New Accessory

Trent now wears glasses!  This came as a surprise to all of us.  I have recently searched out some help for some of his struggles in school.  They have been struggles for him for years, but continuously had teachers tell me it was "normal".  Well a few weeks after school started, I realized that something just was not normal anymore.  So I was seeking some help, and the company I went to said they needed an eye and hearing exam to start some testing on Trent.  So, I went back to the school who then informed me Trent has not passed his eye or hearing exam!  They would rescreen him in 6 weeks.  I did not have 6 weeks to wait.  Thankfully we have insurance and I took him back to the ENT (since he has had his tonsils out, this is not a first visit for us) and to the eye dr.  His ears were ok.  To our surprise, we learned that Trents left eye never developed eye sight.  I didn't even know!  The dr told us that most of the time unless the eye is physically lazy, you would never know the child has a lazy eye.  So for 8 years, he could not see out of his left eye.  Anyway, so we got him some glasses and will follow up in 6 weeks to see if he is responding to them.  There is hope they can restore sight to that eye but he will never have 20/20 vision.  I was then surprised to learn that you can live a whole life with just one eye.  We also learned that this should not be affecting his school work, so we are going forward with some testing.  I am so proud of Trent.  He never complains about wearing glasses and he acts as if he has had them forever.  He seems to really love them.  I actually cannot remember what he looked like without them anymore, they appear as though they have always belonged on his face!   Its been a fun and different adventure for us.  I will keep you all updated on the future of glasses and his testing.

Pregnancy Craving

Mushroom Soup

That has been one of my pregnancy cravings.  Well that and candy of course!  One night I dreamed about this mushroom soup that I had last year.  I have only had it once, but I spent all night dreaming about it and I just had to have some.  So in the morning, I made some for breakfast.  I have had it a few times since.  I just love it!  I am thankful that this is a healthy craving, sure beats well bascially all of my other cravings!

Rain Gutter Rigada

So these next two or three posts might be a little bit Trent heavy, but October has been a big month for Trent.  He started Cub Scouts in August and has loved it.  We work on a couple achievements each day and he has two things left he needs to do to earn his Wolf.  He just loves it.  Mid Oct was his first Rain Gutter Regada.  I am very thankful for a couple in the ward who saw my need and really took Trent under their wings for this project.  The month had got away from me and I had not looked at his boat and I was lost as to how to even remotely build this thing.  I mentioned in passing my overwhelming feelings about some of the scouting tasks when Dave is not here since Trent is my first cub scout.  This couple was more than happy to spend a whole evening helping Trent create a boat he was so proud to race.

 He was all set and ready to race

 He had a rough start because his sail was backwards, so one of the scout leaders helped him get it straight.

 Trent has a very competative heart so that setback definately did not keep him from fighting to the end!

 The tips about how to blow into the straw from Dave were just what he needed.  He came back from behind and won the race.

 He was so excited.

This was a neat experience and a first again for our family.  I am thankful for the scouting program around here because they are so organized and really provide Trent with some of the extra things that I cannot always provide.  Scouting is really something he enjoys and I love it!

So Blessed

At 29 weeks, we were so blessed to experience something we have never experienced before... a 3d ultrasound.  My OB does it as a routine check which I think is weird, but I was excited.  We learned that at 29 weeks he was just over 3 lbs and breech.  The technician definately confirmed it was a baby boy.  The pictures were difficult to get because he is laying right against the placenta with the cord in his face, but it was fun to see how technology has changed over the years!  Seeing this pictures makes me so anxious to meet the new addition to our family.

Surprise!

When we came home from Greer, we were rushing around to change and clean up and I walked in my room to see the crib I had been wanting so bad set up!  I was so excited!!!  Dave, Scott and Miss (my brother in law and his wife) worked together to get it for me and set up.  I love it!

 Over the next few days, I took the time to get a mattress and put in the bedding.  Try and clean up some stock diapers and see what baby clothing I have.

 A few months ago I saw this bedding and loved it instantly.  I debated for a long time but I really loved it.  Loni bought it for me after finding out we were having a boy and it is so adorable!  Perfect shades of grey, reds, and whites. 

I have been staring at the crib in the corner of my room all set up waiting for a sweet baby boy.  And I am so excited to be a short 8 weeks away from that sweet baby laying next to all these puppies!

Greer, AZ

The month of October started off amazing!  I already posted about our first weekend.  The following weekend, during fall break at school, my mom set up cabin weekend in Greer.  Oh it was amazing to escape the never ending heat and enjoy what fall is supposed to feel like.  We were surrounded by such amazing nature!

 We didn't get there until late the first day becuase Lynnae had a blow out on the way up there. But it was fine, the kids were beat after traveling all day. So the second day, we went out in search of a place to ride bikes. We found a parking lot right on a lake that worked perfectly!

 While the little kids were riding, the big kids set out to try and fish.  This was the first chance my children have ever had to fish.  I know at age 8 and 9 they have not fished!  But let me tell you, they LOVED it.  In fact, they are asking for fishing poles for christmas.  This was such a neat experience for them and they really enjoyed the chance to try new outdoor adventures.

 After a while, Logan saw there was a "manly" thing going on that he hadn't tried before, so he took his hand at fishing as well.  Bryce took a little bit to show him how and then Logan was reeling and casting all on his own.  He is so unique becuase he loves learning new masculine things to do.  He is all boy this one, yet gentle enough to play house with Laycee when she asks. 

 I didn't get pictures of this, but Jason brought a BB gun and allowed them to shoot at a can as well.  Trent was super excited that he hit the can once!  After several hours out and about, the mamas were in need of a rest!  So we set the kids up with a craft and we all dozed on the couch.

 When there are this many kids, you can never get a good pictures, but here is the attempt, oldest to youngest minus Bryce and Sylas.  So starting on the left... Haylee (9) Brooklyn (8) Trent (8) Tyler (8) Bryce (not pictured, 7) Emma (6) Brielle (5) Laycee (4) Logan (4) Reagan (4) Sylas (not pictured 3)  Baby Us (not pictured Due Dec 31) Baby Linzi (not pictured Due Mar 27)

 Here are the kids and I

 On our adventures in nature, there were 3 occassions that the balloons ended up in the water.  Children never take good care of their toys.  The last one ended up in a current that was near impossible to save.  But Lynnae braved it.

 And the balloon was rescued!

 Another picture of all of the kids even Bryce and Sylas who were not happy about this.

 That night, we spent some time around the bonfire eating chili and enjoying some time together.

 The following morning was check out, but we took a small walk to see where the fire line was earlier this year.  You can see the burned trees.

 Goodbye Greer, I hope to come visit again someday!

Halloween Decorations

The first weekend in October is always the Semi Annual Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It runs in 5 sessions. Two on Saturday that can be viewed on the internet, cable, or satallite. One on Saturday evening for the boys/men ages 12+ which can be viewed at the stake centers. And then two on Sunday. This year I thought and pondered for weeks of how I was going to make it a more spiritual weekend. I don't know if the mission was accomplished, but I do know that we successfully watched all 4 sessions and have spent many conversations since then discussing what the Prophet and Apostles taught us. In between our Saturday sessions, the children and I decorated the house for Halloween. We also did two Halloween crafts between sessions this weekend. We made candy necklaces.

 And Halloween Chocolate!

To help the kids focus on the talks, we played conference Bingo. I realize now that it was a bad idea. There was a lot of arguing over, you can't color that, they didn't talk about that. Saturday they all had the same board. Sunday, I was smarter and gave them each a different board so it wasn't as much of a competition! Next year, I will come up with a different activity! But it was fun for them to do, if only they didn't want to compete over it. I felt like overall this was a great start to our holiday season. What better way to start the fall time and holiday time than learning from our religious leaders. It was amazing!

Random Pictures

So Laycee really likes to sleep with me.  Judging by this picture, you can see why I do not like to sleep with her!

 Several of the boys in Logan's class have mohawks.  He has been begging me for one.  So I recut his hair and spiked it up.  He begs for me to spike it everyday.

 I could not find where I posted this, but shortly before Trent's 8th birthday, he lost his first tooth!  Just two weeks ago, he lost his second.

I figured now that I was almost done catching up on all of the summer pictures, I could break and put in a few of the random gem pictues I had.  Next to be posted are autumn pictures.  Oh I love this time of year!!

Ward Campout

Well I decided to brave it and take the kids camping... alone.  Thankfully, Tyson and Kimberly in our ward offered to have me follow them up there and Tyson helped me set up the tent.  You can see our tent pictured in the background.  I found this semidarts toy at Walmart for $15.  It was magnetic and the boys loved playing with it.

Here are Trent and I.  Camping it a lot of work.  And especially for one night.  But I really think that we had a good time!

Our fire

Ethan, Scott and Miss couldn't make it, so I offered to have Ethan come along.

 This was so Laycee's thing. 

I didn't get any pictures of Haylee.  She must have been off running around.  I actually hardly saw her the whole time we were there.  It was an awesome weekend.  Spent some time meeting new people and the kids were able to get out and run free.  Kind of hard to keep my two eyes on 5 children, but all in all it turned out super fun!

Casa Grande Ruins

Well summer was over and we traveled our little tails off.  Spent time moving down to AZ.  Then went to Amy's in NV.  Spent 9 days in the midwest.  And then we were back home ready for school to start.  It was a really busy summer.  But, before it ended, we had one last trifold trip to make.  We went down to Casa Grande Ruins.  Trent needed to visit a national historic site for scouts.  This happened to be one tha we could get a stamp in our National Parks Passport.  And Laycee brought home Mr. Bear from school and he needed some fun things to write about in his journal.  Here are Trent and Logan raedy for an adventure!

 Casa Grande Ruins

 I know its hard to see, but the black spot in the corner of the covering here is an owl!

 They had a Jr Ranger program here, which the kids really loved!  Here is Logan searching the desert for some of the things on his checklist.

 Laycee and Mr. Bear working on her packet for her Jr Ranger Badge.

 All of the kids out front after earning their badges.

This was a surprisingly fun place to visit.  Its super small, but the kids really enjoyed all of the activities.  We had packed a lunch and spent several hours here!  It is close to home and only cost I believe $5 for all of us!  I did not expect it to be as enjoyable as it was.  The kids would have loved to stay longer, but I ran out of energy well before they did.  If you are in the area and looking for a fun thing for the kids to do, this is definately a must see!  

Scouts

Trent is of age to start scouts!  And we have LOVED it.  He turned 8 in July, but we waiting until after vacation to get him started.  So, he started in August.  He earned his bobcat at his first pack meeting.  And he has two more achievements left for his wolf.  He has really taken a liking to it.  His first rain gutter ragada is next week and he is thrilled to be working toward fun scout activities.  I was worried that it would be something I wouldn't enjoy doing with him, but its been great!  We try and do 1-3 of the sub achievements every week and it has been an enjoyable experience for us both.  I am thankful for this time to watch him grow into a responsible scout!