Birthday week!

I had a great birthday and overall a fun week.  Last weekend we braved a trip up North in our Jeep.  Our trusty dusty Jeep has190,000 miles on it and well...she struggles.  But surprisingly the Jeep did good until we hit Fillmore.

When we pulled in to get gas and take potty breaks it started making a very high pitched squeal! After visiting the bathrooms and changing Miah's diaper Alex asked me to start it up again and pop the hood so he could have a look, (I'm not sure he knew what he knew what he was looking for, but it seemed like he manly thing to do.) Miah was in my arms, however and I couldn't get the hood to pop so Alex reached his arm in and popped it.  No big deal, except that when he did he bumped the door lock.  A moment later I got out to go check on the other two kids playing on the playground nearby and shut the door!  Yep we had locked the keys inside the Jeep while it was running.  Did we have a spare key?  That would be a smart thing to have, but apparently we don't have that kind of foresight.

So I went into the gas station and asked around for a metal clothes hanger since we had left the window cracked open.  Of course no one had any so I brought what odd objects I could gather back to Alex and we began our attempts.  It wasn't going well and we really didn't want to have to call and pay for a locksmith to come open it.  We asked if a police officer would come and open it but Fillmore cops "won't do that"they told us.

I told Tayden to say a prayer that we would be able to get the door unlocked.  Alex had found a wire off a nearby barbwire fence and within minutes was able to get it opened.  Prayer works!  We were able to make it to Alex's cousins farewell.  Of course the remainder of the weekend ended up being one fiasco after another.  Allie decided that she was too much out of her element and had four accidents (three in one day)  Miah was teething and the time change completely through her off so she hardly slept.  Tate was good as long as he was at "Sam's house" and playing with his arsenal of Nerf weaponry.  We had a few epic battles!

We managed make it home without further incident.

I had a great birthday a few days later.  Alex made me french toast for breakfast (I ate way to much!) And then Alex's Grandma wanted to take me to lunch (she had to pick the place, but hey it was good).  I went and got my hair trimmed and colored (Thank you Michele!) and then I went swim suit shopping, unsuccessfully, but it was fun anyway.  And finally to dinner at Olive Garden with Alex, Mat and Amanda.  Saturday is my actual birthday party.  Alex spoils me so much!

It feels like spring!

It felt like spring for a couple days anyway.  And we lived it up.  Short sleeved shirts, baseball at the park and outside whenever possible!

I love this picture! (Courtesy of my sister-in-law Liz) I just love his face as bat and ball connect...perfect!

Beautiful Miah would not smile for the camera until she found the remnants of an autumn leaf.    

Allie ran and screamed, slide and swung like she'd just been freed from lock down. 

It was such a fun afternoon.  I'm not quit ready for the summer heat so cool rainy days like today don't bother me at all.   It's just really nice to have them broken up with these nice warm ones.

Girls at the park!

(Sorry the video is sideways I couldn't figure out how to rotate it)

Me and the girls went to the park one day while Tate was at school. 

 Miah didn't mind sitting at the top of the slide, but going down was a different story.  Even just on the little one with me holding her she was terrified.  Allie has never been scared of that kind of thing.  As you can tell!

Miah preferred to watch and eat wood chips!

Fun day!

I love my family!

 "Just as a drop of water has all the qualities of the ocean, you have all the qualities of the creator within you."
               -Dr. Robert Anthony
        (Beyond Positive Thinking, p. 18)

 "Search inward; reach outward; look heavenward."

- Thomas S. Monson

 The Little Chap Who Follows Me

A careful man I want to be, 

A little fellow follows me;

I do not dare to go astray

For fear he'll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes.

What e'er he sees me do he tries.

Like ME he says he's going to be-

That little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go

Through summer suns or winter snows,

I am building for the years to be-

That little chap who follows me. 

 "When asked how he had produced the magnificent statue of an angel, Michelangelo is reported to have simply replied, 'I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.' That is what the Lord will do with each of us if we allow Him to do so."
                     -Elder David S. Baxter
                      (Ensign August 2007)

 "When you pray, move your feet."

-African proverb

"We [see] in Alma's words the real-life version of marriage and parenting: fatigue, labor in the spirit, journeyings, suffering, sorrows, afflictions, and yet laced through all of this [is] 'incomprehensible joy'"!

-Bruce C. Hafen, Alma 28:8

(Covenant Hearts, 93)

(Allie, Cousin Macey, and Miah...such beautiful girls!)

Why is it that some nights you find yourself standing over one or all of your children at some point trying to comfort and get them back to sleep?  And if they are so miserable and completely unable to fall asleep without waking you up first then why is it that they are so happy and lively the next day while you, the sacrificing parent, can barely find the will to get a shower only to crawl back into your sweats?

I appreciate my mom so much more after nights like that.

Last night Tate, who was still trying to recover from the flu, woke up a couple times just to let me know that he still did not feel good at 11:00 and again at 1:00.  Then Allie had to go potty at 1:30.  Then at 3:30 Miah was up and even after a bottle at 4:00 would not stop crying.  She has no tolerance for teething pain and no amount of Orajel, teething tablets, or Tylonol make much of a difference.  So I ended up standing over her while patting her back.
After about 20 minutes of that I moved to the floor with my hand stuck through the slats and since she could no longer see me I had to sing and shush her.  By 5:30 I finally gave up and told Alex it was his turn.  If she was crying before she was hysterical after she saw Daddy.  She loves her daddy, but apparently only mommy will do when you feel yucky! At 6:30 I was ready to either smother myself with a pillow or ebay some kids!  So went back in picked up Miah who through herself backwards in outrage as I changed her diaper then opened the blinds and tapped on the window to get her attention telling her that it was still dark outside and there was still time to salvage this wretched morning by just going to SLEEP!

 Miraculously she took her binky, sat in my lap, slumped over my arm and promptly fell fast asleep.

This afternoon she was my happy, adorable little Mi Mi again.  This is her playing with her 6 month old cousin Emma while we were at my sister's house.  Here's hoping my little angles sleep like one's tonight!

3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF!

 We headed out to the field of dirt and sage brush behind our subdivision and shot off some rockets the other day.  Tate absolutely loves anything to do with aerospace, aviation and dirt so it was kind of supposed to be a boys thing (Tate invited his friend Gavin who couldn't leave without out 2 1/2 year old Easton) But as you can see Tate couldn't go without Allie wrapped around his waist either.  Please note that Allie is wearing the latest in princess dress up clothes, pink polka dot rain boots and an enormous pink flower headband.

The kids had a blast!  (No pun intended and will you just look at that pose Allie's got!  She is such a girly girl who pretends to be a tom boy) Poor Easton and Allie could not keep up with the bigger boys when they had to run all over the place trying to find where the rocket landed each time, but it was lots of fun for everyone.  I don't have pictures of it because I accidentally deleted them, but my sister Amanda and her two girls were there with us too.

Pictures!

 I realized that I never posted any Christmas pictures so here's a few plus some extras just for fun!

 Snow in St. George that stuck for almost a week!  My poor kids are weather wimps and only played outside for about 15 minutes.  No wait, I take that back. Allie was the wimp, but Tayden would have frozen to death before giving up and coming back in.  Lucky for him, I figured out how to get my snow pants to fit him since he'd out grown his (I just rolled up the legs and cinched up the waist as tight as it would go- hey they stayed up and kept him dry!)

 Here is Tate with his "polar express train"  He designed and painted it.  (I did the cutting).  He got to wear his  pajamas to school and walk in a polar express parade around the school.

 This is just my cute Miah.  She is the happiest little girl ever!  And if it weren't for those pesky teeth messing things up she'd probably never cry. Look at those dimples!  Makes me want to just want to squeeze those chubs!  She is obsessed with her Caterpillar stuffed animal and can't go to bed without it, still says "hi dad" while waving at Alex and says "mama" (unfortunately only when she's upset, but hey that's better than nothing).  Also rather unfortunate is due to her older siblings noise level she has started squealing and screaming and it's usually when she's happy and content.  Oh dear, more noise!

 Here's all three of my angles at Christmas.  So cute!

Okay- this my Allie. She is my drama queen, mama's girl, sweetest thing you'll ever meet.  Believe it or not she is actually mellowing out in her old age of 3.  She prefers to play with 6 year olds, namely her brother and his friend Maesi. And depending on the day she and her cousin Macey are the best of friends too.  In fact lets everyone know how much she loves her big brother, especially Tate.  Which is why a daily occurrence is to find Allie tackling Tate or hanging around his waist while saying, "I love you Tayden!"  Tate gets so annoyed, but secretly I know he loves it because if you ask him who his best friend is, it's Allie.  I'm guessing Allie will grow up to be a photographer because she loves to get my camera and start clicking.  And yes, she also loves to be on the other end of the lens too!