Happy Pioneer Day and Hair Cuts

This is the only sad picture I got from our 24th of July celebrations.  We started the day by dropping off the kids with Tony's mom while Tony and I went and saw Batman and went to lunch.  It was really nice to get away and go on a much needed date with my "one true love."
After we picked up the boys we went to my parents house so Tony could take the boys on the mini four-wheeler that my dad got.  The boys loved riding on the four-wheeling - never gets old.
Then it was off to work for Tony.  The kids and I stayed at my parents and hung out for the rest of the day.  We had a BBQ and then did some fireworks when it got dark.  My sister, Julie, gave all the kids glow sticks and they really liked them.  The fireworks were fun to watch and Megan did a really good job.  I was worried we would have to leave early because Megan would be fussy, but as long as they had fireworks burning, she was good.  She didn't seem to mind the loud noised and bright lights, she just took it all in.  We all had a good time, but it would have been much better if Tony could have enjoyed the whole day with us.  But hey, somebody's got to can the beans!

Before

After

The boys both needed hair cuts, so we decided to just do it on
Monday.  Tony cut both of the boys hair this time.

Tyler's before and after photos
don't look too different, but Josh's sure does.  Someday I will learn how to do Josh's curly hair better, then we can keep it a little longer.

After

Before

Tony and I sure do have cute boys!

Beans Beans the Magical Fruit...

Megan ready to go for a car ride to Ogden

It is that time a year again when the green beans are ready to be harvested and canned.  Because of this Tony is now on his crazy 12 hour shifts 6 days a week.

We decided to go and visit Tony this morning to go see all the fun bean equipment and to see how they are prepared and canned.

Tyler, Tony, and Josh in front of the bean holder thing

Tony had spent the night at the cannery because he didn't get off until 4:30 this morning and had to be back working at noon.  So we decided to drive to Ogden and surprise him.

We got to the cannery right when Tony woke up for the day, so that was good timing.  Megan had just fallen asleep when we pulled up, so she hung out in the office while the boys and I went with Tony around the cannery.

Tyler and Tony watching the beans being washed

We started at the beginning where they dump all the beans that had just been harvested from the fields.  Then moved on to where the leaves and stems are removed, the beans are cleaned, chopped to size, picked through by volunteers, put into cans, water added to the cans, lids sealed onto the cans, the cans are all cooked, then they are cooled, labeled and then boxed.  It is a pretty interesting process and fun to see how much work goes into canning fresh produce.  We all had a good time watching the big equipment.

Tyler and Tony in front of a line of beans

Megan had woken up while we were still looking at the equipment so the secretary, Arlene, took her out of her car seat and walked around with her.  It was very nice of the sisters to let us leave Megan with them.  It is REALLY noisy when all the machines are going, so I don't think Megan would have had as much fun as we all did.

Tyler, Tony, and Josh watching the cans being sealed

After we got Megan back we went and got some lunch.  Tyler saw Panda Express and said he wanted to go there.  He really likes to eat there.  The food was good and we had a good time just hanging out with Tony before he had to get back to work.

After lunch we dropped off Tony and I headed back home with the kids.  Megan cried at first, but then fell to sleep, thankfully.  We all had a good time and I am glad that we were able to go and see Daddy at work!

Tony and Tyler looking in the big pressure cookers (retorts)

Swimming at Grandma's

Today we went to my mom's to go swimming in her pool.  It isn't huge, but it is a pretty good size for small boys.  Josh and Tyler loved it.  It took them a while to get all the way in because it was so cold, but they finally did.  
Tyler and Josh really do love the water.  They love to put their faces in and see how long they can hold their breath.  Silly boys.

It was like 103 degrees today.  So hot!  Megan and I sat and watched the boys on the patio and it was hot even in that shade.  Megan and I ended up going back inside after and while once Josh was done in the water.  We had some lunch and the boys played down stairs and with the I-pad.
Julie and Kimball came over.  Averee and Hayden were with Wendy and her boys at the big pool.  They came later and played in the water with the boys.  They had a good time.

There were times when I wished that I had my swim suit so that I could cool off.  But they boys played for a long time and then dried off and got dressed so that they could play inside and/or in the sand box.
Tony got home early today, so we left grandma's so that we could go home and spend time with him before he starts green beans and we don't get to see him very much. 

Super fun day at grandma's.  Glad the boys had a good time and Megan did good.  Oh, can't forget that we also all enjoyed my parents central air conditioning on this hot day!

St. George

We left for St. George on Friday morning.  Josh had an accident the night before where he fell on the front step on our porch and chipped his front tooth (so now BOTH his front teeth are chipped).  Tony took Josh into the dentist first thing Friday morning.  The dentist said that he didn't chip it too deep and it wasn't cracked or loose.  So he said Josh should be fine, he would probably hurt him for a couple of days.
Once they got back from the dentist we finished loading the car and headed to Tony's parents where we met them to drive down to St. George together
We made it to Nephi before we had to stop for a potty break.  Then Josh had to go potty like four more times after that.  But he didn't have any accidents, so that was really good.
All the kids did pretty good on the drive down.  Megan was able to take her bottle in her car seat, so we didn't have to stop to feed her - that was nice.  Tyler pretty much watch the movies and was entertained by that the whole time.  Josh got a little bored, but still did really good.  He wouldn't eat anything at first because of his tooth, so we gave him lots to drink (hence the four trips to the potty) and then got some popcorn and gobbled it right up.  So we were happy that he was eating again.

We got to St. George early afternoon and checked-in to our hotel.  The room wasn't ready yet so we went to Nana and Papa's house.  Nana was happy to see us all and we were happy to see her (and be out of the car).  Papa was at dialysis and Tony's mom and Nana went and got him shortly after we arrived.   

Nana had a list of things that she wanted done while we were there so we (mostly Margie and Tony) got right to work on the list.  After they got a lot of things done we all went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  It was really good and we had a good time going out with the extended family.  After dinner we all headed to Costco where we bought the boys "Angry Birds" pillows.  They were discounted to less then $5 so we bought them the silly pillows.  The boys LOVED them.  They played with them all the time when we were in the hotel room.

After Costco we went to the hotel and got the room ready for going to bed.  We got a really nice room.  It was a King Deluxe room with a king bed, pull-out couch, and a big bathroom with a jetted bathtub.  The hotel had a portable crib for Megan.  I would like to say Megan had a good night sleep, but she didn't sleep well either night we were in the hotel.  She woke up a lot and needed help to get back to sleep.

If you look really close you can see both of his front teeth are chipped.

On Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel.  After breakfast Tony went with his mom and Nana to help out with more things on her list.  They wanted to get as much done as they could while it was a little cooler in the morning .  When Tony came back to the hotel, he took the boys swimming while I hung out with Megan while she was sleeping.  After they got back and Megan woke up, we all went back to Tony's grandparents house. 

After we ate some lunch Tony helped some more with the listed items.  After getting some things done we headed back to the hotel to go swimming.  This time Margie and I got to go swimming too.  Tyler and Josh LOVE the water.  Josh had no fear what-so-ever and would just jump right into the pool to Tony and then "swim" to him under the water.  Tyler pretty much just liked staying where he could touch and liked playing with the girls that were there.  The hotel had an indoor and outdoor pool, so it was nice to choose either one.  Megan did great in the pool.  She lasted a long time just hanging out in the water.  She has learned how to splash with her hands and feet.  Super cute.
After bathing and dressing we then went back to Nana and Papa's for some dinner.  After dinner we went and got a root beer float.
Then it was back to the hotel for the night.  The boys (especially Tyler) just loved our room.  They loved throwing their pillows up and all around the room.  It really was a nice room.
The only problem was trying to keep the boys quiet while Megan took her naps in the hotel.  That was not an easy task, but they did pretty good for silly little boys.

Sunday morning we got up and ate some breakfast.  After we hung out for a while we all got ready to go to sacrament in Nana and Papa's ward.  It started at 10:45.  It was a ward just for older people, so luckily the kids were pretty good so no one gave us any dirty looks.
After church we went to Nana's and took some pictures of the four generations.  We also changed and had some lunch before we started our journey home. 

We headed out later then we thought we would so we got back a lot later then we had planned.  We had to stop a couple extra times to put air in the tire that seemed to have a slow leak.
Also we ran into some crazy traffic and ended up going a different route.  But it was a nice route that led us to a nice diner for dinner.  It was pretty hot inside, but the food was good.
After dinner we headed home.  We got into Murray about 7:00 pm and then we loaded back up our car and headed home.

Teagan was nice enough to house sit for us so we didn't have to worry about Koda.  It was just way too hot for him to be outside for too long.  It was like 106 degrees in St. George - WAY TOO HOT! It was nice to be back where it wasn't as hot, but it still is hot here.  We all had a good time visiting Nana and Papa and we look forward to seeing them again hopefully in August for Nana's 80th birthday, but for sure in September on our way to California.

Happy Independence Day

I just love Independence Day.  I would say that it is my favorite holiday.  It is filled with family traditions.  It all starts off with going to the Murray parade.  My dad goes early in the morning and sets up chairs for the whole family.  He normally takes his PA system, but this year he could not get it working.  It was super sad, but a good time was still had by all.
The boys got TONS of candy from all the parade floats.  They had a good time waving to the people and seeing all the fun parade people.  Their were fire trucks and fire men, lots of cars, bands, and much more.
Megan did really good during the parade.  I wasn't sure how she would handle all the noise and such, but she was a champ.  She watched for a long time and then finally fell asleep for about twenty minutes.  Then enjoyed the rest of the parade.  She was not happy when we put her in her car seat to go back to my parents.  But she was happy when she got her bottle.
I got Megan a cute outfit for the 4th and I was super glad that I did.  I had flag shirts for all of us, but Megan didn't have any.  I also had a cute dress from my friend and it was super fun to see her in it for church.  It really is fun to dress a little baby girl. 
After the parade we went back to my parents.  We fed Megan and the boys played with their cousins.  It was nice to just relax and chat with family.  We had a nice BBQ and then hung out some more.
We went on our own family parade on the back of my dads trailer.  It is super silly and a good time.  My dad just drives around the neighborhood and this year Alex brought his parade candy and threw it to people who were outside their homes.  It was pretty fun to be silly. 

A little later I went to Julie's house down the street to help her fill up water balloons for Averee's birthday party.  It was nice in the shade and we made quick work of it.  After a while Tony and the boys came down and we left to pick up some dinner.  We went to Panda Express.  It wasn't as good as it normally is, but it was good enough. 

After dinner we went to Averee's birthday party.  She turned eight on the 4th.  The kids had a good time.  After the party and such we started doing snaps and fireworks.
Megan did really good during the fire works as well.  She did good until the very end.  She was tired and wanted to go to bed.  After all the fireworks were done we took the boys back to my parents down the street and changed them into their jammies.  Then we drove home and enjoyed all the fireworks from around the valley.  It was a good night.

We Love Our Cabin

We decided to go up to our cabin pretty early this morning.  We got up to the cabin at about ten.  The kids did really good in the car, and so did the dog.  We didn't want to leave Koda at home in the 100 degree weather.  It is really nice that the cabin is only an hour drive.
Pretty much the first thing that we did was get ready to go four-wheeling.  It was Megan's first time on the four-wheelers.  Tony put her in the front pack and she just loved it.  Tony said that she just cooed and tried to stand up a lot.  We didn't go for too long since I didn't think to bring her a hat to where, so I didn't want her little head to get sun burnt.
Tyler and Josh of course love the four-wheeling ride as well.  They (especially Josh) always love going on rides.  At first Tyler didn't want to go with us, but then decided to last minute (which is why I don't have a picture of Tyler on the four-wheelers).  Tyler rode on the back of Tony and Josh rode in front of me.  I did go on another ride with my sisters, Julie and Wendy, with their kids and I had Josh in front and Tyler in back.  It was kind of neat to go on a ride with Julie and Wendy and to see their kids riding in front and in back of them.  I really do love going on rides.  I would love to go on the trails where you go for multiple days and you drive during the day and stop at different places for the night.  Someday Tony and I will have to do that.
Besides riding, we pretty much just hung out.  Tony played some i-pod and dug some holes while I chatted with my family and took care of Megan.  My brother gave his fiance her official ring on a ride to "the top of the world" - so that was exciting.  It was a good thing they got that done because they are getting married in a week.  We always have a good time at the cabin and hope to go back soon. 

Megan - Just so cute!

Koda and Megan right before church a couple weeks ago - he's a good pillow

Megan before church last Sunday - she was not wanting to be put down

Megan in her Hawaii dress - Aloha

Megan after she just rolled over - earlier today

Megan having tummy time - she doesn't last too long on her tummy before she rolls right over

"I'm Done"

The other day Tony informed me that he "was done" having kids and that Megan would be our last.  This was a very surprising statement coming from Tony.  Tony for years has said that he wanted six kids and I told him that I wanted four.  I just don't think that I could handle six children, I am not that patient of a woman.  But I though that I could probably do four if they weren't too close together.  So since we have started having children I have just always thought that we would have four.
Tony made a comment right before we had Megan that he thought that this would be our last baby.  I was taken back, but didn't put to much thought into it - until now.  Now that Tony has said that we are done having kids...I don't know...maybe I wasn't done having kids.  I don't feel like we are done.  I don't know for sure, but I can't say right now that I will or will not have more.  It is just too crazy to hear him say that he is done.  I guess we will see what he says in a year or so.

Willis Family Reunion 2012

We went to the Willis Family Reunion this past week.  We left Monday about noon and got back Thursday about one in the afternoon.
Tony's parents so nicely let Josh and Tyler sleep at their house on Sunday night so that made it really nice for Tony and I to get us all ready to go the the reunion. 
We also had a doctors appointment for Megan on Monday morning, so it was nice not to have to take the boys with us.  Megan did good at her appointment.  She gained 3.5 ounces.  The doctor would like her to be gaining a little bit more then that, so we have to go back in two more weeks for another weight check.  The doctor is keeping Megan on Soy formula and told us to try and feed her 27 ounces of milk a day.  It does seem like the soy formula is helping Megan's tummy.  Her diapers look a lot better since we have switched.

After Megan's appointment Tony and I got packed and then got the boys.  We then got some lunch and then headed to Altamont, UT where the reunion was being held.  The boys had so much fun at their sleepover that they fell asleep pretty quick.  I think it took Josh like two minutes and Tyler about ten.  Megan slept for the first hour and a half and then was fussy.  The boys were still sleeping so I had to keep turning around and give Megan her binkey.  Megan eventually woke up Tyler and then he gave her her binkey - it's so nice that he's old enough to be such a good helper.  Megan lasted with just the binkey until about ten minutes before we got there and then she had enough.  So really not too bad for her first long car trip.
We love going to this place.  It is a huge cabin that sleeps like 80 people and has a swimming pool, hot tube, play room, play ground, fishing, shooting, a rec-type center with a rock wall and basketball, and many other things.  Two of my mom's siblings and their families couldn't make it so we had lots of space.  Almost all of us got our own rooms.

This was Megan's first time going in the swimming pool.  She only went in one day for maybe ten minutes before she was done.  She looked so cute in her little swimming suit.  Tyler and Josh LOVED the swimming pool.  They would have played in there all day if they could have.  Tyler and Josh did really good with the water wings and the tubes to help them float.  It was nice not having to worry so much about Tyler as he floated around.  They both liked the hot tub too much.  They enjoyed swimming but looked forward to getting in the hot tub.  Just like mommy and daddy.  We brought some swimming noodles and I had a good time doing what I called "the noodle challenge."  It is where you take two noodles and try and stand on them with both feet under the water and see how long you can balance.  It was a good work out.  I also got really sun burnt, that part wasn't so much fun.  But I really do enjoy swimming pools.

Our room was right by the game room and because of the that, the boys went to bed late and woke up early.  So on Tuesday and Wednesday Tony took Josh on a car ride to get him to fall asleep so he would take a nap.  It was a good idea.  Josh really needed it and was much happier because of it.  A lot of the noisy boys went home on Wednesday night, so we were all able to sleep in on Thursday morning and get some much needed sleep.
Megan did a really good job.  She slept well in her pack-in-play at night and then mostly took her naps while we held her.  She had a good temperament for the most part and seemed to have a good time.  She was a hit and everyone liked to hold her.

On Wednesday we had a water balloon fight.  My mom bought over 1300 water balloons.  We didn't fill them all up, but we did maybe 300 of them.  The kids loved it.  They loved helping fill the balloons and especially throwing them.  The kids were good sports, no one went too crazy and no one left crying - we were a little worried about that.
Josh did really good with his potty training.  He only had one accident the whole time and it was when he was wearing his swimming suit, he peed in it.  So I was really glad about that.  I almost put off training him until after the reunion, but I am glad that we didn't.  I am glad that we just followed his readiness and now he is pretty much there.  Josh even stayed dry when he took his naps.  He stayed dry one night, but most nights he had a wet diaper from the milk he drank right before bed.  I think night time will take a little longer because of the milk he still really wants to drink.

Each family took a couple meals that they were in charge of.  It was nice not to have to do food everyday day and it was fun to try what other people make.  We have already scheduled to go back to this awesome cabin in two more years.  My grandpa calls it "Camp Gottalotta" because the owner of the cabin has a "lotta" money.  He is so funny.  He will be 90 years old in two years, but he says that we can always do it without him - I sure hope that we don't have to.  I love my grandpa and I hope that he continues in good health. 
It was sad to leave on Thursday, but it was good to come home.  Koda went to Logan and stayed with Yvette, the breeder.  She said that he did really good.  The kids did good on the car ride home.  We started movie for them and Tyler colored most of the way.  Megan slept until about Park City and then she was done with being in the car.  So we stopped and got some lunch in Park City and feed Megan.  Then we headed home.  It's good to be back.  I'd say that we have definitely started the summer off right!

Megan's Two Month Check-Up

Well we have us a small baby.  She weighed in at 9 lbs 6 ounces (10%).  Her height is 22.6 inches (48%) and head size is 37 1/2 cm (12%).  Yeah, her BMI is 1 %.  Her doctor is a little concerned about her size, so we have switched to the soy formula to see if that helps her feel better and have more "normal" poopy diapers.  I have to take her back in a week and see how she is doing.
The doctor also told me to stop taking the fenugreek.  She said that some babies have had bad side effects from it.  So we are going to see if that is part of the reason Megan is having a hard time.  I don't if we have really seen any side effects from the acid reflux medicine.  So I don't really know if she is getter better.  As long as it helps her not be in so much pain, then that is good.  I guess we'll see where she is at in a week and then go from there.