Tate

I took Tate to get some updated pictures last week. He did pretty good, here are some of our favorites.

NFR

Shane & I just returned from a nice little trip without kids. We went down to Vegas to the NFR, for those who have no idea what that is-National Finals Rodeo. It happens every December in Veags, and its 10 days long. We had a blast, we went with our friends/Aunt & Uncle(they are both, sounds weird I know, they are the same age as us!)Anyways after a couple nights of the rodeo the guys actually surprised us and took us out to a Cirque De Soleil show which was awesome. It had people doing all kinds of amazing stuff that you wouldn't think possible. Afterwards Shane said he was feeling pretty whimpy after seeing what some of those guys could do! The other part of the trip that was awesome was the shopping. We spent all day shopping everyday pretty much, and Shane didn't mind,(this is the guy who has been in a mall once with me)!!! Well, that's because it was at Cowboy Christmas and Country Christmas... Consisting of everything western. Shane was in heaven, and so was I. Next year we just need to save up LOTS more money to spend! Needless to say our wonderful trip is over, but it sure was great to get home to our kids. Thanks to everyone who helped watch them!

Tate's First Birthday!

I can't believe it has been a year already! Time is just really flying by these days. We celebrated his birthday with some family. I spent hours making his cake, and come to find out he didn't like the frosting!!! He was gaging over it! So that spoiled the fun of making a mess out of his first birthday cake, but we still had some good laughs watching his face when he tasted the frosting. He loved getting new toys. He didn't understand the unwrapping yet, but once he saw what was underneath he got excited. Christmas will be a blast this year!

Halloween

Ok, so it's not the easiest thing to get all my kids to look at the camera at the same time and all smile. This was as good as I could get before they all got mad at me! But you get the idea. Bricker & Madelyn went as Woody(+ Bullseye) & Jesse from Toy Story, and Tate was a lion. He growls at us all the time, so the lion suited him. The kids had a blast trick or treating and spending time with the cousins. Tate has now found that there are much better tasting foods than his baby food, thanks to candy!! This kido has a major sweet tooth, he gets that from me:)

Daddy's Helper

Shane took Tate out Sunday morning to go check on a couple calves we have that have been sick, and this is how he brought him back. Yep, that's poop on his head! Shane stepped out of the truck and left the door open and of course Tate wanted to follow, and did! He tumbled out onto Shane's manure covered boots. When Shane got home, he had me hurry and take a picture. Poor baby I thought! It will be a great photo to bring out when he's older!!

Lesson Learned

Lately my washing machine hasn't been draining the water after the rinse cycle. So I've had to turn the knob back and re-run the rinse cycle to get it to drain. Well Monday morning it finally completely stopped draining and left me with a big wet mess and lots of water. So I broke down and called around for a repair man. (P.S. usually the repair man @ our house is Shane, but he's been elk hunting and I needed a washer, with 3 kids you can only go so long without clean clothes!!!) Well come to find out, my drain pump died on me and it was going to cost $266 to repair! I was thinking maybe $100 to fix it! I told the guy, "My word! That's half the price I paid for the machine!" He gave me his sob story how the economy is bad, and business has been slow, and he's just trying to make it like everybody else. He was sorry it was going to cost so much... Well I had to fork out half the bill for him to order the part. The next day, I am still sick about how much it's going to cost to fix it and decided to research it a little. So I check out the kenmore website and look up my part I need, and guess what, it only costs $57. So that means I am paying the guy $209 for installation and labor. Seems pretty high to me. Well I called his office and asked for a price brake down on my bill. They were charging me double the price for the part, I told the lady I found the part for half the price, gave her the number she could call to verify it etc... In the meantime my repair man calls me, says his receptionist contacted him about my call. Basically he gave me another run around speech how if I didn't use this part he ordered for me I had to pay a 20% restocking fee, and that Sears(the company that I found the part for $57)wasn't a reliable source, and I would have to pay a fee for not using him to install the part. What a rip off!! So I had to brake down and tell the guy to go ahead with the repair, cause it was going to cost me more to cancel the repair. So I learned a lesson, do more research next time.

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures taken this week, and I wanted to share because they turned out great. Thanks to Shane's friend Jason who took them, he did an awesome job. So here are some of my favorites...

Getting back onto schedule...

Well now that summer is over and Bricker is in school I am finally feeling like we have a schedule again! Summer was fun, but not much got done! Bricker is loving kindergarten. This is a picture from his first day. The first day he came home and complained because he didn't learn anything new!! What a kid. Madelyn has started gymnastics once a week with her cousin Allie. They have been having a blast. She has also started joy school with some of our neighbors. She loves going to school so she can be like Bricker.We've moved Tate into a bigger car seat, and he loves it. He was all sorts of excited the first time we backed out of the garage with him in it! It was pretty funny. As for Shane & I, Shane is back to school working on his Masters and working done at Hill AF Base, and trying to work on the farm every chance he gets. I run everyone around all day and pick everyone up, babysit a couple days a week, and have started a couple projects around the house. Bricker's room is my current project, I will have to post pictures when it is done. I love how it is turning out.

Pig Roast

Over Labor Day weekend we had a family reunion with Shane's family, and Shane offered to cook a pig for dinner Saturday night. So he started it at 5 on Friday night, and it wasn't done until 5 Saturday night! He had to stay up all night and watch it. It turned out great, there were only a few people who didn't want to try it. I think the looks of it scared people, but it tasted good!!

Chillin' with the Cousins

Madelyn chillin' with the Olsen cousins. We've got quite the group of girls going on these days on the Olsen side! I can't believe summer is almost over. It's been a fun one. Now we are getting ready to send Bricker to school next week! He is so excited. I hope he can stay this enthused about school as he gets older! We took him in for a little pre-kindergarten test last week, and come to find out we've got ourselves an amazing mathematician! That's what his teacher said anyways. She was impressed that he does math in his head already, no finger counting. Generally they get one student a year that can do it before kindergarten. So we're pretty proud of Bricker! Especially since he just barely turned 5, and is starting school. Tate is now a 20+ pounder, and 9 months old! Time to get him a new car seat. He got his first tooth and started to crawl last week! The same day he pulled himself up along the couch and walked along it! That's just too much for me in one week. I told him to slow down!! They just grow too fast.

July fun...

Well it's been a fun month. I love July, probably my favorite month of summer. There is so much to do, parades, fireworks, birthdays, family reunions, and camping! Wow, we've been busy! First off, Bricker turned 5 this month! Can't believe it myself. I really have a 5 year old!

These are the many faces of Bricker I have to deal with these days. He is all boy, busy, busy, busy, & lets not forget dirty! Tate is growing so fast, still a big boy for his age! He is so close to crawling. Still has no teeth. Madelyn is still her same little girly self. All about horses and princesses. We've been camping, going to parades, being in parades, riding horses, swimming, playing in sun and having lots of fun!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's! Our family is so grateful for Shane and the hard worker he is. He is such a good daddy. This Father's day is extra special cause it also lands on his 30th Birthday!! So Happy Birthday Shane! Love you!

Busy!

Bricker, Madelyn, & Allie @ Bar J. We went camping up to Jackson Hole last weekend and went to the Bar J Wranglers along with the Olsen family. The kids had a blast with all the cousins, a total of 9 these days! For me it was a little crazy watching all the kids!! But we still had fun!Bricker started T-ball last week and is loving it. The first game was a little confusing for him. He would bat and run to 1st base, but then when the next kid on his team hit the ball and Bricker was supposed to run to 2nd base, he kept running after the ball to get it, helping the other team!!Madelyn started her 1st swimming lessons last week too! She has been waiting a long time to finally be old enough to do things like Bricker. Poor girl!! We are always telling her you aren't old enough yet, but if they would let her try she would do just fine. So we finally found something she could sign-up to do! Besides riding the horses, she loves to swim too!I took Tate to get his 6 month pictures done, and I love the expression on his face here. It cracks me up! He is so much fun. He is a pretty big boy for his age, in the 95th percentile! He weighs 19#!!

Preschool Grad!!

We are sure proud of Bricker! He graduated from preschool today and is on his way to kindergarten in the fall! I really can't believe it. He learned so much in preschool this year we are so proud of him and how smart he is. He has learned the pledge of allegiance, which he recited for us today and so much more. I was trying to hold in my emotions all morning as we got ready to leave for the graduation program, telling myself it's only preschool Rachelle!! But I still couldn't help feeling overwhelmed at how fast he has grown up and how proud I am of the little person he is.Sunshine Preschool class of 2010!

3's Not Enough!

Shane decided 3 kids isn't enough, so he brought home this kid goat! At first I thought it was a crazy idea, but I've grown quite fond of the little guy now. Kids named him "Flower" since he looks like the skunk on Bambi. We have to bottle feed him twice a day. The kids & I take the morning feeding and are responsible for taking him for a walk once a day. Yep, we have a leash for our goat and walk him like a dog! Our neighbors get a kick out of it, especially the day Bricker decided to bring the scooter and ride it while Madelyn had the goat on the leash. Well I'm not sure how many of you know much about goats, but they like to follow people. So naturally the goat took off in a run after Bricker on the scooter, dragging Madelyn down the street screaming! It was a sight to see!Our little Tate isn't really so "little" anymore! He is growing like a weed! This kid doesn't know when to stop eating. He LOVES food! Tate has been so much fun, the kids still love having their little brother around. Madelyn's going through a fun stage right now too. The other day she asked, "Do you want to play hide in the sink?". I replied, "You mean hide & seek?" She said, "NO! Hide in the sink!" I got a kick out of it. Bricker is just finishing up preschool. He is so smart! He will start kindergarten in the fall. He also has tee-ball coming up, which he is pretty excited about.

Tonsillectomy

Bricker ended up needing to get his tonsils out yesterday. Shane took the day off work and we took him to the hospital. He did very well, and is recovering great. I have to keep reminding him to take it easy. He woke up from the anesthesia pretty mad, the nurse told us that is normal for kids. They just don't know how to handle it. He was trying to rip out his IV. It took him a good 15 minutes to return to his normal self. As for the nasty surprises, I think we have finally conquered them!! Thanks to all the advice from family & friends! We took in everyones advice and tired it, and it took a little bit of everything to get the point across to him that he had to stop! We have been giving him a little more TLC and I think that was what was needed most. Tate has been growing like a weed! He is such a good baby. He rolled over for his first time this week, tried cereal, & tried out the jumper (which he loved, see above picture). It's been a big week for him!Madelyn is such a daddy's girl. She always wants to do everything with daddy, not mommy! Kind of hurts my feelings, but Bricker is a mommy's boy so I guess that makes up for it. She calls herself daddy's Maddie. I am not allowed to call her Maddie, only daddy. This is one of her new 3 year old pictures. She is going through the stage that she loves anything disney princess. She has a Princess & the Frog shirt that she insists on wearing everyday, I'm sure it won't be long until she realizes we need to buy the movie!!

Nasty Suprises!

I debated on whether or not to post this, but I am desparate for help!! The title says it all, and I'm sure none of you want to see a picture of what I am going through! Bricker is 4 1/2 years old, and has started peeing his pants. He was completely potty trained for over a year, but suddenly the last 4 or so months has decided it is too hard to use the toilet. It was mostly happening when he was playing with friends and just got too excited and didn't want to miss anything by taking a potty brake. We've tried everything we can think of to try to help him. And I am getting sick of washing his clothes everyday cause they smell awful and if I don't wash them daily then the laundry room stinks! Well just this last week it has gotten even worse, he has been peeing on his toys! Gross! I came to find this out from a neighbor that comes over to play. How embarassing!! Yesterday I found poop on one toy, went to clean it and found poop in the bathroom sink! I was so mad and frustrated I had to tell Bricker to leave the room. I just don't know how to get it into his head HE HAS TO USE THE TOILET!!! So if anyone has ideas to help us, it would be much apprieciated! Needless to say all of our toys have had a Clorox bath and are nice a clean.

Not only have we been dealing with nasty surprises from Bricker, but the poor guy got strep throat again this week. That's his third time in three months. His doctor had me make an appt with the Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor, and we are now looking at getting his tonsils out :( We will find out for sure whether or not it will happen this coming week. Luckily no one else in the family has caught it!

So needless to say last week was a week I am glad to have over! At the end of the day though, I'm sure greatful for my little mess makers! Life would be pretty boring without them.

For Sale!!

So we are going to try to sell our house. If anyone knows of someone looking for a home in Logan, tell them to come look at our house. We decided it is time to make the move to Young Ward, were Shane grew up. It's a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home built in 2005 by Kartchner Homes. For more info & pictures view it on KSL ad#9704943.Madelyn is now 3!! We took her ice skating on her birthday and she loved it. She wanted to take the skates home! She actually did really well for her first time too. Bricker was another story, he spent more time on his bum than his skates, but he still had fun too. Here is picture of the cake she wanted me to make her for her birthday. It is supposed to be a castle.

Winter, Winter, Winter...

Is this winter starting to drag on to any one else? I'm sure tired of it! Getting spring fever already. So far these last few weeks since I last blogged, Bricker got strep throat again!! His second time within 2 months, and Tate got RSV! So we haven't been up to much, but taking care of sick kids. No wonder I am ready for spring, I need out of this house! We do however, have an exciting day tomorrow. Madelyn turns 3! Wow, I really can't believe it. She has wanted to go ice skating since we saw Disney Princess on ice last year, so we are going to take her tomorrow. Then she can decide if she really likes it as much as she thinks she will!Tate is 2 1/2 months old. Besides getting sick, he is doing well and growing so fast. He is gaining wait much faster than my other two kids! He is already a 14 lb baby! He is so happy and gives us lots of smiles.

Tate's Blessing

Tate was blessed last Sunday the 3rd, by Shane. I can't believe how the time has flown by! He is already changing so much and growing so fast. I think with each of our kids I have got more patience. Sounds weird, you'd think with more kids you lose patience. But I've been enjoying every minute of the newborn stage. Taking more time just to enjoy it before he is up and running around with our other kids!