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.