The Elster's

My baby girl turned 3!!!

2011-04-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Irelyn on her Birthday!!!

This is the AMAZING cake my mom made. Irelyn
was dead set on having a Tangled Birthday Party,
and this was what my mom came up with. It was a huge hit!!

Full view of the tower it was almost as tall as Irelyn.

Rapunzel in her tower :)

Some of the decorations

I found these cute little hair pieces so that
the girls had long blonde hair like Rapunzel.
And then we colored pictures of Rapunzel and
Flynn.

I made the flags with the sun on them,
Madi thought they looked just like the one's
in the village :) She got really into it.

We played pin the frying pan on Flynn Rider,
the kids had a blast with this.

Grandpa wanted to try out having some hair
again!! Irelyn thought he was crazy!

Here's my beautiful mother with
Irelyn and Graci.....she's so much fun!

Cute little Mason

Her new bike.....she was so excited

Irelyn and Graci! Graci kept telling Irelyn
that she was the "burphday gurl" it was so
funny! They are little BFF's.

Some of the kiddos waiting to open presents.
The older kids(especially Madi) couldn't stand to watch
Irelyn open them by herself.......it was hard to resist for them :)

Irelyn's birthday was a huge success! She ended up getting a new princess bike that as a baby carrier on the back and a basket on the front. I feel really "Tangled" out after this party....not to mention the fact that the girls watch the movie about 4 times a day!! Madison can actually quote most of the movie at this point and it's only been out on DVD for a couple of weeks. It's so weird to me that Irelyn is 3 years old. She is such a sweet little girl....always wanting to make people laugh and she's always being silly. She's so sweet always saying "Mom, I love you so much". Now if her and Madi would just stop fighting over all of the toys! haha That's mostly what I deal with on a day to day basis.....those two fighting!! It's from the minute they wake up in the morning until they go to bed @ night! We had a good day though! I'm so grateful for my family....they are always there to support us and it means to much to me! No matter what they are there for birthday's, baptisms, and whatever else we might have. I have the best family!

Trip to Insta-Care

2010-12-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

****It's kind of hard to see, but there are 3 staples in her head****

My little Madi was jumping on the couch last night and ended up hitting her head on the window seal!!! Busted her head open and ended up needing 3 staples in her head. This was our first trip for an injury, so I guess I've been fairly lucky! She did so good and was so brave.....didn't even cry when they put them in! 7-10 days and then we will be able to take them out :) I had no idea ow badly the head bleeds.....thought it was much worse than it actually was!

Future hairstylist??? I think NOT!!!

2010-12-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is what I came home to the other night. Yup, a HUGE bald spot on the side of my daughters head. I was freaking out (obviously) trying to figure out what had happened. I felt the spot and couldn't feel any stubble, so I quickly realized that it hadn't been cut, so on to the next idea.........Now, as some of you may know, IRelyn had a few stomach issues when she was born, and it has followed her into her toddler years. She still throws up a lot and has a super sensitive gag reflex so she can pretty much puke on demand!! So I had this horrible thought come to mind that maybe she is malnourished because she still throws up so much and she honestly is a horrible eater. So naturally I'm upset about it, until I hear Irelyn say "Madi pulled it out Mom!" Um.........I'm sorry, What?? Oh yes people, she lead me to the scene of the crime (aka the toy box) where I found a pretend curling iron and a huge clump of hair!!! Mystery solved, Madison got the curling iron stuck in Irelyns hair and instead of asking for help, just decided that she would yank it out herself leaving a gigantic bald spot on the side of Irelyns head!!! If this is what happens when Mom is away...........I may be staying awhile!!! So, I think it is safe to assume that Madison's career as a Hair Stylist was short lived!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2010-10-31T09:56:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty good Halloween this year! It was fun because everybody was big enough to walk by themselves, and I didn't end up having to carry anyone this year! IRelyn was so excited to say "Trick-or-Treat" so she was saying it even before they opened up the door! Unfortunately it ended up raining on us pretty much the whole night......so that kind of put a damper on the evening. I wish we were able to go a little longer, cause they were having so much fun, but I didn't want them to get sick :)

~~~Tinkerbell~~

What a little ham! She kept telling people that she was Tinkerbell and would say...."Isn't

my costume beautiful??"

Hunter as a Robot! He got a lot of compliments on his costume this year which made him really

happy. He kept saying..."Wow, a lot of people are noticing my costume this year!"

This was the back of his costume, I couldn't get the picture to turn so sorry it's sideways!

~~ Pink Fairy~~~ She was NOT impressed with me! She was ready to go trick-or-treating,

and I made them pose for pictures! She was pretty upset.

Here is the full view of her costume, I ended up making all of their costumes this year, I thought it would be a fun thing to do together......they helped a bit! I think they turned out pretty good, probably not the best sew job, but I'm still learning! I was a bit upset that they had to wear coats, cause you didn't get the full effect of the costumes!! haha

Well, we had a pretty eventful Halloween this year. The kids were so excited to go all day and when it was finally time..........it rained!! It rained until about 7pm, but by that time we were all wet and cold so we called it quits.......plus there weren't very many people home this year so we had to walk further than we wanted to so that the kids could get some candy! I ended up making all of the costumes this year and i was a little dissapointed that I had to cover them up with jackets! All in all the kids got a good amount of candy and they had a good time..........so that's all that matters right??

Happy Birthday Madi!

2010-09-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

BIRTHDAY!
This was how her Birthday started out......I stayed up late trying to make her a poster...she wouldn't go to bed so I had to wait until she went to sleep to decorate the upstairs. Once we woke her up we let her open her presents and then we took her out to breakfast! She told me that she didn't want my french toast, she wanted it from the restaurant! :) Her actual birthday was on the 24th and we didn't have her party until the 28th, so we decided to give her all of her presents on the 24th! She wanted a barbie bike, so naturally I went and got it for her!! It's the pinkest bike I've ever seen, but she loved it!

She was so excited to get new earrings!

Do you think she was excited???

It took us hours to get her to come in the house! She just wanted to ride her bike all day!

PARTY DAY!!!!

Well, my Madi girl turned 4! I can't believe it. I swear my mind just can't accept that my kids

are growing up and that I don't have a "baby" anymore! We debated about what kind of party to have this year.......1st it was a Princess party, 2nd it was a Hello Kitty party, 3rd she wanted a Strawberry Shortcake party, and finally she decided on having another Tinkerbell party! I informed her that she had a Tinkerbell party last year....she didn't care one bit! I didn't either I just wanted her to make a decision :) It was a pretty laid back party, I'm not really one for going overboard.....I'm just not that creative! My parents were able to come up and they brought Max and Grace which made my kiddos sooo happy! Brandon, Torie, Mason, and Aunt Aimee all came over and we had Renn, Jenn and their 4 super cute girls, and Carson, Kori, and Cayson were able to make it also!! Madison had so much fun even though we had to move her party from the park to our house due to the incredible winds! I swear that happens every year! I should know better by this point not to plan parties outdoors! It was a fun day!

Madi opening her presents

She's so funny! She gets really embarrassed when people want to make a fuss over her !

She must really be my daughter :)

All the kids waiting for her to blow out her candles

Her super cute cake that Grandma made for her! She was so excited because she got another

Tinkerbell doll :) I have the best mom I love her so much!

Nice!

Happy Birthday Madi.....WE love you so much!!!

Trip to the aquarium

2010-05-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

We had Hunter this past weekend and we decided that since the weather was so crappy
we would take the kids to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy!!! It wasn't the best aquarium I've ever been too, I have to admit!! I was a bit dissapointed in how small it was and how much they charge to get in..........definate lesson learned! Next time we'll just hit the zoo ;) But the kids did have a good time with what they did have there. I had a lot more pictures, but I forgot to change the setting with my flash and so they didn't turn out very good, so these are the best I've got! Hunter of course thought it was amazing because he LOVES stuff like this, Madison does whatever Hunter does, so she was on board as well! Irelyn had a good time following her brother around...they just love him so much and we wish we could have him all the time. He brings the life to the party everytime :) I guess I'll end with we had a good time because we were all together..........................but as for the Aquarium...........it kinda sucked!!!

They did have penguins!!!

This was a giant lobster. Hunter said

it made him hungry :)

Irelyn is such a ham.

Not the best memories!!!

2010-05-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

So I know the first two pictures are already on my blog, but I had to post what she looked like the next morning when she woke up....................much, much, worse!!! This is why I was so freaked out, it was tough to even tell she was the same kid. :( Just so thankful she is so much better now. Just thought I'd share.

Morning #1

Morning #2 Yikes!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Irelyn!!!

2010-04-13T22:33:00.001-07:00

Well, my baby turned 2yrs old this month!!! I have been having so many mixed emotions these past few weeks knowing that I don't have a baby anymore. It's amazing how very quickly the time seems to fly past you and the next thing you know you feel as though you've missed something. That's how I have felt lately ;( I can't believe how much she has grown up. She is such a joy to our family and brings such a wonderful light into our lives. She's always saying or doing silly things that make us stop dead in our tracks and bust a gut laughing. She has such a sweet little personality and she loves to be held and snuggled by anyone willing. What a hard thing to comprehend when your youngest child suddenly becomes too old to call your baby. I called her my sweet little baby the other day and Madison informed me that she's not a baby anymore, she's a big baby girl!!! I can't even imagine what my life was like before I was so blessed to have beautiful, healthy, happy kids. I'm very lucky!!! We love you so much Doo Doo!!! Happy Birthday my Sweet Big Baby Girl :)

Here is the Birthday Girl :)

All of the kids were jumping in trying to lend a hand
in the opening of the gifts.

Here is her trying to figure out why everybody was
standing around her singing and wanting her to blow out
candles. She really wasn't sure what to think about the
whole thing. She just sat there smiling @ everyone.

She wasn't very impressed @ this point,
she was soooo tired it had been a very long day
for all of us, but especially the little ones. This is Graci
trying to make her feel better :)

We actually started the party @ the park, but the
wind decided it was going to start blowing like crazy
so Angie was nice enough to let us take the party
to her house so we didn't lose anything, or anyone for
that matter!! ;)

Here are the adorable cupcakes my mom made.
I know, I know, she's extremely talented and no, I
don't know why I didn't take after her. It's a mystery
to me too. haha

Here is Dora in all her glory!!!
The kids were poking @ the cake and
that is the spot you see on her face :)
I couldn't believe how great my mom made
her face look. She's a little creepy as it is so
I was nervous what she'd look like in frosting form,
but I have to say it turned out great. I love my mom,
she's the best!!!

Irelyn posing in her princess crown.
Can you tell how windy it was, she could barely
hold herself up let alone smile for the picture:)

Like I said.........we were all tired!!!
It only took my sweet grandma about 5
minutes to drift off to sleep when she got seated.
I was just so thankful she was able to make it and
share the day with us. We love you Grandee!

All in all I would chalk this up to a successful birthday. I am so lucky to have such great family. I almost feel as though I could never thank them enough for all they do for us. The kids had a blast, and of course the adults got to catch up too. What a day!!!

UPdate!!!

2010-03-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

So the day after I posted those pictures, Irelyn woke up 10x worse than she looked in those pictures!!! Her little face was all swollen, and the hives were much much worse. I was worried that her air way was closing off because she wouldn't eat or drink anything, so I rushed her to the Pediatrician's office only to find out that she had Erythema Multiforme. It's basically her body having an allergic reaction to her allergic reaction to penicillin!!! They had to put her on a super strong antihistamine to bring the swelling down, and a steroid to help with the hives. It took about a week before she finally got rid of all her hives, but thankfully now she's doing much better. IT was so scary!!! I have never been more afraid for one of my kids I completely broke down in the Dr's office. I thought they were going to commit me because no matter what he said I just kept on crying. I think part of it was because I had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep in the last 3 days!!! I'm so thankful that she's feeling better and that she is on the mend. I am so hoping for spring so she will stop getting sick. :)

Randomness!!!

2010-02-23T13:20:00.001-08:00

So I know its been way too long since I last posted & it's because life in the Elster home has been nothing short of COMPLETELY CRAZY!!! I sort of feel like everytime we are finally starting to get a handle on life, one of the kids ends up with some random illness, we end up having to pay for something not planned for, or just the normal of being so busy you have a hard time remembering which day of the week it is much less being able to remeber the month!!! Aside from that drama, life here is pretty good. We are all still kicking which at this point is all I can ask for :)

CAN YOU SAY ALLERGIC REACTION??????

This is what my daughter woke up looking like today! After multiple times being sick these past few months, and being on antibiotics, I guess her body decided it was done cooperating with the Doctors and has now decided that it's allergic to amoxicillan!!! We took her in as quickly as we could because of course I thought it was something much more serious than that, and I must say I was pretty relived to hear that it was only this. If you could only see her in person, you would understand why I'm so glad it's not worse!!! The poor little thing keep crying and saying it's itchy. Hopefully after a few days the hives will be gone and she'll start feeling better.

Playing catch-up!!

2009-12-16T18:30:00.000-08:00

So, this is going to be a few posts rolled into one. I haven't had the time to keep up with my blogging lately, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone :)

We got our Christmas tree up and it's huge. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the heater vent was open and so the tree has dried up a bit. Hopefully it will make it until Christmas.

Rob's mom, step dad, and Grandma came out to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving and we had a great time. We ended up going to Temple Square to see the lights, and it's so amazing. I love the Temple grounds even when there aren't thousands of lights.

Madison and Irelyn posing in front of one of the displays.

Rob, Madison, Rob's mom Dianne, her hubby Greg, and Rob's Grandma Nancy. (oh, and Irelyn) haha

I thought this was such a pretty picture.

Rob was able to meet his family to take the girls to the zoo for their first time. I'm so sad that I missed that. I had to work that day and I couldn't get out of it.:( I hope that we can take them back again soon. As you can see Irelyn didn't last very long, she apparently slept through the whole thing.

Can you say Attitude???

Madison fell asleep under the table during Thanksgiving dinner. She was so tired and onery, so we just let her sleep. Pretty freaky how she sleeps with her eyes half open.

Irelyn with her Grandma. She got new boots and she was so excited.

Us eating dinner.

This was @ the Planetarium. Hunter loves it there, so everytime he's in Salt Lake, we end up taking the kids there.

Irelyn and Madi doing what they do best.........fight!!

Irelyn in the 3D movie, this is how she wears her glasses. Any type, it doesn't matter,

they go around her neck. Funny girl.

Hunter and Madison being goofy. We had such a good time that day. The movie was

actually a little creepy, but they kids loved it.

So that's pretty much it as far as what's been going on here. Hopefully it won't take me this long to post pictures after Christmas. :)

Sick babies AGAIN!!!!!

2009-11-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

I really feel like my turn is OVER!!! I have had sick babies off and on for the last 5 months. I need a break. Madison has been a really sick little girl the last week or so. I decided on Friday to take her to the Doctor, but had a really hard time trying to decide which one to go to. Since we've moved to Salt Lake, I haven't been able to find a pediatrician that my kids click with. So on Friday I found this clinic not too far from our house and decided to make the appointment since she really couldn't wait any longer. We get to the office and didn't have to wait more than a few minutes, so I'm thinking......nice, they are really on top of things here!!! After dragging her back to the exam room, this man gently knocks on the door and walks in. At first I"m thinking.....Oh how sad this old man is lost, and then when I realize that he's the DOCTOR, I thought, um........is this some kind of joke?? Now I"m sure that at one point in time he was an excellent doctor, but I think it's time for Hawaiian shirts and straw hats.....(if you know what I mean)!!! He just wasn't very personable and Madison did not like him AT ALL. After explaining her symptoms to him he simply said, "Well she tested negative for strep, and it's just a virus that will pass with time." As if I haven't heard this a million times before!!! He proceeds to say that he thinks there could be a possibility it was the swine flu, but since she didn't really have a cough, it wasn't!!! That was it....have a nice freakin' day!!!! Well later that evening she begins with a horrible cough. So I call the next day (saturday) and they basically tell me that it's probably the swine flu but since she's had the symptoms for more than 48hrs, there wasn't anything they could do for us. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday come and go and there is absolutely NO improvement for her, in fact she was getting worse. I was of course afraid that her cough was turning into pneumonia, so I make another appointment today with a different doctor. He walks into the room and he probably spent the first 5 minutes just showing Madison tricks, and drawing pictures for her until he felt like she was comfortable enough to let him examine her. She was completely calm and was actually laughing @ him. He checks her throat, her chest is clear no fluid in her lungs, and then he moves on to her ears. He puts the instrument in her ear and quickly pulls it out, he checks the other ear and the same thing. He then asks me if she has been complaining that her ears hurt because she has a double ear infection that has progressed to the point of gigantic pockets of puss in each ear canal!!!!! I was so pissed off. How could that stupid doctor have missed the fact that she had an ear infection in both ears?????? I know he's old, but seriously!!! I'm almost tempted to call the office and tell them that I refuse to pay for the visit since it was his mistake. I usually won't make a stink about stuff, but this really made me mad. I didn't even take her in because of her ears, and if I wouldn't have taken her in, who knows how bad it could have gotten. You would think the fact that she was running fevers of 103+ for 5 days would raise some red flags.!!!! Wow, I really just needed to vent! On a more positive note, they've got her on some antibiotics and hopefully she'll start getting better:)

My amateur photo session:)

2009-11-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to Liberty Park and I thought it would be fun to take

some pictures of them. They turned out pretty good considering that

I don't have the best camera. I'm hoping Santa will bring me a better one

this year:)

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

Madison was Cinderella this year. My mom made her costume

(again). My mom is amazing!!!!!! It was so funnny because people

kept telling her she was such a beautiful princess and she would

get mad and tell them....."I not a princess, I'm bein Cinderella!!!!!"

It was hillarious. She had a good time this year except for she's

afarid of EVERYTHING!!!!! Pumpkins, anything that made noise,

and the fake spider-webs.

My little DooDoo was a witch this year! If you think you recognize

this costume, you're right!!! this was one that my mom had made for

Madison when she was 1, and it just so happens that it fit IRelyn this year.

I thought....why waste money on another costume when I have one here!!!

Everybody thought she was so cute cause she's hold her bucket up and

say "treat, treat". She had a blast!!!

Hunter was a ninja this year. We didn't think

that we were going to get him for trick or treating

this year, but Brittany dropped him off earlier so that he

could go with us. Madison and Irelyn were so excited.

He's the best big brother!!!!

What cute kids:)

Sick babies:(

2009-10-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

So....my kids have Hand Foot and Mouth Disease!!!!! AT first, I thought it wasn't going to be all that bad because they didn't have any rashes on their bodies, just some sores in their mouths. Not "just", what I meant to say was that they only had that particular symptom. After a few days I thought they were feeling better, and then...........BAM!!! Fevers of 103+, swollen mouths, huge pussy sores down their throats on their tongues. Madison was doing a bit worse than Irelyn for a few days, and then today I thought I was going to break. Irelyn not only has this stupid crap, but she's cutting both sets of eye teeth. That's right.......both top and bottom!!! KILL ME NOW PLEASE!!!!!!! Rob started his new job today so I didn't have any help with the kids until 4pm. I wanted to pack up the kids and drive to my mom's house, and I would have if she didn't have a funeral that she was in charge of today, and if I wasn't chugging off of 3 hours of sleep in the last two days. Earlier today Irelyn was soooooo mean & every time Madi even looked @ her she would start screaming! I asked her why she was being so mean to Madi & she gave me a killer dirty look! Then Madi asks"DooDoo why you being so mean?" Irelyn replies with"I nuno!" So Madi turns to me and says"Mama, um her says her don"t know!!!" I was laughing so hard. Hopefully they both get feeling better soon cause I don't know how much more I can take!!!

So Thankful!!!!!!!

2009-10-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

We just found out that Rob was offered a job in Salt Lake. It is the job we have been wanting to get, and we kind of thought that it wasn't a possibility anymore, because we hadn't heard anything in over a month and a half, but we just heard the other day that we got it!!!(well Rob got it) I feel so thankful that we have finally been given an opportunity to make a better life for our family. It is going to be a great career move for Rob, and the company is really great. They offer just about anything you can imagine. It will be nice to be close to Torie again, I really miss her and now that she's having a baby, it's even better:) It's going to be really hard to move away from Hunter, but we are just hoping that it's only going to be a year and then he will be able to get a job in the St. George or Cedar hospital so that we can move back. I hate that things have had to get to the point of us only getting to see him every other weekend, and now it's going to be one weekend a month. So you can imagine why we want to move back as quickly as possible. It's so hard on Madison right now because she doesn't understand why her brother doesn't get to stay longer and why she doesn't get to see him more often. How do you explain custody laws to a 3 yr old???? I must say that it's going to be nice to have a place of our own again. It's been a little difficult living with my parents. You just don't feel like you have your own space, and it's a little frustrating. Other than that it's been so nice to have my kids spend more time with their papa and gama! My kids absolutely love my mom and dad and I'm so thankful that they get to spend so much time with them. Hunter loves coming to Panguitch. He thinks it's the coolest thing to go help my dad do sprinklers, and he gets to ride the mini four wheeler, which of course he loves!!! He'll always say that he wished we lived there so he could ride the four wheeler anytime he wants to. I have to remind him that it's not his, it belongs to papa and it's for ALL the grand kids.
Thankfully we have found a house in a really great neighborhood, so I'm not as nervous to move up there as I was before. Rob's shift is a graveyard shift that is from 8pm to 7am. It's a 7 days on and 7 days off, which I think will end up being nice. It will give us the opportunity to spend a lot of time together as a family without having to take time off work. I'm not sure how I feel about being home alone at night, but we found a house that has a security system, so that's good for me. I just hope that my kids don't accidentally set it off and we end up with the Salt Lake City Police Department at my front door:) I shouldn't joke about that, cause it's a definite possibility!!!!!! You know what I"m talking about if you know my children. Well, in case you couldn't tell.................I'm just thankful for everything in my life right now and I just hope that everything will continue to pick up for us and that we can move past this crap we've been dealing with lately.

What's new?????? Not much!

2009-09-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Well even though there's nothing very exciting to post about, I figured it has been almost a month since my last one and I'd better update. We are now staying with my parents in Panguitch until Rob hears back on a few jobs. He's trying to decide if he wants to go and get his teaching certificate and teach science at a home for troubled youth. OR................try and get on at a company in Salt Lake as a Lab Tech. Which will end after a year and he will have his certification to be a medical technologist. Then, he can pretty much work in any hospital he wants. (if there are jobs) We still aren't exactly sure what we are going to do! In the meantime, he has been working @ the home as a Team Coach. Which basically means he supervises the boys and takes control when things get out of hand. I told him he was perfect for the job because they are all probably scared of him and don't want to get their butts kicked! Even though he is probably one of the most laid back people I've ever met. Almost too laid back. He was surprised when he actually was enjoying his job. We are just grateful to have one, and him liking it is just a bonus!
Other news.............I have to get my gallbladder out on Friday morning. I was kind of hoping that they would get me in sooner, but the surgeon told me that was the soonest he could fit me in. It was bearable at first, but it seems that everyday I just feel worse and worse. They are a little nervous because my liver enzymes were elevated and he's not sure if there is a gallstone blocking one of my ducts. Hopefully not, but it might explain how unbelievably terrible I feel. So I was kind of surprised that he wouldn't get me in sooner, but what do you do!!! Just let me tell you that having an attack is about the most painful thing I have ever felt. Including knee surgery/recovery, and having a baby when your epidural fails!!! I literally thought I was going to die. They say that gallbladder attacks mimic heart attacks, so you can only imagine. I kind of thought that I was a little young to be having a heart attack, but you never know right? Thankfully it's just my gallbladder and the surgery is same day. It only takes about an hour, and then as soon as you come out of the anesthesia, you can go. I'm hoping that it won't be like the last time I had surgery when I awoke in sheer panic because I was absolutely convinced the doctor had cut off my feet!!! Apparently I wasn't very nice to the poor nurse, I told her to shut up and put my feet back on. I guess when they have you wrapped up so tightly in 3 blankets, it's kind of hard to spot your feet:) I think I ended up yelling at everybody in the recovery room. Can't say that I remember much of it, this is just what I"m told! I do remember everybody was laughing and I couldn't quite put my finger on why they thought me missing my feet would be funny. Not really looking forward to that again, but hopefully it will be better this time around.
So that's pretty much all that is going on with us right now, I'll keep you posted about how the surgery goes.

Happy Birthday Madison!............(well almost)

2009-08-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

So we decided to go ahead and have Madison's 3rd Birthday party a little early this year. Her birthday isn't until the 24th, but Rob's mom wanted to be here for it, and this was the only weekend they could do it. So we thought, she's 2, she won't know the difference. It was a fun birthday. She kept on telling me for weeks that the only thing she wanted for her birthday was a yellow skateboard!!!! I know right???? I have no clue where the idea came from (hunter) but she has been so insistent about it, so after many exhausted days of shopping, I found one in the clearance section of Walmart. It wasn't all yellow, but it was small and it has locks on it so that she can only go forward, just until she gets the hang of it and doesn't kill herself. I don't necessarily think of myself as an "over-protective parent", but I was a little nervous about getting my 2 yr old a skateboard. I guess you'll just have to check back in to see if there are any Emergency Room posts with broken bones:) Let's hope not!!! She wanted to have a Tinkerbell Party, so I found this really cheap website that had everything Tinkerbell, and it even came in 3 days. We were able to rent a bounce house from a lady here in Enterprise, and the kids loved it. We were supposed to have some water relay's, and play a few water games, but I didn't realize that 2 and 3 year old's don't really have the capability of following instructions for games. Not quite the right age group, so we ended up letting them go crazy and having a water balloon fight. I think that went over better for them anyway. They all had a lot of fun. Thank you everybody for coming, it was a great day!!!

This is her in her "tinkerbell costume". I made it for her
for halloween, but we thought it would be cute to use it for
her party. She loved it.

Irelyn decided to sneak a cupcake!!!

My mom made her cake, of course!! She was so excited because
she knew she got to have the doll after the cake was gone.

We were supposed to play Pin the want on the Tinker, but we
forgot. So it ended up just being a decoration:)

This was the bounce house. It ended up having a slide that came off
the side, so the kids had a blast. Thanks Grandma Dianne:)

Madison swinging at the piniata. She actually hit it really hard.
She was upset because she didn't realize that they were going to
beat the crap out of it and ruin tinkerbell. But, once she saw the candy,
she was just fine!

Hunter ended up getting the candy to come out. Big surprise.

Daisy incorporating her karate moves into it.

Madison getting ready to open presents

She was so excited about the skateboard. Can you tell?

2009-07-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

You know how when you are pregnant and you do stupid crazy things, and people tell you that it's because the baby takes your brain cells???? Well apparently my kids forgot to give them back! I don't know what is happening to me, but I am probably the most forgetful person on this planet. Thank heaven I haven't forgotten a child some place yet or worse! I have been confusing people and conversations, and that's just the start of it. I will tell somebody something not realizing that I've already told them that story about 5 times. Bless you people who have to deal with me on a daily basis and haven't wanted to just kick my butt!!! Hopefully it doesn't get any worse or they might have to commit me:)

New Pictures

2009-06-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

These are my cute kids:) The pictures turned out pretty
good considering that they only lasted 20 min. Got to love kids!

Madison's new smile............not my favorite! It reminded
me of the Friend's episode when Chandler and Monica
are getting their engagement pics done!!!!!!!!! Impossible.

I wish she had more hair:(

Poor Hunter had to hold them both down on the bench & he wasn't

very impressed.

She sat right up and started posing. She's a ham!

I love this one, Irelyn kept ripping her headband off & Hunter and Madi

thought she was pretty funny. So did she!

We finally got Hunter over his "fake" smile phase. Thank

goodness!

And now................Madi's doing it:)

This is my favorite! If only we could photoshop in a headband for Irelyn:)

TRIP TO CATALINA!!!!!

2009-05-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Rob and I went to Catalina for our 5 year anniversary and it was so awesome. The place we were able to stay at was beautiful. We had 1 bedroom condo that had two balconies that connected. You could actually see the ocean from the bed. It was so peaceful to hear the waved crashing at night and smell the ocean air in the morning. We had our own private golf cart so we were able to come and go as we pleased. Normally you have to rent a cart and the going rate is $40 per hour. Our villa was about 3 miles outside of the actual city of Avalon, so it was cheaper than anything in town. But much nicer than anything that we saw. It was so nice to get away and finally get to spend some time with Rob before he goes back to work. It seems like our lives have been so crazy lately that we don't ever get to spend time together without our kids. (No offense kids, but sometimes we need some time to be adults:) I kind of forgot how much I liked him:) ha ha. Long story short, we had such an amazing time and I already want to go back. Maybe we'll take our kids next time and go on a family vacation..........................or maybe not!

It FINALLY happened!!!

2009-05-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well.................today was the day!!! Rob graduated:) I can't even tell you how excited I am about it. I feel like these past 4 years have taken 10. I can't even believe that it's actually real and happening. I have missed him so much and so have the kids. I am so proud of him and how hard he has worked these last few years going to school full time and working to support our family. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been for him, but he did it. It was so rewarding to see him in his cap and gown today walking up to the stage. ( he almost knocked the microphone down with his sleeve though.......it was really funny) His family was able to fly in and support him and I know that it meant a lot to him. We aren't sure exactly what it next, we are waiting to hear about a few options, but hopefully he can snag a job at W.E.C.C.O. It's a chemical company in Cedar City, and that would mean that we can stay in this area and not have to move up north. We'll see what happens I guess. I'll post pictures later.................I'm so happy:)

I think our dog might need Therapy!!!

2009-03-26T08:55:00.001-07:00

So....I think Spike might be a little bit confused about his purpose in life. He is such a funny little dog, always doing things that he knows will make us laugh. I think he can sense that I'm still not 100% sure about him yet, so he does whatever he can to make me laugh. I still can't figure out how in the heck he was able to wiggle his way into this tutu. I guess he's smarter than I thought:)

For those who know me you have figured out that I absolutely HATE Rob's music. But......for some strange reason it seems to always get Irelyn to sleep, and it provides much entertainment for the other two. And now..........it's Spike's favorite thing to dance to.

Counting my blessings!!!!

2009-03-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to take a minute and jot down a few of the things that I'm truly grateful for.........................................................................
My husband and my beautiful children. I know that sometimes I'm a crazy person, and that I don't always let them know it, but I feel like the luckiest person in the whole world to have such a wonderful husband, and the best kids! Rob has sacrificed so much for me and our kids, and I wanted him to know how much i appreciate everything that he does for us. He has worked so hard the last 4 years to make a better life for us and I'm so happy that he's finally getting to see what the pay off will be. I wanted to say thank you for everything that he does for us. I Love you!!!
Hunter is 6 years old now, and I can't believe how much he has grown up. I am always so amazed at what he will do and say. I somehow always think of him as this little chubby red-headed baby. He's such a great kid. I know that every kid will have their moments, and he's not any different, but all in all he's such a wonderful little boy and I'm so grateful for him and his wonderful personality.
Madison is 2 and what a handful she is. I honestly didn't even know how much harder she would be from Hunter!!! She is always testing me to see how far I will let her go, and it's usually farther than I wanted. I have a really hard time saying no to her. She always meets me with humor. She'll do or say something so funny that I forget why I'm mad at her in the first place. I'm so grateful for her and her witty personality, she always keeps me on my toes.
Irelyn is my baby, and she's almost 1. I can't believe how fast time passed me by this last year.
I feel like I blinked and she wasn't my little baby anymore:( She is such a sweetie. She has always got a smile on her face and it brightens my day! She can be a little demanding, but I think that means that she'll grow up to be a strong woman:) I'm grateful for her ability to put a smile on my face no matter how bad my day might be!
We have been sooooooo lucky this past week because we were able to sell our house! It was getting down to the point where I didn't know what we were going to do, and then it seemed like all of my praying finally paid off:) With Rob not working and going to school full time I was beginning to wonder how we were going to make things work. I guess I'm grateful that we kicked the crappy economy's butt!!!!!

I know that it sounds so cliche, but things do happen for a reason, I know that sometimes it can be hard to see what the reason is, but I PROMISE there is one. When Rob was laid off from his job, I was devastated! I would lay awake at night and wonder what we were going to do and how we would possibly make it. Thankfully, we had a little nest egg saved up, and so far things have been just fine. It might sound crazy, but I'm actually thankful for this because I was able to see just how much we missed Rob being home and being able to spend time with all of us. All of this prompted him to change his mind about going to Medical School and choose a different career path. He doesn't want to miss out on being a dad and watching our kids grow up. It happens so fast anyway, he wanted to be there for it. So I guess what I'm really trying to say is that things can ALWAYS BE WORSE!!!

My MacGyver moment in all it's glory!!!!!!!

2009-03-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

So today while I was cleaning my house, Madison was in the family room watching TV. I ended up hearing her asking me to help her. "heop me mommy" I went in the room and saw her sitting on the couch. I asked her what was wrong and she proceeded to tell me.......and I quote....."somfings in my nose" "What" I said, she replied "there's somfing in my nose."Keep in mind that she had her whole entire finger shoved up her nose. So I asked her "did you put something in your nose?" "Ya" she said, "Madison what did you put up your nose?" "UM..........my gum.".......... Oh yes people..............GUM!!! So I laid her on her back and got out my flashlight and sure enough, there's a wad of green gum shoved clear up in her nose. So far in fact, that I had to get my tweezers out. After about 15 minutes of trying to get it out and having her screaming in sheer horror, I decided we needed to regroup and try a new approach. I then thought I would try a bobby pin! I know it sounds awful, but she has a very tiny nose hole. I didn't know what else to do. One look @ the bobby pin, and she lost it. "Get it out mommy, it hurts!!!!" I was trying so hard not to laugh because she was totally freaking out. Her poor little eyes were watering, and she was crying. Just as I was about to call my pediatrician and take her in, she sneezed and I could see that it shifted a little. So I made her sit up and I plugged one side of her nose and told her to blow with all of her might!!!! After a few minutes a piece came out. I started cheering and was so happy that I didn't have to take her to the Dr., It was short lived............I hear "more". "What! Madison is there more gum up there?" "UM.........yes." So again, I had her blow as hard as she could and another piece came shooting out. These weren't chewed up pieces either, she had taken the stick of gum and broken it up and I'm guessing shoved them up one at a time. Just when I thought victory was mine, she informes me that....."It still hurts." HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yup, you guessed it, one more piece came out. 3 pretty decent sized pieces of gum up her nose!!!!! I'm still trying to figure out how she got it up there. What was even funnier is that the gum was pretty minty, and it was making her eye's water. With children, everyday is a new adventure, and everyday you try your best to navigate your way through it. Eat your heart out MacGyver!!!! He's got nothing on my newly developed skills!!!! Tweezers, tissues, and bobby pins..........genius:)

It's a MIRACLE!!!!

2009-02-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

So I've been trying to get Madison to try the potty out for the past 3 or 4 months and she wouldn't have any part of it. I sent her home to Panguitch with my mom and my little nephew Max for a couple of days, and I get this phone call from my mom saying that Madison was going on the toilet. I didn't really think much would come of it, but she has been going everyday since then. I'm so excited. I seriously was convinced that Irelyn would be potty trained before Madison because she's so stubborn!!!(Thanks to the Elster's:) She's not completely trained, but it's a start. I told her that she could pick out some little undies, and we would try them out. She is so funny and wouldn't pick out any girl undies, she wants the boy's spongebob squarepants ones, so that's what we will be buying!!! Whatever works right???? I'll keep you posted on how long it's going to last. Wish me luck!!!

Bowling!!!!!

2009-02-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

We have been promising Hunter we would take him bowling for the past couple of weeks, and today he decided it was time to make good on our promise. He is going through this super sensitive phase right now, so we didn't have the heart to tell him he came in last place. Scoring lower that even his little sister, so we told him that we weren't even keeping score:) The way I see it, it's okay to fib to your 6yr old when it's going to save you a complete emotional breakdown in a crowded public place. I have special future vision when it comes to these things!!! After we were finished, the kids had to get a couple of quarters to waste in the arcade and Madison chose to ride this black horse named Zorro. It sounds so mysterious:) This thing practically shook her brain loose. I don't know what kind of power Zorro was packing, but it definitely isn't for the faint hearted!!!! She was laughing so hard and her voice was vibrating...........It was hilarious. Oh the joy a quarter can bring:)

Black eyed baby!!!!

2009-02-11T17:01:00.001-08:00

So I know what you're thinking..................but this was totally a self inflicted accident:) Sunday evening we were all having dinner when Hunter and Madison decided they wanted to get down and play with the dog. At the time we didn't have a safety gate up on our stairs because I have been having a hard time finding one that would latch into place and be secure enough for Irelyn to pull herself up on it. I thought that Irelyn was with the other kids playing with the dog until I heard........."thud, thud, thud." She totally fell down like 4 stairs and landed on the wood floors with her face. I have never felt so bad. I think I cried harder than she did. I swear it only takes a second of not watching and that's when it happens. Thankfully I was able to find a gate that works, so now we don't have a problem with it. Between Irelyn's black eye and my oh so frequent calls to my buddies at poison control.........I'm surprised I still have my kids. I called my mom crying telling her that I was the worlds worst mom. In so many words she basically told me to stop crying and that it happens to everybody. I hope not!!!! It's pretty sad to see such a small baby with a black eye.

SURPRISE!!!!!!!

2009-01-26T14:03:00.001-08:00

We had such a great weekend. Dusty, Mandie, Aimee, my Mom, and me with all of our children drove up to Layton to surprise Torie for her 30th Birthday. She had no idea what was going on and I'm so amazed that we were all able to keep the secret for so long. We have had it planned since Christmas and it all worked out perfectly.
Her husband Brandon was telling her that they were going to go to Panguitch for the weekend, so Torie was all packed and ready to leave Layton by 3pm. Brandon kept staling to give us time to get there and get settled. For those of you that know Torie, you know that she doesn't like to be late!!! So when he picked her up @ 3:45.............you can imagine how that went over. She was so surprised to see all of us and we were so happy to be able to spend her Birthday with her and Brandon. It was a really fun weekend. On Saturday me and my mom took the kids to Chucky Cheese............bad idea on a Saturday night!!!! It was so crowded, but the kids had a blast. I can see how they make so much money. I thought we had a ton of tickets and thought that each kid would easily get a decent prize.........they got a plastic slinky! That's all, just a plastic slinky. I was a little steamed about that. You need like 3000 tickets to get anything worth going there for. The things we do for our children:) The rest of the gang went with Aimee to buy her a new car. She was able to get a really good deal on a Tahoe. It had everything she wanted and I was glad to see her get it. It was a really fun weekend and I'm so glad that we were able to go:) By the way did I say 30th birthday????....................um.................I meant 20th. :) Love you Torie!

WHAT WAS I THINKING???????

2009-01-18T13:56:00.000-08:00

Okay........so this whole dog thing is over-rated!!! I'm not sure that I'm going to survive this puppy phase. He is all over the place and the potty training isn't going so good. Just when I think he's there,..............surprise!!!!! Thank goodness he doesn't like the carpet much, so if he does have an accident, it's on the hard floors. (which are easy to disinfect). I swear this poor dog is cleaner than most people's children. I think I might be too OCD to have a pet in my house. Now, I know what you all are thinking...........I do like the dog, it's just more work than I was expecting. Right now I'm trying to potty train 2 members of my household and it's a little more than I bargained for. I guess I'm just realizing that this was totally my idea and that I should have thought it out more before I said yes. Not that I wasn't going to get a dog, I think I might have just waited a little bit longer until Madison was out of diapers........................Oh heck, I need to quit complaining!!!!!!! It will get easier right???????????????

Newest member of the Elster clan!!!

2009-01-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

So for those of you that know me, you know that I have always said that we would NEVER get another dog!!!! Well last Saturday, we went to look at some puppies because Hunter is still crying about losing Midnight! I was totally manipulated into getting this little runt. I must say that once the lady handed him to me, I melted! How can you not love that face????

This is Spike:)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2009-01-04T18:43:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas Day started pretty early.........like 6am early!!!! Apparently 6yr olds don't really care how much sleep their parents get on Christmas morning:) I had to threaten him with his life that if he went downstairs before getting Rob and me I would have Santa take all of his toys back. I guess he paid me back!!!! It was a great Christmas. We had Rob's dad spend a few days at our house. He came all the way from Canada so we were glad to get to spend some time with him. He had to leave after the kids were done opening their presents:( My parents came later that afternoon and were able to spend a few hours with us before it started snowing like crazy. Luckily they made it home with out any problems. The next day was Hunter's Birthday and the day that Rob's mom drove out from California so we got to spend a few days with her as well. It was so fun to be able to spend the holidays with both of our families. I know my kids loved it!

Hunter got an airsoft gun from Santa! He's only allowed to

shoot it outside and if he has his safety glasses on!

Santa brought Madi a princess scooter, which was just what she wanted:)

She was so excited and wouldn't get off of it for like 2 hours.

This is my beautiful mom holding my beautiful baby girl.

Somehow I was skipped when they were handing out the

beauty gene!!!

My dad and Madison couldn't quite stay awake. Getting up

so early finally caught up with her. She got this stuffed reindeer

from Rob's grandma. It sings Rudolph the red nosed reindeer

I think we heard that about a thousand times that day. She

absolutely refused to let it go so "rudy" took a nap too.

Rob's mom and step-dad brought the kids a TON of presents.

I didn't feel so bad about Santa not bringing the usual 2 ton

load of toys, because Dianne made up for Santa deciding my

kids had too many toys to begin with, and didn't want them to

get more than they really wanted/needed:) I'm sure glad she

came!!!!!

Poor little Irelyn didn't know what to think about all of the

commotion!!! She was so tired we couldn't even get her to smile

for this picture, which is pretty unusual! She's my little sweetie!

Farewell to a Friend

2008-12-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

We put our dog Midnight down today and it was so sad!!!! She was 14 years old and she was pretty bad off. She was getting to the point where she couldn't walk anymore because she had a spinal cord disease. Her legs would give out and she would fall down alot. She also had dimensia and she lost about 15 lbs from when she was healthy. What a good life she has lived though! She was seriously the sweetest dog. She was so great with the kids and she had such a quiet demeanor about her. She was always letting the kids lay on her and bug her and never once did she get snappy or mean. I think she loved the attention. Rob got her for his 12th b-day and he is now 27, so she has pretty much been with him his whole life. He is having such a hard time as you can imagine. Even though we know that it was the best thing to do for her, we can't help but feel sad:( She has been the one constant thing in Rob's life and I know that it is going to be really hard for him to get over this. I have to admit that I feel guilty because all these years, I absoultely refused to let her in my house and I was always freaking out when the kids were getting dog hair all over them. Thankfully Rob wasn't about to keep them from missing one minute with her. I think he has known for a while that she was nearing the end, and it finally was enough for him. He couldn't watch her suffer anymore. Try explaining this to a 5yr old emotional rollercoaster, and a 2yr old who even after we told her that Midnight was going to go to the Dr. and go bye bye, she kept walking around the house saying, "Mimnigh where r u?" All I can say is that she will be missed and we will always have a place for her in our hearts. We love you Midnight!!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend!!!!

2008-12-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

We went to Rob's mom's house for Thanksgiving this year in Newport Beach California. The weather was great and the kids had a good time. We left on wednesday morning @ 8am and we didn't get to California until 7pm. It was a NIGHTMARE!!!!!!! The drive usually takes Rob about 6-61/2 hours and it ended up taking over ten. The kids were so restless and the last 2 hours of our trip we had to listen to all 3 of them cry and scream. So...............needless to say I'm done with drives to California for a while. I think we've had our fair share. Once we finally got there we had a really good time. We ended up taking Hunter and Madi to the Long Beach Aquarium on Saturday and they had so much fun. All in all it ended up being a really great trip and we really love spending time with Rob's family.

Trip down memory lane.

2008-11-18T22:22:00.000-08:00

I was looking through our pictures and found these. It made me tear up. As some of you know, our custody arrangements had to change when Hunter started kindergarten. We used to get him every week Sunday - Wednesday. Now that he has started school, we get him every other weekend. It has been a very difficult adjustment, especially for Madi. She loves her brother so much and it tears me up when he has to go back to Enterprise. She will walk around the house saying "Nuner.....where are you?" When I have to tell her that he has gone home, she will start crying for him to come back. I didn't really think about how difficult it would be for her to adjust to it. I guess I thought she was young enough that she wouldn't really notice how much less we get to have him. Kids are much smarter than we give them credit for. She really notices and it affects her quite dramatically. Hopefully it will start getting easier for them both. (And me) I can't believe how much they have grown just in the past year.

Fun night in Vegas

2008-10-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

This past Friday Rob and I went to Las Vegas. We had to meet with the Dean of Admissions @

TOURO University, & then we were going to a Flogging Molly concert. It was nice to get a feel for the area and to get an idea of what it's going to be like living in Las Vegas. The school is actually in Henderson so it's a nice neighborhood. I'm still not 100% convinced..........but I just want Rob to get done with school so @ this point I'm willing to do almost anything to get him there!!!!! They were very impressed with him and his grades. He basically told us that Rob was a shoe-in. So that's a big relief off of our shoulders to know that he won't have any problems getting into that school. The other good thing about Vegas is that we will still be close enough to Hunter that we will get to keep the same schedule. It was definitely the deciding factor in where Rob chose to send his applications. After we met with the school, we had about 7 hours to kill before the concert started, so we went to a nice lunch and then hit the mall. I never knew hoe much Rob liked to shop when it was stuff for him. I couldn't get him out of the stores. I now know how men feel when we get carried away in stores. NOW............ in case you are wondering who in the heck Flogging Molly is, they are an IRISH PUNK BAND, and it's Rob's favorite. I'm not really into the music, but I'm trying the supportive wife role out. I will say that although the music was so loud I could actually feel my brain vibrating, they put on a really good concert. Thanks to Rob's dad and his friends @ the record company, we were on the guest list and we got the best seats in the house. The only thing that I could have done without were the intoxicated jerks in front of us. It was crazy they were throwing shoes and empty cups over the poor saps in the standing section. The concert was @ the Palms and so the concert hall only holds about 3000 people. There is a section in the very front where you can only stand and be trampled in the mosh pits. I was really out of my element!!!!! But It was nice to get some alone time with Rob. It is VERY rare!!!!!

HELP ME!!!!

2008-09-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

I swear it will be a miracle if I survive Madison. She is such a rascal. It seems like everyday she is becoming more and more difficult to handle. Yesterday I was feeding the baby and she slowly wandered out of the TV room. I heard water running so I put Irelyn down and as I started walking down the hall I felt water under my feet. She had gotten the bathroom door open, pulled her stool up to the sink, and decided she was going to wash her hands. She likes to fake me out by telling me she has to go to the potty, but I think it's just to get to the washing the hands part. When I walked into the bathroom, she was completely soaked and there was about an inch or more of water in the bathroom and it was running down the hallway. I picked her up and told her to go into the family room while I cleaned up the water. 10 minutes later I walked into the family room and she had gotten a bottle of lotion and had the carpet completely covered in it. Not to mention herself from head to toe. Every time I turned my back to her she was doing something she's not supposed to. Pulling all of the wipes out of the case, taking all of the DVDs out of their case and scattering them all over the floor. It was one of those days where you just absolutely think you're going to lose it, but @ the end of the day, you can do nothing except laugh. Everyday brings a new adventure and a new way for me to try and handle it without screaming and yelling. I know that every kid goes through the infamous "terrible two's" but I didn't experience that with Hunter. It only took one time of telling him not to get into stuff, and he really wouldn't. I never had to put child locks on doors or cupboards.
All I have to say is she is lucky she is sooooooooooooo cute!

Feeling OLD!!!

2008-08-27T16:02:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that you have started Kindergarten!!!

I feel like it was just yesterday you were riding

your little tricycle around our kitchen making car

noises. You were such a sweet little baby,

always smiling and laughing. How fast these past 4

years have gone by. I want you to know how much

I love you and how special you are to me. I remember

the first time I met you, you melted my heart.

I am so proud of the sweet little boy you have become

and what a wonderful big brother you are to your sisters.

They love you so much. I feel so blessed to be your mom.

Path of destruction!!!!

2008-08-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

I mean that in every literal sense of the phrase! Madison
got into my craft caddy and got out a tube of white acrylic
paint. I found her at the end of the hallway completely
covered in it. She had left a trail of little white footprints
from the kitchen to the family room. Apparently she
thought it was lotion because she had it all over
her hands, feet, and face. (oh ya, the hair too) Thankfully
I saw her before she was able to get onto my carpet. I spent
the next hour getting it off of her and slowly scraping it off of
my hardwoods. I asked her why she had done it and all she
had to say was........"I pretty mama."

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-08-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

So we had Madi & Max's birthday parties on Saturday in St. George.
We decided to have it at the new Hidden Valley Park in
Bloomington Hills. We got there at around 4:30 & there were
already 2 parties going on so both of the gazebos were taken.
The one party had been there since 1pm so we thought that
any minute they were going to be done. Well...........they were still
there when we left at around 7pm. I was so mad, especially because
the other party had actually reserved that gazebo for their party
and they just took it anyways. We had to wait about 45 min. until
the other party was finished so we could actually have a place
to put the cake. It was so hot!!! Thankfully it has the splash pad
so the kids were having a blast. After all the chaos it turned out to be
a pretty fun party! Max and Madi are so cute together, I'm glad
their birthdays are so close together so that we can have their
parties together!! Next time we are reserving an air conditioned
building so we can actually start on time & enjoy ourselves without
getting heat stroke.

Madi loves SpongeBob and so my mom made her this cake.
She was so excited to see it. Thanks Mom!!!

She didn't want to blow out her candles. She said it was
too scary! Thankfully Papa helped her!

Look at that face! Aunt Mandie got her this little dog that came
in a purse. She decided that she wanted to name it fluffy!
Not really sure where she was able to come up with that!

Hunter eating his cake & very melted ice cream. Apparently
103 degree weather isn't good on ice cream!

Surgery Day!

2008-08-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hunter had to get his tonsils taken out last week. He had been having reoccurring infections in his lymph nodes. The Dr scared us because he said that he wanted to biopsy the lymph node to rule out lymphoma!!!!! Naturally we were FREAKED OUT, but he seemed pretty optimistic about the whole situation. After a week and about 100 Popsicles............we found out that everything was just fine and that it was just his tonsils making the lymph node swell. We are soooooo glad that he is healthy, & back to his old self.

Irelyn & her baby!

2008-08-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is her new favorite thing to chew on. I think it's

so funny that she will hold on to it like she does.

She loves it! She gets a huge smile on her face when I

give it to her.........she's so much fun!!!!

My crazy Madi!!!!!!

2008-08-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Talking to Gaama on the phone!!!

She got herself stuck in the closet!!! She wasn't
scared to climb in, but she was to get down.

Her favorite thing in the whole world, and my
enemy......Desitin. I'm not quite sure what the
fascination is with it, but she will climb up and get
it from wherever I have hidden it. F.Y.I. If you want
to know if it's poisonous........Not in small amounts.
Me and the guy @ poison control are best buds.
I keep telling her if she doesn't stop eating things
Social Services is going to come and take her away!
Obviously that worked out well!!

Max put a dump truck full of dirt right on top
of Madi's head. She thought it was pretty funny.

Madi & Max Best buddies. They share a
common interest......SpongeBob Squarepants.
Or as Madi will put it, "BumBob Bumma." Don't ask!!!!!

2008-07-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I took my kids into Kiddie Kandids today to get their pictures taken since I haven't' gotten professional pictures of Irelyn yet. Somehow I convinced Rob to go in with me telling him that it would only take like an hour tops, cause that's usually how long it takes. Well.................after all three kids started crying and I finally bought all the pictures that the lady was trying so hard to talk me into. It ended up taking us almost 2 hours. Needless to say Rob wasn't very impressed. I think that he has a little bit better of an understanding of how hard it is to do ANYTHING with 3 kids. All in all I must say that they turned out really cute. I was hoping for a better pose with Madi, but lately she's been doing this thing where she sticks her tongue out when she's smiling so it was either take what you get.....or get the tongue. She's a spaz!!!

Orton Family Reunion

2008-07-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

We had the Orton Family Reunion this past weekend. We go to Otter Creek and stay for about 3 or 4 days. Now anybody that knows me at all, knows that I really hate camping. Thankfully.......they have flushing toilets and clean showers otherwise, I probably wouldn't go & spend the night. Even though I hate it, my kids absolutely loved it. Hunter and Madi had so much fun swimming in the lake and fishing with Papa Denny. Hunter, Jake, and Cody all went fishing in the boat with my dad and came back with 2 a piece. They were big fish, we were all impressed. We slept in one of those pop-up trailers and so if you have them unzipped you can hear everything that goes on inside. The first night Rob was snoring so loud that Dusty and Mandie thought it was a bear. Needless to say nobody got very good sleep that night. Poor little Irelyn didn't know what to think about the whole trip. We took her bouncy seat up there thinking that she would just chill and like being outside............Wrong. I think she was really freaked out by all the kids running around screaming. Lucky for her she had plenty of people there willing to spoil her by holding her.

She looks so cute in her swimming suit.

Madi on her way to splash in the water!

Jake, Hunter & Cody showing off their prize!

Look how big these fish are.

Irelyns Blessing

2008-07-15T09:02:00.001-07:00

We blessed Irelyn on the 6th of July. We had planned it so my mother-in-law could be here for it since she was already coming out for the 4th of July & we didn't want her to miss it. It worked out pretty good. It was a great day & its always nice to be around family & friends.

Fun in Panguitch!

2008-06-29T16:57:00.001-07:00

This weekend we went to Panguitch for the Balloon Festival.
Hunter was able to get a ride in one of the balloons. He had so
much fun and he said he wasn't even scared. I on the other hand
was terrified. I'm so afraid of heights myself, that I couldn't believe
he wanted to go up. Thankfully Rob wanted to go up with him,
otherwise I don't know that he would have gotten to go. There
was no way I was going to get up in one of those things. I'd prefer
to be on the ground watching them fly. It was pretty cool to see so many balloons up
in the air at one time. At night they lined them up on main street,
and lit them up. My stupid camera didn't take very good pictures of the
night show so I don't have any pics to show. Other than that it was a fun
weekend and I'm so glad Hunter and Rob got to experience that together.

This was the balloon they were in. Hunter said it was cool, but not that colorful. He wanted to ride in one that was blue cause thats his favorite color.

Our little cutie pie!

2008-06-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

I had to put these on here. She is just starting
to laugh and coo a little bit and it's so cute . She melts me!!!!!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!!

2008-06-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Rob and I just had our 4th Wedding Anniversary..............can you believe it. I can't believe how quickly time goes by. We are living in Cedar City at the moment. (not my favorite place) Rob is on his last year of school (for now) then its off to medical school. We aren't 100% sure where we will be going, but we have a year to figure it out. Its definately taking a long time.............ask me when I'm 30 and I'll let u know if he's done yet! :) Our life is pretty good and we are just thankful everyday for our three beautiful children. They are happy & healthy and thats all we can ask for.

Our kids.

2008-06-15T09:53:00.001-07:00

Hunter is 5 now. I can't believe
how big he is getting. He is very
energetic and likes to tease his
little sister. (boys will be boys)
Despite the teasing, he is such a
good big brother. He is always
helping me with the girls, especially
Madison. She is his little buddy.

Madison is almost 2. The best way for
me to describe her is exhausting. She is just wild,
but what an imagination she's got. She is always walking
around the house talking or singing to herself.
Her newest thing is climbing up the side of the railing
on our staircase. It's a good 15ft drop to the hard wood floors,
but she's determined to get to the top..... Despite my
best efforts, she's too sneaky for me to keep track of her.
(There one second, gone the next) She loves to irritate her
brother any way she can, whether its taking his toys and running,
or as Hunter likes to put it..........getting in his "personal space."
That's our Madi!!!!

Irelyn is 2 months old now. I cant believe how fast
they grow up. She is a very demanding baby sometimes,
but for the most part, aside from being fussy she's a good
baby. Isn't she cute!!!!!:)

Pure Entertainment!!!!!!

2008-06-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hunter started t-ball this summer
and I must say it was hilarious! A
bunch of 4 & 5 yr olds running around
with no idea what to do. One game
Hunter was on 2nd and his teammate
hit the ball between 2nd & 3rd. As
he started running to 3rd base, he
stopped, picked up the ball and threw
it to the opposing teams pitcher.
Everybody was laughing and Hunter
said.."What.....that's what you are
supposed to do."

Too tired to eat!

2008-06-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

This was too funny...... Madison has been on strike with naps lately, even though she's extremely tired. On this day I was in doing laundry and noticed that it was really quiet, which is way out of the norm for Madi. She is what we like to call our "wild-woman." It's actually kinda freaky how loud she is. I walked in the kitchen and she was totally asleep in her booster chair. Hunter was sitting across the table from her and thought it would be funny to throw his spongebob macaroni and cheese at her in a desperate attempt to wake her up. (Not funny..........I'm still finding mac 'n' cheese in the grooves around my fireplace) She eventually ended up falling out of her chair, hanging upside down by her legs that were wedged underneath the table. Needless to say she was not impressed!

Our newest addition!

2008-06-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

On April 8th 2008 we were blessed with another little bundle of joy. Our baby girl........Irelyn Nancy Elster. You can imagine our surprise when we found out we were pregnant again so soon after Madison, but sometimes we have NO control over these things. I will say this though, we couldn't be happier. Although we are now out-numbered, it keeps us on our toes. My kids are definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me. She's such a cutie. She's a pretty fussy baby, she's had a few stomach problems that we haven't really figured out yet, but other than that she's a pretty good baby.