BiG neWs!!

It's been a while since I've blogged about the happenings in our home. It's not for a lack of blog-worthy news. It's called laziness, I guess. No excuses.

To catch up...after my last post Jason started an awesome contract job, school started, I turned another year older, Halloween was spooky, Jason turned another year older, Thanksgiving was full of thanks (especially for Jason's awesome job), I experienced my first Black-Friday shopping trip and survived, we received the biggest surprise ever (more on that later), Christmas was awesome, we rang in the new year with Jason's parents in town, Jan, Feb, & most of March are a blur (at least I'm trying to forget it), Jason's awesome contract job ended, we went to Maui with our friends (best vacation ever btw) and that brings us to present day.Maui was so much fun. I loved soaking up the sun (I got a little, okay a lot burned) and swimming in the ocean. It was so nice and relaxing. It was Jason's first time to Hawaii & loads of fun watching him enjoy. He had a little snafu in the ocean with some big waves. He tangoed with the coral and lost his snorkel gear and some skin. No major injuries, just a good story.

Now, on to our Big nEwS.....we found out a few days before Christmas that I am pregnant. HUGE surprise! (PS...this is not my sonogram pic...I'm still too lazy to scan & download mine. Old habits die hard.)
The first three months of this year were full of morning sickness that lasted all day, and thankfully that is now over. We just found out we are having another GiRl and we are so happy she is healthy and well. I was positive I was having a boy, and was hoping for logistics sake it was...Ethan is the only one with room to share in our tiny house. But, as Lauren said, "girls have cuter clothes". We are happy and excited and looking forward to meeting her. Ethan did shed a few tears when he asked if I could please have another baby to try for a brother and I said "no"...poor guy. He did say he was thankful for his baby sister in his prayers that night though, so I know he will be okay. He is so sweet.

{O wHaT do yOu Do wheN DaDdy's gOne?}

We tried to stay as busy as possible while Daddy was gone at Scout Camp for SIX days. We visited two sets of grandparents, made cookies, cupcakes, and muffins, dog sat, went swimming, rode our bikes, went to the waterfront, chased our runaway dog, pulled up my skirt in front of a 20 strangers after my dog jumped on me and pulled it down to my knees, threw rocks in the ocean, rescued a little baby boy from the ocean, killed one GiNorMous spider in my house, downloaded months of pictures from the camera, and now...catching up on some blogging.

Here are some pics from the waterfront.

I'm not sure why Kate wouldn't put her shoulder down. This is her new pose, I guess.Lauren thoroughly enjoyed being in the water. (PS. check out her new hair cut...we did it while daddy was gone )E-Man drying out before getting back on the bikesand the shoulder pose again

I wonder if Lauren will resent me later when she looks back at this picture and notices she has her brother's old helmet that is basically falling apart and daddy gorilla glued it back together. The girls discussing their dislike for this tiny-rock beach and rocks in their shoes.
Ethan holding Diego (bad dog) before he escaped to chase a Chihuahua.

{FaMiLy PiCs}

Thanks Rebecca (Mi Vida Photography) for taking pictures of our little family. You always do such a great job!

{Happy to be ThRee}

Katelyn is so happy to be ThRee. It gives her big points in her constant quest to be more like her big sis and big bro. Birthdays are just plain exciting, no matter what the age, really. I'm glad you enjoyed yours Katie.

It was all hEllO KiTtY this year. She's in lOvE. She has been wanting this Hello Kitty scooter for months...which is like years to a toddler. Uncle Grant & Aunt Sunny

Poppy (& Granny) came all the way from CA to celebrate.

Crazy daddy

{school's out for the summer}

...sing it with me now! We are excited for summer and hoping for lots of fun memories and less skinned knees and band aids. Jason is trying to ban flip-flops for the girls because they ALWAYS fall down when wearing them to play outside. I have a hard time supporting this since I live in flip flops. But hey...no need to even concern ourselves with this yet....because there is NO SUN! Come on summer-sun...we are waiting.

In the meantime, here is the end of school year wrap up

Ethan had a recorder concert with the third graders (since he was in a split class this year). He really enjoyed learning to play the recorder and we enjoyed having him practice at home. :) He now feels he can play any instrument. Yes, you read that right....ANY instrument. (Did I already blog about this or is this memory just etched so deeply
into my brain, I will never stop hearing the sound of a recorder?) Anyway, he
also did his first research project and gave an oral report to his class. It was
super cute. His teacher scheduled his presentation for the day I was in the
class helping. Love her. He did his report on the Green Sea Turtle because I saw
one while snorkeling back in May and also bought him a t-shirt with a sea turtle
on it from my trip. He's cute.
Lauren finished preschool. I'm so excited for her to start Kindergarten next year. She is super ready. She is reading really well and she always wants Ethan to quiz her on addition problems. She is going to love Kindergarten. Her preschool class did a cute Mother's Day presentation. She was the pig again. She loves making pig noises.

{8 is GREAT}

Our little man turned 8 years old and it was great to celebrate with him. In our family, when you turn 8 you have the choice to be baptized into this church. E made that decision and we were so happy to share this special day with friends and family. Thanks to all who came to support E and to those who participated in the program. And thanks to those who couldn't make it, but sent their well wishes to E. And a special shout-out to my friend Mimi for taking so many great pic's for us.

some of the family & friends our little man..so grown up!The C's with E. Emily sang a beautiful song.E with the Reed'sE with the Primary President

{catch up}

I have not been good about keeping up with this blog for quit some time now and I'm starting to feel guilty about it. (Guilt is a feeling that runs deep in my veins so this is nothing to be alarmed about.) I should really be better about documenting this time of our lives. This past year has been full of so many wonderful things, that often get lost in the shadow of this seemingly never ending trial we are also facing.

I wish I had pictures to document all of it. (I probably have more than I can find at this moment on the laptop.)

So here is my jump-start effort at a catch up:

Ethan has had many visits from the Tooth Fairy, further developed his love for basketball and football by playing everyday after school, continues to enjoy reading, has started taking more and more time in doing his hair before leaving the house, and has recently gotten glasses. He is turning 8 this Saturday and will be baptized in May. He was also able to participate in his first Space Derby as a Cub Scout.

Oh...as you can see Jason & Ethan's dream of having a dog finally came true last month. His name is Diego.

My sweet Lauren got glasses too. (She got hers first which made E so jealous.) She learned how to read, is attempting to ride her bike without training wheels, took a cheerleading class & rocked it out like a super star, and she has really worked hard to not be so shy. She has become a little mommy to Diego, and Katelyn (whenever Kate allows it).

And Katelyn....well, she'll be three in two months and that pretty much sums up Miss Kate lately. She is exercising her Independence in a very loud, body flailing way. She potty trained herself about 5 months ago, she loves to sing and dance and has many songs memorized. Whenever she hears a song she likes, she says, "Mom! It's MY song!", even in the middle of Sacrament meeting. She is too cute for words. She was afraid of Diego when he first arrived, but now she can't stop giving him hugs (which look more like choke holds).

The girls have become such great friends. Katelyn is getting her big-girl bed this week and soon they will be roomies. It's so fun to see their relationship develop. When E is around he feels a little left out at times, which is sad for me to see....but maybe Diego can help.

{easter fun}

I love Easter. It's always been a very special holiday for our family. We love it so much we stretch it out into a couple of days. The Easter Bunny comes to our house the day before Easter to hide eggs and the kid's baskets while we're busy coloring eggs. Then on Easter morning we have a special egg hunt. Each egg we find has a special reminder of Jesus and his crucifixion and resurrection. It's our time to remember our Savior and His great sacrifice for us.

In recent years, the holiday has become even more special because of my bestest big sis . It started about two years ago when I was in the hospital with pneumonia and dehydration right before Easter. My sister called and asked what she could do for me. Since I did not have the time or energy to prepare for Easter, I asked her if she could please help me with our family's Easter celebration. She happily took over and made that Easter a very special treat for my children. And so a new tradition was born. We all love having her as part of our Easter fun! My kids ADORE their Aunt Sunny. coloring eggs

Kate is missing in this pic because the Easter bunny freaks her out. This Easter bunny freaked all my kids until they were 4 years old. (That's my mom under there!)

Honestly, this bunny even scared me this year....I saw her standing on my patio as I was walking by my front window and actually let out a little girly scream.



This year we added another day to our celebration by having Aunt Sunny over to decorate Easter cookies. Did I mention we love hanging out with Aunt Sunny?
Crazy glasses Aunt Sunny made from play-doh

This Easter Lauren's dreams came true with this blue "guitar". She's wanted one since Christmas.....yes, specifically a blue guitar. And Aunt Sunny, I mean the Easter Bunny, found this Ukulele in Mexico while vacationing there a few months ago.

She hasn't put it down. Ethan claims he knows how to play the guitar because he learned how to play the recorder in school this year (you can see how easily these two instruments would cross over, right?) So, every day he comes home from school to give Lauren a 10 minute lesson on the guitar. It's so darn cute!

I am so grateful for this time of year to celebrate Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Nothing makes me happier than to teach my children of this truth and create fun memories with family.

I am also grateful for my big sis who is still taking care of me like she did when we were kids (minus the Easter-bonnet-elastic-snapping...huge welt....I'll blog about that later). My kids love, love, love their Aunt Sunny. I love watching them all play together. I feel very blessed to not only have the best sister in the world, but that we live close and can be involved in each others lives.