Papa Buzz and Grandmas

Saturday was our last day in Idaho and we drove up to Papa Buzz and Grandma's house. My dad left a little before us and took Charlotte and Benjamin. My mom, Kylee, Taliah, Emma, Noah and I came up after. We decided to go the back way and take all the farm roads because it would for sure be faster. Well it definitely would have been had we not made multiple wrong turns, got stopped by multiple gates and made a few 20 point u turns to try a different way! It was so fun. We were within 10 miles of their house for a good hour and we even saw their house at a few points, but couldn't make it there. At last we ran into one more gate and so Kylee just got out and opened it. We couldn't get it shut so my mom and I got out to help her. Once shut we realized kylee was on the opposite side of the barb wire... She got out but got stuck in the process. Great memories!
My grandparents house is so fun. It is in the middle of tons of farm land and government land where they have lots of huge windmills!
We got there and Grandpa and Benjamin were riding a four wheeler and lo and behold little Charlotte was on one by herself, mom was about to go after dad for that one. The smile on Charlotte's face was priceless though she was having so much fun, then she whipped a cookie right in front of mom's car!
It was pouring rain off and on the whole day, but that sure made for good times. When the rain and wind was too much the kids were downstairs playing pool and air hockey. My grandpa built a big swing for us when we were growing up and we could not get Emma off of it! All the kids had the biggest smiles while playing. When you see those smiles where you know the kids are just so happy it is an incredible feeling.
Who wears short shorts??? My DAD. I found some old gems of my dad while downstairs. Yes the belly shirt and those things that are supposed to be shorts my dad rocked! ha ha he was quite the stud in high school, a total all star! 
Noah layed on the floor and played with these little chime balls that my grandpa has. He was loving it! We got a picture with him and I had one with Benjamin playing with them when he was a few months older then Noah. Before we left the kids all got in Grandma's big bath to clean up. Grandma still has the toys that we played with when we were little. I love my kids getting to have fun experiences at grandmas and grandpas.

Taliah turned 11!!!

I CAN NOT believe Taliah is 11 years old! She made sure to point out to us that next year she will be in Young Women's going to girls camp. Umm she needs to slow down a little! For her birthday she got a basketball hoop. The kids were outside all week playing. Dribbling and shooting skills were getting pretty good by Benjamin, Taliah and Charlotte. Emma loved the swings she was on them everywhere we went with the biggest smile she could have. It just melted my heart to see that smile! We went to Olive Garden for her birthday lunch, so yummy. Grandpa and Grandma Jardine came to visit and enjoy the fun. Grandma had a movie night with all the kids. I went down to check on them and all the kids were sleeping and grandma was awake. I told her to go upstairs since they were passed out and she said she was finishing the movie they started. She is so great! An amazing grandma for sure! We had a birthday dinner that nigh Uncle Tuff and Aunt Sandy came and Amanda and her girls came to celebrate. We had fun all watching Taliah and catching up. Taliah also got a guitar stand. She just started learning and is already playing songs. She is so good. I told my mom she needed to put up the guitar and start playing with barbies again. Growing up so fast.
Charlotte and Taliah are completely adored by Benjamin and Emma. All they want to do is be like their aunties and play games and have movie nights. The kids slept down stairs with the girls all week long. They were so sad on our last day that it was their last movie night. :( Charlotte is amazing with Noah she would walk him around when he was crying and feed him and love on him. If he was crying she would say it breaks my heart to hear that I will hold him so he won't cry. The girls loved spoiling all the kids. Emma wanted to dress like Taliah all fancy. Taliah let her wear a Hello Kitty necklace and bracelet that matched Emma's sweater. Emma felt all grown up because she was just like her Aunt Taliah. I loved watching my parents with my kids. They have such special bonds with one another. All the love was so wonderful all week!
I kept saying all week how grateful I am for my parents and my sisters and that my kids have them as Grandparents and Aunts. It is SO true. We are all so blessed to have one another and to know we put family first and love each other and will be together forever!

Out on the Ranch

Moooooo.... oh yes we spent the day on our friend's ranch, Amanda and Boyd. Love is an understatement of how the kids felt. First we played at the house and had lunch. They have a tire swing that the kids went round and round on. I was sure someone would get sick, but nope they just kept spinning. They have 3 dogs and Emma was in love with all of them. She kept going up to them talking to them telling them stories and giving them hugs and kisses. We might need a new family member in the future :)
 We rode over to a different section down the rode. There we all got on four wheelers. How many people can you fit on two four wheelers???? My mom, Taliah, Benjamin and Emma on one. Amanda, Sydnie, Emery, Charlotte, Noah and me on the other one. We rode around there land is so beautiful, it goes right up to the edge of the river. They showed us these old graves from the 1800's both of little kids, they don't know who they are. They are going through the process of having them moved to a cemetery.
After we went to go feed the baby calves. They have two that they are currently bottle feeding. The kids had to let the calves suck on their fingers before they could feed them. While they were feeding them the bottles I asked Boyd why the cows had to suck on their fingers? He laughed and said they didn't! What?! That was pretty funny, but the kids didn't even care they had so much fun!
Horses came next! We got on Sydnie's horse patches. Boyd took Emery, Benjamin and Emma on a ride. Then Taliah and Charlotte got their turn. It was so fun to watch all the excitement on the kids faces. Their horses were amazing, I just love watching them.
Wonder what adventures will happen next visit!

Boise Zoo

My dad came and met us during lunch at the zoo. Emma wanted to see the zebras so bad! I think she calls giraffes zebras? I am not sure, but we saw giraffes and she loved them. I love watching all the animals. There was a monkey that was yelling/singing/talking to everyone so my dad made the noise back. My did that monkey start going even louder. The kids loved it. We saw so many lions. It was a very cute zoo for an amazing afternoon. The weather was beautiful the sun was shining bright welcoming us to Idaho. Then it rained the rest of the week. I love the smell of rain and we don't get much in Vegas so I enjoyed it. While at the zoo there was a zookeeper holding a snake. Eeek, gross... but Benjamin, Charlotte, and Emma were all so brave and they all touched the snake! Yes we washed hands after. Not my type of fun ha ha ha, the kids loved it though. The girls all got stuffed owls at the gift shop and Benjamin got binoculars and a snake. When we got back to grandma's house we had so much fun hiding the snake and then the kids would find it using the binoculars to find it.

Airplane ride to Grandma and Grandpas

We flew to my mom and dad's in Meridian, ID and were there for a week. Wow was it so fun! The kids loved the airplane. Emma would look out the window and say, "Wow, we are flying!" over and over again. Noah loved the take off, both times it put him right to sleep and he slept for most the ride both ways. Benjamin said that we need to fly every time because it's so much faster. I would have to agree a 1 1/2 hour flight is a bit better then a 10 hour drive. Thank you mom and dad for bringing us!

Aunt Kylee

We always love when we get to enjoy family and they come to visit. Kylee came for the weekend so we got to play on saturday. The kids love her and were so excited. We went out to a park where they had a petting zoo, laser tag, booths, and rock climbing walls. It was so much fun. The kids love animals so much especially Emma. Emma has the sweetest heart and just loves on all animals. We played laser tag. We all had head bands and guns and ran around these inflatable guards and had so much fun. Emma and Jake were on a team vs Benjamin and me. Emma chased me around the whole time and I didn't think that she knew how to pull the trigger, but she did! I lost.. hahaha. Of course Jake won, it was a blast. Right before we left we got free Cane's chicken. What could be better! Love you Kylee, thanks for making memories with us. We wish we lived closer to get more family time.

5 months for our little boy

Ok so rewind..... Last month Noah was doing amazing and happy... well that all turned to the worse and he was throwing everything up again and so miserable. Talking to the Dr. we started completely over, stopped all baby food and went just to formula. We ended up having to switch formulas again. This new stuff is NOT cheap. He is definitely happier though. We are still figuring it out and will not start any rice cereal or baby food until we are 100% sure that he can handle his formula. Slowly, but surely we will figure this out!!!!! Noah is flipping over so well and once he is on his belly he will scoot in little circles and when he is on his back he uses his feet to push him everywhere. We have quite the little mover and he isn't even crawling! He will go a good 5 feet very quickly on either side. His little laugh is still as cute as ever and his smiles are the sweetest thing you will see. It is so sad when he is hurting, but when he is happy he has the sweetest spirit. He still loves bathes and Michael Buble. It is so funny, if he is crying, playing a little Buble will calm him right down. He loves his baby toys and his car bouncer. Noah loves being outside and soaking up a little rays  and watching Benjamin and Emma play. He loves them so much and I love all of them more than I can describe. On my 6 month post we are hoping we will be telling you how amazing life is and how happy he is, pain free and healthy!

First week of March

Jeff and Kayla came into town with the kids for the week. We had fun all playing together with almost all of Jake's siblings. We had lots of park time, shopping, eating, and just hanging out chatting. Umi and Kyler came over and had a sleep over and we had a blast! We played with play-dough and built a giant marble run. We had happy meals for dinner and watched movies. The boys were going crazy and wrestiling, boys included Jacob. We had a little girls time and had make overs, painted nails and took kissy face pictures. I love spending time with my niece and nephew! Benjamin and Emma loved getting to play with their cousins too. In the morning we had yummy turn overs and played outside in the sand box. They had to go back to WA later that day and it was so sad. We sure miss them, but are grateful for our little night of memories! Hopefully we will see them again soon.

Warm weather is here

Wow the weather has been perfect. We are in the 70's and it is so nice. The sun is shining the skies are blue and we aren't all drowning in our sweat. ;) We have had park days that the kids love. Of course! They are obsessed with the monkey bars right now. Look close at the pictures of Benjamin I caught the picture right when he fell... he is fine though. We have started going on walks and the kids ride their scooters while I push Emma. They are also loving the sandbox in the backyard. I planted some seeds in the garden with Benjamin's help. We will see how that goes, I am not really sure if I have a green thumb. This weather is amazing and we are taking advantage of it while we can!!

Hiking with the sisters!

Kylee and Madi came into town with friends and stayed for the weekend. We had so much fun! The kids love their aunties so much! The girls are the best also!! Saturday we went hiking up at Red Rock. It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect. We had fun chatting and laughing together. The kids did really well this time, but of course the boys carried them part of the way so they could be really high in the air. :) That night we went to Luv its. They have the best frozen custard in town, so yummy. Everyone left sunday and we will miss them, it is always great when we get to spend time with family. We wish we were all closer.