how big is baby??!

okay, how cute is she??! i thought this nice big picture is fitting for this big girl. :)

we have been watching samantha as she has hit each milestone. we have been very anxious as she has been nearing walking for sometime. she has been cruising around furniture and anything else that is around. she also has this little push toy that is intended to help walking...she practically drags it with her...as long as she is holding onto something.

yesterday, while at church, samantha must have had a strange burst of confidence. she suddenly decided to stand up...unsupported. she did it over and over and over...until her poor little legs were so tired they were shaking.

this evening she dared to go a step further....

how big is Mantha Baby?? SO BIG!!

picture?? PERFECT!!

okay, if i were to give a thorough 'journaling' of all that has gone on since the last post of substance...it would take like two pages and therefore would probably never happen!

so, what i am going to do is picture update with captions. if i had the camera with me, it gets mentioned. :)

at the beginning of april, we went up to utah. we were able to visit my brother- seth, his wife- joyelle, and their son- little seth. we also got to stay with troy's uncle matt and aunt laura the entire time we were there. were were also able to make it to the sunday afternoon session of general conference! it was a great little vacation for us!

this is samantha and little seth....cute cousins!!

the seths!! i love, love, love this picture! :)

awww! i had to take advantage of the purdy flowers, and the girls are always up for a photo shoot. :) too bad i couldn't get samantha in there too.

they really do love each other...it's not just for the camera!






on april 19th, our little sammymantha turned 1! doesn't time fly?!

mmmm! the first birthday cake! thank you walmart for your reduced price strawberry parfait cake...really saved us some time after running around all day!

yummy!! the very messy aftermath of that delicious cake!

we have this large lot....but it is a lot of dirt. we have lived in this house for six years this coming september and we have been working towards landscaping. here is our back yard. it looks small with some small piles of rock...but this is misleading. those piles equal 100 tons of rock! we purchased it last year, but there was a lot to do before we could get it put up.

how far does 100 tons of rock go?? it was just enough to rock the banks in our backyard. i don't know the square footage, but they are between 6 and 7 feet high. here is the completed picture.(completed banks anyway) unfortunately there is SOOOOOO much more to go...then there is the front yard.

yeah, a larger lot is nice...until you have to landscape and maintain it! eesh!




this is the famous lance that you have all been curious about! he has been with us since march 1st. he got to celebrate his 7th birthday with us on june 2nd. he got to spend some time with his 10 yr old brother earlier that afternoon too. here he is with a couple of his presents...a john deere set and a red fuzzy blanket.

a blanket in june??! that's what he wanted. he loves snuggling in blankets. :)

the birthday boy and his cake. it's no strawberry parfait cake...but we sure enjoyed it just the same!










heehee here is our sumo looking child! she had her first ponytail...not much there, but i consider it a milestone. she has had the slowest growing hair out of all the girls and i have been dying to be able to put her hair up. it is still a LOT of effort so i don't attempt it very often...but at least i know i can!

noemi and lance both graduated kindergarten this year! unfortunately i don't have any pictures of noemi graduation too, because her teacher opted not to do one...just a private celebration in their classroom for just the kids. (no families invited) but it actually worked out really well because lance and noemi attend different schools and i was wondering how i was going to juggle 2 graduations. phew! that coulda been sticky!

and thus ends my photo update!

I'm not dead yet!

or...am i back from the dead??!

sorry for the long hiatus!

what has kept me from blogging?

• lack of motivation
• having gotten too far behind and dreading the long "catch-up" post(s)
• getting my hands on the first two books in the Twilight series....i need book three BEFORE august 2nd...
• giving into the dreaded facebook "cess pool" (and enjoying every minute of it!)

*sigh* but since i have been so desperately missed, i have decided to grace you all with my blogging presence again!

so in the next few days i'll be in the process of getting things back in order...new postings, blog face lift...possibly some catch up- but don't hold your breath!

so here's to new beginnings!!

i'm it!

i've been tagged again! thanks andrea! :) no, and that is not sarcastic either...i've been i'm a blog funk. it's nice to have something to post. *sigh* i do have some updating to do...but i don't have the attention span for that at the moment.

on to the tag!

How To Play This Game of Tag:
Post these rules on your blog.
Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog.
List:
3 joys
3 fears
3 goals
3 current obsessions/collections
3 random/surprising facts
-Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names .
-Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


joys:

1. a great book and time to read it without guilt
2. my kids! they are so funny and sweet
3. relaxing/snuggling with troy. i really do have the best hubby in the world!

fears:

1. heights...this is a very real phobia too...i even get dizzy looking up at really tall things
2. creepy/crawly things (snakes, scorpions, spiders, cockroaches..the list goes on)
3. something happening to someone in my family...getting hurt or worse :(

goals:

1. lose weight!
2. organize the house...do some downsizing so we can do some rearranging of things
3. become more self sufficient

obsessions:

1. Survivor!
2. ice cream
3. my hair being clean

random/surprising facts:

1. i have been known to get sucked into teenage shows...like "instant star". i love the music on it! (which is how it hooked me to begin with) so if you were wondering who alexz johnson is on my play list...she's the main character "jude" on that show.
2. i don't do well with blood or needles...even though i have to endure weekly shots through out my pregnancies. the anticipation of a shot or a needle poke is enough to make me worried about passing out.
3. i have never gone to get a manicure or pedicure and have little desire to do so.

my tagging victims:

1. amy
2. lisa
3. heather m.
4. jess
5. suzanne

shoulda woulda coulda??

wow! it's so weird to think that we very well could be in california right now! last week we, or i should i say troy, got a surprising and rather unexpected email. apparently last year troy went online to see if he could get tickets to american idol...and that is what the email was all about!

how fun would that be though??

but as it stood, internet tickets are on a first come, first served basis and there is no guarentee of getting in or even sitting with your party, and it's standing room only so we are to wear comfortable shoes too. there is also a dress code that is strictly enforced with internet ticket holders: no shorts of any kind and no t-shirts and no white. dark colors preferred. we are to dress "hip and upscale". LOL yes, and i know i'm the picture of hip and upscale!

it was a nice idea but...realistically with a baby and 3 older kids...a job and the cost of fuel and finding a place to stay, standing in a line without a guarentee of being able to even sit (or stand, as it would be) next to my husband...or even getting in for that matter...*sigh* it just wasn't to be.

and
another i had another rather fun surprise last week. my husband told me that an old friend (gary) from prescott came into work and they were talking. gary asked troy if he has been watching his grand daughter on tv. troy was a little lost and asked who his grand daughter is. come to find out his grand daughter is BROOKE WHITE!

how cool is that??! a few of you had some connection to her...and now so do we! she has always been a favorite of mine.

so everyone, vote and vote often for Brooke white!

blah!!

okay i thought spring break was supposed to be fun...filled with energy and excitement. what happened??

i'll tell you what:

this is me:


i have been really knocked on my buttoot by this. i was running a fever for like 2 days and with the sinus pressure...i just wanted to chop my head off!! but to make matters worse, samantha has been like this:



poor thing...i know she's not feeling the best either as her nose has started running too...but the screaming and crying...it's just not conducive to my sudden sound sensitivity which amplifies the pressure in my head.

but to make things even better, our sweet dog, bill, just got neutered monday afternoon. FINALLY! but his neutering wasn't an easy one...as he isn't from fine breeding (mutts usually aren't!) they had to do a little extra digging to get the job done. but as he is 4 yrs old he isn't quite as resilient as a puppy. and has been feeling like this:

he is actually feeling better now but still has to stay inside and is kinda going nuts because he longs to go run and play outside the way he's used to...but under dr's orders that is a no go! not till at least next monday...but even then he can't go free. he actually had to get stitches and has to wear one of those obedience cone collar thingies to keep from licking until the stitches are removed next week.

so while i'm trying to rest and recover i have to corral the older kids as they are going crazy bouncing off the walls with energy because i'm too sick to take them anywhere, trying to soothe and pacify a fussy baby and nurse a post surgical dog.

so...yeah, spring break has been fun so far. luckily, we have one more week. lets see if next week will go better!

update on the Pettits

wow!

it feels like ages since i last posted! we have been through sicknesses of all kinds...from the flu, colds, pink eye to the stomach flu and i think i am starting to hint at allergies...when will it all end??! but on the up side, samantha FINALLY cut her top teeth. so hopefully that will improve her disposition.

but in addition to the sicknesses, we have had some big things happen. first off, we received our licence to foster...about 3 weeks ago today, actually. that excited us and we started making plans for getting the house ready for when the day would arrive in a few months that the state would call with a child to place in our home.

some things that were on our to do list:

• get the back room cleaned out (it had become a storage room of mostly baby equipment)
• get the bed set up
• <>get bedding/mattress pad
• paint the room
• get a dresser (preferably for the girls' room that is big enough to accommodate all the girls)
  

well, to our shock and surprise, a week ago today i received a phone call. what??! they had a child they wanted to place in our home!! we said we'd do it and after last whirl wind of a weekend we now have an adorable red-headed 6 yr old boy in our home. he really is a good kid...but is all boy. he is just a bundle of energy...and boy have i been worn out. we are happy that he is here and our girls fell in love with him instantly!

there is going to be a lot going on...so please be patient with me if posts become spaced farther and farther apart.