November Fun

Here is Demsey, 6 months old already!? Crazy how fast they grow, she is such a cutie and so much fun. Her little voice and laugh are my favorite! Love you little sis!

So, we have 3 HUGE trees in our yard and every fall we have SOOOO many leaves to rake and bag and take care of...it's not my favortie thing, I can't wait until Radley's old enough to do it :) But this year he had so much fun 'helping' me rake and then jumping in them over and over again, which made the work a little more fun.

We really have at least 60 bags every year, in the backyard this year there was a giant circle of leaves and Radley made a 'tunnel' through them and would just run around and around. I'm glad the leaves are done until next year...now time for the snow shoveling.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We were in Blanding this year, Radley got to do a lot of cute crafts and had a lot of cousin time. We ate at Chanelle's house, I guess it's Calvin and Julie's house :) but of course there was lots of good food and company. I didn't get any pics because between the two kids, I ended up eating my food when almost everyone else was finished...the life of a mom :) But Demsey loved her sweet potatoes!

So, I had to go to Christofer's school the other day and take Demsey to the Family Life class. It's the class that makes the kids take home a fake baby to take care of and they wanted a real baby and mom to come talk to the class. It was actually fun and the kids were all going crazy over Demsey. So, while I talked to the class, I took Radley to his Dad's keyboarding class and here he is, a 7th grader already! Chris said he just sat there and 'typed' and loved it the whole hour.

Demsey and Halloween

Demsey is growing up, 5 months old already! She is so much fun and we just love her, especially Radley, he can make her laugh more than any of us.

Happy Halloween! Radley loved it this year, he could say trick or treat and thank you and thought it was the coolest thing ever that people were giving him candy! We went to a lot of parties this year. I think Radley is going to think there should be a party a few times every week. We went on a pumpkin walk that they do in our town, there are tons of pumpkins and they are awesome. I love the first picture, Radley is making the same face as the scary pumpkin. Here's my little Halloween bugs:

Tyrel is such a dang cute mom. She had a Halloween Party for Havyn and her little friends. Radley got to go and had a lot of fun, they had a yummy lunch, played a few fun games and got lots and lots of goodies! Here's the kids doing a pumpkin walk, making spider hats and playing pin the heart on the skeleton. The kids were supposed to put the heart where they thought it should go...look closely at the skeleton picture and you'll see where Radley's heart is....what a boy! It was funny!

That's a family picture of us at our ward's trunk or treat and then a few of Radley doing some trick or treating around the neighborhood.

Chris just told me that our families are asking for more pictures of Demsey...I guess we haven't been sharing them by the millions like we did with Radley, so here's some Random pictures of little sis. The first few are pictures we took with our neighbors/good friends baby: So, I have a lot of other cute pics of Demsey, but our computer won't let me upload them for some reason? Sorry fam, you'll just have to see her scrapbook :)

California Trip

We recently got back from a trip to California. Christofer's brother was blessing his new twin babies and another brother was going through the temple so we made the long road trip to be there for the special events. The road trip wasn't as bad as I thought it would be with two kids. We stayed at Circus Circus in Reno on the way there to break it up and then on the way home we got there at 3am so the kids slept most of the ride. There's always fun to be had in Cali and we had our fair share. Day one we went to downtown San Fransisco to Peir 39 so that Radley could see the sea lions, they are fun to watch but they sure do smell bad. There are always lots of street performers to see, yummy food to eat and shops to spend $ at:
















These pics have Alcatraz in the background and the famous Coit Tower:
















The breakdancers did some pretty sweet moves, this is one of the bboys and a pic of a submarine. Oh, and I have to throw in a disclaimer, those 80's flourescent sunglasses are Christfoers, he bought them and that flourescent sweetshirt in San Fran, I was just wearing them to keep my hair out of my face :)






















Day two we went to the Oakland temple and Christofer's brother went through and then we got to do some sealings for some family names, it was neat. The Oakland temple has such a beautiful view! We all went out to eat afterwards and stopped at the Vans store on the way home to get some sweet shoes for Rad and Demsey. That night we went to Stanford University and did some long boarding on campus.






















Day three was the baby blessings. This is a pic of Christofer's family after the blessings at the luncheon they had. Good food, good fun. We are so excited that there are finally some more babies in the family and cousins to play with.



Day Four we went to the cute little beach town of Pescadero to hear Christofer's brother's band play a gig that they had. The music was great and this is a pic of us laying on the grass listening to the band. You can't really see it, but we all have a blade of grass coming out of our mouth. Baby Demsey and her grandpa in their cool hats.
















After we listened to the band, we went to a beach for the rest of the day. The waves were pretty big and the water was cold. Chris and his brother Jeff were the only ones crazy enough to get in. Radley had a ball playing in the sand and flying a kite. It was kinda windy too, so we found this little cave to put the babies in. Demsey really enjoyed it and took a nap in her little cave. Then we tried to get a pic of all 3 babies, that wasn't easy, as soon as we'd get one to stop crying, another one would start. We drove home the next day, it was a fun trip, there's always so much to do in California we can never fit in everything we want to, this was the best weather we've ever had too.








































These are just some random pictures of the kids. The best part about the first one is that Radley took it. He LOVES taking pictures these days and walks around with the camera taking all sorts of artistic shots...he's actually pretty good. Demsey is getting to be so much fun, she smiles and laughs tons these days.
















Nice little half smile, she's getting some chubs on her which I love to pinch and kiss.


My kids, such cuties and they look a lot alike. Don't mind Radley's hands in this pic, he is such a boy these days :) This is just a cute pic of Rad and Dad, this is Radley's FAVORITE book, it has like 5 different Berenstein Bear books in one and we have to read them a million times a day.

Okay, Catch-up time

Wow....our summer has been crazy busy and I really haven't had much time to update the blog. This is going to be a long post, but I'm going to try and briefly recap the fun summer and what's been going on since my last post. There really hasn't been many days this summer that we didn't have guests staying here or we were out of town on trips or camping, etc. We've been to Bear Lake twice, had mine and Radley's birthdays, had our 6-year Anniversary, Chris coached a bball camp and I helped coach the middle schools vball camp, Chris went on a couple scout camps and he took Radley so I could have a little bit of a break, we've been to Cherry Hill, the zoo, had weddings to attend and did lots of boating just to name a few :). I'll post some pics of all the fun:
Here's some pics from the bear lake trip with my friends, the cabin is so nice and I love the blue water, it almost seems tropical! Radley loves the water and sand and he absolutely loves jet skis, he can even drive them by himself! :) There were lots of babies, mine, Marci's and Tyrel's, all within a few weeks of each other. There were almost as many kids as adults so there was never a dull moment. The kids had plenty of junk to snack on, Radley and Maxon are being little cookie monsters.

I don't have any pics from my birthday...but Chris sent me on a fun scavenger hunt. He had rapped clues to the next place on our camera and so I had to watch them to find out where to go next. We had a fun day of shopping, eating, and going fun places. My mom was here, so we even got to leave the kids and go to dinner and a movie. There weren't many movies at that time, so we saw transformers...more of a birthday present for Chris, but it was alright I guess. Fun birthday, thanks babe for being so creative!
We finally got some baby announcements out, we didn't order very many, so here's a copy that everyone can see and here is a cute updated picture of little Demsey smiling away. She is so smiley these days and has the cutest little dimple just like Radley. I can't believe she's almost 3 months old already!

This picture is just for fun. We were looking at some old pics and realized how much Radley and Demsey look alike. They aren't the best pictures, but can you tell which is which?

We also got to go to Nicole's wedding in the Salt Lake Temple. It was great, I have some of the greatest friends and it makes me so happy to see them happy. Here's one of the girls and one of my family. Radley was also trying to break into the temple, hope he wants in that bad when he's older!

Happy 24th of July! We went to a Raptors baseball game and Radley's uncle Jeff caught a ball and gave it to Rad...he loves it.

Our 6-year anniversary was on July 29th, my mom came back up so that she could watch Radley while we went to this fun Bed and Breakfast in Salt Lake called the Armstrong Mansion. It was such a cute place, our room had its own staircase leading up to a jacuzzi. I can't believe I've been married so long and have 2 kids, I really am getting old....but I don't feel old, it's so weird.

These are our good friends from Hawaii, the Moncurs. They still live in Hawaii but they visit Utah every once in awhile to see family. It's always fun to see them and we are so excited to someday go back and visit them in Hawaii.

We found this fun park near our house that has a splash pad. It's a lot of fun and totally free because it's just a regular city park. Radley is going to be totally water logged by the end of the summer, but with Chris off for the summer we just go go go. Radley's birthday was August 2nd. I can't believe I have a two-year-old now! He talks so much now and amazes me everyday...he also tries my patience everyday. :) We were at my sisters with her kids and my mom and had a little party. Radley got a drill, because he loves to play with his dad's real drill so my sister figured he needed a toy drill. He loves it, he also got tons of cars and a carpet track to go with them. He also got a big wheel which was his favorite. Chris loved his big wheel as a kid so his mom got Radley one and he loves it. We even have to carry it up and down the stairs with us. His cake was a 'dirt' cake because Radley loves to play in the dirt so much. It had worms coming out of it and a shovel to serve it with...it was acutally pretty good too.

Here's a couple pics from the Scout Camp that Radley went on with Chris. Radley was actually mad that he had to live inside when they got back, he loves the outdoors.

We've had tons of fun in the water, we've been boating lots and went to Cherry Hill the other day. We didn't get pictures of the fun rides, but that's the best part of Cherry Hill. Here's one of my hubby posing thinking he's funny:

Here's a few from the Bear Lake trip we took with Christofer's cousins. Demsey chilled in the shade and Radley loved the boat and building sand castles with his boy cousins. We also rented a jet ski and had it all three days, I love jet skis!

We had a fun BBQ at our house this past weekend. We had yummy carne asada steak burritos. Stacy brought some yummy lime/cilantro rice, I made some homemade salsa, Noelle brought delicious tres leche desert and we all had tons of fun, there were people and kids and toys all over! Stacy, Kacey, Noelle, Tyrel, Landry, Storm and all their spouses and kids were there. We missed Nicole and Cassie...it's fun that we all still get together.

Of course we had to go to the zoo. We went with Storm and her family. Radley loved it all, but his favorite animals were the snakes and bugs, and the train ride of course :) There were a lot of cute baby animals there too, it was fun but it was hotter than heck! I'm never going to the zoo in the summer again...I think I'll try October next year!

We planted a garden this year with our next door neighbors, but they had a new baby this summer too and we were both too busy with our babies and having fun, so the weeds in our garden are as big as the plants. The veggies got a little big before we picked them :) Next summer we are going to give our garden a little more TLC.

Phew, sorry for the mega post, I told you I had a lot to catch-up on; I had way more pics and events but didn't want to be too extreme :). Today summer is officially over, Chris had to start school. I think this is the first time I'm glad summer is over...I'm tired. Hopefully I'm going to have time to keep the blog current now :)

Baby Blessing, Boating and Buds

It has already been a very busy summer. We blessed Demsey on Sunday and all of Christofer's family was here from California, all 6 brothers. It was crazy and fun, we had so many of our friends and family at the blessing and had a fun little luncheon in our backyard afterwards, thanks to everyone for coming and for your support! My mom made the blessing dress and it is so beautiful...thanks Mom!

Here's Chris' brothers...they get soo goofy when they all get together, they are holding baby Demsey up Simba style from Lion King. You should have seen some of the dance sessions they had with Radley :)

We took everyone boating a couple of times at Willard Bay. Radley loved the boat and the water, Demsey pretty much slept on shore the whole time and I finally got wakeboarding down pretty good.

Radley has had lots of fun playing with all his cousins at all the cookouts and get togethers. We also got to go to Boise to Chase's baptism on the 4th of July which was really neat.

This is the kids playing in the dirt under our deck at the blessing luncheon. Radley loves his dirt pile and is covered in dirt at the end of each day.
Summer is so great, and there is still so much to look forward to. We'll keep ya posted on all the adventures!

More Baby Pics

Here's some more pictures of little Demsey. I am so NOT a photographer, but we tried to be a little creative, and a few turned out okay:

This is the pose Radley is in most of the time...he LOVES his little sister. He constantly wants to lay by her and hold her and kisses her on the head about a hundred times a day. He's pretty protective as you can see by his face in the picture, he's getting better at sharing her though :) She's starting to get a little chub on her cheeks, she had gained a pound at her 2 week appointment, but everyone still always comments on how little she is. She's a good baby during the day, but when night comes she gets a little colicky for a couple hours...I hope she outgrows that soon.



We've already done some fun things this summer: dinosaur park, air show, airplane museum, parks and we have lots more planned. Chris likes to always be on the go; working on projects or doing fun stuff, but it's nice to have him home so that I can take a much needed nap most days. I still can't believe I have two kids, I think it makes me feel more like a real mom, before I kinda felt like I was just hanging out with Radley :) Fun stuff, hope everyone has a super fun summer!

She's Here!!!

Baby Demsey Marie(pronounced Dem-See) was born on May 28th at 12:15 pm. She was 6 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20 inches long. I'll put pictures first for those who just want to see pics and then I'll write the details at the end, here's the family awaiting the new addition. My mom was taking care of Radley and had just brought him to say hi.

She was so tiny, I forgot how small newborns really are. She also had the cord wrapped around her neck THREE times...I was totally freaked but the doctor said it's totally common and that my cord was long enough that it was never causing the baby any problems. She sure did move around tons in my belly, I guess the cord was bound to be wrapped around her somewhere.This is my first hold after the baby was checked and cleaned. She doesn't have tons of hair, there's a lot more in the back than on top. She kinda has a mini mullet :) Here hair is brown, but Radley's was too until he got older.

Here's the new little family of four, so crazy that now I have 2 kids.

I can't tell who she looks like, sometimes she looks like Radley, sometimes she looks like me and sometimes Chris...too hard to tell with newborns, we'll have to wait and see I guess.This is the cutest picture of big brother Radley holding her in the hospital room. He has been so cute with her. He loves to hold and kiss her and is already protective. Whenever my nieces want to hold her he tells them she is his and that they can't.

It is so amazing having children, being pregnant isn't fun and the whole labor process isn't fun either, but it is all such a miracle. Now there is a new little human in the world that totally depends on us for everything. It is such a spiritual experience when the doctor first puts that little baby up on your chest, there's nothing like it and it makes all the pain seem so insignificant.

So, here's some details. First, I found out a week before my due date that my doctor was going out of town for two weeks and she asked me if I wanted to be induced before she left. At first I kinda had mixed feelings, I wanted to at least go to my due date and see what happened, but on the other hand, I was already dialated to a three, 80% effaced, and it would make planning easier. So after thinking about it, we decided to go for it because I really didn't want to take my chances with just whatever doc was on call. So we planned to get induced on Thursday and my mom drove up Wednesday so she could be with Rad. Things started out a little rocky at the hospital...I was kinda stressed at first. The nurse came in to start my I.V. and she was trying to draw some blood and having a hard time and digging around in my arm. It was hurting way more than it should and I was just trying to be brave. When she put the I.V. on, my arm starting swelling and she realized that she had gone through the vein and into my tissue...so she had to take it out and try my other arm. The other arm didn't hurt at all but when she put the I.V. drip on, I got super nauseated and dizzy and weak and apparently I shorta passed out for a few seconds and was totally unresponsive and my lips were as white as the sheets. I didn't even know I had passed out, but when I came to Chris was over my bed all freaked out. The nurse said that it happens a lot, but it was weird for me because I usually have no problems with needles and blood and stuff. So I felt weird for awhile and the baby's heart rate was going up and down a lot so they gave me oxygen and waited to start the Pitocin until the doctor said it was okay. After they started the Pitocin at about 10am things went fast. I got my epidural when I was dialated to a 6...let me just say I love epidurals...they are the best and I don't know what on earth I would do without them. I don't know what Chris would do either, I was getting pretty mean before the epidural because those pitocin contractions were not messing around and I was not a happy camper. Anyways, I went from being dialated from a 6 to a 1o in 2o minutes. Then I had to wait a few minutes for the doctor to get there and I had to fight the urge to push so hard...I've never wanted to push so hard in my life! So the doctor got there and it only took me 2 contractions to push her out, less than 5 minutes. It was so fast! Storm was there to watch the birth and she was all sad because it all happened so fast that it wasn't very exciting :) Baby number 2 was much easier and the recovery has been much better too. The timing is perfect because Chris is off for the summer next week so he'll be around to help entertain Radley and let me get some much needed sleep. I'll keep the updates coming but so far so good and we are sooo glad Demsey is here!