SWANSON'S LINE UP

Another Milestone

2012-01-13T23:23:00.000-08:00

After much anticipation, Haylee took and passed her driver's test. We enrolled her in Driver's Education and it was the best decision. She was a quick study and on April 4th, she took her right of passage into the driving world. We then had to head to the dreaded DMV to make it legal. Doesn't she look so thrilled with me taking her picture? I love embarrassing her!

Smile for the camera Haylee, you need a cute pic on your license.
Yes, she is blind, and has to wear "correctional lenses" according to her license.
Posing in front of the DMV with her new license. I was actually trying to stall because Aaron and I wanted to surprise her with the truck we bought for her to drive. I had it parked in the lot and I walked her over to a cute little blue Ford Ranger and handed her the key.

Her smile, trying not to look too surprised at the truck.

Posing at home, love how her sweatshirt matches the truck.Watch out world, Haylee is on the road!!

Family Alaska Trip

2012-01-13T22:39:00.001-08:00

Every few years, we try to take the family on a week long trip through our amazing state. There is just so much to do and ground to cover, that a week isn't nearly enough time, but we do all we can to get as much adventure in as possible. We talked the Hansen family into coming with us this time and had a blast. I'm horrible about taking pictures on the road, but luckily Becky is great at it, so most of these are hers. Our first big stop, other than Costco in Anchorage, was at the pipeline. It really is massive.

We were really hoping for the great Alaskan sun on this trip as we headed north to Fairbanks where most summer temps are in the 80's, but wouldn't you know we picked the wettest summer on record! The rain chased us the ENTIRE trip, but we still had a great time. We had to stop in Denali, where the rain actually let up enough for us to have a great day at the visitor center and enough time to enjoy a hike.

Next stop was in North Pole, and when in North Pole, you have to go visit Santa.

By far the sunniest, and therefore best place was at Chena Lake campground. We have stayed here before and had the best time, so we were so happy to get some good weather at this great campground. We rode bikes, played at the playground, fished, and played in the lake.

The dogs even enjoyed some entertainment from some tormenting squirrels.

The last place we camped was in Talkeetna, somewhere we have never been. The weather was great here too, and we enjoyed more bike riding and campfire time.

We had to stop at one of the local landmarks for lunch where Aaron and the kids took on the "Seward's Folly" burger. This monster consists of 2 half pound reindeer patties, 12 slices of cheese, 12 pieces of bacon, 3 pieces of bread, and a pound of ham!!

Aaron is all smiles before he digs in...

I love the look of disgust that Chloee is giving her dad. Notice this is only HALF of the burger...

Aaron had to throw in the towel half way through. This thing could have fed our entire family I am sure! We had the best trip with the kids and are so grateful to live in such an amazing place. We are hoping to go again next summer!!

Crusin

2012-01-13T20:38:00.000-08:00

Aaron and I decided to take a Caribbean cruise way back in March. It was amazing and we had the best time together in the sun. As always, we ate too much, got too much sun, and made some awesome memories with our Hansen buddies.

Leaving Orlando, cruising in style on our very own deck off the stern. These cruise ships really are incredible, with endless things to do and eat. We had a blast dressing up for the fancy dinners and watching the wait staff do their nightly performances...

those waiters can really shake it! So funny. Speaking of dancing, Aaron was called up to show his break dancing skills during a floor show one night. He was such a good sport, as he HATES being in front of people and HATES dancing even more. Aaron doing the wave...

hanging with our new home boys. So fun!

One of our most favorite things to do at night was to sip hot cocoa out on the open deck and watch a movie on the big screen under the stars. It was so relaxing to hear the open sea, feel the warm breeze, and just relax and laugh for hours.

I can't remember all the ports we stopped at, but the Cayman Islands was one of our first stops. The snorkeling and sun was awesome.

I am getting more brave about swimming in the ocean and actually enjoyed the snorkeling, until Becky got stung by a jellyfish, and I got a little zap myself. Those suckers hurt! This star fish was so cool, thankfully our guide dove down to bring it up for me.

Our other most memorable stop was in Belize. We decided to take a rather long and stressful (the driver went about 80 mph and texted the entire time) bus ride to the Lamani ruins. After an awesome boat ride up the river, we were able to see some great ruins.

We hiked up this incredibly steep pyramid in very high temperatures. Needless to say, we were soaked at the end of the day. That's me in the black shorts half way up. Aaron is of course in the lead, but only after he got a nose full of Miles' back end. Another funny story...

We made it to the top! Awesome views from here.

Aaron and I are always grateful to be able to get time together and this was a trip we will never forget.

Jaron's Summer Fun!

2011-11-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

Summer officially starts for Jaron when he can get in the lake. He braved his first dip in late May, on a beautiful, sunny day. It took him a while to get in and he never actually swam, but he got wet and that's what he loves to do!

Jaron also LOVES cub scouts! He was able to go to day camp this year and learn how to shoot a bow and arrow and a bebe gun. He is a big kid which really helped him to be able to handle the bow.

He took right to it and hit almost every target. Guess we need to look into getting him his own bow. Maybe Ill put him in charge of hunting all the pesky wild rabbits that love to eat my garden!

Jaron and the Kelly Cup!

2011-11-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

We have lots of good connections with Grandma Lynn and Uncle Brian who plays for the Alaska Aces hockey team. They won the Kelly Cup this year and Grandma was able to take Jaron on a very special flight with the Kelly Cup. He loved it!

It's not often that the kids get to do neat things by themselves, but Jaron had a blast with his Grandma Lynn on this memorable trip!

Easter!

2011-11-29T17:09:00.001-08:00

Life gets crazier as our kids get older and this is the only Easter picture I got...on the way into church. I was proud that the little girls had matching dresses at least!

Dance Dance!

2011-11-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...it's been forever to say the least since my last post. So much has happened since then I don't even know where to begin, but I am trying to get caught up before this year is over. So we go back to late May, for Brady, Jolee and Chloee's first dance recital. I don't have any pictures from the actual recital, but here they are all dolled up in their performance outfits.

They all did a great job at the show and have found what they love to do!

Darcy Did What With a Stingray??

2011-04-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to be able to go on a week long Caribbean cruise in March for Miles' and Becky's 10 year anniversary. Weird? We didn't think so, any excuse works to go on a cruise. We had a great time in the glorious sun. The definite highlight of the trip for me was swimming with Stingrays in Grand Cayman. It is a well known fact that I am kind of a wuss when it comes to water adventures, especially when animals are involved. No one thought I was going to do this excursion, but I proved them all wrong!!

Yep, that's me holding a big ol' stingray!! The water was absolutely amazing, incredibly clear and warm. That made it easier for me to see the stingrays around me, which made me less nervous. I quickly realized that the fish would only come around if you had bait, and I found myself wanting to touch them long after the bait was gone.

Our guides did the customary "Stingray Massage", which was really cool, but kind of freaky. The stingrays actually reminded me a lot of halibut, and I used to play with halibut guts when I was a kid, so the stingrays were no big deal. I will admit though, that I screamed like a girl when Mario, our guide, put that slimy fish on my unsuspecting back.

Yep, that's me kissing a stingray. She loves me. I learned that the large ones are females and the small ones I thought were babies were actually the males.

Okay, I can't resist putting this in. Becky, you are such a wimp!

Happy Love Day

2011-04-07T21:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Heart's Day!! In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to have the family make their own heart shaped pizzas and for dinner. Nothing promotes family love and harmony like making a mess in the kitchen!

The younger kids really got into it. I don't remember where the two teenagers were in the process. Aaron channeled his old pizza boy days and cut all the dough into hearts.

Jaron's pepperoni man turned out so cute. Notice how their smiles match.

Chloee's ginormous pizza was just enough to satisfy her appetite...I swear she can out-eat us all!

Don't look now, but Haylee is showin some love to her baby sister. Haylee really loves her Jolee (they sleep together almost every night). We made mini fruit pizzas for desert and they were awesome! This was Chloee's orange man pizza.

Daddy, ever the jokester is posing with his pizza. That's a face only his mother and wife could love! We are so blessed to have so much love in our lives and try to remember that's what life is all about!

Birthday Girl

2011-04-07T21:11:00.001-07:00

I have finally started blogging again...and we are starting off with Chloee's 7th birthday celebrations! She began her big day with a special pancake breakfast (a standard Saturday special around here). Jolee and Jaron were happy to serenade Chloee with their rendition of "Happy Birthday" and the wish was made and candle blown out.

Chloee had a few of her besties over to play for the afternoon, and as always, these crazy girls had a blast together.

We finished off the night at the Hansen's for a Super Bowl/birthday party. Chloee's birthday falls on Super Bowl weekend every year, a plus for us because someone is always throwing a party and we are happy to lump Chloee's birthday in there somewhere.

Haylee was kind enough to make Chloee her pink diva cake. Make a wish big girl!

Her favorite present was a pig pillow pet.

Chloee keeps our household full of energy and mayhem, but we love her for it. Her life currently centers around her friends, little sisters, dance, and moving constantly. She has a passion for life and is a great student. She is on the cusp of not being a little kid anymore, and we look forward to what the next few years will bring for Chloee!

Christmas 2010

2011-02-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2010! What a great Christmas it was for our family. We started out with what is now an annual tradition of going to a local church's live nativity. It's worth braving the freezing temperatures and is really well done. Maycee had a blast, can't you tell?

There were lots of fun animals to pet like an alpaca, chickens, rabbits, and of course, the donkey.

We enjoyed having all the family down again and are so glad that both sides of our family love each other. Christmas seems to get more fun every year as the kids get older and the little cousins are really enjoying playing together. Jolee and Abbi are always inseparable, Maycee and Kenny are trying to be the big girls too, and Chloee is the ring leader of them all. Thanks again to Grandma Lynn for matching ballerina jammies, they are too cute.

The girls were loving their adoring audience as they put on their talent show of dancing and making a conga line.

Grandpa Ron shared his talent with us as he played "Silent Night" on the family piano. This was an extremely rare event, and we look forward to more caroling Grandpa! Now on to the presents...we were all spoiled again this year, but Grandma Pauline's favorite gift was a $3 dashboard Chihuahua that looks like her Beau. Oh man...

Jaron got lots of gifts from our trip to Hawaii, but his favorite was this Tiki mask.

Brady's big gift was a nice set of drums. He has great rhythm and we look forward to him developing his sweet beats.

It's the little things in life that bring happiness, and this year it was a can of SPAM for Chloee. This girl LOVES SPAM!

Nothing makes Maycee happier than her bottle...

knock yourself out little girl!

Another amazing year has come and gone and we continue to enjoy the blessings of family, friends, health and happiness.

Big Girl Walkin'

2011-02-11T12:16:00.001-08:00

It's official, my baby is a big girl. It's always fun when your baby learns to walk and Maycee did at 15 months. She is all over the place now and really into climbing things. One of the first places she ventured to was our wooden staircase. She loves a good challenge, and while I was nervous at first, she has mastered the art of going up and sliding down on her booty.

Going up...

Such a proud, big girl...

She loves to play peek a boo through the railing, she would do it all day if I let her.

She loves to play peek a boo with her hands too...Where's Maycee?

There she is!!!

She is mastering the art of running, well the toddler version of running anyway.

She is so stinking cute, we can't help but eat her up. She has all 7 of us wrapped around her finger. She is starting to mimic sounds she hears and responds to requests like "go get your shoes", and "are you hungry". She says Mom and Dad quite well and Haylee just loves it when Maycee calls her Mom. She is also getting quite sassy and has a strong, but sweet personality.

She and Bruno are buddies, and is always looking for the opportunity to head out into the big world. We really enjoy her and are so happy to have her in our family.

Birthday Girl Again

2011-01-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

These pic were too cute not to post so we are visiting Maycee's first year-second birthday party. Because this is our last first birthday party until grandkids, we decided to have two parties for Maycee. She got a princess cake from Costco and enjoyed every bit of her slice. We were able to have all the family down for the party and it was fun watching all the kids spoil Maycee on her big day.

Our past kids have had a hard time really getting into their cakes, but Maycee was all about it. It was so fun to watch her experience so much sugar at once.

The aftermath and time for a bath in the kitchen sink!

I think the bath was Maycee's favorite part of the party. She didn't care that her bow was getting soaked, she loves water!

"Help me, I'm drowning!"

We love Maycee so much and are really enjoying the little girl she is becoming!

Happy Halloween!

2011-01-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know Christmas is over, but I need to cram in as many post as I can for my year in review blog book, so Happy Halloween! Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, our festive activities were kept to a minimum and I didn't even get my professional portrait done this year (I have had them taken every year for since Brady was 3!) I was bummed about the picture, but we took the kids to a party at the Hansens and the kids had a great time. They bobbed for apples...

played the donut on a string game...

took some whacks at a pinata...

and ate lots of candy of course. For historical preservation, Haylee was a grumpy teenager this year, Brady was a nerd, Jaron was Napoleon Dynamite, Chloee was the Little Mermaid, Jolee was a unicorn, and Maycee was a kitty.

Sweet 16

2010-12-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that my first born is 16 already. People tell me all the time that I don't look old enough to have 6 kids or a 16 year old, nevertheless, I am. I really wanted to make Haylee's sweet 16 memorable for her so I decided to throw her a surprise party. With some stealth help from my friends and her friends, I was able to pull it off. Haylee's birthday happened to fall on a weekend that we had to be in Anchorage for her last volleyball games. I threw her off the scent by saying that we would have a friend party for her the following weekend and just do a simple family lunch in Anchorage after her games. Her teammates were sweet and sang to her on the court after their game and I made sure they decked her out in balloons and a special crown. It was great.

I took her to Nordstroms to get her makeup done, knowing that she would be going home to a house full of her friends and I didn't want her all sweaty and gross for her party. After being beautified and getting her new makeup and an outfit for her birthday present from Aaron and I, we headed to lunch with Auntie, Grandma and Papa. So fun, and yummy seafood lunch at Charlies. Then we headed home, with my heart pounding and nerves rattled all the way home. Texting Aaron was the only way he new we were almost home and he and Becky had a great time entertaining a house full of teenagers while they waited for Haylee. Everyone was in the basement, so I had to devise a plan for Haylee to go down to the basement, something she would never do after 3 hours in the car. I told her that Dad was down watching a movie and to go get him to help unload all the Costco stuff. She didn't think much of it, but threw me for a curveball when she went to the bathroom first. Haylee's friend, Mariah was in on the surprise and came home with us, so I had her take Maycee down to the basement so she could be in on the surprise too. Hello!!! Dumb me not even thinking about it, but the next thing I know "SURPRISE" is being screamed in the basement at the wrong girl! I was sure Haylee heard and the surprise was ruined, but luckily our house is huge and she didn't hear it from the bathroom. So after a false start, Haylee went to the basement and....SURPRISE!!

She was really surprised and happy to see so many of her friends. On to the games...

Yes, this one was interesting. The kids had to pass a key that was tied to a very long string through their clothes to one another. They loved it and it was pretty funny for us to watch. After games, it was cake time. Becky, Angela, and Emily made Haylee's cake and it turned out amazing. Haylee loved it.

Present time...

They finished the night with a scary movie in the theater, notice Brandy and Dagen covering their faces, so funny!!

We are so grateful to have such an amazing daughter and know that she will do awesome things with her life. We are so proud of who she is and what she stands for and look forward to her future...especially driving!

Kidless in Hawaii

2010-12-06T17:28:00.001-08:00

Wow, where to begin. So much has happened since I last posted, but I will catch up on all that later. Aaron and I just returned from an amazing trip to Oahu...without kids!! We decided that the kids have been to Hawaii 3 times, and each time it gets more expensive, namely because we have more kids. Anyway, my parents graciously agreed to watch the kids for 9 blissful days and we made the most of our time in paradise! We stayed on one of the best beaches on the island, Kailua Beach is a 3 mile white sand beach that was literally out our back door. It was incredible. We started the week with some sight seeing...

This was at the top of the Pali lookout, which we drove by almost every day. It happened to be very windy (notice my hair) and somewhat overcast the day we made it to the lookout, but we had a great view of our side of the island. Yes, it's our island now...

No trip would be complete without finding something for Aaron to climb in flip flops. On Wednesday, we headed to the newly renovated Laie Temple which had just been rededicated the day we landed. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to see the Prophet and dedication celebration, but all the local members talked about how amazing it was. All temples are beautiful, but the island setting makes the Laie Temple special and I wouldn't mind if one of our kids gets married there someday.

Just down the road from the temple is the Polynesian Cultural Center and it was AWESOME!! This is a must do if you are in Oahu and we had an amazing all day experience here including the luau and watching the night show "Ha, Breath of Life".

Aaron showing his aggressive side with the Tiki Man at the luau.

The next day we were up for some hiking, so we headed to Manoa Falls and this is an overlook spot along the way.

Aaron posing next to a ginormous tree at the beginning of the falls hike.

Striking a pose under a bamboo and tree root arch along the trail.

The falls were neat, but somewhat anticlimactic. When you live in a place like Alaska, scenery is all relative to the beauty we see everyday. Hawaii's temperatures are better though, I will admit.

This is our Kailua Beach at sunrise. Isn't it amazing? We would wake up to this everyday, well Aaron would while I slept in, and then we would go for a run on the beach...barefoot and all. Not a bad way to workout! We really didn't bother going to any other beaches to play because Kailua was so incredible and convenient for us.

For any that know me, these next pics will be shocking!! Yes, that's me in the water. While I don't mind going in the water, I will only go in warm water and Hawaii's is at the colder end of what I will tolerate. I also have a very vivid imagination and have a hard time enjoying the ocean when all those sea monsters are out to get me. Fortunately, our beach was very shallow and the water was amazingly clear, free of seaweed, coral, and monsters. Aaron really wanted me to play in the water with him, so I sucked it up and took the plunge.

This is how I looked most of the time while I was in the water, trying to keep my face above the gross salt water. Aaron on the other hand, did plenty of body surfing for the both of us. I may be a new woman when it comes to water, but I still will not be going in our lake at home any time soon...too cold and you can't see the bottom where the lake monsters live.

Aaron loves the water, but I love hiking, so hiking Diamond Head was a must on my to do list.

The view from where the gunners used to perch during WWII was pretty cool.

Again, it was another really windy day, so my hair wasn't cooperating for this picture, but all the sweat held the flyaways out of my face.

We had to do a day on the North Shore to see what all the hype was about. We stopped to check out lots of beaches along the North Shore, but none could compare to Kailua, so we didn't play much at them.

We did stop to watch some surfers hang 10, but the surf wasn't anything like the big stuff you see on the movies.

Checking out some snorkelers...watching tourists provides it's own entertainment.

Another must do on my list was to eat at a shrimp truck, namely Giovanni's which is supposed to be the best on the island. While it doesn't look very sanitary, yes that is grease running down the side of the truck, the shrimp was fresh out of the ocean and amazing, even though the garlic kept Aaron away for almost 2 days.

No vacation would be complete without eating way too much good food. Besides the shrimp shack, we ate at a local's joint in Laie called the Hukilau Cafe...so good! We also ate very well at the luau, an incredible bakery on the North Shore where I got the best avocado sandwich I have ever had. We also went to Mauii Tacos, Fatboys, Pinky's, and even the Sizzler (it was by our house and open late). We ate at Kimo's and Boots for breakfast twice because they have world famous banana pancakes with macadamia syrup. Aaron is barely humoring me while I take his picture of his omelet...don't mess with him when he is hungry.

I will admit I licked the plate clean with these pancakes...to die for!

We had an amazing time together and enjoyed the freedom to do anything we wanted. We wouldn't change our lives for anything in this world, but it is nice to be able to escape the daily grind every once in a while and remind yourself how much you love your spouse. Aaron and I went to 5 movies in 9 days, shopped until we dropped at the swap meet, braved the Honolulu mall, ran on the beach, and crammed as much as we could in the time we had. I am so grateful that after 16 years together, we still want to spend time with each other! Love you babe, and Aloha!!

The Birthday Girl Party #1

2010-10-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Maycee turned the Big One on 9-29-10! Since her special day happened to fall on a very busy Wednesday, we decided to save the big party for the weekend and squeeze in a quick celebration at the Hansen's between activities. We started with a photo shoot in her new birthday outfit. She will probably give me a lot of grief over this to die for tutu in 15 years, but for now, she looked amazing on her big day.

Maycee loves to walk, but for now she still needs help. We took a stroll out to the porch for a picture in Logan's rocking chair.

She loved rocking all by herself until....

...she had enough of the picture taking. So far, Maycee's personality has been quite pleasant, but she definitely knows what she wants and is getting more expressive in her opinions. We decided to go all out and let her feed herself a gourmet birthday dinner of spaghetti. So I carefully stripped her down to her diaper and we all enjoyed watching her dig in. She didn't go crazy, mind you...she is a little lady. She just used 2 fingers to grab the noodles and that worked quite well for her.

"Man this eating stuff is hard work, I need to take a break!" After dinner, it was cupcake and pink #1 candle blowing time. She loved everyone singing to her, but didn't quite know what to do about the fire in front of her face. Her siblings quickly took care of the the fire issue and it was on to digging in to the gooey goodness.

"Hmmm, this looks interesting." "Yep it's good."

"Let's see if I can get the whole thing in my mouth!" "Don't worry, Mom only had to prevent me from choking once."

After Maycee couldn't eat another bite, I had to run to a pack meeting, so Becky bathed the very dirty babies in the sink. Could they be any cuter?

Happy Birthday big girl, we love you!!

A Blessed Year

2010-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

The week leading leading up to Maycee's birthday was quite a nostalgic time for Aaron and I. We kept thinking about were we were a year ago..."Oh, I think I'm having contractions 3 weeks early, oh well." "Hmmm, that lesson in relief society about learning to receive service was a good one. I need to be better about that." "I think I need to go to the hospital." "Yep, in labor and having this baby 3 weeks early, yay!" "A 7.9 pounder, she would have been huge at full term!" "I don't like the way she is breathing...she is really struggling." "Please let her be okay." "You are taking her to the NICU in Anchorage? On a plane??" "We need to get a blessing for her." "Please, Heavenly Father, let her be okay."

The next 16 days proved to be the most trying of our lives to this point. Aaron and I grew closer to each other and the Lord more quickly than ever before, but that is what trials do; they bring clarity to what matters most. We continue to be grateful for each day with have with all of our children and even more grateful that we have the knowledge that they are ours forever. We thank God every day that Maycee is a healthy, sweet, and happy 1 year old and cherish those simple moments that we used to take for granted.

Happy birthday Maycee Faith! We are so glad you are ours.

The Big 34...best one yet!

2010-09-30T21:24:00.001-07:00

I have to say that my amazing husband makes aging a pleasure. Every year he surprises me with some wonderful time for my birthday, and while I knew something was coming, I didn't know what he had up his sleeve. Thanks to the help of the grandmas and Grandpa Ron, Aaron took me for a weekend in Anchorage. Miles and Becky tagged along for the day and we had a blast eating great food and shopping at the mall. At day's end, Aaron surprised me again with a night at the Alyeska Hotel in Girdwood. While I have been there many times, I have never actually stayed in the hotel. It was awesome. We literally traveled through the clouds (fog) to the top of the mountain to enjoy the best food of my life at the 7 Glaciers restaurant. This was after we got an unforgettable couples massage (I was sore for 3 days and Aaron had bruises!)

These pictures were taken from my phone in the dark, so they don't do the views justice. The beauty was incredible and very romantic. I just have to say that my birthday dinner won't be topped for a very long time. We had 5 courses of very fancy and incredible food, the type you see on Food Network! I wanted to take a picture of every course, but when the waiter would bring the next course out, I completely forgot to take a picture and dove in. I did use some restraint and took a picture of my amazing "baked Alyeska" dessert. It was incredible...yes that chocolate ribbon says happy birthday on it. Wow

That weekend was unforgettable, and I am proud to say that I am a spoiled girl. Thank you, my sweet hubby!!

For my actual b-day, we had a last hooray on the lake and had the Massey's, Pond's, Hansen's, Williams, and Richards over for a barbecue and lake fun. Keep in mind, this was September 20th, very much fall in Alaska (notice the yellow leaves). Yes, we are crazy, but you can do anything in a wet suit, right?

Me, blowing out my fancy birthday candle! Thanks Becky for my yummy poppy seed cake!

Here is a view of the back of the house with the landscaping project of the summer. Those concrete walls will be covered in slate for next summer's project and then I can plant to my heart's content. Notice the wide variety of beach toys cluttering the beach? Yes, I'm pretty sure the neighbors think we are crazy.

Here is Aaron catching some air. It thrills me to no end to see Aaron playing like a kid and reaping the rewards of all his hard work.

Aaron and Shayne tearing it up.

Maycee chillin' on the beach. Doesn't she look like she is having a blast?! Logan tries to get her to smile, but she is a tough nut to crack.

I did plenty of smiling on my birthday, and when it was time to take the big kids on the lake, I laughed so hard, I almost wet my pants. I do not like cold water...at all...so my official job is driver of the boat. I love this job. This was the first time towing 4 tubers, but Brian, Jeff, Aaron, and Becky provided me with lots of laughs. Ready guys?

Aaron is pretending to be bored because I was taking it easy on them at first. Okay, honey, you asked for it!!

Hold on Becky!!!

Brian, you are supposed to ride on the water, not Jeff's back!

Becky, you're going in!!
"I've fallen and I can't get up!!" I really did have a memorable 34th birthday, and am so blessed to have such amazing family and friends that make me feel so special.

Seward Trip

2010-09-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

We took our annual trip to Seward for Labor Day this year to celebrate Grandma Pauline's birthday and get one more camping trip in for the year. As always, we had a great time despite the fact that the silvers were not in. We got a quick trip up part of Mt. Marathon, biked all around town, went to the Sea Life center, and had lots of fun by the fire. Unfortunately, this shot was the only one I got from the weekend, but I think it's a pretty good one. Chloee and Dad are looking for spawned out salmon...you don't know how tempted I was to go give Aaron's bum a push.

Frog Boy

2010-09-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

We had a cub scout day camp the weekend after school started at Johnson Lake. The boys did all sorts of cool stuff like canoeing, fire building, and orienteering. After the day was done, Aaron and I took Brady, Chloee and Jaron to fish for trout, but all we caught was this little guy. Jaron fell in love, but don't worry, we let the frog go. It was a great day.

Park Fun

2010-09-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Soldotna has a new, awesome park!! This park was due to an incredible community effort, uniting to give our kids a place to play. We took advantage of one of our sunny days and let the kids play till they dropped. I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked, but that's because we were too busy playing!

Caribou Jolee

Squirrel boy Jaron, complete with buck teeth

I don't think Maycee likes the swings. We are so excited to play again next summer.

First Day Fun

2010-09-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

This year, we had a Sophomore, a 7th, 3rd, and 1st grader head off to school. Last year, the kids had to get ready in the motorhome we were still living in, so this year was especially nice to be able to celebrate the kids first day back. The kids continue to do well in school and we are so blessed that they can get an amazing education.

Getting the sillies out before they hit class.

Chloee is enjoying full day school as a first grader. She is awesome...usually.

Goodbye PopPop

2010-09-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of the sad moments of this summer was the loss of our beloved, PopPop. Aaron's grandfather, Hank "PopPop" Weyand, passed away suddenly in June. Aaron and I decided to make the trip down to California with Maycee to say our last goodbyes and love on Grandma Mary and Aaron's other set of grandparents, Ken and Jean. It was a poignant way to spend Father's Day, but we were able to gather with the many friends and family of Pop Pop to remember his amazingly funny and sometimes crazy life. All who knew Pop Pop loved him and he will truly be missed.

One of Pop Pop's favorite things to do when he came to visit Alaska was go halibut fishing. Aaron and he spent many a days on the water fishing. Those memories are very special and we are grateful that Grandma Mary and Pop Pop were able to go on many Alaskan adventures with us.

Maycee got to meet Grandma Mary for the first time and we all enjoyed watching them get to know each other.

We were also able to make a quick trip to Santa Barbara to see Grandma Jean and Grandpa Ken. They are both in their very golden years and it was bitter sweet to see them. Grandpa Ken is in the late stages of Alzheimer's and it was very difficult to see the effects of the disease. We love them both so much and pray that they will continue to enjoy life.

It was beyond sweet to see Maycee with her great grandparents and the smiles she brought to their faces. She was the hit of the retirement home!

We couldn't go to California and not get Maycee's feet in the sand and surf, so we made a quick trip to the beach on the way back from Santa Barbara. She wasn't too impressed and I personally think she likes our beach at home better. It was a quick trip, but we were happy to be able to reconnect with so many relatives and will be telling Pop Pop stories for many years to come.

Swimming Lessons

2010-09-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Since we live on a lake, Aaron and I both want all the kids to be proficient swimmers. Haylee, Brady and Jaron all have it down and swim quite well. The little girls, however are not friends with water.

Before we started lessons, Chloee would not put her face in the water...at all. After lessons, Chloee had progressed to a level 3 swimmer, but then regressed to a level 1 after a bad day with her teacher, Mr. Luke. The last thing she needed to do was jump in the deep end with a life jacket on. She was so worried that water would go up her nose that she was terrified and stood at the water's edge forever. Mr. Luke pretty much threw her in and needless, to say, he needed to rebuild her trust for the rest of our sessions. She did however, end up learning how to blow water out her nose, swim small distances with her face in the water, and dive for toys. Good enough for now.

Jolee proved to be a tougher nut to crack. Not even Mr. Luke could get her to be brave. The farthest she progressed was to ride on Luke's back once.

I did manage to get her in the pool a few times to practice kicking, but she would have nothing to do with the teacher.

This is how she spent most of the lessons...gotta love this girl!

Bear Paw Fun

2010-09-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

As far as our summer weather went, it pretty much stunk! May was beautiful, but June, July, and August broke all sorts of records for rainfall. It's a good thing we have had a beautiful fall. In June, we headed up to our old stomping grounds in Eagle River for the Bear Paw Festival. We started the morning at the parade and got lots of candy. The kids had a great time watching the parade with all their cousins. We did get a break in the rain long enough to take the kids on some rides.

Daddy with a couple of his girls...

Abbi, being the dare devil she is, convinced her older boy cousins to take her on the kiddie roller coaster. You can't see much of her, but she is comfortably squeezed between her two favorite big boys.

Notice the ominous black clouds in the sky? Abbi toned down her inner thrill seeker to ride the elephants with Jolee. They are too cute.

Miss Chloee is trying to be patient in line...not one of her strongest character traits. After we blew most of our money on the rides, it was off to face painting and ice cream. Jolee wanted a butterfly...hold very still, Jo!

So pretty! Jaron, of course wanted something crazy...like a blood-thirsty dragon.

Yep, we are proud of this guy! We had a great time despite spending way too much money on junk, but made lots of fun memories with the family and that is what summer is about.

Been too long...

2010-09-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

So it has been WAY too long since my last post, but we have been busy enjoying the last of our Alaskan summer. I have so many things to share I don't know where to begin, but I figured just getting something posted is better than nothing. So we are going back to mid-May when the cub scouts designed and launched bottle rockets. They LOVED this activity and it was a great physics lesson as well.

Jaron is always good for a funny face shot. He is pushing with all he's got to inflate the pressure gage for launch.

Ready for launch!.....

...and BLAST OFF! His bottle actually flew really far and he had a blast. So glad I can share experiences like this with him, even if I have to wear a dorky uniform.

Dancin' Machines

2010-08-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

It's official. My dancing genes have made it through the gene pool and into some kids. This summer, I enrolled Chloee, Jolee, and Brady in some dance classes to see if they would like it. I have always known that Chloee and Brady have rhythm and talent in the dance department, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well all three took to dance.

Chloee and Brady took hip hop classes and were amazing. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera on the hip hop day, so I don't have any pics of them. Chloee also did ballet and Jolee did a ballet/tap combo class. Chloee is extremely flexible and while hip hop is her favorite, she shows great promise in ballet as well.

Jolee took right to class, even though I was nervous that she would be too shy. Her teacher was awesome and really made learning fun. Jolee now knows how to:

Pleeay (totally misspelled that, but I don't know French).

Arabesque...

and tap heel, toe across the floor. We are so excited that our kids have found their passions in life and so look forward to seeing their talents grow. Recital is in May...be sure to mark your calendars!

Isn't she cute?

2010-07-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

When your the sixth kid, you get lots of perks like a constant play buddy, lots of hugs and kisses, and your needs being catered to by all your siblings. There are however, some downsides. Case in point, the following:

Brady thought Maycee would look cute in his Napoleon Dynamite wig so he plopped it on her and we all got a good laugh at her expense. Maycee didn't seem to mind to much, she even cheesed it up for the camera, but I'm sure she won't appreciate it when she sees these photos when she is a teenager. Sorry Maycee, but we couldn't resist.

Jaron Turns 9!

2010-07-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

Our Jaron turned nine officially today, but we had his big party on Saturday. Jaron is our water boy, so naturally he wanted a party at home on the lake this year. We prayed for sun, but alas it wasn't meant to be. Our summer thus far has been filled with clouds and showers, but that didn't dampen the fun at Jaron's party. All in all, Jaron had a great time and we enjoyed spending time with all the family.

In keeping with tradition, Brady made Jaron's birthday cake with a beach theme. Complete with water, a huge beach ball, surfboard, and lochness monster. He did a great job and is learning more tricks with every cake.

Present time!! Jaron loved the legos and all the water toys he received.

Grandma Lynn gave Jaron a pair of swimming gloves which he put right to use in the lake.

They look great and work great too!

Jolee and Abbi loved getting to use their umbrellas. See, rain isn't all bad.

We had a great surprise with "Christmas in July" from Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Ron with a paddle boat! I have wanted one forever, and now that we live on a lake, it is a must.

Works great and is so much fun. The kids told me it was relaxing...as long as you know how to steer it right. The last activity of the party was busting up a huge pinata. I found this at Sam's club and it was so fun watching all the kids take a whack at it.

Aaron's making sure Chloee hasn't knocked loose the rigging.

Go Brady!

Thanks big sis for helping Jolee.

And finally! The kids shared the spoils pretty well and all had a great time. We are grateful for another year with our sweet Jaron and the many blessings we enjoy every day.

9 Months, Baby!

2010-06-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Our Maycee is 9 months old today; bigger and better than ever. Maycee still continues to be as sweet as pie and always easy going. She loves being with her siblings, snuggling with Mama and playing with her toes. She is not making a lot of progress on her gross motor skills mostly because she is so big. She still is topping the growth charts at 20.5 pounds and 28 inches long.

Some things Maycee is working on are:

*growing teeth (she has 4 now)

*clapping when you say "yay!"

*pushing up on hands even though she really does not like being on her tummy

*playing with her toes and always trying to get them

to her mouth

*eating squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and wanting to eat big people food, but still chokes on anything of decent size

*blowing raspberries

*tries to give kisses by grabbing the small hair at the back of your neck and pulling you in to suck your face (I love this one)

Chloee is teaching her how to be "cool" already, but we think she is pretty awesome just the way she is.

OUCH!!

2010-06-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we went to "Zion" to meet Haylee and Aaron as they finished their youth pioneer trek (more on that later when I get some pictures to post). While we were waiting, Jaron found himself some tall, dead grass to play in. The next thing I know, I see him holding his thumb while big, crocodile tears are running down his face. He is screaming to the point where everyone around me thought he had broken his thumb.

When I finally got him to show me his injury, I saw a rather large splinter of the thick grass he was in sticking out of his thumb. Several people offered to help hold him down, but after much coaxing, I got him to let me pull it out. He stopped crying and when on to playing. Crisis over, or so I thought.

About a week later, his thumb was swollen and a large blister had formed where the sliver had been. I happened to be at my parents house at the time and luckily my dad is an expert sliver remover. We soaked his thumb in hot water, hydrogen peroxide, and poked it with a needle. Without getting too graphic, I squeezed quite a bit of puss out and while I was squeezing his thumb, a little piece of sliver started to poke out. I though we had found the last little remaining bit of the original sliver, so I had my mom grab the end with some tweezers and pull. Too all of our shock and horror, this massive stick came sliding out! Poor guy, no wonder he was screaming his head off.

Strolling with my Sisters

2010-06-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Haylee took the girls for a walk down our road the other day and I had to share these pics. There is a great story with these pictures and ultimately, they had a great time together.

"Let's pose for a pic, girls!" "Jolee, look at the camera!" Chloee is our little mama.

They loved the walk and being together, until..."Jojo, it's time to go back."

"I don't want to go back! I am going to ignore you until I get my way." Haylee quit taking pics at this point, but she did get Jolee back home in one piece. I love my girls!!

Sisterly Love

2010-05-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Haylee and Jolee have been buddies lately. Jolee sweet talks Haylee into letting her sleep in big sissy's bed and they play beauty shop a lot (Haylee paints Jo's nails for her). Now Haylee is teaching Jolee the art of posing for the camera:

Here is the glam shot:

The goofy shot:

The booby shot: yikes!

So glad my little girls have a good role model to emulate...no pressure Haylee.

Glamourous Girl

2010-05-12T23:25:00.001-07:00

I was taking pics of Maycee the other day and Jolee had to get in on the fun. She has turned out to be a fan of the camera which is shocking because everyone knows how much of a shy streak she has. Anyway, these were too cute not to post. Enjoy.

Here is Jolee modeling her birthday outfit she got from Grandma Lynn.

Here is Jolee modeling her new barbie dress up outfit we got her for her birthday. She was all smiles until...

She realized everyone was giggling at how cute she was. Now that's the Jolee we all know and love.

Do you see what I see?

2010-05-12T23:05:00.001-07:00

Do you see them??

On Saturday night, May 1st, we were all gathered around the big screen to watch "Avatar" when I felt these little bad boys in Maycee's mouth. I had been on tooth patrol for a while because she was drooling like crazy, but I kept looking at her top teeth, not thinking to look at her bottom teeth. All of our other kids had 2 teeth at 5 months, and Haylee had 2 teeth at 3 months! Maycee's a late bloomer at 7 months, but she has officially got her first teeth. I just love baby teeth, they are the cutest things ever. So with Chloee and Jaron losing teeth and Maycee getting them, there is a lot of attention on teeth around our house. Looks like I have more brushing to do...

First Court of Honor

2010-05-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

We went to Brady's first court of honor as an official Boy Scout tonight. Now that he is 12, he is officially a Boy Scout, no longer a cub scout. He and Aaron have been working hard on earning merit badges already as he wants to get his Eagle by 14. He has already learned a lot and I am so grateful that Brady and Aaron can do this together. Tonight Brady earned his:

Citizenship in the Nation

First Aid

Swimming

Scholarship

Skating merit badges as well as his Scout and Tenderfoot ranks.

This is Brady displaying his coolness as well as his new badges. Great job buddy!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

The top 6 reasons why I love being a mom:

Happy Mother's Day to you all, especially to mine!

Wolf Man

2010-05-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Jaron has been working diligently on his scouting requirements for his wolf rank. He LOVES scouts, and now that I am his den leader, I am learning to love it too. The scouting program really is a great tool for us to teach our boys to become self reliant, dependable, and industrious men. We are proud of Jaron and his accomplishment and look forward to watching him grow in his scouting. Way to go Jaron!

Birthday fun

2010-05-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 weeks since their actual birthdays, but I wanted to journal party pics. We had a great time with Brady and Jolee's birthdays. It started with birthday breakfast of pancakes and whipped cream...too bad Jolee was still asleep for the pancakes. I sent Brady to school with homemade peanut butter cups to share with his class and got on to Jolee's party with her friends.

The easiest thing for me was to take a few kids to lunch at Mc D's and play at the park. The nice thing about 3 year olds is that they are easily amused.

Make a wish Jolee!

There is nothing that says fun like cake on your face with friends.

It's nice for Jolee to have good buddies to play with. We wish her cousin, Abbi could be closer, but they are inseparable when they are together.

Addi and Jolee always have a good time together, well almost always.

Happy birthday Jolee! Bring on the 3's! We ended up having some of Brady's buddies over for a sleep over and movie night, but I didn't get any pics because I was too busy making sure they didn't break anything. We also had the family down for the weekend and had a great time hanging out, going to the park, watching movies, and working on projects. The kids got lots of great presents and we are so grateful to have so many people who love us and our family.

Finally!

2010-04-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Chloee has finally joined the ranks of official tooth losers. Being a younger sibling, she is always trying to catch up to the bigger kids. She has been saying she has wiggly teeth for about a year now and every time we would try and wiggle the suspected tooth, it wouldn't budge. We had grown accustomed to Chloee "crying tooth" a lot. Finally, she did get a little wiggle in one of her teeth and with much work on her part, it came out at school yesterday. I need to mention that when you loose a tooth at school, it's really cool. You get a "I lost a tooth" sticker to wear, and you get to be the center of attention of all your classmates for a while.

I think she looks pretty cute with that little gap.

12 and 3 years ago...

2010-04-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

12 years ago today, I had my first little boy. From that day, he has been an amazingly sweet, kind, and genuine spirit. He is such a joy and I can always look to Brady for help with anything. Over the last year, Brady has really grown into a young man. While he isn't shaving yet, he is growing out of pants every few months, and starting to stink up his hockey gear. I know the days of teen boy antics and chasing after girls are fast approaching, but for now, I am just ever so grateful for my sweet Brady.

Three years ago today, we welcomed our sweet Jolee. Jojo surprised us with a head full of dark hair and a nearly 9 pound frame, but we immediately fell in love with her. Jolee has her quirks, but she is so much fun and we are so happy to have her. And best of all, she was potty trained before her third birthday (that was my deadline)!

Happy birthday Brady and Jolee! We love you!!

Good Parenting

2010-04-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

Like most parents, Aaron and I try every day to teach our kids the basics; right from wrong, eat your veggies, make your bed, stuff like that. Well, every now and then your kids do something that lets you know you are on the right parenting track. The other day, Chloee came home from school and like usual, emptied out her folder of the day's work. In her class, the kids are allowed to write or draw on the back of their papers if they finish their work early. Chloee came home with a pretty nice looking water color that I admired for a few minutes. I happened to flip it over and her writing caught my eye. The following is what she wrote:

"I love everyone, but not the devil. I love my mom and dad."

We must be doing something right.

She's a Biggin'

2010-04-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Erik Massey, who is a pretty amazing photographer, agreed to take some much needed current family photos. These are some of Maycee's best and I thought I would add her current stats. She weighs 18 pounds (82 percentile) and is 28 inches tall (98 percentile). She is a tall girl, and I am feeling every one of those 18 pounds when I haul her around.
As you can see, she is drooling a lot now and I am expecting some teeth to pop through anytime.

Man is she cute or what? I will post some of our other family pics soon.

6 Months already

2010-04-04T23:03:00.001-07:00

Our Maycee is 6 months old already. It's hard to believe how fast time goes, and it seems to go faster with each baby we have. She continues to be an amazingly easy and enjoyable kid, always just happy to be here. She gives away lots of smiles and giggles, and my new favorite thing she does is how she belly laughs every time I wipe her chubby thighs with a cold wet wipe. Nearly every time I change Maycee's diaper, she giggles which makes changing a poopy diaper a little more enjoyable, if that is possible.

We love our sweet Maycee boo.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter 2010! Spring has sprung in Alaska; the snow is finally going, our roads are down to pavement and the ice is thinning on the lake. With Spring, comes Easter and what a great one it was. We had my family down for the weekend to celebrate Abbi's birthday and the holiday. We started the day with watching General Conference on the big screen while my "Easter tomb" rolls baked in the oven. I got this recipe off my new favorite cooking blog and thought these rolls provided a fun way to discuss the Easter message over breakfast.

These rolls are a sweet treat, but when you break into one, they are empty inside, just like Christ's tomb was after His resurrection.

Once breakfast was done, it was time for some egg hunting. We had LOTS of candy-filled plastic eggs hidden throughout the main floor of the house. Bobbi did a great job hiding the eggs, making sure to leave lots of easy ones for Jolee and Abbi to find.

Mom, look what I found!

These girls have way too much fun together.

Brady had to get in on the fun too. Look at the dead run he is in...it just candy Brady, relax!

Happy Easter to you all!

She's a Big Girl Now!

2010-04-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOL'S JOKE

After much eager anticipation by Aaron, Haylee, Brady, and myself, Jolee is finally potty trained! Jolee will be 3 in a few weeks, and I have been waiting for this important developmental milestone for a while now. Jolee showed little to no interest in being trained, so we just had to be patient and wait for her to be ready. She woke up one day and was getting dressed with Chloee and decided she wanted to wear big girl panties like her big sister.

The first week was a little rough, with a decent amount of accidents, but every day got a little better. Once Jolee was in panties, I couldn't go back to diapers. After a few days, she had #1 mastered, but #2 was still proving difficult timing wise.

As of today though, Jolee has been able to tell me when she needs to go potty (both types) and is accident free. Doesn't she look so proud? I am grateful to just have one in diapers now and can't believe Jolee is officially a big girl.

Way to go Jo!

Good Kids

2010-03-30T09:49:00.001-07:00

Most people think that teenagers are a group of people that are to be endured until they muddle through to adulthood. However, we have really enjoyed Haylee's teen years, most of the time. Haylee is a good kid with her head on straight, she knows who she is and befriends those around her. Our church had a formal youth dance last weekend and they all had a blast. Out of this group of kids, Haylee invited 3 non-members. I am grateful that Haylee has such a good group of friends that support her and are striving to be good in an ever increasing wicked world. With Brady turning 12 in a few weeks, we will have 2 teens in the house. Bring it on, we are ready.

A New Look

2010-03-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

Haylee has been contemplating a new look for a little while. She has loved being a blonde, and even though she was born a complete toe-head, that brilliant blonde turned into dirty dishwater blonde over the years. Today was the day for change, and I think it turned out rather nice. The kids were shocked to see her at the salon and didn't think it was her at first. It will take some getting used to, but so far, we like the new Haylee.

Quirky Girl

2010-03-08T23:54:00.000-08:00

The other day, I came downstairs to find this:

We had gone to Costco and was in the process of putting everything away. Apparently, the toilet paper hadn't made it's way to the pantry yet, so Jolee must have thought the TP would make a comfortable bed. She does look rather comfy. When Jolee saw me break out the camera to capture this typical JoJo moment, she went into shy mode. First, the bashful face...

Then the don't look at me face, otherwise known as the if I can't see you, you can't see me face.

Then she decided to play pirate with the lens cap.

Jolee is such a funny girl. Lately, she is showing some great organization skills. She likes to arrange things in order and often I find random objects stuffed in her "spots". The other day, Aaron opened the container of wipes and found Maycee's shoes, a pair of Haylee's earings, some Polly Pockets, and Brady's ipod. She makes me just shake my head and laugh.

Hey Mom, Look What I Can Do!

2010-03-08T10:20:00.000-08:00

When we were in the process of designing, then building our dream kitchen, I told Aaron I would cook amazing meals all the time in our new kitchen. While I grew up eating awesome meals my Dad would create nearly every night, I didn't take time to learn how to make those awesome meals. As a result, I am not the domestic goddess I would like to be. I don't sew, cook, can home grown vegetables, etc. BUT, I am trying...

So here are some things I would like to learn how to do better this year:

1. Grind wheat and make bread with that wheat

2. Learn how to sew so I can make some cushions for my breakfast nook (this is going to be a real challenge) any help would be greatly appreciated.

3. Grow a garden and can those veggies (I do garden, but want to make a bigger one at the new house).

4. Follow recipes so the resultant meal looks and tastes like what it is supposed to.

I think this list is daunting enough, so we will see how I do.

For Sunday dinner, I made Thai chicken lettuce wraps, and HOMEMADE buttermilk rolls...FROM SCRATCH! I know, I even amazed myself. I have left the roll making to mother because she is really good at it, but she lives 3 hours away, and it's time I stopped being afraid of yeast (I usually kill it). I found this recipie on a great cooking blog and I decided to go for it. Here are the little, buttery jewels baking in the oven.

And look! I didn't even burn them! They were so good that my family ate 2 trays worth.

Don't I look lovely? Scary, but Aaron snapped this for evidence showing that I do cook from time to time.

Here is my finished product. The wraps were awesome and quite healthy too. Jaron even tried some lettuce which is a HUGE milestone for him. The last time he tried it was 2 years ago and he threw up. Okay, you can stop laughing at my beautiful meal presented on a paper plate. Baby steps people, baby steps.

It was nice to see the kids enjoying the product of my labors. I also made cowboy cookies for dessert. I think it's going to be a bad week at weight watchers.

5 months, plus a few

2010-03-07T20:09:00.001-08:00

Okay, I totally blew by Maycee's 4 month pics, and we are a solid week past her 5 months, so here we go. Can you tell she is the 6th kid? Anyway, Maycee is continuing to eat, eat, eat, and grow, grow, grow. She is well over 15 pounds, (I don't have exact stats because we don't need to go to the docs until next month). Maycee's personality continues to be easy going and oh, so sweet. She is happy 99% of the time and always has a huge cheeky grin to give. We love her so much!! Her new favorite trick is blowing raspberries and she has become quite good at it. She drools all the time and I am expecting to see some teeth popping through any day now. She is learning how to hold her own bottle and is showing interest at trying food.

I took pictures of Haylee and Brady standing against the couch when they were about Maycee's age, and I wish I could get those pics on here. It is freaky how much Maycee looks like them, especially Brady.

Besides smiling, this is one of Maycee's favorite faces. She loves to stick her tongue out which is cute now, just as long as she isn't still doing it when she is 3. We love you Maycee!

Let's go Bowling

2010-03-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

We decided to take the family (all except Haylee because she wasn't feeling well) bowling for family home evening. Because our family's schedule is so chaotic, everything we do needs to kill lots of birds with one stone. Therefore, bowling was a needed break for our family, counted for FHE, plus Jaron was able to work towards his bowling belt loop for cub scouts. We started the night with dinner at Carl's Junior, not my favorite pick, but they have a decent grilled chicken sandwich and the kids love to play in the playland. After watching the kids play for over an hour, we were tempted to just call it a night, but we had to work on that bowling belt loop, so off to the alley we go!

How cute are these babies!! Yeah, doesn't get much cuter than this.

Jaron has his own "special" technique. He throws a great curve in the ball, but when it lands in the center of the isle, the ball usually ends up in the gutter by the time it gets to the pins. See the yellow ball? J ended up with a 53 score. To earn his loop, we need to go 3 more times and see if his average improves.

Jaron had to congratulate me after I bowled a strike. I ended up with 4 strikes in the game, it was a good night.

As with most new things, Chloee was quite timid about bowling. After Daddy helped her a few times, she got more comfortable and ended up having a great time. She even let me help her a time or two.

Party Girl

2010-02-12T17:58:00.001-08:00

Our Chloee is now 6. Where does the time go?? Chloee is a ball of energy who loves to sing, dance, sing some more, plunk on the piano, and do pretty much anything that makes noise. She is awesome at helping with her little sisters and has already shown amazing mothering skills. Chloee absolutely loves school and looks forward to everyday, she even loves homework. She is now reading and doing great in math.

We decided to have a pizza party for her actual birthday and were able to squeeze it in at the Hansen's between scouts and church activities. Chloee wanted a fruit pizza for her cake, so I threw one together and she loved it, even with the improvised "6" candle.

We decided now that Chloee is in school, she could have a "real" party with her friends. She wanted a princess party, so nearly all the girls from her class, plus a few church friends and her two baby cousins donned their best party duds and it was a huge success.

Princess Chloee greeting her buddies. Big sister, Haylee and a few of her buddies were in charge of hair, nails, and makeup. They did a great job and all the girls looked darling.

Brady LOVES to bake and has been pushing me to let him make a fancy cake with fondant icing for a while now. I decided to let him do Chloee's cake, thinking it would keep him busy for a while and get him off my back. Brady did an amazing job, completely on his own, and is now the official family cake maker.

Chloee loved her barbie cake and was really surprised with Brady's creation. This cake took him nearly three hours, but it was his gift to Chloee. The cake not only looked good, but tasted great. Jolee loved it. How cute is she??

Here is cousin Abbi sporting her party outfit. She might be little, but she adores Chloee and she kept right up with the big girls.

This was the make up station, where we quickly had to improvise when I found that the face paint I bought was crap. I found some lip liner and the girls never knew the difference.

Present time!! Chloee was spoiled and got way too much stuff, but she loves her pet shops, Zuzu bed and ball, and endless supply of craft stuff.

Here is the whole crew on the stairs. They were too cute and the party was a lot of fun, but I am glad I don't have to do one for a while. Oh, wait...Brady and Jolee's birthday is just 2 months away.

Peninsula Winter Games

2010-02-08T20:31:00.001-08:00

Every year, our community puts on a winter games weekend with outdoor games, ice sculptures, and most importantly, hockey! More on hockey later, but it was a great weekend had by all. Jaron and Chloee braved a ride on the ice slide. This was new this year, but pretty cool. Jaron went first, sporting his medal he earned in his hockey tournament. Naturally he loved it and wanted to go all day.

Then it was Chloee's turn. This slide, while well built, was very bumpy with the landing on a icy, gravel strip. Needless to say, with a very little tush, Chloee only lasted two runs.

Here she goes, and there she is trying to put on a brave face.

Notice how her brave face has vanished and is instead, filled with bitter disappointment. Oh well, at least the rest are happy. Check out Maycee's cheesy grin.

As far as indoor activities, there was cookie decorating, face painting, and hockey. Brady took a break between hockey games to help his sisters decorate some cookies. Jolee is still very shy with strangers and crowds, but her siblings help her to be brave.

Finally, there was the hockey. Jaron's team was eliminated early on, mostly because a Mite comp team from Anchorage entered their division and blew everyone away. Sore subject. Jaron did get his first goal though, and it was awesome. I was sitting at the far end of the rink and Jaron scored on the opposite end. As soon as he scored, he looked right where I was sitting and started waving his arms. I was so excited for him.

As for Brady's team, they were entered into the Bantam D division even though they are a PeeWee C team. If this is foreign speech to you, don't worry. Basically, his team of 11/12 year olds played teams of 13/14 year olds. However, Brady is on a C team which is supposed to be better than a D team. Anyway, Brady is the only goalie and he did awesome. His team ended up finishing 2nd in the tournament, but he faced his first ever shoot out in the semi-finals. The game went into overtime, where the score stayed tied. Because there had to be a winner, it went to a shootout. A shootout is where the goalie faces three shooters who try to score and the team with the most successful shots, wins the game. I was a basket case, but Brady did awesome. He blocked 1 out of 3 shots the first round as did the other team's goalie, so it had to go to another 3 shooters. Brady saved 2 of the 3 shots and the other goalie only saved one, so we won! It was amazing and I could hardly drive home after all the adrenaline running through my system.

We live in an awesome small community, where our family has so many opportunities to do things together, plus it makes winter go by faster. On another note, Aaron's high school team ended up finishing 4th in the region which means that season is over. Our boys still have another 2 months, but at least Aaron is around a little more now.

Poor Baby

2010-02-04T00:57:00.000-08:00

Jolee is home with Maycee and I all day and one of her favorite ways of passing the time besides watching PBS is to make sure Maycee has all the toys she needs to be happy. Obviously she isn't too happy here, but it's the thought that counts. Jolee even threw in Maycee's shoes, a perfectly swaddled baby doll, and a nice, warm blanket. What a good sister Jolee is.

Our Backyard

2010-02-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

We have had some amazing sunsets lately and I was able to get a quick shot off the back deck the other night. This is the view out of our family room. I am constantly amazed and humbled at how blessed we have been. I am so grateful for the beauty of God's creations and that we are able to live in one of His prettiest places.

Self Service

2010-01-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

You know your the sixth kid when you have to feed yourself at 4 months old. Maycee is well loved, don't misunderstand, but she is already having to fend for herself in our crazy family. I just love this bouncy seat as it allows for hands free feeding. She loves to eat, so now we are just trying to teach her how to make her own bottles. Who are we kidding, we all know she gets the most attention out of anyone.

Daddy Daughter Date

2010-01-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

One of the perks of Aaron working with the youth is that he often goes on youth temple trips. Haylee played with the graphics on this photo and I just love it. Haylee and Aaron have a great relationship (as good as a relationship with a teenager can be) and I am so grateful that she has such an amazing male influence in her life. I tell her all the time not to settle for anyone less than as amazing as her dad is. Hopefully this will keep her single for a while! Haylee really is a great kid and we are so grateful for the good choices she is making in her life.

Holy Moley, What a Goalie!

2010-01-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

Brady has been a goalie for the last three seasons and has decided that's where he wants to stay. Being a goalie suits his personality more so than the other positions because it's just him versus the puck rather than him having to check other players for the puck (most of you know that Brady doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body). Since he has decided on being a goalie, we finally bit the bullet and got him his very own, authentic goalie helmet. Like most hockey gear, these helmets are not cheap, but it was getting to the point where his other team mates were thinking of starting a collection for getting Brady a goalie helmet. We are approaching the last few months of the season (yeah!) and we hope this new helmet will make Brady even harder to beat in net! Go buddy!

This is how Brady looks when he is facing a break away shot!

Play "Date"

2010-01-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

Before our babies were born, we got them engaged. Sound wierd? Yes, I know, but mostly it's because Becky and I want to be mother in laws together! Ha! The Hansens were over for a visit, so we decided Maycee and Logan should have some play time. Aren't they cute? How much do you wanna bet they will end up despising each other?

How could Logan not fall in love with that face??

Dish Duty

2010-01-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

We have been getting a lot of requests to see the house, and while Aaron and I would rather slip the house quietly into the background, I don't think it's possible. We are grateful for all the support we received while enduring the misery of construction and are happy it's just about over. We are in the unpacking and finishing touches stage. I have to figure out where I want to hang all my pictures, how to organize my kitchen cabinets, and find places to put all our crap. Oh well, I'll just do a big garage sale instead. Haylee and Brady are getting used to cleaning up the Sunday dinner mess in our new kitchen. Hey, with 2 dishwashers, they both can have their own and not have to fight over who has to do the dishes anymore. I knew I was smart in getting 2 dishwashers. I will put some more pics of the rest of the house as soon as I get it "picture perfect"; most likely by next Christmas.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-17T19:05:00.001-08:00

Okay, so it's half way through January, but I am finally getting our new decade going on the blog. Happy 2010 everyone!! We plan on an amazing year this year full of crazy kid activities, constant running here, there, and everywhere, and most of all, taking a well deserved break from home construction. We are 98% done on the house and it is amazing to just sit and hang out as a family. So far, my favorite room is the laundry. I guess that's what happens when you do laundry for 7 people at a laundromat for 3 months. The kitchen and home theater are close seconds. You are all welcome to come hang out with us anytime! Wishing you all a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year!

3 Months Old!

2009-12-29T23:01:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but it has been three months since Maycee came to our family. She has been such a blessing to us and a pure joy. She is always happy, except when hungry or poopy. She loves to be carted around by Chloee and even takes baths with Jolee and Chloee. Chloee has turned out to be a huge help with her and I am so grateful for that! Maycee is growing like a weed and filling out her chubby Swanson cheeks nicely. She is smiling a lot now and has even given her siblings a few giggles. There are times when I just want to freeze the clock and not let her get any bigger, but I am trying to enjoy her as much as I can. We can't imagine our life without her and we are so blessed to have her in our family. She is really growing. Maycee weighs 13 lbs. 4 oz. and is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. I don't know what size category her cheeks are in though.

Christmas Day

2009-12-29T00:08:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Now that the craziness of Christmas is over, I have some time to reflect on just how special family time can be. We were able to have everyone down for Christmas this year, and while Hawaii is an amazing place to spend Christmas, we were glad to be able to make new memories together in our new home. Of course we had the usual traditions of stockings (I actually have a fireplace in which to hang those stockings now), a jam-packed Christmas tree with presents spilling out everywhere, and the yummy Christmas dinner which Papa heads up.

It was so fun to watch all the kids open their presents. Santa even brought gifts for Abbi and Kenny, but I think they had the most fun playing with their cousins.

This year, being that we now live on a lake, we decided to start a new family Christmas tradition of playing a game of pond hockey. We invited a few family friends to come play and the game was on! We had so much fun, even though the ice was too rough to skate on. We figured playing in shoes leveled the field since Aaron and Miles are both pretty good players for a couple of old guys. Speaking of old guys, my 62 year old dad even got in the game. While he doesn't make the best goalie, he kept right up with the big boys.

He shoots, but I don't think he scored! You are awesome, Dad!

Bruno even tried to get in the game. Notice how warm out it was...it was around 40 degrees and we were in t-shirts! Gotta love Alaska!

Here is Rizz showing off his mad goalie skills.

Here is Aaron schooling Becky. I know Bex, you are pretty dang good.

Jaron decided to skip the game and go sledding on our dirt pile instead. What a great day and wonderful Christmas in 2009! Can't wait for next year.

Spelling Stud

2009-12-26T23:45:00.000-08:00

Every year since Haylee was in the fourth grade, a Swanson has competed in the school spelling bee. Once again, Brady was one of three in his class to make it to the bee. He made it to the 6th round, but got tricked by the silent "n" in the word "solemn". He says he knew how to spell the word, but it can be stressful competing in front of the whole school. We are really proud of Brady and his excellent spelling and look forward to seeing him compete in the coming years. Way to go dude!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

Another year has come to a close, and what a year it has been. We were blessed with another amazing Swanson baby in our little Maycee. We have finished our dream home (almost), our kids are healthy and happy, and life can't get much better. We are so grateful for our countless blessings that Heavenly Father continues to poor out on our family. We are grateful for His son, our Savior and eldest brother, who loves us so much. May you and your family feel the warmth of His love now and all year long. We love you all.

Our sweet Maycee is the best Christmas present ever.

Thanks to Grandma Lynn for the darling Christmas dresses. They were a big hit at church!

For family home evening this week, we all (Hansens, Ponds, and us) went to a local church sponsored reenactment of the city of Bethlehem during Christ's birth. They did a wonderful job with real animals, several shops of the day, the tax collector, and even wicked King Herod. It was a bit chilly, but well worth it.

My Maycee was safe from Herod, but poor Becky kept getting asked if her baby was a boy. Logan was safe, but he did play baby Jesus in the ward Christmas party this year.

More Driving

2009-12-18T23:48:00.000-08:00

The good news is that Haylee made her club volleyball team. The bad news is that I will be driving two more nights a week on top of the other two nights a week I already drive for the boys' hockey. Oh yeah, I didn't count the two trips I make for scouts, plus the daily car pool run. Anyway, we are so excited for Haylee making a team. The competition was really tough this year and she really thought she would not make a team. She is getting more confident in her skills and it must have showed. While I am eager for her to get some more playing time in, I am not looking forward to being on the road, with 5 other kids in tow. Oh well, she will be driving soon enough. Way to go Haylee!!

Maycee Update

2009-12-10T18:35:00.001-08:00

Our Maycee girl is growing fast. She is almost three months old already! We took her to Providence Hospital yesterday for a check up on her urinary reflux. She was very good during the ultrasound and I think she actually liked the warm goo they put on her belly. The good news is that her kidneys look beautiful, nothing wrong with those. Her bladder looks fine too, but is a little thick in the lining. I don't really know what that means, but the doc wasn't too concerned. The biggest issue is that her reflux is a solid 3, 5 being the worst. The greatest risk for her is to get multiple UTI's which could potentially scar her kidneys, leading to possible kidney failure. So, to prevent this from happening, she is on 2 doses of antibiotics everyday for most likely until she is around 18 months. At that point, we will need to see how she is doing. There is a 50 percent chance she will out grow the reflux. If she does not, she will most likely need a procedure called deflux that is 90 percent effective in correcting her problem. It is a simple procedure done as a day patient and she won't even need to be cut. We are grateful she is so healthy and happy in all other ways. She is so fun now as she is smiling and cooing at all her adoring fans. Please continue to keep Maycee in your prayers that she will not get any urinary tract infections, that her kidneys will stay healthy, and that her reflux will clear on its own. Thank you to all who love us so much.

Christmas Cheer

2009-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

We tried wrangling the kids the other night for our family Christmas photo. This one was in the reject pile, but summed up the bliss of taking pictures of 6 kids. Be afraid Jaron, be very afraid!!

Twinners

2009-12-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

It's scary how genetics work. When Maycee was born, I wasn't sure who she resembled. I saw a lot of Chloee in her, but she has Jolee's nose. As she has "unfolded" from her newborn face, I am seeing more and more of Chloee. Aside from eye color, Maycee and Chloee really do look a lot alike. Now if Maycee's personality turns out like Chloee's, I am in trouble!! I don't think I can do another Chloee. I love the child dearly, but she really keeps the drama in our family.

Chloee in the dip net boat on the Kenai. (5 months)

Maycee at 2 months.

Good thing Chloee is darling if I do say so myself.

Killing Time

2009-11-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

So I am looking through our pictures and I stumble across these beauties. I have no idea when or where they took these, but obviously they are in the car, and I am not. I think I was in the grocery store. Not to worry, they are under the oh so responsible supervision of their big sister.

You can see that Jolee is captivated by the movie they are watching. Car DVD players: the best invention ever!

Look at the bright side, at least they aren't killing eachother.

A Blessed Day

2009-11-11T23:24:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, we had the whole family down for Maycee's blessing. This day served as another reminder for us just how blessed we are to have Maycee with us and apart of our eternal family. How grateful we are that the Lord blessed her with health after such a rough start to her life.

Anyway, it was a great time had by all. We had the family, plus Hansens and Ponds over for a pre-blessing brunch because Miles, Shane and Uncle Rizz helped Aaron in the blessing circle. Aaron did a wonderful job; he even missed out on the yummy brunch because he chose to fast before the blessing. How grateful I am for such an amazing husband and father to our kids!

If you asked me if I ever thought I would have six kids, I would have laughed, but here we are. I don't think life could get much better.

All the Souter cousins. Aren't they cute?

We love our Maycee Moo.

I just thought this was the cutest. Papa loves to nap with the babies, but who wouldn't?

5 Weeks Today

2009-11-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

Maycee is officially growing up too fast. It seems like the more kids you have, the faster the time flies. It's probably because we are so busy with the craziness of life with 6 kids that we don't make the time to just sit and enjoy her. Maycee is 5 weeks old today and growing like a weed. She really likes to eat and her rolls are filling out nicely. She is such a good baby, and probably our best sleeper (thank you NICU for getting her on a sleep schedule). Aaron says that the extra sleep she gives us at night is money well spent.

Some of Maycee's favorite things are sleeping, eating, and pooping. She is on the verge of smiling and still tends to go cross-eyed when you get too close. We got the camera out for some impromptu shots, but she really didn't cooperate with the facial expressions. We hope to get some better shots in a week. For now, enjoy...

Man was she mad here. She so did not like being posed with her legs under her; love the flower though.

Gotta have the baby feet pics...

You Go Girl

2009-11-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

No, Haylee doesn't have to go pee here, she is getting ready for some action at the net! With all of the exciting Maycee events of the last month, we haven't had the time to post on Haylee's volleyball endeavors. Now that her season has ended, I wanted to share how fun it was to watch Haylee grow over the season. She is now jumping for her spikes (see pic below) and she even got her serve. She is going to be great as her skill develops and we can't wait to cheer her on over the coming years. Go Stars!!

I Feel Old!

2009-10-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

My first born is 15 years old today!! Most people say I don't look old enough to have a 15 year old, and yes, we started young, but it's kind of nice when people think Haylee is my sister. Haylee has been an amazing kid from day one, and we are so grateful to have her in our family. Being a first born myself, I know how tough it can be to be the guinea pig for your parents. While the teenage years are most surely challenging at times, Haylee has been so fun for us. She has an amazingly strong sense of who she is and knows what she wants. She is a strong leader among her peers and is a confindant young woman. She will go far in this life and we can't wait to see where she takes us next! Next year, driving and dating...not if we can help it!!!

She so loves me!!

My first and last born girls. Crazy how time flies.

3 Weeks Old...already!

2009-10-20T21:26:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe, but Maycee is 3 weeks old today. I feel like we were robbed of her first 2 weeks, so I am trying to make up for lost time. She had her well baby check up with Doc Anderson today and he says all looks great for her. She is up to 8 pounds today and has definitely found her appetite! She will be pudgy in no time.

She is proving to be a very good baby, which is reassuring because we thought after her stubborn entrance into the world, she would be quite the handful. She is already used to the craziness of being the 6th born in a very busy household. Now on top of everything else the kids fight over, we now have to contend with who's turn it is to hold the baby.

Here are some pics we took of her first day at home.

She has 3 doting sisters that, for now, can't get enough of her. Give it a few years and they will be singing a different tune. Haylee is the house baby hog, but a great help with Maycee.

The grandma's were so relieved to see Maycee as they both worried to no end while we were away. Our parents were so helpful while we were gone and it was so nice not to worry about our kids. They slaved away doing laundry (at the laundry mat no less), cooking (in a less than complete kitchen), cleaning construction debris from the house, and driving carpools. Thanks again you guys!

Maycee has 2 amazing older brothers that are sure to protect her as she grows. We still need to get a shot with Brady holding her.

This shot is classic. Jolee had just woke up from a nap and she was seeing this mysterious baby she had heard everyone talking about for the first time. She is absolutely in love with her baby sister! Check out Aaron's playoff beard! Needless to say, the beard came off a few minutes after I got home.

Going, going, gone!

2009-10-18T22:51:00.001-07:00

I am happy to say that I am posting this from home!! Maycee and I were able to bust out of the NICU a little early and we got home Thursday. It has been such a whirlwind here with our family enjoying Maycee that I haven't gotten time to post, but I couldn't keep you all in suspense any longer! You are all so amazing in the love and support you have shown our family through this trial, and we are eternally grateful to each and every one of you for your efforts on our behalf! There are too many of you to count, but you all know who you are and Aaron and I certainly feel blessed to have each of you in our lives.

Anyway, on to our superstar. I wanted to post some pics of our last days in the NICU. Maycee really did recover quite quickly once the PPHN was resolved. She only needed one extra dose of morphine in her weaning process and when it came to feeding, she took to it quite naturally. We had a night nurse named Claudia and she reminded me of one of those stern, Norwegian type women that are all business. I was a little hesitant to leave the night Claudia was assigned to our baby, but we came back the next morning and Maycee had taken two full feedings by bottle for this woman. This is a big deal because the more they feed on their own, the quicker the feeding tube can come out. As for breathing support, Maycee had a nasal cannula that gave her a little oxygen and as of Tuesday night at midnight, she was off that completely. It was a little scary watching her breathe on her own, but amazing!

Here is a shot of her with her last 2 tubes, the nasal cannula and a feeding tube.

Once the cannula was pulled, she was down to just the feeding tube (which she ended up taking out herself on 2 occasions). After she was eating all they wanted her to through the bottle and nursing she...

was on her own. They still kept her on a heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation monitor for another day, but having her thriving on her own was the day we were waiting for.

After all she had been through, her nurse, Julie, and I figured Maycee deserved a spa day. This quickly became a bath photo shoot as Julie loved our camera. She was having so much fun posing Maycee and even strategically placing bubbles to make the shot just right. Maycee is still hooked up to her monitors here, but no, she was not in any danger of being electrocuted.

Finally, Maycee's last test before we could leave was the car seat test. She had to sit in this thing for an hour and a half while hooked up to her monitors to make sure she could handle it. Doesn't she look so enthused?

All in all, our time in the NICU was incredible. The nursing and doctor staff is amazing, the little babies are incredible, and it really is a special place where little miracles happen every day. I wouldn't want to go back anytime soon, but I am grateful for our lessons we learned there and pray for the parents and babies still fighting their own battles.

As a side note, Maycee is doing really well and by all accounts, is a totally normal newborn. Our last test did show that she has a slight to moderate case of reflux in her urinary tract where her urine back flows through the ureters up to the kidneys. This could lead to potential kidney infections which would not be good. At this point, she is on a low dose of daily antibiotics to stave off any UTI's (otherwise known as urinary tract infections). She has to go back for more scans in 6 weeks, but we hope and pray this condition will resolve on its own. The docs are optimistic, but we really hope she will outgrow this. If she doesn't she would require surgery to re implant her ureters properly in her kidneys. So, Maycee is still in need of your prayers, but for now, we are enjoying her more than words can say.

2009-10-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

OK. So I have been slacking on blogging but I do have a good excuse. By the time I get up in the morning to help get kids ready for school, go to work, hurry home to work on the house while having to have Jolee hang on me so that I don't vanish, check homework, make sure the kids are taken care of and then hopefully get them to bed on time I just don't feel like blogging. But here it is 6:40 in the morning and I am ready for the new day. Granted the new day started a few hours ago but anyways...
Maycee is doing great. She is completely off of the oxygen now and her feeding has improved to the point where they have not had to tube feed her lately. This is all great news because it means that they are working on the checklist of things she has to do to be able to come home. It looks like it could be as early as Friday but more likely sometime over the weekend. Darcy has to take a few parenting classes that are required by the NICU to get discharged. Seems a bit odd that they wait until your sixth kid to give you the parenting class. I am more curious if they have a parenting your teenager class but I am sure that's run by the mental health department.
With any luck come Monday we will be back to life as usual.
As a side note, Darcy has been told by some of the doctors and nurses that they are amazed at Maycee's recovery. A lot of kids that get PPHN as bad as she did will spend more than a month in the NICU. We know that her recovery was greatly helped by all of our family and friends praying for her and for that we are truly grateful.

Sunday night Maycee update

2009-10-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

Here it is Sunday night and I haven't updated the blog for a while. Quite a lot has happened since our Friday post. First of all I am home in Soldotna with the kids while Darcy is still at the NICU with Maycee. It looks like it will be another week before Darcy and Maycee get to come home so I had to get back to work to try to start paying for some of these medical bills. Darcy was able to move onto a parent room at the NICU so we feel very blessed to have that happen. They only have six parent rooms and they only come available when someone takes their child home. We had been trying to get one for a while to help with Darcy trying to breast feed Maycee but it really is luck of the draw so to speak. Now Darcy is living in the same general area as Maycee although not the same room. Maycee's room is basically next door where her doctors and nurses have access to her around the clock.

Maycee has started to do better on her feedings but is still having to take a portion of her food through a feeding tube. She is up to eating 61 ml every 3 hours which equates to about 2 ounces per feeding. She is still on the vapotherm which is her pressurized air but the oxygen is down to 21% which is the same as the air we all breath so she just needs it to help her to get good full breaths. They started her out at 6 on the pressure when they removed her breathing tube and late today they got down to 2. Typically they reduce the pressure by 1 every other day. All in all she is doing well and baring any relapse should be able to come home possibly next weekend.

Darcy has the camera with her to get more photos that we will post later since I had to take the computer with me for work stuff.

Kangaroo Care

2009-10-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

It has been one of our favorite days thus far here at the NICU. They have a great program for the babies called Kangaroo Care, which is skin to skin therapy for baby and mom and dad. I have walked by dozens of parents during the last 10 days, envying their cuddle time with their little ones. Most of these babies truly are tiny and it's pretty intense seeing these 2 pound babies laying on their parent's chest. Well, finally today was our turn! I started the day with little Maycee and even got to try some latching on. Thus far, all of our babies have come out ready to nurse. Miss Maycee has had a slow start because of her recent trauma, but she is amazing the nurses at how fast she is taking to the bottle and the breast. I must say that she has a ways to go until she is an expert, but she is getting the idea for sure.

I just love this pic of Maycee. She is still a bit doped up, but has her moments of alertness and she is already lifting her head. The docs have been impressed with her strength from the beginning, which is one of the reasons why we had to keep her sedated. As for the morphine, she is now receiving it orally because they took her last IV out today! Hopefully she will not need anymore, but they still have to draw blood gases occasionally so this means that her heel will be pricked instead...bummer!

The other fun event of the day was Maycee's first bath. It has been 11 long days and poor Maycee really needed a spa day...she was starting to smell a little funky. She really enjoyed her sponge bath and stayed nice and toasty in the warm water and under the heater. This is her right before her dip. She smells much better now.

Isn't she lovely? She is proving to have rather sensitive skin, but we love her spots and all.

Here is Maycee behind the bars of her new bed...a crib! She is out of the hospital bed and into a real crib. If she is a Swanson kid, that will change when we get home, but for now, we are hoping she will learn to sleep all night in a crib (I think the morphine helps with this a bit, though).

Baby Rehab

2009-10-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

Another great day today, and I feel like it's pretty safe to say those scary days are behind us. The docs said the PPHN has resolved, Maycee is breathing room air oxygen with just a little help through the nose, and her final kidney scan came back completely normal. We got to snuggle her all day today and it's amazing how time just flew by. It really is true that time flies when you are having fun. It seemed to go backward when we were going through the rough days.

So to get out of here and come home, Maycee has to go to rehab and she says no, no, no. She apparently likes her morphine, as most babies do that have had to be on it for more than a week. We now are in the process of weaning her off it and getting her to learn to feed from a bottle/nursing. We really want her to exclusively nurse, but it tends to get babies out of the NICU sooner if they bottle feed too. Hopefully she will be a quick study, but the morphine tends to make her a bit drowsy, so we shall see. The lactation consultants are very pro breast feeding and are excellent to work with. Here's Dad getting some bottle practice in.

I cannot explain how it feels to hold my baby after just watching her struggle for the last week. She is actually acting like all my other babies. She even dreams and "talks to the angels", a saying we have when they are making sweet faces while they are asleep. She tends to sneeze a bit more than our others, but that will subside when she gets that nasal cannula out. We are so grateful for even the smallest bits of normalcy we can get with her. She is so special to us, as are our other children, and we are so blessed to have her on the mend. Thanks again for all your prayers and efforts to help our family...they really have worked!!

Another huge event of the day was the removal of Maycee's arterial line through her umbilical cord. The doc's used this line as a way to draw blood gases, but she doesn't need that anymore. This means we can do a lot more hands on with her as she is not tied down with a tube running through a major artery.

Jolee has been able to hang out with us at night at the hotel and it has been really good for all of us. She definitely has missed her mom and dad, and we enjoy snuggling with her at night. Thanks to Auntie and Grandma Lynn for watching her during the day. Dad took her swimming in the hotel pool, and she loved it. Naturally, she preferred being the hot tub a bit more, but it was great watching her splash around with Daddy.

Maycee Goes Tubeless!

2009-10-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Maycee resting a little before they pulled her breathing tube out.

I was watching over her, eagerly anticipating the tube coming out. You may notice my playoff beard going. I decided not to shave until we get to take Maycee home.

This is Maycee about 10 seconds after they took the tube out. Her face is a bit ravaged by all the tape used to strap the tube down, but still a gorgeous sight to see.

Darcy comforting Maycee.

And a very happy moment for Darcy and Maycee both. Notice all of the tubes and wires in the lower right corner. That is everything she still has to work to get rid of.

Today was a big day for Maycee. She had the breathing tube removed from her throat and now is on a nasal cannula. This is a giant step because it allows for quite a bit more movement for her. Darcy was able to hold her for about 30 minutes tonight and I got to change two poopy diapers. All the ladies in the NICU were telling me it was fair but I think I got the short end. Anyways, if all goes well tonight we should be able to hold her quite a bit tomorrow. Her next steps will be to focus on her feeding and hopefully start trying to breast feed within the next few days. She still has a ways to go to get out of the NICU but she has made some huge progress toward that happening.

Tuesday night update

2009-10-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

Maycee opened her eyes long enough for me to get a picture of her.

Her first stuffed animal watching over her. Thanks Emily for bringing it by the hospital and sorry we missed you! This bear is going to be her watch me grow bear where we can compare her size to the bear every month. She is already huge compared to the bear, but we are grateful to have this in the hospital.

We had NICU parents arts and crafts time.

Day 8 in the NICU and it was another good day. Maycee started the day off right by weaning off of the nitric oxide around lunch time while getting her oxygen down to 50%. The goal is to get to 21% on the oxygen which is what the air we all breathe has. When she gets there and is able to keep her stats up, then they will extubate her breathing tube and move into more of a mask system. They have a few different options for that so it will just be a matter of seeing what she prefers. Her morphine is down to .01 from the .02 it was at. They want to still keep her pretty inactive but also need for her to be able to be aware enough to do things on her own when its time. She also took the last of her antibiotics today, so unless something else pops up, she won't need anymore antibiotics. They actually were able to get all of her IV stuff attached to her bed tonight, so no more stand alone IV trees.We are headed to bed tonight excited about her progress but also nervous about getting to the point where they take the breathing tube out.

Tuesday morning update

2009-10-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

This should actually be the Monday night update but we got in a bit late. I went home Sunday night to see the kids, take care of some work stuff, get some things and ge back as quick as I could. By the time I got back last night and saw Maycee we were both too tired to blog. Anyway, Maycee had a fairly uneventful day. She was weaned a little more from her breathing machines but very little. Another day of rest for the most part. The big news of the day was that she finally had her first poopy diaper. Her respiratory tech kept saying that Maycee was dropping some serious bombs every time she checked on her and low and behold - poop. It's funny how you can get so excited about these things. I know that six months from now she is going to poop and Darcy is going to look at me and say it's my turn to change her and I won't be quite as excited as I am now but I will be very grateful.
On another note our other children are all doing very well. Haylee had her first volleyball road trip this past weekend and her team won both games. They are still undefeated on the season but have some big games coming up this weekend. Brady just finished the cross country running season at his school and was constantly pushing himself to get better. His work ethic in all he does surprises me at times and I am very proud of him. Brady and Jaron both start hockey in a few weeks so Miles Hansen took his kids and the boys to open skate on Saturday. Taegan, Miles's daughter, was worried that they would fall and get hurt. Jaron responded to her that it would be ok because they were wearing some of their gear and then he looked at Miles and said oh no - where's my cup. Gotta love that boy. Chloee continues to do well in kindergarten and is loving learning. On Monday they had to get their TB shot and Chloee does not do well with shots at all. She told us over the phone though that she would be brave. When she came home from school on Monday I was still at the house just getting ready to leave. She walked in and didn't say hi or anything she just took off her coat and showed me her bandaid where she got the shot. She was quite proud and so was I.

Sunday night Maycee update

2009-10-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

Maycee had another good day today. They were able to reduce her oxygen level down to 60% and her nitric oxide down to 10%. They pushed her hard today and she responded well. Tha plan is to let her rest through the night and then as long as she maintains where she is at they will try to push her again tomorrow to see how she reacts. It's very scary for Darcy and I whenever they reduce a level on something because there is always the chance that her body won't react well to it and actually regress a bit. She did have a period of time today when she was somewhat awake and moved around quite a bit. She also opened her eyes for a few seconds and looked right at us.

The nurses have Darcy and I both helping with her cares as much as possible so we hold the feeding tube, change the diaper, help take her temperature and things like that so we are getting to act like parents a little bit instead of just observers all the time.

We probably won't have any new pictures until Tuesday night.

Day 6: Good Morning

2009-10-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

Shortly before I posted last night, the phone rang and it was the NICU. That's always scary, but our nurse, Ashley, wanted to give us Maycee's update. I had mentioned earlier that when we left the NICU last night, Maycee's oxygen levels weren't were we wanted them to be. Ashley called to tell us that our picky girl decided she wanted a different ventilator. After switching machines, her stats were back up to 100.

This morning came quickly as I really needed to use the pumps at the hospital (TMI I know), so I had Aaron call for an update. Maycee is now down to 90 percent on the machine and doing well so far. Let's pray those levels will hold and continue to improve, but something tells me this little girl has a strong mind of her own and she is taking us for quite the ride. We will post more tonight.

NICU Day 5: Baby Steps

2009-10-03T23:20:00.001-07:00

It's late, but time for the daily update. Maycee had another good day. While she didn't make huge strides forward today, she did not go backward and, in the NICU, that is huge. We had an awesome nurse today, she is actually a supervisor, and quite the fireball. She was really wanting to push Maycee to drop her oxygen on the ventilator from 100 percent to 98. We laughed watching our cautious RT (respiratory therapist) and she tease each other. In the end, Maycee decided that she wanted an entirely different ventilator and to remain at 100 percent.

As for successful baby steps today, Maycee had her urinary catheter taken out. She also proved she could pee on her own when Nurse Deb and I changed her diaper. She had a little pee in the first, but as soon as her cute bum was exposed to the cool air, we no sooner had the new diaper laid under her and she let the pee fly! She ended up peeing on her bed, so we had to change all her bedding. This was actually an amazing experience because Aaron got to hold her (basically suspend her in the air) while we changed her bedding. Both Aaron and I have ached to hold Maycee, so this was quite special for Aaron.

This might make great black-mail pics for the future, but we had to capture her first pee diaper! Plus, you have to admit she has one cute bum!

The milk man finally arrived and I have been pumping milk for Maycee for the last 2 days. It's a good thing I did because Doc. Jacobs gave the order that Maycee could eat today. She receives my milk through a tube that runs in her mouth and down to her belly. She eats every 3 hours, and so far seems to be doing great with the feedings. Hopefully, Mom's milk will make her strong!!

Daddy got to feed her this time. Hold up the tube, and it all drains in. Don't let the swelling in Maycee's head scare you. It's normal, and not permanent.

Our little princess has proven to be quite picky. She definitely likes things her way. She does not like a lot of stimulation and noise, so this is her special noise curtain. She better tell her siblings the new princess will be home to rule hopefully soon.

Maycee's other first today was her blood transfusion. This scared me when I first was told she would most likely need one, but it really is no big deal and will help her oxygen levels as the new blood will provide more red blood cells to carry oxygen. They do so many blood gases that the vampires sucked her dry. The good news is that the docs have reduced the number of gases that need taken everyday. The blood gases really are the most accurate way of seeing how she is doing, so they are quite necessary.

Last but not least, we put one of the blankets that has gone through both Chloee and Jolee in Maycee's bed. We figured her sisters would want her to have it. Sweet dreams Maycee baby.

Friday in Maycee land

2009-10-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Maycee

laying on her tummy being comforted by Mom

Today was the best day of Maycee's life. Granted it wasn't hard to improve on the previous three days. Darcy and I went to the NICU today quite nervous due to leaving last nights with all of her important levels a bit high. When we walked in she was on her tummy for the first time and was tolerating it quite well and they had even started to reduce the amount of one of her blood pressure medicines. This was such a huge relief for us as we had already tried to prepare for another emotional roller coaster ride but I am not sure we could have done another one. Maycee continued to generally improve throughout the day and by 8:00 pm when we left she was off of one of her medicines completely. Thi is a small step toward her overall recovery but a huge emotional boost for Darcy and I.

It is impossible to describe all of the different feelings we have been through each day and I am not sure that I would even want to. I am so thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers from everyone and can't wait until we can bring Maycee home to meet her siblings.

Thursday night Maycee update

2009-10-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

This is Maycee's pee. I never thought I would be so excited for a kid to pee

Darcy holding Maycee's hand

This is during her heart scan

Darcy looking in on Maycee. This is as close as we can get to her most of the time.

Another long day in the NICU for us with Maycee. She is so wonderful and it is so hard for us to not be able to hold her. She actually does best when she is not stimulated by touch or sounds around her so we can only actually touch her a few times a day and even then it is very quickly.

Her medical update of the day is that she is still on the ventilator and a lot of different medications to keep her sedated along with helping to fight infection and controling her blood pressure, oxygen levels, and heart rate. Her lungs have shown improvement and are fully inflating again with the ventilator. Maycee's kidney had a scan today because they were worried she was not urinating all of the fluid they were putting in her. The scan appeared to be normal but will be re-done tomorrow sometime to be sure. A catheter was put in to drain her bladder and let me just say that I have no idea how she held it that long. They drained off a ton of urine. They have not yet determined what virus she has but are continuing to treat her with antibiotics that cover a broad range of things. It is quite common for newborns to show symptoms of being infected but not necessarily have anything. Until her cbc comes back within normal ranges they will continue to treat her as if she has a virus. Her biggest problem currently is Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN). In the womb the blood vessels around the lungs are tight and small and after birth should relax and open. Maycee's have not yet relaxed so she is having trouble getting enough oxygen. What the doctors are trying to due is to get her blood pressure up higher to trick her body into pumping blood to the lungs as the path of least resistance. So far we have had very little luck in getting her blood pressure up to where we want it to be for more than just short periods of time. She has had two different scans of her heart and we consulted with the pediatric heart specialist. Her heart appears to be fine other than the PPHN.

Maycee is considered to be the sickest kid in the NICU right now but her doctors, nurses, and therapist have been wonderful and I know that we are getting the best care possible for her.

Maycee Faith Swanson

2009-10-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Maycee. We are headed to the hospital now to be with her and will update the blog later when we can.

Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate it and know that Maycee does too.

Ask and Ye Shall Recieve

2009-09-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

What an amazing couple of days. First off, a tremendous thank you to the many many friends who have given us so much love, strength, and support. It is truly incredible to see how loved we are. I am now in Anchorage with Maycee and Aaron and am thrilled to be able to touch and talk to her. She is so beautiful and an amazingly strong little spirit. They call her the "giant" in the NICU because she is the biggest one at a whopping 7 lbs. 9 oz. I knew months ago that she was an extremely strong spirit because she was constantly kicking me. She is proving to be just as strong willed in the outside world too. She pushes away the nurses hands when they try to work on her and she is proving to be quite picky when choosing which ventilator she wants to be on.

As for her current condition (granted it can change within minutes), but she is on a ventilator which is breathing for her, allowing her lungs to become stronger. The other hurdle is that she is fighting some sort of infection that we hopefully will discover tomorrow when the blood cultures come back. She is already receiving 2 different antibiotics and the next 24-48 hours are very important. For now, her levels are good and we want them to stay that way.

The miracle of the day is this. Maycee received a healing blessing from her dad and our friend, Shayne, a few hours after she was born. She has been on temple prayer rolls, and many friends and family are fasting and for her. I felt strongly today that she needed another preisthood blessing, but didn't know how to get her one because only parents are allowed in the NICU. Aaron had also been thinking he wanted to give her another healing blessing. I was literally on my way out of the NICU to go pump for Maycee and I said to Aaron "We need to get Maycee another blessing." I turned around, walked three steps towards the door, when I saw the back of a young man dressed in a white shirt and black slacks. I immediately knew it was a missionary and sure enough, I saw his badge and there he was. He and his companion had been called in to give another baby a blessing and I almost shouted, "Elder! I need you!" Here was this young kid, and a huge smile came across his face and said he is companion was waiting in the foyer. Elder Oka is a missionary serving in the Spanish speaking mission here in Anchorage and he was thrilled to be able to help us. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows my needs and the desires of my heart. I simply asked, and the way was provided. I know that through our faith, Maycee will be okay, and ultimately she will be apart of our family forever. Please keep up your prayers, because they are heard and answered! We love you all.

Darcy and Baby Update

2009-09-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

This is Darcy's sister Bobbi giving an update on Darcy and baby Maycee.

Maycee Faith Swanson was born September 29, 2009 at 4:18 am weighing 7lbs 9ounces. She is 37 weeks and 2 days. Upon delivery, Maycee was experiencing problems breathing. Ultimately, Maycee was placed on oxygen and more tests were run. Her lungs turned out to be that of a premeeies and she had to be medi-vacked to Anchorage to Providence Hospital and their NICU. The life flight team intibated her before she and Aaron took flight and she responded positively to the treatment before the flight and started have a much needed rest. Aaron and Maycee landed safely in Anchorage and she was checked into the NICU and immediately started improving. She is not out of the woods yet, and prayers are still needed, but we are very happy with her improvement.

Darcy is doing very well considering. She is healing quickly and preparing to drive up with me tomorrow to Anchorage to be with Maycee and Aaron. Maycee will be in the NICU for 3-7 more days. Thank you to all of you that have expressed your thoughts and concerns and volunteered to step in and help. The family is truly grateful for everyone's help, the gift of the priesthood, and the power of prayer.

Fair Fun Part 1

2009-09-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am finally forcing myself to update the blog. Between being to the tired and miserable stage of pregnancy plus the chaos of trying to get this house finished, I have found blogging to be on the bottom of the priority list. However, I know that I will really want these posts in the future, so it's quick and simple for now.

We decided to take the kids out of school for 2 days a few weeks ago to see the Broadway showing of The Lion King, and do the State Fair the next day. It was well worth it as we had a blast and the weather was incredible!! I managed to drag Aaron to the fair (this happens about once in three years) and we made it through about $300 bucks poorer, but had a great time. These pics are of the 2 girls getting colored extensions in their hair, now a fair tradition. It has been about three weeks since, and they both still are sporting their colors.

Here is Chloee getting ready for her extensions. Notice the chocolate/ketchup stains on the shirt.

Getting glued...

...and VIOLA!! Too cute.

Here is big Sis getting some SoHi Blue in her doo.

Poor little Sis missed out on the extensions, passed out from her sugar high, but next year she will be sporting a few colors of her own.

Chloee's Big Adventure

2009-09-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's official. We now have 4 kids in school! Crazy how time flies and things change, isn't it? When we dropped our first off to kindergarten, I must admit I cried. After dropping off the fourth, I cheered! Why is that? Anyway, Chloee has LOVED being in school and is so eager to learn new things. She has already made lots of new girl friends and loves her teacher. Here are some pics from her first big day of school.

Big sissy showing little sis her new digs. Jolee really misses Chloee during the day, but she will be the big sister in about 6 more weeks.

Chloee is showing us where the class does "calendar time". Doesn't she look so grown up?

Chloee standing if front of her cubby.

Here she is trying to figure out the marker lid. We are so excited for Chloee's new phase of life as a big kid in school. She has been waiting for this for a while and we are eager (and a little scared) to see what adventures she takes us on.

Back to School

2009-08-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Another summer has come and gone and it's time to ship the kids off to school (4 this year!!) Mind you, we have never had a summer quite like this one with building our new house, selling our old one and being homeless. Normally, I take pictures of the kids on their way out the front door, so this year, the Winnebago had to suffice.

This is our home in front of our home. My parents were kind enough to let us use their motorhome to spread out our brood. It really hasn't been all bad, but if we don't go camping for a while, that will be fine with me.

Can you believe we have a high schooler now? I am really not old enough to be the mother of a freshman, but nonetheless, we sent Haylee off to Soldotna High while Brady is a big 6th grader and Jaron is a 2nd grader at Aurora Borealis Charter School. Haylee is also experiencing the joys of early morning seminary and playing volleyball for Sohi's C team. Yes, Chloee started kindergarten this year, a few days after the other kids started, but I will save a post just for her big day.

Jaron's Baptism

2009-08-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am a way-behind blogger, but you all know why and I am sure will cut me some major slack! Anyway, we finally downloaded some pics from our eventful summer to share. A huge event for our family was Jaron's baptism in July. I think I blogged about it in an earlier post, but didn't have any pics to share, so enjoy the following:

Okay, so here is a reality shot if I ever saw one!! This is what it looks like when herding children while pregnant to get some semblance of a peaceful family photo.

Can you say "high blood pressure"? Notice Haylee's death grip on Jaron's shoulder! This is when we sing "Love at Home".

AAAANNNNDDD....we did it! What a happy family!

Here is the whole crew, minus Aaron's side of the family who were in California at the time. It really was a wonderful baptism and the spirit was strongly felt by all. We are grateful for the gospel and our family!

I am ONLINE!

2009-08-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

As of today, we have wifi at our new house...we don't have the house yet, but I can get on the web from the motorhome! I am not a huge web fan, but it is amazing how cut off you are from the world when you don't have access to modern technology. At least something is going right. As far as the house goes, we are making progress. I am currently listening to my tile guy's saw busily cutting through the floor tile. After having to get a little testy with him, our mason is on the job pretty much full time as he should be. I have only had one breakdown (at 3am the other night), so I figure I am doing pretty well considering the circumstances. The weather has been great so the exterior of the house is now receiving its chosen color...and I love it! You never know how paint is going to turn out, but so far, everything we have chosen is coming out beautiful. I am seriously planning on digging the camera out from wherever it is buried to give you all some updated pics. Until then, we are still camping.

We are Still Here!

2009-08-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, we have not fallen off the face of the earth, though at times I wish I could. I am writing this in our local library because we don't have Internet access in our home on wheels, but here is a quick update. We are currently living in our motor home in the drive way of our new house. Needless to say, life is pretty stressful right now, but we have faith that it will pay off soon. As for the house, doors are going in, tile floors are being laid, we have 4 of the 7 toilets in, but they don't have water yet. The bathroom vanities can go in shortly and sinks and counters follow soon after that. Most of the lighting is in and is beautiful! Our trim is turning out gorgeous and really sets the rooms off. We still have no definitive time frame, but school starts in a week and a half, and I don't think we will make it in by then. Sorry Hay, you will have to get ready for your first day in high school in the moty!! As for Haylee, she made the volleyball C team and we are so excited for her. The kids are gearing up for school to start, but so far, we cannot seem to get to bed any earlier than 10:30p.m. Ouch! Keep us in your prayers these next several weeks! We are gonnna need them! Gotta run!!

Kids are so funny!

2009-07-27T09:54:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! This week we are staying at our friends' house (the Hansens) while they are in Utah. Thanks guys! It has been really nice to take a real shower. Anyway, Aaron wanted me to blog what happened last night, and he usually doesn't show much interest in the blog either way, so I decided I had better put this down. Last night while we were making dinner, Aaron was standing in front of the fridge, stuck his belly out, and asked Chloee a question. Now I need to preface this by saying that Aaron is NOT fat by any means, but he goes through these phases every few months where he thinks he has gained weight, and puts himself on a diet. Personally, I don't find his few gained pounds very humorous right now as I am almost 7 months pregnant! Anyways, moving on...So he asked Chloee, "Chloee, what do I need to go on?" She looked at his pushed out belly and said, "Ummm, Biggest Loser?!" Needless to say, Aaron was expecting her to say "diet", not a TV show for obese people! We got quite a laugh at this one.

Also, we had to share that our sweet Jolee has now found her voice in this world, at times it's a screech, but she has been quickly developing her vocabulary. She has said the dinner prayer the last two nights with help from Daddy. She is a little shy when she says it, but it is the sweetest thing you ever did see! She loves it when all the other kids clap after she says Amen. We will try to stay updated on the house, but most likely will be in the motor home next week. Can't Wait For That!!