Random Christmas picture

This was common scene this December, Parlee adding presents to the tree as decorations. If you look at about her foot level you can see a blue present in the tree too!

New Years Games

 Here are some pictures of how we spent our New Years eve, chillin' on the beach :-)
Smoothies complete with an orange slice and an umbrella to go with our dinner

 For this game the kids took turns standing on a chair, they tried to see who could fill up the cup on Joels head with water. Taran won this game, Joely almost peed her pants laughing while she was playing!

 Life saver game (we had two life saver games, because 'lifesavers' are a beach thing :-) For this game they each had a bowl with water in it, and they were 'bobbing for lifesavers' Kyler won this and did a major happy dance after that we did record, it was great!

 Balloon volleyball, Yes I had lots of better pictures, but none of them showed the die hard must win spirit that Joel has here as he is thrusting Keegan to the balloon. :-)

 This picture of Parlee had to be used for several reasons. 1. She was in a swimsuit all day getting ready for the 'skimboard party' as she called it, then got this sweater on for the pictures! 2. I did her hair several times during the night because I knew we would take lots of pictures, but she kept pulling it out, leaving her with a classic Parlee look 3. It shows our fish bowls we each got, each person had their own fish bowl with little swedish fish swimming in them. However Joely was really excited to add the swedish fish and we did them a little too soon, so most of them were swimming on the bottom of the bowls :-)

Below, enjoying the beach scene, complete with Kyler in his swim suit!

New Years Decorations

 The dinning room set up (check it out, the shower curtain I made and no longer use got a second life)

 Front Room: Yes, the flag I made from girls camp 3 years ago also found a new life in the decorations.

 Beach Balls from Marg's store window display. Serious, we found anything we could for our beach party!

 Joely and I made these awesome decorations, they kind of remind me of jelly fish, they are crepe paper hung on a paper plate then attached to the ceiling. And below is the entry.

We decided to do a beach theme for New years this year as it was the first year we have ever done New Years Eve as a family at home. It was way fun. I can only post a few pictures at once so Im going to do another post of our games.

 

A visit from Santa

 This Christmas season was extra special, because Santa stopped by our house to make sure the kids were all good this year, luckily they all made it on the NICE list. Th next day Kyler confessed that he was really glad he wasn't on the "Middle" list....I'm guessing he was feeling a little relieved.   ;-)

Parlee on the other hand was just so happy to see Santa that she couldn't stop talking about it for weeks!

Little crippled hand

 I should first mention, that Kyler is quick to point out...This is moms fault. So, with the preface that this is my fault...here is Keegan with his little wrapped hand.

As to be expected, it was a Sunday, we have the 9:00 church, it was time to leave and we were all quickly scambling to get last minute things together and leave. I was the last person in the bathroom and had the straightening iron on. I obviously didnt shut the door after me, and Keegan walked in and grabbed it. Luckily the burn wasnt as bad as it could have been, it was a nasty little burn but it only burned the skin between his thumb and first finger.....Needless to say we missed sacrament, and Joel just brought the other kids down after for primary and YW, while I stayed home with Keegan.

He had to wear this little wrap, but after the first day, he figured out how to take it off, so once we put it on, we then had to secure it with duck tape, it looked so trashy! But, you do what you gotta do, right?

He is now all better with just a pink scar of where he was burned.

Fun with the Gosiks

 We have had such a priviledge of spending so much time with the cute Gosik kids while their parents deal with medical issues. It really has been such a joy for us, the kids spent a LOT of time trying to come up with pranks to play on one another. During their stay in November, the girls sewed scripture cases, and the boys made a helicopter with a motor that Taran had. I hope that our kids continue to stay close friends.

Progress

 First Walls going up

 Trusses being placed and roofing

It's fun to see the progress of the new addition, true its going much slower then either of us ever expected, but with all that happens in or lives, Joel only has a limited amount of time to work on it. I hope so badly that its done before the baby gets here!! I cant image the stress of building with a new baby! But things are moving along and it's nice to be able to see the house and start imaging what it will look like completed!

Half Dozen

It's True.....

We are expecting our SIXTH wonderful little Stout baby!
Estimated time of delivery: May 3rd
Currently at: 18 weeks

thoughts on a large family

I have been thinking about large families, and thought I'd jot down a few thoughts of my own on this. From different perspectives I have a small or a large family. I grew up in a family with 3 girls, I was the oldest. I remember thinking that our family was HUGE. It seemed like all the coupons for Disneyland were for a families of 4 (Yes, this was how I judged what a large family was). I knew that when I had a family I would have 2 kids so that we could go to Disneyland more :-) It's funny how perspective is as a child, but those Disneyland commercials really influenced my thoughts....

When I began dating Joel, he was number 6 of 10 kids. During the years that we dated and early on in our marriage I remember going to his family things and taking an Excederine before going, I thought it was so hectic and crazy! At the time not even half of his siblings were married (it was so small compared to the size now). However at that time, his immediate family was larger then my family from my great grandparents on down! In my family, in general only one person spoke at a time, their was usually only one conversation going on too. At Joel's family their were as many conversations as their were people, and everyone spoke at once, if you wanted your story heard...well you just spoke louder and louder. People gathered anywhere they could and talked with each other and kids ran around playing with cousins.

Joel and I were married and had our first child, three and half years later we had Taran. We weren't sure that Taran would even come, I had so many problems that the doctor after many appointments told us we may only have one child. I think this is when my perspective began to change, I couldn't believe that I wouldn't have the choice to decide how many kids to have. I was also no longer taking Excederine to go to Stout gatherings, I found that when family was in town, we went to hang out with the crowds every chance we could. I began to crave the commotion. I loved all the kids running around with each other, always another cousin to hang out with. Multi leveled loud conversations were the norm, and I found I could easily follow and add input into 3 overlapping conversations at once....it was fun. I loved seeing my mother and father in law delight in their family.

Joel and I had a change in our conversations at home too, we desired to be surrounded by family. We wanted to have kids and one day grandkids running around our house, with multiple cousins to play with. We were on the path to a large family. And here we are with five kids. Are we a large family? Yes, by most standards. No, by Joels family standards. We only have half of his families size.....but I just dont think 10 is in our cards :-)

Things are different with a large family. The thought of having another baby is different then it was with the first few. I didn't worry about being out numbered...because we already were. Staying up late with a baby doesn't faze me, I haven't slept a full night in most of marriage. Being prepared for a new baby is not as stressful. I realize that you just don't need all the gizmos and gadgets that I once thought were needed. I also have become far more sentimental about each baby. I think i was before, but with each child I have realized just how fast they grow, I savor each thing my child does. I desperately wish for my kids to stay were they are, I feel like they are quickly growing and will be gone to soon.

Some things that have changed though, for example; this weekend we decided to take our kids out to eat and then to go bowling. We used to always eat out....that just doesn't happen anymore. In fact when our kids have a birthdate, they can go out on a date with just mom and dad and pick the resteraunt. We very rarely bring all of our kids out to eat at once. This weekend when we did I was reminded why....besides being very expensive, its just hard. Trying to keep kids in their seats, make sure they aren't kicking each other under the table. Trying to stay somewhat quite because other people are their too. Besides all that, the real battle comes when the food arrives. I looked at my yummy plate of food, yet was quickly moving from one person to the next, cutting enchaladas, taking rice of one plate, because he doesn't even want the rice on his plate, making sure Keegan doesn't touch the hot plate. Picking up a dropped fork, giving Keegan a bite of food, quickly eating a bite myself, and then going through it all again. Going out to eat with all the kids means you don't enjoy each bite of yummy food, it means if you get a chance you quickly shove a bite in your mouth and move onto the next thing...it's kind of exausting. Though I will say the food was great, the night was so much fun, I walked away from the evening feeling like a just ran a marathon. Things sure are different with many kids!

I am greatful for the tender mercies that our family has been given. I love that our Heavenly Father has trusted us with 5 wonderful kids, I enjoy watching each of them. I wonder how 5 kids with the same parents have all turned out so differently, each one has such a different personality. We have adventurous and cautious kids. We have homebodies and outdoor oriented. Those who love sports and those who shy away. Those who are coordinated and well those who sadly took after me. Some who sing and some who don't, those that clean and those that I wonder why they cant keep their room clean for one day. It seems as though we have them all, and I love each one of them. It funny to think that we could now buy two family specials just to go to Disneyland!

 I think its fun that dinner time in our home each night involved 7 different people usually all talking at once, just talking a little bit louder and louder hoping to be heard. I think its funny that now my family probably has to take excederine when they visit my house. I love that I get to enjoy this each day and I  hope that one day one of my kids will look and Joel and I and see in our faces the same delight that I see in Reynold and MaryEllen as they look out on their family with a sense of pride. I guess its all in perspective, and I'm so glad that my perspective changed from that of my younger self and that I didn't choose the size of my family based on a Disneyland special. I'm glad that we have a Joely, a Taran, a Kyler, a Parlee, and a Keegan. But, if life would have only allowed me to have 1 or 2 kids, I hope that I would be sitting here with the same feelings of gratitude that I feel right now.

first day of school pictures 2012

 Kyler: age 5: AM Kindergarten with Mrs. Cowley

 Joely: age 12: 7th grade

 

Taran: age 9: 4th grade with Mr. Campbell

So we may have started school awhile ago, but I am finally posting the first day of school pictures. Wow, 3 kids in school, all of them getting out of school at different times. Joely leaves for school at 7:10 and gets home a little after 2. Taran and Kyler both get picked up for school at about 8:20 (they want to eat breakfast at school this year) Kyler gets out at 11:45 and Taran at 3:30. All the crazy school schedules make it hard to ever leave the house!

So far they have all been doing well in school and liking their teachers!

What a blog?

I know, I know...total blog slacker. That's me.

This summer was filled with so many fun things that I really wanted to blog them all...but instead I made a photo book for the family, and I'm going to consider that good enough!

 Here is the super condensed summer story....
Summer was probably summed up like this...skim boarding! This was the fuel that drove the summer for us. Its the first time we have ever tried skim boarding and my kids LOVED it. So every Thursday we headed to the Virgin River with some friends and neighbors and skim boarded.

Keegan turned one. I don't know exactly how I feel about this, it seems that each kids we have seems to grow up faster and faster then the one before. It's kind of sad for me. I just love my kids and having them around me, and watching them grow up is a bittersweet emotion.

We also spent time camping and hiking around a lot.

Dinosaur Dig

 Not sure how you celebrate your kindred dead on Memorial Day weekend....but in this family, we dig up the dead!

 Our family had a dinosaur dig, there were dinosaur bones and eggs buried in the dirt at my grandparents fields. Everyone was equipped with a bucket, shovel and of course a paint brush to carefully remove any dirt from the delicate fossil remains.

 It was so fun to watch everyone collect their loot!

 Of course we did more then just dig, we had a BBQ, we rode 4 wheelers, rhinos and of course the famous training wheel mini dirt bike, is this the funniest thing ever! Here's my grandpa taking the dirt bike for a cruise :-)

And Keegan having fun with the bucket. More good times!

Summer Breakfast

Last Day of School Breakfast!

It's a tradition! The last day of school we invite friends over for a breakfast and them bring them all to school. This year I had to do two parties since the kids go to different schools.

Joely had a party at 6:40am and then Tarans at 8:20, some of the kids we invited were: Harrison and Kaleb Warden, Alexa Anderson, Samantha Profit, the kids from the bus stop and a couple others, that didnt make it. We had donuts, juice, muffins, fruit and of course some M&M's (everyone needs candy for breakfast) I bought some chalk for the kids to decorate the road. They wrote out 'freedom' and 'summer' everyone signed their names, it was a lot of fun.

Taran and Kylers friends added to the road decorations and by the end we had the most festive piece of road around. I'm sure I'll forget some of the kids that Taran had over but here's the best list I can write down; Tyler, Megan and Nathan Maxwell, Brianna and Brinlee Cullen, mason Abbott, Zac Gossik, Hannah and Olivia Warden, Gabe Cook, Cameron and Alex Bang, I think thats all.

I had a dream that night that I forgot some of the kids and didn't bring them to school that day....who knows maybe I did and they walked home and their parents never told me :-) Seriously there were kids everywhere and it would have been rather easy to have forgot one when I overloaded my vehicle up to get them to school. Of course driving to school, we had the most illegal car ever! There were kids piled on top of each other! Fun memories :-)

Annular Eclipse

On May 20th their was an Annular Eclipse, and the sweet spot just happened to be Kannaraville, Ut! We were coming home from a weekend in Lagoon, and stopped in Cedar City with our friends the Wardens to enjoy the sight.

We were equipped with the awesome solar glasses and some welder glass to.  The kids ran around and just had fun. When the eclipse happened the crowd that gathered at the Cedar city Middle School all cheered. It was so much fun!

We are planning on hitting the total eclipse in 2017! I think we'll plan a trip to Yellowstone at that time.

The art of frying

I kind of find the saying "I fried my computer" rather ironic....How many people bake their computers? if you set in on your porch in the middle of a St. George summer, can you cook your computer just like you could cook an egg? Has that ever happened?


I have heard of people doing some serious damage to their computers by ....ehem, water damage.


But, I've never heard anyone say that their computer just drowned, have you?


Now, you can say you have.


A few days ago, I was working on something on the MacBook, I sat it down on the lower counter, then I sadly knocked down a glass of water on the upper computer where it perfectly spilled into the back airvents of the computer....After a very dis-heartening sizzle sound, and a look of pure shock from me, where  quickly thought "seriously their are 5 kids in this house and I am the one to ruin the computer"...I snapped out of it, quickly loaded the kids up and ran into the Mac store to see if, their was like some sort of emergency room care that could be done to remedy the situation.


Well, there's no emergency room care available for a freshly drowned computer. They reported the time of death, but said that the hard drive had not 'fried'  (see there's that icky word again)yet. So, if we bought a new computer we should be able to do a data transfer.


So, I am currently typing on my new iMac. We decided to get a desktop instead of a MacBook this time, she's really a pretty little computer, and I hope that I can keep her safe from harm.....hopefully!