Garrett and Shay's "woods" room

Garrett and Shay moved in together about a month ago so baby can have her own room, no stinky brothers allowed. Shay is great in a big boy bed except the typical coming out a few times before falling asleep, I can't complain. I just finished up their woods room. The background color was already blue and had clouds on the top. I just added a few more pictures, and made them some matching blankets for their beds. I also made the curtains (they're nothing fancy), and Matt made the rods. I'm glad it's done!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Garrett was determined to cut one down by himself. Scary, I know. He is too manly already. Last night at the dinner prayer he was thankful to be a carnivore and that he has long teeth to rip through meat. Matt and I both got the giggles that time.

Shay is just cute. Although, he makes me so crazy with how he gets into everything, ALL the time. But we love him.

This was the best part for Garrett and Shay--riding the 4 wheeler w/ Grandpa Bingham. We were at an area called Bostetter, which is between the Hansen and Oakley areas. Peter is on the back trying to hang on.

Christmas City

Day after Thanksgiving, every year in Rupert, Santa turns on the Christmas lights in the city square in Rupert. He rides in on a fire truck, it is very exciting. This year they didn't light up all the trees in the square like usual, I guess we didn't donate enough $$ at the pancake fundraiser last winter. It is always something to look forward to though!

My DAUGHTER!!

That's right everyone, I am having a GIRL!! Here is what I told the ultrasound tech--WOOHOO! She is due April 3rd 2010. I'm not techno savvy, but these scanned pictures are (top) her arm, and (bottom) her profile. Isn't she cute?

Baby Rayce and Halloween Fun

Sister Browning in our ward gets Garrett and Shay special Halloween bags because of Garrett being diabetic. A diet pop, a coloring book, a bag of cheeto's. They love it! We love her!

They got to go trick or treating with Uncle Peter! He is 11, and the kids love him.

Garrett's preschool party--he is the ferocious lion on the top far left.

Shay holding baby Rayce--Rayce was just blessed Sun. Nov 1st. These pictures are from Rachael coming to see us, we had a great time!

Garrett and Rayce--will he be this nice to my baby? We can hope.

Fall fun!

We have a new camera! It is so sweet--check out our movie of Garrett and Shay playing in the leaves :)

Shay and Shelby's Birthday!

Shay turned 2 on Sun. Oct. 4th! We had a double b-day party with his now 11 year old cousin Shelby who's bday is on Oct. 5th! Here are their shout out's:

Shay:

1. If you ask him his name, he will reply Shaybert, Shaybers, Shay-Shay, or Shay dog.

2. He now sends us to our room when we are naughty.

3. He loves tractor books, and being on the farm.

4. When you ask what he learned about in nursery, he replies, "COOKIES!"

5. He helps himself to what is in the fridge profusely, especially to grapes. He says, "Mom, can I have some few grapes?"

Shelby:

1. Can come up with some outrageous dance routines with Kesley and Courtney.

2. Is turning out to be a great garage saler just like her mom.

3. Is a great babysitter.

4. Wanted for her birthday to be able to shave her legs. I remember that agony.

5. Has a special bond with Shay, he loves his cousin Shelby.

Shay also had a party with the Bingham family, but I happened to drop my camera and break it. So expect no more posts for awhile. What's a good brand of camera anyway? Shay's most exciting present was a bike, which he calls a rocket bike.

Rachael's a mother!

My little sister had her baby boy last night by c-section at 11 p.m. She had been started the night before at the hospital, and was there 22 hours before they did the c-section. It was rough going to say the least, she was starting to fever near the end and throw up, they figured she'd got an infection. So poor Rachael, but YAY for a new baby boy who weighed 8 lb. 7 oz. We love getting new cousins. When I get over my Spanish Influenza (okay so I have swine flu--but I hate that name, people oink at me) I can go hold the little man. Hooray for new babies!

Halloween Costume Sneak Peek

You are the few exclusive and elite loved ones who get a sneak peek at my sons' cute Halloween costumes. Please, do not sell these to the tabloids. Garrett LOVES animals, and chose being a lion. He knows all kinds of facts about animals and likes to educate me all day long. Have I ever mentioned he talks an awful lot? He has also been teaching us the gospel from his scripture stories, his memory is magnanimous. It's about time someone taught us the gospel anyway. Shay makes a cute chubby pumpkin too. He also can outtalk many a person as well. We were reading a story with the word "sup" in it, and he asked me, "What means to sup?" He's not even quite 2 yet. I put him down for a nap today, and he said "Mom, get out of here." I gladly did. I think these two have personality coming out their ears. Sometimes it's embarassing like when Garrett sees a lady in a motorized shopping cart and says, "She's old, huh mom." But they keep me entertained. They also drive me crazy. At least once a day I have to go to a happy place inside my head. We all love our kids, but honestly, sometimes do you want to run away from them? If you don't now, you will when they're old enough to talk really well. Okay, I have said way too much. Bottom line--I do love my kids--they are hillarious and geniuses. Okay I am biased.

Garrett's First Day of Preschool

Today was the day Garrett has been bugging me about for a week. Preschool for 2 lovely hours. Shay wanted to go too, but he didn't cry. He was placated by a bike ride around the block with mom. Garrett actually let me comb his hair. He told me he learned lots of rules--"My teacher said 'No piddlin', but if we have an accident she will help us. I helped my teacher show the kids the potty room because I've already seen it." Teacher's pet already. He also got to eat a twinkie, how much better can life get?

Kellie's b-day shout out

I just read my sister's blog and realized I did not give my sister Kellie a birthday shout out, sorry it is late! I was having such fun doing those, and then we had a break from birthdays and I forgot about them!



Here are 5 things about Kellie, her birthday was Aug. 29th:



1. Physical contact creeps her out--you should have seen her when we had the playmill actor sing to her on her birthday, and he was a little touchy-feely... I think if she had a hand gun in her purse she would have killed us and him.



2. She is one heck of a garage saler, not in a freaky way, but she is very good at getting a bang out of her buck and she gets great stuff. I'm always jealous.



3. She can play the Cheers theme song on the piano.



4. She makes a great mom of girls (and Brock)--doesn't put up with a lot of the snotty stuff that girls try to pull



5. She can do a back hand spring on the trampoline (I don't know how recently this has been tested, but at least a few years ago she still could).



Well, it took me two hours to think of all that...okay not really, but happy late birthday shout out.

Fuzzy Princesses

My cold feet the other morning led to this--the boys wanted to wear a pair of fuzzy socks like I was wearing, which led to dolling up a bit. Good thing their dad doesn't read this blog! I love Shay's fat legs in the fuzzy socks. He has the best thighs.

Martineau Family Reunion

Held at Smith's Trout Haven, Lava Hot Springs, ID--the view of the hill from our camp

Nerd talent show, my nieces Courtney, Kesley, Shelby, and nephew Kade. They did the cha-cha slide, and they are true Martineau's because being ridiculous in front of people doesn't bother them at all. They were awesome!

My cousin Becky and her husband Nick singing "I got you Babe" (the Sonny and Cher song)

The ribbon dancing sisters

My Aunt Wilma's family showing their awesome dance moves. We were surprised to learn my 40+ year old cousin Lance can still do "the worm". Aunt Wilma's still got it too!

This kept Garrett and the other little cousins busy the whole trip--the see saws. These are Lori's twins Ashlyn and Tanner with him in the picture. It rained tons, we almost froze one night-- I chickened out and slept in the trailer w/ my parents much to Matt's dismay who slept by himself in the tent. But we had a great time getting to visit w/ cousins. Great reunion, thanks to my mom who made it all happen!

Ribbon Rave of 09

Many of you probably saw that I posted this on Facebook, but I'm too proud not to share it again with any who didn't see. My sisters and I ribbon danced at our family reunion. We never knew we were so talented until now. Especially kudos to Rachael for doing it at 8 months pregnant. We are still dorks and always will be. Enjoy, here is the you tube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlhPRJNLNZA&feature=email

Our Trip to Washington

Our family just returned from a trip to the Washington coast, this area is special to Matt's family because his great-grandma's family homesteaded there, in fact their log house still exists and is usable to many descendants of the Fritz family who built it. It is located in Sequim (pronounced Squim) WA. We toured the towns of Sequim, Port Angeles, and Port Townsend, and one daring hour in Seattle (just so we could ride the ferry there mostly) and a night on the town in Tacoma, while Matt's kind Aunt Ann babysat our boys, we got to go out to dinner. What a treat! Chevy's Fresh Mex is where we ate, it was delicious. So here's some pix of our trip

This was the view from the backyard of the house we stayed in. We didn't stay at the log house because we were double booked with another family planning on using it. We found a house to rent with this view of the Dungeness Spit (world's longest sand spit, with a light house at the end). Beautiful. We got to walk down the spit too. My boys liked saying the word spit so often.

Pike's Place Market in Seattle, where the fish thrower guys show their abilities. The big long ugly fish is still there that scared Charlotte on our senior trip way back when.

Garrett and Shay on "Rachel the Pig" outside of Pike's Place in Seattle

Ferry Boat ride from Bainsbridge Island to Seattle

Garrett on the beach at Fort Worden, in Port Townsend WA. It's an old military fort on the coast, used in the world war eras. The most beautiful beach for sand we've discovered yet in WA.

A picture taken of the main land from the Dungeness Spit.

Happy Birthday Tanner and Ashlyn!

July 15th marks the day--Ashlyn and Tanner (Lori's kiddos) are turning 5! Hopefully Kellie doesn't mind that I latched on to this Birthday Shout-out idea, I like it.

5 things about Ashlyn:
She is older than Tanner by a few minutes
She likes to study ladybugs, and things like that
She gave herself the middle name of Sweetheart
She is already an excellent reader, and can sound out and write words
She likes broccoli with vinegar on it, just like I do, what a smart girl!
Oh--an extra one--she loves the Hannah Montana soundtrack, and likes to listen to it by herself in her room

5 things about Tanner:
All he ever wants for a gift is trucks, trucks, trucks
He has a very tender heart, especially for animals
He is super tall for his age, he's going to be huge like his dad
He can ride his bike really fast around the neighborhood
He is very independent and does things in his own time

Happy Birthday Matt!

My sis Kellie shared this great idea of doing Happy Birthday posts for the family members, with a list of five things you know about that person. Matt turns 26 today! Here are the five things:
1. Matt hates green tractors, his brands are Massey and Case
2. He doesn't usually want to watch a movie unless it is funny
3. He is the biggest tease ever
4. He grew a goatee when we first got married because it made him look older (people at his work didn't know how young he really was)
5. He invented "Kool-aid Surprise" in college (or so he says)

Happy Birthday Matt!

Porcupine Springs Camping Trip

Garrett running away from the camera (he stole Shay's sun hat, and I thought a picture was in order)

Our camping trip was fun. We went to an area that is south of Hansen/Twin Falls in the south hills. It's about an hour from our house. It was tempting to put Shay on a leash, so I wouldn't lose him, but I refrained. It was a dream-come-true for Garrett to get to eat marshmallows --he's always been so good about having diabetes, but lately he wants treats and snacks lots! Going to sleep in the tent took awhile--Shay roamed for 20 minutes or so, then played with my face and talked my ear off for 20 more. Garrett kept asking if I could please get him to be quiet. Garrett also had to tell dad to quit his yucky snoring. I wasn't next to Matt so all I could do was throw shoes at him to get him to quit--it didn't help. We took a few nice little hikes, one to Ross Falls--a small but very pretty waterfall, and short hike. The day we came home, Garrett wet his clothes twice from not aiming very well when pottying, and fell in the fishing hole up to his shoulders, so by the time we were on the third outfit change it was time to go home. Definitely memorable, lots of kodak moments that's for sure.

Summer so far...

These two drive each other nuts. They were fighting over who got to be in the laundry basket. They live to fight. Solution? Whip out the camera. Not much for news--we are going camping tomorrow, but not to Lake Cleveland where we wanted to go. Apparently there's still 8 ft. snow drifts in places there, and nights get down to 34 degrees still. We may end up going Oakley way to camp. Last night we saw Rupert's "thunderworks" show, as Garrett calls it. We can see it from a neighbor's lawn, so convenient. I have also been fighting ants, I hate their guts. I spray them dead. Matt and I did sealings last night, it was a good experience. I usually think he'll be lovey at the temple and quit teasing me, but even at the temple he finds a way. I know this news is not too exciting. So I'll end on a more exciting note. I get to go visit my family next week and choreograph a ribbon dance with my sisters, and we get to go shopping at D.I. for our outfits. You are all jealous! Ha Ha Ha!! Hope your all having a good summer. I like your baby's name Camille, it's beautiful (Amelia Rose for any who don't know, I may have spelled it wrong). Please tell me how to get a girl. There is too much testosterone around here.

Swim Coach

Garrett doing his big shark kicks.

Garrett the swimming coach

I don't have a picture yet, but when I remember to take the camera I will post one. Garrett started swimming lessons and it is quite hillarious. The kids are supposed to sit on a fishy thing on the steps of the pool while their teachers talk to them. Garrett will randomly start jumping around, falling in, head under and all, then start yelling about water in his ears and such. Just know this--there is a lot of yelling on his part, a lot of not sitting on the designated fishy, a lot of falling in. His teachers are so nice. Garrett LOVES it, and that is good because he is wanting to be a swimming coach when he grows up. He thinks he is one now. I'll get a picture up soon.

Shay the Snuggler

Shay is definitely our snuggler. When he wants to be held, he says "Hold you". He and his dad have lately have fun calling each other "chunky monkey".

Sam, the Jolly Good Fellow

Sam (Matt's brother) graduated from high school at the end of May. Shay loves him, and you gotta love a picture of a big guy holding a little guy (Sam is 6'4" or it could be 6'6", I'm not sure).

Above is Sherry (Matt's mom) with Shay and her little (big) brother Ed. It was fun to see her mom here from California and Ed. My kids still talk about Ed. Today Garrett told me it must be easy for Ed to follow Jesus because he's such a big guy. Deep.

Visiting the Martineau's

Martineau Grandkids, Left to right: Kade (lyndsay's), Shelby (kellie's), Courtney (lyndsay's), Kesley (kellie's), Ashlyn and Tanner (lori's twins), Garrett (mine), Brock (kellies), Ian (lori's), Shay (mine), Paige (Kellie's)

We are visiting the Martineau Grandparents this weekend, Garrett and Shay think it's like Christmas. The dog Ike to play with, horses to ride, and they love Gpa Gma, and aunts and cousins. Here is a recent picture of our family. We sisters are sure silly together, we will never grow up. In fact we are planning to perform a ribbon dance for our family reunion in August. Rachael will be 7 1/2 months pregnant, maybe she'll go into labor while performing.

Rachael Rainey, Annie Bingham, Lori Fillmore, Kellie Wilde, Lyndsay Goody, Bob and Julie