CA trip: Second stop- Mom & Dad's

We drove from Vegas to my parent's house. It's about a 4.5 hour drive. I think we did it in 6. Which is pretty good, considering!  My goal was to only stop once in between to eat and go to the bathroom and let everyone stretch their legs. I really really wanted stops to only be an hour at the most, but that is just not physically possible when you are buckling/unbuckling/feeding/diapering/taking to the bathroom/and walking around with three kiddos. I kind of felt like a crazy lady with Ryder strapped into the ergo, carrying Tave and a backpack, and holding Weston's hand. I definitely got my fair share of interesting looks. 

We were SO happy to get to my parents house and to visit with Grandma. Since my dad was out of town and my mom had homework and tests to study for, we stayed the one night and then headed up to Shar & Trav's house the next day. I didn't take any pics of this day because, let's face it, I was exhausted. I was just so happy to be out of the car and with my mom that we just relaxed, played, ate, and slept. 

Great day!

CA trip: First stop- VEGAS!

So I was crazy. CRAZY I tell you! My cousins were coming to CA (from Missouri) so I decided to drive out there to visit them and my fam. By myself.  With 3 kiddos. AHHHH!!! 

It was definitely a full 2 weeks, but we honestly had a blast and I could not have asked for better kiddos.  They were all troopers, and while 2 weeks of crazy schedules, no naps, moving from house to house  to house (5 different times) does cause some tantrums and a few tears were shed, overall they were amazing and I truly feel blessed. We did SO.MANY fun things with SO.MANY people that we love. I will try to get it all up and blogged about this week. We'll see.

May 4-6

Our amazing drive out to CA (by myself, remember) is due to the fact that we stopped in Vegas. My awesome college roomie lives there with her adorable kiddos. I have wanted to visit Annie for a long time now and this was the perfect chance!!  The boys are still talking about getting to play with Joshie & Aloria. We had a BLAST.  These kids are non-stop fun and craziness and it was perfect! We had a great time just hanging out, having a girl's night at Bunco ( my first time, so fun, thanks Josh for watching ALL 6 kiddos!) watching the kids, laughing, and talking. 

Oh my gosh, this blueberry bubble ball is the funniest thing EVER. Seriously, I think I peed my pants I was laughing so hard. The kids loved it and took turns rollling each other around. We had to do it in twos so they wouldn't get hurt, but they could ALL fit in there. Oh my goodness, I haven't laughed this hard in awhile!  I even got in and the kids pushed me around. This would be THE. FUNNIEST. couples date night....

A rare moment when they were all sitting still. I think they were pretty worn out by the end of each night:

Adorable and sweet little Claire-bear.  She let me read to her and even sat on my lap. I feel special. ;)

Ryder slept in the bathroom. Yup. That was how it worked out so we all got the most sleep. The boys loved climbing in with him in the morning while I got ready for the day:

 Our 6, SIX! kiddos!!!

Me & Annie...we look so tired because basically we talked the entire time I was there...not much sleep. 

I LOVE this lady. Thanks for having us!

Patience part III

These beauties have finally started to bloom:

There is something so incredibly satisfying in watching something you planted grow into something beautiful.

This must be how Heavenly Father feels when he sees us rise to our potential.

Baby Carriers Part II

A loooong time ago I posted about different carriers.  Which to get and such.

I'm here to finally report on that.

Moby Wrap:  I tried to make my own- didn't quite work out. Maybe it works great if you like 5 or 6 yards of fabric wrapped around your body. Me and the baby...not so much. But I've heard tons of people love them, so let me know how to use them right.

Baby sling from Seven Slings:  I bought this with Ryder and have loved it.  I wore him in it tons when he was little. Technically you can wear them in it as they get bigger and even use it as a side carrier.  For us it was perfect when he was newborn up until about 6 months. Since then he hasn't liked sitting in it or being squished in it.  

Enter the Baby Bjorn.

Baby Bjorn:  We have owned ours since Weston was born and gotten countless hours of use and enjoyment out of it. I LOVE how easy it is to wear and the kiddos love it too. We have worn them in it when they are just a few weeks old (facing inward) and then around 4 or so months face them outward.  Right at about 9 months they start getting too big for me and I can't wear it very long without my back hurting. I think if you get the sport one with an extra strap to go around your waist it gives better support.  

Now moving on to the Ergo!!

Ergo:  We just received our Ergo in the mail today and so far I am in serious like.  I can't say love because we did just get it today, afterall.  But I can say that we tried it out with all three kiddos (upon their insistance) and so far I am super happy. I was able to carry Tave very comfortably on our walk and I could barely even feel Ryder in there!  Weston is 32 lbs so of course I 'felt' that, but it wasn't bad at all.   I haven't gone on a walk with West in it... so I can't say how that would be, but so far so good. I do love how evenly the weight is distributed across my waist and shoulders. 

It has gotten incredible reviews and I am beyond thrilled to use it on my trips this summer. If you have the patience to wait for it to go on sale again at Babysteals it will be worth it. I paid a fraction of the cost, and while the color isn't my first choice, I am more than happy with my savings!!! 

Hope this helps any of you out there looking for the perfect carrier for you. I could do a much more in depth review of each with the pros and cons and to let you know what weights/limits, etc they have if you are interested. Shoot me an email or leave a comment if you want more info!

Ouch!

Tave got his first big ouch:

He had been running and ran right into Jeff, bounced off, and hit the corner of the chair rail. That darn thing has bumped dozens of little heads in our home but has never drawn blood. Until now. :(  

It was crazy, you can't tell in the pic but it was just a straight hole. We couldn't get the butterfly bandaid to pinch anything closed because it was just so round & deep. 

Fortunately, Tave had a big brother who took SUCH good care of him for two whole days.  Weston would bring Tave toys, treats, blankies, and gave him lots of snuggles and hugs. West even let him pick the tv shows they got to watch.  It was so sweet to see...we were so proud of our little guy and hope he continues to be the best big brother.  

These boys make my heart so happy.

Easter Sunday

Easter pics are a must!  We had such a fun visit with Grandma & Grandpa D.

Our family. 

I love all my boys SO.MUCH. 

We brought Mom & Dad to Jonathan & Rachel's Easter morning. We were able to hang out and visit, take Easter pics, and then had to say goodbye. :( I hate goodbyes.  

We decided to go to church with Jonathan & Rachel but had a few hours before it began.

It was the perfect time to start our new Easter tradition:

visiting the Temple grounds.

What a perfect way to celebrate the life of our Savior and His mission on Earth. We felt so peaceful and loved sharing this with the boys:

  

After church we had dinner with Shawn & Abby and just relaxed with the kiddos.

It was a beautiful Easter Sunday and we loved spending it with so much family.

How grateful we are for our Savior.

As good as it gets...

We attempted to take the boys picture together for Easter. 

We tried 3 different times and basically, this is as good as it gets. 

I have high hopes that a professional will be able to get all three looking and happy..but I don't know if that's possible when pictures and my children are involved. HA! 

I sure love these boys, crazy photo shoots and all.

They are such handsome, sweet little guys and being their mom is truly such a privilege.

Easter Fun

Our Easter was so great this year! We were able to spend it with Jeff's parents (who were here for Jonathan's graduation from BYU...pics soon!)

Our Easter bunny likes to come on Sat. so we can focus on Christ on Sunday. What a thoughtful bunny. ;)

The boys had fun hunting for their baskets.

 

Mom read the boys stories while the guys hid all the eggs.  

After the egg hunt we had a delicious Easter dinner with everyone, Rachel's brothers and sister joined us, also, so fun!
We had tons of fun playing games and chatting after the kiddos went to bed.

  

Weston really wanted to dye eggs with Grandma & Grandpa

So Sunday morning we made sure to do that before Mom & Dad left.  We finished decorating them like monsters that night.

Love family traditions!

Fun at the Aquarium

We like to keep busy when Mom & Dad visit and this trip was no exception!

Since the weather was kind of chilly and we were having Easter dinner in the evening, we decided to go to the Aquarium.

  We had never gone with Grandma & Grandpa D before, so the kids were super excited!!  

We did all the usual stuff and were able to see the two new exhibits there-- it was awesome!!

I am always so amazed at Dad's pictures of the animals. These are all taken through glass and they turned out incredible:

Jonathan's Graduation!!!

Mom & Dad (D) came up for Jonathan's Graduation!! We had such a great visit with them and packed it FULL of as much fun as possible!  

We hung out and chatted the night they arrived, then woke up early to make it to the grad ceremony. Jeff wasn't able to come to this part, so I was a little nervous how the boys would last...they did Awesome!! We loved sitting with everyone and watching Uncle Johnny walk across the stage. YAY!!

Had to get a shot of the cute couple:

 Rachel will be the last one of the Drysdale  fam ( bros and sisters) to get her Bachelors degree. 

Pretty cool, huh!

LOVE this pic of Mom & Dad:

After graduation we all headed to the park for a celebration picnic.  Jeff was able to meet us there:

Congrats Jonathan!!! 

We are so excited for you and all that is in store for your and Rachel's cute family!

Go BYU!!

Ryder- 9 months

Ryder's 9 month stats:  

Height:  28 inces (50th percentile)

Weight:  16 lbs 8 oz (7th percentile)

Oh our little Ryder is just way too much fun!

His biggest accomplishment this month is that he started sitting completely on his own- YAY! He loves it.
He also started growling- just like Weston did when he was a baby! It is this funny deep growl that he thinks is hilarious. We love it too.  

He plays well with his brothers and absolutely loves watching them. 

He likes to be right in the middle of everything.

He likes touchy-feely books (still likes eating them the most)

 Loves to eat baby food. Sweet potatoes and bananas are still his favorite but he also likes bread, crackers, and anything he can feed himself. 

Loves being outside and does great in the stroller.

He thinks his toes are super cool.

Reaches and grabs for EVERYthing...he has a strong grip, so watch out!

Laughs at everything his brothers do. He adores them.

Gets super excited when Daddy comes in the door! He loves his dad.

Is a snuggle-bug- loves to be held.

Gives slobbery kisses.

Thinks the bathtub is the best place to play- LOVES to splash!
Loves being in the jumperoo. He jumps and bounces so fast and likes to do it when people are watching- what a ham!

Sleeps awesome- 12+ hours a night and 2 naps in the day. He likes to sleep on his tummy with his cute little bum sticking in the air. Adorable.

He babbles and talks like crazy.

We love our sweet little man.

Spring Break: Trafalga!

Jeff & I got a lot of spring cleaning and de-cluttering done during Spring Break. 

It was awesome and we felt very productive (and tired)

However, we made sure to do something fun every day with the boys.

Friday was our grand finale & we took them to Trafalga in Lehi. 

It was definitely a hit. They absolutely love mini golf- and the theme at this one was Hawaiian Nights.  It is super cool, especially if you wear white since everything glows under the black lights. I tried my best to get some good shots, but it was so dang dark and I am new to shooting in manuel. So I experimented a bit and the pics are blurry but okay. At least you can see how cool it is in there.

They rode the carosel and plane with me and Jeff took them in the race cars. 

The race cars were BY FAR the favorite!!!  (I think you can tell!)

We had a blast and loved treating our little guys to such a fun day!

Cousins Visit!!

We always have so much fun with our cute cousins!

Knock Knock

Before bed we always sing songs and visit with the kids.  Tonight we started telling some  knock knock jokes and the kids wanted to try.

Tave: Knock Knock
Me:  Who's there?
Tave:  Quesadilla
Me:  Quesadilla who?
Tave: Quesadilla YOU!

West: Knock Knock
Jeff:  Who's there?
West: Cougar
Jeff:  Cougar who?
West: Cougar from BYU!

hahahahaha,  the boys thought they were so funny and since they were so not funny, it was of course pretty hilarious.
Now that they have the sequence down we'll start working on getting the content a little more humorous to everyone. :)

ps if you have any good ones, please leave them in the comments, I could always use a laugh. (and yes, I find knock knock jokes funny)