ThEn & NoW

Then(8months)...








Now(18months)...

**for the life of me i couldn't get her to smile?!**

Viola

This post is dedicated to the one and only Chan Man. He started playing the viola in 5th grade and decided to keep up with it in middle school. This past week he had his first strings concert...it was great! Chandler definitely has talent in the music department. Enjoy the video...

"The Look"

I caught Bella giving one of her famous looks...

Baby Swing

We put away the baby swing long ago but Bella rediscovered it in the garage and started sitting in it and swinging herself. She gets right up into it, turns it on, holds onto the side bars and swings away! We ended up bringing it back in the house much to her excitement. The other day I was on the computer and when I turned around this is what I saw. I've never seen her lay in it tummy down...I think she was super tired. I took a few pics before transferring her to her crib for a much needed nap!

Arrow of Light

Chandler has been an 11 yr old Scout for a few months now but it took awhile for his actual crossing over ceremony to happen (I guess when your Dad is the Cubmaster that can happen!) He was awarded the Arrow of Light which is the only award earned in Cub Scouts that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform. It was a great night!

Face painting

One of the bonuses to living in San Antonio is having Sea World and Six Flags at our doorstep (well almost!) This year we purchased season passes to Sea World and last weekend we enjoyed a pleasantly cool Saturday afternoon there. Of course the kiddos always want food, souvenirs, and anything else that has a price tag on it! They always stop in amazement and watch a little boy or girl get their face painted...and of course want to be next in line. Well last Saturday I had an idea...why not try to paint the boys faces myself. They were so excited at this prospect. So we bought some face paint, watched a tutorial on youtube, and away we went. Although my artistic ability is in it's infancy the kids thought it was the best...thanks boys! I only had time to paint Wesley's and Dallin's face and Wesley washed his off before I could get a picture of it so you'll just have to envision Wesley with a Cheetah face!

Bella with ponytails

I just had to put Bella's hair in ponytails! She barely has enought hair but we made it work!

Halloween

My pictures are all too dark! The kiddos had a blast trick or treating through the neighborhood. Everyone thought Bella was adorable...I have to agree with them! We had fun making her costume. I made the tutu and Chris made her tail and ears...which you can't really see in the pics but he did a great job. Chandler was a Star Wars character, Carter was an Air Force pilot, Dallin and Wesley were ninjas and Bella was a black cat.

Bella after trick or treating...it's the only pic that really shows her cute ears! Notice her face makeup is a mess!

Playing With the Hose 101

While your Mom is watering the flowers put on your cutest face and chances are she'll let you play with the hose!



Getting a drink from the hose is a must. Make sure your mouth is open really wide!






If that doesn't work try putting the hose on the ground.





If you don't want the water to get in your eyes...close them.





Just in case the photos aren't enough instruction please watch the video below.

Christian & Stephanie Nielson

Who are Christian & Stephanie Nielson? Well to be honest with you I have never met them. I've only know about them for a little over a week now. I was looking for a new background for my blog and happened upon their story. They are a young LDS couple with 4 little kiddos who preside in Arizona. Last month Christian and Stephanie were in a private plane crash which left them in critical condition. Christian received burns to 30% of his body and Stephanie 80%. Stephanie has a blog, which I checked out and I think she is a wife/mother/daughter of God who truly finds joy in her journey here on earth. She has inspired me to try a little harder to enjoy the simple things of life, especially when it comes to my children. I just wanted to share their story with you... Nie Recovery

Utah Slideshow

Corn!

I have to make this fast since it's pretty late and the kiddos and I are leaving bright and early for our trip to Utah. We roasted some corn in the oven to go along with our delicious dinner and the kids not only enoyed eating it but making hats out of the husks...see below!

Roller Skating & Day Camp

This past week Chandler and Carter attended Cub Scout Day Camp. They had lots of fun handling a bow and arrow, shooting a bb gun, swimming, fishing,... It was neat that they could go together and I hope they hold that as a special memory from their childhood. By the last day they were pretty worn out and ready to just plain veg!

With the oldest two at Day Camp we couldn't just sit at home and think about all the fun they were having outside in the heat and humidity !? So we decided to go roller skating and it sure brought back lots of fun memories. I remember doing the Hokey Pokey and Red Light, Green Light at Roller King in California. Dallin and Wesley had a great time and definitely want to go back. Bella was completely entertained by all the lights, kids, music,... She's quite the little dancer!

Bella Turns 1!

Bella's birthday party was last night. Usually Chris decorates the birthday cake but with his crazy schedule this past week the task fell into my hands. Now Chris is much more patient than I and my philosophy is as long as it tastes good the appearance isn't of utmost importance. Hence, his cakes are worthy of being displayed in a bakery window and mine...well you know who made it. But I had so much fun making a cake with pink and purple frosting and flowers and butterflies. I love my boys but it's so much fun having a girl! Bella has wrapped herself around all of our hearts and consequently gets her way almost all of the time. We love you Bella.

It's Been a Long Time!

I could list all my excuses for not blogging in over a month but I'm not going to! I'll just fill you in on what we've been doing.

Chandler had 5th grade promotion and received the President's Award for Education Excellence. The requirements were a 90% or better grade point average for all of 4th grade and the first quarter of 5th and a commended performance on the math or science Texas Assessment Test. Hopefully he'll keep up the momentum!

Chris enjoyed some R&R before he got slammed with 82 hours in the first 5 days of residency. The highlight of his week was performing his first C-section.

Carter and Chandler enjoyed their second year on our neighborhood swim team. They did great and have learned so much...confidence in the water being a big one. They could win me in a swim competition any day! Carter has proved to be quite fast and won all of his races.

Dallin and Wesley are having fun sleeping in and hanging out at the pool....they're working on some nice tans!

Bella turned 1 yesterday...and it's truly gone by way to fast! Chris had the "privilege" of being on call for the 4th so her celebration will be later today. We did eat dinner with Chris at the hospital and then watched the firework show on base. Bella loved the fireworks and was laughing and pointing at them.

Enjoy the pics below!

Dr. Chris Meinhart

It's official...Chris now holds the title of MD. He has worked so very hard and we thank him for that. It amazes me that with a wife (who never makes demands!) and five children, Chris was not only able to survive medical school but thrive in medical school...Heavenly Father has truly blessed us.

The Meinhart Family Over the Years...

We thought we'd share some pics of our family over the last decade. Little did Chris and I know when our paths crossed 12 years ago that the outcome would be a marriage...5 children (especially since Chris was planning on having 1 child!)...living in 5 different states (especially since Tricia envisioned buying a house and growing old in it)...medical school...and lots and lots of fun times. There's never a dull moment at the Meinhart home and we couldn't imagine it any other way. Aren't families great!?

Surgery/Swimming

FYI-I wrote this blog on Saturday, but our computer was having some issues...hence the late posting!

Surgery-Chandler had an appt with an ENT doc on Monday who told us he'd need a second set of tubes for his ears and his adenoids removed. When I let the doc know we'd be flying next week he worked his magic and got Chandler scheduled for surgery ASAP. To make a long story short Chandler had surgery yesterday...all went well...and he's home recovering.

Swimming-In Texas it's very common for neighborhoods to have community pools. Thankfully our neighborhood has one...we didn't realize how important this was until we experienced "Texas heat." It's the only outside thing the kiddos do in the summer. Well today was the first of many, many trips to the pool for summer '08. It was Bella's first swimming experience and it didn't go so well. She didn't want anything to do with the water and held onto me for dear life. Thankfully she was content hanging out in her stroller watching all the kids swim. Enjoy the pics!