Oh Hello...

Hi there- yes, it's been a while. A very long while. Honestly, I am not sure that I am going to EVER catch up again. I feel like I am constantly in survival mode and life continues to get busier every day. I am so far behind on blogging (Halloween hasn't even made its appearance) and my OCD tendencies are kicking in to tell me that I must document everything and in order. I thought I could blog instead of scrapbook- ummm not so much. It remains to be seen what will happen. 

At the moment, I am only blogging because I am on a steroid for insanely, out of control hives. I know that steroids cause sleeplessness but I was desperate and when I got my prescription filled at noon, I wasn't going to wait another day. Basically, since Cal was six weeks old, I have had hives. I can count on one hand the days that I have been completely hive free (unfortunately, not exaggerating). The hives move all over my body, internally and externally. It gets really bad when they are on my face. The most painful ones are on my feet and hands and in my stomach. I am finally going to see an allergist this week. The dermatologist said that hives can be caused by stress, lack of sleep, and post pregnancy hormones. Check to all three. 

Okay, now that I have divulged too much information, on to the fun pictures. 

Max celebrated birthday number 9. Wow- time flies. Yes, I always say that but it really does, as anyone who reads this blog already well knows. 

He is starting to be too cool for little boys stuff and apparently entering the partially obnoxious pre teen years. But he can also be very sweet and helpful. We had a fun week of celebrating. Max is a very busy boy with scouts, baseball, basketball and skiing. 

 Here are my two sweet girls visiting Klaire's bunny. These two are a lot of fun but their personalities are so different. Klein is sweet and helpful. Preslee is energetic and a two year old. Preslee has started potty training herself. She goes into the bathroom, takes her diaper off, uses the toilet, gets dressed (without a diaper), and returns to playing. She does great sometimes but still has accidents. I am not participating in her potty training. I am not ready yet.

The girls have been taking dance class at a girl's studio in our ward and they both love it so much. They are pretty cute little ballerinas. Klein is still in gymnastics. She is still going to Miss Jenny's preschool and is now going to the lab school. She loves school and is doing very well. She is also excited to play soccer in the spring and she has fallen in love with skiing. Preslee is just biding her time to start doing everything Klein does and talks about it nonstop. 

 Hooray for Beaver Mountain. We are so lucky to have such a great mountain so close. It definitely makes winter bearable. Klein started lessons this year and absolutely LOVES it. She passed level 1 with flying colors and will start level 2 in the next session. Max loves skiing too and there is not a jump at the mountain that he cannot find. He passed level 4 and is excited to go on to level 5. We decided that all of our kids would pass all 6 levels before they could graduate from lessons. We want them to be good technical skiers and be able to ski anywhere on the mountain. This plan may backfire on me because I am destined to be the worst skier in the family at that point. I can no longer keep up with Max, unless I want to ski Teddy's Frolic and the South Face all day. Klein will soon pass me up at the rate she is going. I do admit that it is a fun family outing and a great way to enjoy the winter months. Maybe I will have to go through all six levels with Cal...

 Not a great picture but Max was determined to go to Chuck a Rama for his birthday. Of course, the ice cream was pretty much the only food the kids ate but they had a lot of fun.

 Okay, so sleeping around here is on the fritz. We finally got Cal settled into his crib. He gets up around 2:00 am and then up for the day around 6:00. I think he gets cold and lonely and he needs to start catching on to solid food. Preslee started climbing out of her crib. Bedtime routines were at least an hour in length and largely unsuccessful. In order to survive, we let her fall asleep in our bed, move her to her bed, and then she finds her way back to our bed (usually when Cal starts crying at 2:00 am). Needless to say, sleep is a precious, limited commodity around here lately. The picture below was a night when Klein also wandered into our room because she was scared- she is usually pretty good but it made a cute picture.

Four cute and crazy kids. Life keeps us all very busy but I wouldn't trade any of the craziness (well, maybe if I could trade it for some sleep :) 

On a random side note, I will be teaching AP US History and Government next year. The talented and amazing Mrs. Obray is retiring and I will be taking her classes. I am really looking forward to a change and excited to be teaching the two subjects that I majored in. I love teaching English but after 11 years, I am excited to rejuvenate my teaching with some new subjects. 

I hope to be back to more regular blogging soon but I can't guarantee anything. I do appreciate those out there that still blog. It gives me late night reading to catch up on when I need a break from my online courses. 

The Season Never Ends...

Fall baseball was a great experience for Max. He was able to play pretty much every position and started to really prove himself as a catcher and a pitcher. He also had some amazing hits and worked really hard to improve each game. His best game was probably when he struck out five people and only walked two. Cal spent 6 of his first nine weeks of life at the ball park and I was grateful for gorgeous fall weather. Max has been working with Jed on pitching and hitting and it has really made a difference- especially in his confidence. Max has asked for catchers gear for Christmas. He made a few great throws to second and he had a few outs at home plate.  I am already looking forward to spring. I love to watch Max play baseball. 

Here is Max's team. It has been a lot of fun and he is really close friends with a lot of the boys on the team. Some of his buddies have even turned him into a BYU fan. 

Cal's Blessing Day

I feel like I keep getting further and further behind as I try to catch up on everything. Life is feeling a bit less crazy and we are slowly settling into a routine. Cal's blessing day was amazing. Jason gave a wonderful blessing and the spirit could really be felt. Cal is so lucky to have such a great dad. In the blessing Jason mentioned that Cal is surrounded by good men which is so true. He has a lot of great priesthood holders to look up to. Max bore his testimony on that day too. We had dinner afterwards and it was fun to be with family and friends. The only bad part of the day were the flies that appeared in the house by the hundreds. 

Back to School

 Max on Back to School Night. Wow! Third grade already! Max has Mrs. Hedin and so far she has been wonderful. He likes school but doesn't like all the sitting. He tells me he loves all the subjects but mostly can't wait for PE and recess. He is growing up too fast and I hate it. He has decided that he wants to be a Lego engineer and a major league baseball player when he grows up. He has also decided that he will go to BYU instead of USU. But now he will go directly on a mission and not even have to wait. It kills me how quickly time keeps flying by. He is such a great kid!

The official first day photo. He really wanted Cal to be in the picture. He is such a caring big brother and will even cooperate for photos if Cal is involved.

The bus stop is right next to our house. Look at all the kids and this wasn't even all of them.

Here is Klein on her preschool back to school night. She is going to Miss Jenny's again and is so excited. She loves school and wants to be a teacher. I hear her playing in her room "teaching" her animals almost every day. Klein is growing up too fast too. She is just a little girl and not a toddler anymore. She has so much energy and loves to learn. I am planning to send her to one more year of preschool before she goes to kindergarten but I know that she would love to go now.

Sweet Miss Jenny and Klein.

Here is Klein on her official first day. Klein was so excited that she got up extra early (7:00!) to make sure she was ready. She looks really tired in this picture. My parents and Jason's parents have been so good to help take her and Boston to school. She loves it!

A few random shots
Here is Cal and Jamie's baby Erika. Just a few weeks apart, just like Jaelyn and Max. Jamie and I were laughing about how we started having kids together and we ended together. It will be fun to see these two grow up together.

Klein decided one day that she was going to start riding without training wheels. I knew that she could do it but she was determined not to have any help. She picked it up really fast and it only took her about 30 minutes before she was riding like she did with training wheels, doing little wheelies and standing up to peddle. She has even rode all the way to Melanie's a few times and told me that she rode to Boston's one day (which she did try but luckily does not really know where he lives). She is so determined. 

Chillin' in the swing. Look at those sweet cheeks!

Klein with her gorgeous hair. Of course Melanie is the only one that she will let do her hair but she always looks cute when she does. It is getting so long. 

Buddies!

Preslee would love to go to school too! Next year girl!

Cal gets to spend his days just chillin'- his hair is coming in really cute and he has grown so much. He is two months old! Wow!