4th of July!

Selah is such a doll!
Jared and Porter in front of this old garage/barn. I don't know what it is but Jared thought it would be cool to get a picture.

Sack race in the park after the parade!

Porter in the sack race!

Alex did really good until he saw everyone had finished and then he fell. I tried to pick him up and help him finish but he was done. He was so tired!

Alex is the little guy lined up with all the big kids.

He was so excited to race!

Whitney and Kayla! Best Buds!

Erik, Kristina, Alex, and Kayla

I think Alex was upset because Porter and Selah picked up the last 2 pieces of candy that were thrown! It is amazing the way a 3 year old thinks!(the end of the world)

Fire trucks and police cars are being really loud! Alex cried once because one of the fire trucks honked his horn and startled him. It was endearing!

Jared, Tia, Selah, and Porter

Princess Selah

The fire trucks got pretty loud!

My little sweet angel!

I love this girl!

Tia and Selah

Watching the Parade!

Tia, Me, and Whitney!

Getting ready to pose but Tia had some parenting to do before we posed!

I guess this is just a random shot of everyone waiting for the parade!

Porter and Selah!

They are so cute!

Alex chomping on his candy!

Tia and Jared drove all night and got here at 4 a.m. on the 4th. We got up and got ready and went to the 4th of July parade in Afton. . .Minnesota. (that was for all you Idahoans and Wyoming People) It was such a fun day. The kids had a great time. We decided instead of leaving quickly we would hang out in the park and let the kids play. We all had something to eat (hot dogs, brats, chicken, egg rolls and rice), the park had several stands to choose from. They had bobbing for apples and sack races for the kids. Then we walked back to our cars which I forgot to mention were parked at least a mile away. Then we went home and relaxed. Erik and Jared got stuff to BBQ, so we BBQued later in the afternoon. We left at about 9ish to go watch the fireworks. Then we all came home and crashed. It was a fun filled day with good company and good food. . . what more can you ask for!

THE FATHERS DAY QUILT!

I took these with my phone because I couldn't find the camera.

There is a reason that I am blogging this quilt. I have been working on it for over 8 years. I bought the colored squares at deseret industries over 8 years ago with the intention of making a quilt. It didn't happen. For the past 5 years or so I have been collecting Erik's work Jeans as he threw them away. I would wash them and the cut them into squares. Finally I had a enough to make a quilt. I sewed up all the squares about a month or so ago and then I had to decide who to give the quilt to. I decided that this would be the perfect Fathers day present. Erik gave me a hard time because the last quilt I made I gave it away. He doesn't like to see all that hard work go away I guess. So then I just needed to buy the backing and the batting. I went to the store hoping to find a good deal on the backing. I found a light weight corduroy for $2.00 a yard. I thought. . .that isn't too bad I will take it if there is enough. I needed at least 8 yards. Well the lady measured it out and it was exactly 8 yards. $16.00 was pretty good. Well when she ran through the scanner it was 1/2 off. . .so I got it for $1.00 a yard. It was the exact measurement at the perfect price. I had a few days to make the quilt and I decided I was going to use my fancy sewing machine to bind it instead of tying it. . . .big mistake. I got it all done and then I sewed up all the edges. I HATED IT! I couldn't give Erik this gift and I certainly didn't want to claim that I had done it. . . so guess what I did. . . .I unstitched the entire thing and started over. I had to go to Home Depot and get 4 boards so I could tie the quilt. Lucky for me my cousin Whitney was here and her grandma who is my aunt taught us both how to sew. I think Whits mom taught her some and my mom taught me some. Point being she knew how to tie a quilt. So we got to work. Well when we finally met in the middle I realized she had doubled the yarn and I had not. Oh . . . my. . . heck! Can't I do anything right with this quilt. So I undid all of my half and redid it. Well tonight I finished the edging and decided to take a picture of the finished product. This thing is huge. It is bigger than a King. Just slightly though! If I would have done it right the first time then it would have been done days ago. . .but I didn't. When I get in a hurry, I get flustered and can't think straight. I am so glad Whit was here to help me figure it out. I hope Erik likes it. I figure it will make the perfect drive in movie quilt, or camping, or hang out side with the kids on the lawn, or just put on the bed in the middle of winter. It is heavy and warm. It reminds me of my dads Levi quilt that my mom made for him. I loved that quilt. . .it was and still remains one of my favorites.

Reorganizing by princess Kayla!

Kayla has figured out how to open drawers. . . and this is what happens when she opens them. I guess she doesn't like how I have things!

She is busy deciding where to put the dish towels. . . . hmmmm. . .the floor looks nice!

She is reorganizing her closet. She pulled everything out of the box and put it on the floor. We couldn't get her attention she was so busy.

If of course could not pick so I uploaded all the videos. She is so funny and full of so much personality!

I took the crawling videos about a month and a half ago. Uploading them takes forever so that is why I am so far behind. She was just so dang cute so I had to add both.

Kayla is 10 months!

I had pictures and videos uploaded and the my computer decided to freeze! So I am going to just talk about miss Kayla. I will post the videos and pictures later!

Kayla turned 10 months yesterday! Wow! I can not believe it. These are some things she is doing right now.

1~She is crawling everywhere. . she figured out that she could climb the stairs on her own.

2~She pulls herself up on furniture and walks along it. Then she gets nervous because she hasnt figured out how to get down. . . so she yells for help until help arrives.

3~She is Grandma's girl! Most of the time if Grandma is around she doenst want "anybody" else! It is a very cute. . .I will reach for her and then she turns her head with the biggest smile and trie to climb up grandma's shoulder with her legs kicking a hundred miles an hour. Then she turns back towards me and I reach for her again. . . . we could play this game all day!

4~She is starting to copy a lot of different noises that me make. She says mama and dada!

5~She still has no teeth. . . not one! She has acted like she is teeting since 4 months. . . it is off and on. . . lots of drool, and gumming objects!

6~She eats everything we give her (maybe she will rub off on Alex). . . last week she decided she doesnt like the baby pureed food. She wants what we are eating, so I have been giving her small pieces of our food. She does really well with everything. She gums it just enough to be able to swallow it.

7~She is a people person. She hasnt really hit the "only want mommy or daddy phase" She will go to anyone! (unless grandma is around) Sometimes she will hear my voice and want to come back, but for the most part she is content with anyone willing to hold her.

8~She does not sleep through the night. . . well she did last night. . maybe she will tonight too. It is 3 a.m. and she is still sleeping. . .maybe we have fixed that problem. . .cross your fingers! (Alex woke up crying about an hour ago and I couldnt fall back to sleep) SO I am blogging!

9~She still hates the car. That has not changed since we brought her home. She cries almost everytime we go anywhere! I am hoping when we turn her around that she will be a happier, more content baby! 2 more months!

10~She adores her big brother Alex. He can make her laugh better then anyone! I love that they like each other so much. He is really good to her for the most part (except when she plays with his toys) I hope their relationship stays like this through the years!

So there are 10 things about the going on's of Kayla. One for each month of her little life!

Kayla is the most beautiful little girl in the whole world! (I may be biased but that is how I feel) We are so lucky to have her. I feel so lucky and blessed to have her in our lives. Kayla we love you and wish you a happy 10 months!

Alex's birthfamily!

Alex's birth mom and biological brother and sister came and visited him last week. The pictures are all mixed up. For some reason they are not being loaded in the same order that I uploaded them.

We went to K-mart so they could get him a present. . . he got a tool kit set. He LOVES it! He has played with every day since he got it.

Here is his safety goggles They called him scuba Steve! LOL

Helping dad put the tool set together.

Posing with the box before we put it together. He was so excited to put it together.

Hanging on the trampoline

Miss Kayla being cute as always!

Stacey is behind Kayla. She is Alex's birth mom!

This is Regan and Christian. . . Alex's biological brother and sister. Regan is only 12 and Christian is about 14 or 15. It gives me an idea of how big Alex is going to be. He is going to be one big boy!. Christian is already 6' 2" and Regan is like 5'7" ish.

The stroller was meant for Kayla but Alex LOVED it and plays with it all the time. Good practice for being a good dad I guess. We put a stuffed animal in it for him to push around and care for.

I know some people find it strange that we have them come visit but it isn't strange to us. It is very comfortable and we figure how can a child be loved tooo much? They can't. They adore him and I love that. I also love that they adore our new addition Kayla! When they come I feel like our good friends are coming to see the kids. They don't step on any toes and they let us be mom and dad. The adoption world isn't what it was years ago. It is more common to have open adoptions. It is up to the birth family and the adoptive family to decide how open they want to be. I love Stacey! I met her long before she was pregnant with Alex. The way things worked out was not by mistake. . . the Lord played a big role in making it happen. I think about my life and the different things that have happened. When Erik said we were moving to Minnesota I was not happy! I was very irritated and angry! I went because it was what we needed to do to make a living. I was miserable for awhile because I didn't embrace the situation and jump in with a good attitude. As I adjusted I was learning to love it. Now if given the opportunity to move back I don't thing I would. I really have changed my attitude. Okay. . . so I have a point! Had we not moved to MN, I never would have met Stacey. . . .are you seeing where I am going with this! If I didn't meet Stacey she wound not have place Alex with us! Secondly if we were not in MN when Kayla's birth mom was looking to place she would not have selected us. She wanted someone from Minnesota. Looking back, I now know it wasn't by mistake that we moved here. It was inspiration. . . I am just glad Erik was open to listen to the inspiration while I was dragging my feet all the way to Minnesota. So if you want to think it is weird that we have visits from Alex's birth family that is your prerogative. What matters is how we feel and how Alex feels! I write this to try and help people understand that it is okay. I hear more and more about adoptions that are as open as ours. It is the new NORM!

KIDS!

It is so hard to get a picture of Kayla smiling! I think her eyes are pretty sensitive to the light. Whether it is the flash of the camera or the natural light I get squinting or her eyes closed.
Alex on the Jumper! He calls the trampoline "the jumper"

Look mom, I found grass. (she eats it too) We were at the beach last week and she was eating sand. This girl puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.

So cool!

Lola was napping by the door so Alex went and layed down by her.