A Few Summer Happenings

Jared took us to Swan Falls to do some fishing. I got a little bored and frustrated trying to entertain three kids while Jared took one fishing so I instigated a photo shoot. I probably took one hundred plus pictures but here are few of my favorites.

On our way to Swan Falls we stopped at a garage sale (Jared loves garage sales). We found this cool tool bench with tools for Corbin. Poor Corbin had to wait all day to try out his tools. He stayed up until 11:00 playing with and organizing his tools. He even had Bob the Builder pajamas on to match.

We all had to try on the goggles.

We went camping in Cascade with my parents. Due to all the rain, Cascade Dam was releasing a record amount of water creating this awesome rooster tail.

View from our campsite. Campbell woke up so early she was already down for a morning nap.

We decided to hike to Blue Lake, but there was still several FEET of snow.

A brief dip into the lake with Aunt Kamille.

Building sandcastles with Grandpa Hogg. He came prepared with a real shovel.

Brennan loved her first beach experience.

Campbell played t-ball this year and it was very entertaining. She had a hard time staying focused so she would keep herself busy by performing gymnastics in the middle of the field or by pretending she had a ball and tagging all the runners out when they ran by. The runners did not appreciate her role-playing.

Hey, batter, batter, batter, swing!

Brennan has four teeth coming in so she has been extra snuggly.

Our next camping trip was to Featherville. We had tons of fun with my mom and Aunt Kamille. On the final night I took Corbin for a bike ride until he fell asleep.

Jared took the girls to the Snake River Stampede. We forgot to take naps so Campbell slept through half of the excitement, but they had a great time.

Happy Birthday Brennan! I can't believe my baby is already a year old. Here are a few of her favorite new toys. Do you recognize the bear Aunt Ilene? Thank you!

We love you Baby B!

We had a fun filled evening at Grandma and Grandpa Fluckiger's home for the 4th of July! The fireworks are not as exciting as I remember them but our kids had a blast.

Here a Chick, There a Chick, Everywhere a Chick Chick

So HEAVY.

Since I went private with my blog only those with a Google account can view my blog. Many of our family members do not have a Google account but my sister-in-law discovered a cool Blogger feature that allows my updates to be sent to you through email. So this post is a test to see if it works.

About 5-6 weeks ago Jared had the crazy idea to get cute and cuddly chicks and raise them for supper. The kids love having chicks, Doc (our bird dog) really loves/hates having chicks, and I am plum tired of all the bird potty. When we bought the chicks we did not know if they were hens or roosters. Can you tell from these pics? Now we know that we have one rooster and one hen. Once the rooster starts to crow he will have to go (city ordinance). We'll have to see if anyone will actually eat them.

Our hen at 1 week.

Motherhood is SCARY sometimes!

I am writing this mainly for my sister-in-law because she decided to move away and have a long distance phone number. Now I can't call her and tell her everything that happens, but others might find this interesting too. So...we were at Campbell's tee ball game when I looked over my shoulder to see Ani with a panicked face and Corbin laying on the ground in convulsions. I ran over to him just in time to see his eyes roll back into his head and to watch another episode of seizures. Remember my brother had numerous seizures a day, so when Corbin started doing this thoughts of my brother started running through my head. Jared was the 3rd base coach, so I yelled his name over the crowd. I think he could see the fear in my eyes because I didn't have to say anything else. He came running and took care of the next minute like a super daddy. I don't really remember the sequence of events but there was more seizures/convulsions and lack of breathing. I started asking if I should call 911 when Corbin sat up and started tattling on Ani. For the next minute or two he would lose consciousness for a second, but then he was just fine. Corbin sat on my mom's lap for the rest of the game and appeared to have no lasting affects of his incidence. After I was confident that Corbin was alright I pulled Ani aside and learned that she had kicked him while playing. I don't know if it hurt or just scared him, but this proceeded him falling to ground. Talking to my mom and Jared I am getting the impression that this can happen when someone holds their breath to long or experiences a traumatic event. All I know is he better not do it again because it freaked me out!

We had plans to go camping this weekend, but due to the crazy amount of rain we canceled our trip. The girls understood the reason and that we would get to go camping some other time, but Corbin was very sad. He was walking around the house carrying his packed backpack and wearing his camping boots. He was super excited! So, to accommodate the little guy we packed up a few items and drove over to my parents for a camping experience. It was raining here too so we set up our tent under their covered patio. We played games until 9:30 when everyone started to get tired. A few chapters of Junie B. Jones and Ani was asleep. About 11:oo Campbell fell asleep. Corbin fell asleep about the same time, but when I had to get out of the tent to rock Brennan, Corbin woke up. Now Brennan would not sleep. She had fun climbing over her sisters and playing with their hair, ears, and nostrils, but when I would stop her she would throw a fit. If I tried to get her to lay down she would cry and cry and cry. So eventually I took her out. About 12:00 she fell asleep, but so did I (and Corbin). I was afraid I was going to drop her - we were sitting on the porch swing over the cement patio - so I took her back to the tent. Of course she woke up and when I went back to get Corbin she threw herself into another tizzy. So, long story short we all found some very unrestful sleep about 1:00 a.m. But Corbin had a very fun time!!!!

Oh, I love this little girl to pieces. After her shower she came out in this creatively cool outfit. This is one of many hilarious poses.

Ani earned a free pass to Givens hotsprings by completing her homework for the month of April. We spent about five hours there until we could not handle any more chlorine or steam. Both Ani and Campbell spent the majority of their time jumping off the edge of the pool and learning to dive. Ani experienced quite a few belly flops and Campbell ended up learning to flip instead of dive, but minutes before leaving they succeeded. Brennan slept in her floaty for an hour and Corbin spent most of his time playing on the stairs.

I had the privlege of being one of Campbell's preschool teachers this year along with 5 other moms. This week Campbell graduated and will be moving on to the exciting world of kindergarten. Congratulations, Campbell!!

Ani's tooth has been loose for a long time. Everytime I offered to pull it out the fear of pain would take over and she would decline. Yesterday Grandpa Hogg told Ani about his tooth pulling strategy. After grocery shopping I convinced her to let me try out Granpa's technique. Reluctantly she agreed. Within seconds the tooth was out and Ani looked like she was going to faint. I thought it must have hurt, but she said it didn't hurt at all, but was surprised that it came out so fast. When we returned home Ani told Jared that she bought something at the store and surprised him with her tooth. So cute!

Ani's 1st Piano Recital

Ani was so nervous for her 1st recital. Thankfully her teacher agreed to go up with her and that was all she needed to find the confidence to perform her pieces beautifully. Great job Andison!!

Catching Up - January to March

Corbin left his breakfast on the floor - the picture tells the rest of the story.

Campbell enjoying an unexpected snow. Zoom in on her face - she is so funny!

Corbin's masterpiece - A castle taller than himself.

Jared, Campbell, and Ani lovin' the jumbo slide at Monkey Business. They went down again, and again, and again. So did Corbin.

Feeding the geese and ducks at the park.

Swimming at the hotel. Campbell is a little fish!

Celebrating my 33rd birthday with my family!

Gotta love thrush!

Ani ice fishing with dad and grandpa.

Ice Skating

This is my first experience posting a video. Wow, it was really easy!

Brennan was given a baby doll for Christmas from her great-grandma. This event was purely coincidental, but so cute!

Taking a break from ice skating to watch the Zamboni. No, that is not me. It is my gorgeous sister Kamille.

In this picture Brennan had just learned how to pull herself up to a standing position. The only problem is she could not get down. That was last week. Now she has figured out how to get down, or should I say fall down. This is how I found her after her nap. Her little legs were shaking and she was crying because she was stuck in this position. Yes, I had her stay there a little longer so I could snap a photo. Within the past few days she has also started walking along the furniture.

Enjoying an afternoon at the park with dad.

My beautiful brown-eyed girls!

Wow, how time flies. Brennan is a crawler. She can go anywhere her heart desires, which is generally wherever mom is at the moment. The only problem is once she gets there mom is off to another location.

Enjoying all the snow!

Ani lost her first tooth this week. Boy, was she excited! But she was more excited for the tooth-fairy. In the middle of the night she knocked her pillow off her bed and woke up in a panic because she couldn't find her tooth. She was relieved to discover, with her dad's help, that the tooth fairy had already come and left behind a one dollar gold coin.