Oak City Canyon...

We used to go to Oak City Canyon all of the time and it was fun to go with the family again. We had a great time making s'mores and hanging out and visiting. It has been a while since we have seen my sister, and she recently married so it was fun to get to know him also! The kids had a great time and we enjoyed the gorgeous weather and being together!

When mama nests, the whole family nests!

I slept last night... I mean I REALLY slept! That just does not happen. I was up a couple of times, but I was able to fall right back to sleep and didn't get out of bed until 6am. The rest of the family slept until 8 o'clock. It was amazing! I felt great! And I wanted my house cleaned. I have wanted to get cupboards washed, organized and cleaned. We needed the rug in the living room shampooed terribly. The bedrooms needed to be shampooed also. All of those things that get neglected on a day to day basis if you aren't constantly on top of it... and the very things that make me the most nervous and crazy! For some reason the rest of the house can be a mess, but if my cupboards are a mess I seriously want to break down and cry!

Imagine my excitement when Thayne got up and decided that we would be cleaning today! We sent the girls off to the store to get some cleaning supplies. I put on a great 80's mix on the iPod and turned it up loud, and we all got to work! I managed to get a mountain of dishes washed and the counters washed down really well and then Kailee and Kassi took on the huge task of organizing the cupboards. They did an amazing job.... found many lids for bowls that had been missing, threw away lids to pans that no longer match and mentioned that Jace will be thrilled next time he comes for dinner that he will have bowls to take food home in! :) Thayne got the carpets shampooed and I got all of the laundry done too! My only complaint??? Well... why, after living in the same house for 14 or so years, do the kids still insist on making a mess of the hall closet? How is it possible that for 14 years I have put the towels in the same place and yet, I find that they can't keep it even remotely clean???

We even started packing for the 4th... If I keep this up, I may actually be prepared AND organized for our road trip. Wouldn't that be exciting???!!!

If loud 80's music is this effective, I may have to get up and turn it on every morning!!!

Yet another Noah update...

Thayne and I headed over to Utah on Thursday for my first steroid shot. I was a little nervous about it after hearing that it was quite painful. The needle was in and out before I even noticed and I asked, "Is that it?" when it was over. Then the burn took over! It felt like a bruise more than anything but wasn't horrible.

We then took Willie and Hayden down to my mom and dad's house where they will stay for a week, hopefully helping grandpa quite a bit around his yard. It sounds like they have been working hard, and having a lot of fun also. They have gone over to their other grandma's house and helped out and visited her also.

We went back up to Salt Lake so we would be there bright and early for my appointment on Friday. Things are looking good and the c-section is scheduled for July 9th, mid-morning. I will know the time for sure on Friday. My doctor said that she can't even feel the vertical incisions through my belly (not sure how that even works, but I believe she knows what she is talking about!!!) and that he is head down, which is nothing short of miraculous and very wonderful! I am supposed to take it easy for the next 2 weeks and looking forward to an uneventful 11th c-section! That's not much to ask!!!

The second shot was nothing compared to the first. I had a different nurse and whatever she did, it was magic because there was no pain. We are very hopeful that these shots will do their job well and that his lungs will be perfect and ready on his birthday! It is a scary thing to wonder if we are giving him enough time to develop but getting him out early enough that rupture won't be an issue. I started to panic on Thursday. I know what the risks are. I detest c-sections. But I am grateful that I have been able to have this amazing family despite having to have c-sections. I am so thankful for my doctor and for her surgical abilities that have allowed us to have our last 3 kids safely. After my visit with her on Friday the fears went away again and I hope to continue to feel the peace that I feel right now.

We now have his swing put together (thank you Wyatt!!!) and the diaper bag and my hospital bag packed. It's all about the waiting now!!! We are all so excited to see this little man. I feel like we already know his little personality and I am so anxious to meet him face to face!!!

Sometimes Girls Just NEED to have fun...

I love the opportunity to hang out with awesome women...
to be able to spend an evening without any expectations of anything other than
hanging out together and having fun.
A chance to recharge, to laugh and to talk.
Girls night out!
This happened to include a trip to Wendover to see Rick Springfield in concert.
We got to act like teenagers again...
with the responsibilities of life nowhere to be found...
I happen to know some really amazing women...
Thank you Buffy, Sue and Shelly for going with me and dancing a little in the aisles,
and laughing, and always being there to help carry the load that life throws at us
sometimes!
My girls were SO jealous that we got to go.
Forget that the man is almost old enough to be our dads....
In fact we laughed a little at the idea of our dads up on stage dancing
the way he was dancing!
Rick Springfield was my first and pretty much only superstar crush so it is fun to
go back in time and hear him sing.
It was a great night...
with great friends,
and enough laughing that I feel like I can deal with the next crazy 3 weeks!
Thanks again ladies...
We need to do this again really soon!!!

He walked on the seats, and was about 3 chairs from where we were sitting!
It is fun to see the audiance, to see how diverse and different everyone is,
coming together to have so much fun!

Say Cheese...

Pat, the little lady in the pink was rocking and rolling and singing along...
Now SHE is one cool grandma!

Shelly and Sue...

Heartbeat...

While Kimi was here over the weekend
she asked if she could use my doppler to hear her baby's heartbeat.
I told her absolutely!!!
She asked if I would find the heartbeat for her
and it only took a minute to hear the beating of that new precious life.
I got to hear my grandbaby's heartbeat!!!

What an amazing feeling that was!!!

We have so much to look forward to this year!

Nate-isms

The other day Kassi

said something that

made me laugh (well... that's not unusual... Kassi almost always says something that makes me laugh!)... But she said that Nate isn't special just because he is the youngest, and he isn't the favorite in a way that we play favorites above the other kids. She said that he is special to every kid in this family because they had watched him die, several times, and by the miracles and the power of the Priesthood we watched him live again... and because of the things that they all learned from him, he just has a very special place in their hearts, and that because of him they all grew in ways they never could have without him. I was amazed at her thinking...

the way it all just made sense to her. They just take care of him... all of them. From Kami on up, they just seem to get that they learned some very valuable lessons. And isn't that what life is all about? That we take the hard things and learn what it means to really live and appreciate life?! We kind of think that each one is really amazing and we don't play favorites, we work hard to spoil them all equally!

He is constantly doing things that make us all laugh. He tells Jace that he is the most favorite and he loves him the best and that he only tells others he loves them the best to make them feel good. Then Willie takes him to the marina to play and asks who he loves the best and he tells him he is the favorite! He plays it up with all of them, and then will tell his dad that he loves him the best while pointing at me. He knows how to get the most Hot Wheels cars is all I can say!

Sunday he was mad about something we told him and disappeared outside.
In just a few minutes we couldn't hear him anymore so we looked out to make sure he was still there and okay, and sure enough he was just fine... sound asleep on his swing set!

He was not happy when Hayden and Hyrum woke him up and informed me that they weren't supposed to wake him up, that they should have let him SLEEP! I gave them all the warning that if he ever falls asleep there again, that they should just let him sleep because he said so! They thought that was too funny but promised him that next time they would just let him sleep!

He walked in my closet a couple of days ago and saw the Dallas Cowboy fleece I have in there. I heard him telling his dad that he really needs me to make him that blanket. His dad told him that he should tell me that he needs it. He told him okay, he would! He walked out of the closet and told me that I MUST make him that blanket, because he needs it DESPERATELY!!! Really... who could argue with that? If you need it desperately, you need it desperately!

He is going to be the best big brother. He has already informed me that he will be helping me a lot with Noah, and that he will even help change his diapers... He did inform me that if he is poopy though he will just hold his legs for me.

He often insists on putting his shoes on the wrong feet. We tell him they are on the wrong feet but he tells us that it is okay, they really don't hurt that way so he likes them! And there is nothing we can do to convince him that he should change feet!

He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get what he wants. I guess that is a good thing... Just like the milk jug. He convinced someone to put chocolate syrup in the milk and then chugged it down like he has seen his sisters do a time or two. And for Tallin next week when he checks in... he wants you to know he loves you and misses you!