Where's Jilli?

"Mom, I know how to make him feel better!" -- Jilli

Hard at work!

Is it too early to start planning their wedding? (Jilli with Sam Dart)

The kids went on a hike with Myles up above his house.

Shopping in style.

Tea Party.

Learning to read.

Snug as a bug.

Things I want to remember: My dad's Sunday School lessons, especially his chalkboard masterpieces (usually they contain a map, but he ran out of room this time).

A surprise package in the mail from some dear friends in NC -- an egg hunt in a box.  Love the Dial family!

I think she's definitely got the accessory thing down.

Memorial Day with the Peterson's.

Field day gone bad.  Mac took a giant sling-shot ball straight to the face.

He sleeps with his neck bent like this every night -- like mother like son.

Snaggle tooth at it's best!

Someone was feeling sleepy!

Ready for their first summer basketball camp.

Movie morning with Grandma.

Pretty successful Maple Mountain basketball camp.

Talking my ear off at bed time.

Ava's dance recital.  That girl's going places!

Met Tyler Haws at Mac's BYU basketball camp.

Taking a rest at 7Peaks.

Jilli and a couple of her friends getting ready for their dance performance.

Another successful camp.  He was awarded a spot on the BYU all-star team.

Beckam with his baseball buddy.

"Take a picture of this, mom."

Sleeping beauty.

The kids took swim lessons from Mark again this summer.  Jilli was a "natural" and after a total of 60 minutes in lessons, she swam the length of the pool front and back.

Shopping with these guys is always entertaining.

My two amigos.

Aidan had a sleepover with us -- the tornado simulator was the highlight of the outing.

Jilli's mishap with the hair straightener.

Art City days.

And another successful basketball camp.  Mac was named "best shooter at camp" by his coach and also made the all-star team.

Got to see Ava perform as Little Miss Cache Valley at the Miss Utah pageant.

Summer is off to a great start!

Before I forget:
A year or more ago, Jilli, Nate and I were in the car and we asked Jilli if she would count for us.  She agreed and counted to 10 perfectly.
Then Nate jokingly asked her if she could count in Spanish, to which she replied, "One-u, two-u, three-u, four-u."
Nate and I laughed and laughed at her and the way she accented each number to make it sound like another language.
Funny stuff!

I'm sad.
For the past 4 years I have thought about, prayed about, fasted for and talked about having another baby.
Today I took a pregnancy testing, hoping that, unlike all the others I have taken in the past four years, that this one would be different.
It wasn't.
Honestly, it was difficult for me to get on my knees this morning and talk to God.  I had a harder time reading the scriptures and I just wanted to curl up and sleep all this off.
And then I remembered that God's will is not always my will and I did my best to humble myself again.
But, I still can't shake the sadness.
I said to Jilli, "I'm sad today." And she asked why.  I told her, "Because I don't think I'm going to have any more babies," to which she quickly responded, "Well, when I'm a mommy I'll have lots and lots of babies and you can borrow one of mine."
And for a moment she made me smile.
I love that girl.
How grateful I am for the four children I already have!

Spring Fever

Glorious Springtime is here! I love this time of year and what it represents.
Spring break was a welcome break from our usual routine. The first part of it was spent in Petersboro -- you can't get much better than that.

We took the kids to the trampoline park where they jumped out some pent up energy.

The boys also worked hard helping grandpa haul rock a couple nights.  Jaxton is now sporting bruised and blistered fingers, so I figure work gloves may be a good investment next time.  We're trying hard to turn these soft city boys into some tough country men.

We came back to Utah County in just enough time to buy some shirts, cookies and lemonade in support of Zack and his effort to buy wheelchairs for those who need them.  What an awesome kid!

And then off we went to sunny St. George where we explored Zions National Park.

It was beautiful and the weather was perfect for a couple short hikes.

We've loved soaking up this beautiful weather and we take advantage of every chance we have to get outside and enjoy it.

The boys took on the task of teaching Jilli all about baseball.  According to them, "she's a natural."

In an effort to get Mac reading more, I bought him a new book.  He opened it, took one look at it and exclaimed, "I don't like books with words all over the pages!"  Heaven help him.  And me.

Things I will miss as my children grow older: taking a shower in a tub full of toys.

Getting to UT

I posted about the transition of moving from NC to UT on the other blog, but I never made mention of the actual journey across the country.
Our first stop on our "farewell tour" was to stay with Kim and Brandon. We always have a great time on our visits to their home.

Our second stop was to see the Klopfer family in Missouri.  They are good family friends that we met in our Mebane ward and our kids (although very different in age) love each other dearly!

Our third stop was in Denver to see the Lindsey's.  We love this family and all the time we spent together when we lived in CO.

And then it was on to UT.  The kids were troopers during the whole journey and it went as smooth as could be expected.

Hoping UT brings us as much joy, growth and friendships as NC did!