6 weeks and counting...

I have a little over 6 weeks til this little guy is born.  No c-section date yet, but it's comin quick!  Probably Aug 4th or 5th. I just bought my first thing for him - there's really not much you have to get by your 4th kid. :)  But I couldn't resist this cute little outfit!  45 days until we get to meet little Kolten Rhett. . .  but who's counting?

Memorial Day Hike

Memorial Day weekend we went to Thatcher.  Matt, Lane, Logan, and my Dad had planned an overnight hike up on Mt. Graham.  They had a great time - us girls and the kids went up the 2nd day to pick them up and have a picnic in the mountains.

This is where the boys spent the night - looks real comfortable, huh?

The first day of the hike - the boys hiked down to see the slurry bomber wreckage.  We have heard this story several times from my grandpa.  My dad has been there several times and the rest of the guys finally got to go see it.  There of course isn't a trail to it, so it's a few miles of "bushwacking" through the mountains.

The wreckage is at the very top of the picture.

Here's a little history on the wreck that Lane looked up:

This crash occurred on June 27, 1974 on “west peak” of the Mt. Graham range in the Coronado Nat’l Forest. Pilot at time of crash was George H. Stell & his only son Greg. It is a PB4Y anti-submarine patrol bomber adapted from the more common B-24 “liberator” bomber. These models were then later commonly used as firefighting tankers “slurry bombers”.

Pictures of what the plane looked like

Pictures from the wreckage

California 2010

I'm finally posting pics from our trip back in April.  Here's some of the trip's highlights we want to remember - and some parts we wouldn't mind forgetting!

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To remember: A pretty fun car ride - lots of new toys, activities, movies, and snacks

To forget: Getting stuck behind not one, but TWO pileups on the freeway!  It turned into a VERY long car trip.  Having to evict our tenant just a couple days before we left and having to deal with all of that by phone during the trip.

To remember: Enjoying the hotel room, relaxing, having picnics, and playing at the pool.

To forget: Matt getting really sick not long after we arrived and spending all night in the bathroom.  Mom trying to entertain the kids and keep them quiet so Dad could sleep most of the next day.  Dad having to stay up late and miss some trips to the pool to work on a big project that was due in one of his classes.

To remember: Our trip to Huntington Beach - there was hardly anyone there, the weather was beautiful, and that beach is just gorgeous!!!  Lexie's first trip to the beach - she was deathly afraid if the water got anywhere near her!  Kaden and Bailey had a blast running around in the surf and building sand castles with Dad (who was feeling much better).

To forget: Somehow between the beach and the car, getting tar all over our legs, feet, and shoes.  Let me just tell you that stuff does not come off easily!

To remember: Taking the kids to Disneyland for the first time!

Highlights for Kaden: seeing the star wars show and riding all the "big" rides with dad. 

Highlights for Bailey: seeing Cinderella's Castle, meeting the princesses, and riding the carousel (yeah - of all the rides there this was her favorite!) 

Highlights for Lexie: meeting Mickey and Minnie - she talked about it the rest of the day!

To forget: the incredibly LONG day, waiting in line for 75 minutes to see the princesses, mom having a major meltdown mid-day (I'll blame it on low blood sugar and pregnancy hormones), waiting in lots and lots of lines

It really was a great trip and we are glad we did it!  The kids are still talking about it - they LOVED it.

Mother's Day

I had a great mother's day this year - the kids and matt spoiled me.  One of my favorite things was a little survey Kaden did at school.  His teacher asked him the questions and wrote down what he said:

What I Know About My Mother
1.  How old is your mother? 30
2. How tall is your mother? 7 feet tall
3. How much does your mother weigh? 20 pounds (He told me later - "Yeah I was nice and said you only weigh 20 pounds, but I know that's not true cause I weigh 60!")
4. What color eyes does your mother have? blue just like me
5. what makes your mother laugh? When Lexie runs around crazy
6. What does your mother like to do for fun? When dad has the girls, mom and I go to chick-fillet for lunch and come home and play.
7. What is your mother's favorite food? pizza
8. If your mother could go anywhere on vacation, where would she go? To the beach with her mom (I guess he was listening when I said I love the beach and that Nana loves the beach too!)
9.  What does your mother do after you go to bed? She makes popcorn and watches tv
10. If your mother had $100 what would she buy? A lot of material
11. Does your mother have any brothers and sisters? 4 brothers and 1 sister
12. What is your mother's favorite food to cook? Ramen noodles (Seriously?  I consider myself a pretty good cook and this is what he comes up with? It made me laugh!)
13. What is your mother's favorite color? Red
14. Could your mother add 100+100 in her head? yes
15. How many cartwheels can your mother do? 2
16. What kind of job does your mother have? She takes care of us
17. Can your mother dance? yes
18. What do you do to show your mom you love her? I like to talk with her a lot.

He's such a sweet kiddo!  Love him!

Ballet Recital

Bailey's dance recital was last saturday and she did GREAT!  She remembered the routine and wasn't nervous at all to get up there!  Just another reminder of how big she is getting.

I told her I wanted some pictures - and here's the poses she came up with. :)  Of course Lex had to get in on the action.

A HUGE treat for Bai - she got to wear a little bit of makeup

Getting her medal

Ms. Rachel and the whole class

Bai and two of her best friends - Kristy and Leyanna.

Zucchini Oat Bread

We are already getting zucchini from our garden.  And while I love my normal zucchini bread recipe - I saw this one last summer and wanted to try it.  It has become one of my favorites and my kids love it.  However I asked Matt today how he liked it and he said..."It's ok.  You can tell it's healthy."  Good to know since I've been making it for the last year. 

Anyway....I think it's delicious and wanted to share.

Zucchini Oat Bread

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
1-1/2 cups sugar
2-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside. Combine 1 tablespoon of the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon; set aside. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and remaining cinnamon; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes or until foamy. Add remaining sugar, the applesauce, butter, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in zucchini, nuts, and raisins. Spoon into prepared pan. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture.
2. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on rack. Wrap and store several hours before slicing. Makes 16 slices.

**I bake it in two loaves instead of one big one - so it only needs to bake about 45-50 minutes.  So good toasted with a little bit of butter on it!  Yum!

Twirly Skirt and Fabric Flower

For some strange reason I was in the mood to sew today.  The older kiddos were watchin a movie with Dad and Lex was napping - so I decided to make Bai a quick skirt.  I've made lots of variations of skirts for my girls, but I saw this tutorial and wanted to try it.  The only thing I changed was adding the ribbon - I thought it needed something more since my fabric was solid.

I love the way it turned out and Bailey LOVES it - she's pretty easy to please.  Not bad for a skirt made from my scrap pile!

I saw an idea a couple weeks ago on a blog and I can't find it again for the life of me!!!  I wish I could so I could give credit.  Anyway - you just take some silky fabric (yep-that's the technical term), cut out some circles of different sizes, and burn the edges with a lighter til they curl up.  Then just glue them together and stick on a clip!  I love, love, love the way this turned out!  So simple and so stinkin cute!  Luckily I have lots of different scraps of silky fabric - so I'm gonna make a bunch more!

I'm trying to decide if it's too big?  I might make some smaller ones for Lex. . .

It was a fun little saturday afternoon project - what better way to ignore the big stack of dishes in my sink?!!

Mommy to Mom to Mother

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; They don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.....

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'

And get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...

It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother....

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't know everything!

14 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother? She wouldn't have a clue.

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's so five minutes ago.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart,the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

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Happy Mother's Day to my mom.  She is amazing - she is my role model of how to be a mom.  Hopefully one day I can live up to her great example.


Happy Mother's Day to my MIL - she is such a strong and dedicated person who loyal to her family and will always stick by them.


And Happy Mother's Day to all you other great mom's out there!  I have so many friends that are GREAT mothers and encourage me to be a better person and mom!

Pat's Run 2010

Matt and Kaden did Pat's Run this year - they both did great!  I'm really proud of Matt for all his hard work - he is in great shape and a lot thinner and fitter than this time last year.  He finished the race in a great time and is excited to try some longer races.

After Matt's race and getting ready for the Kid's Run. . . I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised that Kaden was willing and even excited for his race.  You just never know with that kid.

Bailey enjoyed the bounce house while we were waiting for the race to start.

Kaden "trying" to run.  After they finished I asked Kaden how it was. 
"SO LAME! I was trying to run fast but there were too many people and they were going so slow!"  Ya think he might be a tad bit competetive?

Kaden's mad about the race, Bailey couldn't wear her shoes one second longer because her feet hurt SO bad, and Lexie was just plain tired and grouchy!

After the race we headed back to the lite rail station.  (I think riding the train was the highlight of the day for the kids) On the way, some girl gave the kids balloons - and thank goodness for that!  That cheered the girls right up . . .

. . . not so much with Kaden.