{Waking up}

With Rod gone I have extra room to the right of me at night. Presley seems to find her way into that vacancy after her evening feedings. Which means the very first thing I see when I wake up is my rosey cheeked baby. She is extra chatty & animated in the mornings. & I just eat up every little coo & grin with my breakfast!

{T}

I love Tre.

I am way too hard on him & have too many expectations. He is such a smarty pants that I often have to remind myself that he is only 5 & not 25. When Rod is away playing doctor, T really steps it up. He become the little man of the house. Gets snacks, helps get groceries into the house & dont be surprised if while in kroger you see me with a cart of kidd-os & T right behind pushing a cart of food. He is a second set of eyes..which proves neccisary when Britt is trying to climb into Mads' crib at 2am. He is agreeable & willing to go last (poor kid.) He is my sensitive hearted boy. Quick to ask how I am doing or give his sister a snuggle. He knows if Mom leaves the room its his job to "guard" the baby. He calms Maddox with a distraction & gets Britt to help tidy up. He takes the trash out & makes sure to put a new bag in the can. I vould keep going. Really.

I am not sure things would run as well as they do without this

treasure of a little guy.
I feel very blessed to be Tre's mother.

{Home}

We are setteling into our new digs.

It was a hard choice to make. we were torn between

Arizona & staying put for another year.
In the end we stayed.

T goes to the same school,

we attend the same ward,

shop at the same grocerie stores.

The new place already feels like home.
(Except the part about missing Rod too much! 7 more weeks!)

1st day of school pictures to come soon...

{For the man of the house}

Lots of catching up to be done...
but first & foremost...

pictures for Rod of his little girlie to hold him over for the next 8 weeks!

we love you Rod!! Say hello to Texas for us!





we believe in arranged marriages....
Boone & Presley
Im sure presley misses daddy snuggles!

T started school. Soccer is under way.

we moved...

lots going on in rural TENNESSEE.

we are no longer Kentucky folk.

{we are still alive}

just busy moving.

we sold our house & have to be out by next friday.

While momma was packing the other day

the boys had a pow-wow.

Tre loves to read to his brothers.


yup...thats madsy chowing on some semi-sweet chocolate chips...

just like mom!

I am actually really going to miss this house.

we had a lot of great times here.

It took a lot of work to make this house our home, but we did it!

wish me luck.

packing with 4 is a juggeling act!

{the weekend}

We have lived in Kentucky for 3 years now (as of today actually!)& have not even begun to put a dent in seeing what is near by. This past weekend Rod was off so we packed up & joined the Sowby family & headed into the woods to stay in a cabin & explore a bit.

The boys loved running around the wrap around porch with Suede & Ellis. Presley cooed at the breezes & sun shine.

Red River Gorge Kentucky...

Britton stole Suede's kroger balloon...& then let it go. it floated right up to beams. She was not very happy. Her loving daddy had a plan...& a rope!
what a lucky girl!

craig's brittany helmet...

Rod & Craig set up a swing from the porch for the kids. We lowered the little ones 20 feet & Rod would give them pushes. Maddox LOVED every minute of it! he just laid back in the harness & put on a big fat smile! scrunched nose & all!

After we got all 6 kidd-os down to bed (Mads gave us a run for our money, but Rod came up with a no-fail way to get our guy to stop crying & go to sleep. ) We had treats & hung out in the hot tub. Ill tell you this...Taralyn & Craig win the "cutest couple" superlative in my year book! Those to are all osrts of cute!

Saturday was a lazy morning. we got out the door after hanging out in jammies & some more porch play. We are so so so proud of T & Britt. Not a single complaint on either hike. Not a "I wanna a snack." or "Im tired." "not even a "I want to play wii." Those two were naturals. Tre liked being the trail blazer. we had to remind him not too go too far ahead. I carried miss. presley in a front carrier while Rod carried Mads in back carrier. It worked out very well! Im now not as intimdated by hikes with little ones. I didnt realize how much I missed mountain hikes. again...so proud of my tough guys!

what a stud...
Craig is an avid climber & converted Tar many years ago. They took us & really made it fun!

to keep the kids safe while on the ledge we....well...see for yourself...

yup...we tied all the kids to a tree.

Ellis makes some pretty fabulous faces. this is my fav...

Suede makes hiking look good in her pretty dress & sweet curls!



(mads has his choo back. we made it with out for a while. but now hes cutting 4 teeth at once. he needs his chooch. poor boy!)
& up we go!


T's turn!

I give my big boy credit! he tried twice & really wanted to overcome his fears. in the end he wants to try again some day!

Go Taralyn! that girl can climb! up & down in no time at all! a pro!

momma snuggles...
Here I go. I had a great cheering squad down below! Im glad to say I made it!


your up hott stuff....

Rod had been before & was tough stuff!

now miss. suede, who like T, was not too impressed, but will be trying again!


after 2 hikes & some haning on rocks the kids were hungry & tired. We did not get back to the cabin until 7pm. we fed the children & let them splash in the hot tub. I am pretty sure that after all the little ones were snoozing I zonked out on the couch.

The whole trip was a hoot. & EVEN those moments when all the kids were crying at once make me chuckle.

I learned a few things on the trip...

a) I am way out of shape! haha. holding my body to a rock was pretty hard considering I have a body made of jello right now.

b) I sell my kidd-os short. they are pretty tough boys.

c) There are tons of gluten/dairy free treat recipes out there!! check it out HERE.

d) We have great friends who are good examples to us!we really do!

We are home now. lots of things are happening this week & next. busy..just how we like it!

Thanks Sowby family. your awsome!