"Mom, why are we hoarders?"

Rylie asked me this question one night as I was putting her to bed. She asked me if I was going to bed or staying up and I told her I was staying up to clean the house. She has a hard time sleeping unless she knows someone is awake watching the house. ( She has a lot of fear about someone breaking in our house, even though we live in the middle of nowhere.) She then asked me how long I was going to stay up and I told her quite a while because the house was messy. That was when she asked "Mom, why are we hoarders?" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. We sometimes watch that show on TLC about compulsive hoarders and I guess she thinks our house can get pretty messy. So maybe I have a pile of unopened junk mail and a pile of pictures the kids have drawn that I don't know what to do with. Maybe I also have dishes in the sink and unfolded piles of laundry and remnants of mealtimes all over the counter tops, and blankets and toys all over the family room, but I definitely didn't think I was a hoarder. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a very clingy baby and can rarely get anything done unless I am holding him. I know that I should just put him down and let him cry or try to preoccupy him, but I have tried all that before and he still comes over to me and hangs on my leg and cries. So, I just give into him and sit and play with him. I've tried loading the dishwasher with one hand while holding him and he just tries to grab everything. I guess I have let things go a little bit but now I'm worried about what my kids think. I clean my house at least once a day but it gets messy pretty quick. I try and I guess that is all that matters. I won't live with a dirty house but for now I have to live with a cluttered one. I took a picture of what my house looks like on a day to day basis and will let everyone else make their own opinion. Maybe she is right and I am just in denial or maybe every mom's house looks like this sometimes ( please, someone tell me I'm not the only one so I don't feel too bad).

Golfing

Porter has been doing a lot of golfing lately and the girls always want to do whatever he is doing. When Porter went to the driving range one day he of course had to take the whole family with him. Rylie and Brynlie used whatever clubs Porter wasn't using and tried their best at hitting the ball. I think the club was as tall as Brynlie but they actually didn't do too bad. They did get bored not far into the bucket of balls. So they found other ways to entertain themselves.

They started out with just throwing the golf balls around, then they started posing for pictures. Yeah, they kind of look like rugrats. Brynlie insists on dressing herself and I think Rylie did Brynlie's hair that day. They are still beautiful though.

Then they put the ball buckets on their heads and club covers on their feet like socks.

Then they got really silly and put the club covers on their hands and had a boxing match. After that they thought it would be more fun to get the clubs and have a sword fight. They did all this while Porter was trying to practice. Now they think they want to go with Porter on a real golf course. I can only imagine what that would turn out like. Good thing the driving range was empty that day.

Easton is 10 months old

My handsome little boy is now 10 months old. He is certainly different from my girls. He is very energetic and into everything. He laughs every time I tell him 'no'. He thinks it's pretty funny to have mom chase him and get mad. He loves to be outside and play with dirt. He thinks he is a puppy and goes around with his tongue hanging out and making puppy sounds. He is cruising along the furniture and loves to have someone help him walk around. He is a very good eater and will eat anything I put in front of him. That is another huge difference between him and my girls. My girls were both picky eaters and only wanted to drink their bottles. He loves it when I imitate animal sounds and can even do a few himself. He can say 'bye' and 'hi' and also ma-ma and da-da. He loves to bath or swim and gets angry when the girls are bathing and I won't let him in with them. He is obsessed with grabbing handfuls of dirt out of my house plants, but he usually will wait until I see him by the plant before he grabs the dirt and giggles when I try to get him out of it. He keeps all of us on our toes, but he is so much fun.

Random Summer Events

Summer went by quick this year. Since I have a hard time updating my blog here are a few pictures taken at the end of summer. All year we had been meaning to get the kids a swimming pool but we didn't want a blow up one since our backyard is still all dirt and rocks, but a big plastic one was hard to find. After I saw the girls swimming in this plastic bin I thought that maybe a blow up one would have to do. The bad thing is now that it is at the end of summer we can't find any type of swimming pool.At least my girls never complained. They had fun anyway. This next pic is of Brynlie almost drowning the cat in the faucet. I guess she thought that the cat would enjoy getting wet too. It is a good thing this cat is so mellow and just lets Brynlie do whatever she wants to it.

This is Brynlie's crazed look she gets when she is after a cat. I told her that cats don't like water but that didn't seem to stop her. Easton fell asleep like this one afternoon. I put him down for naps awake and sometimes he plays for a while in his crib before he falls asleep. This time he must have been too tired to even lay down.

This was our last time up to Willow Flats campground. Porter's mom and dad and his brother and kids were up there camping and we went up one night to visit and have dinner. The kids had fun playing in the river and eventually it became a almost nude fishing trip. Porter got a great shot of Parker's naked behind but I can't post it. The kids had a lot of fun playing, hunting for bb's, following red ants, and making their own mini campsites.
The last time we were up to Willow flats was in June and Easton wasn't crawling yet. This time it was a little more difficult to bring him. He was constantly trying to eat dirt and rocks. He got pretty cranky because I wasn't letting him go where he wanted to go.

And finally here is Rylie's first day of school picture. Well, actually this wasn't on the first day, it was on the third day of school and after she got home. I haven't been doing to well with the picture taking and kept forgetting to get the one picture every mom should get of their child on the first day of school. Now that school starts earlier this year than last year, I'm having a hard time getting a routine down. Rylie has been very good at getting up in the morning and I am so glad that they make the kids eat breakfast at school because she refuses to eat as soon as she gets up. Most days in kindergarten and first grade she went to school without anything to eat because she would not eat. She has also been doing good with the longer school days too. They give them an afternoon snack so she is not starving when she gets home and it makes the longer days go by easier. I do love having her only go 4 days a week and I think it is easier on her too because she knows she has a long weekend to play.

Rylie's Birthday

Rylie had her 7 year birthday on July 28. Almost a month later I am finally posting the pictures. Rylie decided she wanted a Twilight party. This year we had a family party with a couple of family friends instead of just a friend party. We had her party at the Galloway family pond. It turned out really nice. I was a little stressed out that day with the decorating and making food and her cake, but after the party started I relaxed a little bit. Rylie wanted a twilight cake and I decided to make it look like one of the books. I got online to find the lettering they used for the titles and then I cut out the name in fondant. Thankfully Rylie chose the Eclipse book for me to make and the cover only has a ripped ribbon so that was pretty easy to make out of fondant. It was really hard to find any sort of twilight party decor anywhere so I had to go to a online party store and order all of the plates, napkins, tablecloths, invitations, crepe paper, and centerpiece. We had a barbeque with a really good turnout. I think everyone was able to make it. The kids had a lot of fun playing. One good thing about having the party at the pond was I didn't have to think of any games because the kids always find something to do there.

After we ate Rylie opened her presents. Once again she got spoiled. We got her a trampoline (which we explained to her was for the family too). She got Zhu Zhu pets, a Barbie house, a Jacob doll (to go with her Edward and Bella doll she already has), shrinky dinks, art stuff, and lots of money. She also got a Twilight shirt, Twilight jacket, and Twilight bracelets. Do you think she likes Twilight and everyone knows it? Her Aunts Nikie and Cassie were sweet enough to remember that Brynlie loves Twilight too, so they also got Brynlie a Twilight shirt and bracelets so she wouldn't be too jealous of Rylie. I usually have party favors for the kids as a thank you, but I ran out of time to get things so Porter went and got a pinata that morning to fill up for the kids. Of course there is no such thing as a Twilight pinata so he had to settle for a flower pinata. I missed the pinata action so I don't know if they hit it or if it was a pull string pinata but I do know there was a lot of candy. Then we sang happy birthday and Rylie blew out the candles on her cake and we had cake and ice cream. It started to rain a little as we were doing the cake but I think the party turned out to be pretty good. Thanks to everyone who helped and thanks to those who brought food for the barbeque!

Fun with the Kanooths

The last week of July we had our friends Jeremy, Andrea, Ally, and Kaitlyn Kanooth come for a visit. Jeremy is Porter's former missionary companion and they have kept it touch all these years. Last year we went up to their place and stayed and had a awesome time on the Oregon coast. This year they decided to vacation at our place. I hope they weren't too bored because Preston isn't a very happening vacation spot, but thankfully it was rodeo weekend so we at least had a few things to do. Most of the time we just sat around and visited but we were able to attend the Rodeo on Thursday. It was me and my girls first time at the famous Preston night rodeo. I don't know how much Porter enjoyed it, he had a hard time sitting on the seats. The rest of us loved it. My favorite is the bull riding. It did rain on us and we were not prepared for it. The girls were in shorts but thankfully we brought jackets for them. So for a while we were wet and cold but still enjoyed it. Sadly during the double steer roping event the little steer got its neck broke and most likely died. I definitely would like to go again but I'm not sure if Porter would. Saturday night the last night Jeremy and Andrea were with us we went to the parade. The parade is always a big deal in Preston. There is a parade for three nights and people set up their chairs a week in advance to save their spot for the parade. We usually go all three nights but this year we only went one. The kids always have fun and come away with a ton of candy and other treats. They usually get otter pops, water bottles, and toys. The milk truck always comes and we usually leave with a half dozen or more little chocolate and strawberry milks. Walmart has a float and last year handed out crayons and notebooks. This year they handed out packs of hot cocoa. Don't know why they thought of that on a hot summers night but it still fun to get free stuff. They usually have a Mtn Dew truck come to hand out soda, but it wasn't in the parade this year. This parade is definitely worth coming to, it's not like the lame ones in Logan. I love the picture of Rylie, Ally, Kaitlyn and Brynlie in the back of the truck with their sunglasses on waiting for the parade to start. Easton was also pretty good even though he didn't even look at the parade he just liked getting tastes of Popsicles and suckers. I also had to include this picture of Seth. I don't know what he was doing, he was just making faces and I think he was singing or saying something but it was hilarious. After the parade the Kanooths left to go home. It was sad to see them go. The girls got along so well and had a lot of fun with each other. Andrea was such a big help to me while she was here and it was a lot of fun to have them stay with us.

July Update

July was a really busy month. We had tons of things to do, Rylie's birthday, and friends from Oregon came to stay with us for a week. My sister Cindy was here for the month and the girls had tons of fun playing together. It was almost like 6 months hadn't even past since they had seen each other. They got along great for the most part. The only time they fought was when they all wanted to be the boss.

Porter finally got his head mount from the deer he shot last fall. I was the one who actually encouraged him to get the head mount because I think they are more interesting to look at then just the antlers. What I didn't know was that it would end up hanging upstairs in the hallway. It really doesn't go with any of my decor. Hopefully we will get the basement finished so it can go down there where it belongs. I agreed to let it hang upstairs for the time being because we did spend a lot of money on it so we can't just box it up. We also were able to pour the concrete pad to go next to our back porch. Our backyard is taking a while to get done but the concrete was one of the big projects so we were excited to get it done. We also stamped and acid stained it. The picture is before we sealed it so now it actually looks quite a bit different. The picture makes it look orange but after it was sealed it looks more caramel. The stamped border was stained a walnut color. Now we just have to build stairs going down to it and finish our rock retaining wall and curbing then we can finally put grass down. I had to put a picture of the girls kittens. They are really good cats. As much as the girls torture and play with them, they are still really friendly and sweet.

Easton is nine months old. He is finally crawling. He still would rather be held and carried around, but now he can crawl to me to make the demand. He is into everything!! He opens drawers and cabinets, pulls on cords, pushes buttons, and touches everything. I've had to move most of my decorations. He can find just about anything. I will think the floors are clean and free of small things he can put in his mouth. Eventually he will find something I have missed and will be sticking it in his mouth. He is completely different from the girls. Rylie never bothered anything and was a really easy baby. Brynlie didn't bother much, she was just a climber and a button pusher. With Easton, anything that is not a toy he touches. He is also teething again which means he is not sleeping all night anymore. He now wakes up one or two times a night. He is quite the babbler and loves to say da da. He is so funny and cute with everything he does.