Day out with Thomas Nov 2009

This is probably our last Day out with Thomas ever. I was sad to think that the innocence of Thomas is just about over in our house. Star Wars and Transformers has taken over and it isn't as charming or again innocent as Thomas. But the boys still had a great time. Evan smiled big in every picture. Lauren was an angel!

Evan's latest photos

Evan found the camera again and showed us his view of the world. This is a slide show of all the photos he has taken in the last few weeks. Jack is his favorite subject and surprisingly, Jack likes it when Evan takes his picture. I wish he liked it when I took his picture! Enjoy!

Lauren's giggles

Lauren loves to giggle with her daddy. Of course the cutest giggles happened before the camera was turned on, but it is still cute! Here is the video!

Tehachapi Apple Picking 2009

I can't believe that we are still here in Palmdale to be apple picking again. When we went last year, I thought that was the one and only time, but we were blessed to go again. Here are some pictures from our outing.

Family Photos

We had some photos taken of the family in August and I wanted to share some. Thanks to our friend Angela Meyers for taking these great pictures for us.

Lauren's Blessing

We were able to bless Lauren today. Lauren's aunties, GiGi and Poppy were able to come and be with her. Dave gave her a beautiful blessing that blessed her with faith and with a desire to retain her virtue throughout her life. She wore a beautiful dress and she didn't cry during her blessing - the bouncing put her right to sleep. We had our friends over for a delicious meal. Thanks to everyone for helping us make this a very special day.

He is my brother

Evan is very protective of his brother Jack. When we take a walk, he wants Jack to either hold my hand or his hand as we cross the street. If he doesn't, Evan totally freaks out and gets so worried that he will run in the street. I am grateful that Evan is concerned about Jack and freaks out so that I know there is a potential problem. Yesterday at church we were getting ready to leave but Jack did not want to hold my hand and he was running all around the building. I played the typical "parent card" and told Jack that we would have to leave him if he didn't come with me. He of course didn't come and so I said "OK, we are leaving now" and started walking away. Evan totally freaked out and said "Don't leave him - he is my brother". I almost cried I was so touched by Evan's recognition that he has a brother and we are a family. We talked a lot about family before Lauren was born, so that Evan knew that she was coming to be a part of our family, etc. That concept really took hold in him and he counts who is in our family every day.

High School Reunion

I am going to date myself here, but today is my 20th high school reunion. It is in Utah and I am here in California cuddling a newborn and running around two little boys. I wish that I could be there to visit with some of my fun friends. I am posting a picture from my choir trip to Nashville. Our show choir performed a Les Miserables medley that was very emotional. We didn't win the competition but we all thought we did awesome. Our choir also performed and had a great time. I was wearing "Units" in the picture (if you were in high school in '89 then you remember these!) which, when I reflect on them, were knit clothing that was very comfortable. I can't believe all of that happened 20 years ago. It seems like forever ago, but then how could it have been 20 years and not 5 or so years ago. I guess I felt like I should have been a grandma at my 20th reunion and not a new mother. Oh well - good times!

Evan's view of the kitchen

Why is it that mischief always occurs when Mom is on the phone? Evan took the camera (which is always close by for quick access) and filmed the kitchen. I love that it gives you his view at his level. You can see the reflection of him holding up the camera in the mixer bowl (look for that) and that his fingers are smudging up the lens (see Daddy - it isn't me!) There isn't any narration, but you can barely hear me on the phone, hence the fact that he wasn't interrupted. This is a naughty behavior that I don't allow, but it turned out rather darling. Maybe I should allow him to film more often!

Evan's 4th Birthday

Evan had a nice, low key birthday on Monday, July 20. He opened up his presents in the morning. He took it nice and slow - opening up one at a time and then playing with it for a while before opening up another present. It took him over an hour to open up everything. 99% of what he received was "Thomas" but he did receive one "Transformers" book which he has read about 20 times already. We fixed his favorite dinner which is "Chicken with bread on" a good recipe which I can share with anyone interested. Then he invited a few friends over for "Thomas cake" and ice cream. They had a blast playing "Thomas" and then running around tackling each other. We are posting video of him opening up presents and blowing out candles on his cake. We love Evan's kind sensitivity to feelings and his enthusiasm for playing. What a privilege to have him as a member of our family. Happy birthday Evan!

Sharing Photos

Here is the link to my sister's blog who has some darling photos of Lauren, Evan and Jack. Instead of re-posting them, I thought we could just view them already all done. Hope this is ok, Alli!

Lauren Elizabeth Powell

Our baby Lauren arrived three weeks early on Wednesday, June 24 at 7:45AM. Dave was on an airplane to Salt Lake for a one day meeting and missed her birth. She arrived after only 2 hours of labor. Thank goodness our good friend Elaine was willing to take Andrea to the hospital and stay with her for the birth. She is a beautiful girl whom Evan loves to hold and care for. Jack calls her "baby" and likes to point out her ears and toes. More pictures should be coming but there is a slideshow of what we have so far. Thank you for all the kind words of encouragement. We wish she would have been our "40 week baby", but we are so happy to have her now. She weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long.

The Final Countdown

I am looking at my countdown chart to when baby Lauren is due to arrive and I can't believe it is a month away. I just hope that she can stay put for another month. I do not want to deliver early - I would like a full term 40 week baby to bring home to our crazy household. Wish us luck!

We have had fun!

What a time we have had the last few weeks! We were able to visit with all of our aunties and our grandma and some cousins and we loved it. We went to Disneyland for the first time since living in California and it went very well and we had a blast. We also celebrated Jack's 2nd birthday. We didn't take a ton of pictures, but we went to Hollywood to the El Capitan Theater and saw the new movie "Up". They have a fun stage show before the movie and a fabulous organ with a great organist playing Disney movie themes. It set a great mood for the movie. Then we waited in line for an hour for Pink's hot dogs. They were good. We went to a park to eat them and have birthday cupcakes. I have posted the video and pictures from that. If you notice in the video Jack starts protesting a bit. He hates singing (can you believe it!) and did not like hearing us sing "Happy Birthday". Maybe if we force it on him enough, he will stop protesting and start loving singing! The best part was having our GiGi and aunties there with us. We are so grateful to them for spending Jack's special day with us. Since his birthday, he has been talking more and participating more in activities. It is amazing what having a birthday will do to a boy!

Dashcam Golf Cart Ride

Here is a video of Evan, Jack, and their cousin Ashley riding on the golf cart at their Poppy's house.

Easter 2009

We had a very low key but nice Easter here in Palmdale. The community Easter egg hunt was cancelled due to budget constraints and so we didn't get to do that activity this year. The boys did get Easter baskets with a few fun things in them that they enjoyed. We had a nice dinner together and had good family time. Church is hard because it is so late in the day, but it is always a good reminder of the purpose of this holiday and how much we appreciate our Savior for his sacrifice and the opportunity He has given us.

Isn't he so cute!

I just had to post this picture of Jack. Isn't he so adorable? He loves to get his photo taken!

Grapefruit picking in Hemet

We drove two hours one way for this great experience and we didn't regret it. We found a U-Pick grapefruit and orange farm and they were so kind to us and allowed us to pick oranges from their personal trees as all the other oranges were already picked. But they had plenty of grapefruit and we have been enjoying fresh grapefruit every morning!

Evan's first Thomas video

Here is a picture of Evan's great Island of Sodor and then a video of him playing trains!

Potty Training Update

If any of you have talked with me lately, you know this is the subject that is most on my mind, well, other than the baby. Evan is getting closer and closer to being potty trained! He has conquered almost every hurdle - we now have to connect them for consistency. He has asked to use the potty with a diaper on, with big boy pants on, and fully clothed. He woke up with a dry diaper. He has also been out of the house to the store in big boy pants without an accident. These are all big steps. He has gone #2 only once in the potty, though. I don't want to discredit the time he went - it was huge - but it hasn't happened again. Good luck Evan!

Exploring Los Angeles

Our grandma and aunties came to visit us and we got to do some amazing things while they were here. We went to Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, which is a beautiful estate from the early 20th century with an amazing art collection. The camillia's were in bloom and it was beautiful and fragrant. We also went to an outdoor mall called The Grove and it was so fun with a trolley that went up and down the street and a beautiful fountain with a choreographed water show set to music. We had a great lunch at the Farmer's Market next door. We also got to go to Beverly Hills and shop on Rodeo Drive. How luxurious! The boys were great sports during all of our adventures and the employees at the shops were very kind to them, surprisingly! We love our GiGi and Aunties! Thanks for the fun!