Ed's 12-hour Bike Race at Sundance

Ed was in a 12-hour bike race 2 weeks ago up at Sundance. He didn't have to bike the whole 12 hours, his team of 4 guys (one being his brother Richard) did. They each biked a lap (not on roads but up and down the ski runs (minus the snow) at Sundance. Each lap took about an hour and then they would switch. Ed had a great time - they even won their age group! "Aunt" Lynn took Dallin and Gavin up to watch part of the race (it was the weekend of the start Matthew's painful stomach problem so he stayed home with me and the little 3) - they had a lot of fun being up in the mountains and watching Ed. Ed's mom even went up for part of the time to watch. I obviously was not there - had I been there I would have a LOT more than just one picture - but I am happy to have the one.

Way to go Ed!

15-Months Old!

I finally got around to scrapbooking the twins being 15-months old (now they are 15 1/2 months old). Every time I go to take pictures of them together I think, this time will be different. And it is, it is even harder than the last time. They just can't stand to sit still, at the same time, when I have a camera pointing at them. They did a little better when I held them and Dallin took a couple of pictures. They are definitely a handful and they wear me out every day - but they are so adorable and so much fun to watch. I love to see their personalities come out and develop and I love to watch them learn. It is also fun to see how they interact with each other and their big brothers - even though Kesley can be a little aggressive. I can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Favorite Things #2

Anyone that knows me, knows I am a ridiculously picky eater. And I am not a big breakfast eater (I do love pancakes but they are not on my list of lose weight foods) but I LOVE these 2 cereals. The flakes are different than just regular Special K (or at least the flakes I remember being in regular Special K). They are really crisp and yummy! I like to grab a handful of the Vanilla Almond for a little snack and I like the Chocolatey Delight with skim milk and strawberries - yum yum! Hopefully one of these days I will find the time to scrapbook/blog - things are just crazy these days (not bad, just so busy) - I'm sure it's the same for all of you as well.

OUCH! My Stomach HURTS!

Poor little Matthew! He had been complaining since Saturday that his stomach hurt, but I didn't think much of it until Tuesday afternoon when he was still complaining. Matthew is not a big complainer so when I realized it had been 4 days and that he couldn't even stand up straight, I decided I better take him in to the doctor (of course, I had already been to the pediatrician twice that day - the twins had their 15-month check-ups and Gavin had a mole removed). I am so glad that our Pediatrician has after hours and are open until 10pm. I took him in and the doctor pushed on his tummy (Ed had me do that but I had no idea what I was doing), shook his hips, and even had him jump off the exam table - all of which hurt Matthew, especially his lower abdomen. The doctor was worried it might be his appendix so they sent us over to the hospital for blood work and an ultrasound.

The lab was closed so we had to go to the ER to have Matthew's blood drawn - not a fun experience. Matthew was so scared (and in pain already). When they were done he said he was light headed from them taking out so much blood (silly boy - they only took 3 little vials). They we were off for his ultrasound. He thought that was cool since he was the only kid in our family to have an ultrasound. The tech couldn't find Matthew's appendix - but apparently that is pretty normal and a good thing (they say if there is a problem with your appendix, it is "easier" to find - but you still won't always find it). When I talked to the doctor, he said that the lymph nodes around Matthew's abdomen were inflamed - which he said was also a good thing. He had some big name for it but it was late, I was in a dark ultrasound room with nothing to write on, so I can't remember what he called it. He said that "this" problem mimics an appendicitis so it most likely is what is causing him all the pain. He said to give him Motrin and that it could last a few days or a few weeks. UGH! I hate when it is something they can't just fix. Oh well. I am also glad it doesn't seem to be anything big. We just have to wait it out. I did let Matthew stay home yesterday and have a lazy, rest day - which he really needed. But today, he had to be tough and go to school. I hope he doesn't hurt too much!

Rainy Days (with a little hail thrown in)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE rainy days! No, that isn't snow in the pictures (not yet anyway) - it is HAIL! I don't love hail but I love those rainy days when you can just stay home and watch the rain. I get to stay home most of the day today, I can't just sit and watch the rain - but I still love rainy days! Too bad I don't think the rain will last all day - it was fun while it lasted.

YEAH! No More Cast for Gavin!

YEAH! Gavin got his cast off last week after having it on for 4 weeks! He was so excited (and scared) to get it off. He was afraid they would cut his arm. Luckily, the nurse explained that the saw they used didn't spin, it just vibrated so it would cut him - he still looked a little nervous a couple of times but did GREAT as usual! His cast wouldn't come off after she cut down one side so she had to cut it into two pieces. Oh well - at least it is off! I must say that Gavin is an AWESOME patient! He NEVER complained about having a cast on, not even once! He is one tough boy!

Favorite Things #1

I haven't had a lot of time to scrapbook/blog lately so I thought I would just share one of my new favorite things (there have been a lot lately so you might start seeing more Favorite Things posts). So this isn't my #1 favorite thing, this is just my first Favorite Things post.

On our little girls weekend last weekend, my friend Dani was using OLAY regenerist night cream moisturizing lotion. She said it was fabulous and several even tried it. I am pretty lazy at night and don't do much in the way of taking care of my skin. So when my friend Carol said she bought it at Costco (they come in a 2 pack), I thought I would too. I am so glad I did. I LOVE it! My face feels so soft afterwards. So, if you need a GREAT lotion for your face at night, I highly recommend this one!

Soccer Dad

What a GREAT dad (and husband) Ed is! Last weekend a bunch of us girls had a little girls weekend up in Salt Lake and Ed took care of ALL 6 kids - including taking all of them to THREE soccer games on Saturday (I had a babysitter but she had to cancel at the last minute - which was fine). He didn't complain - he just did it! Luckily, it was nice weather and the games were back to back and overlapping - which meant a lot of driving but less time at games with all the kids. Thanks for being such a GREAT dad to our kids (and letting me play with the girls for a little bit)!

FYI Dallin isn't in the picture because he is taking it.

Responsible Dallin

As Dallin was going to bed last night, he remembered that he forgot to do his spelling sentences and they were due today. So, on his own, he set his alarm for 5:45am and left me a note (I wasn't home at the time) explaining that he set his alarm so he could get his homework done and for me to please check it and that I could change it to be a little later, just not later than 6:15. I did change it to 6:00 and left him a note to wake me up so I could help him.

What a good boy - when his alarm went off he got right up, made his bed, got dressed, and peeked in to see if I was awake. When I came out a few minutes later, he was sitting down doing his homework. He is such a GOOD boy!

Croup AGAIN!

Poor little Cameron has CROUP AGAIN! He was fine during the day yesterday - just a little runny nose and not eating great but he is teething so I didn't think much of it. That is until we heard that horrible croupy cough! Luckily our pediatrician's office stays open until 10pm on weeknights so I was able to get him in and get his steroid shot of Decadron to open his airways (for those who don't know, croup is when the throat swells and kids can't breathe - for older kids, it is just a cold). We lucked out and he slept through the night - he hasn't felt well at all today, he is VERY cuddly, but he still is a happy little guy! Wish me luck tonight! Sometimes croup is worse the second night (I hope not this time).

Matt-bot

Matthew has been wanting a ROBOT for a long time. Earlier this year, he even made one out of cardboard with Ed. Finally, he got to buy one. He (actually Ed) found one online for $21 (with shipping) that he wanted - and he had saved enough money. It was so much fun to watch him get excited about it. Luckily, it came a few days faster than they said it would. He was so happy when he got to get it out of the mail and open it up.

He LOVES his "Matt-bot"!

Afternoon at the Zoo - with the WHOLE family!

The day before school started, we took ALL SIX kids to the zoo for a little afternoon adventure with the whole family. The weather was perfect and the zoo was not crowded. The kids, even the twins, had fun looking at all the animals and getting ice cream at the end. It was a lot of fun to go somewhere as a whole family - we don't do that very often right now (it is just way to hard with the twins and Brecken). But we are getting more brave and soon we will be able to do more all together!

Gavin - "I can only go to 99!"

Tonight, right after the big 3 went to bed, sweet Gavin came down to get a hug from me (he is such a sweetheart). He was sad and having a hard time going to sleep so I told him to close his eyes and count to 100 and he would be asleep. So he said, very seriously,

"No, don't you remember?

I can only go to 99!"

Birthday in Boston

This year Ed had to be in Boston for work on my birthday (way back in June) - but since the twins are a little older, he took me with him (thanks Cortney for taking great care of our kids while we were gone). We had a great time. We went on a tour of Fenway Park, ate a lot of Dunkin Donuts (my favorite but we don't have them in Utah), went on a duck tour of the city, walked around the city (I even spent a day alone walking around the city while Ed was in meetings), rode the subway, went over to Harvard, stood outside The Garden during the NBA finals, and just had a great time. Boston is a beautiful city and so much fun!

FYI - the first 2 pages are meant to be side-by-side so if you try to read what I wrote you have to go across the 2 pages. The rest of the pages are independent of each other. Sorry, it seemed like a good idea when I was making the pages.

Summer Party at Sundance

Every summer, the company my husband works for had a GREAT summer party for the whole family. This year, it was up at Sundance. They had face painting, crafts, chairlift rides, pony rides, bounce houses and blow-up toys, dinner, and a private concert by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. Ed took the big 3 up a couple of hours before I took the little 3 up (with the help of my cousin Cortney). We all had a great time and the twins were really good! They ate their dinner off Kesley's blanket (never would have happened with my first baby) and then LOVED eating watermelon! And I LOVED watching them eat it! They even did great at the concert - at least for a little bit, then they just got too tired. All and all, it was a really FUN party!

14-months Old (last month)

I am a little (or a lot) behind - the twins are now almost 15-months old. But here are their 14-month old pages. My little photo shoots of them are getting harder and harder - they just don't want to sit still! But they are so cute I had to try.