The Stewarts: Adventure day

Lilah loves Annie so much. I am excited to see their bond as they grow and become best friends.

Annie is one lucky baby sister.

David is so funny. Whenever he knows we are having an adventure day, or even going to the baby sitters, he immediately grabs the lunch bag, gets a couple of ice coolers, and packs his lunch. This boy knows the drill!

What David packed. He made himself a sandwich, and packed blackberries, and grapes.

Oh, and he helped cut up some apples as well.

It has been a fun learning experience learning how to take all three kids on adventure days by myself. Mike does it all the time with no problem.

It's hard wrangling three kids on my own but the hardest part is thinking about them being safe.

There has been instances where moms are being watched because bad guys knows they are distracted.

Some moms have even mentioned they were being watched at Costco!

I'm constantly worrying about keeping these little humans safe. I was worried about a random stranger taking one of them and we were out in the middle of nowhere with no reception.

Thankfully all of the people and teenagers proved to be good people. But, you bet I was looking over my shoulder every couple of minutes to make sure no one was hiding in the bushes.

These kids didn't have a single worry though. They played and had the best time.

Thankfully Annie was a good sport and was mostly happy in her carrier.

David and Lilah stayed safe and were not swept away by any current (Another fear of mine since there was a bit of water in the stream today)

So many fears as a mama that keep me up at night.

I want them to be safe at all times but this world is full of bad people. I am constantly praying that my kids stay safe away from harms way.

Sometimes I stay up at night worrying about what their trials will be wondering if they will be safe in this life. All I want for them is to be happy, safe and healthy.

I love where we live and that we get to do these adventure days.

Nothing makes me happier than my kids being happy out in nature.

I love that even though they are exhausting and busy, that they are still small enough for me to pick them up and that they still want me over their friends.

I love that David is such a mama's boy right now.

Sometimes I wish I had help so I can catch a break. Most days it feels like I am just keeping my head above water with the constant messes and tantrums.

I hope that I am a good grandma and remember to help my kids out with their kids. Hopefully, I am healthy enough that I'll be able to do that.

Mike and I are setting ourselves up so that we can retire early. I want to retire early so that I can spend as much time with my kids as possible.

They're my favorite thing about this life and I hope they know that.

I always choose to be around them above everyone else.

I love watching their little bond grow.

David loves little Annie. He'll fight with Lilah but not with Annie yet. Hopefully, they won't fight like cats and dogs like Lilah and David sometimes do.

I've been busy working on finishing our floors. David keeps asking me to finish his room.

I try to get as much done while Lilah is at school because all hell breaks lose as soon as she gets home.

It's so awesome to see that I'm getting so close!

I'd love to do the laundry room but that might be another year's project.

Another before picture.

David thinks this girl looks like their baby sitter. I love how much they love their babysitter.

I love homemade meals. We don't eat out very much. I love knowing what ingredients are used to make our meals. I'm always thinking of ways to make healthier meals for my family.

Annie usually sleeps in. But, once in a while, she'll wake up while I am trying to get Lilah ready for bed and I have to get her up because I can't lay down and nurse her back to sleep.

Lilah gets picked up from school at 0650, thankfully she's an early bird and wakes up early like her dad.

Annie doesn't like a pacifier and only likes to be nursed back to sleep. Hopefully I can get her to take a pacifier soon so she can start sleeping in her own bed.

I love making this for breakfast. My new year's resolution this year has been to eat more colors in my meals and this is one of my faves. It has celery, spinach, lemon, ginger, cucumber, pineapple, and mango with ice. So yum!

Lilah always wants to be around Annie.

The kids playing kitchen. I love when they are playing. Most of the time they are just making messes and it's such a nice change when they are actually playing with their toys.

Annie is growing like a weed.

David loved crazy sock day at school. At first, he did not want to wear them. I think he thought he would be the only one but he got excited when he saw that his teacher and other kids had crazy socks as well.

I found someone in our ward that has chickens. It's been so fun to use fresh eggs.

Little Annie and I running errands while both Lilah and David are in school.

She won't be fitting in her little hammock for very long.

Annie loves playing with the big kids. She doesn't like to crawl around and will cry. As soon as she cries the kids will pick her up and give her whatever she wants and sit her back up. One of these days she will learn to crawl.

I don't know if Lilah will ever grow out of making messes. It makes me really anxious and mad when she just dumps everything in one big pile. I want to be a good, fun, and kind mom but it's really hard when she continues to make messes in every part of the house. The hardest part is that she is teaching David to do the same. I don't know what to do with her and why she loves to destroy things so much.

Thankfully David does play with toys and it's so cute watching him use his imagination. 3 year old David is fun!

I don't even know why I bother cleaning this room other than it weighs heavy on me mentally to have so much clutter in one room. I have taken out half of their toys in hopes that Lilah will stop making such a big mess. At least it's a little bit easier to clean. I hate how mad I get when I see her destroy rooms in the house. She also HATES cleaning any of her messes and refuses to help in any way. Poor David is always cleaning after her.

David and I were out cleaning the house windows. He was a great little helper.

A little more progress on the floors! I usually get a big chunk done while David and Lilah are at school. Sometimes Annie will even take a nap during this time and it's go time!

The kids always find me wherever I am. It's all fun and games until they start fighting over me. They're crazy sometimes.

Lilah taking pictures of me while we wait for her van to come pick her up. I am so grateful they provide transportation because it's about a 45-minute drive to her school.

Annie taking a sink shower. I think she liked it!

Annie, you are such a cute ham! I wonder how she'll be when she grows up. She is already showing some sass!

I found a caterpillar in my corn! A very hungry caterpillar.

I love colorful meals! My kids are starting to catch on about eating fruits and veggies. I want them to learn that it's important to nourish their bodies.

Sometimes I get these headaches where my vision is really diminished. It's like a get tunnel vision and it's really hard to see. Like it takes a lot of effort to read a word. Thankfully I don't get these often but it's kind of scary when I do get them. Especially having worked on a neurology unit for so many years. Having been an ICU nurse for 6 years I often wonder how I will die. Hopefully, I am old but I've just taken care of so many young parents who have passed away. I don't really care about dying as much as I care that my kids are well taken care of. Especially Lilah and her special needs.

Mike doesn't really know much about who she goes to see for her ENT doctor, what happens during her audiology appointments, how often she goes, what happens during her IEP meetings. I have started learning ASL to help her communicate better with me. She has been doing great learning sign. I can't die because I have to make sure Lilah has all of her needs met and she is thriving. She is very difficult and not the nicest kid so I need to be there for her so people know that she is very smart and that sometimes I think she is a mean kid because she can't communicate with other kids.

Sweet little Annie poking her head through while she watchest me get ready for the day.

Such a happy baby girl.

I love when my kids are being nice and we can do little outings like go on a walk together.

These summer days have been so nice. My friend gifted my kids a water slide and they have been loving it. It was such nice weather that I even decided to join them.

Annie watching the kids slide.

She loves her doggies. Gus has been so hard lately. He is always trying to dig out of the fence, he is constantly barking, and he now escapes his crate! I have no idea how he knows how to even open it. But, he gets out and of course gets into the trash can. Sometimes we come home to poopy diapers scattered all over the kitchen. I thought that as he got older he would be less naughty.