My First Shot at Engagement Photos

Well, Travis was down here Saturday and so I figured we would take a few shots. Kerrin got all gussied up and Travis, well, Travis is Travis. He didn't look bad, but he's definitely relaxed. The sun played shadows on us and the park we took them in didn't provide me with much propping to work with which made it more difficult, but they wanted at least some pictures there because it was were they had their first kiss. I don't know if I am good enough to try to start my own little business or not, but I figured I would try for other's opinions. My thoughts were to start it up so that whoever I took pictures for would get a disk with all their pictures to pretty much do whatever with. They could order prints via me or do everything on their own. Anyway. . . Here's some of the best ones.

Thomas the Train

Welcome to Thomas the Train via Heber Valley Railroad. We go every year and after the freezing, rainy, windy time this time, I'll be hard pressed to be convinced to go next year, but of course, I say that every year. This year, we really froze our butts off but it was fun all in all and the kids, of course, had a blast as always.
Thomas himself.Opa and Oma with Emma and Hyrum riding on the train.
Kerrin and Travis holding the sleeping Porter. He woke up as soon as the ride was over. He was very crabby and sleepy until Mommy got him to sleep.
Mommy and Danny. He looks terrified because mom had to hold him funny in order to get the picture.
Porter getting his Thomas tattoo.
Even Oma got one.
Kerrin and Travis waiting to get their tattoos. I didn't take a picture of the actual tattoos, but Travis got Harold the helicopter on his bicep and Kerrin got Thomas on her's.
Danny smiling with his face tattoo and new Thomas t-shirt, sporting his new monkey and those two front teeth.
Mern begging to ride Thomas, sporting his new shirt.
As we walked in we paused for some all together shots.
What a face Mern!!!! And of course, moose ears for Auntie.
Mern showing off his new tattoo.
Emma having just got James on her face.
Danny getting his tattoo. What a face!!! It was like, what the freak are they doing to me!!!??

All in all we had a blast, we just wish Joe could have been there too. Oh well.

Momma's New Ride

Okay, so yesterday we all went by Avis because they were having a sale and we wanted to see if they had any cars for Kerrin. Now Joe and I have been talking about trading in the Mazda for a while because it was too small and we really got a raw deal on it, but I thought no way would it be fiscally responsible. But since Joe had brought it up again this past week, I figured I would ask about the numbers, see if it would actually be to our benefit. Well, obviously, since I bought it, the numbers did indeed work out to our favor. They were awesome there. It was a great overall experience and I walked away with a newer car, with less miles, bigger than than the one I traded in. It's a 2008 Chevy Uplander. I am so happy.
This is the front panel with the wood panel and leather accents.
Leather accent on the door.
Front seat.
Drivers side.
View from the front looking back. Look at all that room!!!
Rear vents for the heating and air conditioning, making the internal temperature of the car alot nicer and easier to control.
Front of the car. It's a burgundy color which is so nice. I hated white.
Rear.
And finally!!! A trunk with real room!!!!! I can finally bring my stroller in the car, I'm so thrilled!!!!

All in all, momma is pretty happy with her new ride.

Hyrum's Kindergarten Graduation

Well, yesterday Hyrum graduated from Kindergarten. When I was little, they didn't do things like this, but this was quite the little production and obviously well rehearsed. The kids sang a bunch of songs and most of the kids had a speaking part as well. Hyrum had the line "We can count in Spanish too," and then he led the kids in 1 through 10 in Spanish. His was the biggest part in the program and also the most easily understood. Mom was so proud. I video recorded the entire program but that is way too long to post on the blog, so one must settle for some pictures that Aunt Kerrin took for Mom while Mom was busy recording the whole thing for Daddy.Here's Hyrum enjoying his cookie treats after graduation.
Porter sporting Hyrum's graduation hat. He had a blast doing the little actions right along with the group.
Danny mainly chilled in his seat the whole time and he was so good. Mommy was very happy.
Here's Hyrum with his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Payne. She's expecting a little girl over the summer.
Here's Mom with her graduate afterwards.
Here's Hyrum singing and doing actions to the songs. He was so good. Mom was so proud of how well he sang.
Here's Porter patting along with one of the songs.
Here's Hyrum doing his part.
Emma watching graduation. All she wanted to do is see her brother and her being so short kind of made that hard. Eventually, she ended up on Travis's lap, that would be Auntie Kerrin's fiancee.

It really was a cute little program, about 45 minutes long and Mom without a tripod. Mom held the camcorder up the whole time and by the time it was over was quite sore and hot. But, it was a great little event and Mom was so proud of her Mern.

My Two Front Teeth

Well I finally got them. Here is Danny displaying proudly his two front teeth. Yes, nursing has become so much fun. He likes to bite up onto his top gums over and over again. I guess those new teeth must feel funny.

Crawling or Rather Hopping Danny

So Danny has started crawling. He's gotten better since I took this video, but this is how it all started. He just started hopping to move forward. It was so funny. I thought it quite ingenious actually. Now he's starting to really crawl but he mainly sticks to the hopping. I guess he figures it works better that way. . . He will crawl a bit and then start hopping. That I have to get on tape more, but I had to put this one on because I thought it was too cute and funny.

He also cut another tooth but they are still so small, I can't capture them on film, so now he has his two front bottom teeth. We also learned the other day that although he doesn't like rice cereal, even if I mix it with apple juice, he does like mashed potatoes. He's getting to be such a big boy!! I love this little one. Well, I love them all. Good golly I got great kids!!!!

Musical Beds

Okay, so I go in last night to check on the kids before heading off to bed like I do every night. This is what I found. . .Now for those unawares, the natural order of things is Porter in the race car toddler bed and Emma on the Dora twin (bottom bunk). However, as one can see Emma is in Porter's bed (which never happens, so it was pretty funny for me) and of course Porter is passed out on the floor. After I took the pictures for memory sake, I put Porter on Emma's bed; I figured this would be the easiest and best solution to the situation. Of course, in the middle of the night, Porter fell out of the twin bed and was screaming crying. I put him back, only to have Emma wake up shortly after to get a drink and go to the bathroom. So we played musical beds again, and I put Porter back in his own (which actually helped me to get back to sleep because I was so afraid he was going to fall out of the bigger bed again), and Emma went back where she belonged. All in all, it gave mom a good laugh last night.

In other news, the wedding plans for my sister's upcoming wedding are moving along quite well. My camera for taking the pictures is on its way and should be here by Tuesday or so. She found her dress at a shop in Salt Lake City called Latterday Bride. They are going to custom make it to her measurements, so it was ordered and everything. Should be here in about four weeks, so she is pretty excited. It's a really cute, summery dress, and as soon as I take her bridals, I'll post some pictures.

Other stuff. . . We are all doing pretty okazay. We all miss Joe something terrible, and I am still having trouble sleeping-this would be a consequence of missing Joe and also my children.

Dan is still teething. Cut one tooth and now he's cutting another so his nights have been a bit restless. He's sitting up really well now, and getting closer at the crawling. He can crawl, but only backwards, which infuriates him, which is hilarious for everyone else. He's now getting up on all fours and then pushing his butt high in the air trying to stand. His eyes are still blue, which is really giving mom hope that she may at last have a blue eyed kid. He's such a happy baby too. His laugh just lights up a room. As does all the kids, but there is always something about a baby's laugh. Man, they grow up fast.

Porter is getting so tall, I can't keep him in pants. He's also extremely skinny, so even if pants fit him around the waist, they are shorts on him. He's talking more and more, well, at least around his family. He's silent as the grave in nursery which prompted his nursery teachers to ask if he ever talks. The answer is simple, he talks ALL the time, but only around family and very close friends. He's so cute and cautious. I love his little personality.

Emma is pretty whinny and always yelling at me, which can get very tedious and make me want to yank all my hair out most of the time, but she's also so sweet. She misses her father something fierce. She loves the nice weather, as does Porter and Hyrum, because they can spend most of the time outside playing, which really makes everyone so much happier. She loves to wear dresses all the time now, no matter what she is doing, which causes her to be quite indecent sometimes, which makes me so mad, so she's not allowed to play outside without pants on anymore. She's really such a girl in so many ways.

This next week is pretty much Hyrum's very last week of Kindergarten. He has his little graduation on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. so if you want to come you can. Most everyone in the family, either lives too far away or is working that day, so it will most likely just be myself and the kids. I will be filming it for Joe and I will of course post pictures. I am so proud of my big boy. He still reads all the time, and although they all go to bed about the same time, Mern sits in his bed and reads until about 10 at night and then goes to sleep. He's so much like his mom was when I was a little kid.

So all in all, life is life. Moving pretty fast, but that doesn't stop us all from missing Joe and wishing that time could move even faster. I am trying to see the positive all around me because quite frankly most days I feel like I am on a fast moving train to Crazy, and the emergency brake is broken. It's nice having my sister here though, mainly because adult conversation really does make a difference. God speed.

An Engagement

Okay, well, even though my sister claims it's not official official, since he hasn't gotten down on one knee and given her a ring, it really is official. My sister is getting married!!!! They've already called my dad and gotten permission and called the temple and set appointments, so it's official even though she doesn't have the ring on her finger yet. She took forever to pick the one she wanted and so that's the only hold up with a ring. They are going to be sealed in the Nauvoo Temple on the 13th of August 2008. So, I've gone from sister to Matron of Honor/wedding planner rather quickly. Well, I'm still sister too but you get my drift. This was already going to be a pretty busy summer but now it's become a crazy ride, which is actually a good thing, because it means my summer will go quickly and the faster the time flies while Joe is gone the better. I miss him something horrible and I hate it but that's life right. I'm really trying to stay upbeat and not complain too much because I know it doesn't get me anywhere, but ever since he got overseas, I've been missing him something terrible. I already don't get a lot of sleep thanks to my kids, but it's even worse when you can't sleep because you miss your husband so bad. I've been getting migraines this week too which only makes things more lovely. Thankfully, my sister is here and she has been the biggest help. I am so thankful that the Lord inspired me to invite her to stay with me, as I am sure she and Travis are as well (that's her fiancee by the way--his name is Travis Taylor). I really am so happy for the both of them. They are so cute together. Both the babies in their respective families so this is a big deal for both sides. Well, maybe it's old hat for his, afterall he's the 9th child in his but in our family it's most definitely a big deal!!! Anyway, I just wanted to take the time to document this special occasion and to say congratulations to my baby sis. I love you both.

Some Fun New Things

Although this isn't the best shot of me doing it, I've finally taken to sucking and chewing on my thumb. I'm so happy to have finally found it. It's so handy. Mom's pretty happy about it too. I still love Big Brother P's binkies the best, well at least over those little one's of mine, but this thumb thing--it's attached!!!!
I also love to get up on all fours. I stay there for quite sometime, rocking, trying so hard to get this body a moving but I usually fall down after a while or somehow go backwards. I can never get those toys man. Mom's pretty sure though that one of these days I'm just going to take off like a rocket. On another note, my very first tooth has cut through. It's not big enough for picture proof but it's there nonetheless. All that drool is finally worth it. I'm a big boy for sure now!!!