NORTH CAROLINA

My brother Curtis and his wife Chelsea have been living in Raleigh, NC for the past 5 years. He has been going to graduate school at NC State and is finishing up with his PhD this summer. He is pretty impressive to me. He's like my Dad, smart without trying. I'm pretty proud of him and excited for him to finish up and move on to life after school. 

I have wanted to go out to visit Raleigh while they are there. With his soon-to-be pending departure, it really was my last chance to check out the area they have grown to love and call home. My parents were flying out to visit mid-April, and they invited Kacey and I to tag along. Hooray! I made arrangements with Kyle's mom to come watch the older girls while I took off for a week. That was so nice of her to do that for me! 

We started our trip by touring around Raleigh. Curtis and Chelsea took us to the flea market they go to each Saturday. It was like a giant outdoor DI. Seriously. You could spend forever there sorting through the endless amounts of junk to find the one or two awesome things hiding, which they usually do find. 

Curtis then took me on a tour of his work area at the university. He is studying food science, with his research focusing on whey protein. Don't ask me anymore, I really don't know more. But I DO know that he knows how to make cheese. And knows plenty about other dairy products. His new upcoming job involves yogurts and sour creams and things... But I'm all about the cheese. I saw where the milk is pasteurized, the ice cream is churned, and where he makes his cheese. And I learned all sorts of things that I have probably already forgotten and couldn't repeat back to you. But it was all interesting, I promise. 

We checked out the azalea gardens that are found at the local TV station. Totally random. But they were beautiful. Apparently we were just a week late, they were in full bloom just the week before. But there were still enough in bloom to get a picture of what it had looked like.

Raleigh is beautiful. So many trees. It is SO different from Utah. Driving down the freeway, both sides of the road are lined with trees. There is shopping and houses behind it, but you have no idea it's actually there because the trees are so thick. It feels more like driving through a forest. Raleigh also has a number of lakes and parks. We visited Lake Johnson and walked the 3 mile loop around it. My dad was kind and waited in the car while Kacey napped. My mom, Curtis and I enjoyed the scenery and chatted while we walked. It would have been fun to rent a peddle boat or canoe to take around the lake, but rentals weren't open at the time. I don't remember why. 

After a couple of days in Raleigh we packed up the rental minivan and drove a few hours to the coast to visit the Outer Banks. This was a big highlight of the trip. It was all awesome, I loved Raleigh, but the Outer Banks was pretty cool. I loved learning the history of the first English settlers to the Americas, and learning a bit about the pirate history in the area. 

We visited the beach for a few minutes and Kacey dipped her toes in the water. In April the water was still cold. It took her breath away when it touched her feet. But at least she can say she's been in the Atlantic Ocean now. 

We visited the Bodie lighthouse, one of many lighthouses along that stretch of islands. It was neat to learn the history of it. It is one of the few remaining lighthouses with the original lens inside (from the 1800s).  

To preserve the lighthouse, they only let a certain number of people inside at one time. We had to make a reservation to go up inside it. The wait turned out to be worth it. It was so cool to be able to climb the stairs to the to top and take in the view. Those stairs are floating, each connected to the one before it. Just the thought of how it was constructed so long ago was fascinating to me.

After the lighthouse we visited the Wright Brothers Memorial. I had no idea Kitty Hawk was on an island so close to the ocean! The area where they tried out their airplanes was actually a large sand dune. It is now covered in grass to preserve the hill, but there are huge sand dunes still nearby. I didn't expect that. 

The next day on our way back to Raleigh we stopped at a nature preserve to try to spot some animals. We didn't end up seeing much, some turtles, a water snake... we heard some frogs clicking and talking to one another. The walk along the boardwalk was still fun though.

Back in Raleigh we relaxed, enjoyed good food and picnicked at Pullen Park. This park was awesome. All I could think of was how much fun Hailey and Keira would have had there. It had a train that went around it, a carousel, a huge playground with all sorts of things for kids to play on, a lake where you can rent peddle boats, and plenty of grassy area and trees (perfect for slack lining!). It was pretty fantastic.

I really had a blast in North Carolina. Thank you Curtis and Chelsea for being fun hosts and spending time with us! It was so fun to visit somewhere different, see new sights and experience new things. I had my first taste of hush puppies. They are so good! Before hand I didn't know what they are. They're basically deep fried cornmeal batter, like breading around a corn dog. Anyway... North Carolina is pretty cool. Curtis and Chelsea are soon moving on to their next adventure: Boston. Sounds like the makings for another great vacation!

HALLOWEEN 2015

Yes, Valentine's Day is just a week away. Let's talk Halloween anyway.

The girls LOVE the movie Big Hero 6. Love it. I don't know how many times they've watched it. We don't even own it. Yet. Just about every time they stay with my parents they watch it. I honestly haven't even seen it all the way from start to finish. 

Our girls talk about Halloween ALL.YEAR.LONG. They are always deciding and changing what they are going to dress up as for the next year. Hailey knew months and months in advance that she wanted to be Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6. Kyle and I were thrilled. It would be totally awesome, how many other Honey Lemons would be out there? Like zero. And it would be a fun costume to put together.

We had months and months to get the costume ready. And of course we waited until the last minute. There's nothing like a deadline to motivate. When I say WE, I more mean me. Kyle was a bit more on top of things and finished with a week or so to spare. Me? I was up sewing until 1 am the night before the Halloween party at school. I still had some details to finish up that morning too. But, like always, it got done!

I made the dress and leggings, which were altered from a pajama pattern. Kyle made the helmet from an old dress up race car driver helmet my parents had that my brother played with as a child. The side pieces are made from MDF and screwed into the plastic helmet. Kyle's coworker painted the helmet in their paint booth at work. The frame for the bag was made from plywood and covered in felt. We bought some ball pit balls and Kyle sewed them onto the purse strap. 

Too much work for a Halloween costume? Probably. Why do we do it? Because we are crazy and enjoy it. 

Hailey loved the costume. She was so funny. She was complaining about the attention she got from boys at school. I don't think the girls knew who she was. But the boys did. "She's from Big Hero 6!" "That's awesome!". Hailey just laughed and shook her head telling us about it. She said she just ignored them. I think she was a tiny bit embarrassed. :) 

Now, Keira wanted to be a princess. She told everyone she was going to be a princess. Kyle and I had planned on her wearing one of Hailey's old costumes. (Sorry Keira! Luck of the draw being the little sister.) I tried so hard to talk her into wearing Hailey's dragon costume that I put so much time into. Kyle and I even told her she could be a princess dragon, we'd put a crown on the dragon. I was really hoping she'd go for that, I thought it would be funny. No luck. Though once she spotted the witch costume with the dress she was sold. All she really wanted to do was wear a dress. So a witch it was. And she was happy.

Talking about last minute... Kacey's costume was completely last minute. Kyle had talked about making her an airplane he could wear with her in the baby carrier. It wasn't until the morning of Halloween that he decided to really tackle it. (I do think we had been busy with other things as well... so it really just ended up coming down to the day of.) While Kyle cut and taped and created, I ran to the craft store to find butcher paper and duct tape. I actually set out with the girls to start walking the neighborhood when we finished and met up with us. Too much work? Yes again. But the number of comments we got on it kind of made it worth it.

The name of this post really should be, THE WEEK OUR HOUSE BLEW UP. By blow up I don't mean a literal explosion. Rather an implosion of the biggest mess we had yet ever created. There was not a single room that had not spewed nearly its entire contents all over. Yes, I really mean that. We reached a new level of in-home disaster. That is what happens when you wait until the last minute and have a new baby. Things explode. :)

I also had every intention of taking all sorts of fun pictures of the girls all dressed up. These two pictures are all I have. It never happened. Again, don't procrastinate! Oh well. It was a crazy week, all for an hour or two of fun. I think Kyle and I would do it again anyway, because we are a little crazy and enjoy it. Next year, we're starting earlier! 

OUR FALL ROAD TRIP

Burger King in Mountain Home, ID
We usually make a pit stop in Mountain Home to fill up on gas and grab something to eat. Our usual place is Arby's, but we missed the exit and had to take the next instead.  Burger King it was then.

Mid-October Hailey had Fall Break. She got Thursday and Friday off that week. Kyle was in need of new glasses, I was in need of a getaway, so we made a last minute decision to take off and drive to Washington for the weekend. We let Hailey skip school on Wednesday and drove all day. I was nervous about how well Kacey would do. She was just 3 months old and going through an I-hate-my-car-seat phase. We were completely blessed, she did fantastic. She slept most of the way there and on the drive back home. The older girls were great, though we did melt their brains with the number of movies they watched. On the drive we'll do whatever will keep our sanity.

The weather was fantastic. It was still warm enough for shorts, but just cool enough to maybe want a jacket. We took plenty of advantage of the weather. 

To start it off, we spent sometime at the Country Mercantile in Pasco. We took a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch and picked pumpkins, which the girls later painted with Rara. Kyle and Hailey ran through the Hay Maze, and the girls ventured into the corn maze with Papa and Rara. To end it, we topped the trip off with some ice cream. 

Since Kyle was in need of new glasses and I was wanting an eye exam we went into Papa's office where all 4 of us ended up getting exams. Turns out Hailey is far-sighted and scored a new pair of glasses to help her overworked eyes relax. She picked out some bright pink frames that look super cute on her. She was so excited!

Papa and Rara picked up a remote controlled Star Wars X-Wing fighter. We took it out to the park and watched Kyle fly it around. After a while we moved on to the playground and let the girls run around. 

We also went swimming. In October? You bet! Papa and Rara cranked up the heat in the pool so the girls could enjoy some pool time. Kacey chilled poolside while the girls splashed and swam.

We also surprised the Hague's and Dickman's. Their reaction was pretty much worth the drive. We had too much fun letting the kids play while the adults chatted. We really didn't want to leave. It's so sad living far from such awesome friends!

The trip was much needed and much appreciated. It was fast, and not quite long enough. We had a blast! We can't wait until summer comes and we can do it again.

REALITY

The reality is everyday life with three kids is HARD. I admit it, most days I feel like I'm going crazy. The house is usually a disaster, we've eaten way too much pizza, cereal, and whatever-you-can-find for dinner; I can't seem to get anything accomplished (even just a simple trip to the UPS store to drop off a prepaid package takes me weeks to do), let's just forget about the library fines I've accumulated, and please excuse the ever constant brain fog and exhaustion.

I feel like I haven't sat down and played with Hailey and Keira in months. We've been able to sneak in some book reading here and there, but not nearly as much as we used to. We spend a lot of our time cooped up inside, the girls forced to play on their own. Thank goodness for Legos! Seriously. They have been a life saver. The girls play with them daily. Kyle will come home from work and play alongside them as well. I have come to realize how awesome Legos really are. The play is ever changing and endless. They never tire of Legos.

I do think we may be on the upswing. Kacey is starting to sleep more at night and becoming more consistent in her sleep patterns. The newborn days are so precious, yet so SO hard. How can one little person occupy so much of your time? It is amazing how quickly time flies by, before I know it, it has already been 1 1/2 - 2 hours since she last ate and time to eat again. I find myself thinking all too often, "Seriously... AGAIN?" 

Through it all I am so blessed to have an amazingly understanding husband who ushers me out the door for some ME time as often as he can. (Even though I do typically end up with Kacey tagging along, we're pretty inseperable right now. A baby has got to eat when a baby wants to eat...) He plays with the girls when he gets home and he'll take Kacey for a bit and work his magic to get her to smile and almost laugh. If I need help getting dinner going, he jumps right in and gets things started. The poor guy has been sleeping in the basement almost every night for the past 2 months. He is too light a sleeper, every little noise Kacey makes keeps him up, while I slumber on. He tells me it's OK to go to bed at 9:00 and doesn't complain about what a LAME-O-BORING-SAUCE I have become. I really don't consider myself lucky... I knew what I was getting when I married this man. Best choice ever.

Blessing number two has been having my parents living just 5 minutes away. In the past two months my mom has rescued me more times than I can count. When I couldn't keep my eyes open, she watched Kacey so I could sleep. When I felt bad for neglecting my older girls, she took each of them out separately for their own special Rara time. When we were attacked by a stomach bug she spent everyday that week with us helping me survive. When I need to go to the store she tags along because she remembers how crazy shopping with small children can be. She doesn't complain when I drag her all over town looking for ridiculous items I can't seem to find anywhere. Really, having her so close has been a lifesaver. 

This third child really has thrown me for a loop. We started out good, but then in the past month it has become hard. And I knew that would happen. I knew it would get hard. But this feels so much harder than the other two ever were. I know it'll get easier over time. For now I'm just trying to keep my head above water and figure out how to adjust to having three little ones. Of course there are no regrets. I just am ready to feel normal again. 

(More evidence of my inability to accomplish anything: these pictures were taken the end of July, almost 2 months ago. I am just now finally getting them to the blog. Too bad Kacey already doesn't settle down to sleep like that anymore... Boy has she grown!)

Fishing at Farmington Pond

This past weekend the weather was absolutely perfect. The sun was out, the sky was blue, but it was just cool enough that you didn't sweat. It was the best set up for some birthday fishing with Uncle Cody.

Cody chose to celebrate his birthday with some fishing, and invited the lot of us to tag along. I actually had no intention of going at first. Kyle was going to take Hailey and I was going to stay home with Keira. Keira really didn't want to be left behind and was begging to go fishing too. So, we took two cars, just in case. Turns out that girl had a blast. I'm so glad we went.

We stayed close to home and spent the afternoon at Farmington Pond, seriously a 5 minute drive from home. How awesome is that? 

Hailey was excited to get out for her second go at fishing. She said she was going to watch her bobber carefully this time. She may have done so at first, but I don't think it took too long until she was more interested in being sure to reload herself with another handful of goldfish crackers. I don't blame her, it isn't too exciting when there isn't much happening, especially when you are 5.

Since Keira and I arrived in a second car, a little later than everyone else, I was told that upon arrival Hailey informed everyone, "Hey guys, make sure you don't eat the worms. They aren't the candy ones." :)

My job was to follow this little lady all over the place. I trailed along while she explored the shore, said hi to the geese and ducks (while steering her away from attempting to pet them), and tramped through the brush.

On our walking Keira found herself a nice long stick which she turned into her own fishing pole. Clever girl. 

At first the fish were slow to bite, until we switched spots. Then it was a bit of a feast for the fishies. Cody caught the first fish and was gracious enough to let Hailey help reel it in. And then the fish kept coming. 

Keira helped Kyle reel in one of his 5 fish he caught (and released). Keira even touched the fish when they were pulled out of the water. She gave them a nice quick slap with her finger and then ran to me pointing her finger at me saying "yucky" and asking for a wipe to clean it off. 

Despite our hesitance at bringing Keira along, she ended up having a blast. Hailey too. All of us in fact. I think we need to do more of this fishing business. It was so fantastic to get outside and enjoy nature.

BTW, birthday boy Cody won the prize for the most caught fish at 6, with Kyle at 5, Brittany at 4, and Chelsie with 1 (who so kindly let Brittany use her pole, otherwise I'm sure she would have caught more.)