Baby Food

So I knew Sydnee was ready to try some baby food when she would grab for things that we were eating and she'd be licking her lips. So I gave her some rice cereal and she loves it. I've also given her apples and pears which she also loves. She is now almost 6 months and I think she'll get some teeth pretty soon. It has been fun being able to make the baby food for her. I'm excited for her to get bigger and try new things but at the same time it makes me sad knowing she is my last baby. I want her to stay that way forever. I just try to enjoy every moment with her.

4 generations

So while I was down in Magrath for thanksgiving I thought it would be nice to get a 4 generation picture for Sydnee. So here we are... Mary Fulton Cant, Sheila Haig Kimberley, Utahana Rochelle Harker and Syndee Shay Utahana Harker. I think this will be nice for Sydnee to look back on to know who her Grandmothers are.

The boys start school

So I just have to back track a little. This is the boys starting school in September. When Mason started he was very excited but I think he was a little confused. We had done a preschool program last year with some of the ladies in the ward that have kids his age. I think he thought that is what we were doing again. When I told him he gets to go to a real school this time then he was really excited. He's been doing great so far and has plenty of stories to tell his teacher.

When Aidan started he was very excited as well. He did great going to preschool so I knew he would have no problem with Kindergarten. He even likes to do his homework which is always a plus. They were so happy to have new DC backpacks too.

About a week prior to school starting Griff was really excited. He had picked out some new clothes and had gotten new shoes for his birthday. He thought getting the DC backpack was awesome too. When it came to the morning of school I could tell he was a little nervous because he was being very quiet. Then when I dropped him off he started to cry and after a good pep talk he was o.k. It always breaks my heart when I see him upset but we both made it through the first day of grade two. Now he is doing great but he loves it when Aidan goes to school the same day. I think it is comforting for him.

My 28th Birthday

So Yesterday I celebrated my 28th Birthday (really, Really?!) I don't feel any older than 20. Except when I look in the mirror in horror as each new day brings a new grey hair or so it seems. I had quite a busy day. I was out the door by 8:30am to go to a stake Beehive conference in Calgary with 5 12 year old girls. We went for breakfast at McDonalds (that was the girls idea to celebrate my birthday) before heading into the city. The conference was lovely with some fun activities for the girls. I got home at about 2 o'clock and to my delight when i walked in the door everyone yelled SURPRISE!!!!! Rhonda, Isiah, Birkley and my boys had cleaned and decorated the house in streamers and balloons. It was quite the party with confetty poppers and all. My boys had each picked something special to give to me. Griffin gave me a pair of sunglasses, Aidan gave me a necklace with matching earrings, and Mason gave me a pink princess brush (all from the dollar store). The gifts were very thoughtful and the best part was seeing their faces when I opened them. They were so happy to have picked the gifts all by themselves.
Here are just a few of the pictures of the boys getting the house all cleaned for me before I arrived home.


Rhonda had bought me some delicious cupcakes and added the sparklers for a special touch.
Balloons and streamers filled the house. I was very surprised.

That evening we headed into the city for a birthday dinner. We ate at Joey Tomatoes. I think that was the first time I had been there and it was fabulous. Great food too. So that was my special day and I enjoyed every minute of it. I still can't believe I'm 28. It sounds crazy just to say it but hopefully I will continue feeling much younger than I really am. Oh I guess I should add what Mike got me. He got me cleaning service for a year, which I am so excited about. I'm good at keeping my house tidy but when it comes to mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms I just dread it. I would rather be spending time with my kids. This will be so nice not to have to worry about the cleaning. I'st just one less thing that I have to do. I'm so grateful for an awesome husband like Mike he is so good to me and I love him so much.

Thanksgiving 2010

Our Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one but it was a lot of fun. It started off with a Rausch family reunion in Airdrie. This happens only every second year so when we get together it's nice to catch up with everyone that we haven't seen in a long time. As usual there were a lot more babies added to the family and all the other kids were so much bigger than the last time we saw them. The adults played games while the kids did crafts and made carmel apples. Of course we had a great lunch with beef on a bun and plenty of yummy salads. After the fun at the church everyone headed over to the pool to swim. When the swimming was over I headed down to Magrath with the kids and Mike had to stay home for work.
On Sunday morning we went to church in My Mom's ward. Even Rhonda and Birkley came. Of course the topic in Sacrament meeting was on gratitude and boy do we have so much to be grateful for. After chuch we had a turkey feast at Mom and John's. Their little house was crowded with Me and my kids. Rhonda, Denis and Birkley, Dani, Melissa and her kids and John's son Spencer and his wife Crystal and their 2 boys. Also Savannah and Austin joined us later that evening for pie and ice cream. We had a great time visiting with everyone.
On Monday we had kind of had a lazy hang out day at Heather's. Ginny and her kids were there so that was fun. Grandpa took a few of the kids in the morning to help him clean his golf cart. They were so excited when they came home bragging that they got to drive it all by themselves. Then for lunch, turkey dinner leftovers, what could be better. In the afternoon the kids just had fun playing together while it gave us a chance to visit. At about 4:30 Russ, Grandpa, and Jantz took the boys out skeet shooting. I know my boys had been anticipating this all day. Russ was going to let them shoot one of his guns. They got back by about 6:30 tired and hungry. They were so excited to tell me how they got to shoot the gun. Heather had packed each of my boys a little lunch and after saying good-bye to everyone we were on our way home. Our weekend was fun filled and we know how blessed we are to have such a great family on both sides.
One family in Magrath was not so lucky this weekend. Jackie and Elizabeth Lauscher were out running on Thursday night and were hit by a car. Jackie was killed and Biz was left with a badly broken leg. This tragety hits a little close to home because Mike and I used to be very close to Becky and Cody lived with us for awhile. I feel so bad for them that they are having to deal with this on Thanksgiving weekend. Also for Kyle whose best friend just lost his mother. It definitely makes me think of all the things that I am grateful for in my life. I only hope that this family can find a little bit of peace in this terrible time of grief. I pray that Kyle will too seeing as this is the second tragety in his life within this year. I am so blessed and grateful for my family at this time.

10 year reunion

So 10 years come and gone. I can't believe I've been out of high school for 10 years already (WOW). Honestly in some ways it seems so long ago and in other ways I feel like it was a week ago. I certainly don't feel any older than I did back then. The only difference is a hubby of 8 years and 4 kids (another wow).
This is the class mates that were able to make it. I thought that for a moment all those emotions of high school would come flooding back. The insecurities, the self consciousness, but when I got there I felt quite confident. I didn't have any big education or travel experiences to brag about but what I did have was Mike by my side. A loving husband who makes me feel worth a million every day. Which is more than I can say for some of the people there. Also 4 beautiful, healthy kids to show off. That was worth a lot to me.
I had to take a picture of Mine and Ginny's babies together. If you would have told us back then that we would be sisters-in-law and have babies the same age we would have never believed it.
Holding up 10 fingers each to show 10 years gone by.
We both look pretty darn good for just having had babies almost 3 months ago. We got our make-up done by Sarah, Kate's sister. She did an awesome job. I don't normally look this done up but it was a nice change.

Swimming Lessons

Mason loved his class and he loved his teacher (Jared Hubbard). He liked using the flutter boards too.


Griffin doing his biggest canon ball off of the diving board.
During our 2 week stay in Magrath the boys were in swimming lessons. So every morning we would make our way to the pool. They were all at different times making it a little difficult for me but I had great help from Kate. I was able to leave Sydnee with her while I ran back and forth to the pool. The boys really enjoyed it so it was worth the hassle. Next year I will have to have better scheduling I guess. The boys all past their class so that was good too.
Griffin working on his distance swim using flutter boards.

Aidan working on his distance swim.

Visiting Magrath

While staying in Magrath for 2 weeks we had a lot of fun. Kyle and Kate were nice enough to let us park our trailer at their house. It was nice for me because Kate helped me a lot with the kids while Mike was back at work. On the first weekend Mike was able to come down so one afternoon we enjoyed a trip to Waterton. We stopped for a hot dog then spent some time at the water. It was quite windy but we had fun anyway.



Another past time was Kate teaching the boys a few notes on the piano. On several occasions I would hear some clucking on the keys and find one of the boys practicing what Kate had taught them. I thought that was really cute and I hope that Kate has installed some music appreciation into them.

Sydnee enjoyed her nightly bath at Kate's using Levi's bath seat. She thought it was great fun.
Usually every night we would put both babies into their swings to get them to sleep. It was cute to see them both enjoying their night time ritual.
We had to visit the skate park several times while in Magrath. Grandma Kimberley gave Aidan and Griffin each a skateboard for their birthdays so they had to show off their skills.


This is what Sydnee would be doing while at the skate park.
One Monday night for family home evening, Kate let the boys paint on some canvases that she had. They thought this was so cool. They were each very creative and were so excited to show their Dad what they had done. They were even more excited when they were told they could take the paintings home.


This was just a few of the fun things we did while in Magrath. I think the boys' favorite part was just playing with their cousins. We all had a great time.