April 15th!!

Can April 15th really be just around the corner??? Each tax season begins with mixed emotions on my part. I hate to admit it but I do actually like to work I get a certain sense of accomplishment to see a few paychecks with my name on them, however I typically let it consume me, if there is a tax return waiting to be done on my computer I drop everything to get it done. This year with a six year old, four year old, two year old, and being 8 months pregnant I knew that I could not go about tax season the way I used to. So work waited until 1:00 everyday; kaitlen took a nap and Savannah I went to work I set her up a little desk next to mine and she "worked" ie: art time. Work ended at 3:00 when Kaitlen woke up and I wouldn't work again until 8:00 when the kiddos were in bed. Despite the basketball that I have in my stomach it really has been my best tax season in 10 years! I loved having Savannah sitting next to me working on her projects and I must say she has gotten very good at drawing pictures. While I will much miss my tax season money and sense of accomplishment I am very very very happy that I won't be sitting at my computer for hours each day this babe gets more uncomfortable by the minute...... So until next year no more taxes.... except for any extensions that were filed..... :)

Kaitlens 2!

Kaitlen loved her "Birdy Party"(Birthday Party) and especially her "ba-yoons" (balloons) She even got excited about unwrapping clothes. She is such fun spunky little girl!

Hibernation

Up here in the Northern part of the state I have found that we hibernate for the long winter months. We see each other at church each Sunday and occasionally at a basketball game but for the most part we stay in our houses to keep warm, take care of sick kids, and.........well I haven't exactly figured out what else it is we do all winter? This weeks warm weather has finally melted the snow, brought the birds in from the south and chased away the bitter chill of the north. The streets and yards are once again filled with children's laughter, bike races, sidewalk chalk, and most importantly mothers on their front lawns visiting with friends picking up where they left off the previous Fall. It always amazing me how much the Spring weather and day light savings lift my spirits it seems to give me new life. I find myself cooking, cleaning and even changing diapers with a smile. I try to tell myself that I wouldn't enjoy the spring nearly as much if I hadn't gone through the long and dreary winter months, but to my friends who live in warm sunny places do you appreciate your weather all the time?? or does it just become something you are used to?? As for us up in the North we are happy as can be to be coming out of our long winter Hibernation!

Disappearing toes

7 weeks left to go and the toes are basically gone. Someone asked how the belly is going, well it is growing. I feel pretty good but boy I forgot how miserable sleeping is when you hit your last trimester. When I first got pregnant I thought wow 4 kids this pregnancy can take as long a possible cause 4 sounds a bit overwhelming but now I really am ready to be done being pregnant, I'm up at night anyway with numb ribs, hips, and an occasional Charley horse so why not be up feeding a baby.....

Limbs

This weather reminds me of one of my least favorite childhood jobs, raking limbs. Every year when the snow melted Lisa, Jesse and I knew that the winter rest from our orchard labors was over and we'd be back in the orchards starting off the season with one of our least favorite jobs, raking limbs. My dad would hire people to prune the trees and we were the crew that would go behind them and rake all the limbs out to the middle of the row so the tractor could scoop them up into a big pile to burn.

After we walked home from school we would grab a snack and head out to the big old orchard behind our house and begin. Lisa and I hated this job and tried everything we could to get out of it; it was cold, muddy and often times wet. We found all kinds of things left in the orchards from the long winter; dead mice, rotten apples from the prior years harvest, and sometimes even an old dead orchard cat. My least favorite part was getting whipped in the face or arms by the limbs. Now that I look back at it I feel bad that Jesse always had to be our Foreman keeping us motivated and working.....maybe that is why he is such a great dad now, he had lots of practise with me and Lisa. Funny that at the time I dreaded this job and now more then 15 years latter I look back on those times and smile and would love to be out in our orchard with my brother and sister raking limbs.

Number 9

Today is our 9 year wedding anniversary, really 9 years? I don't feel that old that is until I look at the two kids in this wedding picture and think about all the things we've done over the last 9 years.

We've done a lot of really great things the last 9 years and a few not so great. Over the last 9 years we have lived in 4 different cities, 5 different homes, 1 very very hot apartment, visited 3 different countries, threw up on a Brazilian bus, got lost in Mexico, traveled 11 different states, driven thousands of miles together some joyfully and some not so much, bought 2 new cars, sold one piece of junk truck, finally got a new couch, finished a basement with a few not so pleasant words, painted our kitchen 4 different times, landscaped a yard using my sister and I as the weights on the grader pulled behind the 4 wheeler, watched a lot of basketball games, played 100's of games some of which are now no longer aloud to be played due to our competitive nature, eaten a lot of really great meals and some that end up straight in the garbage, tried tons of new recipes only to find out grilled cheese and tomato soup are still a favorite, and most importantly brought 3 soon to be 4 really great kids into the world.

The best part of all is I still miss Anthony while he is at work and call him at least twice a day not really with anything to say but just to hear his voice. I get excited every time he walks through the door after work. Love falling asleep on his chest while he watches the news. Can have a disagreement and be over it shortly after. I am free to rant and rave while he patiently listens to me. He always eats my sometimes not so great food without complaint. At 3:00am when I give him a nudge to go see why Kaitlen is crying he goes. I love that even though we have 3 very small kids we still make time to be together. I love that he goes to work everyday making a difference in the lives of high school kids and I never hear him talk badly or complain about one of them.....not even the trouble makers. I love that he holds my hand while we are at church or just walking around town. I ask myself everyday how in the world did I find someone so great at the age of 16??

Taste of Spring

We've spent the last week down in southern/central Utah watching Anthony's basketball team play in the state tournament it was so great to get a taste of warm spring weather and watch his team take state for the second year in a row! We had a great time swimming, going to parks, out to dinner, watching games and just spending time with each other.

We went to visit where the Fremont Indians use to live it was pretty cool to see the art on the rocks, the kids loved it, and I just loved being outside!!!

We decided to take a hike to the cave of 100 hands, lets just say it got a little muddy and the farther we went the more we were all sinking in mud. Savannah went to take a step and lost one of her shoes back in the mud, it was so funny all we could do is laugh and head back to the car.