Day in and day out

I already know this blog post is going to take me days to complete. That's what I get for not posting in over a month. Therefore- I'll jump right in.

Now that Marley is in school, Oak and I get to spend our mornings together, just the two of us.

This girl loves the camera (I'm referring to Oakley)

One of our several snow falls. Tony came home for lunch and took Oak outside to help him shovel.

We have been renovating our downstairs to make a master suite and family room/movie room. Now that our room is HUGE(not really, but that's what it feels like), my family thinks it's the new living room. Which it's not. Leave us alone. Kidding...ish.

 

 We love our T.V. (just need to make sure I point that out, dad)

 Ryan and my dad arguing about wingspans and bench pressing and yada, yada, blah, blah.

Which then lead to this-

Clearly, he's all talk.

Marley drew this beautiful picture at church.

From left to right:

Marley(with a bun in her hair), Nonna, Grandpa, Daddy, Me, and Oakley. For once, she hasn't included Uncle Ryan and Auntie Courtney in something.

Christmas! Christmas was awesome. Ryan and Courtney were able to fly in and Kameron came home from school. It was super fun to have all 4 of my brothers with us on Christmas morning.

Kameron spent his nights going through gifts to find out which ones were for him. Some things never change.

 Christmas morning. Bunch o' uglies.

 And 2 beautiful princesses.

 Oakley loved her castle and galloping horses from Uncle Ryan and Auntie Courtney.

 (Stole some pics from Court) Night before Christmas in her new jammies. 

UPDATE: NO MORE BINKY'S FOR OAKLEY!! WOO WOO!

 Letter to Santa with cookies and milk. Oh, and a carrot for Rudolph.

 This is as good as it gets as far as a Christmas morning family photo. Eh, we're all in there, it counts.

 Tony made an amazing gift for my dad. I'd like to take credit, but look at it. It's better than I could ever do. Uncle Phil's jersey from BYU, his bowl championship photos, a signed photo of Phil and Ty Detmer, when they played together, and a recent photo of Phil carrying the flag running onto the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Proud of my husband and proud of my family.

It's been awhile since my brothers and I have all been together. I snapped these beauties to commemorate the moment. Clearly, I was into it. And so was Kam, occasionally. Ryan on the other hand... 

Spirit sucker.

Oakley's birthday was on the 5th. She turned 2 years old and she is flippin' TERRIBLE. It's amazing how naughty she is. Granted, we took away her binky once and for all AND she has a new toddler bed- but still- girlfriend is a naughty head. I shoulda figured. Look at her dad.

Oh, and yes, she wore a GoPro while we sang her happy birthday. No big deal.

Baking with Marley.

Oakley's first ponytail.

 Girl loves her apples.

 Marley drew a picture of me.

And finally- last week, Jessica, Claire and us girls took a trip to the aquarium. I can't count how many times Jessica and I had to grab Oakley to keep her from walking into the touch pools. I told you- a naughty head!!

Surprisingly, that only took me most of the morning rather than days. I love looking back on the fun we've had.

Another day in the life...

This past month has been hectic. Well, at least that's how it has felt, but in reality- it's probably not all that chaotic. Between Halloween and school- I feel like I've been going a mile a minute. Again, I know it doesn't sound all that busy- BUT IT IS, OK?!

In the midst of the chaos- we still find the time to draw on our baby. We think we're hilarious. Usually, I only draw a pencil thin mustache and call her "Pierre" all day, however, daddy had a turn drawing this time. Also, it's "No-Shave November" soooo I'm pretty sure this isn't abuse, rather, it's appropriate. 

These were some of our pumpkins from Halloween.

This one was done by Uncle Ryan, who was able to fly in and hang out with us for the week.

What's one more brother in my house, right? The more the merrier.

And this one was done by the hubs. He spent far too long making it but I will admit- it turned out great. Clearly, when comparing the 2 pumpkins, Ryan gets an "A" for effort.

Even between my crazy schedule and busy life- I am crafty.

(I REALLY DO HAVE A BUSY LIFE, OK?!)

Tony got a whole bunch of cabinet doors from work that were just going to be thrown away, so I told him to bring them home. I'm sure he was thinking "Yay, one more project for me to do", but on the contrary, I have been using them. I use the laser engraver and make these beauty's:

Pretty crafty, right? And it wasn't even a Pinterest idea!

And now for some randomness, as if everything hasn't been random already:

The other night, we went over to Austin and Jessica's, as we do every Friday night. Oak-a-doke came downstairs wearing this number. Her's so cute and I had to get a pic.

I came out of the shower one day and found this girl in my bed playing the iPad by herself. She's too smart for her own good.

A day later, I found 122 pictures, all almost identical to this one, on my cell phone. Yes, 122 of them. Clearly, Oak was entertaining herself. Again, too smart for her own good.

Lately, Oakley tries to imitate everything Marley does. Mar was watching TV and Oak had to join in- head resting on her hands and everything, just like her "Mimi"

And lastly- a picture of the 3 most important people in my life, all doing what they do best.

Daddy sleeping.

Oakley suckin' on a bink.

And Marley having to completely eliminate your personal space by always being RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.

It's only been 1 year and 2 months...

...since I have last blogged. Clearly, I am on top of things and I have my stuff together.

Well, maybe it isn't so clear.

Because nobody has time to read the stories and adventures of the last 14 months of our lives, I am going to pick up from about one week ago.

Marley Ava Malia lives in Idaho. She is 5 years old. 

AND SHE HAS A DISNEYLAND ANNUAL PASS.

Yes, you better believe it.

One word- SPOILED.

Two weeks ago, because she did not have school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, she hopped on a plane and flew to southern California with her auntie Courtney. This girl loves her some Disneyland. I am envious of her, of course, because I too am infatuated with Disneyland. But alas, I am not 5 nor do I hold an annual pass. She came home last Tuesday and I am still secretly holding a grudge against her for going.

And I know you were all worried, but yes, Bella made it safely too.

Saturday, October 12th 2013 at 4:30 in the afternoon was the beginning to the craziest, most insane 10 days of my life.

I.

AM.

BABYSITTING.

SEVEN.

KIDS.

AND SIX OF THEM ARE BOYS.

(insert scary music here)

Kidding, it really isn't bad at all. Actually, it's not even "bad". It's hectic, non stop and always loud- and I LOVE it. I knew I always wanted a big family myself- 2 girls, 2 boys. But after almost this past week with these kids- I'm rethinking having any more.

Kidding again. I adore each one of them. The Perrin kids have brought so much joy into my life. There have been days when I have never laughed so hard. Just to give you a few life lessons I've taken away so far-

#1) Austin, the oldest boy, talks a big game, but in the heat of the moment- he's got nothin'. Case in point- if you're going to be the "brave one", stop your legs from shaking so violently that you can't even walk. Also, chandeliers are for giving off light- not target practice (don't worry, nobody was hurt)

#2) When you are asked by the 4 year old to have a corn dog too, take the time to explain to him that "everyone" includes HIM. 

Cody: "Can you make me a corn dog too?"

Me, the assuming babysitter: "Yes, I will make one for everyone."

Cody: "OK, but make one for me too."

Me, the assuming babysitter: "I know, I am making one for everyone."

Cody: "But I want one too."

Me, the assuming babysitter: "Everyone will get one, buddy."

Cody: "Soooo...can I have one too?"

Ergo de facto- Explain to the 4 year old that "everyone" also include Cody and that Cody is apart of everyone.

#3) When the oldest, Kayleen, (the only girl)(scary, I know), wants to "go out and do something fun", PRESSURE HER INTO IT.

"Sure, go ahead. Go do something. Anything you want. Don't tell me what you're doing because I don't want to be responsible for it. But don't feel guilty. Also, I KNOW you're going to make good choices, and I know you wouldn't want to disappoint me. Go ahead. Go. Go. Go. Don't feel bad. Have a good time."

Kayleen: "Nevermind. I'll stay here."

#4) All boys are deceiving. ESPECIALLY little boys. And boys in their teens. Also, men. Grown men, young men, old men. Actually, refer back to the beginning of #4- ALL boys are deceiving. Example A- I'm pretty sure they have all, at least 12 times each, presented a valid reason as to why they deserve an Oreo, or candy or ice cream.

As I stated- they presented a VALID reason, odd in some cases, but valid nonetheless. Hence, we're out of 2 packages of Oreo's, the giant bag of Halloween candy is almost gone, if not gone, and the gallon of ice cream is now clean and ready to be used for MORE RHUBARB FOOD STORAGE. (Cherie {the kids' mom}- You're welcome for the storage container and I'm sorry for the rest)

I have taken more than a sufficient amount of pictures throughout this... experience.

 I told him to show me his muscles. This is what I got. Intimidating isn't quite the word I'm looking for... more like ADORABLE.

Oakley loves her some Cody. They spent the good portion of the afternoon like this.

 I told her dad to go get new binki's (even though we are trying to ween her off) and he comes back with these beauty's. They are football binki's. Footballs. For my little GIRL. 

Lesson #5) Clarify what you would like to be purchase when asking husbands to purchase something, anything.

(also, we're not doing good with the whole weening off the binky thing... if you didn't notice)

My beautiful, sweet little Marley.

SHE GOT IT FROM HER MOMMA.

Oh, also humble.

And talented.

Taking Marley to school. Cody is not a morning person. And I love him for that. He can spend the night at my house anytime and give me a valid reason to sleep in.

"WE NEED TO BE QUIET BECAUSE CODY IS STILL SLEEPING!!!!!!!"

 Football. Almost every night. All of us.

 The girls love to feed the cows.

 A cow. 

I've always wanted land. I know now without a doubt that even if I have to live in a trailer and use an out house, I want land. And cows. The Perrins, thankfully, have a beautiful home, and beautiful land. And my kids love it out here.

 Mr. Brave Heart himself, Austin. I made him make me hamburgers.

Along with that, I made Kayleen go get us hamburger buns. The kids typically eat their hamburgers wrapped in lettuce.

However, because I am an American and, oh, I like flavor, I would not do that.

 You're welcome for this shot. I forgot to mention that I am BACK IN SCHOOL (hence the scrubs) and I LOVE it. I'm attending CWI and I go on Monday and Wednesdays. The only down size is the campus is in Nampa, so it's a little bit of a drive. Otherwise- Nursing here I come!! (my classes are 5-9pm at the Canyon County campus so if anyone wants to bring me dinner during those dates and times, I wouldn't object)(also, I like Mexican and BBQ, Johnny Carinos is always good too.)

 Oakley with her boyfriend and 5th favorite person in the world- Dallen.

Order of favorites (in no particular order, except...it's in order):

1) Me. Duh.

2) Nonna (my mom).

3) Tie between aunties Jessica and Courtney (avoided that foreseen issue).

4) Kayleen, even though if Oakley had to choose between Kayleen or myself, she'd always choose Kayleen.

5) Dallen, her boyfriend. I approve.

Shoot, I forgot Marley. Marley is probably #1.5

Oakley and her #4

...who looks like a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 - 10.

Fix yo' hair girl.

Kidding.

ish...

 Marley and Dan. Dan the horse.

 This photo was taken by Bayler. Marley is blinking and Oakley is coughing.
Job well done Bayler.

 This is our lame attempt at the "jump shot". It's when everyone jumps at the same time and your get a picture of everyone in the air.
Unfortunately, they clearly all get their athletic ability from their dad sooooo... it turned out like this.
This is the Perrin family "jump shot". Nailed it.

 And then it turned into this... a mass mess of wrestling and dog piling and failure.

 Kayleen and I attempted to play "Around the World" with the boys.
Attempted being the key word. Kayleen actually got further than me. Ugh.

Bayler, Cody and Caleb with Oakley.

No comment.

I have too many more pictures to post, however, since I started this blog post yesterday and it's now 11:45 today, I need to wrap it up.

All in all, I'm in love with these kids. I'm in love with my kids. School is going great. And I will make a strong effort to blog more often now that I don't have Facebook. (I had a love/hate relationship with Facebook and now we have NO relationship. It's better that way for the both of us. Facebook and I.)

I'll leave you with this. This kid lives the life.

I would image if I could read his mind in this moment, he'd be saying:
"Woman, go make me a sandwich."

At which point, I would, because... well, how can you not??

Love you all!