Update

Yet another update where I have to condense months into a few paragraphs because I am so far behind! Things have been going well for us. This winter has been incredibly mild for this area, as I know it has been elsewhere. I have no complaints...at least for now. I probably will when they start rationing water later this summer since we have so little snow in the mountains!

But let's start with last fall. Here is a picture of Sam and Lily raking leaves in the backyard of our new house:

Bella is growing and learning and loving to play with friends. She is recently potty-trained (yeah!) and keeps things exciting at our house. She may be taller than the other two older kids soon...she is wearing Lily's clothes already!

Late last fall I ordered a box of pomegranates along with one of my bountiful baskets and we spent a lot of time getting all of the seeds out to freeze them. We turned the opportunity into quality family time! Even Grace got in on the fun.

As usual, we drove down to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. We always love going to warmer weather. We enjoy great food and spending time with family. This is a picture of all the family together. We all signed a "good luck" poster for Dann's and my niece who shortly after began training with the US Olympic Water Polo team.

Christmas was lots of fun, as usual. The only downside was when I got sick Christmas Eve and had to stay home from church on Christmas Day with Grace, who was also sick. Luckily, it was only a 12-hour bug that nobody else caught. We had a progressive dinner with nearby family members. The kids loved all the presents and also loved having Uncle Mark here for the holiday! Here are the pictures we used for our Christmas cards. If you didn't receive one from us, I apologize. I did not order enough this year and didn't have enough time before Christmas to order more. You think I would have it down by now! Oh, well. Next year I'll try to do better.

Lily started taking ballet lessons last fall and loves it. She has some of her good friends in her class. They had a small part in the Nutcracker. Here she is in her costume:

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Salt Lake and Dann took Sam to the Auto Expo. They went with my dad and brothers as well. Sam loves cars, and he loved the expo. We may have to make that a tradition!

The girls have plenty of girl-time in the mornings after Dad and Sam leave for work and school (Lily has afternoon kindergarten). Here are some of the many outfits the girls have come up with:

I can't leave out my darling little Grace. This little girl has brought me more joy than I can say. She is now 9 months old and the cutest little bug ever. Her hair is crazy, she has 7 teeth, is almost crawling, sleeping great, loves baths and food, and is happy as can be. What a blessing she is in my life. I can't say enough about her. I wish time would slow down so I could have her be a baby for longer.

Dann and I are busy, busy, busy. We are still working on remodeling the building we bought into offices. Also, since it is tax season, Dann goes over to Vernal to help out with his Jackson Hewitt tax franchise when he can. It is super busy and doing really well. I am still working on getting our house painted and decorated. We've also had a lot of parties and dinners lately.

Sam has a party this week for his birthday...hopefully I'll post on that soon!

First Days of School

Sam and Lily started school on different days, since kindergarteners start a few days later than all of the other grades. So far, both are loving it (although Lily is a little more vocal about it) and doing well. I am enjoying the structure that school brings to our days, and it's nice that a few families close by have kids in kindergarten too, so we can carpool! The bus doesn't run in the middle of the day, and we do half-day kindergarten. Sam had afternoon kindergarten last year, so it's been an adjustment for me to get up early and get Sam up and ready and out the door. The time in my life when I could be lazy in the mornings is officially over for a long time.....

We Love Summer

This summer has been a great one! So great that I haven't had much time to update the blog, so we'll have to do a little catch-up!

Dann has been super busy, as usual. I don't know how he fits everything he does into one day. I guess it helps if you get up at 5 a.m. like he does. He has enjoyed working with the high school girls tennis team (the first one they've ever had here) the past few weeks. He does what he can to spend time with us, which we appreciate. But, most of the time it's just mom and the kids, so we find ways to have our own fun!

A front-yard picnic in June

Our only long trip this summer was at the end of June. We drove down to Las Vegas to see family and celebrate Dann's aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. Baby Grace did great on the 8-hour drive down, but not so great on the way back. We decided not to take any more long drives for a while! We also saw some friends and played at the splash park.

Lily and Sam both had a blast doing swimming lessons and passed their levels. Sam went off the diving board for the first time and was the first one in his class brave enough to do it.

We were lucky to have cousins come from Arizona for the whole month of July. The kids played so hard every day that they crashed each night, falling asleep in seconds. We went up the canyon, played at several parks, collected bugs, rode scooters and bikes, ate lots of ice cream and popsicles, and did the hokey-pokey several times a day (at Bella's request).

We also had fun at UBIC (Uintah Basin in Celebration) just a few weeks ago. The kids did lots of crafts, ate snow-cones, watched fireworks, and we all ate lots of good food. The parade is their favorite event, as it usually results in a huge bag of candy to take home. They weren't disappointed!

Lily turned 5 a few days ago and her party seemed to be a success. She loved her presents, especially a new pink razor scooter. I didn't even take pictures of the cake.

Little Gracie has enjoyed all that we have done this summer, too. She is growing and is the joy of my life right now. I love her sweet smiles and cute giggles and that she goes to sleep when I lay her down. She sucks on two of her fingers to comfort herself, so she doesn't take a pacifier. She sleeps 10 hours a night and loves to snuggle. She is the baby I have dreamed of. I am enjoying every minute of the time I have with her, wishing time would slow down. I remind myself every day that I need to take more pictures of her, but haven't been very good about it.

Next week Sam starts first grade and Lily starts kindergarten a few days later. They are very excited, and so am I! We are also in the process of moving, probably next week, into my grandparents' house just around the corner. I'll write more on that later....

My Life with 4 Kids

I've been asked this question a lot lately, so I thought I would tell all of you who haven't asked.

My sweet baby Grace is one month old today, and so far, things are going really well. The adjustment from three children to four has really been much easier than it was from two to three. I'm hoping that's the case with the next however many more kids I have....I've heard some people say that once you have three, any more don't make much of a difference!

It could have something to do with the fact that this baby is an angel. Seriously. She was smiling at 2 1/2 weeks old (for real), sleeps 7 to 8 hours on a good night, and is just content almost all of the time. I've never had a child like this before, so I can say that I am truly grateful she is this way and can really appreciate it because I know what's it's like to have unhappy, colicky babies.

The other kids love having her around, too. I think that is why she woke up sick this morning...they have been giving her a few too many hugs and kisses with their snotty faces and coughs, despite me asking them one hundred times not to. I guess it was inevitable, but I feel bad for Grace. I always feel especially bad the first time babies get sick because they have never experienced it before. I guess that's part of why they're here on Earth, though. I'm hoping she'll get over it quickly.

Other things happening in our lives that I could write a separate blog post for each one (but will never get around to): Sam's last day of Kindergarten is today, Dann putting together a girls high school tennis team for this fall and running tennis clinics 3 days a week after work, Sam learning how to ride a 2-wheeler bike and Lily thinking she wants to learn too, warmer weather, our garden is growing, Bella is sleeping in a "big" bed, friends of Dann's staying with us for several weeks, our house almost getting struck by lightning, still wanting to build a new house.

She's Here!

What a week! Although I was 41 weeks along, I was really hoping the baby's birth would not interfere with my brother Matt's wedding. So, when my water broke at 1 am on the 26th, the day of the wedding, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I decided to just go back to bed for awhile and see what happened. I had mild contractions for about 4 hours, but they stopped by morning. I called my mom and talked to my doctor brother and asked their advice, then decided to go to the wedding anyway. It was at the Vernal temple, only half hour away, and I figured we could just come back quickly if something happened.

When we got there, my brother made me sit in a wheelchair, which was embarrassing because then everyone knew something was going on, but looking back, it was probably a good idea. I made it through the ceremony, which was beautiful, and then we left promptly after it was done without talking to anyone.

We drove straight to the hospital here in Roosevelt, and on the way we got a text from some friends in the ward that they had just had their baby an hour before (same hospital). She was due 2 weeks after me, but I didn't mind too much, since I knew it wouldn't be long before my baby arrived, too. A little while later, we heard that yet another couple in our ward had their baby at 1 a.m. The funny thing is, both husbands are Dann's counselors in the Elders Quorum Presidency, and we all ended up having girls on the same day. We were even in rooms 9, 10, and 11. It all makes for a good story!

Once we got admitted and settled, they checked just to "make sure" that it was my water that had broken (this still makes me laugh...this was even the second time/child it had happened to me). Before long, my doctor came in, laughing. He knew all about the wedding and had been telling me for weeks that the baby would probably be born that day. He said I could try walking around for an hour or so to try to get some contractions going, but would need to start on pitocin if that didn't work, because the clock was ticking. I had already waited 10 of the 24 hours they give you before the baby has to be born because of risk of infection. Walking wasn't super-successful. I was having some contractions regularly, but they weren't strong enough to be doing anything productive, so they started me on the pitocin around 2 p.m.

This was what I had been trying to avoid...not being induced. Sometimes things don't always go as planned. Also, I had been practicing the hypnobirthing techniques to be able to do it naturally, and I had asked my mom to be there to help me through it. My mom was busy all day with the wedding, luncheon, and reception. So, it was just me and Dann. He was really great. I don't think he thought I would or should try without an epidural, but was supportive of whatever I wanted to do.

I was relaxed and doing well for a few hours, but wasn't progressing very quickly, and they kept turning up the pitocin every 1/2 hour until I finally asked the nurse to stop. She agreed, as long as I progressed enough in the next hour. I did...from a 3 to a 5. From there it was pretty quick, and I think I hit transition because it was really intense, and I was in a lot of pain. A new nurse came on shift and asked to check me about 20 minutes past 6, and I was at an 8. She called the doctor, who said to call when I got closer. He almost didn't make it...it was really quick from there, and it is almost all a blur now. I had kind of lost the relaxation of the hypnobirthing, but the breathing was keeping me focused. I was talking to myself constantly, reassuring myself that I could do it, and I actually think that helped. That, and the constant praying.

I have never been so happy to see anyone as I was to see my doctor when he came in. Things were kind of panicked, as they had lost the baby's heart rate on the monitor, so they tried to put an electrode on her head, but that wasn't working, either. This point in the delivery is where the danger lies when attempting a VBAC, because the baby can be born through the old incision in your uterus instead of the birth canal. But, they let me push as soon as the bed was taken apart, and all it took was one push for her head and another for the shoulders. It was an amazing feeling that I haven't experienced without an epidural before. I am blessed with small babies, so I had no rips or tears. She was born at 6:52 p.m., after just 5 hours of labor.

I was so relieved when she was out! They wiped her off and gave her to me, and let me nurse her and just hold her for an hour. It was so great. When they finally did take her to weigh her and clean her up we found that she weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 inches long. She even has quite a bit of hair, which is new for us!

Visitors came after the reception was over, and I know my mom felt so bad that she hadn't been able to be there. Our other kids came, too, and were thrilled with their new baby sister. It was great having all my family in town for the wedding, as they were all able to be part of this as well. They also took care of our kids for us, too, for a few days, which was fantastic.

It took us until the next day to decide on a name, but we settled on Grace Nan. She is an angel so far. She's a great nurser and takes a pacifier and seems happy to be here. That hasn't been the case with all of my kids. :) I am really pleased that I was still able to do it without any pain medication, despite some of the other unfavorable circumstances that I was hoping to avoid. The whole experience was incredible, though I am not sure how I will choose to do it next time (assuming we are able to have more children). My recovery is going very well, and I have felt blessed in all that has happened.

Baby Update

Today I am officially 41 weeks pregnant. I can't believe it. And all of my other kids were at least 2 weeks early, so this feels like I am 3 weeks overdue. I had another doctor appointment this morning, and I still show no signs of labor anytime soon. My brother Matt is getting married tomorrow morning, and I was so certain that I would have the baby by now that we even bought a dress for her for the reception. I guess things don't always go as planned.

However, I am pretty determined to go as long as it takes for my body to go into labor on its own, which it never has had to for one reason or another. I am praying that it will. I really want that experience rather than another induction or C-section. My doctor thinks I am a little crazy.

I still feel pretty good and thankfully do not get swollen or very big with my pregnancies. I did a non-stress test today for the baby, and everything looked okay, so I will go in for another one on Thursday. If we still have no baby by next Monday, I may have to be induced. Hopefully she'll decide to come this week!!

February Fun

We had a busy month! Sam turned 6 and we had a fun party complete with a race car cake and games. His main present was a new bike. I can't believe he is so big! He has really grown the past few months....I need to get him all new pants. He is loving school and at his parent-teacher conference, his teacher suggested he start reading the Magic Treehouse chapter books. He is also doing really well with his piano lessons. He is one smart kid! He also beat the whole game (passed all the levels) of his new Super Mario Bros. game on the Wii that he got for Christmas. His favorite thing to do is play Wii with his dad. He is also getting to be more help each day with his sisters and doing things for Mom around the house.

At the end of the month, we decided on a Thursday to leave the next day for a quick trip to California and Disneyland. We spent a few days with Dann's family and visiting friends, then did one whole day of Disneyland and then drove back that night to Las Vegas. I don't think we'll do that again.....we were so tired it was hard to stay awake. The next morning we drove back home. We had originally planned a California trip for March, but I'm glad we went when we did. I'm having a hard enough time walking now as it is, and any later would've been worse. I just walked to and from rides and then sat down. Overall, we had a great time! The weather wasn't really warm, but warmer than we have had in Roosevelt for awhile, so it was a nice change.

It's hard to tell, but this is on Main Street with the castle in the background

The Dumbo ride!

Two happy kids

Our Newest Bundle of Joy

I'm so far behind blogging that I don't even know where to start, so I'll just forget going back the past few months and start from today!

I had a fun visit at the doctor's office this morning. I am officially into my 3rd trimester with baby #4 (a girl) with only 12 weeks to go! I am feeling great and am really excited for this baby's arrival. I did my glucose challenge today to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes, and also got to do a 3-D ultrasound. This baby girl looks a lot like her sisters to me! It was really fun to see all the different images. My mom and sister Kiana sat in on the fun.

Here are a few of the best pictures:

I love this one with her foot up by her head!

My doctor is going to let me try for a VBAC, since I had a c-section with my breech Bella. I am going to try to make it as long as possible without an epidural, so I am looking into hypnobirthing. If anyone has any ideas, let me know!

Celebrating Halloween

It seems like October was full of everything Halloween! Here are a few of the things we did throughout the month:

I am the Activity Day leader in our ward for the 10 and 11-year-old girls in our ward, so for one of our activities, we started the Halloween "Phantom." We made sugar cookies and decorated them, then attached a picture of a ghost and a poem with instructions for the them to pass it on to others. The girls LOVED it because we went out later that night to deliver them and then they got to ring the doorbell and run! We got the phantom back here at the house a few days later, so we had to deliver more treats. This time my brothers did the running for me!

Sam did a few really cute art projects at school, and my favorite is this tree he made:

He and Lily also drew and cut out a few things and taped them to our front door:

The Friday before Halloween, Sam had a costume parade at school along with their Halloween party. He told me it was the "funnest" day of class so far because it was just a big party the whole time!

Carving pumpkins was pretty funny. We let the kids draw their own faces on the pumpkins. When we tried to get them to clean out the insides, they kept saying, "EEEWWHH! Gross!" They turned out cute.

This year, Sam wanted to be a Nascar driver, and Lily wanted to be a princess, just like she has been the last few years, but I talked her into being a "beautiful" witch. The weather was nice all day, then turned rainy and cold just in time to trick-or-treat. It seems like that always happens! Still, the kids had a good time, and we ended up with close to 300 trick-or-treaters at our door!

I also celebrated my birthday a few days before Halloween, and Dann and I were able to take an evening and stay overnight in Salt Lake. We ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory (one of my favorites!) saw a movie, and did a little shopping. It was great. We also celebrated my sister Emily's 16th birthday on Halloween, and I got to make her a birthday dinner and dessert. She chose cinnamon rolls for that, and they turned out really yummy!

Lagoon!

I've been looking forward to the time when the kids would be old enough to have fun at Lagoon. I haven't been there myself for close to 10 years, and Dann had been only once when he was really young. My parents and brothers and sister joined us, too, and we had a great time!

When my dad asked Sam if he was having a good time, he said, "It's only the best day of my whole life!" However, that statement was made before he found out he was too short to ride the big bumper cars, which changed his mood for a short time. His favorite rides were the ones involving water, until he got cold later on.

Lily loved everything. She had no fear and was in good spirits all day. Bella only went on the carousel and the train ride, which she liked, until she saw the animals and started crying. I was so surprised! She loves animals, but maybe not ones in cages. Perhaps she isn't quite ready for the zoo...

We left before dark and went to In-N-Out, which was crazy busy. Rather than drive the 3 hours home, we stayed at a hotel in Bountiful, which went better than the last time we tried a hotel overnight.

I would say the trip turned out a success! We may even try Disneyland in December....

And this picture has nothing to do with the trip, but I took it a few days ago of Bella, and it was the first time that when I told her to say cheese, she did!! So cute...