August 2015

Sometimes we let the kids take a bath with bubbles in Mom and Dad's bathtub. To be honest, now that they are getting bigger, it is easier to bathe them in this bigger tub, rather than their smaller tub.

My kids have developed a healthy appetite for books. I hope it continues throughout their lives. We often sit each night and read, read, read....

Not sure who/how this picture was taken. Vance is so awesome!

Vance and Lincoln went on a man-date to the Transportation museum in St. Paul. We hadn't been there in a couple of years. Lincoln is REALLY into his train set right now, so this was really interesting for him. They got to ride a real train.

Minnehaha Falls

I found this picture in our files. Vance had worked really hard to refinish the entire deck last fall. It looks so nice now. We furnished it with a grill and dining set. I love the Pinky Winky Hydrangeas that bloom on this side of the house. I have three of them and loooove them. They remind me of the little baby that we miscarried last winter. 

We traveled to Utah for a couple of weeks at the end of August and beginning of September. Here is Karissa, Keyana, and Kayden painting the little kid's house in the woods of their yard. Lincoln was in heaven. 

In front of Vance's childhood home in Orem, Utah.

We got a tour of BYU campus. Both Vance and I completed our undergraduate degrees at BYU, but it was still fun and we both learned a few new things about BYU!!

Vance and I in front of the bench where we met September 2008 in the Richard's Building at BYU. 

Showing Lauren and Lincoln where we met. Disclaimer: I know I'm wearing tennis shoes with shorts. I know it's not cool. But I'm a mom, I'm pregnant, and on vacation!!!

We were able to reunite with a few friends on this trip. I can't find all my pictures of our visits, but this one is with the Jensens. They actually were great friends of ours in Indiana, while Vance was in grad school. They moved back to Provo because Alex is now a professor at BYU.  Our kids loooved being with their kids. Lincoln and "C" totally hit it off and would hold hands as they ran and played together. I wouldn't mind if they went on a few dates, ok even got married, in 20 years!!

In front of our very first apartment, 869 Wymount Terrace. Great memories. The top left apartment was ours. It was so tiny (430-450 sq ft) but we were so happy and it had everything that we needed. 

Our sweet neice, Ellie, passed away one year ago. We went to visit her on the anniversary of her passing. It was a bittersweet experience. The kids blew bubbles in her honor!

July 2015

We LOVE summer time. Here are a few memories of last July.

Chanhassen Independence day parade with cousins! Preston, Kayla, Avely, Lincoln, and Lauren (seated)

Vance was working with the youth in our ward. Here are the youth after the activity. We have a pretty good size youth program.

A guy in our ward offered to take our family out boating and fishing. His family was out of town for the week, so he offered to take us. We said YES! We don't have a boat, so this was a unique experience, especially for Lincoln and Lauren. I love Lauren's pigtails. We caught a few fish and the kids thought it was the coolest night ever. 

Lauren and I playing Connect 4. We mostly just have fun putting the red and yellow colors in. Totally noncompetitive:)

Lauren with cousin Preston (5-6 weeks older) playing with our train set together.

Vance being crazy with some of the youth. 

Fish caught!

Lauren on our new (to us) swingset. She likes to "wiggle, wiggle" from side to side to be silly while she is swinging.

June 2015

Last June we spent three days in northern Minnesota. Neither of us had been to the Duluth area. It was more than we expected.

We camped the first night (only to have it rain most of the time!). The next morning we were all packed up and in the car by 7 or 7:30. It wasn't ideal, but we all were having fun and enjoying the adventure. We still got to do s'mores and tin foil dinners the evening before, which is always memorable. We camped at Jay Cooke State Park, and highly recommend it. They have the coolest walking bridge. The rock formations were incredible. We loved hiking right along the river.

The second night we stayed at Spirit Mountain Villas. This was suggested to us by some really good friends, the Ericksons. Each "treehouse" is an octagon shaped home that is built 15 feet or so above the ground. We were surrounded by trees and had a spectacular view overlooking Duluth. It was really nice to be able to sleep in a bed the second night, see the lights of the city at night, and of course dry out all of our camping gear on the deck. We REALLY loved that place and maybe we will go back again!!!

One of the coolest hikes we did was Gooseberry Falls in the Duluth area. There are three major falls, upper, middle, and lower. They are GORGEOUS. Our kids were on cloud 9. They could walk across the water from rock to rock. The weather was perfect and we stayed for a loooong time. I stayed with Lauren in a more conservative spot and Vance took Lincoln to get really close to the falls, close enough that they could get a little wet. Lincoln was so brave.

They HELD HANDS all on their own. Too cute not to snap a shot.



Hiking at a local county park.








It just took a little bit of convincing to buzz Lincoln's hair. I felt a little bad because it was much shorter than I had planned. With his pale complexion and blonde hair, 1/8" was a little too short:) He looked like he had chemo or was really sick for a few days:)



We brought up the swing (gifted to us by our family, Scott and Rachel) because Lauren found it in the basement. She loved pretending she was a baby.

Day 5 of Bedrest

The sun came out today! It is shining through the window and I am loving it. I rearranged my room so my flowers and little bit of decor get some sun. Vance came over his lunch hour, which was so kind. It isn't convenient to drive all the way here, park, come up, etc. but his visits mean so much. He sat in the bed with me and we got to hold hands!  I'm still working on the fact that this is the new normal for a while, changing expectations of daily life. I think positive thinking is key.

My mom wasn't feeling well, but still brought the kids (and just didn't hug me). It was great to see them. I feel a little disconnected as their mom, but know it is temporary. Lauren isn't the biggest cuddler, but I got to hug her. They were most excited about watching the TV in the room (hoping for My Little Pony).  Ha ha.

We're back!

I've made a goal to catch up on blogging again. Life has turned upside down recently! Monday morning I was admitted to the hospital for pregnancy complications. I was hoping to come home the next day, but I am here to stay until I have baby girl! She's not due until April 2nd. We have a goal to get to 34/35 weeks. 35 weeks would be Febuary 27th!

I'm not allowed to leave my room, with virtually all the time supposed to be spent in bed.  Today is the fourth day here and I'm feeling a little cabin fever already. I asked for permission to be in a wheelchair to leave my room and circle the ward here, but they said no :/

So many friends and family have come to visit! It has been humbling to be the recipient of so much service and generosity in forms of offers to help, gifts, and time spent visiting.

Lincoln and Lauren are having a blast with my mom. In the coming weeks, I worry about staying connected with them, feeling like I'm still their mother, and worrying about their general loss of routine. But they will be safe, loved, and in good hands.

I'll have to find the old pictures from last summer and start getting caught up on the past months.