Jaydee, Shaunda, and kids

Bloopers from video

2011-12-25T12:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a video where we were to sing Merry Christmas to my sister, Lori Lyn. Apparently the person operating the camera mixed up the recording and nonrecording button. If you look closely you can see the break right around second 33 when the camera was turned off (when we were to be singing) and then turned back on (when it really was to be off) So, this is what we got. It is a classic! Love you all.

Random pictures of April

2010-09-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Meghan in her little car. Some days are warm and others are still cold. On the warm days we play outside. Meghan loves to wait outside for the school bus to come driving up with the kids in it.

Meghan being silly and squealing. I love the dress Shaina!

Meghan eating a powdered donut at one of Tyson's soccer games. Those mornings were so cold.

Tyson playing soccer. He loves it and is a pretty good player. He is so competitive. I wonder where he gets that from?

Jaydee's promotion

2010-09-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Jaydee was promoted to a Major in the United States Air Force on April 5, 2010. We are so proud of him. He works very hard every day serving our country. He loves America and is proud to serve in the Air Force. We love him so much and are so thankful that he is our husband and daddy.

Major Jaydee Burns

Some of the kids helping pin on the new rank.

Jaydee's parents and Shaunda helping change the rank.

Family photo. We are so grateful for all the family that came out to the promotion ceremony. It was a special day (even though the bakery forgot about the cake that I had preordered. Thank goodness for Aunt Becky and her cake decorating skills) As I write this and it is September, I realize how even more special the day was because Jaydee's Grandpa Burns was there. He is in the green shirt. He just passed away last week and this is one of the last times we were able to see him. This family photo is priceless now.

Washington DC

2010-09-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

See below posts for a short account of the trip Emilee and Shaunda took to Washington DC in March. (I know I am way behind in blogging and I am trying to catch up). It was amazing, and so green. I wasn't expecting it to be so beautiful. There were green trees, and grass everywhere, not to mention all the beautiful blossoming cherry blossoms. It was a fantastic trip.

The Nation's Capitol

One of my favorite pictures.

The 9-11 memorial at the Pentagon.

The White House.

Emilee's trip to DC

2010-09-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

Emilee at the National Zoo. It wasn't as great as we had hoped it would be. But, oh well.

Emilee at the Jefferson memorial. He was an amazing man.

Emilee waiting at a little building she found near the Capitol. There was a drinking fountain in it and shade, so we both enjoyed it. We realized how lucky we were to be Wyoming citizens. I was able to contact one of our Senator's offices and they arranged tours for Emilee and I in the Capitol and also the White House. I talked to some other tourists as we were waiting in line for tours and they said that they have waited for years to get a White House tour. My theory is that since Wyoming is so sparsely populated we have a greater chance of getting a tour since we have less requests than other states. Anyway, I am grateful that we did. Although, the White House tour is not that great. It is self guided and you can only see a few rooms. I learned a lot more about the White House at the White House Visitors Center.

Emilee at the Capitol. I never knew the Capitol building had a fountain in front of it. What an amazing trip we had.

Trip to DC

2010-09-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

A few years ago Kayla and I (Shaunda) went on a trip together and saw sites in Boston and New York. It was a fabulous trip, and since then, Emilee has been asking when she is able to go on a "mother-daughter" trip also. We always had an excuse...a new baby, an upcoming move, no money, etc. She was patient, but would bring up the issue a couple of times a year. When we asked her where she would like to go she said, "Washington DC, because I have friends there" (Which is true, a lot of our military friends live close to DC).
So, Jaydee surprised Emilee and myself in February with airplane tickets to DC during Spring Break in March. He had arranged everything...a rental car, places to stay, even babysitting for the other kids while he was at work. I love that guy.

So, Emilee and I flew out of Denver into DC. We got there late and had trouble renting our car. Thank goodness for cell phones and automatic bank transfers. We stayed the night with our friends the Moore family who we knew in Montana. We went to church on Sunday and that evening we walked around the LDS Temple in DC. It was beautiful. The rest of the week we were just tourists and saw all the sites that tourists see. We saw the Smithsonian museums, the monuments and memorials, the national zoo, walked around the Tidal Basin, went to Mount Vernon, and just visited with friends. Thank you to all the families that let us stay with you and eat with you. We had a wonderful time and look forward to coming back again.

Emilee and Shaunda walking around the Tidal Basin with the Cherry Blossoms in season. It was so beautiful.

Emilee at the Air and Space Museum

Emilee and Shaunda with the Capitol behind us.

Emilee with her friends at Mount Vernon.

It was a very fun trip. We loved the experience of riding on the subways...something we don't have in Wyoming. Emilee's favorite part was seeing her friends. My favorite part was seeing all the sites I have read about and seen pictures of, but to be there in person was amazing. I loved seeing the monuments/memorials at night. What a blessed country we live in.

Tornado

2010-05-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

I realize I am still behind in blogging, but guess what we experienced yesterday? A tornado. Thankfully it didn't touchdown in Cheyenne, but it came close. Click on this link to get the story from the local paper.

http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2010/05/19/news/01top_05-19-10.txt

It happened as the kids were getting off the bus. Josh ran into the house screaming, "Tornado" . The sirens had just gone off. I checked the radio and then got all the kids in the basement. Even though I lived in Nebraska for 10 years I can only count a few times when I have been in a tornado warning. Nothing quite compares to being in the basement with six scared kids and a dog huddled under sleeping bags for protection. We stayed there for about 45 minutes. The kids were begging for an after school snack, so lucky for us, all of our food storage is in the basement. I was able to provide them with snacks, water, and even baby wipes to clean their hands. I love being prepared!

St. Patrick's Day

2010-04-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

The leprechauns came to our house, but we missed them again. The kids put together a leprechaun trap. They decorated a popcorn tin with green crepe paper and put shiny gold stuff (pennies, ribbon, etc) in the bottom. Josh even added a gold pencil. They kids hoped that they would be able to trap it this year.

But, instead we woke up to a mess and no leprechaun in site. He left a note instead. He had thrown all our couch cushions on the floor, tinted the milk green, tinted the toilet water green, and left Lucky Charm cereal and Irish Spring soap for us on the table. He said that he was caught in the trap for a little bit, but thanks to the pencil he was able to climb out.
That made the boys real sad. Tyson actually got mad at Josh. Tyson then tore the trap apart (that is why there is no picture of it). Hmmm, I wonder where he gets his short temper from?

Anyway, we had a nice breakfast of green milk, fruit salad, and Lucky Charm cereal. I packed a lunch for the kids with green stuff in it. For dinner we had green noodles, broccoli, cucumbers, fruit salad, and pistachio pudding. What a fun day it was for us. Jaydee sometimes asks me why I go to such lengths for the holidays. My reply is: I don't think it is great lengths but rather fun memories for our children. Plus I enjoy it.

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day

March

2010-04-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

March was such a busy month for us. We had two birthdays, (just one day apart), Jaydee and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary, we had science projects, snow, St. Patrick's Day, wrestling, piano recitals, and a funeral. At the very end of March, Emilee and I (Shaunda) went on a week long trip. So, it was a crazy month but so is life....and we love it.

Isn't this a cute picture of Rachael and Tyson?

Rachael and Tyson opening family presents on their birthday.

Josh did a wrestling camp at a local high school for a couple of weeks. He liked it and has improved from last year. Way to go buddy!

Jaydee's grandfather passed away after a long illness. We went to Vernal, UT for the funeral. Jaydee was asked by his grandmother to speak at the funeral and wear his Air Force uniform. He is in the picture holding the flag.

March

2010-04-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Meghan doing the limbo dance at the school's sock hop fundraiser. The kids had a great time dressing up, eating, and dancing.

Jaydee still has it. He won the best adult dancer contest. Yea!

Josh before his piano recital. He did very well.

Kayla before her piano recital. She did well also.

Tyson's birthday

2010-04-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Tyson turned six this year. He wanted a military style party...similar to the one Josh had when he was six. These are fun to plan. I had to make a few moderations since this party had to held inside due to the weather, whereas Josh's party was outside. I went to recruiting offices a week or so before the party and asked if they had any items they could donate for the goody bags. I got tons of stuff. It was awesome.

Here is Tyson all decked out and ready for the party. He is holding the army cake I made.

We made invitations that said that the boy was being recruited and needed to report for duty. Here is Tyson at the "reporting station". Here the boys got their dog tags, a cup, a bandanna, and their face painted.

All five boys ready to report for duty!

We played games such as target practice using a nerf gun, grenade bomb (similar to hot potato), and an obstacle course up in our attic. It was a fun afternoon. I can't believe how big Tyson is getting. Happy Birthday son.

Rachael's b-day

2010-04-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Rachael turned 4 this year. This is the first year that she was able to invite friends over to celebrate. She wanted a butterfly b-day party. So, thanks to the Internet, I was able to come up with some fun ideas. We made some butterfly shaped invitations. As the little girls came over, I had them color pictures of butterflies and make butterflies out of coffee filters and pipe cleaners.

Then, we talked briefly about the life cycle of a butterfly. The girls wrapped each other up into cocoons. They they each got butterfly wings.

They all received butterfly nets and they tried to catch "tissue paper" butterflies in their nets. They loved that game.

We had cake and ice cream for dessert. I even sliced the ice cream and then made butterfly shapes out of it using a cookie cutter. It was a very fun birthday party and it was even greater for me to see Rachael so happy.

I realized that I hadn't made her a special birthday cake for her other birthdays. So the night before her party, I stayed up late decorating this. It isn't hard, it just takes time. I think it turned out pretty cute though. Happy Birthday Rachael.

Random March pictures

2010-04-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Meghan on her little tractor bike and walking in the snow.

Then the snow melts and it is nice enough to be outside again.

I know this picture is dark, but if you look close you can see all the antelope bedded down under a tree in our front yard.

February

2010-04-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in February we went to Denver. We stayed the night Friday night and I was able to go to the temple early Saturday morning. Grandma and Grandpa Price came up from Colorado Springs to spend some time with us. We went to the Denver Museum of Natural History. I had been there twice before but it was a long time ago. The kids loved it. And I loved having my parents there helping with "kid control" It was a fun day.

Rachael as an astronaut, holding up moon rock.

Tyson climbing up the rock wall.

On the balcony overlooking Denver. Silly family.

In February we also celebrated 100 days of school (Tyson with his special 100 day hat) and had Valentine Day parties. We also made a trip to Thermopolis and completed science projects.

Science projects

2010-04-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

The school district requires student's in the upper elementary grades to complete a science project. Yuck. I don't mind science projects, in fact Kayla won in Great Falls, MT, but it is different doing one because you WANT to versus doing one because you HAVE to. Anyway we survived.

Emilee did her on stains. Her question was, "Which laundry detergent works best at getting stains out?" We tried three detergents: Tide, Purex, and a homemade one. The winner was Tide. I was a little disappointed because I had made the homemade soap and had heard such good things about it. Plus it is so much cheaper than Tide. But, there really wasn't any comparison. I guess I will be buying Tide.

Sorry, these pictures are out of order. Kayla's project used her hamster Sunbeam. Her question was, "Is a hamster faster at night?" Her answer was yes. She timed her hamster going through a maze at different times during the day.

Here is Kayla with her board. Above is Emilee. I am so glad that it is over until next year.

Airplane ride

2010-04-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

We went to Thermopolis, WY to visit Jaydee's parents over President's day weekend. Grandpa Burns and Jaydee were able to take the kids on a little plane ride. They had a great time. Even Meghan had her turn. I always get a little nervous, but seeing the kids smiles afterwards makes me realize it is worth it.

Meghan's b-day

2010-04-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Let's try this again. I am a few months behind in blogging. Our highlight in January was celebrating Meghan's first b-day. Where did the time go? She once was so small and now she is walking and talking.

Happy Birthday baby...for you will always be my little baby girl. We love you.

Why?

2010-04-21T16:27:00.001-07:00

Why does this always happen? I had a few minutes this afternoon and wanted to update the blog...atleast get through the month of January. I started and got all the posts but the last one done. So, if Meghan's b-day post looks only half done, that is because it is. I have tried numerous times this afternoon to post that final entry, but to no avail. The computer just isn't being my friend today. Maybe another day!

Meghan's b-day

2010-04-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

The kids all wanted to give Meghan some gifts to, so they "regifted" some of their toys. As you can see, Meghan got quite the haul after she opened all her siblings presents. I am glad they are generous and want to share. It is almost as much fun watching the other kids' excitement as Meghan opened their gifts.

Winter Quarter's Visitor Center

2010-04-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

While we were in Lincoln, NE visiting my sister, we made a trip to see the Visitor's Center at Winter Quarters near Omaha. Twenty years ago when I was a teenage (wow, that makes me sound so old) I went there many times with my family but also as seminary activities. Back then, the "visitor's center" consisted of a trailer home which housed a missionary couple. The living room had a small bookcase for pamphlets and books, and a small tv where church movies could be viewed. A small log cabin was nearby and then of course the cemetery.
Now, there is this beautiful, large, interactive visitors center. The kids got to dress up in pioneer clothes and pull handcarts. The missionaries guided us through a tour of the building and the history of winter Quarters. And of course, there is a temple there now. It is so pretty. That was a neat experience, seeing how nice Winter Quarters has grown.

Emilee

Meghan

Tyson and Josh

Kayla and Emilee

Morril Hall

2010-04-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Emilee

Meghan

Rachael

Meghan

January

2010-04-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

January was a fun month. Here are a few things we did:

Danced with Grandpa Burns. He sometimes has business trips nearby, and will stop by for dinner or even stay the night. Here he is dancing with Tyson.

Emilee started cheer leading! She cheered at the basketball games on base. She learned a lot and had a great time. We enjoyed watching her.

We took a trip to Lincoln, NE to visit my (Shaunda's) sister and her family. Here we are in front of Morril Hall at the UNL campus. It is a fun museum, and hasn't changed that much since I lived there in Lincoln many years ago. Jaydee and I would take Kayla as a baby to the museum and she would toddle around. This picture has some of my sister's family and in it also.

Playing games with our cousins was lots of fun. We enjoyed being able to stay at their house and visit. Shaunda and Jaydee even got to play the Wii again (We don't have one at home). That was fun.

Family Picture

2010-03-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent family picture. It was taken a few weeks ago while we were in Vernal, UT for Jaydee's grandpa's funeral. Jaydee's sister Lisa took the pictures. Jaydee and his family also got a family picture ... they haven't all been together at the same time for over 12 years. I will post more later, I know I am so behind. But right now, I am on my way to Washington D.C. with Emilee for a mother/daughter trip. (Kayla and I got one a few years ago to Boston and New York). Have a happy Spring Break.

Happy New Year

2010-03-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

I finally got Christmas posted. It was a wonderful time of year. I loved decorating the house we live in and all the things we got to do. I loved holiday baking. We spent a lot of time playing board games and card games. We got some fun games for Christmas. We also enjoyed doing puzzles and playing in the snow. We were blessed to have family come and visit us for the holidays.
Now it is 2010. We had a great New Year's Eve party. We had about 4 families over (over 15 kids) and played games and ate food all night. Now it is March and time is flying by. We had Meghan's first b-day in January , took a trip in February, and next week it is Tyson's and Rachael's b-day. I need to download some pictures and get blogging some more.
We are loving life here in Montana.(Oh my goodness, I typed in Montana, when we live in Wyoming. I really love Wyoming, but I guess after six years in Montana it still comes automatic to type that)
I am getting involved with the schools, not only my kids school PTO but also on the district level on a Parent Advisory Committee. I am really enjoying that and learning a lot. I am also on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and like my involvement with that. You know me...I am all about "Being Prepared" and I love that now I can help the community become more prepared. I also just started a 20 week course on a class called "Parent Leadership Training Institute" It is a class that's purpose is to teach parents the skills to become leaders in their community. It is great.
I am so thankful for a supportive family that encourages me in all my endeavors. I love being a mom and wife and treasure those moments I am able to spend with my children. I am blessed to be able to stay home with our children and be there for all their activities and special events. I may not love cleaning the house everyday, but I am blessed to have a wonderful house to live in and loving family to live with. We have our challenges, but I am truly thankful for the life I have and the people I have to share it with. Happy belated 2010.

Primary classes

2010-03-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

Emilee

Kayla

Meghan 11 months

Rachael with her crown after her first day in Sunbeams. The crown reads, "I am a Child of God"

New Primary classes

2010-03-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Rachael is a Sunbeam this year. She is so excited. In fact, the week before, the primary took all the nursery kids to singing time in Primary. When it was time to leave and go back to nursery Rachael didn't want to leave. She cried, "But you told me I was a Sunbeam, I don't want to go" She proceeded to wrap her legs and arms around the little chair and cried. I was in there helping, and Jaydee was there with his primary class. Jaydee had to pick up the chair with Rachael in it and take it to the hallway where we calmed her down and got her back to nursery.
I have heard of kids having a hard time making that transition, but not this girl. She is so excited to be in Primary with all the older kids. In six months, all six kids will be in Primary....Meghan will be in Nursery and Kayla will be in her last year of Primary. Wow.

Tyson

Josh

Christmas afternoon

2010-03-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

The kids and Grandma Price put together a "fruit Christmas tree" It turned out cute and was a nice healthy treat to snack on all afternoon as we played games and did a puzzle.

It was such a wonderful Christmas day. It even snowed!

Meghan's christmas

2010-03-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Meghan seems a little overwhelmed with all the excitement.

Meghan with her new walker/toy.

Meghan getting kisses from Aunt Lisa.

Christmas morning

2010-03-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

We were so blessed to have family come visit us for the holiday. Here are Shaunda's parents opening their gifts.

Jaydee with his new guitar. Now he can be just like his brother- in -laws and play

Jaydee made Shaunda this beautiful cedar chest. It wasn't quite done so he took her to see it. I love it. What a talented man I married.

Jaydee's sister, Lisa, and her husband Beau came to spend their Christmas vacation with us. We loved it. We talked, played games, cooked, cleaned, and even played Laser tag at the new community center on base.

Christmas morning

2010-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

Aunt Lisa

Lined up to go downstairs

Tradition is in our house, that we may open our stockings and then we have to eat breakfast. Santa usually leaves some fruit and a small box of cereal in each stocking. Then we do service before we open the rest of the gifts. This year we delivered goodies to the city police department. In past years we have delivered meals or helped out serving for Salvation Army.

Emilee, Rachael, Kayla, and Tyson with their "Santa Serving" hats as we prepare to deliver the goodies.

Christmas eve

2010-03-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

Josh, Emilee, Tyson, and Kayla performing some of their school songs to us

Throwing reindeer food outside

Santa came: He brings each child three gifts just as baby Jesus received.

More Christmas favorites

2010-03-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

Traditional re-enactment of the Nativity with friends,

Dipping pretzels and decorating cookies with neighbors

More gingerbread house making with Grandma and Grandpa Price

Christmas activities

2010-03-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

A few favorite things in December:

assembling the outside decorations and lights

school concerts (Kayla on the drums and percussion)

Making gingerbread houses: Rachael and Tyson

Tracking Santa

2009-12-17T12:32:00.001-08:00

Tracking Santa

To see a video of Santa talking to the NORAD staff click on the link above. As a family, we love to to track Santa on Christmas Eve. It is even more fun for us because some of Jaydee's Air Force buddies are on the NORAD staff. To track Santa check out the website: www.noradsanta.org

Merry Christmas

Christmas

2009-12-13T13:37:00.000-08:00

I finally got everything updated. We are now ready for Christmas. I love this time of year. I love the decorating, the snow, the music, the smells, family traditions, and of course all the yummy baking. Here is a video to help us all remember the true meaning of Christmas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXXwtFWpAI8

November

2009-12-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

We had a really warm day and decided to hold play group outside in the church parking lot. Meghan loved zooming around in her walker on the pavement.

Rachael climbing the hand rails at the church.

My first time canning beans. I was so proud of myself. This will save us a lot of money!

We had a wonderful, laid back Thanksgiving. Our good friends, the Stone family, came up from Colorado to spend the weekend with us. We played board games until way late (early) every night and ate some yummy food. We had our Thanksgiving dinner at the base's dining facility. I loved it because it meant that I wasn't in the kitchen all day cooking and cleaning. We got to play games and just visit. Of course, I and Mylinda, made lots of pies, rolls, and other snacks so we always had something to munch on. We had a great time. It was a full house (13 kids and 4 adults) but we loved it. We are truly grateful for all of our blessings.

November

2009-12-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

November brought: a beautiful sunset,

Meghan being silly while eating,

more snow, which included some fort building and snow ball fights,

and Kayla playing basketball.

Halloween

2009-12-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

Carving pumpkins with Grandpa Burns.

Halloween night. It was snowy and slushy, but wasn't nearly as cold as it was a few days earlier. In fact school was cancelled the Thursday and Friday before Halloween. Most of the kids walked the whole length of officer base housing. They wanted to get candy at every house! Josh went home early with his friend Jeremy. It was a very good night and it was even better because Jaydee was actually here.

More pictures

2009-12-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

I just can't get enough of this little girl. Isn't she so cute?

The kids on a hike near the Dinosaur Quarry near Vernal, Utah.

The kids at the visitor's center at the Dinosaur Quarry. I have pictures of me as a little girl by this dinosaur, except it was green then.

October

2009-12-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

October brought Kayla's 11th b-day,

an early snowstorm,

Meghan getting so big,

and a trip to Vernal, Utah for Jaydee's brother's wedding. Here are the kids outside the Vernal Temple.

Leaves

2009-12-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

We have several large trees in our yard, which means lots of leaves in the fall. Due to the Wyoming wind, it seems that as soon as I rake them up, more fall and blow into our yard. But, the kids sure enjoy jumping into the piles.

More pictures

2009-12-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Tyson playing in the neighbor's tree. He and Josh love to climb it.

Tyson played soccer for his first time this year. He loved it and did a great job. He really liked scoring goals and winning.

Rachael at a local outdoor discovery center/park.

The kids talking to Sparky during Fire Safety Week. The base fire station had an open house with activities and food.

Little girl fun

2009-12-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

Since the big kids are in school all day now, Rachael, Meghan, and I have lots of fun playing. We go to the park a lot and go on walks.

School pictures

2009-12-13T12:55:00.000-08:00

Kayla is in 5th grade.

Emilee is in 4th grade.

Josh is in 2nd grade.

Rachael just wanted her picture taken also.

First day of school

2009-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

First day of school.

Tyson is so excited to be in Kindergarten now. I will miss him at home though. I now have more kids in school then I do at home. A first for me!

Last day of summer

2009-12-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the wildlife at our house. The antelope are all over the base. This picture is in our front yard. They are fun to watch. The owl lives nearby and frequently is seen perching on our house. It is neat to hear it "hooting".

The kids on the last day of summer vacation. I took them to the Botanical gardens, a park, a walk around the lake, and the state museum. They enjoyed it.

Random summer pictures

2009-12-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

Our first experience with Cheyenne Frontier Days. Here we are at the free pancake breakfast. It is amazing. They have this so well organized. They feed about 10,000 a day and the average wait time is only 15 minutes even though the line snakes around and around. It was great. The kids loved the parades and we saw the rodeo.

Josh celebrated his 7th birthday.

Jaydee completed the Pikes' Peak Ascent. We weren't allowed on top of the mountain, so I had to take a picture after he was bussed down. We are proud of him...although I think he is just crazy to want to run straight up a mountain for fun.

Family Reunion

2009-11-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

I know I have not blogged in so long. I got so far behind that I felt that I could never catch up. I will try to, but it may take a while. I just now blogged about our Price family reunion. Every two years we have my (Shaunda's) family reunion. We started a few years ago and we rotate who is in charge. This year it was my sister Cherisa's turn. She and her husband Chris and their family live in Lincoln, Nebraska. She planned so many fun things.
Jaydee and I decided that we would go a few days early and drive to some Church history sites. We drove to Lincoln and stayed with Cherisa and her family on a Saturday. We stayed up late and played the Wii. We don't have any game systems so it was really funny watching Jaydee and I try to play Wii fit. It was loads of fun though.
Sunday we went to church and then drove to Adam-Ondi-Ahman. What a special, sacred site. I have been there many times before and Jaydee went with me once before he left on his mission. But, this was the first time we have been able to take the kids. Previously, we had many Family Home Evening Lessons on these sites and the history of the church. The kids liked it. We walked around and then had a picnic on the grass. It was hot and humid though.
We went to our motel in Kansas City. As we were getting ready for bed Tyson found a tick on his leg. UGH. I forgot about those. It has been awhile since I have been in the midwest. We checked everyone and found another tick behind Rachael's ear. We removed them. The rest of the trip Rachael would tell people that she had a "tic tac toe" behind her ear. It was cute.
Monday we went to Far West, Liberty Jail, and the Independence Visitor's Center. The kids were great and really learned a lot. We then went to a drive in movie. The kids loved that!!
Tuesday we met some of my family and we all went to Worlds of Fun...an amusement park in Kansas City. What a fun day! It was super hot, but we had a great time. It was so fun for Jaydee and I to have kids old enough and tall enough to ride the roller coasters. It was so fun for me to go on those rides with them. The little kids had a great time also. Jaydee and I loved it and had such a great day. We will try to go to an amusement park at least once a year now. Some of the little ones went back to the hotel early, but the older ones stayed until the park closed.
Wednesday we went to Mahoney State Park near Omaha. We would be camping there for the next few days. All the rest of the family met us there. It was so great to be with family again and see little nieces and nephews that I haven't seen in a while. We set up our camp and then just ate, visited, and played games. We forgot how hot and humid it is in Nebraska and that it doesn't cool down. The nights were miserable. We have been in Montana for so long that it didn't even register that it doesn't cool down at nights in Nebraska. Next time we might rent a cabin.
Thursday we went to the water park located there at Mahoney State Park. The kids loved it. We also celebrated Emilee's 9th b-day.
Friday we went to the Henry Doorly Zoo. It was fantastic,
Saturday we packed up . That is the day all the girls went to Art Chicks for lunch. That evening we went to a Salt Dogs baseball game in Lincoln.
Sunday we went to church and then home. It was fun going to church in the ward that I spent so much time in as a teenager. I saw a lot of families that I knew. This was such a great reunion and we got to do so many fun activities. We had been saving money all year to do some of this stuff and it was worth it. We didn't have time to see Winter Quarters's history site, but since we are only about 7 hours away, we figure we can do it another time.
Thanks Cherisa and Chris for such a great reunion. I will try to post more about our summer later.

My family

2009-11-30T08:59:00.000-08:00

I think one of my favorite parts of the reunion was the lunch my sister Cherisa had planned just for us sisters and my mom. All the husbands and my dad watched the kids. We went to Art Chicks in Louisville, Nebraska (between Lincoln and Omaha). We had to dress up and then were served a fancy lunch. After dessert, we had to dance down the red carpet. That was so fun seeing my sisters and mom dancing. It was so great just being with them. I love all my sisters so much and learn so much from them. (For those who may not know, I only have sisters!) Aren't these pictures just fun.

If you have the chance check out this place. Click http://www.nebrartchicks.com/

End of the reunion

2009-11-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Uncle Chris at the Salt Dogs baseball game in Lincoln, Nebraska.

At the end of the game all the children can run around the bases. They thought that was so neat. Tyson isn't in the picture because he was so fast he was able to run around twice.

What an exhausted bunch.

Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha

2009-11-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

It was a gorgeous day and we saw so much stuff. Our kids haven't been to a zoo in years because Montana didn't have a good one. We were so excited to go to the Omaha zoo because it has so much neat stuff. The kids also got to ride on the train and the sky tram. What fun!

The inside aquarium was so neat. The kids were all wide eyed as they saw the sharks swim by.

Jaydee and the kids at the top of the fire tower at Mahoney State Park in Nebraska.

Mahoney State Park

2009-11-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

Meghan in the sun.

Emilee and Josh at the water park. They loved it...especially the wave pool.

Emilee also celebrated her 9th b-day during the reunion. She asked for a dutch oven cobbler instead of cake. It seems like she often gets to celebrate her birthday with extended family around. She is such a joy to have in our family.

Reunion

2009-11-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

Our first time to see a drive in movie. We saw the movie "UP" and really enjoyed it. The kids loved the concept that we could watch a movie outside and eat snack food.

Rachael at Worlds of Fun.

Rachael eating watermelon. What is a camping trip without watermelon?

Meghan and her cousin Coby playing with each other. They are only about two weeks apart. They weigh about the same but Meghan is short and chunky and Coby is long.

Church History sites

2009-11-30T08:20:00.000-08:00

Adam-Ondi-Ahman

Far West

Liberty Jail

Independence Missouri Visitor's Center

Summer pic

2009-11-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

Tyson and Josh trying to lasso a "bull".

Rachael

Meghan's first ice cream cone. One of our favorite summer activities was going to the Little America gas station and getting their yummy 50 cent ice cream cones.

My birthday

2009-06-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have blogged. I have been busy unpacking and organizing in our new house. We love it. It has enough space for us and all of our stuff. I even have a whole room just for food storage. There is still a lot to do, but slowly it will all get done.

Today was my birthday. I feel so blessed for all that I have. Ever since I was little I have wanted to be a mom and a nurse. I am now a mother to 6 wonderful children and I have a wonderful husband also, who I love very much. I have my nursing degree and although I am not currently working, I keep my license active. Jaydee asks me what else I want to do with my life and I say "nothing" It is not that I don't have other goals. I do, and I am working on them, but I feel very content with what I have accomplished and very blessed to have the family that I do have. I am a lucky woman.

Last night at dinner Josh asked me a question. He said, "Mom, I know that tomorrow is your birthday and you will be 35, but when you were born were the pilgrims still alive?" Hmmm. I am not THAT old!!

Today was a very fun day. Jaydee, Kayla, and Emilee are in Idaho attending a cousin's baptism, so it was just the four younger kids and myself. I got phone calls from my dad, Jaydee, and all my sisters. I got emails from friends and even a card in the mail from our new ward Relief Society Presidency. I got cards and money from family members also. I feel so loved.

The kids and I have some activities planned for the day. Our first stop was at Home Depot where we made the free craft. Luckily it was an easy one, and I was able to help them finish.

Then we drove to Fort Collins to meet my mom. We spent most of the day there with her. It was so much fun. This was my first time to Fort Collins so we just drove around until we found a park. We had a picnic and my mom made me a cake out of Little Debbie snack cakes. They sang Happy Birthday to me and I blew out the candle.

The park had paddle boats, so Josh, Tyson, Rachael, and myself did that while my mom watched Meghan in the stroller. This was the first time the younger kids had been on a paddle boat. They liked it and were especially excited when they saw turtles on the logs in the pond. My mom also took them on a train ride in the park. Then they played on the playground for a while. It was a great day and they were tired once we got home. It was a great day.

Thanks mom for coming up to share my birthday with me. I love you!

Sisters

2009-06-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

The top photo is of Meghan at 4 months taken a few days ago. The bottom photo is of Rachael at 6 months. People tell me that they think they look alike and after comparing these pictures I would have to agree. They must be sisters!

School

2009-06-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Emilee receiving an award for math at the school assembly.

Josh (in yellow) with his two awards: one for singing and one for being a super citizen.

Kayla at the school talent show. She and another girl played a piano duet. Kayla also received an award for making the Principal's Honor Roll.

The last day of school was June 5th. This has a been a good year for the kids. They seemed to have transitioned very well into their new school and have continued to learn a lot. They are looking forward to summer and Tyson is now counting down the days until he starts Kindergarten.

Random pictures

2009-06-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

Last week we attended a fundraiser for the YM/YW in our ward. It was a spaghetti dinner and an auction. One family in the ward donated a book about cupcake decorating and made this dessert to go with it. It is a fake TV dinner made with frosting and candy(chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes with gravy, carrots and peas, and a cupcake.) My kids loved it, so we bought it. They really enjoyed eating it. What a cute idea. The book has a lot of fun and easy ideas about decorating cup cakes.

Tyson lost his first tooth last week. He is our first kid to lose a tooth before starting kindergarten. He was pretty excited and wrote a note to the tooth fairy with our new address on it so she would be able to find him.

Here is our dog Shadow. He got a haircut. We took him to a new groomer here in Cheyenne and she cut all his hair off. He looks fine, just different. I tell people, "She took all the terrier off of him, and now he really looks like a dachshund. (He is a mix of terrier/dachshund). This will be a good cut for him during the summer.

Family pictures

2009-04-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

I just updated my blog. We are here in Cheyenne and are fairly settled in. We are just in Temporary housing on base, but will move into our house next month. The kids really like the school and the ward. We have felt very welcomed by everyone here.

We got family pictures taken right before we left Great Falls. After about 100 shots we got a few that we like. The photographer was great and very patient, it is just that the kids weren't.

This is how most of them turned out.

And this.

We did get a cute one of Meghan.

Our house

2009-04-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

This is our new house...well only half of it is ours. We are so excited. We were told that the waiting list was about 2 years to get offered a house on base. So, in December we came to Cheyenne to look for a house to buy. We didn't find anything we liked, so we just kept praying that a house would become available for us. People in Great Falls would ask me if we were nervous since we didn't have a house yet and I would say no. We just felt peace and that everything would work out somehow, whether that be buying, renting, or getting a house on base. I even doubted myself once and thought, "Why am I so calm? We don't have a house yet and are moving our family of 8 soon" Yet, the peace just came back that I didn't need to worry. We thought that we would just find a house to buy once we got here. We got all that we needed to in place...a realtor, pre approval for a loan, etc. We were ready to buy. The first day we got here to base though, we thought we would just walk in to the housing office and talk to them one last time "just in case" Imagine my surprise when they said that a house would be available in May. I about fell out of my chair.
It is technically a 3 bedroom house and we qualify for a 4 bedroom house so they weren't going to offer it to us at first, but I am so glad they did. We got to see it the next day and we said YES we will take it. It isn't that we didn't want to buy a house, we just like to opportunities we have by living on base. And how often does one get to live in a historic brick house?

The house was built in the early 1900's. The basement was actually used as the stables for the horses. It has the arched doorways where each horse stall was. The first floor has a living room, dining room, and a large kitchen. I am so excited for the large kitchen. My kitchen in Great Falls was so tiny. The second floor has the bedrooms. Three bedrooms and another room which can't be labeled as a bedroom, because it doesn't have a closet, but we will use it as a bedroom. The attic has a large open space and 2 more rooms. Those also don't count as rooms, because they aren't built up to fire code standards, but we will use it as extra space. The front yard is large, but there is no back yard, just an alley. This will be tricky trying to figure out where the swing set and dog will go, but it will all work out. We are very excited to be moving in next month and finally be settled again. We know that the power of prayer works and we just feel that this is where we need to be at the time.

How did that picture get in here? Well I am not sure how to delete it and I don't want to lose all my typing, so I will just leave it. It is of Josh and Emilee dying eggs at my parent's house.

Meghan

2009-04-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Meghan and her last night in the bassinet at our house (March 27th) We took it apart and her bed is now the port-a-crib until we move into our house and set up the real crib.

Meghan at 3 months old on April 20th. She is laughing and smiling a lot. She likes to suck on her hand and fingers and doesn't like her binky anymore.

She is almost sitting up. She loves her baths, hates tummy time, and likes to be held.

Easter

2009-04-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to move into the Temporary Living Facility (TLF) here on base. Basically, it is like a 3 bedroom apartment. It has a very small kitchen and laundry facilities are located down the hall. It is much bigger than the hotel were were in and I can actually cook now. It is still small for our family of 8, but it will do. We can move into our house on May 19th.

The Easter Bunny visited our house on Saturday morning. Earlier in the week we had dyed eggs at Grandma and Grandpa Price's house. The Easter Bunny left some candy and the movie, "High School Musical 3". Sunday we focused on Christ and the real meaning of Easter. We had a special Family Home Evening and watched some Church videos. We also got invited to share Easter dinner at a ward member's house. It was so delicious and so nice to meet and talk to new people.

The first Sunday we were here it was General Conference, so Easter Sunday was our first Sunday in our new ward. Everyone was very friendly and we felt very welcomed. Here are the kids posing for the "before church Easter picture".

Meghan and her first Easter.

Dad and the boys.

Mom and the girls.

2009-04-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

Fun

2009-04-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Price took three of the kids with them to Colorado to spend some time with them while we were looking for a house. I picked them up a week later. They had so much fun being with Grandma and Grandpa. Here they are at the Focus on the Family Activity Center.

Rachael in dress up clothes.

Emilee, Tyson, and Kayla in dress up clothes.

Josh

I registered the kids for school on the first Wednesday we were here. The school asked that since spring break was the following week that we just start on April 13th. So, I had another week of kids at home...did I mention that our home was a motel? Thankfully grandparents helped out. On the few days that I had all the kids we went exploring here in Cheyenne. Here we are at the State History Museum. The kids really enjoyed that.

Meghan's blessing

2009-04-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Meghan had her baby blessing on the last Sunday we were in Great Falls. I thought she looked so precious in her little dress. She was very good during the blessing. We are so grateful for the family and friends who were able to share that special day with us. And we are so thankful to have this little baby girl as part of our family. We love her so much.

Jaydee, Shaunda, and Meghan

Jaydee's parents...Grandpa and Grandma Burns and Meghan

Shaunda's parents...Grandpa and Grandma Price and Meghan

Moving Day

2009-04-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are moving and doing it ourselves. (Usually military people just have military contract movers to move them, but we choose to pack and move ourselves and then we get paid what it would of cost the military to move us) We are just crazy I decided. After being in a house for over 6 years + adding 3 children while we have been in Montana + getting our food storage in order = A LOT of stuff. I am so tired of hauling up buckets of rice, sugar, flour, etc. Not to mention all the 50 lb bags of wheat. I love my food storage and the peace of mind it gives me, but I sure hate moving it. Here is a picture of our flat bed trailer with only about half of our food. Our trailer ended up weighing so much that our Suburban couldn't pull it. We needed Jaydee's parents 1 ton Excursion to pull it to Wyoming. We had already moved one trailer to his parent's house and this was our second load. Wow.

Jaydee is such an expert packer. He works hard and utilizes every single inch of the moving trailer. I am grateful for such a hard working and thinking husband. We are also so grateful for those who came by and helped us load our belongings. Thank you!

Emilee and Tyson just lounging about in the moving truck.

This is what it looked like on the day we actually moved. Jaydee and his dad drove through blizzard conditions with their trailers. What is a normal 6 hour trip took 11 hours and then 1/2 hour from their destination the road was closed and they ended up getting a motel at 2 in the morning. I drove down the next day with the kids and my parents. Some roads were still closed in Cheyenne and Colorado so we changed our plans and stayed in Thermopolis, Wyoming. Finally, we made it to Cheyenne in good weather.

Leprechaun

2009-04-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Sadly, we didn't trap any leprechauns, but he was sneaky and left us some treats. Maybe next year.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-04-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

Ever since Josh built his leprechaun trap for a school project last year, the kids have been excited to build their own traps in hopes of catching a leprechaun. So, amidst all our boxes, we actually found some supplies to build the traps. Here they are:

Tyson and Rachael's traps

Josh and his trap

Emilee's trap

Kayla's trap

Move

2009-04-16T08:22:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted. There is good reason for that....we moved and I have been without a computer. I now have my computer set up, but cannot find the cable to download pictures. So, you will have to wait until later to see all of our pictures...Meghan's baby blessing, our new house, etc.
But, I will update you a little. We moved from Great Falls, Montana to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We miss Montana and all of our good friends, but we are very excited to be here in Wyoming. We felt very welcome in our new ward and the kids are loving their new school. Our prayers were answered and we were offered a house on base. We feel very lucky. It is one of the historic brick houses and it is big enough for the family and all of our stuff. I am a little nervous about not having a fenced in back yard since we have a dog and little children, but we will make do. We can't move in until May 19th, so until then we will be in temporary housing on base. We also were in a hotel for 10 days...that was fun. Thank you to grandparents who helped watch kids. We are closer to both of our parents and we are excited about that
Cheyenne is a lot like Great Falls. We traveled down in a blizzard and had another one the first week we were here. Snow is again predicted for today and tomorrow. It is windy also. But, we like it and have already been to a few museums and the library many times.
We are all doing well. Meghan is growing big and is very cute. Jaydee is really liking his new job. I am just trying to get us all settled back into a routine and ready to move into our new house. Thanks to all of you for your prayers on our behalf as we traveled down here. Pictures will be coming, but probably not until we are in our new house and unpack boxes to find the cable. Sorry.

Rachael's Birthday

2009-03-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

It's a little hard to celebrate birthdays when they are only one day apart. Rachael turned 3 last week and here are some pictures of her.

She chose to go to McDonalds for her family activity. We ate ice cream cones and the kids played on the play thing.

At home she opened her presents and ate cupcakes. She wanted pink cupcakes with sprinkles. She helped put the sprinkles on earlier in the day. She was very excited to open her presents and eat her pretty cupcakes.

It is hard to shop for the 5th child when we already have so many toys, books, movies, etc. We ended up getting her a sleeping bag with Cinderella on it and a small flashlight. I think she enjoyed them both. She loves having her own stuff.

Rachael is so fun in our family. She is starting to test the limits some and is acting like a 3 year old...she yells loudly at times and gets upset if she doesn't get her way. She still loves to cuddle and is a great helper in the kitchen and with laundry. She likes to watch movies, read books, sing Primary songs, and play with her dolls. She is always looking out for baby Meghan. She is talking so much more now and makes us laugh every day with something she says. We are so happy she came to our family 3 years ago.

Tyson's birthday

2009-03-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Tyson had his birthday this week. He turned 5. He got to chose what he wanted for his b-day dinner. He chose chicken nuggets, mandarin oranges, and Kool-Aid.

We went to the bowling alley for his b-day activity. He did well and had a great time.

He asked for a Transformer cake. Usually I make the cakes, but since all my cake decorating stuff is packed I had to buy one at Wal-Mart. I have never done that before. But, he loved it so it was worth it, and it sure made my day easier.

He asked for Transformers and a Hot Wheels car. When he opened his Hot wheels car he said, "Cool, awesome, I love it". That was the best 97 cents I have ever spent.

Tyson is such a joy to our family. He loves to dance and listen to music. He has the best facial expressions. He will always be known to us as "Grumpy Tyson" because of the classic grumpy face he makes. He is a very happy child who is content with what he has. He likes to color, practice his letters, play with his cars and dinosaurs, and play computer games. We are so glad he came to our family 5 years ago.

Josh

2009-03-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is Josh at the school's annual Dr. Seuss B-day party/sock hop. It was a western theme. He found the shirt in the dress up box and wanted to wear it. He calls it his "cowboy shirt" He bought the Dr. Seuss hat with his own money and was proud of it.

We signed Josh up for a wrestling camp that was for 1-6th grade boys. It was held a few days after school. The coaches were high school students who were on the wrestling team. On the last day they met with another school and had wrestle offs. Josh had lots of fun and learned a lot but he didn't win any of his matches. He was the youngest one there though. It was fun watching him learn and grow.

Trip

2009-03-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted. We have been busy. We are moving in less than 3 weeks. For some crazy reason we decided to move ourselves instead of having the military move us. I have been packing and packing and there is still so much more to do. It's not quite as easy as it was six years ago when we moved here. Then I only had 3 kids and none in school. I could pack all day and not worry about piano lessons, school, wrestling practice, play group, etc. So life goes on and I just try to pack what I can.

A few weeks ago we got one of the trailers all the way packed, so we made a trip down to visit Jaydee's parents. They are able to store the trailer until we move and get it later. We all had a great time visiting with family. Jaydee's sisters were also there so we got to visit with them. It was a very short trip...drive 9 hours one day, go to church one day, and then drive back 9 hours the following day.
Here is a picture of the kids with Jaydee and his dad on the hike they went on. They had a fun time.

Meghan

2009-03-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more pictures of Meghan when she was about 1 month old. The outfit was given to her by my friend Mandy, and the blanket was made by my friend Shaina and her family. Even though these two friends are miles apart, they still think and like the same color combinations. Very nice.

Meghan is a great baby. She is eating and sleeping well. She hardly ever cries and loves being cuddled close. She is tolerant of all the noise and activity going on around her and just lies there looking at everyone. She is beginning to smile and "coo". We love her very much.

A "grumpy" face.

Aunt Lori Lyn

2009-03-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

Aunt Lori Lyn gave this outfit to Meghan. I wanted to post a picture of it so Lori Lyn could see how cute Meghan looks in the outfit. Thank you.

Rachael

2009-03-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

Rachael had a canker sore in her mouth and kept asking for a band aid for it. I tried explaining to her that a band aid wouldn't help the sore inside her mouth. Apparently she didn't believe me so she got a band aid herself and put it on her cheek. And guess what...she didn't complain anymore. Oh the magic of band aids.

Rachael helping me make our cookies for snack after school on Wednesdays. She is a great helper and always wants to be in the kitchen when I am baking.

Skiing

2009-03-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

The kids were able to participate in a 6 week skiing class on Saturdays in January and February. They loved it. Tyson started skiing this season and is very good at it. He looks so cute...a little four year old zipping by on his skis. Here are the four older kids with Jaydee .

Josh

Emilee and Tyson

Kayla

Meghan

2009-01-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

Meghan is now a week old. Here are some pictures of her...babies always look a little cuter a few days later compared to the hospital pictures. She is a great baby. She is sleeping well at night and is eating good. The kids all love her and fight over who gets to hold her first when they get home from school. Everyone has been a great help and we are doing fabulous.

We are home!

2009-01-23T17:26:00.000-08:00

We are back home. When I left for the hospital on Tuesday afternoon it was a warm (45 degrees) and sunny day. When we came home today it was snowy and cold....1* F. with a wind chill of -20*. Here is the "before baby" picture of Shaunda still pregnant right before we left for the hospital and a picture of Meghan getting ready to come home in her car seat.
Meghan and I are both doing well. I had a C-section, but am recovering fine. The kids are all excited to have us home. I am just grateful that Jaydee and his parents are here helping out. Thank you to everyone for your kind words of congratulations.

Rachael

2009-01-21T12:21:00.000-08:00

Rachael, caught in the act of getting into something she wasn't supposed to.She laughed and put it all back.

Grandma Burns & Meghan

2009-01-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Burns & Meghan

2009-01-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

Mom & Meghan

2009-01-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

Emilee & Meghan

2009-01-21T12:14:00.000-08:00

Proud Dad and Meghan

2009-01-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

Rachael & Meghan

2009-01-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Tamarah & Meghan

2009-01-21T12:10:00.000-08:00

Kayla & Meghan

2009-01-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

Josh and Meghan

2009-01-21T12:08:00.001-08:00

Tyson and Meghan

2009-01-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

New Baby

2009-01-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

It's a girl

2009-01-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

Meghan Dean Burns made her grand entrance into this wonderful world on Jan 20th, a little after 7:30 pm. She weighted 7 lbs 2 oz, and is 18 inches long. Her and mom are doing well, and may get to come home Thursday night or Friday morning. She was born on a beautiful warm winter day in Great Falls, Montana. The temperture was up at about 53 -55 degrees that afternoon. Her daddy was in the delivery room with mom when she was born. She has a beautiful pink complection and short dark hair all over her head. She has the cutest little petite mouth and littel pixie nose. Her eyes look dark, but she hasn't opened them wide enough for me to see what color they are yet. Grqandpa and I got to hold her last night about 3 hours after she was born. This morning we took all the kids in to see their new little sister and they each got to hold her. I will attempt to put those pictures on. You may also view her at www.benefis.org and go to the web nursey. Look down the list of babys till you find Meghan, or Jaydee and Shaunda and click to open up and there is a picture of Meghan for you to see with all the details about her. Shaunda will give more information when she is home and able to up date this, her blog.

I'm back

2009-01-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

I realize that I haven't blogged for almost two months now. The reason is simple...Jaydee is home and my evenings aren't so free anymore. Not that I am complaining, I love having him home and we have had some fun family times in the past six weeks he has been home. So, I just spent over an hour today catching up on the blog. A few new things have or will soon happen...we are moving in a few months, and the baby will be here in about two weeks. We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas and did a lot of fun stuff. Hopefully, now that I am updated, I can keep it current. Happy New Year!

Baby Day Camp

2009-01-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

We signed the younger kids up for a sibling class at the hospital. They seemed to enjoy it and learn a lot. Rachael keeps saying that she has a baby in her tummy though, so we will see what she does when my baby comes in a few weeks. Can you believe it? Only two weeks left to go and then we will have another baby in our house.

Josh holding his baby.

Tyson trying to figure out how to put a diaper on his baby.

Rachael showing off her snugly wrapped baby.

Learning about the hospital room.

Ski season

2009-01-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

We signed up Josh and Emilee for ski camp at the ski resort close to us. They are very excited. Kayla has done it in the past, but this year she just wants to ski on her own. Here is Josh right before the class starts.

Emilee skiing down the hill.

Kayla at the top of the ski hill.

Josh, Tyson, and Rachael playing in the snow in our front yard.

Happy New Year

2009-01-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! We got back from our Wyoming trip at 6pm and then at 8pm we went to the Stake Center for their family New Year's Party. We have gone in years past and have really enjoyed it. The kids have a great time dancing and playing games, and of course, eating food.

Kayla and Tyson doing the Limbo.

Rachael dancing and playing with her glow sticks.

Playing board games and waiting for the clock to strike twelve.

House Hunting

2009-01-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

We got orders to move to Cheyenne, Wyoming to F.E. Warren AFB. We will move the end of March. So, we decided that we needed to go look for a house. The wait to get a house on base is about 18 months. Christmas afternoon we drove to Wyoming to Jaydee's parents house. Thank goodness we left that day, because we heard that on the next day, Montana and Wyoming had huge snow storms and all the roads were closed.
We left the three younger kids with Jaydee's parents and then drove to Cheyenne. There we met my parents and they took Kayla and Emilee with them for the weekend. (THANK YOU grandparents) That left just Jaydee and I for a few days.
We met with a realtor and went out searching for homes. I didn't think that my expectations were very high, but apparently they are. They just don't build homes for large families. All I wanted was a 4 bedroom house with a basement, a backyard, and a kitchen large enough to fit our table. We couldn't find anything. It was so frustrating. We even moved up the price we were willing/able to afford. We have a few "maybes" but nothing we really like. And if I am going to spend that much money on a house, I really want to like it.
Luckily for us we have a few more months, and maybe a house will open up on base miraculously. It was a wonderful weekend though. We really like the Cheyenne area and are excited about moving there. It will also put us closer to both of our parents. It was nice also to have time alone with Jaydee. We ate out every night and that was fun for us.

Christmas

2009-01-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, the kids got to open one present that was given to them by a sibling who drew their name earlier this month. The boys love their light sabers...they call them "lifesavers"

Rachael was happy to get a ball with a picture of a dog on it.

Christmas morning...the kids anxiously awaiting to open the door into the living room. Jaydee's family rules were that everyone had to be dressed before they opened presents, so we adopted that rule into our family. For the record...I don't like it...there is just something about opening presents in your pajamas. But, oh well.

We quickly opened presents, ate breakfast, and then loaded into the Suburban with our "Santa Serving Hats' to go serve meals for the "Meals on Wheels" organization. A TV crew was there filming and apparently we made the 10pm news, but we weren't able to watch it because we left for Wyoming right after we served the meals.

Nativity pageant

2009-01-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

We invited a few families over and did our annual Nativity pageant on the Sunday evening before Christmas. Here is Josh as Isaiah writing down his prophecies.

Kayla and a friend are shepherds. Tyson was also a shepherd and Rachael chose to be a cow. She "mooed" all during the performance.

Emilee was Mary. It is always a special night as we remember Christ's birth and also his life. The songs and scripture reading bring such a special spirit to this holiday season.