Evan's Christmas Dream

Evan woke up this morning so excited about a dream he had. He dreamt that he was living in a gingerbread house covered in candy and he ate and ate! Then he realized the whole world was covered in candy so he took a rocketship up to the outside of the earth and started eating. He was so excited as he was telling me all about his fun Christmas dream. Oh the innocence of a 5 year old!

Thanksgiving 2010

I just wanted to chronicle our Thanksgiving of 2010. We learned some things: #1 - A movie before the meal sounds like a good idea until you have to have 5 people ready to be out the door by 9:50am when you have slept in. #2 - Prepare to serve your children dinner at their normal dinner time (5:30pm) because they will not eat at 2:00pm. This makes things difficult when you are not having Thanksgiving at your house and so there are no leftovers to serve them. #3 - If you have a toddler, wear earplugs at the meal to lessen the effects of their screams. #4 - Bedtime must be extended as naps were taken at 5:00pm on the way home from Grandma's instead of 2:00. Children don't go to bed when they have just woken up! #5 - Our Thanksgiving 2009 was spent at a restaurant. We weren't sure then but are sure now that is the way to go!

Various Pictures

Here are some random pictures of the children the last few months. Evan is in Kindergarten and there are some of his first day; Some with Jack smiling and being cute and some of Lauren's messy food faces.

Happy Halloween!

Here are a few pictures of Halloween this year. The boys were both Transformers and Lauren was a flower. It rained this year and so we trucked it through the rain. Evan HATED it but the thrill of candy kept him going. Here is a little video of him WHINING NON-STOP. Literally, he complained the entire time. I didn't think he could complain about anything else and then he said his ribs hurt. I am so embarrassed that a child of mine would act this way but it was kind of funny too. They got a ton of candy and then had hot chocolate at the neighbor's and soup at their auntie's house. Thanks Haley!

Jack's X-Ray

I have been the worst at keeping up the blog and the children are so darling, but unfortunately this is what I find time to post - Jack's trip to the ER. He swallowed some button batteries that were in a small light. I knew I should have thrown away that light when I saw the small batteries inside! We went to the emergency room and they at first wanted to remove them with an endoscope but decided at the last minute to let them pass "naturally". The x-ray shows that they are indeed moving through his body and are just about ready to be expelled. We hope that happens soon.

Happy Birthday Evan

Our last birthday party of the year - thank goodness! After 3 in 3 months, we are a little sick of balloons and birthday cake. Evan turned 5 and had an extra special birthday. He had a bouncy house and a pinata - both at his request. He doesn't have many friends here, though, so it was mostly his cousins and one neighbor friend. Even though it was 100 degrees we had a good time. Dave set up a "cool zone" area with a mister and a fan and everyone visited that area quite a bit. Thanks to everyone for your generosity and love.

Happy Birthday Lauren

This is Lauren's first birthday and I am reflecting on a year ago when she was born. What a surprise that it was this day she decided to arrive. Her due date wasn't until July 15 and we were hoping that we had those last few weeks to finish getting ready. But I woke up and started bleeding a little, which was unusual, but we didn't think it was anything. David left at 5:30am to travel to Utah for a one-day meeting. My contractions started shortly after and I thought that I might contract for a few hours or maybe most of the day. But at 6:30am, I was in full labor. I called my mom and told her and then I called Elaine Spencer to come and pick up the boys and take me to the hospital. She had volunteered to take care of the boys for me anyway. She didn't expect to witness a live birth, though! Thank goodness we made it to the hospital and avoided a birth in the car - but just barely! My water broke at 7:40 and she was born at 7:45am. Dave was still on the airplane and Elaine sent him a phone picture to announce her arrival. When he turned on his phone after the plane landed he saw the picture and marched right to the ticket counter to get on a plane back home. She arrived in perfect health and a good size - 6 lbs 9 oz. I was so grateful that she was above 6 lbs, being 3 weeks early and all. She has been a wonderful baby and we all feel so lucky to have her in our family. Happy birthday Lauren!

Crazy Memorial Day Weekend

We have had a crazy Memorial Day weekend. First we started by going up to my family's cabin in Wanship, Utah. It was beautiful and the boys had such a blast. Then we went to Day Out with Thomas in Heber City, Utah. That is always a hit. Then it was Jack's 3rd birthday and we had a fun party at our house. All of this and I was sick as a dog - bummer. I tried to put my symptoms aside and not detract from the fun. All I can say is I am glad my mother and sisters came to my aid and helped me a ton to pull the party off. And of course, David worked his guts out to make it all look perfect. Thanks Honey! I am so happy for Jack that he had his cousins over and got lots of Star Wars and Transformer toys. Thanks to everyone! Here is a slide show of our crazy weekend.

Back in Utah

We are now back in Utah living in our house in Holladay. We don't have internet yet or computer set up so I am borrowing a family member's to update everyone. Our family is bigger than our house and we are trying to downsize enough to live. It has been over 3 weeks and we are still in boxes and a mess. The children are happy to be home, though. David likes working at the UStar project at the University of Utah. Evan fit right in to his new preschool at the Reid School. When we get our computer up and running we will post pictures.

Powell Star Wars

Home Sweet Home

Yes, it is true - we are coming home! Our time in California has come to an end and we are moving back to Salt Lake. It was a complete surprise for us to move back and we are still in shock. Dave will be assigned to a job in the Daybreak development (at least we think - it could change.) We have loved our time here in California. We were able to do lots of fun things, but more importantly we grew closer as a family and more self sufficient. We met the most wonderful people here that we will miss terribly. We will miss the Spencer family the most. Their son Blake is exactly Evan's age and they have become dear friends. The mom, Elaine, provided me support at Lauren's birth and I will never be able to show enough appreciation or love for her selfless service and generosity. Most of all, we are grateful to Lesley and Allison for taking such good care of our home. Our move back is bittersweet because we have had to ask them to end their kind service and find another place to live. Sorry girls! Now the task is to figure out how to fit our larger family in this tiny house. Oh well, at least we will be home!

Orange picking 2010

I can't believe that we are still here in California to have the privilege of going orange picking again. When we went in March 2009 I thought for sure that was going to be the only time, but here we are, still here. Our GiGi and Auntie Alli came for the weekend and we talked them into coming with us. It was opposite from the last time we went as only the oranges were ready as compared to the grapefruit, but who doesn't like the most delicious orange ever? Yummy! Some of the oranges were a big as Lauren's head! It was raining a little, but we still had great fun. Just don't pay any attention to me - I look like I just rolled out of bed.

The boys go on an adventure!

Dave and the boys went on a "boys only" adventure to Burro Schmidt Tunnel. It is a 1/2 mile long hand-carved tunnel in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Dave put head lamps on the boys and Jack was a little scared at first, but soon they both loved it and thought it was so fun. They came home and were so excited to explain the special adventure they went on with their daddy. Thanks Dave!

Lauren's a big girl now

Lauren has started eating solid foods and can sit in her high chair. She looks like such a big girl and we can hardly believe it. Now we can all eat together at the counter. She isn't sitting up on the floor yet but it looks like she is just days away from unsupported sitting. We love her to death and are excited to see her reach these milestones.