Christmas video!

I have to share this video because it is so funny. My parents sent Jaxon a dog for Christmas. No, not a real dog, and not just any dog. This dog laughs and rolls around. Jaxon will show you in the video what he thought of this dog. I think the rest of us have had more fun with his new dog than he has.

Our secret weapon of mass destruction!

Santa was so kind to have brought the older boys some machine guns that have lights and sounds as you pull the trigger. Jaxon has shown us that no gun is too big for him. He carries this gun around shooting and laughing. What have we created?

Christmas Time!

A DATE! REALLY?

Steve and I had dinner with his parents last weekend at the Broadmoor Hotel. We ate in the Penrose Room. It was so elegant and beautiful. We savor the moments we can be together without children screaming at us. It was a really nice evening. We took a walk around the grounds afterwards. I don't recommend wearing 3 inch heals if you do that, though!

Rock Climbing at the Y!!!!!!!!

Today TC and AJ tried a little bit of rock climbing for the first time. I was really proud of them for trying it. They really liked it and they also realized that it is harder than it looks. I want to try it too but I didn't think that it would be wise after swimming laps. My arms and legs were already feeling weak! Maybe next time you will see me up there:)

CRAZINESS!

I have to admit that I really wanted to take a picture of the line outside of Kohl's this morning. It was crazy. I had 2 items to get and I waited for 40 minutes in the freezing cold without a coat. Yes, I am stupid, but for a good reason. I was in a hurry to get out of my house this morning before the kids would hear me and wake up. Anyway, I did not take the picture. The line was about a quarter of a mile long. That is insane. I did get in and out in 10 minutes after the 40 minute wait time. I am very proficient. Now, I think I will go to bed and take a nap.

New Moon!

My friend, Wendy and I had our girls night out on Friday night. We went to dinner and off to see New Moon. Oh, yeah! What a fun night!

Just a few more!

Here are just a few more pictures from Halloween. Jaxon threw a major fit, and wanted to eat his three pieces of candy rather than continue trick or treating.

Happy Halloween!

Jaxon, save some for the trick or treators!

Oh, the good times keep on rollin'. We had a blast on Saturday. We were a tad bit busy on Saturday morning with meetings, cub scouts and basketball practice but then we headed up to Denver to spend the evening with Steve's brother and his family. We had dinner and then obviously went trick or treating. It was so fun to watch Dakota go from house to house, trying to swap candy. She kept trying to exchange something she had with the "new" candy! Anytime the homeowner said she could have 2, she would just give it back. I just told them that trying to give her the option to take two was just too confusing. I think by the end of the night she definitely had the process down to a science. I have always loved Halloween but this year I just couldn't stop laughing. Guess you had to be there! LOL! TC had to be snake eyes from GI Joe. I honestly don't even know how he knew who that was. We haven't seen the movie. I guess, advertising alone can suck a child in. AJ was my little Edward. I thought it was funny when he told me that he wanted to be Edward Cullen for Halloween. That has to be so easy. Pale face, red lips, purple under the eyes, and a good casual outfit. The least I have spent on a costume since TC was born. We did have to buy vampire teeth. Come on, it has to be a little but more fun. Dakota, was Cheer Bear, from the Care Bears. I think I only watched Care Bears once in my life, so Steve had to tell me which Bear costume I bought. I know, I was so deprived. What do you expect, when I grew up with 8 brothers? Oh, and there is Jaxon. He is at my most favorite age. His big eyes get him whatever he wants. OK, I'm not really that soft but man. He was a bumble bee. He loved his costume and was so excited to be dressed up. He ended up with 3 pieces of candy because after getting those, he just wanted to sit and eat them. I'm sure we have enough to share. Let me just say that Sacrament today was so much fun. We could hear all of the kids who were on a sugar high, which of course included my own. There are consequences to late night fun! We hope everyone else had a great Halloween. I still can't believe 2009 is almost over. Where did it go? Oh, and thanks to my wonderful sister-n-law, I have pictures of last night. I was changing a diaper during picture time. Go figure!

AJ's preschool Halloween party!

AJ wanted to be Edward Cullen. I had to add the blood for special effects. Otherwise he would have just been a really cute boy with pale skin.

Snow much fun!

We woke up to a couple of inches of snow this morning. This is Jaxon and Dakota's first experience with snow. Dakota was born in Rexburg but I don't know if she ever played in the snow before we left Idaho. We enjoyed some time playing and making snow angels. The snow was too powdery for a snowman or we would have done that, too! Jaxon has a lovely runny nose, also!

Robinson Family Reunion!

Beth, Steve, TC, AJ, Jaxon, and Dakota

Dawn, Justin, Jason, Libby, Ellie, Darcey, Steve, Beth and Jaxon
Piper, Pat, AJ, Garry, Dakota, and TC

Just wanted to share our family photo from the beach trip. Thank you Dawn for sending it!

The man I love and cannot live without!

This picture was taken on September 25, 2009, while on Hilton Head Island. Steve and I went out to dinner with his parents, brother, sisters and spouses. We had all decided to go to a Seafood Restaurant, hoping they would have a variety of steaks on their menu for Steve. After viewing the menu, Dawn felt sympathetic toward Steve, who is allergic to shellfish and cannot stand the taste of any other type of fish. My sister-n-law nicely explained to the waiter that we had a family emergency and we all got up and left. Steve chose Outback Steakhouse for his birthday dinner. We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner together as we talked and sang Happy Birthday to Steve about 5 times throughout the meal. It was so funny, but I didn't start it because I would never want him to do that to me.

I have spent 14 birthdays with Steve. I remember the first birthday I spent with him. He had turned 25. My roommate and I went to ALbertsons and bought him a birthday cake and a Big Hunk candy bar. I love remembering how I felt when Steve and I were just friends, which turned into best friends, and then after several months of knowing I was way too young to get married, gave in to the realization that I absolutely loved Steve and if I didn't act on that, I would lose him. At least, that is what I thought. Steve is a pretty patient guy and probably gave me more time than I had deserved at that time in my life. Since that first birthday I spent with Steve, I have enjoyed the best years of my life. Steve and I have so much fun together and hate being apart. We enjoy each day together and look forward to our retirement years, when we can golf everyday together.

Vacation at Hilton Head Island!

Mom and Dakota relaxing after a long day!

TC putting the umbrella up!

Jaxon found someone's flip flop.

View of the beach from our house!

Our beach house!

We just had a week full of fun at Hilton Head Island! The flight was pretty painful, to and from and we had a rough go the first day! I think we were so tired from the trip, it made us all a little cranky. The rest of the week was awesome. We stayed at the lovely "yellowdogbythesea.com" beach house. It was so nice to have the ocean front property and just be able to watch the tide roll in at all times of the day. We spent our time on the beach obviously, but had a swimming pool at the house, also. It was so nice to go swimming when you didn't feel like getting sandy! We walked everywhere because there were so many shops close to where we were. I also spent Wednesday with Darcey, Libby, Dawn, and Pat at the spa. It was so nice to have some relaxing time away from the kids. Steve and his dad and brother spent Thursday at the golf course, while I took the kids to the shops with my sister-n-law. Friday night we all got a night out without the kids. Ms. Betty came and babysat all 6 kids so we could go out to dinner. We loved it so much, we all want to go back and do it again and again.
I actually thought that I would be finished with my book by the time I got home but taking 4 kids to the beach doesn't allow for much reading time. Someone got me stinkin' hooked on the Twilight Saga! I read the first 3 books the week before I left for the beach and I hope to be finished with the 4th by tonight. I will then be able to focus on being a mom again. How horrible is that? All of you who kept ranting and raving about the Twilight books - THANKS!

Beautiful!

Garry, A.J., Pat, Dakota, Jaxon, Steve, and T.C.
I wish it had been a clear day over Mt. Princeton!

Can you see the chapel in the background?

So beautiful! The Collegiate Peaks! Mt. Princeton is the one in the middle!

Just thought I would update everyone on our craziness! Yes, we moved fast! I suppose with the economy the way that it is and not having a real income for 18 months (actually 4 1/2 years) really made us want to get here to start as soon as we could.

Steve is actually going to be in the commercial excavating end of construction rather than residential plumbing. I know he continues to ask himself why he went back to school if it was going to be this hard to get a teaching job. We just keep in mind that it is still worth it to have his degree. I think he knows that deep down inside. We just know that the money is not in teaching.

Anyway, what have I been doing with my time......

Keeping the Excedrin Migraine medicine away from Jaxon and Dakota and I enjoyed a little bit of hiking during our short stay in Buena Vista. I loved all the gorgeous views. I hope to hike Mt. Princeton before the summer is officially over. Over 14,000 feet, I may need to be hooked up to an oxygen tank half way there but I think that I have had plenty of time to get used to the altitude. We shall see!

Some of these gorgeous homes were plumbed by the one and only G&S West Plumbing (aka Steve and Garry) They are so huge! The pictures don't do them justice! Maybe they seem so big because they are so close together but they still look really fun! When I asked Steve how big they were, he told me about 5,000 feet without the basement. I thought they were bigger than that.

We have gotten settled into our new home, which we love. The kids have a huge back yard and even though we don't have all the space we ever dreamed of, there is plenty of room for our family. I think this is the biggest kitchen, I have ever had. That makes me excited. I still don't have everything unpacked but can you really blame me. Four kids and so much to do! I hope to be done by the end of the year!

Surprise!

Well, I have been super, super busy these last few days packing, being excited and crying. We will be moving to Colorado this weekend. We have only known for about a week so don't think you are the only one with your head spinning. It has been so crazy and I had to force myself to sit down and blog. Steve will be working with a company in Colorado Springs. Maybe, by the time I die, I will have lived in every part of Colorado. All joking aside, we are very excited for Steve to finally have a job. Even with his plumbing business here, it still wasn't quite enough. We feel really blessed that this has come along in a time where jobs are so few. We are both very sad to be leaving so much of our family behind. We are so grateful for the experiences we have had with them these last 18 months. We have had some good times. We also look forward to the good times we will have in Colorado and hope that TC, and AJ will make the transition well. We feel that this is an answer to our prayers and we know that no matter where we go, Steve and I will have each other. So, to all of my friends and family, here in the Chattanooga area, I will miss you and I will look forward to our next vacation to Tennessee. To all of my friends and family in Colorado, we are excited to see all of you and look forward to some good times. To all of my friends and family in other parts of the country, I guess it doesn't change much for you but we still wanted you to be aware of the changes in our lives. Thanks to everyone.

Happy 4th!

I just love how Dakota wants to be so pretty even by the pool!

Really?

For the first 7 years of our marriage, I have always given Steve such a hard time about going to the 4th of July parades. We haven't been in 2 years and I am actually missing them. We did have a great 4th of July. Steve took the boys to go see Ice Age in 3D and I took Dakota and Jaxon shopping. I realize that I actually got the better end of that deal but don't tell Steve. Okay, I'm kidding. How can you possibly enjoy shopping with kids. Not possible! We did, however, enjoy spending time with our family at Dennis and Celeste's house. They are always so wonderful to allow us to come and enjoy being together. We did cut out early and started down the mountain at 8:30. All four of our kids were asleep by the time we got home. We did get to see a few fireworks on our drive home from Signal Mountain. We hope everyone had a wonderful day, also!

Today, I took Steve to the airport. He is off to Colorado again, to work with his dad for the week. I so wish that I could have gone with him. We wouldn't be staying long enough to drive there and back and flying, well, we would be paying for 5 tickets now. That is enough said. I do miss our family in Colorado and hope we will see you all soon. We shall see how bad I look by next Tuesday! Bags under my eyes, grey hair, itchy stress rashes, a few extra pounds. Lovely! Oh, how I miss my baby!

Could this really be happening to me? Our couch broke today! I just noticed it this afternoon and I really don't know what happened. Then Dakota just broke my brand new sunglasses and then when I took the kids upstairs to go to bed, AJ jumped on his bed and it broke. The wood just split right down the middle. Is this some kind of sign. Does it end? What a day? I am ready for bed now!

Dakota's happenings!

Well, I am getting very excited that Dakota's hair is getting long enough to put into pig tails!~ You probably didn't notice the pictures of her feet but I have to tell what I have been stressing about for the past month. I think I have posted about Dakota's obsession with feet and shoes. I know it is aweful but she loves to wear other peoples shoes. Most of the time I can control it but sometimes she will just take anyone's shoes and put them on. Since family is who we are with, most of the time, I haven't been too concerned but when these blisters showed up I freaked out. Why does my baby girl have blisters like this on her feet? She had between 20-25 blisters per foot. When I took her to the Emergency Room they thought it might be Impetigo or MRSA. That can't be good. Very contagious and is caused from a bacteria. They put her on antibiotics and had me washing her feet with hibaclens 3 times a day. When I took her in to the doctor for a check up he took cultures of the fluid in the blisters and it came back negative for anything bacterial (staph or strep). The next thought was Hand, foot, and mouth disease. Still contagious but is a virus not a bacteria. This only means that there isn't a medicine that she could take that would get rid of it. Well, after about a week, the blisters went away. About a week later they came back. I started back washing her feet and keeping socks and shoes on her feet. Well, last Saturday it was really bad again. The doctor has said that it is more than likely an allergic reaction that she is having to something in the grass. How aweful. She only gets it when she is wearing flip flops outside or if she takes her socks and shoes off while outside. So I think we have it narrowed down to that much information. She may even be allergic to the dew in the grass. How strange? I'm glad it isn't all of those contagious things that they thought it might be but I'm still sad that she has such sensitive skin. I guess she can just be mad for having to wear socks and tennis shoes anytime she wants to play outside.

Happy Birthday, Jaxon!

Here are the pictures that I have been promising to post of Jaxon's Birthday! We had yummy pancakes for breakfast and a lovely Mexican Fiesta for dinner. Jaxon was also sporting his lovely new bat cape/outfit that he got from Aunt Robin and Uncle Devon. I think he looked pretty happy!

TC - Baseball

I know I should be better at posting but have you heard that I have a 2 year old and a 1 year old that will not stay out of anything!

The best part about watching TC play is that he is going to have his dad's ability to hit those home runs. TC's hitting improved 10 fold during the baseball season. He loved getting out there and it was great to see TC, AJ and Steve playing together so much and enjoying their father/son time.

My other favorite part about this season was listening to Steve rant and rave about the coaching/umpiring. It was so humorous. I guess next year he should be the coach. Oh, no that could be disastrous!

Long overdue!

Baseball season ended awhile back. We loved it. It kept us super busy but the boys did great and had tons of fun.

The best part about watching AJ is that he is so much more advanced in sports than other children his age and so it is kind of fun to watch him be such a ball hog. When anyone would hit the ball, AJ was always first to get it and then he would run and get them out (even though they do not really have outs in the Rookie league). When it was AJ's turn to bat, he would always hit it past the other team and the coaches on the other team would stop his ball from going any further.

AJ was always so excited about going to his games and practices. Some days he would get dressed in his uniform and would keep asking when he was going to practice. I would have to tell him that it wasn't for another 5 or 6 hours, you can go change and play outside.

good times!

I give up on trying to get my pictures on here. I am having technical difficulties with my computer. I wanted to post some pictures of Jaxon's birthday. He turned 1 on June 13th. I can't believe it has already been 1 year. He is growing so fast and as you can tell with the last picture that I posted, he is so cute, too! We have had so much going on lately and we are staying so busy. Summertime is so fun. I love being outside with the kids. It is a bit hot here but I don't mind it too much. Tomorrow is our 12th Anniversary. Wow, I feel old. I can say that it has been wonderful. It only gets better, although, it has always been good.

SWEET BABY!

This is what makes my day, when everything else seems to go wrong!

Turning over a new leaf!

My boys have been singing a song lately that they learned in primary. It starts off "I am a builder working each day to build my family, and I will do the best I can to serve them lovingly." The words have begun to circulate in my head and I constantly catch myself singing the only part of this song that I know. As I have thought about the words in this song, I think about my children and what I am doing each day as I serve them. I have to admit that I was having so much fun being a mom until I found out that I was pregnant with Jaxon. I think I just began to feel overwhelmed and definitely didn't want to go through another 10 months of giving myself shots everyday. Don't get me wrong, I have wonderful and fun filled days with my kids but, I think that I have also been guilty of focusing on the negative part of having 4 children rather than the positive aspects. I am constantly trying to figure out how to get things done faster and how to organize better. I am always wanting my house to be cleaner, or at least to be able to see the bottom of the laundry basket. About 1 month ago, my niece asked me, "Aunt Beth, Is having children really that hard?" I stopped and looked at her and told her, "Yes" but I also told her that I would never give up any one of my children for an easier life. I love my 4 babies. I am going to turn over a new leaf and start realizing that I get to wake up each day to 4 beautiful children and a wonderful husband who loves me and works really hard to provide for our family. I get to stay home with my children and spend time with them and I get to watch them grow and experience everything for the first time. I get to be a teacher, a nurse, a taxi cab driver, a philosopher, a student, a maid, a cook, and a builder. I am a MOTHER and I love my job!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

Dakota and I were just having fun being outside. She throws a fit when she has to come in. She sounds like her mama! I used to love being outside, helping my dad with all the outside jobs. I hated having to go in and help my mom do laundry or dishes. Give me the lawn mower or let me wash the car.