The Stradling Family

Chicken Nugget

2012-01-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

We always call Alyssa random names and she usually says, "NO! Alyssa!" But, the other day, I said, "little girl, what is your name?" She looked at me without a hint of a smile and said, "chicken nugget." What a cutie.

Sisters

2012-01-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

Hailey and Alyssa have been baking together. Alyssa will ask to make something, and Hailey, being a wonderful big sister, will help her. I love that my girls are friends.

A few of my favorite Christmas pix

2011-12-26T09:15:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post a couple of my favorite pictures of Christmas day...

We finished a puzzle.

Hailey practicing on her sewing machine from Santa. She's already made a couple of projects and is ready to make a quilt (her mother isn't quite ready to embark on that project).

Favorite toy EVER. Santa brought Alyssa an Elmo and she is in love. She dances with him, and just laughs every time she plays with him. Thank you Santa!

The kids draw names and Hailey had Carter this year. He hasn't stopped playing Madden since yesterday. I can only tolerate this kind of playing at Christmas.

What a ham. My parents, who are serving a mission in Canada, sent us each a Canada shirt. We love them and wore them all day yesterday. I'll have to wash them all and get a group shot.

Grant got gifts for Hailey.

Andrew drew Alyssa's name. She LOVES the playdough.

What a wonderful day.

Is there anything more painful than family pictures??

2011-12-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

I seriously hate taking family pictures. Someone is usually grumpy (usually multiple someones) and there is always the weird expression, blink, nose pick, etc. It is PAINFUL. However, I like seeing a current picture in our house, so we tried once again. Nothing turned out great, but it was kind of funny trying.

This was the closest we got.

Then we tried for individual pictures of the kids. They were totally goofy...

Is there ANYTHING natural about this pose of Andrew's???

At least we're having fun...

Hailey's "tights" are actually women's knee highs and she complained about them the ENTIRE time that she had them on. I hope that they are never seen again.

I feel exactly the same way as Grant.

I'm glad that I saved this one for last. She was pretty amiable to getting her picture taken. Thank goodness for the 2 year old! :)

I don't think I am ever going to try this again.

Worms, and Grasshoppers, and Frogs...oh my!

2011-12-16T12:00:00.001-08:00

Andrew is my science kid. He loves it. For his birthday, my parents (with my suggestion), got him a dissection kit. He was a little freaked out at first, but then he dove right in and started with the hardest animal-the frog. He did all of the cutting himself while Hailey and Grant looked on. He thought it was so interesting and was so excited to show Adam (Cory's husband). Adam wasn't quite as thrilled and had to wait "until his food settled" before looking. :)

They all look a little weird here, but they all had a blast watching.

Gingerbread houses

2011-12-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

We have an advent calendar with a different Christmas activity for each day of December. For our Christmas craft, we decided to make gingerbread houses/trains. Luckily for me, Cory was here to help. In fact, I got them started and then headed out to a meeting while Cory finished the job. She may never return to our house. The kids inhaled the candy and she had 4 very sugared up children.

Carter was the last to complete his and used up every last bit of frosting and candy.

My little crafter.

Grant's train that he did totally solo.

My sweet sister helping Andrew.

Baby Lily visits

2011-12-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

My sister, Cory, came out unexpectedly with her daughter Lily and husband Adam. They only got to stay a few days, but it was so fun to see them. Each of my children was enamored with Lily and we're still trying to cope with their absence. Alyssa, in particular, was thrilled with her new baby-she moves, eats, smiles, and needs to be changed. A perfect toy! Lily was so patient.

Arizona or Bust!

2011-11-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

We headed out on Saturday for Arizona. Unfortunately, our lovely airline, Frontier, failed to notify us that our 3:40 pm flight had been changed to 6 am. We missed our flight, without even realizing it. We had quite a day taking to customer service for 2 hours, taking a cab to a different airport, getting kicked off another flight b/c it was oversold and then finally getting out 4 hours after our original flight left. We didn't get in until 2 am Chicago time. The children were SO patient-I couldn't believe it. This is the second time Frontier has messed up our plans and our last time booking with them.

During our last hour of waiting-we played by the giant TRex in O'Hare airport for over an hour.

The boys checking to see if any flights were open or if we could possibly leave that night.

FINALLY here! Diana, Andrew and Eric spend some wonderful time together.

The annual pie making party. Chris' mom traditionally makes between 15-20 pies. This year it was 19 and we had fun talking while we baked and the kids played.

Aunt Jessica-everyone loves her. Alyssa and Joseph.

Andrew and Timmy at the Mesa Temple lights.

Most of the adults at the temple.

"The Fam"

The girls were particularly impressed with the cacti. We got out during a drive to Tonto Natural Bridge to check them out. It takes the suguaro cactus 50-75 years before it will start growing an arm and they only grow in Arizona and a small area in California.

At the Tonto Natural Bridge. Beautiful! We got to hike around and enjoy the beautiful cave that was carved out from the river. Above Grant, you can see the water falling down from a small waterfall. Poor Grant fell into the river and said, "Why did they have to put water in here???"

All the cousins hiking down to the Bridge.

We had reunion shirts made. The theme was "Let your light so shine" and Emily had shirts made with the Tangled sun with our names written across the front. On the last day, we let the Chinese lanterns go into the sky, like in the movie.

Our last night. Grant and Timmy were outside for hours playing soccer together. What a wonderful time we had with family!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T18:12:00.001-08:00

We were so lucky to be able to spend Thanksgiving with Chris' family in Arizona this year. It took some doing to get there, but once we were there, we had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful, the children had a FABULOUS time with their cousins, and the adults actually got to talk. Win-win.

Alyssa eating her Thanksgiving feast.

Alyssa and Joseph playing Uncle Ben's piano.

Aunt Janene was in charge of crafts for all of the children. They got to make turkey luminaries and pine cone turkeys.

These 4 were inseparable during the reunion: Carter, Eric, Diana, and Andrew. We rented a bounce house and it was constantly being used from the minute it was put up on Wednesday until they took it on Friday. Worth every penny.

The small cousins table. Oddly, the rest of us sat at folding tables and somehow they scored the real table. Go figure. (Eric, Thomas, Diana, Hailey, Ella, Caleb, Christian, Aaron, and Grant).

Alyssa

2011-11-08T07:31:00.000-08:00

Alyssa is definitely two-she is so independent and I hear "self!" all the time. But, I also see such a sweet and loving child that it just warms my heart. I love to hear her talk, watch her try new things on her own and light up whenever she is around other people. Whenever we are at the store, she always tells people, "go ahead" and smiles at them. She is a joy to have around.

In her outfit from Stacy

Feeding her new baby-she is VERY maternal

She wanted to get dressed for the cold just like her siblings

Holy Candy, Batman!

2011-10-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Having extra incentive this year with the buy back program, Carter left early to go trick or treating with his friend. The spent 2 1/2 hours and he managed to get about 16 pounds of candy. He sold back every piece except for the 6 full sized bars. Knowing how much this kid loves candy, I am still in shock that he sold it all back! (Did I mention that all of the money he is earning is going towards buying our family a couch that he really wants)??

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

Last night we had trunk or treat at the church. It is amazing how much candy they can accumulate in 15 minutes! Chris has figured out a buy back program. With Carter's help, they have done some market research and found the average price per pound of candy (this is over multiple stores and multiple kinds of candy). Carter is going to sell us his 4 pounds of candy. I guess it's worth it to avoid the cavities that will inevitably surface later. I am also glad that I spent under $10 for all 5 children for their costumes this year.

Alyssa as Raggedy Ann.

Hailey as a very tired baby.

Andrew the gnome.

Carter the rapper/gangster. Easy costume.

Grant as Mario

She is two!

2011-10-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

I CANNOT believe that Alyssa is 2. Time has just flown. She is such a sweet and lovable child.

This is her first expression as soon as I pull out the camera. Every time I show her the picture she says, "crying?"

Chris finally got her to open her eyes! She got a new baby which she has yet to let out of her sight. She is so sweet and loves all babies.

Here she is with the purse that my parents gave to her.

On the phone with my parents when they called to wish her a happy birthday. She loves to talk on the phone.

Two more down...

2011-10-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Both Carter and Andrew finished with soccer this Saturday. They both play with such good groups of boys.

End of another season

2011-10-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

Both Grant and Hailey ended their soccer seasons last Saturday. They had so much fun and show such a love of the sport. Hopefully, they will continue. Andrew and Carter have one more game next Saturday and then we won't see those cleats until spring. It's a little bittersweet.

Grant with his best buddy, Jake.

Taking the ball down for one of his 4 goals during the game. I think that having 3 older siblings has made him a little aggressive. Ya think??

Hailey's team after their last game.

Conference

2011-10-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

I don't think that I would have even put up these pictures this year, except Carter went a little overboard. For General Conference, each of the children made their own tents. It began on Saturday, but really exploded on Sunday morning. After eating a nice breakfast together, the kids probably spent 2 hours working on their tents and perfecting them.

Later, Hailey added a porch onto hers, but this was the simplified version.

This was about the only time that Alyssa was in her tent. She wanted to be in everyone else's.

Carter created a three room hotel with a tunnel to Andrew's tent. You can't see the whole back wing in this picture, but it was rather large. He wasn't very happy when we made him scale it back to actually watch Conference.

More pumpkin shirts

2011-10-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

We revisited our pumpkin shirt craft from a few years ago and the kids had a great time making them. This time, they were all (except Alyssa) able to do the shirts pretty much on their own.

You can never have too many...

2011-09-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is a master thief. She can find candy in anyone's room, no matter where it is hidden. To prove her point, she found Grant's stash and decided to try out his suckers-FOUR of them. She would unwrap one, lick it and then get another one. When I finally found her (it had been quiet for too long), she had actually climbed in my bed and was trying to hide under my sheets with all four suckers in her hand. It's a good thing that I think she's cute or she may have gotten into more trouble. Even Grant was forgiving.

A Dad and his girl

2011-09-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Every year, our school has a daddy-daughter date which has traditionally been a dance. This year, they bucked tradition and went mini golfing. Hailey was so excited to spent the whole night with her dad.

First day of school

2011-08-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Big changes for Carter as he started middle school. He now rides the bus, has a locker and changes classes. He's been really excited and loves it. I have been a bit of a basket case worrying about everything. I'm glad that he's so responsible so that I have one fewer things to worry about!

Hailey kept telling me that she wasn't excited to start school because she "hates school." Mmm-hmm. She loves it and has a wonderful teacher for 2nd grade. She has just found out that the older kids say that and thinks it makes her more mature.

Now that he is the oldest sibling at the elementary school, Andrew has really stepped up to take on the responsibility. He's been walking Grant to his classroom each day and picking him up. What a patient older brother.

Grant was excited, but also nervous about starting all day kindergarten. After week 1, we are still adjusting.

Alyssa also wanted to pose. All week, she has been playing with me. But, then she will get quiet and say, "Carter bus. Bye bye Andrew. Bye bye Hailey. Bye bye Grant." She is so lonely without everyone and loves to wake up from her nap to see her brothers and sister.

New cousin

2011-08-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

My sister, Cory, just had a baby and we are now obsessed with baby Lily. Alyssa keeps talking about her, so I pulled up her picture on the computer. Here is Alyssa fawning over her.

Quick trip

2011-08-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a last minute trip to Michigan as a family. It was short, but we had such a wonderful time together.

The house that we rented-it had a huge front yard where we played football, volleyball and ran around.

They had so much fun jumping into the hot tub whenever they wanted to.

We found a leaf bug that we watched for quite awhile. I wish I had been taking a video because as soon as I snapped this picture, Hailey started SCREAMING because the bug wouldn't come off. Alyssa also screamed because of it-when she accidentally stepped on it, it started screeching at her and she FREAKED out!

There was even a fire pit in the back yard. We put each of the children in charge of one meal while we were there. Carter had Sunday night and chose to make foil dinners. Unfortunately, he isn't in the picture, but everyone had a great time making them and I heard they were wonderful.

Carter and Andrew choose to sleep out on the patio. It was screened in and had these great day beds, but otherwise they felt like they were camping and even woke up a little wet from the condensation (Andrew hated that).

Hailey and Grant opted to sleep together even though there was another bed. They had fun since they usually sleep in different rooms.

Running up the sand dune.

Up at the top. Each of them earned a ice cream from Chris for making it up the hill.

Playing at the beach. Digging holes is so fun.

The girls.

By the afternoon, Alyssa was done and would lay down on her towel to cry.

Hailey's turn for a meal-she made breakfast.

Playing in the front yard.

Having fun-well except for Alyssa who wanted to get DOWN! Fun family memories.

Chinese lanterns

2011-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

We got these cool Chinese lanterns like in the movie, Tangled. We had so much fun lifting them off and watching them floating away.

Hailey is 7

2011-07-31T20:28:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Hailey is 7. She has been talking about her birthday since the first of this month and has been counting down the days. She woke up at 5:30 in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. She climbed into bed with us for a restless 45 minutes. I love her enthusiasm.

I loaded my pictures backwards, but she chose brownie sundaes for dessert. My kind of girl. She loves chocolate.

She was so excited to open gifts. She got tons of crafty stuff as well as tickets to go see the play, Beauty and the Beast in Chicago next Saturday with Chris and I. I'm so excited to spend the day with just the three of us. She is wearing the nightgown that her friend, Jenna, gave her earlier in the day. She chose to go see the movie, Smurfs, with our family and invited Jenna to come with us. The girls were so cute as they each got a Slurpee and watched the show with their heads leaning on each other during part of the movie.

Here is Hailey with her art stuff from my parents. She loves to draw and has already had fun drawing some of the people.

After waiting for what seemed like HOURS (Chris made her wait until 6:30), Hailey and Chris got up to make Sweedish pancakes. She specifically asked Chris to make them and it was sweet to see the two of them cooking together. She is a lucky girl.

We're so glad to have Hailey in our family. She is a sweetheart.

YOU!

2011-07-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

This girl absolutely cracks me up. I put this picture up on the computer and Alyssa yells, "YOU!" She hasn't figured out how to say her name, but realizes that everyone always says, "Alyssa, there is a picture of you." She's too funny and I love her smile.

Starved Rock

2011-07-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

Not far from our house is a national park called Starved Rock. I'm ashamed to admit that it has taken us 8 years to visit. Unfortunately, we decided to go on one of the hottest days of the summer thus far. We were so hot, but it was beautiful and we've vowed to return in the fall. In fact, when it gets cold enough, the bald eagles come down from Wisconsin to fish, so hopefully we'll see some eagles.

This is a tree stump that is outside of the visitor's center. Part of the stump is inside and it is HUGE. The bisection of the stump shows part of a bullet that was lodged in the trunk some time after the Civil War. Unfortunately the tree died and they had to cut it down, but the kids were fascinated by how big a tree can become.

There are miles of trails that have been planked over which makes the walking very easy (except when you are hiking with a 1 year old who wants to walk every singles step on her own). It was gorgeous and so worth the trip. I wish we had gotten to go further before the first bathroom emergency hit and we had to return to the visitor's center. By the way, I love Alyssa's face. She's figured out how to smile on command and does those goofy smiles.

This is at the top of Starved Rock where the Illinois Indian tribe was starved to death by a rival tribe. There was also a military fort built on top of the rock in the 1600's. Lots of history and a wonderful place.

Independence Day

2011-07-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

On the 4th of July, we started out our day by heading to our ward's breakfast. After eating, there is a bike parade and tons of games.

Hailey riding on her bike around the parking lot.

Hailey is such a great big sister to Alyssa. Before she got on her own bike, she pushed Alyssa around the entire parking lot since Alyssa can't go on her own. I hope that they remain friends for a long time.

Andrew and his wonderful group of friends. He is so lucky to have a great group of boys his age.

Grant and his best friend, Jake. These two are the cutest buddies ever.

Andrew (far left) and Hailey (far right) participating in the pie eating contest. Gross, but they had fun. We enjoyed the rest of the day and had dinner and fireworks with some wonderful friends. Summers are the best.

Chris' New Hobby

2011-07-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Chris has always been interested in remote control planes (as well as real ones), but hasn't had one in several years. I decided to get him one for his birthday. Of course, I picked the completely wrong one, but after a trip to the store, the mistake was rectified and he now has a new plane. It's been wrecked and stuck in a tree, but he is having a blast and our kids love to watch him fly it.

Sisters

2011-06-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

There is just something special about sisters. Here are my two girls playing together in the "bed" that Hailey made for Alyssa.

Let the Summer begin!

2011-06-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

With summer officially started, we are well on our way to having a great summer. We have been doing all sorts of camps, and outdoor activities, including going to the pool that we finally joined this year. Here is a small snapshot of what we've been doing. We started with the traditional "summer haircuts" for the boys. They are all short-haired and loving it.

Grant spent a week at safety town with his friends, Jake and Quentin (unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture with Quentin in it). They learned bus safety, train safety, bike safety and got to see the fire truck, ambulance and the bus. He loved it!

Alyssa has been a great sport driving everyone around with me. She is such a happy camper. She's even happy playing in a box. (She has just learned to smile on demand-hence the closed eyes and big smile).

Carter and Andrew are both playing baseball. It's fun to watch them and cheer them on. We have baseball every night of the week and on Saturdays so it is a big part of our summer.

Alyssa and Carter are cheering on Grant at his t-ball game. (Actually Carter was wondering how anyone could know so little about the rules of baseball. When I told him that he was exactly the same way at age 5, he just rolled his eyes.)

Grant up to bat. I do have to say that t-ball is fairly painful for me to watch. There isn't a whole lot of excitement. I'm glad Grant is enjoying himself, but this is definitely a labor of love for me. :)

Waiting for prayers

2011-06-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to get all of the kids ready for bed. Everyone was tired and I was getting the 2 girls bathed while the boys were waiting to have prayers and scriptures as a family. When I came in, this is what Grant looked like. For some reason, he decided to cuddle up with Alyssa's baby and put his blanket on his head and fell TOTALLY asleep. Andrew was also asleep, but at least he was in his bed.

Chris' Birthday

2011-06-08T20:14:00.001-07:00

Chris had his birthday at the beginning of the month while his parents were here (we got to go to Mexico while they watched our children). I am 3 weeks older than Chris, so for those 3 weeks, he LOVES to talk about being married to an "older woman". I decided to get my revenge and put the "40" candles on his cake (he is only 36). Needless to say, he was not amused, but his mom loved it.

All the kids with their dad.

Hailey and Alyssa making use of one of the boxes...I know what they are getting for their next birthdays!

Poor sick girl

2011-05-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

We are in the throes of sickness at our house. I stayed home from church with 3 of my feverish, flu-ridden children. I was sitting next to Alyssa on our big chair when I realized she had completely fallen asleep. Poor girl is just not feeling well at all.

Little helper

2011-05-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

One night after dinner, it was Hailey's job to clear the table. As she was wiping it off, I saw Alyssa run towards the bathroom. I didn't think too much of it until she came back with a HUGE wad of toilet paper and started wiping off the table with it. At least she's helping (I guess).

The other half of the wad is on the floor and out of sight.

Carter turns 11

2011-04-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Today is Carter's birthday. I think that as your oldest gets older, it's hard to watch them grow up. I can't believe he's already 11!! He's turning into such a fantastic person and it's amazing to see the person he's becoming.

He opted out of cake and instead ordered brownie sundaes. He really took advantage and loaded up his bowl knowing this is one of the few times his mother wouldn't give him a hard time about how much sugar he was eating.

Carter and his gifts. He got several Scout things (including a sleeping bag) in order to get ready for some big campouts next year.

The Cubs jersey and the glasses were from my parents. Baseball is a passion of his and it's fun to watch him play and get interested in all of the stats. He plays for the White Sox-something he's embarrassed to admit-he would much rather be a Cub! Last weekend he got to stay in a hotel with Chris and go to a Cubs game to celebrates birthday. Then, we celebrated as a family on Sunday which turned out to be fortuitous because he is home sick today with a fever, sick stomach and sore throat. Poor kid has felt miserable all day. Happy birthday buddy!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T18:46:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Easter this year in between rain and thunder storms.

Grant with his basket after he found all of his eggs.

Chris and Carter trying out our new technique. After boiling the eggs, we used crayons to decorate the eggs. The crayons melted and made for some cool decorating.

Andrew with his "diver" egg. They had a lot of fun playing with the eggs after making them.

Hailey and Chris with their eggs. Hailey's was a girl egg with braids and Chris' was a pirate. I was a little concerned when Hailey wanted her egg to be married to Chris'. When she finally put them in the refrigerator, she said they were in there kissing. I said that her egg was trying to reform the pirate. :)

Andrew finding his eggs outside.

Cute Hailey

Alyssa was so funny once she realized what we were doing. She was ecstatic about finding these eggs (especially the plastic ones with jelly beans!)

Funny Alyssa

2011-04-24T18:27:00.001-07:00

I just have a couple of pictures of Alyssa that I thought were cute.

She discovered that she could fit into our cabinet and play peek-a-boo. Hours of entertainment.

She was totally out tonight-gone. It took awhile to wake her up.

I'm working on giving her more independence and let her feed herself some pudding. Big mistake.

Conference tents part 2

2011-04-24T18:17:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late in posting, but we had another positive Conference experience with the tents. The candy sure helped too.

Nauvoo

2011-04-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

For the latter part of spring break, we headed down to Nauvoo with our friends, the Birds. In the chaos of leaving, I forgot my camera, so thanks to Kori for these pictures. We got to stay in a beautiful lodge together and the kids had a great time playing together. One of Andrew's highlights was a random cat that they found. The cat would come and lay on people's laps and was extremely affectionate. Much to Chris' dismay, 2 of our children are now begging for a cat.

In the family learning center we learned what the pioneers would do. They learned about baking bread in brick ovens, making candles, weaving and creating yarn, and making rope. Here, Braxton, Emma and Hailey are learning how to wind rope. Poor Hailey got her hair stuck in the rope and we had some tears, but overall it was a good learning experience.

We were able to take a horse drawn carriage ride and got to learn all of the interesting things in Nauvoo. We got to see all of the homes, the temple, see the Mississippi, and get an appreciation for the early Saints.

This is the "wishing well" (as Hailey kept calling it) outside of the home that Joseph and Emma Smith lived in. It was pretty deep.

Learning weaving at the family history center.

Learning at the little school house. They got to write on the slates, and no one got paddled.

In the evening, the missionary couples put on a show called "Rendezvous" which was fabulous. Here are the kids sitting on the stage before it began. All of the missionaries were so friendly to us and were so happy to be on their missions! It made me think of my own parents.

Sitting in the wagon outside of the lodge that we stayed in. Wonderful lodging!

Before we headed home, we stopped by Carthage to see the jail where Joseph and Hyrum were killed. It is the building behind us. We had a wonderful trip with a renewed sense of gratitude for the early Saints. What hardship they endured and what amazing faith they possessed.

Hailey and Emma on the wagon ride. What cute friends.

More cousins pictures

2011-03-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a couple more random pictures from when my sister was here.

Paul sitting on a tank at Cantigny. They loved climbing all over the tanks. Grant wanted us to open the hatch and let him climb in. He wasn't thrilled when I told him that it was locked.

Sweet Sammi is just all girl. She's polite, gentle, she listens to others and worries about other people. She quickly realized that she had to adapt in order to fit in with Grant. She was so good at playing chase, making bombing Lego planes, and wrestling. Here they are wrestling with Sammi in her beautiful dress.

Checking out the big cannon at the tank park.

In the Cantingy museum: Paul is listening to the movie on the phones. All the kids were cracking me up by using 2 phones.

Alyssa playing in the water at the Museum of Science and Industry.

More fun on the tanks.

Two cute cousins at the museum.

We are so glad that they came and can't wait to see them again. If Cory's guilt trip on me works, it will be in Colorado in the summer.

Cousin visit

2011-03-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

My sister and her family are visiting and I thought I'd post a few pictures of the things we've been doing.

Sammi and Grant checking out a mummy at the Field museum.

All the cousins (minus Paul who was crying) before church.

Paul and Alyssa sitting on a truck. Paul was so cute trying to snuggle with Alyssa, and she wasn't so excited about having his arm around her.

Andrew was trying to get ready for school and make his lunch. Sammi and Paul wouldn't let go of him. It was so funny.

Paul, Sammi and Grant sitting on a coffin by the mummy exhibit in the Field Museum.

Checking out the adobe house.

Paul helping Andrew practice piano.

We went down to the river and the kids found some shells in the water. They were busy using sticks to fish them out. We came home with a bunch of them. (I've been quietly throwing them in the trash-they stink).

Grant at the Children's Museum-air is blowing up in his face. I just love this shot.

Lincoln Park Zoo

2011-03-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

My sister, Cory, is in town for 2 weeks with her family and we've been having so much fun. We headed to Lincoln Park Zoo today and thought that I'd quickly post a couple of pictures.

Alyssa is watching the jaguar pace in it's cage. She was totally enthralled. I was ASTOUNDED that she stayed in her stroller for the entire trip. So awesome!

The otters were swimming up on the glass and then doing back flips. Paul was loving them and Grant thought they were cool too.

In every zoo I've gone to, the lions are asleep. Today, we got to see the male lion pacing right in front of us. He looked fairly menacing. We also got to hear him and the female roaring. It was so amazing.

With the Chicago skyline behind us.

Sammi is so funny. She refuses to smile in pictures. So, this was our lunch break and I told her that she had to pay for her lunch by smiling in the picture. This was the result. :)

Isn't he precious? Paul was "sleeping" with this angelic smile on his face. What a cutie.

All Boy!

2011-02-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

I bought some groceries and had put them by my stairs so that I could take them downstairs. Later that day, I heard Grant playing by himself and came to check out what he was doing. He had found the ketchup and was pretending they were "guys" and having them bash each other and attack each other. I was fairly disturbed by this, but also realized that I was glad he could use his imagination!

An organizer?

2011-02-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

We have been calling Alyssa "the hurricane" because she's at that fun age where she makes a mess and then runs to make the next mess. It's constant destruction. Yesterday, I decided to let her begin to empty my pantry and see what she did. She started lining up the boxes and when I asked her to help me clean up, she put everything back where it belonged. I'm wondering if she is really just an organizer, and not a hurricane??? Or maybe she just knew I needed a break yesterday. :)

Thanks Aunt Stacy!

2011-02-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

My sister, Stacy, just sent this cute outfit to Alyssa. She is quite the dancer, so she'll be getting down in it soon.

Daddy Daughter date

2011-02-05T17:12:00.001-08:00

Every year, our school puts on a daddy-daughter dance and Hailey is so lucky b/c she doesn't have to share her dad with anyone. This year, the theme was "Under the Sea". The dads were asked to wear a blue shirt so that they were like the water and the girls could dress how they wished. Hailey opted for the casual skirt look, but curled her hair and even put on some lipstick. She was SO excited.

I love this picture b/c it clearly shows how much a dad will do for his little girl. Hailey wanted to do an "octopus pose" and asked Chris to sit down like this. Between the two of them, they had 8 "legs". Chris thought it was so weird, but went along anyway. She totally has him wrapped around her finger. I'm glad that we have another girl coming up so that there is a little more balance.

Getting ready to head out the door.

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

With all of the hoopla surrounding the big storm coming to Chicago, I wasn't sure that I actually believed that it would materialize like they said. However, it started to snow on Tuesday afternoon and didn't stop until Wednesday. Overall, it dumped about 21" (although it is hard to tell b/c the wind was HOWLING and created such huge snow drifts). On Tuesday night, I was praying that we wouldn't lose our power as I saw huge flakes coming down, heard the wind roaring through the chimney and experienced lightening and thunder during a snow storm. The whole thing was a little overwhelming. Needless to say, school was cancelled and I've spent a good portion of the day shoveling while the kids played (1/2 of the snow came from the plow that was kind enough to keep shoveling it back on our driveway once I was done shoveling).

Grant "sledding" on his tummy on one of the hills of snow by our driveway. Later on Wednesday, the sun came out and it was beautiful.

Carter's boots sticking out of his fort that he built. He got himself all the way in and is trying to convince me to let him sleep out there tonight (not a chance).

And what snack would you choose while playing outside in the snow? Of course...a popsicle.

Carter emerging from his fort.

Andrew outside with me this morning at 6:30. We were digging out for 2 1/2 hours all the while thinking - "it is still snowing-we're going to be back out here again in an hour!!"

This is on Tuesday when the storm started. They each put on 10 pairs of socks to keep their feet warm and had a blast jumping while the snow came down and the wind whipped them around. Overall the storm was a lot of fun, although I'm a little miffed that school is cancelled again tomorrow. Isn't 1 day enough???

Trampoline

2011-01-31T14:48:00.000-08:00

Every year for Christmas, my parents send us money and we've always tried to use it to buy something fun for the family that we wouldn't buy otherwise. This year, we bought the trampoline that our kids have been requesting for the past several years. We just put it up and I was dubious as to how much use it would get at the end of January in Chicago. IT IS FREEZING, but they are still jumping. Crazy kids.

They decided to start putting gloves on their feet to try to keep them warm while they jump.

In case you were wondering, Carter IS only wearing a sweatshirt and not a coat. He is anti-coat right now, but I'm a little perplexed how he manages to stay outside for so long (and he is also the only one without gloves on his feet).

T-shirt quilt

2011-01-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ever since Chris' mom made him a quilt out of his t-shirts, Carter has been saving his and asking me to make one for him. I've said that I would-I figured when he was 30 I could do it. However, a woman in our ward kick started my project. I was amazed that Carter already had 30 t-shirts that he had saved, so I made him the quilt (didn't that just sound like I whipped it out? It took a lot longer than that). I must say, I am not a sewer or a quilter so this was a big project for me. I just finished and my favorite part is that my 10 year old LOVES it, in spite of it's many flaws. That is success!

The most coveted spot

2011-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the midst of winter, my children's favorite spot is a heating vent in our kitchen. Every time the furnace turns on, someone runs over to it to sit on it to get warm. None of the other vents is as good as this one, so sometimes we have territory wars. Luckily, this morning Hailey and Grant decided to share the vent and both brought their cereal over to eat while getting warm. Keep in mind that the vent is only 12 inches long. Cute kids.

Legoland

2011-01-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday, we had the day off of school and decided to go check out Legoland. We've never been, so it was a new experience and worth the visit. The Birds came with us and it was definitely more fun with friends. I think it was also a worthwhile venture seeing as how my kids have been building with Legos ever since we got home. Double benefit!

Huge spider-gross.

The jungle area had tons of cool animals and even a full size Indiana Jones.

Alyssa was even in on the fun.

These two sweet girls look a little intimidating in this picture. They can sure hold their own.

This was the first exhibit, and probably my favorite. It was the city of Chicago all made out of Legos. They had the Sears (aka Willis) Tower, Buckingham fountain, the Art Institute, Wrigley building, Navy Pier, and tons of other cool buildings and people.

UNBELIEVABLE!!

2011-01-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

I went into Carter's room to vacuum today and stumbled upon this mess. I've moved his bed so that I could capture all of the trash that he's been stashing back there. Apparently, he's been eating in bed while he reads and throwing his trash down behind his bed so that I wouldn't know about his late night eating. BUSTED. I can't wait until he comes home from school.

Piano girl

2011-01-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

Alyssa loves to play the piano. Sometimes she sings and plays softly. Other times she is rockin' out and pounding away. I can only hope that she has her father's talent rather than my lack of one.

New Game

2011-01-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

It's a little cold here in Naperville, so we've been trying to find fun indoor activities that also get rid of some energy. My 3 older kids can all scale the doorways in our house, so they made up the tunnel game. Two of them will scale the doorways next to each other while the other kids run under them. We have a new rule to yell "falling" right before they drop (any idea what might have initiated that rule??). They were running and having so much fun. They were all worn out and I actually was able to make dinner.

Christmas Morning

2010-12-26T05:04:00.001-08:00

It was a picture perfect Christmas-at least in my view. Chris and I were talking before bed and he actually complained about the cold (Arizona boy)!! I was in heaven with the Christmas Eve snow. It made everything beautiful and frosty. Perfect!!

Here are the children on my bed at 6:30. As you can see, everyone was wide awake except for Carter. Ten seems a little early to be losing the excitement of Christmas morning!

This year, our kids drew names so that they only bought for one sibling. This is the gift that Grant chose for Andrew.

Carter chose this dart board for Chris and was really excited when he found out there is a "trash talk" feature on it. What's better than playing darts with your dad and having some trash talk going on? (honestly, I don't totally get it, but I AM a girl).

Hailey got a "perfect pet": a cute dog that breathes while it sleeps. I honestly hope this is the only pet we will ever have. Cute little Alyssa always wants to be close to people and has learned to climb up on the chairs. I now call her the hurricane-she is creating constant destruction.

Alyssa opening her gift from Carter. It took awhile.

Hailey's choice for Grant. It was a beautiful thing to see them playing this together later in the morning. I love it when they are happy and having fun together. We had a wonderful time together.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-26T04:52:00.001-08:00

Every year on Christmas Eve, we have our children act out the Nativity. For the past several years we've gotten together with our good friends, the Birds. The kids enjoy dressing up and the adults enjoy focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. We also invited the Menzel family and I hope that they weren't too overwhelmed by the craziness and noise (all of their children are older).

Hailey wanted to be Samuel the Lamanite this year (Samuel always gets marshmallow "stones" thrown at him and she wanted to eat them). Here she is preaching to the people.

Grant was the star and was on his tip toes several times trying to hold it up as high as possible.

Here is sweet Emma being Mary.

The entire cast (minus Kori the fabulous piano player and Chris the amazing narrator).

Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T16:14:00.000-08:00

Chris took the boys out on Thanksgiving morning for a little football. Brave man considering he hates the cold.

Chris' parents were here to celebrate with us and Hailey got to experience a small dose of the traditional Stradling pie making marathon. She loved baking with Grandma.

Luckily, Chris' mom reminded me that I wanted a picture of them and I got all of the kids with their grandparents. We were so glad that they came!

Fun in the sun

2010-12-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Chris and I were able to go on a cruise with 4 of our dear friends right before Thanksgiving. We had such a marvelous time and it's hard to even imagine summing up the trip. Needless to say, we would do it again in a heartbeat!

The girls hamming it up in Honduras.

The boys checking out the female stingray.

While he's not a huge fan, Chris did a wonderful job with Neil Diamond's "America" for karaoke. He actually had the whole room singing and laughing-definitley a success.

Visiting the Mayan ruins in Tulum, Mexico. Super interesting and I loved seeing the huge iguanas lazing around in the sun.

We stopped at an island of Honduras and this was one of the few times it wasn't raining. We braved it for a bit, but then headed back to the ship for the hot tub and ice cream.

We had so much fun. Sitting here in the snow, it's hard to believe that we were ever there!

Out of character

2010-11-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me even remotely well, knows that I despise running. It is amazing that I married Chris with his insane running ability. I enjoy exercising daily, but until this summer that NEVER included running. I started running and while I still don't enjoy it, I can endure it. My friend Amy convinced me to run the Hot Chocolate 5K in Chicago this Saturday and we actually had a lot of fun. Maybe I'll even do it again. :)

Juliann, me, Kori, and Amy. Juliann and Amy ran the 15K.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Another year with too much candy. Andrew decided to be Mario again which I loved since I didn't have to do anything.

Carter isn't big on dressing up so we came up with the idea of being Percy Jackson. Easy-Camp Half Blood t-shirt, jeans, sword...done. I would have done a little more, but for him it was perfect.

At Goodwill, Hailey found a pretty Cleopatra dress which I was quick to accept since it was inexpensive. Little did I know...she asked me all about Cleopatra and I looked her up online. Wow. How do you explain to a 6 year old about a woman who married both of her brothers, and slept with several other men only to kill herself in the end?? I left out a lot of details.

Alyssa surprised me by keeping her hat on the whole time.

Costume Confusion

2010-10-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Grant had a hard time committing to a costume, which worked out OK since we have several lying around the house. We bought the Woody costume which he wore to a party, but then chose Spider Man for school and trunk or treat. I thought that it was girls who always changed their minds...

She's 1!

2010-10-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's already been a year, but Alyssa turned one this week. She is such a sweet child and we love having her in our family.

Peek-a-boo

2010-10-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

All parents think that their child is the cutest thing that they've seen, which is great. Every child should be adored by their parents. Even so, I just have to say that I think that MY children are the cutest. Alyssa just learned to play peek-a-boo and hasn't totally figured out covering her eyes yet. I think she's adorable.

Conference Tents

2010-10-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Our Home Teacher had a great suggestion for conference. He taught us about the Nephites gathering to hear King Benjamin in their tents and suggested that we build tents for our kids to watch General Conference. GREAT IDEA! They each had their own tent where they took notes, ate popcorn, played quietly, and hopefully heard some of the messages. They didn't talk to each other, fight, or get wound up. Why didn't we do this before???

What's for dinner?

2010-09-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Alyssa was playing in my pot and pan cabinent very happily. I happened to look over to see her and saw that she had sat right on top of the pot. What a cutie.

2010-09-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

The first day of school was wonderfully hot (there is no A/C in the elementary school), but the kids were still excited. We are excited for a new year!

Hailey is a big first grader. She came home saying, "I saw the kindergartners. They are ADORABLE! They're so little." :)

Andrew is in 3rd grade this year and is excited about the friends that he has in class.

Carter is in 5th grade and much more interested in sports than he is in school. Unfortunately, school comes fairly easy to him so he doesn't need to try very hard. I'm looking forward to middle school next year when he'll have to put a little more effort into it! :)

Hailey's birthday party

2010-09-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hailey had her first birthday party this year. She wanted to have a cooking party, so we had a "make-your-own-pizza" party. The girls got to make their own place mats before they got started on their pizzas. They had a lot of fun playing with each other and I couldn't believe the difference between this girl party and the boys' parties that we've had in the past. The girls sat and talked and played with Hailey's new things rather than running and trying to beat each other up. What a fun time they had.

Thank goodness for my baby!

2010-09-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

I made chicken enchiladas for dinner the other night, which is not my kids' favorite. Some of them tried to choke it down politely, but one of them (his name begins with an "A") said that he would rather eat trash. He was so emphatic that he ate NOTHING for dinner and went to bed hungry. I thought I would give some to Alyssa to see what her thoughts were. Thankfully, she felt my wounded pride and ate THREE helpings of it. What a sweet baby!

Colorado Trip

2010-08-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

We just returned from our annual trip to Colorado. This year seemed especially great for several reasons. First of all, Chris was there for a lot of our 2 week stay. Usually, he has to head back to Chicago for work, but this year he was able to stay. I also found that the cousins all got along wonderfully which was FABULOUS. They would play for hours and we wouldn't even see them! Eventually they would emerge with smiles and ask for food. :) Here are a few of the highlights.

Unfortunately, this is one of the few pictures that I have of Carter. I was with the younger kids a lot and the older kids were with Chris going to baseball games, fishing, etc. But, I do have this shot of my dad getting retribution on Carter after he hit him with a water balloon. I'm glad that Carter finally realized that I wasn't kidding when I said that my dad shows no mercy.

Sammi (4), Alyssa, and Caity (9) hanging out at Garden of the Gods. We hiked around and then ate a late breakfast with my dad, grandfather, and uncles.

All of the cousins in Garden of the Gods.

All my kids with my grandfather.

We went to Santa's Workshop where the kids get to see Santa and ride a bunch of rides. Here is Alyssa's first (and only) ride of the day. She loved it. The other kids were in heaven going on all of the rides by themselves. What a great tradition.

Grant, Hailey, and Sammi with new pajamas. The older cousins had all gone to a Rockies game and we went shopping (can you tell that the moms chose the activity?). They all got new pajamas and had so much fun playing in them. They definitely did not wan to go to bed.

Playing in the pool on the deck. Sammi put soap on the slide to make sure that it was slippery enough. I saw Grant slip right out the other side several times. The boy going down is Paul (2) who is about the cutest kid EVER!

All of the cousins at Water World. So much fun! We can't wait to go back.

Tradition

2010-07-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

We have decided to start a new family tradition-getting stitches right before we go to Colorado. Last year, Andrew started us off by falling off of a chain onto the sidewalk. He needed stitches in the back of his head the day before we left. This year, Grant volunteered by bashing his forehead on our fireplace 2 days before we left. What a trooper! He didn't cry at all. He laid there calmly while I tried not to throw up all over the place and didn't cry during the whole stitching procedure. It doesn't bother him at all, but I honestly get sick every time I have to change the band-aid!

Lauren's visit

2010-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

My niece Lauren came out from Colorado to visit for a week. We had a lot of fun hanging out with her, although I don't know if she'll ever recover from the noise. We are now headed to Colorado for 2 weeks so that the fun can continue...

We had a huge rain storm and these 3 ran out to play badminton in it. They were soaked in about 20 seconds. How fun is it to be a kid?!

Alyssa playing in the water at Millennium Park in Chicago.

Hailey standing by the huge water fountains in Millennium Park.

At the Museum of Science and Industry.

Sisters Trip

2010-07-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Over the 4th of July weekend, I had the awesome experience of going to Orlando with my 2 fave sisters. We had so much fun going to Universal Studios (including the AWESOME new Harry Potter rides), Epcot, the beach, Cirque du Soleil, etc. It was great getting to hang out as adults and chat and get to be with just my sisters. We laughed so much and had a great time on all of the thrill rides that our kids couldn't have done. I had a wonderful time and hope that we can do it again sometime soon (if my parents will ever come and watch my kids again!).

Outside Hogwarts. It has the COOLEST ride inside. The wait to get on the ride was amazing, where you got to see the inside of the castle.

By the Hogwarts Express with the nicest English chap.

I won't bore you with all of the pictures, but we had so much fun. Thanks ladies for a wonderful experience!

Last game...

2010-06-27T07:19:00.001-07:00

Carter had a blast playing Little League this season and we're sad to see it end. It was fun to watch him develop as a baseball player, especially since he loves the sport.

Slip n slide

2010-06-27T07:13:00.001-07:00

An annual rite of passage...the slip n slide.

Cub Scout Camp

2010-06-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Andrew went to Cub Scout camp last week and had a ton of fun. I got to go with him on Monday and see what they were up to. Let me tell you-there are few things in this world scarier than seeing your 8 year old with a gun (granted, it was a BB gun, but still...).

Andrew and Noah with their "bug" glasses. The boys weren't really into the crafts. It was all about the shooting.

Cuties

2010-05-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

One of my last days with just these two at home. What sweet children (no bias here!)

Bugz

2010-05-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Today Hailey has her kindergarten musical called "Bugz". They each got to choose their costume and of course, all of the girls in Hailey's class chose to be ladybugs. I made up this costume (as creative as I get) and she was thrilled (lucky that we didn't have to start over!). She woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. She is SO excited. What a cutie.

1st bike ride

2010-05-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

I took Alyssa on her first bike ride in the trailer the other day. She started out with smiles, but came home in tears. Hopefully, she'll get a hang of it and enjoy it.

Jitterbug Jamboree

2010-05-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Hailey's class had a jitterbug jamboree. They dressed up in 50's costumes and danced with each other. Hailey had no idea what the 50's were. It made me feel REALLY old (I feel like I at least knew what the 50's were in grade school!).

He's 10!

2010-05-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I have a 10 year old! He is such a wonderful boy and I'm so glad that he's in our family. He still has all of the energy and craziness that he's had all along, but I also see signs of maturity. Today, he grabbed my church bags out of the car without me asking him for help. He really tries to help Grant and Alyssa all of the time and I can see the young man that he soon will be. Happy Birthday Carter!

Saturday is a special day

2010-05-03T07:05:00.001-07:00

Saturday was one of those great days where all of our children had great sporting events where they got a goal (or several) and had some great hits in baseball. We had 3 soccer games and a baseball game and each of the teams trampled the competition. I also managed to bring my camera (a rare event). Hopefully the rest of the season will go as well.

Sitting up

2010-05-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

My baby is growing up WAY too fast! But what a happy baby she is.

Spring Break

2010-04-06T03:10:00.001-07:00

We just had our spring break and had such a great week. The kids had a great time and I was really sad to see them go back to school yesterday. Here's a list of the highlights:

We went to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. It is a free zoo and I had forgotten what a great place it actually is. They have a ton of animals and it is laid out really well. We had a blast checking everything out and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Chris and Grant checking out some monkeys. This was my favorite exhibit. They were so playful and active. They came right up to the glass to look at you. They also had a 2 week old baby monkey in the exhibit. It was darling. We stood there for about 1/2 an hour just watching them.

This little alcove is right next to a huge bear. You can't see it very well, but the bear was leaning up against the glass so that the only thing separating my kids from the bear was the glass. They got to see his enormous claws, huge teeth and it was a little creepy when he lifted up his head and stared right at you.

Carter's Cub Scout troop went to a place called Cantigny awhile ago and I've been wanting to get there. It is a great park that also has 2 wonderful museums. We only went into the First Infantry museum, but I was ASTOUNDED at how great it was....really well done. I would love to go back. Then, right outside, they have about 10 tanks that the kids can climb on and play. They had so much fun. There is also a playground and some beautiful gardens to see. We will definitely go back (and it was also free).

We also hit the Jelly Belly Factory in Wisconsin after going to the temple and getting Dunkin Donuts (Chris' idea to get the kids excited every time we go up to the temple). They loved the free tour and getting the samples afterwards.

We also had multiple park runs, play dates, egg hiding, and General Conference watching fun times. It was fabulous!!

Cory's visit

2010-03-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Cory came to visit for a week and we had a ton of fun hanging out and watching our kids play. I think poor Sammi and Paul must be exhausted from the onslaught. Here are a couple of pix:

We went to the Children's Museum where they had the best time playing pretend. Here they are on stage where Sammi is lead guitar (complete with a suit coat), Grant was jumping (he didn't want to dance) and Paul is trying to figure out what to do. The poor kid in the back was waiting for a turn.

Chris reading a bedtime story to the troops. This was the quietest the house was the entire time.

At the aquarium-we got to go downstairs where they got to touch a starfish, play in the water, and see a dolphin/beluga whale/penguin show. They loved it!

Sammi and Grant were following their maps the whole time trying to show us which way to go. It was so funny since they had no idea what they were doing. They got along so well and were such great friends. Unfortunately, I never got any pictures of all of the cousins together or even any of my other kids with them. Oh well.

I'm a RAP-tor

2010-03-09T10:51:00.001-08:00

Andrew had his 2nd grade musical, the "Dinostars" where he was a rap-tor. All the boys got up to sing a song "I'm a raptor, yo yo, I'm a raptor." Pretty cute although Andrew really had no idea what a rapper really is or does. We had to work on his moves but he inherited too many of my genes to really get it.

Master Electricians

2010-02-21T06:36:00.001-08:00

When we moved into our house 7 years ago, one of the first things I wanted to change was our entry way chandelier. Here we are 7 years later and it's still there. I hate it. Our friends Shane and Meredith decided to switch theirs this Saturday and asked Chris for help. We decided to take advantage of the scaffolding and man power and changed ours as well. Yea! Next is carpet....

While the dads were working on the light, these cute girls were hanging out watching the Olympics with all of the other kids and the moms. They were holding hands and smiling at each other. They are such good friends that when Alyssa started crying, Molly put her fingers in Alyssa's mouth to suck on. It calmed her right down. Next FHE is on sharing germs...

Alyssa at 3 months

2010-02-21T06:25:00.000-08:00

Alyssa is 3 months old. I've tried to get her cooing and laughing and this is as good as I could get.

More food art

2010-02-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

I just had to capture these creations by Chris. I think he should quit his job and do this for a living.

Food Art

2010-02-15T14:51:00.001-08:00

Chris isn't home for lunch often, but when he is, he makes these amazingly artistic lunches for the kids. Grant told me today that I should stop making lunches-Chris is hired! Fine with me!

a tree and a flower

Chris told me this is modern art-two rivers that diverge. Grant was told to choose which path he would take in life. Lunch with a lesson. That's my man.

Daddy-Daughter Ho-Down!

2010-02-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hailey and Chris got to go to the Daddy-Daughter Ho Down at school. Hailey was so excited that she came home from school and got ready immediately. She then proceeded for the next 3 hours to ask how much longer until Chris got home. The night started off with dinner. Hailey's choice was Burger King-cheap date! They had a great time and danced all night long.

Swinging their imaginary ropes.

Double Blessings

2010-01-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

During the weekend of Jan 9-10 we were so lucky to have my parents here from Colorado as Andrew was baptized and Alyssa was blessed in church. Andrew was really excited and had a wonderful day. Both of my parents gave talks and we were so glad that they were able to come. Afterwards we went to Noodles & Company for dinner (Andrew's choice).

Alyssa was blessed in church the following day. She was able to fit in the dress that Chris' mom made for Hailey. I wasn't sure if it would fit since she's almost 3 months and Hailey was only a few weeks old. Luckily, we didn't have to force her onto a crash diet.

Two Months Old!

2009-12-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it, but Alyssa is 2 months old! Time goes by way too fast. She is smiling and cooing and sleeping 11 hours at night-what a wonderful baby! We love having her in our family and never get tired of being with her.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-27T08:16:00.001-08:00

We met with friends on Christmas Eve and had the children act out the Nativity. It is so fun to see these children get into their parts and to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Lizzy is the cutest angel I've ever seen.

Hailey was Mary and Carter Bird was Joseph. I don't think that Kori saw, but Hailey actually went up to Carter and tried to kiss him. She'll be glad to know that Carter backed away. It's Hailey I need to worry about.

"Mary" and "Elizabeth": what cute girls.

Weight gain

2009-12-21T03:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Carter and Andrew decided that they wanted to try to outweigh Chris with their combined weights. Rather than lift weights or eat, they both consumed massive amounts of water-RIGHT BEFORE CHURCH. My rule has been-go before we leave and no one goes out of sacrament meeting. About 10 minutes into sacrament meeting, Andrew is shaking his legs and bouncing in his seat. Small bladder boy couldn't even make it through the sacrament and had to leave as the water was being passed. He had to go again 15 minutes later and Carter also left. When they returned, Chris quietly asked them, "How much do you weigh now?"

Say cheese!

2009-12-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have been trying for the past 2 weeks to get the camera when Alyssa smiles, but I've never had any luck. It paid off today and I caught it! Her whole face lights up which is so sweet.

Andrew is 8!!

2009-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

Andrew had his 8th birthday on December 6th and we celebrated by opening presents, eating cake and going to church. Andrew wasn't thrilled that his birthday was on Sunday this year, but overall it was a wonderful day for him. He is looking forward to his baptism in January when my parents are coming.

Each of our kids gets to have a party out of the house with their friends on their 8th birthday (otherwise it's at home). Andrew choose to go bowling and play in the arcade. He had a great time. All the boys were dancing and checking out each other's scores-they are so cute.

Random

2009-11-24T15:02:00.001-08:00

When Hailey got home from school today, I could tell that she was tired. She went right over to Alyssa. Before I knew it, she was putting her (clean) finger in Alyssa's mouth since she couldn't find a pacifier and proceeded to suck her own thumb. We have some serious oral fixations in this family.

I told Grant that babies grow very quickly. Every morning he asks, "Did Alyssa get a little bigger last night?" He loves being a big brother.

First Sunday

2009-11-22T11:22:00.001-08:00

We took Alyssa to church for the first time today. She slept the entire time. Unfortunately, now we have high expectations.

Sleepy Baby

2009-11-15T05:48:00.000-08:00

Alyssa is a marvelous sleeper. She sleeps between 5-7 hours at night before she wakes up to eat and then goes right back to sleep. She is so good natured and I just love to watch her.

She's here!

2009-10-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

We're so excited that our little girl is here. Alyssa Elaine Stradling was born on October 28th and weighed in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. She is so sweet and the other children are loving having a little baby around. Hailey cried this morning as she left for school because she didn't want to leave her sister. I'll post more pictures later.