Chad has been gone to New York all week for work and he finally comes home today! Yeah! I have always had respect for single mothers (and single dads), but I guess it is nice to be reminded sometimes. I propose a National Holiday for the single parents of the world. I would be all for it. I would be willing to buy presents and everything. They could even wear a sash like Ms. America and we could throw confetti on them every time they walk into a store (cause heaven know how hard that is with three kids). So, after a one week trial. . . I solute you, single parents of the world. May God bless you.



Besides Chad's obvious absence, it has been pretty busy lately with soccer games, dance and a lot of school functions. Today Abby had her big "Unusual Pet Show" in Kindergarten (photo below), then Carson had a field trip to Wheeler Farm. Since I was already carting all three of them to the farm, I decided to throw some matching shirts in my bag and take some much needed family photos. (try not to notice Carson's Space Monkey tattoo).
Abby's unusual pet named Micheal (I'm not sure why).

In other news. . .for those of you who don't know, Amy and Justin had their new baby girl two weeks ago and you can see some cute new pictures on their blog. She's darling, and I am super excited to go and see them in a couple of weeks.

My dad is home recovering from his prostate cancer surgery and doing great! He is a super tough guy, I am so proud of him and I love him tons! Everything went very well and he will be doing push ups before you know it.

Chad's parents have also been out of the scene for awhile. After visiting Justin in Vegas, they are now in Arizona for the trial and it looks like they are going to be there for quite some time. We miss them tons and the kids are going crazy! We know how important this is and we just want them to know how much we love and miss them.

Carson just started his first year of preschool and he was so excited (as you can see). He has been dying to use his new Batman backpack for weeks.
He was so funny all morning when he was getting ready. It was fun to be concentrating on him and seeing him so excited. On the way to school he assured me that he would be fine, and he said, "Mom, don't worry about me, because I am going to be learning today". He had a great first day, and all he has been able to talk about is some hammer song that they must have sang in his class. Well, it got his attention because he loves his school and can't wait to see what's next.

We went camping a couple of weeks ago. I know it's shocking! Well, actually the Grundy's had a family reunion, so we decided to stay in a tent, but don't worry, there were bathrooms and showers near by. My crazy kids were so excited to be in the great outdoors.

The kids helped set up the tent and helped to get wood for the fire. They were in heaven!

We also went fishing. The kids had a great time and Carson even caught a fish! Abby was not so lucky, but she liked playing with the worms. yuck!

Although Carson loved fishing, (and tearing the worms in half). I'd have to say his favorite part was sitting in the chair eating snacks. The kid never stops!
Cooper tried to get into the action too.
They had a pool at the nearby clubhouse, so of course we went at least two times. Cooper was loving the water and didn't want to get out.
Well, Cooper is officially 6 months old now. It is going by too fast and it is driving me crazy!

He is super fun, and I can't remember our lives without him.
He starting to do push ups at an early age! I guess you are never too young for some healthy exercise!

Well, not much has been happening lately. . .although we did go to Lagoon a couple weeks ago for "Italian Day". We had tons of fun and I think it was the first time that I didn't want to leave at the end of the day.

I am LOVING being home with my kids full time. It is just barely starting to sink in that I am home everyday. It just felt like I was "off track" for awhile and now I am realizing that this is for real! Not that my job had an extremely hard schedule, but now that I am always home it is so nice to be here for EVERYTHING! I love that I am here everyday to see my kids wake up, and I love seeing Abby get off the bus while I wave to the bus driver. It is all just amazing! . . .and still extremely busy. I am still trying to figure out how I managed things when I had to go to work. I am not sure where I found the time, because I am not working , yet I feel like I am busier than ever. I guess kids will do that to ya, but for now I am just trying to enjoy myself and my family (and not complain about money) because it is all worth it!
Here are some updated pictures of Cooper. Ya, he's a chunk, but what do you expect from my kids.

First Day of Kindergarten

Abby finally went to her first day of Kindergarten. I thought this day would never come and we were both so excited. She has been talking about going to "real school" ever since she could talk, and I think the day held up to her expectations.This is her "Mom that's enough pictures" pose, as I was talking pictures of her at the bus stop and totally embarrassing her.

So, the craziest part of the day was about half way through, when the school called the house (which is never a good sign). When I answered, someone said "Hi, this is Abigail's teacher" (which is definitely not a good sign). She was calling to let me know that Abby had been stung by a bee. So, at her first official recess, she was stung on the thumb by a mean bee! The teacher let me talk to her and with a fresh band aide, she was as good as new. Her favorite part was riding on the bus. Oh, and of course the chocolate "ding dong" that her teacher gave her at the end of the day.

She made me take a picture of her again today, because she was so excited that she was going to wear two skirts in a row!

No Training Wheels!

We had always said that we wanted Abby to be able to ride her bike without training wheels before she started Kindergarten and seeing that school starts in two days we thought we had better get going. Actually, Abby really had no interest in learning how to do it, until she saw our four year old neighbor girl riding around on her bike. As soon as she saw that, she came right in and asked us why we hadn't taught her yet. She was really giving us the third degree and basically making us feel like bad parents so, Chad worked with her on it today and here she is in action.

Ok, Cooper has this new thing that he has been doing and it was completely innocent and cute at first, but now I think it is a little out of control. I am constantly having to wipe is face and his shirts are always covered.

10 Amazing Years!

At the risk of making my blog a complete love fest, I would like to tell my perfect husband Happy Anniversary! You are my world and I am thankful for you, every day of my life! I am excited for many more amazing years, and I love you with all of my heart!

Wild and Crazy Week!

To start things off...We went to the Riverton parade. It feels like we haven't been to a parade forever and the kids had a blast.

Even Cooper was in the holiday spirit!

Abby's favorite part was coordinating her outfit.


Carson loved it all! . . .the candy, the sirens, the pretty girls, etc. He was pooped by the end of it.


Then, it was on to Provo for The Stadium of Fire. We headed to Provo early to help Amy and Justin load up their moving truck. Then, after some lunch and a much needed nap, we were off to see Miley Cyrus.

As you can imagine, Abby was so excited! She had been talking about it for weeks and we have had her music playing non-stop in our car ( I wanted to be well prepared). But again, I am not sure what she was most excited about; seeing Miley Cyrus or the fact that I finally bought her a Hannah Montana shirt and let her wear it out in public...with the scarf.
Here is the Whole Gang just before the show, where we let the boys play a little Frisbee to heighten their spirits.The show was awesome! Luckily, it wasn't TOO hot and everything was perfect. I think I had the most fun watching Abby and Kaitlyn sign and dance. (even when they didn't know the words to some of her new songs)
After the show, we slept on Amy & Justin's floor and headed for Vegas in the morning, with a moving truck and a three car caravan.
We swam a lot at the hotel and also hit the buffet. Our hotel had a 64 lane bowling alley, and I had never realized that my kids have never been bowling! I know...I was surprised myself! So, we bowled all night. Abby loved it and actually started to get pretty good as the night went on. After the first game, when Chad beat us all, we started to make some wagers. . . because hey, we're in Vegas. While we were discussing the terms, Abby asked what would happen if she beats us. Chad responded in a macho voice "I'll give you a hundred dollars". Well. . . a little more than half way through, Abby was beating both Chad and I (we were all trying so hard to win, that we did terrible). So she asked about more information about the whole money thing. Chad told her that he'd give her 5$ and she replied, "how about six?" and they made a deal!
Someday, she will regret that decision! (just a side note...I DID pull out a win in the end, beating Chad by a lot, and just sliding by Abby by ONE point)

While Abby was interested in the competition of it all. . .Carson, on the other hand, found other ways to entertain himself. He had fun at first, but it was apparently too mellow of a sport for him. So, he invented an acrobatic activity of his own.
Cooper was there for it all. He has experienced quite a lot in his short little life. From Disney World to Hannah Montana.
The kids just loved being on vacation. They loved the hotel and the pool and everything about it. After coming home, they woke up saying that they missed their "Las Vegas Bed".
And of course after shopping, Cooper got a new toy, which he loves!
We finally headed home after not sleeping in our beds for 4 nights. Hopefully Amy and Justin have as much fun in Vegas as we did!