The Pages

Check this out...

2012-01-25T13:11:00.002-07:00

Seriously... it's so cool!

Perfect Portion Scale

Almost a Year Ago... Discovery Gateway

2012-01-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

I've been going through pictures and found some cute, old ones that never made it on the blog. Back in February 2011... I know right, we went to Discovery Gateway. It was a real treat, because that place is EXPENSIVE, but we bought a groupon and made a day out of it. We took Trax downtown, which is always so exciting for the kids. They loved riding the train, and loved everything there was to do at Discovery Gateway. I can't get over how much Sydney has changed.... dang they grow so fast!

Warm Days in January!

2012-01-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

We've had some really nice weather this month. I can't believe how much it has helped January- (the most dreaded, longest, coldest, depressing month of the year) go by faster and be more enjoyable. I am most definitely a fair weather person. I'll never forget the year Matt and I lived in Provo. That January was the worst. Inversion every day and freezing. Freezing, like below 20 every day. We didn't even have a car port, so literally every time we got in the car, even if we'd only been out of it for an hour in the middle of the day, we had to scrape... To make matters worse, my family lived in sunny, beautiful-January-weather Arizona. 31 days of miserable, freezing, depressing, yucky air weather. We literally didn't see the sun for the whole month. I shudder just thinking of it.

Fast forward 5 years and we've had a beautiful January. We've had days that we've even reached 60 degrees! We took full advantage of it and took the kids to the park with some of their new Christmas toys. Cooper loved hitting his baseball off the tee that Grandma and Pamps gave him. Sydney had a blast riding her scooter around. And we all enjoyed throwin' the pig skin around. We didn't even have to wear big winter coats. It was glorious.

I just hope we don't pay for it with snow in June...

Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Tray?

2012-01-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Caught ya red handed buddy!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T14:13:00.001-07:00

Christmas Eve was a fun and busy day. We slept in after a long traveling day, being up late the night before, and having a sick Cooper throwing up during the night. I think his poor tummy must have been upset from all the driving and snacks. We did a few things around the house- washed sheets, wrapped a few presents, and even hit the stores to buy groceries and a few last minute gifts that had not been bought yet. Matt and Sydney headed over to Nana's house, while I stayed home with Cooper so he could get a nap.

Later, Cooper and I joined them at Nana's, where we had our annual Christmas Eve dinner. This year we had soup and bread bowls and it was delicious! We had a white elephant gift exchange, which was really fun. Sydney opened a funny picture of Kelsey, and she loves it and wants to actually display it in our house. Sydney, Cooper, and Mason also exchanged gifts. Mason gave them cute little quiet toys for church, that I'm sure we will all love! We also read the Christmas story. I love the book that Nana and Papa put together. It includes many songs, which I think always brings the spirit and helps break up the reading. It is such a nice tradition.

For the past couple months, Matt and I have been working on a Christmas present for Nana that would be from all the grandkids. When Matt was preparing his talk for Papa's funeral, we had the idea to compile a book of all our favorite memories of Papa along with pictures. We thought it would make a perfect Christmas present, and that it would be a nice way of having those memories written down. The book included a personal memory written by each grandchild along with pictures of that grandchild with Papa. It also had Matt's "grandchildren talk" in it. I think it turned out really nice, and we were really excited to give it to Nana on Christmas Eve with most everyone there.

It was obviously very emotional when Nana opened the book. I think we were all a bit teary. She looked through it for a bit and came around and gave each of us a hug.

When we got home from Nana's house, we set out some cookies for Santa, and Sydney and Cooper opened some new pajamas. They went to bed so quickly, which I was grateful for because we had so much to do! The other big project that Matt and I have been working on was a Christmas present for the kids. We've been building a play kitchen for them. The kitchen still needed another coat of paint, the backs nailed on, sink glued in, and more. We were up pretty late working on it, and it still didn't get all the way done. I'll have to post a picture of the finished product. It still needs doors on the fridge, and the curtain isn't done being sewn (I just taped it up for the kids to see when they came out). But it was finished enough that we could give it to them. I think it turned out so darling, and I love it! I can't wait until it is all the way finished!

Then we wrapped presents, put them under the tree, and helped Santa lay out presents...

It was a lot of work, and another late night... but the morning totally made it worth it! We video taped the kids coming down the stairs and into the family room. It was so fun to see their reactions. Cooper saw his Mac truck and Lightening McQueen first. He was so excited. Sydney loved her scooter and scooted around on it all day.

They didn't even notice the kitchen until we pointed it out to them... but they were so excited about it! Most of the presents that were from Mom and Dad were kitchen related. Little pots and pans, play food, etc. They would each open a present and take it over to the kitchen and play for a little bit before coming back to open another one. They also got some cute kitchen things from Pamps and Grandma Holmes (a toaster, mixer, and hot cocoa maker). They love playing with all their kitchen stuff.

It was such a fun morning. I loved watching the kids play with all the presents they got. And I loved having a morning just to ourselves. I just love our cute little family.

After a relaxing morning at home, we went over to my family's house for a late breakfast. Then we headed up to my grandparent's house. We missed church, because the only time we could visit my grandparents was during church, since they had to be up at Temple Square most of the day. I was bummed to miss church, but it was really nice to visit with my grandparents. After that, we headed home. My family came over to see the kids' toys and kitchen. After they left, we watched movies and took some naps. And we ended the day with a nice dinner at my family's house. Such a great Christmas!

Christmas 2011 was nearly picture perfect in the Page household. Don't get me wrong... there were a lot of things that I wanted to do that didn't get done. But as I look back on pictures, and remember the month of December, I think about the spirit and magic of the Christmas Season. I remember the fun things we did together as a family. I remember the projects Matt and I worked on together. I remember our kids being so excited about Christmas literally every day, especially Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The things that didn't get done aren't the things we will remember.

I feel like we were so blessed this year to spend some of Christmas with almost all of our loved ones. We spent the week before Christmas with Matt's parents and most of his siblings in Oregon. We spent Christmas Eve at Nana's house with cousins, aunts and uncles, Chris, Lisa, and Mason, and Nana. We spent Christmas morning in our home with our little family of 4. And spent some of Christmas Day with my parents, siblings, and grandparents. It really was perfect. (Funny how that can happen even when your house isn't clean and your projects aren't finished!) I am so grateful to have such a great family. I am especially grateful for Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for his glorious birth and his resurrection. I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation, and that through Christ's Atonement we can all be together forever.

Our Trip to Oregon

2012-01-02T21:49:00.005-07:00

We did it! We were finally able to make a trip up to Oregon! It has been so long since we've been able to go up there, due to work responsibilities and finances. A trip up there was long overdue. Since Matt works on Saturdays, we planned to leave after he got off work on Saturday the 17th, and drive to Boise where we would spend the night, then finish the drive to Salem on Sunday. I had planned to take the kids to the McEwan family Christmas party while Matt was working on Saturday. It all worked according to plan, except Matt got off a little early and came to the party with us! We had a good time at the party, as usual. We decorated cookies, made ornaments for the tree, played Christmas bingo, ate lunch, chatted, and opened presents. Sydney always loves playing with Jocelyn, and the kids always love to see Grandma Great. I love watching them talk to her. Cooper asked her if she wanted to go camping with him... and I busted up laughing. My grandma wasn't a camper even in her younger years. Isn't he darling to think of her though?

On a side note: The kids have been obsessed with the idea of camping lately. Sydney asks, practically every day if we can go camping "tomorrow when it's summer" because I told her we couldn't go in the winter. It's so cute she says, "Mommy, I have a great idea. How about we go camping tomorrow when it's summer? I think it's getting warmer today!"

We left the McEwan party, and headed straight to Boise. It was actually nice to have had a nice lunch in our tummies, instead of the typical "road trip fast food." I believe we made it to Boise with only one stop... a bathroom break. When we got to the Motel 6 to check in, Matt went inside while I waited in the car with the kids. Someone pulled up next to us, and Sydney asked where they were from. I said I didn't know, and she said, "oh, maybe Jupiter." Ha ha... probably not.

Sydney and Cooper had a great time at the hotel. They were so happy to be out of the car, and enjoyed exploring and playing a little bit. We watched some tv and went to bed. Luckily we had a room with two beds, so the kids shared and of course Cooper fell off the bed twice, getting a nice bruise on his forehead, even though he was on the side right up next to the wall. I'm really not sure how that happened.

We got up in the morning, grabbed some breakfast at McDonalds and were on our way. The drive was long... so long. But we had optimal weather. No rain, snow, nothing. The kids, of course would get restless, so we tried to take breaks, but not too many, so we could make good time. It was a hard balance. They took a few naps, watched a lot of movies, and had lots of snacks...3 definite necessities for a road trip! Sydney kept telling us, "I want to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house!" And we would tell her that is where we were going. She'd say, "no, now!" Really overall, they did great.

Always holding Bootsy and Yankee Bear

It was so exciting once we finally got there. We walked up to the door, rang the doorbell and gave hugs galore! Matt pretty much headed straight out the door to go to Jeff's football banquet with Molly, Alex, and Kenin, and the kids and I stayed with Grandma. Cooper was so excited to be out of the car that he ran around in circles for about 15 minutes straight. The kids loved seeing all the things they could play with... nativities, doll houses, stuffed toys. They played with those toys all week, and loved every second of it!

It was a nice, relaxing week. Matt played a lot of X-box with his brothers. The kids loved playing with toys and family. I did a lot of reading (Finally started reading my birthday present, The Help. It was great and I'd highly recommend it!)

Highlights include: Cooper watching Megamind with Grandpa~ Sydney playing "cakes" on the I-pad~ making cookies with Grandma~ going out to eat... Walrey's and Mo's~ a trip to the beach~ shopping~ hanging out together~ Pizza with friends ~ Seeing the Moores~ Sydney playing with Lucy~ family pictures~ sewing and shopping for material with Missy~ reading the Christmas story and opening Christmas presents!

We were so spoiled with our Christmas presents, and enjoyed being able to open them all together. Matt got a Logitech Revue, the kids got toys and some clothes, and I got a sewing machine! I am so excited to learn a bit about sewing and start some projects :) The kids have loved playing with their toys. And Matt can't get enough of his Logitech Revue. So perfect.

Family Pictures

Being spoiled by grandparents... riding little rides that parents almost always say "no" to.

Grandpa and Grandma!

the beach

When it was time to leave, we woke up to "Boat Pancakes" YUM! After a nice breakfast, we began the long trek home... planning on doing the whole drive in one day this time. Our drive home was pretty uneventful. It was LONG, and boring. We had great weather (again!) and Cooper bawled the last hour. Nothing would console him. Not snacks. Not a movie. Nothing. He just begged and begged to get out. Luckily it was the end of the drive. It was late when we got home. The kids went straight to bed, and Matt and I crawled in bed around 2:30 (early Christmas Eve).

We had such a great time! It really went by so quickly and we were sad to see it end. It was fun to celebrate a little of Christmas with Matt's family and to just spend time with them. Thanks for everything Kenin and Missy!

Nativity

2011-12-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

At the Holmes Family Christmas Party, we did a little nativity story. It was so cute to see all the kids dressed up. Sydney was an angel, and Cooper a shepherd. Some of my favorite Christmas traditions are Christ centered... glad we did this one this year!

Sydney and Cooper have been so cute... during their daily playing, I often hear them playing "Mary and Joseph." Cooper will come up to me and say, "Mommy, I Joseph!" I'm so happy that the Christmas Story has stuck with them. Love it.

Preschool Program

2011-12-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

We had our preschool Christmas program on the 15th of December. I think it went really well. Of course we had wiggly kids, kids who didn't want to sing, and shy kids... but that's what you get in preschool. It was so fun to see the kids perform their parts and sing the songs they had practiced. Very rewarding. Sydney said her part perfectly. Nice and loud and clear. "The best part about Christmas is decorating cookies with my mommy... for Santa." She improvised a little, and added "for Santa" in there. And, no I did not persuade her to include me in her best part about Christmas. I'm so happy that she loves making cookies with me! Sydney sang most of the songs well, but was definitely one of the wiggly ones... maybe her attention span will be a bit better next year :) We didn't get great pictures, since Matt was recording (with our new video camera!) and I was in charge... but here are a couple:

Sydney and her good friend Ella

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T10:45:00.002-07:00

Temple Square

2011-12-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we went down town to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. It is one of my favorite traditions. I just love the peace and the Spirit that I feel there. The kids loved it! We parked at Little America, and rode Trax to "The Square"... (Yes I have picked up the missionary lingo from my grandparents). As always, Sydney and Cooper loved the train. They sat in the stroller on it, and pretended that it was a roller coaster... putting their hands up and everything. After our tour of the Square, we strolled over to Deseret Book to warm up a bit before getting on Trax again. We got some gingerbread cookies and looked at their fun window display. Then we headed back to Little America and ate dinner... my favorite! That night was just what I needed. Being with my family, some fresh air, yummy food, and feeling the Spirit. Love it.

Santa

2011-12-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

Courtney and I took the kids to see Santa at the mall the other day. The kids absolutely loved it! Sydney and Kate were literally jumping up and down yelling "Santa!" and giggling. The charge for pictures with Santa is very expensive, so we just took pictures of them waiting in line. I thought that Cooper would be a bit apprehensive to meet Santa and sit on his lap... I couldn't have been more wrong. He walked straight up to him and said enthusiastically, "Hi Santa!" He sat up on his lap, and told Santa that he wanted a ball for Christmas. Then he said, "going North Pole?" I've been amazed at how much he is remembering little things like that. Sydney told Santa that she wanted a scooter. I really hope she's good enough for Santa to bring her one, because she really wants one. She is drawing scooters on everything now :)

Sunday Naps

2011-12-13T09:08:00.001-07:00

December, and we have yet to find a good schedule for naps on Sunday. We've tried laying the kids down for a short nap before church... won't go to sleep. We've tried laying Cooper down the second we get home... stays up too late. And we've tried keeping them up and just putting them to bed early... That's when they fall asleep while standing up at 5:00. If only they would just sleep through our 1:00 Sacrament Meeting...

9:00 church... here we come!

Dear Santa

2011-12-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

It's Begining to Look a Lot Like...

2011-12-07T11:22:00.003-07:00

We are loving having our decorations out! Most of them are home made (I'm hoping to be able to buy stuff for our tree next year)... and we even made a few new ones this year! Tis the Season!

North Pole Breakfast

2011-12-06T18:16:00.005-07:00

The day before Thanksgiving, we woke up to a North Pole Breakfast, provided by Criddle the Elf. We were all so excited to see her again, and are glad she found us in our new house! She brought us some snow covered doughnuts, snowy hot chocolate, and peppermint kisses to eat, along with the Elf on the Shelf book, a letter, and some hand cut snowflakes. We decided they definitely have yummy breakfasts in the North Pole! The kids loved it!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

We had such a great Thanksgiving this year! It was so nice to be able to spend some quality time together, and we truly have so much to be thankful for! The last few months have really shown us what great family and friends we have. We are so grateful for them, and especially for the gospel. Life is good, and we are thankful for the many blessings we have been given.

Our little pilgrims

The beautiful Thanksgiving table...

Tim was voted MVP in the Turkey Bowl... and yes he played with a broken ankle and cast!

Sydney's "Thankful Turkey"
friends~Mommy~Cooper~Daddy~the park~my bike

FOUR

2011-12-06T11:16:00.005-07:00

Miss Sydney,

I can't believe you are four years old! The past four years have been some of the best of my life because of you. You are such a joy. I love your personality and how outgoing you are. You inspire me to be better and to try to make friends more easily. The other day, we went to a Thanksgiving party with Great-Grandma and Grandpa Holmes and the Temple Square Missionaries. You ran around with all the missionaries and danced and sang with them. It was so fun to watch you make friends with people almost 20 years older than you. When we left, you told me, "Mommy, I made new friends! I love my new friends!" I love your enthusiasm and zest for life! I love to listen to your made-up stories before bed, and sing songs with you, and tuck you in good night. It makes me so happy when you "lock" me up in your hugs, and won't let me go until you find the "right key.... not the house key, not the preschool key, not the car key, not the mail key... the right key!" You have a great imagination, and I love to listen to you play. You are a good big sister. You play with Cooper and involve him in your games. He misses you when you are in preschool. You have great faith. Your prayers are so innocent and beautiful. I love it when you, "bless the temples." You often say prayers with your babies and toys... I see how much the gospel is a part of your life. Most of all, I love it when you tell me, "Mommy, you make my heart love!" Sydney, you are beautiful, and you make my heart love more than I ever imagined it could. I am so grateful that I am able to be your mother.

Love,

Mommy

Sydney's Birthday

2011-11-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

Sydney had such a fun, little birthday this year. She was so excited to be able to celebrate in school. On a kid's birthday, we let them wear a birthday crown, sing happy birthday to them, let them blow out "candles," and let them pass out birthday treats if they want. We've had a few birthdays in our class already, and Sydney was really looking forward to being able to do this on her birthday. The only problem was, she wanted to turn 5 instead of 4, like all the other kids in her class. I told her that she'd turn 5 after she turned 4, and she seemed ok with that.

Wearing her birthday crown

Blowing out her "candles"... each friend is a candle and when Sydney blew on them they fell to the ground.

Passing out her treats

We let Sydney open a few presents the night before her birthday, and she was excited. On her birthday, we decorated with balloons and a banner. And Sydney helped me make her birthday cake. She wanted a purple cake with flowers. It was fun to be able to work on it together. In the evening, we had a little party with my parents, Allie, Nana, and Jonne. We had cake and ice cream, and Sydney opened presents. It was a perfect little celebration.

the cake... it kind of looks blue in the pictures, but it was purple

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

We love you Sydney and had so much fun celebrating your big day!

Halloween

2011-11-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

Since we have had so much going on in the past little bit, I had decided to make Halloween pretty low key around here. I went through my mom's old Halloween box and found a cute witch that would fit Sydney and a pumpkin that would fit Cooper. I thought it would be perfect, because the two costumes looked really cute together, and then I wouldn't really have to spend time/money trying to find/make costumes. So I told the kids what they were going to be for Halloween, making sure to make the costumes sound extra cool and fun. They both seemed fine with the ideas, so I was excited to be done with my Halloween preparations.

As Halloween got closer, we started talking about it a lot in preschool. Sydney would excitedly yell, "I'm going to be a witch!" While all the other girls said, "I'm going to be a barbie-mermaid/barbie-fairy/rapunzel/princess." So Sydney got the idea in her head that a witch wasn't a very good costume and decided that she wanted to be Cinderella. One of Sydney's best friends, not in preschool, was actually going to be a witch, so I kept telling her, "Kate's going to be a witch! You two will be the cutest witches!" Sydney would seem ok with the idea for a little bit, but always kept going back to the idea of Cinderella. Sydney does have Cinderella dress ups already, so it was an easy costume to pull off, but I really wanted her to dress up in something that she didn't already wear every day. I kept trying to push the witch idea. As I was pushing this idea, Cooper got it in his head, and he decided that he wanted to be a witch. (I guess I was very convincing... just to the wrong child!) Then I had two kids who didn't want to wear their Halloween costumes. Finally the night before Halloween, I caved and decided Sydney could be Cinderella. I just wanted her to be happy on Halloween, and happy she was. Then I had to figure out how to make Cooper happy. Luckily, his pumpkin costume is made out of an orange fabric with ghosts, pumpkins, and witches on it. So I showed him the witch on the pumpkin costume and told him he could be a "pumpkin-witch!" He loved the idea. So for Halloween 2011 we had the pumpkin-witch and Cinderella!

We had preschool the morning of Halloween and it was such a fun day. The kids were so excited about their costumes and our little party, and they actually did really well. It was probably one of my easiest days teaching, which isn't common. Halloween can be a pretty difficult day for teachers. It did help that Lindsey and I were both there, and we had a mother helper :) We did a little costume parade, where the kids would come out, stand in front of all the parents, say what they were dressed up as, turn around twice, and shout out "Happy Halloween!" Sydney loved it. She wasn't the least bit shy.

We didn't have a ton of time for trick-or-treating that day because Matt was working at the greenhouse and worked pretty late. But the kids did go to a few houses and loved it! We also visited my parents and the Walch family. Everyone kept telling Cooper what a cute pumpkin he was and he would get mad and say, "No! punkin-witch!" So funny. I'm sure he's the only pumpkin-witch there ever was. It was a great Halloween. Kids really make it so much more fun.

Our pumpkin-witch... he never lets go of Bootsy

Beautiful Cinderella

Sydney even dressed her baby Abby up

That smile made it all worth it!

Our House!

2011-11-09T17:39:00.001-07:00

We got the keys to our house the evening after Alex got home, October 20th, and when I say evening, I mean last possible minute... 5:00. We were expecting to get them bright and early, but it didn't happen. So moving in was quite the hurried hassle, unlike how I had envisioned it. It didn't matter though, because I was just so happy to be moving into OUR house.

We've been in almost 3 weeks now, and have seriously been loving it. I'll just say I'm in Love with it. I am so beyond excited that we don't have to move again in a year. I'm so happy that we were able to stay in the ward. And I love the fact that I can do what I want with it... if I want to paint a wall, I can! We've had requests for pictures so here they are. It obviously looks so much better in person, but the pictures give a basic idea. And we pretty much have zero decorating done, so it's pretty sparse. Just imagine it with some pictures and stuff on the walls :) I also thought I'd post the floor plan, because I think it helps the pictures make more sense... (but the floor plan is a little bit different. The laundry room is in between the two bedrooms, instead of walk-in closets.)

This is the view from the front door...

If you walk down the hall, you will see this...

Oh you love the wood floors? Me too. My uncle did them. Turn and see the kitchen. And yes, I LOVE the white cabinets too...

Turn some more, and you'll see the pantry and half bath on the left wall of the above kitchen shot...

Then you can turn around and see the family room. It's pretty crowded right now, but as soon as we finish the basement, the tv and couch are going downstairs and this will be a little piano/sitting room. It will free up a lot of space. (Oh and yes there are balloons/decorations for Sydney's birthday)

The door on the right leads to...

The dark and dreary wilderness (for now)

That's it for the main floor. Go back to the front door, and we'll head upstairs...

The top of the stairs.... door to the left leads to the Master Bedroom...

Looking at the closet and bathroom...

Master Bath

Views of the bedroom from the bathroom...

The good sized master closet...

And the view from our bedroom... looks even better on a clear day :)

Now back to the top of the stairs... There are two doors to the immediate right. First Cooper's room, then laundry. Down the hall, you can see the bathroom door, and to the right of that is Sydney's room...

Let's start with Cooper's room...

(all the rooms upstairs have vaulted ceilings)

Then the laundry. And our new washer and dryer :)

Sydney's room...

And last, the kid's bathroom...

So, hope you enjoyed the grand tour. We really are loving it and think it is just perfect for our little family. We welcome visitors, so if you want to come see it in person, please do!

Alex is Home!

2011-11-09T10:38:00.001-07:00

Alex flew home from his mission in Salta, Argentina on October 19th. We were so excited to see him! It was another pretty crazy day for us. We signed about a hundred or so papers that day and closed on our house (yay!)... actually right before we left to drive to the airport. Alex's plane was supposed to land at 4:40, and with everything going on with closing on the house and getting to the airport, our kids unfortunately didn't get naps. They slept in the car for a little bit on the way to the airport, which actually made them more tired and ornery. Matt was in charge of taking pictures on his mom's camera, which left me in charge of our camera, while trying to juggle two crying kids. Needless to say, I didn't get very good pictures. Don't let this face fool you...

Now when I say, "Alex flew home" I actually mean, "Alex made a pitstop in SLC for a day before flying home." Oregon is really home for him, although I'm sure Utah holds a bit of home nostalgia for him since he did live here for so many years and has so much family here. We were so glad that he was able to fly here and spend a little bit of time here before heading home to Oregon... Otherwise we still wouldn't have seen him! And it really was SO GOOD to see him! There were lots of hugs...

And smiles... (except from my kids)

The kids finally cheered up when Grandma bought them some juice... that'll do the trick! After that, they both were more willing to be nice to others and see Alex.

I just hope Alex knows that our kids aren't always like that... After the airport we headed over to Nana and Papa's house, where we had pizza and met up with more family. It was so fun to spend the night with Matt's family. We've been able to see them a lot in the past couple months and it has been nice. We especially loved seeing Alex's pictures, souvenirs, and tasting the candy he brought back. It is so fun to hear mission stories and learn more about the culture from other countries. We only wish we were able to spend more time with him, instead of just a few hours! We know that he was such a great missionary and are so grateful for his example and service, and we are so glad to have him home safe and sound.

On a side note... the other day Sydney pointed out an airplane in the sky. She asked where it was going, and we told her the airport. Then she asked, "Oh, do we have another missionary coming home?" I thought it was pretty funny! And now when she prays, she'll bless the "missionaries that are home now." We are trying to teach her that there are many other missionaries who are still serving, even more from our family :)

Tim's Homecoming

2011-11-07T18:29:00.004-07:00

The Sunday after Tim came home he gave his homecoming talk in Sacrament Meeting. He did such a nice job on his talk. I'm sure that he was such a great missionary in Ghana. After church we had a little get together at my parents' house. It was a good turn out since a lot of Holmes cousins were in town. A full house and a lot of fun! It is always so nice to have family get together. We also enjoyed getting to know Tim's mission buddies. We are loving having Tim home!

taken from Aunt Laraine's camera... so mostly McEwan family members

Our family:
Matt wearing his Ghanian tie and Sydney her Ghanian dress

Tim's Home!

2011-11-07T14:12:00.002-07:00

Tim flew home from his mission in Cape Coast, Ghana on October 5th. We were so excited to see him! I can't even believe that Cooper was only 2 days old and Sydney was almost 2 years old when he left. They have grown up so much in two years. His plane was supposed to land at 2:15, so we got to the airport just after 1:00. When we got there, we found out that his plane was going to land 45 minutes early... (at that point in 15 minutes!) So we started frantically calling everyone, telling them to "Leave Now!" Everyone rushed to the airport, some literally running through the terminal. We were afraid that no one would make it in time, but when everyone had shown up, we breathed a sigh of relief.

So we all stood at the bottom of the escalator just waiting for the missionaries to come around the corner any minute. People kept coming down the escalators and telling us that they "saw the missionaries up there," or the missionaries were "right behind them." This made us even more anxious. So many people told us that they were coming, we finally stopped believing them. After waiting for an hour from the time the flight landed, we FINALLY saw them come around the corner!

As soon as they got to the top of the escalators they put on some bright sunglasses...

And cracked us all up...

We have missed Tim's sense of humor. It was so nice to have the about to cry tension removed as we watched them come down the escalator. Don't you love their bright Ghanian ties?

Then of course, there were a LOT of hugs...

It was so good to see him! Cooper and Sydney loved seeing him, and Cooper can finally differentiate that he is Tim and doesn't get it confused with Alex. It turns out that one of the missionaries was afraid that his family wouldn't be at the airport since the plane landed so early, so the missionaries all waited about an hour to come down... sure glad we all rushed to get there... ha ha!

Elder Harrison and Tim

After the airport we went to lunch/dinner at Texas Roadhouse. The food was delicious and of course Tim loved it. He said he was nervous that chewing the steak would hurt his teeth, because he hadn't really chewed food for 2 years. In Ghana they eat with their hands, not utensils, and they don't chew, just swallow. Following dinner, we stopped by Grandma McEwan's to visit with her and let her see Tim.

We ended the day spending the evening at my family's house. Tim told us stories, and showed us souvenirs, and we enjoyed being together. He brought us some bracelets, purses, a tie, a shirt for each Matt and Cooper, and a dress for both Sydney and me. We are so glad that he is home safe and sound! And of course we are so grateful for his service to the Lord. We have felt blessings from his service, and are grateful to his example for our children.

Birthdays

2011-11-03T15:18:00.001-06:00

Cooper's and my birthdays were very low key this year. It was actually very nice to not worry about going above and beyond in celebrating, just keeping everything very simple. Funny enough, Cooper loved every second of his simple birthday. All day we kept singing "Happy Birthday" to him. He loved telling everyone that it was his "Happy Day!" and that he was "two!" We spent the evening at Nana and Papa's house, where we ate dinner, opened presents, sang, and ate cake.

Perfect form! Love those cheeks!

Ready to open his present from Mom, Dad, and Sydney

Buzz Lightyear!

Opening his present from Nana, Papa, and Jonne

Papa's card for Cooper

Nana reading Cooper the books they gave him... he loves them!

We kept telling Cooper to use his fork instead of his hands, so he would pick up the cake with one hand and stick the fork into with his other :)

target bag bib

At the end of the night Cooper went in to Papa's room to tell him goodnight. He excitedly told Papa that it was his "Happy Day" and "thank you" for the card and present. Then Cooper kissed Papa's cheek and held his hand. I'm so glad that we were able to have Papa here for 2 of Cooper's birthdays!

Since we didn't celebrate Cooper's birthday at all with my family, we had a little combined party for the two of us on my birthday. Cooper loved opening presents, blowing out candles, and eating cake all over again! It was so fun to be able to celebrate our birthdays together. I loved sharing my cake with Cooper. We had 29 candles on our cake- 27 for me and 2 for Cooper. I think we got them all blown out between the two of us... in only one blow for me, and who knows how many for Coop.

Opening his present from the Holmes family

Blowing out our candles

Birthdays are always so fun to celebrate, even if they are simple and small. I'm so glad that we were able to celebrate with those we love. We really have the best family!

Cooper's Two!

2011-11-03T13:12:00.002-06:00

We sure love this kid!

Florida

2011-11-01T12:40:00.003-06:00

So much has happened since our trip to Florida, that it seems like it was a year ago. In reality, it was almost 2 months ago, which for me, is forever ago to be blogging about it now. Nonetheless, it was absolutely a blog-worthy event, so here we go...

Our very good friend, Rob decided to get married in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was so hard for us to decide whether to go or not, because, well traveling to Florida is not cheap, but Rob is such a good friend to both of us and has been Matt's best friend for many years. Originally we thought that it would be pretty much impossible to work out, but then Matt got a promotion at work, (yay!) and we decided to splurge on this trip as a celebration. It ended up being such a hard time financially to go, because we were trying to buy a house as well... but we are so glad that we were able to be there for Rob's big day!

We arranged for Sydney and Cooper to stay with Nana and Papa, the Walch's, and my parents, during our trip. They loved hanging out and having sleepovers with some of their favorite people, and I don't think they even missed us! We missed them though. It was our first time being away from them for more than one night, so it was kind of weird to not have to be taking care of them. But we didn't have to worry too much, because we knew they were in good hands.

Before we left, we borrowed and bought, the book The Hunger Games to be able to read on the flight. We thought it would be fun for us to read the book at the same time, so we bought a copy and borrowed one from Jana. When we picked up Jana's copy they talked us into taking the second book as well, just in case we finished the book quickly. It really did make the flight go by so much faster!

We left on Friday (Sept 9th) right after I was done teaching school, and got in pretty late Florida time. When we got to the airport, Rob, Bryce and a bunch of guys were there to pick us up. Little did we know, that they were planning to go straight to the bachelor party, so they were planning on sending me in a car by myself to find the hotel, and taking Matt with them. I remember looking at Matt like, "Really, you're going to send me off by myself in a place where I've never been?" Rob must have seen that look, and he put the hotel address into his GPS and handed it to me. I was a little freaked out, but managed to find it just fine. It's funny how much I've begun to rely on Matt to take care of things like that. When I got to the hotel, it was a little scary... not going to lie. Picture a little motel that is on an episode of CSI. The big glass window with curtains covering it. Literally 4 locks on the door. Creepy stairways. When I pulled into the parking lot, I immediately locked the doors on the car, as I watched some creepy guy walking by himself. I carried the suitcases up to the room, pulled the curtains closed, making sure to not leave any gaps for the man by himself to see me in a room by myself, and quickly locked all 4 locks on the door. Luckily, I had my copy of The Hunger Games with me, so I got into some pajamas and read. It really was so nice to just sit and read all by myself. I haven't done that for many years. It made me miss reading, which I'm sure someday I'll have a little more time for. I finished the book just as Matt was dropped off, which was perfect timing. On a side note: I absolutely LOVED the book, and would highly recommend it! I was pretty glad that we had brought the second book along so I could get started on it right away. There is definitely an advantage to reading a trilogy after all the books have been published :)

Saturday was the day of Rob and Dani's wedding. We had the morning to ourselves, and were supposed to meet for pictures at 3:00 which would be followed by the wedding and reception. Instead of a nice, relaxing morning at the beach, Matt and I went on a wild goose chase looking for an outlet mall to buy clothes for the wedding. Matt had forgotten to throw those clothes in the top of the suitcase while I was at work and we had no clothes for the wedding. Luckily I had packed my skirt, so I just needed a shirt and Matt's pants were provided, but he had to find a white, long sleeved shirt with NO pockets. We ended up being ready just in time for pictures. Rob and the groomsmen went out to the airport to take some pictures in front of and inside his uncle's airplane. I had fun, as the only girl there, watching them take pictures, and taking a few myself. This was my favorite one:

The wedding got started late, because the one before theirs ran long. But it ended up being so nice because the weather was a bit cooler. I had quite a hard time adjusting to the humidity of Florida! It reminded me of indoor pools, but add sunshine and heat. The wedding was beautiful. I loved the flowers and that it was right on the beach. It will most likely be the only beach wedding I'll ever attend, so it was pretty fun! I'm so happy for Rob and Dani. Rob is such a great guy and totally deserves a great girl.

After the ceremony, we took a few pictures on the beach. My first time setting foot on a beach of the Atlantic Ocean :)

Matt, Bryce, and Rob have a picture just like this from their high school graduation. Yes, they wanted to recreate it. Both pictures are some of my favorites of them.

The reception was a blast. Food was delicious, cake beautiful and yummy, and tons of fun and crazy dancing. They brought a lot of props, like funny hats, necklaces, masks, and everyone put those on while dancing. I'm sure it made for some fun and cute pictures.

The next morning, we woke up super early and drove down to Orlando with Bryce and Jessica. Matt had free tickets to Universal Studios that he got from Comcast, so we decided to take advantage since we were so close to it for the wedding. We went to the Islands of Adventure theme park. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part by far was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The butter-beer was delish! And the rides were fun. We ate lunch at the Three Broomsticks tavern. We had fun walking through Honeydukes, where we bought a chocolate frog- our only souvenir from the trip. It was an expensive chocolate frog, but the kids loved it when we showed it to them and ate it at home. When we walked through Seuss Landing, I couldn't help but wish Sydney and Cooper were with us. I knew they would love that part! All of our waits were super short (like 5-15 minutes) so we were able to go through the entire park twice, and it didn't even take all day. It was a fun day, and I'm so glad Matt had those free tickets. Totally made the trip more eventful. (Oh and I didn't get any pictures that day... all of them are on Bryce and Jessica's camera... maybe someday I'll get copies)

It was funny how it actually felt cooler there in the "snow covered" buildings...

After Islands of Adventure, we went to dinner outside of the park, since it's way cheaper, at a little local mexican place. The tacos there were so yummy. Then we got some dessert at Whole Foods and went to the book store to buy Catching Fire for Matt... we were flying through those books!

LOVED this book too

On Monday, Matt and I had plans to try to go to the beach or take the shuttle to Disney World, and hang out at the entrance, so I could SEE it :) But, unfortunately our cards were not working, and we were out of cash since we had used up our budget buying clothes for the wedding and paying for gas to get to the outlet mall. So we hung out at the hotel all day and read. We spent a few hours at the pool, and a lot in the room. We walked down the street for a late breakfast/early lunch and dinner, trying to be VERY frugal so we would have enough cash to take a cab to the airport the next morning. Luckily we had a really good book to read to occupy our time. And sadly, I still have never even put a toe in the Atlantic Ocean which I hear is very warm compared to the Pacific. Another positive? Matt's dad got us a super nice hotel in Orlando, so we weren't in a creepy CSI one anymore. It actually was quite enjoyable. Thanks Kenin!

We had to be up really early Tuesday morning to make our flight for home. We took a cab to the airport and the cab driver had the air conditioning on full blast, in the pitch black morning mind you. The vent that was pointing at me was broken, and not able to close, so it began a very long, cold day. I just sat there watching the ticker waiting to have to say, "stop, we'll walk the rest of the way" because we only had so much cash to give the driver. It was quite the nerve wracking drive. When we got to the airport we found out that our plane was delayed, because the crew had to rest, and we would miss our connecting flight in Phoenix. This delay added 5 hours to our total travel time, and would have at least allowed us to sleep for another hour had we known about it. And, I had already finished Catching Fire, since the day before had been a lazy reading day. So I walked around the freezing cold airport reading magazines that I couldn't buy waiting for our plane, while Matt read Catching Fire. Matt figured out that he could get a trial version of Mockingjay, the 3rd book, on his phone, so we were actually able to read some of the chapters during our flight. We had to switch off, him reading while I looked at Sky Mall and vice versa. Needless to say, it felt like a much longer flight, since I was cold and unable to read the whole time. And did you know, that they charge you $10 for a blanket? Ridiculous. They don't even consider giving it to you for free even though they ruined your entire day from a delayed flight.

When we landed in Phoenix, we ran to our gate for our connecting flight to SLC. The plane was still there and we had hope that we could be home in less than 2 hours! However, they had already closed the gate and wouldn't let us on the plane. So we sat there and watched our plane take off without us and wondered what we were going to do for the next 4 hours with no money. At this point, I starting calling our trip "Florida, a.k.a. the trip where everything went wrong." Between having to find a creepy motel by myself, leaving clothes at home, running out of money, being stuck at a hotel, and delayed flights, it really was feeling that way. Matt figured out how to get our cards working, and I called Stacie to see if she wanted to make a drive to the airport to meet for lunch. And guess what... she did! It was pretty much the highlight of the entire trip for me to see her and squeeze Graham's chubs. He is so darling and I'm so glad I got to meet him! So our 4 hour layover in Phoenix turned out to be just the ticket to ending our vacation on a good note. Oh and I got to go outside in the hot Phoenix weather to warm up :)

When we FINALLY, after 14 hours of traveling, made it home we headed over to Jana's to pick up the kids. It was so good to see the kids, even though they weren't all that excited to see us, because it meant we would take them away from the Walch's house. I had missed them so much, but was glad that they had a good time while we were away.

Florida, a.k.a. the trip where everything went wrong, turned out to be quite the adventure for Matt and me. It was such a blast though! I'm so glad I got to spend that time with Matt and take a break from our daily responsibilities. Fun memories for sure.

P.S. It took me an entire week to finish the last half of Mockingjay. I read 2 1/2 books in 2 1/2 days, but half a book in a week at home. And even at that pace, I spent way too much time reading when I should have been doing other things. That's why I don't really read. Maybe someday. And for the record, I loved all of the books. Someone told me they didn't like the 3rd one at all. It wasn't my favorite one, but I really did like it, and can't wait for the movies!

Grateful

2011-10-29T15:58:00.003-06:00

I feel like life is finally calming down for us. We've been in our new house for a week now! Routines are coming back into our lives, and things are feeling more normal. There are still boxes to be unpacked, and projects to do, but overall life is feeling more normal. I feel like the last month of our lives has been so eventful. Full of good, bad, hard, happy, heartbreaking, spiritual, and busy things. Overall, we are so grateful for the church. We are grateful for our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We are grateful for the Spirit that we've felt. And we are especially grateful for church members who have lifted us up and served us. It is interesting to be the recipient of such service. I've always wanted to be a person who is self reliant, and doesn't need help from others. But there are times that I can't do everything on my own. The past month has been one of those times. We have received countless meals at Nana's house from the Relief Society. Young Women babysat our kids for free. The Elder's Quorum helped us move all of our stuff. My brothers have helped us in our need for a "truck" several times this week. We were provided a place to live for a couple of weeks. We have felt the blessings and spirit from countless prayers said on our behalf. It is overwhelming to think about the ways that we have been blessed from the service of church members. We have made new friends, strengthened relationships with old friends, and are so grateful for everything that people have done for us. It is truly the most Christian thing I've experienced in my life, and I am so touched. I only hope that I take the opportunity to serve others, because I know how rewarding it is to be the recipient of that service. So, "thank you" to everyone for your love, support, and service. We could not have done all of this without you!

Papa

2011-10-18T18:25:00.001-06:00

I know I already journaled about our last two weeks with Papa, but I just wanted to put a few more thoughts together. Those were crazy weeks for us, but we are so grateful that we were able to spend so much time with him and with family. I am so glad that we made it a priority, even in our already busy lives, to be with family. People always tell you, as you look back on things, you will never say, "I wish I spent more time at work," but that you will always treasure the time you spent with family, and that certainly has been the case for us. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real. I know that is the case for Sydney. She asks me almost every day why Papa got sick and when he will be back. I keep explaining to her that he isn't coming back to his house, but that we will see him again in Heaven. Then she asks when we will be going to Heaven. It is heartbreaking for me to have to tell Sydney and Cooper all of these things. They miss him and think about him a lot. I wish they had a better understanding of the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful for the records that Papa kept, and the memories and pictures we have. Through those things, I know my kids will be able to remember and get to know Papa. During hard times, I just try to imagine our reunion in Heaven. I think about the hugs that will be given and can just imagine Papa saying, "I sure love you, gal." Like he used to.

Matt had the honor of speaking at Papa's funeral. He gathered stories and memories from all of the Page grandkids. It was so fun to read those memories and to hear Matt talk about them at the funeral. Papa is such a wonderful grandfather. He was always thinking about us. He would text us to see if we wanted to meet for lunch or dinner. He would buy extra peaches just to be able to send some home with us, and they were always the best peaches. Sydney and Cooper loved being able to take those peaches home. They also loved it when Papa would make them chocolate milk and squirt the chocolate into the glass from up above his head. We love our memories of him making homemade ice cream and caramel corn. And of course, we will always remember the homemade and handwritten birthday cards. Our most treasured memories will probably be the times when all the family was together- family reunions, 3rd Sunday dinners, Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. Papa was always the one to gather the family and tell us all how much he loved and appreciated us. Each and every one of us felt loved by him. Papa had a way of making everyone feel special. He is the ultimate example of a family man. Family was his priority. I pray that Matt and I can keep up his legacy, and that we will place the same importance of family in our lives, especially as our family grows and changes. I am so grateful for the knowledge that families are forever.

Every year Papa had us turn in a family history for the year. We printed out the entire Page Family 2010 History and had it buried in his casket with him. We were all able to write a little note to him. These are the notes the kids wrote:

We love you Papa!

Matt's Talk

2011-10-18T18:23:00.003-06:00

As defined by Merriam-Webster, a Grandfather is the father of one’s father or mother. To many he was known as Ron but to us he was our Papa, and as a grandchild of Ron Page that definition does not come close to describe him. There is also no definition for Papa within the dictionary, so I have put together a few things that would define what is "Papa" for us.

1. Papa is someone who took time out for you and made you feel like you were the only grandchild he had at that moment, and took real interest into what was going on in your life.

2. Papa is someone who has attended the football, basketball, soccer, baseball, lacrosse games, swimming matches, and track meets. Regardless if you were playing or not, rain, snow, extreme heat, he will be there to support you and more then likely knew the names of most the players on your team.

3. Papa attends your piano, cello, violin, saxophone, trumpet, choir and dance recitals and knows not only the name of the song you are performing but also who originally performed, directed, and composed it.

4. Papa comes to your plays, regardless of how big your role and will be the first one there.

5. Papa is someone who will send you that little text message just to see how you are doing, followed with the letters LYL, love you lots.

6. Papa comes to all your achievements: blessings, baptisms, priesthood ordinations, to eagle scouts, and young women recognitions, to high school and college graduations.

7. Papa is someone who is always aware of you and on hard days will always be able to lift you up.

8. Papa is a person who will wave to every passing car in a way that appears that he has known them for years.

9. Papa is someone who knows how to buy the perfect fruits and vegetables and is always getting more just to give you a bag because he knows how much you love them.

10. Papa is someone who is always up for fun and games and always finds time to teach us a gospel lesson.

These are only a few of definitions that define Papa, but to us he will always be remembered for that simple smile, firm handshake, wink of his eye, or great hug, which told us how much he loved us.

Papa is one that wrote to his missionaries weekly. Right now we have two missionaries out serving across the world in Russia and Argentina. When they heard the news of Papa, one wrote how much he will miss receiving his weekly letters, and having served a mission myself those were some letters that I looked forward to also. The other said about Papa, “We all have been so blessed to know him and have enjoyed all the blessings that he shared with us every moment. Especially in all of the work that he did with Family History. Now he will be able to meet those people in person and get their side of the story. What a great thing to know that he is ok and at peace.”

Papa loves us more then I think we will fully understand. He always has given all his grandchildren a hand written card for their birthdays. Papa had his stroke as he was writing one in preparation for his great-grandson's birthday, my son Cooper. Here is the letter that he was writing; I have changed it slightly as to be written to all his grandchildren.

Grandchild,

I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I am so glad and happy when you come over to see us. You are a fine boy or girl. I am proud that you are my grandchild (a great one).

Journaling

2011-10-13T15:23:00.000-06:00

The past three weeks of our life have been absolutely crazy. I have a lot I want to blog about, and a lot to think about and process, now that life is starting to calm down a little bit. I truly haven't even had a minute to sit and think, it's been that crazy. Papa kept a daily journal, and that has inspired me to document the past few weeks of our life on a daily basis. There are details that I just don't want to forget. I will get back to blogging hopefully as things calm down even more, but for now, I just want to have these things written down, before time takes them away from me. There are some things that were too spiritual or private, that I will write in a journal... as soon as I unpack one.

Just for my own records, to remember:
Our last two weeks with Papa

Thursday, September 22- we talk with Papa, and decide to move in with them October 1st until our house is done.

Friday, September 23- School picture day for Sydney and me (hectic enough as it is). Jen Appel out of town, so Papa and Nana watching Cooper while I teach. Puts me out the door an hour earlier. As we are getting in the car, we get a message from Nana, saying Papa has had some problems and they are heading to the hospital. We call Nana back. She is talking to someone, and busy. I tell her not to worry, I will find someone to watch Cooper. She tells me she will keep us updated. I call Matt, to see what he thinks I should do. He tells me to call Jana. I call Jana, ask her if she is working. She is in Oregon. I tell her Papa is going to the hospital, and I don't know what happened. Jana helps spread the word, since I was the first to know. I spend the next 45 minutes, calling and texting every neighbor I have, and all family. Everyone has something going on. I decide to take Cooper to school with me. My mom talks to my brother Michael, and he decides to start doing his lawns a couple of hours later, so he can watch Cooper. (I really owe him!) He comes and picks up Cooper from school. I teach a pretty normal day of school, and get a text about half way through, that Papa had a stroke. My heart sinks, and my stomach is in knots. I pull myself together and continue on with my preschoolers. After school, I pick up Cooper, head home, and break down, crying. My experience with strokes has not been good, and it really scares me. My mom comes over, and we sit outside and talk, while the kids play. We talk about Papa and Grandpa McEwan, praying and hoping for good news. The text updates I get sound optimistic. A moderate stroke. He is in surgery, the longer the surgery, the better it should be (typically). Doctors unable to remove the blockage, now permanent. He will have speech and strength issues. Hopefully therapy can retain him. But the more updates I get, the more serious it seems. His language center will be affected. Not responding to verbal prompts. My mom, the kids, and I go and get some cookies at Kneaders, to take our minds off of things. Then I pick up Matt from work and we head to the hospital. We visit with Papa. His face and neck are swollen and his teeth are not in, but he will squeeze our hand, and open his eyes and look at us. I was prepared for worse, so I feel optimistic, and better after seeing him. Matt and I head to Provo to go to a BYU game that he won tickets to, and Chris and Lisa watch our kids. We start thinking about where we are going to live, now that this has happened with Papa.

Saturday, September 24- Matt works every Saturday. While he's at work, I start the packing process by going through Cooper's closet... clothes to keep, clothes to rotate, clothes to Mason, etc. I helped the kids make cards for Papa, and we printed pictures to hang in his room. The kids weren't able to go in to see Papa, so we wanted to have them be involved in talking to him, and having him see them.

When we got to the hospital, Nana came out to talk with the kids and they gave her their cards and pictures for Papa. That moment was very hard. The kids really wanted to see him. Cooper kept saying, "Papa sick, Papa sick." And Nana would confirm it. Then he would say, "why?" Which was the question we were all secretly asking inside. When we showed Papa the pictures, he looked right at them. Sydney has cried a few times. I'm not sure how much she understands, but she says she is sad that Papa is sick. The doctors gave 48 hours for improvement. If there was no improvement, there was 2 decisions. A nursing home on a feeding tube, or make him comfortable and let him pass. A very emotional night at the hospital to say the least. We started a family fast for Papa tonight.

Sunday, September 25- Woke up early to go to Jonne's "Special Needs Sacrament Meeting." They were singing in Dennis and Connie's ward. The ward was asked to keep Papa in their prayers. It was very emotional to listen to the mutual kids sing. Jonne had a hard time while singing, and the entire two rows of Pages were crying. We dropped the kids off to my parents after their church was over, and headed to the hospital to spend the day there, missing church ourselves. Kenin and Jana flew in around 1:00, while Papa was getting another CT scan. The scan did not show any improvement. We talked with the doctor about what life would probably be like for Papa. Probably never walk, read, or write again. Could maybe learn a couple of words. A permanent feeding tube. No short term memory. No relationships with people. Neither option looked good. Left the hospital around 6, to pick up the kids for dinner at Nana and Papa's house. We all ate together, and broke our fast. The spirit has been very strong today. After dinner had been cleaned up, we met at the hospital again. Missy and Jeff had flown in, and we saw them there. We went in and said good night to Papa, squeezing hands. At 1:30 am I wrote: "My heart is breaking... life is so precious." It was heart wrenching to see Papa like this, and to think about life without him.

Monday, September 26- I taught school in the morning. Nana and her kids had a meeting, making a decision about Papa. We met Matt's parents and siblings for lunch, where Kenin told us about the meeting. They had unanimously decided to bring Papa home, under hospice care, to let him pass. They had a very spiritual time together, where their decision was confirmed by the Spirit. As a family, we all felt the Spirit very strong that day, and were comforted. We prepared Papa's office, for Papa to reside in, and cleaned Nana's house. They brought Papa home that evening. At home, he was able to wear his shirts, glasses, wedding ring, and watch. He looked good, and a lot more like himself. We took the kids in to see him. They held his hand and kissed his cheek. The Relief Society brought in lunch and dinner that day. Before bed, at 1:00 in the morning, I wrote, "Such a peaceful day. I'm so grateful for the Spirit and great family, especially during hard times." The Spirit was so strong in Nana and Papa's house, especially in Papa's office. Walking through that door felt like walking into the temple. The Spirit literally filled my body, and made me feel warm. I have no doubt that the family made the right decision for Papa, even though it was such a hard decision. With the help of the Spirit, tears were fewer. We have spent every possible minute with Papa and family. Nana made a rule, that when you leave the house, you must go in and say good bye, or see ya later, to Papa, so we would have no regrets.

Tuesday, September 27- I had an appointment with Dr. Terry, so Nanci watched the kids for me. She took them to McDonald's and Walmart, and they had a blast with her. After my appointment, I picked up Matt from work, and we spent most of the night at Nana and Papa's. Papa had a really good day. He was more alert, his eyes were more clear. He was pulling himself to sit up. He would sign "I Love You," something that reminds me of Papa especially. Papa and Nana have been teaching Sydney, "I Love You" in sign language.

Papa, was pretty agitated when visitors from the ward and friends were coming over. But, when Sydney and I went in to say goodbye before we picked up Matt from work, he looked right into Sydney's eyes and held her hand. Nana decided to stop having visiting hours for friends and neighbors, because it agitated him, but he did so well with family. We have been spending most of our time at Nana and Papa's, reading Papa's journals. He faithfully kept a daily journal. It has been so fun reading about his daily life, and I have learned so much from him. He was such a positive person. Even things he was concerned about, such as President Obama being elected president, were stated in a positive way, with much hope for the future. The Spirit has been so strong. There have been many tender mercies from the Lord. I find it no coincidence that I read the chapters preceding and following Lehi's death in my BOM reading this week. I opened to my bookmark, to where I had last read, and it just happened to be these precious chapters. It was so comforting to read a father's and grandfather's advice before he died, and to read how Nephi felt after his father's death. 2 Nephi 4:21 felt especially appropriate, and explained exactly how I felt. "He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh." The Spirit has been so strong, it feels like it is just radiating from my heart. A few days ago, my heart literally felt like it was breaking, and now it feels like it has healed, like it is warm and filling my soul. I still feel sad, thinking about life without Papa, but the Plan of Salvation is so clear to me, and the love I feel from the Lord comforts me.

We have been trying to figure out where we are going to be living. Jana has offered to have us stay there, but I am afraid it will put a lot of pressure on her, during an already hard time. Plus it kicks her girls out of their bedrooms. We could stay with Courtney and Tyler, but it is so far away from work for us. We might be able to stay with my family for a little bit, also kicking people out of bedrooms. Nothing is seeming to work perfect, so we will probably do a few days at each place, to not put too much pressure on anyone.

Wednesday, September 28- Cooper's 2nd birthday! Spent the morning doing laundry and cleaning, and getting ready while Sydney was at school. When Matt got home, we went birthday shopping and bought Cooper a present for his birthday. We'd been too busy to plan anything or go shopping before that. We spent the evening at Nana and Papa's. Nana and Papa, of course, were prepared for Cooper's birthday before Papa had his stroke. Papa was actually writing Cooper his birthday card, that he made himself like always, when he had his stroke. He always wrote in perfect cursive.

Reading and seeing this card always touches my heart. I am so incredibly grateful to Papa for his love for my family. Cooper won't have memories of Papa, which breaks my heart, but I am so glad that he can know that Papa's last thoughts were of him. He is the ultimate grandfather and family man. We had a little celebration for Cooper's birthday. We put candles in a cake that a member of the Relief Society had brought the day before, and sang to him. Cooper loved blowing out the candles. Then he opened a present, Buzz Lightyear, from us, and one from Nana, Papa, and Jonne. They gave him a set of books, that he loves. Cooper went in and told Papa that it was his "Happy Day" and "thank you" for the card and present.

Lindsey Black called me and offered an option of a place to live. Her mom has offered to let us stay in her basement. Perfect strangers are offering to help us out, which overwhelms me with gratitude. I'm not sure what we'll decide, but it is seeming to be an answer to our prayers.

Thursday, September 29- Cooper had a doctor appointment. He is doing well, meeting or exceeding every milestone. I finally started packing up our house. We are supposed to be out in 2 days. We also spent some time at Nana and Papa's. Papa is still doing well. He looks really good, and just like himself. I'm so glad that he was able to come home and spend time with us. It is much nicer than having him in the hospital. After Nana and Papa's I stayed up late to finish packing the kitchen. At least I got the hardest room done!

We have decided to stay in Lindsey's parents' basement. We are so grateful for their offer. We've also decided that we won't be able to move by Saturday, and will just move Monday when Matt has work off.

Friday, September 30- I taught school in the morning. After school I went to pick up Cooper and go to the DMV to renew my driver's license that expires on Sunday. Luckily, when I went to pick him up, Jen offered to watch the kids while I went, so I didn't have to worry about them. After the DMV, I went home and got the kids down for naps. While they were sleeping, I went out front to plan October lessons with Lindsey. They woke up right as we were done, and we went to pick up Matt from work and headed to Nana and Papa's. We spend a lot of time there, but being with family comforts us, and we want to spend as much time with Papa as possible. Shelby, Molly, Connie, Sydney, Cooper, Matt, and I went in to Papa's room and sang, "I am a Child of God" to him. The spirit was so strong. Cooper kept saying, "again!" So we sang it again. Then he requested that we sing, "I Love to See the Temple." So a few of us sang that. It was a nice moment for us and especially for our kids. They loved singing to him and gave him kisses. I know that Papa loves music so much, so it was nice to be able to do something for him. When we got home, I stayed up and packed a few things. I didn't get much packing done. We are so exhausted both emotionally and physically, and haven't been sleeping well.

Saturday, October 1- Today was General Conference. The primary choir sang in the morning session. They sang, "I am a Child of God" and "Families Can be Together Forever." It was so nice to listen to those songs, especially since we just sang that to Papa last night. I spent all day listening to Conference, and packing at the same time. Matt had to work. When he got home, we went straight over to Nana and Papa's. Matt attended the Priesthood Session with his dad and Chris. Matt has attended almost every Priesthood Session with Papa. It was a hard night for him, to have to go without him. The girls all stayed at home with Nana and Papa. It was Papa's first time with the girls. Lisa and I spent much of the time in the basement with the kids. The house has been pretty noisy and it is wearing on Nana, so we are trying to keep them downstairs. When the boys came home, Matt went in with Papa for a while. They listened to President Monson's talk together. I went in at the end and we were able to spend some time with just the three of us. It was very nice to be with him alone. I'm so glad Matt was able to have one last Priesthood experience with Papa, even if it was just one talk in his study. I know Papa loved spending that time with him. Conference is definitely giving us another spiritual boost. When we got home, we packed a few more boxes. We are almost done packing.

Sunday, October 2- Today was my birthday... turned 27. I can hardly believe I really am that old. It was so nice to have my birthday on Conference. Papa and I share a birthday. It was our last one together. We actually decided not to go to their house today because we are thinking that Nana needs a break from all the people. Our kids do not help with all of the noise. We watched the morning session of Conference at home. Then we walked through our new house with Matt's dad. We watched the afternoon session at my parent's house, and had dinner together. After dinner we celebrated both Cooper's and my birthdays. We shared a birthday cake, with 29 candles, and both opened presents. It was a nice day. Papa was especially in my thoughts, and turned 73.

Monday, October 3- Moving Day. I am so tired of moving every year, and excited that I won't have to do this again next year. That fact is literally the best part of us buying a town home. I taught in the morning. Matt and Michael moved most of the furniture into the garage while I worked. I had already taken all the boxes I had packed out. When I got home from school, we went over to Nana and Papa's for a little break. We visited with them for about an hour. It was quieter, since it was the middle of the day. Papa's breathing is more irregular and he isn't very alert. He slept the whole time we were there. After their house, we went home to finish the moving stuff. Luckily, Mary Appel told us we could store our stuff in their garage, so it wasn't too hard. We got everything done at about 8:00, and went over to Lindsey's parents' house, the Blackwoods. We met them, and got a few things settled in, then went to Costa Vida for some dinner. It was a late night, but we are grateful for somewhere nice to sleep. The Blackwoods were very welcoming and so kind.

Tuesday, October 4- Matt took the car to work this morning. I spent the morning at the Blackwoods, doing breakfast with the kids and unpacking a few things. Matt came to pick us up at lunch time so we could take the car to the old house and clean. Mary Appel had told us we could take a week or so to clean, so that took a little bit of pressure off us. I spent all afternoon and much of the evening cleaning. Matt's dad picked him up from work, so it was nice to not have to leave cleaning to pick him up. We stopped cleaning at about 6:00, and headed to Nana and Papa's house. Matt's dad offered to take the kids out to dinner so we could spend some time with Papa without having to worry about them. Papa wasn't doing very well. His breathing was very labored, and he would even stop breathing for about 10 seconds. I knew it was the last time we would be able to see him. We told him how much we loved him, how the kids love him. We held his hand, kissed his forehead, talked to him, and cried. It was a hard night. We didn't even bring the kids in the house, because we wanted them to remember Papa at his best. He has lost a lot of weight and is looking very frail. Our poor kids have had so much going on. Their entire world has been turned upside-down with moving and losing Papa. They keep asking when Papa will get better and why he is sick.

Wednesday, October 5- We have been on such an emotional roller coaster, and today was no exception. Matt called me in the morning to inform me that Papa had passed away. It was hard to hear, but I had felt like last night was the last time I would see him, so I felt prepared. I feel so grateful for the days we have had with him. He has taught us so much, without even being able to talk. The family has all been together a lot. We all always want to be at Nana and Papa's house, because we feel Papa there, and we lift each other up. It is a testament of the unity that Nana and Papa have encouraged in their family. We are so blessed to have a strong family unit, because we are able to build each other up, and comfort one another. In happy news... Tim got home from his mission today! I have been so excited to see him and have him home. I have been nervous that we would have a funeral today, and that I would miss seeing him at the airport. I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to be there when he got home. His plane was supposed to land at 2:15, but it landed 45 minutes early. So when we got there, we were frantically calling everyone to tell them to come early. So everyone rushed to the airport, even running through the terminal, like on movies. But one of the missionaries was afraid that his family wouldn't be there, so they waited about 50 mintues to come down the escalators. That whole time, we watched every single person come down, just waiting for the missionaries. We had so many people tell us that they were coming, or just behind them, that we stopped believing it when someone would tell us that. FINALLY, we saw them come around the corner. They were so funny, wearing their bright Ghana ties. When they got to the top of the escalator, they put on some bright sunglasses, and we all cracked up laughing. It will be fun to have Tim's sense of humor back! It was so good to see him! Cooper and Sydney loved seeing him, and Cooper can finally diferentiate that he is Tim, and doesn't get it confused with Alex. After the airport we went to lunch/dinner at Texas Roadhouse. The food was delicious, and of course Tim loved it. He said he was nervous that chewing the steak would hurt his teeth, because he hasn't chewed food for 2 years. In Ghana, they eat with their hands, and they don't chew, just swallow. After dinner, we spent the evening at my family's house. Tim told us stories, and showed us souvineers, and we enjoyed being together. He brought us some bracelets, purses, a tie, a shirt for each Matt and Cooper, and a dress for both Sydney and me. We are so glad that he is home safe and sound! And of course we are so grateful for his service to the Lord. We have felt blessings from his service, and are grateful to his example for our children.

Thursday, October 6- Matt took the car to work this morning, but came and picked me up at lunch time so I could get out for a little bit. When I dropped him off at work, I met my parents, Tim, and my grandparents at Little America for lunch. I think Little America could be my favorite place to eat. It just is so yummy and has the best comfort food. It was fun to see Grandma and Grandpa and to spend some time with them. I feel like we don't get to see them very often anymore, so I was grateful to be able to have lunch with them. After lunch I took the kids back to the Blackwood's for naps, and when naps were over we picked up Matt from work. We spent the evening with my family, watching the Yankees game. Sadly they lost, so Tim only got to see them play one game. We told the kids today about Papa passing. Cooper didn't really listen, but Sydney cried. She asked who came to get him, and we said that angles came to get him, and probably Grandma Mac, and that he is living with Jesus. We told her that we will see him again in heaven some day, and that we can feel him like we feel the Holy Ghost, and that we won't see him at his house anymore. She was sad, but ok. I know both kids will miss him.

Friday, October 7- I feel like today was my first semi-normal day in two weeks. Matt's parents watched Cooper while I taught school. When I went to pick him up, we decided to go to lunch together, with everyone who was at Nana and Papa's. We ate at Crown Burger. After lunch, I took the kids home for naps. It was nice to have them sleeping in beds instead of in the car, or on the floor somewhere. Things have been so busy that naps havne't been much of a priority... no wonder we are so tired! After naps, we picked Matt up from work and headed back to Nana and Papa's. We spent the evening there, but went out to dinner with just Matt's family at Applebees.

Saturday, October 8- Matt had today off, for berievement. We went out to Courtney and Tyler's because they have a car that we wanted to look at. They have offered to give it to us, but it needs some fixing up. We are so grateful for good friends. A second car? I can't even imagine it! We were there for quite a while, while Matt and Tyler tinkered around trying to fix the car. Sydney and Cooper always love playing at their house. Sydney and Kate are such cute little friends. When we left their house, we headed to the old house to finish cleaning. We really only had to clean the floors and the laundry room, so there wasn't too much to finish. Matt Appel came over while we were there with some of his mom's furniture. Matt helped him unload the furniture and carry it into the house. Even with not much to finish, it took a long time. I guess I clean kind of like my mother, still not as good as her, but I like things to be perfect. I will just say, we left that house 10 times better than it was when we moved in, maybe even more. When we were done we went over to Nana and Papa's, I still consider it both of their house and will probalby continue to call it that. After being there for a little bit, I left with Jana to go to her house to make a salad for Tim's homecoming, considering I don't have a kitchen. I always love going to Jana's house. We get along so well with her family. On our way home, we stopped by my parent's house. They needed some help putting a slide show together, and with some baking, so I stayed there to help, while Matt took the kids home to put them to bed. I left their house around midnight, and I'm sure my mom was up for a few more hours finishing things up. I defnitely get my perfectionism from her.

Sunday, October 9- Another emotional roller coaster day. Today was Tim's homecoming. He did such a good job on his talk. I am loving having him home! After Sacrament Meeting, we had an open house at my family's house. We had a very good turnout, since a lot of Holmes cousins are in town. It was a full house and a lot of fun! It was fun to get to know some of Tim's mission buddies as well. When we left their house, we went over to Nana and Papa's. We practiced the song, the EFY Medly, that we will be singing at Papa's funeral. Shelby will be playing the piano, but had a headache, so I played. I haven't played in so long, I totally butchered the song. I can't believe I have played that song so many times. In a few sacarment meetings, relief society meetings, young womens... a lot. Tonight was Papa's viewing. It was hard to see him. He did not look like himself at all. It is amazing to me that he could look so different, and I truly believe it is because his spirit was not there. It made all the difference. A lot of people came. So many people love Papa. He was such a kind, loving, serving person. He made everyone feel like they were his best friend. Some girls in Jana's ward watched the kids for us. It was so nice of them to do that. The Relief Society truly has brought us so much relief. When we got home, Matt went through his talk with me. It will be a good talk. He will be representing the grandkids. I am nervous for tomorrow. Everything will feel so final.

Monday, October 10- Today was Papa's funeral. We got to the church early to practice the song. It is sounding good. I think Papa will like hearing us sing it, and know that he would want us to live up to the lyrics. We have been born of parents who love the Lord, and we are so blessed for that. I pray that we can live up to the legacy that Papa has created. We took the kids to another one of Jana's neighbors to be babysat during the funeral. It was a hard decision whether to bring them or not, but I am glad that we didn't. It was good for us to be able to listen to the words being spoken, and we would not have been able to do that with our kids there. There was another viewing before the funeral. My parents, Michael and Tim came. And Doug Fletcher. Bryce Craig came for the funeral. It has been so comforting to feel support from friends and family, and I know that Papa has touched all of their lives and they will miss him as well. It was hard when Randy said the family prayer, and when we all said our last goodbyes before closing the casket. I was most emotional thinking about Nana and Jonne. I pray that we can give them the love that they need during these especially hard times. It was hard to walk into the chapel, and have everyone standing and looking at us, after an emotional time at the family prayer. I avoided looking at anyone, afraid that I would loose it. All of the talks were very good. It was fun to hear so many of the fun things that Papa did, and about his personality. He was such a great man. Matt's talk was especially emotional. He read the card that Papa was writing to Cooper when he had his stroke. I think that card will always touch me the most. All of us were crying, including him, when he read it, and then we were supposed to sing after. Luckily, we were all able to compose ourselves and I think we did a nice job singing. The funeral and family prayer were the most emotional parts of the day. When we got to the cemetary the mood lightened a bit. We took a lot of pictures together, and then headed to the church for a lunch the Relief Society put together for us. It was good food, and we loved being together. I think that none of us wanted to leave or say goodbye, but we did. After lunch we went home to take some naps, and we took some long ones. It was nice to be able to rest! And then we went back to Nana and Papa's to be with everyone. I am so grateful to be apart of such an amazing family. Papa has touched my life in too many ways to mention. He has always made me feel like one of his grandchildren, not like an in-law. He always takes an interest in my life, and in my family... asking about my brothers on missions, how my parents and grandparents are doing. I don't think many people are close with their grandfather-in-law, but I am. I love Papa so much. I am grateful to him for taking me into his family, for teaching me, and for being a great granfather. I will miss having him here... more than I can say. I am so grateful that families are forever, and that I will be able to give him a hug someday again!

Timmy n' Alex

2011-09-25T12:22:00.001-06:00

We are so proud of our missionary brothers/uncles. I am so grateful for their service and for their examples to my kids. Sydney and Cooper always remember to pray for "Timmy n' Alex on their missions." They wanted to write them some letters a few weeks ago, and we decided to email them instead of snail mail them, because we didn't think they would receive them before they left for home. Tim comes home October 5th... only one email left!!! And Alex comes home on October 19th! We are so excited to see them!

1st Day of Preschool

2011-09-08T10:06:00.001-06:00

Sydney and I started our first day of preschool yesterday. I don't know if I have ever seen her so excited. The night before, Matt gave us all father's blessings. What an amazing and great tradition. I remember always feeling so at peace about school, when my dad would give me blessings, and I am so grateful to have married a man who holds the priesthood, so we can have that same power in our home. Sydney loved getting her blessing, and we talked with her about feeling the Holy Ghost in her heart. Then Matt gave me a blessing. Let's just say, I really needed one with all that's been going on in our lives lately. It was so nice to feel the love Matt has for me, and the love that Heavenly Father has for me, and it really has helped me focus and feel a lot better. Of course, Cooper wanted one too. I've never seen him sit so still in my life. It was the cutest thing to see him sitting there with his arms folded, and just listening to what Matt had to say. When Cooper was done with his blessing he put his hands on Matt's head, not wanting Daddy to be left out. It was such a special night for our family.

After our blessings, we put the kids to bed. Sydney had a very hard time falling asleep, and didn't do so until about 10:30. She was in and out, up and down, singing, getting books out... you name it. I was pretty frustrated, thinking she would have a hard time waking up early in the morning. However when morning came, and we woke her up at 7:45, she popped right up, jumped out of bed, and yelled, "where's my backpack?" She was ready to go, and so excited! Matt took the morning off, to see Sydney off, help me out, and watch Cooper while we were at school. So, it all went very smoothly and as planned. Hopefully most mornings are that way for us! When Sydney was eating her breakfast, I couldn't help but take a picture of her. She has grown up so much, so fast. I really can't believe that she has started preschool!

I really wanted to take some first day of school pictures before we left. And luckily, we did have enough time. They turned out so cute, and really just show how excited Sydney was!

Our first day of preschool! And I'll just say, "First Day Jitters" don't go away when you are a parent, or a teacher!

While I was taking pictures, Sydney was so excited, that she just started jumping. Luckily, I was able to snap a few of those. So funny!

Her excitement transfered to Cooper and Matt. It was a big day for all of us...

As far as school went, Sydney seemed to do great. I was so glad that I got to be there, and watch her, something most parents aren't able to do. She loved socializing with all the kids, and when we left, she asked me when she was going to be able to see all of her friends again. For me, everything was great too. I really felt good about my decision to teach this year. A classroom is definitely somewhere where I feel at home. I know there will be challenges, as there are with any job, but I am confident that this was a good decision and that both Sydney and I will have a good time this year. I still can't believe we have reached this phase in our lives! Can't kids just stay little?

Summer Fun

2011-09-06T13:06:00.003-06:00

Oh summer, how we are going to miss you. We are going to miss your warm sunshine, your schedule-less days, and your fun activities. We have had such a fun-filled summer! Some highlights of this year include:

Soccer Games

Baseball Games

Sidewalk chalk with Pamps

Movie Nights

Banana Splits

Extreme Home Makeover

And...

Summer Fun: Bike Rides and Running

2011-09-06T13:06:00.002-06:00

We bought Sydney a bike in early spring this year. She had a lot of fun learning how to ride it, and perfecting it this summer. She can ride pretty far! We also bought bikes for Matt and I, and a bike trailer for the kids. We have enjoyed going on bike rides together. Sometimes Sydney will even ride along side us on her bike. She loves to always bring a "baby" along to ride in her basket.

The bike trailer we bought can double as a running stroller, so I enjoyed getting some exercise this summer- both running and biking. For awhile I was going on a daily run in the mornings. One morning, Sydney got on her "running shoes," grabbed her "diaper bag" and two babies, and was all ready for our morning run!

The kids loved riding in the bike trailer. One day I rode to my mom's house a little before nap time. On the way home both Sydney and Cooper fell asleep. I couldn't resist taking a picture!

I definitely enjoy getting exercise outside, rather than a video inside. As winter creeps in, I will be sad to say goodbye to our runs and bike rides.

Summer Fun: Friends

2011-09-06T13:06:00.001-06:00

We have been able to spend a lot of time playing with friends this summer. Here are some of my favorite pictures...

Summer Fun: Birthday Parties

2011-09-06T13:06:00.000-06:00

Sydney and Cooper had quite a few birthday parties this summer. Since we have moved into a neighborhood, with lots of friends nearby, and since they are just getting older, we are finding that Sydney and Cooper are getting invited to a lot of birthday parties. They sure love it! There is nothing that Sydney loves more than a birthday, and Cooper has joined in always saying "happy day!"

Kate's Birthday

We had fun celebrating Mason's first birthday! It was so fun to watch him open presents and eat his cupcake. Sydney insisted on helping him open every present. We are sure enjoying having a cousin, especially now that the kids are able to play with him more!

Sienna, one of our cutest little neighbors, also celebrated her first birthday. It was definitely the bash of the year and was Sesame Street themed. Sydney and Cooper had so much fun at the party, and especially loved meeting Elmo. Sydney often calls one of her dolls "baby Sienna."

Summer Fun: Sidewalk Chalk

2011-09-06T13:05:00.002-06:00

Another fun summer activity... sidewalk chalk. We all loved it!

Sydney writing her own name...

Summer Fun: Cowabunga Bay

2011-09-06T13:05:00.001-06:00

We got season passes to Cowabunga Bay this summer, along with many of the moms/kids from our neighborhood. We typically went once a week and had a blast. Sydney and Cooper loved the beach pool, the lazy river, and the water slides! We are so lucky to have such good friends to go with!

Summer Fun: Swimming

2011-09-06T13:05:00.000-06:00

We were lucky enough to be able to go swimming A LOT this summer. Not only did we do Cowabunga about once a week, we also swam at Nana and Papa's pool, and our clubhouse pool, usually once a week. Jana, Corie, and Cadie, were so nice to come and pick us up to go swimming, since we typically don't have a car. It was nice to get out, and to have their help with the kids in the pool. Cooper and Sydney love hanging out with the Walch family, and they love swimming, so it was a perfect combination. At first, Cooper was pretty hesitant in the water. He had to be held close to your body the whole time. But by the end of the summer, he was swimming back and forth between people by himself, with Sydney's floaties on! Sydney, our little fish, would jump in, swim back to the side, get out, and jump in again, over and over again- all without her floaties! She is a great swimmer, always puts her head in the water, and she has such composure- isn't scared a bit.

I am sad to see my favorite season go, and kind of feel like we got jipped because we had such a long, cold spring. It is just crazy to me that fall is starting, and that Sydney and I start school TOMORROW... Yes, I am kind of freaking out about that.

Dailies

2011-09-03T11:12:00.006-06:00

Every once in a while I take a picture, usually on my phone, that is of something we do on a daily or regular basis. I thought it'd be fun to document some of our dailies.

Reading

This is a "typical" Sydney. Singing songs and "reading."

She was reading "Rapunzel" out of our Stand a Little Taller book.

Cleaning up messes and fixing things

A dry erase marker- wiped off easily, but was just like this on 4 doors.
I was washing dishes when this happened.

And all over Cooper...

And Sydney...

And Cooper's bedding.

Woody was Cooper's "must have with me at all times" item when this happened.
Luckily I was able to glue his head back on!

Baking- usually cookies or banana bread

Shopping

Naps

Baths

Sydney's hair is getting so long!

And finding little things that make me smile

This pretty much paints a perfect picture of motherhood. Some things that are so frustrating and mundane (not pictured: ironing, laundry, and cleaning). But those cute little faces and moments that make it all worth it.

Smith and Morehouse

2011-09-01T18:38:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we went up to Smith and Morehouse in the Uinta Mountains to visit my family while they were camping there. Unfortunately we weren't able to camp at all, but we did love spending a day up there with them. These mountains hold a very special place in my heart. I have such fond memories of days at "the cabin." It is so fun for me to take my kids up there and remember what it was like to be a carefree kid in the mountains! Plus, it's so nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle and enjoy some time in nature.

Michael brought up his hammocks (from Brazil). They were the perfect place to relax in the shade, listening to the river.

Allie flipped over while laying in the hammock... funniest thing ever.

The kids loved playing in the river. We stripped them down to diapers/underwear and t-shirts and let them have at it. They played in that water all day long. It is exactly how I remember it as a kid. Such a rocky river. We would always build "pools" by damming the river with all the rocks. Luckily there already was a dam and a pool there just waiting for Sydney and Cooper to play in it.

Sydney and Matt made a boat out of some sticks and leaves. They would take it up to the top of the slowly moving river and let it come back to the bottom, over and over again.

Matt dropping off the boat at the top... I can't get over how beautiful these mountains are!

The boat

Sydney "fishing" with a tree branch

Cooper mid-throw. He LOVED throwing rocks into the river.

Cooper found this rock, mounted it, and said, "PONY!" So funny!

I think my favorite part about being away from toys and technology is watching my kids use their imaginations. I loved watching them play with sticks, rocks, and dirt, and having a blast doing it. Kids really are so simple and can find fun in anything. I wish I were more like that. Also, it is just so nice to remember how beautiful the Earth is that Heavenly Father created for us. For me, the mountains just help me keep a good perspective on life.

Bear Lake

2011-08-25T13:12:00.001-06:00

Our ward does a campout every summer in Bear Lake. We have heard that it is so much fun, and have been looking forward to it for a while. Everything we heard about it was true. We had a blast! It was so nice to get away and not worry about computers, phones, and every day worries. We had fun getting to know people in our ward better, and just hanging out. Sydney and Cooper absolutely loved every second of it. They had so much fun playing with the other kids who were there. I loved watching them be so intrigued by nature. They loved the dirt, sand, sticks, and water, and even loved it when they found a snake! They loved running around at night with their flashlights. And they really were never bored. It is so fun to see what they come up with when there are no toys around. We also got raspberry shakes a couple of times, which were so yummy! Hopefully we will be in the ward next year, and will be able to go again!

Matt won this "vacation lodge" tent at work, and it was our first time using it. It was so nice to have a ton of space. We were even able to set up the pack-n-play in there for Cooper and still have a lot of extra room.

Cooper loved playing in the sand. He was so content. He also loved finding whoever had some candy or food and getting some from them.

Sydney had so much fun going back and forth from the water to the sand. She was not scared of the water at all and loved swimming.

Ella and Sydney

Some families from the ward brought their jet ski's and let everyone take turns on them. Matt took a few turns on them... two with Sydney, one with Cooper, one with me, and one by himself. It was my first time on one, and I was a little nervous, but it was really fun!

Sydney loved it! Matt even let her steer by herself a little bit, which she was excited about.

Cooper cried at the beginning and the end of his ride, but liked the middle. He was happy to not go again.

Another family brought these boat things. We all went on one together, and I held Cooper in my lap. It was so relaxing (having Matt row us around... ha ha) that Cooper fell asleep.

The kids all played games while the adults packed up to go home. They did 3-legged races, played with a parachute, colored pictures, and loved it!

We had such a great time. It was our first time camping together, and hopefully won't be our last!

Family Reunions

2011-08-18T17:24:00.003-06:00

One of the things I admire most about Matt's extended family, is how close they are. I remember I used to be so perplexed that Matt could talk about his first-cousin-once-removed, or his 2nd cousin, or his grandpa's sister like he knew them and what was going on in their lives. I have a hard time just keeping up with my first cousins. (Granted I currently have about 65 first cousins, some of whom are just weeks old. I actually am somewhat proud that I even know all of their names!) Anyway, I love that Matt's extended family has reunions, and I attribute their closeness to getting together often. The Page side of the family usually gets together twice a year, and the Watkins family once a year. I'm talking Matt's grandparents, their siblings, and all of their posterity. I have enjoyed getting to know Matt's extended family through these reunions. The Watkins family held their reunion a couple of weeks ago. It was fun, as always.

I think the highlight was the pie eating contest!

A week later, we had a Page Family Reunion, that was not quite as extended- the Ron and Sandy Page family. (Matt's grandparents, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren) We all gathered together for a week long reunion in Park City. We had a blast hanging out with everyone, especially family we don't get to see as often. Nana and Papa found a perfect balance of having things planned to do, and letting everyone relax and chill with no schedule.

We did lots of hanging out...

Fort Building...

Basketball games, Mountain Biking, Ping Pong Tournaments and card games-"Nickel, Nickel"

Plus a fun competition of Minute-to-Win-it Games...

And Swimming...

We also sewed and serged holiday placemats for our families (and yes I did mine all by myself!), waxed our hands, enjoyed family dinners each night, and listened to in-law family histories. Sydney and Cooper had a blast with so much family around. They loved learning everyone's names who aren't familiar to them, and by the end they could pretty much name everyone. The rooms were so nice, and it was great to have our own space, which made naps much easier. The kids' favorite part of the rooms was the huge bathtub! They took several baths in it, since it was pretty much another swimming pool for them.

Cooper is a little less social than Sydney, took longer to warm up to others, and could often be found asking Cadie or me to "hold you?" He has a special bond and love with Cadie. But I think he slowly warmed up to everyone. Still, when I show him pictures he likes to point out everyone and say their names. He was so cute to watch at the ping pong tournament, because he kept finding puddles and splashing in them. I have been amazed at how much he likes getting into things like that, and dirt!

Sydney couldn't get enough of bouncing from one person to another. She absolutely loved having so many people around, and learned that they would give her anything she wanted- candy, chocolate milk, you name it. She absolutely adores Mason and playing with him. It has been fun that they have been able to interact more as he's gotten older.

Our last night there, we had time scheduled to take family pictures. Our photographer and Corie were both stuck in Parley's Canyon, because the road was closed from a car that caught on fire. Needless to say, our photo session was delayed (a lot) so we took pictures with our own cameras. These are those pictures, which actually turned out really nice. It was funny to watch us amateurs taking pictures with sunny/shady spots all over. At one point Chris put a t-shirt on our umbrella stroller and held it up to block some sun that was on someone's face. Too funny! It's fun to have pictures of us all dressed up nice though.

One thing I have realized in my "old age" is that it is hard to get a big group of people together, who all have different schedules, live in different states, and have differing interests. But just because something is hard, doesn't mean it's not worth doing. Just the opposite can be true. Usually hard things are the most rewarding. I think this is the case with family reunions. After all, families are forever, so we should keep working on our relationships even while our families grow and change.

With that being said, thank you so much to Nana and Papa for always putting so much effort into getting the family together. I can tell you that coming from what I thought was a close family, it is amazing to see your family interact with one another. Even though they all have different interests, they still care about each other and enjoy being together. You have an amazing ability to treat everyone special, to love everyone, and to take anyone into your family, and I have been lucky enough to be a recipient of it. I have the same goal for my family as it grows.

Friends

2011-08-17T10:54:00.004-06:00

Seriously. Love these girls!

One of the best things this summer has been being able to see them more. Thanks for a fun summer filled with multiple play dates, dinners, and fun... missed you Stabie!

One of Kelli's amazing dinners... right before Lena had her beautiful baby.
If I had money, I would make Kelli quit her job and come live with us to cook all our dinners...
Really, I still have so much to learn!

Our first annual (hopefully) girls night in Midway!
Included dinner, late night chatting, 1:00 am pictures with no makeup,
delicious breakfast, chick flicks, swimming, lunch in Park City, and no kids....
perfect for catching up and a nice break.

Taking pictures at 1:00 am in the princess tent? Why not?

It will lead to hysterical laughing and delirious things

Lunch when Chelsey was in town!

So. Much. Fun. I really wish we all lived closer. Let's plan something around Christmas!

Our Tomatoes!

2011-08-16T15:22:00.001-06:00

Remember how we planted a garden back in May?

Well it has grown like crazy and we picked our first big tomato this week! Quite the exciting event!

Those of you who know me well, know that I do NOT like tomatoes. But I have loved having our own tomatoes growing in our back yard. We've been getting our little "sun-sugar" tomatoes for a couple months now, and picked our first big tomato this week, so we are really starting to see the fruits of our work.

It's been so fun to see something that you have put work and love into, grow into something beautiful. And even though I don't really like to eat them, Sydney and Cooper LOVE to eat them. They eat the sun-sugar ones like they are grapes. So they've been having tomatoes cut up with lunches every day. It has also been so fun to go out to the backyard and pick our own food, rather than getting them at the grocery store. If we ever have our own yard, I would love to do a bigger garden with more veggies in it! (maybe even some that I do like!)

May 16th

August 13th
Sydney with one in her cheek- picked right off the vine

They have gotten so tall (taller than Matt) and heavy... they've fallen over twice and are being held up by rope tied all over the place. Tyler, the greenhouse guru, told us that they have done extremely well, some of the best he's seen outside of the greenhouse... so we must have some green thumbs!

It has been fun to watch the kids get so excited about watering and picking the tomatoes. Such a fun experience!

Pioneer Day Festivities

2011-08-15T16:04:00.000-06:00

Summer is sure keeping us busy! One of our busiest days this summer was Pioneer Day. We had so much going on that day, that we even had to say no to a few activities. Nevertheless, it was an exhausting, busy, fun, festive day! To start out the day, our ward had a neighborhood breakfast. The Relief Society Committee was in charge of this activity, which I am on, so it made it extra busy for us. As part of the activity, the neighborhood puts on a bike parade, and a fun run. We decorated bikes the night before so we could be ready bright and early. The kids loved decorating their bikes. It was so fun to watch them be so excited over some crepe paper and ribbon. Sydney was especially proud of her bike and kept the decorations on it for a few weeks. After we were done decorating bikes, we put the kids to bed, and Matt and I went to Harry Potter with Corie and Cadie, while Jana came over to stay with our kids. Sydney woke up when they came over, and was so excited to show Jana her bike. Matt and I enjoyed going to a midnight movie, and felt like teenagers again. Going to a late movie sure made our busy day the next day even more tiring... but it was totally worth it!

Early Saturday morning, I headed over to the church to set up for the breakfast, and Matt took the kids over to the beginning of the bike parade. The kids were so excited to ride their decorated bikes. Cooper rode his from the clubhouse all the way to our house, where Matt dropped off the bike and switched for a stroller. Sydney rode hers all the way to the church- about a mile. I loved seeing her ride in to the church parking lot... so proud and happy. Someone in our ward arranged for a fire truck, ambulance, and police car to be in the parade with the kids. Sydney loved it. She was riding in front of the ambulance and said she kept having to pedal faster so it wouldn't catch up to her. The activity turned out to be a success. Everyone had a good time eating pancakes and socializing. Can I just say... we love our ward!

Decorated bikes... ready to go!

the home stretch

decorated and ready

love

After the neighborhood breakfast, we hopped around to a few different activities- one of which was Draper Days. Draper Days holds a special place in my heart. I remember being so excited for it as a kid. I loved the parade. I loved walking down to the park and seeing so many friends there. Then I loved when they started doing the rodeo. And of course, my favorite was always the fireworks. I have to admit... I was really disappointed in Draper Days this year. It was kind of like going to an overpriced dollar store. There wasn't really much to do... just a ton of little booths with crappy things to buy. We did find some ponies to ride- and Sydney LOVED it. Cooper got to pet some, and loved that as well. And we found a train to ride. But really it wasn't very impressive. Kind of makes me sad. The fireworks, however, were great. We watched them at Nana and Papa's house again. It is so nice to watch them there, and not have to worry about crowds. But, it might be one of the last years we are able to see much. The trees are getting so big and are starting to block our view.

On the Sunday the 24th, actual Pioneer Day, we had some great lessons and talks in church. It really is remarkable what the pioneers did. We would not have the church we have today without them. I am so grateful for all the sacrifices they made for us. It truly is so humbling to think about the pioneers and all they did, and I pray that we are making them proud.

After church, we headed over to my cousins' house- the Schones. We had a fun BBQ and a little home fireworks show. Arial fireworks were made legal this year (which on a side note has been fun and crazy... it's been fun to see fireworks all across the valley lighting up the sky, but they are typically going off so late, and are so loud... it was hard for the kids to sleep). So we had a couple arials in our home show. When we came to the last one, it actually fell over and started shooting horizontally instead of vertically. We were literally running and ducking as they bounced off of cars and into yards, and really were so blessed that no one was hurt. It was quite an adrenalin rush and finale. Besides that, it was a fun night. Our kids always have fun playing with other kids, and Sydney especially loves playing with Jocelyn Blythe. It's always fun to see my cousins!

Cooper, Jocelyn, Sydney

Summer is flying by so quickly. We are trying to soak up the last of our carefree, schedule-less days, and nice weather before fall sneaks in!

Boat Pancakes

2011-07-13T16:53:00.000-06:00

We made German Pancakes for breakfast on Sunday morning and it was the kids' first time watching them bake. Sydney decided they looked like a boat and the name stuck. Cooper kept asking for "more boat!" It's cute. I can live with a name change.

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-07T17:19:00.000-06:00

We had such a great and busy holiday weekend! It is always nice when a holiday lands on a Monday, because it gives us a 3 day weekend to celebrate. Since we are now living in Riverton, we participated in Riverton's Town Days and really enjoyed the festivities in this city.

On Friday night, there was a parade, which we went to. It was so fun to see my kids sitting on a curb waiting for a parade to come, and watching all of the fun things go by! After the parade we went over to the Town Days festivities and let the kids go on a couple of rides. Sydney and Cooper both went on the carousel and a flying bug, and Sydney went on a small roller coaster all by herself. Both of them loved all of the rides and had a great time. Then there was a late night outside movie, playing How to Train a Dragon. Movies in the park have become one of our favorite things to do in recent years, and we almost always jump on a chance to go to one.

Love those cute feet and Cooper's chubby fingers!

They loved the floats with the "princesses"

Go Cougars!

Finding Nemo float, a favorite

Cooper loved the merry-go-round, he kept saying "horsie, wee!" or "uuupp...doowwn"

the flying bug

It was so crazy to see my little girl on a roller coaster by herself. I'll admit, I was nervous!

but she loved it!

movie in the park

We actually sat on the back side of the movie screen. They were projecting it up, so everything was backwards, but you couldn't really tell until the end, when the credits came up. The great thing about it was, we got great, front-row seats!

We had such a great Saturday. It was Matt's first day off (besides Sundays) in 2 months, since he has been working at the greenhouse on all his Comcast days off. We loved having our daddy home with us and spending time all together! We washed the car in the morning and had the Lang's over for a BBQ at night, followed by the Riverton fireworks. I love the big firework shows, and was glad that this was a good one!

Such good helpers! (oh, and our new car for those of you who haven't seen it!)

Waiting for fireworks

Such good friends

love that cheesy smile

I loved watching my kids cuddle with their dad while watching the fireworks.

On Monday, the 4th, Matt actually had to work from 1- 10. He woke up early and went golfing with my dad and brothers, and then right when he got home we drove him to work, so we could have the car. So we got to spend a good 15 minutes with him. In the late afternoon the kids and I went over to my family's house for a BBQ before we had to leave for the Bees game. We roasted some marshmallows, to try out my mom's new fire pit, and made some smores. If you've ever made smores in the middle of a 100 degree day, it is very hot, and your chocolate melts. So it was very messy, very fun, and very tasty! (I actually think smores are so much better when the chocolate is melty). Cooper would not hold his own smore because he hated having messy hands, so we had to hold it for him. He finished the whole, big, messy thing.

So cute, roasting the mallows

The Bees game was so fun. The kids were excited to go because they had so much fun at the last one we went to. The game was perfect. Lots of hits and runs, high scoring, Bees winning, and a little drama in the 9th inning with the other team hitting a grand slam to decrease our good sized lead. Lucky for us, they never actually tied the game, so it lasted a good 9 innings and not longer :) (2 years ago, we went to a Bees game on the 4th, and it went to 14 innings. We were dying just waiting for the fireworks, and didn't even care who won at that point.) My dad's dealership gave away a car at the end of the game, and then there was the best fireworks show in the state. Seriously, the entire show is like the finale of most shows! Sydney and Cooper were mesmerized the entire time. It was a perfect way to end our fabulous weekend.

On the field, about to give away the car

Would be a perfect night if daddy were with us

The Fourth of July (combined with the 24th) is by far my favorite holiday. I love that in Utah we get to pretty much celebrate all month! There is nothing better than great weather, long days, BBQ's, baseball, parades, and fireworks!

Anticlimactic

2011-07-01T15:01:00.000-06:00

Ok, so all I did to my hair was highlights and trim. I decided to keep growing it out (for now anyway). Thanks for all your comments! Ha ha, so anticlimactic!

Opinion Please...

2011-06-25T12:13:00.000-06:00

So, I've always considered myself a "long hair" person. I've pretty much always had long hair. When I was pregnant with Cooper it got really long... like to the point I was hating it. It seemed too stringy and yucky, (granted I needed a trim and some highlights really bad). So I cut 10 inches off and donated it. I loved having shorter hair. It was so fast to do, and I really do feel like it looked more "stylish." I've actually been growing my hair out, because I wanted to be able to do more with it. Has anyone noticed that long hair is totally the trend right now, and so stylish? Well I see all these people with long hair, and then I kind of miss my long hair, and keep thinking, "I am so a long hair person. I've always had long hair." But then the other week, I had to get up early, and get ready early, and have my kids ready... all by 9:00. It was really hard. My hair took a long time to do. And then I thought, "What in the crap am I going to do when I have to be teaching preschool this fall, and have to BE THERE by 9:00 with Cooper dropped off and a babysitter?! I am going to die!" So then I thought I should cut my hair.

Well, I have a hair appointment on Wednesday, and I really just can't decide what to do. I could always wait and cut my hair when school starts, keep it long in the summer (pony tails are good for days at pool), but then it seems like summer is the perfect time to cut your hair short, because it's just so summery. Or I could just keep growing it out, even when I am teaching, because ponytails really are pretty fast, it just might not get washed mornings I teach :) and then I feel like if I cut it, all this growing out time has been a waste.

Oh, and here is the other kicker. We are getting family pictures taken at the end of July/beg of Aug (?) with Matt's family. Last time we did this, I was huge pregnant with Sydney and really looked so bad... like I'm not kidding, I seriously HATE those pictures of me. So I really don't want to look bad this time!

So here is my question for you, my faithful readers.

Cut it now?

Keep it long?

What looks better?

and WHY?

Seriously... help me out!

Long hair before I cut 10 inches off... keep in mind it REALLY needed a trim and highlights!

Short hair

Where it's at now... and yes, needs at least a trim and highlights...

And if you think of some kind of hair that would just look fab on me, send me a picture. Ha ha... thanks!

Oh and here are some hair styles I like...

I just don't know if I could pull this off, but I think it is so cute.
And I have had bangs before, and yes I hated them.

Probably my favorite actually
Love this, but I pretty much always love her hair
I would need to keep growing mine out,
and really who's to say it would actually look like this?
Plus, is it just going to take too long to do?

Does anyone else deliberate this much when they make a decision about their hair?

Bees' Game

2011-06-22T18:47:00.003-06:00

A couple weeks ago we got some free tickets to a Bees baseball game. It was Larry H Miller employee appreciation day, and since my dad is a LHM employee we got to use his tickets, since he had to work. We got free dinner, and they had face painting, and other activities for families, plus of course the main event... the baseball game! We rode TRAX up to the game, and back, which the kids loved. They love to "ride the train" that daddy takes to school. And we could never pass up a free baseball game!

Sydney wanted a flower on her face, she held so still the whole time!
If only she would do that when I do her hair!

Cooper got a baseball on his cheek... so cute!

They each got a balloon, Sydney's was a "love flower" (notice the heart)
and Cooper's was a puppy.

Bumble
Cooper loved him, Sydney didn't

Climbing the rock wall all by herself!

Woops...

Thanks for the tickets!
We had a blast!

Rheumatoid Arthritis, Vitamin D, and Running

2011-06-22T17:57:00.001-06:00

I have always been a summer girl. I absolutely love summer and everything about it. I have been enjoying this warmer weather that we are FINALLY beginning to have consistently and am feeling a lot better these days. This winter and spring (because it never really warmed up during spring) have been kind of hard for me. First of all, being stuck inside all day every day with no car is hard. There were some very good things about this winter that made it better than others, like playgroups at the church and having more space to be stuck in at home (much better than our 2 bdrm apartment!)

But there were some things that made it harder too. My wrists started hurting me near the beginning of the year. I would wake up and they would be stiff and sore. Getting Cooper out of his crib and changing his diaper would hurt them, and of course other things I had to do in my daily life. They actually started feeling better after about a month, so I was pretty happy. Then I got a bump on the side of my hand. It was swollen and hurt really bad. Some days it would hurt worse than others, but it was really weird. While I still had the bump on my hand, my knuckles on my hands began hurting. They always hurt the worst in the morning when I would wake up. They would be stiff, swollen, and sore. I would lay in bed in the morning just thinking how bad my hands hurt and how much I didn't want to get out of bed and do all the stuff I had to do. Some nights I wouldn't even be able to sleep because my hands hurt. I noticed that the colder the day/night was, the worse my hands hurt. I had no energy to do anything I needed to do. Laundry and cleaning would get so backed up because I kept getting so tired throughout the day. Even after I took a shower, I had no energy or desire to get ready.

As the weather warmed up and the sun started shining more, I thought I would start feeling better and have more energy. But it didn't happen. It was all I could do to make myself take the kids to the park, because it seemed like so much work. Since my hands weren't getting better at all, I decided to go to the doctor.... (I know I should have gone earlier, but I always hate going and having them tell me that nothing is wrong! I have a phobia from all those negative strep tests as a child.) So I went to the doctor about 2 weeks ago and told him about my wrists and hands hurting. He asked about fatigue and I told him that I have been having some. It actually was weird because I hadn't thought too much about it until he asked me. I just kind of thought it was the typical "winter blues." But when he asked me, I realized how fatigued I really was every day. He took x-rays and blood tests and we made a follow up appointment. About a week after my appointment he called and told me that I had tested positive for Rheumatoid Arthritis and that I was very low on Vitamin D. He started me on some Vitamin D supplements and Aleve.

I had my follow up appointment yesterday and he told me about Rheumatoid Arthritis. The reader's digest version is: It is an auto-immune disease and is not curable. They can treat symptoms, but treatments have a lot of side effects because they attack your immune system and weaken it. They can also use steroids to help with flare ups. We took another blood test and a urine test to make sure nothing else was going on and discussed my Vitamin D levels. I should be at least at 50 and was at 28. So he said that taking Vitamin D should help me feel a lot better and energetic. We decided that I should not do any treatments for the R.A. at this time because it isn't very bad yet. So for now I am just taking Aleve twice a day along with my Vitamin D. I will have to go in every 6 months and have levels taken to see how it is doing, and then we will decide what to do each time.

My hands have been feeling a bit better with the warmer weather. My knuckles are still a bit swollen and don't feel right, but I can do pretty much everything without having too much pain. The Vitamin D has been helping me feel a lot better. I have felt my energy level increase, which is making me happy (and the sunshine really helps a lot too!)

For a while I was really scared about what this would mean in my life. I didn't want my kids to think of me as a mom who was sick but did the best that she could. I want them to think of me as a mom who played with them and did fun things with them. I want to be able to physically do all the things I need to do to be a good wife and mother. It scares me to be diagnosed with arthritis at 26 years old. I wonder what things will be like for me when I am 50, or 60, or 80 when people typically get arthritis. I really don't know how it will effect my life or how I will handle it. But I am feeling a little better about it and will just take it one day at a time. I am glad to know what was wrong, and to be doing some things to make it better.

I have also started running in the mornings these past couple weeks. Matt is so sweet and bought me some new running shoes (mine were probably 10 years old and too big) and a jogging stroller/bike trailer. I make it out at least every other day, sometimes more, and I can run a mile without stopping and usually I stay out for 2-3 miles with some walking mixed in. The other day my brother watched my kids so I could go without a stroller and it was SO MUCH EASIER! I ran almost 2 miles without walking that day and improved time on my mile. So at least pushing an extra 60+ pounds is improving my endurance! It feels so good to get out and do something that is good for me and it makes me feel better throughout the day. Between that and the Vitamin D, I am feeling like a whole new person during the day, but by bedtime I fall asleep so fast, usually on the couch.

Overall, I am feeling much better about myself. I am trying to learn to not stress about having a spotlessly clean house, or about where we are going to live in the fall, or about other things that I really don't have much control over. (Yes, I am a control freak). I don't want to be someone who is always stressed. I want to enjoy life, and I want my kids to enjoy me. My kids are growing up so fast, and I want to be able to look back and think about fun things I did with them, and not remember my clean house. So, I guess if I can't do it all... and I can't... then I need to pick which is the most important. Someday my kids will be in school, and I will have more time to clean. But until then, I will just apologize to you, because if you ever come over unannounced, there will probably be toys all over, and laundry and other things, and it won't necessarily be clean. I just need to be ok with it, otherwise I won't be a happy person, and I want to be.

Anyway, sorry for the longest post ever that was purely about myself. I just thought there might be a few people who would want to know what was going on with me.

Father's Day

2011-06-21T10:04:00.000-06:00

I am so grateful to the fathers and grandfathers in my life. These men have taught us how to be hard workers, how to be loving, how to always be thinking of others, how to be providers, and many other valuable lessons, all through their examples! When I think about Matt's grandfathers, his dad, my grandfathers, and my dad, I feel so blessed that Matt and I were raised by such amazing men. And I am especially grateful to Matt for following their examples and being the best father I could imagine for my children. Thank you Matt for all you do for our family. I don't know many people who work as hard as you do, or have as much on your plate as you do with school and work. And then you come home and help the kids water their tomatoes, and help me get them to bed, and read BOM with us and have a family prayer. You never complain, and are always happy and willing to help. I love that the kids are always so excited to have you home, that they run to the garage when they hear the door open and run around screaming because they are so excited. I even love that Sydney cries when you leave for work, because she loves you so much. We love you so much and think that you are the greatest!

Sydney and Cooper bringing Daddy his Father's Day gift

Daddy's favorite treats and cards

This was my favorite, read it

What could be a better activity for Father's Day than taking a nap with your dad?

Hobbies

2011-06-10T15:19:00.006-06:00

So I went to a Relief Society Activity the other night and sat by a girl who is new to our ward. We were having the awkward "getting to know you even though you just told me your name and I've already forgotten it" conversation. Don't get me wrong, she was a nice girl, I'm just not the best at being outgoing and conversational.

So the first question this girl asks me is... what do you do in your free time?

Me: Uhhhh...

Her: Like when you have a little break from your kids, what do you do?

Me: Um... I do stuff on the computer.

Awkward pause of silence so I explain myself: I don't really have a lot of free time, my husband works full time and is in school
(while I'm thinking...not to mention he hasn't had a day off in over a month, Saturdays included, plus I don't have a car and pretty much never leave the house)
So I pretty much take care of the kids from dawn till dusk. What do you like to do?

Her: I sew.

Me: Wow, that's really neat, I wish I knew how to sew.
(Ironic since I had just posted a blog about sewing!)

Her: So what do you do on the computer?

Me: (Thinking, I don't really want to tell her I check facebook, emails, and blogs a million times.)
I have a blog, or I organize pictures... I don't know

Her: Well, it seems like we need to find you a creative hobby.

Then thankfully the activity began.

Oh boy. I felt like the most lame person in the entire world. I am the only person who pretty much doesn't do anything besides take care of my kids, my house, and waste my very limited free time doing pretty much nothing on the computer?

Maybe I really should take up sewing.

Sewing

2011-06-08T16:03:00.006-06:00

When I was in 7th grade I was in the quarter-long sewing class. I remember we made aprons. It was one of the classes that I just really did not like. I even remember doing an extra credit project that looked like it was sewn together, but really, it was all iron on things! I am not a very patient person, so I always just thought that sewing wasn't my thing. (Like when we made bracelets at girls camp with tiny little beads... oh my monotonous!) Combine my lack of patience with my quest for perfectionism, and you have a bunch of frustrating projects that take forever and never look perfect. I always thought that I was so not a crafty person.

Then I worked at a scrapbooking store... it introduced me to the world of crafts. I learned that not all crafts have to be time consuming, boring, and try my patience. I learned to enjoy working with paper, and my favorite projects dealt with paper, Mod Podge, and wood. I also learned that I was pretty good at some crafting. Still my interest in big, long, or unfamiliar crafts was quite limited, or nonexistent.

As I've become a mom, my crafty bone has taken hold, probably thanks to all the blogs I see. I still don't do a ton of crafts, but my desire to do crafts has increased. I have actually found myself wanting a sewing machine. Whaaaat? I still don't know if sewing would be my thing, but I have tackled a couple projects with the help of more accomplished sewers.

When we moved into this house, Nana helped me make some curtains to cover up our kitchen window. I was involved in making them, doing most of the pressing and ironing for them... I am known for my ironing skills- even though I really despise the chore. But Nana still did pretty much all of the sewing (I wanted them to look good, ok?). Still, every time I look at those curtains, I love the fact that I helped make them!

So my second sewing project (not counting my apron in 7th grade) happened to be a dress for Sydney. And no way would I have tackled the project alone! Some friends from our ward got together to make Easter dresses for our girls. I picked out the fabric, and this time I actually did a little bit of the sewing (ok a very little bit, but some nonetheless). They even helped me make a cute matching bow for her hair. It was so fun to come home with a finished project and tell Sydney that I had made her a dress! And guess what... she loves it! So maybe, somewhere inside of me, there could be a seamstress. Or maybe just a great ironing aid for an accomplished seamstress. Regardless, I had a fun time making Sydney a dress and at least I have a few things under my sewing belt and can say I have finished a couple projects without pulling my hair out!

It really did turn out cute... dont' you think?!

Our First Garden

2011-05-20T11:37:00.002-06:00

We planted our first "garden" for family night on Monday evening. We made a little box to put it in, and planted 3 tomato plants. We are excited to have some fresh tomatoes that we grew ourselves! (That is if it will ever be warm enough for them to grow... we hope they survive this cold weather!)

Sydney planting her very own tomato plant

Cooper planting his very own tomato plant

Watering our plants

Sydney's plant on the left, the family (tall one) in the middle, and Cooper's plant on the right

In the Span of a Week

2011-05-18T11:39:00.006-06:00

From Friday the 6th to Saturday the 14th (8 days actually)...

Matt worked at Comcast 4 days

Matt worked at the greenhouse 3 1/2 days

Courtney and I took the kids to the zoo (while our husbands worked at the greenhouse)

Matt's parents were in town for 6 days

We went shopping twice,

out to eat 4 times,

made tamales,

had a homemade steak dinner together,

visited friends,

and hung out at Nana and Papa's house a bunch

Matt and I attended a session at the Draper Temple with my cousin Kourtney, who was going through for the first time... (wish I had gotten a picture with Kourtney!)

We celebrated Mother's Day with breakfast-in-bed,

visiting with both of our mothers

(a special treat since we don't usually see Matt's mom on Mother's Day),

visiting with two of our grandmothers,

attending sacrament meeting and listening to Sydney sing,

and talking to our brother's Tim and Alex for the LAST TIME while on their missions!

We enjoyed a couple days of nice weather...

Courtney and I let the kids play in the back yard, in their swim suits, most of the day Friday...

(while our husbands worked at the greenhouse again) They loved it!

We went to Nate's birthday party and got to see a bunch of old lifeguard/ high school friends along with their spouses and babies!

We went to a baby shower for Courtney and hung out with her and Kate A LOT

(while our husbands worked at the greenhouse... ha ha. And yes, I stole your picture Courtney!)

We had a VERY BUSY week, and almost every night ended with the kids asleep in their car seats, at a much later time than their normal bed time.

Growing Up

2011-05-09T17:51:00.001-06:00

One of the big decisions we've made lately, is for me to teach preschool next year. It was kind of a last minute job offer, and a last minute decision for us, and I was totally unprepared for it. I had previously decided not to put Sydney in preschool next year for a couple of reasons. One being that it's expensive, and another being that I really wanted to enjoy another year as a mom of young kids not in school. This job offer, however, was really an answer to our prayers. It gives me an opportunity to help out with our income, and not have it be a sacrifice to our kids, and it gives Sydney an opportunity to a free year of preschool. I have made arrangements with family and friends to have a babysitter for Cooper, so he will not have to be in a daycare, and it really won't take up too much of my time (about 6 hours a week) so it really is a win-win situation and something that I just couldn't pass up. I really am looking forward to it. I think it will be a fun adventure for both Sydney and me, and this opportunity couldn't have come at a better time.

As exciting as it all is, there is one little, or maybe big to me, thing that tugs at my heart. My baby girl is growing up. She will be starting school this fall, and will never be mine all the time again. Luckily, we will have a few years of part-time school to get used to the idea of full time school. It kind of breaks my heart to have her leave me... I can only imagine the kind of wreck I'll be when she leaves me for college. I can hardly believe that this past year was the last year of my life to not have any kids in school. I think that was the hardest thing emotionally about this decision... that I wasn't really prepared for. Sometimes I wonder why time passes so quickly, and how I got so old all of a sudden. Sydney is growing up to be such a wonderful little girl. I know that she will do a great job with school, and that she will thrive in that environment. But I really do wish that I had a little more time with her as my sweet little Sydney. The other great thing about this situation is that I will be Sydney's teacher, so that will probably help me transition to the idea of having her in school... hopefully.

For the time being, I am holding on for dear life to every sweet moment I have with her. I have been laying with her longer when I put her to bed, and am loving having those moments of just mommy and daughter. Her bedtime routine is always the same. First we read the BOM and say a prayer as a family. Then Matt takes Cooper to bed and it's just Sydney and me. "Do ABCD's on my back Mommy," she'll say. So I trace the abc's on her back while singing the alphabet. Then we sing a few more, usually primary, songs. I used to leave her to fall asleep after this point, but lately, she has been saying, "let's talk now Mom!" I never thought hearing that sentence come out of her mouth would make me so happy! Night after night, we will talk. We talk about our favorite parts of our day, and speculate about Daddy and Cooper's favorite parts. We talk about what we will do tomorrow. We tell jokes and giggle, and tell stories. I wish it could last forever. Then we give hugs and kisses, and tuck her in tight so the "wiggle bugs" can't get her. Right now those moments are the most precious moments in my life.

I know that Sydney will grow up with time. Someday she will have her own children to take care of. There is a cycle of life that we all must go through, and I am learning to try to love my life exactly how it is. Because I can't rewind or slow down time. I can't change anything about it, and if I don't enjoy it, it will have passed me by and will be something I can't get back. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to be a stay at home mom, and mother my darling children. We have had to sacrifice a lot of things so I can do it, but it is worth it. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Change is the Only Constant

2011-05-09T17:02:00.002-06:00

Life has been throwing us some curveballs lately, as it likes to do. So, please excuse me as I work through my thoughts a little in my journel...uh, er.... blog. I am not really a person who loves change. I'm always the mom who wants my kids to stay little. I've always been the kid who didn't want to move. I'm always the one who wants things to stay as they are. Unknown things scare me a little bit. They are hard to predict, and I like things to be predictable. I like schedules, I like to-do lists, I am a very practical and organized person. And it is hard to prepare for things when you don't know where you will be next year, or what you will be doing. We have so many unknowns right now, that it's hard to get past them.

We have moved pretty much every year since we've been married, some years more. The change of moving is so consistent, that it really is predictable. The only thing that isn't predictable is where we will be living. I have become very attached to our life in this house. I love the house, the garage, the space, the backyard, the frontyard, the kitchen, the granite countertops, the big island counter, having 3 bedrooms... all of it. But I would give all of that up if it meant we could stay in the same ward. I'd live in the smallest apartment we've lived in again, if it meant I could keep the friends I've made; if it meant I could keep the play dates, the lunches at the park, the relief society activities, the people to talk to in church, the friends for my kids. Those are the things I've really come to love and appreciate. In our five years of marriage, I have not had one friend at church until we moved here. In the past 4 wards we've been in, even with being totally active, we have moved away not knowing more than 5 people's names in each ward, each time. We've always been labeled as "transient" and we learned to live to fit that label.

When we moved here, people welcomed us. They brought us cookies and introduced themselves. I got a calling that didn't put me in the corner, behind the piano, unable to meet anyone. Ward members treat us like we'll live here forever. Neighbors invite us to playgroups and to the park. We were visited in our home by the bishopric and relief society presidency for the first time in our marriage. My kids have had friends to play with for the first time. We received neighbor Christmas gifts for the first time. We knew dozens of names in our ward within the first month of moving here. The people here have changed my life. They have made me a happier person. I am so grateful to them for being so kind and for reaching out to us. I really needed it.

It breaks my heart to think of moving this fall. But, I do know that everything will be ok. Even with all the unknowns, we are a family and we have each other. When I'm feeling down, I like to look through old pictures, because it reminds me that we have been so blessed. Even through all our moves, and all our "friendless" years, we have been so happy with each other. We are a close, strong family, and I am confident that we will continue to be. So here's to the future, unknown as it is. I am excited to continue to make memories together and to love one another! I really do know, that things are not only going to be ok, they will be good.