The Hanna Family

February Formal

2012-02-04T11:14:00.001-08:00

The dress!

The shoes!

Finding a dress is usually pretty easy. Finding the perfect shoes for that dress...a nightmare! So we find this super cute dress at Forever 21. I told her to find shoes in her closet to wear. She wasn't too happy but she did have one pair that looked OK with it. She asked if I would take her to Payless and said she would use her own money. So I told her I would take her to ONE store and that was it. I was so not in the mood to hit every shoe store in town (which is what we usually do). And look at these adorable shoes we found! They look like they were made for the dress! LOVE THEM!!

Her good friend Jamie who did her hair for her.

Her date was Rigin Arnett. She loved it that she could wear her 3" heals and still be shorter than him!

They were so cute together and they had a great time!

More Stitches

2012-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

Nate crashed on his bike yesterday riding home from school. Banged up his head, hip and elbow. Luckily there were no broken bones just a gnarly road rash on his elbow and a huge chunk of flesh missing! It took three stitches to close it up. That brings the count up to 33 stitches. Yes, he's keeping track of how many stitches he's had in his 12 short years. At least these weren't on his face like the first 30!

And, of course, football starts again in a week and this is his throwing arm! Can't be the QB if you can't throw the ball! Again, he's lucky he didn't break anything!

Jake's 11th Birthday

2012-01-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Jake turned 11 on Sunday. We let him open his birthday present from us on Thursday before Larry left for work.

A really cool Airsoft gun!

Then on Saturday we had a party at the park. We played kickball and had yummy treats! Jake walked away with a wad of cash from the family!

Instead of a party with friends this year, the birthday child gets to go to dinner with mom and dad at a place of his choosing. Jake chose (with some persuasion from us) to go to Olive Garden.

Then it was off to the Mall to spend some of that birthday money that is burning a huge hole in his pocket. New Vans!

Happy Birthday Jake, we love you!

Jill's Birthday

2012-01-07T07:56:00.001-08:00

I had a great night out with Jill celebrating her birthday! Dinner and a movie...always a great time! I made her pick me up so we could ride in her new Yukon. This was her Christmas present from her sweet husband. Who gets a car for Christmas!? I guess Jill does...lucky girl!

It's hard to believe that we've been friends for 20+ years. We might not see a whole lot of each other but she's always just a phone call away. I love it that I can call her anytime day or night and she's there for me. Besides Larry, she's probably the one person that knows me better than anyone else. Thank you Jill for being the best friend anyone could ever have! I love you!!

Happy Birthday!

Airsoft Gun War

2012-01-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

We got together with a bunch of friends and went out to the desert to shoot guns. The dads brought real guns and the kids had airsoft guns. The weather was unseasonably warm and perfect! The smaller kids took off their shoes and played in the creek and the bigger kids had a blast shooting their airsoft guns. It was a great day hanging out with good friends and a perfect start to the new year!

The Ellsworth's were all decked out in their camo. I love that family! They are always so much fun!

Sniper Cody

I love watching these little girls play. I think Maura is being a little bossy here...they all look a little scared...haha!

New Years Eve

2011-12-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

Larry worked on New Year's Eve so I didn't really make any plans. But I was feeling kind of sad that we were going to be alone so at the last minute I decided to go to the Woolf's. They have a big party every year with lots of people and lots of food and fun. They did a white elephant gift exchange, there were lots of fireworks in the cul-de-sac and the kids ran crazy all night! My kind of fun!!

The kids gift exchange

Jake got this giant gummy bear (gross) but he later traded it to Sophia

Mason spent the night learning how to go up and down the stairs. Something he really needs to learn how to do so I can get rid of my big gate!

Happy New Year!

Larry's Airplane

2011-12-26T15:41:00.000-08:00

This was one of Larry's Christmas presents...something for the kid inside of him!

I don't think he's ever had passengers quite as interesting as these!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas started out with a big surprise from dad...the best Christmas gift we all got. He wasn't supposed to come home from work until Christmas night but he surprised the kids on Christmas Eve. They were so excited!

Christmas Eve Pajama's

Christmas morning

The four big kids got coal in their stockings (they got fun stuff too)!
And yes, they all deserved it!

It's now in the fireplace waiting to be burned.

My mom's gift from all of her kids. She loved it so much that she cried when she opened it!

The kids worked off their Christmas dinner by playing Just Dance 3 on the Wii (one of Haley's gifts).

Such a fun game.

And another great Christmas!

Hiking

2011-12-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Nate and Jake hiked to Picacho Peak with the scouts. I heard the boys had no problem and easily made the trek up the mountain leaving the leaders in the dust.

Arrow of Light

2011-12-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Jake earned his Arrow of Light. This is the highest award he can earn as a cub scout. We had pack meeting outside and the boys made cobbler in the dutch ovens.

We were supposed to have a fire to keep us warm but our trusty scouts couldn't get it started! So we were a little cold!

He graduates out of the blue shirt and moves into the brown shirt. Here he is with all his patches & pins that he's earned over the last three years.

Winter Formal

2011-12-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

Temple Lights

2011-11-28T09:50:00.000-08:00

Cousins

2011-11-26T18:18:00.000-08:00

In the Hot Tub!

Daring each other to jump in the cold pool!

Crazy kids!

2011-11-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

Enjoying a Monsterburger at Pete's Fish & Chips!

Repelling

2011-11-20T15:54:00.001-08:00

She went down face first!

And was so happy that she made it alive!

Abby

Kimber

Steven
That's as far as he made it (too scared shhhhhh)

I'm glad they all made it home safe!

Mason 14 months

2011-11-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on updates for Mason. He's 14 months old and I just barely took him to the Dr. for what should have been his 12 month check-up. He weighs 28 pounds and is 33 1/4" tall. He's in the 90th percentile or above on all his measurements. He's a big boy!

He says dada, ball, uh oh & I've heard him say mama twice...we're working on that one. He waves bye bye, blows kisses, points to his ear, nose & belly and signs please & more. He's kind of a bully...he likes to hit and bite. I don't know why he's like that, he doesn't get bullied in the daycare and he's spoiled rotten by his brothers & sister. It doesn't make sense to me but we're working on it. If have to get him ready to go to nursery in a few months and I don't want my kid to be the mean one!

I'm working of changing him from 2 naps a day to just one. It was a huge struggle at first but just this week he seems to be adjusting better. I love it because now he goes to bed at night between 7:30 & 8 instead of 8:30.

He's a happy boy and we love him to death!

Nate's 12th Birthday

2011-11-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Lunch with dad at Lenny's. Chilidogs are one of his favorite foods. And yes, he ate both. He actually said he was full when he was done...which is amazing because this boy never gets full!

His birthday gift from the whole family

A party with his friends at Jumpstreet.

Another great birthday!

Flowers

2011-11-03T09:54:00.001-07:00

Haley's first bouquet of roses.

Thank goodness they accompanied an answer to Winter Formal and not a declaration of love! I'm not ready for that yet!!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Carving

Mason didn't like the pumpkins when they still had all the seeds and gooey stuff in them.

But once they were cleaned out he warmed up to them.

Trick-or-treating

2011-10-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Yes that's a RAT in Nate's armpit!

Homecoming 2011

2011-10-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Brent Skabelund took Haley to Homecoming. They started with a fun day activity. They made boats out of cardboard and plastic and tried to make them float. Sounds weird but they had lots of fun doing it. Haley and Abby cheated and put a tire in their boat so it would float.

They had dinner at a big, fancy house. It was the aunt of one of the boys in their group. Then lots of dancing at two different dances. They finished off the evening with a walk around the temple. How perfect is that?

BEAUTIFUL!

Orchestra

2011-10-19T15:21:00.000-07:00

Masquerade Concert

She had to ditch the head dress because the beads made it hard to play.

Vanilla Shake

2011-10-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

Yummy!

Pulled Tooth

2011-10-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Jake went to the dentist yesterday for his regular 6 month checkup. They found a tiny bubble on his gum which means he has an infected tooth. They wanted to pull it and put a spacer in. I wasn't completely convinced so I contacted Josh and asked him if he would look at it. He got us right in. But after taking one look he said it needed to be pulled. I was bummed because I was hoping we could save the tooth. So I'm thinking in my head that we just wasted a trip coming all the way down here and wasted Josh's time who squeezed us in his already busy schedule. Then the next thing I know he whipped out the big Q-tip with the numbing gel on it. He stuck it in Jake's mouth and Jakes eyes went all big. In 5 minutes he had that tooth pulled. It was all so fast Jake didn't even have time to be scared. And no spacer needed...we could see the permanent on the x-ray right there ready to come down. So we walked in expecting a quick consult and walked out with one less tooth in Jake's mouth!

I just hope he still likes Josh after the numbness wears off and it starts to hurt.

Poor guy, not exactly something he wanted to do during his fall break.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch Monday night and I pulled out my camera to take pictures and my battery was completely dead. I was so mad! Luckily my mom had her small camera so I took a few shots...mostly of Mason.

Playtime with Daddy

2011-10-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

Brothers

2011-10-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Bike Ride

2011-10-11T16:10:00.001-07:00

Great weather, good friends & Thrifty's Ice Cream. What more could you ask for!

Football

2011-10-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

It was Nate's first game of the season. He's the Defensive Captain and plays linebacker and he's also the backup quarterback. They played a great game beating the Outlaws 32-0.

He's #11

First Dance

2011-09-25T21:26:00.001-07:00

Haley was invited to Homecoming...her very first high school dance!

The Invite

She came home to find these lighted balloons on the door step.

The Answer

She wore this shirt to school the next day.

2011-09-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

This picture is hilarious! Talk about perfect timing with the camera.

Yes he's wearing a diaper...enlarge the pic and you can see it!

6 Flags Magic Mountain

2011-09-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

A birthday trip for me!

And Josh!

He's walking

2011-09-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Throwing a fit

2011-09-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

I put this gate up to block off the kitchen. I've cleaned too much Tupperware off the floor and put too many ziplock baggies back in their boxes. I refuse to put cupboard locks on so the gate was the only solution.

Mason didn't like the change. I love it!

Labor Day Camping

2011-09-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

We went camping in the White Mountains with the Ellsworth family over Labor Day weekend. Between our two families there are 11 kids so there's never a dull moment. Lot's of fun, laughs and crazy times!

My favorite part of camping is being lazy and doing nothing all day long! We did a lot of that on this camping trip.

The kids weren't quite as lazy as the adults.

The kids accidentally shot a bunny with their bb guns (technically it wasn't an accident because they were aiming at the bunny...they just never thought they would actually hit it). So Dorothy whipped out her trusty hunting knife and skinned it. We cooked up what little meat there was and everyone tried a piece. It tasted like chicken!

Mason was such a good boy. He slept well for me and most of the time just had fun playing in the dirt!

We did some shooting, thanks to the Ellsworth's guns!

There were lots of cows around and some of the kids thought it would be fun to slap a cow. I think Haley, Cody & Tom were the only ones fast enough to actually catch a cow and slap it! They're lucky they didn't get trampled!

The White Mountains is our favorite place to camp. I've been camping there with my family since I was a little girl. So when the fire hit that area last year we were so sad and worried. We did some driving around the mountain and even though there is a lot that is burned there is still so much that was untouched. I am so grateful that there is still plenty of forest for us to enjoy.

So beautiful! This is why I love being there so much!!

Mom's 60th Birthday

2011-08-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

My sister's and I told my mom we were taking her to Matta's, one of her favorite restaurants, for her birthday. What we didn't tell her was that the rest of the family would be waiting there for us when we got there.

What a surprise!

For her 60th birthday she got 60 presents to unwrap!

We figured that with 60 presents we had to throw in at least one gag gift. The ginormous granny panties! Hey, she is a granny right? We all had a good laugh!

All the grandkids wanted to help unwrap.

Dessert!

Gotta throw this one in, it's too cute!

All her kids

All the grandkids minus Brittney & Christopher

We can't forget Augie on this special day. It's his birthday too. I think he kind of got overlooked in all the excitement & chaos over my mom. Sorry Augie.

Happy Birthday to both of them!

Jaxson's 7th Birthday

2011-08-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

We had two parties, one with friends and one with family.

The friend's party had a pinata, pizza, cake and swimming. He only invited a couple of his friends but they had a blast.

For the family party we had cupcakes, ice cream and cheesecake!

And presents of course!

I Love this little guy! Happy Birthday Jaxson!!

Birthday Boy

2011-08-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my silly, sweet, adorable 7 year old.

Mason's 1st Birthday Party

2011-08-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

His own cake!

A scoop of ice cream to go with it!

A happy baby!

A full baby & a big mess!

A quick bath!

All clean!

Presents!

A great 1st birthday!

One year old

2011-08-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Mason turns one year old today. I can't believe it's already been a year, it has gone by so fast. I look back and a lot of it is just a big blur but it really has been fun having another baby in the house and he's truly the best baby ever. And he's so BIG. I have the worst memory but I'm pretty sure none of my other kids were as big as he is at 1 year. He weighs 28 lbs. and is very tall. He's wearing 24 month clothes and he eats EVERYTHING, which I love! He's not walking yet but very close. His only word is dada. He talks to Larry on the phone when he's away. He'll pick up a play phone and put it to his ear and say "dada". It's so cute. He gets so excited when he hears Larry's voice on the phone...he LOVES his dad! He waves bye bye and gives the sweetest kisses. We just love this little guy!

Early morning birthday shots. Sleepy Head!

Birthday party pictures & post haircut pictures (hopefully) coming soon!

2011-08-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Jake's first day of school.

He started 3 days later than the other kids & he thought it was pretty cool that he got to have some alone time with mom and dad. But the downside to that is, he has a whole extra week at the end of the year. I'm sure when the time comes he won't be happy that he's the only one going to school while the rest of the kids are chillin' at home!

2011-08-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

These kept me laughing for awhile

This one really freaks me out!

1st Day of School

2011-08-10T10:52:00.001-07:00

It's finally here!!!!!!!

Nate's in 6th grade
Jaxson's in 1st grade

Haley's a Junior at Mesa High!

Haley & Abby - Best Friends!

They're part of this club called Link Crew and their job is to help all the incoming Freshman's and answer any questions they may have. They had to wear these extremely bright t-shirts on the first day so they would be easy to spot by any Freshman in need! They are such good girls and so dang beautiful! Can't believe they're Juniors!!

Jake doesn't start until next week...lucky boy!

2011-08-04T07:10:00.001-07:00

I am sooooo done with summer break! It is definitely time for the kids to go back to school!!

I'm tired of having 15 kids in my house everyday!

I'm tired of the never ending messes that I have to clean up!

I'm tired of late bedtimes!

I'm tired of wet towels & swimsuits all over the place!

I'm tired of constant bickering...ALL DAY LONG!

I'm tired of my $400+ electrical bill!

I'm tired of non-stop hungry mouths to feed!

And I'm tired of hearing the words "I'M BORED!"

Most of all I'm just TIRED! And honestly, I think my kids are tired of hanging out with me all day. They're ready for school too.

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!!

2011-07-31T15:17:00.001-07:00

I love these things!

And so does Mason!

Silly Boy

2011-07-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

He stands at the washer and watches it spin.

He puts this giant bouncy ball in his mouth.

He thinks it's funny when you stick your tongue out at him. He tries to grab it.

He sure is a lot of fun to have around!

Mamma's Campout '11

2011-07-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

Waiting out the pouring rain!

Trying to set up camp in the rain.

Our cozy little campsite!

Making tinder for the fire.

Hanging around the campfire.

Wish I could claim one of these little girls. They're so cute!!

Rock climbing.

Playing in the creek.

Watching out for crawdads.

Jaxson's own little tent.

Playing games.

Sad boy after some of his friends left early.

I'm so glad we were able to go this year, we had so much fun!

All-Stars

2011-07-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

Both boys made the All-Star team this year. Because of their ages they were on different teams. Jake was on the Minor's team (9 & 10 yrs.) and Nate the Major's team (11 & 12 yrs.). They put in a lot of hard work. They practiced every night 2-3 hrs. for a couple weeks then games. They had a lot of fun!

Jake

He even got to pitch for one inning. That's his favorite position!

Nate

He played in the outfield...nothing got by this boy!

#1 FAN

I love watching them play but after three straight months of baseball I was ready for a break! Jake will start up again in the fall but Nate will move on to football. Oh the life of a soccer mom, or I guess that would be a baseball/football mom...exhausting but awesome!

Haboob

2011-07-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Last night I was lying on the couch reading a book, clueless to what was racing my way. My mom called me at about 7:30 and told me to go look outside. I had just enough time to run back in and grab my camera and catch a few shots before it was on top of us.

It was kind of creepy...the way the clouds were moving and the speed of it. It went from light to dark in about 30 seconds.

I'm just glad I was inside and not stuck outside like Nate who was at baseball practice. I love the Monsoon season but this storm is going to be a pain to clean up after. There's a thick coat of dirt on everything and the pool is brown UGH!

July 4th

2011-07-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

We skipped the big public fireworks this year and stayed home and did our own show. It was so much nicer than fighting the large crowds and I think the kids had much more fun lighting their own fireworks. It was definitely a hit and they said they wanted to do it this way every year. Sounds good to me!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Best Buds

2011-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

These boys are great friends and I'm so sad that they don't get to see each other very often. But when they do it sure is a crazy ride!

And this is what happens to your house when you go to bed before them. Yikes!!

Chocolate Overdose

2011-07-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

We're teaching him young. Licking the bowl and spatula clean is the best part of making brownies!

A little too much?

He loved it!!

Mason 10 months

2011-06-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

My big cheeseball!

He loves food...he's always mooching off of someone!

He loves popsicles even more!

He can make fishie faces!

He's in to everything!

I've nicknamed him Handsome!

Fits, doesn't it!

Missing Dad

2011-06-26T16:03:00.001-07:00

We sure do love it when dad's home!

And we're always so sad when he has to go back to work :(

Lake Fun

2011-06-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

A fun day spent at Saguaro Lake with the Family.

Somehow my brother got stuck with all the little kids on his boat. He did have Haley to help but as you can see in the picture...she's not much help!

I was worried about taking Mason but he did great. He loved the water and he even took a little nap.

CF5

2011-06-14T19:52:00.001-07:00

She finally has it...the 2012 Demarini CF5. After 6 long weeks of waiting it's finally here. She said it was totally worth the wait. Check out that smile!

I miss sleep!

2011-06-06T21:12:00.001-07:00

This is what my bed looked like Sunday morning at 5:00 a.m.

As you can see, there was no room for me!

And this was my bed today.

Yes, they are so sweet when they are sleeping, but they would be even sweeter if I was sleeping with them!

I was so tired today I could hardly see straight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a kid free bed tonight!

Grapefruit Tree

2011-05-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

Who knew that if you didn't pick the fruit off your tree it would get too heavy and snap giant limbs off? Well I didn't! And that's exactly what happened. Friday afternoon we noticed a large branch had broken off the grapefruit tree. I immediately thought the boys had been swinging on it and that's why it broke. After some angry words and serious chastising I made them cut it up and squish it into two green barrels. Then Monday morning I woke up to the rest of the limb lying on the ground. After talking to my neighbor who has several fruit trees I found out that you have to pick the fruit off each season. I would think that my landlord would fill us in on this little bit of information. Or maybe this is common knowledge and I'm just fruit tree retarded! So I spent an hour picking all the grapefruits I could reach off the tree. I also didn't know that grapefruit trees have very tiny thorns, almost like splinters that brake off in your skin and very scratchy branches. My hands and arms are all scratched up!

I lost about half of the tree. It makes me sad because if I would of known, just an hour or so of work would of saved it. Poor tree!

At least it was the backside that fell off. When you look out through the window you can't even tell its half missing.

We filled the garbage can about 2/3 full of grapefruits. Thank goodness it was trash day otherwise those grapefruits would of rotted real fast in this heat.

Nate wanted to save this one because it had a mohawk!

Mason 9 months

2011-05-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here's my sweet 9 month old!

He weighs 23 lbs 3 ozs and is 30" tall. He got his first haircut, he sleeps at least 10 hrs every night and he has 5 teeth. He loves to eat and we're constantly giving him new foods. He likes everything! He's started throwing these little fits in his highchair when he wants more food. He clenches his fists and screams. It's sort of cute but he better stop that before he gets too much older.

He's crawling all over the place now and is pulling himself up on everything.

He loves playing with all the kids. I think he gets bored when he's alone...he thrives on chaos!

He is so fun to have around and the kids just love playing with him.

Kindergarten Graduatin

2011-05-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

They sang a couple songs then presented each child with a certificate. Afterwards we had juice boxes and cookies. It was short and sweet...PERFECT!

After two years of kindergarten he's finally moving on to 1st grade. Routines & consistency work well for Jaxson. Change does not! So it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts to a new teacher. Wish him luck!

Year End

2011-05-20T06:48:00.000-07:00

The end of a school year is always crazy. We've stayed busy doing all kinds of fun stuff!

Nate's Band Concert

Haley's Orchestra Concert

Haley's Piano Recital

And of course lot's of baseball...but that'll be another post!

Stuck!

2011-05-14T07:52:00.001-07:00

I was sitting at the computer doing some blogging and Mason was on the floor playing. He started fussing and this is what I saw when I looked down. He was stuck! I don't know how he got in there to begin with. Being the good mom that I am I grabbed the camera instead of helping him.

He didn't need my help after all, just a little time to figure it out!

Campout

2011-05-13T15:58:00.001-07:00

I sent my boys off this morning on the Father & Son's campout. Thirty hours of no boys WOOHOO! Well not really, I still have Mason but I don't think he really counts as a boy yet. He's not nearly loud enough, smelly enough, silly enough or annoying enough, at least not yet. I'm sure next year I'll be kicking him out the door with the other boys.

Haley and I have a movie and lunch planned with friends tomorrow and possibly dinner with friends tonight and I'm definitely looking forward to my quiet house!!!

I sent a camera with Larry but we'll see if he actually uses it. These might be the only pictures I get. I'll keep you posted!

What did I tell you...SILLY BOYS!!

Mason's 1st Haircut

2011-05-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

We finally did it! Mason has needed a haircut for about 2 months and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It was so soft and it curled just behind the ears, I loved it! But it was really long. When it was wet it was down to his nose and he always had hair in his eyes. The funniest part was that he was close to bald in the back so he had the best comb over! Everyone always told me that he had a Donald Trump hairdo. Poor kid!

He had the perfect hair for ponytails! These were taken almost 2 months ago.

The day of.

He did really well. He didn't cry or fuss till the very end. He kept trying to look at the lady which made it a little hard but she was fast and the whole thing didn't take more than 10 minutes.

This one cracks me up, all the arms trying to hold him still.

All done!

I absolutely LOVE this picture. I forget who he was looking at but his smile and his two little teeth are precious!

It makes me a little sad because he looks older...more like a little boy than a baby. He's growing up too fast!

Pinewood Derby

2011-05-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

This was Jakes last Pinewood Derby. He made a really cool looking car. His is #4.

He got off to a slow start. The first four races he came in last or didn't even make it to the finish line. Finally one of the officials told us to use different graphite on the wheels. WOW what a difference. He won the last four races after that. Too bad we didn't know about this "special" graphite at the beginning.

I'm just glad he won a few. Made him feel better too.

He won the award for best paint job!

His fans!

We've been doing the Pinewood Derby for 4 straight years. Next year we'll take a break and then the following year Jaxson will start.

Happy 16th Haley!

2011-05-02T20:40:00.001-07:00

Happy 16th birthday to my baby girl! You've grown into a beautiful young lady and I couldn't be more proud of you. I love you very much!!

I love this one...never a moment without those pesky brothers!

I'll post the party pictures once I sort through the several hundred that I took!

Haley 16th Birthday!

2011-05-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

We started out with dinner from Neds Krazy Subs (her favorite). There were about 20 teenagers at my house and I was the only adult. I know that sounds SCARY but it wasn't too bad. She has a very good group of friends and I'm sooooo thankful for that.

Then they were off to Skateland!

It was a great night. She had a lot of fun hanging with her friends and I really enjoyed getting to know them a little better.

The next night was the family party and the BIG family gift. I think she suspected something big but wasn't quit sure what it was. I found this bag at the last minute and new she would love it because she loves anything zebra stripped. So I put the real gift in the zebra bag and then put it in a gift bag. I love this look...it say's "What? This is it? Where's my real gift?" hehehe

Now here's the real smile! You see that wad of cash?

It's for this bat she wants for softball but it's a brand new release and won't be out till June.

And of course the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard Cake that she just had to have.

It was a great birthday. I'm glad she had so many friends and family who made it such a special day!

More Softball

2011-04-28T09:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the last softball game of the season. The Varsity coach asked Haley to play with them and she was totally psyched! Unfortunately the game was really close so he never put her in but she had a great time just being there and wearing the Varsity jersey. I couldn't believe the difference between the Varsity and JV teams. These girls are definitely on a whole different level of playing than the JV girls. She's got a lot of work to do before next season if she wants a shot at making Varsity.

During the National Anthem.
#3

After the game the girls sang Carry On. It almost brought me to tears and I was surprised how much of the song I remembered. It's been 20 years since I sang that song.

Now she gets a month off to relax before summer ball starts. Not looking forward to those games!

Mason 8 months

2011-04-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at my sweet little guy at 8 months.

He desperately needs a haircut!

He's still not crawling. I think his minor leg injury set him back a few weeks.

Here he is holding that leg up. So sad!

I'm starting to give him more solid foods. He loves those little star puffs and these baby rice cakes.

He's now bathing in the kitchen sink instead of the bathtub. It's easier to control the water and keep it out of his ears. He got an ear infection after his tubes were put in and I thought it might be because I was getting water in his ears. No infections since I put him in the sink!

Tammie gave me this costume thinking Mason could wear it next Halloween. I don't think it's gonna fit him in 4 months! Too bad cause it's super cute!!

Hanging out at his brother's baseball games. He loves being outside!

This is the timeout basket. Yes I put my 8 month old in timeout. Well, not really, but this is where I put him when he's fussing and doesn't want to be on the ground or in the highchair or in his walker. He just wants me, but of course I'm in the middle of something and just need a few more minutes to finish up. So in the basket he goes...he loves it! I don't know what it is about it but I can usually get 15-20 minutes of happy time out of him. It's my secret weapon and I only use it when I really need it. Whatever works right!

He love's his daddy and gets so excited when he comes home from work!

He still only has two teeth and we're working real hard at getting him to sleep through the night. All of his ear infections really messed up his sleeping schedule. But he does take two good naps during the day, usually about 2 1/2 hrs. each. He weighs about 21 lbs and he's wearing 18-24 month size clothes. That's for his length, he's so tall. It's hard to believe how fast he's growing up!

A Bad Day

2011-04-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! It started out with Jake waking up feeling sick, so he stayed home from school. Then Mason fell off my bed (about a 3 foot drop) and hurt his leg. I thought for sure it was broke so off to the urgent care we went (with no insurance). Thanks to my very bestest friend Jill who came over and sat with all the babies so both Larry and I could go. The x-rays showed no break so we were quite relieved. But he won't put any weight on it and he crys if you push on or squeeze his shin. The Dr. said it was a deep tissue bruise but there is no visible sign of an injury anywhere. So for now we are just treating it with Motrin and hopefully in a couple of days he'll be back to scooting around on the floor.

Every time you stand him up he lifts that leg up, its so cute but so sad.

Then later that day I went to pick up Haley from softball practice and she had a fat, bloody lip. I wish I could say that she got clocked in the face by a ball or a bat but unfortunately it's not that cool of a story. She actually got hit with a piece of ice, thrown by the COACH of all people. After practice some of the girls dumped the igloo of ice water over the coach's head. There were big clumps of ice that were stuck together so she picked one up and threw it at the fence thinking it would just shatter and fall to the ground but one small piece made it through and hit Haley who was sitting in the bleachers watching all the action. That coach has one heck of an arm...it hit her so hard that her lip was stuck in her braces. She said they just had to wait for the swelling to go down before they could pry it loose...OUCH!!!!

The inside of her lip looks worse than the outside. It's all purple and cut up. I made her smile for the camera even though she said it hurt to smile...I'm such a mean mom.

It breaks my heart to see my babies hurting. I hope they both heal up fast!!

And I hope today is a much better day!!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

The neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and Breakfast

Mason loved all the Eggs!

Dying easter eggs.

Well that's all I got. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of them in their Sunday clothes. They were a very good looking bunch of kids.

2011-04-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

He's almost got it. He gets up on all fours and rocks but he hasn't quit figured out yet how to move those arms and crawl. He can even sit up from a laying position, although I haven't seen him do it yet. I've left him lying on the floor and next thing I know he's sitting up...I keep missing it. I'm sure that within the next couple of weeks he'll have it down and be crawling all over the place.

Update

2011-04-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

It seems like the only person I've been blogging about lately is Mason. So here's a look at what the rest of us have been up to.

Orchestra

2011-04-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Haley had an orchestra concert. All the pieces performed were from Broadway Musicals. Haley's group played Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music and Phantom of the Opera. It was a fun concert.

Softball

2011-04-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Haley made JV Softball for Mesa High. She's been doing a great job and has improved her skill a lot this year. Her main positions are catcher and 3rd but she has also played short and 1st. I love watching her play and wish I could go to more of the games. The season is almost over and then she has plans to take some softball clinics over the summer and play summer ball.

Down and ready at 3rd

Awesome hit into the outfield...was a double

Baseball

2011-04-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

The baseball season is well under way. Nate and Jake are both playing and this is their first year in the majors. They were both drafted by the Phillies. Nate plays catcher and Jake plays 2nd base and outfield. Nate Jake Their record is 4-2. They're off to a good start!

Sing It

2011-04-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Jakes school put on a spring "Sing It" concert. Each class picked 2-3 songs to sing and has been working real hard since the beginning of the year learning them. They not only had to learn the words, they had to learn how to sing with emotion. Part of their homework was to watch an episode of American Idol so they could see how to sing and move and show emotion all at once. I guess too many of them (the boys especially) would just stand their like a pole barely moving their mouths. It turned out to be the best elementary school concert I've ever been too. All the kids did a great job and they all seemed to really enjoy being up there on the stage. Jakes class sang Count on Me by Bruno Mars, Fireflies by Owl City and Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars. They dedicated Just the Way You Are to Christina Taylor Green, the 9 year old girl killed in the Tucson shooting last January. This was her favorite song. It was very emotional and several people, me included, were in tears by the end of it. I have a video of it but it's to big to upload, dangit!

Mason 7 months

2011-04-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

Mason just went in for what should have been his 6 month well check. But because he's been so sick with all the ear infections we were a month behind. He's 7 months old now. Boy how the time has flown by! It has been wonderful and exhausting all at the same time. We have really enjoyed having another baby in the house. The kids all adore him and it's been so nice having all the extra help with him. Even with all the ear infections he's been a really good baby. He's happy all the time and smiles at everyone. He takes 2-3 good naps a day and we're working on getting his nighttime sleeping habits back to normal after the ear tubes. He's at the fun age where he's learning all kinds of new stuff. Part of me wants him to grow up because this baby stage is so tiring but the other part of me wants him to stay a baby forever. I love snuggling with him and kissing him all over. He's so soft and squishy and has that yummy baby smell that I just love. When he puts his hands on my face or buries his head in my shoulder my heart just melts. We love him so much and feel so blessed that he is part of our lives.

Weight - 19 lbs 9 oz (75%)
Height - 29" (95%)
Head - 17 3/4" (50-75%) guess he's finally growing into that tiny head

Here's a look at the last month

First two teeth - 6 months exactly

I love that he can be down on the floor with the other kids now and I'm not so afraid of him getting squished. He's eating 3 times a day now and loves everything I feed him. This is such a relief because several of my other kids were picky eaters and I was dreading this whole process of solid foods. Thankfully Larry kind of forced my hand on the issue or he might still be on the bottle only. He's graduated from the baby bathtub to the bath chair. He sits up now. He's still kind of wobbly but getting better everyday.

And when I'm cooking or working in the kitchen he still likes his bumbo chair. He even managed to fall asleep in the bumbo the other day. He is just so dang cute and we love him to death!

Yikes!

2011-03-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

I walked into the Living Room today and saw this! Guess it's time for the baby gate! He's not crawling yet but he scoots really well...obviously!

2011-03-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

My sweet little guy had tubes put in his ears on Tuesday. I've been anxiously awaiting this day for almost 3 weeks now and I'm soooo glad it's finally over. He really needed them. He's had one infection after another for the last 3 months. He's been on antibiotics 9 times and had 4 awful, painful antibiotic shots. Nothing seemed to work. Sometimes it would clear up but only for about a week then it would be back. I feel like the urgent care has been my second home lately.

He's not like normal kids who get a fever when they have an ear infection, in fact he's never once had a fever but he does get these rosy red cheeks which are feverish to the touch. Weird!

He did great with the procedure. It was fast and simple and once he fully came out of the anesthesia we could tell immediately that he felt better. The Dr. said that some kids feel an instant relief because the fluid that is built up behind the ear drum causes a lot of pressure and when they insert the tube the fluid starts draining and releases the pressure. I think this was the case with Mason because he was so happy the rest of the day and then he gave me 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep that night, something he hasn't done in quit awhile.

I'm so relieved to have my happy baby back and I hope now we can get back to a normal life with a normal sleeping schedule.

Mesa Fro Yo

2011-03-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

He's definately a fan!

Family Pictures

2011-03-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

Swimming

2011-03-16T05:12:00.000-07:00

The kids have been dying to break in our pool and they finally got the chance over spring break. It was still pretty cold but that didn't slow them down.

Football - Winter 2011

2011-03-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

Nate #50
Jake #82

Nate's interception in the last game of the season!

#1 Fan

Disneyland

2011-02-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

An awesome trip with great friends. We had so much fun!!

These boys are like the 4 musketeers, they were practically inseparable the whole time we were there.

We didn't let the rain slow us down!

Tower of Terror, my favorite ride! (a picture of a picture on a monitor...I was too cheap to buy it)

On the second night the girls snuck back in for some kid free fun on the rides!

The kids begged for these giant turkey legs for 3 days. Only Nate was able to finish his...the rest of us thought they were pretty disgusting!

Freezing at the World of Color Show...but totally worth it!

Maon's 5th month

2011-02-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

Mason discovered and learned a lot of new things this month. It's been a fun month watching him grow and develop.

He loves to play with and eat his toes.

He's getting real good at holding onto his toys.

He LOVES eating. He always seems to know when we're eating and wants a taste. He's had ice cream, smoothie, yogurt, potatoes, banana & yes, that's a pickle. He loved it and screamed when I made Haley take it out of his mouth. Don't worry, he's getting his cereal & veggies too.

He likes hanging out in his saucer & the highchair. And we already have the first "falling asleep in the highchair" picture. We have pictures of all my kids sleeping in the highchair. I think they're so cute.

This was the first time he rolled from his back to his belly (Cell phone pic - bad quality)

There's something about a chubby baby in a onesie that just makes me melt!

He loves his brothers and his sissy & they adore him.

Oh I love this little guy!

I love this baby!

2011-01-27T14:49:00.000-08:00

LeAnn sent me this picture of Mason that she took at the football game last week. I absolutely LOVE it! Even with his crazy hair he's just too adorable.

Sick Baby

2011-01-23T09:32:00.001-08:00

My poor little guy has been pretty sick the last few days...in fact the whole house has been sick including most of the daycare kids. It's been an exhausting couple of weeks. The older kids have had fevors, sore throats and coughs and Mason has an ear infection and RSV. We've been doing breathing treatments three times a day to help with the wheezing. I hate it when my kids get sick especially when their babies, I just feel so helpless. Thankfully I think they're all on the road to recovery and can all get back to school. WOO HOO!! Mason's still doing the breathing treatments but he's feeling and SLEEPING much better!

The majority of the time he falls asleep during the treatment...it's so sweet!

Tonto Natural Bridge

2011-01-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

We took advantage of a day off and headed out of town. Can you believe that I've lived here for 37 years and I've never seen the Tonto Natural Bridge...I need to get out more often. The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, the hike was fairly easy and we had great friends to enjoy it with. The dads were working so it was just us moms and all the kids.

I was a little nervous about taking Mason but he did great in the backpack. He even took a little nap. Haley carried him all the way down and LeAnn carried him out. What a great daughter & friend I have...looking out for me and my crippled back!

There was a really steep part that us girls were all afraid of...I think the boys just ran down it. Thank goodness for Haley, she took the baby down first then came back up for the rest of us.

Mason was in Heaven! Look at all that hair he had to pull.

I love this picture, it's so sweet.

Poor Nate started running a fever during the hike and had a rough time getting back up the mountain.

After the hike we headed to town and played at the skate park for awhile.

It was a great day and we can't wait to do it again when Larry can come with us

Grizzly Adams

2011-01-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

Grizzly Adams is just one of the names Larry was called while he sported his super cool facial hair. I much prefer it over the Unabomber!

He took a leave of absence from flying and decided to stop shaving simply because he could. It only lasted about 6 weeks till he said he was tired of looking like a dirty old bum.

It didn't really bother me, it was a fun change and I knew it wouldn't last forever. Someone asked him "Do they let you fly like that"? Definitely NOT! The goal is to make the passengers feel comfortable when they step on the plane, not like they want to turn around and run when they see their pilot!

Going....

going...

going..

gone!

Now that's my man! He's still got 6 weeks before he returns to flying so we'll see how long he waits to shave ??

Jake's 10th Birthday

2011-01-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Jake celebrated his 10th birthday at Golfland with some of his best friends. Unlimited video games and laser tag...what more could a 10 year old boy ask for!

He also had a family party where he struck it rich!

Happy Birthday Jake!! We love you so very much!!!

Jaxson lost a tooth

2011-01-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

Jaxson finally lost his first tooth and then about a week later lost his second one. He was a little freaked out about the blood but once the whole Tooth Fairy thing was explained to him he was very excited and couldn't wait to go to bed!

New Years 2011

2011-01-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

We spent a nice quiet night at home ringing in the new year.

The next night we continued our New Years celebration with the Haslams and a little Hot Tub Fun!

Bumbo

2010-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Mason's been trying out the Bumbo chair. He does pretty good in it but only lasts about 10 minutes before he starts getting upset. I'm not sure why he doesn't like it, probably because it uses too many of his chubby little tummy muscles!

Mason - 4 months old

2010-12-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

weight: 15 lbs. 13oz.

length: 26 1/4"

head: 16 1/4"

His percentages are still about the same. Tall and skinny!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

As usual, we had another great Christmas.

The theme this year seemed to be electronics -- IPods for the older kids & a Nintendo DS for Jaxson.

The boys also got Razor Ripriders. We tortured them and made them wait and open them last which nearly killed them because they were the biggest gifts under the tree. You know when your a child -- bigger is always better!

And here's my sweet Mason, just kickin' back watching all the chaos. Next year he'll be right in the middle of it all.

And here's what I got for Christmas. A Nikon D3100. I LOVE IT!!!!!! It takes the best pictures and that's on the Auto setting. Once I learn how to actually use it I'm sure they will be even better. I also got a Nook which I love but the camera is definitely my favorite!

As I'm blogging this I realized that I didn't take any pictures of Larry with his Christmas gifts...I'm so bad. Sorry honey. He got an air compressor which he's been wanting for a long time and lots of cold hard cash to buy some clothes with...I'm terrible at buying clothes for him so he gets to do it himself.

I love Christmas even with all the craziness & stress it brings. I can't wait till next year!

Family Christmas Party 2010

2010-12-19T05:39:00.000-08:00

We got smart this year and instead of trying to have the family Christmas Party on Christmas Eve we had it a week early. It was so much better this year and now we can all spend Christmas Eve just hanging with our own little families at home.

We did it potluck style which is my favorite and did a fun gift exchange. The kids each brought a $1 gift. They sat in a circle and Aunt Tammie read a Christmas story and every time she said the word "Santa" they had to pass their present to the person next to them. It was a LONG story and the presents made it around the circle 1 1/2 times (with 16 kids that's a lot of passing) and the funny thing is all my kids ended up with the gifts they brought.

Then the adults did a $5 white elephant style gift exchange. It was kind of slow at first because nobody would steal but once we got to the end I didn't think it was ever going to end. I ended up with a bottle of sparkling cider and two wine glasses and Larry got the old Batman Returns DVD with Michael Keaton & Danny DeVito.

It was a lot of fun and I hope we keep up the tradition for many years to come.

Here's my super cute nephew Braden whose mother announced at the end of the night that they would be adding baby number 2 (grandbaby no. 23) in August! I'm secretly hoping it will be another boy so Mason has some boy cousins close to his age to play with and with the ratio of boys to girls (only 5 girls out of those 23 grandchildren) I think the odds are in my favor. Congratulations Meagan & Roy!!

Spa Fun!

2010-12-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

We finally broke in the spa at our new house Friday night. I cranked it up too high so the kids had a hard time staying in for long and they needed frequent drinks of water but they had a blast. And we only had a small hiccup when I had to turn the jets off so Haley could retrieve her gum off the bottom and the spa started draining into the pool. It only took about 10 minutes to figure it out and fix it. I look forward to many more fun-filled nights hanging out with family and friends in the spa!

Thanksgiving '10

2010-11-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

We had Thanksgiving at my dads this year. As usual, it was a lot of fun to be with family and eat lots of yummy food!

Searching through the ads getting ready for Black Friday!

The kids table.

Sweet Mason's first Thanksgiving.

Grandpa dared the boys to jump in the pool. So they stripped down to their underwear and jumped in. It was cold!!

What a fun day!