Conversation with Miles

Last night I was sitting on the front porch with Ladd and the kids were playing in the yard.

I had a conversation with Miles and it went like this

Miles: "Mom, do you think I can stand on the back of the bars (he has those bars on his bike that kids can ride on while he is riding his bike) of my bike while riding it and not hold on to my handle bars?"

Me: "Um, no way and dont even think about it."

Ladd: "Dude thats the craziest thing ever to do, there is no way you can do that and dont even think about it, I would NEVER do that, that would be so stupid, you would crash so hard!"
(And Ladd was once a serious mountain bike rider)

A few minutes passed by while the kids continued to play and I noticed Miles standing there by his bike thinking.

Then he came up to me and REALLY quietly said "Mom, you never told me I couldnt do that" in which Lauren replies, "He does it all the time" and Miles says (very concerned he is about to get in big trouble) "but you never told me that I couldnt do all my bike tricks."

He was right, I never told he couldnt do bike tricks (I thought this bike trick was scary) so how could he get in trouble? Instead I ask him to show me but to wait first so I can get my camera and cringe at the same time.

This is what Ladd and I saw (in disbelief)

This kid continues to amaze me!
And yes, the bike is moving...
Seriously??? How he doesnt crash I dont know!

And to think that we didnt know if he would ever be able to walk or run or crawl. I am still convinced his neurosurgeon gave him super powers!!!!

I love him! He is the best!

Its been a while...

Yes I am alive.....

I cant seem to find the time to post. Life seems to be passing me by and my kids are getting older without my permission. I need a pause button!

We have been busy. I have lots of pictures to post....

We went to St. Louis about a month ago and had an awesome time. Went to the temple, ate good food and went to this awesome museum that cant be explained- its like one big playground that you can spend 2 days there and never get bored. You just have to go there.

The kids finished school on the 21st of May. I cant believe the school year is over. Seriously...time is going by way too fast.

We just got back from a vacation to Branson, MO. Never in a million years would I have thought I would take a vacation to Branson, MO. But we had so much fun. We went to Silver Dollar City amusement park which is like a miniature Disneyland and those who know me know how much I love Disneyland....its more down to earth and not commercialized. Based in the 1800's and has over 100 demonstrations....glass blowing, wood carving, basket weaving, etc. And the park is clean and the workers are awesome! It was fun going on roller coasters with the kids now that they are old enough to go on them. Lauren went on a roller coaster that went upside down 4x and it was her favorite ride. Our most favorite ride though was a roller coaster that starts off going 60mph from the beginning...crazy fun!

We stayed at some cabins and it had a loft with 3 beds for the kids...the kids were in heaven and it was better than Disneyland when they saw the loft. They would have been happy just staying at the cabin the whole time.

Anyways, I dont have time to post the pictures right now ....but here is one from St. Louis that our friend Matt edited for me until I am able to download the rest of my pictures....or get the motivation to do it ;)

He is One!

My baby turned 1 a week ago...What???? Serious? Where did the time go? He has been nothing but a joy to all of us. I love watching the kids interact with him and get so excited about the littlest things he does. I love watching his daddy be so in love with him. My favorite is to look over and Ladd while I am making dinner and see him holding Sawyer and Sawyer snuggling up to him. Ladd is so in love with him as I am too.

He isnt walking yet and I am in no hurry to have him walk.

He is such a good baby. He is very laid back compared to my first 3 energized kids. It is kind of nice to have a calm quiet baby who is just happy to just sit and play with a toy.

Happy Late Birthday my sweet Sawyer!



I love this picture of all of us in the background and Sawyer with a huge smile while opening presents....

I didnt know I had a shutterfly account

Yesterday I was trying to get some pictures sent to target for my Sis-in-law Anne to print for their family get-together....it was sort of a replacement since we couldnt be there...one day we will get out to Utah for a family gathering...

Anyways....I didnt know I had a shutterfly account but when I tried to make an account, they already said I had one....here are some pics I found on my account.....

Ladd's Graduation from Chiropractic School and me due to give birth to Miles in 3 weeks....


At Ladds brother, Thanes wedding...I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of Miles!

Also at Thanes wedding
When I saw this picture, I LOST it! My dad looks so sick....but at the same time so precious and shows how much he LOVES his Grandchildren....I know he is very aware of each one of them!
My 4 beautiful sisters! Taken at our last family gathering before my dad past away....
Ok....So Isabelle thinks this is her....but it is Lauren!
This little boy was such a cute baby boy! I am so in love with him....Miles melts my heart!
Here we are at the zoo and I looked down at Miles and couldnt figure out what happened to him. I thought he was having an allergic reaction to something and then found the zoo map all wet...he had been eating it!
This is one reason why I miss Washington! It is sooooooooooo beautiful! This is Mt. Raineer

Friends are wonderful

We had friends come visit us last Saturday and they left yesterday. We loved having them here. We were good friends when we lived in the Bay Area 7 years ago. We didnt do a very good job keeping in touch but when they got here, it was like we picked up right where we left off. I havent laughed as hard as I laughed with them in a long time. We miss them lots and hopefully it wont be another 7 years before we see them again!

Thanks Matt and Heather for the laughs and fun! We miss you!

We just woke up and not looking the best... but they were leaving this morning and Ladd was leaving for work and we had to get a pic with the 4 of us.


These two girls are just a few months apart. They were instant best friends....like two peas in a pod.


Here they are when they were just 1 1/2 years old.....

Matt and Heather are doing something amazing. They sold everything they owned, including their cars and are traveling the country with their kids. They do service projects and their kids are learning history in real life instead of on a paper. I loved hearing their stories from this adventure they are on and the things that happened so this trip could be possible for them.

You can read their story here.

Sawyer

I just love him! He is getting his little personality....different voices, faces, laughs and plays games with us....

Wii

We got a Wii and Wii Fit Plus for Christmas and I am convinced its the best present we have ever received! I have exercised more in the last month than I have in the last year...sad to admit, but its true. And I have continued to exercise and I dont see it dying down anytime soon(weight loss is a big motivator to keep going).

We have had so much fun as a family playing with it.

Here is cute little Izzy Belles playing! (Its seriously the cutest thing ever to watch her do it!)

Birthdays!!!

I am so behind.....

Ladd and Miles birthday was Jan 10. Oh how I love these two "boys" in my life.

Miles brings joy to our family everyday. He couldnt be more boy and scares me with his "tricks" on a regular basis. How blessed I am to be his mother. I cant believe he is 7!

And Happy Birthday to my wonderful man! I am not going to get any more cheesy here, he knows how I feel about him :)

Somehow, thanks to Ladd, whip cream ended up on faces....Sawyer wasnt so sure about this, but decided to go for it.....
Miles was so excited to light his own cake....all boy...loves fire!

They get to have breakfast in bed together....
And had to leave a pic of the other "boy" in my life. He is getting to be so much fun. Its fun to watch him realize that he is apart of our family. He loves it when anyone has come home from being gone. He loves his siblings so much and laughs at them all the time....and they LOVE him so much! They have taught him how to get up the stairs...was not looking forward to this day!

Gratitude....

**Warning** This is more of a "journal" post for myself. And is very long!

God has been good to me! As I sit here listening to my cute little boy Sawyer playing in the play room and making cute noises, I think about this past year.

I didnt want to move to Kansas. I LOVED Washington. I grew up in Snohomish, about 1/2 hr north of where we lived. I remember driving by/through Issaquah growing up and telling myself "this is where I want to live" when I am grown and have kids of my own. And thats where we were. And I loved it. I have so many good friends there. I loved the schools. My kids had good friends. We were in the "Celestial" ward that was seriously the best ward ever! Dont believe me? Go to it for a few months and you will say the same thing.

A year ago I was not happy. We lived in this place called Kansas. I felt alone. I didnt have my friends. I didnt go to the wonderful ward that I had gone to for the past 6 years. I was missing the Relief Society Progressive dinner with all my friends. I ALREADY missed the wonderful Super Saturday where we always got to make fun things for our homes. I was thinking about the AWESOME Relief Society Retreat that I looked so forward to every June at an awesome home full of FUN and WONDERFUL friends, eating yummy food, listening to great speakers like Emily Watts and our Stake Presidency, laughing at each other while doing Dance Dance Revolution, Karaoke, roasting marshmellows outside at the fire sitting by the waterfall....and all this while in our pajamas and till midnight! I was thinking about the strength I gained from being a part of this ward, as a ward we had gone through many trials together! We were truly one big family.

And, we left our Grandma Sue. UGH is all I have to say about that. How much fun it was for the kids to have a Grandma close by. They went to her house every Friday night, even spent the night in their room they had at her house sometimes. And she was so fun to be around.

I love Washington and my friends there. I have wonderful memories and I seriously ACHED to move back. WE left a wonderful place.

I was sad, depressed, lonely a year ago. But I am so grateful too as I think about how Heavenly Father has helped me to find JOY here. To see the good. I have been blessed to have 4 amazing wonderful kids. And the most amazing husband ever! How I love him! I am grateful I no longer ACHE to go back. Do I miss it? Yes! Do I miss my friends? Yes! But....

I am grateful that I can sit here today and remember those sad feelings I have had in the past and know that they are no longer with me. I have made friends here. My kids love it here. The school is the most amazing school EVER.

I am grateful for the hard year I have had and how I can look back and see how I have grown, been strengthened and tested.

I am blessed. And this I am grateful for...to look back at when I have those hard days and see how my Heavenly Father loves each of us!

Finally.....Laurens Birthday!

Lauren turned 9 way back on November 13 and yes it is taking me this long to post about it. Maybe because I am in denial that she is 9. That means she has lived half of the time that she will live with us at home now. And that time has gone by way too fast! I didnt believe people when she was born that said the time will go by so fast. But here I am thinking the same thing. Seriously. Can I just stop time for a while?

My Dear Lauren that I love so much is such a joy to have in our home. She is simply amazing! So helpful! So Sweet! Such a great big sister who loves her siblings (most of the time). She is an amazing reader and writer. She is into writing mysteries right now and has already written 2 mystery books. She wants to be an author when she grows up.

Words do not describe the joy I have being her mother and how grateful I am that she is apart of our family.

Happy Late Late Late Birthday my sweet Lauren!





For her birthday she had a choice to have a party of invite a couple of friends and go out to dinner to Cinzettis (such a delicious restaurant). She chose the restaurant. Then we came back and opened presents with her friends.

Need a new post....

I so need a new post....but I am not in the mood...for a while now....

I went to New Moon tonight and absolutely LOVED it!

I need to post about how my oldest turned 9 last week! And how that makes me feel old....but, I am holding a sleeping and sick little baby and typing this with one hand so I will do it later....and I should be in bed...but we wont talk about that.

for now here are some pics of me and the ladies enjoying a much needed Girl's Night Out....

Lauren

Miles

The Temple

Some more....I am on a role!

I love this picture of Miles....

Isabelle was being such a goof ball for all the pictures!