Royce's Blessing and beyond

James family came into town for Royce's blessing. It was such a joy to have them here! The kids got to pick squash out of the garden and go for walks down to see the new baby horses

Grandma and Royce reuniting. This kid loves his Grandma!

Bella and Sadie having girl time

We just happen to have a nice hill on the property which is perfect for a slip in slide!

Gathering around the table, I was really glad we went for the 8 seater.

Royce is such a happy kids, you can always count on him for a smile. We sometimes refer to him as the black hole cause he just sucks you in and before you know it you have spent an hour cooing and loving on him. He has a very happy disposition.

Saturday night we had a fire pit barbeque in the back yard.

Aunt Sonya and Heather rolled in Saturday night, we were so happy to have them here for the special occasion.

Royce in his new toy hanging out in the back yard. I bought this at a thrift store to leave outside so when I needed a place to put him I could stick him in it but he loved it so much I brought it inside. He prefers it over his hanging jumper.

Luke aggressively loving on Hunter

Messy faces!

That night after the sun went down the kids went toad hunting and actually caught 2 toads. Then the fire flies came out and it was magical watching the kids run around chasing them. We caught a couple then put the kids to bed. Some of the adults stayed up, played a game and talked.




Royce had his blessing last Sunday. It was such a wonderful blessing! Having our family come to town and celebrate this great occasion with us was so great. I loved his little blessing outfit but James sister Heather made a funny comment. She said he looked like a little Amish woman. Lol! Its a little bit true.

The kids got charisma

Grandpa (James Dad) and our little ham

Our family :)Joe's family

James siblings (Joe, James, Heather, Sonya)

The whole gang minus Grandma and Grandpa

Joe and Lisa asked us to watched there kids while they went on there 10 year anniversary. We were so happy to have the opportunity to spend time with Hunter and Sadie, these are such great kids and we were so glad that our kids had time to bond with their cousins.

We made play dough and it entertained them for at least an hour. Great fun!

The State park beach

He is loving these toes

I think Royce looks so much like James in this picture. They have dimples in the same places and the exact same eyebrow. Oh how I love my boys!

Tuesday at the park
(Royce's first time swinging!)

All tuckered out. So precious, makes my heart ache.

Thurs James had work in Houston so we went too! So much crazy fun. We got to the hotel late bathed the kids and got them in bed. On Thursday we went swimming in the morning, then headed over to the Houston Children's museum, which was overwhelmingly awesome. Definitely recommended. I couldn't even get the kids to look at the camera, they were having so much fun. We made it through maybe 1/5 of the museum in 3 hours. Its an all day thing.

Luke was the only one of the kids who could pull himself up on this thing. He has got some upper body strength

Hunter is such a smart kid, I had to pry him away from this thing, it was such a simple yet super awesome toy. You put the plastic pieces in to make a little track for the balls.

Seriously, They would not look at me. They were totally absorbed

All five fell asleep after the museum, I like to consider it a little miracle, especially since I was stuck in traffic!

The sunset of our adventure with 5 kids. We were on our way back to San Antonio

We spent the Friday in San Antonio
The Guadalupe River State Park. Thats James in the red shorts. So beautiful and so much fun! There were little guppies that kept coming up to us and nibbling on our feet. Freaked me out a bit but James seemed to enjoy the tickling.

The girls loving each other

That's our little Bella swimming in the buff (with cousin Taylor). It is seriously hard to keep clothes on the kid.

Happy Birthday Aunt Sonya! Aunt Lisa made us a delicious meal and a beautiful cake, then we watched a cute movie.

Sadie sporting Bella's glasses. These girls were so funny the first day Sadie was at our house Bella was getting dressed and Sadie asked if she could borrow her clothes. After that all Sadie wanted the wear or use was Bella's stuff. It was so cute/funny, it did cause some conflicts, but they would usually resolve themselves by doing thing like randomly switching outfits. They are two peas in a pod!

On our way home from SA we stopped at the Natural Bridge Caverns and had lunch, we didn't go on the actual tour but hope to someday, maybe on our own, or when the kids a little older.

Our little hatchling

We stopped at Austin to go in and check out the State Capitol. Really neat! The inside was beautiful. While we were there we witnessed a protest march which was interesting, James nor I had ever watched one before.

I cant express how extremely grateful I am to our heavenly father for providing this van for us. It just made traveling so much more peaceful. The kids love it too, it gives them tons more space to get comfortable. We also figured out that you can remove the 8th seat if you want (as in this pic). Luke thought it was pretty funny to put on all the seat belts in the back. He said" If we get in an accident I definitely wont fly out any windows."

Luke Dancing to music on the computer. Made me laugh



We have known for a long time that Luke is a big eater. It was confirmed again, He ate 2-3x the amount his cousin (who is a year older that him). He was loving this ice cream



Could you ever really get enough of your Grandpa



Girls will be Girls!

Royce's first swinging

As of late Royce is a total food stalker. The other day I was drinking a smoothie and holding him on my lap. Somehow he manage to grab the straw and start sucking in the smoothie before noticed. I looked down and he was just sucking away.

It was so much fun being able to celebrate Sonya's birthday with her! Thanks for letting us enjoy it with you! We look forward to many more gatherings now that she is a permanent resident of Texas. Yay!

Tyranosaurus

Luke drew this picture. He is the one who also wrote Bella's name. I asked him who was in the picture (the pink n purple drawing) and he responded a little confused that it was a tyrannosaurus. I later realized it was obviously a T-Rex by the fact that it has two fingers and three toes, so funny. The other person in this picture is me with baby Royce in my tummy. Cracks me up!

Bella drew this. The big image is Ariel and the smaller one is her. Later she added baby Royce in Orange. She also drew a B on Ariel's stomach which I was impressed by cause I just taught her to write those today.We were playing Go-Fish and Royce insisted on holding the cards. (He is obviously thinking very hard about his next move)

We were out on Memorial Day and just happened to drive by this Memorial cemetery and took the opportunity to show it to the kids and explain the meaning behind the day. It was a nice experience.

(This is my favorite tree in our yard, its our butterfly tree, last year when we moved in there were dozens of butterflys swarming it daily, its so pretty)

These pictures crack me up because this is seriously what we wear on a daily basis and I have no shame about it. There is no use getting dressed nice when you know you are just going to go out and get dirty. Its kinda liberating


These are some squash grown in our garden. We picked them this morning and below is what we had for breakfast. There is something really cool about eating a meal grown in your own garden.
(onions with squash fresh spinach and steak seasoning. Fresh and yummy)
I am just so happy that I actually grew something. That may seem silly but seriously the first year James and I were married he bought me a flower plant and it died within a week because I didn't realize I needed to put it in the sun. I always thought I just didnt have a green thumb but apparently these things can be learned. I still have a long way to go, but am enjoying learning.

Funny Bella

So Bella has been on the steroids now for five days. Her hives are looking better but she is still itching and has sores that don't seem to be healing, we made an appointment with the dermatologist so hopefully the poor thing can get a little relief. She has been waking up several times at night just crying and screaming cause it itches. The steroids have made her a little loopy she has just been all over the place and doing all kinds of random stuff as well as having a unusually large appetite. We had a couple funny moments yesterday.

We were driving in the car.

Bella calming says "Mom I'm wet".
Sara "Why are you wet Bella".
Bella unconcerned says "Um, I think I peed"?
Sara "You peed in your pants"?
Bella " Yeah".
It was way to funny of a conversation for me to be upset. She has been potty trained for 5 months now and is usually very upset and uncomfortable when she has an accident.

We got home and were getting out of the van. I noticed Bella had made a unnecessarily massive mess in the back seat with a snack we had given her.
I said "Hey Bella did you make this mess"?
Bella calmly responded "Yeah Mom sometimes people spill".
I said smiling "Oh okay".
She responded unconcerned "Yeah sometimes it happens".

He gets it

We were having our morning devotional a couple days ago. I was reading the children the bible story about Jesus's trial before his crucifixion. After I got done reading I asked the kids if it was right or wrong for those people to kill Jesus. (of course I was looking for the simple "its wrong to kill people answer") but Luke's response shocked me. He said "It was okay for them to kill Jesus". A little confused I asked him why he thought that. He responded with more insight than I thought his four years could provide. He said "Jesus had to die for our sins so it's okay". James and I looked at each other a little stunned, not sure how to respond to that. Then James went on to explain in deeper detail how it was right and wrong. It amazed me that at his young age he get it, maybe not completely but he understands what are savior did for us and that it was necessarily. I read a good quote the other day. "Kids are like snow bank while they are young they are just collecting information like snow until someday it can melt and sink in". Michelle Duggar
How true!

Royce 4 months

Oh how he has grown. Its absolute amazes me. He is 4 months today.
Weight 18.3 (92%)
Length 27 1/2 in (100%)
Head 17 1/2 (100%)

He is keeping right up there in size with where Luke was. He has been rolling over like a champ (from his back to his stomach) for a couple weeks now, getting into all kinds of trouble. He is grabbing anything he can get his cute little hands on and shoving it immediately in his mouth. He is Smiling and laughing all the time (especially at the strange dinosaur noise Luke makes). He is such a sweet boy. I was just thinking yesterday that I am pretty sure it easier to have 3 kids than it was to have one. For a few reason. First, I feel more confident and have a little more experience being a mother. Second, Royce has been such a gem. Third, I have little helpers biting at the nip constantly to help me out and trying to make their baby brother smile.

This was poor little Bella's face this morning. I opted to start her on the steroids, she has just been miserable. I also got a referral to an allergist so we can get her tested and hopefully find out what is causing this reaction.

Funny

I was showing the kids a picture of James and I when we got married. I said " See this is mommy, as a princess bride, and this is daddy my handsome prince." Bella responded by saying in a very shocked voice "That doesn't look like Daddy". LOL (luckily James was tuned out in during that moment). Then I was showing them another of us and James family. Luke pointed out James and said "theres daddy, I dont see you mommy"? I said "I'm the one in the middle". he said "Oh thats you"? I guess having 3 kids in 6 years has aged us substantially.

Silly-ness

You can't escape the silly-ness in the Mortensen home!

Poor sweet Bella has been having a rough couple weeks. It started about 2 1/2 weeks ago when she broke out in hives on her face. It started spreading all over her body and the sores wouldn't heal. Finally last Mon the 16th I took her to the Doc. Bella had a bacterial staff infection from itching so she needed antibiotic. We started her on one type. The sores didn't get worse but they didn't go away so last Friday the Doc switch her to a different type (which was actually a pill that she has to swallow and thank goodness Bella is a champ at that) Well the sores have finally been healing but her hive keep coming and going. Today they came back with a vengeance. Poor thing is all scratched up, red and swollen. I called the Doc and they said to switch from giving her Claretin to Allegra and they want to start her on some steroids. I really don't want to give her steroids. I have heard awful things about them. I am hoping that the Allegra will clear things up for her. Its really sad, she wakes up every night crying cause she is so itchy and uncomfortable.My garden. This has definately been a year of learning but its starting to look good. We have harvested a few crock neck squash and a handfull of peas. I noticed yesterday that one of my tomato plants has flower. Lets keep our fingers crossed... Here are a few key points I want to remember for next year

• Start my tomatoes seeds early like January as well as plant spinach and lettuce then
  
• As much as I want a organic garden it is more challenging than I thought with the crazy bugs here in TX. Give in to the pesticides.
• Try to keep plants near each other of the same type so they can pollinate each other
• Mulch with old leaves it prevents weed, help keep the soil moist and fertilizes the soil.
• Thats all I can think of now but I am sure there is more.
  

This is a birds nest on our front porch. If you look closely you can see a baby in there. Its a little scary looking

We were teaching Luke to take pics. He took this one.

Royce in all his glorious cuteness

Luke's 1st 5K and Mud Run!

Our stake sponsored a 5k mud run on a beautiful property one of the ward members owns (Its actually only about a mile from our home, its the same place they had the father-son camp-out last weekend). We had been playing with the idea of having Luke do it with me, I knew he could probably handle the distances (We go for mile long walk/jogs almost daily) I was just worried about the obstacles. When we got there we notice there weren't a lot of little kids doing it so we decided it might be a little challenging for a four year old, but as everyone was lining up at the start line Luke declared that he was coming with me and I wont lie it warmed my heart right to the core to think of him having a passion for running, so of course I brought him with me.

I have loved running for a long time. It really started in 8th grade when I got 2nd place in the school Turkey trot 5K, then in high school I ran cross country and in my single day I ran 2 full marathons. I even talked James into running a half marathon (which he ended up collapsing from heat stroke during and pretty much ended his desire to run long distances). Someday I hope to have time to run more than a few miles at a time, but for now I have other priorities.

They had lots of fun obstacles like wading chest deep through a lake, lots of sticky mud in which your shoes fell off in (next time I will either wear combat boots or tie mine and Luke's shoes on super tight!). There was a mountain of tires, climbing through sticks and all kinds of other fun!

Luke was a champ, he loved the mud and crawling on his belly through it. We finish at 52 minutes, which I thought was pretty great for a four year old and me an old lady, but we were actually the last to cross the finish line. After it was over we found out that Luke was the youngest participant. Since it was a ward verses ward effort we actually won first place, which was pretty fun to tell Luke.

Runners and Cheerleaders

The wall of tires

Bashful Luke

Ect.

Funny Luke quote: We had read a book about mythical creatures and James had told Luke he was going to work in San Antonio warehouse.
Luke: "Mom whats warehouse"?
Sara: "Why are you asking that"?
Luke: "I was just wondering if it was a person that turns into a house"? (like a werewolf)

Royce has two lovey he is getting attached to. One is this blanket which I also love because it is super soft, light and perfect for the warming up weather. Two is the little pumpkin square he is laying on. Anytime I give either of these he immediately shoves them in his mouth.

Bella's latest artwork. The girl is so creative, which is great until it hampers my own creativity which includes a desire for visual order. This does not fit into that.

This is our neighbors yard. If you click on the pic to enlarge you will see that there is a goat on the hay-bail. Not sure how it got there but it was obviously pretty excited about the new food.

Bright eyes

Royce 3 months

Bye Bye Preschool. Hello Kindergarten

"The most important thing I can teach my children is the gospel and then teach how that gospel fits into the world around them. Not the other way around." author unknown.

It was a great year of preschool. I know Luke really enjoyed it! I would reccomend doing a co-op preschool to anyone intereseted its a neat experience to watch your child interact in those settings and helps you get to know them better. He learned so much and had a tons of fun! Now it is on to kindergarten which we have felt inspired to do at home. It should be a fun and exciting year. Thanks to all who helped make this preschool year a fun success!

This is all the preschool family who participated with us minus one mom and daughter who were sick

The chubbers and I (the kid is getting so heavy!)