Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

I better start this off by letting you all know that we love our library. It all started when Kam and Jax were pretty small. We would go to storytime at the library every week. As we added more children to the family this seems to have gotten a bit more difficult. Really, if you know Rylan, you can understand it is almost impossible. He is a pretty good kid he just loves to run around the library and hide from me. But we do still try to go every so often.

Anyway, the library has an amazing summer reading program and we have had such a great time participating this year. The theme for this year was BUGS! Now the kids thought this was great. They learned about different kinds of bugs, how to collect bugs, they even had worm races (with these disgusting huge worms). You should see these kids now--they are constantly collecting bugs. Every single water bottle has to be saved so they can put a bug in it. They even put ants in the bottles. Then of course they want to bring them inside the house. The crazy thing is then we are required to feed them meals and go get more books about the particular bug so that we know how to properly care for the lovely things. (and I thought it was pretty good if the kids and the dog made it through the day fed and alive)

These are pictures of the kids with their roley poley bugs. They were trying to help Rylan join in the joy of bugs.

I've been Tagged

*Random Facts*
1. I got to go out without any kids Friday night
2. We drove 1000 miles in 2 1/2 days (vegas, enterprise, salt lake and back)
3. Rylan actually stayed in nursery today (yea!)

*Current Obsessions*
1. Blogging
2. Scrapbooking/stamping
*Goals*
1. Exercise (gotta lose some of this baby weight)
2. Read my scriptures
3. Have more patience
4. Get this darn house cleaned
*My Fears*
1. Having something happen to my family
2. Not being a good mom
3. Germs (hand sanitizer, please)
4. Snakes
*My Joys*
1. My four wonderful children
2. My husband
3. The Gospel
4. My friends

5. Scrapbooking (somehow I must find time to do this)

6. Reading

I tag Kristi, Heather J., Marcie, and whoever else has yet to be tagged.

Kellee has a Birthday (I Think After 25 they Should Be Called Anniversaries)

Well it is July 15, 2008. That means Kellee is 28 years old. Just hitting her prime. To celebrate the joyous occasion of her birth I decided to (in my best engineerese) build a bullet point list of the reason I love Kellee and the reasons she is likely the greatest wife in the world. The last part of the last sentence is supposed the be read in an ascending carnival announcer type voice if you know what I mean.

• Obviously at the top of the list is Kellee's amazing, otherworldly ability to put up with the daily exasperations of one Courtney Coates. Superhuman really.
• I never have to wash my own clothes.
• I never have to wake up in the middle of the night to feed the babies.
• Kellee laughs at all my stupid jokes, not stupid jokes, and wanderings of my random mind.
• Kellee (as the fine accountant that she is) take care of the books as well as all tax returns.
• Kellee doesn't complain when I don't finish a project and start another. This happens more than I would like people to know. I still have a pallet of top caps to put on my block wall I finished last summer.
• She will go camping with me in my super old, not super nice camp trailer. (It's probably because the toilet works.)
• She doesn't get mad at me when I touch the sisters at inappropriate times which unfortunately is probably way to often. (Author Edit: I didn't realize some of us grew up in a monastery like my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Lyndsey and Jeremy, but my reference to the "sisters" referred to Kellee's mammary glands sorry for the confusion.)
• She teaches our children all the things they should know.
• She has way more patience with the kids than I do.

There are way more but I don't think I want to post some of them (too personal) and shouldn't post some of them (too personal if you catch my drift).

Kellee, I love you and thanks so much for spending the last ten years with me. It has been an adventure and if we are lucky the fun will just keep on rolling. I can't think of anyone else I would rather spend the eternity with. Hope you have a great birthday.

Love ya,

Courtney (Kellee, you know what I say here)

Averi's blessing

Averi's Blessing

Well, we blessed little miss Averi on June 22, 2008. The schedules of all of our family were just crazy this summer so we just picked a Sunday and got it done. It was so nice. I really feel like we are super blessed to have amazingly supportive families. I will also say that I had my testimony of the priesthood reaffirmed as I watched all of those men go up to the front and surround my sweet baby. (Courtney's brother Devan had been ordained an elder the night before so he was also able to participate.) I am so grateful that Courtney is worthy and willing to use his priesthood for our family.

After the blessing, we went down to the park and had a barbecue. We had all sorts of yummy food. We had hamburgers, potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, fruit, and of course a variety of treats. It was so fun to see everyone and just have a real good time.