Costa Rica

We just got back from a 9 day trip to Costa Rica with our family (except Sadie stayed with my mom and Sally, THANKS SO MUCH!!! I could not ask for people to love my little lady more)

We went with some of our neighbors and friends from Robs new work. We had 13 kids and 8 adults. I am so grateful for such great friends that we can go on vacations with.

It started early at 3 AM. We were in the airplane and I looked over at Madison who was hystericaly crying. I thought Oh dear she is afraid of the plane already. So I asked her why and she said "I miss Sadie mom, its not fair that you would not bring her".

The roads are pretty amazing (not in a good way) in Costa Rica. I could not believe how bad they were when it pored rain (about 50% of the time) But that did not matter that much we would just sit around and talk and read or nap. We went on a zip line, took a boat to an island, swam in the pool and went out the back door to the beach. On Sunday we got permission to do a Sacrament meeting at our house. That was very fun and nice to take the Sacrament and not swim and remember our Savior.

My kids got to the point that they thought they could speak spanish if they just jumbled words together. They would talk to the cook or the guy that was in charge if the house that we rented. They would just look at us when my kids would talk to them and pat them on the heads and smile.

It was so nice to not have a million places to drive and go and just sit and relax. To bad we had no phone service, that was great for the wives to not share our husbands with their blackberrys.

It is so so beautiful there. Out our balcony it looked like it could be on a postcard. I loved watching the kids do everything, including the 6 or so times that Hailey Threw up on the car ride to the airport. (crazy twirly roads, not Robs driving this time!!! He was a great driver)

Thank you to the Lunsfords, Pecks, Dunns, we will never forget this trip.

Happy 1st Birthday Sadie Bella

I cant believe it Sadie is ONE today!!! I woke up today and thought Oh its Sadies Birthday. Since she is clueless and I have figured out by the 4th child that she does not care I think I will just give her extra kisses today. We already had her party last week at my moms and she was so tired from going to the zoo and being at Dance all afternoon that she pretty much cried her whole party.

I love Sadie so so much. She is a miracle to me in so many ways. One that we were both ok after my wreck when I was five months pregnant with her, and when she pretty much stopped breathing in her delivery I knew at that moment that Heavenly Father had a special plan for her to be here.

I love that she sometimes will snuggle with me. Her favorite person other than her mom and dad is definatly Madison. (It would be hard without Madisons help). She loves to be around her brother and sisters. Lately she loves to scream, Maybe for attention from the other 3. She loves to dance to any music (hope she is a dancer, she would fit right in) I love it when she laughs huge belly laughs.

I cant believe how fast time went, it seems like I just had her. To bad when there one the excuse from being fat sounds kind of dumb.

Anyways Sadie I love you and am so so glad that I have you.

what to do when life gives you lemons!!

Last week we got to go to Lake Powell with my mom and dad. It was so so much fun. I think my kids were made from a Lake Powell mold. They are so happy there. We love to play on the beach, go tubing, go to church at Ticacaboo, eat sandwiches that somehow taste totally different there than they do at home.

One of the days the weather was windy and a little rainy. So we decided that we were going to make the best of the weather so we decided to let the kids do a Lemonade stand on the dock of the houseboat slips. Kaden is quite the salesman. I was very impressed he did not miss a person walking by saying "do you want some yummy lemonade and cookies??" Madison is shy, so she just filled the cups and distributed the cookies. Hailey was just happy watching. After they were done Rob in his business sense sat the kids down and talked about there gross and net profit. It was way over there heads, except the tithing thing they were all happy to give a dollar each.

Our blog is going private!!!

Hey I have decided to have one of those invitational only type blogging thing. Please leave me your email!!!!!!

messy kids

Well any one that knows me, knows that I really am ok cleaning up messes here and there. Especially when it comes to my kids I love toys and I feel like we have plenty for the kids to play with. WHY WHY WHY did Madison and Kaden feel that they were going to test their culinary skills this morning??? I never clean the house on Sundays, but yesterday we had friends over and the kids had popsicle drippings all over so I cleaned the floors (which is a hands and knees thing for me) I love a clean floor. So when I came downstairs today I had to contain myself and take pictures to

calm my anger. Well throughout the day I have found the items in closets hidden that they attempted to make. Then I had to throw in a picture of my little angel sleeping.

Trista

FLASHBACK!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRISTA!!!





I am honored to write a little something about Trista and how she is turning 30. We are the same age and I still feel like we are 20 years old in College together. Except we are much busier now with life and our kids. I love her kids and my kids love them to. She is raising such wonderful children. They are the kind of kids you want your kids to be with so hopefully they will rub off on your own kids with the sweet things they say and the happiness that they have.





Trista is a wonderful mom and an amazing friend. She always thinks of others and wants to serve anyone and everyone. I have been so touched watching her raise her kids this past year mostly by her self. She has a lot of patients, and always a smile. She is very close to Heavenly father and I am sure he is very pleased with her righteous desires. Thank you Trista for being one of my very best friends, I love you and your little family.

Hello sunshine!!!

Am I crazy??? Sometimes I think so. My mom, me and my 4 kids took the journey to Las Vegas to see my sister and her family. We surprised my niece on her birthday. We were lucky to have even made it on her birthday. It took us 9, yes I said NINE hours to get there. We stopped multiple times to have fake potty breaks for Hailey, we had no TV which I realize that is a mistake. I will NEVER go further than the point of the mountain without a TV in the car.

We had a great time sitting by the pool, shopping, bowling and eating out. Madison was in heaven to be with her girl cousins. Poor Sadie was so sick while we were there We hurried home and I took her to the DR. She has brochitas and a sinus infection. I just hate it when my kids are sick. Why do they get sick in June?????????????

After we got home Rob met us at the Orem days parade. We had so much fun. Sadie danced like crazy when ever the band walked by. Will she be a dancer or a flag twirler??? You know my vote.

TAGGED!!

Thanks Ellery!! I have a bad memory so this is going to be a challenge.

What I was doing 10 years ago... Well I dont really remember but I think I was dating Rob and waiting for a missionary to come home. Me and Rob were probably roller blading or riding our bikes. (those were the days)

What I was doing 5 years ago... Mads was 1year old so I was watching her every move and having full conversations with her (she talked very early). We were packing for California and since it was our first child I felt like we needed to take our whole house with us. It took us around 11 hours to pack for the 3 of us. Isnt that funny!!! I can pack in less than an hour for 5 of us now, I admit I always forget things but it works out fine.

1 year ago... I was probably at home since i could barely drive, pregnant with Sadie. I was probably laying on the floor. telling my kids I was just tired. (so I would not keep passing out). That was a rough one, good thing I love Sadie to pieces!!!

Yesterday... I was at the zoo. I absolutely love the zoo. It is the best place to go ever. I will be very sad when my kids dont want to go there 5 times every summer, Then wer were at the post office getting our passports to go on vacation.

5 favorite snacks...Cookies, cookies, my ice and water, cookies and mint brownies.
5 favorite books... I am not a reader but I loved the twilight series and am trying to read the book of mormon again
5 places to run away... I LOVE DISNEYLAND, Lake Powell, Saint George, to the mall by myself and ummm Phoenix
5 bad habits,,,, Spending to much time blogging, yelling at my kids, having a dirty car, not answering my phone, not calling people back.
5 things I would never wear... White socks with sandals, pantyhose, a belly shirt (love the after 4 kids belly i have going), crocks, probably a hat.
5 pet peaves... Peoples driving, ringing my doorbell between 1pm-5pm (I have kids asleep),whinny kids, people being slow in the self checkout at wal-mart (the bar codes are not that hard to find).
5 famouse people I would like to meet... I dont know any peoples names so I would have to say President Monson would be fun to meet.
5 people I want to tag.... Sally, Lisa, Alesa, Tiffany, Bethany

First Summer Trip to Lake Powell

We are so excited to have the kids out of school and a break from dance (only for another week). We went to Lake Powell with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law (My Best Buddy) and there 5 1/2 kids. We had a blast. I love being around the water and my kids were born in Lake Powell molds. They love love love to play on the beach and jumped in the water like it was 100 degrees. So much to look forward to in the Summer time!!

We also this week went to my Unlce Bobs funeral. I have been reminded through this that I want to love people like he did everyone, everyday, everytime we came into the room. I also was reminded from a talk given by my cousin that "We always want to make more memories when there is no more time to make them" I have taken this to heart. I am going to try to love each day and make memories with my sweet husband and cute little children today. My family has been blessed to know my Uncle, I know we will see him again.

Happy Birthday Hailey Bug!!

This picture is actually Sadie (I thought it was Hailey) They look so much alike. And I cant figure out how to get it off so enjoy!!

Haileys birthday at Lake Powell

Hailey is 3!!! Wow it seems like I have had her more than 3 years. Hailey was definatly a surprise for us (Kaden was only 5 months old when I surprisingly got pregnant) But she is very predictable to me know. I love her so so much. She is my first to throw an official tantrum, you know the kind you read about in Parents Magazine. She was my first to not have red curly hair, but not my first to love bottles (she still loves them).

Five things I love about her

-She loves to go shopping anywhere with me.

-I love the way she talks baby talk to Sadie

-I love her overbite smile that she flashes

-I love that she loves her family very very much

-I love that she pretends to talk on the phone all day long to the same people, cinderella, grandma and aunt Brittany

Five things you probably dont know about her (unless you are with her for 5 minutes)

-She ALWAYS is singing very very loud. So at her preschool graduation I think we all heard her over anyone else.

-We call her velcro, she loves to be with me, even when other kids are over she will hange out with the adults.

-She always wants to dance and thinks she knows Madisons Trio so I have to sing those songs about 100 times a day. I am so glad she made a team so we can add new dances for her to do for us.

-She always likes to wear sweats (I wonder where she got that from). Its hard to tell her no when I am always in sweats.

-She has thought she was 5 years old for about a year know. She has grown up fast. When she was 3 months old she decided she did not want to be a baby any more and she sped through everything.

Happy birthday we love you!!!

Miracles do happen!!!!

Goodbye Diapers!!!
Hello Big girl Hailey bug!!!

Oh yes everybody, the day has finally come, I cant believe that I am even saying this but Hailey is potty trained. I think I tried everything to get to this point. I took away everything that ment the most to her, I promised her the most stuff, but do you want to know what finally worked? Going to a big girl dance class like Madison. I never wanted to use dance as a threat or a reward, but they were having tryouts where Madison takes dance and I told her she could go to the clinic if she wore panties. So she whipped out the panties and put them on and has not gone back to diapers ever since. WOW, I am so proud of her. What a great day in the Bay household.

Madisons last performance

Haileys hot outfit, backwards shirt nice 80's leggings, what a cutie!!
I guess that I thought you would like to see this one two times!!! WHoops

Well it was Madisons last performance this weekend. She is sad she wont do those same dances ever again. What a fun year we have had with dance, I dont know who likes it more her or me. (If you ask Rob he will tell you that I do) I have made such good friends, and had fun with friends I have been friends with for 10 plus years (I feel old now) Madison has had so much fun, she loves to dance and especially to perform.

The picture of Hailey is funny to me because she ALWAYS puts her clothes on backwards, so I decided to take a picture this time. She is a funny girl. I am sure one day she will hate these pictures of her with the most random clothes on, but what she wears is just not a battle that I chose to fight.

What would our husbands think?

So Me and Rob are the very best friends in the world and we tell each other everything, and we are maddddly in love. But I am wondering how many of us stay at home mothers let our kids do things that our husbands would not really love?

Check out the picture of Kaden and his little buddies playing with about 100 of Robs golf balls. I dont think that he would love this!!!

DISNEYLAND!!!

So we took the trip with everyone else in Utah to Disneyland with the three older kids. Thanks to the many volunteers to take Sadie, she stayed home with lots of love!!! We all missed her so much, but I have to say that we could not have done what we did with our super crawler.

We got in the car at 6am on Sunday and it was surprisingly pleasant until the last 2 hours. Hailey screamed and we pulled off every exit we could to gain our sanity.

We quickly forgot about that and had so so much fun in our hotel swimming and loving disneyland. I was in heaven watching our kids on the rides and loved watching madison and hailey dance for the whole crowd while waiting for shows or the parades. Madison got to practice cartwheels in the streets of disneyland. (They are a bit more scary for me to watch her whip out a good old cartwheel with hundreds of people trying to walk by) Any body that knows Madison will know that she whips cartwheels out in the mall, movies, home, wherever. I think her feet have sensors on them. She usually does not hit many things!!

This was our first trip we have ever taken our kids on with out friends or family. It was great to get to spend this special time with just us. I will treasure the memories forever. I think it is the happiest place on earth, I love walking through the Disneyland streets with the happy music playing and the smells of treats.

My Sleepy Baby

My tired little baby girl


Picnic Pajama friday night!!!!

I know we all have these pictures of our kids falling asleep wierd places, but these pictures are from the past 3 days. I think she must be tired from crawling around trying to keep up with her big sisters and brother. She is such a joy in my life.

I loved conference this weekend. I especially was touched with the talk from Elder Ballard about mothers in the Sunday Afternoon session. I think he wrote that talk for me. Here are some things that touched me about his talk.I loved that he talked to us young mothers with little children. When he says "its crucial to focus on our kids for the short span that we have them" Its crazy to think we only have them 1/4 of our lives. "Recongnize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments." I hope that I can remember this every day.

Dont overschedule your children. Does it count if we have bonding time where Madison takes dance in the hall? Water cannot be drawn from an empty well. I love this, I love that he suggests that mothers need to replenish themselves through dates and time away from the everyday things we do .Pray, Study and teack the Gospel. What a wonderful talk this was. I cant wait for them to print it so that I can read and re-read it often.

Madison Competition

Little America
Madisons Home made trophy

Madison did her trio on Saturday for a competition in SLC. I thought all the girls did so good. She tied with two of my best friends girls for 2nd place!!! I thought that was so fun to share that. however when I asked Madison how they did at the awards she just said "I heard them say "Who's got the pain" (the name of her dance) two times but I dont know what was going on." I never told her the placement I figured it doesnt matter as long as she had fun. She was a little disappointed that she did not get a trophy so I told her I would make one for her. Then we went to Little America for dinner. She got scrambled eggs and said they were the best ever. I took all the girls to the bathroom and they were in awwww over the gold tissue paper holders and crystal chandeliers in the potty stalls. I think sometimes we forget to look at the little things. I walked in the bathroom and honestly did not notice any of that, but I think that is how life is I think we go about our daily activities and forget the beauty and forget to appreciate all the wonderful people around us.