July

We spent the 4th of July in Delta this year! We had a great time swimming in the kiddie pool outside, going on the 4-wheeler, and seeing the parade. In the park afterwards, Devin and Erin participated in the fish catch. They got to catch a fish with their hands! Colin was not interested at all. I don't blame him

Devin turned 6 this Year! I can't believe he's 6 already! We had a great low key family party. He is a sweet boy! We love you Devin.

John's work put on a great Summer party in preview of the new Harry Potter movie. We got t-shirts, and we got to make potions, be sorted into houses with the sorting hat, see cool reptiles, and dress up in Harry Potter costumes. We even got cool treats for the movie like chocolate frogs, pumpkin juice, and Butter Beer! Then we took the kids to a friend's house while we went to a 3d preview showing of the movie. It was a ton of fun!

In the middle of July we went to a really fun Family reunion with my Mom's family. They had lunch, a water slide, and some fun games to play. Thanks to Mandy, Stacy, and Valerie for putting it on.

In July Sean was 7 months old. He loves to play with toys and with his brothers and sister. up until this point he was generally staying in the same spot, but in July he really started to roll around! He could get all the way across the room eventually as he moved from one toy to another rolling along as he went.

My birthday was in July too. I'm now 32 and John treated me to dinner and a banana cream pie!

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June

In June we were busy with Soccer! (It started in May) Devin loves to play Soccer! And this year John surprised us all by volunteering to be his coach! I think they both really enjoyed it! At least it made us be on time to every game!

John ran his half marathon in June too. His goal was to run it in less than 2 hours. and he did just that! he ran it in 1 hour 50 minutes! Way to go John!

At 6 months old (in June), Sean is getting big. he sits up really well and is a fun little boy!

He's even starting to grab onto the swing! It's time to pack away all the little baby toys!

We also took the kids swimming at a new pool in our area. It was Sean's first time, and he loved it. There was no water shyness at all!

At the end of the month, Erin got her red belt 2nd degree, and John got his Brown belts. I think we're well protected at our house!

April/May

Well, There's more for April. Erin entered a couple of art pieces in a contest (like reflections) at school. She won an Honorable mention on her tiger picture!

Erin and John had a Daddy Daughter date in April too. They dressed up fun and had a great time playing games and dancing.

In early May, I took the two little boys and went on Devin's field trip to the Hogle Zoo. There were so many parents there, that we got Devin to ourselves! It was a lot of fun. I just wished Erin and John could be there. Maybe another time.

Sean touching his toes! (May, 5 Months old)

Also in May, John took a weekend trip down to Bryce Canyon and Cedar City with a couple of his Mission Companions and College friends, Duane and Chad. They had a great trip reminiscing and visiting with friends.

May was the ending of the school year too, so Erin and Devin both had school programs. Erin's was all about patriotism.

Devin's was all about animals. I made his costume out of a black sweater and sweats he had, and some scrap materials. He did a great job learning about his animal and singing the songs with the group.

For Memorial weekend, we went up to Park City with Mom and Dad. We stayed at their condo and even though it was cool, they all went swimming. We also went to the Olympic park. Mom and I went on a tour while John, Dad and the kids went on the alpine slide and zip lines. It was an adventurous day!

And, Yes it snowed while we were there!

I'm Back!

I think it's about time I posted. It's been a while, so I'm going to do a quick overview of what we've been up to. So much has happened that I think I'll split it up over a few different blogs, so it doesn't seem so daunting.

My Brother Richard took his sweetheart, Callie to the temple on April 6th. It was a great day! My brother Ryan and sister Monica were both able to fly in to Salt Lake for it! I'm so happy they chose to go through the temple! In the picture L-R: Monica, My Dad, Tasha and Roger (behind), Callie and Richard (front), Ryan, Mom, Mindy, and Me and John.

Also in April, Erin did a science project at her school. We started working on it in February. She observed our chickens, and the change in weather to see if the warming weather had a affect on the number of eggs our chickens produced. Turns out it does, but that's not the best part. She won a first place ribbon at her school, and was told she should submit it for the School District as well. It turns out that she got a first place ribbon there as well! We are so proud of her! It was a lot of work, and frustration, but she hung in there! Great job Erin!

For Easter this year, we went to Delta to stay with Mom and Dad. We had a great Easter with Four-wheeling, hunting for eggs, coloring eggs, eating good food, and playing games. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time.

March

March Has been pretty good! Sean has been so much happier lately (though he's come down with a cold and isn't sleeping well at night). He's talking and smiling and interacting so well!

He's also holding things and playing with toys. Here he had a little help from his brothers. I am not a bad mother who lets her baby play with knives. I'm the one who says "You'll poke your eye out" and here he is, poking his eye out! Thanks a lot boys! :-)

March 14th, was John's birthday. I surprised him with a shrimp boil. He loves shrimp, and I don't like sea food at all, so it was a huge deal at our house. The best part about a shrimp boil is pouring the food on the table,and eating with your hands.

Happy birthday John! We love you.

Then on the 17th (St. Patrick's Day) John ran a 5K with his friend Shane. They're training for a 1/2 marathon in June. I think they're crazy, but he's loving it! All the more power to you. You go Honey!

Oh, I just remembered that I was going to post his 3 month pictures, so here they are. He's so much happier lately that it was easy to get a few good ones.

February

February has been busy. I had these cute pictures of Sean taken at about 6 weeks old
Erin turned 9 on February 7th, so on the Friday before, she had her birthday party. It was a late night party where they watched The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. We provided snacks and treats, started the movie, braked for cake and presents, and then sent the girls home. It was fun, (It was easy!) and the girls loved it. I made this really cute birthday cake. On Sunday the 6th, (My sister's birthday), We had Sean's baby blessing. We had a lot of friends and family come. Thanks to all who could. My mom made his cute outfit. He also had the sweater and blanket that John was Christened in 37 years ago. His Grandma made them. That was really special to us.

Sean is such a sweet little baby and we love him a ton, but he has been very difficult. He had a hard time gaining weight! It took him 2 months to be back to his birth weight of 9lbs, 15oz. He went as low as 8 lbs 9oz at one point. It's not because we haven't tried either. I nursed him faithfully with very little supplementing at first. Then as he kept losing, and/or not gaining quickly enough, I supplemented more. The more I supplemented, the fussier he got. I tried everything I could to continue nursing him: Waking him continually, Pumping after, Pumping during, compressions to keep him sucking. Nothing worked. I didn't produce very filling milk in the first place, and on top of that, he was a lazy little nurser. We just got to a point where nursing was just more frustrating than rewarding, and then we called it quits. Now Sean has 8, 6oz bottles each day and has chunked up big time. He's now about 11 1/2 lbs. (according to my not very accurate scale). The biggest thing we've noticed about him though is that he's happy, and that makes us all very happy. After nursing 3 kids very successfully for until they were each 1 year old, I now have a formula fed baby. It's completely new territory for me, but in a way it's a little liberating. Thank heaven for formula.

I just had his 3 month old picture taken today. When I get them, I'll post them asap.