Bun In the Oven Update

So for those of you waiting on pins and needles (maybe there's one possible person out there) my appointment that I was waiting for didn't go so well.  My cervix shortened a significant amount and I was put on bed rest.  No surgery because after about a week of bed rest I remained stable so they didn't see the need.  Surgery is always their last option which in a way I'm glad they look at it that way but on the other hand it's kind of like I wouldn't worry about it as much if they just went ahead and did it.  But oh well.  We'll just deal with what we're handed.

A couple of weeks ago I took a visit to Labor and Deliver for some contractions that I was having but luckily they stopped and my cervix was found to still be closed.  I was very relieved.  As of today I've been on bed rest for a month.  Fortunately, it's modified bed rest so I can still get up and do some things but I definitely have to stay down most of the time.  My family, especially my mom, has been fabulous to help me out.  My mom comes a couple days a week to help me with the kids and with my messy, neglected house.  I had a really difficult time transitioning and I had a constant feeling of guilt.  I felt guilty that I couldn't be the mom and wife that I wanted to be.  It was so frustrating to see things that needed to be done and having to ignore them.  I felt like I was failing in my roles.  Thankfully, these feelings have subsided a bit and I'm more accepting of my situation.  Although I still have my moments.  I just want to have the peace of mind that I'm doing everything I can to make sure Isabella arrives here safe and healthy.

I had another cervix ultrasound on Monday where it was discovered that my cervix is open and I may be dilated 1 cm.  A 20 minute appointment just turned into 2 hours of visiting another doctor and Labor and Delivery again.  Melia was with me but she was such a good trooper and only made small complaints here and there.  I had to go see my regular doctor to confirm what the maternal fetal specialist doctor suspected.  Yep, dilated 1 cm.  Then he sent me to labor and deliver for a steroid shot to help develop the baby's lungs just in case she decided to appear in the next couple of weeks.  Scary!  He also said that I could stay this way for 3 more months and not deliver (which I'm very much hoping for).  I could have been this way with my last pregnancy and not known it because I've never been monitored this close before for any of my pregnancies.  So I'm trying to think all sorts of positive thoughts and having stern talks to Isabella that she is stay in.

Basically things are kind of up in the air right now and I'm just taking it day by day trying not to worry about it too much.  But that is definitely easier said than done.  One thing that has helped me a lot through all of this is a beautiful father's blessing my dad gave me.  I'm so grateful for a father who can do this special thing for me.  It has comforted me a lot and when I start worrying more than I should and I think of the words he said.  It is just more of a testament to me that my Father in Heaven is aware of me and is with me and my family.

Finally!

Jayla has already lost two teeth on the bottom but it takes them forever to fall out.  Her permanent teeth start growing behind the baby tooth before it actually falls out.  One of her top teeth has been loose since Novemeber and it finally came out a couple weeks ago.  She was so ecstatic!  The one right next to it is set to fall out next so I wonder how the poor girl is going to eat anything but doesn't she just look adorable!

Melia is 3!

My little Strawberry is three now!  Her birthday was on February 6th.  Oh, how I just love this girl!  She brings so many smiles to my day that I could never count them all. 

 

 Opening presents

 

 She loves Rapunzel and on my side of the family they're always saying to her in a sing-song voice, "Meliaaa, let down your haaair!"  This dress up doll was (and still is) a hit!

 One day Daniel brought home a Tres Leches cake from a Mexican bakery and Melia loved it!  Normally she's not a cake girl but she loves this!  So of course we had to get one for her birthday.  Months ago she said she wanted a heart cake so I had to improvise a little by adding hearts.

 

 



Enjoying her present.

 

Melia is just our fun, beautiful, smart, witty, and lovely girl!  She has a spunk for sure but I wouldn't trade it.  That spunk helped her get through her first couple months of her life that were difficult when she had health problems.  Of course I'll never forgot the moment she was born and I always reflect on these memories each birthday.  She came out beat up but still beautiful with the surprising red hair.  Oh, how I love that red hair!  Her smile is so infectious and portrays a thousand words and it's always been that way and I hope it always will be that way.  I cherish our time that we get to spend together with just the two of us when the other kids are at school.  I'm going to miss it for sure so I'm just trying to soak it all in and take advantage of it.  I sure do love you my little Strawberry!

Pregnancy Discoveries

Last Friday I had my much anticipated ultrasound appointment. This appointment is by far my most favorite doctor's appointment ever! It's where I get to see my baby and how he/she is developing and it's just amazing all the different parts of their little body you can see. I invited my mom to come along but she ended up not able to make it because we had that yucky freezing rain weather and the roads were too bad. Bummer. So it was me, Jayla, Blake, Melia, Daniel..yup the whole gang! The kids were so excited to see the baby so I knew I had to include them.

At the appointment three discoveries were made.

#1-The baby is healthy and everything seems right on track with my due date of June 15th. Yay! Baby is a squirmy little thing and was just kicking those legs! So it was hard to get a good shot in between them. Yes, I want to know what I'm having. I hate not being prepared so I HAVE to know.

#2-The little peanut finally held still long enough to tell that poor Blake is getting another SISTER! She sure had me fooled! I thought she was going to be a boy because it's been a mild pregnancy like it was with Blake. With my girls I had terrible all day sickness and had to force myself to eat. So she's already letting me know she's her own little individual. Blake had his heart set on a boy so later I took him aside and talked to him. I told him I was sorry he doesn't get a brother but that we can still love another sister. He replied, "Yeah, I'll still love her". Sure love my little man. I also talked to him about how he was special to be the only boy and that his role is so special in our family (not that the girls don't have their own as well but I was trying to make him feel important because obviously he is). Daniel is very happy to be having another daughter and it's a bonus for him that his prediction was right. I can't lie to say I wasn't a teeny, tiny bit sad about not having a boy but that emotion only lasted a second and I fully embrace my lovely daughter and am so excited to have her join our family.

#3-This discovery isn't as happy. Since my last two babies were born preterm the ultrasound tech wanted to check some additional things. What she discovered is that I have a short cervix which might explain why I've had preterm births. My cervix isn't able to support the weight of the baby so it brings on early labor. I'm measuring much shorter than normal but not enough to intervene at this point. I go back in on Monday for another ultrasound to see if anything has changed. If it has gotten worse, then there a couple of scenarios: I could be put on bed rest (NOOOO!) and/or have a stitched placed to close my cervix. This means surgery. I've never had surgery before. I'm a little freaked out. But I am thankful that the tech did check so we know what we need to do to keep this baby in full term. And it's taught me that I need to trust my instincts. After I got pregnant I was reading up on preterm delivery and how to avoid it. I came across an article about a short cervix and I had a feeling that it might apply to me. At my first OB appointment I asked my doctor about it and if it could be a possibility. He ruled it out because I had delivered one of my babies full-term and I just let the matter go. Thanks to the ultrasound tech again! Luckily, I'm already on the progesterone hormone shots which are supposed to help strengthen my cervix.

So with me being a woman and a worrier I'm now playing out every scenario in my mind and what we're going to do about each one. I'm a little nervous (okay, a lot) about my appointment and what we'll find out. Please pray for me and my family that no matter what we find out we'll get through it okay, especially if it is the dreaded bed rest.

So if you're all still with me after this long post, overall I'm a pretty happy person full of excitement to meet our Isabella. I'm sorry that there are no pictures to go along with this. My computer won't read the disc they gave me at the ultrasound. I'm going to try on a different computer later and hopefully it will read it. Also, I'm really bad at taking pictures of our life. I feel like I'd rather enjoy the moments then worry about getting the perfect pictures of them. I think I need to find a balance somewhere.

Oh, and we're having a difficult time agreeing on a middle name for Isabella. I like to keep it in the family and Daniel doesn't like any of my suggestions and I don't like any of his too much. So if you have some ideas send them our way. Thanks!

A Christmas Blessed

I've been hesitant to write this post.  Mostly I'm afraid of what other people will think but I've decided I need to do it for me.  So that I will remember one of my most unseemingly blessed Christmas.

Let me start at the beginning.

Daniel started a new business venture in October so money was very tight.  We were very blessed to be able to make all of our financial obligations but we didn't have extra for anything more...including Christmas presents.  Although I believe the holiday and presents are important I don't think it's an excuse to go into debt for, so that wasn't an option for us.

Christmas was fastly approaching and the closer it got the more dread I felt because I didn't know what we were going to do.  Every day I prayed that I would find a way to get them something so they wouldn't have nothing.  We draw names to give presents to in our family and our extended family and I wanted that to come first.  I personally have experienced a lot of joy through giving and I want my children to experience that.  To have that happiness of making another person happy through their gesutre of giving is irreplacable.  I managed to set enough money aside to get everyone's family gifts but that was it.  What was I going to do about Christmas morning?  As Christmas was very near my prayers changed to help that my children would be understanding and I would find a way to explain to them why Santa only brought them a small trinket that wasn't on their list.  It broke my heart to think of my children's disappointment and confusion.

Then a miracle happened, angels came.  Real sent-from-heaven angels.  They took my children shopping and purchased the presents that they were going to give to their family members.  That meant I could use the money I had set aside and get them one thing each that was on their Christmas list.  I was overjoyed and filled with gratitude.  But in the back of my mind I was still afraid of what my children would think of recieving only one gift.  Again, my prayers continued.

A few days before Christmas we went on a fun outing to City Creek and Temple Square with some family.  Even though it was very crowded (and I get very irritated in large crowds) it was still a great time.  When I got home there were three wrapped packages that I found in the back of my van.  They each had a tag with the my child's name on it that said "From: Santa".  Angels had visited us again. 

My fears and disappointment of only having one gift for them disappeared.  I was able to breath.  The word to best describe my feeling at the time is: humble.  I felt so humbled that my Father in Heaven would answer my prayers.  I realized there were many more pressing and significant problems in the world but Heavenly Father didn't forget me.  He answered my prayers through righteous people who were listening to Him and He used them to bless me.

On Christmas morning my children went to the tree in excitement and not one word was said about the small pile of presents.  They were so appreciative of the things they had gotten and never said a disppointing word about what they didn't get.  We spent a quiet Christmas at home with just us, the children, my husband, and me.  It was simple and it was wonderful.

Even though this Christmas was the smallest material-wise that I've ever had it was by far the most blessed.  I was blessed with a renewed testimony that I am a child of God and He loves me, hears me and answers my prayers.  I was blessed to know that the greatest gift is our Savior.  I was blessed with knowing again that I have amazing children who know about gratitude.  I was blessed with my ever-loving family.  I was blessed.

O Christmas Tree

For the past couple of years my brother Wade has been going up into the woods to cut down his own Christmas tree.  This year my parents wanted to join him and his wife Alisha and I thought this would be a fun experience so I asked if me and my kids could tag along, too.  We went up into a canyon by Preston, Idaho where surprisingly there was snow which of course just makes a better experience.  We picked the day after Thanksgiving to go and it was perfect weather.

 

Along the way of the hunt for our tree Jayla found an interesting stick and of course insisted to bring it along and take it home.  That's what she pointing at the camera.  This picture just makes me smile.

 

I blelieve here Blake is telling Wade that this is the perfect tree for him.  He just looks so sweet in this picture and you just want to eat him up!...or maybe that's just me.  The kids were the best troopers and never did complain of being cold or tired.  We did almost lose Blake, though.  He was trying to follow Wade and Alisha down this icy slope and was determined to make it down even though he couldn't see them anymore.  Luckily, I notcied him about half way down and I had to go retrieve him because he didn't dare climb back up.

 

Here we are in front of our tree!  We got the prize of finding our's first. 

 

I hope that this is an experience that my kids will remember and it's one that we'll definitely be doing again.  Maybe not next year because taking a 5 month old baby hiking through snowy hills doesn't really appeal to me but we'll see.  It certainly was a fun day for me and I so much enjoyed watching my kids' excitment and enthusiasm through out the whole day.

 

 Our wonderful tree all decorated.  I love the unique shape.  We made some of our decorations this year.  The kids made snowflakes, stars, and trees out of popsicle sticks and then painted them.  We also made cinnamon ornaments but did them after I took this picture.

 

This was my attempt at being craft.  These snowflakes were also made out of popsicle sticks and it was idea I got from Pinterest.  I think they turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

 

 

I love that Christmastime has become magical again watching it through the eyes of my children.  How can you not catch their Christmas Spirit?  Our family party is tomorrow and it's something we have been looking forward to because it's always a good time filled with delicious food, lots of laughing, and family love.  Although it will have a touch of sadness because my brother Scott wasn't able to come home this year.  Him and I have a lot of Christmas memories and inside jokes that we share together and I can't help but feel like a piece of Christmas is missing when he's not here.  At least he's in Hawaii which is the next best thing to being home.

 

Happy Christmas everyone!

 

 

A New Chapter

Now I don't want anyone to faint because after a year I finally made a new blog post.  The other night I just started reading my old posts and realized what a good thing that I had done.  I had blogged about things that I had forgotten about and it was so nice to reminisce.  So hopefully this will renew my desire to keep posting frequently.  I'm certainly not going to play catch up of a whole year so I'll just start with one of the biggest events in my life...We finally have our very own home!

After months of searching and waiting, our purchase on a home in Magna, Utah was completed.

  It's split-level home with four bedrooms (two up, two down) two bathrooms (one up, one down) with a living room upstairs and family room downstairs.  It also has a big storage room with shelving downstairs.

 

 

When we were finally given the keys Jayla was swinging on the swing set in the backyard and she says, "Mom, it's so good to be home."  I couldn't have said it better and I got a little teary-eyed.  The kids were anxiously awaiting this moment just as much as I was...well, almost as much.

 

 

I was immediately drawn to the color choices and excited that I wouldn't have to paint!

This is the living room but looks much better now because we actually have things on the walls but I'm still looking for the perfect rug.  The previous owners put in bamboo wood floors which I love.

 

 

My favorite thing about the kitchen is the glass tile backsplash.  When we put in our offer we hadn't noticed that it didn't have a dishwasher.  We noticed when we were doing the home inspection.  It really hasn't been that big of a deal.  I hate doing dishes no matter what so I haven't really noticed a difference.

 

 

Another great color in the bathroom and I love the vanity.  The shower head is pretty awesome, too.

 

 

Our backyard is the perfect size.  It's kind of a weird triangle shape but it's not too big but not too small.  There's even a garden plot that's not pictured here.  I'm excited to finally have my very own garden.  I'm sure my mom has fainted if she read that.  I hated working in the garden when I was a kid but now I can't wait.

 

I'm in love with our home and there is no buyer's remorse here.  We like the neighborhood and the town and think it will be a great place to raise our children.  And we'll be adding one more to our family around June 15, 2013!  Hopefully at my next doctor's appointment in two weeks we will find out the gender.  We are all so excited for this baby and the kids can't wait to have another sibling.  I can already tell they're going to be a great help to me, which I'm sure I'll need.  This homebuying stuff has so far has been a great new chapter in our lives.

Catching Up

Isn't she the cutest even when she's all messy!?

Since it's been a couple of months since I posted I'm going to be doing a little catch up. This picture was taken after Melia's first attempt eating yogurt all by herself. She decided that she no longer wanted help eating and was going to do it all on her own.

These pictures are the end result.

When we moved into our place it didn't have a yard yet. Me and my kids were anxiously awaiting the day for them to lay sod and it finally came on our one good spring day. We were able to enjoy it for that one day and then again a couple months later when summer decided to show up and we're definitely still enjoying it now.

It's a little on the small side but it's better than we had before which was nothing. It's nice to have a place to relax and enjoy being outside without being on display for the world to see. We got lucky to be on the outer borders of the property because we have a brick wall along the back and one side and then post a fence on the other side so only one neighbor can see into our yard. Those with a house in the middle of the property has a post fence all around so they have no privacy.

One drawback though is that edging on the right. It's about two feet off the ground and my kids love to walk on it, including Melia. I thought once they put the gate on the fence I can let Melia loose and she can play outside without me having to constantly supervise...Well, I was wrong. She has no fear and she'll climb up on that and walk on it back and forth regardless if I'm there or not. But again I'm grateful that we have a yard our kids can enjoy.

Wow! What A Year!

Melia Carol Montero turned one on Febuary 6th. I know everybody says this but I can't believe that a year has gone by. My sweet Melia has been just that..sweet. She sure gave us trouble in the beginning with pre-term labor, bed rest, pneumonia, and a 10 day hospital stay for RSV. But she is making up for all that yuckiness by being such a good-tempered, happy baby. We had a little party at our new home and it was just a nice, enjoyable day. And not to mention that it was also Super Bowl Sunday (I'm sorry Melia, I'm sure it won't be the last).

She didn't want much to do with the presents so good thing she had some great helpers.

When we lit the candle she wasn't too sure if she liked that but then we started singing to her and she basked in the attention.

This is my favorite part of the 1st birthday. It's so fun to see how hesitant they are at first, probably because they can't believe they've been given permission to be messy with a whole cake, and then in the end you're picking cake out of their nose.

My little strawberry Melia, what can I say about you? When I first saw you you looked like you had been in a fight with your black and blue eye but you had the cutest little nose and precious lips and had that wonderful, glorious new baby smell. And then what else did I see? Red hair!? I was very pleasantly surprsied and my dear you catch a many eye with your hair. Now you are exploring your world more and more and always want to keep up with Jayla and Blake and you love them and they love you. I am in awe by how beautiful you are and I could watch you smile and laugh all day long. I love you to my deepest depth and I cannot imagine our family without you. You are a perfect fit. I love you my baby girl.

I Love to See the Temple

On Saturday February 19th I went here. What a special and life-altering event this was. It is very hard for me to put into words my feelings about this day. It is a day that I have waited for for a very long time. Many people told me that mine and my family's life would be blessed abundantly from this day and how true they were. I'm not saying anything outwardly huge has happened like I was saved in a car accident or we came into a lot of money but the way I feel inside has changed immensely. The way I feel about my family, my life, the gospel. It is all so much fuller and oh so good. My feelings are so tender and precious that I feel it is not appropriate to discuss them in any more detail so publicly. But those of you who have been know what I'm feeling and just how excitingly awesome it is and those who haven't...I want to keep you in suspense until you can experience it for yourself. What a blessing the temple is and I am in awe by how much our Father in Heaven loves us to allow us to have them.

Living the Small City Life

So folks, according to my blog Christmas did not happen. I never got around to blogging about it and I really don't want to play that big of catch up so we will start with events that have happened more recently.


Yes, we moved to Brigham! Never in my life did I ever think I would live here. I said the same thing about Salt Lake and ended up loving it so we'll see if the same thing happens here :/ We moved into a brand new 4 bedroom 2 bath duplex with a 2-car garage and a little yard. And the KITCHEN! It's 3 times the size of my old one! This is a huge step up from where we were living before and big step down from the rent that we were paying. It has a very homey feel and we are grateful to be living in such a nice place. That being said, I have not adjusted to living in a small city. I got so used to everything being so close and right outside my door. Plus in SL everything was conveniently online, i.e. info on businesses, schools, recreation...so not the case here in Brigham.


But another plus is having my family much closer. It is very easy to get a babysitter nowadays. I even had my mom watch the kids twice last week *gasp*. I never want to take advantage of my family but my mom assured me I have a long way to go before that happens. I'm just so used to doing everything on my own and finding a way to do things with 3 kids in tow that this alone is a big adjustment but one I will gladly go with. The kids are also in love with having their grandparents and cousins closer. Jayla was sad to move at first because she had so many good friends at school and church but her, Blake, and Melia have adjusted very well. It will be interesting to see how our new life develops living the small city life.

I Like Pie

...And so does Melia. This is what I found one morning after spending a few moments in the office. Blake had gotten out a chocolate pie. And naturally Melia wanted some too.

It was all over.

She even had some up her nose. I immediately put her in the bath (after taking some pictures of course) and put her in some clean clothes. I then went to dress Jayla and Blake and when I came back into the kitchen what should I discover? That I forgot to put the pie away!! She was a complete mess again. This time she got some on the floor and then was stepping in it so it was all over her feet and in between her toes. I could only laugh because it was my own studpidity that was to blame. I didn't bother with the bath the second time around. I just stripped her down and wiped her down with wipes. It was definitely a memorable moment and gave us a good laugh. It's impossible to get upset with Melia because she's so *deliciously* cute.

Soccer Mania

I cannot believe that I didn't blog about soccer. In my mind I did but when I was going back and reading through I realized that I never did. And I have to document it because it was my little man's first season. One of the things I look forward to the most is seeing how their ginormous uniforms drown them. I'm sure there will be a day when they will fit perfectly and I might feel sad because they're just so darn cute this way.

Jayla chose to be #5 and Blake chose #6. Blake was so excited to play but of course was hesitant once we got there on the field. Jayla felt like such a pro showing little brother how it's done.

After standing with Blake for a couple minutes during warm up/practice time he was good to go. During warm up he would take his shot at the goal and score and he had to come over to me to tell me just in case I wasn't watching. Jayla was adorable and every time she made it in would yell, "Yes! Yes!," and jump up and down.

When the game started Blake did surprisingly well and would get in there with all the other kids even though he was for sure the littlest one out there (Jayla was the 2nd to the littlest). After that first game something must have happened because Blake then started playing like I kind of thought he was going to all along. He wasn't even paying attention half the time. Sometimes when they would have the kick-off he would be standing with the other team on the wrong side. This was all fine because it's what you expect from 3-4 year old soccer. He gave all of us parents a good laugh. When he would pay attention and saw the ball heading down the field he would go run after it but not without looking at me to make sure I was watching and then that would result into running into other players.

Jayla is starting to understand more of the game and she doesn't just follow the ball in the cluster like most of the kids. She can see where the ball is heading and she'll go there and wait. Since she knows she's little and the other kids can beat her running to the ball she's figured out to predict where the ball will be going. She is a very good defensive player because of this. She did almost score a goal...for the other team but I still was proud of her for coming close.

With the teams you never know what you're going to get but they were a good bunch and all wanted to be out there and play (with maybe one exception). We nicknamed ourselves the sibling team because 6 out of 10 of the kids were siblings with another teammate. It was a fun team and the coaches were great and worked really well with them. We can't wait for next season!

Halloween Cuties

Yay for Halloween...I guess. I'm not a huge Halloween lover. I don't mind the holiday but I never go out all out for it. We do the pumpkins, I dress up the kids and take them to get some candy but that's it. Maybe I should become more of a fun mom and make this event more special. But does it really need to be more special for a kid? Getting a bucketful of candy seems special enough to me. I guess everything is all worth it to see these little cuties get even cuter. Jayla has wanted to be Ariel ever since I first asked her (back in the summer) and I think Blake wanted to be Spiderman for Halloween last year but they were all out of costumes. This year I got them a month early to be on the safe side. My little lady bug's costume was a hand-me-down from a neighbor and is actually a newborn size but I squeezed it on her because it was too darn cute not to.

Here the kiddos are at the Trunk or Treat. It was raining pretty good when we got there and by the time we got half way through it had stopped. We made out, weather-wise, a lot better than some people, so I hear.

After our ward's Trunk or Treat we have a dinner and then game for the kids. This was Blake waiting for dinner. I let them have one piece before they ate or else I wouldn't have heard the end of it...

...And I still didn't hear the end of it because here's Jayla begging for ONE more piece. Look at all that loot!

Now here is the cutest picture ever! It was so hilarious to watch her crawl around the floor in this thing. I couldn't stop laughing and she just thought I was crazy and was wondering what was so funny. I've got to say it again that I have THE cutest kids in the world. Of course there are a lot that come in a close second but still..

ABC's, 123's, and a Whole Lot More

Jayla started Preschool last month and she L O V E S it! She attends at a local elementary school and there's about 15 kids in her class. At first I was putting her in preschool for more of the social aspect because she already knows how to recognize and draw letters, numbers, and shapes but it is so much more than that. I had no idea the things that they teach in preschool these days. They're learning syllables! I don't think that was in my curriculum. These pictures were on her very first official day of school. She was so excited that she struck a pose.

My favorite.

She's also very proud of her backpack.

Blake had to get in on the action of the picture taking. At first I felt very guilty for not putting Blake in preschool as well. We just can't afford to put both of them in at the same time. He cried on Jayla's first day because he wanted to stay at the school and not leave. So I try to make it a point everyday that he's going to be with me to help me do something. Like if we go to the store I let him get the items and put them in cart or one day we went and washed the car and he "helped" me work the hose. He seems to be okay about this. He actually behaves a lot better when Jayla isn't around.

I get to volunteer in Jayla's classroom and I'm just so proud of her. I can't believe how much she absorbs and learns. She talks so much like a grown up when she wants to. One time when I was there they were asking the students what they want to be when they grow up and Jayla said a mom. I got teary eyed right then and there. That is a wonderful, fabulous thing to want to be. When did this growing-up business start happening? It is so bitter sweet.

Fun at the Fair (and Carnival)

Here we are at the Box Elder Fair, the best fair in the whole state. The kids were so excited to go on the rides. This was the first year that I forked out the money to do it. The first picture is just priceless. I love the look of utter happiness on their faces. It makes me a proud mama.

Jayla was so brave and went on the dragon roller coaster. It was pretty loud so I think that's why Blake opted out of this one. When the ride was going it looked like Jayla was getting a little scared at certain parts but afterwards I asked her about it and she said she wasn't scared at all. Okay *wink wink*.

This ride was more of Blake's style.

The next day our Stake held a neighborhood carnival with booths of games, a dunk tank, face painting, food, and this giant slide. I was poised for the perfect picture of Jayla coming down then WAM this lady gets right in front of me. Sadly this was the last time I was going to stand in that long line so this is what we got.

This one of Blake turned out much better. Blake is always surprising me. He acts like this timid, shy boy and then he climbs up a huge ladder and slides down this steep slide like it's nothing. This was our last big event of the summer. I am very sad to see summer go. It's such a fun time for our family and this summer was definitely full of a lot of great times.

Blog Prolbems

The three posts below this are not posted in order so I'm sorry if it's confusing or seems a mess. I thought about fixing it but I'm just proud of myself for getting this far so there you have it.

Lovely Melia and Aunt Diane just chilling.

As one of the games we played we had a photo scavanger hunt. We had to take pictures of us doing different things. The one above is four monkeys in a tree. Others were two people drinking out of the same cup, two people doing handstands, a person in the port o potty, and a three person pyramid. Scott truly did an awesome job in planning everything and we had so much fun.

I absolutely adore this picture! Jayla and her Papi.

The traditional group picture. I stole all of these pictures from Scott because I didn't take any. So thanks Scott. We spent the whole reunion laughing and again I don't know how I got so lucky with these weird wonderful people as my family. My brother Wade found this quote and I think it fits us perfectly. ‎"I think laughter is more important than a family vacation because it’s always available and it’s free. Vacations are not. Big family events and vacations are wonderful, but these will not replace the daily humor and laughter in a home. Laughter is like getting away without going away. It gives you a break." - Gary K. Palmer