Happy Birthday Grace!

Our little girl will be taller than me before I know it. Time is flying by way too fast. Grace refused to stay 4, she insisted on turning 5. I can't possibly understand why she would want to grow up. She had a delightfully fantastic birthday. Ben fulfilled her wish of a daddy daughter date to get a hamburger at lunch. She was the fanciest little girl at the Cheeseburger Factory. She enjoyed her favorite entree for breakfast...BACON. She was all giggles at her violin lesson. Our neighbors even came over to wish her a happy birthday and enjoy some fancy cake and ice cream. Clayton cannot wait until his birthday. He is already giving me his wish list. Due to horrible weather we didn't get Grace's big birthday present in time for her birthday. Gratefully she loves to shop, so when we told her she got to go shopping to help pick it out...she was all smiles and no tears. She picked out another Cabbage Patch Doll. She let me know that I now have 2 grandkids. Here are some birthday pictures!

Life with Four Little Ones

So despite being up with a newborn at night, Clayton woke me at 6:30 ordering pancakes for breakfast. Grace had a fun day at preschool learning about Easter. Beau pushed a chair over to the fish and stood on the chair and with a little cup, took a drink from the fish bowl. Elle is growing strong. She is still a newborn; eating, sleeping, and filling her diaper. Beau finally says a word or two. He says "Duck" and "Book". He talks all of the time, those are the only words though. Grace is out with Ben cleaning the calf barn. Clayton would be helping Ben too, but he fell asleep right before Ben got home from work. Now it's time to get dinner on the table and to get ready for family home evening once Ben and Grace get home.

Ben really wanted me to post a picture with me in it. I'm not sure why. Here she is, only minutes old; she's not even cleaned up yet.

Elle Marie Eborn has arrived!

Here she is! The kids are so excited to have her home, except for Beau that is. He is only laughing at Clayton in the picture below. She was born March 23, 2011 at 3:32 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz (the biggest baby by a lot) and measured 19 inches.

This morning Grace told Ben "I didn't think you liked Ellie and we were going to name her Mary Poppins." Grace's top names were Mary Poppins, Tinker Bell, and Ellie. Clayton was all for naming her Car or Fox. Life is always entertaining with little kids.

We are so happy to have our little family. Weston and Brock are excited to meet Elle tomorrow night. Thanks to everyone for your phone calls, flowers, and love.

Here Comes Santa Claus!

The kids are so excited for Christmas. I am 98% done with the shopping. Stocking stuffers are always last minute.

Grace is loving preschool. It was at our house this week. It took longer that I expected for 5 preschoolers to cut out and frost cookies. Grace insists on wearing a dress or skirt to preschool or anytime she thinks it is a special occasion. She struggles wearing skirts to church though, she insists on wearing a dress. For some reason she doesn't think skirts are appropriate at church. I don't know where she got that idea.

Clayton is our cowboy. He loves to watch "8 Seconds" about buckin' bulls. Lucky for me, I think he will be too big to be a bull rider. Hopefully he will stick with roping. He loves to help me in the kitchen. He helped me make the sugar cookie dough before preschool. He is my early riser. Last week I was spoiled when we slept until 7 am a few times. This week however, he is back to waking up by 6. He is offically Captain Underpants now that he is potty trainned! (knock on wood).

Beau is growing up. He is walking all over the place. He thinks he is really tough since he can walk and carry things at the same time. He likes to open presents already. He had an easy transition to a sippy cup this week. He is a good little sleeper, taking two long naps during the day and usually sleeps well at night too. I wish he'd rub off on the other too. He always makes us smile. Soon he will be able to outrun Grace and Clayton to the door when Dad comes home.

Ben is relieved now that the cows are out of Teton Valley for the winter and he got all of his bulls sold. He finished up his major project at work this week, the ag forcast for the state of Idaho. He is always so good at what he does. We are having a party this week with his friends to celebrate their Elder's Quorum Presidency being released. It will be fun to have everyone over. I know there are a few happy wives in the ward. Now we will have to see what his new calling is.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone is able to count their blessings at this blessed time of year. I love having little children to teach the true meaning of Christmas. Grace doesn't let me forget to read Christmas scriptures with her every night; we are doing an activity out of "The Friend". May we all celebrate the life of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ with love and peace in our hearts.

It's been a while!!!!

I was without a computer and internet for awhile, but now I am up and running. The latest news in the Eborn house is that we are expecting a little girl at the end of March. Everyone is so excited and very surprised. We didn't tell the kids until we knew what we were having. Weston had us make a list of baby names as our Family Home Evening activity. We have a long ways to go, good thing we have a few months to decide. Grace talks about her little sister all day. Clayton is not excited at all. Winter is here in all its glory. Gracie and Clay like throwing snowballs. Beau isn't walking yet, so he doesn't get to enjoy the white stuff. He was pretty sick last week and is finally back to his happy little self. Ben is waiting for a break in the weather so he can haul his cows down to our farm ground in Bear Lake for the winter. I am going crazy without much on my schedule sine cross country season is over; as if the kids don't keep me busy enough!!

Fun Weekend!

We've been playing with Grandma and Grandpa Flint. We went swimming in Jackson on Saturday. We had a wonderfuly delicious cheese party. Grandpa even provided all the fixings for banana spilts. Weston tied Dad for eating the most crepes today...4 each. I will have to make lots of food when we have 4 teenagers! The rooster attacked Brock. After his war wounds were doctored he went out for revenge. The rooster narrowly espaced the wrath of Weston, Brock, and Gracie. Buddy was even after him. It was rather entertaining. We enjoyed a home grown turkey dinner and banana splits for dessert. We love having Grandma and Grandpa around.

Grandma and Grandpa Save the Day!

We had plans to go to Bear Lake this weekend, but we didn't plan on me getting sick. So Grandma and Grandpa brought the fun to our house! I can't thank them enough for helping Ben with house work, but most importantly making sure the kids still had a fun weekend. I bet the highlight of the trip was seeing our four bum lambs and two goats! I know the kids had loads of fun hunting for Easter eggs, coloring eggs, going for walks, and so much more with their Grandparents.Thanks again! Thanks to a great husband for letting me sleep while the drugs knocked me out and took care of the kids! Thanks to Weston and Brock for helping Dad with all the laundry and other various housework! You're great kids.

This is what our kids did during the State of the Union address. They were much more entertaining than the president. I couldn't stop laughing!

Spring is hopefully here!

Grace and Clayton have been so excited to be outside this week. We take the goats for walks and play in the greenhouse and mud puddles. Beau loves to watch those kids play. He laughs and kicks when we are all outside together. Clayton is so excited for his birthday on Sunday. He has been practicing saying "two". Whenever he hears the word birthday he automatically says "two" and holds out his finger and thumb. It is hard having three kids so small and so close, but I have to remind myself to enjoy it now, because I am sure it will be even more stressful when they are teenagers together.

We had a great weekend. After Brock's ball game we went sledding on our favorite hill. Weston and Brock were daredevils, as usual. Grace and Clayton opted to scoot down the hill on their bums instead of slidding down on the sled. Beau watched from the truck. Ben even had fun! Brock won the gold medal, Heidi won the silver, and Weston earned the Bronze as we raced down Piney Pass.

Grace loves her big brother so much that she is attached to them when they are home, even when she falls asleep. Weston is the best big brother she could have.

Brock stressed about what to name his guinea pigs. He tried everything to help him get ideas.

Gracie and Clay are the best little buddies. They do everything together. They even sleep better when they are together. When they are awake Gracie is always putting Clayton in his place. Typical pecking order!

Smiley

Here is big Beau. He is to interactive. He loves to talk and smile. He is getting so big so fast.

Our Beautiful Children

Our New Family Members

Ben brought Penelope home on Friday. She looks like she will calve in a month. We were going to name her "Bess" just like any other milk cow, but then I thought we needed something more original. Grace thinks she named her Snow White or Beauty Beast. I am in favor of Penelope. Ben is really excited out Penelope. I am glad he likes her since she is his Valentines present!

Brock bought two guinea pigs today. He can't decide on a name. He is stressing about naming them as if they are his first born. He really likes them. During his basketball game he was spacey and when we asked him why he said he was thinking about his new pets. I think we have Weston convinced to play ball next year. We'll have to practice this summer.

Billy and Gruff are getting big. They grow faster than any of the other kids, except maybe Beau! Beau's cheeks just keep growing. He loves to laugh, smile, and take baths.

Grace and Clayton cannot wait for summer. Last summer Clay would whine until I let him outside, so just like letting the dog out in the morning, I'd open the back door and let him out to play. He played on the deck while I made breakfast and did laundry. I can't wait until I can do that again. Grace makes sure Clayton always knows who is the boss!

We are just one big happy family.

Self Sufficient or CRAZY

We just bought a milk cow with our friends. They have a large extended family so we are spliting the milk and work 75-25. I think we will have more than enough milk with just 25%.

Does every kid like to eat plain sugar or just my kids. Grace and Clayton climb on the counter and help themselves to the sugar canisters: granulated, powdered, or brown. When I catch them and take them off of the counters they just ask "why". Am I completely crazy for not wanting them to eat sugar by the spoonful. At least they drink lots of milk so maybe their teeth won't completely rot.

Do we dare?

Brock really wants a RAT. He wants it more than finches even. Ben asked if he'd rather have 10 finches or a rat? Brock replied with a smile, "a rat". His reasoning was that rats are cuddly. I must admit I would have never thought of a rat as a cuddly pet. We are debating the rat idea. I don't mind letting my kids have pets if they earn the money and take care of them. My only rule on what kind of pet is that the critters have to have legs or fins but no more than four legs. (Hince, no spiders or snakes). I never thought about a rat. If we don't buckle to a rat, he wants a guinea pig. I guess we'll update everyone on the new pet after next weekend. I just don't know if we dare get a rat. Last year I was catching two little hampsters every other day. If we do dare, one thing for sure is that it must be an escape proof cage. Weston just goes along with Brock;s pet ideas.

I am in the midst of trying to come up with a home based business I can start. Any ideas? I have a few, but am open to all kinds of suggestions.

Our goats, Billy and Gruff are growing fast. They are our first kids to move out of the house. They moved into the greenhouse and are nice and toasty. Our new greenhouse will actually be multi-functional. Ben plans on welding in it during the long winter nights. I know we will have bum lambs and new chicks in it before Spring arrives. I really hope Spring arrives sooner rather than later.

Fun Family Weekend

Wes and Brock came home last night and we're having a great time. This we cheered for Brock at his basketball game. He did a great job. He is saving his money to buy some finches. Grace won't have anything to do with Mom and Dad now that her boys are home. She wouldn't even sit next to us at the ball game, she only wanted to sit next to Weston. Wes is a great big brother giving piggy back rides and carrying the little ones around. Clayton likes to get bucked off of anything and everything. Everytime he trips he smiles and says "got bucked off". Beau is just happy eating and sleeping. He is a great baby. We are so grateful to have him in our home. We also have been busy feeding the latest additions to our family: Billy and Gruff. Our little baby goats we brought home on Thursday evening. Now I have three mouths to feed in the middle of the night instead of one!

We Did It!

We finally decided to start our own family blog. This will be fun and exciting. Most of it will be about the five cutest kids ever! We (as in Ben, Heidi, Weston, Brock, Grace, Clayton, and Beau) live in Driggs, ID. Our family sticks out with so many toe headed kids. Ben is the local county extension educator who answers everyones questions when they don't know who else to ask. He raises cows, chicken, and kids on the side. I am a domestic engineer. Weston is 9 and in the fourth grade, Brock is 7 in the second grade. Grace just turned three and Clayton is almost 2. Beau is the latest addition to the family at 2 1/2 months. The three little ones really give me a run for it each day. We love to just sit and watch the kids play. The make us laugh and smile all day long.