Happy Birthday Emily

Emily is 10 years old today. We love having her in our family. She is such a great daughter.


10 things we love about Emily

1. Emily has a big imagination. She is always coming up with new things.

2. She is very friendly and kind

3. She loves to play softball and is getting good at it.

4. She loves Animals and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up

5. She is environmentally friendly. She loves the outdoors and is always reminding us to recycle.

6. She loves to ride her bike and is getting so good that her dad has a hard time keeping up with her on the trails.

7. She loves to go to school and is very smart.

8. She is a good cook. She makes really good pancakes, cakes and anything else that She tries.

9. She is a good friend to her brothers and enjoys playing with them ........most of the time....and they love playing with her.

10. She is a great helper. She is willing to do the chores I ask her to and does not grumble or complain. Sometimes she will help out without me asking.

Happy Birthday Emily. We love you.

My Old Stomping Grounds

While my mom was here she wanted to take the kids to do something fun to celebrate Emily's birthday. She decided to take the kids to Cherry Hill. When I was a kid we lived close to Cherry Hill and for many summers I had a season pass there. I spent a lot of summer days hanging out at Cherry hill with my friends.

However when my mom suggested it I was not sure it would be that fun. I hadn't been there for at least 15 years and I didn't remember it being so great that I wanted to drive all that way. My mom insisted though and took the kids.
I'm glad she did because they had a fabulous time. The old blue slides and the river run where the same, and my kids had just as much fun as I remember having as a kid. They have also improved the park and added a few new things. It was a nice way for them to spend a hot summer day. All of the kids liked the Lazy river...

At least after they tried it....

Valerie and I went with them so that my mom had an extra set of eyes and hands to help with the kids. We did not swim, but kept cool under a Cherry tree.
Josh went down the water slides a couple of times with grandma. After the second time he just wanted to play in Pirates cove.


Emily and Joe couldn't get enough of the blue water slides, and Joe loved the river run.

Cherry Hill was better than I remembered it, and I liked that it still felt like such a safe family place. I loved watching the kids have so much fun in my old stomping grounds. Thanks Grandma for a fun day.

Our Parade

Since we are somewhat housebound for the next few weeks Ryan's mom helped entertain us on Pioneer day by bringing stuff to our house for the kids to decorate their bikes and have a little parade around the block.

After they were done decorating they decided the theme of the parade was fire and water. The boys were fire and Emily was water.

The kids then followed Grandma around the block and Joe yelled as loud as he could "Parade. It's a parade" I don't think there was much of an audience, but My mom, Ryan and I sure enjoyed it.



Valerie even joined in.........Grandpa carried her around the block, but I think she slept the whole time.

Later we had Fire works. Josh was really proud of the firework he chose, because it was called Rock-a-bye baby.

Happy 24th!

Keeping Cool

The weather has heated up the last couple of weeks and we are starting to get days where the temperature hits triple digits. This is when I am glad we have a yard again and that I bought a pool last April, even though there was still snow on the ground. This way even with a new baby the kids are able to go outside, burn off some energy, and have fun, while cooling off.

Great Helpers

Valerie is two weeks old today and is doing great. She has gotten her days and nights figured out so we are even getting a little bit of sleep at night. (knock on wood) The kids are loving having the baby here and are all excited to help.

Josh still asks me to put her in her crib every now and then, but when she is sitting in her chair he likes to talk to her and tries to get her to play with toys.




Joe loves to hold Valerie, but he also told me that having a new baby is a lot of work. I am glad he understands.

Before she was born Joe was a little concerned about my weight gain. When he came to see me and the baby at the hospital the first thing he said to me was "Mom I thought you were going to lose the wieght after you had the baby." Then a few days ago he informed me that I was doing a good job loosing wieght, and to keep doing what I was doing. I just said thanks. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I just wasn't swollen anymore and that I really had not done anything to lose wieght at this point. I guess it is good to know that someone is watching me though. It will keep me motivated to excersise when I can.



Emily loves having a baby sister and has had a few friends over that she proudly shows the new baby to.

Valerie Ann

Arrived: Thursday, July 9th 2009 @3:49pm

Weight: 8 lbs 13oz

21 inches long

The Story of your Arrival

I started having contractions at the end of June and was ready for you to come at anytime, but every time I would think OK this is it....the contractions would stop. When my mom arrived on July 3rd I was ready to have you. My mom decided she would help get my contractions going to.

We took a tour of the new Oquirrh mountain temple. I hiked up and down the stairs. When offered the elevator we said no thank you. That night my contractions were 15 minutes apart and good, but it was bedtime so I laid down and everything stopped.

The next day my mom put me in her SUV and we drove over the top of the Oquirrh Mountains on a really bumpy dirt road. We stopped at the top to get a picture at the copper pit.....No contractions. (I think that was a good thing...I really didn't want to have you on top of a mountain)

We tried going on walks and doing a mild exercise video....still nothing was working. I was just getting sore. The doctor scheduled an induction for Friday the 10th.

Thursday morning I was really sore and tired. I knew that you were ready to come and I was so ready to have you, but I was not having any contractions. So I said a prayer that I could deliver you that day.

A few hours later the hospital called and said they were having a really slow day and wondered if I would mind coming in a day early for my induction. I was so excited. When the nurse asked how long it would be before I could come in, I told her that I could get there in 20 to 30 minutes. You came quickly and the doctor said we were the talk of the hospital that day because no one ever gets called in early for an elective induction.

We are so excited to have you in our family.

Fireworks, Family, and Fun

We had two fun days celebrating the 4th.

Friday night we celebrated with Ryan's family. Grandpa took the kids earlier in the day to pick out fireworks and the kids were really excited to see them. After some dinner and some apple pie we went out front to watch the show. The kids sang, danced and cheered through the show and loved doing the sparklers.


Josh was the most excited. I don't think he held still for a minute. Even when he was sitting he was moving around.

On Saturday we celebrated with my family at my brother Jon's house. My whole family is in town this week and it was really fun to see everyone. My kids were really excited to see their cousins.

It was a warm day, so Aunt Jenny filled the kiddie pool and then turned on the sprinklers around it so the kids all got really wet and loved it.

Someone had bought "pop-its" so after swimming the kids each got a box. The boys both had me help them get their boxes open. This is where I messed up..... My kids have done "pop-its" before so I just opened their packages, handed them to them and let them go on their way with the other kids. As Josh was heading off I suddenly heard a popping sound....He thought they were candy and had put one in his mouth. I don't think it really hurt because he did not cry. He just had a shocked look on his face and started spitting it out.
After that Grandma helped him do his, but I am not sure if he liked them.

After a yummy dinner and more playing everyone settled down for the fireworks. Most of my family lives in a state where you can do all kinds of "shoot them in the air" fireworks so after the first few fountains my nephew, Mathew, asked when they were going to do the real fireworks. Grandma told him this was it. I think he was a little disappointed. It was a fun show, and once again Josh did not hold still the entire time.

It was a fun 4th of July weekend!

Baby Update..........

There were times this weekend when I thought the baby was going to come. At one point I was sure I was going into real labor, but in the end she has decided to wait a little longer.