Jack is 6 months!!!

Wow! I can't believe it has been 6 months. Jack went in for his 6 month appointment on Christmas Eve. I always feel guilty taking such a happy, unsuspecting baby in for shots. He had 4 shots and had to have his blood drawn too. Which took two pokes. He passed with flying colors, no hypothyroidism!!! YAY.

Weight: 17 lbs 4 ozs (60th percentile).
Height: 26 inches (40th percentile)

Three weeks ago Jack broke his first tooth and two weeks later he broke his second. (I haven't been able to get a pic yet.). He has really become aware of his surroundings now he has (some) control of his body.

He has learned how to:

Drink from a cup

Roll all over the place and scoot backwards

Sit for a few minutes all by himself and

Eat from a spoon

Jack is such a blessing in our home. He is always smiling and his smile is very contagious. We love you Jack and can't wait to see what the next 6 months bring!

Snowy Day

Today we woke up to a white blanket of snow. It is FINALLY starting to feel like Christmas. It has been a fabulous Fall and I have zero compalaints. But, I haven't been able to get into the Christmas spirit so far. The snow helped. There was just enough snow to cover the ground and not make the roads too slick. I couldn't have asked for better.

The kids were ECSTATIC. They kept asking me if they could go outside and play. I told them they had to clean their rooms first. What an awesome motivator. They cleaned pretty well. When we finally made it outside they had a blast. At first they were only eating the snow (of course). Then they ran around and would follow the footsteps they just made. They stayed outside for like a half hour. Hailey came in asking for hot chocolate. Their cheeks and noses were bright red, I couldn't say no seeing that. It was fun to watch them play so well together and have so much fun together.

Thanksgiving 2008: Yummy, Crazy, and Tons of Fun!

This year Bo and I hosted Thanksgiving. The party started with most people arriving on Wednesday and leaving on Sunday. We played games, cooked, cleaned, baked, watched movies, and of course WE ATE. There were mountains of food. Especially dessert. YUM!!! The food was great! Thanks to everybody who pitched in with everything. I could not have done it without your help.

There were a total of 14 adults: Grandpa Shelton, Grandma Christensen, Mom, Dad, Bryce, Amie, Brooke, Issac, Dustin, Jeanie, Trent, Alisa, Bo, and I. (Barry was out of town meeting the future in laws). And 14 Grandkids: Abbey, Braxton, Landon, Alex, Lizzy, Becca, Abbie, Madelyn, Traegan, Brody, Hailey, Conrad, Jack, and Lucy. That is a mouthful. The oldest is 7 and the youngest 2 months.

The kids had a blast together. In fact, they had so much fun, four of the kids had and "accident" within an hour. There was no time for a potty break. They just played for days. Needless to say, they were a little worn out. But, hopefully they had some fun memories to take home with them.

Giving Thanks

Wow! This year Thanksgiving has been more meaningful than ever. I'm not sure if it is because of the events that have taken place this year, or because I cooked a lot this year and had lots of time to think about what I have been blessed with. Every time I think about the things we are blessed with I just get all emotional and can't believe what we have been given. I thought I should probably take note of this so I can come back and read it when I am feeling sorry for myself :)

First and foremost, I am so thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and I am deeply grateful for my Savior and all he has done for me. I know he has been with me through the tough times my family and I personally have had this past year. There were days that I wasn't sure I could continue through and He comforted me. I have grown greatly and don't know where I'd be without Him and His Gospel.

Second, the Priesthood. I am so grateful to have this power in our home. It has blessed our lives greatly this year. It has given me peace in my and blessed our children this year.

Of course, I am extremely grateful to have a loving husband and 3 happy, HEALTHY kids. We have so much fun together!! I love spending time as a family and growing closer with them. One of our favorite things to do is just lay in bed and watch Duck tales together. They LOVE Duck tales.

Bo works hard for our family and makes sure we have tons of fun too. Hailey is learning how to be a mom and told me the other day that she can't wait to grow up so she can cook in the kitchen like me. It's so cute the way she loves to take care of Jackson and her baby dolls and just wants to be a mom and do all of the mom stuff.

Conrad is the peacemaker. He walks around the house making sure everybody is happy and will do anything to put a smile on our faces.

Jackson is so sweet. His smile makes my heart melt. I am especially grateful that he is growing well and is happy. He is such a blessing in our home.

I am also grateful for my parents. They shaped me into the person I am today and taught me everything I need in order to succeed in this life and the life to come. They have worked hard for each of us and are willing to do anything for us. I am so grateful for their support and help in our times of need this year. I love you guys!!! Thanks you for all of your love and support. Of course I can't forget my my brothers and sisters too. We have so much fun when we get together and I'm grateful that we all get along.

I am also thankful to my mother and father in law and all the siblings. They were also very helpful to our family this year. They traveled from Boise to help us many times this year. It is fun to have you visit. I love you guys too!!! Thank you for all that you do! I am excited for everybody to come for Christmas!

How can I forget all of my neices and nephews, grandparents, and all of the other extended family members. We are also blessed to have so many great friends who will go out of their way to help us too. Thanks to each of you for blessing our lives. We love you.

I am grateful to be an American, and to all of those who left their families to fight for our freedom.

I am grateful for this little town we live. I love it here. And look forward to many years to come here.

I could keep on rambling, but this post is getting very long and many of you probably quit reading awhile ago.

Anyway....Happy Thanksgiving!

Bo's 27th Birthday!

Sorry there's no pics.

This was a fun weekend! We started celebrating Bo's birthday on Friday. We invited some friends over to the warehouse. There a quite a few toys for adults and kids there. So, the kids played on a little blow up castle, the girls talked, and the guys hit in the batting cage for awhile. Then once us girls left the guys had a Halo night.

Today we got up and I made Bo his favorite breakfast. Crepes stuffed with warm homemade chocolate pudding and bananas. Yummy! We actually all love it. It may not be the healthiest, but mmmm they are good. This evening we had family over and had cake and ice cream. It was nice to hang out with everyone. We love you Honey!!

I've been tagged

5 things I was doing 10 years ago?
1. Waiting to turn 16 so I could date
2. Soon to meet Bo (wow I can't believe it's almost been 10 years since we met!)
3. Just getting my driver's license
4. loving Jr. High and being a Freshman
5. Dreaming about High School and how grown up I'd be when I was finally 16 (Ha! Ha!)

5 things on today's list?

1. Take Hailey to dance
2. Organize the basement (I've been avoiding it for weeks)
3. Play with the kids
4. Clean bathrooms
5. Hang out with Bo

5 snacks I enjoy?

1. ANYTHING with sugar (if anyone knows me they know this)
2. popcorn
3. homemade bread and jam
4. potato chips
5. favorite sugary treat is double chocolate chip cookies

5 places I've lived from birth?

1. Idaho Falls
2. Rexburg (twice)
3. Provo, UT
4. Orem, UT
5. Rigby (I know, I'm quite adventurous:)

5 jobs I've had?

1. Currently a mom (the best and hardest)
2. Hotel Cleaner (the worst)
3. Ice cream shop (most social)
4. Old Navy
5. Medical Assistant for a Dermatologist (this was a great job)

Happy Halloween

This year was such great Halloween! It was so fun to watch the kids experience and understand what was happening around them. They were ecstatic all day and couldn't wait to get going. Finally it was time to go. Grandma Porter was able to go for a little while (she came over from Boise to ref the State Volleyball). It was gorgeous out. 60 degrees out with no wind or rain. Conrad was dressed as a lion, Hailey was a chicken, and Jack was a bear. Jack loved being pushed around in the stroller. Hailey and Conrad ran door to door saying, "I'm not tired yet, let's keep going". Conrad started noticed that everybody giving out candy was saying, "Happy Halloween" and he started saying it to everyone as he walked off. It was so cute! After trick-or-treating, we drove up to I.F. to visit my parents. It was fun to talk and the kids loved showing off their costumes.

Bo and I had so much fun. It was by far the funnest Halloween ever! I think we'll dress up next year too!

We also had a party in the morning. My friend Kendra and I had planned on going over to the office to visit Bo and Kris (her husband and Bo's business partner) and put on a Halloween parade. It didn't quite go as planned, they were not there when we wanted to go so we had to wait to go to the party. Then they were busy putting up drywall for their new theater room at the warehouse. So, we had a quick little parade and a quick party. It was still fun and the kids didn't seem to mind. They had more fun playing on the toy there anyway.

Hailey had two days of Halloween this year. Thursday she had a party for her preschool class and her dance class. She decided to wear her Snow White dress to those parties. Almost every girl at each party was a princess. They all looked so cute. I wish I had taken a picture, because on Halloween Hailey decided she wanted to wear her chicken costume.

Our Family Pictures

Okay, so I have wanted family pictures taken for a LONG time. I finally decided it was time to buckle down and do it. As you may imagine, it was very difficult to get everybody to cooperate. This family pic is our favorits because everyone except Conrad is looking. Quite and acomplishment I have to say!! The others are my favorites of the kids.

Kendra Stowell, a family friend took our pictures. She did an awesome job! We are grateful for her patience. Also, the time she took out of her busy life with 2 kids to take the pictures of our family. Thank you Kendra!!!

The kids did much better alone. We got a whole bunch of cute ones.












Kendra also took Hailey's 4 year old pictures. There were so many cute ones, I can't decide which ones to print.

Hailey's 4th Birthday

Saturday the 18th was Hailey's 4th birthday. It was a fun day. She has been anticipating it for at least two months. We made a count down chain like 6 weeks ago.

Grandma Porter came over from Boise. We went to Craigo's Pizza for lunch. And the party began at six. My parents, Trent, Alisa, Kendra and Hailey's best friend Ilzay were there too. She had a blast opening presents and having Happy Birthday sung to her. She has loved playing with all of her new gifts from the party. Thanks for all of the gifts and also all of the birthday cards sent to her. Here are some pics and a couple of video clips from her big day. The one dark clip is Hailey blowing out her candles and the other was a clip we thought was funny (hopefully it isn't a you had to be there funny).

Where has all of Jackson's hair gone?

Looking a Jackson now, you would never know he was born with tons of long brown hair. It's so sad. He now has red hair and is losing it fast. I think blonde hair is coming in. Oh well, he is still such a cutie!! (For some reason his eyes look brown in all of his pics. They are blue.)

Last week was crazy busy!

Okay. So last Sunday was General Conference. We sent the kids downstairs to play so we could actually get something out of it. When they came upstairs they were covered in a gray powder. We couldn't even figure out what it was. Turns our that they found a bag of grout powder left by the builders that we didn't even know about. They were pretending it was flour and making a cake. WHAT A MESS!! I guess it's good the basement isn't finished. You gotta love kids.

My mom, sister-in-law (Alisa), and I picked apples on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday we made frozen apple pie filling. I am still making dried apples. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast watching those apples getting peeled. The pie filling turned out great too.

Friday we went to Utah for Brooke's daughte Rebecca's blessing. The drive there was great. Saturday we spent some time with Bo's cousins from Colorado (who were visiting for another blessing). Then we hung out we my side Hailey had a blast with her cousins. They always love to dress her up. Everybody got a sitter Saturday night and the adults got a sitter. It was fun. We went to California Pizza Kitchen.

Sunday we went to the blessing and had some lunch then left. The drive home wasn't as great as the drive there. We got stuck in trafic in Willard

of all places. There was a bad snowstorm and like five wrecks in a two mile strip. We could only go five mph. But, once we got through there things went much smoother. The 3 and a half hour trip ended up taking four and a half hours. Yuck! The week before, I would have never even thought it was possible for a storm on this trip. I guess we may just go from summer to winter with no Fall. We already went from winter to summer with no Spring this year!

5 Year Anniversary

Okay, sorry I keep adding stuff from way back. But, I just found these pictures and had to add them. Our 5 year anniversary was March 28 and we decided to do sealings in the newely dedicated Rexburg temple. After that we went up to West Yellowstone to stay for a night. This first picture is from our room on the third floor. It is only about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Rexburg and we could not believe how much snow there was still (normally the may have a couple inches). It was as tall as some buildings. Last winter was crazy! When we went to leave, our car was covered. We weren't even there for 24 hours! The drive back was scary too. There was drifting snow most of the way. We still had fun and it was nice to have a little getaway with just us before the new addition to our family.

The 8's in my Life

8 Favorite TV SHOWS:
1. House
2. Ugly Betty
3. 24 (I agree with Emily, you have to watch the DVD's. It's much better.)
4. Heroes
5. Kyle XY (I know this looks like a dumb show, but Bo and I love it.)
6. Friday Night Lights (I don't even like football, but I like the sappy high school love stories)
7. Lost
8. The Office (Who doesn't like this one?)

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Thai House
2. Thai House
3. Thai House (I love this place, I could eat it everyday!)
4. Garcias
5. I love Chinese, but can't find a great restaurant in IF, any suggestions.
6 Texas Roadhouse
7. Stockman's
8. Cheesecake Factory

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. Conrad woke up just before I left for my run at 6:10. Not cool.
2. Went on a walk
3. Dried apples and made frozen apple pie filling
4. Took care of the kids
5. Watched some tv
6. Had dinner with my family
7. Ran to the store to get medicine I already had
8. Bought my last storage container for food storage for awhile!

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Joining a rec center
2. Trip to Utah this weekend
3. Conrad being potty trained
4. Jackson sitting
5. The weekend! (I love the weekend!)
6. The Holidays
7. Hailey's Birthday on the 18th
8. Bedtime for the kids and spending time with Bo.

8 Things on my wish list:
1. A decorator (I don't even know where to begin)
2. A Bosch to help make bread faster
3. An upturn in the Economy
4. a longer fuse, some days mine is just too short.
5. a longer summer
6. Bo to be done with school
7. a good nights sleep again
8. my kids like having the house clean as much as I do

8 Peeps I'm tagging:
1. I don't know if I have 8. I just started blogging, let's see...
2. Jeanie Christensen
3. Kendra Stowell
4. Erika Radford
5. Holly Merkley
6. I think that's it. I'm working on getting more of my family to do this, but so far Jeanie's the only one.

Hailey is growing up on us

I can't believe it. Hailey will be 4 in about a week. Time goes by so fast. She just started a dance class and preschool. She loves it. Dance is her favorite. It's mine too because we get to stay and watch them dance through the window in the studio. It is so cute! They all have the same outfits and it's just darling.


Preschool is great for her and great for Conrad and me. We get to have some one on one time. We don't get a lot because Hailey demands MUCH more attention than Conrad. She is definitely the oldest child.

Conrad's 2nd Birthday

Sorry I forgot to add this first. Conrad's birthday was April 3. We had a fun birthday party for him. He got cars (he loves cars) and clothes. It was fun because he actually knew there was something underneath the paper. It's always fun when they hit that point. Christmas should be so fun this year!!

Jack's Blessing and Spud Day Weekend

We were finally able to bless Jack on September 21. It was a special day and almost everybody on both sides of the family was able to share it with us. Bo did a great job ( I am grateful men have the Priesthood). We had a dinner afterward. Thank you to all that could share the day with us.

The blessing fell on the weekend of Spud Day. Everybody was able to go to the parade. It was rainy this year, but we had plenty of fun. The kids loved it. Conrad wasn't too sure about the sirens or
the rain. But, he LOVES sugar and everybody threw candy. That was his favorite part.  Hailey loved everything about the parade. We went and got them corn dogs afterward (another favorite). We also had to get a free spud.

The kids both did the potato race and had lots of fun doing that! Jack had fun being carried around in his snugli.



It was a very busy weekend. But, it was great.

Our Camping trip

We went camping with some friends at Warm River in August. If you haven’t gone camping with kids, it is quite the adventure. We had a great time. Bo took the kids out on a small lake in the rubber raft. They caught 10 fish. Conrad loved it. He loves to fishing He asks all the time to go. They played in the dirt a lot. They were covered in dirt head to toe. Jack did really well too. Conrad was bitten my a mosquito the last day and his eye swelled shut. He didn’t like it. You can still see where he was bitten. I can’t believe it has taken so long to heal.