Spartan Kalispell 2015

Wride kids I can't believe how much they've grown.

Jay and Mady did the kid spartan race. Jays was a half mile long while Madys was a mile.

The crew that ran Justin Jarome Cam Greg and Brenda The coarse was 14 miles long and 36 obstacles. It took place on the mountain side. With insane trails. We are really proud of Jappy. He finished in under 5 hours!

He's hauling a bucket of gravel Up the hill side and then down.  The picture of him on the ground is an obstacle they had to crawl under barbwire that was a 1/4  mile long.
 This coarse really tested his limits.  And it took many people 6-8 hours to complete.

It was a fun trip to see our friends and to cheer Jappy on. Kalispell reminds me so much of Coeurd'Alene.  It was beautiful. 

Hope is 4 months

Oh goodness I know, I'm seriously So behind. But my days are full of craziness, and by nighttime I'm ready for bed. 

We love this cutie pie.  We are soaking up every minute with her.  She's a great sleeper, and is genuinely a happy baby. Her hair is mostly dark but is coming in lighter.

She's starting to roll. (Makes us all nervous) She always has a smile for everyone. And just is the most cuddly baby.  We LOVE her.  

Hope's Story

3 Years ago we felt STRONGLY we were having a GIRL.  Before the ultrasound Jappy and I talked about names for what we thought our #5 and final addition. We were somewhere in Montana when the name Jacqueline Hope came together for us. We felt strongly that that was it. A couple weeks later we had an ultrasound revealing we in fact weren't having a girl but a boy. We were shocked and a little sad. Happy for a healthy baby  but shocked. We all were.  A little upset wondering why we felt so strongly about a girl, and yet That's not what we were going to have.  Jappy ordered Chinese that night for dinner trying to lift our families spirits.  We had dinner and were chatting in the kitchen when I opened my fortune cookie.  The Fortune read... 'Hope is a Treasure worth waiting for.'  Oh CRAP " as I handed it to Jappy to read.  We decided to not worry about another baby until we get through this one.  A month later we returned to the same chinese restaurant. Only to have another fortune that read 'He who has Hope has everything'  Oh good grief.  I didn't ever want a big family, that was never something that I saw for myself. Once again Jappy said "Lets get through this baby then we will reevaluate.  Well, fast forward 2 years or so. I started feeling like we were missing someone. I started having dreams of a little girl.  Jappy came home from church one day with a serious look on his face. I asked him what was wrong.  He said.' I don't want to tell you...but on the stand today something happened, The distinct overwhelming feeling that we are to have a little girl." I may have rolled my eyes.  I wasn't ready.
 A couple weeks later Jappy was driving in the car, and the feeling and thought came to him again. A LITTLE GIRL.  A week later we found out we were having a baby.
 We had a blood test in the first trimester that revealed we were in fact having a little Girl.
We held off telling the family until I was almost half way through the pregnancy.  The pros of living away from family.  The pregnancy went really well.  We had a few little bumps with my health but overall it went great. My due date was 12-13-14.  As the time got closer we really wanted to shoot for that date.  The week before my due date Jappy was out of town. I was already dilated to a 2. We both were worried that I could go into labor while he was gone.  We did however have a back up plan. (Book club in Labor and delivery Par-Tay) However Jappy was calmer than I.  He felt like things would be fine while he was away and that the baby would come  December 7.( I thought he was crazy) But I took it VERY EASY, and Slow while he was gone and when he  pulled into the driveway from his trip on Friday we all had a sigh of  relief.
the next Day Saturday (Dec 6)  Jappy went to the gym around 6am.  And at 6:30am I was having contractions. Nothing consistent but they lasted all morning until 8. I didn't feel like I was in Labor but I also didn't feel "right" So I got in the shower. When Jappy got home he was surprised by me being up and showered and asked what was going on? Apparantly it's not like me to be up and showered by that time on a Saturday.  I told him I wasn't feeling 'right'  His comment was " Oh no NOT today Today is not a good day" "well I'm sorry for inconveniencing you" I said. Now this Saturday was a little busier than usual.  We had a basketball game, first thing(two in fact). Then We had a Church breakfast/christmas party that we had the main dish for.  Then another basketball game and my friend was throwing me a baby shower that afternoon/evening.
I powered through the morning. I must not have looked too well because I had lots of people ask me if I was doing ok. I said I wasn't feeling my best, and then There were lots 'ohh this could be the day' comments.  I wasn't ready for it to be the day, I had things still to do.  I made it to the baby shower and I was finally feeling good.  We ate and visited with friends and loaded the car with fun new baby girl things, and headed home.  The time is now about 8:30 at night.  Our kids were playing outside and I started having contractions again. Nothing consistent.  A friend of ours is the Chief OB and we knew he was on call. Side Note He is NOT my doctor.  He's our friend We've been to dinner together in each others homes.  He Is NOT my doctor for that reason.  It's weird.  However with the last two babies that I have delivered he likes to come in and tease me that my doctor is out of town and he's filling in.. Oh silly man.
So by 930 contractions were about 7-10 mins apart but still not consistent.  Jappy texted our Friend asking his opinion and He called him immediately.  He said to drink two big glasses of water. If they get faster I'm in labor if they stop I was just dehydrated. I drank my water and We got our kids showered and asleep. I laid  on the bed wondering what we should do.  Go in, or wait it out?  Still not feeling like I was in Labor.  At 11;15 or so I told Jap to get his shoes on.  We need to go in.  There was no way I was going to be able to sleep. As he went to the closet I had the hardest contraction I had had all day.  I told him we better hurry That Was BAD. He ran downstairs and told our girls we were headed to the hospital. As we are walking out to the car I had another strong contraction, that stopped me dead in my tracks.  Jappy is now in the car and says 'Hey, get in" "I can't I told him I can't move it hurts so BAD."
Now I Have never gone into labor on my own EVER.  This was NEW to us.
Jap drove fast to the Hospital, hitting what felt like every pot hole on the road/freeway. We pulled into the hospital and parked at the doors to admitting, or so we thought was admitting. The doors open up we walk through all the while I have a death grip on Jappy's arm. The door closed behind us and I had another hard contraction and MY WATER BROKE. The next door didn't open It was LOCKED. We had a slight moment of PANIC. Thinking we were trapped. In the past After my water breaks I have a baby within 30 minutes. I would have liked to have seen the security footage of us at that moment.  We turned around and the door to the outside opened back up. PHEW. We headed back to the car to drive around the hospital to the ER entrance.  On the way to the car Jappy stops and says " UHH your water just broke I don't want you getting in MY CAR"  I was NOT amused. I did get in the Car. Walked into the ER and we didn't even have to say ANYTHING. She asked if I could walk and I said Yes. Jappy Said get the Wheelchair, they wheeled me upstairs and I got changed and I was hurting bad. We told the nurse this is going to be fast Call Dr. Jones. I'm not so sure she believed me... Until she checked me and I was an 8.  I told her I WANT an epidural!! I was starting to get scared. I Really didn't want to do this with out any pain medicine!! I was already Feeling overwhelmed, like it was too much for me. Jappy assured me I could do it if I needed to. I was sure I could not. Why Was He not here yet?? Dr. Jones walked in about that time with the biggest grin on his face. All of his taunting from the last couple years... He was right he was going to have to deliver one of my babies.  I may have said something smart alike and mean.. He says I'll be back when your happier and walked out the door. Next thing I heard was the anesthesiologist cart getting closer to my room. Hallelujah!!
He sat me up gave me that blessed shot I was numb before I laid back down. Jones walked I said I'm sorry things were looking pretty dark for me I'm happy now. I may have apologized to the whole room Not my greatest moment. But I did tell everyone we are all friends now. Jappy said to Jones you better get that nice sweatshirt off this is going to be quick. Sure enough baby was crowning. During my apologies they brought a mirror in and I watched the birth of our Sixth and Final Baby. One and Half pushes Later we had a beautiful 7 lb 15oz curly dark haired baby. Born on Dec 7 12:05!
The nurses just gushed over her. And were fighting over who got to bathe her and wash her beautiful locks of Hair. We are PROUD PARENTS of our little Caboose.
We are so Lucky to have such wonderful doctors that have taken Care of us here. They Have become our close friends. Each one of them we feel like we could call them in any sort of emergency and they would be there at a drop of a hat.  The next day our pediatrician gave her the release to go home. He said you've done this a time or two you're fine to go home whenever the Dr Releases you. Jones came in and said the same thing. Less then 24 hrs later We were headed home!
Jappy and the kids had dinner waiting and a nice clean house to come home too.  The kids had not yet seen her. We have a motley crew and felt it a better idea for them to not come to the hospital.  It was a wild whirlwind of a weekend.

Jacqueline Hope

 Miss Hope made her Debut 7 days early. Dec. 7, 2014 Weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz. 20 in long.  We are absolutely smitten with this Perfect, Beautiful Baby Girl.  Our Family Feels complete now that our "caboose " has arrived.

I added a Hawaii picture to this post because I'm ready for another vacation! I am 7 days away from my due date. I am about ready.  My christmas shopping is close to being done, and I have two projects Im working on that are so close to being done.  Baby stuff is also close to being ready.  I just need new batteries in the swing and bouncer and Jappy to get the cradle out of the rafters. But none of those things are that important on my to do list so they have taken the back seat.

During the month of October we had Red Ribbon Week.  One of the days was "I mustache you to say no to drugs" So the kids all wore mustaches to school.  Brooklyn felt it important to sport her mustache dress.  This year for Halloween We decorated our front door like Frankenstein. Our Kids LOVED him so much that we left him up two weeks after the Holiday.  I think this will become a tradition every Halloween.  My brother  and his kids came and spent some time with us during Halloween.  We had such a fun couple days with them.  Johnny made himself at home and was very comfortable here.  He cracked us up.  He has such an adult vocabulary and very matter of fact.  We  just enjoyed our time with the kids and miss them so much.  

For Halloween we went to our wards trunk or treat and hit a couple neighbors.  Paxton was a Devil, Jet-dinosaur Jay-ninja, Brooklyn and police officer, and Mady was her inmate.  I don't have a picture of Jappy and I but I dressed up as a cheerleader and Jappy was a football player.  Lots laughs and funny looks. 

I threw in a picture of Jappy during the tough mudder.  The obstacle that he's at is the monkey bars over water. He had to climb them in an A shape (Up and down)     

Also in October we sweet talked some friends into taking us to their friends house to ride horses.  What a fun Night and great memories with our kids.  I miss riding. It was fun to see  their faces light up and how much they enjoyed it. Some day I hope to be able to give them those opportunities more often.  It brought back so many great memories.   

ThanksGiving was low key and uneventful.  We went out to the Reservation again this year for dinner.  What a great way to celebrate a Holiday.  We even had friends joint us this year. I hope we have them talked into joining our tradition in the years to come. 

This was a pretty random post.... But you get the idea of what we've been up to.

Oh Dear,

We are still around.  I'm going to do a quick update of the past year and than hopefully I will stay caught up....For a few months anyways.   After the half marathon we enjoyed thanksgiving.  Since it's just us we decided...We eat at home everyday lets go out.  It was the BEST ThanksGiving EVER. My house stayed clean, We were relaxed and we actually got dressed up for dinner.  I organized a 5K Turkey Trot for our ward for that morning.  It was a good way to get out of the house and enjoy our friends and neighbors that morning.
December, January came with no big events besides Christmas and My birthday.
February Our girls got a special Valentine with a plane ticket inside to HAWAII.
March we took our girls for a weeks vacation in Hawaii.  My Brother Bob and his Family are stationed there with the Army.  We had the BEST time.  A week was NOT long enough! We packed our days FULL of Fun.  Snorkeling, Body surfing, eating at local restaurants, Tide pool exploring, hiking, the PPC, whale watching, Dole plantation, and the Biggest Highlight of the trip... Swimming with dolphins.  We could have ended the trip and only done that and it still would have been the best trip ever.  What a GREAT experience and to be able to share it with the girls was the cherry on top.  It was So hard to leave.  When we look back at our hundreds of pictures we can't help but smile at the wonderful memories we made. Jappy helped coach High School Baseball.
April We celebrated 13 years!!Jay and Brooklyn played Soccer, Mady turned 12 and had her first temple trip, Mady joined the middle school track team and took 1st in Shot -Put and 2nd in Discus in All City. and was invited to compete in a regional competition. (We are PROUD parents)!  Jap's step dad passed away, Paxton(18 months) broke his leg, I had my wisdom teeth out. And OH YA.. Found out I was Pregnant with #6 (Heaven Help us ALL) April was not my favorite month. But we survived.
May Paxie got his cast off and had an EKG and passed again!! He will have a Echocardiogram next year in June. If all looks well he could be released of ALL Cardio doctors and appointments(Super Exciting).  I ran a Color Run with friends, Found out that we were Having a GIRL!
Due December 13th
 We celebrated the LAST DAY of SCHOOL with our friends and neighbors with our annual root beer float party.
June  The kids collected eggs for a neighbor all month and loved it, Jay started Flag Football, He's a Natural like his Daddy.   He had countless touchdowns, and several interceptions that he ran back for a touch down and LOTS of Flags. He was SO FUN to watch. Mady and I went to Girls Camp and had a blast. Jet started Speech, and made some GREAT progress through the Summer
July We headed to Coeur d'Alene for a week.  Spending time with ALL of the Family, Lots of Time at the beach and on the boat. Jay and Brooklyn got up on water skis. And surprised my Family with the news of BABY GIRL. Brought our Nephews home with us to spend 3 weeks of FUN with them.  We had a science day, went to Bear World, Picnics in the park, hiked the mountains, slept in a tent, Had outside movie night, Decorated bikes for a parade, went to the pool several times, set up the slip-n-slide. The List could go on and on. We tried to plan and do something each day they were here.  We were exhausted each night.
August    I sold the 15 passenger Van(yea ME), We rented a Cabin in Star Valley for a long weekend and enjoyed every minute. We golfed, Jappy played in a tournament with his momma, swam, ate, played shuffle board, and horseshoes. and just had a really fun time.  Jappy took the kids to Lagoon for a day and had a BLAST. We bought a dog, Beautiful German Shepherd. And sold her 3 wks later. We loved her!! She did not love our neighbors, and I didn't feel good about the aggression she was showing towards anyone in our yard. No fault of her own She was protecting us and our yard.  We miss her dearly. Some Day again we will be  dog owners. It was so good for our Kids.
School started!! Mady 7th. Brooklyn 5th. Jay K.  Jet Lincoln /center Preschool.
Mady Made the School Volleyball team and LOVES it.  That girl has a MEAN serve.  We've enjoyed her games. Jay and Brooklyn started another season of Soccer. It's been Busy with everyone practicing and games but we LOVE watching our kids, and watching them develop their talents.
September. Jappy has been working out HARD He has Lost 80lbs and still going strong.  We are so PROUD of him.  He competed in a Tough Mudder in Utah. If you don't know what it is google it. It was 11 miles of Running and then Crazy obstacles intertwined. We made arrangements for our kids and we spent 3 days together ALONE.  It was the first time in 6 years we had been away for more than 12 hours with out any kids. It was fun to be able to watch him do his run and to be able to cheer him on. We had a Great Weekend together.
My parents got their mission call and will be serving for 12 months in the Family History Center in Salt Lake City.We are very Happy for them.
October Celebrated Paxton turning 2. He is such a Fun Sweet Boy. He talks up a storm, repeating everything we say.  He's only gotten me in trouble once (which really surprises me) He is one busy little bugger. I think he is worse than Jay was. I had to buy a second baby gate to contain that boy. He will need his own post for all his extra curricular activities he's been involved in.  
I'm preparing for the Elementary School Red Ribbon Week at the end of the month. And the Big guy will turn 41 in a week.
Phew... Well there you have it in a Nut shell Pictures will come at a later date I need to upload those yet. But know we are still around and doing well.

13.1

8 weeks ago I was talked into training for a Half Marathon. CRAZY I know.Thankfully my friend Jen was just as crazy as I, and we did it together. We Worked hard, ran more than either one of us would have ever thought possible, sacrificed good food, and lots of time. But WE DID IT!!

The race was Fun. We breezed right through the first 8 miles. We were pretty entertained by the other runners.  We laughed to ourselves many times.  My favorite part of the run was mile 9's candy table, and mile 11's temptation table. That was the best doughnut EVER.

Pre Race

 We Made it!!

We are going to put together a team to run a 62 mile relay.... Maybe... I've enjoyed my sleeping in.