The rest

After that camping trip to Buckhorn Draw, Shane started to work graveyard shifts at his second job at US Synthetic. He started working there as a temp and will be hired on soon. This job has been such an amazing/hard thing for us. It has helped us to get our trailer paid off (yay!!!) and allowed us to make purchases and repair vehicles without even having to blink at "where will the money come from". We are by no means, rolling in the dough, but it is a nice security blanket. Once Shane gets hired on, his benefits are amazing. He plans on staying there for the long haul. He's also still doing carpet daily so he is one busy and tired guy. Anyway, just read the captions on these pictures (hopefully you can figure out what description goes with what).

Chloe and Adam sure do love each other...

 Shane's work had a crawfish boil and carnival in June. They had big moon bounces, slides, cotton candy, and  even pony rides for the kids! The little ponies were so cute!

Adam got his first teeth!!

Our white trash way of keeping cool. We have gotten a kiddie pool since this.

In May, my sister and her family came down to help my niece get moved in for school (SHE'S IN COLLEGE!!) Anyway, they invited me on their picnic to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. 

Chloe and Adam with my Dad

Our little family.

Adam's very first time in the pool! He absolutely loves the water.

Chloe and Devri at my (and Layne's) work party

My two beautiful babies :)

Memorial Day

We decided to try a new place for camping --- we have gone to the same 2-3 places for years. So Shane took us to a place that he went to as a kid -- Buckhorn Draw. It was pretty cool - I definitely will be going back again. Too bad some really bad wind picked up and forced us to leave early :(  While we were there, we went down into the town and found a park to play in for a little while. Adam LOVES to swing!!!

Showing off his awesome ..... swing talents...(?)

                                                                  

Shane was proud of himself for catching this awesome little lizard with a blade of grass

They have a place called the "Little Grand Canyon" (I think) there. It was very pretty and my heart was beating a mile a minute while Chloe was sitting on this rock edge thing.

Chloe showing Adam how to use one of her old toys in the trailer

So..... hi..... I have been slacking JUST  a little. What's happened since the last post? ....

At the end of April, Shane and I celebrated our FIFTH wedding anniversary. We left our kids with Shane's mom  (hardest thing ever) for the weekend and we went to Zion's National Park. We hiked around and I actually did a pretty strenuous hike! And for anyone who knows me, this is a pretty big feat! Angel's Landing is hard :(   But I did it! The WHOLE thing. And what did I think??? Not worth it. Sorry - but there is no view worth not being about to walk for 3 days. Oh well. It was an experience though :)

Proof....

We also figured out how to take some cool pics with Shane's fancy new camera!

Cute story about those two pictures. On our way down to Zions, we stopped at Cove Fort. Through the hundreds of times I've driven on I-15, I have always wanted to stop there. Anyway, the Sister Missionary that was showing us around knew that it was our anniversary and so she had a "little something" for us. She told us this story about a prairie diamond (a bent horseshoe nail) and she had Shane get down on one knee and read a poem and ask me to marry him. What's funny is, I never got a real proposal so 5 years after we got married, I FINALLY got my proposal :) It was very sweet.

We didn't take a whole ton of pictures, but the one with all the switchbacks is a look back down on what we had hiked so far. The second is the view from the top (with some random girl's head in the shot)

LOOKING!!

We are now desperately seeking child care!!! I just posted an add on KSL, but I don't know if it will get answered in time, so if anyone out there in my blogging cosmos knows of anyone who could work, please pass this along. We need this ASAP!!!

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=15183916&cat=171

 Ok. What's the point of trying to recap the last little while? A lot happens in 6 weeks!! So I'll just do the highlight! Chloe turned 3!!! I can't believe it.... She is such a little princess and I love it. I never wanted a Tomboy so I could not be more thrilled with her girly-ness. She freaks out if she gets dirt on her toes :D 

Chloe is SO smart and turning into such a little person!!

Of course my pictures are way out of order so just read the captions!

One of the cutest feet I have ever seen...

One of the cute pics my sister took of Chloe - she really is a little "Fancy Nancy"

Pretty boy :)

At the zoo - after the carousel

She wouldn't go near the big elephant statue or the fake gorilla. But she'll practically lay down and nap with the tigers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Enjoying some new books

Daddy's helping blow out the candles

Notice Adam.... He is stretching his head around to watch the basketball game.

More "Happy Birthday!"

Napping at our niece's birthday party.

*sigh* I feel bad that I haven't posted in a while -- not bad for you people, but bad that I haven't documented almost 2 months of my new baby's life. So I'll start with that.

He didn't have a 4 month checkup since we don't have health insurance - but we did our own measurements:
16 lbs
26 in
He's eating solids now - loves them all!
He hasn't rolled over yet, but he does try to sit himself up!
SO happy - SO laid back - SO perfect :)
When he wakes up, he just sits and coos and squeals, just like Chloe did.
I got his 4 month shots done at the health department last week - he did so well! He didn't even wince when she gave the first shot. The second one stung, but he only cried for, literally, a few seconds. He's such a tough little guy. He is so much fun and we love having him around. We're so lucky to have had two easy-going, adorable little babies.

Chloe is finally potty trained. She's had a few moments where she regressed, but she's doing great now. She just has to wear a pull up at night - just in case!
She is still so smart. She is so observant of everything around her - so we have to be extra careful of what we say around her!!

Work is going pretty well for me. Can't complain....
We just repainted our house again. It just seemed so gross after our renters left and they ruined our carpet - like actually ruined it. So we replaced that as well. Shane was able to get the carpet at cost as well as just work off the cost. So we didn't have to pay anything "out of pocket". It feels so much better in our house now. I'm still working on the decorating though...

Below are just some pics of just what's been going on around here.

The beautiful flowers that Shane sneakily had delivered to me at work :)

Lily and Adam share a bed... Didn't you know?? 

We went to my sister's house in Twin Falls a couple weeks ago and we stopped at Shoshone Falls on our way home. VERY pretty. 

Adam loves his baths. If he's fussy, I can just run him a warm bath and he's happy as a clam!

My darling little Chloe. 

He's always got this "what?" look on his face. It's priceless!

New Job, etc

Well, I started my new job this week. Not the most exciting but SO easy (thank goodness).

I got the call last Wednesday that I would be starting the following Monday. Before I even hung up the phone there were tears forming in my eyes. I knew the day was coming, but I just was not ready to leave my babies. I was really struggling, especially not knowing exactly what the "day care" situation would be. We are still slightly flying by the seat of our pants! We just cannot, in any way afford to pay someone to watch the kids. It's unreal how much that costs. And of course, we "make too much" to qualify for any sort of assisted programs (of any kind). But it is incredibly hard leaving them every day. It still has not set in that this is not just a temporary thing. I will be doing this for a very long time now. Of course I wish that I could be a regular stay-at-home mom. But that I not in the cards for us right now. Sure, I could have said, "I will not have children until I can be sure that I will always be home with them," but that is completely unrealistic. Even the Church leaders have said to not put these things off until you are "ready". If you do, the time will absolutely never be right. I hate leaving them, but the joy I get from the time I do get to spend with them is immeasurable. I cannot imagine my life without them. Nothing would be worth having waited. I am someone's Mommy and that is the absolute most important thing I can ever do.

Anyway, enough of the mush. I started on Monday at 9 AM. I am literally an operator. I find out what the basic issue the customer has is then transfer them. So nice. I am not making NEARLY what I need to to compensate my old income (barely more than half), but at least it's money coming in. My daily schedule is 8:30 to 5 which is good and bad. I get to spend some time in the morning with the kids and I get to have regular sleeping hours, but I don't get home until at least 5:30 (that's only is Shane is watching them). If I have to pick them up from somewhere, I'm lucky if I'm home by 6. Then dinner, clean-up, bath time, and bed. But at least I can be the first person they see when they wake up and the last person they see before falling asleep. I love going in to get Adam in the mornings and seeing his big, gummy smile. Chloe always walks in [whatever room I am in] with this half-asleep look and her adorable bed head. Her potty training is going really well. She has had a few accidents. I really think it is because of the sudden changes in routine. But still, she is doing great.

I am trying really hard to keep nursing. I feed Adam in the morning and after I am home. I pump on my (VERY SHORT) 30 minute lunch break in my car. I am just not producing as much as I should and he is starting to eat a lot more (he is getting SO HUGE!) so of course we have to supplement with formula. He does great with both so it's going well. Luckily we got several samples of formula in the mail so we haven't had to buy any yet. We're still on our first can! He will start eating solids this month. I am so excited. I am going to try to make most of it myself since each little jar is a complete rip-off -- so expensive. I realize that we are saving so much money this time around. Chloe did not nurse and I bought all of the baby food in jars. I won't lie -- it is very convenient, but just too much money. Making the food is really easy so I'm not too worried about it.

Let's see... We sold our Monster Sak (yes, that is how it is spelled) and couch so we could get "grown-up" furniture. RC Willey had an awesome After Christmas deal on a Sofa/Love Seat combo so we got it. They are lovely :) Oh, Shane has been Mr Mom this week and is totally making me look bad! I came home to a totally clean downstairs (I have been totally lazy lately) and dinner on the table. He was like a wife from the 50's! Janell watched the kiddos on Tuesday and she did a better job than I do also. Adam took (I think) two 3 hour naps. *sigh* Oh well. Someday I will be Super Mom. I'm just Robin to their Batman right now I guess!!

I'm sure I sound like a little bit of a Debbie-Downer so maybe I need to balance that out with some "gratefuls":
I am grateful that I was able to find a job so quickly and I am grateful that I will be getting a severance from my old job. That will really relieve a lot of stress we have about paying taxes (gotta love being self-employed!). I am hoping that Shane will allow me to maybe get a new pair of shoes and a couple new pieces for my very tattered and pathetic wardrobe. I have to admit, I do not like shopping right now since I am still overweight, (not, "you just had a baby" overweight, but really and truly overweight. Do not try to placate me) but I need something new! Everyone needs a new article of clothing every so often... I am grateful that Shane has been so unbelievable busy at RC Willey this year. We have been so fortunate to keep our debts under control. We are still just working on paying of our cars. I can't say that we will be able to maintain that this year, but at least we have a semi-clean slate to start with. I am grateful that my kids are healthy and mellow and that they love eachother. Chloe will sit in front of Adam and sing and make noises while he just laughs and squeals at her. It is the most precious thing I think someone can witness. I am grateful that we have a house and vehicles and food. Things are going to get tough, but we've been through worse.

Shane's birthday is this month and I am hoping we'll be able to do something fun for it! I know he will love his gift so I'm not worried about that. Anyway, enough rambling for now!