A Few Odd's and End's

ALL of the boys out shoveling poop! Why?...

The culprits. This whole week we have been dog sitting.

3 big dogs in 1 back yard = a TON of POOP!

Talmage's dream come true.


The first day on the lake with family. It was a great day!

Talmage and his dad on the boat. Oh happy day!

Caleb cruising around in his jeep. He's got this down to a science.

He calls it his "broom broom"

Father's Day

For Father's Day I wanted to surprise Tal with pictures of the kids. He has had 16" X 20" frames sitting in his office for months. So, we had a day of picture taking. And yes, it took a lot of the day. Caleb was ... well a 3 year old. Out of probably 100 pictures there was only 1 with him looking at the camera and sort of smiling. Good thing he's cute.
Tal loved his Father's Day gift! We blind folded him and each of the kids held up their picture in front of their heads. They all looked like bobble heads with these little bodies. It was fun!

Scout Camp

The second week of June, Braden headed out to scout camp with his dad the Scout Master. I don't know how I didn't get a picture of the two of them together. I will fix that. Tal looks so cute in his scout outfit... complete with a cool hat that makes him look really official.
Braden had a great time with his buddies and earned 5 merit badges! Apparently, Braden rocked the shot gun merit badge. Talmage said he obliterated the clay pigeons. It was a proud moment for the Papa!

A Few Highlights of the Past Few Months...

Finally I am getting back to blogging! I had some computer frustrations and I just was not feeling well. Thankfully, I am over the "sick" part of being pregnant and am semi functional again. I have missed A LOT (ugh) , but here are a few highlights of what we have been up to.

We've been singing, "All I want for my birthday are my two front teeth!

When the Tooth Fairy came on the second tooth, she said she felt the little fairy going underneath her pillow and she didn't dare open her eyes because she didn't want to "break the promise" Phew!

Collin getting his Webelos! A very exciting moment.

Caleb's 3rd birthday. He LOVES trains and could hardly keep his hands off of his cake.

We had fun celebrating!

Caleb at age 3:

* LOVES trains

* LOVES milk and his blankey

* Has his own cute language.... Braden = "Brae", Collin = "Daw" (we have no idea),

Lila = "Lellow", Grandma and Grandpa = "Jamma and Jampa" Funny!

* Is an escape artist... we are CONSTANTLY asking ourselves, "Where's Caleb?"

* Loves books

* Always wants to be outside playing

* Cracks us all up by the funny things he does

* So lovable and happy!

Braden started Lacrosse this year. He really enjoyed it and played awesome!




A sweet picture with Great Grandma



Baby Animal Days. Caleb was begging to take a bunny home... it was tempting, but we thought Charlie (our dog) might think it was a stuffed animal... which he tears to shreds!

We had a hole dug to put an in-ground tampoline in. We had a huge pile of dirt and Caleb was in HEAVEN digging with his shovel. (I promise he started out with clothes on)

This is our second year of walking the Race For the Cure. I love it! It is amazing to be there and be a part of something so big. There are so many brave people in the world.

Braden and Collin built this snow cave all by themselves and were SO anxious to sleep in it. I was a nervous wreck all night... You can see they had a terrible time.

St. Lucia

For our 15 year anniversary we celebrated in St. Lucia. It was beautiful! We stayed at the Sandals resort - which was great. Everything was included and created a totally stress-free vacation. We had lots of fun exploring and relaxing by the pool.

Standing in front of the Gros Piton.

This mango literally fell from the tree right into our room which had an open wall to the outside. Talmage was in HEAVEN. It has always been a dream of his to eat a mango fresh off the tree.

Diamond Waterfall. The water changes colors throughout the day depending on what mineral is in the water.


Yummy Dinner!

A Baby Miracle

We are expecting our 5th baby! Without going into all the details, let me just say that it was nothing short of a miracle. We are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of this little person that is due sometime the end of September. That sounds so far away, but hopefully with a busy up-coming summer these months will melt away.... At least I would LOVE for the next 4 weeks to disappear so I can stop feeling so gross. It's crazy to me that something so small - like the size of a kidney bean - can make me feel so miserable. No appetite, yet starving. On the verge of hugging the toilet all day. Completely exhausted as if I had just ran a marathon. Bionic senses that prove to my destruction.... However, despite all of the grossness, I feel truly blessed.

On Valentine's Day we finally told our children. I put the letter's "B A B Y" in 4 balloons. I told the kids that we had one more Valentine's Day surprise, but they had to unscramble the letters to figure it out. Each child got a balloon to pop and then once they had all the letters, they went to work. It didn't take them long. It was a fun way to share the news with them and they were all really excited. Especially Lila. She is begging for the baby to be in her room with her.

My computer is taking on a mind of it's own and it is driving me crazy! It is doing things so weird and not posting the way it normally does so I can't figure out how to get the text by the picture that I want to talk about! Anyway..... Here are a few pictures of some of the fun things that we have been up to. Crazy bubble baths. A day of ski lessons for the kids. Talmage took the older ones up and little Caleb and I went to meet them for lunch. It was a beautiful day and my heart was bursting to see them on the slopes. This was Lila's first time and she did amazing! We had a fun Book Group with lots of good company and food:). Caleb figured out how to climb out of his crib. It was a sad day for me, so we got him a Thomas the Tank bed because he LOVES and I mean LOVES trains. He is making a nice transition afterall. Phew!