The Next Chapter

I can't believe how fast the time has flown and that it's time to start the next chapter in child care again. I am about to have 3 of my 4 kids in school so Todd and I decided that it was time to not have full time help with the kids anymore (not an easy decision). We have had Meggan with us for 2 1/2 years - since Sophie was a tiny baby. She is such a big part of the kids lives and this adjustment is going to take some time for them. I swear they call me Meggan as often as mom when they are talking to me.




As a thank you gift for her hard work and love for the kids I had this bracelet made for her with the kids initials and 2 blue beads and 2 pearls so she'll always know how much the kids love her. I think I might go get one for myself too - it's so dang cute!

The car

Ever since we got our wood floors Sophie rarely walks anywhere - she is always driving there. I love hearing her car zoom down the hall into her room or Claire's room then back to the kitchen for something else. She continually runs our feet over (and it HURTS) or runs right into poor Shadow. The other kids love to ride it around too but first they have to find it without Sophie on it.

Tayson's Birthday

I can't believe my baby is 9 years old. The time is going by so fast!! Tayson has grown up so much in the past year. He is very mature and helpful. He loves to be an adult as much as possible. He has really learned to control his temper in the past year and I think that his swimming has helped a lot with that too. He has still only lost 3 teeth but his 4th one is barely hanging on. He loves hanging out and playing with his friends, he loves to play the wii and computer and he loves playing basketball, riding his bike and his scooter around with his friends. I love that he can jump on his bike and ride over to grandma & grandpa's house anytime. He is the most loving kid and I am so grateful to be his mom.

P.S. no he is not naked in these pictures - he only sleeps in boxers or his underwear and he just hadn't gotten dressed yet for the day :)

A birthday surprise

We did a 45 mile bike ride on Saturday and it was Gretchen's birthday so we had a small celebration before the ride. Traci made delicious parfaits and nutella crepes for us - yummy! I was in charge of getting the balloons. Let me tell you about the ballooons. I decided that since I was already out I'd just swing by Macey's to get them on my way home from the Provo Beach Resort. Todd had already left so it was me, my 4 kids, Eric and Ryan. It took sooooooo long to get the balloons blown up and the line for ice cream was a mile long so I bribed my kids with drinks and any other ice cream treat they wanted. Then we sat there FOREVER waiting for these 2 guys to blow up the balloons. They popped 3 while we were there and then 3 more popped in the car. My kids were yelling about the balloons filling up the entire back of the minivan. Sophie wouldn't buckle her carseat and kicked Tayson when he tried to help. One of the balloons popped on Tayson's back. I finally got them dropped off at Traci's and got my kids home at like 10:30 pm. UGH! Then the next day found out some of the balloons said "it's a boy" and "it's a girl". What a fiasco! It was all worth it though. The ride was awesome and Gretchen is the best!

Tayson's Family Party

Todd and I thought it would be fun to take Tayson to the Provo Beach Resort for his birthday. Usually we just let the kids pick a restaurant to go to but this looked like too much fun to pass up so we did this instead of dinner for him. We invited Ryan and Eric to come as well. The boys all played mini-croquet while I took the girls to the big playland. After dinner we let all the kids play in the playland (which they LOVED) while Eric did the ropes course. It was a really fun night and I know we'll go back again.

Dressed for the Occasion

My girl is always dressed up. She changes her outfit at least 4 times a day. She loves to wear princess outfits and can totally ride her scooter in one.

I love this picture of her playing on the slip-n-slide with her monster water wings on. She put them on for fashion not safety.

Jetsetter?

For work I had an all day meeting in Santa Monica, CA. We left that morning on a private jet (owned and flown by one of our top distributors) met all day then flew home that night. It was a crazy long day (18 hours of work) and I didn't get to enjoy California at all - but it was a fun experience to fly on a private jet.


I was in the very back seat (there were 7 seats total) and you can see the pilot easily from my seat :)