Summer Craze

Get ready for a picture overload! Here are a few things we have done this summer in pictures:

This is Lake Wilderness Park in Maple Valley, and it's awesome! The water was nice and shallow and surprisingly warm. The kids loved it! My friend took us to this park for a fun picnic.

During the super hot heat wave days of the summer, we went to several splash parks. We went to this one at Pioneer Park a few times.

 It's not summer without ice cream cones at Burger King! This was Tripp's first day of summer.

 This is another splash park, Les Gove Park in Auburn. It also has some super sweet toys to play on, but I didn't get any pictures of them. It was overcast the day we went but the boys still wanted to get wet.

 Raidon is absolutely nuts when it comes to water play.

 Let the battle begin....

 We watched these boys for my friend while she packed her home to move to Ohio. We had a lot of fun and everyone knows we can always use more boys in our home ;) We were sad to see them move.

 We also took them to the river by our house and found out that Isaac is nuts!

 For Tripp's birthday we went to Bullwinkle's in Tukwila. Sadly this was the only pic I took of the day. We also went to Taco Bell for his birthday dinner and had a brownie cake at our home.

 I got to watch Khloe and Henry for a couple weeks this summer. This was Khloe's pet slug. She wouldn't let anyone touch or harm it. Silly girl!

 We also watched Alyssa one day and took her to the library for a magic show.

 Deklan was selected to help with one of the magic tricks. The favorite part of the show was the magician's "naughty" wand. It kept poking him when he wasn't looking and the kids ate it up!

 The crew after the show. Can you find Raidon?

Here are a few other library activities that we went to this summer: The kids love building with the straws and connectors.

I thought he looked so goofy with these.

 We got to watch the sing-a-long version of Frozen and build snowmen with marshmallows, pretzels, candy corn, and chocolate chips. Zayna and her kids also visited us for a week, but I was really bad about taking pictures while they were here :( Zelda, Asher, and Tripp got up early every morning and rode bikes. That is what Tripp missed the most when they went home.

I got to take the kids to a free Seahawks football camp. There was also a cheer leading clinic. It was about 120 degrees on the turf field that day. I took this when it was over. Check out those pink cheeks!

 Here all the girls got to pose with Blitz the mascot and the SeaGals while the boys ran through about 10 stations of football drills

 

 Zelda was an awesome little dancer. I couldn't believe she danced in that heat. She told me, "I know it's hot because my butt is sweaty." I'm glad I got at least one pic of Khloe dancing. She sat down with me in the shade of the speaker for the rest of the camp and I don't blame her. I was sweating and I wasn't doing anything. I bought all of these troopers milkshakes on the way home, they totally deserved it!

 And this little man has played flag football this summer and is a little stud. He plays as quarterback, running back, and safety and is so awesome! He is so fun to watch. He throws touchdowns, runs touchdowns, gets almost every tackle, and catches interceptions.

We went to Borst Park in Centralia for all of the Independence Day activities.

Trolley ride:

 Softball throw:

 Look-a-like contest. I think Randy, Tripp, and Raidon got third place. It was based on cheering from the crowd and apparently we didn't have enough family there to cheer for us. :)

 Tug of war:

 Tractor ride:

 Sack races:

 It was too much fun for Raidon, he was passed out during the entire parade where our kids scored a huge bag of candy.

This is only about half of the things we have done this summer, I am just really bad about taking pictures. So here is my super long picture catch up of what we have been up to lately. Hopefully it won't be too long until the next update, but who knows? We are trying to potty train Raidon right now and it's exhausting. Here goes....

Not a baby anymore :(

My sweet little Baine-Joe turned 1 at the beginning of the month. Time flies by way too quickly.

 Tripp, Deko, and I made some tye-dyed funfetti cupcakes for him with cream cheese frosting.

 He was a little timid about digging in at first....

 But definitely was able to make a huge mess when he was done.

 Aww... come on, I would totally have the cutest girls ever. What a sweety! Deklan said his present needed bows.

 Yep, we got our one year old a punching bag and he loved it! He tackled it over and over just like he does his brothers.

We love our loud mouthed Master Baine! He thinks he is a big boy and can do whatever his brothers are doing. He started walking at 10 months and is running now. He is so fun and crazy.

My Grad

Deklan graduated from preschool this week. How did this happen? He can't grow up yet, because I am not ready! His class put on a cute program. They sang songs, did sign language, and spoke another language. All of the kids moving on to Kindergarten got to share their favorite fact about an animal. Most of the kids shared facts about butterflies or sharks, but not Deko. Here is is fun fact:

True to Deko-form, he made everyone laugh. Only my child would talk about poop at his graduation. We are so proud of our little boy!

It matters

I made it!

In case you were wondering, this is what the Seattle Temple looks like at 6 am.

I got up super early on Saturday, pumped my milk, and dashed to the temple. It felt so good to be inside there again. I attended the 6:30 am session, which just happened to be the Tongan session. I got to wear headphones that translated everything into English for me. It was pretty interesting.
Meanwhile, at home Baine refused to drink from a bottle or eat baby food for Randy. So it might be awhile before Randy and I can go to the temple together.

This is for you, TD :)

So I had a friend who moved away a few years ago visit this Sunday and she told me that I needed to update my blog more often and that she was unofficially giving me that New Year's resolution. I make no promises though. My life is beyond crazy right now. I just took over 2 more apartment complexes which have kept me plenty stressed out and super busy the last few weeks. I would love to spend an entire day at home where I didn't have to run here or there to get something accomplished. Or have ridiculous apartment junk running through my mind all day. I also started the Bikini Body Mommy challenge 3.0 this week. My body has felt pretty sore and tired the last few days. I did the 2.0 challenge in September with T-Lo and I lost 7 pounds in the 12 weeks and I think quite a few inches. The only reason I say that is because my kids kept taking off with the measuring tape and I never got to do my final measurements. Any who.... on to the update!

We took our kids to the Seattle Temple on New Years Eve. I enjoyed it. This might have to become a tradition. What better way to start off the new year than at the Lord's house! So beautiful! I am using this picture as the background on my phone now and I love seeing it every time I turn it on. I haven't been to the temple in awhile. It's so hard when you have little nursing babies. Hopefully soon though!

 Deklan was very upset when we told him it was closed. He wanted to go in! I hope that desire to enter the temple stays with him throughout his lifetime. This nativity scene was still up so we had to take pics with that too.

I picked up a kids cookbook at our library a couple of days ago and I found Tripp in our kitchen with it. He was pulling out all the ingredients to make "The best pizza ever." I didn't know that he knew what olive oil was or where to find it. I was super impressed. So I helped my little chef make dinner. It was so fun teaching him how to knead dough. I have made cookies with my kids several times but this was the first time I made dough with him. (Making "scripture cookies" was probably our favorite family night activity last year) Here he is with his finished masterpiece:

It was super delicious! I told him that he could make dinner for us every night. On a side note, I was so sad when Christmas break ended and this little monkey had to go back to school. It was so nice having him home.

And here is my 7 month old Baine.

Wait a minute....who stole my Baine and replaced him with this crawling robot baby? Baine really started cruising this week. He actually used to look a lot more like a mechanical crawling toy, he is already getting better so I knew I needed to film him quick. He even pulled himself up to a standing position by our lovesac and took a couple steps before he face planted tonight! Slow down kid! I'm not ready for this.

Raidon

Raidon update: I took away this guy's binki on New Years Eve. So haven't experienced many naps this year. He will also start potty training later this month since he got undies for Christmas.

Deklan

Deklan update: This guy loves to play on the computer. He got a toy grill set for Christmas and we have had several adventures at Deko's Diner. He is also emerging as the class clown of preschool. Every time I drop him off he has to do something goofy to make the girls laugh.

And there you have it! That is all I have for you for now. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can update this thing again.

Merry Christmas to Who!

We would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas!

We had a ward party a few weeks ago and we were supposed to dress up as our favorite Whoville characters. So here is my Whoville family:

I didn't think to take a picture until the party was over. So my hair was starting to fall out and we couldn't separate Deko from his cupcake for even 10 seconds to snap a pic.

 Tripp (6) started first grade this year. He is an amazing student who loves to read and learn. His teacher only has positive things to tell me. He is a great big brother. He loves to play with his brothers and show them how to do things. He played in the Pee Wee soccer league this year and is awesome! He has gotten really good and dribbling the ball down to the goal. I am so happy that he gets to be at home with me for the next 2 weeks of Christmas break.

Deklan (4) is my little preschooler. He fought me every time I had to take him to school and I had to leave him in tears each time I dropped him off. Until recently, he had a change of heart and loves going to school. Deko is my little firecracker. I know which days he hasn't received enough attention because he will start acting very naughty. He is also my most lovable boy. He always tells me that he will be my baby forever.

 Raidon (2) is just as wild as his older brothers. He wants to do everything they are doing. He loves electronics and he loves to dance! His favorite game right now is Duck, duck, goose. He will start playing that game anytime someone is sitting on the floor. Most of the time he calls Baine the goose. He is starting to talk a lot more and it is so fun to see more of his personality come out each day.

 Baine (6 months) just started eating baby food. He is super smiley but can be really loud if you walk away from him. He loves his brothers and gets so excited when they give him their attention. He has started crawling but only backwards. He rolls like a mad man and spins 360's like nobody's business. We are so glad that this bundle of joy is in our home!

 Randy is supposed to be the Grinch if you couldn't guess. He wouldn't let me paint his face though :( Randy started his own business this year and it has been so nice having him home during the day. Randy is the assistant stake athletic director. He has had to ref and help out with the volleyball tournament this year and will soon be very busy with the basketball tournaments that start in January. He is also a teacher in the Elders Quorum and teaches once a month.

 And that leaves me. What can I tell you about myself? I have absolutely hated this year. I have cried almost everyday for the last 9 months. I cannot begin to explain to you how stressful it is to learn that you are being sued when you are 7 months pregnant. I thought I knew what heart burn was but boy was I wrong. My doctor told me that when you are pregnant your body automatically creates more stomach acid. Combine that with not being able to eat and you have a recipe for some killer heart burn. I am so ready to drop kick 2014 out of my life. The only good thing that happened to me this year is being able to bring Smiley Baine into my home. He has been such a blessing to have. Don't get me wrong, he is a pretty naughty baby who loves to keep us up at night but a joy to have nonetheless. Our trial isn't until May which is only if they decide not to push it back again. So most of 2015 will suck too. I have been amazed at the hate directed at my family. But also astounded at the love we have experienced too. I am so thankful for the people around me who love and care for me and my family. You are wonderful! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much a kind word or smile has meant to me this year. It made a difference! I am the assistant secretary in the Relief Society. That means the only thing I do is type up the announcements each week. Super easy! I love this calling and I love being able to attend Relief Society finally. I have been in primary for the past 9 years, so this has been a nice break.

 From my family to yours, we wish you a very merry Christmas and the best of luck and happiness for the new year! May the spirit of the Lord dwell within your hearts all year long!