Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Chubbuck Days Parade

One of Samantha's favorite things that she did this summer was be in two parades with her dad and the Idaho State Journal. These are pictures that were taken at the second parade at Chubbuck Days. (I had forgotten my camera at the first parade.) Nate, Samantha and Kassidy posing for a picture while waiting at the line up. Kassidy and Samantha and the other kids were dressed like "Newsies." (Haley was at Grandpa's this weekend, and Rhett was with me watching the parade.)

The whole crew of "Newsies".
Aren't they cute?!







Summer Fun


Samantha, Haley Kassidy and Rhett love playing in the water! The girls and the neighbors had started themselves a waterfight, and Rhett had to join in the fun! He loved getting the girls wet. But then again, he loves to make them scream!


Here are some pictures of fun in the sun!



Rhett loved playing with the hose!
Kassidy posing for the camera...her favorite thing to do...well, it is up there with getting wet anyway!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Baby update

Ok, so this a little late, but better than never. On July 16th, I actually began to go into labor, and we went to the hospital. I hadn't progressed very far, so they sent me home. However, I had started dialating, etc. so I decided that I better not go to my pageant. I am the director of the Miss Pioneer Valley/ Miss Legacy/ Miss Rocky Mountain pageant. I was so BUMMED! With my history in childbirth (once I start dialating I deliver that day) I knew driving to Draper was not going to happen. I was totally bummed. I had worked very hard to put the pageant together. Luckily, I had people helping me who took over and got it done. Now, I have three great new titleholders and I am very excited to work with them over the next year getting them ready for Miss Utah!
The pageant was on Saturday the 18th, and still no baby. On Tuesday the 21st, the kids and I had been staying at my mom's house, and I started having contractions close together, so Uncle Nate brought me back to Pocatello. Nate (hubby) took me to the hospital, and once again, the contractions slowed down. I had dialated and effaced more, but not enough for them to keep me. Can you say FRUSTRATING?!
That brings us to today...the 27th. STILL NO BABY. In fact, my doctor on Thursday put me on an antibiotic for a possible kidney infection/stones. At least I am getting more contractions that are harder now. Surely that means more progress is happening...
I will keep this updated for the grand entrance of this little girl...which we still don't have a name for, by the way! Hopefully it won't be too much longer!

Lava on the 4th


We had such a fun day at Lava Hot Springs on the 4th!
We all went for a walk to get ice cream at the ice cream shop! It was super good! In the picture is Grandma, Kaylee, Rhett, Kenzie, Samantha, Haley, Jenny (Preston's fiance), Preston, and Kassidy.






It is always fun to see our extended family. In this picture is Great Grandma Slaughter, and Aunt Maxine! Here is Rhett giving Maxine lots of love.



What a stud! Need I say more?? He is all about Daddy's sunglasses and his "Cars" swim trunks.



The kids with Uncle Preston and Jenny. Grandpa is holding Rhett up in the back...
We all LOVE swimming!
The is the picture from the funniest part of our day. After swimming we all went to get ice cream. On our way back we notice this...
Yep, Rhett had fallen asleep, but still managed to keep eating his ice cream! A true Slater...nothing is more important that a treat...not even sleep!

Monday, June 22, 2009

What a week!

Ok, I am so exhausted! We began the week by going down to Nate and Cindy's and Nate and the kids stayed there while I went to help Arial pack for Miss Utah. (Arial is my current Miss Pioneer Valley.) Then we stayed at Marilyn's and on Monday we went down to the "Show Me Your Shoes" parade and party for Miss Utah. It was pretty fun. My titleholders (Arial, and Sarah our Miss Legacy) both got awards for their fantstastic shoes!
On Tuesday, we took the kids to Lagoon. It was so fun! The kids are old enough now to go on the rides and really enjoy them. Even Rhett was so funny! We tried to take pictures with Nate's phone, so if I can get them off I will put them on here. The funniest part was after riding Rattle Snake Rapids Kassidy was not happy about being so wet. I told her we could take her on another ride and it will help her dry off and cheer her up. So, after the next ride when she got off, she said, "mom, I am NOT cheered up. I am still so freaking wet!" It was pretty funny. Luckily, we had a change of clothes so she could feel better.
The rest of the week I was at Miss Utah, and Nate brought the kids home to Pocatello. It was a great week and my titleholders were amazing! I am so proud of them! Sarah ended up in the top 10, and Arial SHOULD have been in the top 10 as well. Oh well. Such is life in the pageant world!
Now, it is time to put my house back together, because I am SURE that a tornado hit...what else could it be???

Saturday, May 16, 2009

The End of a GREAT Soccer Season!

Today was the last soccer game of the season for all three girls. I can't believe how fast that went! We spent all morning at the games, and had BEAUTIFUL weather! I even got sunburned! Nate and Samantha's team won their game 6-1. Samantha has decided over the course of this season that keeper is what she really likes to play. She is already looking forward to playing again in the fall! She had a few really nice saves and did really well in the field too!

Haley's team also did great. They didn't win, but I don't think that they care. Haley really likes to play forward because she is so fast. She had a few great breakaways, but came up just short or to the side, of the goal.

Kassidy also had a good season. She had a couple of breakaways too, and one she was ready to shoot at the goal and another kid stepped in front of her and got it in the goal. Oh well, we told her she can count that one! I think that her favorite part of the game is the treats at the end. So, every game ends on a fabulous note for her!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Happy Birthday Nate!

Happy Birthday to you! I can't believe you are getting so old...LOL! (Since I'm still a young'en!)

Speaking of which, something funny happened to my mom and dad the other night. We had all gone out to eat after the piano recital and mom was looking at her receipt. There was a strange discount on it...YEP! They had given them the SENIOR discount! My mom was appalled. "I still have 10 years thank you very much!" It was hillarious! We all got a good laugh out of that one!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Kassidy's First Piano Recital

Ok, first off I don't have pictures. How sad!! But, there is a DVD, that we can get later. Anyway, Kassidy played in her first piano recital last night. She did so good. She is so funny. She was a little shy, so Grandma Bonnie helped her introduce her song and herself. Then she started to play and froze a few measures in, so I took her her music and she finished. She still did so good considering she is 4! She is quite talented and we are very proud of her! She was able to even get a couple of awards at the end from competing at a festival. She was super happy!
Samantha and Haley also played, and again, did well. They also got several awards from all of the adjudications that they have done in the last couple of months.
I am sooooo glad that this adjudication season is OVER! It is so stressful! Worth it in the end though!

Young at Art

Samantha and Haley got to perform at their schools Young at Art program at one of the high schools here. It was the biggest version of an Elementary school talent show I had ever seen! In fact, the talent was pretty good. Haley was first to go on since she was the only Kindergartner in the program. It was so cute to watch her walk across the stage. She looked so LITTLE! In fact, as soon as she came out people were "aahh look at her she is so little" and making noises to that effect. In fact, one guy behind us made us laugh so hard because he said (and not quietly) "she's so little is she going to be able to get up on that bench?" It was so funny! Haley told us afterwards that she heard everyone making sounds and she thought it was funny too. They both did really well!

Again, sorry no pictures. I still don't have a camera, and mom and dad didn't think to bring theirs. BUMMER!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sports update

All three girls are having a great time in soccer this spring! Nate is coaching Samantha's team and is having a blast. His head is getting a little swollen since we are only half way through the season and the parents have already asked him to keep the team together and keep coaching them for the seasons to come! They LOVE him, and he is doing a great job. One girl on his team even told him she has already learned more this season than she did in the last 4! He really enjoyed hearing that!
Haley's team is doing well. She really likes to play keeper, but is also really good at Forward because she is one of the fastest kids on the team!
Kassidy is quite the little powerhouse. She hasn't gone a game yet without scoring a goal! This week she even scored 3!
Rhett is dying to play himself. He gets to practice with Kassidy's team every week...and he keeps up with them! Next Spring, he will be old enough to play on his own team.
Samantha also starts softball today. We had a good time yesterday taking the kids out to work on some basics with her. All of the kids wanted a turn to bat, and every one of them hit the ball--being pitched to them! EVEN KASSIDY AND RHETT!! Wow, it is so much fun to watch them play sports!!

Festival

This past weekend was so BUSY! We (my mom and I) had our music festival in Preston. It was a great success, and I am totally glad it is over! Samantha and Haley, and yes, even Kassidy played the piano in it. Samantha and Haley took 1st place for their Duet in their division and Kassidy took 2nd place for her solo. They all did so well and I am proud of them! I would put pictures on here, but we still don't have a camera, so I don't have any...DANG!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Here comes girl #4!

I had my ultrasound today, and low and behold, we are having another girl. I feel a little bad for Rhett, but I am quickly over it. He was such a holy TERROR during the ultrasound that the calmness of a girl is quite all right. Yes, I know, it may catch up with us in the teenage years. Only problem now is a name. We had a boys name all picked out, since we have had it since our second child, but a girls name proves to be much more difficult.
Here we go again...!!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Samantha and Haley get Superiors!

Saturday, March 7th, Samantha and Haley played the piano for Judges at Federation. It is an annual adjudication for piano. Both girls worked very hard. And it payed off! They had to memorize two pieces each. They both received a 5, or Superior Rating--the highest you can get! I'm such a proud Mama! Daddy and Grandma Bonnie are pretty proud too. Samantha played "With a Yo-Ho-Ho" and "Minuet." It is so interesting to watch her on her journey of discovering what effects are left from her brain bleed. She has to work extra hard to get her right hand to do what she wants it to. When she got up to play she just smiled her way through because we discovered she plays best with a smile on her face. The judges commented to me afterward that they loved her smile and her reaction to playing her pieces. They could just tell that she thought she had just nailed it. And she had just played better than she ever had before. She was also nominated to play in the Honors Recital by one of her judges! This was Haley's first year playing for Judges, and she played "Ramblin' Rails" and "Waltz." She was nervous, but did really well. Usually a student will learn two pieces and work on them all year...Haley has been through 4 now. This is just the start of a busy performing season for piano. What a great start!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Pictureless...for now.

I was hoping to put up some pictures from St. George, but I don't have any because our camera was stolen the last night we were there. Oh, well. It was a fun trip and we all loved the weather! Rhett had gotten a little sick, so Nate stayed inside with him and I took the fish, I mean girls, out to swim. It was super nice. Samantha in particular LOVES to swim and getting her out of the water is quite a difficult task. Haley and Kassidy also love to swim, but they are nearly as attached to the water as Samantha.
Nate had a great time golfing in Mesquite with my dad and brothers. The other highlight of being there was spending time with Melissa and Chris and their boys. We had so much fun playing the Wii! The girls are already asking when we will do that again.
One thing is for sure, after this trip I am ready for SPRING!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Preston's Homecoming!

Preston gets home from Lithuania on Friday night! We are all so excited. The kids all made him a bear with a missionary outfit at Build-A-Bear when we were there before Christmas. They can't wait to give it to him at the airport! He will be giving his "report" on Sunday in Preston. What a fun weekend we are going to have!

Here Comes #5!

Although most of you already know, we are expecting our 5th baby in August. I wanted to wait until I had been to the doctor to put it up here publicly. So, today was the appointment. Nate, Haley, Kassidy and Rhett all came with me to meet the new doctor. I was hoping to hear the heartbeat, but wasn't sure if I was far enough along to hear it. Well, I guess I am...we heard it! It was fun to see the kids faces as they tried to figure out what they were hearing. Kassidy couldn't get past the blue gel. She told me I needed to go lay down (after we got home) because I had the blue stuff on my tummy. They are all taking such good care of me (us)!