June Newsletter & Slideshow

I'll apologize up front because I was REALLY bad at capturing the girls stuff this month :( Here's what I got, though...

FAMILY:  The beginning of July was again started in Salt Lake. We had done Mapleton, and a trip to San Diego, and at the first weekend in June was Michael’s baptism and Spencer’s blessing. It was great to be able to be there for both of those events (even if poor Michael wasn’t feeling well for his baptism L After we got back from our SLC trip, most of our time was spent getting ready for moving into our new home (!), though we did find some time to attend a Paiute Pow-wow, where we saw some awesome dances, ate yummy fry bread, and met a cute little Paiute girl (probably 4 years old) that ate with us and played with us. The night of the 14^th was the Utah Summer Games opening ceremonies & Jason took the older girls. They went with the Bealers & they all had a great time. It was the Nitro Circus and they did lots of crazy stunts on their motorcycles & things & there were amazing fireworks at the end. The girls & dad had a great time. The 16^th was Father’s day & we had fun spoiling dad. He got a candy bar poster & some cards. The week before, we did special chores for him – washed the van & truck, took out the trash for him, put a note in his lunch, etc. He also got to season & grill up a HUGE t-bone steak for dinner at night. The 18^th was our big ultrasound day! McKinley was at a birthday party, so she didn’t come, but Jason, Ireland, & Kezia were there (oh – and Heidi, too ;) We found out we’re having a BOY!! We were all pretty shocked – still are pretty shocked. We were all expecting another little girl! We’ve got lots of adjusting to do around here, but we are just mostly thankful that he looked like a healthy little guy. The following Thursday, Grandma & Grandpa Potts came to help us pack & move. Their help was GREATLY appreciated! We closed on the house Friday morning (after Heidi dropped dad up for a run in Cedar Canyon & had to end up going back up through Brian Head to get home because they closed the gate before she could get back down!) & were able to take a few loads on Friday afternoon/evening. Then that night we attended the Groovefest at the city park. We had fun listening to live music, eating pizza, and dancing J Saturday the 23^rd was our big moving day! We had about 5 helpers from our ward (along with the entire awesome Bealer family) – and the Potts - that helped us get moved over. It took 4 trips with the big uhaul and Jeff’s trailer, but we got just about everything moved over by about 4pm. Grandma Potts was so great to stay at the old place & help finish packing & cleaning. We made it to the new ward by 9:30 the next morning & got to meet some members of our new ward – the Cedarview ward. It’s mostly made up of older families & couples, but they were kind & the girls got to meet some people in their classes. We also met our next-door neighbors – the Davis’ – who were very nice That evening the Johnsons (a family that moved from our old ward into a close neighborhood) invited us over to dinner. It was very yummy & nice to see some familiar faces – and it only took 2 minutes to get to their house, so it’s nice to know that they are close!  It’s taken a while – and we still have a way to go – but we’ve got most of the rooms in order. It’s been a bit amazing going from our small 1300 sq foot twin home to this 5000+ sq foot home, but we are really appreciating it. The girls (and mom) love that they can play with all the loud toys downstairs & lots of books & quiet toys in the upstairs bonus room. We love the view of the mountains and how close we are to everything – including our old friends. The dogs are still adjusting to being on the bottom deck, but it’s getting better J We also are SO thankful for a fridge! We had to go a week without one when we first moved in & we were living out of a cooler. Jason’s birthday was on the 27^th. See his section for his bday activities – happy 35^th daddy! There was a fire in New Harmony at the end of the month was a bit scary, but thankfully they got it contained before it got too close. Still – all the fires around the state make us anxious to take care of the brush around our home. All-in-all, we are feeling very excited and blessed to be in our new home (& be able to get cash for keys and our deposit back at our old home) & very excited to find out we’re having a BOY!

JASON:  Jason had a fun month with the Nitro Circus, Father’s Day & his birthday. On his birthday, he got breakfast in bed, we brought him some Café Rio for lunch, and then Hannah came to babysit so Heidi & Jason could eat at Panda Express and then go see Snow White & the Huntsman in the theaters – and drive out to check out the New Harmony fire. He’s been good at doing all the things that need to be done around the new house and finishing transferring from the old house. He is also excited to have a little more testosterone in this home when the little one arrives J Jason had this 70’s/wolverine sideburn/chops  facial hair thing going on for a while. He ( thankfully ;) decided to shave it off at the end of the month.

 HEIDI: Whew! Heidi’s mind still reels with the fact that she’s carrying a baby boy. She’s excited, though, and looking forward to coming up with a boy nursery!! She’s also excited to be at the halfway mark for this pregnancy. She started getting back into running this month & even though she’s pretty slow, she really enjoys it and it helps her physically & mentally. It was a lot of work getting all packed up, but she is thankful for good friends & family who help out. She was even able to finish Ireland’s birthday book – yay! Heidi has enjoyed not feeling so cramped & actually being able to have room to get in & out of the van in the garage. Her belly is starting to get in the way! She was thankful to get to see her family at the beginning of the month & also see her mom & dad towards the end. She somehow misplaced her cell phone in the move & has had to use her old cell phone (& pay $20 for a new SIM card), but she’s thankful she has it. She is looking forward to July & hopefully being able to finish unpacking & also spend more time enjoying the summer with the girls.

McKINLEY:

-While McKinley was helping to fold whites one day, she said “Mom! I accidentally put my hand through that hole when I was folding it – ewwww – GROSS!” (it was her dad’s bottoms J

-We showed a picture to McKinley of some Utah Summer Games sports in the newspaper. Mom pointed to some arm-wresters & asked “what do you think they’re doing McKinley?” She said “I dunno – are they praying?”

-McKinley really enjoyed going to the Utah Summer Games opening ceremonies with Ireland & dad & loved telling mom about the cool stuff they saw.

-McKinley is excited to tell people she’s a FIRST GRADER now!

-McKinley was a big helper trying to get things packed up. She’s very excited to be in our new home!

-When we had our ultrasound, McKinley was at her friend, Kate’s, birthday party. We kind of made her wait a while before we told her, but when we did, she was SO excited! She was REALLY hoping for a baby brother!

-Mom wanted McKinley to keep practicing her handwriting for the summer, so she got on facebook & asked if anyone wanted to be a pen pal with McKinley. Now McKinley has FOUR pen pals! – Amanda Neff (Farmington, who she knew from Herriman), Allie Tate (Washington state, mom’s cousin’s girl), Hannah Hazlett (Riverton, the daughter of a girl mom was a cheerleader with), and Amy Sorenson (Moab, daughter of an old Snow College roommate of moms) She is excited to meet some new friends &  loves getting letters in the mail.

-McKinley says “I like my new house. I love candy. Ummm… Ireland is silly. She just doesn’t know it.”

-We are reading “The Wind in the Willows” with McKinley at nights. It’s been fun & we all enjoy it & she can do the summer reading program at the library.

IRELAND:

-One thing that Ireland will miss about our old home is her friend, Ella (same age). She would get on top of the dog kennel and look down into Ella’s yard & yell “ELLLLLLLAAAA!” – and Ella would come out & they would talk and exchange treats. Ella’s mom told me one of the last nights we were there, Ireland went & got her jump rope & put one side of it on Ella’s side of the fence. She then proceeded to tell her to go get Whiskers (her cat) and tie the jump rope around him & Ireland would haul him over to our yard. Thankfully, Ella’s parents had the wisdom to ask why Ella was looking for Whiskers because even if Whiskers would have survived a rope around the neck and getting pulled up to our yard, we’re not sure our dogs would have been kind to Whiskers.
-On the way to the ultrasound, mom asked Ireland if she thought we were going to have a boy or a girl. Ireland said “We’re havin’ a girl cuz girls have girls and boys have boys.” We had a discussion about that on the way to the hospital J
-Ireland is still in denial that she’s having a baby brother. She says maybe it will still switch around and be a girl!
-Ireland says “I love you. You’re so sweet. I love you. You are so beautiful. I know that K-e-z-i-a is little AND I would like a big ginormous giraffe for my birthday AND I want a big elephant for my birthday. I’m five year old.”

KEZIA

-Over Memorial weekend when we went camping, Kezia came into bed with mom & dad in the middle of the night. In the morning, mom asked how Kezia slept, considering it was in OUR bed. She said “Yeah… I got squished up.”

-Also over Memorial weekend,  mom was talking to someone & heard Kezi say “mom!” Mom answered “yes?” Kezia looked up at grandma & said “my mom said yes!!” (apparently, I was unknowingly saying yes to eating chocolate)

-During one of the confirmations after Michael’s baptism, Kezia heard the dad say “Holy Ghost” & she says “Mom! He said about a ghost!!”

-While Kezia was helping fold laundry one day, she was folding one of dad’s things & she said “I’m folding this for dad. He’s an old man.”

-Kezia points to mom’s tummy & says she has a baby girl in her tummy and then she points to her own tummy & says she has a baby boy in her tummy.

-Kezia also really likes to pat mom’s tummy.

-Kezia loves to run around in our new home. There’s LOTS of tile so the “pitter-patter of little feet” is a little amplified.

-Kezia LOVES to read books. A favorite of hers lately is “No David!” She’s so cute, turning the pages, saying “No David! Come back here David! Go to your room David!”

-Kezia says “watch a movie. Catch a grasshopper. Play with toys. Ahhh!”

Stressin's & Blessin's

The past week or so... WOW. So much going on. Moving is always such an ordeal, is it not? Even when you are only moving 5 minutes away. The de-junking, the packing, the cleaning, the can-we-live-without-this-until-we-move questions, the sheer amount of STUFF. It's enough to make a person NEVER want to move again.
Lots of moving stress. We had to be out of our rental by the 5th because of the foreclosure - and there ended up being some last-minute issues with our move into the new home.
Let me talk about this home we moved into. It's not my ideal home. It's on a hill. There is no landscaping in the backyard and even if/when we DO come up with the money to finish it, the backyard will be very small. The kids can't really even GO in the backyard right now until we can put a fence up. It's way too steep. Unfinished basement. Tile. ACRES of tile. Have I mentioned I have a hate-hate relationship with grout? Bigger home than I want to clean. Oak cabinets everywhere. The ward/neighborhood is almost completely made up of older families - many of whose kids have moved out.

OK- I think I've covered the stressin' part. Let's get into the blessin's. For they are plentiful. I mentioned it's really not my ideal home - not what I would have chosen for my family - but I am pretty certain this is where the Lord wants us. The timeline of us getting "kicked out" of our rental and being able to purchase this home was pretty amazing. We had put offers in on some short sales with no luck. There was a home further west that I thought would have really suited our family & been just what we want. In fact, we almost rescinded the offer on this home because we really thought the other home would be better for our family - huge, finished yard, 6 bedrooms, etc. I'm so glad we didn't back out of this home. The other family wouldn't really budge an inch on their price & there's no way we would have been able to afford it. SO - here we are. What a blessing. Getting kicked out of our old place & feeling rushed was stressful, but we were able to get some cash for keys from the bank. BLESSING! We also got our deposit back. BLESSING! And - as many things as I don't love about this home, there are just as many that I do. Big, beautiful trees out front. Very open & welcoming. Gorgeous view. 3-car garage. Big kitchen. Bonus room! We're able to have the girls all sleep on the other side of the house from our master bedroom. Master is huge & master walk-in is unbelievable. The girls get to go to South Elementary. We're so close to Walmart, the Aquatic Center, and Discovery Park. BLESSINGS!! We had SO much help from friends - and from my AMAZING parents - in getting into this new home. WONDERFUL BLESSINGS!

So - even though the stresses still surround me, the blessings surround me more. I'm so thankful to be here in this home with people that I truly love. I'm excited for this new adventure & still grateful we're close to our friends on the other side of the freeway.

Blue

So - yesterday was the big ultrasound day & I wanted to document some thoughts/feelings I had.

Things have been so busy with us getting ready to move (did you see that in our newsletter? we're moving... like... this week) that honestly the ultrasound came faster than I imagined. With the others (especially with Kezia), I was DYING to get to the ultrasound, so excited to know! With this one, we were all definitely excited - it's just there is a lot going on! Yesterday there was grocery shopping, McKinley had a birthday party to go to, etc, so honestly when the time rolled around to get to the hospital for the ultrasound, I was almost late! I had to call & remind Jason, too - he was so busy at work.

McKinley didn't come because she was at the a fore mentioned birthday party, so it was Jason, me, Ireland & Kezia. Once we got there, it was so nice (except for the confounded full bladder they make you come with) & we were able to get in there pretty fast. 

Now... I'm going to back up here & just give you an idea of our thoughts before going into this. Jason wanted a boy, but honestly thought it was a girl. He had a theory that my body just rejected male embryos. I was seriously hoping for a girl. There are 4 of us sisters & I thought it would complete our family & besides - I'm kinda familiar with the girl scene & we had all the stuff for a girl. Plus, we watched an America's Funniest Home movies episode on Sunday where this kid - probably 3 years old - was so excited that he PEED in his EYE. I was just thinking - PLEASE let this be a girl! McKinley REALLY wanted it to be a boy. Ireland REALLY wanted it to be a girl (right before we left for the ultrasound, she said "it's a girl, mom cuz girls have girls and boys have boys. Well... we did discuss that a bit). Kezia vacillated between a boy and a girl and she's convinced she has a baby in her tummy, too. 

So - when he finally got around to showing us the gender, we were all speechless for a few moments. A... boy? Wha...? How....? I just felt like someone plucked me up from where I was & put me in some foreign land somewhere. Complete disorientation. I always referred to the baby as a "her" and "she" and was pinning all kinds of ruffly, fun things on Pinterest. 

It's now been 24 hours since the news & my brain is finally starting to acknowledge that there is a human of the male gender in my body. I even noticed a boy with such a cute little outfit today that I had some hope & happiness. We're starting to call him "little brother" and think of boy names. Something totally new!! 

Yes - Jason is really excited. Of course, he repeats that he would love the baby just as much if it were a girl, and I believe him, but I know that this is special and he is excited & looks forward to all the boy stuff ahead. I didn't post the "boy parts" picture, but let's just say that it was PRETTY obvious and VERY different than what we've seen in the past ;)

We are feeling blessed. Lots of exciting changes in our family!!!

(isn't he cute? HE!!!)

May Newsletter & Slideshow

Been busy 'round here! Finally got around to posting May's updates. Enjoy!

FAMILY:  Another busy, fun traveling month for the Hamilton family! The first weekend, we were up in Salt Lake for Madelyn’s baby blessing. In addition, there were cousin sleepover, a trip to Zupa’s, and a bounce house excursion. The girls had lots of fun and we enjoyed being with the family and then going to the Checketts on Sunday to see sweet Maddy get blessed. It was a beautiful day. On the 9^th, we headed to St. George to see Camri’s band performance and watch Daken’s baseball game. They both did a great job! And we even got to run into Brock at the park. The 12^th, we headed back down to St. George & the Hamiltons watched the girls while Heidi & Jason celebrated their 12^th wedding anniversary (thank you Hamiltons!!) Heidi & Jason did sealings at the temple, which was neat, but unfortunately Heidi got sick at the end and had to run to the bathroom. She felt better after that, though, & they went out to eat at the Brick Oven & then went shopping & Heidi got a couple new maternity dresses. Mother’s Day was on the 13^th and McKinley was so sweet & brought mom breakfast in bed while dad went to meetings in the morning. The girls had lots of fun, cute, creative gifts for mom and Jason bought roses. It was a wonderful mother’s day. On the 16^th, Heidi & the girls had fun at the Bealers on their new slip & slide. The 18^th, we went to a pot luck at the park with some friends from the ward (old and new) & we all had a great time. On the 19^th, we went over to the Bealers again & got to hold their new chicks, watch the kids play, and eat pizza. Great summer fun with friends. That Sunday was the eclipse & Jason was able to get some x-ray film, which we doubled up & put over our eyes so we could see the eclipse. It was really neat! Won’t happen again for another 18 years! The 23^rd was the girls’ last day of school. McKinley made a sweet book for her Mrs. Jones with lots of cute drawings and Ireland did a cute card for Mrs. Milei as well. We left for Mapleton early on the 24^th & got there around 11am. Thankfully there weren’t too many cars at the top so we could turn the trailer around easily & get to our spot. We camped for the next 4 days, enjoying our trailer, our family, and yummy food. The kids had fun on the hammocks, playing with the dogs, going hiking, making fairy homes, listening to the rain on the trailer roof, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, riding Comet the horse, singing songs with grandma, riding bikes, and just playing with cousins. The 28^th (Memorial Day), we headed down the mountain & mom watched the girls (THANK YOU MOM!!!) while Jason & Heidi flew to San Diego for 3 days of relaxing on the beach & eating yummy food. It was a wonderful belated anniversary vacation. The weather was great & the location of the studio apartment was wonderful – we could walk or ride the bikes he provided. We came back on the 31^st & had hats & hugs for our girls. They were so cute & missed us lots. That night, Heidi went out to each at the Blue Lemon with her sisters & dad & then to City Creek for some shopping. It was a lot of fun!  In other exciting news, we put an offer in on a foreclosed home and the bank accepted our offer. We’re hoping to move in by the end of June! We are excited & feeling very blessed because the same day we got the acceptance call, we got a call before that from the realtor in charge of the foreclosure on our twin home & found out we needed to be out of here by July 5^th, so we are so thankful right now that everything seems to be working out. Miracle!! Another miracle was that Kezi decided to go swimming in the backyard with mom’s phone. It dried out for a couple days & seems to be mostly functioning. So thankful! Another miracle would be not having to go to the emergency room. On the same day (a Sunday), Ireland got her fingers SMASHED in the car door & Kezia got burned with hot soup.

  

JASON:  Jason was gone the week of the 14^th to attend training so he can work in the budgeting side of fires this summer. He just needs his red card & he’ll be fully certified to go on fires. The training was in Richfield, so he got to stay with his mom and go see Sedona & Payson’s games. He has put in a lot of hours this month and is looking forward to his boss coming back next month to even out the load.  It was nice for Jason to take some time off at the end of the month from his busy work schedule to go camping & to San Diego.

 HEIDI: By the middle of the month, Heidi was feeling much better and is finally able to have the energy to do more around the house & with the kids. She’s even stopped taken Zofran. Yay! Very thankful for this progression. Her monthly appointment went well and the baby’s heartbeat sounded wonderful.  She’s definitely showing more & she made Jason go dig out a few boxes of maternity clothes from the garage so she has more to wear. She enjoyed spending time with her sweetheart on their anniversary and she enjoyed Mother’s Day and all the sweet things her kids did. She LOVED San Diego & really wishes she could have a house there. The weather was so nice & it was so great to spend time with her honey. Heidi has been using a lot of her “spare” time to work on Ireland’s birthday book. She hopes she can finish before her birthday. It’s going to be close with all the packing that needs to be done!  

McKINLEY:

-With mom working on Ireland’s birthday book, McKinley decided she wanted to learn how to digitally scrapbook as well. She has done 3 pages so far – 2 princess ones and one for her cousin. She is getting pretty good at it & it’s fun to watch her learn a new skill.

-McKinley was supposed to give a talk on baptism the week we were in Salt Lake for Maddy’s blessing. She was SO heartbroken about not getting to give a talk, so mom called the primary president & they arranged it for the next Sunday. She found a talk in the Friend and practiced quite a few times. We even printed out the picture & put it on a popsicle stick for her to hold up. She was a little nervous at first, but she did SUCH a great job reading that talk. Mom had more than one person comment on how great she did and what a good reader she is. Great job McKinley!!

-McKinley still talks about the boys in her school class. She says Jared still wants to marry her, but there is Kody, who wants her to be his girlfriend, but she told him she can’t have a boyfriend till she’s older. MUCH older. ;)

-McKinley has been having a lot of fears at night lately – especially when her daddy was out of town. She worries about dying. She has dreams about going back to Heavenly Father and she doesn’t want to go & she says she will miss us. She also worries about dying because of a spider. We try talking through her fears and night & saying prayers & singing songs & hopefully she will get through this phase.

-One day at lunch we were talking about Mrs. vs. Mr. I told the girls I was Mrs. Hamilton. McKinley said “You can’t be a Mrs., mom! You’re not a teacher!!”

-McKinley is excited for summer, but will really miss her teacher, Mrs. Jones. She put together a whole book for her that said things like “You’re greater than a rocket. You’re greater than chocolate.” It was so sweet.

-On her last day, McKinley had to wear her nicest dress & shoes. She also brought home a folder with a bunch of her schoolwork and it was so fun to look through. She did a great job. She also got a personalized note from Mrs. Jones that talked about how wonderful she was. She got some test scores back, too, and did FANTASTIC. She continues to be WAY above where the goals are for her age.

    

IRELAND:

-Ireland has been more tired in the afternoons lately. One afternoon, she even turned off the TV & went to bed on her own. She must be going through a growth spurt because most of her 4T clothes are getting a bit to small on her now.
-One day Ireland said “Mom – when the baby comes out, we’ll have a BIG HUGE family!!”
-One afternoon Kezia came inside screaming. Ireland told mom she “accidentally” threw a big rock at her. It was quite a gash & turned into quite a black eye, but Ireland felt really bad for hurting her sister. She just kept saying over & over again “I’m so sorry Kezi!”
-One night while putting Ireland to bed, she put her fingers in her mom’s mouth (mom is wondering what she is doing?) Then she pries mom’s mouth open & yells in there “Good-night baby!”
-One afternoon, Kezia was saying the prayer on lunch and Ireland said “…and bless Great-Grandpa Tew to come back down from heaven”
-Ireland can be QUITE the jabber box. On one of our trips to St. George, she just literally didn’t stop talking for the entire trip – talking about how great wipers are to have in the van and what if trees were on the road and all kinds of other things. Another day on another jabber box rant, she said “Mom – if you bump into lightning then you might go to heaven & be with Jesus. And you have to be careful not to bump into lightning, cuz I don’t wanna die like that.”
-Mom usually let’s Ireland watch a show during nap time/quiet time & usually it’s Dora. Mom has finally banned Ireland from watching Dora during nap time/quiet time because again & again mom will be trying to rest and she hears “BACKPACK!” or “MAP!” or “ABRE” from the room next door. No matter how many reminders she’s given about trying to use a quiet voice, Ireland cannot resist yelling out words to help Dora. So… no more Dora at naptime.
-One Sunday, we were rushing to get to church and when we got there, mom accidentally slammed Ireland’s fingers into the front van door. It was so sad. They were black & blue & very painful. We got some ice from the church kitchen & she did pretty good, but mom took her home to get ibprofin and a band-aid. Just SO thankful we didn’t have to go to the emergency room.
-Ireland is officially done with preschool! We are so proud of her for doing so great this year. Her coloring and drawing has improved so much and she is a good reader and knows all her letters & sounds. She will sure miss seeing all her preschool pals, but she is so excited to be a Kindergartner next year. Way to go Ireland! We love you!

KEZIA

-One morning while mom was in the shower, Kezi dumped out EVERY box of cereal onto the kitchen floor (and Sydney). Most of it was almost an entire box of Rice Crispies. Sydney helped clean up the mess, but definitely not all of it!

-Kezia loves getting into mom’s make-up and has loved to put her cover up all over her face and body. Also – she loves using her lotion.

-For some reason, Kezia always wants to do things on Sunday. If we can’t do something the minute she wants to, we’ll say “we can do that in a minute.” Or “We’ll do that tomorrow,” but she always says “NO! not tomorrow! On Sunday!” Once we agree, she is happy.

-One afternoon Kezia came inside screaming. Ireland told mom she “accidentally” threw a big rock at her. It was quite a gash & turned into quite a black eye, but Ireland felt really bad for hurting her sister. She just kept saying over & over again “I’m so sorry Kezi!”
-Kezia LOVES helping fold laundry. She is always at mom’s side to help her fold whenever there is a basket of laundry. In fact, she has been known to take the clothes out of her drawers just so she can fold them.

-One night with Kezia was particularly hard – trying to get her to go to bed. It was so late & she was overtired & she was screaming & completely past reasoning, We kept trying to go in there & help her, but she was just so upset. After putting her to bed for the umpteenth time, it was quiet for a while & then we heard screaming. Mom went in there to find Kezia on top of Ireland (who was mostly asleep), screaming at her “We had sloppy joes for dinner!!” when she saw mom she sobbed “Tell her we had sloppy joes!!” That same night at 5am she woke up looking for her other croc shoe & wouldn’t go back to bed till she found it. Good Time!! ;)

-Leaving any food unattended at the table with Kezia is a dangerous thing. Mom stepped out one time & came back to find Kezia had eaten half the container of sour cream. Another time, she had a stick of margarine and had it all over her face & was eating it.

-Kezia REALLY doesn’t like loud noises. At the pool, she covered her ears with her hands most of the time because the big bucket of water that pours out was too loud for her. She will run away when you flush the toilet. And the other day mom was vacuuming & Kezia just followed her around, screaming & crying & holding her ears – telling her to stop.

-One Sunday mom made tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches. We put Kezia’s soup on the table & told her it was hot. She only had a diaper on. She went to jump down & the scalding soup splashed all over her skin. She screamed & we ran her to the sink & rinsed her in cold water. Her skin was really red & we were worried we’d have to go to the ER, but after having her in the cold water for a while and putting cold compresses on her arm & leg, it healed fine. We were so thankful she was OK! Between a black eye & getting burned, we hope she stays out of trouble for a while.

-We had the little swimming pool out back & Kezi apparently decided to go for a swim with mom’s cell phone. Mom was pretty upset, but thankful that it is working still. 

Small & Simple Things

Well, I'm almost 15 weeks and I can finally say that I'm starting to feel almost human again. I still take Zofran once a day, but overall things are getting better. It's the small & simple things, like...
-Actually cleaning off the table after a meal
-Being awake when McKinley comes home from school (she brought home a Mother's Day card & it asked what she thinks her mom does while she's at school. "Sleep" is what she said. Yup - pretty much)
-Making food that doesn't come from a box
-Fixing the girls' hair once in a while
-Actually reading the girls the entire book at bedtime instead of skipping lots of pages
-Dressing myself in something other than PJs and an ugly jacket
-Making sure the girls screen time is less than 2 hours
-Cuddling with my family instead of feeling nauseated every time they try to get near.

Still to come is getting up before the kids, exercising, personal study, and eating better. I still eat WAAAY too much salty, processed foods right now.

All-in-all, though, I am just thankful to be where I'm at right now. And looking forward to the next few months:
-End of school party for the kids! No more carpooling!!
-Memorial weekend camping with family
-Trip to San Diego with my sweetheart
-Mother/Sister Retreat!
-Baptism of a nephew, Blessing of a nephew
-Sweet Summatime! Playing in the water, overload of otter pops, camping, swimming lessons, trips to see friends and family, enjoying "Festival City USA", trips to the park, picnics, and more hands-on exploring of the beauty around here.
-Hopefully finding & moving into a new home. We got notice of public sale on the twin home that we are renting, so we are going from finding our "dream home" to finding something that we like and will work for us.

12 on the 12th in 2012

It's true! :) Today we celebrate 12 years of marriage on May 12, 2012. Kind of cool, doncha think? We're celebrating in St.George for the evening and then at the end of the month we're planning a more extended celebration :)
So - what do I think about 12 years of marriage? Well, we've had more trials than some, less than others. We've had more blessings than many. And I'm sure we'll have many of both in the years to come, but I hope that we get to experience them together. Because, you see, Jason grounds me. He strengthens me. And more than these things, he LOVES me! Even through all the grouchiness, the defensiveness, the stubbornness, the pride, and the selfishness, he LOVES me. And I love that. Because I love him, too.
We are at the point in our marriage where finding time to just BE TOGETHER in a quiet setting is difficult - and
we sure don't always agree on everything...
He thinks you dust first, then vacuum. I think it's the other way around.
He thinks you pack, then shower. I think it's opposite!
He won't eat peas, broccoli, or cantelope. I love 'em!
He likes dirt bikes & video games. I really don't care for them.
He isn't a big reader. I always need a new book in the queue.
He has a hard time paying for vacations when we could use the money for other things. I think vacations are one of the BEST uses of money!!

But somehow we get along just fine :) Because he makes the best pancakes and Spanish rice. He loves to cuddle with me and play with my hair. He listens to me and values my opinion. He loves the Lord, he loves me, and he loves our children. And to top it all off, he is a hunk of a guy. That gray hair on his temples only makes him more handsome!! :)

I made this graphic for him. You'll have to enlarge it to see the pictures a little better, but it's from our past 12 years - mostly anniversary pictures and a few pictures of when our children were born.

April Newsletter & Slideshow

Even though Heidi has not been up to doing much, we still managed to stay fairly busy this past month. Here is the slideshow & updates. Enjoy!

FAMILY:  April started off for Heidi & the girls in Salt Lake – there to see our new cousin/nephew – Spencer Simon – and to enjoy spring break. We also enjoyed watching General Conference with the family – and on Sunday afternoon there was a family get-together to watch the last session of conference and eat a yummy dinner. Other fun activities that we enjoyed while in Salt Lake: A (very belated J St. Patricks Day party put on by Grandma Potts – complete with Irish stew and bobbing for green apples, a trip downtown to see the new City Creek Center – complete with playing and getting SOAKED in the splash area there, a trip to the park so the kids could play & the girls could show off their no-training-wheels bikes, visiting Spencer at home, 3 sleepovers with cousins – and Aunt Cindy taking the girls to see The Lorax, dancing with grandma,  a McDonald’s trip with the cousins, Tiffany having us over for yummy grilled cheese sandwiches at her house, and stopping in Provo for a visit and lunch with the Bensons. It was great to see so many people that we love! We were glad to get home to daddy, though. We missed him so much after not seeing him for 2 weeks! We got back just in time to dye some Easter eggs and get ready for the big day. The Easter bunny was good to us and the girls got flip flops, bubbles, coloring books, a big chocolate bunny, hair accessories, a ring pop, and an Easter Lily pin. We had to really rush to get to 9am church & were about 10 minutes late, but we made it. The egg hunt came after church. The eggs were in the front yard & the girls had fun looking all over for them. LOTS of candy & money!! That night we had some yummy slow-cooker stew & the Hamiltons came over for a visit on their way back to St. George. The 13^th was our big hair chop day! There is probably at least 3 feet less of hair at our home since all the girls got their hair chopped for springtime. The irony being that it snowed 2 inches that day. Oh well – we are all happy with our new ‘do’s! Also that day Jason & the girls headed to Parowan to watch Sedona play basketball. They said she did a great job! On the 21^st, we got to help clean the church as a family & the girls did a great job! Afterwards, we grabbed some pizza & had a picnic at the park. Later on that day we looked at some homes for sale. On the 23^rd, Jason took the girls to a family night at Canyon View High School. With free food & bounce houses, and getting ice cream, the girls had a great time! On the 24^th , we all came to East Elementary to watch McKinley in her end-of-year Kindergarten program. It was based on Dr. Suess & McKinley did a fantastic job! Afterwards, we went to Maggie Moos to celebrate her special day. On the 27^th, we took our trailer & headed to 3 Peaks Recreation Area for our first camping trip of the year! We had a great time enjoying our trailer, roasting marshmallows & hot dogs, singing songs,  playing on the swing set, climbing on the rocks, playing games, and watching the rock crawl competition that was going on. Daddy also had a great time riding his dirt bike all around the trails. It was a lot of fun & we are looking forward to many more camping trips this summer J That next day, on Sunday, we got to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Devenish for a few minutes on their way back to Richfield. It was great to see them. In home news, we dropped the price on our lots, so we’re hoping to get an offer soon – and we put an offer in on a short sale in Enoch, so we’ll just have to wait & see.  

JASON:  April was another busy month for Jason at work. Unfortunately, between a busy work schedule & Heidi being sick & needing more help at home, Jason hasn’t been able to work out much. We’re hoping May will slow down a bit. Jason has been helping out a lot at home & taking to girls to do activities so Heidi can rest & she TRULY appreciates the extra help. He did enjoy seeing his family this month  - at Sedona’s basketball game – and with the Hamiltons & Devenishs stopping by for visits. And he really had a great time getting his bike out on some trails at the end of the month.

 HEIDI: Heidi has mostly just been in survival mode this month. If she can feed the family, make sure everyone is dressed, and carpool when needed, she feels accomplished. She tried Zofran this month & was very thankful for it. It doesn’t take the nausea completely away, but it does help her throw up less. She ran out of Zofran and really learned to appreciate it after she threw up three times in one morning. She got a glimpse of what this pregnancy would be like without it. On the 9^th she went in for her appointment (she was 9 weeks at this point) and was able to get an ultrasound. She has been very worried about this pregnancy after her miscarriage, so seeing that precious baby on the screen with that beautiful heartbeat definitely brought her to tears. She is so thankful that everything seems to be doing well with this pregnancy. It certainly makes all the misery worth it!! The 13^th was the Young Women New Beginnings program & Heidi helped by putting together special plaques for the girls & doing a presentation on personal progress. It all turned out great & was a special night.  

McKINLEY:

-Tiarra, Micheal & McKinley had fun on April Fools Day. Boy did they get everyone!! Sugar in the salt & salt in the sugar, putting something over the computer mouse sensor, putting a rubber band on the sprayer (Kezia got sprayed)… they were some pretty

-McKinley practiced for a week before we went to Salt Lake & sang Michael Row the Boat Ashore and Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and When My Mother Calls me to everyone at Cindy’s house. She also stayed up till after 10 making a bag for Spencer with a cute card. She made a thing on the computer for grandma that said "I love roses red and white. I love to hug my gradmo vere vere tit" J

 -McKinley is still excited about being a big sister again, but she’s had a harder time this month with mom being sick a lot. She still helps out a lot, but she feels overwhelmed a lot, too and says she doesn’t like being “in charge.”

-McKinley still likes Kaden at school, but she’s not sure she wants to marry him anymore & she found out that he doesn’t go to church. She told Jared that she might love him a little bit. After she told mom this, McKinley said “If I married Jared, my last name would be Sowards.” Mom made an interesting face. McKinley said “Mom – I’ll get used to it!”

-One day, McKinley came home SOO excited! She finally won the Lin’s receipt goodie bag at school! It had yummy candy & treats & she felt pretty darn lucky that day.

-The whole family came to see McKinley’s end-of-year Kindergarten program & we are SO proud of her.  She sang out loud & clear and had a smile on her face the whole time. GREAT JOB sweetie! We also enjoyed seeing the picture slideshow at the end & saw many cute pictures of our sweet pea.

-McKinley got to see her friend Destiny at the park & got her number, so we had her come play at the end of April. They had a good time and McKinley was really sad when she had to go home.

-McKinely had a hard time sleeping when we went camping. When Kezi was crying at 2am, McKinley told mom she had been up the whole time & couldn’t go to sleep L

IRELAND:

-Ireland had mom in a worry when we were in Salt Lake. Multiple Times! She would go out into the front yard without an adult, she rode her bike in the park to a place where we couldn’t see her or find her, we lost her for a couple minutes at City Creek, and then she got into the hot tub without permission!! Mom was ready to lock her into a bedroom! But she is just thankful she didn’t get hurt or taken any of those times!
-Ireland REALLY loves babies. So – she was in heaven when she got to hold Maddy AND Spencer on our trip to SLC. She was especially cute with Spencer. She kept asking if she could sleep in his bassinet and she was running around trying to get him a bottle of milk. It was so cute. She kept wanting to hold them and kiss them, too.  She also loves the baby in mommy’s tummy & will pat her tummy & hug it & kiss it  J
-Daddy gave a FHE on marriage & he asked “how do we prepare to get married in the temple?” Ireland said “You get your marry stuff on!!”
-If you ask Ireland what she dreamt about, she will make up some elaborate story based on what she sees at the moment.
-Ireland has some bad habits we’ve been trying to break – especially chewing on her nails and her cuticles. She just bleeds and hurts & we have to put band-aids on.
-We’ve also been working with Ireland on putting her clothes & shoes away. 90% of the clutter in our home comes from a little 4-year-old who likes to throw things on the floor instead of putting them away.
-Ireland’s notes have been so cute lately. She writes “I {heart} you” a lot. Most of the time it’s reversed, but it’s still so sweet.
-Mom asked Ireland what she wanted in the newsletter & this is what she said: “Dear Grandma: You must have a good choice. And you really give lovely kisses. And you really hear nice. You have lovely kids. And you have lovely children. And you’re so good at giving kisses and you’re so good at giving hugs. And I love you.”

KEZIA:  Mom wishes she could capture so much more of Kezia’s little saying. She misses so much. She is just at such a fun age and says & does the funniest things.

-When we were in Salt Lake, Kezia went downstairs & came up a little bit later without a diaper. Mom put a new one on her, but later on when mom went downstairs, there was a surprise there. Apparently Kezia had taken her poopy diaper & decided to “decorate” all over with it – on the walls, carpet, door jams. Oh… what fun that was to clean up!!

-One day mom overheard Kezia yelling “Ireland ‘Nita – that’s MINE!” Apparently she has picked up on mom & dad’s use of her middle name when we mean serious business.

-Kezia loves to say “HAVE A GREAT DAY!” when Jason leaves for work. And if she doesn’t get to say it to him, she gets really upset and we need to call him on the phone to say it.

-Kezia is the “that’s enough!” police at mealtimes. She will let you know when you’ve had enough cereal, milk, water, etc.

-Kezia continues to have random night wakings. A few interesting ones: One time she said there was a spider in her bed and it was taking her book, another time she wanted to say a prayer & afterwards she said “have a great sleep mom!”, another time she wanted us to scare the gorilla out of her room, and another night she was mad about not getting cookies or applesauce.

-We went to IHOP one Friday night for dinner & Kezia said “IHOP is for bunnies!”

-When Kezia has a sad face, mom likes to help her try some different ones. She will say “that’s a good sad face. Now show me your silly face!” and Kezi buys into it every time. She loves to do sad faces, silly faces, scared faces, and grouchy faces. Of course, she turns the table on mom as well & will push back in her bottom lip & tell her to make a different face.

-Kezia is pretty particular about her blankets at bedtime. She has a LOT of blankets and she remembers whenever any one of them is missing. And she won’t go to sleep without them. There is her blankets from Aunt Kim, her GG blanket, her ball blanket, her purple blanket, and her baby blanket.