Kiddo's Well two of mine..... anyway!

My sweet Ellie is always into everything!

She found some Cream Cheese Poppers & decided that they would be great to eat! LOL Who would have thought that she would actually like them! She ate the entire thing!

Ellie & Carter are such sweet babies! I hope that the like each other this much when they are teenagers! Hee hee! The first two are from Friday of last week.

Ellie was getting a diaper change and Carter just walked up and kissed her! It was so cute! We tried to get him to do it again but all we got was this cute hug!

Then he laid down by Ellie and she kissed his head. They are so sweet to each other! Only time will tell how long it will last! Now I am not saying that they are always this sweet! LOL Now and then Ellie will steal Carters Binky, she doesn't even like them, and they are always taking each others cups! They are so funny to watch!

This was this morning at Wal-Mart. Every Christmas ornament Carter saw it was a "BALL". I told Rich this is why the tree will be small and up high this year! Hopefully to avoid any major run ins with the babies!

This afternoon Topher and I took "Pepper" the pig out in the front yard while everyone else was napping and let her eat some grass. Topher was having a great time so I thought I would get some pictures. I haven't posted any of Pepper before so here she is! She kept hiding under his arm when ever she got startled.

Such a sad little face!

This was my Favorite shot! He wanted to take some with her on his tummy, and it came out great!

He picked his clothes out this morning and told his daddy "My girlfriend is going to like these cloths!" According to Topher he has a girlfriend at preschool! LOL It was so cute listening to him tell Rich all about it. Then on the way to preschool Rich and Topher had this conversation.

"Do you have a girlfriend Dad?"

"Yes."

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Mom!"

At which Topher laughed and said

"Nooooooo I mean at work!"

We had a good laugh at the child like innocence with which he asked the question.

Well I guess to be fair I am going to have to post some pictures of the dogs sometime soon! LOL The "puppies" Jersey & Dolly are huge these days and so much fun for the kids. Lady tolerates them, but she has to considering that they are easily 5+ times her size! So much for Lady ruling the roost!

Kids on the Farm!

Today the kids had a field trip to the Dewitt Farm and they had a ton of fun! They got to pet rabbits, chickens, goats, and a turkey! They also went on a hay ride, got to milk a goat and ride a pony! For my 4 & 3 year old this was high end stuff! Dani's favorite part was everything involving the horses, and I do mean everything! She went on and on about the horses. Chris really liked gobbling at the Turkey so he would gobble back. But they both really liked the goat milk they got to taste when it was over! Here are a few pictures from our big adventure!

Dani got to hold the bunny!

Chris holding a Chicken!

They babies weren't sure what to think about the fuzzy thing the lady kept telling them was a bunny! I am not sure they believed her! LOL
All of the horses were very friendly and walked right up to the gate so the kids could touch them.
Riding Elvis was a highlight!

Milking the goat!
The babies touching the horses! Carter.
Ellie's turn!
I'm not sure who was more interested the horses or the babies!
Goats milk Yum! The teacher said so!

I want to be.....

Rich & I in Virginia, D.C. & Maryland this summer! First is D.C. we walked around all or the monuments and took lots of pictures just like good tourists should! LOL









The falls that border VA & Maryland. They aren't exactly what we expected but they were pretty.

Cape Henry is just outside of Virginia Beach and they have two light houses. It was beautiful!



I want one of these signs for my house! They were everywhere along the board walk, at the mall etc... It was great!


You would have thought that he was 5 years old again! LOL He had so much fun catching the little sand crabs!




On another note!

Today I have had part of last months Visiting teaching message going around and around in my head. It says..........

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. … We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith”
(“The Joy of Womanhood,” Liahona, Jan. 2001, 18; Ensign, Nov. 2000, 15)



I want to be one of those women! I want to be tender, kind, I want to be a women of faith! It is my goal to be better! To do better and serve more. There are so many things that I want for my family and faith is such a big part of it all.

Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks
The time of year for giving thanks is here once again.
Thanks for all the little things that we all hold so dear.
The smile from a child, a simple kiss good night,
“I love you mom” as they leave for school and quickly run out of sight.
A goodbye kiss, from the one that we hold most dear.
The phone call from them later to see how our day has been
and if we are all right.
Or their warm embracing hug when they return home to us at night.
A quick note from a friend or mother can change an entire day.
Or better still the hour chat that could go on for another hour or two still.
When asked “What did you talk about?” That is the easiest of replies.
We talked about the little things that we love about our lives!
The things that drive us crazy!
The things that make us cry!
The things that we worry about!
All the little things that add up in our lives!
And what would our day truly be without those simple things.
The phone calls, kisses, hugs, and such that we all hold so dear.
The things that keep us sane!
So even on the days when you think “I’m going to lose your mind!”
Just remember all the little things that make it all worth your time.

We don’t remember our blessings as often as we should
and in the time of year when we are reminded to
give thanks for all the things we have
These should be the first and not the last
we thank the Lord for in our prayers.
One more thought before I go………. shouldn’t we give thanks
all year for these “little” things and life that we have?
The things and the life we are so blessed to have?
Why do we wait till we are reminded to “Give Thanks”
We should remember them all year, every day, every hour!

Truth be told!

So if the truth is to be told, it is this! I realized today that the reason I don't blog very often is because I value my "nap" time to much! LOL When I have the extra 5 -20 minutes it is usually spent napping! I wish this happened more often but it only happens about 2-3 times a week. So when the dishes are all done, laundry is running, and not needing to be folded, the little ones are all sleeping and I have the quite moments to blog.................... truth be told I would rather take a cat nap! But as I promised I am trying to post more often and keep everyone up to date so here is the latest in our lives!

Thursday ~ The little kids Dani & Chris had a Halloween party at the park for Preschool. They had a blast! Chris made a cookie that was so covered in candy you never would have guessed it was in the shape of a pumpkin! Ellie & Carter (my nephew) had a great time chasing each other around and making me chase them! Chris & Dani insisted that I have a costume so I wore one of Dani's dress up things in my hair and went as a Hippie Mom. Chris told me I looked like Jesus! LOL

Friday ~ Mom & Dad came down and we all went to Trunk or Treat at the church. The kids had a great time. There was a jumper, popcorn, and cotton candy. And of course TONS of Candy! It was from 6:30 to 8:30. Ty came and so did David (Jessica's Husband) with their kids. When we got home at 8:45 we were all tired and ready for bed! But it was fun!

Family Picture!

Alex and a friend from school.

David and the Kids.



Our two Dragons! Chris and Xander. Xander is Jessica's Son who is the same age as Dani.


Our happy but tired Unicorn Ellie!



Enjoying the candy Uncle Ty gave them for Halloween on Saturday morning! They are suckers! LOL





Saturday~ Mom & I did some early morning shopping, it was half price day at goodwill. Then Rich & I took the kids to have family pictures taken in a grove of pecan trees with the rest of the Mortensen crew. It was a beautiful spot and I can't wait to see all of the pictures! We had the photographer take some of Carter & Ellie together, and some of Lindsey, Dani , & Bridget. Since they were all born with in a few months of each other. I think the one of the three girls will be adorable! They were all born in a three month span and Dani and Bridget are only 3 weeks apart, they were due 3 days apart. But Dani was 2 weeks early via C-section and Bridget was a week over due.

Carter and Ellie going for a walk after the pictures were done!



Sunday ~ We had a huge family breakfast at my house, which meant that my house got clean! LOL everything but the mopping anyway! We were having pancakes and why mop! You know that one or more of the little kids were going to spill syrup or milk on the floor if I mopped it! In the afternoon I made a cake for my sister in law, it was her birthday and we were having her birthday dinner. I also had a WONDERFUL hour and a half nap! Hee hee!

Here is the cake when it was all finished.

One, two, three BLOW!


This morning I found out that Alex is getting yet another teacher! This is the third one this year! But the school assures me that she will be the teacher for the remainder of the year! His first teacher didn't have any experience and couldn't handle the class, the next one they moved from kindergarten and she has gone back to kindergarten. I am hopeful that this one will be the right one! Otherwise I will be ready to hit the roof!

I am ready to get all of my Christmas Decorations out! It seems like the Christmas season comes and goes so quickly that I don't get to fully enjoy it! My Christmas shopping is almost done! Is it to early to decorate?????

I have failed at BLOGGING!!! But I will do better!

We have had a crazy few months! Including 6 MRSA infections and two ER visits! Also a trip to the Urgent care for stitches on Tophers toes! But now that the summer is over and the kids are back in school, Alex is in the first grade, Topher & Dani are both in Pre-School, and we all seem to be on the mend, maybe I will be online a little more often.

The kids can't wait for Halloween and I can't wait either! LOL It means that all the costumes will go back in the box and back in the shed! Instead of being strewn all over the house! This year the three little ones are all fairy tale creatures, Dani is a Fairy Princess, Ellie is a Unicorn, and Topher is a Dragon. Alex is going to be Darth Vader! SO SCARY! Ha Ha Ha! Rich and I aren't dressing up.

I have a few new "projects" that I have been working on. I will try and get some pictures up soon. I have been making tote bags out of placemats and I made aprons for my nieces for Christmas this week. I love them! I think that they all came out so CUTE!

Topher & Dani have been on a stealing the peanut butter kick and they are driving me "batty". Not to mention the three cups of pancake syrup that they shared with the bedroom floor, bed, hall, rug, and Dani's hair on Monday! It was an unbelievable mess! Three cups of syrup goes a long way! We are trying to put a stop to this "phase" quick!

Ellie has started expressing herself a lot more lately. She has started bringing me hats and such and having me help her put them on. It is the cutest squeal ever! She wants to be everywhere the "big" kids are.

We are having family pictures taken on Sat. so I will post them when I get a chance.
I promise to post Halloween pictures soon too! I took some cute ones today at the preschool Halloween party! The kids had so much fun! Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!

My Crazy Life!

Well since I last posted a lot has happened! Alex turned 6! I can’t believe it! He had a great birthday! With cake and milk for breakfast as requested! We took him, and Chris to the Arizona Science Center and they loved it! Alex’s favorite part was the Forces of Nature exhibit! Which was really cool, hot, wet, and bumpy! LOL On Sunday which was also Fathers Day we had dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Mortensen’s house with all of the cousins and Aunt’s and Uncle’s. He got presents and of course more cake! You can never have too much cake!

The following Thursday, the 19th, Rich and I set out on our adventure! We went to Disneyland for 4 day and 3 nights without the kids! They stayed here at home with Grandma Hatch. We had a great time and rode so many rides that I am surprised we didn’t lose our lunch at some point! The top rides for us were California Screamin three times, Tower of Terror twice, Space Mountain twice, Splash Mountain twice, Rocky Mountain Railroad five times, and Grizzly rapids three times! We had so much fun and were so tired by the third day that on day four all we did was shop for souvenirs and go to a movie! We did watch a movie on Saturday too because it was so dang hot! California was breaking all kinds of heat records while we were there! It was unbelievable HOT!!!!! So much for getting away from the heat for a few days! The kids were glad to see us when we got home but after all the hugs and kisses were over the first thing out of their sweet little lips was “Where are our prizes!” LOL

Monday was our 7th wedding anniversary and the day came and went to fast there wasn’t much time to take it all in! Rich was busy at work and I was busy trying to catch up on Laundry and such.

Tuesday, the 24th, is our Movie day and this Tuesday was “The Bee Movie” which the kids had all ready seen a few dozen times but they love it so off we went. Grandma went with us and so did Carter and Aimee and her kids and niece meet us there. The kids had a ball! After the movie was over we came back to the house for some lunch and let all the kids play. About 2:30 Alex thought it was a good idea to play with a lighter and could have burnt down the house is one of the other kids hadn’t decided to come and tell us! Needless to say he was in BIG trouble and got his room striped! The only thing left in there as of this morning is his bed with a sheet, a pillow, and a blanket. And he had to earn the pillow and blanket back!

He doesn’t seem to understand how dangerous it was to play with the lighter! He was lighting a piece of paper on fire. He just keeps telling me. “It was just a piece of paper mom!” Like it is not a big deal! We are trying to decide what to do next. So that he understands how serious it is! We could have lost everything if he had accidently started the house on fire. Rich says that he was the same way when he was a kid and that his dad gave him a good whipping when he did that, but that isn’t something you do now days. *SIGH* I just hope he understands how bad it could have been and still could be if he tries something like that again!

I was so flustered that I was shaking and need a Cherry Pepsi!!!! LOL Bust since I haven't had one in almost three months I settled on cake instead. LOL So I made a Wacky cake but forgot the baking soda, and it was so FLAT! So I started over and it came out perfect, that is until the two middle munchkins decided that it would be fun to eat one of the pans with their fingers and destroyed it! There was cake all over the kitchen, down the hall, in the living room, and the family room! What a mess! So Tuesday was NOT my day!

Yesterday was better I had lunch with my Sister in law and we got to visit for a few minutes which was nice. Ellie had a Temp when she woke up from her nap yesterday of 103.9. But I got it down to 98.5, with Tylenol and Motrin and a 20 minute cool shower. This morning she woke up with a temp of 104.4! And scared the daylights out of me! It took about two hours, Tylenol, Motrin, and a 30 minute cool shower to get it down this time but she seems to be doing better now and is acting more like herself. I called the Dr. Office this morning and they said that it can be caused by teething which is the only thing I can think that it might be. She has a runny nose but it clear and no cough, and no other symptoms. So for now I will just keep a close eye on her! Poor baby I hate it for her! She will be One year old next week! I can’t believe it! I know I say that a lot! LOL