Salty

I cannot believe it's Sunday night, and the weekend is over. We were pretty much go-go-go all weekend long, and it was great! Friday Jake spent the day selling cows, picking up pipe, and helping a friend train her horse. I worked, and spent a lot of the day with the kids. I picked them up at 3 so Grammy and Papa could walk. We went to Sarah's to watch the horse training and to play. Around 5 we took the kids back to Grammy's and were willing to try a sleepover... for BOTH children. We said our good-byes and headed home (after stopping in LaPoint to borrow a costume). We got home and got all dressed up for the Taylor's party. We love our annual Halloween party! We were the first ones there, and so I had Wyann give me a tour of their brand new beautiful home. It is perfect, and I loved it! Pretty soon others started coming and it was a blast. We had a ping pong tournament and the Taylor couple proved to be the most competitive people there. Around 10 I got a call from Grammy... As soon as I saw her name on caller ID I knew something was up. Sure enough, Bronson was a stinker. He wouldn't settle and would bawl whenever he saw his crib. Grammy and Papa didn't want to torture the poor boy by making him stay, and so they had no choice but to call. Jake and I left instantly and met them at the White Rocks HWY. Of course, he had gone to sleep, but we knew it was best for him to come home. Around 3 in the morning he woke up with his dang teeth hurting him. I finally got some medicine in him around 4 and he was asleep at 5. I was exhausted. Jake and I said how we wouldn't do the whole Barney thing with Bronson (Bri was obsessed, and it's annoying). Well, we buckled and he watched the whole farm episode. What do you do though? We slept until 9, which was much later than I had planned! We woke up and hurried to get packed and ready to head out to Salt Lake. We were on the road by 10. The kids traveled well, but by Heber Bronson was yelling, "OUT!!!" So we stopped at a western store. Bri made everyone fall in love with her as she explained to the workers her Halloween costume, how she shops at Cal Ranch, how she trains Goldie. She was so cute and so grown-up. We bought her a new Cowgirl hat, and Jake admired some elephant hide boots (600$$$). We then were starved so we went to Olive Garden. The kids loved it! Olive Garden doesn't use egg for anything in their cooking (except the salad dressing). It was so awesome to just order Bronson mac-n-cheese. He loved it too. Next stop... Toys-R-Us and Carters. Finally... we went to Costco. Bronson was over everything by this point, and just needed a nap. (He didn't sleep at all in the car.) Jake let him down and just chased him through the store while Bri and I shopped. We were fast and stocked up in a hurry! We then went to GMA and GPA's. As always it was a refreshing break, and just what the kids (and us) needed! We visited and they ordered us pizza. It was so nice and so fun! At 5:30 we left and went to Chucky Cheese. WOW! Now that is some place. We played for a hour and a half. Won lots of tickets that got us a sucker and a two inch wand. Brilee and Bronson both had a blast. At 7:30 we checked into our hotel, and got the kids swim ready! We stayed at the hotel with the water park, and it was great for our family. Josie and Derrik had a concert and so we had their girls with us. They left at 8, and we went right to the pool. It was a little nerve wracking with all the kids but we were good. Jake and I had a system. We each just had one of the little ones and both kept track of the girls. The water was really shallow so we knew they were fine. They played on the slides and just loved it. But we didn't wear our bracelets. After 15 minutes the life guard came and told Jake we had to have them. Jake said he didn't dare leave me with the four kids and asked if he could show them when we were done. (We knew we weren't going to make it too long in the water.) The dude said no, and that he would just watch Jilli. So Jake went to our room. The life guard tracked Jilli better than we could have and so it all worked out fine. Jake got back and we swam about 15 more minutes and were cold and tired. We got the kids out and put their jammies on and had them have quiet time. Bronson was asleep the second he laid down and Bri and Jilli not far behind him. Jake and I stayed with Addy in her room while the others slept. Josie and Derrik got back around 10:30 and we visited for awhile and then went to bed. The kids slept great and we got up around 8. We ate breakfast and then swam again. After swimming we showered and got ready for a day of fun! LAGOON! We got to the park just as it was opening and were so glad we came early. It wasn't too busy. The kids rode every ride they wanted, and didn't have to wait in lines. We started with a spook ally ride, went to the kid park, and just enjoyed ourselves. The kids LOVED everything and were so good. I was a little hesitant with how Bronson would do (like almost had Grammy come so we wouldn't have to bring him to the park), but I was so wrong. He loved it and had a blast. We rode every kid ride (and rattle snake rapids... not great in the colder temps), and then the lines started getting long. Bronson hated lines, and it was 3 so he was hours passed nap time. We decided to let the girls win a prize and then hit the road. While the adults were trying to win a prize the little girls were picking ducks. I heard the lady say, "Is your Mom going to give me money?" They didn't know, and really didn't care. They were just out to win. I went over and she told me, "This girl picked the duck with the big prize, but if you want to just pay 2$ more they both can have a prize." UM... YES! They were thrilled, and then even better they let Jilli in on the deal. So the girls came out winners and we left with big smiles. Bronson fell asleep in the stroller during the game, but he stayed asleep as we transferred him to the car. Bri was asleep before the freeway, and so Jake and I had a great ride home. We stopped in SLC to get our frozen stuff from Costco and say bye to GMA and GPA. The kids wouldn't even wake up there. So we were fast. Bronson slept until Fruitland, and Bri slept until Myton. Both kids were STARVING when we got home. They ate, took a bath, and were back in bed around 9. We had such a blast, and we are so grateful for our Nyberg friends. We have so much fun with them, and our kids have fun playing together. Thanks for the great weekend guys!!!

 Bronson at the doctors office. He has to look at the baby on the phone to stay entertained. This week was super hard. Bronson caught a cold, and it affects him badly. His asthma was making breathing a chore, and he just struggled. He was put on a steroid, and an antibiotic. His ears are both horribly infected (she said both were bulging with green junk on them). He also had to do breathing treatments every four hours. I did all that plus I borrowed a diffuser from Julie and diffused peppermint and thieves in his room. Not kidding... it helped. A lot. He is on the mend now, and much...MUCH better!

 Halloween Party!

 Bronson won the sucker!

 

This freak drove like this for MILES!

BOO!

Our annual Boo'ing went off without a hitch tonight! We went a little later this year than normal, and it was a lot colder this year. It was kind of nice because it gets dark so early we were finished by 9. We started our day off at the Sales Barn. We were selling one of our cows that had issues after she had her baby last year, and my poor horse Uma. Uma broke his leg over six months ago and it isn't going to heal. It was so depressing having to sell him at the nasty ole Sales Barn. I watched Uma sell, then I took the kids to get lunch. We went back and waited for our cow. We got bored just waiting and so we bought two new heifers. Haha... we were supposed to come out of there ahead, but instead we came up two cows richer. Bronson got tired of it, and so we left Jake and went home to let the kids rest. Bronson fell asleep and Bri convinced me she HAD to go to Granny's to play. Jaylie then showed up at my house with a pumpkin cupcake recipe and so she and I baked the cupcakes. After we finished we headed over to Granny's to check out the new heifers. Josie showed up and we played for a couple of hours with them. Around six Julie, Jenny, and all the kids showed up at my house to frost the cupcakes and play. We then fed the kids and left right at dark to Boo. We went to the Bennett's house first (our old house), and we could barely contain the kids excitement. They nailed it until Paydon saw a couple happy feet in their carport. We grabbed Paydon and McKayzlie and took them with us for the rest of the houses. We also had the Taylor girls and they were thrilled to be booing at their own house. They have a super long driveway, and we snuck up it with ease. The kids dropped the treats and rang the doorbell. They came to hide, and all the sudden Jenny and Abby's older brother is outside chasing us. Bri, Cy, Chaz, and Mar ran faster than I have ever seen little legs move. They were very serious about not getting caught. Nobody was home at the Allred's, and so that was a bummer. We then went to our favorite house of the night, the Bowen's (it's our favorite every year). Since the Allred's weren't home we decided to do Jack Bowen too. I don't know how we managed but Jack didn't catch us (he didn't try either...) and then the sneak to Johnny's began. We knew we had to find a new hiding spot, and we knew they had been waiting for us all month. We decided to hide right in their front yard behind their rocks. Bri took the treats, Mar took the paper, and Annalee rang the doorbell. They ran fast as could be to us, and Shawnie opened the door. She started yelling at Quayd and Johnny that they got Boo'ed. Pretty soon Quayd is outside running around the house quick as could be. Then Johnny came looking. At this point I was laughing so hard I thought I might pass out. Bri and Scooter were so funny laying their hiding acting like someones life was on the line if they got caught. Johnny looked for us forever. He kept turning on and off the lights, then he would pretend to go inside but really hide in the corner waiting for us to make our move. So funny. Scooter started saying at one point as he is crawling towards me, "Kelsey... he is looking right at me. He is looking at me." Finally, I told the kids to yell, "Got ya Johnny!" They did and we all got a good laugh. This year we def. got the win! Johnny kept saying, "I had a feeling you would come tonight." haha we love it. After the Bowen's we went to the Wilcox families. Jacelynn opened the door and started yelling, "Mom! We got BOOOOOO'ed." It was adorable. Next was the Laws'. Jens was to excited that he ran to the door before anyone even opened it. We then did Granny's and the Ben and Andre. The kids love doing family because then we can take potty breaks and get drinks. We ended the night at Jenny's bosses house, who happens to be Ben's neighbor. It was a great night, with great kids!

 Cy's first year... he was a trooper!

 First house

 Getting their sneak on!

 All 14 of the kids Julie and I took with us. 

She was EXHAUSTED by the time we got her home. 

Back to Work

Well, it finally happened. A deal was reached (or delayed until January 15). Last night President Obama signed, and then the emails and texts started coming through. We weren't really sure what to do. At 10:30 when I went to bed I had talked with Hank, Scott, and Mike and we all had come to the agreement we weren't working until Friday. So, I didn't set an alarm and Jake went elk hunting. I woke up with Bronson at 7, and checked my phone at 7:30. I had six new texts. They all were from the people I had been talking the night before. Each one of them said, "Come to work". I got on my email and sure enough "Thursday will be considered a normal work day. Time will be due as soon as possible. Meetings will take place today." UGH!!! I was late on my first day back, and I didn't have a baby-sitter!!! Just how I hoped the first day back would go. And then I remembered Jake hunting. He didn't have service (but he did get an elk). So, I made my plan for the kids (and looking back I should have just taken them to Josie... Lesson learned!), got us all ready, and headed to work. I wasn't the only one late. It was good to be back. We had lots to catch up on... Tomorrow will be a normal day, and I am so ready to get back into the normal routine.  (Really these past three weeks have just got me so excited for my winter time off!)

 Bronson is a knuckle head and thinks he is too big for his high chair. He really just wants to do everything and be everywhere Brilee is. If she lays down he lays down, if she jumps he jumps, and etc... It is adorable. We have pointed it out to Bri numerous times and explained how she has to be good so Bronson will too. She takes it very serious. (Today he was crying in the car that he wanted out and she said, "Now Brother you don't see sister crying to get out. I am just sitting here being good.")

 These kids love their stick horses. The spend all evening running around the basement with them.

 We snuggled every afternoon while Bronson napped. So fun!

 I took the older girls to Wingers and out for pedicures. (We were supposed to be in Cali but with the whole shut down I didn't dare go). Jay Bug got Carly's signature drink... Vanilla Rootbeer so we had to send her a pic. 

FURLOUGH

Well... even with all the time Jake and I have had off we have managed to stay super busy! We have gotten all of our home work caught up on (well... almost. Winterize the camper, and mow the lawn one more time). We spent last weekend in the Book Cliffs spike elk hunting with the Nybergs and Ben. Ben and Derrik both got elks so that was great. Jake went back down on Wednesday with Henderson. He had a great time and saw a lot of elk, but only saw 4 spikes at 700 yards away. The kids are doing well... Bronson is talking like crazy. Anything we say he says. Today he started singing "What Does the Fox Say?" (We had a cousin sleep over yesterday and he heard that song 100,000 times.) Bri still loves her horse, dance, school, and her cousins/friends. Life is good... and maybe this week we will go back to work so life can slow down again. ;)

 When we got to the Book Cliffs we found 8 inches of snow at our camp spot. I knew then it was going to be hard... Then that night Bronson got sick and threw up all over his bed. He spent the next 2 hours awake (1-3). He loves to "look at the baby" on my phone. He's cute... but it was a long night. (Actually every night but the last night was long down there.)

 We had a lot of camper time watching movies and drinking sippies. I am so glad these kids are so easy going and get along so well! It ended up being a fun weekend, despite the weather. 

 Scooter got to hang out with us while his Dad went hunting. Bri loved it!

 So, Bronson really isn't sick but he is teething. Also, I had sensitive formula left from when he was a baby. I started feeding him that and he started puking. I think his milk allergy is worse than I want it to be. He has quit since I put him back on soy formula.

 His finger never leaves his mouth, and his clothes are soaking wet within minutes of putting them on him. 

 We were so happy Jake came home today, because it's been kinda hard. 

The kids loved having Chaz and Jay spend the night.