Thank you friends...

I know I just made a post, but I feel like I need to thank some people in my life! This last month has been difficult for our family. Not having Grandma in the picture threw us for a loop! There are so many wonderful people in our life that have offered to help out with the kids. We do miss LaRene, but we are happy that she is taking care of herself in Montana. I just feel so blessed to have so many sweet spirits in our life, and that there are so many people that care enough to take extra time out of their busy lives to help us tend our children. We have worked out some more permanent arrangements, and we are starting to settle into them for those 2 days a week LaRene was being so helpful. So if you are reading this, and you have been one of those helping hands, then allow me to say THANK YOU! We really do appreciate it, and consider ourselves willing to return the favor when needed.

(Update: LaRene (Toby's mom) is still in Montana, and will probably be coming home next week. We are giving her strict orders to take it easy! Her kids are keeping a close eyeball on her, making sure she knows her limits and steers clear from the hospital! She is such a Superwoman all the time. Being close by, we are going to do our best to tame that. Puzzles will be the most complicated thing in her life for a while! Give her a call and let her know you are thinking of her-send her some cheer!)

6 year olds are waaaaaaaay to smart!

When me and Toby were first married, he bought me a beautiful set of scriptures. We also got the Book of Mormon for Families shortly after as well. Tyler came up to me a few days ago with scriptures in hand and said, "Mom, can I have these?" I said "No! Those are mine. You go put them away and leave them alone." So then he came back with a persistent, "Please?" So again, I informed him that those were my scriptures and no, he may not have them. He then replied, "You never use them." YIKES! I guess it's time for me to break out my scriptures more! Sometimes the truth hurts, but I think it's what I needed to hear. Stinkerbutt.

Good News!

Here is an update! LaRene has been home from the hospital since Monday evening, and she has been sentenced to 2 weeks of bedrest! WHOA! She is doing better, but extremely tired. Can't wait til Grandma is up and running again-we miss her! We are extremely glad that she is home and out of the hospital.

Apparently we have a good Samaritan on our street. I woke up 2 days ago after another great snowfall, to find that our driveway had been plowed out by someone. I wish I knew who it was so I could thank them!

Through Sickness and in Health...

It has been an eventful day and a half...LaRene (Toby's mom) was admitted to the hospital last night. They drove her to Spokane to make sure that she could have the best care! They are still running tests to figure out why the chest pain is still there...so we are not sure how long she will be there. We are hoping to have her back home safe and sound tomorrow so that we can spoil her back to health! It is times like these that really help us all find clarity on what is important in our lives. The hospital staff didn't know what they were getting when they admitted her--it was like they admitted the whole Black family. Our little family reunion made me realize how much this family is there for each other. There were so many rooms that were filled with only patients, and then there was the 15 of us. How lucky we all are to have each other. Keep her in your prayers!

Confessions of a 6 year old.

Today Tyler informed me that when he turns 16 he can't call me mom anymore. I asked him what he would be calling me (expecting him to say, Rosalie) and he replied back, "I have to call you mother."

Christmas Break

This last 2 weeks have been amazing!! Is it over already?

We went sledding at the sand dunes the other day with the Merrells, and we had SO much fun!

You can't tell in the picture, but the hills were freakin steep! The first time I went down at mock 90 and towards the bottom I fell off doing a back flip somersault! Toby ran into a thorny bush, busting one of the neighbors tubes--but man did he fly! Tyler even joined in-loving every minute of it!

Yesterday we went over to Randy and Janeas for a yummy crab dinner. [Playing the Wii] We jammed out on Kaylee's guitar's with Guitar Hero, sung our hearts out on American Idol (Toby and Kaylee even made it to the finals--they are the newest American Idols!) Then we had to start the New Year off right with some card games!

I am sad to see the break end, but grateful for the time we all got to spend together!

PARTY!

New Years Eve was so much fun! We partied into the wee hours of the morning...
Rock Band and Nertz had to be the most memorable part of the evening. There was enough food to feed a small army, plenty of Pepsi and Mountain Dew to keep us all awake, and Toby made the best homemade Root Beer!

When we came home to get the all the kids from our house, we discovered that the kids had A LOT of fun! Rachel Moody (age 5) was the only child awake, the cushions were off the couch, and the boys bedroom was unrecognizable-mattress off the bed and all! I'm not sure who had more fun-the adults or the kids...

Here is another scrapblog-the pics are obviously old, but I am working on Kali's baby book.

More Snow Ice Cream!

During our Monopoly tournament last night Toby decided that he needed some snow ice cream. This time we added raspberrys and it was AMAZING! It is impossible to stay on any kind of diet...we got Wii Fit for Christmas (gotta love Santa) and I was thinking that having it would make it really fun to exercise. Love it, but actually turning it on to exercise is the part that needs to happen! Kicking Toby's but at soccer is just way more fun...that and ice skating.

For Christmas Eve we broke out the monopoly game! We played it with Mike and LaRene, and we had some fun! It's been so long since we've played it, that we had to examine the rules! Right off the bat, LaRene and Toby started killing everyone...Toby was the banker. (Go figure) We had so much fun that we played it again last night, and Toby won. Monopoly. Who knew it could be so much fun!

BRRRRRRRRR

Okay, I started out something new, and I love it! I found a website called scrapblog.com (something everyone else in the world probably knew about a long time ago :) So here are some of the first blogs I did on it. The pics of Tyler doing his T-Ball seem like they were just taken...he was such a cute little stinker. Wow he grew up fast! The pics of Dallin in my makeup were taken recently. There is something about makeup that says "get into me and make a mess!"

Well, the snow just keeps coming! I took the boys out tonight to sled down the small hill in our backyard and build a snowman with them. We made it down the hill twice and I was freakin cold! So we went to build our snowman, carrot for the nose was ready and everything...and the snow wouldn't even stick. Dang powder! So I went inside and grabbed a large cup of water, thinking I could wet down the snow a little. (The things we do for our kids) Wow! I made one tiny snowball with the water! So we gave up on that, and by the time we got inside I thought I was going to lose some fingers to frostbite. Sick of the cold! Bring on the sun already.

Snow Ice Cream

With all the snow we've been getting, we decided to make some snow ice cream! We made it once last year, and loved it! Toby and Tyler went outside to find some fresh snow, and then Toby and LaRene (my mother-in-law) added the ingredients to make it. YUM! It tasted so good-we filled a huge baking bowl with it, and ate almost all of it. I'm not a fan of the freezing cold, but we had fun!

PIZZA NIGHT!

We had a pizza night this week where we all made homemade pizza. Toby started it off by attempting a pizza toss...then Tyler had to give it a try! Dallin woke up and ate all of our cheese. Me, trying to make it fun, made a Christmas tree pizza. Tyler didn't think it was very cool..."Mom, a Christmas tree pizza? Who would do that?" What do six year olds know? He was probably too embarrassed to admit that he loved it. I swear I'm the coolest mom ever, he just hasn't figured it out yet! ;)

(Sorry about the sideways pic of Toby-I thought I fixed all that, but I'm not going to change it now :)

Family Pictures

Melanie came out to do some family pics for us, and WOW! I've decided that my kids are crazy. Of course I'm going to say that "usually" they are great for posing at pics, but this one definitely NOT one of those days. Trying to get three kids to look at one little camera without freaking out, making a silly face, or jumping around, seems near impossible. But somehow we made it out with some good shots. Thanks Melanie! You're the best!

We spent Thanksgiving in Coer'dlane, Idaho at Toby's brother's house and we had soooooo much fun! We not only ate enough for a small army, but we also went to triple play indoor water park! The kids really had a fun time going down the slide that turns into a life size "toilet bowl." I'm not sure who had more fun, the parents or the kids! We took turns playing babysitter to go down the slides ourself!

We also did something really fun-go rollerskating! We went with OC and Rachel, and it was definitely the highlight of the trip. I'm not sure if we had more fun trying not to fall down, or watching all the skate bums dancing in their skates. Even Dallin did a really good job! When I get pics of that I will post them. Too bad I didn't have the video camera...

Dallin likes to steal our camera, and we find pictures like this on it. He is quite the little photographer.

Halloween 08

I am finally getting up pictures of Halloween! This was after we helped with the AIM carnival-Dallin is a bug, Tyler a Power Ranger, and me and Toby were Rockstars

! (Toby dresses like a rockstar everyday!) Kali is not in the picture but she was a ballerina!

Phantom of the Opera

Last Monday we went to Phantom of the Opera-2nd row!! Our date was sooooo much fun. Before the show, we went to te costume store to try and find a costume...It is impossible for a girl to find a costume these days! Everything is either frump city, or you feel like you are looking at lingerie. Toby wasn't quite sure what he wanted, but he seemed to be excited about the idea of having a sword. So, we left with nothing! Before the show started, we started snapping photos of ourselves, and were about to take one with the stage in the background, when this grumpy usher came up and threatened to take away Toby's phone. Crabby lady. So, this is the only pic we got! But we loved the Phantom! Wow-there was some amazing talent on that stage! Can't wait to go to the next show! :)

Tattling Toddlers

Yesterday, Dallin came upstairs crying, saying "Tyler" to Toby. Toby then asked Dallin, "Did Tyler hit you?" Dallin said, "Yeah" (between tears). Then Toby asked him, "Did he choke you?" and Dallin said "Yeah." Then Toby-"Did he poke your eyeballs out?" and again Dallin replied with a tearful, "Yeah." Then he said "Did he bite you in the butt?" and of course, his answer was, "Yeah" in his pouty voice, bottom lip out and all. Tyler came upstairs and we informed him of our little tattling toddler, and he just explained how "Dallin was a liar."

It taught us a valuable lesson because we have been after Tyler a lot lately for Dallin's tears, and half the time we don't even know what for. It's so easy to jump to the conclusion that it is the older sibling's fault, but how easy it is to be wrong! Dallin puts on a pretty good show!! Little monster! :)

Season of Firsts...

Tyler's first day of school and Kali's first smile!

While Tyler was at school, Dallin decided to fix his own hair. He got out Toby's hair paste, and styled his hair so well that we were impressed enough to break out the camera!

The boys seem to think that our bed is not only their personal trampoline, but a wrestling mat where they can get their kicks and giggles. Every time me and Toby settle down to relax, these two wild hoolagins show up to prove us wrong.

Kali!

Don't you just want to eat her up? She is lovely in polka dots!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Dallin! Dallin finally turned two! He had a "Horton Hears a Who" party, and Toby made the adorable elephant cake! We had so much fun celebrating, and Tyler had a blast with the silly string!