Hilary Weeks

Try not to break the commandments by coveting, but it's true that I went to the Hilary Weeks Release Concert for her new CD Every Step this week. And not only did I go, I sat on the front row.

It was brilliant and beautiful and inspiring...everything that Hilary Weeks is.
Her new album is on sale this week for only $13.98 so BUY ONE (or seven, like I did) and help the album get charted on Billboard! You won't regret it. It is fantastic. I haven't stopped listening to it since Tuesday. I almost have it memorized.


I was there with my beautiful friend Kate, whom I feel like I have known since before this life. We felt important because since we were sitting on the front row, we got to chat it up with Hilary's husband, Tim, and her adorable daughter Callie during intermission. I also saw Sherri Dew and Laurel Christensen there. I had to get a picture with Laurel because, #1 she is hilarious, and #2, we both ran the Utah Valley Marathon. She ran the 1/2 and I ran the full. It was a first for both of us...so now we're friends, right?
This is just a shot of Hilary and I hanging out, like usual. Ok, not really. This is a shot of me talking to Hilary trying not to pee my pants because I am so excited. And yes, she did offer to personalize and autograph all 7 of the discs I bought. I'm wondering if I can be Hilary Weeks' sister, or daughter, or neighbor, or something after the resurrection...maybe?See? We look good together! Ok, she looks amazing, because she is. And get this...I we get to hang out together again in St. George in two weeks. [insert tight excited feeling in stomach.]

Fall Festivities

For the October field trip, Preschool Pals went to the Pumpkin Patch. Since we had been looking forward to this trip for days, there was all sorts of excitement when we finally arrived at The Big Red Barn. The whole crew climbed aboard the first hay wagon in sight.

What could possibly make a trip to the Pumpkin Patch any better? The fact that our cousins from Ohio had flown in and Davis got to go with us!
As soon as we climbed down from the hay wagon and the Pumpkin Patch was before us, Isaac was a man on a mission. He was determined to find the perfect pumpkin that was just his size. And when he did, he was not letting go. He hefted that thing all through the Pumpkin Patch, tripping over vines and falling in the dirt. He sat down next to it, put his arm around it, and proclaimed, "Heavy!"

Levi and Davis were the resident super heroes of the trip. They conquered the Pumpkin Patch, the hay ride, AND the maze.
This was my first trip to the Pumpkin Patch that I didn't have to wear my parka. I'm thinking 70 degree Pumpkin Patch days are a fine idea.


That night, Grandma JoAnn hosted a Halloween Party.

All of the kids were to come in costume, and since I refuse to spend a single solitary dime on the most pointless excuse for a holiday ever, we busted out the dress up box. Isaac and Reece won these silly glasses at the Fish Pond.

Having Davis and Reece here from Ohio made me miss Brian and Rachel so much! It is really unbelievable how alike our sons are. They were born less than two weeks apart. Even after being apart for huge amounts of time, when you get them together they are like clones. Hopefully we'll live closer together someday! Now, on with Fall!

Jade

It's interesting the way things work out, isn't it? Wednesday are by far my busiest day of the week. Things are plain crazy on Wednesday's. So it turned out it was a Wednesday that my sister, Jamie, scheduled her induction. She went in on Tuesday night in order to be induced first thing Wednesday morning. She asked that I be there for the delivery. When she text me at 8:00 Wednesday morning to tell me that they had already broken her water, I wondered how on Earth I would possibly work everything out in order to be there in time. As the hours marched on, I had a prayer in my heart. And things, as they tend to do, worked out. Very nicely in fact. My parents were passing through town on their way to the hospital right as Jeff was able to be home with the kids. Grandpa and Grandma became the dance carpool on our way out of town, and then we hit the freeway. When we arrived at the hospital, Jamie was dilated to an 8 and in really hard labor...natural, non-medicated labor, by the way. Her labor and delivery were beautiful. She was a rock star. At 6:20 that night, she delivered a perfect baby girl who weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 21 inches long (the exact same size as my first baby!) They named her Jade.



Rian was amazing during the labor. He was a superior "coach" and got Jamie through every single contraction.
First family photo!

Me and my sis, the new mommy.
Jeff brought the kids up to meet their brand new cousin...the first one they have been able to meet at birth. A few days later, Rian and Jamie brought their new baby home from the hospital to begin their lives together.

A few days later I started getting an awful sinus infection. Instead of finding myself at my sister's house cleaning, cooking, and helping as I had expected to do, I was home being a snot factory loading up on Sudafed and vitamin C. Fast forward a week to Wednesday again. I, like usual, was up at 4:45 and off to satisfy my addiction...at Zumba. I checked my phone when I got home and saw a missed call from Jamie. Strange at 6:00 AM. I called her right back. She asked what I had planned for the day. Oh, practically nothing, it's only WEDNESDAY for crying out loud. "Nothing," I answered. "What's up?" She told me she was sick and asked if she could come to my house. She could rest while I helped take care of the baby. I reminded her that I had a nasty cold (and so did my kiddos at this point...) and told her I would be happy to help in any way I could. With a prayer in my hear,t I was wondering how I could possibly work everything out. Jamie's husband had a few hours before he had to be to work, so he drove her and Jade to my house.

Jamie looked like death when she arrived. She was pale and sweaty. She had a temperature of 102. She couldn't stand up straight. She was breathing in short, rapid breaths. I called the clinic as soon as it opened and they got us a 9:00 appointment. I got Daisy out the door for school, we put Levi's Sound Box together for preschool, and the kids I tend arrived. As I loaded all of the children, the newborn, the deathly ill sister and I into Magic the Minivan to head off to the doctor, I had no idea how I was going to take care of Jamie, Jade, rides to and from preschool, to and from dancing, to and from Kindergarten, lunch in between, AND my own kids in between. I left Jamie alone at the doctor while I took Levi to preschool. While dropping him off, a small miracle took place. One of the other preschool moms took ALL of the children with her. We transferred them to her minivan leaving just Jade and I to go back to the doctor to take care of her mommy. I didn't have to worry about the kids again. My sweet, service-oriented friend acted like it was no big deal to add four kids to her day. Things work out.

Omitting all the details, they admitted Jamie to the hospital. I knew she was really sick! She was diagnosed with a severe bladder infection that had spread to her kidneys, and then when her labs got back, she was diagnosed with a staph infection. She was hospitalized for 2 and a half days.
Which means I was on newborn duty. Because I was sick, I was super cautious. And things worked out. I wore a mask whenever I handled the baby and we used sanitizer like crazy. Another small miracle happened as I began to feel better than I had all week even though I was sleeping less since I was up with the baby. The sloshy head and sinus pressure were simply absent while I needed to be there for Jade and Jamie. Things work out.
It was such a treat to have such a perfect, precious, princess around the house. Daisy, who was not sick, got most of the cuddle time and ate up every minute of it. Jamie was brave and strong. She is doing much better now, and even though Jade did catch a little bit of a stuffy nose, she is doing well too. She is, in fact, perfect. It's interesting how things work out, isn't it?

Soccer Star

This was Levi's first soccer season, and you could just say it was pretty much a dream come true.
Levi looked forward to every single game. He played so hard and stayed focused the whole time.

One of his best buddies, Treyson, was on his team......and so was his betrothed, Gracelyn.
He got a fab Smokey the Bear bandana at the County Fair which he chose to wear as a good luck do-rag in most of his games.
Levi is super competitive, and would get angry if he didn't score a goal. He had high expectations for himself.
He wanted to wear his jersey every day, not just on game days.

I was surprised how much he learned over the course of the season. It was a little too short lived for Levi. He would like to still be playing, but it sure was fun while it lasted!

Amphibious Adventures

During Jeff's tenure as a student, we exist as basement dwellers. There are some advantages to living in a basement, like it is cooler in the summer, and it is quieter when there are storms. Another advantage is that our window wells act as magnets for all sorts of interesting creatures. It has become routine to check each window well each morning and see what the night brought in. More often than not, we find some sort of small animal. Levi, our mighty hunter, retrieves whatever interests him.

He was very proud of this catch. When I asked him what he wanted to name it, he said, "Alligator." We talked about how it really did look like a baby alligator when it walked around, especially in the little puddle we made for it in the garden. When I asked him if he was going to call it "Al" or "Gator" he looked at me like I was silly and responded, "Jacob, mom. Jacob Alligator." He pronounced it more like one word, Jacoballigator, and this delightful amphibian provided hours of entertainment.
Isaac would beg and beg for a turn to play with the precious pet. He was a little less than gentle with the poor thing. When Jacoballigator was finally turned loose at dusk, it must have been the best day of his life.

We were camping on Cedar Mountain (translation = most beautiful place on earth) when Jeff, Levi, and my aunt went hunting for horny toads. He came back with his pockets full...literally.
When Levi caught this frog in our window well one morning, he named it Prince Naveen. Prince Naveen was an even better playmate than Jacoballigator because he could ride in the back of the trike or the seat of the big wheel.


Little brother was trusted with a little more face time with Prince Naveen than he was allowed with Jacoballigator.
Levi was oh so excited to show his find off to the neighbors.One of the greatest anticipations of camping on Cedar Mountain is the Pond. This is a shot of the mighty hunter spotting and sneaking in on his prey.
Success! (which wouldn't be a genuine success if pants + socks + boots + shirt were not all covered in pond scum.)

Jeff was trying to convince Isaac to kiss the frog. Seriously.
Although I myself am not extremely fond of handling amphibians, I do get satisfaction watching my boys embark on their slimy creature adventures. Seeing the excitement and curiosity it inspires in them makes me smile and remember that it really is all about the simple things, even when those simple things are 'snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.'

Back to School

Why has it taken me so long to post about school starting? Because I'm still in denial. I feel like we got ripped off when it comes to summer. June felt like March and then it rained most of July. When August finally arrived so did summer...and then school started! The good news is that Daisy got the best teacher in our district. Grandma Jones took her on a special school shopping trip - just the two of them - a few weeks before school started. She got a load of cute new school clothes that fit just right. She is still having fun choosing what she will wear to school the next day each night before she goes to bed.

Me? Don't worry, I cried the first day of school. I walked Daisy into the school (not for her, for me.) She led me to her classroom where we had hugs and kisses and said goodbye. As I walked back down the hall and out of the school I had tears running down my cheeks. You'd think I could handle the first day of school by now, but no, I was broken hearted once again as I left my little girl at the big school.

Now that we're a few weeks into it, I'm actually excited for her to have a really fun year. Second grade was one of my favorite. It was the year I learned to love to write. Not only does she have a great teacher, she has a good group of kids in her class. Back to school we are!

Born to Be

It was last night when I was in the middle of cleaning up the disgusting mess my two-year-old made when he pooped on the floor when Levi made the announcement. "Whew," he said, "I'm glad I'll never have to be a mom." Totally made me giggle. Glad he recognizes the effort required.

Then Daisy piped up. "Don't worry, Levi," she explained. "That's what mom's are born to do."