The Chapman Family

St.George Staycation

2012-02-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

For our 12 year anniversary this year, Kevin and I decided we wanted to go somewhere warm, but didn't want to farm out the kids to babysitters and go alone. (Plus Beckham is still nursing, so we'd have to bring him with us anyway.) We wanted to bring the kids with us this time, and didn't want to spend too much money. We wanted to also go with our good friends, the Cole's. So we decided on a 3 night weekend in St. George! They got us a great deal on a condo. :) We went January 5-8.

I don't know if temps in the 60's is typical for January in St. George, but we REALLY loved the warm weather!

We packed up and left around 7:30am, and were in St. George by lunchtime. We went to this park called Pioneer Park and wandered and explored around these rocks. It was so much fun for the kids especially!

Trin LOVED the soft red sand! She wouldn't stop playing with it.

The second day, we drove to Zions. I hadn't been there since I was little, and I have to say, I didn't want to leave! I totally could have spent a week there exploring and hiking all of the trails. We only had time to go on 2 hikes that day, but they were both amazing.

The first hike was the Canyon Overlook Trail, which was about a mile round trip. It was great for the kids, not steep at all, with lots of fun rock steps, caves, etc. The only thing that made me nervous was the drop offs. I warned the kids probably 100 times to make sure they were watching where they were going, and to stay away from the edge!

Isn't it amazing!?

And the second Zions hike was to the Lower Emerald Pools, which was also about a mile round trip. The waterfall didn't have a ton of water because of the lack of snow and the time of year, but it was still really pretty!

On the way back we saw a bunch of deer.

The third day, we attempted to go to Snow Canyon, but it was really windy, and not quite as warm. So we just went to downtown St. George, and toured Brigham Young's summer home, saw the temple, and went to a fun candy shop.

We can't wait to go back!

December.

2012-01-30T12:49:00.000-08:00

I'm finally blogging about the holidays! We'll start with a quick pic of the family when we went to see the lights at temple square.

The girls had their dance recital at the Festival of Trees on December 3. They did such a great job! They are the shorter girls in the group, below, in the center of the pic. Trin in front, Bailee in the back.

On December 12, for FHE, we decorated gingerbread (aka graham cracker) houses. I hot glued the houses ahead of time, so the kids had time to just decorate them, without them having to worry about the house falling apart. It worked like a charm!

But of course, there was too much going on for me to remember to take the picture of the final results! Oh well. They were cute. Trust me.

The girls sang in their Winter Song Festival at school on December 20th. They each sang a couple of songs, but the video camera was low on batteries, so I only got a portion of each of them singing.

On Christmas Eve, we went over to Grandma & Grandpa Chapmans for the annual party with dinner, nativity, and gift exchange. I didn't take my camera! We had a lot of fun though.

I made a point to make sure all of the presents were wrapped BEFORE Christmas eve, so I wouldn't spend the whole evening wrapping gifts. It gets exhausting. So I spent the whole month of December working on the wrapping. It was nice to not have to do any the night before Christmas!

Instead, we read some Christmas books and set out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.

Christmas morning, the kids were so excited to get up. They got up around 7:00, and we hurried and opened up our stockings, before we had to get ready for church, which was at 9:00.

After church, we finished opening all of the gifts. I only took these 3 pictures first thing in the morning, and didn't take a single picture after that. What's wrong with me!?

Christmas 2011 was also a special day for me, because it was the first day I made a turkey, all by myself! I got the recipe from my SIL Dawna, which she got from the Food Network. It was really not as difficult as I thought it would be. I have to say, it turned out perfectly! It was moist and delicious. I had tons of leftovers that I used for other recipes. But alas, I failed to take a PICTURE!

We also did a family picture for our Christmas card (it was late November, I'm out of order). I wanted to re-create our family picture from 2008 that we did on our bed. So, we did.

Our Christmas card.....

And on New Years Eve, we went to the annual party at Ty & Shannon's. We played Just Dance 3, and some other games, and ate lots of yummy food. We left shortly after midnight since we had church at 9:00 the next morning.

Halfway to ONE!

2012-01-17T14:40:00.001-08:00

Laundry/Mudroom Makeover!

2012-01-10T14:30:00.001-08:00

Okay, don't judge me too harshly by these "before" pictures. I thought about cleaning out the laundry room before we started this project, and then taking the "before" pictures, but that would almost be like lying.

My laundry room really did look like this. The top of the washer & dryer was always a catch-all for anything junk. If it didn't have a place, it ended up on the top of the washer & dryer. I tried to keep it clean, but it just seemed impossible. I also didn't have a place for my laundry baskets.

There was no place for all the junk mail, or the kids homework either.

My laundry/mudroom comes in from the garage, and it is literally about the size of a closet. You can see the width of it is just a bit wider than the width of a washer & dryer, and that's about it.

Eww eww ewwwww! I'm getting anxiety just looking at these pictures. I can't believe we lived like that for so long!

Look at all of that wasted space up near the ceiling.

The room used to actually be a little laundry room and a closet. It really was so cramped that we just decided to get rid of the wall to make the room bigger. That was like 11 years ago. The room was never finished after that, as you can see.

Some nice scratch marks from the dog we used to have....

So I got my inspiration from Pinterest. To see my inspiration board where I got the ideas, click here. I knew exactly what I wanted! I explained it all to Kevin, and he immediately got to work. We started this project on October 29.

We gutted the room, and Kevin started his magic.

Kevin wanted to get it done quickly, so instead of dealing with mudding and taping the damaged sheetrock, and waiting for mud to dry, etc., he bought this panel board instead and covered all of the scratches/holes, etc.

The little helper.

Almost ready for paint!

He built this pedestal for the washer and dryer. He installed the tray that keeps water contained in case there is a leak. He re-routed the drain as well.

Kevin painted on November 7.

And drumroll.......

I am literally IN LOVE with my laundry room now! I even enjoy doing laundry a little bit more. :) The washer & dryer raised on the pedestals keeps kids from touching the buttons, keeps me from having to bend down so far to get the clothes in & out, and gives me a place for my laundry baskets! Brillliant!!

I also went through all of my household cleaners and kept getting rid of them until I could get them all into the cabinet above the washer & dryer. My goal was to not have ANY bottles of cleaner in sight. I wanted it to look finished and clean, not cluttered like it was for so many years.

I now finally have a place for all of my weekly ads, coupons, scratch paper & notes from school.

This has to be one of my favorite parts about the room. Each of the kids has their own clipboard hanging above their hook to keep homework! It's been SO fabulous. I was always losing and misplacing homework!

And these baskets above the hooks/clipboards hold things like my toolbox, old Walmart sacks to be recycled, among other things that never had a place to go until now.

And this is my other favorite part about the room. Each of the kids has their own basket to put their shoes in! No more tripping over 1,000 pair of shoes every time we walk in the door. I love that they are out of sight. :)

Pure happiness!

It literally took Kevin just over a week from start to finish. I had to borrow my neighbors washer & dryer during the project, (thanks, Megan), but I'm so thankful he was able to get it done so quickly. He is just. plain. awesome.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-19T08:27:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We started it off with our annual Thanksgiving morning run. It was a lot warmer this year than it was last year. And instead of pushing two strollers with all of the kids, two of the kids decided to ride their bikes, and Kevin pulled the other two in a stroller.

Then we cleaned up and headed over to my parents for dinner!

The kids had a wonderful time playing with their cousins, and it was great to have the whole family there together, except for my Brother in Law, Tyrel, who had to work.

It was fun to hang out, look at the Black Friday ads, relax, and visit after dinner.

I saw the techno-savvy kids like this, and had to get a shot. How times have changed!

I am so thankful for so many things this time of year!

Some that have been on my mind lately:

My husband, who works so hard to support our family. And he is the best daddy to our kids!

Our kids, who are the light of my life.

Our extended families.

Our warm home.

Our bed.

Our cars. Especially the heated seats!

Our freedom.

Our health.

The mountains.

The wonderful holiday season.

Modern technology & modern medicine.

Our talents & abilities.

Automatic doors.

Music.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

5 months

2011-12-17T10:32:00.001-08:00

Beckham is 5 months old today! I can't believe it's already been that long since he joined our little family.

He is SO much fun to have around! He is always happy. He smiles, squeals, giggles, and coos all day. He is constantly looking at anyone in the room and watching them, and just smiling happily at them.

He is a great sleeper. He will sleep through the night most nights, and even goes back to sleep after a morning feeding. I've been putting him down in his crib while he's still awake, but drowsy, and he's good about putting himself to sleep.

He's still in the process of learning how to eat rice cereal. He was good at it for a while. Then we went a few days without giving it to him. Now when we try, he just gags and spits it out. We'll keep trying. Veggies are next. :)

He likes to grab things now. He will bring anything and everything up to his mouth to taste it. My favorite part is when I get close to him, he reaches out his little fingers to touch my face. It melts my heart every time!

Pumpkin Squares

2011-11-21T10:30:00.001-08:00

So I have to thank my friend Shannon, (and her sister Kjarstin) for this recipe. I just tried it for the first time, and it is SO delicious!

I'm going to make it for Thanksgiving instead of Pumpkin Pie. It's way better than plain old pumpkin pie, in my opinion! I made it Saturday night, just to make sure I knew how to do it.

Pumpkin Squares

1 pkg. Yellow cake mix (reserve 1 cup) You can also try it with Spice cake mix.

1/2 C. butter or margarine (room temperature)

1 egg

Mix & press into greased 9x13 pan.

(It's VERY sticky, so spray your fingers with pam to keep it from sticking to your fingers.)

1 Lg can Libby pumpkin pie mix (make sure it says "mix", not just the regular pumpkin)

2/3 C. Evaporated milk

2 eggs

Blend & pour over the cake mixture

1 C. Reserved cake mix

1/4 C. Sugar

1/4 C. Butter or Margarine, room temperature

1 tsp Cinnamon

Mix & sprinkle over pumpkin mixture (also very sticky)

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes till toothpick comes out clean.

Chill, and serve with whipped topping.

Beckham~ 4 months

2011-11-17T21:13:00.001-08:00

Beckham turned 4 months old today. I can't believe how time is flying!

He kept trying to sit forward for his picture. He'll be sitting up by himself before we know it!

We gave him his first taste of rice cereal. He did well with it. He didn't know what to think at first, but ate it up pretty quickly!

These pictures were also taken today. He has been grabbing at things for a couple of weeks now. He loves to stand in this walker and just grab at the toys we give to him!

He also constantly has his hands in his mouth. And he slobbers a lot! He wears a bib all day now, and he soaks through them pretty quickly!

I have a bunch of miscellaneous pictures of him I just need to get onto the blog. These 2 were taken October 10, just before he was 3 months old.

These ones were taken on his 3 month b-day, October 17.

These were taken October 31.

And I took some bath pictures on November 6.

I just love those chunky legs!

I could just eat him up!

Chicken, Fire, & Teeth

2011-11-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

Interesting title, eh? I couldn't think of anything better.

Sooo, here's another awesome tip I learned from Pinterest. I just have to share it, because it works so well! To shred your freshly boiled chicken breast, just stick it in your KitchenAid with the dough attachment, turn it on for a few seconds......

And voila! Perfectly shredded chicken!! It only works when the chicken is still warm/hot. :)

On October 25, Ryker went on a field trip to the fire station with his pre-school class. Sorry about the crappy cell phone pics!

Also that day, Trinidee lost her first tooth while she was at school, eating an apple! She was SO excited to finally lose a tooth! She lost the other bottom center tooth a few weeks later.

Bailee is already starting her long road of orthodontic work. She doesn't have enough room in her mouth for her adult teeth that are growing in. She also has a crossbite that needs to be fixed.

Here's her Nanny McPhee face. Had to get a picture before they fix it!

This is the separator she had put in on November 2. We have to turn it with a key every day, and it eventually spreads out the roof of her mouth. She's really been a good sport about all of it. She's been begging for braces for months. She'll get some braces on her front teeth pretty soon, but won't have a full set until all of her adult teeth are in. But at least we have a start!

And on November 6, we were signing birthday cards for some family members. Ryker has known how to spell his name for months now. He says R.Y.K.E.R. But this was the first time I asked him to write it. He did pretty darn good! Isn't it cute??

Halloween 2011

2011-11-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

We started off the Halloween festivities this year on Saturday, October 22, at a friends birthday/halloween party. Then on Monday, October 25 we went to the Chapman's annual FHE pumpkin carving activity!

Then the carnival at the school was on Thursday night. (No pics of that.) Saturday the 29th was our ward Halloween carnival. This is our family that night, (thanks, Jess!):

And here are the kids on the REAL Halloween. Trinidee actually wore 3 costumes this year. She was Tinkerbell, a cowgirl, and Ariel. I guess it's a good thing we go to so many parties so they can use all of their costumes!

The weather was SO nice. It was the warm before the storm. We had snow the next day!

The girls were running door to door so fast, the boys and I couldn't keep up with them!

Our neighbors had this sheet hung up with fun Halloween movies playing. Ryker stopped as soon as we got there, stared, and stayed for a while. :)

After trick or treating, we went and hung out at the neighbors and had some yummy food and watched football. Thanks, Zierse's!

It was a good Halloween, but I'm sure glad it's over!

Chapman Reunion~ Park City

2011-11-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend of September 16-17, we had our annual Chapman Reunion with Kevin's parents and siblings. We went to Park City and stayed in a timeshare there. We had lots of fun hanging out, eating good food, and swimming. But the best part was making this music video! Thanks to inspiration from a cousin's family, Glade and Madi produced and directed this one for us. It was a blast! I hope we can do it every year.

Myrna had just had knee replacement surgery, which is why she's in the wheelchair...

We also went on a "Chapman Chase", kind of like the Amazing Race, where we had to solve puzzles, do challenges, and find things around Park City, including a little Geo-caching. It was fun!

This was also the weekend of the big BYU-Utah game, so we watched it that evening. BYU didn't do too well. Bummer.

Thanks for planning such a fun reunion, Glade & Jessi!

Master Bedroom Makeover

2011-11-07T13:08:00.001-08:00

So I've been working on this project since September, but I'm happy to say it's finally done!

I painted our master bedroom years ago, and I just chose these colors off of a paint sample book. I never REALLY loved the colors. And I just got more and more tired of it as time went on. After a while, I couldn't stand it. Especially after looking on Pinterest, and getting ideas and inspiration as to what I could do to give our room a facelift.

Click here to see my Pinterest board with the Master Bedroom Inspiration.

So here are the "before" pictures....

Kevin helped me paint the room one weekend. I chose a color that was pretty neutral, and a lot brighter than that red paint we had. It's a mix between tan and gray. I LOVE it!!

I wanted to do something with our boring bay window. I thought window treatments would be fun, but I didn't know where to start. I looked on Pinterest, and found my bay window inspiration! It's hard to find bay window curtain rods. So I just found a tutorial on a DIY rod, using a $2 piece of electrical conduit. Kevin, (being an electrician), already has the bender. So he bent it to fit the window.

Then we used this to spray paint it....

We just bought 3 brackets, and 2 end pieces to give it a finished look....

This is the window before.....BORING!

And after. Much better! The curtains are voile, and I bought them at Kohl's. I've also seen them in the Big Lots ad for $5. They are sheer and bright, and I love them!

I have an idea of what I want to put over the headboard, but it's not done yet. I'll have to post pics when it is.

I bought some fabric at JoAnn's for 50% off, and made these pillows to add a little bit of color to the room.

Overall, we spent the most on all of the new bedding. We bought a memory foam mattress pad topper at Costco, a Duvet to cover our down comfortor, shams for the pillows, new sheets and blankets, and a body pillow.

I also spray painted some of the picture frames black.

Now I LOVE to go in my room and just relax! I think it's so much more inviting than it was before.

And I will soon be posting about our next project, the MUD ROOM, which is almost finished. :)

2 fun ideas

2011-10-27T15:04:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to quickly share 2 ideas I've recently tried.

For Ryker's Pre-school Halloween party, instead of sending him with candy to pass out, we sent him with oranges, decorated like pumpkins. All you need is a Sharpie! Brilliant. I got the idea from Channel 2 news.

And this fun idea I got from Pinterest. Cut out the letters from your cardboard boxes from cereal, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc. and let your kids go with it. It kept my kids busy for a couple of hours this past Sunday at Stake Conference!

Ryker's 4th Birthday

2011-10-25T17:39:00.001-07:00

Ryker turned 4 on Saturday, October 15. It was a gorgeous, warm fall day! It actually reached 80 degrees in the valley, so we decided to go up to Snowbird where it was a little cooler. Please pardon the cell phone pics.

Snowbird was giving free rides on the tram if you brought a can of food. But when we got there, we were advised the tram was closed. So instead, they gave us wristbands for the fun bouncy house and trampoline activities. The kids had fun!

That evening, we went to Chuck-E-Cheese. I had a Groupon, good for a Pizza, 4 drinks, and 100 tokens. What better day to use it than on Ryker's birthday!? The kids LOVED it there. It's the first time I've ever taken them. We'll have to go back. All of the games were one token, and they had a blast. :)

And that night we frosted Ryker's Lemon cupcakes, and the kids helped decorate them. Daddy was on a flight that day to Pueblo, Colorado with his brothers, and they went golfing with their uncle Duane. Kevin made it back in time for the cupcakes, and then Ryker opened his presents.

Half of this stuff is just "re-gifted" from his sisters. They just take random toys and wrap them. He got the outfit he's wearing, the Zurg toy he's holding, and his favorite present, the NERF gun!

I wanted to get some better quality pictures of him, since I didn't take my good camera on his birthday. So on Oct. 20, I took the kids to Gardner Village, since I'd never taken them in October to see the witches. It was also UEA, and hunting weekend, so it was JAM packed! There were way too many people for my taste, but I still got a few decent pics of Ryker. :)

Ryker is such a sweet little boy. And he's so smart. He already can recognize many of the letters in the alphabet. He LOVES going to pre-school.

He rarely sleeps in his own bed. He will sleep in the family room or our room on the floor. He likes to stay up late and sleep in.

He likes Banana Cream Pie yogurt, PB & Honey sandwiches with the crust cut off, string cheese, cottage cheese, pizza, and of course, CANDY.

He is still obsessed with Cars, Toy Story, Thomas, Star Wars, and recently, his most favorite movie to watch is the Spy Next Door. He watches it over & over.

Happy Birthday Ryker! We love you!!!

Snake Wreath

2011-10-24T09:06:00.001-07:00

I found this idea off of pinterest, and loved it! I like to craft if it's not too complicated, and if it doesn't take too long. I had this wreath made in only a few minutes. The part that took the longest was finding the snakes.

Here are all of the supplies I needed:

I had the wreath in my storage room already. I found the paint and the bigger snakes at WalMart, and the smaller snakes at Zurcher's party supply store.

The hot glue gun didn't work so well on the bigger snakes, so I used wire to tie them to the wreath. The glue worked for the smaller snakes.

Then I just sprayed away! I sprayed the back of the wreath first, then flipped it over and did the front.

I think it's a fun Halloween decoration!

3 months

2011-10-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Beckham turned 3 months old today, and time seems to just be flying by!

He loves to coo, make bubbles, and smile at us. He's even giggled a couple of times. It's the best sound ever.

He still nurses exclusively, and usually only gets up one time in the night to eat, then goes right back to sleep. He even likes to sleep in! He will take a bottle of formula on occasion, when I'm not around, but that's not very often.

He loves to be bounced in his bouncer seat, and always likes it when he's somehow being "moved", whether it be in the swing, car seat, stroller, or while being held.

He is such a joy in our lives, and we love him more than anything. :)

Book Review

2011-10-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED this book. Although it took me forever to finish it, I really enjoyed the way Kathryn Stockett described the feelings of the characters. She really took me back to that time and place, and I felt like I was there. I wonder what it would be like to really live in that day and time.

I can't wait to go and see the movie now!

View all my reviews

Growth.

2011-09-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Beckham's Blessing Day

2011-09-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Beckham's Blessing was on Sunday, September 11, 2011, when he was just under 2 months old.

I took this picture of him the day before, on September 10.

We had a yummy pot luck luncheon afterwards. My parents were unable to make it since my dad was still in the hospital from his heart attack. My mom was staying with him.

My Dad

2011-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 9, 2011, my dad suffered a major heart attack. This happened just days after returning from a horse ride in the Wind River mountains, which is hours away from any help or even cell phone service. He surely dodged a bullet by having it when he was close to home.

He was having chest pains, shortness of breath, cold sweat, and pain in his arm, shoulder, and neck. He called my sister Brianne, who took him right to Pioneer Valley hospital. He wanted to go to IMC, but it was rush hour on Friday night, and she insisted to take him somewhere closer. It's a good thing she did, because damage was being done to his heart every second.

One of the 3 main arteries that goes to his heart was completely blocked. They put a stent in that artery to open it back up. They also put him on blood thinners. He was able to go home on Monday the 12th, but isn't allowed to drive. He's advised not to be alone. He has to wear a "life vest" that will act as a defibrillator until help arrives, if his heart has any problems.

The lack of blood supply did some significant damage to his heart, and at this point (2.5 weeks later), his heart is operating at only 35%. He still has to wear the life vest, and they recently found a blood clot in the lower left ventricle. So he can't do any cardio work, since it can knock the clot loose and cause a stroke. He is currently on coumadin, to try to diminish the clot. He's very limited in his activity right now, which I know can be very frustrating to him.

It's so frustrating to me because he's one of the healthiest 64-year-olds I know. He's constantly on the move, and he makes wise food decisions. He doesn't have high cholesterol, he doesn't smoke, & he's not overweight. His only risk factors were his age, and stress, basically.

I'm really hoping the next few weeks and months will bring good news for him. I hope his heart can recover, the clot can diminish, and he can get back to a little bit of normalcy. He & my mom came to our sacrament meeting this past Sunday, since it was the kids primary program. It was so good to have them there!

Labor Day at the Cabin

2011-09-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

We've made it a tradition to go to this cabin in Star Valley over Labor Day weekend each year, with my side of the family.

It's the perfect place for us, with lots of room for the kids to run & play, property for the horses to wander around on, and land to ride the motorcycles.

Click here to rent the cabin on VRBO.com.

We had a great weekend!

We surprised my parents, who recently celebrated 40 years, with a surprise Anniversary party! I have to give kudos to my SIL, Dawna, who organized the whole thing. We each wrote 8 memories of our parents down, and Dawna put them all into a book for them to read. :)

Some of us went over to the fish hatchery Sunday morning. The kids loved it! I thought it was pretty cool too!

We also took a quick trip up to Cottonwood Lake.....

We do a family picture each year as well, since it's usually the only time the entire family is together at the same time. This is one of the "getting ready" pictures. My sister Brianne came up with the captions. (see below)

Trinidee- You can take this chair from my cold dead fingers....

Kevin- How you doin? Yup, still got it.

Kyle- I got this third nipple... wanna see?

Dad- Kyle is gross I'm gonna vomit... bluh bluh. How'd I get this fish hook in my lip?

Kody- I'm soooo boooored!

Tyrel- Is that where the camera goes? I'm sooooo tired.....

Dawna- I could really use a manicure...

Brianne- The more you move the tighter I squeeeeeeze...

Maci- (cracking knuckles) I'm gonna get Jovi

Mom- Is that a stain?!

Brianna- Pictures yay! I lOVE PICTURES!!!!

Season- I'm... soooo... pretty...

Katie- Logan's psycho!

Logan- Ahhhhh! I'm psycho!

Luke- ...I like smurfs...

Bailee- What did you just call me?!

Jovi- I love my shoes...

Ryker- Look what I can do!!!

Easton- Where am I?

Toby- Practice smile... CHEEEEEEEESE!! What the... here comes Ryker!!

Sam- I must focus... unleash the force, unleash the force on all these crazies...

Shane- Concentrate young padowan... how long has this rash been on your leg?

Tia- Why, why, WHY?! WE ARE LOSING THE LIGHT!!

And here's the end result.

And all the grandkids, in order by age, except for Beckham, being held by Bailee....

And individual family pics....

Yeah, Trinidee was done by this point.

We heard this kitten meowing one night, and quickly made friends with her....

It was a fun, memorable weekend. I hope we have many more to come!

Beckham's stay at Primary Children's

2011-09-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

This poor picture makes me so sad for little Beckham. Although all the wires and cords hooked up to him make him look a lot more serious than he was.

On August 29, I went to feed Beckham in the middle of the night, and the minute I picked him up, I knew he had a fever. He was so hot. So I took his temp, and it was 100.3. He was exactly 6 weeks old at the time, and I've been told that a baby under 3 months with a fever will have to go directly to the hospital. I didn't want to take him in the middle of the night, and decided that since he was not fussing, and he was eating fine, that I would give him half a dose of Tylenol, and let him sleep, and that I would call the Dr in the morning.

So when I called the doctors office Monday morning, and they indeed told me to take him directly to the hospital. By now he had a fever of 100.7.

They admitted us and began the poking. I had done this with Bailee when she had a fever, cough, and runny nose at 6 weeks, so I knew what to expect. They have to take samples of urine, blood, and spinal fluid to find out what is causing the fever. And their little bodies are too young to fight anything off on their own.

They determined he had "Meningitis" which is an infection of the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. If that infection is bacterial, it can cause all kinds of problems like loss of hearing, vision, brain damage, or even death. It would have to be treated with antibiotics for 3-4 weeks. If the infection is viral, it just has to run it's course. It's less serious if it's viral, obviously.

Well, it takes a while for them to watch the samples, to see if bacteria grows in them. They immediately start treating it as if it's bacterial, and pumping him full of antibiotics via IV, which was in his head at first, then moved to his hand.

We spent Monday night there. On Tuesday, they had one of the samples come back positive for "Enterovirus", which is a common virus. So since they knew it wasn't bacterial, we were able to go home Tuesday afternoon. We were told to just give him Tylenol for the fever if it keeps coming back. But it never did.

I love the staff at Primary Children's. They were so helpful, knowledgeable, and kind. I'm so glad it wasn't something more serious, and that we didn't have to stay too long in the hospital.

A family hoping to adopt

2011-09-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Kevin's sister, Heidi, and her husband James, along with their darling little daughter Hadlee, are excited to add to their little family.

I cannot say enough about Heidi and James. They are the most loving parents I've ever met. Even before they had children, and before Heidi met James, my kids would say Heidi was their favorite aunt. She has so much love in her heart to give away. She would do anything for anyone! James is equally as kind, loving, and patient with their little daughter.

I hope they can find another little angel to join their family! If you know of anyone that is looking for someone who's looking to adopt, please share this information with them.

You can go to Heidi & James' adoption profile here.

I've also added a button to the side of my blog.

Ryker's 1st day of pre-school!

2011-09-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

With his Go-gurt in hand, Ryker is now officially ready to start pre-school! Today, September 6, 2011, is his first day at Miss Barbara's, and he's been looking forward to this day since he was old enough to talk.

What's been happening around here....

2011-08-24T10:20:00.001-07:00

Here's a big blog update. I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, we've had a busy month!

On August 5, we had another neighborhood BBQ, and I found the kids like this in the back yard. I just thought it was funny how SO many kids squeezed into the tiny kiddie pool. They were having fun!

August 6 was the day before my 34th birthday, and I asked the family if they would go on a hike with me. I had heard about the Broads Fork Trail, and had never been on it, so that's where we went. It was great weather, cooler than down in the valley. It was a beautiful hike, but probably a little too steep for the younger two kids. Bailee did fine. She could have gone forever. Trinidee didn't like it at first, but was able to finally get into it once she found some pretty rocks to bring home. Ryker did awesome at first, but his legs got tired from all the uphill, and had to be carried the rest of the way. Beckham was just under 3 weeks old.

My favorite flower.....

This is as far as we went. It was a pretty open meadow with a nice view of the mountains around us. We stopped in the shade and had a little picnic.

Dromedary Peak in the center....

I love how thick the foliage is! The kids were getting buried in it. There weren't many other hikers.

After the hike, we got a babysitter, and went to Olive Garden with some friends. It's one of my favorite restaurants!

On my actual birthday, we just slept in, went to church, then had a BBQ dinner at my parents.

No pics of any of that though. :(

On Monday, August 8, we went to the Henderson Reunion at Mutual Dell. Grandma Henderson and all 8 of her children were able to be there. (Jade & Nick aren't in this picture, but they were there.)

I really wish I would have gotten a pic with them all together!

Grandma meeting Beckham for the first time

And a 4 generation picture. Kevin said something funny and made dad laugh, hence the crazy face. :P

One summer afternoon, I found the kids looking like little Avatar characters. Had to take a shot. This is Ryker's little friend, Katelyn.

I feel kind of guilty about this, but Trinidee's 7th birthday was on August 16th, and I only took a couple of pictures! She had school that day, but before school, she opened her presents. She was actually up at 6:00am, just beyond excited that it was her special day!

Trinidee is our little spitfire. She is very independent, sweet, and stubborn! Once she sets her mind to something, you better not try to stop her!

She still says "Aminal" instead of "Animal".

She is freakishly strong.

She can bend her backbone and her knees into seemingly impossible positions.

She has the prettiest brown eyes you've ever seen.

We love you, Trinidee!!

Beckham turned one month old on August 17, and I decided I'd take a picture of him by this teddy bear from Gramma Laine each month until he's one, to see his growth....

And finally, over the August 19 weekend, we went up to visit my brother Kody's family up in Hyrum to see their new place, and go boating at Hyrum Reservoir. We had a lot of fun!

We didn't take Beckham on the boat (I don't think they make life jackets that small), so we just took turns hanging out on the beach with him.

This is Ryker's volcano, pronounced: "Buckayno".

My Baby & I

2011-08-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

I had Kevin help me with this photo shoot. I originally tried it on my own with the tripod & timer.

Yeah. That didn't work out.

I'll get some pics with daddy soon.

These were taken August 4, when Beckham was 2 1/2 weeks old.

Beckham's Birth

2011-08-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

So here it is, the full detailed story of the day Beckham was born. First of all, this picture (below) was my view of Ryker a couple of days before Beckham was born. Just thought it was a cute picture, and had to throw it in!

On Sunday, July 17, I was scheduled for an induction. For details as to why I chose to be induced at 39 weeks, see my "false alarm" and "baby update" posts from July.

The hospital called at 7:30am and told me to come on in. It was nice because we already had all of our babysitters worked out. The girls were sleeping at their Aunt Heidi's, and Ryker was going to go with the neighbors to church.

We arrived at the hospital just before 9:00am. My midwife wanted the other midwife from her office to check me and break my water, since she was already at the hospital. She checked me at 9:15 am, and I was still dilated to a tight 2. She said it can be a little more difficult to break the water when I'm not dilated much, but she would try anyway. Well, she did her thing with the "crochet hook", and I was just waiting to feel the gush of fluid. There was no gush. Not even a trickle. She said, "Okay, I think that did it", and I explained to her that I didn't feel any fluid, but she still thought it was broken, and we should wait and see if the contractions would start.

She asked if I wanted to start the pitocin or wait a little while. I decided to wait. That was my first mistake. I should have started it right then! Hindsight is 20/20.

They hooked up the IV and started fluids around 9:20 am. I immediately started feeling light-headed and dizzy. It could have been partly because I was lying on my back, which usually made me light-headed during pregnancy. So I turned to my side, and they allowed me to have crackers & sprite. I started feeling better after a few minutes.

So then we just waited. And waited. And waited.

I still felt no fluid coming out, and I wasn't having any regular contractions. I was having some, but they were not consistent. Whenever they checked me, I wasn't dilating. (obviously). I told them I'd like to get the Pitocin started. For some reason, it took them forever to get it to me, and didn't start it until 12:35, 3 hours after they supposedly "broke my water".

Once the pitocin started, I had to pee every 15-20 minutes. The contractions were just squeezing my bladder so much. I got so sick of unhooking all the wires and getting up to go to the bathroom! But I was being pumped with fluids, so that was keeping my bladder full I guess.

Fast forward ANOTHER 3 hours, about what seemed like 1,000 bathroom breaks, and they checked me again at 3:15. I was only dilated to a 3, and they said the baby was still sky high. They had a hard time even reaching him. (My babies have never dropped!)

I kept just breathing through the contractions. Kevin, my sisters and mom were there, and we watched a lot of TV. The women's world cup was on that day. (It was a bummer that USA didn't win.)

Fast forward ANOTHER 3 hours, and my midwife finally came in around 6:30 pm. It was the first I had seen her that day. She checked me, and he was still pretty high. She also said that she was almost ready to send me home. The thought made me sick. She said "If I couldn't reach his head, and your water wasn't broken, I was going to send you back home. But since I can reach his head, we'll go ahead and try to break your water again." That was a relief. I can't tell you what I would have done if I were to get sent home again, especially after being scheduled for an induction, and going through all that!

FINALLY, she broke my water at 6:40 pm. Feeling the gush was a great sigh of relief. Now I knew I'd have the baby soon, and they couldn't send me home! The contractions were a LOT more painful after the water was broken, and I was happy to get the epidural at 7:30 pm. I finally had relief from the hours and hours of contractions. And I didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom any more!

Fast forward 3 more hours, and they checked me at 10:20 pm. I was dilated to a 5 and 80-90% effaced. The head was "right there in zero position". They placed a monitor inside me to measure the contractions more accurately. I was so tired and very hungry. My sister even fell asleep, and I was starting to get a little frustrated. I'd been there all day, and I didn't want to stay up all night waiting.

At 10:55 pm, they checked me and I was at a "Fat 7". They had me turn to my right side, and the baby's heart rate immediately dropped, so they had me turn to my left side, and put me on oxygen. That's when I started getting scared. His heart rate kept dropping, and they kept telling me to take deep breaths so I could get more oxygen to him. For some reason, I kept thinking they were going to have to rush me out and do an emergency C-section. I was really scared.

My midwife kept rubbing his head to get his heart rate back up. I think she was trying to stretch me out at the same time, to hurry things along. I was glad the epidural had kind of worn off, and I could feel the pressure of his head coming down.

Only 10 minutes later, at 11:05, I was at a 9+. So they prepared the delivery table and stopped the pitocin. They took out the catheter at 11:10, and at 11:15, I started pushing. I hoped that I would be able to feel it, and I had just the right amount of numbness in me to feel it, but not be in too much pain. I also had a mirror.

He was born 4 short minutes later, at 11:19.

Beckham Glade Chapman was 7 lbs 4 oz, and 20 inches.

I was so happy he was finally here! I was able to nurse him before we even moved rooms. We were transferred to our new room around 1:00 am. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that first night. Kevin went home to sleep, so he could bring the kids the next day.

The kids were SO excited to meet their new baby brother! Or as Ryker calls him, "Baby Brudder".

The kids got to see his first bath! In fact, this is the first time I've gotten to see the first bath with any of my kids. The others were done in a different room, where Kevin usually went to video it for me. But they did it right in our room with Beckham. :)

My mom came back the next day as well. She took the kids to a movie near the hospital, so Kevin and I could have some alone time with the baby. Thanks, mom!

This is the view out the window of my room!

We came home on July 19, and Ryker was so happy to have his brudder home!

We chose the name Beckham just because we thought it was a cool name. There's no special story to it. Plus it's the only name we could agree on. Glade is his middle name, named after Kevin's brother.

So although it was an incredibly long day, he was worth the wait! I'm glad I was able to deliver a healthy baby boy. He is such a little cutie, and he has added so much to our family. I can't imagine our family without him!

Beckham's photo shoot {5.5 days new}

2011-08-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

I took these pics of my little guy on July 23, when he was 5 1/2 days old. He's now 2 1/2 weeks old, and is already changing! He is awake more during the day, and already trying to smile at us.

He is such a blessing in our lives! The kids have all been really good and loving with him. It's a new challenge to raise 4 kids, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. :)

Welcome, Baby Beckham!

2011-07-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

After a long day on Sunday, Beckham was finally born at 11:19pm. 7lbs, 4 oz. 20 inches. I'll post more pics and details later on the blog, but to see many more pics, go to my Facebook page. I'm too tired to post them here right now. I think I'll go take a nap!

Mother Daughter activity

2011-07-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

Bailee gets to go to activity days twice a month. Last month they had a mother-daughter activity, where I got to join her and make a little craft, and we had an activity where we answered questions about each other.

I kept the papers, but I'm sure they'll just get lost somewhere, so I thought I would document it here instead, since this blog is really the only "journal" I have:

Questions about Bailee that I answered:

Bailee's Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Favorite Meal I Cook: Baked Ziti
Favorite Activity with me: Hiking or Swimming
A place Bailee wants to travel to: California (actual: Where the penguins live)
The temple Bailee wants to get married in: Salt Lake (actual: Oquirrh)
Favorite place to shop: Wal Mart
Something she likes to or would like to collect: Earrings (actual: rocks)
The name of her favorite teacher this year: Ms. Moore
A talent or skill she would like to develop: Dancing (actual: Gymnastics)
What she wore to school yesterday: Pink striped shirt, braids
Favorite Music or Musical Artist: Rock & Roll
Favorite Movie: Despicable Me (actual: Spongebob or Tangled)
What her ideal day off from school would include: riding her bike, cooking, going swimming, movies
Her favorite subject in school: Math (actual: Art)

I guess I was pretty close on most of her answers.

But her answers for my questions were pretty funny:

Mom's shoe size: 24 (actual: 7)
Year she was born: 1998 (actual: 1977)
Name of her high school: Cougar High School (actual: Hunter High School)
Where she met your dad: School
All-Time favorite snack food: Candy (actual: I don't really know, but I'd take cookies, cake, or pie over candy)
How many states in the USA has she lived in? Can you name them? Utah
Which foreign countries has she visited or lived in? None (actual: Mexico, Canada, Belize)
How many children did he say she was going to have when she grew up? 6 (actual: 4 or 5)
If she had one day all to herself, what would she do? sleep (actual: probably sleep, but get some other things done as well! I'd probably go on a hike.)
Her dream car: red (actual: anything that gets good gas mileage!)
Her favorite book: The Hiding Place (actual: The Host, although I was impressed that Bailee knew I was reading The Hiding Place at the time.)
Her favorite season: Summer
Her favorite color: Green
Her favorite temple: Oaker (loved how she spelled it! And I don't really have a favorite, but we were married in Timpanogos.)
Her favorite scripture verse or story: Nephi

It was a fun activity, and I enjoyed getting to know Bailee better!

Look what he can do!

2011-07-13T20:30:00.001-07:00

He's not even 4 yet, and today he rode his bike with no training wheels! He wanted his training wheels off a couple of weeks ago, so his bike could be a "motorcycle". He saw his cousin Jack ride without training wheels, and has been just pushing himself around for the last couple of weeks keeping his feet on the ground.

Well today he did it, with help from a neighbor, just giving him a little push. That's all it took. And he has been outside for hours wanting to ride around. He's already good at getting himself going with no help. He can also pedal backwards in order to stop.

All 3 of my kids learned to ride a bike with training wheels in the same year! That's crazy to me. Bailee was 8 when she started, Trinidee 6 1/2, and Ryker almost 4.

Baby Update

2011-07-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Sooo, I had my doctors appointment on Monday morning. She said she was surprised she didn't see me come back to the hospital over the weekend. She did the regular measurements and listened for the heartbeat.

As she was feeling around, she said it's possible the baby could be breach. She said the position where she was hearing the heart, and the feel of the bumps made it seem that his bum was down and head was up. She wanted to send me in for an ultrasound to confirm. (Why they don't have an ultrasound in her office is beyond me). She said if he is breach, they can try to turn him. I can also do certain "moves" or "positions" at home to try to get him to flip back on his own. If he was still breach by next Monday, (7/18), they could just admit me to the hospital, flip him, then induce me.

I was really worried at this point because I knew about the possibility of getting a c-section. I really didn't want to have one. I know it's not the worst thing in the world, but the thought of it just terrified me.

So I went in yesterday afternoon for my ultrasound, and she said the baby was head down. I was so relieved! She did some other measurements, and gave me some pictures. It's crazy how much bigger this baby is now, compared to the last ultrasound I had at 20 weeks. At 20 weeks, the baby's body filled the screen. Now, just the giant head fills the screen!

So my doctor called me a couple of hours later, and she apologized for making me worry. She said they also measured the amount of fluid in the ultrasound, and I have a lot of it. She said when there's that much fluid, it can make it hard for the baby to "engage" or "drop". Which could explain why none of my other 3 babies ever dropped, and I always have to be induced.

So she said, "Do you want to just wait it out and see what happens, or go ahead and schedule an induction for next week?" I didn't even have to think twice. I said, "Let's schedule the induction!" I just figure that if I did wait around, I'd end up waiting around until 41 weeks (again), and I'd end up being induced anyway. Originally, I planned to wait until up to 41 weeks with this pregnancy so I could try to go into labor on my own, since I'd never experienced that before. After what happened this weekend, with the whole "unknown" factor, being sent home, feeling the contractions, and worrying about what to do with the other 3 kids at the last minute, I feel like I've experienced enough, and I just want this baby out! I really don't know if he would come on his own before 41 weeks.

This way I can get the kids babysitters worked out, I won't be up all night wondering if I'm in Labor for real or not, and we can just get the ball rolling!

So the doctor checked with the hospital for next Monday, 7/18. She called me back and said there were already 5 inductions scheduled for that day, so I probably wouldn't get in. There were 4 for Tuesday, so I might get in Tuesday, but maybe not. But those inductions are all for medical reasons, and mine is not, so I'm not the priority. But Sunday was wide open, so we scheduled it for this Sunday, 7/17/11!

I'm so excited! :)

False Alarm

2011-07-10T15:35:00.001-07:00

So it's been a long weekend around here. Kevin and the kids headed up to Wyoming for the Garrett Reunion on Friday morning. I didn't go since I'm 2 weeks from my due date, and I just had a feeling that I better stay close to home.

Well, Saturday morning at 4:00 am, I went to use the restroom, and thought that my water had broken. There was just extra trickling. (Sorry if this is TMI.) I had finished "going", then more water would trickle out with a contraction.

Anywhoo, my adrenaline immediately started going, and I called Kevin saying I think my water had broken, but I wasn't sure. He was a 3 1/2-4 hour drive away. I didn't know if it was the real thing, so I told him to wait until I talked to the Dr, or went into the hospital, then we would decide what to do.

So I called my Doctor, who said to just to go straight to the hospital if I think my water had broken. I called my mom, she came over, and drove me to the hospital. We got there around 5:00am. They checked me in, got the monitors on my belly, and I was contracting every 2 minutes consistently. The contractions were pretty strong, but they didn't really hurt.

I called Kevin and he said he was already on his way. I asked why he decided to leave before I found out if it was really labor, and he just said he'd rather just get here as soon as he could. He took the kids from the tent to his brother's trailer, and they offered to watch the kids for us. By this time I was sure I was in Labor because of the consistent contractions, so I thought it was a good idea that he came home.

They checked my cervix, and I was only dilated to a 1, and she said my cervix was still pretty thick. They tested the fluid with one of those test strips, and said it was negative. It was not amniotic fluid. So they did another test with a cotton swab, and we waited for the results.

I was so excited and nervous. I thought, this is it! His birthday will be July 9, 2011. He'll be lying in that little baby bed later tonight. I looked around the hospital room and imagined what it would be like in a few hours when I'd be pushing him out.

I've never gone into Labor on my own before, so I was excited and happy that my body was finally doing it! I was induced at 41 weeks with Bailee, 42 weeks with Trinidee, and 39 weeks (because I was tired of going over), with Ryker. I'm only 38 weeks with this one, so I was pleasantly surprised that this was happening early!

Well, the test results for the swab also came back negative. I was completely shocked! I swear there was extra "leakage" happening with every contraction, but it wasn't amniotic fluid!? But I thought, okay, well, I'm still in Labor even though my water hasn't broken, because I'm having consistent contractions every 2 minutes.

They checked me again after I had been there for over an hour, and I was still only dilated to a 1+. So the nurse said she would call my Doctor and let me know what she wants to do. The nurse came back and told me the doctor wanted to send me home. I was shocked and SO disappointed. I asked, "what about the regular contractions?" The nurse said that you can be having regular contractions, but if they aren't strong enough to progress you, or make you dilate, then they don't keep you. She said it's possible they can get stronger if I go home and walk around, and that maybe I'd be back at the hospital later that day or the next. I was just bummed.

So I called Kevin, who was near Echo reservoir by then. We had a hard time deciding whether or not he should turn back around, get the kids and all of our stuff packed up and head home, or if he should just continue on his way home. I was still concerned, so he just kept heading toward SLC.

They checked me out of the hospital, and my mom drove me home. I just laid down in my bed, feeling totally defeated, frustrated & confused. Kevin got home soon after, right around 8am. He plopped on the bed, and we both fell asleep. (He had gone to bed around 1am, and I called him at 4, so he was going on only 3 hours of sleep). I didn't sleep well, since I was still having contractions, and from the excitement of hoping maybe I was still in Labor.

I tried reading, sleeping, watching TV, sleeping some more, but I just couldn't. I was so tired. The contractions eventually stopped. Finally after a little nap, we decided that since I wasn't contracting anymore, it would be a good time for Kevin to head back up to Wyoming to get the kids and our stuff. I would talk to him as soon as he got there, and if anything was happening with me, he would come straight home. If not, he would stay at the reunion until Sunday and just come home Sunday morning, rather than making that drive 3 times in one day.

So he took me to my parents & headed back up to Wyoming. About 15 minutes after he left, I started having contractions again, and this time they were painful. I immediately started crying out of frustration, and I called him telling him to turn around and come back. He came back and took me home. That's when the painful, in-the-back contractions started. And they were consistent again. Every 3-4 minutes, sometimes every 2 minutes, sometimes less than 1 minute between each one. I could hardly breathe through them. I felt like my ribs would break!

So after about an hour of those, I called my doctor again. I told her I didn't want to go back to the hospital if they were just going to send me home again, and asked what I should do. She said to take a hot shower for 20 minutes. If that sped up my contractions, I was probably in Labor. If it slowed them down, then I probably wasn't. So I did that. My contractions were consistent until a few minutes after the shower, then they slowed down. So I just waited some more. They never picked back up.

Kevin and I went for a walk around 9pm, then went to Chili's at 10:00pm to eat. I was exhausted, so I went to bed and slept really good. Today we've been just relaxing, waiting to see if anything is going to happen, which it hasn't.

I have an appointment tomorrow morning, and I'm curious to see if those painful contractions progressed me at all. I just really hope I don't go a week overdue again. That would mean I still have 3 more weeks to go. It's just harder when you have your hopes up, thinking it was going to happen, only to have them shot down.

I'm just confused! But I'm still thankful that I'm able to carry a healthy baby to full term. He's still moving around in there, letting me know he's okay. It's probably just my body's way of getting ready for the real thing.

I thank all of the family up in Wyoming that took care of our other kids. I feel bad and kind of dumb for making Kevin come home, although I wouldn't want to have to go through this all alone! I'm so glad he was here by my side. He's such a good husband! I'm glad my mom & family was here to help & support me too.

Baby's just being a little tease I guess. ;)

July 4th weekend....(and beyond)....

2011-07-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

So the July 4th weekend was packed with lots of fun and activities! The girls had their last day of school on July 1. Here is Bailee with her 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Moore. And Trinidee with her 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Kingsford. Both of these teachers were WONDERFUL, and I can't say enough about them. The girls have greatly enjoyed school, and they both told me that they were sad they wouldn't have their teachers anymore. They will miss them a lot!

Also, on July 1, we made our LAST car payment on our Tahoe! I thought that would be blog worthy. :) It's going to be so nice to have that extra money each month. Now hopefully it doesn't break down so we have to fix it or buy a new car!

On that same Friday evening, we went to the Western Stampede Rodeo in West Jordan.

I *heart* Lone Peak! I just zoomed in and got a shot of it while waiting for the rodeo to start. It's hard to believe that just 10 short months ago, I was on the top of that mountain. Now I wouldn't even be able to go a mile up that steep trail. :P

My nephews, Toby & Jack competed in the Muttin' Bustin'. Last year Toby actually won it and got a huge trophy! This year he wasn't so lucky. They each stayed on for only a couple of seconds. But all of the competitors got a trophy! Now all 3 of my kids want to try it.

Here's Jack's attempt:

Toby getting lowered down by Brianne:

And Toby's attempt:

Friday night, the kids asked if they could sleep out on the deck, and we agreed. It was the first time we've let them do it, and they did fine. They even slept in! The only problem was that they woke up with mosquito bites all over their faces.

Saturday, July 2, we worked on some painting projects. I am determined to get them done before this baby comes!! (only 2 more weeks until the due date.)

We are painting the crib and changing table for the baby, a nightstand and desk for Trinidee, and a vanity for each of the girls dressers.

Saturday night Kevin went to a "guys night out", so I went with my dad & kids up Little Cottonwood Canyon. We went as far as the road was open, which was just past Alta, right before the road changes from asphalt to dirt road, where the gate was closed. Here's the Albion Basin area, with still a ton of snow!

Then we went to the White Pine trailhead and walked up the trail a ways.

There were so many waterfalls running. We stopped to take a few shots of them:

Monday, July 4, we finished up the painting projects:

Relaxed,

And then had friends over for a yummy BBQ and a fun fireworks display with our circle neighbors. This year they legalized aerial fireworks, so we bought some of those too.

Trin picked her outfit....interesting choice, no?

Tuesday, July 5, I took the kids to the neighborhood playgroup at the splash park. (No pictures though.)

Wednesday, July 6, we hung out at my mom's since my sister is in town from Idaho with her boys, and my brother & his family from Wyoming. Grandma just bought this cool slip n' slide. The kids loved it!

And Thursday, July 7, we took them all to the Living Planet Aquarium. Again, I didn't have my camera, but the kids loved it. Especially being able to pet the sting rays.

Isn't summer the best?

Camping (again)

2011-06-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

So we went on our second camping trip of the year over the weekend of June 24. This time we went with some friends and their families. It was so much fun! We went up to Spruces campground up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Saturday morning we went to Silver Lake for some fishing. There was still quite a bit of snow on the trail around the lake.

Saturday afternoon, a few of us hiked up to Donut Falls. The water was so high that we couldn't get as close as we usually can.

Donut Falls in the background. Trin opted out on going hiking. She's still just not into it.

Kevin was helping the kids with fire starting skills.

We won't mention what's happening here....

???

Kevin and I don't even own a dutch oven, but thanks to our friends, we learned some dutch oven cooking over the weekend! I think we need to invest in some now. :)

The kids definitely were worn out!

Smores!

The weather was perfect during the day, and a little chilly at night. It was so nice to get away!

Neighborhood BBQ

2011-06-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Last year, we decided as a "circle" to host a neighborhood BBQ, and it was a lot of fun! We hoped to do it again in 2010, but never got around to it.

We've been talking about doing another one, and a few days ago we decided that this weekend would be a good time to do it. I think it was a great success!

Here are a few pics from the evening. We had 3 BBQ grills going, full of yummy food! I failed, however, to take a picture of all of the yummy salads/side dishes/desserts that everyone brought! They were delicious. Take my word for it!

The kids had a great time running around, having water fights, riding bikes, etc.

It was a great evening, and I'm so glad I have so many great friends and neighbors to spend time with!

Belly Shot: 34 weeks

2011-06-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

Spring Dance Recital

2011-06-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

The girls had their spring recital with Star Dance on May 21 at the mall. They were so cute and did such a good job! I didn't really get a good seat, so the pics aren't the best.

Bailee is on the far left, Trin on the far right.

Camping

2011-05-31T14:21:00.001-07:00

So for Memorial Day weekend, we were planning on going up to Wyoming to stay at the barn, but the forecast was rainy, snowy, and only in the 40's all weekend. So we decided to stay home.

Kyle and Brianne invited us to go camping with their family on Friday night up Davenport canyon, so we joined them. It rained a little bit, and it was a little on the chilly side, but we still had fun! I just wanted to get out and do something fun.

One of the only times the sun came out the whole time:

Brianne took Toby and Bailee on a little hike to the top of this hill. They are in the center of this pic coming back down.

Ants!

Getting ready to go shooting....

My 3-year old with a gun. Oy.

flipping, tumbling & jumping

2011-05-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

I love Groupon. We've been able to do some fun things at great prices thanks to those coupons.

In April, when the girls were off track, I bought them a Groupon for one month of gymnastics at Academy West for $20, including the registration fee. The girls LOVED it! I just wanted them to be able to try it out at least once. They'd love to continue doing it, but I told them we had to wait until after the baby is born, and when things settle down a little bit.

On the way home from one of the lessons, we drove by Airport #2, where we often see a fox or two. Since I had my camera, I tried to take a couple of shots just for fun. Furry little thing.

And my next Groupon deal was some discount admissions to Airborne Trampoline Arena in Draper. So we spent a recent FHE there. I didn't jump, but had a fun time watching the kids and hubby have a blast. I may have to go back there when I'm not prego! I did get to throw balls at them in the dodge ball pit. I was laughing so hard!

Afterwards we went to dinner at Chuck-A-Rama, since the girls earned some free kids meals from their school.

*I apologize for the blurry pics*

raising butterflies

2011-05-20T08:56:00.001-07:00

You may remember from my easter post that the kids received the Live Butterfly Garden for easter this year. Well, here's an update! This is what the caterpillars looked like on Easter.

They stayed in these cups, complete with all the food they needed to grow up and turn into a chrysallis. I'm glad we weren't supposed to open them, because they kind of grossed me out.

Once they got big enough, the caterpillars fastened themselves to the top of the cup, and started transforming. It was so wierd to see, but cool at the same time!

When they had all turned into chrysallis', we transformed them into their bigger net, so they would have enough room to fly when they turned into butterflies.

After about a week, they started hatching out of their cocoons! It happened so quickly though. One minute I would check them, and a few minutes later, we'd see a butterfly. We never got to see one actually come out.

You just put sliced oranges and tissues soaked with sugar water at the bottom of their habitat, and watch them stick out their little straw-mouths to suck the juice.

We decided to let them go last weekend when it was nice weather. That may have been a mistake though, because the very next day we had horrendous winds, then cold temps, and it hasn't stopped raining since! So we probably should have waited. I don't know if they would have survived all that!

It was a fun experience for us all to watch. It really was amazing how those little creatures just knew what to do. When we let them go, Bailee said that it was kind of like Jesus and the resurrection. He went into the tomb wrapped in clothes, and later emerged! I wish I could remember her exact words. But I was impressed that she saw the comparison!

family/maternity pics

2011-05-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

It's not very often that I actually take pictures of my own family. I really wanted to get some while I'm still pregnant, so I can look back and remember how our family looked at this special time in our lives. Thanks to the tripod & timer, we got some cute family shots. {I'm 30 weeks in these pics.}

My kids even helped out on the photo shoot. :)

And my hubby took the rest of these. He's quite the photographer!

And I had to throw in this picture, just because I love the confused look on his face. I was getting the camera settings right before I handed the camera over to him, so he was "modeling" for me. :)

Mothers Day

2011-05-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

I know this post is a week late. But that's how my life has been running lately. LATE.

I'm on my last week of doing photography sessions before I go on my maternity break, and I have been very busy with that, along with getting things ready for the baby, doing Young Women stuff, doing the spring yard work, on top of all of the every-day mom stuff that needs to get done.

But I'm so happy that I get to be a mom. It's my favorite job in the whole world.

Heavenly Father has blessed me with a wonderful husband, who works so hard for our family. He has also blessed me with 3 beautiful children, who bring me more joy than I can explain. (Even though at times they are a lot to handle.) I wouldn't trade being a mom for anything else in this world.

My girls made me some cute cards. In fact, Trinidee made me two!

Aren't they cute??

I can't wait to meet our 4th little angel. I imagine what he will look like. I love to feel him move around inside me. It is such a blessing to be able to carry a child, and I'm so glad I've been able to do it. Even though it can be tough at times, and I feel like I can't do everything I usually do, I will miss being pregnant.

I also want to thank my mom for everything she's ever done for me. She is a wonderful mother and a terrific Grandma! She puts everyone's needs in front of her own, and loves her grandkids more than anything. Thanks mom, I love you!

Chocolate Frosting!

2011-05-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, first of all, to make a regular, boring, store bought Devil's Food cake mix-in-a-box taste more fabulous, just add 1/2 Cup of Sour Cream. Who knew? It really works! Just prepare the batter according to package directions, then stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream, then bake.

Now on to the good part. The frosting!

I'm a little behind on the times, and have never learned how to make homemade chocolate frosting. I LOVE the taste of the homemade SO much better than the store bought stuff. So I searched the internet, and found this recipe. I made it today for our cupcakes that we had at New Beginnings. I have to tell you, it is delicious!

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar (aka powdered sugar)

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons butter, softened, but NOT melted in the microwave

5 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside. (Make sure you sift it, because I didn't, and there were a few lumps of powdered sugar and cocoa in the frosting).

In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

My girls

2011-05-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

My girls take dance at Star Dance, and I was privileged to take all of their pictures! Here's a peek at my cuties:

They're growing up way too fast!!

Baby's dresser

2011-05-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

We've finally finished the baby's dresser! I found it on KSL, and this is the only "before" picture I have, taken off of the ad. It doesn't show it, but the top of the hutch was actually missing.

When I went to pick it up, I realized the front of the drawers were plastic, not wood. The top of the dresser was formica, which I knew wouldn't take paint well, not to mention it wouldn't look very good. Parts of the dresser & hutch were real wood, and parts were the "fake" stuff.

But the seller had been so kind, and she hauled it all the way from Lakeshore, which is like an hour away. So I felt like I had to buy it. I felt bad. I will remember next time to MAKE SURE I ask all of the questions beforehand.

The drawers were made of wood, and they were sturdy. So we bought it. I figured I'd give it a try, and if it didn't work out, I could just sell it and try again. But I knew it had potential to be something beautiful. It was $50.

So even though the drawer-fronts were plastic, I sanded them anyway, and it worked. It took the paint well. Kevin removed the top of the dresser, and we purchased a piece of solid wood to replace it.

Here's the hutch after painting. I thought white bead-board would look cute on the back, and we had a sheet just laying around in our garage!

So Kevin put a piece of the beadboard on the top,

And then on the back.

Isn't it gorgeous!?

And I have to post one more before & after. {I'm a little obsessed.}

Nursery progress....

2011-05-02T10:49:00.001-07:00

It's been so fun getting ready for this baby! We have been in the process of re-modeling this room, which was originally Bailee's room when she was born. The girls also shared this room for a while. Then when Bailee moved downstairs, it was Trinidee's room.

Now both girls are downstairs, they each have their own room, and we have been giving the purple room a makeover, getting ready for a boy! We've steam cleaned the carpet many times, but it just needed to go. We got a really good deal on some hardwood, so we were happy to tear the carpet out.

We sanded down the lower white part of the room, removed all of the crayon marks and stickers from 8 years of kids doing what kids do, then re-painted the white. We also changed the ceiling from purple to white. And obviously replaced the fan.

I'm so happy with how it's turning out! And I'm so glad I have a handy hubby who can do all this for us! My next step is finishing the furniture (I'm re-painting it all!) and getting it all put together.

Bailee's desk

2011-04-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the second "furniture re-finishing" project I've completed. Inspired by All Things Thrifty.

Bailee has a TV tray down in her room that she likes to use as a desk, but TV trays are flimsy and there's not much surface area to work with! I thought it would be fun for each of the girls to have their own desk, so I started shopping on KSL. I found this one for $20. Here's a shot of it, after I had sanded the top and sides.

I don't think it's necessary to sand it all the way down to the raw wood, just rough it up a little so the paint sticks better.

I used Krylon spray paint again. Bailee got to choose the color all by herself! She chose Blue Ocean Breeze.

Here it is before the glaze....

And then after the glaze. I used some that my SIL gave me, which was a Ralph Lauren faux glaze w/ black silk.

I'm still working on her dresser. I hope to get all of these projects done within the next few weeks. It's been so cold outside lately that I can't get the painting done. (I do it in the garage). Now that we have a warmer week coming up I can hopefully get a bunch of them painted. :)

Featured!

2011-04-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Remember my dresser project from a few weeks ago?

Well it was featured today on All Things Thrifty! How fun is that?

Easter happenings

2011-04-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter this year. I forgot to take a picture of the kids in their Sunday best, but they didn't get new clothes this year anyway. Here's a pic of their loot. They didn't get too much candy, which was good because I knew they'd be getting more later that night.

They were happy to see what the Easter Bunny brought them.

This is probably their favorite gift. They got the Live Butterfly Garden! These caterpillars will soon make a chrysalis, then they'll eventually turn into butterflies! I'll keep their progress updated on the blog. :)

We went to church, then headed to Kevin's parents for Easter dinner (ham & funeral potatoes, yum!) and the annual easter egg hunt.

They got a lot of fun candy and prizes. In fact, Ryker ate a little too much candy, and early Monday morning started throwing up. :(

We kept reminding the kids all day that Easter really isn't about the candy and bunny, but about Christ and the Resurrection. We talked about what they learned that day in their class, and they seem to understand. :)

And I just wanted to share this find I got over the weekend for $15! It is one of the upcoming projects I've been working on. I still need to finish Bailee's dresser, 2 desks for the girls, the new baby's dresser, and this table. I can't wait to have it all done!

More stuff for sale

2011-04-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

We're really purging around here, and if you'd like to see our ads on KSL, click here.

Don't eat me!

2011-04-13T09:05:00.001-07:00

This poor little gopher didn't have a chance once Snowflake got his paws on him. I felt kind of bad for a second, but then I remembered the destruction that little gophers long front claws and little yellow teeth have done to my yard, and I felt bad no more!

It's kind of morbid, I know. But also kind of funny.

My project.

2011-04-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to tell you all about my latest project! It all started with this dresser:

This dresser is a cheap piece of crap from WalMart or Kmart, I can't remember. It's one of those fake-wood cheap dressers. I've had it for years, but my kids have done a number on the drawers after climbing in them and bending the heck out of the slider thingys. The two bottom drawers won't open once you shut them. The third drawer won't close all the way. You get the idea.

I'm in a nesting mood, trying to get things ready for the new baby. I need new dressers for my girls! (We have another cheap one which we're having the same problems with. The drawers have broken out the bottom, etc.)

So last week, I started to look on KSL for a nice solid-wood dresser. I only found ugly ones, or really cute EXPENSIVE ones. Then, I remembered my SIL, Brianna, re-did some furniture. And all of the sudden, I was determined to buy a crappy dresser for cheap, then fix it up cute, just how I wanted it!

So Brianna directed me to AllThingsThrifty.com, and VintageRevivals.blogspot.com. I read those blogs for a couple of hours probably, and immediately started shopping on KSL. That day, I found this beauty (below) for $70. (Looking back, I bet he would have taken less, but I didn't even ask).

It's solid wood, in good condition. Just kind of ugly. So first, I took out the hardware and sanded down the worst of the scratches.

Then I primed it using Kilz. Then painted (yes, SPRAY painted), with this Krylon paint.

This is what it looked like after a couple of coats of primer. And the paint was just plain ol' white.

These are 2 drawers, the one on top is just with white paint, and the one on bottom is after I added the glaze.

It was easy, and I had fun doing it! You just paint the glaze on, then wipe it off. I only did one coat. I liked the way it looked!

Glaze dries slower than paint, and it washes off easily. So I let my little buddy help me:

I purchased new hardware, and voila!! I've created a beautiful new solid-wood dresser!

Isn't it gorgeous?

One more before and after:

I have also purchased another dresser and a desk that I plan to re-finish. I'm also going to re-paint our crib! I'm having so much fun. :)

Bikes

2011-03-26T20:26:00.001-07:00

I know my girls probably "could" have ridden a bike with no training wheels a long time ago, (since they are 8 and 6 1/2), but I never really pushed the issue too much, until this year. I got tired of seeing 3 and 4 year olds riding their bikes around, knowing my girls still couldn't do it. And I want to take them on bike rides this year! So on St. Patricks Day, Bailee stayed home from school because of pink eye, and it was a nice day outside.

So I told her she was going to learn how to start and stop on her own. She kind of knew how to stay up, but couldn't start or stop on her own. She kept saying, "I don't want to", and had a pretty negative attitude about it. But I kept telling her she was going to do it. Well, it only took her about 2 minutes to figure it out. Then she said riding a bike was her favorite thing in the whole world! Her whole mood changed. :)

Then Trinidee got home from school and saw what Bailee could do. We immediately took off her training wheels, and guess what? It only took her a few minutes and a couple of tries to get it down.

**I know you might be thinking, "where is Bailee's helmet?", but she had grown out of hers, and she WAS wearing mine when she was first practicing. Trinidee has my helmet on in the pictures. I have since gone and purchased the girls a new helmet, and they know they have to wear them any time they ride their bikes.**

Here's a video of a little "crash". Taken with my phone, which is why the picture is so crappy.

It's so fun to see them enjoying their bikes now! I took Ryker out the other day and taught him how to pedal on his. I tied a jump rope to his bike and pulled as he tried to pedal. (He still has his training wheels of course). He'll be joining his sisters before we know it!

20 weeks

2011-03-07T11:55:00.001-08:00

I'd better start off this post by sharing the pictures from our ultrasound we had on January 29, 2011, at Fetal Fotos at the Southtowne Mall. We couldn't wait until our ultrasound at 20 weeks to find out what it was, so we went in at 15 weeks and found out it was a boy. So here are some of the ultrasound pics at 15 weeks:

And today, (March 7, 2011) was my 20 week routine ultrasound, where they make all the measurements and check for any problems. I can't believe how much bigger he looked after only 5 weeks! They re-confirmed that it is a boy. He looked so cute wiggling around in there. We even saw him "drinking" or "swallowing". It just seems so much more real when you get to see them and watch them moving around through the ultrasound. I love modern technology!

And a 20 week belly shot:

Bailee's Special Day

2011-03-06T09:12:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Bailee's big day. She was so excited to be baptized and confirmed, and has been counting down the days! The day went really well, and we had a lot of family and friends come to show their support! Today I am really regretting not taking more pictures afterwards at our house. We had a lot of yummy food! Here are just a few shots from the happy occasion.

Congrats to Bailee on making such an important decision! You are such a sweet & special little girl, and we love you!

Stuff for Sale

2011-03-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

We're in the purging mood around here. Kevin has a lot of electronic stuff and tools we're trying to get rid of that he just doesn't use any more. So if you'd like to check out our KSL ads, click here.
I don't even know what half of this stuff is, but we've got it if you need it!