Girls Night Out

Last night we went to Haley's cabin with her mom Lisa and her sister Kaitlyn in Mt. Loafer Canyon in Salem. We spent the night and came back later this evening. It was just an all girls event (with the exception of Nash and August - the two babies). We all had a great time. The first night Lisa made us some delicious grilled chicken quesadillas. Then we celebrated Haley's birthday by opening presents and eating delicious chocolate pie. We then painted nails, colored, watched movies and just hung out and talked. The kids had a great time with their cousins. The next day Haley made some delicious caramel french toast and fruit. We then went to a fun rope swing and everyone got a chance to swing and have a good time on that. After that we walked down to the pond and had a good time throwing rocks in the water, playing in the spring and enjoy the nature. Adelie got to experience her first time of going to the bathroom in the wilderness. It took a lot of convincing but she eventually did it with the help of me. When she got done she was concerned about wiping so I handed her a leaf and told her that was how it was done in the wilderness. Haley told her she was a real woman now (of course that was the first thing she had to tell her dad about was that she had become a real woman). We then went back to the cabin and ate yummy bagel sandwiches and dipped strawberries in chocolate. They were delicious as well. We all had a great time. Thanks Haley for inviting us!

Mallory and Kaitlyn.

Mallory, Kaitlyn, Adelie, Gwyn & SaraAnn.

Whytli, Kaitlyn & Adelie.

Mallory and SaraAnn.

Haley & Nash.

The kids coloring.

This is all the grand kids on the Rogers side. Nash wasn't too excited to be sitting with the kids. The boys are outnumbered by the girls.

Mallory just got her toes painted - but you can't see them.

Whytli & Adelie's toes just painted.

Waiting for their turn to go on the rope swing in the tree.

Nash just chillin watching everyone go on the swing. He was so good.

Whytli had a great time on the swing - she screamed every time she would go high.

Adelie loved it too and would scream when she got high up. They both couldn't get enough of it - I think we need one in our backyard.

Me on the swing - it was a lot of fun I must admit.

Mallory was not a big fan of it but we forced her to go on it for a bit just so we could say she tried it - she wanted to get off immediately.

Dipping their feet in the spring water coming down.

Monday Memories - Nash's Birth (3-24-08)

My delivery for Nash wasn't too long. I was induced with him (like all my children). By the time they got everything hooked up and going it was about 9:00 AM or so. I had him at 3:37 PM, so a little over 6 hours of labor, which is about how long it took for all my kids. He was 4 days overdue. I had a pretty good, easy delivery and we were so happy to have him here safe with no problems. I had some pregnancy complications in my 3rd trimester which turned out to be a small tear in my placenta and caused some bleeding a few different times. It was definitely a major scare when it happened and I thought I was going to miscarry him. I was in the hospital a few times for it and then after that I was monitored weekly at the hospital for non-stress tests & ultrasounds up until I delivered him. I was definitely happy to have him here and have my pregnancy over with (but who isn't at that point - no more heartburn).

He weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. (my biggest baby) and was 19 1/2 inches long. When it was time to have him Brett called my mom and his mom to bring the kids. They got there pretty fast and were right outside my room when he was born. It was only about 10-15 minutes of pushing and he was out. They were very excited to hear his first cry and were anxious to come see him. While Dr. Wolsey was finishing up with me, Brett took him out to show the girls before the nurse cleaned him up. They were so excited to finally have a little brother. When he was born he was making this little whining, whimpering noise (something like that - not really sure how to explain it) but he was making this noise ALL day. He never stopped until I sent him to the nursery that night at 11:00 PM and when he came back that morning he had stopped. I remember the nurses thinking it was the strangest thing they had ever heard and had never seen a baby do it.



This is me before I had him. Brett always tries to convince me to do the delivery with no epidural or at least hold out as long as I can. He wants to experience some real pain. Yeah right - I'd like to see him try it.

He started out with chubby cheeks.

Brett was excited to finally have his boy.

Mallory wasn't too sure of things at first when he was born. She didn't want anything to do with him or me. She kept giving me this look of betrayal. I felt so bad but finally she warmed up and saw that everyone else was holding him so she needed to. I was glad - she had me worried there for a little bit that she wasn't going to like him.

I'm so thankful to my mother-in-law who has always been great to watch my kids when I have babies and also my sisters who have helped out as well. They are great to make sure their hair looks decent enough to go to the hospital. It is definitely a concern for me but they always do a great job.

The girls watching from the window in the nursery while Nash gets cleaned up.

The prince has finally arrived! Stephanie got us this onesie. It was perfect. He is such a little blessing in our family and we love him so much. I was scared to have a baby boy but it is great. I don't know what I was scared of.

Stadium of Fire - Miley Cyrus

We went to the Stadium of Fire to see Miley Cyrus! Yeah!!! The kids were so excited. They have been asking every morning for a week now how many more days until we go. They got prepared beforehand for her concert by listening to music of hers for weeks in the car and their MP3 players (thanks to their dad who bought them the music). We are big fans of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus in our house and watch her TV show all the time. I think we have seen every episode. It was really great seeing her in concert and now they are just going to have to see her in concert as Hannah Montana next. I felt a little bad because at the end of Stadium of Fire when we were walking out Whytli asked, “Mom, aren't we going to get her autograph and a picture with her?” I explained to her that there were way too many people there and that it would be impossible for her to do that because everyone would want to get a picture and autograph with her. The look of a little disappointment on her face was so sad. I felt bad and wished I could have gotten it for her, but I know she still had a great time and was happy to have gone. The Blue Man Group came as well and they were a little disappointing because we have seen them in Las Vegas and they hardly performed anything that they did there. The patriotic stuff was great as well as the fireworks at the end. A fun time was definitely had by all of us.

Picture of us at the stadium (not the best picture of me)

They of course had to get shirts for the event! We even got aunt Lacey one too. (She wanted it)

It's Miley....can you tell?

Lacey made sure the girls got into the concert with her. She didn't have to try too hard. They had a great time singing and dancing the whole time!

Soooo Tired!

They had such a big night and were so tired they couldn't even make it home without falling asleep!

Adelie will laugh at this picture one day. She looks like this every time she falls asleep in the car.

My mom was so kind to watch Nash while we went to the Stadium of Fire. He was great for her the whole time (of course, as always). He wouldn't have liked it - it was way too noisy for him. He startles and scares too easily.

But I Don't Want to Eat Just Ranch

Today we went to my aunt's Ranch in Woodland Hills, which is called Harry's Ranch. We always go there for the 4th of July with all our family and extended family and have a barbecue. It is private and has a huge pond with a trampoline in the middle, paddle boats, canoes, diving board, rope swing, and you can swim and fish. The whole area is surrounded with beach sand and it has several other things like a tree house, swings, pavilion, etc. Everyone usually brings their swimsuits. Anyway, it is a lot of fun and the kids usually really enjoy it. We have been going there for years so you would think my kids would remember what it is. Well, that wasn't the case today. As we were getting ready Adelie asked me a question about where we were going and I told her we were going to Harry's Ranch to eat. She then said in a very whiney voice, "But I don't want to eat just ranch." I got a good laugh out of it before I explained to her that we weren't going to just eat ranch, that the place was just called Harry's Ranch and it had nothing to do with ranch dressing. She was relieved when I explained it to her. I just thought that was so funny, I had to write it down.

Best Friends - Mallory & Pieper

Mallory & Pieper just love playing with each other. They get along so great and are just the best of friends. Mallory always says when talking about Pieper, "Mom, Pieper's my best friend. I like her and she likes me mom." It is so cute. They both just have the cutest little personalities and are at such cute ages. They may at times fight (or bite) but they seem to get over it pretty quickly. I love that they get along so well and like I say over and over....who better to have as your best friend than your own cousin. I'm so thankful that we live so close to all our family. People may think we are crazy at times for being so close but I wouldn't change it for anything. I hope my kids will always love being with their cousins like I did and still do now.

They are always willing to share anything with each other (usually) and are always concerned about each others welfare.

Posing for the camera.

Pieper came to our house the other day after they got done swimming at her house and Mallory & Pieper decided to change themselves out of their swimsuits and put pajamas on. Mallory got them both pull ups and her PJs, pulled their hair out and they decided to take a nap together. I kept checking on them and they were pretending to be sleeping. I got a picture of them pretending to be sleeping without them knowing I was there. They also sat and read books in Mallory's room.

Sleepover with Kynli

The kids had a sleepover with Kynli last Friday night (she invited herself but hey it doesn't matter). They had a great time. They set up their princess tent in the playroom and slept in there. On Saturday they had a great time - they were good at keeping themselves busy all day. I never heard one complaint of them being bored (which makes me love having friends or cousins over for that very reason....they stay entertained). They really enjoyed playing with the dominoes, making castles and towers. Kynli stayed about a total of 25 hours and still wasn't ready to go home when her mom came to get her. We were thinking about keeping her permanently. For some reason Jennifer was more willing to give up Creed than Kynli but we declined (not that we don't love Creed). I love that my kids best friends are their cousins.

20 Questions about my Mom & Dad

Whytli was tagged by Abbi (on Shannon's blog) to answer 20 questions about her mom. I decided to ask Whytli and Adelie these 20 questions about me and Brett. Brett asked them the questions about me and I asked them the questions about Brett. We did it individually so they would not give the same answers as each other.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
W: Make your bed
A: Clean your room

Your dad?
W: Shut the door
A: Obey your father

2. What makes mom happy?
W: Going to parties
A: Good kids

Your dad?
W: When we listen
A: If I don't hurt him

3. What makes mom sad?
W: Naughty kids
A: Bad kids

Your dad?
W: When mom & kids go on vacation without him, he gets teary eyed
A: If I hurt him

4. How does mom make you laugh?
W: When she scares dad
A: When she talks to Nash and he smiles

Your dad?
W: When he says we are going to eat worms
A: Tickling me

5. What was mom like as a child?
W: Nice
A: Obedient

Your dad?
W: A farmer
A: Obedient

6. How old is your mom?
W: 29
A: 15

Your dad?
W: 30
A: 18 as old as mom

7. How tall is your mom?
W: 5 ft. 1 inch
A: Taller than her sisters

Your dad?
W: 6 ft. 1 inch
A: Taller than Whytli

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
W: Go on dates with dad
A: Talk to Nash

Your dad?
W: Play video games, hang out with family, and watch buddy movies
A: Play basketball

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
W: Clean the house
A: Clean the house

Your dad?
W: Do stuff on the computer
A: Drink chocolate milk

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
W: Fashion show
A: I don't know

Your dad?
W: Best person who knows how to work computers and fix them
A: Talking on the computer

11. What is your mom really good at?
W: Being cute
A: Driving

Your dad?
W: Playing sports and fixing computers
A: Playing basketball

12. What is your mom not very good at?
W: Spelling
A: Building a house

Your dad?
W: Doing my hair
A: Cooking what mom cooks

13. What does your mom do for her job?
W: Watch the kids
A: Clean the house

Your dad?
W: Computer stuff
A: Work

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
W: Spaghetti
A: Watermelon shakes

Your dad?
W: Angel hair pasta with favorite sauce and chicken
A: Cereal

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
W: When she does what is right
A: When she lets me hold Nash

Your dad?
W: For being a good dad
A: For tickling me

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
W: Snow White (because she looks like her - skinny with short black hair)
A: Phineas and Ferb's mom

Your dad?
W: Aladdin (because he has blackish hair like him)
A: Phineas and Ferb's dad

17. What do you and your mom do together?
W: Watch our favorite shows (What Not To Wear and dancing shows)
A: Go out to eat

Your dad?
W: Play video games, sports and watch buddy movies
A: Watch Princess Bride without Whytli

18. How are you and your mom the same?
W: Both cute
A: Straight hair

Your dad:?
W: Both have blue eyes and curly hair
A: Our eyebrows are the same

19: How are you and your mom different?
W: She has short hair and I have long hair
A: Clothes

Your dad?
W: He has dark blue eyes and I have light blue
A: Our hair

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
W: She takes care of me
A: Makes me be good

Your dad?
W: He takes care of me
A: Because he is nice to me sometimes

Now Whytli and Adelie tag: Laura Ann, Adriana, Isabel, Tymber & Tyme.

Monday Memories - Peanut Butter....or is it Baby Brother? (March 18, 2008)

When I was pregnant with Nash the kids always talked about their baby brother that was in my tummy. When Mallory would talk about him I always wondered why she would talk about peanut butter too until one day I realized she was really saying baby brother not peanut butter. We used to love it so much we would always make her say it and for some reason it never got old to us - it was always good for a laugh. All you had to say was, "Mallory, who is in Mom's tummy?" and she would say it every time. The funny thing was is she didn't think she was saying it wrong and probably wondered why we always thought it was so funny because we made her say it A LOT! Thanks to Mallory he wasn't even born and he already had his first nickname. I just love how little toddlers talk and say things. You just don't ever really want them to grow up and learn to say it the right way sometimes. This is a video of her saying it just about a week before Nash was born. Tell me what you think...does it sound like peanut butter or baby brother?