TOFW St. George

After a year of looking forward to it, months of counting down, and endless hours of waiting, I FINALLY got to go to this year's Time Out for Women in St. George. With no exaggeration whatsoever, this annual event really is something I look forward to all year long. This year I was there with my aunt Lisa, who I have idolized since my childhood, my sister Jamie and her baby Jade (who I got to hold,) my mom (who is a perfect person to attend an event like this with,) and my BFF Brandi, who I can't really imagine Time Out without. She's my fellow groupie and enthusiastic attendee.

This shot of our group was taken when it was all over and we realized we didn't have a picture of all of us together.
And this, of course, is a picture of me, Brandi, and our other sister Hilary Weeks. We go to Time Out to hear from, be inspired by, and get a picture with her. Time Out isn't really Time Out without Hilary.
Oh, and here I am with Hilary again. This time with my family.
This is Brandi and I with Mariama Kallon. If you are one of the many faithful readers of my blog (what? you're not?) then you will think this picture looks exactly like the one we took a year ago in Portland. That's because it is. We met Mariama for the first time there last November and we were so excited that she was in St. George this year. Her story is heartbreaking, hope filled, and inspiring.
This is us with Emily Freeman. Emily was not scheduled to be there but took the place of another presenter who couldn't make it. We were thrilled to hear from her. She is one of the most amazing speakers I have ever heard. Her life is evidence of her testimony.

All week long as kids were fighting and dishes were piling up, I kept thinking, "Just get me to Friday. I can make it to Friday." When Friday finally came, I threw my stuff in an overnight bag, jumped in the car with my sister and we were off. Whew! I was so ready to eat an entire meal without having to clean up messes, refill drinks, or settle arguments. Ready to eat a meal that I did not prepare and did not have to clean up. I was salivating at the thought of sitting and listening and being with the women in my family (since Brandi counts as my family) for an entire day. I was intent on pondering and reflecting and considering what was really important. By the time it was over I was thinking, "I miss my beautiful children! I want to be with my husband! I have the most amazing life!" And that, my friends, is what Time Out is all about. Next year: Richfield!

Spooksum

The facts: I'm not a fan of Halloween. Try as I might, I cannot find one single solitary worthwhile purpose for this so-called "holiday." I think it is a massive waste of time and effort. The fact is, sometimes the facts don't matter. Regardless of how much I dislike Halloween, I bend to the social pressures because I have children. Levi decided the night of Halloween he would like to be a ninja...about the same time Jeff thought it would be a good idea to let our dog, Star, in the house for a group shot.

Daisy performed at the craft fair to "Thriller" and was to dress as a zombie, which she thought was pretty fun. She also made her own tombstone from cardboard, black paint, and aluminum foil for the occasion.

Jeff asked me if I was bringing the kids out to the hospital to trick-or-treat at the different departments. When I told him no, he asked me why I was being a scrooge. I tried to explain that Scrooge is a Christmas character and that I am in no way a scrooge when it comes to an actual holiday with purpose. He simply said, "Please? Everyone is bringing their kids out." So I did. And I'm glad because they had a great time.

And yes, my kids played musical costumes. Daisy ditched the zombie and Levi was a boxer on this go-'round.

As luck would have it, the Halloween party fell on my rotation for Preschool Pals. So here is a shot of the whole crew costumed up at my place.

The highlight of the festivities was our trip to Thriller at Kingsbury Hall. We went with our good friends Meagan and Oakley, along with the entire high school drill team and their families. And we ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Yes, we did.
Luckily, Grandma and the cousins were at the show too. The more the merrier.
GNO. Boo-ya. It was my first time seeing Thriller and I was so glad to be there with Daisy.The zombies at Thriller were super scary. Some of the little girls were in tears before the show even began.
It was dad's turn for Family Home Evening, so we carved pumpkins.

Daisy was all business. She was creative and independent. I think she would have carved all night long if we would have let her.

Don't call DCFS, but yes, I let my two-year-old wield a knife for carving. He loved it.
Levi was a little discouraged that his carving kit knife didn't operate like a chainsaw.

We invited Grandpa and Grandma down to join in the carving catastrophe.
And the finished product was delightful. We even washed, soaked and roasted the pumpkin seeds for a little treat the next day. Halloween seemed to go on forever, but we made some fun memories while it lasted.

To Grandmother's House We Go

When you reach the ripe old age of five in our family, you are eligible to go hunting. (I'm still not sure why they don't just call it 'camping' but whatever.) Levi and Jeff invited my dad to go along this year, so while the boys were on the mountain, Jamie and baby Jade hopped in with Daisy, Isaac and I and we were off to spend the weekend with Grandma.


A favorite at Grandma's house is the iPad. The kids are playing with it constantly. Isaac loves that he can play the games all by himself (unlike the computer) and Daisy gets really creative.


Grandma decided it was time for some fun fall baking while we were there. We all pitched in unwrapping caramels to make carameled apples. Isaac ate a few more than he unwrapped.
Then it was spudnut time. Spudnuts were a regular occurrence in my mom's childhood home, so she decided to share the goodness with us. Daisy was assistant chef #1. She has a great time helping Grandma in the kitchen. Why is it that deep frying something makes it taste so good? All I have to say is Krispy Kreme has NOTHING on these.
The carameled apples were quite the novelty. When we brought one home for Levi, he thought we were magic! Isaac was really good at eating the caramel without harming the apple.
Finger lickin' good (or finger stickin' good, either way.)This little princess was a very good helper...as long as she was being held. The kids and I took a field trip to the neighborhood park to give baby Jade some much needed (and scarce) quiet time.
The kids call the park down the street "Grandma's Park" and it is a must-do every time we visit. I pulled the bikes out of the shed and we rode down for some fun. Isaac adores Daisy. He calls her "myDaisy" as if that's her name. He asks for her first thing in the morning and is always sad when she has to leave for school.
So having the whole weekend with her all to himself was a dream come true. She is the best big sister in the world. She makes him think he is the only thing she cares about.

Daisy got the shaft when it came to Pumpkin Patches this year, so we made the trek to St. George to Staheli Farms while we were at Grandma's. And we're SO GLAD we did! It was fab! The decorations, activities, costumes, lights, pumpkins, music, and real farm animals gave this place a spot on our we're-coming-back-here list. Highly recommended annual fall activity for anyone near southern Utah.
The kids giggled themselves silly on this giant jumping pillow.

We took the hayride up to the Pumpkin Patch, which was all decorated and lit up for the season.
We finally found Wicka Dee Witch when we got back from the hay ride. Isaac was not so sure and learned how to say "spooky" just because of her. He talked about the spooky witch for days and days. We thought her costume was tops.

We were all sad to leave when the weekend with Grandma was over. Grandma called the next day to say that the quiet house was just a little lonely without us there. We ate the spudnuts she sent home with us for breakfast the next morning and look forward to the next weekend at Grandma's house.

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?