The Pictures Are Here!

We finally updated our family pictures. We were way over-do. I was so excited to have Megan Knorpp take them. She is married to an old friend of mine. I love here style and she did a great job. They live in Utah so I had to grab her while they were visiting family. Check out her website http://moondoggiephotography.com

Redfish Lake

Every year, the Beal clan takes a summer campout at Redfish Lake. We love it there! Especially when we have a camper to use. :) My Grandpa was so kind to let us borrow his so that our kids wouldn't freeze their little bums off. Anyway, it was mostly for my sanity....and the baby. We spent four days there eating, biking, swimming, laying out, and laughing our guts out. I would have to say that the entertainers were definitely my Mother-in-Law Shelley, Alex's brother Gabe and his wife Christy. Anyway, the camp fire conversations are always crazy, and my kids were constantly caked in food and dirt. All in all, it was a great time!

O.M.G.! What A PAIN!!!

Some of you may have noticed that I kind of dropped off of the "Blog Scene"....Thank you VIRUS!!! I actually have soooooooo much to blog about so be prepared for some serious catch up. We came home from our Redfish trip last week. Alex checked his email, opened one he thought was from his brother and ended up opening a serious virus!!! Like....12 bad ones including Trojans, hackers, and all kinds of crap....whatever that is. It attacked our computer to the core. It threw porn onto our desktop and links to porn sites. I had to tell Alex to step away from the computer...it was awful!! After realizing my antivirus software wasn't going to rid my computer of its illness, I made some calls. Best Buy and Office Depot charges $200 to remove viruses!! OUCH! So I tried a small business guy in Boise who charges $75! Ouch BUT Hooray. Wouldn't you know it...he couldn't get the virus off!!!!!! He had to back up my files and reconfigure my whole computer!!! I finally have it back and wouldn't you know it, its still not how I want it. First off....more that 1/2 my picture files are GONE and my display is HUGE and the pictures aren't clear! Now I get to take it back to the guy and have him help me....plus find out where all those pictures went. Oh the pain! I finally read all of your blogs! It took me forever to catch up! So here is my comment to all of you.....I am thinking of you all...good times and bad. I'll be back for tons of posting about....Trips, Friends, and Dejah going to school...holy crow!!

Not a Fan

So, something about me..... I HATE early mornings! and I HATE waking up in the middle of the night. I love my baby, but I am sooooo ready for him to start sleeping longer! He goes down around 10:30/11ish. I get about 3, maybe 4 hours of sleep, then he wakes up acting all starving, and I end up spending about 45 minutes in his room. The hardest part isn't getting him to eat, its getting him to BURP....of all things! Then after I'm all awake, I lay in bed for at least another half hour trying to fall back asleep! Ughhh! It has been 54 nights without a solid night of sleep, and that's only if I count from when he was born. On top of this, I got a letter from Dejah's school saying she's been assigned to the morning session of Kindergarten! Are you kidding me?!! When we went to registration they told me she would be on the afternoon schedule. I am DREADING the entire school year! Logan wakes up to eat between 5 and 6...usually this would be my opportunity to go back to sleep until the girls get up at 8. Even with that, they get their pre-made cup of chocolate milk out of the fridge and watch cartoons for an hour. I don't really have to roll out of bed till 9. With the school thing, Dejah will have to catch the bus at 7:30, and Alex gets up for work around 6:00. Basically I am going to have to start getting up and staying up when Logan does his morning feeding. Like I said, I am NOT a morning person. I become a wicked witch when I'm tired. I probably wouldn't stress about it, but Dejah is going to have to be up at 6:30 to get dressed, have her moppy hair done and a solid breakfast before she leaves. My girls are also grouchy in the mornings, so I will have to deal with that while I'm also feeling grouchy! Uggggh! Well all, that was my wine-fest for today.

My Kids

Sometimes there are days when I insist that Mycah gets a nap. We've been so lazy with it this summer. So when we are home, I usually enjoy the time so much I let her sleep way too long. Anyway, when this happens, she is a pill getting to bed at night. I don't feel that 9 or 9:30 is unreasonable, but when my two year old is well rested, she really fights it. The other night was one of those nights. She got a two hour nap in the day, and at bed time she just wouldn't go down. I think I put her back about five times already. Alex went into the kitchen to get something, and sitting there on the couch, with the glow of the computer screen behind her, was my little Mycah. She was sitting there with the arm rest behind her back, with her knees propped up, and with a book on her lap. She was turning the pages of Cinderella looking at the pictures so innocently like she was doing nothing wrong. It was such a precious moment. Alex couldn't bring himself to scold her and gave her a kiss instead. I ended up reading her a few books. Add to that a half of a banana, she finally stayed in bed at 10:30. Don't you love kids? Well, here are a few things about mine.

Dejah: She is a Socialite! The girl could party with friends from sun up to sun down every day of the week. She is very girly and has to wear a dress everyday. If it weren't for me, she would never wear pants. And any opportunity to have painted nails and makeup is a glorious one. She hates tight clothing. If its tight she'll have a fit. She finds it necessary to stretch her underwear until they are loose and "comfy". Dejah is a sweetheart. She is sensitive and tender hearted. She would never intend to hurt anyone, and when scolded she easily breaks into tears. She is very observant. When she was a baby, she would always stare at your face. I think that is why she learned to talk so early. She watches your every move and wants to do things herself. She is a picky eater and lives on PB&J's. She LOVES them! She is a very happy girl. We love her beaming blue eyes and her silly laugh.

Mycah: Firecracker! Watch out for that two year old! Don't let that toothy grin fool you, she has another side to her. On one hand she can be so lovable. She is definitely the cuddler of the bunch. She loves to be held and snuggled, especially by her Daddy. She will calm down for him when I can't even reason with her. She also loves to wrestle around with him. She is an independent spirit. When she's made up her mind, it is MADE UP. If she doesn't want a certain food, forget even trying, it will just get spit out and she'll go hungry. For the most part, she is not a picky eater. When there is food around, Mycah is there eating it. She'll try anything at least once. Unlike her big sister, Mycah is not a social bug. She loves to play with Dejah, but when there are kids around, Mycah tends to stick with the boring adults. She becomes a little shadow and tends to be shy. Now on the other side of things, if Mycah is in one of her "moods", she will have no problem hitting or throwing things. This usually happens when she is tired or hungry. But two year olds can be unpredictable, and moods can change quickly. I have a feeling that when she gets a little older she'll be able to stand up to anyone. She is so independent, and wants to do everything herself. She is beautiful, and we love her to pieces.

Logan: Still a baby, and still learning his personality. I will say though, the kid could out eat any newborn. When I pick him up to feed him, he will smack his lips together until that bottle goes into his mouth. He doesn't like Daddy to feed him, but will burp better for him than me. Its a nice switch off. He loves being swaddled or sleeping on his tummy. He's not big on exposure and likes a soft blanket against his cheek. He HATES having his clothes changed! He'll cry about it almost every time. He's not very observant of faces. He would rather look around at everything else. Logan would rather be lying down than held. He's a little chunk and we can't wait to see what this boy has in store for us.

Prepare to be Grossed out!

This past weekend Alex has been breaking out like a dang teenager. It started with one ugly looking pimple on the forhead. He picked it (as most of us would). When he did it just drained clear fluid and left a little hole in his head. Soon it was spreading. We wondered if his body was detoxing because of his new "diet". Yesterday, it just seemed to be getting worse. His eye lid and lymph nodes were starting to swell. This morning he woke up looking like this!!! Aghhhh!

We got Alex right into the Dr. So the conclusion is that Alex has a Staph infection AND Shingles!! Since it had spread to his eye, he was also sent to the eye Dr. All in all, he has three perscriptions to take and a gew to put in his eye. Crazy huh!? It doesn't have anything to do with his diet or excersize. I hope this stuff works fast. Not fun.

Lets Compair

Logan on the Left, Dejah on the Right

Logan on the Left, Mycah on the Right

Me on the Left, Dejah on the Right

Alex on the Left, Mycah on the Right

Logan on the Left, Me on the Right, Alex Below Left, Logan Below Right

So this is my conclusion on my kids

Alex's Coloring- Dejah & Logan

Anna's Coloring- Mycah

Alex's Face Shape- Mycah, Logan (?)

Anna's Face Shape- Dejah, possibly Logan (?)

I can honestly say...they are all their own breed and a complete mix of the both of us. What do you think?? I'm hoping Logan will get Alex blonde hair. I've always wanted a blonde.

Not a Chance

• My profession- Stay at Home Mommy.
• Alex's profession- College Instructor.
• Summer time- Anything BUT "stay at home"
• Result- Very Very tired 2 Year old that doesn't get naps.
• Result- Crashing on the floor at 5:00 in the evening.

• End result- Late Bed time, and a very Late bed time for the "Stay at Home Mommy" who also gets up in the night with the new baby.

This has been an Ok summer so far, considering I had a baby 6 weeks ago. We haven't done anything huge, but I have a husband who can't be in the house all day. We always find something to do in the day...even if its just some grocery shopping. Our poor kids don't have a chance when it comes to naps. Poor Mycah. She has been handling it ok, but I know she gets really tired. Hopefully when school starts we'll get back to a "normal" routine.

Is Couponing really Worth it? We'll See.

So lately I've been wanting to learn the ropes on "couponing". At first I thought, these ladies are crazy. I mean sure, your getting a good deal on a bunch of crap that you probably won't use, AND it is going to take up more space that you don't have in your house just to store all that crap. On top of it all, you have to subscribe to at least one paper every week, spend Sundays clipping coupons, and then grocery shop at least twice a week to get those deals on "Stuff". Ok having said that, I've also noticed that there are great deals to be had. Getting things for practically free, and its a good way to create a food storage. I've been so curious on how it all works. My friend Megan invited me to do a little shopping with her to show me the "magic". We started at Albertsons then went to Winco. Here is a picture of all the things I got...things I'll totally use! I spent around $10, and $6 of it was the peanut butter (which wasn't the deal we were shooting for). Anyhow today I subscribed to the paper...now the learning process begins. Good luck to me. I figure, I don't have to buy "crap", just stuff I'll use, so why not, especially if its free.

4th Of July

This weekend was Independence Day and Logan's Blessing Day. Alex's Brother Gabe invited all the Beals over to his house for a 4th of July/Blessing Celebration. We BBQ'd ribs (that were to die for :). Burgers, baked beans, chips, fruit, salads, and homemade cinnamon rolls. The "kids" played in the pool and we gabbed about crazy farm life.

Sunday we blessed Logan. It was a good weekend. Here is a picture with Logan and my parents.

This is Logan with Alex's parents.

Fun at the Lake

This Last week we went to the Lake for some skiing and wake-boarding.

Thursday we went with my parents and Brother David. Friday, Alex's Brother Gabe joined Alex and I with our two girls. Here is some pictures of our fun on Thursday.