Utah: Days 4-5

Day 4, Monday March 15: Even though it snowed in Texas a couple times this year, we never got to go sledding. So we promised the kids we'd head up to the mountains to slide down some hills while we were in Utah. Monday afternoon was our day. Luckily, Richy and Kari equipped us with all the gear we needed (and even let Eliza stay at their house to nap) and we headed to the top of the "pass."

It was glorious to be out in the crisp, cool, clean air. It was a perfect day, just the right temperature. The hill was just the right size for the kids who haven't had much experience with sledding. It was awesome. We had a great time... I even went down the hill a few times (but I was scared!).

See? No coat necessary.
The train was a super big hit.
Who do you think is having more fun?


The bathroom was locked and Levi got stuck down there. It was so sad for him, but funny for me. :) (I'm such a sympathetic mom). He was trying to climb up and out and kept yelling, "Its scary Mom!" as he slipped back down. Bryant tried to help me and he would have nothing of it. He wanted Mom's help, so I put the camera down and came to the rescue. He was pretty emotional the rest of our time on the hill.
Bryant, on the other hand, wasn't ready to leave. He had a blast and would barely make it to the top before he was on his way back down again. It was so fun!
Day 5, Tuesday March 16: Tuesday during the day we just took it easy. The kids were happy to just watch TV (Grandma and Grandpa have cable!). We went to Target and while getting a "quick" lunch we ended up waiting at least a half hour because the register at the snack bar shut down each time she put in the final kid's meal... I guess we have too many kids for it to handle.

That evening the kids got to play at Grandpa Hoss's with Richy and Sean's kids while Ethan went snowboarding and I had a girl's night. It was such a fun evening for me! And I know it was for Ethan too. We girls headed out to Zupa's and I had a delicious barbeque chicken salad (I've been loving barbeque this pregnancy- must be the Texan in me). Then we indulged in chocolate fondue and had such a fabulous time chatting. Jane (Ethan's mom), my mom, Sara (Lynn), Brindy, Kari, and I were the gals at the cafe'. It was great company, great food, and a great time. Thanks everyone who helped make it happen!!! After dinner we headed back to Jane's to play games. Jeni and Ethan's cousin Debbie joined us and eventually even Erin was able to join in the fun (once she was done snowboarding with Ethan). Kari brought one of my very favorite games, Ligretto! And I think everyone had a good time. I know I sure did.

It was another wonderful day!

Our Trip to Utah: Days 1-3

We were all so looking forward to going to Utah to see our families! Since we missed them at Christmas, it had been over 9 months since we last saw everyone and that is just too long (for us anyway, you'll have to ask them if it was long enough for them)!! As you noticed in my post just before this a bunch of us were sick the week before we left, Bryant was just getting over an ear infection, Jonas was throwing up during the week, Eliza was diagnosed with an ear infection with a ruptured ear drum, and I was sick with a high fever and sore throat and ears. Fortunately, we stocked the van up with meds, blankets, and pillows and decided to still head on our way...

Day 1, Friday March 12: Ethan got off work at noon and picked Bryant up from school so we could get on the road. I was busy at home crying to my sis-in-law about how miserable I was and how I couldn't get anything done (thanks, Kari!). We set out on the long road around 1:30 that afternoon, only a half hour after we hoped! Way to go us! I don't think we forgot anything either, amazing!

Truthfully, the drive that day in particular is a blur. I was really, really sick. I slept a lot and Ethan drove the entire time, poor guy. The kids took turns choosing movies to watch and between naps I would turn them on and give them snacks. When we left my temperature was somewhere around 102.5 when we got to the hotel in Grants, NM it was much higher than that. Ethan informed me the next day he thought very seriously about taking me to the hospital, but opted for a blessing instead and miraculously my fever broke during the night and didn't go back over 101 the rest of the trip! I'm so thankful for the priesthood and a worthy husband!

Day 2, Saturday March 13: I was conscious a lot more this day, but with my throbbing throat, neck, and ears I still wasn't much help with driving or answering Bryant's never ending questions. We hit a snow storm on the Soldier Summit, but other than that the drive was uneventful. We did notice Eliza being a bit more cranky this day, but we think it was a combination of her ear infection being affected by all the elevation changes and the fact that she was just plain done being in the car. I was even able to start reading Forest Born somewhere along the way. We made it to my parent's house sometime between 4 and 5 that evening and had a great reunion before Ethan and I headed off to dinner at La Ferovia to celebrate his grandparent's 64th wedding anniversary. We had a fun time seeing everyone and chatting with everyone at our table, though I was ready to call it a night and hit the hay.

I stole this picture from Jeni's blog... Thanks Jeni!

Day 3, Sunday March 14: We got up and went to church with my parents. Even though we weren't 100% healthy we managed to make it through the entire 3 hours. Sacrament meeting was fabulous having one adult per child. And let me tell you, I really loved the break from my responsibilities! I left church feeling totally refueled. It was a beautiful feeling.

We spent the day with my family. Eliza got to bond with her grandpa, I think they both enjoyed it.

Every Sunday evening my brothers come over to my parent's house for dinner (they divide up the dinner responsibilities so its not all on my mom each week), so the kids were ecstatic about being able to play with their cousins. Sean was an uber awesome uncle and got them having some real fun.

Trying to play "Ha!"

Dog pile on Sean! Poor Porter was smooshed as his head was on Sean's belly, but everyone else seemed to love it.

Steam roller! The kids lined up on both sides to catch a ride.

It was a nearly perfect day! It was such a treat to be with family and to watch our kids play with their cousins. We even had a little gospel discussion to top it all off. It was a delightful way to begin a delightful trip!

Pity Party for 1... but feel free to come along

You know what really stinks? Being a mom and being sick! (I know you all have been there...)
You know what really adds to the stink? Having a sick baby and boys who have all been sick (and thereby homebound) and are restless to get out!
You know what else makes the situation difficult? Trying to get ready for a meeting that you're in charge of and can't just blow off because you're sick.
You know one more thing that really adds to the stench? (Boy its getting really smelly in here) Trying to get ready for a trip to visit family and knowing that you're probably going to come home to a messy house, you'll probably forget to pack something important because you're brain is all fuzzy, and not even being able to feel excited because you're too exhausted due to all of the above.

I'm ready for a nap.

Our prophet in 75 years

In Stake Conference today after the sustainings Jonas asked me "Dad, who's the prophet right now?"
"President Monson"
To which he replied,
"I'm going to be a prophet when I grow up.
A cowboy, a ninja, and a prophet."
Can you imagine a prophet with ninja skills? He'd be unstoppable! Not to mention the ability to herd cattle. It looks like it's time for the karate lessons. Then, he's painting the fence.

The Sweetest Thing

One of my very favorite things in motherhood is happening upon my wee ones who have drifted off in some random place in the house. Yesterday afternoon, Eliza treated me to one of these sweet moments.

Did I Say Playing Outside & Sunshine?

Scratch that, let's just say "playing outside" shall we? We had a snow day Tuesday and it was delightful! Texas snow is just about perfect, we get it for a day or two and can play to our hearts content in it and then its gone. Dad and Mom had quite a war going on... we definitely had more fun than the kids...

Although, they did have a fabulous time...
In an effort to keep feet and legs dry we duct taped bread bags to their legs... Jonas forgot to put shoes on afterward. He actually hated having his legs taped and it didn't help that I accidentally taped the rope for his coat... whoops! Although I thought it was hilarious how he just decided to drag his coat behind him rather than wear it, so much more Jonas that way.
Bryant was so excited to show me the "biggest snowball in my whole life!" Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman. Once there was a snowman, tall...

Tall...

TALL!

Not bad for a Texas snowman, if I do say so myself. Although we had a terrible time finding stones for eyes and mouth, he had to settle for berries and a hair elastic (and baby carrots just aren't quite good enough for a good snowman nose)...

An Update

A few things I want to remember about each member of our family. Sorry about the random order, I messed up the formatting and rather than make it so you can't enlarge the photos I left them in random order.

Jonas

Jonas is becoming more of an entertainer every day. If you've seen the TV show Community, Jonas is our very own little Abed and is constantly throwing out movie and TV quotes. He really made us laugh out loud when he randomly said in a perfect Hagrid accent, "Lily and James Potter killed in a car crash?!? A car crash?!?!? Its a scandal! An outrage!!!" I think he's just like his dad as a kid.
He loves to wrestle and doesn't quite understand the limits of play, or else he just doesn't know how strong he is. He does have a temper, but is very easy to forgive. He's been more emotional the past couple weeks and will get very upset over little things like not being able to choose a movie at the library because of bad behavior at another store. He seriously went on and on for at least an hour. He loves having reading time at night like Bryant and has really enjoyed all the fun big kid books he's been able to "read." He's reading small words, but not sentences. He learns so differently from Bryant I'm not really sure how to help him evolve into this skill, but I'm sure he'll get there. He loves to play and is still great at pretend. He makes us smile all day.

Levi

Levi: Levi's speech is improving greatly! We missed therapy for a few weeks and when we returned his therapist said she could tell a big difference from the last time she saw him. He's still far from perfect, but it is lessened the level of frustration in our home quite a bit. I've even noticed that when I repeat what he says to make sure I understand him correctly, he almost always starts to say, "No!" but catches himself and says, "Yeah!" Its pretty cute!
He has learned from Jonas the art of pretend and is always playing something. At least 50% of the time if you ask him his name he says, "Monkey Boy." He also loves playing dogs, Harry Potter, Peter Pan, X-Men, house, castle, the list could go on and on. When he's playing he's very adamant that you refer to him as his character, it makes me laugh. Usually all I have to do to play along is call him by his character name and use an accent to fit my character, so I can still got about my normal stuff I need to do. He is such a sweetheart and a snuggle bug. He loves to hold elbows still and suck his thumb (something we'll probably try to grow out of this year). He has the loudest voice of anyone in the family, and that's just his normal voice. When he yells (which is more often than we'd like), look out! He randomly goes through the house and yells for me, when he finds me or gets a response from me he just says, "I love you." And whenever I do something nice for him, even if he's in the middle of a fit, he says "Hank you, Mom!" in the sweetest voice ever! Oh, I love his sweet personality!

Eliza

Oh my sweet baby girl. She is such a doll! And she is growing up like crazy. I took her in for her 18 month check up, she is 99% for height, 55% for weight, and 75% for head. She's right on track developmentally, yay! She loves to snuggle with mom or dad every chance she gets. She loves to run and whenever she gets excited she goes running toward the person making her happy or toward the couch (or something similar) and throws herself onto it, yelling, with a big smile on her face all the way. She has about 25 words she says that I can understand and some other ways to communicate her needs if she doesn't have the words. Its amazing to me the frustration avoided by not having this communication barrier, I'd forgotten it could be this easy.
She still adores his blanket, especially the sating ruffle around the edge. When she wants to snuggle she comes up to me and forces me to hold her blanket by saying "Der Doe! Der Doe Mama!" while pushing it onto my lap until I take it. Then if I don't pick her up immediately she starts patting my lap. Once I pick her up she relaxes as she grabs her ruffle and sucks her thumb. Its pretty sweet. She loves to sing and loves to dance. Whenever we turn on some music with a good beat (or sing anything) she starts dancing with her whole body. It makes me smile every time (and of course gets me dancing too).
When we put her to bed at night she starts singing "I am da da" ~that's usually as far as she gets with "I am a child of God"~ and when we finish singing she starts waving before we even say "night, night" it is so, so sweet! She isn't perfect, though! If Levi asks if he can hold me elbow or sit on my lap no matter where she is in the room she comes running over screaming! She does not like to share her momma! Hopefully she'll adjust once baby comes. She does love babies, but so far that's the only "girly" indicator I have (thank goodness!). She plays with the boys cars and throws balls, she demands to be outside if the other kids are out there and she really enjoys the dirt just as much as any of them. We all love her so much (though Levi does get frustrated with her a lot). My mom always told me I needed to have a girl and I didn't believe her, but I sure am glad to have Eliza!

Ethan

He is really keeping busy with work and is making some major improvements to the way his office runs. He's been having major allergy problems (for all you jealous of our warm weather, trust me it has come at a cost) and either doesn't sleep well at night OR takes a Benadryl and can't wake up in the morning... neither option is helpful to his hectic days of work and family. He gets an escape once a week to play basketball and is perfecting his mad skills on the court. He's still an obsessed dedicated Jazz fan and watches every game he can and he reads about them constantly (anyone else surprised by the Ronnie Brewer trade?). Ethan is such a hard worker he even works when he has the day off... painting, building, etc. (the big reveal will have to wait). He's really looking forward to going snowboarding over our Spring Break vacation next month.

Kim: I am enjoying the tastes of spring we've had recently (though we may get snow tomorrow!). I really love being able to get outside and especially love letting the kids play outside (ah, quiet). I've been reading, crafting, cooking and home decorating like usual, when the kids let me. My calling keeps my mind occupied a lot and I still spend a good deal of time on the phone (call me). I'm enjoying counseling and have actually felt a lot happier the past couple weeks, though I'm not sure if that's due to the validation I've been getting or if its because I've been busy on projects I enjoy. Either way, its good. I think I'm going through a "growth spurt" as I've been having some growing pains lately. Sometimes those pains are the only reminder that I'm pregnant. Someone asked me yesterday at church if I was 7 months along? I laughed and said I was about halfway through. I sure love my family and am appreciating the sweet moments. I am also really looking forward to seeing our families over spring break!!!

Bryant

Bryant is still doing great in school and his reading is still far and away his biggest strength. I recently got him some more difficult books from the library, like City of Ember and Hardy Boys. He's a little intimidated by the length of them, but I'm excited for him to grow into these fun books. He really loves playing the wii we got for Christmas and wishes we let him play more. He's, unfortunately, becoming one of the "trouble" kids in his primary class. His teacher says he has a tendency to distract his classmates, he definitely riles things up at home too, so I don't really know what to do. Any suggestions? His teacher also commented on how bright he is and that he can just look at a picture and know exactly the story she's going to talk about... maybe that's why he's distracting everyone, he figures he knows it they probably do too. I don't know.
He is sweetheart with tender feelings that get hurt easily and we have to be careful the way we talk to him. He helps a lot with Eliza and with the house (though he thinks once he does something he's off the hook for a month). I am so thankful for all he is willing to do. He is full of questions and curiosity and loves to learn. We sure love him.

I'll think about it

While Ethan was reading to Jonas and Levi tonight, Jonas ran out to tell me, "Mom! I'm going to be so good in the morning!... well, maybe... I'll think about it... I'm going to think about it." And ran full speed back to bed.

Its going to be a glorious day!

This morning I woke up to sounds of birds outside, my hubby rolled over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then went to turn the heater on so I could brave getting out of bed.

Bryant got out of bed on my first attempt and he had underwear and socks in his drawer so I didn't have to scramble to find them.

Eliza and I snuggled under a blanket while Bryant got dressed (it just doesn't get much better than that).

Going out to the bus stop, the sky was clear and bright, birds were flitting from tree to tree and my spirits were high.

It can't help but be a glorious day with a morning this good!

Not to mention all the great things going on today, we're going to pre-school at the zoo for playgroup, I'm going to my yoga class at the Y, and I'm finally taking Eliza in for her 18 month check-up. To wrap the day up, I'll get to be home all evening with my honey rather than running off to one thing or another. Yep, glorious day, indeed.

Another little monkey

They boys all stood in the high chair, but I've never had one so daring as this... makes me a little nervous for the playground.