Layton City Christmas Lights

Every Year we pack up the kids and take a short drive to see the Layton City lights. They always seem to have something new each year and this year they had you drive through a tunnel of lights and then onto the main part of the lights. The Santa sign is new and I think a cute touch to make seeing the lights more fun. They've always had the nativity scene and I love seeing it because it makes you remember the true meaning of Christmas. I love going to see the Layton lights because you stay nice and warm in your car and you can still see everthing they have. Merry Christmas everyone!

Justin's food allergies

So, when Justin got his tonsils out we had them do an allergy scratch test too. The result came back that he is allergic to tomato's, soy, boxwood bushes, and we knew about the peanuts. I was so surprised about the tomatoes because he'd never had a reaction to them before. Soy is in everything and peanuts are now easy to avoid.

Well, the other day I made spaghetti and Justin broke out in hives for two days. It was not fun for both of us. We had to give him Benadryl every 4-6 hours and put Benadryl cream on him at the same time. These pictures are what the hives looked like after the medicine and cream kicked in. What's hard is the spaghetti sauce I used had soy in it. So, he got a double dose of what he's allergic too. So far I think he's ok with soy but we're now going to have to watch what he eats again.

Cutest little boy!

So, not much has happend lately that's way exciting but there is always something that my boys do that make me laugh or grit my teeth and smile. One of my sweet little boys has been doing this to me almost everyday. He's not two yet and he's a little shorter than Dakota... his name is Jaden and boy has he hit the terrible two's early. he's into every single thing and when I catch him he gets this funny little grin that makes me want to laugh but I know if I do he's going to think it's ok to do it again. The latest instance was he opened my laptop one day and had fun taking all the keys off of my keyboard. it's a good thing I have a brainiac for a husband cuz he put my keyboard back together in a snap. I don't know why Jeromy and I weren't fuming but we kept our cool and I in the end only one key was broken... the shift button on the right side of my keyboard. It's a good thing their are two of those buttons.

One of the things that make me laugh about Jaden is he is now attcahed to a hard plastic robotic dinosaur that growls and makes noise when you touch a button. He's so attached that he sleeps with the Dino. He is so cute putting it to bed. He pats it's head and makes sure that the Dino's head is on the pillow and he's covered up with blankets. I wonder what he'll sleep with next? At least the Dinosaur has and on/off switch. He makes me laugh so hard. He's such a sweet little boy and loves his brothers so much. I don't know what I would do without him in our family. We love ya Jade!

No more dreaded, "time of the month" for me!

November 13th was an exciting day for me in two ways. One, it's my lucky day. Two, I went and had my tubes tied and my uterus coterized. So, NO MORE KIDS FOR ME! And NO MORE PERIODS FOR ME! Whoo Hoo!!!! As much as I love my kids I love not being pregnant and four little boys are enough to keep me busy for a lifetime. Jeromy and I didn't have to think too hard on this decision because I'm the one that has female problems and this should make it so my endometriosis doesn't grow and the last time we went to the temple we new we would only have four kids. You know when your done having kids when your excited to get rid of all that baby stuff and move on with the next stage of your kids growing up.
I will miss the cute baby feet and those sweet little laughs but I'm looking forward to having them all potty trained and in school and what we all can do on vacations. I LOVE having all boys!

Dakota's not allergic to Peanuts!!!!

Since Justin is allergic to peanuts the doctor has told us to wait to give peanuts to each kid until thier 3 years old. So, since Koda is almost 3 I figured it was safe to try and see if he's allergic to peanuts. One of the things that made me think it was safe was I was eating a candy bar (bad Amber) that had toffee and almonds in it and had left it on the table thinking it was safe from harm. Well, not from my chocoholic kids because Koda saw it sitting there and ate the whole thing. I was really scared for a little bit but the longer he went without a reaction the better I felt. So, I made sure Jeromy was home and that I had Justin's allergy medicine and I gave Koda some popcorn from the Cracker Jack box and no reaction. So, then I figured after no reaction to that I would give him a whole peanut. After two hours of Koda not having a reaction I figured it's safe to say he's not allergic to peanuts. I'm so excited that I don't have to worry about him for any food allergies. Maybe the other two boys will be safe? I guess we'll see when they turn 3.

Halloween

For Halloween we decided it would be fun to have the boys be hunters again since it was so fun being hunters during hunting season. Grandpa even let us borrow his Elmer fud hat to wear. He's had that hat since he was 16 years old. Every year we have pumpkin pizza to eat before we go out and this year Jeromy was able to come with. It was fun taking them Trick or Treating and having people say, "oh look how cute they are all dressed up the same".
These are the cheapest and easiest costumes to make because all of my boys had camo clothes and Jeromy and His parents had the orange. Afterwards we went to Grandma Jackson's house and took a family picture and visited with family and cousins. It was a fun night for the boys.

A couple of weeks ago was hunting season and we missed Jeromy everytime he went hunting so the last weekend of the season we went with him. We took his parents motorhome and the 4-wheelers and razor and the boys 4-wheelers and had a great time. We went up by Current Creek and saw a ton of doe's and only one buck that was out of range to shoot. We had some great adventures on the bikes and got caught up in a snow storm that made it even more of a memorable adventure. The boys did so good during our trip that if we had our own trailer I think next year I would take them back up for a weekend. I love going hunting and being with my sexy hunter man!

For one of Justin's preschool field trips they went to Black Island farms. Jeromy and I volunteered to drive some kids on the field trip and since we did that our kids get to come to. We got to go on a hayride around the farm and learn about all the vegi's they grow there. Did you know that if you leave a carrot in the ground for two years it will grow seeds? At the end of the hayride all the kids got to pick a little pumpkin. After the hayride we went and played on the slides and fed the animals some treats and jumped on the huge pumpkin they had. We also got to ride on a farm animal train ride though some corn. It was a really fun.

Layton Fire Open House

Every Year the Layton Fire Department by Swan Lakes Golf Course has an Open House and they give out balloons and plastic kid fireman hats and have firetruck rides and all sorts of fun stuff. The kids had so much fun riding in the firetruck and sitting in the Lifeflight helecoppter that I think we will make it a family event every year.

Justin wanted a SWAT themed birthday party this year so Jeromy had more expetise in that field than I did so I let him plan it. He did a really great job with it. He set up an opstical course and all the boys loved it. This year we did something different too. We invited some new friends that we have a lot in common with. The Lowe's have 4 boys that are all the same age as my boys are and the husband is a K-9 officer just like Jeromy. They're even in the same ward and just 5 houses down from us which makes it easy for the boys to play. Happy Birthday my big 5 year old!

Mavrick Monster Truck

So these pictures have been in my camera since September and I'm now getting to them. Sorry! Well, these pics are of the Mavrick monster truck that we got to see when they opened up a new Mavrick in Ogden. Jeromy's dad donated the cars that the monster truck had fun crushing. My boys and I are BIG Monster truck fans and we had to go see the car get crushed. This is the funnest time we've had at a gas station!

Biggest slacker in the world!

Ok so I'm the biggest slacker in the world right now. I have so many photo's and things to write about on the blog, but not enough time right now and I still need to download more photos.
I promise that I will get with it someday soon now that life has settled down for a couple of weeks. I hope everything is going good for everyone else. Check back in a week and I'm sure I will have a new post.

Justin's first day of preschool

My little man is growing up! His first day of preschool was the 9th and he had a great time. He wanted to wear his SWAT outfit so, in his words," everyone would think he was a good looking man". Instead of him turning 5 this month I think he's turning 12 or older. Not good, but way funny to hear him say that. He's really into SWAT stuff like Dad is. Jeromy is on the Davis County SWAT team so of course every little boy wants to do what dad does. Well, Justin is so into it that his Birthday party is going to be SWAT themed and so is his bedroom. In the picture he's even wearing his Sketchers police shoes. I'm hoping that if he goes through this police, SWAT faise that he won't want to do what his dad does when he gets older.

It still amazes me that my miracle baby is growing up so big and is becoming such a young man at such a young age. We love you Justin and I hope you have a great year in preschool!

Fun at Uncle Vaughn's!

Jaden the dare devil!

And I wonder where my kids get it from?! Their parents!

Koda and his 4-wheeler

Justin and his 4-wheeler

We always have fun when we go to Uncle Vaughn's! The boys love going to Uncle Vaughn's and riding their bikes in the arena and the pasture. The funnest part is riding in the arena where there is plenty of dirt and they can do dounuts and some big rooster tails. They always have big smiles plastered on their faces and lots of dirt and mud where you'd never believe. This time Uncle Vaughn volunteered to pick up their bikes and bring them to his house so the boys can ride. He's so excited that they have bikes and wants us to have them practice as much as possible so they can be good enough to race when they get a little bigger. I'm all for that but I need to get saving some money ASAP! Thanks Uncle Vaughn for loving my boys and helping them become bigger dare devils. It's all in the gene's I guess!

Justin's a Blue Belt!

Justin earned his Blue belt the day after I had Brekyn. I was so sad I couldn't be there to see him at his belt test but I was there for his belt ceremony! He's doing so good. He is going to be in a karate compatition Sept 19th at the Clearfield Aquatic Center. He's going to do board breaking, kama cota's, padded swords and flag sparring. If anyone wants to come watch him it cost $5.00 to get in the door. A ton of Karate places will be there from all the western states. I'm so proud of you Justin that you've earned your blue belt and that you are doing so good. Love you my little man!

Our newest member of the Jackson family

We are so glad that our 4th and last little boy is finaly here! He was born Aug 26th at 4:47pm at Davis Hospital. He weighed 7lbs 15oz and was 21 inches long! We decided to name him Brekyn Jacob Jackson. His middle name is special to us because Jeromy's best freind's name is Jacob so we decided that since Jake is such a great guy that we would use his name for Brekyn's middle name.

He's been a wonderful baby so far. He's always ready to eat and if he's got a full tummy and you snuggle with him he will sleep for hours. The boys really love their new brother. we've been kind of worried about how Jaden would react because he is such a mommies boy but Jaden took to him so well that when I let him hold brekyn he didn't want to let him go. He patted his hand and kissed his face and was very gentle for a 16 month old. Justin and Koda of course are really good with babies so I never even worried about them.

It's amazing to look back now and think that I once couldn't have my own kids and now look at me... 4 BOYS! It took me awhile to have them but I think i've caught up for lost time now. I'm very greatful to my Heavenly Father for giving me the opprotunity to have my four wonderful boys and for the chance to raise them with such a wonderful husband by my side. He's such a great father. I know now more than ever that my Heavenly Father had a specific plan for me and that I needed to be patient to receive his blessings... my boys! I seriously wouldn't have it any other way. BOYS RULE!

Welcome to the family baby Brekyn! We love you!

10 year anniversary!

WOW time has flown by fast! Aug 14th was our 10 year anniversary and boy have we had some struggles and adventures, but it's great to know that we are still in love with each other more than ever. It's funny to look back at how much we have accomplished and how many test and trials Heavenly Father has given us and we still seem to come out ok in the end. We might not always agree on everything like every normal couple but we do agree that we love each other and we love our kids and that's what matters most.

We spent our anniversary day at home cleaning the house(that was a lot of fun! NOT) and Jeromy had to finish his final tests for school. I also went and got my hair cut and boy that didn't end up like I wanted it too. Too short for what I like but when that happens there's nothing you can do but hope it grows back fast.
That night my mom came over and baby sat the boys while Jeromy and I went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We had three gift certificates so in the end we spent $10 for our dinner! Whoo Hoo! It was a great dinner and as always we came out so full we needed a wheel barrow! It was nice to be alone together for once.
Thanks honey for all the wonderful times and all your love and support. It's hard to believe that we've been married for that long. It's been 13 years that we've known each other and yet it feels like forever.
Next year I promise to not be pregnant! Then maybe we can do something fun for our anniversary!
I love you my hunk of Police officer!

Justin and Koda's new toys!

This year and last year Jeromy's family has been so into 4 wheelers that we thought it would be nice to join in on the fun and get the boys their own bikes. That way they can ride with the big boys and feel important too. It also helps cuz our family is growing and if Justin can learn to ride a 4 wheeler before next year then maybe we can get him a bigger bike and he can definatly ride by himself when we ride as a family.

So, today we took the whole day and went from 4 wheeler place to place and had the boys sit on bikes to see what would fit them and get an idea on what is out there. We decided to go with the cheap Chinese bikes because if they roll them or crash them we don't have as much money invested in them as we would a Honda or Polaris bike which costs around 2K.
So, we looked on KSL.Com and found two kid bikes for 600.00. One was a 70cc and the other a 50cc. Perfect size for the boys to ride and learn. We got there and the guy said they needed a new battery so we asked if he would take $500 for both and he said YES! Whoo Hoo! Bikes for the boys!

These bikes are also for their birthday/christmas presents since they are so expensive but the boys don't care that they get small parties this year and a small christmas they just love their bikes. I will post pictures of them tomorrow but we think we got a great deal. Usually they are $600 for one bike. We got two bikes for $500. Not to shabby if we can pass them on to the younger boys in 3 years.

Justin the Rock Star

Justin right now is into playing the xbox guitar to CMT or VH1 Classics music videos. He says he has a band and all of his cousin's are in the band. He wants to be on TV and go on tours. He's a funny kid. Maybe someday we'll see him on one of those stations and he WILL have his own band. That would be SOOOO Cool!

Our last camping trip of the year!

We went camping (roughing it really) up by kamas with Jeromy's family and Jeromy's dad's twin's family (Kent and Jolene). It was a lot of fun for the boys and the men. For me it was fun being around family but the next time I go camping I will be ready with my own bathroom! Being pregnant and roughing it is not my thing!! Justin and Dakota love playing with their second cousin's Tyler, Taggert, Hayden, and Megan when we all get together. They loved playing with guns and riding the 4- wheelers and just running around together. We also went to Provo Falls and played in the water. It was fun but scary at the same time. We almost lost Megan down a waterfall but her dad and Aunt Holly caught her by her shirt and saved her. That would not have been good. It was very scary!!

The men got to ride the 4-wheelers with and without the kids. I of course loved it when Jeromy would take the older boys. It was a nice opprotunity for Jaden and I to have some good "ol Mommy time before another brother is added to the family. If Koda dissapeared he would always be found just sitting on a 4-wheeler pretending he was on an adventure. That kid is nuts about any type of bike. He's going to be my little rough 'n tough cowboy!

All in all we had a good time. It was so nice to get back home though and use a flushing toilet and have a nice hot shower. I would never make it as a pioneer.

Mommies sleepy little man

So, we were going to dinner at Golden Corral last weekend and when we arrived we looked at the boys and told them to get ready and this is what we saw. The boys didn't have a nap that day and Jaden was so thirsty and hot so I gave him my water bottle. Looks like he was tired to and the water bottle propped his head up just right that he decided to take a nap. What a cute little man he is. He's growing up so fast and trying to keep up with his brothers. I'm so glad I have my boys! They are so dang funny and keep me going and on my toes. Love ya Jade!

Bye Bye Guinea Pigs!

So, I put the guinea pigs on KSL.com to see if I could sell them and sure enough it only took me TWO days to sell them and the supplies that came with them. I got 60.00 for both guinea pigs and everything. And to tell ya the truth I think the female was pregnant. I have no idea on how to check but when I felt her tummy it was getting bigger and rounder like mine so I figured that was what was going on with her.
I will miss them and I'm sure the boys miss them but a trip to Toys R Us did the trick and now we have new toys to take the place of the guinea pigs. Justin still wants a puppy and is now asking again when he can see his new puppy but that's not going to happen till Anza goes to Doggy Heaven. I would recomend getting a guinea pig if you want something in a cage but only get one. To me female guinea pigs are calmer than males and don't make much of a mess.
So, long Squeeker and Koda's guinea pig! We will always have our experience with you and the pictures we took. Good thing the lady that bought them doesn't care that we had a Male and a Female in the same cage. Good luck to her.

The newest addition s to our family.

These are the newest additions to our family. Justin has been wanting a puppy for so long and has been trying to earn a puppy by picking up doggy poop and getting the dogs their food that we decided to see if he wanted a guinea pig. So, whe he said, Yes, we figured we would go and get him one. Justin and the family named his guinea pig Sqeeker. Koda has also been helping justin earn his puppy that we decided to get Koda one too. We haven't named his yet, but she is the calmest thing in the world.

We've had them for a month now and Jeromy and I are sick of changing the cage every other day and the boys want scooters now. I told them that we had to sell the guinea pigs first and then get them scooters. So, they are for sale on KSL.com if anyone is interested. They have been very good guinea pigs it's just we don't have the time for them like we thought we would.