Happy Birthday Gabe!

I know I am posting this about a week and a half late, but oh well!


Gabriel Montgomery Koch came screaming into this world on Thursday, June 16, 2005 at 12:51 in the afternoon at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, CA. He weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces with a length of 19.5 inches. He was so loud that the nurse told him to keep it down so she could hear her music, and to this day we are still saying the same thing. He is our very boisterous child, and has not yet learned to use his inside voice. But hey, at least we know where he is. He is the one to always make big things happen throughout our day. Right before they put him into my arms in the recovery room we experienced an earthquake. I made a mental note at that moment to always tell him how he shook the earth when he entered our family.

Courtesy of Shupe Photography

We love him so much, though he always tests our strengths, he keeps us on our toes and has a killer-cute smile. Turning 3 years old has been a big milestone for him. He has been slower to speak our language, we have been learning "Gabish", and lately we can understand 90% of what he says. Within a couple weeks we will try potty training again, and he is very excited to start Preschool with Miss Jackie in the fall. He will finish his first "mini" swim lessons tomorrow, and has started learning how to use his scooter. Now, if I can just bottle some of his energy to use for myself. We love you Gabe!

Gabe enjoying a popsicle in the heat of his birthday.

Blowing out candles with some help.

Presents! (I'm loving those beads.)

His new dump truck.

Playing with his new bubble mower.

Summer daze...

After our day trip on Monday, I decided we needed to stay home and do "nothing" the following day. So, Tuesday I slept in late, and the boys watched cartoons, played Wii and tinkered around with toys. Later in the afternoon, we picked up Colby's nephew Xavier (aka Xavi), and got out the little pools and the fun water tube that hooks onto the hose. The kids all had fun, though it took Tristan awhile to accept his little pool (it needed to warm up in the sun first). When we were finished we met Colby's brother Ty at Pier 49 Pizza for some dinner, and then he took his son home. I got some fun pictures, and decided this would make a great Summer post on the blog. Enjoy!

Waiting for the big pool to fill up by enjoying some water fun on the trampoline.

I'm sure glad I used the house water, because they all kept using this as a drinking fountain.

Gabe and Xavi kickin' it in the baby pool.

My wonderful shaded view.

A very unflattering picture that Braxton took of me. But hey, at least I am in a picture.

Tristan happy now that he has enjoyed a much needed drink and a diaper change.

Yeah! The big pool is finally ready!

He did not want his swimwear on anymore, and the baby pool has finally warmed to his liking.

Tristan chasing a beach ball that jumped out of his pool. He usually hates the grass, but I guess he really wanted that ball back.

Day trip to Idaho

Monday morning the boys and I spent the day up at some family property in Lava Ranch near Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. I needed to learn the ropes in order to camp there next month with some friends, so we made a day out of it. After swimming lessons we picked up my mom and started the 2 hour drive. It seemed to fly by, we chatted and listened to a book on tape. Finally arriving at our destination, we visited with my mom's sister, JoAnne, and her husband Roy, who were staying up there for a relaxing week. She then continued to teach me the proper procedure for all things associated with using the land, the trailers and the camper on site. She showed me some great tent sites and gave many other great ideas and suggestions for making the most of our stay. After the lesson, we all relaxed and had some snacks while Braxton enjoyed a ride on the 4-wheeler with Roy

(Braxton was good friends with Roy after his ride, determined to sit as close as possible to him.)

and Gabe played in the sandbox they built up there. Tristan crawled around on a picnic blanket playing with the grass and other items we tossed to entertain him (this is of course after he was DONE with the stroller, being sick and tired of being strapped down).

(My mom is the blonde and her sister the brunette.)

The boys all had a great time tromping around in the foliage, getting dirty, and enjoying the fresh mountain air. The weather was perfect; I was afraid it might get chilly being in the mountains and all, so I had packed for all temperatures. On the way home we met my dad, who was just finished at Crystal Hot Springs (located in Honeyville, UT for those of you out of state), and we all decided to hit Peach City. My parents used to always take us kids to this diner for fries and malts after swimming at Crystal Hot Springs. It was fun to reminisce, but tricky getting all six of us into a small booth, as well as keeping tired and hungry kids in check. When I arrived home, I unloaded the kids, the car, and unpacked the cooler. We got all the kids into bed, and they fell asleep immediately. I, too, was exhausted, and so spent the remainder of the evening under the air conditioner in front of some TV. All in all, it was a day well spent.

(My cousin's husband carved this bear out of one of the stumps, I thought it was cool.)

(Gabe telling me,"Just a minute, Mom." He was heading out for a walk with Aunt JoAnne and Braxton.)

(Tristan munching on a dandelion, while chilling next to us.)

(My flower children after their walk.)

Book Group/Girls' Night Out

Last night was our neighborhood/ward friends Girls' Night Out. We decided to combine it with our Book Group for the month. That way we get more people to both, and many more interesting conversations. Thanks to all that came. It was wonderful weather (perfect at 8pm outside), great food, and good friends. I got to know ladies better that I have wanted to for awhile now. We discussed the book "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. And it was probably close to midnight when the last couple of ladies decided to head home. We had so much fun chatting. I hope to see most of you at Park Day today.

Questionaire about Colby and I

Okay, so I read this on my cousin's blog, and I thought it was a fun way to get to know Colby and RaeAnne "the couple".

1. How long have we been married? It will be 8 years on August 24.

2. How long did we date? From the moment he turned sixteen; his mom declared on that day that I was robbing the cradle. So, we dated for 2 years before we got engaged on May 28, 2000.

3. How old are we? I turned 28 on January 22, and Colby turned 26 on February 18. I know....a younger man.

4. Where does he work? At home, for a video game company called THQ - Mass Media Branch located in Moorpark, CA. The same company he worked for when we lived in California. They let him work remotely, so that we could own a house. We are so grateful to this wonderful company.

5. Who is taller? He is, but not by too much, just enough to loom it over my head.

6. Who eats more? I usually do. Colby believes in one meal a day to sustain his life. He calls it a necessity that gets in the way.

7. Who said I love you first? I don't know. Possibly me, we both have a hard time expressing those kind of feelings. But we know each others hearts.

8. Who mows the lawn? Colby does. Although there was a time or two while pregnant, that it just was not getting done soon enough for me, so I resorted to do the task.

9. Who sings better? I hope I do, but we both pretty much suck in this area. Though I enjoy singing when not many are around. He usually only sings to tease someone.

10. Who does the laundry? I do. But man! Seven loads takes all day long, and that's not even folding and putting away. That happens the next day, if at all. My poor family.

11. Who does the dishes? I do. Unless I have waited until every dish in the house is dirty and he cannot find anything to eat off of/with. Then he will do a load of two. I have been a lot better with this lately, yeah me!

12. Who pays the bills? I do, he claims this will help me manage my spending better. After almost 8 years, I am still waiting to learn my lesson.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do. He is a complete night-owl, so most of the time I get the entire bed to myself . Then he comes to bed about 1-2 hours before I get up, so I grudgingly scoot over.

14. Who cooks dinner? I do, if you can call what I do cooking. However, if we are eating candy bars for dinner, Colby has everyone covered.

15. Who is more stubborn? Both equally, this is never a good thing. We have a lot of ties because of this. No one willing to compromise.

16. Whose parents do we see most? Both equally, they live not quite 1 mile apart from each other. Weber High School separates their neighborhoods.

17. Who proposed? He did, but we all knew it was coming. He said one day, "Okay, everyone who wants to see Rae's ring come in the house. Rae stay outside."

18. Who has more siblings? I have 5 siblings, 4 living. He has 1 brother. Wahoo! I win.

19. Who has more friends? Colby has more friends for longevity sake. But I have more in each area we have lived.

20. Who wears the pants? We both do, and that causes problems at times. "The man is the head of the house, but the woman is the neck, and she can turn the head anyway she wants." Name that movie!

I Have Been Tagged!

Okay, so a lot of different people have been tagging me recently with these little questionaires. So, let it be posted, and done with.



First Tag


3 Joys: Braxton, Gabriel, Tristan.

3 Fears: my kids getting kidnapped (terrified of this especially since the most recent little girl down in salt lake area), my husband or one of my boys dying too young, fear of me drowning (I would rather go really fast).

3 Current Obsessions/Collections: movies, scrapbooking/stamping supplies, blogging (it seems to be a really easy way to scrapbook and journal). Sorry to those who are annoyed with how often I post. I just love this though. I also keep up-to-date on all of you, so watch out!

3 Surprising Facts About Me: One - I am really shy when I first meet someone, and is sometimes comes off as snobbish, I promise it's shyness though. This is something I have been trying to tackle from a very young age. Two - I am really bad with names, I need someone reintroduced a couple of times before I can remember it. I really do remember your face though. Three - I love to sing, but I am so very terrible, and I do not like to sing or talk in front of people. A part of my shy streak. It literally makes my stomach really sick.



Second Tag


5 Things on my To-Do List: 1-Laundry and 2-dishes (They never end, ahhhhhh!). 3-Deep clean entire house, all the clutter and dust is driving me insane. 4-Refinish the deck: sand, stain and water proof (This is our big project this summer). 5-Take a fun family vacation before school starts back up.

5 jobs I have had: My first job was for Mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolates when it was a little cart in the Newgate Mall back in 1997. Manager at Blockbuster Video in North Ogden, UT. Worked for Bugle Boy as a buyer for 1 day in Moorpark, CA(I went in for a data entry position, let's just say there was a communication glitch with HR somewhere). Worked for MESP - Michael Epstein's Sports Productions - in Agoura Hills, CA. Secretary for California Civil Design Group in Westlake Village, CA. And lastly I managed the pest control department for Tim Cooley's General Pest Control in Thousand Oaks, CA. My good friend April was over the Termite Department. Okay, sorry that's six, but I needed to give myself credit for all of them. I promised myself I would never work with food, I promise you are glad that I didn't. And chocolates don't count as food, that is luxury right there.

5 places I have lived: North Ogden, UT. South Ogden, UT. North Ogden, UT. Thousand Oaks, CA. Simi Valley, CA - 3 different places. North Ogden, UT. Sorry, again six.

5 favorite snacks: Fresh fruit, I miss the little guy that used to sell fresh picked fruit at our Pest Control office. Chocolate, anything without nuts, allergic you know. Or anything dipped in chocolate. Crackers and cheese. Skinny cow ice cream sandwiches - to those of us on Weight Watchers, these are 2 points of heaven. Popcorn, all different kinds.

5 things you may not know about me: I love to watch movies, growing up in my home it was mandatory. And if you have seen my family room, you'll see the results. We own way too many. I love to read when I get the chance, right now my favorite author is Stephenie Meyer. Love the "Twlight" series, the next book is coming out August 2, and the movie is December 12th. "The Host" was different, but good in the end. But I usually love LDS Fiction, and usually romance. You need fiction in life, to escape from reality sometimes, right? I love to camp, although we haven't done hardly any since having kids. But call me crazy, I love smelling like campfire, and staying up late around the fire visiting with friends or family. I am a dog person, although we have 2 cats to my side of the family's dismay. I want to travel all over the world. I want to see wonders of the world, and different cities, cultures and such. But who knows if this will ever happen.

5 things I would do as a billionaire: Pay off our, and all family's debts. Give to a lot of different charities. Travel like crazy. I can't think of anything else...brain cloud. Can you name that movie?

5 things I love: My family, those I live with, and those I don't. Mongolian BBQ. But really only from Wok-n-South in Thousand Oaks, CA. Ladies - you know who you are - we are going in August, mark it on your calendars. Ice cream, although I have been grounded from the good stuff. Mmmmmm......Coldstone Creamery! Costa Vida's sweet pork salad. Are we noticing a trend here with the food? That is why Weight Watchers is so necessary. I love to eat, especially with good friends. And the number one above all else, yes even family, my religion (My Heavenly Father). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. Without it, there would be no hope for me.

I Tag.......: If you are readig this, consider yourself tagged, and I expect to read this on your blog soon, if I haven't already.

Weeding

Okay, so last summer I spent a large chunk of each week weeding all the areas of our yard. There are a lot. I was pregnant and it was a hot summer. So far this summer has been a lot better, heat wise anyway, and I'm not pregnant so I can get a lot more done in a day. There is some sort of satisfaction in accomplishing this daunting task. The other evening I finally got the front strip done, it took two days. All the weeds were taller than the bushes, I hadn't weeded this area at all this year, and you could not see any of the dirt/bark area. The week before I got the rock area by our front door done. The week before that Colby and I tackled the corner of our front yard. You couldn't see anything but weeds here. No rock, or city power box, and the bushes and such were hidden beneath the obnoxious growth. As you can see we already need to weed again, but such is the cycle.And, he has slowly pulled some throughout our rose bushes on the side of the house. These are located near the garage. I still need to prune these all the way back. Every time Gabe plays in the sandbox, I try to tackle some of the weeds in the dog-run. This is on the other side of the fence behind the rose bushes. No, we don't have a dog, the previous owners had two. We have cleaned it up, and would like to do something creative and fun with this area in the future. But, we will have to save up our $ again to put work into it. Now does anyone have any ideas for the island area where our only trees are located. They had it landscaped with bark right when we bought the home, but we soon found that the strong winds we get all the time, blew all that ground cover away. And now, we just have black pieces of landscape tarp flapping in the breeze. It looks really tacky. But, we are stumped as to what to put here. Seeing how this is our first yard ever, please overlook how little we know about yard care.

First Swimming Lesson

Last month Braxton completed his first swimming lesson. Through a friend, I found a lady who teaches lessons for $25 for 2 weeks from someone's indoor pool. So, it was a small class, and perfect! Braxton was the oldest and the only boy. His teacher was great. I don't know how she can have so much patience, all the girls except one and Braxton were so bouncy and loud. Braxton and his friend Reagan were so timid about the water, but his teacher worked so good with them both. Braxton has always been afraid of water and getting his head wet. Every bath and shower was a fight to wash and rinse his hair. And very rarely would he get more than just his feet in a swimming pool. But now, if he gets in the tub he is always saying, "Mom do you want to see me put my face in the water? See how long I can hold my breath under water." We are so excited for his next lessons to start this month. Though, I am sad that I signed up and paid for them at the local public pool before I found his great teacher.

T-ball

So this year we decided it was finally time to put Braxton into a sport. We chose Coed Kindergarten T-ball. Most of his friends were signing up too, so he was excited. However, I guess we didn't all sign up at the same time because his friends are all on one team, and he is on another. It doesn't bother him at all though, he makes friends very easily. So, here are some pics of him during a game. He is so cute and little, everyone else is bigger than he is. Colby took him to buy his mitt, he was so excited that his Dad was taking just him somewhere alone. Here he is in outfield with his coach directing the team.When he runs the bases he holds the helmet on with both hands, because his noggin is too small. And when he bats, he is so focused and not taking the bat with him when he runs, that sometimes he swings and throws the bat in the process, and then takes off running. He doesn't realize that he hasn't hit the ball. So, they walk him back to home plate and try again. His team is so funny, there is only one girl and she is the coach's daughter....and might I add the best player. But all of the team runs to catch the ball when they are in outfield. Colby and I love watching the games. We just sit back, cheer him on, and get a kick out of all of their antics.

Here is Braxton standing on first base at the game when he played his friends' team. Cobe Rasmussen standing on first with him, and Seth Larson playing shortstop. His friend Adam Waite on third base, getting ready to run home.

Cobe guarding third base. I loved this picture, it just shows how cute they are. All of these boys are starting first grade next year. He has made some great friends from kindergarten, our neighborhood and the ward.

Happy New Couch Day!

This is what we were telling all of our friends and family all day long on Tuesday. We have waited 2 years to replace our hodgepodge of couches downstairs in the basement. We had pieced together a futon and an old sectional from Colby's parents in order to have seating in front of our big TV. This is where we all watch movies, play video games and where adults watch TV. Very rarely are the kids allowed down here since Colby's office is down here too. We waited to receive our Tax Rebate/Incentive (whatever they are calling it), then on Memorial day we went around town and priced different sectionals. It had to be a sectional in order to get down our stairway. We also wanted something that could seat 6-8 people, since we love to have friends and family over after the kids are in bed. After hours of debate, and a lot of mind changing, we decided on one from RC Willey, and made the purchase. It couldn't be delivered until a week later, but that gave me plenty of time to clean out the "entertainment room". After vacuuming, dusting, moving the futon into Colby's office where it was originally supposed to go, and sending the old sectional to a yard sale, we were ready. Monday night Colby and I watched a movie down there on a spare mattress to kind of say goodbye to the old setup, and for Tuesday evening we had invited friends over to eat Chinese takout and watch "The Fifth Element" on Blu-ray to welcome the new addition into our home. Tuesday around 10am, my mom dropped me off from a meeting, and we were thrilled to see the RC Willey truck at my home. They were just bringing the last two pieces in. The guys had a bit of trouble getting it down the stairway, but it was worth the effort. We thanked them, offered drinks, and sent them on their way. Colby declared that we were never going to be able to move again, which was to his chagrin, but I thought was fine. We skipped down the stairs to soak up the comfort and feel the excitement of it finally being here. Okay, I'm sorry if all of this seems a little cheesy to some of you, but you don't understand how uncomfortable the other setup was. Especially for me last year during pregnancy. The basement is very cold in the summer, and when you are prego, you just want to cool off, and put your feet up after a long day and watch some telly. Those other couches were near impossible to get a pregnant woman out of without someone's help. For those who were not in a child bearing state, we had massive amounts of spare pillows and blankets all over the room for propping beneath you, beside you, and anywhere else the couch/futon cut into your body. So, for us and those who have spent long hours downstairs, this was an exciting day. Almost like Christmas for me (Now I know why Colby was as gidding as a child when his laptop was delivered last summer). So, here are pics of our beautiful, and extremely comfortable new couch.
That night we actually fit 12 people on this, that's including our kids though. The couch is kinda high which helps to get out of it, it's also leather for easy cleaning, and has a 10-year warranty on the cushions, something that sold us big-time. One end has a recliner and the other a lounger.