Weigh In

I took the boys for an appointment on Wednesday. I was really anxious to get their official weights and heights. I figured Aiden was around 24 pounds, but I was off just a little. He weighed in at 22 lbs. even and he is 28 1/4" long. Brock weighed 19 lbs. 6 oz. and is 28" long. Collin weighed 21 lbs. 2 oz. and is 28" long. They are all very close in weight and height. They are getting so funny to watch. They are always stealing toys from each other and they are getting vocal when something gets stolen. They will either grunt or do kind of a mad cry. Aiden and Brock are constantly waiting at the gate wanting to get out and do the stairs. They are so fun to watch play together.

Aiden, Brock and Collin

The girls got home late last night. I am so glad to have them home. I missed them. So did the boys. This morning when they saw the girls they all smiled and Aiden was really cute. He crawled right over to Paige and wanted her to pick him up. My house is definately not as quiet, but it is really good to have them home.

Aiden and Brock wanting out of their cage.

They finally get to escape as Collin sits and watches from the background.

Busy, Busy Week

The past week and a half have been super busy and super crazy. Two Saturdays ago was the 24th of July parade in St. Anthony. My Grandma Hill was one of the Grand Marshalls, so all of the Hill clan attended to see her in the parade. Afterwards we went over to her house for lunch and it will be the last year that we do it at her house, so there were alot of memories involved. It was a great time and the kids had a lot of fun.

It was so hot watching the parade that we used umbrellas for a little shade.

Grandma Hill waving to us as Grand Marshall.

Last Monday night for FHE the girls requested that we go to the carosel and the spray park. It was so much fun. Night is the time to go. There are hardly any kids, the temperature isn't as scorching hot and you can actually find a bench to sit on. Paige loved the red slide and kept going down it. Kayla loved the red and yellow slide. They had the best time. We even let the boys put their feet in the jets. Aiden and Collin liked it, but Brock hated it. That really suprised me, because Brock absolutely loves his baths.

Aiden loving the jet.

Collin got a little wet.

Tuesday was the girls last day of gymnastics. I signed both of them up through the City Rec Program this summer and they both had the best time. They had so much fun that I think we are going to keep them both in gymnastics. After I got home, I was bombarded with Aiden throwing up. Paige had had the 24 hour bug the week before and I thought we slid by without anyone else getting it. Boy was I wrong. Aiden started Tuesday afternoon. I woke up in the middle of the night with Collin throwing up. You guessed it, Wednesday morning Brock was throwing up. Three babies with the flu is a little more fun than I can handle. We survived though and it really was over for each of them within about 24 hours.

Paige doing a hand stand and then on the balance beam.

Kayla on the balance beam.

Thursday we had been planning on going to Yellowstone for the day. I didn't know if we would still be able to go, but we chanced it, hoping no one would get sick along the way. We had such a fun time. We started at the Grizzly Discovery Center and saw the bears and wolves. That was fun. Then we headed into the park. We saw a bald eagle, elk, deer, geese, buffalo and a pelican. Paige was really into looking for the animals. She made sure we got pictures of everything. We even got to see Old Faithful. It was a full day and we were all tired. On our way home through Island Park, we finally say a moose. It was the only animal we had missed in the park, so we were excited.

Paige, Collin, Brock, Kayla and Aiden at the Grizzly Discovery Center.
Kayla and Paige getting a picture with a sleeping wolf.

The boys after eating a bottle. They thought standing up in the back of the car was pretty neat.

The boys waiting for Old Faithful to go off.

Friday after lunch me and the girls rode down to Utah with my mom. I dropped the girls off at Grandma and Grandpa Nielson's house for a week and then I headed into Salt Lake with my mom and sister for a fun little weekend getaway. I was in dire need of a little break and Matt said he would take care of the boys. It was so nice. We did a lot of shopping and got a pedicure. It was so relaxing. We have decided to make it an annual thing. Matt got along great with the boys and everyone survived. I kept calling him to make sure everything was alright and finally he told me to quit calling him. So I didn't call him again. I figured if he needed something he would call. Thanks Matt for taking care of the boys so I could have some much needed R & R.

My house is extremely quiet. It is going to be a very quiet week. The boys seem a little lost without their sisters around. They continue to keep me very busy. Aiden and Brock are both crawling now, so they are constantly stealing toys from each other and getting into everything. Brock loves to pull himself up to everything. Collin just sits and watches. He is starting to think about crawling, but he hasn't got it figured out yet.

Brock pulls himself up to this toy constantly. He can't get enough.

Sorry for such a long post, but I had to document all the things that have been going on.

Lots of Excitement

On Wednesday night I was feeling adventurous, so I took all the kids to the Carosel and the park. They had a lot of fun. Even the boys got to swing. They had four little kid swings, so we took up 3/4 of those and they loved it.

Aiden loving the swing.

Brock

Collin

Paige and Kayla having fun on the big toy and slide

Last night Matt decided to cut down the big ugly pine tree in our backyard. It is way to shady on our garden and just ugly. So with a little help from the neighbors, he had it down in little over an hour. There were moments that he made really nervous. He wasn't too safe with the chain saw and I thought at times he might take one of his own limbs off. After he cut the pine tree down, he decided to cut down another tree that he didn't like. I sure hope he returns the chain saw soon, because I don't have very many trees left.

Daddy's little audience. (Don't get any ideas boys)

Paige doing a flip on the tramp

The big tree that once stood in our backyard

Matt trying to figure out how to get the last big limb down

Weekend Fun

We had a fun weekend. Liz and her girls came on Friday and we took the kids to the Splash Park. They had a lot of fun. Then Liz stayed with the boys and I took all the girls to the summer matinee of "Hotel For Dogs." We had fun.

Kayla, Paige, Sierra and Bailey

Paige going down the slide. This is the first year she has attempted the slide. She has always been to scared. She is finally getting a little braver each year.

Kayla and Bailey doing the slide. Kayla did both the red and yellow slide with Bailey. She is not as scared as Paige.

Sierra, Paige, Kayla and Bailey playing in the jets.

Liz with Collin, Aiden and Brock trying to make his move for the grass.

On Saturday the kids played most of the day. They put the sprinkler under the tramp and just had a fun time. Matt was working on the new addition all day Saturday. He and a friend got all of the siding up and it looks so good. Then he had to oil the new roof. It is so different to go out and look at the new part. I can hardly wait for it to get done. This week he is going to do the insulation. Hopefully that will go fast and then we can sheetrock and paint. The end is near.

Party Time

We had a little party for the boys on Monday night. They were kind of clueless about what to do. They weren't really sure what to do about unwrapping the presents. Paige and Kayla helped them out quite a bit. They got a lot of fun toys and a wagon. When it came to cake, I gave them each a cupcake. They kind of picked them apart and then broke pieces off. None of them even tried to eat any. Since all they eat is baby food still I was wondering what they would do. It was a fun party and I still can't believe they are ONE.

Me and the boys (Aiden, Brock and Collin)

Collin, Brock and Aiden (showing more interest in Brock's present than his)

Aiden, Brock and Collin trying our the new wagon

Happy Belated Birthday

Well the boys have reached the official milestone of ONE Year old. I can hardly believe that it has been an entire year. They have grown and changed so much. They are so fun and precious beyond words. We sure didn't have the birthday that we expected.

On Thursday around noon Collin just started really whining. He didn't want me to put him down at all. We rocked for awhile and it just seemed to get harder and harder for him to breathe. Matt came home around 3 o'clock for lunch and I decided to take him to the doctor. By the time I got there, he was doing a constant little whine noise and he was miserable. They hooked him up to a proximeter, which measures his oxygen level. You should be between 90 - 100 normally and Collin was sitting around 74. Not good. When they listened to his chest it was real wheezy and crackly. So they sent us the the ER. When we got there, they hooked him up to oxygen and took a chest x-ray and did a breathing treatment. It wasn't pnemonia, so they figured it was either an asthma attack or a virus. They decided to admit us. So Collin and I spent the night in the hospital and Matt stayed at home with the other kids. He was so restless all night and he just didn't feel good at all.

Friday morning I called Matt and he said Brock wasn't doing good. He had all the same symptoms. So he dropped the girls and Aiden off at my Mom's and I took Brock to the doctor. When we got there, they said the same thing with Collin. Brock's oxygen wasn't quite as low. He was in the low 80's. So off to the ER with Brock. They did the same procedure and then admitted us. The good thing was that they moved us to a big room so both boys could be in there toghether. At this point we figured out that they got the same virus. So Matt and I stayed the night at the hospital with both boys on Friday and the other three stayed at my mom's.

I bet you can't believe what happened Saturday morning, besides being the boy's birthday. You guessed it. Aiden was doing the same thing. By this time we were smart enough to go straight to the ER. So at one point Saturday all three were in the hospital. That sure wasn't where I wanted to spend their birthday, but what do you do. At least they didn't know it was their birthday and it made no difference to them. Saturday afternoon they released Collin. He was doing a lot better. So I took him to my mom's with the girls. Matt's parents came Saturday night so they took Collin and the girls home and Matt and I camped once again at the hospital.

By Sunday morning Brock was doing way better and Aiden was never quite as bad as the other two. So by Sunday afternoon, they released both Aiden and Brock. I was so glad to be home. Three nights in the hospital was way to much. So now we are home and the boys are doing a lot better. They still wheeze a little and are have really stuffy noses. We have to do breathing treatments with them every 6 hours and that is time consuming, but at least we aren't in the hospital.

So tonight we are finally celebrating the boys birthday. I think I am more excited than they will be. It should be fun.

Here are some pictures then and now of the boys. I can't believe the little miracles that they are. I am looking forward to this year and all the fun things that they are going to start doing. Happy Birthday Aiden, Brock and Collin!!!!

Matt, Collin, Brock and Aiden in the hospital room.

Aiden then............

Aiden now............
Brock then...........

Brock now...........


Collin then.....

Collin now..........

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July. Saturday morning we all went to the parade. The boys got sprayed by the fire hose right at the beginning, and they absolutely hated that. Eventually they all fell asleep and that was great. The girls got lots of candy and had a fun time. After the parade we went up to my mom and dad's and had a cookout. It was fun. That afternoon we washed cars, had a water balloon fight and just relaxed. The highlight for the girls were the fireworks. They loved that. The boys had already gone to bed, so they missed all of the fun. Next year, I'm sure they will enjoy them.

The kids at the parade. Don't the boys look excited?

The boys love to sit and play with a spoon (and steal each other's) while we eat at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It is funny to see how excited they get over a plastic spoon.