The Keough Family

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

It was fun getting ready for Halloween this year because the kids, especially Max, actually understood what was going on and there were no tears when it came to wearing a costume, like previous years. :)

Batman and a Princess

We had a great ward Halloween Party and trunk or treat. Sadie was obsessed with this girl in our ward that dressed up as Barbie. Sadie thought she was a real Barbie and the girl was so sweet and hugged Sadie and talked to her for a while. Sadie was in heaven!
Max had fun with some games and Sadie cheered him on.
Trunk or treating. They were so good and polite. As always Max was cautious about going car to car, which I love about him, and Sadie just dropped her bucket in front of each person waiting for candy, running from car to car, and seriously going crazy from all the candy...which I love about her too!
Sampling some of their loot.
This year I opted to paint pumpkins with the kids rather than carve. I thought it would be more fun for them, rather than watching me do most of the work. They loved it. It was the first time we had finger painted and I think I would actually do it again, because they loved it and actually stayed really clean and didn't paint any furniture or walls. :)

Although as I washed Max's hands, Sadie took some liberties with her paint. :)

Fall Festivities

2010-10-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we visited a really cool pumpkin patch with Max's old preschool class. It was so much fun, complete with corn to walk through, hay rides, a forrest, bridge and castle with a tunnel to climb in. The kids had so much fun!!

Checking things out together before we went into the cornfields.
Sadie was so excited to be in a princess castle. I literally had to pull her out kicking and screaming.
Max was in a playhouse next to the castle and just think this pic turned out cute of him. :)
Fun tunnel.
Max was a little curious about this pumpkin guy. Sadie just kicked him.
Sadie and I on the hayride.
Max was pretty curious about everything on the hayride.
It was so gorgeous all around the property.

Not happy that all the pumpkins were medium size. He was hoping for a really, really big one!
Sadie was too tired to care.

A couple days later I decided to do something I had vowed never to do with kids....decorate sugar cookies!
What I love about Sadie's cookies above are all the finger marks you can see in her frosting where she wiped the frosting off and then ate it. :)
And what I love about Max's were the monster's he made with the pretzels I was snacking on to combat my ongoing morning sickness and that several cookies have bites already taken out of them.

Max is really excited about Halloween! Everyday he asks Aaron and I what we are dressing up as. I told him mommies don't have to dress up but daddy will. :)

Civil War Commemoration

2010-10-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we attended the annual Civil War Revisited event at Kearney Park. I loved attending this when I was younger with my Grandma and Grandpa McLelland, so it was fun to go again this year. It was an unseasonably , miserable, humid and hot weekend, but we still managed to have fun and survive the heat!

This year, the event commemorated Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

The kids next to one of several huge, and loud cannons.
A solider's tent.
Some of the campgrounds.
A tent full of explosives. At first I thought it was just trying to portray a tent full of explosives, without actually explosives inside, but then I noticed the fire extinguisher so I'm thinking there possibly could have been explosives inside.
All Megan wanted was kettle corn, so we made sure to get the biggest bag possible. :)
Who couldn't love this face?! Although she is in desperate need of a bang trim.
And this face too! So excited to see army guys fight!
Sadie kept wanting to go see some horses nearby the spot we were saving to watch the battle, and after no adult would take her, she convinced Max to hold her hand and make a run for it together. And yes, I took several pictures before actually stopping them. :)
But really, it was so sweet.
Unfortunately as soon as the first cannon went off, all Max's excitement left and the tears came. Poor little man, he was genuinely terrified. I even shed a few tears because I felt so bad for him.
Sadie was pretty tough, although every time a cannon went off she panicked and wanted her ears covered, but then bounced back quick. She was mostly just in love with this little horse we bought her. She was really sweet towards Max trying to comfort him, although he made sure everyone knew both he and Sadie were scared of the cannons. :) Here Sadie is with Grandpa McLelland, showing off her horse.
It was really a cool battle to watch. The horses were always really close to where we sat which made it more interesting.

This is when they were both scared at one point and both had to be on Dad's lap....just to prove Max right that they were both afraid. :)
Towards the end Sadie got really tired and just wanted to be held with her ears covered. I didn't mind, since it's rare a toddler wants to sit still and let you hold them!
I love that my brothers love learning about battles, wars, and history. They watch a lot of History Channel specials and I think it's so great that they have this love for history...although it's mostly fueled by a love for war histories.
I think Megan was the happiest about Sadie wanting to be held. They had a nice little rest together. :)

It was a fun day and a great way to remember the history of our great nation!!

Sadie's 2nd Birthday!

2010-09-05T21:06:00.001-07:00

Well, our baby girl turned 2 this week (2 going on 12, but hey, it's ok!).

She has slept this way since she was born. I love that she still does it! This girl loves her beauty rest.
I made my 2nd attempt at sewing her a dress. I was much happier this time with how it turned out, but I'm realizing that she is such a petite things and patterns always need to be more narrow in the shoulders for her....so this dress falls off her a lot. Oh well!
She's a very wiggly model so it was hard to capture a good photo. oh, and I couldn't find my camera so all these photos were taken from my phone, so they are a little grainy. Sorry!
We had a little extended family birthday party for her two nights before her actual birthday because I was going out of town for a family wedding on her birthday. This was the cake I made....an ice cream potted flower cake (oreos used to make it look like potting soil on top). Anyone that knows Sadie knows she LOVES to eat dirt (even today at nursery they took the kids on a walk and I saw Sadie come in with a mouth full of dirt). There's no stopping her...she'll hopefully grow out of it...right???? For now I'm not too concerned.

Checking out her presents. This was when she started to realize she was the star of the evening.

Trying to convince great grandma mclelland to open a gift for her early. :)

She then realized that wasn't working so later she started giving out hugs (something she does every so often, when she feels like it)...hoping to find someone that will start helping her open gifts!

Ahh, finally time for gifts! She was a happy and spoiled (in a good way) little girl! Thanks to all our family for the great gifts!

No joke, for 2 months I did occasional research to find a great doll for her-one that was soft and cuddly, easy to clean, durable and had long play time based on other parents online reviews. I'm a little crazy, I know. But I love this doll and so it was so fun to see her love it too!

Once I found the doll I had to get the matching diaper bag as well! She loves bags/purses! Preparing to be a mom on the go!

Real men (in Toy Story underwear) carry diaper bags too!

So, since Christmas I have also been in love with this wooden doll care center at Target. It was a bit more than I wanted to pay so I was so excited when I found it for sell on craigslist from a really nice family who's daughter had hardly used it. Sadie LOVES it....and so did all the kids, even the older boys! They were all playing with it! And the best thing is it was in great condition and SO cheap!

This picture is especially for Megan. She was complaining that night that I am never in any of the photos (and the few she took of me against my wishes that night I deleted) so here is my earring and arm. Enjoy!!

Sadie was a little freaked out by the fire on the candle..totally out of character for her. So Max, her eternal protector, blew it out for her.

On her birthday morning before I left for out of town, I picked up some sprinkled doughnuts for her.

Sometimes she looks like Mowgli from Jungle Book to me. I love that about her!

Pop (Aaron's grandpa) called her and sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she had a huge smile on her face the whole time!

Although this was her a few minutes earlier right after she woke up with her typical "mom, it's 8 am and you are seriously already getting on my nerves" look. I get it every morning...and I love it!

This Max helping(fighting?) her open her presents from Grandma and Grandpa Keough, and Aunt Emma. The princess wrapping paper was a huge hit!! She loved everything in the box!! I tried to get more pics, of her trying on the shoes and dresses, but I was also having to play referee between her and Max so all the pics were blury! Thank you though for everything!!

I love my little girl! I think the thing I love most about her is that she makes it clear that I am seriously bugging her most of the time. :) Is that bad? She does have a lot of sweet bones in her body and can be so loving most of the time, but when she's not in the mood, you'll know! She rolls her eyes already so far into the back of her head, you think they will be lost. Probably shouldn't be proud of that, I know, but it's hard not to laugh. We are in the full blown terrible two's, so numerous timeouts are apart of her daily ritual, but we also spend a lot of time playing dolls, doing princess dances, giving her manicures and pedicures (my absolute favorite thing to do for her!), watching Caillou and Dora, playing outside, watching her swim with no fear whatsoever of the water, or concern if someone is even there to catch her if she jumps in, playing monster trucks and doggies with her brother, and more! She talks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we love her little voice. She is a joy and a challenge to raise and I wouldn't have it any other way!! We love you Sadie Rose!!!!

July!!

2010-08-15T21:23:00.001-07:00

Another month has flown by! This summer really has gone by fast (and slow at times...like the days when it's over 100 degrees for several days in a row and we have to AC :)). We've been swimming A LOT! Both of the kids have great tans, Max can swim all over the pool by himself, and Sadie has no fear of the water and just goes right off the edge and steps with no care as to if someone will be there to catch her. Next year she will also be getting swimming lessons for sure!

So here is the month of July wrap up...

4th of July
4th of July is still my favorite holiday! I'll admit I'm always a little bummed when it falls on a Sunday, but we still had a great day this year. It started with church followed by a small BBQ at home after naps.
Then we went to my parents where we also celebrated Samuel's 4th birthday. I LOVE these cupcakes Tami made based on the aliens from Toy Story! So cute!!

I could take pictures of this little girl all day! She is so cute! I love getting her ready for church. She is being more cooperative these days when it comes to doing her hair, and she loves to dress up in dresses, and especially loves a great pair of shoes.

Best Buddies- Max and Sam

Having a little lesson in Firework Safety.

Sadie was not a huge fan of fireworks at first. But her reactions were great!

Family Campout
So excited to leave!! If only we knew...this would be the camping trip from Hell. Literally, because it was humid and in the high 90's. It felt like we were in hell. It was MISERABLY HOT, thick with mosquitos...oh and the cute little girl in the picture above, well an hour into the trip she vommited twice. Nice. We were camping this year at a new place and the curves to get there were horrible, it took forever, and again, was miserably hot and no breezes came through the campground. I think it's safe to say we will never go there again, and will stick to Shaver.

The saving grace of our 3 day camp trip was a wonderful little river nearby that we had a blast playing in Friday night and all day Saturday. I wish I could have just slept in the river and never left to go back to the campground.

Sadie didn't love the river as much as the fact that I was so hot and exhausted that I didn't stop her from drinking my soda. This girl loves her DC. What can I say, she's a product of her parents!

At one point we looked and Max and Sam were taking off in the boat. These two are always trying to escape together, out windows, on boats, etc. :)

William pretty much had the same idea as Sadie...to just eat everything in site all day. He's so cute!

I was trying to get Sadie to take a little nap with me. I think we both did get a few minutes of sleep.

Love my Max!!

We didn't have room to pack Aaron's fishing poles which was a bummer because they had just stocked the river, but he did catch one by hand! We were all super impressed! Bear Giles, watch out!

This is why I brave it in the outdoors, dirt and heat. The kids loved camping and these boys were in the natural element.

So sleepy!

So remember how I mentioned Sadie threw up twice on the way up? Well, I washed her carseat out and left it out to dry and during the night an animal took off with the straps to the carseat. Awesome. SO we had to drive home with Max buckled in the middle and Sadie in his carseat (since she's smaller). Both my uncles in the CHP said they totally would have bought my story had they pulled me over. :) I did make Sadie hold a bucket on the way home, which she subsequently wore on her head most of the way down.

Sacramento/Lake Tahoe
The last weekend in July we went to visit my cousin Melanie and her family in Sacramento while Aaron worked all that week at the State Fair, also in Sacramento. The first day there we drove a couple hours north to Lake Tahoe. It totally lived up to everything I've ever heard about it!! It was absolutely gorgeous! I was shocked at how clear and blue the water was. I hope to go up many more times and check out the area and lake some more!

Day two we went and visited Aaron at the State Fair. The company he works for, Alhambra, had a couple booths there. He got us free tickets which was great!! And the kids were so happy to see Dad!
There was an amazing dinosaur exhibit which Max was terrified of, although he played it off nicely by playing Sadie's protector.

The Jensens (minus Marley)

Sadie and Marley...it's a love/hate relationship. I hope as the grow (and Sadie hopefully becomes nicer) that they will be close!!

Some cool animals in the rainforest exhibit

Awesome BMX bike show. It was hot, but we had great seats!

All the kids got to milk a cow too, and they loved it! Later that night Max told me, "Mom, that cow had two wee's and milk came out of them!" We've since explained that they are udders, but it was funny!

We had a fun month and are laying low this month, enjoying the last days of summer...and looking forward to Sadie turning 2 in a couple weeks. Stayed tuned for photos.....

Catchin' Up!

2010-06-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

I'm back to blogging! I don't even know why I haven't blogged in so long...lot's going on but also laziness I'll admit. But I'm back at it now. Here is a quick recap of the last two months. It has been a fun summer so far!

MAY

At the end of May Aaron's parents and two sisters came out to visit us for 5 days and we had SO much fun with them! I only have a few pictures, I need to get copies from everyone, but it was such a great couple of days and we were all sad to see them leave! Max still talks about getting Gamma, Pa and Nan from the airport, and how he will share his toys with Baby T in Elle's tummy. :)
One day we all went to the zoo. The weather was so perfect the whole time they were here, and that always makes the zoo more enjoyable for me! :)

These kids would love to roam with the animals!

One night we went to John's Incredible Pizza for dinner and Emma was such a trooper to ride the little train with the kids!
Another night we went to Farmer's Market in Old Town Clovis. Again, because the weather was so nice, it made it such an enjoyable night walking around, listening to music and enjoying some good food. Especially the great Kettle Corn that Grandma bought!!
The kids also got to go on little pony rides. I wasn't sure how Sadie would react, but as she is around most animals, she was fearless and loved it! Seriously, where did I get these kids who have no fear of animals?? Definitely a great trait they inherited from Aaron!!
Starting the last week in April, Max started swim lessons at Jan Thomas Swim School. He has his last lesson the first day all the Keough family arrived, so Emma got to come see him show off all he had learned and receive his gold medal and blue ribbon. Max loved his teacher Tori and going to his swim school, and the lessons have definitely worked. He is swimming like a champ!

JUNE

We took a day trip to Yosemite a couple weekends ago. It was GORGEOUS, and super crowded, but we still had a fun family day, saw a black bear (Max still talks about that everyday-it was close, not too close, but close enough to see) and saw some beautiful waterfalls. We only hiked one trail, because it took three hours just to do that with the kids, and they were exhausted, so a lot of these shots are from the car as we drove around very slowly in heavy traffic.

This was after our hike leaving the park. Max crashed because he had not slept on the drive up because he was so excited! :)
What a life!

This is the only shot I got of the bear. It was on the way back to our car after our hike. We saw him before we left and when we came back, he was just hanging out there all day. He's the big blob in the middle.

They love to hold hands in the car. I think it's so sweet!

This last week my cousin Melanie and her 3 kids came to stay with us for a couple of days. Her mom and brothers also were in town so it was swim parties, playing and great food every day. One day Melanie and I were in the pool with 14 kids! It was great though, and exhausting, but I loved every minute of it, and was sad when they left! Hopefully we can get together again soon!
Mine and Melanie's kids in the van. Seriously, have you ever seen 5 cuter kids?! :)
Bikini Babes

And now we are back to normal life. Today it is 105 degrees and I'm wondering whether or not I really can survive a summer with no central AC. I'll be stocking up on fans tomorrow at Target for sure!! We're looking forward to the 4th of July, probably my favorite holiday of the year, and more fun, swimming, free weekly movies, family, and BBQ's this summer! Oh yeah, and work and school too! :)

Birthday Week 2010

2010-04-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a fun and exhausting week!! Celebrating is really tiring! :) We had such a fun week celebrating birthdays. The following pictures are horribly out of order, but it's late and I'm so tired...sorry.

Max's birthday celebrations started with Monster Jam last Friday night. He was a boy in heaven. He was so excited all week leading up to it, and has talked about it non stop since! :)

The only picture I got with my birthday boy...he was too busy playing with presents to take pics.

By the time his birthday was over, he had a acquired quite a collection of monster trucks. Now, he didn't receive all of them for his birthday, but because he only has one interest and so many people that love him, his collection really has grown! :)

Opening presents from Ma and Pa Keough...he was SOO excited when the package arrived!

We had a little party the night before his actual birthday. With just my younger cousins and siblings, it was quite a party!

This little girl couldn't stop eating cake!

Sadie and Lindsey

Blowing out the candles on the car cakes. I did a very simple birthday cake this year, but it was a hit with the kids because they each got their own car cake and ice cream. No decorating required. It just goes to show you, kids are easy to please!! They were really cute car cakes though (thanks to my mother in law Joyce for buying the cake pan!! :) )

This is funny because I was trying to be a really sweet wife and put some candles on the cakes for Aaron's birthday...but he was actually turning 26, not 25. Opps....I didn't realize it until he was blowing out the candles and asked "Who's turning 25?" :)

For my birthday we went up to the mountains and Bass Lake. The kids had a lot of fun at the lake...and got super muddy!

All my big kids playing in the mud! Aaron is such a good sport!

This is Max's superman pose. :)

What I love about Sadie is that she can be the prettiest and the grossest thing at the same time. :)

No pictures of Aaron's birthday. :( He had to go to work, but luckily it was a training day for his new sales position at work, so it was a shorter day. We went out to dinner with friends and had a great time!

Thanks to all our friends and family for making each of our birthdays so special, and hanging in there with us throughout the week!

Happy 3rd Birthday Max!

2010-04-19T22:36:00.001-07:00

Seriously...how did this little thing get so big already?! :) Tomorrow is Max's 3rd Birthday!! I know I've fallen behind in updating our blog, but I will update later this week after Birthday Week 2010 is over! :)

Spring!

2010-03-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Spring is HERE!!! Hooray!! We've been enjoying gorgeous weather (although rain is in the forecast this week). Here are some things we've been enjoying with the warmer weather.

First off, it looks like snow (or popcorn, as I tell Max and Sadie) on the trees, but it really is beautiful blossoms. I love all the orchards around us, because this time of year they are breathtaking with all the blossoms.

We've been spending time on Saturdays working outside and cleaning things up around the house. This Saturday we were outside all day working, planting a garden and doing some serious pruning and mowing.

I've also decided Sadie has it best in our home. She is the only one that gets to sleep in every Saturday and enjoy a leisurely breakfast while we start working. But seriously, she's so cute, she deserves that beauty rest! :)

And all she needs is a bucket to keep her occupied and busy!

Um, yes, Max learned how to take care of business outside this weekend. Aaron told him what to do, but Max wouldn't go outside. About an hour later I found him like this. Aaron would like to clarify that never in his instructions did he say to completely strip down and then proceed to run around the back and front yard naked as Max did. :)The garden. We have two sides to plant on, on either side of our shed in the backyard. We just planted the first side this weekend. We planted two kinds of squash, green beans, peas, 2 kinds of tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, peppers and carrots. Next weekend we are going to plant corn, pumpkins, and watermelon. Hopefully out of all this, something will grow! :) I wanted to plant all organic, in preparation for the organic farm I want to own one day :), but Aaron was not as interested in that. He gave in and I picked out all organic seeds, but when there was no organic compost available, we ended up with regular stuff. :( It says it contains all organic materials, but in the little bit I have studied on organics, you can't trust that. Oh well....I'm still holding out for the organic farm. :)

It was so gorgeous Sunday, we drove up to Millerton Lake, about 20 min away, to take a little walk. The drive alone was so beautiful!

We stopped at the old court house at Millerton Lake for our walk, one of my favorite spots. Before my mission and post mission, I would drive up here when I needed to do some of my best thinking. :)

This is not just a "when I write on my blog, I make my life sound perfect" statements, but, really I love this picture because Aaron is such a wonderful father and this picture shows that! He is so sweet and caring with the kids! They are so lucky to have such an attentive and fun Dad! :)

Max could literally throw rocks in the water all day!

Sadie's struggle with rocks is that she would rather eat them than throw them. Yum!
No, they're not kissing, although it looks like it! This water fountain was one of the highlight's of the little trip for them. Really, all it takes to make kids happy is a water fountain! :)

Well, that's all for now! I am taking a few days off work this week and looking forward to being home all day!!!

Back By Popular Demand!

2010-03-07T20:15:00.001-08:00

Not blogging for a few weeks has been good for my self esteem...I have had several requests for a blog post and updates! Who am I kidding though, all anyone wants to see are Max and Sadie. :)

Here are a bunch of pics from the last month.

Lately Sadie is OBSESSED with purses...and shoes, sunglasses and anything pretty that you can accessorize with. She doesn't leave the house without her purse!
Yesterday I took her to Costco while Max and Aaron were at Monster Jam (photos of that event to come soon, once I download them from Aaron's phone) and the little stinker threw a huge fit about sitting in the cart. So I let her down, with her purse on her arm, and she walked the whole store with me, staying right next to me, and pointing at things she wanted in the cart. She is an experienced shopper at 18 months!!

Today was such a gorgeous day. After 2 weeks of rain it is nice to have the sun back again!
Sometimes playing is so exhausting.
It's hard to see, but Max loves finding worms....and bringing them to me so I can see. :)
Cheese!
This was one LONG rainy day! I think we ended up bringing out every toy, building a huge fort, and eating a ton of snacks.
More worms. One thing rain is good for, making worms easier to find.
With all the rain, we've been getting our garden turned up and ready for planting. Max and Dad we're having to have a little chat here about using shovels properly. I love how Max loves to work with Aaron and really pays attention to what he's teaching him. :)
Sadie's and her goatee. Can't keep dirt out of her mouth!
Sadie just carries these buckets all over the yard whenever she is outside. Our dog Riley, is good with the kids. He's a good dog, even though most of the time he gets on my nerves. He's also super hyper and crazy.
Showing Dad worms.
Max helped me one day, without me asking, by putting the clothes away. This is the toy box. :)
When Aaron's company changed, and they paid him his vacation, we took the kids on a little shopping trip to the Disney Store. Sadie loves Aristocats so we had been wanting to get her a cat from it for a while, and she was so excited when she saw one at the store! Max got his "shishy". Who needs Disney Land at this age when the Disney Store is exciting enough?!

Last Saturday Max and Aaron went on a road trip to Bass Pro Shop, a couple hours away. Here he is demonstrating how his new fishing pole works. They have some good fishing trips planned for the summer!
Stylin'
When we go to the park all Sadie wants to do is swing!
And all Max wants to do is climb this thing he can't climb down from. :)
This was a very exciting event....the city had a day where you could put stuff out on your curb that doesn't normally fit in a garbage can. The streets get pretty full on junk and to clean it all up it takes a garbage truck and huge tractor. The kids loved it!
This is why packages of cookies can't be left within reach of these two.....
...and why I can't talk on the phone with these two. A few minutes of distraction and this is how I find them, on my bed, watching TV and eating cookies. Partners in crime.

Happy Valentine's Day....is that politically correct?

2010-02-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

I ask the question above because today on "My Friends Tigger and Pooh", they were celebrating Happy Love Day, which made me wonder if that is the politically correct way to say it. Today, we have the Daytona 500, chicken wings and chocolate chip cookies. Sounds like a good day to me, even the Daytona 500, it's growing on me! :)

Max drew this picture on my phone a couple weeks ago. When he finished, he look at me with a huge smile and said , "See mom, Coke." So all those dark colored strips represent a bottle of Diet Coke. :)

Our Dancing Queen

2010-02-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night we had a Primary Quarterly Activity for our ward Primary. I took Sadie with me because Aaron had to work late and Max played with my cousins at their house. We had such a fun time!! It really was a great activity! Sadie LOVED all the attention from the primary kids, and she LOVED the music we danced to. She got in on a little of the action! Here are a couple videos showcasing her moves, or single move, bobbing up and down! ;)

The Toilet Catastrophe

2010-01-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

The Evil Mastermind....don't be fooled by his adorable face!

The culprit with it's captor

The aftermath

Yes...Max put a block in the toilet and it was flushed. Aaron saved the toilet, and our pipes. There are more details....but you don't want to know! :) Thanks to Aaron for saving the day!! I know although it was not a fun job, he enjoyed this very manly task, and did a great job!

Can't Complain

2010-01-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

You seriously can't complain about Central Valley, CA winters!! We might have a few "cold" days, and lot's of fog....but then we have beautiful crisp days perfect for playing outside! I took the kids for a much needed afternoon at the park yesterday. It was a bit windy, but oh so nice!

The new park near us has lot's of cool fake rocks and rock walls to climb on. Max loves them!
Sadie has figured out how to go down the slide. Such a big girl!

I finally cut Sadie's mullet off! :) I tried to give her a little A-line cut...it kind of turned out that way. It's not a perfect cut, but so much better than the mullet!

Loving her Uncle Tyler! She looks like "I'm so fat I can't move!"

This is how she likes to watch TV. It's not easy being short!
Going to Costco. Now why can't Target make double carts like this! Most of the time I don't even need to go Costco when I go, but it's a way to get out and strap them both in. Target's double cart is weird, and a beast to push. We do love Costco though, free samples and $1.50 hot dogs and soda! YUM!
Although Sadie is perfectly happy to just eat dirt! :)
And happy also to have Max dump dirt on her! She was laughing everytime he poured a bucket on her!

Below are some videos from the park yesterday. Nothing too special, just fun to watch them play. Just ignore my super annoying voice...and the wind. Most importantly my super annoying voice though, I hate hearing it on recordings.

Beautiful Babies

2010-01-12T15:38:00.001-08:00

My mom asked me to scan these baby photos of us kids at work today. They are so cute I had to post them all, especially for Megan who I know will love seeing them! I made the mistake of scanning them in the feeder, so they look a little distorted, but I thought I'd post them anyways while I rescan them the slower way. Enjoy!

Baby Tyler!! Still our baby! :) Still MY baby! I was almost 18 when he was born, and there was some scary moments during his birth. I prayed so hard when we were in the waiting room. After we got to see him in the nursery and stayed behind after the other kids left and cried so hard! He was born at a time when we needed him the most! He made us smile and still does!Baby McKay...I loved this little chunk! I was 15 when he was born and I still remember coming to visit him the first time in the hospital, seeing him and thinking, "He's HUGE!" And SOO cute! After Tyler was born, he would come get in bed with me a lot at nights and I loved cuddling with him! He had the best imagination too, and still does! He's growing up to be such a cool kid, and so fit (he works out every morning and night :)...no longer my little chunk!
Baby Matthew...the first boy and spoiled rotten...kidding..although to this day, his sisters like to call him the Golden Child! :) He deserves it though, he is great! I was 10 when he was born and BEGGED my mom to let me share a room with him. I won, and I LOVED getting him at night when he woke up and taking him to my mom. I wish I could do that now with my own kids! :) When I came home from my mission, he had changed and grown the most, and for the first couple days I was home I felt like Matthew was gone and my parents had a adopted a new kid in his place, he was so different, in a good way, just no longer a little boy like when I had left! I still love hanging out with him!
Baby Katie!! Mine and Megan's little doll...we loved to dress her up! When I think of Katie as a baby I think of watermelon's, because she loved them and had the cutest watermelon dress!! I can't even believe she's on a mission now! It's also crazy to be able to remember so much about her being a baby, and then having her help me so much with my babies...I am OLD! :) Love you Katie!! Oh, and for a mission update...she is LOVING it, she is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, serving in a branch of 20 active members. For those of you that know Katie, you know this is her dream come true!
Baby Megan....I can't even remember her not being around!! I've always adored her and felt very protective of her! When she wanted my toys at my birthday parties, I happily gave her one ( I know you love being reminded of that :) ). We did have some fights growing up, but not many..I only remember one, and so does she, when I threw hangers at her! Still feel bad about that!! I look up to her so much and glad she is still one of my best friends, and sister! Everyone looks forward to her visits, she makes us laugh and makes everything fun! She is a talker, and we love to tease her about it, but everyone misses it when she is gone! Especially ME!!!!
Baby Kristen....hands down the most beautiful baby of the bunch!! And I'm sure my mom would agree, the most easy going! Haha, just kidding! I always think Max and Sadie look most like Aaron, different versions though-Max, like a young Aaron from the photos I've seen, and Sadie like Aaron now...but looking at this I can see more of them in me. Lucky kids! :) Again, just kidding, I'm really not THIS full of myself!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T20:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm so out of blogging, that I can't get these pictures posted in order...but I'm not motivated to repost them in order...sorry! We had a wonderful Christmas!! It was so fun putting Christmas together for the kids and watching them open presents! They were both so excited! And we had so much fun seeing Megan and Dustin. Max was in love with Megan, or "man" as he calls her. :)
They got a little play kitchen from us, and Max loves to cook!
I love this picture! My busy little lady!
A mom on the go! Feeding her new baby in her new car from Grandma and Grandpa Keough.
Cute!
Max and Dad looking at some new blocks.
Max helped Sadie go through her stocking.
Loving her new baby!
This picture is funny, but one of the few words Sadie can say is "wow", as she is here in this picture when she saw her new baby doll.
The presents set up on Christmas Eve after "Santa" had finished his work.
Christmas Eve we went to my Grandma McLelland's house, for the traditional lighting of the bags all over the neighborhood. We also opened presents from my grandma. Here are my 3 handsome brothers!
I grew up playing in, and loving, this play room at their house. It is so fun to watch my kids play in it now. Here is Sadie with my cousin Leah's daughter Lily, who is about 3 months younger than Sadie. Two cuties!

Me and my girl!
Sadie got this adorable dress from Grandma and Grandpa Keough and the boots are a gift from Grandpa Powell. Is it sad that I'm jealous of Sadie's wardrobe??!!
Our little family on Christmas Eve. Max loves his new Steeler's hat from Aunt Emma, and Aaron is sporting a hat that Megan and Dustin brought him from Chile.
Before we went to my Grandma McLelland's, we skyped with Ma and Pa Keough, and Aunt Emma so they could see the kids open the gifts they sent. A big gift from them was these Cozy Coupe Cars, which they were and are so excited about!

Max got a leaf blower, just like his Daddy. My little man!
He loves the goggles!
Opening presents. :)
Max loves to wear an apron. He was helping me with a little holiday baking!
Outside our church building, wearing their Christmas outfits from Grandma McLelland. So cute!

Katie's Farewell and MTC arrival!

2010-01-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

It's bit late...but Katie, now known as Sister McLelland, reported to the MTC on December 9th! She was there for 3 weeks, and then left for Knoxville, Tennesse on December 29th. I was able to fly back with her to Utah to take her to the MTC, or, under the new MTC rules, to drop her off at the curb of the MTC. :) It was fun though!! We stayed with Jennifer and Jeffrey and had a great time shopping, and I LOVED eating all of Jennifer's pumpkin muffins and cookies! She was a great hostess and it was so fun to see her cute apartment and hang out for a couple days! Thanks again Jennifer and Jeffrey for letting us stay!

Leaving Jenn's apartment on our way to the MTC.

The MTC. Did I mention it was FREEZING the two days I was there? One day it was -6 with the wind chill according to the weather channel. It was SOOOOOO cold!!
Katie at the curb .
Jenn and Katie. You're not really supposed to take pictures, to keep it quick, but I had to get some!

Sister McLelland walking into the MTC. I didn't even have time to get emotional, it was all so quick! She is so happy and has loved every minute so far!!

Traditional Holiday Jib Jab Video

2009-11-30T20:55:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately this is what I do in the evenings to procrastinate doing anything important and productive. And all you New Mooners out there...don't be jealous. Someone had to be on my team! :) I guess if I was a bigger fan I would imagine he and Aaron were fighting over me. Although after seeing the movie I would prefer Jacob's strength....I can't believe I'm even blogging about this!! I do feel kind of bad that Max takes a direct hit from one of my snow balls!

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Family Christmas Card

2009-11-24T12:56:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of Christmas...and saving a buck, I am posting our family Christmas Card on the blog this year for the masses to view. And what's even better...is that I am getting it out on time! :) Even a bit early! I am excited for Thanksgiving, but with 2 little kids already mesmerized by all the Christmas lights and decorations in the stores, namely Target, I am already in the Christmas spirit. We wish you all a Happy Holidays and a Wonderful new year!! We have loved this year and can't wait to see what next year brings! :)

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Move, Halloween and More!

2009-11-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

Well, it's over due, but I found my camera so I can finally post some new pics! We moved on Halloween, so we're still getting settled in, but we loved our little house! The kids especially are loving the backyard and grass. See below:
I love this photo of them!
Although I wanted to put them in the same room, we had to keep them separated because Max is still not a good sleeper. :) Here is Max's new bedding...he now calls it his "car nigh-night".
Sadie's cute new bedding from my Mom. Finally pink and girly!!!
Halloween night...Max would not dress up, both kids were sick, and bathed and in bed at 7! So nice! We did got to Holly and Erik's for dinner and saw the kids all dressed up. So cute! Tyler had an AWESOME costume! He was a guy from Halo (I think Halo, or Call of Duty).
Our cute little Lady Bug!
Here is a pic of Max in his costume at my mom's ward Halloween party. He was a very cute cow, and very into the roll.

Our Lady Bug again. I had fun making her costume, although it was a bit big on her.
If these two aren't two peas in a pod..........

Not much has changed in 2 1/2 years.........okay, except my bedding.
The night before we went out of town for the U2 concert, we took the kids for a McDonald's milkshake and through the car wash...what an experience! Max was terrified and Sadie was just happy to have a milkshake.

Love this terrified look on Max...is that bad? He was so cute!

A few weeks ago Max spent a couple hours "cooking" after church.
A well balanced meal, by Max Keough. Thought you would love this Megan! :)
She is just such a fun little girl!! I love her to pieces...both of them actually!

U2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

When Aaron and I were dating, he told me going to a U2 concert was on his bucket list of things to do before he died. Well...he can now die a happy man....not anytime soon though!!! This weekend we saw U2 in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl. I can't even describe it...it was SO amazing!!! The intensity of the crowd (96,000 people), the stage and lighting was incredible, and the music and performers....well, perfect! We had such a fun time, and a really great weekend! We also went to The Grove outside Beverly Hills for some shopping, and stayed at a great hotel near Disneyland (thanks JJ!!). And apparently Aaron can't die a happy man...we learned last night U2 has extended their tour and will be in Anaheim next summer. Who wants to come??????? We'll be there for sure!!

Waiting outside the Rose Bowl. It was a gorgeous day. We got there at 1:30 and hung around all day, there were a lot of activities going on, gates opened at 5:15, Black Eyed Peas at 7:30 and U2 around 9:00. They played for about 2 1/2 hours. It was a long day, we got to our hotel around 2:00am...but SO worth it!
We waited in a souvenir line for over an hour. We got some cool momentos. I wanted Aaron to get this shirt since it was made out of recycled water cooler bottles, like the ones he delivers, but he picked another one. Maybe the next time....:)
One happy guy!
Our section.
We were waiting at the gates and Danny Devito came walking by. I wasn't sure at first if it was him, but I zoomed in with my camera and I am positive it was him.

The gathering crowd started cheering for this guy. Have no idea who he is, although at first we thought Bono...hmmmm? Maybe?
The stage was mind blowing....especially during the show!
One happier guy!
Little ol' me sitting in our seats. We look far away, and we were 10 rows from the top, but the beauty of this stage is that no matter where you sit, you feel like you are right there next to the stage.
Crowd filling in more.

The Black Eyed Peas opened. I'm not a huge fan, but they were entertaining and got the crowd going. What REALLY got the crowd going though was that Slash showed up for one song with them. Pretty cool!
Slash
The Edge
Bono
Larry

The crowd all filled in. Again...96,000 people. You can't even describe what that looks and feels like. Well, except a little crowded I guess. :)
The screen stretched out and well...was awesome.
This guy kept throwing his fist into a lot of my pics and videos. :)
Just cool.

Playing with iPhoto editing

2009-10-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Max and Sadie both looked so cute the other morning when I dropped them off at my mom's, so before I went to work I attempted to get a few shots. Neither one of them would cooperate, but I still used the photos to mess around with my iPhoto editing at work. One day I will have a fast camera, photoshop and have taken a class, so the pictures will be better, but I had to post these so everyone could at least get a general idea of how cute they looked...I especially am in love with Sadie's boots and leggings. It's a look I want to wear, but she looks so much cuter than me in it! :)

Pretty typical of my kids....one not listening to anything I say to do, and the other laughing at everything I say. :)

I edited and cropped this one so much, it got so grainy, but you get the general idea of how cute she looked.

The Big Fresno Fair

2009-10-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we braved the crowds and took the kids to the Fresno Fair. We brought my brother Tyler with us. I can sum it all up like this....we spent lot's of $$$$ to see/smell/pet cows. Not normally my idea of a good time, but Max was so excited to see cows so close, that it was worth every penny! And now, he has an imaginary cow that fits in the palm of his hands. It talk to him, tells him to go to sleep, and feeds him- I bought the carrots last night that he wanted for his cow. That was actually pretty funny, the cow was sitting next to him in the shopping cart, and when he set him down, apparently he fell through the bars and on the ground, because Max said, "Oh no, cow down Mom". Luckily he picked him up, we got the carrots and kept shopping.

He talks tough, but he had to have his Dad hold him near the big cows. He got braver the longer we were there and eventually even got close enough to pet a couple cows.

Side note....there were no pigs anywhere. Where they uninvited due to swine flu?
Checking out some goats.
Love that face!! She is a funny girl lately too. She wants to wear my headbands, necklaces and makeup...and throws a fit if you take any of that stuff off her! Then she walks around with a big, "I'm so pretty" smile on her face. So cute!

And what's the fair without cramming into a booth and spending $5 to get pictures taken! :) It was fun! Makes me miss my mission....cramming into booths to take pictures each transfer near the train station in Geneva. :)

Please help me WIN!!!!

2009-10-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

I desperately want to win one of these adorable hats that are being given away HERE
If you are truly my friend...please enter and if you win...please send it to me, well, ultimately to Sadie...although I wish they made one in my size! :)

Mel, Jenn and Meg....I know your blogging abilities so I am relying heavily on you 3!! Mel and Jenn, I would understand if you kept the hat for Marley if you win...but Meg...you know what would happen if you gave it away to someone other that your precious niece, or worse, didn't even enter!! Don't make me get on a plane to Chile...(okay you might find a reason to make me fly down there, so scratch that. I'd probably have to walk anyways and you'd be home by then).

So PLEASE....ENTER TODAY!! By the way, today is the deadline...and as a little plug, I love this girl's blog. I check it everyday, right along with my email and world news!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-06T21:50:00.001-07:00

I know...another jibjab video post! But I seriously can't get enough of making these. And this one is probably by far my favorite yet! Can you guess who is making a guest appearance in my video?? Enjoy! :)

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Back in the blogging world!

2009-09-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

I know...I'm slacking on my blog!!! I have started working again and so I am slacking a little bit on everything! What's new....well let's see...Sadie is becoming crazy like Max but oh so cute, Max eats hot dogs 24/7 it feels like, Aaron has been working LONG days due to a contest at work and is in the lead for news in his region, I am working and now 2nd counselor in Primary, we're moving on Halloween to a house we'll be renting...and it's finally NOT 100 degrees outside!! :) That's probably the best news of all!! The heat broke last night and today has been windy and cool! So nice!! Welcome Fall!

Playing at the park..she looks so big here!
Yes, they had cookies for dinner...whole wheat though!
I love Sadie's reaction to swings...she gets the biggest smile!
This was Max preparing himself a hot dog at 6:00 am lone day last week. Cooked it, cut it, and got himself some honey mustard to dip it in. I'm so proud????????? ;)
I love this picture of Sadie. She loves her doll and hugs her so tight.
Two weekends ago my brother McKay fell off his bike and broke his tooth pretty bad. He was a champ though, and even let us post it on Facebook. :) That's what happens when you have older siblings I guess. They've been able to repair it, but it looks like he's going to need a root canal. Ouch!
Two weekends ago I was also able to volunteer at the Shawna Kilbert Cervical Cancer Fun Run. Shawna Kilbert was a friend of my Aunt Holly's who recently died of cervical cancer. This was a great event planned by her husband and friends, to raise awareness and money to support others suffering from this same cancer in the area.
I was in charge of the cotton candy stand. It took a few mishaps the night before to get it down, but now I am a cotton candy expert...and NEVER want to see the stuff again! :)
Tami and I decided last minute to participate in the 1k walk/run. We were actually still registering for it when the horn sounded to start the event. Luckily we didn't come in deadlast...we did pass the family with 4 little kids.
And we did it in flip flops no less.
So happy to get our medals...and cool shirts!
Later that day we went to Aaron's company picinic. Max was in love with the trucks they had there. It was fun to meet so many people that Aaron's works with! Lot's of really nice people!
Poor Sadie can never do anything without her constant shadow telling her no, pushing her, or just lovingly tackling her.
This was one tuckered out little boy after church the other day. After his hour nap he sat on Aaron's lap and fell right asleep. SO cute....and YES...he is ALWAYS in his underwear...and sometimes not even underwear...:) He hates clothes pretty much.
From Aaron'slap he rolled to the floor and slept another hour. Those who know Max know this NEVER happens! :)

Well, I better get to folding clothes before I head off to bed. I love the occassional quite night to myself (Aaron is sleeping with Max and Sadie is in bed).

I do want to add a little sad note...a good friend I knew in high school, Becca Dorfmier Leonard passed away today. It was pretty sudden. She is such a wonderful, strong person, and will be greatly missed. She died of acetaminophen poisining and acute liver failure. Someone that knew her also posted this article here and I wanted to share it because it was not something I knew much about but now understand it's really important to become informed on. Her husband and 3 children are in our prayers!

Katie's Mission Call Has Arrived!!!!

2009-09-08T21:34:00.001-07:00

It has finally arrived!! It was a long wait with the 3 day weekend!!! Then, the mail usually comes at 2 pm and today it didn't come until after 5:30 pm!!! Poor Katie...it was nerve racking for her!! All the family and several of Katie's friends, including Megan on Skype in Chile, Katie's friend Jamie in Washington on Skype, and Aunt Jane in Sacramento on the phone, gathered to watch her open her call. And the call...Knoxville, Tennesse!!!!! She reports to the MTC on December 9th! She is so excited and as much as we will miss "T", we are so happy for her!!!

Here are a few photos I found online of Knoxville. Her mission also goes into Virginia and Kentucky a little bit.

This is a poster I made to track everyone's guesses. Aaron was the closest, guessing Jackson, Mississippi, so he won the Sonic Gift Card that Megan threw in. Thanks Megan! :)
"The Call"
Megan joining us from Chile via Skype.
Had to throw in this picture. She was the cutest guest of all!!! She always wants her baby doll.
Friends and cousins.
Family gathered.
Love the laptops! We had some very excited kids...and Katie too! :)
Opening the mission call.
This has brought back so many wonderful memories for me! Good times, hard times, growing, great companions and lifelong friends and lessons I'll never forget and often can't put into words. I am so excited for Katie and know she will be such a hard working missionary!!

Here's a little video of Katie opening her call for any who missed it that wanted to be there...or for those like me who just like to watch future missionaries first read their assignment. :)

Happy 1st Birthday to Sadie!!

2009-08-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Sadie's first birthday!! She is such a sweet little girl and she has made this past year so fun!! A few Sadie facts: She loves her blanket, her brother and eating paper. She has the sweetest giggle and laughs so much, especially at herself. She is a picky eater, a long napper, and so cuddly. Here are some of the pics from the little family party we had for her earlier tonight.

Gifts wrapped for little girls are just so cute!

Birthday pic with big brother Max.
She got tired of waiting to open presents, and tried to run off with a gift to eat the wrapping paper. She got a little nibble before I swipped it!
This is my favorite birthday shot of her!! She's so sweet!
This is a gift from Aunt Megan and Uncle Dustin that I picked out for them since they are in Chile. I had to post this picture for Megan because everyone agreed that this looked like something she would wear!! You can't see, but there are gray pants and pewter shoes to go with it! Now there will be a resemblance with Megan and Sadie!!!
Opening gifts with Mom's help. We opened one gift as Max opened 4 others. :)

She loved her baby doll from Grandma and Grandpa McLelland. This girl is obsessed with babies. She mauls baby William every time we see him, and last week we had to take her out of Sacrament meeting because someone sat in the row, next to us, with a baby in a carseat carrier and she was screaming to get to him!
Max riding Sadie's new bike.
Sadie finally getting to ride her new bike.
The lady bug cake I made for Sadie!
Blowing out the candle.
I didn't let her go at the cake herself because the red frosting was dying everything it touched red. My counter top is still red, so I didn't want her to permanently stain the highchair at my mom's. She likes to be spoon fed anyways when she's tired, and she was getting sleepy at this point.

Thanks to everyone, family near and far, for the great gifts!! She is a loved little girl!!!

P.S. Happy Birthday to Tami also!!! :) We love you too!!!

My little doll

2009-08-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

I recently made some tutu's for Sadie and my cousins daughter, Marley, for their upcoming birthdays. I wanted to try and get a few pictures of Sadie in it, but she wouldn't stand up so you can't really see how cute they turned out. It just looks like Sadie is sitting in a big bundle of fluff. :) She is a cute little model!!!

This is my favorite one! I love her little smile here!

Where will Katie be called to serve???

2009-08-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

My sister, Katie, turned in her mission papers yesterday...and the wait for that envelope in the mail begins!! It should take 2 1/2 to 3 weeks to get her call. She is VERY excited and we are all excited for her!

The guessing as to where she will be called has begun and so I am putting together a little chart to keep track of everyone's guesses. If you would like to submit a guess, just let me know! It will be fun to see who gets it right, or at least who gets close! My mom decided whoever gets it right gets to pay for the first month of her mission!! :) Just kidding? ;) No, there is no prize, just the satisfaction of being right!

So, if you have a prediction let me know!

Day at the Lake

2009-08-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we decided to take the kids up to Shaver Lake for a few hours. We had so much fun and it was nice to get out of the heat for a few hours, even the the water was SO cold! :)

This is a typical Sadie face. It can mean she's throwing a fit, she's laughing, she's being shy, and so many other emotions! She loves to throw her head back and scrunch her nose!
Playing in the sand. She was trying to figure out this whole sand and water thing.
Playing in the water.
The water was pretty cold so any time a wave came by she panicked a little, and then laughed. :)
Max could not have been happier! Dirt, water and lot's of room to run!
Bathing beauty!
Max would have dug up the whole beach if we let him!
Enjoying a little lunch with Dad.
The view from our spot.
You can't see really well, but Sadie mostly had sand for lunch. :) We had a really fun day and need to take advantage of going to the Lake more since it is so close and it makes Saturdays so nice when we get out of the heat for a bit!

Potty Training Champ

2009-08-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

So Max has been just TOO easy to potty train! Over the last couple weeks we've had maybe 2 minor accidents and he wakes up dry most naps and mornings. He was definitely ready to be potty trained! He loves his big boy underwear...when we are home it's usually all he wears! :)
He looks like he's doing a little table dance in the pic below, but really he was trying to show me that Buzz Lightyear was on the back of his underwear.

Tuesday night Aaron and I went to a $5 concert put on by our favorite local country station, featuring Rodney Atkins. It was just us and about 3,000 of Fresno's finest drunks, but we still had a good time. The venue they do the concerts at is pretty cool and it even cooled down weather wise to actually be enjoyable to be outside. The best part of these concerts are the amazing snow cones. We pay as much for the snow cones as the concert, but it is SO worth it!

It's not a great shot, but you can kind of see Rodney Atkins below.

Playing outside with Dad

2009-08-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

We've been enjoying a little cooler weather (gone today though) and so Friday night Aaron took the kids outside to play soccer and run around. Max ran non stop for over an hour and fell asleep nicely. There is also a longer video of Sadie walking, with Max being a bad guy in the background. :)

Kidney Stones Attack Again!

2009-08-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

I was going to post a picture of a kidney stone, but after searching for some pics, I was grossed out. These things have become a thorn in my side, literally!! Within 2 hours Saturday night I went from happy go lucky to extreme pain in the ER. I have a 4mm stone that has yet to pass. It's only a little over a year since my last one. I'm going to have it analyzed this time and figure out what is causing them, although I have already sworn off soda for life!! I would rather give birth to 10 babies naturally than have these again! I've been pretty sick but am finally feeling better, off and on. So, wish me luck! :)

What We've Been Doing the Past Few Weeks...

2009-07-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to the past few weeks! The major changes in our home lately are Max potty training (making slow progress) and Sadie walking (making fast progress). Next...We're ALL going to learn to sleep through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago when Megan was in town we went up to Shaver Lake for our annual summer Lake Day with all the fam. I LOVE Shaver Lake! It was nice this summer because I had a babysitter all day for the kids at home and I had a wonderful, relaxing day!

The Lake
Some of us on the boat

I really like this pic of my mom and Megan! I especially love my mom in this hat!
Megan is always the first to get in the water!
Chad and Samuel...I think next year I will finally bring Max. I think he'll be old enough to handle being on a boat without jumping overboard in a year! :)

For some reason McKay always likes to stand at the front of the boat. Funny kid!

Last week Melanie and her kids came to stay at our place for a few days! We had such a fun time and it was so great to spend so much time with Melanie!

All 5 kids in our kids room playing.
We braved the park one morning, although it was so hot at 9:00 am already that we only lasted a 1/2 hour...then went to an air conditioned McDonalds indoor play place!
Marley on the swing. She is so adorable....a princess as she would say!
Max and Sadie swinging.

Sleepy kids. Luckily Mel has a van that fits us all...and our combined 5 car seats!
What we really love is that the Jensens taught Max the joys of eating a cheeseburger!! Cheaper than chicken nuggets so I'm happy! :)
And Mel and Marley taught us the joys of painting Sadie's toenails! She's never without polished and pedicured toes now!
The next day we went to a play area near the movie theater in River Park and it was much cooler. On the downside a flying beetle was trying to dive bomb and kill us. :)
At the Pioneer Day celebration on Saturday Max was in heaven with Uncle Tyler's cowboy hat. I think we are going to have to get out little cowboy a hat of his own.

Here are just some random pics from around the house. It has been so hot, not a day under 100 for a few weeks now, so we get a bit restless indoors all day, but try and find stuff to do!

Max was on cloud nine when I let him eat some cookie dough of the mixer. He was so excited when I handed it to him!
Sadie is our little busy body lately. She gets into stuff more than Max now. She loves to play in our makeshift TV cabinet.
Daddy's not too happy when he sees the Wii like this though. All she has to do is bat her eye lashes at him though and it's fine!
Under the table is another great spot.
She's always walking now! Here's a little video below. She gets fast each day and goes even further now than in this video. It's fun to watch her!! (Oh, and she has bangs again...thanks to Aunt Jane for the great hair cut! Now she really looks like Boo from Monsters Inc. I will post a comparison soon!)

2009-07-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my cousin Jennifer got married in the Sacramento Temple. It was a beautiful wedding and reception and she was a stunning bride! Jeffrey, her now husband, was handsome too of course!! It was a fun weekend with all my family...there were 40 plus of us there! I love weddings in our family because we always have a huge dance party, tons of great food for a couple days, and always the Diet Coke! :) Congrats to Jennifer and Jeffrey!! You're a beautiful couple!

McKay got this hat for the weekend and he looked pretty cool in it!
Anxiously waiting outside the temple.
Lindsay, Abby and Taylor. Such beautiful, sweet girls!!
Watch out Mel...Marley will be walking through those doors before you know it! :) She is such a doll!
So will my baby girl I guess. :) Although I can't even believe she's going to be one in a month. I'm not letting her get married until she's 80 or so.

Part of the group waiting for the bride and groom to come out of the temple.
Jennifer and Jeffrey Worthen!!!
Jennifer is so beautiful!!!
Marley was really checking out Jennifer's dress and flowers.
So cute!

I love the Sacramento Temple! I think it's one of the most beautiful temples I've ever been too! I mean, I love them all, but I really love this one! :)

Ahhh....Megan and Jennifer.
Marley Rose and Sadie Rose. I especially love this picture because I think we could sell it to Apple to use as an ad for iPhone.
Cute girls!
My mom (also known as Grandma these days) and Sadie.

Kristen Jane, Sadie Rose, Marley Rose and Melanie Jane. Love the name connections!!
The fam!
Jennifer was feeling a bit left out of the picture taking. :)
Matt and Tami and Family (minus Samuel...he and Max weren't invited to the wedding :) ).
Lindsay and Abby. Cute sisters!

The whole big family (only missing a few).
Melanie made this cake and I was thoroughly impressed!! Good job Mel!
Food tables. Everything was so pretty!
Love the dress!
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Worthen

The kids were warming up on the dance floor pretty early this time.
The Dees backyard looked gorgeous that night!! And the weather, especially in mid July, could not have been more perfect! It was almost like coastal weather, so nice and cool.
Gage came home from the hospital a few days earlier in the week. I am in love with his hair color! He is such a cutie and I am in awe of Meggy and Jeff and how wonderful and calm they are taking care of him! They inspire me to want to be a more patient and calm mother!!!
Jake and Emily's newest addition Libby. Gotta love those round cheeks!!
Cutting the cake.
DJ Matthew.
The couple's first dance.
Father and Daughter dance. They had some great moves!
So did these boys!!
Leaving for the honeymoon!

Amatuer Photo Shoot

2009-07-07T14:03:00.001-07:00

Today I was pretty bored and so I decided to try an impromptu photo session with Max. I am coming up on 3 months late to get his 2 year old picture taken. My beef with getting pictures taken is that first off the funds are not always available when the milestone is actually reached, I dislike the only reasonably priced studios in town and I really can't determine whether or not my kids will be all smiles next Tuesday at 10:45 am because you always have to make an appointment. And each time I need to get pictures taken I also have to get hair cut and combed perfectly and make sure they each have one really cute outfit with no blemishes on it. Not an easy task. Also, the packages they put together are not what you really need. I mean, I can only get 8 wallets or 800.

These are by no means great shots. 1. I don't have the talent or eye. 2. I don't have a nice camera. 3. I don't have photo shop (Katie...that's a hint to you! ;)). So please don't judge the actual quality of photo or editing (especially my friends who are professionals), and just enjoy Max's cute face. :)

4th of July

2009-07-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July this year!! It is really my favorite holiday! We started the day out going to our ward pancake breakfast. It is really cool because they put a big sign out inviting anyone to stop by and we usually do have people come from around the neighborhood that are not in our ward. Later that day I was the recipient of the greatest gift of all...a 2 1/2 hour nap!! I was laying down with Max to get him to sleep and we both ended up getting a great nap in! Then we swam, ate and watched fireworks the rest of the day! SO FUN!!

At the ward pancake breakfast. All in our 4th of July patriotic colors.
Tami made this cake for Samuel's 3rd birthday, which we celebrated during our 4th of July celebration. I have already told Tami this, but here on my blog I officially challenge her to a cake decorating contest (or cake off as I call it). It's on!! :) She did a really great job and this cake was a huge hit!!!
Lindsay and Sadie. She is so cute with the little kids and I can't wait until she can babysit in a few years!!
Sadie always receives so much love!
The youngest of the group (minus baby William). Max (2), Samuel (3), Chad (4) and Sadie (10 months). Never a shortage of kids!!
Water man, and water boy/head.

The pyrotechs (sp?).
Our grand display. This might seem like nothing here, but it was pretty cool and even drew crowds across the street.
Max and Sadie loved the fireworks, especially Sadie. She clapped after each one!
The gang!
Sadie and Aunt Katie. I love how that rhymes! :)

Below is a video of our fearless little guy!

Seattle

2009-07-05T14:13:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we left for a four day trip to Seattle to visit the Powell side (Aaron was there for only 1 1/2 days). We had A LOT of fun and it was so great to visit with my Dad and all the family. All my younger cousins have grown up so much and it was fun getting to know each of them! It was really great to see everyone and be in beautiful Seattle! I didn't get any pictures of our big family gatherings Saturday and Sunday because I was busy with kids and catching up, so here are all the photos I was able to get on our flight out, arriving, and our last 2 days there.

Max was pretty excited about flying, and pulling his suitcase. If only that enthusiasm would have lasted the whole flight. :)
Sadie's first flight. She had no idea what was going on. Just tired and cute.
Playing together before the flight. They are becoming real pals...just need to work on sharing. ;)
As I mentioned above, Max's enthusiasm for flying quickly wore off. It was only a 2 hour flight, but it felt so much longer on the way out. They were both so over tired since we had to get up so early. Max screamed for the last 25 min or so. Funny story though- so after the flight I had to use the restroom and found one close to our gate. Aaron waited outside with the kids. There was a small line so I got in the back of it and the women in front of me turned around and our conversation went as follows:
Women: "You were on that flight from Fresno weren't you?"
Me: "Yes, I was."
Women: "Can you believe that child that was screaming?" (Shaking her head in disbelief)
Me: "Actually, that was my child."
Women: (Look of embarrasement) "Oh bless you! We were just talking about what wonderful parents you must be."
Me: (Look of sure I bet that's what you were thinking).
Women: She goes on and on about what a great parent I am.

Haha!! Funny. Also, not funny.
Max took this picture of me. I gave him my camera in a desperate attempt to entertain him. He actually got a decent shot.
Sadie sleeping in the car once we got there.
We stopped at Alki Beach in Seattle soon after we arrived so that we could show Aaron and Dustin the Seattle skyline.
Aaron and Max checking out the water, jelly fish and birds.
They looked so cute for church. This was the only pic I could get of them though.
Sadie and her Daddy.
Aunt Megan and Sadie. As Megan would say, "Can't you see the resemblance?" Haha! Nothing about these two is the same. Ok, well they do both love pancakes.
Sadie is always trying to stand by herself now. She is 10 months old now. I bet she'll be walking by her 1st birthday.
My Grandpa Powell giving the little kids a ride in the wagon attached to his riding lawn mower. The kids all loved it! I loved driving it also and gave several rides myself. I want one to take the kids to school in.
Going for a ride all together.
Max loved all my little cousins and he had plenty of friends to play with the whole time.
On Tuesday we went to the Aquarium in downtown Seattle. Max was in heaven with all the shishy's. It was almost shishy overload for him. It was a really nice aquarium.
Sadie slept through some of it.
They have this really cool, big wall in the entrance and it was filled with fish. Max could have looked at it all day.
Walking to the wall.
My Grandpa Powell, Sadie, Max, Megan and my Dad on the wharf. I've always loved downtown Seattle.

Luckily the flight alone went much better, even without Aaron being there to help. Luckily Megan was able to help me through security and until we boarded the plane. I basically was a performing clown for 2 hours and they were entertained enough and there were no tears. Flying with toddlers and babies is not for the faint of heart! :) I'm glad we were able to go and miss everyone already!!! For those on the Powell side that read this blog, love and miss you all!!

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...HA!!!

2009-06-24T21:02:00.001-07:00

Summertime, summertime!! We've been having fun since all the kids in my extended family got out of school a few weeks ago! Swimming, parks, free movies, kids spending the night, and thankfully, not too much heat. It's coming though! Here is a quick recap.
Most of our morning start like this. A little tube time. Sadie is a big fan of TV and Movies! Our recent favorites are Toy Story and Finding Nemo.
Max and Sadie have been enjoying the new backyard courtesy of Grandpa Keough. He and Aaron put down this fake grass while they were here visiting and we love it!!

Yes, Sadie often is topless. She spits food all over herself with each meal and is so hard to get dressed.
Samuel stayed with us for 2 nights a couple weekends ago while his family was gone and boy did these little guys play non stop! Unfortunately, this is what happens after 30 minutes in a room all together. Sadie gets right in the mix too!
Thanks Dad for the Strawberry Pizza tasting!
Yes Max, that's a shishy (fish). We must point this out over and over everytime we see it.

Every Wednesday we go see a free movie at a theater nearby. Max usually lasts about an hour, or until the popcorn runs out. Luckily there is a great little play area and shops outdoors, so that's where we wait for the other kids to join us. Today Samuel and Max were both not that into the movie (hooray!) and so Max had someone to play with outside. Oh, and Sadie takes a nap at Grandma's house while we are gone (she's happy to have a good excuse to not go).

Buddies.
The only problem with being outdoors is Max's extreme phobia of flies. Seriously, he PANICS whenever he sees one. It's sad...and annoying, since we live in the central valley, full of flies.
After every movie on Wednesday, the whole gang comes and swims at my mom's house. Todays grand total- 15 kids!! Yikes!! Today was great. Gradually most of the kids left, and there were just 6 of us in the pool. Max and I swam for 4 hours!! It was great, despite Max and Sam each having a near death experience, and me getting one of the worst Charlie Horses I've EVER had!
Most of the time, in between naps, Sadie just sits and watches everyone in the pool from the patio.
These swim toys are hot commodities in the pool, a constant battle between Max and Sam.
She is too cute!! Sadie LOVES the water!

I love this picture of her!
The best thing about swimming all day and no naps, is that Max falls asleep around 5 or 5:30! He usually sleeps until his normal wake up time...5:45 am!! It's killing me!! He will wake up for an hour or so to eat, but is half asleep while eating and goes right back to bed, so it doesn't count as really being awake.
All he cried for tonight when he woke up was ice cream. He still couldn't be happy while he ate it even. For those of you that know Aaron really well, this is a prime example of how Max is Aaron Jr. :)

Ma and Pa Keough and Auntie Em's Visit

2009-06-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Aaron's Mom and Dad, and his sister Emma came out to visit us. We had so much fun with them!! Max and Sadie took right to them, especially Max to Emma. He LOVED to boss her around and tell her to go "nigh-night". Max called them "Ma", "Pa", and "Mm" (or something that sounded a lot like that). We spent our days shopping, swimming, eating, visited Shaver Lake one day and Yosemite another day. I only got pictures of us at Yosemite, but Emma put a lot of cute pics from each day on Facebook. We had such a great time and were so sad to see them go, and we're counting the days to our next visit!

Aaron and Max climbing a rock.
Sadie and Pa.
I love this pic of Emma and Max. They sure are buddies now.

Max just loved all the sticks in Yosemite.
Sadie might have had the back carrier to ride in, but Max had his own nice ride also. :)
Sadie and Dad. Sadie was very content to just sit in this carrier all day.
Pa, Ma Sadie, Aaron, Max and Emma at the entrance to Yosemite.
Our little family at Yosemite.

Beautiful Yosemite!
Pa, Ma and Sadie
Pa and Sadie.
Max, Aaron and Emma out exploring.

Farmer's Market, Aunt Rhonda's Visit and a few others

2009-05-25T20:32:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day!!! We swam all day and are all exhausted, so this is a quick update before I head to bed!

I just think this photo is funny! We stopped by Best Buy Friday night and they had Transformers playing on a really big screen and Max could not pull himself away! It was hilarious!

We walked over to Farmer's Market the other night, a few blocks from us in Old Town Clovis and had so much fun! Max was thrilled that he got to ride a cow (pony). He woke up at 2:30 the next morning telling me about it again. :) He loved every minute of his little ride!
Although Aaron had to walk with him, he wanted to ride solo. Such a big boy!
Lindsay and Sadie sharing the wagon and a slushie. We met up with Holly and her kids, and Katie there.
Sadie played with this straw the entire time. I love that babies are so easy to entertain.
Riding over in the wagon. It was pretty hot that day, and still a bit warm when we walked over that evening, so I made sure they were loaded up with fluids!
Farmer's Market. Everyone is gathered here to listen to the bad. They were really fun!
I set this little water station up for Max one day he was having so much fun dumping water into different size containers and stirring them. It was quite for a while so I walked out and found this...
Max cooling off in the 5 gallon bucket of water. No more of this. Even in 5 gallons I worry about drowning.

Last weekend my Aunt Rhonda came and visited us while she was in town from Seattle. We had a lot of fun with her!! In this picture we were at Border's in the kids section and Max showed her books and played with them for about a half an hour! :)
Riding the helicopter when we were out with Aunt Rhonda.
I love these pajamas on them. Does Sadie look a bit tired or what?
Lately Sadie has discovered her tongue. She usually is sitting like this. :) She is crawling now too, and she holds on to every piece of furniture she can reach and holds herself up. I have a feeling she will be walking soon! Yikes!! Still not as busy as Max was at this age which is such a gift! :)

Grocery Shopping

2009-05-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

A few Saturdays back we all went to the grocery store near us to pick up a few things for Sunday. We weren't in a hurry, so we let Max push one of the little "grocery shopper in training" carts. He was in HEAVEN! He quickly figured out he could grab stuff and put it in his cart so we ended up with a few extra things...cheetos, candy bars, soda, etc. Here is a cute little video. Oh and translation- "shishy" is gold fish crackers.

Itsy Bitsy... Yellow Polka Bikini...

2009-05-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Don't be jealous of this body! :) Our little bikini babe!

Clovis Rodeo Parade and More

2009-05-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted pics, so here are a few. Life has been pretty uneventful. Aaron got a new job at Yosemite Waters and he really loves it! It does require him to be downtown very early to start work, and since I don't want to wake up both kids that early to take him, I have been without a car everyday. I now realize how much I like to go somewhere everyday! :) Max gets a bit restless in our little place all day, but luckily he goes to Tami's and my mom's each one day a week, so that is fun! And they both also pick us up for the park and lunch, so I can't really complain! Here are a few pics of what we have been up to the past few weeks:
We live about a 10 minute walk from Old Town Clovis, so 2 Saturday's ago while Aaron was working at the church's vineyard, I walked the kids down to the Clovis Rodeo Parade. It was pretty fun! Max loved the cows (which are actually horses), the firetrucks and the corvette club( about 30 corvettes that drove by). Good times in Old Town Clovis! Now that I know what an easy walk it is I will probably walk to the Farmer's Market every Friday evening, since Aaron works long days in the summer, and he NEVER wants to go to the Farmer's Market with me! ;)

Watching the parade.
I love this double walking stroller/bike stroller. It was a cheap one at Target but is holding up great!

Ahhh! All tuckered out on the walk home.
My parents are planting a garden in their backyard in these planter boxes and we are helping out and get to plant some stuff in them.
Max loves to help out! But, I'm not going to lie, he's not so helpful! The whole time we were shoveling dirt into the boxes, he was shoveling it out!
The princess doesn't have to work, so she just relaxes in the shade!
Sadie LOVES LOVES LOVES this paino! She plays with it all day!
Such a happy girl!
I love this headband on her. :)
So...Max has been really playing with his stuffed animals, mostly all dogs, a lot lately. He likes to put them to bed and other things....but he apparently has picked up on how I put Sadie to bed...so this is Max nursing his dog before he puts him to bed. He does this often. :)
I stopped nursing Sadie last week though, so now Max is also into giving his dogs bottles.
Got milk?
This isn't the best shot because I took it with my computer while I was writing this post. It is the perfect example of why I like Baby Einstein DVD's. Totally captures their attention for a good couple of minutes.

Birthday Week 2009

2009-04-23T20:31:00.001-07:00

Wow! What a busy week we just had!! 3 birthdays in 4 days, Megan visiting, non stop on the go. I am SO exhausted! Here are pictures from the week. The order of our birthdays is 18th-mine, 20th-Max, 21st- Aaron...but the pictures are not posted in that order. :) I didn't realize until I had posted most of the pics, so I just kept them like this. So we start with Aaron's birthday:
We went up to Shaver Lake so Aaron could do some fishing. My mom, Megan and the 3 boys came too.
Max was in HEAVEN with the dirt and water.

He caught a "shishy", as Max would say. It wasn't too big but big enough to keep and Max thought is was so cool so Aaron kept it.
This little guy was all tuckered out after playing all day and no nap. He was sound asleep 5 minutes into our drive.
Max's birthday!! 2 years old! We had a little party for him, and Aaron, and the park with all the family and 2 close friends. It was fun, but HOT! All during this week we have been experiencing 96 degree weather!
He loved his gift from us, a scooter! He has figured it out very quickly and now he has his own to ride with the kids at the park.
Opening gifts...he was so excited and had a cute reaction to each gift.
I tried all day to get a picture of him and this was the best one! I think it's cute though.
On a side note, I might arrange a marriage between these 2 one day. :)
Some of the fam.
Another cute shot.
Birthday cakes for my 2 guys! Max's cake had "Cars" cars on it and Aaron's had NASCAR cars.
He fell asleep on the couch before the park. Partying all day is exhausting!
Max the ham and Sadie the beauty!
So much love!
Aaron and I made this table for Max. It has roads and a landing strip. We had so much fun making together and Max loves it! So does Aaron...they play together so well. :)
Testing it out.
On Sunday we had no birthdays, but some family pictures with the kids on my side. We did them in Grandma and Grandpa Halvorson's backyard, and enjoyed some home made ice cream also! YUM!!
Aaron and I. :) Ahhh...
This little doll!
My 3 brothers, Tyler, Matt, and McKay.
The 6 kids!
The fam.
These two little buddies love to play with grandpa's trucks!
Goofy kids!
Sadie and I.
On my birthday we hung out with Megan, went on a bike ride, and then took a quick dive in the pool...well I didn't but everyone else did. It was hot outside but it ws the first hot day so the pool was still really cold.

This little dare devil is fearless!! Max was the first one in the water!
Max and Aaron trying out the race car they got with birthday money from Grandpa Powell. The love it! Aaron drives it and Max chases it. :)

We had a fun week!! Thanks to everyone for making it so special and thanks to Megan for the visit!!

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

It's hard work to get a picture of these two, but I was pleased with this one, although there is a lot of sun on Max's face. They both looked so cute in their Easter clothes!
Sadie is easy to get photos of because she sits so still and calm. She is really a little angel!
Finding their Easter baskets!! The Easter bunny from Sadie a toy to chew on and Max some Cars bubble bath and Madagascar 2 for all of us!
We hid 12 eggs around the family room and Max went on a little hunt this morning. We went on an Easter egg hunt at the park yesterday with all my family so Max really has this Easter egg hunt thing down.
Yesterday we hunter for plastic eggs with candy in them, so he wasn't quite sure what to make of the hard boiled eggs. :)
Aaron and I decorated the eggs Saturday night once the kids went to bed. It was actually pretty fun. Here are the "before" eggs...
And the "after" eggs. As you can see, we are lacking a bit of artistic talent in our family. :)
Max loves to play Wii Sports with Aaron. They play baseball and tennis and Max thinks he is actually hitting the balls.

Aaron and Max did some projects outside yesterday and Sadie watched. Max LOVES to be Aaron's special helper.
Cleaning off with the hose. Don't worry, after this picture, Max got Aaron soaked also!
So..I am a bit scatter brained...more so lately. I was going to Target the other day, got the kids in the car, suddenly remembered Max only had one shoe on, and so came back inside to get it. When I was unlocking the door, I noticed that my feet felt weird...and this picture above was why. I wish I could say occurances like this are rare...but they are the constant.

One of Max's favorite spots to play cars...between our couch and fireplace.
Both of the kids were so tired and cranky last Monday and at different times during the day, they each just crashed on a couch in the family room.
I made this cake last week for dinner after General Conference at my parents. It was from the blog on my sidebar called My Kitchen Cafe. It is the lemon cake. The cake itself was really good but the frosting was too much lemon. The blog author just loved it, so I might have done something wrong! The cake is good alone though, or maybe you could just add a little glaze to it. It is a great cake for the summer though!

Birthday Week 2009 begins this Saturday (well, I will probably start celebrating my own about Thursday or so). Stay tuned for pics!! I already have my cakes all planned out! :)

Contentment

2009-04-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

Isn't it crazy how these little gems can make everything right in the world?

Just another week at the Keough house

2009-03-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well...I didn't get the flu last weekend!! Hooray!! I had the flu the previous 2 weekends and it wiped me out! Thankfully I have a great sister and mom that live nearby and a wonderful husband who took care of everything at home. Aaron had the flu also during the week, but luckily Max and Sadie didn't catch it. Saturday was GORGEOUS and Aaron and I took Max on a bike ride (my mom watched Sadie). It was so much fun and we took trails I had never before been on around Clovis. I am really loving our bikes and can't wait until Sadie is big enough to sit in the trailer with Max. He gets a little bored sometimes back there and could use a friend! Other than that, nothing exciting to report...except that I am really sad about Gottschalks closing.

This is a typical morning shot from our house. Max takes off his shirt and a couch cushion and wants Sadie to sit next to him and they watch Cars for a few minutes together.
This was so cute (picture below). I was in making breakfast yesterday morning, and I when I came out Max had Sadie's 2 dolls, and had brought out 2 diapers and was trying to put them on the dolls. So precious!! I think it's great for boys to play with dolls!

Aaron and I started Weight Watchers Monday to get ready for the summer and our trip to Myrtle Beach. Sunday night Aaron wanted to go out with a bang so he made this massive plate of spaghetti, his favorite meal!
My mom got Sadie this outfit and it was so cute on her!! I love little sleeveless summer rompers.

I love this outfit on her too!!

Max and Sadie "to a T"

2009-03-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

This video describes Max and Sadie's personalities and energy levels better than anything else ever could! And what my days are like...complete with "Cars" playing in the background! :)

Madera Speedway

2009-03-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I got the flu and was out of commission, so I went to my mom's house so she could nurse me back to health. :) It was very nice, I got to just sleep it off all day and she and Katie took care of Sadie. Aaron and Max spent the day together and went to Madera Speedway, to watch the race cars practice, for free which is even better. For those who don't know...BOTH my guys are obsessed with cars!! :) Between NASCAR Saturday's and Sunday's, the NASCAR game for Wii, "Cars" the movie, playing cars all day, both of their growing collections of cars, and now, having to kiss Max's cars to sleep at night (yes, I give in and do it for him), I can't escape!! :) They had a fun time at Madera Speedway and max enjoyed the loud noises, and ran around the bleachers yelling, "Cars, Cars, Cars, Cars, etc" the whole time!

Weekly Update

2009-03-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

Nothing too exciting to report this week. Sadie has been sick and has gotten herself on this weird sleeping schedule, but I can't complaing because she's been sleeping from 10pm to 9am the last couple nights. Still working on Max and making a little bit of progress. I took Sadie to get her 6 month pictures taken and she was too cute!! A little model! I didn't buy the online access, so I will scan them when I pick them up in a few weeks. Here are some other pics though...
This is Max and Sadie's room, with Max's new Big Boy Bed. There is an another dresser but I couldn't get it in the shot. We inherited the dresser shown and the toy chest and they happened to match our crib and dresser perfectly. Thanks to my mom for buying the cute bedding for Max's bed! It's a fun kids room!

Since Sadie has been up until 10 pm, Aaron and I have had some fun time with just her, without her big brother around. :) She likes to watch TV with us.
This is what happens when I get behind in folding clothes. I can only get them folded at night's because during the day if I do it, Max is right there to mess them all up. But I work most nights, so sometimes I do get behind in the folding...shhh...don't tell my mom!! :) Aaron was a bit overwhelmed with how much we had to fold tonight. I usually do it alone, but I made him be my assistant tonight.
Thanks to Uncle Sam we were able to get new bikes!! We just got some cheap ones from Target, but we are really excited about them! And then as an early birthday gift for Aaron, myself and Max, my parents got us a bike trailer. Sadie is still too small for it, but in a few months they will be able to sit back there together. Max loves it and Aaron and I really enjoy riding. We're hoping it will help get us in shape before we go to Myrtle Beach this summer!!

Max is really into dressing up in things lately. He loves this hat, a scrarf around his waist and my purse. I love it when they start to dress up and pretend like this.
On nice days, Sadie LOVES sitting outside in her bouncer watching Max play. He usually can't leave her alone though!
He seriously can't leave her alone!

He spends a lot of time coloring in his high chair! This time he was especially messy because I gave him some crackers also and kept him there for almost 2 hours while I cleaned one morning and he watched PBS.
This was so cute to me. This was the first time I really noticed him pretending while playing. He played like this for almost 2 hours outside.
Max is a huge fan of cars and Aaron has spent a lot of time teaching him to say "Ka-chow" like Lightining McQueen. He finally caught on and we think it's pretty cute!

My Big Boy

2009-03-08T13:54:00.001-07:00

Well Max did it...he gave up the "baa" (pacifier). He has only asked for it a few times, but when I remind him that we threw them away, he gets over it. We had a ceremony where I cut off the tip pf the pacifiers in front of him, he tried to suck on them and realized they were broken and then I told him to throw them away. He loves to throw stuff away and take the trash to the dumpster. So he then carried the bag to the dumpster. Next, we are working on sleeping through the night!! If anyone has tips on keeping a 2 year old in bed, please share!!

Since the last posting was dedicated to Sadie, this one will be just some pictures of Max. I do have more photos to put up of all of us and will put those up later this week. I can't believe this little guy is going to be 2 next month!

He loves to listen to an ipod.

We went to Pump It Up one day for their free toddler play..which actually isn't free. It was worth it though! Max bounced for an hour and half on inflatable toys and then took a 2 hour nap! :) We had fun...I had to play with him. It was exhausting!

We let him eat some icecream out of the container one night, and he thought it was the best thing ever!

Cookie Monster

2009-02-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I introduced Sadie to Vanilla Wafers, and she is a BIG fan!! She gets so excited when I give her one and then she gums the life out of them! She really cries some pathetic tears if she drops her wafer, but they are gone the instant I hand it back to her. Max thinks it's pretty funny to watch her eat one, but then it usually dawns on him that he would like to eat it too, and now the whole sharing thing has become a slight issue. :)