Kids have their own personalities...

It has been a few days since I last wrote. It has been a busy week. I finally got my act together and started packing...I was SO disorganized and stressed with the last move a few months ago, that I am REALLY making efforts to be completely on top of things this time. I feel completely overwhelmed. Brandon works lots this week and packing with kids just doesn't happen. I have not slept well---shock, right?!?! So, I am trying to keep up on the housework while the kids are awake, pack when they are asleep, and not feel completely exhausted. Someone babysat for me yesterday for an hour and a half and I was SO grateful to get some things done (although I was quite tempted to sit on the couch watching a chick flick with a quart of icecream). It is different to move misc. junk a block away, but to take it accross the country is a totally different thing. I just don't want to deal with the sorting and tossing when we get there and I am about to have the baby. So, I am trying to get it done now. It has been SO hot here lately! NOT normal for this area at this time. I feel like we have practically lived off of snowcones--it is too hot to think about cooking right now.

We spent the day today (a few times) in the backyard with our little pool. Jenna insisted on wearing the whole deep pool outfit...I guess I could be reassured she wouldn't have drowned in the 3 inches of water we had in the pool. We threw some bubble bath in the pool and they had a ball playing together! Kaden jumped in before I could get his swimsuit on, but I honestly didn't blame him. :)

No idea what the scowl was for...but it was a pretty funny face! I have learned a lot lately as I have watched the kids grow and develop more and more. They DEFINITELY have their own personality early on! :)
No, our 8 ft deep in-ground swimming pool is not hiding...there just isn't one.

You can't tell by her swimsuit though...

Jenna absolutely LOVES to dress up like a Lion. I am getting worried because she really is outgrowing this costume, but I can't find it in a bigger size. I am glad she has stayed pretty small and can fit (it is really a 12-18 mo costume...she is 3 now.) But, soon it probably won't snap between her legs. Hopefully we can find something close to Halloween when they come out again.

Thanks to Brandon, she has taken a liking to wrestling. She tackles Kaden unsuspectingly several times a day. We keep telling her that someday he will be able to get back at her--guess we will see how that goes when it happens. :) At least for now he thinks it is pretty funny...most of the time.

Here she is growling at him...

Jenna loves to talk on the phone. Here she is talking to her Grandma Lita, dirty face and all. :)

Taking time by the water...

Sunday evening, we went for a little drive as a family and ended up at one of the boat docks just outside of town. It is a beautiful place to observe nature--trees, little flowers, grass, the river, etc...and the kids thought it was great! I am sure the pictures look like we are completely irresponsible parents (too close to the water??), but rest assured that we took all safety precautions. :) I am so happy that the kids love to be outside. It is nice to be able to take time to focus on all the amazing creations we have in this world.

Here is our little guy testing the waters... :)

This picture should come last...after all the running around and exploring that Jenna did, she seemed pretty surprised that she was dirty. She doesn't like to be that way at ALL.

It is amazing to see how grown up Jenna is getting. She is so beautiful to us and has such a special little spirit...just so full of life!

Brandon helped Jenna lean over to touch the water and splash it. She thought that was pretty great and stayed there for a while!

Isn't this bunch so cute together???

I really had to hold back on the pics so I didn't overwhelm anyone with some 200 pictures I took at the river. I really love photography--am by NO means a professional. But I really love to capture moments, and there are no better subjects than my own family.

Garage Sale day...

We were up much of the night getting all ready for our garage sale--it ended up being a pretty good day. ANY money is good, and we felt blessed to get rid of some stuff. Although, at the end of the day, I had MORE than I started with! Everyone gave their stuff to me to sell at our final garage sale (July 7). Brandon just shook his head... :) I just counted it as a blessing because it is a better chance to earn some more money to pay for our U-Haul and gas to move. U-Haul told us to plan on about $700 for gas, but that was about .25 cents per gallon cheaper than it is now. Yikes...am nervous to see how that one comes out. So hopefully we will have an extremely successful final sale!!!

The kids were busy playing all day--my cousin's daughter (Evelyn) was there and they played together. We put sunscreen on the kids, but somehow all of us missed ourselves, and we ended up VERY red and sore. Come dinner time, the kids were both exhausted! Busy day...Kaden was sitting with my sister, Abby, and fell right asleep on her lap. That is extremely RARE. But it was pretty cute...

To grandmother's house we go...

The kids were both doing better by Friday, and we went to Idaho Falls to stay with my parents for the night so we could be ready for our big 4 family yard sale the next day. My family, me, my sister-in-law, and cousin all put stuff in...

Jenna got to play with her cousin Anthony, who she really likes to be with. They played pretty nice together...they had to explore anything in the yard and then took turns pulling each other in the tractor. Kaden just checked out stuff on his own. He is such a funny kid to watch!! :)

A trip to the Emergency Room

Brandon had Wednesday night off, and we had FINALLY asked someone to babysit the kids so we could go on a date. We NEVER get to really go on a date unless we take the kids to our parent's house, so this was a big deal to us. We decided to take the kids to the park before we dropped them at the sitter's house. We hadn't been outside a ton that day and thought it would be a nice break...and Jenna LOVES her horse. :)

Kaden just sat with me watching. He was having a pretty low key day and didn't seem too game for riding that day. :)

Jenna did great through the first song (there really are only 2 songs that play, but it honestly feels like 10!!!) I was busy snapping pictures and didn't notice anything was really wrong until I saw Brandon getting off the carousel holding Jenna in her arms. I then realized she was having a seizure and dropped everything--apparently she had started having a seizure while riding the horse and fell off, hitting her head. Brandon was on the bench right behind her, making sure she was okay. But she fell so quickly that he wasn't able to get to her in time. She cut her head in the fall, and her hair was all bloody--I was completely freaking out! We called 911 and tried to get her to respond. She was pretty out of it...

The ambulance came and they strapped her to a board with a neck brace that was FAR too big. It was just so scary to see my little girl laying there and to feel completely helpless. Somewhere in all of this, Brandon ran Kaden to the sitter and go back to follow us to the hospital.

Jenna was a real trooper at the E.R. They did a CT scan (twice) and some other poking and prodding. She kept asking when she could go home. It was a complete heartbreaker...the Dr. said she had an ear infection (we had no idea...she never complained or acted sick--nothing!) and ended up with a concussion, a cut on her head, and several bruises all over her body. When we finally DID get home, she went straight to bed. Kaden had a fever at this point too, so it was a VERY sleepless night. Jenna had one other seizure a year ago (from a fever) and it made me so nervous that Kaden might have the same thing. I was up a LOT worried about my kiddos.

Quite the date night, right? We might have to try that again before we move...

Family night at the park...

For our family night this week, we took the kids to the carousel at the park and then to our favorite pizza place, Craigos, for dinner. We have lots of coupons for local places that we are trying to use before we leave, and we couldn't resist their pizza buffet...mmmmm....Jenna actually didn't eat a single piece of pizza. She loves their salad bar!

Jenna really loves the carousel. She asks to go there almost daily--I have to limit it because I can't go on it with her...makes me so sick right now! :) So Brandon is the trooper who ends up getting on for the longest ride of his life. She loves to ride the white horse, which she has named "baby horsie".

Kaden was not so sure what he thought about all the lights and music. We didn't really get a good smile until we were out of there! :)

Jenna got to help Kaden walk to the car. He is getting more and more brave with his walking, but really it depends on his mood as to whether he will do it by himself or not. :)

Kaden sure loves his dad! (I do too!!!)

Here is Kaden at Craigos. He seriously eats more than Jenna...and has to investigate (very closely) everything he eats. He was a pretty messy guy when we left--went straight home for baths and bed.

We really love to spend time as a family. There is nothing more special in the world to us. I love waching Branon with the kids. He is really a great husband and father, and the kids adore him.

Catching up...Father's day 2007

Yes, I am very aware that Father's Day was a week ago. We have had a VERY hectic week and I am finally able to get the most recent news posted...too bad it is 2:30 in the morning. :) We spent Father's Day at my parent's house--we had a nice time. Jenna got to go piggy back with her cousin Anthony on Brandon's back, something they both loved! :) It was nice to visit for a little while and take a small break. Kaden was exhausted on the way home--so we let him be. We tried to stop him from sleeping so he wouldn't think it was another nap, but it was a failed attempt.

Recipe for DIRT CAKE

This is a yummy and fast dessert--especially nice in the summer, and great for kids! This is my altered recipe. It looks SUPER CUTE in flower pots with either fake flowers, gummy worms, a shovel, etc. or you could do like I did and put it in the back of a truck. Endless possibilities! :) I have seen people use Vanilla wafers to look like summer sand too--just an idea. :)

DIRT CAKE
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 small packages instant pudding mix (I personally like the cheesecake flavor, or white chocolate, but the original recipe called for vanilla...I wasn't a huge fan of it though!)
3 1/2 cups milk
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package crushed oreo cookies (may need a few more depending on how you layer)

DIRECTIONS
Chop cookies very fine in food processor. The white cream will disappear.
Mix cream cheese and sugar in bowl.
In a large bowl mix milk, pudding and whipped topping together.
Combine pudding mixture and cream mixture together.
Layer starting with cookies then cream mixture. Repeat layers. (I like to use a deep glass serving bowl because it presents really nicely, but you could do a wider and more shallow dish as well.)
Chill until ready to serve.

ENJOY!!! :)

Happy Birthday Kaden!

Happy Birthday Kaden! Techincally, his birthday isn't until Tuesday, the 19th of June. But we wanted to celebrate with our families, so we did his birthday party this weekend. Our families weren't able to come at the same time, so I made 2 cakes--one to eat with each family. I absolutely LOVE to think up cake ideas--VERY fun to do!! So having 2 chances was great! I can't believe our little guy is turning one. It seems SO recently that he was born and just a tiny little guy--and now he is growing up and becoming one handsome little man. It is an amazing thing to watch your children grow and develop, and I really am thankful for the chance I get to take part in such a wonderful thing in life.

Okay, here we have cake #1. Kaden LOVES playing with cars and is learning to crawl along while pushing them. He thinks that is pretty cool. So, I decided to go with that theme.

Kaden thought the candle was pretty neat--we sang happy birthday to him and as soon as we finished he reached for the flame. I blew it out before he could really touch it, but I think the wick was still hot and it scared him. After recooping from the small trauma, he was back at it and enjoyed his cake IMMENSELY!

ENJOYING CAKE....yum....a bath took place immediately after his cake was gone. He was a green mess..ALL over. Had cake in places I didn't think could ever HAVE cake.

Jenna loves to see her cousin Anthony. After missing her nap yesterday, she was pretty grumpy...but we still managed to get a hug out of her! :)



My family all came and we headed to the water park for some afternoon birthday fun (are you all SHOCKED that we went to the water park??? JK...) It was supposed to be as a birthday celebration, but Kaden was just too tired and fell asleep--so dad stayed home with him while he took a good snooze. Just what he needed to get him ready for his second cake! :)

This is the second cake I made. We got Kaden the little truck for his birthday (so that I could have something to put the cake in!) and he loved it! So, a present and dessert in one shot! I filled the back with "Dirt Cake"--pretty yummy stuff...and very easy to make! Am including the recipe in case anyone wants to try it.

Here is our little guy blowing out the candle with grandma! He thinks fire is pretty neat...unless you touch it. Learned that the hard way...

HOW CAN YOU RESIST THIS LITTLE FACE?!?!? I think he had his fill of sugar yesterday, but he enjoyed every bite. That is what birthdays are for, right?

All in all it was a successful day--Jenna fell RIGHT asleep as soon as bedtime came, and Kaden seemed to enjoy seeing everyone and eating to his heart's content. :) Brandon's birthday is next month, and then the new baby will be born in August. That means that in our family we will have covered consecutive months from March to August--except April.

(me-March, Jenna-May, Kaden-June, Brandon-July, baby-August)

We joke sometimes that if we have another baby, we have to shoot for an April due date--but that will hopefully be a few years away. My body needs a break right now. :)

Jenna on the loose with the camera...

We had a nice evening the other day (Monday) just playing outside together and taking a few pics. Kaden and Jenna love to be outside. I am glad for that. They are such good kids!

Our newest little photographer grabbed the digital camera the other day and snapped some pics of us. She was so happy to see people on the screen and would squeal, lose focus, and snap the picture. :) It was VERY funny!!

What a handsome set of legs!

Jenna was BEGGING for a pic of her? She is seen in this picture asking Brandon if he will take a pic of her!?

Surviving our trip to Boise...

On Friday morning, we packed the kids up and headed to Boise for Brandon to take the DAT for Podiatry school. Kaden wanted to help... :)

A 4 1/2 hour trip ended up turning into a 6 hour trip (at least it seemed that way) between potty breaks and diapers, lunch, etc. We were so glad to just get there! We had dinner with my grandparents (Grandma and Grandpa Danes) at the yummiest Mexican place there in town. We will miss going there when we go to see them!!! After visiting for a little bit, we headed to my Grandma Hiatt's house to stay for the night. The kids were exhausted! (okay, we were too!) Brandon took his test very early in the morning...he did a great job for such a long test! WE ARE PROUD OF HIM!!

After picking him up, we went to celebrate in style...Carl's Jr. is the kind of place you celebrate when you have children. :) We got the kids all worn out thinking they would be totally out on the way home. Jenna got a Superman figurine in her kids meal and LOVED it! We said our goodbyes and were on our way...it was the longest drive ever! Neither of the kids slept. We were all dillusional due to lack of sleep and a long day, and getting home was the nicest thing EVER! We don't go on many long trips, and the kids aren't used to it. So, it was challenging. But we had a great time there seeing people and spending some time together.

My first buzz haircut...by Kaden Holloway

After Uncle Travis cut my daddy's hair on Monday, I climbed up in the chair like a big boy and got my first buzz haircut. Don't worry--it isn't all shaved off. I just was starting to look like a mad scientist/hippie...whispies on the side and a mullet in the back. They took the longest attachment to my hair.
Mom said I was a pretty good little guy. I just chilled with my bottle and looked around at what was going on. Mom also said I looked pretty darn cute! :)