Utah Trip (Catch Up Post)

Well, that was fun. 

We'd only been at Grandma's house for a few short hours before Carson jumped from the top bunk and cracked a bone in his foot. 

I knew something had gone wrong by the urgency in his voice. "Mom, mom, mommommommom," he said in a panic. "Come 'ere come 'ere come 'ere," I rushed to his side and he collapsed into tears while holding tightly to his right foot, and soon Brian and I were wrapping it in ice and tucking him into bed, talking in hushed tones about how we were going to work out the details of the following day, which now would need to include a visit to InstaCare.

Just a few hours before, on the drive up to Utah, our car had started flashing its 'check engine' light loudly in our faces. So that needed to be attended to as well. Thankfully, with Grandma and Grandpa, we had four adults around to help take care of all the things, so early in the morning I left the little kids with Grandma and Grandpa, loaded Carson into Grandpa's car, sent our own car away with Brian to the car repair shop, and drove Carson to the foot repair shop.

X-Rays confirmed the break and he was given a boot, crutches, and instructions to avoid all that is fun for the rest of the summer. Or, I'm pretty sure that's what he heard anyway. But even though we had to cancel our trip to Lagoon the following day, we tried to fill it with fun.

And what could be more fun than a boys against girls Chocolate Chip Cookie Baking Contest:

Timothy and I got to be the judges,

and we took our job very seriously judging the taste, the texture, the appearance of each cookie, and the presentation of the platter as a whole.

The girls came out victorious, but the boys handled their defeat well.

While the bakers were baking, Timothy and I went to the park across the street. Grandma and Grandpa live right across the street from an elementary school, so our kids love to go over there and play on the playground after school hours.

Eliza and I hung out in the shade of a tree for the most part. And tried to ignore the fact that there were hundreds (thousands?) of honey bees roaming around in the spring flower buds above our heads.

We took a day to introduce Eliza to her cousin Olivia.

Olivia tolerated the whole ordeal and even gave Eliza a few kisses. Cute.

This particular trip was all about the Alder family. But we snuck a night in with my family to see Amber in an outdoor Shakespeare play. And introduced her to Eliza.

We all enjoyed the play very much, even the children. That might have had something to do with the candy we kept dishing out, though.

Other than that, most of our time was spent hanging out at Grandma's.

Which is really a favorite place to hang. Her backyard is beautiful, relaxing, and fun.

Miles perfected his catching skills,

Timothy perfected his multitasking,

and his baby loving,

and his sand playing.

And we all enjoyed the perfect weather.

We love it here.

Miles's 8th Birthday (Catch Up Post)

Miles surprises me more and more every passing year. Sensitive and passionate, determined and bright, he keeps us on our toes and fills our home with excitement.

He woke up the morning of his birthday with the anticipation of a great day, and lucky for him, the day played out in just that way. 

He spent some alone time in the pool (a favorite activity) jumping from the waterfall, doing flips in the water, swimming from one side to another like a dolphin... anything his little heart desired without anyone around to tell him to do it differently. 

Soon, however, Timothy joined him and they played together for just a minute before Miles moved on to bigger and better things.

Like his party with his two best friends, Liam and Hyrum.

He chose laser tag and mini golf, and everyone had a fabulous time under the black lights.

He played a mean game of mini-golf and beat us all by a landslide, as he usually does when sports are at stake.

His two buddies were scared of the laser tag room, so they stayed outside with Eliza and me while the rest of the family went inside and shot each other with lasers.

Later that night we opened all of his gifts, which included a brand new, beautiful baptism suit and a Book of Mormon with his name engraved on the front cover. He was delighted with both.

His siblings wrapped him in love for the whole day, and especially during the evening hours of present-opening. Isn't it so beautiful that giving gifts makes you feel so loving?

Miles requested a Poke-mon cake. So I did my best to comply. I have a new baby, however, so simplicity was a must. The end result was perfect in his eyes and it hardly took me much time at all. Score.

These days are so fleeting. I feel it. I see it. I can't believe how fast they're clipping along. The following picture speaks to me for some reason. It's not the best in terms of lighting or composition, but the movement in it shows life. The life that we're living. Smiles and singing, distraction and family-togetherness.

Oh how we love our Miles!

Girls Night (Catch Up Post)

Have I ever told you about our girls' nights? 

The five of us celebrate each other's birthdays with a themed night of crazy fun. This time it was Cara's birthday, so the other four of us got together, picked a theme (superheros), picked a night, and let Cara's husband know that we would be kidnapping Cara for the evening. 

Usually we take the birthday girl out for dinner, but with all of the other activities we had planned for this night we needed to pack a dinner to take with us to eat in the car. We did our best to stay with our theme.

We picked the outfits (I always need to borrow items because my wardrobe is so small), kidnapped Cara, and then we were off to the superhero museum. When we got there, we realized that there is a difference between 'Marvel' superheros and 'DC' superheros. The museum was all about Marvel superheros and we were dressed as DC superheros... believe me when I say that people noticed.

But we didn't let that stop our fun.

(Our good friend Laurie wasn't able to make it to the first part of the evening, which is why she isn't in these pictures)

Cara fought Hulk,

we laughed at our creepy eyes,

tried to pull the sword from the stone (or whatever the equivalent Marvel terminology is):

rode a motorcycle,

and learned all about superheros.

These women are such fun to be with!

After the museum we took Cara to the movies where we met up with Laurie and watched Wonder Woman. Such a fun and fantastic night!

Last Day Of School and Swim Meets (Catch Up Post)

And they're off! On the last day of school. And none too early, either... because the heat is rising and soon all those little kids will be asking me to drive them to school. Which... I'd rather not.

I'd much rather keep all those beautiful kids home and throw a giant end of year party!

And, let's be realistic, by giant I mean order a bunch of pizzas and take down the pool fence.

I love the laughter that summer brings!

Also, there are swim meets. Here is McKenzie's first one:

She swam her little heart out and did so well.

Being in swim is hard work - and these kids are awesome. They go to swim practice every day after school and the muscles they are developing in their bodies are beautiful and strong.

We're looking forward to a very wet summer.

Eliza's Blessing Day (Catch Up Post)

Every time I look at her I think, "She is so beautiful."

This dress has been hanging in our closets for over thirteen years. I say 'our closets' because at any time you might have found it in my closet, or you might have found it in McKenzie's closet. We both have loved the dress through all of these years. It's a beautiful white, with a hint of blue and every time I see it I think, "That is so beautiful."

McKenzie wore it all those years ago. I remember searching for it in all the department stores when she was tiny (this was before Amazon Prime, you know). Hours and hours were spent in this labor of love and when I saw this dress, I knew. We had so little money, but this was special, and we had enough. 

As Eliza's blessing day was approaching I asked McKenzie if she wanted me to find Eliza her own blessing dress. And with a small smile and a shake of her head, McKenzie said, "No, I'd like it if she wore this one."

We even had the little headband I had bought with the dress all those years ago. 

And Eliza wore them all so beautifully. Of course, the day was not about the dress. Nor was it about the headband. It wasn't even about the bond between sisters that the dress symbolized to me. It was about God. It was about Eliza. It was about family and promises and hope for a bright and challenging future. (Because aren't all futures about challenges?)

This little girl has been born into a family absolutely full of love. And absolutely full of God. Which, might even be a bit redundant, don't you think?

Here's to our bright and challenging future full of love, full of God, full of each other.