Random August

We sadly said goodbye to our good friends, the Bassetts, who moved on to a new job in Colorado. It happened really fast and while we were really excited for them and their new adventure, we couldn't help but feel a little sad that we wouldn't be living close to each other anymore. We had a BBQ one night to get everyone together before they left. We were sure grateful to have made such wonderful friends and will miss them.

 Emily and Chase were cute little friends

 Before we left their home that night, we caught Emily and Ava in the backseat of our car jumping up and down and laughing hysterically. It was so funny watching them, and it was hard to convince them to stop.

One night in August, Jeff's secretary's son got married, so we went to the reception that night. It was fun to see everyone and the kids had a blast dancing out on the dance floor-especially Emily who convinced all of her brothers to be her dance partners. They had a really yummy dinner and dessert bar, and the kids' favorite- a photo booth where you could dress up with different funny costume items and get your picture taken in a photo booth. I have the photo strip somewhere and will have to add it as soon as I can scan it. It was funny to see the boys, especially Matthew. He found a pair of red devil horns, but called them 'bull horns' and thought they were the coolest things ever! Inf act, he's still asking me to find some bull horns for him.

 We spent a lot of time playing at the park. Luckily for us, there are lots of different parks around so we have lots of different options. The kids love going and running around and playing and it's one of the best ways to put all their energy to good use!

 We also started our 'back to school' shopping trips. It's so fun to take each child out to find their school things and then choose somewhere fun to eat. We don't take the kids out to eat very often, maybe a couple times a year, so it makes the school shopping trip extra special. Caleb chose Texas Roadhouse this year and was especially excited that they had a saddle to try out at the end. Jeff ended up taking Jacob school shopping this year since restaurant food didn't sound too appetizing to me that night, but it was really fun for the two of them and I'm glad Jeff got to share in the experience too.

 We also had our back to school orientation nights. Lacey and Travis are getting married on August 24th this year, the day after the first day of school. So the kids' will miss their first couple days of school again this year, but at least we got to meet our teachers, see classrooms, etc. We're thrilled with all of their teachers, they all got wonderful teachers this year. It's a big change for Jacob this year who will be attending a new school. He was selected out of the district to be in the advanced program- there are only 5 boys and 5 girls in each grade out of the whole district. We were really excited for him and the opportunity, but it will be kind of sad to have him at a new school. He will be catching a bus early in the morning. I went back and forth, but we figured we'd try it out for a year and see how it goes.

We had our share of birthday parties, and get-togethers with friends. 

And having signed all three boys up for soccer, we spent many many nights at the soccer fields for practice. Luckily, Jacob had a friend on the same team that we were able to carpool with, but Matthew, Caleb, and Jacob all had practices on different nights at different fields. It was nice when the practices were at fields that also had playgrounds. Emily always wanted to go to the practices no matter what, but she especially loved it when there was a fun place to play.
Emily usually insists on wearing a dress or at least a skirt. This little dress Emily's wearing was one of her favorite outfits this summer- especially when she paired it with her little silver sandals- probably not the greatest choice for running around at the park-especially with the slight heel, but it's what she frequently insisted on. We definitely have a tough little girly-girl and we love her!

High Priest Summer Activity

I've said it before, our ward has the best High Priest social activities ever. For the summer activity, the whole group was invited up to one of the bishopric members lake house for a day of boating, BBQing, and playing out on the lake. It was such a fun day with everyone and we had a great turnout. There were only 2 bummers about the day activity. 1-It ended up being pretty overcast and actually kind of cold. I don't think we even hit 70 that day, and I was really wishing I had brought jackets for everyone, but it sure didn't stop the kids from getting in the water.  2- At 5 weeks and 1 day pregnant, I got the first taste of the infamous morning sickness that morning. Luckily it didn't last the whole time, and I still went out in the canoes and enjoyed the time with everyone, but it was a reminder of the not so fun side of pregnancy.

I was really glad we were able to go and have such a fun time with everyone. We had good food, played some fun games, and enjoyed taking turns on the jet skis, canoes, boating, and tube rides. It was especially fun for all the kids who had a blast and didn't seem to even mind the cold weather. There is something so fun about a sandy beach and a bunch of water for kids and I loved watching them run around and have fun together.

 The older boys kept pretty busy for the first while playing king of the tube and having fun just floating around in the water.

Daddy and Emily having fun in the canoe

Alish and Matthew

 One thing is for sure. There was no shortage of older girls playing with Emily and the boys. Emily was pretty much doted on all afternoon. She must think life is pretty dull when she's just home with mom who isn't nearly as fun as all these cute older girls!

Val and I were able to take a little canoe trip of our own. It was fun to go out on the lake together.

The boys were especially excited when they started giving tube rides. Daniel and Jacob were pretty excited to take the first turn. I wasn't out on the boat with them, but from everything I heard, they did pretty good at holding on and had a blast.

Our little 'Baywatch' babe

Laurie Anderson, Val Jensen, and I

 Obviously we played pretty hard and had a few snoozers on the way home, including mom!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

During the second week in August, the ward had a Pheasants baseball scouting activity for all the scouts and their families. They reserved tickets right behind home plate and we all enjoyed a night out at the ball park.

 Emily and Alish Black. Emily is pretty lucky to have such a sweet friend and she absolutely loves her. It makes my job pretty easy too! We love Alish and the Black family.

Some of our good friends, Phil and Mandy Stephenson

 Another one of my very favorite families in the whole world- Jon and Val Jensen and their cute kids Daniel, Andrew, and Sarah. We spend a lot of time with these guys and our kids have a blast together.

It wouldn't be a baseball game without some of the game food. Matthew was pretty excited to come with me to get hot dogs, popcorn, and some nachos for everyone. 

Dustin Bechtold and Jeff. These two crack me up, maybe it's the fact that they're both physicians, and just have a lot in common but they could sit and talk together all night if we let them!

Matthew and Rowan Black. We love the Black family, and especially love their Australian accents!

 Not the greatest picture of the family, but it was the only one we got with everyone in it. There were too many friends, and too many fun things going on to be bothered by taking photos. We had a fun night together enjoying friends and the baseball game.

A few of the scouts: Rowan Black, Daniel Jensen, Jacob, and Callum Black.

 They let the scouts run the stats for the night, and Jacob was pretty excited to be able to run some of the Strike cards down the line. It was a fun night for scouting.

Random August

Matthew's fascination for tinker toys and building things is still going strong. He'll keep himself busy for hours coming up with all sorts of fun creations. One of his favorites is swords. He was also showing me this handy new way he has of carrying his swords around. He was pretty pleased with himself.

I found a fun little bubble blowing machine and the kids had a blast with it this summer. Sometimes mom just can't blow enough bubbles fast enough for everyone to catch (at least not without getting seriously lightheaded...) This little machine was the perfect solution and also allowed me to capture pictures instead of doing all the bubble blowing.

This little girl can wake up with some serious bedhead sometimes. I still can't help but think she's the cutest thing ever, even with that crazy hair orphan look.

One afternoon in August we got together with a bunch of my friends from workout group. We decided to do a pizza/pool afternoon at Ann's house with all of the kids. It was a perfect day and so much fun. The kids ate pizza, jumped on the tramp and played in the pools for hours. Of course that gave all us women time to visit and have fun ourselves. I had pictures of the group, but they seem to have gotten lost off my phone so at least I have a few of the kids.

Jeff officially earned the title of 'coolest dad ever' the afternoon he brought home a bunch of dry ice and all the ingredients to make homemade rootbeer. The kids were eager helpers and had fun filling our kitchen full of dry ice steam. The rootbeer was great on a hot August afternoon.

10 Year Anniversary- 08/01/12

A 10-year anniversary is a big deal. I can't believe we've been married for a decade! Originally we had hoped to do something exciting to celebrate, but unfortunately it was the summer of all summers for family reunions, weddings, etc. So sadly, the celebration would have to wait. We had just gotten back from our 2-week family reunion vacations, so on the actual day of our anniversary we ended up just going out for a night out. We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and caught a movie. 

It was actually the first time we left our kids without a babysitter. We put Emily to bed early and let Jacob and Caleb be in charge of getting Matthew in bed once their movie was done. I can't believe our kids are getting to this stage- we still use a babysitter, but for that night it worked out fine. 

Even though it wasn't an exciting trip, it was nice to go out with just the two of us and enjoy the evening. I feel so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man who I can truly call my best friend. It seems like yesterday we were kneeling across the alter from each other being sealed for time and all eternity. Now, 10 years later, 4 kids, many years of schooling, different states, houses, and circumstances, we love each other more than we could have imagined ten years ago. I love every minute we spend together.

At the end of the night, we made a quick stop at the store to pick up a couple things. Along with everything else, I had had a slight suspicion and decided to pick up a pregnancy test as well. I guess it was a fitting and exciting surprise to take the pregnancy test the next morning and see two pink lines.

 It's kind of fun to find out the day after your 10-year anniversary that you're expecting baby #5! I had my suspicions, but then while waiting those long 3-minutes, I had myself convinced that it wasn't going to happen since it was just the first month of not preventing a pregnancy, and that it would probably be good to have a little more time anyway. Finally when the time was up I picked up that test and there were two dark lines! It was a shock and a fun surprise to see those two lines. I immediately felt happy, excited, nervous, scared, and blessed all at once. I figured out that this baby would be due on April 12th, 2013- the same day as Jeff's birthday. We wouldn't say anything to people for a while, but we are so thrilled to add another precious spirit to our family. It was definitely my favorite anniversary gift!