Another Anniversary!

Last month, Jason and I celebrated our 7th wedding Anniversary. It has been a fun and fast 7 years! I still feel like we just got married- but I don't even think we could be considered newly weds anymore.

Jason had to work on our Anniversary so we couldn't do much. My parents watched the kids while we went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. Jason sent me a dozen roses (of our wedding colors) and I bought him an IPOD. It was a simple anniversary but I'm not worried because there will be many, many more. Love you Jason!

Halloween

This year my kids dressed up as bunnies and a turtle (they were the Tortoise and the Hare but no one really caught on to that until I told them). Everyone thought Colt was a frog until they saw his shell and the girls kept being called princess bunnies. Oh well. They were stinking cute! Jason also had to dress up this year for work. He was paired up with some buddies and they were a foosball table. (Don't ask me- I didn't see the end result)

We were busy this year for Halloween. We had a ward dinner and trunk or treat, then a trick or treat at Jason's office, and then the 'real' Halloween trick or treating. Plus, I was in charge of Hallee's kindergarten Halloween Party at school. We were so tired from all the festivities that on Halloween night, the kids only knocked about 12 doors and then we called it quits.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Update

I guess it has been long enough since I updated my blog. I have been waiting for an important reason though- I have pics on my broken labtop that I wanted to blog about (Hallee's birthday, pics from Cortney's wedding, last pics of my house in Nampa). But since I have no clue how to move anything from that computer to this one those few posts will have to wait. Here are a few things to look at until then.

STREAKER

(Colt without his bottoms in his sisters boots)

Colt has learned, much to my dismay, how to undress himself. It all started with his basketball tank tops. He could get his shirt off and walk around with a naked belly and his shorts. I thought it was cute. Well, he decided to take it one step further and learn how to lose his shorts. He is constantly taking off his pants and diaper! He only swizzled all over the house 1 or 2 times but 2 times it was something more (if you catch my drift- stinky!). He is 21 months old and interested in the potty. Colt will sit on it and pretend to push but I've never seen any results and when I really try to get him to go- he gets mad. I've been told to just turn the diaper around so he can't undo it but that isn't the problem- he takes them off like underwear. I'm usually potty training my girls at this point in life but this boy gives me a run for my money! Not sure what to do with Colt- but I am sure I have a streaker!

Blackfoot Fair

Over the Labor Day Weekend, we decided we had better do something fun with our kids so we took them to the Blackfoot Fair. I do NOT do rides and I hadn't been there for about 10 years but we decided to give it a whirl anyways.

We spent most of our time looking at animals. The kids loved the petting farm. We each held a little baby beagle we wanted to take home. There were goats, pigs, turtles, bunnies, and more. My kids were petting everything and Colt was a wild man! He tried to ride this goat. Let's just say I am glad they had hand sanitizer available at the end.

We checked out the livestock (pigs, horses, cows, sheep), let the kids ride the little train, and ate some fair food. (We had funnel cakes and snow cones.) We only stayed about 3-4 hours but I think that is all the kids AND the parents could handle.

First Day for the First of our Kids off to School

This year Hallee started kindergarten. I think it was a little harder for her than a usual kindergartener because we had just moved and she hadn't made any friends yet. But she is doing great- even though every day is a struggle to get her to school. (Hallee tells me every morning when I wake her up and every night when we are getting things set out that she isn't going to school.) She is learning a lot at school and she has made 2 friends that she adores.

Jason took her to school the first day and said that there were a ton of moms crying in the hall. I am glad I didn't take her. I would have been one of those moms.

I was awarded the 'Worst Mom of the Day' award (I gave it to myself). At Hallee's school they have early release every other Monday. Well, the first time she had early release I arrived at her school at 11:50 and when I didn't see any other parents pulling in or kids coming out at 11:55 when her school lets out it dawned on me that it was an early release day! I sprinted inside and found Hallee sitting with her teacher coloring in the foyer. I was 35 minutes late. I almost cried but I just had to promise Hallee I would never forget again and all was forgiven.

My favorite story about Hallee so far this year was on the bus. Every day I put a little snack in Hallee's backpack (it makes her happier to go to school) and Hallee and I have compromised that she rides the bus 3 days and we take her and pick her up 2 days. The first time she rode the bus I asked her if she ate her snack (swedish fish) on the 30 minute drive home. She said, "No. They told us no food or drink on the bus." It was so cute!

After 9 Months...

After 9 long months of Jason working in Pocatello and the rest of our family in Nampa- we have sold our house and moved back to Poky! When Jason took the new job back in the end of October, we thought it would MAYBE take 3 months to sell our house. When it took longer than that, I decided that everything would work out as long as we were settled somewhere before Hallee would start kindergarten in the fall. I guess timing is everything because we closed on our house on August 6th but we can't move into our rental house until the 20th and then school starts on the 24th. We will barely be settled by the first day of school- but I guess that's all I hoped for.

We are so excited to be together again but the situation is bitter sweet to us. We loved our house. We loved living close to Jason's family. We loved our ward. We loved the treasure valley (good shopping, better weather, lots of things to do). It was hard to leave. I will miss so much.

Our family has so much to be grateful for and so we are going to make the best of this move. A new school, new ward, new friends, and new experiences all in my old hometown.

Snake River Stampede

It has become a tradition in our family to go the the rodeo at the Idaho Center each year. Every time we drive past the Idaho Center from the backseat I hear, "There's the rodeo!" This year our family went by ourselves because Jason was still in Poky when our relatives went to watch Brik and Blake do the muttin' bustin'- but we still had a great time.

Colt made horse noises for about the first 30 minutes. He was loving it! We had to buy the girls some treats to keep them happy and occupied for the entire duration- but on the way home we asked Hallee what her favorite part was and she replied, "My favorite part was all of it!" She even thinks next year she should try a little muttin' bustin' herself.

4th of July

This year our family didn't do much for the 4th. We spent the morning packing up and driving home from the family reunion. After unpacking, cleaning, laundry, and a nice long shower- Jason and I were too tired to do anything. It was pathetic. Only later that night when we saw all of our neighbors doing fireworks did we regret our decision.

So, the next day we rummaged up leftover fireworks from Grandma and Grandpa Robertson and came home to have our own little show. The kids favorite fireworks were the smoke bombs. They would ooh and aaah and Colt only tried to run for them a couple of times. After we finished up, our neighbors who had been out of town, invited us to their house for more fireworks. We stayed up way, way too late but the kids, Jason, and I had a good time (and the kids didn't even know we were a day late celebrating :o) .

(I don't know why but I couldn't move my pics in this post so it looks a little silly).

Deadwood Reservoir Reunion

This year was the first annual Royce/Robertson family reunion. We went to Deadwood Reservoir (somewhere in the mountains above Banks). We had to drive on a dirt road for an hour to get in to the place. It was steep and scary and it took forever! At times however, I thought it was beautiful. We saw a deer right by our camp and the kids kept catching frogs.


While we were there we did some swimming, four wheeling, nature walk :), and Jason did some fishing. Colt loved the four wheelers- he couldn't get enough but he kept falling asleep when Jason gave him rides. Make sure you don't miss Jadyn posing in all the pics!

The weather was pretty nice the whole time except for the night I was in charge of dinner. We said the blessing on the food and about 1 minute later it started raining on us. After a while of sitting in the truck, we ended up in our tent. Here is Jason with the kids during the storm (and two little peeping toms in the window- Oakley and Maycee).

The kids loved camping most of all. I have to admit, I was glad to leave the outhouses and dirt behind (no surprise). These are our 3 yahoos leaving in the truck. They were filthy!

Summer Fun

A few weeks ago, Hallee, Jadyn, Colt and I were invited to spend a hot afternoon at a park in Meridian (I don't even know the name of it). The park had water features, swings, a rock climbing wall, jungle gym toy thing- and of course- lots of our cousins! We brought lunches and then let the kids play for a couple hours. It was really hard for me to keep track of my 3 kids because there were so many places to go and things to do but they had a great time. They spent most of our time in the water as you can see in the pics.

Colt took a while to warm up to the water sprinklers- but then he loved it.

Jadyn trying to get a drink.

Hallee warming herself up with cousin Kinley.

Father's Day (Along time ago)

(Hallee and Jadyn painted this sign so we could decorate and have a serious party. They were disappointed we didn't have balloons. :) They also made him card with a ton of stickers.)

We had a great Father's Day celebrating our great Dad! I made Jason breakfast that morning and then we opened presents. We got Jason new tools (socket set and screw driver set) since many of his were stolen building our house. Then it was off to church where our ward did 'Desserts for Dad.' All the sisters brought a dessert and the last 15 minutes of church all the dads got to go crazy and dig into a ton of goodies (while the rest of us were in class). I think Jason really enjoyed it. After church we made fajitas and then went to the Robertsons for a little family party.

I am so grateful for Jason. He is a wonderful father. When he gets home from Pocatello the kids want nothing to do with me for at least 24 hours because he is their favorite. He is so fun and helpful. I couldn't ask for a better father for my children. We love you Jason Royce!

Dairy Days Parade

Every year about this time Meridian has a Dairy Days Parade. We have went the past 2 years because my Aunt Sondra lives about a block away from the action and always invites us. This year the weather was not cooperating but my kids were going to that parade NO MATTER WHAT! We almost didn't make it because I didn't listen to my Aunt's directions/advice and then the roads to the parade route were closed- but we finally made it not a moment too soon.

(Cute pink cow but not a very good pic)

Just like last year, the fire trucks made one of my kids cry (last year Jadyn- this year Colt) but other than that and a few rain showers, we had a great time. We got chocolate milks, string cheese, T-shirts, coupons, a few small toys and lots and lots of candy. We left a few minutes early because my girls needed to use the bathroom but my Aunt Sondra had ice cream sandwiches for them back at her house. Thanks again to Aunt Sondra and to Brady for saving the day with candy sacks, camera, and chairs!

All geared up and ready for the parade to begin.

Colt had to dig into his candy right when he got it.

My Aunt Sondra with my kids- Hallee keeping her 'warm.'

Where is your husband when...

Over the past 7 1/2 months, there have been many times I wished Jason was here to help with different situations. Here is my most recent.
I was pulling up to my house and noticed something on the front porch. I couldn't tell what it was- but let's just say I knew it wasn't a package. When the girls, Colt, and I checked it out we found a DEAD BIRD!! I think it had flown into Colt's window and ended its life. I didn't know what to do. I honestly thought I was going to put it into a shoe box and bury it in the vacant lot beside our house. I called Jason to ask him and he told me just to scoop it up and throw it away (good thing it was garbage day). I did what he said but first Hallee had to name the bird Feather. She was very concerned about throwing it in the garbage can. She wanted Feather to be comfortable. I think Hallee asked me about 10 times that day if Feather was comfortable in her sack in the garbage can and even now, about 2 weeks later, she still is asking if Feather is comfortable. Poor little bird.

These boots are made for walking....

As of late, one of Colt's favorite things are shoes. He tries on everything- big shoes, little shoes, girl shoes, boy shoes- you name it- he does it. Colt thinks he is so darn cute when he does it and I have to tell you, he really is!

Biker Babes

When it finally got warm outside, we realized that Hallee needed a new bike because Jadyn was ready for the smaller bike with training wheels (and I ran over the trike last year- whoops!). So Jason and the girls went out hunting for the perfect bike. We only wanted to spend about $20 and I wanted it to be a neutral bike so it could be used for the girls and Colt. We checked craigslist and goodwill- I'm not sure everywhere Jason checked but we were on a time crunch to get something before he headed back to Poky. Well they ended up at Kmart and found a bike the girls couldn't leave the store without. After they got into the truck to come home, Jadyn said to her sister, "Hallee- that is a good looking bike." It is a pinky purple color but it 'sparkles' in the sun (not very neutral). After Hallee rode it the first day she parked her bike in the garage and told Jason, "That is a good looking bike."

We spend some time every day out riding bikes. Hallee does great but she has a hard time starting and she stops herself by riding onto the grass and crashing/hopping off- but she LOVES it! Jadyn is getting really fast on the smaller bike (she calls it the Fast Bike) but she is afraid to go up and down the curb. Now if only we could get Colt on a bike! :)

(Colt trying to put together Jadyn's bike after he saw Dad putting together Hallee's).

Thirty Something

We had another birthday in our family. The kids and I went to Pocatello so we could celebrate Jason's 34th (!!!) birthday since he had to work there all week. A few days after we arrived- Colt became really sick (I was told many times that he probably had the swine flu). So instead of a night out with my honey, my mom took the day off and the girls surprised him at work with balloons and a treat and then they took him to McDonald's. Then my parents helped me pull off a great dinner (steak and potatoes) and a strawberry pound cake with homeade ice cream. We capped off the night with the movie Benjamin Button. All in all it was a great day (minus our sick kid that was puking and going through 15-20 diapers). Happy Birthday Jason!

Jadyn's Birthday

Jadyn just turned 3!! Her birthday fell on a Tuesday and since Jason is always gone to Pocatello during the week, we planned her party for Saturday. I told Jadyn that Tuesday would be her 'fun day' and we would go out to eat at McDonalds (her favorite) and go to a movie and then Saturday would be her birthday with her party and presents. Well, Jadyn's daddy didn't want to miss her real birthday so he surprised us and came home on Monday night (scared me to death but that is another story). I didn't have everything ready to pull off a party on Tuesday with Jason home so we gave her a few presents and still went out to eat and then we played in the sprinklers because it was so nice. She loved it.

For months before Jadyn's birthday she kept telling me she wanted a jumping party with a Minnie Mouse cake. I tried to fulfill her demands. :) We borrowed an astro-jump from one of my visiting teaching groupies and then I made the minnie cake as best I could. Here are some pictures:

Jadyn with some presents- she HAD to have a swimming puppy!

Loving the astro jump!

Jumping with her cousins.

Thanks to all who came to her party, for the gifts, and for those who helped me pull off the perfect 3 year old party! We love having Jadyn for a daughter. She has such a soft heart but she also has a lot of spunk. I cannot believe how fast she has grown. Here is a picture with her daddy the day we left the hospital....memories.... We love you Jadyn!!