I'm Back

Okay I know its been a while but I got another burst of motivation to keep my blog updated.  We recently had a relief society night on journal keeping and I've decided this is the best way to keep a record of our lives and incorporate pictures as well.  It's my scrapbook/journal and I'm going to call that good!

So Andrew finally talked me into getting a dog....aaahhh!  I'm not an animal lover and especially don't want an animal at my house but the kids and Andrew all love the Roscoe so I guess I'll be okay.

I'm not sure where to begin becuase playing catch up is just too hard so I'll start with a few things that have happened recently.  

Andrew took Malekai to the father and sons outing and they had a blast.  Andrew went with a friend that has a son the same age as Malekai and it sounds like they really had a good time together.  They sure came home dirty so I guess they found the dirt!

We got to visit mom and dad Stevens in California a couple weekends ago.  The car ride was surprisingly pleasant.  The kids did great and found several silly activities to keep themselves busy!

These are their kids meal toys!  Haha! I thought it was so funny to turn around and see them hanging out with their glasses on!

While visiting we also got to go to Lake Isabella.  It was so fun!  We were able to rent a boat and cruise around the lake.  Grandpa got out the fishing pole but had no luck catching anything! Tess jumped in the water and said it was nice so I thought I take a plunge for a nice swim also.  Needless to say the water was ice cold and I could barely catch my breath to make it to the rocks we jumped off.  Can we say FREEZING!  I'm not sure what Tess was thinking but it was not nice!

Malekai sure loved it though.  He is so funny in the water.  He would swim all day and take about 10 baths if I would let him.  I frequently catch him soaked from the spray bottle he found or dog bowl that he has played in.  What a twerp!

Damon is growing up fast.  He is seven months old now.  I can hardly believe it.  Time is flying by but it is getting easier to enjoy life.  For a while there I felt that every waking moment was going to make me lose it but somehow I made it through and am able to enjoy the time I have with the kids before they get all grown up!

I'm realizing as I am trying to find pictures to post that I need to take more pictures of the kids but that is just a side note for myself!

And speaking of getting all grown up..Aylee is changing every day.  Learning new things and understanding tough concepts.  Her latest topic of interest is Satan and Heavenly Father.  I find it difficult sometimes to explain things to her but somehow she takes what I say and makes it so simple.  She has said that "if I am naughty I have to live with Satan and be a ghost forever but if I am good I get to live with Heavenly Father and keep my body...I don't want to be a ghost, that's scary!"  Hmm...smarty pants!

Well I will be working on journaling/scrapbooking/blogging and hopefully there will be many frequently posted posts!

DAMON MALOSI STEVENS! ( it's pronounced mah low see)

Damon was born on Dec. 11th 2009 and weighed 8 lbs 11 oz. He was 20 1/2 in. long.

Quick Update

So school started and my life has been crazy. Aylee is in preschool and loving it. I get the chance to watch my friends kids MWF for a few hours and between all that I'm still getting my homework done and finding time for my sister and her kids without depriving my husband of the time he needs! I am grateful that I am able to do so much and stay pretty sane the meanwhile!

I'm about 32 weeks along and the baby is doing great. It's that time to start preparing for a new baby!

Aylee also had her fourth birthday. She is getting so big! She got a lot of fun toys and a big girl bike that she is way excited about! I didn't really think she would care about a birthday party with friends this year but I was wrong about that. I kinda feel bad but I guess I know better for next year.

Malekai had a birthday too. He turned one! It's so much fun to watch him grow and see his funny personality develop. He is quite a character! He got a cake all to himself and as you can see he demolished it!

Malekai is still not walking but hopefully with a lot of help he'll start.

Aylee went fishing with her daddy and grandpa a couple days before her birthday and caught four fish! She's not too excited to go again becuase the fish are too gross! (She's a little bit like her mommy!) She did have fun though on her outing.

Summer's End

Well summer is coming to an end and I am kind of relieved to be able to have some sort of schedule again. Andrew and I start school tommorrow and Aylee will be going to preschool this year starting the first week of September.

My kids are growing up so fast. Its fun to watch Aylee and Malekai develop a relationship. They are so cute. It's been interesting watching siblings grow to love each other, I never really knew what to expect!

For those of you who don't know...It's a boy! I'm due December 18th which is right at the end of the semester so it should work out just right! :) I really have no idea who I told and who I didn't so now I guess you all know!

Well that's all for now...it's wierd not having fifteen hundred things to post. I guess this is what its like when you keep up on your postings!

Update

The 4th of July was so much fun. We went to Geneva, Idaho. It's practically the middle of nowhere...seriously NOWHERE! It was fun. The boys (Andrew and my bro) put on a firework show and somehow we were lucky enough not to have the house, barn, or fields catch fire. It was kinda scary!

All I could think about was all the cool spots there were to take pictures and how my friends at home would love it! These pix are definately not professional but it was fun and just so you can see the cool props in Idaho!

Our next trip in July was to Logan for the Tippetts Family Reunion. We had lots of fun riding the dune buggy, swimming, and enjoying our outdoor movie. We are so proud of Aylee for jumping off the diving board. She finally dunks her head without freaking out! Good job Aylee.

We got home from Logan and prepared ourselves for the 24th of July parade that Aylee was dying to be in. She was so excited to wave and throw candy! She did great and was so darling in the parade!

Malekai was so good for all of this. He sure is growing up and getting cute. The dang kid just doesn't want to crawl though...or anything else really. Oh well, saves me from chasing him around and cleaning up mischievious messes!

Aylee also had her first sleepover with her cousin Whitney from Washington. They were really cute. They read stories which apparently were funny till they fell asleep. Now it's all she talks about. She wants to have her next sleepover at grandma's! (hint hint mom).

Well that's it for now. I'll try to do better. Maybe I could do one post at a time and not six mushed into one! We'll see!

Here are some pictures of our trip to West Virginia, We went up there to celebrate Andrew's sisters graduation from West Virginia University. It was a good trip, all of Andrew's family was there and we were able to spend a lot of quality time together.

This is Aylee at the Pittsburgh Zoo, she was so excited to see the sharks but when she got up close she was too afraid to take her eyes off of them, she almost jumped off the ledge she was standing on.
So we got home from the graduation and we were all sitting around and there was no sound coming from the kids, Andrew's brother went and investigated and found them all sitting around eating the candy lei's that were given to Andrew's sister. As you can see they were all helping each other out in getting the candy opened.

Look at our two graduates!! They are so cute! And they were so good on this trip! Aylee loved the plane ride and Malekai must have cause all he did was sleep till the plane landed.

Malekai liked seeing the sharks as well, he kept trying to touch them as they went by the glass.

Keep holding that football! That's our future retirement! Just kidding, but he does look good with it.

This is a picture of Andrew's family, this was the first time that all of them were together in the same place for a while so we had to capture this moment.

Surgery Anyone?

For those of you who don't know what's happened lately let me give you the history! When Andrew was 11 he had his appendix removed in Samoa. Believe me, he's got the scar to prove it..well I thought. So it all starts Wednesday when he came home from work vomiting and really sick. He had a cramp in his side that he complained about but since he doesn't have insurance we decided that he would just have to tough it out. Malekai ruptured an eardrum in the meantime and was cutting a tooth as well so he was a little cranky. Well Friday rolls along and he's still really sick with a high fever so we took him to InstaCare. They sent him home and told us it was the flu but gave no explanation about the cramp in his abdomin. So friday passes, and saturday...then finally at about 10:00 pm we decide to go to the ER becuase his stomach was hurting so bad and we just could not get his fever to come down lower than 102 degrees for three days straight now. Something had ruptured were his appendix was supposed to be so they sent him in for emergency surgery at about 2:00 am. Turns out...it was his appendix! What the heck! It was supposed to be taken out 16 years ago! So who knows what they extracted in Samoa! In the mean time Aylee was at home (being watched by a good neighbor then relieved by my mother) puking all over the place. Guess she got the flu! I came home around 5 am only to get up four hours later and head back to the hospital to check on Andrew. A few hours into the visit I start vomiting like crazy and head for home. Turns out I got the flu too. Could it get any worse? Thank heaven for good friends and family that have helped so much! I couldn't have done it without you all! Well we've all recovered at home and Andrew is doing well during his recovery. He probably has to be in the hospital for two more days (if all goes well) then will get to come home. Then probably another week or so to recover at home. Thanks to everyone who has helped and offered to help. We really appreciate it! We'll keep you posted.