Calvin

first feeding of rice cereal

 Sisters helping

 first four wheeler ride

 hanging with Whitney

 All fancy for church. Love the boys clothes!

Cute Halloween pumpkin

Calvin watching Netflix with the girls

Love that happy boy

He has always loved music, even in the belly, so it is fun to have him help the girls with their piano practice. He is starting to play himself, when he isn't trying to eat the keys.

All dressed up in his cute warm stuff to get the tree. Calvin is now 8 months old. He is almost crawling, he rolls both ways, he snatches anything within reach, He hasn't found a food he doesn't like. He just popped out two teeth at the same time as the both of us having a mega cold\flu so no, we still don't sleep much, but it is all worth it. Someday he will figure it out. He is still well taken care of by his sisters and they have been such a help to me. It is so fun watching them together. He has a bouncer that he loves to play in, and some toys, but his favorite is still mom. We love his big blue eyes and his smile, he is super ticklish and loves to giggle. He also gives big, wet kisses. He has learned to do "high 5" and we are working on waving. He says Mama, and just started with Dada. Since Scott starts training "dada" when they are in the womb, I was shocked to have Calvin be my first baby to say Mama as a first word.  he is starting to really love Peek-a-boo. He has recently become a Cheerio champion. I like to call my time when the baby sits in the high chair and amuses himself Cheerio Therapy, it is so nice to be able to cook with two hands sometimes. He is very vocal and definitely communicates what he wants. He is a little high maintenance but overall a good baby and we just love having him here with us. And he is finally growing some hair, so yay! Bring on mobility, life as we know it is going to change!

Finishing the Basement- framing to drywall

 When we built our house we did not finish the whole basement, and instead had it open for the kids to play. We had a couch, carpet remnant and a small tv for them, as well as a little toy kitchen and table. It also was a catch-all and storage area, which served its purpose the last 5 years. We had replaced the contractor yucky insulation attached to the walls with foam board and framed the outside walls. Recently Scott decided to go back to school online, and with the kids getting bigger we were ready to go for it and finish the family room and Man Cave.  This is some of the chaos, a dresser I need to refinish, the elliptical, general messiness I will share with ya. It is what it is, we live here. First thing I did was declutter a bunch, sold some things and threw out more.

 The HVAC was quite fun to deal with. After framing all the walls Scott had to frame these out for drywall..

 It was a LOT of work.

Is this a bathroom? Many people asked. Nope, it is a big closet for Scott to store all his gear in.

 Scott's dad, Kim, was nice enough to come help us with the wiring. He does a great job and we were able to get almost all of it wired in one weekend. Yay for LIGHT down there.And fixing weird switch placement and having all the lights on one switch, which has bugged us since we moved in. (We were not around to mention this to our builders) We added a bunch of can lights and a few other fixtures, as well as lots of outlets.

 After a few more steps we were ready for Insulation. Scott drove to Durango (the nearest Home Depot, about 1.5 hours away), rented a UHaul trailer and loaded it with the pink stuff. A few friends came and helped us put it all up and it really started to take shape down there.

 Scott's taping and mudding skills and desire to carry and install drywall were low, so we hired a friend of ours who is a contractor to do it. They did an amazing job, and watching them work with all their tools and expertise and a three man crew taking about a week and a half to finish just solidified our decision to hire this step out. We are so happy with the results!

 Starting out

 Getting there

 Pretty texture!!

 The most exciting part for the girls and I is the under stairs playhouse. A friend of mine had one and ever since we built we had promised this to the girls as a way to get them excited about the move. Unfortunately it took 5 years to get to it, but it is going to be awesome. And soon Calvin will be crawling around in it. We have a door that will go on there and we will lock it from the outside, just so we can access it to clean, etc, but otherwise it is all for little people.

Next step after Christmas is to prime and paint!! the fun part, yay!

Fishlake Camping Trip

Scott was on a fire detail in Oregon for a few weeks, so when he came back we planned to get in one last camping trip before school began. Camping with a baby is not ideal but we love our new tent trailer and are committed to using it. We packed up and went first to Orem, hit the big, shiny grocery store and got our supplies, then we were off on the trip. The kids all traveled well and were so excited.

 We rented a boat the second day, only 6 were allowed and there were no life jackets for Calvin, so we stayed at camp while the others went out. They fished a little and each got a turn driving the boat. They loved it.

 The third day we went for a picnic near a stream, unfortunately it was running super high, but we played in it a little. That blue flip flop even got a ride down river. I seem to remember mentioning that was going to happen a time or two... Luckily it got caught in some branches downstream and was recovered.

 Sara's little hideout

 Calvin is so cute in his hat!he hates it of course.

 toes in the water

 Coloring on a quiet afternoon, we LOVE the pullout table area. huge perk of our trailer.

 The boys chillaxin'

 Isabel created a wonderful teepee fire and worked on it all morning.

 Camp life

 Mom and Calvin

Calvin all bundled up for the night. yes, it was cold, and the first night was a little rough, the second night Whitney's achy legs were the problem, but the third night went quite well. I think Calvin likes sleeping with mom and dad. He also likes to stare at trees. He does not like wind. He turned 4 months old on this trip. It's definitely work to go camping but as the girls get older they are so much help and so much fun. It is also nice when Scott's phone can't ring. We love making family memories and I know this was a good one. We are already planning for next year.

Back to School 2014

They were up at 6 am, ready to go and so excited to see the new school and all their friends.

Abby is growing up so fast! She has Mrs. Black.

 Sara wanted to wear all her orange and black Buckaroo clothes. She has Mrs. Bunker

 Isabel is also growing up so quickly, I cannot keep her jeans long enough. She has Mrs. Freestone.

 Whitney, I can't believe my little shadow will be gone every afternoon! She is excited, it was hard to wait all morning. She has Mrs. Pehrson, aka Miss Stephanie (there is another Mrs. Pehrson)

 the new school is so pretty

I am so blessed to have such special little girls who are so smart and kind, who get along with others and generally behave themselves. I know it will be a busy year with all 4 in the elementary school, with 3 teachers we have never had before. But we will get organized hopefully and have a great time. We are so thankful we have a wonderful school with wonderful teachers right across the street.  I personally am ready for the incessant beeping and banging of construction to stop, yay!