Friends and Fun

Watermelon fingernails!

Fun at the park before baby Claire arrived

Daddy Time

Daddy time is something everyone in this house fights over. The kids all want to spend alone time with Brad, I want to spend alone time with Brad, the dog wants alone time with Brad. Oh, and Brad would like personal time too! So here is a post for and about the most loved family member in our house.

Brad's favorite picture of Claire

My favorite picture off of Brad's phone

The man himself with the buddy

The airshow was this weekend so both of the kids got a turn going out by themselves with daddy. 

Will's turn:

Ruth's turn: sitting in a helicopter

Blessings

We are so blessed. I realized today that I spend way too much time stressing out about stuff and not focusing on how blessed we are. Especially since the stuff I stress out about always ends up being fine, and was totally not stress-worthy material. Brad has an amazing job that makes it so we can be SO comfortable/debt free/large savings. We are all HEALTHY! We have a comfortable, clean home that has tons of space to run around and play inside and out. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ to help us feel comfort now and peace later. Baby sleeps 7 hours nearly every night! My kids have at least1 hour of quiet time everyday, which means I do too! We have two vehicles so I can take the kids where I want when I want without having to plan ahead. We live 4 blocks from Smith's, so when I forget stuff for dinner I can quickly and easily get what I need. Our dog doesn't have accidents in the house any more. Claire hardly spits up anymore now that I don't eat dairy. We have ceiling fans AND air conditioning. We live 5 miles from an awesome lake that the kids love to visit. Netflix has workout videos on instant watch. I have a new laptop that's all my own. Ruth and Will play amazingly well together practically all day long. Ruth has become an AWESOME helper, especially when it comes to cleaning up toys/her room.

Stuff that has been bugging me that I'm trying to relax about:
Our grass in the front is dying and watering doesn't make it look better
I have to make 2 payments to the hospital for Claire instead of paying it all upfront
I don't weigh 160 pounds yet and I'm struggling to figure out when I can workout everyday since Claire doesn't have a set nap schedule during the day yet. I'd do it in the evenings, except she always gets super fussy until 10 or 11 when she finally falls asleep for the night.

Looking at these things, I kind of laugh about how not important they are, especially in comparison to all the amazing blessings in our lives. My life is easy and comfortable and I need to learn to relax and appreciate what I have.

Pioneer Day

The primary was in charge of a Pioneer Day Activity, luckily because I was pregnant and now have a newborn I did nearly zero planning and was only assigned to take pictures during the event! 

We found Ruth's dress at DI for $2! Thank you Meninite community for donating your old clothes to DI!

Looking into the creek. I considered washing them off in there after dinner, very pioneer of us.

Ruth and I had fun learning the primary pioneer songs and learning about Brigham Young and the pioneers during school this week. We are grateful for our ancestors who traveled west and made it possible to have the Gospel in our lives today. Thank you for all you sacrificed.

Homeschooling Has Begun!

We are going to homeschool our kids, at least through elementary school.The idea is to let our kids be kids and not have them sit around a classroom all day AND utilize my education from BYU, I'm confident I can do a good job. Ruth is learning to write all her letters and numbers at the moment. I'm really excited to teach our kids. Will has started to sit with us during school time which is good practice for when he can participate more fully.

 I have so many fun ideas and am so happy I get to use all the cool stuff I learned in college. 

Also, Will is FINALLY binky free. I got fed up with his binkies on Sunday and snipped all the rubber parts off. When he asked for his binky at bedtime I gave it to him and told him it was broken. It hasn't been very traumatic, but he seems a lot more clingy to his blue blankie now.

Playing

 Playing outside with trains, it was raining so it was extra fun

Getting buried by friends at the lake

 "Story time"

Glamour shot!

Playing in the rain and dirt!

Newest trick

4th of July

Our stake had a huge breakfast and games day at Harmon Park, so we went and had a blast. We had a bratwurst lunch under our umbrella on the patio and enjoyed a lazy day all together. Kids are very anxious to stay up late and watch the fireworks.

 Cutest 1 month old!

 Ruth said these snakes looked like poop growing out of the side walk

The rooster is from Applebees several weeks ago

What we've been doing

Claire has been sleeping a lot and growing a ton. She is in the 11 pound range. She also gets an upset tummy when I eat milk, ice cream and cheese cake...sad.

 Uncle Matt visited, didn't get a picture of him, but the kids loved wearing his glasses.

Naked bum!

What the "big" kids do while I am feeding Claire

Ruth and Will were hounding me to go somewhere after all our guests left. I wasn't feeling up to going out with all three kiddos by myself so we had friends over instead! Hooray for summertime and slip and slides!

We've been doing a lot of bike riding, and by "we" I mean Ruth and Will

 Speed bumps are a huge hit

For all you folks harassing me about an "eyes open" picture of Claire

This was Will's first craft-time, he didn't really participate (I did all the cutting, stapling, and coloring), but he was really glad to be included in the activity.

Last Week...Now Real Life Begins

Last week Paula and Asa were here to take care of us. It was also Brad's last week off of work. (He got a new job as the manager of the Red Lion in Twin. Huge promotion, no move required, enormous blessing. The best part of it all was the timing, God really knows what he's doing. His old job gave him his two weeks of paid vacation to quit, so he got two weeks off work right when Claire, my mom and his parents all came. It was bliss.) So today is Brad's first day at the Red Lion and my first day alone as a mom of 3. We were nervous. But today has been really fun for me and the kids. We've had all the normal squabbles, but some really pleasant time sitting on the porch under our umbrella picnic table (thanks Paula).

Here are some pics from last weeks adventures, we had a wonderful time with Paula and Asa.

 The boy and his dog. They had so much fun playing in the mud...not so much fun when they got hosed down!

 I'm down to pre-pregnancy weight and relying heavily on breast feeding to help me get down 20 or 30 more pounds to my desired weight.

 My wonderful kiddos, I love my little family!

 Cute in-laws

 We ate so much amazing food thanks to Brad, this was dinner one night

Sleeping champ. 11pm to 4am, big meal, back to sleep 4 to 8 

loving time with grandpa!

Playing in the fountain up in Sun Valley

After we watched a movie in the basement we came upstairs to find these critters in our bed!

We pulled out the waterslide, it was a huge hit

Grandma showing off Ruth's fashion sense

Baby Claire

 Claire Reinette Laws was born on June 1st at 9:38am. Labor started Thursday night (her due date) around 9 pm. I was scheduled to be induced on the first because I had really high amniotic fluid. Surprisingly, this time around the doctor had to break my water for me while at the hospital, but happily she decided to come without needing to be induced. Brad and I walked the halls of labor and delivery all night long until I got my epidural around 5am. Ruth and Will stayed at home with Grandma Lents. We came home Saturday evening and we've been loving our little addition. We've already fallen into a great eating and sleeping pattern and I've recovered very quickly thanks to the fact that Brad has been able to stay home and take care of the "big" kids.

My mom was able to be here several days before Claire's birth which was a huge help. I was getting so run down and exhausted that it was wonderful to have help with Ruth and Will. We got to get a pedicure, take the kids to get happy meals and do lots of crafts with Ruth.

Ruth and Will love to spend time with me while I'm taking care of our little squeaker. And below she's wearing an outfit picked out by Ruth.