Happenings

Ok it has been so long since I even posted I almost forgot how to post! Life keeps moving...the kids are all 6 months older than the last time I posted. And 18 months older than the last pictures posted! WoW! Megan turned 16 in January and drives, dates and all that stuff :( will be in 11th grade...so unbelievable! Megan still swims and does great. Chase is 13 and spent the year in some sort of cast or brace most of the winter. In November he hurt his shoulder in wrestling practice the night before his first tournament. Spent 5 weeks in a brace. Got out of it and 4 weeks later broke his wrist snowboarding. So in a cast for another 5 weeks. So he missed 3/4 of his wrestling season and 1/2 of his basketball season and knows the orthopedic surgeon too well!  He started on the swim team this spring and is realizing that swimming is just as hardy of a sport as football or wrestling! He just finished his 7th grade year. Trace is 8, was baptized last fall, just finished the 2nd grade. Trace loves to swim, is consistently in the top 3 in his age group in the state. He placed 3rd in the Winter Championship this winter. Big stuff! Trace has passed all his multiplication facts off and is 1/2 through division. Normally kids aren't doing this until 3rd grade. He's awesome! Charlee is 5 and thinks she is 16. She is also on the swim team and swims great! She starts Kindergarten in the fall and cannot wait until the next time the kids go to school cause she gets to go! Dallee is now almost 20 months old! She gets her way with everything from everyone. We love her to pieces.
Steve spent the last week putting in a sprinkler system with the help of Uncle Shane. Thanks Bangerters we loved having you and sooo appreciate your help! I have so many projects going that I'm not sure what I do everyday! I am president of parent board for the swim team and that takes more time and energy than I care to admit...the things we go through for our children! I still teach Gospel Doctrine at church. Still run my website www.kidsdreamspot.com am getting my feet wet with a new career adventure (details coming soon!) along with keeping house, laundry caught up and cooking for this mass of growing people...life is one  crazy, non-stop blur of activity but oh so rewarding! Hope all is well with each of you.

Good, Better, Best

2010 has left my blog very neglected. It's just not right to see my last pictures up here be the pictures of this time of year...but from one year ago. I woke up this morning thinking how ironic...the year that I have an infant in the house is the year that I completely fail at documenting every inch grown and milestone met. The longer time went the more overwhelmed I became at the thought of "catching up". I thought about it...I wanted to...I just well I guess it came down to the "Good, Better, Best" deal. A perfect talk by Dallin H. Oaks "We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives."  I knew every month it would be a "good" thing to update my blog. I knew it would be a "better" thing to document my "growing" family history. But I knew the "best" way to spend those rare "spare" moments would be to rock and enjoy my little baby. So my blog was left unattended for the most part...with facebook it is so just too easy to upload pictures and walk off. So family you did get to see baby D growing,  just didn't get the "commentary". I do have a ton of pictures from 2010 that slowly I plan on updating my blog with the events of the past year...but I am pleased that I took advantage of the moments I could and rocked my little. Because those infant moments of the past year flew by in a flash! I know that is so cliche, but oh how true it is!! As I type right now, she is sitting squirming on my lap. Somehow it is easier to hold a toddler than a tiny "lump" while sitting at the computer. But I do enjoy keeping a blog and it is my hope that in 2011 I can steal a few moments here and there and keep it happening (with a squirmy toddler on my lap of course!) So there you have it...my confession, my excuse, my soap box spill...whatever you want to call it. But in a nutshell...life with 5 kids makes our house one happening place and I'm happy to be in the midst of the chaos. I'm also happy to report that this here Mom is finally about to get a "handle" on keeping up with 5 kids!

Till next time I'll leave you with Trace's latest kidism..."I'm going to be sad to see 2010 go...Me...why?..Trace...I have such good memories of it"!

Sweet Baby Expressions

***Yea! I'm through 2009 in my qwest to catch up! Bear with me...I'm gettin there!

12.27.2009  A day full of sweet baby expressions.

Dallee 11 weeks

Sweet Baby Smiles

Baby Coos

You are so sweet Dallee

Charlee, Dallee & Megan

We Love You Baby Dallee!

Christmas 2009

 How we love Christmas time at our house! 2009 was no exception. With a new baby in the house the Season seemed extra special!

Charlee 4 Dallee 2.5 months

Megan 14, Trace 7, Charlee 4, Dallee 2.5 months, Chase 12

Dallee looks like she's had enough

A favorite Christmas Tradition we have is to visit the Christmas Lights in the South Hills. There is a house that starts decorating on Labor Day and it is fabulous!!! There is even a camel to feed. The kids love it.

Dallee joined us we just made sure she was covered up

Trace says "wanna a carrot"?

Camel says "gotta candy cane instead"?

Charlee loves it but wasn't too sure of the whole camel thing.

Dallee sung as a bug

Dallee's 1st Christmas Eve

Trace is getting brownie points by tickling dad's hand.

Who's excited???? Charlee doin a table dance!

Merry Christmas!!!

Trace Christmas Play 2009 1st Grade

Dallee 2 months Trace 7 yrs

  Dallee's smiling all the time now!

Charlee all pretty at Christmas time

  Megan 14, Dallee 2 Mos, Trace 7, Charlee 4, Chase 12

Trace 1st Grade Lincoln Elementary School

Mrs. Stephanie Downing is his teacher

Dallee 2 Months

December 8, 2009

Dallee turns 2 months old 12.08.09

 Dallee 2 months

Weight: 9 lbs. 4 oz. (10th percentile)

Height: 24 inches (90th percentile)

She's just a peanut!

We can't get enough of her!

I think Charlee and Dallee look so much alike in this picture!

Our Megan girl...getting so big!

I can't get the camera out to take a picture of Dallee w/o Charlee getting in it. I told her to stay out so I could get one of Dallee and she just couldn't stand it! She thought she was hiding...but not really!

Good thing she's so darn cute..!

December Fun

Gotta love it when you have kids that are old enough and they want to put lights on the house!

Dallee hanging out with Daddy

Finished Christmas Tree..it was kind of a Charlie Brown tree...but it's the memories that are made while cutting it that makes it worth it right? (Otherwise I would so buy a pretty one every year!)

Charlee and Dallee