We like the GREEN!

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day this year very simply- with Shamrock Shakes from McDonald's. In my defense, it was also the same day we left for our trip, so I'm glad we at least accomplished that!

Gramma came to visit!

My wonderful mom came to take care of the kids for us while Len and I went on our vacation to the British Isles. They loved having her here and now miss her terribly! I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks before she came. It was killing me not to call her and tell her right away, but I decided to wait and tell her in person. We bought a small bouquet of flowers and I wrote her a little note from Kaleb, Noe, Gavin, Teague, and Baby #5. She read it out loud, then at the end looked up with a huge surprise on her face, and said, "You're pregnant? How come you didn't tell me?" It was so funny. We also sent flowers to our grandparents in Idaho and I signed the card from all 9 of their grandkids and included Reil baby #5/grandbaby #10. They were so excited too!

Thanks so much for coming mom. You're the best!

Pi or Pie Day?

You know how pi equals 3.14, well pie day is March 14th! Jenn told us about it and I was so sad that I've been missing out on this fabulous holiday all of my life!

She came and spent the day with us and we made A LOT of pie!

There was coconut cream, cherry, strawberry vanilla, chocolate banana, apple, butterscotch, and blueberry! I let the kids each sample 3 flavors to start with, then we sent Jenn home with half of what was left. We enjoyed pie all week, yum!

Disney on Ice

With the money the grandparents gave us for Christmas, we took the kids to see Disney On Ice: Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey. It was a great show with character visits from The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, and Peter Pan. The little boys were really into it and so excited to see all the spectacles. The big kids enjoyed it too, but were upset that I didn't buy them the 1 oz cotton candy for $20. Seriously, I wouldn't mind buying my kids a special treat or souvenir if they weren't so outrageously expensive! Teague was either clapping, dancing, or laughing the entire time. He was so cute to watch.

We always have fun if Mickey and the gang are involved!

7 more months!

I had my first visit with my baby doctor today- hooray! I love having an ultrasound and seeing the sweet little babe, it finally feels real. From my period I should be 10 w 6 d and due October 25th. However, the babe was measuring 9 w 3 d and that makes sense with my cycles, so my new due date is November 4th- 7 months from today! Although, I'll have to have another c-section and the doc says they schedule them about 10 days early, so that puts it back to October 25th- tee hee. He also gave me a prescription for the nausea, hallelujah! Happy day, I just can't stop smiling thinking of my new little one!

I can NOT keep a secret!

So it's been 18 days since I last made a blog post and I have 1,036 pictures to sort through and choose which ones to highlight on here. We took the kids to see Disney On Ice, celebrated Pi Day and St. Patrick's Day, had Gramma come & visit and most importantly take care of the kids so Len and I could go on our wonderful trip to England and Ireland! It may take me a while to get everything on here though, because I have been sick yet again. I know, I have seriously been sick way too many times already this year. Unfortunately, I've been nauseous 24/7 and the bad thing is it's gonna last about another 7 months. Yep, I'm pregnant! I think I'm about 8-10 weeks along (yes, my tummy popped out super fast this time), but I don't go to the doctor until Monday. I'll have an ultrasound and we'll see how big the baby is and learn what my due date is, but for now I'm thinking it's about October 25th. *The morning I took the test, I woke up around 5:00. When I saw the 2 pink lines I tried calling Len to come and see. He was still sleeping though and I didn't want to yell and wake up the kids so I just crept back into bed. I then whispered in his ear to guess what. When he asked what, I of course shared the wonderful news and then he jumped up wide awake! We weren't going to tell the kids for a while, but that morning somehow we ended up in our bathroom with Kaleb and Noe and they saw the evidence from the test. They asked what it was and right away, Noe said I was pregnant. I told them that the clues were there, but they needed to figure it out. Kaleb then grabbed the box and started reading the entire thing. He knew that 2 lines meant positive, but he didn't know what that meant. He wanted it to spell it out that 2 lines means your pregnant. Again, Noe caught on right away and said, "Mom, you're positively pregnant!" To which I could no longer deny it, and she and Kaleb were so excited. Later that morning at breakfast we decided to tell the little boys too. Teague started clapping (although I doubt he understood), but Gavin's reaction wast he best. He said, "Oh no, not again!" What a little stink! He is such a cutie though. The sickness is pretty rough right now, but I couldn't be happier!

Love this Song!

I love music, and if I had my way my life would have a soundtrack constantly running in the background. Commercials always find the best songs too, like this one "We Met in the Springtime." But I can't find the artist/title/album info anywhere and I'm so sad! If you can share any info about it, I would be much obliged!

rock & roll, bop & BOWL

Kaleb and Noe turned 9 yesterday, so on Saturday we took them bowling to celebrate!


They each got to invite a friend, so Kaleb invited Marianna and Noe invited Lucy.


This was my first time "Canadian" bowling. It only has 5 pins, and heavy wooden balls that don't have finger holes. Luckily, we had a lane with bumpers in the gutters so I pulled off a not-too-shabby score. Kaleb, Noe, and Marianna all tied for the highest score though!

We came back to our place for some pizza and ice cream sundaes.

The kids were spoiled too with Webkinz and Movie Theater tickets.

Yesterday, the kids took in some lollipops I made to share with their class. They were super easy- marshmallows dipped in purple chocolate and star sprinkles. They were a hit and all the students and teachers loved them!

After school they got to open their presents from us.

Gavin and Teague lent some helping hands.

I wasn't fast enough with the camera to capture Kaleb's ecstatic face when he unwrapped the Wii.

Noe on the other hand showed her Barbarian side when posing with her new dollhouse.

They were both really happy with their gifts. The weeks of waiting for them paid off!

We had the missionaries over for dinner and we served the birthday kids' favorites- spaghetti, salad, and french bread. And of course, cheesecake!

Blueberries for Kaleb.

Cherries for Noe.

Who needs mousse, when you can use cheesecake as a hair product? My poor baby is sick again- ugh!

I just can't get enough

Of this delicious baby!

He tastes like chocolate and has the best flirtatious grins! I just love him so!

(Now I have Depeche Mode stuck in my head.)

Our Zoo

Lately, Gavin and Teague like to throw all of their stuffed animals (like 23 of them) into Teague's crib, then climb in and have a romping good time.


So of course when their best friends Isaac and Molly came over to play they had to play zoo with them too!

Leading Ladies

I think it's time for a girl to win again on AI, but I am a little worried that a guy will pull it off for the 4th year in a row. Here were my favorites from tonight:


Lauren Turner- she's got the soul and I am really loving the richer, jazzier voices these days.


Lauren Alaina- The Laurens just have it. Who doesn't love Cowgirl Barbie? This girl is so young, but has fantastic stage presence and an amazing voice to go with it. And I'm not even really a "country" girl.


Pia Toscano- She's beautiful and powerful- wow!

Some other girls I think are interesting: Naima Adedapo (love the bright colors she wears), Kendra Chantelle, Rachel Zevita (you can NOT say she is boring), Haley Reinhart, and Ashton Jones (love her big hair!).

Some girls that just bored me: Ta-Tynisa Wilson, Karen Rodriguez, Julie Zorrilla, and Thia Megia. Yes, this is a singing competition but girls you need a little something-something more.

Some thoughts on the judges:
Randy Jackson- love him. He tells it like it is, but isn't cruel about it.
Jennifer Lopez- beautiful. Wasn't expecting to like her that much, but I really do- she's sweet and sincere.
Steven Tyler- I think I've been a fan of Aerosmith my whole life. He's down to earth, but I'm scared he has better hair than me- yikes!
I can't leave out Ryan Seacrest- he's cute, but short- sheesh I'm 2 inches taller than him.

I wonder who will make it to the top 10?

Leading Men

We watched American Idol for seasons 7 & 8 after taking last year off, we decided to be followers again this year. So far, here are my top 3 guys:


Casey Abrams- I just like him! He's got a great soulful voice, can play the bass (makes me swoon), and many other instruments (I never even heard of the melodica before him). He's got personality and seems sincere. He's the whole package for my vote.


Paul McDonald- he's cute and spunky. I like Rod Stewart and he reminds me of him, yet he's got his own style too.


Clint Jun Gamboa- I didn't expect such a large voice from his small frame, but he's also got it.

You can tell I like them quirky, but I want more than a good voice, I want a great performer.

Some others I think are interesting: Brett Loewenstern, Jacob Lusk (just a big sweetheart), James Durbin, Tim Halperin, and Scotty McCreery.

Some that are cute, but make me yawn: Stefano Langone, Jovany Barreto (his sixpack is nice though), Robbie Rosen, and Jordan Dorsey.

Can't wait to watch the ladies tomorrow, but I must admit I prefer watching the guys- tee hee!