Miki Summer Dance

This post is for the Grandmas who wanted to watch Miki dance, but couldn't make it out. They learned these dances in their 6 week summer class.

Wow....where does the time go?!

Well life around here is crazy!!! I know, I know what should I expect with five kids, three dogs (no that is not a typo. We now have THREE dogs) and callings that keep us very busy. We are all doing well and instead of doing the laundry, cleaning the kitchen, and cleaning up the fish food in the entry (no clue how it got there in the middle of the night) I am sitting on the couch updating my blog.
We started the summer by adding Cooper to the family. You ask why in the world would we want/need another dog?! I agree, but he is so cute:) Chad found him online here in town and convinced me to go look at him. Well....long story short Breslynn fell in LOVE, kids promised to help train him, and I am the BIGGEST sucker of them all. He is a great little dog and won't get much over 7lbs.

We have been very busy with baseball. Jaidon had so much fun playing and they did really well. This means we had lots of games. Overall they took 2nd in the city wide tournament. He played a couple of double headers to end up in the championship game which he thought was awsome. Mom had a blast, but was exhausted after chasing two 15 months around. I didn't get a good pic with his team. My camera was acting funny and Breslynn was jumping out of my arms while I tried to take it.

Another exciting thing that has happened around here is Miki auditioned for the dance team at the studio where she dances and she MADE it! She is super excited and can't wait to start. I think she will be spending lots of time at the studio this next year. It is a good thing we LOVE them :)
We have been swimming alot too. There is a great pool about 30min from our house that some of our friends from church go to and they talked me into joining also. It was really tuff since I hate sitting at the pool all day! (LOL) Breslynn and Daxon love it and my friends are so amazing helping me out while we are there. I couldn't do it with out them. It is well worth the drive. These pictures are from our pool in the back yard. I think this is the best purchase we have ever made! It is not deep enough that I worry about them in it, but deep enough for them to have fun. I am thinking that someday we will need to get a inground pool of our own.......



We have made it out on the boat once so far this summer. I think we have a curse on us. We have planned on going a few times and it ends up raining, not supposed to but it does. We can't wait to get out and try our new tube!





Well in the middle of all this we have had the house painted, Chad has gone on a river trip, dance recital, company in town, Chad at youth conference, and all the normal day to day running every where! I love summer time, but think I will be ready for school to start in a month......now to get everyone ready for that!

Cruise

I am finally posting about our cruise. We had such a great time and would leave today to go again if we could (except maybe bring the kids this time)It was a much need break from the craziness. I didn't change a diaper for 7 whole days!!! It was hard to leave the kids but I knew that they were in great hands. My parents were kind enough to come and stay while we took off. It was hard the first few days, I kept thinking "I don't know if I can does this" and as the end grew closer I kept thinking "another day or two wouldn't be so bad." We went to Half Moon Cay Bahamas, St Thomas, San Juan Port de Rico, and Grand Turk. All were AMAZING, all were Beatiful, and all were uniqie. We had fun parasailing with the family. There were so many, 11 to be exact, of us that they wouldn't let us all go on the same boat. We were a little bummed but still had a blast. It was so funny when I was up I could hear JD, my brother in-law, acrossed the ocean laughing and screaming. Too funny! We did alot of shopping and Chad spoiled me as usual. In San Juan we went to the rainforest and it was so beautiful. We were able to go on a nice hike and just enjoy the surroundings. Chad and I went power snorklieng in Grand Turk. We held on to these machines that had big fans that would take you around the coral reef. It was like being in a James Bond movie. It was my first time snorkeling and I had to convince myself not to have a panic attack and that I could still breath with my face in the water. I loved it though! We were able to see a 7,000 foot drop off, kind freaked me out. When we weren't out eenjoying the islands we were having a blast on the boat, eating great food, and just relaxing! I feel truley blessed that I have such wonderful family. For those who don't know we went on the trip to celebrate Chads parents 40th aniversary. All 7 kids where able to go, which is a party in itself! I realized that I didn't take as many pictures as I thought and am sad that I didn't capture everything. Guess that means I will have to go back!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! We had a great day spending time as a family. I love it when conference falls on Easter Sunday. The kids had fun going through their Easter baskets. The best part is that the Easter bunny brought Chase a blanket like Mom and Dads so now Chase can sleep in his bed. ( It worked last night! I hope it continues too!) The Easter bunny also brought the kids some much need summer clothes. And as usual they got spoiled by there Grandmas:) We then had a fun day of watching conference and spending time together outside. I get the "Best Mom Ever" award because when we went for our walk the babies got sunburned:( I feel horrible! Daxon got the worst of it. We were only out there for 20 min or so. Opps! guess I need to make sure we are lathered up no matter what. We barbecued Elk steaks for dinner. ALL my boys loved it. Miki actually likes it too! I love the time we get to spend all together! I am sure we looked like a parade on our walk....Me pushing the double stroller, Chad walking the dogs, Chase on his scooter, Miki on her electric scooter, and Jaidon on his 4 wheeler. I guess it was more of a walk for Mom and Dad and ride for the kids.
XXXXOOOOO's

Happy Birthday Chase!!!

He is ready for the Elk Hunt :)
Mac-n-Cheese for dinner MMMMMMMM
Gingerbread Man Cake

I can't believe that my Chase is 4!!!! He is such a funny boy and makes me laugh every single day several times. You never know what story he is going to tell you. He makes messes faster then I can keep up! He is such a loving boy and always gives me big hugs and kisses, which I couldn't live without. This is the boy who, just yesterday, I had to explain that we can not stand on the bathroom sink and aim for the toilet when going to the bathroom. His response was "Yes I can. I can make it." He can do anything, just ask him :) I love that he LOVES his hair and won't let his dad cut it. I love that he sneaks into the bottom of my bed and sleeps, so I don't even know he is there. Apparently our covers are more comfy and we should trade him beds. He is so excited to be 4 and come October be going on the elk hunt with big brother and Dad. Chase hardly has clothes on and would prefer to be in his underpants. We have made progress and now we wear jammies 50% of the time. I love that when we get out of the car on Sundays he runs in the house yelling "Comfy Clothes Time." We are so lucky to have him in our family! Happy Birthday Bubba!!!

Catch Up!

My fam:)
Chase was soooooo excited to meet baby Koen. He wants our babies to be like him! (not mobile)
This is what we saw Christmas morning! We were so lucky to be able to fly out!


Ok so it has been awhile since I have been able to post. I having thinking about doing this just about every day and some how it doesn't get done. I then realized that I could save it as a draft if I don't have time all at once to finish. How cool is that! I know that I am a little slow, but I am blaming it on having 5 children! So life is crazy as ever but that is just the way things are around the Shelley house. We were able to go home for Christmas. It was so fun to see everyone and hang out. Breslynn and Daxon both decided to get teeth while we were there so that made things fun. One of the main reasons we went out was because my sister had her baby. Koen was born a little early so we weren't able to be there the day he was born. I don't think my sister wanted to wait for me. I am pretty sure she was glad to not be pregnant and hold that beautiful boy! We were sure glad to meet him! I now understand how mean I have been for not living close to family. I miss that baby boy sooooo much! I am trying to get her to move out here. We will see if I work my magic:) We informed everyone that we will NOT be coming out next year:( It is Chad's turn to take call. He has been really lucky that his Partners have been really understanding. So everyone is welcome to come to Missouri!!!!
We have had a yucky winter so far. We are hoping that it is done but not holding our breath. When we got back from Utah the kids had 1 full day of school on Tuesday and then on Wednesday they let out early due to the EXTREME cold. It was so cold the rest of the week that school was closed. It was so cold, -20 or less with the wind chill that they were worried about the buses running! Crazy!