Some randoms

Today in our new ward, the bishop read all our names to welcome us. He read each of our full names- first, middle, and last. Mike and I both felt like we were standing forever and it was one of those moments when it hits us--wow, we have four children! I'll take the four kiddos, especially today. I thought they did very well during sacrament meeting.

On the way home from church Tanner was getting antsy and wanted out "right right now!" That's his phrase he uses when getting impatient. Mike jokingly said, "How 'bout loosing the attitude, Tanner." Then Andrew said, "Tanner, lose the appetite and go eat a poisoned leaf." We all started laughing. Where does he get these things?

Lastly, since moving here I've been stocking a totally empty kitchen. Well, not completely stocking since we're here just for the summer, mainly just necessary foods for three months. Starting from scratch on a kitchen makes me realize what we really eat. So, is it any surprise that we've gone through butter, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate chips? I realize we've been here not quite three weeks and I've made:

chocolate chip cookies

frosted double chocolate cookies

magnificent mint brownies

banana bread

oatmeal raisin cookies

At least I can honestly say that we've also gone through just as much spinach, romaine, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, etc. Happy summer eating!

We're going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

This last week we ventured out to the beautiful Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens with our fellow BYU P&G interns, the Cores. Despite threatening clouds, we were only slightly sprinkled on and we enjoyed a great day at the zoo!I was amazed at how beautiful the zoo and botanical gardens are. The animals actually have a habitat that's more than just a cement cage.
Don't my boys look big! This was a monumental zoo trip, as Tanner and Reid were on foot for the first time, rather than in a stroller! They did great hiking around the zoo, but we probably stayed 20 minutes too long. Reid was telling me he was tired, and I should have headed for the exit as soon as I heard those words. I guess we live and learn.

On this specific trip, Andrew really wanted to see a rhino, Tanner wanted to see the giraffes and Reid wanted to see gorillas. Reid's been toting around a baby gorilla for almost a month now, but we didn't get to see the gorillas because Reid was done before we could make it over there. Luckily, we bought a pass, so we'll be back!!

Catching Worms

Last Saturday afternoon, I kept seeing Andrew taking small bowls of water to the patio. I finally stopped him to ask him what he was doing. He explained that he was making mud in a box, because worms like mud and he wanted to catch a worm. Mike told him he doesn't quite work like that, but Andrew was determined.

Shortly after returning from church the next day, Andrew came running inside and with as much little boy enthusiasm possible said, "Mom, I caught my very first worm! I caught a worm!" We all came running and sure enough, there was Andrew's worm! Fred the worm stuck around for a couple of days and then it seems some bird must have had him for lunch. This box of mud has provided so much entertainment and excitement for our boys!

I'm going bald!

Seriously, I've lost so much hair after having Amelia, I'm worried I won't have any left. After doing my hair, my bathroom floor is like shag carpet! It's everywhere and on everything and there's nothing worse than getting in public and realizing I have a hair down my shirt that tickles. I hope the hair loss stops soon, maybe this is why my grammy Hasler wore wigs.

Reds Game

Matt is here for the month of May on assignment for work. It's been fun to have some twin time and we're really looking forward to twin family time when Camie and kids come to town next week!

Camie's dad generously gave us great tickets to the Reds game last night. We left the boys and went downtown for a great evening! Matt and Mike indulged on dinner provided by Matt's travel per diem. I think they both left feeling a little over stuffed, look at all that food! Amelia actually had a much better time than this picture portrays. This was at the end of the night when she was awakened by the crowd cheering, but we needed a picture of her first baseball game, right?!

When we came into the stadium, the lady checking our tickets said to Mike, "First Reds game?" As she launched into how to get a memorabilia certificate for a first Red's game, Mike was confused as to how she knew it was his first game. Finally, I informed him she was talking about Amelia's first game! Funny! It was such a fun night, go Reds!

We're here!

After a week and a half on the road, we finally made it! We had a great road trip. We just had fun being together and taking our time getting out here. Our temporary housing is going to work out great and so far we're enjoying our time in Cincinnati. Here's some random pictures of the last couple of weeks.

Here's story time at our new house. We didn't bring any books, so the boys have loved having us tell them stories before bed. We've since been to the library, but we still get MANY requests for "Little People" stories. It's like I'm reliving my childhood!
This little girl is growing so fast and is as cute as ever! Check out this smile, she melts our hearts!
Eric (Mike's brother) and Katie stopped by after Eric ran his half marathon in Indianapolis and it was so great to get to see them. The kids loved a visit from their NY cousins!
Our boys ADORE Amelia! Seriously, they are so sweet with her and were so proud of her when she rolled over for the first time this week. They all got on the floor and rolled around with her. It's the cutest home video!
Mother's Day is classic at this stage. The boys ate my breakfast in bed and opened my present! They're just so excited to be part of the celebration!

Amelia is following her brother's footsteps and spits up just as much as Andrew did as a baby. She amazes us!
Reid is so adorable right now! He is talking so much and his words seem to have become so clear in the last couple of weeks. He's also hit a growth spurt and is constantly telling me he's "hungy". He'll have a peanut butter sandwich for a mid morning snack and then eat a full lunch!
This cracked me up! Mike was carrying Tanner and Reid to bed and Tanner couldn't figure out how to hold onto Mike while sitting behind Reid and holding their books. So, Reid wrapped his legs around him to keep him on. I thought it was so cute! Also, do you love Andrew's completely orange outfit? Yes, he wears that in public. He's taking "matching" to a whole new level!
Finally, our little Tanner looked so big in the middle of our bed while taking his nap. I like to capture moments when he looks big...

Last stop

The last stop we made on our trip was in Iowa to see my dear friend, Ann Marie, and her sweet family. We had a lovely evening chatting while the boys played in her backyard. I love this girl, it's always so good to see her, even if it's just for an evening! Sometimes it seems like just yesterday we were doing crazy high school stuff and now look at all these adorable kiddos we have!!

Visiting Home

It felt so good, so right, to pull into our old neighborhood. Our wonderful neighbors were waiting on Marcy's driveway and it made me so homesick for our neighborhood and these great people.

They welcomed us with the tradition of a chalked driveway and then we had a great BBQ in Julie's backyard. We played in the commons area and Jenny provided some sparklers for the kiddos. We ended the evening with S'mores in Marcy's chiminea. It was such a great evening visiting with food friends and watching the kids play. We left feeling very nostalgic for the good times we've had on S. 30th Street.

The next morning we came back for brunch before church. Marcy made a delicious breakfast pizza and Julie, knowing our obsession for Lamar's Donuts, ventured out for donuts on the morning of the Lincoln Marathon! It was so nice of her, but we felt bad she was stuck in marathon traffic for so long. After brunch, Marcy was cute and had a May Day egg hunt for the boys.

After one last visit to S. 30th street, we headed to church. It was great going to the Yankee Hill ward and seeing old friends. That evening we had dinner with some of our favorite friends, the Vances. I left my camera at our hotel, so no picture, but we had a great wonderful evening eating and visiting in their backyard while the boys jumped on their trampoline.

The boys loved staying in a hotel, but it took a little extra effort to get them settled down for bed. They were a little wired Sunday night and Tanner felt so cool coming out in his big kid towel and flexing his muscles. Funny kid!

The next morning we NEEDED more Lamar's Donuts! So, we picked up a dozen for the road. We then went to ExMark to visit Mike's coworkers and then to Pioneers Park for lunch. We saw the animals just like old times and then fed the ducks while we ate.

I love this picture! We started on a bench by the lake, but Amelia needed to eat, so I went to sit under the shade of this tree. After a few minutes of sitting there, Tanner carefully carried his little cracker sandwiches and juice up the hill and plopped down at my side. We really had such a great trip!

Family Vacation

We really wanted, and needed, a family vacation after a brutal first year of grad school . We needed to just hang out and play together. We were so grateful when our good friend said we could use his vacation home outside of Taos, NM for our getaway. We had the greatest time! These next few pictures tug at my heart strings because they remind me so much of my childhood vacations with my family. The boys enjoyed the fresh air, throwing rocks, finding sticks, climbing, walking in mud and hanging from trees.

Amelia wasn't kicking sticks, but she loved being outdoors with us.

The next few days were a little wet, so we stayed in and played Go Fish, Hide n' Seek, Operation, and other fun games. We also went into town and rented a movie, which the boys were super excited about. It was just fun to have no where to go, nothing we had to do, we just played.

This is Andrew picking up our movie. He was so excited that he found Madagascar 2! He was also excited because Papa let him take his hat with him on our trip.

It was great to see Mike let his hair down after his stressful year. I think we all felt a little giddy. One day we went into Taos and went to a toy store with a free kids' craft in the afternoon. The boys made these awesome masks that gave them x-ray vision and they could see all the bears in the forest behind the house. With their masks, capes, and flashlights, they ran through the house being super hero bear hunters!

Tanner is such a pal with Amelia. The first thing he does when he wakes up is find Amelia and see what she's doing. If she's awake, he always says, "hi baby sissy!" in the sweetest voice. He loves to hang out with her and play with her. I love it!

We did almost 30 hours of driving on this trip and the kids really did a great. One afternoon we had quiet time/nap time and gave each the boys a blanket and ten minutes later this is what our back seat looked like. Yes, Reid is asleep under his blanket!

Our sweet Amelia did great! She continues to be such an easy going and content baby. Right now she gives these big open mouthed smiles and she smiles with her whole body. She's adorable!