Trying to go Slow

A Sad, Sad, Toothless Day.

2012-01-06T15:53:00.002-06:00

What a beautiful afternoon it was. I thought I would be "the best mom EVER" again and take the kids to the park to ride bikes after Carli got off the bus. We weren't going to stay long. Reese was at home just down for her nap.
I visited with my friend Jennifer for a few minutes, and then we started rounding up the kids to head home. Nate went one way, and Carli started off the other. Before I could ask her to stop and come the same way as Nate, she was down. She took the corner so fast and so sharp. (Almost like a speed skater in the Olympics) I saw it happen, and I knew it wasn't going to be good.
As I ran over and saw the amount of blood, I knew I needed help. I yelled at Jennifer, and the neighbor across the street said she could help. So she ran over and Jennifer went to find Nate (oblivious, and still heading home). We somehow managed to get Carli across the street and into the bathroom to wash up. I had no idea where she had hit and where all the blood was coming from. It was her mouth. We didn't need stitches, and I wasn't sure what all had happened in her mouth but knew we would need to at least head out to my moms for her expert nursing opinion. (and Dr. Couch is 3 minutes from her house)
And yes...Chad was out of town.
Jennifer helped me round up the kids and get all our stuff back home. Brave Carli had calmed down quite a bit (she even wanted Ava to come in to see her room!) I loaded up PJs, bottles, silkies, drinks and headed out the door. Chad was calling the dentist, so they knew we were on our way.
Carli was terrified of what was about to come. She didn't want them to touch, poke or hardly look her way. She heard me tell my mom we would have to see the dentist and she said, "nope. Im not going. No, no no no No! It was such a Carli thing to say, I couldn't help but smile. I had mom bring Mr. Mark for back up, in case we needed to drag her in the door kicking and screaming.

It was a long afternoon at the dentist. The first challenge was getting an X-ray, the next challenge, getting a bigger X-ray. And the most dramatic one...letting the dentist feel inside her mouth to make sure there wasn't anything else going on, broken or chipped.
Her tooth was definitely gone. For now there was nothing to do but wait and let it heal. The next concern was her teeth next to it. They had been shoved back up her gums, and there was no way of telling if they would come back down or even be viable once they did.

Who knew, that if I had the tooth with me, there was a chance they could reinsert it back into her mouth. But only if I had rinsed it, kept it in milk and been there within 2hrs. Crazy. It wasn't even on my radar to look and find a tooth. I wasn't even sure what had happened, and because I was worried about the closing time of the dental office, I didn't drive back by the park on my way there. **Ohh but on the way home we did...and I found it. Sitting right by the drops of blood. It was huge. Root and All. I was shocked. Chad suggested I let Carli put it back under her pillow for the tooth fairy to come again. Thinking that was a great idea, I told Carli when I got back in the car. Her face dropped. It hit her. Her tooth was gone, and it wasn't going to grow back. She knows you only have 2 teeth, and this was her 2nd set. She was so sad. I felt awful. And we had been in such good spirits until this point. My poor baby was as she said, "broken".

I tried to talk Carli into staying home from School. Just to have a day at home, relax, read books, watch movies, eat ice cream, anything. But she would not do it. She wanted to go to school. It was going to be Friday and she was going to buy a smensil (Yup, a smelly pencil). I tried everything I could to convince
her to let her friend buy it, to buy one next week, to go in late, to come home at lunch. But she was fine, and she was going. So I said peace out! :) When I went up to lunch to check on her, she had already told her class all about it and was not happy I didn't bring her tooth to show everyone. What a crazy girl.

We've take a few pictures to document. Its so sad though. So brace yourself if you dare look at the pictures.

Waiting to see the Dentist

A picture when we got home, 5 hrs after the crash

The tooth. Yuck.

After 24hrs. She thinks it it feels all better.

Sold

2011-12-18T17:56:00.000-06:00

After 5 years of fun, fourlers, camping, guns, Papa Pablanos, and Hillbilly New Years, we have sold the cabin.

This was our last trip with just our little family. We all had such a blast. We didn't really tell the kids that that would be the last time to be there, they would have been devastated. We soaked up every minute of fun we could, and then shed a tear when we pulled away for the last time.

At least for now, we still have Grandma & Grandpas cabin to use. New Years just won't be the same. :(

2011-11-20T17:45:00.000-06:00

Our Family Pictures.

aren't we just a beautiful bunch?

Halloween

2011-11-03T19:42:00.000-05:00

Not sure what it is about Halloween, but I usually don't want to spend any money on costumes. I haven't been able to figure that out about myself. My kids LOVE dressing up, and have the best imaginations. They would love every costume in the book. But come on. Some of them are just ridiculously expensive. So once again, we went the cheap route. I figured I could splurge and buy some poster board and duct tape. :)

A paper doll and operation! So clever I thought. We had tons of fun at the Empey's party.

My pretty little ghost. She throughly enjoyed eating her skirt.

This was the best. :) The boys had jet packs. Its a total costume copout I know. Nate and Kyle spent hours playing with them and had them pretty well destroyed at least twice before halloween. Carli and I were twiners. Naturally, hers is blue...its her favorite color (for now).

Canning

2011-10-21T20:19:00.000-05:00

Ms. Janette(my good friend and kids preschool teacher) has me hooked on canning. There is just something about a pantry full of food that I just love. It has been great to spend a girls nights together at the excuse of doing something so productive. I have learned a ton. Its been well worth the late hours, messy house, and crazy kids.

So far we have made (in no particular order)...

Pineapple, salsa, peaches, mango salsa, tomatoes, orange marmalade, apple pie filling, roasted bell peppers, marinara sauce, roasted tomatillo salsa, pears, BBQ sauce, and probably a few others that Im forgetting about.

We have ended up having so many join our little canning group, we have had to can mass amounts. 180 to be exact on the apple pie filling. But who wouldn't want 50 jars of that in their closet? :)

1st Sunday with Reese

2011-09-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

This was a big deal. We got up, got ready, and even had time to take some family pictures. Im sure this is not going to be the case in the future.

Ice Skating

2011-07-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

For the summer, we put Carli in ice skating lessons at the mall! I thought it was something that I could somehow manage with 3 other kids in tow. We did it! Not for very long, but we did. The kids loved watching her and she thought she was a pro by the end of the summer. She even moved up to a bigger class because she was doing so well.

Go Carli!

Reesie Girl!

2011-05-09T14:48:00.000-05:00

Our sweet baby girl arrived today!! We went in at 7am to be induced and only had the slight complication that she turned sunny side up. Not a nice way for either of us to deliver. The worst part was the suction had to be used to help get her out. Im not sure any of us have seen such a sad little cone head. The nurses quickly put a darling "bow hat" on her, and it made everything all better. :)

We are so lucky to live by family. We quickly had everyone at the hospital to give her hugs and squeezes.

Introducing

Reese Allene Combs

May 4th 2011

6lbs 6oz

19 1/2 inches

Just as beautiful as they come. We just cant get enough of her.

The beautiful Bow Hat!

Carli was beside herself.

Proud Daddy.

Nana. Couldn't wait to get her hands on her.

Not sure what to think about this tiny baby!

Grandpa.

Angie of course got her all comfy and settled in for a little snooze.

Grandma. Loving every minute of this tiny girl. Says she looks just like Me!

Nates special time at the hospital with Reese! What a sweet big brother.

Carli just had to wear the dress that they have mating of. She cant wait for her to get big enough so they can be twinners! :)

Uncle Ffej!

Brooklyn & Ella

Exhausted after lots of visitors.

Swimming in the Cold!

2011-04-30T19:54:00.000-05:00

Ohh to be a kid again. The water was so cold, but the kids just couldn't wait another day. It was time to hop in the cold pool. They only lasted a few minutes, got out, had popsicles and were done. And loved every minute of it.

Thank You ISR

2011-03-26T17:39:00.000-05:00

For the kids birthdays we post pictures of them all over the fridge. They love talking about all of them and seeing when they were babies. Kyle didn't really "get it". He thought most of the pictures were of Nate.

We had a picture at the bottom of the fridge of Kyle floating last year in his ISR class. Getting ready to go back for his refresher course he loved to talk about him floating. As the weather has been getting nicer, the kids have been playing outside much more. I keep the door open and an eye and ear on them, but admit I don't sit out there 100% of the time. They know not to touch the water and for the most part do a good job of following that rule.

Well this day, Carli got in trouble for one reason or another, so I brought her in for a time out. As we were waiting for the timer to beep (5 minutes) I heard water splashing. Of course I ran outside to find Kyle "trying" to float in the deep end. Without thinking, I jumped in and got him out of the water. Nate was sitting on the waterfall just watching. He told me he was floating, and didn't seem to be at all concerned for his safety.

Immediately after getting out of the water I was so grateful for the ISR lessons he had taken the previous year, but as the night when on my mind stayed in the worst place. I couldn't keep it together. The thought of him struggling in the water made me sick, the idea of Nate not being at all concerned bothered me a ton. Why wasn't he worried for his brother? How could I really let my kids play outside without me? I had to have Chad give me a blessing to ease my mind.

I had already set up for Kyle to start his refresher course a week later, but that night called to get him started on Monday. So after 4 weeks of M-F, 10 minute lessons, I have the best floater in the world!!! Im positive he could float for 5+ minutes at a time. He did so great in his lessons. I can now say I am much more relaxed and ready to start our summer of swimming.

These pics are only after 9 lessons.

Head flip into the water backward.

Coming up getting ready to float.

Floating! :)

Thank you! Thank you ISR. We will see you next year with baby Reese.

Happy Bday Kyle Dude!

2011-03-12T17:30:00.000-06:00

I can't believe this dude is 2 already! I think he is the craziest kid yet, and he knows it. We had a fun time celebrating and riding his new tricycle at the park.

Sick & Freezing

2011-02-22T17:20:00.001-06:00

What a crazy month is has been! Sick kids, freezing cold weather and a lot of missed preschool. We are ready for March.

Poor Carli got the worst of it. She was sick twice with the flu. Despite sleeping on the couch almost every night for a week straight she milked every minute of the attention.

We all loved looking at the snow, but were too sick to enjoy much of it. It didn't help that underneath all that snow was a thick sheet of ice. We were home bound for a week. Thankfully Chad was home to run to the store if needed and take us out for "donuts" in the mall parking lot! Nate was in heaven!!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T17:31:00.002-06:00

It's A Girl!

2010-12-17T20:47:00.003-06:00

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a baby girl the beginning of May!

I couldn't be more excited, but I think Carli may have us all beat! She was beyond ecstatic when the ultrasound tech told us it was a girl. "I was right! I was right! I just knew it! I'm so excited!" Chad and I had little tears of joy already knowing that we would be having a girl.

Baby Reese!

The Pledge of Allegiance

2010-11-25T09:03:00.003-06:00

Kyle of course, thinks he is just as big as the rest of them! So cute.

Thanks Ms. Janette! Carli and Nate LOVE preschool!!

Really?

2010-11-17T08:57:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure where we got this girl!!

We're Off to See the Wizard!!

2010-11-02T08:45:00.001-05:00

Carli and Nate have been on a huge Wizard of Oz kick! They have watched the movie a million times, know all the words to all the songs and sing them all day long. So...it was only fitting we made them costumes for Halloween.

My mom helped make Carlis Dorthy costume, and I found Nate and Kyle a Tin Man and Lion costumes on craigslist. Im not sure why, but Kyle was terrified of his Lion costume and wouldnt have ANYTHING to do with it. Carli and Nate; lived in theirs for the whole week! :)

We had a great week celebrating and dressing up. (The best part (for mom) was, "selling" our candy to the dentist and getting to spend their dollars at the dollar store!!)

Faker Baker

2010-10-11T20:39:00.001-05:00

We stayed a few nights at my parents while they were out of town this past week. One night, Kyle decided he was not going to go to bed, and needed to have a little stay up. It had been a rough day with no naps, plenty of falls, and a possible ear infection. We let him "milk it" with a heat pad. I think he felt much better after that! :)

2 Teeth in 1 Week...Crazy

2010-09-30T21:51:00.003-05:00

Our Carli girl is loosing her teeth as fast as she got them.

Sept 22nd

Sept. 30th

I can't believe she is getting so big.

More Sugars!

2010-09-20T20:23:00.000-05:00

I was asked to make 300 Square Monogram sugar cookies for Chelsea and Spencer's wedding. I was very excited and very nervous to make such a huge amount. After all, I am very new at this.

It took Monday and Tuesday to make 12 double batched of sugar dough, baking 12 cookies at a time (I have massive pans, regular ones only hold 6!). Wednesday I made and colored 3 large batches of Green royal icing, and 2 large batches of Black. I would have saved myself some stress and time had I just made one more of each! Thursday, I got busy! With the help of Megan and Emily we got almost all of the cookies outlined and flooded with green. Then it was a matter of the finishing touches, which I was left on my own to complete. Boy was I nervous. By Saturday I was ready to start bagging. I sat in front of the TV, watched movies and talked on the phone with Chad while bagging and tying all of them up, completing my project by Sunday night!

It was such a huge process. Very happy to have had the experience, and hope to have some more orders in the future.

Thanks Chelsea and Spencer for letting me be apart of your special day. :)

Most were tied up with black ribbon, but I ran out after 100 yards, and of course didn't get pictures of that one!

The freezer. Piled high and deep!

Believe it or not, after making over 300 Squares, I wasn't tired of cookies. I had left over dough and black icing. What better way to use it up than spider web cookies, just in time for Halloween! Don't you just LOVE?

Im going to make some more cookies this week, so stay tuned for more pics! I feel like Im getting a little better. :)

I'm a "Soccer Mom"!

2010-09-11T23:22:00.006-05:00

Not sure about all this "Soccer Mom" stuff, but I do have to admit it was pretty great watching Carli score 3 goals in her first game. Thats not to say I wasn't proud of Nate too, but he didn't do a lot during his game! :)

Excited and ready to play.

At least he wasnt the only one not sure what was going on.

Yup, someone took the ball away. Devastating.

Ready for some fun.

At first, we thought this was a jungle gym!

Then we remembered...

Playing like a Pro!

I hope I can survive the season. Practices 2 times a week, 2 games every Saturday with a horrible parking situation, having to carry chairs and push a stroller through the grass and up and down hills, all by myself. Hopefully family with will want to come watch (help during) the games!!

Sugar's!

2010-08-14T11:48:00.003-05:00

This is what my sister and I have been up too all summer! Decorating fancy sugar cookies. I spent about a month blog hopping, watching videos, and learning about all of the best recommended products. I went out, bought everything I needed and got straight to work. We have had a blast! From start to finish it takes at least a full day to make these beauties, and that does not including drying time, before bagging them up individually! If we don't screw anything up too bad, they are well worth the time! :)

We didn't know we would be so into it, or we would have been taking better pics along the way.

Our first! Bridal Shower Cookies

Fathers Day Grandpas!

Bridal Shower

Can you really get much cutter than this?

Monogram Baby Shower Cookies.

(We now have baby cookie cutters!!)

I'm a cheat!

2010-08-11T16:56:00.001-05:00

I haven't blogged all summer, but I have been catching up! So read on, there are lots of new post. (I change the dates, so they are all in order!)

Visit to Omaha!

2010-08-02T08:43:00.000-05:00

Since Chad has spent most (all of) the summer out of town working, I thought now would be a great time to attempt a road trip to Omaha to visit the Uncks! I knew I wouldn't be able to do it on my own, so I took my little brother Mark along for some extra help!

The drive out went great! The kids watched a few shows, colored a ton, and ate plenty of junk food. Mapquest said 10 hours...and we made it there in 10 hours. How great is that? We stopped 3-4 times, only for potty breaks and gas. I had planned on stopping and letting the kids play at a play place, but we passed one and never found another. They were sad for a minute!

We had plenty to keep us busy for the week (if 6 kids wasn't busy enough). Here are a few pictures.

Pizza Machine!

Rides, tokens, tickets, prizes, pizza, slurpees, ice cream, nachos, & tacos! How fun is that for 6 kids? They loved it!!

The Slide!

2 Big slides in downtown Omaha. Not sure how many times they went down, but they all loved it. Wax paper made you go faster!!

The Zoo!

Our favorite part of the trip. First was the butterfly garden. Carli thought she was living a "Fancy Nancy" dream.

My kids could have spent hours in the aquarium! Amazing.

Gorillas! This was fabulous. As we were getting ready to move onto the next animals, the gorillas and orangoutangs starting 'singing' a little song to us. We all loved watching them puff up their necks! Very entertaining! :) (too bad we dont have pictures of the actual animal.)

Thanks Uncks for a great week we will never forget!

Happy 3rd Birthday Nate Dawg!

2010-07-18T11:38:00.000-05:00

What a great day for the birthday boy. I think 3 is my favorite birthday for the kids. They actually have some sort of idea what is going on, and a genuinely excited about everything, and talk about it for days! :)

We started the day with presents, singing and cinnamon roll 'cake'.

Shirtless, because he is ready to swim and use that super soaker in the pool!!

Don't they look fabulous?

I stole this idea from the Jensens. The kids have LOVED seeing pictures of themselves since they were little. The idea now, is to put them all in a book, and then only have pictures from the past year on our fridge for the next bday.

What a cool dude. He loves his new bike. Too bad for now, its too hot to even ride it.

Toy Story 3 Party!

The wanna be Rex Cake!

All the girls! Trying to wait patiently for cake & ice cream.

Opening presents! He got tons of fun Toy Story things. :)

What a fantastic day.

"oo-n-finity an beyond!"

Glued Shut

2010-06-21T12:01:00.000-05:00

Kyles head used to look like this...

Now it has a lovely scar.

One night after getting out of the pool and heading in for baths and bedtime, Kyle come running in through the kitchen and somehow crashed on the Kaboost. As soon as we saw him hit, we knew we would be on our way to the ER. It was dripping blood like crazy. Luckily Chad was home, bc all he wanted was him, and there was no way I was going to be able to do this on my own.

We quickly called our neighbor to come and stay with the kids while we too him in. Legacy ER was so great. They got us in fast, were super nice, and did a great job glueing his head shut.

We hated seeing our baby hurt, but are very grateful it was nothing worse. Poor baby.

Pictures (w/ Mom)

2010-06-17T08:11:00.001-05:00

We tried again. Angie came out and spent at least an hour in the hot sun trying to get a fabulous picture of all 3 of my kids. I thought if maybe I was in them, I could at least be poking smiles and holding on to Kyle so he wouldnt take off running. It still didn't help. Of course the ones of the kids on the side of the blog, she took as well! One on one, they all take great pictures (well, not sure whats up with Nates funny face, but...)...so not quite sure why we cant get a good one of the whole family! (Maybe because Chad wasn't with us!)

How about Nate's goofy grin? What is that?

One of Chads favorites!

Dancin'!

It's too bright!

Love this boy, he thinks he's so funny!

Thanks Angie, for the great attempt! Lets do it again sometime! :)

Catching Bugs

2010-06-14T11:35:00.001-05:00

This is very serious business. (Yes that is a wasp!)

We now have pest control!!

Pierced Ears!!

2010-06-11T09:56:00.002-05:00

Our great friends the Hill's came to visit us this summer! We had tons of fun swimming in the pool and staying inside shopping and playing. However we of course didn't get a lot of pictures.

This was an absolute picture taking op, but we only had our phones, so excuse the blurry photos. Here is the story of Carli getting her ears pierced!

Carli and I have been talking for a LONG time about getting her ears pierced. We had wanted to get them done for her 4th bday, but she decided maybe she would wait until she got bigger. I have spent lots of time explaining what they do and how it will hurt, but then she would have beautiful earrings. Miss Dramatic here, wasn't ready to deal with that.

So while Tate was in town and we were walking through the mall she wanted to get hers done. Jessica & I both agreed that Tate and Carli could do it together! They were so excited! Tate was going to go first, while Carli watched. ( BIG Mistake!)

Tate cried a little after the 1st, was a little more nervous for the 2nd that then was done, and so proud.

Carli chickened out, and we went home.

Later that night, we were going back to the mall to have pictures taken. In my attempt to get Carli to wear what I wanted her too for the pictures, I told her I had a surprise for her when we got home. (She wanted the matching dress that Tate and Tory had.) She agreed, and we got our pictures taken. As we were walking back through the mall, Tate saw Clairs where she got her ears pierced. At the same time, Carli was talking to me about what her surprise was, so I stopped and said, "we are getting your ears pierced!". To my surprise, she was super excited and decided to be very brave. This time, I was the one nervous! :)

Again, after the first ear she lost it! The worker, was not that great at just doing it and being done. They took forever, which made the anticipation worse. Not good. Another worker came in, I pinned her down and went for it. Carli was SOO Mad and I felt SOOO bad. But now its done.

Of course, because I felt so bad, I still had to give her the matching dress. She was so mad that she slept in her dress looking straight up to the ceiling, so nothing touched her ears. 'She wasn't going to do anything, bc everything was going to hurt her ears.' Poor thing.

Now she is happy with her earrings. She tries to tell her friends that she was brave and it didn't hurt at all. What a goof. Im sure she's not fooling anyone.

Too bad, we have told her this will be her b-day present. She has to wait until then to switch to some new cute earrings. Im sure that day will be just as traumatic! Wish us luck.

Capes

2010-05-28T11:27:00.000-05:00

Carli and Nate really wanted some capes. Ya know, to make them fly, run faster, and save the world!!

I of course, being the mean mom, didn't let them choose any crazy fabric. They all had to match. Kyle even got one that is blue with dots. I would say they turned out pretty cute. It was my first time making up my own pattern and doing applique! Kind of fun, and hours and hours of play time. :)

Easter

2010-04-12T21:12:00.003-05:00

We had a great Easter with all the family.

Dying Eggs!

Finding Eggs!

Hunting for Eggs!

All the cousins after the hunt!

After a long, exciting day!

What a cute family we have.

Is it Summer Yet?

2010-04-12T20:53:00.002-05:00

My kids are CRAZY!! We decided to let the kids play outside for a little while before dinner, and this is what ended up happening! The first plunge was a little cold, but they loved every minute of it! We can't wait for summer.

Engaged!!

2010-04-01T08:36:00.001-05:00

Congrats to the happy couple! Chelsea & Spencer will be married September 18th! We are so happy for them.

Happy Birthday Kyle Dude!!

2010-03-11T15:10:00.006-06:00

What a happy birthday boy!

How could he not love Snickerdoodle Cupcakes?

What a great picture taken by Angie!!

Happy Birthday Kyle Dude! We Love You!

Annie!

2010-02-13T13:01:00.002-06:00

The primary talent show was this morning and Carli performed Tomorrow from her favorite movie, Annie! She did so great! It was so much fun to watch her in her element! Not a shy bone in her body! She loved all the attention. What a crazy girl!

Thanks to all our family that came out to watch!

Walkin' Thing

2010-02-08T15:50:00.002-06:00

Such a happy boy!

2010-02-08T10:19:00.006-06:00

This is my big happy boy! He cracks me up all the time, and thinks he is the funniest kid around. He loves to scream at the kids, always wanting to be heard.

I just loaded pics from my camera that I had forgotten about from xmas (since Angie took such great pics with her camera), so these are a little old, but made me smile!I

Hillbilly New Year!

2010-01-03T17:32:00.000-06:00

We all had a great time at the cabin this year! Here a few pictures to prove how white trash and lazy we really are! :)

Christmas Morning (That lasted all day!)

2009-12-26T15:36:00.001-06:00

Here are a few of the pics from our wild Christmas Day! It was so fun to spend time with family, we are all just a little tired now.

Next, Hillbilly New Year!

Christmas Time is Here!

2009-12-24T14:49:00.000-06:00

It was so fun to have everyone at our house this year for Christmas Eve. We had yummy french dip sandwiches, salad, cheeseballs, lots treats and a funky egg nog punch!

My mom was so great to get lots of pictures, but here are just a few.

Pretty sure Carli was singing or something!

Carli couldn't be more thrilled to be in front of the treat bar!

Everyone but Michael. We were so sad that they had to miss our party due to snowy weather conditions.

Nate being so nice; sharing a crumb with Grandma!

New PJs by the warm fire!

The Simple Joys!

2009-11-30T19:14:00.002-06:00

It seems almost every night at the dinner table a bomb goes off! Carli can't sit still, Nate up and down from the table 5 times, looking for his 3 blue forks, and Kyle only wanting to eat whatever the rest of the family is eating!

Tonight when Chad got home from work, all 3 kids were in their rooms in time out (all for various reasons I wont go into). So while the 2 of us finished getting dinner ready and talking about your day, we decided to start reading from the scriptures while I got everyone dished up. So we started, the bomb was starting to go off, but we kept reading...Nate sat still and ate his whole meal and then some! (That was the simple joy!) We only got a few verses in before Chads phone rang and Kyle couldn't stop screaming.

So that was it! We read, ate dinner, and listened to some screaming and crying, but thats just how it is! Its our crazy family, and I love them!!

The Happy Couple!

2009-11-20T09:57:00.002-06:00

What a beautiful day we had with Angie and her fabulous husband, Ryan! Here a just a few pics from my camera.

Such an "Angie" look. Love it!

Faker!

Very accurate picture of my family!

Congrats Angie and Ryan! We love you.

6 Years!

2009-11-14T11:35:00.000-06:00

My how time flies! I cant believe that today marks the day Chad and I were married 6 years ago.

Love you biggest!

Scott

2009-11-14T11:28:00.000-06:00

We found out today that my brother Scott will be returning home from his mission on Monday. He has a tumor on his arm, that needs to be removed. I will continue to post updates on his blog, from him and my mother. www.elderowen.blogspot.com

Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts.

We are happy that he will be here for Angie's wedding next Friday!

Pumpkin Party

2009-10-26T22:00:00.004-05:00

Tonight was our Pumpkin Carving Party! We made tortilla soup (YUM!), Dipped Carmel Apples (YUM -O!), worked on Angies wedding treat boxes (DARLING!), and carved 3 great pumpkins! (Well, we (Chad) just carved the 1, Evan and Mark carved their own!) What a fun night with the family! Carli insisted on those big kissie lips, and big eye lashes! So funny.

No Training Wheels!

2009-10-26T21:52:00.003-05:00

We have spent a lot of time outside lately with the weather being so great and all! Carli saw a friend ridding her bike with no training wheels and we thought we would give it a try. She was really excited, and then very nervous. She did great, for seconds at a time, and then had enough.

(Since then, its been raining nonstop, of course!)

Halloween Party

2009-10-23T21:42:00.000-05:00

A great family in our ward, put together a very fun Halloween Party. We all had to dress up, and as you can see, Chad and I took the easy and free way out! My mom was kind enough to bring home the scrubs!

We were sent on a scavenger hunt all around town. Needing to take pics on things, collect things, answer questions and do a hand full of puzzles.

(Notice Im not in this one!)

How cute is my husband?

We had such a great night with friends!

Popsicles in the Bath Again!

2009-10-21T10:18:00.001-05:00

The best place in the world to eat popsicles!

Holy Cow!

2009-10-17T21:46:00.003-05:00

Tonight my parents were so great. They offered to take Carli for the whole afternoon! It was such a nice break. Carli told them a great story, and if I don't write it down, it will be forgotten.

Out of the blue Carli starts telling my mom that she is not allowed to say, "holy cow", only at the park. (I'll explain later.) Then Carli says, "sometimes I go up in my room for quiet time and say holy cow a whole bunch of times so my mom and dad can't hear me."

Seriously? Where did we get this girl? (oh yea, Target, according to her!)

Carli has started asking me a lot about what words she can and can't say. So one day when she asked me if she could say holy cow, I said, "I guess", not knowing she had already asked dad the same question, but he said No. So when we got home from the park one night, she told Dad that I said she could say holy cow. Chad and I both looked at each other not knowing that she had asked both of us and I said, "I guess, only at the park!"

She doesn't forget a thing!

The Pet...Frog!

2009-10-06T08:20:00.000-05:00

Chad found a frog in the yard, and it quickly turned into our pet. His name is Kermit!

Pedicures!

2009-10-04T22:45:00.001-05:00

Angie being such a great Ant!

Pedicures in between conference sessions.

Getting so big!!

2009-09-28T20:17:00.003-05:00

Oh my word! Kyle is amazing me everyday. This past weekend he grew up big time. He has mastered the crawl, can crawl, sit up, and crawl again, and can even start to feed himself. Right now he loves baby goldfish, cheerios, and pretty much anything that can be cut up and is not 'baby food'. I can't believe how fast he's growing up.

My mom said, he's a stinkin' genius! I have to agree!!!

Happy Birthday Carli Cakes!!

2009-09-15T21:35:00.002-05:00

Oh my beautiful Carli cakes! I still am not sure where we got you, but I wouldn't take you back for a million bucks. You make me laugh every day and are such a joy in our family. Happy birthday biggest girl.

Carli with her very fancy, Fancy Nancy doll. She believes she is Fancy Nancy! (I kinda agree!!)

Crawling & Teeth!

2009-09-11T11:09:00.003-05:00

Kyle is 6 months old today and FINALLY got his 2 bottom teeth yesterday! He has been the latest of my kids to get teeth (Carli and Nate both had some by 4 months). Poor boy, Poor mom. I have been saying for the last 2 months, that if he doesn't get them this week...I don't know what, they have to be close!

He's now back to his happy self, and busy learning how to crawl. For now, its a little more of a rock, rock, face plant kinda crawl...but he's getting there!

Carli's Girl

2009-09-11T11:00:00.002-05:00

Here is Carli on her 1st day of Preschool! She was excited to get back to see her friends from last year. She has grown a ton, and is ready to learn! We had a great time working on her 1st project of the year! She was very particular on what was going to be on her girl. She had to have a dress! Not a skirt! And there was NO WAY I was going to cut up one of her necklaces to glue on the girl. And check out those goggles. Too funny. She makes me laugh. Its so Carli in every way. Love you girl.

"Dang It"

2009-09-08T21:30:00.005-05:00

Carli has been my best helper lately. Her favorite thing to help with is emptying the dishwasher, but for some reason she wasn't in the mood for it today. When I told her to come get to work, she walked on over and asked, "can I say, "dang-it"". It was all I could do to keep from laughing. "No, Carli, you cant say that!"

No Pictures...

2009-08-12T14:13:00.003-05:00

Its true what they say...I have for sure not been as good at taking pictures of Kyle as I was with Carli. I'm so sad about it. I will try and make up for it over the next few months.

In my defense, we haven't done anything too exciting, the last few weeks. :)

Happy Birthday Nate Dawg!

2009-07-17T12:09:00.004-05:00

I went Potty!!

2009-07-10T15:00:00.004-05:00

Call me crazy, but we have begun the first attempt at potty training Nate! I know he wont be 2 until next week, but if he can learn how to swim at this age, don't you think he can learn this one too? So far he is doing fairly well. Just a few mistakes and a few major fits, but thats to be expected I guess. Here are some pictures.

(Because every picture has to be taken on the fireplace)

I'm sure he will appreciate that I cropped out the princess shoes he was wearing in both pictures. He makes me laugh.

Who looks like Who?

2009-06-12T15:29:00.004-05:00

My 3 beautiful babies! I can't believe how big they are all getting. Before today I thought Kyle looked so much like Carli, but I don't know anymore!

Carli

Nate

Kyle

Infant Swim Resourse

2009-06-08T12:36:00.003-05:00

2 weeks ago we started Nate in the ISR program, a highly intensive, drowning prevention program lasting up to 6 weeks, Monday - Friday for only 10 minutes a day. I was desperate. This boy is totally fearless in the water (as you saw from my post a few weeks ago).

Last year right after our pool was finished, we were all outside cleaning out the car, when Nate went to reach in the pool to get a ball, and fell in after it. If it wasn't for Carli coming to get us to tell us what had happened, it could have ended much worse. I am so thankful that he was ok, and so thankful Carli thought to come get us, I don't know what I would do with out this crazy boy in my life.

I of course got more concerned as the weather warmed up, how I was going to be able to handle all 3 of my kids outside by myself? Then I got an email from his teacher (who I had contacted a few years ago) saying she had a few more openings. I had no choice. We signed him up the next day!! The first 2 weeks were rough. He cried the whole time. I had to hide behind the wall so he couldn't see me, and he pinched and fought his teacher really bad.

Today it clicked, we had a complete turn around! He did so great! He was happy every time he went under the water, wanted to find her hand and was was ready to jump and do it again every time. He was even kicking (something she hadn't yet worked on). Ohh I was so happy. What great progress just after 2 weeks. I will try and video on Friday and post it! Im such a proud mom.

Needless to say, I highly recommend the program, and if I am not trained to teach next year, I will happily do it all over again with baby Kyle.

Giggles

2009-05-22T09:03:00.002-05:00

How can you resist this darling little baby?

1st Swim of '09

2009-05-19T21:53:00.005-05:00

Summer is about here and we are ready to swim! I am sure the kids would have been in a few weeks ago if I would have not been so chicken. Dad is much more brave and had a great time catching Carli and Nate as they took turns jumping off the waterfall!

Looks Cold!!

Swim diaper, I know...we hadn't planned on swimming tonight!

Can't forget about our darling Kyle!

While I went to help wash Carli's hands from dinner, Chad held Kyle as he was trying to ease into the cold water. When I got back, I found them both covered in spit up! At least I didn't have to clean it out of the carpet!

Kyle's Blessing Day!

2009-05-05T15:38:00.006-05:00

I can't believe we have 3 kids now! Look how darling they all are.

A few are missing and or hiding in this picture.

Thanks everyone, for making this day so special.

Sleeping...

2009-04-15T10:28:00.002-05:00

Kyle has been sleeping great, except for the past 2 nights. So I had a talk with him last night and asked him to please sleep from 9pm - 4am. He tried to be such a good boy, and woke up at 3:30 and then again at 7! I was a happy mom, except for the fact that Carli woke up at 2 and Nate woke up at 6. If its not one, its another...

Scott's Mission Call

2009-04-09T16:04:00.006-05:00

He is on his way, but can you guess where to? We couldn't either!

Congrats Scott! You will make a great Missionary.

Bubble Bath

2009-03-30T08:34:00.002-05:00

I guess I got a little carried away with the soap...

Pretending...

2009-03-22T14:20:00.002-05:00

These days Carli has quite the imagination and loves to play pretend. So when Chad picked her up from Primary and heard that she had a hard time pretending he was a little surprised. He asked why and the teacher said she asked her to pretend to be an animal and she replied, "but I don't have 4 legs!"

What am I going to do with her?

Proud Brother & Sister

2009-03-15T21:09:00.002-05:00

Carli sure is excited Kyle is here, and Nate is starting to come around quickly. Here are some cute pics of them holding their little brother.

He's Here!

2009-03-11T23:17:00.007-05:00

KYLE STEVEN COMBS

8 pounds

20 inches

7:02 pm

Everything went great, and everyone (except Nate) is excited he is here!

Spinning

2009-02-26T16:45:00.002-06:00

Carli loves to spin, and loves anything that spins (mainly dresses!). This morning she was spinning a lot, and finally sat down and said in the most serious voice,

"oh mom, our house is falling down."

Big Boy Room!

2009-02-16T09:47:00.003-06:00

Here it is! Nate and Kyles Big Boy Room! Nate is so excited to be sleeping in his new bed. Thursday was his first night and he did great! Chad tried to just put him to sleep in his crib and he was not having it at all! So once he was tucked in his bed (with no pillows) he was happy! We were gone over the weekend, so I thought that may mess things up for bed last night, but he did great! He did wake up at 6:30am, but I just went and tucked him back in and he was good to go! What a big boy! Naps may be another story!

Paint and wall decor will have to come later!

A Sunday without Dad

2009-02-08T19:22:00.005-06:00

Chad was out of town today. Sundays are always the hardest when he is gone, but we survived. Right after church Nate took his nap, Carli had quite time, and I even had a few minutes to have a rest myself. When that was over we made peanut butter cookies and both kids sat right by me and "helped". This was the first time I let Nate sit up there, and boy did he love it and want to touch EVERYTHING!!

Carli worked on her Fancy Nancy puzzle AGAIN! (We got this puzzle last week and already we have put it together about 4-5 times! Its a little tricky, but she is really good at it! (100 piece-ages 5+) What a smart girl!)

They were both being silly and Nate found my bowl and put it right on his head. He has such a funny personality these days. I had to take a picture! 2 seconds later if fell off his head and broke. :( I was so sad, and so was he.

Carli - A little OCD...

2009-02-01T18:04:00.004-06:00

Carli has always been, and probably always will be just a little OCD. This is how I found her when I went to get her out of her Quite Time! If you can see, the light bright pieces are all lined up in order, not missing a hole. The beads, Im not sure where she came up with lining them up like this and putting the larger balls on top! What a goof!

Here are a few other funny things about her:

*I often ask her where she came from, she will always say, "Target" or "the store" or "down stairs" or just something silly.

*She is very into playing princesses right now, and if I call her Carli, she quickly tells me, "my name is princess!".

*Every time we are talking about Baby Kyle being in my belly, she tells me she has 2 babies in her belly. "Lindsey & Fancy Nancy"

*She loves a schedule. Everyday she likes to know "the Plan" or "the Deal" and how many things are in it. Like getting home, taking a bath, getting dressed, saying prayers, brushing teeth, and reading 2 books, and getting a drink of water. So that would be 7 things, and she like to review and count them out over and over until we start the process. (These conversations usually take place in the car rides home from Grandma & Grandpas.

*Loves to read books and can memorize/fill in the blanks after only reading a book 2-3 times.

As crazy, wild, stubborn and strong willed as she is, we love her to death! She will always be one to keep us on our toes!

Nates Buzz & Carlis Trim

2009-01-13T09:52:00.005-06:00

My kids both needed hair cuts BAD!! We headed over to Angies house to get the job done, and this was Nates attempt! My moms buzzers werent working that great, but now he looks like a handsome boy! Carli always thinks she is so big when she gets her hair cut!

Can you tell we are having fun "flippin"?

2009-01-06T14:26:00.003-06:00

Im finally getting around to posting some Christmas and New Years pictures. Only watch if you want, its kinda long! The movies are at the end.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Little Muddy!

2009-01-06T08:19:00.004-06:00

The kids had all just had a bath and we were ready to lock up and leave! We should have known better. (More pictures and movies to come, Im still figuring some things out!)

Owen Holiday Bowling

2008-12-26T10:19:00.005-06:00

My family has started a bowling tradition the Monday night before Christmas! It is so nice to take a break from all the running and just have some fun! The kids of course loved it!

Megan! So proud of her skills!

The boys, on lock down watching the show!!

The girls, getting some much needed assistance from their dads!

Nate, playing ski-ball! He thought he was so good.

Super Girl

2008-12-16T08:23:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago the Bishop asked Carli how she pronounces her middle name. Without even thinking she said, "Super Girl"! I couldn't stop laughing! I thought we were past the Super Girl stage...guess not!

Nate-Dawg!

2008-12-16T08:20:00.003-06:00

As naughty as my little Nate Dawg can be, he always can make us laugh at the end of a hard day!

(Have you ever met someone so excited to take a bath?)

Tag-ilicious

2008-12-11T16:26:00.002-06:00

1. Where is your cell phone? Next to me...just got off.

2. Where is your significant other? Watching TV

3. Your hair color? Brown

4. Your Mother? Great, helpful, fun, busy

5. Your Father? Hard worker, great

6. Your favorite thing? right now, the holidays!

7. Your dream last night? Don't remember

8. Your dream/goal? financial freedom, healthy happy family

9. The room you're in? Kitchen/Tech Desk

10. Your Hobby? Sewing & Cooking

11. Your fear? Anything bad happening to our family.

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Still here!

13. Where were you last night? At my moms until 7pm-binging!!

14. What you're not? a reader

15. One of your wish list items? iTrip

16. Where you grew up? Coppell

17. The last thing you did? Talk to my sister on the phone.

18. What are you wearing? Jeans and a blue t-shirt

19. Your TV? on pause

20. Your pet? No way!

21. Your computer? my laptop

22. Your mood? Good, a little tire!

23. Missing someone? Nope, everyone is here.

24. Your car? Expedition

25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes

26. Favorite Store? Target- its also the closest!

27. Your summer? Will be busy swimming with 3 kids!

28. Love someone? Chad of course. and of course my kids.

29. Favorite color? Green

30. Last time you laughed? Today, everyday at how silly my kids are!

31. Last time you cried? Last week...a little rough.

I tag, Katie, Sarita & Ashley.

Thanksgiving Week

2008-12-01T22:19:00.005-06:00

My family and I spent our Thanksgiving week at the cabin, working, riding four-wheelers, eating, eating, and more eating! What a fun time.

Where Nate spent his whole week!!

The feast. So yummy!

The boys worked very hard chopping down trees. At least they had a chain saw!

5th Year Anniversary

2008-11-16T23:45:00.003-06:00

Chad and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary this past Friday. He was so great to surprise me with a weekend getaway to Palm Springs, CA. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying one anothers company. It was so great to get away, even though we spent most of the time talking about how great our kids are! What we would do with out them, I dont know! :)

Thanks honey, for a great weekend. Love you Biggest!!

2008-11-13T15:16:00.004-06:00

Justin popped the question last night and of course, Angie said, "YES!". We couldnt be more thrilled for the two of them.

The big day will be January 30th.

Our Thoughts on the Day!

2008-10-29T17:48:00.004-05:00

My thoughts,

"I'm not sure where I got my crazy Carli Cakes! She stuck a bead up her nose and tossed her shoe out of the car all before noon today. I am ready for a nap!"

Carli's thoughts,

"It's been a long day watching my shows."

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-23T09:50:00.004-05:00

Monday for family night we had Michael, Megan and the kids out for chili and pumpkin carving. We all had a great time, and our pumpkins turned out fabulous!

Big Orange Pumpkin Farm

2008-10-18T17:28:00.003-05:00

Today we spent the morning at the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm in Celina, TX! We all had so much fun. The kids got to feed the animals, go on a hay ride, eat hot dogs (with the flys), and pick out their very own pumpkins. They LOVED it! We will be returning on Monday!

Carli warmed up to feeding the goats, thanks to Daddy!

Nate, Not so much!

Trying to get a cute picture with both kids!

Carli disappeared for a minute, this is how we found her!

She found the most "amazing pumpkin" all by herself!

Nate picking out his very own pumpkin.

A Great Bday Weekend!

2008-10-12T21:44:00.004-05:00

Chad turned the big "thirty something" today, so we celebrated all weekend long at the cabin. We had a great time riding four wheelers, eating out & in, and riding the train of terror!

What a fun, white trash trip to Broken Bow!

Nate, being such a cheese for the camera!

The future Mr. & Mrs. Thompson. So cute!

Everyone on the Train of Terror! Carli thought it was "so so much fun!". (Chad covered her eyes closed on the scary parts!)

Yes, Nate is wearing Carlis jacket, we forgot his!

Carli helping dad open presents.

His best gift was large framed pictures of the kids

(the new pics on the side)!

Happy Birthday Honey! We love you biggest!!!

2008-10-07T16:48:00.000-05:00

Was it right for you??

2008-10-06T12:58:00.002-05:00

Have you ever looked at those Chinese Baby Calendars to find out if you are having a boy or a girl? Well, Carli is 100% positive that we are having a girl, no questions asked. (I find out tomorrow and can't wait!) Check one out here and let me know if it was right! It has been right for 2 so far!!

Getting Crafty

2008-10-05T21:44:00.003-05:00

I think being pregnant, I feel like I need to be working on little projects all the time! Nesting I guess! So my latest has been sewing this fun little sling. My mom showed me the pattern a few weeks ago and the next day I was out buying fabric and on my way to mastering the bag! I have now sewn 3 of them...making it a little better and easier every time. I must admit that I am very impressed with myself, not to mention how impressed my mother is as well!

(Don't look too close, this was my 1st one!)

Nate Eating Yogurt

2008-09-22T11:49:00.003-05:00

This morning I didn't even try to feed Nate yogurt. I just handed it over and let him have at it! I think he actually liked it and ate a little of it! The rest, of course, coving him and his tray.

Carli turned 3!!

2008-09-22T11:37:00.004-05:00

Carli turned 3 last Monday! She had a great birthday! Lots of balloons, treats, and plenty of presents. She knew she wanted a bike, but was still so surprise when her wish actually came true! She didn't even know what to say. She is almost a pro on the bike ... stopping is a little tricky.

1st Day of Preschool!

2008-09-02T17:20:00.003-05:00

Here she is! Our biggest girl! She was so excited to go to preschool! Hopefully she will be good for her teacher. (My biggest fear) So far so good, except our afternoon has been a joke. Too short of a nap, and way too many melt downs. Hopefully she will get used to the new schedule soon.

She's not shy at all! Just made herself right at home.

Busy working already!

Labor Day Fiesta!

2008-09-02T17:09:00.004-05:00

For Labor Day we were all too tired of hot dogs and hamburgers (except Michael), so we decided to have a fajita party and some yummy sweet chicken tacos! After we all stuffed ourselves we jumped back in the pool for some more swimming! Here a few pictures!

Sorry to Nate who has to wear Carlis old girl floaties! His broke!

Poor Blake! His little feet got too hot on the cement, but we couldn't resist that face!

Swimming in our pool!!

2008-09-02T10:56:00.002-05:00

Nate going in for the first dip! We couldn't swim until Saturday afternoon, but were outside all morning getting stuff cleaned up! He was more than a little mad when he had to take a nap before swimming.

It was a little cold!

Nate enjoying the nice blue water! Happy as can be!

Carli and her goggles & kickboard, need I say more?

Under the waterfall! A favorite spot to hang out!

Disneyland & Santa Barbara

2008-09-02T09:37:00.009-05:00

We made it! Here a few (ok, a lot) of pictures from our trip!

Don't worry, this only lasted about 30 minutes! I would have been WAY too lucky if this is how the whole flight was! :)

The girls got their faces painted while I ran back to get my tickets! Carli wanted the snake, but was convinced that it would be a better idea to match Tate!

The twinners--and we didnt even plan it! :)

Carli and Nate were both TERRIFIED of Pluto! Even he thought it was funny!

Not a great picture, but the girls were thrilled to see Cinderella!

Nate quickly found the keenex box in the hotel room!

Carli at dinner! I thought she looked so cute in this picture!

I took the girls to see the parade, as if their day hadn't been long enough. They both were so tired that Tate fell asleep a few minutes after we got there and I forced Carli to wake up! I am pretty sure this was her favorite part of the whole trip!

GLUED! The whole time!

Ready to watch the next parade.

Nate of course couldn't decided which sucker to eat first!

The beach! The kids were all so happy to just be busy doing there thing!

Carlis helmet is on backward!

Not so good at the monkey bars!

Feeding the horses! Carli wanted nothing to do with it!

Pictures soon...

2008-08-28T14:47:00.002-05:00

We just got back a few days ago from our oh so fabulous trip to visit a great friend in Santa Barbara. We spent 2 days at Disneyland, a day at the beach, tons of shopping, working on our Sweets business, and the rest of the time breaking up fights between Carli and Tate! What a great time. I couldn't have asked for my kids to be any better or more importantly sleep any better. So in my crazy attempt to pack 2 massive duffle bags (so to avoid the baggage fees) I left my camera in California. Jessica was great enough to run right to the post office and get it sent off...so I can post pictures in a few days.

PS-we are also filling our pool with water right now, so I will update that picture too! So exciting!

2008-08-19T14:51:00.006-05:00

We are thrilled to announce Baby #3 will be joining our family!

Due March 14th, 2009

Which do you think it will be? A boy or a girl?

If you are trying to do the math, Carli and Nate are 22 months apart, and Nate and Baby will only be 20 months apart. We are ready and excited for the wild ride they are about to put us on!!

2008-08-19T14:43:00.009-05:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

He did it! Nate finally started walking, right at about 13 months. I thought I would make him try one day and he just up and walked 5 big steps. What a big boy. We knew he could do it all along. Carli is so cute always trying to cheer him on. "Gwait job Naters, Gwait Job!!"