Color Run

Last year I did the color run with a friend, and Nate and the kids were there at the finish line. We decided it would be fun to do it as a family. It was so fun! I think it will be a new tradition. 

 Ashlyn surprised us and ran the whole 5K with just little 30 second breaks here and there. Amazing endurance that girl has!

My friend Bree joined us with her daughter. Was definitely helpful to have another set of eyes. We lost track of Dallin once and Tanner too.

Tracie joined us this year too. She did it last year with me, along with her friend Kelly. We were the Punching Pandas team.

 Amber took a nap through part of the run. She was covered in the stroller with a plastic cover. 

 One of the fun parts of the run is the end. They do color throws. Everyone has a pack of color and they open it and throw it in the air. Creates this colorful cloud. Tanner just dumped it on his head.

 I think one thing that kept Ashlyn going was knowing another the color stations was coming soon. They were about 1/2 mile apart. 

 Aubree and Bree after the run.

 Nate pre run; nice and clean. And the me and the kids after.

 Bree and Ashlyn. 

Kindergarten after school crew

I have been watching 2 sweet girls, Paige and Ava, all school year. The kindergarteners get out at 11 a.m. so I get them off the bus. I wasn't sure how I would handle it, but it has turned out to be a really great thing for our family. My kids have other kids to play with all afternoon, so the TV hardly ever comes on, and I hardly have to entertain kids. Being mostly girls in the house, they play all those cute make believe games like house or school or whatever they are in the mood for. Even Amber is involved most of the time. 

For Christmas we got this trampoline, and that has been the best investment! The kids get to be outside and get exercise. No serious injuries yet. :) 

 We often have some of the neighbor kids over at the same time, which I love. One is Dallin's buddy from school, and the other is my friends daughter who lives around the corner. It is funny cuz their moms are always apologizing for me having them at my house, but "more the merrier" is actually true with this bunch. 

 Paige

I think I will miss Paige and Ava this summer. And then next year when they are first graders. Next school year poor Ashlyn and Amber will have to wait until 3 pm for siblings to get home. We will have to find some friends to get together with to keep her busy.

11 Months old

Amber has been around for almost a year now! Wow! She is a big, beautiful baby. Weighing in at about 25 lbs, she is only 3 lbs lighter than Ashlyn.

No, she is not crawling still, but she bounces around and twists and turns and gets places. Not far usually, but it is ok. 

She is smiley and happy most of the time. She eats most anything I give her.

 She loves stuffed animals. My only kid who is very interested in them. 

I got out my old camera out to take these, and the quality is just horrible compared to my new one. :(

Soccer season again

It is that time of year again. Tanner is on a great team with kids he has played with before, including his cousin Joel. Dallin is also playing on a team that Nate is coaching. I will get pictures of him eventually.

Amber is moving...in her own way

She isn't really crawling, but she gets in the position and crawls her hands pretty good. Then she kind of does the rock hop things to get places. 

She also loves to laugh.

Amber is 10 months

Well, 10 1/2 months. I have been preoccupied with other stuff, so I have neglected the blog.

She is starting to get around, but not by crawling yet. She has 2 teeth, and 2 more coming in on the top.  She is becoming a very good eater. Loves vegetables the most. She is very happy, but is getting a little stranger anxiety.

Like I said, I have been busy with other things. I have been trying to get my photography business a little more busy by building a better website. I have also been researching the company Isagenix to see if I want to sell their products. It is a company that produces nutritional supplements. I am doing a 30 day cleanse, which is a weight loss program. Nate is doing it with me. We drink shakes, juices, and snacks, along with 1 healthy meal a day. I am feeling good so far. I will be keeping a blog about my 30 days. 

New Photography Website!

I just changed my website. Go check it out at www.kellyspencephotography.com

Amber 9 months

Well, she is actually 10 months now, but I just got around to posting the 9 month picture. I was not excited about these because she was such a pill. This was the best I got. The rest were crying pictures. Oh well. I will do her 10 month pictures soon, hopefully they go better. 

Soccer time again

The boys are both doing soccer this spring. Nate is coaching Dallin's team. His first game is this weekend. Tanner is on a team with his cousin Joel, and some buddies from a couple seasons ago, so it is really fun for him.

The cheer leaders.

Phoenix Zoo

I now know that zoos are more for kids ages 5 and up. The kids younger than that did not do so good. Dallin LOVED the zoo. Had this map out all the time, trying to find our next destination.

 Tanner loved it too. 

 Looking at the lions.

Jordan and Michaela have a membership to the zoo. My kids would love that, wish we had a zoo close by. 

 The rhinos.

 The camel ride was probably the highlight of their trip to the zoo. 

The drive to Eugene

Not the most interesting post of our vacation, but still a part. We drove up to Eugene to catch a plane. It is 3 hours from where we are. It was a beautiful drive. I love spring time.

 Amber did pretty good. I think 3 hours is her limit in the car. 

 This pic on the left made me laugh. Her smile is much cuter when it isn't forced.

One of our many outings in AZ

We found this great park that was completely covered. It was great! I would have lasted only 5 minutes if it was in the sun, instead we stayed for a couple hours.

The cousins weren't there, they were napping, but grandpa Spence was with us. 

 Beautiful Amber, and her painted nails. Everyone notices her toenails. It is funny.

 This is a big turtle shell Dallin is in.

 This sandbox was cool. It had dinosaur bones to dig around. 

Did I mention that Ashlyn is sick too?

Yep. She was actually sick first. Looking pretty pitiful with an ear infection, then her ear drum ruptured. She hated taking her medicine. HATED! She is used to it now, but it took days of crying and running and gagging.

I took Amber in for a follow up today, and I thought for sure she was getting better. She has been happy and eating again. But the doctor didn't like what she heard in Amber's chest, so she got a shot of some strong antibiotics and some stronger breathing treatments. Going back tomorrow for another check. In the past week we have been to the doctors office 4 times. I'm done! I hope sickness is out of our family soon, we are heading to Arizona for a week in March.

Pneumonia

My poor baby has pneumonia. She is on antibiotics and breathing treatment for the next couple of days.

 Amazing what only one dose of antibiotics did for her. I didn't see a single smile yesterday, and this is Amber today. Acts like she isn't even sick. 

 Ok, so she still kind of looks sick with the snot pouring out her nose.