*C*A*L*I*F*O*R*N*I*A

Wow where do I start? We decided to take a last minute trip to Northern California. We left the Friday before Easter and it only took 13 hours to get there. We left at 11:00 at night on a whim while the kids were asleep. EASY CHEESY! We got to Napa Valley area and had a blast with my Mom and her boyfriend Cliff. My Mom couldn't put Carter down. That's why there isn't very many pics of Carter because my Mom doesn't like to be in them and she was holding him 24/7. Mikey looked for Easter eggs on Sunday and he seemed to like the candy in the plastic eggs. Mike helped Cliff chop wood for the fire and even helped a neighbor for a few hours with his firewood. Towards the end of the week we met up with Steve & Lani (Mike's older bro) We had allot of fun visiting with them. It was good to meet little Summer and was neat to see the relationship between Steve and his little girl. The boys have grown up sooo much. Cory is REALLY tall. Rusty is cool to hang with and I enjoyed having some one on one time with him. Jared is as cute as ever and a little helper. I really miss them already! Since we are giving all of our money to charities this year we decided to do some no cost activities. We hung out by the pool and the kids and the big kids went swimming. We found a sweet living room set up at the mall complete with a coffee table to kick our feet up on. The next day we went hiking at a State Park and saw a cemetery where some of the Donnor party were barried. We then hiked to a mill and then we said our goodbyes! Thanks for driving all that way to see us Steve, Lani & kids. We can't wait to do this again. We spent the rest of the time at my Moms relaxing and even went to the river. We then headed back home and we decided to take a different route. We went through the Redwoods and it was AWESOME! The different route was only a 100 more miles but it took us 4 more hours due to traffic and end of spring break. That's ALLOT of hours when your traveling in the day with kids. We are finally back home and enjoying getting back to normal.

The Dan's have been busy

March has flown by! We have been really busy. Carter turned 5 months old and is a ham and a half. Mikey has been burning energy at Jump Allot (I guess I have too) Mikey and Carter got their shots. I know were weird to take pics of them getting shots but can you honestly say you have pictures of you at your pediatricians getting shots? Although March has flown we are looking forward to April and all the fun and hopefully some sun!

My favorite photo of Carter so far.

The boys at their checkup
(Their pediatricians office is cool. Each room has a book for the kids to read and the room is a theme room associated with the book. WAY CUTE!)


The nurse left and Mike started playing around with the equipment

Sliding with Mommy

Tasha and Sarah ready to brawl

He looks scared here but he actually loved it!

What a nerd! But I love her!

Sarah whooped my butt!

Snow in March?

We got a late season snow fall of about 5 or 6 inches a couple days ago. Mike has been taking advantage of the snow by going snowboarding on the weekends and he is getting really good. I think Mike likes the snow more and more every winter. Mike decided to bundle Mikey up and take him out in the front yard to play in the snow. Mikey loved it. He didn't want to come back inside. Mike said he was eating the snow and was slipping and falling everywhere but didn't seem to mind. Being inside is good enough for me, I like to just watch from the window and then take a few pictures like the ones below.

Carters first haircut

I have been asking Mike to cut Carters hair for DAYS and he just didn't get around to it. I took matters into my own hands and decided to buzz him. His hair was getting to look really straggly and uneven so I got out the clippers. Carter did really well and even fell asleep in my arms. Mike was a little mad that we couldn't do a Flowbee haircut but sometimes when you want to get things done you just gotta do it yourself.

Before Pictures

After Pictures

So even though this crazy kid has an awful cold it just doesn't stop him. These pictures were taken about 5 minutes after a huge crying fit and tugging at his little ears because of the infection. I think the ibuprofen kicked in right about then or something. He definitely doesn't get his pain tolerance from me. Chillin in the rocking chair
Gotta love chocolate Teddy Grahams

No he didn't lose any limbs he just climbed inside the air vent.. don't even ask!

Carter 4 months

Carter is now 4 months old and he is so much fun. He likes to laugh. He loves to be held. Loves to smile and show off the dimple. He can almost roll over but gets high centered on his side. He likes to try to grab anything near him as well. Carter is an awesome sleeper and sleeps 12 hours at a time. He is allot of fun now. He is growing and progressing well (he better to keep up with his big brother) We love you Carter and we hope you know it! He looks allot like Mike in this picture

Obstacles

I am really blogging for my kids. So I figured that I will need to make a post about the not so great things that happen in life as well as the good times.

This has been a crazy couple of weeks. It all started last week when I got word from my daycare kids mom that they are moving to Arizona within a couple of months. They have been talking about it for a while but I got the "official" word that they are leaving. So I have been preparing to get my I.C.C.P license by taking a C.P.R. class and going to I.C.C.P. orientation. I.C.C.P means Idaho Child Care Provider. This program helps me to watch children in my home as well as providing low income families with assistance from the state.

On Monday Mike lost his job. Somewhere between then and now the kids have come down with really bad colds. I took Mikey and Carter in for their regular checkups today. I found out that they both have RSV virus. Mikey has a double ear infection. Both of the boys are on nebulizer treatments as well. PHEW!! Things usually are "peachy" for us so I'm not used to all of this.

So the real reason why I wanted to post this was not to complain about this and that. The real reason was so I can tell my children that life isn't perfect and when obstacles get in our way we just have to head right through them and have faith that Heavenly Father will help us, while helping ourselves. Even though Mike has lost his job I feel calm. For those of you who know me that's unusual. I just know that as long as we pay our tithing and continue to keep the Lords commandments as well as actively seek out work and any other direction Heavenly Father wants us to go, we will not fail. Will we get the EXACT blessings that we want? maybe, but maybe not. All I know is we will be blessed how the Lord sees fit and that's all that matters. The boys both got blessings today and I'm sure that they will be feeling better soon. As far as my job is concerned I feel like I am preparing myself enough so I can get more children to watch. We really are blessed. We still have a roof over our heads, and each other. Last but certainly not least we have the gospel.

My main man Mike Dan

These pictures were taken by a professional photographer while Mike was working on a sign. The first picture really portrays what Mike has to do on a daily basis. Not only can he fall from this height but he also runs the risk of getting electrocuted. I am grateful that he puts his life at risk in order to provide for our family. I also think its awesome that he loves his job and he can see himself there for a really long time. You are so so so cool Mike and I love you!

Big Night

We finally got Mikey a new toddler bed. It is small and fits perfectly in his room. We also got Carter into a crib now. Carter's sleeping habits are awesome! I put him down between 8-9 pm and he doesn't wake until 9am! It is great! Mikey had a BIG night when we first got him his bed. We set it up in the living room first and he was so cute. He would sit in the middle of the bed and spread out his blanket and then roll around in it. We then moved it to his room. He practiced until he knew how to climb in and out of his new bed. That night that we got him the bed he ran a 102.5 fever.. his first ever! Well I put him in his bed anyways and he slept through the night and did such a great job. He is still doing great! Its harder to put him down for a nap because its brighter in his room and he wants to get down and play but he eventually gets tired and falls asleep. Since his bed is in the room now he has grown up sooo much it seems. His room is now kid proof so he comes and goes in his room when he pleases. He likes to shut the door (already) one day he actually gave my leg a shove and tried to push me out the door then closed it behind me. Yeah I know I'm going to have my hands full but at the same time I just have to laugh! The last picture is of Mikey is in a weird position asleep between the safety bar and standing up on the floor (which couldn't have been to comfortable)