The South Family

Ground Hog Day

2010-04-18T15:05:00.000-06:00

This was my view of the drive from West Jordan to St. George.Sometimes I'd get a little closer, and this would be the view.Other times, a car would pass us and this would be the view.On occasion, I would look in my rear view mirror and this was what I got to see.

Sometimes we would pass someone and I would get a brief view of the side of Russ and Annie's truck and trailer and would even be able to see Jason and Sasha's truck and trailer in front of them.

There were a couple of exciting moments when Russ got sick of following and would pass Jason. Then this was the view I got.Jason would scowl as we passed...And then the next view I would get would be of Jason passing us all again.And then this would be my view yet again.

Once, this kind truck tried to run me off the road, unaware that I would not be giving up my spot directly behind the brake light-less trailer that Russ was pulling. But I did not give up my view.

Throughout our entire drive, my dad got to enjoy being in the front, smugly knowing that his sons-in-law wouldn't dare disrespect and pass him. When we passed our first officer he had Mom send a text to all of us requesting thanks and praise for the ticket he just got at least one of us out of.

December Quickly

2010-04-18T15:00:00.003-06:00

Here's what went down the last week in December. The whole family got together for our first St. George Christmas. It will probably be our last one all together for awhile since some of us will be splitting our Christmas' between St. George and Vernal now.

Mickala and Will

Jason, Sasha, and Taylor. T.J. was at his mom's this year. My girls do not like sharing him with his mom, not one little bit.Chuck and Kristi, who are normally much happier than this.Russ and Annie and their usual stack of gifts.Who knew that a peace sign could be used as a gang sign? Vince, Meagan, and BrookGrandpa and GrandmaMy girls have yet to wake me up for Christmas morning. They like mornings about as much as their mom does. Kylie got roller blades for Christmas and poor Chuck somehow ended up being the lucky one to help her. Not sure how that happened, they aren't exactly best friends.The day after Christmas Mom and Dad did an "Amazing Race" for all of us. Here is some proof to all of the bitter losers that our winning team did take pictures along the way as we were instructed to do. If this race is any indicator, our big race this summer for our Park family reunion will be very interesting. Hopefully we will all be speaking again in two years for the next reunion.Here are the girls at In-N-Out Burger, where we were forced, I mean happy, to eat lunch only an hour or so after finishing breakfast. Here we are enjoying one of the highlights of the week......the nightly changing of the clock. Yes, some of us are easily amused. I even have the video of this, but that's a special clip that I treasure and don't just share with everyone.

As requested, pictures from the day that would not end.

"Let's Make A Deal"

Sorry Mom, I had to.
While in St. George for Christmas it was decided that I would be moving down there in just three short weeks. I cut my trip short to come home and start packing.

Here is how Brynlie chose to ring in the new year. For those of you wondering, Permanent Marker takes approx. three days to come off a child's face, and blue Permanent Marker makes a nice bruise looking color as it fades.

Hello!

2010-04-11T00:52:00.004-06:00

I've got so much blogging to catch up on, but I really wanted to get my story about my mom posted. More posts to follow...

For you, Mom

2010-04-10T22:53:00.003-06:00

My mom's little sister Kris died in 1985, when she was only 26 years old. I was 5 1/2 at the time and don't really remember much about her death. In fact, the only memory that stands out from that time was at the viewing for Kris. I remember running around the casket chasing and being chased by my cousin Jake, who was Kris' oldest son. I remember us laughing and playing and my uncle Rob standing there by the casket telling us to settle down.

I don't know why, but for some reason I've never really talked to my mom much about Kris' death. I know that it was a very hard for my mom to lose her little sister so unexpectedly, and maybe I just knew it was a sensitive subject. I'd been told she died due to "complications to pneumonia" as child, but I had never been given any more details.

My parents took me, Vince, and Meagan to dinner the other night and we were discussing Vince and Meagan's emergency stop for the night in Beaver due to the bad roads. We made the joke that "who knew there were even motels in Beaver" when mom said "I spent a year there one night." We started asking questions and found out that mom had gone up to visit her sister Kris, who was in the hospital dying. She was driving back from Logan to St. George, pregnant, and with my 2 year old sister Annie it tow. It was January and mom's battery on her car was almost dead. Her lights on her car got very dim because of this and the only thing that allowed her to keep going was the car in front of her that chose to drive very, very slowly so that my mom was able to follow them. She made it to Beaver and once she stopped the car died for good. She and my little sister were starving and she walked over to a convenience store to find that they only had two things to eat (licorice and something else, I can't remember what now). They spent a long, hungry, miserable night in the motel. The next morning while waiting for someone to come help her with her car Mom was able to get it to start. She loaded Annie up and took off for home, stopping in Cedar City for food. Annie inhaled the food that they bought and then promptly threw it all right back up. Mom said it was just horrible. I started asking more questions about Kris' death and found out that she got sick on Christmas Day, and by New Year's was sick enough to be admitted to the hospital. I imagined as a child that Kris got sick, went to the hospital, and died. What I didn't realize was that Kris was sick for almost a month before she finally died. Mom said that Kris and Rob's stake in Logan had just been split so they had both stakes fasting for her. For a short time, she got better. Mom was able to go up and talk to her just hours before she lost consciousness for the last time. Mom called up to the hospital on January 8th, Kris' birthday, only to be told that her condition had worsened and she'd been flown to Salt Lake. On January 19 Kris was gone.

The reason that I tell this story is because of the overwhelming realization I had that night at dinner. I realized that my mom must have been going through so much with Kris in the hospital, knowing that her little sister was dying, and knowing that there was nothing that she could do. She had three small children at home to take care of, and on top of it all, was pregnant again. She had that horrible experience driving home from the hospital and ending up in Beaver for the night. But I remember nothing of that time. I was old enough to have remembered something from that ugly time, and yet I didn't. Through all of that, my mom never gave up, or broke down. She never let on just how bad things were. She never allowed it to become a bad memory for me.

The past year has been very, very hard for me. Sometimes I get so frustrated with my girls and want them to know what I am going through. I want them to understand that things really suck for mommy and they just need to be good for me. I lose my temper, I yell at them, and I break down and cry. I just want to lay it all out for them so that they will try their hardest not to make things for difficult. But Mom taught me that night that they need to be kids. They need to be sheltered from some things and not given that stress. They need to retain their innocence as long as they can, and it is my job to make that happen. I am here to take care of them, not the other way around. I must allow them to be children. Thank you Mom, for inspiring me to be a better mom. I love you.

Dear Mom and Dad

2009-12-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad,

I am sorry about fighting with my siblings all the time while growing up. I'm sorry for all the excessive tattling. I'm sorry that we broke Mom's hour glass when it was timing us to clean our room. I'm sorry that we stole wood from the neighbor's yard to make a fort. I'm sorry that we rode our bikes on the trampoline and ripped a hole in it. I'm sorry that I ate all of the pomegranates off the tree before you had a chance to enjoy any. I'm sorry that I got mad and "ran away" and hid and ignored you all when I heard you calling my name. I'm sorry we would climb on the roof of the house. I'm sorry I played on the roof of the brand new van of the neighbor's. I'm sorry we would stuff so much stuff under our beds, in our closets, and anywhere else when we were supposed to be cleaning. I'm sorry that instead of cleaning we spent our time stuffing books down our pants so that the spanking wouldn't hurt as much. I'm sorry we thought that you wouldn't notice the books. I'm sorry that Vince and I rode our bikes to 7-11 with some friends and bought candy cigarettes and pretended to "smoke" them on the way home. (Whoops...didn't know about that one?) I'm sorry that I threw all those parties while you were out of town, that resulted in a broken fence, flooded hot tub, cars wedged sideways between the barn and other outbuilding, and a lot of other damage that you hopefully didn't notice until I had moved out. I'm sorry I would purposely ride my bike to Young Women's so that I could leave early before it got dark, and yet still come home well after dark. I'm sorry I would take an extra long time walking home from school, making extra stops on the way home. Especially on the days that I had piano lessons. I'm sorry I lied about spending the night at Annalee's house. I'm sorry that you saw Annalee's parents that night and figured it all out. I'm sorry I slid down the piles of rocks back by the creek and ripped a hole in my pants. I'm sorry I would always raid Mom's top drawer for candy. I'm sorry I would always raid Dad's jar for quarters so I could stop at 7-11 on my way home from school. I'm sorry I snuck out of the house and had you so worried/mad that you had me arrested. I'm sorry you never knew just how many times I snuck out. I'm sorry that I stole that pack of bubble gum when I was 4 years old, and left all the evidence on the bathroom floor. Now please, pretty please...TAKE BACK ALL OF THOSE PRAYERS that you made requesting that I get children just like me.

Hmm...

2009-12-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Can anyone explain this to me? No one in my household can...

Joy

2009-11-23T23:49:00.002-07:00

I'm starting to see a trend...

Too Young?

2009-11-13T16:55:00.002-07:00

Kylie told me yesterday that she wanted to start reading the Twilight series. I told her, "Okay, when you turn 12".

She then informed me that she had already started reading them and was currently on page 5.

Does anyone else think that a 7 year old is too young to read these books?

P.S. I'm pretty sure that the Twilight books will be the next things to be packed.

2

2009-10-28T23:36:00.003-06:00

Brynlie turned 2 last month and at her check up was in the 50th percentile for height and much higher for her weight. Let's just say that maybe eating that last beater before her weigh in wasn't such a great idea.
Okay, so she isn't that chubby, but her weight more closely matches her 90th percentile head than her 50th percentile height.

On to more important milestones. Brynlie has learned how to make herself burp. If you catch her in a good mood she will show off for you, over and over again. She's good enough that if she knew her ABC's she could burp them for you. Makes a mother proud.

Math

2009-10-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

One 2 year old +

One shopping cart +

One box of ice cream sandwiches +

One mommy on the phone =

Curls

2009-10-17T11:14:00.002-06:00

Look, I can be girly too!

Here's to you Andrea!

2009-10-17T10:02:00.005-06:00

Kylie was invited to a "Rock and Roll" birthday party last night. I'm pretty sure that we will be hearing about this party for months. I let her wear make up for the party and after it was applied she would sit and stare at herself in the mirror. She told me..."I just can't stop looking at myself because myself looks so pretty!" After the party she informed me "I don't want to go back to being Kylie tomorrow", and "Mom, it was heaven. HEAVEN!" She stayed up until almost 1:00 in the morning dancing to her new music CD from the party, and in true rocker fashion is still asleep at 11:00 this morning.

Maybe after we move we will let Kylie have a Rock and Roll party and totally pretend like it was our own idea...

Some children never learn

2009-09-17T23:23:00.000-06:00

Remember this? Apparently, Brynlie didn't.

And the Award goes to...

2009-09-17T11:52:00.003-06:00

I would like to nominate myself for the Mother of the Year Award.

Sadie kept complaining this summer that there were bees in our backyard. There are always bees in our backyard so I wasn't too concerned. I just kept telling her to go out and play. She would complain some more, I would ignore her some more. One evening after having another one of our bee conversations, I looked out at the patio to see Sadie, her friend, and Brynlie swarmed by bees. I finally decided that maybe I should listen to her complaint. I went outside and looked in all the usual places and this is what I found...

What a great mother I am! For my award, I will be accepting cookies between the hours of 6 and 9 pm.

Summer 2009

2009-09-16T19:50:00.001-06:00

My self-imposed break from blogging and Facebook is over. It really shouldn't be yet, since I have so much to do, but the girl's lives have not stopped during the past few months, and there is much to tell. As many of you know, these past few months have been very challenging and a time of change for our family. The girls somehow missed the memo about slowing down this summer and letting Mom deal with life. Instead, they plowed ahead; learning, growing, changing, and trying their hardest to drive me crazy. The almost succeeded. Almost.

Brynlie decided during ONE WEEK that she was done with her crib, high chair, and car seat. Those items are all meant to give a mother some sanity and losing them all at once is difficult. Brynlie has known for some time how to climb out of her crib, but she loves her naps and night time so she wouldn't climb out until AFTER she was done sleeping. Then one night she realized that that was not typical behavior of an almost two year old so she did something about it. I can't complain too much because she stayed in her crib longer than either of her sisters. Then, at the same time, she figured how to climb up on the bar stools and she is now way too cool to sit in a high chair. Even though she can barely see her plate she still insists on eating there for every meal. Naturally, if she is too big for these items then why should a car seat be any different? Every time we get in the car she races for Sadie's booster seat and it is a huge fight to get her into her own car seat (sometimes pinching is involved). She has also decided that talking isn't such a bad thing. After refusing to talk for months she is now communicating with us quite well. Some of her favorites are "um..." (anytime I ask her a question) "k" (when she is getting in trouble and being asked to be good), "eeeewww" (while changing her diapers or if she catches anyone else in the bathroom), and "please" (in her mind that word is all powerful and nothing should ever be turned down if accompanied by a please). Brynlie has also decided that pull-ups are much more fun than diapers. I am hesitant to potty train her until after we move, so until then I guess she will just keep taking off her soiled pull-up and replacing with another one. And I will keep finding piles like these...

Sadie is growing like mad! She is trying her hardest to keep up with her big sister. Even though Kylie is my daredevil, she struggled with learning how to ride a bike, and didn't figure it out until the end of last summer. Sadie decided that it looked like fun and started riding hers without training wheels a few months ago. She looks so funny with her little legs pedalling just as fast as she can. She is so proud of herself, especially since none of her friends can ride theirs yet. Sadie has started wearing clothes that I bought for Kylie last year, and she is wearing shoes that I bought for Kylie this spring! They are about a size too big, but Sadie couldn't care less. Sadie has also decided to be more grown up about her food choices. She now loves milk, broccoli, and salad, things she wouldn't have touched a year ago. Kylie is such a good example to her of eating healthy and I'm glad she is picking up her habits. Sadie is also enjoying being the "big girl" in her bedroom that she now shares with Brynlie. She snuggles with her and takes such good care of her little sister. They are getting to be such good friends and partners in crime.

Kylie and Sadie both decided that they were done waiting for swimming lessons and would just learn on their own. This first became apparent when my mom and I took them swimming in California and they would jump AWAY from us and swim as fast as they could before we could get them. They loved not wearing their swimming vests and haven't put them on once all summer. At Kylie's birthday party I told Jared that I thought Kylie could swim well enough to jump off the diving board and swim to the side. She was really nervous of the board and the deep water at first, but after her first jump she was hooked. She now runs and jumps, twirls, and does flips off the board. The last time Jared took them swimming she even repeatedly jumped off the 10 foot board. Not to be outdone, Sadie has decided that she can swim too. And that girl is awesome at it! She too has started jumping off the 10 ft diving board and swimming to the side.

Kylie started 2nd grade in July and tells me that "the first graders are really weird...they are really small!" She walks to school with several very cute boys in our neighborhood. 10 years from now she will look back and realize just how lucky she was! After spending many countless hours on my ipod she was finally able to purchase her own using her birthday money. She is constantly walking around the house singing (her own lyrics), slightly off tune. You are never more aware of the lyrics to a song than when your young child starts singing "you make it hard to be faithful with the lips of an angel". Since Brynlie's crib was no longer useful, I took it down and replaced it with a bed just for Kylie. For now, she has her own room and is loving it. It is her sanctuary, a place to get away from it all, and she takes full advantage of it. If I find something missing from the pantry, there is a good chance that it is in her cupboard in her room. Kylie is always on the go and can usually be found somewhere in the neighborhood riding her bike. Never one to turn down any chance at an adventure, Kylie went on the Skycoaster at Lagoon with her Daddy and aunt Sasha. She has no fear, I am afraid!

This summer we've also spent a lot of time with family; first, at Mickala's high school graduation, then three weeks later at her wedding to Will, followed two weeks later by Brooke's blessing, and then the next week at the Park family reunion up at Lava Hot Springs, and finally a couple of weeks later we went down to St. George to check out my parent's new slide... I mean house.

Their new house has a slide, but it took my girls a good hour before they realized that there was more to the house than just the slide.

It has been a crazy busy summer, and unfortunately, life isn't going to be slowing down anytime soon. But with three little girls like this, could I really expect anything less?

My Birthday

2009-05-14T19:28:00.004-06:00

Even though Jared was not in town for my birthday I was determined to not cook. I knew that I would be able to use the "birthday" card that evening and get my kids to try to be civil at dinner. It worked. Sort of. I had to remind them several times, but I got a good 30 seconds of good kids before they would forget what day it was.

A couple of observations from our dinner:

When choosing a side dish neither of my two older girls picked fries. Fries aren't optional for their mom.

Sadie chose Mandarin oranges and Kylie picked a green salad, only because Broccoli with ranch wasn't a choice.

Normally Jared keeps our waiter busy with refills but this night the only one that needed a refill was Brynlie, and she needed it before the food even arrived. That girl loves her chocolate milk!

The hostess was super good. I mean really good. I mean, wow! She put us at the table closest to the bathroom. It was like she knew.

Both of my girls tried my thick steak fries and gave them back to, deeming them unsuitable to eat. I'm not totally convinced that they are my kids.

Brynlie having fun at dinner...

And Brynlie grossing herself out after looking at the treasure she blew out of her nose...

We also stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home. Who's 30th birthday would be complete without a trip to Wal-Mart?

I was disgusted when I realized how dirty Brynlie's shirt was. Kylie was disgusted when she saw me turn it inside out.

The guy running the checkout stand was chatting with the lady in front of him about the birthday cake she was purchasing for her daughter. His daughter's birthday is on the 15th and his is at the end of the month. I could have stepped in and announced that it was not only my birthday at that exact moment, but that I was also turning 30. I would have totally won, but I didn't want to show them both up.

The cashier then told the lady that he was going to Italy at the end of the month. I made a mental note that I should get a job at Wal-Mart. When he was ringing up my groceries he mentioned that I was buying a "lifetime" supply of macaroni and cheese. If 10 boxes of mac-n-cheese is really a lifetime supply for him I definitely need to get a job at Wal-Mart.

This is a result of the best $.50 spent all evening:

Happy Birthday Adrienne!

2009-05-11T16:23:00.004-06:00

My parents and Adrienne's parents were good friends, both in the same ward, and both expecting their first babies at the same time. Adrienne was born on May 11th and I was born two days later, on the 13th. For the first five years of our lives we were best friends. Our moms, along with several other moms, rotated teaching our preschool class each week. We both went to the same dance class. I remember that our teacher Miss Tania would end the class by having us lay on our backs, with our hands flat on the floor next to our ears, and have us use our arms and legs to lift up our torso so that our back was arched and our stomach in the air. Anyone able to hold this position, and hold it correctly while waiting for her parents got a bright circle sticker on her tap shoes. Adrienne's shoes always had the most stickers. Always! I was so jealous of all those stickers and could never catch up. On my 5th birthday my family moved away from Vernal for a year. When we moved back we were no longer living close to Adrienne's family and I didn't see her much again until middle school, where we quickly struck up our friendship again. From that time forth we always called each other our "almost twin" since we were almost born on the same day. As a child Adrienne was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, but she never let it get her down. She was always happy and had a gift for making those around her happy. She and her mom were close, and Adrienne definitely got her sense of humor from her mom. We went to an awards dinner once in Jr. high and my mom and I sat with Adrienne and her mom Candy. I still have the letter that Candy sat and carefully wrote to me on the paper table cloth, complete with border. Adrienne's arthritis was a set back for her, but it didn't stop her from doing what she wanted to do. In high school she joined the drill team as their manager. I remember finding a picture of us, along with my brother and a couple of other friends, sitting on the stairs at my house. We were probably about 4 years old, and Adrienne was wearing a dress while sitting in an unladylike position. I brought the picture to school to show her, not realizing that the flash of underwear would be such an embarrassment to her. Her face went bright red and she tried to steal the picture. It still has the corner torn off from us fighting over it. But that was Adrienne...always very done up, and pretty with her hair and make up perfect. Nothing amiss, like her underwear showing! When we were in middle school my mom suggested that I give all of my friends Mormon Ad posters for Christmas. At $.50 each, this was perfect for my budget. I had previously asked Adrienne what she wanted for Christmas and the only she would tell me, over and over again, was "your eternal friendship". One of the Mormon Ads in the package showed two girls looking down a dirt road. It said..."Eternity is a long time so take along a friend." When I saw it, I just knew that it was the perfect gift for her. This "gift" has so much more meaning to me now because on August 9th, 2004 Adrienne died from heart problems, probably stemming from the arthritis that she had as a child. I will always remember Adrienne and the wonderful friend and example she was to me. I love you Adrienne and Happy Birthday up in Heaven!

Brook Marie Merrell

2009-05-08T23:21:00.002-06:00

Brook was born at 2:59 on May 7th (she has a very cool birthday 5-7-9).

She weighed 8 lbs even and was 20 inches long.

So beautiful!

Memories of Disneyland

2009-05-04T06:40:00.002-06:00

*The girls were so excited for their first airplane ride and it did not disappoint. They squealed and laughed in delight when the plane took off, and squealed even louder when the plane touched back down. They had several people laughing at them and the dad behind us commented that there were "too many girls on this plane".*On the shuttle to the hotel we discovered the couple riding with us had been on our plane and said that the girls were "very entertaining on the flight, in a good way". The wife said that it was wonderful and they acted the way that grown ups wish they could act*The girls surprised me and Mom by how well they could swim without their life vests. Sadie would purposely jump and swim AWAY from us, in the deep end. They are both little fish.

*On the first day I carried Sadie at least a third, if not half of the day. Partially because her feet got blisters and she was tired, but even more because I am not patient enough to wait for her to walk at her pace.

*The lines were incredible! I would definitely recommend going on a weekday instead of the weekend. Friday was the only day that we really had to wait for rides outside of Fantasyland and Toon Town. Those two lands had long lines everyday.

*It was cold! Wednesday was beautiful, but we wore jackets off and on the last two days, and even opted for longer Capri's/pants for Friday. The highs those days were in the mid to upper 60's. *We know where every single bathroom is and spent A LOT of time at them. I cannot tell you how much time was spent in the bathrooms.

*Sadie's obsession in life is Minnie Mouse and she met the REAL Minnie Mouse three times! She would have been happy visiting Minnie, playing in Minnie's house, and shopping for all things Minnie. My biggest regret is waiting in line for almost an hour to see Minnie in her house. We saw her a couple of more times throughout our trip and never waited more than a few minutes.

*The girls were so scared to go on the Haunted Mansion. Sadie had to be bribed with a Minnie doll and still screamed and forced me to remove her claws from the posts on the way in. She whined and whimpered but survived, declaring she'd never go again. The next day we told her that the real Minnie rides that ride (and ironically found a picture of Minnie in the Mansion on Sadie's lunch box) and Sadie suddenly changed her mind and decided to go. It became their favorite ride and all Thursday and Friday they would chant "Haunted Mansion, Haunted Mansion". I think we went on it at least 7 or 8 times.

*Kylie was disappointed in Soaring Over California because she thought that she was going to fly "for reals".

*The girls didn't understand just how big Disneyland would be, or how much walking we would do. They were exhausted every day! When my mom told Sadie on the afternoon of our first day that we had two more days she said "We have to come back!?" Of course by the next morning she was already begging to go back. *My late night diehards were not the night owls I had hoped they would be. We never made it until closing, although be probably could have the first night except...
*Kylie drank a lot of pop and then hot chocolate right before we got in line for Peter Pan on our first night. After waiting in line for several minutes she informed me that she had to pee and when I told her to hold it she squatted down and peed in line. Luckily it was dark so I don't think many people noticed. She ran out of the line and hid and cried. After chewing her out I felt guilty and bought her a skirt to wear home.

* The next night she almost peed on the Pirate's ride. She was rocking the boat for the last half of the ride and when it ended she and I went running for a bathroom. What we didn't realize was that Sadie also needed to go. When she and Mom made it to the bathroom mom went in the stall next to her and watched as Sadie couldn't hold it long enough to pull her pants down and squatted and peed on the floor in the stall. I asked Sadie if she was okay and she said that she was fine and just "wanted a skirt". No such luck for that little stinker!
*I brought an extra pair of panties and shorts for the girls on the last day because I knew that as long as I had extra clothes they wouldn't have an accident. It worked. We were accident free on day three.

*The girls fought over everything. Who got dressed first, who got their hair done first, who was sitting with Mom, who was sitting with Grandma, who was riding in the front, who was being the best kid, who pushed who, who got in who's way, who got what, who was more tired, who got to sit on the outside of the train...
*My number one favorite moment was coming out of the bathroom (big surprise there) with Sadie on our first night and discovering Mickey Mouse with a very small line. She went through and hugged him and then while we waited for Kylie to go to the bathroom we waited in line for him again. I kept letting people go in front of us while waiting on Kylie, until the line was gone and it was just Sadie. Mickey invited her over and sat down and they had a such a cute little conversation. Mickey was talking with his hands and Sadie had this look of complete awe and love on her face as she talked to him. They were alone for over a minute, and even when a couple of people came and got in line the assistant still let them sit for a minute. She must have know how much it meant to Sadie. I even got a little teary eyed watching my little girl with such belief in the "real" Mickey Mouse. I so wish I'd hadn't already put my camera in the locker for the night. *We discovered that Kylie has a nervous stomach. She would complain of a stomach ache when we were getting in line for a lot of rides, but it would disappear once the ride was underway.

*After the Haunted Mansion, the girl's next favorite ride was Pirates and we rode that one over and over and over. I love that ride so it didn't make me sad.

*Sadie was pouting about something and an employee at the Princess Forest stopped her and made friends with her. Then she gave her a fake flower off of the bushes. Sadie was so proud of her flower. Sadie was also pouting in a gift shop and the employee there took pity on her and gave her and Kylie each two pins. One said Happy Anniversary and the other said Just Engaged. They opted to wear the latter until they got sick of people asking them who they were engaged to. Kylie was very embarrassed once she found out what it meant.

*On the last day the girls got their faces painted first thing in the morning. We thought this would be smart because they could enjoy the paint longer. It turns out that when you are 4 years old paint never stays on your face for very long. Kylie, after seeing what Sadie's face was turning into, was very careful all day long to keep her face looking beautiful.

*On the second day our big "wait" was for the Princesses in the forest. I waited for over an hour and a half, with the girls joining me off and on. They got the giggles right before entering and really made an impression on the princesses. We got SUPER lucky and just as we were finishing with the last princess there was a shift change so we got to see 6 princesses instead of 3.

*On our last day my mom paid for us to have dinner with the Princesses. It was a very fancy meal with several courses. It was only after inhaling the delicious platter of chocolate desserts that I thought to take a picture. Oh well, you'll just have to trust me...it was yummy! While eating we got to see Ariel, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White.
*Kylie was a really good sport for most of the trip. She got less attention since Sadie was a little on the whiny side, but she did really good to be a big girl.

*On our last night we got caught in the crowd trying to watch the fireworks. If you know me and my mom you know that neither of us likes crowds at all. It was such a joke and we couldn't get out. My mom took Kylie and climbed over people to get out and I was lucky enough to find a nice guy that offered to lift the stroller we had just rented (for a whiny 4 year old) over the crowd and a rope to help me and Sadie escape. My least favorite part every time I go to Disneyland is the crowds that gather at night for the fireworks. No fireworks are worth being that squished with that many people. *As we left Disneyland for the last time my feet hurt so bad I couldn't carry Sadie. Her feet were also sore and tired and she loudly exclaimed for all around us to hear "This is why I hate coming to Disneyland!"

*Kylie was suddenly camera shy for most of our trip.

*The California side was under construction and had no water in the "Ocean", which wasn't really pretty.

*Film crews were there filming and there were signs stating that our presence in the park meant that we agreed to let them use any pictures/video of us. Something tells me that the Happiest Place on Earth won't be using any pictures of my whining children.
*Sadie would always stop and window shop, or stop and watch something and we'd realize she wasn't right behind us. Once she thought she lost us and I followed her across the pier and into a crowd. A woman stopped to help her, but Sadie got distracted by a bird and took off running again. I stopped to thank the woman and explained that I was following her. Sadie found me a minute later when she heard my cell phone ringing. I'm not sure if she cried because she was scared, or cried because she got in trouble.

*On Splash Mountain we got a boat to ourselves and Sadie was in the front. As we went down the first little waterfall she jumped up and tried to climb back and sit with my mom. Mom had to hold her tight for the last fall to make sure she didn't try to stand up again.

*While waiting in line for the Roger Rabbit ride Sadie said she needed to go but could hold it. As the car pulled up to have us jump in she said "I changed my mind, I need to go now". I made her hold it. *After her intial purchase of a Minnie Mouse Sadie would say "I changed my mind!" every time she found a different toy (usually a Minnie) that she wanted. That girl was born to shop at Disneyland.

*Between getting the girls their promised ice cream cones, trying to use our fastpasses at Soaring Over California before that park closed, and fighting the extremely unpleasant crowd of people waiting for the fireworks, we ran out of time for dinner and most places had closed. We decided that we would go to the downtown Disney District to find food and then shop. By the time we cleaned out our locker, said good bye one last time to Minnie, bought Sadie her much anticipated Mickey and Minnie getting married dolls, and returned the stroller, it was late and the girls were very ornery. We found a little pizza place where Kylie promptly fell asleep on the table. Shopping was a joke that night afterwards with me carrying Sadie and Mom dragging a half asleep Kylie through the store. I am so sorry that Mom was unable to finish her shopping!

*The flight home was horrible! Just as the light came on to put our seat belts on for the landing Sadie to my mom that she needed to go to the bathroom. I told her to hold it. That seemed to be all the she needed. But when I told Kylie the same thing a couple of minutes later it didn't work as well. By the time we landed she was almost in tears, I was sick to my stomach from the amount of moving she had done to avoid an accident, everyone at least three rows around us knew how badly she needed to go, and I felt the need to apologize to the man sitting in front of us for all the kicking she had done to his seat. The minute the wheels touched down, and long before we stopped moving, Kylie was running down the aisle for the bathroom. Then as the aisle filled with people Sadie informed me that she needed to go again. We were able to make it off the plane with no accidents, although it was a miracle.

*We had to much fun, although Mom and I had a talk about just the ADULT girls in our family going next time. Thanks Mom for making our trip so wonderful!

Someday...

2009-04-19T19:27:00.002-06:00

Someday Kylie may regret all the pictures that she has taken of herself.

Brynlie's Best Friends

2009-04-19T18:33:00.005-06:00

A mother always hopes that her children will make good friends that influence them in positive ways. Brynlie's recent choice of friends have left much to be desired.

This is her musical friend with an added bonus of a keyboard on the bottom that makes animals noises. It is loud and obnoxious and every time you flip the page or push the button a new song will play. Her favorite "note" is the green one. It is the farmer and will say "Rock On, Rock On" over and over and over again. Brynlie's loves to wait until I am watching TV and then this friend of hers tempts her into bringing it up on the couch so they can watch TV together with me.

This is Gloworm. She has been a wonderful companion for Brynlie at night, but recently convinced Brynlie that she wanted to eat chocolate with her. Now her left hand is covered in the residue and every time Brynlie goes to bed she wants Gloworm with her. After she lies down with her Brynlie pushes her a few inches away and points out the offending hand and makes a disgusted noise. This toy really needs to learn better hygiene before Brynlie follows suit. In all honesty, this may have been a little bit more of Brynlie's fault than Gloworm, but it is a mother's prerogative to blame her children's friends if at all possible.This friend of hers is much too old for her. It was purchased recently at a book fair for Sadie, but it immediately picked Brynlie as a friend instead. It is a puzzle book that was not meant for the little hands of a 19-month old. Brynlie is able to get all the pieces out, distribute them evenly throughout the whole house, and then leave the empty book for me to fill back up. This happens at least three times a day. I try to return this friend to Sadie, but Brynlie goes looking in the girl's room for her older, mature friend. I wish she would stick to friends her own age.

These baby friends have convinced Brynlie that ALL babies are her babies. It doesn't matter who has the baby first, or if the baby is still in a box. Once Brynlie lays eyes on the baby, it is hers.Her squeals of delight at finding this baby at Target were short lived.

Once she realized that this baby was NOT going home with her. It was not a pretty sight. Brynlie has also found a couple friends in the produce aisle. Specifically, strawberries and bananas. This friendship wouldn't bother me if she would pace herself and eat them over a period of several days. Bananas need to be weighed at the checkout stand. This means a screaming baby from the moment they are placed into the cart until we can get to the car and allow her to pig out on the way home.

Last, but not least, Brynlie's best friend, her stool. Apparently, at 19 months, the only thing that you need to succeed at any task is about 6 inches. Opening doors, reaching the bananas, finding melting chocolate left on the counter, emptying the silverware drawer, pushing items off the stair rail, pulling down tubs of wipes, and getting into the toothpaste are just a few of the things her stool has been an accomplice to. There is nothing that these two can't do together.

Some of my favorite moments this month...

2009-04-16T16:11:00.003-06:00

Finding Brynlie's missing shoe, the day AFTER I bought her a new pair.

Putting my foot in my flip flop, only to discover that someone had spilled something sticky in it.

Walking down the stairs and knowing three steps before getting to the bottom and turning into the basement that Brynlie had a stinky diaper.

Russ informing me after Sadie's weekend in Logan that"Sadie likes to fart...a lot".

Pouring myself a big glass of Sprite, only to discover that the girls had finished it off and refilled it with water.

Spending a good half an hour in a dressing room with all three of my girls, trying on swimming suits. For me, not them.

Vowing never to eat again after trying on the swimming suits.

Leaving the store with my new swimming suit and going directly to Chick-Fil-A for some much needed comfort food.

Checking out at the grocery store and having the cashier tell me "Good luck with all those kids". I only had my three girls with me.

Discovering Brynlie as she learned how neat bananas feel when squished between her toes.

Driving down the road and hearing Kylie say "Oh, that felt good", and then smelling what "felt so good".

Realizing that my friends are trying to make me fat. Delia forced her super delicious chocolate mint recipe on me (and gave it to Tawnie to make sure that I couldn't escape them), Maria baked me an amazing cookbook cover worthy Cherry Cheesecake, and Amanda took me out for Ice Cream and fries at Leatherby's.

Finding my flosser near the girl's toilet. The toilet.

Getting told at Brynlie's first ever dental check-up that her teeth are already getting soft and showing signs of decay. Why did she and Sadie both have to get my teeth?!

I'm leaving for Disneyland on Tuesday, but I really don't know how the rest of this month can top the first half.

Not a Fan

2009-04-10T19:16:00.002-06:00

Ten years ago I had the privilege of working at the MACU in branch in Bountiful and commuting each day from Salt Lake. This was during the I-15 reconstruction for the 2002 Olympics. The traffic was horrible every single day, and I understood how desperately another road was needed. So I was all for it when they announced they were building Legacy Highway out there. I took Sadie up to Layton to meet Kristi last night and on the way home I decided that I would try out the fancy new highway. The highway is this nice, beautiful, wide, smooth road. And then they went and ruined it. Once I was fully committed to the road and had no way to turn around, I saw it. A sign. A big ugly sign. A big ugly sign that said 55 MPH. Then they made the road even uglier by adding several cars with bright red and blue lights on top of them. Never again.

Success!

2009-03-29T19:00:00.002-06:00

I know the true test of a child going to nursery is not the first week, but the second. The first week you are able to leave them with all of the buckets of toys and treats and they are none the wiser. BUT...when it comes time to go to class again the next week...well...they now know exactly what is going to go down. Brynlie's teachers said that there was a slight quiver of her bottom lip last week when she realized I had left her, but that was the extent of her emotions. When I went to pick her up they had the bubble machine running and she couldn't have been less interested in seeing me. I was forced to pick up another crying little girl, just to make her jealous (it worked), so that she would come with me. This week I was a little more concerned. Especially when I saw her look at me as I was closing the door. But once again, her little lip quiver and she was over it. Next obstacle? Her attitude. Her teachers have assured me that she hasn't hit or spit at anyone, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time...

There's Writing on the Wall

2009-03-25T16:47:00.006-06:00

There's writing on the wall, and it says...
Love these children,

Embrace the messes,
Enjoy the clutter,

And treasure the dishes.

For tomorrow they will be teenagers...

Bed Time

2009-03-24T16:45:00.001-06:00

More proof of my fabulous parenting skills...

Vegas Abbreviated

2009-03-24T16:03:00.003-06:00

We had lots of fun on our annual Vegas trip last weekend. Friday was spent shopping, eating, and go-carting in St. George. (We made some 16 year old kids night when he got to enjoy his power trip and sternly tell us adults that we weren't driving properly.) Saturday we spent the day on the strip and took in a show at Excalibur for dinner. The idea behind the dinner is that we eat like they did back in the days of old...no utensils, menus, condiments etc. Apparently they didn't have any beverages back then besides Pepsi, diet Pepsi, and alcohol. The meal was okay, as was the show, but nothing I would ever suggest to anyone unless the price was reduced by A LOT. Sunday was spent sleeping in really late, convincing ourselves that we did have to go back home to the cold weather, and finally seeing our kids after a much needed a break. I swear they get cuter when you are away from them for a few days. Kylie came to the door to greet us, Sadie couldn't be bothered because she was on the Internet, and Brynlie was excited to see us until that meant Chuck was leaving. She cried when he left. I'm glad to see that my children do as well away from us as we do from them.

Groundhog Day

2009-03-23T13:28:00.005-06:00

Brynlie was originally diagnosed with Pneumonia back in the middle of February. And she STILL has it. She has ran a high fever off and on ever since, but it got really bad a couple of weeks ago when it stayed around 103 for a couple of days. I called the doctor, but that afternoon discovered that she had two teeth coming in so we figured that that was the problem. We left Kristi and Chuck armed with Tylenol and spent the weekend in Vegas. When we got home she was still running a fever off and on, and it got up to almost 104 on Tuesday evening (right after Jared left for Vernal. It always happens when he leaves for Vernal. She got stitches while he was on his way to Vernal too.) so I took her to the insta-care. They took chest x-rays, which confirmed the pneumonia was still there, and that it was the viral kind, which really doesn't mean much to me. They also drew blood, gave her medicine twice since she spit it the first time, and gave her a shot of steroids. She HATES doctors, and I'm pretty sure she will need therapy for all the times she's been held down and poked and prodded.

This is Brynlie giving her best "This Popsicle does not mean you are forgiven" look at the insta-care.

Anyway, there were a couple of numbers on her blood work that were a little on the high and low side so the doctor told me to come back the next night for a follow up. When I came back the new doctor that saw us said she wasn't too concerned about the blood results, but was more concerned about her wheezing that is coming back. So she is back on her inhaler every 4-6 hours. Which involves me wrapping a blanket around her so she can't use her arms and legs to stop me. Again...therapy. I've been using her old inhaler, but Saturday afternoon Kylie brought me the new one so I figured I'd just use it. Soon after, I put her down for a nap, which I guess she wasn't ready for because after an hour of listening to her in there playing I told Kylie to go get her out. Kylie came running out panicked about how Brynlie had taken her diaper off and there was a huge mess. Is it bad that I was relieved that it was a bloody nose and not what I first thought it was? She had never cried like she hit her nose on anything, and it kept bleeding for a couple more hours, so I think it may have been the new inhaler. I am trying to get brave enough to try it again and see if it causes another bloody nose. If so, bad news for us since the pharmacist explained that they pulled the other kind off the market and were strictly using the new, non-generic kind. I don't know what we are going to do to get this little one of ours healthy. She just always seems to be sick lately!

Pay it Forward

2009-03-12T23:27:00.002-06:00

Since Amanda is going to make me something very, very special I must now pay it forward...

So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What is will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Come and play!

King Size

2009-03-11T23:12:00.001-06:00

This is not what we had in mind when we bought a king size bed.See the spot on the left? That is where I slept.

Sick of sick

2009-03-11T23:04:00.002-06:00

I am so sick of sick kids!! My kids seem to have struggled more this year than in years past, with Brynlie taking the brunt of it. Kylie missed Valentines Dinner because she was sick, Sadie missed her birthday party, and Brynlie hasn't really felt good for several weeks. She was in the doctor's office a few weeks ago with Pneumonia and can't seem to get back to normal. I am ready for warm weather and healthy kids! While Brynlie doesn't agree that she needs to use her inhaler, she has no problem making her baby suffer.

As Requested...

2009-03-09T18:20:00.002-06:00

I have updated the recipe blog with Meagan's Chicken Enchilada Dip and the Chex Mix from the baby shower, and also the crock pot mashed potatoes and the ham glaze from our Valentine's dinner.

In a nutshell

2009-03-08T21:27:00.008-06:00

Sadie told her dad that she wanted go to Vernal with him. Since my parents were coming out three days later I call to see if it would be okay to have her come for a visit. She's lucky that we didn't give Grandma and Grandpa time to come up with an excuse to say no. A few short hours later she was on her way. I went to the store once while she was gone. I can't believe that I ever complained about two kids! It was so much easier than all three. Sadie had so much fun and even brought home her "masterpiece" that she worked very hard on with Grandma.

Brynlie walked by that box several times and never looked at it twice. Then I made the mistake of giving her a fruit roll up out of it. I guess that was too much information.

Don't make fun of the bed head until you are willing to post your own bedhead pictures.

I won two free tickets to the U of U gymnastics meet. When I went online to see how much it would cost to buy an extra ticket for Sadie I discovered that it was "Short People Appreciation Night" and everyone 5' 1" and under got in free. So I asked my friend Amanda of she would like to come and bring her girls. Sadie decided at the last minute to take Jamey up on the offer to stay with her and her kids and Brynlie instead of coming to the meet. It worked out really well because Amanda and I could fit all of our kids in one car and drive together. Which was great since we were gone for 3 1/2 hours and only about a half an hour of that was at the meet. The rest of the time was spent driving there, getting lost, asking for directions, finding a parking space, walking a LONG ways with each of us carrying a little boy, making a bathroom run with all of the kids, walking a LONG way back to the car, fighting traffic to leave the U, and driving home. Oh, and there was a Taco Bell run in there too. The highlight of the night for the girls was screaming for the "Eagle" Mascot and shaking his hand. I'm pretty sure that everyone around us knew that we weren't regulars since it wasn't an eagle. The highlight of my night was being out of the house and having a grown up conversation. Oh, and listening to Kylie and Rhon giggle for hours in the backseat. The worst part of the night was realizing that neither of us brought our cameras. I thought mine was in my purse. I found it the next morning behind the couch. Something tells me that I didn't put it there.

I threw a baby shower for my sister in law Meagan on Saturday. I guess the secret to getting everyone to show up is to plan it last minute and give everyone very short notice. There were 32 people invited. 31 showed up. I think it also helped to promise lots of food and no cheesy games. We did play one game, but it was completely voluntary. Half of those that came were from out of town and I had two brother in laws that rearranged their schedules so that they could travel and be there. One even missed a (gasp!) championship basketball game for his stake. Russ never could turn down a baby shower...

After a long, long day Saturday I should have gone to bed early. Especially since it was Daylight Savings. After cleaning my house and getting the kids ready for bed I decided to finally plan my lesson that I had been putting off all week. And then there were the blogs calling my name. I don't think I would have gone online, but SOMEONE was prego at my party and didn't say anything. I found out after she left that she had blogged about it the day before. So, OF COURSE I had to log on. Then there was the book Amanda lent me... I finally called it a night around 1:00, which in daylight savings time meant 2:00. I turned my alarm off TWICE Sunday morning. Jared called at 7:30 and I realized I had turned it off so I decided we'd be skipping Sacrament Meeting. Jared called again at 8:30 and I realized that I had done it again. Whoops!

It is 11:00 and my kids are still going strong. They've been "in bed" for an hour and a half. They've both been grounded from their bikes and friends tomorrow, and in about two minutes will be losing their nightlight privilege. I love the later, lighter nights, but hate the transition with the kids inner clocks.

So Sad.

2009-03-08T21:22:00.002-06:00

Here is the conversation I had last night in my head as I got up to go to bed...

"Oh man, I ate way too much today. I'm not going to be able to go to church tomorrow. I won't be able to squeeze into my skirt. I wasn't...Oh, yummy! There are two cookies left!"

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...no really.

2009-03-02T21:47:00.007-07:00

I hope that quantity will make up for quality this year when it comes to Sadie's birthday. Daddy wasn't in town on Sadie's actual birthday and I didn't feel good so we just had a really low key evening with the girls. We had cupcakes, sang Happy Birthday, and gave Sadie a pair of jammies and her new bike. It was embarrassing how many gifts she got last year at our family party so I didn't want a repeat of that.

What birthday wouldn't be complete without a jealous little sister...The next day Daddy showed up with a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Merrell. Friday night Vince and Meagan surprised her with a visit and another gift. And then on Saturday we had a very small friend party. But where is Sadie? Not at the table with her guests...Nope, she's not playing Minnie Mouse Memory.She didn't make a Minnie Mouse Pizza either...There she is..fast asleep. She decided 15 minutes before her party started that she didn't feel good. So she slept, and they played.I woke her up at the end so that she could open her presents and say thanks to her guests for coming. But first...Tylenol.Poor Sweet Sadie. Happy Birthday my four year old!

Sadie's Birth Story

2009-02-25T01:27:00.004-07:00

I apologize for the length of this post, but it was important to me that I wrote this down for Sadie to have someday.

My pregnancy with Sadie had been planned about nine months before we started trying. I wanted a spring baby, in March or April, so we decided to start trying a month early to make sure it didn't turn into a Summer baby. Obviously, we didn't need to since her due date was February 28th. We weren't patient enough to wait until we were supposed to and started taking pregnancy tests early. We never got a positive test, but had enough tests with a VERY faint extra line that we knew we had to be pregnant.

I was so sick with Kylie and expected the same thing with Sadie. I was still very sick, but was much more successful at keeping my food down. I only threw up 8 times, 5 of which were right after eating pizza. You would think that I would have learned, but instead I kept craving and eating more pizza. I would switch pizza chains after an "incident".

We waited until we were over ten weeks pregnant (and had our first doctor's appointment) to tell our families. While in Vernal at my parents cabin we put Kylie in a tee-shirt that said "Big Sister" because my parents put me in a similar tee-shirt to announce my mom's second pregnancy to my grandparents. I was so glad that we were able to surprise them since the dinner we had been making was so offensive to my pregnant nose I almost ruined the surprise. Once we got back to Salt Lake we were going to tell Jared's family together but he got impatient and called them all while I was taking a nap, one of my favorite pastimes while pregnant.

I don't remember exactly when I first felt her kick, but I think it was around 15 weeks. I loved feeling her first little kicks since this time I knew what I was supposed to be feeling. That is my favorite part of being pregnant.

Since Kylie had been a girl we just expected that the next baby would be a boy. On October 9th, two days before my ultrasound, I got a phone call from my dad saying that my cousin Luke had just been killed in a repelling accident. For those two days I really hoped that the baby would be a boy so that his middle name could be Luke, although I think that was when I really started to know it was going to be a girl. Sadie's ultrasound was on October 11th at LDS Hospital. When we went in the first tech that helped us couldn't stop talking about what a perfect baby we had. She said that if she needed the baby to turn she would. If she needed another angle, the baby would cooperate. Over and over she used the word perfect. And beautiful. She was also able to tell the sex of Sadie almost immediately. We were both so excited for another little girl.

Around this time my parents sent us a full page ad from the Vernal Express looking for employees to work out in the oilfield, including a nice signing bonus. We had talked for years about possibly moving to Vernal and this seemed like a great opportunity to move there and let me be a full time mom. At the time, home prices in Vernal were so much less than Salt Lake. Right after Thanksgiving Jared started his new job in Vernal, leaving me behind 6 months pregnant and with a two year old. The last three months of my pregnancy were spent with him home every other weekend.

One day during the last half of my pregnancy I started to cramp really badly while working. The pain got so bad that I was doubled over in agony and crying. My doctor was out of the office that day, but I was told to come right in and see another doctor. Once I got there I was given the cup for my routine urine sample. As I was filling the cup I heard a weird noise, like something fell into the cup. I looked down and saw a little "stone" in it. The little stone turned out to be a very large kidney stone. I was just happy that there weren't any problems with the baby. And I felt much better after the stone had passed!

Up until my final trimester I had no idea what heartburn was, but was VERY familiar before I was done. My doctor told me to take Tums, but I don't think he ever understood just how bad it was. I took so many Tums and got so sick of them that the sight of them would make me gag. Literally. I turned to drinking chocolate milk since I was told to drink milk and I hate regular milk. I averaged 4 gallons a week for the last two months and gained plenty of weight. On Christmas Eve in Vernal, I spent the night in my uncle's bunk house with Jared. There was no chocolate milk and he insisted that I take a Tums. We fought about it, he won, and the Tums made it halfway down my throat before coming back up with dinner. I will never take another Tums for the rest of my life!

At my final appointment the week before I was due I tested positive for Strep B. This turned out to be a great blessing because I now needed to be induced. The doctor needed to get some antibiotics in my system for at least four hours before delivery and didn't want to chance me going into labor and not having time for them. I was able to schedule my induction for three days later on the 25th of February and give Jared a heads up so that he was in town for the delivery. We had been so worried that I would go into labor while he was in Vernal out in the oilfield and he would miss the delivery. The bad news was that I called my parents on the way home from the doctor's office and they were already on their way to Salt Lake for an unrelated trip and weren't going to be able to stay an extra day for the delivery.

I called the hospital like I was supposed to the morning of the 25th, but it took HOURS for a bed to become available. I was started on the Pitocin a little before noon and progress was slow until late that night. Right before I started pushing my doctor told me I'd probably push about half as long as I did with Kylie, which had been 45 minutes. I was so excited to have a short push time. But soon after that he realized that the baby was effaced. I asked what that meant and he said "looking up" and for a second I thought he said "look it up". I couldn't believe he had just said that to me! Three times he stuck his arm up in me and rolled Sadie over, and THREE TIMES she rolled right back over. Each time he rolled her over it hurt so much and I was so frustrated that the baby would roll back over. He finally said that she was coming one way of the other and we would just have to push. I pushed and pushed and pushed for over an hour and she wouldn't budge. Her little head was lodged on my pubic bone and couldn't get past it while facing the wrong direction. My day nurse was relieved by the night nurse and when she heard that Sadie was facing up she said that these deliveries are 100 times harder. That was the last thing I needed to hear! My doctor finally suggested using a vacuum and I agreed because I was desperate to stop pushing. After using the vacuum to help get her unstuck I pushed and suddenly both Jared and our doctor yelled out it excitement. They both were excited because as I pushed Sadie rolled over on her own, like she knew she was supposed to. I couldn't believe that they were happy about this accomplishment. I was so mad at her for not doing it earlier! After that she came right out. I knew she was bigger than Kylie because her body didn't just slide out quite as easily as Kylie had. She was 7 lbs, 15 oz and was 21 inches long. She was so mellow and quiet. I remember being shocked because she looked nothing like Kylie had. She had much fairer skin, and such light hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. I was so exhausted and shaky from pushing that I was afraid I was going to drop her. I gave her to Jared to hold and every time he tried to hand her back I would insist that he keep her. I feel silly for admitting this, but I was really upset with her for her little "rolling" stunt she had pulled. We commented on how calm she was and the nurse said she probably had an awful headache from the vacuum and I suddenly felt so guilty and completely forgot that I was angry with her. She had such a cone head that first night from the delivery and the vacuum.

During the pregnancy I spent countless hours online looking at baby names. Jared was the first one to suggest Sadie. I had known a Sadie when I was little that I wasn't particularly fond of so at first I said no, but then kept coming back to that name. After much thought we both decided that was the her name. The hard part was her middle name. The day after she was born we still didn't have a middle name, even though the records clerk kept calling to see if we had a name yet. We were throwing names out but couldn't agree. I knew I wanted it to start with a vowel, preferably an A. One that I really liked was Alivia, but Jared said no (I would win that one a couple of years later) so I suggested another one...Alyssa. It wasn't a name that we had considered before but both of us immediately liked how it sounded with Sadie.

The delivery had worn her out and she slept a lot for the first few days. I would have to wake her or have a nurse wake her for her feedings. My sister Annie was my only family in town and she brought Kylie to visit us the next morning. It took several minutes for Kylie to even decide to look at Sadie. I think that she was really overwhelmed, but did warm up eventually and was really proud to hold her new baby sister. On Jared's side of the family we had tons of visitors all day and late into the night on Saturday.

Sadie had jaundice so we had to make a couple of extra visits to the doctors office that first week, but everything was fine after that. She was a very healthy and happy baby that rarely cried. She loved to take long naps, sleep through the night, and was content to just watch the world around her. Whenever Kylie would walk in the room she would follow her with her eyes and then as she got older she's turn her head to watch her. Anything that Kylie did fascinated Sadie.

Sadie is such a wonderful addition to our family. She truly does have a sweet spirit and is our most loving and affectionate child. She is such a great snuggler! Lucky for me, she was also a great traveler. With Jared living in Vernal and our house for sale in Salt Lake we drove out to Vernal almost every other week. It was an interesting time of transition and Sadie was the perfect baby during all of it. Our family wouldn't be complete without her. We love you Sweet Sadie, so so much! Happy Birthday!

Sunday

2009-02-23T10:13:00.005-07:00

1. Brynlie has started sticking her tongue out and spitting at anyone who makes her mad. She first demonstrated this on Sunday as Sacrament Meeting started. Sadie quickly returned the favor. Moments like this make me so proud.

2. Brynlie has discovered that if I won't let her out of the aisle, she can go under and the people in the row in front of us will let her out. She doesn't bother to say excuse me as she pops up between the dad's legs and then pushes past everyone. We will have to work on her manners.

3. Brynlie prefers M&M's over goldfish and will spit out any offending goldfish once she finds the M&M's. She KNOWS that there are M&M's in my church bag since I bring them to encourage (bribe) my primary class with.

4. I am getting so good at wrapping one arm completely around Brynlie's body and tightly squeezing her arms to her sides as I take the sacrament. As I pass the tray I move with it to always keep myself between it and the little one. It is a true art form to see me in action.

5. Brynlie totally gets the "noise rule" in Sacrament meeting. The louder the noise, the quicker the exit. And adding an arched back will REALLY get Mom's attention.

6. I don't know what is scarier...not knowing what Kylie and Sadie are doing while alone in the chapel, or bringing Brynlie back in after teasing her with a moment of freedom.

7. Does she HAVE to pick her nose as we walk back into the chapel? Apparently so.

8. Okay, bringing Brynlie back in is definitely scarier. Back out we go.

9. Kylie rocks!! She packed up our huge mess and put everything back in the bag for me while I was MIA. That little prayer that I said must have worked.

10. Why do I have to have a calling on days like these? Oh yeah...if I didn't I'd probably just go home. The Bishop must be on to something.

11. Amanda rocks!! She stopped by before primary started to hug her daughter and volunteered to take Brynlie with her. Could she see the crazed look in my eyes? Am I really that transparent?

12. Our class size doubled when we found out that they haven't found replacements for the recently released teachers of the other CTR 6 class. Amanda couldn't have picked a better day to make friends with Brynlie.

13. Sadie knew that they were going to call her name for the birthdays so she didn't care when the called out her friend Sierra's name first. The music leader pointed at Sadie so she walked up and claimed Sierra's present.

14. Kylie was so reverent during primary. I've never seen anything like this before. Amazing. I just wanted to sit and stare at her.

15. Providing more proof that Brynlie is my clumsy baby, Amanda returned her to me as we were going to class. She had an accident in Relief Society. Or maybe she just heard rumor that the kids got cookies and she wanted in on the action.

16. Heather fed Brynlie a constant stream of M&M's during my lesson and that kept her fairly quiet. Three more weeks of this before she is officially old enough to be allowed into the nursery.

17. After class we stopped by the Bishop's office for treats. This was Brynlie's first time. With a huge Now and Later sticking out of her mouth and a steady stream of pink drool Brynlie cut back in line and stuck her fat little fist back in the jar. The Bishop had to pull the candy away to safety and explain that it was only one per week. Way to make a good impression Brynlie. As if Sacrament Meeting wasn't enough...

18. My Sunday afternoon nap couldn't come fast enough.

Should I be worried?

2009-02-23T10:08:00.002-07:00

I walked in the kitchen the other day to find Sadie giggling and peeling the wrapper off of her crayon. She finished and held it up to show me, saying..."I took his clothes off. He's naked!"

See no evil, Speak no evil, SMELL no evil?

2009-02-19T22:54:00.002-07:00

February?

2009-02-19T21:24:00.006-07:00

I had no idea that February could be this busy! It was really fitting that the 8th was Stake Conference and the 16th was President's Day, because the week in between them was so busy and I needed some time to rest and catch up.

I decided that Jared and I would just stay home this year and I'd make dinner for Valentines Day. We don't normally do much for Valentines day anyway, and between kids and a busy Saturday night this seemed to be the best plan. Plus I had a ham that my grandparents gave us for Christmas that needed to find a meal to go with it. My mom always made huge *PINK* dinners for valentines so I figured I could do something similar, although my goal was not to turn EVERYTHING possible pink like she would. For some reason, food that has a funny color sometimes just doesn't taste right. :) I have never really made a meal from scratch, usually relying on boxes and my freezer for help, but this year I decided I'd make the effort. After I had spent much time planning the meal and grocery shopping for most of it I discovered that my sister Kristi and her husband Chuck had offered to come babysit so we could go out for Valentines. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I have a way of ruining those things. I am too type A to not plan things ahead of time. So I decided I'd return the favor and fix dinner for all of us and then we'd go out to a movie. I'd already thought about inviting Vince and Meagan to also come over so I figured we might as well make it a family event. And then we got the flier from Kylie's school saying that this week was "Bring your family to school week". Suddenly my week got busier...

Monday was bring your "ladies" to lunch so Brynlie and I both joined Kylie for school lunch and met a few of her cute friends. We had a lot of fun seeing what Kylie does every day at lunch time.

Of course I didn't get all of my shopping done for our Valentine's dinner so Monday night we headed out to pick up some more things. I really hate shopping with my girls! We had to hurry because I was motived to be home before 8:00 when Heroes started. Yes, I have heard of a DVR and if anyone is interested...my birthday is in May.

Tuesday wasn't too busy. They had an activity planned that evening at Kylie's school but it just didn't sound fun to bring all three of the girls with me. I did that last year for the Kung Fu Panda movie night and I swore I'd never ever do that again! I was so lucky that Matt Earl and his kids were there to help out. So I stayed home and made a cheesecake for a friend that turned 30. You know who you are old lady!

On Wednesday we had to run back to the store since I knew that this would be my last opportunity. Jennifer stopped by that night for a couple of hours. The girls just love when she comes over. Indoor soccer is a favorite, unfortunately. The girls decided to throw snowballs (again, indoors) at Jennifer, but were less than sweet when she got even with them. You'd think that they would know that just because she is a girl doesn't mean she isn't also a South. They made up and were friends again before she left. Wednesday was also another family night at the school. Another night that we missed. Darn it. :)

I HATE mornings but made the effort to get up and go to school Thursday morning with Kylie for bring your parents to school morning. I was able to go see what their morning routine was. Then I went home to get us ready to go to the Draper Temple open house that afternoon. We decided that Brynlie would have more fun at home taking a nap (okay, we would have more fun with her home taking a nap) so we left her with Jamey and the four of us went to the open house. This is the closest thing I got to a family picture while there...oh well. We were just walking out of the temple and heading to the chapel for the VERY yummy cookies that they were serving. The Temple was gorgeous inside. The girls favorite parts were the baptismal font (Sadie is still talking about how we don't play in it) and the chandeliers in the bride's room and the celestial room. It was a wonderful experience to take the girls through and help them understand a little better what a temple is and what is done there.

Kylie was so excited to see the Salt Lake Temple picture.

And of course we needed a picture of the cookies!

We (telecommuters) are now required to come in to the office one day each month and I chose to come in on Friday. If I had known what a crazy week it was going to be I wouldn't have picked that day, but it was too late by then. The last time I went in the home was a DISASTER when I came home so I really wasn't looking forward to what awaited me at home. I was surprised to come home not only to a clean house, but also a scentsy candle that Jared glued back together for me after the girls had their way with it a few weeks ago. It was so nice to not have a huge mess to clean up!! I got the girls dressed and we took them over to Jason and Tawnie's. Maddie and Jason had spent the night the weekend before with Tyler visiting Friday night so she was returning the favor since we had our taxes scheduled for early Saturday morning. We went out to dinner and then picked Brynlie up and went to bed. Like I said, we were up early the next morning for our 9:00 appointment. What was I thinking? 9:00...I should have known better. I also realized Friday night that I forgot to print my W2 off at work so we had to leave even earlier to make a quick stop at the corporate office to print it out. Did I mention I hate mornings? We did really well on our taxes this year so I guess I won't complain too much about the early morning. Plus, it gave me more time for my dinner that night. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into! Homemade rolls, homemade potatoes (can you believe that I had never made them before?), the ham, heart shaped jello, etc, etc. It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out really well. We had so much food so I was really glad that we had others to share it with. After dinner I got Brynlie out of the bath and changed Taylor's diaper and when I came back into the kitchen it was almost clean. I was so grateful to Meagan and Kristi for helping with all of the dishes.

Sorry for cutting your face off Chuck...

That afternoon Sasha and Jason stopped by with the kids for a visit and then left Taylor with us while they went to the Monster Truck Jam with TJ and Jason's brother. The plan was still to have Jared and I go out after dinner, but I was so exhasted after our early morning and all the cooking that it was the last thing I wanted to do. Good thing Kristi and Chuck will have a couple more opportunities coming up in the next two months to do some more babysitting.

Yes, Brynlie is hitting Taylor, but softly. She loves to hit...in anger and in play. Brynlie is lucky because she has cousins on both sides of the family that are close in age to her. We don't get to see Taylor a lot since she lives in Vernal so it was fun for us to play with her. I don't think the Brynlie even noticed that Taylor was wearing her jammies.

My wonderful mom made Valentine's bags full of goodies for each of our families so after the dinner I got to top it off by bringing out all the gifts. It was a fun way to end the evening. Actually I had more fun falling asleep on the couch with Taylor. I was tired!

My day with Jenny

2009-02-19T20:18:00.004-07:00

I have a confession to make...I once worked at Chuck E Cheese. I have another confession...I LOVED it! I made a lot of really great friends there, but lost contact through the years. The last time I saw Jenny and her cousin Katie was at my wedding, but as I was blog surfing I came across Katie's blog (I was on a blog of someone I didn't even know...what are the chances?!) and from there found Jenny too. I was so excited to find them since I'd thought of them several times over the years but had no way to get in contact. Katie lives in California now, but Jenny is still here in Utah so we decided to meet up for lunch a couple of weekend ago. And since we have six kids between the two of us what better place than Chuck E Cheese!?

Brynlie was very ornery when we first got there and didn't want to ride the rides.
But, after getting some food in her belly...

...she started to warm up to the rides...
...and then decided this might be fun...
...and finally she was a happy little girl!

Jenny's two youngest, Asia and Gavin.

Jenny and her little boy Gavin.

Gavin doing his "cool" pose by putting his hands in his pockets.
And me with Brynlie. Jasmine and Sadie

Sadie got to dance with Chuck E!
Brynlie followed Chuck E until she lost him and found another Chuck E on the stage to watch. She was really intrigued by him.
The four older girls. Gavin and Brynlie weren't cooperating so they were not invited into this picture.

I am so happy that I found Katie and Jenny and that I was able to meet Jenny's beautiful kids! How did we survive before the Internet?! Thanks Jenn for calling. Let's do it again soon.

It's out.

2009-02-06T15:45:00.003-07:00

Can't tell that she lost her first tooth? If she hadn't waited for the permanent one to come in first that might have helped...

Jared finally took matters into his own hands and used some floss to remove the tooth. It flew straight up, hit the ceiling, and bounced off the wall before landing on the floor. We had to shut the door to the office to keep the little ones out until the tooth could be found.

At 3:30 that morning Kylie had to wake me up to show me her gold dollars that the tooth fairly left. And she was the first one up the next morning, still too excited about the money to sleep. Not even Santa Claus himself was able to get her out of bed that early.

Who needs boys when you have girls like these?

2009-02-06T14:52:00.004-07:00

I discovered a puddle near the toilet today and asked Sadie if she peed on the floor since she is notorious for finding unique places to do her business. She assured me that she had gone on the toilet, but while going she "was just twirling on the potty and it got out on the floor".

You can't see me!

2009-02-05T21:50:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I chased my naked giggling baby down the hallway and this was the best place that she could find to hide.

Someone got a hold of my camera again.

2009-01-27T10:28:00.005-07:00

Unfortunately, I now have two budding photographers.

"Rock Girl"

2009-01-23T10:24:00.001-07:00

The other day Sadie came in and informed me that she was a "Rock Girl". My favorite part was the yellow panties...

Same yet Different

2009-01-22T11:48:00.009-07:00

My kids all look very different from each other. Yes, there are a lot of similar things about them, but they each have their very own distinct look. I get comments all of the time on how different they look from each other. Jared has suggested that it takes three different dads to produce such different children, but I assure him that is not the case. We just have a gift for making our children unique. Here are some of their similarities and differences:

All three were conceived on the first try, and made me very sick all 9 months.

All three refused to come out on their own and I was induced on a Friday morning each time.

None of my babies were earlier talkers, and all three of them said "Daddy" as their first word.

They all refused to drink formula.

By 8 weeks old all of them were sleeping through the night.

They all have wicked tempers.

They are all very ticklish.

Kylie and Sadie were HUGE thumb suckers (Sadie still is, sadly) and both preferred their right thumbs. Brynlie started out a thumb sucker, preferring her left, but stopped on her own before she was a year old.

Brynlie replaced sucking her thumb with nose picking, something neither of her sisters did.

When Kylie was born she had very dark skin, lots of dark hair, deep dark brown eyes, and was very alert and curious. And she was starving! She screamed and screamed and screamed to let everyone know.

When Sadie was born I would not have believed she was my baby if I hadn't been there. She was very fair skinned, with light hair, and hazel eyes. While Kylie had been petite Sadie was a pound and a half bigger. Sadie was very mellow and loved to sleep. I would have to have the nurses wake her and bring her to me for feedings.

We often wondered if Brynlie was going to look like Kylie or Sadie, but we didn't expect another unique look. She has darker skin, but not nearly as dark as Kylie. Her hair is light and she has BLUE eyes that have a shape all their own. She was the same height as Sadie and only one ounce bigger. She wasn't nearly the screamer that Kylie was but she was a lot more alert than Sadie.

Kylie has thick gorgeous hair, that was naturally curly up until the day she took scissors to her head and chopped the curls off. The curls never came back.

Sadie and Brynlie's hair is thin, fine and very straight. Brynlie's may get thicker, but I'm afraid that Sadie's never will.

Kylie has never held still since the day she was born. She always had to be held facing out so she could see what was going on. She was standing well before 8 months old, walking by 10 1/2 months, and didn't do much crawling in between. I dreaded going to church with her because she did exactly what she wanted to and was very vocal if anyone tried to get her to do otherwise. And she HATED to snuggle, which drove her daddy nuts!

Sadie was an angel when she was a baby. She was content to just watch Kylie all day. She never fussed and was always happy. She was so much easier than Kylie and was actually fun to take to church. She wasn't eager to stand or crawl, and didn't walk until the week of her first birthday. She was a snuggler, and still is a great snuggler.

Brynlie was an even easier baby than Sadie. She never cried, even when we took her to Vegas at 5 months old. I couldn't have asked for an easier baby. She was great at church, which was especially nice since we had our hands full with her two sisters. Even though it took her until she was 9 1/2 months old to stand she was walking within a month of that milestone. She would snuggle when she was a baby, but has since outgrown it and hates it as much as Kylie does.

Kylie has never had any fear. Jared used to hang her from everything, and she loved it. Kylie loved climbing at play places like McDonalds, even when she was still so tiny. Once she could walk she was ready to play. She never cried to have mommy help her, she just figured it out. When she was little and we would go with her cousin Maddie she would often have to help her up even though Maddie was 8 months older than her.

Sadie is much more cautious. She has always used Kylie's strength for her own benefit, getting her sister to help her with anything that seemed too difficult, like climbing at the playground.

Brynlie isn't quite as ambitious as Kylie, but she has more drive than Sadie. She will follow them around playgrounds and will make her best effort to get where she wants to go, and usually succeeds. If she can't do it she won't cry like Sadie would, but will find something else to do.

Kylie and Sadie are both Mommy's girls, while Brynlie is a Daddy's girl.

Kylie and Sadie love baths and could stay in for hours (and they have too) while Brynlie usually is done within five minutes or so.

Sadie and Brynlie were both such good little girls when their were babies, but THE MOMENT that they could walk that all ended. Their personalities did a 180 overnight and they began to make up for all of the screaming and tantrums that they had missed for the first year of their life.

We moved Kylie into a toddler bed when she was only 15 months old because she was already climbing into and out of her crib. Brynlie is also a climber, but at 16 months she still hasn't so much as lifted a toe over the crib gate. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that every time she cries Kylie (and sometimes Sadie) will run go rescue her.

None of my babies were picky eaters, but as time has progressed their eating habits have changed. Kylie will still eat most anything, and is more likely to eat it after she finds out that it is "healthy". She likes the idea of eating healthy and says broccoli and shrimp are some of her favorites. Sadie will still eat anything, as long as it is at least 50% sugar, or dipped in chocolate, and it can't be green. Brynlie is much better at eating healthy thing like Kylie, but she also really loves her candy and chocolates like Sadie.

Kylie has always been very strong willed and can do anything she puts her mind to. She is really young for her age at school, but has a determination to make up for it.

Sadie lacks the drive that Kylie has, but makes up for it in smarts. She is such a little smartie, and is like a sponge absorbing all the things that Kylie learns and teaches her.

Kylie and Sadie both love to sing and have embarrassed both of their parents on more than one occasion when they sing so loudly in public restrooms that everyone outside can hear them.

Brynlie loves to hit when she gets mad. Sometimes she will know that if she hits the offender she will get in trouble so she turns and hits another object like a wall or chair instead. She never hits Daddy, but hits Mommy almost daily. Kylie and Sadie were never so violent, although Kylie has developed a bad habit of hitting recently. Brynlie probably picked this up from watching Kylie.

My only biter was Sadie, and I suspect that it may have something to do with her getting bit by her cousin Jason when she was a little less than a year old. The biting started soon after that incident. Luckily she outgrew that faze.

Kylie and Sadie both loved shoes from a very young age, but Brynlie refused to wear shoes until after she could walk. I had so many cute pairs of shoes that she never got to wear since she was into a size 4 before she would keep them on her feet.

Kylie and Sadie were both potty trained early, within a couple months of turning 2, but both got lazy and long after being potty trained still have accidents. I don't think they fully empty their bladders when they go (not joking) and can easily have to go three times just during a trip to Wal-Mart. I'm hoping that Brynlie will be as easy to potty train, but that she won't have as many "accidents" after.

Sadie is the sensitive child. I find myself giving into her quicker than the other two and I know it is because I try to avoid getting her mad. Once she is mad, she is very mad and has a hard time calming down. I am afraid of her temper tantrums because there is nothing that I can do. She is also such a little lover, and very sensitive to those around her. She snuggles with Mommy all the time and when she is happy she is so sweet.

Brynlie hates to kiss. She will kiss her babies and bears, but not anything else. After you ask about 100 times you may get a little kiss, but she makes you beg for them. And she will usually slip you a little tongue when she does give in. The other girls will freely give kisses.

Brynlie is also our clumsy baby. She is the only one to have stitches, and is always falling and hitting her head on something.

Life is so much fun with these three wonderful little gifts Heavenly Father sent to us! I am so glad that we have each one of them and enjoy what each of their individual personalities brings to our family.

Braces...here we come.

2009-01-21T16:23:00.001-07:00

Yep, those are TWO permanent teeth growing behind her baby teeth.

"Sweet Sadie"

2009-01-21T15:41:00.004-07:00

Sadie is my sensitive child. When she gets in trouble she will usually yell something like "Nobody loves me!" or "You're not my friends!" Last week she was in trouble for not helping clean her room and as I followed her in she turned to me and yelled with all the drama she could "Nobody cares about Sweet Sadie!" I had to turn and walk out of the room because I was laughing so hard. Jared and I have been calling her Sweet Sadie ever since.

Harmon's "Fresh" Tangerines

2009-01-08T11:05:00.002-07:00

I love Harmon's and make trips just for the produce (since Wal-Mart's can't really be called food most of the time). This was the bargain I came across the week before Christmas. You aren't reading it wrong...you really were saving $6.00. What a deal!

Now that I have given them a little negative publicity I will give them some positive. They are having a case lot sale right now that goes through the 25th. Stock up on your food storage!

More Blood...

2009-01-08T10:10:00.002-07:00

Dear Child Services,

You may have noticed that Brynlie seems to be getting more than her fair share of war wounds. I assure you that we are not beating her and do not neglect her. She just thinks she is capable of doing anything that her sisters can do. Yes, there was a large amount of blood coming out of her nose and mouth last week, but that was because she fell off a kitchen chair and cut her nose open. I think all of the blood in her mouth was what dripped in there or she swallowed since we were never able to find a cut in the mouth itself. And the blood coming from her nose the next day? That was when she fell off a footstool and landed on the tile. Then there is the bruise on her forehead. I'm not sure where that one came from, but she does run into a lot of things. I just want to make you aware that we are trying our hardest to be good parents, but the kid has discovered climbing recently and she figured out how to climb the ladder on the bunk bed last night (thank you Amanda). We will try our hardest to not have any more trips to the ER with her this year.

Sincerely,

Aspen

Bad News, Very Bad

2009-01-07T11:35:00.006-07:00

Yesterday Brynlie learned to do two new things. The first happened right after her nap. Jared walked in to find her in her crib with a dirty diaper sitting NEXT to her, not on her. And then last night as I was blogging she finally was able to reach high enough to open the french doors leading into the office. I counted on those doors to keep her away from both computers and my work phone, which she loves to play with. We have entered a whole new era...one that I am not at all excited about.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-06T22:21:00.008-07:00

Christmas this year was just perfect. Our whole family was able to be together, and be together for several days without anyone having to rush back to work. For the first time ever gifts were easy this year. There are certain people that I always find myself struggling to find the perfect gift for (mom and dad, George and Joyce, cough cough) and this year I found perfect gifts for all of the difficult ones on my list. At least I think they were perfect. I wanted to cut back on what we bought for the girls, and think that we were successful in doing that and still providing them with a great Christmas. Santa Claus did spoil them with a dollhouse, but the other gifts were kept simple. Grandma and Grandpa also helped to make sure that the girls got everything they wanted and more. All of the gifts that I received this year were just wonderful! Family pictures seemed to be the theme this year for me. Annie and Russ made me a beautiful magnet board of the Salt Lake Temple with 5 magnets with each of our five faces on one for Christmas Eve. My sibling gift from Kristi and Chuck was a calendar that they made with a different picture for each day. My mom made magnets for everyone with various faces of the girls and their cousins. Tawnie's mom Lou even joined in on the theme with a framed picture of the three girls that said "The Girls" on it. My Grandma and Grandpa Park were able to be with us this year and that was also very special.

Every year Mom asks that we put on a nativity program, and every year we "forget" to do it. This year she asked again and I decided that we would try and do it for her sake. I emailed all of the siblings asking that they please help and gave them all assignments. Nothing major, just gave everyone a part and told them to figure out their own costumes. I was SHOCKED when we got there and discovered that several had gone further than their linen closet to prepare for this. Annie bought a dress at D.I., Kristi made angel wings and a halo, and Sasha made a tin foil star for Taylor to wear. Russ even brought a beautiful "jeweled" box to use as his wise man gift. Everyone dressed up with no complaints and the night was wonderful. I didn't get many pictures so I'm hoping that mom will post the ones that Dad took, especially of the three wise men.

Since Vince and Meagan and Sasha and Jason had two places to be Christmas morning I very graciously offered to let the girls sleep in while they attended their other parties. My girls love Christmas, but they are just not morning people. I really thought that Kylie might finally be excited enough this year to wake up, but I still had to wake them up around 8:30. We got ready and went down the hill to my parents house a little before 10:00. The only bad part of Christmas was that Jared had to work that day (but we won't be complaining when that paycheck arrives!) and so he didn't get home until after all of the gifts were opened. He isn't really big on Christmas so he didn't care, and insisted that the girls not wait for him.

The two youngest Merrell cousins. There will be at least one more by next year and I'm guessing there will also be at least one more announcement of another cousin. Just not sure who will be making the announcement. Annie...Kristi...Sasha? Yes, Sasha you could be expecting another one in a year.My Grandma and Grandpa Park with my parents.Brynlie had a tough time this year. There were so many people and so much going on that she was overwhelmed...

Vince discovered that undressing her and putting her in the playpen helped tons. Being in the confined area really seemed to be what she needed. We just kept passing her gifts back to her.Mom and Dad made a huge breakfast after we inspected what Santa had brought, and before we opened our other gifts.

Kylie and Sadie modeling their new bathrobes and towel twisties.

We had our annual Christmas cook off on Christmas day. Next year Mom promises that it won't end in a tie. But the girls did look cute in the aprons that she made for us.

Brynlie struggled with all of the people there, some she wasn't too familiar with. Annie was able to bond with her and that was so nice for me!Our days and nights after Christmas were spent playing the new games Annie and Russ got for their Wii. Kylie loved the Wii fit and I'm afraid that a Wii is now on her list of wants.

The other fun past time was four wheeling and playing in the snow. Brynlie cried and cried to go outside and as soon as I let her she went straight for TJ's new 4-wheeler. She wasn't the least bit interested in the cold snow, just going for a ride.

There was so much snow. Christmas night it started to really come down and when Chuck, Kristi, me and the girls got ready to go up the the Haunted Mansion about midnight we realized that there was a lot of snow. Dad was asleep and was scheduled to officiate at the Temple all day the next day so we didn't want to wake him to plow the road up so we decided to brave the road in the mini-van. We made it ALMOST all the way to the top before we stopped and started going the other directions. Kristi and I helped the girls hike up to Grandma's house and woke Jared up to come help. He backed the van all the way back down the road and Chuck followed after him on foot, stopping at the garage near the bottom to get the 4-wheeler. The boys rode back up and once Jared got home he decided that he should plow the road for my dad, even though he had to be up at 5:00 for work. So he spent the next two hours out in the freezing cold with the tractor getting the roads clear for us. It turned out to be a very good thing since Dad woke up later than normal the next morning and didn't have the time he normally had to spend on the driveways.

Christmas is a lot of hard work!Like I said before, this Christmas was perfect. I need to thank everyone for making it that way. Here are a couple of big thanks...

Russ and Grandpa for saving me and putting together the dollhouse that Santa brought.

Annie for bonding with Brynlie and keeping her entertained.

Mom and Dad for providing us with all of the food that we were able to can this year again.

Sasha for cutting Sadie and Brynlie's hair.

Mickala for being the expert on where everything was in the kitchen during the cook-off.

Vince and Meagan for waiting on Sunday to drive back with me.

Kristi and Chuck for keeping me company at the Haunted Mansion.

Dad for keeping the roads plowed so that we weren't all snowed in.

Chuck for driving us up the hill Christmas night. I'm pretty sure I would have driven off the side of the road and killed us all.

Mickala for being patient when my girls kept "exploring" your bedroom and eating your Swedish Fish.

Chuck for shoveling Grandma's stairs.

Grandma and Grandpa for the WONDERFUL Christmas present that I love!

Taylor for being so cute and letting me not be the only mommy of a crying baby this year.

Jared for working hard all week and being patient when he was asleep and we came in late and noisy.

Jason for teaching Kylie how to drive TJ's 4-wheeler. And scaring me half to death in the process!

TJ for so willingly sharing his 4-wheeler with Kylie and Sadie.

Dad for giving me the great idea for Mom's Christmas present.

And last, but definitely not least...

Mom, for all of her hard work, planning and preparation to make this Christmas such a memorable one. I was tempted to take a picture of one of the copies of our "schedule" for the week that she had posted around the house, but didn't. It is hard to have 20 people at your home anytime, but for a whole week, and the week of Christmas, and when you have one very sick day in the middle that is near impossible, but she pulled it off, yet again.
Thank you all for making this Christmas so special!

Sasha, I'm just getting started.

2009-01-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

The Haunted Mansion...

2008-12-31T18:40:00.004-07:00

My grandma's house in Vernal sits on the top of a hill, all by itself. It is a big, gorgeous house that my grandpa built for her years ago, shortly before he died. This was the only picture that I could find on my computer but you can't really see all of the house.When I say that it is all by itself, I mean it is ALL BY ITSELF. There is a dirt road that winds up the side of the hill and other than that you can put on your hiking boots and climb up.

Here is a view of her back patio.

And looking down from the patio...

And the right side of this picture shows the land where my parents built their home 3 years ago. ( These were taken when they were showing us where they were going to build.)

As our family has grown we've found that we need more bedrooms when we all get together and the obvious solution is to have some of us stay up at Grandma's. Russ and Chuck both had the pleasure of staying up there alone, shortly after getting engaged to Annie and Kristi. Neither got a good nights sleep as they listened to all of the noises the old house makes. I think this was when Chuck named the house the Haunted Mansion. Grandma was moved to a senior home this past year and so the house is semi-vacant. Semi because Jared has been living there while he is in Vernal, which works out SO WELL for us! I don't know how he does it because you couldn't pay me to stay there alone. He is much braver than the rest of us, even though he said that he hears noises all the time. This Christmas the girls and I joined Jared in the bedroom downstairs and Kristi and Chuck took a room on the floor above. The house is big enough that you really don't know if anyone else is there or not. On Christmas eve I came back early so that Santa could make his appearance at my parents house. The girls played in the family room while I took pictures of them. After Kylie and Sadie went to sleep at 11:00 I came back out in the family room with a wide awake Brynlie so that Jared could sleep undisturbed. I started to hear footsteps upstairs and realized that Kristi and Chuck must have been home. It wasn't until the next day that we talked and found out that they hadn't come home until at least a half an hour to an hour AFTER I had heard the noises. Oh well...old houses creak, right? Then Christmas afternoon Chuck decided to go back to the house ALONE to play with his new Christmas present, Rock Band. He wasn't gone long and came back admitting that he heard a door slam shut and once he ventured downstairs and realized that Jared wasn't there like he had assumed (hoped) he booked it out of there without looking back. I'm not really sold on the whole "ghost" thing, but Chuck was a believer long before Grandma's house. Christmas night Kristi and I stayed up watching Jared plow the drive way (more on that later) and talked about Chuck's fear of ghosts and about "orbs" that show up in pictures of houses that are "haunted". After she went to bed I had lots of fun turning lights off on them, pounding on the walls, and sneaking into their room while they were in the bathroom. The Haunted Mansion was a running joke the whole week. Here are some pics of the girls Christmas Eve...

Now, go back and look at the pictures again and pay attention to all of the "orbs" that showed up in the pictures. Hmmm...

Pre-Christmas with the Souths

2008-12-31T10:50:00.004-07:00

I apologize for not blogging sooner about Christmas, but I was out of town and didn't really want to announce to everyone that stumbled onto our blog that we were out of town for the week and the house was empty. We had our traditional South family get together the Sunday before Christmas. This year we went to Jeremy and Larkyn's house and had a wonderful Turkey dinner.

The girls were spoiled rotten! Grandma and Grandpa South got them make-up...

And Larkyn made them the CUTEST hats and scarfs. They were already put to good use in the "cool" weather in Vernal.

Brynlie got a little tired of all of the people and comotion and found herself a nice place to relax. It was a great night filled with great people and a great holiday spirit.

Whoops!

2008-12-16T21:47:00.005-07:00

Suzy and Cody:

I'll see you one fully clothed bather and raise you a toy car.

Why?

2008-12-15T23:34:00.002-07:00

These pictures were taken at Temple Square, but they really deserved their own post.

Why is it that everyone else can get good family pictures like these...

And this is what my kids do to our picture?

Christmas Lights at Temple Square

2008-12-15T23:15:00.003-07:00

I HATE crowds. Despise them. Loathe them. You get the idea. We went to Temple Square last week with some of the South family. Jared and I always take the train in from 13th south so the girls can experience a train ride and we don't have to find parking. When the first train came by we weren't able to get on because it was too crowded. Yes, there were 14 of us and two strollers, but there was no way we were going to find a spot for even half of us. After standing around waiting for 10 or so minutes for the next train we were very determined to find room and we made it work. We should have known that everyone on that train was heading for the same place we were. The crowds at Temple Square were awful. We weren't able to walk around and enjoy the lights because we were too busy pushing our way through the crowds. Oh, and trying to find bathrooms for all of the little girl bladders. But at least we tried, right?

And once again this year...

2008-12-15T23:03:00.007-07:00

Remember lesson #3 from this?

It looks like we can add this year's ornament to Sadie's list. I guess if it looks good enough to eat isn't a good idea for a 3 year old.

MACU Christmas Party

2008-12-05T10:07:00.004-07:00

We went bowling last night for my work Christmas party. We have such a large department that there were around 75 of us there. Somehow I managed to not get any pictures of our table...sorry Kim! (And thank you for the picture of my rear end taken while I was bowling. Thanks to you I will be using my stepper today...right after I finish this last slice of leftover pizza!)

Joy, Diana, Mery and dates

Our fearless managers Periann, Kelly, Jill and Lauri. Lauri is wearing her "I went to Disneyland and you didn't" tee-shirt.

Adam and Merlin

Jared and his date

Kirsten, Kelly,Barbara,Melissa and a date. Do you remember the kid in high school that wanted their name in the yearbook as many times as possible so they just started jumping into random pictures...Yeah, we have one of those in our department.

John, Kelly and Lauren

Angie, Kelly and date

Alice, Kelly, Periann, Jessica, Sara and dates

Lori, Kelly, Barbara, Janet, Peggy and dates

Terra and her cute little boy Braxton. This made me miss Brynlie for about 2 minutes. Then I remembered why I was so happy to be kid free!

Ashly, Kelly, Daniel, Megan and Daniel's wife

Jill and Cristhian

And the most important thing of all...I bowled a 135!!! I suck at bowling and don't think I've ever even come close to this score. I tried to take a picture of the monitor that had the scores but it wouldn't work, and I almost asked the employees there if they could print my screen out for me when I imagined the snickering that would go on as I walked away and they made of fun of the girl that was so excited about a 135. So sadly, there is no picture to remember my score. (I do want to mention that I beat Bob! No matter how you look at it, 131 does not beat 135!)
Merry Christmas to everyone!

My happy little world that I have created

2008-12-05T08:58:00.006-07:00

I have created this wonderful blogworld that I live in and that I am able to control. I can tell you about my messy house, but make sure to only post pictures of it when it is clean. I describe my girl's messy bedroom but conveniently leave it to your imaginations. I can assure you that it really is very messy, but in your minds you are thinking otherwise. And I love my blogworld. I like pretending that my house is always clean. I like it when you think that my house is always clean. I WISH that my house really was clean. I think I was pretty successful at keeping it fairly decent, until baby number three came into our lives. Now, I depend on my blogworld to keep me sane in all the mess. This works well until I receive comments both on my blog and in person, telling me that they wanted to see the girl's messy room. So for your viewing pleasure I give you Kylie and Sadie's room, less than 24 hours after the last pictures were taken.

I hope that you are all happy forcing me out of my happy little existence and back into reality.

One vs. the Other

2008-12-02T17:33:00.006-07:00

Why does it take ten times as long to clean Kylie and Sadie's room as it does Brynlie's? The answer to this question lies in an examination of their rooms on a typical day.

In Brynlie's room you may find several toys, a stack of books, some dirty clothes, a couple of blankets, and maybe even a diaper or two.

In Kylie and Sadie's room there are clean clothes that haven't even been unfolded but were in the way of other clothes in the drawers, clean clothes that were worn for less than a minute, clean clothes that were only worn long enough for the wearer's mood to change, semi-clean clothes that were worn for only a few hours, semi-clean pants that had to be taken off when wearing a dress, dirty clothes that were worn to school, dirty clothes that are only dirty because something was spilled on them 5 minutes after they were put on, peed on panties hiding in the corner, panties that weren't "fresh" enough, socks that got wet when walking in the bathroom after bath time, socks that were no longer needed now that toes were warm, clean dress up clothes, dirty dress up clothes, clean church dresses that were only worn long enough for mom to yell at the wearer to take off the church dress, wrinkled church dresses that were bumped off the hanger while others dresses were pulled down, dirty church dresses that were worn while mom wasn't looking, dress up clothes that were pulled down from the bag of clothes that the girls were grounded from and wait...what it this? There is stuff UNDER all the clothes?!!

Murder? Really?

2008-12-01T22:57:00.002-07:00

Kylie brought me her latest reading book from school tonight and this is what it was called...

I must have missed this lesson in school.

Christmas Tree

2008-11-30T20:55:00.001-07:00

I made it almost 24 hours before Brynlie broke her first ornament!

Merrell Family Pictures

2008-11-30T19:07:00.003-07:00

Kristi just posted several more family pictures from last month. Check them out here!

Brynlie's Quirks

2008-11-30T18:57:00.001-07:00

Brynlie has discovered that she likes to sleep with her feet hanging out of her crib.

Miss Me?

2008-11-30T17:44:00.007-07:00

I am sorry about the long absence...it has been a busy couple of weeks. Vince is working on making our computer faster so I had to save all of our pictures on discs so that he could wipe the computer clean and install more RAM. That was a much bigger chore than I thought it would be. But I am so glad that all of our pictures are now safely preserved on discs should our computer decide to fail us. (Tangent...a few years back my mom asked for some pictures of the girls for a scrapbook she was working on. I was lazy and thought it would be easier to put all our pictures on discs for her instead of going through them and finding ones for her. Less than a week after doing this our computer crashed and we lost everything. If she hadn't asked me for those pictures we would have lost ALL of them. And I would still be crying. Now go, and save your pictures right now!!! My blog will be here to read when you are done.)

My other reason for not blogging is because we have had a houseful of sick children, with Brynlie ending up in the instacare THREE times in one week, plus a visit to our pediatrician. Kylie got sick a couple of weeks ago and she never gets sick so I knew it was bad. A week later I was sure that Sadie and Brynlie were going to miss this bug when they both were up all night coughing. So much for them missing the bug. Sadie wasn't too terribly sick, but Brynlie started wheezing and had a hard time breathing. It escalated quickly enough that I had to run her to the instacare late Monday afternoon. Here she is waiting in the doctor's office. The picture isn't important, just listen to her trying to breathe!

After two treatments with the nebulizer and x-rays to make sure it wasn't in her lungs they sent us home saying I needed to see her pediatrician the next day or else come back to the instacare. I was also told to not hesitate to take her to the ER if it got bad during the night. I still haven't paid my $350 bill for her stitches so I really didn't like that idea. It didn't get better that evening and started to get worse. So, about 9:30 we took her back to the instacare and they gave her another nebulizer treatment. The next day we saw our pediatrician who was concerned that she wasn't better than she was after the treatments and steroids. He prescribed an inhaler and said to come back the next day if she wasn't doing better. Wednesday and Thursday she improved and I thought we were done until she woke up Friday morning wheezing again. By Friday afternoon I was getting worried and called her pediatrician to find him out of town until TUESDAY. Of course...so back to the instacare we went. The doctor explained that she has bronchiolitis, similar to bronchitis, but the congestion is in the bronchioles. It was caused by a virus, mostly likely RSV, and she just needs to get all that mucus to loosen up. For a baby this is difficult since they don't fully understand coughing yet, and because their bronchioles are very tiny and tight. She is still wheezing badly enough that I skipped church today, but is slowly improving. We are running the humidifier 24/7 and she is taking lots of steamy baths and showers. The first few days with the inhaler were awful. I would have to sit on top of her so that I could pin her arms to her sides while I held it over her mouth. Today she has started to accept that this has to happen and it will be over quickly so she usually will do it willingly for the first couple of breaths. I do have to hold her hands down for the last few, but we are making huge progress!

Hold still Brynlie

2008-11-14T14:32:00.004-07:00

These were taken this past summer by my sister Kristi. This shows why I don't have many good pictures of all three of my girls together.

Halloween pics, better late than never...

2008-11-07T08:46:00.007-07:00

Before school...

At the Truck or Treat and Ward party on Wednesday...The whole litter.The kitties with their Momma Cat. The baby kitty playing with a puppy.

Beautiful kitties...

The aftermath...

The girl's bathroom

2008-11-06T19:36:00.002-07:00

I can handle this...and this...
and even this...

But this is going to drive me crazy!!!

Weekend with the Merrells

2008-10-30T14:12:00.008-06:00

This past weekend my family came into town for a very busy, fun, quick weekend. On Friday night Me, Jared, Vince and Meagan, Annie and Russ, and Sasha and Jason all went to the Haunted Forest in American Fork. We were really lucky because there was an accident on I-15 that closed the freeway at the exit after ours. We weren't affected by the closure, but as we were leaving traffic was backed up for a couple of miles. The Haunted Forest was a lot of fun, and a great temperature outside (I really wished I hadn't brought my jacket), but I was hoping that it would be a bit scarier. Next year I will continue my quest to find a scary haunted house. The best part of the night was when two guys came at our group, one with a chainsaw, and the other with a lawnmower. Jason left Sasha behind and pushed his way through everyone else to get away. She had warned us earlier that he didn't like chainsaws, but we had no idea just how afraid he was. We all had a great laugh.

The next morning we all got up early and met at the park for family pictures. Kristi has the pictures and hasn't shown them to anyone yet, but I have a couple of the group as we were getting ready to take the pictures.

After the pictures we ate a quick bite of lunch and headed up to Frightmares!!! We could not have asked for a better day to go. The temperature was perfect, and the lines were really short for most of the day. I do have a confession to make...I am a horrible mom. There was a haunted house that we decided to go through and everyone in the family was going, except Chuck who was unable to walk. He kept baby Taylor, but that meant that the other four kids were going to have to go through it. They were fine until right before we got to the front, and then Kylie and Sadie started to panic. In our group I carried Brynlie who clung to me tighter than she ever has before, Kristi walked with her arms around Kylie, covering her eyes for most of it, and Jared carried Sadie, stopping often to show her that the scary things weren't really that scary. I've never walked so fast through a haunted house in all my life. I did feel a little bit better when we got out and TJ was crying...at least Sasha is a bad mom too. My girls actually came out tear free, and as far as I can tell there was no permanent damage done. No nightmares, not even a mention of the haunted house. Sadie went to Arctic Circle Monday to claim her ice cream that she was promised for going through the haunted house. She couldn't even remember why she was getting ice cream when asked. Sadie, showing Meagan that she finished her food...

Russ showing me that he was still eating...
The girls were so excited to ride the rides. Sadie was begging Annie to take her on a ride.

Kylie is now officially 46 inches, which means that she can ride almost every ride in Lagoon. She was in heaven! She rode the Wild Mouse twice in a row, the Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl, Odysea (twice again), and the White Roller Coaster, which she has been dying to go on since she first saw it. She has no fear at all! After she left that night I found out that she is even tall enough to go on Spider and Wicked...next year Kylie!

Our campsite...

The kids got to go trick-or-treating with their admission tickets...

After the hypnotist several of our group decided to call it a night, including Jared, who volunteered to take Kylie, Sadie, Brynlie, and TJ home with him so that I could stay and ride another ride. Me, Vince, Mickala, Annie, Russ, Sasha and Jason all rode on Wicked for the first time. I loved rides when I was younger, but after having babies my body doesn't like them. I get really sick and bad headaches. I usually will pick one fast ride at the end of the day and that will be my only ride because I am too sick for more. Jared used to get upset that I wouldn't ride more rides with him, but now he refuses to let me go on them because he knows just how sick I get. I rode Wicked and was surprised that it didn't make me that sick. It was actually a really fun ride and I wish Jared could have gone on it. Then I stopped thinking...my plan all day had been to ride the Spider. After Wicked Mickala, Carissa, and Sasha decided to go on the Spider, and I was stupid enough to join them. I should have known better than to go on two rides. If that ride had gone for another 10 seconds I probably would have thrown up. I was so sick! The ride home was torture and it took everything I had not to lose it in Vince and Meagan's car. If I had, I know that they both would have joined me, especially since Vince is a party puker. Two days later, on Monday night, we went to West Jordan Park for family night. Within minutes of leaving the house I was car sick and got an awful headache. The next day Jared and I went to Sandy and the same thing happened. I think that Lagoon really messed with me and I'm still recovering. No more roller coasters for me!

It is so much fun to get my whole family together, especially since we are spread out across the state and only all get together a couple of times a year. Thanks for the fun weekend Mom and Dad!

When Daddy is the babysitter.

2008-10-29T15:18:00.001-06:00

This is what happens while Mom is working and Dad finds the Halloween stuff...

Sadie's new haircut

2008-10-29T14:55:00.003-06:00

Here are some of the vicitims of Sadie and her scissors...Can you see the chunk missing on the back right side? There is also more missing underneath...
Sasha doing her hair the morning after her haircut.
The view from the back, which looks much better when Sasha does it. I'm still figuring out how to style her hair.
Her hair turned out so cute. She is lucky...so am I!

My children hate me

2008-10-21T22:37:00.002-06:00

Family pictures are in only 3 1/2 days and Sadie has decided to bring "Sam" back...

What Kylie did during General Conference

2008-10-21T11:18:00.002-06:00

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

2008-10-20T16:22:00.005-06:00

No explanation necessary.

Motherhood Moments

2008-10-15T13:34:00.005-06:00

Sometimes things happen in a mother's life that forever leave scars on her heart. Time may fade them, but she will always remain changed. I had two of those moments this past week, and both were involving my sweet little Brynlie.

I just received a calling to teach in the nursery again and Sunday was my first day. Brynlie loves this new calling because at 13 months old she isn't quite old enough to be allowed in there otherwise. A couple of times during the class Jared stopped in to check on us girls and I had joked around about having him take Brynlie, to which he always said no. There was a mother that showed up with her two sons at about noon and 5 or 10 minutes later her daughter came in with a problem and she left for a couple of minutes with her. She then came back to join us for the rest of class. Soon after I was cutting out the kids handouts while the other teacher gave the lesson. Just as the lesson was starting I looked around and realized that Brynlie wasn't in the room. I immediately panicked and started asking where she was. The other teacher hadn't seen her for awhile, but the mother that had joined us a little while earlier said that my husband had her. I was skeptical and headed for the door and looked down the hall but couldn't see her. The mother assured me that she had seen her out in the hall with my husband and said that she had a purple shirt on, which was correct. I sat back down, but there was a nagging in the back of my head that Jared wouldn't take Brynlie without telling me. There was still 15 minutes of class left and I had to hurry to finish getting all of the kids handouts cut out, but as soon as I finished I excused myself for a second and went looking for Jared. I looked in the priesthood room and couldn't see him so I figured that he must have been out wandering the halls with our baby. I came back to the nursery to finish out the last few minutes of class and a minute later in walked Jared, without Brynlie. My stomach dropped as I realized what I had already suspected, and Jared confirmed. The mother that told me that my husband had Brynlie confessed that she didn't know who my husband was. I was so sick, and scared, and upset, and angry at both the mother and myself for not listening to my gut. Jared and I took off through the halls searching for our lost baby. What he didn't realize at the time was that Brynlie had probably been gone for 20 minutes. Knowing class would be getting out in just a minute I started throwing doors open and glancing through rooms full of startled people. Horrible thoughts raced through my head. By the time I passed Jared for the second time I was almost in tears. Classes were pouring out into the halls making it much harder to search. After racing through the pews in the chapel I headed down the hall just as the other nursery teacher opened the door to the kitchen, finding Brynlie locked in, happily entertaining herself with some paper bowls. I was so relieved! Immediately I ran to find Jared. What a horrible experience to lose a child when I KNEW that there was something wrong. I hope that I never again ignore that feeling.

Tuesday night Jared headed back to Vernal. Right at 10:00 Sadie came running out of their room saying that Brynlie was bleeding. I jumped up to find Kylie carrying Brynlie out with blood streaming down her face from a gash above her right eye. Immediately I called Jared's brother Jeremy to see if he would come give me his opinion on whether or not she needed stitches. Minutes later Jeremy and Larkyn showed up and agreed that she probably needed them. Larkyn volunteered to let the kids spend the night at their house so I could take Brynlie to the hospital. And since I had a meeting at work the next day she volunteered to keep them the next morning too so that I wouldn't have to get up so early to get them ready and off to the sitters. A HUGE "Thank You!" to Larkyn for doing that for me. It took so much stress off of me to not have to worry about them that night and the next morning. I bundled Brynlie up and called Jared on my way to the insta care, which of course closed at 10:00, meaning that Brynlie and I got to go try out the new IHC hospital in Murray. Brynlie didn't cry when she cut her eye and she didn't cry when they were checking her vitals. Once we got in the room though she began to get cranky because she was tired. The doctor had me hold her in my arms and apply a cotton ball with some anesthesia on it. That's when my baby showed herself. She screamed, and screamed and screamed until a nurse came in and apologetically closed the door so others in the ER wouldn't have to hear her. Then the doctor came back and I saw what they were going to do to my poor little girl. Up until this moment I had been very calm about the whole thing. They have something they call a Papoose, which is exactly what it sounds like. They wrapped her in a sheet and then laid her down on the wooden "papoose". The papoose then wrapped tightly around her body and Velcro'd her in, making her unable to move. The nurse held her head as the doctor gave her a shot to finish numbing her up. She told me to please sit down if I felt sick. I told her I wasn't worried about fainting, but about crying. It was horrible to watch her screaming, unable to comfort her. Then at the worst possible time the doctor got a phone call from another doctor and had to take it. For 10 minutes my baby sat screaming while he was gone on the call. I gave her a bottle and she would cry, take a sip, start to nod off, and then scream again. I am claustrophobic and it made me sick to think of her unable to move. If she grows up to be claustrophobic I will blame it on this experience. Once the doctor was back in the room they were able to give her 5 stitches while she screamed the whole time. Near the end she stopped screaming "mamama" and move onto "dadadada". I guess she'd given up hope that I was going to save her and was now counting on her dad to show up. As soon as she was done I held my poor sweaty baby close and never wanted to let go. She slept on the way home but as soon as we were home she woke right up and was so happy! Even silly happy. She smiled and made funny noised and hammed it up for the camera. I think it was her way of letting me know that she was alright. And that WE were alright.

Humpty Dumpty

2008-10-06T14:38:00.003-06:00

Humpty Dumpty sat on a table

Humpty Dumpty just wasn't able

To keep it together, try as he might

When Brynlie got hungry, oh what a sight!

My baby is 1 year old!

2008-09-21T22:34:00.005-06:00

Brynlie's 1st year...in pictures.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-09-16T21:30:00.003-06:00

I am so lucky to have had my mom as an example of a wonderful wife, mother and friend as I was growing up. Any success that I have as a mother is a direct result of her. The older I get the more I appreciate all that she did and still does for our family.

This past weekend she took all of her available daughters to the Time Out For Women conference in Logan. (Kristi was in Florida and Mickala was busy being the 1st attendant at the Homecoming activities.) On Friday night one of the musical numbers was the song "Over the Rainbow". This song has an extra special meaning to my mom since her little sister Kris played Dorothy in a musical while in high school. Kris died a few years later and the song has always had a special place in the hearts of her sisters, parents, and others that knew her. I made the realization as we sat listening to the song that the weekend was so important to my mom to get all of us girls together, not just for a conference, but to enjoy each others company and strengthen bonds that will last through eternity. I am so grateful to her for understanding how important family is. We also had a little surprise party for her that night back at Annie's house. Annie baked a Hummingbird Cake that she learned about on Oprah and we had a few gifts for mom to open. It was a great weekend to get away, just the girls. Thanks Mom! I hope you have a Happy Birthday. I love you!

Mickala

2008-09-11T16:14:00.002-06:00

My youngest sister Mickala was in Kindergarten the year I was a senior and was only 6 years old when I moved out. Now it is her turn to be a senior. I am always amazed at how much she has changed, but recently she seems to have really "grown up". She is such a beautiful girl and no longer the "baby" of the family. (She and I are 11 1/2 years apart in age, and she and Kylie are also 11 1/2 years apart in age.)

These pictures were taken last weekend while I was in Vernal. The first is of her holding our newest niece, Taylor and the second is her with her "friend" Will.

I think that they look really cute together...

First Lime

2008-09-11T15:35:00.003-06:00

Before you all start thinking about what a mean mom I am for giving Brynlie a lime understand that she cried every time I took it away from her.

Comfortable?

2008-09-09T19:03:00.002-06:00

Brynlie has found a very specific position that she seems to like sitting in best while eating..

Growing right up

2008-09-09T17:13:00.006-06:00

Sadie has been busy, busy, busy! She started pre-school the last week in August. Here she is on her first day. This day was just a meet and greet when the kids all got to bring their moms and see who the other kids in class were, and check out the school. And here she is on her first "official" day of school. The day that she was able to go all by herself. She has been looking so forward to starting school and being a big girl.

Last time Jared was in town we took Kylie out on a date so this time we took Sadie. We haven't been to the Mayan in a really long time (since every time we do go we swear we'll never go back after the awful service) and so we decided to give it a try. A lot has changed, including the menu (and prices!!...we won't be going back soon) but Sadie had so much fun.

I caught this picture just as she saw the first cliff diver jump. She was not expecting that!
Here is Sadie and I waiting for our dinner.

And Sadie enjoying her Mac-n-cheese. It was actually really good and every time Sadie turned her head her dad would steal another bite.
Sadie also taught herself how to cook last Friday...
I got out of the shower Friday morning and as I was getting ready I realized that I could smell smoke. Just at that same moment Sadie walked in the bathroom and said.."I'm cooking Mommy!" I ran out and could see the house filled with smoke as I left my bedroom. The microwave was still running, with 82 minutes and 8 seconds left. I quickly turned it off and took at peek at what she had made...a sausage and egg muffin. Yummy!! I opened all of the doors to the house, along with several windows, ran 4 fans, burned two Scentsy candles, and even scrubbed floors and counters with ammonia throughout the day to help the smell. But the smell was not going anywhere. All day long as I worked I could smell the horrible burning smell. The microwave had to be taken outside and is now getting ready to find it's permanent resting place. We'd had that microwave since before I met Jared so this was actually quite sad for us. Jared and I thought that it would live forever so we are in mourning now. (We are also mourning the death of our Comcast remote, which drowned the night before in the bath that Brynlie gave it.) The smell was still in the house when I got back into town Sunday night, but it isn't as strong, and is getting better every day. Either that or I'm starting to smell so much like it that I can't tell... While in Vernal that weekend Sadie played dress up. I didn't start taking pictures until about the 8th or 9th costume change...

"That's all folks!" Get it..looney tunes...porky pig...hahahaha!

"But I'm hungry NOW, Mom!"

2008-09-01T16:56:00.002-06:00

Last week Jared picked up some lunch for us from a local Mexican restaurant. I knew that Brynlie and Sadie wouldn't eat any so I was going to make them Mac-n-cheese. He was back quicker than I expected so I sat down to eat while their water was boiling. Brynlie was obviously not interested in waiting any longer to eat and we found her on the side of the couch with our carton of sour cream. She loved it!

100th post!!!

2008-08-26T15:52:00.003-06:00

This is my 100th post!!! Such an accomplishment deserves a post about another big accomplishment. Here is Brynlie walking. She has decided that she now prefers it over crawling and actually makes an effort to walk instead of crawl.

Laser Hair Removal

2008-08-25T17:16:00.004-06:00

Ever since I started having kids I've also had the pleasure of "whiskers" on my chin. With each lovely addition to our family came more additions to my face. And I already had plenty of hair to spare on my upper lip. So every year for the past few years when Jared asks what I want for Christmas/birthday my answer is always the same...laser hair removal. And every year he tells me to do it...and every year I don't because I know that it is too expensive. I finally decided this year that I didn't care, I was going for it. I found a really nice place in South Jordan called Elase Medical Spa that was very reasonably priced. They were doing a sale so I did both the armpits and the chin/lip combo for about $900. Very expensive, yes. But more than worth it. At my consultation back in May they asked if I was breastfeeding, which I said yes to. The girl told me that I wouldn't be able to get any of the numbing cream until I was done, but that it really didn't hurt too badly, kind of like a rubber band hitting your skin. I wasn't too concerned. What I was really concerned about was what else she told me...no tweezing, plucking, or waxing for 2 1/2 weeks, when my first appointment would be. The only thing I would be allowed to do was...SHAVE!!! Yes, shave my lip and chin. Go ahead...picture it and laugh. Ha ha ha. I'm glad that you can all have a good time at my expense. Those 19 days were awful. I felt like the bearded lady at the circus. I was so looking forward to my first appointment. I went in and she gave me my safety glasses and told me to remember to take deep breaths. "Why" I asked..."is it that bad"? She was obviously more honest than the first girl I met with. She told me that it can be quite...intense. And intense it was. It HURT! The laser stung much more than a rubber band ever could. And I could smell the burning hair too. The whole process was over in about 10-15 minutes. It would have gone much quicker if I hadn't tried so hard to make small talk and stall after she did my face, and before my armpits. I was scared! I remember thinking as she was doing it that I would rather deliver another baby than do this again. Of course, if I was delivering a baby I'm sure I would have felt differently. She told me to exfoliate really well and the hair that had been killed would eventually fall out over the next few days and weeks. My face never really had any problems. I could see results within a few days. There were a few really dark "friends" on my chin that would always come back after tweezing and I was able to squeeze them like a zit and the hair would just come out. And 2 1/2 months later they are still gone. LOVE IT!! My armpits were another story. They got really, really sore. About 2 or 3 nights after the lasering I developed the worst case of ingrown hairs. My whole armpits were just covered in bumps. The cool thing was I could squeeze them and get little hairs to pop out. The bad things was it was more than a little awkward to try and reach with both hands. I have a friend from Jr. high named Mandy, who absolutely loves things like popping zits. I mean, she really, REALLY likes these sort of things. I haven't spoken to her in over a decade, except through our blogs, and she lives in Vernal, but besides these facts I really wanted to call her to see if she would come assist me with my armpits. And I gotta tell you, if she had been able to help me, she would have died happy after that. It was that bad (or good, depending on how you look at it). Once the ingrown hairs worked their way out my armpits were so nice. I didn't have to shave for 3 weeks, and even then it was just for a few hairs. I went in for my second visit (the package covers 6 treatments spaced about 4-5 weeks apart and then 4 touch ups in the next two years) in July. The pain all over again! At the end of the treatment she asked if I was still breastfeeding and I told her I was pretty much done. She said that she could give me the numbing cream for the next time and that I was supposed to apply it an hour BEFORE coming in. I had assumed that the cream was to be rubbed on after to help soothe, not before to help the pain. I was so mad that I hadn't been able to use it before!! It was probably good that I didn't know about this before, or I may have been tempted to quit breastfeeding earlier. I was really looking forward to my third visit a couple of weeks ago. I figured that this miracle cream was going to make all the difference. I had a different tech this time and she offered my an ice pack, something I hadn't been offered before. I really didn't think I'd need it since I was so confident in the numbing cream. She said she'd start with my upper lip since that area is the most sensitive. Before starting she applied the ice pack for several seconds to help numb the area more. I was COMPLETELY unprepared for the amount of pain that I was about to experience. Literally, there were tears. Not the kind that come from crying, but the kind that come from something so shocking. It was horrible, and it seemed to take a lot longer than normal. I was starting to wonder if this nice lady knew what she was doing. Once we got that over with I told her that I couldn't believe how pathetic I was. She then told me that they turn it up each time we come in and that's why it was hurting so much more. The stronger the laser, the more effective. When they turn it up they also have to use a smaller laser, which explained why it was taking longer. (Really, the lip was done in probably 15 seconds, but that was still a VERY LONG time to me.) She told me on my first visit they had it set at 14, and on the second it was set at 16. In my mind I'm thinking that hurt so bad they must have set it to at least 20, maybe 22 this time. Then I heard her tell me that it was at 34 this time. 34!!! That was more than double my last visit. No wonder I was being such a baby. This new tech was so great. She went over areas twice for me to make sure she got things, and even when up my jawline. She told me I was a perfect candidate for the hair removal since I had dark hair with "porcelain" skin. What?! Am I really that white now? She asked if used lots of sunscreen to keep my skin so nice. Then she decided that my kids must keep me inside and out of the sun. That's it...I'm going tanning. This was the first time that I've left with a red face. Good thing I had my handy new ice pack. The next morning I woke up with at least 20-30 zits all over my upper lip. I popped them and that afternoon there were more. I looked like a teenager with a really bad case of acne. I was so glad that Sunday was Stake conference. I really wasn't looking forward to going out in public like that. It took about a week for my face to clear up, but now that it is I am so happy again with the results. I hope that I haven't scared any of you away from doing laser hair removal because really, it is so worth it! I think that I am addicted...someday when I am rich I will do my legs.

Kylie

2008-08-24T17:54:00.006-06:00

Kylie is growing up so fast! I can't believe that I have a 6 year old, and that she is in 1st grade! She is seriously 6 going on 16. She is suddenly very fashion conscious, loves to blare her radio in her bedroom, and "does" her hair all the time. Of course, I get to do it after she does. She is still a kid though, and loves to jump on the trampoline and is very proud of her skills at doing flips.

I always find "extra" pictures of her on my camera...

She loves to dance, and loves to pretend to teach dance to Sadie and Aspen.
I caught her at the splash park teaching some other little girl she had just met.
Kylie started 1st grade on July 28th. It was a huge adjustment for her because she now has to be up and ready to go to school by 8:15, when her ride comes to get her. She is just like her mom, NOT a morning person. She loves to stay up late at night, but these early mornings have made her unable to stay up nearly as late as she used it. It's kind of nice having my nights to myself again!
Jared was in Vernal on her first day of school so I let her call him on her way to class. So cool to be chatting away on a cell phone. Notice the blister on her hand from the monkey bars.
Kylie and her friend Jaxon both got "Principal Pride" awards a couple of weeks ago. There are only a handful of kids in each grade that get them. I'm not sure how often they award them. Kylie got hers for "improved in getting her work done and improved in listening and following directions." She got in trouble for talking the first week of school so hopefully this means that she learned her lesson!

She also had fun with Sadie at Liberty park...

Jared and I decided to take Kylie out on a special "date" last week when he was in town to say "Thank you" to her for all that she does to help us. As the oldest child, we put a lot of responsibility and knew she needed to be acknowledged. We took her to dinner at Cafe Rio (her choice...thank goodness she didn't choose McDonald's!!) and then we went to the Gateway to walk around and go to Build a Bear. She got a gift card for her birthday from Maddie and Jason so I didn't feel so bad letting her be spoiled and pick out a cute outfit. Sadie was more than a little jealous of the bear when we picked her up that night so we are working on not having any accidents so that maybe she can go next time Jared is back. Those bears are expensive!! I took this picture on the way to the Gateway and then totally forgot to take more. Grrrr...
Kylie is growing up so fast and is turning into such a great helper when her dad is out of town. Of course, she causes her fair share of problems too, but isn't that what 6 year olds are for? Such a beautiful, headstrong little girl! I love you Kylie!

Sadie

2008-08-21T21:26:00.008-06:00

For the past year a lot of the focus has been on Kylie and school, dance, recitals, and soccer and on Brynlie and all of the many milestones that babies hit almost daily. Sadie has been stuck in the middle, quietly growing up into a beautiful little girl. Her hair finally got long like a princess and I went and chopped it off. This was actually done back in June and her hair is already getting long again, and much healthier.

Before:

After:

Rattie is still her constant companion. After we lost him this spring she has become very possessive of him. If she realizes that she can't find him she panics and becomes VERY mean searching the house for him. She snaps at everyone until he is found and safe in her arms again.
Last month Sadie got in trouble and when went to her room she wasn't there. She had gone outside and fallen asleep. Way to break Mom and Dad's hearts Sadie!

Sadie and Brynlie have become such good friends. Every time Brynlie sees Sadie she gets so excited and playfully hits her on the face. Sadie is the only person that Brynlie does this too, and she is so good natured to let her little sister do this to her.

This summer Sadie is finally old enough to keep up with her big sister and cousins when they play together. In the past she has really struggled being younger than the others and unable to do all that they can do. Now it is so fun to watch her be one of the big kids.

She still has that sweet tooth. I'm not sure what I am going to do with her!

Jared finally took the girls to Liberty park this past weekend and let them ride on a couple of the old (and I'm not joking when I say old) rides that he operated when he worked there as a kid.

Then we went over to the water area for the girls to cool down and play.
We tried curlers in Sadie's hair that night, but her hair is still too fine for them to work very well. We'll have to keep playing with them because she loved her curly hair. Thanks Larkyn for helping roll her hair!

After much waiting (and tears when she wasn't old enough last year) Sadie finally started dance this month. We are so excited that her best friend Aspen is in her dance class. Now we rotate and one week I take the girls while Jamey keeps the babies at home and then the next week Jamey takes the girls and I keep the babies at home. I am so happy with this arrangement...thanks Jamey!!!

Next week Sadie starts preschool. Aspen's mom Jamey is her teacher and she was Kylie's preschool teacher two years ago. I got so lucky to have a preschool teacher live right next door. After preschool our next goal will be to stop sucking her thumb, although I'm afraid that is a far off goal. Aspen is working on stopping sucking her thumb right now so maybe that will inspire Sadie. Wishful thinking, I know. I am amazed at how much Sadie is growing up. She is turning into such a sweetheart, which a little temper thrown in there to keep us on our toes. I love you Sadie!