Neibaur Family

A quick pic of us all

2011-11-19T16:04:00.001-08:00

This is Calebs "wait a minute, why are you backing away from me?" face

"oh, okay, you just want to take a cute picture of me :)"

Bryn is now officially 2. She loves monkeys.

Darrick and I have been going to see a lot of fun shows. Great dates.

Aviation Nation at the air force base. Great show every year.

Kids were less than enthusiastic about my attempt for a photo opportunity.

It's been awhile, I know. I hate loading pictures on here...

Summer vacations begin

2011-07-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

We spent a long weekend in CA, no pictures except this one. We also went to the waterpark and then took wave runners to the lake with my Uncle John and most of his family. It was a lot of fun.

Very shortly afterward Darrick found out his current rotation was essentially cancelled, so he jumped on the opportunity to spend almost 2 weeks in Idaho. The girls were able to take a week of swimming lessons each and we got to enjoy some fabulous weather and fun activities with his family.

We took a drive and hike out to see some beautiful waterfalls, but were bombarded by mosquitoes. After back tracking to the closest convenient store for some bug spray we went back at it. Got a flat tire along the way on the dirt road. Darrick was able to knock out a dent in the inner rim back at his dad's shop and then the tire held air just fine.

Gma & Gpa Neibaur

We went to the lake over the weekend with lots of family and Gpa's boat. By the time we made it to the lake with everyone and all the gear, most boaters were already pulling out. Caleb found this cozy little spot out of the sun to take a nap (in his life jacket).

Darick's brother owns a couple of horses that are kept at Gpa's house, so we had the opportunity to ride on them a couple of times. The girls really enjoyed all their time with the horses. I love to see them connect with the great outdoors and animals when we visit.

Waiting for their turn with the horses, they drove around the campgrounds in the Cushman.

Aunt Janae pulled out some of her hats. Madelyn got really into character :) She was also posing some gangsta moves. Very funny.

One night we all drove to Jackson to watch a show/dinner performance at Bar J. Again, we were running a little behind and got the VERY last row, but it was great entertainment and food.

We also went to the Lagoon amusement/waterpark for the 4th of July, spent the night camping, and returned again the next day for a few hours before heading back to Vegas. This was Bryn's favorite ride, and unfortunately the only picture I have because we lost the battery charger.

So, on the way home straight from the Lagoon (keep in mind it was waterpark/camping/straight home) we got a blown out tire on the freeway just an hour or so into the drive. It was almost 9 before we rolled into a Walmart in hopes of a new tire- they had just closed at 8:30. In the end we decided to get a hotel and repair it the next day. The hotel had a full hot breakfast spread so I can't complain too much- however we had left our overnight/camping bag in Idaho so had had no toothbrushes, deodorant, showers, brushes, etc. for the last 3 days. We were a sight to behold coming down to breakfast at the hotel, especially waiting at Costco for 3 hours for the repair. Glad the camera had died at this point.

I vaguely remember hearing the girls talk about having a funeral for their (1 day) pet lizard that they accidentally smashed with a rock. Apparently this is a picture they decided to take on their own of their funeral services. I never saw what they had done. It made me laugh a little. His name is written on the rock "black spots."

2011-06-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Soccer has ended (thank goodness!). The multiple practices and games were a bit of a challenge every week, but Katlyn and Lauren had fun. We will let them pick something new in the fall when it cools back off.

We spend Memorial Day hiking around the Valley of Fire. Truth be told, it is a lot like Red Rock, just a whole lot more of it. There were some indian hieroglyphics that were neat too. The kids just love crawling all over the cubby holes and hills of rock.

Madelyn was a little put off when we went on an actual trail. Too hot. Too tired. Too hungry (even though we had just had a picnic). Too thirsty. The list goes on.

Looking down on their hard work.

Bryn thought we were at the beach.

My dad also made a visit for Caleb's blessing.

However, my grandfather passed away, so while we were in Arizona for the funeral we were able to take some time to gather with lots of family to bless him. The only picture I have right now is me with my sibs. It was so nice to gather together with our family and remember my grandpa. We will miss him.

We had some time to ourselves one day in Arizona and were able to have some wet fun. We found a perfect mini waterpark that had a regular pool with diving boards, a lazy river, swirly toilet bowl corner, a couple big slides, and a nice big tike area. It was perfect for our family.

PJ's

2011-06-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Looking through the pictures I need to update, there was enough in pajamas for its own little post. Here's Bryn thinking she has the best seat in the house.

Katlyn & Lauren happily posing in their pajamas made from our friend Kelly.

Catching them all- mid dance

Game time

I thought it was about time to capture a picture of Caleb's smile. It's not easy to take a good picture from your own lap, so even though he DOES have huge cheeks and an ample extra chin... the very close camera didn't help slim him down any :)

Trying to stretch the start of the day a bit too long, they just kept coming.

lots of the lil man

2011-05-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

6 weeks old.

Just pretend he is smiling here.

Caleb was being a champion poser for us at this point.

Here's our little rock star.

Apparently, he has inherited my sensitive skin. Something, we still don't know what, triggered a sort of allergic reaction up his arms and legs. He looked really bad for a few days and then they died down. Weird.

This is our summer pool. Each year we have tried a different type. We'll see how the snapset holds up.

Here is Kelly holding lil Caleb. Come back whenever you can!

After a long day... so tired in fact, that Darrick snored a tiny bit- which happens maybe once a year.

Shortly after this picture Caleb erupted in uncharacteristic vomiting all over Darrick. They didn't look so peaceful after that.

Doing what he does best.

Darrick was out of town for Mothers' Day. My girls took up the challenge to make it a special day and filled my wall with "presents" for me that morning that they had been secretly working on under a bucket in the laundry room. They were so proud of their work, and had really put a LOT of time and thought into everything. I got the traditional orange cinnamon rolls (I didn't even have to get out of bed to supervise as I had planned) love bugs, flowers, poems, a coupon book, pipe cleaner jewelry, instructions to stay in bed and read all day, and so much more :)

warm weather

2011-05-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Katlyn made this flower arrangement for me, for Mother's Day. It was very cute.

She will "wear" Caleb for me during the day to keep him happy and asleep. Heaven sent.

We all went to the park to enjoy the warm temperatures before they spike. We started out following Darrick around the frisbee golf course.

I took up the rear with these tikes.

Here's the lead. I don't think the people behind us were overly impressed with the trail of little ducklings :)

I haven't taken a picture with Caleb since the hospital. He is getting so chunky in his face. He changes a lot weekly. He is over a month now!

Madelyn learning to properly swing.

Katlyn taking a whack at Darrick's pitches.

Our little outfielder.

Lauren had already taken off somewhere, no pic, sorry.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Easter Bunny visit (please excuse the dirty feet...)

Little baby vs. big baby
Same hair style

On our way to his 2 week check-up. Over 8 lbs. now

His cheeks seem to be doubling in size every day. I'm losing my sweet little newborn :(

Grandma D visiting to help out. Thanks again for everything mom!

My girls LOVE to decorate eggs. They could keep going all day if it weren't for Bryn who wants to do it all, and get in it all.

Cousins passing through were able to stop in for a day. What fun for the kids. We had 11 kids all together and they left without a trace. Amazing. So glad they could stop by, my kids really had a blast with them.

Little rough around the edges, it was still morning...

Caleb had a little indoor stroller ride with Lauren and Madelyn.

2011-04-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

My girls just really wanted to set up this picture. It may have looked better if they were actually dressed...

Madelyn chose to go to Pump it Up for her birthday. It is just so much fun for kids, they had a blast. Darrick made it the last 15 minutes this time... yeah!

The requested birthday cake: a cake with a toy. I get to pick and choose from there, so I just find a cake to go with a toy from my closet. It worked out strawberry shortcake style this time.

Gavin and Isaac helping celebrate the occasion with us.

We all went to our Ward Easter egg hunt and breakfast together. Lots of kids, not enough adults (our boys were taking their annual board exams). But it was fun for the kids anyway...

My little Caleb... he's so cute :)

More Caleb- one week old

2011-04-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

Madelyn has turned out to be the most insistent "holder" of the girls, although they all can't get enough.

Bryn has taken to posing a "cheese" for the camera lately, it's great.

Caleb wasn't too thrilled at all with the prop idea...

but I still tried...

and finally gave up when he looked like he was ready to swing it at me.

Didn't quite get all the private parts tucked away, sorry.

Welcoming... Caleb Neibaur!

2011-04-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

Big Sisters visiting their Little Brother @ the hospital

Oh my goodness, I just realized the nurse is flipping off the camera, SORRY!

Weighing in at 7 lbs 5 oz., 20 in long

This little boy has more hair than all of our newborn girls, come on!

Getting the boot... sorry Bryn

3 days old

Keeping it real

Bryn helping Daddy out with the broken sink

We got one last outing before Caleb was born. We went to see the Tournament of Kings dinner/show. It was perfect entertainment/show for our kids. They LOVED it.

If you look really hard into the background you can make out our knight, the DRAGON knight (very dark). On the other hand, you don't have to look very hard to find my "ready to pop" self.

Just in case the pic didn't come out, we got one from a brighter knight, little foggy though. Darrick's parents were THANKFULLY here for both the show, and the birth, so we had some great help.

Visitors

2011-04-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

I use to claim that I don't get that big when I'm pregnant. I'm going to have to retract that statement. I don't know if I never looked at myself in the mirror or I have just really gained a lot more weight this time... but here is my extra large bump. Not for much longer though...

Hoover/Boulder Dam train station

Kelly and MaryAnn came to visit for a week before MaryAnn ships away to Afghanistan. It was, and always is, such a nice treat to have them stay for a visit. We made a couple easy excursions. The train ride sounded like a good idea, but I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It was the company that still made the adventure fun, not the ride itself.

Riding on the train

It was at least interesting to see the inside of the train cars done up in the same seats and decor as when they were used to build the Hoover Dam. The kids were given free reign to explore the open cars and entire train during the ride, so they didn't stay in these seats long.

View from new bridge, overlooking Hoover Dam

I have been waiting for the chance to drive over the new bridge that takes you way up over the Hoover Dam. It has looked so awesome during the construction period. After walking up across the bridge I can say it is a much more spectacular bridge from underneath. Nothing special up top, except of course the view- but that took us awhile to figure out how to access by walking. Just driving over the bridge you can not even see the dam, water, or anything else. Traffic is MUCH enhanced with the opening of the new bridge.

Bryn and her new bosom buddies MaryAnn & Kelly

Bryn has a shut down period with new people where she won't talk, cry, or even make direct eye contact, even with our guests. However, she took to MaryAnn like a puppy dog and shadowed her everywhere for the week. It was very nice, and fun for me to see her like someone so much. We made a really quick trip to the Red Rocks for MaryAnn & Kelly to see them. We weren't particularly all in hiking shape (myself and Bryn particularly) so we didn't stay long. But, the girls enjoyed it, as always.

Exploring Red Rock

2011-03-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Mads with her BFF cousins

Madelyn at dance class

Creating a bounce house

Lauren's 7th birthday

Hanging out at Grandpa's, waiting for cousins to get out of school

I made this cupcake bouquet (pre-fabricated for lots of ladies to learn how together) for Valentine's Day, I was so proud of myself.

Girls with their Great Grandma Peterson

Girls with their newest Aunt Riley, congrats Yance!

If I posted regularly, I might be able to have a less generic title- UPDATE

2011-01-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

Miss Bryn just being cute

Cactus Gardens Christmas Lights- super chilly night

Darrick making room for his new mini hoop

Madelyn and some of her new Christmas toys

Lauren with her pillow pet and ant farm

Katlyn, who quickly grapped everything in sight for the photo

Covert operations.... doorbell ditching

Chat with Santa

We have been able to go to a couple different bounce houses recently and oh my, the kids have SO much fun. It will be a new birthday request I am sure.

Bryn's 1st birthday, she LOVES her new chair

Opening some of her gifts with help from Mads and Gma D

Snowmobiling in Idaho- LOTS of fun

We decided to make a quick trip to Idaho over Thansgiving. It worked out best if I flew with the girls ahead of Darrick and we all drove back together after Thanksgiving, because Darrick didn't have enough time off. We arrived over the weekend and Sunday evening the older girls went to visit cousins in a nearby town. There was a very large and long blizzard that caused the roads to be closed completely until Wed. afternnoon, when Darrick was due to arrive. I was "snowed in" with Bryn and Madelyn up at Green Canyon with Gma and Gpa Neibaur, while Katlyn and Lauren were "snowed out" unexpectedly for several days with no extra clothes or pajamas- just a very kind Aunt/Uncle that took them in and kept them overly spoiled. The snow all made for spectacular views, particularly when snowmobiling. The girls enjoyed small ecpeditions in the snow until they became too numb and stiff to play any longer.

One of a few snow caves Darrick dug out

Every Thanksgiving Day there is a water basketball game. This year Darrick was caught in the eye by one of his cousins. Although there was no real damage to the eye, it was pretty ugly for a couple weeks. At one point it was swollen and every single part of the white of his eye was completely red, not just blood shot, but bloody RED. He looked like a villain from a sci-fi movie. I couldn't keep from staring at him sometimes because he looked evil... from one side.

Darrick's ugly eye injury

And finally (drumroll please) the gender reveal of the baby we are due to have early in April. Surprises all around!

summer/fall 2010

2010-11-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I have had the most horrible time yet in downloading pictures to a post here. I tried using the new updated software for new posts and it won't download from my computer, so I had to download them all to a webpage first to download them from there to here- anyways, several didn't make it at all, and those that did are NOT in the order I wanted. AGH. Continuing on:
Katlyn & Darrick's cake and party with Wayne and family.

Katlyn's baptism day.

This is a wild burro or donkey, somewhat tamed by the constant stream of tourists (like ducks flocking to bread throwers at a pond). Just have to keep your eye out for them on the coutry roads.

Halloween pajamas. Only outfits they all have that are matching, they love them, thanks Jenny :)

This is at a K12 race/relay for the home study students. Our color was purple.

Wouldn't you love to go shopping with us? We hadn't shoved Bryn in there, yet, but this was my sister and my Walmart excursion. Fun stuff.

My crazy 16 yr. old sister put on a wonderful Halloween party for 12 of the grandkids, half of them 3 years old!!! Did I mention it was a slumber party to boot? She did an amazing job- & my sisters, mom, and myself had an amazing night out at a Brazilian steakhouse- yummy! Everyone was HAPPY. Even the kids rebounded very well from the sugar and sleeplessness over the weekend.

My sister and brother-in-law took us out boating/picnicing. It was a very fun and relaxing excursion. Even had the opportunity to potty on a floating port-a-potty thing. Never seen one of those before!

We decided it was a little too cold to swim, but they still got their legs in for a dip.

Until Madelyn slipped and fell in the water. After getting soggy clothes off and bundled in towels she was OUT COLD in less than 10 minutes (the slumber party had been the night before).

My kids had the opportunity to dress up 5 different times for parties and clebrations, so they decided to keep things lively and change it up a bit. I only have pictures of 3. I am most disappointed at not getting a picture of Katlyn as the white queen in the most recent "Alice in Wonderland." She spent a long time getting to look just like how Anne Hathaway did.

Darrick got home from work one day and went a little crazy on the loose teeth in the house. I was only able to post this one picture of the event, but in the end he extracted Lauren's two front teeth, one bottom tooth, and a loose top tooth of Katlyn's. FYI there were more smiles than tears and all patients were volunteers, perhaps coaxed by bribing.

Katlyn's and Lauren's teachers from this last school year. They miss them, they did a good job!

Lauren's kindergarten graduation was in her classroom and with siblings and parents and more it was CROWDED. I had a stroller with me to help with camera, video, and baby things so was not able to leave Bryn to help Lauren and Madelyn through the snack table afterward. I couldn't even follow them with my eyes through the mass of people over there. This is what they emerged with: YIKES!

Red, White, and Blue

2010-07-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

We ended up watching the fireworks from an outdoor amphitheater, sponsored by a local casino :) on a blanket over artificial grass. The weather was surprisingly splendid and we all had a great time. The fireworks show was really awesome and choreographed to music. This is from one side of the blanket....
This is from the other side....

We had tons of little fourth of july trinkets, toys, gadgets, stickers, & tattoos that kept the girls more than occupied before the big show.

The girls decided to have a "slumber party." This involved lots of girly things, but ultimately a much later bedtime, and a much earlier morning... so I don't know how often we'll repeat the event.Darrick's 'best man' from our wedding, finally had a wedding of his own that we went to in UT. Darrick had his hands awfully full when the music was turned on.

Not sure what I'm doing down there, but it's the only one I'm in.

We took the opportunity of being in UT to visit the SLC temple with our children. They really enjoyed the new miniature "dollhouse" sized version in one of visitors centers that shows the inside with the furnishings and different floors.

I also had my first opportunity of visiting an IKEA store. Wow, that was a different experience. FREE babisitting so that I can SHOP!? They definitely have the right idea there, just wish one was closer...

Thanks to the Spauldings for letting us crash on you again, and it was fun to see James, thanks for hanging out with us... no pics of either.

2010-06-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Turleys stopped by for a visit. Each family has had two additional kids since the last time we were together!! Yes, Katlyn came home from California with a streak. Originally to be red, her light hair sports a nice hot pink now. Fun for the summer!

The older cousins (Trevor, Katlyn, TJ, Teigan, Lauren)

The little cousins (quads, Madelyn, Bryn)

Bryn has really taken to playing in the water. She loves to splash and crawl all over in it. Unrelated story... but just this morning I had put her to bed for about an hour and a half and heard her start to cry. I went to find her covered in what appeared to be smeared chocolate all over her face, arms, legs, completely smeared across all of her bed sheets, bumper pad, diaper holder, blankets, crib railings... only it didn't smell so sweet. She had managed to get her diaper off (wearing a dress) before pooping & playing- for and hour and a half in it! She just barely turned 7 months, my other kids took more time before they managed these stunts.

Out of order, but we went to the National Yosemite Park and this was the result on the car ride home:

There were waterfalls everywhere you looked. The day was perfectly beautiful and warm.

Moms and kids sporting our Yosemite Park t-shirts.

This is at the very bottom of a waterfall, very misty. It was just so spectacular.

Hiking around the bottom of a waterful.

Absolutely felt like we walked straight into a postcard. How beautiful is this??

Cute cousin bunz

My sisters, Dana, Shannon, Kati, and myself. Picnicing on pizza in the parking lot.

These are the massive upturned roots of a giant sequoia tree, you can see the length of the tree along the bottom left corner of the picture.

My sister Kati made a skit for us to perform, she narrated (shortest of the group). It was great fun, and the kids all enjoyed seeing their parents acting.

Katlyn & Lauren with their dear cousins Janey and Kenzi

This is Bryn (6 1/2 months) with her cousin Kyler (2 1/2 months). He's going to be a BIG boy!!

I just LOVE this picture. Darrick is working with the girls to wash the springs' towels with the old wringer washer they still use, originally invented in the 18oo's.

Check it out... FAMILY PICTURES

2010-05-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

www.jennreesephotography.blogspot.com

2010-05-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

Katlyn had her last little cheer performance last week, so I thought I'd post the highlights. I would have prefered to cut down the video clip, I have no idea how, so sorry about the length. (If you want to skip to start at around 1:00 you can watch from there, she starts the clip on the far left and from about the minute mark on is a litte more front and center.)
Katlyn's signature move is the "scorpion." Darrick and Katlyn are attempting a demonstration for you:

My little cheerleader. I've promised Darrick we will be doing a sport next.

There was an annual "Strawberry Festival" held nearby last week that we couldn't pass up. They shipped strawberries picked that very morning in CA straight to the festival here in Las Vegas and then sold them for a whopping $30 per flat. Ouch. 3 little baskets for $9. Well, we ended up settling at half a flat for $16. Katlyn and Lauren both won in the strawberry rolling contest and wound up with 3 free meal vouchers to Sweet Tomatos, so not a bad deal after all.My friend Jenn took this precious picture of Mads while she was playing at her house. I just love it. While waiting on the sidewalk for Lauren at the bus stop last week, Madelyn looked and me and said, "Mommy turn the air on!" Yes indeed, it is warming up for the summer!

Here are a couple pictures of Madelyn and her best friend Liv playing.... sadly she is MOVING next month.

To my dismay, Bryn has figured out the scooting/crawling method. She is now 6 months old, so I suppose it was time... but you can just never go back, it makes me sad.

By the way, I am probably going to enroll my school-aged children in a school (Nevada Virtual Adademy) considered "distance education." We have weighed out far more pro's to the option. However, the biggest con will be the strain of having them home 24/7, grocery shopping, errands, appointments, etc. It will definitely be a new adventure.

The Power of a Bribe(s)

2010-04-16T12:53:00.001-07:00

Madelyn has the crown because she turned THREE. At our house, this means she gets her ears pierced...This is the BEFORE:

Just AFTER (I was shocked that I got a smile when I pulled out the camera):

The BRIBE:

The OTHER BRIBE:

Some other random pictures before I took them off the camera... Here is my sister, Kati entertaining some of the neices and nephew visiting with "projects."

Madelyn and her cousin Trista were awfully quiet for a couple of two year olds, so I went into the laundry room to investigate and could see them nowhere. I could still hear them talking, and sure enough they had squeezed themselves into the drier with a full load of dry clothes (now compacted nicely.

GIRLZ

2010-03-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

Bryn is now (as of yesterday) 4 months old. She's beginning to giggle if you really get her going, but is mostly all smiles. She is a very stiff baby like Madelyn and Katlyn. Only Lauren was a soft cuddly baby body. Instead of holding Bryn in the nook of your arm like most babies her age, it is easiest to hold her standing up somewhere on you because she is so rigid. From her neck to the tips of her fingers and toes, she is usually very tense. Here is Lauren just getting home from kindergarten this morning. We are experience very perfect weather this month before the onslaught of heat hits us- mid 70's this week.

Darrick's parents were able so stop by for a few days while on vacation. We went to the Hoover Dam with them and went hiking around looking for some natural hot springs in the area. It was nice to spend time with them, as always, and to get out exploring.

Lauren turned 6 this month, here she is all dressed up in grandeur for the happy day!

She is opening up a birth stone necklace from her grandma.

Here is a bunch of poppy beads that have already provided hours of imaginitive play, look how delighted she was before she even knew what she actually held.

Here's the birthday party, minus the photographer (me!).

Trying to take a photo of a baby and making a baby smile at the same time can be rather tricky... here's a not so great attempt anyway.

My little sister Kati threw a wonderful princess slumber party for all of the girl cousins last month. This was the morning after the big party. They all had SO much fun.

This photo was taken during the princess' arrival (one princess still missing). My sister, Kati, that threw the party is in the back, too bad because she wasn't afraid to dress up with the rest of them!

With LOVE to Darrick in TX

2010-02-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

I think I've been avoiding posting because I have to confirm that Eliana is really gone now. She went home to Trinidad to be adopted by a relative who, as the social worker put it, "has every intention of spoiling her rotten." We had Eliana for 10 1/2 months and loved her very much. I have a lot of confidence in the placement and am so glad she had a happy ending. It still makes me sad when I see babies her age, she was such a glowing and cheerful baby, and I miss her.

Darrick is in Texas this whole month so I figure the pictures I was going to send him, I might as well just load onto the blog since I haven't updated in quite some time. Here is a picture just for daddy taken early in the month:

Lauren's new pair of glasses (I let her pick them out, I don't think I'll do that again for awhile), the old ones broke on day 2 of trampoline exposure:

(This black eye was the result of day 1 on the trampoline)

Here's a more recent picture of Bryn, the full on smiles looked a little too akward to post:

The girls and their cousin, Calissa:

Their Aunt Alli made tutu's for ALL the girl cousins (two not pictured):

They all got cute suckers for Valentine's with BIG plastic lips on the other side:

This picture was just taken yesterday, yes it is FEBRUARY and the temp was probably a high of 65 degrees, the water was from the HOSE. These little popsicles spent at least 3 hours out there! Crazy kids.

Ho Ho Ho Santa's visit

2009-12-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

This picture (wanted it to be at the end) makes me laugh because Madelyn only puts her fingers in her mouth when she has her "silky" or something VERY soft... not many things make the cut. But she has recently found that Bryn's earlobe is exceptionally soft so we've caught her caressing Bryn's ear with her fingers in her mouth, without her even realizing it- it's normally a half conscience/automatic response to put them in when she finds her silky (sorry about the partial nudity).
Here come's Santa Claus:

A little frozen in the moment... not sure about all the hype...

Eliana would NOT take her eyes of Santa for the camera, no cries though!

Santa was a good sport for this one.

I could hear people around us counting our children in dismay.

Everyone was trying hard to get Eliana placed in her adoptive home by Christmas, but it seems we will be lucky if we make it the end of this month. However, the bitter sweet end is coming near.

Bryn's 1st Photo Shoot

2009-11-25T11:17:00.000-08:00

My friend Jenn Reese took some beautiful pictures of Bryn this week. Although Bryn wasn't super cooperative with letting us pose or dress her up fun, Jenn was very patient and got some precious pictures. Thanks SO much for everything. Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome home baby Bryn!

2009-11-15T15:35:00.001-08:00

Bryn Elise Neibaur was born Nov. 14th @ 8:04 AM weighing in at 7 lbs. 7.5 oz.

McKee Ranch

2009-10-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

So we had some major concerns arriving at the McKee Ranch because it definitely doesn't have any Vegas flair (reminded me of someones lawn in VA with LOTS and LOTS of lawn ornaments)... but it was so much fun for the kids to just enjoy being at a ranch, wandering around a farm, and just playing. There were a lot of odds and ends everyone had fun playing with or on...

And you could find lots of Halloweeny places to pose...

I love this picture because Madelyn and Eliana look like they are getting way involved in a race, even though their horses aren't going anywhere.

I'm surprised the pumkin didn't burst beneath me...

This was the lovely tractor-pulled hay ride we got to go on.

There were all sorts of donkeys, horses, ponies, goats, chickens, rabbits, mice, etc. wandering around the place. This is Bella, a very large carriage horse. Everything was very much hands-on.

I didn't realize the pig was even there till it popped up out of nowhere in time for the picture.

They put little snacks and drinks around for refreshment that you could enjoy with the goats, who had also found the snacks enjoyable.

Without knowing what to expect, it was a pleasant surprise to have everyone enjoy themselves so much and have a happy halloween activity to do together. At the end we picked out a pumkin that we can spend another night carving out and eating seeds.

Track break= visit to CA

2009-10-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

I really tried to put this picture at the end, because it is the night we returned from our week long visit to CA without Daddy. Our departure scene was horrible, Darrick driving away to work in the morning- away from his tear-streaked girls who were so heart broken to be leaving him.
This is our little trip down the street to the zoo with just a few older cousins. This is my sister in the far left corner who delivered full-term quadruplets (they just turned 2)... HELLO!! She looks great. There isn't a zoo in Vegas, so this was a treat for my kids. Look... I finally have a little girl with some curls :) I can't wait for the baby fine hair to really fill in, and she'd better keep the curl!

I encouraged the break out of some Halloween outfits for a little dinner party and it evolved to full blown costumes, decorations, activities, Halloween hair accessories, nail polish, the works. I felt bad afterward, it's not like my sister doesn't have much to do with 11 kids on her hands and we made it look like a Halloweed bomb had just exploded in her house (right before the dinner party was to start). Kids enjoyed it though!

All five of these little tots got to some serious work trying to bring back to life the car with no engine. It was a hoot.

All of my down time was spent working on getting my dad settled into his new home just down the street from my sisters house. He had only been moved in 3 days when we got there so there was and still is plenty of work to do. My other sister, Shannon, (who I didn't end up with a picture of this visit) is furnishing/decorationg it. His old stuff is banned from coming any closer than the garage. It's quite a lot of work when it gets down to it, but it was fun to sit in on the shopping and decorating for a little while. I can't wait for it all to come together and be done. This is the master bedroom that I got to occupy during my stay, still not complete but has most all major pieces.

Is this poisonous?

2009-10-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

I found this THING scaling around my house and backyard at alarming speed. It has 10 "legs" although the front 2 are used as arms almost to attack incoming threats, really, reminds me of a cat hissing... what spider does that?? I got this picture after spraying almost the entire contents of a Raid can on it, which still didn't keep it from twitching for more than 9 more hours!! So in this picture the legs are a little more twisted and cripple than when it is in full stealth mode, but this spider is really big, I thought it was a scorpion at first. There was certainly no web around, so is this not a spider?? Any thoughts or experts on the matter let me know!

I wanted to put this picture at the end, but apparently I am not capable of moving it. I love sleeping babies...

I LOVE dressing kids up in Halloween outfits even though it is for such a short while, if we are lucky they can wear their Halloween shirts 4X in a year :)

Matt and Jenny came all the way out from Ohio to visit with us for almost a week. Neither of them had ever been to Vegas before, so hopefully they got in some of the sights and had a good time. Least spectacular (in my opinion)- but the only one I had my camera with me- was the Hoover Dam which is currently under lots of construction to build this massive bridge you can see in the background for cars to travel over instead of the dam itself.

It was so fun to see them again and have them visit us. My girls all ate up the time they could be with them.

Next time they've promised to bring their little Wyatt who we can't wait to meet. This is our picnic gone bad... we didn't find an appropriate place to turn off before it was too late and we had to do it in a parking lot :(

We're off to CA tomorrow to help spend some of the track break time that my girls have off. I should have more pictures and updates after that!

Trip to ID, Birthday, School

2009-09-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

These photos are not in any particular order... the morning of our departure from a wonderful visit to Idaho we went huckleberry picking. A first for myself, though I hear about it and reap the benefits (huckleberry-raspberry jam) every year. It was a very fun way to spend our last morning. I learned the huckleberries sell for $89/gallon and treasured the little berries all the more. We enjoyed huckleberry milkshakes as we hit the road home.

Madelyn declared she needed to go potty, so she learned the very natural way to go about doing that.
This is the dusty way back home from picking- we left some of the group behind since we had to get going.
While we were there we had the opportunity to celebrate a cousins' birthday. Mackenzie turned six and the girls all enjoyed their first slumber party!! I have no pictures of that, but here is the cake party we all spent together the next day.
Take a look at that cake! A little much for me to try and tackle, but it was fun watching it go up!
Look at all those toe-headed grandchildren! For the time being, all Neibaur grandchildren were present and pictured.
For Katlyns 7th birthday we went indoor miniature golfing (air-conditioning is not taken lightly in Vegas). This is a picture with the flash:

But the whole 18-course building was lit with only black-lights so the course looked something like this to us: (except we could see our faces- it was pretty cool)
Then we finished the afternoon off with a little swim party. I don't know if it's appropriate to call it a party, I didn't allow the friends/invitations/games/entertainment/etc. this year. Maybe I'm a bum mom but it gets to be a little much, I can't do that every year for each kid.
First day of school, I am not against having them ride the bus.
Katlyn finally lost one of her front and center teeth. She let Darrick yank it out with pliers when it got too wiggly. She claims she is the LAST girl in her class to get her permanent front teeth in.
And her is our sweet little Eliana. She is trying out solids, and HATES it. Now she cries just from seeing the spoon, it's pathetic.
She is starting to get up on her hands and knees for some bouncing around... and she can roll and scoot herself to about any corner. She is still a little doll but starting to voice her demands for change of scenery or impatience. The quiet happy-go-lucky baby was sure nice while it lasted, but I'm afraid she has begun to grow out of it just a tiny bit. Perhaps it's just teething (she got a couple in already).

July Recap

2009-08-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to get all the 4th of July party pictures on here, but that's okay, I'm only missing a couple with the kids playing at the party. There was tons of holiday toys, games, crafts, and activities. They all had such a blast. We stayed at Grandma D's house and she always has some animal project underway.
The picture above is one of my moms growing chicks. Below is a picture of Lauren and Madelyn in the chicken coop. All was well and good until they started pecking at toes. We made them stay long enough for the picture, as you can see Lauren wasn't thrilled and Madelyn wasn't sure about it all.
This is a "before" and "after" photo of the 4th of July party with my siblings, one from the morning, the other at the end of the night.
Three of the quadruplet cousins eating with Madelyn at the tot table.
Darrick trying to toughen up the "Mad Dog"
Grandpa treated us to In & Out, a luxury of living here on the West. I think Las Vegas must have more In & Outs than any other city.
We went on a "strenuous" hike for a few hours at Mt. Charleston. The temperature difference was actually so extreme we were all FREEZING. Hard to believe since it's only an hour away. It is actually very green and beautiful, and this picture is just under a waterfall- I guess we forgot to capture the beauty part, sorry.
Family reunion at the Whiting Homestead in Northeast AZ. This is my moms kids and grandkids with her parents that are now 80! I'm glad we all made it up there... except my sister Shannon (her daughter still came).
Madelyn has grown attached to Uncle Wayne since they have stayed with us over the last couple months. He easily takes the place of Daddy when need be. And if she gets in trouble by Uncle Wayne, oh my, she is completely crushed. Sorry I didn't rotate the picture in time.
All the kids loaded up to go see the old sawmill. If you look close there are a few horny toads around the kids.

We are now into the middle of August, our BIRTHDAY month. I already had mine, Darrick's is actually today, and Katlyn's will be this weekend. Then we gear up to start the new school year. Yikes. Crystal and Wayne moved into their house a few days ago so they are super excited, and busy. We do still have Eliana, she is now 5 months old. Amazing we've had her that long.

The Greatest Show on Earth

2009-06-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

We went to the Barnum & Bailey circus this last weekend and the kids all had a great time. We were able to see amazing tricks, stunts, magic, comedy, talent, and more. The kids now want to grow up to be in the circus. They offered a free pre-show event to meet the clowns and animals which was a special treat for our young kids to get the hands-on "real" experience. It was hard to take pictures because of the lighting and distance from our seats, but this is what I managed:

And here is little Eliana checking out her dress, which she LOVES to do.
Isn't she a doll??

DISNEYLAND, shark reef, baby girl has a name!

2009-06-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Disneyland, yeah!! We went to the Disneyland park the first day, and California Adventureland the second day. My dad and sister Kati (15) met us at the hotel and were able to spend the whole time with us. THANK YOU!! The pictures are mixed from the different parks. We had so much fun. My girls were both tall enough to ride ALL of the rides at both parks, so most of the time was spent hitting the big rides OVER AND OVER. Thank goodness Kati and Darrick were up to that challenge, my dad and I hung back with Madelyn most the time enjoying a slower-paced day at the park.

By the way, they drained all the water off this pier at California Adventureland and I believe they are installing an awesome water show like the Bellagio and then will fill it back up again. That will be spectacular at night.
We got a personal meeting with Chip N Dale that was lots of fun for the girls, particularly Madelyn.
Too many girls, poor Darrick.
We got locked up for having TOO much fun, Madelyn helped us find a way out.

Madelyn's big ride, she was tall enough for the Mattahorn, so we did that with her a couple times. Those tracks are looking a little scary behind them...
I swear the Disneyland castle is tiny compared to Disneyworld. Does anyone know that for sure? Maybe my memories just let the castle grow in my imagination and reality was striking.
The jungle cruise, which now features some paranas.
My favorite picture. The end of two LONG days.

Katlyn's first grade class went to visit the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay last week and here are the shots I was able to take, although you can't see much through the aquarium glass. Directly behind these girls is a shark, you can make out the eye that shines back like a flashlight.
Right above the starfish is a large octupus that is sort of upside down and squished in the corner. I learned they can maneuver through a hold the size of a quarter!!
They were able to play in the water with the sting rays and horse shoe crabs.
Poor Katlyn. She loves to brush her hair. First thing in the morning, in the shower, right after her shower, etc. Well, she tried to curl up some bangs with her wet hair and somehow managed to get this comb so tightly wound and twisted that it took me an hour of snipping, pulling, and conditioning to get that thing back out. I don't think she'll try that again :)

And I must include an update to our little foster baby. She is 3 months old already!! A family member in another country that is willing to adopt her has been located and wishes to call her Eliana. So she finally has a name. I don't know what type of obstacles have to be achieved to make this placement a reality, but I hope it works out. I have been told to expect it to take at least a few months. So we have some time left to enjoy her. She is SUCH a happy little thing. She is easy to get laughing now, smiles whenever she sees someone's face. She is a very good baby. She is just starting to get filled out and chubby, it's a fun trasformation to watch. (Just to clarify, she was in respite care during our Disneyland trip.)

Idaho cousins, fishing, shooting, kites

2009-04-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is when my parents came to LV before we went to Idaho. We were hiking at Red Rock and were attacked by an African Lion. I know it's kind of wierd that an African lion was in the middle of the desert but stranger things have happened. Madelyn was so scared, it was hilarious! Shhhh, Krista doesn't know I put this in!

We had a wonderful vacation in Idaho. There was lots of swimming, playing, and relaxation. I'm kicking myself that I took no pictures at the hot springs of swimming or our hot dog roasting dinners or other things, next time I guess. First up is Madelyn with our youngest Neibaur cousin, Jack. Then we have a few at the park with his sisters, Janie and Kenzie who are just the same age as our Katlyn and Lauren. It's so fun to get the 4 of them together. We wish we could have done more with them while we were there.

One day Darrick took the girls fishing for a couple hours close to the house. They dug up their own worms and each caught a couple little fish (even Madelyn). I was across the stream so I didn't get too many good shots with them and their fishes, most were blurry. We only ended up keeping one who was apparently named and loved dearly by Katlyn... she still cries in the night about her pet "fishy fish" that was lost to the way of the fisherman. We ate him before she woke up the next morning. They still had a lot of fun.

I have to cringe a little to look at my little girls holding real guns... but we all went skeet shooting for a little while. Darrick had the most fun with his bro's and dad, us girls ended up in the cab because it got too windy and chilly.
Darrick's dad got the old "cushman" out and running to the delight of the girls who got to ride it around the farm.
As you can see, our little foster baby is growing a little bit. She'll be 2 months next week. She's starting to smile more easily, so hopefully the next pic. of her will be of a nice cheezy grin.
The weather is so nice and beautiful, but the wind picked up a little so I picked Katlyn up from school a little early and we went flying kites. It was a lot of fun and their $1 kites made it a whole 2 hours, I am much impressed. They had so much fun we just might invest in sturdier ones. It certainly gets windy here often enough to use them.

holiday, trips, company, birthday

2009-04-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I just realized I put the pictures all in the wrong order. So, most recently we have Madelyn's birthday which we celebrated Monday since it actually was on Easter Sunday. The presents included a pool, scooter, water guns, big bubble wand, and money.

Here are the Easter Sunday dresses

On Saturday we went to a big park where they had a band playing and eggs for the kids. We spent a few hours hanging out here, it was really fun. We did this only because that morning after some unfortunate miscommunication we had missed the ward breakfast/easter egg hunt and I was SO bummed about it. So I googled some other happenings and this worked out fine, although we didn't know anybody.
My mom and sister, Kati, came to visit and we went to a dairy farm tour- this picture is with Calcie M. the dairy cow. We all got some yummy free ice-cream at the end. It really is a fun tour.
Sugar cookies for Easter with Darrick's parents that were able to visit us in Vegas for the first time.
I sat Madelyn down to have a sugar cookie because she asked so nicely. I came back to check on her moments later and found my emptied bottle of sugar next to a huge white mound in front of Madelyn. Buried underneath I found her untouched sugar cookie that apparently wasn't sweet enough for her yet... needless to say, she lost her treat (not the best picture of me, I know).
Madelyn just looked so pleased to be out on such a fun trip past her bedtime- I had to stick this one in here.

Grandma & Grandpa Neibaur with the grandgirls. Darrick literally got the children out of their beds to go to the Bellagio and watch the water show. I stayed put- they got home close to midnight.
Katlyn and her red rock adventures.
I debated sticking this in here- but what the heck? Here's Darrck 'taking a dump.' (there was a random pile of the red rock embedded in the path)
I thought this was incredible. Look at the size of that lizard next to Lauren! It desperately wanted to sun bathe so Lauren was able to get so close to it, well she actually did touch it a few times. It was drama to pry her away to continue the hike.
It really was a fun hiking trip around these cool rocks.
We couldn't keep the girls down with us, they were up and down every rock they could climb.
Feeding the lions at the MGM- it was really fun to watch. They throw raw meat at the windows for the lions to lick and eat off the glass in front of you. Sorry, I didn't get the picture turned around before I uploaded it.
One of the babies' first baths after she lost her cord.
We are on our way out to Idaho tomorrow so I wanted to hurry and at least post these photos since we've been busy. Enjoy!!

House hunting, newborn loving, premature Easter fun

2009-03-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

So we have had my brother, Wayne, and his wife, Crystal, and their two boys here for the last week to look for a house. My dad also popped in over the weekend to help out. House and car buying are on the top of my unfavorite things to do- it was intense for them and we didn't get any time to just hang out and enjoy the company. I lost track, but I'm sure they saw between 80-100 homes while they were here. In the end, it didn't pan out to a lot of hopeful offers- but maybe it's just not the right time for them to close on a house. I had the pleasure, and sometimes stress, of keeping the kids happy at home and out of the way of the house hunting. I really loved having my little nephews here and digesting the idea that I get to live by them again. I'm so excited. Again, there was nothing real noteworthy of the week as far as things we did, I'm kicking myself that I didn't take any pictures around home. Crystal did take an adorable picture of Isaac in the backyard that I'll stick on here. I have to include at least one pic of the little newborn. She has been so much fun for me. She has a little spit up problem (sometimes a big one) but I still don't mind kissing her sweet face and neck even though it always smells like spoiled formula- I think that's a good sign. She is starting to love watching things with big wide eyes. She's equally content to stare at the back of the couch as to look at someone's face. I do think she is starting to smile and look pleased when I really try to love on her. She still hasn't seemed put out to be handled by a child instead of myself. The girls will sometimes hold her for hours. She is so itty bitty and sweet.
Before Crystal and her bunch left we let them do an easter egg dying project. They probably worked for maybe 30 min on them. After I dropped them off at the airport around 12:30 my girls decided to keep dying more eggs- all the ones I had not hard-boiled. They stood for over FOUR more HOURS decorating and dying eggs. I finally had to kick them out of the kitchen so I could make dinner. When they got down they noticed they both had sore necks from looking down so long. They worked with 5 dozen eggs- and we only lost a handful to the trash from dropping.
Darrick has had a really busy bunch of days this month without any off. The month is almost over though, and we look forward to spring break time off and an easier work load for him. I did talk him into going to the movies at the drive-in theatre last night. Even though it is a dying business, there always seems to be one close to where we live. I love them. It was family night so all 6 of us got in for under $10. We saw a double feature and Katlyn proudly made it to the end, although Darrick was very sorry a few hours later when he already had to wake for work. Katlyn's on a track break for about a month so we don't have to adhere to much of a schedule these days. Darrick's parents should be coming to visit soon, and then my sister Kati. Then we will be off for a little family vacation for Easter week. We'll keep posted... By the way, I broke my cell phone so be sure to reach me by our land line- e-mail for the number if needed.

It's a GIRL!!!

2009-03-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

So, Kaleigh was adopted this week. I know the first question from most people is, "So are you sad?" So I'll just answer everyone generically. We are not "foster to adopt" which most people assume when they think of foster parents. Because of this the bond with Kaleigh was always as a caretaker and we do love her to pieces, but she really truly has gone to her own "home" where I know they will love her and spoil her more than I would have been able to. I am so happy for her that she finally got to go there. The actually leaving was not dramatic (to answer the next common question). She regularly had social worker visitors and went to visits with family members so she was very accustomed to sometimes even overnight visits which she always adjusted to happily. She's a trooper, that's for sure. She did give me loves and squeezes before she got in the car seat to leave, but there were no tears or drama. It was really quite a smooth end of placement.
Within literal minutes of her driving away I spoke with a placement worker that had been in cahoots with Kaleigh's leave (unbeknown to me) so she could place a newborn with us. I wish I could proudly announce her name, but she is an unnamed little girl that I had the sheer pleasure of picking up from the hospital (she was born on the 9th). She is sooo cute. My girls are in heaven- relentlessly attending her every need. I'm not sure how long that part will last, but the help and excitement is nice. Lucky for us she seems to have been a mild-tempered newborn for the staff @ the NICU. I had to pester her while she slept to get her to eat yesterday, although last night she didn't have a problem returning the favor during MY sleep. She is such a doll, I am loving every little thing about her. I tried to take a really good picture that captured her well, but it is so HARD with a newborn. They are constantly squirming and making weird faces- so this is the best I got so far, although I don't think they do her justice. She is teetering right at about 7 lbs right now- I think her eyes are a bluish color but will possibly change, as you can see she has tons of dark hair, it's so fun. If you have any ideas for names pass it along! Apparently if they are not given a name, foster parents are obliged to do so, so we have something to call her (although it is not legally binding). I have not met with her case worker so I'm not sure what plans/visits will be in store for her, but there is a possibility this will be a long placement.

Lauren is 5 & Wetlands Park

2009-03-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

We'll start out with a show the girls in the neighborhood organized that they called "Extreme biking & Safety." I don't think the two actually can co-exist, but anyhoo here is shot of their "stage" rehearsing to us rules of safety before they began the tricks on bikes.
Next we have a beautiful and happy Katlyn. It was CRAZY hair day at school so she decided she wanted her hair poofy and out all around her head, it sounded like a great idea- until she saw the humiliating results. Because we were REALLY close to school time I told her I could not possibly change it in time because the tangles would require washing and super conditioning. So in the end we negotiated out swooping them over to poofy pigtails.
Do NOT let these cute girls fool you. We had a big time scare at our house. We were all busy preparing for a day outdoors so I was on dressing and packing for the day, Darrick was fixing the picnic lunch and packing the car. I had just finished getting the tots completely dressed and off and moved on to one last task. In just a couple minutes time I recognized that dreaded sound of silence (not good in a house with babies/toddlers). I asked Darrick to scan the house on his next load out and see what mess they created this time. He shortly after asked me to double check the upstairs. Hmm, not good. We all involved ourselves in a full out neighborhood search. We went down our streets both ways to the stop signs and back, checked backyards with dogs or other luring things to explore to no avail. Finally, Darrick found them around the corner each with a stroller and baby inside proudly pushing them around the little park there. Can you imagine the sight to see two walking babies strolling down the street casually with no adult or older child in sight?! Yikes. We can't get over how little time this was all accomplished on their part and how lucky we are it ended well. Scary what COULD have happened. Every day gets progressively more challenging in containing what these guys come up with. They aren't even two yet!
Next we have Lauren's 5th birthday. That's right, she'll be starting school this year. Here is her prized dollhouse, not sure yet where we will permanently keep it. Thank you craigslist!
What's a party without a cake?
And we all went to Red Robins for her free birthday meal. Here is the aftermath, yes that is a balloon Madelyn is/was holding. It didn't make it very long and she couldn't understand why.

Here is some pictures from the day we went outdoors. We went to visit the Las Vegas Wash, also called the Wedlands. Now, we had to try really hard to not compare it to even the most barren parts of Virginia because that would be a joke. For the middle of a desert, I suppose it's pretty impressive... I guess. But it was still good to be outside (the weather is so beautiful right now) and be together as a family. Our girls were literally lit up with excitement and imagination. I can't wait to go camping with them now. They love the "exploring" which is sadly not a part of most children's lives in a city like Vegas where houses are in reaching distance of eachother.

If you look really close there is a crane in the background.
While we were on the east side of Vegas we finally got the chance to show the girls the Las Vegas temple. I've been doing a tiny bit of geneology work recently and it's led to telling the girls a lot more about the temple than just a beautiful building. The visitor's center was closed (and darrick wouldn't have gone in our hiking grub anyway), so they are excited for another visit where they get to learn more and get closer.

Trip to CA & mermaid visit

2009-02-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

We just returned from a week visit in CA. Darrick had taken the time off work and we were due for a visit to my family so this worked out for us. We stayed with my mom who has always had a fondness of animals and growing things. She currently has 3 cats, a dog, fish, and a bundle of baby chicks. The girls had a good time with all those fun animals, none of which I would ever permit at our own home. My sister, Dana, was gracious enough to let us use her house as a central gathering/hang out location most of the week. We enjoyed playing her Wii on the 50" flat screen, playing around her huge backyard, eating tons of good food, and having tons of cousins for my kids to play with. A big thanks to my sister Shannon and her family that were able to spend some time with us and also dropped off a couple dune buggy machines for everyone to enjoy for the whole week (we had so much muddy fun). I really should have taken some shots of how muddy these kids and Darrick got from head to toe- I only snapped the clean version. Even the dune buggy was lathered in grass and mud that was inches thick in some places. It took some serious cleaning afterward. My Dad was a great sport about traveling to meet us every day to hang out even though he has a good 40 min. drive each way. And my dear little sister Kati was good enough to share her room with two of my girls and play games with all of us during any and all down time, especially with me- THANKS KATI.

Here's the smaller munchkins gathered to eat:

Baby chicks!

Katlyn & Daddy (look @ the buggy behind them, it's so cute)

Laur & Daddy

Mad Dog

We still have a couple days before Darrick returns to work so today we set off to hike up to a cave I spotted up a little mountain a ways from us, to our disappointment there is "no trespassing" signs everywhere around the area. So we went to the Silverton casino where there is a huge fish tank that a mermaid swims in at the top of every hour. The place is also filled with waterfalls, stuffed animal like zebras, bears, elk, lions, cheetahs, etc. and lots of fish and aquarium tanks. It was a neat place to go. What was even more unique was we were there with Penn (from Penn & Teller) who was also waiting for the mermaid to show his little grandkids that were with him. He looked at some of the stuffed animals with us and joked a bit with us while Darrick and I poked each other and gawked at who he was. There was no crowd (Thur. afternoon), just a very few wonderers, none of which made a big deal about who he was. He did wear his long hair down instead of tied back, but he is well over 6 1/2-7 ft. tall, a hard man to miss. Our realtor had shown us the huge estate that he lives in, in southwest Vegas like us, but it was a treat to run into him like that! I didn't think to get him in a picture but his grandgirls are in some of them with the mermaid.

We had a little bit of a girls' night last Darrick was at the hospital overnight and decided it was best to have oreo and banana milkshakes for dinner. If you look closely at Madelyn's happy picture with the milkshake you can make out Katlyn licking the cutting board where we smooshed the oreos. I also wanted to include Katlyn diligently making a homemade Valentine card for every single one of her classmates. She is an incredibly thoughtful child and projects like these make me so proud of her. I did not help a bit and they all turned out so cute. She made little pockets for the candy, wrote a personal note to every classmate, and decorated them all.

Out for a drive

2009-02-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

Darrick works with someone that located here from Washington last year that said he likes to go to a place called Mt. Charleston because it looks and feels like he's back home in WA. So on Saturday we decided to set out on a drive to see this place for ourselves, because we are in the middle of a barren desert with cactus, not pine trees or green. A half hour into the drive we watch the elevation climb higher and higher from 3,000 ft. to 8,000 ft. and notice the temperature drop substantially from 70 degrees to below freezing.

We notice there are patches of snow, but see campsights full of campers, some hiking trails and picnicing sights and feel like we have stumbled on a treasure trove of fun and adventure. We realize we didn't bring ANY warm clothes or shoes, but we decide to let the kids get out and play outside for a little bit because they were so excited to see the snow outside and the babies were particularly tired of the car ride.

After some quick slips and bumps on the ice the babies were already crying for a retreat to the car and even the older girls were shivering and complaining. Darrick found some remains of a shattered sled and attempted a couple runs on the hill behind them, I even tried once. I made the mistake of using my un-gloved hands as brakes and the ice did as good a job as sandpaper would have done coming down. I got these 4 to stand just long enough for a quick picture and then we made a hasty exit. Here is a close up of them, particularly dear Katlyn.

So in the end, it wasn't a very successful trip, however, now we know where to retreat when it is 120 degrees for hikes or camping- AND we know where to find snow when we get properly prepared with snow attire and sleds. I've also been discovered some great ideas for fun with the kids (away from the glamour and attractions of the strip) like a local dairy farm that you can tour and get ice-cream samples, a bread making place where you can make your own bread, a chocolate factory, and other fun (FREE) places.

I promised to keep posted about our foster baby so I wanted to pass along that we've been told Kaleigh will have a home to go to at the beginning of March. It is nice to know so far in advance what the plans for her will be, sometimes it can be the same day. Hopefully it will help make her transition easier.

Backyard DONE!!

2009-01-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

Upon moving into our home, the HOA informed us that we were in violation of a few codes involving our non-landscaped backyard and missing trees in the front. We were approved an extension to finish the backyard seeing as we had many projects inside the house that were our first priority (house was a foreclosure)- but I am happy to report it is finally done. Darrick had a little time on his hands this month and breezed right through this. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the trenches dug for the shrubbery sprinkler system, but here it is covered up and what our backyard has roughly looked like since we moved in:

We have leveled out the ground and put down a sand layer under the pavement portion of the yard here:

The bricks/pavement work is completed but was scrubbed down with sand to fill in cracks, so it's hard to see the delicate work that went into the pattern we worked so diligently on from this view:

Next came the artificial turf which was a fun experience for us since we are not familiar with it at all. It was surprisingly easy to install. Here's a birds' eye view of part of the yard:

Here's a better glimpse of our paving work:

TA DA-

We did work one more day to install the shrubs/bushes/tree/landscaping rock, but it's such small areas that it's not worth getting a picture of. I'm sure it will look better when the plants have time to grow more as well.

And lastly, I wanted to inlude a picture of Madelyn trying her first jalepeno when we went out to eat with a friend passing through town that we knew in college, she didn't cry.

Okay, sorry, one more. We also finally bought a second car this month, so I get my van back to myself. We got a '01 Toyota Corolla that should meet Darrick's commuter needs perfectly.
And that concludes the posts for January. Hope you all have had a good start to the new year!

Field Trips

2009-01-28T15:54:00.001-08:00

Lauren & I went to the local Anderson Dairy Farms of Las Vegas which is set up quite nicely for tours... as well as samples... all FREE. This was shortly after I was able to go with Katlyn's class on a field trip to the Lied's Children's Discovery Museum.

Katlyn got dressed up for "Whacky Wednesday"- this is her debut. She said she was disappointed because most kids just wore their clothes backwards. The Discovery Museum was a whole lot of fun, I'm very glad I was able to go... thank you Darrick! Katlyn is in a Hurricane simulator in one picuture and playing a virtual harp in another- I forgot to get a picture WITH her that day, bummer.

Family & Friends for the Holidays

2009-01-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

One of the best gifts we received for the holidays was the opportunity to spend some quality time with our family and friends that came to visit us. It was so fun to be buzzing with activities, cousins, new toys, and friends all around the same time.

Beginning with the most recent visit, the Auten's from VA spent New Years' Eve with us. Katlyn was thrilled as this included a visit from her very best friend Emma Auten. Unfortunately, as you'll see we didn't bother to take any pictures of adults throughout the season, my apologies. I'll try to make a mental note to expand the camera range and include everyone... (I notice it in my video footage as well).

Kaleigh & Madelyn in the sandbox

Katlyn, Emma & Lauren

We were so blessed that my sister, Dana, was able to visit and bring most of her family with her. I think each of them are somewhere in the jumble at least once below. She has quadruplets that are almost as old as Kaleigh and Madelyn so that made a whole lot of munchkins under one roof. My sister's 3 year old, who believes she IS Snow White, commented, "It's like the 7 little dwarfs!" They brought 8 of their kids with them, the two eldest and my 3 are sharing the popsicles below.

Trevor, TJ, Katlyn, Madelyn, Lauren

Madelyn, Toby, Trey, Tessa & Trista

Teigan & Tori are last to be named, on the right side.

For different in/out periods my brother, Wayne, and his family were able to stay with us. We used to live down the street from them in VA, and we sorely miss their company and closeness. It's so sad to me that I'll probably never be able to have the same relationship with my nephew, Gavin, that I was able to have living close to him. I love that little boy to pieces. It was nice to get to know his little brother for once as well (I'm so sorry I don't have a pic). Anyway, this is one of the times that we made/decorated scrumptious sugar cookies.

We did also get to visit with Tracy Carter here for a rotation and my mom frequented here as well, although again, no pix of adults... We went absolutely no where, but that's okay, Darrick was really busy most of the time. Things are much slower this month so we're hoping to finally get a second car (if anyone has a lead- under 5k sedan... let us know!), finish the backyard somehow- it's just rubble for now, and plan a little trip away sometime soon.

I just realized I've sort of skipped over the Christmas morning pix, so let me add those if it'll let me:
Happy New Year everyone!!

Cure for a cold day- you'll want to try this one.

2008-12-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

First, you have to have a bag of Grasshopper cookies as shown- I have not been able to find a generic or alternate brand, this is it.

Next, if you look carefully you can make out a tooth-size nibble on the bottom AND top of each of their cookies (very important here).

Now, use your cookie as a straw and suck up your hot chocolate through it. The hotter the chocolate, the better, it won't burn you- the cookie will cool it enough. That's right, you have to get very intimate with your mug...

Last step, pop the whole cookie into your mouth as soon as you taste a bit of the hot chocolate all the way through the cookie straw and ENJOY. It is a delicious treat. We've already shared it with most of our family and friends- but it's a good time of year to have it again anyway.

A White Christmas in Vegas??

2008-12-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

Just to recap a little on the last few weeks, here is our humble family gathering for Thanksgiving time. We had a lot of fun together although it was cut short for us to head off to Idaho. Nest is my beautiful sister, Kati, whom I was able to convince to go on this short hike for a beautiful view. And just two days ago I took this picture out our back window as several inches collected around us for the most recorded snow fall in Vegas... EVER.

Grandpa Peterson

2008-12-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

We just got back from an unexpected trip to Idaho. Darrick's grandfather passed away on Thanksgiving so we rushed up shortly after to make it for the funeral. Luckily, arrangements were able to be made without a problem from Darrick's work or with our foster baby. It was a great time to be together with all of the family gathered in Idaho. The is a picture taken just over 3 yrs. ago at Gma & Gpa Peterson's home in Idaho Falls. We will miss him and are sad that our children will not have an opportunity to know him better. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful wife.

Husband Tag

2008-11-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

I've just realized my friend Shalie tagged me. I can't figure out why this is all underlined, my apologies. I used to think I was more computer saavy, but now it's getting embarrassing how behind I am.

5 Things Darrick loves:

FAMILY/FRIENDS
SPORTS- Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Frisbee Golf, Football (no particular order)
OUTDOORS-camping/hiking/boating/snowmobiling/skiing/river rafting
FREE TIME- sometimes it takes not having something to truly cherish it
ROLLER COASTERS/THEME PARKS- conservative adrenaline junky

5 Things on Darrick's TO-DO List:

Landscape our sad backyard
Do some of the abundant fix-it jobs around the house (installing shelves, broken ottoman, new door handles, etc.)
Christmas/our anniversary shopping- I'll probably end up doing both :(
Buy a car- the lease expires in less than a year for the one vehicle we share
Survive residency, particularly the intern year...

5 Foods Darrick Enjoys:

LASAGNA
CHICKEN NOODLE GRAVY OVER MASHED POTATOES
HOMEMADE FRIED/SEASONED CHICKEN
PIZZA
STEAK SANDWICHES

5 Things you may not know about Darrick

Darrick minored in music- he plays trombone the best, & accordion, piano, guitar.
Darrick still finds somewhere somehow to play basketball at least once a week- when we're all asleep.
Sappy movies make him cry.
Ivanhoe was/is his all-time favorite classic movie (I'd personally never heard of it before).
His Neibaur ancestor was the first Jew to be baptized into the mormon church and was Joseph Smith's dentist.

5 Places Darrick has lived

Newdale, ID & Rexburg, ID
Argentina
Mesa, AZ
Buena Vista, VA & Christiansburg, VA
Las Vegas, NV

5 quirky things about Darrick

His right ear wrinkles a tiny bit when he smiles, not his left.
He's only had one officially broken bone- results of wrestling with his brothers.
He likes to cook though rarely has opportunities.
He showers more than anyone I know.
He's never had stitches.

5 People to TAG

I'd like to tag Jenny, Christa, Laura, Kristen, & Katie

Just a random note: My little Lauren is so sweet, I've always said if I had to sum her up in one word it would be SWEET. Just as I was finishing this post I heard Darrick snap a little at her by asking "Why are you sitting so close!?" (he's got stuff out studying) and she replied quite matter-of-factly, "Because you're my daddy and I love you," and continued right on watching her movie like she hadn't been interrupted. Other children (including my own) sometimes make it too easy to be mad at them, but I will say Lauren makes it very difficult to have any reason to be mad at her.

Red Rock Canyon

2008-11-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

We went to Red Rock Canyon this last weekend and had a great adventure. Darrick hadn't seen rain in Las Vegas since we moved here, and wouldn't you know it... seconds after we exited the car to begin hiking it poured on us and was chilly thereafter. We found some overhanging rocks to duck under a couple of the heavier pours. You can't see from the picture, but we found a bush literally covered in crawling ladybugs (may have been a reaction from the rain burst). The girls continued their walk with ladybugs happily crawling on their hands like "gloves." Even the babies loved poking at them, I personally stayed away from them... did you know ladybugs can actually bite? I learned that first hand in my youth when I was covered in a flock of them.

An update on Kaleigh, it seems she will be with us for at least a couple months or so, but you never know for sure. She is a very bright little girl, she loves her food (can't emphasize that enough) and certainly has a little attitude somewhere under those big eyes and unruly laugh. By the way, the dark-haired man is Darrick's friend from Newdale, ID that was in visiting, Tony Ricks, he was a big help on the hike. It's great having unexpected visitors that we normally never get to see. I hope we get to stay bunched up and close to our loved ones in heaven, we are so spread right now.

Halloween pictures

2008-11-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

No fancy costumes here. Our traditional 1-yr old ladybug costume that everyone has worn, followed by outfits from our dress-up trunk (sleeping beauty/tink), finishing off with a cute princess crown headband I bought on sale for $.50 with a white church dress. We had an extra adult helper thanks to Darrick's childhood buddy that happened to be in town (thank goodness) so that made the evening much more enjoyable- we had a great time and made out with quite the stash. Lauren was the only one slightly put off (she wanted to be something SCARY).

Our new foster baby :)

2008-10-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is our new foster baby, Kaleigh. We just got her earlier this week. She is 16 1/2 months old right now (about 6 weeks younger than Madelyn). She has been a really sweet little girl to have at our house. She's very shy and cautious, she loves food and sleeps well. She has beautiful eyes, she is such a doll- and her hair makes up for Madelyn's lack of... Sorry about Madelyn's nudy-tudy photo. We don't know anything about long/short term placement info. for her right now, but I'll keep you updated when we do.

Our whole family got to go to a big reunion this last weekend which ended up being so much fun. One of the greatest parts was to see my Dad so happy. His family hadn't had a reunion in 50 years and probably won't for awhile and he was so excited for this. Everything went really well and it was a great experience to see all of my siblings and cousins again and learn more about my roots.

After multiple picture loading attemps- I have my first picture included post!

2008-10-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is the top of our hike we went on recently.
You can easily tell what my girls were doing to pass the time during general conference Saturday morning...
Just to note.... the fact that this picture of all pictures chose to load was an accident- but I'll take what I can get... I'll keep working on other, better (as in make-up done and girls included), pictures.

2008-10-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

I tried, I really did. I coudn't even upload one picture. I'm so sorry. We haven't shared a single picture of our family since March. I don't want to let this blog go to pot just because I can't share pictures yet... so, I'm still going to keep a little trail of what we're doing on here.

Today we ventured out one step further than just finding all the neat local parks. We set off on a hiking trail of sorts today- and the top of the hike offered such an amazing view of the city, strip, surrounding mountains, etc. (I'm so sorry I can't share the pictures!!). It was terribly windy, but the weather was perfect and we all had a lot of fun. Someday soon we would like to go to the Red Rock Canyons- if anyone has been there before please share any advise or experience with the area.

The girls and I were whisked away to visit CA by my sister Dana last week. I love any opportunity to visit over there. She has 11 children- so if you think your nieces and nephews grow fast try and keep track of that many in just one family. The youngest 4 are 1-yr olds now and are crawling/walking/getting everywhere all of the sudden. I WISH I could show you a couple snapshots of them when they are given a moment out of eye shot. Most episodes included either mud, trash, or toilets. I know we have all been there and experienced those moments, but there are so many right now with so few hands and eyes to keep watch over them all. It was very fun for me- and my girls wouldn't stay out of the backyard from sunrise to set, literally. Ah, what it would be like to have a yard OR grass again....

Madelyn will be in nursery come church next week, I'm so excited she's finally of age... but now I have to accept the fact that I no longer have a baby. Our entire family was able to make a visit to the dentist in the last few days. For Darrick and I it has been a long uninsured time since we've had any dental work/cleaning. Between the 4 visits we had 6 fillings performed on the spot, 9 more scheduled for the next weeks, one bridge scheduled, and a very sorry outlook on the crowding of Katlyn and my teeth in the future if some extractions are not done. The amount of expense even with insurance is overwhelming. Anyway, it has really motivated a new, more strict, dental plan- but I'm afraid it's mostly bum-luck on the genetic scale.

We had our first "driving by" visitor that stopped conveniently on the way from SLC to CA (perfect mid point) and stayed in our guest room. It was very fun to see our friend from college and his new beautiful wife. We are hoping for lots more, so don't forget to at least say hi- a meal, stretch, nap, shuttle from the airport, or a night's rest is always waiting for anyone that would like to take us up on that. We really are the first exit just off the I15 (which you'd have to drive on) and very close to the airport.

I think I'm trying to accommodate for the lack of pictures by this lengthy post- as far as my kids growing or changing- Madelyn still has no hair- in fact her hair growth rate has been slower than either of my older kids if you can even believe that to be possible. Utterly frustrating if you ask me. She is beginning to look rather odd- so old with no hair to show for it. It's like a walking talking newborn/infant. It's hard to watch my sweet Katlyn and Lauren look so grown up on some days. At least they are still into dressing up "girly"/pink/pigtails/fancy. I'm just waiting for the day to come when they venture into their own style without looking back. We watched some home videos the other day and it was shocking to see how quickly the years have raced by.

Our new blogspot

2008-09-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

I suppose I am going to resign to a new blogging spot to more easily link our page to our friends and family who have all chosen blogger.com YEARS ago I established a page while blogging was still in its infancy. As ALL of our family and friends have stretched out and moved to various locations around the country, staying connected through blogs is a priority now. Our internet is still so slow that I will unfortunately not be posting many pictures at this time- I know those are the most fun to browse on blogs... my apologies.