Funny Dog

Angel loves to steal anything she can from the kids and take off with it. Well, the other day, she took a binki that Brynnlee was holding. We thought she looked pretty funny...

We sure do love our Angel girl!

Cookbook

At the beginning of the year, I was asked by the Relief Society president if I would be in charge of making a community cookbook. Since I LOVE to cook, I thought this project sounded like so much fun! So I said, "Yes!"

After months of hard work and the help of a committee of 20, they are done and they are AMAZING!!!! This bad boy has 596 pages with 1300 recipes submitted by those that live within our ward boundries. It even includes cleaning recipes and homemade remedies - very helpful!

Cute, huh?

I wanted something to compare this cookbook to so you can actually understand the size of this beast. I figured most people would know how big a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook is, so here you go...

Not too bad, huh?! I'm pretty proud of this cookbook and can't wait to start cooking from it!!

A Little Accident

Brynnlee was out playing with Austin, Aubree, and Angel on the front porch the other day, when all of a sudden I hear her screaming and Austin yelling at Aubree to go get me. So I ran outside to find Brynn standing up with dirt and blood all over one side of her face. Apparently she was standing near the edge of the porch when Angel bumped her off onto the rocks and gravel below.

She got a really good goose egg on her forehead and lots of scratches on her face. These pictures were from right after I got her cleaned up. But by that evening, that whole side of her face was bright red! It looked so awful!!

Everything is now scabbed over, so it's healing. It just makes me so sad to see her sweet face look like this. Hopefully it'll get better quickly!

Hay Season

Well, it's that time again - HAY SEASON! Austin has been looking forward to hauling hay all summer so he can get behind the wheel again.

This year we had Nathan's help along with one of his roommates too. I'm pretty sure they have never worked so hard in their lives!

Here are some pics from this year's hay hauling adventures...

Angel's first experience working the land and she LOVED it!!!

She didn't miss a beat!
The three older kids running the pickup - Austin driving, Aubree telling Austin when to stop, and Brynn trying to enjoy the ride.

We've got a hungry follower!

Brett, Nathan, and James (Nathan's roommate) building the hay stack

Austin climbing way up high

Brynn's enjoying the view

This is what we do...

Letter

My grandmother wrote Brooks a letter and I just have to put it on here so that I have it kept somewhere. She wrote it on a card with a warrior Indian on his horse. She included a $50 check. This is what she wrote:

Hi Guy,

Welcome to our family. Take everyone to dinner and order you the biggest steak they have.

I hope you'll like to read about cowboys and Indians like Grandpa did.

Grandma went to Sea World and saw porpoises and whales dance and jump way out of the water.

It's very hot in California. Soon you can run and play with Angel and the kids. Let mom sleep at night so she will be cheerful and rested.

You're a lucky boy to be in the Robinson family. I hope you'll go on a mission like Nathan and your dad.

Have mom freeze some juice and make slushes.

Be good to your sisters and help mom and dad like Austin does.

I hope you grow up to love veggies and fruit.

Send me a picture.

Love,
Gram E.


For those who don't know, Brooks' middle name is Delor, after my Grandpa Eastman. He and I were very close - more like a father to me. Like Grandma, I hope Brooks will be like my grandpa.

She's Amazing!

My sister-in-law, Kasi, is SOOOOOOOOOOO talented!! She just opened her own Etsy shop and I just have to tell everyone about it. Check it out HERE. She's just getting started and will be adding more to her store, but for now she has things for kids, vinyl, antique furniture, and so on. So go take a look and see what an amazing sister-in-law I have!

3 Weeks

Brooks had his two week check-up on Wednesday, even though Friday he was three weeks old. We were happy to hear that he has been growing beautifully. He is now 20 inches long and weighs 8 lbs. 6 oz. - that's about two pounds in two weeks! He's starting to fill out and I LOVE it!!!! He's been more alert recently during the day. And nights vary now, sometimes sleeping only two hours between feedings and other times four! Every night I pray for the four hour breaks!!

Everyone still absolutely loves him. The only time Brynn struggles is when she is getting sleepy and wants me to hold her. But I don't think that's too bad!

I can vividly remember when Austin was 3 weeks old. A friend of ours said, "He's three weeks old already?" And I thought, What do you mean already? It's more like he's FINALLY three weeks old!

Time seems to be flying with Brooks, however. I can't believe he's already three weeks!

T-Ball

Austin and Aubree had so much fun playing t-ball this year. We only signed Austin up to play since Aubree isn't supposed to play until next year. But if anyone from the team was going to be gone, Aubree was the official substitute. She probably played in half of the games and absolutely LOVED it!

Austin's coach pitched to each of the players three times and if they missed each pitch, then they had to use the tee. Austin only had to use the tee a couple of times. We were so proud of him hitting off of pitches. And Aubree wasn't too far from Austin. About half of her hits were from pitches as well.

It was lots of fun for both of them. They are already looking forward to next year!

Rough Week

Last week was one of the hardest weeks I've ever experienced. Boy, and I glad that my sister, Shauna, and my mom were here to help! We started out on Monday taking Brooks into the doctor for a check up. They were concerned about jaundice so we had to take him into the hospital to get it checked.

Oh, and while we were at the doctor's office, I had them check Brynn since she seemed not to be feeling well. She ended up having an ear infection and a sinus infection. So they put her on antibiotics to fix it.

I spent Tuesday cleaning and trying to help Brynn feel as comfortable as possible. Wednesday, my mom and sister arrived. Thursday Brynn was not doing well! She had a 103 degree fever that we could not get to brake. I took her back to the doctor and they gave her an antibiotic shot since the other medicine wasn't seeming to work.

Friday, the fever continued and Brynn was MISRABLE and constantly crying. I took her back to the doctor Friday and they had me take her to the hospital for x-rays and blood tests to see if the problem was viral or bacterial. Can I just say how hard that was having to hold her down for x-rays, waiting for them to get the machine to work, and Brynn not understanding what was going on and being so scared. Then listening to her scream as they were drawing her blood. AWEFUL!!!!!!!!

The tests came back all normal, but Brynn was still not feeling well. Sunday, Brett gave her a blessing and finally Monday, she started showing signs that she was feeling better. I don't know if it's because she was feeling so horribly last week that she's so happy to be feeling good, but she is so sweet and adorable now. Maybe it's just that my view on her has changed. Who knows, I'm just glad that she's doing better!!

And thank goodness for the extra help I had from my mom and sister! I wouldn't have been able to make it through the week without them!!

Brooks had been doing well, thankfully! His jaundice is clearing up. Now if I can just get him to sleep better at night, we'd be just fine!! Here are some pictures I've taken...

This is kind of funny to me. We have two babies! It's only funny until Brynn wants me to hold her and not Brooks and proceeds to throw a fit if I don't. We've got to work on that. And no more bottles! I'll be working on that.

Brooks NOT enjoying his sun bath!Cute little baby boy!!

She's 4!!

Aubree had her fourth birthday last Saturday! She is so excited to finally be four years old. Now she thinks that she can do anything because she's big now!

I decided to bag the whole birthday party idea since I've got a new little one. Instead, we focused on the fact that she gets to have her Grandma Good here for her birthday. She was thrilled with that!

We started out her day with a yummy breakfast, then we took her to the park for a picnic and some good playing time. When we got home, I started decorating her cake while my mom made tacos for dinner.

My little brother, Nathan, came over and as soon as Brett got home from work, we ate, did the cake, and opened presents. She was surprised by a visit from her Grandma Robinson. She thought it was so neat that she got to have both of her grandmas at her house for her birthday. The kids played and played with the new gifts and then we finished off the day with a movie of her choice and popcorn.

Even though we didn't do a big, elaborate birthday party, she still had a very special and happy day - just what I wanted most for her!

Thanks to Nathan and his princess dress-up set, we were still able to make her "party" be as much of a princess party as possible. She was a cute little princess!

She was very excited about her cake! Phew!!

She got lots of clothes and gifts from both of her grandmas!

Both Austin and Aubree got soccer balls from my sister, Shauna, and Brett and I got Aubree a soccer goal. They were both pretty excited about that!

All in all, it was a very good day. We're so happy that she's a part of our family. Life would be very dull without her! We sure do love that little girl!!!

He's Here!!!

Well, our little baby decided that he had his own schedule and arrived Friday morning. Never mind that his mama still had freezer meals to make, things to purchase (like diapers, baby shampoo, and clothes), and a big sister's birthday party to get through. As I mentioned in the previous post, Brett's sister, Chelsea had her baby, Conn, the day before. Brett said yesterday that Brooks was "Conn-ed" into coming early. We're pretty sure Conn told him it'd be boring up there without him. So Brooks came only 25 hours after his cousin.

The whole going-into-labor experience was quite interesting for me. Thursday morning I started having contractions. I wasn't too concerned, however, since they weren't very close together. So I just waited. I took the kids to the movies, chasing Brynnlee around the whole time, went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for all of the freezer meals I was going to make, and then that evening (when the contractions were getting harder) I decided I'd better run to the store to get some baby things. On my way home, I decided I'd call my brother and ask him to stay over night just in case I had to go to the hospital during the night.

Good thing I did! The contractions subsided and we went to bed and slept until three a.m. I woke to more contractions, but not too close together. So I just waited and tried to sleep. Four o'clock rolls around and the contractions start to get really hard. I woke Brett up and we headed to the hospital. By the time we got there at 4:30 a.m., they checked me when we checked in and I was dilated to a 7!! I immediately told them they needed to order an epidural. They got me up to my room by 5 a.m., my midwife arrived and we waited for the anaesthesiologist.

After about 15 minutes, my midwife checked me and told me that I was at a 10! The first thing that I said was, "Noooo! Can I still get an epidural?!" The nurse said that was the first time she'd ever heard someone be upset that they were dilated to a 10. Well, I wasn't able to get my epidural. Instead I got something like an intrathical spinal tap (?). It doesn't work as well as an epidural, but it would help take the edge off the pain. If it was going to help the pain, I was all for it!

So they gave that to me and once that kicked in and I was able to get some relief, my water was broken, I pushed for a little while, and then there he was!! Brooks Delor Robinson was born at 6:13 a.m. weighing in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 19 1/2 inches long. So far, he's been so good! He hardly cries (knock on wood), but he does make lots of noises as he sleeps. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep through those little sounds.

A very proud and relieved mama with her sweet new baby

You can't see it very well here, but Brooks likes to fan out his long toes. It's pretty funny to see!

Brooks' first feeding

(I love using a bottle!)

Very excited siblings!

One proud sister

And a super great big brother!!

He looks so tiny in his car seat!!

We're now home starting a new adventure having two babies in one house. Wish us luck! We'll need it!!

Brooks Delor Robinson ~ We're so happy to have you join our family!!!

It's Been a Week

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday, and all went well. I had them check me again to see if I've been progressing and sure enough, I have been - ever so slightly though. I'm now dialated to a three and 60% effaced.

I'm pretty sure I won't be making it to my due date, but I've been hoping that this baby can wait until after Aubree's birthday (next Saturday) so that I can do a fun party for her. Now I'm not so sure that even that will happen. We'll have to see what happens I guess.

The midwife asked me yesterday if I wanted my membranes stripped (I hope that's not inappropriate to talk about on here!). I was slightly tempted, but declined in hopes that I can make it until after Aubree's big day. You never know, by next week, I may be changing my mind!

I'm excited to say, however, that my sister-in-law, Chelsea, had her baby this morning! She was worried that I would beat her to it. See Chels, I told you you would be first! All went well and both mama and baby boy (Conn) are doing fine. We can't wait to see pictures!!!

Miss Idaho

Like I said in my last post, I went to Boise for the Miss Idaho Pageant to watch our five titleholders and one teen contestant that we'd been training, compete for the state title. Can I just say that I had a WAY fun time!!! (Oh, and no baby - phew!!)

The first night all of the contestants got to compete in every area of competition. Here are our five titleholders:

From left there's me, Tristan Long - Miss Fremont County, Jennah Coray - Miss Eastern Idaho, Deidre Edmunds - Miss Central Idaho, Vanessa Schwendiman - Miss Southeast Idaho, Ali Christensen - Miss Falls Valley, and Krissy Gutierrez - my co-director.

The second night, the top 11 were named and two of our girls were in it, Ali and Jennah. Now, that is HUGE for us! They each got to compete in talent, swimsuit, and evening wear again and then they were narrowed down to the top 7. We were so excited that Jennah made it into the top seven!!! And then the teen contestant that we'd been training (who is my neighbor) ended up getting 1st runner-up in the teen competition and scoring the highest in interview! YAY!!!!!

We couldn't be more proud of all of our girls!
From left: Vanessa Schwendiman, Jennah Coray (top 7), Jacqueline Lee (first runner-up in the teen program), Ali Christensen (top 11), Deidre Edmunds all in their evening gowns.

We had such a fun time and are already making plans for our pageant and training ideas next year! Can't wait!!!

Baby Update

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I just thought I'd post how it went. I'm heading to Boise this weekend for the Miss Idaho pageant (I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!) But since I'm getting closer to my due date, I just wanted to make sure nothing was going on and that I'd be fine traveling. I am technically 36 weeks, but I usually go a week early. So I should still have 3 more weeks until this baby comes.

Well, when they checked me, I was told that I was dialated to a two and 50% effaced. I was surprized by the news, but not concerned at all. I'm still going to Boise this weekend.

Later that evening, I started to think about it. With every baby that I've had, I've gone to the hospital and have measured at a four when I've been in labor. So I think that I can consider myself half way there! Now, that thought made me a bit nervous. It's a good thing I was sent home with my medical records to take with me - just in case!

But really, don't get your hopes up. I'm not! I have too much to do before this baby arrives. So he's just going to have to wait until after Aubree's birthday (the 27th of this month)!!

**Read on about Austin's birthday!

Austin Turns 6!!

Yesterday was Austin's sixth birthday. His morning started out with one of his favorite breakfasts - german pancakes. Not only was he getting one of his favorite foods, but his dad was making it for him. He was pretty darn excited about that!

Next, he had his first t-ball game. He had two super hits! One off of the tee and the other that his coach pitched to him. We were so proud of him, but he was the most proud of himself!

After his game, we went home to decorate his cake. This year, he requested a dinosaur cake. It wasn't too bad and he was so excited with how it turned out.

Then we had a barrage of 10 little kids here at our house for Austin's party. Thank goodness I had Brett here with me to help keep everything under control. They actually were pretty good and had a lot of fun. It was so nice to let them play whatever they wanted to down in the basement. (I LOVE having a basement!)

Next up, Austin opened his presents and had cake and ice cream. Brynnlee was SOOOOOO excited about that part. She really gets into eating cake - literally!!

Then we let the kids play with the presents and then they all went home. After everyone had left, Nathan (my brother) stopped by to give Austin his gift. When Austin saw it, he said it was the best gift ever!!! It was this awesome Spiderman car with a Spiderman to play with and missles that shoot out of the car. That was all he wanted to play with the rest of the night!

When Brett came home, we opened gifts from my mom and us. He got lots of great clothes (much needed church clothes and summer clothes, including two dinosaur shirts that his LOVES!). And then we got him a little boombox to put in his room. He opened it just before bedtime and didn't get to use it much.

But this morning, Brett and I were surprised to find that we had slept in until 7:15. The kids usually wake us up around 6:15. What did we find when we woke up? Brynnlee was playing with the new toys while Austin and Aubree were intently listening to the Magic Treehouse (thanks, Kev and Kas) on his new boombox. I was loving that!!

So, Austin's big day turned out to be a big success! I think he was most excited that his dad was able to spend most of the day with him. We're always grateful for that!!