Big helper!!!

The dead trees are finally gone from the backyard...

Thanks to my two MANLY men...

Now isn't that just the cutest thing ever?????

************************

Things are still going good with Elsie.

I would love to get her to drink more...but we are working on it.

She is eating her Popsicles good, and eating regular food good.

She really is such a tough little cookie.

Elsie is a ROCK STAR!!!

Elsie did great today...

We got to the center at 8:30...we didn't get called back until about 10:15...but Elsie was a good girl.

Then they put her on a bed with some toys...we talked about the 'mask' and she got to put stickers on it...

They gave her a pretty princess crown.

Elsie loved telling us what she was doing today...by wrapping her hand around her throat.

They called us in right after she woke up...when she was still really woozy and drowsy...

The nurse wasn't able to get any ice chips in her...I tried and couldn't do it either.

Stubborn girl.

They moved us back tot he recovery room and we hung out here for a while trying to get her to drink something, eat ice chips, or eat a Popsicle...

She would have none of it.

They told us we could take her home, but we had to get her to drink something...

As we were up and ready to leave, the nurse asked Elsie to just try one sip...and she did.

Good girl, Elsie.

On the drive home she didn't seem interested in anything...she wouldn't even swallow, and I was worried about getting her to eat anything...

But we got home and I gave her a pink Popsicle and she ate it right away...I sat her down in front of Cailou, and she was a happy camper.

She had a couple Popsicles and Capri Sun and her lunch was ready.

She was very excited to eat her Mac and Cheese.

Good girl Elsie.

She was not happy about me giving her medicine to her...but she wasn't too angry with me.

I hope it just gets better each time I have to give it to her.

And I made a little lap table for her out of a diaper box.

I knew I would have a better chance of her eating and drinking if she could do it in front of the TV.

So wal-la...I made her a table.

********************

Just now she hopped up and told me she wants to jump.

She likes to jump from the couch onto the ottoman...

I told her she isn't supposed to be jumping around.

I hope all week goes this great!

First day of SCHOOL!!!!

Oh man...I can't wait to get back into a nice school routine!

This summer was way too crazy for me...and too crazy for any kind of organization...

So my goal now...now that I will have OODLES (ha ha) of time on my hand...is to organize my house and finish the many millions of projects I have to finish, or yet to start...

*********

The girls were both very excited to start school today.

Madi had a nervous stomach a couple days ago, but Dad talked her through it and the anxiety was gone.

Cassi kept telling Porter and Elsie that they didn't get to eat lunch with her anymore, cause she got to eat at school.

And it would be a long time before they could see her cause she would be at school ALL DAY!

There wasn't a nervous bone in her body. Madi's first day of 4th grade!!!

Cassi's first day of 1st grade!!!

We got to school...among the many other millions of parents.

We found where Cassi should line up and dropped off her backpack...

Then went around the school to find Madi's place...we found the class window, but no backpacks...that is when she started to stress, she didn't know what she was supposed to do or where she was supposed to go...

Then the bell rang, she saw a girl in her class and decided to follow her.

Crisis averted...yay!

Well, now we were all the way around the school, and we had to run to get Cassi to her line-up spot...

But I had Elsie and Porter with me...so I picked them both up, and we ran...

When we got there, Cassi's class was just about to start walking in, and her class started yelling, "There's Cassi, There she is..."

Like a little cheering section waiting for Cassi.

She was so happy to get there, big smile on her face, grabbed her backpack and went with the class.

I think it worked out well.

I think if she would have stood in line, that is when she starts getting nervous...but running to class, she didn't have time to get worried...

That is just my opinion anyway...

But I am glad everything went so good this morning.

***********

Elsie got to go see her teachers today too...but she won't go to school until she recovers from her tonsillectomy.

We have to be there tomorrow at 8:30..my biggest worry is not giving her anything to eat of drink in the morning...

I hope she sleeps in.

Anyway...I am sure everything will go great...but just in case, keep little Elsie in your prayers.

Thanks.

Happy 9th Birthday Madi Bell!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADI BELL!!!

Wow...we have come a long way since the day this little girl was born!

We are so blessed to have Madi in our family, and as our oldest.

She is a very good helper and a very good girl.

Yes, we have our times when things are not always great...but in the long run, I could not ask for a better helper.

We had a lazy/relaxing day today.

Watched some movies...

Dad got some vacation leave for today, so it was a lot of fun for her to wake up and see Dad when she thought he would be working.

Madi let me take her out and gt some photos...it was a lot of fun for her and I to go out together.

She is a fun girl.

With the best laugh.

Happy Birthday Madi Bell!

Age 1

Age 2

Age 3

Age 4

Age 5

Age 6

Age 7

Age 8

Age 9

Present day...

My kids might get in the bad habit of celebrating their birthday for 3-5 days...that seems to be the trend in the way we celebrate them...

Brent works tomorrow, and it is also Sunday, so we went out for Madi's birthday dinner tonight.

She couldn't choose...so she told us that she wanted to either eat at Red Robin or Texas Roadhouse.

Then she wanted us to blindfold her and surprise with the place...

Silly girl.

She got my decision making abilities!

We decided to go to Texas Roadhouse...

YUMMY!

When we came home...he brand new bike was sitting in the living room.

A bike that she actually fits on...so she is VERY excited to take some bike rides!

Then we opened her other presents...

(Except the ONE that I have been MADLY working on...hopefully I can get that by tomorrow!!!)

She got two more porcelain dolls...she got one from Cassi yesterday at her party.

More books.

Some cute dresses that I found at Target for $3 and couldn't resist!!!

And a few other fun things.

Oh, I got her some stuff to paint on her fingers to help he to quite biting them!!!

I hope it works!

So tomorrow is the big day.

She really wants to take a cheesecake to Dads work...so we will see if we can make that happen.

I can't believe she is gonna be NINE!!!

Pardy-Hardy!!!

Today we had a friends birthday party for Madi Bell.

We went to the pool, and I was worried about the weather being only 78 vs. the 102 we had yesterday...

But it was perfect, first of all because NO ONE was at the pool.

Which makes it easy to keep track of kids.

Our friends were Chloe, Star, Kara, Taryn and Aubree.

They had a lot of fun at the pool.

We headed home and opened presents and ate pizza.

Then Cassi played "Happy Birthday" for the group.

She is doing very good on the guitar.

Madi was very proud to show off her little sister, she even told her to keep playing and to play "Twinkle Twinkle".
Very sweet.

Then we had cake and ice cream.

The cake was a lot of fun.

Madi and I worked on it together.

The fondant actually worked this time...which was exciting!

I can't wait to do more!

Madi had the idea for the flowers around the top...I just think it turned out really cute...(just don't look at the sunken-down middle of the cake).

Madi's NINTH birthday is on Sunday...that is just so crazy to me!!!

It has been forever since we have had a friend birthday party for her...so I am glad she got to have one this year.

Now my plan is to make a book for her with all the pictures I took from today...which was A LOT of pictures!!!

I hope this kind of thing will happen a lot during this school year.

These two are learning to play really well together.

Besides the occasional side swipe Elsie gets from Porter...he is getting softer and softer with her.

Like I said...I think we were given this little dude to be Elsie's little protector...

They have a sweet relationship.

Porter loves Elsie.

He is so excited to see her first thing in the morning...he always yells out 'Essy, Essy!'

He calls her 'Ess' a lot...I think it is cause I call her 'Else'.

But it is pretty cute when he does it.

I think the extra one-on-one time this year is really gonna bond them together.

***********************************

We also went to the school tonight and the big girls got to meet their teachers.

We are very excited about the teachers, and I am sure they both will have an awesome year!!!

Bad day...

...for Elsie, anyway...

We had a bight and early appointment this morning with the Ear nose and throat people.

I have suspected her HUGE tonsils as a problem for a long time now.

Her voice was starting to sound muffled, and that is when I finally made the appointment.

We got there today...and after what seemed like 5 hours of waiting in a waiting room with 4 kids...we finally went in.

We went to see Dr. Beck, who we heard wonderful things about.

And they were all true.

She is fantastic.

She was very sweet, and soft with Elsie.

But Elsie did freak out a bit when we had to pin her down and hold her face and arms to get all the ear wax out...and to find out she had fluid behind her ears.

She took one look at Elsie's tonsils and knew for sure they were a problem.

They were literally touching each other.

Poor girl.

Oh, we also went our first night, ever, without a Binky...

We lost it last night, and had lost all the back-ups.

I had no choice.

She did fine until about 4 in the morning.

I tried everything for a couple hours...she wasn't crying, just not sleeping.

Finally I got her to sleep by rocking her.

That is when I noticed that she stopped breathing every once in a while...then she would catch her breathe.

So, needless to say, I am very happy to be doing this tonsillectomy...

Well, not happy to do it...but happy to have it done.
I am excited to see the positive changes that will come from this.

Better sleep.

Deeper sleep.

Better speech.

Stronger throat muscles.

Easier breathing.

And, as Madi says, a BIGGER smile.

It is all gonna be great stuff!!!

Well, then later today she cut the little thing inside her top lip...

She was bleeding like crazy, it took me a while to figure out what happened.

But she survived.

So Elsie is scheduled for this next Tuesday to get her Tonsils and possibly adenoids out.

I feel bad that she is missing the first week or more of school...

But she knows her teachers, and I think she will be fine going late.

Dr. Beck told me that their record for eating Popsicles in one day was 27.

I am pretty sure we can beat that.

...

Today was a pretty normal, everyday, kind of day.

The kids and I went running this morning...

Well, I ran, Madi and Cassi rode their bikes, and the little ones were in the stroller.

We ran for a while, then ended up at the park so they could play.

That made them happy...

Then went the long way home.

They were really good and had a lot of fun.

I guess if I do that think every so often, they like it.

If I did it everyday, I don't think they would like it.

So it was fun.

We did some cleaning...some playing...

Cassi did have guitar lessons today.

She is learning "Happy Birthday to You".

She is very excited to get it all mesmerized by Madi birthday!!!

So That is her goal.

The girls played good together today.

Madi even cleaned the toys up while Cassi was having her lessons...AND she was watching the two little ones at the same time.

Great job, Bell!

I wasn't sure if I wanted to post this of Porter...cause he is shirtless, AGAIN!

Yes, I know, this kid never wears shirts!

He is just so messy...it is easier to wipe down a naked chest then it is to wash 5 shirts!

Porter loves to swing...he loves to be pushed high enough to hit into the trees.

He thinks it is great.

Funny boy!

Oh, and we finally got our own cell phones today....

It is a pretty exciting thing!

Fun with Friends...

We got to play with our friends, the Russo's tonight!

Which is a treat...we NEVER get to see them!

It is kinda silly...we live like 7 miles from each other...we really should hang out more.

Alesha is one of my very best friends from back in the good ol' days.

It is so much fun to still be in contact with her and have our kiddos be friends.

It is pretty cool that both of us ended up out here in Idaho.

Cassi and Tripp got along really well, and played non-stop the whole time.
Thanks Alesha and Stephen for the fun night...
We will do it more often, for sure!

*********************************************
And...
We finally bit the bullet and got ourselves a Costco card today...
And guess what????
We aren't very impressed.
I don't get it.
The place is packed full...and people seem to think they are getting good deals...
But I know for sure we paid twice as much for some things, and they didn't have half the stuff I needed on my list.
So tell me, what am I missing here...
Is there something I should know about this amazing place???
What tricks do you use, why do people get these cards and why do people love this place so much???
I mean, sure, the samples were great...and there were some coupons worth using, but I don't think they made the stuff any cheaper than if we just went to Walmart...
So tell me the secret...please...

Heart of Gold...

Madi's teachers have always commented to me about how great she is.

School and church teachers.

She listens, she knows answers.

And she is so sweet.

I have always loved to hear these things from her teachers...cause sometimes I don't ALWAYS get to see that sweetness.

Today after church, Madi's (substitute) teacher came up to me...

She told me that she just had something she had to tell me.

I thought it would be the same old "Madi is just so sweet and polite."

Which, again, I love to hear.

She went on and said that in class they were talking about what the kids would ask Heavenly Father for if they could have ANYTHING.

Some kids said a million dollars.

Others said they wanted a dog.

Madi's teacher told me that when it was Madi's turn she said that if she could ask Heavenly Father for ANYTHING, she would ask him if he could give all the strength back to her little sister (Elsie).

I had a sudden rush of emotion, and thought I would start crying right there in the hall with millions of people around me.

How absolutely sweet and un-selfish is that?

Madi is such a great little helper with Elsie, and they have a great relationship.

Elsie is lucky to have Madi looking out for her.

I am so proud of Madi and her big heart.

And I am thankful that Madi's teacher shared the experience with me.

Spoiled

We went swimming this afternoon with the Young Family.

It was nice to get the kids out of the house.

They all play so well together and stay busy swimming for hours.

We came home and discovered we were out of milk.

That is TRAGIC in this household!

So we made our way to Walgreen's, got some milk, and Elsie convinced me to get ice-cream sandwiches...

Yep, she is spoiled.

Oh, but aren't they just so dang cute???

I love Elsie's little lady pinkie up while she eats her sandwich.

And I love the way Porter is looking at her in the bottom left picture...and how he is sharing with her in the bottom right...

Adorable!

And photographic evidence that he isn't ALWAYS rotten!!!

School shopping

I took Madi and Cassi school clothes shopping today.

We had a lot of fun and I think we are pretty much done.

While we were out, we picked up a backpack for Elsie...

It is pretty basic right now, but I plan to jazz it up for her...

But she loves it and she wore it for the rest of the day.

She wasn't very happy when I took it off to put her jammies on.

But she will get to play with it tomorrow.

WELLNESS CHALLENGE!!!!!!

I am starting round 3 of the Wellness Challenge on Monday Sept. 6.

Go to the website, http://youcanbethebestyou.blogspot.com/ ,to check out all the details.

It really is an all around great wellness challenge...I dare you to try it out!

I am just not sure how people do it ALL...

I really don't get how some people can be so put together.

Here I am, still sitting in my pajamas, from last night, and I am not sure if I even brushed my teeth this morning.

But I feel like I have had a very full day.

I have been trying to can/jelly/or freeze what I have left of my darn peaches...

That takes up so much time, and makes such a big mess, and I only get a few measly bottles out of it...

No, it is great, I am glad to have preserved so many peaches that would have gone bad...

I am just saying that after a busy day with the kids, washing laundry, folding laundry (lots), trying to encourage the kids to pick up after themselves...my house is still a mess.

My kitchen is a disaster.

I would have loved to make some more pillows today...but I couldn't find my rotary cutter, so that is why I was forced to can the peaches.

Which is a good thing.

It needs to be done.

So I am not complaining....I just want to know the secret...

How can I get a clean house, clean kids, laundry done, less Elmo on the T.V., clean toilets, photos edited, projects done, and get a shower on top of all that?????

I know there are you super woman out there...how do you do it???

I do have to say...I am thankful for the minute or two of peace that a simple Otter Pop gives me...

Although I think Elsie had about 20 today.

That is no exaggeration.

The skin on the bottom of her big toes is dry and cracked, like bleeding crack, so she won't walk.

Poor girl.

I try everything I can to make her happy, and Otter Pops do the trick, most of the time.

So I give in.

I will break her of the habit once school starts.

Oh school....maybe I can get LOTS of stuff done once they are in school....

I can always hope, right???

******

I LOVE my kids and I absolutely LOVE being a Mom...but I am so unbelievably Thankful to have an amazing husband who is so hands on in our family.

I couldn't do it without him.

Several times today I just had to remind myself that he will be home tomorrow.

Things are always more calm around here when he is home.

I love him and the kids love him...and man, I miss him...

Now I am gonna go put some clean jammies on.

Then clean the kitchen and hopefully have enough time to work on that special big project!!!

Chores vs. what I want to do...

Okay...

Lets say your kids are being good...like the little boy is napping, the little girl is watching her show, and the big girls are occupied with friends or clay...

And your house is a MESS...

Say that is your situation.

What would you do?

Would you clean?

Or would you get out your sewing supplies and start sewing???

I have a major project that I am trying to finish before a certain birthday on the 29th of this month.

But it is something I cannot work on with her around...

So I save it for when they are in bed, or not around.

But my sewing machine is left out, and I am in the sewing MOOD.

So what did I do???

Well, I made a super cute puffy pillow for my chair...but now I am gonna need a couple more to put on the couches so they don't feel left out.

A great little project to work on when I can't work on the BIG project...

The girls had a lot of fun with the clay again today.

This time they made beads.

When they dry, they will paint them and make a necklace.

Pretty cute!

*************************

Okay, they are asleep now, so should I go clean???

Of course not...I gotta work on the BIG project!!!

Late Night Roaring Springs...

Boise City Fire and Police got Roaring Springs for the night for all their employees and families from 8-11.

For free.

We had so much fun.

It was a bit cold without the sun up...but there was a little bit of time that the lines were pretty short.

The kids got to go on all the rides that they didn't get to do last time we were there.

We went with the Young's, and we all had a fun time.

The little ones didn't last very long...it was too cold.

I had a fun time sitting with them and taking fun pictures with my little camera...some cute ones.

Elsie even took a bunch...

But now, when I am trying to take them off the camera card, half the pictures are in some weird format that the computer can't read...weird!

And a bummer.

I had a cute one of all the big girls together...I HATE losing pictures!

But I did have this one cute one.

She was a good little girl.

She loves the pink tubes in the kiddie pool, as long as there isn't much splashing.

Porter went on the magic carpet ride again, and loved it.
Cassi went on the Avalanche a few times...she even went with Drew.

That girl is a nut!

And Madi stuck with Kara most of the time.

Like two peas in a pod.

One last ride for Madi and Dad...

I don't know...that looks like a pretty dead-on tie!

F.H.E.

We need a little order in this house of chaos...

So for Family Home Evening tonight we came up with a merit/demerit system...

We are hoping it works.

It is hanging front and center in our kitchen so I hope it is a daily reminder for us too.

I made this chalk board out of a oil drip pan that I may or may not have gotten out of my neighbors garbage pile...

See, I knew it would be useful!!!

So it is magnetic and then I painted it with Chalkboard paint...

It worked great!

We each have a face magnet.

I like the idea, because we are trying to work as a team, instead of individuals...

Yes, we move up or down as individuals...but in order to win the ultimate prize, we have to all be there.

I hope we can all stay excited about it!

Glad it's almost over!!!

We could all use about a FULL days worth of sleep.

Too bad that isn't happening!

Oh well...at least we have our Popsicle supply built up to take care of the uncontrolled crying.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Roaring Springs Day...

We had a very long and fun day today.

We usually only go to Roaring Springs once a year...and these guys travel a long time to come here with us...so it is an all day thing.

But so much fun.

The weather was perfect...the lines were a little long at times...but nothing too bad.

I think everyone got to fit in the fun stuff they wanted to do...

Elsie was hating it at first...
She didn't like all the people....all the noise...all the splashes.
But just as we were getting ready to leave, lots of people had already left for home, and she was just loving it.
I felt bad taking her away from it all to go home...

The girls had a lot of fun playing with Heather and Lauren...
Minus the few times we lost Cassi...things went pretty smoothly...

Cassi LOVED the Avalanche with her Dad....

This girl has NO FEAR!

Porter even went down the magic carpet ride by himself...I need to add more pictures later...

But he had no problem going down by himself...

Those two have no fear!

Elsie and Porter and I did a little bit of waiting while the big kids, Dad included, got to go on the big rides.

They were really good today.

We had a lot of fun, and can't wait to do it again next year!

Fun with the cousins...

The Thomson Family is here.

Brent's sister and her family come every year and we spend the day at Roaring Springs.

It is always a fun time!

The McCoys, Brent's other sister and her family, usually come.

But it hasn't worked out with them for the last couple years...

Hopefully we can get them back here next year!

So they showed up today...

We did some hanging out mixed in with a lot of school shopping...

Poor men...they did not enjoy the shopping.

But they got to spend time at Cabela's...so they can't complain much.

The girls plan to sleep outside in the playhouse...

We will see how that goes...or if we can even get them to go to sleep!!!