Silly Mommy

Lucky 7!

2017-03-19T15:49:00.005-05:00

Well, if you can't tell by the picture above, we are PREGNANT! And crazy happy! This baby is due October 4 and we couldn't feel more thankful and excited. Tie breaker! Of course I'm thinking its a girl because I thought Luke was a girl and so this has to be the girl, right? Right? Hahaha. I'll be thrilled with boy or girl of course!

So, we experienced two miscarriages over the past year, one in June and one the day after Christmas. The summer loss was the worst. I went in for a sonogram at 8 weeks and the baby hadn't formed beyond just a couple of weeks, no heartbeat, etc. I wasn't experiencing a miscarriage at that time yet, so I just had to wait for it(or have a D&C..or take meds to make it happen, neither of which I wanted to do). I held it together really well in the doctors office..but when I went to check out, the receptionist asked if I needed to schedule another appointment. As I thought about it and realized the answer was no, it hit me. I answered her a quiet no and walked out and then bawled like a baby in the hall(thankfully Joey was there to hug me for awhile and also came home with me). So anyways, I just waited and waited. That made me crazy. It took almost a month before it finally happened. It was like I couldn't move forward during that time and I got really down. I just wanted it over with..though I dreaded it at the same time. And then when it came, it was painful, like labor pains painful. It was just horrible. I was in bed for days. I had been blessed previously(though I can't call any miscarriage a blessing because they are all very sad) to not have the physical pain of a miscarriage, I only really had felt the emotional pains from our previous losses. So this just amplified the trauma of the situation and the sadness I felt. It was a hard summer for me. I got pretty down :( I gained some weight. I started feeling like nothing was fun anymore. I just felt blah. And I wasn't ready to try again for a couple of months because of the state I found myself in. Thats close to the time when I got my new calling as the Relief Society President in my ward. Well, that changed things for me. I wasn't focusing on myself as much and was working and serving in a way that got me through it... even though when the Bishop extended the calling, I felt like I was a mess and not good enough for anything. I still feel that calling was/is for me more than anyone.

Anyways, back to the story :) Nothing happened until a few days before Christmas when we got another positive test. I was hesitantly excited because I knew our chances of miscarriage are high since we've had so many in our marriage..and sure enough just a few days after the positive test, I miscarried again. So that made 6 kiddos and 6 miscarriages total. This one was easier because it was so soon, no waiting, no physical pain associated with it, but still, sad and frustrating. But this time, I was like, we are trying again-we are not giving up. My resolve had strengthened. I felt really determined I wasn't going to let this kick me in the butt the way the summer miscarriage did. I didn't even feel I needed time to "process" anything. I just felt this sense of, we aren't wasting any time Joey! Lets go! ;) He didn't mind that hahaha. We need this baby here asap! (cuz I ain't gettin any younger y'all ;) Anyways, we got pregnant immediately! And here we are, I'm just a couple of days away from 12 weeks and everything is going great so far! We had our sonogram at 8 weeks and saw our little miracle on the screen. Definitely a teary moment for us. We pray this pregnancy continues and this baby stays healthy and strong. We need this tie breaker! We just aren't complete. I have felt it so strongly this year. I was honestly feeling unsure if we were supposed to have another baby last year. I knew that my heart wanted one but I wasn't sure if I could handle 7 kids when 6 is already so hard... but these losses this year made that desire for a baby and the knowledge that I'm supposed to have another one SURE. I have no doubts now. I can do this mom of 7 thang!

Anyways, I share these details because I think people look at us and think, wow, they have a LOT of kids....they must have no problem having babies! But the simple fact is, this is my 13th pregnancy! So these didn't come to us easily. Most of them came with prior heartaches, losses and tears. Many hard days. It was those hard days though, that make the sweet days more sweet. Thats the interesting thing about life, right? Our trials just plain suck sometimes. But without them, how would we grow? Life is about our trials, how we handle them, how we let them shape us. We can turn a trial into something that completely destroys us or we can turn it around and find that teaching moment or the good. Also, how would we have empathy for those who suffer if we have never suffered? I know these losses have changed me for the good. I reach out to those who have had miscarriages/loss because I know what a big deal it is, though in my opinion its something that gets swept under the rug. Something none of us talk about. But I wish more of us did so we could love and support each other through the losses. I know there are people out there who have suffered far more than me with infant loss/child loss/infertility. I can't imagine that kind of suffering. My heart truly aches for you as I know a taste of the feeling to yearn for a baby...to lose babies...I know some of that pain. I hope if you are suffering, you know that you are loved and that no matter what, God is there. He hears your prayers and though sometimes our prayers aren't answered the way we want them to be or maybe not in the time frame we were hoping for, that all will be made right in the end. I know that. I know many people who haven't been able to have children at all. Though I have no idea what that feels like, I am positive that in the next life, they will have an abundance of children to love. This life is like a grain of sand on the seashore...so teeny! There is so much more in store for us than this Earthly life. Those are the thoughts that got me through times when I wasn't sure if we would be able to have more...this life is not the end. If we could only see what the Lord has in store for us. . .

*Also, one piece of advice: if you are going through a miscarriage/hard time, tell someone! Don't keep it a secret. You don't need to suffer alone. You need a girlfriend besides your hubby to talk to about it..you need a hug and a warm meal from someone. Don't be afraid to share a hard time with someone and allow someone to help you in a time of need. You will not only be blessed but the person serving you will also be. I hate it when I find out someone I know had a miscarriage like forever ago! I think, oh no, I could've helped her out! I wish she would have told me! Us women...we love each other and want to be there for each other! We are amazing like that.

Happy 4th Birthday Wesley boy!

2016-08-21T14:05:00.000-05:00

Our Wesley is the big FOUR! Wesley is one fun kid. He has the best smile in the world. He is very happy(unless he's not hahaha). Thats a quality about him his old preschool teacher loved-his smile and enthusiasm for everything. His smile is definitely contagious(and gosh darnit he's handsome!) He has lots of energy and loves to jump off the couch(much to my chagrin..) He loves to lay on the couch with me and snuggle, which I just love. One of my favorite parts of the day is when I lay him down for a nap(not because he's sleeping hahaha, but because he always wants me to lay with him for a little bit...he'll even offer to rub my back every now and then. He is precious!) He also loves for Luke to come in and lay with us too and won't let Luke go until he has given him a hug and a kiss goodnight. :) He has such a special little heart...if anyones sad or hurt, he is there to hug you. He thinks of others feelings and wants to make others happy. He is also so forgiving. When I say I'm sorry, he will immediately say, "Its okay" and he means it. I love that he's getting old enough to understand us better which has helped a ton(and his speech is slowly but surely improving which is helping too). We are having a lot less tantrums which is great! Communication was a barrier for a while but with speech therapy and just the fact that he's getting older, things are getting so much better in that area. Anyways, for his birthday I made him rainbow cake with blue frosting and sprinkles(which he came with me to Hyvee to choose all himself! I let him use one of the kid carts too..he LOVES that!) We bought him an indoor kid trampoline and a new backpack for him to start preschool with. Then we invited a few of his little church friends over the following weekend(his birthday was on a Saturday but then we had sickness hit so we had his kid party the following Saturday) for a party with pizza and a Star Wars cupcake cake. We inflated(or should I say Joey hahaha) all of our outside water toys so the kids had fun running around getting wet. Joey even spray painted bubble wands for me to look like light sabers for everyone to take home. I am lucky to have such a helpful hubs. I don't think I ever have hosted an elaborate party but I do like to have a few little cute things so I appreciate his indulgence:) They all had a great time! It was fun to watch Wesley enjoy his special day(s) with his friends & fam! We love you so much Wesley!!!

My favorite picture right here! We hadn't let him see his cake yet so it was a surprise :) I think he loved it.

Nauvoo 2016!

2016-08-01T14:15:00.000-05:00

One of the first things we told the kids when we told them we were moving to Iowa was how close we would be to Nauvoo(they were thrilled!) They really have a special love of Nauvoo since our first trip a couple of years ago. Its not Disneyland...or even that super exciting as far as what kids typically LOVE...so it has always made Joey and I smile that our kids have this special love of this town. I think its a mix of the Spirit that you feel there...the fun activities...and just that special feeling of going back in time and living the way the pioneers did and learning about them. It is a neat place to visit for us Mormon folk ;) Anyways, we had a wonderful time going again! I think the highlights were trying fudge from the Nauvoo Fudge Factory for the first time(wowsas), the girls meeting Dakota Stripling(He's cute. He sings. And he's a missionary at Nauvoo right now...), stilts which they can't get enough of and have actually gotten dang good at, dancing with the boys at the fair(Aubrey and Ella;), all of the fun kids activities at the fair, old fashioned root beer, the girls getting "engaged" haha, me securing us BOMB seats for the pageant, and checking out the British Pageant for the first time. The original is better, but it was neat to see this version of it too. Anyways, can't wait for the next time already!

Here are some of my favorite pics! All forty something of them. Sorry I really have a hard time narrowing down pics...

4th of July at LHF

2016-07-21T16:07:00.000-05:00

We had a SUPER fun and memorable 4th of July this year! We decided to finally visit the Living History Farms here(like Nauvoo as far as it being an old timey town where you learn about history...but on a much less grand scale) A friend of mine from church told me about how on July 4th they have lots of fun activities..so I am so glad we chose to go on this day! It was so fun! From the stilts, to the watermelon seed spitting contest, to the pie eating contests with real pie(Joey and Joe both won! Joe got first and Joey got second :), to sack races, 3 legged races, a parade where the younger kids were even involved, to getting to watch a little bit of a re-enactment of an old fashioned baseball game, it was an All-American day. It was extra fun to share it with Nana & Tata! Joey got some great photos of this fun day. I think this will be a new tradition while we live here in Iowa for sure.

Luke's 1st Birthday Luau!

2016-07-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

Another luau has come and gone...sniff sniff. It was amazing! I still can't believe the generosity of Joey's parents. This is SO HUGE. So much work. So much money. It has been such a wonderful thing to celebrate our children this way. This time, the traveling luau had to come all the way to Iowa! We waited until the summer so the travel plans would be easier for everyone(and the weather would be much better). We really enjoyed sharing this tradition with our new friends here. They were wowed by it. How could you not be?! So much amazing food. Dancers. Candy leis. Roasted pig. Biba. Birthday cake. It was an awesome day. And a fun and exhausting week preparing for it. We made a lot of fun memories chopping, deveining shrimp, chopping more, making candy leis, rolling lumpia, the list could go on and on. And Joe and Joey manned the grills like bosses :) We were also blessed to be able to have my grandma, mom and Aunt Cindy there to share in the fun(and help out that day too!) It was so fun celebrating our little Lukey with family & many new friends! He is such a blessing to our family! Enjoy the many photos from Luke's special day...

Wiped out. . .thanks Nana & Tata! We love you!

End of School!

2016-06-18T15:49:00.000-05:00

I'm so proud of all the kiddos this year. Wesley and Ammon had a wonderful year of preschool(well, Wesley had a wonderful 4 1/2 months ;) Ammon is so smart, a hard worker, very artistic, well behaved, well liked(thanks to his "silly" nature at times;), but always on task and just a great student. Wesley's speech is definitely improving! His teachers say he is very obedient and a good friend. He listens very well(huH?! :) One comment I thought was sweet was how his teacher loves his smile and how much he smiles. He definitely loved going to school and was sad when it wasn't a Tues or a Thurs! All 3 girls had an awesome year. None of them once complained about anything! They had amazing teachers, made good friends, and were just happy. I can't tell you how happy that makes me :) Prayers are answered. They really are. I feel so blessed that our first (school) year in Iowa went so so well. I love these kids and am proud of all of their hard work, but most of all the good natured sweet kids they are. The boys had celebrations/programs at school and I threw a little movie/sundae bar party for the girls on the last day of school. Cuz you gotta party!

Cali's Fun Run

2016-06-12T15:43:00.000-05:00

Can't NOT post these pics of cute Cali and her friends at her school's fun run last month. We had fun cheering our girl on! The weather was perfection and she really had fun with her little friends. Cali is one friendly and sweet girl..her smile is contagious and those she knows, love her so much. I loved how she would run and then walk with friends that were tired(even though I knew she could run more :) She is a true friend!

Days of spring

2016-06-06T14:22:00.000-05:00

Posting this late(pics are from early May) Crazy how different spring feels when you live in a cold climate like Iowa. It stayed cold for sooo long that spring was such a welcome sight. Our yard is back to an amazing green-the soft vivid green grass is so beautiful and cozy. The kids are outside playing lots again! We are still in pants which is crazy as a Texas native, but I love that! I hate heat. So we are enjoying a beautiful cool Spring. We busted out the kiddie coaster again and the kids had the idea of putting it on the hill which makes for an even more exciting ride :) Joey built a garden for us and Wesley was a really big helper. We all chose different veggies to grow..and Wesley ended up pouring a TON of pumpkin seeds so, yeah, that might not go too well..hahaha. I trimmed back my rose bushes in the front and they have come back like crazy, even fuller and more beautiful than last year(okay, that photo was garbage but that was when they very first started to bloom again, now they are abundant!). I also planted little petunias in pots out front. I've become somewhat of a flower lover lately! I loved trimming the roses. Something about it was therapeutic for me. I never thought I'd be the old lady that spent time in gardens...but I think I might be that lady someday out pruning and digging and weeding! I love it. Anyways, spring is here in Iowa and its lovely.

California vacay: part 7

2016-05-31T17:26:00.000-05:00

One of the final highlights from our CA trip was getting to visit my blog friend, Lura, and her sweet hubby and grandkids. Unfortunately I can't find my phone pics from this visit but I do have one to share from Facebook!(that Lura shared :) My mom also happened to be with us on this part of the trip and was able to meet her too. Lura is the sweetest woman..and has become like part of our family :) My kids call her Grammy Staffy at home(that was her blogger id long ago :) I'm grateful to know her, John and her family!And my kids had a blast with her grandkids..we had dinner at their home and did s'mores by their firepit/pool. The kids all got along great and had fun exploring in the backyard too. Thanks Lura for a great time! The final part of our trip was delicious bagels at the beach house for breakfast the next morning(thanks Genie & Aaron & kids!) and a sad farewell to all. We are already planning our next trip back! Hopefully it won't be long before we are all back!

California vacay: part 6

2016-05-27T16:01:00.000-05:00

We had a blast at the beaches on this trip. We went to several different beaches and the kids just had so much fun running around with their cousins. These pictures below are from two separate days I believe(some of its a blur..maybe it was the same day? :) but some pictures are from a morning beach trip and then lunch at Ruby's. And then the other photos are from a bbq we had at a different beach with the Wests and the Cooks(Joey grew up with Tyler). It was fun seeing their family again after so many years! We've all added many kids :) California beaches are just gorgeous. . I want to go back as I type.

California vacay: part 5

2016-05-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

More Disney, baby!!! California Adventure...

California vacay: part 4

2016-05-17T15:36:00.000-05:00

Disneyland!!!! Our favorite place in the world!(Well, okay, second to the temple of course ;)

California vacay: part 3

2016-05-10T15:10:00.000-05:00

Legoland. Lots of legos...and lots of fun :)

California vacay: part 2

2016-05-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

On the second day of our trip, we walked down the beach(fully clothed the first time just to soak it all in :), attended a sacrament meeting(where Aubrey swears she saw the hottest guy alive;) hahaha.. and spent most of the day with the Wests. We went to a beautiful park together and also enjoyed some yummy BBQ at their home for dinner. The kids had a blast playing with them!!! It was great to catch up. We already miss those kids(and their parents;) so much!

California Vacay: part 1

2016-04-30T15:31:00.000-05:00

We have been planning a trip back to California in our minds for quite some time. We love California! Its Joeys home state...its beautiful...we get to visit cousins...we enjoy the weather and beaches...and of course, Disneyland too! It had been WAY too long since we had been. I blame moving a few times and having lots of babies ;) But, yeah, like 8 years! And now that we've gone again, I can tell you it will definitely not be that long before we go again. Ridiculous it took us 8 years to go back! We hope to go again two years from now.

Anyways, it was one of the best vacations ever, if not THE best. Months and months prior, I started planning. I looked online and found us a "beach house" just a couple of minutes walk to the beach(so it wasn't right on the beach..but we did have a little bit of a beach view). It was perfect for our family and so fun! It was a home away from home, instead of being crammed into a hotel(honestly we really don't fit into many hotel rooms these days anyways). We picked dates and made sure they sounded good with Joey's sisters family who we wanted to spend a lot of time with(Kids were so excited to play with their cousins! We had only met Elliot when he was one. And we had never even met Sasha!) We decided to spend more time at the beach than previous trips and I'm so glad we did. Some of my favorite moments of the trip were just relaxing at the beach while the kids played. We also spent one day at Legoland this time since we had never been there before. That was lots of fun, but one of those "been there, done that, check" things. We won't go back next time we are in Cali;) It was really neat though. Just ain't no Disneyland. We also did two days at Disneyland, which we wish had been three. We are just Disneyland freaks y'all. But it really was perfect. But next time that leg will be three days :) No Lego. Anyways, it was an unforgettable trip. Another awesome bonus was that my mom even joined us for part of the trip! She did Disneyland with us and we had a great time with her. She hadn't been to Disneyland since I was a kid and I know she wanted to experience it with her grandkids. She was a big help too! We are so glad she could come.

We just loved watching the kids play with their cousins...they ran around the beach together..had a water gun fight in the backyard...roasted smores together...the girls braided sweet Sasha's hair...we all drew Octonaut pictures for Elliot...Wesley played his drums...ate at Ruby's Diner together...just so much cousin fun. These two are just adorable smart creative cute kids that we are so happy we finally got to know! So, I will post 2-3 posts of pics because we took so many. Hard to narrow down but I definitely want to blog lots so I can print them into my blog books!

Alright, so here it goes(these are my Facebook posts that went from day to day):

California vacation, day 1: Drove to Kansas City, visited the beautiful temple there, had lunch and then boarded the plane with six kids in tow and flew to the OC. To most of our kids this was their first flight(if they had flown before they were too young to remember other than Aubrey and Ella). It was exciting for everyone but Wesley who may or may not have had a panic attack at takeoff;) Waiting at the airport for us was Joeys sweet sister and her adorable kiddos. The kids had the best time with their cousins on this trip. Even though most of them had never met, they hit it off immediately! We ended the day with dinner at In N Out together and then headed to our Laguna beach house we had rented. It was an awesome little house within walking distance to the beach.

Friggin cute

2016-04-16T22:47:00.000-05:00

So, I think to myself sometimes, Luke could be my last son! I have talked Joey into another baby(I think? haha) but our last one could be a girl. . .so anyways, this is my reasoning for buying unnecessary cute boy clothes for this kid. It might be my last chance! ;) I was at Target and saw this seriously adorable little church outfit and snatched it right up. He looked so darn cute on Easter Sunday!! I just couldn't get over it. This boy is precious to me. Oh so precious.

Had to include this one. He looks a wee bit crazy! lol

Easter!

2016-04-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

I'll start off with the picture of the kids looking, well, picture perfect :) And then we can proceed with the pajama/coat clad bunch running around like maniacs in our backyard Easter morning..hehe. It was fun to have Luke somewhat aware of what we were doing this year instead of just being a leetle newborn baby. He loved holding and shaking eggs. He thought they were pretty cool. We also had to pry a couple of piece of candy(with wrapper on of course) out of his mouth. It was fun having Easter in a new place(though the cold was definitely a change. We had some cold wet Easters in Prosper but this was a bit colder!). We made new memories this day and really did have a wonderful holiday. I love Easter, I love the fun of it and how magical it all is for the kids. Hunting eggs..dyeing eggs..opening up the candy eggs and finding surprises...eating eggs :) I love the big meal we have and the traditions we've started. I mostly love, however, our FHE that we do that weekend each year. We do the "egg" lesson where plastic eggs are numbered and each egg has an object inside. Each object represents something from Christ's last days here on Earth. I read scriptures and an account of different days of His life and what He went through. I do the lesson every year. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Its hard for me to talk about these things because they mean so much to me. I cry every time. The Spirit is always strong. I just feel so much gratitude for what my Savior did for me. I almost hate to tell my kids what wicked things were done to Him. But they need to know. They need to know what He went through-and that He did it for us. One of the eggs has a small nail inside. Just a small one. It doesn't even compare to the nails that were used on the cross. And when I open that egg and I try to talk about it with the kids, I can barely speak. I bear my testimony to them through tears each time. I just have so much love for Jesus Christ, my big brother, who loved me and everyone else so much that he gave himself as a sacrifice. I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have that He lives. And because of Him, we can all live together again someday after this life. I hope my children know how much I love my Savior...and how much I love them. Happy Easter all.

Cali's 9th Birthday

2016-04-02T21:34:00.000-05:00

Cali is 9!! Cali is truly just growing up in so many ways..and growing into such a sweet young lady. She is so kind hearted and thoughtful. She is always thinking of other peoples feelings. She will come home from school and talk about kids at school...and how she will stand up for someone else. Or sit by them. Or play with them when someone else isn't. She always says how she doesn't understand how some girls can be so mean. I'm proud of her and her desire to treat her friends with respect :) I know she sets a good example of that at school(though I'm not sure she sets a good example as far as burping and inappropriate words usage hahaha. I went to a school function and saw her being quite the funny kid one day...aye ;) I love her desire to always help me in the kitchen. She is right there as soon as she sees me get ingredients out or put on an apron. She is my right hand girl! She is also very funny and has a different way of looking at life sometimes that makes me smile. She is silly and kooky and fun! She says some pretty hilarious things sometimes. She is also a wonderful big sister..she recently decided to start teaching Ammon piano lessons. She made him a binder and assignment sheets and everything! I had no idea they were doing this together. It is so sweet. She is still working at tennis and is doing a great job..and she still loves art and drawing. And the color pink and animals. She and Wesley are our animal lovers for sure. She is also doing great at school this year and has handled the move with ease. She has LOTS of friends at school and church! She is so easy going and out going. I am very happy she is so happy. Its such a blessing everyone is doing so great.

For her actual birthday, I made her a bundt cake(Aubrey frosted it for me so perfectly!) and we just did some presents at home. Her gift was a surprise: I typed up a sheet of paper with a choice of one of three pets, a turtle, a fish or a hamster. She had to circle one and give it back to me. And drumroll please: she chose hamster! We were about to go on a long trip so she had to be patient and wait until we got back to pick it out(future post will introduce our new family member:) She was so surprised and shocked! We decided to give her a second chance at a pet...hope this one goes better! For her big party with friends, she chose Sky Zone which is a trampoline park. Every single kid we invited came(every kid loves Cali girl!). They had a blast jumping around all afternoon and then having pizza and cupcakes(I even put oreos on the bottom as a bonus!) afterwards. I'm pretty sure it was a great party! Happy Birthday Cali! We love you so so much. You add sunshine, laughter and a little crazy to our home! ;) It wouldn't be the same without our cute cuddly Cali girl.

Spring Break: Mall of America style

2016-03-29T23:40:00.000-05:00

Ever since I was a teenager and saw a show on the Travel Channel that featured the "Mall of America" I added it to my mental bucket list of places I want to visit someday. When we moved to Iowa, I found out it was only 3 1/2 hours away from where we live! I was so excited! So we planned a Spring Break trip there and it was awesome! 2016 was gonna be our year of fun and we definitely started it off right. This mall is just plain crazy. Its HUGE! It has a theme park literally inside of it with roller coasters and everything. Four stories of shopping galore. I mean, its so big that there are like two of every store. In the same mall. Just so you don't have to walk too far, haha. There is also an aquarium. And an indoor putting/golfing place. Huge movie theatre. And so much more. It was so awesome. We started off our trip with a day at Nickelodeon Universe. I loved it. It isn't too big so its not too exhausting. Its indoors so no heat or cold to worry about. Or sunscreen required(which is a huge time saver when you have kids. Sunscreening everyone up seriously takes forever!) We also went on a day where they had a discount, so that was cool too. Everyone had so much fun. Ammon, however, did not like the log ride! Joey took the kids on that one...he said there were strange robots in this tunnel that creeped out Ammon. I kid you not, Ammon talked about those robots daily for like a month after(I am writing this from the future;) Another moment that stands out to me is when Ella thought she could handle one of those rides that take you straight up with your feet dangling..and then it drops you down and then you go up..over and over. Well, she didn't love it, but she survived it. It felt much higher than it looked she said :) But I do admire the girls bravery! Aubrey went on some crazy stuff with Joey too. I'm glad these kids are braver than I! Joey finally has someone to go on this stuff with haha. We also went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner that night which brought back Dallas memories with my mama. The kids just had the best day! We all did :) Luke was also a trooper. He's such a good baby. The next day we did the aquarium. The kids had a blast at the sting rays! Especially the younger three(Wesley and Cali in particular..our little animal lovers). Every time they would touch one they would shriek in excitement. I'll never forget their smiles and laughter. It was a great little mini-vacay for our family! And now I can finally say I've been there. And also now I can say I've been to Minnesota!

Took us a while to find this sign, but we did. And took a picture of it :)

I LOVE this picture! To be a kid again...

Proud of herself for going on the BIG swings...

The ride that Ella underestimated...lol

Lego girl

You gotta eat dip n dots at least once in your life. And then thats it, because of course, they are the biggest rip off on the planet ;)

The boys lives had just flashed before their eyes...

Luke mostly just enjoyed eating socks...

RC Cafe

They actually use real sparklers at this one! They had banned them in TX.

;

Not a fan of the indoor thunderstorms and apes uprising.

Farm girl

Rubiks girl

Aquarium fun

Might be my fave pic from the whole trip. Pure joy.

One year more....

2016-03-23T10:41:00.000-05:00

Happy 39th Birthday to the man of my dreams! One year until he is officially an old dude! ;) He's not very happy about that...hahaha. I really don't think 40 is old. I just tease. But it is kinda weird. To think we are both approaching our 40s? I mean, yikes, our 40s is when we will most likely become grandparents. Thats just INSANE y'all! Anyways, back to the topic of Joey and his birthday...the evening of his special day, we had dinner at Joe's crab shack. We had yummy crab and shrimp and all kinds of good stuff. And I don't know why we don't eat there more often..I mean, there is a playground! It was so cool to just send them outside while we waited for our food to arrive(it was like a date! Well, other than the fact that we did have Luke with us:) But yeah, we just talked while the kids played outside where we could see them from the window. Awesome. And double bonus: we just so happened to go when it was "kids night" so most of the kids ate for free! Score. We then came home and did a funny little Charlie Brown "party" and showered him with love and gifts. We sure love this guy. I couldn't do this parenting thing without him and the tremendous amount of help he gives me every single day. And the kids just adore him. He spends so much time with them and he is just a super cool and fun dad. We are all so blessed he is ours. We love you Joey!! Happy 39th Birthday! Enjoy your last year of youth ;)

Luke's Puppy Party

2016-03-18T14:47:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Joey had the perfect idea to do a puppy themed party for our little puppy ;) As much as Luke "borrowed" dog toys, tried to eat our dogs food and torment Zac this year, we thought this was a funny party idea for our little guy. I actually used some fondant for the first time in making a cake. I was pretty happy with how it turned out despite the fact that I don't have any fondant tools of any kind and just used some cookie cutters! Haha. Thankful to the internet to have a slight guide as to what I wanted to try and copy! I also saw a cute idea to put Whoppers in a bowl to resemble dog food(not that Luke could eat any of them, but we enjoyed them;) The only problem really with this cake is that the frosting was not chocolate...and I usually do chocolate for the first cake so that they get really messy. I love messy cake baby pics! So Luke was fairly clean unfortunately, but I guess that was less work for me! He loved the cake and just ate it up. The ice-cream, not as much. A wee bit too cold for the kid. You'll see in the pics below;) The facial expressions were hilarious. We had so much fun celebrating a year with our sweet little Luke. The kids were so excited to watch him eat his cake and open his presents. I love how the kids come together when its birthday time. They always do so many nice things for each other and shower each other with hugs, homemade cards and love.

One year in Pictures

2016-03-14T14:39:00.000-05:00

Presenting: Luke's First Year Pictures! Taken by his Mama with LOVE. Its pretty incredible how an infant changes from month to month that first year, isn't it?! Life is such a beautiful miracle. I'm so grateful for our six miraculous blessings we've been given.

Which one of these is not like the others? This one! Good ole apartment days. Comforter I had been using was packed away...the OCDishness in me was truly bugged by this ;) Closest I could get...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKEY!

12 months! Thats a whole year!

2016-03-10T10:50:00.000-06:00

Luke is one! We love you Luke SO SO very much! You have brought us joy and warm cuddles all year long. We can't imagine life without you in our family. I remember wondering if we were done having kids after Wesley came along. I knew in my heart we weren't. And wow, I just can't even imagine not having this little guy here. He is such a blessing. And now I feel the same way about having another... ;) I still think there is one more up there(but I've told Joey just one more! I promise! Hahaha)

Things he is doing this month: dancing, singing, clapping, folding his arms during the prayer(so precious), peek a boo, starting to walk a little bit along furniture, new favorite song is Do as I'm Doing(its what we choose for FHE almost every Monday just for him), blowing kisses by spitting into his hand, its such a fun age!! Happy 1st birthday my handsome sweet boy!

Seriously. Could he be any more adorable?! I have loved this one on one time we've had to take these pictures. Joey is the "professional photographer" obviously but I still think I've captured some cute shots of this kid each month of his first year! Photography is something I love too. I'll have to do a post next of each month together again like I did with Wes...

Ella's first time to attend the temple

2016-03-02T20:42:00.000-06:00

Since Ella is now 12, she has the privilege and opportunity to attend the temple and do baptisms there. She was able to go for the first time with her best friend here in Iowa, Alyssa. We don't have a temple close by like we did in Dallas, its a good 2 hour drive(which still isn't crazy far) but since its 4 hours worth of driving and 1 1/2-2 hours inside the temple, I couldn't go since I am still nursing Luke. I was very very sad! :( But such is life as a mom I guess. Having babies puts some limits on where you can be. She totally understood. All I truly care about is that she had a spiritual and enjoyable experience and she definitely did. Alyssa's family(who are just wonderful!) invited us to go with their family for Alyssa's birthday. Joey went with Aubrey and Ella and their family and had a great time. They ended the night with dinner at Red Robin too which I know they really enjoyed! I'm grateful she was able to attend for the first time with a sweet friend! I am so very proud of you my sweet Ella. You are making wonderful choices in your life and living worthy to enter the temple. You have a giving and helpful heart. You share your testimony in church now and share it by the way you live each day. We love you and are so proud of you!!!! I'm glad your first temple experience was so awesome. I can't wait to go with you too.

When in Des Moines...

2016-02-28T20:42:00.000-06:00

..you go to the sultan's palace...er.. I mean the State Capitol building :) When we first drove through Des Moines, I remember seeing this gold topped building and wondering what in the world it was. It doesn't really look like a capitol building to me. Kinda. But not really. With the spires and gold it reminded me of the movie, Aladdin. Anyways, its definitely different! We decided to spend one beautiful Saturday with the kids exploring the capitol building and grounds. Lots of cool stuff, winding staircases, artwork, etc. It was a really nice day that we also ended with lunch downtown at the Spaghetti Works. It was really yummy! Our first walk through downtown. I love checking out new places with the family. Its one of my favorite things to do. It makes me want to live all over the country, just so we can explore everything our country has to offer. I love being in a new place and having all of these new experiences.