Life

Sorry everyone summer is a crazy time around here!! Hazen is drilling wheat and corn harvest is right around the corner. I am ready for some slower times around here and some good quality family time that doesn't involve riding on a tractor/combine or taking meals to the field.

Well I now am the proud parent to a 5 year old!!!! Nicole ended up having a fabulous birthday and got completely spoiled....imagine that :) After months of debating she finally picked a Rapunzel themed party. Since turning 5 she has informed me she is allowed to many more things in life. She also has lost her bottom two teeth. I don't do teeth so my mom pulled out the first one. The second one was a little bit more dramatic..... We were eating corn on the cob for supper, there ended up blood on the corn cob, lots of crying and a 45 minute phone call to grandma walking her through step by step how to pull it out. Oh, my goodness I hope this doesn't happen every time!!!!!

Oh basement is finished!!! We still have to do some little things but everything is officially moved in down there!! I was so thrilled when I carried each handful of toys down the stairs and knew they had a new home and wouldn't be cluttering my upstairs anymore.

Ryan's birthday is in a week and a half and I can't believe he is turning 2!!! He defiantly acts like it though. He is going to have a John Deere party so I excited to see how it turns out. He is a true blue farmer in training. He has to have his hat on before he leaves the house and you can find him with some sort of tool in the shop trying to fix something. As harvest grows closer with all the tractors and combines driving by, I know I can always find him with his face glued to the window watching for them to drive by. He even has his dads heart because he looks up when he hears the airplanes :)

Well the kids are taking a nap and I need to get caught up on somethings. Hope everyone is doing well!!

March

I can't believe March is almost over!! Our basement has been at a stand still since Hazen started working in the field. Oh, how I dislike this time of year sometimes...it is back to being a single parent for the spring/summer. I love living the life we live but when the intensely busy months come I dread not having Hazen around. It is hard on the kids and me...plus it is always nice to have an extra pair of hands to help out as needed!! However, it will be nice to get outdoors with the kids and not be so cooped up. Plus Ryan can hardly contain himself when he sees all these tractors around :)

With the cold and windy days we have really been into play dough and surprising enough Ryan doesn't try to eat it!! It is nice to include him in some of the crafty things Nicole and I do. A few weeks ago he even tried out painting. He actually did a super job and only got paint on his picture!!

The most eventful thing that happed to us this month was when we were racing cars across the kitchen floor and Nicole tripped on one and face planted it hardcore!! We ended up with a split chin and a family trip to the ER. They glued it which was nice because I am not sure how we would of ever gotten stitches into her. Now, everywhere we go she shows everyone and tells them the complete story. I tell you what this parenting thing keeps you on your toes!!!

Well I can't think of anything else going on so I think I will head to bed. However, I will leave you with these pics:

This is from last summer but I just love it and I forgot to put it in before

Reading books in the tent

Painting :)


My play dough lovers!!

Chillin in his robe. He looks so grown up!!

Pics compliments of Joanie Groshans Photography

Here are a few extra pictures I finally got around to getting off my camera. I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy!!


Hamming it up before church

Such a cutie!!

Getting ready to cheer at the game

Nothing like a nice day in January to go out and ride your new bike you got for Christmas!!

He cried when he had to leave the shop!!

Just chillin


Completely out of it when we got back to the hotel

Not the best picture of her but she wasn't really in the picture taking mood after all the formal ones she had to take

Getting hair done for the wedding

Where to begin...

Wow, we have had a lot going on!!! Nicole is tolerating preschool, she doesn't seem to like it much but I still think it is a good socialization tool. Plus it gets up her immune system...seriously we are sick every other week!! She recently was a flower girl for her Uncle Aaron and Aunt Kendra's wedding. She did fabulous job and was totally adorable. She partied until 12:30 a.m.!!!! I think we will have to keep an eye on her in the future ;)

Ryan is walking/running like crazy and is into everything!! He is a true boy and it is definitely interesting to see the huge differences in raising a boy vs. raising a girl. He is such a cutie and I am so thrilled to see what he comes up with next. Last night I was getting the kids ready for the bath and Ryan ran out and stood by Hazen. I started to put the kids in the tub and the next thing I know is Hazen is screaming the Ryan went potty on his foot!!! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time :)

We are finishing our basement which I am super excited about for the extra room, some days I feel like toys are going to swallow us up. The guys are currently sanding and I can honestly say I am so happy to be busy with the kids. They come up white with mud covering them from head to toe.

We also have a bit of sad news. In November we found we were expecting again, a total surprise to us but we were really excited. I went to the doctor and we found out we would be expecting on July 10th. However, God had different plans. We found out when I was 11 weeks that we had lost the baby. It didn't hit me at first until I had to go in for a DNC. It is amazing how much you can love someone you haven't even met yet. It has been rough on all of us but I know there are others out there with much bigger problems than we could ever even imagine. It is truly amazing to me though talking to family and friends how many of them have gone through the same thing. It is hard to swallow God's plan sometimes. I am just thankful for the two wonderful, healthy children God has blessed us with.

Until next time...



To bad they both weren't looking at me

I just had to show the cupcakes I made for the preschool Halloween party

I told ya he would be an adorable lion

Nicole insisted I dress up too

Ready for preschool party

1st Birthday party

I wish I could freeze this moment


My little worker

School Days

We have begun a HUGE new adventure in this household.........Nicole started preschool!!! It is amazing how on the very first day I dropped off my big girl and then when I came to pick her up I swear it wasn't my child. It is amazing the independence that comes oozing out of them and the I'm in charge attitude. Trust me she had enough going in and it has seemed to double :) The crazy part is that this is only the beginning. She seems to like school and has already made some friends. It is hard for me to step back and realize this is how it is going to be for the next 17 or so years.

The first week Ryan refused to take a morning nap, I think it was to quite around here for him. He is getting used to it and it is nice to spend some one on one time with him. However, he dreads getting in his car seat all the time to run in and out of town.

Ryan is a crawling machine and he will be walking before long. He has just seemed to grow up so fast. He will be 1 in a couple weeks!!! How can that possible be? This last year we were just so incredible busy I feel like time just slipped past me some how.

We did get to take a little vacation before school started. We went to Colorado Springs and went to the zoo. Which we all loved!! I just love that zoo, I wish we lived closer. We also went to Canyon City and walked over the Royal Gorge. That place has really built up into a tourist attraction. I remember going there when I was younger and you just drove across it and back. Now there is like an amusement park wrapped around it. Wow, is that showing my age ;)

Right now we are waiting for the corn to dry down and Hazen is finishing up with alfalfa. Nicole is excited about Halloween. She heard me talking about taking treats for the Halloween party at school and she got so excited that she gets to celebrate things at school and home. Her enthusiastic spirit never ceases to amaze me. Fingers crossed we have it narrowed down to Super Girl, but that could always change and Ryan is going to be an adorable lion.

Here are some long overdue pics....
1st day of school


My cuties

Ready for Tae kwan do

Me and my little man

Fun times

June/July

New month, new things happening. We are officially done cutting wheat, YEAH!!!! I didn't work at Paoli this year, with Ryan still nursing it was going to be impossible. So I got to take on the task of cooking supper to take out to the field. WOW, I don't think I ever gave my grandma enough credit for taking care of us and getting hot meals out to the field. It is a lot of work when you have 2 little ones that want/need you right when it is time to get everything ready. We survived though and I even got compliments on my meals, so I must have done something right.

Nicole finished up swimming lessons and really enjoyed them. She refused to get her face wet (imagine that). She really liked her teacher and by the end of the 3 week class she was the leader of her class for circling around the pool (holding on to the edge). She wanted to take the class again just as long as she didn't have to get her face wet :)

Ryan can get just about anywhere scooting along and of course rolling. He and Nicole are hilarious as they are already fighting over toys. He definitely knows what "no" means and when he doesn't want to hear it he puts his head down and looks the other way. He likes every kind of baby food he tries and is a pro at the sippy cup. I can't believe how fast 9 months has flown by!!!

Hazen is officially 32 years old!! He had another birthday in the field and fixing a broken down baler. However, he got a nice hot supper, and compliments of Grandma S a birthday cake and homemade ice cream. Now he is super busy with getting up all the alfalfa. We really won't see much of him until September...unless it rains.

Well until next time....


1st day of Swimming lessons


As a mom it doesn't get much better than this :)


Knocking down my cookbooks again!!