We are having a boy!!
Easter Weekend!
When the Aunts come to town....
My sisters Steffaney and Sydney came into town from BYU-I to pick up our car. Mom and Dad so kindly bought it for them. The kids were excited to see their Aunts and I was excited to have some company. The morning they arrived, while they settled in and unpacked I took the kids to a primary activity. Andy had to work in the morning and the primary activity just happened to be at his work. Nice!! The kids had a lot of fun entertaining all the "grandma's and grandpa's" and the music therapist did great! After the primary activity we went back to the house to pick up Steffaney and Sydney. After a quick stop at McDonalds we headed to the mall to meet Dorothy, The Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man. We waited in line for 25 minutes. By the time we got to the front of the line Aubrey,Caleb, and Ainsley were too nervous to get there pictures taken. Steffaney and Sydney were very excited!!! The crowded mall and long line erupted with laughter.Right as we were leaving Aubrey wanted to take a picture with Dorothy. She was a little shy. After pictures we headed to the Wizard of Oz play area.

When we are all done playing we headed to the Candy Store and each child/aunt picked a lolipop or small bag of candy.

*While we were at the mall Andy left work and went to buy a swing set.

We got home from the mall just in time to clean faces, change Ainsley clothes, and walk to the neighbor hood Easter Egg Hunt.

Ainsley was very serious about collecting eggs. Once she had 4 in her basket it got "too heavy" for her and she started dragging it. One by one her eggs started falling out. She was unaware that they were HER eggs. I would point to her eggs on the grass and (unaware) she was so excited to keep finding eggs!

Finally her neighbor hood friend Nathan helped her carry her basket!

Steffaney and Sydney were pretty wiped out. Caleb loved the extra attention! Surveying the candy!

Sydney didn't keep a very good eye on Caleb. When she realized he had melted chocolate everywhere she quickly handed him over to me!

Aubrey made a special request to talk and take a picture with the Easter Bunny!

Easter Morning!!!
Steff/Syd, Caleb, Ainsley, and Aubrey's Easter Baskets!

Caleb's "steam roller/shovel"

Aubrey's lip gloss, umbrella, and barbie clothes were a big hit!

Although Caleb initially liked the chocolate bunny...one bite into it changed his mind.

Ainsley was the only one who liked the chocolate bunny. How can this be??

I guess the Easter Bunny didn't have enough time to put the swing set together before Easter morning.

First thing Easter Morning Andy went outside to get started on the swing set again! My fault....I thought I had read that it took 8 hours and 2 people. Come to find out it says 2 experienced people 20-24 hours!!! I think we all wanted to die!!! After spending 4 hours on it yesterday and completeling 5 of the 103 steps this is what the kids saw in the morning! Not exactly the exciting view I had pictured for the kids but hopefully it will be done by May!:) Wish us luck!
HAPPY EASTER!
**On Friday morning while Aubrey was at school and Andy was at work I took Ainsley and Caleb with me to the doctor to find out if we were having a boy or girl. Its a boy!!! Once Caleb found out he was very exited and kept asking the doctor questions like:
Can I see my brothers heart?
Can I see my brothers head?
Wow! My brother is bald!
Andy is very excited...I think more excited then he has been after the last 3 children's ultra sounds! I am a little scared to have another "Caleb" but very glad that Caleb will have a brother!!! The baby is really small...not yet a pound so I will be going back often for observations and ultra sounds. We feel very blessed and excited!

One Year remembered, 70 years of Oz, and an Easter Party

It's been exactly one years since Caleb was released from his 8 days stay at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. What a humbling and life changing experience. In just a matter of hours Caleb can go from running around to trouble breathing. If you would have asked me last January if a child could die from Strep Pneumonia I would have said of course not. Life is fragile and we are so grateful for the BIG part that Caleb plays in our little family!
Last Saturday we had the opportunity to go to Crown Center to meet Paul aka. Grandpa Griner during his yearly Dental Conference. It is the highlight of the kids entire March! This year the theme was "70 years of Oz". Digging out old Halloween costumes turned out to be hilarious!!! Aubrey squeezed into her 2T Dorthy outfit, Ainsley wore Calebs old Lion costume, and Caleb borrowed the neighbors Lions costume! Walking around the mall with Dorthy and 2 Lions caused a lot of heads to turn!:) We were lucky enough to be there when "Glenda the Good Witch" arrived!!

Even Ainsley took a picture with the GOOD WITCH! It was a miracle!

We ate lunch at a fun train restaraunt. The train acutally delivered the food. Caleb was in heaven! After lunch we headed to the "70 years of Oz" play area. It was awesome!

With slides, pretend tornado's, and tons of cool different play areas I would say that this years theme was the best. KANSAS represented well!!!

Andy's yearly work Easter Party. I thought the bunny was great. Of course when we asked Aubrey to smile she wouldn't. Caleb turned on the charm and smiled the entire morning! He hugged, laughed, and said hi to all the "grandma's and grandpa's"!Once Ainsley saw the Easter Bunny she was done...scared, clingy, and crying. The solution was the fake Easter Bunny! She loved the fake bunny!

Dyeing eggs was "magical" for the kids. Since I was absolutely not doing it at home I was glad they had a chance to do it here.

Aubrey took the Easter Egg dyeing very seriously. She didn't want to get the dye on her painted finger nails. The Easter Egg hunt was a lot of fun! Caleb DID try to cheat by getting a head start but after calling him back to the starting line he eagerly waited!!

Ainsley liked the Easter Egg hunt and actually found 3 eggs!

Defiantly a fun weekend! We cant wait until tomorrow, we love going down to Windsor to watch General Conference and celebrate Paul's birthday! The kids sure do love Grandpa Griner!

*** Yes, we will find out boy or girl on Friday. If anyone has any boy name idea, please share! We are unable to agree on names and since Andy is dead set against Bleaker we are back to the drawing board. I am pretty sure it is a girl though!

Spring Break

Over 15 band aids, 70 degrees weather, 4 play dates, one party, and a broken pinky. I think we did okay! It took me 4 days to complete my spring cleaning (it probably should have only taken 4 hours), Aubrey cut her chin open and bruised her leg, we made St. Patrick's day cup cakes, I taught Ainsley to say "Right There", "Blue", and "Pretty", and Caleb ALMOST went 10 days without a major disaster. 6 color times, over 350 hours of reading time, mulitpule foot splinters, and at least 6 replays of Sid the Science Guy. WE SURVIVED! Now that life is back to normal and Aubrey is back in school I have time to blog about it. Aubrey: Aubrey started off Spring Break by falling from the table and slicing her chin open/bruising her leg/stubbing her toe...not a good sign! But everything turned out okay and Aubrey loved being at home!! At least once a day I heared... "But Miss Susan said!" Per Miss Susan's request EVERY morning, first thing in the morning Aubrey had color/writting/play-doh time. 2 times a day I would read to her (how many different princess stories can one little girl have??), and before bed Andy would read to her. Every day was dress up day and Aubrey was a great big sister to Ainsley!! CALEB: Was very enjoyable! He loved being able to play outside in the dirt! He did not sleep through the night and he did not sleep in past 6:30am but he did take 2 afternoon naps!!! This week also seemed like the week of a million question. He has a question for EVERYTHING....his replay would either be "How can that be?" or "Mom you did not hear me!" I could not answer a question with "I do not know. Okay. Sure. or I guess" I had to actually come up with answers. And this week Caleb, with out a doubt, is the loudest little boy ever. Andy buying him a recorder has not helped at all!!!
Ainsley: Is extremely obedient...always following directions like:
Put that back please.
Sit down.
Go get your sippy cup.
If ever I ask her where something is she always goes and gets it...Keeping her dressed has been a problem and getting her dressed takes strength and patience. She is very picky about what she wears and will not keep her piggy tails in!The ending to Spring Break was yesterday. I took the kids to a birthday party for a little boy turning 2. Candy, Pizza, Cup Cakes, a bouncy house, and a Pinyata made for an exciting morning!! By the time we got home I was tired. I put the kids down for a nap and since Caleb was too hyped up on sugar I layed him next to me. I closed my eyes (it couldn't have been for more then 20 minutes but I fell right asleep) and next thing I knew Caleb was naked, Aubrey was out of her room, and Caleb had marker on his body form head to toe! Since there were drawings of little people on his right arm I knew he did not act alone! WHERE DO THESE MARKERS KEEP COMING FROM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Aubrey was really proud of her art work. After first denying her involement in the entire thing she quickly confessed. Caleb was doing so well not getting into trouble and making messes. I really hope he is not degressing. I do feel bad for the litte guy...on Sunday night he was hidding in the closet. Andy went to close the door and Calebs pinky was in the way. To say that he hurt is pinky is an understatement! It is deffinatly broken (I have never seen anything so crooked).

All in all it was a fun week. We went to St. Louis, played on the neighbors trampoline, and the kids watched Willey Wonka and the Chocolate factory for the first time. I did fast forward threw the scary parts but I thought it was apropiate to let them see what happens to little boys and girls who do not listen to there Mommies!!!!

A Great Week!

After an endless snow storm last Saturday I did not know what to think about the up coming week. Was it going to be cold and snowy?? Then again we live in Kansas.... one day it snows and the next day its 70 degrees!!! The high for the week was on Wednesday, 81 degrees!!!! On Saturday it was windy and overcast and by Saturday night it was 20 degrees with a big hail storm!! It kind of makes it hard to plan out door activities!
The excitement of last week came on Tuesday went I finally got to drive the van. It was glorious!!! I didn't have to drag kids to the car crying and they didn't bug each other, poke each other, or cry!!! I constantly heard "Oh, this is so fun!" followed by laughter!! I must say though, driving a van is like driving a BUS!!!My decision to put Caleb in the back all by himself was a "no brainer"!! He loved being in the back all by himself and when he talked to me his voice didn't carry as loud!!!
** Note...the guitar he is holding was the result of a local church scavenger hunt. They started out with a penny and went door to door to see who would trade for something bigger. The kids were excited to land the guitar but...have you ever heard of The Wiggles??? Probably, the most annoying, obnoxious, and loud toy ever!!!! Sorry to our neighbors who ended up with out broken kid vacuum!!! :) We only have love for you!!CALEB....last week Caleb smashed an entire stick of chap stick in Ainsley hair. While I was giving her a bath Caleb dunk his head in the water. Is there no end to his madness!!! Poor Ainsley. I do not know what to do, its almost like I should shave her head! Also, on Thursday Caleb dumped an entire super size box of Gold Fish all over the floor! I often wonder what he is thinking?!!! "Hum, this will be fun." or "I know mom wont notice." Really, what!!!??On Saturday we babysat a young couples 3 girls again. From 9:00am to 7:00pm. It was crazy!!! Thank goodness the weather was good. The kids spent the day rotating from Princess dress to Princess dress, playing in the dirt (minus, Aubrey who is a total girly girl and was absolutely NOT going to touch or play in the dirt), and eating!!! When they got tired of playing in the back yard we took them in the front yard, when they got tired of playing upstairs we took them in the basement, and when all 6 kids got cranky we fed them. I felt like we had a really good system and we held out pretty well concidering we were only suppose to watch them for a couple of hours! What a fun Saturday!

I also want to say HAPPY 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY ANDY. I love you!
There as been more good then bad, more hard moments then easy, and more laughter then tears. What a crazy 6 years...multiple moves, a career change, 3 kids, 2 degrees, and a lot of "WHAT WERE WE THINKING" moments later... we survived!!! WE SURVIVED!!!

News***
We will officially find out boy or girl on Friday. I have been canceling appointments in hopes that Andy will change his mind and not want to find out. Also, I have been really sick and have not wanted to deal with the blood drawing problem (they can not seem to find a vein due to dehydration...which leaves me with many arm bruises and still no blood drawn). But I have been feeling better so it looks like Friday is the day!!!:) Boy or Girl??? Boy or Girl, hummm....
either way we are very excited and feel extremely bless for the healthy children we have and their fun/corky personalities!

Final Evidence

Today I have been sitting in Ainsley's bedroom looking at her door. I am deciding whether or not to wipe off the nail polish/ foundation hand print that Caleb made while barricading the door to keep me out. Leaving it there is a good reminder that any day is better then that day!!! Caleb has been amazingly wonderful since that incident. Minus the finding of a green marker that he put all over his face! How do my kids keep finding these things??? I think they have secret stashes!!!

Last weekend was a fun weekend for us. After spending the last 2 weeks researching and looking at vans on Friday at 1:00pm we bought a 2001 Honda Oddysey! While we were test driving it I was amazed and couldn't believe that when the kids went to pick out their seats they chose to sit on the back row next to each other!!! WHY??? Of course, the purpose of a van (in my mind) was to spread the kids out as far away from each other as possible! No more complaints of Ainsley touch Caleb, Aubrey holding Ainsley hand, and Caleb kicking the back of my chair! Oh how sweet it is! I have not personally driven it yet. I have never driven a van before and I am terrified. On Saturday I was suppose to practice but we had a big snow storm. So there is sits, very pretty in our garage. Hopefully, I will be driving it my Wednesday!!! Can you imagine, me, driving a van!!! How fun!! As soon as it makes its way out of the garage I will take a picture!Other fun weekend news...
On Saturday in the middle of the snow storm Andy went and helped a Ward Member hang dry wall. He was excited to see how it was done so we could get started on our basement. While he was helping with that I watched the young couples 3 girls. Have you ever had to prepare lunch for 6 children under 5 by yourself. A half of bag of chicken nuggets/tater tots and a half of pitcher of gatorade!! It was crazy!!!
2: 1 year olds
1: 2 year old
2: 3 year olds
1: 4 year old
Poor Caleb, he desperately wanted another boy to play with. 5 girls and a Caleb! What an afternoon!! The afternoon was full of dress up, playing kitchen, and chasing each other in the basement! When Andy got home around 3 there were kids everywhere!!! It was a lot of fun but by 5 o'clock I was out cold and didn't wake up until Andy woke me up at 8.

MY PICK:
I would like to state before tonight finale of the Bachelor that I think he will pick Melissa. I know know one probably watches this show but I have recently become addicted. I felt so bad for Jason last season and wanted him to find "True Happiness". Now I think he is a scuz. I feel bad for Jillian. Andy has been watching bits and pieces and we both picked Melissa back in the beginning. Andy picked her because she looks like DeAnna. True. So, who will he pick...while I am folding the 6 loads of laundry tonight I will find out!!!!

WE SURVIVED!!

We survived the sickness of winter. How? I really do not know, it is all a blur!
January went just as expected....mild flu symptoms, head colds, and the "not to fun" winter virus. If there was a sickness, we had it. But I never expected February to be just as bad. Week after week of ear infections, head colds (again), major runny noses, and the Rota Virus. To say that life was emotional, sleepless, and stressful was an understatement. After 6 long and cold weeks....we have today!!!
TODAY NO ONE IS SICK AND TO CELEBRATE...THE SUN IS OUT!! I feel like singing and dancing!!! I guess one perfect day out of 42 is all one needs to lift the energy and give hope!! Summer is really coming...not for a couple more months but it is coming!!
For Caleb, today was the perfect "First" day not to be sick. The mini tractors and concrete plows are in front of the house fixing the road. It's like "BOB THE BUILDER" live!! I can tell Caleb is feeling better because he is quite the comic...always trying to make his sisters laugh. He makes the "much favorite" Mac N' Cheese with an apple seem hilarious! He has become my little helper ever since last weeks Nail Polish debacle and has actually kept his room spotless!!! But I do not understand why he woke up at 5am this morning. Why?
This week marks the first week that Aubrey hasn't had to be dragged to school...LITERALLY. We have to DRAG her out of bed, I have to wrestle her while dressing her, and when her teacher goes to get her out of the car she gets stiff and refuses to move. To say she is not a morning person is an understatement! I remember the days when I wasn't a morning person. Now it is not optional. For some reason this week she has gotten herself dresses and is constantly saying "Mom, we are going to be late...hurry!" "Can Dad take me?"

Lately when I pick her up from school the first thing she says is:
"Can I go to Gerbetos house?"
"He is my friend!"
After a week of begging I looked into it and found out Gerbeto and his mom do not speak English. Which makes it extremely hard for me to set up a play date! Also, Gerbeto's Mom has a pink van (PINK) which explains why Aubrey has requested that we also buy a Pink van.Ainsley is finally feeling better. Thank goodness! Poor little Ainsley dropped back down to 18 pounds. With the way she eats (just like Caleb) I know she will gain her 4 pounds back fast! Ainsley loves laughing at Caleb! She cut her last 2 top teeth this past week and loves to show them off. I have also taught her new words:
More Please
PaPa
What's That?
Here
Baby
Pooh (always used to state the obvious)
They are not to clear yet but she loves saying them.

Funny News:
The other night Andy was watching Ni- Hao Kai-lan with the kids (a cartoon like "Dora the Explorer" but with Chinese instead of Spanish). All of a sudden he was laughing. It was a very emotional time of the night, the kids had been sick all day, they were cranky, and I was tired. I could not understand why he was laughing so loud and so much. The cartoon uses a lot of chinese and takes long passes so you can repeat certain chinese words back....Do you know how to say Snow in Chinese???
I started laughing...what a highlight to a long hard day!!!