Dog Derby

Kaitlyn with her hotdog.

Ashley with hers.

Sam, Uncle Gene, Katie, and Ash.

Yesterday was the annual dog derby. Kyle and Gene took the girls and Sam. They had so much fun. Me and Kami stayed home so I could recuperate. I did get to hear about all the different dogs and neat things they saw. I guess Sam did pretty well. He wasn't sure of what to think of all the other dogs there. He behaved himself though. Although, he hates riding in the back of the pickup and is a little traumatized over it. Well maybe next year for me.

My frothy pipe

Meet Mr. Frothy pipe. He and I have become very close the last couple of days, maybe even dare we say intimate? As I have spent many hours puffing away lately. Thursday I felt great in the morning but by late afternoon out came the pipe. I will say that for the most part I completely ignore my asthma and it doesn't concern me. However, Thursday was a reality check for me. I realized this could be debilitating if I let it and I need to take better care of myself. Definitely more sleep. As I was on my third treatment in less than hour and half, I couldn't help but think about the things I detest. I detest the inhalers every day, the special tests, how long the treatments last, but mostly being held back. I love to hike, but will I be able to make it without huffing and puffing up the hill? I also detest the parents who take their sick kids everywhere, especially with the attitude "everyone is going to get it anyway"! They are why I feel the need to quarantine myself to the house for fours months out of the year. Ashley brings home enough crap from school, but when I see someone once a week at church and then I get their cold... frustrating! For me an average cold is not average. A cold lasts two weeks at the very least and maybe six weeks. Don't forget my other close friend I detest, mr. prednisone. Although, I have appreciated him the last couple of days. Without him I would probably be in the hospital now. I detest mr. prednisone, his taste, his side effects, but he sure helps. I hate watching the house work grow as I try to lay still and not have a coughing fit. I have pumped more drugs into my system in the last two days then I have in six months. I admit that I am in uncharted waters this time. I have let a sinus infection go way too long, another thing I detest the chronic sinus infections. Now I am sitting three days into a cold and drug wise I am a week into it. I have never deteriorated so rapidly and the look on Kyle's face said it all. Reality says I now need to catch up on house work ever so slowly, and bring my lungs back to a functioning level. I am learning and definitely taking it slower than normal, but the world and kids don't stop.

I finally pulled Ashley's tooth yesterday. I have been watching them move together and then overlap. Enough was enough and I yanked it. It was the easiest one by far. The other one will be coming out Monday. I always give her time to wiggle it herself. I know this will do no good since she has my teeth. All of mine were yanked and all still attached to the root at the time. But her front teeth are coming in and we don't want her to have two sets at a time like her bottom teeth. Which did move into place thankfully. We had a lovely visit from the tooth fairy last night, and no long lasting emotional trauma, yet

Valentine's Day

Well, we had a good Valentine's Day. We started off with some pink heart blueberry pancakes. And Ashley had tons of fun at her school party on Friday.
We had fun making heart shaped cookies and using Sabra's cream cheese frosting recipe, yum.
The girls enjoyed their giant lollipops we gave them. They also got a few things from grandma and grandpa. I think they had a fun day, and to top it off Marianne was over here to babysit. They had so much fun spending the weekend with her. Which brings me to Kyle. He always does too much. This was my present this year. I got him a hot coat at a very good price. I just don't know what to say about my wonderful husband. Except that I know he is the best husband in the whole wide world! I am so happy that I married him. I love him more everyday!
We managed to hit the stake dinner/dance that night, and we even took a few dance lessons that morning. What a guy!
Yesterday we had the Baldwin clan over for dinner and celebrated Chantelle's birthday a few days early. Kaitlyn made some comment about all the candles on the cake and I am wondering what she will say on my birthday! Oh the horror! We had a busy weekend. I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Ten Months

Kami is ten months old today. She is growing so fast. I can't believe she will be a year in a couple of months. The other day all three girls had climbed into our bed with us, I got to thinking about what it was like before we had Kami. Honestly, it feels like she has been with us forever, but when I think back it just feels like our family wasn't as complete. Even at ten months she has brought so much to us. She is such a sweet little spirit and always happy. She loves her sisters. Kami is into everything and is pretty fast at getting around the house. Last Monday Kaitlyn was sick and as I was taking care of her, I walked by the door to see Kami sitting in the middle of a pile of rubber bands with the biggest grin! She has also discovered the toilet, yuk. She has popped two molars through and we are waiting for the last two to come through. I can't wait to be done teething for awhile. Kami took a nasty spill about three weeks ago and now she is very cautious about walking around. She is getting tons better though. Kami learned how to clap and loves to clap at herself. She also will stick her tongue out at you, she thinks thats funny! We all love her so much! Happy Valentine's Day Kami!

Photo Shoot

I always have fun taking pictures of Ashley. She has always been a camera ham and loves "posing". Look closely and you will see Kami sticking out her tongue. This is her new trick, when you ask her to do something or tell her no you get a tongue! Kaitlyn was sick and that is why you don't see her in any photos.

Not only does she like to have her picture taken but she loves to be on the other end. I find all sorts of pictures when I go to transfer them onto the computer. She is so fun and getting so big. Already a photographer, she definitely belongs in this family!
We missed gym today because of all the snow. When the neighbor gets stuck in the driveway it means I am not going anywhere! I need a four wheel drive! I think I need spring more though!

New clock

It finally came! I ordered this clock back in December and it finally came this week. I have been searching forever for the perfect clock. I knew this was it the moment I saw it. It is actually 24 inches and quite big on our wall, but I love it!
I know Cindy it is no beach clock, but it works!

Another crazy week

I am kind of at a loss as to where to begin. We have had so much going on that this may be a long post. First off, today. We woke up to some lovely snow. I double and triple checked the weather before we left the house. I hesitantly drove Ashley to school thinking I hope she can get home. Seeing some of the moms in our ward picking up their children didn't help. I watched out the window as the snow kept falling and the wind kept blowing. The time came and school was out, whew I felt better. Then I got the call. They weren't sure if the bus would make it out but they were going to put a plow in front of it and try. Well, biting my nails with the snowmobile running I waited and waited. She made it home about ten minutes late but she made it. Now I don't think I even would have taken her today if she hadn't missed yesterday. I guess that brings me to the low point of our week. Wednesday the girls have gymnastics. Wednesday Ashley woke me up and said her stomach hurt but she thought she was just hungry. So, we ate and she said she felt better. We proceeded to get ready to go and take all our snow clothes with us. See wed. was Cynthia's birthday party (Ashley's best friend). We were heading over right after gym. Kaitlyn did gym and got a private lesson since none of the other kids showed up. Then it was Ashley's turn. I dropped her off and headed for the store. I got the call ten minutes later, Ashley had gotten sick. So began our next 24 hours. No birthday party or school just buckets and movies. Ashley started then I started at about 430 am. I will honestly say my stomach has never hurt so bad. Thankfully, I have this wonderful husband that stayed home and worked while watching three active little girls. I slept. I emerged in the afternoon to my house. Did a tornado hit while I slept? Everyone was still alive, fed, and still in their pjs, but I got to sleep! By bedtime the mess was cleaned up (thanks to Kyle) and I was feeling better. Who could ask for anything better than a wonderful husband who will take care of things when you are at your worst, or feel like it anyway. While I am bringing up Kyle I should mention that he is officially on the search and rescue. He is very excited. I am very jealous. I really want to do the volunteer EMT but until we are done having children and they are older I will wait.
In the mist of all the craziness I did manage to finish a project of mine. I have been working on this matte for awhile. I finally finished it Saturday and filled it with picts on Sunday (during the superbowl), now I just need to hang it. Eventually, Ky will be making some custom frames.
Here is the project Kyle decided to tackle since he had to come home early today. We have absolutely no heat in our bathroom whatsoever. So, Kyle is installing this wall heater to help. Our wood stove is wonderful and does a great job. However, when it gets really cold at night our bathroom is the coldest place in the house. I am so glad he knows how to do this stuff.

And yes the mess!

What a crazy week. And somewhere in there we watched the super bowl and had our football feast. What a great game. I am hoping that the wind will stop and we can enjoy all our new snow tomorrow.