I Am a SLaCkeR!

Well, I'm sort of a slacker. I just took what I felt was a well deserved break from everything, and focused completely on being a Mom. I had forgotten what that role felt like. :) Now that we're in our house, and somewhat settled I've tried slowly to add normal responsibilities back on, like blogging. I guess blogging really isn't a responsibility, but I actually have TIME to do it now. :)

As I said we are in our new house FINALLY, and we are loving every second of it. I get teared up when I say this, but my sweet little Hailey is finally sweet again. It's amazing what me working full-time did to that little girl. It was so hard on both of us. She tells me everyday how happy she is that I'm home with her. Hayden is loving that he has free reign of the house. However, we have learned the hard way that we ALWAYS have to shut the toilet and bathroom door. :) I will eventually get pictures of our new house on here, but I have to clean it first. :) Just kidding. It's actually clean. Another thing I have time for these days.

What I love the most about our new home is where we live. Yes, we are definitely far from anything and everything, but I love that. I feel safe out here. The funnest part has been getting to know all of our new neighbors. I seriously live by the cutest girls ever. They are all so nice, and we've all become good friends already. I can't tell you how great it is to live somewhere that everyone is on the same page of life as you. I also really love that Hailey and Hayden are going to have plenty of friends here. :) Our Ward has like 3 sunbeam classes. At least we don't feel bad anymore when our kids start screaming in Sacrament. They aren't a distraction anymore. They're just joining in now. :)

Ryan's work is going great. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but he and his partner Levi switched gears a little from the granite counter tops. They started a new business called Recycled Stone Products. They turn granite scraps that would normally go to the dump, and recycle them into granite pavers. They can be used inside or outside, and seriously turn out so beautiful. They recently did the Home and Garden Expo, and had a wonderful turn out. I'm so proud of them for how hard they've been working.

As for me, I have been so blessed to work a little from home instead of full-time. I'm loving every second of being at home with the kids, and have gotten back to the work of blogging on my homemaking blog. I recently received the funnest opportunity to do a cooking segment on Studio 5. I could have done without being 7 months pregnant, but it ended up going really well. Click here if you'd like to see pictures or watch the clip.

I'm so grateful for all the blessings we have received in the past and especially lately. We have taken a HUGE risk in having me quit, but we've prayed and prayed and really felt like home is where I need to be. Trusting in our Heavenly Father, and having faith that everything will work out is what we've put our focus on. It's amazing how when you do that everything does work out, and miracles come into your life.

I was going to end, but I'd like to note, if you are offended at how spiritual I've been lately, I mean this in a nicest way...Get over it. :) I can't help but feel the way I feel. We've been through too much, and had too many wonderful things happen that we would be ungrateful if we didn't give credit to the One that deserves it.

Here are some recent pictures:

DON'T ASK!

Hailey must have been bored, because I came in her room, and this is what I found:

Hayden's new favorite thing is to sit next to his sister on the couch and play with the remote.

Hailey getting ready for the funnest night of her life...Disney On Ice!!!

These two kids are 2 peas in a pod. They seriously love eachother so much! Hailey is the best older sister to little Hayden.

Pour guy! In desperate need of a nap. :)

The Hard Part Is Almost Over

I'm feeling like my personal blog strike can finally come to an end. I haven't wanted to share ANYTHING that we've had to go through because I for sure would have a mental breakdown telling you about it. All that I can say is the last 7 months of my life have been the most stressful and challenging I've had to face yet. My reasons include:

• Working full-time (Three 13 hour days per week from 5am to 6pm)
• Trying to figure out a babysitter for my kids.
• Always feeling like we're a burden on our babysitters and my in-laws.
• Building one house, starting over and building another and having everything you can think of go wrong in the process.
• Feeling like I'm the worst Mom ever between working and being tired all the time.
• Oh, and if that's not enough, let's throw a surprise pregnancy in the mix (don't worry, I'm happy about this).

Yes, these are all stressful and crazy things, but we can honestly say we're grateful for every single one! We've grown the most these last 7 months than we ever have before inividually and as a couple. Every time we would turn around something terrible would happen, but then almost instantly we would understand why that "terrible" thing happened. We really feel like our Heavenly Father has been looking out for us, and has blessed us so much! We are so much more grateful for our kids, eachother, and especially to have the blessings of the Gospel in our lives.

So here we are, a week or two away from closing, and I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas! Everything is going to change for the good once we get into this house. I will finally be able to put all my focus and energy into being a mom and a wife again. We will finally have a home that is OUR home. Not to mention:

• I will finally have my own kitchen to cook in!
• We will live right by our dearest friends.
• We will have a park right across the street that we can play at all day.
• A ward that will actually have people our age.
• A home that we can grow into instead of grow out of.
• Most importantly, I can finally take a bath in my nice big bathtub. Hooray!

Ryan went to the house today, and said that there were tons of people there finishing it up so hopefully the construction part will get done today. I don't have any recent pictures to share, but here is the some of the construction. We will definitely have more to share in the following weeks. :)

Family Room

My Bathtub!!!

Loft Area

Future Kitchen and where I will always be found if I'm not in the tub :)

Here We Go Again...

Here we go again because this is the house we were supposed to be moving into at the end of November:

Now...because of builder error this is our "other" new house that will be done in January(ish) .

Here we go again because we are expecting baby #3!!! Surprised? Well, so are we, but we are also so very EXCITED! Due date is now May 23rd. The best part is Cortney and Lindsey (my two sister-in-laws) and myself are all due within weeks of each other. Another really bad thing for me to pack away in the Pack Rat...MY MATERNITY CLOTHES!

Here we go again because we celebrated yet another one of our children's birthdays. This, however, was a very special birthday for a very special little boy. Our little buddy is now officially a 1 year old! Yes, I know he looks younger than one for the fact that he has NO hair, but he is still as handsome as ever!

We had a fun little party for Hayden at Ryan's parent's house. My family came as well.

Hailey helped me bake the cake, but she was really sad when Mom wouldn't let her decorate it, so she just ate the frosting instead. :) I felt bad that she couldn't help so I let her decorate baby brother's smash cake. She loved every minute, and was so proud that she had to show everyone as they walked through the door.
Lots of happy things happening in our crazy lives! We are thankful for everything that comes our way. As Joseph B Worthlin's Mom said, "Come what may, and love it!"

September Update

I guess it's time to update our blog. I feel like our life is in limbo right now between waiting to move into our new house, and me working full time, so I guess I've put everything "extra" in my life on hold.

Here are the updates of the last month:

As we now head into month 4 of living at Ryan's parent's house we have seemed to adjust pretty well. Hailey has loved the fact that we live with Mimi and Poppy. She has a new adventure daily with her Grandpa. Although it would be much nicer to have our own home, and our own beds we sure appreciate their hospitality. It's been nice to save the house payment every month. The only thing I've really regretted since moving is putting my sewing machine in the Pack Rat. That was a bad idea!

As for our house, well....where do I start? Pretty much lot 49 (in picture) is no longer our lot. It's a long story as to what happened, but the short version is communication got lost between people and our hole didn't get dug deep enough (as you can see the foundations is sticking a mile high out of the ground). They were going to fix it by giving us 12 steps from our garage into our house instead of 3, cutting out our mud room, giving us a smaller kitchen, and making us walk through our laundry room to get into our house. So their idea of a "FIX" was more of a disaster than anything. So our only real option was to pick a new lot, and start completely over. Now we are looking at a move in date at the end of December. Oh well, what can you do? I'm sure there is a good reason this all happened, so we are just continuing to be patient. The only thing I'm really sad about is that I have to work full-time until our home is built, which means more time away from our kids.

Speaking of kids!!! We celebrated Hailey's 3rd birthday last month (holy cow! 3 already!). We were going to do a little birthday party with all of her little friends, but then decided it wouldn't be a good idea with all the chaos in our lives right now. So we just had a little family get together at Ryan's parents house. The only thing Hailey really wanted for her birthday was an Elmo birthday cake, which thanks to Wilton cake pans and her mom's determination to make her own cake no matter how it turned out, she got it! We were also really lucky to score a bike for her for $10 and a Barbie car for $30 that same day at a garage sale. Needless to say, Hailey was a spoiled little girl this year.

Almost 11 months old now, and still no hair, Hayden keeps getting bigger every day. He seriously is the best baby ever. He is almost crawling, but pretty much gets anywhere he wants to go. He keeps looking more and more like his daddy every day. We love this little guy, and are so happy to have him join our little family.

We have so much to be grateful for, and so many blessings in our life! We couldn't be happier!

Random pictures of the last month:

Lake Powell Fun!

So the last time Ryan and I went to Lake Powell was 4 years ago with NO KIDS. This time the trip was a little bit different. Okay....a whole lot different. My kids included there were a total of 7 kids (5 of which were ages 3 and under). I had a friend at work describe a trip like this as "houseboat hell". Imaging 4 little girls all doing this at the same time in a confined area:

Little Miss El

Our perfect little angel throwing a tantrum

At times it was a little overwhelming, but we survived! I know it's hard to believe, but through the crying and fighting we really had a great time. The one thing I learned on this trip is that family trips are no longer about Ryan and I, but they are about our darling kids, and making sure they have a good time. And boy they did...

Addie and Hailey's first time a the tube

Hayden loved to play in the mud, and eat it too!

Addie & Hailey Racing

Our chubby little man

Hailey caught a fish!

Yummy!

Best Friends (some of the time anyway)

Happy Boy

Having fun on the house boat

Playing on the beach

Even though our main focus was on the kids, Ryan and I still had a ton of fun too....

A really, really bad blowout that required a team effort!

Mommy & Hayden

Daddy & Hayden (yeah, they don't look anything alike)

Ry cruising in the boat

Tiff wakeboarding for the first time in 4 years!

4 Wakeboarders! Maron, Ryan, Nate & Jeremy

Ryan catching some mean air!

A BIG THANK YOU TO THE DEFRIES FAMILY!!! LAKE POWELL

WOULDN'T BE THE SAME WITHOUT THEM!

My Two Little Angels!

One thing I know I shouldn't hesitate to spend a little money on is pictures of my kids. They won't be little for long, plus the only professional pictures that I have of Hailey and Hayden was when Hayden was first born.

I got these pics taken at Sam's Club. They had a little photography studio set up there called Studio Max. I guess they come every year. I didn't expect to like them too much, but I think they turned out pretty cute.

The Fishing Trip

This last weekend was a blast! We went and spent time up at Soldier Creek on my parent's boat.













Grandpa bought Hailey her first fishing pole, and guess who got the first and the most fish??? Hailey! What a fun experience for her. She loved every minute.






















Little Hayden was such a good boy. I'm not quite sure he knew what to do with this new adventure in his life, but other than four of his top teeth coming in all at the same time he did really good. He had the most fun watching his big sister being silly.


Hailey absolutely did NOT want to wear her life jacket. It was too "ITCHY" for her. After a little while she got used to it. I think it might be a good time to invest in a better life jacket for Lake Powell.

Luckily Ryan was able to get off from to come and spend time with us the last couple of days. Hailey was thrilled when her best bud showed up!

Needless to say, we had a great time.