Garth Brooks!!!!

My mom and sister Emily and I went to the Garth Brooks concert on September 17th! It was AMAZING!!! I grew up listening to Garth Brooks, Allen Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and so much more! I loved Garth Brooks! When he announced that he was coming to Anaheim I was all over his tickets! I had a count down to the day to buy his tickets and I had a count down till his concert!

My mom came down with my sister and we got ready together then went to dinner and got a treat before heading to the concert. The concert was AMAZING! I knew every song he sang at the concert which made it so much more fun! He is such a great entertainer! He was so energetic and happy and kind! I only wish there was more Trisha Yearwood. She sang 3 songs and I know that she had so much more to offer. Garth spent the last 40 minutes doing acoustic requests and it was SOO GOOD!!!

We looked over and Emily had FALLEN ASLEEP!!!!

 After the concert we met the opening acts. Just in case they become super famous one day! hahaha we were so tired and actually said something like that!! When I went to the Brad Paisley concert Taylor Swift did this and I met her and got her picture and autograph. We had a pretty good laugh after we said that...

We had so much fun!!! I love Garth Brooks even more now!!

Ella's 1st Birthday

The Sunday before Ellanore's birthday we went to my Grandma's house for dinner. She had a cake and some decorations and my mom brought some presents so it ended up being a little party. We always love going to my grandmas house!

The day before Ella's birthday we went to Disneyland to celebrate! It was my first attempt on my own with my three Kiddos! It was perfect! We did all of our usual activities and we didn't have any breakdowns! It was so fun! It was good to know I could do it on my own and now I have been 2 more times on my own!! Yay Disneyland!! My mom got Ella this cute Minnie outfit!

Eleanor's first birthday was really low key. We spent the morning slowly getting ready and getting donuts at the lake. Then we headed to the beach. We met up with my friend Katlin and her kids. My kiddos love the beach and when we usually have intentions to go for an hour or two we usually end up going for hours! We love going to Corona Del Mar because the parking and beach are so easy to get to. The waves are perfect of the kids and we always have a great time!

I am so grateful for my sweet girl! I love celebrating her!!

Ellanore

I struggled more than I thought I would when Ellanore's birthday rolled around. It happened way too fast!! I cried a lot and was really emotional about it. My sweet baby is ONE!! How did this happen? This year has completely flown by! 

My sweet girl is so wonderful and such a complete joy to have in our home! She is perfect!! This past year has been HARD!! But Ellanore has made it so easy and I'm so grateful! She slept through the night from day one and ate like a champ and was the most content baby when all her needs were and are met. She was so serious and never really laughed until the week she turned one and now I can get her to giggle a lot easier but it still takes a lot of work! She moves more than both Walt and Olivia combined! I really want to do a time laps in sacrament meeting but that may not be very appropriate! Michael and I call her the Tornado! She never stops moving when she is awake until I put her in my wrap or baby carrier. It is amazing! It completely sedates her and she becomes so relaxed and easy. She falls asleep in it and stays asleep for an hour or so in it when we are out and about.

Ellanore LOVES her brother and sister! It's so cute. Walt isn't sure he likes her trying to take all his toys. Olivia loves to carry her around and kiss her head. She takes such good care of her! I'm grateful for Olivia's help!

My Ella girl is such a mommys girl and I love it!! When she is sad she crawls to me and lays her head down on me and sucks her thumb. I'm her safe place and it makes me happy! 

She is starting to walk and it's so funny! She wobbles more than Olivia and Walter did and she goes faster! I'm pretty sure she will be running before she gets the hang of walking. 

Ellanore LOVES to be outside and any time I get her dressed and start to walk to the door she squeals with excitement!!

When ever I say "alright" she blows kisses and waves because I must say it when I put her down for bed haha! 

She loves her daddy and it's so cute! Their relationship has started to blossom within the last few weeks. She has chosen Michael over me a few times lately and loves to give him kisses. 

She loves to put toys into something like the little people in the toy box or her new baby dolls thumb into the baby's mouth. 

I could go on and on about this sweet girl! I love her so much! Her bald head is so soft and slowly getting hair. She is the most loving baby! I am so grateful for her! I want her to stay my little baby forever!! 

Happy First Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!! I love you more than anything!!!

Also, everyone says she is so huge but she is an average sized baby according to her stats 30inches 71% 22lbs 61%

Pre-school Orientation!

Olivia starts pre-school in less than a week and yesterday we went to an open house for the pre-school. We woke up and I quickly picked up the house and kept telling Olivia she needed to get dressed so we could go to her school but she kept telling me she didn't want to go. She started to put up a fight about it so I let it go and continued to quickly get the house in order for my friend to come over and watch Ellanore and Walter. I fed the kids breakfast and my friend arrived at my house. She asked Olivia if she was excited and Olivia really thought about it then finally put her clothes on and took a bite of her eggs.

We got to the car and Olivia kept telling me how she didn't want to go. So I told her I had an idea. I got into the car and asked her if she wanted to say a prayer. She said yes and proceeded to give the sweetest heartfelt prayer she has ever given. She asked Heavenly Father that she wouldn't be scared and she would be brave and that we would drive there safely and that she would see her friends. It made me so happy to hear her prayer and it made me even happier to know that she knows that she can pray and receive comfort. After her prayer I promised to tell her a story about how I was nervous when I was a little girl and how prayer helped me. So I told her about how I was always so nervous to dance in front of people but when I said a prayer I was able to have fun and not be as scared.

When got to pre-school she saw her good friend Emily walking up to the house and she got so excited. From then on she was ready! We went inside and she immediately found the Elsa costume then Emily, Taylor and Olivia were transported to their own little world for the next hour. This year is going to be amazing for Olivia. She is going to grow so much! Im so excited to watch her learn! Im a little sad to be losing my time with her but a bigger part of me is so ready for this. We both need this desperately!

Goodbye Binks!!

WE DID IT!!! 

Olivia and Walter have been Bink free for 3 months! Binks were about to put me in an insane asylum!! If I heard Olivia cry/whine for her Bink one more time I was going to go crazy! On the other hand I was so scared to get rid of them because they only went to sleep when they had their Binks and they cried during the day for them. I was so scared!

We decided that it was time! Olivia had been 4 for a month and that is way too old for a Bink! And it had totally messed up her teeth! I didn't want Walter's teeth to get messed up too. We had a family council on Sunday night and told that that we were going to cut their Binks in 6 days. We made a paper chain and they ripped off a chain each day. On Saturday we celebrated by cutting their Binks, going to get donuts, and going to the beach.

That night they missed their Binks but we talked about it and they went to bed so easy because they were exhausted from a busy day. The next day was easy too! A week went by and we talked about it every day but it was good, we talked about how brave and strong they were and how great they were doing! We still talk about Binks when we see them at the store but other than that they have totally forgotten about them! Im so glad they are gone and I'm so glad it wasn't an awful experience!

Last week we went swimming and some baby had forgotten her Bink at the pool and Walt saw it! He stared at for a long time then I told him to leave it alone. A little while later I saw him staring at it again then I watched him slowly grab it and try to put it in his mouth! I ran across the kiddy pool and took it from him right before he put it in his mouth! It was so funny!

In the last 3 months Olivia's teeth have shifted and look so much better! 

YAY for no more BINKS!!!!

Now I have to deal with Ellanore sucking her thumb!

Idaho Summer 2016

Michael and I were planning the ultimate summer road trip from California to Idaho to Colorado to the Grand Canyon then back home to California but the plan was put on hold because Michael signed up for a class this summer. I had mixed emotions about our trip being postponed. I was feeling relieved to not sit in the car for 48 hours!! But I was also feeling really sad that I wouldn't get to go to Idaho and see all my friends that I miss and its been almost 2 years since we have been to Colorado! We haven't met our niece who is 2 weeks younger than Ellanore and we miss our family a lot!

My mom had been saying she was going to go to Idaho to see my sister but the trip kept getting pushed back and Rachaels was sad so I took matters into my own hands and made it happen! My mom wasn't sure the timing was right but Thursday night around 10 she said lets go! I packed our bags and drove to my moms house (an extra 3 hours onto the trip) to pick her and my sister Emily up. We left in the afternoon so we only made it to Mesquite  before Walt had had enough. We got some sleep then started back up in the morning and got to Rexburg around 7. The kids did great on our trip! Walt cried for a little after he woke up from a nap so we stopped and I held him then he was good to go after that!! Im so grateful they did so well on the drive.

After a long 2 days in the car we needed to run so I called my brother-in-law, Daniel, and told him we were at the park and we wanted to see him so he met us there and we played for a while (and we met his new girlfriend!). It was so good to see Dano! We really miss him! We loved living close to him and having him come over for dinner every Sunday while we lived in Idaho. It brakes my heart that the kids don't remember him even though it has only been a year. Walt warmed up to him right away but Olivia took her time, she did enjoy Becci, his girlfriend who was super sweet to her. Daniel and Becci came over for Sunday dinner and spent a lot of time with us all week. 

On Sunday we went to our old ward to see our friends. It was like we never left. That ward is totally a golden ward! After saying hello to lots of old friends we went to our friends/old neighbors house to hang out while my family was at my sisters ward. We drove down the street to there house and as soon as we pulled into their driveway and Olivia got out of the car it all clicked and she realized where we were! She kept telling Jayson "thats my house!!" my heart was sad but so much has changed that it isn't ours. We played at the Infanger's house for a while and it felt like we just played at their house last week, maybe it was a little because they played at our house in California a few weeks before! Kaleena and Ellie came over to visit and we finally met Cooper! I really miss these girls! They were THE BEST neighbors, EVER!!!

My first friend on my list was Courtney. Courtney and I have been friends since we were 2 years old! She is a life long friend and I really miss living close to her and her husband Christopher! We had breakfast before she went down to Utah and it wasn't long enough! Im glad I got to see her though!

 The first big event of our trip was BearWorld! The kids LOVED it! My Suzy's Zoo calendar for the month of August is a picnic and some moose and bears and other forest animals are getting into the food. Every morning Walt points at the picture and yells BEARWORLD!! We went with my good friends Avery and Sarah and their kids. Ave and I have kids all the same ages and Sarah has a cute little girl, June, who is Walters age. It was so fun getting our kids together. I had a blast at BearWorld with them but my favorite part was our girls night after we put the kids to bed! We met up at a cute little soda place called SodaVine and we chatted and caught up. My heart was so sad to say goodbye to Ave. Im so grateful to have good friends and ways to stay connected.

 Hayden, Olivia, Walter, Rowan, June, and Ellanore, not pictured is baby Blake.

 I think Rowan took this picture!! so funny!!!

 Walt is my brave little boy! Olivia is so cautious and nervous about everything and refuses to go on any rides that tickle her tummy, even at Disneyland! Walt was all over these rides and it was so fun!!

 Happy Cow Appreciation Day!!! I would never miss this holiday so I made every one dress up and I got to meet my friends Ashley and Britney at our old Chick-fil-a!

 I was excited to take the kids to the Rexburg Temple. Olivia and Walter love the Temple so much. We sing the Temple song every night before bed and they get so excited when they see a Temple!

 We played a little more with June and Sarah. We went to the splash pad with them one day and enjoyed the carousel then the next day we went to the Rexburg Rapids water park! My phone died so I didn't get any pictures of that but we had so much fun!!! My family went to the water park also.

This is Emily and Mary! I LOVE these women! When Michael and I moved into our first apartment Mary was the Relief Society president and she taught me so much and she continues to! I remember feeling awkward and out of place in our new ward at church but every single time I saw Mary she would say hello to me and remembered my name. She would go out of her way to talk to me and she made me feel important. Mary had one little girl at the time and I became really good friends Katy! She is a wonderful, fun, active and loving mother! Mary loves every one and is willing to serve at any moment! She is such a good listener and always says the right thing. I am so beyond blessed to know Mary! I hadn't seen her in 5ish years!

Emily was called as the Relief Society president after Mary moved and Emily is the sweetest person! She sees good in every one and is willing to serve everyone. She is a wonderful mother and friend! She is everything I described about Mary! It was so awesome to catch up with these Mommies! It was like no time had passed and we picked up where we left off! 

Mary's kids and mine got along so great! My sisters played a fun game of human bowling with the kids while I talked with my friends, it was a perfect evening!

I also got a new shirt and I love it! 

We went to IJump with Ashley and Kaleena like old times! It was so fun! I really miss having play groups all the time!

Jayson and Olivia had so much fun playing together! I love that they have stayed friends!

Here is the old crew plus a few new babes and minus a few other families.

I really miss these ladies! I remember one night Olivia had croup really bad and I had ran out of popsicles so I called Ashley at 11 at night and she saved the day! I miss running over to Kaleena's house to run some crafting ideas by her! Or all the times we went on walks, IJump, the zoo, or just playing in our basements! I can't say it enough! I miss these Mommies!!

Remember that summer I tried every flavor at the snow shack?! No one does a snow shack better than Idaho! We had one almost every night!

We went to the farmers market and had a blast playing with these baby ducks! (I'm thinking this cute little guy gave Olivia her allergic reaction but who knows!) When Olivia was only 4 weeks old my mom and I went to this farmers market and now she is 4 years old!! How did that happen!?

Sleeping was really stressful on this trip! Idaho summer nights don't get dark until 10:00pm and Olivia refuses to go to bed if it isn't dark out or we would be busy playing and realize it was 9:30pm! We also shared the living room floor with my mom, my sister em, and the kids and me. Ellanore just started teething the day we left for Idaho and was up a lot at night! She got her top tooth on our drive home from Idaho! The kids would still wake up around 6:45 or 7:30am so they weren't getting enough sleep. They would toss and turn and whine and cry all night. It was hard.

We enjoyed playing with Uncle Dano and Becci all week! One night we had a really fun game night with Daniel! I totally miss our Sunday game nights!

Our last night ended with a bang! Olivia had a little rash on her back and hips Saturday afternoon but she has had a rash like this before so I didn't think anything of it. Around 10:30 she woke up so I went in to hold her. She was laying on my chest so I tickled her back and noticed that she was warm then she said her feet hurt so I went to rub them and realized they were totally swollen. I turned the lights on and saw her face completely swollen! I freaked out! We had Daniel over so he ran to get us some Benadryl (he got pulled over on his way back and he told the police officer his niece was having an allergic reaction and showed him the benadryl and the police officer asked if he need a police escort home, he said no hah)  and my brother in law Jake gave Olivia a blessing. I called the on call doctor and they told me when there are two or more symptoms from an allergic reaction they usually like to see the child or take them to the ER. Around 11:30pm I took Olivia to the ER in Rexburg. They weren't concerned but they kept an eye on her and gave her some strong steroids that made the rash go away. I felt stupid for taking her in but when the doctor came in to release us around 2am he told me I did the right thing bringing her in. Facal swelling can be serious. Her little fingers and feet looked like sausage for a day but her face looked a lot better by the morning. They say that we will never know what caused this allergic reaction.

We had a great trip to Idaho even though I was stressed the whole time. Im so grateful I got to see my friends and be back in my home away from home! Im grateful for the help from my mom and sisters.

Until next year, Idaho!!!