Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday to a fantastic Pops! The kids sang you a little ditty, but I waited until too close to bedtime and William wasn't quite in the singing mood.

One thing that my dad is so good at is knowing exactly what to get people for their birthdays. I did not inherit that wonderful trait so my poor friends and family often times don't get much from me on their birthdays because I just simply don't know what to get! Anyway, we always take pics of the kids opening their gifts from Grandpa John, here are a few of the hits over the last year: 

Thanks for always making our birthdays so special! We hope you have a special and wonderful birthday!!! 

Love you oodles!

We're Here!

On Evelyn's last day of Kindergarten (pictured below, photo courtesy of Hannah) Ben and I were busy cleaning and cleaning and doing some last bits of packing. We had SO much help with our kids, with cleaning, with packing...we are so grateful and couldn't have done it without so much help.

Early the next morning the kids and I had this awesome view of the truck all the way to Gilbert, AZ where we stayed with Ben's family for a couple of days.

 Ben's dad drove with Ben on Monday the 2,000 hours to Austin and Ben's mom and sister drove with me and the girls on Tuesday the 10,000,000,000 hours to get here. We would still be traveling and unloading if it hadn't been for their help.

 This was the "Welcome to Texas" sign, but I didn't get a good shot of it. We started cheering, but little did we know we still had SO much Texas to cover before we got to Austin. I think this was in the first 1/4 of our trip. The kids were such awesome travelers, really not complaining.
We had a paper chain and took off a chain every 100 miles. Every other one they got a toy/sticker book/activity. We left Arizona at 5am and arrived in Texas at 2:30am.

 I didn't get many pictures, or any actually, of Ben's parents and sister, but they were amazing. They helped drive us here, Ben and his dad had the truck unpacked, boxes in the right rooms, beds set up and sheets on, groceries bought and put away all before we got here...The next day after we got here Ben's mom completely unpacked our kitchen and we got the bathrooms and kids rooms in great shape. I've never been almost unpacked after 2 days of being somewhere!
This picture was taken today of Ben enjoying our new beautiful kitchen. He said he's been a bit deprived of treats, I think it's been a week since he's been able to bake :) Our neighbors will be glad we're here.

 Here are the kids in our backyard. It is so pretty! Will is ready for a swim and the girls are ballroom dancing.







This one's for Stephanie...My belly at 33 weeks...we are all so excited for baby boy to get here and we are happy to be able to focus on getting ready for babe for a bit.

We've had so much help and have seen so many miracles. We are beyond grateful for the safety we had getting here and all the help we've had.

On Our Way...

This is officially our last week in Cedar City. It has been so good to us!

Ben and I went to Austin this last week and after three long days of scouring the city for the perfect place for us to live, we found it. It was nothing short of a miracle and we feel so blessed that we get to live in this nice home and nice neighborhood.

Things are all working out timing wise. We want to get there before traveling becomes a big concern for me and my big belly. I will be 32 weeks along when we move. That gives us around 8 weeks before the babe is born.

We are so grateful for ALL the help from friends and family. It is so hard for me to accept, but really is essential. I hate to leave feeling so much in debt to everyone who has helped us so much but I hope we can pay them back in some way...

That's all for now, the next update will probably be from the heart of Texas!

PS~If anyone knows of anyone trying to rent a twin home in Cedar City by June 1, please send them our way!!!

My Mommacita

There are so many wonderful things about my mom, here are a few:

-My mom is so pretty! She has beautiful eyes and dark hair. I’ve always thought she was a looker and if I got any good looks at all, I blame that on my mom (don't worry dad, you're handsome too)!

- My mom is a hard worker. When I was growing up, she helped my dad start a business and worked

full-time from home helping the business grow and stay on its feet. She also took care of me and my sister as well as somehow keeping an immaculate home and keeping our bellies fed. Now she works hard full-time learning new things as opportunities arise.



Me, My mom holding William and my nephew, Nicholas, and my sister, Becky

-My mom is very punctual. She is always early, even when it comes to sending things in the mail. I am still working on that one.

-My mom is brave. There have been things in her life that she certainly didn’t anticipate or ask for but she has taken on valiantly and with courage. She continues to face each new day with a positive attitude.

- I can always call my mom and she’ll always tell me things are okay. For example, if I have had a lazy day she’ll tell me its okay or if the house is a wreck and I tell her all about it, guess what? It’s okay! Sometimes I know that’s just what she’ll say and that’s just why I call!

-I think one of the most important things about my mom is that she has always supported who I am and who I wanted to be. She understood my need for independence and always granted it. I’ve always felt like there was nothing prohibiting me from becoming who I’ve wanted to be. This has been especially true with me joining the Church. My mom was there at my baptism, she came to Ricks College for my graduation, she diligently sent in a contribution to my bishop each month I was away on my mission, she was at the airport when I came home from my mission, and she came to Salt Lake when Ben and I were sealed in the Temple. While my mom may not embrace the beliefs I do, she has always embraced me and shown a courageous amount of support which has blessed me beyond measure.

- My mom is a wonderful grandmother. She has braved the cold to come to help with babies and take care of the older but still little ones. They have loved it so much. Hannah cried so hard when “Grammie Sally” had to leave when she came to help with William. Our kids all know they are loved by Grandma Sally and they ask often if we can go to Seattle to visit her.

I am so grateful for such a loving and gentle mother who has always loved unconditionally and given so much so her kiddos could be happy!

We love you Mom, Happy Mother’s Day!

Dear Carter,

William and Ben were a little jealous of how good you look without any hair, so they thought they'd give it a whirl too. William is especially proud of the fuzzy head. When he was in the bath he saw himself in the water spout and said with a giggle, "My head so fuzzy!"

We love you Carter! Keep up the good work, we are praying for you and thinking of you. You are doing such a good job!

Love,

 Ben, Jessica, Evelyn, Hannah and William

(Carter is our nephew, you can learn more about him here)

2 Year Old Boys are Dangerous

This is how I found William during his "nap time."

In the last 2 weeks William has:

-climbed on our dresser where he found a bottle of children's chewable Tylenol. He opened the childproof lid and ate the 3/4 full bottle. Poison control said he would be okay and he was, gratefully.

-stuck his finger in the pencil sharpener and sharpened it (luckily it was NOT a mechanic sharpener). There was some blood.

-left out the front door to "hide" behind our van at the same time that a school bus was driving by. The worst part about this one is that I was in the front and had no idea where he was. That was scary.

-left out the front door again, and again, and again...

-taken the waffle iron out of the cupboard and plugged it in. He said "I cook food!!!"

-he is constantly pushing chairs, stools, anything he can stand on to reach up high. Today he got my Bath and Body works lotion and rubbed it ALL over his head. He smells quite nice.

I know this is nothin' compared to what you mothers of little boys have seen, but it is definitely a new world for us! Luckily he is sweeter than a billion gallons of ice cream, so we are happy to keep him.

This is just Hannah and Will playing. It's a bit boring but kinda funny. They are good playmates when Will isn't screaming his head off because he wants EVERYTHING his sisters have :)



Just a cute and random shot of Ev ready for school in a new shirt she received as a hand-me-down.



Benny Boy's Birthday



This is how my VERY OLD husband felt about turning another year older. I think it's so funny that he thinks he's so old. For one reason, he is still in his 20's and secondly, I am 2 years older than him (and I don't even feel old!).



This was right before Ben opened his presents from the kids. They each got to pick him out a present from the dollar store. He scored a styrofoam airplane, silly string, and some highlighters for his office.

And here is the handsome hunk of a human being on his way to Priesthood meeting. His birthday fell on Conference Saturday, so we celebrated before, between and after sessions.
Happy Birthday Oldie Goldie! Sure am glad you were born!