Future Careers?

Paper...Who Needs Paper?

We woke-up this morning to another wet, and miserable day. The kids were bummed because we didn't go to swimming lessons, and have been driving me nuts ALL DAY LONG! We were down in the basement and they wanted to draw, but I had just sat down and didn't want to go upstairs to dig out all the art supplies...I know, bad Mommy! So, the kids drew on me instead...yeah, put a pen in a two year olds hand and tell him to be soft on Mommy's legs...yeah that was communicated well! Anyhow, they drew a sun, random people, Granny, Me, flowers, and Jax swears that he drew a T-Rex eating a man off a toilet (his favorite movie is Jurassic Park). It's nice to know that if all else fails, they can all become Mormon Tattoo Artists!

Where did summer go?

Playing on the slide!

Jax steals Cade's bike!

Not too sure about the grass!

It seems as if summer has been flying by! At the beginning of June I was so freaked-out at the prospect of having all the kids around 24-7. I work well on a schedule, and with the kids in school it forces me to plan things out. Now with Summer more than half over, I'm freaked-out about school starting up again! We are almost into August and I have to start thinking about school supplies, dance classes, and parent teacher conferences! I'm not ready yet! There is so much to do still this month!
This weekend is the Relay for Life walk. I'll be walking with Finn starting with the Team Lap at 9:00 PM, and then off-and-on until the end at 7:00 AM. I'm really excited to be able to participate! Our team raised over five-thousand dollars! Go Team!
Next up- California. Eric and the kids and I are going to visit my Dad and Step-mom in Carmel mid-month. I know, I know...flying with four kids, four carseats, a double stroller, carry-ons, diaper bags, cameras, suitcases...I think I'm going to need a vacation from vacation! Lucky for us my brother, Richard, is going to make it out there for a few days and the kids are already fighting over who gets to sleep with him (sorry Rich!).
We will be back in town on the 20th, and then the Activities Committee (of which I am on) have to plan out our Ward's Labor Day picnic!! So much to do and so little time!
Well, I guess that I would rather it be really busy, than not at all! Hope everyone is having a great, and busy, summer!

Finn's First Food!

YUMMY!!!

So, we had our meeting last night for Relay For Life. Renee and Jeff were nice enough to host the meeting at their house, and the kids were in heaven! Between all the food and all the fun with the water the kids were nice and exhausted by the time that we got home! There was sooooo much food, and I think that we all over ate...even Finnegan. The kid won't eat baby food, but at five months old (today!) he was chewing on a baby-back rib bone! Oh, he is so Eric's child!

Anyway the walk is in two weeks...y'all better come out and cheer for us!

"T" is for Thunder-Thighs

Claire shows off Finn!

Look at those knees!!!

Finnegan is such a little boy! He is putting on weight, but is still well below the average for weight and height. We were looking at Finn the other day and to our surprise he has gotten PUDGY! Cade and Claire call him the little "Fat Boy'. His rolls have rolls of their own! Well I guess the proof is in the pudding...or, in this case, the breastmilk! I just love chubby babies! So enjoy our little Fat Boy...hopefully he grows out of that nickname before he understands Engligh!

White Trash Living!

So, our camping trip was cancelled due to bad weather yesterday. This was indeed lucky due to the fact that my little boys were sick. Unfortunately, our friends (and camp cook) had already bought all the food! So, tonite we partook of our camp food at our friends home. Shawn cooked Dutch-oven chicken and potatoes with onions. We had lemonade, watermelon, and rice krispie treats. The funnest part of all of this is that we didn't eat in the house. We didn't eat in the backyard. We ate in the driveway! There was no shade anywhere else, and people drove by and honked, and people walked by and waved...it was so much fun! So here's to eating in the driveway! Lets make it a theme and next time lets use my driveway!

My Poor Jax!

Jax...when he isn't sick!

Finn...when he isn't sick!

This week started out with me getting a 24 hour bug. Luckily, for me, I got over it quickly. Unfortunately, Finn and Jax seemed to catch it from me. Problem is that they didn't get any better. Jax, in particular, has gotten progressively worse. Yesterday he ran a 103.5 fever and was coughing something fierce! Yep-he has croup! Poor baby can hardly pull in air and when he gets a good breath he coughs so hard that he throws-up! Finn has croup too, but not as bad as Jax. All he wants to do is nurse every half-hour, which is sooooo easy due to the fact that all Jax wants is to cuddle. My lap has become a battlefield with the two little boys wanting their time. So, both boys are on a nebulizer (breathing treatment) and Jax is also taking a steriod...which makes him soooooo fun to be around! Hopefully they'll get over it quickly...they're definetly more fun, and not to mention cuter, when they are well!

The 4th of July!

The Two Claire's

My Little Clan...cute huh!

Really sunny, that's why the big hat!!!

There is nothing like the 4th of July in a small town. Two days of activities and fireworks, parades, picnics...soooo much fun. The kids were so excited and had so much to do. We started the day with a parade, and then went over to Lisa's house for a fun picnic. There was a lot of food and good friends to chat with. After the picnic we went down to the park to wait for the fireworks. Cade went and sat with his friends (my baby is growing up), and the rest of us, Lisa's family, the two Bremner families, the Martin's, the Benitez family, etc., all sat and watched the display. I think that the fireworks were beautiful, but ash kept hitting us on the head! Luckily we didn't catch on fire! We had a blast and now have to wait for the next 4th of July next year!

Cows, Chickens, and Pigs LOVE ME!!!

Yes, all the furry animals are praising my name. "Why?," you might ask? Well, the universe has dealt me another fun blow. During my pregnancy with Finnegan, I became severely lactose intolerant. I mean SEVERELY! Even Lactaid, and other pills didn't work. It was so painful and frustrating to cut out ALL dairy products from my diet. Luckily, once Finn was born, within a few weeks I was able to resume eating dairy...mint chip ice cream and I had a very passionate reunion!
Anyhow..., in the past two months it has become increasingly hard to eat/digest meat. Even a bite of chicken will cause my stomach to turn, I get bloated, and nauseated...lucky me, this lasts on average for two days. So, bye-bye meat! As soon as I finish nursing everything should go back to normal. Apparently, these kinds of digestive issues aren't wholly uncommon when pregnant or nursing...THANKS FINN!
So, I have been looking for new recipes and as I find ones that I like I am going to post them. Here's the first of hopefully many...and if you have any tasty meatless recipes pass them onto me!
Grilled Stuffed Red Bell Pepper
*1 Large red bell pepper
*1 c. rice
*1/4 c. cream cheese
*1/4 c. feta cheese
*1/8 c. red onion
*salt and pepper to taste
* Mix above ingredients in bowl. Hollow out the bell pepper and stuff it with the rice/cheese mixture. Place top of bell pepper back on and grill on the barbeque until pepper is soft and cheese is hot (10-15 min.). Cut in and enjoy.
I eat this with Wheat Thins to scoop up the extra cheese when it oozes out. Yummy! Other recipes can be used to stuff this...stove-top stuffing, cous-cous, etc. Try things out and have fun!