Backyard camping

This never sounds fun to me, but for some reason I was up for it one night. We got the tent set up around 8:30, roasted s'mores and got to bed super late, like after 11 (late for the kids when they didn't take a nap). When we set up the tent the kids were SOOOO excited, especially Addysin. She has been asking to camp for months.

Jessica and Ashley came to roast mallows with us before bed.

As expected, the air mattress KILLED my back. I woke up every hour for the 5 hours I was out there. I even moved Addysin onto my bed so I could have her mat. That didn't help. Sometime during the night the milk truck came to take the milk, which is a semi! We were like 20 feet from the driveway, by the way. Plus, let me remind you that we are surrounded by cows. Random "moos" during the night woke me. At 4:00 I realized I could go inside the room thats by the yard, leave the window open so I could still hear them, and hopefully get some sleep. Then at 6:00 my brother was out feeding the calves and beating some metals buckets against each other (which by that time, it is BRIGHT outside). I was so close to yelling at him. Have some respect for the campers! The kids woke up early, of course, so they were grouchy that day. Overall, it was a great ONE TIME memory. Chris slept good so he can camp with them from now on :)

Playground of Dreams

Yes, that is really what its called- and it is pretty sweet. There is a splash park and playground. Its very safe, fully fenced in with one entrance/exit, perfect for young kids like mine... and I love it.

My sister Ashley was wanting to do a "pizza picnic" at the park so we took my brothers kids as well. Austin and Caiden are 10 months apart and look a lot alike because of their hair and height. 

 Rachael, my cousin, and Annabelle came too. It was so fun for the kids. I dont take them to the park anymore, now that we're hicks, so this was pretty awesome to them.

We were all really hot, and it was only 87 degrees! Ha ha!

Afterwards we went to Sonic and Costco, which they also thought was awesome. Emily even loved it, thanks to the "hot" car hop on rollerblades. She was giddy the whole time we were there :) When we pulled up to Costco, Caiden gasps, "Mom, Cosco!!!" He gets really excited about all the familiar things in his life.

Poopy bottom boyfriend

I just remembered the phrase "poopy bottom boyfriend" that I used to say about a year ago. Addysin would chant it while I changed Caiden's diaper. I dont know where I got it. Just a random, funny memory I had.

I like to have a picture to go with my posts, but you will thank me for sparing you on this one... Tonight we were out in the yard and Caiden was over by the neighbors house across the driveway. I looked over to their house to make sure Caiden was okay and I see him stripping off his pants and diaper. What? Wait... is that poo all over his bum??!!??!! He was struggling to get everything off with his shoes still on so he sat down on the gravel. He jumped right back up when he realized that wasn't a good idea. By the time I got there he was standing with poo smeared all over his rear and gravel in his crack. The mental picture I have is so hilarious. It was actually pretty funny when Chris was hosing him off, too. After a month of potty training you think he could have at least told me that he pooped in his diaper, or asked me to change him. So this is what it means when people say, "my child wasn't' ready to be potty trained". Some kids just DONT care. That is Caiden.

3 bad things I discovered today

Here comes Negative Nancy... thats me. Today I:

1. Got a sinus infection. When I have one of these (which hasn't been too long since I got over my last one- about a month), they stick around for a long time. My head, eyes, and face hurt. I am soooo tired. I woke up every single hour last night.

2. Officially decided that Caiden is not ready to be a big boy and after a MONTH of potty training, is going back to diapers. He just doesn't want to go in the toilet, unless its for a marshmallow (which he calls "potty treat"). He forgets until he has already gone in his pants, then says "potty treat!". UHHHH, yeah right Caiden! And going #2 in the toilet only happened twice in the past month. Every other time was in his underwear or when he happen to have a diaper on. Its been a HUGE pain, and he is definitely digressing.  Oh, speaking of which, he just informed me that he just now pooped in his diaper. Super. He made sure to go into another room to do it so I couldn't stop him. He constantly pees his pants right in front of me. He stops what he's doing, holds still, gets that look of "I'm pushing", and then I see the puddle forming at his feet. Wow, wouldn't it have been easier to just go in the toilet Caiden?

3. Realized that I have a slight "pregnancy mask" above my eyebrows and upper lip!!! I noticed my skin was weird there, but honestly I have a terrible complexion so I didn't pay attention to it until yesterday. Then today my sister asked "if I ripped my skin while waxing?" Unfortunately, no.  I had a friend who got it above her lip and removed it with Retin A cream, which cant be used until I am done nursing! That is a long way away. Hopefully it will go away on its own.

Stranger Danger

I went shopping for Fathers Day at the mall today with the Kids. I WILL NOT make the mistake of taking Caiden with me EVER again! He doesn't care about getting lost, falling down/up the escalator, or when I say, "okay, bye Caiden, we're leaving you!" On the other hand, Addysin was an angel. She stayed right by me. It helps that she is totally afraid of Strangers. Strangers are people that take kids, steal your stuff, come in your house while your sleeping, and anyone you dont know is a stanger! That is not how we explained it to her, but she has pieced together all of the things we've been telling her lately about staying safe. This is what she has formed in her head. Today at the mall food court a lady came and cleaned the table next to her and it scared her. But the girl at the store that helped us "is a nice stranger". If you know Addysin, this is not surprising. She is a very cautious little girl, and always has been. Even when she was a year old, if you told her something was scary she would NOT do it again. Maybe our next child will be somewhere in between Addysin and Caiden.

Well, after being at the mall too long and losing my patience 50 times (seriously), I got what I came for. Thats the thing about living 25 minutes from the mall- there is no coming back tomorrow. And the kids got an ice cream cone. I dont know how Caiden deserved that. Being a cutie pays off, I guess. He is a giant stinker.

Todays favorites

My favorite part of today...

1. After my headache finally went away at 5 pm, the kids and I went over to my parents and went 4-wheeling. It was a beautiful evening. Super warm. Addysin was holding on behind me and Caiden holding on to the handle bars. The both fell asleep. I was driving with my right hand, holding on to Addysin's left arm with my left hand (as she was totally slumped over to the right). Caiden continued to hold on, laying on the gas tank, head still held high, eyes closed. It was hilarious. Good thing I didn't go far because I could not wake either of them up.

2. Chris and Caidens first Father/Son campout... except they just went to hang out for the evening at our church (where its held). Chris heard about it too late, so they weren't able to get ready in time. It might not have gone too smoothly anyways. Next year will be really fun, once he is going on 4.

3. Our first harvest, spinach leaves!!! They are sooo good to eat plain!

4. I'm not kidding, even Addysin likes them! She is still a picky eater, but every now and then she surprises me. I think she surprises herself when she tries something new and its good. Caiden wouldn't try it, of course.

Green drink!.... well the blueberries took over the green-ness. I put in a TON of spinach though.

Chris' artwork

I told, a little while ago, about how Caiden likes us to draw for him during church. The minute we sit down he digs in the bag, pulls out paper and markers, and loudly whines until we draw something for him. It used to be my job and I am burnt out of drawing for him. Chris, on the other hand, will draw these professional pictures for him. Caiden just stands there and watches quietly. Chris drew this for Caiden:) He loves to watch Chris draw. We figured out that if you draw something fast, then you have to draw another thing, and another, and another. So Chris really goes all out and takes his time. (Please pay close attention to the shading.) My sister Melanie asked if we got this from Disney World :)

The funny part is he takes his artwork to nursery. I wonder what the leaders think:)

Our Utah trip!

I cannot believe we moved 13 months ago! When I found out we were moving from our perfect little neighborhood, and (what I thought was) my perfect life, I DID NOT want to leave Utah. I wanted to go back and visit so many times, but it never worked out. Finally a year later, with Addysin always begging to go to "the Utah house" we made it back! It was so fun to see most of our friends. We didn't have enough time to see everyone but it was fun to quickly see most people. I went half the trip with no pictures!!! Hate when I do that. 

We travelled there the day after Amy's wedding (saturday) so we could make it for Kara and Adam's baby blessing for Kyler, which was on Sunday. We pulled up to a rest stop around Ogden and Chris read aloud  the sign that said "Welcome to Utah!" Addysin burst into tears saying that this was NOT Utah. We figured out that "Utah" is our old Townhome. Chris told her that someone else lived there now and that we couldn't live there. That didn't help. I told her that we would go and visit though. So we arrived at our destination (Tyler and McKendra's house in Highland) that night. Once we stopped, she started crying again. She didn't want to be there at all. But it wasn't anything a Redbox movie couldn't fix, thank goodness. I was about to get back in the car and drive her down to Orem. 

Sunday- We spent with family. My brother-in-law Adam blessed Kyler, and we had a huge BBQ at Sugar House Park afterwards. That evening we went to Chris' Brother David's house. Kira whipped up a great dinner in no time. We went back to Tyler's house, which is where we decided to stay all week. McKendra and their kids were in California, MAJOR bummer, but it was still fun being there.

Monday- We finally made it down to our old house. When we parked Addysin exclaimed happily, "This is Utah!!" We looked through our house that is being rented, then visited some neighbors. Caiden didn't care, or maybe didn't remember, anything or anyone. He was 20 months when we moved. Addysin remembered EVERYTHING and everyone. She was 3 years 4 months old. 

Our old Courtyard

On Monday night we went to Amy and Greg's reception in American Fork, where Greg grew up.

Tuesday- I met up with 3 friends/old neighbors for lunch. Dani, Aubrey, and Dareth. No picture :( Chris was with his Brother David. Afterwards, I went to see my close friend Rachel, from Cosmetology School. After meeting back with Chris, we hung out with the neighbors again.

 Our sweet little neighbor Etta. Her and Addysin were best friends, even though she is Caiden's Age.

 For dinner we went with 3 couples to "Blue Lemon" which was so good! We had such a fun time with the Sperry's and Thompson's. 

 Addysin and Drew were really good friends before they were old enough to take their "girl/boy" roles. After dinner, Drew and Caiden ran around scaring Addsyin. She did not like that. Caiden and Drew would be good friends now :)

Wednesday- Saying goodbye to Sara. We met some of my family for breakfast at Kneaders. We then sat by the temple spending our last hour with Sara before she entered the MTC. I was really sad to say bye. I didn't even want to explain to Addysin how long it would be until we would see her again. I've never had to say goodbye to a sibling for that long. But seriously, 18 monts will fly by.

Sara is worried that her nieces and nephews wont remember her. I'm sure they will. Caiden calls her "Dara". (sounds just like Sara, but with a D)

 Chris gave her all the important advice she needs. 

1. Dont flirt with the elders, its super annoying.

2. Be FIERCELY obedient

3. Things to buy from the MTC bookstore because its super cheap

4. Etc. (I dont remember all the stuff he told her)

He (like all return Missionaries) is so excited for her.

 Afterwards, we went to the pool at our old place with friends. We were there for an hour. I fried my shoulders. 

 Caiden was so worn out, he wouldn't let me take him out of his carseat. He took a nap while we said our goodbyes to our dear friends Sarah and Etta. 

 We drove out to Eagle Mt to see Jamie and her little boy I've never met. It was a good chance for the kids to catch up on sleep from our trip. This is when I knew we needed to go home. Me and the kids were so tired and we got to see almost everyone. 

I'm sorry if we didn't get to see you! I tell everyone, "come visit us!" and I'm super totally serious! We'll show you a good time :)

So what were my feelings about leaving Utah this time? I didn't cry like I did the last time I drove away :) Actually, we have been in Washington long enough that I am very settled and so happy here. For the first 6 months I wondered if I would ever be as happy as I was there. I felt like I would never have that kind of happiness again. That is kind of true though. We had a whole different life there. We are a bit more secluded now, but I LOVE living in the country and next to family. I have less friends, I dont have a gym to go to every day, we live 15 min from the closest store, I only go to "town" once a week, I NEVER go shopping or to the mall, we rarely go out to eat, and sometimes my house smells like a cow. So, like I said, life is different but I LOVE it. I hope we can keep the friendships we built in Utah because the years we spent there were really special.
It is good to be home now.

Amy & Greg's Wedding

I hosted Amy's Bridal Shower at my house the night before her wedding. This banner thing took hours to make and put up. Such a pain. Now I need to rip it down, but dont want to. We had a huge turnout! I didn't count, but probably around 30 girls were here! She got lots of fun "evening wear". For food we had dream bars, peanut butter chocolate bars, mint chocolate truffles, M & M's, Vegi's and dip, and Strawberries. We went around the group introducing ourselves and sharing memories of Amy. Some we sweeet, and some hillarious- those mostly came from Amy's 7 sisters and mom :)

 The weather was perfect on her and Greg's wedding day! (Addysin gets really worked up when she is excluded from a picture. This is after a crying fit that started when Melanie wanted a picture of just her family. To say that Addysin is obsessed with her cousin Kailey is an understatement. Please excuse the puffy eyes.)

 Melanie with Grandma and Grandpa McCullough.

  Just coming out! Addysin LOVES them both and was the first to congratulate them.

 Daddy Daughter. So sweet.

 At the reception that night with Cousin Brittani. Also a huge turnout!

I'll get more pictures on here soon...

Memorial Day

This was Chris' first time that he was able to go to the cemetery with the Bleazards. Its always been a tradition. Usually around noon we meet at the Riverview Heights Cemetery in Kennewick where my Grandpa Bleazard, his sister Doris, and my sister Jenna are buried. We have a very short program. This year Grandma had 3 letters that she recieved from different people at the time of Grandpa's passing. There is always at least one musical number. This year, Chris and Aaron sang "Nearer My God To Thee".

My sisters Sara, Emily, Ashley, and Jessica also sang a hymn. Addysin and Caiden wanted to be a part of it. Addysin totally didn't know the words but was mouthing something :)

 Our family with Jenna. She would have been 19 years old, but died just after she was born. 

Afterwards we always meet at someones house for a BBQ potluck, usually at my parents. This year my parents were scrambling to get ready for Amy's wedding so Grandma took all of us out to Granny's Buffet! What a treat!

Naptime for Addysin

Addysin never chooses or agrees to take naps. The only time she does is late afternoon/early evening when we're driving to/from town. Some days she needs a nap, but wont do it. If she does take a nap, though, she cannot fall asleep to until 11 or 12! I would rather deal with her being tired all day and put her to bed at 9 then have her bugging me until midnight.

On this day, she had woken up too early and "layed down to rest"(as she calls it) while I was working in the yard around noon. This is how I found her. Of course, I didn't want her to get burnt or too hot so I moved her inside to the comfort of my room....

 ... Oh no, she was going to take a nap outside. A few minutes later I found her back out there.

This Pregnancy... symptoms and confessions.

I found out I was pregnant at 4 1/2 weeks. We told everyone the day I took the test. By 6 weeks I was bloated and looking pregnant! By 9 weeks, I thought for sure I was having twins but found out there was just one in there. I outgrew my jeans by about 16 weeks, but really I have only been wearing maternity ones or "stretchy pants" since 10 weeks.

I was only sick for just under two weeks! I'm pretty positive it was the flu though because Addysin threw up after I started feeling better. That was around week 7 (I think), and thank goodness it was literally a few days after we finished moving. My lower back and hips hurt SOOOOOOO bad seriously the second I released the egg. That lasted the whole first trimester. I was exhausted out of my mind until about 16ish weeks. It slowly went away and one day I realized I wasn't as tired anymore so I cant say when for sure. I honestly didn't do anything most of February and March. I would just sit and watch my kids, or lay in bed. I spent a lot of time at my parents house so my family could keep an eye on my kids while I layed around. I'm so happy I'm through that.

I started feel questionable baby movements at 15 weeks. Chris couldn't feel her until 23 weeks. She is really moving now and we can even watch my belly move. I have a GIGANTIC appetite and unfortunately nothing makes me sick. The only good thing about how I was intolerant of certain foods during my last two pregnancies is that it would slow me down with my eating. Also during my previous pregnancies, if I ate too much I would get such a stomach ache and gas. Or feel like I was going to burst. I never feel that way. I am a bottomless pit. After the first trimester, I haven't had gas pains. I just eat and eat and eat and eat. I just feel big. Then I (stupidly) asked the dr. how much I've gained. ?!?!  I have gained the same amount that I gained in my whole pregnancy with Addysin! I am 24 weeks! Okay, since I got you wondering now... 25 lbs. So I thought, "I have to start eating better and less". Have I done that? NO. I have no control and I'm so hungry!!

Just like my last two pregnancies, I dont exercise. Its terrible. It was my goal to exercise this time but we moved out to the country just when I got pregnant and away from the gym. I'm not one to do videos or stuff on my own. I NEED the gym, and really enjoyed it- especially with daycare.

My varicose veins are worse than ever. They are only in my left leg (weird, but good), and start at my toes and wind their way up to my pelvic area. Each pregnancy they get worse looking and feeling. They feel burning hot when they are swollen. Kind of like pinching on the inside my leg, and like my veins are trying to burst out of me. It hard to describe how they feel. If I run into something on my ankle or Chris massages the back of my calf too hard it really hurts, like pressing on a bad bruise. They look like bruises all over my foot and ankle, and of course bulging grossness. It took a while for them to hit their peak of swelling/pooling, and pain. I was into my second trimester when I had to start wearing my prescription support hose- which are the thickest, most grandma looking nylons you'll ever see. Well, you wont see them because I have to wear pants or long dresses to hide them. They are so hard to get on, but once they're on I dont even feel my veins. Hallelujah! They are such a blessing. I dont have to wear them every day. I probably wear them  4 out of 7 days of the week. When I do wear them I keep them on for about 12 hours.

I have not had any heartburn (yet), which I had pretty bad with the last two. I also haven't really had insomnia. Only a few times. I think its because I took so many naps with my first two pregnancies because I either didn't have a baby or I had a baby that I would take naps with. I was sleeping too much during the day and would be up SOOO much of the night and could not fall asleep. I dreaded the nights.
 One thing that is very similar to my other pregnancies is my irritability. I get so bugged by anything that could potentially bug someone. I get bugged by things that shouldn't even bug a mature adult. I am mature, right? Chris, of course, gets the worst of it. Even if its not concerning him, he still gets to listen to me complain. Sorry babe! And sorry to anyone that has gotten to witness my grouchiness. And one more thing. My ears are like dog ears now. Everything is so loud! ESPECIALLY my already loud daughter. And high pitched screams or laughs do not got over well with me. I hope you aren't scared of me now that my true confessions just came out. I think I am just the typical pregnant women. Am I right?

So, to sum things up... this pregnancy is GREAT! My only complaints are my veins and my gigantor appetite. Oh wait, and I have very few clothes that fit.  But, all in all, I feel like I dont mind being pregnant. Which is awesome because I was dreading getting pregnant again.

 So here I am 2 weeks ago at 22 weeks

Girl Vs. Boy

Here is the perfect visual of how Caiden is different than Addysin. Its not just the age difference. Even at 2, Addysin would not have mixed her colors together or gotten it on the table (which he obviously did on purpose).

 But he still likes to copy her all the time. This is typical Addysin, not eating her crust on whatever it is. It was cute that he was watching her. I'm not sure how a waffle has crust.

Caught up!!!!!

YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!! What a good feeling to be caught up to date for the first time in almost a year!!! And I didn't leave anything out. I'm excited to start writing about the silly, fun things that happen daily with the kids. And I cant wait to start sharing my feelings about certain stuff. I just couldn't do that when I was behind. I hate blogging out of order.

So, you can start checking my blog at least weekly! And dont forget to use my public blog in your blog list so you can see when I've updated this one.  www.announcingnewpost.blogspot.com

May-first half

YES! Warm spring weather!!! Its been sporadic, but some days its 70 with no wind. A couple days have been close to 80! This was the best day. The kids were so happy to help me wash the van. 

Addysin was happily drying, and Caiden was crying because I wouldn't let him spray the van anymore.

Two calves born on the same day! One is premature. How cute and tiny!

 Caiden out by the calves at feeing time

Ashley feeding

 In our backyard...

The backyard my parents upgraded to. Much better view!

 Sara is leaving for a mission to Washington DC visitor center (spanish speaking) the second week in June.

My cute boys

 My parents new house

 I started potty training Caiden this month. This is him getting his treat (m&m's) for going potty. Right when he's done with his business, he needs his treat.