Perfect Cadence

Dear Eden,

2026-09-06T16:18:32.858-06:00

Happy 8th birthday to you! I'm over a month late; sorry about that! It has been a big birthday with your baptism, and I am proud of the girl you have become.

You are growing just fine despite your limited diet. Your favorite foods include cheese pizza and chicken nuggets, strawberries, and shells and cheese. I will say you are slowly trying new things, even if most of it doesn't take. Some of your favorite things to do with food are to mix all of the sauces together (mayo, ketchup, honey mustard, Chick-fil-A sauce), as well as taste all the sodas in the same cup. You lost a few teeth since your last birthday, and although the dentist predicted your gap tooth would disappear with the adult teeth, you are still proudly sporting a gap!

Your interests are still very much the same. You have been a dragon-loving girl for over four years, and I don't see that stopping any time soon. You have all the Dragon Master books; in fact, for your 8th birthday you requested a Dragon Master theme since all Dragon Masters are 8 in the series. You like to read the Wings of Fire graphic novels. You do like to read Dog Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, too. You are still quite the budding artist and draw stories all the time. You are quite imaginative. I have you enrolled in an after-school art class as your extracurricular activity for the year.

This year you tested into Gifted and Talented (GT), and you are so proud of yourself. You really love the class and the teacher. I tried to prepare you just in case you didn't place, but I'm glad you get to have this experience. You like to read and do well on your spelling tests, so the biggest struggle we have is just getting you to do your homework. You are in class with your friend Dustin again, but you tell me you play with other friends at recess as well. One of the friends I hear a lot about is a girl named Mia, who also loves dragons.

I've been blessed with such a sweet, silly girl. Some of the things that you say are absolutely hilarious. For example, you came into my room one morning to show me a star bead you had in your set that had an extra-long bead attached to it. It kind of looked like it was holding a gun, and you said it was a shooting star. Very clever. You like potty language as well much to Joseph's chagrin. To compliment your silly side, you can be super sweet. Yesterday you cleaned your room, hallway, desk, and piano area without me asking. It doesn't happen often, but boy did it make me so happy!

You have had a fun summer. You learned how to swim! Although you aren't confident in the deep end, you went from not really swimming to swimming across the pool in one summer. You also did some kung fu and earned a "pink" belt. Lastly, you got baptized! You chose to do it in Albuquerque with family. It's hard to believe that my baby girl is old enough for baptism and is in third grade. You have a strong bond with your brothers. You are interested in a lot of the things they are, like dinosaurs and lizards. However, there is still a lot of fighting that we are working on, and hopefully it will stop one day, even if it's when you guys are all grown up.

I love my daughter so much! I'm so happy you are in my life and teaching me so much. I hope you continue learning this year and being the sweet and silly girl that you are.

Love,

Mom

Dear Joseph,

2026-04-26T15:29:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday! We officially have a teenager in the family now that you are 13. I asked Dad if he wanted to write the letter, but he all but said he was going to get AI to do it. I'm sure you wouldn't mind, but I'm going to stick with tradition. Onto the letter!

In addition to officially being a teenager, you are officially taller than me. Hard to tell, but if we line up, you have a smidge on me. My prediction was correct on that. I buy clothes from the men's section now and I don't think you mind as you prefer more plain, grown-up versions of things. Something new? You have glasses! And will be getting braces very shortly as well. You have a decent appetite and still love the same things (Fanta, sushi, pickles, etc) but recently I've been buying coconut greek yogurt and you love that stuff. You love anything lemon as well and recently had the idea to open up a lemonade stand. We'll have to try that soon.

After reading your last letter, I am so happy to report that you now have friends! Your best friend is Troy, but you have also made friends with boys named Andrew and Aiden. Perhaps you will be open to even more friendships. You are kind of at the stage where you are being influenced by your friends. You went through the 6 7 craze like most middle schoolers, and you are signed up for orchestra. That is something I never thought would happen, but your friend Andrew plays the viola, and you figured orchestra is popular now and are willing to try it. I'm not going to hold my breath, but it makes me happy to see you interact more with kids your age.

School has been a roller coaster in 7th grade! You are capable, but we have to be on you like flies on honey to make sure everything is turned in. You managed to make the honor roll for the second nine weeks, but here we are at the end of the school year, just limping along to get to the finish line. You took Spanish this year, which counts as a high school credit! Hopefully, it transfers all right when we finally make it to New Mexico. You don't want to take Spanish II, hence taking orchestra instead. Overall, you seem to enjoy your school, especially now that you have friends. You take the bus most days, which extends your school day quite a bit, but you have a 3DS to occupy the time, so you wouldn't mind too much.

Let's see, what interests do you have? You love to learn about any type of cryptids and your favorite is el chupacabra. We visited Roswell, and you've taken a liking to aliens as well. You liked to make your own cyphers for a while and attempted to make a cypher club, but the word didn't get out much, and it fizzled before it could take start. You love Pokemon XY and ZA, so anything to do with the Kalos region. Your favorite pokemon still appears to be Sylveon, but you love Zygarde as well. Sadly, you did not stick Scouts out. You realized you didn't like tent camping that much, and I don't blame you with this hot Texas weather. But instead we invested in the Hack Packs from Crunch Labs by Mark Rober. Maybe you'll learn a lot from doing that instead.

We've been attempting to get you into after-school behavior therapy for autism for months now. I felt you needed extra support to cope with things and to know how to behave in certain situations. Maybe we should have done it a while ago, but now I know why I avoided it. If it's not the doctor's office, it's the insurance. If it's not the insurance, it's the therapy place. Hopefully, I'll be able to report all the good things by the next letter. You struggle with conversations with others. You also struggle with coping with things that annoy you. You bite your hand really hard and cannot stand when your siblings bother you, intentionally or not. You immediately resort to yelling or even getting physical. Needless to say, we need the help!

I'm interested to see what this year has in store for you! I sure hope it's a good year and you continue to make friends and keep up in school. I also hope you continue to participate in Young Men's and gain a testimony of Jesus Christ. I love you and your truly unique personality. Thank you for being our little guinea pig for our parenting! Keep being the amazing boy you are.

Love,

Mom

Dear Noah,

2026-04-07T10:06:00.001-06:00

Happy belated 5^th Birthday! I procrastinated long enough getting this letter out. The month of your birthday was a little crazy between guests, travel, and Dad being out of town for three weeks. I was reading your last letter only to find that not a lot has changed. Nevertheless, let’s move onto the letter!

Another year, still very tall for your age! You are also still quite the picky eater, but something added to your list of favorite foods is ranch. You eat ranch with your chicken, corndogs, and even your quesadillas. You’ve become even more independent with food items, including attempting to make your own Ramen in the microwave! You can be a little demanding when making requests, and I often have to remind you to say please and thank you. We’ll get there!

This past year, a new interest popped up, dinosaurs! Your older brother got into Jurassic Park at some point, and you were hooked. Your absolute favorite dinosaur is a swimming dinosaur (you’re not too picky about which ones). You used to watch Dino Ranch, but now you are hooked on Dinosaur Train. We’ve already accrued so many dino things in the past year between toys, clothes, underwear, and even Band-aids. You can probably guess what the theme of your birthday was!

Something new since the last letter is starting school! I was worried about how long the days would be, but you adjusted really well. Your teacher says you are super smart (you are even starting to read short words) just struggle paying attention! Your best friend is Analisa, and you’ve made some other friends as well. Sadly only one of your classmates was able to make it to your birthday party but you didn’t seem to mind! I can’t believe you are starting Kindergarten in a few short months!

As far as your personality, you are a very silly boy! It’s easy to get you to laugh, and you love to have fun. Like I said earlier, you are Mr. Independent. I often find you in the front yard and recently you took your little bike on a bike ride by yourself! I had to chase you down halfway down the street. You are the ultimate mess maker as well. If there is a mess in the house, 90% of the time it can be traced back to you. You aren’t picky about where, as long as there is space where a mess can be made. We need to work on that.

You and your siblings are frienemies. Eli and Eden are often good to you, and Eden loves playing with you, but if there is a disagreement, you are not afraid to show your dismay. You will yell and hit or kick right away, and we are learning to use our words. You and Joseph do not get along and have a hard time with each other since Joseph hates having his things touched and likes to tease. This explosive behavior bled into school, so we are working on how to solve conflicts calmly, but it has been hard on your parents. Despite all this, you fit in our family nicely. You are so darn cute!

I know you are going to have a good year, Noah! We love having our silly, mischievous boy around to keep us on our toes. I hope you continue to learn patience and solve your problems in a healthy, constructive way. You are one special Child of God, and I look forward to seeing you grow and learn every day. We love you!

Love,

Mama

Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner Surprise Visit

2026-02-11T13:38:00.002-07:00

I received one of the biggest surprises of my life on my 32nd birthday! My parents surprised me with a visit! I was expecting them the following month for a solar eclipse happening in San Antonio, so I absolutely had NO idea they were coming until I heard the doorbell ring and I checked the camera. I was super confused, thinking maybe it was showing me a recording from the past, but when I realized who was there, I was so surprised and happy! My parents were taking care of my grandma for so long, they couldn't up and go anywhere without a lot of work on their end to make sure she got the care she needed. Sadly (but not unexpectedly), my Grandma passed away earlier that year. This allowed my parents to do this!

Our first outing was trying La Tropicana and their many goodies that remind me of Mexico.

Noah's birthday is first, of course, on the 1st. Here is the birthday boy! He requested a green birthday, so that's what I did.

Along with his green decorations Noah helped me make a green cake. That's all he asked for!

Green cake in question:

Probably not the most exciting outing for a toddler, but my mom and I took Noah to the river walk to go on a boat ride. The River Walk is always interesting with a stroller. We enjoyed our tour guide, but sadly, it's been long enough that I don't remember all the funny jokes he made. We also stopped by the Alamo because, you know, it's so close.

We properly celebrated his birthday when all the kids came home from school.

Happy Birthday, Noah!!

The next day was my birthday, and I requested we all go to the zoo since it's been years since I've been to the San Antonio Zoo. Overall, it was a pleasant day with fun animals to look at.

Komodo Dragon

King Cobra

Jaguar

Hippo

Gaboon Viper. They are my favorite snakes to watch move.

Gharial

Joseph's favorite exhibit and what got him into cryptids: el chupacabra

I've been eyeing this HEB cake and finally got to try it!

It was just so nice to have my parents over, and I'm incredibly blessed to have parents who take the time, effort (and money) to come see us. I love you guys!! When it was time to say goodbye, it was nice to know we would be seeing them again the next month!

Lucky

2026-02-01T18:45:00.001-07:00

Before moving onto the rest of 2024, I should mention Lucky. We had him for a few months and it was a bittersweet time.

One Sunday morning my kids looked out our bedroom window and mentioned a dog was in our yard. I looked too and sure enough there was a dog laying in our lawn, shivering. He had a limp and was very nervous. My poor bleeding heart took him in, bought some dog food, and set him up in our garage while we went to church.

I took him to a rescue that could check to see if he had a chip. Of course he didn't. I hoped he had a previous owner since his ears were clipped and was house-trained. Animal control was busy, the city pound didn't allow people to do walk-ins with strays, all the rescues were full, and none of the neighbors knew whose dog he was. What was I supposed to do?? Meanwhile, I took him to the vet to remove ticks and give him a worm treatment. He was shy but slowly warmed up to us.

Finally, I saw that if I put that the animal was injured, we would be put on the priority list for animal control to come. Since Lucky had a limp I figured I wasn't totally lying. When animal control came I told him the situation, but how I was afraid if they took Lucky he might not have a shot at the pound and how I was willing to foster. The guy was very happy to hear that and gave me all the information to put Lucky on the adoption list and get all the supplies I need to take care of him. I took some photos to help his case.

I did not want to keep Lucky. As nice of as a dog he was, there were plenty of reasons I wasn't keen on keeping him. He was a big chewer, he stunk up our yard with his pee and poop, and as nice as pit bulls can be, if there were ever a freak accident, I do not want to be on the other end of his teeth. A few days after Lucky was put on the adoption list someone reached out looking to adopt him! My dad was in town and came with me to meet the potential adopter. Lucky was very nervous but I did my best to sell him. Sadly after I reached out again he was no longer interested, and no one showed interest again.

Something else about Lucky? He was still intact. The animal society neutered him for free so I dropped him off one morning and picked him up cone and all. I was surprised because I thought they would take his whole package, but he still had his sack, though empty. When walking I would refer to them as his jingle jangles as they swayed.

In the time we had Lucky, we took him to Canyon Lake to go camping, went on a few walks, and got lots of hugs in (Lucky probably didn't enjoy that part). In April, Sam wanted to completely redo our balcony and started demo'ing. I wasn't at home, so I placed Lucky in the yard. I guess all the construction spooked Lucky because he completely jumped our 6-foot fence and ran away. We thought maybe that was how he was to leave us (because, again, I was not planning on keeping him, but I had a poor, bleeding heart). I knew Lucky wasn't going to find a home easily due to his breed.

It worked out nicely in that we had company come into town around that time, so we didn't have to worry about him. Two weeks later, we got a call from the animal shelter saying he was brought in. I was a little jealous of the guy who brought him in and didn't have to hold onto him, but I came to get him nonetheless. It was a little heartbreaking. As I walked through the shelter, I saw so many dogs. When we got to Lucky, he didn't recognize me at first. He looked so scared and sad, but as soon as he recognized me, it was so sweet. He crawled into my lap when we got to the car, and I just held him for a while as he was shaking.

I took him to an adoption event and left him while I went to church. I came back and they asked, "are you Lucky's foster mom?" Oh, boy, what did he do? A sweet lady wanted to take him out and walk him around but he immediately bolted and it took the staff FOREVER to catch him. Needless to say no one adopted him that day.

Something must have happened in those few weeks he was missing because he became super neurotic and excessively chewed everything he found on the floor. He wasn't as patient with the kids and overall seemed off. I was nervous about that since, you know, his breed. I knew we couldn't keep him anymore when one day he snapped at Noah's face. But I also knew that if we no longer fostered him, we would seal his fate. It was a terrible decision to make, but I knew my children would always come first. Coincidentally, the day I made the call to the animal shelter, I was playing with Lucky outside and he missed the toy he was going for and bit my arm. It left a welt that stayed for months. I knew it was an accident, but what would a bite look like if it wasn't?

A few days later, I drove him to the shelter, and I could see the stark fear in his eyes. It was like he knew what I was doing and did everything he could to stay in the van. It felt like a gut punch, but I had to let him go. I was checking the adoption page in hopes that his photo was still there, but alas, it was gone. Lucky's fate was in my hands, and I felt like I failed him. It was the only decision I could make, and it still felt like I made the wrong one.

It was a learning experience, and, sadly, I learned that no good deed goes unpunished. Every stray dog I see, I purposely stay away! My heart goes out to them, but I'm no dog savior. I even hit a dog outside Lubbock on the freeway and most likely killed that one, too. It took a while for me to not feel like a dog killer. I hope Lucky is in a place where he no longer has to be scared and can chew everything to his heart's content.

Beginning of 2024

2026-01-24T13:24:00.002-07:00

Happy 2024...2 years later! This is mainly a photo dump, but the kids are too cute not to share!

Noah was still falling asleep in the most random but cute spots.

Both these cuties fell asleep on me. Had to savor the moment.

They like to keep each other up yet hate to be alone!

Seeing if they could fit on the bookshelf.

Eden putting on the makeup she got for Christmas.

Working on using a pencil!

He loves to help and be independent.

Elijah moving through the ranks rather quickly!

The amount of Legos Eli currently has is astounding. It's even bigger 2 years later!

And he still asks for more!

Noah is getting into building as well with Magnetiles!

Joseph took an after-school science class.

Learning how water towers work!

Admiring our new snake.

Eden in her element for the Chinese New Year.

The parade at school.

Caught Elijah's name in the 50-word club at school!

Excited about her Valentine goodies!

Now to end the post with a trip to Sea World!

The brand new Tortoise exhibit!

Albuquerque Trip for 2024 New Years

2026-01-21T12:12:00.009-07:00

I'm still holding onto the hope that I can catch up, even though I am over 2 years behind. Let's finish of 2023 and get moving into 2024!

Since this was a while ago I can give vague details, but here goes nothing!

At the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 we traveled to Albuquerque. This trip was special because Eli chose to be baptized and wanted to do it in Albuquerque.

On December 30th Sam baptized Elijah. My dad gave a talk on baptism and Sam's mom gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Elijah really is such a sweet boy and I see him becoming more responsible and a peace maker.

I really wanted a nice family photo so right after the baptism Sam's dad gave us a photoshoot. It did not go to plan between the lighting and kids being kids. This is why we don't have a lot of photos together as a family.

Later that day Sam's parents were so nice to take us to the River of Lights! I am always amazed at how these deccorations are made and would love to try it if I had the time and motivation!

We ended the trip with some overpriced hot chocolate and a dance party in the giant pumpkin.

We spent time over at my parents' house on the 31st to celebrate New Year's Eve. Nicole and Patrick were in town visiting so I got to see their cute kids!

We also played a really fun game that involved everyone's phone. Sadly it's been too long for me to remember the name!

On New Year's Day we had our traditional adult-only dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It's always a good time! But we visited my parents right before that and got some baby time in.

On the second of January Sam's cousin Jonny and his family were driving through and we had a fun evening of playing games and getting to know their kids. A picture of the cousins were subsequently taken.

The next day we visited the Boyacks (sadly no pictures) then we hit up the zoo with Devery! It's always nostalgic to visit the zoo, but they've made so many changes and still 2 years later are working on those things.

And of course we had plenty to do at Sam's parents' house as well.

I think that just about covers that trip! Onto the rest of 2024!

Dear Elijah,

2026-01-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Happy double-digit day! What a decade it has been, and it’s crazy to think of life before you. The last ten years have been a delight, even the times you drove me crazy! You’ve been a light in our family and a breath of fresh air. Sadly, this birthday was like your last birthday in that you were pretty sick. Our plans to go to Explora and play with cousins kind of went out the window. I guess that’s the reality of a winter birthday. Hopefully the next birthday will be better!

This year you’ve seen some changes. For one, you now have glasses! When I took you to the doctor for an annual checkup you were flagged at the visual screening. You also mentioned having a hard time seeing the board. After seeing an optometrist (and deciding against glasses), your dad took you months later and ended up buying you glasses. You love them! In addition to glasses you are getting braces really soon. Hopefully by the next birthday letter they will be close to coming off.

There are some things that haven’t changed all that much. For one, I mentioned I’ve been buying shoes for you constantly, but recently I noticed I haven’t bought shoes for you since your last school year, and you still fit in them well. Checking your height, there hasn’t been a lot of change there. I’m sure you will be seeing a lot of growth soon, especially when you get to your brother’s current age (he really shot up). Your favorite foods are still very much the same (cereal, chocolate, crepes), but you’ve gotten more adventurous with food, which is really nice!

You are currently in 4^th grade and seem to really enjoy it! Your teacher likes to challenge you, and you have GT on top of that. You’ve been very responsible in doing your homework, which has been a blessing. I haven’t worried about you in this regard, and I appreciate how responsible you are. Outside of school, you are still taking piano and recently played in the Primary Program at church. You are currently a child brown belt in kung fu, and we still go a couple times a week to practice.

Although you have a lot of the same interests as before (Legos, video games, reading), you’ve become even more obsessed with one thing: frilled lizards! You were a frilled lizard for Halloween (again), had another frilled lizard cake, draw them all the time, read and write books about them, and overall just obsess over them. It’s really cute, but it’s hard to find frilled lizard items so at times we have to get creative. I wonder if the obsession will be just as strong or stronger next year!

You still like to read all the time, but your choice of reading has led more to just Dog Man. You have written a few stories as well, including your Norbert Story, and continue to channel your creativity that way. You are very patient with your siblings and their interests and give them your time and attention. Sometimes they will do the same, but I know you can get frustrated with them when they don’t show the same interest in something you worked hard to create (like a game or scavenger hunt). You are a good brother (except for some teasing here and there) and I appreciate your patience and honesty. It’s been so helpful to have such a responsible and trustworthy boy.

I am going to call it good, though there is so much more to say, but I want to let you know how proud I am of you and the person you have become. I hope you continue to work hard in school, be a peacemaker, and be the wonderful boy you are. Best of luck with the coming year, between braces, the last year in primary and elementary school, and being a part of our crazy family. We love you so much!

Love,

Mom

December 2023

2025-09-22T09:11:00.000-06:00

Seeing that I am almost 2(!) years behind on the blog, I thought I would finish 2023. I’m afraid I’ll forget too much if I procrastinate much more. Onto December!

Eden had her Christmas dance recital. We were asked to stay to the end as a special guest would come, but it wasn’t worth it, honestly. There are so many cheer groups and sound problems. Oh well!

Santa!!!

The only two tiny ballerinas who stayed til the end.

Then Eden passed out after getting home!

Grandma Kartchner gifted all the kids advent calendars with each of their interests! I think it was fun for them to open their own calendars with their own interests.

Joseph got a magic calendar.

Eden got a gem painting advent calendar.

Eli got a Lego calendar.

Noah got a playdoh calendar.

We decorated cookies as usual for the holidays.

A cute little backdrop at DQ!

Timber Ridge ward had their very last Christmas party (although none of us really knew it at the time). It was Elf-themed with different activities in different classrooms.

The gym where Christmas dinner was held.

The Primary (me) had a snowman building station.

I found these snowman parts on Amazon and made my own dough.

Each of the kids got a photo with Santa, though Eli was pretty sick and laid on the couch almost the whole time. Santa was super nice in coming to take a picture with him in the foyer.

There was also snowball throwing.

Reindeer ring toss.

And a backdrop to take photos with.

Seaworld is always fun to go around Christmas time. They do a great job at decorating and have different activities and shows. Here is a dump of some of the photos.

Today was the day they unveiled the Aldabra tortoise exhibit. They are the second largest tortoise in the world.

They had a new to us show called the Greatest Story Never Told. It starred the animals of the Nativity Story and had puppets represent them. They then brought the real animals at the end of the performance!

This December was special because Elijah turned 8! We took his birthday photoshoot at the temple.

Eli wanted a Legend of Zelda Cake so I took a store bakery cake and added all the symbols from the game.

Naturally Eli got Legos for his birthday.

Christmas Eve tradition: opening pajamas!

Lastly, Christmas morning. We contained a special surprise from Joseph. A snake! And not just any snake, a hognose snake. He was named Hoggy (on brand for our kids). He has now gotten frogs, a fish, and a snake for Christmas.

Noah got a truck to ride.

Eden got more stuffies to add to her massive collection.

More Legos!!

Hiss!

It was a pretty exciting December. The worst part though? We got our first bout of lice! Joseph was complaining of his head itching beginning of December but I couldn’t find anything. Then Eli got an itchy head. Then during the Messiah performance I had a really itchy scalp. I didn’t want to believe it, but it was becoming apparent. Then during church the next day Sam said he found a bug in Noah’s hair. I pulled up a picture of a louse and it was confirmed 😱. I wanted to leave right there and then but Sam made us wait through Sacrament meeting. It was torturous. I saw a bug weave in and out through Eden’s hair, it was so gross. Then I let my counselors know (I was the Primary President) and we left to go to Walgreens to get all the lice removing things we could find. We treated ourselves with two kinds of treatments and took a fine comb and picked through everyone’s hair. We washed all bedding, vacuumed every surface, and quarantined all the stuffed animals. It was awful! A few days later we retreated and thought that was that. I figured any itchiness was residual and would go away. Then during a prayer one night I itched my scalp and a louse got stuck in my finger nail. AGH! None of the treatments worked, so I called my doctor and got an emergency prescription for Spinosad and treated everyone again. We also cut all the boys’ hair really short. And we had to rewash everything again. The worst part was trying to get rid of lice than the lice itself. Luckily Spinosad did the trick and we were lice free! Now I am good at spotting nits and can tell if it’s a nit or just dandruff. Any time I see one of my kids itching their scalp I get nervous!

Anyway, next up is our end of year Albuquerque trip!

Dear Eden,

2025-08-03T13:05:00.001-06:00

Happy 7th Birthday! These years just keep flying by, but you are still the same Eden. Reading the past letter, I don't think you changed all that much. I'm still going to write you a letter detailing your seventh year of life. Let's get into it.

In terms of size, you are perfectly normal. Something I have noticed is how slow your feet grow compared to your brothers. I feel I am constantly have to buy a pair of shoes for one of them but you still fit perfectly in the shoes I got you over a year ago. Maybe you will have small feet like your mom! You finished another year of ballet and after discussing it, you decided to try something else. You were sure you would grow up to be a ballerina until I showed you what grown ballerinas do (and saw their feet). Now you decided you want to be an artist when you grow up.

Not just any artist, you specifically want to draw dragons. I don't think you have to wait to do that, you are doing that every day. You are still obsessed with dragons. Your birthday theme for your party was water dragon, you have so many stuffed dragons, your favorite book series is Dragon Masters, and you are reading Wings of Fire. You pretend to be a dragon and want to be a dragon for Halloween (again). This is your dragon era and I love it. If it's not dragons, it's Pokemon. You have so many favorites I can't even begin to write them all. You like dinosaurs too. We went to Build-a-Bear and picked this Raptor complete with claws and teeth. Then you picked out a sparkly outfit for it. The people at Build-a-Bear never seen that before, but I think it encapsulates you perfectly.

You are going to start second grade and I'm excited for you. Last school year you became really good friends with a girl named Dustin. In fact, her birthday party theme was also dragons and her mom said she was influenced by you. It was so cute. You are right where you need to be for school, and you are an excellent reader. I attribute that to reading the Book of Mormon almost every night as a family. I hope you will be in the same class as your friends. I will also look into putting you into after school art classes and hopefully piano!

When I was reading your last letter, I had to laugh because your diet didn't change at all! HEB stopped stocking your favorite mac and cheese, so I guess that's off the list, but you do enjoy eating pasta in general. I stopped trying to pack your lunch for school because there was hardly anything I could pack! I hoped you would find something you like in school lunches. That's something we've struggled with. Another struggle is getting you to express yourself through words. You are a talker, but will shut down when you are upset. Instead of using your words you make nasty faces, scream, and hiss and growl at anybody. And it happens pretty much every day. I'm hoping this phase passes by your next birthday!

Three years later you are still a hardcore mama's girl. You ask for cuddles all the time and always want to sit by me wherever we go. Dad and I teach your Primary class and you are glued to me! When you talk, you like to be uniterrupted and will talk for a while. You have big ideas and want anything to be executed exactly how you imagine it. You are upset if I change anything, too! You're just a little stubborn, I guess! You are also a very silly girl. You pick up on the silly antics of your brothers and join in. You don't have the smoothest relationship with your brothers, but you hate being alone and will sleep in the same room with one of them almost every night. I'm very glad you are a part of our family.

I hope I captured seven-year-old Eden well! I hope you continue letting your light shine. I hope you will be kind to others and choose to do the right thing. You will be 8 by your next birthday, so this is the year to prepare and understand what it means to follow Jesus. And I hope you do! We love you so very much, Eden. I'm so happy to have my daughter!

Love,

Mom

Dear Joseph,

2025-04-24T10:54:00.000-06:00

Happy 12th birthday! Your dad said it is also the anniversary of our becoming parents. Thanks for making us feel old! But I feel 12 is a big number. There are so many things that have changed in the last year for you, so why don't I go on and write about that?

You are growing so fast! I'm constantly having to buy new pants and shoes for you. I still do! I noticed your church pants were short just last Sunday, and I pulled those out not too long ago. You are telling me your shoes are too small and I bought three different sizes just this past year. You are definitely having a growth spurt. I bet you will be taller than me by your next birthday. You still love Fanta, sushi, and melon! Nothing really changed there. You also love bean burritos and orange chicken. I think you are a pretty good eater, but you dislike chocolate and will make that well-known. We made you a mint ice cream cake for your birthday and I had to make it myself since chocolate chips tend to be the default. You have fun tastes, that's for sure!

You started middle school this year. I was honestly so worried about you. It can be a tough place and kids can be cruel at times. But you love it! You love your magnet school where there is a focus on STEM and you enjoy those classes. You still prefer not having friends, but I hope that might change one day. Your favorite subjects that I hear you talk about are social studies and science. You also love to do block coding on your computer and have a couple things on Scratch that have had a couple hundred views. You were very excited about that. You do pretty well on tests, but I get e-mails about assignments not getting turned in or not completed. With it being so close to the end of the year I just hope your grades don't drop and we can move on. You are pretty smart, just working on responsibility!

In addition to starting middle school, you are now in the Young Men's program at church. When our ward was split we were put into a ward with many boys your age. Previously you were going to be the only deacon, but now we have at least 7-10! I thought that would be awesome for you, but sometimes I wonder how the transition has been for you. Patience for each other isn't the highest, but I hope you can still be friends with them someday. You've been to a couple campouts and I am so grateful for the leaders that looked out for you. You've been to the temple and I'm so proud of you for doing baptisms! Also, you have been passing the sacrament almost every week. I try so hard not to step in and just watch you do it, but I'm sure you will be a pro soon.

Your interests haven't changed too much from last year, but you love Pokemon right now. Especially the 6th generation as it has some of your favorites. Your favorite pokemon is Sylveon, who is cute, pink, and fox-like. I still haven't figured out why but sometimes we like what we like! You also have been into a lot of creatures. You still have your hognose snake, owned a tarantula for a tiny bit (he was a tiny guy), and talk about giant wetas all the time. They live in New Zealand, so you get excited about anything New Zealand as well. Another place you really like is Costa Rica. In fact, you signed up for Spanish next year in hopes that you can learn and go someday. Maybe even your mission! I love watching you get excited about so many specific things and we learn all we can about those things. The most recent as of yesterday? The longest word in the English dictionary: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. You made a dictionary yesterday with just that word it. You are so fun, Joseph!

Something that is new? You joined Boy Scouts! You expressed interest and your dad jumped at the opportunity to sign you up. You haven't shown any interest in any extracurricular activities before and this has been good for you! You have done a few campouts and attend weekly meetings. The boys have been fantastic and good examples. I feel it's different from Church in that these boys actively choose to be a part of scouts and genuinely love it. They take the younger scouts under their wings and want to make the community a better place. After one council-wide campout I asked if you made any friends and you said "I think so". That's a big deal for you! I hope you stick it out even when you have to do physical activity (which you loathe). You did a 5-mile hike last campout and I was shocked to hear you did it. Keep it up!

What a year it has been for you! I worry about you sometimes, but that is just the job of a parent. Your dad and I will always be here for you cheering you on when you do hard things. I hope this next year you will continue to grow as a person and conquer all your challenges. Thank you for being patient with me, I wasn't a mother before I had you! I can't wait to see who you become and what you do. I love you, Joseph!

Love,

Mom

Spring Break 2025: Universal Orlando (and Going Home)

2025-03-28T13:32:00.003-06:00

Onto our last day of the trip! This was a crazy and exhausting day, for sure. The night before, we swam in the nice heated pool, ate at Wendy's next door, and I did some laundry (after a lot of effort to get coins and detergent for the machine). Our shoes were soaked from SeaWorld the day before, so I attempted to dry them in the dryer. Well, Joseph puked onto the hotel carpet in the middle of the night. Oh no! We did our best to clean it up with the hotel towels and laid another towel over it to combat the smell. He swore he didn't feel nauseous, that it just happened, and that he could still go to Universal! Sam, on the other hand, was feeling really nauseous. We deduced that it was probably food poisoning from Wendy's from the night before. Only he and Joseph had the regular-sized patties on their burgers. Sam never threw up, as he has "a stomach of steel", but he wasn't feeling great the next day during our excursion. Poor Sam and Joseph!

In the morning, I let the hotel know of the accident and booked our shuttle to Universal. We arrived and were able to find our way to the parks! We decided to go to the Islands of Adventure park.

Here!

Eden riding a jaguar.

The park was one big loop so we started on one side and hit each section. The first section, Marvel! I was surprised they could do Marvel since Disney owns a lot of it, but I guess Universal could do the non-cinematic universe portions. Eli and I rode the Hulk roller coaster. One of the crazy things that happened to me was that almost every ride had technical difficulties while I was in line. Really. Only the last two rides I rode went on without a hitch. The rest? So annoying! I was a black cloud for sure. Luckily the one on the Hulk wasn't too bad, but the ride left me with a headache for the rest of the day.

The other three kids waiting for us.

Fantastic Four vehicle.

Then I took the other three kids to ride the Spiderman ride while Sam took Eli on the Doc Oc ride. We were in line for the Spiderman ride for a long time (yay, technical difficulties!), so Sam and Eli met the Super heroes. The Spiderman ride was one of those 4d rides that made me sick and Joseph scared, but it had a lot of cool effects!

The Doc Oc ride.

Meeting Spiderman!

The next world was Toon Land! All the old-timey cartoons were here, but it didn't seem to be a super popular part of the park compared to the others. They had a fun log ride that I went to take Eli and Eden on, but, you guessed it, it had technical difficulties and was shut down before we could ride it. We ended up riding it later when it opened back up. Geeze!

Noah and Joseph modeled the log ride while waiting for us.

The next world was Jurassic Park. This one and Harry Potter's Hogsmeade were the two busiest sections. They had a lot of rides but long, long waits that made it impossible to ride anything. They did have a fun playground that the kids played at for a long time while Sam and I got something to eat.

Joseph and Noah with the T-Rex.

Part of the playground.

Our ribs and chicken with corn and potatoes. Sounded yummier than it was.

The log ride in Toon World opened up by this time so I ran Eli and Eden over there while Sam moved on. We brought one of our wands we kept from when we went to Universal in Hollywood, so Sam and Noah tried doing magic in Hogsmeade. They even got a butter beer and Bertie Botts' every flavored beans.

Noah and Joseph in front of Hogwarts.

We joined them after our ride and saw the ridiculous crowds. Even the bathroom had a ridiculous line. There was no way we could ride any rides, the wait times were up to two hours long. No thank you!

Meeting up together in Hogsmeade.

A picture with the Hogwarts Express.

After a short stay in Hogsmeade, we headed to the next section of the park. I forgot the name, but it was full of ancient mythology. It had a talking fountain, statues of Greek Gods, and King Julian from Madagascar. Okay!

Eden already spent all her souvenir money before coming to Universal. Too bad!

These dragon masks were really cool!

Some of the kids pooled money together to get one of the masks.

King Julian!

Dance party!

The last part of the Park was Dr. Seuss Land. We spent a good chunk here, too. We spent the rest of our souvenir money on candy from the Dr. Seuss candy shop then went on the Sneetches ride.

Let's ride!

Waiting while they had technical difficulties (eye roll).

They had a storytime with a lot of the favorite Dr. Seuss characters.

Aww, a rare shot of all the kids looking and smiling!

Thing One and Two.

Cat in the Hat and the Grinch, too.

They read an abbreviated version of the Lorax to us.

Dr. Seuss Land was a nice change of pace. It wasn't as crowded and although we ran into technical difficulties with the first ride, the next three were smooth sailing!

A cool garden with Seuss creatures.

The Merry-Go-Round was one of the coolest ones where you could choose a different creature to ride.

Joseph chose the bench. No surprise there!

We also rode a Cat in the Hat ride and Sam took all the kids on another Dr. Seuss ride while I ran with Eli to see if we could fit a Jurassic Park ride in before we left Universal. Sadly, the one we wanted to ride had a long line, so we chose a different one that was geared toward little kids, but we still had to wait a little bit. We rode a pterosaur high above the park and watched everyone below us.

Eli and Hogwarts this time!

Once we were done, we left the park to eat dinner. I then convinced Sam to let us get VooDoo Doughnuts for breakfast the next morning since we were leaving before breakfast. After grabbing doughnuts as fast as we could, we rushed to the shuttle. The shuttles on the way back were first come, first serve, so we hoped we wouldn't be too late. Well, we got there and waited. And waited. The shuttle was really late (probably having technical difficulties), so we looked up how long it would take to walk back to our hotel. It was a 20-minute walk, and we decided it would be faster just to do that. So we walked back to the hotel! We only had a single stroller, and I was carrying a big box of doughnuts, so it got a little tricky. Eden also really had to use the bathroom halfway through. Sam and I suggested bushes, but she didn't want to do that. What she did decide to do was pull down her pants at a busy crossroads when she couldn't hold it anymore and mooned everyone. She still peed her pants as she couldn't aim. AGH! It's now just a funny story to tell.

VooDoo Doughnuts! Good things come in pink boxes.

Crossing a bridge on the way back to the hotel.

Our VooDoo doughnuts.

I was a wild woman when we got back because I had to pack everything and make sure everything was ready for our road trip back. When I first planned this trip, I was going to have us stop in New Orleans halfway back home, but Sam said we could drive the whole thing in one go. Then he wanted to do it after we got back from Universal so we could skip any rush hour and the kids could sleep while we drove. I wanted to get some good sleep in before attempting an 18-hour drive. So we decided to do just that. Plus, we already paid for the hotel room, so we might as well use it! We got on the road a little after six and headed straight for San Antonio.

The road trip back had its ups and downs. The ups were that our car did great! And the kids behaved wonderfully, besides a squabble here and there. We watched a lot of movies to pass the time. The downs? Noah was puking over and over, poor thing! We had a bucket, but I accidentally left it at a gas station, so all we had were gallon baggies. He didn't open it well enough one time and puked all over himself. Then Eli, shortly after we left the gas station, peed himself with no warning, even for himself. Then Eden peed herself at some point, too. THEN, we hit really bad traffic near Baton Rouge while trying to cross the Mississippi River. It was bad! Like, put us back an hour bad. THEN there was a road closure, and we had to divert and take a longer route. We stopped at a McDonalds at some point to change everyone's clothes, eat dinner, and sneak Dramamine into Noah's ice cream (he refuses to take it otherwise). And I had them brush their teeth at a Buc-Ee's when we stopped for gas. What was supposed to be an 18-hour drive turned into 21. We got back around 1:30 in the morning despite leaving at about 6 in the morning. But, like I said, the kids did great otherwise, and I was able to drive fine with an energy-like drink to keep me awake and alert. Whew! Now I know we can do it, so maybe it opens up possibilities for the future.

He was too cute to wake up!

Crossing the Mississippi River. It took forever!!

So long, But-Ee, until next time!

I cannot stress how many gas pumps Buc-Ee has.

That concludes our Spring Break! Sam left the next day to spend a week in New Mexico to work at Eye Associates and spend time with family. The kids had school, so we couldn't join him. We were rather tuckered out from this trip, so I didn't mind that much.

My favorite parts of the trip were New Orleans and SeaWorld. I don't know what Sam's was (not Universal), but the kids really enjoyed going to all the hotels and Universal. I think we'll have to go back to Orlando someday to explore it even more. For now, back to routine!

Spring Break 2025: Sea World Orlando

2025-03-28T12:09:00.000-06:00

Almost done with our epic Spring Break! Our next stop was Orlando, so we left early and headed straight to SeaWorld. Because of Sam's active duty military status and my platinum pass, which got me in for free and gave us free parking, we only had to pay for one ticket. Quite the deal if you ask me! We headed straight for the dolphin show as soon as we got in. I had to find a bathroom for Eden, so we kind of split up during the show. A bottlenose dolphin show is something we don't have in San Antonio (we have a beluga/pacific white-sided dolphin show), so it's always a treat to watch these cuties perform.

Elijah wanted to ride rides after the show was done (of course), so Sam took him on a few rollercoasters while I took the rest to go see more animals and find the kiddie ride section.

The sign next to the sting rays.

Look at this cool ray!

A really fat sea star.

Sam let us know there was a bonnethead shark in one of the aquariums so we had to check him out!

Joseph in a tube inside this tank.

One thing I didn't expect was how massive this SeaWorld was. I saw we had time to find the kiddie rides and then go to the orca show right next door. But by the time we managed to walk over there, we didn't have time to do rides first, so we headed straight into the orca stadium. The orca show would have been the exact same as the one in San Antonio (same script, videos, etc.), but something interesting happened. The male orcas decided, "Not today!" and didn't follow any cues. Instead, we got a very interesting insight into orca training and care from one of the trainers. The orcas are not forced to do the shows, so if they decide they don't want to do it, nothing happens. Instead, they use positive reinforcement for behaviors they want to see. He stressed that they couldn't make the orcas do anything and if we see animals perform at SeaWorld, it's all their choice to do it. Then, another trainer suggested they try playing the music again as a cue for the orcas, and it worked the second time. We saw a majority of the tricks in the end even if it wasn't the full show. I found it interesting as I watched the orcas in San Antonio almost two weeks prior.

Then we headed to the Sesame Street "Bay of Play" and rode the Merry-Go-Round and train while we waited for Sam and Eli to come to us. Sam and Eli rode three roller coasters: the Manta (a cool roller coaster where you face the ground while riding), the Mako, and the Kraken. Sam was done after that!

In line for the Merry-Go-Round.

Noah wasn't too sure but he warmed up to it.

Joseph standing as always!

We ate expensive pizza for lunch and then found a ride that all of us could enjoy together. It was a river-like ride, and although we hyped it up for Joseph, he got really freaked out as we neared the front of the line. We tried making up a story where we had to ride this raft to get to a rare species in Costa Rica (a place he wants to go to one day). He managed to get on even though he was pretty scared! Well, he ended up loving it! It was similar to the river ride we have in San Antonio, except there was a really fun slide at the end. Joseph even wanted to ride it again! He waited in line by himself to go a second time while I took Eli to find more rides, and Sam took the younger two to find something fun to do.

Waiting in the long line!

Getting geared for the ride!

Eli and I ended up riding two roller coasters. We rode the Manta again because that was Sam and Eli's favorite, and then we ended up riding the pipeline roller coaster. This one is the first of its kind as you ride it standing up! Eli barely could stand in the seat and was on his tippy toes the whole time. It was hard to say which one was more thrilling: facing the ground or standing up! I didn't get pictures, but here is the Manta:

And here is Pipeline:

While looking for the coasters, we came across the dolphin nursery and saw these cute dolphins playing with their toys. This one swam right up to us!

Sam took the kids to the shark aquarium, and they came across some surprises!

Eden inside a shark jaw!

A great hammerhead shark! This was a dream of Joseph's when he was 5 and was obsessed with Hammerhead sharks. This one is young, they get even bigger!

Bonus, a saw shark!

How cool is that?! We didn't even do all the rides, animal shows, or attractions, but some of us were getting tired and ready to go to our hotel. I personally wanted to stay longer, but I was the only one, haha! This was the only SeaWorld where I felt I needed more than one day. I didn't even get to see my beloved belugas! Hopefully, we'll be back someday.

Spring Break 2025: Tallahassee and Jacksonville, FL

2025-03-27T13:33:00.002-06:00

Once we finished our activities in Mississippi and Alabama, we drove to Tallahassee to spend the night before driving to Jacksonville. Jacksonville was the very end of I-10, so that was the reason for going there. It was a little too far to drive all the way there from Mobile, AL, hence why we stopped in Tallahassee.

Tallahassee was a disaster! I had a hard time finding a hotel in the price range I was wanting, and the best I could find was actually two rooms instead of one suite with a pull-out bed (what we usually had). I didn't even think about it, but it really should have been a sign that two rooms at the place we stayed were cheaper than one room anywhere else, which meant that these rooms were awful. And I mean AWFUL! They were motel-style, with the room doors all on the outside. Okay, we could deal with that. Except you could hear everything happening outside! People's conversations, police sirens, and the neighbor blasting loud music from their car right outside the door at 2:30 in the morning. The rooms themselves were filthy, and one smelled very strong of weed. The other smelled very strong of smoke. I laid in both beds of the smoke room and could tell exactly which bed the person smoked from. I swear I got smoke-free rooms, but oh well. I hardly slept that night! I felt gross and couldn't sleep over the noise outside our doors. We quickly packed and left the next morning, and I learned my lesson about paying for a budget hotel. It was a La Quinta, which I heard was very nice, so it surprised me! Oh well, Sam is booking our hotels from now on.

And Sam did happen to book our hotel in Jacksonville! It was tons better, but we had to wait for check-in, so we found a park to play at. It was a cute park and our kids made friends.

Eli riding the whale at the park.

Once we had our hotel, we changed into our beach gear and had a nice evening at the beach! We had sand castle buckets and a frisbee to pass the time. We dipped our toes in the water, and Joseph braved the brisk waves. It was a nice relaxing day after much traveling and all the activities we participated in.

I kept seeing these black seagulls!

Then we came back to our nice, CLEAN hotel and got some sleep before our big outings in Orlando! We officially drove all of I-10 from Santa Monica, CA to Jacksonville, FL. Not in one go, but still an accomplishment for our family. Next, Sea World Orlando!

Spring Break 2025: Mississippi and Alabama

2025-03-27T13:06:00.000-06:00

After New Orleans, we decided to stay overnight at Moss Point, MS. There were only two king beds, so we had to make do with three people in each bed. The parents didn't sleep too well. The kids went swimming again even though it was still cold! At least the staff was super friendly!

Saying hello to Sam from the pool.

The next day we headed to Gator Ranch. It was really cold that morning, and I only packed light jackets for all of us. But we had fun regardless. There weren't very many gators out because of how cold it was, but we didn't know the difference I guess. While there I held a baby gator while everyone got to pet it. Then we went on an airboat tour across the marshy area. It was super pretty despite it being so cold.

The entrance to Gator Ranch.

All the baby alligators.

They got one out for us to hold/pet.

The only size I'll get this close to one!

While we waited for the airboat tour, we walked around and saw the gators that were out.

Daisy saw us and swam right up to us. I'm sure she was expecting food.

Today was Mario Day (Mar10), so the boys all wore their festive shirts.

The airboat we were going to ride.

They gave us protective ear gear since the boat can get loud.

The beautiful marsh.

The only gator we really came across was Godzilla. I guess if we came across any Gator, I'm glad it was the biggest one Gator Ranch had. He is a sixteen-foot male and always hangs around this bridge. I know the pictures don't do it justice, but yes, he was massive! The tour guides threw marshmallows at him to lure him closer. Marshmallows float, and they are easier to spot for both the Gator and everyone watching. One of our tour guides, the newer guy, said he had never seen Godzilla get so close to the boat! So it was a little thrilling. I caught it on video, but I managed to get a few photos of him as well.

A cyprus tree.

A gator out of the water!

Overall, it was fun and pretty, even though we didn't see a whole lot of alligators, and it was rather cold. The tour guide let us know that even if we don't see them, they are always lurking below, so don't fall in the water! Like we wanted to.

Our next destination was in Mobile, AL, where we toured the USS Alabama. It was only a half hour away from Gator Ranch, so we were able to fit it in just fine. USS Alabama was a warship during WWII, and after it was out of commission, they turned it into a museum of sorts. It was cool, and Sam particularly enjoyed it! After a while, the kids (mainly Eden) were getting tired, so we didn't get to see everything. The ship was huge!

Eli posing before we entered.

On the bridge to the ship.

On the deck.

The three huge cannons for shooting missiles!

Inside the cannon area.

Where most of the soldiers slept.

The ship was cool because it really was like a town on water. They had everything the men needed!

They had a place for haircuts.

A soda shop.

A butcher room.

A medical bay, complete with an OR.

A brig for unruly soldiers.

The ship had many battles, but something notable was when it was hit by kamikazes.

Not sure exactly what these were, but it had to do with fighting the Japanese.

Fragments from the kamikaze plane that hit the ship.

We went below and saw the sonar room and the huge missiles that fit the cannons we saw earlier.

They even had sea explorations!

On the highest point of the ship.

Last shot of the USS Alabama.

It was a fun and interesting day! A little cold and rainy, but we were heading for Florida, and the weather there was quite lovely.

Spring Break 2025: New Orleans

2025-03-27T12:15:00.000-06:00

Our next stop on our epic road trip was New Orleans, LA. We hit some lovely weather on the drive, but otherwise the drive went great!

Said weather.

Trees growing straight out of the water. Nothing I've seen before!

The hotel was not as lovely as the last one, but I told myself it was only for one night, so we did fine. We found a fast-food restaurant called Sliders really close by and decided to try it out. The weather was super nice for eating outside!

Kids did great on the drive!

Time for some food!

We decided to go to City Park and check it out. It definitely exceeded my expectations! We drove up and saw all these beautiful trees with Spanish moss hanging, creating an ethereal effect. This park had many things to do, like an amusement park, a botanical garden, a storyland sculpture garden, mini golf, regular golf, and much more. We ended up doing none of those things, as there was still a lot to explore.

Group shot on the swing!

We've put Eli to work to take pictures of Mom and Dad too.

In front of the mini golf area.

I followed Noah around to get his birthday pictures.

After taking some photos we came across this super cute farmers market! They had mostly food. but the only place I purchased from was from a lady who made tons of homemade jams and jellies. There were so many flavors, but I bought a small jar of blood orange jelly and strawberry mango jelly. I didn't try them until I got home, but they were delicious! I used the strawberry mango one as a glaze for a tart I made too. Sad I only got two!

We then found the closest playground, and the kids played for a long time! It also happened to be by the cafe I wanted to go to, Cafe Mondu. Cafe Mondu sold beignets, donut-like pastries, special to New Orleans. They were even featured in Princess and the Frog. They tasted tike sopapillas to me, minus the honey and with tons of powdered sugar.

The playground we spent a good chunk of time playing on.

Cafe Mondu.

This picture cracks me up. The kids faces made it seem like the beignets were nasty.

All our clothes were covered by the end with powdered sugar.

We found structures like these around the park.

One of the many cool trees we came across.

Music was around this park. One man set up his guitar and keyboard near the cafe. This group was really cool though, it was just for kids! They had a man each on guitar, saxophone, and tuba. It really gave a New Orleans vibe to the songs they played for the kids. They also brought scarfs and other things for the kids to use.

Wheels on the Bus time.

Spinning with the other kids!

The kids having a blast with scarves.

After playing and exploring, we ended our time at the park by going for a walk. Like I said, there was so much to explore!

The white ibis. They were all over this park.

Going over this cool bridge.

Live Oaks with Spanish Moss.

Saying hello to the people on the train.

One of the biggest tree trunks we've seen in the park!

This tree had metal poles holding all the heavy, drooping branches.

Other moss and ferns were growing on these trees.

Look how much moss is on this tree!

These trees really are massive!

Another picture we solicited from Eli.

This park just had the coolest secret garden vibes.

Cool mushrooms growing on dead trees.

Another cool structure.

Our sweet Joseph.

I very recently started a state magnet collection and wanted to grab one for Louisiana. We headed to the French Quarter, which is probably the area most people think of when they picture New Orleans. The buildings were colorful, the streets were packed, and we saw shops for art, jazz, Mardi Gras, and voodoo. There was no place to park, so I jumped out at the gift shop and Sam drove around while I quickly picked out a magnet.

A balcony with Mardi Gras decor.

VooDoo shop.

One-man band street performer.

A VooDoo daddy.

I found my magnet, and we got out of there. There were interesting things, but I can see why I got mixed opinions on New Orleans. City Park was a 10 out of 10 for me, but French Quarters was too busy to really appreciate it. Sam got stuck behind a horse and buggy while coming back for me. We drove to Mississippi shortly after that, so that concludes our blog post.

Spring Break 2025: Houston

2025-03-26T09:32:00.000-06:00

I wanted to catch up on the blog, but we recently went on a big trip that I didn't want to forget the details of! I will go out of order and write about our recent spring break and all our adventures. We took a road trip on I-10 eastbound until we reached the end at Jacksonville, FL. Then we went south to Orlando to go to a couple amusement parks. We never did a road trip like this because we made daily stops to do something in each state. I'll break it up into a few blog posts so I don't make one giant one.

First stop, Houston! We took the kids out of school a couple hours early after getting everything ready and hit the road. I wanted to stop at Buc-Ee's for dinner, and they had so many choices! Sam and I both got brisket. Joseph got random items like fruit, boiled eggs, and olives. It's so big inside, too! We ended up stopping at Buc-Ee's for gas and bathroom breaks a few more times this trip. It's a pretty cool place!

With the Beaver himself!

Our hotel was great! The kids immediately got in their swimsuits (even though the pool was cold) and went for a swim. Our room had three beds AND a pull-out bed, the most beds we had this trip. It even had a kitchenette! And the breakfast was nice. I can't say the same for a few of the hotels we stayed at on this trip...

Couldn't wait any longer!

I didn't dare go in...too cold!

Look at this cutie-patootie!

One room had two beds.

And another room just for mom and dad!

Joseph took the couch.

Eden reading to her little brother...too precious!

We debated between the NASA space museum and Meow Wolf. They recently opened up a location in Houston and the kids wanted to see it. I did too, to be honest, so that's what we ended up doing!

I guess each Meow Wolf has a story to follow, and this Meow Wolf followed a Radio Station that found itself in an alternate dimension. I wanted to solve the mystery of how that happened, but with kids, it was better just to enjoy the art and mysteries in each room. The art was really weird and really cool.

These guys sang in weird voices when you touched them.

Felix became one of the radio hosts...we don't know what he is. He was snoring the whole time.

We found Batsy, another radio host, in a file cabinet. It was kind of a jump scare!

Space drinks.

A weird bakery display window.

A fun claw machine to play with.

Cowboix Hevvven, a space tavern we came across.

Eden singing into the microphone.

We bought cool 3-D glasses to view some of the art. Joseph wore them the whole time.

Getting a group photo!

I think one of the radio hosts...died? He was crusted over with these glow things.

Fun glowing drinks.

Last photo!

I would definitely go back (although it was somewhat pricey) to explore the rooms more in-depth. It is really hard to explain Meow Wolf other than it just needs to be experienced. The artists are so talented! Weird, but talented! After Meow Wolf, we hit the road to New Orleans.

Dear Noah,

2025-03-23T12:47:00.001-06:00

Happy 4th Birthday, buggy boy! I wanted to write this sooner, sorry! We found this cute park in New Orleans on our spring break trip and knew it would be the perfect place to take your photos. You definitely hammed it up for us! Now onto the letter.

Looking back on your last letter, I see your favorite foods haven't changed! Chocolate milk, go-gurts, and fruit snacks are still your go-to asks every day. Cereal is added to the list, and you are Mister Independent making sure you are the one who gets the spoon and chooses where to sit. You are a tall boy, and I think I need to move you up a size even though I swear I just got new clothes for you. Needless to say, you are getting bigger and taller every day.

As for your interests, you love building things with your hands. Especially marble runs. You love to make different setups and see which marbles make it down first. You ask to watch videos of marble races as well and like to choose a marble to see if it makes it down first. You like cars and car tracks, magnet tiles for building, and will build with your brother's legos as well. Your favorite show is Octonauts, and ask to watch it almost every day. I started putting on Lego shows and movies for you, and you seem to enjoy those, too.

We found out that full-day preschool is offered at your siblings' elementary school and now that you are four you can join in the fall. I don't know how I feel about that. We will do it of course, as it's free and very convenient, but you've stayed home with me all your life! That's a big change, but I know you will enjoy it. You have FOMO (fear of missing out) when it comes to your siblings. You always want to tag along and know you would be stoked to join them in going into the school. You would make great friends and get to do fun and exciting things. Although you do great at home and play by yourself all the time, I think you would love the change. As for me, I have to figure out what to do once my last baby enters school!

You have such a funny personality! You are into potty humor big time! More than your siblings ever were at your age. In fact, you will substitute many words while reading the scriptures with poop or fart, and your siblings love it. Mom, not so much. You also love puppies! You insist you are a puppy and love to carry around all your stuffed puppies. They all have fun names, from Rancher to Sarah to Sue to Sunny to Dory, and Ruff. Ruff is your favorite puppy you refer to him as your best friend. You lost him for a while and prayed almost every day to find him. We found him the week of your birthday after I've given up on finding him. It was so fun to see your face light up!

Being the youngest can be hard sometimes. You want to join your siblings but either don't know the rules of their games or annoy them, haha! You also flip-flop where you sleep. But to be fair, so does Eden. The most recent sleeping arrangements land you in Eden's room in her bed while Eden sleeps with Eli. That seems to work for now, but I know it will change like it always does. You mess up their rooms during the day, so when it comes time to clean their rooms, they tell me you made the mess, so it isn't fair! I like that you are getting older in that you can play with your siblings more and participate in more things. We took a road trip recently and it was nice not having any babies to take care of or any diapers to change. It's bittersweet to see the baby grow up for sure.

Well, I hope this gives a small glimpse of who you are as a person Noah. I love reading these letters and remembering each of the ages of stages, and I just want to capture Noah at four, since you will never be four again. You are a bright spot in my days and I'm so happy you joined our not-so-little family! Keep being the sweet and spunky boy that you are!

Love,

Mama

Thanksgiving 2023

2025-02-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Trying to get through all the posts, so next is Thanksgiving!

We traveled to Albuquerque for Thanksgiving, and the drive is always long:

We had an early start to Christmas with Sam's parents the night we got there. We sang, acted out the Nativity Scene, and opened our presents. So is this a Christmas post too?

The next morning, we played with our gifts and toys before heading off to Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner's.

And guess what? More Christmas gifts! Everyone got their own advent calendar to count down the days until real Christmas.

After gifts, the kids went outside to say hi to the chickens.

My dad's grown to care for the chickens as much as my mom!

Gotta go on the swing too!

We had lunch at a hibachi grill to celebrate November birthdays.

That night, we visited with Sam's Grandma Pitcher. Noah passed out from the long day.

One with Grandma in there. And Sam's dad!

Jumping to Thanksgiving, we went over to my parents the day of and helped with prep and setting up.

On Thanksgiving, the kids broke out the play dough while we helped set up for dinner.

More Swinging!

Eden and Harper had the same pants!

Dinner time!

Yum!

The next day we had the Hobbs Thanksgiving. Sam's parents' house is always perfect for hosting these family events.

Always so fun to see family! I'm so grateful that Albuquerque is only a day's drive away, so we can see family as often as we do. Happy Post Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2023

2025-02-26T08:10:00.002-07:00

We had a good Halloween season in 2023! Here are all the things we ended up doing:

Now that we were back in San Antonio, we hit SeaWorld for their Halloween events. I took Noah separately at first while the other kids were in school. He still loved his Luigi costume and refused to wear anything else that day.

Pretty decorations!

Later, we took all the kids, and I convinced Noah to wear the family Yoda costume. All kids would have worn it at some point!

Not a fan of the Carousel! Even Eden and Joseph prefer the bench.

Joseph was a cyclops, Noah was Yoda (or baby Yoda), Eden was Stitch, and Eli was Harry Potter.

There were fun decorations, Trick or Treating, and a little corn maze.

After all the festivities we ended with rides with Eli.

Rio Loco is a family favorite!

I make sugar cookies every year for the kids to decorate. This year I got a request to make a snake and a frog for Joseph and Eli.

Eden had a special Halloween dance recital. This was also her first recital ever and it was cute to watch!

The stage.

All the kids at the end.

She did really well for her first recital and was excited to receive this little bouquet at the end.

There was a storybook parade at school as well. Eden chose to be a dragon from the book Dragons Love Tacos.

Later that day there was a Fall Festival and Trick or Treating at the school.

The Fire Department came and there were some people dressed as Barbie and Ken on stilts 😂. A lot of people were creative with decorations and costumes!

Time to carve our pumpkins!

On Halloween itself, we ran into our neighbors and Trick-or-Treated with them for a little bit. I wish we got to know them better before they moved, but it was fun all the same. Later we went to a Tri-Ward Trunk-or-Treat but I have no pictures. I wasn't too happy they had it on Halloween itself, haha!

And that's it! I still have Halloween 2024 to blog about, so hopefully, I get to it this year before Halloween 2025 happens.

Fall 2023 Photo Dump Part II

2025-02-22T16:11:00.003-07:00

Back with more pictures to share! Here are some more events in the fall that aren't tied to any holidays.

Eli joined a new dojo! Master Rick became his new sifu. Although there are a few differences in what they learn and their teaching styles, Eli had a strong foundation from his previous dojo and flew through a lot of the forms and belts.

Eden got invited to quite a few birthday parties throughout the year. Someone must have started the trend of trampoline parks because almost every party was at one! Here is Eden's first party.

As I mentioned in my last post, we wanted to redo our yards and hired some contractors. They ripped out the grass/weeds, re-fenced our yards, and leveled everything. We decided to add gravel and artificial turf instead of adding grass back in for maintenance purposes. Absolutely no regrets, it's been a lot less work and it looks so much better.

Adding the brick and landscape barrier.

View from the balcony.

Adding the rocks!

New plants added in.

There was an eclipse we had fun viewing (safely). It was sadly cloudy but we could see it through the pictures we took.

We added the turf!

Noah loved it!

Joseph trying out how soft it is under our feet.

Look how nice it looks!

Gravel was added too.

The kids were busy this fall with school and activities, and they had fun at home too.

Eli getting his first belt.

Noah on his balance bike.

His love of Luigi is still strong!

Eden enjoying another party at a trampoline park with her classmates.

One of her very cute drawings!

Joseph and Eli at school doing an after school engineering class.

More rain!

We ordered a new playground set after the contractors finished the yard makeover!

We also added lights on the fencing.

All done! The yards are perfect for hosting and minimal yard work
while looking nice!

And that's it! The next posts will be all the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas), so that will be fun. Thanks for hanging in there!

Fall 2023 Photo Dump Part I

2025-02-21T13:04:00.001-07:00

Time for another blog post! Our first days back in San Antonio were busy exploring, fixing up our house the way we wanted, and starting school back up! So the best way to go about this time is with a photo dump post. Here we go!

We got Sea World passes and enjoyed the new things they offered since the last time we went.

Eli's tall enough to go on almost all the rides! He's the best ride buddy.

A new show for kids with puppets and glow lights.

Excited to see the beluga whales again!

Only the beluga can look like a majestic marshmallow. My spirit animal!

There was a back-to-school event in over 100 degrees. All three older kids will be attending the same school this year!

Just a picture to show how hot it was 🥵

We were busy in August doing things around our house. We set up our king-sized bed that we had in storage. I missed this bed, and seeing it fit all our kids comfortably was nice.

Getting comfy for scripture time.

Sam custom-built this desk in our kitchen nook area. I wanted a desk downstairs, and after some back and forth on where to put it, we decided on this location. It was perfect!

Building the frame.

We used butcher block for the top.

Finished!

And it has a huge drawer!

Sam really wanted an exercise area, so we converted part of our huge bedroom into one. We got a treadmill and a Vitruvian. The Vitruvian is a fancy machine that uses smart resistant bands instead of weights. Look it up if you want more information because I don't feel like writing about everything it can do 😂. It is pretty cool though!

Vitruvian machine and bench.

We also redid our shower! I didn't mean to do it so soon but the Costco pitch worked, I guess! I love it more than the last one, though.

Before the shower doors and glass were put in.

We also got a DoSeum pass and enjoyed the exhibits there.

The kids started school!

Here is Tang. Just for fun.

Eli's first lost tooth! Took long enough!

Look at these cuties!

There is always fun wildlife in the neighborhood.

A buzzard with a squirrel in the middle of the road.

Deer nearby the trail we were on.

Trying out the new trail they built.

The trail led straight to a park!

Finally rain came to cool us off!

Jumping in puddles in our backyard.

Remember house projects I mentioned? Our yards are getting completely redone,
complete with new fencing!

Loving that rain!

Stay tuned for Part II. This one kind of got long!

From LA to SA

2025-02-11T09:12:00.004-07:00

A bittersweet post ahead! I mentioned in my last post that the older kids went with Sam's parents back to Albuquerque while we headed back to Los Angeles to pack up and move. My parents flew in to help pack and drive Sam's car back. We were worried about our household not fitting in the truck, but my parents and Sam succeeded in their Tetris game! We also had the missionaries come and help, so the truck was loaded up quickly.

That night we treated my parents to some Gelato at Century City Mall. I was soaking in as much of the atmosphere as possible since I didn't know the next time we would be able to be back to visit.

Look at this cute place!

Since the older kids were still in Albuquerque, we split up the next day. Sam and my dad drove all the way to San Antonio while my mom, Noah, and I would head to Albuquerque. My mom and I stayed back a little longer to also clean the house some, then we headed back later that day. When we got to Albuqerque, I noticed our older frogs dried out! I didn't hydrate them as much as I thought and two of them died. I was pretty upset with myself, but we still had the baby frogs. I decided not to travel with them anymore after that sad experience.

My mom was still taking care of my Grandma, so another part of coming to Albuquerque was to resume that role for a few days. I remember how hard it was for my mom to go anywhere and it was always an ordeal to find care for Grandma if she wanted to see me. I'm so grateful to have a mom with such a big heart for caring for Grandma and making efforts to still help me when I need her.

Noah with his twin cousins.

While we were in Albuquerque, Sam and my dad, along with the help of our current ward, moved everything into our house. They even set up all the beds and unpacked a lot of things before we even got to San Antonio! That was so nice of them!

We drove back the day before Eden's birthday, so we immediately celebrated the next day. Eden got donuts for breakfast, a cake from HEB, presents, and a trip to Build-a-Bear.

Happy 5th birthday!

Eden's choice of cake.

Stuffed animals, her absolute favorite things to get!

Putting a heart into her new Stitch.

Her choices: Stitch and Toothless.

The kids had a great time!

Our Primary in our ward had a Pioneer Day activity. I was really shocked how much the primary shrunk since we came back. Still, the kids had some fun.

Three-legged race.

Wheel-barrow race.

Sack race.

I coincidentally was called to be the new Primary President not long after and got to know all these kids really well!

As sad as it was to leave Los Angeles, I still love our house in San Antonio and we settled in quickly. I missed our huge tub, and bath time is definitely more fun here than our last house! Joseph also has his own room now and he is loving it.

What was hard coming back to was the weather! It was over a hundred degrees for what felt like weeks! It was the hottest summer in recorded history. So, yes, I miss my beautiful SoCal weather. I felt pangs for weeks just thinking of California, but we are at the point here in San Antonio where I feel very settled and I like it here, too. We'll go back and visit someday, but meanwhile we are enjoying our day to day here in Texas and soaking in our family time.

Fairview Cabin 2023

2025-02-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

We were invited back to Jared and Jenny's cabin in July of 2023 and had a great time. Joseph called this his favorite place to be at one point. I forgot many details, but I'll try remembering everything we did!

When we arrived, we were able to check out the new turf installed for lawn games and other shenanigans. They made foam swords for the kids to play with!

Joseph with his favorite dog, Chloe.

Swords in action!

Noah is never one to miss the action.

Group photo!

Jared got the leaf blower out and we got the best photo from it!

Jess and Seb's family arrived a little later and we enjoyed spending time inside the cabin.

My niece lives an hour north of the cabin, so we naturally had to go see her and her cute kids! Poor Calvin broke his arm but he is always such a happy kid it didn't seem to bother him. We went to Cafe Rio to eat some yummy food and meet little baby Nixon.

Calvin and Hobbs!

There she is 😍

We all got t-shirts from this reunion in the colors we wanted. I chose green for the boys and pink for Eden and me. When we got back, Jared and Jenny took us for a ride in their new fancy UTV. This area is beautiful!!

Sam and I enjoying the view.

Thanks for the ride!

Sam spent time with Mario catching up on life and talking about good books.

Jacob and Shauna arrived and we got to celebrate some birthdays. Sam's already passed but Eden's was coming up!

Eden opening her presents.

Celebrating with rice crispy treats!

Happy birthday!

Cheers!

Eden spending time with her aunt Jessica.

Grandma and Grandpa with their progeny.

We spent a lot of the next day hanging around and doing different things around the cabin.

Enjoying the hammock!

Milo and Eli really getting along!

More sword action!

A true princess.

Making homemade ice cream!

Da boys.

Noah and Dad went on a hike to the rock shelter.

Swimming next to the river instead of in it!

All the girls wore Wednesday braids.

Movie night with a projector. We watched Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.

Next day, I took the older boys to the rock shelter.

My wildflower bouquet.

Such a pretty area!

We then enjoyed doing some yoga on the turf.

We took a hike up to a pond in the "rich person" area.

We later went into town to checkout the Fairview Museum. They had a lot of fun history and even a mammoth skeleton!

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

Good Ol' Lincoln.

Woolly Mammoth Skeleton.

Joseph really enjoyed seeing this rock!

Playing rummikub that night.

Jacob and Shauna left the next day (they had been traveling for a while before arriving in Utah), but we got to enjoy the Pioneer Day parade.

Family picture!

A rare family photo with all of us in it.

Noah's new favorite game.

Took Eli out on the UTV.

Parade time!

Eden is dressed for the occasion.

Jenny and Eli.

Sam with his mom, Jared, and Noah.

Pageant winners.

I always enjoy a good marching band!

A float tossed out some otter pops for the crowd to enjoy.

They take Pioneer Day very seriously in Utah.

We ended the day with a quick meal and karaoke, and then some of the family went to the Demolition Derby that night while our family stayed home and packed up.

Sliders and watermelon, yum!

Eden and Sofia having good cousin time.

The Dunlaps' new addition, Buddy!

Enjoying the Karaoke!

Thank you, Jared and Jenny, for being wonderful hosts! We can tell how much effort you put into everything you did to make us feel comfortable and have a great time!

We moved almost immediately after this trip, so to help us out, Sam's parents took our three oldest kids to Albuquerque while Sam, Noah and I drove back to Los Angeles to pack up the moving truck. Sam's mom sent these cute photos to us:

They always been pretty good on road trips!

Last Days in LA

2025-02-05T10:26:00.004-07:00

July was filled with many trips, but we still had a little life left to live in Los Angeles!

My dad drove back with us from Mexico (so nice of him!) and we decided to go to the Getty Museum since we never went yet. It's a cool place, but I don't know if I would consider it "kid-friendly". Lots of nudity in the art, oh well.

Simon of Trent, the Boy Martyr. Sad story behind this little guy!

Irises by Van Gogh,

Beautiful gardens! The succulents in Los Angeles have always ben unreal.

Our garden baby.

Old and intricate chess set.

Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom.