Our very own Bed and Breakfast

That is what it pretty much has been like for the last 2 weeks since the semester ended. My poor brother is homeless until he gets married ( only 23 more days), so he has been staying here. Last week Natalie, his soon to be wife was staying here so she could work an extra week. And then Natalie's cousin Ben joined us. He was going to sleep in his truck. But basically he was here all the rest of the day so I told him might as well sleep here too. So we have been having fun with our guests. Maybe I should explain why they are all homeless. You see BYU-I has a 7 week break in between Summer semester and Fall. Which is very nice, but student housing doesn't really work with you to much. Basically once the semester is over they kick you out if you didn't sign a contract for fall. Which is fine but then if you change apartment complexes or get married and need married student housing you can't move in till you are married or until the new semester starts. So there are alot of people who are homeless for seven weeks. Natalie only had to work for a week before she could go home to Boise. And Ben can go home this weekend. But poor Jordan is stuck here, sleeping on an air mattress until He can move into their apartment right before they are married. I was overwhelmed at the thought of having 3 extra adults in our tiny apartment, but it has been fun. I have loved having Jordan and Natalie be here and just see their relationship. I am so excited to have her for a sister in law. I think right now my kids prefer her to me. On the 14th my brother Brian comes home from boot camp/ firefighting training and he will be staying here. I honestly am so excited to have my 2 brothers staying here. I get so many more details out of them!!!!! So for the next month or so I get to be the hostess. And I love it. Honestly how many people get to live so close to their siblings? And to just think April will be here in just a few short months. Then the Rexburg Moons will out number the Renton Moons. I guess Mom and Laura you can take Jo and Bri's spots on the air mattresses once they are out! Wouldn't that be fun!!

If you ever need a story on Colin....

So in my family we have stories that other family members never forget, and manage to bring up often. Laura has got the " hood up story" Jordan has got "out of the garbage can" story. I have got the "licorice whipping" story. But my husband has not really had a story yet. Until Sunday night. Now you have to understand my reasoning for sharing this story. My husband is the king of teasing people and giving them a hard time. So I thought it is only fair that I share this story for all to enjoy.

On Sunday night we were invited to one of Colin Professor's house for dinner. He teaches one of his computer classes. The whole class( all 12) were invited, but only 5 students showed up with their families. Of course we were the only ones to have more then one kid besides the professor, and his oldest was seven. His professor was a big Microsoft guru. So you can imagine their big beautiful house. His wife was really proper. We had spaghetti and his wife used a spoon to help swirl the spaghetti on to the fork then used both to eat it. After dinner Colin's professor said that we should go outside and see what tricks people can do on the tramp. We all headed out and Colin and another guy were helping the kids on the tramp and helping them jump. I had to go in an change Alexas diaper, she had exploded. So I was gone for a good 5-10 minutes. I got Alexa all cleaned up, and we went back out side. As I got close to the trampoline and Colin I could tell something was off but I was unsure. Until I got closer and could get the full view. Colin had some how managed to split the hem of his jeans from his zipper to his lower thigh. But the bad thing was he had no idea and was still jumping on the tramp showing off his garments to everyone. So when I saw this I was horrified. I mean we are at His professor house. So I told Colin, he looked down said "oh man" and continued to jump. Now if you know my husband then you know that nothing really phases him, or embarrasses him. But I was dying. So I had to tell him to stop jumping and get off, that we needed to go home. At this point I think he came to his senses, and realized he was showing off quite a bit. So as he gets off and we gather our kids I am constantly telling him to pull his shirt down. We went and told his Professor what had happend, then we left. Here are a few pictures after the fact, before we threw theses pants away.

Don't worry people those are his shorts that you can see

So there you go. After all was said and done I think I was more embarrassed then Colin. And when I was asking him how it happened he said that he had done a flip and he heard something rip but he couldn't see anything. Umm, I'm not sure how you missed the big gaping hole but wasn't it a little drafty?? Sorry babe I love you but someone has to give you a hard time every once in awhile!!!

A Question for all those Moms with Daughters...

My question is this, do you let your daughters wear tank tops? I know that when Alexa is older tank tops are an no no. Along with bikinis of course, or sleeveless dresses. But she is 2 and I battle on whether or not to let her wear a tank top with shorts when its so hot. Honestly it doesn't bother me much at this point, but I don't want to let her and then she thinks she can when she is older. Or what about all those cute dresses that don't have sleeves (Well tank top sleeves). Do you put something under or over, or just let it be? So you mothers of daughters, what do you think? What's the rule in your house?

Been there, Done that, Going again!!!

**** This post will probably have tons of pictures****

So we went to Yellowstone for our 4th of July weekend. I was a little nervous cause we have never been camping on our own with out help with the kids. But we loved it, the kids loved it, and for the most part the kids we really good. There are so many amazing things there, so many animals to see. We loved looking for animals. Jakob lived with the binoculars around his neck. I don't know if I can do it justice with words so I will just show you the pictures. Colin has a photography final project due Wednesday, and he chose to do Yellowstone. So we have so many cool nature pictures. I think i might replace some of by bought pictures on my walls with the ones Colin took. We loved it so much we plan on going back labor day weekend. So if anyone wants to come with us........ we would love it!!!! Enjoy the pictures!

This is at the river at our camp ground

silly Jakob

Ready for our 4th of July adventures

shes so darn cute

Jakob with his handy dandy binocularsfamily photo with a geyser

walked right in front of our van

this is what happens when the kids don't want to walk any more

At our lunch stop

At some stinky springs

This is how Conner fixed his hair

Ol' faithful

Mud volcano

So stinky

get those eyes open Conner

the stare down

our first bear sighting, its a cub, so its small and the grass hid it well. Its a black bear

Our 2ND bear sighting, brown bear

Same bear, just up close

a heard of Buffalo by our campground

A bunch of fly fisherman

walking down the middle of the road holding up traffic!!

We have tons more pictures so I will probably add a slide show of everything, just give me a few days. I still have some unpacking to do and some laundry washing to do!!

Who's child is she anyways?

Alexa is so funny, she does some of the weirdest stuff. She is a true girl, and I can already tell we will have some fun teenage years ( once again my mom is thinking paybacks are great!) . Just yesterday she had on some cute shoes that she picked out and put on, colin noticed she was walking kind of funny. We checked her diaper, nothing , so adventually I took her shoes off. She screamed while I was doing it cause she didn't want them off, but turns out she had huge blisters on each foot. I guess she is already willing to live with the pain for some great shoes.
She also loves changing clothes and she is very picky about what she wants to wear. She tells me no alot of times when I bring clothes out, so most days we pick her outfit out together. She's only 2, whats she gonna be like when she 12. Oh boy. She also loves her hair bows, which is good for me case I love making them and she has was to many of them, but am I done making them ? NO. But she always needs a bow in her hair, even if I didn't plan on putting one in her hair. She brings one out to me and says " bow mommy!"
The other night we gave each of the kids ice cream cones. About a minute later I could here her in the fridge. She came out with a pickle. She sat right down and took a bite of ice cream then a bite of pickle. If she was older I might wonder if she was pregnant. She finished both and she really seem to enjoy it. She is so weird.

She also loves her brothers, she doesn't let her age or her small stature hold her back. She tries to do everything her brothers do. She loves to snuggle with them, and give them hugs. She also is not afraid of them, most times its the boys running away from her, screaming. I'm not sure whether or not to be proud of that or not.
I love my cute little Lexa Lou. It has been so fun having a girl, and I am so excited for all the fun adventures to come!!

Splash Park

Here is a video of the kids the first time we went to the splash park.

There goes the neighborhood

The idea of a great summer kept me going during the crazy winter. I knew it would be hot and nice and that my kids could go out and play and that they would have so many great adventures. Then we had two different families move in to our complex. A single mother and her 3 teenage daughters move in above us. And then a his, hers, ours, family moved in right across from us. No big deal. We had a couple of issues with the girls above us playing music super loud late at night waking up our kids, but we sorted that out. I never in a million years thought that moving to mormonville rexburg, living in Student housing, we would run into the type of people that have moved in. I am to the point where I don't want my children playing outside when the other kids out, or when the moms are out smoking. That is right our non smoking complex. It makes me so mad. Ok I guess I should give you a warning this blog is going to be a lot of venting. This post might be more for my benefit more then anything. Anyways this is what I deal with on a daily basis. Let me just start off with both of these families are super poor, and the kids are paying the price cause the parents choose to spend their limited money on cigarettes and drinks rather then stuff they need. Most days the parents leave their kids home alone and when they leave they lock the doors. There is a 6 year old and a 8 year old that I really think shouldn't be left alone at all. So with that said I am the only adult around most days. And with the kids being locked out you, guessed it, They all use my bathroom, my house. On a daily basis I am asked for food, drinks, and water and granola bars aren't good enough for them, band aids, sunscreen, and what ever else comes up. Its to the point if someone gets hurt they come running to my door even if their parents are home. I have to force them to go to their parents. Now I think for the most part I am a caring, nice person. I understand when families are having trying times and I want to help, I really do, but the problem is that my kids are suffering. These kids that are around all the time are naughty, potty mouth, ungrateful, liars. They are so mean to my kids who are sharing all their toys, bikes, and food. I know that the problem is that they have parents who don't care if they do that, but I do. I don't want my kids hearing OMG all the time or all the swear words. The lying problem comes into play because if I am not outside with the kids I have every window open. My apartment is maybe 10 feet from the big play area. If my kids are outside my front door is left open. So basically I can always hear them if I can't see them. So most times I hear what is going on. So every day I get the older kids coming and knocking on my open door, or yelling my name to tattle on my kids about things that my kids didn't do, like Jakob won't let me ride his bike. Well I know its cause Jakob's riding it when they want it and Jakob doesn't get off and give it to them. So when I say no Jakob is riding it, they start telling me all the crazy lies to make me think that Jakob wasn't riding it. Its just ridiculous, it makes me wonder if their parents believe these stories. One time our neighbor boy came and told me that Alexa, my 2 year old, was calling everybody the B word. Now as a mother you usually have a good feel of what your kids know, after all you are in charge of what they are hearing, watching, etc. So I knew Alexa had no idea what the b- word is. So I told the kid that, I also told him the only way she would know that word is if he said it to her and she repeated it. As soon as I said that I knew it was true and asked him if that was what happened. He told me that Alexa wasn't letting him ride her bike so he was mad. This boy is 6, Alexa bike is one of those toddler bike that you sit on and push with your feet, he is not allowed to ride it. After all was said and done I asked the boy where he had heard that word, after all he is only 6, he said his dad says it to his mom all the time. So very sad. I watch my kids get yelled at, hit, pushed, the other kids tell them they are not their friends if they can't ride their bikes. I mean its horrible, but what do I do? If I lock my kids in the house, to keep them away then they think they are being punished. If I don't feed the neighborhood kids who will. Oh the other thing is that one of the families got their cellphone turned off for not paying the bills, so the mom is over constantly wanting to use our cellphone. Or if the upstairs mom is gone the teenagers are down wanting to use my phone to call their mom to ask if they can do stuff. I just don't know what to do anymore. We are looking for another place to live, but nothing so far. So where is the line. How nice and compassionate do I need to be to these people. Where do I draw the line, how do I handle the kids, Is it my place to get mad at these other kids?
On a positive note, I have been so very proud of my kids. To see my kids stand up for them selves, to make the right choices, makes me feel so good. Just today the kids were all saying what they were saving their money for. They all said toys and clothes. Jakob said " a mission". The other kids didn't know what that was and Jakob told them he was going to be a missionary in china ( he thinks he going to the great wall ). Then he went on to tell them about his dad serving in japan and how all his uncles have gone on missions. The kids all thought that was cool. This whole thing has been such a testimony to me about how important it is to be home with my kids and to be on top of their every move. How important it is to teach your kids manners, and even simple things like don't through your wrappers on the ground. Also what a difference it makes in kids if they know someone is watching and listening, monitoring what is going on. Well thanks for letting me vent, if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Stain Removal???

So I am wondering what your tricks are to getting stains out. Do you have a favorite product? I have been dealing with Popsicle stains, chocolate milk stains, and makeup stains (thanks go to Alexa for those), and grass stains. If you have any ideas let me know, I need all the help I can get. And if any of you want to send a maid my way, I'll love you forever!!

Whirl Wind....

Yep that is what it was, it was a whirl wind trip to Seattle for my youngest sister April's graduation. My brother, his fiance, and I left Friday night to drive to Boise, we stayed at Natalie's (the fiance) parents house for the night. Which was so much fun, I loved her family and they threw Jordan a fun little birthday party. That next morning we got up bright at early to head to the airport to fly to Seattle. We got into Seattle at 8:20 am the graduation was at 3. We were able to do a big family breakfast, Which included my all my grandparents, and the Grahams of course. That so fun!! Then we were off to Aprils graduation. I still cant believe that she is done that my parents are done with kids in high school, its just weird. We are so excited for April to come here for school, I am so excited to have almost all siblings here soon, it will be so nice. And yes Laura I really am going to find out what electricians are making here cause you might as well move here too, then mom and dad can buy a second house here and we can be one big Happy family, in rexburg. Oh well a girl can dream!!
I also want to tell my husband how thankful I am to him for letting me run off on fathers day weekend. I love you babe. Even though we celebrated Fathers Day on Thursday, I hope the kids were nice to you and you had a good day. I sure appreciate the nice break and hopefully we can some day take a break together, wouldn't that be nice.

Here are just a few fun pictures of the weekend, I didn't take very many but here are few.

April and my dad

The girls!!( you cant tell which girls are the Moon Girls, we all are squinters!!

Me and Laura just having fun!!

This last weekend was so crazy and such a fast trip but i had a blast and loved every minute of it. well maybe not having our luggage not make it on our plane and having to wait hours for the next one to come in, and then driving back to Rexburg in the middle of the night and not getting back to home 3pm . All of that I could of done with out but you know what it was still fun and all worth it!!

I Can't Wait!!!!!

All I have to say is that December can't get here soon enough. And if you haven't read these books, stop what you are doing and go to the store or library, or even call your neighbor, or visiting teacher cause they are bound to have them. You will love them I promise!!

I'm a Proud Big Sister!!!

Let me just start out by saying , I feel old, All of my younger siblings are having major things going on in their lives and I am so happy for them but it also makes me realize just how old I am getting. Here is a picture of me and my siblings its kind of random but its all I got!!

I'll start with my youngest sister April. She is graduating high school in 2 weeks and I just can't believe it. I am so proud of her and I can't wait for her to get here and to start college and the next step in her life. Way to go Apes!!! I love you


Next up is my Brother Jordan, He has found the perfect girl and they are getting married in august. I/we love Natalie. And we are so excited to have her in our family and for them to start their life together. It has been fun to be here while their relationship has developed and to see things fall into place. We love you guys!!!
My brother Brian Joined the National Guard and he has just finished boot camp, where he was one of the top of his class , and he received the Sniper award. Basically the best shot. He is now at firefighting training. I am so proud of him, I wish I could of been at his graduation from boot camp. I hear it was amazing. But nonetheless I am so proud of him and can't wait to see what Heavenly Father has in store for him. We love you Brian.
Next of course is my sister Laura. I bet you thought I would leave you out, but no way. She also has a big summer coming up, her and Ben are in charge of youth conference for their whole stake. I also know that she is surviving 2 kids, one of which is climbing, chasing, getting into things little boy. On top of all of that she is in the relief society presidency. Man oh man I don't think I could handle it all, but she is and she seems to be doing a very good job. I wish I were closer and your kids could camp out at my house for the next month. Anyways good luck , and I love you.

I don't think I could write about all my siblings and then not say anything about my parents. I don't know how they do it all but they do. And they are always so on the ball. My mom always does such a nice job at everything. And my both my mom and dad are the best support to us all. I love you guys. Thanks for all you do for us.

Thankful

We, our family, have a lot to be thankful for lately. The Lord has once again taken care of us. Colin got a new job. His last job was ok, it did the job while it needed to. But this job is so much better. He now works for the city, which is of course is a government job so we get all the benefits. That is right we have full health and dental benefits ( what a relief, no more byu insurance, that was a joke). Plus he doubled his pay check which is such a bonus!! I am just so thankful for a husband who is willing to do what ever it takes to take care of his family. My husband is so smart and so good at what he does, that I never doubt if we will have a job or money. He also just makes going to school look like a breeze. I hope all of my kids get his smarts. I am just so thankful that we will be able to do this school thing without having to rely on government assistance, I have heard way to many nightmares. I am thankful for all the perks we have all ready seen with this job ( cell phone,you know in case the mayor needs help with his computer or the fire department or the police department. And early sign up for swimming lessons and then finding out we only have to pay 10 instead of 50). I once heard a quote "the harder you work, the luckier you get". Well Colin has always been such a hard worker, so he deserves all the perks they can give him. I am just so thankful to Heavenly Father for always taking care of us. Things just always seem to fall into place for us. And of course I am so grateful for my Husband, who takes care of us no matter what. And that he is so good at what he does that he was the 1 picked out of 40 applicants. You Rock Babe. I've known that since the moment I met you, but it seems that on a daily basis the rest of he world finds out how good you are too!! And one more thing that I am thankful for, for the first time since we have moved here, Rexburg doesn't seem so horrible. I think we could actually enjoy living here!!

P.S. Sorry if you thought I was bragging, but what is a proud wife/ mother to do? Brag, its my right!

Our Adventures...

The last couple of weeks have been crazy. Colin had finals, and then we took off to Utah for a week to see our new niece Allison be blessed. She was so cute. And it was fun to be around a baby again. The kids all loved her and wanted as much time with her as they could.


They also had some fun times with their cousins and grandma and grandpa bowler.


We came home Wednesday evening and my parents and grandparents came in to town on Friday for a short visit. That was a lot of fun, and good to see my parents for me at least. On Saturday the kids all woke up saying that they didn't feel good. Conner said his stomach hurt. But later in the day we decided to look down their throats since one of their cousins had strep throat while we were in Utah. Sure enough Jakob throat was covered with white spots, and Conner's throat was red. everything in Rexburg was closed by then except the ER. Which we don't have insurance coverage for. So Saturday night was a rough one for Conner, he was up crying most of the night. Sunday morning we were off to urgent care and sure enough both boys had severe cases of strep throat. Poor guys. Jakob just looked horrible but he handled him self well. Conner on the other hand was struggling. He hurt so much he wouldn't swallow his own spit. Let alone the antibiotics. So after hours of crying, and struggling we finally enlisted the help of my dad and grandpa for a blessing. After Colin said the blessing, it was amazing the transformation. He drank some milk spiked with his medicine, and about 20 Popsicles. And he was up dancing before long. Oh the power of the priesthood!!
Now things are settling down. Family is gone ( but we miss them) me and the kids haven't left the house in a while (we don't need to spread this nasty bug around). Now I am loaded with my bottle of bleach spray trying to sanitize my house so that Alexa me and Colin have a fighting chance of not getting it. I just pray that all of our company doesn't get it cause I would just feel awful.