And Then There Were Four...

House pictures

2009-12-08T17:14:00.000-08:00

My pictures didn't post in the order I wanted them to post, but here is the first batch! Backyard in the summer time. We have a 6 ft. wooden picnic table and a small firepit to the left of the swingset, a row of raspberries behind and to the right of the swingset, a columbine patch surrounding the white pipe (pictured), and a strawberry patch surrounding the sewer pipes (behind the deck).
The flower bed on the left is now a strawberry patch with three peonies in it. The side of the garage is lined with a flower box containing irises, a green and white ground cover (can't remember the name) and a rhubarb plant.

4 bedroooms, 3 full baths, almost 2800 sq. ft. on 1.74 acres

New Exterior Paint - July 2009

Gray with dark gray trim

Shed with carport, greenhouse, garden, two satellite dishes in front yard, paved driveway
Back of house (with matching dog house!)
Master Bedroom deck (also has cement pad and 220 outlet for a hot tub)

One Night at the Cabin - July 24th

2009-07-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

We decided Friday at about Noon that we wanted to go out to the cabin that night, so we called and invited the Quiners, the Moores, the Maws, the Jorgensens and the Boehmes out. Only the Quiners, Jorgensens and the Maws were able to make it, but we had fun! The kids spent forever on the lake in the paddle boats, then watched a movie until 1:00 am. We all got up (and I say "got up" loosely as some people didn't really ever go to bed!) and headed home around 9:00 am so we could go to the Progress Days parade in Soldotna.

paddle boat wars
Connor and Aiden just hangin out
target practice
the kids were trying to play Ticket to Ride
Lynzie, Miles and Annabellewatching Surf's Up
Holly rubbed Gavin's sleepy little head and he passed right out - so sweet!
Progress Days parade
Izzy and Gavin racing

Random pics

2009-07-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

I staged this picture just for you, Angeline and Erin! I'm starting him out early on enjoying the finer things in life - Cookie Dough! Jk - I took it out of his mouth after I took the picture!
Connor - just starting to crawl

Savannah and our new dog, Lucy

Gavin and Izzy picking strawberries

Scott and Amy's Visit

2009-07-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

Jeremey's friend Scott and his wife Amy came up from Maryland for a visit. We went down the Swanson, did some King fishing and hung out with the kids.

just starting out - Scott and Amy

taking a break to fish

making camp
Jeremey - day two
dinner - mid-stream
what a chef! we had spaghetti with meatballs, corn and chicken burgersI caught this little guy with my bare hands!

Yeah! We finally made it!

My fish - 40 lbs; Jeremey's fish - 30 lbs

Scott and Izzy racing up the driveway
Connor eating ice cream for the first time

ice cream junkies
dinner at St. Elias'

4th of July BBQ

2009-07-26T18:34:00.001-07:00

4th of July BBQ at our house

Gavin playing croquet
playing on the trampoline

Wiffle Ball:

the girls team - Erin, Angeline, Ronda, Kalli, Hayley and Lynzie (Hayley was our best hitter!)

the boy's team-Braden, Doug, John, Miles and Lucas

roasting marshmallows

The Cabin

2009-07-05T22:53:00.001-07:00

We spent the night Friday night at the cabin with Brant, Jen and their kids, and my dad. Jeremey and I went for a paddle boat ride around midnight after we finally got all the kids to bed. It was so peaceful and quiet out on the lake.

the cabin

out paddle boating
reading scriptures together!

my hubby and me

Connor - on his hands and knees for the first time! He crawled for the first time a day later! Yeah Connor!

Camping at Johnson Lake-June 25th

2009-07-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

We borrowed a pop-up trailer from one of Jeremey's co-workers and headed out to Johnson Lake to camp with Rusty, Sonja and their three boys. Jeremey got up early Friday and headed to work while I stayed and played at the lake, took walks, and hung out with Rusty and Sonja. We had a really good time and can't wait to borrow the pop-up again for another camping adventure this month!

The Leys and the Moores

bein' lovey-dovey
Izzy, Jeremey and Gavin

all the kids - minus a grumpy Izzy
Connor and me!

Fun Day

2009-07-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, Sonja, put together a fun day for a bunch of us moms and our kids. We had a big lunch with hot dogs, chips and lemonade, face painting, Kool-Aid playdough, bubbles, and lots of other fun stuff to do. It was a lot of fun! Thanks, Sonja!

Izzy blowing bubbles

Gavin's turtle

Princess Izzy
My happy chunky monkey!

Splash N Dash 2009

2009-06-09T00:51:00.001-07:00

The hospital sponsored a boat in the Splash N Dash 2009 race and Jeremey got to be one of the participants. He learned the rowing techniques the night before the race, then went 4 hours early on Saturday to practice in the water. The kids and I showed up at 11 am eagerly awaiting the start of the races. There were only three boats, so it was a round robin competition. Sadly, the hospital boat lost both their races, but we had so much fun watching them!

the hospital team
rowers ready? passing the time between races skipping rocks

daddy's cheering section

Hansen's Custom Carvings

2009-06-09T00:31:00.000-07:00

Every year, we take the kids to ride the merry-go-round at Hansen's Custom Carvings. We run around and take silly pictures with all the carvings and just have a good time!

Trip to Anchorage

2009-06-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

The kids and I drove up to Anchorage and surprised Jeremey at the hotel the night he flew in from Virginia. We stayed an extra night and made a family weekend out of it. We played in the hotel pool, went to the zoo, hung out at Chuck E. Cheese, got family pictures taken and shopped a little too. The kids were pretty well behaved too - only a few minor meltdowns!

Alaska Zoo
Super Dad!

at Chuck E. Cheese

at a rest stop in Cooper Landing

March for Babies - May 9, 2009

2009-06-08T23:57:00.000-07:00

This year, we signed up to walk in the March of Dimes March for Babies walk held on May 9, 2009. We walked from the Sports Center to the police station and back. The kids had fun and I enjoyed getting out of the house for a while. Jeremey was down in Virginia living it up with his best friend while I stayed home with the munchkins. Maybe next year he'll walk with us too!

walking to the police station

Gavin and Cooper
walking with Rusty and Sonja

waiting their turn for the Dino jump

face painting

More random photos

2009-06-08T23:46:00.001-07:00

I have been really bad about updating my blog, so here are a few random photos taken between March and June.

cuddle time

Connor and Gavin
The kids aren't allowed past the "blue line" at the end of the driveway, so they decided to set up some chairs and just...

watch the wind blow...

Date night with the kids

2009-06-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

For date night one Friday night, we went sledding with the kids on our dirt hill and down at the lake. We had a lot of fun wiping out and making snow angels. Winter lasts so long here, you've got to make the best of it or you go crazy!

10 Years Together!

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

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary in March. We didn't do anything on the actual day, but we did spend a week in Anchorage together - with no kids!! (A BIG thanks to the Brenners, Mom, Sue and the Chadwicks!!!)

March 6, 2009 - 10 years together!!

I Love you, Babe!

Here's to 100 more wonderful years together!

Date Night

2009-04-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jeremey and I make a point to go on a date every week. It's done wonders for our relationship - especially after having four children! Even though he has an 8 to 5 schedule, he has to work late a lot and sometimes over the weekend. But we still find time to go out - even if it's only for an hour. A few months ago, Jeremey had worked for 3 weeks straight so we hadn't had a date night out in a few weeks. Not wanting to miss any more, I got a babysitter for the 3 olders kids, took Connor to the hospital and had date night with Jeremey (and Rusty) in their office until 11:00 pm! I bought ice cream and brought it to them, then we just sat and talked while they dealt with the current crisis the hospital was having. It was actually pretty fun!

Jeremey and his co-worker, Rusty, had to work all weekend getting a new doctor's clinic in Kenai ready to be opened the following week, so Sonja and I met them at Acapulco's for date night.

Aw, what a cute couple!

We're always looking for new ideas for date night (we DO live in podunkville), so if you have any, we'd love to hear them!

Sleeping Monsters or Sleeping Beauties?

2009-04-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Don't let them fool you - they only look this cute while sleeping!

Izzy - waiting for it to snow inside...

Connnor - he played a little too hard

Gavin is SUCH a daddy's boy. He wanted to help Daddy with his homework but couldn't quite stay awake long enough.
Connor is a very determined thumb sucker. He will even suck his thumb while his binky is in his mouth!

CPGH Winterfest Family Fun Day

2009-04-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

On February 7th, we went to Solid Rock Bible Camp for a Winterfest Family Fun Day put on by the hospital for employees and their families. We went tubing, sledding, did arts and crafts, and ate lunch. Jeremey's mom watched Connor for us so we could both spend time outside with the kids. It was a blast! Izzy even went down the tubing hill all by herself!

Izzy going down all by herself!
sledding with Rusty and his kids

Connor - 3 months

2009-02-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

Connor is 3 months old already! We weighed and measured him on Wednesday. He is 17.4 pounds and 27 1/4 inches long. Gavin was this exact size - when he was 6 MONTHS OLD!!! That's just so crazy! Everyone asks if Connor is 4 or 5 months old. He's my biggest baby. He's such a good baby too. He smiles and coos all the time. He loves to suck his thumb. I've never had a thumb sucker before. He's pretty good at it. Of course, we'd rather he take a binky since you can take that away. You can't lop off his thumb. We moved him out of our room this past week. He's on his own and we've got our room back - yeah! Not that we were any quieter or turned the lights off when he was sleeping in our room. We just pretended he wasn't there and he slept through everything. Such a good baby!

Will You Take Me Home?

2009-01-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

Me and my dog - Boof
This is our dog Boof. He's a very obedient dog, loves to play catch and have his belly rubbed, doesn't dig in the trash, comes when called, is more potty trained than my 4 year old, but he's almost 8 years old now and just can't take all the love and attention that our 4 children give him. They like to lay on him and give him hugs, but it hurts him. So we are hoping to find him a home with loving adults - no children. He likes teenagers too, just not young children. He pretty much just lays around the house all day. He's a really good dog. We don't want him to go, but we want him to be happy. If you'd like him to come live with you, or know anyone who would like him, please call us or email us and let us know.

First Family Picture

2009-01-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

This is actually the first family photo we've taken with all of us - and it only took 2 months to take! We were visiting some friends in Soldotna and they wanted a picture of our family, so we're not dressed all alike or posed perfectly, but it works. :)

Random Photos

2009-01-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a few weeks since I posted so I thought I'd put a few pictures on here. Connor is two months old now. We tried sitting him in his bumbo chair. He can't quite hold his head up by himself yet, so he didnt' really care for the chair.

Connor - two months old

Izzy, Connor and Savannah

I've been trying to get good pictures of Jeremey and I lately. It always seems like one of us is behind the camera while the other one is in the photo. Looking back through our old photo albums I realized that we have very few pictures of the two of us together.

Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009

Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008

Lynzie, me and Connor

Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008

at mom's house

My New 'Do

2008-12-28T18:37:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do something with my hair for a long time, but haven't had a clue what to do. It was so frizzy, thick and dead that I wasn't sure it could be fixed without shaving my head. I finally made an appointment to go get it cut this past Saturday. Jeremey decided he wanted to go to town too, so we got a babysitter for the older three kids, took Connor with us and headed to the salon. He was very good about not complaining about how long it was taking - in fact, he kept pushing me to get more treatments done. I ended up getting my hair shampooed, conditioned, cut, Malibu-ed (deep conditioning treatment), clear prismed (seals in the Malibu for longer and adds shine), blow dryed, and straightened - and it only took 3 hours! I wasn't too sure about the end result, but Jeremey absolutely loves it. I think it's going to take some getting used to. I'm told it's trendier than my old hairdo - Jeremey went so far as to say my hair was stuck in the 90s. But as long as he thinks I'm hot - what else matters!

One Sickness After Another

2008-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

This past month has been the longest and worst month I can recall. I got mastitis when Connor was a week old and was put on amoxicillin to get rid of it. At the same time, I also got the bathroom blues quite severly. By day two, I couldn't take it anymore, so I took some pepto bismol but that didn't help the mastitis. I got it again for the second time about 4 or 5 days after I finished the first round of antibiotics. Only this time it was in the other side. And again, along with the mastitis came the bathroom blues AS WELL AS a 24 hour puking bug. I thought I was dead for a few days. Bless my wonderful mother - she has practically lived here for the past few weeks helping me out. Not only have I been sick, but each of the kids has had the 24 hour puking bug as well, they just had it one at a time and 4 or 5 days apart.

NOW, I am having an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin I was taking to get rid of the second round of mastitis. Cause, you know, the diarrhea and puking were all cleared up, so obviously it was time for something else to go wrong with my body. I couldn’t take the itching anymore and it was just getting worse, so Jey and I went to the hospital today and they put me on steroids for 5 days.

This rash is kind of fun though (aside from the pain of course) – wherever I scratch it gets red and makes a welt. Jeremey thought it’d be fun to write on my back - hence the "Jeys Gurl".

The nurses at the hospital thought it was funny too – they all tried it as well.

I was going for a smiley face amidst all that other scratching

Will my body ever go back to normal???

Happy Birthday Izzy!

2008-12-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

Today is Isabelle's 4th birthday. My sister-in-law put on a joint birthday party for her daughter Rylee and Izzy on Sunday - I haven't been feeling too well lately. We had it at Grandma's house and had pizza, cake and ice cream. Jeremey is baking her cupcakes right now and then we'll open our gifts to her tonight. I can't believe she's already 4 years old!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T22:04:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and got to spend it with those you love. We went to Mom's house (surprise, surprise) and had dinner with a few friends from church. I took my camera, but didn't get any pictures. I have been really bad about taking pictures lately, so these are just random photos...

Connor - almost two weeks old

Gavin working out with Dad

Izzy pumping iron

Savannah practicing her head stands

Diaper buddies

My sexy hubby and sweet baby boy

Connor Douglas Ley

2008-11-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

He's here! After a good 20 hours of labor, he's finally here. He's a cutie. We're just hanging out at home recuperating. Jeremey took time off to stay home with us, so that's a plus. Connor was born on Veteran's day and shares a birthday with 6 other people that we know! Crazy, crazy...

Headed to the Hospital...

2008-11-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

We'll be heading to the hospital in the next hour...YEAH!!! I'm very excited, but nervous too as I'm NOT looking forward to the pain. Then again, who does look forward to that?!? Pray things go quickly and smoothly, that we have a healthy baby boy by the end of the day! Today is Jeremey's mom's birthday, so it'll be extra special if he's born today as she'll be there with us and my mom. I'll try to post pictures in a few days when I'm back home. Here are a couple of pictures from last night - the last night before baby arrives. (For those of you who are sensitive about seeing actual body parts - sorry about the belly. At this point, the belly is no longer mine - it's all him, so I figured it was ok.)

Halloween pics

2008-11-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

We went Trunk or Treating at the Boys and Girls Club in Kenai, then to the church for the Halloween social. The kids had a lot of fun. Nana and Grandaddy Ley brought over treats and we stopped at Grandma Ellis' to trick or treat. We forgot to take pictures of the kids before we left the house, so Grandma took one at her house.

They had a costume contest at church for different age groups...Savannah as Cinderella, Izzy as Curious George and Camry and Rylee as Tinkerbell twins.

Jeremey's IS department at work all dressed up as Superheroes.
I thought about painting my belly orange and putting a pumpkin face on it, but decided flashing my belly at church would be inappropriate!
We hope you all had a safe and happy halloween!

LaReal Nadene Mitchell Calderwood Pettijohn

2008-10-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

Today is my grandma’s funeral. She passed away on Oct. 16th in Bremerton, Washington. Since I’m close to delivering this baby, I decided not to attend. I’m a little too nervous to fly – afraid I’ll end up going into labor in Anchorage while my kids are stuck down here. But I wanted to pay tribute to her and let her know how much I love her and will miss her. I am happy for her though. She has been waiting 21 years to see my Grandpa again, so I know she is rejoicing. The past few years were really hard on her – she had severe diabetes which they couldn’t ever seem to keep under control. She was in a full care facility in Washington near my Aunt Korene, her youngest daughter.

My Grandma was an amazing person. I LOVED going to Grandma’s house. We got to visit her often because she didn’t live too far away (3 hours) and we always had a blast. They had an old intercom system in their house and Grandpa would get on it to call us kids upstairs for dinner. He always said something funny like “Tiffany, Brant and Ryan, come on down, you’re the next contest on the Price is Right!” They had a basement room where we always used to play. Their food storage was down there too and we always used to get into the wheat and chew a handful of it. Grandpa told us if we chewed it long enough it would turn to gum. Mine never did though.

Grandma always had Ovaltine. Always. And she used to let us eat it right out of the can – a tradition I’ve passed down to my children. We used to go to Grandma’s house for Thanksgivings and Christmases. She had a huge dining table, which I inherited a few summers ago (thanks Grandma!). I remember doing homework at it, eating countless meals there, watching the city lights from the windows behind it. Grandma had one of those doors in her kitchen – it slid in and out of the wall. I always thought that was the coolest door – I’d never seen one before. Everything in Grandma’s house was straight out of the 60s and 70s – it was cool! She had a chair in her living room that used to rock back and forth and spin all the way around. We used to spin till we were sick or it would tip over. It was white with brown and orange flowers.

She had a staircase with metal bars for the railing. I remember that Ryan got his head stuck through them one time and we couldn’t get him out. I think we even tried putting butter all over his head. Finally, Grandpa came along and suggested that pushing him out backwards – slipping his body through the bars instead of his head. Why we didn’t think of that, I’ll never know.

Grandma had raspberries in her backyard that we used to pick. We used to take turns mowing her lawn and every day we’d fight over who got to run out and check the mail at the end of the driveway. We used to walk down the street to A&W and get root beer floats. We always had a good time at Grandma’s house.

Grandma and Grandpa also had a cabin across the bay in Homer that we used to love going to. Every 4th of July we’d head out to the cabin for a long weekend. One of my favorite pictures of Grandma is this one. Kenny was helping her get back on the boat so we could go home.
It was at Grandma and Grandpa’s house that I broke my neck and had to spend a while up there with them recovering.
Grandma was there when Jeremey and I went through the temple in September 2000.
This last picture is of Grandma and Savannah in February 2003 at my mom’s house.
I don’t have a picture of Isabelle with Grandma, but we gave Isabelle the middle name of Nadene, after my Grandma. My Grandma was a wonderful woman who I’ll miss dearly. I’m sure she’ll be watching over us throughout the years just as Grandpa has been. I’m happy for her and look forward to the day I’ll see her again as well.

Savannah turns 6!

2008-10-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

Savannah turned 6 last week. We had her party on Saturday and she got to invite a few friends from school as well as her cousins. She picked a cupcake tree for her birthday cake and helped me decorate the cupcakes. We kept it pretty simple, just ate cupcakes, opened presents and played a few games.
Happy Birthday, Nana!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

We bought a pumpkin last Saturday while grocery shopping. The kids have been eargerly awaiting the night we carve "the big punkin". We finally got around to it last night. They spent about 10 minutes scooping out pumpkin guts before deciding it was time to go outside and play. So Jeremey did most of the work. Savannah drew a face on one side of the pumpkin and Izzy drew a face (with Jeremey's help) on the other side. I meant to get a picture of the girls with their corresponding side of the pumpkin, but they were outside when it was finished so I never got it. Jeremey got to be the one showcasing Izzy's masterpiece.

34 Weeks...and counting...

2008-09-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

I'll be 34 weeks along on Saturday. My how time does NOT fly when counting down to such an end as this. I'm already ready for this bundle of energy to be on the outside rather than on the inside. I know he isn't quite done cooking yet, so I'll try to be patient. But I'm tired of being bruised internally. I have a constant back ache at this point. Sleeping is almost pointless. Last night I got up 7 TIMES to pee. Sheesh. (Can I complain anymore, you ask? Why, yes, I think it's possible...) I've finally hit the 30 pound mark. Actually, I'm not sure if I should say "finally" or "holy cow, I've ALREADY hit the 30 pound mark". I like to eat. A lot. I pack on a good 35 to 45 pounds each pregnancy. They say 20 to 30 pounds is best. Oh well. From here on out I should still be gaining about 1 pound per week, so I know I can look forward to AT LEAST 6 more pounds. Woo Hoo!!

Here are a couple of shots of my blimpo status. Technically, I'm 2 days away from 34 weeks, but I actually got dressed today, so might as well take a decent picture while I can! As you can tell, the children are oh so excited to be in the picture.

34 weeks

Izzy, me and baby Mudd, Gavin and Savannah

They Really CAN Share!

2008-09-16T09:59:00.001-07:00

Izzy and Gavin fight over this bike constantly. I wish we had another one just like it - it would result in far less fighting! I happened to catch them riding together the other day - it was so sweet! It didn't last very long, just a couple of times up the driveway and back, but it was sweet while it lasted.

Time Out For Women

2008-09-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Jen, Gina and I went to Anchorage to attend Time Out For Women on Sept. 5th and 6th. It was such an amazing experience. I already can't wait for next year! Some of the speakers were Sheri Dew, Wendy Watson Nelson, Emily Watts, Merilee Boyack, Chris Stewart, and a few others. Hilary Weeks was the musical guest. It was such an inspiring, uplifting experience. I definitely needed that recharge and the break from kids for that little while. The theme of the weekend was finding joy in life - finding joy in being a mother, being a daugther of God, knowing our part in the plan.

I'm not very good at describing things, or putting into words how I feel, so I'll just say it was very spiritual - so uplifting. We laughed alot, we cried, we filled our cups to overflowing. We got to meet a few of the speakers as well. I didn't know that Hilary Weeks was raised in Anchorage - she even knew the Calderwood side of my family - small world! It was really good to see so many women from our ward there as well. We were all very blessed to be able to attend. I should thank my dear husband - he took off early on Friday to come home and be with the kids so we could make it to Anchorage by 5:30 pm. He is such a wonderful husband and father! (I love you sweetheart!) I can't wait for next year.... :)

Gina, Jen, Sheri Dew, me, Sharon, Debbie

Jen, Gina, Hilary Weeks, me

me, Gina, Wendy Watson Nelson, Jen

Labor Day

2008-09-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

"Gavin, stop eating rocks... Nana, try to look happy"

We went to the beach for a little while on Labor Day. The kids love to go - not because of the warm sunny beach with hot sand to sink your toes into...we don't have those kinds of beaches. They love to throw rocks in the water, search for sea shells (hard to come by) and climb the bluff. Even Gavin got to climb the bluff this time!

Savannah's First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-31T22:57:00.000-07:00

Savannah was so excited to start Kindergarten. She really likes her teacher and has already made two new best friends. (Her two best friends from Pre-K both ended up in a different class.) It's a little different not having her around for most of the day - it's quieter. However, when she gets home from school, that's a different story. Almost every day she goes into melt down mode for a couple of hours. First is the crying and whining, then after dinner it turns into hyper active mode. Let's just say I am glad when bedtime rolls around!

Food Storage

2008-08-31T22:37:00.001-07:00

About a month ago, I skipped out on Primary during third hour so I could attend Relief Society. One of the women gave a 15 minute presentation on food storage and it lit a fire under my bum to get my food storage in order. I have spent the past month putting together our 72 hour kits, ordering enough food storage for 7 people for one year from the cannery in Palmer, and canning and bucketing it all. The kids had a lot of fun helping with the canning.Before we canned it all...

Savannah and Izzy helping can milk

I tried buying a little here and a little there, but it never seemed to build up, so we went ahead and just bought it all at once. The only thing left to stock up on is water. I can't find a 55 gallon drum anywhere around here! Guess we'll just have to stock it in smaller quantities. Jeremey built me a pallet that fits in the closet under the stairs (used to be the nursery closet, but oh well) and we moved all of our boxed items down there. We still have to figure out where in the world we are going to put 40 buckets of wheat! But at least we have our food storage - FINALLY!

Jackie's Visit

2008-08-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated my blog...sorry! I hope you guys are still checking it. My friend, Jackie, came up for a couple of weeks with her 6 month old daughter. I haven't seen her since our 10 year reunion in 2005. A couple of us girls got together at Katrina's house, gabbed and ate food all afternoon. It was really good to see her - and the other's who even though they live here, I rarely see! I need to get out more!

Amy, Katie, Tiff, Jackie, Katrina

Swim Lessons

2008-08-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

The girls took swim lessons for three weeks. I wish I had signed them up for back to back sessions because just about the time they get comfortable doing things, lessons are over. Neither of my girls put their faces underwater yet. But that could be because we never go to the pool. Some of Savannah's friends already know how to swim. She's going to be 6 soon. If we went to the pool more often and worked with her, she would probably know by now. But they had a lot of fun at their lessons. Their cousins, Rylee, Zoey and Camry were in lessons with them. They usually looked forward to going - except for the days they had to go off the diving board. The first time they went off, Savannah screamed and Izzy curled up in a ball. Their teacher had to basically lift them up and drop them off - into the arms of another teacher of course. The second time they had to go off, Miss Anna had to chase Izzy around before getting her up on the board. But they survived. The last day of lessons they got to go on the slide. Izzy went down with her teacher, but Savannah braved it by herself. She used her hands to slow her down the whole way, but hey, she did it by herself! Maybe next summer I'll sign them up for two sessions in a row...

Savannah and Izzy on the diving board

Izzy's turn down the slideSavannah screeching down the slide

Wendy's visit

2008-07-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

My friend Wendy and her three kids are up visiting. They've been staying with us this past week. My kids have loved having round the clock playmates. Although Gavin seems to think that Isaac (8 months old) is one of those punching bags that when you push over pops right back up. He is constantly kicking and pushing Isaac over. AUGH! Anyway, we've been having a lot of fun hanging out and catching up. She leaves soon to go back to North Dakota and it will probably be another two or three years before we see each other again. :( I keep forgetting to take my camera with us when we go places, but I did get some pictures the other night when we were roasting marshmallows in the back yard.

Gavin, Izzy, Savannah, Mayzie and Isaac

Mayzie and Savannah eating rhubarb

Ashlyn on the swingset

Trip to Anchorage

2008-07-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

We took a family trip up to Anchorage on Wednesday. We promised the girls that if they would sell some of their toys at our garage sale, we would take them to Build A Bear. I drove up a few hours earlier (with some other family members) to attend the temple with my cousin. Jeremey drove later with the kids. They picked me up at 12:30pm and we took some pictures outside the temple.

After that, we went to Build A Bear, ate some pizza and Arby's, got ice cream and shopped a few more stores before coming home. The kids did pretty well - only minimal fighting, but they were pretty tired by the end. Gavin had a hard time on the drive home, probably because he was stuck in a car seat or stroller all day. He cried for the last hour of the drive and finally fell asleep 15 minutes from home! All in all, it was a fun family day.

10 Years Ago

2008-07-07T13:07:00.001-07:00

10 Years Ago...Jeremey and I met on July 5, 1998 at the cannery in Nikiski. Little did I know how that meeting would affect the rest of our lives. I am very blessed to have met him, to have married him and to get to share the rest of my life with him. He is my best friend, my love and the world's greatest daddy! Here's to 10 more years together!

Gavin's eye infection

2008-06-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. I apologize for that. I haven't really taken any pictures either. I did get one of Gavin right after he woke up the other morning. He has Pink Eye pretty bad. One of his eyes was actually glued shut that morning and the other one wasn't far behind. He just oozes yellow puss from his eyes. Poor guy.He's slowly recovering. We've all been sick the past two weeks - fevers and sinus infections. Savannah actually has ear infections and is on antibiotics for another 5 days. It's been really fun around here, let me tell you! The hardest part now is holding Gavin down to put eye drops in his poor little eyes every three hours. The joys of motherhood...

Can you tell the sex? UPDATED

2008-06-05T00:14:00.001-07:00

IT'S A BOY!!!

I apologize - for those of you who don't regularly look at ultrasounds or who weren't sitting in the room with me to see what I saw, it would be pretty hard to know what exactly I'm looking for! In the middle of the photo are two little blobs and his little privette part is in the middle of them - sticking straight out and pointing to the right. See it yet? Well, even if you don't, that's ok cause IT'S A BOY! Yeah!!!

(If you can't quite see it, tilt your head to the right.)

Just for fun, here's another shot of the baby lying sprawled out over my placenta.

Only 23 more weeks to go!

Thank Goodness For Super Glue!

2008-06-02T17:12:00.001-07:00

My children have a habit of playing in the big laundry basket. I'm not too fond of it. They always climb in and tip themselves over - usually resulting in someone crying. This only happens on laundry day. Maybe I should just quit doing laundry......well today, Gavin and Izzy were both climbing in it and of course fighting at the same time. The laundry basket tipped over and Gavin hit his head on the coffee table. Savannah, being the good little nurse that she is, grabbed a wet washcloth and brought him down to me. I called Jennifer over to come look at his cut. I was pretty sure it needed a stitch or two, but wanted a second opinion. His hair is hiding some of it in the picture. It gaped and I could squeeze it back together.

She agreed, so I loaded the kids up, dropped the girls off at my mom's (LOVE YOU MOM!) and took Gavin in. He didn't get any stitches though. They just glued his head back together. Thank goodness for super glue. In five days, he'll be good as new.

Family Fun in the Sun

2008-05-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

The kids wanted to spend the evening outside Thursday evening, so we roasted hot dogs for dinner over the new firepit. Then we went for wheelbarrow rides and played on the swingset.

Savannah's New 'Do!

2008-05-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight after dinner at Grandma's house, Jennifer cut Savannah's hair for me. She did an amazing job. It looks so cute! Jeremey was a bit surprised at first. I don't think he knew we were cutting it! We washed it and blow dryed it a little bit with a round brush after we got home, but we haven't fully styled it yet. I think she looks adorable! Now if only Izzy would let me cut her hair...

A (nother) New Addition

2008-05-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

No, the baby isn't here already. (I'm only 16 weeks.) We adopted a beautiful, sweet 16 month old St. Bernard from the animal shelter yesterday. Are we crazy you ask? Well, we might be. Who knows. I didn't really know we needed another dog, but I've been hearing a lot about dogs lately. Gina and Ryan are looking for the perfect dog for their family, and my friend Pauline volunteers at the animal shelter, so she's been on the lookout for a dog for them. And she was the one who told us about our other dog, Boof.

I went to see Pauline's greenhouse the other day and she was telling me about a couple of the dogs at the shelter that might or might not be what Gina is looking for. So I came home and looked up one of them - a 10 year old Rottweiler who is very mild, housebroken and needing a good home. When I told Jeremey about him, he immediately said no. We don't need a decrepid old dog who is going to die shortly. Then yesterday, Jeremey and Ryan were in town helping some friends move and Jeremey decided to go to the shelter to check out this dog. He was afraid I'd come home with it. Well, Roscoe wasn't there anymore. They sent him to the extended life sanctuary to live out his days. But Jeremey did see Lily, and he fell in love with her. So he took a picture of her and emailed it to me. He said he wasn't allowed to bring her home unless I brought in Boof and all three children to make sure we were all compatible. (The very first dog we adopted was a golden retriever who we ended up returning the same night we brought her home due to her biting my nephew - she had a problem with men. They actually had to put her down because of it.) So the people at the shelter remembered us, and wanted us to all get along with our possible new dog.

After Gavin and I got our afternoon nap, I loaded the kids and Boof up in the car and we all went to the shelter. I wasn't too sure about Lily at first. She's HUGE. And she sheds (but what dog doesn't), and she's kind of slobbery. But she's a short haired St. Bernard, and she's also a dry mouth breed. Which means she does drool occasionally, but she doesn't constantly have 6 inches of drool hanging out either side of her face! She is also a purebred. Her previous owners had to bring her and another dog to the shelter because one of their children developed an allergy to the dogs. So she wasn't abused or neglected or anything, which is a BIG factor in adopting any dog.

I asked Jeremey if we could take the long weekend to think it over, but he just looked so heartbroken that I gave in and said maybe we can try her out for the long weekend. Well, of course we're attached to her already. We can't take her back now! She is very sweet and obeys well. She still needs some work, but I think she'll be a really good dog for us.

Lynzie's husband, Miles, with Lily

Lily and the girls

The Elmo Sprinkler

2008-05-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

It was barely above 50 degrees the other day, but Savannah really wanted to run through the Elmo sprinkler, so why not? It's not like it's going to be 80 anytime soon. Might as well let her have some fun. Gavin and Izzy suited up as well, but Izzy only ran through one time before deciding pajamas were warmer. Gavin and Savannah took turns sticking their booties in the spray of the sprinkler for about 15 minutes and then followed Izzy's example.

Savannah's Pre-K Graduation

2008-05-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, Savannah's Pre-K class had a "Step-Up" Ceremony. The each got a little diploma and stepped up from Pre-K into Kindergarten.

She is very excited about going to Kindergarten, even though she has to wait all summer before she can go. Jeremey took half a day off work so he could be there. Grandma and Lynzie came as well.

Savannah and Emilee

No More Training Wheels!

2008-05-10T23:29:00.001-07:00

Jeremey took Savannah's training wheels off the other day. It took her a few tries, but then she was up and speeding away. To celebrate her success, we went to her school today so she could go to the Bike Rodeo and get a new bike helmet. Yeah, Savannah! We are so proud of you!

12 Weeks Along!

2008-05-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

I went to the Dr. last week and she did an ultrasound because I wasn't too sure of my dates. Sure enough, I'm 12 weeks along instead of only 8 weeks! YEAH!!! I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I knew I couldn't be only 8 weeks. So my new due date is Nov. 8th. Woo Hoo!!! Only 186 more days to go!

Underwear Models

2008-05-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

My children have decided to be underwear models. After watching the girls for a few minutes, Gavin ran into Izzy's room, grabbed a pair of green and pink underwear and shoved them on his head. Then ran around chasing the girls while roaring at them.

Did you do this when you were young as well? I know I did. I remember putting underwear on our heads and standing on the edge of my parents bed yelling "I'm going to Hawaii" and falling backwards. Only to get up giggling and do it all over again, traveling to many different parts of the world. I remember one specific time when Ryan and I were doing this, only Ryan didn't move and I landed on top of him. Gave him quite the shiner. I think he was three years old at the time. Ah, fond memories!

Visiting Wendy

2008-05-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

I went down to North Dakota for two weeks to see my long time best friend, Wendy. We've known each other since we were 5 years old. She's one of those friends that you can not talk to for a few months and pick up right where you left off. The kind of friend who understands you - all your quirks, your faults, your insecurities, your joys and doesn't ever think differently of you. Still loves you no matter what. Those friends are hard to come by. And they're the kind you never let go of.

We had a lot of fun. We drove to Fargo (5 hours away) for three days to do some shopping. We stayed at the Radisson Hotel - Bon Jovi was actually there one of the days we were, but we didn't run into him. We shopped from morning till bedtime and gabbed the whole time. We forgot to take our turnoff on the way home and ended up driving an extra 2 hours to get back on track.

at the hotel - talking to my hubby

We just hung out a lot, played cards, watched movies and played with the kids - and Tommy. :) It was really good to get away and rest. I kind of feel bad, because I slept in until 9 or 10 every morning and still took a 2 or 3 hour nap in the afternoon. And I was constantly eating. I thought I'd gained at least 5 pounds while I was gone. I only gained 2, so that's a plus. I probably would have gained 5 if I had eaten as much chocolate as I wanted to. I am a chocoholic. But the thought of chocolate makes me nauseous, so I don't indulge as often as I used to.

napping - yet again

The only bad part of the vacation was flying. I had to fly overnight on the way there and that just about killed me. I can NOT sleep sitting up. I was trying to limit the amount of water I was drinking so I wouldn't have to make the two people next to me get out every 30 minutes - because somehow they both managed to sleep. In doing that, I was more tired and nauseous than normal, so one of the times I got up, I almost fainted. I started sweating and getting light headed. I had to squat down and put my head between my knees until it passed. How embarrasing! Needless to say, I took 2 naps the day I got to Wendy's. The flight home was during the day, but I had to take 4 different planes, so I was once again exhausted and over it. I made it to church the next day, but just barely.

Ashlyn and Mayzie

Ashy, Wendy, Tiff, Isaac and Mayzie

I had a great time visiting Wendy, but I'm also glad to be home. Two weeks is a long time to be away from my husband and kids!

New (Animal) Additions

2008-04-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

Savannah had to have two teeny cavities filled yesterday. I was worried that she'd have to get a numbing shot, but they were so small she didn't have to. In anticipation of that, we made a deal that if she would let them give her a shot and fill her cavities, she could have a special reward. She chose guinea pigs. (We had already been discussing getting them.)

Savannah did WONDERFUL! She didn't peep once. She did ask them to "please be careful with that tooth back there. It kind of hurts when you do that." But she said it so politely they chuckled at her. I was so proud of her!

So we went straight to the pet store and purchased two small male guinea pigs. (At least we were told they're both males...we'll see.) Izzy named her guinea pig Peanut Butter because he's the color of peanut butter. Savannah named her brown and white one Max. They ask constantly to hold them and clean the cage and feed them.

We Love You, Elder Ellis!

2008-04-06T23:51:00.000-07:00

Hi Case!

I'm posting just for you, in case you get a chance to read this tomorrow. I'm very proud of you and am grateful to have such a wonderful brother. You are an amazing example to all of us, especially all of your nieces and nephews. We love you immensely and hope you are doing well. Your letters brighten my days, so keep em coming. I apologize for not being so good at writing snail mail letters, so I'll work on that. Tell Elder Briggs hi for us.

Love and miss you,

Love Tiff

P.S. For any of you who would like to write Casey, his address is:

Elder Casey Ellis

California Sacramento Mission

9480 Madison Ave. Suite 4

Orangevale, CA 95662

Waiting for Spring...

2008-04-06T23:40:00.001-07:00

It's been melting the past week and I got my hopes up that spring is on it's way. But I forget that this is Alaska and we don't have spring. Winter lasts a really long time and then just skips right into summer. We woke up to a couple inches of snow yesterday. Talk about depressing. After 30 years here, I should know better.

All of my kids are desperately waiting for spring as well. They still go out a couple times a day, but this is how it's been going lately. "Mom, we're going outside now." Ten minutes later, dressed in complete snow gear, they head out. Two minutes later, Savannah is back inside "Mom, Izzy is stuck in the snow. Can you get her out please?" So I unstick her. Five minutes later, Savannah is back again. "Mom, Izzy is stuck in the snow again." So I unstick her again. After warning her to stay out of the deep melting snow, I come back in, only to be called out a third time. I finally made a path to the green house and just send them in there to play. There's not much in there, just rocks and empty pots, but it seems to occupy them.

I've been feeling so poorly lately that I haven't been taking Gavin out. I feel really bad. He gets himself dressed as best as he can and then comes and begs for me to take him outside. Oh how I wish the snow was gone...

Gavin getting himself dressed to go out

Bedtime Helpers

2008-04-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

Before we had children, I always said I wanted a boy first. I think it had something to do with the older brother protecting his younger siblings or something like that. Well, that didn't happen. I had two beautiful girls before my first boy. And I am SO thankful for that. Savannah is like a mini mom, which is both good and bad. I try to focus on the good, but also try not to over use her to do things I'm too lazy to do. :)

Tonight I announced it was bedtime for Gavin. I started picking up the living room and putting toys away in the girls' rooms while closing their shades, turning on night lights, etc. All the while, Savannah and Isabelle were cleaning up Gavin's room and getting him ready for bed themselves. When I came in, Savannah was sitting in the glider rocker with Gavin, reading him his favorite bedtime books.

After she was done, she changed his diaper (with only a little help from me - mostly holding him still).

Then she wrapped him back up, hopped back up in the chair, asked me to turn off the lights and sang to him. Isabelle sang to him as well.

Only then was it my turn. And only because I insisted that Savannah was too short to put Gavin in his crib without just chucking him over the side. I absolutely love being a mom!

Introducing the iPod

2008-03-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

Jeremey had his iPod out the other night and the kids all took turns listening to it. Savannah was singing along with Miley Cyrus after the second time through the song, but I think it was Izzy that walked around with it the longest. She had it clipped to her pants, holding the ear plugs in. Even Gavin sat still for a few minutes to listen. A glimpse into the teenage years???

Hair by Gavin

2008-03-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

I just thought this was really cute. Gavin watched me do Savannah's hair and he wanted a turn. Surprisingly enough, Savannah let him. He brushed once or twice and then started whacking her on the head with it.

Bathtub fun

2008-03-30T23:21:00.001-07:00

Savannah was watching Gavin in the bathtub while I put away laundry one day. When I came back in this is what I found. She and Izzy were having quite the time putting the suction cup fish on Gavin's back where he couldn't reach it and watching him thrash around the bathtub trying to get it! Oh the fun they have with each other.

My Laundry Helper

2008-03-30T20:09:00.001-07:00

Where's Gavin?
Peekaboo!

I was folding laundry on Friday and as usual, Gavin wandered over to help. I left the door open this time and like the good little monkey that he is, he climbed right in. He had to put his blankey in first though so he could be nice and comfortable. Don't worry Ryan - we didn't shut the door and turn it on. :)

And Then There Were Four...

2008-03-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Meet the Bowlheads!

Well, since we have news to share, I thought "why not create a blog". So I'm joining the craze and blogging now. I love reading all of my friends blogs, but haven't given in until now. We'll see how well I keep up with it.

Anywho...As Jeremey announced during Fast and Testimony meeting today (while I was home with a sick Gavin) we are expecting our 4th baby in December. I've been sick for the past week, but thought it was just a bug because two of my other kids were sick as well. Nope, turns out I won't be recovering from this anytime soon. :) We're excited. Although I think Jeremey is more excited than I am right now. I am in a constant state of nausea - even while sleeping. The baby is due the day after Isabelle's 4th birthday. I hope they're not going to have the same birthday. As much as that would save on birthday supply costs, I'd like for each of them to have their own separate special day.