McRoberts Memories

My nine month old

2011-11-23T00:38:00.001-05:00

My little guy is nine months old!! Can you believe it?
He is crawling and climbing on everything. Eating with his fingers. And starting to understand waving and hi/bye. Such a cutie!

Primary program

2011-11-15T09:56:00.001-05:00

We had our primary program this past Sunday so the kids looked really cute. I took a few picks when we got home but they are not amazing and are missing Leah, but I thought I would share them.
By the way, Natalie did an amazing job on her lines and in her quartet, Brayden did a great job on his line and singing, and Leah looked cute for the one song nursery kids came up and sang in.
Tanner and Brayden had the same pants but different vests. I wasn't sure about tanners, but I like the way his outfit turned out!

Our fun filled October

2011-11-06T22:58:00.001-05:00

We went to HallZOOween at the Cincinnati zoo twice, two Halloween parties at playgroups, one night at the school, Shuley's party, fall festival trunk or treat with our ward, pumpkin carving party at our house, and the real trick or treating!
We got use out of our costumes.
We also hit a fun corn maze this past weekend that we found out about through groupon. That was a fun day out with the family.

We are back in business

2011-10-12T11:20:00.001-04:00

My computer is no more! But I can blog from my iPod so look forward to updates soon!

More Pictures with Tanner and the kids

2011-02-22T21:21:00.006-05:00

Picture of Tanner

2011-02-22T20:51:00.003-05:00

Tanner Dean McRoberts

2011-02-22T18:19:00.005-05:00

Kari set a new record this morning. After a very short 8 minute labor, Tanner was born at 5:32 AM. The only thing I did this morning was prove that regardless of speed, there is no way to get from my house to any local hospital within 8 mintutes. As a result: Tanner was born in the car; Kari delivered the baby herself; and all the kids in the car thought it was pretty fun.

Looking back, it was quite a fun experience. Those 8 minutes were pretty stressful, but the fact that everything ended fine leaves us with feelings of gratitude, relief, and some pretty humerous moments.

Here is some additional information for a more detailed timeline:

2-3 AM: Kari distinctly felt the baby drop, but didn't feel any contractions, pressure, or pain.
5:oo AM: Brayden randomly wakes up and sets up a bed in our room

5:24 AM: Kari awakes, uses the restroom, feels a lot of pressure, and waits 1 minute to see if it continues or not.

5:25 AM: Kari wakes me and indicates it's time to leave. Thankfully Brayden was upstairs and already awake. He was really helpful in hurrying and getting Natalie up and ready.

On a side note: getting in the car was somethat humerous. While I loked the house, the kids and Kari got into the car. The ice had sealed the two side doors shut, and as I approached the car, Kari had her legs on the dashboard and all the kids were scrambling over her to get into the back of the car.

5:26 AM: We are on the road and call the doctor.

5:27 AM: We call Nate Nelson and coordinate having Emily meet us at the hospital to pick up the kids.

5:29 AM: Kari feels another heavy contraction and the baby's head pops out.

5:30 AM: Dr Draznik calls back, we update him regarding Kari's status, and decide we will head to St. Elizabeth hospital (10 minutes total trip) rather than Christ hospital (25 minute total trip).

5:30AM: Nate calls back and we confirm Emily should meet us at St. Elizabeth

5:32 AM: On Kari's next contraction, the entire baby is delivered. Kari did a great job catching him and ensuring everything was fine. The umbilical cord was torn during the delivery and came out detached. Kari instinctively pinched it shut with her fingers and held it until we arrived at the ER. Withing 15-20 seconds, the baby started crying and we all felt a great sense of relief. Leah sat in the seat behind mine, and probably had the best view. Once Tanner was born, Leah kept saying "A baby, a baby; ... Daddy there's a baby". She was quite taken by surprise that a baby suddenly appeared in the front seat with Mom.

5:35 AM: We arrive at the ER. I ran inside and told the nurse that my wife just delivered our son in the car. I wish I had a camera to catch the look on her face. After repeating, she registered what I said, and called for help. It was amusing watching the ER personnel act out of their element. They were scrambling not having towels, blankets, gloves, clamps, or any of their other normal tools accessible. At one point when the resident physician asked for some clamps, an aid ran inside and came back with at least 20 different clamps, and tripped spilling them all over the driveway.

After that, they took Kari and Tanner inside. I waited with the kids, cleaned up the car, and headed in to catch up with Kari.

Reflecting on, and retelling, the events of this morning, I feel very grateful. We are first and formost blessed to have a Heavenly Father who knows us and is distinctly aware of the challenges we face. Throughout all of this, and the tense moments of the last week, we have felt the comfort of our Heavenly Father, and have felt reassured that everything, would work out fine.

Secondly, we are truly blessed to have great friends here in Kentucky. Our friends here have become our family and we love and cherish them. Nate and Emily willingly watched our kids last week during Kari's false alarm (all 5 hours in the middle of the night). Again this morning, they were so willing to come at a moment's notice to help us out. Thank you guys!

Thirdly, having been through one home birth, I am all too aware of the kind of mess that gets left behind. Today, I am grateful that 1) I put a towel on the passenger seat last week, 2) we have leather seats, and 3) we had those deep winter floormats. The combination of the three made cleanup much better than last time.

Here are the baby's stats:

Tanner Dean McRoberts

Born: 5:32 AM (I got to call the time)

Weight: 7 LBS, 11 OZ (Kari was shootin' craps)

Length: 19 3/4 inches

Now - what you all have really been waiting for ... here are some pictures:

Well - the upload process was pretty slow from the hospital, and the kids are getting wrestless. I will upload some more pics tonight after I get the kids to bed.

Love you all and thanks for your support!

Guess when!

2011-02-22T00:24:00.003-05:00

I have been thinking about putting a game together for family and friends to be more involved in baby #4 birth. Especially since he is supposedly(per Jeremy) the last one!!
So lets play a guessing game!

Questions:
1. When will baby be born(Date/Time)?
2. How much will he weigh?
3. How long will he be?
4.What is my favorite thing about pregnancy?

Either email me or leave your guesses in the comments. The winner(s) will be openly congratulated on this blog and may receive a treat/prize in the mail if I get around to it after the baby is born.

Hint for guessing: I am scheduled to have my water broken around 7am this Friday morning if baby has not come by then.
GOOD LUCK!!

Pregnancy Fun

2011-02-17T20:00:00.006-05:00

This pregnancy has been so much fun! I love feeling the baby move inside of me, and I have been pretty lucky with having only a little nausea and heart burn. I have been way tired though and that leads to being thankful that I still have two good nappers in the house!!

We have been sick though, add on my trying to get things ready for our little man, that leads to Braxton Hicks(which I have never had!!). We had a false alarm last night. Jeremy saw me resting and asked me about my contractions. I told him they were coming regularly but not very strong. He immediately worried so we called the Doctor and the Nelsons(they are our go to for the kids), woke the kids up and headed to the Hospital. I have never felt contractions before that did not mean the baby was about to pop out; so I assumed even though it was over two weeks early we would have a baby after leaving. Well, I was dilated to a 4, which has progressed from the 3 I had on Monday at my appointment. But not much in the way of strong contractions, just little ones that seem to be getting my body ready rather than being in actual labor. We were sent home around 2:30am because the Hospital was so busy and I was too early for them to help me along. So much for a dry run to the Hospital!!

At least we are now preregistered and our bags are packed. Now if I could just get myself into the sewing room to finish mine and Faiths car seat covers....

Here are some cute picks of Faith and I with our prego bellies. We are both having boys and we were only a month apart. But due to her trying to have a v-back and me usually going early they could be a lot closer in age.

4 of us prego ladies also went out to dinner to celebrate our upcoming babies. We ended up going to Deweys. It was yummy salad as usual, but randomly my part of the pizza was burnt, so they said they would make a replacement, but that ended up being burnt too. So the manager explained that the oven needed to be recalibrated said a third pizza was being made and would be ready in 5 minutes plus he comped the pizza. So our total bill was only for the salad we shared!! So we had leftovers and money to spend, so after we went over to Coldstone to indulge our sweet tooth. Yum!!

It is sad thinking this could be my last pregnancy!! But at least I have really enjoyed it!!

Our Christmas in Califronia

2011-02-11T17:20:00.007-05:00

We were able to spend a fun holiday vacation in California. We were there for 18 solid days(plus 2 for travelling). The kids loved seeing there grandparents, cousins, and aunts & uncles. In that order. ;p

On the airplane to California. The trip was made longer with a delay in LA.

Here are a few pictures taken at that time. Keep in mind I borrowed my mother in laws camera a lot because mine was dead or dying, and I do not have those loaded on the computer at this time! So we will make do with what I have.

Jenalee at the Zoo

We celebrated Jenalee's 2nd Birthday, Natalie lost her second tooth, we went to the San Diego Zoo, Mormon Battalion, and Lego land. Of Course we shopped, hung out with family, and went to the Natural History Museum at Balboa Park too.

Jenalee turned 2 on December 22nd and we had a family get together that night. Aunt Melony made her a beautiful princess castle cake. Yum!! Thanks, Melony!

She also enjoyed opening up presents. She loved the dolls she got from the Grandparents and Aunt Genel! She is way into babies. Which could be good or bad for me...depending on how much she wants to help when Tanner is born.

Natalie showing her second lost tooth. Both from the bottom row. The Tooth Fairy has been very good to her giving her a Dollar and a candy per lost tooth so far.

Family picture at Legoland. Tons of fun! Especially since the whole McRoberts family got in for Free. Thanks for getting in line for those radio deals!!

I finally finished the Christ Nativities for our Moms. I loved how they turned out. I hope our Moms did too!

Mormon Battalion Picture. The kids loved this place. They got to pan for gold, play on wagons, and see a fun video presentation. Plus it is next to the San Diego Mission so we went to the old town set up they had there too.

Here are the kids New Years Eve with some of their cousins. The girls loved that they had matching jammies. Thanks mom for mailing those to us!

Last but not least is Uncle Ryan. The kids loved seeing him, and his new fiance(though she was girlfriend at the time) Barbie. Thanks for being so good to us Ryan with all the movies, gifts, and time spent with us! We also loved meeting Barbie and can't wait to see you guys again in August at your wedding! Congratulations!!

Updates

2011-02-10T17:47:00.003-05:00

Giving the blog the Spring look early to warm us up from the cold winter weather. Enjoy the title picture we took last May in the Great Smoky Mountains!

Hopefully I will upload more current information by tomorrow!!

Winter is here!!! (Plus Diaper Savings)

2010-12-04T20:40:00.000-05:00

On December 1st we had our first snow flurry that stuck. We have had such weird weather lately that it has surprised me just how fast it can get really cold!!

Also, since Jenalee has showed tons of interest over the past few months in potty training(mainly pooping on the potty) I decided that we are officially potty training starting today. She did really well getting her poop in the potty...now if I could just get her to care about peeing in it!!

FYI to anyone interested. If you join Amazon mom and do the subscribe and save you get 30% off diapers and wipes. Also, in most baby magazines their is a 20% off amazon diapers coupon, and this works for training pants too!! The two deals stack!!

This has been a real inexpensive way for me to stock up on diapers at around 8.5 cents a diaper(pampers, huggies size 1/2), and I just got Leah some easy ups for around 14 cents a piece(make sure to use pampers coupon given on the page when ordering for another $1 off). Plus free amazon prime for 3 months(not that I use it, but maybe it will be great for you).

Also, I just got Huggies wipes for around 1.7 cents a wipe(3 refill packs of 216 count each in one pack for $10.15 ). I bought 3 so I would get another month of amazon prime free. Apparantly I should have told Jeremy about it sooner. ;p

I love this, just make sure to cancel your subscription after you receive the item. I put in 2 months frequency to give me ample time to cancel. Hope this helps someone out!!

Primary Program and Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

November 14th was our Primary Program. Natalie had a speaking part, and participated in a group song. Brayden and Jenalee went up to sing one song( I love when they have nursery participate). Since it was so close to Thanksgivign we broke out their Holiday dresses and did their hair up in curlers.
Jenalee didn't have one curler in her hair in the morning! But Natalies stayed in and I think worked out great.

She looks so cute!!

This is actually Jenalee on Thanksgiving weekend, I changed their hair pieces from maroon to black. She is too cute too!!

My handsome man is dressed to match and decided this was the pose to strike.

We did Thanksgiving with the Parkinsons. We split up the dishes and planned to eat at 2pm.
Unfortunately there was a power outage in their neighborhood. So we had a fun time trying to cook/fit everything into my stove. It took us a little longer to get done but we at around 4pm and the food was delicious! Especially desert!

Sad we only have a few pictures. Here is Faith and I waiting to eat. We're pregnant...give us a break!!

Here are the kids. Natalie and Alice had matching clothes on. They had so much fun fooling the parents with who was who.

This week Jermy has been away to Florida. He left on Monday. While he was packing Jenalee was following him around, especially lingering in the bathroom.

Jenalee is by far the biggest mess maker I have had. It doesn't matter how many times you tell her no or move her...she will still get into whatever has caught her interest if you give her any privacy. Jeremy literally was away from the bathroom less than a minute and this is what he found.

Vaseline was all over her face and hair. We had to get jeremy to the airport, so I did a quick clean up of her to take him. It took shampooing twice and then combing in dish soap and rinsing to get it out of her hair. What a mess!!

Last bit of costume fun

2010-12-02T14:27:00.003-05:00

I went shopping after Halloween and found a few costumes worth buying. So the kiddos had a fun night playing in some of them.

We have already seen brayden as a knight, but I didn't buy him a new costume so he put this on.

Jenalee is actually wearing a dragon costume I got for our new baby boy to be next year. The kids are attacking her!

Natalie is wearing her new pirate outfit and holding her sword. Just guess the total cost...would you believe 85 cents!! Best deal ever.

This was just a cute picture of Jenalee I decided to post.

Ward Party and Trunk or Treat

2010-11-11T14:39:00.003-05:00

On October 30th we had a ward party at the church where we had yummy food, lots of fun, and ended with a trunk-or-treat.

The kids dressed up as pioneers. They looked so cute! Thanks Mom for making Jenalee's costume for us! Also, thanks Mom McRoberts for making Natalie's last year! Combined with Braydens gymboree costume they all looked great.

The kids loved playing the fun games that were set up. Natalie even did well enough in a few games to win a prize.

In throw the hula hoop around the pumpkin Natalie was a natural, making it around all 3 pumpkins.

Brayden was a star in pumpkin bowling.

Natalie got three in a row at the toss game.

We ate chili with corn bread, crackers, and cheese. Plus we had an array of desserts to munch on. Everything was delicious. Here are a few pics of friends enjoying their food.

The Hartungs

Hollie walking around

The Parkinsons. Their daughters are dressed as Annie and Sandy.

Sister Area with the Mullins. They are Zombies(Ashlee is martha stewart zombie) and a cowboy.

After the food the kids played a few more games and then enjoyed a story before heading out to trunk or treat.

They had tons of fun and got way too much candy!!

Halloween package

2010-11-09T15:23:00.005-05:00

We received another halloween package from Grandma Bevans that was filled with clothes and goodies for the kids. Thanks mom!

Thanks Mom!

Play group Halloween party

2010-10-29T21:21:00.010-04:00

On October 27th, we had a Halloween party at our house for playgroup. It was a combined party with both of my play groups, so it was a fun and lively event!

Leah with Boo in matching outfits

We had the kids dressing up in costumes as optional(most did), we painted pumpkins (byop-bring your own pumpkin), feasted on a yummy potluck lunch, went on a trick-or-treat hunt, and then ended with frosting pumpkin cupcakes for dessert.

I bought washable paint this time!

Jenalee enjoying her cupcake

Yummy potluck lunch. Teah made the prize winning Jack-o-lantern pizza

Janae made the prize winning Witches hats calazones.

Faith made the prize winning Mummy dogs. They all won prizes for most festive food.

I took pictures of most families that came. Tania and her two mushrooms(daughters dressed as mushrooms and sons where mario and luigi for halloween) had to leave before I started taking the pics.

Sharon with daughter hollie and Janae with son Zak

Me and my crazy kids

Anna with Miles and Ashlee with Gavin below. Ashley won most festively dressed!

Alanna with daughter Kiera

Faith and Myra

Emily with Carter, Alexis and Brynn. We'll miss you when you move to Florida!!

Teah with her boys Dillan and drew. Congrats on your new baby girl!

What a fun day!!

Our Family Update

2010-10-29T20:54:00.005-04:00

We have been very busy this month. Which is great because it means we have been very active and getting out of the house! The above picture was taken after we found out we were having a boy at Wendy's where I stopped with the kids to celebrate their new brother!

Today Natalie had lunch with her school principal as part of the Lady Bug program(student of the month). Bug stands for Behavior, Uplifting attitude, and Grades. She is holding her certificate and a ladybug cookie too.

I forgot to mention that Natalie had a little boy from her class stop by our house(they ride the bus together so he knew where our house was). He handed her a picture he drew and they talked for a little. It was really cute. I wish I had a picture!

Today, we also had a speech evaluation for Brayden with the school district. He will be attending preschool in the next few weeks to help him with some of his consonant sounds. Especially focusing on the "k" sound. He is pretty excited to go to preschool, so that is good.

Jenalee thinks she is pretty big stuff. She can keep up with the big kids, but can also be a cute little toddler when she wants to be. Her vocabulary grows in leaps and bounds(which I must say is reassuring). Sometimes I think Brayden was speaking when it was really Jenalee.

She loves baby dolls right now and has to have one to sleep with at night..luckily it doesn't always have to be the same one! Natalie is really good about sharing them with her, that makes everything easier too!

Halloween Party

2010-10-28T14:37:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday was a very busy one for us. It was our Wards Super Saturday, so I was at the church from 9:30 to around 4. Jeremy was suppose to take the kids to Hall-Zoo-ween, but only managed to take them out to lunch using their free coney coupons to skyline.

Then Jeremy wanted to go shooting with the guys, he thought I would be done by 2(that is when Super Saturday was suppose to end) and was upset when it went longer. He still went and didn't go to the Shuley's Halloween party with us.

We were a little late to the party, getting ready in our themed princesses and knight costumes, but it still ended up being a fun time! The kids hung out with their friends, and enjoyed fun games and food.
Natalie with her friend Hollie dressed up as Fancy Nancy.

Brayden and Leah with their friends Dawson and Eden

Brayden and Leah enjoying the yummy treats

Brad and his wife Sharon were lots of fun to hang out with and very helpful! Brad made balloon items for the kids.

And he held Leah for me so I could eat and get the other kids food too! Sharon was fun to hang out with and took our family photos. (sorry Sharon no pic of you)

Another prego shot. As you can see I am large and should lay off the Halloween candy....but it is so good!! My favorites at the moment are heath and take 5.

Our New little bundle of Joy...to come

2010-10-26T13:53:00.008-04:00

We found out officially that I was pregnant on July 9, 2010. But I prepared Jeremy from the git go, because being my 4th pregnancy I noticed the signs and knew it pretty much since conception.

The great debate on names began. A boy name is pretty easy since we have had one picked out since we had Jenalee. But we started having issues when it came to girl names.

Luckily we found out last Tuesday that we are having a.....

BOY!!!

Jeremy was so sure it was a girl, and I that it was a boy, that we made a little bet. I won a Chicago style stuff crust pizza from Papa Murphy's....mmmmm yummy! I was suppose to get dessert too....but I am still waiting on that!

Pumpkin Painting and Second Hall-Zoo-ween

2010-10-19T21:40:00.009-04:00

We have been making the most of this October and cramming in lots of Halloween events so the kids won't feel gypped out of not actually trick-or-treating on Halloween(since it falls on Sunday this year).

We took time to paint the free pumpkins we got from the Frisch's pumpkin patch at the first hall-Zoo-ween. As you can see, Jenalee painted herself as well.

Brayden was doing great staying clean...until Jenalee helped him to too much brown paint!! Just when I thought it was safe to leave the room.

Natalie loved using every color and did a great job staying clean. The brown on her face is frosting from a cupcake.

For Hall-Zoo-ween last weekend the kids dressed up in themed costumes. Natalie was Snow White, Jenalee was Cinderella, and Brayden was a knight/prince. They had so much fun picking out their costumes and getting ready. Unfortunately Natalie did not let me brush her hair!

Natalie as Snow White posing before we go.

Our sweet Cinderella

Our brave and Noble Knight

The royal entourage before we go.

Brave Brayden fighting an evil foe.

Jenalee patiently waiting for him to defeat the evil foe.

We were able to get good parking at the Zoo, even though it took us almost an hour to get there(40 of which was on a few miles of freeway!). Traffic was atrocious!

Kids getting pumpkins

One sad thing was this week there was no icecream!! But the kids did still get cookies to enjoy. And silly bands that are always a hit!

Halloween Suprise

2010-10-18T20:47:00.002-04:00

Last Tuesday the kids received a surprise in the mail. They were so excited to 1)just receive any mail and 2)have it be a package just for them.
We tried guessing what was inside....to our surprise it was a ghost!! That they all love and cuddle with. Thanks Grandma Bevans!!

Natalie has named it Goldie and loves to take it into the dark to see its eyes glow.

Brayden named it eyeball(he also thinks that will be a good name for the baby)

Jenalee would not pose with it(although she carries it around and calls it Boo) so I took a picture of it and my prego belly.

Not a flattering view as I am laying down, but I hope that appeases any requests to see me pregnant for awhile!

Our First Hall-Zoo-ween of the Month

2010-10-11T17:04:00.007-04:00

Every year the Cincinnati Zoo hosts Hall-Zoo-Ween three weekends in October. They have special shows, pumpkin hunts with the animals, and booths that the kids can trick or treat at. Love it!!
We always try to make it every weekend. This year I am making sure we do because the kids won't be able to trick or treat this year since Halloween is on Sunday.

I let them pick there own costumes this week from the costume box. Natalie Chose to be a witch. Brayden wanted to be a pirate and Jenalee chose to be a gorilla. I usually try and have them all theme relate, but they had so much fun choosing, I let them mismatch this week.

Frisch's always hosts a pumkin patch were the kids can pick out a tiny pumkin.

They all had fun getting there own off of the hay bails.
Our favorite stop around the Zoo is definately the Ice cream shop where the kids trick or treat for a free small ice cream cup.

Jenalee chose vanilla

While Brayden and Natalie went for Chocolate.

There was an Illusionist/Magic show that the kids enjoyed. Brayden especially loved the last trick where the guy was tied in a bag and locked in the box. Then his assistent raised a curtain around the whole thing and in a flash the man had traded places with the assistant and she was unlocked from the box. Braydens mouth dropped in amazement and he looked at me excitedly and quietly asked "how did he do that?"

The weather was a little warm for my taste, but it was tons of funs, especially because my friend Sharon and her kids went with us. Two pregnant ladies pushing strollers at our very hilly Zoo in the warm sun is quite the site to see!!

Getting caught up!

2010-09-13T22:27:00.005-04:00

Jeremy's mom came out in May to visit and we went to some parks, played at the museum, went to the Zoo. And she watched our kids for a few days so Jeremy and I could have a few nights away in Gatlinburg. Then she drove down alone with them so they could enjoy the cabin and the great smoky mountains too. So pretty much we made her work during her "vacation." Thanks Mom!!

While in Gatlinburg we were able to go on a Zip line tour with 6 different lines. By the end it was easy stuff hanging upside down. SO MUCH FUN!!

That on is me, can't tell so did the close up of me...Obviously Jeremy doen't mind the view!

The Cabin we stayed in had a nice pool area in the resort. The kids loved the smaller kiddie pool.

We also toured Gatlinburg and found some bears. We actually did see some real black bears...but alas no pixs.

I will try and find more pictures of that trip. It was lots of fun!

Here are a few pictures of teh kids playing at our local splash park that we went to a lot this summer. Best thing about it is that it is Free!!

They had been wanting to wear there goggles....lets just say they didn't stay on long!

Sick at home!

2010-06-25T16:04:00.005-04:00

We have been sick these past few days, so I decided to sit down and actually blog!

Today we say a deer eating in our back yard and the kids loved watching it.

We have been pretty busy before getting sick. I will try and fill in the past few months in a few blogs to come. But for know please enjoy a few recent pictures of the kids.

Here are a few I took of them before we headed out of the house(unknowingly) for the last time this week on wednesday.

Here are my little Dears!

2009-11-13T01:39:00.008-05:00

These are my little Dears...well Brayden is actually a moose. But still so cute!!

We have been having too much fun lately. So I will try and give quick updates with pictures.

Natalie is enjoying preschool. She was in the younger 4 year old class but her teacher said we should move her up to the older 4s class or the pre-K class. We decided older 4s and she loves her new teacher and classmates. Especially the boys(go figure). The first time a met one of the mothers she asked me if I was Natalies mom and when I confirmed this she told me about how her son loves Natalie and how Natalie adores Henry(another boy). She is quite the networker and loves talking to everyone.

Brayden is such a great litle guy. I need to get a video of him sing "macho man." Too cute! He adores both his sisters and loves his car bed! He has pooped in the potty and we are hoping to get him trained by Christmas(fingers crossed!).

Jenalee is a little doll. I feel sorry for all the family, because you are missing out on seeing her grow and her personality is so much fun! She has 4 teeth on top and is working on number 3 and 4 of her bottom teeth. She loves Daddy and loves to crawl to him when he comes home. She has been pulling up on things forever and standing, but we are still waiting for those first unassisted steps!

We have finally filled in the void in our front yard and landscaped. Here is a picture of the kids in their new rain gear in front of our soon to be planted front yard. It is finished now and looks great! Jeremy did a great job!

The Kids at Hall-ZOO-ween(with friend). We went twice. Jeremy took Natalie and Brayden the next week when I was doing Super Saturday(lots of work turned out great!). Then I went with my friend Emily, her son Carter and Jenalee.

Hope this has got you wanting more. Hopefully that will happen sooner then later. Only time will tell. We love and miss you all!

Delays

2009-07-12T21:28:00.011-04:00

Sorry for further delays..but I have been using Jeremy's camera lately only to find that his card does not work in our computer. And the card reader for it is missing!!

We have been busy since our last blog! Above the kids are displaying the stuff Grandma Bevans sent them for the 4th of July. That blog should come when I can download from the other camera.

We now have two set play dates weekly. Not to mention going to the free weekly movie! I have pictured our play date at a park.

Our good friends the Egnews have already moved to Baltimore. We had a few weeks notice and were able to squeeze in a few game nights, night out with the girls to say goodbye to Liz, sleepovers for Natalie and Ellie, and taking them out to dinner.

We had dinner at TGI Fridays and then a few of us headed over to Cold Stones.

While Jeremy helped Calvin out around the house the kids played

It turned into another Sleepover for Natalie and Ellie. The first one was at our house with Alice and Alexis too(pix on other camera).
Last time we saw them was Thursday night at CiCi's(we are such big spenders!).

No pix of me because dang...I definately need to lose weight!
Brayden saying goodbye to Madi

We miss them but hope this opportunity pans out for them! Also, congrats on a baby boy to be Liz!!

Jenalee is growing so much!! She is such a good eater. She eats anything and everything I give her. Also, she is on the verge of crawling. Technically she already is...but not the traditional knee hand movement. Here is a video I took last week. She can get to anything she wants to that is on the floor!

The end of my hiatus!

2009-06-25T00:38:00.009-04:00

So it has been awhile since I last blogged. SORRY! I am back and repentant of my past behavior...so I hope to blog weekly(with some daily postings!).

Here is a quick update since my last post:

Brayden turned 2 and Jeremy finally got to cut his hair! I came home from Bunco and it was done!

Natalie turned 4 and had a fun party. The next day we left on our trip!

We saw church history sights and Mount Rushmore + on our trip to UT with Grandma McRoberts(thanks for coming with us, and driving all night!).

We had a family reunion with the McRoberts' side of the Family and the kids loved playing with their cousins

We went to a water park and Leah had a blast!

We spent a week in southern UT with part of my side of the family. Kids had fun with cousins and hiking!

Rested a week at Great Grandpa and Grandma Powell's house. Then hurried home stopping in independence and seeing Liberty Jail.

Celebrated my birthday and then Jeremy's 13 days later. We are the same age...but for some reason he finds it hilarious pointing out that I am a year older than him during the gap.

Have had plenty of fun play dates and hanging out with friends.

At Taste of Cincinnati

At the Museum Center

Jenalee is sitting up, rolling around and getting up on knees, starting to eat solid foods, and just being the most adorable 6 month old ever!!(well top three anyways)

So I hope you all feel caught up with our past happenings. Hopefully I will have another update soon.

Jeremy's New Obsession

2009-03-14T01:30:00.004-04:00

When Jeremy and I started dating he never really expressed interest in guns, hunting, or even shooting at targets. When we visited OR we have gone shooting once or twice but it was just fun for that one time. Never discussed again.
I should have seen the warning signs to this transition when he asked for hunting apparel for christmas. Which he got but never wore.
He has recently gotten hooked on everything to do with guns, especially going to the local shooting range. Which is literally right down the street from us(we do live in KY!). His Uncle Theron is really into guns and hunting, and my Father has always gone hunting and taken us up in the "hills" for us to shoot at targets. They have become his resources for information on this topic.

He is so hooked he is going shooting today with his friends Nate. Which might I add that he is leaving on Monday and could spend the time with his family!

Little Man

2009-02-19T00:08:00.022-05:00

When Jeremy was unpacking Brayden had fun trying on his hard hat. Not Jeremy's normal apparel...but since he is walking through the plants, there is a need for safety!

He was having so much fun!! Such a cutie!!

Here is Brayden the pianist:

More with dad

2009-02-19T00:08:00.021-05:00

I don't know why the posts are showing the wrong date! But This post is being done on March 9, 2009.

We had a game night with the Egnews and Natalie and Ellie had fun playing dress up.

The fun continues as my little fashionista continues to have fun dressing herself!!

Jeremy had fun playing with the kids outside in the good weather we have been having. More pixs will come of that when we download from Jeremy's camera.

Daddys home

2009-02-19T00:08:00.011-05:00

Jeremy was gone in Florida for a week and a half. Needless to say, it was a long time for the kids to be without their Daddy. Here are some events that happened while he was gone.

Brayden had time to get into my make-up

We did have some fun renting movies(by the way redbox during march is doing a free movie night each wednesday. Get code at blog.redbox.com), shopping, museum trips, and hanging with friends.

Girls movie night

Play time at mall(on changing area)

Not to mention cleaning!! We mopped all the floors. I hated every minute of it. But it looked great for about a day until the kids spilled food again!!

The girls enjoyed getting into some new outfits(thanks G-ma McRoberts and Aunt Genel!!). Natalies bruise is from tripping into a metal bleacher at my volleyball game. Daddy was there and was suppose to be watching her!!

Last monday the baby had her two month shots!! And a new oral immunization that supposedly helps with less throw up. Not bad if it really works right!

Fun happenings

2009-02-18T21:44:00.018-05:00

We have been having a pretty good time here in KY. I loved having our Parents visit for Jenalee's blessing and having our moms each stay to help. The kids loved having there grandma's here for a few weeks each too!

My mother made the beautiful dress. My mom-in-law made the bonnet and blanket. We all had some part in the headband!

But, as all things do, good things have to come to an end. We are slowly getting back into a regular routine. We have been having fun using our new(well new to us) van to take us to the museum, play with friends,to church(woohoo no more going an hour early), and of course a little shopping!

Today, however, we went to a birthday party for midweek(which was fun) and Brayden ended up doing a major throw up! Not to mention he has been cutting teeth so he had already leaked out of his diaper and then that happened. Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent washing clothes, blankets, and towels that the baby spit up on(she finally is pooing after 4 days of nothing!)or that brayden leaked or threw up on. And taking care of my sick kiddos!!

Lets not dwell on today...it is one day in a long parade of fun days!! We had a wonderful Valentine day. Friday our friends took us out to the precinct...YUM!! It was so much fun I think we are going to have to go again sometime!! I played Bunco Saturday while Heather watched my kids(Jeremy left for UT that day, what would I do without friends!). Thanks Mom the kids loved their gifts!

Okay, no giftpictured with Leah...but she did look so cute in her heart outfit!! Thanks Mom McRoberts! Also, the kids love their V-day animals from you!! Thanks for all the help!

Saturday, we also enjoyed a concert from Zak Morgan. We first saw him last year at a Library show he did in Newport. He is a child entertainer from Cincinnati and does free shows in the area when he is here. The kids love him and watch his Zakland DVD. It was funny because after the show I asked Natalie about how she liked it and she said: "I loved it all, but it was a different Zak." Poor guy has greyed since he filmed the DVD!!Natalie loves her new gloves and leg warmers!! Quite the fashionista!

Tuesday we got the Museum call(a few of us have passes and when one goes we call others to see if they want to too) and as I was getting the kids ready, Leah decided to end her pooping strike! Needless to say we were late getting there and ended up enjoying the Natural history museum by ourselves. Which was actually a lot of fun!! I love the Museum center!

Tuesday night, after a yummy meal at the Egnews, I took the kids to my volleyball game(remember Jeremy is out of town). Here they are as they looked at the end of it(after 9pm). They were troopers, even though Natalie thought she should play and cried at the start of it. Can I just thank the anonymous Blonde lady that held her while I played!

The baby tonight

2009-02-12T00:32:00.005-05:00

In an effort to get back into blogging I have changed the background and header. Please enjoy the video of Jenalee that I took tonight while you wait for another update!

We're Growing!

2008-12-23T00:12:00.007-05:00

Christmas came a couple days early this year. We are very fortuante to have welcomed

Jenalee Anne McRoberts

into our family eariler this afternoon. Jenalee was born at 12:52, weighed 7 oz, and was 20.25 inches in length. Kari did an amazing job. I marvel at the things a woman goes through just to bring a child into this world. I am grateful for my wife and her sacrifice.

Jenalee was born at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. That makes one Utah, one Kentucky, and one Ohio baby. We are running out of options in this area. We may have to start looking into available hospitals in Indiana.

Again, Kari's labor was shorter than expected. Since Brayden was born at home, after a short 15-25 minutes of labor, we decided to induce with Jenalee. A resident MD broke Kari's water around 12:30, and less than 25 minutes later Jenalee was here. Once again, the doctor missed the delivery; in fact, the resident doctor also missed the delivery. Jenalee was delivered (more like "caught") by a surprised team of RN's. Nevertheless, both Kari and Jenalee are very healthy and are doing great. Dad, however, is convinced that we will never wait for a natural, non-induced, delivery again. Had Kari's water broke at home, the 25 minutes would have expired just short of the hospital.

Here are a couple of pictures we took today. You may notice some similiarities in the pictures below. It is amazing how much all three of our kids look allike. One exception: Jenalee has hair. In fact, she probably has more hair now, than Brayden did at one year.

You can see additional pictures of Jenalee on the McRoberts Family webiste. This link should take you directly to Jenalee's Photo Gallery: Jenalee Anne

Natalie got her "baby doll" for christmas. She adores Jenalee. We took her to a sibling class a few weeks ago, and now tells us that we don't have to worry because she is going to take care of her sister. She plans to change the diapers, wants Jenalee to sleep in her room, and will help pick out her bows and make sure she gets dressed. In fact, as soon as I arrived with the kids at the hospital, Natalie began picking out different bows to put on her sister. She really had fun when the RN invited her to help take Jenalee to the nursery to be weighed.

I am very glad that Natalie is so excited for her sister. She didn't feel the same when Brayden arrived. She had a very tough time leaving the hospital tonight.

As I was looking at the pictures of Jenalee tonight, I was amazed at how similiar she looks to both Brayden and Natalie. I've posted a few of their baby picture for your reference. The first two are Brayden, born March 20, 2007. The following two are Natalie, born April 18, 2005.

What really struck me about this next picture is how much Natalie has grown. This picture was taken just under two years ago! They grow up so fast!

Natalie use to be my baby girl.

We owe a special thanks to all our friends in this area. We couldn't do it without you. With family so far away, we are very blessed to have good friends that are willing to step in and help out. We love really appreciate all you do!

We love you all, and hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Let it Snow!

2008-12-09T22:16:00.010-05:00

On Saturday, we went to Christ Hospital for a tour of the maternity ward and a sibling class for Natalie. Unfortunately, it was the same day that we had our first actual snow fall that stuck. It took us an hour(normal 25 min) to drop Brayden off at a the Nelson's and then get to the hospital!! And on the way we passed a few accidents too!!

It was definitely worth the trip because Natalie loved her class! She learned how to help take care of the baby and received a cute Big Sister shirt. Jeremy even had some hands on experience while helping Natalie swaddle a baby.

After we came home, Natalie told me that she would take care of Brayden since she learned how too. I explained that she learned how to help take care of the baby and not Brayden. She replied "okay Mommy, I'll take care of the baby and you can take care of Brayden." I love the way her little mind works!

Another example of Natalie's deep thinking: she told me that she was "reusing" the milk carton ring as a collar for her Okapi. She even used some sticky tac that she had in her room to secure it. I think the future will be taken care of; Especially if other kids react the same way to cartoons that talk about recycling!!

Last night for FHE we took our friends the Pews to the Zoo for the Festival of Lights. We also met a few other families there. It was a lot of fun. They had Mrs. Clause reading stories and taking pictures, cute baby animals, beautiful lights, a large nativity, some reindeer, and Santa listening to christmas wishes and giving candy canes. The weather was just right, and the night as a whole was a perfect way to spend time with friends during the holidays.

The Pews are hiding in the back of the group!

Kids with Mrs. Clause

Natalie with Santa. Thankfully still asking for her trampoline and scooter(which have been taken care of by her Grandparents).

Brayden didn't ask for anything, but he loved the candy cane Santa gave him!

Kids in a sleigh

Kylie, Aubrey, and Natalie

The girls had fun playing together

They also enjoyed the Carousel

Holiday Season is HERE!!

2008-12-03T00:37:00.004-05:00

We had our first snow flurry Noveber 15th. The weather has been cold, but we have had no real snow fall yet. I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner!

I already attended our Holiday Bunco party, and tonight was my Book Club Holiday Book Exchange. Both scheduled while Jeremy was in CA. Luckily my friend Jennifer's Husband willingly watch Natalie and Brayden on Saturday so I could go to Bunco, and my friend Heather watched them tonight!!

That brings me to what I am thankful for this Holiday season: Friends!!

With living far from family, I am very thankful that we have such great friends that are willing to help us out when needed. Especially since we are close to adding a new addition to the family...it is nice to know that we have friends that will let us call on a seconds notice to drop off the kids before we head to the Hospital!

Special thanks to Nate Nelson who came at 7am the day after Thanksgiving to get my car to start so I could have a working car to shop that day(I accidentally left the car light on all night and most of Thanksgiving Day!!

I'm also thankful that Jeremy will be back tomorrow night...and that the baby has waited for Daddy. How scary would that be to have gone into labor without having him here!!

Well, hopefully I will get things done before the baby gets here, but if you do not receive a Holiday card from us until after the Holidays(or ever) just remember that we love you all and hope you all have a wonderful fun filled Holiday season!! And enjoy plenty of ham!!

Thanksgiving Time

2008-11-26T21:07:00.008-05:00

Cute kids!!

We had a Thanksgiving party midweek at our house a few weeks ago. I made the turkey and everyone else brought the sides and desserts. This was my first time ever making a turkey, and I think it turned out really good!

The kids enjoyed playing in the fall leaves when we were saying goodbye to our guests.

So, Jeremy is in California with his family and left me here with 4 weeks to go in my pregnancy and two rambunctious children. Needless to say, this has been fun since we have the car...but also a little tiring for me since I have no help with the kids.

Natalie in her holiday dress

Brayden in his outfit

Random insight: I was able to see twilight the night before Jeremy left. It was decent, but definitely a let down. Like most fans, that won't stop me from watching the next one! Enjoy this movie of Brayden saying I love you!!

Well, the Kids and I are going with our friends to their family thanksgiving tomorrow and then the Holiday season really begins! Lets hope I don't have this baby before Jeremy gets home!!

Natalie and Brayden in their cute outfits...not such cute pix

Our Halloween

2008-11-23T00:20:00.012-05:00

We had lovely weather in October and had a perfect Halloween! We also enjoyed the third and final Hall-Zoo-ween!

Kids enjoying the free icecream

One of the booths was promoting the new release of Sleeping beauty with free masks. So Natalie posed as Sleeping beauty with her friend Snow White.

We also enjoyed a Halloween package from Grandma and Grandpa Bevans. My mom put together the perfect Halloween treats for my kids! Natalie loves her Hello Kitty plush bag and little plush toy, and Brayden enjoyed his Dinosaur and Book(which are his new obsessions!). Not to mention the candy!

Kroger had a trick-or-treat event at our local store. The kids dressed up as farm animals and we went to enjoy a fun shopping trip. We used similar costumes(we have monkey and leopard too) at the Halloween party we had at playgroup but I forgot my camera!!

We trick-or-treated around with our friend Heather and her kids. Jeremy moved quicker with Natalie and John so they went ahead of us and also moved on to the Egnews house further on in the neighborhood.

Natalie as Tinkerbell and Brayden as a Pirate.
Jeremy with Natalie and John(Power Ranger)

Brayden Trick or treating
Alexis(princess) and Ashton(Nascar pit crew)
Brayden's and my traditional shot
Brayden with John all done and starting to enjoy

The kids had tons of fun and got a lot of candy!!

Cincinnati Museum Center

2008-11-22T23:24:00.010-05:00

We had a fun day at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Our Friends have passes and we were able to enjoy the children's museum for free! In December they have a few days were they hold a discount of buy 1 get two half off...I have already told Jeremy that we are doing this even if he has to leave me at the hospital to go with our friends and get it!!

We started at the visiting Clifford area. Apparently it travels around the country to different museums. The kids are big fans of Clifford and loved playing in all the different activity areas they had.

Brayden playing with T-bone at a sand table

Natalie possing with Clifford and Emily Elizabeth

Carter driving with Brayden in a town truck.(You can see Emily's Mom in the background)

Natalie eating at Samuel's Fish and Chips where Charlie and his Father served some healthy oranges to her!

Brayden mailing a letter to Cleo.

Natalie rolling bones on a conveyor belt into Clifford's bowl

The regular part of the childrens museum is set up in many different areas of fun. Seriously, this place is amazing! The kids loved every area and we could definitely go weekly without it getting boring.

Natalie playing at the sand table with Brayden and Tillie around her.

Natalie sliding with Carter

Natalie playing at the water table

Brayden at the table(he had to use a stool).

There is an area called the "Woods" that is for older children that we played on. Natalie was pretty fearless moving along the net tunnels and other areas. Brayden was a little more reserved about it and refused to move throught the tunnels.

A Baptism, Hall-Zoo-ween, and a Halloween Party

2008-10-23T23:49:00.013-04:00

Last Friday Jeremy had the privilege of not only giving a short talk at Amy's Baptism, but also baptising Amy. Amy has been an investigator for awhile and we have been able to become friends with her and her family. Jeremy should really be blogging this. He was so excited about it, I am not doing it justice.

Last weekend we went to the Zoo for Hall-Zoo-ween at the Cincinnati Zoo. We took our friends Emily and her son Carter. Carter and Brayden matched in their Nascar pit crew costumes, and looked so adorable!! Natalie was dressed as Tinkerbell and brought her stuffed animal "Penguie" with her(Grandma McRoberts gave this to her when we visited last November and she has recently been really attached to it). The kids had fun trick-or-treating at the different booths and riding on the Scarousel and Train. Brayden had fun picking out his own pumkin...how cute!!

On Monday we held a Halloween FHE. We invited a bunch of our friends over and grilled some delicious Shish Kababs. Our friends brought the sides and desserts. Dinner was delicious! By the time we were done eating a few of the families had to go and missed the pumkin carving fun! But here are some pixs of the FHE activity of carving pumkins. We had a lot of spectators but the ones who carved were Jeremy and our friends Calvin and Jason. Of course Natalie and Ellie stood by helping too!

Jason, Emily, and Carter Hamilton

Jason carved a scene with bats and the moon

Natalie chose the flaming skull

Calvin carved a witch

They looked so good all lit up!

This was a really fun night!! I hope everyone is enjoying this Halloween time! I know I am!! Especially dressing up my kids in costumes!

Since we've been home!

2008-10-16T20:03:00.024-04:00

We've been back home in Kentucky since early September. We have slowly gotten back into the groove of homelife. We have play group weekly and have recently added a dance class for Natalie every thursday nights. Not to mention that we finally renewed our Zoo pass last week so we can go to Hall-Zoo-ween( and tour the Zoo weekly too)!

We did have a heavy windstorm that took out our power for the day on September 14th. We were blessed that it only was out till Sunday night. Others in our area, mainly in OH, were without power for at least 5 days(some even longer). The missionaries came over the next day to help Jeremy clean up the part of the tree that the storm knocked down.

Our friends invited us to Kings Island, the local theme park, and we had a fun day with them. I think the Kids had fun too... Some big events have happened in the Kids lives! Brayden turned 18 months in September and had his first official day of Nursery! And has been in there since with no problems! Not to mention he can pull off a cool Faux-hawk. Natalie not only started a fun new dance class but she had her first professional haircut at Sableux(the Salon I go to). I missed the cuttest picture of her walking from getting her hair shampooed with a towel around her head and her hairdresser holding the robe up so she wouldn't trip on it!! Next time I'll schedule mine after so I can get all the cute shots. Not to mention that I broke down and finally let her paint her nails!
Playgroups since we got back have been tons of fun. We went to Jump Zone and have had tons of fun playing at a variety of parks(due to the good weather), not to mention walking over the Purple People Bridge to get to one. Natalie started Dance class on Septeber 25th. We have slowly gotten all the gear she needs as you can see since her first picture she is in regular clothes! I think she is just adorable in her little dance outfit! Her teacher is Ms. Kim and she teaches them in Ballet, tap, and some tumbling. Natalie is loving it like crazy. Whenever she has the chance she is dancing around...even in Class!

This past weekend we went to the first Hall-ZOO-ween of the month and our Ward Harvest Party. For the Zoo the Kids dressed up as Pirates. We went with our friends the Erwins. At the party later that night, the kids dressed up as a Cowboy and Cowgirl. Jeremy added a twist by having the whole family wear "redneck teeth." They looked so cute! They ended the night in their glow in the dark skeleton gymmies(pj's for you non-Gymboree freeks!).

Jeremy was in OR too!

2008-10-06T19:56:00.009-04:00

Okay, so apparently my brief update upset my husband and my sister. Jeremy thought I overlooked him when doing the blog and I want to set the record straight that he did come out for the last week of our vacation in OR. My sister Lisa felt I left out the family we visited...which is true, but only because the photos with them were not loading!

Here are photos from our Labor Day Camping trip at the Honeyman campgrounds on the Oregon Coast. It has been a tradition for my family to camp here twice a year for 36 years. Luckily this time all of the siblings were able to make it! The only two missing are my brother Jeffs wife Estella and their new baby Elijah.

The Bevans Siblings: in order of age starting with Kim as the youngest(living) to Lisa the oldest! Our present family pictures

All the Cousins(except Elijah)

The guys played games all weekend

Fun on the coast!

So this is a continuation of pictures from our Oregon Vacation! Maybe I will get to what we have been up to these last few months once this has been done!

I had to add that today on our way home from Dance Class, Natalie asked when we were going camping in Oregon again. I think she had fun!! What do you think?

Hello. Anybody there?

2008-09-19T15:03:00.018-04:00

Okay, so just incase you get updates or decided to check my blog one more time before completely giving up on me, this is your lucky day!! Here is the first update on our family since April!

Just in case you didn't know...we are pregnant with our third child and have been told the baby is a girl(80%). Natalie is excited to have a little sister and has enjoyed feeling the baby kick her through the tummy. I have been having fun pulling out Natalies old clothes, to see what works and what I need to get, and also buying matching dresses for the girls! Jeremy is excited...especially since the baby should be born at the end of this year(taxes)! Brayden may have some notion of the baby, but all that he does is play with sisters dolls to show any enjoyment in a new baby.

We enjoyed a 5 week visit in Oregon visiting Grandma and Grandpa Bevans. Natalie and Brayden had fun playing with all of their Cousins and doing fun things with Grandma and Grandpa. We went to Wild Life Safari(where we rode a camel!), Crater Lake, Enchanted Forest, Bandon Animal Park and coast(held a Lion cub), and camping at Honeyman. Not to mention having swim lessons(Natalie passed!), playing at Emerald Park, building a bird house and flagpole with Grandpa at home depot, visiting great grandpa Bevans grave, picnic and fishing with the whole family, and many other fun times with the Bevans clan!

I also spent a weekend at my 10 year highschool reunion. It was fun seeing old friends and showing of my adorable children! Plus, Estella had her baby so we got to visit her in the hospital and that was good experience for the kids! Plus we were there for Travis' baby blessing and the twins Janelle and Brooks birthday party.

Not to forget that two of my Sister-in-laws had babies while we were in OR too! Congratulations Genel with your triplets, and to Melanie with your first baby Payton!

Enjoy the pictures and expect a follow up blog with what we have been up to since we got back home to KY! (once I figure out how to do slide shows more pictures will come!)

So much has happened!! Update 2

2008-04-05T01:15:00.005-04:00

We had a fun day at the park a few days after the snow fall. There was still a little on the ground, but sunny and beautiful enough for us to get out and play!

Later that night we made milkshakes!! Brayden found out that by sitting on my lap he had easy access to a straw and the yummy stuff! It was the first of many fun nights of milkshakes because we had a bunch of fruit to use!

Brayden playing with Magic Bullet lid

Jeremy making the shakes

Natalie enjoying her milkshake

Brayden enjoying my shake

Jeremy and Natalie enjoying theirs

So much has happened!! Update 1

2008-04-05T00:40:00.004-04:00

The night of March 7 it started snowing and before we went to bed it had reached 4 inches. Little did we know it would reach up to 15" in some areas! We played in around 11" of snow the next morning.

Brayden and I buried as we tried to sled
Jeremy and the Kids
Jeremy Shoveling the walk(okay I finished this job! I decided I would rather shovel then cook dinner! Crazy!)
Brayden warm inside watching

Jump Zone Fun

2008-03-11T01:50:00.007-04:00

Last wednesday we went to the Jump Zone for midweek. Lets just say it was a ton of fun for the kids...and the adults(especially me!!). I think we are going to have to go there again!

All the kids climbing up the

Brayden coming through

Alexis Sliding

Natalie and Alexis climbing

Natalie playing

Brayden not sure he likes it!

Kauti helping Caleb climb

John sliding

Heather with Ashton

Natalie riding on a dinosaur

Spencer climbing

Liz climbing

Girls enjoying snacks while resting

Natalie and Ellie enjoying the toddler car instead of playing in the bouce area

Beautiful day at the Cincinnati Zoo

2008-03-05T02:13:00.005-05:00

Monday was a random warm and beautiful day. My friend Heather had the foresight to set up a Zoo trip. Since this is the last month I have my pass(Heather drives and I have the pass that gets her and her kids in free) we wanted to make the most of it! So we talked Liz into coming and had a great time of it!

Here are a few pictures. We went to the manati house first. Then to the rest of the Zoo. It was so much fun, I think I'm going to have to talk Jeremy into renewing the pass...but that can wait till he gets settled into his new job!

Natalie and Ellie are visited by a turtle

Brayden Checking things out in the tank

Heather, John, and Ashton infront of the elephants.

Ashtons first trip to the Zoo

Liz with Madeline and Alexis. This could be Maddie's first trip to the Zoo too...I'll have to check!

Brayden and the elephants

A peacock blocked our way into the Reptile House.

So we took some photos!

Can a Turtle and a Gator be friends?

Brayden loving the asian alligators

The juvenile gorilla playing

Natalie and Ellie loving it!

I've been Tagged!

2008-02-27T15:05:00.012-05:00

Basically I think this is a blogger game that my friend Christina incorporated me in by "tagging me." I hope this is an interesting read! Thanks Christina!! Also congratulations...the baby is close to coming!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning

B. Each player answers the questions about themselves

C. At the end of the post, the player tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they are tagged.

10 years ago I was: In my Senior year of High School counting down the days till I graduated! And getting ready to leave the nest to attend Brigham Young University! Man has it really been that long ago!

5 things on my to do list today:

1) Make Apple Pies(Yummy)

2) Host Midweek(playgroup)

3) Make sure Natalie potties(Yes, she is "potty trained" her words, I think she pretty much is since she has only peed once this past week and that was over night in her pull up!)

4) Blog: Check that off, I'm doing it right now!

5) Clean up after Midweek! We had a good turn out and lots of kids means lots of mess=me cleaning up!

Things I would do if I became a billionaire: Seriously that is a ton of money..what to do?...hmmm. Well depending on how the money was obtained, I would give 10% to tithing or put 10% of it towards other funds such as fast offering, missionary, temples etc. Then I would Sell my home and buy a beautiful mansion with a skyline view of Cincinnati! Then I would buy a plane and hire a pilot(Mike, I would totally hire you!) so I could take the kids anytime and visit their grandparents and other family. Not to mention being able to take vacations or fly family here to see us. I of course would invest it so I could maintain my billionaire status. Maybe buy a Gymboree franchise or two! I would let my husband retire so he can work with his hands making things like he loves to do in his free time. Our siblings would be helped out in different ways according to circumstance: Such as Genel getting a live in Nanny or two to help her with her triplets coming; we would buy houses for those without, help those without jobs with employment, and give generous amounts for them to invest or use as they see fit. Our fathers could finally retire, we would set them up how they would want! My mother-in-law could finally quit work and be able to visit her grandchildren whenever she wanted. And I would have my 8 children I want! Jeremy could not complain since we would have the financial means to take care of them!

3 of my bad habits:

1) Watching movies or TV till the cows come home!

2) Surfing the internet...doing nothing productive

3) Procrastination: seriously I'll have to do something about that...maybe tomorrow...

5 places I've lived:

1) Oregon (till 18)

2) Utah (for college)

3) New York & Puerto Rico (1 summer for work)

4) California(1 summer for work)

5) Kentucky (we say cincinnati but I must face reality!)

5 jobs I've had:

1) Carl's Jr.

2) Stevensons Geneology Center

3) Pinkerton Security Grave Yard Shift at Symantec

4) Joe Vera's Hostess/Waitress

5) Office Manager for Alarmtek

Something most people don't know about me: Seriously there are too many things to choose from...let me think...hmmm...okay this I can share without being judged too much: I day dream/dream about saving the world or being some sort of heroin that always makes things right, saves the day, while finding some sort of love interest! LOL, sounds really cheesy now that I've written it down. Don't worry, I'm not crazy, the guy usually always resembles Jeremy...honest...alrighty judge me if you must!! I will not give up my dreams!! Some day I will write them down, sell books and become a billionaire. Please refer to the question above about what I would do then!!

I tag Lisa, April, Holly, and Shawna.

Valentines Day

2008-02-19T12:45:00.001-05:00

I just had to share this video of Natalie playing with her valentine present!!
By the way, Happy belated Valentines Day!

The Diaper Cake

2008-02-19T12:01:00.000-05:00

So, I have always wanted to make a diaper cake. Today, after a little research and calls to my friend Heather, who is amazing at crafty things, Natalie and I made one.

Of course I took pictures and decided to share our beautiful creation with anyone interested. I was intending to add more stuff on it, such as a taggie blanket, a crinkler, baby lotion, onesies, socks, pacifier holder, tag block, tag ball, and burp cloths...but in the end I thought simple looked much nicer!

We will put the other things in a seperate gift and this can be the centerpiece at Jills Babyshower today!

I used a pack of size 1 diapers(44). Instead of rolling them I overlapped and wound them around a papertowel roll with string. In the middle I put desitin!

Once the cake was structured I wrapped it in tissue paper and decorated it with ribbon. I also made the round cardboard piece it was on prettier with pink paper.

Remembering stamps my mother gave me last christmas I pulled them out and stamped "princess" and "pretty in pink" around the bottom ribbon.

I added bows to cover the tap used and to add a little flare!

Natalie is my little helper! I pushed down the tissue into the roll with the desitin and now I am just waiting for when Heather comes to get me to put the Flower headband on the top! I will update tonight with a picture of the finished product!

Alexis' Birthday Party!! Woo hoo she's two!

2008-02-17T00:09:00.000-05:00

Alexis blowing out candles

Heather Mike and Alexis

On wednesday for midweek we went over to the Erwin's house to celebrate Alexis' birthday. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. It has caused me to reflect on Birthdays.

Considering as of late we have had a plethera of parties, I'm beginning to think we have too many friends with kids!! Just Kidding! We have had tons of fun going to John's, Spencer's, and Carter's parties! I am starting to feel the pressure to perform up to par as we approach Brayden's first birthday! Hopefully I can pull something off!

And just in case anyone cares; I am caught up in calling my family members on their birthdays and having natalie and I sing happy birthday to them!! Sorry for being late Mark, Kelly, and Isabella!

Enjoy the video and pictures of Alexis' party and some of the others!

Natalie, Ellie, and Alexis having fun.

John's Party at Chuck E Cheese in November

John eating cake

Natalie playing on one of the rides(they were given a cup of tokens to enjoy all the fun rides and games there).

Okay so Aunt Melanie was visiting at the time. But I didn't like any of the pictures of her and Brayden because she was using him to cover her...so here is another cute picture of Natalie!

Spencer's Party was in January at Todder Otterville but I forgot to bring my camera so I need to get pix's from Heather!

Carter's Birthday Party: Emily and Carter with his cake

Amber, Heather, and the kids!

Jackie, Kauti, and Erika with their little ones!

Natalie and Ellie enjoying their baseball cupcakes

Carter opening his gifts with all the eager kids waiting to attack whatever he opens!!

Girls will be girls!!

2008-01-24T17:01:00.000-05:00

Natalie's wonderful Aunts helped to expand her dress up clothes from a few things to many new fun fairie wings, outfits, princess dresses and other essentials. And she loves it!! Who knew I could have such a girly girl!

Well, I thought I should include some fun pics to express my appreciation, and so others can see just how gosh darn cute she and her friend Ellie are when they dress up!

Natalie as Tinkerbell

Ellie as Sleeping Beauty w/wings!

In Memory of Grandma Mac

2008-01-20T00:49:00.001-05:00

I took a few video clips of Natalie and Brayden with Grandma Mac originally for Jeremy since he couldn't be there. I thought I would share it with others who would enjoy seeing her beautiful smile once more.

I have two other videos but this one is taking so long that I will not be posting them. But I did want everyone to know that Natalie does end up hugging her! Also, the other one is her and Brayden...SO Adorable!!

We love you Grandma!!!

P.S. Video didn't load...I'll try later!! Still not working!!

Grandma receiving the flag at Grandpa's funeral

Grandma with the Flag

Jeremy, Natalie, and Brayden with Grandma Mac

Our Family with Grandma Mac

The holiday season is over!!

2008-01-19T16:30:00.000-05:00

With all the anticipation leading up to the Christmas season, I find it unbelievable how fast it went by. To explain let me point out that we didn't get pictures taken, christmas cards sent(thanks for those who are on top of that-we enjoyed your letters!), gifts sent(sorry Trevor!), and did little to truly enjoy this Season to the fullest.

Growing up my family had tons of traditions set that we did every year. Christmas carol with a group of family friends in the back of a truck, decorating the christmas tree with our own ornaments, deliver christmas baskets to friends and family, enact the manger scene while dad reads the scriptures(although this one has become tedious as we all fight for who gets to be Mary, Jesus, and one year even an angel(sorry Lani!)), playing games and talking till our eyes could no longer stay open, opening up pajamas and cousin gifts christmas eve, and even to stay up all night christmas eve helping mom finish wrapping presents!

This year Jeremy and I were put to the test...we had Christmas here in Kentucky with just us and the kids and were given the task of helping to make there holiday season fun filled and meaningful! Daunting task for one who is used to others cooking, and planning the activities!!

We normally switch of going to each of our parents for the christmas season. This year we couldn't make it to the McRoberts because my brother Mike was getting married on the 28th of December in the Washington, D.C. Temple. We did see them in October for Grandpa Mac's funeral, and for thanksgiving(minus Jeremy) so we were able to see Grandma Mac before she passed away last week. We love you guys!!

I think we did a decent job of what we did with our children this season. When we came home from CA we were surprised to find the house all decked out with Christmas decorations. This was a surprise from Jeremy! He always does a great job(he even took it all down!). So Natalie helped me decorate the christmas tree while Brayden watched from the exersaucer. We also put a nativity in Natalies room and let her play with it, and explained what it represented. We kept in tradition by reinacting the Manger scene with our friends the Erwins who were nice enough to invite us over christmas eve, as well as carol to a family and brought them a meal. When home the kids opened pj's and one cousin gift and off to bed! I staid up finishing up things(such as wrapping the Hello Kitty backpack natalie had to have and we finally broke down and bought Christmas eve!).

Christmas day was fun filled with natalie handing out the presents and enjoying all the fun gifts we received. Thank you to all our family who spoiled us this christmas season!! But enough of my ramblings...I know you all are scrolling past this to see the pictures! So here they are...then I will post about my Brothers wedding!

Natalie and Brayden in the cute outfits Grandma McRoberts Made them(Note: cute smocking on Natalie's dress and the sleeves of Brayden's shirt have been fixed!)

First snow fall 12/5/2007

Natalie and Brayden in the Christmas outfits Grandma Bevans Bought them.

2nd Snow fall 12/14/2007

Jeremy and Natalie in a snow fight

Natalie choosing an easier target!

Brayden getting snow balled!

Sisterly hug after the fact!

Ward Christmas Party
Brayden's First Santa Pic

Natalie and Santa

Posing with Daddy and gifts from Santa
Mary and Joseph on their donkeys
Our Nativity

Christmas Morning in their matching pajamas

UPDATES!!! Hurray!

2007-12-12T02:15:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have had a few people comment on my lack of a blog. Sorry to keep you in suspence. I hope this first entry lives up to the dreams of so many.....

During the month of October we enjoyed many trips to the Cincinnati Zoo's Hallzooween. To the left is a picture of Brayden in his Racer outfit.

As many might know, we are a one car family. Usually I would drive Jeremy into work and then take the kids to the zoo. But we have been blessed with the Erwins moving into our ward. Heather has a huge car that can fit 9, and I have a pass to the zoo that can get us all in. Needless to say we have made many trips to the zoo.

We also had the opportunity of watching Ellie Egnew for a few days while her Mommy and Daddy were at the Hospital with her new baby sister Madeline. The Egnews are the greatest! We love having game nights with them and Liz is very instrumental in helping me keep our "midweek" or playgroup going.

I actually should be getting to bed since we are having our Midweek Christmas Party here tomorrow! Hopefully I will get caught up with our activities in November and such. I should be getting christmas letters out...but lets not get too excited about this burst of activity! I'll end this entry with more cute pictures of the kids during October.

Natalie(green wings) eating icecream at Hall-Zoo-ween with her Freinds John and Alexis Erwin(Pirate and Mermaid) and Ellie Egnew.

Natalie eating her icecream.

Caleb is another of Natalie's friends. I thought this picture was too cute! His mom Kauti(great friend!)still lets him have his pacifier and he just happened to get two in!!

Brayden in his Daniel Boone outfit riding his pony! He is ready to go carve pumkins at our friends Chris and Jessica Wells Halloween party.

Natalie in her Cowgirl outfit ready for the party. Both outfits are actually from Gymboree(I am an addict!) but I thought they worked great as easy costumes!

Introducing the McRoberts

2007-09-06T00:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I am on facebook and have another website with messenger. but this seems to be the place! We will be keeping updates of our family happenings, and hope that it helps let our friends and family keep in touch. Hope you enjoy!