Tee-Ball

After being inspired by her cousin Brett, Kelsie decided she wanted to try out soft-ball this season. She lucked out and has 4 kindergarten friends on her team. And I lucked out that these are families that I really like. :) They picked the name Pink Panthers. Kel was a bit bummed about this because her last soccer team was the Pink Panthers, but she gets to wear a pink uniform so that made up for it ;) These girls are so cute out on the field, its so much fun to watch.

For those who don't know, tee-ball has a bit different set of rules than base(soft) ball. They go for 3 innings. Every player gets to hit once and you get to go one base per hit. The last to hit is the "home run" hitter who brings everyone in. The coach is the pitcher and she has 4-6 tries to pitch to the batter. If the batter still can't hit it, they bring out the tee. There are no outs and every game is a tie (since everyone gets to come home) :).

Kelsie has been having a lot of fun. Mark took her to the church to practice and is getting really good at grounders. In her last game she actually got the ball and threw it to 1st base before the hitter got there...twice. Which (if not tee-ball) would have been two outs. I guess this is something you rarely see in tee-ball...I mean, they are young, and friends, and have better things to day dream about than seeing if the ball will be thrown to them ;) It helped too that the girl on 1st base, Sophie, has two older sisters that live and breath softball so she has tons of experience watching and playing the game. I got some pics of her first game and am hoping to get some video clips of other games :) (Thanks Brett for being so inspiring! Tee-ball is so much fun!)
It was really cold the first game :)

Stake Achievement Days Activity

A couple of Saturdays ago I had the opportunity to spend an awesome afternoon with Brooke at a Stake Achievement Days Activity in Woodland. I rarely get to spend one-on-one time with her so it was so great to be there without the other girls (of course Austin was there but he doesn't "count" yet). It started with great talks from the Stk Primary Pres and a member of the Stk. Presidency. Then we were split into 3 groups. Our group went first into a room where we talked about manners at the dinner table, how to properly set a formal and informal table, and basic etiquette in general like how to introduce yourself and others to each other. It was fun. :) And of course Brooke set our table that night, fancy folded napkins and all. The next room we went to was paper hat making. They had all kinds of craft supplies and glue guns at a huge table and we sat and created beautiful hats out of paper plates. It was great to see all the creativeness come out. Even though we all had the same items available to us, I don't think I saw any hats that looked the same (there were 50-70 ppl there). The last room we went to was set up so we could decorate head bands, clips and hair bands. These are being sent to Utah where they will then be sent and handed out to kids who need them.

The whole program was just awesome. After the classes were over, we all sat for a wonderful lunch and were entertained by one of the wards. They put on a "modesty fashion show". It was really clever. They started with appropriate and cute outfits. For the immodest clothing they used a play on words. So one girl walked out with a teddy bear tied to her waist-"bare midriff". Another had daisy's pined to her shorts-"Daisy Dukes". Some things I had to explain to Brooke, like what a tube top was (they had toilet paper tubes tied to their shirt) and other things. It was fun, silly, and I was glad for the chance to talk to Brooke about things in an easy-going atmosphere.

Here are some pics..(after we got home Kel and Shay wanted a hat too, so they made one too)

Beans, Beans,....

(Are you singing the song or am I the only one with the mind of a 1st grader ;) ? )

Austin hasn't been a fan of food at all. We've tried basic baby cereal, jarred baby cereal, other jarred baby foods, bananas (which I think he is allergic to), strawberries, mushed up spaghetti, eggs, graham crackers, Cheerios, and a few others. The Cheerios he will eat if I put them in his mouth otherwise he just picks them up and puts them down over and over again. Last night we had hot dogs, pork 'n beans and applesauce for dinner. I've given him applesauce before and he seemed to like it better this time, but still reluctant to open his mouth. Then I decided to see what he would do with a bean. Oh my goodness! You should have seen his face! It was pure joy! I put a spoonful on his tray and he ate them up so fast it was unreal. I have been thinking that he has some other allergies (besides my suspicions about bananas) so if beans is what he will eat, then so be it. I just pray he didn't inherent my digestive track. ;)

So I've been talking with other moms that have young kids and they suggested trying avocados. They are bland and, as you know, soft. I know, with kid #5 I should be well versed on baby food, but as time passes, you forget some things....anyway, what foods do you all suggest I try, what did your kids like?

My new desire

I really want one of these for when Shay starts kindergarten. I know its soooo not necessary, but who cares!? She already sleeps on the floor in Brooke and Kel's room (long story), might as well have a bed that fits in there too :) I just think these are awesome. They do sell the plans so you can make them yourself...I wonder if my Dad needs a new project ;) . Anyway...my next spare $1000 is totally going towards one of these lol.

Guitar Hero

:D So much FUN!!!!!

Why is it...

...books are so appealing to babies? I'm not complaining, really. I just think its funny that every house we go in, with every baby I've had, there is an intense need to pull out every book on the bookshelf. :)

You know he's thinking about it... ;)

Brooke's Baptism Weekend

On March 7, 2009, Brooke became an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints. The day itself was fantastic. Actually, thole weekend was great. On Thursday, Mark and Brooke flew down to Simi. Marks' brother Dave came home from his mission in Colorado and most of Marks family was in town to greet him. On Friday, I drove down with the rest of our clan to join them. The drive wasn't so bad. We stopped every half hour for potty breaks and nursings, but still got there before 3pm. Its usually a 6 hour drive, we did it in about 7 1/2 hours. The girls had a great time visiting with all their cousins (12 of the 15 on Marks side). The baptism was the next morning at 11am.The day started with the usual mishaps...Becca and Shay not wanting to put on a dress, rushing over to the Cheney's house to collect the refreshments (we stayed at a friends house) only to find them already taken care of :), forgetting a change of underwear for Brooke (thank goodness for all the girl cousins the same age), locking my keys in the car at the church, then realizing the refreshments were locked in the kitchen and we had no keys, then the font was overfilling because the valves were in a locked closet, 10 minutes before it was supposed to start Mark realized he too forgot a change of under garments and raced back to the house.... at the time, all these things were starting to overwhelm me. But once we were all sitting and able to listen to our good friend Amy play beautiful music, the spirit filled the room and everyone (or at least me) was relaxed and focused on the joy of Brooke being baptized. Both my mom and Mark's mom gave wonderful talks about baptism and the Holy Ghost. Brooke was a bit nervous about going under water, but after, she told me that she was totally relaxed and knew it would be ok.

I am so glad so many friends and family members were able to come and be apart of the wonderful day. It was so great to see everyone! I do have some pictures, but most of the "traditional" ones, like of Brooke in her white clothes and with our family, are on someone else's camera. So here is what I do have...
My family: Phil and Lara (my cousin and her husband), Mom, Dad, Brooke, Tate(my brother), us, My Aunt Diane and Uncle Lance. Brooke opening her gifts.Marks parents, Becca, Kelsie, Brooke, and cousin Alli (Dave is on the left)Our family (these pictures are small cuz I "stole" them off of Facebook, thanks Darlene!)
Keline and her baby, Alfredo, Darlene, me, Mark, and some kids. Kel and Dar are friends from High School..well, really since elementary school, but I think Kel and I knew each other even before then.

After the service, we all headed to the park for some fun, with 17 kids and 12 adults it's a must ;). On Sunday we all went to church not only to hear David's homecoming talk, but for the blessings of Michelle's (Marks sister) twin boys. They are about 3 weeks older than Austin and too cute for words. They also have another cousin (on her husbands side of the fam) that is 3 weeks younger than Austin, seeing all 4 of these little boys together was so much fun! After dinner we watched a slide show of some pictures of Dave's mission along with some from Mark's and Jonathan's and also some pictures of the Cheney kids growing up. Good times! I can't wait to see everyone again. (Dave, if you read this, we are fully expecting you and your folks to come up April 6-10th. weither we get a place in Tahoe or you just come to stay with us :). )On the bench: Mark, Kelsie, Jonathan and Jennifer (Marks sister and her husband), Alli and Sara (2 of their kids). On the swings: Michelle (Marks sister), Janae (sp?) and Casey walking away (her kids).Cousins on the swings: Tessa, Alli, Kelsie, Janae, and Sara. And Jonathan keeping an eye on things on the bench :)Ephriam and Austin..the stare down.Ephriam, Austin, and Killian...they didn't last long just sitting there :)

Cooking with 4-H

The girls are members of our local 4-H club and totally loving it. I am volunteering as a project leader for beading. Both girls (Brooke and Kel) really wanted to do cooking but the lady running that activity only allows kids 9 yrs and older (most activities are that age range). So I've decided, after going back-n-forth too many times to count, to do cooking for the under 9 age group.

My whole point to this post is to send out a request for recipes that require little to no adult help (ie: limited knife/heat use). Things like bake-less cookies that I know exist but can't find a recipe for. It can be for breakfast, snacks, desserts, main meals...anything that we can do in 1-1 1/2 hours. I think I'm gonna make a new blog to store the recipes I get so others (in and out of 4-H) can look at them. I was going to buy a folder to keep them in, but seeing how I don't have a single cookbook that hasn't been ripped apart, a blog would be safer.

So if you have anything I might be able to use, weither a website to send me to or just an idea with or with out a recipe, PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY! :D

Sleeping, teething and tunnels

They have nothing in common except the fact that I had the pictures and nowhere to put them ;)


Becca hasn't taken a true nap since she was 1. With her share of being sick, she has needed more sleep than anyone I know, but still refuses to go lay down. Everyday for about a week this is how she "ate" lunch. I'd just leave her there and a few hours later she was awake and eating again lol. Of course having no knowledge that time passed ;)
Proof that Austin is teething :)

Playing with our tunnels while I "clean"...