The Mackers

Kidney Stones!!!!

2011-01-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have seen this post on facebook but I wanted to post it here to, for memory sake!!!

I passed a 4mm kidney stone on Sunday!!! I feel like I have accomplished some major feat (like running a marathon or something). It has made me feel like I am more of a woman or something. I was going to post on my blog a thing saying,

You might have a kidney stone if:

1. You think you are in labor and you're not pregnant!

2. You think someone might have stabbed you in the back, unbeknownst to you when this occurred.

3. Vicadin doesn't even dull the pain.

4. You wonder if there is a God or a supreme being of any sort.

5. Child birth (all natural) looks and feels like a walk in the park.

6. Death seems like a good out.

7. You are asking doctors or anyone to put you out of your misery.

8. You think becoming a drug addict might be in your future.

9. I ran out of ways to describe it, other than I hope to never do that again and don't wish that on anyone, altough it does make you feel like a part of some elite club, so if you like a challenge this is a good one, it will REALLY tell you what your are made of!

Uh-Oh!!

2011-01-08T08:40:00.001-08:00

So while I was in hospital, Scott told me about an incident that occurred. I thought it was so funny I wanted to remember this one. Apparently, at about 6:30 am, Scott heard a loud crash upstairs. He went running up to see what the noise was about. As he entered Tyler's bathroom, he discovered Tyler sitting on the stool. Scott asked, "What happened?!" Tyler simply puts his finger in the air and says, "Just give me a minute, I need to calm down!"

We laughed and laughed about this. Scott said he couldn't be mad at that point. So I guess Tyler had decided to try to hang from his towel rod in his bathroom. He had just gotten up for the day and just couldn't resist trying it out before getting ready for school. He managed to pull the rod and the entire anchor with some sheetrock right out of the wall. Apparently, this wasn't a 100lb anchor.

Sometimes don't we all need just a second to calm down? It was ingenious because it avoided a whole lot of yelling from his father. They both had a minute to process and calm down! The things kids say!

Pregnancy!!

2010-12-30T09:19:00.000-08:00

I will NEVER openly admit this to my husband but sometimes I wonder what the problem with my body and pregnancies seems to be. For those who don't know by now, I am in the hospital with a bladder infection, severe dehydration from a virus and kidney stones. It appears that every pregnancy I have some fluke, random condition occur that would probably not ever happen otherwise. I have been a very healthy person but I get pregnant and it all falls apart.

So I think there appears to be a common denominater to any and almost all health problems I have ever encountered-PREGNANCY!!!!

What we will put ourselves through for our children?! It is SO worth it though, those sweet angels. I WILL use this as leverage later in their lives though, you better believe it!

#4

2010-12-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

I guess I haven't updated my blog in a while, surprise, surprise!!! So for those who don't know, we are expecting another baby. We are 19 weeks and find out on January 10th if we are having a boy or a girl. We didn't find out the sex with Keira and I thought it was fun but Scott said he needs all the emotional preparation he can get, in case we have another girl. hehe (Scott cracks me up). So he said he won't miss that OB appointment.

We are very excited and feel very fortunate to have another one on the way. We also feel grateful that baby appears to be healthy to this point. I have been a little more of a worrier this pregnancy due to the miscarriage at 13 weeks with the last baby in April. So we will keep everyone posted.

Two, only two?

2010-11-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

I was taking Mikayla and her little friend to school. I always love the conversations you overhear between children. So Mikayla was telling her little friend that there was a baby in her mommy's tummy. Her little friend said that her mom is not going to have any more babies because she already has four and that is enough. Mikayla proceeds to tell her little friend that she is only going to have two children because kids are just too much work and when she is the mommy she has to do all the work. I just sat there and laughed.

Well! Atleast one thing has been made abundantly clear in her mind, which is that mommy's work hard and it is definitely a lot of hard work. I wonder where she got this information from, could it be that I have made this very clear? Surely not! At any rate, I believe that the comment came as a result of her watching me change a less than desirable diaper of Keira's and her making the comment that it was nasty and that she didn't want to change diapers like that. To which I responded, when you have children you will have to change these diapers. She didn't like that idea too much and it apparently left a lasting impression on her. Kids say the darndest things that just crack me up. I love it!

Our First Break-up

2010-11-29T18:58:00.001-08:00

So this happen!ed back in October (Yes! I am that trrible at doing this blog thing!). I was walking home with Tyler from the bus stop and he says I broke up with Jacob as my best bus buddy. I say, "Oh really, what happened?" Tyler said that he told Jacob that if Jacob wouldn't sit by him on the bus then he wouldn't be his best bud anymore. Jacob decided not to sit with Tyler so Tyler declared that Jacob was no longer invited to his birthday party and that they were breaking up as best bus buds.

Wow! The things kids come up with, it just cracks me up. So we officially had our first break-up. Of course, there was an extensive discussion about coersion, black maling or bribing on the rest of our walk home. What do you do?!

More pics at Galveston

2010-08-28T19:57:00.001-07:00

Look at the sky behind Keira. It was great.

Uncle Brian and Mikayla going out to the water.

Carter found himself a fellow man amidst all the girls. He definitely found

a new buddy in Tyler. It was really cute to watch him follow Tyler around.

I think Tyler liked it too.

Why wait?

Galveston

2010-08-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Galveston, TX and stayed in a beach house with some family and friends. We had the Bairds and Brian and Mandie stay with us. We had so much fun. It was perfect because we were about 500 ft from the beach, right off the back porch. It was overcast the entire time we were there, which made it wonderful. It stayed cool and would storm at night and then usually rain while we ate lunch. But it kept the temperatures down and the beach from being sun beaten. It was perfect. Plus, who doesn't love a great storm to sleep.

Where's the sand? Where's the water?

This is the house looking back from the beach.

Houseboat

2010-08-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to Lake Eufala in Oklahoma. Scott was unable to go with us. So I took the kids and Allyson Roscher with me (to help supervise children). We had a lot of fun. It was quite eventful, to say the least. The kids and I stayed in my parents fifth wheel RV, which is super nice. We had two houseboats, 12 adults, 10 children (the oldest being Tyler-5), two wave runners, a party barge and two trailer/campers. WHEW! Did I mention it was quite eventful?

I'll hit the hightlights. We got to the RV trailer about 9 pm the first night. Nothing was set-up properly. I have three children crying, my car is 30 minutes away and all of their blankets are still in the car, the RV water is not working, the electricity blows a fuse, there are no sheets to put on the beds (I start covering my children with their towels to sleep on a plastic wrapped matress). I finally get the children settled, go to bed about 2 am, wake-up and we have no breakfast because it is all on the houseboats across the lake.

The next day I spend my day trying to get things set-up properly. We finally get settled, my dad comes to get us on the wave runners and the wave runners break down leaving me and my three small children sitting on rocks at dinner time for about 1 1/2 hours, until the party barge comes looking for us.

I am only recording all of this for memory sake. We really did have a good time it just seemed like EVERYTHING that could go wrong was going to go wrong. It was VERY comical. Ask Allyson. So thank you, thank you, thank you Allyson. I could not have survived it without you. The children loved it and we really enjoyed being out on the water and spending time with family. I have very few pictures because I was a little distracted from taking photos to remember things. Here are the few I did get.

This was when we were trying to get the houseboats out on the water and load all of our stuff on them. This is the only picture I have because like I said, I was a little busy after that dealing with the situations.

My girls (continued)

2010-08-28T19:28:00.001-07:00

My girls

2010-08-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

So Mandie took pictures of the girls. It was suppose to be Keira's two year photo shoot. However, Keira wasn't super interested and Mikayla was overly interested in taking pictures. So we got some really cute ones of them both. Here are some of them.

Seriously Sunday

2010-08-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had those moments as a mother where you think seriously? I had one of those on Sunday, hence the title. We came home from church and Scott had meetings with kids and their parents in preparation for seminary. We have 1 pm church (let me murmur, I HATE IT, okay moving on). So we get home and I am getting dinner together.

Disaster 1

I sit the kids down for dinner and Keira loads her mouth with mashed potatoes. She then proceeds to get down from the dinner table and run (kids innately know when you are on your own). I chase her down as she is running across the couch. I pick her up and explain to her that we do not run around while we are eating dinner. She proceeds to spit her entire mouthful in my face and then laughs. It is now in my hour long curled hair do. I calmly (with all I can muster) sit her down in her chair at the table and tell her that is not nice and that is a no-no.

Disaster 2

I finish wiping my face off. As I approach the table, I notice what appears to be mashed potatoes all over the floor in large clumps directly under Keira's chair. I immediately assume that she in a fit of despite has purposely placed handfuls of mashed potatoes all around her chair. I scold her as I am picking up the mess. She runs around following me as I cart the handfuls back and forth to the trash can. As I turn around for another trip, I notice there is a trail following me. So I ask her do you have it all over your legs and under your dress. THEN, with GREAT alarm I realize exactly what I am carrying in my hands back and forth to the trash. It was NOT potatoes. It was silicone from her diaper. Apparently, I thought Scott had changed her when we got home from church, which is our normal routine. But in his haste, he did not. So I lay Keira down and realize it is all down her legs and now all over the kitchen and the living room floor.

Disaster 3

I strip Keira and hastely run her into my room and put her in the shower. I figured I will put her in there so I can hear her while I go clean up silicone. I was mistaken when I thought multi-tasking was good idea. I go out and start cleaning up the silicone while Tyler and Mikayla tend to Keira. I come back in the bathroom to see what is going on and met Tyler and Mikayla as they are bailing out of my bathroom, screaming. I come around the corner and see a geyser of water hitting the ceiling in my bathroom. Apparently, the handle from the tub got turned and Tyler continued to turn it trying to turn it off. I call Scott screaming to get home NOW!!! I am completely panicked. The water is building up fast. I am doing everything I can to save the carpet, that has ALREADY had water damage once and replaced. We got it all cleaned up but needless to say, I went to bed really early that night!

WHEW!!!!

Dismissed

2010-08-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been dismissed by your child? Much less a two year old?

So Keira was going to take a nap, she asked me for milk. I thought she was just going to take a drink and give it back. Instead, I walk in there give her and milk and wait for her to hand it back. She looks at me with this, "what are you doing look?" So I responded with, "What?" She pointed to the door and said, "Out." I asked her if she was wanting me to leave and she said, "uh huh. Out." Well then, thank you very much for my milk and you are now dismissed.

Props to Mom!!

2010-05-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

Okay so I stole the "props to mom" title from Marianne. I wanted to share my "props to mom" moment. I was so proud of myself because I too, am sick and tired of paying a repairman WAY TOO MUCH for a 20-30 minute repair. So in my previous blog you may have noticed, we are having a few issues in the house.

I had the dryer man come and the refrigerator man come. They were both there on the same day. The dryer is a brand I am not familiar with and I know I make Scott a tad bit nervous when I start messing around with the appliances. So despite my great disdain, I paid the guy $150 to replace a STUPID fuse. (A side note, I know from my dear daddy and his business, that a fuse is a 10 cent part. So I basically paid that much in labor, which took him all of 20-30 minutes max.)

The refrigerator man approaches me to tell me that it was going to cost $350 to repair the ice maker. I said, "No thank you, I'll take care of it myself." (Another side note, I had already replaced the switch in the door MYSELF and of course it wasn't the problem.) So I diligently ordered the part, which only cost me $100. I went to work when the part came. It took me all of 20 minutes (with three children helping).

So needless to say, I immediately called Scott to gloat in my talents. I also quickly informed him, the way I saw it is I earned myself a $250 (labor only) shopping spree!!!!! Way to go MOM!!!!

To Laugh or To Cry???

2010-05-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

So as you have noticed, I have not blogged in quite some time. So I wanted to update on what is going on in our lives, which may explain my lack of blogging.

So we moved into our new house the first week of April. YEAH!!!! but WAIT!!! We moved in and the next day I was placed on bed rest for a subcorionic hematoma. I was on bed rest for a week and went in for another sonogram to find out that I had to be on bed rest for another week, in addition they found complications with the baby. We had to wait 10 days for an official diagnosis. The next week I went in for another sonogram and there was no heartbeat. We scheduled a D&C for the next day. (I was 12 weeks, just long enough to finally stop feeling sick). So I went in for the D&C. Two days later, we found standing water in our master bathroom. We figured out that so much water was dumping into the guest bedroom and closet that it starting seeping under the walls into our room before we discovered it. So ALL of the water restoration starts (holes in sheetrock, fans, dehumidifiers, repair men, ect.). That all took about two weeks to get cleaned up. The night before the carpet guys were coming to finish up, the tub upstairs and the toilet get backed up AGAIN!!!! The carpet guys come finish up, the builder comes and the plumbers. They start cutting holes in the sheetrock, cut an electrical wire in the wall, so now the electricians have to come. And we start over with repairs, which are still not done!!!

In the meantime, my dryer broke, my refrigerator broke, my camera broke (which is why we haven't posted anything in a while) and the rental guy won't give us our deposit back. So, my house was completely full of strangers and has been full for the last month. We still haven't got our deposit back and that is not looking like a good situation.

So with all of that said, I am thankful for the gospel and the eternal perspective it gives me. Otherwise, I would cry but I have managed to mostly laugh my way through it all. So that is what has been going on around here.

Saline vs. Silicone

2010-03-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Have you ever sat somewhere and tried to figure out if you are really sitting there or if you are in a weird dream?

Well I was sitting at Collin Creek mall letting Keira burn off some energy at the kiddie play area. There are three women sitting next to me carrying on a conversation. I didn't intend to eavesdrop but they weren't talking quietly either. Mind you, I had seen one of these women get out of her CLK 500 mercedes benz (very expensive car for those who might not know cars) with her daughter. So I proceed to hear about how she came to chose saline over silicone. She discussed all the details, the pros and cons, and why she is happy with them, healing time. A few exerpts were, "I want them to look like BAM in a bathing suit." "Saline is more natural." "Saline looks more fake than silicone (refer back to the "bam" statement). So this conversation goes on for thirty minutes or so. And no kidding, at one point, one of the girls unzips her hoodie and tells the other girl see feel how they are firm. The other girl proceeds to massage her and feel them. To which, I look around and am trying to gather if I am having a really weird dream. Nope. This is not a dream.

Needless to say, I know all the details of why saline vs. silicone. I know which ones I would choose after a much enlightening eavesdr0pping. No details spared and it was certainly a hands on experience. Really? I mean really?

West Coast Swing with Benji Schwimmer

2010-03-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

Mikayla and Abby

2010-03-17T22:48:00.001-07:00

Mikayla modeling debut

2010-03-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

So I have a friend, Jenna King, who has an on-line boutique. She wanted to see if Mikayla would model some of the clothing for her. So we took Mikayla out for a photo shoot. I was the crazy mother following the child with a coat and wrapping it around her in between shoots. It made me laugh. At any rate, the pictures turned adorable and she was a trooper. We had her posing out in the Texas snow and freezing cold in a short sleeve dress and she did awesome.

Awesome!!!

2010-03-06T10:16:00.000-08:00

So this happened prior to my computer crashing but I still couldn't blog about it because I STILL don't have the pictures to prove it. So if you want proof you have to go to Mandie McMurdie's blog to see the pictures. But I went to a swing class with Mandie that was taught by Benji Schwimmer. Man it was so fun and SO awesome. It completely made me miss swing dancing. Many of you don't know but I used to swing dance a lot when I was single. It is so fun and I miss it so bad. But it was a way cool experience. It also made me like Benji so much better once I met him. I liked him before but I wasn't sure how he would be in person and he exceeding my expectations. He actually reminds me of my brother, Chase. Way cool kid!!!

Technology

2010-03-06T10:12:00.001-08:00

Okay so I want you to think through your day and reflect on how many times you have used technology today (i.e. TV, cell phones, computer, etc.). Our computer crashed about a month ago. I really didn't think I would miss it too bad because I make a point to stay off of the computer when my children are awake. Holy cow I felt completely out of touch with the world. I didn't have a computer for about a month.

On the flip side, I did find it to be a little bit sad because people would say, "Didn't you get my e-mail?", "I sent you an e-vite.", "Didn't you read about it on their blog?", "Well I texted you, didn't you get my text?" My thoughts were well you couldn't have called me and told me? You couldn't send me an invitation in the mail? So this is my question. Technology is wonderful! I use it almost non-stop all day. However, in some ways do you think that all of this technology is making life a little less personal? What are your thoughts?

Our home

2009-12-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of the progress on the home we are building. We are getting there slowly but surely. The weather has put us behind about a month now. Then the shingles didn't show up today. We were really hoping to have it water/weather proofed prior to Christmas. Oh well. We are really getting excited.

Success!!!

2009-12-21T14:13:00.001-08:00

Tyler and Mikayla learned how to ride their bikes without any training wheels. I am such a proud mommy!!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's that time of year!!!

2009-12-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

I just love these pictures of my kids. It was really hard to decide which one I should use. I love Mikayla's little devilish smile she sports in one of them. Great job Mandie!

Self esteem problems?

2009-11-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

Mikayla said, "I love taking pictures because I am beautiful."
I said, "Oh really!" Slightly stunned with and suprised at such a bold declaration of self worth.
Mikayla replies, sensing my questioning of her self beauty, "Sarah said I am a pretty girl! I am beautiful."

So would you say she has any issues with self worth or self esteem?

I think not!

(not a current picture but one that warrants the claim, one of my favorites)

Halloween

2009-11-03T09:55:00.001-08:00

Here are the kids in their costumes. I especially love the picture of Keira that Mandie took.

Keira's Birthday

2009-10-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, this was two months ago. I guess I never posted them. Here are a few pictures of her opening presents and eating cake.

Personal Space???

2009-10-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

So have you ever noticed how children have no personal space? I think it is kinda funny and cute. So here is a picture of Tyler, Mikayla and their friend Nia watching TV. Keep in mind that I have full sectional couch just to the left of them.

So far behind!!

2009-10-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

Okay so life has really gotten away from me. I am REALLY far behind on my blogging. So for those two people who actually look at our blog, forgive me while I do some catching up.

My baby is one!!!

2009-08-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Keira!!! I just can't hardly believe that Keira is one years old already. It seems to have flown by, it seems like just yesterday I had her.

I love to watch you walk
I love to hear you talk.
You bring us so much joy
even if you are just playing with a toy.
We are so glad for you are healthy,
it makes us feel so wealthy.

I love those baby blue eyes
that get even bluer when you cry.
I love how you shake your head
and I love to hear you play in your bed.
You bring me so me pleasure
and you we will always treasure.

Thoughtless Calories

2009-08-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I have started a strict diet and have come to realize how many thoughtless calories I eat. Does anyone else have this problem? It seems as mothers we are doomed.
Before the meal--
1. Taste the noodles to see if they are done.
2. Does the sauce taste okay?
3. Is the food too hot?
4. Do I need more salt or pepper, ect.?
4. Is the french fry too hot?

After the meal--
1. Oh there is only one scoop left of potatoes.
2. Tyler didn't finish his bread, I'll just eat the rest.
3. I would hate for that chicken to go to waste.
4. Oh it's just one french fry (turns into that you finish them off).

I have noticed that I do a whole lot of thoughtless eating. I feel like as a mom though, in some cases, you have to (ie to check the temperature). When you are cooking the meals it seems almost to be the very thing that haunts you. I am doing all of the cooking but I am paying the price (of being overweight). All of my hard work has become my own detriment. But, I am going to try to stop all of the sampling and finishing off stuff and try to really think about and enjoy what I am eating and when I am full then I am done. No more finishing off, clean up and walk away. Does anyone else do this?

I want you to try an experiment and see how many thoughtless calories you eat throughout the day. Try to account for everything you put in your mouth and see if you eat "thoughtless calories" and how much.

One of the kid's favorite things to do

2009-07-23T06:44:00.001-07:00

One of the kids favorite things to do is swing. Don't you remember as a kid what is was like to swing for hours. They swing almost every morning and night for as long as I will let them. What a great investment!

I got this Mom, I got this!!!

2009-07-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

Keira LOVES ice pops. She wants to do it herself and she was so happy to see I was going to let her hold it herself. Until, she started swinging it out of excitement and threw it all over the floor and the cabinets and herself. Then everytime I touched it she would scream out of dismay. She all out threw a mini tantrum when I tried to help her. Oh no!! Here it comes, the starts of tantrums. She is so adorable though and almost always happy. Just another independent McMurdie. What can we say?

Carrisms

2009-07-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Okay so how many of you say things that people turn an eyebrown up to. I am not claiming them to be my own. They are just things I tend to say.
Well here are a few of mine! First I will do words and then phrases.

Weird Words:
1. Grody (gross, nasty, disgusting)
2. Buggy (grocery cart)
3. Pert Near (almost, close by, soon)
4. Fixin' to (Straight Texan for about to)

Phrases:
1. That's so good it'll make a bulldog trot sideways.
2. Back the truck up!
3. That dog don't hunt.
4. Shake it, don't break it, took your mama nine months to make it.
5. That sounded better in my head.
6. Git her done. (thanks to a friendly reminder from our friends this one is
brought back to me)
7. That'll leave a mark.

I'll update as I think of more, because heaven knows they just slip right out of my mouth almost daily. It just kills me I get in front of the computer and the pressure is just too much and I can't hardly think of one. That's how it always goes for me, it always sounds much better in my head. See there's another one, I need to go back and add to the list.

Salt Lake City

2009-07-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

So we went to Salt Lake City for a family reunion for Scott's cousins and also a family reunion for the Edwards (Scott's mom's family). We took the kids to the temple while we were there. It was absolutely beautiful as usual. The flowers were amamzing. So here are a few pictures of the Salt Lake temple.

McMurdie Family Reunion in Texas

2009-07-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

So we had a McMurdie family reunion and here are a few pictures of the kids and their cousins. It was really great to see everyone and we had a great time.

Kid's swimming

2009-07-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Mikayla took swim lessons this summer. They already thrived in the water and are little fish. But, we decided we wanted to them to get a little bit of coaching and hopefully become efficient in the water. They do really well now and want to swim all the time without floaties. We are really proud of them. I actually don't have any good pictures of them swimming. What a good mother I am!! I will try to take some video before the summer is over and post that.

Father's Day Cupcakes

2009-07-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

So we are a little behind on posting but as those who follow know, I am so hot and cold with this blogging thing. I let things build up and then I post a bunch together. To me, it is better use of my time to clump them. Sorry.

Okay so here are the WAY cute cupcakes we made for Scott for Father's day.

Goodbye Jenna!

2009-06-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

We are so sad to see the King's go, but we know it will be better for them. I just wanted to post a few pictures of their last night here, while friends and I helped feed the quads. We will miss ya'll.

Keira

2009-05-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

We went to the lake over the weekend. I, of course, did not bring a camera, Mandie on the other hand always has it covered. So here are a few pictures she took of Keira. Thanks Mandie for making sure we get such great photos for wonderful memories that would not have been captured otherwise. You're the best and take such great pictures! WAY BETTER than mine anyways. I can always count on you!!!

Bathroom make over

2009-05-20T08:05:00.001-07:00

So Scott and I made over our bathroom. We changed out all of the fixtures to oil bronzed/venetian bronze and added a cabinet to the counter. We are really proud of the results. Here are some before and after pictures.

These are before:

These are after:

More Hawaii pictures

2009-05-19T08:20:00.001-07:00

I realized that I posted about Hawaii and gave the travel log but didn't include some of the really pretty scenary so here a few more pictures to enjoy.

Oklahoma trip

2009-05-19T08:10:00.001-07:00

Okay so we went to Oklahoma almost a month ago and I am receiving flack for not updating my blog. I know I am terrible but I have been snowed under completely with planning a family reunion and trying to get the ward emergency plan ready to release by the end of the month. So here are some pictures of Broken Bow. We went with four other families and had a wonderful time.

We went on a train ride and it was unseasonably chilly. I ended up going to Walmart to buy more clothes because I was cold.

We let the kids swim in the hot tub and they loved it. We just turned the heat off in the mornings and it would cool down so they could play in it. We also had an easter egg hunt for the kids because it was easter weekend. They loved that.

We had a great time. Thanks for the invite.

Kauai, Hawaii

2009-05-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

So Scott and I went to Kauai. Thank you to our sister Kristine who kept the kids for 6 days. What a trooper!!! We had a wonderful time and it was beautiful. We did a helicopter tour the first day. It was a small helicopter, it only held four people plus the pilot and the doors were off. It was really fun. I thought I was going to be scared but I had no problems once we were in the helicopter.

Scott got to play some golf and he loved that.

We went on a dinner cruise with everyone and that was fun also. We saw dolphins and whales (which is unseasonably late but it is because the mommy whales had calves and they are too small to make the trip all the way to Alaska. So they have to wait for their babies to get strong enough.)

We also saw the rainbow trees. Those were pretty too.

We had a wonderful time. The trip back and returning to three little ones was rough. It took me longer than I thought to recover. Thank you to my sweet husband for taking me.

You need to pray!

2009-04-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

So after we felt we had been the recepients of a miracle, I took the opportunity to use it as a teaching example for my children. I explained to them that because we say our prayers at night Heavenly Father hears them and kept us safe. Tyler must have thought long and hard about this. We headed off to school and discussed what had happened the night before and that we should be thankful Heavenly Father protected us. Tyler came home from school. He marched over to the next door neighbors house with his hands on his hips. He knocked on their door. When they answered the door, he proceeded to explain to them that Heavenly Father kept our home safe because we pray every night. He then tells them that they need to pray too. He said if they had prayed their mailbox would not have been hurt. So he concluded that they need to pray more! Kids and the things they say! HILARIOUS!!!

Miracle? You be the judge!

2009-04-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

So I believe we were part of a miracle but I'll let you be the judge for yourself. About two weeks ago (that is about my turn around time for blogging), Sunday evening we were laying in bed watching T.V. and listening to Keira cry herself to sleep (due to Sunday exhaustion). I hear this loud reving and then it sounded like thunder. I asked Scott if a storm was suppose to be coming through. We muted the T.V. and listened and heard a really loud reving sound again. Scott passed it off as a motorcycle on the street behind us. About ten minutes or so later, our phone rings and it is our neighbors who can't believe we are home. He said everyone is out here but ya'll and a car almost came through the front of your home. We went running outside and the car had already left. Fortunately, our neighbor was out there and got all of their information. But the story is, that an old Chevy truck was parked about three homes away from ours. According to the driver and passenger, they left the truck running and got out to run into the house. When the truck suddenly threw itself into reverse and took off. It took off so fast and hit our neighbors huge, all brick mailbox and completely obliterated it (not a brick left standing). Then proceeded across our side yard and went directly for our front rooms. (how the truck didn't go airborne or alter it's course after hitting the mailbox is beyond me). The men said they were able to catch the truck, jump in and put it into park, making it come to a stop in our flower beds with its tailgate up against the pillars of our porch. Had this truck's course been altered by inches it would have hit our garage and both of our cars and potentially pushed them into the girl's room where Mikayla's bed is against. We had put the kids down about an hour earlier and said our family prayers in the which we asked Heavenly Father to keep us safe and protect our home. Sometimes you don't know how much of this pleading becomes necessary. We truly feel that it is only through the hand of God that we suffered not even a scratch or dent to our home. We feel truly blessed.

Where's the problem?

2009-03-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

Which one of these doesn't look like the others?

Attention to Detail

2009-03-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Tyler has amazing attention to details. Something I am not sure is typical of all 4 year old boys. Two examples that crack me up. The first, we were leaving the neighborhood and he asked what the men where doing. I told him they were trimming the bushes to make the neighborhood look nice. Several days later, he commented wow those bushes sure look nice mom. Then a few days later he commented that our bushes need to be trimmed because they didn't look so nice.
Second example, Tyler and Mikayla were having a sick day so they were watching movies. We had borrowed Tinkerbell from the neighbors next door. After they had watched it several times I overhear this conversation between Tyler and Mikayla. Tyler says, "That fairy is really pretty." Mikayla responds, "Which one?" Tyler replies, "That one, she has a nice mouth." I stop to listen from the other room wondering if this is going to get weird or what he is thinking. Tyler proceeds to attempt to point out which one he thinks is pretty. Once they sort out which fairy, Tyler tells Mikayla, "She is really pretty. She has really nice teeth."
I couldn't believe that is what is picked out but I thought it was hilariuos. Tyler has such amazing attention to details, but sometimes it just cracks me up.

Beautiful Babies

2009-02-13T13:12:00.001-08:00

So I just entered my kids in the beautiful baby contest for those of you I didn't e-mail. If you would like to vote for them you can go to www.liveregisandkelly.com and vote for them. Here are the pictures

I have to admit though that I am sad because I don't think the picture of Mikayla does her justice. The picture has to be only a month old or less. But, my favorite picture of Mikayla is the one below. I really wish I could have used it because I think it really shows her beauty.

I also love Keira's eyes in this picture but she isn't as happy in it.

Keira's Looks (tongue wagger)

2009-01-06T14:47:00.001-08:00

She is such a sweet baby. Any time her eyes make contact with anyone's eyes she lights up, smiles, and curls up her body just like in the picture. Keira is such a joy and we love having her in our family.

Just Chillin'

2008-12-31T09:02:00.000-08:00

I decided to put this picture on because my mom and my sister-in-law loved it, so I thought I would share it. The three kids just chillin' out on the couch.

Christmas at Mimi's and Papa's

2008-12-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

These are pictures of all of the grandbabies with Mimi and Papa Harrington for Christmas. We are missing RyLee, Austin and Preston.

Cheap Labor

2008-12-31T08:57:00.001-08:00

Our Nativity with Family

2008-12-31T08:52:00.000-08:00

This is the nativity scene we did with all of the babies. It was at Grandma and Grandpa McMurdie's home. It was so funny and cute to watch these kids. Enjoy!

No Good

2008-12-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

So we are driving home from Grandma and Grandpa McMurdie's home on Christmas Eve and I overhear Tyler and Mikayla discussing Santa and his ever antcipated arrival. Tyler tells Mikayla that they have to go to bed and stay in bed because if they get out of bed and see Santa that would be NO GOOD. I thought that was hilarious. Mikayla repeats, "yeah, no good!" Kids, kids, kids and the things they say.

My Tender Tyler

2008-12-10T17:21:00.001-08:00

I know that I always brag about my son BUT I have never known such a tender child. He is son in tune to emotions, feelings and compassion. I wanted to write down a few examples so I wouldn't forget. Tyler came home from preschool on Monday. He said, "Mom, can I please have some water?" I immediately ran to go get him some water (whenever my children are polite, which they usually are, I try to respond immediately to reinforce the good behavior). After he drank his water, he wrapped around my leg in a tight grasp. I told him and Mikayla it was nap time. Mikayla went to bed. He came out of his room with his blanket and asked if he could lay with me. I told him sure. He went over to the love sac and patiently waited for me to curl up and get comfortable. Then he crawled up and molded his little body to mine and went to sleep.
Antoher instance was just a few minutes ago. He came out of the bathroom and said his bottom hurt. I told him I would put some diaper cream on it (I can't figure out why every once in a while he gets really red like a burn in between his cheeks). I sat down in the floor. I put diaper cream on him. He stood up, pulled up his pants and wrapped around my neck, then kissed me and said, "You are the best mommy." I melted. I know they say there is a daddy-daughter bond and a mommy-son bond and I would say, "Most definitely!!!!"

Oldest Son/Best Big Brother

2008-11-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love the tenderness of my first born, Tyler. He is so tender, loving, and compassionate. This was just a few instances of what he did today. First thing this morning I was very angry with Mikayla and we were trying to get out the door to take him to school. I was consoling Keira (who Mikayla had just injured) and Tyler came in and took her by the hand, hugged her, and then went to her room to get socks and shoes on her. He explained to her that she needed to be obedient and needed to get her shoes on and they would wait by the car so we could leave.

Next instance, Tyler and Mikayla are in the bath and I told them if they didn't stop making a mess there was no popsicle after bath. Tyler told Mikayla they better get out of the tub because they couldn't not make a mess and he promptly got out of the tub.

They wanted their popsicles but I told Mikayla that I had to brush her hair first. I was feeding Keira at the time though. Tyler took Mikayla by the hand, got a comb, and pulled her into his lap. He promised her I will be soft and he proceeded to comb her hair. It was so adorable.

I overhear Tyler and Mikalya talking and eating their popsicle when Tyler told her she could have a taste of his. He said, "that'll be fine. I'll share with you."

After that, we are off to bed. I asked them to put away their bouncy balls. Tyler tells Mikayla to come on they better put things away. He proceeded to lead her to the playroom where they put them away and waited for me to say prayer.

I accidentally threw away a note from his school telling me how compassionate and caring he is. They tell me they would take a class of thirty of him and they would be in heaven. He is such a good example for my other children and strives to do what is right (the majority of the time). He is such a sweet and compassionate boy, always concerned for everyone's feelings, including mine. I love my little boy.

Halloween

2008-11-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

We had a few more events this year then the typical only Halloween night thing. I guess as your kids get older there are always more events. So it was a little busier than usual. Tyler and Mikayla kicked it off the Friday before Halloween at a party at their uncle Randy's office. It was quite the party. It sounds like they went all out there. The next night we went to a ward activity. Tyler then had a Halloween parade and party at his school the following Wendesday. Then we went to another ward's trunk or treat the next night. Then we went trick or treating on Friday around the neighborhood. Mikayla was a Dallas Cowboy's cheerleader, which is a dress up because I refuse to raise a cheerleader in my home. Tyler was Zorro on all of the nights except Halloween night, then he was Superman. I think the Zorro thing got old after wearing it for three other parties. Thanks to our friends the Evans, Tyler had several options. So here are some pictures. We also had our little pumpkin, Keira. She was so cute.

Flashers

2008-10-23T17:32:00.001-07:00

So tonight we put on our winter pajamas for the first time. My kids have always loved their fleece pajamas. I was interested to see how they would like them this year now that they are older. Well they love them.

Only one problem. They are flashers. They run around and everytime they see each other or me they unzip, flash, yell and then run away. Where in the world did they pick up this skill?

Keira is not amused and she even appears a little befuddled.

Peyton and Keira

2008-10-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Keira and I have a new friend. Sarah Evans just moved here we have loved every bit of it. We have been showing her all the hot spots and we love running around with her. Her little girl is Peyton, who is only a day younger than Keira but way more petite. Keira has a few pounds on her. They are really cute.

Laundry

2008-10-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Laundry, laundry, laundry!!! I have to admit I don't mind house work but I despise and absolutely loathe laundry. Well I might be in luck. Tyler seems to enjoy laundry. Everytime I go to do laundry he is there loading, unloading, and even folding. I was hesitant to let him help and of course wanted to jump in and say no. But, I fought the urge and let him go for it because I saw that there could be benefits and besides what does it hurt if they aren't folded perfectly. Well apparently he has been watching closely when I fold laundry. As most of you know, he loves to clean, for the most part, so this isn't too far off base for him. Here were the results.
What is even more funny is he even seperated them like I do. Shirts, shorts, pants, ect. all in their prospective piles. I was shocked and really impressed. He then put them all away after I got the picture while I was sitting here posting on the blog. What a kid!!!

Tyler's birthday

2008-10-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

I guess I forgot to update how the whole birthday went down. He still insisted on steak. However, I didn't have any steaks in the freezer. Scott said, "Oh we will be able to talk him out of it." So I went to pick Tyler up at school and asked what he wanted for his birthday. He said, "I already told you, I want steak." Oh good luck daddy on talking him out of this one. I proceeded to explain to Tyler I was out of steaks and he explains that we can go to a restaraunt and get one. Now dad is really in trouble. We ended up taking him to Chili's and then came home and had cake and ice cream.

Tyler should try taking the bike helmet out of the package before wearing.

State Fair

2008-10-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

We have become avid state fair goers. If we don't make to the fair a major tragedy has occurred. We love the food. This year, as last year, we took the kids. They love it. I was really surprised at how much they loved the food. Everything we put in their mouth they gobbled up. We had fajita nachoes, funnel cake, ice cream cones, and of course Fletcher's corny dogs. We somehow missed/couldn't find the fried snickers, which is another favorite but it was really busy.

Kid's Fishin'

2008-10-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

I was so proud of Scott. I went to Canton with a friend and my husband camped out with the kids the night before with his family. Then came home and took the kids fishing at a pond. They had a blast from what it sounds like. Here are some pictures of the kids fishing.

Tyler's Birthday Dinner

2008-10-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

We decided to ask Tyler what he would like for his special birthday dinner. We expected the normal 4 year old answers like pizza, mcdonalds, chuck e. cheese, corn dog, ect. We were quite surprised with his response. As quickly as I asked the question, he responded immediately and proudly steak with zucchini, apples and some orange chips. I immediately turned to see Scott's response and he was breath taken. We both laughed most of the evening about it. Bad news is we are fresh out of steak. The way I see the whole instance is there are a few bad things about this and a few good things.

The good

1) He has really good taste
2) He knew what he wanted and used it for an appropriate occasion.
3) I might (just might) get a good steak dinner out of all of this.

The bad

1) He has really expensive taste
2) He has figured this all out WAY TOO young.

Pretty sunset

2008-10-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

This was our pretty view the night we went camping.

McMurdie FHE-Camping

2008-10-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

So we had our monthly FHE with the entire McMurdie family, which was a campout. It was a lot of fun. I came home to sleep with Keira and besides Scott said our tent wasn't big enough. But, Scott ended up coming home at about 2:30 am in the morning because Mikayla was coughing so much and it was preventing her from sleeping. He came home and gave her medicine and then they went back in the morning to eat breakfast with everyone. We had a really good time. So here are some of the things that I caught pictures of. . . setting up the tent,

playing baseball,

Mark and Brain played frisbee. Nice catch Brian.

ate around a camp fire. The kids had hot dogs and Scott and I had a foil dinner that had stew beef, potatoes and carrots. We put some marinade in it and it turned out really good. We also had smores after dinner. YUM!!

It was fun. Here are a few more pictures.

How do they love Keira

2008-09-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know how any child after the first survives the "love" (or should we call them smotherings/suffocations) of the other children. They do love her and Tyler wants so badly to play with her and make her laugh and smile. It is really cute.

My kid's obsession

2008-09-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

So many of you know that Tyler's (especially Tyler) obsession is mowing the lawn. The lawn has to be mowed everyday, according to him. He will come home from school, take a nap and then wake-up and tell me he needs to get the lawn done (is he his father's child or what?). Mikayla has followed suit and also mows the lawn fairly often but they especially like when they can use the BIG BOY toys. So weird!

My cutie

2008-09-28T19:27:00.001-07:00

I just love this dress that Keira's aunt bought her. I also love the headband a friend bought her and I added a bow to it. I think she looks so adorable.

Our little princess or diva

2008-09-26T15:12:00.001-07:00

Best Buds

2008-09-26T15:08:00.004-07:00

They love to play together.

Updating

2008-09-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

So I figure since I haven't been doing anything with the few pictures I have taken this is the right time to use them to catch people up or just put them for others to see, so forgive me.

Our newest edition

2008-09-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

First order of business would be to introduce our newest little edition. Kiera Lynn. These are some pictures of her and some with the kids.

I Give In!!!

2008-09-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay already!!! I give in! I have been asked repeatedly for quite sometime now to start a blog. I have resisted and resisted but now I give in, partially due to family moving away. I want my kids cousins to be able to see and keep up with my children and we are THE LAST to get on board!! So here it goes. I would like to post a disclaimer that I do not promise to be good at this or even update often but I am going to try my best.