Giselle is 6 months old today!

This is exactly what Giselle does all day....laughs! She is such a happy baby! It doesn't take much for her to laugh... especially having so many fun siblings to play with!

A few things about Giselle:

She is on the move- she rolls ALL over the place..I put her down in one spot and in 2 seconds she is all the way across the room.

She wants people food...NOW! Her whole body reacts when we eat..she wants we have sooo bad, but for now it's rice cereal, sweet potatos, carrots, applesauce, pears and green beans to name a few...oh and a few popsicles here and there!

Any obnoxious sound makes Giselle smile or stop crying...don't believe me just ask Jillian to yell "boo ya boo ya boo ya" for 2 minutes and you'll see!

She took a bath in the sink the other day and LOVED it...this morning I found Jacob sitting in the sink with the water on...he loved it too!!

She laughs from the inside...it's hard to explain but it sounds like she is laughing inside and not actually out loud.

I don't see or hold her for almost the whole 3 hours of church! She is loved by everyone!! Maybe because she goes to everyone!

She sleeps anywhere and with all kinds of noise...I wonder if she would sleep as well if it were actually quiet...guess we'll never know!

She doesn't have any teeth yet, but will gnaw on your finger like a chew toy!

Those are a few fun things about Giselle or ellie as we call her a lot. We love her to pieces and keep believe how fast the time has flown by.

Who wants to join my team?

This week I decided to get up every morning with Jakey and go outside. He has been waking up at 6am or slightly earlier for a while now. I was in a comatose state for a while and would just moan and waste the morning away. NO MORE! I planned on running.
Monday: Jakey doesn't wake up until 7:15....WHAT, figures...can't go, Brett is already gone.
Tuesday: 5:55..ding ding..let's go. He was SO excited when I said wanna go for a walk. Strapped him into the jogger and off we went..I went to the back of my neighborhood because there are train tracks visible and he loves it. Lucky for us a train came within minutes and we tried to run next to it..but of course it was too fast and we only stayed with it for a minute. It was so nice to be out in the morning and not melt from the heat. Time went a lot faster than I thought and got back to the house only a few minutes before 7.
Wednesday: 6am on the dot. I bust out the rollerblades my mother in law got me last year..which are way nicer than the old ones when I was a kid...very cool how stuff keeps getting better.
Took me a minute to get my footing right but thankfully I didn't fall! I totally forgot how tiring rollerblading is. WOW, my legs got tired fast.
I was going down a small hill at one point and tried to slow down...phew that's when I almost wiped out. Luckily I had the stroller to hold on to because I know I would've otherwise.

My question is....have you ever been to a roller derby? Who wants to tryout for one with me...BUT what name should I use????

Super quick trip to Kirtland in a thunderstorm!

Brett and I went to Michigan for my nephew Bradyn's baptism. It was a little scary trying to prepare to take 5 little kids on a 9 hour drive. Not to mention leaving at about 4:30 at night. Luckily we have the best kids in the whole wide world...hahaha I'm not biased or anything. They did wonderful on the way up..and luckily Brett didn't fall asleep at the wheel. Our camera for some reason keeps saying an error message so we didn't get ANY pictures of Bradyn...Boo Hiss!!
We did enjoy a Sonic drink though...just in case you were wondering we had strawberry limeade and Cherry Limeade!!! We left about 9am Monday morning and decided..hey let's make life interesting and take these 5 wonderful children to Kirtland, OH. It was suprisingly not far out the way at all. We got out and the camera still wasn't working...SO BUMMED!! We go into the beautiful new visitor center. I haven't been since I was a teenager and man has it changed. Brett had never been before.
Jacob was INSANE...bouncing off the walls like a maniac. I chased after him and yes I did some running..and had Brett watch the video with the other 4 kiddos. Then we had the sweetest sister missionaries ever. We had our own private tour...what no one wanted to come with us and our 5 little kids??? :) It was great, no one was annoyed by our kids asking 5 thousand questions. I loved hearing about everything all over again...although it feels a lot like the first time, since I appreciate it all SO much more.

We are standing in front of the Whitney store we used Brett's phone to take a couple of pics. You can't tell, but it actually was starting to downpour at this point. We went through the store and got out to go to the Whitney home and the thunder started booming. The girls jumped and screamed every time...but a silver lining. Jacob was scared so he didn't run. Brett held him from then on. AHHH, peace!!

We would have loved to have seen more but the storm was rocking and rolling...just like the Rock and Roll hall of fame only minutes away! Plus we had already spent two hours and needed to get back on the road. So we drove by the Kirtland temple and the cemetary and can't wait to go back again....in a few years!

* by the way..Jacob was a total angel the whole drive home...the best one actually!!***

When you have 4 sisters sometimes.....

You get toenails painted...BRIGHT RED~
and you proudly show them off!

Even if you're knees are bruised and blisters on feet...at least you have pretty toes!!!!!!!!

What do you give a baby when it's 95 degrees outside?

A mighty mini popsicle of course!!!!!!!!!!!!

Running a 5K is like having your first baby!

I ran my first ever 5K yesterday. The day before the race I had butterflies the whole day. I was super excited but super nervous. What if I can't do it...or fall or come in last. Then I would think to myself- I can do this, I know I haven't trained very much ....OK at all. Still it will be great.

Before the race starts I had a great friend there to keep me pumped..and help settle the nerves. I watched tons of people stretch and hear others talk of the dozens of races they've done. * just like when you have a baby...you hear EVERY ONE'S birth story*

I have my number I'm ready to go. I take off with the pack. I pace myself and think just remember to breathe. I run the 1st mile without stopping once...but then decide I have to walk for just a minute...they have cones every 100 yards. I decide to only walk from one cone to the next...I didn't come here to walk a 5K after all. Sometime between mile 1 and mile 2 I am by myself. I realize, bummer I don't have my ipod with me...but then again I think I have maybe 2 songs on it..yeah I really need to put some songs on there. OK so I am by myself and it is very rare to have no one asking me for something. By this time I am really starting to feel it...I have a side cramp but their is NO way I'm giving up. There was another kid running somewhat by me..I say kid because he had to be maybe 18. Him and I were constantly passing each other...when we got up to the water spot...I don't know what to call it except they hand you cups of water and you are allowed to drink it running and throw it on the ground. I kept thinking my girls would've been mortified at all the littering :) Anyways I turn to him and said come on lets run hard. So we did. That was the extent of our conversation. I go down a trail and cross a bridge, I am breathing heavy but still not stopping. I come around a corner and go up a hill where a group of people are cheering runners on...it was so nice to hear them cheer you can do it 491 you're doing great. Even if it was a stranger it still feels good. The concept of time is totally gone..I'm thinking I really hope I am under an hour. Then I get to the last bend before coming up to the school where we begin and a cop yells out " you're almost there and you're under 40...I'm like..what no way! Sure enough I get up to the finish and get a time of 37:02. I was so excited...but immediately sat on the curb. I was bummed I didn't have my cute family there to cheer me on when crossing the finish line..but with 5 kids Saturdays are always super busy.

Now that I have run one..I am ready for another one...this time I will do a lot more to prepare.

* just like I say every time we have a baby!*

Sometimes it's good to be a FREAK!

The past couple of weeks I have been in a funk. Not a big one. Just a slightly overwhelmed and pretty crabby at times one. Most of this is due to lack of sleep I am sure. I had told my self a few days ago that I was over this and talked with Brett and had a good cry...really it was a good cry. I instantly felt better. Than I get to school one day with the kiddos and meet up with some of the greatest friends out there. Where I find out the kids Evil Principal was talking about me again!!!! Errr, that's a whole other post. Anyways, my shoulders slumped down and I dropped my head and said...I'm sick of being a freak! Everywhere I go with all 5 kiddos, I get. WOW, you're hands must be full...are they ALL yours? Don't you know how this happens? Are you done...NOW? and many more incredibly rude and personal questions. I usually have a pretty good attitude and just roll with it...but lately it's been getting to me. Luckily my friends instantly grabbed me and hugged me and told me I'm not a freak...then we all laughed.

-Mother's Day started on Friday for me. I went to a Mother's tea with Jillian. Giselle came too but Jakey went to my friends house....THANK YOU KATIE! * she has 5 kids too and of the group she has 2 sets of twins...so I really shouldn't be complaining*

The preschool did a great job with a yummy breakfast and cute flowers and even cuter songs. They also did a how well do you know your mommy paper...Always good for laughs. Jillian said I
was 53 yrs. old and 66 lbs...and my favorite drink is coffee....OK, nice since I don't EVER drink coffee and in my faith we don't drink coffee...so that one was the biggest laugh..for me!

Saturday is always a busy day but my wonderful husband let me slip in a pedicure with friends so now I have pretty toes! We then had 2 soccer games and then headed over to Brett's parents house for a BBQ. After that we went to a friends for cake for her daughters bday and then after that we put the kiddos to bed and Brett's dad came over and watched them while Brett and I picked out a firepit...YAY, we love it. We also did some grocery shopping....aren't we exciting!

Sunday- I stayed in my bedroom until 11am....SWEET!! The family brought me a wonderful breakfast with flowers and cards and tons of kisses...just what I needed.

We headed to church and Jakey did not fall alseep on the way..bummer, but the kiddos in primary sang to the mom's. Who cares if our oldest 2 daughters were fighting on the stand..I choose to ignore it and just listen! Giselle was swooped away by other wonderful mommys who needed some baby love.

After church we headed home where Brett grilled TONS of food. He made chicken and steaks and hot dogs...potato salad, watermelon, strawberries, chips and lots of drinks. Then a yummy cake and to top it off smore's off the new fire pit. We were lucky enough to have another super mom here with her 2 kiddos, since her husband had to work Brett didn't want her to have to cook.

The night ended watching Friday Night Lights.

Why did I write this all down? Well, this is like a journal for me and you know what...If this is what a freak does, than I think sometime's it good to be a freak.

There is a GREAT quote from the wife of the former President of our church:

This is how I feel about my job:

" I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed,and with long perfectly, manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someones garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheek and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here, and that I really lived." Marjorie Pay Hinkley