8 Kids, 4 hound dogs and the piggy we stole from the shed...

So, maybe it's not really Grandma's feather bed, but I

imagine they won't get much sleep, but they'll have a

LOT of fun.

This was our first Veteran's Day sleepover. The boys love to get altogether in one bed and read books and tell each other stories. Since there is no school tomorrow (and since Sam fell asleep on the way home from karate, which means he's going to be awake for a LONG time anyway) we decided tonight would be the perfect night for a sleepover in our bed. We will of course move them, I not that nice of a mom. However, they are currently having a GREAT time. They may have to move to their own beds in an hour or so.

A girl?!!

Well, I'm officially announcing that we are having another baby and according to today's ultrasound we are having a girl. When we told the boys last weekend about the impending arrival they took the whole thing in stride. Jacob asked, "What if it's a girl?" and after a few minutes decided it was okay because at least he'd be older than her. Joshua was ecstatic to be the oldest of 5 and Andrew looked at me wide-eyed and said, "There's gonna be 5 babies?!" In the end Joshua determined either gender would be fine because it'll either be a boy or a Tom-boy. His glass is always half full. Oh, my due date is March 1, 2011.

Boys

They are in so much pain I feel bad laughing, but the cause is really quite funny. I was talking to my sister this afternoon when I hear a whimpering coming from outside. Joshua and Jacob both walk in and Joshua very calmly states, "I think this is an emergency." In a search for adventure Joshua and Jacob hopped on Andrew's big wheel at the same time and headed off down the hill that is our street. I guess at some point they figured out they were in trouble because Joshua tried to bail but his foot got stuck. Anyway, to avoid a bush they somehow crashed the big wheel and both met the pavement with extreme force. Jacob's main complaint is his face (although there are many other wounds). I was most concerned about him initially because Joshua just looked to have a skinned knee. However, when Adam got home and we took a closer look at Joshua we realized that it was a very deep cut. He and Adam ended up in the ER and 2 stitches later (and only 90 minutes :-)!) they were back home. We are going to have some very sore boys tomorrow. I wonder if they'll think twice about riding a big wheel uncontrollably down a steep hill again. By the way, they would both want me to mention that there were no tears. Joshua only screamed once at the ER and that was when they numbed him up. Jacob had a hard time eating (which, if you know Jacob is a true hardship) and was whimpering all evening, except when he was at the computer :-).

Lake Tenkiller

At the beginning of July we met my family in Oklahoma and headed to a place called Lake Tenkiller. We stayed in a great little resort and while the decor and gift shop haven't changed since Alicia was a child (it's exactly as she always remembered it) it was a great place to stay. We had fun being on the water and playing together. At first it seemed the weather wouldn't cooperate but it turned out to be perfect.

WAKE SURFING

This was our new experience. You literally surf behind the boat. Even though the surfer is seen holding a rope, you aren't actually being towed. It was really fun. Ben was a great teacher - so good that even the littlest kids were able to try it out.

On the boat - Samuel actually liked the boat a lot, he especially loved all the time he got to be with Daddy.

This guy just melts my heart! He was so proud of this seat. It's above the regular seats so he had to hold on tight :-)

We actually flew into Dallas and then drove to Tulsa. Joshua was in his glory with a great collection of Geotrax and Uncle Brian has the perfect hallway to build in.

He's eating!!

I know it's weird to document the first time your child eats a PBJ sandwich. However, those of you who know Sam know this is a BIG deal. This is the boy who lives on pretzels, Danimals, and chips with some random fruit thrown in. This one day he decided to eat a sandwich after helping Adam make it. Now I know most of you are thinking, "Ah! If he makes it he'll eat it." I was hoping that was true, however, in the following days a repeat of this performance was no where to be seen. Sam will gladly help anyone make a PBJ sandwich day or night, just don't ask him to eat it.

Happy Half Birthday, Andrew!

No, we don't celebrate half birthdays for everyone, just Andrew. His birthday is Dec 23 and we prefer to spread out the presents a bit. We still recognize the day but he only gets grandparent presents on that day. Anyway, after a 5:30am workout (that's right, that's REALLY early) I came home to a very eager Half Birthday Boy. He let me (Adam too) rest for a few minutes and then it was present time.

The traditional breakfast choice - Lucky Charms

We cleaned up Jacob's old bike last week and Andrew's been riding it ever since, but we made sure he knew that his bike was his main birthday present. By 7:30am we were at the park for our family bike ride. Everyone loved it and 7:30 is the time to be at the park to avoid all kinds of discomfort (like heat and humidity - although, I really can't complain, it's been beautiful!!).

This is my favorite part of the day. As Andrew rode around the track he sang at the top of his lungs. The words of his song were so appropriate (to a point) that I couldn't help but smile. He sang, "I feel so free that I could soar (that's the appropriate part) I'm not an egg anymore!!!" It's from a Backyardigans episode. Anyway, it was great.

Joshua - He finally admitted riding bikes is fun.

Sam is his own man - I don't think I have to worry about him following the crowd in future years. He has taken to removing his shoes no matter where we go, the grocery store, the park, the movie theater, church, you name it.

Andrew and Daddy

The rest of the day was filled with Toy Story 3 - fun movie - the book store and pizza for dinner. We came home and had an ice cream treat for his cake. Candles were placed in everyone's ice cream that wanted to blow (mostly Sam). All in all it was a great day.

Ice Cream

One of the doctors at work gave Adam and $25 gift card to Friendly's Restaurant. She is pregnant and having a very difficult time. Adam has been nice and I know she appreciates it. We decided to splurge and just do ice cream. It was quite a treat. Although I don't think I'll ever figure out Samuel's eating habits. He refused his strawberry shake altogether.

Freezing?!

I just had to post this and point and that on June 17 my boys were freezing. If you look closely, yes, that is Samuel in a winter coat. Andrew was in tears and Jacob was nice enough to lend his bathrobe. Joshua stuck it out and Jacob refused to be photographed in his jacket, but it was there. I guess this explains somewhat why they were dying when it finally reached 80 degrees.

A weekend in Vermont

Sounds almost romantic, doesn't it? The romance comes to a screeching halt when you throw in 4 boys, however, the boys did make for some great family fun. Yesterday we left our house at 6:40am to do a day's worth of site seeing in Vermont. Two and a half hours later we arrived at our first destination - The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial in Sharon, VT. Now, I shamefully must admit that I got all nostalgic when we arrived. I spent many a Girls' Camp in this place and it was weird and really fun to be back. The whole place has changed - things that were once there are gone, but mostly they've made HUGE improvements. What can I say, progress in the right direction is always good.

Oh - did I mention that it rained - a lot? However, we didn't let it spoil our fun and thanks to some good advice from Grandma we packed our rain gear.

Alright, so this exceptionally unflattering picture has a purpose. It's to point out that this hat and rain coat have lived for 17 years. I wore both when I was 16 for Girls' Camp in this very spot. Adam thought it was picture worthy if for no other reason than to document the survival of the rain gear. I must admit, the coat fit MUCH looser back then. We're working on that.

Heading into the Visitor's Center. A family from our ward were actually the inspiration for this whole thing. They had already had it all planned and Jill just mentioned it to me on Thursday. They were nice enough to let us crash their party and we are so thankful.

The Visitor's Center

These are sculptures by a woman names Angela Johnson. Her exhibit is on display in the Visitor's Center and we were blown away. Pictures don't do them justice. However, if you are interested in looking at more of her work her website is ajsculptures.com (of course, it's the kind of thing we will have to admire when on display, but they truly are beautiful).

Ben and Jerry's!!!!

So, while the Joseph Smith Memorial was fantastic, let's be totally honest. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory was a highlight. After a quick lunch we went on the tour, which is very interesting. However, the ice cream sample at the end was even more interesting.

Of course, the sample was just enough to wet our appetite. We got some more at the scoop shop just outside.

Did you get it all, Joshua?

This cracked us up. They have a literal graveyard for all their retired flavors. They have on the tombstone how long each flavor lived and why it "died." Jacob was disappointed this particular flavor didn't live long enough for him to try it.

This is my attempt at getting a fun picture of all 4 boys. Samuel had other ideas.

However, he did allow me to snap him solo - so generous of him.

After Ben and Jerry's we went to the Cabot Creamery. They have a little informational tour about how things are done, but mostly it was enjoyable for the samples provided afterwards. We all enjoyed tasting all the different cheddars they make at this particular facility. One could spend lots of money in a place like that.

Jacob was kind enough to provide his shoulders for better tour viewing for Sam. Right now they are watching the pallet stacker in motion.

After a dinner that was less than stellar dinner, Sam and I went outside while everyone else finished. He found this watering can and the owner of the establishment offered to fill it with water and let Sam water his flowers. I thought that was very generous as it had been raining all day already. The man said he was never one to turn down work. Samuel was in heaven and I was grateful for the useful distraction.

Yes, this picture is really as pathetic as it looks. We got home around 9pm only to find that we were locked out of our house. Andrew was soooo tired that it was all he could do to lay down on the steps in our garage, with the screen door half closed on him and moan. In the end we figured out a solution and everyone got to sleep in their beds.

Memorial Day

I'm not sure if our version of Memorial Day was in keeping with any sort of tradition. We did manage to catch a few minutes of the parade on Main Street. They do a really great thing here in Rutland, that I want to make sure we participate in next year. Veterans from the town gather in each of the towns cemeteries (I think there are 4 of them, all within walking distance of each other) and perform a 21 Gun salute and various other things in memory of those who have passed on in the service of our nation.

Unfortunately, this year we have been plagued by sickness. It really could be worse, although don't mention that to Joshua or Andrew as they are the ones to truly be miserable. Plus, Adam is working nights, which means sleeping days (or at least trying to - we just weren't meant to be up all night or sleep during the day). Anyway, in an attempt to do something patriotic I made a Flag Cookie. It's really a fruit pizza, but of course, today it's a flag. I hope we are on the mend, and can put this ill health behind us. Also, thank you to everyone who has or is serving for our country.

The Happy Birthday Month

So, there are a lot of pictures with this post because May is our birthday month. We had a surprise birthday party for Joshua this year. It actually worked out really well. We told him it would be on Saturday the 8th. He got to help plan the whole thing and loved that part of it. However, I contacted the guests and had them arrive Friday night for the surprise. Joshua got the best of both worlds - he got to help plan and be surprised.

Preparing for the SURPRISE!!

Marshmallow stacking competition. In the end the boys just ended up smashing them all together - it was a fantastic mess.

Joshua really wanted to have a silly string fight. I discourage this to anyone reading this post. I thought silly string disintegrated easily with a little water. Well, three weeks later and a few rain storms and we're still finding silly string. However - the boys loved it!

So the party started around 4:15. They played and then we had dinner. At 5:30 a babysitter arrived to watch Andrew and Samuel while we took the group to play Laser Tag. I HIGHLY recommend this to everyone. We played 6 or 7 games with all different variations of teams and everyone loved it. The "fish" stories on the way home were great. There were some girls who came in and challenged the boys and by the time we got home these girls were 10ft tall bullies that threw the boys into walls and kicked them. Can you guess who won that game :-)?

Now we come to the rest of the birthdays.

These are the Candy Monsters trying to attack Adam's Skor bar.

Don't worry, Adam defended it well.

Sam's turn. I can't believe he's three!!

It was the year of trucks, trucks and more trucks for our Sam. He loves them and so now we have a great collection of trucks.

The Birthday Breakfast

We chose to sing to Sam over his birthday donuts. We ended up singing 8 or 9 times. He'd blow out the candles, we'd sing and he'd say, "Again!" He also walked around the house all day singing, "Happy Birthday to me..."