Bear Lake

We went to Bear Lake for Casey's family reunion and had a blast. The kids did some tubing behind Uncle seth's boat. We ate some fabulous dutch oven dinner and got to launch water balloons at nearby cabins. Rachel taught us some hoe down dancing and Kati had a super fun time dancing with her daddy. Uncle Russell made rubber band guns for all the kids and we had a war. Somehow the dads ended up with the guns and the kids were gathering rubber bands for them. But it was fun for everyone. We made cool magnet boards while the guys went golfing, and the kids had fun jumping on the trampoline. It was fun to be able to get together with all of Casey's brothers and sisters and spend some quality time together. And it was our last vacation for this summer. Whoo.

Lyman Lake

We just took a 5 day camping trip up to Lyman Lake. Yay for tent trailers! I am not much of a camper, but we had a really fun time hanging out with Casey's extended family. Casey and the kids did some fishing, and we ate tons of hotdogs and smores. Kati got to go out in the boat with uncle Jonah (Thanks Jonah!) and Logan had a great time throwing rocks in the lake. No seriously. He also hung out with Casey's uncle Bent and threw stuff in the fire. He says "Mom, me and this guy... We're burnin' stuff." They were best buds after that. Kati got to make some jewelry with her cousins and she was so proud. The dogs had a great time swimming and playing with all the other pooches. And then Trish brought the rain with her. So, we had a "hang out in the trailer and eat junk" night. It was fun. The kids ate all the junk they wanted and then tucked in to bed, and I read a book while Casey and his brothers played poker in a different trailer. We had a great time and then we got to pack up and go home, and unpack. See my facebook for how I felt about that! :)

Summer Fun!

It's been a fun and eventful summer so far. For the fourth of July weekend we were happy to have a bunch of my family in town. My sister had her daughter, Alyssa's baptism, we blessed her baby, Cami and our sweet Hailey, and her oldest boy, Brayden got ordained to be a deacon. On the 4th we all got together at Layton Park and had a delicious bbq. The guys (and Alyssa) played football, and we took a walk down by the ducks. It was a fun time.

Vegas Vacation!

This past couple weeks the kids and I have been in Las Vegas visiting family. My baby brother just graduated high school (wow I feel old!) and we went down to be there. Kati had her 5th Bday while we were there. We had a fun day, and a party with cousins. The highlight for Kati was that she got to have a whole cake to herself.We had some fun times slippin and slidin with some cousins, and we went to a beautiful park in Boulder City that overlooks the lake, and is inhabited by several herds of Big Horn Sheep. (and it has a great playground too!) Casey drove down and was with us the last few days, and drove us home. I was so grateful he was there when the car broke down half way! I was also grateful to his brother, whom we woke up at 4:30am, for coming to the rescue and driving the 4 hours to tow us home. It was fun to spend time with everyone, but I am glad to be safely home!

First Smiles

Our sweet Hailey has started smiling. Hurray! What a precious baby she is.

I don't know what we would do without her.

Preschool Graduation!

Kati (seen here with Teacher Laura) is officially graduated from preschool! They put on the cutest show. They counted to 100 and said all the abc's (complete with hand signals and cute sounds) and sang some of their favorite songs from the year including frosty the snowman, Crazy Herman, and my personal favorite, The wheels on the bus with custom verses including "The Grandpa's on the bus say watch TV" and "The daddies on the bus say (insert snoring sound here)... Wake up dad!" It was so fun, and she was so proud. We went to dinner before with cousin Emma who also graduated, and then Ice Cream at Sonic afterward with Emma and her family, and Uncle Russ and Aunt Tammy. Now she is all set for Kindergarten!!!

I just love this picture!

Ouch!

Saturday night, Kati came in to me, and begged me to ride her cousins 4 wheeler. I initially said no, but she wanted to so bad, and she was asking so cute, so I told her she had to wear a helmet and shoes. About ten minutes later her aunt comes in and says "Kati just fell, I don't know how bad it is." I go out there and her uncle is holding her. Blood all over her, and him. So, we start wiping her down looking for the injury. It ended up she had a gash on her forehead. It was pretty deep, so we took her to the ER. She was freaking out about having stitches, but when it came down to it, she did great! She dozed off, while the doctor put 5 stitches down the middle of her forehead. After, she got to call her dad and tell him all about it. She said "Dad, I got 5 stitches, and 6 SUCKERS!" She was so excited about those suckers. And then she says to me, "Mom, I was so brave to go so fast, huh." and started talking about what she would do differently next time. Needless to say, there are no more 4 wheelers in her near future. I said "Let's wait until you can ride your bike without training wheels before we try again." She said "Okay Mom. Good idea."

There is beauty all around...

Kati is sitting doing her homework. Logan is pestering her as usual.
Kati: Logan stop that!
Logan: Kate do you know my name?
Kati:Yes.
Logan: I'm Logan. Logan's are tuff!
Kati: No, Dawson is tuff.
Logan: I beat up Dawson's.
Kati:Well, Dawson at my school is tuff.
Logan: Kate, go to your room.
Logan stomps off.

Antelope Island

Last weekend we went over to Antelope Island to enjoy Casey's time off and the fickle sunshine. It was a beautiful day for a bbq! The kids loved digging in the sand with a couple of their cousins and Casey got to spend some time throwing a ball around with the guys. I got some great pictures of the Antelope, and the sunset. It was a bit breezy for Hailey so she mostly hung out in her car seat enjoying her cozy blankets. Aunt Trish buried the kids in the sand which they thought was super fun! It was a really fun day, and we all came home with a bit more color to our pale Utah skin. Hopefully it doesn't fade before the sun comes out again!

Oh what a life!!!

Our life is slowly getting back to normal after the arrival of our sweet Hailey almost 5 weeks ago. Kati only has 3 weeks of preschool left and can't wait to start Kindergarten. Logan has finally caught on to the potty training thing and goes unassisted and unreminded most of the time now! Yay!!!! Hailey is growing fast and weighs over 9 lbs. now. She is a sweet baby. Since she was about 3 weeks old, she has slept 8 or 9 hours at night. I am doing great. I can't wait to go back to the doctor so Casey will let me live again! We just planted our garden and I am so excited for all the tasty veggies we will have this summer. Three weeks ago, we found out that Hailey has a hole in her heart. It's called a VSD, and is the most common birth defect. It usually heals on it's own and doesn't cause problems later in life. Hailey is thriving and the doctors are not concerned, but we have to go to a cardiologist next week. It probably won't be a big deal, but I'm still anxious. Keep us in your prayers.

One Week

Hailey is one week old today. She is doing really well. She sleeps 5 hours at night and eats every 4 hours all day long. She barely ever cries unless she's cold or hungry. She's such a sweet baby. Logan and Kati still adore her. (And Mom is doing great, too!)

Hailey Emeline Porter

Born March 25th at 1:51 pm

7 lbs. 1 oz

19 and 1/2 inches long
Mom and Baby are home from the hospital and doing great! Kaitlyn and Logan love their little sister and can't get enough of her.

Kati had a field trip to the Clearfield Aquatic Center today. If you haven't been there it is worth the trip! It has an indoor waterpark complete with a lazy river and a huge slide! Casey woke up early so he could go with us. It was so mouch fun. And Kati was so brave swimming all by herself. It is the first time she hasn't been freaked out when the water touches her face. Afterward we went to the doctor and had an ultrasound. The baby already weighs almost 7 lbs.!!! I am so glad we only have 14 more days! She's going to be a big girl! We got a 3D picture of her chubby cheeks! The kids went with me today because Kati was wondering how the doctor can see the baby. She had a great time and the nurses spoiled her and Logi with suckers. It was a really fun day.

Update

Our baby girl will arrive in exactly 21 days. (Unless she decides to come earlier, which we are hoping against!) I can not wait. I realized today that I have exactly zero pictures of me this pregnancy. I hope to remedy that tomorrow. (while playing with my new tripod!) Especially since this is the first time I haven't been a total blimp!! We have decided to not name her Meghan, and are considering Hailey. (Kati says this name is "adorable") I am so indecisive this time around I think my husband might just exclude me from the decision anyway. The beginnings of spring have hit our home and we've been spending some much needed time in our backyard. We decided to clean it up while it was warm (as it was supposed to snow again this week) and 5 hours and 10 yard bags later we have a beautiful, though slightly muddy backyard. My bulbs are coming up in the front flower bed, which always makes me smile. Casey even got the bug and has started building a bbq island for our summer entertaining. (which we do ALOT of!) He is so funny when he gets a project in his head. I will be glad when it's finished because it's all we will be able to talk about until then. Kati is having a ball in preschool and has much to look forward to this month. They are doing dress up days and she gets to dress up as a ballerina tomorrow. She has been looking forward to it for days! Her field trip this month is to the swimming pool, which she can't wait for. She says she is going to swim all by herself, but I will believe it when I see it. So far she's been pretty timid in the water. She is starting to read and loves to "teach" Logi the letters. He is actually picking up on some of them. Logan is cute as ever. He's a ball of energy and gets more boy every day. (Which I honestly didn't think possible!) He has a mohawk, and glares at everyone who compliments it. Don't even ask to touch it! But he says he likes it because he "looks like a dude" with it. His vocabulary is improving, and more people can understand him when he talks, which is so nice! He likes to write his name but mostly it ends up just a bunch of "L" and "O" 's. He's potty training and does well with some reminding. He loves to play candyland and memory match with Kati . I am making some progress in school, which is rewarding after such a long time of slacking off. I have done a few studio jobs. It has been fun and really good experience working with all kinds of people. I redid my blog and it is more functional than it was. I'd love to hear anyone's opinion who is interested in looking. There's a link at the bottom of this page. I have been taking it easy lately, trying not to go into labor. I am excited to be done being pregnant, and to meet this little gymnist I've been feeling for so long. We have an induction scheduled a week early so Casey will be able to be home(and I won't have to stress that he'll be in Denver when I go into labor), and my Mom will be able to be here. My doctor is supportive of this because the baby will be 8 lbs. or better if we go to my due date. My kids can't wait for Grandma Rhees to come babysit them. I don't know if they've made the connection with the baby yet. We have a countdown calendar and everyday they rip off a number, but again I don't know if they've made the connection. Mostly I think they just enjoy taking turns ripping the papers. Life is good. Casey's job is stable and everyone is healthy and happy. I couldn't ask for more.

Tell your friends!!!

Planning ahead...

We have scheduled to deliver our baby on March 26th! SO SOON! Yay! I am so excited to be done with this pregnancy! And I can't wait to see this baby. Casey is so excited, too. He wakes me up every morning when he comes home with cold hands on my belly waiting for her to start kicking. (Which she does every time!) She's already a Daddy's girl.

Baby Shower

My sisters and I recently threw a shower for our youngest sister Amanda. It was so much fun. Not only did I get to travel to Vegas (and miss a nasty snow storm while I was away!), but I got to spend some quality time with a few of my favorite people. My amazing husband kept the kids all day so I could go shopping with my sisters and help with the party set up. The decorations were adorable (Heather and Scott went crazy at the party store!) and the food was delicious. The shower was so fun, thanks to my sister in law Jenn who is the queen of party games that people actually enjoy playing! Amanda is so cute all round and pregnant. She is going to be such a good Mama, and her hubby Ryan is already a proud Papa to be. We enjoyed our visit so much that Casey decided to take a run off, and we stayed in Vegas for a few extra days. We were very grateful for this decision when we got home and found out that if Casey would have gone to work he would have been stuck in Wyoming for two days because the road he drives to Denver was closed. Lucky break!

This is all three of the pregnant girls. I am due in 8 weeks, Amanda is due in the beginning of May, and Liz is due at the beginning of June (though she is expecting to deliver in May.)

Oh Baby...

Time is flying by so quickly! I have 11 weeks until our new baby girl will arrive. The third child is definately different. I feel so unprepared, but can't think of anything that needs to be done. With my first two, I did a cute nursery and all that. This one is just going to share Kati's room, so there isn't much to be done. It's strange. There's not alot of shopping to do, because I have stuff from my first two. So, I have this drive to get things done, but nothing to do. Wierd! I am so excited. I think we've settled on a name. Meghan Emeline Porter. It's pretty. And then I can say " Hey, Le'go my Mego!" HA HA HA.