy. He loves Tuffy and Tuffy does a great

job tolerating the love.

getting bigger....

2010-10-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

Allie or Alli or Ali or Ally.....

2010-10-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

How do we spell her name? Tell me how you would spell it so I can see what is most common.

Here she is smiling...

... now sad....

...now cooing...

...now laughing. All in less than a minute. Intense little girl :)

Bakersfield!

2010-10-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

We went to Bakersfield a couple weekends ago... it was a fun trip! We went for Maddie's baptism and to see my parents. We had not been to their house for a LONG time... I'm not even really sure when the last time was. Adam was sad he couldn't go since he had a fishing trip with his brothers, but the kids and dog and I went. And, I'm pretty sure Adam had a great weekend too.

Here are three cuties. Bennett and Jason get along so well and they are nice enough to let Isaac be with them too. Such sweet little boys! Oh and Tuffy is a sweet boy too.

These two are in their own world and most of the time that involves legos...

I'm glad that Jackson and Zac have eachother to play with.

The highlight of the trip for Isaac.... my parents shower has a big window that looks out on an herb garden. It is beautiful. I actually love showering in their shower too! :)

Allison is so aware and alert and it seems like she wants to talk so badly.

We went to the Marketplace Sat. night and walked around, and it was so fun! There was a band and tons of chalk art with aisles so you could walk through and watch the artists drawing. The boys loved it and so did I.

Madison was so good with baby Allison. Her baptism was great and it was fun to see her so happy. I'm hoping Allison is a lot like her someday.

All the boys after the baptism.

Blessing Day

2010-09-30T11:03:00.001-07:00

We had Allison blessed last Sunday.

Here is our family picture AFTER church on Sunday. Big mistake. Sorry if I look hammered in all these pictures... I am! Here are the people who were at the blessing: (sorry if there is a picture of anyone they don't like... we had one shot of each because we were all about to be late for church)

Ashley, Ben, and Lincoln came down for the blessing. It was fun to have Lincoln around... he is the HAPPIEST baby I have ever met in my life!

Here is me with my mom and Allison.

Natalie, Brody, and their kids came. My kids were in HEAVEN thanks to having these guys around. They entertain my kids so well.

Bria, Ann, and Ashlin came and we all realized that Ashlin is really good with babies and little kids. I would give anything to have this girl live closer. She can be the new Bria when Bria goes off to college.

My parents with Allison. This was also my dad's birthday!

She was blessed in the dress I was blessed in 32 years ago. Also, the dress was made by my mom!

Precious little pearl bracelet

Will her eyes stay blue? Wishful thinking.....

Little soft shoes

She seriously would not hold still for even one shot of the dress, but this was the best shot of many. She was kicking and happy so I can't complain!

Thanks everyone who came out for her blessing! It was fun!

sweet

2010-09-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

Allison is so sweet... I know how fast this time goes and I am appreciating how tiny and sweet she is for such a short time!

Here is another sweet child. He brought me breakfast in bed that he had made all by himself for my birthday. He is getting so old!

Here Is Isaac's Life

2010-09-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

blurry, but true... he's on the computer a lot with a wii remote nearby

playing with his new sister

wondering why a child his age has a mullet

first day of preschool! this is his favorite thing.

happy every saturday at soccer

They Love Her

2010-09-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

her first time on the top bunk

every thing she does cracks isaac up

jackson is so careful with her

she is part of the new bedtime routine

bennett is really responsible when he has her

2010-09-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

We always thought that Isaac's nails just grew very slowly and never needed cutting.....today I came downstairs and discovered the truth about his nicely manicured nails.

Sweet baby sister...

Grandpa and Grandma Hawkins came to visit for Labor day. We all went bowling. This first picture of Isaac is right after he was scolded for eating an old french fry off the floor. I guess he got hungry and his nails weren't cutting it.

Bennett and Jackson both beat Grandpa....though they got to use the bumpers.

Bennett makes some great faces...

2010-08-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Baby's second bath. She is not sure what to think....

The boys (Jackson, Bennett and Isaac) all crowd around Allison. They are not used to a baby, let alone a female. They all treat her with love and are so excited to have her home.

Aunt Ann came to visit and help out. Grandma Betty came earlier this summer and did so much for us. Ann came out to help while Adam had to have his yearly inventory at work. Without the help of Ann and Betty, we wouldn't have made it through this difficult time...

The dog, Tuffy, is not sure what to think about this intruder into his life. He is feeling neglected and left out.

I think Allison is getting tired of having her picture taken.

This girl has freakishly long legs. She is bound to be like her freakishly tall aunts, Rachel and Millie. FYI, Allison's tall dad isn't freakish.

2010-08-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

The day Allison came home from the hospital, 8/23/10.

Allison with her proud dad. (So very TIRED...this is the day after my inventory, which took 18 hours to complete)

Britt's camera has six different filter settings. We did the same shot, one on each setting. Which do you like the best?

SEPIA

PANORAMA

PINHOLE

GRAINY BLACK AND WHITE

SOFT FOCUS

POP ART

2010-08-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hats off to all you bloggers...this took me 4 attempts, and it is more difficult than it looks. We had our fourth child this morning, a beautiful girl. She was 9lbs, 3oz and 20.5 inches long. She has dark brown hair and blue eyes. Brittany came through like a trooper, and was back to her old self 5 minutes after the surgery. We will probalby name her Allison, but that is not yet set in stone. The picture at the very bottom was taken roughly 3 minutes after she was born. All of the other pics came later, pre and post-bath. Brittany is doing great and is feeling fantastic. She will probably be coming home this coming Monday.

I get to meet my little sister tomorrow.

2010-08-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

posting

2010-07-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

I am actually going to post on my blog today, and I am literally being forced:)! Let me explain: my mom is here helping out this summer and she told me tonight that if I don't post tonight, I can forget dinner tomorrow for the family. I am not sure if she is serious or joking, so I will just not take any chances.

Well, here is the update for the last 7 months: we are all doing just fine. Life has been good and the boys are all happy and healthy. We are having a baby girl in a few weeks... sometime in August... and we are getting so excited to meet her. We are being hounded about a name by everyone we know and we are having trouble choosing one. PLEASE leave an idea in the comments if you have a favorite girl name... only rule is that it has to have existed before the last 20 years or so, so no new, cool names.

Jackson is finishing second grade and he had a great year. He did golf lessons in the winter and spring and had fun with it. He is getting tall and looking old, and has been so great helping out this last year whenever I have not been totally healthy. It is amazing to me how grown up he is sometimes.

Bennett just finished preschool and is excited to start kindergarten in a couple months. He played soccer in the spring and loved it, but wondered why the coach and other parents always yelled... I think I should start yelling at my kids so they are not so confused and thrown off in the real world.... I'll consider it. Bennett is still sweet and kind and so handsome.

Isaac is seriously funny. He is so excited about everything in life and is fun to raise. His main focus now is his new "baby sista" and he is all over her (aka: my belly) every chance he gets. He asked me the other day why my skin is "so, so, so white and his is just normal." I guess I could go outside more often :)! I also caught him praying with our little dog today and he was holding the dogs arms "folded" across the dogs chest. A reverent little pup.

Adam's job is still good and we feel lucky for that with so many people around us having trouble.

I think this is quite enough to warrant tomorrow night's dinner, so that is all for now!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T10:53:00.001-08:00

We are thankful for a great life and are enjoying the season. I am trying hard to make sure that my children remember why we are celebrating Christmas and I feel more thankful than ever this year for my little family and extended family and also really great friends! We are so excited for Santa to come to our new house tonight... I hope he can find us!

********Merry Christmas!*******

Are You Serious Isaac?

2009-12-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

This will be especially enjoyable for Natalie....
We all know that I have 3 children, but only one does such crazy things that they end up as "stories". Well, the two older boys were doing jobs this morning, and I was getting ready. When I came out, I started looking for Isaac so I could "check" on him. He had locked himself in Bennett's bedroom and would not unlock the door. I kept asking him to unlock the door and after about 5 minutes of him refusing, I told him to do it now or I would call the police and they would break the door to get in. Finally he opened it, but he was screaming and crying... no, he wasn't hurt. He was scared and guilty. I looked over at Bennett's bed and saw two tootsie pops half eaten and wrapper pieces everywhere! Deja vu! Hasn't this already happened before? Apparently Bennett had been saving these two tootsie pops for a while in his drawer and Isaac found them. Bennett was really sad and Isaac had a nice long time out.....

Removing vaseline from hair

2009-12-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

Does anyone know how to do this? It was hilarious tonight when I discovered it... and I hesitate to tell the story because this post could be titled "neglect". I am of course in the middle of unpacking and settling our home (which by the way I LOVE) and so the kids are all doing their own thing quite often. Isaac got tired of all the usual things tonight and decided to go into the bathroom and "wash his hair".

I assumed, wrongfully, that he was in his room playing peacefully, and specifically did not check on him because if I opened the door, he inevitably would want me to stop working and play. Anyone who thinks this is wrong of me has not had a 3-year-old, or it has been 20 years since they had little kids and they have re-made their memories to perfection. :) I knew he was completely safe in there since there are no chords, choking hazards, water, etc... After about 40 minutes of this, I went into the bathroom to put something away, and as I opened the door I smelled something wonderful... like fresh and clean soap. And, I was right! Isaac had unloaded about 1-2 cups of vaseline and about 1/2 a bottle of hand soap into a wonderful smelling lather that covered the mirror and his head.

I laughed SO hard (not a good reaction as far as teaching goes) and I went to go get my camera only to realize that I had no clue where it was... still packed somewhere. Darn it. He was so cute and messy and I thought it was funny until I put him in the shower and realized it would NOT come out for anything. Also he was screaming because it was in his eyes by now. I combed out as much as I could and was prepared to cut all of his hair off when Adam said it would ruin the clippers.... so what are my options now? Well, I googled it and got lots of crazy ideas including coke, Tide, eggs, etc... has anyone solved this before?

On an unrelated note, I love it when someone has a great playlist on their blog, and I found one on my friends blog this week... hope you don't mind Erin if I put a link for your music! It is all Christmas music and there is some that the kids love and some that I love... nice variety. They are our good friends that moved last fall from Las Vegas. Enjoy!

Today Was A Good Day

2009-12-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

It was Isaac's birthday...

... and we bought our first house.

Don't Kiss Me I will Die

2009-12-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

This is what Isaac said tonight, on the eve of his 3rd birthday. He was crying at bedtime because he was too tired, and I was leaning over his bed kissing his puffy cheek, and he said between cries: "Don't kiss me, I will die."

On Being "Busy"

2009-11-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I hate "busy". When there are people that are just generally busy and will make life busy when it could be otherwise are usually not my favorite people to be around. This past month has been maybe the busiest of our little family's life and I am against busy-ness, so I have not blogged in order to cut out something. Being busy is bad for everyone. My life's goal is to push away from being too busy. How many times have I used the word busy? I am trying to make you hate "busy" too. This word sounds stranger the more you say it. Let's all avoid being too busy when we can help it... okay?

Our mountain and tootsie pops

2009-10-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

This is the view I had a few days ago from my driveway... I love it when we get a little variety in the weather.

Imagine the two pictures above together. Here is the story.... Isaac was sleeping in my bed one morning recently when I woke up in the morning. It was time for me to get up and get the day going, so I snuck out of the room and downstairs with the other kids. I was so happy he had slept in so he could be happy all day! So, about 8:15 am (which is really late for him), he came slowly down the stairs. He looked really dirty, so I threw him in the tub really quick before we went on with the day. The day was busy, and I actually did not go back into my room all day! That night when I went in my room to sleep, Adam was staring at the bed. I walked over and saw three sticky sucker sticks stuck to my pillow, little pieces of torn up wrappers, and colorful spots all over the sheets.

It turns out that Isaac had woken up at some unknown time and spotted a little bag of 3 tootsie pops on the night stand next to him. (They were his big brother's from a party.) He then thought it would be best to lay on his mom's pillow and eat ALL THREE IN A ROW! --during which time he slobbered when his mouth was too full (hence the colorful spots) and then just simply left the chewed up sticks on mommy's pillow!!!! Why not, right?

Idaho/Utah Trip

2009-10-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Greene's had a nice sacrament meeting we attended and a really good lunch at their home afterwards. We love visiting Idaho!
Here are the boys in front of Grandma and Grandpa Greene's house. We also got to be with all of Adam's siblings and their families, and we got to visit my Aunt Nancy and a couple of her cute girls. We stayed with Adam's sister Rachel and had so much fun at her house with her family. It was a great little vacation.

On the way up we stayed with my Grandma Hill (who refused a picture) and she is doing really well! She has been sick for a while and is improving. I had fun talking to her and meeting up with Ash and Ben for lunch.

We also visited my Grandpa Hawkins. He is sweet and getting very old. My Uncle John Hawkins was there with him and we had a great visit with him. We always love to see him.

I could not get enough of the beautiful scenery in Utah and Idaho. I had to keep reminding myself that they will have snow soon and I will not... otherwise I'd pack up a truck and move to these beautiful places!

Me and cute Grandpa.

COVERED

2009-10-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

This is the Dexcom diabetic sensor: It is the world's best invention. It has a little tiny piece that attaches to your abdomen with a remote sensor (the size of a quarter) attached to it. Then this device above is kept in your pocket or on your belt loop (if your into that:) and it gives a blood sugar reading every 5 minutes.

And, it plots those readings for you so you can see exactly what your body is doing.

And, you can set a high and low number that will sound an alarm if you reach it. (The alarm sounds like a cell phone and you can even turn it to vibrate mode like a phone.)

We love this thing!

We bought it about a year ago and Adam has been using it on and off. The only problem was that the part that is attached to your body can only be in for a week, and they were $75 each... so he wasn't using it constantly because of cost. His control is amazing with it, though, so it was important to us.

We just found out that our insurance covers most of it now! I am SO excited. They don't have a great one for children yet, but they will and I get one for Jackson too. I love advances in technology.

Adventures in Motherhood

2009-10-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

Just to give some background.... I am NOT a shopper. I almost never go shopping for clothes for myself, and not for some noble reason, just because I feel stressed the whole time. Well, out of sheer need, I had to go shopping for clothes yesterday. The need being that I have not been exercising for a couple months and so my clothes have gotten a little tight and I hate that. So, I took my two younger boys and went to get some new clothes. It started off okay, but then progressively got worse. As I was trying on clothes (and not looking great in anything) there was cute Bennett YELLING at the top of his lungs "Mom, you are size __ (fill in the blank with the size you would hate to be)! That's a big number! What size am I, cause you're a size __!" Over and over again. Well, whatever. I didn't care too much but it was stressing me out a little. Then, my chapstick was used to write on the mirror when I wasn't paying attention. Isaac proceeded to do a huge poo in his diaper, followed by Bennett saying he needed to go potty. We had just gone (for him I might add) and so I knew it couldn't be that bad... so I did something I usually don't do, and I told him to hold it for five minutes. I had 2 more things to try on then I was done. As I took off the second-to-last pair of pants and shirt, Isaac started crying. I looked down and saw him with the 6 card (my number of items, not my size unfortunately:) on his finger like a ring. It was so tight and his finger was already swollen around it. I tried to keep him calm and just slide it off, but it was STUCK. So, I got the ruined chapstick and tried to lube it up. No luck. By now it was bright purple with veins and what not and so I took him out... had to pause to get some clothes on (!!!) and then ran out to the woman at the front desk to ask for lotion. We used that and it didn't work, so I grabbed the scissors (to the horror of this woman) and cut it off his finger. He still has a red ring around his little finger.... so sad. So, I went back to the dressing room feeling relieved only to see that Bennett had also relieved himself... darn it. I got my things, checked out and left with a kid covered in #1 and another with #2. Sorry this is gross. By the way, I am never going shopping again with little kids. :)

Now I remember why I never buy clothes.

Game Day

2009-10-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

I never usually blog about the kids sports because they are always in some sport and it seems boring for other people... but this is ALL we are doing lately so I figured it's better to blog about this than nothing:)!

We put our cute boys in the same league this time, but different sports, and they both ended up being the orange team... total coincidence! Both of them did well and had a lot of fun for the most part.

Bennett before the game. He was REALLY excited.

Jackson before his game and he was excited too but playing it cool.

Here is Bennett in the dugout waiting to bat. His main concern was the snacks... they had orange slices in the dugout and suddenly he LOVED oranges. Ate like 50. At home, he complains if I cut up an orange for him.

Here is Jackson's team after the game. There is one person missing because they left right when the game was over. Jackson did so well for his first real basketball game ever. Adam was his coach and he did a great job. All the team members were happy and had fun and they actually did a lot better than Adam and I had expected! I took pictures during the game but they are all too dark since we were in the gym... I guess I had the camera on the wrong setting.

Here is Bennett running in to home plate. They had the coach pitch to each player and if they couldn't hit in 4 tries, they got the T out and used that instead. Bennett smacked the coaches pitch every time. He did great!

I would blog but....

2009-10-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

.... there is nothing to blog about. Life is good and the boys are cute. Adam is coaching Jackson's basketball team and so we have practice a couple times a week. Bennett is playing coach-pitch baseball this fall and he is cute and very entertaining. Isaac wishes he could be on a real team and loves to go to practices. Isaac finished his bowl of cereal this morning and then took the leftover milk (while I was upstairs showering), and his watercolor paints and did some nice artwork. I guess they can be milkcolor paints too. It was disgusting to clean up... smelled lovely and it turns out that milk turns into glue when it dries! We went to Target and it is all I can do to not buy every Halloween product available. I love Halloween at Target. That is all.

IDAHO!!

2009-10-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

I really love Idaho in the fall and can hardly stand to NOT hop in the car and drive up there. The weather is unpredictable and the trees actually change colors, and it reminds me of college. Well, you can imagine my excitement when my in-laws got a mission call to Taiwan and told us that they would be leaving in October! Yep. That means a trip to Idaho in the fall. I am SO excited. It should be great! There is always that chance that it would snow, and my kids would be in heaven. We haven't been up to Idaho for almost 2 years, only because Adam's parents are so great to come here, so this trip is long overdue!

2009-09-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

I love the show "The Biggest Loser" and I especially love this contestant, Allen. He is by far my favorite so far.

2009-09-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Adam and I went upstairs to go to bed the other night and found this cute surprise. He was asleep at the top of the stairs! I was so glad that he hadn't rolled in his sleep and gone down the 17 stairs below him.

That's how close he got. He is such a sweet boy. I love it when my boys are this age... it is so precious. The other day I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up and he said "a baby." His brothers laughed so hard and I told him he couldn't be a baby when he grew up, so what else would he like to be. And his new answer was "a garbageman." Is it bad if he idolizes the local garbagemen?

He also said last night when we were outside, "I want to go in a hot air balloon..... someday..... and go up to the moon." I was totally shocked at how old he sounded, and the fact that he thought of that on his own! And he totally stopped and thought of the word "someday".

Another cute thing from Isaac lately was this morning. I had on some brown pajamas with little, white butterflies on the pants, and he came up to me and said "those are the clothes that grandma and grandpa hawkins gave you?" He was totally right! My mom got these for me a few weeks ago. Then, later, he was sitting on my lap eating teddy grahams and he was setting a cookie on each butterfly and then picking it up and saying "thank you for helping me eat these cookies," to each butterfly.

Bennett arranged his MANY animals on his top bunk and asked me to take a "family picture". I asked him if he was in the family, and he said "of course I am! I am the dad of all of them!" When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up (the same time as Isaac) he said he "wants to be air... so I can help people breath and live." He is sweet and hilarious and everything he says is even cuter because he can't say his R's yet. I should put him in speech, but I will be sad if he starts speaking correctly. He is like a cute, little british boy.

Jackson is out of the phase of accidentally saying cute things and into the phase of asking deep questions and being responsible. He is great!

Obsessed

2009-09-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's kind of embarrassing to admit that you are hooked on a kids TV show, but I like to reassure myself by remembering that some women watch soap operas and desperate housewifes, etc. That will be my rationalization... putting others down:)! So if you have not caught on to Arthur, it is on PBS a couple times a day and it is great. I tivo it and my kids are tired of it, but we watch it daily.

2009-09-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

First Day of 2nd Grade

First Day of Preschool

Today, Jackson asked how babies get in a mom's belly, Bennett communicated mostly in sign language (his own version) instead of talking, and Isaac kept saying "hey- let go of my blouse" with a funny accent (courtesy of Nacho Libre). Fun Sunday.

Cute Talking

2009-08-23T11:40:00.001-07:00

I love the ways my boys talk and get words mixed up sometimes. I never correct them because it is too precious.

Jackson had a friend in our ward whose parents got divorced so he learned about that last year. Then, through the elections for president last year, he heard (somehow) about abortion (kind of bugs me that he heard that at school I think). Anyway, we have discussed both and taught him how we feel about both. I guess he just associates them with eachother because he now calls divorce- "divortion". It is SO cute and I love how innocent he is. He just said last night that he thinks someone got a divortion (referring to a married couple). I love it.

Bennett can't quite say his R's yet and so weird is "wee-ode" and my favorite is "weed me a stowee". I know he will get over it for his own good in the next couple years but I will secretly be so sad when he sounds grown up.

Isaac is the cutest talker of all, of course, because he is 2. He says "woo" for you and that is my favorite part. He always says "woo want wour shoes?" and brings me my shoes. He also still is obsessed with birthdays and when I made a cake for an enrichment activity last week he was FREAKING OUT about whose birthday it was. It was totally precious! I told him it was a lady's birthday and I was making her a cake and he went around talking about "happy birthday to the lady" and "where are the lady's presents" and "who took the lady's balloons". I felt sorry for him by dinner time and thought I should not make another cake in our house until it is for a real birthday he will get to see! He is totally obsessed.

2009-08-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever lost your wallet or something important? It is the most annoying thing to me. I hate errors... and that sounds like I am a computer or something, but I really do hate small mistakes that cause lots of trouble.

Things are a little WILD here....

2009-08-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

The end of summer, before school starts, is a little dysfunctional over here. The boys are all acting like little animals in their cleanliness and fighting habits, and to top it off we have some animals here! The animals are the highlight these days....

This is our favorite dog of all time! His name is Digger and we babysit him for our friends pretty often. He is the best, most patient with Isaac, sweet, little dog.

Here is Bennett a couple nights ago ready for bed. He has on his way-too-small for him Super Mario Brothers pajama shirt (with long sleeves for those cold Las Vegas nights), a musket of sorts, and a coonskin cap he got from Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins for his birthday.

This is our new pet! And there is another one that was hiding so I couldn't get his picture. Our friends were moving to Washington and gave us their tortoises, and I must say they are the perfect pets for Las Vegas. They are small, live outside in a little habitat area that we (Adam) built for FHE on Monday night. They just eat minimal food, drink a little water, and hibernate all winter long. So, it is like having pets only 1/2 the year! They totally entertain the boys and give them something to do. So far they have been named: Sandy and Snippy, Sandy and Shelly, Sandy and Spongebob, and now apparently they are Sandy and Patrick. Like I said.... it gives the boys something to think about.

The Snake Pit

2009-08-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a couple of stories every night to my boys from this little book that my Grandparents gave me called "Guess What Grandpa Saw," and they LOVE it. This is their favorite so far, and I actually read it last night for the first time too. Here it is as told by my Grandma Hawkins about Grandpa:

In Ruby Valley, Nevada we had a small ranch. It was beautiful but had one problem- snakes. Often when Grandpa would go out in the yard or into the field, rattlesnakes would be there. Our neighbors were Shoshone Indians. Near their homes was a den of snakes. The Indians worried that snakes would bite their children as they did bite cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs. Grandpa was a young man with small children too. He looked carefully down into the snake den and saw hundreds of rattlesnakes in balls and crawling all over eachother.
Grandpa and the Indian men packed four hundred pounds of T.N.T. explosives on horses and went up to the snake den. They lowered the two and a half pound blocks of T.N.T. down to the snakes. They taped a blasting cap on the prima cord with a twelve inch fuse. Three of the Indians ran away. The chief stayed to help Grandpa. Then Grandpa got a match and the chief said "I tink I go." Grandpa lit the fuse and ran after the Indians to a big boulder they had chosed for shelter. The blast went off and hundreds of snakes and rocks flew high into the air. Most of the snakes were dead. Thise in the snake pit were dead too. The Indians thanked Grandpa. They felt much safer.

Picture Overload!!!

2009-08-10T16:32:00.001-07:00

Adam had 2 1/2 weeks off work so we filled it with vacations... and here are the pictures:

Bennett fishing with Grandpa Greene in Pine Valley, UT

Isaac reeling in a big one.... or just casting over and over again and getting caught in the weeds over and over again.

Jackson waiting patiently.

Grandma Greene and I relaxing on the blanket.

We also camped at Mt. Charleston here in Nevada. Here is a little boy SO excited to sleep in a sleeping bag!

We went on a nice hike.

Finally asleep....

Jackson late at night.

Sweet Ben.

Adam just a little annoyed at setting up the entire camp in the wind. It immediately died down when all the work was finished. He wasn't actually as mad as he looks.... I just got a picture at the right moment. Hilarious.

We stayed up late playing war with the kids. It was the easiest game and they LOVED it! Even Isaac got into it and he had the most fun. By the way, I won.

This was Isaac's reaction to the cards every time we said 1-2-3 and put our cards down. This cute face and jumping up came with screams and laughing. It was so cute and fun to watch him.

The first trip we took (these pictures are backwards) was to the LA area where we stayed in a couple different hotels, took Jackson to his appointment for the month at the hospital, went to an Angels game with some of my family, and crashed my parents anniversary celebration in Newport Beach.

Here they are with Grandpa Hawkins and cousin Zac Buck at the baseball game. They had a great time and Adam said it was a nice stadium and very cheap and family-friendly.

At our favorite beach, Newport!

This boy spent hours playing in the sand without stopping. He LOVES the beach.

Isaac playing with Grandma Hawkins. She was happy to have a playmate and we were happy she wanted to play with him. :)

Jackson did a lot of boogie-boarding and made me nervous with how brave he is now that he is 8. He would go way out where the waves started and he did great.

It was a really fun 2 1/2 weeks and today I got us all unpacked, laundry done, and back to normal. Adam went back to work and the boys played legos ALL day long.

Poor Little Man

2009-07-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

Isaac really enjoyed celebrating his big brothers' birthday in May and June... and every morning (and a couple times during the day) he asks me, "is it my birthday today?" Then I say, "Not yet." He is so excited. He has to wait until December, but hopefully the anticipation is part of the fun. I feel so bad that I am considering having a little party for him so he can relax.

Lately

2009-07-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

We have been having a lot of company and fun lately. Since school got out for Jackson, we have had my mom, Steph, Thomas, and their two cute kids here twice. Stephanie's new baby Asher is an angel... I am not exaggerating. I have no pictures of him because I was too busy holding him and trying to get enough of him. It didn't work. I could not get enough of him! Here is a picture off of Steph's blog:

We spent a day this week at the Lied Children's Museum and it was so fun. Every summer we end up going because one of the prizes for the library summer reading program is a free ticket to the museum. So, all the boys get a ticket about mid-July and we have been 5 summers in a row now! We have lived in Vegas for 4 years now... but we moved here in July, so this is actually our 5th summer. It does not even feel hot anymore, especially since it has only gotten to 113 this summer. It has been a nice, cool summer:)!

Here is Bennett with his two best girlfriends.

In the wind tunnel.

Jackson was laughing, but the light blocks out his cute smile.

Isaac pretending to fly the airplane (I think that poor little boy in the background really wanted a turn).

Giant bubble-blowing....

Here is a funny shot of these two sweet brothers. They get along so well. When Bennett was taking a shower, I heard Isaac go in and say "What's up Ben?" They just talked and threw balls back and forth from the dry tub to the shower. I was listening in and I heard Isaac saying everytime Ben threw the ball out of the shower "Nice shot." Then when Bennett slipped at one point, Isaac said, "Man down!" They are a cute little pair.

Here is a picture of Isaac playing in the tub with no water. He plays basketball for a long time right here whenever he gets a chance. What a good boy.

Here is Jackson on his last day of school with the BEST teacher Mrs. Kramar. I wish she could just take over the education of all of my children... she is so great! And, he loved her too.

Sad Little School Boy

2009-07-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

Jackson is so sad this week. He is in year-round school and today is his last day of school... and he is not excited about that. He was totally sad all week and especially this morning. He just doesn't see why we have to take a break from school. I totally don't get this attitude, but Adam said he really loved school as a child also, so I guess we know where he gets it from. He is such a sweet, little school boy.

PARTY TIME!

2009-07-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

We have been having way too much fun lately to sit down and blog... here are more pictures than you want to see of the last couple weeks around here:

FOURTH OF JULY

BENNETT'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

FATHER'S DAY

BENNETT IS 5!

2009-06-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my little Ben Boy is 5 today. He is the greatest kid- so, so sweet and so hilarious.... and smart, and handsome, and everything a mom wants her little boy to be. We are really thankful for him.

Again- a surprise from Isaac......

2009-06-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Again, it happened as I got out of the shower....

I went into my room to get dressed and reached to open the drawer where my unmentionables are kept, only to find there is no knob. We have a dresser with round knobs that are shaped like a ball, and there was no ball. I looked around the bedroom for the knob and saw no sign of it. The drawer was pushed all the way in so I had to take another drawer completely out and reach into the stuck drawer and push it out from the inside. Got dressed and then went and found Isaac. I asked him if he knew where that ball went and pointed to the missing knob area. He smiled and got on the floor, looked under the dresser and moved his chubby little arm around until he felt it and got it out. He knew right where he had put it. What will be next?

3 Things.....

2009-06-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

1. We just had an enrichment meeting last night about grocery smarts and couponing. It is a system where you use the sales at stores combined with manufacture coupons and get groceries really, REALLY cheap. Does anyone do this? I am thinking about trying it out but don't want to waste my time if it doesn't really make a difference. I'll let you know how it goes.

2. I woke up this morning and talked with Isaac in my bed for a while (he is SO cute in the morning), then I went downstairs to make breakfast and left him in my room watching Diego. Isaac came down when it was over to eat. I then went back upstairs to a separate bathroom and took a nice shower, then went to my room to get dressed only to find that the door was locked from the inside. This door knob has NO key and this has never happened. So, there I was in my towel with no clothes to wear or anything! It was 8am and we leave to take Jackson to school at 8:45, and I still had to get the kids dressed and make J's lunch. Oh dear. To make a long story short, I ended up wearing just exactly what I had slept in and taking Jackson to school. Don't worry we didn't walk him up, we did drop off. And, it only took me 30 minutes to figure out how to disassemble the doorknob, unlock it, and then reassemble it without pushing through the other side.... yeah.

3. I get to hold Stephanie's baby in less than 2 weeks!!!!!

Third Child Syndrome

2009-06-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

I keep having moments of realizing that we are not doing the same things with Isaac as we did with Jackson and Bennett. I always have thought that I want to have a big family but not so big that I can't follow through in raising all the kids the same, generally. Well, apparently that happens for me at 3 kids. We are always wondering why Isaac is doing something and then remembering that by this age we were more strict with the other two and that is why they were easier and more well-behaved. So, this week I have cracked down on this 2 1/2 year old boy (sounds worse than it really is) and it is working! Surprise, surprise- kids do respond well to boundaries and rules and follow-through. Maybe 3 kids is a big family......

p.s. go check jackson's blog for a cool video!

Happy Birthday and Congratulations Stephanie!

2009-06-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister had her second baby on Monday night.... and today is her birthday! Her baby is SO cute and I want him... but that is a whole different story. She has a two-year-old and lives in Hawaii. Here is a link for more cute pictures of baby Asher: stephanielovesthomas.blogspot.com

The Coolest Fort

2009-06-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoons are boring when dad is not around, so I let these boys and a couple cousins use anything they wanted to make a fort. Including the camera. I did not take any of these pictures. They were very serious and worked for about an hour and then played forever in this deluxe fort they built. Here it is:

Perhaps the living room or maybe a bedroom.

Football storage area? Including the nerf football that needs to be thrown away.

Another football and a bug observatory.

The garage?

Definitely the kitchen.

The playfood gave it away... and the cups.

Jackson also took this picture and you can see that Isaac is tired of me kissing him all the time... but I can't get enough of him! He is growing up too fast.

Happy Birthday Mom

2009-06-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Mom- You are great and we love you!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and we can't wait to see you soon!

Jackson's Baptism

2009-06-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Jackson was baptised this weekend. It was a really great baptism and confirmation and he is such a sweet and smart little boy. He totally understood everything and did a great job. We did not do a great job, however, with pictures. We got good ones of Adam and Jackson and that is about it... we had a lot of people at the baptism and then at our house afterwards for lunch, and no pics of anyone. Oh, well. But, thanks to all who came and made it fun.

Here is Jackson with some of the cousins that were there. A few are missing here.

Zac and Jackson

Four out of five looking at the camera was the best we could do.

Handsome father and son.

Jackson is 8

2009-05-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

We had a good time celebrating Jackson's 8th birthday! Friday he went to school and had a great day and then Saturday morning we took some friends from church to see the new 3D movie UP which was great too.

I must say that his two sweet little brothers had a little trouble on Friday with jealousy and I still don't know why. We have never noticed that with the kids before. Isaac hugged him while he opened his presents and Bennett never smiled.

Here he is with his friends at the theater.

Notice Bennett's face here... that was his smile.

I always let my kids say what kind of a cake they want and then I do my best to make it happen. We've done Scooby-Doo, Star Wars, Thomas the Train, a robot, a train with different cars, a truck, a snowman, corn-on-the-cob, army guys in jails with pirates gold coins... that is all I think. Anyway, Jackson wanted a shark eating a fish. That was the request, so this was it. We added lego guys in a lego boat doing a little fishing at the top.

Long Game Nights with Ben

2009-05-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight I let Bennett stay up with me and watch me fold laundry while his brothers went to bed on time. He always goes to bed early with them and falls asleep about and hour after them and I feel bored for him every night. He talked my ear off and made up a fun game with the pieces of connect four... it was one of those games where the rules keep changing and getting added on as you go. I was constantly being corrected because I could not keep track of all the changing details. It included an invisible dice that I would have to throw up in the air and then he would tell me what number I got, and once I got a 7, so that was wonderful. When I finally made him go to bed, he told me he wanted a gun. I am not anti-gun by the way... I think they are fine. I asked him why and he said he would shoot a million holes in the ground and then throw flower seeds in all the holes. I told him it would be soooo cool! And he said "no mom, it would be so beautiful." He is so great.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!

2009-05-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Jackson just did a blog post- go check it out with the link to the right!

The Old Days

2009-05-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

It is freaking me out a little lately how I went so quickly from having to make time pass by... like making life more interesting for me and some cute little boys by thinking of fun things to do at our house since we had no car and daddy was working crazy long hours.... to having time pass by at lightspeed. How did this happen?

Baths were long and fun... just to kill time.

Jackson was only four.

Leisurely meals....

Bennett fell off two carpeted steps and broke his little tiny arm... I guess that is something I don't miss, but he was so easy and cute that it was not that bad!

Handsome!

They got along great before Bennett could talk and have an opinion!

2009-05-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

I can't remember to get my camera out and take pictures lately, maybe it's the heat. I am not complaining... I love it! We have been swimming a lot and both older boys have finished their spring season of football or soccer. The boys are being really cute and getting along pretty well lately. That is always welcome:).

Here is a story about each of them. We have been looking at houses around here with a realtor lately and we went into one house that we loved, so we spent some time looking around. Jackson stayed in the living room doing homework... or so we thought. When we left I said to Adam that I would like to go in the house again before we made an offer and Jackson piped up and said, "I have the code to get in right here!" On his homework he had written a 4 digit code that opened the key box for the house. I told him it might not be right and he said he had gone over and written it down, then mixed it up and tested it to see if it worked and the key box had opened! (Well, I actually wanted to show the house to a friend without bugging the realtor and it did work.) We know he is always thinking and very smart, but the question is should we be scared?? :)

Adam and I caught a lizard the other night when our children were in bed and then we made an amazing habitat in a large Gladware container. We are nerds I know. In the morning when the kids woke up, they were so excited and were talking about it non-stop. I told Bennett he got to name the lizard because he loves animals (and also because I always think he gets overlooked). He decided to name it Pinata because he wants a pinata at his birthday party. We had to let Pinata go a couple nights ago because we actually don't want a lizard. :) Bennett is so nice to his brothers that it is sad. Jackson hurt him in a moment of rage the other night and he started crying. Well, there was actually a mark so Adam told Jackson he could not play DS or Wii for a week. Jackson often goes a week without playing either one, but I think Jackson thinks he plays them a lot because he freaked out when he heard that. Bennett ended up comforting Jackson about his punishment and trying to make him feel better. He is SO sweet, I cannot get over it!

Isaac is still sleeping great in his new car bed and it is SO NICE. I cannot believe what a difference sleep makes. Isaac is either cute and charming everyone around him or totally unable to be happy. There is rarely an in-between. He thinks Adam is the best thing in the world (I agree) and he calls him "Abam" a lot instead of dad. He sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star non-stop and loves to swim. He jumps off the side of the pool into the deepend and yells "CANNONBALL!!!" everytime. We are totally in love with him.

That is enough talk :)... I am just trying to kill time waiting to check Mr. J-Dog's blood sugar to see if he is going up or down before I go to bed. I thought blogging would pass the time and it has.

Trip to B-Town

2009-05-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time in Bakersfield a couple of weekends ago. It took me forever to blog because when the computer is upstairs and your camera is down stairs in the car, it is impossible to walk down and get it... or something like that. We went to a play Fri. night while we were there and it was awesome. Then Saturday we flew kites at the park and celebrated Nat's birthday. The cousins were in heaven and we hardly had to even do anything because they kept themselves so busy playing happily together. It sounds like I am exaggerating but it is actually true. We love to get together with them with the kids at these perfect ages. Thanks mom and dad for having us!

Antibody Testing

2009-05-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

We spent more time at the Children's Hospital in L.A... this time to get the little boys tested for the diabetes antibodies for the natural history test. Also Jackson got a fasting blood sugar test and his usual treatment. I cannot believe how tough these kids are. Everyone was poked and had blood taken or something put into them and not one cried! They didn't even get nervous. I think it is because needles are not a foreign object at our house.

This is cute Bennett with numbing cream before his test.

Isaac with numbing cream before his test.

Jackson just chilling out with a bunch of stuff hooked to him.... he seriously does not care what they do.

We should get the results soon for these tests and we are hoping for the Doctor to say that neither boy shows any antibodies!!! Isaac had high blood sugar for a few months until the Dr. told us about an experimental way to bring it down and we have tried it and it seems to be working so we are holding our breaths and hoping for the best.

A Happy Morning

2009-04-27T08:20:00.001-07:00

This is one of the best mornings we have had in a long time mainly because everyone got enough sleep. It was Isaac's first night in his new big boy bed... funny story with that.

We were wanting to get him a car bed for a little while. On Saturday morning (after a difficult night with him) I found a car toddler bed on Craig's list to buy. We were supposed to pick it up from the lady on the way to Jackson's football game and Bennett's soccer game. Halfway there we realized we forgot Jackson's flags and mouthguard. So we went home and I called the lady and told her we would be there after our games. At the game I happened to mention to my friend Jill Smith that we were getting Isaac a car bed after the game. She said she had that exact bed in her storage unit that she would just give us. Isn't that funny? We almost bought it before the game... being kind of disorganized and forgetting things sometimes pays off! Thank you SO much Smiths... you guys are too nice.

So last night we put little Isaac lovingly to bed with everything in his room safe and comfortable... then we locked the door from the outside... and left him to figure it right out for himself. He did great! He cried a little bit and knocked on the door a little, then he went to his bed and went to sleep. This morning at 5:00am he tried again to come out and when no one responded for about 15 minutes... miracle of miracles... he got back in bed and went to sleep until 7:15. If you know this kid, you know that this is a miracle. He just needed some boundaries.

And he is actually a lot happier for it! So, hopefully this ends the Isaac not sleeping, getting out of bed, acting like he is magic and opening every lock, door, cupboard, drawer, etc.... okay I am getting carried away. He still will climb and jump off of everything and be a wild boy, but I am hoping he will be well rested and so will I!

Easter 2009

2009-04-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

The boys had a fun Easter. There is just nothing like cheap, hollow chocolate.

Elvis

2009-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Jackson's school had decade day and he seriously wanted to dress up as Elvis. I thought I got some great shots of his full body jumpsuit, but it was on my phone so this is it for now. This is on the way to school and he was way too cool to pose or even look at the camera by the time we were close to school. He said he loved dressing up as Elvis and was not self-conscious at all. He is so cute. My favorite part are the giant sideburns.

Spring Break

2009-04-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

We went to Utah for Spring Break this year and it was so much fun! Thank you to my parents for transporting 4 extra people and helping out with Isaac A LOT. He is a cute and whiney boy on vacation. We had so much fun and especially got to spend some time with Grandma Hill and Grandpa Hawkins and other family members that we don't get to see enough. It was so great!

Grandma Hill has had some serious health problems in the last few months and so I expected her to be a lot different and I was wrong! She was just the same (except that we really had to make her stay sitting and not get up and do things). She was happy and upbeat and fun like she has always been, and my kids just loved her!

These two got along great (thankfully).

Here we are with my cousin Haley who we met up with at the Dinosaur Museum.

Cute little Bennett

Here is my dad with his dad at the Cracker Barrell.

Grandpa Hawkins has always been one of my favorite people. He has not been feeling well for a while and I loved getting to see him and talk to him. He is such a sweet man.

This horse was so nice to us. He would follow us up and down the road when we walked next to the area by his fence. The kids just loved him. He would sniff the boys' heads when they got close and they laughed so hard.

Taking turns on the swing.

This swing became a Star Wars game... not really sure how that happened, but these two boys were really into it.

Isaac was on this rockinghorse for about 20 minutes at a time.

My Grandpa Hawkins lives on my Uncle Davey J's farm and my boys LOVED the farm. There was really only one day of beautiful weather, but they played so hard that day! Jackson asked why we don't live on a farm... and he was serious! Just wondering :)....... I had to break the news to him that everyone wants to live on a farm but hardly anyone gets to. That life is meant for little boys. They were just in HEAVEN.

Three Great Guys

2009-04-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

I have been hanging out a lot with these three guys and they are so great.

Isaac is still having sleep issues, although I do think we are doing better than we were a week ago.... most days. This picture is blurry, but this hat is one that all 3 boys have worn out and loved, and Isaac is fitting right in by being obsessed with it.

Bennett is the funniest person I know. Not the funniest kid, he is the funniest person. More hilarious than any comic or friend I have... he seriously cracks everyone up. And he is really smart so I can't wait to see what he does with his life.

Jackson has been on track break for a little while and I love it. I love year-round school. He is great to have around and kind of acts like an adult a lot so he and I are totally good friends. I actually do enjoy his company a lot. He is very serious when he gets awards at school:). How could you be so serious with such a motley little group of kids around you? Just kidding, that was rude.

We Still Love You Isaac, but....

2009-03-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

He has decided to not be a great sleeper anymore and this is his tired-boy face. He is still sweet in unpredictable spurts (and when being totally entertained or getting his own way). But, the days of him being agreeable, quiet, and easy are gone.

Here is how it started: He figured out how to get out of his crib about 6 months ago. He was not quite old enough to understand "stay in your bed or else..." so, after a few long days and nights (ie: him coming in my room a few times a night just to say hi), we bought a crib net and trapped him in. This net, or "tent" as we taught him to call it (in an effort to trick him into thinking it might be fun), has been a lifesaver.

Well, all good things have to come to an end sometime, and last week was the end. He figured out how to get out with the net on. He is like Houdini! He gets out and I go in his room and the net is still on. It does not look disturbed. So we put him in over and over again.... begin the calm, loving reasoning on why he needs to stay in bed and ending in threatening to take his blanket away, etc. To make a long story short, we are done with naps and bedtime is hellish instead of calming.

Does anyone have ANY ideas for us? Seriously we might try anything. After observing his skills at staying in the crib because we have told him to, I am hesitant to use a toddler bed yet. But maybe that is what we have to do... who knows?