Palmyra Trip Extra Pictures

Check out the tiny frog Jacob caught just before we left.

Matthew is 9 Months

Coming...

Baby Towels

I have a super sweet friend back from Junior High named Megan Saunders. We had some pretty fun times growing up near each other during our junior high years. Girls camp, church events, school, school musicals, sleepovers, etc. I have some great memories of time we spent together. Even though we haven't really seen each other much over the years, we've managed to keep in touch pretty well. Megan has made a tradition of making beautiful handmade towels for my boys. And these aren't just any towels, they're extra large & square in size-perfect for wrapping up babies. Plus she's stitched & crocheted around the edges so they're beautiful! It started with Jacob-a blue one with blue/green trim, then Caleb-a white one with green/blue trim. Well, just the other day I got a surprise in the mail. Sure enough, it was another beautiful towel for Matthew-blue with blue trim. Jacob and Caleb absolutely love their towels- by far their favorites and they always want those particular ones after their baths. Well, they were pretty excited with Matthew's came as well, and insisted on having a picture with his too. (I need to add pictures of the other two boys with theirs throughout the years) Megan is so thoughtful, and I think of her whenever I see her sweet gifts. Thanks Megan, we love them!

Week in Review

It's been a busy, fun, and yet sad week as well; it's been one of those weeks-well a couple of weeks- that makes you grateful for the gospel and the promise of eternal life.
First of all, last week my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I don't think it's ever easy to hear news like that, and she's only 43. The good news is that it was caught pretty early, she met with the doctor this week and he seems optimistic about everything. I'm grateful for my Mom, she's so optimistic, at peace, and full of faith. You can't help but be reassured and hopeful when visiting with her. She's definitely the strong one, comforting and lifting everyone around her.
The other difficult event of the past week was the passing of my Dad's close cousin, Mark Benson. He was 41, and just diagnosed with leukemia about 4 months ago. It was a difficult battle right from the start and he left behind a wife and three little girls. The funeral will be on Monday, we wish we could be there. As I said before, this has been a week where we have truly felt the spirit of the Lord. Although it's sad, I don't believe there are many times when we feel the Lord's blessings, love, and spirit in our lives more than moments of trial and difficulty. There truly is a refining, humbling process that can only take place at times when you turn yourself and your will completely to Him and acknowledge the wisdom of His will and plan. It is also so comforting to know that there is purpose and a reason for everything, I love the verse in 2 Nephi 26:24, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his life that he may draw all men unto him…”

I think the biggest lesson I’ve come away with, is how grateful I am for the blessing of the atonement and a loving Heavenly Father and Savior, what a blessing life is, and how important it is to live our lives in a manner that if we were to die tomorrow, we would be ready and have no regrets about how we had lived our lives. This life really is a gift, and I hope I can make the most of mine, not worrying about the silly, worldly, and small things; but focusing on the big picture.

Even though it was somewhat of a stressful week, (I have a massive coldsore to prove it) we did manage to have some good times this week as well. Monday was a pretty rainy day, and the boys loved watching the huge rain drops hitting the back porch when they woke up. One things for sure, the downpours we get out here in the East and pretty awesome-they come in so fast, drop a ton of water, and then clear up completely.

The boys and I had a lot of time this week reading books and playing games. Some of the boys’ favorite games are: Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, as well as Memory. They absolutely love playing the games and we have a lot of fun playing together. I’m grateful they’re getting to be pretty good sports, even if they don’t win. It’s fun to sit and play with them for a while. They also had some fun with Jeff this week- they had a pretty serious game of hide-and-seek and I’m continually amazed at some of the interesting places they manage to hide here in our little apartment. They also had a night out with Jeff one evening while Matthew and I were home. They ran errands together and stopped for a water ice on their way home.

We spent some time at the gym and also at the park this week. The weather has been alternating between rainy and sunny, so we tried to take advantage of the sunny days outside. Jacob and Caleb love the park, running around and playing on all the toys. Matthew just loves being outside.

We also went swimming three times. We’re fortunate to have a couple pools nearby. The boys love it, Matthew included, although he was a little more difficult to manage in the water until at the end of the week when I finally bought a little baby ‘float boat. Swimming was great every day, the boys love being with friends. Our favorite day, however, was Saturday when Jeff was with us. It’s always more fun to go swimming when Daddy’s there too! Our apartment complex has a pretty nice place with a big pool as well as a little kiddie pool. It’s fun when the boys play in the kiddie pool- Jeff and I sit on the side with Matthew and watch.

We also love the big pool, Jacob & Caleb have life jackets and are getting better and better at swimming with them; and now that Matthew has his little float boat, we have a great time in the big pool. The boys loved jumping off the side, but the favorite game of the day was playing “Catch the Boat” they’d swim around trying to catch Matthew. (Matthew doesn't normally swim with a shirt on :) Jeff just took him into the pool before taking it off. I guess he was excited :)

Jeff had a hold of Matthew and motored him around. They all thought that was pretty fun. And the best part is that everyone’s ready for a good nap when we get home. Saturday night we had a little get together with some friends to celebrate a birthday, which was fun too.

(Before we went swimming I was cleaning out some things & came across our snorkeling gear. Jacob & Caleb thought it was awesome and had fun playing with the masks & snorkels. They asked me what they were for and I told them they helped you to breathe when you were under water. I guess they must have misunderstood a little because I caught them in the bathroom not too long afterwards- using the snorkels to drink water from the tap…pretty funny) And last, but not least. Matthew finally started crawling this week! He’s definitely been our slowest crawler (Jacob was walking at this age) but I sure haven’t minded, it’s actually been kind of nice. He’s gotten around just fine for a couple months now by rolling, and army crawling. It was funny though, to see him on Friday just push up on his hands and knees and start crawling the right way. He’s a little wobbly and not real fast yet, but he gets better every day. He’s such a cutie, and we’re starting to see his two front teeth start to come in.

I’m grateful for the fun times, and also the hard times this week. Every day is such a blessing.

Nothing in Particular

Sometimes you take so many photos, you don't know what to do with them. They might not be from anything in particular. Photos taken 'just because' are the ones that tend to fill up my folders, but often times they're some of my favorites. So for all those picture-loving grandmas out there, here are a few photos from the past couple of weeks....just because.

Maybe it's just me, but this picture makes Matthew look SO old!

The boys did this all by themselves...funny boys! I'm sure glad they love each other!



Do you think Matthew's tired?

Wednesday, July 9th, 08

Tagged...

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Jeff, of course!
C-Cake or Pie: Depends on what kind. I like both.
D-Day: Must be the ol’ school-days mentality. I love Fridays!
E- Essential Item: Planner/notebook & pen, without them I think I’d loose my mind!
F-Favorite Color: Am I weird? I honestly don’t have a favorite color. I love variety.
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: The little sour, neon worms.
H-Home town: Eagle, Idaho!
I- Indulgences: Scrapbooking/crafts, running(quiet thinking time), and a bowl of vanilla ice cream with M&M’s.
J- January or July?: January’s nice, but I love July! Hot summers, free time, and vacations…well until you enter the real working world.
K-Kids: Three handsome, busy and adventurous little boys! Jacob 4, Caleb 2, Matthew 8 months.
L-Life is incomplete without: Family & Church
M- Marriage Date: August 1, 2002 –wow, almost 6 years.
N-Number of Siblings: Four, Kristie-22, Houston-20, Lacey-17, Cole-14
O- Oranges or Apples: Both! As long as they’re good ones!
P- Phobias or Fears: Big mean dogs/animals, and doing gymnastics-mainly it’s the thought of flipping backwards that just makes my mouth dry. Funny because both my sisters & mom are gymnastics pros! I love to watch it though, can’t wait for the Olympics.
Q- Quote: “Forget yourself and go to work.” by Gordon B Hinckley’s father.
R- Reason To Smile: My lovely new coldsore...just kidding. My sweet family!
S- Season: Too hard to choose just one. I love the variety! Winter-fun holidays & snow, Fall-beautiful colors & fun memories, Spring-warm weather, new life, Summer-hot weather, cold treats, & fun!
T- Tag Five: Kristie, Amanda, Gina, Nettie, Caity. Anyone who would like to, who hasn’t already???
U- Unknown fact about me: I hate to eat fast. If I can’t eat my food slowly & enjoy it, I would rather not eat. I’ll save my food for a time when I can enjoy it.(this especially applies to dessert-it’s not uncommon for there to be hidden stashes of my desserts in our fridge/freezer.) Food just isn’t as good when you have to rush through it.
V- Very Favorite Store: There are too many favorites in this game. I don’t know!! Anywhere with a good deal & cute things.
W- Worst Habit: Staying up late!
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds-for babies! I have dreams weeks before the big date because I’m excited.
Y-Your favorite food: Again, too many favorites. I’m a variety kind of girl. My favorite treat right now though is Rita’s Coconut Cream Water Ice.
Z: Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Happy 4th of July!

It’s always such a blessing to celebrate the independence of our country. I am so grateful for our founding fathers and for so many who were led, guided, and inspired by the Lord through the beginning and establishment of our precious country. I’m so grateful to be an American living in the United States of America. I am grateful for those who have given their lives, and who are still fighting to maintain our liberty, rights, and the freedom we enjoy.
To celebrate Independence Day this year we got together as friends to enjoy a BBQ, games, and time together. Thanks to Kristen- whose birthday happens to be the 4th of July- everything was planned and organized so well. We met at a nearby park around 11, and set up the grills, tables, etc. There was plenty of time for the kids to run around and play on the playground while the hamburgers & hotdogs cooked before we all gathered together for a prayer of thanks. We had a great time visiting and eating lunch, even with the slightly rainy weather (notice the ‘frizz-ball’ hair look thanks to the marvelously humid air) We lucked out though, and didn’t get totally rained on- that would come later during the fireworks.After everyone was through eating, they broke out the games. The first one was a funny new game called the ‘Frozen T-Shirt Contest’ not to be confused with a wet t-shirt contest! A couple of the women had gotten t-shirts wet and frozen them into squares. The object of the game was to be the first one with your shirt on. I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s much harder than it seems! All the men went first and we had a great time laughing at them as they tried to get their shirts on. Jeff actually did pretty well and got a prize. Afterwards, the men returned the favor as the women had their shot at pride & glory. Too bad it wasn’t my day…I think I was about the slowest one, I couldn’t even get my t-shirt unfolded from it’s tiny little square. I was still working on mine when Kristen won, followed closely by Angie and Kelley. It was a pretty competitive game...notice Angie trying to rip the shirt off Kristen's head! Apparently it’s not my game, but I had more fun watching than playing! We took a break in between some of the games to try and get a picture of all the kids together. We got most of them, with the exception of the babies and a few wanderers. They all had a blast; they were free to play on the playground, swing on the swings, and run around the place because we were practically the only ones there. Either most people had other plans for the 4th, or we just scared them all away with our group of almost 15 families. Hopefully it wasn’t the latter. Anyway the kids had fun.The next game was the watermelon eating contest for four guys & four girls. I’m still not sure how I got talked into this one. Derek, Jeff, Jonathan, and Jeremy represented the male population. Kristen, Kelley, Megan, and I were the “lucky” girls to face off with them. Needless to say, the whole thing was pretty funny. I thought I was doing pretty well until Jeremy and Derek started making funny comments. It’s hard to eat fast with watermelon juice up your nose. Jeff ended up taking the competition by a ways. (As Jeff says…coming from a family of eight kids has its benefits. If you don’t eat it fast, you don't get any.) Among the girls I think Kristen won. Now if it were a contest for the dirtiest face, I think we all would have tied. Good thing it was only watermelons and not pies. I think one of the funniest parts about it was that many of the kids were looking on with worried faces- I think they were wondering if they were going to get any watermelon at all with these crazy parents chowing them down as fast as they could. No worries, there was plenty for all.The kids, at this point, were ready for a game of their own so we moved onto the sack race. Kristen came well prepared with the Force-Flex garbage bags that worked amazingly well! I was impressed with Caleb’s jumping skills, even though he was at the smaller end of the scale. Jacob especially caught on the 2nd round when he figured out the bags would allow him a decent stride-he won by running the whole way. They all had fun. Matthew at this point was having a good time hanging out in his little stroller. (Doesn't he just looked thrilled?:) He had been fed, and even took a little nap in the stroller. He enjoyed spending the rest of the afternoon taking turns between his stroller and being held. He was a pretty sweet baby and seemed to enjoy just being outside.By this time, the men had picked up a couple bats & balls (a plastic wiffle ball set) and had started up a game. It was fun to watch them and cheer them on-and of course tease them when they made mistakes. It was all in good fun, and made me laugh that the way they got each other out was not just by tagging them with the ball, but by throwing it at each other and hitting the runners with it. The kids at this point were entertaining themselves playing in the sand piles around the field-too bad I didn’t get pictures of them when they were all done, there were definitely some well-needed baths.At the end of the game, the men humored a few of us women while we attempted a game amongst ourselves with the remaining five women (Jeff & Derek came to play too). It was fun and got us started on planning a real softball game sometime in the future.We didn’t end up getting home until almost 4:00. Luckily we got our boys to take naps and had some down time before we took off at 8:15 for the evening festivities. We really wanted to see the fireworks this year. Last year it rained so hard that we left, and they cancelled them anyway. Unfortunately, it must be tradition for it to rain of the 4th of July because it was rainy again this year. Fortunately it wasn’t an all-out downpour like last year. We managed to stick it out under the trees for a while. Of course the traffic getting into the city is horrible, so Jeff dropped Jacob, Caleb and I off then went to find a parking space. We walked around for a while enjoying the concert by John Legend, and trying our best to avoid all the smokers-not an easy feat. The boys were also having a fun time with their glow sticks & necklaces. Funny story about these: I actually bought them about two years ago for the 4th of July. It’s gotten to be kind of a joke, but I always managed to forget about them or loose track of them before the 4th of July, or New Years- or any other occasion that might involve kids being up late in the dark. Finally after two years of waiting, we were able to enjoy these glowsticks and I’m happy to report that they worked great. (Maybe we’ll add a couple of these to our year-supply) So they had fun playing with them and spinning them around to see the cool circles. We were up near a field, so there was plenty of room for them to run around and play. Finally Jeff managed to find a parking spot and made it over with Matthew in the stroller. By this time it was 10pm. Matthew was sleeping pretty sound in his reclined seat and we were hoping the rain would stop, and fireworks would be coming soon. They didn’t end up setting them off until 10:45, but boy was it worth it! We didn’t even have the greatest view-we actually ended up on a street corner, but it was the best fireworks display Jeff and I have ever seen. The grand finale was absolutely amazing!! Anyone who wants a good show next year, feel free to come out and join us. Even with the rain falling it was worth the wait. Matthew slept through the entire thing-he woke up as we were putting him back in the car with a giant smile and a “da-da?” But Jacob and Caleb enjoyed the show. We asked Jacob if he had liked them. He replied, “I love fireworks, they’re so cool!” We finally made it through the crowds (there was an estimated 1 million people present!) and arrived home at midnight. Then Jeff and I decided to make a full evening of it and watched a movie. We figured the kids went to bed late enough they wouldn’t be up at their regular 6:30am anyway. It was sure a fun and memorable 4th of July; even with the rain. It’s fun that our kids are getting to the age where they’ll start to remember some of these fun (and a little crazy) adventures too.