Y-Not Tri...

Sure why not? Mitch thought as he was asked by a buddy to do this mini triathalon. "How hard could it be?" So he began his training and working out, eating healthier, and of course losing weight (without trying- grrr!)

The race date was scheduled for Aug. 6, it was 1/4 mile swim, 6 mile bike ride, and 2 mile run... sound fun? Not to me, but Mitch had fun training for it and race time came and we were there to support him and cheer him on-- in the rain!

Mitch in his sexy swim outfit! Hee hee!

There were hundreds of men in the water (it was the mens division) and let me just say... yuck! That pond water was so nasty smelling! He told me he wanted to puke a couple of times during the race from getting water in his mouth Gross! I lost him right as the race started, but it was so funny to see all these guys trying to swim and beat everyone around them when there was hardly any room! Good job babe! (Mitch is the one in the middle, not the one standing up!!!)

Next was the biking portion. He would have done a lot better had he not decided to get totally dressed to get on his bike! Other guys were biking in their speedos and Mitch not only gets completely dressed, but he also gets dressed slowly! He made it through the bike portion in good time, but he was tired and slowing down... he said he was so tired by the time the running part was over, that he wanted to collapse- but he made it! He did so good- much better than I could do!

When people ask him how he did, he replies with a smile on his face, "well, I didn't come in first... but I didn't come in last either, and I didn't die!" So there you have it folks! Mitch did his first TriAthalon. I asked him if he would do it again and he said he would definitely do this one, but not one any bigger! Hey, someones gotta do the small ones- we'll leave the Iron Man's for all you diehards out there!

Good job babe! We are so proud of you!

The kids "chillin" in the rain during the race- they were (soaked)troopers!

Our family... happy that the race is done and we could all go home and take warm baths and showers!

Kids will be kids

So we have been trying to make some normalcy of our lives, and the best way to not constantly be grieving is to keep busy. Being outdoor really helps me, so I thought I'd start taking my kids to the park just down the road from our house. You know, get some fresh air and enjoy the summer weather, kids get free lunches, and their favorite part of the whole thing... catching frogs in the mosqito infested swamp/pond.

Here is there final work... I personally think it's disgusting, but even the girls seemed to love it! EEEEWWWW!

The many, many frogs all the kids caught... we only took 4 home, which somehow escaped (thanks Mitch)

Cameron, Collin, Madeline, Emily, Maggie, and Lilli

Creed not quite sure what to think about it all.

Aren't kids disgusting?! But if it makes them happy, then it's all good!

Mia Catherine McClellan

This is probably the hardest post I have ever had to do...

It is with great sadness and extremely heavy hearts that we announce that Mia Catherine McClellan was stillborn to us this morning. Words can not express the feelings that we are going through right now. She is a beautiful little girl with thick dark hair. We got to spend a few hours with her this morning. It was a very special time that we will cherish forever.

We want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support that we have received.

Love,
Mitch & Carlie

Doing much better now

Well I've decided that I probably shouldn't post anything after just having found out bad news and also when needing a nap! My apologies to all who read the last post, things are looking better now. I have started adjusting my menu ideas to eat healthier and take care of this baby girl- not to mention myself! Thanks to you all for caring and for the encouragement and support, you are all amazing! I love you so much!

A huge blow to my already high-strung emotions

AAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!!! I just don't know how much more I can take! This pregnancy from the start was not planned and definitely a surprise! As time has progressed, I have, or still am trying to accept that this is real and ready or not, here comes number five. In order to be okay with how close she and Creed will be, I have to not think about it at all. I can't, or I start having anxiety!
So week 28 rolls around, and low and behold, what do I find out??? I not only failed the one hour glucose test, but failed two out of three of the three hour test also! This means I now have gestational diabetes and have to go to a diabetes clinic and who knows what else it means.
I can tell you what it means to me... fear! Fear of the unknown, fear of an overly big baby, fear of having to have a C section from a doctor that is all too "for" that! i don't know if getting a new doctor would make any difference or not at this point. Would a different doctor tell me different results? I just don't know anymore, and I'm scared! If any of you moms have dealt with this or can give me anything positive to look for, please don't hesitate!
sorry about the tone of this post, but at this point, all I can wonder is "will the tears never end?"!

My baby is growing up!

Where in the world does time go? I swear I just came home from the hospital with Creed (at least I still look like I did!) And now, lo and behold, he's 10 months old, well, he'll be 11 this month anyway!

Creed has decided that he is done with the baby food business... he wants the real stuff and he wants whatever it is that we are having! How do we know this? It may be the tantrums he throws when placed in his high chair and he sees the jars of baby food... it may be the drooling and staring at us while we eat, along with the accompanied grunting and squawking... who knows what it is; all we know is that he won't be quiet until he gets what he wants!

So today I discovered he LOVES ravioli (Chef Boyardee... mmmm) it was his first try with this stuff and I must say, he did rather well!

Step 1: Dump contents of bowl on the high chair, smear with hands, and rub all over bib and face... all before eating one bite!

Step 2: devour whole bowl of ravioli in the time it takes Collin to eat two bites!

Step 3: Inspect bowl by turning over (again) and sticking it on your head!

Step 4: Give mom the devilish grin telling her I love her but she gets to clean it all up and give me bath-time!

I just adore this cute and very serious little man!

the cutest dang kids in the world!

How is it, that one minute you can think your kids are little monsters and you want to string them by their toes, and the next minute you could just eat them up because they are so cute??? It's no wonder women dye their hair! Between kids and hubbies... I'm surprised we have hair at all! Now this may sound like I am angry with both, but that's not the case. I was just wondering how it's possible to feel that way in such a short amount of time.
Actually, today was a great example of one of those days:

I needed to make a sheet cake for a baptism preview that our Primary presidency put on for the kids getting baptized this year. So I bake the cake... no problem.... I have Mitch help me cut the cake in half to fill it... no problem... but then Mitch took off to go home teaching before I could get him to help me put the top back on straight. So my options were to either do it myself, or, have Cameron help me guide it in to place. I chose the latter and it was a very learning experience! I told him to hold the cake and guide it to the right corners while I slid it on... he apparently thought I said "grab the cake and pull the corners down." So the cake rips almost in half, and I'm stuck trying to slide it back to the right spot. I handled the situation very well if I do say so myself... I calmly yet firmly told all the kids to get out of the kitchen right now! Then they left and I blew up! Poor Mitch, I've never seen him come home from an appointment so fast! But the cake turned out and no one ever knew- frosting can hide anything! Thank goodness!
A few minutes after being kicked out, Cam comes back in to the kitchen, and comes up to me and puts his arms around me and says "I'm sorry for ruining your cake mom". Talk about a "I want to hide in a hole" moment! I told him it wasn't his fault, things like this just happen, but it wasn't his fault. So we both felt a lot better and the cake turned out beautifully.

So after leaving Mitch with the kids for 5 hours, between the baptism preview and my choir concert, I come home and all the kids are in their jammies and ready for bed! But Collin is in the living room as I come in and this is what I hear in his sweet little voice... "hello lovely, I'm so glad you're home!" Aww, sometimes it's really nice to be a mother!

So there you have it... they really can be sweet kids- monsters at times, but the sweetness is there. Too bad we have to blow up or leave for a while to have it come to the surface!