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The kids were playing one of their favorite games the other day titled “Get on Mom’s Last Nerve”. So before they could win the game I came up with a game of my own, and told them to go dig a hole in the backyard. Of course, as hoped their imaginations went wild, and they started dreaming about digging a hole so big all we would have to do is pour concrete in it and we’d have a swimming pool, then it morphed into tunnels that travel through the backyard, with lighting and benches along the ways… I let them run with it. I love their imagination. If you have ever seen our backyard you’d know it’s like digging in cement, but I didn’t tell them this, I just handed out shovels and let them go. They quickly discovered this wouldn’t be as easy as they imagined but they put Aubrey on water duty and she shuttled water from the hose in a bucket to the place they were digging to help soften our concrete dirt. Somehow though with the running buckets of water Tanner’s shovel connected with Aubrey’s head…sigh… now I have to come up with a new game. (Aubrey wasn’t seriously injured, just a little wound).

So hiking we would go, NorthStar at Tahoe is only charging $5 for an adult to ride the gondola’s and ski lifts and free for children. This is the first time I have walked into a place with a big grin on my face and said “5 children please!” It came to $10 and we spent an entire day riding gondola’s and hiking in the Sierra’s!

Aubrey and Tanner on the Gondola

My little Aubrey has a loose tooth! NO! I refuse to let this happen, it happened with Emma and Tanner, and left me with thousands of dollars worth of orthodontic bills in my future. Aubrey has had such cute straight white teeth and that’s all about to change. When I looked in her mouth to see her loose tooth I noticed that the other tooth has already come in behind it, I swear it came in overnight and it’s huge. I see more orthodontic bills coming my way.

Well, my blogging time is quickly coming to an end this morning. Tanner just came in and informed me that since Emma’s having a friend over today that there will be too many girls here and so he’s wearing camouflage so he can disappear, the fun has begun.

We’re off to Utah this next week, I can’t wait!

Cute kid saying of the week. Yesterday the kids were asking me why the moon was still up in the afternoon, so I asked Aubrey why she didn’t put the moon away this morning, and she quickly informed me it wasn’t on her chore chart. Hmmm, if that is all it takes to get things done, I think her chore chart is about to double in size.

Aubrey loves to cook with me. We made the absolute best chocolate chip cookies last week. Can’t make those anymore, too addicting!

After the parade on the 4th, we headed home for some quiet time. Danny pulled out the slip and slide, then back up to Virginia City for fireworks. We usually don’t stay home for the 4th of July, but we usually find fun with each other no matter where we end up.

Over the last few weeks Hallie has put on almost 4 pounds, which is just amazing. To think the doctor was worried because she wasn’t gaining as quickly as she thought she should. All is well, she’s getting chunky and cute, and is now smiling and laughing at us. That first month goes so quickly. If you take a deep breath you can still smell her newness, I am going to miss that newborn sweetness, but look forward to all the wonderful stages ahead of us. I can’t wait to see how her personality is going to develop, the kids are all so different and wonderful and we have one more to get to know.

Family Friendly Fun in Nevada

Oops, How about our family having fun in Nevada?

Alyssa waiting for the parade to begin

Aubrey gathering candy, economic hard times have hit home, not much candy thrown this year!

Poor Alyssa, waited so long for the parade to start only to fall asleep and miss it.

Meeting up with some friends from Dayton

Sorry to leave those icky spiders on there for so long. I looked at the blog this morning, and they gross me out so I have to make a post just to get rid of them.

We were at the library on Tuesday and they had a water painting class for the older kids. Tanner sat by his second grade teacher who was also taking the class. She sat and chatted with the kids while they painted and asked them about their summer. Later that afternoon when I was talking with the kids I asked them what they told her when she asked what they were doing this summer. Their response to her was they were just hanging out and really not doing much of anything except chores (insert me banging my head on the wall here).
Considering we have a one month old baby, I feel like I have tried extra hard to get them out and about and having an activity at least weekly. We have been up to Lake Tahoe twice, and hiking countless times. Oh well, we’re headed to SLC on the 17th of July, and I’m sure we’ll find some summer fun there.

One month old chubby cheeks

OK, so this last pregnancy seemed to last at least 9 years, but this last month was more like minutes. How is that fair at all? With this being our last little baby I would like to enjoy it, but it is already going so fast.
Hallie is still getting up every couple of hours to eat, but must be nearing 8 pounds because the last two nights she did a 4 hour stretch. The more sleep I get the more I crave, I could really use 8 hours. I find I’m a little short with my older kids, and I so badly don’t want to be. Things will only get better though.
The doctor has us coming in for a weight check on Tuesday. At her two week check up she wasn’t back to her birth weight yet, I’m pleased though that the doctor didn’t freak out and make us come back every couple of days for weight checks.
This has been a busy week. Tanner has been away during the days for cub scout camp. He’s having a good time but I think he’s exhausted.
Aubrey has mastered her bike without training wheels this week. She’s been able to balance for a long time now, but had a hard time starting and stopping, Danny finally just got out there with her and she has it down. Now she is off on bike rides with the older kids, and feeling so proud of herself. Alyssa of course didn’t want to be left out and demanded that she ride a bike too. She is now pedaling like a pro, which is great, but has its down side. Danny had to chase her down yesterday as she headed out of the circle and refused to stop.

We wish we could be in Alaska this Saturday for Aunt Bonny’s wedding. We just wanted to let them know we were thinking of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkfWVYsvAn4

Pictures taken by my friend, you can see more at www.bluelakephotography.typepad.com

Hallie is doing great. She isn’t sleeping as well as I would like, she’s up about every hour to eat, or suck, but then seems to have a tummy ache (maybe it’s that chocolate I can’t seem to stop eating). Anyway, Danny thinks I need to try a pacifier but I’ve been trying to avoid that if I could, all of my kids have had such a need for sucking, but then I have to break her from it eventually. Alyssa STILL sucks her fingers, and it drives me nuts but I guess a pacifier is better then fingers, which she might eventually find on her own. You’d think with this being my 5th I wouldn’t be wringing my hands over such simple silly issues. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep. She’s not fussy and a joy most of the time.
A week after I had Hallie some friends from the ward had a baby shower for me. I was very reluctant because this is my 5th baby, but I was very touched, and it was just what I needed. I’ve been kind of a social recluse lately, and it was nice to get out and socialize. I don’t have pictures from the shower, but if you look on the right and go to Creswell blog you can find some on her blog.
My friend Shana is back, and I just couldn’t resist getting out and playing this week. We went swimming yesterday and to Lake Tahoe today. Hallie and I didn’t go swimming, but the kids did with Dad, and Emma brought her friend along. It’s nice having Emma get a little older. It’s even fun to bring her friends places. Emma went off the high dive, which personality wise isn’t like my safe Emma, her friend was very patient with her and talked her into going off. It was good to see her go outside of her comfort zone a little and do something “kid” like. Tanner went off the high dive lots of times.
I didn’t think my kids would want to swim in Tahoe today, I figured it was too cold and it would be a day playing on the beach. So I only packed beach toys, but did throw in one life jacket. This was my first time to the beach with 5 kids, and I only wanted to bring what we could carry to the beach in one trip, I have too many little ones to leave them on the beach while I make multiple trips to the car, and my older kids are too young to make those trips on their own, and I can’t leave kids in charge of kids around water. But of course all the kids got in the water, and I was a nervous wreck trying to keep my eyes on all of them. Emma and Tanner are pretty good swimmers so I was able to focus my attention on Aubrey and Alyssa but it was making me crazy so we only stayed for 4 hours, and then I packed up and we headed home. But now I know that I can do it and it will only get easier as Hallie gets older. It was a beautiful day at Tahoe and it was fun to be with friends.

Tanner helping Alyssa get a lady bug

< /a>Hallie’s first trip to Tahoe safe under my UV protective hut!

It’s been a hard time to have a new baby with all of the end of school year events. I really just want to stay home and enjoy, but I have the dilemma of wanting to be there for my older children also.

Yesterday was Emma’s promotion from elementary school to middle school! Aaack! Can I really have a newborn and a middle schooler? Emma’s had a great year and great teachers the last two years, I’m just bursting with pride. Today Emma’s teacher from last year wrote her a cute letter and gave her a gift card to Border’s it’s been so nice having teachers who care and love my children.

Emma with Ms. Musselman and Ms. Horn

As for Hallie, she had a doctors appointment today. She is 10 days old, and doing great. She is not up to her birth weight yet, but the doctor doesn’t seem too worried as this is my 5th kid and she doesn’t doubt my abilities. That is more then I can say for her assistant. She is training a very young girl today and she sent her in to do the exam first and then come and tell her what she finds. This poor girl found a baby with black eyes and blood filled whites of her eyes. She was under birth weight and she went into a panic. She must not have much experience with newborns because she ran out of the exam room to tell the doctor that this baby was in trouble. The doctor laughed and then brought her in to explain about what happens when a baby comes out sunnyside up and with a vacuum. She also explained that my milk is slow to come in and that I’m not a new mom and that the baby is looking great.

Hallie 10 days old

With all the school stuff now over with I’m looking forward to a nice couple of days at home, and a long summer.

Hallie is officially off of the jaundice lights. I have been unable to dress her except for our daily trips to the hospital for blood work so it felt good to get her dressed today and actually have her be a part of the family instead of isolated in the bedroom. She’s looking really good though and not so yellow.
Today was the school talent show. Emma played the piano, a song she has been working on for a while. She did very well. While we were there they also did a celebration for the students who entered the photo contest at the school. They had the kids take pictures of Lyon County and then they framed the winning entries. Emma won so she now has a framed picture in the hall of the school. They also honored Tanner for getting 100% on the State Testing, it was a good day for us.