Little Things 2 Remember

Taylor Lynn Jensen

2010-09-23T18:51:00.000-05:00

August 31, 2010 I had a doctor appointment at 10:30am. My doctor checked me and said I was dilated to 3cm. He decided to strip my membrane at that time. He told me I would more than likely have the baby within the next 48 hours. I left there and went to Menards to let them know I would like to take my maternity leave now and why. I went to the bathroom while I was there and noticed some blood had come out. I was very nervous about driving home, cuz I wasn't feeling that great and well, I didn't want to deliver the baby on the road by myself. But I just wanted to go home, so I did. I made it home just fine. I was having some contractions but they were light ones and only had a couple within an hour. I really wasn't feeling good though. I asked Bill to come home from work, because I was getting nervous. Bill got home around 3:30pm. He even got a flat tire on his way home, and was freaking out that I would go into labor before he got home. But I didn't. At 8:oopm I decided I would start timing my contractions, since the kids were in bed. I was having one every 10- 20 minutes, and they weren't regular. My brother and sister-in-law talked me into calling the nurse to see when I should go into ER. She said when the contractions are 5 minutes apart and are steady, or if a gush of fluid comes out or a lot of blood. I took a warm shower and went to bed. I was in bed by 10:30. I tried really hard to get some sleep, but I couldn't sleep. It was annoying me. I finally, got to sleep. I awoke around 2am, because I thought I just peed the bed. I was like "crap. I can't control my bladder, now! Great what's next!" I went to the bathroom to find clear mucusy liquid in my underwear along with some bloody discharge. I said "Bill" (no answer), I said "Honey" a little louder (still no answer), At the same time I clapped and said "Bill" (loud) "It's time". He shot out of bed and ran around the house gathering things up. I cleaned myself up and went to the door, I asked Bill what he was doing, and he said he was just getting a few things. I thought it was funny cuz my bag was packed and in the car. Whatever, he was nervous. I called the nurse and let her know I was on my way. While we were there a doctor had checked me and said I was still dilated to 3 cm, but that he didn't think my water had broken yet, cuz he could still feel a bag of water. He did a test to see if I had amniotic fluid in my vagina, and I did NOT. Well, what in the world leaked out all over my pajama pants and in my underwear? I never did get that answered. My contractions weren't getting any stronger and I wasn't progressing, so they told me to go out for breakfast and walk around the mall or Wal-Mart or something. Well, I don't know what you look like when you wake up, but I don't look pretty and neither does Bill. I had no desire to go out for breakfast or walk around a store looking the way I did. So we went home. We got home around 7:30am. Bill's mom, Cel, was at our house. Bless her heart she went over to our house to get my boys ready for their first day of school. We missed them leaving; I was pretty bummed I didn't get to see them off. I played on facebook for a while, then I walked to the post office and got my mail. Mean while Bill went back to sleep. I knew there was no point in even trying to get more sleep so I didn't even try. Around 10 I decided to go for a walk. I walked up and down almost every street in Babcock, which took me about 40 minutes. I thought for sure I would go into labor now, but no; I didn't feel any different than when I left. Bll woke up shortly after I got home and went to his parents to help work on their roof (which was right next door). I decided I would try to take a nap. I laid down for an hour, got irritated that I couldn't sleep and got up. My sister and I were texting back and forth pretty much all day. She told me to draw a bath and sit in that for a litlle while, and maybe that will help with my contractions. So I started to draw a bath. I went to the bathroom to go potty and get into the bath, but everytime I came up off the toilet seat I leaked a little pee (so I thought), so I would sit back down. I was getting very irritated with my bladder when it dawned on me that OMG! This might be my water breaking now. I texted Bill and said You need to come home now. Before I even got off the toilet he was home asking me if it was time. I called my doctor and told them what was going on and about my ER visit the night before and they told me to go into the clinic. So, fine I put a pad on and off we went. The whole way there I leaked fluid out. By the time I got there I was pretty soiled. I got into see a doctor not mine, cuz mine wasn't there, but while the nurse was checking me a big gush came out all over the table and floor. The doctor came in and said yes it looks like your water just broke however I still need to follow procedure and check you and test the fluid. He said I was dilated to 6cm! And of course the test came back as positive. But he said he could still feel a bag of fluid in there.(Geez, how many bags of water do I have in there?) I finally, got a gown and changed into it with Bill's help. My shape up shoes got ruined!!!! They were full of amniotic fluid; it was very disgusting!! Yes, Bill threw them away! Ok, so from 6:30am to 2:30pm I dilatd 3cm!! OK, they transported me to the birthing center. There, Amy, had come to see how things were, and Julie came shortly after Amy had left. The nurse gave me some pain medicine, but she didn't give me a full dose cuz she said I was little and she didn't want to overdose it. Well. it wasn't really working. My contractions were getting stronger with everyone. I asked if I could get an epideral. The doctor was busy delivering another baby so I had to wait for her to ok it. She finally got the ok and ordered it. After a short time I finally, told the nurse I feel like I have to push, now. She checked me and said I was dilated to 10 and to go ahead and push, so I did. The nurse said she could still feel a bag of water up there, but it was ok to push. She said the doctor would pop it when she came in. I pushed and pushed and pushed and cried and cried and about 15-20 minutes later(which seemed like forever to me) out came Taylor!

Taylor Lynn Jensen was born on September 1, 2010 at 5:49pm. She weighed exactly 7.06 pounds and was 19" long. That was by far the most painful delivery I have ever had, but it was the shortest. I honestly, don't know if I could've handled much longer without pain medicine. I don't plan to have anymore kids, but if it should happen again, I decided I will go with the epideral shot right off the bat, so I don't have to go without pain ever again.

I'm holding Taylor for my first time, and Bill is waiting ever so patiently for his turn. I must say he was a pretty amazing partner through this. He didn't tell me "Push honey, you can do it" or "Don't give up now" in fact he didn't say much at all. He put his arm around my neck and for whatever reason it helped me push. The nurses were so wonderful! I had one specific nurse who helped me breathe correctly; she ended up being an all around wonderful nurse. And all the nurses were telling Bill to "look at this" and "look at that" and "Bill, look, you can see the head coming out!" My doctor stayed right at my crotch and didn't leave. The pain was the only thing that was horrifying. Everything else was wonderful! Looking back on it, it reminded me of a labor that took place at home. You know, with a midwife and all my lady friends around me, helping me, and calling Bill by his name, showing him all the wonderful things about the delivery that they wanted to make sure he didn't miss. It was really nice.

Scavenger Hunt

2010-08-07T15:48:00.009-05:00

Babcock Scavenger Hunt
August 7, 2010

Today, I wrote a list from A-Z of things the boy's had to look for around town, OUTSIDE. I arranged the pictures in order, but can you guess what the picture is of? Some pictures are hard to see; sorry, Austin was the camera man.

Well, do you give up? Some letters we had to be creative with if that helps. Otherwise the following are the answers:
A-Acorn, B-Baseball, C-Couch, D-Dogs, E-Evergreen, F-Football, G-Garage, H-High Tower, I-Ice Cooler, J-Jeep, K-the letter K in buick, L-tree Limb, M-my sad looking Japanese Maple tree, N-New siding, O-Oak tree, P-Pop can, Q-Quickly moving car, R-Red flowers, S-Smiley face pillow, T-Trailer, U-Underwear, V-Van, W-Wind chime, X-the letter X on license plate, Y-Yellow flowers, Z-Zipper. And Yes, I promise, all of these items were found outside. I know this, because I went with them on their scavenger hunt.

Ultra-Sound Pictures

2010-04-11T21:45:00.003-05:00

These are pictures of my baby at 12 weeks inside my tummy, obviously.

This baby has fingers, toes, arms, and legs! It's amazing that at 12 weeks it has all these features!

Surprise!!!

2010-04-11T21:30:00.004-05:00

January 1, 2010: It's 2:30pm. Bill just left for work. I officially did NOT get my monthly deal in December. What do I do? I'm gonna take a test.

January 1, 2010: It's 2:34pm. As I was peeing on the stick I saw a - (that means the test is working) and a + ( that means YOU ARE PREGNANT)! How do I tell Bill??

This is what I sent to him via text message at 2:37pm:

You're gonna be a DADDY!!!
And he was excited! So excited, he told Everyone he knew before he got to work.
Congratulations to us!!

Austin's Big Day at the Doctor's

2010-04-11T21:09:00.003-05:00

Austin had a doctor's appointment on February 18, 2010. He had a physical and 5 shots in his legs! OUCH!! This was him in his gown before the physical. Doesn't he look adorable?!

Austin was so tough when he got his shots. His face got all red (that's when I started to tear up), and then he started to tear up..And then it was over!!! I hate, absolutely hate taking the kids to get shots!!! The nurse was so proud of him! She told him he could pick out 5 things from the treasure box. Plus, he got a bunch of stickers. When, we were walking out to the car, he said he NEVER wants to get shots again!!!

Christmas 2009

2010-04-11T17:49:00.003-05:00

This year Grandpa Steve came to our house a little bit early for Christmas, because he and Debbie were going to Utah for Christmas. When he came we made sure we went to the light show at Wild Wood Park in Marshfield, WI. This stupid thing was there and our family jumped behind it quickly, and Grandpa took a snap with his phone. I tried taking pictures of the light show, but they all came out with a big light blur. This is the neatest thing to see. I have made it a Christmas tradition every year to go to this. The city and a ton of volunteers buy TONS of LED lights and display them all throughout the park/zoo. You can walk or drive through this enchantment. They have the lights blinking to Christmas carols. This is breath taking! This is free to the public! They, also, accept cash donations and canned goods. Every year no matter how much money I have or not, I always take canned goods there. On certain nights Santa is there. There is a little hot chocolate and treat stand. This year the kids got to pet and feed some reindeer. In one of the buildings they had music and a strobe light in it, and it was heated! If you ever have a chance to come to the center of WI, coming after Thanksgiving would be a great time. So, you can see this amazing light show!

This year for Christmas I did an advent calender with the boys. I found a cloth one at Menards and I bought a Santa head ornament that could fit in each day's pocket. Each day of December I put a note in the pocket. The kids would read it and it would take them to a certain place in the house. There, they would find a little present. To help them get into the Christmas spirit, some days I would give them candy and tell them they would have to share it with so many friends. Another day I bought them crazy red/green hats and told them to put them on and lets take crazy pictures of ourselves. Another day I bought them little blue plastic buckets that had lids on them. Inside the buckets were sugar cookie mix. The note told them they need to make sugar cookies, fill up the buckets, and give them to a friend to share with their family. Below are the picture of the kids decorating the cookies!

This is a picture of the kids getting ready to take their buckets filled with cookies to their friends' houses. Cole took his to Brenden's house, and Austin took his to Nick's house. Both families were thankful! When, the kids got home, they both had huge grins on their faces and felt good about what they did. Not only is this a good thing to teach your kids, but now everyone isn't obligated to eat so many cookies.

Crazy pictures in crazy hats in our crazy messy house!

This year I asked Grandpa if he would make Austin a lego table. I told him how I wanted it, and then he made it! It was perfect! I bought a bunch of legos off of Ebay to give to him along with the table. This pic shows the kids playing after we opened gifts. Thanks Grandpa for a beautiful gift!!!

Austin got this teddy bear from Santa. He hauled this huge thing around with him everywhere I would let him. He put on an old pair of shorts and a t-shirt on it. Eventually, I talked him out of dressing him in the shorts. Then, he only wore a t-shirt and his crazy red hat.

Halloween 2009

2010-04-11T16:19:00.005-05:00

This month was a fun month. We did so many fun things as a family. Such as: pumpkin carvings, raking leaves in back yard and jumping in them, went to the Harvest festival in Nekoosa, decorated the house and yard for Halloween night...

This is one of many outfits Austin got for Halloween. (He was lucky to get so many, because I bought him one, his dad did, and Austin bought himself one.) This is the one he ended up wearing, though.

These next two pictures are of this crazy sweater I found for Austin at the pumpkin festival in Nekoosa, WI.

This is Austin's first sentence he's ever wrote!!! It says: "Austin said, I like to try on my knight costume." I had to take a picture of this. It's great!

And these last few pictures are of all of us carving our pumpkins! This was a super messy job, but we all had fun doing it. I baked the pumpkin seeds in a lot of oil and salt, when we were done. They were absolutely delicious! Everyone enjoyed them!

I wish I would've felt better Halloween night, so I could've showed you how we decorated the yard. However, Cj, Bill, and I weren't feeling the greatest. Cj had a fever and chills. Bill was sick all over. And I had a little fever but was the strong one for the night. We all forced ourselves to get dressed up and went trick or treating in Pittsville. There we met up with a big group of Cj's classmates. It was so COLD but so much fun! When we got back, Cj and Bill went to bed. Austin and I went around in Babcock. We met up with Brenden and his mom. We got a ton more candy here.
Bill carved some small white pumpkins to look like skulls. He did an awesome job. We stuck those on sticks and stuck them in the ground. We made a path that went to our front door around the house to our back door with the skulls and black torches and solar lights I had. In the back yard we had some styrofoam tombstones with our names on them. The candy was on the back steps in a bowl. We didn't have many kids come. So, when I saw them I told them to take as much as they'd like, because I had a ton of candy. In the front yard we had two big pumpkin leaf bags with a couple smaller ones around them placed on each side of the driveway.
Oh, what did we all go as for Halloween? Did Bill and I dress up? Yes we did!!! I went as a go-go dancer: I had black stretch pants on, black knee high boots with Bright Red boot warmers over top, a crazy shirt that was hidden by my coat, and a black/red wig that had high pony tails on each side. Bill dressed in his renaissance outfit. Which he totally regretted, because he froze in it. His outfit consisted of a red tunic and black pants with a belt around the waist. He, also, had black knee high boots on. Cole went as a Vampire. His outfit was pretty simple. He wore a pair of jeans with whatever shirt and a black hooded sweatshirt. He had a black cape that had skulls all around the edging. Bill painted his face, and he put in a pair of vampire teeth. Austin was a GI Joe ninja. He bought his one piece outfit at target in the toy section for like $8. We then found a thing he puts on his back and it carrys two swords in an X. He had a black mask to cover his face which kept bothering him. He ended up taking it off.

October 2009

2009-10-22T21:59:00.003-05:00

This weeks family fun night, we carved pumpkins. It took a lot of time, but it was well worth it. We all had fun doing it.

Austin's 6 Year Old Birthday Party

2009-09-21T17:08:00.016-05:00

Austin turned 6 this year!!!

He has changed so much within this last year. He finally got completely potty trained. Woohoo! No more bed wetting! He goes to school everyday all day long. He's grown taller; he's even thinned up a bit. Most importantly, he lost two teeth and learned who the Tooth Fairy is. He really likes the Tooth Fairy!!!
Below are two pictures of him try opening up Grandma Liz's and Grandpa Steve's presents they sent in the mail on his birthday. I had to put them on here, because he refused to have scissors to open them. He kept saying, "NO! I can do it!" He was so funny to watch as he struggled so hard to get them open. But he did it! He got this special hat from school on Friday; I made him wear it. He wore it proudly.

Austin had a birthday party at our place on September 19th, 2009. Three of his friends from school came, Savannah, Sarah, and Sirous. Cole invited AJ, Brendon, and Martin over, too. While we were waiting for Austin's friends to come over, Cole and his friends saw that I had placed a couple of clues around. So they decided to go find all the clues before the scavenger hunt even began.
The first game we played was who can pop the most balloons without popping them with your hands or feet. The time went so fast I was only able to snap one picture. That was fun to watch. They ended up way to close to the house and hammock stand. It got a little scary.

When we finally decided to do the scavenger hunt, Cole and his friends ran to where the next clue was before the clue was done being read. So, the younger kids ran with them...this hunt was suppose to be fun and entertaining and was suppose to last about an hour. The kids didn't even want to do the tasks that they needed to do before going onto the next clue. Which made it very difficult for this game to be fun for anyone. Three of the tasks they needed to do outside were to spell the letters S I and X with their bodies, making one big letter in the grass. I tried to take pictures before they gave up to go running off to the next clue, but I wasn't very fast. So that is what you are seeing in the next few photos.

Well, whatever...I sure had fun preparing for it. After this game they played duck, duck, goose (Austin called it purple, gold, panther), while I was getting the cake and ice-cream ready. After that Austin opened up his presents. He got 5 army guys from Sarah, $5 coupons for McDonald's from Savannah, and a Nerf gun from Sirous. He loved all his presents! I took a couple of pics until my phone said it was too full of pictures...go figure.

After Austin opened up presents we played red light/ green light for some prizes. Then, the kids just ran around and played with each other. It was very fun for Austin and that is the important thing. Next year, though, I think I'll take him to the bowling alley or roller skating. Our house was such a disaster after that. I was extremely exhausted, too.

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Bill got home from work around 9pm. After he got something to eat Bill, Cole, AJ, Brendon, Austin and I played Jail Break in our back yard. AJ and I were the only ones who have ever played that game before. So, we had to teach the others how to play. It was so much fun. Bill, Austin, and I were on a team; and Cole, AJ, and Brendon were on a team. Bill hid out in the open both rounds, but because it was so dark no one could see him. His head and foot was even stepped on and they didn't even notice him. I hid in the trees, and Austin was hiding close to me. The first time we hid Austin was caught first and told them where I was hiding. (brat) They gave up on Bill. The first time they hid, they were all hiding in the same area and had glow in the dark bracelets on. (dorks) So they were pretty easy to find. The second time we hid they couldn't find any of us. Brendon supposedly tripped and went inside cuz he quit. AJ went to the front yard to look up there which left Cole in the back yard by himself. He got somewhat close to me when I said "Woo Woo"! Cole looked all around quickly, looking in every direction. I giggled to myself. Then, he started walking again so I did it again. (hehehehe) He stopped and looked around again and said "What the heck? That's it I'm outta here!" And ran into the house. I couldn't control myself I was laughing so hard. Later, he said it sounded like animals from all over in the woods. Ha Ha Ha!

Bye-Bye Baby Teeth

2009-09-08T20:15:00.010-05:00

Bye-Bye Baby Teeth! Austin lost his first tooth on September 03, 2009. He didn't know what the tooth fairy was so Cole told him all about it and what he has to do with the tooth. By the time bedtime came around we all had forgotten about the tooth. Bill had to work late that night, so when he got home I told him. He said the tooth was sitting on the counter. What a horrible mother I am; I forgot to remind him to put it under his pillow! Well, anyways, the next morning I had to work early, but Bill told me the tooth fairy still came and placed a dollar on the counter where the tooth was. WOW! It was pretty funny cuz when Austin woke up he went to get the tooth to show it to Bill and it was gone. He was upset cuz he couldn't find it until Cole said the tooth fairy must have taken the tooth and left you a dollar! Then he was jumping around and excited cuz he got a dollar from the tooth fairy! When I got home from work I asked him if the tooth fairy had come and he said, "yea." I said "well,...what did she give you?" He said "nothing." I said what?! He said "well, I just got a dollar." I said "WHAT?! Are You kidding? When I was little all I got was a QUARTER!" Then, he seemed pretty proud of his dollar and was bragging to me that he got a dollar.

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UPDATE!!!!

Austin lost the tooth right next to his other one today, September 08, 2009 at school. Well, he pulled it out during nap time. He f or got it at school . He told me he can't wait to go to school tomorrow to see what the tooth fairy b rings him this time...I told him I don't think the tooth fairy visits schools but maybe. He said "Yea well I know where I left it and if it's not there I'm gonna tell M r. Sanken to give me the dollar that the tooth fairy left for me; cuz it was my tooth so it's my dollar."
Ha Ha! I can't wait to hear how that all goes tomorrow.

Renaissance Event

2009-09-08T17:27:00.014-05:00

AUTUMN ROSE

GAILSVILLE, WI
09-04 THRU 09-06

On Friday, September 04, 2009 Cole, Austin, Bill and I went to Gailsville, WI to a Renaissance Festival called Autumn Rose. This event went on thru Sunday, September 06. We got there a little before 6pm. We found one of Bill's friends, Willy; and put our camp up right next to his. After we got all set up the kids put their renaissance clothes on. Austin took off right away to look for some friends to hang out with. Cole stayed back and helped Bill and Willy start the fire for dinner. This first picture is of Cole in his peasant shirt and peasant pants (not his full outfit), and Bill in his regular clothes. (The people there will tell you you are naked if you aren't in renaissance clothes.)

After dinner Cole got the rest of his outfit on and posed for me. He looks pretty cool now, huh?! Austin took Cole with him to meet friends. Cole found someone who was 11 to hang out with. This boy wasn't the greatest kid for Cole to be hanging out with, but at least they weren't doing naughty things and getting into trouble.

A little bit later Austin came by with one of his friends. They had battery operated tea light candles. Austin insisted that I take his picture with it. Which was good anyways, so you can see his outfit. He wore a red pirate shirt with black pants. His pirate pants didn't come in time for this event, so he just wore black pants on Friday and blue pants on Saturday.

I did get dressed up and promised a bunch of people pictures of me, but was intending on taking pictures on Saturday. However, I had a tooth that caused serious pain at 3:30am on Saturday. I had to go to adult urgent care in La Crosse to get some pain killers. The rest of the day I spent in the tent sleeping and dying. I got up occasionally to see what others were doing . Everyone else seemed to be doing good; so, I kept on sleeping. So, I have a couple of pictures that Bill took of me at the last event when I wasn't paying attention.

They are the greatest pictures, but at least you can see what I am wearing. Yes, it's a little revealing, but in the hot weather it feels really nice.

Saturday is the day to be there if you ever want to go. This is the day they do all the cool stuff on. In the morning til early afternoon they have sword fighting. I got to see a little fighting when we got back from the hospital. They wear armor and use very heavy swords. I'm not sure they are sharp, but they sure would hurt if you got hit with it. Bill used to fight and wants to get back into it but has no armor. He was talking with another group (kingdom), and invited us to join his group. They said they would provide armor for him and it would be free to join. So, we are now part of the North Shield Kingdom!! (Bill was in the Buddha Kingdom before.)

Also, on Saturday the merchants open up. This is a bunch of shops where you can buy all sorts of things. Such as clothing, jewelery, books, dishes (feast gear), swords...that sort of thing. Austin brought $7 that he had earned and bought a pouch for Cole and himself. These pouches that he bought are normally for the ladies, meant to hold money and whatever else. Austin used it to put his guys and money in it. Cole tied his to the back of his belt. Sometime, Cole wants to get the leather pouches that are made for his outfit and for the men. Austin, also, bought 4 large freezie pops for Cole, and 2 of his friends and himself. Cole bought a mood ring that was 25 cents. Bill bought some pewter platter dishes for 50 cents each. I bought a strawberry milk shake. For dinner you could pay money to eat the feast or make your own food. Bill made steaks for all of us (except me cuz I couldn't chew very well). Next year I hope we will have money so we can go to the feast. It sounded like so much fun. I heard all hooting and hollering and drums and music going on in there. So, not only did you get the feast, but you, also, get entertainment, too. At 7:00pm the feast was over and people gathered around the bigger tents and the party began. This party is so much fun to go to. I went to it at the last event (Poor Man's), but was unable to this time. I asked Bill to take Cole to it so he could see what all the noise was about. This is where anyone who has drums play them with their hands. There is usually belly dancers with all this jingling stuff on their outfit that dance around a fire. At the last event there was even a swordsman doing a dance with his sword. It's very cool to see and is such a blast! There are people of all ages that go to these events. Some travel many hours to go to them. Some go every weekend and others go once in a while. You don't need to know anyone to go to have a fun time. Everyone is there to have a fun time. Everyone is very kind,willing to help you with whatever you need. Many people stopped by our tent to check up on me to see how I was doing. The kids just ran around and played with other kids and had fun. If you ever get a chance to go to one of these events, I recommend that you go even if its just for the day...very cool experience...very cool.

Sandhill

2009-06-29T22:07:00.007-05:00

Sunday, June 28, 2009, we went to Sandhill! Sandhill is just outside of Babcock; it's an animal refuge. We drove forever thru this park looking for animals. We went exploring up this big hill, looked out from some towers, and stopped by a pond full of lily pads. In the end we saw 3 deer and a bunch of birds. This was a perfect day to hang out together outdoors!

Slip'N'Slide

2009-06-29T21:59:00.007-05:00

I found this Slip'N'Slide at Menards for less than $4.00. Zach and Austin had a blast with it!

They were pretty muddy by the time they got done.

Superman

2009-06-29T21:51:00.004-05:00

I just thought I would share this random picture of Austin with you all. This was his superman costume that I bought for him 2 years ago. He swears it still fits, and wanted to wear it to bed. They aren't suppose to be Capri's; they are suppose to be pants! Oh Dear is right!

Wilderness Park

2009-06-29T21:36:00.002-05:00

Today, June 13, 2009, was a fun day. Cole was at his dad's, so Bill, Austin and I decided to go to the beach. We, also, took Zackery Jensen (Bill's cousin, Lee's kid).
Austin made some friends and was mostly playing in the water with them; and Zach was playing mostly by himself in the sand. They both had a blast, though.

I was laying out, trying to tan my white body, and Bill was sitting most of the time watching the boys.

All and all is was a fun day!

Car Crash #2

2009-06-29T20:49:00.005-05:00

Saturday June 06, 2009, I was driving Austin and myself home from work. I got a bunch of text messages on my way home, and as I was replying to them all, I happened to look up a little too late. A deer was standing in the middle of my lane staring right at me. Stupid deer. Stupid me. I slammed on the breaks and swerved, but I hit the stupid thing. I was hoping I could just drive on home and deal with it there, but as I was just thinking that Austin said "Mommy? What's that noise?" Dang it! It was stuck underneath my car! Needless to say I had no choice but to pull over and look at the damage it had done to my car.

The car really doesn't look that bad, oh, but it was. $3,000 later my car is back to the best it's gonna be. It runs pretty hard, but for me this is the second time it's been in a pretty bad car accident. There was a county cop, who was in the area, that first stopped to make sure we were all okay. He was very nice. He talked to Austin and gave him some police (plastic) hats. They were giving them out at the Marshfield Parade earlier that day, and he had extras to had out. I think he gave us his whole supply. He stayed there until the officer on duty arrived. This officer was, also, very kind. He was very concerned as to who was coming to get me and how long it would take for them to get there. Austin had to go potty, and he was kind enough to let him go along side the road. He was very concerned that we would get hit by oncoming cars; so everytime I got out of the car he was standing next to me making sure I wouldn't get hit. I didn't understand why he kept getting out of his car when I was transferring my items from one car to the next, until he finally told me. I was very pleased with the officers that helped out that day.

The Ukulele

2009-05-18T18:05:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago we went to Grandpa Steve's.

The missionaries came over with their musical instruments and we listened to Grandpa and the Elder's play. Wow! Grandpa is really good at playing the Ukulele! (But Elder Seabury is a little better...Shhhh! Don't tell Grandpa.) Austin asked if he could try it, and the whole time he was playing it Elder Seabury was looking pretty scared that Austin was gonna break it. It was pretty funny...this little man knows how to ROCK!

2009-05-18T17:44:00.004-05:00

Look close at Cole's eyes..

Yep! He's blind! We've been noticing at home that he couldn't see the TV very well; because when he plays video games, he would stand up next to the TV. We weren't 100% sure if he couldn't see or if he just wanted to stand that close. Until his teacher wrote me a note saying he's having problems seeing the chalk board. Well, it was confirmed, and I made an appointment. I was hoping he was faking it, but nope he really is blind. So we went to Shopko and found a pair that both he and I liked and ordered them right away.

2009-04-28T22:17:00.002-05:00

Shelby Penelope Elvidge
died April 28, 2009

She will always be in our memories and NEVER forgotten.
May she finally rest in peace!

2009-04-28T21:13:00.006-05:00

April 18, 2009, was a warm, sunny day, and we took advantage of it by spending the whole day at Dexterville Park. We took the kids bikes to the park with us. We parked the truck, Casey rode CJ's bike, Austin rode his bike, and CJ & Bill walked. On our walk/ride we found a park and a beach. Here are some pictures to show how much fun we had.

Bill hung out at the end of the slide...

Austin and CJ were wearing their swim suits and t-shirts. Both boys got so hot they took off their shirts. But Austin's swim shorts were too big and kept falling down...yes it was NOT a pretty site to see. Thank Goodness we were the only ones there that day.

Casey was hanging out at the bottom of the slide and happened to look up at Bill peaking thru the grate up above...

When we got to the beach,
CJ had this great idea of
burying him...so we did!
And then we buried Austin!

2009-04-13T19:23:00.005-05:00

This is "Little" Austin riding his bike WITH training wheels. Wooohooo! Look at that HOT ROD!

Friday, April 10, 2009, Bill and CJ taught Austin how to ride his bike WITHOUT training wheels, while I was at work. We are all very PROUD of our "BIG" Austin!!!!!

This is Austin riding his "2 wheeler" bike! (that's what he calls it)

The funny thing about this is that when he needs to turn, he gets off the bike, turns the bike and then goes again. He did learn how to turn while still riding it a couple days later, but it was soooo funny before that. I did video it on my phone, but my computer won't allow me to download it onto the computer. Maybe someday, you can watch it.

2009-04-13T18:22:00.002-05:00

COLE'S Birthday Party was suppose to be at a roller skating rink, but little did we know, it was CLOSED! OOPS! So, instead we all went bowling, and had a BLAST! Momma was the highest bowler for all three games! Way to go MOMMA!!! Friends who came were: AJ, Brenden, Martin, and Geri

After the party AJ and Martin spent the night. We pulled a futon mattress out on the living room floor, and all three boys slept on that. Austin got to sleep on the couch next to the boys. Cole was being so nice to Austin; letting him play with CJ and his friends. We were very thankful for that. The next day Brenden came over to play with all the boys. Ever since that party Brenden has come over almost everyday to play with CJ, Austin, or Bill (on the xbox 360). The cool thing about Brenden is that he will play with whoever wants to play with him.