The Lindquists

Grandpa Rogers' Funeral

2012-01-29T21:49:00.002-07:00

Mikah's Grandpa Rogers passed away on January 16th. His funeral was on the 20th. We are very sad that he is gone but are grateful that he is no longer in pain. There was a viewing at Larkin Sunset Mortuary the night before the funeral. It was wonderful to see so many family members again. There was even a play room for the kids (it was great), which allowed the adults to visit. The funeral was very nice. Mikah's mom and several of his aunts and uncles spoke. I learned a lot about Grandpa that I never knew about him. All of the grandsons were pallbearers. The great-grandchildren sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" and "I Am a Child of God" (see the video of them practicing). The weather was about 55 degrees and beautiful for all of the funeral proceedings and then it turned gray and cold as soon as the grave dedication was done. The Relief Society provided a wonderful luncheon for us after the funeral. We are so grateful for the knowledge of eternal families, the plan of salvation and the blessings of our Savior's atonement. This whole process has provided several opportunities to teach Kasen about death, resurrection, our spirits and our physical bodies. He has been fascinated with it all. We love Grandma and hope she knows that we are here to support her and love her during this difficult time.

5 months old

2012-01-23T21:38:00.006-07:00

Caitlyn turned 5 months old as of January 18th. The day after Christmas she began eating a lot more milk than normal so we started her on rice cereal on December 29th and she loved it. She's been sleeping through the night ever since! Occasionally she will wake up in the middle of the night but she goes back to sleep when I change her diaper, wrap her tightly and give her her pacifier. As of the 12th, she is now eating rice cereal or baby food three times a day. She has only had carrot baby food so far and she seems to like it okay. Soon after she turned 4 months old she learned how to pull her pacifier out of her mouth and plays with it. At about 4 1/2 months old she started grabbing her feet. On January 4th she rolled from her back to her front for the first time and that's the only way she'll roll now. She refuses to go from front to back, even though she started doing it long before she learned how to go from back to front. While on her belly, she is really close to pushing up her upper body with her arms. She tries to reach for toys that she wants. Several weeks ago we began to notice that she gets bored easily. She always wants something to do or, more specifically, people to watch. I love dressing her up and the boys love to play with her. Mikah loves having a little girl in the house!
Aidan loves to caress Caitlyn's face!Heather (Clark's fiance) gave this cat outfit to Caitlyn. I just had to take a picture!

Hogle Zoo

2012-01-22T21:03:00.003-07:00

Our zoo membership ends at the end of January so we decided to go as a family a couple of weeks ago. The weather was dry but cold. The cats always seem to be more active during the winter months and that was true during this trip. Two of the tigers were literally fighting when we got to their cat exhibit. It was really cool to watch. After the tigers were done fighting, one of them came to pay Aidan a personal visit. We've really enjoyed having a zoo membership the last couple of years and we really enjoyed this particular visit!

Updated Blog

2012-01-09T09:18:00.002-07:00

I've posted 9 new posts over the last week. I am finally caught up with everything through 2011! Please scroll down!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T22:30:00.001-07:00

We spent Christmas Eve day visiting family and preparing for our Christmas Eve dinner. My parents and Grandma Robison were in town to spend Christmas with us and Devin joined us as well. This year we decided not to travel to Idaho for the holidays. With three kids it is much easier to stay at home and start our own traditions. It was so much fun to have my parents and grandma join us in our new traditions. That evening we let the kids open their gifts from Abuela and Abuelo. They each received new pajamas and an ornament, as they do every year. Kasen made sure to put out some sugar cookies (made from scratch by Mikah earlier in the week) and chocolate milk for Santa. After the kids went to bed I took detail pictures of everything in our living room.

Christmas morning the boys got up at 7:00 and went into the living room to see what Santa brought them. Aidan received some books and a Karaoke machine. Kasen received a tool bench. Caitlyn got a book and a toy phone. Everyone went through their stockings before we left for church.

We attended our one hour sacrament meeting. Afterward, we had brunch and then opened presents. I should have better prepared Kasen to show gratitude. Sometimes he got presents that weren't toys and he got upset. At 3:00 we went to Uncle Ken and Aunt Ann's for dinner.

That evening we had Family Home Evening. We watched a short movie clip about the birth of Christ and then we did our first family nativity re-inaction. Kasen was Joseph, I was Mary, Caitlyn was a sleeping shepherd, Aidan was our ornery inn-keeper, Devin and Grandma were the wisemen and Mikah read from the Bible. I loved starting our own traditions this year and being in our own home for the holidays.

I did miss being in my parents' home to enjoy the decorations and the feeling of Christmas in my childhood home, but my mom brought a little bit of home with her by bringing A LOT of treats (chocolate covered pretzels, english toffee, etc.) and bags of nuts.

As a side note, Dad brought a bunch of his tools with him and spent time each day fixing things around the house. I am so grateful for his fix-it skills and his observation of things that need to be fixed. He is so willing to serve and doesn't expect anything in return. I love my parents very much and am so grateful for their selflessness.

North Pole Express

2011-12-31T22:25:00.003-07:00

We own the book and movie "Polar Express". Our boys absolutely love it and we only watch it in December. Friday night at our house is Family Movie Night. Every Friday during the month of December we watched Polar Express and ate popcorn. For the last year we have been planning on riding the North Pole Express with the Heber Valley Railroad. Aidan has been obsessed with trains for over a year so we knew this would be perfect for him.

We had our tickets for December 23rd to ride the North Pole Express. We (Mom, Dad, Grandma Robison, Devin and our family) arrived in Heber early enough to go to a train themed restaurant for dinner. Kasen and Aidan were mesmerized by the train that was riding around above our heads. They probably would have been happy just going to that restaurant! When we got to the train station and found the car that we were going to be on, we had to wait for about 15 minutes. Aidan was not patient and threw a tantrum, repeatedly yelling "I want to get on the train!" My dad walked around with him to try to calm him down. Kasen was so excited to hold his very own ticket (if you've seen the movie you'll understand). On the train, they had elves that brought everyone cookies and hot cocoa. We sang a lot of Christmas carols and just enjoyed the train ride. Aidan repeatedly made his classic train sounds (see the video) and intently looked outside as the train went down the tracks. After about 45 minutes we finally arrived at the North Pole. We saw Santa and Mrs. Claus waving to us as we went by. Then the train stopped so that Santa could get on. We then headed back to Heber. Santa spoke to every child and gave each one a bell (just like on the movie). Kasen and Aidan loved every minute of the journey and we had a great time!

Caitlyn - 4 months old

2011-12-31T22:20:00.001-07:00

On December 18th, Caitlyn turned 4 months old! At her wellness exam she weighed 12.0 pounds (25th percentile) and was 24 inches long (50th percentile). Caitlyn likes to look at and suck on her fingers. She has learned how to roll onto her side and can scoot herself around in a circle. She sleeps best if she is wrapped tightly. She is very content and rarely cries. She loves to watch people and as a result she does not like to be left alone in a room. She doesn't care who is around, just as long as someone is within eye-sight and is moving. The boys are very helpful. Anytime I need to leave the room that Caitlyn is in, Kasen is more than happy to keep her entertained. He often pretends that she hits or kicks him and he falls to the floor as if he is hurt (he is definitely a boy). He also sings to her and reads books to her. We still can't decide what her hair color is going to be. In some lights it looks red and in others it looks dirty blonde. We moved her to her crib a couple of days before Thanksgiving. She does really well sleeping in it, considering she shares a room with Kasen and Aidan. Kasen and Aidan do really well to come right out of their room once they wake up. Caitlyn is beginning to giggle and she is a little ticklish. It has been so much fun to have a girl to dress up. Kasen has repeatedly told Caitlyn, "Hey baby girl! Someday, when we grow up, I am going to marry you!"

Temple Square Visit #3

2011-12-31T22:15:00.001-07:00

The week before Christmas we went to Temple Square with Devin and Amy. I didn't take pictures because it was too cold to even bother. That was our Temple Square Visit #2. A couple of days before Christmas we went to Temple Square (visit #3) with my parents, Grandma Robison and Devin. We started out the evening by eating dinner at Crown Burger (so yummy)! We all met Devin at Temple Square. It was pretty cold outside so Aidan was miserable for the first 30 minutes. We went into the South Visitors Center to warm up. There were a lot of people there so we didn't stay for very long. Apparently, my dad has not been to Temple Square since he stopped working for the church in 1991! This was his first time there since then. I told him we'd come again soon so he could see all of the changes, without the crowds. Since we went to Temple Square so many times in December, by the third visit Kasen had seen it so many times that he was able to start asking questions about things we normally don't take the time to talk about. He is becoming much more inquisitive and observant. I am really enjoying this new stage. Here's to hoping that we don't wait until next December to visit Temple Square again!

Kasen's Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-31T22:00:00.002-07:00

On December 16th, Kasen's preschool teacher, Mrs. Eggett, and all of her classes performed a Christmas program. They started out singing three songs about apples and Fall that they had learned at the beginning of the year. Aidan knew the words to one of them because Kasen sings it all the time ("Apple Apple on the tree, I know you are good for me..." - to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). Then they sang several Christmas songs. For most of the songs they had props that they had made. We didn't know what Kasen should wear for the program and he ended up being the only boy in a suit. He did a wonderful job and it was so fun to see him do the actions and sing the words to the songs. He hadn't been bringing very many projects home but we found out why when we saw all of the decorations and props the kids had made. After their performance, Santa arrived but we couldn't stay for that part (Mikah and I had tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert). There were three Christmas trees that were decorated with ornaments the kids had made. We made sure to find Kasen's ornaments and then the boys had some cookies. It was a really neat program. I am so grateful that Kasen is in Mrs. Eggett's preschool! (The pictures are not very good because I grabbed the wrong camera lens.)

Caitlyn

2011-12-31T21:38:00.005-07:00

Four new posts and more to come!

I love having a baby in our home. Kasen and Aidan absolutely adore Caitlyn and it is so fun seeing them interact with her. Kasen gave the baby doll to Caitlyn and she just happened to wrap her arm around it. I love that picture! One morning I couldn't resist taking some pictures of Caitlyn sleeping and then of her waking up. I love when she wakes up, stretches and then smiles at me. It melts my heart! The cat pajamas and hat are from Heather (Clark's fiance). There's actually another outfit that goes with the hat (I'll post pictures of that another day).

Temple Square Visit #1

2011-12-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

The evening of December 3, Mikah did sealings with his parents, Carmie, Kelsi, Brian, Rusty and Joe'll at the Salt Lake Temple. While they did that, the kids and I spent some time with Rusty's 6 kids in the North Visitor's Center. Rusty's kids are so awesome! Kasen and Aidan love spending time with them and the four oldest are so good with the younger kids. Once the adults were done at the temple, we met up with them and walked around Temple Square for a while. It was a really nice evening with family.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

My mom took Kasen and Aidan with her to Boise the weekend before Thanksgiving. Mikah, Caitlyn and I drove to Boise Wednesday evening, after I got off of work. We got to Boise really late and went straight to Mikah's parent's home, where we were staying. Thursday morning we went to my parents' home, only to discover that Aidan had been throwing up and had diarrhea for the last several days. My mom purposely didn't tell us about him being sick so that we wouldn't feel bad about her having to deal with his sickness. We spent the day at my parents' home. Mom made an amazing Thanksgiving meal. She is an amazing cook and always makes plenty of food that accomodates every body's varying dietary needs. She made really cute Thanksgiving favor bags with peanuts and M&Ms. All of my brothers were there along with Christen and Natalie. My aunt Brenda and Grandma Robison were also with us. That afternoon we took naps and the boys played with the car track. In the evening the adults played some board games. On Saturday we celebrated Grandma Robison's 85th birthday! Later that day Clark invited me to go with him to pick out an engagement ring for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Heather!! I've never done that before and it was so much fun to spend some one-on-one time with Clark. (Heather said "yes" a couple of weeks later.) That afternoon we went to Kami and Gregg's house to eat Gregg's famous hamburgers and watch the BSU game. The cousins loved holding Caitlyn and our boys had a blast playing with their cousins. We had to leave to come home first thing Sunday morning since Mikah had to work at UPS that afternoon in preparation for the beginning of the holiday gift orders. We had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-12-31T17:08:00.001-07:00

Back in October we went to Wheeler Farm to take family pictures. My brother, Devin, was so kind to take our family pictures and I took all the others. I was really pleased with what we got!

Peace and Quiet

2011-12-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving, my mom was in town visiting us and when she returned to Idaho she took Kasen and Aidan with her! Mikah and I love our kids but it was a wonderful and welcome break to have only Caitlyn for a few days. I've never seen Mikah so excited when I told him my mom was taking the boys for five days. Having three kids has brought with it blessings and challenges. Mikah has had to bear the brunt of it being the stay-at-home parent. Unfortunately, we both had to work even while the boys were gone, but we tried to take advantage of the peace and quiet. The first day they were gone, Saturday, we went on a "date". Our dates these days consist of us doing errands together (usually with Caitlyn in tow). We went to dinner at Crown Burger and got a lot of Christmas shopping done. On Sunday, we were actually able to listen to the talks in Sacrament meeting and that evening we had some friends over for dinner. During the week, Mikah was able to get some studying done that he usually isn't able to do because he is taking care of the kids. I am so grateful to have parents that are so conscientious of our needs. They are amazing! I am so grateful that my mom is so creative and patient. She is always doing fun things with the kids and allows Kasen to help her cook (I am slowly learning to have more patience with those kinds of activities). Kasen happened to be sick when they left for Boise and Aidan apparently got it while they were gone (my mom purposely didn't tell me about Aidan's diarrhea and throwing up until after we arrived in Boise). Would your parents take your kids for a couple of days, even when they know they are sick, all while they are hosting guests and preparing the Thanksgiving meal? My parents are amazing and my boys love their Mama and Papa! We joined the boys in Boise for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the break, but it was great to be with our kids again.

Caitlyn - 3 months old

2011-11-29T22:19:00.004-07:00

Caitlyn turned 3 months old on November 18. Caitlyn is a very smiley baby! Her 3 month photo that I took will be framed and put on the wall in my living room. Caitlyn was born with stork bites on her forehead and on her eye lids. They aren't as prominent as they were when she was born but they are still there. They get really red when she cries. Caitlyn is becoming more vocal, especially when she cries when she's hungry and when she just wants to "talk". She is cooing more and more. Kasen mimics me when Caitlyn is cooing by saying, "Oh yeah? What else? That's a good story baby girl!" Mikah and I have noticed that Caitlyn is much more "talkative" than the boys were at this age and less physical than they were. The boys wanted to "stand" on their legs from day one but Caitlyn is content to do no more than kick her legs. Caitlyn loves to watch people, especially Mikah, Kasen and Aidan. She doesn't like being left in a room by herself. For now, she doesn't care who is in the room as long as someone is there and is moving around. I took her to work with me one evening and she was content watching all of the nurses move around for well over an hour. On November 14th, Caitlyn rolled over from her tummy to her back. She can lift her head really well (which helps her watch people). Caitlyn favors looking to her right and laying her head to the right (but all of her hair has fallen out on the left, figure that one out). If you are on her left she won't bother trying to look at you. She can hold onto her rattle and other small objects. She tends to grab her shirt and lift it up. We've been seeing her belly a lot more now that she can grab. Caitlyn has a raised birthmark on her right calf that looks like a red paw print. We can't figure out what color her hair is that is growing in. Sometimes it looks brown, sometimes it looks blonde and other times it looks red. When Caitlyn is laying against someone she will often force herself forward so that she is sitting up (with someone's support). She has been so fun to have a around. She is growing up too fast!

Aidan

2011-11-28T21:52:00.003-07:00

Aidan has such a great personality. He has so many different facial expressions and his vocabulary is increasing exponentially. He is learning so much from Kasen - everything from knock-knock jokes to throwing tantrums to exclamations like "What...the...HECK!". His two favorite things are still Lightning McQueen and trains. He loves to eat breakfast (specifically anything with syrup, cereal, oatmeal and poptarts) and he never eats dinner. If he finds stickers or post-it tabs, he loves to put them all over his face. He has a baby doll that his Grandma Lineberry gave to him when Caitlyn was born. He loves to lay his doll down to sleep and proceeds to tell everyone (while whispering), "Shhhh, the baby is sleeping." He loves to touch Caitlyn's face and often says to her, "Ahhh, so cute!" He has recently developed a fascination with Caitlyn's hair bows. I happen to have some toddler-sized ones that he now wears around the house (much to Mikah's chagrin). Aidan loves to brush his teeth. Today he asked to say the prayer for every meal and at bed time (this is a recent development). His prayer last night (by himself) went like this: "Heavenly Father, We're thankful for this day. Please bless Daddy and Kasen and Daddy and Mommy and Daddy and Caitlyn and Daddy and Nemo. Jesus Christ, Amen." This past week he was sick and as a result he was very cantankerous (but what kids isn't when they are sick?). We love having him in our family!

The Witches 2011

2011-11-23T08:03:00.006-07:00

Last month, Danna (Mikah's cousin), her kids, my brother, Kasen, Aidan, Caitlyn and I all went to Gardner Village to see The Witches. We went on a Saturday and there were a lot of people there! It was fun to see all of the witches but it wasn't as enjoyable as in past years when we've gone on a weekday, where there were fewer people. It was fun keeping up the tradition with Danna and her kids! Thanks for tagging along Devin!

He's tough!

2011-11-22T20:15:00.003-07:00

Mikah loves to run. He used to only have one hobby: books. But in the last couple of years he has taken up running. His running schedule is somewhat random, as a result of our jobs and kids. Depending on the amount of time he has available to go running, he will run 1 mile or he will run 22 miles (or a distance in between). He is crazy! I've tried to get him to do a marathon but he would rather map out his own 26.2 mile route and save himself the money and the crowds. He has loved running in Bountiful because of all the hills. He loves to challenge himself to steep inclines and higher elevations. He often goes running on paths (if you can call them that) in the middle of nowhere in the mountains/hills east of Bountiful. The other day he went on a new path and came home with many battle scars. He was so proud!

Arr, Matey!

2011-11-02T20:31:00.004-06:00

We had three pirates join us for Halloween this year! Kasen wanted to be Captain Hook. Aidan was Mr. Smee, by default. Caitlyn was going to be a pumpkin but one day I was at Kid-2-Kid looking for hairbows and the first thing I saw when I arrived was a 0-3 month pirate costume. She was destined to be a boy-looking pirate this year! Kasen had a Halloween party at preschool on Friday. On Saturday we took the kids in their costumes to their Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Rogers' home and then to their Great-Grandma Lineberry's house. On Halloween (Monday), Mikah dressed the kids in their costumes and when I got home from work I took pictures and then I took the boys out trick-or-treating while Mikah stayed home with Caitlyn and handed out candy. The weather was perfect, about 60 degrees. The boys loved trick-or-treating. They are at such a fun age for the holidays! They both knew when to yell "Trick-or-Treat!" and when to say "thank you". We were gone for about an hour and they had plenty of candy when we were done. I am so grateful that we are in a wonderful neighborhood where I feel comfortable taking my kids door-to-door, like I did as a child. At home, we had a lot of left over candy even though Mikah said we had more trick-or-treaters than he had expected. Now we know what to expect for next year!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-02T20:25:00.004-06:00

The day before Halloween we finally got around to carving/decorating our pumpkins. Aidan was not interested in decorating his pumpkin so he had Kasen draw on it for him. Kasen was grossed out by the pumpkin inards so I ended up gutting his for him. He wanted his pumpkin to have a scary face and in the end I did all of the carving of his pumpkin. I think he was pleased with the results. Mikah carved a skeleton face and I carved the witch face. Thanks to my mom and dad for the pumpkins that came out of their garden!

Caitlyn's Halloween Hair Bow

2011-11-02T20:21:00.004-06:00

My sister-in-law, Natalie, had this hair bow custom made for Caitlyn for Halloween. Caitlyn tried it on the other day and she obviously loves it! We also have a princess hair bow that Natalie had custom made but I haven't taken pictures of her wearing it, yet.

The Three Amigos

2011-11-02T10:55:00.000-06:00

Kasen and Aidan absolutely love having Cailtyn around. I'm sure it helps that Caitlyn rarely cries and often smiles at the boys. One day I found them playing together on my bed. Kasen was telling Caitlyn stories and singing to her. I know the boys won't always get along so well with Caitlyn, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

Caitlyn - 2 months old

2011-11-01T21:57:00.004-06:00

Caitlyn was 2 months old as of October 18th. Caitlyn had her 2 month wellness exam on the 19th. She weighed 9 pounds 14 ounces (25th percentile) and was 22 1/2 inches long (75th percentile). She continues to wake up once or twice each night but usually goes to sleep right after she eats. Caitlyn often smiles when she is looking at Mikah, Kasen, Aidan, or myself. She smiles a lot! Aidan and Kasen absolutely adore her, almost too much. She is often being smothered with their love and attention and she often becomes overstimulated. When ever she is fussy Kasen is often found singing to her or giving her her pacifier. He is a great big brother! Caitlyn has started sucking on her fingers when she is hungry (not exclusively her thumb, yet). Caitlyn has a birth mark on her right calf. It is bright red, raised, and it looks like a paw print. Caitlyn eats really well and seems to burp well for Mikah. She doesn't burp well for me and as a result I am often wearing quite a bit of what she just ate. Caitlyn takes several mini naps throughout the day and usually takes a 2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon. She sleeps about 12 hours at night (interrupted by the instances when she needs to eat. She developed a bald spot on the left side of her head and has lost quite a bit of hair on the top of her head. Most of it has started growing back. Caitlyn is a very content baby and rarely cries. We have really enjoyed having her in our home.

Thanks Aunt Brenda!

2011-11-01T19:20:00.003-06:00

Every time I have a baby my Aunt Brenda makes t-shirts/onesies for each of the kids. Kasen's shirt says "Biggest Brother", Aidan's says "Big Brother" and Caitlyn's says "Little Sister". She also made a shirt for Caitlyn that says "Lindquist" and "No. 26" because she is the 26th grandchild on the Lindquist side of the family. I will post a picture of her in that shirt when she is big enough to wear it. Thank you so much Aunt Brenda! We love the shirts!

Caitlyn's Blessing

2011-10-25T21:42:00.008-06:00

Mikah was able to bless Caitlyn on Sunday, October 9th. Many family members and friends traveled long distances to be here for it. My parents, Clark, Derek and Natalie came from Boise. Caitlyn's Great-Grandma Robison came from eastern Idaho. Wendy came from the U.S. Virgin Islands. My best friend, Brittany, came from southern California. We are lucky to live so close to a lot of extended family so many aunts, uncles and cousins were also able to be there. Caitlyn's Great-Grandma Lineberry was also in attendance. There were two other baby girls being blessed the same day so the chapel was completely filled and they had to set up chairs in the cultural hall to accomodate everyone. Mikah did a wonderful job and Brittany was so kind to jot down notes about what he said in the blessing. After church everyone gathered at Uncle Ken and Aunt Ann's home for the luncheon. I was able to take many pictures and it was a really enjoyable day. Thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating the birth and blessing of Caitlyn!

Caitlyn's blessing dress is actually the same dress that I wore when I was blessed and it was also the dress that my mom wore when she was blessed. It made the day that much more special. My cousin, Kirsti, made Caitlyn's blessing bracelet.

Caitlyn -2011Shelley - 1983 Wendy (Mikah's Mom), Caitlyn & Mikah 4-generation (Shelley's paternal side)
4-generation (Shelley's maternal side)
Mikah & Caitlyn - 2011
Scott & Shelley - 1983

Family visit

2011-10-23T21:05:00.003-06:00

The weekend of Kasen's birthday party and Caitlyn's blessing we had several family members come visit. My parents, Grandma Robison, Clark, Derek and Natalie all came into town. When they all arrived on Friday they spent some time at our house. Derek and Natalie played with the boys and I think they all had fun. On Saturday everyone came to Kasen's soccer game to watch him 'play'. We spent alot of time at our house. It was so fun for the boys to have someone to play with and I enjoyed visiting with everyone.

Kasen's Birthday Party

2011-10-20T21:37:00.003-06:00

My mom did birthday parties for my brothers and I when we turned 5 and 10. So, I wanted to do a party for Kasen since he turned 5. I decided to do a pirate party and I invited four of his friends. Three of them were able to come - Jacyi (they've been friends since they were 1), Abby (she's in his primary class), and Carter (we carpool with his mom for preschool). It worked out that Mom, Dad, Grandma Robison, Clark, Derek and Natalie were all going to be in town the same weekend as the party for Caitlyn's blessing. Mom offered to do the activities for the party. My mom is amazing when it comes to planning parties and organizing activities! It was such a relief for me to not have to worry about the activities, especially since I am working. As the kids arrived we dressed them up as pirates and took pictures. The boys each got a hat, sword and eye patch. The girls got pink bandanas, pink eye patches and swords. Kasen got a large pirate hat, an eye patch, a sword and a hook. As we waited for the kids to arrive Mom had an activity where she hid a paper sack with a picture of a crocodile on it somewhere in the room. It made the sound of a ticking clock (like in Peter Pan) and the kids had to find it. For lunch we ordered Pizza Hut for everyone and then my mom started the activites with the kids. She read a book about pirates and then the kids did the activities based on parts of the book. Mom made two boxes to resemble pirate ships and the kids got into teams and had to get their "cannon balls" (ping pong balls) into the other ship. The team that got the most in the other ship won some prizes to put into their treasure boxes (their favors box). For the next activity the kids made their own spy glasses and then they used them to find a "cave" (our basement). Mom gave each of them a small flash light and they got to use them to find treasure in the "cave". The last activity was a treasure hunt. Mom made picture clues and the kids finally found the treasure in our oven. The party was such a success because of all of the great activities Mom planned. I am so glad she enjoys planning stuff like that. We ended the party by having Kasen open presents and then the kids ate cupcakes and ice cream. I think Kasen had a great time!

Kasen is 5!

2011-10-14T06:56:00.007-06:00

Kasen turned 5-years-old on October 2! He is such a great kid! Kasen loves to go to preschool and is able to write his name. He has known all of his letters and their sounds for over a year now. He is a leader and loves to be around other kids. Anytime we go to the park or the store any of the kids that are around are immediately his 'friends' and he wants them to play with him. When we went to Lagoon this summer he was able to make a friend at each ride that he went on. Kasen loves to play games and with his toys, but he does prefer to play with someone. He and Aidan can often be found playing with their toys or wrestling together. He loves to sit by the heater to get warm, but it only works if his shirt is off, or so he says. Kasen's favorite foods are scrambled eggs, pizza, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, carrots and McDonalds fries. He is becoming a really good eater and as a result we are going to have to increase our grocery budget by quite a bit! Kasen is so good to remind us to say our prayers at the beginning of each meal. When he needs help with something (i.e. finding a toy or helping him to not be scared) he often asks me to say a prayer so that "Jesus can help me (Kasen)". Kasen is a great example to us. Anytime we do something or say something we shouldn't he reminds us of how we should behave (i.e. "We don't say that!"). Kasen loves insects of all kinds. He is compassionate toward most insects and often gets upset if I say we are going to "kill" any bugs that get into the house. We currently have two large grasshoppers in a tupperware container in our living room. Kasen enjoys playing games on the computer (Disney Junior or on PBSkids.org) and watching his dad play his computer games. Kasen asks to watch a movie every day even though he knows we try to just watch movies on Fridays. Kasen loves helping Mikah and I around the house. He can fold his blankets and some of his clothes, and he can help with the dishes, vacuum, dust, etc. Kasen absolutely adores his new baby sister, Caitlyn. He loves to talk to her or sing to her when she is fussy. When she is cooing he acts like she is telling him a story and can be found intently looking at her while saying, "What else little girl?!" He says that Caitlyn is his princess and when they grow up they will go to the temple and get married. (I think it's cute!) We absolutely love having Kasen in our family.

Since Kasen's birthday was on a Sunday we invited Devin and Amy and Kelsi and Brian to join us to celebrate. We had Papa Murphy's pizza (Kasen requested pizza), let Kasen open his presents and then had cake and ice cream. Kasen loves the movie Peter Pan and also likes a pirate show on Disney Junior, both of which have Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. He has decided to be Captain Hook for Halloween and he loves anything that has to do with pirates. So, I made him a pirate ship cake and most, if not all, of his presents had a pirate theme. Mama and Papa got him a pirate ship K'nex set. Lala and Lolo got him a treasure chest (that came with "gold dabooms", an eye patch and a pirate bandana) and a spy glass and a pirate book and some pirate figurines. Derek and Natalie got him a Sea Monkey kit and a crystal growing science kit. Mikah and I got him a pirate boat and some pirates. I think he made out like a 'bandit'!

Caitlyn - 1 1/2 months

2011-10-14T06:52:00.005-06:00

As of the end of September Caitlyn was 1 1/2 months old. Here are a few pictures from then. I love capturing the various facial expressions of an infant. We love having Caitlyn in our home!

Drag Races

2011-10-13T21:13:00.007-06:00

While Caitlyn and I went with my Aunt Ann to the General Relief Society Broadcast on September 24th, the boys went to the drag races out at Rocky Mountain Raceway with my uncle Ken and his grandson, Willem. It was Mikah, Kasen and Aidan's first time at the drag races (I've never been) and they had a great time. They started out their evening by going to McDonalds for dinner and each of the boys were given a new die-cast car and tow truck by Uncle Ken. Ken gave each of the boys earcovers because the cars are really loud. Their favorite part was when the jet cars were racing. The jet cars could get up to 285 mph! When they brought out the first set of jet cars Ken pointed at Aidan and told Mikah to grab him and hold him. Mikah was confused as to why he should hold Aidan but as soon as the jet cars took off he knew why. He said that both the sound and the shock waves would have scared Aidan right out of his pants if he hadn't been held. They were also able to go into the pits and look at the cars. I'm glad they had such a good time. I look forward to going with them in the spring.

Brenda & Rick visit

2011-10-13T21:00:00.004-06:00

On Saturday, September 24th my aunt Brenda and uncle Rick were in town and came to visit us for a little while. They were able to see where we are living for the first time and they met Caitlyn for the first time. They brought gifts for Caitlyn. Great-Grandma Robison gave Caitlyn a beautiful Sunday dress and a couple of winter hats. Brenda brought Caitlyn's personalized onesies that she made (picture forthcoming in a separate post). My cousin Kirsti made several bracelets for Caitlyn and some shoulder pads for her car seat. It was great to see them again and I enjoyed visiting with them.

Devin's Birthday

2011-09-24T18:50:00.000-06:00

Devin's birthday was on the 20th so we had him and Amy come over to celebrate. Mikah made a wonderful meal of tin foil dinners for the birthday boy. Amy made an amazing large cupcake chocolate and cherries cake. Aidan was so excited for Devin to open presents that he was devastated when I told him to wait a minute for Mikah to join us (see the picture of him pouting). We had a great evening! Thanks for having a birthday Devin!

Kasen, Aidan & Caitlyn

2011-09-24T18:44:00.000-06:00

Kasen and Aidan have been so good with Caitlyn. Here are several pictures of them with her. Kasen loves to talk to her and sing to her. When she is fussy he'll say, "I'll take care of her Mom!" He'll lie a blanket on her, give her her pacifier and sing to her to calm her down. The day I was taking Caitlyn's 1 month pictures, Kasen insisted on having his picture taken with her. In one of these pictures Kasen wanted Caitlyn to look at Aidan's birthday card so he propped it up on her bouncer so she could see it. Aidan asks to "Hold her?!" at least once a day. One day I found him playing 'doctor' with her. It is so much fun to watch my kids spend time together!

Utah State Fair

2011-09-24T18:41:00.000-06:00

Devin and Amy took Kasen and Aidan to the Utah State Fair on Saturday. They went on some rides, ate fair food and visited the farm animals. Kasen ate his entire corn dog all by himself! The boys played a farming game while they were there and won two apples. They also got balloon swords from a clown. The balloons didn't quite make it home and resulted in the shedding of many tears. They had a great time and were there longer than they had planned. While they were at the fair, Mikah and I were able to go on a date (with Caitlyn in tow). We went to Crown Burger for dinner and spent the rest of the evening shopping (romantic, I know). It was really nice to spend time together and talk while getting alot of errands done. Thanks Amy and Devin!

Caitlyn - 1 month old

2011-09-21T17:04:00.000-06:00

Caitlyn was one month old as of September 18th. As is expected with a newborn, the last month has flown by. Caitlyn has been a wonderful baby. She is very content and rarely cries. She continues to wake up 2 or 3 times each night and usually goes back to sleep after eating. She has started staying awake for longer periods of time during the day. She got a cold when she was 2 weeks old and so she had a couple of nights where she couldn't sleep well because of the congestion. She started smiling when she was about 3 weeks old. Caitlyn is a really good eater. She often gets the hiccups a couple of times each day (but they don't seem to bother her). She has started to lose some of her hair, which makes the coloring of her hair look a lot lighter than when she was born. Kasen and Aidan absolutely love Caitlyn and they can often be found giving her hugs and kisses, showing her books, telling her stories, singing songs to her and giving her her pacifier (whether she wants it or not).

Pictures of Caitlyn from 1 week old to 1 month old

1 month old

Aidan - 3rd Birthday

2011-09-20T21:22:00.000-06:00

Aidan turned 3-years-old on September 12! He is a great little boy! Aidan's favorite thing to do is play with trains and cars. He prefers playing by himself. He can entertain himself for quite a while. He loves to sing songs (i.e. ABCs, Book of Mormon Stories, and I Am A Child of God). He has blonde hair and brown eyes. He still takes an afternoon nap a couple of times each week. He and Kasen can play really well together but they also have their sibling spats throughout the day. Aidan's imagination is beginning to manifest itself as he plays with his toys. Aidan is great at making the noises of cars, trains and animals. His train sound is very real but anyone that doesn't know what sound he is making would think he is having some weird asthma attack (see video below). He also makes the literal sound of a chicken. It is more of a gutteral sound than the "Cluck Cluck" you and I say. He is so sweet to Caitlyn. He often comes up to her and says, "Aaaah, So cute baby!" When he saw her for the first time at the hospital he touched her toes and said, "Delicious!" He likes to hold her at least once a day. He has not shown any jealousy that she occupies so much of my time. Aidan's favorite meal is breakfast and he NEVER eats dinner. He can sense sugar a mile away. He is a very snuggly little boy. He often comes up to me and says, "Hug!".

I made a train cake for his birthday. He spent most of the day watching me make the cake while occasionally sneaking candy and cookies that were meant for decorating the cake. Mikah made waffles for dinner so that Aidan would actually eat dinner. Devin and Amy came over to help us celebrate. We opened presents first and then we had cake and ice cream. Aidan received a Dinosaur Train set from us and from Mama and Papa. Abuelo and Abuela gave him a Cars 2 track set and a few die-cast cars from Cars 2 (he opened that present in front of them on Skype). Derek and Natalie gave him a large Cars coloring book and crayons. Devin and Amy gave him some train cars for his wooden train set. He definitely isn't lacking trains and cars to play with!

Singing ABCs, Book of Mormon Stories, and I am a Child of God

Looking at one of his current favorite books. It is a Curious George book that has a recording of his Great-Grandma Robison reading it to him and Kasen.

Reading a train book with Papa. The awful sound that he is making is his literal sound of a train. It can get really loud and annoying (but he's cute)!

Kasen - Preschool & Soccer

2011-09-20T21:21:00.000-06:00

Kasen started preschool this year! He carpools with two friends in our neighborhood. He goes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12:00 to 2:30. His teacher is Jeri Eggett and he is really enjoying it. He brings home projects every day and is excited to tell me what they learn each day. If for no other reason, we know preschool has been good for him due to the social aspect of it. He craves attention and the opportunity to be a leader. He wants to be friends with everyone.
Kasen also started playing soccer this fall. His team is called The Blaze. He is really enjoying it. Since I had a C-section with Caitlyn I have not been able to physically teach Kasen the rules of the game. He's had two games so far. He is gradually learning how to play. His games are on Saturdays. The first 30 minutes is for practice time and the second 30 minutes is for the game. He enjoys chasing after the ball. He made a goal at his first game. He falls down frequently but gets right back up and back into the game. He tends to call his teammates "the good teamers" and the other team "the bad teamers" (like bad guys vs. good guys). We are working on teaching him that both teams are good! The next several Saturdays are going to be busy but fun!

Caitlyn - Announcement Pictures

2011-09-19T20:32:00.005-06:00

Here are several pictures I took for Caitlyn's birth announcement. She is 8 days old in these pictures.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-17T07:21:00.002-06:00

We decided to go to Boise for the Labor Day Weekend since I was on Maternity Leave and Mikah had the following week off of work. We arrived Friday evening and were able to spend time with Clark, Heather, Derek and Natalie. My brothers and their girlfriends/wives were excited to see Caitlyn for the first time. Saturday morning we (my mom and dad, Clark, and our family) got up early to go watch the Hot Air Balloons launch. Mom packed breakfast for everyone. Mikah and I enjoyed taking pictures while we were there.
That afternoon we went to Camille and Derek's to visit and see their town home. It was great to see them now that they are back in Idaho. Kasen and Aidan had a great time playing with their daughters, Lizzie and Sara. After that we went to Kami and Gregg's house for a barbecue and to watch the Boise vs. Georgia football game. We had a great evening visiting and playing with our nieces and nephews. I also enjoyed watching the game. Kasen and Aidan loved playing outside with their cousins. Aidan must have been having a really good time because he somehow misplaced one shoe that we never did find! On Sunday we attended church with my parents and that evening Clark and Heather, Todd and Christen, and Derek and Natalie all came over for dinner. Kasen and Aidan love all of the attention they get from their aunts and uncles. Throughout the weekend we received numerous gifts for Caitlyn. It was so great to get diapers and wipes and cute clothes for her. She is already very spoiled, as are we. Monday morning the boys (Clark, Derek, Todd, Dad, Mikah and Kasen) floated the Boise River while Mom, Christen, Aidan, Caitlyn and I stayed at the park just waiting for the boys/men. While Mom was driving back to the park from the put-in point, Channel 2 news showed up and asked to interview me for a story about Labor Day (it aired at 5:00 that afternoon). Christen and I took Aidan to play on the playground to pass the time. When the boys were done on the river we all had lunch. Kasen and Aidan had fun playing on the rafts while the big boys threw them in the air using the rafts. We returned to Utah Tuesday evening.

Caitlyn - One Week

2011-08-29T20:32:00.000-06:00

Caitlyn was one week old as of the 25th. She has been such a good baby. She eats two or three times at night and then immediately goes back to sleep. She sleeps most of the day but is starting to stay awake a little bit longer each day. She rarely cries - only when she is really hungry or when she is cold. Mikah and I went shopping for three hours on Tuesday and she slept the entire time we were out. She took a bottle for the first time on Wednesday and made no fuss about it. She is such a sweet baby and we are so excited to have her in our home! Here are some pictures from her first week, in no particular order.

Big Brothers

2011-08-28T20:25:00.008-06:00

Kasen and Aidan have been so great with Caitlyn. When they first came to visit her in the hospital everything was so new to them. Aidan said 'hi' to the baby and then decided to explore my hospital room. He has always been one to enjoy doing things on his own. Kasen was fascinated with Caitlyn but he did not want to hold her. He loved touching her hands and her feet and looking at her face while she was being held by Grandma or Grandpa. Now that she is at home they have been great with her. Kasen asks to hold her multiple times during the day. He loves to talk to her and tell her about things. One day she was in her glider and I found Kasen sitting next to her singing "I am a Child of God" and "Book of Mormon Stories" to her. He also loves to show her books. The day after we came home from the hospital Kasen asked if we could put her in a princess dress and then he said, "when she grows up, big like me, I will marry her." Aidan likes to hold her for brief periods of time. He likes to say "Hi Baby" and then he'll run off and play. He hasn't been as clingy as I had anticipated but that may come once my mom is gone and there is no one else to spend time with him.

Eye Surgery & Timing Belt Fiasco

2011-08-28T11:20:00.006-06:00

Mikah is currently in the application process for a Border Patrol Agent position. Things had been proceeding quite well until we received a letter stating that Mikah was no longer a candidate for this position because he didn't meet the vision requirement. Their vision requirement is that applicants must have uncorrected vision of 20/100 or better. Unfortunately, Mikah's vision is 20/800 (he can't get out of bed without putting on his glasses). As a result of this devestating information, we quickly took action and went through the process to schedule Mikah for PRK (he wasn't a candidate for Lasik) surgery on Friday, August 12th (6 days before my due date - 1 day before the paperwork deadline for the BPA position). Amy, Devin's girlfriend, thankfully came to stay with us from Thursday to Sunday to take care of the boys and help me around the house while Mikah was out of commission. I took Mikah to his surgery and I had the opportunity to watch the surgery on a large flat screen outside of the operating room. The surgery only took a few minutes. Mikah was taken to an exam room immediately after the surgery and he was able to read the small lettering on the plaques on the wall. He was on cloud nine! The recovery process for PRK was more intensive than we had anticipated. Mikah was on pain medications, sleeping pills, and a number of eye drops. He stayed in our bedroom, with the blinds closed, for 2 1/2 days. He was in a lot of pain, his eyes were very sensitive to light and he was a zombie while on the medications. Mikah was told that he shouldn't drive or go to work for 7 days (worst-case scenario for recovery). We, of course, were just praying that Mikah would have a fast recovery with the upcoming birth of our daughter. Once Mikah stopped taking the pain pills and the sleeping pills he was back to normal. At his follow-up appointment 5 days later his eyes were 20/40 and we expect his sight to get even better as time goes on. Thank heavens for technology!

On Sunday, the 14th, the boys and I took Amy home. She helped me so much while Mikah was recovering from his eye surgery. She took the boys to the park, played with them, made meals, did laundry, and so much more. As we approached the exit to get off the freeway I heard a belt break and so I immediately pulled into the shoulder. White smoke began coming out of the engine and through the air vents in the car. It was 7:30 p.m. and it was around 90 degrees outside. Cars were speeding past the van at 65 mph. I had not brought a diaper bag, food, or water with us and I couldn’t let the kids out of their car seats for fear of someone hitting the van. Kasen was very worried about all of the smoke that was coming into the van and he repeatedly asked if I was going to call the policeman to come help us. I couldn’t call Mikah because I knew his cell phone ringer was off and even if I reached him he couldn’t drive to come help us and he wouldn’t be able to see because of his blurry vision and the intense sunlight. I couldn’t reach my mom because she doesn’t own a cell phone and we have no home phone. I thankfully had the phone numbers of a few friends from the ward in my phone. I talked to Barb and she called around and was able to ask Allen to come help me with the van. Barb said she was on her way to come get the boys. It was very hot in the car and since I was nearly 40 weeks pregnant there was not much I could do about the van. As I sat in the front seat waiting for Allen’s arrival, Kasen amazed me by saying, “Mom, I know what we should do. We need to ask Jesus to help us!” I asked him, “How should we do that?” With his four-year-old faith he responded, “We need to pray!” What a great example! It was exactly what we needed to do. I just feel bad that I wasn’t the one to suggest it first. Kasen wanted me to say the prayer and both Kasen and Aidan immediately folded their arms for the prayer. I had a hard time beginning the prayer because I had begun to cry. It is amazing what our children can teach us. While we waited, I called my dad to see if he knew how I could reach Mom. I then informed him of what had happened to the van. After I got off the phone with him I called Barb and asked her to go to the house to let my mom and Mikah know what was going on. Then, my uncle Ken called me to see if I needed help (Dad had called him). Since I didn’t know if Allen had a car that could tow the van, I told Ken that I could use his help. Within 30 minutes of the van breaking down, Allen and his father-in-law arrived in a Suburban and Ken and Ann arrived in their truck and car, respectively. Allen’s father-in-law towed the van off of the freeway into a K-mart parking lot. Allen drove the van and Ken and Ann followed behind us. Barb arrived soon after we got the van parked and she took the boys and I home. I am so grateful for everyone’s help. Once I got home I told Mikah and Mom about everything that had happened. Mikah was still pretty out of it from the pain pill and sleeping pill that he was on. The next morning, Ken towed the van (while I drove) to a Tunex. They called me within an hour of dropping the van off to tell me that the timing belt had broken, the motor had seized and the motor had to be replaced. Apparently, Kia's are supposed to have the timing belt chamged every 60,000 miles - not every 100,000 miles. A week later we had our van back, with a used motor and a new timing belt.

Caitlyn

2011-08-22T07:28:00.009-06:00

Our attempt at a family picture. Kasen did not want to be part of it, as you can tell.
Caitlyn Lindquist was born at 7:01 p.m. on Thursday, August 18. She weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 21 inches long. She has a lot of dark brown hair. We are so excited to have her in our family! Here are the details of how she came into this world, for those who want to know:

I began having contractions around noon on Tuesday, the 16th. They were about 15 minutes apart for a day and a half. Starting at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, the 18th, my contractions were anywhere from 3 minutes to 10 minutes apart for several hours but they were not consistent enough or strong enough for me to feel inclined to go to Labor and Delivery. I had my 40 week appointment at 10:00 a.m. that morning so Mikah came to the appointment with me and we left the boys with my mom. It was the first and only appointment that Mikah went to this entire pregnancy. At my appointment I was 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced so my doctor gave us two options: 1) go home and wait for me to progress or 2) be admitted to Labor and Delivery and my doctor would break my water. We opted to be admitted to L & D. After being admitted a resident was sent to my room to break my water. After he checked me he decided that the baby was not low enough to break my water and so he said we'd need to wait a couple of hours and then he'd try again. Thirty minutes later he sent my nurse in to start Pitocin at Level 1. This delivery was another VBAC attempt and I was not supposed to be on Pitocin so early in the process. Soon after the Pitocin was started my doctor was called and she immediately came to my room. She informed us that the resident was extremely new and was very cautious in his approach. She immediately stopped the Pitocin and proceeded to break my water (this was around 1:30 p.m.). At 1:40 the anesthesiologist gave me an epidural and by 2:30 I was 5 cm dilated. Since I wasn't progressing very well my doctor started me on Pitocin at Level 1. I was able to sleep for a little bit and at 3:30 my Pitocin was increased to Level 3. Ten minutes later they turned off the Pitocin because the baby's heart rate was decreasing with each contraction. The nurse said it was possible that the umbilical cord was being pinched with each contraction. I was put on oxygen to try to help the baby's heart rate and the nurse placed an internal uterine contraction monitor. At 4:15 Dr. Ponder ordered an amnioinfusion as another way to try to help the baby. At 5:00 Dr. Ponder and a resident came in. I was 6 cm dilated so they restarted the Pitosin at Level 1 and placed an internal fetal heart rate monitor. They did notice that there was a little bit of Meconium discharge in the amniotic fluid. Dr. Ponder said she believed that my body probably wasn't progressing because I had been in labor for so long (since Tuesday). She also said the baby was probably in distress for the same reason. At 5:50 the Pitosin was turned off, again, to give the baby a rest. At 6:20 I was still at 6 cm dilated so Dr. Ponder came in to discuss our options. Option #1 - We could stay off the Pitosin for an hour to give the baby a rest and then try again to get my body to progress. Option #2 - Prepare for a c-section. Mikah and I had already discussed how similar the circumstances were to when I had Kasen via c-section (which was the result of failure to progress and a decrease in fetal heart rate with each contraction). It was deja vu. Dr. Ponder had done so many things to try to make VBAC a success this time (we successfully delivered Aidan via VBAC) but we felt that there was very little chance of my body progressing much further without putting the baby in distress. We opted to do a c-section for the safety of the baby. Within 20 minutes I was in the OR, ready for a c-section. Dr. Ponder and the resident doing the surgery were very impressed with my previous c-section scar, which had apparently healed very well. However, I apparently had a lot of scar tissue that they had to work through. Mikah watched the whole procedure over the curtain. The anesthesia made me shake really bad, specifically my arms and head. I couldn't feel anything, just a few tugs and pulls. There were a few times where I felt like I could fall asleep but the shaking kept me awake. Caitlyn was born at 7:01 p.m. The umbilical cord came out first which was apparently not a good thing and the baby was covered in Meconium. Dr. Ponder repeatedly said that she was glad we opted to do the C-section when we did. Caitlyn opened her eyes in the delivery room and I was able to hold her in the crook of my arm soon after they weighed her and cleaned her up. We were taken to recovery for about 1 ½ hours. I was shaking pretty bad for about 1 hour and it was very frustrating and tiring.

I stayed in the hospital until Monday. All of my nurses, for all four days, were great and it was a really good hospital stay. I had several visitors while I was in the hospital. Caitlyn and I are now at home, enjoying being around the boys and my parents.

My Macho Man/Boys

2011-08-13T22:51:00.003-06:00

Mikah usually does his workout regimen while I am at work but this particular day I happened to be at home. Kasen came to me and declared, "Mom, my muscles are getting smaller (pointing to his biceps), I need to exercise! I need to take my shirt off." He proceeded to remove his shirt in preparation for his like-father-like-son workout.

Playdate at the Zoo

2011-08-13T22:50:00.003-06:00

The boys and I met up with my friend, Stephanie, and her three kids at the zoo. Kasen has been asking to go to the zoo with Jacyi for several weeks and we finally made it happen. Kasen and Jayci kept running ahead of us and we repeatedly had to talk to them about not going too far. The kids had great time together. Tag and Kasen both loved the T-Rex on display but they were both afraid of the crocodiles (go figure)!

Financial Peace

2011-08-07T22:28:00.005-06:00

I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in Business Management in 2005 and since then I've realized that I probably would have majored in Finance if I had it to do over again. Those of you who know me well know that I handle the family finances and I track it all in a number of intricate Excel sheets. I enjoy working on our budget each week and I enjoy working with numbers. That being said, I want to share some information with those of you who may want/need some financial guidance (which is probably most of you).

A couple of years ago I was driving somewhere and I came across The Dave Ramsey Show on the radio. In a nut shell, he talks about how to create a budget, get out of debt, save for a rainy day and eventually have enough money that you can help others. He offers financial advice, definitely not a 'get rich quick' scheme. His financial plan begins with creating a budget and is laid out in 7 'baby steps'.

Baby Step 1 - Save $1000 to start an Emergency Fund (this has helped us many times over)
Baby Step 2 - Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball (we are working on it)
Baby Step 3 - Save 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
Baby Step 4 - Invest 15% for retirement
Baby Step 5 - College funding for children
Baby Step 6 - Pay off your mortgage early
Baby Step 7 - Build wealth and give
You can learn more about these steps and how to get your finances in order by reading The Total Money Makeover. I love the simple, yet common sense advice that he provides to those that need financial guidance. I especially like his plan because it gives us the steps that we need to follow to become self-reliant and charitable, as the latter-day prophets and apostles have repeatedly counseled us to do (he includes paying tithing in his plan).

Mikah and I are currently working on our Debt Snowball (just those darn student loans) and after that we plan on saving our 3-6 month Emergency Fund. Once those steps are accomplished (and if we are finally in a location where we will be there long enough to own a home) we intend on saving for a 10-20% downpayment for a home. We know it will take time but we also know that we will be better off because of it and our children will learn sound financial principles. I know many family members and friends that could benefit from these financial steps and I hope this information gives you the guidance you need.

37 Weeks (and counting)

2011-07-31T11:09:00.000-06:00

There are several new posts so scroll down!

I am now 37 weeks along and I am trying to finish getting ready for this baby to arrive in a couple of weeks. My feet began swelling a week ago. I never did swell when I was pregnant with either of the boys so this is a new experience for me. My co-workers at the law firm are very good to me and insist that I keep my feet elevated. It's good to have so many mothers around because I just can't bring myself to sit down when I am at home (despite Mikah's many attempts to get me to rest). There is always so much to do! The next pregnancy post will either be of me at 40 weeks or of the arrival of baby Caitlyn!

Daily Deer Sightings

2011-07-31T11:00:00.000-06:00

We often have deer roaming around in our neighborhood, eating from our gardens. We live right on a fairly busy street so I am always amazed at how these deer manage to come so far down from the mountains into our neighborhood. One morning Aidan saw some deer in our backyard through the kitchen window. There were SEVEN bucks! Kasen was excited to see the deer but he exclaimed, "They need to stop eating my trees!"

Kasen's Swimming Lessons

2011-07-31T10:15:00.003-06:00

Kasen has been attending swimming lessons every weekday morning for the last two weeks. It was the first time he's taken swimming lessons. His teacher was Spencer and there were just two other kids in his group. The first day of class he started out by crying and fighting with me because he didn't want to get into the water. All the while, Aidan was crying and fighting me because he did want to get in the water. Kasen was fairly cautious on the first day of class but by the end of the two weeks he was much more comfortable in the water. Kasen learned a lot and I look forward to him moving to the next class level next year. Aidan was so good during each 25 minute class period. He made friends with two baby girls and everyday he insisted on sharing his Sally and Lightning McQueen cars with them. He loves babies! One of the baby girls got kissed on the forehead by Aidan a couple of times - before I could stop him.

The Saturday after Kasen's swimming lessons ended we went swimming as a family at the recreation center. It was a lot of fun. Aidan loved jumping in the kiddie pools and going around the lazy river with me. Kasen's favorite part was going on the big, twisty water slide with Mikah, over and over. It was a great way to celebrate the end of swimming lessons!

Rogers Reunion

2011-07-31T10:10:00.004-06:00

The evening of the 23rd all of the Lindquists went to Grandma and Grandpa Rogers' house for the Rogers Family Reunion. All nine of Grandma and Grandpa Rogers' kids were there, as well as most of the extended family. We had a great dinner provided by everyone in attendance and for the most part we were able to spend a lot of time just catching up with everyone. Ross and Dana were great to have us all come together for a group photo. I just wish everyone could have been there for it. After pictures were done the siblings and many of the adults gathered together to share their childhood memories. The kids and some of the child-like adults launched water balloons to keep the kids entertained while the adults talked about their memories. It was a wonderful evening with all of the family and I think I was able to name everyone there by the end of the evening.

Lindquist Reunion

2011-07-31T10:08:00.003-06:00

We were able to attend the Lindquist Reunion a week ago. The morning of Friday, the 22nd, we (Kelsi & Brian, Rusty & Joe'll and family, Kim, Wendy, Carmie, and our family) gathered at Rusty and and Joe'll's house for a breakfast provided by Lolo and Lala (Kim and Wendy - Mikah's parents). The kids played outside for a while and then everyone came to our house for a few minutes so that Kim and Carmie could see where we live. We ate lunch at Rusty and Joe'll's and then Gregg and Kami and their family arrived from Idaho. Rusty set up a large slip-n-slide for the kids. It was great to see the kids interact with each other. The older kids were so good to the little ones. Aidan went down the slide once and that was enough for him. Kasen and Brock (they are the same age) opted to continue playing with the pirate ships in the house while everyone else played outside. Derek and Camille arrived from Idaho while everyone was outside. After the kids were done with the slip-n-slide, several of us decided to play volleyball. Yes, I am competitive enough that I had to get in on the action, even with the fact that I was 36 weeks pregnant. It was so much fun to play! The adults played against the kids and it was even more fun because we didn't bother keeping score. Everyone ate Otter Pops throughout the afternoon. Aidan eventually sat by Carmie and she complied with his every wish. She must have given him at least 15 Otter Pops. He was in heaven! Rusty barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner and everyone contributed something for the potluck meal. After dinner the adults discussed our plans for the next family reunion and then everyone headed to the park to launch water balloons. Aidan was quite ornery since he hadn't had a nap, so we had him go to bed in Alex's room while the rest of us went to the park (Gregg stayed at the house). The kids enjoyed launching and catching the balloons. The little ones had fun on the swing set. Once we all went back to the Rusty and Joe'll's we sang Happy Birthday to Tyson and had cake and homemade ice cream. Afterward, some people went home and the rest of us went to a hillside near the temple to watch the 24th of July Handcart Days Firework show. It was a great day!

The next morning we met everyone (except Derek and Camille and their girls) up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Kelsi and Brian took us to a place where they could teach the teenagers and adults how to repel. It was a great place for repelling, but a little scary for all of the little kids because of the fast moving creek right next to the cliff wall. Kasen and Aidan did not hesitate to cover themselves in dirt and sap. I enjoyed taking pictures of everyone. We left a little early to insure that our boys would get lunch on time and a good nap. Kim was kind enough to carry Kasen to the car. Kasen loved the one-on-one time with Lolo.

Devin, Garden, Drive-In and Superheros

2011-07-17T22:45:00.006-06:00

My brother, Devin, stayed with us for two weeks at the end of June and beginning of July. Kasen and Aidan loved having someone to play with them. Mikah and I enjoyed having him visit and we also appreciated all of the free babysitting. Kasen's favorite past-time with Devin was watching him play computer games against Derek (Devin's twin) while they Skyped with him. Kasen is upset in this picture because I'm interrupting their gaming time.

We've loved having a yard where we live and we've really enjoyed having a large garden. We planted peas, pumpkins, watermelon, cucumbers, broccoli, peppers, tomatos, carrots and lettuce. We have a ton of lettuce and not enough people to eat it (if anyone wants some please come get it). We have deer in our neighborhood on a daily basis. Today we discovered that they had been nibbling on our tomatos and peppers. Why couldn't they eat the lettuce!! Mikah is the green thumb in the family and he has realized he really enjoys yard work (like mother, like son). I'm so grateful for all of the work he does in the yard!

On Friday, July 8th, we decided to take advantage of having a van and we took the boys to see Cars 2 at the drive-in movie theater. We brought popcorn with us and were able to watch the movie from the comfort of our camping chairs. We enjoyed the movie but it made for a really late night!

Kasen loves to pretend to be a 'good guy' that is fighting the 'bad guys'. I can't remember if he asked to wear a 'good guy' cape or if I came up with the idea, but in any event I decided to sew him a cape. In the end, I made a reversible cape for each of the boys. One side is Batman and the other is Superman. I hope to make another cape for each of them that has Super Why on one side and a King/Prince logo on the other. Kasen has loved pretending to be a superhero and has been asking Aidan to play with him for the last several days. Aidan wanted nothing to do with his cape so I had him watch a some Superman cartoons yesterday to try to inspire him. I'm not sure the cartoons helped, but Aidan finally dawned his cape today and the boys ran around 'flying' and being superheros together. It has been a lot of fun to watch. At one point they attacked Mikah (the bad guy) and it was fun to see them try to take him down. Hopefully I can get those other capes made before the baby comes!

4th of July weekend

2011-07-10T22:46:00.005-06:00

Five new posts!!

We went home to Boise for the 4th of July weekend. Devin had spent the week with us in Salt Lake so he came with us back to Boise. We arrived at 10:00 p.m. Friday night. Mom and Dad had a fire going in the fire pit in the backyard. We roasted marshmallows for smores and then we lit some fireworks for Kasen and Aidan. It was a fun way to end the evening.

On Saturday all of my brothers and Christen and Natalie came over for an early breakfast. We spent several hours together. My mom had several activities planned for Kasen and Aidan, which also seemed to be very entertaining to the big boys as well. She had rocket balloons that would squeal and go in the air. The boys (my brothers and my children) enjoyed blowing them up and then chasing them all over the yard. My dad came up with several inventive ways of retrieving the balloons when they went into the neighbors' yard and on the roof. My mom also pulled out the water balloon launcher. The boys came up with several ways to launch the balloons and catch them. It was entertaining to watch. It was so fun to watch Mikah and my brothers interact. They played basketball together and just hung out together. It was nice to talk to Christen and Natalie while we watched the boys play. I love spending time with my family. That afternoon we put Kasen and Aidan in their swimsuits to let them go play in the pool. Aidan was really grouchy after his nap and did not want anything to do with the pool (even though that morning he had been begging to get into the water). Kasen eventually warmed up to the idea and it helped that his uncles joined him in the fun. That evening we (Dad, Devin, Mikah, Kasen, Aidan, Todd and I) went to the Meridian Speedway. It was Aidan's first time going to the races. He kept pointing to the cars and exclaiming, "Lightening McQueen!" There was a lot of good racing and we had a great time together. As we were walking back to the car we were able to watch the fireworks show that was being put on by Meridian City. Kasen loved it!

Monday morning we drove out to Middleton to the annual Middleton Fire Department's Fourth of July breakfast. Clark is a fireman there and it was fun to see him and Heather while we were there. Derek and Natalie also joined us. Breakfast was delicious and afterward the boys were able to play in the inflatable jumping toys. Clark also showed Kasen and Aidan the different fire trucks. When we got back to my parents' house we let Kasen and Aidan play in the swimming pool again. Derek and Natalie came over to play with the boys. Thank heavens for uncles and aunts that allow me to just sit back and be an observer!! That afternoon we left to go back to Salt Lake since Mikah had to be to work at 2:30 a.m. on the 5th. At 9:30 that night Kasen came out of his room and said, "Mom, there are monsters in my room that say 'Boom! Boom!'." To convince him that it wasn't monsters, he and I went outside for 15 minutes to watch all of the fireworks going off around us. It was great!

B&W Lagoon Day

2011-07-10T22:16:00.002-06:00

My work had our Lagoon Day on June 27th. Kasen and Aidan were so excited to go to Lagoon again. Mikah and I did not ride any adult rides. We made sure to take Aidan on the train a couple of times. Kasen is now big enough to ride some of the bigger, but relatively tame, rides. He and Mikah had a blast going on them together. Aidan went on the Dragon rollercoaster with Mikah. He loved it! I was really surprised. Kasen did not like getting wet on Rattle Snake Rapids. Aidan had a difficult time waiting in line at each of the rides but he did much better this time than when we went in May. That evening we had dinner with all of my co-workers and their families. It was nice to meet everyones' spouses and kids. A couple of days ago we drove past Lagoon and Aidan got so excited because he thought we were going there. He said, "Can we go there? Please! Please! Please! It will be fun!" Thankfully, we saw a train on the other side of the freeway and were able to divert his attention from Lagoon.

Family BBQ

2011-07-10T22:12:00.003-06:00

My cousin, Kristina, and her three kids were in town visiting so my dad's extended family got together for a BBQ so we could all see Kristina and her kids. It was so great to catch up with my cousins and aunts and uncles. The kids were able to put on their swimsuits to run through the sprinklers and play water games. We had a great evening and I was so glad to see Kristina.

Sprinklers

2011-07-10T22:07:00.005-06:00

Mikah has been taking care of all the yard work of the house we are renting. He does a great job and seems to really enjoy it. One evening he was watering the lawn and the boys got outside and decided that it was a perfect time to get wet. They ran through the sprinklers and were drenched! Aidan soon found a number of pools of water, which to a little boy is a personal playground. He loved jumping in them! When they were done they were so excited to go inside and take a warm bath.

Playdate

2011-07-10T22:00:00.003-06:00

With my new work schedule I am able to actually set up playdates for Kasen! Two weeks ago I was able to meet up with my friend, Stephanie, and her three kids (Jayci, Tag, and Bo) at the park near our house. We haven't seen each other in nearly two years so it was great to catch up. Stephanie and I were good friends while we lived at the University Village while our husbands were in school. Kasen is just three weeks older than Jayci. Kasen and Jayci had always loved playing together and they were so good to each other. Well, time hasn't changed that and they seemed to pick up right where they left off two years ago. It was so fun to watch them play together again. Aidan and Tag attempted to play together but they had a hard time sharing. They were cute, though!

Camping 2011

2011-06-30T20:58:00.001-06:00

There are four new posts so scroll down!

We went camping for four days in the middle of June. Here is what we did:

Sunday - We arrived at our Panguich Lake campground at 8:30 p.m. We were running out of sunlight so we hurried to set up camp before sunset and then we went to bed. The boys woke me up twice each during the night because they had kicked off their blankets and were freezing.

Monday - We went to Bryce Canyons in the morning to hike the Navajo Loop (1.3 miles). Unfortunately, the path was blocked halfway through so we ended up going 2.4 miles - a lot further than we had planned, especially since I was 30 weeks pregnant. Most of the other hikers would look at me and then at my belly. Kasen had a rough time during this hike, partly because he's four and mainly because he needed to go to the bathroom but wouldn't take advantage of the great outdoors. He refused to use a tree so he held it for nearly 2 hours. He cried for most of the hike. He didn't like that he had to walk the whole way. After our hike we ate lunch and then went back to the campsite. The boys refused to take a nap so we went fishing. Unfortunately, Mikah and Kasen did not catch anything while we were there. Aidan enjoyed running around, throwing rocks in the lake and playing in the dirt. We had hot dogs for dinner and smores for dessert. Mikah pulled out my parent's telescope and for FHE he talked about the moon and the stars. Aidan slept through the night until 8:00 a.m.! He never sleeps past 7:00 a.m. when we are at home.

Tuesday - We went fishing in the morning, with no luck. Mikah and Kasen went hiking that afternoon while Shelley and Aidan had quiet/nap time in the tent - Shelley napped and Aidan had quiet time. During their 'manly' hike, Mikah and Kasen scared off two deer only to discover a baby deer in the brush. They also found a short-horned lizard and they brought the lizard back to camp for Aidan to see. We went back to Bryce Canyons to hike to Mossy Cave (1 mile round trip) and a waterfall. Kasen did well on that hike and it was very enjoyable for all of us. Aidan has been getting off easy and is carried in the carry-pack by Mikah for all of our hikes. We had tin foil dinners and Oreos for dessert. Mikah made a bonfire out of the remaining wood and Kasen thought it was awesome. Aidan slept through the night until 8:00 a.m. (maybe we should stop having nap time).

Wednesday - It was Mikah's 30th birthday so he treated himself to an early morning fishing trip by himself. Unfortunately, he didn't catch anything even though there were fish jumping all around his bait. We packed up camp by 9:00 a.m. and went to Bryce Canyons to do the Tower Bridge hike (3 miles round trip). Mikah found a great walking stick for Kasen on our way down into the canyon. Kasen was a mess again and so halfway through we just turned around and went back to the van. Mikah carried both of the boys most of the way back up the incline to the parking lot. In his anger/frustration, Kasen threw his walking stick down an embankment and then threw even more of a tantrum because he wanted his stick back. So much for a nice family hike for Mikah's birthday. We ate lunch at Arbys then drove home to Salt Lake. We completely unpacked everything and started doing 7 loads of laundry before we showered and went to bed.

Overall, the trip was really fun. The boys loved to play in the dirt and throwing rocks. Kasen had quite an imagination and often required Mikah to pretend he was a dragon so they could "fly" to the bathroom. Kasen loved to stand on a tree stump and make demands of his imaginary "bad guys" and "good guys". He even roped me into his dictatorship. I've included many pictures and videos from our trip.

Amy's Birthday

2011-06-29T21:58:00.000-06:00

Amy's birthday was on June 12th and we were able to celebrate with her since Devin and my parents were in town. We all went to church that morning and then Mom and I made Louisiana Chicken for dinner, at Amy's request. After dinner we had Amy open her presents and then we sang to her. My parents gave her a Scentsy and Devin gave her a T-shirt and a Nike+. Aidan jumped right in to 'help' her blow out the candles on her cake. We then had a delicious cake from Kneaders Bakery and ice cream.

Mikah's 30th Birthday!

2011-06-29T09:58:00.000-06:00

Mikah turned the young age of 30 on June 15th. We were camping that day so we celebrated his birthday on the 11th while my parents were in town. I decorated the house with black balloons, black crepe paper, a black table cloth, etc. I made him a birthday cake for the first time in our marriage. It had "30" black candles and I also had bought some "30 sucks" suckers. Mikah received some gift cards to Sports Authority (where he purchased a punching bag that is now hanging in our garage) and some money from his parents (he bought a book with it). Aidan and Kasen were more than happy to help Mikah blow out his candles and then we had cake and ice cream. On Mikah's actual birthday he went fishing by himself and then we went for a hike. I took Mikah to dinner at Tucanos the following Saturday. Mikah had never been to Tucanos and he really enjoyed the never ending meat. It was fun to be able to celebrate his birthday throughout the entire week!

Carter Reunion

2011-06-25T21:58:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, June 11, we were able to attend the annual Carter Reunion (my Grandma Lineberry's extended family) in Sandy, Utah. We haven't been able to go the last few years so it was fun to talk with so many cousins and great-aunts. I spent some time taking pictures of everyone and I even got a picture of my grandma and all of her sisters/sister-in-laws (eight of them in total). It was great to have all of them there. The boys loved playing on the playground but when Kasen found out that he could make a rocket and shoot it he immediately abandoned the playground and spent the rest of his time shooting his rocket. Mikah had to climb a tree and he also climbed onto the bathroom roof to retrieve some of Kasen's rockets. My parents and Devin came down from Boise to join us for the reunion. It was fun to have them here.

My grandma Lineberry is standing on the far left in the top row. My great-aunt Myra (the oldest of the sisters) is sitting in the wheel chair in front of my grandma. Myra is 96-years-old.

Real Salt Lake

2011-06-06T21:10:00.005-06:00

Five new posts so scroll down!

Mikah and I were able to have a date night on Saturday because my parents had given me tickets to a Real Salt Lake game for my birthday. We went to Crown Burger before the game because we had a gift certificate. I've wanted to go to a Real Salt Lake game for a long time so I was really excited to go. We had great seats at midfield and the game was really fun to watch. The weather was perfect and after the game we went to Coldstone for dessert. Amy was so kind to watch the boys while we were out. They ate pizza and had a movie night. That morning I told Kasen that Amy was coming and he immediately said, "You and dad are going away?!" I couldn't decide if he was excited that Amy was coming or that Mikah and I were leaving, probably both.

Kasen & Aidan

2011-06-06T20:25:00.004-06:00

When Kasen stays in bed all night (specifically the hour or two after he initially goes to bed) and when he does his chores in the morning he earns 30 minutes of computer time. He loves to play games on PBSkids.org. Aidan seems to enjoy Kasen's computer time as much as Kasen does! Aidan's two favorite things are Lightening McQueen and trains. We have this wooden train set from IKEA that he loves to play with. Kasen doesn't like to play with the train set, but he does like to build the track. Kasen built this entire track all by himself and then Aidan spent a considerable amount of time playing with it. They make a great team!

Kasen has a couple of books about Noah and the Ark. Now, anytime that it gets cloudy or starts to rain he insists that we need to go outside and build a boat. This particular day he said he needed to go fix the boat.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-06T20:16:00.004-06:00

Our Memorial Day Weekend was less than exciting. We decided to spend the weekend at home in an attempt to potty train Aidan. It was a rainy, gloomy weekend for the most part so it worked out well that we were all stuck indoors. Kasen came down with a sporadic fever, which eventually got up to 103.3. On Monday he threw up a couple of times which was a new experience because he's never thrown up before. So, Mikah and I spent most of the weekend on our hands and knees cleaning up bodily fluids of one kind or another. We also watched a lot of movies with the boys - mainly to corral Aidan during potty training and because Kasen didn't feel well so he just wanted to veg. This picture pretty well sums up our weekend.

Yard Work

2011-06-05T21:18:00.003-06:00

Mikah and I have really enjoyed doing the yard work where we live. Mikah has spent countless hours digging weeds out of the yard (we have hundreds, if not thousands, of dandelion weeds). We've planted our garden and we having been adding to the flower beds when we have time. Mikah is definitely the green thumb in our family so I rely heavily on his (and his mother's) expertise. Kasen loves to help us. Mikah taught him how to pull weeds from the flower beds and he enjoys watering the plants.

28 weeks

2011-06-05T21:05:00.003-06:00

I am now 29 weeks along but we took pictures last week of me at 28 weeks. I feel great and am looking forward to the arrival of our little girl!

Dinosaurs at the Zoo

2011-05-27T20:44:00.000-06:00

We went to the zoo on Saturday to go see the dinosaurs that were on display. We were really impressed with the dinosaurs. They moved quite realistically and they made their respective noises. Kasen was excited to see them from a distance but he was scared to get close. Aidan was also terrified and wanted to be held the whole time we were at the zoo. The T-Rex that was on display was life-sized and it happened to be located where we had to pass it several times. Mikah made a game of it by convincing Kasen that they just had to sneak around and hide so that T-Rex couldn't find them. It was really cute to watch them tip-toe around and hide behind objects to outsmart the T-Rex. When we got to the tiger exhibit all four of them were pacing back and forth on their bridge above the patrons' walkway. Kasen decided that they had to 'sneak' past the tigers like they did with the T-Rex. We always love to go to the zoo but having the dinosaurs there added to the fun!

Minivan Family

2011-05-25T09:23:00.001-06:00

Beginning in August our family will no longer fit in a sedan. One morning in the middle of April we posted our 2001 Ford Focus for sale on KSL.com at 11:00 am. We sold it four hours later! Thankfully, we had my parents' van so that we would have a vehicle to drive after we sold the Ford.

While my parents had the boys at Discovery Gateway, Mikah and I were able to go van hunting/shopping. We drove through 17 dealerships and had very little luck finding a a van that interested us and was in our price range. I had to go to work that afternoon so we decided we'd go to one more dealership and then call it a day. Naturally, at the last dealership we ended up finding the van we wanted in the exact price range we needed. We are now the owners of a 2003 Kia Sedona minivan (71,000 miles) that we were able to purchase with cash! We have saved for three years and we are so happy to have a van with no car payments.

Grateful

2011-05-19T22:02:00.007-06:00

I have posted quite a few new posts this week. Scroll down!

I had the opportunity to start a new job on May 16th at a law firm just 15 minutes from our home. I had not been looking for new employment but this job literally fell in my lap. My commute used to take 30 minutes or longer, one-way, and I can even take the bus to my new job if Mikah needs the van. My new employers apparently liked me enough to hire me even though I am 6 months pregnant and they are willing to work with me on my maternity leave. I used to work 40+ hours each week and now I only have to work 28 hours each week and I will be making the same weekly amount. This has been such a blessing and we are so grateful for my new schedule. I used to not get him home from work until 10:30 or 11:00 pm. Now I will be working a couple of hours in the afternoon on Mondays and Wednesdays and from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I am so excited to get home in time for dinner and to be able to spend more time with my boys and husband! It will also be a much better schedule for after the baby arrives in August. Today was the first day on my new schedule and it was great! When I got home the boys were so excited to see me (they usually just get a call from me while I am at work around dinner time). I ate dinner and washed the dishes and then the boys and I snuggled up and read books together in bed. I can't remember the last time I did that with them!! I am so grateful that the Lord is aware of our needs.

Lagoon

2011-05-15T21:56:00.003-06:00

Mikah's sister, Kami, and her family came into town for the annual National Clogging Championships that are held at Lagoon every year in May. Our niece, Abbie, was dancing again this year. We had a pleasant surprise this year when we found out that Mikah's brother, Rusty, and his family were coming to Lagoon with us, as well as Mikah's sister, Kelsi! It was a great unplanned reunion with half of Mikah's family. Abbie danced twice and she did a great job! She is such a beautiful and talented young lady. Since there were 7 adults and 14 children we spent alot of time just figuring out who was going where and when we would get together again. Kami, Joe'll and I spent most of our time with the younger kids while Mikah, Rusty, Gregg and Kelsi went with the older kids. Kasen loved having so many cousins, aunts and uncles to play with. Aidan enjoyed the toddler rides but every time he heard the train whistle he would throw a fit because he wanted to be on the train. He loves trains!! We were at Lagoon for 11 1/2 hours and we were all so tired by the end of the day. However, we decided to continue the party at Rusty's house and we all ate pizza for dinner at 9:00 pm! We had such a great time with everyone!

Bed Time Mischief

2011-05-15T21:47:00.009-06:00

One Saturday night Mikah and I were watching a movie with Amy and Devin. Mikah heard a noise coming from the boys' room so he decided to check it out. Mikah opened their door and then called to me, "Shelley, you need to come see this!" As a mother, many different possiblities of what they had done went through my head but I hadn't anticipated this...Kasen had pulled Aidan's mattress off of his bed and made arrangements for both of them to sleep on the mattress on the floor. Since they didn't want to go to sleep yet, Kasen was reading books to Aidan as they sat next to each other on the mattress. It was so funny (and we were amazed that Kasen was even able to move the mattress) that I just had to go get the camera. Kasen was really proud of himself.

By 10:00 pm the boys still had not fallen asleep so I helped them lay the mattress flat on the floor and I tucked them both in. By 10:30 pm they were both fast asleep on the mattress, right next to each other.

First Fishing Trip

2011-05-12T10:08:00.008-06:00

Mikah and Kasen went on their first fishing trip on May 7th. They drove to East Canyon Reservoir in Morgan County. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a horrible spot to go fishing. It was apparently a great place to get drunk while people attempted (and failed) to catch anything, so it wasn't a very good location for a father and son outing. They also ran into a complication when Kasen needed to go to the bathroom and Mikah had to run him to the top of the hill/mountain to find any kind of shelter only to have Kasen say that he didn't need to go anymore. Mikah had to do this over a dozen times and Kasen never could bring himself to go to the bathroom in the wild outdoors. Needless to say, they came away from this trip with no fish in their cooler. Kasen was really disappointed. I know that they will go fishing alot more in the near future and I'm sure they'll catch something eventually!

Shelley's Birthday

2011-05-12T10:07:00.010-06:00

I turned 28-years-old on April 27th. It was alot of fun because I was able to celebrate throughout the week. On Easter Sunday we decided to do 'cake' and presents while my parents were still in town. Mom and Dad gave me tickets to a Real Salt Lake soccer game and some money for Mikah and I to make a date out of it! I've wanted to go to a Real Salt Lake game for a while now. Mikah and the boys gave me a DVD, scentsy scents, a blender (that I wanted/needed to replace the one I broke), and a sewing machine case. I am really excited about the sewing machine case because I start a new job on May 16th and my new schedule will allow me to have some time to use my sewing machine. I haven't used it in over a year and a half. After I was done opening presents we decided to substitute a birthday cake with tapioca that I had made. I love tapioca so it worked out well! I also received birthday money from Kim and Wendy and a gift card for a pedicure and manicure from my friends/coworkers. My best friend, Brittany, gave me gift cards to some of my favorite food places (Crown Burger, Jimmy Johns, Cold Stone and Jamba Juice) to "satisfy all of my cravings". I went to lunch with several co-workers on the day of my birthday. The following Saturday, Devin and Amy watched the kids while Mikah and I went to Chili's, since we had a gift card, to celebrate my birthday. It was a great week.

Bikes for the boys

2011-05-12T10:07:00.008-06:00

Now that we live in a small older home with a garage, a yard, and a driveway I have wanted to get bikes for Kasen and Aidan. Since my parents were in town we thought it would be fun to do the 'big reveal' while they were here. Mikah cleaned up the garage and placed the bikes right behind the garage doors. We bought Kasen's bike from WalMart and I found Aidan's used bike on KSL.com for a fraction of the retail price. Kasen immediately put on his helmet (thank heavens we haven't had to fight him about that, yet) and got on his bike. He needed help for the first hour to get around our driveway but he eventually succeeded in going around the perimeter of the driveway without stopping and with no help! Aidan loved his Lightning McQueen helmet and he tried to get on his bike, but he didn't understand that his feet are supposed to go on the pedals. Mikah and my mom took turns pushing Aidan around but he soon lost interest to go pick dandelions. At least he knows he has a bike to learn to ride sometime this summer!

Easter Egg Hunt & Easter Sunday

2011-05-12T08:07:00.004-06:00

We did an Easter Egg Hunt for the boys on Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. I hid 8 plastic eggs for each boy. Kasen's eggs were green and blue and Aidan's were yellow and orange. Each time Kasen found one that had jelly beans in it, he would eat one jelly bean and then put the egg into his basket. It took a lot of pursuading and guidance to get Aidan to start looking for his eggs. Mama, Papa, Devin and Amy were all with us for the day so that made it even more fun. Kasen and Mikah had fishing poles in their baskets, Aidan received sidewalk chalk and a bubble blowing gun, and Shelley got a cell phone cover. Aidan's favorite toy was a $2 electronic train that my mom put in his basket. It died after a couple of days but it was his favorite thing to play with!

My mom, dad, Devin and Amy all went to church with us on Easter Sunday and then we had a nice meal afterward. That evening Mikah, Kasen, Aidan and I went to Mikah's Grandma and Grandpa Rogers' house for Easter Dinner. We really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with all of his extended family members.

Prince Kasen

2011-05-09T09:36:00.003-06:00

Kasen loves to use the hose attachments from our vaccum as a sword when he pretends to be a prince. It drives me crazy that he uses the hose attachments. So, one morning I made him a sword from a card board box. Once Aidan saw that Kasen had a sword he wanted one, too. A couple of days later Kasen kept asking for a shield. I kept telling I would make one but I never got around to it. One evening while I was at work Mikah sent me this picture of Kasen. Mikah had Googled 'shields' to get some ideas and then he made a shield for Kasen. Isn't it awesome?! Several days later Mikah was able to make one for Aidan, too.

Discovery Gateway with Mama and Papa

2011-05-09T09:05:00.005-06:00

My parents were in town a couple of weeks ago and one of those mornings they took the boys to Discovery Gateway, the local children's museum. Kasen apparently had a hard time understanding the "wait for your turn" concept when there were children lined up to play at the different stations. Aidan loved playing with anything that had four wheels. For lunch they went to Crown Burger and Kasen ate all of his food which he usually doesn't do when we eat out. They had a great time!

Aidan's Burn

2011-05-08T21:46:00.004-06:00

One evening I was baking a Papa Murphy's pizza in the oven. When it was done baking Aidan was right next to me when I opened the oven to retrieve the pizza. I usually always make some comment reminding him to not touch the oven because it is hot. Unfortunately, this time, I didn't say anything and I turned toward the opposite side of the kitchen to put the pizza down. In those three seconds Aidan's curiosity got the best of him and he touched the oven rack. His poor little hand was burned in a straight line on his palm. We had a planned a pizza picnic and a family movie night. Aidan ended up sitting on my lap for the next two hours, trying to forget that his hand hurt. These pictures were taken several days later and he is quite proud of his "owie". He is often finding "owies" on my hand so that he can compare them to his owie. I hope he has learned his lesson and that he won't have a scar to remind him.

Meridian Speedway September 2010

2011-05-02T21:38:00.005-06:00

I was formatting all of my memory cards and I came across these pictures from September 2010 when we went to the Meridian Speedway in Idaho. We love going to the races and I don't know how I missed posting these last year. We were there with my dad, my uncle Ken, Ken's grandson, Amy Nagle (Devin's girlfriend), and Devin. My mom willingly stayed home and babysat Aidan. It was Amy's first time at the races. Kasen had a good time and he enjoyed taking pictures with my cell phone. I really hope we can go to the races this year!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2011-04-26T10:03:00.005-06:00

We colored easter eggs for Family Home Evening the weekend before Easter. Aidan really had no interest in the project but he did decorate one egg with stickers. Kasen really liked putting the eggs in the different colors. He made sure that he did several eggs with green dye, his favorite color.

Hogle Zoo & Family Night

2011-04-25T10:29:00.005-06:00

After we left the marathon we ate our packed lunch in the parking lot and then we went to the Hogle Zoo. The boys have never played on the playground at the zoo so the only pictures I took were of them playing on the playground. We usually go to the zoo right when it opens so we weren't used to the crowds. The boys were exhausted from our long, exciting day so they both fell asleep on our way home. Since it was so late in the afternoon when we left the zoo we decided to pick up Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner. We also rented Tangled and had an impromptu family movie night with carmel popcorn and cheese popcorn!

Salt Lake City Marathon

2011-04-25T09:55:00.004-06:00

My best friend, Brittany, ran in the Salt Lake City Marathon on Saturday, April 16th. We had planned to park in the Main Library Parking Lot and then we were going to take TRAX (the street rail cars) to the Gateway. Kasen and Aidan got so excited to ride the "train" but the TRAX were apparently scheduled to not go to the Gateway (or anywhere else downtown) until after the marathon was over. We had to quickly come up with a Plan B so we went to a paid parking lot next to The Conference Center and we walked as fast as we could to the Gateway. Ironically, as we were walking along the race route I looked over and saw two of my cousins, Natalie and Alisa, that were running in the marathon! Once we arrived at the finish line at the Olympic Legacy Plaza we were able to visit with my Aunt Jean, Uncle Randy, and Natalie. Of all the people that were there it was amazing that we found each other.

We then found a place along the finish line fence to await Brittany's arrival. Kasen excitedly watched the racers as they ran past him. Brittany arrived 4 minutes ahead of her finish time from last year! Kasen gave Brittany a big, long hug once we caught up to her at the finish line. We are so proud of her accomplishments! Brittany has been encouraging Mikah to sign up for a marathon since he has been doing a lot of running lately. We finally signed him up for the St. George marathon but we have to wait to see if he is chosen to run in it. We find out May 7th!

College Friends

2011-04-25T06:23:00.002-06:00

Our friends from college, The Runyetas, were in town for a wedding and they took the time to visit us while they were here. Mikah and I went to BYU-Idaho with Gallus and Joyce. Joyce and I were pregnant at the same time with our oldest kids. Kasen was excited to show his room to Bryan and Beatrice and they all had fun on the bunk beds. We are so fortunate to be able to see The Runyetas as often as we do since we have lived far away from each other for several years now.

Helpful Big Brother

2011-04-24T22:12:00.005-06:00

Kasen enjoys helping Aidan and one morning he insisted that he would help him brush his teeth. Aidan laid down on the floor and let Kasen "brush his teeth"! I think he had more toothpaste on his face than in his mouth but I appreciate Kasen's help!

April Snow Day

2011-04-24T20:27:00.003-06:00

We've had crazy weather the last few months. One day it will be sunny and 60+ degrees outside and the next day we have a snow storm. That has happened several times and we have also had a lot of rain. On April 10th we had one of our random snow storms so I bundled up the boys and let them go play outside, hoping that it would be our last snow storm of the season. They had fun throwing snowballs and making snow angels!

General Conference Weekend

2011-04-11T08:52:00.004-06:00

Last weekend was General Conference. I had to work Saturday morning so I just listened to the first session on my computer while I was filing. Devin and Amy were with us for the weekend. Saturday afternoon we put the kids down for nap/quiet time so the adults were able to watch the second session without interruption. Mikah and Devin went to the Priesthood Session together while Amy and I popped popcorn and watched a movie with Kasen and Aidan. During the Sunday conference sessions I provided everyone with Conference Bingo cards with candy bars as the prizes. Kasen loved this game and it really did get him to pay attention and stay in the room while we watched conference. Everyone got BINGO before him but we all waited for him to get his first BINGO before we pulled out candy bars that I had bought for the prizes. I also gave the boys some conference coloring pages and we pulled out our Sunday Box so that they could do puzzles and read books. Between the Sunday sessions Aidan found Mikah's post-it tabs and he and Devin went to town with them. Aidan loved it and Devin couldn't stop smiling and laughing. We are so blessed to have a prophet on the Earth today and to be able to listen to the words of wisdom and counsel that we receive each conference. We are already looking forward to the next conference in October!

It's a....

2011-04-03T18:01:00.003-06:00

GIRL!! We found out on Thursday that baby #3 is a girl and we are so excited! Everything looks good and my due date is still August 18th. When the ultrasound technician announced that it was girl Mikah said, "I was right!" I then reminded him that for all three pregnancies he has guessed that it was a girl. His response was, "One out of three isn't bad!" Kasen came with us for the ultrasound (we left Aidan at home with a babysitter). There were a couple of times that Kasen was able to identify a hand or a foot without prompting. I think it was a good experience for him. Kasen is now convinced that our baby girl is a princess and that when they grow up he will marry her. Kasen's favorite movie right now is Sleeping Beauty and every day he talks about finding his princess and marrying her. These pictures were taken on April 1st. I am 20 weeks along - half way!

March Boise Trip

2011-03-25T09:12:00.000-06:00

Last week my Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Brenda ended up going to California for my Great-Aunt Joan's funeral. On Thursday, they passed through Salt Lake on their way back to Idaho. Mom offered to take Kasen and Aidan back to Boise with her because Mikah and I were already planning on going to Boise on Saturday. So, Mikah and I were childless for 48 hours!! Unfortunately, I had to work for most of that time but I made arrangements to leave work early on Friday so that Mikah and I could go out for dinner.

Mikah and I left for Boise Saturday morning. The main purpose of our trip was to borrow Mom and Dad's van because we are currently in the process of selling our 2001 Ford Focus and once it sells we will need another vehicle for transportation until we buy a van. Sunday, the 13th, was my dad's birthday. That morning Mikah and I had the opportunity to drive to church with Clark in his HUGE black pick-up (with a lift kit and oversized tires). The whole way to church I felt like we were in a video game where the objective was to run over all of the cars on the road. That afternoon/evening Derek and Natalie came over to celebrate Dad's birthday with us. Mom made a wonderful dinner and then Dad opened his presents. Kasen and Aidan gave him a tissue box that they had colored. Kasen spent alot of time coloring his part, trying to stay in the lines. The boys really love their Papa! For dessert Mom made individual lava cakes with vanilla ice cream. It was delicious!

Monday morning Mikah drove back Salt Lake in the Focus. That morning we (Kasen, Aidan, Clark, Heather, Mom and I) went to an indoor inflatable toy warehouse called Monkey Bizness. It was so nice to have Clark and Heather there to play with Kasen and Aidan. I played with the boys for a while but they wear me out too fast! At one point Clark was carrying both boys up the large slide and they absolutely loved it. Sometimes I wondered if Clark was having more fun than the boys were!

That evening we all (Kasen, Aidan, Clark, Mom, Dad, Grandma Robison and I) met Christen and Todd at a cafe in Middleton for dinner. Kasen ate his entire meal and part of Aidan's! After dinner we walked across the street to the Middleton Fire Department to attend Clark's Fire Academy Graduation. It was short and sweet and then we took pictures afterward. We are so proud of Clark for working so hard toward his goal to be an EMT and a Fireman. He will now be doing 24-48 hour paid volunteer shifts for the fire department and eventually he will be able to get a job as a full-time fireman!

Dad's Birthday

Monkey Bizness

Clark's Fire Academy Graduation

Grandma & Great-Grandma visit!

2011-03-24T08:58:00.001-06:00

My mom and grandma were in town for a girls' week in February. We had the opportunity to spend time with them for three days of their visit. One day the boys and I went to Hogle Zoo with them. Great-Grandma Robison had not been to the zoo for a couple of decades so there were a lot of changes for her to see. The next day we went to Temple Square. Both my mom and grandma had not been to Temple Square for a long time. First, we toured the Church History Museum and then we let the boys play in the Children's Museum section for a while. Due to parking meter time constraints we quickly walked around Temple Square, specifically the "new" park between the temple and the Church Office building, that Mom and Grandma had never seen. We also walked through the South Visitors' Center. Afterward, we decided to go to The Gateway for lunch and then Great-Grandma wanted to walk the entire length of the mall (the rest of us were tired and ready for nap time) because she had never been there. Great-Grandma bought books for Kasen and Aidan at Barnes and Noble and then we were able to see the Olympic Fountain show before we left. That evening Mom took us all to Chili's for dinner. Thursday morning we were able to spend time with Mom and Grandma at our house before they drove back to Idaho. It was a fun visit!

Mother/son & Father/son dates

2011-03-21T08:48:00.003-06:00

For the last three months Mikah and I have made time to do mother/son and father/son dates two Saturdays each month. Usually, one of us will go somewhere with one of the boys while the other parent and child stays home and does something one-on-one. It has been a great experience! One Saturday Kasen and I went to the movie theater to watch Tangled. Mikah and Kasen went to the arcade one day and the zoo another day. On a Saturday that I had Aidan, I attempted to do pudding painting with him but he quickly figured out that he could eat it and that was all he wanted to do! Aidan loves to play by himself so these one-on-one sessions have allowed him to play and do what he wants without big brother around. We really enjoy these dates and plan to keep doing them in the future!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

2011-02-26T17:18:00.001-07:00

There are 3 new posts!

We’ve had a couple of storms lately that were preceded with a lot of wind for several days. One Monday morning we decided to pull out our kites and put them to good use! Kasen loved it! Mikah had a difficult time getting his trick kite to stay in the air but it kept him busy. Aidan loved jumping in the puddles in the parking lot and was drenched in the first 5 minutes. We had a great view of the valley and of the temple.

Midway Ice Castles

2011-02-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

One Saturday morning we decided to go check out the Midway Ice Castles. It was really creative and innovative. The ice castles reached as high as 30 feet and there were many tunnels to walk through. The guy that builds and sculpts the ice castles was working while we were there. He was strategically placing more icicles for more growth. Devin and Amy came with us. Kasen’s favorite part was picking up all of the ice chunks on the ground and throwing them. Aidan was fascinated with trying to walk on all of the ice chunks. It just took 20 minutes to walk through but it was a fun little trip!

2011-02-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

Aidan loves to pretend that he is sleeping. He’ll crawl into bed under the covers, says “Sleep!”, and then lies down and closes his eyes. The other day Kasen and Aidan were both pretending to sleep and we thought it was photo worthy.

Great-Grandpa Robison & Kasen

2011-02-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Robison passed away the first week of May 2007. Kasen was 6 months old and was Grandpa’s only great-grandson at the time. Grandpa loved his little red-headed grandson! Weeks before grandpa passed away, he and Grandma Robison were traveling back to Idaho from a doctor’s appointment at the VA in Salt Lake City. On their way home they stopped at a Flying J gas station in Downey that happened to be selling leather jackets that ranged in sizes as small as 6 months. Grandpa was so tempted to buy one for Kasen but he resisted and they finished their trip home. The next morning Grandpa continued to talk about how he wished he had bought that leather jacket. So, Grandma and Grandpa drove to the nearest Flying J only to be told that the nearest one with leather jackets was an hour away. Grandpa wanted that jacket so they made the drive to get one. Unfortunately, that particular Flying J only had jackets that were as small as 2T. Grandpa went ahead and bought the 2T jacket for Kasen. The next week Grandpa gave Kasen the jacket but it was much too big. Grandpa died two weeks later.

Every year since Grandpa’s death we have put the leather jacket on Kasen only to discover that it was too big. Kasen is now 4 ½ years old and he finally fits his 2T leather jacket! I convinced him to let me take a picture so that we could send it to Great-Grandma Robison.

Also, months after Grandpa passed away we (my mom, my aunt, Grandma Robison, my cousin, and I) had a girls’ week where one day we went to Build-a-Bear. I was able to get clothes for my bear that matched Kasen’s attire down to his Sketcher shoes and his leather jacket.

Announcement

2011-02-12T15:42:00.001-07:00

Yep, we are expecting baby #3! I am 13 weeks along and doing well. The baby is due August 18th and we'll find out the sex of the baby sometime in April. We just wanted you all to know!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T21:56:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Boise for Christmas. We arrived on Christmas Eve and had dinner with my family. Aidan loved the train that Grandma and Grandpa Lineberry had going around the tree downstairs. Aidan's first love is Lightning McQueen but trains are his second passion. Right after dinner we went to Kami and Gregg's home to join them for their Christmas program. Gregg's dad played the part of Samuel the Lamanite telling the Nephites about the coming birth of the Savior. The kids were the Nephites and Kasen loved the part where they used Nerf guns (the arrows) to shoot at Samuel who could not be hit (notice the veil of protection). Kasen and Aidan loved playing with all of their cousins.

When we returned to my parents' home we had the chance to look at all of the lights my dad put in the yard. He does such a great job and I loved the look on Kasen and Aidan's faces when they saw the house. Notice how most of my parents' neighbors just leave all of the decorating to him. I also love the way my mom decorates the inside of the house. I always get such a wonderful feeling when I walk into my parents' home at Christmas time, with all of the holiday smells and decorations.

Christmas morning all of my brothers, Christen, Heather, Natalie, Grandma Robison, my parents and Mikah and I were able to watch Kasen and Aidan play with their new toys from Santa. Kasen got a castle complete with knights and dragons and Aidan received a Cars garage with all of the cars from the movie. Everyone went through their stockings that Santa (a.k.a. Mom) lovingly overflowed with goodies and then we ate breakfast.

Kasen got the yoyo that he wanted from Santa!

After breakfast we went downstairs to open presents. We let Kasen and Aidan open their gifts first. They are so blessed to have uncles, aunts, and grandparents that love to spoil them. Kasen received a variety of new toys and Aidan mainly received items that revolved around Lightning McQueen. I actually packed up a lot of their gifts and hid them at home so that we could gradually give them to the boys so they would have a better appreciation for each gift. Once the boys were done opening gifts each couple took turns opening their presents. It was so much fun to spend time with all of my siblings and their spouses/girlfriend.

The picture of Clark and Devin laughing is the result of Derek leaving dark chocolate wrappers at the bottom of Clark's mug from Derek and Natalie. It was pretty funny!

That afternoon we watched Inception with Dad and Devin while the boys slept. The boys also had the opportunity to play with a race track that my mom had bought for the grandkids for her house and Kasen played with my dad's 30 year old helicopter.

That evening we went to Wendy's house to spend the rest of the weekend with her. We were able to attend church with her on Sunday and that afternoon we went to Todd and Christen's to see their new apartment. We then had dinner with Wendy and Carmie. Wendy is an amazing cook and dinner was delicious! We really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with Wendy. We were sad that Kim could not be there with us. I know Kasen and Aidan would have loved to wrestle with him!

Santa Picture 2010

2010-12-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have posted TEN new posts in the last week. Please scroll down!

This year we came prepared for the boys' annual picture with Santa at the mall. We knew Aidan was going to be a mess so just as we put him on Santa's lap I gave him a bag of M&Ms. He struggled to get away from Santa for the first 10 seconds but then he just sat back on Santa's lap and enjoyed his M&Ms. Kasen can now understand the concept of Santa and it was fun to see him ask Santa for a YoYo (he got the idea off of one of his Christmas movies). I didn't know Kasen wanted a YoYo until I asked him what he told Santa he wanted for Christmas. Good information to know!

Baby Powder and Poison Control

2010-12-29T07:20:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Kasen wanted to go outside and play in the snow and I needed to shovel the driveway. Aidan hates getting dressed up to go outside so I told him he had to stay inside. He was fine with that so I made sure certain doors were closed and I was pretty sure there was nothing that Aidan could get into that he shouldn't. So, Kasen and I went outside for 30 minutes. When I came back inside to check on Aidan this is what I found...I of course ran and got the camera and proceeded to tell Aidan that he made a big mess and that it needed to be cleaned up. While I was taking pictures he found the wipes and started wiping himself off and the toys.

Two days later I was in the bathroom getting ready for work when Kasen ran in and exclaimed, "Mom, Aidan made a BIG mess! He's eating it all!" Upon investigation I found Aidan in my bedroom with the contents of my purse dumped all over the floor. Empty gum wrappers were all around him (I estimate that he swallowed 10 pieces of Orbit gum) and the Claritin and IBprofen from my pill box were all over the floor. I don't know if he swallowed any of the medicine but I called Poison Control just to be safe. Luckily, they told me that with the worse case scenario of what he may have consumed, it was not considered to be at a poisonous level. They did say that he could possibly have an intestinal blockage and diarrhea from the gum. Thankfully, Aidan was fine and he never manifested any problems from this episode. Aidan definitely keeps me on my toes!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-28T21:56:00.001-07:00

The weekend before Christmas Devin and Amy were at our house and I had been planning on all of us making Gingerbread (Graham Cracker) Houses. Well, my vision of everyone eating tons of candy while making their houses with Christmas music playing in the background didn't exactly go as planned. Kasen and Aidan showed absolutely no interest in this particular craft, Devin had a final paper due at midnight and Mikah had a cold. In any event, Amy and I had a fun time making our houses. I made a traditional house and Amy was really creative and made a deck with a rocking chair on it made out of pretzels. She and I had a great time!

Temple Square

2010-12-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, December 11, Devin, Amy and our family went to Temple Square to look at the lights. There were alot of people there!! As always, the lights were beautiful and I love seeing the temple at night.