Loving Every Day...

Hike

2009-10-17T00:30:00.002-04:00

YEAH!!! They are home and I finally have a "real" post on here with pictures!!!

My boys made it home safe & sound...all digits still in tact.

The boys actually did REALLY well - they walked the ENTIRE 11 miles. I was for sure the hike would be way too much for them, especially Luke. They made a deal with dad about not complaining and dad said they did an excellent job of not complaining the whole time. I thought with the cold, it would be super hard and that the boys wouldn't have much fun.

The boys did great!!! The temperature didn't get quite as cold at night, only down to the low 40s. The boys did say it was harder to hike the second day than the first day.

I am SO grateful to have such a wonderful husband who is SO great with the kids and SO willing to do things like this with his kids.

I am sure this will be the first of MANY camping/hiking trips my boys get to go on with their dad. I am grateful for their safe arrival back home and that they had fun.

The whole 11 mile hike gang

And for an added bonus to the day, Ethan lost his 5th tooth. He has had this tooth on the top that just would not come out. It (as you can tell by the picture) was very loose and cock-eyed in his mouth.

I've been asking him for weeks if I can just flick the thing out. And he has always responded that it isn't ready to come out. He even lost one tooth on the bottom next to the front two before this top one would come out.

The boys were outside wrestling around after they got home from camping (don't ask me HOW they had the energy to do that) and Ethan ran inside with blood all over inside his mouth and said, "Luke knocked my tooth out."

I was (not) secretly thrilled to have this tooth finally come out. I was so happy that I even gave Luke 50 cents for knocking Ethan's tooth out.

I just love those super cute grins with the missing front teeth - and now Ethan has a perfect song to sing for the ward talent show coming up before Christmas....

We ARE alive...

2009-10-16T12:33:00.002-04:00

K so wow - I guess I've set a new record of how far behind I can be on updating this thing.

Our lives in recap: boys finished Kindergarten and first grade, we had a great summer, swam in our pool, spent 2 weeks in Utah/Idaho, took a trip to Washington D.C., my sister came to visit from Texas, Em turned 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 months, Luke turned 6, Ethan started 2nd grade, Luke started 1st grade, Linz started preschool, Nate hit the one year mark at work, Nate's parents came out to visit, and a WHOLE lot of things in between that I can't even remember right now.

Hopefully I'll get some pictures to go along with all these events up soon. I have had a hard time motivating myself to post - I am SO behind I don't even know where to start anymore. Hopefully now that I have a written commitment of my intentions to update, you'll see pictures up here soon.

AND - my boys (and husband) just left for an OVERNIGHT, BACKPACKING, 11 MILE HIKE 2 1/2 hours away!!!!!! The high is supposed to be 47 during the day and down to near freezing at night...They are backpacking and not even planning on having a fire to thaw their bodies out with. Now this is my 6 and 7 year old going and enduring this. I would never have agreed if I didn't fully trust my husband. He is SO good with them and I know they are in good hands.

Now hopefully their feet will be just as good and carry them through the 11 miles. Nate has been training with them - we've gone on several LONG walks (3-4 miles) with them carrying some weights in their backpacks. And Nate made them walk for 1/2 a mile on incline 12 on the treadmill the other night. That should be enough training, right????

I will be going crazy not being to text them and find out how things are going. But, with all this free time on my hands tonight, who knows, maybe I'll even be able to get a post or two done and up?????

YIKES

2009-08-19T17:11:00.002-04:00

K so I won't even mention how far behind on my blog I am - just really far. Watch for updates sometime in the next 6 months... (hopefully it will be in the next 6 WEEKS not months.)

So, I have about an extra 40 minutes right now before the kids get home from school. There was a tornado warning right before the kids were to get on the bus to head home. They kept the kids inside the school for an extra 40 minutes to let the storm pass before sending them out on the buses (thank goodness for that.)

I feel bad for those poor kids stuck at school in the middle of a storm on the first full day of school. The storm has passed and all seems to be well and the kids should get home in about 20 minutes. Just thought I'd post an update with my extra 40 minutes in my day today.

We are still alive and well and have TONS to update you on - like our WHOLE summer....

Just some cute ones of Emmett

2009-07-08T22:07:00.003-04:00

Just some pictures of the cute little guy. He is about 2 1/2 months old here. We sure love to have him around.

Emmett with his favorite sister. She is so good to him and I just love to see them "play" together.

Such a good baby - so glad we have been blessed to have him in our lives!!!!

Six Flags

2009-06-20T02:10:00.003-04:00

I am skipping WAY ahead in my blogging order, but I just had to post this while it is still fresh in my mind. NOT to mention Luke, Linz and Emmett are sleeping and Ethan is engrossed in his book. I have 2 loads of laundry going as well - so I have a few minutes to do some pictures quickly.

And well I STARTED the post while I had 3 kids sleeping the day after our trip but I am just NOW getting it up.

The boys had an opportunity to earn free tickets to Six Flags at school by reading for 6 hours. They both did this and got their free tickets. So, we decided to make it a family trip - We went yesterday (Tuesday.) Nate took the day off and my dad went with us as well.

The weather was not looking good for our Tuesday trip. Monday called for rain ALL day as well as Tuesday. As it got closer to Tues. I was getting worried. The weather still said rain - BUT Nate already had the day off, so we headed out and HOPED for the best!!!

It POURED the entire way there!!! The rain stopped about 5 minutes before we got to the park and we didn't see a drop the rest of the day.

AND this is how our day was:

PERFECT weather
PERFECT crowds
PERFECT kids
PERFECT fun
PERFECT timing
PERFECT parking

Can you tell we had a good day?????

Things I will remember about the day/Things I LOVED:

LOVED to see my kids play and work together (deciding which ride to go on next - Ethan played with Linz in the water and helped her. Luke took Linz on a few rides and also played in the water with her)

This was Luke's favorite ride along with the airplane ride. We also got to ride this ride multiple times in a row and several times throughout the day. Let me just say that weight plays a HUGE factor on this ride. The time we rode this with a larger "size" family we got WAY wetter than any other time.
I just had to include this picture - for memory sake. Nate was standing on the bridge taking some pictures of us and he told the boys to look and smile (the first picture is what he got) THEN I said OK I get to eat your treat and IMMEDIATELY they changed to the 2nd picture. The other riders got a HUGE kick out of this and they got to see what well behaved kids I have - with the right incentive anyway...
LOVED that my dad got to come with us
LOVED to walk one on one with them and hold their hands
LOVED to ride with each of them alone at least once
LOVED to see them ride w/grandpa and hold his hands
LOVED how brave they were in trying new and sometimes scary rides
LOVED how Emmett was a perfect little angel the entire day (I TRULY have been blessed with a WONDERFUL baby!!!)
LOVED how all the kids walked almost the entire day (even as we were leaving the park all three of the big kids walked to the van - I thought for sure Linz would konk out in the afternoon and take a short nap - but she didn't and she walked all day long!!!)
LOVED that our kids are OK with sharing the treats we got and don't demand to have their own (we got a strawberry lemonade slushy and some cotton candy)
LOVED that the kids didn't cry or fuss too much when we didn't play any of the carnival games or buy them the capes and swords that they saw everyone have
LOVED that the boys were SO proud that they had earned their own tickets to get in
LOVED that Ethan was so adventurous and brave to ride the big roller coasters (there were only 3 rides in the whole park he couldn't ride. Each kid was barely tall enough for 3 of the cut offs. You had to be 54" to ride anything - 48" was the next cutoff and Ethan is 48 1/2" - 42" was the next cutoff and Luke is 43" - 36" is the last cutoff and Linz is 36 1/2".)

This was my, Nate and Ethan's favorite ride - Evil Knievel - a WAY fun roller coaster. The lines were so short we got to ride this roller coaster 4 times in a row without even getting out of our seats - and this was at about 4 p.m.
LOVED that we stayed together as a family almost the entire day. It was SO fun to be together to laugh and play and share some great memories. Carousel - not the most exciting ride but going on it as a family was fun AND you gotta ride it at least once...

This trip was definitely worth every penny we spent on it AND I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The kids have already been asking when we get to go again. Nate did point out however that were we to go again so soon, I'd probably be sorely disappointed because there is NO way we'd have the same luck with our day in the park as we did this time. We'll wait a while and see if we can tempt fate once again.

I really think the rain scared many people off - it was supposed to start raining again around 5 p.m. Was GREAT for us though and this trip will for sure go down as a HUGE SUCCESS for our family. Now if only every vacation to come will go this smoothly and wonderfully.........

My Little TC

2009-06-19T09:54:00.002-04:00

Nate dubbed Ethan TC because he helped Nate clean the church a few times. Nate "let" Ethan clean the toilets and has ever since been called TC (toilet cleaner.)

So, last night after a FULL day of fun, baseball practice for 2 hours in the morning, water fun in the afternoon and 2 baseball games in the evening I was finally getting the kids to bed at 9 p.m. They asked if they could stay up and I explained how I have a million things to do and I've got to get the housed cleaned before my sister comes this weekend.

Ethan (REALLY wanting to stay up later) said that they could help me clean. After their begging and pleading I said, "OK but you have once change, any messing around and it is straight to bed."

They cleaned their room, the front room (neither of which were too bad) then we headed to the DREADFUL basement. We spent a good 45 minutes with all 2.5 (Luke and Linz together equal the .5) cleaning straight.

Once that was done we came upstairs to go to bed and Ethan was ready to do the bathrooms!!!! I wish I had had more energy last night to do it with him, but I WAS TIRED. I made them go to bed at 10 p.m. - then I headed to bed myself.

VERY first thing before I was even out of bed - Ethan comes in and says he is ready to clean the bathrooms. He was still in his pjs, we hadn't eaten breakfast yet, but there we were scrubbing away at the bathroom. He did a GREAT job - I even had him scrub their bathtub.

What a little trooper and SUCH a big helper. He has given me the drive to be able to continue to clean and organize things now for the rest of the day!!!! AND the best part is now I KNOW he can clean the entire bathroom ALL by himself (he's helped with parts many times before but never the whole thing) I NEED to make him do it much more often!!!

So it is now 9 a.m. - 1 out of 3 bathrooms are clean and I am ready to tackle the rest of the house!!!!

Family Picture Attempt

2009-06-16T04:45:00.003-04:00

I'm sure I do this to my family WAY too much, but practice makes perfect, RIGHT???? Maybe someday we'll get our "perfect" family picture.

Ethan has forgotten how to smile. For the life of me, I just COULD NOT get a good smile out of him.

Sorry, none of the little guy this time, he only lasted for a few short minutes. But rest assured I have PLENTY of other pictures of him.

Here we are. I think Ethan even took this picture of us. Not wonderful but at least something.

And here is the final outcome. I think I only had to swap one head in the even. Again, notice Ethan's smile....

2009-06-16T04:39:00.005-04:00

Linz is such my little COLORER. I remember Ethan really liked to color and Luke, not quite as much. But this little girl - man can she go!!! (Sure comes in handy with 3-4 baseball games a week.)

Linz has been by far my busiest little toddler (in some ways.) I really think it is because she doesn't have a buddy so close in age like the boys do. She still to this day doesn't really play by herself hardly EVER. Maybe a handful of times have I caught her playing all by herself.

She doesn't roll play much either yet. She just loves to be RIGHT by me all day long (which I do love most of the time.) So, when she gets in her coloring moods - it is like heaven for me. She will color for 20-30 minutes at a time. AND she is getting pretty good too!!! She loves to color often and I just think it is so adorable.

Being that silly Linz we love.

She has gotten better as time goes, only did this the once - but she sure did a good job of coloring EVERYTHING other than her paper. (Even the bottom of her foot as she is showing - WHO colors the bottom of their feet????)

She is such a fun girl - the only one I have so no one else to compare her to. Still have her birthday post to do, so more about her to come SOON.

Emmett is 2 months old!!!

2009-06-12T02:35:00.008-04:00

OK so I know he is 4 months old now, but I just couldn't pass up posting these SUPER adorable pictures of him.

Em's 2 month weight: 10 pounds 15.5 ounces. (now isn't that pretty much 11 pounds?? I thought it was funny that that is what the nurse actually wrote down for his weight.)

Pictures NEVER do justice on those first baby smiles, but their smiles most CERTAINLY are WONDERFUL and I love every one of them.

I have a super smiley, happy baby and we just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him.

I don't know if I just didn't notice it with my other kids or if it is just who Emmett is, but he REALLY responds to my voice. I can be across the room and talk to him and he'll look and smile BIG. He smiles so big and easily for me, I just love this little guy!!!

I JUST love these full body shots to see how not so little he is anymore.

And my FAVORITE 2 month picture of my little angle baby. If this isn't a tiny piece of heaven, I don't know what is????

Here is how he's grown:

You can almost see his chubby tummy expanding even now...

Hike Part 2

2009-06-12T01:11:00.014-04:00

So, I'm sure you've all figured out I'm not the best blogger around and am SO behind but here are a few of the things we've been up to.

Nate works with the YM in our ward and they are planning a 30 mile hike in June. So to prepare for the 30 mile hike they went on this 13 mile backpacking hike this weekend. They hiked 3 miles Friday and then the other 10 on Saturday.

Nate being the wonderful dad he is decided to take Ethan on the hike with him. And Oh what a time it was. This is how the weekend went.

Friday Night: Nate and Ethan have been preparing for this hike all week long. Ethan has been SO excited and beaming with joy at going. The whole purpose of this hike is to BACKPACK (i.e. carry everything you need for the day and night with you on the hike.) So you want everything to weigh as little as possible. Thanks to Nate's backpacking expert (guy in our ward) they tried really hard to carry as little as possible.

They weighed in before the packs and after.
Ethan's before weight 50 lbs. and with his pack is 56 lbs.
Nate was 188 before and with his pack is 223.5 lbs. (It's a good thing guys don't care so much about their weight.)

Here are my boys all packed and ready to head out the door.

The weather looked awful for the weekend and before they left the weather had tornado warnings out.

About 10 minutes after they left, this is what came crashing down outside.

Not a big deal, a little hail - good enough to take a picture of.

Well then I go downstairs to run and I immediately see water STREAMING in through the window. Nate is the one that has dealt with all the water leakage in our houses so I give him a call. He is about 30 minutes out now. He decides to turn around and come home to help move everything in the basement and clean up the water. He tells me to quick hang up and go outside and scoop the water out of the window well so it will stop coming in the window.

So, with Emmett screaming his head off (super hungry) and Luke in charge of watching Linz and Em I run outside in the rain and start scooping. I am thinking to myself how I just KNOW I am going to find some rodent down in the water and it is going to gross me out.

Lo and behold a cute little toad right in the window well. Luke's teacher had sent a note home that very day explaining about how they will be studying frogs and toads next week so if we happen across one to bring it in to class.

Luke just HAS to catch to toad and take it to school (his teacher SAID.) Brave Luke went outside, grabbed the toad and we made a home in an ice cream bucket for him. I am hoping he will survive until Monday for Luke to take to school. (In the last picture of the toad you can see a cricket in the background. This cricket was on top of the toad's head when Luke caught him and stayed there for about 20 minutes after they were in their new home - reminded me of the Gingerbread Man.) Luke, Linz and I had planned a fun night. We were going to have a movie night with popcorn and then have a sleepover in mom's bed. Unfortunately these plans were thrwarted by the flooding basement.

Nate got home about 45 minutes after I called him and we got the basement cleaned up and things drying out. I felt so bad for making him come home. I was glad he decided to go back out and do the hike. He had spent SO much time preparing for it and packing everything just so I didn't want him to miss it.

So, he and Ethan headed back out and endured the rain. This is what Ethan looked like when they got to camp.

We didn't get our movie in but we read books in bed and still had our sleepover in mom's bed.

Here is the super light tent they borrowed. Not a lot of room but for only a few hours of sleep it was perfect.

Nate and Ethan and Nate's backpacking guru on the trail.

Here is the whole gang that went a hiking. The poor guys, it rained so much and I think they were pretty much soaked to the bone, but they had a great time and HEY, they are all smiling!!!

Ethan did great. They went about 7 miles on Saturday(they were all wet, tired and a few had bad ankles - Ethan was ready to be done too.) Ethan walked about 5 of the miles and many of the guys took turns carrying him the other 2 miles. Mysteriously Ethan couldn't walk along the trail but as soon as they would stop to rest he could run all over and be a wild man???

Overall, he did GREAT. He had SO much fun with Nate and he had such a sense of accomplishment after the hike. Way to go bud and I'm sure there will be many more father son campouts, hikes and critter catching.

School's Out........

2009-05-27T09:03:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the last full day of school for the kiddos. They are off today and they go in tomorrow for an hour to get report cards and say goodbye to teachers.

So, what am I going to do? I've doubled my kids home during the day? Will I survive the summer?

Yes!!! I am actually kind of excited for the boys to be home. They usually play really well with Linz. We have several trips planned and I am figuring out a daily schedule for the kids to have to help out with chores and stuff.

This just seems so early for kids to be out of school, but here we are excited and ready for the warm weather. Now if only our pool would hurry up and be finished so we can SWIM, SWIM, SWIM...

10 Mile Hike

2009-05-15T19:33:00.003-04:00

So, 2 of my boys just left to go on an overnight, 10 mile backpacking hiking trip. Nate works with the YM in the ward and so he is going on the hike with the boys tonight and tomorrow. He thought it would be fun for our 7 year old son, Ethan, to join him on said hike.

So, they just left with their backpacks (combined weight of 40 pounds.) It is currently POURING down rain with a severe weather warning as well as tornado warnings all through the area. There is a possibility of 1/4 inch sized hail and winds up to 60 mph. OH MY!!!!!!!

One of the guys that is going on the hike is an AVID, DIE HARD hiker/backpacker/camper. I bet he is having a GREAT time with this weather. Nate just called to say, "uh, it looks pretty bad out here, can you check the T.V. to see what they are saying."

Um, and what kind of wife and mother does that make me, letting my husband and 7 year old little boy go out hiking in this kind of weather. I hope the weather gets better for them and that they return safe and sound to me. I'll let you know how it goes and how they survived.

7, 9, 11

2009-04-04T11:05:00.003-04:00

OK, so I know I am skipping WAY ahead (Linz turns 3, her party, Em's blessing, family in town, etc. etc. etc) but I was just SO excited about this I had to document it. (And because this is an easy post!!!)

So, the last three nights Emmett has been spoiling me rotten!!! Wednesday night Emmett slept for 7 hours straight!!!! It was wonderful. He went to bed at 8:45 p.m. so I had to get up once in the night to feed him.

Then Thursday night I put him to bed at about 10 p.m. and he slept until 7 a.m. A full 9 hours AND I got to sleep ALL night long!!!!!

So, then last night I put him to bed about 8:30 p.m. and he slept until 7:30 a.m!!!!!!!!!!! That is 11 hours of sleep without waking up. What a good little baby I have!!! I am besides myself with 2 nights in a row of full, uninterrupted sleep!!!

I know this may not last and that is why I am celebrating. But a well rested mom makes for a happy mom and I am VERY HAPPY today. And who knows, maybe he'll be brushing his own teeth and potty training himself next week......

Mess up my hair.....

2009-04-04T11:01:00.002-04:00

I never thought I'd hear this comment so soon from Linz. I remember saying this to my brothers growing up, but at age 3, ALREADY?????

Luke threw a pillow at Linz last night (a favorite pastime in the Noakes home) and Linz responded with, "don't Luke, you mess up my hair." I don't know where she learned that from. (It can't be from me because I don't do my hair anymore, so there is nothing to mess up.) The things they say are just SO cute.

Fighting for Smiles

2009-03-29T01:26:00.000-04:00

There is almost nothing in the world more precious than those first smiles that a little baby gives you!!!! It is even almost enough to make one forget about the pregnancy and delivery of the babe.

Our poor little Emmett gets bombarded by everyone whenever he wakes up to smile, smile, smile. We just LOVE to see this little guy smile. By the time we've all had a turn to make him smile, he is all tuckered out and ready for a nap again.

Here are a few of Emmett's first smiles (that I captured.) This guy has been SO much fun to have in our house and it is not uncommon to hear, "he smiling at me" at least once a hour in our house. Emmett is a great smiler and he brightens our day with his super cute, contagious and wonderful smile!!!!!

A Fun Week with Family

2009-03-28T01:16:00.000-04:00

Nate's parents and a brother and sister came to visit us for a week. We had lots of fun and took TONS of pictures.

This sets a new record for my longest post ever. We just had SO Much fun I had to include all these pictures.

Nauvoo

We started off the week by meeting the travelers in Nauvoo. We got to do a session at the temple and then walked around and saw a few of the sites.

Of course the first stop was the blacksmith shop to get our "Prairie Diamonds."

How many cute little girls can fit in one small umbrella stroller????

The temple is SO BEAUTIFUL we had to get some pictures posing in front.
Mom and Dad

Jet and girls Chris and Fam

and us

Carthage

We pulled into Carthage at 4:45 p.m. and they closed at 5 p.m. The lady there was nice to let us join the end of the tour.

Here are Luke, Kristal and Ethan in "jail."

I thought this picture of Jeana was just so sweet.

The cousins minus Emmett.

The girls just couldn't resist this dirt...

Emmett's Blessing

We got home from Nauvoo Saturday night and got up early Sunday for Emmett's special day. It was so great to have so much family here to be with us. We love Emmett tons and he has been and is a GREAT BLESSING in our lives.

Nate's parents

My mom and step dad

My dad and Emmett's namesake

All the kids with Emmett

All our family that was able to make it for Emmett's blessing.

Ethan is such a great brother to Emmett and a wonderful helper. I love that Ethan loves to hold Emmett and have his picture taken with him.

Well you can't get a perfect picture every time......

The proud parents

Our newest family picture

I was trying to get some cute pictures of Emmett in his blessing outfit and Luke was so cute. He came over and was trying to help me get Emmett to smile.

He is such a sweet little boy and a great big brother. I just love Luke's cute, cute smile!!!!

Here is my attempt to get a few pictures of this cute little guy in his blessing outfit...

Spoiling Emmett
So, these next pictures will do wonders in explaining why it has been so hard to get Emmett to fall asleep on his own and not neet to be held all day long.... (ok, so it's not only our guests' fault - we all LOVE holding Emmett too and spoil him with our fighting over who's turn it is to hold him)

Just Good Old Cousin Fun

Duck, Duck Goose on the Teeter Totter

FHE fun - battle with Goliath

We saw this awesome double rainbow. It was so fun - I don't know if I've ever seen a double rainbow before.

Boys' Project

Nate has been making these pop can cooking stoves with his young men at church in preparation for a back packing hike they will be going on. So, her got out his stuff and ssssucked his brother and dad into making some.

They each made one and then tested them out to see whose could boil water the fastest.

Lincoln Museum

Here we all are with the Lincoln family.

This museum is truly amazing. I learned so much and the interactive movies they have there and incredible. I highly recommend this to anyone who will be in this area.

Those cute girls got all tuckered out.

Linz and Makall

Jennett had to head home and so I sent the boys to school at the end of the week. That left just the little girls home together all day.

These two girls are SO CUTE together. It was so fun to see them interact and play together. These are just random pictures of the fun things they did together while the big boys were at school.

We had fun with Rylee too

The girls took advantage of the boys being gone by exploring Ethan's top bunk.

Of course they had to play dress up

Luke was so cute with Rylee. He didn't want to go to bed Thursday night because he was playing with Rylee. He was chasing her and making her laugh and it was just precious.

Chris and his cute girls

Grandma with three little cuties

I tried to capture Emmett's cute little smile. Not the best, but still CUTE

Just a cutie

Singin' in the rain

Bike Ride

Nate and Chris took the girls (and Ethan and Luke on their bikes) on a short bike ride. They were so cute and they LOVED it.

Date Night

Nate's parents were so kind as to watch all 6 kids so we and Chris & Kristal could go on a little date. We took them to one of our favorite restaurants here in town. It was so fun!!!
So Sad To Say Goodbye

We had so much fun, thanks guys for coming out, you are welcome again anytime.

We've made it 6 Weeks...

2009-03-18T01:28:00.000-04:00

It has been 6 wonderful weeks. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of sleepless nights, stressful days and many thoughts of how I ever thought I could manage having four kids.

But, life is GREAT!!!! Emmett is such a good baby and we are SO blessed to have him in our family. I'm pretty sure Emmett gets held more than any of the other kids did.

Emmett loves to be held and cuddled. He likes his tummy time and the kids love to talk to him while he is having his tummy time. I think (if I can remember correctly) Emmett spits up less than any of the other kids did. He loves his baths and I just know he will be giving us his first smile soon!!!!

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T00:53:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day. This holiday has gotten more fun as the kids get older. The boys came home yesterday and starting pinching us because we weren't wearing green (a little ahead of the game) but it is cute to see them get excited about it.

Nate was a GREAT dad and made us Green Eggs and Ham with green pancakes for breakfast. The kids thought it was fun and it tasted super delicious.

I made dinner for a friend who just had a baby today so it was a good excuse for me to make an fun GREEN dinner for us as well. We had "green" pot pie. (I didn't mean to make the pot pie green but I had turned our last gallon of milk green this morning for breakfast and the recipe called for milk, so we ended up with a not so tasty looking green pot pie filling.) It tasted good though.

We also had green jigglers, green fruit with green fruit dip (yogurt) and green milk, of course.

And here are my FOUR cute green buddies. It is amazing how many different shades of green they all have on.

More pictures of the babe just because we think he is SO cute!!!!

3 Birthdays for our 3 Year Old

2009-03-15T23:51:00.000-04:00

1 - Princess Tea Party

We had a small pink Tea Party for Linz' 3rd birthday. She invited her friends from preschool and we had a fun day.

We made mini cupcakes for the kids to eat. Linz was a WONDERFUL helper.

We had some fun pink and white decorations.

The Diva guests...Lexi, Anna, Linz, Ben, Piper, Logan

Poor Linz even had a black eye on her birthday. Ethan was "helping" her at church and she fell.

I might suggest this idea to all who have kids. We had Ethan and Luke "serve" the kids by filling up their cups for them. This turned out to be a WAY better idea than I ever could have imagined. It turned into more of a game than actually just drinking their juice. The kids had so much fun asking for more juice as quickly as possible and Luke took well to his duty of filling their cups. He went from kid to kid to kid for 10 minutes straight and didn't get to sit down and eat his own food.

It was so cute to see Luke (Ethan only lasted the first couple of minutes) being so diligent at his job. I think the boys learned a little bit of what it is like to be the one serving others at the meal. They realized a little bit what moms and dads go through every day; filling up cups, cleaning up spills, refilling the same cup again, getting more crackers, filling the cup yet again, etc. etc. etc.

Linz and friends at the tea table. We served yummy finger foods.

Linz' mini cupcake with her three candles.

Here is her purse cake. We actually didn't eat it at the party, the cupcakes were plenty for the kids. So, we got to save it to eat on her actual birthday with our family.

2 - presents from mom and dad

She opened her presents from us on her real birthday

in heaven with pink, princess, babies, etc

3 - Can't forget birthday with Grandma

and still more presents

I think she had a fun birthday. This was her first birthday party. I can't believe she is three already!!!! We sure love the spunk and energy she brings into our family.

Precious Moments

2009-03-15T00:31:00.000-04:00

It is moments like these that I want to hold on to FOREVER!!!!!!

Not only because sleeping kids are a piece of heaven on earth, but because Linz did this all on her own. She and I were just hanging out when the next thing I know Linz is gone. This usually means trouble so I went looking for her (in the pantry getting a snack, in the bathroom opening and eating a snack) and this is where I found her.

She was just so tired that she put herself to bed without even saying anything at all to me.

I think each of my kids has done this at least once. I just think it is SO sweet when this happens - these cute, sweet little kids just put themselves to bed.

THis is also what Linz did ALL BY HERSELF. (Can you see the pen on the wall???) She got a pen from grandma in the mail and she took it to bed with her that night. No wonder it was SO quite when I put her to bed.

I didn't even notice her artwork until the next day. She also added her own artwork to her cute, princess pillow case that isn't quite so cute now. I guess it only needs to last through her (no other girl to pass it onto.)

I'll still take this cute, adorable, artistic, sweet little girl!!!!

4 sick kids and one Echo

2009-03-11T23:41:00.000-04:00

Today has been quite the day. Ethan has been home from school sick all week and Luke and Linz both woke up with fevers today. Emmett also has a fever. Nate and I have been feeling not so wonderful as well - we are just one sick family. We all have this awful cough and overall just yuck feeling. This really has been the first time ANY of us have been sick so far this winter, so really I can't complain too much.

So, Emmett's echocardiogram was scheduled for today and I have been wondering how it would go and I didn't want to reschedule so I hauled four sick kids to the hospital for his echo test today.

I bribed and pleaded with the kids to be on their BEST behavior and I couldn't have been more pleased with how they were at the hospital. The last 2 echo tests I got in and our fairly quickly. But, of course the time I show up with 4 kids, they take 2 1/2 hours to get us in and out. Even with the length of our time at the hospital, the kids did awesome.

I think Ethan is getting over his illness (I am hoping he can go to school tomorrow) Linz and Luke both still feel really warm so they may be staying home another day or two. The best part of today (for Nate) was that I was even in a good mood when he got home from work today. I know, I even surprised myself - 4 sick kids, one sick mom, a 2 1/2 hour doctor appointment with 4 kids, home alone all day with said 4 sick kids and I was in a good mood tonight. I'm still not sure how I managed to pull this one off, but I'll take it for now.

I am truly blessed with wonderful kids and one AMAZING husband - that is how I get through this all and love every day I have with my forever family!!!!

5 Weeks

2009-03-10T00:24:00.000-04:00

Where is the time going? Here is our little 5 week old boy. I got this swing for my baby shower with Ethan and it is so fun that I have been able to use it for all 4 of my kids. I think Ethan used it the most; he liked being in it more than the other kids.

Emmett isn't too fond of the swing; he mostly likes to be held (and there is no shortage of willing people to hold him around here.) He is content in the swing here though - for now.

We sure love this little guy and are SO grateful he is part of our FOREVER family!!!!

School Fun Fair

2009-03-07T00:44:00.000-05:00

The afternoon after Linz' birthday party the boys had a Fun Fair at their school. It was cute and fun. They had carnival games that they earned tickets with and this is what (surprise) they BOTH picked out!!! In wonderful carnival prize fashion the first hammer broke within an hour of being home.

They had fun with them for the afternoon and even Emmett got to try it out...
Caught ya Luke!!!!!!!!!! I just had to include this picture - that's what he gets for even putting it on. He does make a cute mermaid, don't you think????

Wonderful Babysitter......

2009-03-04T01:05:00.000-05:00

Isn't Ethan a great babysitter.....

As long as he gets to play Xbox while "watching" Emmett....
No really, Ethan is a GREAT helper!!!! He will often hold Emmett while he reads a book or plays Xbox.

He is SO good to hold Emmett for me when I need one more minute to finish something up. Ethan loves to hold Em first thing in the morning and is always quick to steal him from me when he gets home from school. He loves to make Em smile and he has even changed a few diapers for me.

The first time he changed Em's diaper, I didn't even ask him to. He was holding Emmett and the next thing I know, he is in Em's room changing his diaper. I've "jokingly" asked him before if he wants to change Em's diaper and he has always declined; so it was SO SWEET when he changed a diaper without me even asking him to.

I am SO blessed to have such wonderful kids and great helpers. Luke is good with Emmett too, but Emmett is still a little heavy for Luke to carry around.

AND......It's never too early to start with the male bonding time and introducing the little guy to video games.

Emmett is 1 Month

2009-03-03T00:32:00.000-05:00

Time sure does fly. My little guy is one month old now!!!! We have most definitely enjoyed every second of his life with us so far.

Emmett is a wonderful baby, he sleeps well at night, is FUN to cuddle, is super cute and puts up with all of us all over him all the time.

We sure love this little guy and look forward to the rest of eternity with him.

I bought this monkey as part of the crib set I got for Emmett. The kids named him Brownie and he sits in Emmett's room. So, I figured he would be the best "measuring tool" I could have for taking a growth picture of Emmett every month. This is what I have so far.

Can you tell the difference between Em at one week and one month???? I know I can.

My Cute Luke

2009-03-02T23:49:00.000-05:00

Luke has been SO cute with Emmett and loves being a big brother (again.)

One of Luke's favorite things to say lately is "Mom, I don't like Emmett, I LOVE EMMETT." It always makes me cringe when he says the first part, but then I just smile when I hear that last part. I LOVE Emmett too buddy!!!

The other thing Luke has been saying a lot lately is that he wished I would have had three babies instead of just one. I guess he doesn't like taking turns holding Emmett and he actually thinks he'd get to hold a baby more often if I had had THREE of them instead of just one.

Swaddler

2009-03-02T14:20:00.003-05:00

My got me this swaddler thing when she came down to help with Emmett. I have never had one of these before.

I didn't do much right when Ethan was a baby and I didn't swaddle Luke either. I swaddled Linz just with a blanket and now I use this with Emmett.

Can I just say that this thing is WONDERFUL!!!!!!

I HIGHLY recommend one of these to anyone having a baby. I have LOVED it SO much. I used it almost all day the first few days of Emmett's life. Now I only use it at night. I keep him all swaddled up while I feed him in the middle of the night. There has only been one night where Emmett hasn't gone right back to sleep after eating and that was the first night home from the hospital. (It seems like that is the norm with my kids though.)

I don't know if he is just a good kid and has the whole night/day thing figured out or if is this swaddler thing. I really think it helps to have him swaddled up - I've heard of lots of people doing this with their new babies so I thought I'd try it out on kid #4.

I know it looks like torture for the kid, but they really do like it and I think it helps them stay calm and sleep better and longer. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT. You should try it out on your next kid!!!!

Em's First Bottle

2009-03-01T01:26:00.000-05:00

Emmett had his first bottle today. He took it right away and loved every drop of it. The kids LOVED to feed him. We had company over for dinner and I didn't get him fed before they got here so I fixed up a bottle and he gobbled it down!!! The kids have asked several times to feed him since and I LOVE the great helpers.

3 Weeks

2009-02-23T21:19:00.001-05:00

Wow, three weeks already. We have just been in heaven (besides the lack of sleep) at our house lately. The incredible miracle of a precious little newborn is something that almost nothing else compares to.

Emmett has been a WONDERFUL baby. He is so patient with us and is oblivious to the constant noise all around him. He has such a wonderful little personality and we already can't imagine life without him.

There doesn't seem to be enough hours in each day for us all to get our fill of this cute little guy. I would love to just hold him all day long, if only I could. My most favorite way to hold him is when he is all curled up - legs tucked up tight - laying on me chest to chest. I almost wish he would stay this little forever; until I think about how sad it would be to never have him smile or laugh at us. I'm sure I'll love him even more at each new stage he enters.

We sure love you Emmett - thanks for three wonderful weeks in our family.

Linz was holding Emmett while he slept and somewhere in there they reversed the roles. I just love these sweet moments...

My big 3 week old little man

Linz is such a good helper and she loves to hold him ANY CHANCE SHE CAN

He is our sweet little guy sleeping. I just love when they sleep with their cute little hands up by their heads...

We are just lovin' life right now!!!

The rest of us

2009-02-21T21:08:00.001-05:00

Besides loving our cute Emmett, this is what else we've been up to lately...

doing some crafts

I even got adventurous and made cookies with the kids (Kirsten we made your Andes mint cookies - they were DELICIOUS!!!)

Linz fell asleep watching a movie - at least she had made a nice bed for herself on the couch...

Our Sweet Emmett

2009-02-20T23:31:00.002-05:00

Ok so I have a feeling this might get kind of long, so if you want to skip to the pictures, feel free.

I took Emmett in for his 1 week appointment and the Dr. heard a heart murmur. She said it very likely could be nothing, but that she is anal about this stuff and wanted Emmett to have an echocardiogram to get things checked out just to be safe.

2 days later I found myself in the Heart wing of the hospital sitting next to Emmett as he was getting his echo for about an hour. The poor tiny littl guy with all those sticky things hooked up to him. That was on a Wed. We heard back on Friday that Emmett indeed had a few things going on with his heart.

I guess there are several "holes" in babies hearts when they are in the womb that allow the blood to flow easier. These holes close up right around the time the baby is born. Well, Emmett had 2 of these holes that hadn't closed up yet. They said these are nothing to worry about, it is very common and most likely they would close up on their own eventually.

The third thing they found was what they call Pulmonary Stenosis. (If you want to know more you can google the condition.) The Pediatrician wanted us to meet with a Pediatric Cardiologist so that he could do some more tests and better explain what is going on with our little Emmett's heart.

One week later (today), I again found myself (this time with Nate in case the diagnosis was more than I could handle on my own) in the heart wing of the hospital watching Emmett receive his second echo. The doctor said that one of the "holes" has already closed up. He said the other one was still there but that is could take up to 2 years to close up.

He then confirmed that Emmett does have Pulmonary Stenosis. We got the best news we could with this diagnosis - that Emmett has a mild case of this condition. With a moderate or severe case, the child would most likely need surgery to correct the valve - but with a mild case, surgery is usually not needed. The pediatric Cardiologist wants to watch him closely over his first year - since babies change so much during that time he wants to make sure the stenosis doesn't worsen as Emmett grows.

We get to go back in for another echo in 2 weeks and then many more times during Emmett's first year of life and most likely every year or two for the rest of his life (to make sure there isn't too much stress on the right ventricle causing it to enlarge.)

All we can do now is hope and pray that his condition doesn't get worse, that it stays a mild case. I have to admit I feel VERY blessed that his condition isn't worse. There seem to be a million things that can go wrong with our beautiful little babies - all sorts of weird and awful things. I am truly grateful that Emmett's condition is what it is and isn't worse.

We have been blessed with great health with all of our children (and Nate and I included) that I can't complain too much about the little bump in the road of Emmett's health. I am forever amazed at and grateful for my FOUR beautiful and HEALTHY children. I am grateful for the joy they bring into our lives each and every day and I am so humbled to be their mother - these amazing little spirits that I can learn so much from.

We sure love our Emmett and we are excited to share him with each of you as soon as we get the chance to. He has blessed our lives immensly and we look forward to creating many wonderful memories with him in our lives.

Here is our PRECIOUS little NEWBORN....

I just love these mad pictures, they are just so cute when they are mad

I might be slightly biased, but isn't he just ADORABLE!!!! Amazing and so perfect (except the tiny imperfection in his heart)

Our fourth BYU baby

2009-02-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

I bought this for Ethan when he was born and (I think) each kid has worn it. If I were more organized, I'd be able to post a picture of each kid wearing this onesie, but I'm not so you only get Emmett. Isn't he a cute BYU baby though. I know it's been a while since we've been at BYU, but we can still claim our kids as BYU babies, right????

Emmett - 2 Weeks

2009-02-17T01:31:00.007-05:00

Officially announcing Emmett to the world

Just some fun pictures of Emmett's second week with us.

Linz just can't get enough of holding him. She does an incredible job and the best part is that she hasn't been jealous or resentful of Emmett AT ALL. She is a wonderful big sister and loves to help with anything Emmett related.

The WONDERFUL big brothers. They do such a great job helping with Emmett. They get him out of the bassinet for me when he wakes up, they help him have tummy time and they hold him when I need one more minute to finish something. I am so blessed to have such great helpers.

Emmett has gotten his first ride in the PINK doll stroller - and he didn't even complain...

I just love these full body shots with their skinny little legs all tucked up under them.

He's trying to smile....
The famous sleeping with dad picture (first of many I'm sure)
I caught him sucking his thumb - a very interesting way of doing so....

Everyone Loves Emmett

The "first" picture of my four kids

And THE BOYS

My TWO BABIES (I know she's a big girl now)

Stuck in the Garage....

2009-02-16T23:24:00.000-05:00

Our front door and the door to the garage both stay locked when you open them unless you manually turn the lock to unlock. So, the kids (and occasionally us) get locked out from time to time.

Sunday morning at 8 a.m. I was still in bed (since I wasn't planning on going to church) and Nate had just gotten out of the shower when we hear the doorbell ring. I thought who in the world is here this time in the morning and on a Sunday. So, I get up and go answer the door only to find Luke standing there. Remember it isn't uncommon for the kids to get locked out so I didn't think too much of it.

Well, a few minutes later Ethan comes up to me and tells me about how he and Luke had gotten locked in the garage.

Here is how the story went: Ethan said they were playing in the garage (I have no idea why - it is freezing out there) and they tried to go inside but the door was locked. They started to get scared and didn't know what to do. So, they said a prayer. It was after they said the prayer that they noticed the door on the side of the garage that goes to the outside. They unlocked the door and Luke went around to the front door and rang the doorbell. When I let him inside, he went to the garage door and let Ethan in. Luke didn't say anything to me about them being locked out.

It made me feel really good that they thought about saying a prayer when they didn't know what else to do. Ah, the faith of a little child. The funny part is that we have a garage door opener on the wall inside the garage that they both push to open the garage door numerous times every week. I guess they forgot about that option.

Kid Pictures

2009-02-16T23:15:00.012-05:00

I know you probably want to see more pictures of the cute little guy. Let me tell you I have a TON on my camera right now. Hopefully I can get to those next. BUT, here are the latest pictures of the oldest three kids.

Ethan's 7 year pictures

I finally got around to getting Ethan's pictures taken for his birthday. We did these pictures 2 days before Emmett was born.

Linz wanted a turn and I, of course, couldn't resist

The last pictures of my THREE adorable kiddos.....

I'm not sure where the kids picked it up from, but they've been saying "cheese" pirate style for a while now. Ethan and Luke started it and then Linz finally tried her hands at it. Here they are saying their pirate CHEESE.

I figured while I had the stuff out, I'd get some of Luke and Linz too.

Here is Luke at 5 1/2 years old

I always get good facial expressions from Luke

Luke has discovered how to cross his eyes on demand and loves to do it (mostly because it makes me cringe when he does)

And here is our ALMOST 3 year old. Maybe since I got some good ones of her, I won't have to do them again in three weeks when she turns 3. Sorry there are so many of her, I just couldn't narrow them down.

Lindsey at almost 3

I had fun playing around with some of these....

Nursery

2009-02-12T01:35:00.000-05:00

So, I've never had a nursery for any of my kids before. We have always been in rental places until now. I guess you could say I went a little overboard, but it has been a fun treat for me (I mean for Emmett) to have a cute, fun nursery.

The green walls didn't quite end up the green I was looking for, but after trying 2 different shades, this is the one that got to stay.

Here is our "miracle" crib. This crib was left on our doorstep in Provo by some guy who had been paid $20 to deliver it to us. I still remember that night - I was pregnant with Ethan, we were both in school and were studying for finals at that very moment that the doorbell rang. To this day we don't know who left this crib for us (we have our guesses) but we hope to reciprocate this kind deed someday.

This crib has lasted us through all 4 kids and we cherish all the memories we have had around this crib.

Emmett trying out his changing table. My favorite part of this set up is having the diapers hanging on the wall, who would have ever thought???

I'm sure I spent way too much on Emmett's room, but I was a little excited!!! And thanks to my mom and mother in law, I was able to get a few more acessories that went with this super adorable bed set.

And this did NOT come with the crib set. My mother-in-law made this INCREDIBLE quilt!!! She had called and asked what crib set we got and I told her. I seemed like only a week (maybe 2 weeks) later I got this in the mail. The picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice. This quilt is WONDERFUL!!! The fabrics she chose are perfect and she quilted each of the different fabrics differently. The fabric with the circles were quilted in circles around the circles. It is just amazing and something that Emmett and I will always cherish.

Thank you SO Much to my wonderful, amazing and talented mother-in-law.

Emmett's First Week

2009-02-08T12:26:00.009-05:00

Just a few pictures (OK, a lot) of Emmett during his first week here.

2 Days Old

3 Days Old

First Bath at Home

He cried a little, but really did great - you can even see how relaxed he was

Squeeky Clean

Fuzzy, clean blonde hair

The kids love to treat Emmett like a doll. They just had to try out the swing. He didn't mind it so much.

My wonderful husband got me some beautiful flowers and his work sent some as well. I just love getting flowers to celebrate such wonderful times in our lives. Does this mean I won't be getting flowers for Valentine's Day now????

That counts as a smile, right?

4 Days Old

Luke and Linz helped Emmett have tummy time (and back time.) I like these shots to show the difference in size between my older babies and my newest baby.

5 Days Old

I just love pictures of their cute, skinny little legs.

So sweet and peaceful

So, apparently I don't have a lot of pictures of Ethan with Emmett. Don't worry I'm sure I can get a few taken:)

Going Private

2009-02-06T00:51:00.002-05:00

After much thought we have decided to go private on our blog. We want to make sure everyone is invited that would like to be, so if you don't get an invite in the next day or so, check the comments and email me and I'll make sure you get invited.

And hopefully once you are invited, I will have our newest post up and ready!!!!

Introducing.................Emmett Mark Noakes

2009-02-04T22:46:00.000-05:00

HE Made It!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is our beautiful new baby. We are so excited he is here and I promise you he will not lack for LOVE in our family.

Emmett Mark Noakes - Birth Day

Born: February 3, 2009 at 11 a.m.

Weight: 7 lbs. 8.1 oz. Height: 20 inches

APGAR: 9 and 9 (Nate asked the nurse, otherwise I wouldn't have thought about asking them, not that it really matters. Nate said the nurse told him that only doctors' kids get a 10 on their APGAR)

Colors: I hope he likes green and brown because that's what's in his room

Friends: Ethan, Luke and Linz

To Do: Eat, sleep, fill up diapers

Food: Mom's milk is the BEST!!!!

What we Love about Emmett: His healthy arrival, his beautiful blonde hair, all his tiny features, his cute little cry, that he loves to cuddle with us, just everything about him. We love him to death and couldn't be happier he is part of our family.

Emmett, we are SO blessed to have you join our family, we are so grateful you came to us healthy and you are so handsome. We want you to know that we love you and are so excited to show you what life in the Noakes family is like. Know that you did not lack for love or attention when you entered this world. Your siblings fight over you every day for who gets to hold you first and who you love the most. We sure love you and we look forward to watching you grow and learn every day!!!!

Is he not a good lookin' kid, except that red slime leftover on his head...

Beautiful in blue

Here is our first picture with our beautiful Emmett on his Birth Day.

Entering the World

Here are the boring details - skip over if you want to get to the good stuff PICTURES

So, I really, really, really didn't want to be induced. Maybe I say this to make myself feel better, but I was VERY close to being in labor when I went in to be INDUCED. Emmett was born the day after his due date (just like Ethan.) Things worked out and we decided to go ahead and get induced Tuesday morning.

I, of course, didn't sleep at all Monday night. Not so much because of being nervous about having a baby the next day. Linz woke us up right as we went to bed and was up for about an hour crying about this and that (worried that grandma had left, wanted mom, etc.) Then I woke up at 3:45 a.m. with contractions. I got up and starting walking around my house in hopes that the contractions would keep up and that I would be in full labor by the time I got to the hospital. The contractions did keep up right up until about the time we left for the hospital at 5:30 a.m. Then they stopped. I was dialated to 3 cm Monday morning at the Dr. office and I was at 4 cm when I got to the hospital.

So, the contractions were doing something, they were just taking their SWEET time. They started the pitocin at about 7:15 a.m. If you've followed this pregnancy at all, you will know that nothing about this pregnancy is like any of my other pregnancies in any way!!! My contractions are no exception. I have had SO many false starts with this pregnancy. The week before Emmett was born I had about 6 different times where I'd have hard, close contractions for an hour or two and then they'd stop. With the 2 kids I went into labor with, it was not like that at all - once I started having contractions, that was labor and the baby was born a few hours later.

The doctor came and broke my water about 8:30 a.m. He wouldn't tell me what I was dialated to - I have no idea why, but it had to be about 6-7 cm. My contractions really didn't hurt at all up until then and then even for the next hour until about 9:30 a.m. then I could feel them. (I had harder, more painful contractions WAY earlier with all the others.) I asked for the epidural at 9:30 and it was fully in around 10:15 a.m. The nurse checked me right after and I was at 8 cm. I started feeling lots of pressure at 10:30, the resident checked me and I was fully dialated, effaced and ready to go. That is when they went to call the doctor, of course aren't we always waiting on them. The doctor got there about 10:45 and Emmett was born at 11:00 a.m. on the dot.

I wonder if they would have checked me before they gave me the epidural, I probably shouldn't have gotten one. I've heard about 7-8 cm is too late to get one. I'm pretty sure I was at an 8 when I got mine. That's ok with me. Since I had the epidural so soon before I delivered I felt more with the delivery than with any of the others (which I REALLY liked.) I felt my water break for the first time. I felt that pressure to push for the first time. And I got to deliver the lower half of my baby MYSELF. Can I just tell you, that was incredible and AWESOME.

The doctor had mentioned that he'd like to let me do this if all was going well and I was coherent enough to do so. The doctor got Emmett's head and shoulders out, then he had me grab Emmett underneath his arms and pull him the rest of the way out. I pulled him right up onto my chest, slime and all. They clamped his cord while he was on me and Nate cut it off then too. That was an amazing and incredible experience and I am SO grateful the doctor cared enough and was willing to do that something extra for me on that very special day for us. I would recommend it to anyone if your doctor will let you. The nurse that was with me said she had never seen a doctor do that before. I was very grateful and impressed with my wonderful doctor.

This is Emmett and I literally seconds after he was born. You can see all the slime still on him.

Here he is slightly cleaned off
Here is Emmett having his first bath. I included this picture so you could see his BLONDE hair. Our other three kids were born with that dark, dark hair, so we were very surprised when the doctor announced that we had a blondie.

We shouldn't be surprised since we both have light hair, but once again Emmett has thrown our "normal" off.

So sweet, holding hands with the nurse
Can you even resist that perfect little face. We have yet to decide who Emmett looks like. If you have any thoughts, we'd LOVE to know.

The PROUD and very EXCITED siblings. Our FOUR kids!!!!!!!!!!! That is so weird to say.

My mom with Emmett. She has been SO WONDERFUL to us through all of this. She came up Monday evening and will be here until Sunday. She has done SO much for us, I can't even say how great it has been to have her here. She has gotten the kids up, fed and on the bus every morning. She plays with Linz and keeps her happy and cleaned my house and made dinners, laundry, etc. We are so blessed to live close to her and we are forever grateful for her willingness to help us out!!!! Emmett is one lucky grandson!!!

Here are my babies - at least I thought Linz was my baby up until Feb. 3, 2009

The proud Father

Here is our first family picture - the 6 of us (officially now:)

Emmett will learn to take teasing from daddy very soon

I had to include one MAD face, they are just so sweet when they are mad.

Here he is in his HUGE car seat. The kids are all too eager to help out. I think Ethan got to buckle Emmett in for the very first time.

Ethan was very sweet and made this Welcome Home sign for Emmett. Ethan called me at the hospital when Nate told him what we named Emmett. He has to ask me what we named Emmett because he didn't believe Nate. (Does that sound like Nate to trick about something like that?????)

Here is Emmett with proud brother Luke. Emmett's first picture at home. Don't mind Luke's pjs. The boys have this thing going lately where they have inside out pj nights.

Happy 7th Birthday Ethan!!!!!!!!

2009-02-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

He we are this year at Ethan's birthday party. We had a lot of OSU stuff around our house that day, so I tried to even it out with a little BYU spirit!!!

Ethan's 7 Year Old Stats:

Height: 46.5 inches Weight: 50.5 lbs.

Shows: Between Lego Star Wars and Webkinz, movies have really taken a backseat in our house. He still loves Star Wars and High School Musical.

Color: Blue and red

Friends: Michael, Cameron, Collin, Bradey, Dallas, Ben, Lindsey, Luke, Mom, Dad

To Do: Play basketball, watch movies, go to church, play with friends, make baby sister laugh, tease Luke

Food: Ethan is a great eater, always has been. I don't know if it's because he is the first and so we were harder on him about eating his food or if it is just his personality. He almost NEVER complains about what we give him to eat. He sits down, eats ALL of his food and is ready to be off to his next task. We never have to bribe him to finish his food. He often eats seconds and occasionally thirds. The only thing I can think of that he doesn't like (at least of the stuff we've offered him) are olives.

His favorite foods are - PBJ sandwiches, all sandwiches, pancakes, cheeseburgers.

What we Love about Ethan: Ethan constantly amazes us with the things he is learning and his desire to learn new things every day. Ethan has been SO great to Luke this year, helping him get up and off to school everyday. Ethan sits by Luke on the bus and helps Luke when he cries. Ethan has gotten much kinder and sweeter to Linz also. He plays very cute with her and tries to include her most of the time. Ethan is a very well behaved kid at school and at church.

What Ethan has learned this year: Ethan has really taken off with his reading this last year. Ethan is a very SMART little boy and one of the best readers in his class. He is reading longer chapter books in school and amazes us with the books he checks out from the library to read. He has brought home several books about the Titanic and has loved learning about that ship. He loves to learn about different animals and has really gotten into the Webkinz world lately. Ethan has learned a lot about basketball and it is great to see his skills getting better over time. He is also learning what it means to stand up for what you believe and that there are many things that are not ok for us to do even though other kids (on the bus) do them. I hope that he will always stand up for what he believes in, especially as that gets harder and harder to do.

We are truly blessed to have Ethan as a part of our family and cherish the wonderful child and helper he is. I am SO excited to see how he blossoms into an even bigger helper when his baby brother is born. He will be old enough this time to really help with a baby, hold him, bring him to me, and hopefully change his diapers?!?!?!?! Ethan is our very easy going kid and always willing to do what we ask him to. He is always willing to try new things and picks up on things very quickly. We thank Heavenly Father every day for sending Ethan to us and pray that we can do our best to teach and guide him through his life. We sure LOVE you Ethan and we hope you had a great day.

Ethan with his gifts on his birthday.

My dad came down on Ethan's birthday (Martin Luther King Jr. day so no school.) That was a fun treat for us and it was fun for Ethan to spend some time with Grandpa ON his birthday.
We tried to take the kids roller skating (they are learning how in P.E. class) but they weren't open Monday night.

I haven't gotten Ethan's 7 year pictures taken yet, so I will get those up as soon as I get them done. Hopefully before the baby's newborn pictures or I will have pictures coming out of my ears (not like I don't already.)

Completely Caught Up

2009-01-29T23:33:00.003-05:00

And now I COMPLETELY CAUGHT UP with my blogging. It feels SO nice, especially since I have been behind since before we moved, 7 months ago!!!!!! I think part of this catching up has to do with the fact that if I can't get caught up now, there is no chance after the baby is born.

You all know by now what a sucker I am for cute pictures of my kids and no doubt, there will be MANY super cute pictures of this new little boy soon enough. So, hopefully I can stay caught up now!!!

And now that I AM finally caught up, THIS LITTLE GUY IS WELCOME TO COME JOIN US ANY TIME NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And not just because I am caught up on my blogging, but also so that he can get a name and we can call him something other than baby brother.

Let's all hope that TONIGHT is the night!!!!

Ethan was a little sad to see me when he got home from school today, he was hoping I would have been in the hospital having the baby. All three kids asked me tonight if I was going to be here in the morning?!?!? Do they know something I don't?????? I would more than OK with that.

I go to the doctor tomorrow morning, if I don't go to the hospital before then. I've been thinking today is the day for 3 days now, so I will not be surprised at all if I DO make it to my appointment in the morning!!!!

He's Almost Here....but not just yet

2009-01-28T15:36:00.006-05:00

I know I am skipping way ahead. I am hoping to get caught up before the little guy actually gets here (today maybe?) But I just wanted to write a few things down before I forget them. I know I am always curious as to how my pregnant friends are doing, so just in case you are wondering how these final days are going; here goes.

This is me at 37 weeks.

For those who don't know I am not the type of pregnant woman who likes to be induced. Ethan came on his own, I was induced with Luke (only so we could move less than a week later and that was only 3 days early) I was set to be induced with Linz and she came the day before.

My doctor has said that he would induce me early as long as my body was ready enough for it. So, he set the date to be induced for Wed, Jan. 28th, TODAY. I was hoping that since Linz came the day before I was to be induced, this little guy would too.

Well, I woke up Tuesday morning at 2:30 a.m. with some pretty good contractions. They were very close together and about 20 seconds or so long. I thought, this is good, today just may be the day (the day before I was scheduled to be induced.) This continued for about 50 minutes. I remember thinking 10 more minutes and I'd get up and start getting things ready to go.

The next thing I know I am waking up and it is 4:30 in the morning. The contractions had stopped and I had gone back to sleep. I was kind of bummed that it wasn't the real thing, however I wasn't quite ready yet to have the baby on Tuesday - too much still to do at home.

I spent all day Tuesday getting stuff ready so that if I went into real labor early Wed. morning, I would be ready for the babe to come. I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday afternoon. I thought for sure I would be at least at 2 cm now (I was at 1 cm 4 days ago.) Doc said the contractions didn't really do a thing, I hadn't dialated any more since the Fri. before. I still had the induction scheduled for the next morning, (this morning at 5:30 a.m.) I told him that I still didn't want to be induced yet and we canceled that induction. (I could have had a new baby boy RIGHT NOW had I been induced, yikes!!!)

I didn't sleep really well last night, not because of the contractions (because there weren't any) but because I kept waking up wondering when the contractions were going to start. I can't say that I even had one contraction last night that was in any way painful. Nor have I had any so far today. I am anxiously waiting for labor to start at any time now. I even tried shoveling the 2 inches of snow we got last night in the driveway, but to no avail.

So, here I sit, still pregnant and waiting. I'm sure my doctor and probably a lot of you think I am crazy and insane for not taking the opportunity to be induced early. I probably am nuts, but something about walking into the hospital at 5 in the morning, getting hooked up and the doctors and medicine doing all the work to get labor going just doesn't appeal to me. I know there are LOTS of women who love to be induced and more power to you, it is just not for me. Now, if I make it to my due date, and especially PAST my due date, I may have a different opinion about being induced. But for now I am waiting and anticipating feeling my body go into labor!!!!

Hopefully tonight will be the night, although I still have 5 days until my official due date. And who knows, maybe my next post will be to announce his arrival (oh yeah, we still need a name for our little guy. Baby brother just doesn't seem to be appropriate - that is what the kids have been calling him.) We are open to suggestions if you have any for us on names........

Luke is Student of the Week

2009-01-26T23:17:00.002-05:00

Here is Luke with Sparky, the dog.

At the boys' school, each class has a student of the week each week. Luke got chosen for student of the week this week (the kids are chosen randomly and Ethan was the very first one in his class.)

Luke was SO excited when he got off the bus on Friday. He ripped open Sparky's bag and showed him to me and told me all about what he gets to do for being Student of the Week.

The Student of the Week gets to bring Sparky home for the weekend and has to take care of him and write in his journal everything Sparky got to do with their family for the weekend. I was hoping that Sparky would get to witness a newborn baby during his weekend at our house, but that just didn't happen.

We had a fun weekend with Sparky, he played Legos with Luke Friday night. He got to go to Ethan's basketball game Saturday morning, help us paint baby brother's room and even went roller skating with Luke Saturday night. Sparky wanted to go to church with us on Sunday, but we had to leave him in the car. He got to watch it snow all during church. He is a good dog and we had fun with him over the weekend.

Luke was SO cute with him. He carried Sparky around all weekend long and took great care of him. He included Sparky in everything we did from eating to reading scriptures and praying. We will miss Sparky but are extremely excited to welcome our own new addition to the family ANY DAY NOW!!!!!!!!

This is what Luke's Teacher found out about Luke for his Student of the Week:

Luke Noakes

My birthday is: August 18th

My Family includes: my mom, dad, Ethan, Lindsey, another baby boy

My favorite color is: blue

My favorite animal is: a zebra

My favorite book is: my animal book (that he got for Christmas - thanks grandma Noakes)

My favorite movie is: Star Wars

My favorite food is: macaroni and cheese

but please don't ask me to eat: peas

I like to wear: my basketball shirt

At school I like to: do work (that is a great thing to hear)

I would like to visit: Disneyland (I think this is what all the other kids say, so he now thinks he wants to go there too)
When I grow up I want to be a: basketball player

My wish is: for a real basketball hoop

Did you notice the same theme here that I did?????

It was very cute and fun to even learn a few things about Luke. Luke, you are ALWAYS MY student of the week (along with Ethan.)

Roller Skating

2009-01-24T23:08:00.003-05:00

The kids have been roller skating in P.E. class at school during the month of January. They have LOVED every minute of it and have been begging to go skating. We tried to take them on Ethan's birthday, but they weren't open that day.

Luke's friend Gavin invited Luke to go skating with him today and he was kind enough to invite Ethan to come along too. The boys had a BLAST for 3 hours. Gavin's mom has helped out a few times during skating at school and she said that Luke was one of the best skaters in his class and she couldn't believe that he had never skated before. I was kind of worried about the boys being out there with so many big kids (they skated from 7-10 p.m.) but they did GREAT.

Luke was the smallest and probably the youngest one out there, but he is a GREAT skater. It was so fun to see them out there doing BIG KID things and I'm glad we were able to go do something that they have been wanting to do for weeks now.

We had tons of fun and we will DEFINITELY have to take them back another time soon.

Sorry about the blurry picture. This was the best one of Luke and Gavin. They LOVE to be silly together and this one captured their silly faces the best.

And here is Ethan with them.
I always feel bad when Ethan's friends ask him to do something or Luke's friends ask him to do something and the other one doesn't get to go. Up until now, they have basically had the same friends and whatever one does, the other does too. I guess now that they are both in school and are starting to have different friends, I need to get used to this happening. They are just so used to doing everything together, it is hard for one to see the other get to do something fun. So, I'm Ethan got to tag along this time.

Linz' 2nd, 3rd and 4th haircut

2009-01-18T22:57:00.000-05:00

Nate's mom gave Linz her 1st haircut probably a year ago, really just a trim.

Linz' hair has been getting so long and was very uneven, so when the boys got haircuts a few days ago, I trimmed up Linz' ends. Yesterday I woke up to Luke telling me that Linz had cut her hair. I jumped out of bed to check out the damage. She cut one tiny little piece on the side of her head, not a huge deal.

We had a talk about cutting hair and that ONLY mommy or daddy gets to cut hair. So today, I wake up and when I walk into the kitchen I see several chunks of hair on the floor. Apparently she didn't cut enough yesterday and neede to trim a little more today. Even though she got several more chunks today, it still isn't too bad. I had to pull the cut hairs up so you can even see them.

Hopefully these will be her last haircuts for a while now.

Sorry about the face, this picture showed the cut hair the best, she just had a weird face in this one. You can see the cut hairs right at her chin line. See not horrible, but still not a good habit to start.

Prepare to be GROSSED out.....

2009-01-18T22:51:00.001-05:00

Sorry you have to endure these pictures, but just for my sake in documenting this. Here I am at 38 weeks pregnant. I made Nate take a picture of my legs and feet because they are HUGE and I don't even recognize them anymore. Some days are worse than others, but even on the good days, my feet are larger than the very worst day with all three of my other pregnancies.

I have many pairs of shoes that I cannot even fit my feet into with this pregnancy - I have NEVER had that problem before. Hopefully it is ALL swelling and not just that I have gained so much weight my feet and calves are that much larger.

Ethan's 7th Birthday Party

2009-01-17T23:12:00.004-05:00

Since we had Ethan's birthday in Idaho with family last year, this was his year to have a friends' birthday party. I let him choose the theme and he wanted a Sports Birthday Party. So, this is what we came up with.

This was his invitation - the front

and the back.
We decorated with a sports theme, so naturally Brutus had to be there to welcome all the guests to the party.

Here are my three buddies "sporting" their attire.

The Chief decorator getting the ball balloons ready.

Here are the finished ball balloons. I thought they were a fun idea and Nate did a great job making them. He thought it was cheesy. Several people have told me that their boys have loved these balloons. We had footballs, baseballs and basketballs.
Lunch ready to be served. We had stadium food of hot dogs, pop, chips, football and basketball jigglers, apples and carrots.
Here is the gang eating and getting ready for some fun.

These are the party favor bags all lined up and ready to be taken home. Just some fun sports stuff inside, stickers, candy, a ball whistle and a REAL baseball signed by the MVP of the day, Ethan.

Nate started off the party with a game of sports charades. The kids had to act out a sport for everyone else to guess.

Nate does such a great job of entertaining the kids and most of these game ideas were his. Here are the kids defending the "castle" they built while the other team tries to shoot it down with their nerf guns.

Then we played dodgeball, all the boys against Nate.

We also had bean bag catch - to see who could rack up the most catches in a row. It's too bad Ethan's birthday is in January, with a sports theme, we could have really had fun outside. I don't think the kids minded at all though, I really think they had a lot of fun.

The kids had had 2 snow days from school the 2 days right before the party, so we had 10 VERY active boys at the party. I think they were all excited to get out of the house and do something fun. Here they are doing the long jump. We got a little crazy with the long jumping. No one got hurt, I promise!!!

Here is Ethan with his cake(s.) I made 2 just in case. I wasn't sure how many kids just one would feed. We ended up only eating part of one cake. It worked out just fine because then we got to use the other cake on his "real" birthday 2 days later.

Blowing out the candles...I wonder what he wished for? I think I have a guess, you'll see later.

If I had to guess what he wished for it would be this right here. He got three webkinz for his birthday and he was in HEAVEN with them!!!!

We played "musical chairs" to open his gifts. We passed a ball around the circle and when the music stopped, the person holding the ball got to give Ethan their present.

Here is Ethan with his gifts from the party. He got lots of FUN stuff, including some money that he is anxiously wanting to buy ANOTHER webkinz with.

Here is a picture of all the kids at Ethan's party.

Collin, Alack, Isaac, Dallas, Chris

Luke, Ethan, Michael, Owen, Jameson

They are a great group of kids and we had a lot of fun with them for the afternoon.

We had all the kids sign their names on a ball when they got to the party. Ethan got to keep that ball as a souvenir from his 7th birthday party.

It was a great fun day!!!! My wonderful mother came up to help us the day of the party. I don't know how we have ever done parties without her before. She was such a HUGE help!!!! It was so amazing to have that one extra set of hands around. She cleaned up from lunch while we played games and then cleaned up the cake and ice cream while we did presents. She really saved me a lot of work.

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Then, when we went to exchange a webkinz, she had the whole house looking better than it did before the party started. It is SO wonderful to live close to my mom and have her be willing and able to help us out and celebrate our special days with us!!!! Thanks mom.

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These are the Thank Yous that we gave to each of the kids. I took their picture when they first got to the party and then Ethan wrote them each a note saying thanks for the gifts. It is also a fun way to have a nice picture of each of the kids that were at the party.

As if Ethan didn't get enough presents from his birthday party, my mom spoiled him with more presents that night, before she left to go back home (one of the benefits of living so close to grandma - a day trip is do-able.)

He LOVES this guitar and now wants to take guitar lessons.
Here is Ethan's wish come true, a huge pile of webkinz. Ok, well 2 of them are Luke's - but their webkinz had a fun get together after the party was over.

My Little Penguins

2009-01-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

The kids have this new game that they like to play which involves wearing my and Nate's coats. Usually they just do this inside - they put on our coats and then just play around. They'll "hit" each other with the long sleeves, fall down a lot and just be goofy in HUGE coats.

They decided to see how this game would be outside on the ice covered deck. They even got Linz to join in also (she could wear Ethan's coat as her HUGE coat.)
Then, they decided they wanted to be seals. Here they are begging for their fish. They had so much fun sliding around the ice on the sleeves of their large coats.
It is always fun to see what cute, new games the kids come up with when they let their imaginations run wild. I am so glad they are such good friends and play so well together. Linz gets bored all day hanging out with just me, it is like she is in heaven as soon as the boys get home. (I guess maybe that will change here shortly when she and I have a new baby to take care of during the day.)

Ethan is such a good big brother

2009-01-05T22:16:00.001-05:00

I snapped this picture of Ethan today and just wanted to write a little bit about him and how great of a big brother he is.

The boys don't start back to school until Thursday so they have been home a few more days.

Linz has been doing this thing where she'll sleep in her bed for an hour or so and then wake up from her nap. She is cranky and just wants to cuddle and usually falls back asleep if I hold her for a few minutes. Well, since Ethan was home today and he was doing some reading, I had him hold Linz while he read his book. Is this not the sweetest picture?!?!?!?

Ethan really is growing to be a great big brother. He certainly does his fair share of teasing and bothering his siblings, don't get me wrong. But truly he loves them and is SO good about doing (almost) everything I ask him to do. I have tried to start asking Luke and now Linz to do more, but inevitably Ethan is the one I still rely on the most to do things for me. He never complains and is such a good helper for me. (One reason it is sad to have him gone ALL day at school this year.)

Ethan is always good about helping Linz go to the bathroom or get her shoes and coat on. He helps her clean her room and has been really good about playing with her and letting her play with him. I'm so glad he loves his little sister and I hope they are always great friends.

I think I've written about this before, but while I'm on the subject, I should mention it again. Not only is Ethan good to Linz, he has been SO GOOD to Luke this school year. Luke has been doing much better about getting on the bus in the mornings, but everyone once in a while I still have to set him on the bus. Ethan is always right there to sit by Luke (and hold him on the bus while I run off.) There have been numerous times that we have missed the bus and so I have to take the boys to school. Luke usually doesn't want to get out of the car, and Ethan helps Luke get out and literally "prods" Luke all the way up to the school.

I don't know what I would do about Luke without Ethan. He is such a good sport and has been a huge blessing in our family. I hope he doesn't ever resent everything I make him do, but that he will be grateful for the opportunities he's had (by being the oldest) to learn and experience things later in his life.

Fun with Family

2009-01-02T21:44:00.001-05:00

It was fun to hang out with my sister and her family. Linz loved being "mom" to Celeste.
And trying to make Celeste pose for pictures with her.

My sister and her family.

My mom and part of the grandkids.

My beautiful family.

We spent one afternoon making a gingerbread house.

We didn't actually get it all put together like a house, we just decorated all the pieces. The kids had fun with that though.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

On New Year's Eve, we took the kids to the Children's Museum. They had fun and got some energy out.

Grandma was so good with the kids. She let them each pick out a game to play and she played each game with the grandkids. This was the game Luke picked out, Chicken Limbo.

Wade picked Mr. Potato Head and he and Linz had fun "creating."

New Year's Even afternoon, we headed down to my house again to celebrate the New Year with my dad and my sister.

Linz and Wade had fun smelling my dad's oils OVER and OVER and OVER again. They were very cute.

We stayed up late eating lots of junk and playing lots of games. I think we all managed to stay up until midnight even (except Nate, I think he took a 10 minute power nap.) We celebrated the new year and headed to bed.

It was a fun night and is always good to be with family.

Christmas Evening

2008-12-25T23:55:00.001-05:00

We did a lot of traveling on Christmas Day. That afternoon we headed up to my aunt and uncle's house to spend a few hours with them. 6 of their 8 children were home for Christmas this year (minus the one in CA and the one on his mission.) It was fun visiting and catching up with them.

These were our closest cousins growing up (we even went to school with them in Jr. high for a few years), so we spent a lot of time with them and it is always fun to get together once again.

There were plenty of cute kids and lots of chatting, catching up and just plain Christmas fun. Once again, there was food galore and always yummy treats.

My cousin's little girl being cute

My niece, Celeste being cute too
My cousin Katilyn and her family
My cousin Larissa and her family

My cousins Stefanie and her husband

My cousin Natalie and her husband

Christina - my youngest cousin

Here is my sister and I with 6 of our cousins.

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T17:26:00.001-05:00

Christmas morning is always a delight when the kids are involved. They didn't wake up super early, yet still early enough. They got to go down and look in their stockings and play with those toys until the rest of us got out of bed.

We had a nice morning of opening gifts, it was nice that all the kids were able to open their own gifts this year. Ethan read the names and handed out gifts to everyone (well, ok, really just tossed gifts that weren't his out of the way to get to all of his own gifts.)

I had to look through all their gifts after we took their bags of stuff upstairs because they opened their gifts so fast I didn't really have a chance to see what they got.

My mom always does a wonderful job of Christmas for the kids and this year was no exception. The 4 boys got several toys that were the same and they were entertained by those few toys for the next week and a half. (While the older boys, Nate and Shawn, were entertained by the new Deer Hunting Wii game.)

Linz and Celeste
My mom and Santa, I mean Richard
Nate and I bright and early on Christmas morning, remember the morning part...

My little, ok younger, brother Mitchell came by. The kids always love uncles.

Christmas Day after lunch, we headed down to our house to celebrate Christmas with my dad. The kids got more presents and we had fun hanging out here with Grandpa and uncle Mitchell.

We even got a REAL game of Pounce in. It has been WAY too long since I had played a real, fast game of Pounce and it was TONS of fun. (And not only because my dad and I won.) We'll have to do it again sometime SOON!!!

My kids were in heaven with Celeste. Linz absolutely adored her and wanted to do everything with her and follow her around. Ethan and Luke also loved to hold her and play with her. My kids were constantly fighting over Celeste, while Becky's boys didn't really pay too much attention to her (but they get to see her all day every day.)

The boys had fun helping Celeste play the piano.

Linz got this gloworm from Grandpa. She LOVES it. She actually saw it before Christmas and threw a HUGE fit when Nate took it away from her. So, we knew she would like it when she opened it.

Grandpa opening his gifts.

2008 Newsletter

2008-12-25T00:08:00.000-05:00

Here is our Newsletter from this year.
Here is a brief recap of our 2008. We have had a fun and blessed year.

December -Mon 12/10 - found out we miscarried*Tues - Nate drops Melinda off at hospital for D&C surger on his way to take National Boards*Wed - Nate finishes second day of boards/ Melinda recovering from surgery*Thur - move to Boise for 3 months (36 hour car ride)* Christmas with ALL of Nate’s family*START OF CRAZINESS
January-2008 Ethan has new K class*Ethan turns 6*swimming lessons*ride in G-pa Huckstep’s HUGE motor home*visit family in Utah*homemade ice cream w/ G-pa and G-ma Huckstep (no complaints)
February -LOVE g-pa Noakes’ cabin(in mountains-TONS of snow)*snow caves* Linz finds best friend, cousin Makall*visit McKees in WA
March -Linz turns 2*starts to talk more*loves babies*home to Columbus*Chris, Kristal and Makall visit*Nate starts last 1/4 of school*Linz in big girl bed
April -Ethan back in first K class*Luke learning to read*Nate takes LAST set of boards*look for employment*boys REALLY into Star Wars
May -Accept job in Springfield*Luke graduates preschool*house hunting* Ethan soccer
June -Ethan “graduates” K*Nate GRADUATES Optometry school*Nate’s parents, sister Corinne, &Melinda’s Mom come out for graduation*baby #4 on way*trip to Hershey, PA, Sesame Place, visit Potters in New York* squeeze in 1st visit to Kirtland*pack*camping
July -Close on our 1st house*unpack for 3 days then trip to Boise(Jennett & kids too)*meet cousin Rylee* unpacking*Nate finally gets to play doctor
August -Nate adjusts to working life & to being called Dr*Luke starts K on 5th b-day*Ethan starts 1st grade*Linz lonely all day*having a boy*kids LOVE neighborhood pool*Linz potty trained
September -Luke has hard time w/ school( get on bus @ 7:20 for 40 min. bus ride)*Enjoy being 1 hr from Melinda’s parents*Ethan loses 1st tooth
October -Melinda called to Primary*Nate adds new title to name–President (YM President)*Nate’s brother Jarom visits (Simpsons too)
November -Nate’s parents visit (Simpsons come again)*spend our first Thanksgiving in Ohio-at Simpson’s-Cincinnati*Jet’s famous sushi turkey recipe*celebrate 8th anniversary*Melinda helps in kids’ classes
December -Going WAY too fast*looking forward to the New Year and new addition to our family…due February 2
We wish you all the best, and what would life be like without craziness!!!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T22:48:00.005-05:00

Nate had to work half day on Christmas Eve, so he got off around noon and we got things packed and headed to my mom's. My sister and her family got to my mom's a few hours before us. We had a nice evening. The kids were so excited to see each other and Linz had a blast with baby Celeste (she calls her Aleste - in fact she insists that we name our baby Aleste.)

These are my sister's three kids - Treyton, Celeste, Wade

Celeste ---------Linz

Grandma with her 2 princesses

We acted out the Nativity. The kids were very cute and they had fun. Linz was Mary and Wade was Joseph. We never had a pregnant Mary in our Nativity this year, Linz wouldn't let the baby out of her hands, so Mary carried baby Jesus into Bethlehem this year.

Ethan, Luke and Treyton were the 3 Wise Men

We even had a special visit from Santa. Santa stopped by as the kids were getting ready for bed and they got to come down and help Santa put the gifts under the tree. I got to take advantage of the Santa opportunity and get pictures of the kids with Santa since we hadn't visited Santa yet this year.

Ethan ------------Luke

Linz

Treyton -------------Wade

As soon as Santa left, Ethan said that he knew that wasn't Santa, it was grandpa. I asked him why he thought that and he said that he heard him talk and he could tell by the tennis shoes (Santa just had black flap things that went over his shoes.) I was impressed that Ethan noticed those things. He didn't make a big deal out of it and I told him not to say anything else about it. None of the other kids really heard or at least were scarred by what Ethan had said. I guess he is getting older and realizing more things.

Side Note: Luke made some reindeer food in his Kindergarten class that we were supposed to leave outside so the reindeer could find our house. We forgot until after Santa had already come. Linz noticed that Santa had forgotten to fill our stockings when he stopped by. She was VERY concerned about this (it was funny that she - being the youngest - was the only one who noticed that Santa forgot to fill our stockings.) She told grandma SEVERAL times while getting ready for bed about how Santa forgot our stockings and what were we going to do.

So, since Santa forgot to fill our stockings, I told Luke that we'd better put the reindeer food out so the reindeer would smell our house again and stop back so Santa could fill our stockings. It must have worked because we had stockings full of goodies Christmas morning!!!! Thanks Luke for saving the day with your reindeer food.

Luke's Polar Express Party

2008-12-23T23:34:00.004-05:00

Yes, the date here is correct. The kids had school the Monday and Tuesday of Christmas week. They didn't go back to school until Thur. Jan. 8th though. Kind of weird, but it worked out. I actually really enjoyed the kids being home those few days after life returned to "normal" for eveyone. I felt like I didnt' really get to see them much over Christmas because they were too busy playing with cousins, that it was nice to have three day to spend with just me and them. And it helped that they were loaded up with new toys to play with, so they played really well together.

Once again, I got the opportunity to help out with Luke's "Winter Party."

We did a Polar Express party. The whole school wore their PJs to school the day of the parties, so it worked out well to have the Polar Express party. We made candy trains, ate train sandwiches, cookies and hot chocolate.

We made a reindeer craft and read, The Polar Express book. It was fun!!!!

There is Luke in the red PJs with some of the boys in his class.

Here is his whole class in their PJs watching their teacher read the Polar Express on the Smart Board.

An Update on the babe....

2008-12-21T23:02:00.000-05:00

Well, just in case you are wondering how the babe and I have been doing, here is a picture of us at about 34 weeks. (Only 6 more to go.)
This pregnancy has been ABSOLUTELY nothing like any of my other three. The boys' were pretty similar and Linz was almost the opposite of the boys'. And just when I thought I knew what pregnancy was like, I got thrown for a loop. I cannot believe how many different symptoms I can have this time that I have NEVER experienced before.

I am doing much better now though, not sick anymore and getting excited and ready for a newborn to join our family once again.

It always amazes me how much I love my kids and how wonderful they are and then as soon as another spirit enters our home, I simply cannot imagine our life without them. I am getting very excited to welcome this new little one and I know we will fall in love with him more and more every second he is a part of our family.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-21T22:57:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Christmas morning as a family a little early since we'd be at my mom's for the real Christmas morning.

It was a fun morning and it is always fun to see the kids get so excited and be SO happy.

Stockings all in a row

Our tree on Christmas morning...

Linz with her stocking
Luke with his stocking

Ethan with his stocking

The kids posing in front of the tree as Kung Fu Pandas

The kids being CUTE in their Christmas PJs

Linz loves her new baby

Luke with his favorite gift - his Webkin, Spikie

the boys with their NEW light sabers (can never have too many of these)

Linz LOVES her new stroller. She pushes it around EVERY day. She had to load every doll she owns into it right away. Here she is with her new dress up equipment - shoes and all!!!

Here is my best new chef. I just couldn't pass up this super cute apron and hat for her.

Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-14T22:32:00.005-05:00

We invited a few families over and had a fun night of making Gingerbread Houses. Nate was the master architect and made all the houses last night so they would be ready to decorate today. He did a great job and we had SO much fun.

The raw ingredients... The kids being silly and ready to create
The finished houses.
My little cutie with the house she (Nate) made.
Here are the finished products of our friends that joined us for the night....

Jaina
Aaron & Lisa
Nate and my houses

Tammy & Brent

Ethan's house slipped off his plate RIGHT before we snapped the picture. So, here he is with his broken "house."

Happy Birthday Nate!!!!!!!

2008-12-11T22:17:00.000-05:00

Nate had a wonderful ( I hope) birthday today.

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and father.

We had a simple birthday with presents and an ice cream cake. OK so it was more of an ice cream rock cake. It was my first attempt at an ice cream cake. Let's just say I need a little more practice. The ice cream was good though!!!!

Some of Nate's co-workers went in together and got him this.....for his birthday. One of the ladies is from Ohio, so she loves to talk everything Ohio and Buckeyes with Nate. I'm sure she jumped at the chance to buy this for him.

Linz does have underwear on, I promise, just not quite sure what happened to the pants.

Nate prefaced telling me about his gift by, "I'm not sure what you'll think of it, but the kids will love it."

The kids have LOVED Brutus!!!! We have had him up several times, for the OSU v. Texas game and for Ethan's sports b-day party. Check back for that soon.

And of course the silly eyes (thanks to Jennett.)

First Surgery.......

2008-12-09T21:58:00.005-05:00

Luke went in for surgery today. This is our first experience with surgery on one of our children. His surgery was called: Meatourethroplasty with urethral advancement. May be kind of embarassing for him so if you want to know the specifics, you'll have to look it up. This was a very simple outpatient surgery, so not much to worry about but he did have a general anethesia, so that is always kind of scary. AND with this being our first experience with surgery on one of our children, it is kind of scary!!!

He did great. He was very brave and handled everything very well (except taking the initial medicine to make him super happy.) He was supposed to take this like Tylenol, in a cup. He is not our medicine child (Ethan and Linz will take medicine at any time with no problems, Luke fights it to the death.) We had to strap him down to squirt this into his mouth.

Nate was supposed to be the one to take Luke in for his surgery. He took the afternoon off of work so he could take Luke in and the hospital called to move up the surgery time 2 times on us. So, Nate literally got to see Luke for 2 minutes RIGHT as they were wheeling him into the OR.

The nurses were so great at the hospital, Luke got to pick a prize for him (slinky) and one for his sister (who I had to take with me, since they moved the time up - a purse.) The nurse let Luke pick out his smell flavor for his laughing gas and rub it into his mask himself. He picked watermelon. He got to watch TV as the happy medicine kicked in. They say this stuff just makes them very happy and not really fully realizing what is happening so that the kids aren't terrified as they are wheeled away from their parents and into some strange place.

It worked great, he left us with no problems and we were sent to wait with the millions (ok 20 or so) other people waiting for loved ones to come out of surgery. Side note: the Dr. Nate works for was doing cataract surgery that same day in the same place Luke had his surgery so we got to meet a few of her patients.

Luke did great, was a little tired and sad right after surgery. We took him home and just hung out the rest of the day. We kept him home from school the next day, then he was fine to go back. He recovered very well, just had to apply some cream stuff a few times a day for 2 weeks and he was good to go.

He must not be too embarrased about this stuff yet, because he told several friends at school and one of them told his teacher. (She knew he was having surgery, but not what for.)

He is doing great now and the bills are just starting to roll in, so we will get to try out our insurance on this trial run before the baby is born.

And now for Christmas!!!!

2008-12-04T23:38:00.002-05:00

We have decided to start the tradition of getting the kids a new ornament each year that represents something about them for the year. I wasn't going to do the back years that we've missed, but I found some super cute Ninja Turtles that fully represent the boys for 2007 that I just couldn't pass up, so we did one for this year and one for last year.

Linz helped pick hers out (since she shops with me) and she picked a dog for last year, and Princesses, of course, for this year.

Luke got a Ninja turtle for 2007 and a Star Wars guy for 2008
Ethan also got a Ninja turtle for 2007 and a cute basketball snowman for 2008.
And here are my three (I only have a little while longer that I can say 3) cuties in front of our tree. This tree used to fit us great until we moved somewhere a little bigger and now it looks SO tiny. It was perfect for all our years in smaller apartments.

They helped me set up the tree tonight and we had SO much fun together. It is definitely more fun to celebrate the holiday season with little one who get so excited about everything.

Goodbye pink blankie...........

2008-12-02T23:20:00.007-05:00

For those of you who had the opportunity of interacting with Lindsey for the first 2 1/2 years of her life know that she had a special blanket that she loved. Ethan and Luke were never attached to anything, blanket, pacifier, thumb, animal, anything. But, Linz had 2 things: her blanket and her thumb. Lucky for us these 2 things went hand in hand though, she didn't do one without the other.

This started out innocent, probably my fault. I heard rumor that if you laid your baby on a silky blanket, they wouldn't get that bald spot on the back of their head, so this is how Linz started off her life.

Here she is only a few days old.
I can't remember exactly when she started sucking her thumb, it was only occassionally at first. And she would suck both the right and the left. (See it is the left here)

And the right here. Notice she still sleeps on the silky blanket.

As she got older, I think she started moving more and it turned into sleeping with the blanket instead of ON the blanket.

And then finally, she started holding the blanket while she sucked her thumb.

She got to the point where she would only suck her thumb when she had her blanket. I had high hopes from this time that when the one went, so would the other?!?!?!?!
We would always "fight" over who got to cuddle with Linz. She loved to be held when she got tired and would suck her thumb and hold her blanket.

Very, Very rarely we would catch Linz sucking her thumb without having her blanket. More often than not this would have been the result of certain persons having just ripped her blanket out of her hands though. (Notice the blanket in her lap.)

And she still loves to cuddle with her blanket. We got to the point where she liked to have her blanket in the car also, so with grandma to the rescue she now had her pink blanket in the house and an identical white blanket that stayed in the car to comfort her there.

Don't mind the laundry, it is clean even Linz clearly is not. This picture illustrates her technique for getting the thumb and the blanket just right. She would insert the thumb and then wrap the blanket around her index finger so the blanket would be right up under her nose.

Linz mostly only sucked her thumb and had her blanket when she was tired and ready for a nap, but occasionally she needed it just for comfort, like when she fell down the stairs, etc.

This is what she looked like after she fell into her deep sleep, no thumb but the blanket right with her.

And again, more cuddle shots. This picture was taken right before we moved from Ohio. Linz has had many wonderful moments and lots of hours logged with this blanket of hers.

She even tried to convince me once that she couldn't take a nap because her baby was in her bed and was using her blanket. Very cute, but it didn't work.

And finally the very last picture I have of Linz with her blanket. This is about 2 weeks before she gave up her blanket.

And now for the story of how we managed to actually get Linz to give up her blanket (and thank goodness the thumb went with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Sorry this is long, but it is my journal entry, so just skip over it if you want.

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About a week before Thanksgiving, I had washed Linz' white blanket and had forgotten to put it back in the van. I tried to give it to Nate when he was driving her somewhere and he said, no she'll be fine, so she went that whole week without a blanket in the van.

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We were going to Cincy for Thanksgiving and I, of course, grabbed her pink blanket to take with us. We left later at night and Linz hadn't napped, so I knew she would fall asleep very soon after taking off in the car. I had hidden the blanket in the van, I think Nate mentioned maybe we should try to see if she can go without her blanket and maybe this weekend could be the time she gives it up.
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She was a little fussy before falling asleep but didn't really even ask for her blanket. I think she mentioned it once, but I think the week she spent without her blanket in the van REALLY helped her be able to fall asleep this time without it. And to my extreme delight, she even fell asleep with sucking her thumb (remember she really only would suck her thumb when she had the blanket to go with it.)

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She did finally fall asleep and I remember thinking, well, that wasn't so bad. I started feeling kind of bad that the time we decided to try to get her to give up her blanket we would be guests in someone else's house, but then we thought, maybe she would be more distracted and out of her normal routine, that it could very well be just the weekend we needed to pry the blanket away from her.

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And so it was. She had a hard time going to sleep most nights we were there, but she always has a hard time going to bed when we are at someone else's house or when we have guests over.

I have to admit I started feeling really guilty and I wanted to give her the blanket back many times that weekend. I almost gave up a few times. But, with Nate's help, I stayed strong and it PAID OFF FOR SURE!!!!

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And so Linz has been blankie and thumb free ever since the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. We had the white blanket in our room and she found it a week or so after we took it away. I thought it was all over after that, but I managed to distract her enough to forget about it again.

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Again, I thought many times those few weeks after Thanksgiving about giving her blanket back to her. I have always thought she was SO cute sucking her thumb, holding her pink blanket. I know she wasn't super old yet and it was still cute to have her attached to something but I also know that those habits only get harder to break the older they get.

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So, overall I am completely amazed at how easy and quickly she gave up her blanket and thumb and I am very blessed that she actually did give up her thumb with her blanket. Before we took the blanket away, I knew that she would either give up the thumb with her blanket, or I thought she could rebel and want her thumb MORE once she no longer has the blanket. We were very fortunate she took the former option and here we are 2 months out and she is doing great.

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I have to admit I have wanted to give her the pink blanket back just to see what she does with it, but I don't think I even want to take the chance of her becoming re-attached. So, for now we are enjoying out BIG, BIG girl.

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While she still had the blanket, we had told her that baby brother would get a blue blanket just like her pink one (in fact we already have one for him.) So we'll see how she does when he has his blue blanket and she has none.
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We sure love our big girl and are SO blessed that it was not any harder to break her of the thumb habit (kind of hard to just take that one away!!!)

And this is how she sleeps now, in her cute princess bed with no blankie and no thumb.

First Snow of the Year

2008-12-01T14:14:00.005-05:00

Oh, what fun we had. We got home from Cincinnati Sunday evening and woke up to this Monday morning. It isn't a ton, but the kids sure loved it.

This is first thing, bright and early in the morning before the kids headed off to school. They were SO excited for the snow, they begged and I gave in and let them play for 5 minutes before school.

I just couldn't deny them the pleasure of playin in that first snow!!!!

Our First Thanksgiving in Ohio

2008-11-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

Isn't it ironic that the year we move away from Ohio, we actually get to spend our first Thanksgiving in Ohio.

We are so grateful we still have many connections to Ohio, since we truly miss so many things from there. Luckily Nate's sister and her family still live there, so we still get to visit.

We spent every Thanksgiving while we lived in Ohio in Illinois with my family, so this year we decided to spend Thanksgiving with Nate's sister, Jennett and her family.

We always have fun with the Simpsons and the kids play so well together. Not to mention it is nice to have some girls to show Linz how to play with girly toys.

The Feast is almost ready, doesn't it look fun!!!

Jennett's cute little turkeys

Let the feasting begin...

Linz and Abby at the little table. It is so cute to see the two of them play so well together. They are 2 years apart, but they play really, really well together. Ethan, Luke and Jeana play and then Linz and Abby are little buddies. I love it.

Cincinnati Museum

We went to see the Christmas fun at the museum and of course had to get a few pictures while we were there.

Linz and Jeana

My cute little Luke turtle

And, we cannot forget the famous DS picture. (Linz is borrowing Jeana's pink DS - but I don't forsee it being too much longer before she has a pink one of her own.)

I guess they figured since they were mostly ready for church, it was a good time to all sit down and play for a few minutes.

First Grade Thanksgiving Feast

2008-11-25T23:51:00.003-05:00

I had so much fun helping out with the 1st Grade Thanksgiving Feast. All the first graders were in the cafeteria and each class recited a poem or song. Then we all feasted on yummy food.

Ethan with the placemat he made.

FEASTING...
Here are all the 1st graders

What a cute little pilgrim he is.

Have I mentioned I just LOVE helping out in the boys' classrooms. And the best part is, they love me to be there with them (at least for now - must enjoy while I can.)

Hiding Spots

2008-11-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

Linz found a new favorite hiding spot and has SO much fun with it. She thinks she is so TRICKY when she is hiding and I, of course, cannot find her.

She invited Luke to play in her cupboard with her. Poor Ethan just couldn't fit in. It is actually sad to see him getting too big for fun games like this. I guess that's why you have one more baby?!?!?!?!

Festival of Trees

2008-11-22T23:57:00.004-05:00

We got some tickets to go to the Festival of Trees here in town and we had lots of fun there. I had the kids pose in front of their (or my) favorite trees. There were so many beautiful ones, it was a wonderful way to get in the Christmas spirit...

Here is my little candy cane in front of a cute candy cane tree!!!

Luke in front of his favorite tree.

And this was Ethan's favorite tree; very fun!!!

We splurged and took the kids on a train ride there. Ethan was a great conductor and Linz absolutely loved the ride. The little things that make kids SO happy are WONDERFUL.

Grandpa and Grandma Noakes

2008-11-17T17:12:00.001-05:00

Grandpa & Grandma Noakes came to visit and we had a fun few days. Jennett and her girls came to visit also. We took pictures at the park, went black light miniature golfing and had a few eye exams performed. Thanks for visiting and we are looking forward to our next visitors....

Abby and Jeana

the 5 (used to be) Ohio cousins
grandpa, Ethan, Jeana

Just havin' Fun Jennett and her girls

Grandpa & Grandma

PLEASE forgive the large pregnant lady in the front. This is the worst possible place I could have been in the picture - front, center with no child to cover me. I guess this is what I get for being the last one to run in the picture.

The kids loved seeing their white clothes "glowing." The kids all did great and the older ones played 3 rounds to the adults 1 round...

Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T22:53:00.004-05:00

The boys had Veteran's Day off of school so we decided to head up to my mom's for the day. We went to the Children's Museum there and the kids had a blast!!!!

It is beyond my comprehension how this CAPITAL city we live in does not have a Children's Museum. Fortunately the Children's Museum by my mom is WONDERFUL. We had so much fun and here are some of the things we did there.

Luke playing in the water.

The boys LOVED climbing in the web... Linz had so much fun shopping for food. Look how heathly she is!!! Ethan and Linz learning about how cereal is made with Grandma

The boys (especially Luke) got such a kick out of these mirrors. He and I made faces in them and laughed our heads off for a good 10 minutes.

This painting area is one of my favorite parts of the museum. I wish I could have a painting area like this in my house. It always entertains the kids forever. Even Linz got in on the action this time.

Linz sneaking a Kit Kat and "playing" checkers.

The boys played a life size game of what I think was supposed to be Chess. Not quite sure where they got their rules from. Ethan's turn always consisted of killing one of Luke's guys, yet Luke wasn't playing right when he got one of Ethan's guys.

Luke challenged grandma to a game of checkers.

They had this HUGE lego table that held Ethan's attention for a good 20 minutes.

We had so much fun. It was fun to be able to spend all day with my buddies again. I miss them when they are at school all day every day.

Welcome Home Linz

2008-11-07T22:20:00.001-05:00

We were all SUPER THRILLED to have Linz come home Friday evening!!!! She got home and the boy immediately took her outside to play in the leaves. They were all SO excited and just couldn't get enough of each other.

I am SO blessed with wonderful children who love each other and play so well together (most of the time.) Linz is definitely a HUGE blessing to our family and we can't imagine life without her. She brings so much fun and energy to our family and we are glad to have her back.

She had fun with grandma and would love to go visit again soon. She has even called Nate and I grandma a few times.....What a cutie!!!

They just couldn't get enough of each other...

Oh how we love LEAVES....and miss Linz

2008-11-05T22:58:00.001-05:00

Linz went to GRANDMA'S

My mom left on Sunday afternoon and took Linz with her to her house. She offered to keep her all week, but we thought we'd try for a day or two and see how she did. Linz left with no problem at all. She hopped right into grandma's car and was ready to go. She did REALLY well being with my mom and stayed until Friday evening. I talked to her on the phone every day - or at least tried to. There were way too many toys at grandma's house to distract her with and she didn't even ask where mommy was for a good day and a half.

The boys both got a little teary eyed right when she left. It was very cute to hear them talk about Linz and how much they were going to miss her and why she was leaving. My mom was just trying to give me a little break so I could get some stuff done around the house. And a HUGE thank you to my wonderful mother for this incredible time she gave me.

We all missed Linz a lot!!!! About 5 minutes after my mom and Linz left (the rest of us were cuddled up on the couch watching a movie) Luke just started crying out of the blue. It was SO SWEET. He said that he missed Linz and wanted her to come home. He said that he couldn't remember what she looked like (in the whole 5 minutes she had been gone) and that he really loved her.

Nate had a hard time with Linz gone too and missed her BIG smile and warm hugs when he got home from work every day. Linz did great with grandma all week and I think she was ready to come home by Friday.

Thank you again, mom, for being so kind and generous and I KNOW that Linz was in good hands. My kids all LOVE grandma's house and I'm so grateful I have a wonderful mother who is willing and able to do so much for me and my family!!!!

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

We actually don't have a single tree in our yard (bigger than Nate) that drops its leaves in the fall. (We have one giant evergreen in our front yard.) Luckily our neighbors on both sides have HUGE trees in their yards.

So, one night after school I put the boys to work. They had so much fun and did a GREAT job of raking the leaves. We had to steal the leaves from our neighbors' yard because we didn't have that many in our yard. To my surprise, Luke actually outlasted Ethan on the raking part and they both thoroughly enjoyed the playing part.

Check out this enormous pile!!!! We had a fun night and got some good exercise. And we got to do some service for our neighbors. The boys are talking about Citizenship in school for the month of November, so we talked about what Citizenship means and they were excited to do something nice for someone else!!!!

Happy 8th Anniversary

2008-11-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been 8 years yet I can't hardly remember life before Nate.

Since my mom was in town, we were able to go on a date for our anniversary. My mom was wonderful to watch the kids for us Saturday evening so we could go out. We went to our new favorite restaurant in town, Mariah's and then walked around the mall for a few minutes. It was a wonderful evening and I'm so glad we got to spend a little bit of time together!!!
I am SO grateful for a WONDERFUL husband that is and does SO much for me. I could not ask for a better husband or father for my children. There are so many qualities that I admire about Nate and I feel very blessed that he has put up with me these 8 years. Thank you Nate and I love you!!!! I look forward to another wonderful 8 years and many more beyond that......

A First For Me.....

2008-11-01T03:40:00.000-04:00

OK, so I know this is a little out of order but I just got home and I had to write a quick something. I promise I will still catch up soon, but this is about today, RIGHT NOW.

SO, I JUST got back from the Midnight showing of TWILIGHT!!!!!!!!!! I went with a friend in my ward. I have never gone to any midnight showings or parties for any book/movie before. And I have to admit (for those of you who know my movie watching habits) I was a little worried about staying awake during the movie, especially being pregnant. I can fall asleep during ANY movie out there. I took a short nap before leaving for the movie and I didn't even get a hint of being tired!!!

Now about the movie....if you haven't seen it yet (which most of you are most likely more sane than I am) you HAVE to go see it!!!! I have to admit I was a little skeptical about how the movie would turn out. There is SO much in her books I couldn't possible fathom having it all fit in a 2 hour movie.

I was DEFINITELY pleasantly surprised. The movie was REALLY GOOD!! I just loved it...and the whole time I was watching the movie I was thinking about how much I want to go home and read the book again. Stephenie does such an amazing job of transporting you into the story and I felt that same way during the movie. I just loved the movie, the whole experience of seeing it AND I wasn't even the only old pregnant lady there!!!

So, for any of you who a) haven't seen the movie yet - GO SEE IT or b)haven't read the book yet (I can't hardly believe you people exist anymore) GO SEE THE MOVIE (and read the book!!!!)

Thanks for listening to my excitement and ramblings; and it feels good to blog about something that is up to date and current in my life!!!!

Happy Halloween...

2008-10-31T22:54:00.003-04:00

We had a very busy and fun Halloween. It started with my mom coming into town Friday morning. We headed to the boys' school for some party fun. I was in charge of planning Luke's party and got to help out. After school our neighborhood had a hot dog dinner and costume parade before trick-or-treating. Then the kids hit the neighborhood running.

Here are some pictures from our fun day...

1. Ethan's Fall Party

I didn't actually have a chance to visit Ethan at his party, since I was helping with Luke's party. But my mom ran down to see Ethan at his party and took this picture for me. He had a fun time.

2. Luke's Fall Party

I had the pleasure of planning and helping out at Luke's fall party. It was SO much fun and I just love being there with the kids.

This is a picture of Luke's whole class in costume. Luke is the little one in the back with that HUGE smile on his face:) He is a basketball player, though you can't even see his costume at all.

Luke playing Halloween Bingo

Here is the Witches' Brew I made for Luke's class.

Luke and his best friend Gavin decorating cookies. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but Luke decorated and eyeball cookie. They got to choose from making a pumpkin cookie or an eyeball. Luke made his daddy proud and chose to make the eyeball cookie.

Linz had fun playing in the "house" area of Luke's classroom. It was very cute

Luke got to get wrapped up like a mummy.
3. Modeling costumes
We tried to get a semi decent picture of Linz as a cute little cheerleader, but this is all we got of her.

Here are our super CUTE kids. Ethan and Luke are the basketball players and Linz is the cheerleader. She would shake her pom poms and say, "Go Ethan, Go Luke."

Ethan got really sad right before we went out trick or treating. He saw some of his friends in Star Wars costumes and decided he wanted to be a Star Wars guy this year literally 10 minutes before we went out trick or treating.

Were we mean to say that he couldn't switch his costume 10 minutes before going out????

4. Neighborhood Hot Dog Party

We are really enjoying our neighborhood so far. We had a fun hot dog dinner and costume parade.

These are all the kids in our neighborhood all dressed up and ready for trick-or-treating.

Us eating our nutritious dinner before the candy fest.
5. Trick-or-Treating

This is what it looked like all night. Linz was such a trooper all night long and was constantly trying to keep up with them. She did a GREAT job all night and never complained once.

We had a fun night and the ABSOLUTE BEST weather we could have asked for. It was beautiful. The kids all had long sleeve shirts on and we didn't even need a jacket on top of that. It was fun to have a Halloween with my mom for the first time in many years. She got to go to a few houses with us and then stayed home to pass out candy while Nate finished up the rest of the route with us.