Stephs goes riding

Ok so we finally signed Steph up for horseback riding lessons! She really really LOVED it! The lady is awesome. She used to be a teacher so shes great with the kids. She is very big on teaching the kids EVERYTHING about the horse. So you have to get the horse, lead it over, brush it, saddle it, then do it all over when you are done :) Stephanie loved it soooo much she wants to go everyday! But she will have to wait.....for now she is going once every other week. I know she is going to learn a ton! Before she was done she was riding the horse completely independently and guiding it through poles and around barrels! Wont be long and she will be competing in a show!

Coins - good or bad for the digestive system???

Well leave it to Sarah! She just came to me and told me that she swallowed a penny (or nickle or dime). Once I quizzed her a bit and realized she did in fact swallow a coin I called the Dr. who told me to call poison control who basically told me to wait till she poops it out! I don't know what it is about this kid! I never had to get beads out of my other kids noses or worry about them swallowing coins!!! I swear I may need to up my meds to make it through with this kid!! :) part of the problem is that she is too darn cute!!!!!

Dogs Dogs Dogs.......

So I am not sure what exactly compelled us to get another dog.....but we decided we should get a puppy......wouldn't that be fun! So we looked around and found a family that was moving out of state and had a black lab mix puppy. We got the girl that they had and brought her home. She did really great the first week. We were totally prepared for the typical puppy things, chewing, peeing inside, jumping ect.....however what we were NOT prepared for was her aggressive attitude. I first noticed it one day at petsmart when a family came over to see her and she barked only at the boy.....then as time went on we noticed that she would growl at Sarah and Emily. She would even nip at them if they bothered her while she was sleeping or resting under the table. So we moved the table and she seemed to do much better, sure we had the typical puppy bites and jumping ect. but it appeared that now the table was moved and she had no place to "claim" she was doing better no nipping or growling..........then one day while I was home with the 2 little ones Sarah gently tried to pet her and she nipped at her hand, then it went to Emily and she got nipped in the face.......took her to the vet (that was a whole different story) and she started growling at him. He and I talked about her behavior (he really believed she was part chow) and her aggression with the kids and how we could work on correcting it. We worked for about 3 weeks on it and the nips and growls continued. We finally drew the line when she bite Sarah in the face and "almost" drew blood.........so we started researching where and how to re-home her. We ended up finding a REALLY REALLY great lady who had grown up around Chows and had been training them for years. She had older kids and another dog. They came over here and met us and Lola and it was such a perfect fit! Now she is happily napping and playing in peace without the little kids around to "scare" her. We came to the conclusion that it was probably just that. She was a very timid dog and she scared easily....her defence unfortunately was to bite. Looking back at the whole thing I am really happy how it all worked out......in a round about way we got her to the home she was suppose to be in!

So once our Lola was safe at a new home we decided not to wait to long to give it another try. Only this time we decided NOT to get a puppy and we decided to just get another Golden. They are known for being very docile and gentle with the kids. We weren't willing to take any chances. We contacted a few rescues and one day I just happened to be on Craigslist and Viola. There he was :) Buddy. He is a year old and pretty big for a Golden. We went to the house to meet him. Bob went in first, then took in Steph and Em, then Sarah and I came in with Jake. We all got to meet Buddy and see for sure that he was 100% GREAT with kids (he was in a house with a 2 year old so that helped) and he was GREAT with Jake! So we brought him home and he has been  a JOY. He's a GREAT dog!!! We got him to go to and stay in our "kennel" (aka baby gate propped between 2 couches), he is doing great on a leash and most importantly has NO issues with children sitting on him, mushing his face and saying he looks silly, or trying to ride him. Now while we don't really encourage or even allow these things its nice to know that he will tolerate it! We couldn't be happier with how it all turned out and we learned a great lesson!!!! Know what you are getting into with a dog, get all the facts up front and make sure that your WHOLE family spends a decent amount of time with the dog before deciding! There really is a particular dog for a particular house :) and ours is a Golden house! Buddy and Jake are great friends and we are happy to have him as our newest family member! Oh and he loves to fetch and SWIM!!!!!

Jake and Buddy.....floppy tongue friends

Buddy after a swim

In the totally escape-able kennel

Emily and Buddy

3rd Grade

So Steph started 3rd grade. She is doing great so far she has all A's. She has made some new friends and here's hoping 3rd grade is as awesome as 2nd was!

Daisy to Brownie

Our girl scout troop has officially made it into its third year! We are now Brownies. In May we had a bridging ceremony and the girls crossed over from being Daises to Brownies! They were all so excited to get their brownie sash!

Lake Powell

So this year I FINALLY made it to the lake!!! Mom was awesome enough to watch the 2 little ones during the days while Bob was at work and Steph and I, along with Lori and her kids took off to the Lake with the Cutlers, Nelsons & Manions! It was sooooo much fun!!!!! Stephanie didnt like doing anything behind the boat but she LOVED riding on the boat. She even told me the other day, "the favorite time of my life was on the houseboat". It was a great time and of course a GREAT photo op! Such great backgrounds!! We spent our days riding on the boat and swimming in the lake. The Fausett kids LOVED riding on the 4 person tube. Andrew was great on the knee board, he even got up for a bit on the wake board! One day Uncle Dave took us all over to see Rainbow Bridge.  For me it was so great to just get to watch the kids have so much fun and to get to be at the lake again with the family :) It was another great vacation!!! A BIG BIG thanks to the Cutlers!!!!!

Happy 8th Steph!

So Steph was lucky enough to get to celebrate her birthday in IN and at the Reunion :) They had a special cake for her and everything! Aunt Kathy and Gavin even decorated our hotel door so lots of people in the hotel would say "happy birthday" as they passed by. It was def. a special day for her. The one thing she really wanted for her birthday was Guinea Pigs. So before we left for IN we had found 2 that were really cute and perfect for us! We found them at Piggie Poo Rescue (yes there are rescues for guinea pigs!). They were willing to hold onto them for us until we got home from our vaction. So of course as soon as we got back in town it was our first priority to get our guineas home. We got them a HUGE cage and the are doing great! Thier names are Daisy and Marshmellow.

marshmellow hanging out in his tube

WOW Its been TOO long and theres LOTS to post!

Ok so its been WAY to long since I posted on here AND I have a TON to post! So we will do this in bits :)

Our Vacation to IN was AWESOME! It was a great vacation! Mom and I drove out with the kids, then Bob flew out and he drove home with us and my mom flew home. The kids were AMAZING in the car!!!! It made us realize we can do road trips now! :) YEAH! Getting Sarah to sleep in the hotel was a bit trickier but once we got a "system" she did ok. We had a blast being at the farm. Everyone took a turn or 5 driving the tractors, walking in the fields with the cows, RUNNING around in the open space, catching lightning bugs! Oh and of course it was great to see everyone at the reunion! LOL the whole reason we were there! We took the kids blueberry picking with the Cutlers which ofcourse was lots of fun! I think Emily ate more than she picked and it was a GREAT time for photos (my fav. part)! After our great week in IN we headed out and hit lots of stuff on the way home. We went to the American Girl store and had lunch in Chicago, went to see Lincons Tomb, the Onadoga Caverns and the St.Louis Arch. IT really was a great trip and I am hoping I can talk Bob and the Hittles into a repeat in 2012!

Steph driving the tractor

Sarahs turn

Emily picking blueberrys :)

  

New Swing

Well my hands are sore! And here is why!

Our friend John made us this disk swing for our BIG tree out front! It is the neighborhood hit!!! I spent MANY hours out there this weekend with the kids lined up and I would pull them and let 'em fly! They LOVED it......and now my hands are sore :)

Sarahs Room

OK so its been almost a YEAR since we moved in! When we moved in we painted the girls rooms and I vowed to decorate them super cute! Stephanie and Emily's was easy because I has almost everything....Sarah's on the other hand has taken me the whole past year to "decide" I knew I wanted pink and brown and something that went with her baby bed set that I LOVE so much (even though she isn't in it anymore).....so found some dots that I love and Steph helped me and we made letters to go on her big empty wall.....now all that's left is to get Grandma to make her a quilt and curtains :) Here are the pics!

REALLY????

So we got a Wii....I know we finally joined the rest of America.......partially because we can play netflix on it! :) We downloaded the original Super Mario game....it is sooooo awesome! Its amazing how you remember from 15+ years ago where all the hidden blocks are and where the extra guys are, ect... but yet I cant remember where I put my keys! LOL

Anyways so we are playing along and of course Bob is 100% committed in his game! I am sitting on the couch with my "ahh watch out" or "no go the other way" ect.....and I kid you not at one point I said something and he says

"MOM stop......"

YES he did!!! HE called me his mom!!!! We all looked at each other and started laughing harder than we have in awhile!!!!!!! His claim is that the game took him back to when him mom use to talk to him while he was playing!!! LOL My claim is that when he plays Nintendo he clearly is a 7 year old!

OUR new kitchen Bench

So we got a built in bench in our kitchen! I love it! It is a great place for the kids to sit....no chairs to fall off of or tip over.....It has storage and matches our kitchen cabinets great! Here are some pics!!!!

Stephs Letter

Ok so Sarah has been sick and a few nights ago was her worst night, she had
a fever and was throwing up.....the next day I was up in Stephanie's room
and found this note....

It reads

"let my sister be better by tomorrow AMEN G-D p.s. for my sisters health"

I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee.....

Ok so driving to school to pick up Stephanie the other day. Emily in her
ever so adorable timid voice says ever so calm "mom, there's a bee in my
seat" to which I the all knowing mom reply "NO honey I am sure its not a
bee....its probably just a.....OH CRAP THAT IS A BEE!!!!"
(keep in mind I am DRIVING)

So I QUICKLY grab the nearest thing....Sprouts add....and SMASH the bee that
is unknowingly lounging an inch from my kids leg....took a couple smashes,
but we got him.....thanks to a red light.

Scooped him off her seat, light changed green and off we went! I turned
around (my heart pounding) and said to Emily "whew...you ok?" she says ever
so calm "yeah I didn't even get stung...thanks mom" Followed by "um I don't
want to put my leg in the bee goo" and rode the rest of the ride with her
leg up all sideways in her seat!

Happy 4th Birthday Emily

Yesterday Emily tuned 4! :) We had a fun party for her on Sunday. Some family came over we had a bouncy and the kids just played together all day. Auntie Lori super cake maker made her an AWESOME rocket cake (from Little Einsteins). All in all the day was a hit....then yesterday on her actual birthday I made her a small cake and we sang for her again :) Then when I asked her how old she was she said "now I am 5!" hahahaha she thought because we sang again that added a year :) Tonight she is going to the community center for "pre-school" they have small classes there we signed her up for. She has been begging me to go to preschool and this I think will be a good start.

Snow weekend!

ON New Years day we decided to take advantage of Bobs day off and head up north to the snow......apparantly so did everyone else in Phx :) The first day we went sledding, then checked into the hotel and went for a swim in the heated pool......to bad the room the pool was in wasnt heated....made getting out BAD......then we were off to dinner @ Ihop...breakfast for dinner! Then we tried to go to bed.....however Sarah wasnt to fond of sleeping in a hotel room and was up most of the night. NExt morning after we got all packed up we went and founda great park with play area and a hill to sled! After about 3 times sledding Em and Sarah were done and ready to play so they were able to play and Steph was able to keep sledding! It was perfect! The kids had fun sledding and building a little snowman! I was happy that I got great pics of all the kids! All in all a sucessful trip! We will be going back up in 2 weeks for another round! I am sure it will be MORE fun because we are going with cousins!!!!!