Oh yeah, we moved!

Oh man, I'm a terrible blogger...
So, since my last post in Janurary (gulp), we have been kind of busy.
In February we moved.  Yay!
Since that is the first big event, I'll start with that.
We bought a trailer to move our belongings.  Since we only wanted to make one trip to Montana we sold a BUNCH of our belongings.  We still managed to fill the trailer, and leave a bunch of stuff behind.

The drive out from St. Louis to Billings was torture.  For me.  

I don't do well on road trips.  Add a 16 foot trailer to the back of your car, in February, with high winds, and I was a wreck. 

I tried to convince Brian to drop me off at the airport and I would just meet him in Montana, but he didn't go for that.  So, instead I got to stress myself out, to the point that I was literally sick. 

Luckily, the kids did pretty good.  

We left late on Saturday night and spent the first night in Columbia, MO.  We left early the next morning and made it to North Platte, NE.  (We have spent the night in that town multiple times now...)  

One our third day of driving, we hit we were getting pummeled by high winds as we crossed Wyoming.  

The winds were so bad, that the highway was basically shut down.  As we were exiting the freeway, the car and trailer changed lanes all by itself because of the winds!  (See my fears weren't completely unwarranted.)  

So we pulled off in Cheyenne and spent the rest of the day and night there.  

To pass the time we went to the Lego Movie in 3D.  

Then we swam at the hotel.  We got an awesome room that had an attached mini-room with a tv and two sets of bunk beds.  The kids were happy, and so were the parents.  

The next morning, by some miracle, Brian woke up early and saw that the highway was open again, earlier than they had expected it to.  So we jumped back in the car and took off.  

We still dealt with high winds, but they weren't bad enough to make us stop.  

Brian stuck me in the back of the car, and I calmed down a lot.  After a few hours, the winds got so bad again that they had to shut down the highway, again, but only for the area we had already passed through.  Woo hoo!  I told you it was a miracle Brian woke up when he did.  Any later and we wouldn't have been able to get out, or we would have been stuck on the side of the road somewhere waiting for the roads to open again.  

So on the fourth day we made it to Billings and got to sleep in our new house.  We (I) was THRILLED to get out of that car.  After the trip was all said and done, I had lost 5 pounds from stressing myself out.  I told you, I was literally sick from the stress.  

The kids started school two days after we got here. They really jumped right in and are doing a great job of adjusting.  

We sold the trailer a week after we got here!  We were able to move for pretty much just the cost of our hotels and food.  Much better than paying $3,000, like we have done for past moves.  

Snow Day

We got a LOT of snow today.  Church was even cancelled.  

So we played.  And ate snacks, and drank hot chocolate, and watched movies.  

It was fun, but I'm ready for the kids to go back to school.  

Naturally, school has already been cancelled for tomorrow.  

So, my kids get to drive me nuts for another day, at least they are cute.  

They built a snow fort, with the help of their dad.  It was easily 5 or 6 feet tall.

And it had tunnels through it. 

I love Brylee's face here.  

He's happy!  Don't mind the hot chocolate around his mouth.  

Planes and Bunnies

Cody has quite the imagination.

Today he bought a little light up bunny key chain out of a vending machine.
Since everything must, apparently, have a name, he decided on the name 'Boobie.'  Lucky, he changed his mind and switched the name to 'Buddy.'  Good call Cody.


One of Cody's favorite pastimes is making paper airplanes.  And he is very good at it.  He knows so many different styles, and is constantly on the look out for new designs.

Last week he made a paper airplane that, you guessed it, needed a name.

 He came up with 'F-bomber.'

Umm...

Luckily Brian was around to suggest that a different name might be better.

I don't want to hurt you.

Seeing your children in pain is one of the most difficult things parents have to go through. Instantly you forget about the little things they do to drive you nuts and your heart just breaks for them. 

Brylee had RSV, and viral bronchiolitis when she was 12 days old. Since then she has struggled with her immune system. Any little cold that comes along, she gets it. She has made lots of progress through the years, but her system doesn't even seem to be as strong as her little brother's. 

Brylee has had a cough and cold for a month or so now. Her nose is constantly running. We have to tell her all the time that she can't do certain things or be around other kids because she might get them sick.  A few days ago, after one of these conversations she broke down. She started crying and asking when her nose would stop running. She wanted to know how long she was going to be sick like this. Man, talk about pulling at my heart strings. I felt so bad for her. 

A couple nights ago Brylee had an ear ache. Of course. Luckily we know some tricks and had her pain-free by morning. Well, tonight the ear ache came back, but in the other ear. She woke up crying and in so much pain. We are on vacation and don't have our normal medicine we use to get rid of the ache. We gave her Motrin, but that's not going to fix anything. As I lay in bed with her, trying to calm her, she asked me when these ear aches are going to stop. 

I wish I had an answer.  I know tomorrow will be better, after I can get to the store and get the right medicine. But that doesn't really provide any comfort to a 5 year old right now. 

I told her to squeeze my finger as hard as her ear was hurting. She refused and said she didn't want to hurt me. 

Breaks my heart all over again. What a tough, and loving girl. She knows how much pain she is in and there is no way she wants to inflict that on others. 

I don't always take the time to appreciate how sweet this little girl is. I tend to get caught up on how sassy, and independent she is. But she really is a sweet heart. She just wants people to love her. 

I thought about all this as I cuddled her and tried to soothe her pains tonight. 

I'm such a lucky mom to have such a great little girl. 

I'm so grateful she was finally able to fall back to sleep.  I pray she can sleep well and feel better in the morning.  I pray her little body will continue to get stronger and better at fighting off these darn cold bugs. 

I hope I can be better about enjoying each day with her. 

I love you Brylee!  

Hobo

At school each week Dallin has the assignment of writing a letter to a member of the family.  This week he wrote to me.  In honor of Thanksgiving he took on a thankful theme for the letter.  It read as follows:

Dear Mom,
      I am thankful for are family Because if I did not have a family I wud not be here I am thankful for are family.  I am thankful for are home Because we if we did not we wud be a hoBo and I am not a hobo.

                                                                                         Love,
                                                                                               Dallin


I also am thankful for my family, and our home.  And spell check.  Poor kid.
Dallin seems to be 'coming into his own.'  He is starting to take interest in more things, not just the little kid stuff anymore.  He is really excelling in math, and actually enjoys practicing his times tables.  With Brian in school we haven't been able to do many sports or extracurricular activities, but Dallin is really excited to give football another try next year and maybe even branch out to something new.
He can be an AMAZING helper around the house, when he wants to be.  He is a good, hard worker, and is pretty dependable.  He is setting a great example for his younger siblings.
So, in short, I am thankful for my not-so-little-anymore, Dallin.  We can't believe he will be turning 9 in a few short months!  Where did the time go?

Here's to you Dallin!  Love ya, buddy!

I wasn't planning a whole tribute with pictures devoted to this big guy, I just got a little carried away.  

Oh well, he's worth it!  

Peanut Butter Dance and other Tater Tot Shenanigans...

Tate is always cracking us up.  

Since the older kids are at school all day, I'm able to catch more of his personality with the camera.  

Here's a bit of what I see.  

On our way to take the big kids to school.  

He had to have his ladybug wings.

Puppy slippers and boogers.

Eat at Andy's!

 He had to have this as his pet.  

Was not happy until I gave him a tupperware to keep it in.  

This is his Peanut Butter Dance.  

 The dance moves are:

Squint one eye shut.

Stick your tongue out and to the side.

Squat and bounce.

Optional- hold a jar of peanut butter down and in front of you.

Go crazy.

Here he is doing the dance in his car seat...

 We don't buy soda very often.  

I found him sneaking this in the kitchen.  

Made me laugh.

Here is the famous Peanut Butter Dance.

We sang Happy Birthday to Kinley tonight.  

And then Tate sang to Grandma Bushman as well.

This kid sure keeps us laughing.  

He is such a sweet heart.  

I feel so lucky to have him.  

M&Ms

When Brylee left for school today she left a mini bag of m&ms out in the living room.
It wasn't long before Tate found them.  I reminded him that they weren't his, and he should leave them alone.  He assured me he was "just looking at them."
About a minute later I caught him with an open bag of m&ms, eating them.
"Tate!  I asked you not to eat Brylee's m&ms."
"WHAT!  She's sharing!"




What a nice sister...