June Newsletter & Slideshow

June Photos:

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipN-IDnqgl1rZ1z4gW6VIJyQaoDPEEsZQlbJP0SF

Hamilton Family Newsletter
June 2016

FAMILY: Welcome Summer!! We have all had a good time jumping into the summer fun and routines this month. For make-it Monday, we have made an Angry Bird Piniata, TP phone holders, and cards for Father's Day. For taste-it Tuesday, we've made frozen lemonade (from real lemons), Oreo Pops, Sand Pudding, and raspberry chocolate chip treats. For Water Wednesday, we've gone to 2 different Splash Parks in St. George/Hurricane, had water balloon target practice on the fence, and been to our Lake at the Hills, along with just playing in the sandbox/small pool in the backyard. For Thinking Thursday, we've gone to the library and worked on our goals for the summer, including multiplication fact memorization and reading. For Forest/Fun Friday, we've gone up to Woods Ranch for a picnic and we've been to a bounce house in SLC. In between all this structured fun, the girls have had so much fun riding around on their bikes with friends and we've had our new neighbor girls, Karmeah and Anna, over almost every day, along with other friends in the neighborhood. We've also had fun hanging out on the front porch in the evenings, or roasting marshmallows in the backyard.  On June 1st, we headed down to Richfield to take Grandma Devenish out for her birthday to Costa Vida. The Reeds came, too, and it was fun to see everyone :) On the 2nd, we finally finished the sandbox in the corner of our yard. It took 2 Saturdays and 2 truck-fuls of sand, but we are really happy with it. There is a LOT of sand to play in and the girls have spent hours and hours out there in the sand. Our other Saturday project was getting mom's vegetables and flowers into the ground. With some help and replacing some water lines, we got them in and they are really doing well! It will be great to see how our harvest turns out this year. Unfortunately, we had a bout of pinkeye at the beginning of the month that started with Kezia and after a make-up party where mascara was used, McKinley & Ireland got it, too :( Grandma & Grandpa Potts stopped by twice this month, looking at homes in St. George. The first time we went with them and got to see some of the potential homes they were looking at. We were kinda bummed they didn't choose a home in Hurricane, but still SO SO happy that they will be closer to us in St. George than clear in SLC! They should be closing on their St. George home the middle of July. On the 11th, we headed over to Ladybug Nursery for some fun! We went ladybug hunting and caught a lot! We had a free lunch, rode the train, and mined for gold! It was fun and we even ran into a few friends. The weekend of the 18th, we got to have Daken for a night while Jeff & Keeley were busy being Ma & Pa at trek. It was fun to have him and cheer him on at the Utah Summer Games baseball games. His team even took gold!! The last weekend of the month, we headed to SLC for a few days. On the 24th, we went to a bounce house for fun and to celebrate Parker's birthday. As it turned out, his cousin joined him on his birthday! Maxwell Adam Checketts was born on the 24th, 9 lbs 1 oz. We are so happy that he made it here safely and enjoying all the pictures Aunt Tiffany sends from Minnesota. On the 25th, Heidi went to a SIDS mom get-together at a restaurant in S. Jordan while Grandma & Grandpa watched the girls. It was a wonderful time to visit. Also while we were up there, we went to a park and to Wheeler Farm for some free cotton candy, Chick-fil-A, and snow cones. Also, the older girls got to sleep over at Aunt Cindy's and they stayed up till midnight watching Home!! On Sunday, we got to be there for the family dinner at Aunt Trisha. We all LOVED her yummy enchiladas and hearing about her trek as well as eating yummy dragon cake that Cindy had made. For Activity Days this month, we got to help plant flowers is Sister Beacham (the Primary President's) front yard and we also hiked to Lion's Mouth. Also, the girls and their friends had a lemonade stand in front of the Price house and made $4 each!  Jason had Father's Day and his 39th birthday this month that we got to celebrate - see his section for more details.

JASON: June was especially busy for Jason. He was basically working on his understaffed new job "unofficially" until his start date of the 25th as well as his old budget job. So - many days he was working 10-12 hours and wasn't getting home till very late. In addition, he has his new Elder's Quarum duties that filled a lot of his evenings, so we didn't get to see him a lot during the week :( He also had a meeting in Escalante this month. We are so thankful for all his hard work and dedication. He does so much for our family. The 19th was Father's Day and his menu selection included ebbelskeevers for breakfast, french toast (with homemade bread) for lunch, and roast with salted potatoes, rolls, and corn on the cob for dinner. Then apple crisp with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert :) The girls all made him cards and we got him some treats, too. For his birthday, we brought him Cafe Rio for lunch, along with balloons and a huge card. Then for dinner, we all went out to Applebees. Happy Birthday and Father's Day Jason!! We love you!

HEIDI: At almost 8 months pregnant, Heidi is "feeling it." :) She is trying hard to keep up with the girls and do fun things, but lots of exhaustion, especially with the heat. She has had fun with what she's been able to do, though, and is thankful that she's to the point where she can say "almost there!" She did a lot of shuttling to lessons this month - 2 different lessons for McKinley & swimming every day for 2 weeks for Kezia. She's thankful that's over with and July can be a little more relaxing. She has been reading Gone with the Wind and trying to find creative ways for the girls to not have contention now that they are around each other 24/7. She enjoyed visiting with Anna Packard when they went to SLC and she also really enjoyed the SIDS mom dinner - especially meeting 2 moms that she had connected with online, but never met in person. One somewhat humerous incident happened after our SIDS mom dinner. It was about 10:00 and Heidi's phone was dead when she pulled up to the gate at the Potts' place. She didn't know the code. She couldn't call because her phone was dead, so she decided to just go ahead & jump over the gate to the side of the big gate. It was an interesting feat with her pregnant belly, and she ripped a toenail, but she did it :) Hopefully whoever has that security tape got a good laugh out of it :)

McKINLEY:
-McKinley got to go to sewing camp this month and got to sew a bag, an owl pillow, and start a bib for the new baby. She learned a lot & used her sewing machine more than it's been used since she got it! She hopes to continue to use her skills for good :)
-She also attended Girls Go Digital for the 2nd year at SUU. This year it was 4 days instead of 2, so she got to learn even more than last year! She enjoyed seeing Dannon and Sopie was in her group, too. She also met a new girl, Leila, and she had fun!
-We made an angry bird pinata for make-it monday and when it was finally ready to smash, we got some friends together and all had a whack at it. Just before it was McKinley's turn, mom said "everyone PLEASE stand back more! I've been hit by a pinata stick & it isn't fun!" So, then McKinley swings at the pinata and WHACKS her mom right in the armpit. OUCH!!
-McKinley's old bike was too small & Ireland was riding it all the time, so we decided to get her a new one. The first one we got her was purple, and she liked it a lot, but something happened to the gears one day and it wouldn't work, so we returned it. She went back twice more to decide which bike to get. She finally decided on the "cuter" one, but now she's not sure she really likes that one, either :/ Hopefully she'll get used to it and change her mind. We love that she loves to ride her bike!
-McKinley and Karmiyah have played a LOT this month. Almost every day. They decided that they wanted to make a blanket for our friend's new baby (the Prices), so COMPLETELY all by themselves, they made a cute little blanket. It was so thoughtful!
-One evening the Prices & Johnsons decided they were going to have "dress up" night games. McKinley borrowed a blue dress from Karmiyah and they had fun playing over there.
-For Father's Day, McKinley sang "Daddy's Girl" by 1 Girl Nation to Jason. She had been practicing it for months and months and she did a beautiful job. Her daddy loved it.

IRELAND:
-Ireland decided to take the summer off for lessons, so she has had more time to play with friends, etc. She will start back up with gymnastics in the fall.
-Ireland has mostly played with Anna, Emmy, and Adelaide this summer so far. She loves to play Littlest Pet Shops with Addie.
-Mom and Ireland went to Kennady Hatch's baptism on the 11th, and as we were sitting there, mom looked over and saw 2 ladybugs in Ireland's hair!
-Ireland really loves hula-hooping and one night she went for 10 MINUTES STRAIGHT and could have kept going!
-One day Ireland took a cereal box and made a whole fairy apartment inside, complete with furniture, food, etc. It was so cute :)
-The day finally came this month! Ireland officially has BRACES! She has 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. Now we just have to really keep reminding her to brush and floss her teeth and take really good care of her hardware. She looks so much more grown up now, though! :(
-While we were roasting marshmallows one night, Ireland stepped on a scalding hot dog stick and really burned the bottom of her foot :(
-Ireland has had some anger issues this month, including yelling mean things and throwing things and holding her breath and things like that to get "back" at mom. We are hoping to find a good therapist that can give some tools and understanding to help us out.

KEZIA:
-Kezia had swimming lessons this month and she had been looking forward to them for a LONG time. She had a girl teacher, but she was the only girl student with about 5 boys. She held her own, though, and did really well. She passed to level 2. Great job Kezia! It was also fun to see Jake & Courtney Riddle because they had lessons at the same time as Kezi :)
-One day McKinley was making a card for grandma and she was trying to come up with an "M" word. She was saying "Marvelous as a... " Kezia shouted out "MEATBALL!"
-Kezia had been riding around on the tiny 12'' bike, which was way too small for her, but her daddy finally fixed the 16'' bike, which fits her so much better & she was so happy!
-Kezi was riding her scooter in the front one day, and saw that Noelle was getting in the road, so she put it down in our neighbor (the Schoppmann's) driveway and went to help her sister. Unfortunately, she forgot about her scooter & Brooke accidentally ran it over. Kezia was a sad little girl. It still kind of works, but not very well :(
-Kezia has played a lot with Anna and Adelaide. In fact, Anna is 9, but Kezia likes to invite her over to play a LOT :)

LINK:

We have seen some pretty awesome rainbows this month and are so happy whenever we see them because we automatically think of you, sweet boy. Mom did a VERY hard thing this month and went through your clothes again. She sent some to Aunt Tiffany for your cousin Max, and she sent a couple to the lady that makes the bears for Noelle and your new sister. It took a lot of tears and heartbreak, but she is thankful that your clothes are getting used & we're pretty sure you are glad, too. Now, the next step is to make a quilt out of the remaining clothes :) It was wonderful to share your story and your pictures with my other SIDS mom friends. I love to talk about you, my beloved Link. Please keep watching over your new sister and help us come up with a name!

NOELLE:
-Our sweet girl. Sometimes your smarts just completely catch us off guard! You are using words like "delicious" and "wonderful" and "beautiful" It's so adorable. And you are growing too fast!!
-Noelle has just started randomly saying people she loves. We'll be driving in the car and she will say "I love Karmiyah." "I love Anna" "I love Grandma" "I love Grandpa." It's SO cute!
-For a while, Noelle was calling band-aids "angers" for a while. She would come inside with an owie and say "I need an anger." We're not exactly sure where that came from, but she uses it a lot because she LOVES band-aids!
-Another common phrase lately has been "Watch me mom!" or "Look at me mom!" as she puts on dress up or tries to do a somersault or goes down her slide. She also has been saying "take a picture, mom!"
-Noelle REALLY wants to be big like her sisters. Whenever they are outside, she can't stand being inside, even though she keeps running into the street, making mom crazy and stressed. She loves to ride her red wiggle car while they ride their bikes. She still can't quite reach the peddles on her tricycle, but she's close! And then we'll REALLY be in trouble!
-Noelle has started to really love to be things other than a little girl. She will say "I'm a frog! Ribbit Ribbit!" and hop around or "I'm a dog! and she will bark and crawl.
-Noelle has learned the art of tattling from her sisters :) She has come to mom and said "Ireland hit me!" or "Kezia pushed me!" with a VERY sad look on her face. Unfortunately, she's also learned to do the hitting and pushing from her sisters, too, so it's usually not one-sided anymore :(
-The past couple weeks, our fantastic eater & sleeper has disappeared!! :( Not only does she hardly ever want what mom makes for dinner anymore (she won't even try ONE bite!), she has decided that she doesn't really need a nap! 2 or 3 times, she has just had to go without one after crying for an hour or more. And nights have even started to be difficult, too! We are REALLY hoping this is a VERY short phase and she is back to being a solid eater AND sleeper before her baby sister comes!

May Newsletter & Slideshow

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMSWAnV8-fHI5x4Vr_ZwGyL5c5f08rrqqFjWK0Z

Hamilton Family Newsletter
May 2016

FAMILY: May is always a busy, fun month for us - we survived another school year! Yay!! Kezia made it through Kindergarten with Mrs. Ekker, Ireland finished 3rd grade with Mrs. Strother & McKinley completed 4th with Mr. Sahagun. They all had a good year and did wonderful.  The 2nd was North Elementary's Art Night. Ireland performed Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 with the rest of her class and McKinley worked as a leadership team member to help direct people. We bought their artwork & got to have a treat there, too :)  On the 10th, we all attended the YW fundraiser spaghetti dinner at the church. It's always fun to see our friends and watch the dessert auction at the end. The 12th was Heidi & Jason's 16th anniversary & they went out to dinner at Sonny Boy's BBQ :) That evening the Simon family came for a visit! We had lots of fun with them, including going to the Lake at the Hills, hiking in Zions, having a movie night downstairs, and having a backyard S'more fest. It was so fun to have them here & the girls loved to play with them. Saturday the 14th was Kezia's last soccer game and Grandma Devenish, Grandpa Devenish, Aunt Kim, Hayden & Canyon came to see it! She did great & scored a few goals, too! Afterwards, we all went out to eat at Arctic Circle. Grandma Potts & GG came to visit on the 19th and we enjoyed seeing them while they were here! We also had a Share BBQ the night of the 19th & it was great to eat and visit with fellow loss families.  The evening of the 20th, we had the missionaries over for dinner & enjoyed hearing about one Elder who lived in Canada and had served in PEI just after Heidi & Jason were there. We headed up north on Thursday evening, the 26th and attended Kalli's high school graduation on the morning of the 27th. We are so proud of her & excited to see what life brings her way! Afterwards, we went to the Edwards for a little party and then we all headed up to Mapleton Canyon. This year we seemed to have especially good weather & really enjoyed our time up there - as fragmented as it was. Another wonderful thing for us was that RB let us stay in the trailer he bought from us, so it was fun for us to spend some time in that trailer where we have really good memories. So, we stayed in Mapleton Friday night through Saturday evening. We headed back to the Potts' for the night, took showers & headed to the Edwards early Sunday to attend their church and Michael's priesthood ordination. A BBQ at the Edwards afterwards was fun! and then we headed back up to Mapleton :) We stayed overnight on Sunday and then helped pack up on Monday. Heidi & Jason headed to their belated anniversary get-away at a bed & breakfast in American Fork & Grandma & Grandpa took the kids back to their house for the night. Heidi & Jason enjoyed going to the movies (X-Men, apocolypse), out to eat (Paradise Bakery & Rodizio Grill), and relaxing at the bed & breakfast. It was very relaxing. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa for helping out! Monday afternoon, we headed to Murray and helped for a few hours with moving Grandma & Grandpa Potts to their new home in Midvale. We will miss their Murray home, but are excited for their upcoming life changes! Other than all that fun, Jason & Heidi have been keeping busy with the rental. Our downstairs renters moved out and we have been trying to salvage the yard as well as get new renters. Thankfully, we found some renters at the end of the month - yay!!

JASON: Jason has been Mr. Super-man this month! He has been so busy at work. He finished his detail, but applied for the permanent position and in the interm was doing both his budget analyst position and filling in for the detail position. So - he's been working long hours! Thankfully, at the very end of the month we found out that he got the promotion to the permanent GS-11 Administrative Operations Specialist position. YAY!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF HIM! Way to go! After working hard for 5 years at the Dixie, we feel humbled & blessed and proud of Jason for all his hard work. The Forest Supervisor, Ange, was very praiseworthy in her announcement of his new position. :) In addition to extra work, he's been working hard at the rental, putting in new sprinkling systems, mowing, etc. And in addition to THAT, he was just called as the Elders Quorum President in our ward. He has just called his counsolers and is excited to work with them.

HEIDI: Heidi's month has been busy shuttling kids and going to end-of-year school events with the girls, as well as coordinating new carpet for the downstairs rental, listing it, and showing it. Mother's Day was at the beginning of the month & Heidi enjoyed the church program, the sweet treats, and daddy's dinner (which mom chose) of lettuce wraps - yum! - and asphalt pie for dessert! She got lots of wonderful homemade cards, too. They were so sweet. & daddy got her flowers. On the 20th, Heidi had carpal tunnel surgery on her left hand & it went well. She is glad both hands are done & feels like it has really helped & will continue to help make this 3rd trimester bearable :) We also got a new mattress so that has helped with hip, shoulder and wrist pain. She's already feeling very large and has gotten her fair share of "any day now?" comments.) Heidi got a jury summons at the end of the month, but thankfully after writing a letter to the judge asking for an excusal, she was granted one. This time at least! She enjoyed going to a baby shower for her friend Hannah Price, who is having a "surprise baby" at 40 & needed some extra things. She also has been busy with the Relief Society Activity Committee (they called a new group) and Activity Days. And she has LOVED that Cindy, Trisha, and mom have all visited her in the past month! It's been so fun be with them :)

McKINLEY:
-McKinley has really enjoyed 4th grade and is sad to be done with Mr. Sahagun's class. She has Mrs. Isom for next year (a new teacher), and is excited to be in her last year of elementary school this fall.
-McKinley continues to excel at piano and has learned some really fun pieces this month, including Splish Splash and the Looney Tunes theme song.
-She has been busy with the Leadership Team this month, including Teacher appreciation, helping with Arts night, and helping with the introduction night for those new students from 3 Peaks Elementary who will be coming to North next year.
- We are so proud of McKinley for being a member missionary and inviting her school friend, Madison, to church! She brought her on the 15th and it was her first time coming to an LDS church. We hope she will come again!
-McKinley's big project this month was doing a report on Duchesne County. She did it all online and it turned out really good & she learned a lot! (even if it meant staying up late for a couple nights)
-One day in the car, McKinley asked dad if he was a tender or a bass. :) We explained that it's TENOR not tender, but tender does describe Jason, too :)

IRELAND:
-Ireland had fun memorizing Shakespeare's 18th sonnet & did really well at arts night. For her artwork, she made a shield with all the things she enjoys, like gymnastics, the 4th of July, friends, pizza, babies and mom :)
-Ireland had a poetry picnic at the beginning of May that mom & Noelle came to. Her poetry book was fantastic and well-done. After reading her poetry, Ireland loved to take Noelle around the class & show off her baby sister to her classmates :)
-Ireland is excited to finish 3rd grade! She's excited for her birthday this summer & excited to be able to get Mr. Sahagun for a teacher next year!
-For field day, Ireland won 5th place in the overall 3rd grade girls race! And she did it in sandals! Way to go Ireland - McKinley was a proud sister :)
-Mom got cherries from the store one day & Ireland decided it would be fun to cut them in half and squeeze the juice on her eyelids to make eyeliner. It worked! But was a bit sticky and messy!

KEZIA:
-Kezia was sad for Kindergarten to end. One night, mom and dad found a note on their bed that said "I am going to miss Mrs. Ekker and my bus driver Lois soooooooooooooooooo much :(" Currently, Kezia is 2nd on the waiting list for East Elementary, so we are really hopeful that she will get in and be able to be in the Spanish immersion program.
-Kezia's Kindergarten program was on the 16th & she did SUCH a great job! :) It was really fun to watch her and take pictures. The songs were all really fun & we are glad that daddy got to see it, too!
-Kezia's friend, Macie, had a party on her last day of Kindergarten. It was Kezia, Macie, Ruby, and Courtney. They had fun playing in the water and having a picnic.
-Kezia's soccer team, Purple Power, finished their season and did GREAT! The last game was close, but we think she had another winning season with no losses! Kezia's gotten a lot better with ball control and keeping on her feet. She is very aggressive and fast. It was so fun that the Devenishs & Reeds came to support her in her last game. Way to go Kezia!
-Kezia has had a hard time lately staying in her room after we put her to bed. She loves to make notes and things and deliver them after she goes to bed.

LINK:

We have felt you close lately, our sweet son. We saw FOUR different rainbows on the way to Mapleton and it was SO neat! We love you so much and miss you so much!!

NOELLE:
-Noelle is a slippery, fast toddler and has really given us some scares this month! One time while we were at Kezia's soccer game, McKinley was playing with Noelle on the playground for a while and one time mom looked up and didn't see her. She went over to find her and a lady brought her over and said she was in the river! Another time we were at the Lake at the Hills. She had her life jacket on, but tripped at was head-down in the water. We are so thankful that both times she was protected and watched over & is just fine, but we wish we didn't have the scares at all :(
-Noelle continues to LOVE Daniel Tiger's neighborhood. She's been saying "Grrr-ific!" and "Tiger-tastic!" a lot. SO cute!
-Mom was trying to brush Noelle's teeth one night & she found dad's floss. She called it her "egg" and when she opened it, she said "surprise!!"
-Just in the past couple weeks, Noelle has REALLY been fighting getting her hair fixed. It is a full-on workout to get her to hold still long enough to get even one elastic in there!!
-Noelle has started climbing her changing table to get on top of it and/or in her crib. We finally decided to move it and hopefully it will give us a few more months of her not being able to climb in or, especially, out of it.
-Noelle loves the Go Dogs Go! Book & has applied it to real-life driving. When we are coming up on a light, she will stay "go car go! The light is green!" or "stop car, stop! The light is red!" It's so adorable :)

-Noelle has learned how to strap the chest strap on her carseat!

-Noelle LOVES the bunny, Rainbow Truck. Seriously. Loves him. He's in the garage right now & it's hard to get her in the car or into the house because all she wants to do is see the bunny. And if you leave her in there for longer than a minute or two, she has figured out how to get that heavy lid off & Rainbow Truck OUT. A few times, she's come in the house with that bunny & mom's allergies have NOT been happy. We're not entirely sure Rainbow Truck has been happy, either, with all the squeezing and pulling.
-Noelle's sisters obviously adore her to no end. They get her to copy them a lot & lately it's been "I am very, very, very, very, very CUTE!!"
-One day, Noelle told mom "take a picture!" :)
- Noelle still struggles with ONLY drawing on paper. While she was being watched at the Potts, she found a permanent marker and had fun on their newly painted walls :( They were moving the next day or so, so they had to re-paint where she drew :( Naughty, naughty girl!

April Newsletter & Slideshow

Slideshow:
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOYr9LJCwWj7jUFvupUR6cvwOCwU5_WWjA5emAo

Hamilton Newsletter

April 2016
FAMILY: April started out with April Fools and McKinley had fun plastic-wrapping Kezia's door and putting rubber bands on doorknobs and whatnot. Grandma Devenish stopped by that day as well and was able to go to North Elementary to see a fun assembly where McKinley was the announcer. That first April weekend was laid back and we enjoyed watching General Conference as a family. Mom made cinnamon rolls and other treats and while daddy was at Priesthood session, the girls walked to Discovery Park and had fun. For activity days, we had fun making Chia Pets and watching them grow (like faith) :) On April 8th, our sunrise girl turned 2 years old! See her section for more details. On the 9th, after Kezia's soccer game, we got ready and headed to Fredonia to see some friends, the Barons, after their son's baptism & before they left to live in Hawaii. We were there a bit early since we hadn't taken Arizona time into account, so we went to the little museum there & saw some cool arrowheads and Native American artifacts. Afterwards, we headed to the church and enjoyed seeing old friends and catching up. On the way home, we stopped at the park in Torquerville and had a lot of fun. The girls were finding all sorts of caterpillars & it was a nice evening. On the 19th, we headed to St. George for the evening. Jason took the girls to the park and then to the Kesterson's while Heidi went to the temple to do a much-needed session. On the 22nd, Heidi & Jason had a fun date going to the ballroom dance concert at SUU. 2 hours of fun dancing & choreography. It was a great time.  The 23rd, we worked in the yard in the morning and in the evening we went to the family fair at SUU where they got balloons, balls, and made crafts including a glitter bottle and fish kites. Afterwards we went to Link's bench and brought him some of the pinwheels from the fair and we also saw a dog who looked similar to Tundra. Aunt Cindy, Michael & Joshua came down for the last weekend of April to support our family in the Share Walk for Remembrance & Hope. It was a cold, wet weekend, but thankfully the rain held off for the walk and we enjoyed seeing the other families & remembering our babies. After the walk, we played at home and that night we watched a movie on the projector and had pizza and popcorn. Thank you Edwards for supporting us! Another fun thing that happened this month was that our friends in the ward, the Prices, moved into the house behind us! The girls have been fun yelling back and forth and jumping over the wall to play. :)

JASON:  Jason went to Ogden for a meeting the second week of April & enjoyed some quiet time and going to see a movie :) He also had some meetings in St. George this month. Towards the end of the month, Jason got pretty sick. He went into the instacare and they were worried about pnuemonia. He got a shot and ordered to rest. It ended up being the flu and it really took him down :( For a good 3 days, he didn't hardly get out of bed and then a few more days to feel normal again. Praying it doesn't spread to anyone else!

HEIDI: Heidi finally felt a little more energy in April and was able to get more into walking & has done pretty well at getting her 10,000 steps a day. She enjoys walking in the mornings with McKinley or Ireland or with a friend and especially seeing the temple progress. On the 8th, Heidi had carpal tunnel surgery on her right wrist. It was on Noelle's birthday, so thank goodness she was too young to be too sad about taking over her birthday a bit. The surgery went well - the only hard thing was that they told her to fast and she almost passed out during the surgery because she got light-headed & nauseous from not eating. The pain wasn't too bad, though, and she was thankfully able to do pretty much everything because Jason was out of town the week after her surgery. Her tingles at night haven't completely gone away, but they are much better! Heidi also signed up to be the team parent for Kezia's soccer team & it's been fun to get to know the parents more and arrange treats, etc.

McKINLEY:
-McKinley has enjoyed the leadership team and has done a great job. For an assembly for the whole school, she was the announcer and did a great job being the MC :)
-McKinley continues to excel with piano & voice. Her teacher, Jan, got her a book of fun songs including Splish Splash and the Looney Tunes theme. It's fun to hear her play them and also fun to have McKinley play songs to sing for FHE.
-McKinley had a fun time at Emma Beacham's birthday party this month!
-McKinley got to sing with 2 other girls in front of the whole church for a choir performance and she did a great job!
-She got to go to Bulloch Drug with her primary class & get ice cream to reward them for all the great scripture reading they've been doing. She loves Brother & Sister Fletcher!

IRELAND:
-Ireland finished gymnastics at the end of April & passed off all her elements with flying colors! She is excited to move on to the next level in the fall.
- Ireland made a new friend in school - her name is Kim!
-Ireland was so happy that Joshua came to play at the end of this month!
-She lost a book at gymnastics & had to end up paying for a new one :(
-Ireland has been very creative this month & has made many signs, posters, and even a light saber holder out of tape.
-One day Ireland got dressed for school and mom asked her to change because she had already worn that outfit a couple days earlier. She had a really hard time and mom got her on video saying that she will NEVER make her kids change their clothes - even if they wear the exact same outfit every single day. She said I was "TORTURING" her for making her change :)

KEZIA:
-One day Kezia said "Mom, you must love having all these babies." Mom started to talk about yes, how much she loved all her children, but Kezia interrupted & said "because then you can get all these choice chores done by all your kids." Very perspective, sweet child. That is precisely the reason we have children :)
-Kezia was busy with soccer this month. Her team is called Purple Power & they have done really well! Kezia has mad anywhere from 2 to 7 goals in a game & is a great player! She has a couple more weeks before she's done, but it's been fun to cheer her and her team on to victory. So far, they haven't lost a game! She also got to have a practice with Becky Hogan, the coach for the SUU girls soccer team (and someone mom went to high school with)!
-Kezia was so cute for Noelle's birthday - she had daddy take her to the store and she bought Noelle a monkey bath toy and a truck and some candy. She's so thoughtful!
-Kezia finished her session with the SUU student teacher for reading. She had fun reading a Junie B. Jones book - though she still says Magic Treehouse books are her favorite.
-One day Kezi announced she was going to make an indoor picnic - so she did :) Sydney tried to join in a few times, but other than that, it was really fun!

LINK:
We loved wearing new Link shirts for the Share Walk of Remembrance this month - and putting up your poster and hearing your beautiful name read. You have been sending love notes lately - including 3 days in a row of rainbows (!), heart-shaped drips and other things, and mom even got to have a dream about you & got to kiss your sweet cheeks. One night, mom & dad were looking at family search and mom got tired & headed to bed. She specifically prayed that you would help daddy find how to open his dad's side and mom to open her dad's mom's side. About 30 minutes later, dad came into the room and woke mom up. He was excited because he had found a document that had a mistake in the indexing of the name Louis Quitman. It was listed as Louise and it was marked as female. Anyway, it was an exciting find & we are hoping it will be the key to unlocking more names. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP! Thank you for your love notes, sweet son. We miss you always. We love you.

NOELLE:
Happy 2nd Birthday to our beautiful sunrise girl! The whole family was so excited to celebrate Noelle's special day!! She brings so much joy into our family and we are so thankful for her!! She got gifts from grandmas, sisters, and mom and dad. Mom and dad got her a Dora backpack, complete with the map, binoculars, camera, and Swiper keychain. She also got a Dora plate and bowl and a yellow straw cup that matches her sisters. Dad also couldn't resist getting her a big pack of Matchbox cars. And Grandma Devenish got her more cars and a cute outfit. She had fun finding and opening her presents and blowing out her candles. For her breakfast, we made German pancakes, for lunch Macaroni & Cheeze and for dinner we had hot dogs. Happy birthday Noelle-my-belle!
-Noelle has started to care about what she wears. Mom will pick a shirt, but she will go pick a different one to wear and insist on wearing it! She especially likes her fishy shirt that's from Hawaii.
-She definitely has also embraced the "terrible twos" and can scream and whine and she has added "don't want it" and "right NOW!" to her toddler vernacular. She has also been hitting more and pulling hair on purpose. As a result, she has been spending more time in her room and in time-out.
-The 2nd week of April, Noelle woke up in the middle of the night puking, then she had a fever for another few days. Thankfully, she seemed back to herself after a few days, but it was sad to see her so sick :(
-Noelle's favorite show now is probably Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood - and it shows. When she gets upset, she'll say "Grrrr. I'm mad." and sometimes she'll even count down from four. She also says Ugga Mugga and will rub your nose, which is SO SO cute!
-Another trick lately has been when mom and dad go to leave after putting her in her crib, she will said "Wait mom! Hugs!" and "Wait dad! Kisses!" We LOVE her hugs and kisses but also realize she could do that for 30 minutes straight :)
-Another too-cute thing is when Noelle's excited, she'll say "Okaaaaay!!"
-She also loves to point out things in the car. As we drive, she'll say "I see... trees! I see... cars! I see... clouds!"
-She continues to love the Babylit books and can now "read" the entire Secret Garden book, including "Canterbury Bells" and " Snapdragon." Mom was able to get some of it on video. So cute!
-Noelle still LOVES when her sisters' friends come over & knows most of their names. Most of the time, her sisters' friends adore her and let her come play with them, which she LOVES.
-Noelle has been scared to go down the stairs by herself lately for some reason, but we've been trying to help her & she's done better. She will stand at the top and say to herself "you can do it!" over and over until she reaches the bottom.
-When Noelle was sick, mom let her have her binki and doggie a lot, and afterwards, it's been hard for her to give up. She asks constantly for doggie and binki. Mom was putting it up on top of the changing table, but she has started to climb up there & get it so we have to find a higher place!
-Unfortunately, Noelle is still not safe with any writing utinsil. She continues to color on herself, her clothes, the furniture & the walls :( Thankful for magic erasers, rubbing alchohol and Goo Gone!

March Newsletter & Slideshow

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMdvPfXe68eBr6WQqBaZHkqBHiQFsfQJAg7JscV

Hamilton Family Newsletter
March 2016

FAMILY: What a fun, adventurous, busy month March was! Heidi’s birthday was on a Sunday this year and she was spoiled – see her section for more details. Aunt Tiffany was SO sweet and sent a HUGE bin full of girl clothes for Noelle & our new baby girl. They are so so cute & so fun to add new, fun clothes to their closets! The girls’ official spring break went from March 7-11, but since we knew the Bargers were coming, we just hung around Cedar & St. George & spring cleaned. We did go to the park in St. George & ate at Culvers and went Easter shopping. Also – the girls had friends over with tea parties and games. The Bargers – Dustin, Skyla, Kayla, Kaydence, Jacob & Aunt Yvetta – arrived late on Sunday, March 13^th. We had so much fun with their family for our “bonus” spring break J We let the girls get out of school and we did the St. George park, the St. George Children’s Museum, the Pizza Factory, Pioneer Park, Zions National Park, the Parowan Gap, swimming, movie night, tubing at Brian Head, lunch at the Brick House, and a birthday dinner bash at our house for Yvetta, Dustin & Camri (16!). We were so sad to see them leave, but cherish all the memories we got to make with them. On the 24^th, Jason took the morning off & we went down to St. George for our 20-week ultrasound. It was so neat to see our baby girl moving around and being active. In fact, the technician was a little frustrated trying to get some clear shots because she would not hold still. We are so thankful everything looks good & she is healthy. We celebrated with lunch at Kneaders – just daddy, mommy & Noelle. It was a wonderful morning. The 26^th was Link’s angelversary. Things didn’t go as planned because Ireland ended up getting strep throat so we didn’t go to the temple. That evening we did go to the cemetery, out to eat & watched his slideshow. The 27^th was Easter & the girls all donned their new dresses and new sandals and we took pictures before church. They also had fun checking out their Easter baskets J After church, we had an Easter egg hunt & a yummy Easter dinner, including ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, and asparagus. We also spent time on Easter watching inspirational videos and talking about our joy in the resurrection of our Savior, which we are truly, eternally thankful for.

JASON: Jason had a great time taking a week off to spend with some of his Texas family. He continues to stay busy with the detail he’s doing at work and his Elder’s Quorum calling. Jason has been growing out his hair to the chagrin of his wife J But at church he was told he looks like a young Tom Cruise, so he’s been keeping it!

HEIDI:  It was a roller coaster for Heidi this month – her 37th birthday (which included many thoughtful gifts from the girls, including a beautiful necklace from McKinley,  Jason making 3 different Pinterest recipes that Heidi sent to him J They all were very yummy , and Jason getting Heidi a Samsung watch – it was a great birthday!), getting the house ready for guests, enjoying all the activities with family, and also dealing with Link’s angelversary and the difficult memories that day brings. She took a few hours and read cards and notes from many people after Link died & she is also very thankful for all the love that was shown to our family after Link died. Thankfully, Heidi is past the really sick phase of her pregnancy. Still tired most of the time, but so much better than feeling sick. She is also so thankful that our new baby girl is healthy and it was so fun to see her on the ultrasound. She also read the When Calls the Heart series of books, which were good.

McKINLEY:
-McKinley was so sweet and spent $15 – all her allowance and more – on a birthday necklace for mom. It was 2 half-hearts that had sweet sayings on it about mom & daughter J
-McKinley made it to the leadership team at North Elementary School! We are so proud of her! She had to fill out an application and have interviews – and she did great and made the team. She was a welcomer to the groundbreaking of the new North Elementary school and she even got to shovel the first dirt with a golden shovel! Also –she was in the online newspaper! Way to go McKinley!
-Also this month was the Science Fair. McKinley did a project about ideas on making water boil faster, including salt, oil, Sprite, and a metal cylinder. It was interesting and fun and she got 2^nd place in her grade! J
-One day we were running out the door & mom told McKinley it wasn’t cold enough for 2 coats, but as she got out of the van, she still had both coats. Mom asked why & McKinley said “because someone else might need it!” She is a sweet, thoughtful girl J
-McKinley had fun with the Bargers here, even though she was a bit worried about being too young to really hang out with Kayla. Still, Kayla was really nice to her and even taught her about drawing faces & McKinley enjoyed spending time with her & the rest of the family.

IRELAND:
-Ireland could hardly wait for her 2^nd cousin, Kaydence, to get here. They have been pen pals for almost a year now, since we went to Texas for Uncle Joe’s funeral. She had so much fun getting to have sleepovers with her and do all the fun activities. We all talked about how much they looked alike with their brown hair and freckles. It was fun to watch them interact – and Ireland already has written her 2 letters and talks about going to see them.
-After many many months of “reminders” by Ireland, we finally took her in to get her orthodontia work started. First they put bands on her top & bottom molars and that really hurt. Ireland complained a lot & took ibprofin. Then they replaced the bands with metal toppers and put the expander in the top of her mouth and springs in the bottom. Every other day we use the “key” to force her expander out a little bit more. It has taken Ireland quite a bit of adjusting to get used to it – from the way she talks to the struggles of eating with it in, she has had to learn a lot, but she’s getting more used to it and is excited for her upcoming braces in the next year.
-Ireland’s science fair project was called “Potato Power.” Dad helped her with it & they tried to make potatoes produce enough power to light a bulb. Though they followed the instructions and bought all the items, they couldn’t get it to work, which was sad L, but they did learn a lot and Ireland had fun with dad.
-At the end of the month, Ireland got strep throat L

KEZIA:
-Kezi also had fun with her Texas cousins and getting to see so much of our St. George & Richfield cousins, too, was just so fun for her. She especially loved the tubing hill at Brian Head and getting to hang out with the big kids.
-Kezia got to meet her coach and teammates for the upcoming spring soccer season & she is excited to play!
-This month we went to a meeting for the dual immersion program at East Elementary. Though Kezia still doesn’t seem too excited to go to East, we are encouraging her & hoping it will prove to be a good experience and even fun. It will be neat to see her & her daddy have their own language and we found out her friend Macie signed up, too, so we are excited about that!
-Kezia has had LOTS of playdates this month, including Paige, Caroline, Ruby, and Macie! She has lots of fun friends in the neighborhood & her class. Her friend, Ruby, even wrote her a note with “10 things I like about you” & it included you’re nice, you’re beautiful, you’re happy, you can hide secrets, we can laugh together, you always smile, we make crafts, your friendly, you like me J
-Kezia has been sweet about “menus” lately. She will make a menu with what we have available to eat and give it to everyone so they can order, then she will go get it for you J it’s so sweet.
-Kezia used her OWN money to buy everyone in the family their favorite KING sized candy bars for Easter. What a sweetie!

LINK:

Our sweet son. It’s so hard to fathom that three years have passed since you left this earth. We have learned and grown so much and are so thankful for the time we spent with you, but we still miss you more than we can say. You still are such a huge part of our family. We are so sorry that family history work has fallen behind this last year. We ask for your forgiveness and also your help with it in the next year. That we can find more names and learn more and do more work. We love you eternally our duder-dude and pray that you continue to be with us to guide us and protect us.

NOELLE:
-This girl is almost 2 & she knows SO much! She is really speaking in sentences now and is pretty easy to have a little conversation with. We all LOVE her little voice!
-Noelle loved having our Texas family here – she just didn’t love her sleep schedule being changed. On the day we went to the St. George children’s museum, she was very ornery and we even thought she might have an ear infection. Then on the Zions day, she didn’t get a nap at all and about 5pm, she hit the wall. Literally. She was writing and screaming and banging her head on the cement. It wasn’t pretty L We were going to go out to eat afterwards, but ended up going straight home & putting her to bed. She slept from 5:30 on…
-She is just so adorable when she wakes her sisters & dad up in the morning – or when they come back from school or work. She gives the BEST hugs and says I love you!
-Noelle also says Hi a lot, as in “Hi Ireland!” and she won’t stop saying it until you say hi back.
-We are still working with Noelle ONLY writing on paper. She understands, but still has written on the couch, walls, her hands, and her clothes. Still, her coloring has gotten better – more circles and she knows probably half the colors now, too.
-She has learned to express her emotions more lately as well. She will say I’m MAD! And sometimes we sing the Daniel Tiger song and count down from four to help her feel better.
-Noelle has also been asking more questions lately. One of her favorites “why not?”
-Rain, snow, or shine, this girl LOVES to be outside. Mom has been known to bribe her sisters into taking her outside for a while just so she will quit asking all day long.
-Still waiting for the day when the doggie water or the toilet water doesn’t fascinate her!
-Noelle wants to know where everyone is all the time. Daddy at work! Ireland is at school!
-Noelle tells us pretty promptly when she needs a diaper change. She will come up to mom or dad and say “I got stinkers.” Mom will say “You have stinkers?” and she will reply “oooh, yeah.”
-Noelle still LOVES cars. We’re pretty sure her brother sent her here with that love J She usually has a car in each hand most of the day and she loves to go to homes where she can play with new cars. Every time we go to Link’s bench, she steals one or two!
-Noelle did really well on the Easter egg hunt! She found lots of eggs & even waited to open them! When we got them inside, she opened them one by one and said “surprise! Candy canes!”

February Slideshow & Newsletter

Looks like Google Photos has completely taken over Picasa, so I don't think I'll be able to embed the slideshows anymore, so I'll just copy the link to the pictures here for you to look at. Let me know if you can't see them please!

https://goo.gl/photos/SJAWUzhgQX36ySYXA

Hamilton Newsletter

February 2016
FAMILY: February started with a SNOW DAY! It was the first one in over 60 YEARS in Iron County, so it was a big deal! Daddy made pancakes & was able to work from home. The girls built snowmen, made snow angles, and just played in the snow a lot. We watched movies and enjoyed our extra day - it was fun! That day we also celebrated Sydney's 13th birthday! In dog years, that's 91 in dog years! McKinley even made treats for the neighborhood dogs to celebrate :) On the 5th, Jason took the McKinley & Ireland skiing for the first time! They spent a half-day at Brian Head & even though the first run was hard, they said, afterwards they got the hang of it and had a wonderful time! The only sad part was that mom forgot to send them with sunscreen & they got burned :( A fun Activity Days that we did this month was to hand-stitch Valentine's Pillows. McKinley, Ireland & Kezia all got a pillow to work on, so we have 3 small pillows that say "Be Mine."  On the 12th, Jason got to go to North Elementary with McKinley & Ireland and be a watchdog for the day! On the 13th, we all went for a walk on the parkway as a family and it was a fun, beautiful, warm day. Valentine's Day was full of hearts and fun. Daddy made heart pancakes in the morning before church and he got each of the girls a heart full of candy and a rose. Mom had been "heart-attacking" each family member's door each morning with a heart saying one thing she loves about them. After church and naps, the girls were so sweet and set up a masseuse area downstairs. We got relaxing music, lotion, snacks, and lots of good messages. They were so cute to do that for us. The 15th was Presidents Day & we voted to explore Zions on our way to St. George to see Grandma & Grandpa Potts, who were there. We finally were able to use McKinley's free 4th grade pass, so that was nice! We stopped to explore for a while and found a waterfall and some mountain goats! Then we decided to hike to the overlook and that one took longer than expected and we didn't have the hiking backpack, so it was a bit of an ordeal, but we made it through and the view was gorgeous. We stopped for food and ice cream in Springdale & got to St. George about 4pm. It was fun to see the Potts and eat some pizza & visit. All-in-all, it was a fabulous President's Day! Things went downhill from there :( First, McKinley got fevers and headaches. Then, a couple days later, Ireland got the fevers, headaches & then started throwing up. Then it hit Noelle. And finally Kezia. We were one sicky family. Mom also got a cold and dad had a couple days of yuckiness, too. That was almost 2 weeks of yuck and the girls missed plenty of school :( We're glad that's over with & hope it doesn't return for a good long while! The 27th was Mahina's birthday party at Brian Head. Once again, we had a wonderful time sledding, swimming, visiting and snacking. We had to leave a bit early because Noelle was super-tired by 2pm, but we did have a great time and are thankful for good friends. For one of mom's FHE, we talked about the contention in our home and how to deal with anger. Mom also put out a jar for us to fill with jelly beans, each one representing a kind act we did for each other. Our motto is to "KILL CONTENTION WITH KINDNESS!" So far, we have quite a few jelly beans in the jar. It will take a while to fill, but we know we'll get there!

JASON: Jason continues to be very busy - between his detail job and Elder's Quorum. This month, they had a "Manrichment" at the Petersen's home, where they played games, ate food (Jason made sliders), and watched Tim Hawkins. He had fun going to the girls' school to be a watchdog and taking them skiing as well. He also had to (with McKinley & Ireland) do the FHE we had planned for Brookstone - the assisted living community. They sang songs and played Jeopardy. In between all of that, he was very good at helping take care of all the sickies here, including Heidi who was still pregnancy-sick. He helped with the house and all the throw up and is such a good hubby and daddy :)

HEIDI: Heidi finished reading the Count of Monte Cristo this month (good book!) and started Wonder at McKinley's insistence. Mom loves to read books that McKinley has read. Heidi is now 17 weeks pregnant & still working on feeling better. She still throws up every few days and her nights are still a struggle. It's better than a month ago, but we're all hoping it gets much better soon. On the She has started trying to walk more - both outside and on the treadmill. She started a Netflix series while she walked - When Calls the Heart - and got quickly addicted. It's based on the books by Janette Oke, and she has loved watching them. She also watched The Paradise on Netflix, a BBC show. In between all of that, she took care of a lot of sickies and did a lot of laundry and cleaning to try to get all the germs away.

McKINLEY:
-McKinley continues to read the family The BFG and we all love how she does the voices for the giant & little girl.
-Daddy went to McKinley's SEP Conference with Mr. Sahagun. He had great things to say about McKinley and wants her to read harder books. So - the librarian suggested Boston Jane, which she is enjoying right now.
-McKinley had fun making her Valentine's box with her friend, Tazia. She decided to do a dog house and have Tundra on the front with a mouth that opens when you pull his tail. It was really cute.
-On the 20th, McKinley & mom went to a Stake Activity Days event at the stake center. We had fun, learned a lot, passed off faith in god things, and McKinley even got to do a FHE about scripture heroes that we learned from that activity. It was fun.
-McKinley wasn't so sure about skiing at the beginning, but she ended up having a good time!
-McKinley missed a full week of school because of sickness this month :(
-McKinley missed a lot of piano this month because we were out of town or Jan was out of town or McKinley was sick, but she still managed to practice a lot and she played the opening & closing songs for our FHE at Brookstone - an assisted living community. We are so proud of her!

IRELAND:
-Ireland said she was a "natural" at skiing and loved every second of it :)
-Ireland LOVED having daddy at school to be a watchdog! She had been asking about it since school started, so it was a v e r y long wait for her, but she finally got her wish!
-At Ireland's SEPs, Ireland did very well. Her test scores are good. We just need to work on sentence structure and making sure she is reading harder books. We got her a Fablehaven book, which she seems to enjoy so far.
-Ireland had real issues sleeping in her own room in January, but it's been much better in February. We got her a white noise machine, and that seems to help, as well as just consistency - and continuing to read her Book of Mormon.
-One night mom was putting Ireland to bed and asked her why she always takes the elastics out of her hair at night. She said they were way to uncomfortable. Mom pointed out that she almost always wears an elastic in her hair at night & Ireland replied "Well, that's because I have different hair spines that you!"
-Ireland is still enjoying her gymnastics, but can't wait until they teach her harder tricks. She is REALLY close to getting her middle splits though!
-Ireland probably got the brunt of our sickness. She got the fevers, the headaches, a sore throat, AND the throwing up. And - even after a few days of feeling better, she started throwing up again :( Poor girl. We hate seeing her sick.

KEZIA:
-Kezia got to have some fun playdates this month, with Adelaide and Ruby. She loves playing with friends!
-Kezia's SEPs were this month, too, and the main theme was to make sure that Kezia is being challenged, which we know is a challenge :) Her test scores were crazy, like for the Diebels nonsense word test, she got 109 out of 17. We are still working toward getting her enrolled for dual immersion at East Elementary next year so she can have some challenge.
-Kezia was VERY much looking forward to her Valentine's Party at school this year, but it was kind of a rough morning. Sydney followed her and she was really worried she might try to get on the bus with her, so she tried to take her back, but the bus was coming, so the Spencers took her home. Unfortunately , in the chaos, she set down her basket full of Valentines and left it there. Mrs. Ekker called mom that morning, explaining that Kezia was VERY distraught about the Valentines. Thankfully, mom was planning on coming anyway to help with Kezia's Valentine's Pary, so she found her Valentine's & brought them. Mom could tell Kezia had been crying & it had been a difficult morning for her. But once she got her Valentines & got to see mom & Noelle, she brightened & mom had fun helping at the Valentine's Party and meeting Kezia's little friends :)
-While daddy took the older girls skiing, mom & Kezia had fun playing outside, going to the dollar store, coloring, and making oobleck.
-One day we were driving back to Walmart and Kezia asked if they allowed dogs in the store. Mom answered "only service animals." Kezia said loudly "Only CIRCUS animals?" :)
-Kezia has been so sweet and made so many cards & signs for mom & dad & sisters. She is quite the list-maker lately & mom finds her lists of "to-dos" all over the house :)
-Mom made Kezia promise not to get sick like her sisters, but she finally gave in & got the fevers and throwing up for a few days and had to miss school & church. No fun :(

LINK:
Our sweet boy. We sure miss you. Finding out we were having a girl wasn't so bad, but realizing that we wouldn't ever get to raise a boy in this life was heartbreaking for your mommy. She did a lot of crying and praying and finally felt peace, knowing that this is God's will and trusting in His plan for us. Also knowing that you will ALWAYS be our boy. We went hiking in Zions on President's Day & Kezia pointed out a "rainbow" in the rock and mommy smiled as she thought of the ways you show us your love :) We know you are doing great things where you are at and we ask for your help as we try to get back into family history and do our part to help our dead. We love and miss you with all our hearts.

NOELLE:
-Noelle wakes up talking and doesn't seem to stop all day long! Whether it's pointing to things and naming them, or singing songs, or asking questions (where are we going? is that Kezia? Where is daddy), we constantly get to hear her cute, sweet little voice and we love it.
-Noelle knows probably 3/4 of the alphabet and a lot of the numbers up to 10 as well. She loves to point to the letters & numbers on keyboards.
-One thing her brother sent her with is a love for all things cars! She especially loves this red car & this green car & wants to carry them everywhere & sleep with them. When we drive places, she will point out all the cars & try to figure out their colors.
-We are still working with Noelle to color only on PAPER. One day mom came in the living room and she came to her with a pen and said "Good job!" mom looked down at the couch and saw pen all over it and said "No! That is NOT a good job! We only color on PAPER!" Now, whenever we hear her say "good job" we check on the situation immediately :)
-Noelle's sickness seemed to linger for a while. She would really cry when she would first eat in the morning & we really wondered if she had strep throat or something, but she seems a lot better now.
-Noelle still loves Signing Time, Chu Chu TV, and Dora, but she has expanded a bit to Daniel Tiger and Curious George!
-This girl LOVES naps & bedtime! The minute we say those words, she usually RUNS to her room & tries to climb her crib to get in!
-Noelle also LOVES selfies! If she is grouchy and we turn the camera to selfie mode on our phones, she will immediately calm down and start smiling at herself and laughing. We have a LOT of selfies of her on our phones :)
-Noelle knows how to sign the letter L and the letter a.
-She is big lately on putting things to "bed." she will grab a blanket and put it on a person, or a stuffed animal, or a phone, or a shoe and put it to bed :)
-It is SO much fun seeing her watch for Kezi or her sisters to get home. She gets SO excited!
-Driving or walking by a park is dangerous. Noelle will say "SLIDE! SLIDE!" and start crying till she gets her way!
-She also LOVES the outside. She will stand by the door, trying to open it, saying "outside! outside!" We can't wait till we get the fence fully finished so we don't have to worry about her getting to the street.
-Noelle's prayers are so precious. She will say "bless Noelle, bless the cup, bless daddy, bless sisters" etc, etc. She can keep going for a while if you let her :)

January Newsletter & Slideshow

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2016_01_Slideshow

Hamilton Newsletter

January 2016
FAMILY: It has been a cold, snowy January, so we haven't gotten out a lot this month, but we've still managed to make memories & have fun. On the 5th, the girls got to go to Del Parson's art studio for Activity Days. That was really neat and cool. The 15th - 18th was spent with the Potts family in Bear Lake at the annual retreat. The girls were just ecstatic about going and even planned a fun "to do" list :) There was a lot more snow this year than last year, so we had fun playing in it, going sledding & snowmobiling (though with so much powder, sledding was a cold, messy business), eating yummy food, playing lots of games (including SET, Parents vs. Kids, Yahtzee, etc), watching movies (The Walk, Hotel Transylvania 2, etc), going to church, celebrating Grandpa Potts' retirement with sparkling cider and pie, playing in their downstairs play area, shaking cream to make butter :) and just visiting & enjoying each other. It was so great to see the family - especially the Checketts from Minnesota. They just found out they are having a boy - congratulations!! We are so happy for their family.  We headed to the Potts' on Monday (MLK day) and spent the night before heading back to Cedar. It was another wonderful retreat with loved ones! The rest of the month was spent doing our regular things, but we have enjoyed the time :)

JASON: Jason had a bad cold that lingered for probably 3 weeks this month :( He also started a new detail with the Forest Service as an administrative operations specialist. It's a 90 day detail. He has been learning a lot of new things and working long hours. One of his employees has sadly been fighting cancer, so we've been praying for her and Jason and his other teammate has been doing her job, too. Jason has been so good to be Mr. Mom while Heidi has been feeling so awful with pregnancy & has done a lot of dishes & putting the girls to bed by himself :)

HEIDI: Heidi picked up a book she's been wanting to read for a while, Monte Cristo. It's over 1000 pages, so we'll see how long it takes :) She's been busy with her Activity Days calling and had a meeting to schedule things, but we decided to change to every other week instead of every week, so that has been nice. Most of January for Heidi was spent in yuckiness as she has been working through pregnancy sickness. This time it's mostly been at night that has been the worst. She hasn't taken Zofran yet, but continues to take her B6/Unisom compound and it helps, although she still seems to throw up every 2-3 days. She is so thankful for Jason's help. On the 25th, Heidi met with a genetic consoler in St. George & they drew blood and did a genetic test. It came back fine & it looks like we'll be welcoming a baby girl in August!

McKINLEY:
-McKinley continues to love playing piano & singing. She even sang in our ward choir for the Stake Conference & dod a fantastic job!
-McKinley has been reading The BFG, by Roald Dahl to the family at night. She does the voices so good & it's been fun to read a book that she loves.
-There are 2 new boys in McKinley's class. One of them, Preston, has been made fun of by the boys in her class & she has stuck up for him and invited him to play with her and her friends. The other one is a boy from China, named Tom, and she has tried to talk to him and has downloaded an app on her tablet to learn Chinese so she can talk to him and learn a new language. We're very proud of how she has chosen to be like Jesus and make sure everyone is loved & included!
-At the end of the month, McKinley got to go to Hallie's 11th birthday party - she had fun!

IRELAND:
-Sadly, Ireland left her tablet on the ground one day and it got stepped on :( Thankfully, we had insurance on it and we are able to get a new one.
-Mom took Ireland to get her cavities filled & when the dental assistant came to take her back, mom asked for a kiss, but she was too embarrassed & only blew her a kiss :(
-After being on the waiting list for about 6 months, Ireland got into SUU gymnastics! She has had a lot of fun and her favorite part is doing bars (just like her momma) :)
-Ireland has been having a hard time sleeping again lately & has been playing musical beds with her sisters.
-One morning Ireland was trying to put away all the dishes for her choice chore, but we needed to get out the door for school. Mom backed out the car & honked for her & she finally came. When mom came home, she found out that (apparently for the sake of time) Ireland had just dumped the whole silverware container into the drawer. :/
-Maddy was so cute with Ireland at the cabin. She called her "the girl with the Hello Kitty shirt" in the beginning and then later she would say "where is my friend?" She loved to hang out with Ireland & follow her around :)

KEZIA:
-Kezia really enjoys Kindergarten, but struggles to stay challenged. She says her teacher won't let her go ahead :( We are looking at putting her in the Spanish Dual Immersion program for 1st grade next year.
-Kezia's favorite part of January was going to the Bear Lake Cabin & playing with her cousins
-Kezia got to go to Courtney's house for a late-over this month!
-She is really into asking if this or that would be a WORLD RECORD?

LINK:
As a lot of moms have been added to our SIDS moms group on Facebook, I have had the opportunity to connect with a lot of them and talk a lot about my experience with you, my sweet boy, and losing you, and surviving without you here. I love to tell your story and I'm thankful to be able to help others who are going through this heartbreaking experience. When mommy found out she was having a girl, she had a really hard day. Realizing that she wouldn't get to raise a boy in this lifetime. But we know God has a plan for our family & you will always be our boy. We know you have been able to spend time with your sister & prepare her to come to our family. We love you & miss you always Link!

NOELLE:
-Noelle continues to amaze us with all she knows and understands! She can point to probably 10 letters, she (almost) knows how to count to 10, she knows a few shapes & we're working on colors. She can sing 3 or 4 songs, including her Noelle goodnight song, which is so so cute :)
-Noelle loved the cabin & especially getting to play with Caden & Grace. She & Caden had quite the rousing game of Yahtzee at one point :) She didn't especially love the sledding, though, and went into the van after about an hour.
-Noelle is so cute at saying prayers. She folds her arms, puts her head on the table, and says her prayer & she's really good about saying Jesus Christ, Amen at the end. :) Sometimes we catch her even saying prayers randomly by herself.
-When you do something Noelle doesn't like, like her sisters do, she will look at you & say "DON'T!"
-Another cute thing Noelle has learned - saying "Xcuse me!" when she toots or burps and "Bless you!" when someone sneezes
-A NOT-so-cute thing she has been doing is drawing on things other than paper. Crayon on the wall upstairs & PERMANENT marker on the wall downstairs. And other items in-between. One time mom even watched as she drew on paper & then drew on the counter & told herself "No, no!"
-When Noelle bumps her head or falls down, or even if she hits herself on the head, she says "You Okay?"
-Noelle loves naptime & bedtime! She always looks forward to her blankie, doggie, and binki!

 

December Newsletter & Slideshow

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2015_12_Slideshow



Hamilton Newsletter

December 2015
FAMILY: It was a fun, meaningful Christmas season this year. The family got to see lots of Santas this year. The first one was at the ward Christmas party. Then, daddy's work had Smoky the Bear as well as Santa. And then the Gregerson's had Santa come to their home & we got to come see him :) On the 18th, we got to go to a Christmas party at the Vogts. They had yummy food & it was fun to sit & visit with our good friends! On the 19th, we headed to St. George so mom & dad could go to the temple and then we went to Tuacahn to see the live nativity. And then we drove to some of the cool lit-up homes in St. George. It was a fun night. The girls got to wear their beautiful new, sparkly, blue dresses from Grandma Devenish to church on the 20th. And on the 21st, we got to see the Bealers in the morning! Yay! Also - over the Christmas break, we watched the first 3 Star Wars movies - the girls had never seen them :) Also - mom and dad installed magnet boards in each of the girls' rooms as an early Christmas gift - they are so fun & nice! Mom took the girls sledding on the 22nd, and then daddy took them sledding on Christmas Eve. After sledding, we had a nice meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and rolls. Then we watched a Christmas movie and then mom had a special talk with the family about the special Christmases we have had over the years, including the Christmas mom & dad fell in love, the Christmas daddy was out of work and we were given so many sweet gifts, and the year Link came home. Then the girls got to put on their new Christmas jammies from Grandma Potts, we read The Night Before Christmas and sang songs, and then it was time for bed. This was the first year we've had just our little family on Christmas Eve and it was neat. Christmas morning came with all the delights of gifts and surprises. For our family Santa gift, we got a new projector to use downstairs - yay! Also - this was the first year mom insisted on the girls all buying gifts for each other & mom and dad, so that was fun to exchange gifts. We had a wonderful morning. We left for SLC at about 3, once the snow had calmed down and got to Grandma's about 6. We had dinner at the Potts & enjoyed having the Edwards & GG over. The next day Uncle Richard came as well as the Simons & Edwards and we opened more gifts. Later that day, we watched movies and played popcorn games. Sunday was church and then the Tew party. It was fun to see everyone and the white elephant gift exchange is always fun! On Monday, the Potts took the girls ice skating to McDonald's - thanks Grandpa & Grandma! We headed home on Monday afternoon and spent the rest of the Christmas break in Cedar.  We went swimming on Wednesday & the girls also went ice skating with daddy. Grandma & Grandpa Devenish came to visit & it was fun to see them! New Years' Eve, we cleaned and played our new games from Christmas: SET, Beat the Parents, and Fibber. We also read memories from 2015 from mom's newsletters & we watched the 2015 slideshow.  Mom went to bed at 10:00, but daddy, Ireland & Kezia stayed up till midnight!

JASON: Jason enjoyed going to the holiday activities at his work and also taking some time off to spend with family. Jason's santa gift was a new phone! He's had fun playing with his new Samsung s5.

HEIDI: The first weekend in December, Heidi went up to SLC with some ladies in the ward and ran a little 5k & had fun talking, eating & shopping. Unfortunately, Heidi lost her wallet and could not find it, so she had to replace everything in it :( Heidi was working this month on finishing up the homemade gifts for family, including a family tree game and Link tie bars. Heidi's Santa gift was a sound bar for upstairs. It's been great to send music and scriptures and whatnot to the bluetooth soundbar. Heidi also got some new boots and pants - yay!  

McKINLEY:
-McKinley had a "day of coding" at her school & she had a lot of fun doing that.
-On the 11th, McKinley's school had an extra Mini Mall & McKinley wanted to participate. So - we made mint brownies, snickerdoodles, and donuts! It was a lot of work! But McKinley made a lot of LiMe tickets and she completely sold out of her goodies!
-McKinley said that boys are already starting to ask girls out in her grade. She thinks that's pretty dumb (and she's right!)
-McKinley got to go on a lunch date with daddy this month - they went to Brody's Mexican Restaurant. She said it was yummy!
-McKinley worked for hours and hours on a gift for mom. She worked in her room and spent every spare moment on her secret present. Mom opened it on Christmas morning - a beautiful bouquet of flowers made out of felt!! There were purple ones and blue forget-me-nots. It was such a special gift & mom loves it!
-For McKinley's Santa gift, she got a Makey-Makey! It's a device that plugs into a computer & she's able to use any object to control the computer. It's pretty cool! She also got a Ronald Dahl (her favorite author) book set, lots of earrings, some overalls, and some new music. Grandma Devenish made her a brand new QUILT! It is beautiful, soft, warm & looks great on her bed!

IRELAND:
-Ireland's class got to go on a field trip to the movie theater to see Polar Express. She had fun!
-Ireland didn't want to sell anything for the mini mall, but apparently she bought lots of sweets!
-We were walking back from activity days one day & mom was walking with Noelle - holding her hand. Ireland said "every one of your steps is two of her steps." Mom said "that's because I'm twice as tall as her." Ireland said "more like THRICE!"
-For Christmas, Ireland got a beautiful Christmas dress from Grandma Devenish, a mermaid tail for her to use from Santa, a cute purple outfit, Digibirds, a crystal shamrock necklace, and some games. She also got a snorkel set from Aunt Cindy. Yay!
-Christmas evening when mom was putting Ireland to bed, she tucked her in & asked what her favorite gift from Christmas was. Ireland said "You mean besides the gift of Jesus?" :)

KEZIA:
-Kezia said one day "I want a gift card for Christmas!" Mom asked why? She said "So I don't have to use any of my precious money to buy things."
-Kezia got to have a PJ day at school & loved it!
-We were listening to a song one day that said "Completely unaware." Kezia must have not heard it correctly, because she said "ew - it said underwear!!" :)
-Kezia's big news this month - she lost her first tooth!!! It was loose for days & daddy worked at it. It was pretty stubborn, but he finally got it out and Kezia put it under her pillow on Christmas Eve. We got visited by the tooth fairy AND Santa on the same night!
-Kezi's big Santa gift for Christmas was a huge, 3 foot tall Elsa castle! She also got a beautiful Christmas dress from Grandma Devenish & mom & dad got her a robe & My Little Pony towel, a sticker by number activity, & a Mining for Gems set.

LINK:
The Christmas season always has a big piece missing, and that is you, our sweet boy. We are grateful that you get to spend it with the author of Christmas, though, and we hope you saw how we tried to use the money we would have spent on your gifts to brighten someone else's Christmas day. We love you so much Link. Thank you for all you do for our family.

NOELLE:
-Noelle, of course, loved all the Christmas decorations. She loved to take all the plastic ball ornaments off the tree and throw them like a ball. She also loved the yarn Christmas house that Jason's grandma made and she loved the nativity sets - she especially liked to take baby Jesus and his manger.
-Noelle has gradually done better with nursery. She still cries when mom leaves, but she calms down quicker and has been better about participating. We hope she continues to progress & hopefully one day she will ask to go to nursery!
-Noelle found some paint downstairs and came upstairs with hands and shirt covered in blue. After cleaning off Noelle, mom headed downstairs to see the damage. Carpet, walls, stuffed animals. :)
-Noelle has liked to pull hair lately for some reason. We've had to start putting her in time-out. Now, if she does something & mom even says the words time out, she will go sit on the rug by the front door with the saddest expression on her face :(
-Noelle is cute about wanting to set the table. She will get out the plates and put them on the table.
-She has started to throw fits & have meltdowns when she doesn't get her way. She will just lay down on the floor and cry. Hello pre-terrible-twos!! :)
-Noelle really loves to sing & can most of 5 or 6 songs, including her goodnight song.
-For the most part, Noelle didn't really notice when her "Noel" song came on this season, but there was a NOEL solo by a young man in our ward and he sang the Noel part very loud. Noelle kept turning around & looking at him like "why is he yelling my name?"
-Noelle often has questionable fashion choices. She often wants us to put on Dora panties over her jammies or clothes and she almost always has some type of shoe on - usually boots that she can put on herself :)
-Noelle loves to assign things to people. As in "Ireland's backpack!" "Kezia's shoes!" "McKinley's apple!" She sure loved having her sisters home for the Christmas break.
-Noelle's Santa gift was a slide! It's about 4 feet tall & Noelle didn't even want to eat breakfast after seeing it. She just kept going down it and saying "Again!" Again!" She also got a cute outfit, button art activity, a BabyLit book set, and a Leapfrog ABC Magnet set, which she has fun using on the magnet board in her room. She also got a beautiful dress from Grandma Devenish, and a magnet puzzle from the Edwards. She got spoiled this year, but had a lot of fun!