Gabe and Jacob's Prehistoric Adventure!

Friday I decided that Gabe and I needed to get out of the house before we both drove each other crazy. We have a annual pass to Ogden Dinosaur Park and it expires in November, so we might as well get some more use out of it. After making the decision to go, we called up my friend Rachel (Gabe's friend Jacob) and invited them to join us. It was nice outside, not too hot, and Jacob had never been, so it was perfect timing. We all rode together and after parking and unloading continued to the front desk for admittance. As we got up to the line, I remembered that we now have to bring ID in with our member pass or they will not let us in, besides a manager was telling people at the front of the line the same thing (because some people can't follow the rules, the rest of us have to pay the price). Oh well, anyway, so I ran back to the car to grab my license and head back to the front desk where I realize that I grabbed the wrong wallet (I have two in my purse because I just have too many cards and things for one wallet). Another trip back to the care for the right wallet, then it is my turn to be admitted and the young worker doesn't ask for my ID. I ask him if he needs it, and he says no. His manager had left during my two trips back to the car, and even though the manager had just given a lecture to previous guests standing next to the employee, he continued to ignore protocol. I tell him that I just made two separate trips back to my car for my ID because they were telling people that the rule had changed and he just stands there and shrugs. Sheesh! At least I got some additional exercise.

Now, back to the boys. They both were too afraid of the robot dinosaurs upstairs inside the museum to really enjoy them (Tristan loved these), so we headed outside. Gabe was very excited to show Jacob around. We headed over to the excavation area where the kids can use brushes to uncover dinosaur bones from the sand.

(Gabe, Jacob and Tristan discovering fossils.)

However, the park has the sound effects for the dino statues turned up so loud, the boys are a bit frightened by that as well. So it's off to the playground, and....it's a hit. They come out of their shells, and have a lot of fun posing on the climbable dinos and playing on the playset/swings. We walk on over to some more photo ops and take our share of pictures, and then continue around the park for more viewing pleasure. Jacob was a bit more timid about some of the dinosaurs, but we got him to enjoy the adventure by the time we left. The boys weren't ready to be separated so we headed back to our house for some pizza and play time. Gabe has VERY few play dates, so he had an extremely hard time sharing toys that belong to the whole family, not to mention his own. After a bunch of time-outs, I decided he was due for a much needed nap. We said our good-byes and they walked down the road to home. Thanks Rachel and Jacob for hanging out with us. We will have to do it more often, so that Gabe can learn how to play with friends better. We had so much fun!

First day of First grade.

Today was one of the days I have been looking for to since Kindergarten was over. The first day of first grade. Yes! No more 2 hour 45 minute days. Then I get the paper that says the first 3 days of school are short days. Aarggh! And, they are parent teacher conferences as well. What the heck? We have been waiting all summer to have our kids have structure again, and they tease us with school and then turn them into short days, and we have to attend meetings with teachers now? Oh well, such is life. Come on Thursday and Friday, full days of first grade. No more Braxton and Gabe fighting the entire day.

Back to Braxton. We both got up at 7:15 to get dressed and have breakfast. Next it's time to make sure he has all his school supplies, his 3 items that describe who he is (homework from back to school night) and lunch money. Make sure his hair is combed and teeth are brushed, then to the front door for a quick picture. Wow! He sure looks snazzy in his new clothes. Then it's off to school.

I'll be back after I pick him up and we will see how his day went.

We're back and he had a great time. Braxton wasn't really excited to start first grade when he found out they serve some of the foods that he hates for lunch. But, after plenty of reassurance that I will make him a lunch on those days, his worries were set to rest. The first thing he told me when I picked him up today was,"Mom, I ate ALL of my lunch!" That's always a great thing for a mother to hear, I loved it. He really liked his teacher, Mrs. Hill.He made a couple new friends and was thrilled to have 2 recesses, wait until Thursday when he gets to experience 3. His friend Kelly Miles and he will be car pooling from now on. I showed him where we will be dropping them off and picking up. To which he then says, when we drop her off, can I play at her house? All in all, it was a great first day.

8 years and we're still alive!

Today was our 8th year wedding anniversary. Now, we've had our fair share of disagreements, but we're still hanging in there. Anyone who says marriage is easy is crazy and either hasn't been married a year or they don't know each other at all. Colby and I have had a bad history with the actual anniversary date. Somehow, the 24th of August is always bad timing. Here, I'll explain what I mean.

Our first anniversary, I was hugely pregnant with Braxton, we did get sealed in the San Diego temple, but then kindly shared our hotel room down there with a friend who was low on funds. Wahoo! If it weren't for getting sealed to each other, that would have been a real lousy day. Second, Colby's grandmother passed away, and we needed to drive to Utah to make it to the funeral scheduled on our anniversary. Not great to be grieving on a day meant to celebrate. Third, my sister Heidi, bless her heart, surprises us by calling and saying she just bought a plane ticket to fly down to California and visit us. I reply by saying that is the weekend of our anniversary, she responds that she will babysit for us. Unfortunately, she ends up going on a blind date with my co-worker instead. Four and five are a blur for Colby and I, we think we went to dinner alone or maybe a movie, but we never give each other gifts. Year six, we had just moved into our home here in North Ogden, and Colby gets called back down to California for work for the entire week over our anniversary. Year seven, I had just had Tristan on the 18th, by C-section. Yeah, we went to dinner, but had to take the newborn, and couldn't be gone long due to nursing schedule and pain medication timing.

So, hooray! Year Eight, both of our parents agree to watch our kids overnight, while Colby and I escape for a day and a half. My parents watched the two little ones, while Braxton hung out with Colby's parents. Poor Braxton had to stay at a house where the AC just broke, but he had a blast playing with his cousin Xavier that lives there. Gabe was in the middle of potty training, thank you so much Mom for continuing with that process. We did have to take plenty of baby proofing supplies to help them out, but they even survived taking the energetic boys to church with them. I hope my siblings will give them a babysitting break for a bit. Anyway, so we reserved a cabin up at the Alaskan Inn where we had spent our first married night together. In the past, we have just gotten a room, but this year we splurged and treated ourselves to a cabin. We went to The Olive Garden for lunch right after dropping off the boys, and tried the Never Ending Past Bowl. I recommend it to any who love pasta, it was awesome. Then we walked the mall for a bit to kill some time before we could check in. After four, we dropped by to check out our cabin. We turned the Olympics on and immediately fell asleep for four hours. See what having kids home for the summer does to you, I was so exhausted. We hit Arby's for a quick bit to eat and then called it a night. After check-out, we decided to take a drive up to Park City and spend the day there. We walked main street, then grabbed a bite at Quizno's, and took a round trip scenic lift ride up the mountain. After way too much sun, we headed home to pick up our brood. What a great weekend!

Here's a little info for all those who don't know: Colby and I met in 1997, started dating in 1998, and were engaged and married in 2000. We know a lot more about each other, but have learned to put up with it. I love him, and I am so grateful that he puts up with all my quirks and craziness. Here's to many more years to come.

Happy Birthday, Tristan!

Only one day late this time, Gabe's was a week late.

Tristan Raiden Koch entered our crazy family by scheduled C-section on Saturday, August 18th, 2007. He was born at 8:14am in the Ogden Regional Medical Center in Utah, weighing 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long.

We thought we were done after Gabe, but both Colby and I felt we needed this one last child. Boy, has it paid off! Though he wasn't our much hoped for girl, he is a treasured addition and we wouldn't trade him for anything. Photo courtesy of Shupe Photography.

Tristan has been such an easy going and mild tempered baby compared to the other two. He has always been our happy child until lately being plagued with more teeth and heat rashes that flare up his eczema.

He loves to dance to music, splash all of the water out of the tub and to be tickled. He usually enjoys wrestling with Braxton, but Gabe is a little too rough for him. Recently I catch him giving the cats kisses, open-mouthed and slimy. He gets very excited to see his grandparents, though he seems to lean more towards the grandpas. It is the same with Mom and Dad though, if I am holding him and Colby walks into the room, he leans out and reaches for Daddy. He hasn't learned many words, only Mama, Dada and Hi. But we think we can understand kitty. He is almost standing on his own, he cruises everywhere he can hold on, and IS the fastest crawler in the west. I don't care what you other moms say, I will race your kid against mine any day. I have cat treats dumped all over my kitchen to prove it. I just turned to pick something up and he has sped from the TV all the way across the living room and kitchen to get into the one cupboard with the broken child lock.

His birthday party yesterday consisted of our traditional first haircut on the first birthday. We invited family and a couple of our long-time friends to attend a BBQ in our backyard. All the kids played, we visited and ate. Tristan was passed around by loved ones, played with cousin Grant and friend Mason, opened great presents and enjoyed his own large piece of birthday cake. Again, tradition is dig in to your cake, get as messy as you can, then have a warm bath and get ready for bed. He wasn't too messy of an eater.

Thanks to all of our friends and family for celebrating this day with Tristan and us. We had a great time, and Tristan has had a blast playing with all of his new toys today. (So have Braxton and Gabe.)

Wednesday, August 13th.

We get up, get packed and start loading the truck. We say our goodbyes, and start driving to work to say more goodbyes. While at Mass Media, Rob and Paul keep begging us to stay another day, or a few more days, why not a week. But alas, they did convince us to stay 12 more hours. So, we decide to run around a bit more before we meet back up with them for dinner. A drive to Northridge to pick up the Wii Fit from April at her office. Then back to Simi Valley for lunch at Topper's Pizza. Next we fill the truck up with gas and drop Colby back off at work in Moorpark. Then I need to kill some time and keep the boys entertained so we head, yet again, to the mall in Thousand Oaks. I decide to let them all make a stuffed animal at Build-a-Bear.

Braxton with Rex, the roller-skating dino. Gabe with Bananas the monkey. Tristan with Bat-Dog, he has batman pjs on.

Then some snacks at Mrs. Fields/Pretzelmaker. Cookies and milk for them, pretzel and smoothie for me. Tristan and I munch, while the boys cause havoc in the play area. A movie in the car for Braxton while Tristan and Gabe nap, and I read in a park's parking lot. Then we are back to the

Mmmm...homemade salsa, spanish rice, and pico de gallo all on grilled flank steak and tortillas.

Hoffmeier home for a BBQ and lots more visiting. We finally get to see Leilani Toone, she's back from Girl's Scout Camp. (Poor Leilani, the only girl out of 7 kids in our 3 families.) And all the kids play tag & on the teeter totterwhile Tristan gets passed all around the adults for cuddles before we leave at 9pm.

Thanks to the Hoffmeier family for letting us crash at your place for a week, and thanks to the Toone family for putting up with us as well. We will see you next Easter break.

Tuesday, August 12th.

We slept in and slowly got ready for the day. I was planning on getting to the beach by 10am, but I have never had to get three kids ready and all the stuff packed up. We finally arrive at Zuma Beach in Malibu at 11am. We found some of our friends from the 4th ward and arranged our stuff. This was Tristan's first trip to the ocean, so of course I wanted lots of pictures. I arranged the brothers and took a couple pictures before a big wave took out Gabe and Tristan. Well, they refused to go back in the water again, but I don't blame them. They had a blast playing in the sand, and Braxton spent his majority of the time in the waves. I asked a friend's son to help Braxton use a boogie board, because on the drive to the beach he told me he was going to surf today. Tristan thought he was going to tackle eating the entire beach. He must be lacking sodium in his diet. Gabe made friends and then lost them by throwing sand at them. But, overall we had a good time. I had to leave and try to make it back home to meet a friend on her lunch break, but we missed each other because it just took too long to get my kids and stuff packed back up to go. We relaxed at the house the rest of the afternoon. I read, the kids watched Kai Hoffmeier Isaac Hoffmeier

a 3-D Movie and played with toys and video games with Kai and Isaac. Tristan with his attachment, Allejandra.

When Colby arrived home we packed up the kids to meet more friends for dinner. Again at Wok-n-South, but I love that place, we met up with April and Alan Manes. I worked with April at a pest control company for about 3 1/2 years and we became good friends. We survived the boys antics at the restaurant - I don't know how, but we did - and got in a good visit with our friends. As we are wrapping up the meal, the subject turns to the Wii, and they inform us that Alan's brother has a Wii Fit we can buy. Score! Colby and I are so excited, we have been looking for one of these since we bought our Wii. We made arrangements to pick it up tomorrow on our way out of town. After saying our goodbyes we decide to take the kids to the mall to burn off some more energy before bedtime. Besides, I had to show Colby all the beautiful renovations The Oaks has gone through. Wow! It's so fancy, I feel very upscale when I shop there. Now, off to bed, we need to get packed and ready to leave for Utah in the morning.

This is how Tristan usually slept, we kept taking the blanket off his head, and when we would check on him again, it would be back there.

Monday, August 11th.

The kids and I take Colby to work because other co-workers wanted to see the kids again before we leave later in the week. I call up my good friend Jen and we meet at Coyote Park in Simi Valley for our boys to play, and to catch up on the happenings in her life. Lunchtime, I pick up Colby in Moorpark and we meet Mike and Tasha for lunch at Red Robin in Simi Valley. They wanted a chance to see the kids before they catch their red eye flight to Jamaica for a honeymoon. Dinner with my girls later at our favorite Wok-n-South (Mongolian BBQ) in Thousand Oaks. We take our time and chat it up for awhile. It's tradition for us to follow Mongolian up with dessert at the Cheesecake factory in The Oaks Mall. Jennifer Herr, Jo Cosby, and I. (MaryAnn we missed you.) We were all in the Simi 4th Young Women's Presidency before I moved. We would go out as girls once a month to escape the stress and drama of this calling.

Sunday, August 10th.

9am, church. Tristan and I attend our previous ward, Simi 4th Ward. I get to catch up with lots of friends and show off my baby boy to those who have not yet met him. Unfortunately, he was not the happiest of kids that day. Back at the house, I get a chance to read while the little ones nap, and Colby is off with Paul for a Dodgeball Tournament in Agoura. They had a great time, but we quite sore the next day. More pool time and then later that evening we hit "The Habit" for a Chicken Teriyaki burger for Colby and a BBQ Chicken Salad for me. Oh the food that I miss, YUM! We meet back up with the kids at a park and play until the sun starts going down. Then it's bedtime, and catching up with the Olympics. We (Toones, Hoffmeiers and us) also all swapped and laughed at pictures from the wedding.