Breaking news with the Georges...

Had some sitting time...

2011-04-15T20:21:00.001-06:00

I know it shouldn't take getting a stomach bug that keeps me in the chair to sit down and update my blog, but I guess it did this time. We are staying so busy with everyday things around here. Life really is great!! We have so much to be grateful for, and I guess, in some ways having a stomach bug is even a blessing. ;) I am proud to tell you that Brinlee weighed in at a hefty 21 pounds this week in the doctor's office. I took her in because she was just really fussy, and now I know why because I have the bug, too. Again, a blessing that we found out she was gaining weight and didn't have an ear infection. Brice is doing his student teaching at Parkside Elementary in the 4th grade with Jocelyn Frame. He is LOVING it, and I am so glad!! He is now hunting for a job for next year. We really would like to find something close so we can stay in Powell, but we have decided that he should apply for all of the Wyoming positions and see where it takes us. Wyoming pays very well compared to the surrounding states, and there have been layoffs in Colorado that really make the job market around here competetive. We heard there were 160 applicants for two jobs in Powell!! Let us know if you hear of anything coming open in your neck of the woods. Kellon is doing really well in 1st grade. He is getting super excited for Grandparents Day next Thursday. All of the 1st graders host their grandparents for a day of fun and a musical presentation. Today he had career day at school and wasn't quite sure what he wanted to be. He came home and let me know he had decided...a CIA agent. I am not sure how I feel about that, but I don't want to discourage his dreams. :) Barrett is one of the smartest pre-K kids in town--literally. At least that is what the teacher told us at his kindergarten screening. She said he had the highest score all day, and he was very proud of that. Barrett has been going to CRC preschool. I think that he has enjoyed it a lot, and it has helped prepare him for being in all-day kindergarten next year. The girls and I will really miss him! Aubree is suffering with a stomach bug with me right now, but most days she is a happy, imaginative little princess/mommy. It is amazing to me how much she models what I do...a little scary. I try to be a good example because I want her to keep saying she wants to be a mommy just like me when she grows up. Brinlee is getting a little chubby, finally. She is talking a lot and loves to play outside. This week I taught her how to climb the ladder on her little slide all by herself. Now she wants to be outside constantly, but the weather has been cool and windy most days. I am so thankful that she has had a good, healthy winter. Other than her surgery to remove the scar tissue blocking the blood in her heart in December, she has not been in the hospital. I guess I should say a few words about what I have been up to...mostly playing house. ;) I have recently started going to a Zumba exercise class that a lady facilitates at the church three mornings a week. That has been fun and helps me feel a little healthier. Teecee and I have done a couple wedding cakes and some birthday cakes. You can see pictures of most of our stuff on our blog sisterssweets.blogspot.com. April is my month for sharing time in Primary, so if any of you have any ideas you are working on, let me know. This week I am really struggling with how to organize my thoughts on the Atonement. Of course, it is ward conference, too, so the stake primary will be watching my sharing time. I am trying not to stress out about not knowing what the next few months will bring as far as jobs or where we may end up.

This was our attempt at a self portrait a few nights ago.

Aubree is our little glamour girl. She loves to go "swimming" in our family room.

Kellon baked and decorated his first cake with Teecee. He was very excited about it. The writing is all of the kids' names in our family. He even dictated which piece each of us could eat.

Brinlee is quite a "cheeser" when it comes to the camera. The trick is taking the picture before she tries to grab the camera and look at the picture.

Barrett is such a handsome boy, especially with a big smile and funny hair.

A little Christmas Greeting for you all!

2010-11-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Digital greeting generated with Smilebox

Brinlee Hospital Book

2010-11-25T22:58:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

My Loves of a Lifetime

2010-11-07T17:38:00.002-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about how blessed we are as a family. I have so many things to be grateful for, and each member in our family is one of those. I thought I would post a picture or two of the loves of my life just to try to catch you all up. We all know these posts are few and far between, and that probably is not going to change. I really hope that you all keep up the great work at posting more often than me though because they are so fun to read. ;)

So Brinlee has been walking for about a month now. In fact, she is almost running now. I thought this clip really captured her skills as well as her great personality.

The girls posing about a month and a half ago. They have both been changing so fast. Brinlee has gained 2.5 pounds since her birthday July 25. She is a whopping 17 lb, 15 month old now. Aubree is quite the girly girl. She has to have some form of pink on everyday. Just recently she has started wanting to wear her hair down. I have been missing the pigtails.

Aubree got a castle cake complete with a princess and crowns for her 3rd birthday. Notice the color theme once again (pink, pink, pink, or yeah and a little purple).

Barrett was a cowboy for Halloween, but this outfit would be him most of the time anyway. He loves roping and wearing his boots with his pants tucked inside of them.

Yes, I know you are surprised, but Aubree was a princess for Halloween. Kellon was a motorcross rider and Brinlee was the scowling cow.

My brother, Brady got married Aug. 7, and these are a couple of pictures taken there.

Kellon loves taking care of Brinlee, and she likes it most of the time. These pictures, however, don't reflect that very well. You can see the oxygen cord in this one. We were so happy when Brinlee was taken off that leash about a month after we came home from Denver (Aug. 30). She really started getting mobile then.

I took some pictures of the kids at the beginning of August. It was hard to get babies to smile and big kids to stop smiling (cheesy) when Mom was the photographer, but we managed a few pretty good ones.

I was bad and took her oxygen off for a few pictures.

My first grader that is already chest high to his Mom.

Kellon is so grown up and loving 1st grade. He is reading pretty much anything now and even silently. I am sure that my kids are geniuses (in my unbiased opinion).

What a natural.

I told Barrett to picture himself giving Aubree a swirly to get this "real" smile.

Doesn't Brinlee looked thrilled to be there.

And last but not least, the greatest husband and dad ever.

We have had a beautiful fall here with lots of beautiful sunrises and sunsets that I have attempted to capture with my camera. The leaves were also so pretty.

Heart Mountain at sunset

A beautiful autumn sunrise

The huge ash tree in our yard.

The same tree from underneath.

End in Sight

2010-07-15T11:59:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know that the doctors are finally talking about the day we will go home. If all of Brinlee's blood work and chest xrays look good tomorrow, we will be released to the Ronald McDonald House for the weekend. Then we will have a post-op appointment Monday. That means that there is starting to be a light at the end of the tunnel for us (and those that are taking care of our other kids :) ) Brinlee is really doing better. She is starting to act like our smiley, fun-loving baby again. We know that she is healthy enough to leave because she throws a fit everytime any healthcare worker (nurse, doctor or janitor) comes too close.

Lizzy and Angie are two of our CPCU nurses. Brinlee was okay with them as long as she had her fuzzy.

Sporting her new hair flower I put together yesterday to match her outfit.

What else do we do at the hospital for entertainment?

"When can we go out there?"

Silly Daddy

Laughing is the best medicine.

The balloons from Grandpa and Grandma Barrett, Teecee, Kellon, Barrett and Aubree have been a fun toy.

Happy Birthday Barrett!

2010-07-08T17:22:00.000-06:00

Barrett has been so anxious for this special day of the year since a week after his birthday last year. He has asked me many times over the past year, "Mom, how many days until my birthday?" I usually gave him a rough estimate and made sure he knew it was a long time. Now look at how fast the time really has gone. We are so excited for Barrett to be a big five year old. I can't hardly believe we have been blessed to have this special boy in our family for half a decade already. :) I wish that I could be home to celebrate with him today, but he is going to get his daddy on his birthday--ssshhh its a surprise. We had an "un-birthday" party for him the day before we left.

We hoped that he would understand that we couldn't be with him today. He was a great sport about it, but every once in a while he would say, "I am going to have my real birthday party at 9:30 at night so that Mommy and Daddy can make it because they are going to be in Denver." We decided when Brinlee moved out of the ICU and was doing so much better that Brice should be his birthday present today. Barrett is such a bright spot in our family. He always gives really good loves and snuggles when we need them. He is also a great friend to his brother and sisters, always willing to play spies with Kellon or house with the girls. We love you so much Bert!!

Living separate lives

2010-07-03T21:29:00.000-06:00

Right now our family is living two separate lives. Brinlee, Brice and I are in Denver because Brinlee had her third heart surgery on Thursday. We have been here since Monday, and it looks like we will be here at least a couple of weeks. My cousin Marcie and most of her family have been in Denver this week, so we have met up with them a couple of times. It is always fun to see Rocky and his girlfriend Tiffany since they live here in Denver while they are in physical therapy school. Brice, Brinlee and I had a free day on Tuesday. We decided to eat some Thai and Indian food and go to the zoo. It was fun to have a carefree day before the real serious stuff started.

Brinlee has been holding her own since the surgery on Thursday. It took 11 hours in the operating room, so she has taken some time just to get everything besides her heart functioning well again. We miss her loves and smiles since she is sleeping under sedation all of the time right now, but she should be able to wake up in the next couple of days as she continues to heal and has more energy to spend on being awake. In the meantime, I have actually have time to update my blogs and check my email. I know you are all so surprised. If you want to check out a couple of the most recent cakes Teecee and I have worked on, our new blog is sisterssweets.blogspot.com.

Kellon, Barrett and Aubree are staying with Grandpa and Grandma Barrett and Teecee right now. They have been having fun picking strawberries--I think they are up to 8 gallons. Also, they have helped wean lambs. For the 4th of July Grandma, Grandpa and Teecee took the kids to the rodeo in Red Lodge yesterday and the parade in Cody today. They are having so much fun! It sounds like most of them crash in the afternoon because they are going from pretty early in the morning until later in the evening. We are so grateful to them for taking care of the kids and everything at our house. It definitely takes a load off of our mind to have that taken care of at home.

Where in the world has time gone?

2010-05-02T16:32:00.004-06:00

Just playing with Daddy on a Sunday afternoon

Aubree was not too excited about Clifford up close at the library and I thought it was hilarious ;)

I have been getting a lot of grief about not updating my blog since last fall, so I decided to give a "brief" synopsis of our lives right now. We had a great Christmas and a welcomed "healthy month" of January, but that is where normal life as we knew it ended. Brinlee came down with pneumonia and RSV in February and was diagnosed the end of February with congenital heart disease. Brinlee and I spent 6 weeks in Denver waiting for her first heart surgery while Brice and the kids were here, there and everywhere. We have started a care page for Brinlee that has the details of our journey with her. The address is http://www.caringbridge.org/ Go there and then go to brinleegeorge for the website. If you sign up for the site, you will receive emails when I update the page. We are enjoying being back at home until May 25 because Brinlee is scheduled for her next surgery on May 27 in Denver. I am so excited for spring and have loved the flowers and bushes in my yard that have started to bloom. Above are a few pictures from the past month. Brinlee is already 9 months old! Kellon is loving school, and is a great little reader already--it is amazing how fast he learns. Barrett and Aubree are best friends and spend there days entertaining Brinlee mostly. Brice will be walking in two weeks for his graduation with his associates from NWC here in Powell. The craziness with Brinlee has put him back a semester for his bachelor's, so he should be done with classes in December and student teaching next spring. I am staying busy with the kids, yard work and a primary stuff

Busy Weekend Last Week

2009-09-13T16:29:00.003-06:00

We had a couple of big days last weekend. On Saturday, Teecee and I catered a branding out of a restored chuckwagon back in the hills. We precooked the brisket and warmed it up over the fire. We made the biscuits and potato salad the day before. The beans and peach cobbler were actually prepared over the open fire in dutch ovens. We even learned how to make "cowboy coffee." Maybe that will come in handy again.? My dad was our "fireman" in charge of starting the fires and making sure we had good coals. My Aunt Marlene and cousin, Valyn, were visiting from Utah, so they came with my mom to check on our progress. Brinlee came along as my personal assistant. :) I think that everyone liked the food because the people took seconds and take-home plates. We estimated the food pretty close except for the potato salad. There was a roaster pan full left, but it came in handy at a family BBQ on Monday. This was a unique opportunity for us to dutch oven cook, but I have to say it was a lot of work. Especially since we cooked the meat over the fire in the evenings during that week. It meant a lot of hours of cooking and cleanup. It was fun to include my dad though, and we were very thankful for his help and expertise.

Chuckwagon/Food Prep Area
You can see the two of the four fires in this one. They were setup with grates and places to hang the ovens.

The cooking crew

Four of these dutch ovens are peach cobblers and one is beans. Cleanup was quite a project.

Dad making the black as tar and twice as gritty coffee

Aunt Marlene and Valyn

This was Brinlee's perch for most of the day. That is her carseat in the chair with the bright blanket over it. She slept most of the time.

On Sunday, Brice blessed Brinlee at our ward. She wore the blessing dress that I made for Aubree out of the same material as my wedding dress. I thought she looked like a little angel in it. I think that half of the ward's sacrament meeting attendance was our family. We feel so blessed that we live close to family so that they can be a part of these special occasions. We missed those that couldn't come though.

Kellon's in Kindergarten!

2009-08-30T16:17:00.004-06:00

We have a big kindergartener at our house now! He is loving school and very excited about all of the new things he is learning and the kids he is meeting. We are glad that he has a great teacher, Mrs. Landwehr, to get him started out right this year. I have to admit that I haven't been quite as excited about the change. Barrett, Aubree, Brinlee and I really haven't gotten used to Kellon being gone all day. He is such a great playmate and helper for us. We all really miss him, but we love the weekends when everyone can be together for a couple of days. It has made for some early mornings also with the bus coming at 7:25 a.m. I know that it could be much earlier, but for a kid that likes to sleep until 8 or 8:30 some mornings, that has been a huge adjustment. Kellon has been a great sport about it though. Most mornings he is up before I come wake him. Kellon says his favorite things about school are recess, coloring, and watching movies on the Smartboard. He also says that the best classroom job is his "free day" when they don't have a job. :) How time flies!! I look at Brinlee and cannot believe that Kellon has already gone from her size to school age. We are so proud of him!

Brinlee Jean George

2009-08-30T15:30:00.004-06:00

I am happy to finally get around to introducing you to the newest addition to our family, Brinlee Jean George. I know she is 5 weeks old now, but some of you also know how hectic things can be with real life going on with a newborn in the mix. We are really enjoying having our littlest girl. She was born Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10:50 a.m. weighing in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. We waited an extra 6 days past my due date to meet this girl, and we still had to start things without her permission (I was induced Friday night at 10:30). Everything went well, and she was my fastest labor at 12 hours. I shouldn't say it was "my" fastest labor because Brice and Melanie, my labor doula, can also claim it for sure. Brinlee is a beautiful little girl, but I was definitely surprised at how little hair she has compared to the other kids. It does make getting her dressed up a little easier (for now). She started smiling about 2 weeks ago, so I think that she is going to be a cheerful girl. That seemed early to me anyway. Brinlee also caught her first cold last week which has not been much fun for anyone. We were hoping to be done with that in a couple of days, but Kellon showed up with a different cough this morning. Maybe we will luck out and Brinlee won't catch this one.
Here are a few pictures from the hospital and the first day at home.

Isn't this a good lookin' bunch!

I can't believe I caught her with her eyes open when she was two days old

My sister-in-law, Annette, took some pictures for us when Brinlee was just 5 days old. I wanted to get a few good newborn pictures since the ones at the hospital usually aren't that great. She did a great job!

What a little miracle

Daddy's little angel!

Daddy's little girl

Mother's Day cookies, Trip to Utah, Island Park Family Reunion and Swimming Lessons

2009-06-26T16:39:00.007-06:00

As you can tell from the title, there have been a lot of things going on in our lives lately. Being busy makes time go by so fast! In the midst of all of this Teecee and I catered a graduation party and did another graduation cake as well as a wedding cake. Brice took four summer classes in the four weeks after spring semester that he is in the process of finishing up right now. We had a really rainy first week in June. The moisture was a huge blessing for the land. Now the ground is wet enough that the grass in the hills is growing for our cows to eat. We got the garden planted the first week of June before the rain, and it seems to be growing slowly, except for the weeds. :~) The flowers have been brightening my days with beautiful blooms since this spring. I love spending time outside enjoying the fresh air and the green everywhere. The weather has warmed up a lot this week until today. It is cool and rainy again. That should be expected since our ten year class reunion is being held outside today and tomorrow. At least the heat won't be an issue. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the past 10 years since high school. I hope it will be fun to get reaquainted with former classmates. I think that the family BBQ tomorrow will be the best part of it all because our whole families are what life is really about now, not just the individual classmates.

We made tulip cookies for our mothers and grandmothers this year for Mother's Day. I think that they were a hit with both the kids and the mothers. Kellon and Barrett love being able to frost and decorate things on their own since they have to just watch while we are decorating cakes. Putting on the sprinkles was the favorite job besides eating frosting.

Aubree was always willing to clean up any messes.

I got to go on a road trip to Garland, UT (20 minutes from Logan) with Mom, Teecee and Aubree the first week in June. Mom planned the trip to go visit her sister (Marlene) and family out there a long time ago. Then she invited the rest of us girls to go along. We had a good time together. It was fun to have time to visit and laugh a lot because we don't get to see each other as much as we would like day-to-day.

I went to the Logan Temple with Marlene and mom one day. Afterwards, Teecee, our cousin, Valyn, and I all went shopping in Logan. It seemed wierd to be all alone in the stores because I didn't have anyone else to keep track of.

We went to Salt Lake City to visit Temple Square and the LDS Conference Center. I thought that we had perfect timing to see the beautiful wildflowers in bloom on top of the conference center

Teecee, Aubree, Valyn, Me, Marlene, Mom

flowers on top of the conference center

Teecee, Aubree, Valyn in conference center

I am so thankful to Brice for giving me the opportunity to get away for 5 whole days before I have the baby. I also owe Annette and my Dad a great big thanks for watching the boys the days that Brice was in summer classes.

I had one day at home to get stuff done before we left to go to Island Park, ID for a George brothers family reunion. We reserved a cabin big enough for the whole family to stay in and a garage for all of the four-wheelers, of course. It was fun for kids and adults alike to spend a few days in the mountains playing. The weather even cooperated with us, so we got to go on four-wheeler rides everyday.

Cardston (cousin) and Barrett

We visited Mesa Falls one day. It was amazing! The falls are huge and make this lush, green area around it because of the mist.

Another day we went to Big Springs where there is a natural spring with huge fish to watch. The seahawks and muskrat got most of the bread we were trying to feed the fish though. That day we also went into West Yellowstone to watch movie at the IMAX theater. That is the most realistic movie I have been to. It felt like you were right on the cliffs and flying over the mountains--it made Aubree cry sometimes though.

The past two weeks have been swimming lessons for Kellon and Barrett. They had them every weekday at 9 am. I am so proud of how much progress they have made since last year. Kellon has really overcome his fear of the water and Barrett has matured a lot in his ability to take instruction from the teachers. They both got to jump off of the diving board today. That still scares me, but I didn't tell them that. :~) The pictures are really dark, but hopefully you can get the idea. I took some cute video that showed the little fish in action, too, but I don't know how to put that on here. Aubree was a great spectator. She wanted to get into the water so bad, but she settled for playing with the other younger siblings that were up in the balcony watching, too.

Pictures of the Kids

2009-06-26T15:32:00.006-06:00

It's been about a month ago now that my sister-in-law Annette took pictures of the kids in our orchard when it was all in full bloom. Aubree decided to be a stinker and not give her usual smile very freely. Kellon had the cheesy grin a lot, but Barrett was his genuine self. I love a lot of the pictures, so it is hard for me to pick a few to post. Annette and the kids really did a great job!

Aubree did get in a few good grins.

I have now come to realize for myself that the more kids you get in a picture, the harder it is get all of them to stay still and smile all at the same time. I can't imagine working with four next time. :~)

What a handsome bunch!

We had to get one on the four-wheeler for Daddy.

The boys told Aunt Annette to take a picture of the bees on the tree. We were all amazed that she actually caught one in this shot.

2009-06-24T15:56:00.001-06:00

Past Two Months in Review

2009-05-03T15:44:00.006-06:00

Okay, I know that my "long" stint of consistently blogging was not all that long, but now I am trying to make up for it. I have been taking some pictures all along, but the call of the outdoors has been stronger than the call of my outdated blog. We have had a few really nice days, some even without wind.

I am so proud of Kellon! He has learned how to ride a two-wheeler bike so quickly. I finally convinced him to let me take off the training wheels after he was having trouble making sharp turns and riding over big bumps with them. He was really nervous for the first time, so he thought it would be a good idea to try it out on the grass with a helmet. He never even missed a beat in the transition. There were no crashes and still haven't been any major ones (that I know of) in the past 1 1/2 months on two wheels. Now Barrett gets the tricycle all to himself, except for the occasional passenger named Aubree.

For those of you who don't know, my sister, Teecee, and I do some catering and custom baking in our "free time" under the name Sisters' Sweets. We got the the opportunity to have a table at a bridal fair in Cody at a beautiful new hotel called Cody. It was a fun day for us to spend together, and Brice is really good about watching the kids while we do our little events. It was fun to visit with passers-by and try to drum up some business. We don't do any paid advertising, so this was our attempt to get our name out in some different crowds and towns in the Big Horn Basin area. I am not sure how successful it was, but time will tell. I think that getting to eat the leftovers was worth it.

What do you think--is it real or fake?

These are some tuxedo chocolate dipped strawberries and petit fours (sponge cake dipped in chocolate frosting)

One of our specialties, especially around the holidays is cheesecake. This is real, and we enjoyed eating it all up afterwards.

Our appetizer sample was bruschetta (like Italian salsa) with toast and crackers. Behind the food is our portfolio of wedding cakes.

This pirate birthday cake is our latest creation.

We dyed some pretty awesome Easter eggs on Monday after Easter Sunday this year. I am not big into the Easter bunny or the non-religious parts of Easter, so we usually save them for after the actual holiday. I did get away with dyeing the eggs while Aubree was sleeping since I was unassisted in my supervision efforts. The boys couldn't believe we could still eat the eggs after we turned them orange, green, and some unnamed colors. We all enjoyed the egg salad later in the week though. Kellon even commented that he could eat egg salad sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday because they are so good.

I don't know what these faces were all about except maybe fear after I threatened them not to spill any of that dye.

Aubree had a memorable experience with the potty seat one day. She had been wanting to sit on the potty, mostly for fun because nothing productive in the way of training ever happened. That evening I was trying to fix dinner when she wanted to sit on the potty. I told her it would be a minute, so she went into the bathroom by herself. I should have been suspicious at this point. Soon after, there was screaming coming from the bathroom. I found Aubree with the potty seat stuck over her head and very distraught. Instinctively, I just pulled it off, but in the process her eye got cut. We got so many comments on her eye in the following days. Most of the time I would tell the whole story to just about anyone. I know in 15 years she will really love looking back on this experience. These pictures were posed about 2 days after the incident, so the cut did look even worse at first.

African Service

2009-03-01T14:40:00.003-07:00

As some of you know, I am second counselor in the primary presidency in our ward. Yesterday I got to participate in the first primary activity I helped to plan, other than the program practice. We decided to make blankets for children in Kenya. You may be thinking, "why not make blankets for children in the U.S.?" The reason we did these for Africa is that a couple of members of our ward are going to Kenya to train the people in a hospital how to use some of the high-tech equipment that other hospitals have given them. It seems that a lot of medical equipment is donated to underdeveloped countries, but no one shows them how to use it. Therefore, it gathers dust in the corner while people could be receiving much better treatment. Anyway, the family going to Kenya asked for donations of blankets to take to the OB ward and an orphanage there. We decided to use this opportunity to teach our primary the importance of service to others. The kids decorated five flannels receiving blankets with fabric markers, and the older ones tied two bigger fleece blankets. Then they all decorated wrapping paper and wrapped up most of the blankets themselves. I think everyone had a great time, and I hope that the blankets will get a lot of use. We are planning on sending pictures of our project to the Friend as a present of service for President Monson's birthday (this last year that was his birthday request--to have you to something for someone else). It was a good day!

All of the kids with our finished product

Our older kids with the fleece blankets. They look so proud!

The sunbeams' blanket. Their teachers should be as pleased as they look. They helped ten (one not in picture) three year olds make this masterpiece without any marker getting on their clothes.

Kellon's group at the blanket decorating table.

Kellon's group's completed blanket

Pastry Chefs in Training

2009-02-25T15:51:00.004-07:00

A couple days ago I borrowed a Lightning McQueen cake pan from a friend to make a cake for one of Teecee's friends. Kellon and especially Barrett wanted to make their own Lightning cake, so I decided to let them try their hand at it. Barrett helped me bake the cake while Kellon was at preschool. Then that afternoon the two boys decorated this masterpiece.

In their defense, I have to say that Aubree got up on the table where the cake was, and she helped herself to lots of frosting before I had taken these pictures. She mixed up the colors and ate all of the black frosting (you can imagine the mess on her face and hands when I found her), so I had to try to do some repairs.

As you can see, she was still very interested in that frosting. Kellon and Barrett were very good sports about it. They just said that Aubree "redecorated" it for them. I think that it is quite a masterpiece. The only trouble we had between them was Kellon scolding Barrett for eating too much frosting and not putting enough on the cake. :)

We all enjoyed eating the finished product!

Electronic Debut

2009-02-19T16:04:00.005-07:00

We are officially announcing and introducing the 6th member of our family (4th child).

I am about 18 1/2 weeks pregnant (due on July 19), so we had our routine ultrasound today. Everything looks great and right on schedule. I am feeling really good right now, and I am so grateful for that! Mom being sick and tired all of the time like I was in the beginning really takes a toll on everyone in the family. We didn't get any concrete evidence of a girl or boy today, but the tech is speculating a girl--I'm not laying any bets on it for now. Everyone is really excited to meet this little one after watching it squirm around for about an hour on the ultrasound monitor. I am so thankful for this modern technology that can bring such peace of mind that everything is alright.

I think we are already getting mooned in this one!

A Weekend Away

2009-02-15T20:00:00.002-07:00

We just back today from a Valentine's weekend getaway. Brice and I got to go to Island Park, ID to a cabin with four other couples originally from our area to go snowmobiling and have a break from our everyday lives. Brice had to do a lot of convincing for weeks to get me to leave our kids for three days and two nights, but I am glad that we went. Our friends, Derek and Megan, graciously offered to watch Kellon, Barrett and Aubree for us. They all had a great time playing with Hallie, Mason and Reece, their kids. I am so thankful to them for giving us the chance to spend time together. I got to ride our Skidoo Rev that we just got a couple months ago all day on Saturday. The only mishap I had was dropping the snowmobile down into a small creek. Luckily, a couple of the guys got it out with a snow bungee (the most useful tool this weekend). For those of you, like me, that aren't familiar with these, it is a big rubber bungee cord that you can hook onto two sleds to tow one that is stuck out in a few seconds--so much quicker than digging, pushing and pulling for an hour. I will have to post pictures later to show how much snow there was and how beautiful the area is. We were glad to get home to see the kids and sleep in our own bed, but we had a great time while we were away.

Tonight we got to have yummy chocolate cake to celebrate my parents' 30th wedding anniversary today. What a great accomplishment! I am so glad that we can be close our families to share in celebrations like this one with them.

We all need learning time

2009-02-07T12:09:00.004-07:00

Brice and I got to go the the Billings Temple yesterday without the kids. It was fun to have some time to spend as a couple again. We haven't been in the temple together for probably a couple of years because one of us stays outside with the kids while the other goes in and vice versa. We even got to do 20 sealings in the temple, just the two of us. It was a fun day! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma George for being great babysitters! The kids had a lot of fun, too.

Aubree is officially in the book fanatic stage. The boys have come and somewhat gone from this stage already. When it gets too quiet around me, I know that Aubree has found a few books. She usually drags out a whole pile at a time. Then she sits in the middle of them reading through each one out loud. At the end she says, "All done."

Kellon and Barrett's newest fascination is a dune buggy game on the computer. If one is playing the other is watching. It is amazing how well they can use a computer. Barrett is able to turn the computer on by himself, get to the internet program and then open the web page to find the game. Their little minds are so sharp!

Boys can't get enough of the cold!

2009-01-29T13:46:00.005-07:00

I think that it is a boy's instinct to play in the snow. Kellon, Barrett and even Brice (as long as a motorized vehicle is involved) will brave frigid temperatures just to go flop down in a pile of snow. On Tuesday, Kellon disappeared, so I went searching for him. I found that he was almost fully dressed in his snowpants, coat, snow boots, hat, and warmest gloves all by himself. He informed me he was going outside to play in the snow, even after my warnings that it was only about 15 degrees. I justified letting him go out because there wasn't any wind and the sun was shining. The truth is that both of the boys really needed to get out of the house to blow off some steam. Soon Barrett also escaped, but he was in too big of a hurry to put on the whole getup. He put on a sweatshirt and headed outside.

I soon discovered him red-cheeked and snow-covered already. We got all of his snow clothes on, too.

Every time I took a picture one of them seemed to be on the ground. I guess that the snow is a magnet for those special snow clothes. They were only outside for 15-20 minutes, but it was a welcome break from the house for everyone--except Aubree.

Aubree really wanted to join the boys, but it was too cold for a little one, and, more importantly, I would have to go outside too if she went.

Bailey even loved the chance to play with the kids. It has been so cold that she hasn't had much human interaction lately other than to get fed. I think she is trying to track the cats that sleep on our door mat. She always just looks at them with disgust from behind the fence.

Kellon's Birthday

2009-01-21T14:56:00.003-07:00

Since I don't have any real "breaking news," I thought I would post a few pictures of Kellon's birthday on December 18. We celebrated Kellon's 5th birthday (can you believe he's that old) with a race track cake. The birthday boy is wearing the shirt and pants Grandpa and Grandma Barrett gave to him for his birthday. He went along to pick them out and try them on. Then they went to a special place for lunch--McDonald's. That was Kellon choice because he could play there.

He is very proud of the fishing pole he got from Daddy and Mommy because now he won't have to wait his turn to use one of the two we used this summer. He is quite the fisherman.

Our little fisherman this summer.

Grandpa and Grandma George gave Kellon a painting kit that only paints on the special paper. All of the fun with none of the mess. :)

Finished with flooring and "bedtime"

2009-01-15T21:10:00.004-07:00

We officially have all of our new flooring in as of 5:30 p.m. Now I have some serious cleaning to do, but it is worth it.

Here are our wild little indians that are supposed to be in bed. Aubree got this horse for Christmas from her Uncle Rocky. It is quite popular as you can see.

This is the most up-to-date family picture you will get--5 minutes ago. I never said the girls were the most photogenic in the family.

Renovations Continue

2009-01-14T20:04:00.003-07:00

Before and during...

After so far...

We have been working on doing a few things to spruce up my Grandparents' house that we are living in right now. My parents are letting us live here for free while Brice is in school, so we are trying to fix a few things up to help them out. The house in over 100 years old and hasn't had much done to it for a long time. We took some before, in-progress, and after shots to remember how different the rooms really look now. Tomorrow the carpet layers are coming to finish up some more flooring. We are so excited to have something other than carpet in the kitchen, dining room, entryway and bathroom. The paint and lighter-colored flooring have lightened everything up a lot. We are ready for these projects to end so we can get everything put back together again.

Beauty of summer

2008-09-10T14:10:00.000-06:00

Fall is definitely in the air here. It froze hard on Monday and got my zucchini, cucumbers and beans pretty bad. I think that everything survived though--for the time being. I am just not ready for the flowers and green grass to go away yet. Here are a few pics of my flowers this summer. They have really done great this year, and the cool weather has actually made them even prettier. Luckily, the house holds the heat well enough that none of the flowers froze on Monday.