Photo Shoot

Each time I have driven to walmart, I have passed a photography studio that recently (to me recent but it has been probably over a year or more) moved into to a strip mall just across from my destination. From just the look of the sign I was intrigued and after obtaining a coupon I was in. Sweet Will turned ONE year old last month and the poor kiddo has never had official professional pictures done. It was about time. What a cutie he is. Tough to get to smile though- if anyone tries to talk to him or get a smile out of him, he just gives a little amused, slight smile. All of the smiles during this photo shoot were well fought for and he did great. I just love how they turned out and next week we are headed back for family pictures.

Cute Will has finally started to pull himself up to the couch and has learned to get down. He also learned a couple weeks ago how to crawl on his knees- no more army crawling. He likes to clap and play peek-a-boo. He's a daddys boy and I have no problem with that. It's cute and one out of 6 kids- it makes Ben feel loved! Yeah! Slow going is his way of life and I love it! It has been a blessing. It has been fun enjoy each stage for so long since he is our last.

The past few busy months....

A little review of the past couple of months! Enjoy!

Ben turned 36! The kids and I had balloons, pizza and coldstone icecream cake waiting for him when he returned from the AUTORAMA (Ben always says it loud like he's an announcer- not sure if he realizes that- now he knows!) My brother Rob celebrated with us and was nice enough to purchase and bring his gift- tickets to see the Black Keys concert in May. He was surprised!

Owen started preschool back in March. After some testing through the district he was placed in a preschool class according to his needs. At this point his IEP goal when he is reevaluated in a year are interacting better with peers and following instructions. I thought he would qualify because of his speech but he didn't. Luckily his speech has taken off- this kid is hilarious! He is also playing better with kids- even his siblings, he has better imagination and likes to play with them. He just struggles a little with following the rules. We still have good days and bad days but it is getting better. These past few days he has been obsessed with getting a puppy and going to disneyland. The p and the d word are banned from our hose right now. ;) He picked out his own backpack, bypassing spiderman, because this one is a halloween one(black and orange). He's a little obsessed with halloween also!

Conference this year was full of great inspiration,family, food, more family, and more food, and again more inspirations form the talks that were given. Ben's mom and brother, and his family came down from Washington to attend conference. Our house was busy! My sister in laws brother lives just up the street where they stayed but kids walked back and forth between the two houses all weekend. It was fun to see them hang out. Poor Jocelyn was the only girl among her brothers and 6 more boy cousins. She had fun with all those rowdy boys! These pictures pretty much explain the craziness. It was fun to see each visiting family member get measured on our growth chart. Hopefully this will continue as a tradition.

This year for, I think it was spirit week, the kids had a wacky day. They dressed wacky and did their hair wacky, complete with hair color. Riley and Owen got in on the act too.

I officially have a teenager! EEEKKK!!! Ethan turned thirteen the beginning of April. Let me just say it was weird to be shopping at toys r us for a teenager. Who am I kidding- Ben loves that place. Anywho, Ethan had a hard time deciding on a birthday present but repeatedly mentioned a remote control helicopter and He loves rubiks cubes so I helped out his growing collection. I also suprised him with an icecream sandwich cake. A big hit!

Easter was simple this year. Lots of candy and each kiddo got a couple of random things ranging from books, to lip gloss, to itunes gift cards. I had to work of course, so by the time I got home candy was being devoured already! Some had already retreated to their bedrooms so as to keep the candy away from the others. Ben had not taken one single picture!!! Life is crazy with 6 kiddos! After church we headed to my parents for dinner and an egg hunt. Payton was the finder of the golden egg containing a golden one dollar coin. Surprisingly no one complained that they hadn't found it, they were all really happy to just be together and hunt for eggs. They are all such a good group of cousins! New church clothes-

Owen was pretty happy with 2 new sippy cups and some grass!

Don't worry, more to come...

#6 is 9 months

Will actually is almost 10 months. I'm allowed to forget his age, Right? 6 kids will do that to a you. It doesn't help that the kiddo is so content and happy that he is lagging in his milestones. He is still army crawling with the occasional rocking back and forth on his knees. He can sit but doesn't like to. In fact if you set him down in a sitting position, he will arch his back and fuss a little, What a stinker! He is a really good eater- finally, he eats his baby food well and pretty much likes everything we feed him. He is a Cheerios junkie. He loves to be where the action is. He also knows that if the kitchen hasn't been swept, that some good eats can be found under the table where Owen sits! He is still just as happy as ever and sleeps great. Although he is a little behind on the milestones, he is a head of all of our other kids as far as teeth. He now has 4 on the bottom and one on the top with the other top one coming in very soon. We all just love him a ton!

Be mine...

This year I stepped it up a little for Valentines Day. Homemade valentines were given out, Teacher valentines were made as well, also while at work the night before I made each of the kids a valentine bag full of treats and a list of reason why I love them. Also, I was was lucky (or ben was) enough to think well ahead for Ben's present and it was well received. I gave him the new pearl jam cd and the documentary dvd. LAst night while we folded laundry we watched the documentary.(Now that's love!) I must say it was interesting. Ben was sweet as well when he brought home dinner for us all. ( After spending most of the day installing our new dishwasher, I had no desire or energy to cook! I did have some cute things planned for dinner though- maybe next year.) The kids and him had panda and he made a separate trip to cafe rio, where the line was amazingly long, just for me. Ahh love! He also brought home a large box of sees chocolates and 2 new charms for my pandora bracelet. What a cute husband- he knows exactly what I like. Love you husband!

Cupids coming

Jocelyn announced at dinner tonight that cupids coming. Riley followed by an emphatic "yeah, I know!" A little dicussion of what he does followed. Pretty cute. Didn't know that they were taught about Cupid at school. For some reason it surprised me. Valentines is a big deal for our kids, at least the making of the valentines box is a big deal. So much that Jocelyn is in denial that this year her class is not doing them. She wants to make one for fun. I just sigh! I was actually relieved I had one less to do! Riley's is done. He had to take his box and valentines in early. Cute the rope was his choice and after I covered his box and printed out his picture, he covered the box with the hearts. It turned out pretty cute. He said the kids wouldn't stop talking about it. He acted bugged but I know he was happy! So this weekend we'll work on Jocelyn's and jake's valentines. We came up with some creative ones and they are excited to get 'em done.

My favorite things

Christmas brought about some of my new favorite things. On the absolute top of the list is my iPad. It has been amazingly handy and a little indulgent- yes indulgent. It's mine - all mine and for the most part I am able to keep the kids away from it. Emails are being checked more often, my bank account is closely watched, pinterest is a must, and nothing's could be better than staying up late with Ben to conquer the latest level of angry birds ( alot of laughing due to those elusive green pigs). I love it! I'm so grateful to Ben - he spoils me.
Next on the list are my slippers. These beauties were found at Ross on our date night just before Christmas. When I exclaimed how cute- Ben tossed them in the cart, before I could even try them on!


Next- my boots again, we were out shopping together and I mentioned them to Ben and he pretty much said "you're getting them" I gues sometimes I need a little push to spend money on myself. I love these boots just to throw on when I run kids around.


Last on my list , a short list, it doesn't take much to make me happy- my new iPhone. Pretty handy even though I was perfectly content with my old and outdated phone. My phone was just a perk to Ben's Christmas present- the iPhone 4s. My phone was thrown in for a buck. Who could resist? This year I was a little spoiled I'll admit it. But man these things make me feel comfy, cute, efficient, and on top of happenings in our lives.

Sugar Plums part 3

This year we decided to spice up our trip to Temple Square to see the lights. We decide to to take tracks downtown to the Gateway where (Thanks to Grandma Allen for the McDonalds gift cards) we had dinner and walked around a little. We then headed up to temple square. We enjoyed the lights and the nativity scene and then we jumped back on tracks and headed home. The kids loved it. The trip was short and sweet. That's pretty much the only way our family can do things these days. Short but meaningful and the kids all expressed how fun it was and how grateful they were for the fun evening.