finally I can flush again

I like to post news worth events on here and let me tell you this is one of them. About a month ago Rob frantically called me into the bathroom. Henry had flushed a floss pack (i don't know what you call them) down the toilet and the string was coming out of the hole inside the toilet. We pulled the floss out hoping to get the plastic case it comes in too...but no such luck. I stuck my arm down as far as it would go and even tried a hanger. NO LUCK. Henry's absolute favorite place to play in the house is hands down the bathroom. He isn't even allowed in there. But that never stops him. Anyways, this one was the worst. After some google-ing and then after Cortney and I tried to snake it out...I knew that the toilet would have to come out. Unfortunately that didn't happen for almost a month.

The toilet wasn't affecting Cortney too much so it just wasn't on his list of things to take care of right away. We have had tons of stuff going on and you know how it is...

In the meantime I was plunging the toilet a million times a day. The boys were starting to stop flushing for fear of flooding. And Henry was flooding the bathroom every time he could sneak in there. Even with just water in there, if he flushed it enough times and fast enough the toilet would overflow.

WHAT A MESS. I was fit to be tied. I was so annoyed.

Have I mentioned before we only have one bathroom....Yeah it was pretty bad.

So on Saturday, Cortney decided to make my life A LOT easier and fixed the toilet for me. Yay.

Gross right?? Sure enough this little bad boy was lodged right near the base of the toilet.

So nice to have a boy that knows how to fix things.

After we got the toilet fixed and put back together...I just flushed and flushed. Every time I flush I am so happy. TMI. Maybe. But man it has really made my month.

Working plumbing...good thing.

2nd grade

Today Oliver started the second grade. I couldn't sleep last night because I was so nervous for him. I just know that feeling of being in a new class. Being worried and nervous. Ohh being a parent is so hard sometimes, because you know exactly what your kids are going through and life is hard...you know??

Cortney gave Oliver a blessing and then Henry got up in the chair he wanted his turn too... (yes his face is covered in cheetos from the night before....haha) Oh my little Henry...sure is growing up.

Rob lost his first tooth last week. Cute.

Henry really looks grown up standing here in between the two boys. Cute cute.

Almost time to go.

I had to take this picture of him once we got to the school. Look at that face. Doesn't it look scared. Poor baby. Oh it hurts my heart.

look at that....a picture of total and utter discomfort. It kills me how nervous this boy gets...I was just the same. I love him so much.

It was crazy having him gone all day. Henry kept saying "where's Oli?" all day long. When I went to go pick the boy up he said that no one in his class liked him...but he was just trying to play a joke on me. haha real funny. He had a good time. He doesn't like sitting indian style on the carpet....he says it hurts his legs so bad. Maybe he will reconsider wearing skinny jeans every day. He also said his teacher was bossy. Almost as bossy as me....hahaha. I like that. Keep him in line. I LOVE SCHOOL. It makes me so happy to have my kids learning new things. I love it.

Mike and Allies wedding...otherwise known as 42 hours of driving

In the end of June we packed up our car for our "summer vacation". We realized that Tyler and Nicole were going to be in Rexburg for the 4th and we hadn't seen Bob and Roberta and the gang since Christmas, so we decided to head up to Rexburg first. Wow long sentence. I Love love Rexburg in the summer. There is hardly anything better. Cool days, cold nights...beautiful farm land. I love it. Plus Bob and Roberta have all sorts of time off, so we always get to see them lots. I think it is my kids favorite place to be. They love it there. Honestly, the trip was so long ago I've forgotten what we even did but I will try to remember. I mean if you don't journal it...you don't get credit for it later right?? We have no pictures from our time in Rexburg, of course.

We spent most of our time hanging out, the boys got to play with Kelson, Carson and Cooper a ton which really made the trip so fun. Nicole and I had some wonderful girl bonding time doing things like hanging out at Walmart and D.I. Nicole cut my hair too...which made my trip.

All the fun was kinda cut short when Tyler crashed really badly mountain biking and was pretty seriously hurt. It was scary. Luckily nothing keeps that man down and he didn't break anything.

Sunday (July 3rd) we loaded up the car at around 8 a.m. and got on the road to Roseburg, Oregon to visit Sam and Kyle before the wedding. Wow. What a crazy long day of driving that was. I have never had such a long day since I have had kids. We were all going crazy. My two older boys were perfect angels sleeping and resting the whole day. Henry was pretty sad on and off and slept maybe an hour or two the whole time.

Here is Henry strapped in while I went to the bathroom. I couldn't resist how cute he was. (wal-mart bathroom getting treats)

The drive took us 16 hours!! We stopped in Bend (where we used to live) around dinner time and had a slice from our favorite pizza place. We took the kids down by the river and ate it there. It was beautiful and reminded us why we wanted to live there so bad. We ended up pulling into Roseburg around 1 in the morning. We were TIRED.

Here we are in Bend. Cortney and I really loved our time there. If only we had some family that lived there, oh and a great job that would have helped too.

Oh and yes, I am wearing sweats...I wasn't out of place there at all though...there were all sorts of people out and about this day.

My boys are such good travelers.

The next day was the 4th of July. Justin and Angelique were also at sam's and we spent the day at a park on the Umpqua river. It is beautiful there. Really. At the park Kyle noticed a line for food so we got in it and had some free BBQ. It was really funny. The kids all got in the river and found shells, crabs, and fish.

Then we went back and had a delish BBQ, and lit some fire works.

Me and my boys.

I had forgotten how cute Henry's long hair was. (I cut it shortly after we got back) He was made to live in Oregon. The humidity made his hair BEAUTIFUL. Perfectly curly always. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. Here in utah it is just a frizzy lions mane.

Henry would act scared when the fireworks would start and come running to me saying..."B, B, B." Who knows what that means.

After a couple of fun days hanging out in Roseburg, we loaded up and headed to the wedding in Portland. I'm not going to lie...I was just starting to feel better and it was a pretty stressful trip having my kids with me. Weddings just aren't that kid friendly. But...we made it through (barely).

We met my parents at Costco in Portland. It was great seeing them after 18 months of them being gone. My kids were over the moon about seeing them. It really was one of the best parts of the trip for them.

We later went to the hotel and got ready to go to the endowment session. Angelique, the angel that she is said she would watch my kids for me while we went. That means she had 5 kids in a hotel room for 3 hours. YIKES. I appreciated that so much...and honestly a trip to the temple was just what I needed in my life. It really made me feel a lot calmer. Afterwards we dropped Oli and Rob off to sleep the night with my parents (our hotel only had 1 double bed)...and we went with the rest of the adults to applebee's (the only open past 10) we had a great time sitting and talking with the adults.

My kids absolutely loved sleeping the night with my parents. It was by far one of their highlights. (all of the parts they thought were the best were the parts that didn't include Cortney and I...hahaa)

The next morning we were up early for the wedding...it was the fastest wedding ceremony I have ever been too. Awesome.

You can see my little baby bump here. (the dress really made my belly show)

(I had to steal tons of pictures from all my family we took none)

Mike and Allie.

sisters

the earl girls

the earl side of the family

Funny side note...they had said "the boys are supposed to wear khaki's"...meaning the little boys...Cortney thought that meant him. He was pretty ticked that I got that one wrong. HAHA.

The had a beautiful reception (but cold) and afterwards...the best part...Linh took my two older boys with her to Moses Lake. It was awesome. Two nights in a row we just had Henry. And the car drive was also great because I just had one baby to worry about. I couldn't believe how nice of Linh that was. Let's just say everyone could tell how stressed out I was, and were trying to help. haha.

The next morning it was up early and over to Moses Lake. We pulled straight into my grandma's house and dad had 25 pizza's delivered there and tons of our friends were waiting. I of course wasn't wearing makeup and hadn't showered...so that was fun. I don't know why I would let all of our people see me that way but I just didn't care.

Cortney playing some game.

Me and Cali talking with some of our best ladies. Cynthia and Shelly. I love these two. Both are like mothers to me.

Mom and dad talking with more of our people.

Cortney and I stayed at Amber and Sean Jenk's house. I love them with all of myself. It was so fun. I didn't want to leave and probably would have stayed another week if I didn't have doctors appointments. Boo. We LOVE them. They honestly are some of our best friends in the world...more like family.

The reception was at Becky's that night. It was gorgeous. Henry kept trying to jump in the lake though so more stress for Cortney. He held that kid the whole trip. THE WHOLE TRIP.

All in all it was a great trip. We drove a total of 42 hours. (after about 30 hours we bought a YO GABBA GABBA dvd and our trip changed drastically...Henry was WAY better).

Sam asked Rob if he was going to get married in the temple and he said..."Nah, too far of a drive." Haha...once I told him he could get married in the temple 5 minutes from our house he was back on board. Funny boy.

It feels so good to have that post over with. Pheeewww.

Oliver's baptism

I just re read this and noticed i used the word awesome like 300 times. Oh well, it was awesome...i am not going to change it.

Before I start my post on Oliver's baptism, I need to post this random picture of my boys sleeping. Oliver always sneaks into Rob's room at night. This specific night we found them really cozy-ing up. Don't mind the pillow with bloody nose stains on it...these things happen.

I have wanted to post about Oliver's baptism since the day it happened. It started out with me being more stressed then I have ever been in my life. Hahaa. I have been told I am dramatic (WhAT?) but this was real. We have been having a stressful life around here lately and I have been on a roller coster of emotions. Plus, stress really amplifies when you are pregnant. Like really.

Friday, Cali and I spent the day getting all of the food ready for the luncheon. Beyond that I was stressed but I still had to act like everything was okay and get everything ready. Cali kept telling me I needed to get over my problems quick so I could have a good baptism day.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early so I could have everyone ready without having to rush at all. I didn't want to have the spirit driven out of our home by me yelling at everyone to hurry up (hey it happens...). It was amazing. The whole day was so awesome. All of my worldly worries and problems vanished for a full 24 hours . VANISHED. We all got bathed and ready with no conflict. We made it to the church early, everything went smooth. My stake does all of its baptisms at the same time, with each ward in a different room, and then we take turns with the font. So that was pretty hectic. I found my father-in-law waiting in the room with the spanish branch's baptism. haha. He wondered why he didn't recognize anyone.

We started with Cali giving the opening prayer. (Tyson had to come straight from football camp and then return after so he was in full pads it was awesome) Then my neighbor Sarah did a spotlight on Oliver (she is in the primary pres), after that the kids all sang "scripture power" it was awesome. Even Henry and Fiona went up there. Henry just stood there perfectly still looking awkwardly to the side. They sang really loud and I was really proud. My kids HATE to perform and I couldn't believe they did it. I am all about putting them out of their comfort zones as much as possible. Then Linh gave an awesome talk on baptism. She did a great job. Oliver really wanted her to be the one speaking. Then it was time to get baptized but it wasn't our turn so I did my talk on the Holy Ghost. Then we went and Cortney baptized Oliver. I was so proud of Oliver...his spikey hair barely went under. Haha. Then the confirmation. He was surrounded by so many uncles and a grandpa. It was awesome to see him surrounded by so many good men. Grandpa Bob finished it off with the closing prayer.

It was an amazing experience.

I think that is about as good as it gets for a mom. Totally makes it all feel worth it.

People there...

Shawn and Kandee with Shade, Morgan, Leah, and Aspen

Cameron with Leah

Bob and Roberta

Cindy (Roberta's Cousin...whom I adore...they look just like sisters I imagine they are just that close too) and her daughter Christine.

Jason and KaeLynn with Brooklyn, Zac, Eliza and Abby (stella in k's tummy)

Cali and Joe with Tyson, Jack, Carolina, Grace, and Fiona

Justin and Angelique with Dougie and Marion

Isaac and Linh

Allie and Mike

Grandma Jones

Jed and Sarah with kempton, Brooklyn, Ellie and Emmett (friends and neighbors)

Heidi (friend and neighbor and she conducted...so nice)

Holly (friend and in our ward 38 weeks pregnant and played the piano almost the whole time...what a trooper)

Bishop Shelly

We didn't take any good pictures the whole day. NO group pictures. Bahhh. I stole some from Linh's blog.

Henry watching Melmo waiting for it to start.

Oliver Cortney...with Cortney. What a great moment. (i love cort's tan line on his toes) Oliver was not thrilled about what he had to wear. Haha.

It seems like only yesterday he was in my tummy.

Afterwards Cali and Joey graciously hosted a luncheon for us. I could have never fed this many people at my house. The food....if I do say so was really good. Not that I ate much.

I know this doesn't look appetizing but we had pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans.

Linh made her amazing avocado egg rolls. AH MAZE ING

I went with quick and easy sides...remember I don't have an oven that works. It was all delish.

Aspen....I am obsessed with this girl. Too bad we don't live closer. Shawn and Kandee came all the way from Idaho. I was so happy they came.

joe zone

Me with Hens...he is by my side ALL THE TIME.

pretty morgan and a lot of the boice's.

I love his cookie on the chair next to him. That boy would live off cookies if he could.

I had to include this picture because here is KaeLynn, She delivered Baby stella 48 hours after this was taken. Awesome.

We had assorted ice cream novelties for dessert. (here I am passing them out)

Brooklyn with Marion...both adorable.

Cali and I. Cali worked so hard keeping the food stocked and everything set out. I couldn't of done it without her.

My Earl sister's (minus sam..booo) Angelique, Linh, Cali, Me, KaeLynn.

Ike and Linh with Oliver (yeah he had to change right out of his clothes).

Afterwards we took a little nap. :) Then we headed up to Cameron's house in Salt Lake. All the kids went swimming while the adults talked poolside (cali watched Henry for me. yay!). We ate pizza for dinner and just had the most perfect night. Then home to Cam's for a little ice cream and some more conversation. It was the PERFECT day.

It doesn't get any better than that. It really doesn't.

The next day was back to reality...but I was so grateful for the wonderful break from stress that I was given. I am also so grateful for Oliver and the great choices he makes. I really love my little family.

Ultrasound 22 weeks (last week)

baby post...sorry for the boringness. Feel free to skip.


This is our little guy last week at an ultrasound follow-up. They were worried there wasn't enough fluid around the brain...um...hello.

Everything in the brain looked great at this one...thank goodness.

Every time I go to an appointment they give me something to worry about. I swear getting older and having kids is scary.

First I have an antibody M showing up in my blood work. This isn't that worrisome, though and is something like rh factor...something that the baby and I aren't compatible. The annoying part is I have to have blood work done once a month and I have to register at the hospital every single time.

Then they told me I needed another ultrasound so they could check on the brain. Which was this one and ended up being just fine.

This week she told me there is a bright spot on his heart otherwise known as a Echogenic intracardiac focus. Samantha's baby had something similar on her baby's bowel. Basically it could be nothing but it is also a soft marker for downs syndrom. Honestly I am not worried about it at all, but it is annoying to have her tell me these things and then have them turn out to be nothing. The doctor hasn't had me get any extra testing done so I am sure it is nothing.

The ultra sound tech always says things so nonchalantly too. Like "the fluid in the brain is borderline", like I am supposed to know what to do with that. Or, "there is a bright spot on the heart, which with other markers could mean a birth defect, but I don't see anything else", Or..."hey did you know you had a cyst on your right ovary?". Hahaa. Then after I leave I am like....did she say something was wrong with the brain??

We did get to see the little guys lip and he doesn't have a cleft lip (one of the side effects of my medications is a low occurrence of cleft lip). So I felt pretty good about that.

I have never had ANY problems in my other pregnancies.

I know this baby will turn out just as he is supposed to.

My little boys got to feel him kick for the first time this morning. Oliver about died. They can't wait.