Steve & Leah

D D D D D.......

2011-03-22T16:56:00.001-04:00

...DORA!!!

Welcome to the family once again Dora!
Feel free to bring Diego and boots as they are little celebrities as well!

Mommy & Ellie's Date

2011-03-21T17:25:00.000-04:00

Tonight Ellie and I went on the BEST DATE EVER!!!

It was Eleanor's turn to pick where we went and she had 2 requirements:

#1 "It has to have an Escalator, because I love them"

#2 "I really want to go to the make-up store and have them put make-up on me!"

(a.k.a. a cosmetic counter)

A few things leading up to this date:

She wanted to pick out her own outfit (dang good job), chose her own 'cessories ( about 5 bracelets, that necklace, and her "flower bow to match "this cute shirt")& wear some "carfume" (babydoll, by Ives St. Laurent)

She decided we "must" watch Diego's Dinosaur Rescue in the car!

I walked out of my room ready to go and this girl of mine says to me:

"Ooh mom I really like that red shirt, and those boots look cute. Are you going to wear a necklace or bracelets?"

"Yes"

"Oh good, I think you should!

" What coat are you going to wear"

"Well what coat do you think I should wear?"

"I want us both to wear our jean coats, since we're already matching with our boots!"

Then she did a little clap and went in to get her jean coat out of her closet!!

Some people say I am in trouble with her, but really it is so fun for me! I'll regret it later but for now I am going to enjoy every second of her!!

So now we're off to the Mall!!

We decided to go to Nordstrom first...why not?

All the make-up girls were oohing and awing as this adorable girl walks right up to philosophy for her lotion sample (she's learned the ropes reeeaaal good) and to get blush and lip gloss (orange popsicle please!), then goes over to M.A.C. for eyeshadow ("they have the best colors"). She got up in the chair and said

"I want some purple eyeshadow for my eyes since it will match my shirt, and some pink on my lips please and something with sparkles (as she twinkles her fingers at her)!"

I think every employee from the surrounding counters came up to say something to her at one point!

We left with a bag full of samples, perfume, creme shadows, lotions etc.

HEAVEN for a girl's girl!

Of course we needed a photo session...we tried to stop at the little picture studio in the mall but it was all booked up for the night...so we headed to the lounge in Nordstrom's (a.k.a. one of the best places on earth, I just like being there)

This one is Ellie's Favorite

And off to "the ice cream place where you get tiny spoons and can get gummy bears on pink ice cream"....Cold Stone, Check!

another little thrill came, as a couple from a High School Dance came in and the girl was wearing a really froofy dress....Ellie leaned over the table to whisper "Mom, it looks like a princess just walked into this ice cream store!" She was so brave to go up and tell the girl that she really liked her dress and that she looked really pretty in it!

I cannot tell you how happy I am to be this girl's Mother.

Eleanor: Thank you for being the happiest, sweetest girliest girl! Love you Princess Pants!

This night was really really one for the books!

I always think of something Heather told me long ago....

"Having a boy is wonderful but they grow up and belong to their wife, Girls though, are always their Mom's"

Happy Pi Day!

2011-03-14T12:27:00.000-04:00

It's Time

Why do I love random holidays so very much?

I guess it helps me try to make fun memories for my kids and gives me something to look forward to!

So here's to 3.14....

For Dinner we're having Chicken Pot Pi followed with some warm Apple Pi!

I'll add some pictures of the kiddos enjoying this auspicious occasion later!

Chinese New Year: Preschool Style

2011-03-11T19:38:00.000-05:00

Oscar and Eleanor's Class has an aide that was born and raised mostly in China, so she helped them go all out for a Chinese New Year's Celebration

Some of the Highlights were: Learning a Dragon Dance, Making Lanterns and Dragon Masks, Cooking Chinese Noodles, Listening to lots of Folk Stories.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-03-11T02:23:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's from ours to yours!

We sure hope your's was hot!!

P.S. it's dangerous to have such adorable kids, no husband home to reign you in and a ready camera!!

Ellie + Lucy = BFF

2011-02-17T17:07:00.000-05:00

LOVE LOVE LOVE these delicious girls!!

Merry Merry!!!

2010-12-29T12:04:00.000-05:00

A little lovin' from Santa at the Christmas Party at Church on Dec 18th....

Dec 19th

Pictures before Church...

Oscar was really excited to be pretending to unwrap his present....Oscar is the most easy going steady boy. He gets along with everyone and is generally very happy with whatever comes his way, we forget sometimes to make sure that he is getting/doing what he wants since he is so easy going....we love having this boy.

my biggest boy who really is just a baby still...I forget when I ask in frustration at some mishap...."How old are you?" and his response is 6....so yes, you were acting just like a six year old. Gordon is such a sweet and fun boy. We are so so lucky to have him

Poor Maggie had just biffed it on the front porch and wrecked her poor nose and lip....this is surely the 4th child...moderately less supervised mixed with an adventurous nature and you get one banged up adorable babe! Maggie has the most infectious personality...so sweet and fun!

My sweet Eleanor who couldn't resist wrestling around with the boys just before her picture...is always up for being Mommy's helper....we're lucky to have such a girl in this family!

some out takes as usual....

Amid the hustle and bustle what a blessing to be able to take a break and really focus on what the season is all about. Today we were able to attend church and listen to beautiful music about the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. What a MIRACLE. I have really been able to reflect on the amazing testimony that Joseph, Mary, the Shepherds, Simeon, the Wise Men and all those who saw and recognized that babe born in Bethlehem....just a tiny baby...was the prophesied Messiah. They had such great faith to see a helpless child and know that He was the Christ. I hope that this year I can build upon my faith in Him.

The BIG DAY!!!!
The kids got up about 7:25ish and we got started at close to 8:00 am

One Sleepy Daddy + Super Excited Kiddies = FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS

KIDS ARE READY TO GO.....

Some attempts at a family picture....

What a Blessed life we live.....we hope this next year brings as much happiness and health as we can handle!!

Merry Christmas to All

2010-12-14T17:31:00.001-05:00

We are so Lucky to have had so many wonderful Friends over the years...from our days at BYU to Florida, Ohio and now in California! Blogging has been such a great way to stay in touch with all of our favorite people so we though we'd give a little Christmas Shout out to all of you we love!!

so here it is......

MERRY CHRISTMAS
and a Happy New Year!!

Our Christ Centered Christmas

2010-12-14T00:48:00.001-05:00

This Christmas we are trying to focus our thoughts and actions more on Christ. We kicked off December with a family meeting on the true meaning of Christmas and on how we can share the spirit of Christ with others.

Here are some links to the videos we watched with the kids:
The Greatest Gift
Christmas Spirit
What Shall we Give

Here are the things we are going to do

We're reading the whole story of Christ's birth through all the gospels a little bit each night.
We're doing a "Good Deeds and Good Treats" Advent Calendar. (we really want our kids to learn to love serving others and not just waiting Each day they get to open a little box with a treat and a good deed challenge in it such as find some one who needs a hug today, pick up 3 pieces of trash you see, make a sibling's bed, Smile at 5 people on purpose, give your teacher a compliment....etc. Then we discuss what they did at dinner or during book time.
We are going to sing Carols at an Old Folks Home on Christmas Eve.

What are some of your traditions that bring the spirit of Christ into Christmas?

Here are some of the kids comments after we asked them what they thought a Christ centered Christmas means:
Gordon: A Christ centered Christmas is about giving gifts to celebrate about Christ's Birth. We celebrate becuase he is our Savior. I like the gifts and the wise kings.

Oscar: It means we have lots of pictures of Christ so we can think about him and love him. We also help our mom and dad because we love them and want them to be happy. I like the presents and candy.

Eleanor: We get to play with our family and be nice like Jesus. I love to play with my Nativities, they are my favorite thing for Christmas. I also love candy canes to eat!

Here's to trying to make this Christmas our best ever....

MUNNS GIRLS Live it UP!!

2010-12-05T01:09:00.000-05:00

So...friends... I am sorry to admit that you are all going to wish that you were a Munns girl.....we sure are lucky to be part of this "elite club"

Our latest trip was to Utah to live it up in the land of our College Days!

Our Itinerary was as follows: Eat, Shop, Laugh, Not Sleep, Eat, Laugh, Shop, and then Eat some more! We did get some serious culture in when we attended the Carl Bloch Exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art....a must see.

We also were treated to Goodie bags courtesy of the "planning committee" aka Shelly, Kara, Mom and Dad (who also included some very personalized notes and a "note" to be spent on spoiling ourselves....he is the most thoughtful man!! thanks Fadash!)

Straight off the plane to the gift shop for some hot chocolate waiting for our ride...getting crazy already

at Harry Potter....Shelly is still having bad dreams and Tiffany is still embarrassed that we really wore these glasses into and through the movie! We got a few eyes poked in trying to adjust them but they were PERFECT...thanks E!! and can I just say for the record....I have the most stunning sisters ever....good genes thanks mom & dad!!

Breakfast at Maggleby's....so soo good!


Front row in "the Boat"

Rows 2 & 3....we just can't resist taking pictures in the car...sue us!

at one point there were 6 of us in 1 J. Crew fitting room!!

Lets get this party started!

Delicious Red Rock Cafe...

a few more car shots....this is just before we RAN OUT OF GAS on the way to the airport....yes...you heard me right...ran out of gas...luckily a nice young man came to our aide and gave shelly and I a lift to the gas station....after 4 girls had moved out of the moving car to try and preserve some momentum in trying to push the tahoe up the exit ramp to the station...no chance!

I just had to include this picture of my sister Kara couldn't she be a model....she is the baby and we're all so proud!! ha...seriously though...

It was so great to see these women who inspire me to be better in all areas: the gospel, parenting, attitude, and let's be honest fashion...it's a feast every time!

THANKS to all my Sisters (by birth and marriage)...and to the most wonderful-est amazing woman of them all....My Mother!

A Camping We Did Go....

2010-10-13T01:33:00.001-04:00

The SPOT of all SPOTS!!

Yes, it is absolutly enviable! AND yes, we did pin mark it on our GPS...so we will be back!!

When we got home from our wonderful trip to Florida we decided that we could not let another summer go by without a real deal camping trip...so we packed up the car and headed up to the Sierra Nevadas.....which are only about 20 minutes away...lucky us!!

We decided that "dispersed camping" was more our style so we drove out on a Forestry access road until we found the PERFECT SPOT...and really it was!

We had a pristine creek/stream/river with a crystal pool higher ground for the tents and even a fire ring set up (apparently "our" perfect spot is a regular with some other lucky ducks!

The night was refreshingly "cool" though some could call it "cold"--who wants to sweat it out camping...it was fun to get all snuggled in our sweats and roast marshmallows by our roaring fire.

Too bad I am not a better campfire cook....the ideas/recipes were wonderful...execution was a C+...it was edible but not stellar (and by edible I mean not all of it was burnt.... sue me!) I need a dutch oven and a few more tries...for honing of my skills...any tips??

Oh another wonderful thing about our spot is just past our pristine crystal pool there was a bit of rapids that rushed through these huge granite rocks....the boys had a BLAST rock exploring while E, Mags, & I headed up the calmer part of the stream to go "rock hunting" the river was full of perfectly round egg shaped rocks of all colors and composition...we got some really good ones and have decided to make it a tradition to gather cool rocks from all applicable family trip spots and label them so we can have a cool collection that brings back the memories!!

Unfortunately we got skunked though we saw tons of brook trout swimming happily by our bait...we need some tutoring with our fishing skills!! We'll have to be hunter/gatherers if we're ever forced to rough it totally!

the Family Fire starting lesson....even Maggie was fireside for this!


Oscar was concerned he was being left behind on the boys rock exploring trip, while Steve went to scope out a safe route....


The Rock Exploring was done in unders....of course!

Luckily Steve didn't get the memo on the unders dress code....

The girls stayed behind...and eventually entertained ourselves elsewhere...on a rock hunt!

our spoils.....so cool huh?

Gordon couldn't stop "accidently dropping things" in the water so he had to strip down and retrieve the last item himself...it was so cold!!!

Don't worry Oscar is not wearing pants or shoes while handling the fire BUT he is wearing his Smokey the Bear badge he got from a Ranger!!

I love the textures in these pictures... nature is really SO amazing...

Our Sweet Happy Little Camper

The water was very cold but just as we got the kids loaded up in the car Steve decided he couldn't not take a dip....so....he did...a very brief dip! then home again, home again, jiggety jig.

keep tahoe blue...

2010-08-18T16:42:00.012-04:00

I see these bumper stickers all over Northern California...and now I need one....I am a believer!!

We went up to meet Shelly and her most darling Hydes up at the great blue wonder and I felt shamed all day that I have such a natural paradise in my backyard and have not taken advantage of it....here's to a wonderful day amongst the gold speckled crystal blue water, huge rounded granite rocks, steep wooded cliffs, priceless vistas, crayfish, little fishes, kayaking, laughing and hiking (we had to park precariously on the side of the winding road and take one of the national parks trails into our spread)!!

on the hike in from the car...we dropped all the kids and gear at the boat ramp then parked away since the lots were full

looking for signs of wildlife

Maggie was the most agreeable little babe...she just crawled around snacking on treats and sand...such a precious girl!

little bits of fools gold float around all over the water is is really magical...

gordon and jackson were fast friends...they were very adventurous much to the distress of Ezra who was quite a bit more cautious!

My sister and baby Hazel...on the hike back to the cars

a passerby offered to take this picture for us...too bad we look super-imposed on the scene

It was so funny to hear this conversation between the boys on our way back to the Hyde's "beach cabin" as Goldie called it....
Oscar: "Mom, are all those kids our cousins too?"
before I could even respond...
Gordon: "No, ugh, those are our cousin-in-laws."
Well at least now it's clear...how happy we are to have such wonderful cousin-in-laws!!

Such a great day!!
Thanks for letting us crash the Hyde girls party!!

* a note we had a real good time "rock exploring" the lack in number & quality of pictures of oscar is due to his desire to stay back at the beach spot and dig...not a bad choice but I am sad we didn't get more pics of our little handsome man at this picture perfect spot!

The Garden of Eden....kind of

2010-08-13T00:32:00.001-04:00

Now that we have 5 acres, chickens and a dog it's was time to get our act together and plant a proper garden....so we did.

PS I have not a stick of make-up on and well....

1. Steve, Merl (Grandpa Ward), Candy (Grandma Ward), and a little bit me....worked for 2 days to put up an 8' fence to keep the Olympic Caliber deer (which are way too plentiful) out of our plot.

2. Roto-till the heck out of the ground.....check!

3. Buy lots of seeds & plants....check!

4. Plant, water, weed and watch....which was really not that much work though weeding was intense since our plot is rather large (every weeding day the kids each had to fill up their grocery bag with weeds....I helped them each youngest to oldest....it was fun to tell stories and talk though we had many a complaint along the way) There was always an incentive to it too...swimming, popsicle, a movie...

Right away we knew we had a good thing going when none of our plants died...which has been the fate of way too many in the past...then after just a few days we had little sprouts coming up everywhere!! It was so fun to see and talk about the different things we planted...some of our stakes went missing and it was a kind of game to guess what it was...with the advice and help of our master gardener neighbor Vonnie...we have finally figured out what everything is!

After just a few weeks we had Zuchinni coming out of our ears and their leaves were like elephant ears...huge!! the pictures just don't to it justice...everything has gone so well and we have a real deal garden harvest EVERYDAY...we could run a stand!! Seriously berserk how well everything is thriving...I have never seen/experienced anything like it....Candy attributes it to the fact that our children pray for the garden, and I know that that is probably just what did the trick!

I love being out in the garden...you can literally hear the bees just buzzing around all over but they're so busy doing their work that they want nothing to do with you...they are so adorable pollinating like crazy...look at the little yellow pollen balls sticking to their legs...so cute...so natural?...

Here are some photos of the Garden when we got home from Florida (we planted our first plant/seed the end of June)....and the haul from the last 2 days (I am not exaggerating at all....2 days)

Our Harvest....(we ate some for lunch before this pic was taken...our actual #s are below)

9 cucumbers
12 beets
16 strawberries
10 jalepenos
3 eggplant
10 zuchinni (does not count the 6-7 that were waay too big for us to eat....they went straight to the chickens)
4 crook neck yellow squash (ditto on the others of these that were too big)
3 green peppers
13 carrots
1 hubbard squash
14 ears of corn
too many tomatoes to count
(note: we hadn't picked anything for a few days prior to this....which is why we lost some of the squashes...they grow and ripen SO fast...we also lost quite a few strawberries that got too ripe)

Here's a list of what we have/have to look forward to enjoying...
Cucumbers
Zucchini

Tomatoes
Cantaloupe

this is a tiny tiny new cantaloupe....just to add to our other 7 almost ready to go...we're picking our first one in 3 more days!!

this is the cantaloupe and our crook neck squash
Watermelon
Honeydew

Crook-neck Squash
Beets

Strawberries

Jalepenos
Teardrop Eggplant

Green Bell Peppers
Carrots (we have 2 real rows and tons and tons of spares all around the garden...Oscar was in charge of the carrots and sprinkled them out of a hole in the envelope as he walked around on planting day...in fact the boys prime argument for not filling their bag is because the things growing aren't weeds they're carrots)

Hubbard Squash (it's a winter squash...we have a bunch...this one weighs about 35 lbs)

Butternut Squash
Radishes
Corn (Ruby & White)

Sunflowers
Pie Pumpkins

Jack-o-lantern Pumpkins

Sugar Snap Peas
Ornamental Gourds
Onions

Happy Gardening out there!!

the 4th

2010-07-07T12:31:00.012-04:00

I don't know about you, but the fourth of July always leaves me feeling so happy with my life. I love everything about it.....summer time, BBQs, friends, watermelon, red, white & blue, parades, fireworks, and the music!! I am so grateful to live in this great nation that was founded on righteous principles and shepherded by honest men for so many years. I am so glad to have the opportunity to participate in government and know that I need to take my civic duty more seriously. I love this country so much, I love singing the songs seeing the flags and talking to my children about how it is that we came to be as a nation. I am so lucky to have family around me who love this holiday as much as I do, and to have a wonderful husband who knows more about the historical events leading up to the revolution and all the fun facts about it! We had such a great series of talks about it...
So in short.....HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

I will include the words to the last verse of the National Anthem as a quick tribute... I don't think I have actually made it through without bawling once in my entire life....even as a little girl in church, I remember sobbing through it....here it is...

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

(seriously I am already dripping tears in just writing it)

Saturday July, 3rd we drove over to El Dorado Hills to watch the show they put on....it was actually really descent...perfect for the kids...not too loud!

(Gordon giving his new favorite look...a wink)

setting up shop....

there's nothing like killing time with a camera....our new one has a rotating screen so you can see yourselves while you self-portrait!!

Steve's responses to trying to get one of us where we both look normal...so much for that

I LOVE THESE BOYS....

there's nothing like glow sticks, grasshopper cookies, and twizzlers for fireworks!

Sunday July 4th we went to church, napped, and recovered from the previous late night....then had a delicious BBQ and Apple Pie with Family...it was a perfect day!

Hope your 4th was just as wonderful!!

big baby girl

2010-07-06T19:16:00.002-04:00

I am just not sure I can explain how much I LOVE this little chubby girl...she is growing up too fast but I love to watch it happen, every new trick just makes me laugh, cry and love her more!! Look that those irresistible legs! And can you even stand that she was looking at a book before she toppled over to sleep...oh and she has finally learned how to drink a bottle...phew!

I love love love being a mother to such wonderfully adorable children!
I am so so very lucky!!

quick money

2010-07-06T18:54:00.004-04:00

Gordon has always been very interested in the acquiring and spending of money and now he is hitting the jack-pot!!

He is seriously excited about losing teeth, for years he has envied those who get money just for teeth and now he can join the club!!

Tooth Fairy, Watch out...we have one motivated kid...since I took these pictures less than a week ago he has already added another tooth to his hit-list. He has 2 more that are starting to be wiggly and is convinced he can get those "out in no-time...I can wiggle them all night"

Ellie's new Best Friend

2010-07-06T17:27:00.001-04:00

Ellie has a new BFF.....Lucy!

Lucy is a spicy little red head who loves all the same things Ellie does, it's a match made in heaven!

They're such cute little friends...we're so happy to have them!

Ellie regularly saves "Ucy Fox" a seat at lunch, snack, on the couch, etc just in case her friend wants to come over!

Memorial Day at the Temple

2010-06-07T11:59:00.000-04:00

We go a chance to attend the temple on Memorial Day with our in-laws and it was wonderful! It was good not only to remember those who have served and died for our country but to remember those in our own families who have gone before us! We enjoyed some free babysitting and beautiful weather!

Look-a-Likes

2010-05-26T01:06:00.000-04:00

WOW....so they do look alike....

Maggeroni loves hotdogs....

2010-05-26T01:03:00.001-04:00

...and how would I know my 9 month old loves them.....this face!! How could I deny her something so greasy and yummy when it makes her so happy?

And she loves to lounge when she eats! What a girl!

Cobra Brawler

2010-05-25T03:21:00.005-04:00

Gordon is a one of a kind kid!! He has transformed his bandana into a cobra's hood....clever! He loves Bakugan and one of his favorite guys right now is a cobra of some sort...so there you go!

He requested this photo shoot....not that I needed motivation!

(this is him in strike mode....yup!)

T-ball, T-ball, T-ball

2010-05-25T01:27:00.012-04:00

here it is folks....T-ball!
this is just a little sample of the recent pics....

Gordon is on the Blue Jays (to which he was initially very sad, "birds are wimpy"! I, the quick-thinker, recalled once hearing about how Blue Jays fiercely defend their nests and thus regaled him with their fierce tactics and clever ways...he is now proudly a Blue Jay...they are fierce defenders right?) Gordy is getting faster...unfortunately neither Steve nor I have been endowed with much speed....maybe Gordon will get his Uncle Matt's wheels! He also is known for running to first base with his bat, "I just keep forgetting to drop it" I have taught him well not to throw things like that, and it's a hard habit to break! Best all-time game move: going up to a runner on the other team and trying to make them go back because they did not touch first base.

I just love seeing them all crouched down like they're really ready for something...

Oscar is on the Cubs (he instantly said "woo hoo!! Bears are awesome" no need for quick thinking there!)....Oscar LOVES to talk about playing but is very easily distracted! Best all-time game move: Fielding his own hits!

and a few shots of the boys favorite spectators...

What a perfect day..

2010-05-13T01:38:00.012-04:00

We had a field trip today with Oscar's preschool class...so we kept Gordon home and let Grandma Ward keep Maggie so we could go sans stroller!

(yes I did make my barely 3 year old hoof it all day...she was a CHAMP, and she was asleep about 6 seconds after I buckled her in her car-seat)

IT WAS AWESOME!!

We began the day with a trip to Fairytale Town, a Sacramento Classic...Steve remembers playing there when he was little...

**We had not even gotten in when Ellie started complaining that she was hot....luckily she had on a little under tee/tank other wise she would have been "strappy"...no mom I didn't put her in a tank top!

Argh Pirates

King Arthur's Castle was obviously a big hit with my Knight's and Princess!
We just read a whole book on King Arthur so they were having so much fun reliving the tales about each of the different Knights

...probably the cutest trash can on the planet...

Old MacDonal's Farm had a little petting zoo...

Ellie chickened out of Old Macdonald's Hay Loft Slide!

We live relatively close to an Indian Reservation/Casino so Gordon is pretty into Indian stuff these days!

Owl's tree house

(with big metal slide out the front side...the really fast kind...E declined again!)

Cinderella's Carriage was fun...even the boys had stuff to do....

Ellie LOVED being in the carriage!

All & all Fairytale Town was AWESOME...the kids had so much fun...it is a place you could go just to let them have fun with their imaginations while you sit back and supervise...Gordon is going to love having a real Tee-Pee to hang out in when he's on his Indian kick and a Castle or a Pirate ship or a huge Forest/Castle play set in Sherwood's Forest....we're reading Robin Hood next! I'm a fan of Fairytale Town!

Lunch Break and then across the street to the Sacramento Zoo....I love zoos....I never tire of looking at the animals. I always think about what a good animal trainer I would be, but then I have to remember that I don't really even like dogs soooo...really? But I do really want to pet a real grown Tiger...who could resist that right?

It was especially fun to see Gordon reading all the signs and retelling the highlights...Oscar thought Gordon was SO smart, he kept saying "How do you know this?!"

the kids were very interested in "Zaboomafoo" this zoo had quite an extensive Lemur collection...freakly lookin' animals, Lemurs...

I do love the zoo Carousels!

Compare these carousel pictures to ones taken just a year ago....

I love the educational shows they put on at zoos such...this one has a hands on time afterwards that was really great...once the crowd dispersed...

...a skink of some sort...

...some relative of a shrew but looks more like a hedgehog...but not a hedgehog...cute in a rodenty way...the kids loved watching it run around...

The cutest chinese dwarf alligator! We did not get to touch this ...it was in the reptile house!
It was so darling, it's snout is so short and it had such great teeth...dad needs one of these for his tank!

Tired little chickens

MOTHER DEAR

2010-05-09T01:22:00.000-04:00

I think Abraham Lincoln said something like the way I am feeling today
All that I am I owe to my Mother!

I am one of the few people who have had the pleasure and privilege of being raised my such an intelligent, kind, optimistic, hard working, beautiful, talented, brilliant woman. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful example to pattern my life after! I know that she too had a wonderful mother, Josephine Cassell, was such a dynamic fire-ball that there was no stopping the creation of such a woman as my mother!
Thank you so much MOM for being a light to me and an inspiration to be more and better than I tend to be!
I love you Mom!!!
You are the BEST!

My Uncle Tim, My Grandmother Josephine, My Mother

My beautiful and wonderful and spectacular Mother and me!

3 year old Girl!

2010-05-03T03:24:00.001-04:00

Good morning Birthday Girl....

Ellie is just a joy!!

She is now a big 3 year old girl...and proud of it

Her biggest accomplishments and loves of the year are:
potty training (just after turning 2)
turning into a big sister (thanks to Maggie)
talking like a champion
Watching Dora....and Diego
Candy Candy Candy (it's all she asked for for Christmas)
singing
ballerina and princess dancing
playing dolls (she loves to feed her babies)
playing the piano

she was really into her Dora!

The only shot I got of the Ariel Cake...it was actually cute...sad it's so blurry

Battling off potential candle blowers

Ellie had plenty of help opening presents....and yes, she is hugging her Pirate Dora movie the boys got her!

modeling her new princess jamies....it's so fun to give gifts to people who appreciate them!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

we got chickens

2010-05-01T11:41:00.001-04:00

This is batch #2....in our first batch 5 of 8 were escape artists and with all the wildlife ...coyotes, rats (yes, really big chicken hunting rats...they knocked off part of batch #2), foxes, and a big furry cat that lives here....they didn't stand a chance...so sad....but these ones did better until we put them out in the coop with some of the adult hens....then like I said before...rats...literally...yikes!

This is Gordon's first little chick named spike...it was the cutest of the whole bunch....it died of natural causes...R.I.P....he was really sad so he made a little coffin for the little guy!

"the baby scientist"

2010-04-26T01:26:00.003-04:00

I have such cute pictures of all my kids in these glasses that came with a Doctor's set ages ago....they are a hot item still! putting them on Maggie was E's idea...she called her a baby scientist!

PS a little update....she has 3 teeth and is a crazy girl...she is going to be crawling any second and is pulling her self up in her crib and on anyone she can grab--life is about tot get really really interesting around here!
Yikes!

Burglars

2010-04-19T18:27:00.003-04:00

While I was unpacking things Gordon was sitting playing playmobil. I wasn't paying much attention so Gordon had to call me a few times.
Once I finally looking in his direction he held up a little crytal saying, "Look at what my guys burgled!"
"What?"
real slow "Look at what my guys burgled"
"What?"
"Ugh, Mom, my guys are burglars and they burgle things. Burgling is like stealing just is their job."
"oh, Okay!"

I love little kids!

We made it!!

2010-04-19T00:18:00.005-04:00

Well we have finally made it to the Great State of California! For those of you who didn't know--we moved! The weather is beautiful and we are LOVING being so close to family (literally SO close...we're living with Merl & Candy until we figure things our here!) I am far behind on the blog but have decided to post on from here and occasionally catch up on what I've missed-which I realize is quite a bit!

Enjoy some of the latest pictures from our move and first few days here!

We got a little crazy in the packing stages of the move....

Maggie has been spending quite a bit of time in her high chair...with quite an interesting assortment of "toys"

I was trying to post some things on craigslist and Gordon couldn't resist trying to jump into ALL the pictures...it was moderately annoying but the pictures turned out pretty cute...

Gordon's first day of School!....he has LOVED IT, thank you to his teacher and classmates for being so wonderful!!

more to come.....when I get to it....

Christmas Tree Hunting 2009

2009-12-06T12:54:00.002-05:00

Okay so this year we decided to do the real deal Christmas Tree Hunting...
We drove out to a big farm in the country (which let's be serious only took us 20 minutes to get there since we live in a tiny city!). We bundled up since it was in the 30's grabbed our saw and rode the hay wagon ride out to the field where the trees were! It was great fun even with the crying kids& snotty noses!

The Hunters!!

We looked and looked (I was rather picky--as I should have been) until we found it! The perfect one!

The kids loved helping Steve saw it down!

The perfect spectator! This is the view of her from the sling!

Then we dragged it out to the lane so that it could be picked up and hauled back in to the main barns where they shook it, bundled it, and loaded it onto your car!

While we waited we saw frosty, ate hot chocolate & cookies in the Barn, and played on the playground!

They even had a tiny barn that "Santa" visited (he was a great Santa by the way!) and gave out suckers and little prizes! Gordon was not going for it...we walked in and right away he leans over to me and says "that is NOT the REAL Santa. I'm not talking to him"...and he didn't until we were leaving and "santa" called his name....Gordon gave in and agreed to help out the "real" Santa by putting out cookies and milk and some snacks for the reindeer!

Good work guys....now lets get it home...which is a whole other story!

* a note: as we were loading up the car I was looking around all the other families packing their "tiny" trees onto their cars and thought...they're all the same price why would you pick such a small one?

Maggie was so happy to be in the warm car!

Little did we know that our scale was so off....surrounded by larger trees and endless sky, our eyes were a little bigger than our living room! I wish I had gotten a picture of it before we started pruning it back...as you can see we cut a whole lot off--the trash can is SO packed! (PS it took us until Midnight to get it all pruned back and into the stand and positioned...so needless to say we won't be decorating it tonight!)

*the middle picture is taken more than half way up our stairs....and not even level with the top!

Oh and we didn't even think to take off our gloves to touch the tree...so it wasn't until we were home and were handling the beast bare handed when we found it has quills not needles...or maybe needles is the appropriate word for these! I had them draw blood on 2 occasions! (after this I grabbed the info sheet that the farm hands out when you get ready to go and hunt your tree, of course there where I didn't read all the descriptions there is one that has "prickly" needles! Oops!

The one advantage to the tree being so sharp is that we won't have to worry about the kids messing with it!

We'll post some pictures when we get it decorated...of course most of our lights weren't working today so we're going to get some Monday!

Maggie's 4 months old!

2009-11-30T12:28:00.000-05:00

Her 4 month stats are:

Height 24.75"
Weight 14 lbs 6 oz

and again she is 100% PERFECT!

I quickly laid her down to run and help someone and came back to this!! PS don't mind the laundry!

I can't believe she's already getting so big!

What does Virgina have?

2009-11-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

A Turkey, one crazy Uncle, two darling Aunties, and five favorite Anderson cousins!!
We decided after a crazy few weeks at work for Steve (6 am to Midnight 4-5 days a week!!) We needed to get out of town so we could see him! We are so lucky to have some family close enough to drive to (if you call 8 hours close)!! We spent a weekend of cooking, eating, shopping, eating, movie watching/going, swimming, eating, playing legos, doing odd jobs, eating, and spending some good quality time with family!

The cooks!

The snacker & the crazy uncle/ photographer

The spread & the table decor!

The table setters!

Me & Avery...I taught her how to do the orange rolls this year!

Gordon & Duce writing their thankful notes

The kids table...that got a bit rowdy!

Our table was mildly more in control!

And then the next day...in classic "Thanksgiving Family get-together" style...somebody got sick!

In this case we had 2 pukers....good thing the "bug" was short lived and didn't pass beyond our two!
Oscar kicked off the puking with Eleanor to follow closely behind (oh and by the way Steve was home alone with all the kids while Erika, Shanda & I were shopping!)
Steve really was the Champ that day, he fed, cleaned, attended to sickies and Entertained 8 children for 4+ hours while EVERYONE was awake!!!

The girlie cousins!

Where did all these kids come from?
Steve was a Champ and watched/ took all the 8 older kids on 3 separate occasions!

We were sad to go but had to be back for school and the dreaded end of year work schedules!
I guess we'll see Steve again at Christmas time!

Turkey Lurkey...

2009-11-24T09:30:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about kids in school...no it's not having them gone though at times it is hard to beat...it is the fun holiday things! Anyone who knows me knows I love to do stuff especially holiday things, so having lots to do is right up my alley!

Gordon's Kindergarten Feast

Oscar's Pre-school Feast

They had the children decorate their places and write their names ("I only do the O & C" so he was helped with the rest)....That's Oscar's self portrait!
I LOVE HIS GUYS!!

Oscar loves Emily aka M & M!

Some wild Indians

Mind you it's 40 degrees out!
(the boys were out "planting" food/flowers...my silk flowers I just bought for a project!!)

Making Turkey Crafts

I am going to try my hand at....

2009-11-24T00:47:00.010-05:00

...photography!
I have always loved it and I think I could actually do it...plus I think my kids are so cute and LOVE to have good pictures of them! So I guess I'll just do it my self!
I am going to enroll in a class to hone my skills and learn to master photo-shop.
My aim is to take great pictures not edit crappy pictures to look good--which is what SO many of the photographers I have found in these parts do!! So to start practicing I borrowed a friends nice camera for the weekend (note...I need a good camera

Anyway enjoy some of my first attempts!
Please keep in mind that these are straight fro the camera no edits...and it's my first try....
**I must say I am a little shy to actually put these up for some reason- it seems personal in a weird way...??

Day one trying to figure out bokea (it's the effect of have the subject clear and crisp with the background nice and blurry...) through messing with the aperture (a note almost all of these are close

(PS I shot these all in RAW but had to downsize them for posting here...so if you click them they may look a bit less clear...)

Day two a real try at portraits...of course my kids were the guinnea pigs and they all earned Dollar store prizes for being so good!

I upped my ISO for these ...I love the really light effect...maybe not quite so light next time but a version of this appeals to me!

Gordon was beginning to lose his patience with me!

All in all I am pretty excited for my first attempt...I think with just some minor tweaking on some of them in photo shop and they'd be perfect!
Now I just need to get my own camera and photoshop!!
I'll keep you posted with what comes from my newest hobby!

8 is Great!

2009-11-23T19:52:00.009-05:00

To quote my husband in a darling email

"It has been a great eight years!
Eight years, four kids, three homes, two (real) jobs,
lots of memories, few arguments (but way to many),
innumerable blessings!"

In short I have a wonderful life with a wonderful man!!
Here's to the last 8 years!!

Really Truly a great 8 Years!!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-23T16:28:00.010-05:00

Happy Halloween!!

We had lots of Halloween fun this year! We enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather which is always appreciated!! Here are some of the fun things we did!! * a note...we did bargain costumes this year! We have so many dress ups because our kids LOVE to dress up so I just decided we were going to be what we had (although G did borrow his red night costume-thanks Maddens). It was so fun because they were able to be something different for each event...I am just sad that I didn't have my camera to record some of the more creative choices!!
Carving Pumpkins for FHE

Downtown Trick or Treat

Our cute little town does a big down town trick or treating for all the little kids on the Friday before Halloween...we went this year and loved it!

we have a train track that runs through part of the downtown strip...Oscar LOVES trains but does not love the NOISE!

School Parties & Ward Trunk or Treat (both of which I forgot cameras for! Oops)Can I just say, in reference to the school parties... holy moly some parents wonder why their kids are terrible...look at what they let them dress up as! I, an adult, thought that some of the costumes were scary...Oscar nearly climbed up my leg trying to get away from some of the kids in the school costume parade! Please people get some brains!!

The Big Night!

her costume was as cute if not cuter from behind...her little tail wagged just right! I love this costume!!

This is my favorite house...I love the big web and spiders....so cute....really I only like cute halloween decorations...some of the houses were too scary and Eleanor & Oscar wouldn't go up!

the cutest puma on the planet!!

The photographer...just to prove I did participate!

Don't you just love Halloween clothes?? I do...in fact I love all holiday clothes...

Steve and I did not dress up this year but if I had I was going to be a referee and Steve a banker since those are our main roles these days! Here's what the kids came up with...
Gordon:A red night, a blue power ranger, a military person, and himself
Oscar: a green dragon knight (see Gordon's last year photos), a white power ranger,& a dragon
Eleanor: a pinkie princess, a fairy princess, a dragon, & a skunk
Maggie: a baby & a puma

We hope your Halloween was Happy & Safe!

the red ninja

2009-11-08T15:10:00.000-05:00

Uncle Matt Strikes again....

yes, this is Eleanor's coat and yes, that is a shirt for pants...very fancy

Let's be honest...

2009-10-29T11:39:00.004-04:00

...who can resist a baby in a bedazzled sweatsuit??

Not me!!

October 23rd!

2009-10-23T15:11:00.002-04:00

Just a little fun...

California here we come/came!! VOl. 2

2009-10-22T00:36:00.032-04:00

What a Fantastic Trip we have had....
We have been so excited for our trip to California. It was one of the major FHE announcements for a solid month.We are now home and enjoying all of these wonderful memories!!

Riding on an Airplane our kids LOVE to ride on airplanes! Steve on the other hand does not love to ride on airplanes with our kids! He is spoiled by all the travel he does alone for work. While it felt like heaven to have 2 extra hands to help out at the airport and on the flight, Steve was a bit stressed out...can you tell??

Hanging out at Grandma & Papa's house

Riding in the Tractor...who cares that one of the tires was totally flat and that the back of the trailer was totally jerry rigged.....it was a big hit!! Uncle Donnie usually followed close by incase anyone was bucked off!

Spending time with Grandma...while all the kids LOVE their Papa....Grandma is an absolute Celebrity! Maggie is learning quickly that Grandma Ward is full-time fun!

The Swings...this set that our crafty Grandma Ward concocted are the kind I live for....they have loooong chains so you can get going SO high! Although I cannot stomach it for quite as long as I used to-it was still great fun. However I will say I am much more intimidated by jumping off in mid swing! It's good to know that the next generation is loving the swings just like their mom!

Eleanor is especially a fan of the swings!

She loves to go really high and I don't even worry about her because she has been a swinger since she was a year old. She holds on better than the boys and is WAY more daring...she loves to go high and lean all the way back! She even knows how to pump now!

Hide & Seek in the dark...Grandma provided glow sticks and a little supervision for a mean game of H & S. It was so fun to see all these little cousins playing so well together. Maya was especially good at hiding that she made it through a few different seekers before she was found!

Taylor & Eleanor are SO sneaky!

Why is Oscar so happy??

GLOW STICKS!!

Seeing Steve...it was WONDERFUL to have his undivided (well semi-undivided...there were many boys activities for the wedding!) attention!

Finding old treasures...Grandma & Grandpa Ward are moving so they were cleaning out attics and old boxes. In all those secret places there was treasure hidden. All of the kids came home with various keepsakes from those old boxes...the boys LOVED these boxing gloves and Maya was a shoe-in for this old cub scout shirt--it fit her like a glove and had some really cool patches on it!

Visiting Coloma for the Mormon Battalion Event!...this is where Gold was first discovered in California!! Every year they have a series of reenactments and a weekend long festival about the Mormon Battalion--It was great fun!

Visiting the Sacramento Temple...

We scoped out where Grandma Ward had planted some of her Dad's (Great Grandpa Oscar Larson) plants and told Oscar a little about his namesake! It was a good time!

The trip to Monterrey...

Oscar was REALLY tired!!

I drove down Friday afternoon the 3+ hours from Sacramento with the kids--Steve went up Thurs morning for the bachelor's weekend full of golf & games! On the way down I was able to stop off and see one of my best friends, Sydney Rose Davies . It was so fun to catch up with her!! (PS thanks for letting me borrow your glasses Candy--they had remarkable coverage!!)

Here it is..this is the view from where Matt & Sara will be married...

SO BEAUTIFUL!!
I swear these are some of the same rocks that I was nearly swept away into the ocean from as a little girl. Many years ago on our trip to California all of the kids were out looking at the little tide pools when all of a sudden what seemed like a tsunami came and almost dragged us into the cold water! Luckily we all clung to the rocks and walked away soaking wet!

We love these kids!

Our FAVORITE Aussies...Elise (due in Feb) a sad Taylor (3) and Annabelle (1.5)

Gordon loved holding onto his cold ears! he's just like his uncle Daniel who can't resist a cold ear!

Princess Pants

I love these plants that grew all over they're little greenery things that change colors with the fall!

Oscar's little BFF Garrett Madsen

As the adults were going through the plans for the wedding and arragements and positions for the kids were all playing on some rocks by the bike path and I start to hear Gordon yelling, "Help, HELP" I look around and don't see him anywhere...obviously I start to panic thinking that someone has grabbed him (we were a bit distracted with the planning of seating etc. and all the men were out for the bachelor's day so the moms were totally outnumbered) but as he continues to scream louder and more panicked he isn't getting quieter like he's being taken...interesting...I am calling his name and the others realize that I can't find him so they start looking and calling...then the laughing begins...and he yells..." hey I 'm up here" still we're looking...looking...he's still laughing...then a tree...a very small tree mind you starts shaking like crazy as he's yelling "Up here! Up here"... and there he was perched at the very top of this tiny tree! It's a good thing he's so small...Jenny broke a few of the tiny branches just trying to get him out!

Thanks for saving him Jenny!!

I can't get enough of her!

...or her for that matter!

Gordon was a great mountain goat...jumping from rock to rock

Ellie enjoyed climbing...or attempting to climb and "babysitting Annabelle"

Oscar loved "climbing and throwing rocks"...I don't think that the bikers loved his rock throwing since they all landed on the bike path...luckily I got most of them!

There were lots of new cool bugs (a black crickety thing) and some old favorites (roly polys) to be found under all the boulders...it entertained the boys quite well!

We had a little time for relaxing at the hotel

The wedding...more to come here!

We just had a great Family trip to California to Celebrate Uncle Matt's Wedding!! We didn't get many pictures of the wedding since Steve was in it and I had 4 kids to juggle...I'll post more of those later but here is what we have!

I just want to welcome our newest sister into the Ward Family....Welcome to the Craziness! It was a long time in the making but we are so happy to finally have you!
We Love you Sara!!

My Baby Lately!!

2009-10-22T00:35:00.008-04:00

Here are a collection of pictures from the last few days of the cutest baby in town!!

Enjoy!!

1 girl, 1 tutu & 1 scary snake!

2009-10-21T23:13:00.000-04:00

Ellie kept calling me saying "Mommy hurry there a very bad snake here"...of course I came running to find her "wrestling this bad bad snake"...she was so darling as she squealed and fake cried every time that "bad snake bited her"

She is such a little beauty!!!

Sibling Rivalry...?

2009-10-21T22:53:00.005-04:00

I think that sibling rivalry with a new baby is a myth!! My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE their baby sister!! It's all I can do to keep her to myself!

..though sometimes she lets me know she's done making the rounds!!

I just want to say as well that my big boys Gordon & Oscar are such GREAT helpers! They are always so cheerful when asked to do anything for her! It has been a treat! Ellie is helpful but only when she's in the mood she is easily distracted...she is 2 after all!!

Chicagoland round 2

2009-09-30T00:34:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my wonderful and generous Mother who came to watch our oldest 3 kids (and Healthcare REIT) I got to go with Steve to Chicago for 6 days & 5 nights!! It was wonderful!

Some of the sights

The bean...

The Lego Store

The moving water Scuplture in Grant Park...the kids would have LOVED this!

It was so fun just having Maggie...I got to catch up on some picture time!
I just wish I had a better camera!!

We also tried to get in a little tummy time
(we don't do much of that at home since there is a likely chance she'll be bothered!!)

As you can see she got a little worn out towards the end!

On Friday we got to go out and take a look around the city a little...a very little...we only made it up Michigan Avenue and then we were excited to go meet up with friends!
This is us in front of the Tribune Building!

Steve was worn out....from his long week so Maggie & he took a quick nap before we hit the road!

We went down to the lakeshore and had a little Marshmallow Roast with our dear friends the Dowdles!

coaxing a fire out of some wood...doesn't Steve look like a little kid

...it started to rain so we had to make a hasty departure...but not before I clicked a quick shot....PS...we got SOAKED! but the hotdogs and marshmallows were delicious!!
Thanks to the Dowdles for the cozy accomodations and good times!

Maggie's "play place"

2009-09-21T23:27:00.000-04:00

Oscar loves to "do things" for Margaret! One day I left Maggie on the floor to play look at her gym thing and came back to this luxurious set up! Thanks Oscar!

PS she's a spitter!!

Madsens come to visit

2009-09-20T23:40:00.001-04:00

We had the pleasure of having the Madsen Family in to visit us...
Paul, Danielle (Steve's sister), Brooklyn, Maya & Garret all came from California for a family camp in Michigan and we were the lucky ducks to see them!
Brooklyn couldn't get enough of helping out with the little girls, Maya and Gordon were inseprable, and Oscar & Garrett were Best Friends from the start! All & all We had a great time! I was a little slacker on pictures and these of Maya and Margaret were all that I got! Whoops!

We loved having them here even though it was for such a short time! We're excited to see them all again in California for Uncle Matt's Wedding!! 'til next time!

Margaret's Blessing Day

2009-09-20T21:58:00.001-04:00

We were so lucky to have both sets of our parents here to celebrate with us! I wish we had gotten a picture of the whole group of us but Go-Dad had to take off earlier than planned!

This is our little princess in her most beautiful dress...it's the same one that Grandma Munns made that Eleanor wore!

(sadly this is the best shot of her we have...she could not be bothered to co-operate for pictures...all she wanted to do was eat and go straight to sleep!)

This was her right after I woke her up from her nap...(she slept in her dress because I was determined to get some pictures)...a little dazed and then......

...THIS and a whole lot of it!!!

But isn't she so cute even when she's crying...the ones of her crying are some of my very favorites!

Some attempts at family pictures!

I tried to quickly snap a few pictures of my parents before my dad had to leave but this is the only picture that is half way descent! Again Maggie was so co-operative (she was in her fussy window typically from 5-8pm!!)

I am really sad not to have as many pictures as I got from Eleanor's blessing day but I guess I'll just have to stage some of her in her dress later...but not too much later since her dress fit her perfectly!

Later that night...
The boys love to hold her...they both wanted her...so they split the difference...good night kiddies!

I just found some more pictures from that great day!

Oscar LOVES Preschool!!

2009-09-10T09:35:00.000-04:00

The newest student at Grace Preschool!
Oscar Donald Ward

Otter started his first day of Pre-School today!! He was SO excited for today! He is growing up so fast, is becoming so brave, and is such a good little friend!

WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!

He is also probably the CUTEST kid in his class...but of course that's coming from his mother!

This is our backdoor neighbor Reagan...Oscar loves having her in his class...and I love the carpool!

This is worthy of a post!

2009-09-07T12:07:00.002-04:00

I was just checking in on some of my favorite peoples blogs...lots of great things have been going on but this is one I just HAD to post about myself....here is a link so you can get the real deal!

This is my brother Daniel...yes, he's a full on red-neck but not in any of the bad ways!!

http://dsmunns.blogspot.com/2009/08/florida-grand-slam.html

ENJOY!

Indiana Jones

2009-09-06T21:43:00.004-04:00

Gordon went through a little phase here where he LOVED Indiana Jones...he came up with his own outfit and made a home-made whip to carry about...then Grandma found a little set at Walmart and turned him into the real deal!! Here he is....

Indiana Jones LOVES babies....so he can always take a break to hold his "favorite baby EVER!"

Saturday=Yard Work

2009-09-05T22:19:00.001-04:00

Grandma Ward came to town and helped us prep our yard for the coming winter!! Thanks...it was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the sunshine!

a weird little traveling circus?

2009-09-04T21:36:00.001-04:00

NO... I'm not talking about my family...I'm talking about this weird little traveling zoo/circus. Steve's boss told him about this group that rehabilitates big cats that have been kept as pets...they were at this big out door mall and were open to view or pay $$ to play with them...they had a bunch of baby lions and tigers and some other things too!

Apparently some of their employees also dabble in a little magic too...they were putting on a free "magic show" on Friday night...we set up blankets to watch but took off after the weirdos got started....it was more a bunch of crazies acting scary than magical...but the animals were really cool!

1 month old!

2009-09-04T12:17:00.000-04:00

Margaret had her 1 month appointment today!
Here are her stats:
11 lbs
23 3/4 inches
Sleeping better
100% healthy
200% adorable

She is growing so fast!
I love this little peach!

"Teaching Maggie some things"

2009-09-01T21:13:00.000-04:00

That is what Oscar told me when I came into my bedroom to find him on the bed where I knew Margaret to be sleeping...When asked what on earth he was doing breaking the rule about getting on the bed without permission he replied..."Mom, I'm just teaching Maggie some things!" It was said so earnestly that I couldn't get onto him.

After going over AGAIN how important it is to keep our baby safe I asked him what he was teaching her. My favorite bit of knowledge was "I am teaching her how to shoot webs." (as in spiderwebs) It's a good thing she has big brothers or she may never have learned the proper way to shoot webs!!

*Learning how to shoot webs.....check....Thanks Oscar!

Kindergarten!!

2009-09-01T09:20:00.002-04:00

Gordon Started Kindergarten TODAY!!!
He was so excited!
We let him pick what he wanted for Breakfast and he chose his favorite eggs....aka Aunt Erika's Specialty Eggs (cheesy eggs)

Getting on the bus!!
It was a crazy morning and the bus showed up 10 minutes early so Gordon ate his lunch on the bus!! Whoops....
He was so excited to go that I had to chase him out the door to give him his backpack and stop him to actually get his picture!

All done with first day!
When asked how it went he said, "It was so sweet"
I also asked him what his favorite part was and he answered, "Making new friends, especially my new friend Michael with the brown shirt"

You are growing up so fast Gordon I cannot believe it! I love you--good job!

My first trip out "ALONE"

2009-08-26T23:01:00.000-04:00

I can say "ALONE" because I was hardly alone. Toting a 5, 3, 2, and 3 week old to Costco was a feat to be reckoned with!

We ate lunch then did the shop!

The children were very well behaved and slowly exited the cart as it got more and more full!

Hopefully we wont have to go back to Costco again for 2 weeks!!

I love it but dang, it is a work-out with these kids!

GOOOOO MUDHENS!

2009-08-24T22:33:00.001-04:00

Steve's work gets tickets to our local baseball team and we are the lucky recipients every once & a while! We love to go and this was Maggie's first trip to the diamond!

The ANDERSON INVASION!!

2009-08-17T21:30:00.001-04:00

Okay so the idea of having 5 additional children and 2 adults coming into town just 2 weeks after having a baby could be a daunting situation but not when it is my 2 darling Sisters and some of the cutest kids ever! It was great fun...though "educational"! Some of the highlights of the trip were going to the library playplace, going to the Zoo, Pond swimming, playing games, and especially shopping/eating out & movie going sans kids!! Thanks for coming guys!

I LOVED having these Andersons and 2 Munns (Shanda & My Mom) at my house to celebrate the safe arrival of Munns Grandbaby # 37!!

Here is a shot of all the kids!

I needed to post these pictures from our shopping trip...
Erika found her new favorite Jammies!! They were in the little boys section at Target...she did pass them up for herself but got some for her boys...and Gordon got a pair too!

Margaret out & about in Style...

Smiley Baby

2009-08-10T14:33:00.004-04:00

I LOVE watching this little girl dream, she makes the cutest sad faces, laughs and smiles all the time!

Dead to the World!

2009-08-05T18:20:00.004-04:00

Yesterday as I was working to wake this sweet Maggie up to eat and try to stay awake in hopes that the night would go more smoothly...I finally gave up!

She was O-U-T!

So out in fact that I couldn't pass up an opportunity to paint her nails!! I had done Ellie's earlier that day and had the bottle right there next to the bed...

Ellie was so happy to have "all the girls" with matching pink fingernails! She had wanted to have Maggie's toes painted too but those were just too tiny for me to do a good job on!

Night #2 in the Hospital!

2009-08-05T18:10:00.004-04:00

Our little Champion Sleeper on night #1 was not so stellar on night #2.

Though she is equally cute as she cries as when she is sleeping I needed a little more of the latter. After a quick push of a button, she was being cradled and coddled by our cutest nurse (Paula, who we had all 3 days in the hospital) so I could actually get some sleep between feedings!

PS...Steve honestly didn't hear a THING...unreal...Lucky him!

Luckily now that my milk is in she is only wanting to eat about every 1.5-2 hours which though it sounds horrible (and let's get serious--it is) I am so happy to have her here. Once her days and nights get straigtened out hopefully her 3-4 hour naps during the day will trade over!

Baby Maggie has Arrived!

2009-08-01T21:41:00.009-04:00

GO TIME!!

The cutest big brothers and sister waiting to meet their newest sister!
Too bad it would be the next day until they acctually met her!

the most handsome father patiently waiting

She's Here!!

What a big day...and a lot of work...but all worth it!

Oh look she "LOVED" her bath!

The tiniest, cutest, wrinkliest little feet!

Margaret's first night was great...she slept like a champ!

all the kids washed up and prepped to meet their new sister!

the kids were fascinated with this perfect little girl
Gordon didn't want to stop holding her, Oscar kept kissing her and Eleanor was so happy to have "her new baby" though she was very concerned every time Margaret cried!

The kids LOVED holding the baby!

Maggie had had enough and needed a little calm & quiet!

My Beautiful Mother with Grandbaby # 37

The boys brought some entertainment for themselves during their visit!

The biggest big brother! He'll be such a big helper!

This bed is getting very crowded!

Baby Update...

2009-07-20T11:14:00.003-04:00

The problem with having a new doctor for every baby is that though they have all your records and charts and such they never really believe what the previous doctor does is right!

So I have been telling my Doctor that I have big babies and have been induced at 38 weeks with the last two resulting in Oscar at 8lbs 15.5 oz and Eleanor at 9lbs 1 oz.

She was nice and smiled at me and then in so many words told me my dates must have been wrong or that the glucose testing was not done at the right time and thus I was probably mildly diabetic.

Well after 3 glucose tests at different intervals it is positive that I am nowhere close to being diabetic (in fact on the opposite spectrum for the first 2), and after consistently measuring 2.5 weeks ahead of due date (which up until now she blamed on probably have a lot of fluid)... She ordered another ultrasound. So last Tuesday (I was 35 weeks and 3 days) after the ultrasound estimated the baby's weight at 7lbs 6 oz (the ultrasound has a 1/2 lb swing so it is definately in the 7-8 lb range) she admitted to being forced to eat her words and conceded that I make BIG babies!

So at the next appointment tomorrow they'll check me and then schedule to have an Amniocentesis done on the 28th to confirm lung maturity (It is required at the hospital that I want to deliver at if it is to be an elective induction before 39+ weeks) and then if that is positive we'll schedule our induction...hopefully for the 31st!!

Which would mean that we will have this baby in our arms in less than 2 weeks!!! I am so excited!! I cannot wait to see what this little girl looks like and am curious to see what her stats are...feel free to venture a guess in the comments it's always so fun to see! I can't tell that she is much bigger/smaller than any of my others since you always feel huge and packed like a sausage at this point anyway!!

We'll keep you posted!

Here are some pics of the last 3 editions!!

Gordon Oscar Eleanor

Gordon's little Roly Poly Friend!

2009-07-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Gordon loves finding bugs and creating little "habitat"s for them...you will regularly find little jars with his creatures in them around the yard. This morning he was so excited to find this little guy...he wanted to keep him so I told him he could make him a house for the day....now I just need to remember to let him go tonight!!

okay so he does look a little dazed in the first picture since I was trying to get him to smile and look at me...a difficult task when you have a roly poly crawling on your hand!

Bathtime!!

2009-07-16T12:56:00.000-04:00

Since it's summer and we are at the pool ALL the time I must admit that we are not as avid bathers as we usually are...chlorine is just like soap right?? And the sprinklers are really effective for getting otter pop juice off of kids!!

But on one of our bath nights we did get some darling pictures!!

Nature's Neighborhood at the ZOO!

2009-07-16T11:52:00.000-04:00

The Toledo Zoo just finished its new kids area called Nature's Neighborhood! We went last week and had a great time. There were lots of things for the kids to do!