Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Dearest Friends and Family,

We are doing well...

Kelsi is officially walking now.  She's been taking steps for the past month, but in the last few days she has taken off!  It is so fun to watch her because you can tell she is excited about it.  I guess she decided to beat her brothers! Caden and Collin started walking at 10 1/2 months, so she barely beat them.  She is 10 months old today!  Boy has time flown.  I don't want my baby to get any bigger...not that I have a choice, I know, but it does make me sad.  Oh, well.  I am just thankful she is in our family and that she is so healthy.  

Caden and Collin both have Christmas programs at school tomorrow, and then starts the break! I am looking forward to having them home, but not looking forward to the fighting.  Hopefully I can keep them busy enough that they actually enjoy one another!!  They are doing great in school, though, and are enjoying basketball (Caden) and wrestling (Collin).  

Colson is going through the terrible 3's right now. He was great at 2, it's 3 that is really throwing me for a loop with him!!!  I am enjoying him as much as I can right now, but boy he is testing me.  I hope I still have my sanity by next year...(I am not kidding about that either!) 

Dan loves his work and we are thankful for this blessing!  He is doing great and is doing a wonderful job providing for our family and supporting me through my challenges at home with the kids.  He is also helping coach Caden and Collin right now (yes, basketball and wrestling).  I love him more than ever and am thankful to have my best friend as my husband! 

As for me, I am taking care of the kids at home and trying to keep my sanity at the same time, which is a real challenge!  I'm just trying to be the best mom I can, although at times I feel like I am failing.  I enjoyed volleyball officiating this fall and absolutely love following the kids around in their sports and school activities.  It is so much fun watching them.  I just turned 30, so I feel like I have turned another page in my book of life.  I am excited to see what 2010 brings!

A friend of mine took pictures of us recently, so I figured I'd just put them on the blog instead of send them out to everyone. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm being a Scrooge.  

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. We love you all and are so thankful to have crossed paths with all of you and to have the time with you that we do!  We have been so blessed this past year and look forward to 2010!!  Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! May Heavenly Father bless you all in the coming year!

The past couple of months

Halloween!  

Caden was a ghost, Collin was Megatron, Colson was a knight, and Kelsi was a bumble bee

Pumpkin Patch!

Dan and Kels

I ran my first 5K! It was so fun!

Collin started Kindergarten and Caden started 3rd Grade!!

Slow down there missy!

Kelsi started crawling a few weeks ago, army style, and has now moved up to the real deal, on all fours.  She can sit up on her own now too.  Needless to say, she gets a lot of time on the floor practicing!  

Caden's Baptism

Caden was baptized on July 19!! It was so much fun. My dad conducted the meeting and said the opening prayer, my grandma gave the talk on Baptism, Dan baptized him, Dan made a neat slideshow of Caden's life to this point, I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost, Dan confirmed him, and my mom gave the closing prayer. Oh, and afterward we had root beer or orange floats, which were yummy!  Caden picked everything the way he wanted it (except the slideshow, that was supposed to be a surprise, but he figured it out).  I didn't know if I'd be able to talk, but surprisingly I didn't cry.  I started to at the very very end, but I don't think that counts.  Anyway, Caden picked two songs, When I Am Baptized, and Families Can Be Together Forever. He did a great job of picking people to do things and was very excited and involved. It was awesome and we are so proud of who he has become and the choices he is making.  It was an absolutely wonderful night!!!  We love you Caden!!!!

Mother's Day Fun!

We went up in the mountains and had a picnic with my parents on Mother's Day and rode on my Dad's new four-wheeler, and the boys LOVED IT! We had a really fun time and are so glad for Papa's new toy! It was a fun Mother's Day. Dan made me french toast with fruit for breakfast, which is my FAVORITE! Caden and Collin made me some cards and some little pins to wear and they were so sweet. I had to speak at church which was a real treat too!! Ha Ha. They really wanted to make me feel loved and they did a great job of it.  I love being a mother.  It is the best job ever and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Collin, Bailey, Papa, Colson

Caden, Dan, & Collin

Collin, Caden, Colson

Kelsi

Caden's Citizenship Award

Caden received a Citizenship Award yesterday at their Awards Assembly.  It was so fun to go and watch!  It was a really neat assembly.  We are so proud of him for what a good job he is doing in school!  This was a really special award and he is very deserving of it. I know I'm the mom, but the teacher made sure that everyone understood what a special award this is, so GOOD JOB Caden!!

Easter Fun!

Here are some fun pictures from Easter. The kids had so much fun hunting for Easter Eggs. I had fun too! This is one of my favorites, so I love seeing them get excited about it.  The Easter Bunny brought the boys sunglasses, so that's what those pictures are all about.  They are so goofy! 

Kelsi at Granny's house

Granny took some pictures of Kelsi at their house on Easter, and I really liked this one. She is such a little sweetie! 

Sled Dog Race

This little video clip was inspired by the movie

 "Snow Buddies." They thought this up all on 

their own after watching the movie and then 

asked me to video tape it.  Unfortunately there 

is no sound.  They told Colson to say "Hike Hike" 

and then they took off.  It was pretty funny!  

Kelsi's Blessing

Yesterday was Kelsi's blessing.  She looked so sweet in the dress her Daddy picked out for her. She will be 6 weeks old tomorrow.  As always, it is going too fast.  She is doing great and her brothers love her so much! Yesterday Caden told me that if anyone is mean to her he is going to punch them. Yikes! Look out!  Anyway, it was a great day.  We are so thankful that Kelsi is part of our family and we all love her so very much.  We love you little miss!!

Collin's 5th Birthday Party!

I know I am late getting this post up, but here are 

pictures from Collin's 5th Birthday Party! 

He LOVES his birthday. We had a family 

birthday party at a pizza parlor.  I love the pictures 

with frosting around his mouth. I think it's safe to

say that he liked his chocolate cake! He picked out 

the "Monster Trucks" to go on top. The picture with

pink wrapping paper was a joke from Caden. He hid 

inside the huge box and jumped up when Collin was

trying to open it. It was all his idea, so it was pretty

fun! Thanks to all who came. He had fun!

We love you so much Collin!  Happy Birthday!

KELSI ANN

Kelsi and I are home now and we are both doing well.  I feel so blessed to have had another healthy baby and delivery.  I like to think that I am the happiest person on the face of the earth, but Dan might beg to differ.  I am still getting used to the idea that I have a girl.  I am so excited to have the opportunity to have a daughter.  I was just so surprised!  She is definitely going to be protected by her three big brothers.  They all adore her!  Caden had to come into my room this morning before he left for school to check in on her.  He loves holding her.  Collin and Colson bought her first book for her and picked "Sleeping Beauty."  We read it to her last night while Caden held her.  Dan picked out a beautiful little dress for her and I love watching how his heart has melted.  Needless to say, Kelsi has added a new element to this family and we are all filled with joy.  I cry in gratitude to Heavenly Father every day!  :)  I hope you all enjoy the pictures.  -Jodi

Here SHE is!

It's a GIRL!!!

We would like to introduce you to Kelsi Ann Primus.  She was born on February 17, 2009 (Happy Anniversary!!!).  She weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 20.5 in. long.  Jodi's water broke at 2 a.m. and she was in our arms at 5:33 a.m.  

I may be a little bias as her daddy, but she is beautiful.  She has a great complexion and is so dainty.  There is no doubt she is a little girl.  She has a lot of hair, looks like she has already been to the salon with highlights.    

It was a frustrating couple of weeks waiting for our baby but it was worth it.  Both Jodi and I are happy to have our little girl!!!  

Jodi is still in the hospital and will be coming home tonight, so I am trying to add a post for those who want to see pictures.  I hope this works.  Jodi will be adding a lot more pictures when she comes home.  I will do what I can for now.  

Family Fun in the Snow

We woke up to snow this morning!  We all went out and played together for awhile and had a great time. We had a snowball fight, although I quit early because my camera was getting wet. Then Collin tried to snowboard down the sidewalk using one of the sides of the wagon which was pretty funny! Then he and Caden found themselves some "hideouts" under the bushes in the front yard and tried to throw snowballs at Dan from inside their hideouts.  It didn't prove to be the best idea in the end, since they were sort of trapped when Dan came for them, but they loved it anyway.  Colson just kind of wandered around doing his best at making snowballs and throwing them at us, well mostly at Daddy.  Then we made some hot cocoa to finish off the fun.  We had a great time and always welcome more snow!!

I haven't blogged for a while, so I had some catching up to do! We are doing well and are all anxious for our new little family member to arrive.  I am 36 weeks now, so it's getting close!

Christmas!

We had a really nice Christmas. It was great to be together as a family and to have all the beautiful snow! We spent Christmas eve at my parents and then had Christmas dinner with them at our house. Dan's parents were able to come to see us on the weekend, despite the road conditions, so we had a great holiday with family!  

Our twin nephews!

Triston Tony and Trenton Thomas arrived on Dec. 17 to my Sister Jessica and her husband Bobby.  They are healthy and growing strong.  They are so sweet and have brought so much joy to our family already. We all love them so much!

Our home in Pendleton

This is the house we are renting in Pendleton.  It is a really old home, with what I call a lot of potential.  No, really though, it is kind of cool and has plenty of space for us, so we are very happy and are settling in quite well.  Caden loves his new school and feels very welcome, which is a relief.  He wasn't excited about starting over at a new school, but he adjusted quickly!