We Tried

We attempted to take a family Christmas picture this year but it did not work out the way I had hoped it would. Here are two okay shots. Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Rhaegan's 6!

I can't believe this day is actually here. Today my litttle girl turned six! I honestly remember bringing her home from the hospital, all 6 lbs of her. She has been such an amazing blessing in our lives. I am so proud and honored to be her mom. Her birthday actually started yesterday on the 9th. We decided to do all the family gifts then because her party was going to be today and we wanted to spread out the gift opening. So Friday morning she opened up some gifts from Aunts & Uncles, Grandparents and us.

I'm not sure why Marlee decided to be sleeping in the picture

Rhaegan was so excited as she opened each and every present. Her face just sparkled as she discovered what was underneath the wrapping paper.

Of course books are always a safe buy for Rhaegan and thanks to Auntie Krista and Uncle Josh and Grandma and Papa Cupps she got a good amount of them.

This Ariel Jewelry box was also a huge hit. Anything princess that sings is going to be a keeper.

Then this morning we had a birthday breakfast of orange rolls and scrambled eggs, one of her favorites.

My favorite part of the birthdays is the cake. I love decorating cakes, cookies, etc. Then her birthday party began. She had been asking for about 2 weeks if it today was the day. Luckily my answer was yes today.

All her birthday guests

Patiently waiting for the pinata

And of course pizza was served! The party was a Panda party with the inspiration coming from Rhaegan's stuffed panda bear. With a panda party the color scheme is a little boring; black and white. So I added a little hot pink to make it a little more girly. Everything turned out great and Rhaegan was so excited to share her birthday with her best friends and family. We love you, Rhaegan!

Christmas Party

Our ward Christmas party turned out to be quite enjoyable. I was asked to be in charge of the kid area which luckily I had helped with in our ward back in Utah. I had a few ideas so it wasn't too bad. I got foam ornament kits for the kids make their own ornaments, had a table with Christmas coloring pages and crayons and of course I movie playing in the corner. It was a big hit.

Rhaegan and Marlee were both great helpers and loved teaching the kids how to make the ornaments. 

The movie kept the attention of so many kids it was amazing. 

The food was yummy and the entertainment was great. Shae was asked to participate in the 12 Days of Christmas skit so of course I signed him up to be the 10 Lords a Leaping. He had to leap across the stage like a ballerina. It was so funny. 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Our Thanksgiving was welcomed with a case of Croup. Marlee woke up during the night with this cough that sounded like I was sleeping next to a huge seal. She couldn't breathe very well and was very warm. Our kids have never had Croup before so I wasn't sure what to do or even what was really wrong. Of course it had to be Thanksgiving morning when her doctors office was closed. So at about 7am we took her to the E.R. They knew right off what it was, gave her a dose of Dexamethasone (steroid) and off we went. She slept a lot that day and didn't eat anything but she was still typical Marlee.

Marlee even wanted to help by setting the table.  

Then it was back to the couch where her binkie and blanket were waiting for her. 

Rhaegan was worried about her all day. She helped her whenever she needed something which was great for all of us adults since we were spending a good portion of the day cooking. We had great food and delicious desserts so our Thanksgiving turned out just fine.

Snow?!

During our quick trip to Utah last weekend we apparently discovered a time machine, one which took us from Fall to Winter in the blink of an eye. We went to bed Friday night with not a cloud in the sky. It had been in the high 50's all day and even though the weather people were anticipating snow, I was not on board with the idea. Well, I was obviously wrong. This is what we woke up to.

Of course we hadn't packed for snow. We were only going to be in Utah for a few days so I really didn't pack much at all. Rhaegan insisted she go out and play in the snow at 7am Saturday morning so pj's were the only option we had. 

The playing lasted about 10 minutes then the ice cold ankles and hands were too much for little Marlee so we all decided to come inside for some hot cocoa (one part of Winter I love). It was fun to see snow again. I do love the look of it early in the morning before the sun comes all the way up. I am, however, not a fan of the cold weather. Hopefully Shae will be able to do all the sledding this year. 

Fall Part 2

The joys of Fall continue...

Fall isn't complete until you've had a ride on Farmer Brown's wagon. The girls got to go to his house, pick out about 10 pumpkins and then ride back to the house on his little orange wagon. What more could you ask for?

The girls couldn't pick just one pumpkin so they choose 3 each. 

Rhaegan and Grandma getting ready to leave for the Wizard of Oz play in Nampa. Rhaegan loved it!!! Thanks, Grandma! 

It was then off to our ward's Trunk or Treat night. If you can see Marlee's eyes in this picture and know her personally, what do you think she's thinking? It's scary to think about. 

All of these activities took place on Saturday. Sunday was also filled with Halloween festivities and tomorrow is Trick o Treating....more pictures to come!

Pumpkin Patch

Rhaegan had her first kindergarten field trip last week to one of the local pumpkin patches. She really wanted me to go so I signed up to be a chaperon. It was a lot of fun. It had been warm almost everyday before the field trip so I wasn't prepared for the 40 degree morning we had on the day of the field trip. I just had Rhaegan and her "buddy" run a round a lot to keep warm.

This slide was a favorite amongst all the kindergartners. There was always a line to go down it.

 This spiderweb was so amazing. Rhaegan had a great time pretending to be a spider catching a fly.

 Of course at any pumpkin patch there has to be an animal barrel train.

 I have a picture just like this one from one of my field trips as a little girl. I had to capture the moment.

Luckily they had a mini corn maze because I was a little nervous to let a bunch of five year olds run wild through the big one.

It was a great field trip. Of course Rhaegan's favorite part was riding the bus to and from the patch. Oh the things kids find fun.

Fall

Fall is here and we are loving it! I decided to have the girls make some leaf collages to get them into the Fall spirit. Most of the trees around the yard haven't lost their leaves yet so we really had to hunt. Marlee didn't really understand the leaf collecting concept but hard a good time anyway.

Marlee thought these yellow leaves were the best 

 Rhaegan of course loves any type of project or activity so she was super excited and was trying to find as many different colors as possible.

What the...?

Ok, so this is by far the craziest spider I have ever encountered. Rhaegan spotted her while we were picking raspberries on Saturday. She said, "Mom, there's a big yellow spider over here. Come see!" Of course when my kids say big their frame of reference it's exactly up to scale. I walked over to where this "big, yellow" spider was and this is what I saw.

I didn't have anything to put next to it to show its true size but it was seriously huge. If I would have smashed it, it would have been like smashing a small mouse. GROSS!

I of course had to find out what kind of spider this really was and if it was dangerous. Apparently it's a St. Andrews Cross spider and is very low-risk. They are basically very lazy spiders. Well, thank goodness for that information. Anyway, it was definitely an amazing find.

Marlee is not your usual two year old. In fact, she not even like a normal three or four year old. She's a sixteen year old trapped in a two year old body. You seriously have to have an unlimited amount of energy to keep up with this little lady. She is so smart and has no problem speaking her mind. She wants so badly to be "big" like Rhaegan, to be able to do everything she can do. She knows how to make Shae a pile of mush in no time flat and can con her way into anything she wants. She is very sensitive to smells (I'm not sure where that came from). She will completely lose it if there is even a hint of egg smell in the air. Her little nose will scrunch up and a high pitched scream is not far behind. She is also the most polite little girl I have ever met. She says "thank you" after everything, even if it's not needed. She may drive me to want to frequent the local bar, but she is my "little goose" and our lives would not be complete without her.



Sunday Best

We decided to have a quick photo shoot before church a couple weeks ago

Our adorable little ladies!

Shae and I don't have many pictures of just the two of us so I thought we were due for a quick pic.

Caldwell Homecoming

This past weekend was Caldwell's Homecoming weekend and man did it bring back memories. Eleven years ago I had my homecoming. Our nephew, had been nominated as Homecoming King so of course we were going to support him by attending every activity we could. First stop, the parade!

The girls had a blast at the parade. There was a ton of candy and some amazing "I'm so cool" performances by the high school students.

It was actually kind of cool that day but the sun was out in full force. Marlee was not enjoying the bright light so she decided to wear my sunglasses.

The nominees for Homecoming King and Queen were in the first cars in the parade so the girls got to see their cousin first thing. It looked like he was really having fun. Oh to be a senior again.

Then that night was the football game. And yes, I was so excited to go. I hadn't been to a high school football game in over 10 years so I was really looking forward to it. Plus, I was super excited to see if Seth won. And HE DID!!! I was given the job of taking pictures but I did not deliver. I was too excited once they called his name as the King.

We had a great day and really enjoyed being a part of Seth's big win. Congratulations, Seth. We love you!

Yogurtland

If I ever have a lot of money I am going to open up a Yogurtland! I was introduced to it last week when we were down in Utah. Not only is it delicious, it is adorable as well.

The toppings bar was amazing. It had everything you could possibly want on your ice cream (frozen yogurt). You pay by the ounce so you don't have to worry about wasting food and money when your kids don't finish their portions. Hello Kitty helped attract the younger crowd, too. It was so fun.

Kindergarten

Rhaegan's first day of kindergarten!

She was so excited to start school. She had her outfit picked out a couple days before and was up and ready to go an hour before we needed to leave. School starts at 7:55 in the morning so we have to get up kind of early. Fortunately, Rhaegan has always been out early riser. She is our alarm clock each morning. She loves her teacher and has already made several friends. I can't believe she's already at this point in her life. I feel like she was just learning to walk and talk. Where does the time go? We love you, Rhaegan!!

Sequence of events

So this morning around 1 am we were awakened by Marlee screaming with major leg pain. This is a common occurrence in our house. I have always suffered from severe pain in my legs so of course one of our kids had to inherit that. We gave her some medicine and within 20 minutes she was back asleep. My head had just hit the pillow when I hear, "Mom, my stomach hurts." Rhaegan is sleeping at the foot of our bed (we were at Shae's brother's house for the weekend). I tell her she's probably just hungry and to go back to sleep. She keeps insisting her stomach hurts really bad and she thinks she needs a bowl just in case she needs to throw up. Shae humors her and goes up stairs to look for a bowl. When he gets back downstairs he just has enough time to set the bowl on the floor in front of Rhaegan's face when the vomit starts flowing. That first episode happened around 1:50 and from then on every hour was welcomed with another vomit session. This poor little 40 pound girl was so weak by the time 7 am rolled around I had to carry her upstairs to lay her on the couch. She continued to throw up every 40 minutes until 10 am. I was so preoccupied with Rhaegan that I forgot about Marlee. So at around 815 I realized oh my goodness I haven't gotten Marlee out of bed yet. As I open her door she immediately says Mom, go out. Don't look. Ok that sentence is never welcomed with something pleasant and of course why should this time be any different. Smeared all over the sides of her mesh pack n' play is POOP!!!! I mean seriously. This is not what I needed after a night filled with vomit. I throw her in the shower, run upstairs to help Rhaegan throw up again and then head back downstairs to get Marlee's bed cleaned up. Shae cleans Marlee off, gets her dressed and joins everyone upstairs. Rhaegan is so tired and weak and her throwing up has now turned into dry-heaving. It is still so violent that her eyes are blood-shot and she's sweating buckets. She goes about 2 hours without throwing up and I think we are in the clear when a spell of diarrhea starts. I have never seen my little girl this sick and it's breaking my heart to watch. She falls asleep for about 2 hours and wakes up feeling a little better, sore but better. Luckily that was the end of her episodes. She is still so weak and tired but at least her body can rest. This was a Friday I could have lived without.

Happenings

We have been in Utah for the past 2 weeks and have been loving every minute of it. We have taken over Shae's brother's house and I'm sure they're ready for us to leave but it's been a lot of fun catching up. All the kids missed each other so much and have been playing nonstop everyday. I of course was so anxious and excited to see my friends.

A night out at Chili's was a must.

It's soccer season so a lot of our evening have been spent at games and practices. Luckily all the fields have had playgrounds to keep the little ones occupied.

BFF cousins! Rhaegan missed Ashton and Madison so much and has loved spending so much time with them.

Now these two are another story. They may look like they like each other in this picture but looks can be decieving. Brooklyn and Marlee should be renamed Oil and Water. They are the best of enemies. Our days are filled with time-outs, melt-downs and screaming matches. Their personalities are the exact same so it's no wonder they struggle to get along. It's a good thing they are both adorable.

And of course I had a make-over. My wonderful nieces and daughters could really have careers in the make-up business.