Cyle's visit...

I adore my youngest brother Cyle. In April he came to town to go snowboarding for a couple of days. I was able to go down to Denver and pick him up from his friend's place so he could visit us. On our way home we drove by the zoo and decided to stop for a few hours. What a serendipity! We all loved the beautiful day and Peyton and Cooper loved checking out the animals, the carousel, and eating ice cream.

We got home just in time to get Morgan and Trevor from school, pick up Ken, and head to the bowling alley. It was a blast. The kids, especially Morgan were really starting to get the hang of it. She even got a couple of strikes!

We then spent the evening relaxing, talking, and watching movies. I was so sad to take Cyle to the airport the next morning. The visit was too short, but tons of fun. We can't wait for uncle Cyle to visit again!

The "Coopers" on the zoo carousel.

Peyton loved riding the polar bear.

Checking out the giraffes.

Strike!

A tasty bit of irony...

At Costco I searched for a box with 4 tall sides so I could change the chicks box. It wasn't until I got home when I noticed what box I had grabbed. "El Pollo Loco!" Ha ha -- I laughed so hard! Notice the chicks are on the edge of the box. They liked to jump up there and roost. When they figured out they could jump down and wander around, that is when we decided that it was time for them to go. Keeping the chicks was a really fun experience for the kids and I am grateful that they had a good home to go to when they got bigger.

Gospel discussions...

A couple of Sundays ago, Peyton was getting her church bag ready to go and gathering some copies of the Friend (church children's magazine) to take to church to "read". She brought the April magazine to show me the picture on the cover. The picture is from the perspective of Christ's empty tomb and shows his disciples at the entrance looking in the tomb, astonished. There is a woman there and Peyton decided that that must be Mary Magdalene. She told me how she was Jesus' friend and was the first person that He appeared to after His resurrection. I was impressed with all she knew. THEN she went on to tell me that there was another Mary and she was the mother of Jesus and that she was married to Joseph. I was amazed that she must have listened as we have tried to teach our children about the life of Jesus Christ. I was touched and had one of those moments when I thought, "as parents, we must be doing something right!" THEN Peyton proceeded to inform me that, "Mary also had a little lamb."

That is true too, I guess. :)

Easter Chicks

I still remember the Easter morning in 1982 when we awoke to find a box with the cutest, fluffy, yellow chicks. We thought that was the best thing ever! We kept them a few weeks before letting them go live and grow up on my uncle Jeff's property.

This Easter we decided to do the same thing for our kiddos. I got four little chicks (two of two different kinds) at Murdoch's and hid them in our friends garage until the kids went to bed and then we got everything set up. They were soooooo surprised! We spent some time talking about how these new little chicks were just born and that they remind us of new life that we can have through the Atonement of Christ and of His glorious resurrection.





We are keeping them for two or three weeks before we give them to our friends, the Adamson's. It has been a fun experience and fun to watch them grow. The chicks now like to roost on the side of the box and know enough to start chirping when the kids come in the room . Not sure if they are excited or fearing for their lives. :)

Growing up...

I was holding Cooper the other day and it was one of THOSE moments. I looked at my sweet baby and all of a sudden he looked older! I realized how quickly he is growing and changing. Maybe it is because he is my last baby, but I find myself wanting to hold on and slow time down so I can really enjoy these moments with him.

Day Cooper was born - 9/9/09

About one week old

About one month old (in his blessing outfit).

4 months old

Almost 7 months

Check out the new tooth (lower center right)!

A conversation overheard...

Recently, Peyton had several friends over to play. They were upstairs playing Sleeping Beauty and they soon came downstairs to ask if they could watch the movie. I was sorting laundry and wasn't noticed in the hall when I overheard Peyton say to her friends, "You don't need to be scared at the end of Sleeping Beauty, she comes alive again, just like Jesus. She is resurrected!"

Hearing that simple testimony of the Savior shared by my sweet daughter touched my heart. I thought to myself that Ken and I must be doing something right if our 4 year old knows about Jesus Christ and His glorious resurrection.

On this Easter Sunday, I bear you my testimony that He lives! On the third day He overcame death and rose from the tomb. I love Him! I am forever grateful for the love of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to teach this truth to my children.

Happy Easter!

"Wild Things"

On Monday night we took our family night to Chick-fil-a. They have such wonderful activities for families and that night they were hosting a "Where the Wild Things Are" evening. Kids that brought a stuffed animal got a free kids meal. They also had animal crafts and face painting. The kids had a blast! How can you go wrong with free food, a play place, friends, and face painting?

Interview with the birthday girl

In the blink of an eye, it seems, my little Peyton has turned four years old. She is such a light and brings such joy to our family. Peyton has a ready smile and an infectious giggle. She loves to learn and help mom and dad. I love hearing her sing and watching her dance. I hope she never stops dancing!


Mom: "What is your favorite color?"
Peyton: "Pink!"

Mom: "What are your favorite things to do?"
Peyton: "Watch TV (Dora, Diego, Fresh Beat Band), play with friends, going to the park, dancing while dad plays the piano, and jumping on the trampoline."

Mom: "Where are your favorite places to go?"
Peyton: "Dance class, Chick-fil-a, Adean -- my cousin, Primary, and playgroup."

Mom: "What are your favorite books?"
Peyton: "Beauty and the Beast and the Pinkilicious series."

Mom: "Who do you like to play with?"
Peyton: "Lydia, Katie, Aedan, Joren, Sophie, Trisha, and Alyssa."

Mom: "What is your favorite food?"
Peyton: "Enchiladas."

My Ballerina Princess

Happy birthday Peyton!

For her birthday this year Peyton wanted to celebrate with a "ballerina princess" party. She had 5 friends over and each girl made a tutu, we had a ballerina photo shoot, and then we had a dance party to the nutcracker music. Of course the cake and ice cream, pink, as was requested, was a big hit. Peyton loved all her birthday presents. We then printed out the pictures we took and made scrapbook pages with glitter crayons and plenty of ballet stickers.

Legally Blonde -- the ultimate GNO!

I so totally love girls night out! There is something so rejuvenating about having a good time with girlfriends. Last week I arranged a group to go to the show Legally Blonde while it was being performed at the Buell. We had such a fantastic time. Dinner at Outback was quite yummy and the show was so entertaining! I am still singing the songs. :)

So "Beary" cute!

I know haven't even posted about Cooper arrival in our family. I will get there eventually, but I had to post these pictures of my super cute boy. Ken's parents gave him the most adorable teddy bear outfit at Christmas and of course I had to take some pictures. I can't get enough of this cutie!

Holy cow!

Picture it: July 23, 2009. It is about 10:30 at night and it is DARK outside. We are driving along a winding road through the back country of Wyoming between Cody and the Montana border. Due to the "Open Range" signs and the hills and switchback roads, we are going pretty slow -- about 40 mph. There are a couple of kids asleep in the back and Ken and I are having a rousing discussion debating the points on whether a book is better than the movie. (My opinion is that the book is almost always better then the movie.)

Out of nowhere, we see a huge, black cow in the middle of the road about 50 feet in front of us. Ken's lighting fast reflexes. He was able to miss the bulk of the cow, but as the cow turned to look at us, her head hit the passenger side mirror knocking it clean off. Home run!

We quickly pulled over and took a few deep breaths. We couldn't figure out where that dumb cow had come from. On one side of us there was a very steep hill going up and a guardrail on the other. We turned around and the cow had disappeared. We were glad to know that she was not dead, but she must have had one heck of a headache. After a while of searching we were able to find our smashed up mirror.

The kids were pretty oblivious in the back, but we said a prayer of gratitude. The what-ifs were almost too scary to think of. No passing traffic, no cell phone service, and me 7 months preggo and smashing into a huge beast of a cow could not have had a good result. We were pretty shaken up and extremely grateful for our guardian angel that must have been traveling with us.

When we arrived at the cabin, Mark told of when his aunt and uncle's Suburban tangled with one of those black cows on that stretch of road. The cow won and their car was totaled. I guess our new van was officially broken in.

Note the cow slobber on the side of the van.

Missing mirror. :(

My no good, horrible, very bad day..

Our trip to Oklahoma (in June) was wonderful, but there was some ominous foreshadowing. Codi and her family also came out to celebrate Father's Day, but about 45 minutes from my parent's house their van's transmission died. A tow truck was arranged and my dad went to go get them. It could have been worse, but it was just a hassle.

I was counting my blessings that I had a functioning vehicle and I was thinking of my tight schedule as I began the 12 hour drive home. I had that day to get home and then one day to unpack, do all the laundry, and clean the entire house before my mother-in-law and Rochelle's family came to visit. Totally doable, right?

As I was driving into Colorado Springs, a mere hour and forty minutes from home, my van lost power. I could barely pull over in between the freeway and a merging highway. The instrument panel was saying I had overheated, but nothing helped as I turned on the heat full blast (in June) and then I could not accelerate. I prayed that our van would not got hit while stuck between the lanes of rush hour traffic and waited for it to cool off. After several minutes it had cooled off enough that I was able to drive about another mile before it died again. This time I called Ken, USAA roadside assistance for a tow, and a taxi service. I was also on the phone trying to find a place to stay. Of course, my phone was ringing, the tow truck and taxi arrived, and Peyton had a very poopy, gross accident. GREAT!!!

Not having any idea where we were or the location of things, we ended up at a cheap motel downtown. Big mistake! Even though they were very nice, it was disgusting. I wouldn't let the kids walk barefoot and I could barely sleep because it was so nasty! The next morning I talked to the auto shop and found out that it would take until noon to fix it, but they did have a loaner car that was being returned that morning and we could use that for the day. That was so helpful!

We went out to lunch and visited several really cool parks. It would have actually been a fun day had I not been so anxious about getting home. Many hours (finally at 5:00) and about $650 later. We repacked the van and took off.




We got about 30 miles away when the van started doing the same thing!!! THE PROBLEM HAD NOT BEEN FIXED. I was beyond frustrated. This time I didn't care what it took; I was going to sleep in my own bed that night!!! By now I was in the middle of heavy, rush hour traffic and it was pouring down cats and dogs (of course!). I would pull over and let the car cool off until I could accelerate again and begin driving and mostly coasting until I had to pull over again. I had only about 30 seconds or less before the van would stop accelerating. I don't think I got over 45 mph the rest of the way home and hills were very difficult. I think it took me about 3 and a half hours to get home. Honestly, I am still amazed that we did not have an accident with all the crazy driving that I had to do.

All of this was a lot of stress for me, especially being 6 months pregnant and quite emotional. I wouldn't let myself cry until I got home. I got out of the van where Ken was waiting to give me a big hug. Then I balled.

Resoultions...

One of my New Year's Resolutions is that I am going to be a better blogger. (Meaning more constistent. Sadly, I don't think the content will be any more funny or inspiring than it has in the past.) I went on quite the hiatus last year as I was so sick and tired with my pregnancy and then dealing with a newborn. This year I will be a better blogger than last -- I know that is not saying much. First, if you will bear with me, I am going to do a bit of catching up with my life. This is the closest thing I have to a journal, after all.

Here is to New Year Resolutions!

Oklahoma...where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

In June I took the kiddos down to Texas and Oklahoma to spend a few days with my family. We added a new stop this year -- this spring my sister and her family moved to Borger, TX. Where you ask?!? It is in the panhandle of TX about 45 minutes NE of Amarillo. We took this opportunity to stay a couple of nights with them, see their beautiful new home, and let the cousins play their hearts out.

From Borger it is just a short 3 and a half hour drive to my parents home in Oklahoma. Somehow it had been over a year since I had been there and it was wonderful to visit with them and see their beautifully remodeled kitchen in person. We kept the visit pretty low key. Morgan loves getting golf lessons from Grandpa. Too bad it was so steaming hot when he took them to the driving range, they were pooped after about 20 minutes. We did some errands and of course ate lunch at Braum's.


Codi's family came in to help celebrate Father's Day (after their van breaking down -- ugh!). It was so nice being together, even if it was a little crazy. It made us really miss Clint and Cyle. With the cousins, we checked out some of the new parks on Ft. Sill. There was this awesome water park that the kids totally loved -- so cool! It was especially nice to go to church together. It seemed like a rather short weekend when Codi's family had to leave (via OKC to get a rental car for the way home.)




On Monday, I finally got the opportunity to hang out with my amazing friend Veronica and meet her 3 adopted kiddos. We enjoyed a picnic at Medicine Park and of course, all the kiddos headed straight for the river getting themselves soaked. We decided to try somewhere a little drier and headed to her house so the kids could play while she and I got caught up. She is one of those truly gifted people and I always feel inspired being around her. So great to be with her, even if it was only for a few hours.

Tuesday, I have to say, was the best. My parents' very nice neighbors let us come over and swim in their pool during the day. It was absolute heaven! We were in the pool about 4 or 5 hours. Trevor and Morgan are total fishes and Peyton, after about 15 minutes of holding onto me, figured out how to balance and kick all over the pool with the help of her life jacket and a pool noodle. This allowed me to relax on a raft and watch and splash the kids. My mom even got in on the relaxing action with us. Absolutely fantastic day.

It's a boy!

We went for our ultrasound at the clinic (sadly, there were no good pictures that I can post). I had the idea that this little baby was a boy and my suspicions were confirmed. Most importantly, everything looked great and was developing normally. I was glad to see that he looks healthy and growing well.

When we told the kiddos, Trevor was thrilled! He was very excited that "the teams were going to be even." Truth be told, that was what I was hoping for too. That is what I grew up with, and was so convenient when we played family games.

Now all we need to do is figure out a name...

Bolder Boulder - Happy Memorial Day!

Myself, I would never pay to run in a race. No thanks. But my wonderful husband enjoys running the Bolder Boulder 10K. Must be the rush of running it with 50,000 other people, or the bands along the route, or hearing the crowd cheer as you run into the stadium. This year, Ken asked his sister Holly to run it with him. We also had our friend Atsuko visiting from Japan that wanted the American experience of running the Bolder Boulder -- it is one of the largest races in the US.

Ken hadn't had the time to train like he would have liked, but I think he still had a good time running it with Atsuko, and even though Holly was not able to run in the same heat with them, she was able to finish within a few minutes of the other two.

I was so glad that Atsuko took her camera. She got some really fun pictures...

After the race, "the cousin's" came over for a BBQ. We always have a good time with the Wenhams! I loved watching some of the ceremonies on TV. Of course I spent a lot of time thinking about my brothers, Clint and Cyle and their service for our country. I am so grateful for this blessed land that we live in and for those that have fought to defend freedom around the world.

School Wrap-up

Granted, it is July, but I do want to update my blog/journal with Morgan and Trevor's end of school happenings. It felt like a bit of a whirlwind. Morgan had field day and a end of school picnic and Trevor had his preschool graduation.

The kids seem to look forward to field day all year, especially when the fire department comes and sprays off the whole student body. Atsuko, took Trevor over to watch Morgan compete in the games (okay, I was crashed out on the couch) and Trevor even got to do some of the games. I was so glad Atsuko got some fun pictures of the kids.

The next night, we attended Trevor's preschool graduation at Robyn's nest. He had a great year learning with Ms. Robyn. At graduation he got to present on Jupiter and . Even though we had worked on what he would say, apparently we did not work enough on the presentation aspect. He thought it would be good to hit himself while he talked. Huh?!? In any case it was a nice night and we loved getting to support Trevor on his special night.

On the last day at Prairie Ridge they hold a school picnic with the class and teacher. It was great to visit with Ms. McEvers and see Morgan play with her friends and take some pictures. Ken and I were happy to see how well she was doing in school. She had an awesome report card! We were proud of all of her hard work. Great job Morgan!