Roylance Family

Gall Bladder Surgery

2012-02-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had to go to the emergency room because I was having excruciating pain in my gall bladder. I was having a hard time breathing, and was hyperventilating. I had some blood tests and an ultrasound, and they found multiple gall stones. I've had gall bladder problems ever since I was in high school, but they never found any gall stones until my most recent ultrasound. I guess it was kind of a relief...like finally, I have a reason to have it taken out now. So yesterday morning at 6am, Tye drove me to the hospital. My surgery was at 7:30. I was a little nervous, but mostly for the aftermath. I wasn't sure how I would feel when I came home. I don't even remember them taking me into the surgery room. I just remember telling Tye that if anything happened to me (like if I died!) then I wanted him to remarry someone who would love the kids as much as I do. Then the next thing I know, I hear my name from a nurse trying to wake me up.

Last night my friend Susan brought by dinner. She is also the R.S. president, and is very busy. So it was very sweet of her to do that! And my neighbor, Katie, watched the kids all morning while Tye was in the hospital with me. And before that, another friend from the ward, Kristin, came over at 7:15am to make sure the kids got off to school O.K.

Today I've been in a lot of pain. It feels like I've been stabbed in several places on my stomach. The sisters in the ward have been so helpful. My visiting teacher, Natalie, took Katlyn and Aaron to my friend, Shayna's house. Then she brought them back home a few hours later. It was nice to be able to nap a little bit. Shayna even sent some homemade bread back too! I had some of that for my lunch with some peach jam. Then my friend Katie brought over dinner from Rachel Peterson. I was very thankful for it, because my afternoon was spent taking Brock to the doctor's office. I'm not suppose to be driving with the medication I'm on, but I really had no choice. Brock came home and told me he had blood in his urine, and that it hurt. He was also nauseated all day long. So when I called the pediatrician, they told me to come right away to get lab work done. They ended up taking some blood tests, and think it may be a small kidney stone, but we'll see if it clears up tomorrow. It was kind of funny at the medical office, because Brock was pushing me around in a wheel chair, so everyone thought I was the patient. Brock had to be checked "down there", so he gave me a mad look, and said I owed him ice-cream. I really did feel bad about it, so I drove through Good Times, and bought him a shake on the way home. I'm glad I made it home. I could feel the medication making me tired and loopy! This may be how people feel when they are slightly drunk. :( I'm not planning on driving anywhere anymore until I'm all healed!

Sometimes I take my health for granted. It really is a blessing to have good health! I think this will give me a new perspective when others have to have surgery. It really is hard to get around and to day to day things after surgery. I'm so grateful for the help from my friends and ward family!

December 2011

2012-01-27T22:37:00.000-08:00

A stranger came to my door the other day and asked me if I was Heidi. He then gave me my camera! I couldn't believe it. I had been looking for my camera ever since Christmas. He said he found it on the trails, in the open space area. I think he got our address by seeing the boys football jerseys with our last name on them (kind of scary when I think about it now...) But I'm so happy to have my little camera back!

The Relief Society was in charge of our ward's Christmas party this year. I just got put in as the R.S. secretary, so I got to help out. I miss being in charge of all that stuff. I just went with Ariana and Emily. They boys were too pooped out, so they stayed home and bonded with video games, I guess.

Ariana and Emily dancing

Our neighbor, Zack, is such a charmer.

Here's the cookie exchange table.

I took the girls to go see the Nutcracker. We went with one some people in the ward. It was so fun to see their faces when the show started! Their eyes were glued to the stage!

From left to right, Katlyn, Sydney (a friend), Emily, Ariana

We invited a few families over to do a nativity with us. Lots of kids! The big kid in the middle is suppose to be a sheep with the white blanket on him. It was pretty funny.

Here's my friend, Naomi. Katlyn loves to snuggle with her and her daughter, Izzy.

It's always fun to have snow during Christmas!

But it's not so fun to dog-sit during Christmas break! Can I just say....YAP! YAP! YAP! YAP!

Bridget seemed to like having another dog around though, but after a few days, she wanted to make the little dog her own personal chew toy!

We went to the Hammond's Candy Factory in December. When we got there they said most of their workers had left on vacation. So the tour was pretty boring.

But the gift shop made up for that!....

Here's Tye trying to make a skinny face as he eats a carmel covered marshmallow.

New Piano!!! Woot!!!

2012-01-27T22:01:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how much I LOVE Craigslist??? I am LOVING my piano! We now have choir practice in our home. Now Brock has no excuse to not sing with us. :) Ariana has been joining us in choir too.

We made a walkway to go down into our basement. I was getting tired of the neighborhood kids seeing all our laundry spewed all over the laundry room floor. Now the laundry room doors can stay shut! :)

I've been busy painting the walls in our home. I borrowed my friend, Susan's, super tall, heavy, and scary ladder. I think my life flashed before my eyes today a couple of times!

First couple of weeks in November...

2011-11-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

Brock's sitting in the middle (#42).

Here's Bransen standing by our car after we painted the windows before their championship game.

The following few pictures are taken at Famous Dave's restaurant after Brock's choir concert.

Here is Ariana and Aarons room after I painted it. It was a HOT PINK color with black trim when we moved in. So I painted the top a soft blue, and the bottom a tan color. Then I painted the trim on the bottom white, and attached new chair railing and crown moulding. Tye was happy to use his new saw!

Next, I'm going to make a couple of hot air balloons to float above Ariana's bed. And I got a cute, red, metal airplane to hang above Aaron's bed.

I got Ariana's bed on Craigslist, and painted it white. And I got the striped rug at Pottery Barn Kids for $29.00 on clearance.

I still need to do some touch-ups on the paint (under the trim). And I'm keeping my eye out for a cute comforter for Ariana.

I painted a whole wall with chalkboard paint last week. I had to flatten the surface with plaster first, then sand it, then paint it. The kids are having fun with it!

And here's a photo of our home! It's been really windy for a few days, so most of the leaves have fallen off of our trees.

Three Nights of Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we made it to the last part of our ward's Fall Festival, and Trunk-or-Treat. We had chili and rolls, and the kids had fun playing all the games. Their favorite was eating a doughnut from a string.

Bransen was a wolf man.

Emily, Ariana, and Katlyn were all fairy princesses.

Aaron was very possessive of the pumpkins. This one is Katlyn's, but he didn't care. He wasn't letting go of it!

There wasn't much of a selection left at Walgreens, but everyone loved Brock's M&M costume!

On Sunday night we carved our pumpkins. This is always a fun time. Bransen carved his pumpkin all by himself this year and did a great job! Ariana also carved her own pumpkin...mostly. Brock carved out a storm trooper design. I need to take pictures of all the finished pumpkins! It was just too dark when we finished (and I was too tired to remember to take more pictures!)

Tye always goes deep in thought as he thinks of a design for his (I mean Aaron's) pumpkin. He made a nice little vampire jack-o-lantern.

Bridget was going crazy because we wouldn't let her in.

The following pictures are from tonight, Halloween, after trick-or-treating. It was PERFECT weather! We couldn't have asked for better weather tonight. We even met up with some of our neighbors who have a daughter in Ariana's class at school. It was nice to get to know them a little bit.

Brock is writing "Brock's Stash" on his candy bag.

We had a great Halloween time! But I must admit, I'm glad Halloween is over. I always look forward to the Holidays, and now I feel like I can officially play Christmas music. (Except when Tye's around! He wants to wait until after Thanksgiving!)

Ariana's Fun Day at Build-a-Bear

2011-10-31T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ariana was just so excited to be invited to her friend, Micaela's, birthday party at Build-a-Bear! It was so fun for me to watch her interact with some of her friends from school. Ariana lights up the place with her contagious smile!

Here they are waiting for their turns to stuff their new bears.

Introducing.....Snowball!

After the bear is made, they get to give the bear its first "bath." The girls really loved this part.

They each got a special box to color, and to carry their bears in. They also got to choose an accessory to go with their bear. Ariana chose sunglasses for hers.

Cupcakes afterwards to top it all off!

Football games moved to Sunday

2011-10-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

I guess it's a blessing in disguise that both of the boys football games got moved to Sunday. Both of their coaches know our boys won't be playing on Sundays, so they'll have to miss out on these games. The fields still have snow on them, but it seems to be melting pretty quickly. We will be able to have a less stressful day tomorrow. Ariana will have a birthday party to attend, then right after we will go to the fall festival and trunk-or-treat at the church.

Tye is with Brock at his football practice right now. As soon as Brock found out that the game was moved, he immediately wanted to have a sleepover with his friend, Conner. I've been telling him that he can't have a sleepover when he has a game the next day. So Tye and Brock will pick up Conner after the practice tonight.

I've been trying to fix up Ariana and Aaron's room this past week. During my painting process, the door got locked. And it's a doorknob that requires a key. Plus, there are no screws on the outside to take apart the doorknob. Who does that??? And the previous owners didn't leave a key for it. So....wanting to proceed with my painting, I decided to take drastic measures!

Here's the door before:

And after I took the sledge hammer to it:

I never really liked that door anyway. I sure did feel a great sense of accomplishment...in a "in your face" kind of way. Because I tried everything to get that door open (credit cards, screw drivers, etc.)
I don't have any after pictures of the room yet. But here's a look at what it looked like BEFORE...

Ariana doesn't like the pink, and Aaron deserves something less girly. We wanted something that would work for both a girl and boy together, so we're doing a sky theme. I painted the top a blue color, and the bottom a tan/taupe color. I'll put white chair railing around the room, white baseboards, and white crown molding around the ceiling. We'll make some hot air balloons to hang above Ariana's bed, and some airplanes to go above Aaron's bed. And I told Ariana I could paint some butterflies and birds on the walls too if she wants. She wants me to paint a yellow sun around the light fixture, to make it look like the light is the sun (that's my creative girl!). I'm sure it will turn out really fun.

Well, Conner is here with Brock, and they are in video game heaven right now. I'm going to go to bed.

October Happenings...

2011-10-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Brock had an overnight scout trip earlier this month. He got to hike to a plane crash, and camp out in the cold outdoors...(yes, I was worried he wouldn't be warm enough). We couldn't find the small sleeping bags, so he took Tye's big one. He said he stayed plenty warm.

Tye and I went to an adult Halloween party a couple weeks ago. We went as 2 nerds. There were some great costumes at the party. One guy was the old man from the movie "UP", with balloons attached to him. And one couple was a housewife, and a magic eraser. There was even Austin Powers and Foxy. Anyways, I laughed pretty hard while we played the Newly Wed game. It was fun to get to know some of the people better in our ward.

Everyone liked my uni brow.

And the same night, just before the Halloween party, Tye and I went to the Stake Art Night. I displayed my pumpkin painting there. I loved looking at all the great talented artwork in our stake.

Football is still going on. This last Monday we had practices back to back. So we were at practices for 4 hours total. During Bransen's practice we took advantage of the nice weather!

Brock will always be my "little boy".

Emily was eating a rice crispy treat. She loves the swings!

Ariana is quite the climber. And look at those beautiful eyes!

Katlyn is such a silly girl. If she sees her sisters climbing, then she'll find a way to be just like them!

Aaron would spend all day at the playground if I let him.

So today is Wednesday. Just yesterday I was working outside (painting baseboards for Ariana and Aaron's room) and it was such beautiful weather. Nice and sunny. Then it started snowing last night, and is still snowing right now.

This is looking out our front door this morning...

Bridget is pretty funny to watch in the snow. She was having fun digging and trying to chase all the snowflakes that were falling.

Bransen got started on a snowman before school started. They don't have to catch the bus until 8:40.

So that's our October so far. We still have a busy weekend. I'm still trying to figure out how we can fit everything in. We have 2 playoff games for the boys (at 2 different locations...that overlap in time), Ariana has a birthday party to attend (Build-a-Bear at the mall....and I will be the worst mom in the world if she can't go!) And we also have the ward fall festival and Trunk-or-Treat (we will be late for this, but will try to make it for the trunk-or-treat part). All these things will be overlapping in times. I wish I had a double!!!

Long Day

2011-10-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

So last night Bransen wasn't feeling well at football practice. I figured the ginormous neverending gobstopper sucker was the cause of his tummy ache, and so I didn't have any sypathy for him. I told him to get back into the practice and tough it out! Then at about 9:30pm he throws up ALL OVER his bed.

This morning....Katlyn says she has a tummy ache, and falls asleep on the couch for a while.
When Aaron went down for his nap I decided to be productive outside, and mowed the lawn. Katlyn joined me outside after I mowed the lawn, so I figured she was feeling fine. Then, because it was such a nice day, I trimmed the trees in our front yard. It looks so much better now! I was having fun cutting all those branches!
Anyways, so after the kids get home from school, Katlyn throws up.
Later, after dropping the boys off at scouts, she throws up again in the car. Then one minute later I hear Ariana fussing, then SHE throws up...in the car!
Then Emily is saying, "Mom! Get me out of here! I'm surrounded by sick people!!!"

Oh, what a mess. I guess I'll be disinfecting EVERYTHING. I know...this is such a lovely post, but being my sort of a journal...I'm just keeping it real for now.

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

2011-10-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

My parents were able to attend General Conference in Salt Lake City. They decided to pay us a visit on their way back to Arizona. We had a lot of fun with them, and are going to miss them terribly! They left this morning to drive home, and will start to fill out their mission papers when they get back.

Aaron had fun playing with his Legos on Grandpa's head.

Here we are waiting to go horseback riding in Estes Park.

My horse was very TALL! I was trying to stay warm because the wind was blowing too.

Dad and Mom were riding behind me. My mom dropped her glove and the guide (in the red coat) came back to pick it up for her. I also dropped one of my gloves (trying to take pictures) and the guide got it for me, but then she ripped her pants trying to get back on her horse!

It was so beautiful on the horse trail! The wind was blowing and it was also very cold!

After our horse trail, we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park to find some elk. After driving around a while we finally found these on the side of the road. My dad was having so much fun taking pictures!

Grandpa, Ariana, Aaron, and Bridget (our puppy)

We had to say good-bye this morning. Not fun! We will miss Grandma and Grandpa!

They will make a great missionary couple!

Our guest, Barack Obama

2011-10-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

While Brock was at football practice, I went to Target to get a few things for our guest bedroom.
When I picked up Brock after practice he noticed the bags in the back seat and he said,
"Why are you getting all this stuff for the guest bedroom?"
I then explained that it's for Grandma and Grandpa. And for anyone else that wants to come visit us.
Then Brock said, "Like Barack Obama?" Then he laughed and said,
"If he comes over I'm going to play the best pranks on him!"

Oh, I just love my kids. They make me laugh at some of their comments!

Today Tye and I picked up a king size bed for our guest bedroom. I just love Craigslist! So many great finds! I'll have to post pictures when I have it all made up.

September 2011

2011-10-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've been SLOWLY unpacking. It may take me a whole year...but that's O.K. I'm trying not to get stressed out about it, because we've simply moved way too many times. I'm going to take my time with this one. I did paint a bedroom the other day. I felt pretty proud of myself! It was a bright pink color before, but now it is a calm taupe color...ready for guests (hint! hint!)

When Tye has had some days off, we've gone up to the Rocky Mountain National Park. It's simply amazing! It's so peaceful and picturesque. We also love to see the elk, which seem to be around every other corner. Since Emily is in first grade now, we don't have to worry about rushing back during lunch time to pick her up. So it's nice to get a good day trip in, while the kids are at school!

Aaron loved the different creatures displayed at the Alpine Visitor's Center.

This was a beautiful trail that we wanted to take, but our jogging stroller had a flat. So we just sat by the stream instead.

Katlyn had fun being in charge of the puppies.

And here's our next story. Yes, we bought TWO puppies! They are AKC pure breed Golden Retrievers. They are simply adorable, fluffy, and playful! The going rate for Golden's here can run anywhere between $600 and $2200. So when I saw these for $400 each, I jumped at the chance. It was a long drive to get them. There were about 12 fluffy puppies jumping up and down wanting to play. So we asked if we could have 2 for $600. And she said yes!

But as a week and a half passed, I decided one puppy was enough for our family! The kids were so sad to see Molly go. She will be greatly missed!!! But we were able to sell her for $600 to a loving family. So in the end...we got Bridget for free!

Aaron likes to throw the ball to her. They are so cute together!

Football is ALL CONSUMING...but FUN!

2011-09-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

We took the plunge and signed our boys up for football this year. Brock is on the Blitz 7th grade team, and Bransen is on the Blitz 5th grade team. They have practices 3 times a week, and games on Saturdays. Their first game was today, and they both won! Their games were back to back...one right after the other. We couldn't have asked for better weather! It was nice and sunny, with a cool breeze. It was so fun watching them, and the girls stayed occupied by making up cheers. One of the moms brought a bunch of pom poms, and let all the little girls have them. They had a blast!

Bransen's on the bottom of the pile here.

Half time pep talk (Bransen's team)

Tye was giving Bransen some pointers before he had to go back on the field. There's Bransen walking out with one of the coaches.

This is after the game. He was pretty tired, so this is the best smile he could give me. :)

Me and Brock...watching Bransen's game. (Brock was trying to cover his new acne on his face! Ha! Ha!)

Here's Brock's team....
Brock is #42.

Ariana striking a pose. "Go Blitz!!!"

From left to right: Katlyn (just too cute!), another Blitz fan, Emily, and Ariana

So another thing that we've been doing is...MOVING! I must say, I'm pretty exhausted. But I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to have our own home. No more renting! (knock on wood). Below is a view from our front yard. We live on a culvesac, and our house faces a pretty sweet park! And yes, it was garbage day when I took this picture...but you get the idea.

A look at our backyard. There's Aaron and Katlyn playing together.

I'll have to take more pictures of our house when we get more organized. Hopefully that won't take another year!

Soaking up the Sun

2011-05-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

How do you like my $9 shades? Don't worry, I just bought some new sunglasses at Costco, so I feel a little bit "cooler" now.

Tye asked what I wanted to do after he got off work last Saturday, in celebration of Mother's Day. So I decided to go to one of the prettiest places around here, Eldorado Park. I love watching my kids have fun around the river. Even though they complain about "another drive". They always have so much fun when we get there. (Seriously though, it's only about 25 minutes away).

Brock passed the sacrament for the first time yesterday (Mother's Day). It was so fun to see him serving the ward.

Bransen's shoes didn't stay dry too long.

The water was FREEZING! I don't know how the kids could keep their feet in so long!

I think Emily got knee deep at some points. I think she has super human powers to have kept her feet in the cold water for so long!

It was such a BEAUTIFUL day! It was nice not to have to lug all the coats and blankets with us.

The kids will rock climb any chance they get. I wish I had our better camera, because there were some serious rock climbers on the sides of several cliffs. I was getting so nervous watching them.

One of the many caves in the mountains.

Until our next adventure...Have a great day!

Day Trip to Rocky Mountain Park

2011-05-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Estes Park, and bought year passes to the Rocky Mountain Park. It is such a beautiful and peaceful place!

The elk were right there on the side of the road. They were a bit shabby looking with their winter coats still.

The cars and people didn't seem to phase them.

We had our picnic, but it started to get so cold with the wind and snow flurries blowing in.

There's a really tall snowy mountain in the background, but it's hard to see with my camera shot. The blurry white part on top is the snow blowing around the mountain.

This waterfall was formed after a dam broke about 20 years ago. All of those boulders weren't their previously. The sign said that a local garbage man heard the thunder of the water rushing and called the park ranger. They were able to evacuate nearby campers before anyone was hurt.

This is the BEST picnic spot ever! Too bad we already ate our lunch. My little camera just can't do it the proper justice. There is a beautiful flowing river with trout swimming in it, picnic benches, green grass, and an AWESOME view all around! Plus there's restrooms just a short walk away.

This is Bransen standing on Bear Lake. It's covered with snow, and there's a snow man in the middle of the lake! I wouldn't let Bransen walk out more than a few feet.

They got about 3 feet of snow the day before.

On our way back down we saw some white tailed deer, and wild turkey!

The elk weren't allowed to eat in the restaurant, so they settled for the fresh greens just outside!

Brock's 12th Birthday

2011-05-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Brock invited three of his friends to Boondock's, a little amusement park. They had a lot of fun riding the go-carts, playing video games, laser tag, and miniature golf. 12-year-old's are so much fun, and have so much energy! When it was almost time to go home they kept begging me to let them have a sleepover too! I had to keep saying NO. I think they thought everything was going to end after I dropped them off at their homes....as if they would never all be together again. I had to remind them that we are all in the same ward, and that they can come over to our house any time they want...except for that night...because I was just way too tired!

Brock and A.J. playing a Jurassic Park game.

Isle, A.J., Brock, and Conner. They are all such great kids!

Waiting to play laser tag.

"I like pie!"

Brock received the Aaronic Priesthood from Tye, and is so excited to finally be out of "baby" primary. (I told him he will always remember the primary songs and will love them throughout his life). He looked so handsome in his new white shirt and tie today at church. (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!)

Some things about Brock:

He loves to play with his baby brother, Aaron.

He is kind to others.

He is comfortable talking openly with adults (he's not shy like I was when I was his age!)

He is getting good grades in school, and is an honor student.

He LOVES to rock climb.

He gives his mom hugs all the time.

He is a great big brother to all his little brothers and sisters.

He is a great artist.

He earned his Faith in God award.

WE LOVE YOU BROCK!

Easter 2011

2011-05-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

The night before Easter we had flat bread and grap juice with our dinner. We talked about the atonement and Christ's sacrafice for us. The kids all seemed to think it was fun. Here's some photos of Easter morning with the kids Easter baskets.

Aaron's First Birthday

2011-04-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday Aaron!

You are now walking and climbing up and down the stairs too!

You love to get into the cuboard with all the pans and metal bowls, and bang them on the floor.

You can say, "Da, Da, Da..ddy!"

You love to have books read to you, and you like to turn the pages.

You don't like it when Mommy holds other babies.

You can stack your blocks into a tower all by yourself!

You like to play peek-a-boo with your blanket.

Mommy let me have 2 cupcakes!

Bransen's Pinewood Derby

2011-04-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

Bransen won 2nd place overall, and "Best Wedge"

Ariana's gymnastics class

2011-04-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Denver Aquarium Trip

2011-04-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day at the Aquarium last weekend. We ate at the restaurant for lunch, and indulged in the cool deserts too. We had a huge tank right by our table with sharks, eels, and all sorts of fun fish. The scuba divers were cleaning the coral, and waved to the kids.
At the end the kids were excited to spend their hard earned money in the gift shop.

No house :(

2011-04-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

After the home inspection, we've decided to not move into the house. It was a hard decision, but to be honest, I feel a little weight lifted. The house had some issues that would have cost just too much right now, and the cost of the house was already too much as it was. So I need to be patient, and something will come along eventually.

Last night we watched our friends kids while they went to a baseball game. (They have the cutest kids, by the way!) Tye wanted to maximize his last day off before heading to work this morning, so last night he bought some stuff for smores. We had a little fire in our backyard, made smores, and the kids played hide and seek in the dark. It was a lot of fun! But I wouldn't recommend doing this on a school night! I was just too exhausted to give the kids baths last night, so I was rushing this morning so everyone didn't smell like campfire. So now their sheets and beds smell like campfire too. :) Oh, well, it's all good!
Now we have our friends kids back over this morning so they can go to the temple. I'm excited to have friends that we can switch babysitting with! They have a big family too, so neither one of us feels guilty about leaving our kids.

Well, I'm off to sanitize, and resanitize again. Katlyn came down with the stomach flu. Not a pretty picture in the middle of the night! Hopefully it doesn't spread!

Ta, Ta, for now!

Aaron Walking

2011-03-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

We woke up to another brushing of snow this morning. I guess winter is trying to hang on as long as it can!

Aaron has been walking so much! We had to get some video before he got too big!

Another (and hopefully final) Move!

2011-03-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

So Tye and I are taking the plunge and doing a lease/purchase. We are suppose to get the keys on May 1st! Yeah! The home is on about 2 1/2 fenced acres. We will be getting a home inspection next week...just for our own peace of mind, and just to be sure there aren't any major structural, plumbing, or electrical issues.
So enjoy the pictures! My wheels are already turning!

This is looking in by the front door at the dining area.

This is the den/guest bedroom on the first floor, with a bay window, and our awesome realtor.

This is the 3/4 bath right next to the den/guest bedroom on the first floor.

Laundry room, leading out to the 3 car garage.

Family room view from the kitchen.

We want to eventually expand this room and give it a much bigger window, because it has a great view of the Rocky Mountains.

This is looking out from the back porch. There's a sweet pond with waterfall...and fish.

This is the out building (view from the back patio)

Top of stairs.

One of the bedrooms upstairs (love the vaulted ceilings!)

Mater bedroom. A bit small....but the vaulted ceilings help.

There's a little bay/sitting area in the master bedroom.

Katlyn...looking cute, with our realtor, Vicki, on the left.

Master bathroom.

Eating area and desk area in between kitchen and family room.

This is looking inside the out building. There's a tack room in the back and 2 horse stalls attached to the back outside.

This is looking at the loft area at the top of the out building.

So there you have it! Oh, and the owners will be leaving their horses too. We'll get 30 days to decide if we want to keep them. So we're pretty excited. And the kids are SUPER excited to be able to ride the horses! We've already geared them up for having to muck out the stalls!

The best part is that it's still in our ward boundaries, and the kids won't have to change schools! That was a big deal to us. We didn't want to uproot them anymore away from their friends if we could help it. Sorry I don't have a picture of the outside of the house. But it's the same color as the out building. And it has a nice little patio area that you can put a swing or some chairs on.

Day Trip in the Mountains

2011-03-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time in the mountains last week. We had hotdogs, dutch oven stew, and smores. The boys tried their luck on fishing, and we through the football. Good times!

We had to keep Little Man warm from the wind. He was having so much fun!

Brock was pretty proud of his carved out marshmellow roaster!

Too Many Candles!

2011-03-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!
Tye had his favorite birthday cake, lemon-jello cake.
He didn't want me to put all the candles on, but it was fun trying to light all 38 of them!

Ariana's Baptism

2011-03-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

Ariana is now 8! She requested a caterpillar cake for her birthday.

She got a violin, some money , and a baptism dress made by Grandma Peterson!

She is our sweet little "Nani", and we LOVE her!

Her Baptism Day! Daddy was happy to be able to baptise Ariana.

Katlyn wanted a picture too! Notice her over sized snow boots? One is hers, and the other is Emily's. We can never seem to find her Sunday shoes!

Ariana and Sadie were the 2 from our ward to be baptised. There were 3 other kids from the stake too!

Kaylee (the girl on the right) is Ariana's best friend. They are in the same class at school, and are two peas in a pod!

The bishop and his wife gave Ariana a soft, white blanket to represent the "comforter."

Grandma and Grandpa Roylance were even able to come all the way from Arizona!

Aaron walked!

2011-02-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

O.K., so I don't have any video yet...but he took 5 steps this morning! It was totally unexpected. Bransen set him down on his feet, and Brock was just a couple feet away. Then Aaron started walking towards Brock! We all started freaking out...and then he sat down. I'm sure we'll get some video sometime this week!

Outdoor Stuff

2011-02-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

We've been taking advantage of the warmer weather that's come our way! There are a couple parks near Tye's work that we like to visit during his lunch break.

It was strange seeing the ducks walking across the frozen lake when the temperature outside was in the 60's!

We went on a hike last Saturday. There were big boulders scattered hear and there, and the kids had fun rock climbing.

Here's Bransen hanging on the edge of a cliff! Well, it was about a 10 foot high boulder. :)

This is a view facing East on our hike. It's prairie land as far as the eye can see!

Then if you face West, the Rocky Mountains are right there. This picture doesn't do the mountains justice though. This trail is just a quick 15 minute drive from our house.

Bransen's 10th Birthday

2011-02-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

Bransen is now 10 years old!

I had fun testing out my cake decorating tips. My kids say I make the best cakes ever! :)

Bransen looks like a teenager in this photo. Our little Bran-Man is growing up!

Things Bransen likes to do:

Read, draw, play video games, sledding, scouts, bike rides, watch movies with the family, swim

SNOW!

2010-12-31T14:35:00.000-08:00

So we finally got our first good snow fall. I think they said it was about 8 inches in the Denver area.

Tye has been driving the suburban to work because it has 4-wheel drive.

Bye-bye Daddy! Drive safe!!!

This is looking out our front window. I love the snow on the trees.

Now time for some hot chocolate!

Award Ceremony and Haircuts

2010-12-31T14:28:00.000-08:00

Brock was honored in the schools Honor Roll ceremony. He's been working really hard to pull up his grades, and it's paid off!

It started to snow that day (just a little bit) and I just had to get a picture with Katlyn and the tiny snowflakes in her hair.

I cut the girls hair this week. :( Yes...it was hard to do...because they look so pretty with long hair. But Emily kept getting these horrible knots in her hair. Trust me...I've tried everything. It's like she was meant to have dreadlocks or something! So I gave both girls a bob (well, I tried at least!).

I trimmed little Kates hair too. Emily and Ariana were acting like they were twins and reading each others minds. It was pretty cute. And they love to brush their hair now because it's so smooth!

Christmas morning

2010-12-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a nice relaxing day for us. We made the kids wait until after breakfast to open their presents.

Tye wanted to give cinnamon rolls out to some families in our area with the missionaries. So Christmas Eve we had the missionaries over for dinner, and some cinnamon roll makin'.

Here's Ariana feeding little man...patiently waiting to open some presents!

Emily and Katlyn brought down their blankets to snuggle up in.

Little man opening up a gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

Katlyn loves her new bouncy ball!

The boys made each of the girls some doll beds.

Thanks Grandma!

This was Bransen's favorite toy!

Can Brock get any cheesier?

I will get a good picture of the big man when pigs fly!

Afterwards the missionaries came over and Daddy took them along with the older kids to deliver the cinnamon rolls.

Then, later we opened our stockings. We always save our stocking until the afternoon...just to torture the kids. Santa wraps each gift in the stocking too...right down to the pack of gum!

Brock's choir concert, and Ice-skating!

2010-12-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

Brock had his 6th grade choir concert a couple weeks ago, and he did really well! He was pretty nervous, because the boys had to sing a song all by themselves, in addition to the rest of the songs. He did really good, and the whole group sounded nice.

There is an outdoor mall near us, and the have this outdoor skating rink. (well...it's actually a form of plastic with some sort of water soluble stuff on top...but it felt like you were ice-skating...and it was freezing outside too!).

Katlyn skated for about 10 minutes, then she got to cold and just wanted to sit by Daddy.

Aaron stayed bundled up in the stroller.

Bransen had a tough time staying up, but he had fun!

Ariana and Emily striking a pose!

Brock was so sweet to help Emily skate.

Ariana and Brock

35!

2010-11-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

It's almost impossible to get a snapshot of my family where everyone is facing the camera and smiling. But I wanted to get a picture of me with all the kids today. I love them so much!

Tye surprised me with a Dairy Queen ice-cream cake. He was upset that they spelled my name wrong though. It was SO yummy!

Brock designed a cute card from the computer and had all the kids sign it. They were so sweet!

He also gave me a potted orchid plant, and a 75 minute massage certificate. I think I'll actually use this one!

Aaron liked the ice-cream cake too!

My parents gave me some new slippers, super soft slipper socks, and some lotion.

Can you see my braces? Tye put clear braces on me a couple weeks ago, and my mouth is SORE. But on a plus side I've lost 5 pounds! Woo hoo!!!

35 and still going strong!

Emily's Thanksgiving Program

2010-11-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Emily's kindergarten class had a little Thanksgiving program. They sang a bunch of songs about turkeys. Emily kept calling it her "talent show."

Each child drew a picture of what they were thankful for, and then read what they wrote on the paper. That is her teacher, Mrs. Card, sitting on the floor.

Emily drew a picture of our family and said, "I am thankful for my family, because I love them." Then she handed me the picture and gave me a kiss.

I love you Emily!

NCAR Trip

2010-11-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). They had a lot of projects and scientific experiments for kids to try out. We even got to see a tornado simulator.

Below: the kids are waiting for the "big explosion" to happen. A bunch of ping pong balls exploded out of that white barrel.

Bransen is discovering how clouds really look.

Emily is performing magic with the ball.

Bransen is doing the same thing with the balloon.

There's a hike too. It was a nice day with perfect weather!

Halloween

2010-11-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we went to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat party. We had dinner and played games, and of course had the trunk-or-treat outside. It was a beautiful day. Not too cold. I forgot my camera, but I got some photos when we got home.

Isn't Katlyn just so dang cute???

Here's our little devil!

After church on Sunday we let the kids carve their pumpkins.

Gotta have roasted pumpkin seeds, of course!

Here's Bransen's spooky decorating on our bush.

"Trick-or-Treat!!!"

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

2010-11-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Anderson Farms in Erie, CO which is just one city north of us. We had a ton of fun!

We went in the HUGE corn maze. This is a bridge they had so you could see where you were. We got lost a few times!

The hay maze for kids turned into something for them to just run across. Here's Emily making a leap for it.

We took a tractor ride out ot the pumpkin patch, and along the way they stopped by some buffalo and long horn cattle that they had. The kids got to feed them.

Here's Bransen feeding him.

Aaron wasn't too sure about sitting down in the stickers and weeds.

Emily, Ariana, and Bransen

Brock and Katlyn

The end of a long, fun day at the pumpkin patch!

Home Sweet Home

2010-10-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm swimming in boxes...or at least every time I open my garage, there they are...beckoning me to unpack them. But we scored on some awesome couches last week. If I could have walked into a furniture store and bought these...it's probably exactly what we would have picked out. Fortunately for us though, we got them on craigslist from someone who was moving for a GREAT deal! It makes me pay with cash rather than spend on the credit card. So that's always good for me.

This first one is leather and super comfy. It has a hint of burgundy in it.

The camera doesn't do this couch justice. My camera makes it look like there's stains...but there's not. (I just have a really cheap camera). It's like a chenille fabric and I could sleep on it for hours! It so comfortable! And it has a matching love seat. I actually saw an identical set being sold on craigslist a couple days ago from a model home for three times the amount. So I was patting myself on the back!

And the boys got some new bunk beds that have drawers and a desk in them. Yes...from craigslist too! They just love them, and they love to have the peace and quiet in their room while they do homework.

I also got a dresser that I will be refinishing, and my neighbor just gave me another dresser today. The weather is so beautiful here. It changes so quickly though. But that's O.K. It's a great variety.

We just found out that our van needs a new radiator. Yipee! Hopefully it can last us a few more months. We're hoping to be able to buy a bigger van soon to fit all EIGHT of us. I find myself counting all my kids constantly whenever we go places.

Well, I'm off to bed. I'm going walking in the mornings now with a few ladies in the ward. It's amazing how much you can get to know someone with a good hour walk in the morning!

We Made it!

2010-10-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

We are finally done with school! Yeah!!!!! Man, it's been a really long road. So many ups and downs. So many trials. So many blessings.
We are hear in Colorado. It's so beautiful and we are renting a home in a great community. Our ward has also been really welcoming, even though there are a lot of new move-ins. We just got back from dinner at someones house. The kids are enjoying their new schools. And life is good. We have no couches and only a couple dressers, but that will come with time. We're trying to settle in. It will take a while...a long while...because I'm drained mentally and physically. But at least I've been spiritually uplifted from conference today. I'll post pictures soon!

Bransen's Lego beehive

2010-09-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Bransen always amazes me with his creativity! Here's a beehive he made, then taped it to the bottom of a table so it could hang like a real beehive. Pretty clever!

Katlyn's hurt arm

2010-08-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday Tye took Emily and Katlyn to the grocery store. While holding Katlyn's hand and trying to pick her up and swing her a little...her little elbow poked through some tendons (or ligaments?). Poor Katlyn couldn't use her arm and was cradling it. And just our luck...the urgent care had just closed, so I took her to the E.R. While waiting in the waiting room she threw up twice. They said that sometime kids throw up when something traumatic happens to them, because she wasn't sick or anything. Anyways, it was almost a 4 hour ordeal to pop it back into place in 2 seconds. But it was amazing how immediately she was her usual self again and using her arm right away.
We don't like it when our sweet little kids are hurt.

Emily is FIVE!

2010-08-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

Emily turned 5...

She requested a tall birthday cake with layers. So I kind of got excited to make it for her, and even bought some cake decorating tips. But I quickly ran out of time and patience! So you can see the cake crumbs throughout the frosting, and the roses are just swirly blobs of frosting. My awsome boys both said, "um, is it suppose to look like that?" (Where's my big cake decorating sister when I need her!) She loved it though. And it tasted the same!

Emily felt so special to have a few new toys. She now sleeps with them in her bed. (Yes, Ariana is picking at a scab...and Katlyn is soaking wet from running through the hose while I was trying to water the grass)

Five years ago we had our first little baby in California. Now she's in kindergarten and meeting so many new people. She loves going to school and is so proud to do her own homework. She's our beautiful green-eyed blondie. We sure do love all of our children.

Happy Birthday Emily!

Beach Day

2010-08-11T00:32:00.000-07:00

I've been too tired to tackle the beach all summer. But this last Friday I decided to say "Yes, get your swimsuits on...we're going to the beach today!" The kids were so excited! The weather was perfect and the kids all BEHAVED! So it was a great trip.
Tye even took the snorkel and fins out. He went out farther than usual, and I was getting a little nervous. But he was looking at a kelp forest not too far off the shore. I tried to go out with the fins and snorkel too, but couldn't get past the waves this time. Plus, I was a little too scared. It's been over a year now since I've gone out past the waves.

The girls had so much fun playing in the sand. Katlyn especially had a blast. I gave up on her swimsuit, because it was sagging with sand, and I didn't want her to get a rash. So she just wore the swim diaper the whole time, along with loads of sunscreen.

Aaron was just as happy as he could be. There was even a teenage girl who asked if she could hold him for a while, because she thought he was so cute.

There were some pretty big waves coming through. You can tell Brock is a bit scared as this one is about to smash him!

Bransen was getting pretty brave too. He was out there with Brock most of the time.

I think I might have to blow this one up a bit and frame it for the boys. Hopefully we can visit the ocean again soon!

Katlyn Turns 2!

2010-08-11T00:12:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Katlyn!

She loves her book and bear from G & G!

And she was so happy to open her very own cards. She got some money from G & G Roylance, and some new Sunday shoes from us.

We LOVE YOU Katlyn Joy!

Here's a typical shot of what our kids look like at any given moment!

Pinkalicious Party

2010-07-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

Emily and Katlyn were invited to a Pinkalicious Birthday Party for 3 girls yesterday. They had a lot of fun! Each girl was given some pink fairy wings, a pink tutu, and a cute flower clip when they arrived. Here's some photos...

Katlyn was a little shy during the party

Christina read the Pinkalicious book to all the girls. Her daughter, Ally, was one of the birthday girls.

Instead of Duck, Duck, Goose, they played Cupcake, Cupcake, Yum!

The 3 birthday girls had on these cute cupcake shirts that one of the moms made.

Pin the Cherry on the Cupcake! And you can see the cute little flower clips that Christina made all the girls here.

Here's the princess crown decorating station...

They also could decorate their own wands.

Emily loved decorating her crown with stickers and jewels.

Later in the day we also had a ward Pioneer Picnic at the park. I forgot my camera for that. :(

But we had fun.

New Blog

2010-07-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm starting a new blog...I know...again. But hopefully this one will be a little better managed. It's http://www.mommytools.blogspot.com/. I'm incorporating my old "kids boredom busters", and D.I.Y. projects all into one. And also, I'll have a "Mommy Questions and Answers" section. I guess this is my little side hobby.
So if anyone has a "mommy question" then ask away...and I can try to answer with my own opinion on my new blog. Also, if there's anything you'd like to learn how to make (craft, or homemade project) shoot me an email. I can post a tutorial on my new website.

Kindergarten!

2010-07-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

Emily INSISTS that she is five now. Because in the past I've told her that she will start kindergarten when she turns 5. (She'll be 5 next month)
I think her favorite part is riding the bus though. Her time has come! She feels so "grown up".

Aaron has been such a great baby! He melts my heart everytime I hold him or look at him.

And it's been so nice having Tye home more often. He finally finished his rough draft on his research project.

We took advantage of a free one-week pass at the YMCA, and went swimming last Friday in their outdoor pool. The kids had a blast! The water was a bit warm in the bigger pool, but the little kiddy area so nice and cool. It was perfect for Katlyn too. I only wish I had brought my camera!

Yesterday I was all geared up to run and bike in a stake mini biathlon. So I showed up with my family at the stake center just before 7:00am. Tye was so nice to put the bike on the top of the van too. Turns out it was cancelled or postponed. Too bad we didn't get that memo! I was really bummed out yesterday morning as a result. I guess this will give me more time to get in better shape. Apparently they will do it in September.

A Daughters Questions...

2010-07-11T00:17:00.000-07:00

Ariana has been asking a lot of questions lately about marriage, dating, and having kids. Oh, and telling me that she has a couple of boyfriends...and that she's pregnant. She'll poke her tummy out as far as she can. Like tonight she said, "Look, I'm pregnant! I have a fat tummy! Everyone in our house has fat tummies!"

Then she asked Emily, "What should I name my baby?"
Then Emily said, "Cupcakes....or Polkadot...or Apples!" (What????)

Thank goodness Ariana is only 7! I reminded her that she can't have a baby until she's married.
"But then how will I know when I can have a baby???"
Where is all this coming from???
I told her that her and her husband will get to decide that together. And she can't get married until after she finishes school...and college :)

She just loves Aaron, and loves to hold him. He's the first person she runs to in the morning.
Ariana will make a great mommy some day!

Here's a couple pictures of Aaron from today. He's been lifting his head really well. He's such a handsome little guy! I was trying to get him to smile, but he was too busy watching his sisters.

Colorado Trip

2010-06-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

So while we were in AZ we left the kids with family, and took a quick trip to Denver. We had Aaron with us and he did so well on the plane ride.

We've decided to buy into 2 practices in Colorado. Tye will have 2 partners. They are twins, and are fun to be around. We spent some time in the offices, and met the staff. One of the dentists is a guy Tye went to school with at USC, and they'll be working out of the same office. There are also about 5 other guys that Tye knows in the area (USC grads).

The partners took us out to dinner, and a lot of our fears were eliminated after meeting with both of them.

After going to the temple and praying about our decision to go to Colorado, we feel at peace.

So here are some photos of the area...

It is SO beautiful...

There are hiking, bike, and horse trails everywhere. I have fallen in love with the area, and can't wait to move there in a few months.

Aaron didn't really like the cold water on his feet...

I took this photo of the Rec Center for the kids. This is the indoor water area. They also have a large gymnastics area, basketball court, indoor track, weights and cardo machines, climbing rock wall, childrens play area, and more. We're excited about this, because it will be a fun place to go as a family, especially when it's so cold outside!

Father's Day

2010-06-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

We spent some time over in AZ while Tye had his break. Here's some pictures of Tye and my Dad on Father's Day...

BBQ ribs and grilled veggies = YUMMY!

Little Aaron falls asleep so easily when Tye is holding him. It's so cute.

Graduation Ceremony, and a Baby Blessing

2010-05-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

We had a full weekend with Tye's graduation ceremony and Aaron's baby blessing. Grandma and Grandpa Peterson drove over from AZ Saturday morning. They arrived literally one minute after Sterling and Shantele, who were on their way to Oceanside for their beach vacation. It was so fun to visit with my brother and his family for a little while. Tye and I then went to the temple while Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids. (THANK YOU!!!)

Tye's graduation ceremony was last night. He still has one more quarter to go though. But it was great to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just 3 1/2 months to go!

Here's Tye waiting to walk down the aisle.

I took the kids with me...which I'm actually regretting a little because they were completely bored, which lead to some misbehaving. But I think in the long run, it was good for them to be there. The boys were grumpy in the photo because I wouldn't let them eat cake.

Tye has recieved so much love and encouragment from his parents. We were so glad they could make it to the graduation ceremony.

Tye and Mom and Dad Roylance

Many prayers have been given on our behalf from all of our family members. We are so thankful for everyone's love and support.

Heidi and Tye with Mom and Dad Peterson

Tye and Dr. R.

Here he is with a few of his classmates.

We had to get special permission to bless Aaron in our home this weekend. They were changing the bishopric in church, so we couldn't do it at church for several reasons. But the new bishop, Bishop Rowley, came to our house after the graduation, and little Aaron was blessed by Tye.

Police Magnet!

2010-05-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

So Tye has had 4 ticket now in the last month! Not fun!

Here's what we have learned from this...
1. Come to a COMPLETE stop at a red light when you are turning right (or you will get your picture taken and be out $500).
2. Do not park in the patient parking lot at the dental school if your student badge is showing (or you will be out $30).
3. Do not....absolutely do not talk on your cell phone while you are driving, unless you're using an ear piece (or you'll be out about $150).

and finally,

4. When you are going to the court house to plead for reduced bail amounts on your tickets....
Make sure your registration sticker is actually attached to your license plate, and not inside your glove compartment (we're still waiting for that ticket to come in the mail!)

Our Week Review

2010-05-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't been very good keeping up with the kids scrapbooks, or journaling for that matter. So I'm going to try and document a little bit of info on each of us each week.

So here goes this week...

Tye had a rough week last week with school. To put it plain and simple, he will be so glad when we are driving away from this place. He did have a great time with the boys during the Fathers and Sons campout. He brought the water balloon launcher with him, and they had fun Saturday morning launching the water balloons to all the boys. They all came home smelling like a campfire.

Heidi--I've been couped up in the house too long. I caught whatever sickness Emily had. I think it's just a really bad head cold. Hopefully it will go away soon. I've been feeling pretty guilty that the kids haven't really been able to do "fun" things on their month-long break from school. Little Aaron sure does require most of my attention, so it's been hard to keep the other kids happy. I've been so thankful for the trampoline, because that...plus water...has kept them busy for the most part. But unfortunately the trampoline has bit the dust as of today. It's beyond repair, and is just too old and dried out. But is sure did get a lot of good use! Last night I had to get out and run some errands. I had a gift card for the Dress Barn, so I decided to use it...sinse none of my clothes really fit me anymore. I also bought some new sandals at Target. That was a splurge, but I just HAD to have shoes to match my new skirt, right?

Brock earned his Arrow of Light a couple weeks ago. He is so excited to be able to go on campouts and do more "big boy" scout things. He had a lot of fun on the Fathers and Sons campout, even though he twisted his ankle.

Apparently it's not cool to smile for the camera anymore!

Bransen read through the first 3 Percy Jackson books as fast as he could. Literally! He really read them all within about a weeks time. I'm so happy that he enjoys reading! He was able to have his friend, Derek, over last Monday. Bransen also had a great time at Fathers and Sons.

Ariana has asked me EVERY day, "When are we going to Disneyland???" She really misses it. I have to keep telling her that I can't promise anything right now, because of the new baby. She's been having fun jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler all this past week. She is such a great helper with baby Aaron too.

Emily has started reading lessons this past week. She's been doing very well with remembering the sounds, and love to write words (and decorate her letters with little swirls and hearts). She's been sick, and hasn't felt very good all week, but the coughing never slows her down. Today she made cards for everyone in the family and put them on our pillows. It was very sweet.

Katlyn wishes she were the center of everyone's world. She loves her new little brother, but wants the attention placed back on her. She's been having fun jumping on the trampoline this week with her swim suit. She also like the little tea party we had while the boys were away.

Aaron has been eating enough to feed an elephant, I think. (Why aren't I losing more weight???) I found a bottle that he actually likes, and it has been a lifesaver in desparate times. I took him to the doctors office last Thursday. He might have pink-eye, so we've been giving him an antibiotic just in case. But the doctor said it might just be a clogged duct on his bone. So we'll see. It seems to be clearing up more and more each day. He is now 4 weeks old. He is very alert and has a huge smile! I just haven't been able to catch it on the camera yet.

Climbing Our Mountains

2010-05-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Everyone has trials in life, right? What makes the trials seem so hard? They can drain us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Trials are often times paralleled with climbing a mountain. But what if you get to the top of the mountain, and in hopes of finding a beautiful valley below, you see another mountain in front of you?

The top of the mountain may offer a beautilful view. But what if the wind is pushing with all it's force at your back that you can't even stop to enjoy the view? Your only option is to keep moving forward.

Some mountains are small, others are much, much bigger. But don't they all seem big while we're climbing them?

Our mountains are very big right now. Who knows, maybe in a few years these mountains will look like little hills as we look back at them.

In the meantime, we will try to enjoy the views....even if they are only for very short moments before the wind starts pushing us to the next mountains ahead.

But does anyone have one of these that we can borrow???

Feeling Old

2010-05-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here's something that made me feel a bit old yesterday...

Emily said, "Mom, were computers made out of wood in the olden days?"

Money Drain

2010-05-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

Well, we are missing Daddy around here. He'll finally be back Tuesday night. Yeah! He told me the other day that he spent about $100 within the first day and a half on FOOD ALONE! I about had a heart attack! Apparently there really aren't any fast food joints around Washington D.C. It's mostly restraunts. So the following day he looked up a grocery store, and had to take the tram to get there. He was able to buy some nonperishable foods to last him for the rest of his trip...thank goodness! He thought the hotel provided breakfast...but they don't. Unless you want to spend $15 each morning. He's sharing a hotel room with 3 of his classmates. One of the guys added himself at the last minute. So now one of them has to sleep on the floor with a bunch of pillows each night. They have 2 full size beds and one cot. Tye has been sleeping on the cot, because the other 2 refuse to sleep on the cot. And the guy that's on the floor insists that he sleep on the floor. It's a hotel room full of 4 VERY DIFFERENT personalities, to say the least.
Of course, guys won't share beds...that would just be wierd. But if it was girls, it would be no problem, right?
We also got some ticket fees in the mail. So it's been a money DRAIN over here. I really need to invent a money tree.
I took the kids to church today. Aaron is just 2 weeks old, so I debated on whether I should go. But it wasn't so bad. The kids behaved, and helped me out.

Time for bed (Yaaawwwwnnnn....).

Duct Tape Anyone?

2010-05-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

My Last Straw...Take 2.

Tye is in Washington D.C. for the AAO conference. So I've been on my own. Let me just say....yesterday was a test for me. I really didn't even accomplish anything other than feeding Aaron all day, and make sure the other kids didn't kill each other (they are "off track" this month from school). But I did go grocery shopping at 9:30 PM...by myself. I was only gone for about 40 minutes, but it was nice to have a little alone time. So now we at least have groceries in the fridge.
Anyways, last night Katlyn decided to take off her diaper again. So when I got back from the grocery store, I peeked in the girls room to see if they were all O.K., and there was Katlyn's diaper, sitting on the floor, and she was sound asleep under her blanket. Thank goodness it was just a wet diaper!
But this morning was a different story. There was her diaper again (but in her crib) filled with the unmentionables. And she was standing on her pillow to greet me...messy feet and all.
I quickly whisped her off to the bathtub.
I disinfected her crib...
Then added a bit of my newest friend...

A couple of people have suggested using duct tabe to hold her diapers on. This seems a bit extreme to me...but I'm VERY tempted at this point.

Brock's B-day

2010-04-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

We miss having Grandma Peterson here. She was able to stay for about 5 days. Somehow my house stayed pretty clean while she was here. But now it's back to tornado alley! It didn't take long...maybe a couple hours after she left. Thank you, mom, for being here!

Aaron has a little bit of each kid in him. But he still has his own look. We can't wait to see what color his eyes will be. So far we have 3 kids with brown eyes, one with hazel, and one with blue eyes. Both Tye and I have hazel eyes.

Make a wish, Brock!!!

He's now 11 years old!

One more year, and we'll have a deacon!

"I hope I get what I wished for!"

Gr. and Gr. Peterson gave him a fun game to keep him busy.

And Gr. and Gr. Roylance gave him money, and he picked out another game.

We ended up giving him some money as a family so he could pick out a toy at the store. (I was really just WAY too tired to get him a gift. So Tye suggested just giving him money). It worked out just fine. He said later that it was "the best 2 minutes of his life!" when he saw all the dollar bills.

Potty Training Already?

2010-04-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Katlyn is 20 months old now. She has decided that she doesn't want to wear her diaper anymore when she get the "urge". Why is she doing this to me right now??? Yesterday was my last straw, and I went to Walmart and bought a little toilet topper so we can start potty training her. So a couple days ago she took off her diaper in her crib, then wet the side of the bed and down on the carpet. (This was not the first time). Then yesterday when she woke up from her nap, my mom went in to get her, then told me that she'll let me handle this one. What one??? Well, our sweet, little Katsy left a nice BIG present sitting on her pillow, and another one under her blanket. Where was her diaper? On the floor. Katlyn didn't like it either, but she seemed pleased with herself in the fact that she didn't get it in her diaper. She just simply said, "Poop", and wanted me to get the remnant off of her bum.
So this is the beginning of another training season, which will hopefully only last a few short weeks. But I won't get my hopes up. After all, she is only 20 months. A couple people have suggested duct taping her diaper shut. But I think we'll give this potty training a decent try first.

2010-04-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Above: Aaron is 7 days old

Below: Grandpa and Grandma Roylance with Tye and Aaron (3 days old).

His rash around his face has gone down a lot. He is such a sweet little guy!

I found out today he probably has pink eye. So we'll have to see if he can get into the doctor in the morning. He's scheduled for an appointment on Wednesday, but we'll need to get his eye taken care of before then.

Grandma Peterson has been here for the past few days. It's been so nice having her here. I wish we lived closer to family! I'll have to take pictures with Grandma holding Aaron before she has to leave.

Our girls put on quite a show for us today.

Our three dancing princesses!

They can't wait until they can take dance lessons. And Katlyn was so cute trying to do everything the other girls were doing.

2010-04-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our family, Aaron William Roylance!

The delivery went very smoothly. Tye gave me a blessing last week. After waiting a week after my due date I was able to go to the hospital to be induced yesterday afternoon. But the contractions started on their own when I got to the hospital. They sped up the process with some medicine though. I recieved an epidural, and little Aaron was born at 11:57pm.

And yes, here I am, not even 24 hours later at home. I really don't like staying in the hospital. My doctor said I could go, but the pediatritian didn't want me to leave until tomorrow. (So I went against doctors orders!) But, I felt like Aaron was just fine, and I wanted to be home.

The other kids were so excited when we got home! Aaron will definately have to be protected from the constant mauling, kisses, and squeezes, but it's all out of love.

Off to bed now!

Bye-bye Toddler Bed!

2010-04-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

My good friend gave us a toddler bed last week. She's moving soon and wanted to get rid of it. So I thought...well, maybe this would be good for Katlyn. I set it up in the girls room, and moved the crib into a different room for the new baby. Katlyn has been doing well HALF the time with it. She would stay down for naps, and go down at night after a few attempts. The other half of the time, she would just get out and play, or cry in the middle of the night and want to come into my bed. When she was in her crib I could just put her back down in the middle of the night, because she can't climb out of it (yet). She would then adventually fall asleep.
Well, there's also a little craziness to Katlyn. She must have some sort of nightmares or wierd dreams, and when this happens it's really hard for her to realize she's laying right next to Mommy. She will kick and scream, and yell out of the blue, even when she was snoring the second before. (And it's no fun being kicked when you're 9 months pregnant!). I had to drive her around in the car last night at 2am (much to Tye's disapproval...but I couldn't take it anymore...), just to snap her out of her sleeping state. She was totally content (and dazed) in the car. But when we got home I gave her some food, then was able to put her back down in HER bed. ....Oh, sweet releif!
So, anyways, this morning one of the first things I did was put the crib back up in her room. The toddler bed will have to wait! I need my sleep and sanity. Maybe this is why the little baby hasn't come yet. He's really waiting for me to get things together before he steps foot into our family!

I will be induced tomorrow morning if nothing happens today. Yeah!!!

Grandma and Grandpa are here!

2010-04-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

"I love Grandma!"

Emily-isms

2010-04-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Emily as been quite concerned about this baby coming out of me. We've had a lot of conversations about it. Here's just a couple of them.

Emily: Mom, you are so poor.

Me: Why?

Emily: Because you're going to have a baby, and it will hurt.

Me: Well, they will give me medicine at the hospital, so it won't hurt too much.

Emily: Well, daddy will have to be there so he can fix you.

And here's another thing she said a couple days ago...

Emily: Mom, when is your baby coming out???

Me: Any day now. He'll come out when he's ready.

Emily: Well, I hope daddy doesn't tickle you, because then that would hurt when the baby comes out!

No news.

2010-04-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Still patiently waiting. I had to take of the little floating baby on the right side because tomorrow it would have said our baby was one day old. Bye-bye, floating baby! The little guy was making a stir during sacrament meeting today, and I was getting hopeful! But, nothing has happened sinse.
Right now Tye is shampooing the living room carpet. If we can ever afford our own home, I don't think carpet will be part of the deal! Maybe a few area rugs here and there, but that's it! How about cement floors with a big drain in the middle of the house? Wouldn't that be awsome???

I ordered one of those big 55 gallon water barrels today. They were doing sign-ups at church. We really need at least 2 of them for our family, but one will have to do for now. One lady in our ward says that she has a couple just for her garden area. So if there's an instance where they can't get water, then she can still water her garden. I thought that was a great idea!

Hopefully next time I post, we'll have some cute little baby pictures!

A day in the life of Heidi

2010-04-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here's my adventure for today. I really need to start writing in my journal again. But for now, here it is in order of todays events:

1.Wake up kids for school and send them off on the bus
2. Make breakfast
3. Shower! (Oh, the joys of a shower these days!)
4. Write grocery list
5. Drop off girls at friends house
6. Get checked at doctor's office (dialated to 2 cm), have membranes stripped
7. Go grocery shopping and stock up for at least another week (all the while wobbling around the store)
8. Unpack all the groceries, and then rush to pick up girls
9. Spend time with Tye and the girls during Tye's lunch break
10. Frost a frozen cake that's been in the freezer, because I needed the freezer space for my new groceries
11. Eat a piece of cake, and then feel totally guilty afterwards
12. Put Katlyn down for a nap
13. Fall asleep for 10 minutes until the other kids get home
14. Have kids do homework and chores
15. Drive to cubscouts with all kids in tow, and spend an hour in the nursery room, chatting with my friend, and watching the girls play, while waiting for scouts to be over.
16. Drive back home and make dinner (how did the house get so messy?)
17. Katlyn decides to stand up in her chair and dump all the rice on her lap and carpet. Emily says she doesn't like the dinners I make, and gets sent to her room.
18. Everyone takes off after eating, and leaves me to the dishes and cleanup!
19. I lay down after cleaning, and get my hair brushed by my girls. (Well, Katlyn used my head as her personal drum instrument!)
20. Brock complains of several spiders and bugs in his room
21. Bransen gets his lip split open while wrestling with Brock
22. We spend at least an hour helping Bransen figure out his math homework
23. Scriptures, prayers, teeth brushed
24. Poopy diapers
25. Everyone in bed
26. Here I am!

Easter morning

2010-04-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had a great Easter! We just loved watching General Conference this weekend! Someday we'll make it over to S.L.C. to see it in person.

I bought the tie-dye kit and the regular coloring kit this year for the eggs. The tie-dye one was a little messy, but the kids had fun with it.

They all got some fun things in their baskets. And of course, too much candy! Can you say SUGAR HIGH?

Just a reminder...We'll be setting our family blog as private soon, so let me know if you want to still view it, if you haven't already! Thanks!

He Lives (video)

2010-04-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

We're excited to watch General Conference this weekend! Only 25 more minutes until the first session. One of these years, we want to actually go to Salt Lake City and let our children experience it live. But for now, we'll watch it on our computer.
I'm going to attempt to make "resurection rolls" today. I guess all I have to do is make some roll dough, let the kids put a big marshmellow in the middle of each roll, then bake them. So we'll see how they turn out!

Happy Easter!

He Lives (2 minute video)

Private Family Blog

2010-04-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

I've decided again to put our family blog private. I had made it public around Christmas time, so family in different states could see photos. But I really don't know how many of my family members check it, because most of them never comment! So if I haven't heard from you in a few weeks, I'll assume you don't follow my blog, and then I will make the switch! Then I will make it private again, so I can feel free to post things without worry. If you would like to follow our family blog, just send me and email, or comment with your email.

I also have my other blog, Happiness is Homemade. This will continue to be a public blog. It's where I can post about my crafts, recipes, etc.

A Little Extra Protein Won't Hurt

2010-03-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is gross.
This morning I made some oatmeal. The kids had just gone off to school. I hadn't pulled up the blinds yet, so it was a little dark in the house still. I gave Katlyn and Emily some oatmeal, and then sat down with my bowl and ate it all up. I was proud of myself for eating a healthy breakfast.
Then in walks Tye. He makes himself a bowl of oatmeal, then looks at me and says.."Did you eat any of this yet?"

"Yes. I just had a bowl full, why?"

"Well, there's little black bugs all over in it."

Nice.
Sure enough. There were little black bugs that sort of resembled wingless knats. I almost threw up everything right there. I had just opened that container last week. It must have been contaminated beforehand. Oh discusting!
We quickly took away Emily and Katlyn's bowls.
I guess I can say I'm a "Surviver Woman". I've eaten bugs. At least they were cooked! And as my dad would always say, "A little extra protein won't kill you."

A Week Break from the Craziness.

2010-03-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

Tye had this week off, so we've been trying to have as much family fun time as possible. We were able to go to California Adventure, some neighborhood parks, Forest Falls, and have a campout in our backyard. The walking at Disneyland caught up to me the next day, but it was worth it.

We headed over to California Adventure after the older kids got home.

Tye's on the Jelly Fish ride with Emily.

The kids really like the ferris wheel because the cage moves, and scares everyone!

Brock and Tye, and Bransen is behind Tye...on California Screamin'.

While the boys are on the roller coaster, us girls like to take it easy on the merry-go-round!

The kids had a minimum day on Friday, so we let them play by the stream at Forest Falls. There was still a lot of snow in some parts, so we were pretty cold.

Tye had to get a picture of this little rock sitting on top of the bigger rock. It looked like it was holding on for dear life. Hmmm....I think there's some symbolism here.

After Forest Falls, we had our own little campout in our backyard.

Here's mamma in all her 9th month glory! Oh, boy!

It was a nice day, with lots of playtime.

P.S.~ we headed back inside around midnight because we were freezing, and our blowup matress deflated. But it was the thought that counted, right?

Good-bye week-long break! Until we meet again at the end of another school quarter!

Ravioli's in my bed

2010-03-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

On Sundays we have what we call "Lunner". It's our lunch and dinner combined after church. So around 6 or 7pm the kids start to get a little hungry, but I don't want to make another dinner. So we heated up a couple cans of ravioli's. Easy enough. Then, I went to lay down while the kids ate. (Tye was at a meeting).
Katlyn has learned how to get out of her booster seat, and comes walking in my bedroom with her plate.
"Mmmore Mom". Then she tosses her plate on my bed, getting leftover ravioli sauce all over the floor and bed.
Nice.
Thank goodness for Oxy Clean!
I then have images of many more future occurances after this new baby is born.

...To be continued!

Too long at the grocery store

2010-03-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to Winco, my new favorite store to stock up on things. But I didn't go alone. I learned my lesson last time, so I brought along Brock. I also brought Katlyn, only because Tye had to do school work. So we both pushed carts. And they both got filled up. I really don't enjoy grocery shopping, so I was trying to stock up for a few weeks, because it's hard for me to get around these days. My hips are really bugging me. I felt like I was just somehow scooting along in the grocery store, and happy to have the cart to brace myself. I was actually a bit envious of those people in the electric scooters that the store lets them borrow. Oh and it takes a while to bag 2 full carts of groceries! (You have to bag your own groceries at this store). By the time I finally got out to the car, loaded the groceries, and sat down to rest my feet...it was 8:00! I had been at the store for over 2 hours! I'm figuring it took me so long because I must have REALLY been walking slow. Oh, boy. Could I be any more pathetic? Well, at least Katlyn was more managable at the store this time. She sat in the big part of the cart, and had fun stacking all the cans around her the whole time. It was actually quite cute, until she found herself stuck in the middle of all the cans of food. Brock's cart had all the foods she could potentially tear into, like the strawberries, and cheese sticks.

Just a few more weeks to go! Whoo Hoo!

Oh, and I bought a bunch of Ranch Style beans. Crazy. But last night I didn't want to make dinner. So Tye suggested we have Ranch Stye beans and buttered toast. It sounded really gross to me at the time. But once I sat down, and took a few bites, it was actually really good! So that's my new quick dinner fix from Tye. Maybe because it takes virtually no effert to prepare when I'm so freakin' tired.

Brock's eyes, and an earthquake

2010-03-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

When Brock got home from waterpolo last night, he wanted to get the water out of his ear, so he attempted to poor rubbing alchohol in his ear. Normally we pour it in for him. But sadly, it ran into his eyes, and hurt him pretty bad. Tye and I felt so terrible! He flushed out his eyes for a long time, and then held a wet washcloth on top as he went to bed. This morning he could open his eyes, but said they felt like they had rug burn. :( I was actually relieved, because I had horrible dreams of my son going blind.

I'm going to have to get one of those ear droppers instead of him trying to pour it in with the cap.

On a different note, at 6:04 this morning, I was lying in bed...waiting for the alarm clock to go off, and I thought I felt a little earthquake. It lasted for a good minute. Throughout my pregnancy, when my baby moves it actually feels like the pre-tremors that happen just before a bigger earthquake. But I put my hand on the wall and could feel it shaking slightly. So I thought for sure it was a little earthquake. And sure enough, there was one. But it was just a teeny tiny one of 1.4. So I wasn't loosing my mind after all.

Service Opportunities and No Energy

2010-03-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

There are so many service opportunities in our ward right now. Our friends are getting married in a few weeks, and will need help, there are organizations needing donations for school supplies, house cleaning for others, meals taken to others, bake sales, people need rides to different places, etc. All of these things are good to help out with, and normally I would do all I could. But today in church I kept passing all the clipboards by. I didn't write down my name on anything. I just don't have the energy to do much of anything. So I'll be very happy when my body gets back to normal after the baby is born. Actually, it will be a while before my body is back to "normal." What is normal anyway after having 6 kids?!?

Baby Gift Tag Giveaway!

2010-03-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I'm doing a giveaway at my other blog for some baby gift tags. This week I will officially start my 9th month of pregnancy! Go leave a comment, and you'll be entered to win! Click here to get to my other blog.

Honor Roll Students

2010-03-05T09:53:00.000-08:00

Brock and Bransen made the Honor Roll again. I felt so bad that I couldn't attend the awards assembly. But Tye and I are so proud of them! They were excited to show us their certificates and bumper stickers. They wanted to put the stickers on our car right away. So now we'll have 4 stickers on our car. Can't they give them badges, like in scouts? Oh, well. I really do understand now why some parents have a gazillion of those "my child is an honor student at..." stickers on their cars. It's not really because they want to put them on. It's because their children are so happy they got the sticker, they just have to show everyone by putting it on the back of your car. So I will wear the shiney stickers on our car with pride. :)

Great job boys!!!

Gut Feeling...

2010-03-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

So, because we are pretty pennyless, we qualified for this energy efficient-home improvement-thingy. A lady came last November and did a few inspections to see what could be done in our house. (Actually, she spent most of the time talking on her cell phone with her dog groomer...but that's a totally different story)
So...3 months later, they show up to do some of the enerygy efficient repairs (they called me yesterday to tell me they were coming). Two men, who barely speak English show up at my doorstep, and start telling me what they need to do. So I let them in and show them where the water heater is.
"Can you open your garage, so we can have more light?"
***Gut Feeling Alert!***
"No. You can use the hall light, and the garage light."

They were replacing the weather stripping on the doors, and fixing some other things. They said they needed to look at our shower heads.
***Gut Feeling Alert!***
"No. Our shower heads are fine. I already told the lady that 3 months ago." I explained.
"Are they custom or something? Because we can replace them for you". Again, I told them no.

While they were working on other things, I locked my bedroom door. I could use that as an excuse to not let him in my room. I think I may have just been more paranoid that my room was super messy! But either way, they weren't going in there!

Then he told me that he needed to cover all the air vents to do some air testing (at least that's what I got out of him after the fifth time of saying..."what?" (again...they barely spoke the American language).

***Gut Feeling Alert!***
So I told him, "Oh, the lady didn't tell me you would be doing that. No, just don't do that part."

Things that make you go hmmm...

So the guy asked me to turn on the heater so he could check the carbon monoxide levels. Then a few minutes later I noticed that the front door was wide open. The little testing thing was sitting in my front room, 5 feet from the door.
"Why do you have the door wide open? What's the point in turning on the heater to do the test if you have the door wide open? Do you want me to close it?" I asked.

"No, it's O.K." he said.

"How can you get an accurate reading of carbon monoxide if the door is wide open???" I asked again.
Then he said, that I could close the door.
Seriously???

My point of telling about all of this is that I had several gut feeling the whole time they were here. Normally I'm pretty fine when anyone has to do work on our house. But I've learned from past experience not to ignore those feelings. And I've also had to learn to stand strong with what I want when it comes to my property and family. So he kept insisting on opening the garage, or going in my room, I simply said no.
Yeah, for me!

***A little update***
I just realized that my screen door will not shut now! They totally screwed up when they installed something that goes just below the door, and now it totally sticks up. I can't even close the screen door half way. It's wide open now. What the???
Can you tell I'm a little frustrated?
O.K., I'm done with this post now.

Some of our Latest Happenings

2010-03-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

Ariana was so anxious when it was her birthday. She just couldn't wait until Daddy got home to open her presents!

Grandma gave her a night light that lets her paint her own designs for the face plates.

She got a new bead necklace from Disneyland (because she left her last one on a ride).

Emily just learned how to ride a two wheeler.

And here's some blossoms starting to pop out on our little peach tree. :)

No more room.

2010-03-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

See that little image on the right with a baby floating around??? Well, it is misinforming you! My baby is not rolling around with ease. In fact, he's squished like crazy, and even gets mad when I lay on my back. But I am not surprised. All of my children are a little headstrong, and why should this one be any different?
It's March 1st, so now I can say the little guy will be here next month! Yeah! We are excited and scared all at the same time. Excited to finally meet him and hold him...but scared because we'll have SIX kids with a too small car, and not enough car seats. I guess we won't be going many places as a family anymore. Maybe we can just strap Brock and Bransen to the top! LOL! They might actually like that!

I'd like to be a worm.

2010-02-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

Ariana: Mom, do worms make holes in the dirt to help plants grow?

Bransen: Of course they do!

(Then Bransen turns to Brock)

Bransen: I'd rather be a worm than a gopher. Gopher's have to work too hard, and worms just have to eat dirt, from both ends.

My Little Girl...or is she?

2010-02-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

Why is it that wherever I go, the "elderly" say, "Oh what a sweet boy!"????

Does this look like a boy to you???

Today while I was in the grocery store, an older man said to Katlyn, "Oh, I bet your daddy is very handsome, because you are so cute!" Then he turned to my 4-year-old, Emily, and said, "Why, aren't you a pretty thing?"

Then....he turned back to Katlyn, and said, "No...you don't want to look like a girl. You're a handsome fellow."

Seriously??? Is it because she's not wearing a huge flower bow on her head???

Or is it becuase she sometimes has chocolate on her face?

Maybe it's because my babies never start off with much hair?

I'll never understand why some people can't tell that my child is a GIRL, especially when she's wearing PINK, head to toe, like she is today, with a huge butterfly on the front of her jacket.

New Chore Chart!

2010-02-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Autumn for the vinyl lettering! I needed a bigger chore chart. The little 8x10 wasn't cutting it!

Here's the 'before' picture. It was a Goodwill find

You can go to my other blog...Happiness is Homemade for more instructions on how it was made.

Playing Nurse-Mom

2010-02-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

Four out of five of them have been sick with one thing or another these past few days. Emily has needed a pan by her side for the past couple of days. She fell asleep on the floor earlier this morning.

Brock has had a cold and sore throat too. (Anything to get out of school!)