I Have 4 Children. I Have No Time to Blog.

That's a legitimate excuse, right? Well, if you think it's not then you come chase Keison and Aubrynne around for a couple of hours and see if you still feel the same!! Wow these youngest two children of ours are a handful. It's unbelievable they way they keep us on our toes. The other night, Keil told me he had taken Keison in to the bathroom to wash his hands and Aubrynne followed them in there. He had Keison standing by the tub (it's easier for him to reach to wash there!) and when he turned to check on Brynne, she was unrolling all the toilet paper. Stopped her, turned back to Keison and he was crawling into the tub. Pulled his (now wet) socks off and set him back out of the tub, turned around and Brynne was pulling the toilet paper she had just unrolled out of the garbage can and putting it in her mouth. Stopped her again, tried to set her out of the bathroom, turned around and Keison had crawled on top of the toilet and was trying to crawl into the sink. Got him down, sent him out the door, turned to find Brynne and there she was, high centered on the edge of the tub, trying to reach a toy and about to go in head first. He came out looking frazzled and exhausted, and I'm not sure he actually accomplished washing Keison's hands. After he repeated this whole story to me (I think looking for some sympathy) I just gestured at the incredible mess that surrounded us and said, "Now do you understand why the house looks like THIS?!"

Ah, but I always say we would never trade it. And we wouldn't. I swear. But, sometimes, when I'm in the middle of changing the second dirty diaper in less than 5 minutes and Keison is running from the kitchen with a glass full of water (because he has now learned that he can fill his cup himself at the fridge dispenser) and dumping it all over the couch because it's just so much fun and I can't possibly get off the floor in time to stop him---that would involve leave an unwrapped poopy diaper in the dangerous reaches of a naked curious baby----sometimes, in those moments, I do think back to that short period of time just before Keison was born when Jantzen was finally potty trained, both Adrik and Jantz could dress themselves, get their shoes on, play independently.......and I think, "what the hell was I thinking?!" Nope, probably not the nicest thing to go through my mommy mind, but I am Mommy enough to admit it. Because, now that these two little ones are here and we love them more than life itself; no, we would never go back. But back then? My goodness we had no idea how easy we had it. Not that having just two kids is a piece of cake. But it's nothing like having 4!!!

Anyway, I suppose I seem to be WAY off topic for those of you who came here just looking for an update (finally) and some cute pictures. Yes, well, as I sit here in our yet unfinished basement surrounded by strewn toys, boxes of outgrown shoes, broken crayons, make-shift punching bags hanging from the rafters....well, the mind begins to wander. I suppose the fact that it's 12:45 in the morning doesn't help my thought process at all. Let's see. An update. Well, it's been a fairly uneventful summer. I didn't sign the boys up for swimming lessons. I know, I'm horrible. But they HATE the water. They refuse to even put their faces in. The local community center uses young teenagers to "teach" the swimming lessons, and these "teachers" are way more preoccupied with their social lives than the actual lessons and they have little-to-no patience with fearful 7 and 5 year old boys. Lessons last summer were a total waste of time, and I just couldn't see doing it again. Shoot me. I am hoping to locate a private teacher, maybe in Spearfish; an adult who will hopefully have better luck with the boys than I have.

Adrik and Jantzen did attend two week long sessions of Bible School; one at our church and one at my parent's church in Rapid. We took a week long vacation west in June; visiting Keil's sister's family for the first time in their beautiful new home. We also spent several days in Idaho, and got to spend time with great friends whom we miss dearly. The trip home took us through Montana for Keil's cousin's wedding. There was family there who I had never met and whom Keil had not seen in 25-30 years! So much fun!! Other than that, we've pretty well stayed close to home. Keil has been working a LOT of hours since Christmas, as one co-worker was out for several months with lung cancer. He recently returned to work (cigarette in hand) so we've been seeing a bit more of Keil around the house lately.

Adrik will start 2nd grade in a week. That is just unbelievable to me! He is currently trying to lose his two front teeth, and when he does, I'll have the greatest intentions of getting a picture posted (notice, this is not a promise to actually accomplish posting the picture.) Adrik's interest in animals has finally seemed to wane a bit and he is now a geography buff. He has created his own binder full of "reports" (usually one or two sentences that have nothing to do with each other copied from a web site) about all the European countries, some African, and one or two Asian. He knows all the continents, their countries, what they are famous for, and their landmarks.

Jantzen apparently had a growth spurt while I wasn't looking this summer because all of a sudden all of his jeans are WAY too short. Time to go school shopping! Jantz will start kindergarten the week after Adrik, and will be attending 4 full days a week (our school is on a 4 day week). His teacher this year is absolutely outstanding and she seems to have a soft spot for Jantzen (she's told us, in not so many words, that he's brilliant!) so we are anxious to watch the accomplishments he will achieve this year! Jantzen loves to wrestle with anyone who is willing, and he is also a fan of just about any time of board or card game. He will often sit in his room playing a game against himself just for the practice---he's very competitive.

Keison.....oh little Keison. He's got a God-given smile. I say God-given because I'm fairly certain God knew Keison would need that smile as a line of defense. He is always smiling and that smile can charm ANYONE; even his very angry Momma. Keison is busy, busy, busy. He loves to climb, play in water, and give lots of hugs. He has also recently discovered that it's lots of fun to fill his mouth full of either liquids or food and then spit them as far as he can and watch the reactions of his horrified brothers. He's the messiest eater on the face of the planet, and he eats NON-STOP. He's become very good at problem solving; learning that in order to reach the food mommy has put up high, all he has to do is pull a chair over from the dining room table. He knows how to open the bottom drawer freezer and help himself to whatever treats he can find. The other morning he woke me up early with a bucket of ice cream in one hand and an enormous spoon in the other. He turned two on the 4th of July---both of those facts are very indicative of his personality.

And then there's our Lady Katy. Aubrynne Kate is the most determined, most strong-willed, most demanding of all of the four. I have nursed all 4 of the children, and the boys, while they enjoyed meal time, were very passive little guests at the Cafe de Momma. They would nurse on one side for as long as I thought necessary, and when I was ready, we would switch. No squabbles, just contented little babies with full tummies. Not Aubrynne though. Oh no. She let me know very early on that she is in charge, and she will determine when the second course will be served. She sits up in my lap and screams until she gets her way. My oh my, what does this mean for the teenage years? She rolled over sooner, crawled sooner, is trying to talk much sooner, than all of the boys. She's VERY independent and not at all a cuddly baby. In fact, she's so squirmy that she's very difficult even to just hold onto. Keil says she's by far the most difficult to dress because she just won't stay still. She's a teeny-tiny powerhouse. Weighing in at right around 16 pounds, she's below the 5th percentile---the boys were all at LEAST in the 50th (Adrik in the 95th!). She is over 10 months old and just beginning the transition into 6-9 month clothes, although many of the 3-6 month clothes still fit. She definitely doesn't plan to be a demure little lady. I think she'll have NO problems keeping pace with 3 big brothers! She and Keison already try to play together and fight over toys, and it's hilarious to watch the interactions of these two tiny little people.

So, that's where things stand here. The house is a mess and Keil and I haven't had a full night's sleep since I can't remember when, but the kids are all healthy, happy, and growing, so I guess that's the important stuff! :)


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The first part of this summer stayed cool and rainy for a long time so we had to come up with indoor activities. Cornstarch slime managed to silence the "I'm boooorrred" cries for a least an hour!


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Adrik read Keison a book about going to the potty. It didn't work.


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One day I had this brilliant idea for trying to get some housecleaning accomplished!
It didn't work.


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Yep, she holds her own against those brothers pretty well!


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See, 'smiling, eating, messy.' My description was pretty accurate, don't you think?!


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Little wild woman

(I swear, Jantzen exists and we do take pictures of him......)


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See! There he is, whizzing by on the 4 wheeler at sunset! He stops for meals and potty breaks.


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There he is again, whizzing by on the slip and slide!


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And Adrik on the slip and slide!


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Miss Brynne in the pool for the first time.


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There's that smile again!


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We have an entire swing set full of kids.


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He's two, and he LOVES cars!


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And Aubrynne loved his birthday present.


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Happy Birthday Keison, and America!


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We like to encourage safety first in any situation.


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Little Lady having a tubby. Look at those eyelashes!! :)