Braiden's 9th Birthday

My boy turned 9 yesterday.  What? That means that this is his last year in the single digits, that also means that his mother must be getting old.

The lucky kid got to go on a field trip to the planetarium on his birthday- fun fun.  When he got home he had to tell me about all the snakes he saw.  Ewww! Wait...what are snakes doing at the planetarium? Anyhoo I guess the planetarium wasn't the only place they visited.

We had Grandmas and Grandpas over for hamburgers to celebrate.

He is so big now we let him light his own candles.

He was excited to have his cake

Make a wish.

Waiting to open presents.

Legos!!

What he really wanted- Under Armour (do you see how excited he is?)

And a new Wii game.  I tricked him and wrapped it in a Ritz Cracker box so he couldn't guess what it was. ;)  It worked.  :)

They had their pinewood derby last week. We didn't win this time...maybe by the time Hudson is in scouts we will know how to build a winning car.  :)

Steelhead Fishing

A couple weeks ago Nate went Steelhead fishing with my dad and brother.  They drove all day to Tillamook Oregon where they had hired a guide to take them out fishing- geez what men will do to catch a fish.  They had a great time:

Christopher caught the biggest fish. (2 total)  Dad caught the most. (5 total)  Nate caught a native fish and a fish that had already spawned (meaning it was dying) so he let them go.  (4 total)

You can't go to Tillamook Oregon without visiting the Tillamook Cheese factory.  They came home with all sorts of cheese to try. yum.

On their way home they stopped at Multnomah Falls:

Isn't it beautiful?

Nate named this "the Scooby Doo tree"

I think Oregon is a beautiful place, I think a family trip to the coast is in order this summer.

Decorating Dilemmas

Yesterday my mom and I went shopping for the first time since her knee replacement. We had a blast and I am looking forward to many more shopping trips now that she can walk better.  :) It was a quick little trip to Twin Falls, but that's OK the only place we really wanted to go was Real Deals.  I found this cute little candle stick, I loved it-I didn't know what I wanted to use it for but I couldn't pass it up. The little nest just screams spring and I am SO ready for spring. Here's what I came up with:

I got the bird last year at Tai Pan--♥ it!

I also got this clock:

I have this shelf above my bed and it needed something else, I thought this clock would be perfect.  I am having mixed feelings towards the clock- at first when I put it up I liked it. When I went in the room an hour later I wrapped it back up in the bubble wrap and I was going to take it back. Two hours later I unwrapped it and started playing around with it. I like it sitting on the decorative book here are some options:

Clock in the middle- family picture on the left.

Clock on the left family picture in the middle---NAH!

See- something has to be in the middle.

Think.


Think.


Think.


Go digging.

Wicker balls:

This is how it sits now. Tell me- what do you think. Maybe there's something I am missing.  Should I take the clock back and get something different, or give it a chance?

On to the next decorating dilemma.  I had a wreath over the fireplace at Christmas time, I just barely took it down. I loved the way it looked up there and the way it filled the space.  Looking around I decided to try putting my big clock up there:

I just hung it on the wreath nail so it is about 3-4 inches higher than I would like, I hate putting another hole in the wall though. 

Or should I just put the family pic back up there:

What do you think?

The problem with putting the clock up there is:

Now I have a blank wall above my couch. But, I would love to do something like this on that wall:

♥♥♥    {sigh}   ♥♥♥

Moving on...

I was looking at Brody the other day and noticed a little bit of hair missing from the front of his head:

it's just  a little. Nothing like Braiden's butcher job he did when he was about 4-- take a look- it's funny  (well it wasn't at the time.)

I believe that all kids are going to cut their own hair at some point.  Luckily Brody chose to be conservative, unlike our friend above. :) Oh and I never could get Brody to admit to it.

Also Joslyn is now an expert walker

She officially walks more than she crawls. 

All of my kids have walked at 13 months--just keeping tradition.

Double Stuff

I was getting ready to transfer pics from my camera to the computer this morning when I came upon these:

Someone had left the pantry door open and moved the oreos to the bottom shelf so she decided to try one...or two...or...when I found her she was starting to gag because they were too much!



Our highchair had seen it's better day.  It had a cloth cover that I had to wash every other day. It had too many crevices for crumbs to get caught in and that drove me CRAZY.  Every night I would get out a toothpick to try to clean out those small spaces--yeah I'm like that.  AND it didn't have a seat belt and that was the # 1 problem!!! SO- I got Joslyn this little booster, I didn't want to spend $140 on a new highchair-she's #4 for heavens sake! So I settled for this little $25 version, no cloth cover, no crevices and best of all it has a SEAT BELT!!

I think she's happy with it! At least until she tries to stand up and she can't and then she won't like it any more. :)


Looky-she has a clip in her hair! She barely has enough hair-but "barely" is good enough for me.  I gave up on headbands a long time ago.  Hopefully these clips are discreet enough that she will forget about them and leave them alone-hopefully.

In other news: I am in the dog house with Braiden because I missed him making a basket the other night at his basketball game.  He said I was too busy "talking". I felt so bad! :( BAD MOMMY!

Some of my friends talked me into doing the Sawtooth Relay (click on the link if your curious) with them.  WHAT was I thinking??? I am not a runner!!  The race starts in Stanley Id and ends in Ketchum that means each member of the 6 person team has to run/walk 2 legs of the relay which are about 5 miles ea.  One of the girls gladly volunteered to run UP Galena summit, and another brave soul volunteered to run down--and neither one of those was me!  I have ALOT of work to do before June 11.  Now if it would warm up a little so I could get out and start running!  The best part of this is our team name: The Housewives of Heyburn- ha-ha love it!

Note: new pics of the kids on the sidebar--its about time, I know.

A Few Things

::  I am soooooo excited for zumba tonight, I really need it today.

::  I bought these pretty apothecary jars and filled them with pink and red candies, the only problem- I can't keep them full, it's not me I promise! ;) maybe that's why I need zumba tonight. :)

::  I am considering putting Hudson's dresser drawers under lock and key-he changes his clothes 5 times a day.

::  Baby girl cut her third tooth-my kids are slow teethers-I'm OK with that.

::  Speaking of that baby girl, she keeps me on my toes.

      -If the door to the linen closet is open she is tearing Kleenex out of the box and eating toilet paper.

      -If the door to the pantry is open she is pulling boxes of cereal off the shelves and helping herself.

      -If the door to any given bathroom is open she is playing...well never mind.  Let's just say I had to wash her hands about 10 times yesterday and change her clothes about 5 times.

      -She loves to "help" in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher, taking out the garbage, sweeping the floor. She is always "right there" when you need her. ♥ 

      -She won't stay sitting to save her life-  she sits in her highchair for about 2 min then she finishes her meal standing, and I have my arm out  ready to catch her. She even stands in the grocery cart. JOY!

      -She crawls around the house pulling up the vent covers-just because she can, she doesn't want to play with them she just wants them out of place.

::  Who needs zumba when you have Miss. J?

::  I am going through Kindle withdrawls-I need a good book, any suggestions?

::  It's happening again, more pink and red candies disappearing--that darn Hudson.

Joslyn's First Birthday

Growing...

 Growing...

 Growing...

 Growing...

 Growing...

 Growing...

My One Year Old Girl...

Cupcakes for a princess.

 Digging in.

 NOT loving all the attention.

After a little time out with mom she was ready to open presents....With a little help from her brothers.

Fun Day! I can NOT believe my baby is 1.

After the party was over I put her back in the highchair to enjoy her cupcake in peace, and enjoy it she did!!

Yummy!

I think a sink bath is in order.

While she was opening her presents she was standing up to the coffee table and let go and took 2 steps to the couch!! She is getting so brave!

We love our baby girl/sis & we can't imagine life without her. 

Hudson Turns 3!!

My sweet boy turned 3 on Sunday

Don't let this picture fool you this poor boy was sick, sick, sick on his birthday.  He was running a serious fever that I almost couldn't control with Tylenol and Motrin. Hudson wanted a football cake so Nate took over and decorated the cake, I think he did great.  He will be decorating every birthday cake from here on out. ;)

Three candles.


Make a wish.....

Hudson loves motorcycles and before he even unwrapped this one, he said, "It's my bike guy?"  He loves it, now he calls it his "big guy" because he's never had a "bike guy" as big as this one.

He had a big year as a 2 year old.
He became a big brother.
He learned how  to go potty.
He learned how to dress himself.
He learned how to love nursery.
Then he learned how to hate it again.
He learned how to sleep in a big boy bed--in the basement.
He learned how to "walk like a good boy" along side the grocery cart.
He learned that he loves his daddy best. "daddy is my own Huddo"  and when Nate is holding Joslyn he says "daddy is MY Huddo!"
He learned how to hold his own against his 2 older brothers and to be sweet and soft to his baby sister.

You've grown so much Hudson we can't wait to see what you'll learn as a 3 year old.