Sam I am

Meet Sam. He is our new addition to the family. Sam is a Plott Hound/ German Shepherd Husky mix. Say that fast! Sam will be a big outside dog. The story behind Sam is as follows. Ever since we have lived here (the past two years) the neighbor's dog (Hershey) has come over and done her "business" on our lawn. This has progressed into eating the cat food on our deck! Well, about three weeks ago I let Daisy out and it just so happens Hershey was over for a snack. She attacked Daisy, and well we have had it. So, we are hoping Sam and his buddy (yes we will be adding even more to the family) will serve a couple of purposes. First, keep Hershey off our property. Second, we will be starting a garden next year and apparently raccoons are a problem. Third, during wolf season I am hoping they add some security so that our children can play in peace. Overall, we would like to keep all the other animals and critters at bay. Sam is still shy but has attached himself to Ashley. He loves Daisy and the cats. We think Sam is a very cute puppy. The best part about Sam is that he was free! Yes, maybe we are crazy to take on more animals, and big ones at that! But we do have plenty of room for him and he will be an outside dog. This has added to Kyle's list, since we now need a dog house and a dog run for the time being. I should mention that his name came from a book we are reading Attaboy Sam. Also, spud harvest has started so I get to enjoy Ashley for two whole weeks no school! I have been enjoying the slow pace of the last few days. We even had Sabra, Madison, and Hunter over to play today. Kaitlyn loves to play trucks with Hunter. Now we get to fall into some "Fall" activities, pumpkin picking next week and getting ready for Halloween. This is a fun time of year before it snows and we become hermits in our house!

Wedding number 3

We are done! Yep, Chris and Chantelle are married! Which means no more weddings for us for awhile. We had three weddings in ten weeks, crazy! We did go out with a bang though. Their wedding was so much fun! We had fun at the other two. Maybe it was because it was the last, but it was awesome! Chris and Chantelle are so cute together and she has the best personality (her dress was beautiful!). I don't think he could have done better. The day was rainy, but it always stopped when we needed it too.
I did the cake for this one and I think it turned out awesome. The bottom two layers were rice crispy treats, very different, but so much fun to make. Because the fondant was yellow I had to borrow their mixer to get the color even. Wow! What a difference it made and I will be getting one soon. Gene made it up for this one and even brought Cole and Sydney with him. Cole is getting so big, he will be one next month. Julie is looking great with 5 weeks to go. So exciting! We will be going to Utah for the next big event (baby blessing). It is sad to think we are not going to be getting together for awhile, but I need a break. The barn is slowing down and the family events are slowing down, I am hoping for a little peace and quite. So, Congrats to the newlyweds! I am excited to have Chantelle so close! And am looking forward to Anna Beth's entry and all the other nieces and nephews to come!

The simple things

I wanted to post about the simple things I am grateful for. First let me explain. Last week as I was alone with sick kids and winding down my day I came across an entry on Cindy's blog. She had a link to another blog with a story. After reading the story and bawling my eyes out, it made me think about life and what I am so grateful for. I am so grateful for my kids and the chance to be with them all day. I know they drive my crazy at times and I drive them crazy too, but I am thankful that I can be here to find fuzzy caterpillars in the yard after school.
And read so many stories I can not count them all. I love to be able to go outside and write messages with sidewalk chalk or play hopscotch. I love curling on the couch with the girls a blanket and popcorn and settling in for a good movie. I have really enjoyed watching all of them grow. These last few weeks Kaitlyn has really come out of her shell and I love to see her smile and laugh. She has a beautiful smile and the cutest laugh. Kami is doing better with her soy formula. She doesn't like the taste but her digestive system likes it better, and I am glad that she is happier. Ashley is loving school and comes home with the cutest songs for colors and shapes.

I am especially grateful for my wonderful husband. He works crazy hours (until midnight right now) , so that I can stay home with the kids and we can finish our basement. I complain about feeling like a single mom at times, but I am so thankful for him and all he does. He is the best dad and the girls love him so much.
And the simple things, like which picture do I put up and where? What color of tile and counter top should we put in the bathroom? What should I wear to the wedding this weekend? Even the laundry that is piled on my counter right now. I am so thankful that I can make those choices. And that I get the chance to see all the changes with my little family as we grow and struggle together. I am now compelled to read the updates here about Stephanie and Christian and their struggles as they are recovering from the plane crash. I find myself feeling hopeful with each encouraging update and praying that all their surgeries will go well. But also realizing that could be me or anyone I know, and then I am thankful for all the simple things in my life.

Wedding number 2.5!

New Hats

Fun!

Chris & Chantelle Canada reception

He's back! Kyle got home from Canada yesterday. He brought us some neat presents, the girls got new hats and chocolate and Canadian money (we can't find that anywhere). I oopsed a little. I thought everyone was coming home Sunday, so I scheduled Ashley's family party on Monday. I found out otherwise late last week, too late. So, we also did Ashley's party last night. She had tons of fun and Chris gave her operation. I don't think you have seen anything until you see two little girls and all the aunts and uncles gathered around a little table playing that game! We enjoyed the evening even though we had a couple of tired people. We are glad to have Kyle home and have a busy week ahead with the wedding and all.

Five months old

Kami is five months old today. She is getting so big I can't believe it. She is almost sitting up by herself. She loves baby food. She doesn't care to much for rice cereal but loves peas and sweet potatoes (which she may be allergic to). She has her two bottom teeth and is working on her two top teeth. I am hoping they break through anytime now! She loves to sit in her highchair and be included in everything. Kami sits and just watches her sisters. Kami doesn't like to be on the floor, she prefers to have mom hold her all the time. She loves to stand and attempt to walk. Kami is such a cutie and we love her sweet little spirit. She is growing into quite the talker and we can't wait to see what is yet to come. I am not sure how much she weighs at this time, my best guess is about fifteen and half pounds. Yes, she is a good eater!

Happy Birthday Ashley

My baby turned six today! We had a good day. She had school today. So, we started out with breakfast, french toast of course, her fave. She left for school with her new backpack full of suckers for her class, no homemade treats that's the rule. She had fun at school. Today was spirit day and they all wore purple. Her class sang to her and she got a sparkly purple 6 from her teacher (first picture look close). When she came home we had milkshakes and her dinner of choice, chicken strips fries and spaghetti O's. I stuck a candle in the chicken strips. We rented Little Mermaid 3 and had fun lounging out on the floor. Poor Kaitlyn got sick tonight and didn't enjoy too much. Ashley is missing Kyle though. He is in Canada with Chris at his wedding reception, but we did open presents last night so he could see. We are rounding the night off with a slumber party in mom's room! Ashley is such a sweetheart it is hard for me to accept that she is growing up. I have enjoyed every minute with her and love her so much. She is so fun and such a good big sister. I can't imagine life without her, I think it would be pretty boring. She brings so much to our family. Ashley is a camera ham and is such a tease. She makes friends very easily and always remembers to include everyone. I had to limit her to three friends for her party last Saturday, all her friends wouldn't fit in the house! Ashley is very smart and loving Kindergarten! Kaitlyn misses her so much when she is gone. Ashley is the only one that can get Kamryne to laugh when she has been crying. Ashley also named Kamryne and is very proud of that. There are so many things that I love about her I cannot name them all. Happy Birthday Ashley! We love you sooo much!!!

Our busy weekend

This castle cake was so much fun to make!

Crazies!

Shelby, Ashley, Cynthia, Kendra and Kailtyn

Candy hoarding!

Well we had a busy weekend. It started Friday night when Kyle and the girls slept outside in the tent, I think they are crazy! They had fun and stayed pretty warm. Kami and I hogged the whole warm bed inside! I also made the cake Friday. I had tons of fun with this one and can't take too much credit for it, I found this idea in the Family Fun magazine, which I love. So, much fun and easy to make. Then Saturday we finally did some much needed yard work and then tried to hit Emily's baptism which we thought started at 1130, it didn't it started at 1100. We then came back and got ready for Ashley's friends party. I let her pick three friends to invite and she picked Kendra, Shelby and Cynthia (of course). The girls came over and had fun playing games and making wands. Kyle and Jen even got in on the balloon popping action. The party was a big hit and Ashley loved spending time with her friends. Then today we went to Christy's party at Jen and Brody's. The kids had so much fun with the pinata and then helping open presents. Brody had fun making his big white mans fire! Sometimes I can't believe everything we fit in one day. Now with everything to do over the next two weeks I feel like they are gone too!