The boy learns quick!

On Saturday, I was getting ready for our date and was looking for a specific pair of shoes. I asked Hunter if he had seen them, he said, "no, but there is a black shoe right there" and pointed to a different shoe on the floor. I explained I didn't want that black shoe I wanted the other ones, and I kept looking. I soon found what I was looking for and then looked at the other black shoe on the floor and realized those would actually look better with my outfit. So I asked Hunter if he had seen the OTHER black shoe and he said, "mom, the shoes you are looking for are right here." and picked up the original pair I had been looking for. So then I explained that I decided to wear the other pair instead and needed to find that missing black shoe. When I walked into the closet he mumbled under his breath, "uhg, I never should have said anything about those shoes! I should have kept my mouth shut" I was laughing so hard!! I wasn't quite sure why it was bugging him so much that I was in MY room looking for my shoes; but it was still way funny!

Mac & Cheese YUM!

Ok, so sometimes kids do things that make you decide to keep them around for a while longer. :) Last Thursday was one of those days for Hunter & Mason. A little history 1st.....when I was pregnant with the twins Hunter really enjoyed helping out around the kitchen and I taught him how to make Ramen & Mac-n-cheese. He is really good at cooking and loves learning how to make new things. Well on Thursday he decided to pass on his culinary skills to Mason and taught him how to make mac-n-cheese. It was the cutest thing ever!! He was explaining everything in detail and showing him what to do; even how to shake the cheese packet so it doesn't spray powder every where when you open it. My favorite part was when Hunter showed Mason the box and said, "if you ever get confused, these are the instructions so you can just look at them" Mason responded with, "yeah, but I don't want those to be my instructions, I just want you to be my instructions." They were so cute working together! They even let Liberty take a turn pouring in the cheese and stirring. Such good kids! :) (and who the heck knows why Libs is wearing a diaper...she seriously refuses to stop being the baby!! I do like her pose though!)

WHAT THE HECK!?

How a 2 year old boy even does this to his bed (while he is supposed to be sleeping!) is beyond me!! :)

Happy Mothers Day

Better late than never I guess! I had a wonderful Mothers Day (as I always do). Devin always makes sure that I get to be totally LAZY!! My family came over and we had yummy BBQ. There are no pics of me and my gifts b/c I was to busy "using" my gift. We went camping 2 weeks ago and as soon as we got up there I wipped out the camera to start snapping and lo and behold the kids had broken camera #3!! What a shocker!! I have been crying about it ever since. So for Mothers Day I got a SUPER cute new camera! My thoughts this mothers day??? I have realized how many things I give up to have this ginormous family! That may sound a bit selfish, but it isn't meant to be. I have just been thinking that instead of being so down on myself for not having a spotless house, perfectly polished toes, finished laundry, hair that has been colored every 6 weeks, beautifully decorated rooms, astonishing family meals and ALL the other things......that there is no reason to be sad; these are the things that are less important than my kids and therefore get put on the back burner AND I am happy about it. It has taken me years to get over being so concerned about all of those things, but I am finally in a place where I am so happy with the way things are. I love the loudness, the craziness, the laughter and the FUN that we have! I would not choose to be any thing else in this world than a mother to these 8 beautiful kids. In the words of Kate (Jon and Kate plus 8) "it might be a crazy life, but it's our life"

Here are some pics of my moms loot she made out with and of course what family get together would be complete w/out Cassie stealing the camera and making every one take pictures with her!! LOL! I love that gal!

Happy 2 months Ryker

WOW! Time flys! I really feel like it was just a few weeks ago that Ryker joined our family, and now I can't remember life without him. What an adorable baby huh?!? I just squeeze and kiss him all day. He is such a sweetheart and is so loved by everyone in this house! Well.....maybe Brinley not so much. I have never had any toddler have issues with a new baby; until now! She is so mean to him, as you can see by the monster gash on his face!! She looked right at me and clawed his face while he was sitting in the swing because I wasn't paying attention to her. The girl has serious issues. But yet, she will smother him with kisses too! Go figure! I get WAY sad that he is growing so fast, but it is so fun to have him become more playful and smile and talk to us. He even chuckles sometimes, its really funny. I wish I had a video camera b/c the funniest thing is the noises he makes while he is sleeping. He will coo over and over again, for seriously an hour while he is dead asleep; and not softly either...he is LOUD! I had several ladies in RS cracking up because he is such a noisy sleeper. I love this sweet baby to pieces and feel so blessed every time I look at him!

It's Time!!

So I am WAY excited about starting my diet and workout plan. I have been watching my sister shed pounds doing "The Biggest Loser" and couldn't wait to get started. Last week was the first week I really started eating better and today I started my workout routine. I only have 6 lbs. of "baby Ryker" fat, but then I have to work on my baby twins and baby Liberty fat.....and then I will be done! :) I am actually really excited and way motivated; I just hope it doesn't fizzle out. After Liberty & the twins I never could seem to find the motivation to loose everything I wanted to, I kept losing and gaining the same 5-10 lbs and simply out of laziness! So hopefully on my "Biggest Loser" plan I will stay motivated (it is a lot easier when the show is on once a week to watch, but I guess I will have to settle for re-runs till October!) I thought about posting a before picture.....but maybe a before AND after picture would be better cuz then I wouldn't feel so disgusting about my before picture! LOL!

What a hot mama!

My sister and her family just went and had family pictures taken (by my awesome cousins Heather and Clint!!) and I just thought I would post a few. I sure love their family!! My sister is my BEST friend and I love her family as much as I love my own. They make me happy and I love it when MaKenna calls me to chit chat. Plus she is such a babe so I had to put some pictures on here!

My babies are growing up

So the week I had Ryker the twins were on a mission to learn how to climb on EVERYTHING in our house, which included climbing out of their crib. Brinley learned first and then taught Brigham, which is pretty much how things always go around here. Devin snapped a picture of Brinley after she had climbed out of her crib and fell asleep on the floor under her crib. We finally took the fronts of (they are those convertible cribs so you can use them as a bed) so they could have beds and not get hurt climbing in and out. It took afew nights of them playing for hours to finally learn to just go to sleep, but they do great now. When we go in to check on them before we go to bed we find them in all sorts of places....under the beds, behind the door, both in the same bed, or sharing a pillow on the floor; its really cute. I do always get a little sad when my babies start growing up into toddlers, but it is so fun to watch them grow and learn new things (ok, maybe not the bad things like climbing!)

Rykers blessing

As you can see, picture taking the day of Rykers blessing didn't go so hot. :) Oh well, that's what we get for waiting until after church (an Liberty pulls her ponies out right as we walk in the house!!) April 13th we had Rykers blessing. I always love the day my babies get their first blessing. It gives me goose bumps every time, to see all those wonderful men standing in a circle welcoming this beautiful new baby. I am so blessed to have the priesthood in my home and couldn't imagine a life without it. I love my children so much and always want the best for them. I don't remember much of the blessing because Brinley started flipping out, but I will just wait for the notes that Nola took. Great idea for anyone.....Devins sister Nola always jots down the blessing and then types it up and gives it to us. She has done this for almost all of her nieces and nephews. It's a wonderful tradition that I have now started with my family. I am always extra grateful on blessing days, for belonging to two such wonderful families. We are so blessed to have both of our families close to us and I love spending time with each of them. Thanks to everyone who made the trip out here for the blessing and the lunch. We love you all!