BYU's mascot is the cougar.
I was about 16 or 17 weeks pregnant here.
One of our favorite stops out in UT is the seven rivers and Liberty Park. Carter just can't get enough of floating his little boat down the rivers. It's like little boy heaven there.
Hayden with cousin Kaylee (Brad and Stacey's).
Hayden enjoyed splashing around in the water as well.
Little cousin Lily (Chris and Kari's). She's a few months older than Hayden, but I think Hayden has her beat by about 5-10 pounds. Lily is a cute and smart little thing. She talks like crazy and knows most of her colors.
My older (not bigger) sister and I have our birthdays just one week a part. It's been a lot of years since we have been able to celebrate them together. For our Birthday celebration, Matt made us this precious cake, written on by him (he said it looked like a kindergartener did it, but I thought he did a dang good job and was super sweet to do it in the first place!). We also went to a near by park and played sock ball (very similar to dodge ball only with socks so the little kids wouldn't get hurt, super fun), bocce ball, and we just sat and talked. These are always my favorite times with my family. I love playing and talking with them. We just always have so much fun together. I really feel blessed at how well everyone jives and just loves each other. We're not perfect, sometimes our frustrations come out, but we're so good at just moving on to more fun and letting our imperfections go. I'm grateful for parents who taught not only how to work hard together, but also how to play hard together. It really is so important to do both!
A week after we left, my Dad was going to celebrate his 60th Birthday!! So everyone was kind enough to celebrate a week early so we could be a part of it. We went to the Grand America Breakfast Buffet and let me tell you, it was delicious!!! After we ate, the siblings all talked about things that we love and appreciate about my Father. There is so much to say in this area. He is such a loving, hard working, level headed (except when he is playing sports) man. He really knows how to strike the perfect balance between work, family and fun. I appreciate that so much in him and hope to find that same balance in my home!! Plus, aren't we a great group of people in that picture. I love so much everyone there. My siblings thus far have done an amazing job at finding spouses that feel just like my blood siblings. We are a truly blessed family!!
Here are two video's in my parent's backyard. Hayden loved sitting in this car:
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Martin's Cove
At the end of June, the kids, Matt and I went on a 10 day trip to visit my family. My family planned to all meet at Martin's Cove in WY on our way to Salt Lake City, UT. Martin's Cove is a place where Mormon Pioneer's who pulled hand carts across the country ended up facing lots of trials and hardship due to an early bitter, winter storm. While there you can feel of their enduring and faith filled spirits. It was such a great experience to hear their stories and learn from their powerful actions.
Carter and cousin pulling a kid sized hand cart.
Sarah Ann and Samuel Haigh are two of Matt's ancestors that were part of the Martin Handcart Company.
While there, my whole family went on a 6 mile handcart trek to get a very small feel of what these pioneers did.
Hayden was in the baby backpack almost the whole time on Matt's back. While there, we read about a mother whose children and husband were so ill they had to ride in the handcart with the rest of their stuff and the mother had to hold her new born child in her arms while pulling her FULL handcart. My heart ached as I thought about what she must have endured. I kept thinking, if only they had simple things like the baby wraps and backpacks that we have these days.
Here's our crew. We had 13 grand kids and my 80+ yr old Grandmother with us, two pregnant mothers, and one mother who had given birth a few months before. Everyone made this whole trek except for Grandma and one grandchild (though they both did a good part of it). The rest of the group hiked the whole 6 miles and I never heard one complaint from the rest of the kids. I was so impressed.
Well...no complaint unless it was Carter when we tried to get him in our family photo with us.
The Salt Water River was really high so many of my family members were disappointed that they couldn't cross with their handcarts, but they let those that wanted to cross over some river overflow.
Hayden decided she wanted a turn in the handcart towards the end.
My cute "baby" sister, Nicole, who is about to be a senior in high school.
It's tradition in my family when we go camping that we play a game of baseball. One of the many things I love about my family is how we all love to play together - all ages.
Carter and cousin pulling a kid sized hand cart.
Sarah Ann and Samuel Haigh are two of Matt's ancestors that were part of the Martin Handcart Company.
While there, my whole family went on a 6 mile handcart trek to get a very small feel of what these pioneers did.
Hayden was in the baby backpack almost the whole time on Matt's back. While there, we read about a mother whose children and husband were so ill they had to ride in the handcart with the rest of their stuff and the mother had to hold her new born child in her arms while pulling her FULL handcart. My heart ached as I thought about what she must have endured. I kept thinking, if only they had simple things like the baby wraps and backpacks that we have these days.
Here's our crew. We had 13 grand kids and my 80+ yr old Grandmother with us, two pregnant mothers, and one mother who had given birth a few months before. Everyone made this whole trek except for Grandma and one grandchild (though they both did a good part of it). The rest of the group hiked the whole 6 miles and I never heard one complaint from the rest of the kids. I was so impressed.
Well...no complaint unless it was Carter when we tried to get him in our family photo with us.
The Salt Water River was really high so many of my family members were disappointed that they couldn't cross with their handcarts, but they let those that wanted to cross over some river overflow.
Hayden decided she wanted a turn in the handcart towards the end.
My cute "baby" sister, Nicole, who is about to be a senior in high school.
It's tradition in my family when we go camping that we play a game of baseball. One of the many things I love about my family is how we all love to play together - all ages.Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Some Summer Fun in June
Our June was a fun and busy month. The first half we got started on working out a good summer schedule with preschool being out and filling some free time with some fun activities. The second half we spent time in UT. I am still trying to find a cord that I can connect my camera to my computer so that I can download all my UT pictures. In the meantime here is some of our June Summer Fun.
Hayden with her milk goatee.
It is hot here where we live in the Midwest and in the afternoons we have to play with some sort of water if we are going to be outside.
Hayden loves the sprinkler, the hose, the slip n slide. She just loves the water!
Carter as well loves the water, any kind of water!!
Our neighbor has this little barbie motorcycle that you push a button and it goes. One day we were outside, she jumped on and next thing we knew she was off.
This day was laundry day. I got all the laundry sorted then I had to run to my room for some reason. Next thing I knew the kids had thrown all the dirty laundry down the stairs and playing in it. YUCK and DISASTER.
The local library system throws a big kick off summer reading party every summer at a local park. It's free and they serve you lunch and have activities, a petting zoo, and the kids can choose one item from the ice cream truck. It was a lot of fun despite the hot temps.
Hayden was not happy about throwing her bag through the whole.
We also have a free farm to go to that's about 45 minutes away. It is full of so many fun activities and animals. Carter loved the tractor ride. I think it's so funny to see the tiny bit of Hayden chasing after her brother (a common thing around here).
For a $1 the kids could feed the baby goats a bottle.
Hayden LOVED the animals! She growled at all them, her deep throaty growl. She thinks every animals growls.
Thw farm also has a great playground.
Hayden with her milk goatee.
It is hot here where we live in the Midwest and in the afternoons we have to play with some sort of water if we are going to be outside.
Hayden loves the sprinkler, the hose, the slip n slide. She just loves the water!
Carter as well loves the water, any kind of water!!
Our neighbor has this little barbie motorcycle that you push a button and it goes. One day we were outside, she jumped on and next thing we knew she was off.
This day was laundry day. I got all the laundry sorted then I had to run to my room for some reason. Next thing I knew the kids had thrown all the dirty laundry down the stairs and playing in it. YUCK and DISASTER.
The local library system throws a big kick off summer reading party every summer at a local park. It's free and they serve you lunch and have activities, a petting zoo, and the kids can choose one item from the ice cream truck. It was a lot of fun despite the hot temps.
Hayden was not happy about throwing her bag through the whole.
We also have a free farm to go to that's about 45 minutes away. It is full of so many fun activities and animals. Carter loved the tractor ride. I think it's so funny to see the tiny bit of Hayden chasing after her brother (a common thing around here).
For a $1 the kids could feed the baby goats a bottle.
Hayden LOVED the animals! She growled at all them, her deep throaty growl. She thinks every animals growls.
Thw farm also has a great playground.
Monday, July 11, 2011
It's a girl!! (We think.)
And the balance of power in our household shifts to the Women!! Girl #2, child #3 is due to arrive on December 6th. Though this child came as a great surprise, given our past history, we are super duper excited!!
This little one was not about to cooperate for the ultra sound (let's hope this is not a foreshadowing of what's to be). She spent most of the time on her belly hiding all the things the technician needed to get pictures of and hiding her gender parts. We did get one shot though that makes us pretty confident it's a girl, but this is definitely the most unsure we've been of the sex of our child. Carter and Hayden were pretty clear.
This little one was not about to cooperate for the ultra sound (let's hope this is not a foreshadowing of what's to be). She spent most of the time on her belly hiding all the things the technician needed to get pictures of and hiding her gender parts. We did get one shot though that makes us pretty confident it's a girl, but this is definitely the most unsure we've been of the sex of our child. Carter and Hayden were pretty clear.
Here is the important pictures for our family: the feet.
This video shows the baby's profile:
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