Cute Little Liam Pie

 These are photos we got taken at Sears back when we used to have more time and brain space.  These first few Liam was 6 or 7 months and we still had no idea that his hair was going to be so darn curly and cute because there was no indication of it yet.  

 In just a few months (these are his one year photos.....see how much more time we had?!!?) his hair was a all kinked up and super duper adorable! 

It all seems so long ago and yet, like it as yesterday.  Time goes faster the older you get.  I don't like it, not one bit. 

Randoms from 2005 (Nov. and Dec.)

 These are some pictures from when we lived at our house on Young Street in Nauvoo.  That is a picture of the first time that Jeremy grew his hair out.  And bleached it apparently, lol.  I didn't remember that part.  He didn't get it as long as he did the second time.  And where in the heck did my Cure shirt go!!?? I loved that shirt.  I had it since I was 17.  

 My little Liam pie!  (and Vivi twin,lol!)  It really is striking just how much they look alike.  And I love it. I am just tickled to death that my kids are so freaking adorable.  Pretty sure I have the cutest kids on the whole dang planet.  

 The rest of these pics are of the three boys playing and wrestling in the living room with a bunch of bean bags.  I don't know who was manning the camera but, they got some interesting shots, lol!  If it was me, I don't know if I was heavily medicated or what, bahahaha! 

 I remember having the grand idea to get a bunch of bean bags that the kids could lounge around and play with.  I think I bought like 6 or 7 of them.  And they did play with them, that is for sure.  But, they sure didn't last long.  I think they all broke fairly quickly.  And broken bean bag=huge mess. 

A Day Out With Thomas

 Wow!  This seems so weird looking back to when we were a family of FOUR!!!  Oh my goodness!  This was for Tristan's fourth birthday.  I was about 6 months pregnant with Liam and you can barely even tell!! Ha! Liam was the one that I had just lost a ton of weight when I found out I was pregnant with him.  And he is the one I gained the most weight when pregnant with a whopping 70+ pounds!!! How embarrassing, lol!  But, anyway, we took the boys to Chicago for an event called A Day Out With Thomas.  Both boys were super into Thomas the Tank Engine at the time.  We spent all day at the little Thomas festival and even got to ride on Thomas the Train.  I remember that we bought the boys a GIGANTIC Thomas balloon that cost us like $12 or something ridiculous and it took up the whole dang vehicle we were driving!  We also got to meet Sir Topham Hatt(pictured above). 

 I remember this day being awesome.  I look back on it with fond memories of not being and overwhelmed lunatic! :)  Oh, I thought I was overwhelmed then but, little did I know then, that it could get even  more overwhelming.  Live and Learn.  But, a learning experience that I would never ever change.  

Look at how tiny they are!  I can't believe it.  We were still such new parents even with two kids and one on the way.  I hope the boys look back on things like this with fond memories as I do.  

Bears, Oh My!!

Oh my goodness.  I am going to be a basket case while Tristan is in Philmont.  I am reading over the list of things they need to bring.  And one of the most important is a FREAKING BEAR BAG  to put all smellable items in so as to not attract BEARS.  Yep.  So, he leaves on the Amtrak train on Friday evening of the 7th of August.  They will ride the train all night and part of the next day until they get to Raton, NM.  Then they get off the train and take a bus the rest of the way to Philmont.  They will be hiking through mountainous terrain for 6 days and hike 45 miles.  Along the way I guess they are learning to shoot rifles, climb poles, ride horseback, and learning to survive off the land.  I am really, really nervous sending him off to do all this but, SO excited for him to experience it all!  They will be back on the train and arrive in Ft. Madison on Sunday the 16th.  I can't wait to hear all his stories from his adventure!!

What is a Word that Starts with 'C'

I was just sitting here at the computer ordering clothes from The Children's Place (they have a super fabulous sale today....I got 39 items(shirts, shorts, jeans, pajamas, etc.) for $108 shipped!!  Anyway, as I am doing that I hear Asher say:"What is a word that starts with 'C'?"  And Cullen answered:"Cynical."  Oh. My. Gosh.  That kid and his vocabulary!!  Reminds me of Tristan....only Tristan was saying these things at 2 and 3 years old!! lol!  I sure do love my kiddos!

Life Right Now

Jeremy and I have been taking half a day off on Wednesdays to go to the Carthage house and work on it until it is done.  It is coming together slowly but, surely.  We have/are painting every single nook and cranny in the entire house. (well, maybe not every nook and cranny....but, pretty dang close!) Yesterday I started in on trim and oh my goodness, it is going to take me YEARS to finish, lol!  But, it is looking sooooooo much better! It is amazing what paint can do!  I wish I had taken before and after pics.  When we are all done, we want to take everyone over to see what we did, lol!  I have to say that we are pretty proud of ourselves. *pats self on back* And if we get to do to the steps what we want to do to them, I will be thrilled!  There are some things we just can't fix right now or ever so what will be, will be. But, I sure hope this house sells for the price we want.  Knowing that we can swing two house payments and double payments on most utility bills is kind of comforting in a weird way, lol.  We certainly don't like doing it, and could definitely find better uses for the money but, there was a time when I thought we would never get to a point like this.  
But, I have to also say that we couldn't do this without my mom and Jeremy's mom.  They have been instrumental in allowing us the time to get this big project done by helping with kids and time.  I literally feel like I have never been so busy in my whole life!  We are constantly do/or worrying about doing something.

Tristan and Cedric have been working for Jeremy this summer at his store.  He wants to start teaching them more so they can help out with the store and earn some money.  Tristan also took the initiative and applied for a job at Pete's Place here in Nauvoo.  And....he got the job!! Awesome!  He is happy to be working there too!  Good job, Tristan!

I am now affiliated with a professional print lab for professional photographers!  Things are going really good with my business and I am excited about the future!  I will complete tomorrow a huge endeavor that I was asked to do this summer, taking team and individual photos of the Nauvoo Athletic Association's summer ball teams.  They had a total of 8 teams and I did photos for 7 of them.  It was so much fun!  I just made up four packages that they could choose from with some a la carte items as well and went from there.  I learned a lot and if I am asked next year or by someone else, I will definitely do things a little differently but, it was a great learning experience.  I am also excited about getting new equipment.  I plan on upgrading my camera to the next level.  I have it all picked out.  The body of the camera alone is $2400.  It is expensive but, it is so going to be worth it! I CANNOT wait, lol!  I am also going to get a new monitor that is specifically designed for photographers to get the best true colors and quality out of the pictures.
I also have quite a few people asking me about senior pictures.  This fall should be quite busy with photos as well.  I love it!!!!!

Eden is getting scheduled for surgery on her mouth in either August or September.  We had two options with her since we have no dental insurance.  The first option was cheaper but, more traumatizing for Eden.  The second is much more expensive but, much easier on Eden.  We chose the second option.  I don't like that she will be completely under or what is going to happen but, it does need to be done.  I am hoping that the house sells really fast because this is one of those things that the extra house money would be perfect for!  The whole thing is going to cost more than our cars. Good grief.

Vivianne is walking all around now.  She jabbers all the time and has so much to say!  One of the best parts of our day is when Jeremy is getting ready to leave for work.  When Jeremy says that he is going to leave she automatically starts waving, blowing kisses, and saying bye-bye!  It is freaking adorable!  We stand at the door and wave until Daddy is in the car.  And when she sees us come back from somewhere it is just as cute!!  She has an infectious smile that just doesn't quit.  Everyone gets the biggest kick out of every little thing she does.  She is pure joy.

We have not been doing Asher's meds much this summer.  I really don't like him being on the medicine.  It does help for when he is at school.  I wish I could homeschool again.  I am considering it but, I really don't think I can do it for at least another year.  Once we own this house and maybe have added on which, we want to do asap.  But, Asher seems to be doing really well without it most of the time.  I have been changing my approach with the kids lately. I felt like all I was ever saying to them was no. Or shut up.  Or telling them to stop or saying how annoying they were.  Not very uplifting stuff.  I was feeling overwhelmed with everything and taking it out on them.  I was even annoying myself.  When I stopped to think about why the kids were being so mean or misbehaving, it made me realize that maybe I am part of the problem.  If all you ever hear is someone yelling at you, then it can't make you want to be a very happy, kind person.  I am doing my very best to be patient and understanding instead of quick to temper and mean.  (Not that I am mean to my kids, don't take this the wrong way....it's just that I feel like I am not being the best example right now....I think everyone does it at some point.)  It is also very hard when you have 7 kids.

I am doing well on my weightloss journey that I started in January.  I started out at 210(I think) and am down to 177!  That is 33 pounds since January.  That is almost 5 pounds a month.  I am trying to not be annoyed that it isn't happening quicker but, I think this is actually a healthy rate to lose it.  Having a fitbit is great for motivation.  It is also great to make you feel like crap.  When I am editing pictures, I HAVE to sit at a computer for a long time.  And I don't get as many steps as I like.  But, it is still good to have, to make myself accountable and more aware of my activity.  I need to find something to do during the winter to keep my activity level up.  I thought about getting a membership the YMCA or something.  I don't know. We said we were gonna do that a year or two ago and never did.  Completely forgot about it.

Tristan is also getting ready to go on his great Boy Scout adventure to Philmont!  They are all taking the train out to New Mexico(an adventure in itself) then will spend a week at Philmont and ride the train back home.  He is saying that he really doesn't want to go anymore.  But, I know once he does it, he is going to love it.  It is already paid for so he is going, lol!

More of our Father's Day Campout

 I only got a few pictures on our Father's Day campout.  Liam and Asher were playing tic-tac-toe and getting along really well on Saturday morning.  Liam can be a great big brother when he wants to be.  He is responsible, kind, and helpful. 

 I got a great video of Eden pretending to be in a Dora the Explorer episode.  She was marching through the woods, singing "I'm the grumpy old troll, that lives under the bridge".  Then she would turn around and say "Solve my riddles!"  It was super cute! I will have to see about loading it on here. 

 The night before we had to set up camp by the light of the cars and we had two tents and lots of stuff to arrange.  The kids were real trooper and team players.  Tristan got his tent up by himself with help  from Ced and Liam.  We all pitched in on the 8 person tent but, Jeremy was at the helm.  We had the boys looking for sticks to start a fire too.  The walked just a little way into the small woods that were around our campsite.  The next morning when we woke up, we could see finally, and saw that we were literally right next to the lake and the kids almost walked right into it!  It didn't make us feel any better when we went to rent paddle boats about 100 feet from our campsite and saw three poisonous snakes and a huge bullfrog just hanging out on the shore.  *shudder*

We tried renting paddle boats after getting back from the beach.  The guy had to chase away the snakes and frogs and actually EMPTY ALL WATER OUT OF ALL OF THE PADDLEBOATS.  What.the.heck!?!?  It looked like they didn't keep them up at all.  Me, Cedric, Liam, and Asher all went out.  The guy left.  Well, turns out the dang boats don't even work and we pedaled and pedaled until our legs were limp nothings but, just keep going further out into the lake.  Jeremy finally had to go get some rope from our campsite and then throw it out to me and pull us in.  Did I mention that the little lake at The Landing is completely surrounded by RVs, tent sites, cabin and condo sites?  Yeah, well, it is.  lol!  It was quite the experience!  

Also, on our mad dash to Hannibal during the storm, Jeremy was driving his Vibe in front of me with Tristan, Cedric, and Liam.  We were flying to try to beat the main part of the storm.  The sky was dark but, the constant flashing of the lightening was allowing us to see all the cloud formations.  The wind was trying to blow us off the road the best it could.  Well, I was following Jeremy pretty close because we had a few turns to make before getting to Hannibal and Jeremy had the GPS and I had no phone.  Apparently, as were were cruising down the road there was a truck pulling a huge boat and it was losing shit left and right.  At one point, Jeremy scared the crap outta me because he swerved really fast outta nowhere and then I see a HUGE inflatable thing for about 10-12 people.  It was massive and covered our whole lane even deflated.  Jeremy's little car whipped right around it but, I had less warning than him and couldn't swerve fast or far enough(without wrecking the Expedition) and smacked right into it!  Scared the heart outta me!! Then before I could recover my nerves from that, there was a case of beer in the road we had to swerve for too! Gah!! We finally passed the boat once we got on the two lane freeway and he was losing everything. I don't think he even knew it.  I bet he was super annoyed when he got home.  

Cullen was cracking us up all weekend too!! That kid says some of the best things all the time!  I wish I could remember them all or always record them somehow.  Anyway, these three little gems are from the ride to Hannibal on Friday night. It was me, Asher, Eden, and Cullen in the Expedition and we talked the whole way to Hannibal.  

1) "Mom, when I grow up, I think I want to be a kid again."
2)"I really really like Sarah. (Sarah Clark) She is so nice. *pause* And polite."
3) "I wish my name was Jesus."

Post

I am at a new, strange place in my life.  I don't know if I will be able to keep this blog up much anymore.  And honestly, I am not that bothered by it.  At least as much as I thought I would be.  This blog is for my family history.  And I like that idea but, I also like not having the "responsibility" of maintaining it, lol!  Oh well, we shall see.  I have been SO darn busy with my photography business, Captured by Colista.  It is awesome and I am so blessed by being able to help make money to provide for my family while still mostly being home.  And I totally enjoy what I do.  It's not an office job, thank god!!

We took the kids camping to Mark Twain lake over Father's Day weekend.  We left Vivianne with grandma and the rest of us went.  We took two cars stuffed to the max.  Night one we got to the Landing almost at dark and had to set up by the light of our headlights.  We got the last campsite but, it was the best one by far!! The kids were pretty dang awesome helping set up and sleeping that night.  Jeremy and I were dreading the inevitable meltdown that Eden might have about the stars(she is scared of stars) but, we were the only campsite under trees and she didn't even notice. All of them went right to bed when asked and slept well the whole night.  I on the other hand, had to deal with Jeremy's snoring in another tent (so I couldn't shake or hit him to make him stop), and couldn't sleep all night long.  Ugh!  lol!  The next day we went to the lake and swam and had a picnic.  We had a really good time!! Eden loved the beach and the water and had no fear at all.  The boys made friends with other kids and had a blast!  We got back to the campsite and made supper over the fire.  That is when we started to notice the sky darkening in one direction.  There wasn't supposed to be any rain but, there was a huge storm producing damage headed straight for us.  The kids were scared to death.  They all wanted to leave so we packed everything up as fast as we could and drove out of the Landing as the wind was starting to blow.  Weather alerts were going off all over!  So, we drove so freaking fast to Hannibal to re-evaluate our situation.  We were all sunburnt and tired and just wanted a bed.  So we got a hotel room at the Holiday Inn and went to bed.  Surprisingly, we were all in one room(king bed, pull out couch, and sleeping bags) and everyone was so good and quiet and slept awesome!! I was so proud of the kids on the crazy weekend.  We didn't get to do as much as we wanted but, it was an experience that is for sure!! lol!

A Few Funnies

Eden loves graham crackers.  She knows that they are rectangular shaped (she knows all her shapes really well) too.  Well, whenever she wants graham crackers she will come up to me and say:"Come on, Rectangles!" LMAO!  Now, I know that she is not call me "Rectangles" but, the way that she says it, she IS! It is hilarious if you hear her say it!  Then when you give her the graham cracker she will say:"Two long, Two short, has four sides."  That is one of the little rhymes that Mrs. McConnell teaches the kids to help them learn their shapes. 

Cullen has been obsessed with China lately.  I don't know what prompted it but, he wants us to go to China on summer vacation so that he can get some chopsticks to eat with.  I told him that we could get chopsticks here in America and he was blown away.  Last night Trisha and I got out for a girls night and went to Shokai for Sushi.  I picked up a few sets of disposable chopsticks.  This morning I gave Cullen a set and he was so happy!  He said:"Thank you, Mom!  Now the next time I eat spaghetti I can use my chopsticks!!"  Bahahahahaha!! SPAGHETTI?!?!!?  What the what?!?!  Oh well, he was thrilled to have a set of chopsticks finally!

Cullen also came up to me the other day and told me that when he gets bigger he was going to work on computers like Dad.  I told him that would be nice.  Then he added:"I will work on computers when Dad is dead."  Oh.  Nice.  Lol!  Then when I got home last night, Jeremy told me that Cullen told him that he wanted to be a train driver.  And if he couldn't be a train driver......well then he wants to be a Roman soldier!

..................................................................

If one more bad thing happens today.......in no particular order.....
Both cars with flats this morning.  Need 8 new tire.
Tristan goes to dentist for filling, finds out he needs $1600 root canal.
I am driving Expedition with flat tire and then the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light starts flashing and the car starts sputtering.  I limp home at 30mph.
Strange car drives by twice and takes picture of house.  WTH?  Not good paired with the news we got last month.
Neighbor kids all.day.long.
Storage room and hallway flooded this morning.  What the heck from?  We do not know.  I am sure it is something wonderful.

End of School

I had an end of year conference with Mrs. McConnell(Eden's pre-k teacher) on the morning of our 16th Anniversary.  I am SO pleased with all the progress Eden made this year!  I am proud of her ability to learn and shine! I am so thankful to Mrs. McConnell and Mrs. Reinhardt for all they do for her and I love how much they love my Eden!  And it shows!  They really do care for her!  Eden made great leaps and bounds in terms of academics and social skills.  She knows, the alphabet(can sing it too), her colors, her shapes, numbers, counting, days of the week, EVERYTHING! She can even read a few sight words!  She is SO smart!  Her social skills are night and day from what they were at the beginning of the year.  We need to work on potty training but, the teachers thought that we should back off a bit and let it be Eden's choice/decision. 

The boys came home with mostly decent grades from some and awesome from others.  Cedric got two awards for Team Manager of the basketball team and one for FFA.  Tristan's grades are crappy as crap and he seems to have little interest in changing them.  *sigh*  Poor kid has no idea what he is doing to himself despite our best efforts to try and tell him.  Whatever.  He will live and learn I guess. Cullen read so much that he earned himself a free ticket to Six Flags!! Woot!  So that is on the agenda this summer too! He is such a good reader! He can read almost any word you put in front of him. Most kids his age are reading at 30 on the graph they send home.  Above average students are at 48 on the graph.  Cullen is at 108!!!!! What the what!?!?  Awesome, little dude!!

I am happy that school is out even though it may add more to my schedule.  I do enjoy summers as a family! 

This. Pretty Much.

No Time To Say Hello, Good-bye!

Oh my goodness, this last month might be the absolute busiest, craziest, emotional roller coaster ride I have ever been on.  Jeremy and I have both been working non-freaking-stop.  Combine that with family crap, doctor's visits, field trips, end of school happenings (graduations, picnics, etc), school conferences, holidays/birthdays, trying to get our damn house sold, lessons, etc. and you have a recipe to have a complete and total nervous breakdown.  Jeremy and I literally have not slept for longer than 5 hours at a time and that is on a good night.  We both have felt sick and delirious as well.  Here is how my planner looks for the month of May.......(all these things in addition to cooking, cleaning, getting kids ready to and from school, lunches, laundry, mowing lawn, you know, regular daily life...oh and Jeremy's crazy work schedule as of late).
May 1st- Tristan at Improv, Meet Amish guys in Carthage, Wash Walls to paint in Carthage
May2nd- Prom Pictures for four different groups of teens
May3rd- Clean /Work on Carthage house and yard
May4th- Asher @ Dr. Cummings in Quincy, Liam field trip
May5th- Eden field trip, Cullen field trip, Bunco night
May6th- Tristan @ voice lessons, Cullen field trip, Go to Dump/grocery store, Make thank you notes for teachers from kids, scouts
May7th- Cullen field trip, Volunteer in Kindergarten classroom,
May8th- Carthage house, Vivianne @ doctor, Find/wash jars for centerpieces
May 9th- Paint at Carthage house, go to dump, clean out Carthage house garage, run to Lowe's/Menards, go grocery shopping
May 10th- Mother's Day.....Jeremy bought me a bunch of flowers for the yard but, I didn't want to get them that weekend because I knew I wouldn't have time to plant.  Mother's Day was dumb and no one but Jeremy actually even said anything to me about it being a special day.
May 11th- Field trip with pre-k to Niabi zoo
May12th- Cullen field trip, paint Viv's old high chair
May 13th- Eden @ dentist, Cullen field trip, Scouts,
May 14th- Voice lesson for Tristan, Start making centerpieces for Mom's 75th birthday
May15th- Vivianne's First birthday, her and Ced party, Kindergarten visitation day for Eden,
May 16th- Make and send out invites for party(Mom's), Call Easter Seals
May17th- Cedric birthday, Make Order form pdf for Nauvoo Athletic Association
May 18th- Cullen field trip, Meet with Missionaries, Tristan @ dentist,
May19th- Vivi and Eden @ doc for shots , Cullen field trip
May 20th- Scouts, Cullen field trip, Make chalkboard signs for Mom's party,
May 21st- Eden's pre-k graduation, Tristan @ voice lessons, Meet with Tacy for pre-wedding conference
May 22nd- Tacy Nelson wedding, Cedric @ Adventureland, drive to Springfield(got to our hotel at 10 to midnight)
May 23rd- Edmonds wedding all freaking day, back at hotel@ 2am (we literally paid $500 for two nights in a hotel and probably were in the actual room MAYBE 10 hours, which consisted of sleep or getting ready.  ugh.  Seems like such a waste.)
May 24th- drive back to Nauvoo, Family photo shoot 4:30 (cancelled because of rain), unpack, etc
May 25th- No school, Clean house, grocery store, Edit wedding pics
May 26th- Cullen field trip, Organize/store winter clothes, yard sale stuff moved, Asher @ Dr. Davis
May 27th- Cullen field trip to Lake Linda, Scouts, Edit pics
May 28th- No school, Newborn Session, Tristan @ voice lesson, Paint signs
May 29th-Our 16th anniversary (worst ever), School picnic day, last day of school, Early out 1:30pm., start cooking pork for party
May 30th- Meet guy with Key at Hunt Club, Mom's Surprise 75th Birthday party,
May 31st- Mason Family Session reschedule, Meet Bryan/Clay/Jordan for breakfast

WHEW!  And this is just the stuff that I wrote down in my planner!  Not to mention all the stuff that just happens along the way or that I forget to write down!  Craziness.

I decided somewhere along the way that this summer was going to be the first annual Camp Kelley.  I haven't had much time to really think on it but, it will be a summer camp.  I am really excited about it and hope that I can actually do it! 

I have much to blog about but, I also have a ton of pictures to get done for people. So, I guess I will get back to this hectic schedule of mine.