Dutch Love Family

Snow

2012-01-25T11:21:00.000-08:00

On Sunday the snow began to fall... by Monday morning it was still coming down hard! This was our first big snowfall this winter... I love the beauty of the snow; it's even better from inside the warmth of my house! The kids were so excited and could hardly wait to go outside and build their snowman. Casey was the chosen parent to go out to help them :)

Daddy, the kids and Mr Snowman

I dug through the cupboards and found 2 chocolate cookies for his eyes and leftover Halloween Candy Corn for his mouth... which, Jessie later found to be a delicious snack! Funny, she wouldn't touch his carrot nose....

Blackie sat inside watching the happiness going on outside... she meowed the whole time as if wanting to be out there with them!

2012-01-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Now that Kristiana knows how to roll over she does it all the time! If I lay her on her back she will roll over within a matter of minutes or, even seconds... and she is always so proud of herself! For a baby that has had a big distaste for being on her tummy, she is now on it all the time :) Goodbye are the days of leaving her to lay on our bed or the couch! And, she is also very grabby and reaches for everything... her siblings are now learning not to leave any of their small toys within her reach. Today she got a hold of a magazine and had a page ripped to little pieces before I caught her... of course, she thought she was SO funny... little stinker! Also, her two bottom teeth have finally pushed through and I can feel a little sharpness on one of them.

Chore Paks

2012-01-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

During the holidays and Christmas break I became a little too relaxed with the kid's daily routine and they seemed to be watching t.v. in accessive amounts! So, this week we began what I like to call "boot camp" which, is really something to get ME back on track! I also began a new chores system for Tys and Katie and, they are totally loving it! I am using what's called the "chore pack"system... used by a few larger popular families ie. the Duggars and the Maxwells. It is a little plastic pack with "chore cards" in them and, there is a clip for each child to clip on their clothes and carry the pack around with them as they do their chores. Each card has a different chore listed (which I made) so they can take the cards out and see what chore needs to be done. Since Katie is learning to read I have gone over each card with her but, she is pretty much reading (memorizing) each card herself. I still help Tys. But, its a good way to also teach him how to sound out the words. Their cards include every day chores and ones that they do on specific days with me:
Katie's daily pack includes:
School Homework
Brush Teeth
Make Bed
Clean Bathroom (she wipes the sink. I clean the bathroom once a week)
Practice Piano
Empty Dishwasher (with me and Tys)
Laundry (with me and Tys. We fold a load and they put their clothes away. Tys and Katie than put the clothes from the washer to the dryer and I put a new load in the washer)

Tys' daily pack includes:
Brush Teeth
Make Bed
Feed Cat
Empty Dishwasher
Laundry
Empty Bathroom Garbage

Weekly we work together and Dust & Vaccuum

So far, the system has been working out great! Upon waking up they have their juice than get to work. We can pretty much have everything done by breakfast time... it's also nice to have them dressed and ready for school in a good amount of time. Trenton has his own little chores that he helps me with but I don't feel is quite ready for the chore pack yet.... T.V. is no longer allowed during the day and is for special family movie nights or special occassions when they have a babysitter. The first couple days of t.v. "detox" was a little tough but now they don't even ask for it... and, Trent no longer sits on the couch, waiting for the t.v. to turn on and crying "t.v. boken"! lol Once their chores are done they can play with their toys or games or, their electronic games.

We have enjoyed spending more time together as a family.. playing games and reading books. AND, the kids are happy to be rewarded for their hard work on PAYDAY :)

The kids and I hanging out last night... Trenton was exhausted and fell asleep early!

Rolling

2012-01-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

Kristiana rolled over for the first time today! She is quite proud of herself :) I have mixed feelings about this new milestone as my baby is growing way too fast and her rolling means we're moving into the next phase of "mobility"! However, watching her learn new things is so very exciting!!

2012-01-17T18:07:00.000-08:00

A few random photos from the last couple of weeks... Kristiana is always such a happy baby whenever her daddy's around... a true daddy's girl!

morning time snuggles with my baby (guess she kind of likes me too!! hee hee)

Yesterday morning Katie got to practice sewing with her new Hello Kitty sewing machine... a gift from my parents for her birthday. Her first project was a sleeping bag for her baby doll.

Trenton LOVES playing with his Thomas the Train set... while his older siblings are at school, he will spend the afternoon "chugging" Percy and Thomas up and down the railroad track!

Yesterday morning we woke up to a layer of snow on the ground. The kids bundled up and spent a good hour making snowballs and snow angels.

2012-01-11T18:43:00.000-08:00

2012-01-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

Kristiana loves to play a game of throwing her toys off the highchair. She thinks it's the funniest whenever we're eating dinner and spend our whole mealtime picking up her toys!

Hawaiian Party

2012-01-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we celebrated Katie's birthday with a Hawaiian party... she had been planning her "hoola doola party" for about a year! 7 of her girlfriends came and they had fun dancing in their Hawaiian outfits, playing games and eating yummy chocolate cake! Our Hawaiian Princess!

Surfer Boy and Hawaiian Princess

Katie and Rylee

This year's birthday cake included 5 Polly's having a fun time on the Hawaiian beach!

7 little giggling girls dancing the Hula

Jolena and Katie...

Good Times.....

Taylor and Katie

Katie 6 years old

2012-01-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Katie Rose!!
This year Katie celebrated a very special birthday... she was born on 1.06.06 and turned 6 years old!! Her birthday was yesterday but, had her Hawaiian birthday party today. Yesterday morning she got to open 2 presents than, in the evening she got to open the rest of her presents from us and her grandparents. Uncle Joe also came over for dinner (Katie's birthday dinner request was chicken, rice and corn!) and we enjoyed dessert of ice cream cones and cookies.

Katie has grown so much over this last year... not just physically but also mentally and spiritually. I enjoy her questions about "life" and God; she has a true love for Him and deep concern and love for her family and friends. It's been a blessing to watch her learn how to read, play the piano, help me in the kitchen and help me care for her baby sister. She has advanced in so many ways! It's hard to believe she's already 6 years old... feels like just yesterday that we meeting her for the first time... amazed that we were parents of such a beautiful baby girl. Katie's infectious laughter and tender heart has brought us so much joy!

Kristiana 6 months old

2012-01-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

6 months old ~ Kristiana is such a wonderful baby!! Casey and I often comment how happy she always is and brings so much joy to our family! She very rarely has a "fussy time" and usually only cries when she's tired or hungry. She is very content to play in her entertainer or, on the floor and, watch her siblings as they are play nearby. She LOVES when they play beside her or talk to her. She is also very grabby now and will grab for anything within her reach... and, of course, everything goes in her mouth. We all love to tickle her or make silly faces to make her laugh... she has the most beautiful belly laugh! She loves her mama but, is truly a "daddy's girl" at heart. All Casey has to do is look at her and she gives him the biggest, brightest smiles!
Kristiana has yet to roll over and doesn't show any desire to do so... we all keep waiting and watching but she is happy just as she is! This last week I've put her through "baby bootcamp" and began getting her on a better sleeping schedule at night. She is a cat-napper during the day so you'd think she'd want to sleep all night. Not so. At 6 months old, she was still waking up anywhere from 3-4 times a night to eat. Yes, she's a little piggy! So, after a couple of tough nights she only woke up 2 times last night (1am and 4:30am) yay! I actually felt like I had gotten a little sleep!!
Kristiana's 1st Christmas

Out and about at the Winter-All-A-Glow...

such a big girl sitting up all by herself (with the help of a few pillows!)

hanging out with her big brother

Trenton's 3rd birthday

2012-01-03T12:34:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Trenton's 3rd birthday while in Boise over Christmas break. Since he shares a birthday with Baby Jesus, the kids know that we celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas and Trenton's birthday the day after. Or in this year's case, we celebrated a little before and a little after :) We are SO thankful for our Ren-Man and, the laughter that he brings to our family. He's such an energetic boy that keeps us all on our toes! He has a love for Thomas the Train, cars & monster trucks and, always wants to play with his siblings. He is also a wonderful big brother to Kristiana and likes to give her gentle kisses on the top of her head. Happy Birthday Trenton, we love you! On the Friday before Christmas mom and I took the kids to Red Robin for Trenton's birthday lunch. He was SO surprised when the staff sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he loved his ice cream sundae and balloons!

On the Monday after Christmas, we celebrated his birthday at a kiddie entertainment place called WaHooz... there were all sorts of games, little rides to ride and a brand new FUN, kid- friendly bowling alley. We invited my parents, Jake and Kristal and, friend Colleen and her 3 boys to join us there....

Monday evening we had pizza for dinner and Trenton got to open his presents and, eat Thomas the Train ice cream cake!!

His very own bike!

holiday activities

2011-12-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was a busy, fun-filled one as we had lots of holiday activities going on. First, my parents arrived Friday night and stayed with us until Monday... there were 2 community craft bazaars, 2 kid's Christmas programs, my mom and I went to our friend's wine tasting party and, Katie & Tys went to their friend, Riley's birthday party. We also drove around town on Saturday evening to see the colorful Christmas lights! Tys and his teacher, Mrs Brannon. The preschool had their Christmas children's service Sunday afternoon...

The kids with Pastor Mark

Tys and Katie at our church's Christmas program. The kids did an amazing job at singing and reciting their verses!! This was Katie's first year to recite a paragraph and since she couldn't read it yet, she memorized all of it. Tys learned the Christmas songs and sang them for weeks at home before singing them with great gusto at the program :)

Riley and Katie at our community Light the Night parade

Trenton wasn't happy about the loud fire truck sirens but, still had a good time!

Gift Exchange

2011-12-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

As in holidays past, our kids got together with their good friends, Taylor & Dalton last Friday to exchange Christmas gifts and have a "play date"!

Gingerbread family

2011-12-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday the kids got to bake their much anticipated gingerbread men. We borrowed various sizes of gingerbread men and women cutouts from Judy so they could make gingerbread families. They had lots of fun cutting out their people then, decorating and playing with them... AND, eating them :) My little bakers (never mind Trent's wet, nerdy hair... he had just gotten out of the bath)

Trent's gingerbread people... he was very creative with their eyes!

Tys searching for candy for his man

Katie and her family

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

Again, I'm just a little late but here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving Day. We enjoyed a relaxing morning at home and I baked 15 pounds of garlic mashed potatoes and 4 pies. In the early afternoon we went to Ken & Judy's house for a huge Thanksgiving feast! It was so nice to be able to hang out for the afternoon/evening and enjoy fellowshiping with about 20 other friends who were also there. Thanksgiving breakfast consisted of pumpkin pie and cool whip... yum, yum!

Kristiana's 1st Thanksgiving! As I peeled 15 lbs of potatoes I thought about how wonderful it was to actually have her here with us this year vs. last year when I was still in my 1st trimester and so sick!!! (it was also nice to actually be able to enjoy all the yummy food!)

I am so thankful for my husband and all that he does for me and his family!

Time to eat!! Tys and his friends... I am also thankful for our church family and the times we get to share with one another.

Casey and Ken

Katie and Alaina

Judy and sleeping Kristiana

Kristiana 5 months old

2011-11-30T20:19:00.000-08:00

I am just a few days late at posting this but, Kristiana is now 5 months old! She blesses us with her big smiles everyday and brings our family so much joy! I took her in for shots last week and she weighs 17 lbs... yep, her little baby fat rolls are too many to count... ha ha This last month she began eating a few more foods such as green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas and apple sauce. Her favorite food is oatmeal mixed with apple sauce and, green beans will bring the most grumpy faces. Some nights she will sleep really well and, other nights I feel like we're back in the newborn phase... I guess it just depends on how much she's growing that day. However, she will sleep a good 12 hours at night and take a few "cat naps" during the day. Kristiana has found a new love for her hands and likes to suck her two fingers. She also likes to grab and "eat" anything you put in front of her so, we have to really be careful about that! And last but not least, Kristiana LOVES it when we play Peek-a-Boo with her... she has the most beautiful belly laugh... making us play the game even more!! Kristiana in her first hotel room, the Peppermill, in Reno this last weekend.

Nursing Home

2011-11-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, Tys and his class went to visit our local nursing home. They sang songs to the elderly and handed out cards. The class also collected slip-free socks and kleenex that they gave out. It was so nice to see the big smiles on the residents faces!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends!! As a family, we have spent this week thinking about things that we're thankful for and, on a daily basis we are thankful for our family and friends! We thank God for His many blessings and we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Today the kids are thankful for:

Katie: Mom & Dad
Tys: Kristiana
Trenton: Me Want Juice Please (hmmmm.... he's still learning what it means to be thankful! lol)

After a busy 3 days of work, Casey is thankful for a day off and we're happy to have him home with us! I am baking 15 lbs of mashed potatoes and a pecan pie for our dinner with friends at Ken & Judy's this afternoon.

dreams

2011-11-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

Today I asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grow up... keep in mind these are todays career choices as, they change daily!

Katie: a girl who rides horses in a race (jockey)
Tys: a builder and an astronaut (so he can build on the moon...)
Trenton: fireman

I am thankful for my children's ability to dream :)

Campout

2011-11-19T18:37:00.001-08:00

Last night Casey & I made a sheet tent in the livingroom and let the kids have a "campout". They were so excited and could barely contain their joy! After reading books, they settled down and were fast asleep. Outside the weather was blizzarding snow so, it made the campout even more special to be in their warm, cozy sleeping bags and snuggling with their pillow-pets!

Auntie Ri

2011-11-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

Marie arrived on Friday and visited us for the weekend (she headed back to Boise today) We enjoyed hearing about her time in Europe, did lots of baking and the kids liked having their Auntie here to show off their newest talents! I very much appreciated Marie's help around the house and holding Kristiana :)

Big Girl Crib

2011-11-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

Kristiana has been sleeping in her "big girl crib" for about a week now and is loving it! Infact, these last 4 nights she has slept from approx. 8pm-5am... this makes for a very happy mama (It could also have something to do with the fact that I've been stuffing her with cereal and sweet potatoes before bedtime!) Trent is also in his "big boy bed" now (he moved from the crib to Tys' toddler bed) and Tys is now sleeping in the even "bigger boy bed", a full sized bed. I guess this proves that all my babies are growing up! At her 4 month check up last Thursday she weighed 15.9 lbs and is 25inches long... which puts her in the 90% percentile.

Big Girl

2011-11-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl is getting so big!! She is now eating baby cereals 2x a day and sitting up in the high chair... even though she's still a bit small for it :) I also used the highchair last night to keep her entertained in the kitchen while I cooked dinner. Uncle Joe came over last night for dinner (and before going to work) The kids always get excited when Uncle Joe visits... even Kristiana gets her Uncle time!

Joe teaching Kristiana all about "Angry Birds"!! She found it fascinating and quite entertaining.

Precious

2011-11-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I threw a bridal shower for my dear friend, Edyl Zarah (aka. Precious) Her big day is coming up the end of this month so, we all joined together that morning to celebrate! Approx 20 friends and family came and we had a fun time of playing games, giving her gifts, eating yummy food and drinking mimosas and, there was lots & lots of laughter!! The beautiful bride, Precious

Precious with Sandy and Kristiana

Melody and Mama Troy

4 brides in their toilet paper wedding gowns! (Edna, Susan, Justine & Begonia)

Precious and her mom, Edna

Jera and the bride-to-be

me and my sweet daughter, Katie Rose....

We are so happy for Precious and Alex and, are looking forward to their wedding in Reno over Thanksgiving weekend!!!

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

For Halloween we took the kids trick-or-treating in one of our friend's neighborhoods. First, we went to Tony & Becky's house for dinner then, Becky, mom and I took the kids out. The guys stayed behind to babysit the baby, watch football and hand out candy. They live in a popular, safe neighborhood for trick-or-treating so it was quite busy and the "happening" place to be... Lots of cute costumes! We also saw quite a few friends and it was a beautiful evening for walking around. Katie was "Blackie" our new kitten

Tys was Spiderman (go figure! lol)

AND, grumpy Captain America, Trenton. He didn't want his picture taken but, DID have a fun evening!

Sophia (the pink pig) and Katie

My little monkey, Kristiana

Fall Fun 1

2011-11-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was a busy and fun-filled one! It began when my parents arrived from Boise on Friday. They brought pumpkins to carve, fruit to dehydrate and make pies for the freezer, the go-cart to ride and party items for our friend's bridal shower on Saturday. Friday afternoon mom and I took the kids trick-or-treating around town at the local businesses then, Tys and I went to his friend, Jazmin's, birthday party in the evening. It was his very first birthday where he got to go without his siblings and it was HIS friend.... quite a bit event! There are quite a few more photos to post but here are a few to get started.... Monday morning we carved a pumpkin... there were 3 but Tys & Katie had to go to school at noon so we just had time for one. My dad did the carving while the kids scooped the "guts" and drew more faces on with marker.

Throughout the weekend my mom gave the kids numerous rides in the go-cart. The kid's friends even came over for rides! Mom spent time teaching Tys and Katie how to drive it by themselves... steering & operating the pedals. Katie even took me for a little drive and operated it all on her own :)

Tys' Fall School Party

2011-10-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Tys' fall school party was on Wednesday.... they enjoyed yummy treats and sang their pumpkin song and a song about falling leaves to the parents. Sadly, my camera's battery died so this is all I was able to video! Tys is doing great in school... it's so cool to see him learning these songs, letters of the alphabet, Pledge of Allegiance (which he says everyday to me!) and making new friends.

Kristiana 4 months

2011-10-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

I am not sure where this last month went but, Kristiana is now 4 months old! Her little baby "fat rolls" continue to grow and she has almost outgrown her 3-6 month size clothes. I am anxious to see how much she weighs at her checkup next week.... She still has a passion for eating and is now eating rice cereal every evening before bed (along with a bottle and nursing!) This helps her sleep until about 1 or 2 am. After that she's awake again in about 3 hours. But, I can't complain and am thankful she goes back to sleep! She is slowly getting a schedule for during the day... with 2 older siblings in school it has been hard to get that going for her. It seemed like she just falls into a deep sleep and I have to wake her up to either drop kids off or, pick them up. Thankfully, she sleeps really well in her car seat :) Mainly she takes power naps during the day with a good nap in the late afternoon. And, thankfully she's a laid-back baby who just goes with the flow of her busy family!

This last month Kristiana has become a little more mobile and quite a bit more interactive with us. We have found her tickle spot and love to hear her laugh outloud! She still hasn't mastered the art of rolling over but, is getting really close! However, she has learned how to wiggle around on her back and push herself upwards. If I leave her lying under her entertainer to play she isn't in the same spot when I come back... instead she is lying sideways or, taggled up in the legs of entertainer... she is all smiles and quite proud of herself :) She loves to sit with her siblings on the couch and listen to cartoons or have Katie "read" her a book. And, they love to talk or sing to her; in return she rewards them with her big smiles! We are so thankful and feel so blessed for our happy & sweet baby girl!

Atlas

2011-10-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

Kristiana enjoying a little belly time on mommy's bed... she lasts for about 5 minutes before screaming! This week is a busy one for us (which week ISN'T a busy one for us!?) as Atlas is hosting this year's national training class called WreckMaster. Approximately 20 guys from around the western states will be here for the class which, is held tomorrow thru Sunday. Casey and the other guys at Atlas have been busy preparing for this... getting the yard ready and mock "accidents" set up for practice tows. At the end of the class they will be certified for a certain level of towing according to national standards and, on the cover of a towing magazine. Anyhow, Casey won't be the only family member busy this week as I am also busy catering the class' food for the morning coffee break: cinnamon rolls, cookies, coffee cakes etc. And, am looking forward to the big bbq that's being held at Atlas on Friday night!

Morning time snuggles

2011-10-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

Mornings are the best time of day for Kristiana to snuggle with her older sibings!

Blackie

2011-10-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

"Blackie", our new kitty, joined our family on Monday night. She was found by a friend's son in the desert, alone and abandonded. However, she must have just been dropped off because she was still pretty clean... although very skinny. Our friend's couldn't keep her so, after a quick begging to daddy ("puh-leeze, daddy, can we have a kitty?" ) we brought Blackie home! She is a sweet kitty and caught on to the litter box right away (sigh of relief) She will be an inside kitty for the winter then, hopefully a mouse & gopher catcher in the summer. The kids LOVE her and follow her around everywhere. She is still tiny so we're supplementing her meals to get a little meat on her bones. Her favorite place to rest is in the Elmo chair :) but, she also has her own space in the laundry room. I never thought I'd be a "cat person" but, she's proving me wrong! It's nice to snuggle with her in the early mornings and listen to her purrrrrr AND, her favorite person in the house is Casey!

My Girls

2011-10-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the girls and I spent the day together. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to say "my girls"! I am so thankful for each of my kids and it's always nice to have some quality one-on-one time with each child.
We began the day with Katie's soccer game and team pictures (which, the whole family went to) She is improving her soccer skills more and more each week and is learning how to pass the ball back and forth with her teammates. Afterwards, we took the boys home and headed to Elko for the day. We did some clothes shopping and ate lunch at TacoTime. I was happy when Katie voted Taco Time as the best place ever to eat because Casey doesn't care for it so we never eat there... Now I have a Taco Time buddy! Next, we headed to Wal-Mart and to Smiths for groceries. Katie was able to spend her tooth fairy money and bought a new Barbie. It was an enjoyable day with good conversations!

Kristiana continues to be a happy, smiley baby! We had a little scare last week when her neck rash began coming back... after a few days of the new medicine, it cleared up and is back to normal again... yay! She also began rice cereal last night as, she has recently gone back to waking up every 3 hours throughout the night.... uggh! So, I'm hoping the cereal will help our hungry little baby (last night didn't however, with it being her first night I wasn't able to get her to eat very much...)

2011-10-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Kristiana in one of Katie's old outfits... too bad I can't find the picture of Katie wearing it too.

Ducky dress

2011-10-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Comparison pictures of the two girls, about the same age and in the same dress!

randomness

2011-10-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Last night my dad stopped in for the night as he was driving through from the Grand Canyon to home. He, my mom and two of their friends had just been to the GC for 5 days.. everyone else flew home from Las Vegas yesterday so they could work and my dad drove back in the truck. We enjoyed our time with him... even if it was short!

Kristiana loves her entertainment center!! She is always giving us great big smiles and even laughs outloud now :)

Wild Fires

2011-10-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, after watching the BSU/UNR game at our friend's house, we took the kids to our local airport and watched the tanker planes come and go as they busily fought the wild fires in our area. Quite a large number of fires had started the night before after a lightning storm came through... we could see some of the flames from certain fires and smell smoke in the air. The kids loved watching the planes take off and land and, one nice guy let us in the compound so we could watch it all up close!

Trent thought all the noise and wind from the planes was just a little too loud but, he still liked it :)

Kristiana 3 months

2011-09-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Kristiana is now 3 months old and such a sweet little baby! This last month she has become a lot more interactive with us; she is always smiling and "cooing" at us. Just tell her what a beeeaaauuutiful baby she is and you'll receive the biggest, brightest smiles! She has recently started reaching out for the toys that hang on her entertainment center or, the rings on her car seat. Kristiana is also sleeping quite a bit better at night. She usually goes to bed around 8 p.m. and wakes up around 2 or 3 a.m. to eat and then, again around 5 or 6 a.m. It's nice that she'll sleep a good 6 or 7 hours in the beginning :) She weighs 14.3 lbs and still has a love for eating! Trenton has nicknamed her K'nana since he can't pronounce her full name.

Salt Lake City

2011-09-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we headed to SLC for Kristiana's appointment at Primary Children's hospital. We arrived to Uncle Don and Aunt Arlene's house just in time to go to the Cracker Barrel for dinner and enjoy an evening of visiting with them! Kristiana's appt. was Monday morning at 10 and it went really well. We liked the pediatric dermatologist and she was very helpful in dealing with K's skin issue. She prescribed us some different medications that are supposed to work better than the ones she's on now and hope that if I can keep it maintained for now, this particular case will eventually go away. She diagnosed K as having intertrigo... which is basically chronic eczema. We are thankful for her good appointment! Taking a break at the salt flats

Casey has high hopes for our boy's future! (this is their new way of waiting nicely and safely by the car while we get the other kids unloaded...)

Kristiana hanging out with Uncle Don

After K's doctor's appt we stopped by the SLC airport on our way home to see my parents. They were flying home from Iowa and just so happened to be there on a 2 hour layover... the timing was perfect!

Bathtime

2011-09-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

Kristiana loves her bathtime!

Homework

2011-09-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

Now that she's in kindergarten, Katie has entered the world of homework. Every Monday she comes home with 3 or 4 pages and it's expected to be back to her teacher on Thurs. There isn't much and she usually sits down in one evening and gets it all done. It's mainly practicing writing the letter of the week (this week is P) and a math page. Sometimes she needs a little help and thats where her daddy comes in :)

Monster Trucks

2011-09-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

Before I had boys I couldn't tell you the first thing about Monster Trucks or, the world of Monster Jam. My boys have enlightened me on the different kinds of Monster trucks and I've learned their names (and even a few names of their drivers!) Casey's new RC Grave Digger has taken monster trucks to a whole new level for the boys. They love to spend the evenings chasing it around while Casey has his own fun with it....doing jumps and other tricks. When they're not running Grave Digger, the boys like to line up their monster trucks - big and small - and do comparisons or "zoom" them around the house. Tys and Trent with Little Grave Digger and Big Grave Digger

Katie playing soccer

2011-09-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

Soccer

2011-09-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

Katie began soccer last week and is loving it! She is learning the skills of the game and enjoying meeting new friends. She has practices every Thurs at 4:30 and games on Saturday mornings at 8:30. Yes, those are early games for us! After last weeks game I soon realized that its a challenge to get all four kids out the door by 8:15.... but, its only through October so I'm sure we can survive :) And it recently dawned on me that I'm officially considered a "soccer mom" now.. hee hee

Katie and Taylor are happy to be on the same team!

BSU kids

2011-09-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Kristiana and Tys are ready for tonight's BSU vs. Toledo game!

Tys' first day of Preschool

2011-09-08T11:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon Tys began his first day of school at our local Christ Luthern Preschool. I can't believe my little buddy is already in school! He was very excited for school and took no time in getting settled at his table and getting down to business! When I left him he was making circles from Play-Do... I know Tys is going to love this upcoming school year but, I also get the feeling he's going to be their "class clown" :)

Katie's 1st day of Kindergarten

2011-09-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

Katie began Kindergarten on Aug 29th and loves it! She is meeting new friends and comes home everyday telling me about the new things they're doing (ie. going to music and the library) Her teacher this year is Mrs. Lane. One thing that surprised me is that she comes home with homework every Monday and works on it throughout the week... then it's returned back to her teacher on Thursday. Guess I didn't think we'd have to be doing homework quite yet...

In her classroom... ready to learn and have fun!

Kristiana's Hospital Stay

2011-09-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

As many of you already may know, Kristiana was admitted to the Elko hospital last Wednesday night for a bad skin infection that had turned to cellulitis and an infection in her blood.

A little heat rash began in the crevis of her neck, under her chin, while we were in Idaho about 3 weeks ago. She is a healthy baby with lots of rolls and no neck! So, we had a hard time getting that little heat rash to heal. It soon turned to a yeast rash and the bacteria took over. I had taken her to our local clinic when we got home but the medicine just wasn't working. It was continuing to grow, have open blister-like wounds and just looked horrible! I was going to take her back to the doctor (this time her pediatrician) but when she began running a high fever we rushed her to the Emergency Room instead. She was immediately given IV antibiotics and had labs drawn. She was then admitted to the 2nd floor for 3 days of IV medications and various creams on her neck.
As much as I didn't want to be admitted I was happy to be in the hospital where she was being taken care of and where things were getting done that I obviously couldn't do. I sat for 2 1/2 days in the that hospital bed holding her! We talked, smiled at each other and watched LOTS of t.v.!! We got to know the hospital staff and loved them... they fell in love with Kristiana and took great care of her. Many of them were newer nurses and had never really taken care of a baby before so, Kristiana was also a learning experience for them. Her fiery red rash soon began to heal and the infection level in her blood was down so, we were discharged home on Saturday afternoon with 2 oral meds and 2 creams that are to be applied each 3 times a day. I also came home with an antibiotic because while in the hospital I came down with strep throat, again, and spent those 2 days fighting a fever and sore throat... I figured being in the hospital was a good place to be sick!
We are so thankful to all of our friends and family who helped us out while the baby and I were in the hospital! Casey took a few days of work to take care of the kids and go to Elko to see us. Also, my dad was down from ID and helped out alot. Along with our good friends, Dena, Ambur and Judy. So many people helped out with our kids and feeding them :)

The hardest part was about our baby in the hospital was all of the poking and prodding that she got. We got very little rest due to everybody coming in and out (nurses, lab techs, doctors, housekeeping etc)

All smiles and ready to go home!! We arrived home just in time to watch BSU beat Georgia and, our friends Becky & Tony made us a yummy brisket dinner.... which, was WAY better than hospital food!!

Kristiana 2 months

2011-08-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Kristiana is now 2 months old and beginning the fun stage of being able to interact with us. She loves to hear what a beautiful baby she is and will always give us great big smiles! She has really put on the pounds lately and has more "baby rolls" than her other siblings had at her age. She has moved up to size 3-6 mos clothes... One of her favorite things to do is eat! Since birth Kristiana has wanted to eat every 2-3 hours. At first she was eating that often during the night too but, has recently extended that to every 4 hours (yay for mommy!) She is our first baby that loves the bottle and gets one at least once a day. Her siblings love her so much and enjoy talking to her or holding her. Trenton is especially close to her and likes to gently kiss the top of her head or talk his sweet baby talk to her.

California

2011-08-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

The end of last week we received word that Casey's Grandma Dora had passed away. She was 93 yrs old and such a sweet lady! I had always looked forward to visiting with her during our trips to CA and she will be greatly missed. Sunday morning we left for CA to attend Grandma's funeral and visit with Casey's family. We came home yesterday so, it was a quick trip (the funeral was on Tues) but we enjoyed seeing Casey's family... including Jerry & Bernice and his family and, Marie who had flown in also for the funeral. It was also great to see his cousins, aunts and uncles etc. Grandma had 56 great-grandchildren so that just gives you an idea on how big Casey's family is! Here are just a few pictures from our time there... A trip to CA wouldn't be complete without a meal at In N Out!

My adorable little (big) nephew, Peter!

Katie with her Auntie Ri

Dad and Kristiana hanging out

Tys got to celebrate his birthday again and LOVED his new Spiderman presents!

Oh man!! Oma is the new Spiderman!

Jerry and Casey with their long-time friend, Ken

Bestest Buds... Trenton, Tys and James

On our way home we stopped by the Old Sacramento Train Museum; Trenton has a huge love for trains and was in amazement the whole time we were there. He kept exclaiming "look Mama, a choo-choo!!"

Tys 4th birthday

2011-08-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

Tys celebrated his 4th birthday last Saturday! He had been planning his Spiderman pool party for months and was SO happy when his big day finally arrived. 7 of his friends came for the special occassion and they enjoyed an afternoon of swimming in the pool, running on the slip 'n slide, eating Spiderman cupcakes and playing with new toys.

Happy Birthday, Roo! We love you so very much and are thankful for YOU!

Too Many Bambinos

2011-08-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

Why is it that whenever I'm out and about with my 4 kids people are always asking me how many kids do I have and how old are they? Than, they look like they're going to pass out when I tell them my kid's ages (5yr - 5weeks) and yes, they're all mine (as Michelle Duggar says "I gave birth to all of them!" lol) They usually tell me I'm crazy and move on.

Yesterday topped it off when I had my kids at Katie's VBS program... along with an added bonus of Katie's friend, Jolena. I spent the 2 hours chasing boys during the program (thankfully Kristiana was in her car seat) then, juggling 5 plates of food and VBS goodie bags during the VBS bbq. We somehow managed to make it through lunchtime with only 1 meltdown from Trenton who lost his chips on the ground and was upset when I wouldn't let him pick them all back up again (we had already held up the line long enough!) I had learned to find friends who will watch the baby while I try to load 4 toddlers in the car without getting them ran over or lost... by the end of our "fun" bbq lunch at VBS mommy is sweating, still hungry and looking for lost Tys (yes, he was found...) When our ordeal was over a Mexican lady, who had been apparently been watching me the whole time, came over to me as I was getting in the vehicle and nicely smiled. She didn't know English but somehow got it across to me that I was "loco" and "too mas".... crazy and too many bambinos!!
yes, I may be slightly crazy but, I love them and wouldn't trade this season in my life for anything in the world... although, another set of hands would be nice....

2011-08-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

Kristiana continues to grow in leaps and bounds! She will be 6 weeks old on Monday and has been getting to wear her new 0-3 months outfits now. She is sleeping a tiny bit better at night and getting herself on more of a routine throughout the day. Her smiles make up for her crying whenever she's not being held (yes, she's spoiled! lol)

Kristiana 1 month old

2011-07-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

Kristiana is now 1 month old! And even though she's no where near sleeping through the night, she is getting on somewhat of a schedule these days. She loves to eat!! I can count on her being hungry every 2 hours (3 hours at night is a good thing) She will even take a bottle - unlike our other kids in their newborn stage. While at the hospital yesterday, a friend of mine weighed her... she topped in at 10.2 lbs! I say it's the good Haveman appetite :) We have truly enjoyed every minute with her since she joined our family and so blessed by her smiles!

morning time

2011-07-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

While watching their morning cartoon, the boys like to snuggle with their baby sister...

VBS

2011-07-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Last week was our church's VBS; approximately 50-60 kids came everyday to learn about the story of Jonah and hear about our amazing God! They played games, had crafts, learned songs and just had a great time! And not only was our week filled with VBS but, we also had afternoons and evenings filled with hanging out with friends (friends from ID came to teach at VBS) a bbq at Joe's, a church bbq in the park and, we went to Taylor's birthday party last night. It was a fun but busy week! Shyla and Katie - playing an outdoor game

This was Tys' first year to attend VBS and he had a GREAT time! I got many comments from the teachers about how much fun he was and he quickly learned the songs and story.

Papa and Kristiana hanging out in the church and waiting for song-time to begin...

Katie and her friends, Heidy & Taylor

Mill Creek

2011-07-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Dad and Mom and Marie came to visit and meet Kristiana. On Saturday, we enjoyed Dad's yummy waffles for breakfast and spent the afternoon relaxing and exploring at Mill Creek. It was a beautiful day to be outside and, the kids (and a few adults!) had a great time getting wet and muddy in the creek.

We forgot to bring along matches for the fire so Casey, Dad and Mom figured out a way to start a fire without them. It took a little while but, a fire began and we enjoyed S'Mores!!

Tys also enjoyed his watermelon :)

Tys and Auntie Ri roasting marshmellows

Grandpa and Kristiana

Daddy helping Trenton with his marshmellow

Is that a little smile I see??

Summer time

2011-07-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Not only has this summer been filled with the excitement and adjustments of having a new baby sister but, the kids are also having a great time filling in their "bucket list" of summer things: going to the rodeo, lots of swimming, taking nature walks down our road and looking for stray golf balls by the golf course, having picnics in the yard and playing with friends, etc.... Katie is a wonderful big sister to Kristiana! She loves to talk & sing to her, hold her or simply just lie next to her.

A couple of weeks ago my parents and I took the kids to our local rodeo grounds to see the ladie's barrel racing. They had a great time and came home "racing the barrels" on their horses!

One of our many times to the public pool... Katie and Trenton are doing really well at swimming on their own and learning how to put their faces under water. Tys is just a little more cautious and enjoys hanging on to Nana :)

A little fun in our backyard pool!

Could you say he went slighly overboard with the swim gear?! lol

5 days old

2011-07-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

Kristiana is now 5 days old and settling in well with her family! She is doing all of the important things that a newborn should be doing: eating, sleeping and pooping :) And, has already given us a couple of smiles (although I'm pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with US!) We are enjoying her greatly and cherishing every moment while she's in this newborn stage.

Kristiana has had lots of friends stop over to see her since she's been home... I was so happy that our good friend, Sharla, was able to meet her before heading home to CA.

And when she's not being spoiled by friends, she is getting lots of attention from her siblings!

On Thursday she had her first big outing to Elko for a doctor's appt. She has lost 5% of her birth weight and now weighs 7lbs. She has quite the Haveman appetite so we're not too worried about her gaining that back... With 4 kids now, I was thankful to have my mom's help while in Elko!

Baby Kristiana

2011-06-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

On June 27th at 1:21 pm, we welcomed our daughter Kristiana into the world! We feel so blessed with this precious child that God has given us and thank Him for a safe delivery. She weighed 7lbs 5oz and was 21 inches long; of our 4 children, surprisingly, she is our smallest! Ready to begin my induction meds... 5am

Holding our daughter for the 1st time...

Hello world...

Proud Mommy & Daddy

All cleaned up...

In the evening Kristiana got to meet her siblings... and, they were overcome with excitement to meet her!

Kristiana with Nana & Papa

And, our favorite doctor, Marian Groff

39 weeks

2011-06-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

One more round of pregnancy pictures before our big day tomorrow! We spent this weekend enjoying time at the rodeo and spending time with dear friends who are visiting here from the Dominican Republic, the Geers. Also, our good friend, Sharla and her kids were here for the weekend so, it's been a great weekend of catching up with friends and letting all the kids play together. I am thankful to also have my parents here this weekend as they've helped a bunch around the house and letting me rest when I needed it!

While at Judy & Ken's today, Ann gave me a much appreciated foot massage... something I've been dying for this whole pregnancy :)

Casey and I with Scott and Ann... we miss them dearly when they're not with us!

Summertime

2011-06-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday my friend, Lisa and her two kids, Taylor and Dalton, came over in the afternoon. Lisa and I relaxed in the shade while the kids had fun eating ice cream, running through the sprinklers and playing on the swingset. Yesterday I had my last OB appointment in Elko to make sure things were still good to go for my induction early Monday morning (more like the middle of the night... we have to be to the hospital around 2am!) My mom drove from Boise and made it just in time to go with the kids and I to Elko for the day. After my appt. we had a picnic and let the kids play at their favorite "wooden park".... Katie showed off her climbing skills on this rope thing... I zoomed in to get her picture...

Monster Truck

2011-06-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

The big Mud Bogging event is in town this weekend and, we all know how much the boys LOVE monster trucks! Since we won't be going to them tomorrow, mom and I took the kids to see one of the big trucks before going swimming this afternoon. Of course, they LOVED the big truck and Trent kept running around it all excited!! Having the kids stand underneath it put in perspective just how big that truck was!

Rumble in the Rubies

2011-06-22T00:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon/evening we took the kids to Elko's yearly Rumble in the Rubies motorcycle rally. Four city blocks are blocked off and lined with motorcycles, vendors, bands and lots of "motorcycle dudes" walking around. We took the kids early enough in the day before the craziness of the night-life began... A majority of the bikes are Harley Davidsons so, the boys had a great time looking for ones that looked just like their Grandpa's! Casey got to spend his evening dreaming about the future Harley he'd like to get and, Katie & I admired the pretty pink rhinestone helmets :) Towards the end a storm blew in so our evening was cut short but, we finished off the fun evening with ice cream and playing in Playland at Burger King.

Tys and a 1940's motorcycle. Apparently, if you owned a bike like this during it's time you were immediately drafted into the war due to the lack of military motorcycles...

This year's rally was in honor of our nation's current POW Bowe Bergdahl. My family and I know Bowe and his family from when we attended the Boise OPC church about 10 years ago.. he was more of my brother's friend but I remember him being very kind and quiet. We continue to pray for his release so he can be with his family once again.

38 weeks

2011-06-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

The time is near... I am now 38 weeks and scheduled to be induced next Monday, the 27th, if she hasn't joined us by then. It's all becoming so real that very soon we'll have our little baby girl; this pregnancy has been my most challenging yet and I can't believe it's almost over. Some days it felt like it'd never come! However, with this being our last pregnancy I have also really tried to enjoy it and cherish everything one last time. I feel that it is such a blessing and a joy to be able to carry each of our kids and am looking forward to the moment when we hold her in our arms for the first time!
We aren't huge fans of inducement but, decided this was the best choice. Per many nurses and my 2 doctors, the baby is "ready" (won't go into details! lol) and I had better get to the hospital right away when I go into labor. I am prone to have fast deliveries and, with living an hour away from the hospital we decided to go ahead with the induction. Also, most of the time Casey doesn't have phone service when he's at work and, he could be anywhere in the middle of the nowhere (since we live in "the middle of nowhere"!!) So, I've been worrying that not only might I not make it to the hospital in time but, my husband wouldn't either! Anyhow, she could still arrive this week so, we'll see.... She gave us quite a scare this last weekend; I woke up around 5:30 Sunday morning realizing I hadn't felt her move throughout the night. We had taken the kids to the motorcycle rally in Elko the night before and she was VERY active then but, once we got home and to bed I hadn't felt her move at all. So, I laid in bed for the next hour and tried to get her to move, drank juice etc (everything the books say to do) By 8am I had gotten just a little kick in my ribs. So, Casey and I headed to the hospital to have her checked. The nurse hooked me up to all sorts of monitors, I drank more juice, ate etc. and she finally began moving around 10am. By then, it had been about 13 hours! She still wasn't "jumping around" as well as the nurses wanted AND, I had a few contractions during that time so, they observed me (and her) for a while. Thankfully, her heart rate was great so it was determined that she wasn't in distress. At one point she had the hiccups and, with having the monitors on, it amplified her hiccups so they were really loud... pretty cute! We got home around 3 in the afternoon and I was ordered to "rest" (which to me means no pulling weeds in the yard! lol) But, I was really drained and tired by than and did rest for the remainder of the day. Since then she's been moving around like she's supposed to and everything looked good at my doctor's appt. yesterday.
I felt bad that Father's Day for Casey was spent in a hospital room! But, he is so wonderful and didn't mind... I DID let him watch car racing on the t.v. since it was Father's Day (I just don't understand the thrill of watching cars going round and round in circles for almost 2 hours! lol) And, we had already celebrated Father's Day with the kids on Saturday when we took them to the motorcycle rally. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of Casey with his kids on Father's Day...
So, we're thankful that all turned out ok! I am thinking that because she had been up the night before (I spent the night having false contractions) and we had a busy day on Saturday that maybe she was just exhausted and slept for 13 hours!!

Swimming

2011-06-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sweet neighbor, Dena, and I took the kids swimming at our local pool. With having three little kids on different levels of knowing how to swim, I was thankful to have Dena's help! They mainly played in the kiddie pool and each one took turns swimming in the big pool with Dena. They had a great time and all took naps after arriving home!

On the home front, I am keeping myself busy with cleaning, doing things with the kids and resting when necessary... Casey has forbidden me to weed or wash the outside windows so I'm cleaning everything in the house instead :) At 37.5 weeks I am experiencing quite a bit of false contractions, tiredness and soreness. But, there's not much longer so I'm just trying to enjoy these last few days!

Katie has been attending a local church's VBS this week; she's having fun learning new songs, being with her friends and doing the crafts. It's good to hear what she's learned about God as, today she was telling me about the fact that Peter denied he knew Jesus and we were able to have a discussion about that....

Milkshakes

2011-06-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

My mom bought me a new blender this weekend... in the evenings, after their baths, we've been having fun making milkshakes and blizzards with it! They drink it from a straw and enjoy every bit of it until the very last drop!

Tys being silly....

The park

2011-06-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

The weather is in the 80's today... so beautiful and sunny! I decided to take the kids to the park so the boys could play while Katie practiced riding her bike. She is gaining more strength in her legs and coordination with stearing the bike (she improved quickly once she realized that she can't pedal, stear and ring her Barbie bell all at the same time!)

Trenton enjoying his ice cream from Bakkers Brew! I have a new found love addiction to their Snickerdoodle Frapps :)

Tys brought his Spiderman Scooterboard along to ride but, once we got there the screw got lost and I couldn't find it. So, here's Tys showing off his broken scooterboard and the "gun" he made from the handle bars....

36 weeks

2011-06-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am now 36.5 weeks and feeling pretty good! There is the usual end-of-pregnancy things but, overall I can't complain. This last week I've been experiencing quite a bit of false contractions which, I take as a good sign since my body is getting ready to do what it's supposed to do. However, they do leave me feeling tired and sore. Thankfully, Baby is facing down and in the right position... kicking in my ribs and having lots of hiccups!
Katie and I had a "girls day" on Monday and went to Elko for the day. I had a doctor's appt, had lab drawn and pre-registered at the hospital. Katie enjoyed getting to hear the baby's heartbeat and talking to the doctor. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my OB doctor? She is about my mom's age (so very motherly!) and truly cares how I'm doing and feeling. She also takes the time to talk to the kids and answer their questions. And, of course, she wins their hearts when she passes out suckers at the end of our visit! She's also a lady that's full of all sorts of knowledge. If I mention anything that I'm having a hard time with (ie. heartburn) she has all sorts of remedies to try besides the usual Tums or Rolaids :) Anyhow, I'll miss seeing her once the baby arrives.... The weather is finally beautiful, sunny and warm here today!! We're going to celebrate the arrival of the beginning of summer with a trip to the park today... along with more house cleaning and yard work. I'm pretty sure we'll have the cleanest house around by the time Baby arrives lol

Trenton's helmet

2011-06-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

Ever since riding on Monday, Trenton has been obsessed with wearing Casey's helmet. Personally, I don't know how he can wear it all day without getting a headache! But, he loves it and "vrooooms" around the house. He does take it off for mealtime and naptime :)

Katie's tea party with me and her brothers... Trenton brought a little bit of "manliness" to the party with his helmet!

Winnemucca Sand Dunes

2011-06-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

My parents came down from Boise for the holiday weekend. They arrived Saturday then, took the kids camping with them at the Winnemucca Sand dunes on Sunday. My mom said they were great little campers and enjoyed doing things like playing in the sand, taking nature walks, coloring & reading in the camper, eating Smores and playing with their new flashlights at night! Casey and I enjoyed a quiet day to ourselves and went to our friend's house that evening.
On Monday Casey and I woke up early (no kids and we STILL woke up early! lol) and headed out to join the family at the dunes. I spent the day hanging out while Casey and my parents rode the 4-wheelers and gave the kids rides. The weather started out cold but, warmed up by the afternoon. After a yummy bbq dinner we headed home with three very tired and dirty kiddos!! Here are a few photos... My dad and Casey with the boys

Nana and Tys

Katie & Trenton building sand castles

Cool dude Trenton

One very happy little boy!

Last Day of Pre-K

2011-05-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the last day of school yesterday, Katie's class had a day of fun and a picnic lunch. They blew colorful bubbles and got out all of the playground equipment to play with/on. It was a sad time when it all came to an end and Katie gave her teachers hugs and kisses goodbye.. she had some amazing teachers! Thankfully, Tys is already enrolled there for next year so I knew we'd be back :) Katie is now looking forward to Kindergarten and wondering what her new classroom will be like.

One last Pre-K picture with Taylor and Katie!

School year

2011-05-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

Katie's last day of Pre-K is tomorrow. I can't believe how fast this last school year flew by and am sure I'll be saying that in the next 12 years to come!
Katie has spent the last 9 months learning not only her ABC's and 123's but, also things like cutting and pasting, memorizing songs and Bible verses, improving on her drawing and writing skills, making new friends, learning Bible stories during Chapel, writing letters & numbers and so much more! Singing is one of Katie's favorite things to do and I've often gotten comments from her teacher, Mrs Brannan, on how well Katie sings and learns the songs. The class also got to go on fieldtrips to their future Kindergarten classroom, bring goodies to the elderly at the local nursing home and, have hands on experiences with the fire department and dentist office.

Another favorite part of school for Katie was when it was her turn for Show N Tell or to bring snacks. Two very big and important parts of Pre-K! Having to get up in front of the whole class helped Katie overcome a little bit of her shyness... her being shy in class was a surprise to me but something her teacher and I talked about it. I think she has some shyness in her but, mainly she's just happy to sit back and contently watch as everyone else is jumping in for attention or to answer a question etc. Like her daddy, she is an observer and a learner... unlike me who is more "obnoxious" and the loud one at a party! lol Katie is also very caring and spent the schoolyear watching out for her friend, Taylor. With Katie being the tallest girl in class and Taylor being the shortest, they made quite the cute pair of friends!

The teachers at the school do a fabulous job of making learning fun for the kids but, also keeping the classroom under control and structured. Katie has learned how to participate and take turns and raising her hand to be called upon. I know she has the whole hand-raising thing down because at home she'll raise her hand high and say "pick me, pick me" whenever I ask a question to her and her brothers.

Over the course of this last spring, we parents were assigned the task of teaching our children their home addresses and phone numbers. In the very beginning, out of curiousity to see what she'd say, I asked Katie what she thought her address was. Her reply was www.radiatorsprings.com She now knows her real address but, we had a good laugh about that one!
Katie and Lauren ~ Lauren's dad works with Casey at Atlas

2011-05-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Katie's Spring Program

2011-05-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Carnival

2011-05-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening Casey and I met our friends, Becky & Tony and their kids, at the carnival. At first Casey and I had debated about taking them since we're not huge "carnie" fans but, it ended up being a fun filled evening and of course, the kids had a blast! Tys chose this car because of it's "big motor"! lol He's such a little Haveman :)

Katie in her girlie car....

Our future firefighter...

At one point a light rain shower came through and we headed over to the park for shelter. It didn't last too long but, long enough we could take in the view of a beautiful rainbow!

Backhoe

2011-05-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Everynight after work this last week, Casey has been working hard at getting the rest of the sprinkler system put in the ground. I'm proud of how hard he works and that he has the ability to do things that, otherwise, we'd have to pay lots of money to have someone else do!

Wednesday and Thursday evening brought all sorts of excitement for the kids when Casey borrowed our friend's backhoe and began filling in the trenches. The kids love anything that has to do with big machinery and had so much fun taking turns riding with their daddy! Casey had to keep a close eye on Trenton since he thought that he was old enough to run the backhoe by himself :)

Tys hasn't been a big fan of getting his picture taken lately.. but he was there too!

2011-05-11T10:17:00.001-07:00

Katie talks non-stop while we're driving in the car... asking questions and wanting to know why this does that or, giving me long winded ideas... I love to hear her jibber jabber but must admit that sometimes I have to tune her out to concentrate on driving. So, I do the typical mommy "uh-huh" answers.
Well this morning, after a while of her chatter and my "uh-huh's" she exclaims "WOW MOMMY! YOU'RE SMART!!!"

Not sure what it is that I'm smart about but, I'll take whatever I can get :)

Katie

2011-05-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Casey and I have been realizing more and more lately how much Katie has grown this last winter/spring. Not only has her long legs grown out of her jeans but, her questions and comments have been putting our thinking and training at a whole different level! I realized today just how much she's grown when she asked me to tie her apron on for her. Katie commented on how she thought it was getting too small for her and that she was going to ask Oma for a new one (hint, hint Oma! lol) I immediately thought back to the time when that "too little apron" was a "very big apron" for her....

Spring 2007

Preparing

2011-05-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Some people call it "nesting", I prefer to call it "preparing"!
I put our past few days of rain to good use and stayed home to do a little "preparing" for the arrival of our little baby girl... The kids were happy to help as, they found it exciting and adventurous to see all of the new little pink things! Katie and I finished moving her room to the old office... I organized, cleaned and did some touch-up painting on the furniture. The baby's clothes and blankets have been washed and, Trenton and I cleaned and disinfected the 2 infant car carriers. Everyone is getting anxious to meet our baby girl and, Katie is more than ready to be the "best big sister ever"!! My little helper, Trenton

Testing out the car seat to make sure everything is ok :)

The girl's PINK room (aka. Pepto Bismol room) Katie requested that her Papa paint every wall pink... so I decided that 2 walls needed to be a light pink and the other two could be a more brighter pink. My dad was quite done with seeing PINK by the time he finished.. hee hee

With Katie's white furniture and the baby's oak furniture, that helps to off-set the pink a little bit. However, even the white ceiling radiates a pink color!

Boise Zoo

2011-05-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Boise my mom and I took the kids to the Boise Zoo. It seems like each trip to the zoo gets funner and more enjoyable as the older the kids become! Katie is all about the "educational" side of the zoo and the boys are into each animals characteristics and looking for anything that is considered "ewwww" (ie. the cockroaches) They got to feed the giraffe and, for the first time, we got to see the Kamado Dragon actually get up and move! In all of our trips to the zoo he has always been asleep... apparently, eating a dead rat will give you a little energy :)

Katie LOVES the penguins!

Trent's new "cheese" face...

Katie and the cute little Groundhogs

feeding the goats at the Farm Zoo

31 weeks!

MK Nature Center

2011-05-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon my mom and I took the kids to the MK Nature Center where they got to see fish & birds in their natural habit. It was another beautiful day to be outside! After we walked around the nature center for a while they played at the playground a while, blew bubbles and practiced rollarskaing... then, we went out to eat for dinner and to Goodys, in Hyde Park, for our favorite ice cream!

Farmers Market

2011-05-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the kids and I met Marie in downtown Boise for the Farmers Market. As always, it's fun to walk around the streets looking at the booths, drinking coffee and eating fresh homemade donuts!

Just like her Aunti Ri, Katie LOVES fresh cinnamon and sugar donuts!

Hyde Park

2011-05-06T16:20:00.001-07:00

On the days that my mom and dad had to work, the kids and I did our own things like: see Gnomeo and Juliet at the dollar theater, go shopping, buy ice creams at Carl Jr and play in their kiddie land and, meet Lynette at Hyde Park for an afternoon of playing at the playground and climbing Camelsback mountain. It was such a beautiful day to be at the park and we topped off our adventure with ice cream from the yummy Fancy Freeze. I was impressed with how well the kids did climbing to the top of the mountain. However, I'm pretty sure we hold the record for the slowest amount of time it took to get there! Camelsback used to be one of my favorite places to go hiking and it was great to be taking my kids there :)

View of Boise from the top of the mtn.

The kids playing at Hyde Park

Briana, Katie and Lynette

Swimming

2011-05-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday my mom and I took the kids swimming at the YMCA Aquatic Center... I had never been there before and was quite impressed with their kiddie pools! It was shallow enough that I didn't have to worry too much about them drowning and there was fountains and toys that they could play on... like a playground in water! I enjoyed relaxing in the kiddie pools with them and the feeling of being "weightless" from my ever growing belly :) Except for a 20 minute lunch, we spent a total of 5 hours there! They had a great time and were totally exhausted by the end. We finished off our fun day with a Blizzard from Dairy Queen!

Spring Break

2011-05-06T15:39:00.000-07:00

The Monday after Easter began Katie's spring break from school so, the kids, my dad, Briana and I headed to Boise for some fun! The kids and I had 8 days filled with all sorts of activities, visiting friends and family and eating out at our favorite restaurants (I had lots of cravings to satisfy!) Upon our arrival on Monday, my mom took the kids shopping for their new summer toys. Katie got a new bike... Tys a new Spiderman scooter board and they all got rollarskates. I had brought the boy's bikes with me from home and they spent week practicing on their new "rides". With practice, Katie is getting the hang of riding her new bike. Of course, the new Barbie helmet helps :)

Cool Tys... everytime Tys puts on his helmet and pad and gets on his new scooterboard he asks me "mommy, am I a cool skateboarder?"

Trenton on his bike. He actually does really well on Tys skateboard too...

Katie rollarskating with a little help from Nana

Egg hunt

2011-05-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

Over Easter weekend, Marie and Meredith came down from Boise to visit. Meredith stayed with her Grandma while she was here but, it was still good to see her! On Saturday, we took the kids to our community egg hunt at the park. This was my first time to take all three kids and I was SO glad to have Marie and Mere there to help! It was a mass chaos of little kids running for eggs and, Katie was in a different age group than the boys so Marie did the egg hunt with her. The kids had a good time and won a couple of cool prizes! Katie and her Aunti Ri

Waiting for the word "go"... Trenton's "grrrrrr" face

Mere and Tys

That afternoon that kids got to do another egg hunt in our backyard. This one was a little less chaotic! Katie and Tys were good about helping Trent find his eggs...

Like a little squirrel, Trenton thoroughly enjoyed his Easter egg candy :)

Easter

2011-05-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

These last 2-3 weeks have been very busy for us and I'm SO behind in posting pictures on our blog! Hopefully, I can get it caught up in the next couple of days... We are enjoying our spring time weather here in Nevada (one day snow, the next day 80 degree temperatures!) and getting ourselves outside to play and work in the yard as much as possible. Casey has been busy digging trenches (well, the "trencher" actually dug the trenches!) laying pipe and putting our sprinkler system in the ground. Like I always, I am so thankful to have such a handy husband :)

To start off here are a few pictures from Easter Sunday... it was great to see so many new faces at services that morning and hang out with friends at the Cox's that afternoon. We also enjoyed having Marie and my dad here from ID for the weekend - my mom had to work and couldn't make it.

29 weeks

2011-04-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am now 29 weeks and in the beginning of my third trimester! Her hiccups and movements are definitely more noticable and stronger now... such a wonderful feeling!

Easter Eggs

2011-04-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

The kids decorated their Easter eggs while my mom was here this last weekend. Briana also came over to join in the fun and, they all did a great job at dying their eggs various bright colors. The boys got their fingers dyed just as much as the eggs! They also decorated the eggs with crayons and stickers. Trenton had a great time playing with his egg in the cups... causing a mess and making mommy promise that next year we'll be dying Easter eggs outside!

I showed the boys how to dye their eggs using a spoon but that just wasn't as fun as getting their fingers all colorful too!

Katie showing off her egg with "Katie" spelled on it

Nana and Trenton

Trenton and Josiah

2011-04-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Trenton's friend, Josiah, came over to play for a couple of hours this morning. Trenton calls him "Jo-Jo"! The two boys are learning how to share with each other and try to claim their position as "king of the nursery" lol It's such a blessing to watch these two boys grow up together as friends.

Trenton and Sammy

2011-04-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

As some of you may already know, I have a like/dislike relationship with our dog, Sammy. She has a few good qualities, such as: 1. good watch dog without the excessive barking 2. friend to Jesse and the rest of the family. Many of the dislikes includes the fact that she loves to eat my trees, bushes and flowers before they've been in the ground for even 24 hours. This includes removing the wire and protective covering we place around the trees and bushes. A few of her favorite chew toys also include kid's outside toys, shoes (when accidentally left outside) bark, my mop and anything else that proves to be "fun" in her eyes. Her favorite place to do her "duty" is on our grass or at the bottom of our front steps... even though she has 2 acres to do this. She can also escape from the dog pen even though it's more secure than Fort Knox. So, yes, she and I have gone rounds and rounds! BUT, how can I be mad at her when I look outside and see her following her little buddy, Trenton, around the yard? She and Trenton have developed a strong friendship... this usually includes Sammy following Trenton around the yard... always just a few steps behind him. They spend countless hours together exploring and walking... and, its cute to see Sammy stop walking when Trenton stops walking. Then, Trenton starts up again and so does Sammy. Yes, they share a bond that only a little boy and his dog can fully appreciate. When I see this it helps me to appreciate her just a tiny bit more too :) Trenton calls her "wuff, wuff"

(Yes, Trent is still in his pj bottoms. He goes outside first thing in the morning and I figure why change his clothes when I'll just be changing them again as soon as he's done...)

Great Grandpa and Grandma

2011-04-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Great Grandpa and Grandma Haveman stopped by last night on their way through to California. It had been about 2 years since we saw them last so, we were looking forward to having them here! We spent the evening visiting and being entertained by the kids. Katie and Tys showed off their singing skills and read them books. This morning they went with me to drop off Katie at school. She got to show them around her school and introduce them to her teacher. Then, the boys and I visited with them a little while longer before they had to leave. Here are a few pictures... Trent wasn't in a very good mood and didn't want his picture taken at all! I did get a quick one this morning but, it still wasn't very good...

The Boys and Their Tractor

2011-04-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

The boys have a big-time love for their daddy's old tractor! Whenever they are outside to play, this is where you'll find them. They usually come back in the house with greasy hands and clothes from "working" on the tractor. And, Tys is always very good about turning off the tractor and placing the keys back in his pocket when they're done (imaginary) I can only imagine their excitement when Casey gets the tractor running and it actually moves! This isn't the greatest picture because I realized later that my camera was on the wrong setting.. but, you can see their smiles and that says it all!

Play-Do

2011-04-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

The end of last week the kids spent three days in the house due to our winter weather conditions. We had winds, falling snow and rains that reminded us we live in Nevada, making our winters seem to drag on forever! Towards Saturday the kids were getting restless so I pulled out the Play-Do. Desperate times call for desperate measures! They had fun cutting and making all sorts of different creations. I took a couple of pictures since I despise Play-Do in the house and they don't get to play with it very often :) Tys didn't want his picture taken but, he was there having fun too...

Family Weekend

2011-04-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend with Casey's parents, Marie and her friend Jill!! Marie arrived from Boise around dinner time on Friday evening, Mom & Dad arrived later that evening and Jill came Saturday afternoon. After hearing so many great things about Jill, it was so nice to meet her and get to know her! We had a great weekend filled with relaxation, visiting and entertainment by the kids! Of course, a trip from Grandpa wouldn't be complete without his yummy homemade waffles and syrup! Katie even sweet talked Grandpa into letting her have chocolate chips in her waffles :)

Trenton & Grandpa

Sunday morning ~ Tys and Katie with Oma. Too bad Trent wouldn't let us take his picture also...

After church, everyone left in their different directions for home. The weekend went by way too quickly but, we were thankful for that time and look forward to it happening again soon!

Trenton

2011-03-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Trenton is adusting to having his injured arm and doing things one handed! Infact after being in discomfort over the weekend, his arm no longer seems to bother him and he is acting like his usual, old self... climbing on things, teasing his siblings and playing with his toys. He DID get really upset whenever I gave him a bath but wouldn't let him sit and play for his usual, LONG amount of time! The most challenging part has been keeping that sling on him. It didn't stay on very well and he really didn't like it. Lately, we haven't been making him wear it all the time since the swelling in his fingers have gone down. The most challenging part for me is keeping the bandaging clean until he sees the ortho doc. next Tuesday! My parents surprised the kids and came down from Boise on Monday & Tuesday to see us. They enjoyed their time and it went very quickly. Today the weather is so beautiful! I am happy to see our grass turning green and my tulips coming up... it's a good day to take the kids to the park this afternoon.

Sunday afternoon nap with Daddy

Trent's broken arm

2011-03-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

After 5 years and 3 kids, we are having our first experience with broken bones. Last night Trent broke the radius on his left arm (right above his wrist) He was sitting by his daddy and Uncle Joe on the couch when he decided to slide down off the couch head and hands first. He landed on his hands then, twisted his arm as he fell. The guys said that he laughed for just a second then, started crying and crying and, wouldn't let them touch his arm. I also tried looking at it and we noticed swelling right away. Of all our kids, Trent is the toughest when it comes to pain. He hardly ever cries when he "bonks" himself so, we figured that something was wrong. So, we finished putting Tys and Katie to bed and, Joe was gracious enough to stay with them while Casey and I took him to the E.R. Thankfully, our favorite doctor and one of our favorite nurses was working! An X-Ray showed a Greenstick fracture to his arm so they splinted it and gave him a sling to wear until I get him to see his Pediatrician next week. Trent wasn't at all happy about them messing with his arm and kept giving them his "look of death"! But, he was a trooper through the whole thing and hardly even cried. He cringes still whenever we touch it (ie. getting him dressed) and by the way he holds it I can tell that it hurts. He was pretty miserable last night and this morning but, with the help of medication, he's getting up and around this afternoon. He's learning how to do things one-handed!
Watching cartoons this morning... he made us take his favorite monster trucks and blankie to the ER with him. They even got their X-Rays taken too :)

Daisys and Cars

2011-03-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Katie joined Daisy's about a month ago and is really enjoying it! Daisy's is the first level of Girl Scouts, K-1st grade. She's not in Kindergarten yet but they let her join now since she is 5yrs. They meet everyother Thurs. afternoon, for an hour, and it's at her school. At first she was shy among the 10 or so girls that she didn't know but, is now happy to participate and join in the activities and learning the pledge. I find a babysitter for the boys and always go along with her to the meetings... she still needs help writing in her Girl Scout workbook and, I don't want to miss out on the fun :) During one of the recent meetings, the girls (with the help of their moms) decorated their new Daisy shirts. The troop decided to decorate white polo shirts vs. buying the expensive uniforms since, they'll be buying the full G.S. uniform soon enough. So, here is Katie in her Daisy shirt! Her badges (which are the petals to the actual Daisy flower) will be sewn on the back. Last week she earned an orange petal badge for "Being responsible for what I say and do". Last Saturday the Daisy troop sold cookies at one of our local convenience mart/gas stations. She was very excited about doing this! She and I went from noon-2pm (along with 3 other girls and 1 mom) and sold quite a few boxes! She was happy to have friends that she knew stop by and buy from her. Her daddy even stopped by and bought a few for himself :) Little does daddy know, mommy bought herself a few boxes too! hee hee
After selling cookies last Sat., Katie set up her own food and drink station at home this last week. She had a phone for taking phone orders and a little "contraption" that gave you any food or drink that you wanted. And the best part is, she gave it all away for FREE :)

When Tys wasn't eating "food" from his sister's table he spent time lining his cars and trucks up in a row. He has LOTS of cars and trucks in his collection so this keeps him busy for a while. He says that they're getting ready for a race. However, I never actually see them all race... guess it's too hard to move all of those cars at once!

25 weeks

2011-03-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

I am now 25 weeks along and feel her kicks getting stronger each day. For my appt. in Elko today, I took the boys and my dad along to hear the heartbeat. She is always very active in there and was kicking hard as the doctor was trying to assess my tummy! After my appt. we went to lunch with dad then, he went on his way home to Boise. The boys and I did a little grocery shopping and hurried home before the snow storm got any worse.
I continue to have the everyday nausea and even though it's not as bad as it was, I still feel "yucky" all the time. Some moments are worse than others throughout the day. I told Casey I have a feeling that I'm going to be sick this entire pregnancy! But, having only 15 weeks left gives me hope and the endurance to make it to the end :) 25 weeks pregnant and a cute little boy!

Monkey Bizness

2011-03-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

It rained quite bit while we were in Boise. On one of the days that my mom worked, dad and I took the kids to a fun playland called Monkey Bizness. They spent two hours having a great time and left for home exhausted. My dad played just as hard as they did! Tys still talks about "that monkey place" and wants to go back the next time we're in Boise :)