Happy 1st Day of Summer!

Summer has officially begun! Mom and I bought these suits about a month ago an hadn't done anything with them yet- so today was a great day to put them on the girls. We thought for sure Sarah would be swimming in hers (so to speak... hehe) but it actually fits her! We found the hats and shoes today. Dad just rolled his eyes the whole time we did this. I think they're adorable! As soon as our picture website starts working again, I'll upload the rest of the pictures we took tonight. I love it!

(I've also added a few more pictures to this folder...)

Smile!

I love it when you reach the point with your newborn when they start to smile. And Sarah started smiling this past week. I almost caught it on film- I think you can tell she's about to smile. I kept catching her at the beginning or ending of her smiles. But anyway- I love it!

We've been dealing with sick girls again around here. Katie had a 103 degree temp Saturday night and was probably even hotter last night. Thankfully that fever has broken. Sarah has been dealing with some really painful gas, so she hasn't been sleeping. I have no idea what I ate to cause it this time around. Why do my girls have such sensitive stomachs when they're babies? I just don't get it! And to make matters worse I have a killer migraine tonight. I haven't had one of these in a long time. Not fun!

Happy Father's Day

We took this picture to send to Steve. It's not easy to get 3 girls in the right place and smiling... especially when the camera battery dies after the fourth picture. nothing is every easy! But, Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful father's out there! Especially my dad for being the best dad I could ever ask for, Doug for raising such an incredible son, and Steve- who is the best dad there ever was- our girls are extremely blessed to have him as their daddy. We love you and miss you, Steve!

Happy Birthday to Me

Today I turned 28 years old. Happy Birthday to me :-) It was a great birthday. I got a nice, long nap (the only thing I asked for) and I was able to talk to Steve on the phone, which is always a treat. Steve also wrote me a beautiful poem, which he hasn't done since we were dating- so that was extra special as well. We went out to Chili's for supper, which I have been craving for weeks. And it was just as I had hoped. I love that restaurant. Gotta keep this quick- Sarah is yelling at me to come rescue her and put her to bed. We just love birthdays around here!

Last Couple Days

So we've hit the end of our week with Brad, Jacob and Emma. Yesterday we went out to Dawson Lake for a picnic and to enjoy the nature out there. It really was pretty and serene. The kids enjoyed chasing the geese and playing on the playground. We also took them down to the docks and let them look out over the lake. Mom mentioned how going out there really makes her miss Door County, Wisconsin and I agree. After spending all our summers up there on Kangaroo Lake growing up, we miss the quiet and beauty of nature that we just don't get a whole lot of around here.

On the way home we stopped at one of the windmills that is part of the "windmill farms" outside of town. They were built about 6 months ago. I would assume most people have heard of trying to find new forms of energy, and these windmills are part of it. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but when you see hundreds of these windmills ruining your view of the corn and soy bean fields and the horizon, this new form of energy really isn't too exciting. They're huge, too. Dad said each blade is the length of a train boxcar. That's really big. You can kind of tell by the pictures we took. Jacob looks tiny next to that thing!

Our last stop of the day was at Carl's ice cream. For those that don't live around here, Carl's ice cream has been around in Bloomington for a really long time- just a local favorite ice cream stop. They built one a few blocks away from us that opened just a few months ago. We thought it would never make it- nothing in that building has ever survived... there have been multiple banks that have tried and failed. But it was hopping last night. They serve food and ice cream but we stopped just for the ice cream. And it sure was good! It was our first time trying it out and we were impressed. Needless to say, the kids were wired after that and we didn't get them to bed until almost 10pm. Then of course Sarah woke up at 10 and we were partying until midnight.

And that just about finishes up our week with Brad. Mom is out shopping with Emma for a new book to take on the airplane. Jacob just finished helping Dad at the garden water the plants and pick spinach. Then they'll take off for the airport just after lunch.

It's been an action-packed, exhausting week. I think everyone will need a vacation from this vacation, as is usually the case. It was just nice to let Ellie get to know her cousins a little better. She'll miss her playmates. I added the last of the pictures, so now there are over 130 pictures to look at. Hey- it was a busy week!

Pictures

Okay, so I have the first round of pictures finally up. I haven't organized them yet, but they're there if you're curious. Whew!

Our week with Brad and the kids

What a fun week we had! Mom and Dad arrived with Brad, Jacob and Emma on Monday evening and all of us were very excited to see them! We had quite a week in store for us.

On Wednesday we went up to Wildlife Prairie Park in Peoria. It's a beautiful zoo-ish place with all sorts of animals that are native to this area. All the kids enjoyed seeing the animals, but they all loved when we went over to feed the animals. For just 25 cents a handful, those animals were well-fed on grain! Jacob figured out how to get the chickens to stick their heads out of the fence so we could pet them. Ellie loved feeding and petting the horse. When we went over to feed the goats and sheep, she still kept calling "horsey, horsey" to get their attention. It was too cute to correct her! It ended up being a wonderful day. We finished off the animal portion by watching a raptor program and learned all about barn owls and turkey vultures. The kids enjoyed watching the owl fly around the room. We then went and took a ride on the train through the park, which the kids enjoyed as well. The adults enjoyed sitting for awhile :) On the way home we stopped for ice cream and we could not wake Ellie up for anything to eat hers. She was pretty upset when we got home and she realized she had missed out. She had to have been exhausted to not stay up for ice cream!

Thursday morning I stayed home with the girls while Brad and his kids did shopping with Grandma and Grandpa. Emma and Grandma did clothes shopping for Emma. Her clothes are pretty worn out and small so Grandma had fun shopping for her. Jacob got to buy a fishing pole with Brad and Grandpa. He had a fishing outing on Saturday that he needed to shop for. He was very excited about that fishing pole. Then that afternoon Brad took his kids swimming while Sarah and Katie slept and Ellie played in the little pool out back. I was much too tired to go to a pool. It ended up being a more relaxing afternoon, which I needed. That evening we went down to Shelley (Stevens) Ropp’s garage sale. She had a huge amount of girl’s clothes that she was selling and she let us have a “preview” of her sale. We got a huge amount of clothes for my girls and to send to Troy and Rachel for Amelia. I also got a bike cart for us to use next summer when Steve is home so we can go on bike rides together. I am very excited about that one! Shelley has a little girl that is Emma’s age that the two girls really enjoyed playing with as well.

Friday we went to the Children’s Museum here in town. It was awesome. I had never been before, but it was great. We took just the older 3 kids, but I think Katie would really enjoy it, so we'll have to do it again sometime this summer. There was a painting wall (one of Ellie's favorites), water, air hoses, grocery store, arts and crafts, and all sorts of "Midwest" exhibits like cows, tractors and corn. Then after lunch we all headed out to McGraw Park to play. It turned out to be extremely windy and cooler, so the kids weren’t too excited to play in the water. Instead they spent most of the time on the swings and playground. It ended up being another fun outing to the park. They were all exhausted by then, but the evening had just begun. Brad had some friends over for a barbecue, so we spent the evening outside grilling and talking while the kids all played together.

Saturday morning Brad and Dad took Jacob fishing. There was a big fishing extravaganza at Miller Park and I guess there were so many people that the shoreline was completely covered by the time everyone arrived. They had stocked the pond ahead of time so there was a greater chance of the kids catching a fish or two. Jacob caught one and he was very proud of that catch. What a fun idea! While the boys were gone we walked around our neighborhood and checked out garage sales. I got more girl clothes at Shelley’s sale (she had restocked Friday night) and we even found a 2-wheeler with training wheels for Ellie. It’s still new to her, but she actually can pedal the bike- I was very impressed! Riding a tricycle first was definitely the way to go so she got the hang of pedaling without the brakes getting in the way. We invited Shelley’s girl, Lexy, over to play for a little while that morning. Ellie and Emma were not getting along, so I took her and Sarah grocery shopping and left Emma and Lexy to play. We love having our cousins here, but unfortunately Emma and Ellie have been fighting like sisters (or worse) the whole time. It’s been getting worse as Ellie is getting less and less sleep. That afternoon we decided that everyone needed some rest, so we put them all in front of movies and I took a much-needed nap. But then of course no one was tired at bedtime, so we took them all on a nice, long walk to wear them out a bit. I think the adults are more tired than the kids!

And that’s where we are so far. We’ll head to church here pretty soon. It could be intere
sting with all of us cooped up in one place. All I can say is- wish us luck! So far we have had a very fun week. It’s been great having Brad and the kids here. My girls adore Jacob and love to play with him. He is extremely gentle and sweet and really knows how to play well with them. Emma is a sweetheart and her energy wears us all out- Ellie has had fun trying to be just like her.

On a side note- Katie has finally learned how to go down the stairs on her tummy. After one tumble down the stairs because she was trying to walk down them on her own, she decided maybe she learn a new method. I am very relieved that she finally figured this one out! She’s growing really fast and is starting to thin out a bit. She can reach up to counter tops now. Danger, danger! She’s just a crack-up. Her little giggle and gap-toothed smile melts me every time. Ellie is definitely in an investigative stage. She wants to know what the consequences will be for all sorts of actions- good and bad. She tends to take on the personality of the person she is with, which is very similar to Steve and me. Not always a good thing, but it’s a great way for her to test what works for her and what doesn’t. It’s fun to watch her grow and learn. Sarah is growing and becoming more alert. Her head control is getting better and I’m just waiting for that first smile. I know she wants to- I just haven’t found how to get it out of her yet. She’ll be 8 weeks old on Tuesday. It’s crazy how fast the time has gone!

Well, I’ll try to get pictures up soon and I’ll finish writing about our week with Brad sometime next week. I’m not used to being so busy!

Alone with Odds and Ends

This weekend my parents are in Utah to participate in the blessing of my newest niece, Amelia Streeter. I feel terrible that I never wrote on here about her birth. She was born on May 11th weighing in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces and 20 inches long. She's an adorable little girl. We're excited to have her in our family. I'm jealous that Mom and Dad got to be out there, but there was no way I was going to try that trip with the three girls.

So that leads to the conclusion that yes, I am here alone with the girls. It was definitely a daunting undertaking, but I think I've done quite well. I even took all three to the grocery store all by myself and survived. I was quite proud of myself for that one. It's nice to know I can do it alone, but it's even nicer to know I don't have to! I'm ready for Mom and Dad to come home so I can get some sleep!

I have been very well taken care of this weekend. Andrea Ringer (who happens to be the Relief Society President, but is just a good friend) came over the first day and distracted us for a couple hours. She gave me some good perspective on raising a 3-year old (whoever called them the terrible twos was way off- three is much harder!). Then on Friday she came and took Ellie to play with her girls for a couple hours while Katie, Sarah and I slept. It was GREAT! Saturday Marilyn Mapes and Linda Fritz joined the four of us girls to another trip to a spray park- one down the street from the park we visited on Tuesday. There was a big storm in the forecast, but we had sunny weather that was just the right temperature. Ellie had a blast this time around. We all got wet and had a great time. Katie still wasn't convinced. She spent most of her time on the swings again. We'll keep trying. We stopped for ice cream on the way home and it started raining just as we were finishing up. Perfect timing! Today we had a "linger longer" after church and the girls were pawned off on different people there as well. I practically had people fighting to hold Sarah. I guess I can't blame them- you don't get the chance to hold a newborn very often. This ward has been so good to me- it's been wonderful. Mom and Dad get back tomorrow night with Brad and the kids and we are very excited to have them come. Needless to say, it's been a long weekend, but it's gone well.

We took Katie down to the doctor to have her checked to make sure the ear infection was really gone this time (it is). While we were there we took the liberty to stick Sarah on the scale to see how big she has gotten. Fully dressed she weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces. I couldn't believe it! Not bad considering she was only 6 weeks old and started out a little over 6 pounds. She is even starting to get chubby arms and legs. It amazes me how quickly they grow at this age. One fun thing about that, though- she's starting to fit into the 0-3 clothes so I have much more to choose from. Hey- she's the 3rd girl. We've collected quite the wardrobe!

Dad got back from Italy and brought the girls t-shirts from Florence. I got some fun pictures of them in those t-shirts. Ellie has worn hers every day since he got back (for at least a few minutes each day before the next outfit is chosen).

Something funny happened this morning. I was down here chatting with Steve and thought I had better check on Ellie since I hadn't seen her for a bit. The other two girls were sleeping and I wanted to be sure she wasn't "helping" them wake up. I went upstairs and couldn't find her. Then I heard a little yelp from my parent's room. I went in and didn't see her anywhere. Then I spotted her. I don't know how she thought to stick herself in there, or how she even fit, but it just made me smile. What a goofy kid!

I've added a few more pictures lately of our adventures. I am just exhausted. I have a huge respect for women that do it all on their own all the time.