There was more stuff to do up there than just look at the
scenery. They had adults and kids sledding and ziplining
down parts of the mountain.


This was at the state line of California and Nevada.



They had music, shops and little resteraunts to go to while
you were up there. What a great time.

Brooke, Rustin and Easton. On the gondola ride.

These pictures were on the way down from the mountain.

So so so beautiful.

We have arrived at Lake Tahoe and 2 of the 4 boys did
not last long at the resteraunt we went to. Rustin fell asleep
before the food arrived.


It didn't take long before these two were out either.



This was the first thing I did when we got to the hotel.
We stayed at the Embassy suites and it was worth every
penny. They had a great breakfast and the best part about
it was that I didn't have to cook it.

I love this picture of Elijah. It reminds me of George of the
jungle.

Brody
telling Elijah where to find the berries.



These boys couldn't get enough of collecting the cherry-like
berries off this tree.




Baby Easton after his first swim at the poole. He actually
did have a good time despite the frown on his face.

Our trip to Reno began with a little pool time. This is a
picture of the babes at the Pool. Baby Brock (Brooke Vogelsberg's
baby) on the left and Baby Easton on the right.


Ashley Altom (Brooke's cousin-in-law) and Brooke V. with
her little guys splashin' around at the pool. All 7 boys between
Brooke and I had such a great time together while we were
there.



Cooper with the famous green floaties. We'll just call him
the incredible hulk for the summer.




The after math of eating a whole jar of carrots. He loved
them. What a sweet mess he is. I just love him!

Every night before Brooke and I go to bed we potty the
twins so that they don't wet the bed. Well Elijah did before
I got to him so I cleaned him up and told him to wait in the
tub until I came back. So after changing the sheets I came
to get him out of the tub and dressed and there he was asleep
in the bath tub. Luckily he didn't roll over. Sorry Brooke I
didn't take any pictures but I thought it would make you
laugh. Those boys could sleep anywhere, even a bath tub they
take after their dad.
May 2009

Today was the first day I went into
Easton's room and it actually smelled
like a poopie diaper. The baby food is
kicking in. Pueeeeeeee.

I was picking Cooper and Easton up from the gym 's daycare
today and Cooper was looking for his picture that he made
as he does every time we leave. He found it and told
me that this was, "[His] map to Reno." These boys are ready
to see their daddy in Reno. That is all they talk about. It
should be a great Memorial day weekend. Now I only have
to survive 8 1/2 hour drive with 4 little kids there and back.
I might have to refer to Coop's handy map to find my way
to Reno, wink wink.

Today was The kids check-up for the dentists.
No cavities (very nice)!
Elijah and Cooper wanted Cookie dough paste
and Rustin wanted strawberry polish paste.
Cooper is finally getting his 2 year molars (only
two years later), the dentist said he was just fine.
They all loved it and loved wearing the cool sun-
glasses. Their favorite part of the visit is getting
a new toothbrush and picking out a prize from the
treasure chest!

This is something I remember from back in February...
We went through the Draper Temple open house with the
kids and my sister and her family. We were passing through
the baptismal font, trying to explain to the kids what the font
was for and Cooper said, "Mommy I need my floaties
to go in there." I said, "You can't go in now, you have to wait
until you are a little bit bigger, then you won't need floaties."
The water looked inviting, I can't blame him. It was a fun
little moment. I am so glad we got to go through
the temple before it was dedicated, the kids are getting curious
about what goes on inside so it was good to show them the
sealing room (marriage room) and the baptismal font and other
stuff like that. Kids have awesome memories so hopefully they
can remember that one for a long time.

So Cooper calls spagetti, pascetti.
crazy little dude.

This is for Brooke since he is away in Reno. I thought you
would like the picture. This is currently Cooper asleep on
the couch.

So I wanted to make a few cookies today and this is what
we ended up with. Some ended up at the neighbors and
some in our bellies! These are some of Brooke's favorite
cookies.

I was in and out of the kitchen for most of the morning and
I noticed a bird flying up and down out side our slider window.
So later on in the day I decided to see what the bird was up to.
Sure enough he or she was building a nest right outside the
window. Sad to say, I took the nest down. I did feel bad
taking down what the bird worked so hard to build :( A little
later on in the evening I saw that the bird had returned to the
same spot, he was probably a little confused.

So, I recently came to a conclusion,
super hero's figures like superman,
spiderman and batman to boys are like
Barbie's to little girls. It shouldn't
seem like a hard conclusion to get to,
it only took me 6 years to figure out.
A small A-ha moment (can you tell I
hang out with kids all day long?).

These were the boys mother's day cards that they made

in kindergarden. I didn't have the heart to throw them

away, so I decided to blog them so that later on down the

road we could remember it! Thanks Rus and lijah.

This was Cooper's mothers day card to me. I think he had

a little help from our neighbor's, Hailey and Megan. They

made these down at their "fort" by the pool across the

street.

Elijah had a, "tummy freeze" from
the A&W icecream cone today.

The boys think the joker (from Batman) lives on top of our house
and they can "hear" him laugh his joker kind of
laugh, kind-of funny.

I just want to let my Children know that I love them so much
and I am so glad that they are a part of our big family. You guys
bring so much happiness to our family in so many different ways.
Each and every one of you are special in your own
unique way. You have made us laugh and cry (happy tears).
You have helped our family grow, learn and bond in different ways.
We love you for who you are and nothing you could ever do would
change that. We are greatful to our heavenly father for giving you
to us forever and always. My heart loves your hearts, all of them.
Thanks for a great mothers day.

Daddy and the boys, it was a great mother's day because

our family was all together. A rarity these days. A great day

I wouldn't have traded it for anything!

Oh my baby Easton is getting so big too fast. It really makes
me sad I just want to stop the clock just for a little while and
enjoy this stage a little longer, definately one of my favorite
parts of motherhood.


We just barely read a book telling us where all the wild
animals go during the winter and the boys saw this whole
in the tree and we reminded them that the squirels lived
there (I think that hole was a little small but you get the
picture).



Oh the boys had such a fun time on our hike. They were
running up the switchbacks! They loved exploring the
plants and climbing on anything that they could. It felt
good to be up in the mountains with the fresh smells and
beautiful scenery.

The fun hike is over and it's time to go home. Someone
didn't want to leave.

Oh so good to have daddy home. He was well loved when
he got off the plane from Reno. The boys all wanted him to
sit next to him in the car and had tons to catch him up on
down here at the homestead. They showed him how well
they could ride on two wheels (something they learned
while he was gone). It was a super fun day and a half while
he was here. WE LOVE OUR DADDY.

The twins wanted to surround Baby Easton with stuffed
animals, it was a great time! The twins laughed their heads
off!


What kind of things do you like to put in
buckets?
Usually kids like to fill little buckets with
sand, cars, or small toys. Oh no, Cooper
likes to think big, so he put him self in the
tiny little bucket, he had a great time.
That bucket was worth every little penny.

My scentsy party was great! It smelled heavenly and we
had a great time with the chocolate fountain!
Good time had by all who came.

Poor little Easton with his first sunburn. I was weeding
out in the yard, we came in and little Easton had a sunburn.
I felt so bad, he's so little he should be plump and white.
I'll lotion him down next time. May 2009.

These are, Sea Monkeys. If you ask me a little gross but the
kids like them. Ever since we planted the eggs the kids have
been wanting to touch the sea monkeys. I tried to explain to
them that you can't pet them, they are kind of like fish they
need to stay in water so they can live. The other day I caught
Elijah with his hand in the bowl. I said, "What are you doing?"
he said that he was trying to pet the sea monkeys. It was cute
after the fact and after he washed his hands. They are definately
not cute and cuddley. May 14th.

So I have had better days. If I want to be honest...
Elijah was way whiney, Rustin struggled and got mad
at his bike. None of the twins wanted to be helpful
with passing out flyers and Cooper was just tired all
day today. Easton was on the other hand a great baby.
I only write this because this someday I will look back
and laugh and because it is part of being a mom, you
take the good with the bad. Hopefully in the future more
good than bad. I can only imagine with boys that there
are more bad things to come...Dum da da dum....dummm.
as well as good things.
--a tired mom.

Cooper was so proud of his lincoln log cabin that he made
today! He did awesome. I thought Brooke would like
to know what the little guy was up to today!

So we are not quite into the tooth losing stage yet
but apparently the twins know what happens to
teeth when they fall out. They think when you
throw it into the air it turns into a star (I know
there are some countries where that it the story
they tell their little ones, but I don't know where
he learned it and he couldn't remember). I thought
it was kind-of fun.

Rustin: "Mom why is it raining?"
Me: "Because heavenly father wants it to rain?"
Elijah: "The Angels are crying, that's why it's raining Rus."
Me: "Who told you that Elijah?"
Elijah: "Daddy"
Me: "He's right, the angels are crying, happy tears."
--Thanks Brooke for that sweet moment, I loved it.

So these pictures need a little explanation. When the boys
were little and we were ready for them to go to bed we told
them they could take one "toy", whatever that may be to bed
that night. Sometimes the "toys" are actual toys, papers
that they drew or things that they make (and that would be
that wooden thing with the paper plate taped to it above
Rustin's head). I have no idea what it was but apparently
it was very important at the time.
Anyways, over time one toy turned into multiple "toys".
Probably not the best parenting technique, but it kind-of works
for us. They out grew their little checkered blankies. So I
went down to their room to take them to go potty before bed
and saw Elijah's bed first (top picture) and giggled, that boy does the
weirdest things. I thought Brooke would like to see that picture
since he is in Reno (working). Hope you like it sweetie.