Welcome to our World

I'm so grateful for the many Thursday mornings we've spent with the Le Leche League the past couple of years. On this special Thursday, we met at Sunflower Farm -- a dream come true for little ones who love animals, simple fun, and tractors. We also invited Kaelah's favorite 4-year-old, Bernadette and her mom & little sister along. We had a wonderful time! I think the pictures can explain the rest. A big thank you to Kate L. for sending me some of her photos (the 1st ones of the post). The one of Bernadette posing for the camera melts my heart. Kaelah adores her so much.

A happy anniversary to celebrate, and celebrate we did. It's been 10 years since Dan's mission president got home from Poland and they had a really nice reunion we traveled to Utah for. We headed out on Thursday night directly from Dan's last softball game of the season & spent the night in Little America. I am so glad that place exists! Since we would be heading back & forth to downtown Salt Lake, we asked Dan's little sister, Stacie & her family to not only host us, but to take care of our children as well. You know how some women are just really put together? Stacie is one of those. We graduated from high school the same year but she is leaps & bounds ahead of me in things like a clean house & meal plans & hair & fashion. And she works too! Amazing. Anyway, this was our first time staying with them & it was wonderful. I was really proud of how our niece & nephew gave up their bedrooms for my 2 oldest while they had an ex...

In September my baby turned a year and a half. I'm just grateful I wasn't a wreck like I was on her real birthday. I'm not into crying. Grandma took Danny to Discovery Days (the theme was transportation) and Kaelah was at preschool so I got a little one-one-one time with her to do things like smell the roses. Thanks, Mom! Here's Danny showing Michelle & I the awesome car he made with Grandma Karyl. Trouble sharing ensued. Like I said when I gave a talk in church recently, "My children are wonderful. They just act their age." Michelle is quite the talker for someone her age. She is so easy to understand. One day when I was trying to get her to go back to sleep she sat up, tugged on my shoulder & said, "Up. Downstairs. Food." I got the hint. As far as sleep goes, she still acts like a little baby. Above is a picture of a night when Dan had a late softball game and I was dead tired. I think the picture explains the rest. Kaelah is...

We were so lucky to have my mother & father-in-law out for a visit in September. Talk about helpful! Free babysitting, cooking, house keeping, fixing of the sprinklers in the back yard.... It was great to see them have a chance to really get to know the children & they sure made my life easier while they were here. Hey, they even babysat while Dan took me to my first concert ever, in belated celebration of my birthday! I had a terrific time & VERY impressed with Taylor Swift & everything about the show. We were certainly outnumbered for our age bracket, since we aren't young enough to join the crowd or old enough to be the parents of the crowd. But I know I wasn't the only one in my 30s celebrating my birthday that way. Thanks, Dan! First stop was the Museum. Turns out one of my old roommates was on the same plane as my in-laws. Her twin brother, who she was out to visit, & I planned ahead to meet there to hang out for a bit. (With a family plus m...

Here's a bit of a catch-up post: enjoying the annual stake carnival -- the children had a blast & it was free! Kaelah = ladybug. Danny = bulldozer. Michelle = dog. Definitely fits what their interests are. Great work, Anneke! The snow cones were a great end to a neat evening. Michelle loves ice & went to town. Here are 3 photos from when Dan's older sister & some of her family came out to visit over Labor Day weekend. We went up to a sculpture park in Loveland, which provided lots of fun for our little ones. I didn't take lots of pictures, but here's one of Danny dancing with a sculpture & Michelle sitting on a little boys lap next to puppies. He he. Brett & Shelley are so much fun. I love the way they can make my children, especially, Kaelah, laugh. It's a goal of mine to be more playful like them. I think there is a huge possibility of that once Michelle starts sleeping through the night. Here's a shot of the group at the Rocki...