Trust me,This Post Speaks For Itself!!!!!

Something has been a little different around here lately...

Interesting...let's just see about that...

Ok, ummmmmmmmmm...

The third time is a charm...

So, I guess that means...

I am pregnant.

And now for the reactions...

"Ummmmm.....I guess I am going to have the six kids I always wanted."

Surprised....not nearly as surprised as we are. But, I guess there is one more spirit up there that is just meant to come to our family.

And I just want to give a shout out to Aimee for keeping such a big secret...I know she had a similar experience, so she was my confidante.

A little bit of this & that

See this picture.....that is my Blackberry Cobbler, and it was the best one I have ever had. Oops...sorry if that sounds snooty, but it is the truth:o) We have wild blackberry bushes growing all along the greenbelt by our house, so we went berry picking. I have already shared the recipe with a few of my friends and they agree...it is delicious! I doubled the cobbler part and I think that was deal maker. Unfortunately, I am way to lazy to write down the whole recipe, but I have it if you want it. As a matter of fact, Dave is taking the kids right now to pick some more so I can make another one. Allright....this has nothing to do with food, but I wanted to post a couple pictures for my sweet niece, Averi. Averi, our animals miss you! Tucker misses you petting him and Whitty misses you, too! Adam and Stacey, please get that girl a pet....she is too cute around animals!

She is coming to town!

ATTENTION FAMILY....Jenny is coming to town!

Ok, we have purchased the airline ticket and she will be on her way the last week of July. I wanted to let you know that she is a fabulous babysitter. And she does a great job painting little girl's fingernails :o) Just thought I'd give you all the heads up...so plan your date nights now! She is so excited. She will be 16 by then, but please keep the boys away. OTBC, are you in need of a hard worker...this is your gal. My one request is that you take good care of her. Thanks family!

Fourth of July Extravaganza!

THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY EXRAVAGANZA!

This past weekend we had 27 people in our home. My family came up to spend the Fourth of July with us. We had bodies sleeping everywhere...laundry room and all. It was so much fun. My kids are already asking about next year. As the official hostess, I thought I'd share a few photos of what the dining room looked like when everyone was here....

It turned into the bread and soda overflow, dressing/changing room, and storage room. Pretty, huh?

Averi's hair was brushed that morning by Aunt Jenni....I promise! And now a glimpse of what the room looked like before everyone came. Notice anything different?

And now for the front room....it turned into a bedroom, nursery, bathroom, changing room, wrestling room. Notice the intense look on Jenni's face while she is doing Abbie's hair....we assigned her all the girl's hair for that day. Nice face, Adam.

Abbie, Kylee, Averi and Bridgete getting a little crazy.

And this is what the room looked like when everyone left....I had forgotton what kind of floors we had in that room.

Now that everyone is gone, our house is so quiet. It makes five kids seem like a breeze. I absolutely LOVED having everyone here. It was a blast to just hang out with my family and laugh until we cried. We hope this can become an annual event.

OK, now on to the action packed weekend. Seven of us decided to start the Fourth of July with a little exercise. How 'bout a 5K run? Yip, that is what Adam, Stacey, Aimee, Mike, Austin, Tyler and I decided to do. It was a lot of fun and a good accomplishment. I am proud of everyone!

After that, Aimee couldn't walk, but she managed. The kids went swimming, played on the waterslide, ate, danced and did fireworks. It was a 12 hour party. Wait...make that a 48 hour party. We went strong all Saturday,too.

Family is such a blessing. We miss having family close to us, so this was extra special to me and my family. Thanks for coming up here and roughing it. You all mean so much to me and the Lord has been very good to our family. We cherish each one of you! Next year we are going to have to get Jared and Brian up here, too. We love you all!

Life in the fast lane

Please, can everything just slow down for a moment? I can't even tell you how crazy last week was....(last week of school, school parties, school awards assemblies, school celebrations, bathroom leak which lead to warped wood floors, kitchen sink leak, a dying dishwasher, washing 34 windows, getting Jenny ready for Girls camp, etc, etc, etc.) My mind is still trying to catch up.

We have been counting the days for our big family Fourth of July Weekend, and now that it is so close, our house is falling apart. Luckily they will look past all of that (Right???). The kids have been counting the days for over a month. They miss their cousins so much. Living far away makes you so grateful for any little family gathering. Kind of sad, but true.

Last Day of Kindergarten

Spencer had a Kindergarten celebration on June 26th. They sang a half dozen songs. Spencer was the best, of course :o) He sang the loudest and made up quite a few movements to go along with the words. He told me, "Mom, I am going to sing my best. Probably the best ever." And he did. When they were done performing he came and sat with me and started getting teary-eyed. He is so tender. He said, "Mom, that was my very best singing...And I am going to miss this class so much." He totally started crying. All the other kids were playing around, and Spencer is sitting there reflecting back on his Kindergarten memories. Too cute. Of course I am just like that, so it probably didn't help that I was crying with him. Oh well. I just had to document that day because it was so priceless.

Notice the intensity in his eyes, and no one else is doing a movement like that!

Our Camping Trip

We love camping

For the past five days, we have been camping! It was so much fun. We went to Olema Campground which is by Point Reyes. It was so beautiful. During the day it got to about 85 degrees and it always cooled down at night to the low sixties. We had lots of campfires, s'mores and hot cocoa. We even made a dump cake in the dutch oven.

We went to the lighthouse at Point Reyes and to South beach. It was very windy and chilly, but that didn't stop us from having fun. In order to get to the lighhouse you have to hike 1/2 a mile then go down 308 steps. That's right...going down means coming back up.

South Beach

Hi, I am freezing, but I don't care!

Bridgete was so darn skinny and weak from being sick....she was a trooper! Everyone gets so filthy camping, but mix in a little sand....yikes! Filippo and Evan. We were the only ones on the beach...you would never see this in Southern California, that is for sure. Jenny looking cute. Me and Bridgete Point Reyes National Park This place was breathtaking. Everything was so green. It must be ladybug season, because they were flying everywhere. Bridgete loved that. The Motley Crue Ok, everyone is looking pretty rough in this picture....as a mom, no good clothes get packed for camping trips. I think you can tell. Dave and me. Ok, here comes another excuse...I don't wear a smudge of makeup when we camp. Now, I think, maybe I should. Oh well...au natural. We hiked in the Point Reyes National Park. We hiked about six miles on the Bear Valley trail and the Meadow trail. There were some pretty steep inclines, so the boys were elated to find a stream to get wet in.It was so beautiful.

Camp life

Here are the boys on their side of the tent trailer. A typical late afternoon consists of....Dave trying to sleep, Evan bugging everyone to the point of insanity, uncontrollable laughter, Dave waking up and then they all wrestle. Here are the girls on their side of the tent trailer....giggling, playing quietly, being sweet. Notice any differences? And through it all, Tucker behaved himself. He chased a couple racoons, smelled some new scents, barked at some strangers, and had some good leftover meals. Bridgete was always concerned about him and wanted to make sure he knew he was loved by her. All in all, it was a great trip and it was wonderful to get away with the family with no outside distractions.

Gratitude

Ok, I didn't do a post on Father's Day. But that doesn't mean that I think anything less of my sweet hubby. That day had a few twists to it...like Bridgete puking all day long! Dave worked Saturday night so he came home, opened presents, ate french toast and hit the sack. We all stayed home from church because everyone was feeling woozy (being near someone who is throwing up all day long can do that to you :o) I cooked my hubby his favorite things, visited for a few hours and then off to work he went.

Now back to Bridgete...she was sick all Sunday and then got real sick again Monday night and Tuesday. I was really getting worried about her, because she doesn't have extra weight to begin with. She was very lethargic and couldn't keep a thing down.

I told Dave that she needed a blessing. He felt the same way. So after working Monday from 6:30pm t0 6:30am, then going straight to his chiropractic office and working til 12:30pm, he came home (exhausted) and layed his hands on sweet Bridgete's head and gave her a blessing.

From that moment on, she was able to finally keep some much needed fluids down. She slept for three hours and slept eleven hours that night. I cannot express my gratitude for having the priesthood in our home. It is truly a blessing. And words cannot explain how thankful I am to be married to a worthy priesthood holder. My testimony has been strengthened by this simple, yet miraculous blessing.

Now, I need to go shop, pack and get ready for a five day camping trip. We leave this afternoon and I haven't been able to do a thing. I promise I will post a ton of pictures next time (but still not as many as my sis-in-law Stacey :o)