Silly Dallin..the label maker

Dallin really cracks me up! Apparently he has been watching me lately as I have been trying to get organized in our new house. I bought a bunch of bins and I have been going through old boxes and getting rid of the things we don't use and putting the rest in bins that I have labeled. Today I go downstairs and I see all of these little post its all over the house. Dallin has gone around labeling various items:

Then last but not least....he labels himself!!

I just love this boy! I am so glad preschool is only a few days away...I think he is getting a little bit bored here at home!

Latest project

I don't claim to be the craftiest person on the planet but I thought these little artwork holders turned out pretty cute. I am really excited about them because now I have a place to put the art and it doesn't cover up my new refrigerator! (It will probably be awhile before Landon starts contributing but I thought I would make one for him anyway!) We make the cutest things in my craft group...if anyone wants one of these...I can hook you up with one for a good price!

Happy Birthday Nate!

I forgot to mention that yesterday was Nathan's 29th birthday! I'd say he had a pretty good birthday this year. Lets tally up all the gifts he received:

1. a new house

2. new surround sound in family room and in our bedroom

3. new bedroom set (well......maaaaaybe that was more for me!...hehe)

4. dinner at PF Changs

5. ANOTHER crocheted blanket from my grandma....lol...(if anyone needs a crocheted blanket...give us a call!)

I'd say that is a pretty good birthday all in all!

While we were busy unpacking we came across some old hillbilly teeth that Nathan and I used for Halloween one year while we were up in Spokane. Let me tell you...I could NOT STOP laughing when Nate put them in! Here is the picture for you all to enjoy:

Well....first off.... remember how Nathan USUALLY looks:

And here it is:

Keep scrolling.......

Ta Da!!! I love you honey..thank you for always keeping me laughing! I hope you had a great birthday!!!

New house pics

Well..here are the only 2 rooms of the house that don't look disastrous! We still need blinds, window treatments and some paint on the walls but all in all it turned out pretty cute....( I think so anyway!!)

Moving in!

We're officially moved into the new house! I am super busy trying to unpack and get settled. I will post some pics as soon as I can!

Update

Well..we ended up finding the dog's owners. They were VERY relieved to say the least! The boys were very sad to say goodbye. O well...I've concluded that our kids are still way to young to have a little puppy around...especially when the dog is the EXACT same color as our couches! He was almost sat on a few times!

Who let the dogs (puppy) out??

What a day it has been today! First off...we signed all the papers on our new house and just accumulated a few extra hundred thousand dollars worth of debt to the hundreds of thousands we already owe! O well...we are finally official homeowners and it feels SOOOO GOOD! We are going to start moving in this Thursday....its pretty exciting. Now to the next part of my story....as we are getting out of our car to go through the final walk through Nate and I see this little animal jumping through the grass. I thought it was a marmot of some sort so I went over to investigate and it was the CUTEST puppy I have ever seen. I went around to a couple of houses and asked if the puppy belonged to anyone they knew and no one knows who it belongs to. I went over to the home sales center and asked if anyone came in looking for a puppy. They said no. SO...we are having a puppy stay the night tonight and I will try to find the owner tomorrow. I hesitate to go door to door trying to find the owner with the puppy in my arms because I am afraid someone will claim its theirs and it really might not be. (Especially since the dog is worth about 2500 bucks!!) Someone is going to be pretty miffed that their expensive little dog ran away. In the mean time...Dallin and Parker are in puppy heaven! We'll see if we can find the owner tomorrow......I'll keep you posted!

Shrek 3

Hear Ye Hear Ye! The entire Starnes family sat through a WHOLE movie at the movie theatre this past weekend! Of course there were a few trips to the restroom, and runs to the snack stand...but all in all we were able to see the previews all the way to the ending credits! This is an absolutely HUGE accomplishment especially for our 2 year old. We had a great time getting out and doing something together. It feels like it has been awhile since Nate started his new job. He has been putting in some really long days. We were feeling a little overwhelmed with the task of packing an entire house again so we decided it would be best to just drop everything and get out of the house for a couple of hours. We haven't ALL been to a movie since Parker was about 6 months old so we were pretty proud of ourselves! It was really cute....I would highly recommend it!

Someday I will miss this....

I see the way older woman smile at me. They see my chattering preschooler and toddler tripping along behind me as I push my beautiful newborn in my stroller. They give me knowing looks as I awkwardly try to be discreet while nursing in public. They coo at my children, ask me how old they are, and tell me to enjoy it while I can, because it all goes so fast. The looks are longing ones, and they tell me they miss those days. It makes me realize that I, too, will someday miss these days, and that I should revel in the glory of the moment.
At least that’s what I tell myself as I sprint through the grocery store, preschooler in tow, toddler wandering off... who is crying and screaming that his legs hurt from running...pushing the cart full of heavy groceries. Parker's blankee is flying like a cape behind him, causing people to part around me like the Red Sea. Baby starts crying and Dallin and Parker proceed to follow becuase they aren't getting any candy today.
As I get everyone buckled into their carseats with sweat dripping off my forehead due to the 100+ degree temps, I think to myself... “Revel. Revel. Someday you’ll miss this.”
Somehow, I think there may be parts I miss more than others.

Zoo trip

Well...I'd say I'm feeling about 95% better so its time to go out and do something fun. We took the boys to the good old Boise Zoo! I LOVE the Boise zoo.....for 50 bucks you can get a family season pass. Let me tell you...I with the amount of times we go per year....they are getting RIPPED OFF!.

Here is Dallin pointing out a fish he saw.

Landon is already 3 months old! Aggghhh! I hate how fast he is growing up!

Over and done with

Well, I am happy to report that all went well with the surgery on Friday. I appreciate all of the concerned phone calls and support. You can see from my sweet picture here that I look about as good as I feel. (CRAPPY!) The Dr. had no problem finding the IUD....it was lodged right up against my bladder. It was a pretty nerve racking experience for me because my Dr. had never done this particular surgery before. She had done many laproscopy surgeries but never one to retrieve a lost IUD. It goes to show you how RARE this really is. Nathan and my dad gave me a blessing the night before so I was feeling pretty confident that all would go well. I'm sore and tired but I am relieved that it is over now. I'm very lucky to have such a wonderful family who always helps me out when I need it. I am especially blessed to have such an amazing and supportive husband who has bent over backwards making sure the kids are taken care of and the house isn't falling apart. I love him SO much. Hopefully I will be back to feeling myself in a few days.

Greatful Heart

My best friend (Ashley) made me a grateful heart journal a couple of years ago. It works really well for me because I am not very good at sitting down and writing in a journal. You just write down 5 things you are thankful for each day and it really does help you recognize the little things you might otherwise take for granted. So....today I am going to share my 5 things with YOU! (Don't you feel so special??!!)

1. My mom. She has been so great ever since we moved to Boise with helping watch the boys so I can get things done and have a break once in awhile. I honestly don't know what I would do without her. She watched Parker and Landon today so I could take Dallin to his first day of golf lessons!

#2. The way the boy's faces light up when they see each other after they have been apart. When I brought Dallin back over to my mom's to pick up the boys after golf lessons, they ran with their arms out and embraced like they hadn't seen each other in days!

#3. A husband who knows how to spend QUALITY time with his boys. With Nathan's new job, he puts in some pretty long days but he always makes sure to play with the boys and give them the time that they need.

4. GOOD FOOD! I am making ham, potatoes, strawberry jello with whipped cream on top and rolls for dinner group tonight. I can smell the ham cooking right now and so I am grateful for that today!

5. A good book to look forward to at the end of a long day! I know lots of people are reading these books right now and NO its not Harry Potter. ( I still need to read books 4-7) I know....I'm way behind! I just finished Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and so right now I am reading the sequel, New Moon. Eclipse (the sequel after New Moon) comes out Aug. 7th! Hooray!

1/1000 Woman...and yes, I am that 1.

This might be a little bit TMI for some of you but its on my mind and so here it goes. Nathan and I have decided that we would like to wait awhile to decide whether we want any more kids. I decided the best way to prevent us from having another baby is by having an IUD. SO....6 weeks ago I had that done. Right after though, I was in EXCRUCIATING pain. I could hardly walk, I couldn't even carry the baby all the way into the house. I left him in the laundry room asleep in his carrier. The boys just ran wild all day while I slept. I was in so much pain I couldn't even call Nate or my mom to come and help me out. I thought it was normal to have some pain but I didn't think it would be this bad. The next day I felt fine and I haven't thought about it since then. Well...a couple of days ago I had a follow up appointment and come to find out THE IUD IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! I was sent right over to the hospital and I had to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech told me I needed to go right back over to the doctors office. I'm totally freaking out here. I get back to the doctors office and she says...."When we put the IUD in we preforated your uterus and so the IUD is floating around in your body." CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? So, Friday morning I have to have lapriscopic surgery to remove the IUD. They will make 3 small incisions in my stomach and go in with this machine to fish it out. It has to be removed as soon as possible becuase it can cause internal scarring and infection. I guess this happens in 1/1000 women. Nice luck I have. NO WONDER I was in so much pain! Sometimes I hate being a woman!

Me in 5's

Its been a long day today. Not really feeling like getting into it, so I think I'll take my mind off of it by filling out one of these quiz things. This one is called Me in 5's.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. I was a cheerleader for Boise High School

2. Played my flute in the orchestra

3. took drivers ed

4. was a candy striper at the hospital

5. snuck to my first high school dance. (wasn't 16 yet)

5 things on my to do list:

1. start packing

2. prepare my singing time for Sunday

3. go grocery shopping

4. fold the laundry (I hate that job..it has to be the worst)

5. take the boys to the zoo...Parker has been begging to see the animalts. (he always throws that t in there!)

5 snacks I enjoy

1. peanut butter M&Ms

2. cheese and crackers

3. grapes

4. Twizzlers

5. TCBY

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire

1. pay off all of our student loans

2. pay off our house

3. invest

4. go to Hawaii or on a cruise

5. buy myself a brand new white Tahoe

5 bad habits

1. biting my fingernails

2. leaving my chapstick or lipgloss in my pockets (and then putting the pants/shorts in the washing machine) OOPS

3. not putting the cap back on the toothpaste (that one drives Nathan CRAZY!)

4. Dr. Pepper

5. Being overly anxious

5 things I will never wear again

1. anything neon

2. overall shorts (with only one side hooked together)

3. No Fear t-shirts

4. Hypercolor t-shirts

5. Jelly shoes

5 things I like to do:

1. read

2. go waterskiing with the family

3. travel

4. one on one dates with the hubby

5. shop

Our 1st home!

Only 3 short weeks until we move into our new home and I CAN"T EVEN WAIT. All they need to do is paint that mantle and it should be finished! After years of small apartments, a duplex with the dryer outside, and a house with nothing but weeds for a backyard we will FINALLY have a home of our own. It will be so nice to pay our own mortgage and have the freedom to paint a wall if we want to! I just felt like this day would never come and I am ecstatic to say the least. I guess its time to start collecting boxes again....ugggh! I am NOT planning on moving again any time soon!