cheeseypants

Seth talks..

2011-08-31T04:38:00.000-07:00

Sweet baby Seth loves his mommy, Who doesn't really? :_D hehe. Anyway, this is a cute video I wanted to share. Sorry its a little out of whack I was holding him and taping at the same time....

Dillon and the "Skeet-O"

2011-08-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

Lately Dillon has been really interested in bugs. Since mosquitos are abundant at our house right now I decided to video Dillons cuteness and mistalking of the word "mosquito" because we just can't get enough. This isn't the cutest memory we have of him and mosquitos but I thought it was adorable and definately cute enough to post.
Enjoy!

Dillon dresses himself.....

2011-08-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

Now don't be mistaken. This is not Ray. It is Dillon fresh out of the shower. He has his hair combed, jammy shirt on, binky in mouth, and daddy's basketball/sleeping shorts on. So cute. He loves to try to put pants on, which usually doesn't work out too well when they are actually his. He was SO very proud of himself that he could put these on!
Kids are too funny.

He walked around the house with a huge grin so very proud holding the shorts up by the drawstring! Haha.

Here's a good one of him pulling the shorts up so they don't fall.

Dillon colors on the wall...

2011-08-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

What is this you ask? Oh that would be my laundry room wall with some brown permanent marker, very permanent marker. How would I know its so permanent? Simply because I got out my Mr. Clean magic eraser to erase it off the wall. Alas, it did not erase and when I noticed the paint coming off the wall I stopped. Luckily, Not only did I find that Dillon colored on this wall with his super sticking brown very permanent marker.
He colored this one as well....Awesome!

Oh goody here's another one! Good job super duper brown permanent marker man.

GREAT!! I am sooooo very happy to see that Dillon does not give up so easy. Thanks for NOT stopping with only 1 or 2 walls buddy. Cause you know its every mothers dream to clean up messes!

Alright, Mr. Clean is not working. Thank goodness I saved the leftover paint from these walls when we moved in.......5 years ago? I'll head out to the garage and get that now. Then I can paint when Dillon goes down for a nap.... perfect. Everything will look fine.

Heres the paint can! I am just so glad I saved this for sooooo long. I am a genius.

Let me just open this baby up and stir the .....

hard block of dried up paint in the bottom of the can.

Awesome.

Crapstain. What to try now?

Think if I get a can of paint to match this color and paint it on the walls it will match the paint that has been on the walls for 5 years?

I'm going to try cause this hallway was a pain in the butt to paint!

Thanks again Dillon for choosing a difficult project and more than one wall of it!

Mommy needed something to do anyway.....:)

I love you Dillon!

Seth in the bathtub.

2011-08-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

Everybody needs bathtub pictures right? Look at that cutest little Chubber-pants! Don't worry I kept this clean;) Hahahahahah!

Just so you know....

2011-08-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Just so you know I have not turned into a 4 post-a-day blogger. As a-matter-of-fact I didn't even create the last 4 posts of this blog! My little Makayla did!! She wanted to learn how to blog so I taught her. She also wanted to blog on Cheeseypants, which is great because she'll hopefully help me keep it up more than I have in the past! She did want to post as if it were me so you might have a hard time deciphering who's who at times;)!

Animals

2011-08-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Dillon loves animals so we took him tothe Aquarium.We saw different kinds of fish.Like sharks, guppies,sting rays,and more.

My sweet Seth

2011-08-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

Seth is such a sweet baby .

Sweet hansome Dillon

2011-08-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

Dillon is such a hansome ,sweetheart.

He is so sweet.

A day at Hobby lobby

2011-08-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today wendy and i took the kids to Hobby lobby.

group picture

She lended me her double stroler.We decided to take pictures:

Kaden is so funny.

2011-08-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

Kaden is such a funny kid. I have really seen him grow up the last few months by leaps and bounds. With that he strives to be as funny as he can and likes to get in a good quip as often as possible.
So yesterday I took him in to see his Diabetes Doctor. There was a women there who was interning. She came in to see Kaden first and ask some questions before his regular Doctor saw him.
One of the questions she asked was, "Do you have trouble seeing?"
Kaden replies, "In the dark."
I thought it was hilarious and chuckled out loud but quickly shut my mouth when I looked at the very pregnant intern and saw that she wasn't amused.
Oh well. Thought I'd share because I know most of you who read my blog would get a chuckle out of this;)!

Random Pictures.

2011-08-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Since its been sooooo very long since I've blogged I thought you'd all enjoy some random pictures.

Here's one of 3 of my most favorite guys....

Now that is what you call a hands on dad.

Ray you're the best!

Look I pretty much do whatever I want because I'm that cute. You got it? That's right mom just walk away I've got the camcorder under control....

Listen, if someone would just come feed me.....

I told you earlier, I pretty much do whatever I want. Do you see how cute I am.

Yes my dad's trying to watch TV but I am looking at this book and need to sit in the middle of the screen for best results. My dad can lean his head to the side.

If you don't have Mater, what else do you have?

Thats right.

2011-08-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

So here I am again as promised or cursed however you want to see it. So I read my last few posts, after trying to type in the password I thought was my password but wasn't, having blogger send it to me via email, redoing a password, noticing it was logging me into my new-other blog (more on that later) automatically through gmail, reading and figuring out how to log into my old blog (this one) argh, and finally making it to Cheeseypant to see that my last blogs included my bald younger Dillon and nothing at all is mentioned to the fact that I was indeed pregnant just 10 short weeks ago for 9 months and haven't even mentioned my sweet baby Seth.
Fortunatly throught the constant nagging... err I mean loving reminder of some family members I wont mention I got the urge to blog again. Here I am.

Just for you....

2011-08-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hey there!
Worked on my blog a bit tonight. Okay, a lot more than a bit. I forgot how addicting and fun it is to blog.... Anyhow now that I have the bug look for further postings sooner.....
Love ya,

Amy

2010-11-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

Dillon in the Cupboard.

2010-11-21T15:15:00.000-08:00

Dillon LOVES getting into cupboards, drawers, closets, basically anything. He is so cute climbeing into this cupboard. He shuts the door and waits for you to knock. Then he opens it to say Hi and closes it again. You knock, he opens, says hi and closes, over and over again. Such a fun game....

Dillon letting us know that he is "ready to play the cupboard game"

Hi!

2010-03-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

Working, taking care of an almost 13 year old type I diabetic, a very social 9 year old, an active 7 month old, part time with a 12 year old and mixing in some time to still be a wife/housekeeper leaves me with absolutely no time to blog. I know that some of you check my blog regularly and I truly enjoy reading up on others updated blogs so here I am again.
I was working 4 days a week and recently quit my job. I know, I know. I am crazy to do that in this economy but there is something very liberating in not feeling tied to where I was. For sake of keeping my post positive I will just move on in my writings.
I realized the other day that Kaden will be turning 13 in just 4 short months! Oh my gosh where does the time go? He is almost as tall as me and just as arnery as the textbooks say teenagers are. But we still enjoy some good laughs every now and then. He is staying busy with scouts, school, and video games.
Makayla is a very social and happy 9 year old. She recently learned how to read recipes and enjoys helping out in the kitchen. She is becoming quite the mothers helper with Dillon and now cooking! Thank goodness for daughters!:)
Dillon has 2 teeth, loves eating, and baths. He recently discovered his voice and we thoroughly enjoy watching him "talk" out loud.
Porter is in phase 2 of braces and enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities. Lately, he is trying different tricks on his skateboard.
We are staying busy and keep finding that life passes by way too quickly.

All I want for Christmas.....

2009-12-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

Is Dillon in a Santa sack!! Hahahaha! Super cute Makayla!!

Santa Claus is coming to town....

2009-12-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

We saw Santa last week. My 12 year old even sat on Santa's lap and told him what he wanted!! So cute. I love my kiddos....

YAY for FAMILY!

2009-11-05T21:18:00.001-08:00

Let the HOLIDAY season begin!!! Yay. This is the best time of year because we get to see family so much.

HAPPIEST HALLOWEEN!!!!

2009-11-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

This year the photos speak for themselves. All kids in our "group" had simply the most amazing costumes E-V-E-R!!! My sister Wendy and I decided to make it our tradition to spend Halloween together each year. We have made good on our word for the last 3 years and it has been fun! I love seeing all the kids dressed up at halloween. The more the merrier too! We went to our first annual block party and followed that with some heavy trick-r-treating. The kids made out like bandits..... hurray for us parents who love free chocolate!

For years now Kaden has been able to talk in what we call his "grandpa voice". And so, for years, I have begged, pleaded, and even bribed him into being a grandpa for Halloween. Seriously, this costume has been years in the making and I have imagined what I would get to make this the best costume ever. Needless to say, Kaden never would be a grandpa for me..... until......this year. Who would have thought that at age 12 Kaden would give into my yearly obsession of making him into a grandpa? I didn't even have to beg, plead, or bribe... okay maybe a little bribe in order for Kaden to allow me to "bic" the top of his head for added emphasis.

After all was said and done, hair shaved, suspenders on, cane in hand, and we were in the car heading to Walmart for some spectacles and dinner rolls before continuing on to Schnepf farms. Kadens confidence faltered. He started saying he looked dumb and seemed upset that he had let himself become a grandpa. Wendy and I reasssured him that he was going to get TONS of candy because he looked so awesome. I was even sure he looked so good that he could talk people into giving him money for a picture with him.

And they did! He was complimented left and right about how cool his costume was. Someone paid him a dollar for his pic and he got a dollar OFF his ice cream at schnepf farms for having such a cool costume!! Later, when trick-r-treating people would give him an xtra HANDFUL of candy!! Kaden had so much fun and needless to say his confidence continue to improve throughout the day. By the end of the night he was saying "trick-r-treat" and "Happy Halloween" in his grandpa voice!

Our group of kids had the best costumes ever! Thanks everyone for a Happy Halloween!!

Grandpa Kaden, Pumpkin Dillon, Foreclosure specialist Dad, Princess Bride Makayla:

Sweetest pumpkin in the patch:

(Bright much)

pumkin by day.....

Lion by night.

Man was it bright:
ETHAN :
Mummy extrordinaire

TREVY:

Alice in wonderland

Our Group from left to right and front to back:

Back: Ethan: mummy, Kaden: Grandpa, Amy: Ladybug, Dillon: Lion, Makayla: Princess Bride, Trevy: Alice in Wonderland, Megan: Scarecrow.

Front: Janice: as herself :), Landon: BAM BAM, Gage: Spiderman, Brendan: Prince Phillip.

We look AWESOME!

BRENDAN:
Prince Phillip

Lets go get some candy!!!!

One final picture with the missing person.....

You guessed it; pebbles was an escape!

Callie: Pebbles (isn't she sweet)

Enough already!! Lets go!

And we're off. Candy here we come!

Wendy and her kiddos.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Hey look theres the pacifier we lost while trick-r-treating. It's hanging on the bar of the stroller about to fall off.......we looked everywhere for that thing.

Random cuteness...

2009-10-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ray got the opportunity to stay home with Dillon on Tuesday while I worked. I came home to some very cute pictures:

King Dillon.

2009-10-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

One day while entertaining Dillon and herself by playing make believe, Makayla decided to make Dillon a crown, set him on a "throne" and surround him with "treasure". She is full of imagination and it turned out so cute:

King Dillon and his belly button:

King Dillon and his Treasure:

Bumbo Bath.

2009-10-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Super cute... we got a bumbo (for those of you who don't know what a Bumbo is, it is an infant chair that helps them sit up on their own while still really little/young) for Dillon from my friend Sandi. She said to clean it up so I threw it in the bathtub to scrub it with my handy-dandy Mr. Clean scrubber. While doing so I thought it might be fun to let Dillon sit in the bath in the Bumbo after it was clean. He LOVED it and looked so cute. Makayla soon wandered in to see what we were doing and saw Dillon in the bathtub in his Bumbo seat. She asked if she could sit in the bath and play "Barber shop" with Dillon. She is such an awesome child entertainer. Dillon absolutely loved having Makayla do "wonders with his hair"

FINALLY!!!

2009-09-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

and what a doozie it was.....

As most of you know I made it to my due date, thats right, July 23rd 2009. And I would've gone longer had the most awesomest Dr. Gomez not have made my day be admitting me into the hospital the night of the 22nd to be induced. Bless that man.

Unfortunatly, I ended up with a C-section :( no fun, because the cord was wrapped around little Dillons head. But... I had my most favoritest and best photographer in the whole world there for the whole thing.

Poor Sandi probably saw more of me than she EVER wanted to and bless her heart stayed right by my side for any and all rollercoaster emotions I hurled her way. She even told the hospital that she was my sister so she could get in to where my sweet baby was after the cesarean and take his first pics! Well Sandi, your a sister to me and I cannot thank you enough for the memories and photos (some of which I wouldn't have been able to see since I was drugged up for the cesarean) of my sweetest Dillon. I HIGHLY recommend having a photographer for your birth, I've got pictures of Dillon I never got to see with the other children I've birthed. I'm sure this goes for all other women who as I didn't, don't realize they are even missing out on. Like babies first bath, the checking of vitals, the cutting of the cord, etc. all because you are still in the bed recovering or delivering the afterbirth. I am SUPER excited to be able to see all the things I didn't know I was missing!!

And once again, I had THE BEST photographer of them all. Check her out at http://www.mypicturesofyou.com/ She has already done another labor and delivery since mine, really there is nothing she can't take an amazing picture of!

Enjoy:

(disclaimer-enjoy in no particular order because my computer STINKS and it took me a hundred years to get the pictures to upload...... only let me do 2 at a time.......stupid computer........)

Dillons nametag:

This should be the last picture of Dillon you see on the post but alas, its the first.

Getting wrapped up in a warm blanket, so cute.
Daddy L O V E S this little boy.

Miracles they are.....

So Dillon has big feet.

So Dillon is big. Future linebacker?

This should be the first picture of this post it is when I found out I would be starring in an emergency C-section.

He is such a perfect angel.

Daddy bringing the baby over so I could see him. I'm still numb at this time so I can't hold him yet.

He was worth every minute of it. Aren't they all though?

Any time or day now......

2009-07-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who have been keeping tabs on me and the baby you know that I wanted to have him on July 8 so he would have the coolest birthday of 7/8/09. However, that day has come and gone:( and so have several days after!! ARGH! Where are you sweet Dillon? I was put on progesterone shots for several weeks of my pregnancy to keep the baby inside. This is cause I tend to go into labor early. So I am 38.3 weeks today and I tell you those shots must've worked!! That or baby Dillon likes his uterine home. At my last appointment which was exactly on the day marking 38 weeks I was dialated 2cm and negative one effaced. The doctor said I could stay like this for the next 2 weeks or go into labor walking out of the office. I was hoping the later but since I am sitting here 3 days later we know that didn't happen. Everyday I expect to go into labor but.....this baby obviously will come when he is good and ready. On the bright side I only have to be pregnant for 10 more days max!!:)

36 weeks and counting.....

2009-06-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

So I am 36 weeks today. I am ready. I am so ready.

Sunsplash fun.

2009-06-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

This year Kaden is turning 12!! I can't believe how fast kids grow up. He wanted to have a sleepover with a bunch of friends and go to the sunsplash water park in Mesa for his birthday. Uh, since we are not bazillionaires at this time in our lives we let him pick one friend to sleepover and take to sunsplash. He chose his good friend Tyler who we've known for several years now. We used to live by eachother and moved to different neighborhoods about 2 years ago. The boys surprisingly and happily have remained good friends. We love Tyler and are glad he was able to go with us! It turned out that Lisa and her boyfriend Patrick wanted to come with us too. This turned out great as I am 34.5 weeks pregnant and wasn't going to be able to do much other than sit on the sidelines like a beached whale. Oh, and take pictures, which turned out to be a good thing because now I can blog them. Wendy was driving over our way from Tucson for an eye appointment on the day we were going and decided to bring Trevy. They both joined us at sunsplash. We weren't sure how long Trevy being 2 would last but it turns out she takes after her cousin "Teya", by loving the big waterslides! She could care less about the toddler park and asked again and again to go down the big waterslides. She also lasted the ENTIRE day!! We were there for 6 hours. It was super fun.

Here is Makayla, Lisa, and Trevy at the toddler water park, where Trevy would NOT go down the small waterslides.

Here is a cute picture of Trevy, she is having a great time. We set ourselves up at a picnic table by the toddler park where we checked in with eachother from time to time, had lunch, drinks and snacks.

Here is a shot of Lisa, Patrick, and Trevy. Lisa had just taken Trevy down the big waterslides and Patrick helped them out of the water. I figured it was a good time for a picture.

Kaden getting out of the water after going down the big waterslides.

Here is one of Wendy and Makayla getting out of the water after going on the master blaster slide. Thanks Wendy, Makayla loved that one and would go with anyone who would take her!

Awwww, so cute!

What a stud.

Dun dun dun. There is a ride at sunsplash called the half pipe, I've gone on it once and that was enough for me. Noone really wanted to go on it as it is a real "thrill" ride. Apparantly, Tyler had asked Kaden several times throughout the day to go with him on it. Kaden said no. Finally, about 20 minutes before sunsplash closed Tyler decided to "forget" Kaden and go on it alone. He loved it and spent the rest of the time riding this ride. After seeing how much fun Tyler had on the ride Kaden and Patrick decided to give it a whirl. They were only able to go one time due to sunsplash closing but they also loved it!

This is one tall waterslide!

Tyler, he loved this ride!

Patrick and Kaden.

Tyler again, I think he was able to go down 3 times before Sunsplash closed.

Good times had by all.

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY KADEN!!!

Baby Dillon.

2009-06-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our ultrasound pics of little Dillon.

Profile:

Here is a face shot. He has his hand up by his ear:

The little stinger:

Makayla "borrows" the camera..

2009-06-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

So here's a funny story......

I FINALLY get to downloading my pictures from our digital camera last Friday. It has only been a year or so...
Anyway, it took several minutes of our dinosaur of a computer to download all three hundred fifty six pictures, and then several more minutes each time I uploaded them onto my blog. (and I did 3 blog entries last weekend;O)) So you know that I spent some time "waiting" for the computer to do its thing. After finally burning the pictures onto a disc I left the computer desk without.....wait for it.........immediately putting everything away. Which means I left the digital camera and its cord on the computer desk. I did however, take the disc of pictures and put that away? I know its weird I chock it up to "pregnancy dummies" because I am forgetting alot of stuff these days. Stuff I do all the time, its scary really. I also get sidetracked really easy.
Anyway, After a few days I remember I left the digital camera out. I find myself at the computer desk so I won't forget to put it away again. After all, we are having a baby very soon and I would like to take some pictures of him.
Hmm, camera missing but cord still there. I search around for a little while before deciding it is my pregnant brain and I must've taken the camera with me when I put the disc of pics away. Nope, not there either.
I check my bedroom, my purse, my car, and every other place we have been known to keep our camera. I even check the camera case, knowing full well I did not put it away.
Am I going crazy? I could've sworn I left it on the computer desk. It is definately not there.
Could I have possibly thrown it away?
I wait and search a few more days (with the help of the kids; keep in mind at this time the kids are FULLY AWARE that the camera is missing and this is NOT a good thing) before telling Ray that I can't find our camera.
By now it is Thursday.
He joins in the search. We start looking in spots that we don't normally keep the camera. Shoes, closets, drawers, refridgerators, and pantries are searched.
Nothing.
I must've thrown it away. I feel just horrible. Stupid Pregnant brain.
Saturday: We research cameras. Best buy, Costco, Walmart, and Target cameras are all researched. We HAVE to have a camera for the new baby, no question.
Argh.
We bite the bullet and purchase a camera. Not too expensive (not as expensive as the one I think I've thrown away).
Ray and I spend a little time reading about and getting to know our new camera.
We play with it for a while taking pics and using the video camera option. We plug in the battery and set it aside, safely, and go about our day.
Sunday night Makayla is getting ready to stay the night at Aunt Sheshas house.
She is packing. I am in the kitchen loading the dishwasher when I hear her behind me.
Uh.........mom...............I found this.
I turn around.
It's the camera I thought I threw away!!!
"What were you doing with the camera?", I ask.
"Um, I don't know"
I don't know whether to be mad that she took it, played with it, and forgot; or happy that it is found and we can take the other camera back.
I decide to be happy and also make a rule. NO PLAYING WITH THE DIGITAL CAMERA!!!
Fast forward to today, Monday evening.
I take some pictures of some quads I want to display and sell on Craigslist.
While downloading them the following pictures come up:

I would say Makayla was DEFINATELY playing with the camera. Notice how I am in like 3 of the photos. How did I not catch her playing with the camera?

Pregnancy brain.

But,

Yay, my camera is back!!

Kaden gets his green belt.

2009-05-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, Kaden's cup of tea in life is Karate. He really wants to get his black belt. One of his other goals is getting his Eagle scout. Both great goals that we support 100%. Last night, Kaden earned his green belt bringing him one step closer to the black belt he wants so much. Kaden only needs to earn 5 more belts. If he keeps it up at the pace he is on he should earn his black by the time he turns 13 or within this next year!

Here is one of Kaden Sparring. He loves this part of Karate and his instructors say he is pretty good at it.
Kaden proving to the instructors he knows his forms along with the 2 other blue belts advancing to green.

Here is Kaden showing the instructors that he knows his self defense forms. Seriously, I wouldn't want to mess with these kids, especially the black belts!

Another defense technique.

Kaden showing the advanced black belt and instructors that he knows how to fall if he were being attacked.

We did get a picture of Kaden with his new green belt. However, I allowed Makayla to capture the image and therefore you get nothing. It was too blurry to tell what was going on.

But he did earn his green belt. I promise!

Memorial weekend.....

2009-05-29T22:01:00.001-07:00

So for the past 4 years my parents, siblings, and our families have made it a tradition/family reunion type deal to get together for memorial day weekend. The first couple of years we rented a houseboat on Lake Powell, which was fabulous and everyone loved. Last year we rented a cabin in Alpine. Which was also fabulous. Complete with snow on May 25 and then sunshine the next couple of days so that we could enjoy some fishing. This year; due to the economy; and some of us lucky people having to work overtime at our jobs, we decided to just get together here in the Valley. It really is the central location for everyone and we all decided it just wasn't in the budget to do much but still wanted to get together. Unfortunately, Wendy and Grandma, who are way better at picture documentation than I, left their cameras behind (on accident). We found out later that Trevy might have helped with the death and missingness of Wendy's camera. (see her blog for more detail). Anyway, that left the picture taking up to me. Let me just sum it up in one word; sorry. We did have a good time and did many other things besides swimming. Unfortunately, swimming pics are what you get/all you get.
The men were out fishing most of the day monday so there isn't even a single shot of them. Oops.
Here are the photos of us women swimming with the kids and dogs at the home my parents own and Lisa occupies in Mesa. It has a very nice pool and we all enjoyed.....

grandma, grandpa, lisa's swimming pool:
Kaden with Trevlyn:
Grandma, Wendy, Landon, Jax, Bell, Makayla, and Kaden:

Trevlyn you super star!!! Relaxing after a very hard morning.......of play.

Makayla and Landoman!!

Grandma and Callie.

Oh look heres Aunt Amy's swimming pool:
such fun.

Callie, Trevy, and Makayla.

Makayla and Landon. He actually stuck the hose in the doggie door to try and make the house a pool!!

Landoman and his hose; away from the doggie door.

Here is Landon and Makayla, our beautiful pool, and luxurious backyard.

I know, you're jealous.

BABY SHOWER PICS!!

2009-05-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I have blogged. And I have had a few family members remind me to get to it. I just don't find the energy when I have the time. I find it more relaxing to take a nap for some reason. But today being off from work and unable to nap due to my children needing or wanting something (do they ever run out of enery?), here I am on the computer. I probably won't write much but thought it would be fun to share some of my baby shower pictures. My sisters and mom did a fabulous job giving me a shower! I felt so special. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!
And these fantastic pictures were taken by my good friend Sandi. She is absolutely amazing with a camera. Check out her website at http://www.mypicturesofyou.com/ She is a true artist. If you're in the market for family photos, weddings, etc. she is a sure win.
Ok, here you go.

Aunt "Shesha" and little Callie.
The proud and excited big sister: Makayla.

Some friends; Cameron, Dean and Morgan. Morgan and Makayla are good friends. We're hoping little Dean and Dillon will be good buddies too.

Beautiful Sandi and me.

The fantastic Wendy and Mom.... and Callie.

My good friend Stacy and me.

The proud papa!!!

Callie leaning in for another picture!! She loves the camera. So cute.More friends. Didn't Lisa do a fabulous job on the decorations?

A baby wreath, made by Wendy and used during one of the shower games. Isn't she talented?

The spread, Diaper cake, real cake, and fruit arrangement all made by Wendy. I know, is there anything she can't do?

Above is my friend Sara (thank goodness she showed up early to help finish setting up with us:)) and Wendy. And below, the beautiful edible baby cake.

Oh good, here's one of me eating........It does show the good side of the fruit arrangement, no?

Here is a "diaper cake" present made by my friend Janice. So many talents......

And there you have it.

Thanks to everyone for their many talents, gifts, and love for me and our special little Dillon!!

We are having a.....

2009-03-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

BOY!!! So I am unable to post the videos of the ultrasound and most hilariously, Makaylas reaction, due to being computer illiterate and my dinosaur of a computer and HD camcorder being incompatible. (Rachel this is why I don't ever have any videos up :( , sorry). Anyhoo, I will do that someday......
Here is the story anyway; we all like to read right?
So Ray and I go to the Ultrasound; just the two of us; while Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Lisa, Kaden, Porter, and Makayla wait at our house on pins and needles. Ok, so maybe Kaden and Porter weren't on pins and needles because they are boys and could really care less at this time that we are having a baby. I'm sure that will change when little brother is old enough to start getting into their stuff :)!
So I thought the baby was going to be a girl. Makayla wanted the baby to be a girl. Makayla and I had gone as far as already picking matching tutu cat costumes for Halloween (see previous post about my fabulous homemade tutus), names, and girl colored yarn for the baby blanket I will be crocheting. We really liked this light pink yarn with hot pink specks throughout. It reminded me of peppermint ice cream.
Ray had a dream and continued to believe that the baby was a boy.
Kaden and Porter could've cared less.
I tried to get Ray to make a bet with me about what gender the baby would be but he didn't have faith in himself. He thought that I knew something he didn't due to the fact that I am the one carrying the child. Oh well, his loss.
So, the ultrasound tech went through the anatomy of the baby. Starting with his head, down the spine, into the stomache, and bladder. He even checked the baby's leg bones before getting to the point we had all been waiting for. Don't get me wrong the tech was fantastic and I loved knowing that each anatomical part he showed us of the baby was in perfect proportion, working properly, and perfect in appearance for 20 weeks gestation.
As he focused in on the gender he stated "you are the proud owners of a brand new 2009, no doubt about it.............. look at that little stinger" "Congratulations you are having a boy!"
Dang it!!
I wasn't upset that it was a healthy baby boy. I was disappointed that once again Ray was right.
He's always right.
He didn't rub it in but on the way home in the car Ray says, "now about that bet".
To bad he didn't believe in himself.
Anyway, we leave everyone at home on pins and needles and make them watch the ultrasound video all the way through to find out what we we're having.
Makayla was hilarious to watch and we video taped her reaction (look for the video on Americas funniest home videos show, it is that funny. I will get it on here as soon as I figure out how...)
She didn't get that we were going to have a boy when the ultrasound tech said "look at that little stinger" and she didn't hear him say it was a boy because everyone else was cheering and congratulating. So Makayla just sat there with a confused smile on her face until Aunt Lisa said "Makayla you're going to have a little brother". To which Makaylas smile disappeared and she buried her face in her hands.
Then she cried.
She wanted a little sister.
She's ok with it now but it took a few days of telling her how great it was going to be that she didn't have to share all her girlie toys and whatnot. And that she was going to stay the princess of the family being the only girl.
I think the pearl earrings my mom gave her also helped....
Makayla helped me pick out some new blue yarn for the blanket I'm crocheting for the baby.
Now we just have to think of some boy names........

Kaden is a good luck magnet.....

2009-03-01T15:07:00.001-08:00

Porter doing the "strong man" game.

Kaden doing the "strong man" game. Believe it or not he got the highest of all 3 kids!! Makayla playing the "strong man" game.

The kids with a really nice tree man. The buckets on his legs were there so you could "feed the trees". Can you believe what people do for a buck?

Makayla with a friendly dragon.

Kaden with his new friend Drabbit, Stevie.

Porter on the trampoline bungee jumping ride.

Here are the kids trying to climb up Jacobs ladder. If you make it all the way to the top without falling you win $10.00. But it is very difficult and none of our kids made it.

So yesterday trying to take a nap, getting over a cold that has knocked me on my feet. Not taking anything for it due to being prego. All 3 of my children kept coming into the bedroom where I was attempting my nap to ask me random questions. The usual, Where are the frozen burritos? Have you seen my shoes? What is there to do? How long are you going to nap for?

As if I could.

I decided to get my butt up and take them to do something. Also, where was their dad? Why wasn't he intercepting the children on their way to our bedroom? Ah-hah, found him, napping on the couch. Ugh. I gave him a nudge to tell him I was taking the kids to do something and ask if he wanted to come along.

He mumbled something. I assumed it was no or something about eating. Either way I didn't have the energy to keep bothering him. I decided he could enjoy a few hours without the kids and I could enjoy making a memory with them.

I walked into the game room where the boys were playing video games and Makayla was making her usual huge mess but angelically entertaining herself at the same time. "We're going to do something today" I gave the kids a list of options such as, the zoo, the park, fishing, feeding ducks, the science museum, and the Renaissance festival.

They chose the Renaissance festival. I couldn't believe it could be so easy! They all agreed and there was no fighting or bargaining involved. So, I told them to get ready and went to change. I called my sister Lisa to see if she wanted to come along.

We packed a bag with some snacks and water and met Lisa at the Chevron. Then we all traveled on to the festival.

At the entrance, the man surveying bags and purses made me throw away a box of cheez its and told me that we couldn't bring in snacks but the water was ok. Well, the trick is on him because we had bananas, apples, fruit snacks, cookies, and granola bars underneath the water. He didn't pry so I didn't offer up any information on it. (Seriously the food and drink at the festival is ridiculously expensive, can you blame me for being excited to bring in my food from home?)

Okay, Okay, I know you're wondering why this blog is called "Kaden is a good luck magnet" and promise we're getting to that.

So, we get inside the entrance where I stop the kids to remind them that there will be no bickering, whining, or crying. Everyone will get to do what they want and need to be respectful and patient with all others in our little group or we will leave the festival.

I also give each of the kids a budget knowing that the first shop we stop in I will bombarded with the "Can i haves?" Each child is given $20.00 and told that is all they get, which included their money for any treats they wanted, festival games, and souveniers. I know it sounds like alot but with a small soda costing $2.00 and an ice cream $2.50 you can see how quickly this could go. Plus, I've found if I give them a budget at the get go they aren't so quick to buy the first thing they desire.

I could go on about this day forever but I won't. We had a great day with no squabbling at all!! Makayla bought herself a cute little pair of purple rose earings. Porter spent the majority of his money on the trampoline bungee jumping ride. Kaden had his heart set on a bow and arrow set. We did find one but it was $28.00 and as much as I wanted to give Kaden the extra money, seeing how much he wanted it, we had set a budget and I stuck to it.

There was one other product that caught Kadens fancy and he was determined to get one. The thing he wanted was called a Drabbit. It is a cross between a small mammal and a dragon. And it is a puppet that you can move. Very cute but the cheapest Drabbit is $20.00 and it was the end of our day and Kaden only had $7.00 left. Nonetheless, Kaden knew he had a shot at getting a Drabbit because you could buy a small "dinosaur egg" for $5.00 which the worker at the shop would send a ball rolling to crack and you had the chance to win a bigger prize. Or, a small figurine. Either way you were a winner but Kaden just knew he would win a Drabbit even though the 7 people we stood and watched before him did not win anything but a measly figurine.

I reminded Kaden as he bought his $5.00 egg to not be disappointed if he didn't win. The worker placed his egg at the bottom of the slide and told Kaden to yell at the top of his lungs "Roll ball roll" to which Kaden responded by whispering the phrase. The worker stopped the ball midroll and told Kaden if he yelled at the top of his lungs and she plugged her ears she would triple his prize. This got Kaden, and the crowd watching, yelling at the top of their lungs "Roll ball roll". Meanwhile, I was looking in the figurine box trying to pick out the best figurines in the bunch. None were too great much less something to be proud of. And why would they?

Kaden caught my attention by jumping up and down in surprise and the crowd cheering for him. I walked over to see what he got. Sure enough his slip of paper said he had won a $20.00 Drabbit! This kid has the luck. We let him take his time picking out the perfect new friend and then he walked up to the counter where he exchanged his precious prize winning paper for his Drabbits birth certificate.

Kaden named his Drabbit Stevie and has had a great time mastering its movements. He has also been very good about sharing the puppet with Porter.

What a good day and good memories.

Ps. let me know if you want to borrow Kaden to pick your powerball numbers......you'd have to share the winnings of course ;o) !

New found motivation.

2009-03-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

So, I've been gone for a few months. Sick with child:). But now I'm back and have found new motivation through reading my sisters almost daily updated blog. I love feeling caught up in her familys lives and thought maybe, just maybe the rest of our family enjoys that too. And if they like being caught up with her why would they not want to be caught up with us too? I know, what a dumb question. Who wouldn't want to stay caught up with my insanily interesting life......

Makaylas been tagged.....

2008-12-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

5 Things I love about Makayla:

1. I love how spunky and full of energy Makayla is. She'll get all dolled up in a dress and church shoes just to go outside and ride her bike or play in the dirt. She doesn't like to be left out of anything and is the first one there for an adventure.
2. I love how excited Makayla is for our new baby. She is constantly talking about it and saying "when our baby comes" this and that. In the car one day during one of our "when our baby comes" talks I interrupted Makayla to see if she was going to be ok not being the baby of our family anymore. She has been the baby for 8 years. She replied, "well........... the baby can be the junior baby"! Haha.

3. I love how sweet and caring Makayla is. She loves playing with, entertaining, and caring for her younger cousins. She also helps us take care of her older brother Kaden. He is a Type I diabetic and constantly telling Makayla to get him the things he needs to check his sugars and/or take a shot. Which she does. What would he do without her? (Get it himself?).

4. Makayla is constantly getting "I was caught being good" papers from school. She loves to learn and help others. Lately, she has been asking me to help her learn how to cook. She especially likes baking and decorating. If she's hungry before I'm ready to cook she usually helps herself. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Makayla and a burrito she made that is almost half her size. Makayla can eat but this burrito fed her for 2 meals!

5. Makayla is very giving and full of love. Her older brothers learned early that they could gobble up their treats and then ask Makayla to share. Which she would. Luckily, mom and dad caught on to; so brothers didn't get to take too much advantage of Makayla's kind heart. She loves animals and babies and we couldn't ask for a sweeter girl. Her daddy even said the other day, "I hope this next baby is just like Makayla".

Keep up the good example and attitude Makayla!!

We love you!!!

Makayla tags Bryce Miller and her twin cousins: Landon and Callie Brimhall.

Pregnant and loving it?....... not right now......

2008-12-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know I have been super terrible about posting on my blog and here is why. I found out 3 weeks ago Thursday November 20th that I was expecting a child. Don't get me wrong we are very excited and for the first 4 days after finding out I felt normal and elated. Then it started. Sickness, yep morning sickness at night, hits me about 4:00pm, like I've never felt before. Ugh. This pregnancy is nothing like I remember the other 2 being. At least with the first 2 I could throwup and feel better. Not this time, this one has brought me to my knees and had me wishing I could step out of my body if only for an hour during the darkest hours (approximately 4:00pm-4:00am). Ray-my good husband is handling it well and has even stepped up to my ever-loving role of playing little pet shop on Sundays with Makayla. Blech, I feel horrible. On a happy note, the pregnancy books say that the sicker you are the healthier the child. I tell you then this better be one HEALTHY baby, no colic, diabetes, diarreah. Also, the kids are excited, Makayla especially, she wants a baby sister, the boys; a brother of course, I think Ray would like to have a girl, and me I just want the sickness to end.................................................................. and a healthy baby of course.

Rays Birthday

2008-11-04T11:02:00.001-08:00

Ray had his 29th birthday for the 5th time this year. Some tidbits about him are: he absolutly lllllooooooooovvvvvveeeeessssss chocolate and fishing. Oh yea and pizza. We got him a game for his xbox and eventually a 32 inch flatscreen for the bedroom. Happy Birthday Ray!!!

Halloween

2008-11-03T18:24:00.001-08:00

So...We had Halloween in Tucson this year with my sister Wendy and her family. Any excuse to see the 2 cutest neices and nephew of mine. They dressed as members of the Wizard of Oz. Trevlyn was Dorothy, Landon the Cowardly lion, Callie the Scarecrow, Wendy The good witch-Glenda, and James the Wizard. I don't have pics of Wendy and James as they only dressed up for their wards Halloween Party and not again for Halloween night while we where there. Porters' half sister came with us and was a vampire. We did her makeup and glued her peircings on in the car on our way to Tucson.... Let me tell you that was tricky but I think it turned out good. Porter was a rockstar, Kaden an Unknown Phantom and Makayla a Ladybug. We got there about 7:00pm. and thought it was going to be a bust getting candy since we started so late. But as you can see from my randomly posted pics (I know I am simply amazing on the computer, blogging in order and whatnot) That the kids still hit the Jackpot with candy. It was a good time had by all. Thanks Brimhalls for letting us crash at your house and share in Trevys cute Halloween where she would sometimes say "trick or treat" and always say "tank you" such manors!!
Trevy as Dorothy:

Landon as the cowardly Lion:

Ray and Callie the scarecrow:

This is at the end of the night,

Apparantly Landon is one

tired Lion.

Porter organized his candy. Maybe he has an eating system?

Callie the scarecrow; not asleep after trick or treating.

and neither was Trevy; time to eat the loot:

Porters loot:

Kadens loot:

Makaylas loot:

Nicoles loot:

and the before shots (like I said I'm amazing with order)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Wendys #@st Birthday!!!

2008-10-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Wendy and her kids came down Thursday night the 16th of October to spend the weekend with us. We planned a trip to the pumpkin patch/schnepf farms. It just happened to be Wendys birthday on the 17th so Lisa came over with a delicious cake that night.... good times.
Here is Makayla feeding the twins. Mashed peas; delecious. Some for Callie.
Then Landon....
Here is Wendy with her cake Friday night. Lisa bought an M&M ice cream cake! Yum.

Oh, he he. Here is Makayla sharing a popsicle with Trevy. Wendy was sleeping so...

SURPRISE! We fed Trevy a popsicle.
She loved it and only got a small puddle on the floor.
Trevy is simply amazing at shutting doors!!

Here is Makayla and Trevy on the airplane ride at Schnepf farms. It goes around and around and thats about it. So here they are.....

again,
Here is Wendy and Trevy at the Bee rides at Schnepf farms, Trevy gave the bee a kiss but I couldn't snap it in time. She looooovvveeeddd this ride and would say Bzzzz....so cute.
Oh look, since I am so good at blogging and putting pictures in order, heres Wendy with her cake again.

and again.
Super cute pics of the twins. They also love to eat dirt.

Who doesn't? YUMMY.
Proof that Kaden was there.
Oh look the girls on the airplane ride again!!
and again.

Look at those sweet pumpkins!!!

Landon loves his twin sister Callie.
And Trevy loves cousin Makayla.

Landon also loves dirt.

Cute picture of Mommy and Trevlyn.

Good stuff, good work, good will. and good times at Schnepf farms!!!

Tee hee. I'm so cute.

I am becoming a "susie home-maker"

2008-10-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

After Makayla decided to be a ladybug this year for Halloween I went on the hunt for the "perfect" costume. I had a picture in my head but alas none of the ladybug costumes found were good enough for my little princess. Ok, one was, but the tutu alone was 70 bucks. So I thought "How hard can it be?" "I'll just make her one myself." So I looked up how to make a tutu on the internet and since I'm simply amazing here it is.....Perfectly perfect (after 4 hours and hotglueing 110 sparkling jewels and a few burned fingers later). We did find the wings and antennae on the web and the shoes are just ballet slippers I modified to match her cute tutu. Doesn't she look adorable? Can't wait to show her off on Halloween. Oh, whats that? I have other children needing costumes? nonsense, its all about the girlie things......;) Back view of the wings and springy antennae. And Wendy's back view also.... sorry Wendy!!
Gotta have the shoes. Oh look at that. Cooper apparantly wanted his "back viewed" also...There you go Cooper.
The cute antenae and of course you all know ladybugs don't have teeth anyway....
Makaylas seal of approval, she is confident that if she comes across a costume competition she'll win!

Rays Fu-man-chu.....

2008-10-12T17:23:00.001-07:00

So we all know that Ray has a little gray in his beard. I think its cute but he has been being teased at work about it(come on guys aren't we over that?). Anyhow, we bought "just for men facial hair dye" and have been dying his goatee for the past couple months now. Yesterday (Saturday) Ray asked me to dye his beard for church. That never happened so we got up this morning and dyed it instead. Apparantly, facial dye; dyes your face if you leave it on too long. HaHa. Enjoy.

Ray you sexy beast!

Crapbrown shirts....

2008-10-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

So we got pics of our kids today in their "crapbrown" (plain) shirts.

For those of you who don't understand why I say

crap brown here it is.

My parents have 6 kids.

Us kids try to get my parents a group gift for Christmas

every year.

A few years ago we decided to get them a

family picture.

The girls in the family bought brown matching shirts

in preparation for the pic.

Needless to say it never happened which brings us to the present.

Our family; meaning my parents, bros, and sisters are having Thanksgiving at my house this year. I took it upon myself to book a friend of mine who does photography to take our family photo the Saturday after Thanksgiving. As we were all corresponding back and forth on what to wear mom suggests the brown shirts that we all still have (and some of us haven't worn). I write fine "crap brown" it is. My brother writes back with nuts, plain? Haha. And then goes on to say wear nice dark blue jeans. I do the kids pics every year in October so decide to do a trial run and post it so my family can see how we look in crap brown and blue jeans. I think they turned out well.....no?

Family day.

2008-09-07T19:27:00.001-07:00

Saturday we got up and decided to get out of the house. Since we had our jet skiis serviced this summer we decided to use them. So we went to Canyon lake where we decided the boys could try driving the jet skiis. They were very responsible and did great! After 2.5 hours of riding jets skiis we packed them up and drove to another part of the Lake where we could fish. We ate a picnic of sandwiches, chips, and good ol' betty crocker lunch treats before hitting the lake again. The kids swam and played with worms. (Eww) It wasn't until I caught an itty bitty sunfish that they decided to join in the fishing fun. What a fun family day.....

HUGEMONGOUS Frog!

2008-09-07T18:50:00.001-07:00

So after Jet Skiing today we got home and cleaned things up. Porter, Makayla, and I went out the front door to wash out the cooler we had used and found this huge frog on our porch. Thing is, this isn't the first time we've seen this guy! Apparantly he lives under our porch or something and he eats the bugs that fly around our porch and yard lights. Which I don't mind. Porter was brave enough to pick the thing up and decided to name him "Homie". (Don't ask cuz I don't know) Anyhow, thought it would be fun to show all our family and friends our new....I don't know yard guest? Ha ha.

Kaden and Makaylas first day of school 2008.

2008-08-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

K, so these pics are out of order. I was trying to figure out how to put them in order but; for sake of Ray being able to sleep. this is what you get.

Here is Kaden my big 6th grader!! (finally ready for school)

They grow up soooo fast.

Here is a full body shot so you can see his cool shoes!

Here is Makayla already up and eating breakfast.

Poptarts.... Yummy!

Here is a picure of Makayla, notice the Hannah Montanna backpack.

Very stylish!! 2nd grade already?

Here is a full body shot, isn't she a cutie?
And this should've been Kadens first picture, of course I was able to get him still in bed!

This was only the 3rd warning to get up, you think he'd have it down by 6th grade. Ugh.

And last but not least, Kaden eating a poptart, thank goodness for out the door breakfasts for Kaden. He does love getting a few extra Zzzz's.

This is so confusing, blah.

2008-07-30T21:42:00.001-07:00

So, since Wendy keeps telling me I need to update my blog and since my dear friend Sandi taught me how to put a cool background on my post, (not to mention that Sandi, Wendy, and Rachels blogs are super adorable) I got the bug to update again. Just practice of course, but fun. These are some pictures from last Thanksgiving 07 when we went to Missouri to visit Rays oldest sister and her family. Aren't they beautiful? These are all in her backyard!! They have acres and acres of land and yes, a river that runs through it!! We had a great time swinging on the rope and finding frogs. I wish I could put all the pictures on here but these are a few of my favorites.

Taylor family reunion

2008-06-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

Taylor family reunion Frank furter roasts, we picniced and partied with marshmallow toasts!!

New blogger.

2008-06-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

So um just seeing how this works. All my cool friends, sisters, and cousins have one. (Yes 3 of them) I'm very popular. Anyhow just want to get started. Makayla is helping me. We will add more later.