Wildlife Safari

Now that I'm home with the kids full-time, I actually WANT to take them places. We, meaning I, was suffering from cabin fever. I knew that I'd be on my own since Denver is so busy with school and work so I didn't want to do anything too adventurous and there's a great place here in Oregon called Wildlife Safari. Basically, it's a zoo that you drive through in your own vehicle. Ding, ding, we have a winner! I gathered some snacks, grabbed the kids and we set off for an adventure and adventure we got! Here's the first wild animals we saw-and look, there's Chase and a hippo too! Following the hippo we saw some zebra and a giraffe, I only got pictures of their hind ends so I thought I'd spare you that view...

...and show you a picture of some African animal that I don't know the name of. But Mia and Chase are pretty cute.

We sat around and debated about who had more hair-the buffalo or Daddy. Since Daddy wasn't there to compare, we let the buffalo win by forfeit.

Mia loved the bears. I think she would've climbed out the window if I'd've let her. Chase, on the other hand, was too afraid to even open his eyes.

And here's the elk that Daddy's always wanted to get...Some day Babe, some day.

After the elk, we came to the elephants. We lucked out and got there at lunch time, so Karli ate her lunch at the same time as the elephant. (I didn't take a picture of Karli eating, cuz well, you figure it out.)

I let Chase get out of the car for a minute and let Corbin sit in the front. Can you believe what hormones can do to a kid? Not only is hair sprouting all over his body, but he's even growing what looks like horns!

Those camels were HUGE!

This emu, I believe it was an emu anyway, kept running across the road so we couldn't get past. It was pretty fun and we were laughing. We also saw lions, cheetahs, and a plethora of other animals that I didn't get pictures of. I did, however, get a few of the petting zoo...

As I was trying to get this picture, one of the goats kept stickinig its head out and trying to eat Karli's blanket. Corbin freaked out and kept trying to save Karli, "No don't eat Karri!!".What a sweet big brother he is.

Mia is fearless when it comes to animals. Well, and a lot of other things too. She was all over the goats, and I wish I'd have gotten a picture of her sticking her head in the hole made for the pony to stick it's head out, but she was too fast and I was laughing too hard.

Corbin is not fearless, but after a little coaxing we got him to feed the goats and even enjoy it. After feeding the goats we stopped to look at some really strange little lambs...They looked a little deformed, but in a good way.

And finally...

This is the only picture I got of all the kids together. We did try to spend some time on the playground they had, but there were way too many other, bigger, rowdier kids. Still, it was one of my favorite days ever and the only thing I would have changed is the speeding ticket I got on the way there! Oh, and I suppose it would have been nice if Denver were there also...

Staying home = Cookies

Nothing says stay-at-home mom like freshly baked cookies. Okay, so there is a whole lot more to it than that, but through all the past years when I was only daydreaming of staying home with my kids, sugar cookies were always involved. Since Karli's birth, I've been too tired, busy, or overwhelmed to get to it, until today. I made the dough the day before and even made some for Denver for work. (Totally did them with an I-heart shape-U, bonus wife points!) Now, to be honest, I wasn't going to let the kids help. I knew the mess it would make. Chase, however, did not and convinced me to let the kids roll out the dough and make their own shapes by saying he would clean up. Ahhh, ignorance is bliss.

And here they are. Did I say ignorance was bliss? Cuz, let me just say that watching my kids have this much fun and knowing that I don't have to clean it up is pretty darn blissful.

I think this is the real reason Chase wanted to do the cookies-he knew he'd get access to plenty of delicious cookie dough.

Corbin was content to supervise and tell Chase how to do the cookies. He doesn't like to get his hands dirty...

...but Mia sure does! And not just her hands, but her face, her shirt, the chairs, the entire surface of the table...


She was being silly and making faces, I was just trying to get a picture that showed just how much flour she'd managed to get all over her face!

I also wanted to show that she really was having a great time. Any time she gets to be as messy as possible is a good time.

Corbin was feeling a little left out with all the close-ups Mia was getting...I think that says enough.

See ya later! We're going to go eat cookies and be wild and crazy while Chase cleans up the mess! Happy Day!

Blessing Karli

I cried. Not on her actual blessing day, but the Sunday before. That's when I realized that we'd need to bless Karli the following Sunday. After the initial panic wore off-how was I going to get everything ready in a week?!-I realized that we wouldn't have any family present. Everyone's in Utah. Except us. So I cried through most of Sacrament Meeting and off and on throughout the week. And then the day was here. Sunday, March 25, 2012, Karli was blessed by her daddy while her oldest brother, Chase, held the microphone. Maybe she wasn't surrounded by family, but she was blessed by men that love her and that her family loves. And I didn't cry. I was far too grateful for the friends we have here and how willing they are to be there for us. It was a very tender blessing and the little beasties, Corbin and Mia, were well-behaved enough that I was able to hear the entire thing.

After church, we had a little luncheon with a only a few minor mishaps. Okay, so a broken leg isn't exactly minor, but our friend Bonnie handled it so well that she made it seem so. It was a wonderful day. Thank you everyone. And to those who weren't here in person, I know you were in spirit and we missed you too.

I forgot to mention that this was the dress that I was blessed in. I have to thank my mom for finding it and then using her great detective skills to figure out it was mine. I think Karli looks great in it.

She's here

Where have I been? That’s a good question. Physically, I suppose that I’ve been here in Oregon. But I’ve also been broken. I had a rough summer. It began when we learned that Denver’s funding for school was being cut. Less than a week later we also learned that we’d be adding another little one to our family. I was a little worried, but I figured we’d work it out somehow. The following months were unpleasant, and that’s putting it mildly. I was sick-worse than any of the others. And then I learned of some terrible things that shook me so hard I will spend the rest of my life recovering. And so, although I’ve been emotionally checked out, I’m back now and determined to catch up on my posting and everything else. That being said, how about a few pics of our newest addition, Karli Ruth Dalton. Born Feb. 9, 2009. Weighed in at 8 lbs, 14 oz with a length of 21 inches. We are in love!

Sweet little thing-okay so this first pic is pretty yech, but if you'll keep going you'll see what I'm talking about.

That's better-now she's cute!

And she even smiles now! That's what happens when you wait til she's six weeks before you post pictures!
Love this one of her and her daddy! He won't admit that he's totally in love with her. He'll stop denying it eventually.