A lot of cousin fun!

     More fun was had at the hotel pool before we headed home. The rubber duck was a hit!

     The kids had a great time visiting with their Smith cousins in Meridian. We also had a yummy lunch at the Tasty Freeze.

    And Cole's baptism was awesome! His buddy Steven was baptized too and his mom went over the top with all the fun "Great to be 8" ideas! It was a great afternoon and we're so happy we could be there to support Cole on his special day.

Pinterest ideas taken to a new level!

     The Baker boys are the cutest!

And that's how Ford eats a gum ball.

Yummy food and ice cream with lots of fun toppings.

Blake didn't know I was stalking him. He's so CUTE!

    And Ford may have had a minor 'accident' and some day this photo will be a fun reminder of how much fun a toddler being potty trained can be.

    And you can't have the cousins together without some more filter fun on Snapchat.

   These two couldn't be cuter together.

Cousins only a couple weeks apart.

     And our weekend is starting off with a few 'date'.

Isaac and Bobbi headed to Morp! (Isaac's first date/dance.)

Charlie with her buddy, JT at the Curiosity museum.

     So that's the weeks highlights. Spring is just days away and the weather is promising to warm up a little. The trampoline was put back together today so that should keep the kids outside over the next few days. (It also attracts hoards of neighborhood kids but it is what it is.) I'm definitely ready for spring weather, winter can go already!

GrandDAUGHTER! and lots more!

     Kayli and Tanner had a gender reveal party Sunday night at their apartment complex clubhouse and I was thrilled to see pink confetti fall from the balloon! We can't wait to meet baby girl Wendel in August!

Such a nice clubhouse but cleaning up pink confetti was a bit overwhelming!

    Brock and McClane were both happy to go back to G.O.A.T. to get their hair cut and Charlie was happy to hang out and wait for them and enjoy a few free snacks.

McClane was mostly annoyed with Charlie.

    I'll never understand why these kids love to make themselves 'fat'.

Seriously!

    And MIRACLE!! Isaac finally has a job! Little Ceasars saw the name Kmetzsch and gave him a job, pretty much. Thank goodness Kayli left a good impression there. Isaac's pretty excited for his new freedom and independence and I'm happy he's finally getting out of the house and away from his devices and will have money to pay his car insurance.

     Greg, the four youngest kids and I, made the six hour drive to Idaho to attend Cole's baptism and also take a little break from reality with a stay in a hotel for a couple nights. The kids were pretty stoked about swimming in the hotel pool! Mark and Isaac stayed behind to work.

Fun place!

A few blow up toys to enjoy in the pool.

    We got to see some cute chicks and ducklings at the local 'farm' store.

     Tad and Megan hosted us for dinner and served the yummiest homemade pizza I think I've ever had. We also enjoyed all the cute boys!

So YUMMY!

    And we couldn't resist a little snapchat filter fun!

Charlie, Ford, Cole and Grandma. So fun/silly!

      Tomorrow should be just as fun and we can't wait to see cute Cole be 'dunked'! Family fun is always the best fun!

Before and After

     After a long 4/5 months it was time to say goodbye to the beard, the bushy, very grey, beard and back to a sexy bit of scruff. He's handsome no matter what but I love the scruff! The kids weren't very happy but obviously he can grow it back out if he wants to. He did admit his face has been cold the past few days but thankfully Spring is only 19 days away!!

      On a side note, Isaac had an interview at Little Ceasars today and goes back tomorrow for orientation so I'm pretty sure he's employed and that couldn't have happened at a more opportune time. I literally had hidden his tablet just this morning because I told him all devices would be taken away indefinitely if he didn't have a job by the end of February. Lucky! Once he gets that first paycheck and can start driving and getting out on his own a bit more he's going to become addicted to his freedom. I'm just looking forward to his forced time away from devices! Oh teenagers!!!!

'Fido' and Fancy!

   Last weekend we had extra puppy love to enjoy. These three love to find anyone laying around that they can snuggle with.

    And who can say no to a 'late' Valentine dinner with good friends? Especially at this fancy place with this amazing view! We've never treated ourselves to this place but we'll be going back for sure. The Roof, at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial building, was amazing, spendy! but amazing!

Spectacular view, Amazing food and Great friends.

What a view!

     So that was the highlight of our week. The rest of our week has been pretty low-key.

Valentines 2019!

    A week of 'love'! Kayli came up and helped Isaac get a 'promposal' poster ready for his friend. It said, "I couldn't bear not going to prom with you." It was presented with a stuffed panda bear and a variety of bear candy. Then Isaac got the girls response at school a couple days later. The answer was wrapped up in a huge ball of string with the answer, "Even though you strung me along....yes!" Cute!

It's like looking at the past and future at the exact same time. Charlie's a mini Kayli in so many ways!

   And what's Valentine's day without a cute heart shaped hairdo!? It might be a repeat from last year but how can I resist when it looks so cute!?

    And Greg didn't dare let the day pass without making sure he took care of his Valentine and chocolates is always a win!

(The pillow was just for presentations sake.)

   And while Greg got stuck at work with a major water-pipe break, I had a fun Valentine pizza dinner with five of my favorite Valentine's. Greg and I did get to escape later that night for a little treat at Cold Stone with our friends, so it was a win-win for me!

     Fun week! There were a few people taken down with a cold this week but thankfully no one was too fussy or whiny about it and most everyone is on the mend or nearly back to normal. Now we just need Spring to hurry up and get here! (Only 32 more days!-)

Snow!

     Another big snowstorm, to add to our much needed water supply, fell this week. It was a crazy storm, we got 12 inches and we decided to keep the kids home from school because the road conditions were less then ideal. All the other school districts took a snow day and for a few reasons, that I don't necessarily agree with, our school district decided to keep school in session. Anyway, the kids didn't mind staying home and it was nice to have some boys around to shovel throughout the day.

Isaac shoveling the deck so Smalls had a place to 'go' outside.

    And I mentioned last week that McClane is headed down his own orthodontia road and that began this week. This was not what I had planned for our tax returns but it is what it is and we'll make do and we're not going to let it hinder our travel plans. March 18 is when he'll begin the official steps to getting an expander, braces and what not and of course that's just phase 1, he'll be in braces 2 different times just like his three older brothers. Apparently his cross bite is bad and the narrowness of his jaw is so severe less then 1% of the worlds population has a jaw as narrow as McClane's. The orthodontist kept calling him an over-achiever. The whole thing is clearly going to be torture for both of us but we'll do what we have to, to avoid surgery in the future and to help him have the best smile we can provide that nature is sure to foul up.

At least he's a good sport about it all. 

     And lucky me, I got to be Roiann's first hand model as she trains to become a nail tech. She did an incredible job and I look forward to her taking care of my nails in the future and getting even fancier with the polish.

I think next time I'll get a little darker color but I'm loving the gel nail so far.

     It's been a good week and I'm glad we survived another 'good' snow storm. Greg's the best! And only 39 more days until SPRING!

Braces be GONE! (But not really.)

     Carter is finally braces FREE! He was so happy to get those 'metal tracks' off his teeth for good. It's been a long road but he's finally done with orthodontia!

    After years of being told to avoid certain foods the orthodontist office gave him a goodie bag full of all the 'forbidden' treats. (I took the Snickers bar, that's the least he could sacrifice for the money spent on his 'perfect' teeth.)

    And just when I thought we were in the clear with orthodontia the dentist recommended I take McClane in for an examination for his over-bite. Apparently the bottom pointy teeth are coming over the top teeth, which isn't right, so most likely McClane is going to need braces. SERIOUSLY! I really thought I was going to only have 3 out of the 7 need braces but no such luck! His appointment is next Thursday but I'm holding out hope they won't want to start any treatments for another year or so. Why, braces, why!!??

     So that's the week's highlights. It's been a fairly quiet week and we're just gearing up for the big game Sunday. It's definitely not about the game for us but we're excited about all the food we're going to have! The slush is in the freezer, the jello cheesecake is setting up as I type this and so much more to prepare Sunday afternoon. I love 'Super Bowl' food!