HAYNIE MANIA

Who doesn't love a baby giggling?

2012-01-24T22:51:00.000-06:00

Seriously, doesn't this just make you happy?! It just makes me feel like a million bucks when I can make my kids giggle like this. Hope you enjoy!

Back to Life... Back to Reality

2012-01-17T21:36:00.003-06:00

Isn't it always hard to go back to school after Christmas break? We had such a nice break with Carl home. It was hard to see him go, but I am grateful that we got another day already. Thanks MLK!

This past week Carl went to Vegas with a group from school to see the Consumer Electronics show. While he was gone, all 3 of my kids threw up in a 24 hr period. It all started at Wendys. We met Anna (Carl's sister) and her kids to get some Frosty's. Emma Jane ate like a spoonful, and then 10 minutes later showed it to all of us on the carpet at Wendy's and in the bathroom. Poor girl, so we left. Later that night June started, and while she was up, CJ started. And, CJ had been sleeping in my bed. Yep. Fun stuff. Then, I was woken up in the morning by EmmaJane yelling "June is throwing up!"

The kids always seem to get sick when Carl goes out of town. They didn't recover fully for a couple of days, so we watched a LOT of movies since we were mostly home bound. By the time Carl got home, I was ready to hand the kids over and run! :)

Things have died down...thankfully! Today was our dog Mabel's birthday! She turned 10 today! She is the oldest Bulldog my family has had. She got spoiled with tons of treats by the kids and had an extra yummy dinner. And, now, she can't stop tooting. :( I will guess we will let it slide today Mabel.

Junnie, Little Miss Stander.

If you can't tell, she is standing in this picture. Gone are the days of no mobility. Little miss thang started crawling this week, and she already knows how to take everything out of my purse.

And I just had to post this picture I took of CJ at Anna's house. Who doesn't love masks?

I will have to take pictures of CJ and Emma Jane's new haircuts later.

Merry Christmas from the Haynie's

2011-12-24T16:52:00.004-06:00

It has been a pretty crazy December. I had sinus surgery on Dec 15th in hopes to have less migraines and less sinus infections...we are still crossing our fingers on that one. Then, on Dec.18th my Grandma Dalton passed away. Her funeral was yesterday. Although she was in poor health and is a better places reunited with her mom and dad and her 6 siblings, it is so sad to see my Gpa so lost without her. And, at the same time, it is so cute to see how much in love they were after 62 years of marriage. It was tender to hear him with their kids at the casket. He talked about how she would still tell him she loved him every night, and how she liked to hold hands with him as they were going to sleep. I am so grateful for the wonderful mother she was to my mom. She shaped my mom, who then shaped me, and I will be forever grateful for that.

It seems strange that it is already Christmas Eve, but here it is! So, here's our

Top 11 Exciting Things of 2011!

1. June joined our family 2 1/2 weeks early!

2. Carl went to India for 3 weeks!

3. Carl got a JOB!!! We are going to be moving to Dallas, TX in August to go work for PwC as a Consultant!

4. EmmaJane & CJ started preschool!

5. Emma Jane is learning how to read!

6. CJ became a great drawer!

7.Lived in Portland, OR for 3 months this summer

8. We all got to pick up star fish on the OR coast!

9. Moving back from OR made our 10th move in 6 1/2 years of marriage...and we'll be moving again in August! :) I am now a professional packer!

10. Carl played intramural coed soccer, soccer, and football this year!

11. I ran my first 1/2 marathon!

I hope you have a very merry Christmas. I hope you are able to be with family and to remember the reason for the season. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful that He came to this earth to show us the way and allowed us to return to our Heavenly Father again!

Best Christmas FHE EVER!!!

2011-12-14T11:02:00.004-06:00

So, we just finished the Book of Mormon together as a family! At the beginning of this year, our stake president challenged each family to read it. We had a schedule, and everything. And, we just finished it this past week!

When your audience is a 3 and 4 year old, it can be a little difficult at times, but I am so very grateful that we did it. I was SHOCKED how much the kids got out of it. Who know that a 4 year old could explain and understand the pride cycle? Who knew that when they were bouncing around and you thought they weren't listening, they actually were! Seriously, it is amazing how much they have learned.

It has created a tradition in our family. Who would have thought that our kids would be asking us to read the scriptures to them? It really has become a part of our nightly routine, and although, it is often very challenging, it is amazing to see little ones develop a love for the scriptures.

...So, in honor of finishing the Book of Mormon as a family, we went up to temple square in Salt Lake city with Carl's parents and sister and their family. And, the highlight of the trip was the church history museum.

This just reminds me of all those pictures with Christ and little children. I just love this picture.

Here with "Father Christmas"...he had to explain what he was to all the kids. It was pretty funny.

EmmaJane with the Liahona.

Carl and EmmaJane writing on the "plates."

EmmaJane and CJ getting taught by the missionaries.

CJ building buildings in the time of Nephi.

EmmaJane with the Brass Plates.

This is angel Moroni. He is on every one of our temples. The lady said that this one is actually a couple of feet shorter than the actual ones they have on the temple. Pretty crazy!

It was the best place ever to go with the kids. It really brought the Book of Mormon to life. It was a great way to celebrate!

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-11T23:08:00.003-06:00

Courtney and I are still working on Christmas traditions with the family (I think we change things every year), but this video has become one that we really like. My church's Stake Choir in Florida was really good and the director found out that the church's Luke II video went perfectly with Celine Dion's "Oh Holy Night". The words fit the video almost flawlessly. So when we got married I put edited the video and music together and put it on a DVD. We watch this video every Christmas Eve before the kids go to bed.

Getting into the spirit

2011-12-10T23:00:00.001-06:00

One of carls cousins family came over to make gingerbead houses. It was a sticky mess. I think in the end, the parents made the houses and the kids got to eat candy while the parents weren't looking. Good times though.

CJ practicing for the Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-01T20:55:00.003-06:00

Christmas is fast approaching. I can just feel it...especially when the kids come home from preschool singing Christmas songs and advent calendars! CJ came home singing this song the other day. I can't wait for their program.

Is Thanksgiving Over All Ready?

2011-11-28T20:24:00.002-06:00

Seriously, I can't believe it is over. The Thanksgiving break was so wonderful. It was so nice to have Carl around. We had a great, relaxing time with family. We were able to go up to Bountiful to visit my grandma, grandpa, Aunt Pam, and Uncle Ben. It was such a great visit.

Then, we had Thanksgiving dinner with Carl's parents and sister and her family. It was great. And, me and Anna and Cara and Wesley braved the mob of shoppers to go to Walmart's Black Friday sale. Talk about crazy! Remind me never to do that again b/c they were out of what I wanted. Then, I waited until their site went live to access the sale online. That was about 1:30am. Then, for the next hour, I was being teased with getting my item, and then, at the last minute the site would lose my page. In the end, still didn't get my item, but o well!

Saturday night, we went to Murray to visit my Aunt Kathy, Cousin Andrea, her husband David, and Aunt Jan and Uncle Rick. It was a lot of fun.

Tonight I went to Walmart, and the crazy holiday season has officially begun. I need to do more shopping online...

Here are some pics from my phone.

My helpers who helped me put up Christmas.

Emma Jane set up this shot. She saw a pic of her when she was this age with Mabel on the couch, and she was determined that June needed one too.

And, I just thought this was so cute. June just loved Gpa Dalton.

In the spirit of Thankgiving--The thing I am most grateful for these days is the fact that June just started sleeping through the night! Woo hoo!

And, Carl got a job offer with PwC in Dallas...so it looks like we are going to be Texans!

EmmaJane's Class Picture

2011-11-16T13:16:00.003-06:00

If you can't tell, she's the 2nd from the top right.

I totally had to gently coax her into not wearing sweats and a t-shirt.

Thank you class pictures. The only day I get to pick what she gets to wear!

Birthdays, Black Cat, and a Black Eye

2011-11-10T10:33:00.003-06:00

Carl turned 29 on Halloween. Carl got a ski pass, and now, he can't wait for the slopes to open up!

I took CJ to a play on the book, "How I became a Pirate."

Then, on Saturday, EmmaJane was getting a drink at the kitchen sink and found this in our window.

This is Danger, our neighbor's cat. He must have got in when the door was open while the kids were out playing the night before. Emma Jane was very excited. Mabel was not.

This beauty I got from CJ. I was bending down to ironically tell him to calm down, and he turned around really fast and jumped up in my face.

This is another look of it. I have been doing my other eye makeup to match it. And, it was really funny when the nurse at the kid's dr appt complemented my eye makeup. :)

June is so fun right now. She is just at such a fun stage. She loves to play with toys, and while she is in the bath, I can't get her to stop splashing.

Who wouldn't love hanging out with this face? Seriously.

Catching Up from our busy schedule!

2011-10-29T17:41:00.005-05:00

This little ma'am turned 6 months, and we can't get enough of her. She is so stinkin' cute and sweet. She is so easy to make smile. She is a very happy little girl. She looks almost identical to EmmaJane's baby pictures...which is crazy! She is eating baby cereal like a champ! I can't feed her fast enough! And, ever since we got back from California, she learned a new trick....

wait for it.....

Yep, she now can sit up! Woo hoo! She is loving the new view! It just makes her feel so old.

For FHE, we carved pumpkins with the cousins...which was a blast! It is fun to have family so close

We have been to like 4 Halloween activities. We were the Pirate family, even baby June. CJ just loved having a sword, and him and EmmaJane have been going to town with the sword fights. I'll admit I have hid them a few times. :)

We went to Thanksgiving Point for a Halloween Carnival. The kids had a blast. That night CJ was a Ninja!

Today, I ran my first half marathon! The Provo Halloween Half Marathon. Woo Hoo! I've never done a Half before. It was a lot of fun...minus the running. :) People were all dressed up in Halloween costumes. We go dropped off at Aspen Grove, past Sundance ski resort, and ran 13.1 miles down through the mountains/canyon. It was so pretty, but super cold. It was like 30 degrees when we got up there.

EmmaJane running with me to the finish line! She was so excited when she saw me. She just started running.

Me--post finish line...Right now, my body is like "What did you just do?" But, now I can say I did a half marathon! Woo Hoo!

Fun With the Cousins!

2011-10-21T10:36:00.006-05:00

We got back from a week of visiting family in LA on Wednesday. It was such a fun trip. I love watching cousins play. It is just so cute. I wish we could see each other more often. My kids love being with them too. It is cute. I stayed with Lindsey and forgot to take pictures at Brooke's, so most of these are with Lindsey's kids.

Isn't it great to have sisters? We are totally missing June in this picture. We have one of these pictures from the babies of 2007 where we are all sitting on the ground with our new babes. It is so fun that we have 2 sets of 3 girls born around the same time. I see pen pals and college roomies in the future.

Nana with EmmaJane and CJ. Seriously, isn't Nana gorgeous? Also, doesn't EmmaJane's and mom's eyes look the exact same color?

I smell trouble with a capital T! 6 kids under 5...not including the 3 babies that were also there.

Brenna, Baylie, CJ, Paisley, Sadie, and EmmaJane

Layla 8months, June 6 months

It was so cute. They would get so smiley and excited whenever they saw each other. It was like they knew each other in heaven and were so excited to see each other. Haven't you found that most babies like seeing other babies? They totally interact with them.

Uncle Nathan with the 2 Little Ones after the Bath.

3 Little monkeys sitting in a Tree: Sadie, Emma Jane, and Brenna.

2 Silly Monkeys in a Tree.

While we were there, we went to the best pumpkin patch ever. It had tons of inflatable slides, bounce houses, and kid rides. They made them some animal balloons that they LOVED, and of course, they made CJ a dinosaur!

They all went crazy in here. They would run at the walls as fast they could and bounce off the walls.

Everyone had so much fun on this ride...except for CJ who cried the whole time. Yes, the one who is obsessed with Dinosaurs and Airplane, go figure.

CJ, Brenna, Sadie, Dallas, and EmmaJane

Then, Aunt Lindsey, took some wonderful pictures with Nathan's camera, and then, he used his magic to make them so pretty! Thanks Lindsey and Nathan! You guys are awesome!

EmmaJane 4 1/2

CJ 3 1/2

June 6 months

Little/Big Messes

2011-10-11T14:07:00.003-05:00

I know this is a horrible picture, but I saw this at the grocery store. I thought it really put things in perspective. I am constantly cleaning up messes multiple times throughout the day. What mom doesn't? But, I loved this because soon there won't be as many messes to clean up and what a sad day that will be.

I have been reading several books by Richard and Linda Eyre. They are amazing authors with such great insight into parenting. They talk a lot about the prime of parenting and how it is a short period of time, and by the time you have got it a little bit figured out, your kids are out of the house. 18 years is all you got. They talk about how up to age 11, kids pretty much still easily listen to their parents and like being with them. What precious time that is!

But for some reason it is so easy to get busy. It is so hard to enjoy the little moments. It is hard to stop and smell the roses when there is laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, messes to clean up, etc. And how precious and sweet and innocent these little ones are...most of the time. They really have such great hearts, and are so easy to give love and to forgive.

Before church on Sunday we were talking to EmmaJane about how important it is to love everyone just like Jesus did. We talked about a girl in her class that was a little handicapped. We talked of ways she could be nice to her and help her feel loved. Later that day after church, someone stopped me in the hall. They said that "EmmaJane had sat next to this girl and held her hand. And that she was being so sweet with her and had been taking care of her."

Kids really are the best examples of Christ...Now, if I could only remember that and those precious moments when they start fighting or hitting each other...

Taking After Good Ole Mom and Dad...

2011-09-30T16:37:00.003-05:00

If you don't know, Carl and I love playing soccer. We both are currently on intramural soccer teams at BYU. Recently, EmmaJane and CJ have started soccer, and they are on the same team. They are so competitive...especially with each other. I love watching them play soccer. My favorite is when CJ gets the ball, he is in a zone. He is pretty good at dribbling but not the best at going toward the goal. He will just start going in any random direction. He'll even keep going like 20 feet out of bounds until the referee takes the ball away from him. It is so cute! I seriously love it!

On a happier note...

2011-09-13T23:20:00.003-05:00

Isn't there a rule that for every negative you have to say like 10 positive to make up for it? This is my attempt. Well, today, I really focused on that b/c it has been a little (lot) hard with Carl gone...and June sick...and me now sick...and all 3 kids getting up at multiple times last night...and CJ waking everyone up at 6am. Not the best way to start the day, but it ended up being a great day.

CJ:

1. He just randomly started talking about "comets" today. I was like "how do you know about comets? Where did you here that word?" And he said, "From the aliens." To which I remembered in "YOU CAN'T EAT A PRINCESS" (the funniest book ever about aliens who capture a princesses dad to eat him, but she goes to the planet to get him back, and then they want to now eat her, and in the end, she introduces them to chocolate and they realize that they don't need to eat people b/c they have chocolate) had it in there.

2. That boy loves his sisters. His first thing when he wakes up is "where is EmmaJane?" And, he is so quick to defend her. It is so cute. And with baby June, when he goes to touch her, no matter how crazy he is acting, he slows down and will give her the softest kiss or touch I have ever seen.

3. He is so tender. Every night at bed, he asks me to give him a kiss, then we do nose kisses, and they we do eyelash kisses. And, I have to do that!

EmmaJane:

1. Man, that girl is responsible. For example, she got offered a piece of cake (like the grocery store kind with tons of frosting), took a bite, and later gave it back to me saying, "it has too much sugar in it." Are we related?

2. She is so smart. We are reading in the Book of Mormon, and one night EmmaJane just rattled off the pride cycle(that is not what she called it)...talking about how the nephites were good, then they got blessed, then they started to get bad, and the Lord would punish them, then they felt bad, would repent, get good again, and so forth. She really does get stuff that I don't think she could possibly get.

3. And, if you tell her something once, she will remember it forever...this one can be used against you.

Worst Church Day Ever

2011-09-12T14:04:00.002-05:00

Okay, so yesterday was by far the worst church with kids experience I have yet to have as a parent. We have 1pm church, and both my kids still take daily naps. They are just not nice when they don't, which explains a lot... During sacrament meeting (the big meeting with adults and kids) EmmaJane had to get taken out for being irreverent. This never happens or hasn't in atleast 2 years. While she is out. Cj is just plain awful--bouncing all over the place, being loud, making June cry. Meanwhile, June is fussy and I am trying to feed her a bottle, that she won't take, and try giving her her paci. By the way, this is when the Stake President who was visiting our ward was trying to speak on overcoming a death in the family, especially when you lose kids. So, deep stuff which was applicable since we had a 20 something girl die in our ward and other tragedies. Anyway, I finally decide to take CJ out because we are distracting everyone in a 15-20 ft diameter. When I tell him we are leaving, he screams "Nooooooo" and starts crying hysterically loud...which also makes June start to cry. He goes limp as I am trying to get him out of the meeting, so I have to literally pull him out of room...the whole time crying like crazy!

I get out and hand June to Carl. CJ was still screaming, so I took him to the bathroom to calm down. He is still screaming. I could not get him to calm down, so I could talk to him. I later found out that they could still hear him from their meeting. I decide to take him outside. He thinks he is really going to get in trouble, and decides to scream/cry even louder. Finally, after five minutes I get him to calm down. Now, I want to cry.

The meeting is over, and we go back in to get our stuff. I over hear some girls talk about how they wish people wouldn't bring their kids to church when they are crying. Me too! :) Everyone is giving me that look of "Man, you have your hands full." I love that look. :) Everyone heard him. I didn't loose my cool with CJ, but man I was embarassed. We had really disrupted the meeting.

I keep CJ with me, and we go to hear EmmaJane give the scripture for opening exercises at primary. After, I tell her to come with me b/c at this point Carl has to go to Salt Lake, to catch a plane to San Fransico to work at a conference this week for Intel, and the kids wanted to say goodbye one last time before he leaves. At this point, now EmmaJane starts balling VERY LOUDLY saying "I don't want daddy to go." Me neither sister! I quickly rush her out of room, then out of the building b/c she was uncontrollably crying very, very loudly.

At this point, I told Carl we are taking them home. We have disrupted every meeting thus far, and our kids just need a nap. And, they can say goodbye to him at home.

Man, was that rough. I still don't think I have emotionally recovered from that. Now June is sick. I waited to see a dr this morning for 2 1/2 hours--someone came in needing stitches and messed up the whole schedule. And, after the first hour of being there, all the kids had had it. I had had it too! :)

Now, everyone needs to take a nap to start the day over! Especially me since June woke up 6 times last night b/c she couldn't breathe, and then, the older kids woke up at 6:30am and woke her up. :) I think I am supposed to be learning patience. :)

Fun with Firsts!

2011-09-10T23:29:00.002-05:00

June tried her first bites of cereal! As you can see, she spit most of it out, but is getting better and better about eating it. Pretty crazy how big she is looking and acting these days!

My friend Rosanne teaches a fencing class and invited our kids to come try it out!

CJ was super excited to "sword-fight." After all, he is a pro at it on the wii!

Emma Jane officially learned how to ride a "two wheeler"! She is so excited. We practiced a little over the summer, but she just took off these past couple of days. She even road all the way to Aunt Anna's house a few blocks away all by herself! She is so proud of herself. It is so cute. She is so excited. She wants to ride her bike all the time! She talks about her bike riding plans for the next day as she is going to bed, and as soon as she wakes up, she gets ready to ride! This video cracks me up because CJ keeps getting in her way as she is riding. It is pretty funny.

Scrub a dub dub...

2011-09-07T23:20:00.001-05:00

Three little cuties in the tub. Out of laziness while carl was gone, I tried putting june in the bath with the other kiddies. They had a blast. It is so cute how much they adore her. It is like june is now officially a part of their club. It won't be long until June is running to catch up with them. It is crazy how fast they grow in that first 2 years of life. Somedays I wish they could stay little forever in their innocence, but that is usually when they are sleeping. :)

Jumping Right In...

2011-08-31T15:06:00.002-05:00

Well, we got back to Orem Friday night and unpacked the car in 100 degree weather. That was one nice thing about Portland...it only got up to 90 degrees once while we were there!

Emma Jane started preschool on Monday. She was a champ. She was just so ready and wasn't scared a bit. She was actually a little disappointed that it wasn't everyday (only MWF). CJ wishes he could go to. I am trying to convince him that he can still have fun without EmmaJane, but so far, it has not worked. It is so cute how much he cares for her.

Carl also started school on Monday! It has been quite the whirlwind. On Monday night, we went to a 2nd year MBA dessert party, and you could totally tell the people who had a baby during the internship period. You could tell that everyone was just trying to think of positive things to say, but they would in the end say that it was hard...at least, that is from the wives points of view! :)

EmmaJane and CJ start a MBA 3-4 year old kid soccer team next week that lasts through the first of October. I am so excited that they will get to play together! It is pretty funny that the BYU MBA students have over 50 3-4 year olds!

Here are some pics:

Emma Jane all ready for the first day of school.

We stopped in Bountiful to visit my grandparents on the way down on Friday!

This picture is kind of blurry, and a little scary, but my cousin Alison met us at my grandparents. This is her little girl Audrey who is 6 weeks older than June. I think it so funny that they both have the same expression!

Now, bring on the crazy!

Twin Falls Idaho

2011-08-26T11:31:00.001-05:00

Just gased up here! Isn't it gorgeous! 5 hours to go! Orem here we come!!!

Driving home.

2011-08-25T16:07:00.001-05:00

Good bye Oregon! We left this morning at 10am. It is a 13 hour drive home. We are breaking it up into 2 days. We should get to Orem early tomorrow night. Carl starts back to school on Monday. Emmajane is also starting preschool on Monday, so we are going to just junp right in, full speed ahead, when we get home.

The cars are packed inside...and out. Wish us luck. Here are some pics from the rest stop where we stopped for lunch.

The last week--Yikes!

2011-08-18T22:17:00.017-05:00

Well, we are going to be heading back to UT a week from today. We are in the midst of packing, cleaning, and selling our furniture. The last one is the hardest. We want to get some $ out of it, so we have to do it ahead of time to get $ back without having to drop the price drastically but not sell it too early causing us to be uncomfortable. We already sold our bed and couch. Someone is picking the bunkbeds up on Tues. Our glider goes on Monday. Our desk is getting picked up tomorrow. We still have to sell our TV, dining table/chairs, and coffee tables/side tables. Then, on Wednesday, we are packing up the cars, and checking into a hotel, so I can clean the apartment...and, then we head out on Thursday morning. Wish us luck.

Cj's one smart kid these days. Example: We just got home from running errands (June is starving and screaming). I am trying to get everyone out of the car & into the house. EmmaJane gets out, but CJ stays in his seat.

Me: "CJ, please, get out of the car."...wait...wait..."CJ, please hurry. Don't you hear June screaming."...wait...wait. "CJ...hurry."...wait...June's still crying..wait..."CJ, I'm going to count to 3...1...2..Then, CJ quickly gets out of the car, and says, "Mom, I love you." Instantly, this changes my tone, and I reply, "I love you too."

He has been pulling this "I love you" card all the time. Anytime, he does something wrong or he doesn't listen and I get the slightest tone of annoyance. What can you do with that? He even pulled it on Carl today, but carl wasn't fooled. He just told him that he can't say "I love you" every time he does something wrong...CJ still knows it gets me every time.

And here's some pics:

June--almost 4 months

Doesn't she look like she's just going to be trouble?

Seriously, this little ma'am is so smiley. You can't even look her direction if you are trying to put her to bed b/c she will flash you the biggest grin. Now, if only she would take 2 naps during the day, but at least she is a happy girl, right?

6 Years & Going Strong

2011-08-11T10:51:00.004-05:00

Today is our 6th Year Anniversary! I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband. I still feel so lucky to have him in my life. He is an amazing spouse and such a great father! I am so proud of him for going back to get his MBA. He is such a hard worker, and I am so grateful for that. He makes me feel beautiful, and I can't wait to see where we are going to move next year after MBA school! He is my best friend, and I look forward to the adventures that are yet to come! So, here's 6 years and many more! I love you Carl!

BBQing at Cannon Beach

Just chillin' in a hole.

We have seen so many starfish here. It has been really fun~

And, what kid doesn't love to get burried?

The OR coast is so pretty.

It has been fun to explore.

This is what happens when you don't bring dress up clothes to OR! She created it herself to surprise us!

Aren't they cute when they are asleep?

And, awake too? June loves the Bumbo!

On our last month in OR

2011-08-01T17:25:00.004-05:00

We are on our last month in OR. We leave on the 25th...not that I am counting or anything :). I don't know why I am that excited to go home, but I am. Carl is going to be super busy with school, consulting club, interviews, job searching, conventions, etc, but I am still excited to come home. Although it has been "interesting" and educational to explore OR and am grateful for our highest temp of 80 degrees, there is something about being home with friends and family close that is so comforting.

Here are some pics from our latest adventures:

We went to Arch Cape Beach the weekend before last, and it was great! The kids found tons of starfish, crabs, and shells.

The kids loved digging. I brought some of there small figurine toys and they dug for "treasure". They had a blast discovering the toys in the sand.

This was June & I's first beach trip. It is a little under and hour and a half drive. It was pretty windy, so she was bundled up. Don't you just love a bottle on the beach?

We have done TONS of "school" while we have been here...mainly b/c we have been inside a lot due to the rain, but the kids are getting great with their letters and EmmaJane can finally write her name instead of EJ.

And here are the lastest of June, the 3 month old:

Ready to go out on a cool day!

June all ready to party at church!

June just chillin' at the pool.

Emma Jane and CJ trying to make June happy by giving her their animals.

A little sister cuddle time!

June in her first pair of jeans.

We're Alive w/ Pictures Galore!

2011-06-29T12:18:00.006-05:00

The kids got a bunkbed! Woo hoo! Now if only we could stop them from coming into our bed!

We went a Children's museum and they had lifesize lincoln logs! I wish I got a better picture of the house they built!

Carl took all the kids to see this waterfall! So gorgeous!

CJ on the trail to the waterfall.

Emma Jane, the hulk, in front of the waterfall on the trail.

Carl and all the kids on his adventure!

CJ was in heaven when we saw this at the zoo. Its head moves and it makes noises. AWESOME!

Emma Jane and the Lions at the zoo.

The kids at the petting zoo!

The kids at the beach! Carl had been DYING to go even with an hour drive!

Now Pics of June:

Look at that cutie pie!

She is smiling!

And she loves bath time!

Sorry, turn your head!

Look at that cute smile!

All smiles...atleast for 10 minutes after she eats...and 10 minutes after she wakes up...sometimes. :)

Portland for the Summer

2011-06-01T00:16:00.002-05:00

Carl got an internship at Intel this summer in Portland, OR. Friday Carl drove with the kids (and Mabel) with our van jammed pack and towing his car...which was also jammed pack. The hitch was less than 6 inches off the ground. We prayed all through their travels that the car wouldn't break down or blow a tire. Thankfully, by straight up Grace, they got to Portland safely. I stayed to finish cleaning the house and packing up the last minute items and flew on Saturday with June. June does not do well in the car. When I say she doesn't do well, I mean that she screams most of the time. Anyway, they picked me up in the airport and we crammed me, June, my 2 suitcases, and our double stroller in the van. (No one had room to put their feet down except Carl & the stroller had to be tied to the bike rack on the trunk of Carl's car). I wish someone could have recorded us at the airport. Imagine the van with a roof bag on top, towing a car w/ a bike rack picking us up at the airport. Then, it took us about 20 minutes to rearrange things to fit us all...this is all at curbside pick up.

When we got to our apartment, we unloaded everything. We couldn't find an apartment here that would rent for 3 months that was furnished, so as soon as we got here, we have been buying things on craigslist.

We bought this brown microsuede couch: $50. Black Faux Leather Glider and ottoman: $15. Dining Room Table and Chairs: $100. Coffee Table: $5

Desk: $15, Chair: $5, TV table: $5

Tonight we bought a bed and mattress for $80 b/c we were having to re-blow it up multiple times a night. I guess it couldn't handle Carl and I's weight, plus us getting up several times a night to take care of June and to put EJ and CJ back in their bedroom. Tomorrow we are picking up a bunk bed for EJ and CJ. Hopefully, that will stop them from coming into our bed...I doubt it.

And, I couldn't not post a picture of June. She still pretty hard to figure out, but she is still pretty cute. She just started smiling a lot more which is so fun. She is finally fitting in her 0-3 months clothes and grew out of the newborn diapers.

It has been quite the journey this past weekend. The hardest transition has been going from a house to an apartment. The kids love to play outside and they are a lot more confined in the apartment. It has been pretty cold and wet ever since we got here. The kids are going a little stir crazy, and I am not so great getting out with all 3 kids since June is still pretty crabby. But, I will get better at it with practice and hopefully we will get to explore the area this week!

Crazy Times

2011-05-24T15:57:00.002-05:00

Nana went home today. Boo hoo hoo. :( I seriously could not have done it without her--especially with Carl gone. She was like the energizer bunny while she was here, so I hope she gets to sleep a ton this week before she heads to LA where my sister is having her baby.

Carl returned from India on Friday! Woo Hoo! It has been AMAZING to have him back. He is the ying to my yang, and I can't imagine letting him go ANYWHERE again! :) So, don't even think about it Carl.

On Sunday, we blessed Miss June since this was the only Sunday we would be back before we headed to Portland on Friday. (By the way, Carl got an internship with Intel in Portland for the summer. We leave Friday and will be back in UT the last week in August. Talk about crazy times!)

Cute little June Belle.

She looked so beautiful in her dress. Thanks Lindsey for letting me borrow Layla's! It fit her perfectly.

By the way, we weighed June yesterday, and she weighed 9 lbs. So, she is growing! :)

Gpa's here! Woo Hoo

2011-05-10T13:22:00.002-05:00

Gpa came Saturday night, and we have been loving having him here!

He brought these cool balancing birds for the kids.

The kids slept in to 7am, which they haven't done since June was born, so they got to go to Chuck E Cheese with Nana and Gpa. They had a blast!

This is for Carl to see how big she is getting! She is almost 3 weeks and still not fitting into her 0-3 month clothes.

Me and Miss Ma'am

Little Miss June HATED her first bath, but she still loves to get her hair washed!

CJ put these stickers all over him and wanted to be referred to as "Stickers." It was pretty funny.

The kids have loved having Nana and Gpa here, CJ especially. He follows them around and loves being their little helper. CJ even sneaks in there bed at night. Like last night, he woke up several times at night, and I kept putting him back in his bed. I finally let him sleep in my bed b/c I needed to sleep. But, by 3 am, he had snuck out and hopped in their bed. Sorry Mom and Dad. I tried. :)

June still isn't sleeping that great, but we are slowly getting the hang of it. We just take it one day at time and say lots and lots of prayers. :)

What We've Been Up To...

2011-05-06T23:14:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been a week since Carl left for India. We miss him dearly. He gives us updates on his BLOG which is very entertaining. We also talk to him via Google Video every night, so the kids can see him and we can have family scripture study and prayer.

And, Nana has been amazing. She has already done tons of laundry and fixed tons of things at our house, not to mention entertaining the older kids or helping rock June or change her diaper. She is seriously the bomb. Now if only I could get my kids to sleep in past 6am, so we can get some more sleep...

We have had visitors...

Gpa Haynie reading to the kids

Gma & Gpa Dalton came down with Pam and Ben.

And, since we have been having warm weather, we have been playing outside as much as we can!

CJ's new found obsession: These Roller Skates. He wants to wear them all the time...even in the house.

And, Emma Jane has been practicing her roller skating skills too. Nana has also been working on teaching her how to ride a bike without training wheels. I will post a video later. And, CJ has learned how to ride Emma Jane's 2 wheel scooter better than she can! It is amazing how fast he can go!

And, on to June:

This little lady is obsessed with anything June: picking out her diapers and outfits, getting pacifiers for her, checking on her while she is asleep, and holding her any chance she can get. It is pretty dang cute to see how much she cares for her.

This is what June looks like most of the day--all wrapped up in her blanket.

This is June 2 weeks old. We still haven't quite figured out how to put her to bed. She gets up as soon as you put her down, but o well. You figure she still hasn't hit her due date which is May 9th! I just got her to bed, so I better get to sleep before she wakes up in a half an hour. :)

Holding Down the Fort

2011-05-01T15:58:00.002-05:00

Well, Carl is in India. He left Friday morning. June was 1 week old at the time. Since then, we have had 2 sleepless nights and mostly sleepless days. June is not like my other two. She is not a natural sleeper. She seems to be pretty gassy, and she wakes up within 30 minutes of putting her down...usually. It is so sad b/c you can tell she is so tired and wants to sleep. She is just so uncomfortable. It is just so hard to see them in pain and be trying so hard to figure out what they need and want. It is funny how even though it is my 3rd kid, it feels like my 1st. It definitely makes me miss Carl more.

June 6 days old

The proud big sister

2 happy kids--thanks to Nana. Nana has been the bomb! I don't know how we would survive without her. She has been so helpful with cleaning, cooking, laundry, you name it. The kids love her so much too! We are grateful to have her help, and we are grateful that Grandpa let us borrow her for so long!

June just woke up so I better run...

Little Miss June

2011-04-26T22:32:00.002-05:00

We got home from the hospital Sunday afternoon and are slowly getting into the swing of things. We are just trying to figure out our little miss's likes and dislikes. And my body is trying to heal. Meanwhile we are just to trying to prepare for Carl leaving to India Friday morning. Boo hoo. :-( But in the meantime, we are enjoying having Carl off from school and having June home. Here are some pics from the past few days.

Our New Family at the Hospital

First Day Home

Loving Getting Her Hair Washed

All Wide-Eyed after Getting Her Hair Washed

Sweet Little Thing Asleep

Me & Miss Ma'am

June Bug (Belle) has arrived!

2011-04-22T23:39:00.002-05:00

I will be adding photos and putting the newest ones at the front, so come back and check them out later if you want to see more :)

She's coming...

2011-04-22T00:23:00.003-05:00

Well, we found out that we are having our baby Tomorrow (which is already TODAY b/c we are trying to get every little thing in order before she comes). My amniotic fluid is dropping and I have really high blood pressure, so we are getting to meet her at NOON tomorrow. We are so excited to meet the newest member of our family! We will post pics as soon as we can! Woo hoo!

Cj's Birthday & Carl's Surgery

2011-04-14T20:19:00.006-05:00

CJ turned 3 on April 8th!

We went to CA for my nephew's Baptism, so CJ got to celebrate his birthday with tons of family!

My mom and dad were there from Alabama, and my sister Lindsey flew from Hawaii with her cute little baby Layla!

Everyone loved holding little Layla! We were all fighting over her! :)

CJ with his only boy cousin on my side. Luke is 8, and he is the only boy in his family. He really took CJ under his wing while we were there. They were so cute playing swords, guns and football together. Luke kept saying, "CJ come here." And, CJ happily followed him! It was pretty cute.

Emma Jane with one of her fellow 4 year old cousins. We missed Brenna. It is crazy to think that there will be 3 new girl cousins in a month or so!

Look at those cute guys!

CJ had a very "boy" birthday. He got tons of dinosaurs which he was thrilled about! He takes them everywhere he goes. He got a new basketball hoop, a soccer goal, and a baseball tee. Him and Emma Jane have loved playing with everything.

While we were in CA, Carl was playing football with Luke and CJ, and broke the bone in his hand that connects to his ring finger of his left hand. He broke it pretty bad--it broke all the way through and then twisted. He had surgery on it yesterday, and now has a plate and 6 screws in his hand. Did I mention that he is in the middle of finals this week and next? or that I am having a baby on the 26th?

He will have his arm in a sling for like 10 days. He is left handed, so it has been pretty challenging! Thankfully I haven't gone into labor early, so I can be his nurse! Crazy times! Don't you love them!

What perfect looks like

2011-04-10T10:35:00.001-05:00

Congrats to our nephew Luke, who got baptized on Saturday. We had a blast hanging with family even if his muscular legs broke my hand.

A Little Day Trip

2011-04-06T22:15:00.002-05:00

The kids and I went to Bountiful (an hour away) to visit my cousin Alison, Aunt Pam, and my grandparents. It was such a fun visit. I got to meet Alison's one month old baby girl Audrey, and I got to rock her to sleep. It was so, so fun! She is just adorable, and it just makes me so excited to hold our baby in less than 3 weeks! Jack, Alison's boy, and CJ had so much fun playing with all the motorcycles and cars they could find. Meanwhile, Emma Jane was mothering anyone that she could get her hands--including baby Audrey, any baby doll, and Kylie (my other cousin Alex's 16 month old that my Aunt was watching). I think she picked Kylie up over 20 times. Poor baby June doesn't know that she is going to be "loved" a little too much by her older siblings.

Can you tell Emma Jane is ready for baby June to come too?

Cj and Gpa Dalton after their book. Within a minute of Gma and Gpa Dalton arriving, CJ crawled in Gpa's lap and handed him a book. It was so cute!

Evidence that it is spring here...even if it still snows. These beautiful flowers are from our front yard. Aren't they gorgeous! Thankfully our snow from this past weekend has already melted, but we are expected to get some more snow tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. It is a good thing we are going to CA this weekend!

Sun, Then Snow

2011-04-02T22:21:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, we had beautiful 75 degree weather. Yes, I will repeat: 75 degree weather! It was heavenly! I was even hot wearing a skirt and short sleeve shirt. I couldn't believe it! Of course, it is currently raining, and it is supposed to SNOW in the morning--with a high of 39 degrees! Crazy how it can drop almost 40 degrees! Good bye springtime weather! It was fun while it lasted, and we hope to see you real soon! Here are some of our memories together:

Feeding the Ducks at the pond. CJ especially loved chasing any duck that came out of the water. I am just glad they weren't geese, or else he would have been toast!

CJ on his new bike. We found it at a consignment shop at a steal of a deal ($20), and since he was with us and wouldn't get off of it at the store, we decided to give it to him as an early birthday present since his bday is in a week!

He was so proud of himself. It was so cute to see him and Emma Jane riding together--even though Emma Jane probably did 3 laps around the pond to every lap he did. He even would stop and restart all on his own...which he couldn't do at first. And, of course, Mr. Independent wants no help from me, not even a nudge.

And, today, while listening to General Conference, I went to town. I started my spring cleaning by reorganizing Emma Jane and CJ's winter/summer clothes, cleaning out 2 closets, and doing 3 loads of laundry. My back is now telling me that I am 8 months pregnant and will not be allowed to pick things up off the floor for a while b/c it needs a break. And, after naptime, Emma Jane insisted we make this sign for baby June's room. I had told her that she could help me and has been asking about it ever since. So, during the second session of conference, we busted out the supplies and got to work. She was very helpful and even painted the sign red with me. I hung the finished product along with the "JUNE" letters up in the baby's room. Now we just need to make sure to name this baby June, so my work isn't in vain!

Here's the sign me and my helper made!

Don't you just love the red, shag carpet in the baby's room! It actually fits my nursery decor perfectly!

PS- We did wake up to two inches of snow this (Sunday) morning!

Can You Tell I'm Ready?

2011-03-28T22:03:00.003-05:00

I have never been ready early to have my babies. With Emma Jane, although I went 2 days past my due date, I wasn't overly-anxious to have her early...probably because I was part terrified of what labor would be like. Then, with CJ, Emma Jane was 14 months old, and I had had a horrific labor/birthing experience the first go-around and was not quite sure how recovering from a c-section with a 14 month old and baby would work. So, needless to say, I wasn't anxious for CJ to come early either. BUT, with this baby, it is a whole other story for many reasons. First, c-section #2 was night & day better with a much faster recovery, so I no longer worry about that part so much. Second, I feel like everyone around me has had their babies--my sister, sister-in-law, 2 cousins, and several friends from MBA spouse group! Then, add the fact that my husband will be done with the semester on April 19th. My c-section date is April 26th (already 2 weeks early) because he leaves to India on April 29th at 11:20 am, the same day I will be getting home from the hospital. :) So, you can see why I would like to have her the minute Carl gets done with school, so we can have as much down time as possible before the crazy train boards to India! :) Just a side note, priority number one is that she is healthy, so I willing do let her cook for as long as she needs--even before her mother's mental needs.

In the meantime, my impatient, sick (yes, I have another cold & just finished day 10 of antibiotics and still have congestion; fun, fun.) self have been doing all sorts of projects and organizing before the wee babe comes. This is what happens when you make too many bows from your last project, and need somewhere to put them:

A picture frame I covered with fabric and added ribbon to, to hold all the bows. Then, you can hang it on the wall to keep away from the kids and keep your bow stash organized!

This is the finished product with the bows; the rest of the bows I am sending to my nieces ASAP.

I am on the countdown. Next project, I have already put the baby clothes in the drawers but I need to wash them and reorganize. Then, on to spring cleaning, washing the carpets (thanks dad for making this part of the cleaning process), organizing closets, etc.

Arts & Crafts

2011-03-25T10:26:00.003-05:00

I took the kids to their first play this past week. It was a musical about the children's book "No Dogs Allowed." They had a blast...minus the fact the play was pretty painful to watch, for me atleast.

So, I have been collecting supplies to make bows ever since Emma Jane was born,but I never made them. The supplies have just been sitting on the baby's dresser in the baby's room, and since, I probably wouldn't do it for a while after the baby, I figured I would just tackle it. And since I didn't want to bust out the supplies again for a really long time, I went to town & made tons of bows--Total Count:157, in a 48 hour period. It is a good thing that I have 12 nieces to share these with!

Carl's sister, Amber just had a cute baby boy, and so I tried my hand at these babies. I had seen them before and had always wanted to try to make some--So, TA DAH!

I couldn't help post these cutie patooties in their spring time church clothes. We have been having some pretty warm weather and have thoroughly enjoyed going to the park, riding bikes, and busting out the spring clothes. And, of course, it snowed yesterday and today. Darn. It is not fun to be teased with such wonderful weather!

Fun With Special Visitors

2011-03-24T00:12:00.002-05:00

My mom and dad came to visit this past weekend, and it was so nice to see them. Although we only got to see them for a few hours, it was still so special!

Grandpa read them probably over a dozen books in that time period! He even played their favorite game with them--hide-and-go-seek. They had a blast hanging out with him!

Mom caught this huge grin from Emma Jane! My kids love their Nana & Gpa so much. It is so cute to watch their relationship.

Mom gave CJ a well-needed haircut while she was here. CJ behaved the best he has ever done during a haircut.

This is CJ post haircut...with a little bit of chocolate in his teeth after eating his haircut bribe.

Mom made me take a pic of the good ole' belly, so there could be proof that I am actually having a baby in less than 5 weeks! And, yes, we set my C-section date for April 26th--2 weeks early b/c Carl heads to India for a 3 week internship on April 29th...but that's a whole other story. :)

A Weekend of Fun

2011-03-12T23:14:00.004-06:00

Meet Kangaroo Zoo: A place full of huge inflatables to jump on and slide on...Also, known as heaven for my two kids. (Thanks to Rosanne who invited us there this morning!)

The 1st time up this giant slide, CJ stopped, and said, "Mom, this looks dangerous." After explaining that everything was super soft, he continued and ended up going down a dozen times. I was very impressed with my little, normally cautious, guy.

CJ loved this one too. He called it the "sharp tooth"...like the T-Rex from Land Before Time. We are still in the dinosaur phase.

Another of their favorites of course b/c it looked like a "long neck."

Then, Friday night, Carl and I went on a fun date going to play put-put & a round at the batting cages. It was so fun! Thank you warm weather. We had such a good time. We just had to bring the kids there tonight!

The whole place was glow in the dark and "under water." The kids loved it...even though they were only patient enough to go through half the holes.

Me and my little golfer. He of course loved hitting the ball...it was just the throwing of the ball and me having to chase after it that I didn't love so much. :)

Last, I just had to share this awesome pic of what my hair looked like after the batting cages. Carl was so nice to let me walk around like!

Ice Castles & Birthdays

2011-03-10T09:02:00.003-06:00

Last week we went to visit these IceCastles that were like 30 minutes away!

CJ liked eating the ice-skittles, as he calls them.

Emma Jane loved running around, playing hide-and-go-seek, and climbing in and on the ice castles.

I was just trying not to fall the whole time!

Monday was my birthday! Woo Hoo! The big 26! I am always glad to turn a year older, especially when I am about to be a mom of 3. Each year sounds more legitimate, so I will take it! I got spoiled with tons of birthday wishes, and I even got to go out to eat with my sweet hubby! It was a great birthday!

My Little Helper

2011-02-27T13:10:00.002-06:00

My sister Brooke is awesome about having her kids help in the kitchen. She lets them cut vegetables, make sandwiches, etc. She is just really good about teaching her kids to be independent and help out. So, I finally invested in a good step stool for the kids, so they can access the sink and countertops easily to help out. So far, it has been a hit! Now, I just need my kids to stop playing in the sink and getting into the cupboards now that they can reach them!

My little helper with her cute apron her Aunt Amber made her for Christmas!

Emma Jane helping me with Banana Bread.

I measure. She pours and stirs.

An added perk of this stepstool is I can finally reach the top cupboards without having to climb on the countertops. It is not a pretty sight when you are 7 months prego! I am not that graceful! :)

4 years ago...

2011-02-16T22:47:00.002-06:00

Both my sisters and I were pregnant. In January, Lindsey had Brenna. In February, I had Emma Jane, and in April, Brooke had Bailey. 3 sisters who had 3 girls within four months of each other. Well, this year, it happened again, we are all pregnant, and we, again, are all having girls.

Lindsey, who's in Hawaii, just had this little cutie patootie this past weekend. Meet my new neice Layla. Layla is Lindsey's fourth girl! I am due the first week in May, and Brooke, who's in LA, is due the 2nd week of June. Brooke is having baby #5, and this is her fourth girl as well.

Lindsey, me and Brooke with our new babies back in '07.

At Baylie's blessing.

Baylie, Emma Jane, and Brenna. 3 girl cousins within 4 months of one another. This picture sure makes me so excited for the second round! I just wish I could be in Hawaii right now holding little Layla.

EmmaJane's 4!!!

2011-02-13T22:13:00.005-06:00

Emma Jane turned 4 today! That sounds old! I can't believe it! We are so lucky to have you in our family! Seriously, you make our home such a happy place! We love you! Here are 4 things you might not know about Emma Jane:

1. She loves to mother; she became a big sister at 14 months & has been Miss Helper ever since!

2. She LOVES little figurines! I mean loves! It doesn't matter what it is--a horse, a fish, a cow, whatever! Anything small--she loves!

3. She loves books. She will snuggle up next to anyone who is reading a book to her!

4. She is a climber. She has a gift. She loves to climb anything and is pretty impressive!

At her playgroup party!

This is what happens when your kids are sick the week before a holiday or birthday--you make too many decorations, and I didn't even show you the playroom or dining room!

We played pin-the-heart on cupids arrow, and I was pretty impressed with myself for drawing this. :)

At her party!

On her date with Grandma on Friday. She got to pick out a toy, go to the pet shop, and go out to eat. What a lucky girl!

Emma Jane got way to many gifts from all her family both near and far. Thanks so much! It is so fun to be loved and have such great family!

Emma Jane with her Tangled cake! She was so excited about the Tangled figurine on top. She didn't even eat 2 bites of her cake before she said, "I'm done. Can I go play with Tangled?"

And last, there was a big Haynie extended family gathering tonight that happened to be on her birthday, so we brought a cake. This time she picked out "Hello Kitty" since Aunt Anna had given her some tiny Hello Kitty stuffed animals that she fell in love with.

What a weak of being spoiled! Happy Birthday Emma Jane! We love you!

Sick & Silly

2011-02-07T21:23:00.003-06:00

This one was sick all week (like fever of 104 for 5 days), but now is better. This is her all decked out for church in her fancy shirt her Nana got for her.

This one got sick on Friday...just as Emma Jane was getting better.

We have rented lots of movies from the library.

And are sick of being inside for 2 weeks being quarantined from everyone!

But somehow, we have moments of goofiness and happiness that make it all a little easier!

The Wonderful World of Dinosaurs

2011-02-02T10:50:00.004-06:00

So, we are TOTALLY in a dinosaur phase at my house! Both kids love all things dinosaurs--especially CJ. My sister, Brooke, randomly got CJ a small stuffed dinosaur, and he has been carrying it around ever since! He requires that he sleeps with it at naptime and bedtime, and a lot of sadness occurs when we have misplaced it. It even has replaced his infamous "Aubie", his stuffed elephant, that he has been sleeping with for almost 2 years.

We have watched this movie, a classic from my own childhood, about half a dozen times. We have also watched a few of the poorly made sequels since there are like 20, but my kids have been loving them! They are always talking about "sharp tooth" and "little foot."

Then, we found this book at the library--Dinosaur Roar! We have read it so much that Emma Jane has it memorized and can read it to CJ. They even have started fighting over who gets to pick it as "their" book before naptime. I am pretty sure we have read it over 20 times, and we have only had it a week and a half. Gotta love those dinosaurs.

While Daddy's Away...

2011-01-27T19:27:00.004-06:00

we should play right? :) Carl is in Dallas doing the final interviews for an internship we hope he gets this summer. He is being spoiled--first class tickets, fancy hotel suites, and even fancier dinner parties! His pictures are disgusting! :) We are crossing our fingers that the interview goes well tomorrow! In the mean time, we went to CHUCK E CHEESE today! The kids have been wanting to go since August, so we had a special treat! They were in heaven.

I don't know if you can tell, but I gave CJ a long over-due hair cut today. We are growing it out, but I needed to trim the sides and back...he was kind of getting a mullet. :)

The Treat of the Week...

2011-01-23T11:52:00.002-06:00

was weather in the 30's! Woo Hoo! We have not seen our grass or our driveway since before Christmas. We were so excited to see the snow melting. The kids were so glad to go out and play for a little bit. With weather in the 20s, we haven't played much outside. Plus, the cold has been keeping us sick for the past two weeks, so this was a real TREAT! Sadly, it didn't last long. Last night the temperature dropped again, and snow began to fall. Thankfully, it did not stick, so we still can play on our grass!

Here's a little project I was having fun with this past week. I just sure hope we name her "June"!

Happy Day!

2011-01-13T19:37:00.003-06:00

There is something you need to know about EmmaJane--she is kind of a tom-boy. She loves t-shirts and sweatshirts. She always tells me, "Mom, you can pick out my clothes, as long as you don't pick out a skirt or a dress." :( Although I love my tom-boy, and I hope she stays that way all throughout her dating years, I am a little sad when she doesn't like painted nails or dress up or her pretty skirts & dresses I have hanging in her closet. But, thankfully, this past Saturday, she got invited to a PRINCESS PARTY. I wasn't sure if she would actually dress up for it, but she totally let me. She even let me put those sponge curlers in her hair the night before, so she could have "princess hair."

Since she is my only girl and not into dress up, this was our make-shift "fairy-princess."

She was prancing around all morning.

I was just eating it up!

Then, that night, Carl and I had an MBA Winter Formal. After trying on my "formal dresses" and thinking that everyone didn't need to see every curve on my body, I had to go to Ross to find something that fit my 5 months prego body. It was a lot of fun to dress up and go out! We haven't done that in a while.

CJ's New Career Goals

2011-01-06T21:52:00.005-06:00

So, last night, CJ was a little funny before I put him to bed. I was cleaning up their room, and he found this goose finger puppet. He put it on his finger, & in his best "duck voice" as he calls it said, "I'm a paleontologist." Really, a PALEONTOLOGIST. First, I had to use spell check to even get that word spelled right! And, second, where did my 2 year old learn that word?!? Then, I realized that after "Dinosaur Train", his favorite show, the paleontologist comes on to review the stuff they learned that day. I made him do it again tonight, so Carl (and You) could hear it:

Swimming & Snowmobiling

2011-01-01T22:04:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year to all! I love that today was 1-1-11, so neat ! This week has been so fun week having Carl home...minus being so sick and not wanting to do anything:). But, I will be so sad when we go back to reality again on Tuesday. We are so lucky to have such a fun dad & husband!

This week we got a pretty wicked, and I mean nasty, snow storm. We have had a foot of snow before, but this time it didn't go away. And, then, all the roads turned to ice because it kept getting colder, and colder, and colder, and it is still getting colder. Our street still has a couple of inches of ice. Carl wants to ice skate on our street. Needless to say, I have not been out much this week. So...

We made one of these...notice CJ finally succumbing to the candy that I had been trying so hard to have it not eat while we were making it.

Then, on Thursday, I was ready to go here! After being sick and so cold all week, this just sounded so fun. There were three slide areas. This was the medium one. There was a 3 story tube slide too. It was a blast!

Emma Jane & CJ were so happy to be swimming again. Emma Jane just couldn't stop swimming...even when she would be in a foot and a half of water, she was determined to get all her swimming in.

Then, today, we went to Roosevelt, UT (2 1/2 hours up into the mountains) to visit an aunt and uncle who were leaving to go on a mission to Russia.

The kids loved seeing all the animals.

Their favorite part was this cat. Why do my kids love cats so much?

The snowmobiling was Carl's favorite part, minus the fact that it was negative 2 degrees. And on our way home, our car read that it was negative 5 degrees outside. It is no wonder that my feet felt frozen even with the heater on high. This Bama girl just isn't used to that kind of cold!

The Magic of Christmas

2010-12-28T17:46:00.003-06:00

I'm sick again, but what is new, right? Sickness & all, we had a great Christmas. Christmas morning was pretty dang fun. The magic of Santa woke us up. Emma Jane ran into our room saying, "Santa came! Santa came & look at all the presents he brought." The kids were almost too excited to wait to open their presents so mom & dad could get dressed and brush their teeth, but they somehow held off a few minutes. They loved opening all their presents and wanted to play with each one before opening another. We were probably the impatient ones trying to hurry them along, but they were just so excited.

The highlight was the Wii system! The kids and dad love playing with it! We have already had a couple of karaoke battles and dance parties using the Wii! You can also see the train table that CJ got for Christmas! He spent most of the day playing with it!

My favorite part was that my brother made a last minute trip. We were all so sad to see him go back home yesterday. The kids had such a blast playing with their Uncle Brandon. They kept trying to coax him into not leaving, but when they realized he had to go, Emma Jane made sure to make him promise to come back and visit. We miss you already!

This is the car that Emma Jane got for Christmas!

This is the one that CJ got...never mind the colors. But, he doesn't care! He has been riding his more than Emma Jane has been riding hers. He doesn't care how cold it is. He just LOVES driving it around!

Baby June

2010-12-21T19:37:00.004-06:00

Given that ultrasound photos are not very good at 20 weeks...and maybe even a little scary looking...I just wanted to share these! After a little health scare today (in which everything turned out fine even though it almost gave me a heart attack), we are happy to announce that we are having another GIRL. That is what the kids said they wanted so they are happy, and so are we! We are pretty sure her name is June, unless she comes out with RED hair, and then, she will be Gracie! But until then, we can't wait to meet our JUNE!

She's a girl!

Her First Footprint

Our little June bug!

My favorite Pic of her!

Kids and Technology

2010-12-11T20:53:00.003-06:00

It is crazy how fast kids learn technology! Emma Jane is 3 1/2 and can easily find her games on daddy's IPOD or watch her favorite YouTube videos on his IPOD too. To say she LOVES his IPOD is an understatement. As soon as she excitedly greets her dad coming home, while she is giving him a hug & simultaneously asking, "Can I have your IPOD," she has it in her hands. They pick things up so quickly. I bet she can work his IPOD better than I can!

But, now it has become a part of her everyday jargon. Tonight, she was having trouble eating her dinner. As I am doing the dishes, she comes up to me crying & saying, "Mom, I can eat. The internet in my body is working slow." I said, "What?!?!?" She, still crying, explains, "The internet in my body isn't working right, so I can't eat my food." Now, that was a new reason for not eating your food. Internet working slowly has been a problem at our house and me and dad must have mentioned it a few times.

Later, she watching a YOUTUBE video of a cat that was hissing and very mean. I told her that that was a mean cat, and you better stay away from cats like that. She replied, "Don't worry mom, it (the cat) can't get out (referring to the IPOD). It is really hard to get out of there (again, referring to the IPOD." I reply, "True, true. It is very hard."

Carl, Emma Jane, and CJ watching "Santa Clause" while dad works on fixing the internet...again.

Just Some Monkeys Jumping off the Bed

2010-12-10T23:37:00.002-06:00

This is one of EJ & CJ's favorite things to do. They take all the pillows off my bed and put them in a big pile. Then they JUMP.

And, yes, sometimes they don't land on the pillows. I guess they get too excited to look before they jump. No injuries so far, but we are still crossing our fingers.

She's the most daring.

And, he's pretty close behind her.

Nothing like a little fun before bedtime.

And, good news, I found a sweet deal on Christmas cards, so I got them ordered today. If you have a new address, please leave it in your comment or email it to me. Thank ya much! :)

The Christmas Rush...

2010-12-07T19:50:00.005-06:00

Can you believe that it is Dec 7th already? It seems like it comes way too fast, and even though I know that it is going be like this, I feel like I am in a whirlwind. For some reason, I just can't get on the ball. It might have to do with the fact that I am getting migraines EVERY day, and Carl is less than 2 weeks away from finals, which means we are seeing him less and less...but who knows?!?!

In fact, last week, CJ saw an old picture of Emma Jane and Carl on our coffee table. He was looking at it, and very softly said, "I miss you." It was so tender. He loves his daddy. In fact, that same day, we were at the store, and he swore he saw daddy. He got so excited. It was pretty sad.

So, if my Christmas cards don't come this year, and you get an email instead, know that we are trying here at the Haynie household, but our attempts at a picture failed and me finding a deal for Christmas cards is also failing.

But, here is what we have been up to:

A Priceless Photo w/ G-Gma & G-Gpa on Thanksgiving

My Soccer team went to the 3rd round of the playoffs! Woo Hoo! I was 17 weeks at our last game, and there was another player who was 18 weeks. She was our goalie. Pretty awesome!

Emma Jane & CJ were the entertainment at the game.

When we went to the mall this past week, this guy let Emma Jane go on this for free...doesn't she is standing on that ledge?

And of course, this little guy had to go, so we ended up paying for him to go. I am sure that was a tactic he uses often b/c he did the same thing to my sister-in-law. Tricky. Tricky.

And, this little man, ran and jumped into the big ole guy's lap as soon as he saw him! He was so excited. Emma Jane was equally as excited, but was too shy to sit in his lap. She has seen 2 Santa's, and just gets scared when she gets close to him. But, each time, she says, "Next time, I won't be shy b/c I need to tell him I want a train."

Fun with Nana & Gpa!

2010-11-21T22:34:00.003-06:00

Nana and Gpa came to visit Friday, and boy were the kids excited. They went up to my mom's parent's house in Bountiful last night, and we came up there for Sunday dinner. We were crossing our fingers the whole time b/c CJ and EmmaJane were the only kids there, and my grandma's house is not so kid-friendly. CJ, who is going through a really fun "I don't like to eat food" stage, was the last to get his dessert after his dad made sure he ate all is dinner. Thankfully, no one pulled the tablecloth off or spilled too much food on the floor.

Nana cooked her famous Sunday roast and Gpa had even had coaxed her into throwing in some sweet peppers along with it! It was so yummy, and it still reminded me of home!

CJ and EmmaJane feeling the Christmas spirit!

CJ was excited to see the foot of snow at Nana Dalton's( what the kids now call Gma Dalton). He even got stuck. It is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. We hope to go sledding with the kids!

(on driving home from Bountiful, this was a funny conversation)

CJ: Mom, honk!

EmmaJane: CJ, we only do that in tunnels or people think we're mean.

She went on to tell CJ how we don't want to be mean and such, but it was pretty funny how quick she responded to CJ and how "matter-of-fact" she was. I had casually mentioned this the other day, but she had now become quite the expert!

Potty Central

2010-11-15T19:29:00.003-06:00

Well, we are in potty training mode here at the Haynie home. I have tried this several times, but now we mean business. CJ is a tough cookie b/c he has a mind of his own(one of the downfalls of your kids starting to make decisions on their own, eeek!). So, sometimes he just wants nothing to do with the potty. I have tried Elmo's potty time, new big boy underwear, treats, toys, silly songs, more treats, silly voices, more big boy underwear, throwing cheerios in the toilet, etc. You name it. I've tried it.

We've even tried good old peer pressure! Thank you Emma Jane for being on my team!

But, we are getting somewhere. CJ is wearing big boy pants more and more, and I am having less and less accidents to clean up! Yippee! Slow progress is still progress, and maybe I will be diaper free...probably a month or week before the baby is due, but oh well!

Do You Have Room?

2010-11-06T14:40:00.003-05:00

One of the wonderful blessings of going to BYU is the fact that it is very easy to get spiritually fed. On Thursday and Friday, we were invited to 2 NAC events. NAC is an association of past BYU MBA grads who have done well for themselves. We got to meet with them and their wives, and it was truly a pleasure. On Friday, I got to go to a special class for the wives. We got to pick our class. I chose "Surviving and Thriving through Transitions." I felt that I could use some helpful pointers since I was definitely in a transition and will probably have another fun "transition" in May when the baby is due and Carl has an out of state internship right after...and then in a year and half when we are out of MBA school trying to survive the consulting world.

Well, I didn't know my class was going to be taught by Sister Mary Cook, 1st Counselor in the General Young Women's Presidency. She referenced this talk. There were several others on the panel who talked about their life challenges they had not expected: from not getting married until 37, having a daughter with Lukemia, moving a lot, living in Mongolia with 40 below weather and no hot water, getting hit by a car in China, not being able to have kids, the loss of a grandchild, etc. These were amazing, strong woman who were so positive and happy and so encouraging. It was truly wonderful to hear how they had thrived through life's challenges!

Then, one of the best events was on Friday where I attended a NAC luncheon where we sat with NAC wives and fellow MBA student spouses. Our speaker was Shawna Edwards. She wrote a song called "Do you have Room?" It is a Christmas song about having room for the Savior in our lives. Please visit this website, or see video at the top, so you can hear the song and see the video presentation.

The song talked about making room for the Savior. It asks "was there really no room for him in the inn"? She talked later about is there really room for Him in our lives or our we overcrowding our lives with too many "things" that their isn't sufficient room for the Savior. The song talks about the humble people that saw Him-- the shepards and the wise men. Would we have come that night or are we to busy? Is our life too crazy to hear the call? She kept asking, Is there room?

Then she talked about unplugging the Christmas Machine. She asked to think about the simple way He was brought into the world--in a stable, with swaddling clothes, in a manger. Then, she asked us to contrast that with Christmas today with all the trappings. She asked us if Christ was really in our Christmas, or have we replaced Him with presents, decorations, parties, and stress.

It was a great message and made me want to make more of an effort to make more room for the Savior not just at Christmas, but all the time!

Happy Halloween Birthday Carl!

2010-11-01T13:40:00.004-05:00

Halloween is always fun... and challenging b/c Carl's birthday is on actual Halloween. This year was awesome though because everybody Trick-or-Treated the night before--which was cold and rainy but o well, we wanted some candy. The kids had a blast trick-or-treating...CJ became a little beggar-child towards the end, which is always fun. :) All in all, the kids got quite a loot of candy which I have hid and now rationed to one piece of candy a day. Surprisingly, they haven't fought me about that, which is always nice.

My little kitty and dragon.

Us at Carl's School Halloween party.

CJ and EmmaJane checking out there loot as soon as we walk in the door from trick-or-treating.

CJ all dressed in his Sunday duds with his glow in the light gun. (Brooke, do you recognize Luke's old suit? It fits CJ like a glove! So cute.)

After church, CJ, as James Bond, and Emma Jane as "Flower girl".

This sadly was the best picture I got from Carl's birthday celebration. Happy 28th Birthday Carl! You keep getting better and better with every year! :)

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2010-10-27T20:42:00.004-05:00

We woke up this morning with a blanket of snow covering everything. It was a good 2 inches. The kids were ecstatic! You would have thought that it was Christmas morning or something. They kept pointing it out--"Look, it's on the trees...Look, it's on the grass...Look, it's on our bikes!" They were even more thrilled to play in it!

They thought their snow tracks were the coolest!

My little snow angel who wouldn't keep her gloves on.

This guy either!

Carl had the camera on a funky setting, and this is how the first few pictures turned out. Emma Jane's hair looks pretty awesome!

12 weeks, still breathing, & pics galore!

2010-10-25T22:32:00.008-05:00

You would think with baby #3 I would have this pregnancy thing somewhat down, but unfortunately that is not the case. With a whole new level of nausea and migraines, these past few weeks have been challenging, but we are trucking along. Here is what we have been up to the last 3 weeks.

Carl took the kids to a BYU game!

We went back to Trafalga and invited Carl this time!

Emma Jane, our thrill-seeker, always has her hands in the air on a ride.

A cute, rare sight. They do not EVER sleep in the same bed. CJ must have crawled in with EmmaJane after a bad dream. Cute as can be!

Canning: Oh yeah! You bet! I did it! Apple Sauce and Peaches(not pictured)! Aww Baby! Nobody can eat them though b/c they are too precious. :)

While Carl had Fall Break this week, we went to Salt Lake's Science Center. Emma Jane had me take about 20 pictures of her on this horse.

The cutest toddler sized tree house!

CJ lovin' his boats. He always knows how to find those quick!

Heaven.

CJ's pure joy! Now if only it turned into a motorcycle too...
Carl's big kid project--Go Carl!

Then, we went to the zoo!

Oh we love Giraffes, especially when we can almost touch them!
And, tonight's latest projects: Carl's is the fancy one on top and the bottom two are mine and the kids! Happy Halloween!

Random Happenings Around the House

2010-10-07T18:39:00.002-05:00

CJ & Emma Jane being creative with their table while watching the Bama-FL game! Roll Tide!

Proof of a fun dad. They are so lucky! Who thinks of this kind of stuff?

This is how I found them the other night. This is the first time CJ snuck out of the top bunk to sleep with Emma Jane. I am surprised they fell asleep. Cutie Patooties!

The first snow of the season was only in the mountains, but it sure is fun to see. This is Mt. Timpanogas right outside our window. It has been raining all week, and each time it rains, Timp has some new snow. I want it to stay in the mountains a while longer. I don't know how we are going to do with this snow all the time. :)

Fun In LA with the McCoys

2010-09-27T22:43:00.004-05:00

We just got back late last night from LA. Carl had a job Conference there, so we went along too to visit my sister and her four kids! I drove there by myself and met Carl down there. Thankfully he drove back with me! We miss you guys already! We had a blast.

Oh, the fun of cousins! Baylie and my kids were the best of friends! It was so cute!

At the Zoo with all the cousins, waiting for the Bird show wishing we could bring food in there!
Emma Jane, the baby lover, was OBSESSED with Paisley! Paisley got a little too much lovin' from Emma Jane. She might have been a little glad to see her go. :)

Baylie, Emma Jane, and CJ had so much fun together. They loved running around the backyard together. They were best buds.

Good ole Nintendo Wii. We had all had a blast playing a dance competition game and the Disney Karaoke game. So fun. Not to mention watching CJ sword fight was pretty funny too! It was pretty cute to watch everyone!

Adventuring out to the mall with the kids. Always glad for the mall playground area!Having our first taste of PINKBERRY yogurt at the mall. So so yummy! It is a good thing we don't have one in Utah!

My fun sister Brooke. Thanks for the fun and the laughs.

Fun With Nana

2010-09-20T23:34:00.003-05:00

Nana came to visit us Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, and we had a blast! We told the kids they had a surprise visitor coming, and Emma Jane was so excited. She kept asking every 5 minutes who it was and was begging for us to tell her b/c she was so excited. When the car pulled up, she ran outside, saw that it was Nana, came running back inside saying, "It's Nana! It's Nana!" She was so, so happy to see her dear Nana.

The kids are just so super happy whenever they are with Nana. They just love her so much, and they LOVE how much she plays with them. This is the kids having a grand time playing at IKEA!

WE MISS YOU ALREADY NANA!

The Fun of Today

2010-09-16T23:25:00.002-05:00

Before my soccer game, we went to the park to kill some time and to work on Emma Jane's climbing skills. Man, she's good.

CJ, the less adventurous climber...who eases my fears. It is nice to have ONE cautious climber in the family.

Emma Jane LOVES these things. She likes that they are kind of "tricky". I think she feels like she defeated it or conquered it.

These kids were so cute while mom was playing. They had a blast with dad. (sorry it is kind of blurry.) They were really getting into playing soccer. It was so cute.

CJ showing off his MAD soccer skills. "See, I can even dribble with my hand behind my back." :)

We love you Grandpa!

2010-09-12T22:15:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

We love You!

We miss you & hope you have a great day full of lobster and relaxation!

Here are some of our many attempts to sing you "Happy Birthday." This is like 3 of 20 videos. We wish we could sing it in person, but this will have to do!

XOXO

Fun With Cousins

2010-09-11T19:30:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we (me & Anna, Carl's sister, & the kiddies) went to this awesome park by our house.
CJ and Beck swinging away!

A little tired from all the running around, but don't worry, he was up and running in a jiffy.

Can you believe how high she is? And, she got down all by herself. I was quite impressed. She wanted to go higher, but I didn't have my insurance card on me. :)

Best Buds-- Emma Jane loves her Bricky!

A Visit from Avery

2010-09-08T01:47:00.003-05:00

Our dear friends--Courtney, Judd, and Avery--were in town today, and we had so much fun hanging out with them! Avery is Emma Jane and CJ's best friend. They really were so excited to see her!

At the BYU Creamery, the kids were "All Cheers" for ICECREAM!

There's always room for 3 on a seesaw, right?

And, Emma Jane the Climber. Man does she love to climb things.

Did I mention we have 2 horses a block and a half away from our house?

And, we have now learned the art of feeding the horses. They love apples and carrots. The horses belong to someone in our church, so we usually make a visit every other day.

And we just had to take Avery there! After all, who doesn't love horses! I know I do!

A Week of Fun in Pictures

2010-09-05T19:19:00.004-05:00

Have I mentioned this kitty that lives next door to us? Or have I mentioned that Emma Jane was OBSESSED with cats for the past year, so finding out that a kitty lives next door is heaven? Or, that Emma Jane asks every 5 minutes if she can hold this kitty? Or, have I told you how we have meltdowns when we have to leave the kitty or can't hold the kitty...which usually results to long talks and time outs away from the kitty?

And, this little man follows whatever that one is...and yes, the kitty is in the house. And, no the dogs did not like it. :)

Then, I got this really cool pass called the "ALL PASS" that lets you into tons of fun things--Trafalga, Orem Owls Minor League Baseball, The Utah Flash Minor League Basketball, and 7 Peaks-an amazing water park. It was a steal, and I am so excited about it. This was our visit this week to Trafalga that had tons of rides. We were the only ones there for like 30 minutes, so one of the attendants just followed us around. It was awesome!

Yeah, that would describe Emma Jane. My thrill seeker holding her hands up.

CJ who is OBSESSED with airplanes and talks everyday about how is going to ride on a airplane LOVED this ride. I think he rode it like 4 times.

We love our Carousels.

CJ still gets a little nervous of them. Go figure.

Oh, yes, it had a ROLLER COASTER. It was way fast!

And, good old bumper boats that have water guns. We can't wait to take Carl there when he has a break from school.

On Saturday, we started tiling our bathrooms b/c CJ is going to be potty training soon, and we had carpet all around the toilets and everywhere. Poor Carl looks so sad in that picture. I promise he does enjoy doing this. :)

So, while Daddy tiled, I went to the grocery store, and to kick off BYU's first game, they were having a huge bash with a band and tons of freebies. The kids were very excited to have a balloon.

But, THE TRAIN, was the best part. Of course they had a train at the grocery store. And, yes, this became my kids new favorite grocery store. We still love you PUBLIX! :)

Carl (and I), deserving a well-needed break from school & tiling, went to the BYU game vs Washington.

We had a blast with Carl's sister Anna and Jeff and baby Bowen. We were so glad BYU won! **Funny Story, while we were there, they posted on the screen the score for the Alabama game, and posted it as Alabama losing to San Jose 3-28. I was freaking out--knowing I should have worn my BAMA shirt to the game. I was so sad. After much texting, my mom calmed my fears, and let me know it was a mistake. GO BAMA!

Carl and I on our way home from the game on Anna & Jeff's scooter!

Picking up the kids at Aunt Eva's. Thanks for babysitting all the kids. And, thanks Sandra for the creative movie watching boxes.

An Inspiring Story

2010-09-04T00:34:00.003-05:00

I am not one that recommends movies often, but this was a must. Tonight, after the kids went to bed, we rented the movie, Invictus. I had not heard any raving reviews, but man was it amazing. I don't think I have watched something that inspiring in a long time. Nelson Mandela was a true visionary man. One who believed in forgiveness and hope. The movie was centered around a poem that Mandela read often in jail to encourage him. The video below is the poem. The movie talks a lot about how Mandela was in a small cell for 30 years and how he rose above it, forgave his oppressors, and changed a nation! What an inspiring tale of forgiveness, love and hope. I hope you will take the time to watch it. It really was a soul touching movie.

Invictus - Poem That Inspired A Nation

2010-09-04T00:27:00.000-05:00

Why Are Animals Like Heaven?

2010-08-31T22:38:00.005-05:00

Seriously, my kids would be so content if heaven was just a big farm! They seriously love animals. Maybe it is because animals and kids are a lot alike. Both are really messy. Both are a little stinky. :) Both need to be fenced. Both need to be tamed but love to roam freely. The list could go on & on.

Carl is really in the long school schedule, so me and the kids go exploring. Today we went back to Thanksgiving Point to visit the FARM.

This was my favorite part. It was a little kiddie jail. If only I could have one of those in my house for "Time Out". A girl can dream. :)

Nothing like riding a fake sheep right? They are my favorite kind of sheep to ride.

They had food that you could feed the animals. These little goats would just lick your hands clean. Yummy. Thank you hand sanitizer!

Oh, how we do love cows. I really think Chick-Fil-A did us in with that one. With all their cow advertisement...It really works on these young kids. They can spot a restaurant or billboard a mile away.

Now this black cow loved CJ a little too much. He tried to eat his pants!

And, oh how we love those wagon rides. I think my kids asked the driver a thousand questions.

But, I would have to say, this was the icing on the cake. To ride a horse, that really is a little piece of heaven.

If that is not happiness, I don't know what is.

And, what else do you wear to a farm? Your National Champions Alabama gear, of course! Aww Yeah! I would say CJ was a little tuckered out, so needless to say, the trip was a success!

More Random Pics

2010-08-25T08:42:00.002-05:00

Cleaning at Grandma's--seriously, we need to get a handheld vacuum. CJ loved it! I just need him to clean my house now!

Our first hike: Climbing up to the BIG "Y" on the mountain above BYU...with kids it was a lot longer and more tiring. New Goal: to become better hikers as a family.

Go BYU! This is Uncle Wesley's. He is 12 and just started football, and he let EmmaJane try it on. It was pretty funny. They love playing with Wesley. He is the coolest!

Yesterday, we went to Thanksgiving Point. It had a Dinosaur Museum that was awesome! We met my cousin Alison and Jevonne and their kids. It was really fun! This shark was at the end, and CJ was very concerned that it was bleeding. Tender guy.

Utah...Our New Home

2010-08-22T22:32:00.011-05:00

I know it has been a long time since I last posted, and I dearly apologize. We moved end of July, and at the first of August, we had a family reunion out here. And between getting settled, visiting family, and Carl starting school, we have been a bit busy. Although we dearly miss Alabama, we have settled in nicely here in Utah. We love our new home that we are renting, and we continue to pray that our home in Birmingham sells soon!

There is a lot to catch up on, and lots of pics to post. I will post more this week, but as part of our Haynie Family Reunion, we got to take some new family pics! I hope you enjoy!

What started as two...

and grew to four!

The Haynie Family ( 7 kids and their 14 kids)

The Proud Grandparents of 14 grandchildren

Four Generations of Carl's (CJ is a nickname)

Carl Stephen Haynie IV

Pretty Miss Emma Jane

Sweet Home Alabama...

2010-07-21T21:37:00.011-05:00

Although this will probably make Courtney sad, I want to document at least one of our lasts here in Birmingham (more so the South). I just got back from my last trip to Dothan and on the way back we passed a bunch of things I'll really miss. The South has been the best experience and I hope we make it back someday. Here's some pics from the trips and some of the things we'll miss about our home.

I'm glad I was in the news while I was here. I learned more about the state's history and cool places in a short period of time than I could have any other way. This state has more history than anybody could ever imagine.

The South is where Emma Jane learned to swim. And Nana's new pool is one of our favorite places to go swimming.

Lake Eufala: I can't say enough good things about this peaceful place and the Grantham's home there. So many good memories.

Nana's place was fun anytime, but we especially loved her guests, which usually included family.

Our kids have grown up so much in the South. I hope they take a piece of it with them.

We saw this sign on every trip to and from Dothan. We will miss the religious-minded South. It made people so friendly and easy to be around.

Don't figure I'll be seeing many of these in Utah. I'm going to miss the culture, the way they speak and hearing yes ma'am and yessir all the time.

I don't know what Court and I will do without a Jim n Nicks BarBQ. She'll miss the coconut creme pie. I'll miss the muffins. We'll both miss the spuds.

Is it wrong that so many of these pictures are of food? I could eat wings with original sauce from Things-n-Wings in Dothan every day and not get tired of it. And our kids may not ever be the same without those corn nuggets. Nana, I'm already researching a way to have them shipped.

The last thing we did in Dothan was the first thing I did when we got there. Eat at Mikata. My favorite Japanese steakhouse and best fried rice I have ever eaten.

McWane Science Center's Birthday!

2010-07-10T15:00:00.006-05:00

On our way to meet BOB THE BUILDER!

Oh, how the kids love Chick-fil-A

CJ was the most excited--especially when he got his hard hat!

Can you tell by the kids expressions that it was a little hot outside?

But, we were still excited to see Bob & were singing "Can we build it....Yes we can!" (Bob's theme song) But, CJ kept singing "Yes we can" over and over and over and over...

Then, we found the Chick-fil-A cow inside and CJ could not give this cow enough hugs!

Kid (and Dad) Heaven! I'll admit Carl went in there and tried to honk the horn.

While we were there, CJ was the Safari driver!

Where did CJ go? The hat was a little big, wouldn't you say?

And, it can't be a party without a Blow-up Slide, right?

...Later, I was putting the kids to bed. I tucked CJ in and was giving him a kiss goodnight, when he took my face in his hands, and starts whispering "I got to see Bob the Builder at the Science Center today. I love Bob the Builder. I love Bob the Builder." It was just to die for! He was just thinking of what an awesome day he had and was still so happy from it. Truly Priceless!

Proof that Emma Jane's a fish

2010-07-06T14:50:00.002-05:00

Emma Jane has always liked the water, but we haven't been able to push her over the hump to learn how to swim. We signed her up for swim lessons, didn't work. Then a few weeks ago, we tried a different teacher who let her sink or swim. By the end of the first lesson she was swimming to the side. I was a proud poppa. She loves it. Sometimes she'll kick off and just float for fun. She has a problem remembering to use her hands but she's brave enough to swim anywhere. Also, her inspiration was Aubrie. She really wants to swim like Aubrie (she wants to do everything like Aubrie actually). So, I told her before her lesson you better learn how to swim before we go out for the reunion. Sure enough she did.

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

2010-07-05T22:25:00.006-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

Can You See CJ's new Haircut?

Miss Ma'am Who Likes to Dress Herself These Days

Got to See Uncle Brandon at the Beach! We love you & Miss you already!

Lesson Learned: Don't give CJ a bag of chocolate candy that you think he can't open.

Carl and the Kids' trip to THE MAN SHOW.

A swamp fire fighting truck, who doesn't need one of those, right?

Oh no, the love for motorcycles has begun.

Little Miss Firefighter

Dangerous!

After church, Emma Jane found just the right accent for her outfit, swim goggles of course!

The kids all decked out back from a trip at Nana's after mom's girls camp.

Who doesn't love Lowes' Kid Workshops on Saturdays (especially since they are free)?

And, since they give a two year old a real hammer!

But, they have so much fun!

Last Night's Performances

2010-05-23T21:18:00.003-05:00

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Mary had a Little Lamb...or atleast an atempt.

My Little Emma Jane

2010-05-22T01:37:00.002-05:00

First off, my lack in posting is due to the fact that I am head of a girls camp that is in two weeks and am prepping for that...

Anyway, lately, I have just been enjoying watching Emma Jane. She is so tender. She loves to play mother or teacher or just try to help. She really does just soak up everything I say and just repeat it back to CJ. "CJ that makes Jesus so sad when you hit" or "CJ, do you know Jesus loves you?" She really is CJ's second mother. I saw this again yesterday while I was cutting CJ's hair. Hair cutting time is a very painful process. CJ is just screaming the whole time. You would think I was torturing him, so needless to say, I do not like this process. Anyway, the whole time, Emma Jane kept trying to comfort him. She would say "It is going to be okay" or "you can have icecream after", "that would make you happy, right?" or "you're okay." You could tell that it pained her to see him like that, and that she was trying so hard to make him feel better.

Kids sure are the epitome of Christ-like. They are so forgiving and so loving. Lately I have been feeling like I am the student, and they are teaching me.

Here's to you kid! Here's Emma Jane doing what she loves--exploring the outdoors!

Best Video Ever!!!! Mom Mobiles Rule!!!

2010-05-12T22:42:00.000-05:00

2010-05-10T19:50:00.001-05:00

Dad: okay let's have FHE. CJ: yay! Court: We must not have fhe enough. Dad: Well said. CJ: Continues screaming yay in the background.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-04T20:41:00.003-05:00

Because it's such a big deal, we actually started a day early on Quattro de Mayo at the beach with our good friends Avery and Judd. Okay, so technically it's not a beach, it's sand at a lake, but you "get what you get and you don't get upset." The kids loved it.

On the actual Cinco de Mayo, we celebrated the Mexicans' victory over Napolean III with a trip to the National Guard to see the helicopter and planes that according to Emma Jane "don't fwy anymore, they're just stuck."

side note: I happened upon this the other day when I had to do something with the kids to get them out of the house while Courtney recovered from a headache. We went to watch airplanes land and take off. Then I traveled up the road a few miles and ran into a cool little park with five retired planes and helicopters. The kids could not have been more excited so we took them back today. Nothing says Happy Mexican Independence Day like U.S. planes!(i know it's not their real independence day, but getting rid of Napolean/the French must have felt like freedom)

side note two: can we just do like the Mexicans and call for a moratorium on paying off our debts to other countries for two years and see what the Chinese do?

Nobody is there and there are no rules posted, so of course I put the kids up on the wings and on top of the bombs and tried to open every door. I don't know that I will ever overcome the curious child in me.

Nothing says victory like a bomb between your legs.

We capped it off with dinner at our favorite Mexican Restaurant, La Bamba. Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!!!!!

Fire! Fire! Fire!

2010-04-28T20:33:00.003-05:00

Carl finally got his Fire Pit! Every man needs a fire pit. Right? Well, according to Carl our backyard had been lacking this essential element for a long time. Thanks to fate and one good sale, Carl got his wish!

Tonight we dined like kings-- hotdogs and s'mores!

CJ one handing the hot dog!

Emma Jane savoring each piece!

We are loving our backyard right now. We will miss you beautiful azaleas!

My battle wounds.

I was playing with Missy yesterday, and she scraped me with her paw. It took me a second to recover from that swing. She left me with a pretty nasty bruise, so don't mess with Missy.

My New Teaching Discovery

2010-04-23T19:35:00.004-05:00

This past month was General Conference (read this talk http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1207-6,00.html for more info; there were several other talks you could look at too), where we get to listen to our prophet and apostles. Anyway, I was struck by often it was talked about teaching your children and how important it was to utilize your time with them. After all, these are the end of days that you hear about from the scriptures, where evil is far worse than Sodom & Gomorrah. Our kids need to be taught the teachings of the gospel like none other.

Anyway, my big new "teaching" time is now STORY TIME. My kids love books. Love books. What kid doesn't! It is the only time they will sit down and listen for an extensive period of time. Anyway, I just realized that I was missing out on a great teaching time. We love all the Dr. Suess books, but we are setting aside "Green Eggs & Ham" for a time. I have started collecting books about stories from the scriptures or stories about sharing or being a good helper. And, TO MY GREAT EXCITEMENT, the kids like them just as much. Now, Emma Jane love Jonah an the Whaaale and CJ loves the Veggie Tales' book about "God being bigger than the boogie man and how he's watching out for you and me". Anyway, this little experiment has been great. I am just sad that I hadn't realized it until now.

I love spring!!!

2010-04-22T21:01:00.004-05:00

Emma Jane, CJ, and our friend Avery at the Zoo!

Emma Jane swimming at the Y!

CJ workin' the steps at the pool!

At the Japanese pond at the Botanical gardens by our house.

Mama and Daddy w/ their baby goslings that we love to feed our stale bread to!

The feeders.

Oh how we love spring in Birmingham! We have been living outside. After the coldest winter I have ever experienced in Alabama, we are so excited to have the warm weather again! We try to go outside as much as we can. We zombies could use a little color anyway! I have been loving our backyard especially since we will have to leave the 70 shrubs we have planted back there. Yes, that is the correct number. And, yes, my back starts to hurt just thinking about it, but we are enjoying all the azaleas and knockout roses and dogwoods and crape myrtles that are now in bloom!

Happy Easter! Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T22:39:00.010-05:00

Happy Easter! We just had such a wonderful weekend visiting with friends and strengthening my testimony of Jesus Christ! We are trying to make an Easter tradition of doing egg hunts and easter baskets on Saturday, and then, on Easter, we focus on what Easter is all about. Today was just a wonderful day! We went on a walk, and then, after that, we had an Easter lesson with the kids. They enjoyed opening eggs that had Easter pictures in them of Jesus on the cross, in Gethesame, and the empty tomb (and each had two skittles, so that made them extra fun to open).

Anyway, I was surprised how much the kids got out of it. After naps, Emma Jane woke up before CJ, and she told me all about Easter. How "Jesus died for her"; how "he came back to life"; that "Jesus loves her"; that "Jesus died so we could all be together." It was precious to hear HER teach ME the lesson. What a sweet moment!

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I am so grateful for all that Jesus did for us. I hope we all can keep the spirit of Easter with us. I hope we can all try to do a little better trying to become like Jesus!

The Kids in their Easter Best

The church Easter Egg Hunt: Not much hunting, just opening.

Seriously, I think each got 3 eggs!

Because as soon as they got an egg, this would happen: drop and open.

CJ of course had to show you that there was candy in the eggs and now it was in his mouth! And, yes, I just gave CJ a haircut b/c he so desperately needed one.

Then, yesterday, we had another egg hunt at our house with some friends. Emma Jane learned her lesson and racked up! As you can see, CJ didn't learn the lesson!

Utah, Here we come!

2010-03-23T22:26:00.003-05:00

So sorry for the month long hiatus, but we have been pretty busy in the Haynie household. First off, Carl has been planning on going back to school to get an MBA in business. The news world has proved to be not so family friendly and there on many other reason why we don't love the news industry, but we will not get into that right now. Anyway, Carl got into the University of Alabama and BYU. Go Carl!

Since BYU's business school is in the top 20, and their Marketing program, which Carl would like to go into, is rated in the top 10, we were so happy that he got in there! Again, go Carl. Anywho, we have been on a crazy roller coaster of a ride these past few weeks trying to tie up all the little projects that needed to be taken care of, so we could put our house on the market.

Anyway, now we just new to pray really, really hard that it will sell before August! To see pictures of the house, visit www.homewoodbeauty.blogspot.com.

I will post pictures of the kids as soon as Carl's computer, where the pictures of the past month are, starts working again.