our new van...

I wasn't sure we were going the right way...but I really feel good about it now. Cortney and I have been looking at vans FOREVER. We test drove every kind. We called and looked online at vans everyday. Every time we would like one it would be sold in a couple of hours. We finally decided on Honda Odyssey. We wanted leather and entertainment...and to get all of those things in our budget we were looking at 2006-2007's with 50 thousand miles on them. The only problem is they were selling too fast.

On Monday I saw the van we ended up getting online. It is a 2010 Kia Sedona...it has 7,000 miles on it and 53,000 miles of bumper to bumper warranty. Not only that but it was a couple of thousand less then the Honda's we were looking at. So I had to decide would I rather have leather...or would I rather have a car that is covered if it breaks down. I love leather. I really wanted a van that had all the works power everything. But I prayed about it...i know that seems weird...but it is a big decision for me. I decided that it was better for us to have the warranty than the fancy van...and since we couldn't afford both...this is the van I chose.

2010 kia Sedona Pewter Grey (it looks a little green but it isn't at all)

We had a light tint put on the front windows and a DVD player installed.

Henry loves it.

It feels so roomy. (p.s. I love this picture because you can see Cortney on the side biting his fingernails...a nasty habit of his he does when he is anxious...it drives me nuts)

I was feeling a little sad that I wasn't going to have all of the upgrades that I wanted but...first off the first thing to break in a car is electrical stuff...we don't have the money to fix those things. Second...I remembered that I haven't ever even had a car this nice. hahaahaa. I couldn't believe how well it drives and how nice it feels. Cortney said last night..."I think I love it". It is essentially a brand new car and it is 11 years newer then the cars we have been driving...so it feels super luxurious to us. The kids love it and were SOOOO excited yesterday. I felt pretty dang excited too. Someday I can have all of the upgrades but for now I think this is the perfect van for us.

I have been eating low calorie for a couple of weeks now (and I have lost 8 lbs yay for me) and Cali teases that all I talk about is dieting and vans. Poor Cali. So for now I am done talking about vans. Done reading about vans. AND thankfully done looking on ksl for vans for sale (yesterday I didn't even know what to do with my free time from all things van). Woot.

In non-van non-diet news yesterday Rob kinda learned to ride a bike without training wheels. That kid is intense I tell you. (it must be a second child trait...haha) Cortney just took off the training wheels and off the boy went. He hates when he can't do something and gets really mad when he crashes.

He asked me today if I could make him a cake and write some words about how good he is doing at riding a bike on the cake. Cute boy.

Oh...Rob's bike was a pink bike we got a garage sale for 3 bucks. Then cortney spray painted the whole thing, wheels included, brown. (the only color of spray paint we had)

They covered it in stickers.

He does this face all the time.

Oliver trying to do a trick. He is a little dare devil.

Oliver and Henerbens matched today. I had to take a couple pictures.

Hello double chin.

My boys are enormous. Henry's head seriously looks bigger than Oli's.

Oliver was already complaining about school today. Why can't he just love school?? It drives me nuts.

First day of school

Today was the first day of school. I was a nervous wreck last night...I don't know why but I just kept getting a nervous feeling. The feeling I used to get before going into algebra in the 8th grade...because the boy I loved was in my class. You know the feeling?? I was just feeling nervous for Oliver having to start something new. I could tell he was REALLY worried about having friends.

Last night Cortney gave him a blessing...and then later Oliver said "now I don't feel nervous I feel excited".

This morning I woke up (and had to set my alarm...I usually like to sleep kinda late...embarassing I know)...and made my boys blueberry pancakes and bacon. Sadly Oliver was shocked. I was still really rushed even with getting up in plenty of time. I almost forgot to take a picture of him before we went. We walked to school today. He went and sat down and looked so scared. Poor boy.

I left him there and I couldn't believe that I was leaving my boy for the whole day. It was so weird.

Rob went to do some testing for preschool later in the day. He was so excited and so proud. I will know on Monday which preschool he is going to. That has been kinda stressful.

We walked to pick up Oliver after school. Success. He liked it. I couldn't believe it. He loved having school lunch...and he said his teacher was so nice. He doesn't think there is anyone in his class that can be his friend. We will see. The girls sure seem to love him.

We bought a minivan today. It has been about the most stressful thing in the world to me. Seriously. A friend of mine recently told me that I have "serious commitment issues". I hadn't ever thought of that but it is true. I don't want to commit to anything. If anyone wants to have a playdate I am all up for that. Then the second that person wants to have a playdate ever tuesday...I can't do it...too much commitment. I can't ever buy anything without totally researching it. The last time I bought a car was eleven years ago...and even then Cortney went and picked it out and bought it while I was at work. This about sent me to the looney bin. I kept not know what to do and each time we found a van it sold within 3 hours so we had to make the decision fast...too fast for me. So finally we just had to stick with something and make a decision fast...I feel pretty good about it. When we get it I will post some pictures. STRESS.

After all of this I had young women's. We made homemade ice cream and had a BBQ. It was fun...and great to talk about the girls first day of school.

That is all...it was a busy crazy stressful day.

On our way back from borrowing gel from the neighbors so he can do his hair. :)

Bad picture but...no wonder the girls love him. He is adorable. (biased I know)

Cute Henry is just happy to go in a stroller ride anywhere...and not be stuck in the house.

He looks so old to me.

I am so proud of Oli...he is really turning into a good kid.

Huntin' season

For the last month or so I have nearly been a widow. Cortney lives and dies for hunting and fishing. Seriously. Sometimes he tells me he can't sleep because he can't stop thinking about hunting. Weird, right?

Anyways. Morning and nights he has been spending scouting and watching his deer. Building forts and tree stands and just observing their patterns...learning as much as he can about them.

Saturday the season started officially. He woke up around 4 am and met a couple friends down there. He loves it. I wish I had a picture of him in his full get up but he has been taking his camera down with him so he can get some pictures of the deer while he is observing them. He looks hilarious.

Today he got a deer. He has been watching a couple specifically and this year he wanted to shoot one with an irregular rack and there were a couple he's seen during his scouting. So when He got a shot at one this morning he took the shot. It wasn't the biggest one but he was very excited about it. Cali said to me today "well at least it is over"...yeah right. Cortney will still be out there every morning and every night until his friend that he is hunting with gets one too. Oh and then there is Elk season too. :)

For now though Cortney sent his rack to get European mounted (that is where it is just the skull and the horns...I'm pretty sure) and the meat to get turned to Jerky, Brats, and breakfast sausage. The boys were amazed at how awesome their dad is...hahaa. Cortney is happier then a little boy on Christmas morning. It is cute to see him so happy.

In journaling news, Oliver's open house for 1st grade was today. He told me afterwards "1st grade is going to be so stressful". Seriously though, kindergarten and preschool you can do no wrong...color in or out of the lines...still good work. Now he has tests, reports, class presentations and homework. It was pretty scary for both of us. His teacher is adorable and got the best teacher award at his school last year. So he is pretty excited about that. He got a haircut at dollar cuts (8.50...but SOOO worth it for me to not have to stress about how he wants his hair.) he looks adorable. School starts on Wednesday and I can't believe that he will be gone all day long. It is going to be so weird. School sure sounds like a lot of work for me....so different than kindergarten. It said in his packet he has to give an oral report once a month. He almost started crying when I told him that. :)

Cali's boys are spending the night here tonight. They never have before. I told them they could sometime this summer and here we are on the last night of the summer. Better late than never I guess. They are watching Furry Vengeance...which sounds so dumb but I can hear them upstairs laughing hysterically.

It got horrible reviews but from what I can hear the kids love it.

Cam comes for dinner

Cameron and Leah came for dinner on Sunday. I love when they come and so do my kids. All day the kids kept saying...this is going to be the best day ever. We had a BBQ and SO much yummy food. We sat outside on the lawn and talked until bedtime. It was a great evening. When Cameron comes it ALWAYS eventually gets rowdy...that is my cue to go down and lay on my bed. I wasn't there for any of this but the boys had a great time.



Leah is getting so old. She does so great and always plays with my kids. I know one day she is going to feel too old to be around them...but for now she is always a good sport and seems like she likes coming over. She is such a great girl (oh and tall too...which I love).

ward party

We had a BBQ for our church on Friday. It felt good to get dressed in something other than sweats and get out and enjoy the wonderful end of summer weather. I feels so nice to be in a ward long enough to finally know most everyone. It was a nice evening. Oh...and get ready for an onslaught of pictures of HENRY...my other boys were there, but they aren't as fun to photograph.

Henry laying back and enjoying a little attention from our neighbor Heidi. We all ADORE their family and my boys want to stop and talk to them every time they bike by our house.

Look at that face...I love those little teeth. (don't mind the messy face he had been enjoying some boston cream pie)

I love this boys hands...they are so juicy.

My neighbor Sarah and her baby Ellie. (I have good neighbors.)

Everyone there had been trying to roll a bike wheel with a stick like they did in olden times...but no one could do it. Cortney said "oh that's easy" and on his first try to it the length of the parking lot and back. It was AMAZING. He is so good at everything. Not to brag, of course.

I had to include these because my dad does this with every baby in the Earl family...but Henry could never stand when Dad still lived here. My parents couldn't believe how strong Cortney must be to do it with such a chunky kid. I love how happy Henry looks in this picture too.

How cute right?

He is such a poser already. He looks right at the camera when Cortney points it at him.

It was a great evening. I am loving the weather lately it has been just perfect for hanging outside.

nothing

I have nothing spectacular to blog about...and almost all the pictures on our computer right now are of someone else's family...lots and lots of pictures...but none of us.

Henry is breaking through is 3rd tooth. The one on the top. It is about time...he is by far my latest teether. He is also starting this week to crawl up on his knees instead of on his tummy. Also this week (yeah it has been a big week) he started sitting up on his own from a laying down position. I love watching him learn more every day.

On Wednesday I went boating with the Youth in the ward. It was really windy and the waves on the lake were huge. The activity was cut short when we got called over to help a boat that had sunk. A NICE boat with 13 people on board. It was pretty scary...and crazy.

We are getting ready to buy a van and are totally confused on the matter. I have wanted a van my whole life so it seems crazy to just pick one out. Does anyone have any insight on this??

Thats all.

jack was baptized.

I had to include this picture because I LOVE how much taller Cortney looks than me.

Wow. And because just look at how happy little Jack looks.

Jack was baptized last week. It was awesome. It is so nice to see him growing up and turning into such a good kid.

Cali had told Jack that he could pick anyone he wanted to give the talk on the Holy Ghost. She even included herself and Joey in the list and who did Jack pick...Cortney. Hahaha. Tyson also asked him to talk at his baptism so Cali felt so bad asking him again. I love that they love him and want to hear Cort talk. I never get to hear him speak. I kept on being worried because I didn't see him working on the talk at all. He did so good though. I loved his talk...I was impressed. Cali's girls got up and sang a song and it was the cutest thing. I loved the whole baptism and it was great to feel the spirit so strong. GOOD job Jack I am so proud of you!!

THis week

On Monday Isaac and Linh invited us over to see their new house. It is beautiful and I am so happy for them. Cortney had a photo shoot so I took Grandma Jones, and Cali's two boys with me. The boys had a great time playing video games while I chatted with Linh the whole time. Linh made the most delicious dinner, pasta with Alfredo sauce, shrimp, chicken, asparagus, stuffed mushrooms. It was all to die for. I took just this one picture...

Then yesterday (Thursday), my kids woke me up screaming that Rob was hurt. Sure enough he was bleeding on the carpet. He had fallen on his eyebrow and landed on the sharp edge of a chair. I didn't have a car so I kinda decided because I had to that he was just fine. Cali came by at lunch time and told me he definitely needed stitches. So I waited to get the car and took the boy in. Sure enough he needed four stitches. He was so brave and good, until about half way through. He was holding so still but begging and screaming for me to have them stop. It was heart wrenching. His hair was soaked with tears when it was all over. I thought the doctor did a great job. I was so proud of Rob...he is always surprising me.

Then this morning we headed over to the primary party. They had a police man and some firefighters come and talk to the kids about safety. Then they hooked up the hose and got us all wet. It was so fun for the kids and Henry and I got wet too.

I took a couple of pictures of these two with my sucky camera. Aren't they cute. They love and know each other. Fiona loves to pull his hair and make him cry. hahaa. They are so funny together.

Cali and I took this video when Henry was in a pretty bad mood. Fiona is happy as usual. She is so cute.

girls camp

This year camp was so fun. Of course, I was only up there for two full days. I hadn't planned on going at all...with our car broken down, and because of what a pain it is to find someone to watch my kids. The Wednesday before camp one of my Young Women said "I wish you could figure out a way to come to camp". That got me thinking and that night at midnight I realized I could come back with the relief society presidency. They were coming to visit the second day and going back home after dinner. I was so glad I went. It was such a good experience and the best way to be friends with the girls.

Our theme was "be all you can be" and we had army everything. I love all of the leaders that were there so much and was grateful to get to know them better. It was such a fun experience and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.

Of course thanks to Cali for watching my kids. She's the bomb.

this has pretty much been my summer

The summer is passing by in a blur. Mostly every day is the same, wake up to my kids fighting...lounging around all day, swimming, watching tv, grilling something up for dinner...more fighting and then finally peace and quiet once my kids are asleep.

I wanted to document some of it though.

On Saturday I watched my neighbor's kids. They were all watching Care Bears and I couldn't resist a picture...especially since Henry looked so luscious.

How cute are they?? Henry sat up there with them for a good half hour.

Cali and I try to go to the pool as much as possible. It wears the kids out and makes it so there is a lot less fighting between kids for the rest of the day. You would think we would be working on our tans...but we look about the same as we did in the winter. Haha.

While we are at the pool Tyson, Oli, and Jack run off and just go around and around the lazy river. We hardly see them...It feels crazy to have kids that are growing up. The little ones...all five of them, swim around Cali and I and occasionally we lose one for a split second. That always stresses me out. Fiona, grace, carolina and Henry all are in tubes and they pull each other all over the pool in a long train. They do this for hours.

Here Grace is taking Henry for a ride.

Here they all are. They go around and around. I love how Henry is holding on to CC's arm in this picture.

My Cousin Angie was here this week and we got to hang out with her and Q...who is the most adorable little girl ever...and such a good swimmer. She loved pinching the babies cheeks. I loved seeing both her and Angie. WE had such a fun time.

Henry loves to swim...he kicks like crazy.

Fiona...is amazing in the water she goes all over the place...and doesn't even care when the big bucket of water dumps on her.

Me and Hens trying to stay out of the sun.

Cali's girls.

I took this picture from across the pool zoomed in. The boys here are playing king of the raft. They are such good friends and love LOVE to go swimming. They can be so mean when we don't want to take them. IT KILLS Rob that he can't go and swim with them but he is just too small. The pool rules say you have to be 6 to swim without a parent by you. Rob doesn't get that he is younger then these boys. They are always trying to sneak off with him.

Just a short video here of the kids going around in circles. Bad quality...but it's pretty cute...oh and yeah Henry is crying in the train...he was done swimming.