September 2009

We went to the zoo with some friends on a beautiful day. The kids were so excited for Crew's first experience
With great friends!

Crew's first b-day! The cake was fun to make (thanks Jessica!) and best of all the kids loved it

He wasted no time digging in

My 4 Sweethearts!

See that blue ball in the background from Grandma Jen? That is all he really cares about! Haven't I learned by now? :)

Savannah ready to leave for dance class shows 1st position with a little attitude

The entire family (parents included) got really sick with flu symptoms! We were sick forever and no one was getting better. I finally took them in after 9 days and we all had lots of bacterial stuff ranging from bronchitis, ear infections and bronchial pneumonia. We were so happy to get on antibiotics and feel alive again!

My 3 boys! It was impossible to get them all to look and smile...so I gave up :)
Jeb turned 33! He always likes to sing along

Blowing out all of those candles

Blake-1st day of 1st grade and Landen-1st day of 3rd grade
The sun was so bright that morning we tried to find a spot where weren't squinting...Didn't work so well

My big one year old! I will post his b-day pics soon

Crew is such a happy kid

Princess Savannah!

Blake reading Crew his bedtime story

We went to Breckenridge (or BreckenBridge as Savannah calls it) for Labor day weekend. In line for the Alpine slide

Yeah baby!

Blake never needs or wants any help :)

Savannah told me how fast and scary it was

Landen got stuck behind a really slow group so they let him take another turn!

Had to throw in a picture of me because there never are any (even though I don't like it :))

We did a lot of hiking and bike-riding. We went really far on the hike because the kids were doing so well....We forgot you have to turn around and go back! The kids were wiped and we got rained on...it was still great!

Following the 3 leaders in search for the Best Walking Stick

3 of my munchkins

The condo we stayed in was really fun...I wish I had taken more pictures

Quick Look at our last few months!

Note: If you don't care to see Thanksgiving and Christmas pics during the month of May...Skip ahead!

The Boys with their soccer team at the Rapids game! It was cold
Of course you can't leave Mom, Savannah and Crew at home (now we can! This was back in October? when Savannah didn't mind staying still :))


Jacob and Kristin got married and most of us were there for the occasion! (Savannah thought Kristin was a princess). We all stuck around and celebrated Thanksgiving together with Jeb's side of the family

Mark had connections and hooked us up with a huge gathering place! It was awesome. There are a lot of us by now so we needed all of the space we could get.

Waiting to say our "Thankful fors"

Cousin Zach was telling us all what he was thankful for. Those little kids are always so sweet, I can't help but shed a tear

I guess it wasn't too exciting because Joey fell asleep!

This is Aunt Erin with Savannah at my Mom and Dad's house celebrating Landen's birthday. She married my brother Adam and the kids love them! In March they came to Colorado to visit us and we had a blast with them. I don't have any pictures though...darn.

Landen's 8th birthday. We had a lot of family around. He felt loved

Uncle Adam (Jeb's brother) and Blake

Happy Baby

She was telling me about her nail breaking. She is such a diva already! We were headed out to cut down our own Christmas tree. I have more pictures somewhere of the excursion but can't seem to find them

We went to my parent's house for Christmas this year. All of my siblings were there and it was a blast! I love it when we are all together. We were going to go the day after Christmas but because of a snow storm brewing we packed everything up in 2 hours and headed out Christmas Eve morning! We got there in the evening just in time for the evening's festivities. My Dad is talking about the Christmas story with his grandkids

Savannah opening a present from Grandma (while cousin Ben looks on)

Princess Dress-up!! Yippee!

The stash (most everyone's included)

Landen was baptized on December 27th and Crew was blessed the same day. It was wonderful

The kids

This is one of her "no, I will not" looks. She is very sweet but can be very fiesty!

Landen (with braces) and his buddy

The kids on St. Patrick's Day! We even had to wear green on our pajamas that morning because my kids are vigilant about pinching

Crew loves his sister and brothers

Can you believe you are not looking at a soccer field? That's right...the kids played basketball this year and loved it! That is Blake...the farthest blue shirt on the left. He was one of the taller kids which is always nice in b-ball. Landen played also and the kids because obsessed with the Denver Nuggets. It was a lot of fun

We only hit the ski slopes a couple of times this winter. Having a newborn and all made life a little too busy for our season pass. Hopefully next year. These are some of the jumps the kids have tried. They are getting pretty good

Skiing adventures

This is my brother Lane and my mom at my 30th birthday dinner! I don't really have a picture of me but that's okay. After this we went back to my parent's house where Jeb had planned a little surprise party! It was very sweet of him.

The boys waiting to ride a train with Santa!

March and Spring Break

You might think...big deal...there is snow...you live in Colorado. No...we have had barely any snow this year. So when a random snow storm hit during spring break we all shut down! It was awesome. We mostly get snow in the mountains.
Jeb's work was closed! Yahoo! Savannah had to help her dad

The Snow Dino creation

Proud kids

Our nephew Zack came to visit us for his spring break! We had such a great time with him. Crew loved him and was so happy when he got attention from him

Zack and Crew

While Zack was in town Josh and Andrea drove all night to see him for Conference weekend. This is their little boy and him and Crew are just a few months apart

They are smiling for Andrea's camera

This is Josh, Zack, Andrea, Ethan and Blake
Josh is trying to teach Zack the basic colors and shapes :)

October is Over?

Blake turned 6!! He didn't get to have a party this year, but I let him have a couple of friends over. We went to a fun blow-up jumping place. He got a lot of Stars Wars stuff. :)
Our big boy

Hi! I am finally trying to take the time to record my life during these last crazy 6 weeks. Six weeks postpartum...I can't believe I am already there! I blinked and October was over. :)

Thank you to my sweet hubby for doing the post about the arrival of our little Crew man. Although he chose pics I may never have posted (the new baby gunk and the lovely part that proves he is a boy), I really appreciate Jeb taking the time to do that. Thanks Sweetie! Notice how there has not been a post by either of us since the sweet, calm time in the hospital with baby No. 4. That's because there are not a lot of calm moments in our household these days. I feel like Crew is most comfortable when there is a lot of craziness and chaos going on because that is all he has known. It makes Jeb and I smile though because this is what we wanted for our family. :) We are finally getting into a groove and it feels really nice. I will try to update through pictures so I don't bore everyone with rantings of my "exciting" life. As I was going through the pictures I realized there aren't really any of me...I will try to work on that. I am usually taking the pictures! They are mostly of Crew. I promised my Mom that I would show her more of what he looks like now.
It is hard for me to think through getting them in the right order, so I will just put on a bunch from the whole month.

Halloween! Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, and of course...the Princess


Savannah got to visit her brothers at their school parties

"Seeping Booty" (Sleeping Beauty)

I really enjoyed making her a princess. :) Darth Vader with a sweet kid underneath the mask

Growing quickly! Blake told Jeb "I am NOT touching that stuff" (inside the pumpkin)

In the end, they both got nice and dirty. Thanks Jeb for always doing the pumpkins with the kids!

The Rapids game!

Savannah said "look, he can hold his own bottle!" This baby has been fantastic. I mostly feed him, but he takes a bottle and a pacifier really well. It is nice because the kids can help out so much.

Blake and Crew. He is such a chill baby...he doesn't mind when the kids hold him and move him all around. He is just happy to be held.

Crew at the pumpkin patch...nice and warm

Blake on the hay bales at the pumpkin patch. The boys had more fun running on top of the hay instead of through the little maze that was there. Believe it or not, the owners didn't care. You could tell that the top of the maze had far more wear and tear than the maze itself.

Savannah at the pumpkin patch. She did not want to let that wagon go. It drove us crazy the whole night because she was really slow. We had such a great time that night. One of our first outings as a family that is 4 vs. 2!

Landen feeding Crew while I made dinner! A very common occurence. He doesn't mind because I let him watch cartoons while he does it...not to mention he loves his new brother. :)

Dad and Baby

Jeb is so great with kids! I love seeing him as a Dad.

Brother time.

General Conference. Jeb and I got to watch the entire 2 sessions on Sunday with hardly any interruptions. Our kids were so quiet and good. I thought it would be really hard with 4 kids, but we probably listened more than we ever have since we have had kids. Thanks guys!

I painted Savannah's nails during it. I have only done her toes before so she was really excited

Cutie pie

A common picture in our house. Crew zonked on Jeb while he directs traffic. ("get your pjs on" "stop fighting" "give that to your sister", you know how it goes :))

Earlier days

We just finished our Fall soccer. We had an awesome season! Jeb was a proud coach and dad. We kept Landen and Blake on separate teams this year and Jeb decided to be head coach of both. It was a big commitment but we had a great time.

Bennett Crew

As promised, we have more pictures of Crew. We finalized the name Saturday after much debate. We had Adam, Nathan, and Bennett in the final round of deciding. We loved the name Bennett for a long time. Blake was pretty close to being a Bennett 6 years ago. So we decided to use the name for this one. We call him Crew though. For Savannah it sounds more like "Cwoo".

How about a pictorial timeline.

Crew is born. A little messy and making some well received noise.

The weigh in. He was a few ounces short of Landen. 8 lb 11oz after some rounding. He came out sideways also making life a little harder for Becca.

Cleaner now. He was 15 minutes old in this picture

The proud dad!

The very excited siblings.

Beaming Grandma Jen!

Landen with Crew. Landen was probably most excited to see his new brother.

Savannah just has this look. "My precious little pet." - Think Tommy Boy - Yikes

She really loves Cwoo and wants to touch him and pet him and hold him all the time.

This was the next day. the kids couldn't get enough.

First day at home (2 days old). He sleeps most of the day away.

Blake likes holding Crew, but gets bored after 60 seconds. He is very good with him though.

The boys went to the Rapids game Saturday night to "get away". Really. I was getting the boys out of the house for Becca. It just so happened that it was for a soccer game. Rough life so far.

Landen and Crew again

Hooked to the pacifier already. Nice!

Pacifier = No crying

Grandma pulling an afternoon shift while Becca gets some needed rest and Dad gets the kids from school. She needs the rest too because she's been up all night also. But she gets to go home in a couple days.

Baby Crew is here!!!!

At 6:52 pm after almost 6 hours of labor Becca delivered our new beautiful baby boy. He was 20 inches long and 8 lbs 11 oz. He resembles both brothers so far, but you never know after he gets all cleaned up and the swelling goes down.

We have 2 names decided on so far - Crew Buffington (middle and last names) but are still working on a first name. I'm thinking Ole, Gunnar, Rooney, Keane, Ronaldo or Kaka. But I don't think any of those are going to happen. I got Crew out of the deal and doubt I'll get anything else.

Blake votes for Blake Jr. and Andrew, and Landen says Landen Jr. or Johnny.

We have some serious contender but won't let them out just yet.

Becca and Crew are doing great!!!!

Soccer Season!

I haven't taken a lot of pictures lately. I will try to get on that. I just wanted to post something that wasn't so depressing! We took Savannah to the Endocronologist on Wednesday and the good news is that her cyst is not effecting her pituitary gland and we have nothing to worry about in that area of her brain. Yay! An easy appointment! Now we just have to monitor the great amount of fluid that is sitting in the back of her brain, but it is stable for now. :)

The boys started practicing soccer 2 weeks ago and had their first game on Saturday. I should have taken pictures of that but during Blake's game Landen got his first bee sting (traumatic) and during Landen's game I was talking too much! We have been with the same players on Landen's team for almost 2 years now (give and take a few) so it is fun to catch up every season. The boys did awesome and really had fun. We usually have them on the same team but Landen is in U8 this year and it is a bit more intense. We decided to have Blake play 1 year up instead of 2 and he is doing great. What does this mean for us? Jeb is coaching 2 separate teams! Arghhh! Every Tuesday and Thursday the boys have 2 hours of practice instead of 1 because they stay for each other's practices. We haul all of our crap around to two different games every Saturday. I know a lot of families have it worse, but last season was so nice to deal with just one team. Oh well, I really need to get used to my soccer life. :)

As for me, the baby should be coming so soon. It is very uncomfortable at this stage of course, but I don't mind moments like yesterday....I was making dinner and my ankles started to swell so Jeb made me sit down, put my feet up and took over. He then took all of the kids on a Sunday bike ride (yes, we think it is a good family activity on Sunday :)) and came home and put them to bed. It was nice. Hopefully, our new unnamed addition will come soon but not too soon. My brother, Adam gets married to Erin on Friday so I am trying to hold out for my mom! :) I would really like her here for the kids while I am in the hospital. We have all kind of taken turns needing her around lately. She is such a great Mom! I hope we don't run her ragged.

Jeb and Savannah are doing great. Savannah loves soccer practice because there is a playground right next to the field this year. She freaks if I don't let her stay and play. She calls the playground "soccer practice" and begs to go to the "soccer practice" the whole car ride over. :) Jeb is playing softball with the ward late Monday nights, indoor soccer late Tuesday nights, outdoor pickup games early Saturday mornings, serving as Education director on the soccer board, coaching the boys T and Th, and leading our ward choir on Sundays....oh, and occasionally he works. He is a busy guy during the fall season! He is also a huge Michigan football fan so he will watch a few of those games (he lived in Michigan before he moved to Ohio).

Well, this is all pre-4th baby life for us! We will see how it all plays out over the next couple weeks. I will try to get more pictures added so I won't ramble so much!:)

Savannah's MRI

So yesterday we had Savannah's MRI. We were exhausted to say the least. The night before (Thursday) we stayed up late watching the Dem. Natl. Convention on TV (here in Denver:)) and the next morning we had to be at the hospital at 6:00 am.

I was planning on getting up at 4:45 so we could leave at 5:15 but I awoke with a start at 3:55 remembering my tooth fairy duties for Blake! Yikes...we have already forgotten too many times. So I took care of that and decided to just stay up and get moving. We sent Landen off to the neighbors so he could get to school (thanks Brooke!) and pulled Blake and Savannah out of bed. I couldn't feed Savannah at all before the procedure so I made Blake wait also so she wouldn't see any food. He is such a trooper and was very good about it.

When she had an MRI done at 3 months old it took her a long time to be put to sleep because she would never completely relax and fall into the sleep. So I thought it was going to take awhile to put her out and they would start the process right when we arrived. Oh no, we did lots of waiting, paperwork, etc. So poor little kids had been up so early and still couldn't have any food or drink (I did sneak Blake out and gave him something to hold him over). Finally at 8:30 they got Savannah into the room. They wheeled her down the hall in a wheelchair and she thought it was the coolest stroller she had ever seen! :) Jeb took her into the room as they put her to sleep and she screamed for 20 seconds and was out cold. He had to leave her after that and let them take all of the pictures of her brain. We took Blake down to the cafeteria to get him some breakfast and he loved it so much! He kept asking if we could go back there for lunch.

We came back to the waiting room to wait for Savannah and I went in to help her come out of the anesthesia. It was hilarious to watch her come out because she was so disoriented. She sat up at one point and yelled "horseys!" and then fell back to sleep. Anyway, we finally got her out of there and we were so happy the long ordeal was over. We got to take all of the films with us so we can show the Endocrinologist (sp?) on Wednesday. We got home just in time to get Blake off to school. Jeb took him and headed off to work (although it had already felt like a very full day). I was so excited because Savannah was going to take a nap and then I was going to crash for 2 hours before the kids got home from school (I was so exhausted!)

I was reading stories to Savannah in her room on the floor when the phone rang. Now remember, I am 8 months pregnant so once I am on the floor it takes great effort to get up :). I let the machine get it and it was my pediatrician. She said, "Rebecca, call me as soon as you can and even if I am with a patient have them come and get me." My heart just sank. I didn't want to call her. I quickly put Savannah in bed and got up the courage to call. She told me the radiologist that looked at our scan saw a mass (tumor, etc.) near her pineal (sp?) gland area in her brain and we needed to get to Primary Children's to see our neurologist (Dr. Handler who we have seen many times before) right away. This was a whole new thing, totally unrelated to her Dandy-walker cyst that she has had since she was born in the back of her brain. Needless to say I started freaking out, hyperventilating, feeling like I was going to throw myself into labor, you name it. I called Jeb and told him to come and get us, we have to go to the hospital right now(Lisa Marie, I immediately thought of you and all you have gone through recently...it is the most horrible feeling to think there is something wrong with your child).

Jeb got home and we went straight to Primary Children's. We did the MRI that morning at Presby. St. Luke's so we had to bring our scans with us. The whole way I felt dizzy, over tired, sick and emotional. Jeb kept trying to tell me, we don't know anything yet, let's wait until we find out more (trying to be strong). I told him it was too late because I am so pregnant and so tired, there is nothing that will keep the tears back. I kept thinking about brain surgery, not enjoying the baby coming because of stress, etc, etc. I couldn't look back at her happy little face in her carseat without feeling so much pain.

We got to the hospital and our wonderful and very interesting neurologist (who squeezed us into his schedule so we wouldn't have to wait the holiday weekend) comes in. He says "What the hell is going on here?" He looked and looked at her scans and asked if we have a copy of her previous MRI from when she was 3 months old? I told him we had it done in Virginia and that Primary Children's should have them on file because I have brought them in before. He looked it up and had them and was able to compare the two. He said she has always had this in her pineal gland area (sp?) and it is not a mass, it is another cyst. The kind of cyst that a lot of children have that will hopefully go away eventually (the kind of cyst we were hoping Savannah had instead of her Dandy-Walker). He said if you would have done your MRI here we could have found that out much easier because we have all of her records and we have seen a lot of children's brains. He went and got a couple of other opinions and all of the doctors agreed.

I felt color come back into my face and immense relief. Jeb and I were so happy to have better news! What an awful, traumatic experience! My heart went out to so many at Primary Children's who get such horrible news about their precious little ones. The Dr. said he wants us to do another MRI in 3 months to take a look at it again but for now we can rest easy. It is so creepy knowing she has another cyst but apparently it is more common than her Dandy-walker and may just go away. He said her Dandy-walker (near her cerebellum in the back of her brain) looks scary and bigger but it is stable for now. We still have to see the Endocrinologist on Wednesday but I don't think she will have anything life-threatening going on. We can deal with anything else right now as long as we know she is going to be okay.

Jeb and I couldn't believe how much peace we felt after leaving that place. There happened to be a Dairy Queen down the street from the hospital (my favorite pregnancy treat is a chocolate blizzard with M and M's :)) and we made a stop! Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I know I made this story really long with lots of details, but I want to remember it. When she is driving me crazy as a pre-teen I can look back and remember how grateful I am that she is doing so well despite her underdeveloped brain. :) We slept really well last night and feel so much better today. My heart goes out to those who don't get such relief and have so much worry to deal with. Since having Savannah I have definitely gained more empathy for others. Thanks to all of our friends and family.

Updates

There are many pictures posted below of the Buffington family in the last couple of months! As you can tell I have not kept up on my goal to update more often. Our baby is coming so soon I figure I better do it now before I have more to post!

As you can see we have a few different pictures from our trip to Utah. We went to Bear Lake and had such a great time with all of my Mom's side of the family. Cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents all stayed in a great house on a very quiet part of Bear Lake. I am the oldest cousin so I have lots of young cousins that are my kids' ages. They loved being free and having so many friends there. We had a hard time getting back to everyday life.

School has started already (Aug. 19) and the kids were so excited! Landen's in 2nd grade and Blake's in kindergarten. They are loving it but Savannah doesn't like to be left behind. I've been trying to hang out with her a lot and it's been fun to have some one- on- one time with her before the baby comes. I miss the boys but it's perfect timing as I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and less anxious to do a lot of entertaining.

We had a great summer. We swam a lot and my kids are finally catching up to others with swimming. Landen hasn't done a lot of swimming lessons in the past and has never been super comfortable in the water. We did swim lessons this summer and I think it helped him a lot. Blake is our little fish, he's doing really well.

Blake's had quite a lot of medical issues this past month. He had a staph infection which was scary because that is something you do not mess around with. We were nervous for a few days and were on pins and needles hoping the infection would not spread through his blood. He was on loads of medication and in a lot of pain. Luckily, after a few days they figured out the right antibiotic that killed it and it was smooth sailing after that. At the same time we figured out his tubes had finally fallen out (he didn't get them until he was 4) and he had double ear infections. Poor kid. A couple weeks later he started losing his voice and not feeling great (around the first day of school). While we were in Savannah's 2 year check up appointment the doctor heard him coughing. She listened to his breathing and said he had bronchitis and double ear infections again. So she sent us home with more antibiotics and another trip to the ENT for the possibility of more tubes. Luckily he is not a complainer but I feel bad for the poor kid.

A lot has been going on as we try to relax and prepare for the baby (hah!). At Savannah's 2 year checkup the doctor declared it is time to get a look at her brain again. We have to meet with an Endicronologist (sp?) to check out some things with her pituitary gland. They want to get a good look at that and her Dandy-walker cyst so they are doing an MRI. I know she'll be fine but I hate that they have to put her under. I am trying to get all of this taken care of before I have the baby...I hope there are no more issues to deal with! Please keep her in your prayers.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will update how the MRI turns out (it is on Friday). In the meantime Jeb and I are missing his brother Jacob's wedding and my brother Adam's wedding which we are super bummed about! Good luck you guys! Also my brother Brandon and his wife Stacy just had a darling new baby that they named Lily. I can't wait to be able to travel and see everyone again.

August Happenings

Landen's First day of 2nd grade

Blake goes to 1/2 day kindergarten. Savannah cried when both of her brothers left her.

Blake making sure she will be okay without him. This was before our walk to the school and Blake's dreaded bee sting he got along the way. He is terrified of bees now (he has been stung twice) and has a hard time outside. Good thing it happened at the end of summer!

Blake is one of the oldest in his class (turns 6 in October) and here he is wishing he could play on the big kids playground. He hates the fact he has to stay in the kindergarten section!

Savannah and her friend Drew at the Butterfly Pavillion

Checking out bugs

This picture gave Jeb the creeps! Neither of my kids would hold this guy until the worker told them it would make them braver than their dad. Blake wanted to hold it several times after that and wanted Jeb to know how much braver he is!

Jeb's 32nd birthday!

Jeb's staged look of surprise! The kids were so excited to give him Rock Band, but he is the one who picked it out. I love hearing my little 7 and 5 year olds belt out Nirvana in the basement.

Baby coming soon! I can only post this because it is a non-full body shot taken by Blake

One of Blake's many medicines he has had to take in the past month and a half. Poor kid! (See story above) Notice he also lost his front top tooth. The permanent one is almost done growing in and the other front tooth is now hanging by a thread (snaggle tooth)

Camping with Friends and Soccer Camp

Baseball on the campground! Yes, we do participate in other sports besides soccer
Friends and food!

We camped by this beautiful lake and rented a waverunner for the day.

Savannah loving the dirt! Why is she wearing a white shirt while camping? Not for long. :)

Last day of soccer camp! It was soooo hot all week I can't believe my kids still had so much fun. They were coached by some guys from London and they each were on a team. Landen was on germany's team and Jeb helped him make this sign to hold in their parade.

Blake was on Italy's team. The coaches loved his sign and Blake was very proud of it!

The adults had to do a relay while their kids cheered them on. Jeb was spinning around this ball. He was supposed to do it 10 times but as he would get to 9 they started counting again at 3. They made him do it at least 30 times and the kids were loving it. He had a real hard time finishing the race. :)

Bear Lake and Utah Trip

My brother Lane getting some air.
My brother Adam taking Landen out for a spin. Landen looks nervous! Do you get any better than the beautiful water at Bear Lake?

This is where I spent most of my time. Leaning back, taking it easy and talking!

My Dad was wrestling with his grandkids and nephews (my cousins). I think even more jumped on after I took this picture! He still thinks he is so young :).

Landen found the collection of books

Adam and his fiance Erin are always out entertaining and playing with the kids. They are getting married September 12th and we are so excited to have her a part of our family!

Jeb was spent

Craft time

This was at the Dinosaur museum in Thanksgiving Point. They could have spent all day in this section.

Landen always helping his sister! Blake is good too but teases her a little bit more. He always tells me he'll take really good care of the new baby. :)

Savannah's Birthday

My Mom got Savannah a new bear at Build-A-Bear.
They were all treated to a cookie

Her cake at Grandma's. Although I hate my hair in this :) (long day) I think it is so precious of her hugging me.

Showing Grandpa her new Dora doll

She loved her pink balloons!

For a special cause

In March, at the age of thirty, my aunt, Abbigail Israelsen became suddenly ill and on a ventilator fighting for her life for 18 days. She was in the hospital for 21 days, but thankfully she survived. It has been a long and emotional recovery that continues everyday.She has joined the ARDS Foundation team to attend a fund raising walk on Sept. 21, 2008. For every donation that is made over $40, Abbi will give the donor an original drawing created specifically for them. The drawings will be done on 100% cotton rag paper with pen, pencil, and ink. You will receive your drawing in the mail by mid October, 2008.After donating towards the Hike for Lung Health, email Abbi (abbiisraelsen@yahoo.com) with three words that she will use to inspire a drawing as a thank you gift.The drawings will be shown at the Anton Art Center for a special fund raising exhibition Sept. 12-Oct. 3, 2008. All proceeds made from the exhibition will be donated for ARDS research.If you would like to read more about Abbi's journey through ARDS visit her website.
http://drawingforards.blogspot.com/
The website with her story is:
http://mystoryards.blogspot.com/
Hike fundraising page: http://my.imisfriendraising.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=260155&LangPref=en-CA
Abbi's artwork website:
www.abbigailisraelsen.com

She is a talented artist and has done some beautiful work! Her and I are only 10 months apart and were best friends growing up. I am so happy she has been doing so much for something she has become so passionate about. Love you Abbi!

A week ago we had a Mother/Son Enrichment. The boys and I had a blast! Here we are making s'mores. We went fishing, had relays, bubblegum blowing and seed spitting contests. The boys thought I was really cool because I almost won the speed spitting and Landen and I won the 3-legged race. I guess I am still competitive when I am 6 months pregnant. :) At least my boys were impressed! :)

Yummy, messy watermelon!


What a fun night!

You know I can't resist pictures when I capture such sweetness between my kids.

When they decide to spend this kind of time with her all on their own my heart leaps with joy! I'm doing something right! :)

Savannah's favortie beads and Daddy's soccer hat.

We are headed to Utah today and Savannah's 2nd birthday is on Monday. My fabulous neighbor across the street couldn't stand the fact she was going to miss her birthday so she threw her a small party. Here is the beautiful cake she made.

Here is Savannah after her nap just before the party. She couldn't believe she had Dora and Boots on her cake! She was very excited.

Then the excitement turned to fear! :) This is her screaming after we sang Happy Birthday. She started to reach for her cake before we sang and touch the candles and Landen and I both kind of jumped on her and told her to "Stop! No!". It started the whole thing off bad because we freaked her out. She finally calmed down and opened a few presents. She was very happy with her new stroller, baby and camping chair. Our neighbors are so great! Now we get to go celebrate again with family in Utah. Nothing like a marathon 2-year old birthday.

Blake and Bella are best friends. They are both going to kindergarten this next year. All of the siblings joke with them that they will be married someday. They are very sweet together.

Trip to Colorado Springs and such

We just returned home from our trip to Colorado Springs for the weekend. It is a little over an hour away and they had some beautiful sights to see and fun things to do. It was nice to be gone and the kids thought the hotel was so amazing! They are easy to please. Here are some pictures from the trip but at the beginning I added a few to catch up from April.

I took the kids to the zoo on one of Landen's days off of school. Savannah was freaking out about this peacock eating someone's sandwich. She was yelling at him to try to get him to stop. I took lots of other pictures from this trip but I already added so many to this post that I will spare you :).

One of Landen and Blake's last soccer games in April. The kid's team name is Fire and they had these special shirts made for the whole team to wear (normally you can just wear a red shirt). As you can see they are more like dresses for my boys who are the shortest kids on the team. Granted Blake is only 5 playing on a 7 year old team (poor Landen). Side note: Jeb was 5'1" his freshman year of high school and he grew to 6'1" in a year....hopefully Landen will follow suit!

They had a great time and then it started to snow! One of those really random snowfalls in late April where we had beautiful weather for days and then Boom! We get a 30 minute snowfall. It's okay, we're used to Minnesota where winter lasts forever.

More fun in the snow!

Savannah's new friend Drew. I love watching Savannah learn to play with friends. She is very bossy and always says mine. She went and got Drew a Magic Tree House book like her so she wouldn't have to share and they could both read! (of course these are Landen and Blake's chapter books with no pictures).

Blake graduated from preschool on Friday!! He is happy to be moving on and keeps telling everyone that he is in kindergarten already. I try to explain he has 3 months of summer to enjoy but he keeps asking me about meeting his new kindergarten teacher next week. He was so adorable singing his songs during his program. He knew every word and sang with lots of enthusiasm. :) Landen was always so embarrassed to be in front of people at this age and Blake loves it (Landen is not that way now and I wish I had a little bit of it back...it was cute).

Mom and her goofy, fun boys!

This was on our first day in Colorado Springs. We went to the Royal Gorge which was unbelievable! Of course the pictures never capture how amazing it was. This is on a bridge that was built in the 1800's that is the largest expansion bridge in the United States. It is a quarter of a mile long and 2000 feet high and the gorge is down below. It scared me a little as it swayed back and forth (I don't like heights) and cars kept driving past us on it. I was sure the cars were going to cause us to tumble down in the water and rocks below! Apparently Savannah did not want to join in this picture because she wanted to race ahead on the bridge.

This is the tram ride across the gorge for the way back. I chose not to look down too often! I don't know how I married my husband who gets a thrill out of heights. He is always the one telling the kids to jump up in these things and "lets make it sway" :). There is a good reason why I am not in a lot of these pictures. You see, the baby decided to grow a lot this past week or so and I have still been wearing a lot of "in-between" clothes (looser, normal clothes) and after seeing our pictures, it is obvious it is time for maternity :). I think this will be a big baby. Landen (my first) was 8 lbs. 11 oz. so I definitely don't produce small babies!
Landen still enjoys the carousel ride but he won't admit it.

Savannah and Jeb getting ready for the train ride. They had so many fun things to do at the Royal Gorge area. We went hiking, rode a vertical train down into the gorge and had a great time! The kids were tired just after this but then we went back to our hotel and swam for awhile and then continued our fun with Mr. Biggs (see below for more details)

This is Little Bigg town inside Mr. Biggs (basically a cooler version of Boondocks, etc.). This is where Savannah and I spent our time. They had lots of fun places for kids to play. This is the princess, dress-up and beauty parlor section I was trying to coax Savannah into.

This is the type of dress-up she wanted to do. She took off her fire hat just before I got the picture but you get the jist (sp?) of her idea of fun!

This was one of her other favorite spots!

I did get her to have some fun in the shopping section though. She poured me some "hot chocolate" and we played pretend for awhile. I just enjoy doing "girly" things now that I have the chance. I'm sure she will like to put on the princess dress and the pretty tiara when she is older!

Here are a few pics I captured of the boys at Mr. Biggs before we hid away in Little Bigg town. This was called Bumper hockey. Blake was barely tall enough! I was so glad he was because they had a blast! I didn't get it, but his grin was priceless.

Riding the Go-Karts!

Landen and Dad coming in from the Go-Kart ride. Sorry about the bright flash on the right. We are having a hard time getting our settings just right on our camera. A lot of pictures come out horrible. Jeb is getting a new one from work that will be really nice so hopefully we will notice a difference!

Today on our trip it was Sunday so we took it a little easy. We went and explored Garden of the Gods which is amazing! Before we left Blake surprised us by fixing his own hair. He shut the bathroom door at the hotel and didn't come out for awhile. Then he presented us with this.

He explained he wanted to look like Christiano Ronaldo who is on Manchester United's team. He was voted best player in the premier league (England) and will likely win world player of the year. ManU is Jeb's favorite team and they won the Champions league last week. (ladies, if you google Christiano Ronaldo you will see why I enjoy watching Manchester United play also :)) Anyway, Blake was excited for his new do!

While we were packing up in the hotel Landen finally mastered tying his shoes!! Blake has been able to do it for awhile, but Landen is a perfectionist. He would try and if he couldn't get it right away he would just give up. I suppose it is a lot of my fault since I hate dealing with laces and often opted for the non-lace shoes. But now he is feeling very confident and happy that he figured out the trick to getting it right (and is no longer one-upped by his younger brother! :))

Jeb and the boys walking into Garden of the Gods. It was so beautiful!

Landen jumping off the rock. All the kids wanted to do was climb the rocks. Of course Savannah refused to be left behind. I wanted to stay on all of the nicely paved trails, but they wanted to explore all of the dusty dirt trails off to the side (of course I wore sandals and Jeb reminded me of that smart move the whole day :)) Oh well, we saw a lot of cool stuff!

Blake pausing during one of his climbs

At the top of one of the awesome red rocks! The background was amazing.

Does anyone else get nervous when their kids are near edges? I probably sound like I am afraid of everything! I love to do and try new things, but when you have 3 mobile children climbing and running, you kind of hold your breath!


Well, that was our short vacation. We had such a great time. I hope you survived all of those pictures and explanations. But remember, I have a goal to update more so be prepared!

Note: Pictures to come!!

I have been one of the worst bloggers. I love to read people's blogs who update frequently. It is so entertaining! I am probably on most people's list of "do not check very often because she never updates". My goal is to blog more frequently this summer because I have loved to go back to last year and read about the things we were doing and see pictures of my family. :)

I got out my real handwritten journal on Mother's Day to write down some things and realized I hadn't written in there since Mother's Day 2007. My kids had so much fun reading what I wrote about each of them it made me want to recommit myself! We'll see.

Life has been slowing down finally. Soccer is over, which helps a lot and school is almost out! The kids are really excited for summer and so am I! Last time I was pregnant I had to deal with Virginia humidity. Nothing will be as bad as that. :) Landen is about to finish 1st grade and move on to 2nd which blows me away. I remember 2nd grade very well and I can't believe he will be that old! He is in the process of getting braces right now. He is only 7 years old but he already has 8 permanent teeth almost fully grown in. Many of his classmates are just starting to lose their teeth and if they have, they just have spaces where the teeth are. Anyway, he has an issue they call "tongue thrust" where every time he swallows (which is many times a day) he pushes his teeth with his tongue. His teeth have started to push forward and fan out which is not a good thing. For the past 2 weeks he has had a device in has mouth that will re-train his tongue to hit the roof of his mouth when he swallows instead of thrust it forward. This has been a painful process for both Landen and Mom. You can only imagine what kind of device is put at the roof of his mouth to stop his tongue going forward. Lots of pokey things! He has had to re-learn to talk, eat and swallow and has been in a lot of pain. But, things are looking up and soon he will get 6 brackets put on his teeth to help move them back into place. He is thrilled! (Ha)

Blake's last day of preschool is on Friday. He is sad because he loves his teacher, but so happy that he will finally be in Kindergarten at the same school as his brother. Blake turned 5 last October so he is going to be a very old kindergartner...he has been more than ready for a long time. It is getting really hot here so the kids have been putting the sprinkler under the trampoline and jumping for hours. I'm sure it is dangerous, but at least they aren't watching TV right? Their "wonderful" father has been teaching them some pretty amazing tricks that scare me really bad! We have some on video so I will have to figure out how to post those. Blake loves to be active. A couple mornings a week, I have tried to go on a run/jog (it is getting very difficult :)) and he rides his bike with me while I push Savannah. He lives to be outside and moving! He is such a fun kid.

Savannah is always happy. She loves to jump on the trampoline or go to the park. She gets mad at her brothers if they try to get on while she is on there. They are finally learning to all jump together which makes it much easier on me. Otherwise I deal with her screaming (and it is not nice) because they are trying to get on or them complaining because they can't jump high while she is on. As she is getting older she is getting better and more stable so they can all have a good time out there. I love having a fenced-in backyard!

Jeb and I are doing well. He has been very good to me through this pregnancy. He frequently runs to get me my chocolate blizzard with M&M's late at night even though he is tired. I guess I should admit he goes and gets Taco Bell, Quiznos and other wonderful things that I feel sound good at night-time too.:) I definitely got lucky finding him! We are going to Colorado Springs as a family for Memorial weekend just to relax and get away. We can't wait. Most of our trips are to see family, which is great, but this will be a nice change. I will get some pictures up of that and other adventures we have been having. See ya!

I wrote this back in March and saved it as a draft. I was going to edit it and add more back then but obviously never got around to doing it. I just read it and thought it would be fun to post. So this is when spring was first starting to peek through:

Colorado is so strange. On Thursday and Friday we had sunny skies and 65 degree temperatures. Saturday was an amazing 75+ degrees. We woke up this morning (Sunday) to a blowing blizzard and snow on the ground!?? Yesterday you would have thought the snow was gone forever!



Landen had Thursday and Friday off of school for Parent Teacher Conf. On Thursday I wasn't feeling great and had a lot to do around the house. My kids seemed really bored so I decided to let my kitchen go for a bit and spend some quality time with them. We all helped prepare a nice picnic lunch because it was so beautiful outside. I was feeling like a pretty nice mom because I was telling them how we could play red light, green light, Mother May I, etc. (even though I was feeling pregnancy nausea) and have an afternoon of fun (just like summer!). Well, we get our picnic lunch outside in the backyard and sit down on our blanket. Savannah thought it was so cool to be eating outside, she was very happy. All of a sudden Landen jumps up off of the blanket and says, "I just saw a bee". I said "No, it must have been a fly. There aren't really bees out yet because the flowers haven't bloomed. Sit down and finish your lunch."



Next thing I know, two bees whiz by our picnic lunch. Landen jumps up and runs inside and shuts the sliding door as quick as he can. I went and got him and convinced him it was fine and we probably wouldn't see him again. This went on for the next 20 minutes, where the bees would come back and both boys would run in the house. Finally, they both gathered up their lunch and said "I want to eat inside!" So Savannah and I stuck it out and had our picnic by ourselves (to be fair, Blake got stung in the neck last year a couple of times and Landen was there to see the pain so they are a little more nervous than usual :)).



After we ate I convinced the boys they couldn't spend such a beautiful day inside and the bees only came around when we had food. So we started to play our fun games. All of a sudden Landen saw a couple of bees again. He yelled, "more bees!!" and him and Blake literally started freaking out! They both ran inside, slammed the door shut, then I hear them open it and come screaming toward Savannah and I on the trampoline. "The bee got trapped inside, he followed us inside, he's trying to get us!" At this point, Savannah is crying because her brothers are so scared of something. So I have 3 kids huddled on the trampoline sobbing (no doubt all neighbors can hear this). The boys trapped the bee between the screen and sliding glass door. I was able to carefully let it out and I said, "Guys, lets just go inside, you obviously aren't having much fun." "No, we can't go in there, the bees will follow us again, no, no, no". I said, "Get inside right now". I had to open the door for them so they could make a "beeline" run for the door (leaving their sister alone with the bees). I got Savannah and took her inside and the boys were panting and thanking their lucky stars they were safe inside and not "attacked" by those killer bees!!



They kept saying, "I am not going outside all summer!" "I hate bees, I am never going outside again!". Needless to say, I was so annoyed. I couldn't believe they were that scared. We have never had such an issue and now they are older and more scared than ever. So much for trying to be a fun mom and enjoy the beautiful afternoon with my kids!



I didn't see a lot of the bees but my kids kept claiming there were a bunch of them. A couple of days later I found out there is a dead tree stump nearby with hundreds of bees. Luckily we have been playing outside a lot and we haven't had a problem with the boys being frightened.

IT'S A..........

BOY!!!!! Jeb and I went to the perinatologist on Friday and found out our new little boy is perfectly healthy. During Savannah's ultrasounds it was very stressful because there was a very obvious empty, black space in the back of her brain. We hated looking at it because it was very unsettling. It was comforting to see our new little guy's brain fully there along with a healthy heart, etc.

We are excited to add another boy. Savannah will be quite the princess in this family!:) I will add some new pictures soon...I have been bad and not taken a lot lately. We went to the Colorado Rapids game as a family last night (it was kids night) and we grabbed everything we needed (and more) except for the camera! I hate it when I miss fun, family events like that. It seems the more kids I have the more I don't want to forget it, but do! :) We were worried about bringing Savannah but she had the best time of anyone. By the end the boys were complaining they were tired and cold and she was still jumping up and down, dancing with the music! We also went to Cold Stone because of our ice cream bet about the sex of the baby. The boys were relieved that even though they guessed wrong, they got to share in the ice cream treats. :)

This is one of Savannah's favorite books, Go Dog Go.
Her new passion. You can tell she has brothers! I have had boy toys for so long (not that trains are only for boys) that I can't wait to buy My Little Ponies and Polly Pockets! :)

Blake lost his first tooth. It was really hanging and we could already see the permanent tooth coming through. Jeb tied some floss around it and told Blake to yank on it as hard as he wanted. I asked Jeb how we were going to get the floss off...he looked at me with a grin and said "you don't". Blake let Jeb give it one hard pull and it flew out (luckily it came out very easily).



He was bragging all the next day that the tooth fairy gave him $5 and Landen only gets $2 or $1. Little does he know the tooth fairy is only that generous on the first lost tooth! :)

I know everyone is sick of Easter pictures, but because I am so slow...here are a couple. I only got pics of Savannah collecting eggs because the boys are too old and fast for me to follow anymore (so sad). Here is Savannah showing my Dad her collection. She was in the toddler section where all of the eggs were just laying on the ground. She quickly realized that if she set her basket down she had both hands free to pick up two eggs at once! That's my girl.

We were at my Mom's house for Easter. We dyed eggs and decorated cookies on Saturday.

We got to meet Lanes' new girlfriend Elyse that weekend. We love her! We had so much fun with them and getting to know her.

This is Adam's girlfriend Erin. We love her too! She is the best with kids. Everytime she comes over her and Adam immediately start playing with all of the kids. They are a definite favorite!

Lane and Elyse had great cookie decorating skills! :) Sorry for the glare.

Landen and Savannah on Easter. I'm not sure where Blake was. I didn't do my traditional sit all of the kids down and take their picture...it was to crazy that morning. I'll take what I can get!

Jeb and I went to Colorado Rapids season opener 2 weeks ago. They played LA Galaxy so that is David Beckham you are looking at in the white. Jeb was very excited. He has been a long-time fan of David Beckham's. He boasts of being a fan before he was popular :). We had a great time together at the game and the Rapids won 4-0! We are going to have a nice season. Soccer games are really fun to watch. Colorado has it's own new soccer stadium and the games are very fast-paced. There are only 2-45 minute halves and they rarely stop the clock for anything. Kind of like hockey, I love going to hockey games too. I guess I am grateful my husband is such a soccer fan and not baseball. I really love watching baseball (and playing) and the occasional live game is really fun....but those games can get so long and are really hard to take little kids to! Soccer has been really fun for our family to dive into!

So, I should probably update that my aunt, Abbi got out of the hospital a couple of days ago!! Yay!! We were so excited. It was pretty scary there for a bit. She is still really weak and will probably take a couple of months to fully heal, but it is nice for her to be home. She doesn't really remember a lot of her time in the hospital (I think it was 21 days) so it is kind of freaking her out that she was that sick. I can't wait to see her again!

We had a great trip to Utah. We drove and had nice weather the whole time. It feels like the trip is always so fast. It takes 8 hours but compared to 17 hours from Minnesota, it is a breeze! We were there for Landen's spring break. It was a lot of fun to see my family. We really missed having Brandon, Stacy and Ben there though. We also got to see some of Jeb's family for a minute. Just a quick trip!

Last weekend we really loved conference. My kids actually sat through 2 entire sessions on Sunday. I couldn't believe it! Of course I had lots of activities for them (coloring, etc.) but they were really good and quiet. Jeb and I heard every talk....I think that is the first time in 7 years that has happened! I think by the 2nd session Savannah would have been fed up but she went down for her nap.:) We had our traditional General Conference Scones that I have had since I was a little girl in between conferences. I grew up with all of my Mom's siblings and their spouses and kids going to my Grandma's for scones. Whenever we aren't there we have to carry on the tradition or it just doesn't feel right. Of course, they are always better with lots of great people around! :)

During President Monson's last talk my kids were cracking up how the prophet's wife told him not to touch the microwave, the stove, etc. while she was away. They could not believe how funny he was. Blake kept asking me to rewind that part. We had some real tender sweet moments. :)

We have our ultrasound on Friday the 18th. I will only be in my 18th week but we are doing a Level 2 ultrasound with a perinatologist. Because of all of the issues we had with Savannah, my doctor just wants to do some extra checking for us. I'm not sure if it is just for piece of mind or what, but I'll take it! I can't wait to find out the sex of the baby because I want to start painting the room.

I better post this before it gets too long. I always have so much updating to do. I haven't even covered the fact that Landen needs braces! I'll get to the details of that next time. We are off to the kid's soccer game!

Long break

It has been a long while since I have posted. My main excuse is that I have been having migraines with this pregnancy and do not enjoy looking at a computer screen. I am starting to feel better and hope I am going to see some light. :)

We are in Utah right now visiting our families. We head home tomorrow so I will write more updates and post some pictures when I return home. Just to answer Maren's question, no, we are not having twins (:)) and yes, I finally went to the doctor. We find out the sex of the baby in 3-4 weeks and we don't care if it is boy or girl...we are just excited! (By the way Maren, I will call you back when I get home...it has been crazy here!)

Another thing, some of you close to me might remember my Aunt Abbi (my Mom's youngest sister). She is 10 months older than me and we grew up close like sisters. 9 days ago she was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. She struggled to breathe for 3 days in ICU then they finally intubated her (put a tube down her throat to make her breathe). She actually got a string of Strep A that attacked her lungs. It has been a roller coaster of emotions and she is still not out of ICU. It looks like it will be a long road. She has a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter. Please pray for their little family! She is one of the most thoughtful people I know and I just can't believe she is dealing with this. Thanks a lot!

We went to this great park (thanks to Trisha) near our house and it was amazing! They have ducks, a path around the lake, amazing play equipment. We have already been there 3 times. It is a lot of fun for our family! Colorado keeps giving us glimpses of spring and then it snows. The snow never stays long around here though.

Jeb swinging Blake in the air!

I don't know what is up with Blake's goofy face. Landen looks really thrilled. It was getting a little cold because the sun was going down for the evening.

Savannah was begging for more bread to feed the ducks. Of course, I am wearing a hat. It seems those are the only pictures I have of me (it was Saturday and we love to stay relaxed on Saturdays!). Blake's lower face is bright red from skiing earlier that day.

Savannah and the geese. She loves to say the word "cheese" with her smile so we get a cute "cheesy" smile

Blake kept running back and forth along these rocks trying to make sure every duck (and goose) got a piece. He was so concerned one would get left out.

Okay, I can still post about Valentine's Day because it is still February. These are my beautiful orchids and "purple flowers" my husband got for me. He is a very good at flower-giving throughout the year so I like it when he gets a little creative and colorful. These kept blooming throughout the week. Very pretty!

Blake, Savannah and I got to attend Landen's Valentine party at school.

Landen decorating a cookie for each of us. (He put on a lot of frosting!)

The kids showing love!

Landen and his friend. He decided since it was Valentine's day he would be a gentleman. He helped a couple of girls carry their heavy backpacks and he gave his teacher a special hug and "Happy Valentine's Day" wish. This is huge for him because he has always been very shy. He is really coming out of his shell this year (getting a little too confident!)

Savannah thinks her bros. are so funny!

Playing in the snow.

Landen has been learning about the moon in school. If you can't tell, I love it when my kids read to each other! Such a precious moment. Landen was reading a book about the moon and solar system to Blake, teaching him all the stuff he knows. We got the kids out of bed and watched the Lunar eclipse last week Landen was so excited!

Landen and his crazy friends (and Blake)! They were out playing in the cold and came in for some hot chocolate. They are really fun to listen to as they interpret and talk about life!

Well, my dear friend, Maren lovingly informed me I needed to update my blog (thanks Mare!:)) . I guess it is definitely time. I will probably spend most of my time adding some recent pictures, but I did want to share some news with you. We are expecting Baby Number Four in September! We are very excited and a little scared. 4 seems like a lot but we are so grateful to be able to add another child to our family. I have been a little more sick this time and my clothes are getting tighter faster! Jeb thinks it is twins...Ha! I haven't been to the doctor yet. I figure I've done this a few times before and I can wait a little (I'm only 10 weeks along). Anyway, just wanted to share our exciting news with our friends. Take care!

Blake is now reading simple books and is so excited to finally be able to read to his sister. Landen has been doing it for a long time now and Blake loves that he gets his turn.
As you can see, she didn't mind that he was willing to spend the time with her. They are such good little buddies.

She had to be like big brother (that is a sticker on her shirt from the doctor...she loves to Raaaarrrr like a lion)

The kids are enjoying Friday night movie night together. I think they are watching Babe or something exciting like that. This is before we broke out the popcorn and snacks!



Last Saturday I finally got the chance to go skiing with Jeb and the boys.

Blake told me I should come every Saturday with them. I told him I didn't have a season pass like he did. He then said, "Mom, it's easy! All you have to do is go to the ski shop and get your picture taken!" I realized that was all HE had to do...Mom and Dad have to pay for it. :)

Landen and I got to ride more intense Blue hills this time. I think I am finally getting better. I had a blast!

I know we post a lot of ski pictures but that is the majority of what we are doing and taking pictures of this winter. I should have gone to Jeb's indoor soccer game last night and taken pictures, but I stayed behind to put Savannah to bed. He took the boys with him and his team won the final game and took first place! He loves playing so much. He always comes home in the best mood!:)

Landen has 2 friends over from school today. I was giving them their afterschool snack and they were being typical 7 year old boys. They were talking about a lot of "funny" potty stuff, trying to impress each other (this age is really interesting to watch as they learn to interact with their peers). They were being really loud and goofy and then all of a sudden Landen said, "Did you hear that President Hinckley died?" They all got quiet and started talking about how sad they were and that they were really going to miss him. I thought it was so sweet and couldn't believe the reverence and respect that came over them. We really are going to miss such a wonderful prophet. I told them they will come to know and love the next prophet too.

Like I mentioned before, Blake is reading now and does a really great job. He doesn't have the interest to sit down and do it as often as Landen did (he is much more into being active) but he seems really pleased to have caught on to it.

Savannah is finally in nursery. It has been nice to have her in there with little friends. She is our youngest so she seems way too small to be old enough to go to her "own class" but she loves it. She is talking a lot too (not in sentences yet). My favorite is when she says "cookie" and "baby". We recently went to the pediatric neurologist and he said she is doing so well we don't have to come back for regular visits anymore! Yeah! Not unless we notice something unusual.

For those of you who don't know, when I was 20 weeks pregnant with her, we found out she had a rare cyst in her brain called Dandy-walker. The possibilities of what we could deal with were on a wide spectrum. Anywhere from severe mental retardation or dying at birth, to showing no signs unless you look at an MRI and see a picture of her brain. If you google Dandy-walker and see other children who suffer from this you will realize how blessed we are to have her develop so well. Anyway, we are so grateful to put it somewhat behind us!

I was going to include a post that Jeb wrote on his family's site about our ski day, but this ended up getting super long! Maybe I will post it another time. To summarize the day could not have been more perfect. It was sunny, 45 degrees and absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to go with them all again! We felt bad leaving Savannah, but she didn't seem to mind.

Winter!!

Seeing this picture really freaked me out! I have a hard time letting my kids grow up. I would rather be oblivious than see them here, riding by themselves with no bar or anything (Yikes!). Jeb had them recite the important chair lift safety rules for me and I felt a little better. At least their Dad cares also...he is a lot more daring than I am though (which can be good for the kids!)

Enjoying the ride! Landen is just in his sweatshirt here. As they were leaving the house, Jeb called out, "grab your coats and get in the car". (Jeb had all the skis, helmets, pants, gloves, hats, goggles and snacks) Of course, Landen did not grab his coat. Luckily, it was quite warm but then it started to snow on them and he got really wet!

Dad and his boys (not much of Blake)



The two rascals!


Jeb and I skiing at Snowbird. It was so cold that day...in the negatives. Jeb lent me his mask (can you even tell that is me?). I don't even know how he was able to smile...the wind was so bad!

Jeb, Adam M., Adam B., Lane and my cousin Spencer all went snowboarding/skiing the day after Christmas

We made it home from Utah less than a week ago. We had a wonderful Christmas with the Buffington family. I added some ski pictures on here because that is all I have from Christmas so far. We only had our video camera with us during Christmas Eve and day, but everyone snapped lots of cute pics for us and promised to send them. So I will probably post Christmas pictures in the middle of March or something. :)

We left for Utah on December 21st around noon. We had planned on leaving earlier but Landen was having his Christmas party at school. All of the families were invited and the first graders got dressed up and read stories they had written. We told Landen we could go but would have to leave early. Of course we didn't get out of there as early as we would have liked, but he had a great time so that is all that mattered. We knew a storm was coming so we were trying to get out of there. We were about 40 minutes into the drive when Jeb realized he had forgotten his laptop (he needed it a little for work). I was very annoyed :) but kept smiling and saying (through clenched teeth, "it's okay honey, no big deal...we can drive 40 minutes back and then start all over again". We were determined to have a fun trip so I let it go without the lecture. Then our friends, the Conovers called. They were on their way to Utah also and were about an hour ahead of us. They said it was snowing and visibility was getting really bad. We pressed on and made it 2 hours out of Denver to Laramie, Wyoming where they closed I-80. Luckily, the Conovers were stranded with us so we just made a fun day of it! They have four boys, 2 of which are my kids ages. It ended up being a good time...the kids thought it was great! Luckily on the way home from Utah, we had perfect roads. The Conovers went home earlier than we did and ended up getting stranded again! I don't think they want to do Christmas away from home again for a long time!

The Christmas festivities were so nice. I felt really busy through the holiday season (good busy :)) so it was nice to be around family and relax and enjoy everything the way I wanted to. Landen's favorite present was a K'nex roller coaster and rollerblades. Blake loves his skateboard and Transformer helmet. A couple of days ago we cleaned out our unfinished basement so the kids have a ton of room. They have been rollerblading everyday down there(Blake got some for his b-day in October) and love it so much! Savannah follows them all over pushing her little stroller. It is very nice to see them have such a great time. Savannah got little twin babies she likes to take care of and a few other things.

On Christmas Eve Landen had a fever and was complaining his throat hurt. He was able to push through Christmas day, but after that he was pretty sick. Then of course, it went down the line...Blake had a turn and then Savannah got it bad. We finally got healthy and Landen was excited to go back school on Tuesday (the 8th). All day Monday he said his head and throat hurt again. I was not excited because Jeb had just left town that morning to go to the Electronics show in Vegas. I took him to the doctor and sure enough, it was strep! I am just waiting for the other kids to get it. I called Jeb this morning before his meetings and he had the chills all day yesterday and he felt like "he was swallowing needles". He and Landen spent a lot of time together on the slopes on Saturday so I'm sure he has strep throat too. We love to share in our family! :)

The day after Christmas Jeb went snowboarding with 2 of his bros, 2 of mine and my cousin. The day after that Jeb and I went skiing together for the first time since we have been married! We had such a great time. I am planning on joining him and the kids at the end of January to see their progress (and to have them help me get better!) Like I said, they went skiing again on Saturday and I loved listening to them share all of their adventures with me. All 3 of them (Jeb, Landen and Blake) had huge smiles on their faces. It has been such a great experience for them all to enjoy. Not to mention I get a lot done while they are gone. :) They only go until 1 or 2pm so we still get to spend a lot of time together.

Well, I guess I'll sign off for now! I hope all of our friends had a wonderful holiday!

Holiday Fun

I love this picture because she was being so cute the other day. Grandma gave her this baby and she wanted it to watch Teletubbies with her. She had to get her pacifier so she could be like her baby (although I have to say I don't usually let her have it unless she is in bed :)). She is so much fun!
She was pointing out the baby sun to her baby. I just love her!

I love my boys too of course. Landen turned 7 in November and had a great party with his friends.


We took 6 boys (plus my 2 boys) to this awesome place called JumpStreet for Landen's party. These are all trampolines hooked together. When we got there, Jeb said, "Don't we need someone in there with the kids to make sure they are all right?" Of course he wanted me to buy him a ticket too. The kids thought he had some pretty awesome tricks. They had a blast!

More of JumpStreet


We went to Utah for Thanksgiving to spend it with my family. We went and saw the lights at Temple Square. This is my sister Lauren and brother Lane with the boys.


This is my brother Brandon (and his son Ben on the left) with the kids after a big Turkeybowl game. Landen and Blake got to go too but I quickly got them cleaned up to take pictures. The guys (and Lauren) had a blast playing football. My dad said it was the best game so far.

My kids are so great (and growing too fast!)

Well, my trend seems to be that I get my blog updated only monthly (at least I do it right?) I am hoping once the holiday rush slows down I will have more time. I love keeping up with family and friends and want to do it more. I told Jeb he is welcome to post on here whenever he wants. We have a site with his family that he keeps up on regularly, but he is excited to help keep this one going.

Jeb has taken the boys skiing the last 3 weekends. They have season passes so he wants to get them up as much as possible. On the first Saturday he took Landen up for the morning and then I met him for lunch in Boulder and we switched kids. He took Blake up for the afternoon while Landen came home with me. The next Saturday Blake was really sick so Landen went and this last Saturday Landen had a birthday party so just Blake went. It has worked out great because Jeb has had some good one on one time with each of them and now they are all ready to go together. Of course, I will join them occasionally....I would love to get better! Jeb mostly snowboards but he thought he would start the boys out on skis.

Landen has caught on very well. His second day he was keeping up with Jeb on some harder "blue" runs (intermediate) and he landed his first jump. Blake has also done well but isn't quite caught up to Landen yet. Landen is 2 years older though so Jeb thinks Blake will be there in no time. They both love spending that time with their dad (and skiing with his kids is one of Jeb's lifetime dreams :)).

Savannah is doing well also. She is starting to talk and it is so fun to see her learn new things everyday. She is loving Christmas trees, Christmas lights and snow. She points them all out everytime she sees them and loves having a tree in our house. For a long time she was bringing me all of the ornaments from the tree to show me how "petty" (pretty) they were. Luckily, she realized Mommy wants them to stay on the tree.

I have been enjoying getting ready for the holidays. I have made some good friends here in Colorado and they have included me in some of their fun Christmas things (like a Cookie Exchange). I have felt busy but not so much that I can't love the season. The other day I had a number of things I wanted to get done in the afternoon after Landen's school and the kids were begging to go sledding. I realized I hadn't taken full advantage of the fun snow yet so we packed up (it is a lot to get 3 kids out the door with all of the gear) and drove over to Landen's school. We had so much fun sledding together, the kids all had huge smiles on their faces. I felt like a kid again! What a great feeling to sled down a hill. I feel like we don't have a lot of time for simple pleasures like that anymore now that we are fully in school. I look forward to summer where I have more time to spend with the kids.

Well, I have rambled far longer than I wanted to. I hope all who read this are having a great holiday. We are off to Utah to spend Christmas with Jeb's family (they are from Ohio but most are going to school in Utah). Have a Merry Christmas!

Lots of October Pictures to share!

Our life this fall has been extremely full (and fun!) Jeb has been coaching both of the boys in soccer so we feel like we live at the soccer fields.

Landen liked to help Jeb "instruct" Blake's team. He felt pretty cool being an older player they could look up to.

Jeb practicing drills with Landen and Blake

Savannah staying warm and doing her favorite thing, "the stroller push" while we are enjoying the soccer fun.

Blake turned 5 on October 17th. He won't start kindergarten until next year but he got to take donuts to his preschool class.

I let Blake help me with the entire cake process this year (usually I like to make it all pretty by myself). The kids had a great time . I can't believe how big they are all getting. Where does the time go?

This present was "air hogs". The kids (and Jeb) played outside with them forever. They still keep them entertained....great present!

Blake had his birthday party at the fire station. That was a lot of fun and it didn't cost anything. The fire fighters were great with the kids.

We had our first snowfall (besides the mountains of course) a couple of weeks ago. It was on a Sunday and we don't have church until one...we had a great time! Of course it was gone the next day but we fully enjoyed it!

I haven't bought a coat for Savannah yet...Jeb reminded me we have plenty of snow gear from the boys. I still want a pretty pink coat for her, but this will do for now :)

My kids' pediatrician was recently telling me to throw away our trampoline because they are so dangerous. I can't imagine what she would say if she saw them jumping on it with the slippery snow. I don't know what to do because my kids spend hours out there playing nicely together and not watching TV. I guess it is something I should think about since my brother did break his neck and Blake broke his leg. Such a shame! Any thoughts?

The boys would not take the time to put on their snow pants. They were soaking wet and I thought it was freezing....of course they didn't care at all.

My parents (and my sister) came to visit us the weekend before Halloween. It was so nice to have them. Aren't they cute together? We watched the World Series with them and had to suffer through the Rockies loss. At least they made it that far!

Savannah wanted to show Grandma and Grandpa that she can do it all too.

So intense! I'm so glad Jeb takes the initiative with pumpkin carving. I don't have the patience to do the inticate work of the designs the kids choose. I like to do the good old fashioned triangle eyes and nose. I should have taken pictures of the final creation but I never did get them taken. They were really cool.

Blake concentrating so hard.

Savannah, the witch! I loved seeing her costume from behind as she would run. So cute!

Landen showing us his Ninja moves

Blake was so sick that night. After school I told him maybe he should go lay down before Trick-or-Treating so he would have more energy (thinking in my head "yeah right"). He said "okay" trudged up the stairs, laid down and fell sound asleep. Poor guy...you could hear him coughing his lungs out running down the street to keep up with his brother and his friends. He lost his voice really bad so we called him "Squeaky" all night.

My 3 adorable kids. They are so great!

The pictures explain what we have been up to lately. We feel close to being settled into our house. The kids have made great friends here. Landen loves his school and likes 1st grade a lot. He is super bright and loves to read any chance he can get. The last few nights I have caught him sneak-reading Superfudge by the night-light. I can't get too mad at him because I used to do the same thing as a kid. He really enjoyed soccer this last season and Jeb was excited with the improvement he has shown. He is always working on his moves and has gotten really skilled with his footwork.

Blake also really enjoyed soccer. He was playing a year up but we are hoping to get him on Landen's team next season. Then Jeb won't have to coach 2 different teams. It is definitely a huge time commitment on both of our parts. I'm always hauling everyone to and fro in the mini-van and chasing Savannah around the fields. It has been really fun for our family though. Blake has been going to preschool and loves feeling like he has his own thing. He has found this new little best friend that he always plays with...they both love to be Superheroes and play Star Wars.

Savannah continues to grow and I love spending time with her. She is into dolls and strollers and looking pretty, yet she can hold her own while playing with cars and power rangers. It is very cute. Her favorite thing to do right now is dance to the High School Musical 2 CD. She really doesn't like any other music at the moment, it is hilarious.

Jeb just bought season passes to the ski resort closest to us for him and the boys (I will be joining them on occasion). They are all very excited to hit the slopes on November 16th. I will try to update my blog more often so it isn't such a huge event every time I do it. More updates to come!

Blake's first day of preschool. I will get one of Landen up soon, but I missed his first day of first grade because I was in Utah. Jeb took him which was hard for me, but Landen thought it was really cool.
Uncle Jacob came home from his mission in Korea. Jacob is the youngest of the 6 brothers so he is the last to come home! He seems so grown up.

Waiting for Uncle Jacob in the airport at midnight.

Jeb's second to the youngest brother, Josh married Andrea during our trip to Utah. The wedding was in Idaho falls.

The kids thought the picture taking got a little bit too long.

Savannah was exhausted after that whole day! She didn't get a nap at all.

Savannah and my "little" sister Lauren in Adam and Sandy's apartment.

We had my 10-year high school reunion this weekend! It was so fun to see so many faces from the past. Here are a couple of my friends at the family picnic. (Baby Noah, Maren, Becca, Kiely, and Rachelle) I left my kids with my Mom so Jeb and I had a blast visiting with everyone. I miss my friends all ready and wish we lived closer to each other. It felt like no time had past. Thanks for providing the picture Rachelle...I never pulled out my camera! I was too busy talking. :)

My kids had a blast at Grandma Jen's and Savannah even warmed up to everyone. She is really attached to me and is often afraid of "strangers". Now we are here for the next 2 weeks for all of the family events. Jeb flew home to work and Landen will fly home this weekend to go to his first couple days of school (he is starting a new school again so I want him to be comfortable). Then they will fly back to Utah to meet us for Josh's wedding. It will be great to see all of our family. I will add pictures as I take them.

We went camping with our good friends last weekend. The guys are getting the fire started...the fire pits were weak but they made great fires out of them. Of course the kids all kept them going by adding lots of paper plates, sticks, leaves and grass throughout the night.

The whole group. Wow, there are a lot of kids!

Savannah fell asleep shortly into our hike. It was her only nap and she was wiped!

All of the kids (except Baby J) are here with their walking sticks

Baby J and Savannah are often asked if they are twins because of their size and blond hair...they love each other. Savannah sat in this chair for a really long time and did not move.

Savannah and I on Jeb's birthday

Daddy and his boys...31 candles this year!

All of the Buffington cousins on the 4th of July

Savannah's 1st birthday...Blake thinks it is just as cute as I do

She loves these little books....they will entertain her forever

Not too sure she wants to get messy

Blake and Savannah at the zoo

The kids with friends at the zoo

We are finally moved in...not totally unpacked, but comfortable enough. We love our new house with all of the space we have again. The kids spend all of their time in our unfinished basement riding bikes, playing soccer and baseball, etc.

We went camping last weekend near the Rocky Mountain National Park. Unbelieveably beautiful there! We went with our good friends who have 5 kids under the age of 7 and we wonder how all 8 Buffingtons lived to see all of their birthdays. Jeb and I really understand the Buddy System now...you have to have the kids watch out for each other because they far outnumber the parents. Nothing too traumatic happened...it makes us want to camp all the time to get a way from it all. You just can't see the stars like that unless you get out in nature.

While we were gone, we had our backyard put in. We are so excited for the kids to have a normal yard to run and play soccer in. In Viriginia we were on too big of a hill and we didn't have a yard of our own in our apartment. We have the trampoline set up already and they have been loving that, but they need grass in to really enjoy it. Landen has mastered flips this summer and lands on his feet (I wish he would just jump and stop listening to Jeb about trying new crazy things!) and Blake does knee flips. They play together for hours out there or down in the basement...I hardly see them. :)

Savannah can walk, but won't. Only if we stand her up and tell her to "walk to Daddy" or "walk to the bed" will she do it. She prefers to crawl. I'm sick of her knees getting scraped and dirty but she doesn't seem to mind...so we will patiently wait. We are just happy to know she can do it. She is obsessed with these horses that we drive by almost everyday, it is very cute. She loves to try to put our shoes on and says a few words and animal sounds. She is a lot of fun.Jeb is loving what he does at work but has never been so busy in his life! He does a great job of leaving it at work when he comes home and doesn't have to put in so many hours now...but it is non-stop stress when he gets there. He is looking forward to having a year under his belt in January at Corporate Express. He is coaching both boys in soccer this fall and just got called to be the 11-year old scout leader (he loves scouts...ha ha). He will be busy!

I lost my running partner when we left our apartment, but I found I still need to get out and run to keep my sanity. I have been packing the kids up to go the new middle school track just down the road. It is definitely not the same..."How much longer?, I'm hot!, Is it time to go yet? How many more laps?"....not much of a break for me. Last week I figured out we could bring their bikes on the track and they are much happier. Savannah gets pushed in the jogging stroller. It is still an ordeal so we don't get over there enough, but thats okay.

Well, nothing much new with us except we are headed to Boise and Utah for the next 2 weeks for my high school reunion, Jeb's brother's wedding, his brother coming home from his mission, and other brother visiting before he heads to Iraq. Oh, and to see and play with my family too!

Becca

Waiting for the awards

Receiving MVP award- a Balboa jersey (Story below)

One of his coaches

Marcelo Balboa signing his ball and jersey

Landen has been in the Marcelo Balboa soccer camp all week. Balboa lives in our town, and arranged the camp through the community. It was great because the fields are right across the street from where we live. The camp had about 80 kids from 6-16.Today was the last day of camp, so we all went for the last hour to watch Landen play and to see the awards ceremony. Landen has been talking all week about how one person was going to be the MVP and get a trophy, and that he knew it would be him. Last night as I was putting him to bed I tried to prepare him that he may not get the trophy, and that it was OK.

Well, out of the 20 kids in his u-6 age group Landen was named the MVP and got the trophy he was wanting so badly. His coaches said a bunch of nice things about him. But the big thing was that he was so encouraging to all the other players and his enthusiasm and focus on playing never stopped. At the beginning of camp he was shy, and by the end, he was the best all around player. (chip off the old block)

It gets better though...At the end Marcelo awarded his MVP of the week. He started by saying how this camper was so happy, nice and encouraging to all the other players. He was the best juggler and passer. Not only did he pass, but he would call for the ball, only when open. He cheered on the other team (at one point he was scored on, then told the shooter "that was a nice goal") He had a head on collison that gave him a bloody nose, then jumped right back up and kept playing. Then Marcelo pointed and said "My MVP is this little guy right here. Landen Bufington, come on up!" (Becca and I just about died) Marcelo and his coaches gave him a #17 Marcelo Balboa Rapids Jersey and hugged him and gave hi-5's while we took as many pictures as we could. They should all be on the site by the end of the day.Later all the other kids were congradulating Landen. The kid is so bashful, he was grinning ear to ear but trying to hide it. He was king for the moment. We took more photos, and Marcelo autographed the jersey for Landen. I told him that we would frame it for him, but he refuses. He wants to wear it. I have to say that this was a proud parent day!!! I think to celebrate, we'll go to the rapids game tomorrow

Jeb

Landen has been at Marcelo Balboa's first annual soccer camp this whole week. Blake really missed him but what a great opportunity! Balboa played in 3 World Cups on the US National team.

The boys put Savannah on this rocker and then couldn't get her off of it! She loved it.

Crazy Blake


Landen is getting ready to show me his trick

Savannah has discovered she can get around the house really fast if she pushes her toy around...she won't walk without it though.

Dad playing Memory with the kids in his new Colorado Rapids shirt he got for Father's Day

She does not like it when Jeb and I are close...she wants to be in the middle

Happy Father's Day moments with breakfast in bed

This is the night of Landen's Kinder-graduation in front of his school. I noticed they are all squinting. :)
The happy graduate with his biggest supporter...Blake!

Landen's last day of school was today. He made it!

Their Uncle Adam came into town last night to visit. They love to climb and wrestle with them. He is just a grown-up big kid himself.

Jeb took the boys to another Colorado Rapids game. They had a blast!




Well, thanks to Rachelle I figured out how to put my pictures on the right way. I was doing it a different way before and it wasn't letting me put any more on. I guess I am a little slow. Thanks Chelle! Anyway, we are getting closer to moving into our new house. I will post some pictures of it soon. Landen's last day of school is tomorrow and we can't wait for the summer fun to begin!

I can't believe May is over already. We are heading right into Summer! Landen's last day of kindergarten is on Thursday. Blake can't wait to have his buddy home again everyday. It is going to be a shocker in the fall when Landen goes to school all day again (he did that in Virginia). Enjoy some pics of the kids. Hopefully I will get a few more up of Jeb and I but we are always taking the pictures!

Fun in the Spring

We have been having a lot of good times lately...mainly because we are done looking for a house! That was fun while it lasted, but it got very busy (and our kids were very sick of it!)

I went to Landen's school yesterday for a Mother's Day Makeover. It was so adorable! Landen took it very seriously. He made sure I was pampered and taken care of the entire time. He got me drinks and cookies, massaged my back, feet and hands (we were in a "spa"), painted my fingernails and toenails and read stories to me. We had a great time together...I definitely felt loved :).

We went swimming today at our apartment pool. They opened the pools early because of the beautiful weather. The kids had a blast and can't wait to come everyday (so they think). We will make the most of it until we move into our house in July! I have a feeling this summer will be a lot of fun compared to being inside a lot last year with our new baby Savannah. I am looking forward to it!

New blog, new house

Well, I am still figuring this thing out. I have had this blogspot for awhile but I haven't done much with it. I see a lot of my friend's sites so I decided to finally contribute. We will see how much I keep it up!

We have been in Colorado for 3 months now and we finally made an offer on a house. We are really excited and anxious to get out of our apartment. We are sad to leave the friends we have made....we will only be 15 minutes away...but it is still hard.

Jeb is loving his job but is in a really busy time right now. He exhausts himself by working intense hours, coming home and spending every second he can playing with the kids and then he hangs out with me! :) He doesn't get a lot of time for himself except for his indoor soccer games once a week. He is such a trooper!

Landen has one more month of school. In Virginia he went to kindergarten all day long. When we got to Colorado it was half-day and he has loved it. He is not looking forward to starting full-day again for first grade, but I know he'll love it once he gets there. Blake is still dying to always kick, hit, shoot or throw a ball. Give him any sport, he will do it and he will love it. He is a lot of fun in our family and is going to preschool next year. Savannah has been crawling all over and loves exploring the world. She is the apple of all of our eyes and is the princess in the family....she knows it too. We all have such a blast with her.

As for me, I am finally picking up my running again. Once I get out of shape it feels like it takes forever to get back in....I'm getting there. My friend and I are going to run the Bolder, Boulder race (10K) on Memorial day. I'm working up to doing another marathon. It just takes so much time to train, time that I don't have. :) I don't do a lot of other things I love right now because finding a house has consumed me...I am glad it is over. Now I just "get" to move again!

All right, this first blog was way too long. I promise I will shorten from now on. I will also get some pictures up. Take care!