Busy

This last week flew by. Lindsey arrived Tuesday afternoon and we haven't relaxed for more than a few hours since she came. Wednesday we went shopping to the usual, Target and Old Navy. I have decided that Old Navy has the best clothes for children. Their girls clothes are inexpensive and adorable. That evening I got a babysitter and we headed out for an evening alone (Jody had a dinner program for work). It was so nice to be out with no kids.

Thursday we drove to Oakland to pick Kasey and Sienna up from the airport. Then we met our good friend Melissa and her adorable baby girl Savannah for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. It was so much fun to sit and chat with her. I love good friends that are always comfortable to be around. I felt like we picked up right where we left off even though we hadn't seen her for a few years. It's just so nice to spend time with someone who really knows you.

Friday I spent the morning running around trying to get Xmas gifts for Ammon's teachers. Thankfully Kasey came to my rescue by copy the Xmas CD she had made for her kids teachers.

After lunch we the loaded the kids in the car and went to the mall for 3 hours! It was crazy but so much fun to spend time together. That night Jody and my dad graciously watched all five children so that us girls could go out together. We had such a wonderful evening full of laughter.

On Saturday Lindsey and I drove to Sacramento to see her good friends she met while attending BYU study abroad in London. It was funny because I felt like I already knew Heidi and Jen from reading their blogs. I feel like they are my friends too! It was nice to finally meet them in person.

After lunch we drove to Vacaville to see my Aunt, Uncle, Grandparents and cousins. My parents drove back to Windsor with 4 of the 5 kids while us younger adults went out to dinner. I wish we all lived closer to each other because it was such a wonderful evening. We have always been super close with our cousins, Jami and Lani.

Sunday afternoon all of our family from Vacaville came to my house for dinner. It has been a wonderful week full of visiting with some of our closest friends and family. I feel so very blessed to have these precious people in my life. I am lucky to have fabulous people to share this holiday season with.

Pictures soon to follow. I'm too lazy to upload them at the moment.

Relatives are coming to town...

Lindsey is on her way! I checked her flight this morning and I am so excited to see her flight "in status." We are going to have so much fun these next THREE weeks together. I can't wait for Kasey to get here Thursday and mom soon after. I'm sad that Alex won't be here this weekend but at least she has a boyfriend to keep her busy. Can you believe it? Alex has her first boyfriend!

We've been busy cleaning and getting the house ready for everyone to come. Last week we picked out our Christmas tree. I can't believe how expensive they are and am seriously thinking about going fake next year. I didn't want to pay $70 for the one Jody wanted and ended up getting a $40 one. He thought he was going to be super disappointed but it's actually a beautiful tree! I will be so sad to take it down and as well as the decorations in a few short weeks. I am trying to enjoy every minute of this holiday season because it will go so fast and then I won't have anything to look forward to. So depressing!

I think Grandma's got her own boy now. My dad came down for a meeting last night and the minute Cohen saw him he said, "Where's Grandma?"

Catching Up

So it seems as though every picture I take of Rylee is of her in her bumbo seat. It's true. It's just so convenient because she is already sitting up looking at me. I can't believe she is almost six months old! Doesn't it seem like I was just blogging about her birth? I am happy to report that this poor girl is finally sleeping in her portable crib and she is still sleeping great. I wonder if she misses her car seat. She is still a wonderful baby.

Ammon has a friend at church and school named Natalie. Natalie is the youngest of 6 girls! Ammon was looking at her in church today and then he turned to me and said, "I want to have three more sister's mom." I think he was thinking he wanted a lot of sisters like Natalie. Well that won't happen even if we have more girls. We won't be having three more kids. I love my kids to death but things have been exhausting lately and Jody has told me more than once, that we don't have to have anymore. But I can't imagine not holding a sweet little newborn again or feeling a baby kick in my belly. We will be having more.

Ammon was posing in my heals after church.

They love their little sister.

Take a look at Cohen's face. Trust me, he is as nutty as he looks.

Jody came home from work to us all watching a movie together and had to get a picture.

Rylee also recently started eating rice cereal. It gets pretty messy but she is doing a great job.

One more week until the fam starts rolling into town!

T-Day

We had a great Thanksgiving with my parents. The food was delicious and besides Cohen getting into EVERYTHING it was a relaxing week. The day after my mom and I hit Target about 8:30 to catch a few deals and then we went back to her house and took naps. I was able to catch up on some movies. Hairspray, Amazing Grace and Jane Eyre (BBC version.) We also went to the movies and saw August Rush. It was a sweet movie but my mom brought up the point that it's kind of annoying when you never see the people together. The whole movie they are trying to find one another and though you know they are together in the end you never see it. Now I am wishing we would have gone to Enchanted instead. I'm sure the next few weeks will go by quickly. At least I hope they do with Lindsey arriving on the 11th and Kasey soon after on the 13th.

I'm going to decorate this week. Any cute/cheap ideas out there? I love this time of year!

I meant to post this a few weeks ago and since I didn't take any photos over Thanksgiving here's something to watch.

Last Week

Twins! Rylee's boots were much cheaper but just as cute. Ignore the mess. Ammon had just cleaned up the toys when Cohen decided to dump them all out, again. Is it just me or do I look bowlegged? I did cut my hair a month ago but haven't posted a picture because they never look right. You can't tell but it's shorter in the back, an A-line.

Last week went by much quicker and better than the last. I was out Tuesday night for YW's. Wednesday I went to dinner with some girls from church. Thursday I did find a babysitter and we went to dinner. Then Friday night I had a craft night at the church. Saturday Jody and I ran errands. Costco and Target were crazy. People must be doing their Christmas shopping early this year.

Once again Ammon is super excited about Christmas. This afternoon he had Cohen on his lap, acting like Santa, asking him what he wanted for Christmas. Every night he goes to bed looking at a Walmart magazine of toys and movies. He has named at least a dozen movies that he wants from Santa. Kids make the holidays so much more fun!

He is such a goofball. We went to the mall last night and I let the kids see Santa. Cohen was all about it until he saw him. Then he wanted nothing to do with him.

I love her chubby little legs.

Ammon has learned a few tricks from his cousin Kaden. The other day he was posing for me. He does not wear pullups but he was pretending to me Mogley from the Jungle Book.

Happy "Bithday" Kasey

So yes I misspelled birthday yesterday, Kasey. But I quickly fixed it when everyone brought it to my attention.

Today is Kasey's 29th birthday. Kasey and Jody are just one day apart! What can I say about Kasey? She is just so great! Kasey and I grew up sharing a room together and it wasn't always fun but for the most part I think we got along pretty well. We even shared a queen size bed and we would get in fights at night time. She would seriously torture me and push me off the bed. Then she would hold my hands down and poke my chest over and over with her pointer finger. Those were the days. Back then Kasey was quiet a brute. Hard to imagine now looking at what a waif she has become.

Kasey is a wonderful friend. She is the only sister I can call and talk to at any time of day. Alex is too busy and Lindsey has an eight hour time difference. It's so great to have someone to call for a quick question or advice and she is always willing to help. She is a fabulous mom, talented photographer and a great cook. She is also very giving. When I was in college she and Matt let me live with them for a semester, rent free! They have both always been very generous.

I'm so grateful to have three wonderful sisters who are my closest friends. My dream is that we can live near each other someday. Happy birthday Kasey!

Happy Birthday Jody!

Jody turned 29 years old today. Cohen got in bed with us at 6 a.m. this morning and soon after Ammon woke up because he had peed in the bed and then Rylee was up ready to nurse. I took Rylee in the other room so Jody could sleep longer and before I knew it he was up making ME breakfast downstairs. I felt horrible. I was planning on making him breakfast of course for his birthday. Happy Birthday Jody! None the less he seems to be in good spirits. I've been scrambling to find a babysitter so that we can go out for dinner tonight. Hopefully it will all work out.

I am so grateful to have him as my husband. He is so easygoing and loving. Many of you know we dated for a very short time before we got married. Thank goodness he turned out to be everything and more I could ask for in a husband. He is quick to forgive, patient and very unselfish. He is such a great dad. He feeds the kids, bathes them and changes their diapers. He has always treated me with so much respect and puts my needs before his own. I hope he knows that he truly is my very best friend.

Finally

It's been five months and today I was finally able to pull my pre-pregnancy jeans over my hips and button them! What a wonderful feeling. With each baby I have it takes a little longer.

Last week was horrible. We stayed home all week because the kids were sick. Seriously it was so boring and depressing. Finally Friday arrived and I was excited to go to a Pampered Chef party my friend was having. I love Pampered Chef and after going to the party decided that someday I am going to have most if not all of their stuff. I love to cook and be in the kitchen and their equipment makes it easier and more enjoyable. So anyway I left debating whether to sign up and be a consultant. Not really for the money but because I can get a starter set which contains most of the things I want much cheaper. I'm still thinking about it.

So after the party I came home and Jody and I were suppose to watch Next but ended up watching Man vs. Wild all night. It is just so interesting. For those of you who don't know it is on Discovery Channel and this guy Bear Grylss get dropped off, usually by a helicopter, in the middle of no where (Iceland, Sahara Desert, Sierra Nevada's) and shows people how to survive. He does some really crazy things. Ammon loves it. Anyway I woke up at four in the morning super sick. I was so looking forward to getting out of the house Saturday but ended up laying around sick all day. It didn't help that it rained all day long.

Sunday was Stake Conference and though we didn't get to hear all of it I'm glad we went. I was inspired by the few words I heard and I needed it. When we sat down Ammon said, "This looks like a party!" At one point I had to go nurse the baby and Jody had taken Cohen into the nursery to play. I dropped Ammon off with Jody. Jody had the boys racing and going down the slide. At one point Ammon was sitting in a little chair at the table and said,"Cohen come sit down and talk." Cohen sat down and Ammon said,"So Cohen what's your competition?" And Cohen said, "Sliding." Jody said they sat there for a while and Ammon kept asking Cohen questions. They are so funny together. I really am glad that I had two boys first. They entertain each other so well. I don't know what one would do without the other. Although there would be much less fighting!

Cohen is really getting into Rylee. He tickles her and says, " Hey pretty girly. Hey beautiful." Ammon was asking him to go upstairs today and first he said, "I'm too tired Ammon." When Ammon asked for a second time he said,"I'm doing something Ammon." I am constantly amazed at how much he comprehends. He just looks like he's too young to understand so much.

First Dance

Rylee had her first dance with daddy last week. Priceless. He's really in love with this little girl. It's fun to see him talk to her. There is a definite difference between his relationship with the boys and the one he is developing with her. I think the feeling is mutual. She lights up when she sees him and when he leaves the room she cries. She doesn't do that with me. I guess I should be grateful or she'd be crying all day. Plus I'm number one with the boys. It's only fair.

I can't believe she is almost five months. She is such an angel. We haven't been getting very much sleep lately. But no, it's not because we have an infant. The boys have been getting up because they've both been sick. Rylee is the only one sleeping through the night. She rolled over at the beginning of October a few times. Since then she hasn't shown much interested in it. The boys were both rolling like crazy by this age. I may finally be seeing a difference between boys and girls. She loves her bumbo!

Halloween

The day after Halloween. The picture says it all. Too much candy, not enough sleep. He and I took an evening trip to Target and Costco. I think he loves those places more than I do! I love going to Target after a holiday to see the sales. We were about a minute away from the house and Ammon was suddenly very quiet. I looked back to see this.

Tiger's very happy with the outcome of his hard work. The kids had about four times this amount. They got a lot the night before at the church party. Then Ammon went trick or treating at school and brought a whole extra bag home. I wasn't sure how to go about letting them eat it. So I let them go crazy that night and the next day and then put it away. They've seemed to forgotten about it and now I'm enjoying the fruits of their labors!

Jody decided that someone had to stay home to pass out treats. So I opted to take the kids out. It was so wonderful to step outside our door and go! We have a wonderful neighborhood. People were very generous. They got whole candy bars, toothbrushes, and popcorn. One house had a theater style popcorn popper. We waited in a ten minute line for each of the kids to get a bag. I've decided that Halloween was made for Ammon. As much as he loves to dress up there is even one thing he loves more. Seeing others dressed up. He would stop in the middle of the sidewalk and just stare at people. He was talking to everyone and asking them all about their costumes and decorations.

Cohen thoroughly enjoyed getting candy and would request suckers if he saw them in the bowl. It's nice that some people will just hold out the bowl and let the kids pick but I prefer having the person just drop a piece into my kids bag. My kids are so indecisive! Especially Ammon. I loved going with the boys. My favorite part was getting to see the insides of people's homes and the people that lived in them. I'm a little nosey! Halloween is so much fun and I was sad for it to end.

Carving pumpkins. It took me about 2.5 seconds to carve mine. As you can see Jody took a bit longer.

Our sweet little bunny didn't make it out on Halloween night. Her hair is finally starting to grow back in. I just love that little face and could kiss it all day long.

Ammon was a Ninja Turtle for the church and school party and Buzz for the trick or treating.

Happy Birthday Al!

Alex turned twenty years old today. Time really does fly by. I feel like it was just yesterday that we were in a gas station in Willits and a guy said,"Hey look it's one of the Hanson's!" Classic Alex moment. As a child Alex was quiet the tomboy. Her hair was long and kind of stringy and she always wore high top shoes. Kasey and I would often call her Axle (like the singer). She has definitely blossomed into a beautiful girl.

When Jody and I were first married we moved back to McKinleyville. Living there had some great benefits. I got to spend lots of time with Alex. She's such a different girl. But I say that in a good way. She doesn't hold grudges or have a bad temper. She is very easy going and is quick to forgive and forget. She is fun, fashionable and independent, most of the time. I say that because in high school she was afraid to make her own hair appointments. But to defend you Alex I know you've gotten better at that. She's the youngest and has been spoiled but thank goodness she's not a brat and she appreciates what she's been given. Alex is also a wonderful aunt. She has 9 nieces and nephews and loves them all. She will be a great mother someday.

I love you Alex and hope you have a great birthday!

Fear Factor?

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. The actual size was about three inches!

Last Saturday we went to Six flags. My mom went to go buy a yummy funnel cake (she kept calling it a tunnel cake) and I noticed these guys on a stage trying to get people to spin a wheel and what they landed on the contestant would have to eat and win a prize. I immediately grabbed Jody and made him raise his hand. You have to know a little history about him before I finish the story. When we watch any show where people have to eat something I freak out. A few nights before we had watched Survivor and the players had to eat some nasty stuff. Jody kept saying, "oh I could eat that." He has always said this! So I wanted to test him. Well about five people raised there hands and then they would have to pick a number between 1 and 20. Jody picked 15. He didn't win. Luckily they did two more rounds of it and I made him pick 15 every time and the last time the guy chose 16. I think he caught unto what we were doing and wanted Jody to win.

So he went up and the guy asked him what would be the worst thing to eat on the board. Jody asked what would give him the most prizes and the guy said,"A Madagascar hissing cockroach." So Jody said give me whatever will win me the most prizes. The guy spun the wheel and stopped on the cockroach. The rest is history!

Can you hear the guy in the background yelling, "You da man!" It was so much fun. Jody was like a celebrity when he was done. One girl came up and asked him how it tasted. He tells me it wasn't too bad. For him the worse part was picking the bug up. He said he knew he had to crunch down fast before he felt it move around. Gross it creeps me out just typing this! Right after he was done he yelled for me to come up on the stage and when I did he grabbed my face and tried to kiss me. Luckily I was able to get away!

Oh and he won a t-shirt that says, "you should see what I ate at Six Flags to get this t-shirt", free flash passes, two free arm bands for the haunted houses, front of the line passes for the haunted houses, and an admission ticket. Definitely not worth it. But we had a great time with all of the free passes and it was nice to skip to the front of the line. I don't think anyone could ever get me to eat one of those things, well maybe for a million dollars.

3 in 1

This last week was wonderful. My mom drove me back home on Tuesday and just left after church today. It was so great to have her here. Jody and I were able to go out three times in one week! Wednesday we went to eat at a fabulous restaurant here in Windsor. Friday we ate at a very good Mexican restaurant and then went to see the movie Dan in Real Life. Jody and I LOVED this movie! Steve Carrell is obviously hilarious in The Office but it was great to see him in a different role, one that was still funny but also with a little more depth. I think it's a movie that both guys and girls can enjoy.

My mom was so great to have around. Not only is she great company but she helps out a lot. She helped me finally decorate Rylee's room and our downstairs bathroom. I also got to go out one afternoon and run errands with no kids. It was heavenly. She helped clean, cook, bath and watch the kids all week. I hope we didn't take advantage of her kindness or send her home too exhausted.

Yesterday we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. My mom and I got to go on some rides while Jody took the kids to the killer whale show. Jody had an interesting Fear Factor type of experience which I will expand on later. After a full day at the park my mom took the kids home and we got to stay a few more hours to go on rides and walk through a few haunted houses. It was such a great week. Poor Ammon was very upset when Grandma left today. His teacher always brings him to me in Relief Society and right when he saw me he said, "where is Grandma?" I told him that she went home and he burst into tears. I almost started crying for him. My mom dropped him off at primary today and told him goodbye but when he sat down he started crying and his teacher mistakenly told him that he would see his Grandma when church was over. He has cried at least three more times since then. He has such a hard time when he leaves his grandparents or they leave him. I love that he is such a tender hearted boy.

I am excited for Halloween. We will carve pumpkins tomorrow night. Go to two parties on Tuesday and then Ammon's class party and trick or treat on Wednesday. I finally got a calling in our new ward. I am going to be the Mia Maid teacher! I am so excited to be in Young Women's!

The kids are doing great. Ammon has learned to clean his own room and is very proud of his achievement. When he is finished he makes us all close our eyes until we are in his room and then he yells "surprise!" He was very entertaining this week. Singing and dancing everywhere we went. Cohen has learned how to climb up the cabinets to get on the counter top and then get into cupboards that he is not suppose to and eat whatever he wants. It's horrible. He is also into coloring on everything. Rylee was a little fussy last weekend at my parents and I was worried that her temperament was changing but by the time we got home she was back to her old self. She had a hard time with the shots and wasn't feeling well. I am trying to get up the courage to take her out of the car seat and put her in the crib at night. I just hope she keeps sleeping through the night. Right now she sleeps from 9 to 6 or 7 and I DON'T want that to change.

Happy Halloween!

crazy boys

This is the face Cohen makes when he is closing his eyes for the prayer.

The boys had so much fun playing with this little push car yesterday. They would go up and down my parents hill (which is pretty steep) at full speed. I was afraid they would crash and get hurt. But they were having such a great time that I didn't want to spoil it. Ammon flipped over the front a few times but got right back up. Cohen went off into the dirt once and didn't want to go as fast after that.

Girly Girl

I've been doing some pretty crafty things lately. Last week I started making these adorable headbands for Rylee. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Kasey made Rylee the bottom bracelet when she was born. Her wrists are getting so chubby that I was afraid it might cut off her circulation. Today I went to the bead shop and extended it and then I made two more bracelets. My friend Tiffany started making these super cute pacifier holders. It is handy to know where her binky is at all times plus not have it fall out on the ground.

I love having a girl. Love girl clothes and accessories. I never realized how much more expensive it is to have a girl. With my boys I can just buy two pairs of church pants, shoes for play and shoes for church and then mix and match with shirts. Most of their clothes are very interchangeable. But with girls you have to have so much more, well at least I do. For instance, I got her an off white sweater to wear with her church dresses but off white doesn't go with everything. Sometimes she needs white. She needs tights/leggings to go with her dresses and skirts because it is getting cold and she can't just have one color. She needs white, pink, and off white. Her red hoodie doesn't go with every outfit so she needs a few of different colors. She can't just wear pink shoes. She needs different colors for different outfits. I could go on and on. Girls are so much more expensive but so much fun! Pictured below are some of my new favorite things of Rylee's. I am really into leggings right now.

It's a good thing that we had boys while Jody was in school. I LOVE my boys but I am definitely going to need some more girls!