McBride Family Fun

Easter McBride Style...

2011-05-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love little boys in ties??

My girlies in their easter outfits. We had fun making the headbands.

Loving this guy...

This one wins best easter pic of 2011. Yummy!

Look who is 1!!

2011-05-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Our little baby Port is now 1. This last year with Porter has been such a joy. He had a fun birthday with a bunch of celebration that he really didn't care much about :). We love this little guy to pieces. He gets cuter everyday and melts all of our hearts. Happy birthday baby!

We had a celebration with my family for Port and Chandlers birthday's...CUTE cake made by Jodi. Unfortunately it had an accident on the drive over, but you can still tell what a great job she did.

Port had an ear infection on his birthday. This was the happiest shot we got of the kid!

11 months

2011-03-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

Our little guy is growing so quickly. Here are a few recent shots:

First time in the swing at the park. He liked it, but then when Anna pushed him way too high he LOVED it!

I like this picture because it showcases his fat feet. Yum!

His absolute favorite toy is this walker.

Guess who discovered the cereal cupboard?

So very proud of his work.

Bubba no more...

2011-03-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

Linc has been our slowest child at speaking and still struggles with it. He started speech therapy in October and it has been awesome to see his improvements. This month, the speech therapist enrolled him in a developmental preschool class. He LOVES it! I was sad to see my little buddy go, and of course a few tears were shed over his big boy status. His favorite part of the day is snack time, and he doesn't ever remember what he learns or what his friends names are either. But...maybe with time he will realize that his name is actually Lincoln, not Bubba!

Snowy Presidents Day

2011-03-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

We were lucky to be able to go up north to my parents cabin for Presidents Day this year. And it snowed. The whole time!

Linc in his big jacket. He loves the fringed hood.

Port wasn't so sure about the snow, but he put up with his mom making him sit in it for a photo.

The girls were actually old enough to sled on their own and they had a great time.

Valentine's Day

2011-03-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Valentines Day this year. I was able to go to both of the girls class parties. It was so much fun to watch them celebrate with their friends.

The kids are always lucky to get spoiled by our extended family. They received TWO packages in the mail...they were so very excited about that. Here is a picture of Anna eating a giant sucker that their Aunt Marlena sent them. They also got goodies from Grandma McBride and Grandma Smith.

Anna SUPER excited at her class party.

Linc was able to decorate a cookie at Hallie's party (which avoided an inevitable meltdown). He was so happy to be a big kid!

Hallie with her valentine mailbox.

I realized that I never got a picture with MY valentine on lovers day. Whats that about?? I love you honey...maybe next year :)

The many faces of Lincoln...

2011-01-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

Linc likes to make "silly faces" (well, it comes out "dilly daces" in Lincoln-ese). Every time I snap a picture of this boy he poses. I often don't remember to specifically tell him to "be normal", so he will be silly. Most of our recent family pictures have him posing crazy while the rest of us are smiling, completely oblivious to his antics. Here are a few funny ones that I recently downloaded. Notice that he loves to give thumbs-up to the camera.

I claim no part in this getup he is wearing.

I saved the best for last!

2011-01-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

The last few months have been a blur of fun, holiday time together. I am finally getting back to my normal life (still crazy, but a more manageable crazy!). Here are some pics to catch you up on what we have been doing.

My beautiful baby is crawling everywhere, can pull up to furniture and cruise along it! He laughs like crazy at his big brother and sisters and enjoys waking us up in the middle of the night. We are all suckers for this guy!

My beautiful Freckles shaking up a bag of Muddy Buddies. She has become quite the helper at home. She is always willing to help with cooking, chores, or helping with Port. YAY for oldest daughters!

Here are the kids in their matching Christmas PJ's. I actually made the pants...yes all 4 pairs! Anna and Linc are sad because they both wanted to hold Port. As you can see by Hallie's huge smile, she got to hold the little guy this time around.

My beautiful Blondie turned 6. Here she is ready for her Princess party. She had a great birthday and really enjoyed all of the attention.

This is Linc on his first day of Primary. I actually got to be there to see how he did (I was substituting for another class). He was extremely well behaved and happy. We are so proud of him and tell him everyday to stop growing up!!

7 months

2010-11-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

Couldn't resist posting this one!

YAY!!

2010-11-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

After a bachelors degree, a masters degree, 2 years of supervised clinical work, and a few long state board exams (that he passed!!) Randy finally received his independent license (he is a social worker). He just recently started his own therapy practice and I couldn't be more proud of him. He is definetly my therapist of choice :).

Opening the envelope...

A very expensive piece of paper that took over 8 years to get!

New Family Pictures

2010-11-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, another year has gone by. In our last family pictures, I was pregnant with Port. I was sick, a little bit fluffier than usual, and really didn't like my outfit. This time around I felt great, am a little closer to my normal size, and had an outfit that was put together by my 2 much more stylish sisters. The pictures were taken by Misty's husband, Tyler. He is having a lot of fun with their new camera and did a fantastic job. And yes, I did promise the kids candy and the hubby football if they behaved. They did.

Anna really didn't smile in any of the pictures. I still love all of her pics though. They are sassy, and so is she.

My 4 babies. I love these little people.

More little people. Notice Port kind of sitting up?

My favorite people ever.

This baby gets cuter everyday. Really. He is also our only kid with blue eyes. I never knew how much I would be captivated by blue eyes. 100% captivated I am.

I love this man. Forever.

This might be my favorite picture of the whole shoot. The girls were not posed at all for this picture. They are just girly enough to pose themselves...vogue!

Best friends and sisters...except when they fight over clothes!

The girls and I.

I love that Linc smiles so big. Cheese!

Hallie looks like a beautiful, blonde doll in this picture.

Well we did it. Can't wait until next year. What kind of pictures will 2011 bring?

Keeping Busy

2010-10-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since my last post. Here are a few fun pictures!

Our darling Anna turned 7! Here she is in her new birthday outfit.

Our beautiful Hallie started Kindergarten! She was quite ready to start and is loving it. She has a hard time choosing who to play with everyday at recess!

Here are the girls on the first day of school.

Its a rare moment when all 4 are clean and presentable!

Port went from this:

And this:

To this:

He has had a grand total of 3 haircuts since he was born! After trying twice with scissors and never being quite happy with the results, we finally pulled out the clippers. He is a sport that Port! :)

Linc was able to visit a Fire Station with some friends from church.

When asked wether he wants to be a fireman when he grows up he promptly said "No, because its dangerous". Thats my boy!

He continues to pose for pictures with glee and gusto

Boys and Daddy!

Baby, Baby...

2010-08-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

Baby #4 has been an adjustment to say the least. Amidst all the chaos that has overtaken the McBride house, we are sure enjoying our little Porter. We love his sweet little face, his blue eyes, his fluffy hair, his soft chubby cheeks...I could go on! It is amazing how much I love all of my children, but I just LOVE our babies. They are so full of goodness and make everyone around them so happy (unless they are screaming, but that my friends is for another post!). Here are a few of my recent favorite pictures of our little guy...don't you just want to squeeze him??

He is growing up so fast.

The fun & games end when a sibling wants to hold Porter...poor guy gets it all day from his 3 siblings! I totally love that Linc is oblivious to Porters obvious discomfort. CHEESE!!

Utah 2010

2010-08-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to take a trip to Utah (Randy had a work conference...the kids and I went along to beat the heat!). It was a ton of fun to see my Grandparents in St.George and we had a blast in Salt Lake City. Here are some pics:

We were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Smith. They got to meet Porter and put up with our crazy bunch for a few days. Here we are before going to their ward.

While in St. George we visited the temple. Here are our beauties squinting in the sun.

We had to snap a pic of Blondie holding Port...don't you love how Carter's color coordinates their clothing lines??

From St. George we headed up to Provo. Our first stop: The Creamery on 9th for some good ice cream!

Hanging out at the BYU Bookstore (SO glad we didn't have to buy any over-priced textbooks!). We also were able to go see Randy's mission president & his family. We love the Kelly's!

Once in Salt Lake Randy was busy with his work conference so I was on my own during the day. We visited the This is the Place monument & Heritage Park. It was awesome to see so many pioneer homes. Here they are doing a pioneer children's chore (beating the rugs). Notice Linc crying that he doesn't have a stick.

We went the the Salt Lake Childrens Museum. The kids had a blast! I had fun following them around and watching their faces light up seeing all of the amazing exhibits. Here they are working in the "deli".

Port was my main squeeze while Randy was so busy. He was great company!

We saw the new "I am a Child of God" exhibit at the church history museum. It was awesome. Here are the kids with their "babies"

We did get to have some fun with Mr.Wonderful in the evenings. This is us on temple square (check out Linc!).

We had a great time...thanks Utah for some fun family memories.

Sisterly Love

2010-06-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

The other night Anna came running in to tell me some serious news. Hallie had called her a "twert".

Anna was deeply offended by this.

I hope "twert" is all they are calling each other when they are teenagers...

Wrapping up May...

2010-06-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our little buddy Linc turned 3 yesterday. It is amazing how much we love him and his personality. He got a big boy bike for his birthday, and of course the "bad guys" and "guns" that he has been begging for!

Anna lost her first tooth a week ago. She enjoyed losing it (and the subsequent tooth fairy visit) SO much that she is now convinced that every tooth is loose and is constantly asking us to wiggle them!

Hallie learned to ride her bike without training wheels. She is also our biggest helper with Port...she can smell a poopy diaper from across the room! She loves to hold him and help with him. She informed me that she wants to be a "nurse for babies" when she grows up...instead of a Princess.

Port is now 7 weeks old. His 2 heart murmurs are believed to have closed up (yay!). He is gaining weight and eating well. We enjoy his smiles and coo's...and are hoping that someday soon he will sleep better at night and scream less during the day :).

And, to celebrate Memorial Day, the kiddos dressed up!

Blessing...

2010-05-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Our newest blessing on his blessing day

Our 4 biggest blessings...looking very presentable (if I do say so myself!).

My new squeeze

2010-05-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sleeping...

sleeping...

sleeping...

screaming...

I love this little guy!

Introducing...

2010-04-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

Porter Scott McBride

Our new addition was born on Monday night. He was a whopping 8lb 6oz. and was 22 1/4" long. He has already been such a joy to our family. We will post more pics when life settles a bit.

Whats been cooking...

2010-03-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, Anna was diagnosed with Celiac Disease on February 1st after months of stomach issues and skin problems. For those of you who are unfamiliar with CD, it is an auto-immune disease where her body can not tolerate gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley). Instead of processing it, the body turns on itself and destroys the villi in her intestines. So, to be healthy and to keep her intestines running smoothly and absorbing nutrients, she must never eat wheat again (breads, cereals, pastas, and most processed food contain gluten). This has obviously been a big change in her life and in our home. Since going on the diet, Anna has had all of her horrible symptoms go away, and has had an increase in energy. She is quite happy on her gluten free diet (thank goodness!). We are so grateful to have answers finally!

Getting closer to meeting our new little one. Here I am at 32 weeks.

This is me, obviously bigger, at 34 weeks.

Christmas McBride Style

2009-12-31T11:08:00.000-08:00

New Christmas outfits (at least for the little ones!).

Making sugar cookies with Grandma Smith.

Blurry pictures taken by children.

Lots of blurry pictures taken by children.

A trip to the Gammage to see the Forgotten Carols.

Time with Grandma and Grandpa McBride.

Candy and sleepy faces.

Presents. Oh the presents.

Tricks by Linc.

Remembering why.

Our Christmas was wonderful. Thank you to all of our family and friends who helped make it great!

It's meant to be...

2009-12-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

Boxes are meant to be sat in.

Crazy rain outfits are meant to be thought up.

Bowls are meant to be licked.

My life is meant to be with his.

Hanging in there!

2009-12-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

So, I figured that since it has been about 6 months since my last post that it was time to post again. Some news that most everyone knows except my out of town friends is that we are expecting baby #4 in April. It is a BOY and we are super excited to have another little guy in our family. I am finally not throwing up and life is wonderful again.

My extended family had pictures taken a few weeks ago, so we have a few new pics to show everyone. After lots of craziness getting clothes that I like for everyone, doing everyone's hair nice, and trying to keep the kids clean I think it all turned out well. I couldn't have done it without the help of Randy (who is always my biggest ally!) and Autumn, hairdresser extraordinaire.

Anna is now 6 and loves full-day Kindergarten....ok, she would rather be home singing and swinging all day, but is now reading and continues to make us so proud!!

Hallie is almost 5 and gets cuter every day. She is also picking up a bit on reading and loves playing with her friends (especially her new best friend Fletcher).

Linc is our sweet little boy. He is 2 1/2 and is finally starting to talk. He loves basketballs and tattling on his sisters and anyone else who crosses his path. I don't want him to grow up and smother him every chance I get.

Here is my honey. Enough said.

Our family picture...3 out of 5 of us smiling is good enough for me!

My Mom, Dad, sisters, brothers, in-law siblings, and nephews...yep, still waiting on a niece! Thank goodness I have a few on Randy's side of the family!

My baby girls

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! We love you all!

Bye Bye Boys!

2009-05-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our ward's Father & Sons. Randy has been looking forward to this weekend our whole marriage, but every year he has never had anyone to take! When my girls were a reasonable age, we discussed sending them in hats but chickened out. Finally we had Little Buddy! Since Linc is almost 2, we decided that this year would be the magical year. So the two of them packed (it is unbelievable to me how few things 2 guys need for a campout!). I told Randy what I always knew I would say on their first sojourn away from me together "Please don't lose him".

I had a GREAT time with my girls. I told them that they had 2 options for our evening. Here were their choices:

a.) Go see the Hannah Montana movie at the theater (we NEVER go to movies, unless you count Redbox!)
b.) Go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner, and then get a girly movie to watch at home.

These girls are more like me than I thought, because they both chose SweetTomatoes! I was elated...I love that place. We had a lovely time, and were lucky to have my Mom come along for the ride since her boys were on their campout too. We came home and watched a fantastic princess movie, stayed up late, ate popcorn and even broke out some Root Beer. Our girl bonding time was priceless...I just enjoy them so much!

Mr.Wonderful returned home (Linc made it too!)...their first campout was as memorable as our first girls night. We look forward to next year!

My Loves....

2009-04-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

I am back by popular demand! Ok, really the only one who misses my posts is my Grandma. Yes, you read that right, my grandma reads my blog. And if you think THATS cool, my grandpa has posted on the family blog. How did I ever get so lucky with those two in my life? So grandma (and gramps) this ones for you!

I have a lot to love in my life right now, let the love begin!

1. My new nephew Taft Jeffrie Garrett. He came barreling into this world (sorry Misty, couldn't help myself) at a quaint 7 lb 14 oz. He is beautiful and healthy. I wanted to take him home in my purse he is so cute!

2. Easter Dresses. Need I say more?

3. Taking pictures of my lovely family. There is nothing like cleaning off the smudgy faces (and hands, and feet...) and coercing the mottley crew into smiling for the camera. It is an addiction...Hello, my name is Amber. Aren't they cute?

4. My mom, my mother-in-law, and my 7 wonderful sisters. I don't know how I got so lucky to have such strong, beautiful women in my life. By blood or marriage, you all inspire me to be better. I bow to all of you! (forgive me for missing all of my McBride sisters...it seems we never take pictures all together!?!?!)

5. My hubby, Mr. Wonderful...who makes me smile and is quick with puns.

2009-03-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

Anna decided that she wanted to organize her jewelry box this afternoon. Such a fun task for a 5 year old! So we lugged it off her shelf, and she spent a good 15 minutes separating all of her baubles. Bracelets in one pile, necklaces in the next, rock collection in the third pile (didn't see that one coming, did ya?). My important task was to untangle all of the things that were stuck together. When it was all done she invited me to come see.

With her jewelry box

Her necklace drawer

My favorite part...her treasures. A Dora watch, a Hannah Montana lip gloss, a dollar bill, and a Jesus pass-along card. I love this girl!

Lots of Love

2009-02-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

(Please be advised: This post has a lot of pictures of Linc in it. We will call it my Lincoln Log!)

Whew, the last few days have done me in, I need a nap! On Friday Linc had an ear infection...so we snuggled all day (ok....I held him and he cried).

Never too big for a Pacifier, his Mama, and his baby sling!

On Saturday was Valentines Day. Valentines Day at the McBride-house-O-fun is really never THAT big of a deal. It seems like we are always on a bit of a budget, so fancy dinners out and diamonds in velvet boxes are never in the cards : ). Mr. Wonderful and I will typically do something small and sweet for each other (there was one year that we BOTH secretly set our alarms early to wake up and make the other one breakfast!). This year I wanted to include the kids in a little more on the V-Day fun. We had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast (the girls LOVED this). Randy always buys the kids valentines and this year sent them on a treasure hunt around the house to find them. We got together with some friends for a V-Day lunch. And to top it all off, we had heart shaped pizza for dinner outside on the patio. I even bought champagne glasses for the event (which were clinked and clanked in a continual "cheers" fashion throughout our fancy dinner). It was wonderful to share the day with the people I love best.

The kids with their "treasure"

The two of us...and Blondie!

Yummy!

Yesterday we were invited to go to the zoo with some friends and had such a great time. It was the first time that Linc has gone and actually been aware of the animals. He loved them!!

My children who insist on going down slides together

Linc very happy with his snack...would rather eat said snack than see little monkeys

At the petting zoo...Linc very confused by the goats.

Lets squat and point at the goats (that'll teach 'em!)

Oh here's another one, lets contemplate that one now.

Who is going to win this staring contest?

Squatting and pointing, but definetly not touching!

The zoo was terrific. The best part? That not a single kid of mine cried inside the petting zoo. Now I call that success!

Tonight...

2009-01-23T13:04:00.001-08:00

Tonight my parents are keeping the kids overnight so that Randy and I can celebrate our 7th year Anniversary. Thats right folks...not only have we been married for 7 years, but we will be free from all of our baby baggage from 3:45 Friday afternoon until about 9:30 Saturday morning. Thats over 17 hours! We plan on going out to dinner AND going to a movie (we never, ever get to do both...there is only enough time on our dates to do one or the other, but tonight we will indulge!). We also have grand plans of sleeping in...although I can garauntee you that we will wake up at 6am because that is when Little Buddy always makes his morning shout-out. I am so excited to be out with Mr. Wonderful, he who grows more wonderful to me with each passing year. Here is what I will NOT have to do tonight: Pack a diaper bag, wipe anyones nose, make multiple tripts to the Princesses chamber to give drinks, kisses, books, warnings, stern-talking-to's, etc., or chase Linc with a diaper as he runs away from me naked (that kid is wicked fast). All I have to worry about tonight is having fun with my favorite guy. Now that I can handle!!

Pictures in my camera...

2008-12-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

So my mother tells me that her favorite thing about blogs is the pictures, and since my mom truly does always know best, here is a post for her! Keep in mind, I have not downloaded pictures from my camera since Halloween!

Our Halloween was a fun spectacle of non-stop candy, various parties, and lots of fun. Here is a pic of me and the kids right before the candy begging began:

Linc was a soccer player (I believe that he just scored a goal in this picture, thatta boy!)

Anna was the lovely Giselle from Enchanted

Our sweet little Blondie was a Purple Princess (a tad generic, but purple is a lovely color right??

Moving on to Thanksgiving now, we drove out to Gold Canyon to spend thanksgiving with Randy's family. It was a great day of yummy food, lots of family, and a few wild games of Spoons. The kids were busy all day playing...we had a great time.

Randy and Linc with Mom & Dad McBride

Grandmother reading to the kiddos...this is the only time they sat still all day!

That evening after the Thanksgiving fiesta was over, we drove to my parents cabin in Pine. The kids (ok, mainly my "little" brother Dennis) were insistent on finding snow. Much to my surprise, we actually found a lot of snow and managed to take pictures and do a bit of playing.

Hallie had a great time building this lovely snowman...

Hallie had an even better time pushing the snowman over...poor snow guy

My brother Dennis had the best time trying to throw the snowdudes body on Hallie...

A poem for my honey-I love to hug you in the snow, in the rain, or on a train...

A poem for my baby sister............. Just kidding, I only write one poem per day. However, it would be fun to be a cute 16 year old again, for maybe just a day.

And lastly, a pic of my cute, chubby, baby with sweet little cheeks that I love to smooch...

This is Linc tuckered out after playing in the snow. I use the word playing very loosely, it appears that our little guy doesn't like to be cold...so he was passed from warm adult to warm adult the whole time. Its a rough life. Oh...and Linc's New Years Resolution is to get rid of his Paci...pray for us people!!!

Gratitude....

2008-11-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for 3 little faces to kiss each morning. I am thankful for chubby little toddler hands, for the opportunity to teach those hands how to hold a spoon, a crayon, play pat-a-cake. I am grateful for the sounds of my babies playing, and singing, and laughing. I am grateful to be home all day to cook, and clean, and kiss, and hug. I am grateful for dirty hands, feet and faces that have enjoyed the beautiful earth we have been given. I am grateful for bath water splashed everywhere in the bathroom, and the sudsy smiles that greet me. I am thankful for the memories I make everyday with these little souls who will only be little for an instant.

Family Pictures Fiasco

2008-11-24T11:41:00.000-08:00

I love pictures of my family. Everyone scrubbed clean in new clothes, hair just perfect, pretty little smiles. I love fun pictures all over the house that remind us what a cute happy family we are. However, I don't always love the road that it takes to GET family pictures. Figuring out what everyone will wear, going to a million stores to find just the right outfits, doing the girls hair in a pretty soft hairdo and then stressing about them not ruining that pretty soft hair before the photographer even takes the first picture. In my life there is always a baby in the picture...which means an inevitable runny nose and lots of effort to get said baby to look reasonably happy and to stay in one place without crawling off (or walking off, or running off). There is always a grumpy toddler (and sometimes a grumpy husband!). There is always bribes of candy, fun, McDonalds, Saturday afternoon football (for Mr.Wonderful of course)...whatever it takes to get the joys of my life looking joyful at the same time. There is a litany of NO's on the drive over....no fits, no fights, no crying, no fussing, no whining. So I finally got all of my ducks in a row. The outfits, the hair, a fun new photographer. My bribes were in place, and my happy little campers came through in the end. The girls were great (ok, one pouty face picture from little Miss.Drama hardly counts right?). Mr.Wonderful came through wonderfully. Linc was our little bump in the road but we managed to get a few shots of him smiling whilst running away from the camera (what else would make a little boy so happy?). A big thanks to our awesome photographer Steve Watson who I highly recommend...a man with 4 children of his own and plenty of patience to deal with my crew. Also a huge thanks to my darling husband who puts up with my high-strung personality and perfectionism at picture time every year...he was a gem (and he even got to watch his Saturday afternoon football!). Enjoy the pics...there are more at stevewatson.smugmug.com.

Cute little stinker

Blondie being sweet

My favorite family pic...love the corn!!

The Princesses

Very Vintage

Isn't he handsome??

How did I get so lucky with those 3?

Anna is great at posing for the camera...

And last but not least...Miss.Drama decides to pout! But not to worry, with a promise of candy she snapped right out of it on the next shot (I am a shameless briber on picture day).

Today...

2008-10-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

What I DID do:

1. Excerised with a girlfriend
2. Took the gang to the park, and even gave a few pushes on the swings!
3. Did 3 loads of laundry (washed, dried, folded, put away!)
4. Gave Mr. Wonderful a big hug and kiss before work!
5. Put Blondie in time-out once and Linc down for a nap twice
6. Fed all the munchkins and even got lunch myself!

What I WILL do:

1. Make a million spiral curls in the girls hair for their big Halloween night debut
2. Let them pick whichever lipstick their little hearts desire for the big night
3. Take a bunch of pictures of the princesses and little buddy
4. Take the gang trick-or-treating until exhaustion sets in
5. Haul them home, baths, kisses, prayers, bed
5. Read my scriptures, say my prayers and then...
6. Snuggle with Mr. Wonderful on the couch!

Sticky, sticky...

2008-10-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight for FHE we went to our friends and had some fun. We had hot dogs (oh yes, what better dinner for a crowd?). Then the Dad's carved the pumpkins (the vegetables, not the kids). The kids were running around with slimy hands. I am so glad that I have Mr.Wonderful to do the pumpkin carving...I don't have the slightest inclination to get in on that! Then we made Caramel Apples and let the kids decorate them with sprinkles, m&ms, chocolate chips, etc... The kids were SO STICKY by the end of the evening...I had to really let go of my desire to take them outside and hose them off. They had such a good time!

I forgot my camera, so here is a random pic of them before church a few weeks back!!

CouponSense success...

2008-10-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

So recently I took the plunge and joined couponsense (my sister-in-law has been doing it for a while and I was getting envious of all of her good deals!). For those of you who aren't familiar with it, CouponSense is a service that tells you how to use your coupons. They do all the research for you and have a great website, so that when you go shopping you end up buying things for much cheaper than you would normally pay. They also help you get multiple Sunday papers (I get 3) so that when there IS a good deal, you get a lot of it! I have been doing it for 3 weeks now and have had fun shopping, stocking up, and getting things for FREE (or nearly free). Here is what I did today!

What I got:
4 boxes of cereal- FREE
5 small chocolate milks- FREE
4 packs frozen veggies- FREE
2 packs TP- FREE
3 cartons Blue Bunny ice cream- 85 cents each
3 childrens cold/allergy medicine- FREE (actually, I made $4!!)

Call me crazy, but it is fun to save money!

Apparently we aren't the crazy ones....

2008-10-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Not at the fair anyways! We went to $1 day at the fair last night. It took a lot of planning to leave as soon as Randy finished work, to bring all of our baby/kid gear and to feed everyone BEFORE going in. I have a love/hate relationship with the fair. Let me share it with you.

Reasons NOT to go to the fair:
1. Every freaky person in Arizona is there in full freakiness
2. Parking is either expensive, or far away, or expensive and far away.
3. Trying to keep 3 little kids together at one time is next to impossible, avoid this at all times
4. Fair workers are oddballs
5. Too many people in too small of spaces
6. Everything is overpriced...before you realize it all of your grocery money is spent on 2 fry-breads and a funnel cake!

Reasons TO GO to the fair:
1. The smile on my kids faces when they go on a ride
2. The smile on my kids faces when they see the stinky cows/bunnies/hamsters/chicks/horses/goats
3. The smile on my kids faces when it is dark outside and all of the "cool" lights are lit up
4. The way my kids talked about it all day today, and will be talking about it for months to come.

The joys of being a mother!!!

Busy, Fun, Crazy!!

2008-10-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

We have just been crazy busy with all sorts of good things. Conference weekend was great, we enjoyed all of the talks. Our kids had fun bumming around the house. A family in our ward gave us a bag of dress up clothes for the girls, so that was very exciting! Even Linc got in on the action...

Barbie's 12 dancing princess's...being a little shy

Giselle from Enchanted...lovely

Purple Princess-boy

Cinderella's wedding gown...strutting his stuff!

We were suprised that he had such a great time dressing up. We will definetly have to invest in some BOY dress up clothes for the next time around. Randy, I promise I will never show these pictures of our little dude again!

Today I tried to get a few projects finished. While I was doing things, Hallie stayed busy with her Dora cards.

Here is what I did this morning:

Made 2 new pillows for my red couch (I am getting tired of that couch, but right now all I can do is add pillows!!)

Learned to etch glass. It was SO easy!

Yesterday we had Anna's first Parent-Teacher Conference. She is doing great in school academically and has great behavior. I am so proud of her...it felt good to know that she is doing so well. Yay Anna! Hopefully all of the conferences for the next 12 years go so well!

Updates

2008-09-15T10:30:00.001-07:00

I have been a little sporadic in my posts, but a few fun things have happened that I wanted to share!

Our little Hallie girl started pre-school. I (as usual) am trying to save a buck, so there is a group of 5 moms (6 kids, we have a set of twins in there!)and we are rotating houses. So 2 days a week, for 2 hours she goes. She was SO excited on her first day of school, and is quite the student. Hallie has always been my "learner"...she loves to read, write and name her letters, and watches Anna do her homework. I am so glad that she has her little pre-school! It is weird to have a few hours to myself (Linc naps during that time). I think that I could get used to having my kids at school!

On Saturday night we took the kids to the Diamondbacks game. They had won tickets from the library summer reading program (remember that?). They have been over-the-top excited to go, and all day waited anxiously to leave. So we drive downtown, Randy parks, wait in line to get the tickets, haul the gang inside (all the while trying to keep 3 children under the age of 6 together and avoid the mobs of people), take everyone potty, climb up to the nosebleeds with the slow-pokes (they are library tickets, remember?), climb over people to our seats, sit down. Whew. We couldn't have been sitting more than 5 minutes before Anna insisted that she had to go potty. Down we go again, use the potty, climb back up, climb over people, sit down. Needless to say, we only lasted 3 innings. Anna kept asking when the game was going to start. I had to tell her that the game already DID start...this, my dear, is baseball...not a Hannah Montana concert! Hallie was good until we ran out of food to feed her. Linc loved clapping when everyone else did, and wanted to make friends with all of the nacho eating/beer drinking fans around us. Chalk it up to another McBride adventure! I hope Linc likes sports so Randy gets to go to sports and actually stay and watch the game!

Sick days....

2008-09-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

So my little Linc has been running a fever for a few days, and thanks to a great doctor friend we don't think that he has an ear infection. On top of that, Hallie girl was quite cranky this morning (tantrums galore, are we still 2? I think not!) finally I realized that she had joined her brother on the dark side with a fever. Anna came home from school (I figured that she and I would team up and nurse our little babies back to health)...sure enough by 3:30 she was laying on the couch with a fever. Talk about wild. This is my first experience of having all 3 of my children sick at once. Lets just say that I was quite glad to have Randy home at 5:15. However wild it was, there are a few good things about the little guys being sick:

- I didn't have to cook dinner...Mr. Wonderful felt so bad for me he bought me Taco Del Mar....yum!
- The kids were begging to go to sleep by 6:30...Randy and I actually got to snuggle and watch a new show that came on at 7:00 (Fringe)
- I got to hold my kids more than I normally do. There is nothing that tugs on my heart like a little warm body in my arms
- The kids didn't drag out as many toys as the typically do this afternoon (lets be honest, less mess is always a good thing)

As wonderful as all of these things are, I am sad that the little munchkins are sick. It was odd not to hear the giggles, to have nobody begging for a snack, to not have to race someone to the phone when it rang...they all just layed around and watched me. Hopefully this setback will be shortlived and we will be back to the normal chaos soon...I will keep you posted!

Kindergarten Update....

2008-08-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

So everyday I ask Anna a few questions, and everyday I get the same answers. This is how it goes:

Me- Anna, what did you learn today?
Anna- Nothing at all Mom.
Me- Well, what was your favorite part of the day?
Anna- Recess.

I would argue, but we all know that recess is wonderful. Who am I to argue with that??

Kindergarten

2008-08-12T14:32:00.001-07:00

I have spent the last 4 1/2 years worrying and stressing about sending my little Anna to school. It always seemed that I would never find a school that I loved for her, that I would be worried about her all day, that she wouldn't be ready, that Hallie would miss her....the list goes on and on. The last 6 months, however, it seems like everything has changed. She seemed to NEED more things during the day to stimulate her and I started thinking that I could use one less kid a little bit. So yesterday off she went to start her schooling career.

I have to say that I was more nervous than she was, I woke up with butterflies in my stomach like it was my first day, not hers! I kept asking her if she was nervous, and she always looked at me like I was crazy and would confidently say "No". Upon arrival to her school, she ran into a few little girls that she knew and then ran off to play on the playground. I, of course, stood around...unable to leave, unable to take my eyes off of my little baby that has overnight turned into a little girl. When the bell rang she hugged me and marched right into her class without a glance back. I was proud of myself because I didn't do the one thing that I always thought I would do on her first day of school...cry.

At home we kept busy and happy without her. I was SO ready to go pick her up at 12:20 and hear about her day. She was so happy climbing into the car, like a whole new world had been opened up to her. The first thing that she said about her day? "Mom, it was a dream come true!". I guess my baby is now a kindergartner!

So excited!

I like school uniforms more than I thought I would

Her new Barbie backpack from Grandma

At her school

What happens in Vegas.....

2008-08-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

This last week I packed the kids up and went to see my grandparents in Utah. We had such a great time in the beautiful weather, and spending time with them. The kids went on lots of walks, played in the rain, and made lots of messes at their Great-Grandparents house. We had such an enjoyable time...THANKS GRANDMA & GRANDPA!!

Here is Anna & Hallie playing a game with Grandpa

Linc and Grandma on the porch

After a few days we met Randy in Vegas for my cousin Kaylee's wedding. It was so nice to see all of my long lost Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. She looked great, the whole day was beautiful. We didn't do a whole lot in Vegas, but we did take the kids to a few fun places. I will never forget explaining to Anna & Hallie that slot machines were NOT arcade games!

At the Las Vegas temple

The girls

My sisters & I at the reception...Me, Autumn, Jodi & Misty

My cousin Kaylee just after they were married. I didnt mean to cut McKay her groom out...oops.

Anna turned 5 on the trip! It is crazy that she has grown up so fast. She was thrilled with all of her gifts and she even got to get a Happy Meal from McDonalds...what more could a girl ask for? Autumn did her hair in a cute up-do and she wore a princess crown the entire day.

It was a great trip, I was so happy to connect with my extended family again.

Just another day....

2008-08-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today really was just another day. We have been busy trying to get ready for the weekend and our upcoming trip to St. George & Las Vegas for my cousin Kalee's wedding. Around lunchtime I realized that Lincoln was running a fever, so I spent all afternoon taking care of him.

After dinner Randy mowed the front yard and washed my van. YAY!!! The girls went out to "help" him, and I kept Linc inside out of the heat. He started to cry when they went outside without him, so I put him up on the couch so that he could see them out the window. He stood on the couch for about 20 minutes watching Randy...the poor kid really wanted to be out with his Dad. I snapped these pictures. He is quite the Daddy's boy already.

2008-07-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a fun, busy weekend for us. On Friday we packed up and headed to Mt.Graham for a camp-out with all of Randy's family. We had a blast just enjoying the mountain and spending time with family. The kids were non-stop busy with their cousins. We got home today dirty and exhausted, but so glad that we went and made so many memories. Here are a few pics of our trip:

Hallie attempting to chop wood (notice the hand helping her hold the ax!)

Some of the kids hunting for worms (notice Anna in the background NOT hunting for worms, instead she is striking a pose). My cute nieces & nephews collected worm after worm all weekend...my girls watched from a safe distance.

Linc wearing his cowboy shirt and cowboy boots

The cousins

Our family

We let the kids decorate t-shirts. This is Lincoln in his "Cowboy Linc" shirt

Lincoln learned that his new sneakers are velcro, so all weekend he was trying to take them off.

Run baby run

2008-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

The last few days it has been quite stormy and raining a lot here in the Phoenix desert....which has been a much needed break from the HOT summer that we are in the middle of. It started pouring this afternoon and the girls quickly decided that they would die of heartbreak if they didn't get to play in it. So of course, I sent them out front and watched from the dry doorway! Lincoln was watching and wanted to get in on the action and before I could stop him he was out in it.

I wasn't really expecting him to like the rain, but he loved it. We put his shoes on and next thing I knew he was down our driveway and trucking it down the sidewalk. I did what any great mom would do...sent Randy out in the rain to go get him (but I snapped a quick picture of his getaway first!).
After Randy brought him back, he was very intrigued with catching raindrops in his hand.

Here is attempt #2 of catching an elusive raindrop for the Lincolnator.

Rain in Phoenix is a big family event, we all ended up wet but with big smiles on our faces!

I also wanted to give a little shout-out to my sweet Randy...his birthday is today! I love you honey and am so grateful for all that you do for us!

Rain, Hail, and chubby feet!!

2008-07-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have been reading everyone one else's holiday posts, and figured it was time to get on the ball with my own. We had a fabulous Fourth of July weekend. We went to my parents cabin and loved every minute of just being there with our own little family. On the drive up it started raining, and then to our amazement it started to hail. The hail was piled up all over like snow, it was beautiful. I wish I had taken pictures.

The kids looked super cute in their 4th outfits and all of the little old ladies at the Pine craft fair made a fuss over them. We were planning on going to Payson for the fireworks, but it started pouring and we were worried about hauling all of our little guys out in the rain. They watched fireworks on TV and thought it was great (thank goodness).

So handsome

I love this little girl...she is the perfect combination of sweet and sass!

Our little actress

Randy and the girls just relaxing...and eating Peanut Butter M&M's!

It was so great just to hang out without much to do. We went on a few great walks (and learned that Anna doesnt like to walk, she likes to RUN, and has to beat Hallie...she will finish up her little race by jumping up and down yelling "I won, I won!"). We took the kids to the Pine park, which is full of old school teeter-totters that we had to teach our kids how to use.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was that everytime we drove anywhere Linc put is chubby little feet in his mouth. The kid is almost 14 months old and he has discovered his feet again.

Yummy!

It was hard to come home (and back to the heat!).

Moving on up.....

2008-06-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we met my longtime girlfriends Liz, Meghan, & Karla for lunch. Liz and her husband are moving to LA for his job. We are extremely sad to lose Liz...her feisty jokes add much color to my life! Liz...I will hold you to your promise to post pics of all of your adventures in the wild world of LA on your blog. If you dont, Meghan and I will rent a VW bus and come steal you away in the middle of the night. You think I am kidding don't you?

On the way home from our girls lunch, the kids and I stopped at our favorite dollar store (is it bad to admit that we have a favorite dollar store?). Hallie has been very smitten by doing puzzles lately, so I got her a few new ones. She works her little puzzles over and over for hours on end, and is extremely good at them. She must get her patience from Randy. Anna would like to like puzzles I think, but she must get her patience from me. Enough said.

Yesterday Anna took this pic of Randy and I before he left for work. I love you Honey!

Summer reading

2008-06-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

I am a girl who loves organized activities for my children that I don't have to organize (following me here?). So naturally, my children are enrolled every year in the local summer reading program. It suits us well....they get little chintzy prizes, I don't have to organize it, and in the end they win tickets to a Diamondbacks game, which makes Randy as happy as a clam. This year, however, the reading program is starting to drive me bonkers. Here is how it goes:

Tuesday Morning- We pack up, head to the library with mounds of books. Turn them in while Anna and Hallie fight over who gets to put what book in the little slot. Trudge around the library shushing my very loud kids, trying to find books that are not too babyish, but definitely not too long (yes, I am a bad mom who doesn't want to read to my kids for hours on end). Check out, continue to shush kids. Head to the HOT car, continue to shush kids. Get through the door with kids, baby, and books....immediately the girls start bugging me to read to them.

Tuesday Afternoon- By now, I have read them all of their books (which is a feat, as they ask questions the whole way through. Why is she doing that? Whats that? Where is she going? Why is she wearing socks? Where is her mommy?....the amazing thing is that I rarely have answers to these crazy questions). They immediately want to fill out their forms, which requires my to write in the names of the books we read and them to color in some circles. I politely decline.

Wednesday morning- I have politely declined their request for me to help them fill out their reading forms about 157 times now, I finally give in to the peer pressure and fill out the dang forms. They realize that they now qualify to get a sticker....amidst their jumping up and down with glee, they decide that we must go to the library right this very second to collect our fabulous stickers....and start the whole process again.

Veggie Tales.....

2008-06-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

So one of the things I have looked forward to after finally getting a house was having a vegetable garden. Back in February we started planting in our dirt backyard (yes, we have a garden but still no grass! Someday...). We planted watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, radishes, and one mystery plant (the verdict is still out on that one, I will keep you posted). It has truly been the best family project. The kids love to be out there poking around and Randy is reliving his childhood growing up on a farm. I find a lot of happiness knowing that we are growing cheap, organic, healthy snacks for all of the little munchkins running underfoot! Here are some pics of our successes:

My cute little gardeners

My cute big gardener

Watermelon....this one was picked a little too early but we are still proud of it!

Did you know that green bell peppers turn red when left too long on the plant? Yum!

Birthday Guy....

2008-06-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our little Linc turned 1!! Lincoln has been a huge joy to our life. Some of the things that I love about Lincoln are:

The huge smile that he has....hello cheeseball!

That he lets his big sisters carry him around the house, poor kid

He sleeps for 12-13 hours straight every night (thank heavens)

He is so ticklish....its great

He is a big Mamma's boy!

Truly, I can not imagine our family without Linc. I can't believe how fast the year has gone. I just can't manage to hold on to these little babies for long before they start getting big. Here are some pics of him growing up...a tribute to Linc!!

Look Ma, no hands!!

2008-05-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I was busy doing something important that has already slipped my mind, when my little gem Anna started yelling from the other room that she was stuck. I kept yelling back to her (remember, I was busy!) to just get herself unstuck, but she kept saying that she couldn't. So finally I sauntered down the hall to see what all of the commotion was about to find her hanging from her top dresser drawer. She had been climbing onto her dresser (hmm, is that a mommy approved activity??) when the front of her skirt got stuck on the drawer that was left open (I am SO bad at closing things). So there she was, just dangling away. It was so cute, I told her that I needed to take a picture before I got her down. And of course, in true Anna fashion, she posed for the camera whilst dangling from her drawer. No more climbing for that little peanut!

2008-05-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

The last few months have been a whirlwind for us! We have had all sorts of great things going on, but it has been busy. However, this weekend Hallie has been running a fever, so we have been forced to slow down. So, I learned how to make hairbows. I have wanted to do this for a long time, and it has been so much fun! I have a sister and a few sister-in-laws that need to get off the baby boy train and have some sweet little girls so I can make them tons of these cute little things! FUN!!

Today Randy helped me make a bulletin board for above my desk and a bow board for the bathroom. I love the way they both turned out. Thanks honey!

New Church Clothes

2008-03-25T20:29:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love dressing my kids for church. There is something about buying new dresses for my typically-slightly-disheveled daughters that makes me happy. I love going to every store I can think of to find the right colors & fabrics. I love the dresses that tie in a big bow in the back and poof out when my girls sink to the floor. I enjoy putting pretty little things in their hair, and slipping their white stocking feet into brand new shiny white shoes that they are convinced are for tap dancing! New dresses are a big part of the Easter celebration for me.

This year, however, I was able to buy a new article of clothing for one of my little rugrats. A tie!! I never, ever, thought I would have so much fun perusing the small assortment of ties at The Childrens Place...looking for the perfect one to match his little navy pants (no pleats, thank you). I don't think I have ever laid eyes on such a handsome little 10 month old. He is the perfect cross between all baby and little old man. There are no bows to tie, no hair to fuss over. But nothing could be more perfect than my little man.
Will they let me dress them for church forever?? I hope so!

Hello friends!

2008-03-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys....I finally decided to start my own blog. I have always worried that if I start a blog I will spend too much time reading everyone elses interesting blogs and forget about my kids, the house, and all of the other more important things in my life. So if any of you notice my children without shoes on or my house in complete chaos, please, PLEASE steal my computer cord and never return it!!

Here goes blogging!!