Introducing . . .

Our new little Tad. It is hard to believe it has been almost six weeks since this sweet little miracle came to live with our family.

Couldn't you just eat him up?!?!

This was taken the day he turned one month old.

The "Starting Five". This is it - - there will be no bench!!!

Well, unless someone wanted to give us a little girl. We would probably take one of those.

The Catch of the Day

Saturday was free fishing day here in Arizona. Jeremy and his dad took the boys out for a morning of fishing at Silver Creek. The boys had a great time, and they were each able to catch two fish. (Real monsters - as you can see!)

A Quilt for Me

Since I have all boys, I have had a hard time giving myself permission to have anything too feminine or girly in my house. It always made me a little sad when I would see a cute new fabric line come out and I felt that I needed to look the other way. Finally, about a year ago, I decided to stop being ridiculous and just make a few girly things for me. After all, just because I have all boys, does not mean that I need to be one too. I pieced this quilt a year ago, just simple squares, nothing fancy. I finally got around to quilting and binding it. This was my first experience with straight line quilting on my machine and I am really happy with how it turned out.

I included this picture of the quilt because you can see the quilting quite a bit better. I still have a lot to learn, but I am really encouraged by how this worked out. This quilt is now in my family room and it makes me happy every time I look at it. It also makes me wonder why I didn't allow myself to do something like this sooner.

San Diego

We took a trip to San Diego over our Spring Break. Here are a few pictures of what we did while we were there.

We stayed over the first night in Mesa. We visited some of our old haunts and took the kids to see the Mesa Temple.

The whole family at the Dolphin Show at Sea World.

Dallin and Drake waiting for the Shamu show to start.

Drakers

Thomas at Shamu Stadium

Thomas, Dallin, and Jack on the Tram at the Safari Park.

Drake being his normal cute self. He was really good on this trip considering that he only got catnaps in the stroller or car.

The boys watching the elephants at the Safari Park.

More Safari Park.

Best Buds!

Petting Zoo at the Safari Park.

Thomas and Jack at the Petting Zoo.

Safari Park

Another day at Sea World. Watching the whales.

Holding sea stars at Sea World. You can clearly see how Thomas felt about this particular activity.

Of course, we had to stop and admire the beautiful San Diego Temple.

Torrey Pines Beach. It was really cold this particular day, but the boys had a ball anyway.

Dallin and Thomas.

The boys also had a great time swimming at the hotel pool every day. I was always so exhausted after a long day that I would go up to the hotel room with Drake and rest. Jeremy was the hero who took the boys swimming. However, we didn't get any pictures of them in the pool, which is a shame because they loved it!!

The boys still talk about this trip every day and ask if we are going to go back someday. That makes it all worth it.

Birthdays!

We have had a couple of birthdays in our family this month! First, Jack turned three. He had a fun day and got some great presents including a Diego helicopter (from Grandma Teichert) that he and Thomas spend most of their time fighting over now. Whenever we ask him how old he is now, he says "twenty." Jack is our one man wrecking crew in the house, and I swear if he was my only child, I could not keep up with him and his destruction and messes. But we love him tons because he is also a sweet, happy, fun boy that makes us laugh every day. Happy Birthday Jack Jack! We are so glad you came to our family three years ago.

Thomas turned five just a few days after Jack's birthday. He also had a fun birthday, including his favorite pizza for dinner, a rocket cake, and some great presents including his favorite Spongebob Racing Game for the Wii (also from Grandma Teichert - that grandma, she gives some good gifts!!)

Thomas is smart, easy-going, and sweet. He loves life and it is so fun to listen to his commentary about his friends, family and experiences. He makes all our lives better and happier and we are so blessed to have him in our family! Happy Birthday Tom Tom!

Sorry about my lack of posting lately. Our camera is on its last legs, I'm afraid, and it is hard to get it to work or give us a decent picture of anything. We are saving for a Digital SLR, and I just hope this one lasts until we can afford one. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Drake is 1!

I'm a little slow in getting this posted, but our little Drake recently turned one. I can't believe how fast that year went. He has been such a cute and fun baby since the day he was born. It has been so fun seeing him begin to grow up this past year. He is always smiling and he laughs easily (especially at his big brothers.) He is walking now and says a couple of words like "mama" and "no no". We enjoy him so much and we are so grateful that our family is blessed with our little Drakers.

Some Fall Pics

We are still here. We're just enjoying the nice fall weather and scenery. Here are a few pics from our recent adventures.

We hope you are all enjoying your Fall season as much as we are ours!