Our Foster Kids...

Wow,..Another 6 Months

2011-11-16T15:29:00.013-06:00

We had a great summer...we literally played 80% of it. It has been nice to get back into the swing of a schedule-cheaper too. Here are a few of the highlights of our last 6 months...

Mae turned 8 and got baptized. We were so excited for her. She seems to know so much more about her decision than I think I did at that age. But I am pretty sure she thinks she knows more about most things than me, even now! We sure do love her. She loves giving all the lessons in family home evening, and she loves Choosing the Right. She is loved by all who know her, teachers, primary teachers, family and especially her brothers.

School started again. Ian started Kindergarten..does he looked excited? He is pretty sure he is awesome at every subject, and insists he already knows how to read (he can memorize sight word books brought home).

Mae started 3rd grade. She loves her teacher and has made a bunch of new friends. I never have to worry about her.
Peter is still stinking cute, wouldn't you agree?
I turned 30...I wish I hadn't but I didn't have much say in the matter.
Mae got her first bloody nose in soccer. She was a good sport about it and I was "that mom" that said "ahh she's fine" after the ball hit her and then felt bad when she came off the field dripping.
Ian lost his first tooth. Two in fact. When he came to us saying he lost his tooth, the other was also gone. Who knows where that one went.
Halloween was fun. Brad was a Utah fan. I was actually a BYU fan. Ian and Mae are obvious. Noah was Super Dog (and fell and cut his head open 5 minutes before this picture. A lot of bloody rags and some super glue later, he was fine), and Peter again was stinking cute as an owl.
Last but not least. Ian turned 6. He had a Star Wars cake (cookie). Lots of black food coloring sure looks cool on the cake, but I had that whole think thrown in the sink after everyone had one bite because it was staining EVERYTHING it touched. Tongues and fingers included.

Anniversary, Track, and a Birthday

2011-06-19T20:37:00.017-05:00

I tried to post this so that Peter's birthday was first, but I forgot that it posts pictures in reverse, so here we go...

Brad and I went to Lake Tahoe for our 9th anniversary, just the two of us for 4 nights and 5 days. We had a blast; we camped the first two nights and then stayed in a hotel the next two. I thought that it was the perfect combination. We were able to eat dutch oven while camping and get a massage and a real shower at the hotel. We did almost everything we wanted to do and were exhausted by the end.

While at a spot called Sand Harbor it was actually hot enough that Brad had to jump in. I professional photographer that was taking pictures of the landscape caught this picture of Brad and emailed it to us.

Brad really wanted to go parasailing, I wasn't so sure. I think I wanted to know how I would like it since my love for heights has taken a huge dive in the last 10 years. Consensus, Brad loved making fun of me the whole time we were up there, and I know I never have to do it again...
This picture was taken while we were attempting a hike. Were were trying to make it to the top of Mount Talac. The snow stopped us about half way up the mountain but we saw some beautiful views--Fallen Leaf Lake and Lake Tahoe in the background.

Us kayaking. Going on a trip just the the two of us, we weren't able to get great pictures so you will just have to take my word for it. This was probably my favorite part. We kayaked at Sand Harbor one evening and then kayaked into Emerald Bay the next--we kayaked about 9 miles that day. We were exhausted, but it was fun.

Mae did city track this year. I think she enjoyed it. They only awarded medals and ribbons at one of the 5, but Mae did great at that one. She placed 1st in the 400 meter, 2nd in the long jump, 5th in the 50 meter, and 6th in the 100 meter.

Peter's Birthday!!!! We love this little guy, we promise, even if he had the lamest party ever. Thats how it goes with the 4th I guess.

We got him a wagon....

He is crawling all over the place and is attempting to stand without holding on to anything. I can't get him to say anything but DaaaDaa most of the time, but that does make me apprectiate the couple times he says Maaaa in my week. He tries to copy what we say sometimes and mimicks the sound more than the word. Going along with his most frequent word, he is loving his dad these days. This always happens after I wean my babies...they no longer need me and change their allegiences. He does still love me though.

Sorry for the next picture, but Brad really wants me to post it: Peter frequently has hard stools and so he cries every time he poops whether it it hard or not. He was doing the poo cry so I went to change his diaper. He had not pooped yet but it was on its way out. I swear that this is exactly how it greeted me, "head first", there was no manipulation what so ever. Brad calls it the "Frankinpoo": I am sorry if you will all have nightmares after this.

A Taste of Summer...

2011-04-27T18:41:00.011-05:00

We spent the last two weeks in St. George and got to see what April is supposed to feel like. Brad actually only got one week, but we had a ton of fun, and even got some color on our pasty faces!

Easter was two days after getting home. This is the kids in their Easter best! Peter was sick so he wasn't in the picture. I didn't get him any new clothes anyway-poor fourth child. As you can see they are still on a high from the warm weather. Don't worry the snow storm we had yesterday has put the scowl back on our faces.

Zions

Red Rock Run in Richfield. Brad's brother Paul is the Rec Director there and puts on such great races--and they give the best shirts which is the most important part, right?!
Noah turns 3! He had a great Birthday. He got the dinosaur cake he requested and earlier that day we went hiking up on the Red Hill.

You can't tell, but I am holding on to Ian very tightly. We only spent about 3 minutes up on the Dixie--it was much more fun when we didn't have 4 kids.
Brad and I have decided that the narrows give us a good idea where we are with our physical fitness. We would like to say that when we don't fit up them anymore then there is a problem, but we both are pretty close to that.

What a fun extended Spring Break. Now come on Heber, give us some warmth!!!!!!!!!!

Another 6 Months

2011-02-25T14:47:00.006-06:00

Well, it has been another 6 months since I posted...but life has been happening, and here is a few pictures of our winter lately:

We went sledding with the kids on Presidents Day and had a ton of fun. Peter slept in the car, which was probably the most fun he was going to have too.
Here is Brad attempting a train down the hill with the kids, this time didn't work (Ian is laying on his stomach on his sled, just behind Brad and Mae wanted to try standing up the whole way down).
Going off jumps...

Noah could do everything himself, even carry the sled up the hill, it was sooo nice.
Some pictures of my boys...Peter is growing up quick, we wonder if we thought all of our kids were as cute as him. We are pretty sure we did.
Mae's 2nd grade program. All the kids dressed up as a book character. Mae is Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia.

Geotrax...our life these days.

Christmas: I was scheduled to work Christmas morning, so we asked Santa Clause to make us his first stop (I ended up being put on call). We had a camp fire and sang Christmas carols on Christmas Eve and when we got back, Santa had come and we got to open all of our presents! It was fun having grandma and grandpa Foster, Craig, grandma Terri, grandpa Wendell, and Ashlie with us too.

It was freezing!!! But still fun.

A Few Things We Did This Summer...

2010-09-10T10:01:00.018-05:00

Ian went on his first Fathers and Sons campout. This is the only picture Brad got.

We blessed Peter. It was a great day with lots of family and nice weather

.

Peter with his cousin Andrew who is 3 months older (I forgot to rotate the image).

The Foster reunion was by Capitol Reef National Park. We all went on a really run hike that was 6 miles long and we all had to get in the water that was up to an adult's chest. The kids had a great time, though it was a rough day for Peter.
We had a great time in Bear Lake with lots of cousins, and spent lots of hours down at the lake.
Mae turned 7! She is getting sooo old.
Mae was in the Swiss Chorus and sang at Swiss Days and was in the Swiss Days Parade. This is her second cousin, neighbor and friend, Audrey.
Ian started Preschool and gets to ride the bus! I think this was among one of the best days of his life!
Brad did the Richfield Triathlon again this year-I sat this one out. He and a bunch of his family had a great time.
Brad had a fun end to his summer--he went Kayaking around the San Juan Islands up by Seattle with his brother, sisters, and brother in laws. I again sat this one out, but I am making a list of things I want to do when I don't have a baby stuck to me.

And last, the most important event of the summer...we got a new sister in law and aunt. Lauren married Sean. It was a fun long day, and we are happy to have her in our family.

Though Lauren and Sean were the most popular at the wedding, Peter was a very close third as you can see, and he loves the attention.

Some new pictures of Peter

2010-06-19T08:58:00.006-05:00

Here is Peter at 1 1/2 weeks old. He is laying on a quilt that his Grandma Foster made for him, and is wrapped in an afghan that his aunt Britany made for Mae for her blessing...the rest of my kids have all used it on their blessing day too.

Our new arrival...

2010-06-02T10:10:00.004-05:00

His name is Peter Bradley Foster

He was born at 8:23 am on Wednesday the 2nd of June

He officially weighed 7 pounds, 8 oz and is 20.5 inches long.

To us he looks like a healthy mix of all of us.

Spring is Here....Kind of

2010-05-03T09:28:00.013-05:00

Here is all the fun things we were able to do before our week long snow storm hit this last week...

It is soccer time! Mae and Ian are both enjoying soccer and are getting better each game. Mae even scored a goal in her last game (it must have been because of my awesome coaching skills--I filled in for her coach for the first half of the game. I have to admit I was not thrilled to do it at first, being 8 months pregnant, running all over the field, all the while making sure that Ian and Noah stayed within sight on the side lines--Brad was at a track meet. But I had a lot of fun!). Ian in his last game actually seemed to watch the ball and go after it. Up until now the only concept he understood is that we were all watching him, and he spent the entire time watching us watch him instead of playing.

Noah's Birthday was on the 20th of April. He is now 2!! We think he had a great time. Grandma and Grandpa Campbell were able to come for some soccer games, and then dinner, cake, and presents!

He loved his cake...cars are his favorite toys.
We spent some time in St. George over Spring Break. Britany and JJ were there with their two boys. Ian loved holding Andrew and even thought that he might be his little baby brother (who is not born yet) for a minute. Seeing Ian hold Andrew made me excited for our new baby.
Of course we did some swimming in St. George. Here is Noah jumping off the diving board, which he did all by himself!
Our major Spring Break activity was a trip to California. We went to Disneyland one day and the the beach one day. We went with Paul and Molly and their family, and the kids had a blast. We honestly hardly saw Mae. She and Nora had their own agenda and were in their own world most of the time. It was a quick trip but very worth it!

The beach we went to was AMAZING! It was a little cove. We were able to hike around the rocks and see all the marine life and pretty much had the beach to ourselves. In the evening the body boarders showed up. Ian was fascinated by them and watched them for over an hour, yelling his approval when they would catch a wave...

Saying Goodbye to Winter

2010-03-22T09:59:00.010-05:00

These are a few of our last "winter pictures". Hopefully we will be posting camping trips, days of hiking, and family vacations soon.

We took Mae and my mom, Wendell, and Ashlie (their Christmas present from us) to the Utah Symphony. It was a children's performance, "The Mini Magic Flute". It was at Abravanel Hall. They had all of the instruments from the orchestra out in the foyer for the kids to try out. This is Mae trying out the cello...the instrument that Brad would love her to play. She thought
it was neat, which is all that we could hope for. Ashlie
thought it was kind of weird...we will just have to keep giving
her tickets to the symphony for Christmas until she likes it!

About a month ago we took Ashlie and the kids to Soldier Hollow to go tubing. It was an hour slot and with the long lines we were only able to go down three times, but I think everyone had fun. Noah's first run was not the greatest--he got wedged in his tube, head down, feet sticking up, and screamed the whole way up. Then he screamed the whole way down because the snow was flying in his face. The next two runs were fun for him.

After, we got hot chocolate and dinner at the lodge, so it was a fun night.

DHS Class of 2000 10 Year Reunion

2010-02-23T16:01:00.003-06:00

For those of you who graduated with me...our 10 year reunion is coming up. There has been a blog created just for the event. Information will be updated about the reunion as plans begin to solidify. If you have a blog, please add the link to address bar and maybe a post that says that it exists. This will help get the word out. In the near future we will post an email address that we are hoping everyone will send their contact information to so that we can send out mass emails as well. Thanks.
Blog address: http://dixiehighschoolclassof2000.blogspot.com/

I Need a Cure...

2010-01-26T16:53:00.009-06:00

For these Wintertime Blues...

I think that it has snowed 7 of the last 10 days, and currently I cannot breath through my nose ( I am going on 4 days now), and I can't remember the last time my entire family attended church together two weeks in a row due to EVERY sickness known to man. It has been a winter, and its only half way done! I found myself looking back at pictures just to see grass and sun. Here are some that brought a smile to my face...

Ian's Birthday...isn't he cute

Three legged races at Gma and Gpa Campbell's...ahhh the capris and t'shirts. And Mae's hair was so cute back then, I think I will take her this week and get her a nice summer haircut.

Zions...hiking, the outdoors...

I can't help but smile when I see this picture. As a side note, this little BYU hat is missing, so if it is at your house--we would love it back!

It was soooo hot at this BYU game, but I would take it now...

Alright. So I am sick of being cold and sick and stuck in the house, but there is much to be greatful for. A little update:

Our fourth and (we think) final child is on the way, and we just found out it will be a BOY! Mae was less than thrilled about this, but that's life right? Eh, we will just get her a cat. Things look good with the pregnancy and Mae says that I am soo big that it looks like I could have the baby any day (I just started wearing maternity clothes 2 1/2 weeks ago).

Noah is out of his crib due to catapulting himself out of it in rage a few times. He and Ian now share a room, and Ian LOVES being on the top bunk. This has been a much easier transition than we expected.

Brad is finally not loving coaching basketball (he still likes it quite a bit, but like me is anxious to have a little more time at home soon--Just in time for him to help out with track).

We are loving our new home and have finally even painted a few rooms...you will all have to come see, we love visitors. I have many plans for this spring including a fence for the backyard and Brad putting up our swing set and installing a sand box, hopefully our tax return will come through for us.

So there it is...our life. Enjoy.

Mae's Dance

2009-12-06T10:15:00.004-06:00

I am sure that Grandma and Grandpa Foster and Grandpa Campbell thought--wow... I drove how long for THIS?

Mae only danced for about 3 minutes, but she was sure glad that some of her grandparents could be there with her--for anyone else who wants to see it, we do have a video of it--she messes up once and is pretty embarrassed, but for the most part she was wonderful!

We think that her favorite part of the dance was that she got to wear makeup!
She sure looks pretty, don't you think?

Hunting in Beaver...

2009-12-06T10:03:00.003-06:00

...for a Christmas tree!

So... this is really Noah's first memorable experience with snow--and he had perma-grin from ear to ear the entire time we were out looking for a tree! He absolutely loved it, and when we tried to get him into the car to go home (we had to get back to my parent's house for the BYU game) he FREAKED out!

We try to cut our tree every year--not only is it a lot of fun to get out into the mountains, but the tree smells soooooooo good right now in our living room! On this trip there was plenty of fresh snow, and it was lightly snowing the entire time... the perfect day to find a tree.

Grandma and Grandpa Foster came with us so that they could make sure that we wouldn't cut down a blue spruce (like we accidentally did a few years ago).

We think that they had about as much fun as the kids did--Grandpa always has liked a good snow day!

All in all it was a great day--only made that much better by this touchdown during the game! Psssst--hey, Sylvester... you are supposed to tackle the guys in BLUE! Ha ha!

Thanksgiving in St. George

2009-12-06T09:55:00.004-06:00

What a great break!

The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, and Lindsay and I had a great time relaxing!

Ian and Levi were inseperable for most of the trip--they play so well together and had such a fun time being Indians after Thanksgiving dinner!

Noah must have eaten too much turkey because he was pretty tired after dinner.

The pool was warm enough to bathe in--so we made sure to soak up a few gallons or so (thanks to Wendell for warming it up for the weekend!).

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa! We love coming to your hose to visit!

A couple of pictures from our front lawn...

2009-11-15T19:24:00.002-06:00

Granted, there is a bit of snow up in the mountains now, but we love our view!

Mae lost a tooth...

2009-11-15T19:01:00.002-06:00

She was excited to have her first loose tooth, but not so excited to take it out. Lindsay threw in a helping hand and together they were able to take care of business.

Finally... a new post!

2009-11-15T18:27:00.003-06:00

Because I know how excited you all get when we write/post something new.

Halloween was great! The kids loved their costumes--and their candy. Mae finally decided to shed the "princess" gig and this year she was a beautiful witch. Ian was a knight until he saw that Mae got to put on some makeup--then he decided to be a dead knight (see the black circles?). Noah was a construction worker--our little boy standby costume. They all looked great and had lots of fun at the trunk or treat and at the Campbell's Halloween party!

As you can see, Ian is a sucker for suckers.

Noah looks great--and cute. He won a prize at our community trunk or treat because of his parent's skill in costume making.

Can't have a Halloween party without bobbing for apples.

Update...

2009-10-27T10:14:00.002-05:00

Well I have put off posting because all of our pictures are on Brad's laptop which he takes to school, but wow, we need a new post so this will be a boring one with no pictures.

We are in our new house! We love all of the room. It is 5 bedrooms. We are using one of the rooms for a playroom and then all of the kids have their own. We are finally pretty much moved in, and can't finish completely until we get a few more pieces of furniture to put things in (number one on my list is somewhere to put our DVD's, we currently have a 4 foot stack of them in the corner and it is bound to fall over any day and knock Noah out).

I feel bad but I haven't really been in to Halloween this year. We just pulled out our 3 decorations this week! Mae was pretty disappointed at our decorations and wants to buy more really soon. Mae is going to be a witch this year, Ian a knight, and Noah...we aren't quite sure yet, either Dopey or a constructions worker (Ian's old costumes). I really want to put him in Mae's old ladybug costume with a sign on him that says: " So! Being a ladybug automatically makes me a girl! Is that it, fly boy? " A quote from Bugs Life, if any of you have seen it lately. But....Brad won't let me. He says he has to protect the boys (I wanted to do this for Ian 2 years ago too.), and that I can't put them in girls costumes. I may just do it anyway.

Brad is liking his job at High School here. He is going to be the Sophomore basketball coach, and pre-tryout practices have started a few times a week. With that and him having cub scouts once a week, he is pretty busy. Ian is having major withdraws from the stay at home dad he had for 8 months.

Well, I think that is long enough...soon to come, pictures of our new house, and Halloween costumes.

Happy Birthday, Ian!

2009-09-27T23:39:00.006-05:00

Boy! What a birthday...

It all started with a trip to Park City on Friday where we cruised down the mountain on the Alpine Slides, and on the new coasters they have installed--Ian even got to take an extra "birthday boy" ride!

Even Noah had to get in on the action!

-
We ate at a Mexican Restaraunt that evening and Ian was a little more than surprised when the waiters came out to sing to him--but he did enjoy the ice cream they left behind!

Ian got a pair of cowboy boots and a hat for his birthday and he absolutely LOVES them! I am sure that we will have to replace the boots within the year because we have a hard time getting them off of him no matter the time of day.

Ian really felt like a real cowboy when my uncle Neal let him ride his horse in his pasture--and the kids even got some lessons on how to lead a horse. All the kids got to have a ride, but Ian seemed to be enjoying it the most. My uncle made us promise to bring the kids back again for more lessons--something they readily agreed to.

Ian had a big "cookie" cake with some cool playmobile knights on it and nearly got all the candles with one breath.

We topped off the day with a visit to Lavell Edwards Stadium where the BYU Cougars dismantled an undefeated CSU squad. A good game, all told, and Ian seemed to have lots of fun eating the cotton candy, the hot dog, the nacho's, and the root beer.

We love you, Ian.

Happy Birthday!

"Hikin' by myself"

2009-09-27T23:08:00.003-05:00

I just had to post this little video of Ian "hiking by himself" in Daniel's Canyon. For some reason he has wanted to do this for quite some time--some statement of independence, I presume. Anyway, he made me stay back and would get mad at me if I got any closer than where I am in the video. Eventually he got bored and wanted to hike with the family--a good hike, by the way.

After the hike, we took the kids to a little promotional thing for a gym here in town because they promised to have Cosmo and some cheerleaders there. We all had a good time, and (as you can see), Ian was happy to pose with the cheerleaders.

Quick post on the refurbished Media Cabinet...

2009-09-13T15:47:00.003-05:00

...that Lindsay picked up off of KSL for $60.

This is the original product:

This is it after a little bit of work. I dismantled it a bit and made some new doors, threw on some new molding, made new drawer fronts, and viola: a "new" media cabinet that houses our bigger TV.

And here is the finished product. The doors fold back and slide into the cabinet, and the drawers at the bottom are for storage and for our reciever/DVD player, etc.

It was a fun project, but I think that Lindsay will think twice about asking me to do this kind of work again (mainly because she ends up putting the kids to bed by herself).

So it has been a little over a month...

2009-09-04T23:14:00.005-05:00

I thought that I should finally post something. Granted, it has actually taken us nearly this long to get on our feet after the move and in a position that would allow for a little bit of "blog time". So, consider this a bit of a make-up post!

Toward the end of the summer Lindsay and I trained for and competed in our first-ever triathlon! My brother, Paul, put the triathlon on in Richfield, UT. There were about 40 participants and it was great competition! Because it was our first time, we decided that we would stick it out together and do the whole thing side by side--it was a BLAST!

We happened to be in the "fast" heat (because of our decent swim times) and Lindsay ended up being the second fasted swimmer there. In fact she beat everybody except for the overall winner of the triathlon out of the pool--I had to catch up with her on the bike portion because she was so fast! In fact, she enjoyed the training for the swimming portion so much that she regularly swims in the mornings up here in Heber.

Another thing that made the triathlon so much fun was doing it with family. We saw each other out on the biking and running routes and it was great fun to see everyone trying our best to look "tough". Lindsay and I have decided to make the Richfield Tri a yearly event, and I will be doing a couple more than that a year just becuase I want to see how much I can improve my time.

At any rate, we had a great summer. I figure that, as a family, we went on 3 camping trips together (I went on an additional two with other people), we went on a couple of 5-mile bike rides with the kids (Mae was a real trooper), we hiked so much and so often that even Ian was sick of it (though now he wants to go every day), we swam in the pool nearly every day and had fun every time (thanks Terri and Wendell), I went on two backpacking trips (one 3-day and one overnighter), we moved to Heber (and plan on moving again now that we are buying a house), I got a new job (which is great), and I refurbished a media cabinet just in time for football season (I will post before and after pictures later)!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my recent backpacking trip up King's Peak--the highest mountain in Utah:

The pictures never do it justice, right--this one especially. Craig is taking a nap only inches away from a 50-foot drop off on the literal top of King's Peak--Crazy, dude.

Us (and Craig's Camelbak hose) at the top of the peak. The view was great, and we were able to enjoy the summit alone for about a half-hour. There was no wind, not a cloud in the sky, and my only complaint was the flying ant that bit me.

We spotted some mountain goats on the way to the top--click on the picture... can you spot them? There are two in this picture.

Though the trip was great, we may have overdone it a bit (we did take the shortcut up "the chute" rather than take the traditional way to the top). I had a few blisters on my feet and Craig sported a bum knee on our hike out of the Uinta range.

Anyway, this is "the chute" from a distance--with the top of the mountain peeking through in the background. After we climbed the chute we still had about two miles of pretty steep climbing to get to the summit. Below is the view from the top looking down at the chute.

Anyway, it has been a great summer--and we are looking forward to many more with all of our family in Utah.

Noah... and a Little Family Update

2009-07-27T15:06:00.004-05:00

Isn't he cute...he must be for me to actually be posting a blog. I have relied on Brad for the past several months.

Well now we are thrilled, because he is cute and has finally decided that walking is pretty fun (He is 15 months old). He walks the majority of the time now depending on his mood. If he is ticked about something, you can't make him even stand up let alone walk.

We think that he is proud of himself too...

Now the update on our plans for the future. Some have pointed out that the last we posted we were moving to Manila Utah. That has changed. Brad was offered a job in Heber City teaching at Wasatch High School. There were about 90 applicants for he position, so we are truly grateful that they thought he would be an asset to their school. I have always known he would be the best teacher any of these schools would be able to find, so I am glad that he was able to get a position at a school that he was excited about. We were both grateful for the Manila offer, and he was also excited about that, but Heber is 3 hours closer to family.

So the big move will be in about 2 weeks. We don't have a lot of packing to do, because most of our stuff is still in boxes. We will be renting a house of up there for a little while, and then we will see what happens. Ughhhhh, I am really sick of moving, but maybe this one will be the beginning to the end of our travels.

4th of July...

2009-07-15T16:46:00.004-05:00

We had a BLAST--hardy har har.

Because we were staying at Bear Lake (more on that later) we started the day with a hike (at least, I did while Lindsay watched the kids). White pines lake was the goal and it was actually a very fun, easy-going hike that was pretty and rewarding at the end--it was a pristine mountain lake surrounded by two towering peaks (Gog and Magog).

This is toward the beginning of the hike--Jen leading, BJ (and Jayden), Buck, Joyce, Heidi, and Ashley trailing. There were a lot of wildflowers a plenty of wide open spaces for me to yodel.

Jayden couldn't quite making it the whole way without taking a little cat nap in his carrier.

The kids loved the few fireworks that we had for them--one really can't go wrong with a few sparklers, a few glowsticks, and a few "borrowed" fireworks you watch from your back deck that others light off over the lake.

June at the Foster home...

2009-06-23T21:13:00.008-05:00

I guess we are at the point with this blog that we post one GOOD post every month or so! Oh well, I guess it will do. At any rate, what a great month we have had--full of camping, hiking, swimming, road trips, family, and fun!

The month started with a great little camping trip with some family in Beaver. We set up camp in a little area at the base of the mountains called south creek--just a side-of-the-road set up, not an established campsite (something we prefer). We met Paul, Molly and their kids at the site and set up camp. The kids had a great time and we had some REALLY yummy food--especially the peanut-butter s'mores (thanks, Molly).

We actually rarely saw these two apart--they played in the dirt, gathered firewood for us, played "guns" with sticks, and otherwise roamed until there was food to be had.

Grandma and Grandpa Foster came up to visit throughout the evening to eat, to chat, and to tell a "spooky" story to all of the kids.

Mae and Nora are a great match for each other--they both have great imaginations and love all things "girly".

The following week, our little family headed down to Vegas for a little getaway. We had heard that the Mandalay Bay Hotel has a great pool for kids and families--and it is true. The kids had a great time and we all had lots of fun--big thanks to Wendell and Terri for accompanying us and helping us watch the kids during our make-up "Anniversary".

Anybody who knows Ian even a little bit knows that it is difficult to get him out of the water--now imagine trying to get him out of a fun place like the Mandalay Bay pool! He especially loved to visit the hot-tub after getting out of the lazy river (because it was kinda cold).

Noah even had a great time at the pool and especially liked to eat the sand and play in the shallow end of the ginormous wave pool.

Mae was enjoying herself all the way around--around the lazy river, under the sand, in the wave pool, and definately in the hot tub.

We took the kids to the Bellagio water show and they were all amazed at how cool it is--I have never seen a reaction on Mae that combined the expressions of wonder, amazement, awe, and excitement all at once.

So... on to the REAL excitement for the month: Hiking the SUBWAY.

It started out well enough--Brad planned the whole thing, and it looked as though it was going to be a lot of fun (and it really was, we just hadn't planned on the extra six miles or so that it took us to finish).

Craig, me, Jeni, Lindsay, Paul, Molly, Shane and Dana (Molly's Sister and her husband) all decided to take the plunge. Long story short--I missed the turnoff to the SUBWAY and we ended up hiking about three miles out of our way (I left the map in the car--BIG oops!!!).

This is a shot of the beginning of the hike (after we had hiked back to the beginning) and this is also before you drop in to the beautiful canyon you have probably seen pictures of.

The water was really cold and by the time we were deep in the canyon we were all freezing while we waited for everyone else to enter the part of the hike that is known as the "subway".

The hike out was beautiful, but longer than we expected. The above picture is a sight we were all used to by the end of the hike because Paul and Molly led the way the entire time--they are great hikers and were anxious to get home to their kids.

All in all it has been a great month--and we still have a week left!

What have we beenup to lately?...

2009-06-01T16:57:00.007-05:00

Well, let's see...

There were the hikes we did at Zions--Mae and Ian were troopers, hiking roughly 4 miles in a few hours with only a few breaks at the top of the hikes for pictures and some fun. Uh... and, yes, that is a 4 and a half foot long rattle snake that I took a picture of on the side of the trail.

If you look closely, you can see a herd of Desert Big Horn Sheep in the background.

Mae graduated from her Kindergarten class and even has a diploma to prove it! She loved her class and absolutely loves her teacher, Mrs. Brandon.

We have also been on a camping trip--to Pine Valley--and it was very pretty. All the kids had a great time hiking up to the old cabin Wendell used to own, and they especially had a good time roasting marshmallows and hot dogs!

Here is a quick video portraying the evidence of how much fun Noah had on the hike.

Noah's evolution of crawling...

2009-05-05T11:40:00.005-05:00

Some of you have seen this one--all he needs is proper motivation.

This clip shows Noah's first and second gear. He will go slowly to sneak up on his prey
and then try to surprise them with a sudden burst of speed.

Here Noah has changed his strategy--taking after 'Mater in his back-up skills.

Noah's Birthday!

2009-04-29T15:50:00.004-05:00

We had some GREAT food and lots of fun in the pool while we all wished Noah a happy first birhtday. Noah had a lot of fun as well with a bit of swimming and a quick feast on his miniature birthday cake (you can watch him attack it in the above clip).

This was Noah's cake--if you can't tell, it is a caterpillar.

Lots of people were there, including Brad's parents along with Craig and Shannon.

Noah actually had fun opening his presents and still enjoys playing with his new cell phone.

We want to send out a BIG thanks to Wendell and Terri for their hospitality in hosting the event and for cooking the lions share of the food.

Question...

2009-04-20T17:08:00.003-05:00

What does six hours in the pool do to you?

Answer:

This...

Not to mention how quickly it can make you go to sleep at night!

Catching up...

2009-04-15T14:42:00.006-05:00

We have been BUSY!

We got back from a great weekend in Beaver where we spent conference with Grandma and Grandpa Foster--the kids got to see the houndies and even took them for a walk during the break in the afternoon session on Sunday. We had some great activities planned for the kids so that they would remain somewhat attentive while we listened to conference.

In other news... Brad has been up and down I-15 for the last few months spreading his name and credentials throughout the state and has a number of contacts because of it (the best prospects look to be Enterprise, Manilla, and Layton with a smattering of possibilities in Nebo and Alpine districts). We are not sure whether we have a favorite or not--drawbacks include the facts that Enterprise has limited housing, and Layton is too close to the U of U ;).

All joking aside, we will just be happy to finally lay down some roots in Utah.

On a side note, the kids have been up to a few things as well. Mae has learned to ride her bike without training wheels and rides to school just about every day that it is warm enough to do it. She loves her bike and wants us to watch her constantly because she is so good at it.

Mae has also kept pushing her swimming skills. She not only goes off the diving board, but can now swim the full length of the pool too.

Ian has been trying to keep up with his sister and wants to be able to ride a two-wheeler, but has to stick to his trike for now. However, he is getting better at swimming and will now swim short lengths from the deep end to shallow area (with and without his arm floaties). Those who know Ian should understand that this is a BIG deal for him, and this weekend he dropped our jaws by jumping off of the diving board! Mae, not to be out-done, immediately worked up the courage to go off the high-dive. We about freaked out because we didn't think that she would dare to do it.

A few pics and vids...

2009-03-26T20:10:00.004-05:00

Lindsay snapped a few shots of the kids during our recent Dutch Oven cookout (FHE) outing to Red Cliffs while I set up a top rope for Mae and Ian to do a little rock climbing. We had a great time and we think that it is something we will do more of since we are back in Utah.

Gotta get a good bath shot every once in a while.

Noah has been crawling for a few weeks now (and is cruising on all fours with ease),
but this was his meager beginning.

Hangin' at the Fosters...

2009-03-08T14:37:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we visited Paul and Molly in Richfield, UT for a few days. Brad found out there was a job available at the middle school there after having visited a number of the schools in the area. It sure would be fun to end up in Richfield so that we could live close to Paul and Molly again. When we lived near each other in Utah county we were able to do so much with them and we had TONS of fun.

This trip wasn't all business, though. We watch a few "Office" episodes that we had missed, played Settlers of Catan (Cities and Knights version) late into the night, watched City of Ember with the kids, rode the Rhino, played a the park and even got in a little shopping (yes, in Richfield).

Noah and Hyrum hung out with each other at the bar for every meal. The two had apparently had such a good time that when we took Noah away for a bath, Hyrum cried because he thought that he had lost his friend!

Ian is quite the narcissist (who isn't at 3) and always has to drive--good thing that his cousin, Lucas, is a good sport. These two were the best of friends and the most bitter enemies depending on the time of day--we think that they parted on good terms, however, and are looking forward to seeing each other again.

We threw almost all of the kids into the Rhino and headed out for a little jaunt in the hills just outside of town. The kids had a great time and begged to stay longer, but because we ran out of cookies we had to head home.

Nora and Mae had TONS of fun on this trip (we credit Avery and Lydia for being good enough sports to play with the "younger kids"). They had so much fun, in fact, that they spooned well into the night.

Thanks, Fosters, for showing us such a GREAT time! We will be back again soon--this time, however, you may only provide ONE yummy dessert dish per day, Brad got sick because he ate so many of your chocolate-chip cranberry cookies and ice-cream pudding--not to mention the black-tie Cheesecake Factory cheesecake we had for his birthday!

Hope to see you guys again soon!

Ice Skating anyone...?

2009-03-04T10:19:00.005-06:00

...at least, that is what Ian calls it. For some reason the words "hiking" and "ice skating" are indistinguishable to him, but he certainly loves hiking. Anyway, here are some pics/vids from our recent "ice skating" outing to the red hill.

Even Noah had a good time in the kiddie pack!

Swimming with Grandma

2009-02-23T11:40:00.006-06:00

My mom came to St George with her sisters for a little getaway weekend and invited us to her condo/resort for a swim! The kids had a lot of fun and we are thinking of hiring grandma as Ian's personal swim instructor--he was having a blast with grandma and became more and more daring in the pool as time wore on.

He loves jumping to his grandma!

Noah had a lot of fun too, but we forgot his floating toy thingy that allows him to chill in the pool--instead we all had to trade off with carting him around the pool and he loved it.

Mae was her usual self--having a great time!

I also discovered that she finally likes to be launched--without fear!

Thanks, grandma, for the invitation! We had a lot of fun and hope to see you soon--this time in Beaver!

This one is for Ashlie:

2009-02-11T11:40:00.004-06:00

We went bowling in Stillwater before we left and she got a strike! By the way, don't bother looking at what happens in the lane next to her--it is of no import.

One thing we love about living in St George...

2009-02-11T10:49:00.004-06:00

...is that we get to have our Family Home Evening with even more family. Last week Mae gave a great lesson on Lehi's vision and the example Nephi set by following his parents. Ashley was in charge of the music, Grandma said a prayer, Dad made the cookies, Grandpa said a prayer, and Mom gave a scripture. Ian was in charge of the game.

Noah is getting in on the "Elephun" action.

Everybody seems to be having a good time. Who would have thought that catching butterflies that are blowing out of an elephant's trunk would be so much fun!?

Time to tally up the butterfly total and reload.

It looks like Ian picked the right game--he seems to be having the most fun.

So... what have we been doing lately?

2009-02-04T20:26:00.008-06:00

Some of you have asked...

Because we live in Utah now and see the majority of you, it seems like there is little need to update so often. However, for those of you who still miss us... here is a list of some of the things we have been doing:

Noah sneers a lot. He thinks it is really cute and loves to get our attention that way. If you couldn't tell, he has two teeth now and drools constantly.

Mae has learned to make her bed on the top bunk--and has only fallen out in her sleep one time (luckily there was a pillow there)! Ian (apparently much to his dismay) has also learned to make his bed every morning.

Mae has been experimenting with her own unique hairstyles--we haven't quite given her the green light to go to school that way yet.

Baths are fun because we can nearly all fit in the tub!

Good to be back...

2009-01-20T21:06:00.004-06:00

We had a lot of fun over the weekend because we were able to see lots of family. First we started off the weekend in Centerville with Grandma and Grandpa Campbell playing games and having a great time. The next day was Ashlee's birthday and we went ice skating as part of the celebration. Ashlee is a great skater and Mae hopes to be as good as she is someday!

The main reason for our trip north was to attend a baby blessing for little Will. JJ gave a great blessing and Will was well behaved throughout the entire ceremony. All of the little cousins posed for a picture later--a good lookin' bunch of boys.

A New Year a New Home...

2009-01-11T19:13:00.003-06:00

So we are finally here in Utah. The move went well. I ended up flying with the kids and Brad drove the moving truck and towed our car behind it. All happened without incident--which is all you can hope for, right? We moved into my parent's basement (one bedroom) apartment. All three kids are set up in the bedroom, and Brad and I have our bed in the family room...it actually works out really well. Here we will be until we first sell our house in Oklahoma, and secondly until we know where Brad will be working so we can start to look for another home.

I started my job a few days after we got here. I made it through the first week which is all orientation and I start orienting the floor I will be working tomorrow. I will be working three 12 hour shifts 6 pm to 6 am...if you ever come across me and I am not the most pleasant person--just assume I am slightly sleep deprived. Brad is going to be staying home the youngins. He did great this last week, he got Mae registered for her new school here and I am having a hard time getting used to him knowing more of whats going on with her homework and school things than I do.

Things are good...we will miss all of you in Oklahoma, but are excited to see more of those in Utah!

Merry Christmas, All!

2008-12-17T13:33:00.003-06:00

Well, if you have followed our blog regularly over the year, you pretty much know what is going on with our family, but here are a few little extras:

Brad is relieved to be done with his PhD work (even if it is a little "early" in his mind).

Lindsay is glad to be moving closer to her family (albeit in their basement).

Mae is learning to read--and does quite well sounding out her words.

Ian can actually talk, put together sentences, and communicate in an intelligible way.

Noah sits up now--he loves it too.

Wanna know more... feel free to ask any question you want to know the answer to!

We are pretty sure

2008-12-03T16:02:00.002-06:00

that Noah does not like Peas.

Welcome Will!!

2008-11-28T14:55:00.002-06:00

Britany and JJ's little boy was born Wednesday November 26 (Happy Birthday to Britany). He was 8 pounds 13 oz. He is perfect and everything went wonderfully. Apparently he has his days and night mixed up. You can't see because of the hat but another picture JJ posted on their blog showed that he has some blond hair. I guess Mae is a little to used to Noah's dark hair because the first thing she asked when seeing the picture was why they shaved his head?! Congrats Brit and JJ, and I am excited to have a new little nephew.

Mae's Little Accident

2008-11-27T16:30:00.006-06:00

Mae cut her chin on Sunday while sliding down the hall on her pillow--she thought it was a good idea at the time! Anyway, this quick video of her (above) was taken as we waited in the ER for an available doctor... I think it betrays the fact that she was a little nervous for her first stitches.

Here is the after video. She did really well and was amazingly brave! She followed the doctors instructions perfectly and didn't even cry one bit! We go back in about a week to get her stitches out. Leave a comment to let he know how brave she was!

I am gonna give the last word on the rivalry...

2008-11-25T10:56:00.001-06:00

...to Hitler.

Because I am having trouble embedding video right now, you will have to go here to listen to/view his thoughts.

Enjoy!

Obligatory "We lost, yew won" post.

2008-11-24T10:48:00.003-06:00

...and I want to emphasize the "we lost" part.

I mentioned in one of my posts below that turnovers would be the key--and that proved to be the case. There is, quite obviously, NO WAY a team can expect anything but a drubbing if they turn over the ball six times--all at crucial moments.

Too bad, the yewts will have to enjoy a BCS game (a big loss if they play a Big-12 or SEC team, but an easy win if they play ACC or Big-East) while BYU heads for another toilet bowl.

Oh well... there is always next year.

Some of the little things we are thankful for...

2008-11-22T15:15:00.010-06:00

Ian is greatful for his BYU hat and for his "Cars" boots--they
are literally the first things he puts on when he wakes up.

Noah also likes Ian's hat, but he is also thankful for a great big sister and big brother who play with him and give him his binky when he needs it.

Mae is thankful that she didn't have to get any more than 3 stitches this weekend. She thought it would be a fun idea to show the missionaries how she could slide on her pillow across our newly polished floor (something we had warned her not to do). Long story short, she hit her chin on the floor and recieved three stitches for her acrobatics. As soon as I can again post video we will put up some snipits of the ER visit.

Don't freak out...

2008-11-22T15:02:00.002-06:00

we didn't vote for the guy, but I do have a funny story for you about this pair.

Yesterday morning I got up with Mae and I turned on the TV. The Today Show was talking about the possibility of Obama adding Clinton to his cabinet. Mae looked at the footage they were showing of Clinton and Obama interacting with each other and she asked, "Is that his mom?" I laughed a little bit and she instead said, "Oh, it must be his grandma."

I couldn't help but laugh about that--she does look pretty old.

Annual Smack: Day V

2008-11-21T08:00:00.004-06:00

I feel the need to say to all of those yewt fans out there...

Win or lose on Saturday...

You are still a yewt, and not much can be worse.

I also have to say... thanks for reading--football smack is soooo much more fun when you do it before the game, not after (my hat is off to you, Bruce... you are the only one who wanted to play).

Ok... so I guess it is fess-up time. Who do I REALLY think is going to win this one? Here is my breakdown:

Utah is strong on defense and is very good a rushing the passer. They have a strong secondary that is good in coverage and linebackers that are serviceable (at best). Kruger will be the make/break point of emphasis for the Cougars. If he can be contained (along with Misi) the Cougars can win this game--because that will give Hall the time he needs to get rid of the football.

Utah is good on offense with a strong running game, good passing game, and very good gimmick plays. BYU has been fairly good on run defense this year, but has been pretty weak against the pass and will force a QB to beat them with his arm--this has been their strategy all year and it has paid off for the most part. My point in this is that it all depends on Brian Johnson's ability to complete accurate passes consistently. If the rest of the season is any kind of indicator, the Cougs will not get a whole lot of pressure on Johnson--though we may get a sack or two due to Brian's miscues. That said, Johnson will have to have a very good passing day to win the game. My only worry is that Utah will effectively spread the offense out--which forces our defense into "man" coverage (easily our BIGGEST weakness).

BYU has a stellar offense. TCU found a way to stop us, but there is not a team in the MWC that can match TCU's defensive athleticism--Utah comes close, but not close enough to be able to do what TCU did. That said, BYU will be able to score the points they need to keep them in the game as long as we commit ZERO turnovers.

Big surprise to you all, but I am picking BYU to win a close game--one that will be decided by less than 6 points. I think that our defense will be serviceable enough to hold yewtah on enough drives that we can manage to keep up offensively. My decision is also based on Utah's tendency to kick the field goal as soon as they are in range. They are so dependant on Sakoda that I really think he may be the downfall to this year's team--granted, he will be ice, and he will hit every one he kicks (except for the one we block), but the rub is that the yewts will need to have TD's (not feild goals) in order to maintain the lead.

Gonna be a good one!

GO COUGS!!!

Annual Smack: Day III (and IV)

2008-11-20T09:39:00.004-06:00

Harline poses as the human "Y" after a Cougar victory
the last time we played at Rice Eccles.

I was laid up in bed all day yesterday with something the kids gave me--but nothing that a few doses of NyQuil couldn't fix.

As a result, I have just an extra joke or two and also a bit of extra reading for you. Click here to read about the finale to the 2006 game as remembered by John Beck--a good read for yewts and Cougs alike (Beck has some good things to say about Eric Weddle).

A couple of jokes:

2 yewts walk into a bar after the BYU game against TCU and order a round for the house for TCU's "big win" over the Cougs. The bartender asks why they are ordering celebratory drinks if their team didn't even play that day. They say, "We're doing what any good fan would do to support our yewts." The bartender then says he wished they would have come in after the big win against Oregon St. to order a round for the house since business hadn't been that good as of late. The 2 yewts had a confused look on their face and looked at the bartender and ask, "We played Oregon State this year?"

Q. What's the difference between a litter of puppies and Ute fans?
A. Eventually the puppies grow up and quit whining.

Annual Smack: Day II

2008-11-18T12:17:00.003-06:00

I love this picture of Kyle. This was created just after his
inexplicable 27-0 loss to UNLV last year.

Ganther is one bitter yewt. Click here, scroll down a little, and look at the brief video on the right hand side of the screen. One warning... his lithp is very notithable... try not to laugh. I also like that he blames Jan Jorgensen for playing a complete game after openly admitting that he (Ganther) held Bryan Kehl (an admittedly much better athlete) on EVERY play.

Rivalry joke for the day: How many yewt fans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Answer: 3. One to actually do the work and two others to stand around and complain about how Urban Meyer could have done a much better job.

Annual Smack:

2008-11-17T10:38:00.005-06:00

The "What is our mascot?" yewts/hawk/pirates Vs. BYU Cougars.

It has recently been brought to my attention that yewt nation may just make their second BCS bowl appearance in X number of years if they beat BYU this Saturday. Conversely, there are scenarios out there that put BYU in a BCS bowl if they can summarily dismiss the yewts at home--something like what they did the last time they played at the yew. For a brief reminder about what happened two years ago, click here--or for just the audio (for those of you who simply can't bear to see "Beck to Harline" again) you can listen to the audio as called by Greg Wrubell (BYU's guy) or by the guys on KALL 700 (the guys who call games for the yewts--this one is particularly funny). Nothing like a refresher from two years ago to bring yewt nation back to reality--not to mention the fact that we converted on 4th and 18 last year to keep the drive alive that won the game.

Though this rivalry has nearly given me a coronary the last three years of play, I have to say... it has been good to have scoreboard smack for two years in football. During most years, yewt fans can rely on Basketball season to ease the pain of such heartwrenching football defeats against BYU, but that hasn't been the case the last two years because BYU is 4-0 against the yew in basketball (also, it doesn't help that the yewt men's team lost to a div 1-AA opponent AT HOME just last week... exactly WHO is Southwest Baptist?... I guess the yewts know who they are now).

Anyway...though I could bring the rhetorical smack in more ways then one, it often falls on deaf ears. So, because pictures are a little more difficult to dismss, enjoy what I have posted below:

Snapped during the 2006 loss in RES--you gotta admit,
yewt fan or not, this guy is priceless.

Try harder girls.

Snapped just after Harline caught the ball in the endzone
in the closing seconds of the 2006 game. It was a tough loss.
I can understand.

Admittedly, I didn't know that K-Fed was a fan.
Good luck flippin' those burgers!

Awesome, but I already have a brain and I don't need another one to know how to spell.

I wonder if this is how the members in California have felt lately...

2008-11-14T08:22:00.009-06:00

(If you couldn't tell, the sign says, "Vote Yes on 8.")

All I can say is that I am glad that there are many members who are fighting the good fight. We are proud to support the stance the Church has taken on this issue (that we don't oppose rights for homosexuals, but that we support traditional marriage) even way out here in OK.

We have seen pictures of members who have had their homes and cars vandalized, pictures of families walking to church in the midst of ridicule from supporters of "No", and heard numerous, sad stories of how people have been treated for casting a "Yes" vote on proposition 8. We realize that our stance makes us a target, and we are glad that there are people out there who are representing our church in the best way possible.

Addendum... Click on this link to see a collection of photos that I thought were pretty telling of who is tolerant on this issue and who is not. Note the vandalism to various churches and on the temple walls, the hateful language on various protesters signs (by FAR not the worst I have seen), the supposed "peaceful" protests, and especially the little girl calmly walking to her church meetings--she is braver than anybody I know.

Wanna laugh until you cry... literally? Read on:

2008-11-08T11:10:00.002-06:00

Lindsay and I were rolling on the ground laughing at this story--and it is the third time we have read it. Let me know what you think.

"Pocket Taser Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife."

This was submitted by a guy who purchased his lovely wife a "pocket Taser" for their anniversary.

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 22nd anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Toni. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of the taser were suppose to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.... WAY TOO COOL!

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two triple-a batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arch of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. Awesome!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Toni what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-a batteries,. right?!!!

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, taser in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-a batteries) thinking to myself, "no possible way!"

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.....

I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, "don't do it master," reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad.. I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and HOLY MOTHER, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION@!@$$!%!@*!!!

I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs. The cat was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, "do it again, do it again!"

Note: If you ever feel compelled to "mug" yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself. You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three second burst would be considered conservative.

SON-OF-A-.. that hurt like hades!!! A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they up get there??? My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I'm still looking for my testicles? I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return.

BIG NEWS...for us anyway.

2008-11-02T16:00:00.003-06:00

All of our friends in Oklahoma...we are going to miss you, because all of our friends and family in Utah...WE ARE COMING HOME!!!

This has been a decision in the making for a few months now. Brad has realized that the path he has been taking isn't one he wants to be on anymore. He wants more time with his family (us), and wants us to be closer to both of our families (a lot of you). These two things might have happened eventually, but realistically wouldn't be for something like 10-15 years (if at all). If and/or when he landed his first job with a University, his schedule would resemble his current one where he isn't home very much, and during any of the time when he might happen to be at home, it would be on one of the two days during the week when I am at work. We could handle this schedule if it were while he was in school and if we saw some sort of an end in sight, but long term, it simply isn't worth the sacrifice.

So...our plan is still kind of fuzzy. We don't know where in Utah we will end up. Brad will be applying for all English High School teaching positions across the state, and we will move where he gets a job. Since most of the positions will be opening up next fall, we are going to move to St. George, live in the "Brown Hotel" (what would we do without parents...we all need them every once in a while, right?), I am going to work full time at the hospital, and Brad is going to play full time Dad. We could end up finding something in St. George, which would be great, or up north, which would also be great!

Lots of changes happening with us, so keep us in your prayers, and keep your eyes peeled for jobs for Brad!!

Mae's Primary Program...

2008-10-26T16:48:00.005-05:00

The best Sacrament Meeting all year! I worked a night shift last night, got home at 7:00 am, then went to church at 9:00---the program made it all worth it (not that our regular meeting aren't worth it). Mae did amazingly with her part and got many compliments from our ward members. I was sitting on the back row and when they sang "I am a Child of God", I could hear her voice, loud and clear, over all the other kids. I was amazed, especially this year for some reason, at how strongly I could feel the spirit, and how refreshing of a testimony strengthener the program was. To have 5 year olds speak about The Proclamation to the Family and how how they are grateful for eternal families. With all the talk in the media about the definition of marriage and people's rights, I got emotional when these young kids talked about how having a mother and a father for children is the essence of why Heavenly Father created families and marriage. These kids don't watch the news, but to them, this was both important and uncomplicated.

The program had the classic kids who had the part memeorized and zoomed through it while staring at their shoes. The one who messed up mid way through, chastized themselves and started over, the ones who's cute way they talk make it a little hard to understand but leave you with the biggest grin, and of course the poor 12 year olds who are sooooooo ready to be out of Primary and show their complete lack of interest in the songs and their parts.

Ahhhhh...like I said, this program was great and put me on a spiritual high that will totally get me through this next week--hey thats what church is for right?!

With no further ado, here is the star herself...

Because the fire engine video (below) was so boring...

2008-10-19T21:57:00.004-05:00

... here are a couple videos of the kids you might like.

The first one is of Noah having his first taste of applesauce (we have another, funnier video, but the file was too large to post).

The second one is of Ian asking to watch Ronan Hood (a.k.a. Robin Hood). I managed to get him to say "robin" alone, but he can't seem to say "Robin" and "Hood" together (I thought it was funny).

Anyway... enjoy!

Oklahoma State Homecoming...

2008-10-18T20:09:00.009-05:00

Homecoming in Stillwater is absolutely CRAZY!!... but lots of fun too! The night before the game all of the frat houses team up with different sororities and they build these huge structures in front of their houses which they then decorate with different themes The one above is, obviously, a 007 theme, but there was also a Indiana Jones theme, a Dr. Suess theme, a Pirate theme, and a variety of other creative works. The celebration is called the "walk around" (creative, I know), and not only are there great decorations and LOTS of people, but there are also a variety of overpriced foodstuffs and goodies.

This one is Mae's favorite, the Dr. Suess theme. Most of these things have moving parts, and the kids get to watch them all and see what they do.

This one is the Pirate theme, and Ian thought it was pretty cool--he even tried to go under the restraining rope and play on the makeshift beach that had been created. He actually dropped his new BYU hat there and luckily someone picked it up and gave it to some guys running a nearby booth. About a half hour later we realized it was gone and re-traced our steps to find it--Ian HAS to wear it whenever his dad wears his.

Ian is pointing at the shipwreak on the beach--admittedly, this one was pretty cool.

The '80s theme was the one we liked the most. There was an NES, a boom box, a TETRIS screen, MTV allusions, and other favorites from the '80s.

When we left the walkabout this float was parked in front of the exit to the parking lot we had parked in. The guy who parked it there had locked the keys in it and we had to "offroad" in our Pilot in order to get around it--so, we felt like we had to take this picture this morning at the homecoming parade.

Had to get a picture of this horse and cowgirl queen. That is all.

Below, I posted Ian's favorite part of the parade. I had to restrain him from running out in the road for a closer look.

Catching up...

2008-10-09T09:26:00.006-05:00

Well, with grad school in full swing, a couple of quick trips to Utah, and Mae's kindergarten underway, we haven't posted much in the last month. Sooooo....

Here are a few pictures to catch everybody up:

Yeah. The crazy pilots let Ian in the cockpit--I am sure you can all imagine how fun it was dragging him out of there. He did have fun, though.

At least once a week we have a family movie night. We pop some popcorn, make some brownies and watch something together. It is always fun and the above picture is what eventually happens--Ian with the popcorn bowl finishing off every last kernal.

Noah was getting pretty shaggy.

But after a quick trim-up he looks great!

Ian's HAPPY birthday...

2008-09-27T19:23:00.011-05:00

So...

We visited the fire station early today to let Ian have a private tour of the station and the trucks--guess what he liked the most?!... The BIG engine, of course. The on-duty firefighters were VERY cool, and they let Ian crawl around in their trucks to his heart's content--they even pulled the BIG engine out of the garage, raised the ladder for Ian to watch, and honked the horn too! Ian of course loved EVERY minute of it and did not want to leave (practically throwing a fit). What a great beginning to a great birthday!

On the way to the station we stopped at the train tracks and let the kids walk around, and have a quick break. Ian was SOOOO excited to get to the fire station that he [I kid you not] ran the whole way there, which is saying something because the fire station is close to a mile from our house--he simply wouldn't stop. As many of you know, Ian loves anything to do with trains, and while playing on the train tracks doesn't seem like something a normal kid would do for his birthday, Ian absolutely loved it. I mean, c'mon, throwing rocks and waiting to see a train--how could it get any better?

This is Ian's birthday "cake". He wanted train, so we got creative and it turned out well.

Ian's gifts were great! He loves the hat and shirt Grandma and Grandpa Foster gave him, the cape aunt Jeni gave him, the "Robin Hood" movie and "James" engine Grandpa and Grandma Campbell gave him, the new CD player/singer and Lightning McQueen boots Grandma Terry and Grandpa Wendell gave him, and especially the $2.50 airplanes we got on clearance for him at a local toy store!

Ian--obviously loving his planes and boots! In addition to all of the above, we also went swimming, BBQed hot dogs wrapped in croissants, popped some popcorn, ate Ian's train cake, and watched Disney's "Robin Hood" before hitting the sack. Below is a quick video of the fire station. We took a longer video of the truck as the ladder rose, but it was too long to post. Anyway, Ian had a GREAT birthday--even as I type this, he is playing with his planes in his bed, "trying" to go to sleep.

Mmmmmmmm, Brownies!

2008-09-02T09:38:00.004-05:00

Seriously, is there anything better?

Okay, maybe the cupcakes where Carly works in St. George..., or the Reece's peanut-butter chip/chocolate cookies.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Mae and her first day in Kindergarten...

2008-08-28T13:12:00.004-05:00

She was definately excited and anxious for the few days before class began. Every morning she would wake us up by reminding us that there were only "X" number of days before school began!

I love how her bookbag is nearly as big as she is!

Thanks to her cousin, Kate, Mae has a new collection of beautiful skirts to wear to school this year! Thanks, Kate, for growing out of all of those cute skirts--Mae absolutely LOVES them!

The video below is a quick take of her getting on the bus. The bus was almost 20 min late the first day (leaving to school) and Mae forgot to get off the bus at our house after school, so for us the bus was almost an hour late getting home--we were pretty worried about our little girl! Anyway, not pictured in the video below is Ian's reaction to Mae going on the bus when he actually thought that he was going to be able to get on as well. Every day Ian cries on the floor because Mae has gone to school on the bus and Dad has gone to school on the scooter--and lucky Mom gets to stay home with him (poor kid)!

Anyway... enjoy!

Mae's Vacation...

2008-08-12T19:31:00.008-05:00

Well... I had a good time. Like Ian said, the plane ride was good, swimming at grandma's and grandpa's was good (that's me in the video jumping off the diving board), but I REALLY liked the 24th of July parade in Beaver! My cousins and I waited for almost TWO hours to see the whole parade and it was totally worth it!

This is a picture of me and my cousin, Nora. We got lots of candy from the parade, and the Cache Valley Cheese factory float threw out cheese curd for us--and that is what I had been waiting for ALL DAY!

At the very end of the parade they drove a fire truck down the street and squirted the fire hose high in the air so that we all got totally soaked!

Later that day we went boating and also played with Barbies and playmobile. We also watched "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", ate brownies, played volleyball, and dressed in grandma's costume box clothes. Early the next morning I was kinda worn out.

On Ian's blessing day I got to play lots with Ashley and Shanna--they are soooo much fun (they showed me how to pucker up--whatever that means)! Grandma and Grandpa Campbell also came to Beaver to play with me. I got to see my cousins Kari and Jocelyn too... they are getting soooo big. Soon they will be able to play with me for real!

Finally, after a great vacation in Beaver, I got to relax a little at the water park in St. George. I love relaxing in the water, and I already miss all of my family in Utah.

Ian's vacation...

2008-08-09T09:04:00.011-05:00

I just wanted to be sure to tell you all that I had the most fun out of anybody in my family during this little trip... and the proof is in the pictures:

First there was the plane ride to Utah, and if any of you know me, you know that airplanes are one of my favorite things (next to really BIG trucks--more on that later). I went on a plane a few months ago and now my parents get tired of me saying, "Daddy (or Mommy), I'na go-onna pwayne." I don't realize it, but apparently I say it about 178 times every day (my dad said he counted once). Anyway, planes are awesome, and here I am just reviewing the aircraft safety procedures--just to be safe.

After our plane ride we stayed in St. George at my grandparents house. My parents must think I have some sort of fixation disorder, because when I am in a truck I LOVE the truck, when I am in a plane, I LOVE the plane, and when I am in a pool... I LOVE the pool. I could have spent hours in that water... wait, I DID spend hours in the pool. It was a lot of fun! My favorite thing is to jump off the edge of the pool and keep my face under water for as long as I can (just to worry my parents).

Tell you what, though... after a long plane ride and an afternoon in the pool, I was kinda worn out. My parents sat me on my grandma's bed to watch a movie and I couldn't help but fall asleep--I think they set me up for that one.

Well, we made it to Beaver for our little family reunion and it was great fun! I was all over the place visiting James' boat, all of the family cars in the driveway (at least, the ones that were unlocked) and a few of the neighbors cars as well--my favorite is Ray's jeep across the street. It is red and really easy to get into. I even got to sit in a BIG diesel truck for a few minutes, but my dad came and dragged me out of it--I guess everyone was looking for me and he wasn't too happy to find me a block or so away from grandma's and grandpa's house in my bare feet messing with the switches in the diesel cab (the controls were really cool!).

Anyway, my cousins and I had a great time. We sat in a wagon together at Cove Fort, ate cookies, watched a parade, ate cake, threw rocks in a pond, ate strawberries, rode in a canoe, ate brownies, played with toys, ate more cookies, watched movies, ate chips, played games, and ate some ice cream--it was awesome! In fact, we got soooooo dirty that we all had to take a bubble bath together.

In case you couldn't tell, we had a fun time in the bath as well!

There was, however, this one time when we couldn't go outside because it was raining so hard... so we just watched the rain--that was fun too.

Playing with grandpa Foster is always fun. Lucas and I love it when he wrestles with us and tickles us at the same time.

Well, the trip to Beaver was over too soon, but at least we got to squeeze one more trip in to St. George--which, for me, means water and swimming! Man! What a great vacation--I can't wait for the next one!

Oh... one more thing: Thanks, James, for letting me drive your boat while my mom wakeboarded. in was a LOT of fun!

Noah's Vacation...

2008-08-05T22:51:00.007-05:00

Well,

It all started off with a nice flight to Las Vegas--I don't remember much because I was huddled up in a pouch on my mom's lap the entire flight, but I do remember swimming in the pool with my family the next day. St. George sure is nice this time of year. I hope my parents will move back to Utah some time in the relative future (I know my grandma's and grandpa's would like that too).

For the 24th of July I went to a parade with my family--again, I don't remember a thing because I was cooped up in that dang pouch again. Oh well, I heard that the floats were spaced too far apart, the sun was too hot, and the parade was kinda long. I guess I didn't miss much.

Eventually my parents let me out of the bag and I got to play with Grandpa Foster--he sure is fun! I also got to see Grandma and Grandpa Campbell and all of their kids (Brittany and JJ even DROVE 5 hours just to see me!).

That Sunday I was blessed--along with my cousin, Hyrum. I guess it was a pretty great blessing--mainly because I didn't cry, and my dad remembered to give me a name (I hear that he forgot with my older brother). Anyway, I am sure my mom will be posting a few pics of me in my blessing "outfit" in a later post. She wouldn't stop snapping my pictures. There are too many to post here, but I think she managed to get me posed with most of my family, lots of my friends, some of our extended family, a few strangers, a couple of nomads, and some inanimate objects, but she did get a good one of me and my brother, Ian:

In all it was an eventful trip--even though we had to drive back to Oklahoma in a rental van. I was, however glad to see ALL of my grandma's and grandpa's even if it was only for a day or two (thanks for coming to good ol' Beaver everyone!) I have to say, though, the highlight of the trip for me was laughing with my aunt, Tami--she sure is crazy!

Happy Birthday, Mae!

2008-07-19T19:37:00.007-05:00

So...

Mae had her big 5 B-day party last week... and we had a BLAST.

The morning of her birthday we all woke up to a breakfast of her choosing--Breakfast Burritos with sausage (a surprise to us because she usually wants waffles).

Later that day we all went to a nearby lake, had a picnic, rented a paddleboat, and sat around and watched while Mae demonstrated her swimming skills (something that she has come a LONG way in--last year at this time she was scared to put her face under water and cried any
time we washed the shampoo out of her hair).

After visiting the lake we headed home to watch a movie together with popcorn, rootbeer, and candy (the movie was Nancy Drew and Ian only lasted as long as the candy and popcorn did, but Mae loved it).

Finally Mae got to blow the candles out on her made-to-order-My-Little-Pony-pink-with-purple-flowers birthday cake and open her presents after a dinner of fire-roasted hotdogs and fresh fruit salad among other things.

Mae spent the waning evening hours before bedtime riding her new bike up and down the hallway and playing with her new Barbie and Barbie car in her bed (she fell asleep with her new stuffed horse in her arms). All in all she had a great birthday! Thanks to all of your for your presents and phone calls--she LOVES getting her own personal calls, but caller beware... Mae will not let you off the phone if you do call her because she has plenty to talk about.

Funnest Ward Party Ever!!!

2008-07-09T21:05:00.006-05:00

I had to work on the 4th of July, so our family kind of bagged the holiday. Brad put Noah and Ian down at their regular bed time (7:00), and let Mae stay up to watch the fireworks from our house. They didn't end up getting to see much due to the large trees in their way, but that was alright because Mae was more interested in the fireflies anyway.

Anyway....the next day totally made up for it. Our ward party was held at one of our ward member's home. This man is Oklahoma's version of Wendell. He rigged up a humongous slip and slide. This thing was amazing. (Apparently he has been doing this for years) They also had an awesome volleyball net, a blow up jumpy house thing for the kids, and their property backed up into a pond where we could swim. Our family spent almost the entire time on the slip and slide. We got there at 4:00 pm an left at 8:30 pm. Except for the short period of time that we were able to tear the kids away to feed them dinner, they were on that slip and slide. Brad and I had a great time too. There were plenty of people there willing to hold Noah so I was able to take a rare opportunity to really play with my kids...the kind of playing that is as fun for me as it is for them. I definitely need to do this more often. When we got home we all had grass and mud under our swimsuit...totally worth it.

I am already looking forward to them hosting another ward party!!

Twinkle Twinkle...Ian's Version Anyway

2008-07-09T20:36:00.003-05:00

Smiles from Noah...

2008-07-06T20:34:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share (especially for those of you who don't always get to see how cute he really is)!

Wii may be in the market for...,

2008-07-02T09:17:00.006-05:00

...well, a wii.

Brad has borrowed a wii and a wii fit from a friend at school. Mae absolutely loves it, and Ian thinks that he loves it (only because Brad cheats for him so that he can get a high score). This video of Mae on the wii fit hula hoop game just makes us laugh because she is so in to it, and so bad at it--but she doesn't care. She is just having a great time--incidentally, Mae did beat Brad's friend at bowling on her first try!

Who knows... I think Brad's plan of getting me addicted to it as a nice investment in our family time may just work. Maybe we will get one for Christmas this year!

Good thing Ian's POTTY TRAINED,

2008-06-29T16:57:00.009-05:00

It made it easier to SPANK his little bottom!!!

Let's start with the good, shall we? Ian is potty trained, yea!! It has been a week now and we went 5 days in a row without any accidents. He pooped his pants today, but hey, he can't be perfect right? The first day was pretty rough for both of us. Ian sat on the potty flexing every muscle in his body trying to hold back the pee and bawling until he finally just couldn't hold it anymore and it dribbled out. I got to sit in the bathroom with him for all his successful attempts--success meaning that he was able to hold off the pee until the sensation went away. I was in the bathroom for 2 hours! Thank goodness that only lasted a day. That day he went eight hours without peeing.

Here he is in some of his "Cars" underwear...there is more where that came from...Thomas the Train, and Spiderman too!!! We are really impressed and proud of him. We definitely underestimated his ability this time.

Now for a "typical" Ian moment. Last week he had A DAY. If you know Ian or you have any "Ianites" yourselves, you know what A DAY is. In between him punching Mae, pulling Mae's hair, flooding the bathroom by flushing the entire role of toilet paper down the toilet (when I say entire role, I mean cardboard tube and all--I got to fish that out with my hands), and annoying Mae and myself by repeating the same words over and over and over, Ian had "quiet time" in his bedroom. He was being very quiet in there, and I was foolishly impressed by it. The video explains the rest.

He got to sit in the corner while Mae and I cleaned up his room. You should have seen the boogers that came out of my nose after that!!!

Family exercise time!

2008-06-27T13:38:00.002-05:00

Yup... we are all having a great time!

Some old pictures--just for fun!

2008-06-19T15:31:00.009-05:00

Just one of those "memory lane" things...

Caesar and Cleopatra headed off for a "How to Host a Murder"
I know... the costumes are great!

A cute one of Mae and Ian (when he was more manageable).

Ian and Daddy on the cold Oregon coast a couple of years ago.
We sure miss Oregon--even the cold beach!

Just a cute picture--Mae's first haircut.

So... this is our FIRST illegal Christmas tree.

Yes we have cut down numerous illegal trees--all by accident!
(Seriously, don't report us)

This one of Mae is just classic--how can you not love it!?

Thanksgiving in Beaver--Good times!

Google

2008-06-15T20:56:00.003-05:00

So I just googled mine and Brad's name ("Brad Foster", "Lindsay Foster")...you know its Sunday night, not a whole lot to do. Well this is what caption is under our name which links you to this blog:

The Foster Fam: We are the Brad and Lindsay Foster Family. ..... led astray by half truths spread by one of Satan's Angels, Known to most as "Brad Foster". ...
bradlindsfosterfam.blogspot.com/2007/11/in-honor-of-rivalry-week-i-give-you.html - 76k -

Cached - Similar pages - Note this

This makes us look like crazies!!!! Thanks Jim!

This takes a little from our intro, and then the led astray Satan stuff comes from a response from my uncle Jim to one of Brad's BYU posts during football rivalry week--he is obviously a Utah fan.

Anyway, it is good to know that complete strangers may just view our family as some twisted cult. Google....good for so very many different things.

Pictures of the Kids

2008-06-15T19:32:00.009-05:00

We thought it was about time to take some pictures of our kids. Here are a few that turned out to be pretty cute:

Life with Three

2008-06-07T22:05:00.002-05:00

As I sit here listening to see if Noah is really asleep asleep and not just asleep ready to wake up and have me put him to sleep again, I can smell the spit up that is all down the front of my shirt from a few hours ago. I am thinking that there is no better time to write a little about some experiences I have had with our now expanded family.

I took my first trip with all three kids to the post office this week. I should have know better; there can be no other place as awful as the post office at peak time (when is peak time anyway, because no matter when I go, I seem to hit it!). Well, I had Mae carry the packages in while I carried Noah's car seat and held Ian's hand. When I got to the the back of the line, which was out the door, I set the car seat down and rotated between plugging Noah with his pacifier, and picking Ian off the floor where he had fallen like a limp noodle because he didn't want me to keep holding his hand. We were almost to the front of the line when Mae, who is supposed to be the easy on, knocked 15 envelopes, that were sitting out for sale, on the floor. I had to drag Ian over and help her clean them up.

Two days later I had my 6 week post partum OB visit. I don't know what I was thinking when I made the appointment, but I scheduled it right when Brad had class...so I got to take all three kids there too. I was a little more organized here. I strapped Ian in his stroller, had Mae push him and I carried Noah in his car seat. Noah was sleeping right up to the point that we went back the room. Although he had eaten one hour before, he wants to eat every time he wakes up--so he was not a happy little boy. Thank goodness one of the nurses came and got him and held him the rest of the appointment.

I was prepared with suckers and animal crackers for Mae and Ian, but the Dr. took so long to get into the room that those things were gone, and Mae was ticked that they didn't have any kid magazines. With nothing but a paper sheet covering me from the waist down, I sat in that room with Mae and Ian, trying to get Ian to stop kicking/hitting/and spitting on Mae and positioning him in his stroller just right so that he could reach any of the medical equipment or the posters on the walls. Mae didn't want to be there because she thought it was gross that I had to take my pants off and she kept commenting on this the entire appointment.

Finally, the Dr. came in and I strategically placed the kids where neither would see "anything" with the exam (this is when a lot of Ian kicking Mae went on). Thank goodness the nurse put Noah to sleep, so we left and had a relatively peaceful drive home.

Well...I survived my first week of real life with three kids and wonder what next week will bring.

A Week in California!!

2008-06-01T19:12:00.015-05:00

We spent a very fun week in California last week. My mom and Wendell rented some beach houses on Seal Beach and we spent time out on the beach, at Disneyland and California Adventure, and Mae even got to go with her dad to "Wicked"--and she loved it. Our trip started out with a plane ride which Ian was so excited about. This is the first time Ian has been on a plane since he understood how cool planes and trains and trucks are. We were asked at least 40 times a day when if he could go on a plane for about 5 days prior to going. The first picture posted here is Ian at the airport. We thought he looked pretty cute carrying his bag.

The weather was a little cold and pretty windy, but that didn't stop the kids from having a great time. They both got in the water a couple of times. Ian even ran down the beach and straight into the water before Wendell could get to him. Both Wendell and Ashlie ran as fast as they could and Ashlie finally pulled him out! Maybe next time we go we will have to put a life jacket on him at all times...though I really wish I could have seen Wendell running down the beach!!

Disneyland...what can I say but that kids loved it. We went for a day and a half. Mae got to eat lunch with the Princesses and Ian got to ride on a submarine, a train, a rocket, in a car, a bobsled, a tram, and on a boat. Both were in heaven. The first day Ian got so tired that he was out of control at the Princess lunch, because I had Noah the whole time poor Brad got to handle the beast. Thank goodness he fell asleep in the stroller not long after that. Those few hours is what prompted the half day the next day--we left for Disneyland after Ian's nap.

Noah spent the entire time in the sling and did amazing. I am tempted to hang the sling from the ceiling here at home so he will sleep as good as he did at Disneyland. I was surprised at home many rides I was able to go on with him.

I posted this picture, first because it is the only family picture we took the whole trip, but also so you can see how unhappy Ian is to be anywhere near this Bugs Life character Flick. We went and saw the 3D video there in California Adventure, and for those of you who have seen it, it is pretty scary in parts. Ian did okay in the movie, but he didn't want to even get near Flick after it. I don't think Ian will be choosing Bugs Life to watch anytime in the near future.

After the Matterhorn...

After a long day at Disneyland, the kids fell asleep on the way back to the beach house.

We had a great time in California and were sad to leave all of the family to come home...but hey, we got to ride another airplane (Ian has been asking to go on another since we got home).

Real life starts again for us this week. Brad goes back to school tomorrow, and I start back at work on Tuesday. For those of you who have asked how having three kids is, ask me again in a couple weeks.

Below I have posted a picture of Noah. It was taken before our California trip but I haven't posted one of him lately.

Fun in the Sun...in the backyard

2008-05-22T08:57:00.003-05:00

Here are the kids warming up after swimming in the pool. The whole family was out there but the hose water was way to cold for anything but my feet. Forgive me if I don't post any pictures of me in my suit...4 weeks post-partum is best forgotten.

Mae "Graduates" from Pre-K

2008-05-22T08:39:00.004-05:00

Well...school is out. Mae is finished with Pre-K and is moving on to Kindergarten next year. It is full day and she will be riding the bus which means she will be leaving around 7:50 am and won't be home until 3:30---doesn't that sound like a long day for a 5 year old? I think so, but there really isn't much I can do about it. Mae is excited though, riding the bus is what excites her most.

The pictures above are of her teacher Mrs. Strickler and the bottom is Ms. B giving her her diploma and award. She really loved her teachers this year, and I am glad she is learning to love school.

This may prove to be a very long summer. Brad won't be home much, so I have armed myself--I hope; we bought a little plastic pool for the kids and is has a slide which has been a huge hit, and the playground and sandbox are still fun. I am thinking if we can grow some grass to cover out dirt, we may even get a slip and slide before the summer is through. Can you tell I don' t want my kids inside?

Reason #273 for why we need the grass to grow in our backyard:

2008-05-22T06:59:00.002-05:00

Well, I have managed to keep Brad Busy...

2008-05-18T18:59:00.005-05:00

He has been a big help lately--which is good, 'cause I have needed a lot of it. He and Ian worked extra hard the other day to finish the second retaining wall (which looks great), and he also worked for a couple of days on our master bathroom putting up beadboard and painting--it looks great too, and I will post a picture later.

He also helped me with painting and wall-papering our master bedroom (something I have wanted to do for a loooooooong time). I will post pictures later--after I get things cleaned up.

Yeah, I know--we should have done it earlier when we didn't have an extra kid in the house, but Brad was VERY busy with school. Having a month off has been nice and it will be tough to get used to three kids at home when Brad goes back to school this summer.

The Foster Parents Visit...

2008-05-13T12:23:00.007-05:00

My Mom and Dad came to visit baby Noah over the weekend, and we had a lot of fun while they visited. Me, Mae, and Ian picked up my parents at the Oklahoma City Airport and went straight to Chucky Cheese (My parents were dying for some really cruddy pizza after their long flight). The first thing Ian saw was a big monster truck "ride"--and he couldn't get enough of it. He did take a little break for pizza, and then it was straight back to the monster truck--he even learned a new phrase: "More money, please!" Here is a quick video of he and Mae in the truck--note that Mae looks a little nervous (because it was her first time), but Ian, a veteran of the monster truck ride, is kicked back and cool.

After Chucky Cheese we headed off for the Hotel and a nice swim at the pool. We had previously decided to stay the night and keep the kids out of Lindsay's hair for a couple of days just to allow her some quality time alone with Noah. The hotel was nice and the kids loved swimming. The next morning we got up early so that we could visit the memorial for the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. It was really cool--definately something to visit if any of you ever make it out to OKC. The grounds were very nice--until they were overrun with two bus loads of students on a field trip. Here are a few pictures:

After visiting the memorial we went to a huge science center/children's museum so that the kids weren't bored all day (Mae called the Federal building memorial the dead person museum--lots of pictures and sad stories). The kids loved it, but it wore me, my Dad, and my Mom right out--we thought that two bus loads of kids on a field trip was bad, but at the children's museum there were about seventeen bus loads--the place was absolutely CRAZY!

Like I said, the kids had a great time there, and would love to go back some time. Ian spent the bulk of his time in the cab of a John Deer tractor (even though there were many other kids who were in and out while he played). Mae and Ian loved the rock wall, the gymnastics center, the trains, the clubhouse, and teeter-totter--they even got to sit in the cockpit of a jet (just TRY to get Ian out of the cockpit of a jet--I dare you)!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T14:00:00.005-05:00

Happy Mother's day to everyone.

We are very greatful for all of our wonderful mothers who love us, love our kids, and teach us all how to love and respect each other!

Many thanks to Grandma Terri!

2008-05-06T14:00:00.005-05:00

Thank you sooooo much for coming to stay with us, Terri! While I was off to school 24/7 after Noah was born, Terri held down the fort for us--taking Mae to school, cleaning the kitchen, changing the boys' diapers, picking Mae up from school, cleaning the kitchen, cooking us dinner, etc... It was a HUGE help and I really do not know what we would have done without her.

Thanks again, Terri--come back ANY time!

No, he isn't being abducted...

2008-05-02T20:15:00.007-05:00

...it is a baby tanning bed. Seriously. We thought that he was a little pasty when we brought him home so we decided to add a little color to him. We had to put the little baby goggles on him so that he wouldn't get UV rays in his little baby corneas. Okay, okay...it is actually a bili-light bed. Noah was a little jaundice-ridden and we had to bake him for most of every day--poor kid. However....

We think he looks pretty good now.

Here is a quick video of some Ian/Noah interaction. We are pretty impressed with how Ian has taken to baby Noah. He is always asking to hold him and makes SURE to give him a kiss when he is ready to go to bed.

I guess Ian has felt a little neglected these past few days...

2008-04-23T11:09:00.004-05:00

...what with a new baby in the home and all. The other day he had to strip down naked and play outside just to get our attention.

Poor kid.

Mom and baby continue to do well. I will try to get Lindsay to post her natural childbirth story before too long. Here are a few more pictures:

Say hello to Noah Paul Foster!

2008-04-20T17:43:00.008-05:00

(I know, he seems a little dramatic)

He arrived at 4:14 am Sunday Morning, April 20th.

Lindsay had been feeling pretty painful contractions for two days prior every 10-20 minutes or so (after having given birth she mentioned to me that some of those contractions were more painful than some during her labor). Anyway, on Saturday night the contractions started getting closer together. After they had been roughly 2-3 minutes apart for an hour we headed off for the hospital (where Lindsay had pre-arranged for the room of her choice).

Lindsay had decided to do this one natural and she made it! I was so impressed with her ability to think through the pain and birth our biggest child yet--7 lbs, 9oz! Noah is 20 inches long and, as you can see, has jet black hair like Mae did when she was born.

Because Noah came out so quickly (only TWO pushes for Lindsay before Noah had arrived) his face was pretty badly bruised. Some of these pictures are just after his birth and show how swollen and purple his face is. However, Mae, Ian and I just got back from the Hospital for our second visit today and Noah is already looking better--more pictures to come, of course, so feel free to check back every couple of days.

By the way... Mother and baby are doing just fine. The video below shows his swollen, purple face--and the temperament to match it!

I'm officially a Soccer Mom!

2008-03-29T13:30:00.006-05:00

Let me first start out by saying that Mae insisted that her shin guards show, so since it was cold we got this cool fashion statement above...

Today was Mae's first soccer game, and it was a lot of fun watching the complete chaos. Kids were picking the ball up and rolling it down the field, and Mae spent most of the first half watching the game; she did take a moment to do some twirling in the exact opposite corner of the field where the play was going on. Brad worked with her a little at half time, and her playing improved immensely...so much in fact that she scored a goal!!!! I actually go it on video below. A quick disclaimer about the video--it was my first time using our camera as a video and I didn't know that you couldn't turn it sideways like I do when I am taking pictures with it...so sorry, but it does turn right side up for the most important part.

It was driving Ian crazy to have to sit and watch the game, so at half time we let him out of his stroller to play with the ball(strapped in the stroller is the only way we can get him to sit anywhere and not run off or get into things) . We were completely impressed when he ran up the the ball dribbled it almost the entire length of the field and kicked it in the goal...all without any encouragement from us. He picked all this up by watching the first half; we have never played soccer with him before. Just when you think your child doesn't absorb anything you say....Well at least now I know that he does pick up on things quite easily, he just chooses to ignore ME 99% of time. Well anyway...we may have a soccer star in our family. We will definitely start him in soccer next summer.

The Pregnancy...

2008-03-23T19:50:00.005-05:00

Alright, I have had many people ask for me to post pictures of my growing belly...so these are the pictures I have that were taken this weekend. It looks much like the other two times...

So this growing belly will hopefully be drastically reduced in 4 1/2 weeks, replacing it's pictures on this blog will be much cuter pictures of a little Noah.

Happy Easter everyone!

2008-03-23T19:11:00.007-05:00

Here is our Easter weekend.

Luckily Brad had the entire week off for spring break, so I put him to work on our back yard to continue the work that he, Wendell, my mom, Ashlie, the kids, and I began last week (we will post more later). Brad was able to completely finish off our play area and the kids are absolutely loving it right now--as am I because now I have a place to send them during the day.

Here is the almost-finished project.

But Ian and Mae love it all the same!

Easter Sunday--Why is everything always yellow on Easter?

Mae--Guarding the hoard.

Forget guarding--I will just eat it all.

Mae's new Haircut...

2008-03-23T19:06:00.004-05:00

6 inches gone! Though she wanted to grow her hair to Rapunzel's length, I decided that it would be better to be able to get through one hair brushing episode without tears--so far, it has been a great decision!

We think she looks very cute with her new "do".

A quick response...

2008-03-22T21:35:00.008-05:00

to any of those in my extended family who assume too much. I will just let a few pictures do the talking:

This is called "Austin 4:18". I can't believe the yewts
let him get sooooooo open.

This is our FRESHMEN MWC player of the year running
OVER two of the best yewt players (that is Tate diving--and missing)

I think you all recognize this one.

This collage depicts the FOUR outright conference
championships in the two major men's sports--what I
am saying is...we haven't lost to the yewts for two years running.

That includes games in Lavell Edwards Stadium,
Rice-chex Stadium, the Mariott Center, and the Huntsman center.

Maybe we should just change the name "U of U" to BYU north--cause we own you!

Funny...

2008-03-13T23:57:00.003-05:00

...how the box is always more fun that whatever is in it. In this case it it is definately true because in this box all I got was a new mop!

At least the kids got to have some fun.