Memorial Day

Our memorial day we a last minute thing. We spent the morning cleaning up the house, the yard, and Ben doing school work. Not a typical fun day. Once we were done with the mundane, it was time for fun. We decided to have a late lunch with a gift card Ben got from IHop for his birthday. We also wanted to go see a movie, but the times of the movie didn't work with the rest of out errands. IHop was fun. Gabbi loves breakfast and she loves to eat out. Two pluses for Gabbi. In the midst of our errands and the mundane stuff we stopped at Mom and Dad's to drop something off. When we got there, Jeff and Tiffany were outside laying rocks for the spot where the trailer was to be placed. When we were there, Jeff asked us if we wanted to have a bbq and swim in the hot tub. Of course we did. Any plans are better then no plans. So we went to the store to get something to cook for the bbq and then headed to go get Gabbi's swimsuit. Once we got back to mom and dad's we helped Jeff and Tiffany finish up with the rocks and then we had some fun. The kids hopped in the hot tub and had a blast, while the daddy's cooked the food. We had dinner and when the kids were done eating they continued to play. It was a fun night. Very spontaneous, but very fun. Time with family is always the best. Well it is for me at least.

Idaho

Ben was asked to put together a group of guys to go with him to Idaho to a sister shop of theirs, to work on some vehicles that the Idaho shop didn't have the tools for. Ben was happy to be asked to put it all together. Luckily his boss doesn't care if family comes; so Gabbi, Owen, and I decided to take the trip. We thought it would be a fun family vacation. It turned out great. The hotel had a really nice indoor pool, that Gabbi thought was the best. She is a fish and happy to be. This was Owen's first time swimming and he had a blast as well. We put him in a floating toy and he just chilled and really enjoyed the water. They also had a pool table, ping pong tables, and a fuzz ball table. We decided that best way to get the kids to sleep was to leave them in the room and Ben and I would go play on one of the tables. Put them in the same situation that we do at home. When we put them to bed at home, they are in their bedroom, in their beds with the lights off and their cd player playing music. It worked like a charm. Gabbi slept on her very own bed and for how much she moves around when she sleeps, it was needed and Owen slept in his car seat. I know it probably isn't the best place for a baby to sleep, but without his crib, it was the next best thing. Our first night was horrible because we were all tired and because of the newness of the hotel, it just didn't go down well. But the second night was out trial to see if it would work with us leaving the room and it did. Our nights were much better when we figured out how to best get the kids to sleep. During the days while Ben was at work Gabbi, Owen, and I would find things to do outside the hotel. Sadly the weather wasn't the best, but we found a mall that had a play place inside. We spent our early morning there. While Gabbi would play, I would feed Owen and once it was time for lunch we would head back to the hotel to eat. After lunch, while Owen took his afternoon nap, Gabbi and I would swim or play games. She had so much fun and I'm glad she did or it would have made a horrible trip. When Ben would get done with work he would come back to the hotel and do his school work, that had to come first. Then we played. We went out to dinner, swam as a family, and even went to a play place that had an arcade, laser tag, soft play, etc. We found plenty to do and had a fun time. It was much nicer then our trip to St. George. Better hotel by far and a heck of a lot more to do for us and for the kids. He had done this trip a couple time before, hopefully we will be asked again, so we can go again. It really was a lot of fun. A very nice and relaxing vacation.

Playing pool at the recreation center inside the Hotel

Swimming at the recreation center at the Hotel

Demolition Derby

We decided to do something new with Ben's dad's side of the family. We decided to get together once a month to celebrate every one's birthday that month. So for may, it was Ben's birthday. We were going to go up to Garland and do homemade pizza's at Nelson and Deann's. But we changed the plans a little after planning it. We decided to go to the Demolition Derby instead. It was being held at the Golden Spike Arena. Luckily we were all able to get tickets to go. We started off the night with dinner at our house. Amanda and Dan picked up some pizza's on their way to our house. Once we were done eating and visiting, we headed to the arena. It was a great derby. Gabbi had a lot of fun watching the cars run into each other and for the cool ear plugs that Grandpa Nelson brought. She thought those were pretty cool. Owen even had a good time watching the car. We tried our hardest to keep his ears covered, but that just bugged him. It was funny to watch his face when a car would hit another. It was a look of amazement. It was hilarious. He started to get fussy towards the end, maybe the last 15 minutes, but he did really well. I was very proud of him. Good boy. Ben and I were glad that both the kids were so good, because we love demo derby's. During the prep times, they would throw shirts and Frisbees for the kids. A gentlemen behind us caught one and gave it to Gabbi, then her uncle Brian caught one and gave it to Gabbi as well. She got the hook up that night. She got a barbie doll and some candy. She was happy. After the demo derby we went back to our house for cake and ice cream. Thank Amanda and Dan for getting the pizza and dessert. It was a fun car smashing night.

Kayla is 8

I can't believe it. Kayla just turned 8, 2 days ago. It's crazy to think my brother's oldest child is now old enough to get baptised. Go Kayla, you make me proud. Jeff and Tiffany threw her a family party. It was supposed to be in their back yard, but because of the weather, we had it at the church. It's fun to get together with both our family and Tiffany's family because both Ben and I are really good friends with the Wright's. Kayla got a wide variety of things this year, the biggest being tickets for both her and Tiffany to go to the Taylor Swift concert in September. It was funny because we all thought she would jump up and down crazy when she realized what they were, but she was calm and collective. The first thing she said after realizing and telling everyone what they were, she asked if Miranda could go to. She said she would share her seat with her, if she could go. It was funny, too cute. We got her a Taylor Swift CD to go along with her concert tickets, so she could get psyched about the concert. She's funny.

Promotion

Finally after almost a year and a half of his work telling him that they would open a 9 position at work, it finally happened. There are only two 8 positions at his work and there was one 9 position vacant. It sat vacant for a year, just waiting for the big wigs in Wisconsin to finally approve his shop to fill that 9 position. When Ben heard that it had finally opened, he applied for it. He also applied for an inspector position at the shop. His application was accepted for the position, but he wasn't chosen for it. They have two more inspector position spots open and everyone has told him that he is next. But in the mean time, he applied for the 9. After waiting almost a month since the time to turn in applications and resumes had closed, he got the call for the formal invitation for the position. Of course he said yes. Now he just needs to fill out a couple pieces of paperwork, hopefully they go faster through the system then this position, and the position is his. Thank Heavens. His boss also told him that a 10 position would be opening soon and he was to apply for that as well as the inspector positions. Hopefully he pick up one of them. It would be nice to not be so tight, living from paycheck to paycheck, hoping we'll survive. Good Job Honey. I am so proud of you supporting our family the way that you do. Love you so much.

St. George

I had a cousin getting married this last weekend in St. George, so we decided to go down for a little vacation. We wanted to go, but didn't want to spend a whole lot of money. So I went online to orbitz to see what they had to offer. It was only $40.00 a night, but we got what we paid for. It wasn't bad and Ben just kept saying that he has slept in worse, but that wasn't very comforting to me. Oh well. It was cheap and we were able to go, I guess that's what matters. Ben got off work around 11:30. Once he got home, we all had lunch, finished packing the car and headed out. Even though the drive is only a 5 1/2 hour drive, it was 7 for us. We had to stop twice in order to feed Owen and to eat dinner ourselves. Once we got there, we checked in and unloaded the car. Jeff then called and asked if we wanted to play games. So we went over to the condo they were staying in and played games with them and Grandma Shupe and mom. It was fun, but would have been better if Gabbi hadn't been a booger. She was acting up like crazy and I wanted to smack her. She was a turd the whole trip. The next day didn't change much as to her attitude either. We stayed in the hotel that morning so Ben could do some school work. Gabbi's not one who like to be copped up in a room, luckily there were cartoons on tv. Owen just chilled in his bouncer. Thank Heavens we were able to fit it in the car. Once Ben was done, we packed up the car with the things we would need for the day and headed out. We went and got sandwiches for lunch and went to a park. When we got there, we were the only ones there, but it filled up fast and once other kids were there, there was no chance in getting Gabbi to finish her lunch. But she had fun playing on the playground with the other kids. She and a little girl spent the majority of the time together. They followed each other around the whole playground. It was very cute. When we left to go for a walk the little girl was screaming bye bye to Gabbi. Very cute. They had a paved walk way through the park and along side a stream, so we walked for a while hoping that Owen would fall asleep. It did the work. Sound asleep, to bad it didn't last long. After we were done at the park, we met Jeff and Tiffany at the outlets to walk around the shops. Got to love window shopping. To bad I didn't buy anything, except chocolate. When we had had our fill of the stores, mom called and asked if we wanted to do games with Ric and Cathy and their kids. So we went back to the condo and played games til it was time to go to the reception. the invitation said there was dancing to be the main event of the reception. Ben was very excited to be able to dance with me. I bug him about it all the time. When we got there is was 6:30. The reception was to start at 6, but the bride and groom were still out taking pictures. That was just fine, Gabbi had a blast dancing, waiting for things to get started. The only bad part was the blaring music. It was so loud that I had to plug my ears, they were starting to throb. Ben and I both worried about the kids, but they were having a blast. Gabbi loved dancing, having everyone watch her and Owen just stared at the flashing lights. Ben danced with Gabbi, I danced with Gabbi, the three of us danced together, and even though I felt like a dork, Ben and I danced together. I felt like a dork because the music was Spanish music and nothing else. I don't know how to dance to that. But the cutest picture I got was Gabbi dancing with my cousin Brittney. It was very cute, Brittney in her wedding dress and Gabbi just dancing away. Once the reception was over we went out to dinner with Jeff, Tiffany, Grandma and Mom. During dinner Gabbi was just acting up again and Owen wasn't that happy either. It was time for bed for him. Once I finished my meal, I had had it with her and I took her and Owen to the car. I was done. I was so fed up with kids, the hotel, I just wanted to go home. So I posed it to Ben. We decided to go back to the hotel, get the kids in their jammies, pack the car and head home. The kids would sleep the whole time, we wouldn't need to stop and feed Owen, it seemed perfect. So we headed home. Got home at 3 in the morning and fell quickly asleep in our own comfy beds. A very short vacation that brought more head ache then needed to. Too bad.

Ben turns 27

Ben turned 27 this year. Its funny to think that in just 3 short years he will be 30. But when I actually think about it, it seems so far away. This year since Ben decided to take it upon himself to start doing gifts, I had to do something special for his birthday. He told me that I do gifts for him all the time and he was just catching up, but that's not true. But just the same, he deserved to have fun on his birthday. Gabbi, Owen, and I went to the store to buy him a special dinner and a couple of presents. Ben loves fish and I thought it would be fun to celebrate his birthday with a fish dinner and cherry cheesecake for his birthday cake. Next time we will cook it outside, it stunk up the house for a day or two. I wrapped his presents with paper and let Gabbi color on them to decorate the outside of the paper. She had a blast helping with his presents. When Ben walked in the door, she ran over to him and gave him the gift. He gave it back to her to hold so he could set all of his stuff done and she took it upon herself to try and open it for him. Ben took back the gift and finally sat down to open it. He had both Gabbi and Owen help him. He got 2 xbox games. Ones that he has been wanting. He got a need for speed racing game and the Call of Duty Modern Warfare game. He loves the shot'em up games, but so far he is loving the racing game and that's all he has played so far. Once he opened his gifts and we had dinner, I took him out to a movie. We dropped the kids at my parents house and went to see Fast 5. It was awesome. I may have liked it more then he did, but it was fun to get away without the kids and watch a movie together. It was a great night and he said a wonderful birthday. He told me that he wished that it didn't have to end. He liked all the attention and pampering. Well, not quite pampering, but close enough.

Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day, I was on my own. Ben had drill that weekend and I had the kids all by myself. Church is hard enough when I have the kids and Ben. But it's even harder when he's not there. I teach a primary class and when Ben's not there to take Owen so I can teach, my lessons are pretty much shot. The girls either pay attention to him or Owen won't even let me teach because he tends to be extra fussy at church. I don't know. But once I was done with church I was able to take the kids home and relax a little. The kids both laid done for a nap and I just cuddled up with a book and waited for them to wake or for Ben to get home, which ever would happen first. Once Ben got home, he took care of the kids for me and he also cooked me dinner. I love breakfast for dinner and Ben is really good at cooking breakfast meals. He made me a great dinner and then we all watched a movie as a family. During dinner he pulled out some papers from his pocket. He apologized that the item wasn't actually here, but had ordered it and it was on its way. He showed me the picture once we played the guessing game. He bought me an armoire for my jewelry. I love to make jewelry and love to wear it even more. He picked a very nice gift, even though I told him he was in trouble for doing it. We don't do gifts, sometimes its just too much to do them. So it finally came and I took it out of the box to put it together. However some of the pieces were cracked so we had to send it back and order a new one. I will post a picture once it finally comes back.

Potty Training

Finally we are making progress. I contribute all of it to Gabbi and my Heavenly Father. I know that might sound funny to some of you, but it's true. We have been trying to potty train Gabbi ever since she turned 2. We really wanted her potty trained before Owen arrived. That didn't happen. She didn't like the toilet and wanted nothing to do with it. As time went on, she would occasionally sit on the potty, but nothing ever happened. More and more time went by and she had those 3 really good days with my mom, but once we got home, nothing. Ben and I were sick of buying diapers for her, ex specially since she knows how to go potty, she would just rather sit in a diaper instead of use the potty. Well last Sunday was Fast Sunday, so Ben and I decided that we would fast for the purpose of helping Gabbi understand when she needed to go to the bathroom and the desire to do it herself, and become that big girl she really wants to be. It has been amazing. Thanks to prayers answered, she is doing much better. She has gone all week so far, starting Sunday after church. She is in pull-ups and loves how excited we get when she goes. She also gets a treat of course when she goes, you know, to make it rewarding for her. We are going on 5 days now and only two accidents. One of which was she didn't sit down in time. She was in there and pulling down her pull-up to go, but it came faster then her. We are so proud of her. Now on to the hard part, pooping in the toilet, and over night potting. Wish us Luck.

3 Year Old Check-up

When Owen had his check-up, Gabbi had her 3 year old check-up. He had no concerns with Gabbi. He thought that she was just thriving like a toddler should. She loves to see the Doctor and the nurses. However I think she changed her mind this time. She ended up having to have a shot. They improved one of the required shots to cover more strains, so of course, she needed the update. She was not happy about that. She acted like she was going to die, but as soon as the nurse showed her a sucker and a princess sticker, she was fine. She has an impeccable memory though. She knows that every time we go to the Doctors, she gets a coin. They give out coins to kids to get a prise from their machine. She was eating her sucker and as soon as she was done with that, she asked the nurse for her coin. The nurse just laughed. It was hilarious.

Weight: 29.8 lbs 41%

Height: 35.0 inches 10%

6 Month Check-up

Owen had his 6 month check-up a couple of weeks ago. His pediatrician said that he is doing great. He is growing and very strong. He can finally stand now and use both his legs properly. For a while, he refused to use his legs to stand up or even move himself around on his bouncer and his Johnny jumper. But now he is very strong in his legs. The Doctor said everything is moving along great and we should just keep doing what we are doing. He also told us that we cold start baby food. That's been an adventure. He gets confused between the spoon and the bottle. He tries to suck on the spoon and chomps on the bottle sometimes. It's funny. But slowly he is getting it and I think he is starting to enjoy it. Like any normal check-up for babies, Owen of course had to get some shots. I hate that. The time from when they get the shot and the time that you actually hear them start to cry. My heart stops until I hear him cry. I hate it, but that bad thing about this visit. After he had his shots, I got him dress and out in the waiting room to make another appointment, I noticed his shot record sheet said that he was due for a flu shot. I didn't think they could get them until they were a year old. The receptionist went back to ask the nurse and they told me "Yep, he can get his flu shot now, Do you want him to get it?" Of course I did, but he had finally calmed down and had gone to sleep. I didn't want to wake him up, but I guess its more important that he be protected. Luckily because he was so dead tired, we only cried for a second and went quickly back to sleep once he was in his car seat. I'm sorry Owen. He stats or small, but that runs normal with our family.

Weight: 16.11 lbs 17%

Height: 27.0 inches 61%