Seattle and The Babies!

My brother and his wife, Christina, had triplets back in August of '11.  I hadn't met them yet, so I was impatient to get to Seattle and meet those babies!  My sister, Liberty, and her husband also flew into Seattle while we were there, bringing their baby boy, West (they would) :) .  West was born in September of 2011. So while we were at Ivin's, there were 5 babies!!  Derrick was the oldest by 6 months. 

I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but in 2011, between Bo's siblings and mine, there were 8 babies born.  Derrick is the oldest of them all, followed by Emmy (Whitney's and Bridget's), Wesley (Amanda's and Matt's), Christian and Ellie and Esther (Ivin and Christina's--so competitive they just HAD to have triplets to beat everyone), Brielle (Terra's and Jordon's) and "little" West (Libby's and David's).  That's a whole lotta cousins for Derrick to play with!

Anyways, life was a little crazy with all those babies, but we had tons of fun watching them interact.  Christian sort of became obsessed with Derrick and would crawl after Derrick wherever he went, kinda creeping Derrick out. hahaha.  Derrick also became sort of possessive of me while we were there.  He did NOT like me holding any of the other babies.  Megan and Carter had a blast and told me I needed more babies.  Carter announced that Esther was his favorite because she was the tiniest. 

We decided that if the babies were to have a competition, Derrick would win in any race, West would win in arm wrestling, or any wrestling, Esther wouldn't be able to compete at all because of being in a completely different weight bracket, Ellie wouldn't care if she lost to anything considering she was above it all ;), and that as long as there was a game, win or lose, Christian would be happy to play.  He just wants to be in the "in"crowd. :)

We mostly hung out around the house, considering it is just too much work to take everyone anywhere, but one night we did go to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner to celebrate my Dad's birthday.  We might have gotten a few stares with all the kids we had, but it was worth it. 

Anyways, here are the last of my pictures from our fun time in Washington. 

Ellie, West, and Esther

Uncle David and the big kids building some Lego thing.

Esther (purple) Ellie, Derrick, West, and Christian.



Rainforest Cafe.  I don't know why Carter is cross-eyed in all the pictures...

Breakfast!!!  Derrick, West, Ellie, Christian, and Esther.  Look at all those high chairs. 

2011 power!!!  Esther, Ellie, West, and Derrick

Best Friends!!!!

West, Christian, Derrick

Track Meet

Ivin and I both did Track and Field in High School, so when we found out that Moses Lake had some competitors in the State Track and Field Championship in Tacoma, which is by Seattle, we loaded up the older kids, and took our dad with us to go watch the meet.  We had lots of fun watching the pole vaulters, something both Ivin and I competed in, and the races.  Carter even got down and practiced "starting" when some races were going on. :)  It was a great day.  Here are some goofy pictures we took in the stands.

It still fits!

While at my parents I found my wedding dress in the closet in my room, so before leaving for Seattle to hang out with Ivin and family, I thought it would be fun to try it on and see if it fits.  :)

I was easily able to fit into it, in fact it might have been a little roomier up top, thanks to the toll the kids have made on my body. ;)  Anyways, when I came out of my room in it Carter and Megan both gasped and said I looked pretty and like a princess.  haha.  Carter immediately asked me to dance.  What a charmer.  Megan was in love. 

It was really fun getting back into it, and it brought back a flood of memories. My wedding day was one of the very best days of my life, go figure.  I had my mom take some pictures of me in my dress and with my kids.  I love that I did this, it sort of makes me feel like I'm showing the blessings that wonderful day gave me.

Sandy's Wedding and Pictures Galore

So the main reason we went to Washington in May, instead of waiting till Summer, was because Bo's mom, Sandy, was getting remarried!

Bo's sisters, Terra and Amanda, and I, had way too much fun planning matching outfits for all the grand kids that were going to be there. We'll take any excuse to get our kids clothes to coordinate. hahaa.  And of course matching outfits means lots of photos!  Twist our arms.

The wedding was great, very simple with just immediate family.  The kids and I got to know Reid a lot better, and had fun welcoming him to the family.

Anyways, here's some of the many pictures we took.  The last photo isn't from the wedding, but since it's a cousin pic, I just went ahead and included it.  It's Bo's dad with Amanda's and my kids. The kids love their Grandpa Beus!

Carter and his Uncle Dallin waiting for the ceremony to start.  Carter actually did great during the wedding and sat and listened to the whole thing.  I was impressed. Why, oh why, does he have to grow up so fast?

All that Megan and Derrick wanted to do during the wedding was drive that car.  

Bannock pushing Carter and Megan.



Look at those happy cousins!!!  We're just missing Lane, Palmer, and Camden.



West, Brielle, and Derrick, all born in '11. 



Grandpa Kevin with Megs, Carter, Bannock, and Wesley.  Derrick was at my parent's napping.

Tea Party Anyone?

The moment we got in Washington, my kids started to begging to see their cousins Ivie and Rebekah (Ivin and Christina's oldest two).

I knew I couldn't go to Seattle yet, what with Bo's mom's wedding being the upcoming weekend, so instead I invited the girls to my parents' house, giving my kids the cousins they love, and giving Ivin and Christina a little break, and I only mean little, considering they still had the triplets.

The kids had soooo much fun.  They played on the trampoline all day. When they weren't on the tramp, they were riding bikes in the basketball court, or checking out the chickens and goat, or playing on the swings, playing tether ball, or playing with the toys inside, and yes, that included my mom's tea sets.

My mom has tons of these little tea sets.  Her grandmother used to buy little tea sets for her when she was a girl, and when we were girls, my mom would buy us some too.  I have fond memories of playing with my mom's tea set with Libby as a girl.  Sadly, I'm pretty sure Libby and I broke most of the black dragon? one.  It was a pretty neat set. 

Anyways....my mom kept all of the little sets she had given us, along with adding a few more here and there, and now she keeps them in a little drawer, complete with a handkerchief, to be used as a tablecloth, so that anytime the granddaughters come over, they can have their own tea party. I think it's awesome, and want to continue this in my own home.

So yeah, that week was pretty fun. Except...

I should probably include Meg's trip to the ER.  Yeah...about two days before picking up Ivie and Rebekah, Megan was out on the trampoline with Carter and two little neighbor boys (they are 7 year old twins).  Carter was under the trampoline, and Megs and they boys were on top, laying on their stomachs and looking through the tramp down at Carter.  Somehow Meg must have gotten accidentally double bounced because her body slipped toward the springs and her forehead smacked the springs, leaving a huge gash on her forehead. SOOO much blood.  My poor baby.  I rushed her in town, only to find out that Urgent Care closed 15 min. earlier.  GREAT.  So it was off to the ER.  I'm married to an ER Doc, and when I need him, he's not there!  I couldn't even call him because with the 3 hour time change he was already in bed.  Awesome.  The only way I could even convince Megs to go was to tell her we'd get to go see a place that was a lot like where daddy worked.  Poor thing, she was so sad when we got there and she realized Daddy wasn't going to be there too.  She didn't need stitches (in their opinion) but she got a couple layers of glue, along with three strips of tape.  You'll see her war wounds in the pics below.

Tea Party!!!  The yellow/corn set is actually mine. :)

Just look at those gorgeous brown eyes that my boys have!! Love.

Ivie and Rebekah.  Ivie is 4 months older then Carter, and Rebekah is about 10 mo. older then Megs.

OUCH!!!  Apparently that's the best shot of her face I have.

Girls Outing!

My Mother in Law, Bo's sisters, Terra and Amanda, and I went on little girls outing while in WA.  We shopped, and by shopping I mean SHOPPING.  I think we spent like 3 hours in Ross alone. 

After all that fun-ness we then went and picked up my kids from Terra's house, and went out to eat at Olive Garden, at like 10 at night, no joke.

Here are some pictures from our late dinner. 



Mothers Day!

 For the second year in a row, I spent Mother's Day in Washington.  Unfortunately Bo wasn't with us, but my kids still did their best to make me feel loved and special! 

We spent the first half of the day in Othello, celebrating with Bo's mom, grandma, and cousins, and the last half of the day with my parents.

L to R: Rylin (I'm sure I butchered the spelling),Carter, Megan, and Hallie

Brielle and Derrick, both born in 2011

Mya and Derrick

My dad giving Megs and Derrick a horsey ride.  My kids LOVE my dad's "horsey rides."