Back From the Beach

Last week the girls and I, along with my sister and her son, loaded up the car for a roadtrip to visit family in Oregon. Though the trip was tough on Bailey (she got ANOTHER double ear infection while we were gone...poor kid!), we still had fun. Here are some highlights of our trip:


Okay, so this picture is NOT a highlight...this is Bailey after she FINALLY fell asleep in the car the first day of the trip. She had just wrapped up her fifth hour of constant crying...and it obviously exhausted her (and me, too, for that matter! Her ears were hurting her, but we didn't figure that out until the next day).



Swimming at Grandma Barbara's and Grandpa Don's




Making S'mores at Grandpa Fred's and Grandma Patty's






We visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory and went on the tour and had ice cream.






We had the best weather I have ever seen at the Oregon Coast. It was sunny and 75 degrees, and not a bit windy...that is unheard of!

We packed a lot of things into the six days we were gone. It was fun, if not exhausting, trip. We sure did miss our dad on the trip! We were all glad to get home to see Cory, to sleep in our own beds, and to know that we were finished with sitting in the car for awhile!

She loves pretties!

Bailey is obsessed with bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and anything else pretty. We have started a collection of play jewlery, hair rubber bands, and anything else she can put around her wrists for her to play with. She can sit for a long time playing with her "pretties", as she calls them...when she sees a pretty she wants to have, she starts screaming "Pretty! Pretty!" in a very high, shrill voice until someone pays attention to her! It is funny when we are at home, but not quite as funny when we are at church!


Bayz with just a few "pretties"


Here she is with a few more (notice her wrist)


This is the full meal deal...lookin' good, Bailey!

Better late than never!

I have not been very good at keeping the blog updated lately. I have been really busy with a million things to do! I am sure most of you know my sisters, mom, and I have been making beaded watch bands that we have been selling (see our blog at www.watchoutdesigns.blogspot.com). I have also decided to open a preschool this coming fall. I have 19 kids signed up, and have a ton to do to get ready. The first day is Sept. 8th, so that leaves me roughly 7 1/2 weeks before kids come. I have also been getting ready for a half-marathon I am running the second weekend in August. Being busy is good, though, but that is my really long excuse for not posting more things on the blog.

To catch up a little...we had a good 4th of July weekend, and went to a parade, a carnival, and to fireworks. The neighborhood we moved into had a big block party, which was fun. We all added to a community pile of fireworks, which made for a great show, according to the kids.


Riley and the neighborhood kids getting ready for the fireworks show.


Ry and cousins on the roller coaster at the carnival.


More carnival fun.


Cory and Bailey watching Ry ride the rides.


I swear there are never any pictures of both Cory and I...this is such a rarity I had to post it!

New Mexico

I sure haven't been too good at keeping my blog updated lately. Seems like things have been so busy! I will try to do better!

Last week we got home from our summer trip to New Mexico to visit Cory's parents. We were there for a week and it was nice to visit with everyone. Cory helped his dad do odds and ends on the ranch and the kids had fun playing with cousins they don't get to see often enough. This was the year of the rattlesnake, and we saw eight or nine of them while we were there (thankfully only one of them was alive when we saw it...and Grandma and the suburban quickly took care of that!). In the nine or so years that I have been going to the ranch, I have never actually seen a snake...guess we made up for that all in one year! I HATE snakes!

Overall it was a fun trip...we decided to drive home overnight, like we did at Christmas. Riley slept like a champ, but Bailey did NOT. She hated being confined to her carseat and would sleep for an hour or so, and then cry for two. Needless to say it wasn't hard for Cory and I to stay awake with a screaming child in the backseat. Even though it wasn't fun on the way home we still made it home in about 14 hours as opposed to the 16 1/2 it takes us when the kids are awake!


Bailey in the swing


Getting ready for a family four wheeler ride.


The triplets, Bailey, and Riley watching a show.


Riley and her cousins David and Clayton


Isn't she cute?

We're Back!

After a long blogging vacation, we are back! This last month has been really busy for us...there is no way to cover every single thing that happened, but I will try to hit the highlights!

First of all, we are once again homeowners! We closed on our house on May 8th, but painted the ENTIRE main floor before moving in. It took us about a week and a half to paint (I could have gotten it done much faster, but even with babysitting help, there is only so much you can do when little kids are around!). We actually been in the house for almost two weeks now. It is like Christmas around here, with Riley and Bailey finding toys that have been in storage for the last year.



Riley had her last day of Kindergarten today. She had a great year, made some good friends, and liked her teacher. Yesterday was her field trip to the zoo. I went up to help supervise, and boy, what a nightmare that was! First of all it wasn't only our school's day for a field trip...there were a MILLION Kindergarteners running around. Secondly, the weather was TERRIBLE! It was POURING most of the time we were there...though there were a few breaks in the downpour so that the kids could actually see some animals. All in all everyone (kinds included) were more than ready to head home when the time came. If I ever get a vote that counts, I say field trips should NOT be a rain or shine event! Ry also had her end of the year program this past week. The kids sang songs, had a fashion show, and showed off some of the stuff they had learned over the course of the year. Ry was in the front row and wasn't shy at all about participating...she has come a long way this year!


Riley and three of her good friends


Singing in the program


Riding the bus...the BEST part of the field trip.


Surviving the rain at the zoo.


Ry's last day of Kindergarten

Our girls have recently discovered Little House on the Prairie. Riley and Bailey (and Cory, too) all like to watch it, and this is what our house looks like almost every night at six o'clock:



Last night Cory and I got to take Riley to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. After finishing the tour, I asked Riley what she liked best...she said the lights (the light fixtures in the temple) and the cookies. Glad it was the important things that stuck in her mind...(sorry the pictures are kind of dark...)





Finally, Bailey is getting so big! She just turned sixteen months old. She is developing quite the little personality, and is getting quite the temper, too! Just check out the picture of her at Riley's soccer game last week...Cory wouldn't let her get up and run onto the field, and she was NOT happy!


Loving the rocking chair...maybe one of these days the big bruise on her forehead that she has had for nearly a month will go away...


Doesn't she look all grown up?

Born just a little too late...

It has been almost two years since Papa sold the store in Oregon...time has flown! My Mom kept some of the aprons from the old Thrifway days to use in the kitchen when she cooks. Bailey found one in the cupboard the other day and wanted to put in on. I tied it up so that she wouldn't trip and she wore it around the house until it was time to change into her jammies. Looks like she would have made a great Thriftway employee, don't you think?

Soccer Girl

Spring soccer has started and Riley is playing again. This season she is on the Mighty Red Fire Dragons team. She has her cousin on her team, along with three other kids from her Kindergarten class. She told me this afternoon before her game that in the Fall she liked soccer, but this spring she LOVES it! After two Saturdays of rain and cold weather, I am just hopeful we get some actual spring weather for next week's game!