More Pictures

Hallie and Maycee

Hallie and Maycee in the 4 wheeler with Grandpa.

A newborn baby lamb with his mother.

Love those baby lambs!!!!



Jessie, Aubrey and I loving the sheep.

Maycee getting ready to go out to do chores.

Sheep Ranching in Montana

Each spring. we have a tradition of going up to Grandpa's house in Montana to see baby sheep during lambing season.


This year, we not only got to see the sheep, we were lucky enough to become apprentice shepherds!


Under the master's careful guidance, we were able to feed the sheep, muck out their pens, stack straw, do night checks and assist in providing neonatal and obstetrical services.


Hallie and Maycee had a great time hanging out with their grandpa.

The four cutest nieces in the world!!

I know I am not the right "Sara(h)" to be posting on this blog but I couldn't help myself! I just had to say how cute and wonderful these girls are!! Thanks for the wonderful time playing at Papa Ed's house! It was a blast! And you 4 couldn't have cuter pictures! Thanks for letting me play!! Can't wait to come and decorate those rooms in May!! Love you all! Aunt Sara

Easter Sunday

All the girls wore their new Easter dresses to church today!!!
We are so grateful for the beauty of springtime. It is a time of new birth and growth. We are grateful for the Savior and his atoning gift of eternal life.
Family Forever--that's what it's all about!

Happy Birthday to Maycee

I can't believe my baby is 3 years old!!!

She is cute cute cute and spoiled rotten to the core!

Maycee is the last of 4 girls. I am her mother, but there are 3 more in the line-up. Which means, when she cries, there is no shortage of mothers to answer the call. She is the bossiest member of our "girl party".

It is exciting to watch her grow-up. It is both sad and satisfying as she passes all her milestones. It will be the last time as a parent I will get to go through all the fun stages of having a little child. My favorite thing has been listening to them experience the world through their eyes. I love it when they are learning to talk.

As the night begins to fall, Maycee says "It's darking outside!"

Predictably, right before her third birthday, and professional pictures, she cut her bangs. You can see her work in this picture.

Maycee is everyone's "BFF". At night she likes to snuggle and hold my hand. If I have been good that day, or at least for the last 20 minutes, she whispers "You make me happy!", and then "I love you too."

Panty Pride

With 4 little girls of varying size , you can imagine that panties are plentiful. They are all over the house. We have been potty traning in its various stages for 3 years solid now. After changing diapers, the graduation from pull-ups to big girl panties is incredible. In fact, it is the promise of panties that keeps the most discouraged mother and toddler going.

I have used cute panties to bribe the girls into learning to use the potty. Most recently, we bought the Disney princess panties. Each panty comes with their own Princess and accompanying floral design. The most coveted of which was "The Mermaid panties". If you could get all your "poops and wets" into the potty, you would be the winner of the panty of your choice. In fact, they are like trophies, and when at last you won the coveted award, you showed those panties off to anyone who would look. Transition to the panty, a beautiful right of passage.

All this time, I thought this tactic was a good one. Parenting at its finest. Manipulation and bribery at its best. It was today, that I had an epiphanie--at church. We are so proud of our panties, and so rambunctious, that EVERYONE in church has had the opporunity to check them out. We use our dresses like fans to cool our faces, or play peek-a-boo. All this time, without completely thinking it through, I have actually set them up for this behavior. Since I was just a little girl, I have learned that pride is bad news. It has led to the downfall of civilizations. Today, in church, it led to the downfall of my dignity.

We are back home again, out of the religious spotlight, and safely back in our pants. Thankfully, I have been a mom for a while now. I know that with time and patience, our panty pride will wear off and privacy will reign.

Sing to Clean --By Jessie

So, Today, me and my mom were looking at my Aunt Sara's blog. We started listening to her playlist. My mom found a song called "Clean My Room". It was by Imagination Movers from Playhouse Disney. My mom started singing along to it even though she had never heard it. The song totally described my room. Clothes on the floor, toys everywhere, and mismatched socks. Now my mom wants to go and buy the song on itunes...........Hey, whatever it takes to get me to clean, Right??????

When I clean my room, I usually listen to music, but I don't clean as much. So, maybe if I listen to music about cleaning my room, I can clean it in half the time.

Shreddin' The Nar!?!

Last weekend, I got to go skiing with my ultra-fantastic and incredibly patient little brother. Dan set it up so I could stay @ a hotel in Utah and then join him for 2 days of free skiing and ski rentals. -- Is he awesome or what?!!!!

The thing is, it doesn't take much to impress a mother of four who very rarely gets out. Really, he had me at "free night by myself @ a hotel." Seriously, there wasn't one night leading up to the adventure for over a month that I didn't share my bed with at least one of my children. (Apparently we are having a really bad monster problem in our house...........if anybody knows of an exterminator that specializes in this area, please let me know)

After an extensive retail sales adventure and the rental shop, I was on my way!!

Dan and I hit the slopes @ Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT. It was soooooo much fun. Sun on my face in the great outdoors, spending time with one of my favorite people!!!! -- My heart was into it. Sadly, my legs were a bit less up to the challenge. I felt the burn, then the tingle, then the quivering, and then the complete lack of control in my calf muscles. It was scary. My brain sent the message to my legs, but there just wasn't enough muscle left to respond. I tried to save face by suggesting to Dan that maybe it was the new fancy skis I was wearing. Dan suggested back that I was in a poor position to be evaluating equipment when I could barely stand up.

Despite my obvious weaknesses, I had an incredible time. I learned;

*Dan is potentially the most patient and encouraging person I have ever met.
*Theme music from my iPod made skiing infinitley more fun.
*There is no better antidepressant than 2 days of sunshine and my brother's company.
*Walking is overrated.
*My legs will recover and I will ski again.

Dan told me I could come back and tell everyone I was shreddin' the nar. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure it shred me! :-)