**The 4th & 8th of July**

*Wow, over the last 3 weeks I've thought of lots of different things I could write blogs about...but since I was so frustrated with messing up my layout...I avoided my blog. Well now I'm back and I managed to spend some time fixing it...so hopefully you'll see new posts more often!!!

4TH OF JULY

First I better touch on the 4th of July. It was a lot of fun! Tyler's mom came over and we fired up the BBQ, busted out the bags of chips, oh and I made a pretty fruit salad like my mom had made in the past! I had also bought a fondue set so we did a chocolate fondue. (I bought the set for $15 at a Thrift store when it's normally like $60...it's a very pretty stainless steel set and it looked like only the forks in the set had been used...but what I wanted was an ELECTRIC fondue set but I didn't even think about it when I bought it...I didn't realize they even made a kind where you use a candle instead of plugging it in...my parents had electric ones!!) Shaylee was kind of scared of the fireworks, but Cayden was having a blast having daddy light them, then he'd throw them onto the street! Addisyn was pretty indifferent, especially after I put tissue in her ears so that it wouldn't be too noisy. Unfortunately...there was ONE casualty this 4th of July. I was backing up my car so that we could light fireworks in the driveway...when the car had some resistance...and I heard a quiet but weird noise. Tyler had told me earlier but I'd forgotten....the stroller was behind the car!!! What...you thought I wouldn't have made sure all my of children were in FRONT of the car before I drove? Trust me...I'm always very aware of where my kids are...but hello...why was the stroller behind my car??? Eh, luckily we have another one...this one already had problems from years of use from Cayden. I bent the front wheel pole so unfortunately it'll have to go to the trash instead of going to a garage sale or something! Earlier that day at the grocery store, the kids begged for giant lollipops. My first thought was "what a huge waste of money...I remember when my parents bought us some of those and we barely ate them..." Then I had to stop. It was one of those "aha" moments that my parents probably would have been proud of me for...because I then realized why my parents had probably bought us huge lollipops and giant jawbreaker candies. I know they bought the giant jawbreakers on the way to Utah so that we'd be quiet the whole ride while making our tongues raw from licking those giant things...but it was also about the memories. I remember how we had races to eat them....but after a whole 10 hour car drive to Utah...we were lucky to have survived licking the outer shell away!!! So...I let my kids get the lollipops. Hopefully they will have good memories from it, just as I did. So really...the lollipops weren't a waste of money afterall. All in all, the 4th was a fun day.

The casualty

My fruit salad that was inspired/copied from my mom!

Self explanatory!!

It looks like Cayden got his lollipop stuck to his hair, haha!

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8TH OF JULY

Now, yesterday would have been my dad's 60th birthday. Yesterday I thought about how we use to tease him and my mom about how by the time their youngest daughter Nicole is in high school, and as she got to be treated to dinner at a nice restaurant for getting good grades...that mom and dad would be able to get the senior discount!! That still makes me laugh. I can't help but get sad, though, when I think about all the things he and my mom were looking forward to doing together as they got older. The other day I finally got some pictures put in a cute country frame I'd bought like a year ago. I put a picture of my dad in his combine, a pic of him on the LDS trek from years ago...and also a picture of Nicole when she was little, sitting in the Pioneer cart my dad had built for the trek. My dining room is country so it looks great there...and is also near our computer desk so I always glance at it now while on the computer (hey, it's a BIG dining room). I've said it before, but I'm so just glad for the Gospel and the knowledge that we have that my family will see Dad again. I'm not afraid to admit that sometimes I talk out loud to my dad...and I smile as I think of him thinking "Michelle, don't worry about me...I'm in a better place than all of you guys right now...I'll see you soon enough!!"

My dad...born on July 8th.

I found this pic of my dad...I'd never noticed how Nicole looks JUST like him in this pic!!!

And this post would not be complete without a picture of my Mom & Dad together. She is who she is because of him, and he is who he is because of her. They brought out the best in eachother. And together, they've helped bring out the best in all of us kids! I love you!!!

Family Fun Day

Today was "Family Fun Day" at the YMCA....so this morning we packed up waters and snacks and headed over. The kids got grab bags that had Shannon Hospital water bottles, necklaces to hook water bottles to, a bracelet, and other little random stuff. They got to do lots of outdoor activities, and after that, they got to go spin a big wheel which would tell them what prize they won. Shaylee won a yoga mat but wasn't too excited about it...so she was able to pick a Baton instead, and Cayden won a Ninja Turtles kite. He didn't really know who the Ninja Turtles were until about a year ago when his cousins Conner & Colton gave him a bunch of their toys, including 3 of the Turtles. The lady who gave him the kite didn't know what they were called...so Cayden explained who they were to her. It was very cute!

This guy wanted Cayden to practice before the race since he was the youngest kid there and was afraid he wouldn't know how to do it. Cayden TOOK OFF in that sack and we were all calling after him and he would turn around and look at us, and then KEEP GOING!!! He was INCREDIBLY fast (faster than all the older kids there!) and he did NOT want to stop. Everybody thought he was SOOO cute. Shaylee ended up winning the race since Cayden never turned around...but if he HAD...HE would have won!!! This kid is more athletic than we thought!!!

Here is a pic of Shaylee winning the race. As you can see...she didn't have much competition...they were all way behind her!

Bear Hugs. Cayden asked if he could go back and hug the Bear and the Drop of Blood (yes, a Drop of blood mascot) again because they were so soft!!

This guy was teaching Cayden how to get low before throwing the football. He was REALLY funny so Cayden couldn't stop laughing! The guy (through his own laughter) kept telling Cayden to stop laughing...EVERYONE around was laughing!

The Perfect Throw

I think Cayden had to go to the bathroom in this one! Shaylee was jump roping and boy was she fast!

Water Sports...those guys got SOAKED! Addy and I kept a safe distance!!

Talks!!!

Today Tyler and gave talks in church. The topic was "Finding Strength through Spiritual Experiences". At first we thought that may be a difficult topic...I have no idea why...because our talks came together fairly easily. We were able to share SO many of our own experiences in our talks that we both really had a lot of fun and felt the Spirit very strongly. It was Tyler's very first adult talk! Almost every single member of the ward shook our hand and told us they enjoyed our talks. There were many tears and lots of laughs. Then throughout the rest of church, our talks were mentioned in the other classes we went to. We're not trying to "toot our own horn"...but it just felt wonderful to have been given the inspiration we needed to put things in our talk that affected so many members in our ward. It's always great to share experiences and realize how many other people can relate to you. It was a wonderful Sunday all around. It was especially nice that Tyler's parents were able to watch the kids for us during Sacrament so we were able to "relax" up in the hot seats!!

I also was able to finish a dress I've been crocheting...so Addy was able to wear it to church today, along with some booties I'd made for her awhile back but didn't really fit until now. I wish I'd had a slip for her to wear under the dress. I didn't realize slips are so hard to find for babies!! Eh, oh well. She looked cute anyway!!!

The Front

The Back

The Dress is actually red...the first two pictures make it look very pink!!

The dress is also a bit scrunched because of how she's sitting, so it looks very short. Since it was JUST the right size on her...I think next time I'll make it a touch bigger and a few inches longer...she grows so fast!!

*This is EXACTLY why I shouldn't go trying to change my template!!!*

My blog is a little frustrating for me right now so I've kind of been avoiding it over the last week!!! When I switched templates...I lost the links to everyone's blogs!! I can still go fishing all over for them....but if you want to make my life a little easier, write a comment on my page so I'll have your blog address!!! Thank you!!! Here are several fun pics I've taken over the last week!

Addy looks a LOT like I did when I was a baby...in this pic atleast! (AND based on the baby pics I have of myself!!)

She held onto that phone for a long time!

Swimming at Grandma & Grandpa Caudle's apartment pool!!! Sorry no picture of me in a bathing suit!!! Although I just got a really cute new one so you never know, you might get lucky! (Hm, hope that didn't sound bad, haha)

Before church....she is ALWAYS smiling. Sometimes I want to take a nap and she just laughs like "ya right mom, you get NO sleep!!"

So I bought her this Johnny Jump-up on Ebay...but she's still a little young for it so her chin just hits over the top...I think I want to get her the kind with a tray...luckily I paid very little for this one!!!
This was so funny...she grabbed onto the end of that bottle and held it for like 10 minutes...we all thought it was pretty cute. I had to explain to the kids that she can't start holding her own bottle all the time yet :-)

***MY BLOG IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION SO PLEASE BE PATIENT!!!***

My mind is running a little blank right now...but I promised some people I'd post some pics by tonight so I'll also try to think of things to write about too!! Well today was the last day of school. It was a very emotional day for Shaylee as she said goodbye to all her friends. There's also a very SLIGHT possiblity we might get into a bigger rental house in the next couple of day so she was really emotional about having to move to a new school next year, as well as have to change wards again. They only have 2 wards here, and we've been in each ward twice!! Yes we have moved around a lot in this city/town! Cayden finished Joy School last week. Right this minute, Shaylee and Cayden are playing with the baby monitor, making scary/weird noises through it!! Addisyn is in her bouncy seat next to me...but doesn't look like she's going to stay happily occupied for too much longer!! She is still very bald...poor baby girl! She is also a pretty big, heavy girl! She is in the 93 percentile for her size!! I have been making Addy another dress, well actually I'm working on two right now. One is made out of a thicker thread and it is red, and the other dress has a crocheted top (which I've already made), and I have to sew the skirt part, then connect the two pieces. I saw that the Gap sells these type of dresses, and then I ran across a pattern for it on the internet...so cute. I'll post pics when I'm done with them. Well here are some recent pics of our family!! The first three pics would have been a little easier to take if I had a tripod...I'll invest in one eventually!

Here are the sisters just hanging out!

Addisyn LOVES to laugh and smile for you if you give her your attention!

Our Joy School Group (all of us moms took turns teaching)...this is "Graduation"! You can go to http://www.valuesparenting.com/ if you are interested in trying out their curriculum! Yes I know I look like a proud cheezy doofus...I was making that face because everyone was trying to take pics and Cayden kept dropping his hat...on purpose!!

Since Addy's not growing enough of her own hair fast enough...we decided to help her out!! (Shaylee got this at the dollar store and wore it to school one day in her ponytail!)

My little Superhero

Addy must have a lot on her mind by the way she's staring off into space

EBATES

Hello my family & friends!! So...a few years ago I signed up on Ebates.com and never really used it because I kind of forgot about it. Well I do the occasional online shopping so I started going through my ebates account. Ebates.com has pretty much every store that you normally would shop at online. Just find the link to the store, click on it, and a percentage of your total purchase will automatically be recorded on your Ebates account. Quarterly you will get a check...or it can be automatically sent to your paypal account if you have one for that amount (there is a minimum amount though, it's like $10 I think, before they can send the check out)! Anyway, yesterday I got my "Big Fat Check" (that's what they call it) for $13.79 sent to my paypal account! Ya it's a small amount...but it's nice to get a little money back right? That's as good as using a coupon! (And yes you can go through ebates and still use any coupon codes you have for the stores)

The point of me bringing this up...is that now through June 30th you will get $10 just for signing up on your account (I only got $5 back when I signed up). You also get $10 for every person you refer. If you refer 2 people though, you get $20 on your account PLUS a $10 Target Gift Card!! Now I only get the referal bonus after you actually make a PURCHASE...but if any of you do online shopping, this is nice to use and it will benefit you AND me :-)

Go to this link for the bonus $10. By the way, Ebates doesn't cost you anything and you don't get spam from it or anything...it's just a website/program made to save you money!

http://www.ebates.com/referral/0508bonusosu.htm?referrerid=OPbD%2Fxp%2BlvGUfW3wXJviYA%3D%3D

And PLEASE put me as the person who referred you!!
MICHELLE CAUDLE
BINGOBLUE@HOTMAIL.COM

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In other news...I've been teaching Shaylee to play the piano since I finally got a piano...AND the Alfred books I wanted to teach her out of. Well while teaching Shaylee, it's inspired Tyler to teach himself!! He's like Shaylee, SLIGHTLY impatient & A BIT stubborn...so he asks me for occasional help, but he's actually doing a really good job on his own!!! He's been teaching himself how to play "Called to Serve" in the Simplified Hymn book. Just a minute ago while practicing, he made the comment "I don't have a 7th finger!! This is CRAP!" HAHAHAHA...he keeps making funny comments like that to himself. Just now he said "Someday I'm going to BLAST through this song...no-handed even...I'll play it with my NOSE!!" Too funny. I love my husband. There's not a day that goes by that he doesn't make me laugh...HARD!!!

Addisyn had to have 3 shots in the leg today...and also an oral vaccine...so she has been extremely fussy (her cry really sounds like she is in pain...I just gave her baby tylenol a little while ago) this evening so I better end this post. Have a great night!