Bear Lake and Twin Falls

We got away for a week and it was SOOOOO nice. It was been another busy year (I think this is the new trend for growing family!). We are so grateful that we can always pack up and go to Bear Lake and get away from everything.
We just chill and lounge around. It is fun to not have an agenda, chores, or tasks to do. I even got a break from doing all the cooking. Seth is becoming quite the Grill Master, and just in time since we just inherited one. We ate well this trip. it was so nice to eat BBQ. It always cheers me up
I think the kids love the vacations too. It's fun for them to just play together and with their parents without having to worry about anything else. Chloe was s hoot. She is really developing her own little personality and we love it.


One of Sam and James' favorites to do at the bear lake house is to have long bubble baths. They love to stay in and play and splash and finally get out when their hands are totally wrinkly.

Seth taught the boys a new trick. They love doing down the bar slide, whether it be on the legs or arms they think they are pretty big. I love Sam's face in this picture. It is classic.


As a result of their new found fun on the bar slide, James is down one half tooth. The boys came back from the park not even knowing he had done it. It doesn't really hurt him. He just thinks he's pretty cool.

Parks involve a lot of swinging. Especially when you have a great dad who gives the best under-dogs ever!


On the way back from the park we decided to walk down to the lake. Sam was determined to go swimming and exclaimed that he couldn't do that with his clothes on, so we stripped him to his whitie-tighties and let him wade. It didn't last long, actually to say that is an over statement. He wanted to get dressed again, and in a hurry. It was freezing...especially when you are a little rail like Sam.

After a great time at bear lake we headed up to Twin Falls. On the way we stopped at my brother Matt's house. His wife just had their baby and we got to go visit on the way up (and the way back). She is SUCH a little cutie.


We went with Seth's family to Twin Falls where Seth's Aunt Betsy was going through the temple for the first time. It was a very fun trip and nice to be with family. I probably would have enjoyed it so much more if I hadn't been attacked by major allergies. I felt them coming on in Bear Lake, but I had no idea that they would over power me like they did. Thankfully my doctor, Dr. C was there to save the day (again)! :)
Our hotel was great. The rooms were great. They even had a recliner in them which was great for me with Chloe. They boys love going to hotels now. To them it means eating a lot of chicken nuggets, fun breakfast, and lots of swimming.
It was quite the experience having all the kids in one room, but we did pretty well. Chloe was great. She is the funniest little sleeper. I just had to get a picture of her sprawled out with her foot out of her jammies. She always manages to find a way to get her foot/feet out. She woke up once totally mad because she had managed to get her foot out of a space over her stomach and she was stuck!

Sam wanted to give James a run for his money in the injury department. He was running around the pool, slipped, and hit his head on the metal handle rails. Our poor kids looked pretty beat up after this trip.

We took Chloe swimming for the first time. It was so fun to get her in a chute little girl's swim suit. She is already following after her brothers. She is a major water bug.



Speaking of water bugs...we were the firsts ones to arrive at the hotel, so we took the boys to the pool. I had forgotten their floaties, so they were coming with Grandma. The door to the pool was open and Sam ran right in and jumped in the hot tub. I of course then jumped right in after him, fully dressed. I guess that's what you do as a mom. You react however is best to take care of your kids.
Before leaving we got the family together for a picnic at the Shoshone Falls park. It was beautiful.

Shoshone Falls is beautiful. Water is so beautiful, powerful, peaceful, and scary at the same time. It was amazing to me how calm the Snake River is right above the falls and how vicious the water looks as it tries to race down the falls.

While there we passed a group we had no idea existed. Apparently there are even "bikers for Christ"! :) I guess if you're going to have a cause....

Proud Father

A few weeks ago the boys got into X-men with Seth and boy was that ever a proud day for their father. They can't wait until dad gets home from work so that they can watch the old-school cartoons with him. Then they have to name all the characters during the credits and when it is all over they run downstairs to get the action figures to play with.
Believe it or not, Seth didn't have all of the figures, so we had to get them. The boys get so excited when a package comes so they can open it with Dad and see what new ones they got. They love Wolverine a lot, but Sam's favorites are Storm and Beast, and James' is Commando, a no-body, but he does shoot a bullet. :)
I just can't believe it. Out of all the things that Seth is into (Star Wars, GI Joes...), they love X-men the best!

My Kiddos

I am doing what I should do more often...taking time to record what my kids are up to right now in their lives...

Chloe was my rolly-polly. She could roll like no one else. She is now just starting to crawl because she was so good at rolling. We would just watch and laugh as she flip-flopped her way across the room to what she wanted.





James shut Sam in a toy drawer the other day, and like any good mom I had to run get the camera and take a picture before I let him out! :) We kept hearing Sam calling us and asking for help, but we couldn't see him....needless to say we had a long talk about where you can hide and what you shouldn't do to your brother!

The boys love flashlights so they try to find where they can go where it is dark so that they can use them. I was looking for them and found them reading books in the coat closet. I love these days. They are so fun.

James just cracks me up. I love how is his own person. It doesn't matter what anyone else is up to, he marches to the beat of his own drum and I love him for it.

Nothing like swinging in your PJs! :) It was such a nice lazy day that we had to go outside immediately and swing. This was the first time I had taken Chloe out to swing. Seth said he has taken her out, but it was still a "first" for me. She got giggled and squealed the whole time.


Sam, in his "silly jammies" (mismatched jammies, his latest rage), learned how to pump! I was so proud of him. He still has some refining to do, but he has got it down!

Lagoon Time

For Easter we get Lagoon passes and we love when we can start using them. This year the boys knew the ropes and weren't wasting anytime...
We like having passes because then we can just go for a few hours without the pressure of being there forever and getting on tons of rides to get our money's worth. We usually go in the non-peak times which makes it nice so that we don't really have to wait in lines.
This is Chloe's first experience and she was up for it. She just cracks us up. She just wants to be involved in everything and wants all the attention she can get.

We let Sam and James go on "Puff" by themselves this time and wow was that cool for them! :) I know it's a small thing, but things like this just blow me away with how they are growing up so fast!


We look forward to many more family memories at Lagoon this year!

My Tangerine Torker

I got a BIKE!!! :) I have wanted one for years now and since my boys have them, I had to get one too! It is kind of a late Mother's Day present and to say that I love it is an understatement.
I didn't really know what king of bike I wanted, but after doing some research the cruiser was for me. I went with the low bar for easy on and off, foot breaks for hands free kid maintenance, and a large leather brown seat for comfort. It's perfect. Everything from the white tires to the sparkly tangerine color it has "Karen" written all over it.
Now I just need a basket, bell, and floppy sun hat to complete the look! :)

Craft Haven

I attempted my first (and last) Craft Open House. It was a bust sadly. Seth and I have always talked about trying to make a buck at what I like to do, so I finally decided to do it.
I got Aymee and some of her friends involved and got the word out. I thought we had got the word out enough, but apparently not. We had 600 flier passed out and about 200 looks on KSL, plus we all emailed it on to people....needless to say about 10 people plus some family showed up.
Thankfully I made all my money back and a little more. I just wish it would have gone a little better, but I guess we live and learn. Crafting is definitely a hobby for me and nothing more.

Hangin' at Grandma's

With Jeremy visiting we have been having a lot of fun with Seth's side of the family. Monday was a fun day of hanging out and enjoying the warm weather at Grandma M's house. The boys of course had to take their bikes over to show off their new skills. Seth's parents live on the perfect cul-de-sac for riding bikes. Grandma made them ramps down her driveway and up the one across from her.
After working up an appetite we had fun laying out on the blankets and having a picnic "Grandma-style." Chicken nuggets and pink drink! :)

Natalie's Baby Shower

We had a great shower for Natalie this week. It has been a long time coming. I have been doing a lot to have it be the best shower ever. Cindy hosted it, Mom did the food, and I decorated and did the games.
It turned out great. Her mom was able to be there and then we just had our family there. It was very intimate and fun. The food was great. My mom of course made the cutest treats.
We got this idea from a blog that had done it in blue for a boy. We of course had to have a rubber duckie punch that was pink!

Cupcake rattles with lollipop sicks and gumdrops.

Marshmallow booties with paper cups of mints.

Toast bibs with cheese, meat and garnishes.

I love decorating for parties. I went over early that morning so that it would be ready for that evening. It was fun to set up and see where things would look good. I even brought my laptop and had a slide show of the pictures I had taken of Presley's nursery so that everyone could see what a great job she had done making it all.




I made cute pink clothes pins for the "cute" game. And I had great prizes for each winner. It was a great motivator.
I made these cute little game folders for each person with the game card in them.
We played:
Clothes Pin "cute" Game
Guess her Belly with Yarn
How many Kisses in the Jar
The Tray Game
Baby ABC's
Baby Word Scramble
Nursery Rhyme Time
We all had a great time playing the games. Even little Lucy got very into them! :)


We also filled out "Words of Wisdom" for her and gathered them for her to keep. It was fun to be able to each tell her at least one thing we had learned and would want to pass on.

She was well cared for a got lots of great things for Presley. It was fun to look at all the cute girly things.

I made Natalie a diaper cake, a "baby sleeping" sign, and a hooded towel. It was the first time I had made a diaper cake and the sign, but I think they turned out SOOO good. The towels are something I have done for a while now. I have them for my kids and they are the best.

Haven

I started teaching my first piano student in February. She is the daughter of my good friend Naomi. It was been a lot of fun and my mom has been helping me and guiding me through how to do it. She is an AMAZING pianist and have been playing and teaching for years, so I am getting great guidance.
Well, this last week was teacher appreciation week and sweet Haven and her brothers brought me my most favoritest, yummiest, most scrumdiddlieumious candy apples from my favorite place, The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. So kind!

Haven has been doing so well and I have loved teaching her and all the things I am learning as I am doing it.
Many people have asked me how I am able to teach piano with three kids running around. Well, I think this picture explains it all.... :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was exactly that. It was a great day where I got to practice how to be a good mother. Seth was sick and the boys had a hard day at church so it was home early with a lot of loved ones to care for.
I had a choice. I could either play the, "woe is me" card or suck it up and be grateful that I have the family I have always wanted and I am able to take care of them...besides they are always so cute when they're tired and sick.
Talking with my sister-in-law, Amy, I learned a valuable lesson that I hope I will remember for the rest of my life. She has a friend who got married later in life to a man with 2 teenage kids. They were married a few years and had a child with the second on the way when he was killed in a car accident. This woman now has a child, had to have one alone, and is raising the 2 teenage children she "inherited". She is upbeat and loving life. While talking to Amy she said, "You know. I got what I wanted. The husband, the family....it just didn't last as long as I had thought it would."
What an amazing perspective. I hope to live that truth. I have the husband I have always dreamed of, the family I have always wanted, and the house where we are all happy and safe. I do have everything I have ever wanted.
So to this credit I had an amazing Mother's day. It even ended great when the boys and Seth came up with a cute card and coupons they had made me with money in it (granted, the money was from my wallet :), but the thought was sweet!). :)
These are the things that really matter. When Sam and James each said to me, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you." What can top that?! :)

BIKES!!!!

When we were at my parent's house on Easter we looked outside to see Sam cruising on his cousin's bike. We couldn't believe it. He was whipping around turns, speeding down the driveway, and jumping it off the patio.
We still had Sam riding a tricycle and we looked at each other and realized that we needed to graduate him to a big kid's bike. Joy told us she had a bike for us so on the way home we stopped by and snagged it. The bike needed some work and we found that it was a little small for Sam, but just right for James, who of course has to do everything Sam does.
So off to the store for us this weekend to get Sam a bike, and helmets and bells too or course! :) We had to get one because he had been begging us daily to ride "his bike."
So here's the result.







We started our adventures yesterday and Sam looked like he was born to ride. James had a little harder time. He is pretty young to be "peddling", but sometimes it is hard for him (and us) to remember that...but by today James of course is getting it down. He is determined to not be a step behind.
We spend a good long while outside today riding in the alley. The boys loved having Couch Miller (Jeremy) and the assistant couch (self named), Seth, out helping and cheering them on.