Christmas Happenings

This week has been a busy one getting ready for Christmas, the kids have had Christmas parties, we have had bowling Christmas parties, lots going on. This week Bryer was the 6th grade boy of the month so we went and watched him get his award. He didn't know he was getting it but he said he figured it was him when he saw us sitting with the other parents. He also was embarrassed because "His mom was the only one taking a ton of pictures!" Get used to it I guess is all I can say!!! Presley had her ballet mini program. It was so cute and Santa was there and each of the students got to sit on his lap and he told them what he had observed them doing lately and then they told him what they wanted for Christmas. Santa even came by our house last night!!! I was at bowling and missed it, but David said the kids were excited except for Dawson. He's still pretty scared, rather, petrified of the man! He wouldn't even really look at him. I'm not sure why, I thought this year he would come around. Maybe next year!!! Our ward party is tonight and the kids are shepards and Presley an angel. Anyways rush rush rush I guess! Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!!!!

Crazy weekend

So we had a good Thanksgiving in Tetonia. Stayed with mom and dad and ate a yummy dinner at Mitch and Bonnie's house. Had a great time visiting with our families. We are very lucky to have such awesome families! Caleigh ate too much "real" food and due to lack of nursing, I developed mastitis. NOT a fun thing to have. That happened Thursday night, then David's family came to Salmon for the cheerleader's bazaar on Saturday, and Bryer headed down river with Bryce and some of the kids for fishing. He did pretty well hooked 2 fish but they both got away just before the bank. While taking a break and doing a little rock climbing, a big rock broke away and smashed his hands. Bryce called us to meet him at the E.R. and when he came in, we were pretty scared, it looked really bad. He was in a ton of pain, and boy there is nothing worse than seeing my kids in pain!!! Breaks my heart. They gave him in I.V. and started some pain meds, which really helped. They did an xray, nothing was broken luckily. Then they began stitching which was a trick because his left index finger was basically hamburgered. Dr. Phelps was so good though and did a great job. 18 stitches from the end of the finger down to the joint area on his palm. Lots of swelling so he couldn't get any more in. 5 stitches on his right thumb knuckle area and 3 in his right ring finger. We were so glad it wasn't worse as it was a huge rock and he slid down pretty far and the rock could have crushed his body or head or who knows what. Thank heavens for those gaurdian angels!!! He is feeling better and the orthopedic surgeon says it is healing well and he should only have minor nerve damage. The stitches should come out Monday and I think he will head back to school.

Happy birthday Presley!

Yesterday was Presley's birthday. She is now 5 years old!! Time flies I tell ya! She had a fun day I think, a few minor dramatic moments, but that's pretty normal on any given day for her. Dawson scooped some frosting off the cake before dinner and smudged her name and she sobbed "Dawson ruined my cake!" Hardly ruined but I guess it was trauma for her. Girls are great! She is a good girl and there is no one she doesn't like, she loves ballet and gymnastics but isn't afraid to wrestle her brothers. She loves animals and playing babies and actually anything that involves make- believe. She is a pretty good helper most of the time, there are those dramatic moments however where she believes we treat her like Cinderella. We sure love her and wouldn't trade her for anyone or anything in the world. We will be in Teton tomarrow for Bryer's district wrestles and hope to see family and friends!!

NoVeMbeR

Bryer has been wrestling in some different places with the middle school and doing really well. Tuesday we were in Sugar and today in Challis. Next week Shelley and then Teton for districts. Crazy how grown up he is getting. Chet started basketball and that keeps us busy between he and Bryer. I love basketball and am so glad they are doing it this time of year instead of the same time as freestyle wrestling in the spring! Now I can enjoy one of my kids playing basketball. He does really well and is quite good at handling the ball. November is a crazy month at the alley, so I feel as though I am just constantly running. Life is good though, our realtor is showing our house tomarrow morning so maybe something will happen there.

Happy Halloween!

Well here we are getting ready for Halloween! Can't believe it! The kids are excited and all ready for trick or treating! Presley had her Halloween party for dance and we had a ward halloween party last week. We are all warmed up for the real deal I guess! We carved pumpkins last week and this week for FHE we made Halloween cupcakes. Last weekend we went up to the Valley for Jentri and Bonnie's birthdays. We had a good (short) time there and went to the terror under the tetons. What a blast! David was in it and did such a good job scaring people they invited him back! Don't know if he'll make it, but he has a new found talent! Excellent job on a first year Tyler and Lyndsey! Bryer had his first wrestling match of the year yesterday and was tied with his apponent but then got pinned in the last seconds. He only had one match as the only team yesterday was Challis. I love to watch my kids as they grow and get into sports. Dawson and Caleigh haven't felt well today, hopefully we can keep everyone else healthy and get them better by Halloween. Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!!

Dawson is 3!

So Dawson turned three on Monday! Can't believe it! He is my baby boy and getting so big. He had a great birthday. He got a pedal bike (with training wheels) that he loves, and some trucks and horses. We went to the park Monday night and had enchiladas (lalaladas if you ask Dawson) and cake and played on the toys. He had a great day! He wanted a motor bike cake and I didn't have a mold or guide or anything, so I was trying to wing it. Didn't look professional by any means but I guess it somewhat resemled a motor bike, Bryer helped me and Dawson seemed satisified!
Also this last week Caleigh has learned to crawl and is getting around quite well. She pulled herself up on the mop bucket yesterday and tipped it over and went shooting across the kitchen floor with all the water like a body surfer, it was so funny! She was only in a diaper and she slid a good 4 feet. Can't believe she is getting so big. She loves her dad and doesn't want anything to do with me when he is around. Daddy's girl for sure!

We haven't dropped off the planet!

Wow it has been a long time since my last blog! We are back in Salmon for the school year and bowling season. Moved into a rental house that is in the first ward we were in when we first moved here. Our leagues have started, well most of them, and the others will start in the next few weeks. The kids are back in school and have awesome teachers this year. Can't believe I have a sixth grader! Getting old! Presley is back in dance and gymnastics and loving that of course. Bryer is in gymnastics this year as well. We had a great summer, enjoyed being in our own house for a while, had some really fun reunions, a little camping, lots of fun. We went to the blackfoot fair last weekend and had fun there. The kids are growing like crazy, Dawson is finally talking and we understand most of what he says. He is a character. Caleigh is so sweet and happy all the time. She rolls and sits and is almost crawling. She gets on all fours androcks but that's as far as she gets. I will post some pictures next week of some of our summer activities. Can't think of anything else amazing that has happened to us so I'll quit for now.

4th of July Weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend camping here in Salmon with Mark and Jenny Murri and their kids. We went to the parade, rode around on the wheelers and bikes, saw some elk, went to the lake. Just had a blast. At Wallace lake the fish were jumping like crazy and it was just the right temperature. The kids waded in and had fun. We went to the demolition derby on the 4th and David and Mark were in the balloon bust. David was driving the four wheeler and Mark was the "hitter". Armed with a plastic bat, all the "hitters" try and pop the balloon taped to each of the "hitter's" helmets. The last team with their balloon still unpopped is the winner. It gets really crazy and is a hoot to watch. David and Mark got third because Mark's balloon blew off going around a corner. They were kind of bummed because they were doing really good. Oh well there's always next year! We had a blast and the weekend went by way too fast, but thanksMurri's for coming up to play!

Goings on

It's been a while since I blogged! So Chet had his 9th birthday on Monday. We went swimming at Heise and had dinner at Pizza Hut. Then came home and had cake. We had a great time. I can't believe how big my kids are getting! Cortney had some surgery on Wed. so I helped my mom "tend" her and her baby Maybree. I had fun getting some time with every one and mom is so good to let us crash her place with kids and craziness and what not. I'm sure she'll be ready for a nice rest when cort goes home in a few days, but what would we do without her?! Tell you what though, props to Nichole and Josh managing twins! It got a little tricky at times with Maybree and Caleigh and I don't know how parents of twins handle it 24/7! I was worn out and had my mom to help! Hope everyone has a great fourth of July!

A fun weekend

We had a very busy weekend! We are moving to our house in Tetonia for the summer, the bowling alley is slow in the summer and our house hasen't sold so we will hopefully save money this way and head back in August. So we moved our stuff over the weekend,(I HATE moving) then on Monday we spent the day at Rory and Carie's house for Brinley's birthday. The kids rode their bikes on the track Rory made and we played volleyball and just hung out. Thanks guys for an awesome day! We are camping this week so the kids can finish up school and baseball. Last week Bryer had his first homerun in majors yay! It was very exciting! the kids are way excited to get out of school and do summer stuff. I just want the wind to stop blowing!

Dance recital

Presley had her first dance recital on Friday and Saturday for ballet and gymnastics. She was so cute and did pretty good when she wasn't playing with her costume or looking at the lights or her friends! It's fun to have her dance and watch her do something I used to really enjoy and see her have just as much fun doing it too! I threw in a few pics of Tasha's baby, I kept forgetting to put them up till now. He's a cutie!

We are in the full swing of baseball with an average of 6 games a week and a few practices in between, think I'll pitch a tent at the park and just live there for the next month! It's fun though and the boys are doing well. Had a little photo shoot with Caleigh yesterday, here are some cute ones.

It's been a While

I'm kind of slacking in the blog department lately, but here's a quick update on the Beards. We had a great Easter in Tetonia, visiting with family, decorating Easter eggs,( Dawson's were all a "beautiful" puke green color from placing them each as many times as he could in every color) and then on Easter Sunday we blessed Caleigh with Tasha's baby Mason. It was so fun to see Tasha and Damon and their cute new one. The boys started baseball, Bryer in majors Chet in minors. They are both doing well. Presley is almost done for the year with ballet and gymnastics and not thrilled about taking summer off from either one. She has a ballet recital the first of May. Dawson is finally talking and with the awesome weather, it is hard to keep him inside.Our leagues are finishing up so we will be slowing down here at the bowling alley. David turned 35 on Easter Sunday, and has done a little horn hunting. I'm just trying to keep up with everyone's activities, and hoping that spring/summer are here to stay for a while!

Well I can't believe it, but Caleigh is 2 months old already and growing like crazy! She weighs 12 lbs and is smiling and "talking" so much. She is a very happy baby and we all love her so much. Speaking of time flying, Bryer turns 11 tomarrow and I officially felt old when last week the middle school kids had a lock in ( where they go at night and play laser tag, dance, have games,etc. and you can't leave then come back.) Anyway, I went to pick him up and when I walked in, the music was playing and there were all these pre-teens and a few high school kids just arriving for there time and I realized, I am not the "cool" teenager coming here with my friends, I am coming to pick up my son! I felt SO old and uncomfortable thinking what if Bryer is embarrassed?! Anyway it was just weird and I love that my kids are growing and getting involved in sports and new things but at the same time, I am not getting any younger and it's weird because I still feel pretty young. Anyway Bryer is excited for his birthday and wants to go to a movie. We will be up in the valley for Easter and can't wait to see everybody!

Wrestling

So the boys wrestled in Challis last night and Mackey today. Last night Bryer got 4th and Chet 3rd and today Bryer got wnd and Chet 5th. They both did so good and are getting better and better at wrestling. Bryer is in a tough weight class and his matches are always intense and last night Chet had to wrestle an 85 lb kid (Chet weighs 58lbs) so that was tough but he held his own and did great!

The Good and the Bad

So we have had an eventful couple of weeks in our family, Dawson decided he wanted to be potty trained and with very little pushing from us, he hasn't had an accident for a week now. Yay Dawson!!! We are now back to one in diapers! We were in Pocatello over the weekend for my bowling tournament and Cortney had Chet and Presley for a couple of days and they of course had a blast riding horses and helping take care of her sick dog Miya. It is always so fun to see Cortney and her little family! THen yesterday, Dawson got his finger stuck in the bathroom door and cut it really deep so we went to the e.r. and they cleaned it and put on the liquid stitches and x rayed it. No broken bones, and hopefully it should heal quickly. He did ok until they had to lift it open and scrub it clean, that"s when the screaming started. He did fine through the night but it's kind of bleeding today though he won't let us touch it so we'll see what happens. Caleigh is getting big so fast and I hate that, but she has started to smile at us and it is so cute! We are so glad she is a part of our family!

Update

I finally got a second to post some pics of Caleigh. She is such a good baby and just eats, sleeps, and looks around when she is awake. We are all wrapped around her finger already! Dawson does well with her, I was afraid he would be jealous but he doesn't mind that we give her a lot of attention, he wants to love and kiss and pat her (sometimes a little too much!) and talk and sing to her. So we are just trying to get into a routine. The boys had their pinewood derby on the 30th. and Bryer got first and Chet got second so that was fun. They both started wrestling last week and have their first meet the end of the month. We have a big tournament at the bowling alley this weekend and that should make for a crazy couple of days.

It's a Girl!

Well, our baby girl arrived Monday January 26th 2009 at 1:12 in the afternoon after 4 and a half hours of labor. She weighed in at 8 lbs even and was 21 inches long. We named her Caleigh.She and I will share a birthday and she is the best birthday present I have ever received! She is a beautiful baby (of course we aren't biased!) and is so good. She is little jaundiced but not bad enough for a billie blanket which is good. She mostly eats and sleeps but is very good and just looks around during awake times. The kids of course lover her and always want to hold her. I am staying at mom's for a few days while I get feeling a little better and David is waiting patiently in Salmon for us with the older boys as they have school. Labor went well I finally gave in and asked for my first epidural out of 5 labors when I was dilated to a 6. Too bad I jumped to a 10 in a little less than 20 minutes and had just about pushed Caleigh out before it took full effect. Oh, well It felt GREAT for the last little bit and the after pains for the next hour or so after delivery. I am so greatful to my mom for helping me so much with Presley and Dawson as I have been rather sore, and Cortney is here helping too and has been a life savor as well even though she has her own little baby to care for. She has taken the kids outside and gotten snacks and just entertained nonstop. It's probably been great birth control for her! Thanks again Mom and Cort!

Cute Sayings

So yesterday we were watching the President's speech and I said "Presley, there is our new United States president." and she said, "Oh, that guy with the chocolate head!?" It was so funny, then later that night we watched some of the innauguration balls and she said," There's that chocolate man again!" I love this stage where they tell you exactly what they think! Yesterday I had my doctor's appointment and Helene scheduled me for Monday for an induction, so if all goes well and doesn't last too long, my birthday will include a new baby! I am so excited to have a baby on the outside instead of being huge and uncomfortable all of the time. I don't sleep any more so I am excited to have something to be awake for!

Happy New Year!

Well, I hope everyone is having a great new year so far! We are getting back into the old routine of school, scouts, work, etc, etc. We are also anxiously awaiting our new arrival! Hopefully sooner than later, but we will see how things are going at my next appointment on Monday. Things will be crazy the next few weeks so forgive me if nothing changes on our blog but we will do our best to keep everyone in the loop on things going on in our family. Until next time......