Sunday in Cali

We met up with some great friends in Irvine.  Micah and Xinru, and Todd and Gina from Vermont.  We love their families.  Xinru was so amazing while we were there.  Hopefully someday we can repay the hospitality.  Xinru and Micah attend a Chinese branch in Irvine, so we tagged along.  Half the talks were in Chinese, while someone sat up translating.  We wore headsets and were able to hear the translation.  It was pretty neat to catch the essence of people's testimonies.  It was also neat to sing with a congregation where half of the people sang in Chinese and half in English.  I really enjoyed going.  My kids were scared to go to Chinese Primary: what if they asked them to pray, what would happen when they sang and they didn't know the songs in Chinese.....Our formal sabbath worship ended after Sacrament Meeting :)

Love Kate's cheesy face

We headed out to see the San Diego Temple.  The grounds were beautiful and all my girls thought it looked just like a castle.

 From there, we headed to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center.  If you are in California on a Sunday, this is a great place to go.  They have an interactive video presentation that explains what the Mormon Battalion was, and then they have a bunch of children's hands on activities.  It was fun for the kids.  But it was a little weird when the sister missionaries recognized John from his Kid History videos and wanted a picture :)

Avery was lucky enough to be a volunteer

California Here We Come!

 We headed out to California! It was the first time we've traveled without a baby, and boy, was it enjoyable!  The kids were awesome!  We had a different snack or treat to commemorate each hour of the voyage and that helped the kids with the concept of how long it would actually take to get to California.  Add movies, DS systems, a Leapster, Bendaroos, coloring books, and we were good to go.  I love the bedraggled appearance of my girls.  Poor Carston had to miss the pictures because he was in the bathroom.  Just imagine how much he wanted to be there.   I love my sweet little family!

Valentine's Day 2012

 We had a great Valentine's Day.  It was one of those days where I fell completely in love with my husband all over again.  Without a word from me, he went out and bought all three daughters a rose and a card.  Carston was not left out either; he got a card and some gum from his dad.  John has sisters, but they were pretty much out of the house by the time his memories were able to form.  His childhood was VERY much ALL BOY.  Feelings were scorned and mocked, affection was found in the form of physical rumbles, etc.  So being a Daddy to 3 little girls initially gave John a run for his money.  Everything they wanted and needed did not come naturally for him.  He has put a lot of energy and effort into finding his soft and tender side for his daughters.  I love him for it.  I love that he is so good and sweet to them.  I love that they will run to him now when they've fallen off their bikes and need comfort.  We never hear, "No! I want Mommy!"  Daddy knows how to give them just what they need. I love him.  The beautiful flowers he got me made loving him that much easier too :)

We decided to give the kids a great surprise.  They found this note waiting for them, found the letters, and then found out we were going to Disneyland.  I think they were in shock when they figured it out.  They have been wanting to go for a long time :)

I love my family.  I love my husband.  I love my kids.  I feel so blessed everyday to spend my life with these wonderful people.  I love that I get to love them.  I love that I get to be loved by them.

February Sayings

AVERY

-Whenever people come over to have a tour of our new house, Avery likes to be silly.  She makes them close their eyes, and then she tries to lock them in places like the secret pantry or the cold storage room.  It gives her the giggles.
-Avery has loved our new neighborhood filled with lots of little girls.  She loves that there are so many houses to go play at.  She was invited to her first birthday party and was so incredibly excited for it.  She came home with an elaborate plan of what they were all going to do tomorrow.  There was going to be a map, and cheetos, and trampoline jumping....She was in heaven.
-On our trip to California, Avery was such a peacemaker.  She shared her gum with me, and let the girls watch another barbie movie even though she preferred another one.
-If Avery had her way, she would never let you leave her room when you put her to bed.  She can't get enough snuggles or enough of telling you all sorts of crazy things.
-We were driving through Newport Beach and Avery said, "I feel like I'm in Hollywood right now!"
-Avery likes to sneak out of bed and leave notes at our bedroom door.  One night we found one that said, "To Mom and Dad, Pleees don't wack me up tomorrow."  Another one she left for Macy (apparently after an argument) said, "Macy, I am loveing you and you aren't loveing me back."
-"If I had to choose between a popsicle and Grandma, I'd choose Grandma."

KATE

-Kate has had trouble wetting her pants lately.  I don't know if she has decided that playing is too fun and she doesn't want to stop and go potty or what.  So I put her back in a diaper and told her she was a baby again.  I asked her when she was going to be a big girl again and she told me in just a few minutes.

-Whenever Kate is playing make-believe (which is almost always), she'll say, "You be the mommy and I'll be the honey."
-Kate likes to ask everyone if they've ever seen an animal in trouble (that is Diego's line from the TV show :)
-Kate still talks about her birthday several times a day.
-We were eating dinner with some of John's extended family on the pier.  Avery and Macy had to go the bathroom.  We had to leave the restaurant and walk down to the beginning of the pier to use the public restrooms.  As we were walking back up, I noticed a little girls' skirt and thought, "Kate has that skirt."  My gaze continued up and I thought, "Kate has that shirt."  And then I thought, "That's Kate and she is holding hands with a woman I've never seen before!"  Apparently, without John knowing, Kate had left the restaurant to come find me.  This woman saw her walking alone on the pier and asked her where her mom was.  She pointed down the pier so they started walking down that way.  Needless to say, I was freaked out.
-Kate peed her pants again and so I told her she had to be a baby again and wear diapers.  "But mom, babies don't talk, they just say goo goo gaa gaa!"

MACY

-Macy is an early bird!  She is ALWAYS the first one up and usually gets dressed before coming into my room.  And then she gets bored because there is no one to play with.  So she fixes things by waking up Kate.  Although she doesn't approve of Kate getting into my bed to snuggle once she wakes up.  That defeats her purpose for a playmate.
-Macy was going on a daddy date, so I told her to start thinking about where she wanted to go. "I already know.  I want to go to Disneyland," she said.
-Macy has been working really hard on her reading and she is doing amazing!
-"Carston, when you grow up, you're gonna have to kiss a girl!"

CARSTON

-Carston played on a basketball team for the first time.  Every time he made a shot, it wasn't just a shot, it was a BIG shot.
-Carston has been writing like crazy in his journal.  He often brings it out to show me that he has written at least a page each night.  I love that he is developing a good habit of writing things down.  He enjoys looking back and remembering different things he has done.

Sledding and Ice Cream

My kids were dying to go sledding all winter....but there was never enough snow. When Hallie and Peyton came from Texas, we were determined to find some. And we were successful. We found a hill by a church up in Provo with JUST enough snow. You can see from the lawn and leaves you see in the pictures that it was just barely possible. We still had a lot of fun. Kate cracked me up because she obviously had no memory of sledding, but she grabbed her sled, ran up the hill, and was half-way down before I finished getting everyone's gloves on. Love that girl. Grandma took us for ice cream after and we met up with the men getting off work. I know there are a lot of pictures, but we LOVE when the O'Briens and the Meiers come to town :)

We love you Grandma and Grandpa!

It has been about 5 years since Grandma died and 3 years since Grandpa did. I still miss them both so much and think of them almost every single day. The other day, I saw a little old man with his cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and belt-buckled sagging pants. I said, "There's my grandpa," and burst into tears. I learned so much from these amazing people through my life. Living with them was a blessing. I continue to learn from their example as I think about the attitudes they had and the way they lived their life.

I'm 30! And Another Girls' Weekend!

I'm 30! I had my birthday in December and hit the milestone year. Nothing feels too different, but it is now easier to remember how old I am :) Back in December, I was missing my sisters. Neither of them were able to come out for Christmas this year and it was a bummer. I love my family and hate that my sisters live so far away. Anyway, back in December, a killer deal came up for flights. Turns out, that is just what I wanted for my big old birthday coming up. Plane tickets for my sisters :) They came out for a week and it was so much fun. Except for the fact that all of Heather's kids were sick and up all night. But it was still fun! We also were able to do our annual Girls' Weekend. I have to say, that is a tradition I think every family should have. We get a big hotel room with our cousins and Aunt, just for a night. We shop, talk, and laugh. It is the best. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such marvelous women. And I feel so blessed to have a husband who encourages me to get away with them.

A girls' weekend would not be complete without a run to Target! Wait! Who is that random man in the picture with us? Oh yeah, he thought Heather was flirting with him when she kept insisting that he should jump in the picture. Remember Heather, his name is Tony and he works at Target!

That's better. Although, we will always cherish our memory of Tony.

One more Target shot with Bobbi Ann, Kendra, and Stephanie. I love that we are the crazy group of women posing for pictures in Target. I wish I had pictures of mom and Dicksy, but I was having too much fun to worry about taking pictures :)

Random Pics

Macy loves to take the camera and take pictures. Some of them are awesome and capture things I don't capture because I always say, "Look at mom and smile!" Others are completely random (think pictures of objects that we care nothing about). And others are blurry or indesciferable because her finger was in the way :)

I went on Carston's fieldtrip to the Bean Museum and the BYU Art Museum. It was fun seeing him interact with his class, and it was so reassuring to know that he is settled in and no longer feels like an outsider or the new kid. It was a LONG field trip!

This was the first year Carston could play on a basketball team. John coached and his two cousins played with him. It was a lot of fun for them to all play together. I love watching Carston improve as an athlete. He is learning that it is not rude or mean to be aggressive in sports :)

Kate Turned 3!

Kate turned 3! All the way back on January 8th! Even though we had barely been moved into our house, I wanted to give her a special party. She wanted a Dora theme since Dora is the best thing ever when you are a little youngster. And she wanted to invite all her friends. I asked her specific names and she listed her babysitters, Carston's friends, Avery's friends, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins....I think this year's goal should be to help her find friends that are under the age of 8 :) My mom took her in the morning so we could get everything ready. Everyone was waiting when she came to the door and we yelled "Surprise!" It was priceless. She was terrified! She blurted out, "Those are all my friends." and then clamped her mouth shut tight to stop herself from crying. It was so adorable. We opened presents after that to help her calm down and remember how exciting birthdays were. And then....we had a Dora Adventure! I wish I would have taken pictures. Swiper "stole" the treat bags and we had to find them. There was a big map that showed us the way. We went to Tico's Forest and helped her rebuild her trees that the wind blew down (Christmas Clearance items). We had to make our way through Star Valley and catch all the stars. We met the Grumpy Old Troll (aka John) and had to solve his riddle. We helped Diego find all the baby animals that got lost. We went through the spider web and across Crystal Lake. And then we finally found Swiper's hideout! Kate really thought swiper was hiding inside the big cardboard box. She happily accepted someone's offer to go in and get the treat bags. As soon as we had them, she said, "We did it!" and started singing the song. It was awesome. I love the power of birthday parties. A few hours of my time, and she was in heaven. She talks about her birthday EVERY SINGLE DAY. And it has been over 3 months. That made it all worth it.

She was so happy to get her bike. She CRUISES around on that thing at top speed. She also has the sweetest Grandpa Danny. He was going to be gone for her birthday, so he went out all on his own and bought her a Dora Doll. He brought it over the night before he left and she was in heaven. I love that my kids have so many people who love them to pieces and want the best for them. We love you Kate and we are so blessed to have your sweet spirit as part of our family!