The Spartan Race

Yes, I know that is has almost been a year since our last post and yes I know that I said we were going private.  We still might as we have had some of Josh's clients dig into our personal life. But for now let me explain how awesome my husband is.  As many of you know, Josh loves to run.  He runs half marathons on the treadmill all the time but recently decided to run an official race.  He looked into the Tough Mudder and other obstacle races and found The Spartan Race in Colorado Springs and signed up.  What is an obstacle race?  Watch the video below and be amazed!



So he signed up for the half marathon version but they ended up combining several of the races into one.  So the race was five miles but with double the obstacles.  We are talking crawling in the mud with a rifle and barbed wire above you.  They ran across fire, scaled walls, had to run up hill with a hundred pound sack and yes, men hitting you with sticks!

He did great!  He placed 22nd in his heat!  We think he tore his quads and can barely walk, he rolled his ankle and has several deep gashes on his leg from the bared wire!  Needless to say he is so SORE!  He said that nothing, not even SWAT training can compare with this race! 

We are so proud of him and the great job he did!

 Our winner!!

 The cut finally stopped bleeding after 5 hours!!

He was a little muddy (to say the least)!  They make you write your entry number on several parts of your body to identify you if you pass out or die!!

Going Private

We have decided to go private so if you would like to continue to read the blog please comment here and include your email if I don't have it so I can send you an invite. Don't be left wondering what's going on with our awesome family! I promise that we will be posting more often now that summer it here!

Introducing Jaxon Robert Bear Carpenter

Jaxon - born April 12 10:44 pm

8lbs. 11 oz. 21.75 inches long

J Bear

Our Complete Family!!!

Jaxon, or J Bear made his entrance into this world on Tuesday April 12 10:44 pm. It was a week before my due date and Josh and I had been toying with the idea of take in castor oil for the past week but never really felt good about it. Finally on this day we felt like it was the right time and Josh cleared his schedule for the next couple of days so he could be with us. I started the castor oil at 12:30 pm but didn't feel it's effects until around 3:00 pm. Josh came home from work early to see if things started to happen. I was having some contractions but I was worried that they were not strong enough. Finally around 6 we called the hospital and decided we would go in. On the way to the hospital I only had two contractions which meant they were slowing down so I was afraid we would be sent home. We went to the water birthing center in Women's Hospital because even though I received epidurals with all my other children I really wanted to do a water birth with Jaxon. They showed us the suite and it was huge with a king size bed, flat screen tv and birthing tub. I was hooked up to monitors to monitor the contractions and the nurse left. Well the contractions were getting weaker and weaker and I was sure we would be sent home. A nurse came in and said that the monitor must have moved because they weren't getting the baby's heart rate. She began to move it on my belly and then the panic set in. She began to call all the other nurses, requesting a gurney and yelling for me to get on all fours. She said the baby's heart rate was in the 60's and 80's. At one point she couldn't even find it! They hooked me up to oxygen and we were off. They were yelling at people in the hall to get out of the way. They said they were taking me up to the third floor but I didn't know if that meant c-section or what. When we got there they hooked me up again to a different monitor and there it was a normal heart rate. He was just fine. Now whether it was a technical problem or what I don't know but they weren't going to send me home in fear that he was having problems. Now my sweet midwife Wendy wasn't on call that night but it turned out that she came in and covered some one's shift for a couple of hours. When she found out I was there she went to bat for me to go back downstairs for the water birth but they wouldn't budge. They said I could labor in the tub they had upstairs but I couldn't do a water birth because of the heart rate episode earlier. They wanted to be able to monitor everything. So around 8:30 pm they broke my water because the contractions were slowing down. I labored in the tub most of the time except when they had me get out to monitor his heartbeat. Wendy was suppose to get off at 9:30 but stayed saying the Directv was out at her house so she might as well stay! I was doing well with pain management until I had two contractions right in a row with no break in between. At that point I asked what my pain options were and Wendy checked me quickly and said I was a 9 and asked if I felt the urge to push and if I did to go for it. Well I wanted to end it quick so I began to push and in one push he was out! In fact she had to tell me to stop because they weren't ready!

He was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 21.75 inches long. He is such a good baby! After the last two I know that the Lord must have seen that we needed an easy baby. I had him without any drugs. For those who want to know if the recovery is faster without drugs I would say for me it was the same. The only difference was that I could walk right away if I wanted to but they still have you lay there for about an hour anyway. With that said I was glad I had the natural experience.

Some of you may know that he was a surprise. We thought we would have another baby but not at that time. In fact there were times during the pregnancy when I really didn't want another baby. But he was meant to come at this time. That was expressed in a blessing Josh gave me when we found out I was pregnant and I know that it is true. He may have entered our family at the most inconvenient time ever but he came at the appointed time. He has mended broken hearts and brought a special feeling to our home. It's hard to imagine him not here. I love that little boy!

He is my miracle baby because he has worked a miracle in me!

Maternity Shoot

I've never been a big fan of me pregnant and I'm still not. My friend Tammy convinced me that since this is our last baby we should get some pictures to remember it. She did a great job and you can visit her at http://www.staleyphotography.com/. Josh was a trooper and even participated. So here I am all fat and pregnant! Enjoy!!

Here is our family before baby Jaxon Robert Bear Carpenter makes his entrance into this world. By the way, yes you read that right. His name is BEAR!!!!!

Thanksgiving in Hawaii

We had so much fun in Hawaii. We went to Oahu and stayed on Waikiki Beach. We can honestly saw it was the best Thanksgiving Ever! We hit the beaches, PCC, Pearl Harbor, The Big Island for a volcano tour and many other things. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

New Family Pictures

We recently took family pictures by the bosque. My friend Tammy Staley took them and did a great job. She is an awesome photographer and it also helped me fulfill my fundraising requirement for the preschool where Nate attends. Here are some of my favorites plus look to the side to see individuals of kiddos!

Going Through The Motions

It's seems like for months now that the title of this post describes my life. I don't know if it was that the timing of this baby was a surprise or that I have four other children to take care of, or that I'm just getting too old to be pregnant. This pregnancy has really been rough and I keep thinking that the light is just around the bend just to find that it is still out of reach. I still feel horrible eventhough I'm 18 weeks. Yes, I know that things are a little better because I can actually get out of bed and do things. Yet still it is a daily struggle to get out of bed and accomplish anything. I really feel and see the toll it is taking on my family. My kids are troppers but still dealing with a sick and tired mom that has no patience is no walk in the park! Josh is swamped at work trying to solve everyone's problems (litterally). He has had so many rapes of children and child abuse cases that they have really taken a toll on him. How do we get back on track because that is what it feels like. It feels like our train has derailed and we are using so much effort to move but make little progress.

Today I got my hair cut and colored and I brought the Ensign to read. I think I cried or at least teared up as I read every article. Yes, I know that I am hormonal but I know that it was mostly The Spirit. Elder Uchtdorf's talk was just what I needed. He spoke about how people, when they hit hard times sometimes try to go faster to try and make it through the rough spot faster. This is wrong. It is times like these that we need to slow down and focus on what is important. It was like music to my ears~ slow down and not go faster! We need to focus on our relationship with God, with our family, with our fellowmen and with ourselves. So, that is what I am going to do. Slow down and focus on what really matters until we can put this train back on track.

I am so thankful for the Gospel and for living prophets who recieve revelation for what we are going through today!

Ultrasound for Baby #5

We finally had an ultrasound to get a due date last week. I was 16 weeks so just one week farther than I thought. That gives us a due date of April 19!

I love the little feet!

Arm and leg

Profile shot!

Yes, baby #5 is boy #3. I was shocked! I was SO sure that is was a girl. We had a name picked out and we even built the house around it. With the girls having bigger rooms so that two could share and the two boys would have their own rooms. I mean I was positive. So it has taken a week to adjust to the fact that our last baby will be a boy. Yes, we've decided that this is the end of our family for my health and the well being of our family. So slowly I guess I will start to give away our little girl clothes. I mean I'm lucky that I had two of each sex going into the ultrasound. So... any good boy names :).

p.s. I won't be completely convinced until the second ultrasound next month!

Hello Old Friend, It's Bitter Sweet to See You Again!

On our travels this summer I picked up a little bug! It took me awhile to figure it out. Thanks goodness when we returned from our very last trip it finally hit me. I'm pregnant! I go to the doctor tomorrow to find our how far along I am but I think it's about 3 months so that means an April baby.

It was a shock even though we knew we weren't done having kids. The timing was a little off but the Lord knows all. I feel horrible which is normal for me. Throwing up is all I seem to do. No, none of the medicines work so it's just try and stay hydrated and wait it out. I have had wonderful help from family and friends which has been awesome. This kids are really excited about the baby and are always trying to help me feel better. We are excited to have another baby in the house.

NYC Day 2

Here are some pictures from Day 2 in New York City. We went to The Today Show, Fox News, saw Enrique Iglesias in concert and a lot of site seeing!

New York City Day One

Our first night we went to the opening night of Harry Connick Jr. He has always been a favorite of ours. He was amazing!

Harry himself

So excited to be there!

Here he is on stage!



After the show we were hungry and stopped at a place called Carve and had some of the best pizza ever!!!!

Regulators... Mount Up!!!

The last leg of our trip through New Mexico was to Lincoln County and Raton. It was beautiful. You would never know that you are in NM because it is so green there. Lincoln County is famous for the Lincoln County Wars. If you saw any of the Young Guns movies growing up then you know what I am talking about. This is what made Billy the Kid famous. Basically the man he was working for here was murdered and this is where he began to avenge his death.

Here is a picture of the Regulators. They were the group that road with Billy the Kid

This is the bullet hole where Billy shot the deputy and escaped from prison.

Kiddos pretending to be in jail.


A picture of Billy the Kid. This place was so cool and full of information. If you are a fan of the Old West then you need to go here! The town is small but you can walk and vist several of the orginal buldings from the time of the Lincoln County War.

Carlsbad Caverns

Our second stop on visting the Land of Enchantment was Carlsbad Caverns. I was amazed. They are quite beautiful. The girls really thought that it was cool. My Dad hadn't been there since he was a boy scout. Few tips for those who want to visit. It is always around 58 degrees year round there so bring a sweater or buy one there . It's really too dark to take pictures unless you have a low light lens. And invest in the hand held radios for the tour. They give you a lot of neat info. Take the elevator down. It saves you walking 1.5 miles and you don't miss a thing. You go down 700 ft in about a minute. It's crazy how your ears pop.

Much pretty in person.

Mom, Dad and Ali

One picture that wasn't too bad.


Overall I would say that it is a great family vacation spot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roswell and it's Aliens

We decided that we needed to go on vaction in our own state and see what it has to offer. This particular trip had three stops, Roswell, Carlsbad Caverns, and Lincoln County. I admit I had low expectations but wow did we have fun! I recommend doing this for all families that live in the state or surrounding areas! We invited my parents to some with us and they had fun too. Here are the pictures from our stop in Rowell. I got onto Tripadvior.com and found our that the hot spot to stop isn't the Alien Museum but a little whole in the wall store called The Alien Zone. It is so cheezy but the kids had a blast. Here are some pictures we took with the aliens.

A world up-side-down

When you got to go you got to go!


We found the crash site!

I thought this poster was funny!

The kids made some new friends

We even stayed and ate with them!

4th of July (Finally)

We had our 4th annual 4th of July Party. We had so much fun and Josh and Jason had the best fireworks. You know the kind... illeagle and from the reservation. Too many pictures so I had to do a slide show!

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My Birthday!!

This is what Josh got for my birthday!!!!

His new commuter car!!

Of course he had to get a convertible!


Oh, by the way, he got one for me too! This is mine.



I love it!!!!

And this was the cherry on top!

It was a great birthday!!!!