Indiya's Bday

We were in Utah for Indi's birthday. The morning of her birthday she woke up and said, "It's party day!". And then she continued to remind us through the day that it was "her" day. One time Jaed was trying to boss her around and she yelled at him, "It's MY SPECIAL DAY!". She asked for presents all morning even after I told her that she couldn't have any presents until her party. My sister and I made a princess hat for her and I bought her a princess cape that she wore during her party as well. This was the best birthday party ever because I didn't have to send out any invitations and I didn't have to stress about no one showing. All her cousins (who were in town) were so excited that she was having a party none of them would have missed it for anything. I know she felt very special and loved that whole day. She especially got lots of attention from her Grandpa during our stay in Utah. He thought she was the cutest ever and she LOVED the cuddles, hugs, tickles and attention he gave her.

Here was our little Birthday Princess ready to open her presents:



















Here is Indi hugging some of her presents. If it wasn't something with princesses then it was polly pocket dolls:






































We had yummy cupcakes and ice cream for her birthday. Here she is about to blow he candle out:



















What a group of kids!! Here is Indi with all her party attendees (her cousins) eating cake and ice cream outside:

Relaxing at the river

While visiting my sister in Washington we went to her families secret swimming spot. The kids had blast.

Believe it or not, Indi did start out in a swimming suit but she had a poop accident so she put her panties on and she seemed completely content:



















Indi and Jaed played together a lot that day. Here's Jaed with one of his many poses:



















Josie was splashing water everywhere. I caught her in action in this picture:



















Here's Indi (munching on chips) with her cousin Eric (5 yrs old) and Brett (10 yrs old):



















Jaed decided to sit down and take a snack break as well. You can see his two cousins in the background trying to lift the log off the big rock. Jaed wanted to go help them but I wouldn't let him so he decided to just watch:















The boys found some sticks and the sword fighting began. The girls wanted to play but the closest they got to the boys was during this picture:

Pool day

When the kid woke up this morning I told them that we would be going to the pool and having a picnic there. They were so excited and put their suits on right away even though we weren't leaving for another couple of hours. When we finally got there, I put suntan lotion on and off they went. They didn't interact with one another for the entire two hours we were there. Everytime I did a head they were at oppposite sides of the pool. They each had their own agenda and playing with one another was not on it. I even saw Josie and Indi bumped into each other one time but neither of them looked at each other, they just got their balance and kept going.

After we had a little picnic the kids ran back in the pool and started to play again. Shortly after they all got back in the life guard blew his whistle and told everyone to get out. I guess a little kid threw up in the pool. Josie was crying and Jaed was very bugged that they had to get out. When I told them that a little boy threw up Jaed said, "His momma shouldn't let him get in if he's sick!" and then Josie piped up and said, "He's naughty Mommy!". It's a good thing we didn't know who the kid was or my kids would have yelled something about being "naughty" at him.

Home Sweet Home

We are back home now and I think we were all a little anxious to get here. I had a wonderful and non-stop time at my sister's house but by the time I got to my Mom's house, I was missing my hubby, my routine and my home. The kids had a great time playing with all of their cousins and I enjoyed hanging out with family members where we caught up on each other's daily lives. I had big hopes that I would be able to call some friends and get together with them while I was visiting my mom but unfortunately I didn't get that chance (Sorry...Laura, Jami, Lori, Cathy, and everyone else!). Thayne flew in July 3rd, just in time to celebrate the holiday with us. The kids were so excited to see him. They wouldn't leave his side for the first couple of days he was there. Of course, Thayne thought that Kai had grown so big since he last saw her. She is rolling around and smiling continously now. She is already grabbing everything in sight as well.

We rented a van and drove back this weekend. It took us two days of driving but we made it safe and without complications. Thank goodness we have a DVD player for the kids. A couple of times we turned it off but that lasted about 10 minutes and then Thayne or I were turning it on again to have some peace. Jaed sat next to Kaia the whole time so he could give her the pacifier when she needed it and play with her when she got fussy. He did a great job and was a huge help for us.

When we walked in the house the girls ran right up their rooms. Josie was dragging things out of her room saying, "Daddy, do you remember my blanket.......my dolls.....my chair?". I think she was the most excited to be home and back in her familiar environment.

I am excited to get them back in a daily routine and be the Queen Bee of my house again. We'll be going to the community pool almost everyday while we still can. I'll put pictures up of our vacation as I get them downloaded on my computer.

Time flies

I can't believe we've been here in Washington for two weeks already. One more week to go and then we head t Utah for two weeks. I haven't been very good about blogging since I've been here but I did take some pictures that should give you guys a good chuckle.



The girls have been having tons of fun dressing up and running around the house after the dog. I think if they could get a dress on the dog, they would put it on her.


Here's the girls in their favorite dress up wings, glasses and crowns. They each have purse the carry around with a brush, mirror and whatever else they can put in it.

Indi was so insistant that Abby (the dog) was going to wear these glasses around. But the dog wouldn't leave them on for more than about 3 seconds. Indi was yelling at her to not touch them or leave them on, but Abby would swipe at them with her paw or shake her head to get them off. Thank goodness, Indi finally gave up and left Abby alone.

I think I mentioned in my last post that Josie has been reading Abby books. The last time she did it I grabbed my camera and took a couple of pictures. She would read the book and then show Abby the pictures and ask the dog, "Do you like it, Abby?".

On Vacation

We've been here at my sister's house for a week now and we're having tons of fun but missing Thayne a whole bunch. My sister has four boys so Jaed is feeling pretty good with the new boy/girl ratio. He is constantly counting how many boys there are verses how many girls there are. My sister's family has a dog, name Abby, that Josie and Indi are in love with. They are constantly laying on Abby, reading to her, singing to her, and (of course) dancing to her. One time, Josie was trying to read Abby a book and the dog was not looking at the pictures. Josie got so frustrated with her that she tried to make Abby turn her head and face the book, but Abby never did. Josie finally gave up and said, "You just naughty, Abby!".

All of my sister's boys are great with my kids. They are kind and very helpful which makes it easier on me. I really feel like I am on vacation! Indi and Josie have been pretty good about keeping their clothes on (well at least their panties). I have found them streaking a couple of times but the majority of the time they have something on.

We have cleaning parties about every other day and each of my sister's older three boys are assigned one of my kids as a partner to help them clean. I had forgotten how nice it is to clean without kids messing stuff up right behind you or cleaning without stopping to find the kids, change a diaper, feed a baby....etc.. I actually enjoyed cleaning and felt very productive!

It's been raining a lot since we got here so we haven't been doing a whole lot outside. The kids have been busy playing video games, playing star wars, playing dress up, and even have taken the time to color and draw a lot of pictures. Jaed has been in to drawing pictures and giving them to people so after he finished a picture he was drawing he dissappeared for a bit. I finally went looking for him and noticed the front door open. I walked out on the front porch and noticed Jaed running back from the next door neighbors house. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I took some mail over the the neighbors house. You know, the picture I just drew.". We caught him two more times after that taking "mail" over to the same neighbor's house. He's so funny and so thoughtful!

Family Activity

Since the last time we took the kids bowling, they have been asking to go again. Thayne and I decided to take them this weekend. They had tons of fun. Here's pictures of our time together:

Here's Thayne in action. Look at the form! Hehehe, even with a great form he still didn't win, I did :).



















Here's Jaed getting his ball, excited to throw it down the lane:



















Here's Jaed after he throws his bowl. He watches his ball fly down the lane like this everytime it's his turn:




















Jaed finally stands up after his ball hits the pins:



















Josie has her ball and she's ready to go. One time she was crying because she got into some trouble and when I told her it was her turn to bowl she stopped crying immediately, wiped her eyes, and ran up to grab her ball.



















Indi had a permanent smile on her face the entire time. She was the first person to run up to you after you threw your ball down the lane and give you a 'high-five', and everytime she threw the ball she wanted a 'high-five' in return:




















Little Kai was the perfect audience the entire time. She didn't want to sit in her seat at all. She wanted to be up with the rest of us so Thayne and I took turns holding her. She didn't cry once the whole time we were there.

Season for bike riding

The kids have been so anxious to get their bikes out and ride them. We finally caved in and got them out, and ready to go. Here's some pictures of them riding around:

I had to threaten Jaed to smile here. He had been riding his bike for a while and was tired and very crabby. So his smile is very forced!



















Here's Josie in action. She was riding everywhere and especially liked going down hills on her bike. Notice that she's riding in one of her many princess dresses.




















Indi is also riding in her princess dress. She just followed Josie everywhere saying, "Wait for me, Josie!". Of course, Josie just ignored her and raced ahead even faster.




















Indi kept asking me to let Kai ride her bike even though I explained that Kai was too little. Finally, I put Kai on the bike with Indi and Indi was thrilled. She cried when I took Kai off.

Funny Memory

I have been thinking about something I did when Thayne and I were first married and laughing out loud. I thought I'd post it here so that ya'll could get a good laugh as well.

So, Thayne's dad has the most perfect hair I've ever seen on a man. There isn't a hair out of place and he has TONS of it. From the first time I saw him, I knew for sure that he was wearing a toupe'. There was no way that a man his age (48 at the time, hehe) could have that much hair and never have a strand out of place. I finally asked Thayne about it when we got engaged and he said "I don't think he wears a toupe'." Well, if his own son didn't know for a fact than I was even more positive my assumption was true. Thayne and I had funny arguements about it all the time. One day I was riding to work, listening to the morning show on the radio and the DJ encouraged the audience to call in and tell them about a constant silly/funny arguement that you have with your spouse. I didn't even hesitate. I grabbed my phone and dialed the number. I only had to a few minutes and before I knew it, I was on the radio explaining that my husband and I fought over my father in law's hair. The DJ thought it was quite comical that Thayne, his own son, didn't know for a fact that his dad did or didn't wear a toupe'. I had several friends and co-workers tell me they heard me on the radio and couldn't believe that my father really wore a toupe'. If my father in law only knew the rumors I was spreading. HAHAHHA!

Thayne and I play argued about it so much that I started to convince Thayne that it was true. Thayne agreed to check it out next time we went over to his parents house. Well, that day came and it was time to end the arguement. We were all in the kitchen and Thayne's Dad bent over to pick something up. I motioned for Thayne to check his Dad's hair out so Thayne stepped over to where his dad was, acted like was going to rub his dad's shoulder and then he quickly yanked on his dad's hair. I couldn't believe he did it. I wanted to bust up laughing right there. He actually pulled on his dad's hair. Unfortunately, I was wrong about the toupe'. His hair didn't budge at all. Thayne's dad quickly stood up and said, "Thayne, what are you doing?", and he fluffed his hair back into place. Thayne responded, "Just rubbin' your head, Dad!". Thayne looked over at me with a bugged look on his face and shook his head at me.

Thayne said later, "I can't believe I even thought he might have wore a toupe'." I laughed and tried to apologized for saying his dad wore a toupe', but it wasn't very sincere. That was ove 9 years ago and it still makes me bust up when I think about it.

Resemblence?

Indi put these glasses on this morning and this little chicken was the first thing I thought of. What a resemblence!







































(Egghead Jr. from Looney Tunes)

School Party

Today was Josie's "End of the Year" school party. She really loves school and I know she'll miss her teachers all summer.

I keep forgetting to post a funny experience I had with Josie in regards to her teachers. First, I should say that I do my girls hair everyday and pick their clothes out the night before. I love to get my girls dressed and ready for the day. It's like playing dolls all over again. Well, everytime Josie would go to school her teachers would always make a remark about how cute she looks. Several weeks ago, I was helping Josie get her clothes on for school and she looked down at herself and said, "No, Mom....my teachers won't like dis outfit!". No matter what I said she would not leave that outfit on. I looked up at Thayne and said, "She is too young to have an opinion on what she should wear!". He only laughed and walk out of the room. I had to go find a different outfit for her to wear that she liked and one she thought her teachers would like. I think I was in my own little world when I was thinking that my girls would never have an opinion on what they wore.

Okay, back to the party. Indi, Kai and I were invited to attend the party as well. Josie's class sang two songs and told a story while all the parents and siblings watched with grins on our faces. Josie was all over the floor during the story. She was rolling around, doing somersaults, and even hugging the kids next to her. She did stop and sing the songs, though.

Here are some pictures of the party:

This is Josie and her Teacher "Mrs. Arlene". I have really enjoyed her teachers this year. They seem so intune with Josie's needs. They also are very kind and loving to Josie, which is extremely important to me.



















This is Josie with her teachers Ms. Meagan and Mrs. Hope (who is holding our little Kaia):




















Here's Josie during one of the songs. I whispered her name and she turned my way, saw the camera and put a HUGE grin on her face:




















Here is Josie and her best friend Amara. Everytime I drop Josie off at school, Amara comes running up to her and wraps her arms around Josie saying, "My best friend!" :




















There was a table of cookies at the party and Indi would not leave the table for even a second at first. I finally told her she couldn't have any more cookies but after a bit I glanced over at the table and there she was eating another cookie with Josie and Amara. I caught her in the act:

Moving up in the world

Now that Kai is getting a little older (almost 4 months old), we decided to bring in the high chair and put her in it. The kids love it more than she does, I think. The piled her tray up with so many toys, that she didn't even know where to start. She just starred at them for the longest time and then decided to grab one. When she reached out for one Jaed yelled, "SHE'S GRABBING THE ONE I PUT UP THERE!". His outburst really startled her and she started to cry.

This reminded me of a remark that Jaed made several weeks ago, right before my mom came into town. He said, "Momma, I don't know what Grams is going to do when she comes.". I asked him what he meant and he said, "Well, Kaia doesn't like any person but you and she sometimes likes Daddy but that's it. Whenever me and the girls get around her and try and play with her she starts to cry and then you tell us to get away.". I told him that I was sure that Kaia would be okay with Grams but he had major hesitation. I laughed pretty hard when he walked away. They have know clue that pulling her arms, squeezing her face together, growling and roaring her face, and smothering her is what makes her cry, not them!

Here's some recent pictures of our little Kai:

Here's Kaia in her new high chair with Josie peeking behind





































Yesterday morning, Kaia woke up all smiles and smiled the morning away. Here she is in her little rocker just smiling and playing and talking! She is a very happy and calm baby 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time is when she's hungry and/or you have to burp her. She hates and she let's you know!

Birthday Boy

It was Thayne's birthday this weekend and the kids loved giving him all the attention. Thayne's parents came into town for the big birthday and showered Thayne with nice dress clothes for work. We went swimming and to dinner on the special day. Here are some great pictures of the kids swimming at the hotel of Grandpa and Grandma:

Here the kids are, all ready to jump in the pool. The girls loved their goggles so much while Jaed said they hurt his eyes and refused to wear them.














Here's the Thayne and the girls:














Thayne was trying very hard to teach Jaed to swim but Jaed was not that interested. He wanted to do his own thing most of the time.













The girls kept their goggles on for quite a long time. We all got a chuckle everytime we looked at them:





































Indi took several breaks from swimming. She would ask to be wrapped up in the towel and then sit down right next to Kaia and watch the others swim until she was ready to go back in:















Josie LOVED to get out of the pool and jump back in with her tube around her. One time she asked Indi to help her out of the pool. Indi tried very hard but couldn't quite get her lifted up:



















Here's Thayne about to throw Indi up in the air. She kept asking him to do it again and again:


















Thayne was helping Indi get use to the water:

Scared

I was out paying bills with the girls this morning and Josie kept running ahead. She would go around corners and I would call her name to come back and she (of course) wouldn't. Sometimes I would go around the corner and not see her which scared me to death.

I decided that it was enough so I called her over to me and waited until she came. I proceeded to tell her that the reason I wanted her to stay close to me is because there were bad people around and they could grab her and take her away. So if she stayed by me, I could protect her from someone grabbing her. Her eyes were really big and she grabbed on to my hand immediately. As we walked down the hall I heard her mumbling something about someone grabbing her when a door opened and a man walked out towards us. Josie screamed bloody murder and got behind me. The man looked pretty startled himself. He stopped and looked at me, I think waiting for an explanation. I told him that I was trying to teach her about strangers and to be careful around them, but I must have scared her a little more than I intended to. I kind chuckled but the guy didn't. So I told the girls to "come on" and we left the building. Josie was clinging to me very hard. All I can say is that at least I didn't have to watch her run ahead of me and call after her.

Playing outside

I took some more pictures of the kids playing, and Thayne mowing outside:

I usually do the mowing because I like to do it, but Thayne has done it more than me recently.















Me, Jaed and Kaia snuggling for a picture.




















Me and the "girls" snuggling for another picture




















Jaed wanted to take Kaia for a ride so I let him go about 2 feet and called it good!




















Here's Josie, the big sister, holding Kaia and swinging. Josie kept saying, "I'm swinging with my baby sister, Mommy!"

Visit from Gram

My mom came into town for a quick weekend visit. It was so nice to have her come and hang out. The kids had a blast with her and she seemed to enjoy their company (as wild as it was) as well. We shoppped, talked, laughed and visited non-stop. Thayne was so good to let us do things without the kids sometimes, even though they were crying at the door when we left. He never complained!

My mom calls me "Allyson" and my kids could not stand it. They kept telling her that my name was "Mommy" or "Ally" NOT "Allyson". Especially Indi. She seemed to be the first one to speak up when she heard my mom call my name. My mom kept telling them that my name was "Allyson" but they didn't believe it for a second. Unfortunately for them, my mom just kept calling me "Allyson" and they kept reminding her that she wasn't saying right.

It was sad to see her go. Josie just kept saying, "Don't leave, Grams, don't go!". I wanted to say that too, but I knew she had to get back to her house and work. I do hate not living close to my family.

I thought about taking pictures several times but never got my camera out. Now I'm so bugged at myself that we didn't take any pictures of her and the kids. This is the second visit, from her, that I didn't get my camera out. Oh well, I'll make up for it this summer when we're at her house for two weeks. Only 18 more days to go and we're off on our vacation adventure!

Crazy Times

I can't believe it's been over a week and I haven't written anything. So much has happened that I don't even know where to start. I guess I"ll start with some funny stuff. I was leaving the house to take Jaed to school when Josie said, "Mom that's our grass out there by our house" and before I could respond, Jaed said, "No Josie, it's not our grass, it's Jesus's grass. He just let's us mow it!". I told Jaed he was right, that Jesus made everything here on earth and we have to do what we can to take care of it and when we mow the grass that's taking care of it. He was pretty proud of himself. That conversation started a bunch of questions about Jesus from Jaed. We even talked about how we need to be like Jesus and he got all emotional and said that he would try hard to do it. It almost made me cry the way he was talking so seriously. We talked about when we're naughty we're not doing what Jesus would want us to do, so Jaed said that at school he would try hard to do what Jesus wants.
Well, after I dropped Jaed off at school I told the girls that we were going to go to the store and the first thing Josie says is, "Mommy, shopping is naughty and Jesus doesn't want us to do that!". I know she got that from Thayne. Whenever the kids tell Thayne that we bought something (because I don't ever fess up so the kids tattle on me) he always says, "That is so naughty of Mommy!". Even with all the stuff I buy for Josie (and my other kids) she's telling me that shopping is naughty and that Jesus doesn't want us to shop. When we got into the store, an older lady stopped and said, "Oh, how cute. Are you girls shopping with your Mommy?". Any guesses how Josie responded? "No, Jesus doesn't want us to shop, so we not shopping!". The lady looked a little confused and chuckled. I just shrugged my shoulders and strolled away.
When we picked up Jaed from school he was so excited to tell me that he got in "green" and did everything Jesus wanted him to do. I hugged him so hard and told him how proud I was of him. That night at dinner, Jaed said the prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for helping him get in green.

2/3rds Lawyer

Thayne finished his finals last week and finished his second year of law school. ONE MORE TO GO!!! I'm so excited to be done with this and get into normal life. Thayne started his first day at work today. We got to go shopping for him this weekend so that he had decent clothes to wear for his internship at the law firm. I had fun shopping but I could tell that it wasn't Thayne's favorite thing especially with all the kids tagging along. While I was looking at stuff, Thayne was trying to master crowd control with the kids. I'd look back at him and he was trying to get the kids to stop yelling, crying, hitting and scratching each other. I'd chuckle a little and turn back and continue shopping. I wanted to say, "Welcome to my life as a stay at home Mom!" but I didn't.

The kids don't really understand what "work" is. To them, Daddy goes to school like Jaed and Josie and that's it. I finally told Jaed that Thayne was going to work to help the good guys from going to Jail or from losing lots of money. He thought that was great. Now he thinks his dad is a super-hero.

Here is a picture of Thayne in his new "outfit" (he hates that word. He tells me that guys do not wear "outfits" but I just ignore him and keep saying it. When you have the majority of girls in your house, everyone wears "outfits". He should feel lucky that we don't use the word "panties" when describing his and Jaed's underwear.) :

Tattoos

On the Valentines Day after Thayne and I were married we decided to go and get tattoos. Yes, it hurt and yes it was a dumb, but we did and we're stuck with them (until we get rich and can get them lasered off, I guess). Well my tattoo is on the left side of my chest and Thayne's is on the upper part of his right arm. The kids are fascinated with our tattoos and ask to see them, or point them out every time they do see them.

Jaed has been talking about tattoos A LOT lately and keeps saying that some kids at his school have them on their arms. I'm sure they are the rub on ones that you can buy at the store but he argues with me if I try to tell him they are not real. I finally told him that getting a tattoo hurts and mommy and daddy were naughty to get one, but that doesn't seem to work with him. He keeps talking about getting one. Well, he told me that he told his teacher, the other day, that his mommy has a tattoo on her boobie. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment. Thayne tried to tell him that he doesn't need to tell people where "mommy's" tattoo is but we ALL know this won't be the last time it is shared with others.

This tattoo will haunt me for the rest of my life. And why did I have to get it on my chest? Why not on my leg or back or something? Thayne's tattoo (it's a dragon and sword) is more interesting than mine (a rose) so why can't Jaed talk about his? The sad thing about it is that Jaed is the first of all our children to start telling others. I KNOW that the other kids will follow in his footsteps and tell as well. I have no one to blame but myself!

Backwards

Our little Indi is quite the clown these days. She thinks it's so funny to climb on the toilet backwards and do her business. Tonight she said she had to go potty and went running in the bathroom. A few seconds later I hear her giggling in there so I decided to investigate. As I peeked in the bathroom she was on the toilet backwards and covering her mouth with one hand giggling. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I backwards, mommy!". We giggled together!