California

This post is long over due.  We took a trip to California in mid-April so Jason could finish part one of a two part training for his major.  Jake and Robyn generously opened up their home to us.  It was wonderful to see them and their kids and to spend a few days together.  We had a lot of fun and made a few great memories.  Thank you again Jake and Robyn.

Reno.

Whenever we stopped, we tried to find the best park in the town so the kids could run and run and get those wiggles out before we were on the road again.  The best one we found was in Elko Nevado.  The kids still ask to go to that park.

Wednedesday.  We checked into a hotel around 3:30am and had to get up at 7:00 to get Jason to his class.  The kids on a few hours of sleep.

:)  Julia.  Sooo glad we are finally at the Voelckers.  (That's her baby sister's nuk.)

Julia passed out from all of the sun and fun in the water.

Guitar lessons!

On the road again. 

We stopped in Lake Tahoe for the afternoon on our way home.  Absolutely beautiful there.  The air is so clear.

Pizza Fridays

We have carried over the tradition of making homemade pizza and watching a movie on Friday nights. The kiddos really get into it and we love it. I make the pizza dough and then we let the kids blob all the toppings on there they want. They gobble it up and then head into the tv room where they watch most of a Disney movie either from a tent or from some pile of blankets on the floor.

Toppings

Dough!
They really pile it on. And eat the rest while they are working.

The tent that Jack made for everyone.

The pile of blankets on the floor.
This was such a great memory growing up. Gretchen, Evan, Mom and I talked about this the night we took her to the airport. We remember TGIF or Friday Night Funnies. It wouldn't be complete without Carl Otis Windslow, Kimmy Gibler or Tapanga.

Early Sept 2011

Grandma Barbra I'm not sure I ever showed you these. We had lunch at Aladins that day and then fed the ducks down on the Erie at Shoen Place. I miss you and love you. Hopefully I will see you this Summer or Fall.

1 month

Leah is now 4 weeks old. We catch a smile or grin every now and then and she loves to lay peacefully and watch the commotion around her. The older kids are so helpful with Leah. Jack likes to rock her and sing her primary songs. Katy stands by and hands me diapers, wipes and clean clothes when she needs a change and Julia helps by giving her a pacifier and reading her books.

Katy loves it when Leah naps on her bed. She wishes she would sleep with her all night.

And here is a recent picture of a mountain lion Jason chased and treed with Jack's dog.

Welcome Leah! And other fun

I think this might be one of a couple pictures taken while pregnant the fourth time around. This is Christmas and I am 8 months. And huge. :) We are so happy Leah is here and healthy. Looking back on this photo, it's hard to believe I still had 2 full months left and would get even bigger. I went in for a doctors appointment on Monday the 13th. I was still only dilated to a 1 and the babys head was still very high. So my doctor recommended scheduling an induction for the following day instead of waiting another week to see if the babys head would drop anymore. So he scheduled me for 10 am Tuesday morning. The next day there was a lot to do and we didn't want to make a mess with breakfast so Mom and I grabbed some donuts before heading off to the Hospital. It was Valentines Day and these donuts were so cute! And red velvet! Yum!

I was admitted around 11 and the nurses began Pitocin around 12:30. Things progressed slowly. Around 4:00, my doctor came to the Hospital and broke my water. He told me that he thought the baby would be born around 7:00. I laughed to myself because I was already convinced we would be there all night because the afternoon had gone by so slowly. After the doctor broke my water, I went from being dilated at a 3 to a 9 in about 2 hours. At 6:36 we welcomed Leah to the world! She weighed in at 8lbs 8 oz and was 22 inches long. There was only one other women giving birth that day in the Hospital we were in. The following day, there were 11 new babies. It went from being so quiet and peaceful to so busy and loud.
We are so thankful that Mom could be here and to help with the other kids. She is such a wonderful Mother and Grandmother. She brought the kids up the following morning to meet their new baby sister.

Jack and Julia were so excited to see her and to hold her. Julia immediately crawled onto the Hospital bed to get closer. Kaitlyn was a little more cautious but eventually felt comfortable enough to hold the baby. For about 10 seconds.

She is feeling more comfortable here. I can't say the same about Leah. Haha! It was good to come home.

These are a couple of pictures Mom took before she left Utah.

Mom, Jason and I all think that Leah looks like Kaitlyn when she was born. I looked around in some older photographs and found one that looked somewhat similar. :) Kaitlyn is on the bottom obviously. She is a couple of months old in that picture.

This is an extra long blog post. We have had a really mild Winter here in Utah. Jason took Jack and Katy for a ride on the sled the other afternoon. It's probably the most snow we have had in Spanish Fork in the new year. There was probably a 1/2 inch. But they had the get a sled ride in there somewhere and they had a great time. Hopefully it's warm weather from here on out.
This was another beautiful day in February. The temperature was close to 60. It was a day or two before the baby was born. Grandma Cathy, the kids and I packed a picnic lunch and headed off the park/pond the play and feed the ducks. We brought a 5 lb bag of nasty cheddar fishies. The kids usually eat all of the bread and cereal that we bring for the ducks but they wouldn't eat these. In fact, Kaitlyn took the entire bag and dumped it right into the water.

It has been so much fun and so memorable to have Grandma Cathy out West for the Winter and for the birth of Leah. We love you so much Grandma. You mean so much to us and all of our lives would never be the same without you. We look forward to seeing you in the Fall!

Jack & the new baby

We talked about baby names around the dinner table tonight.

Jack: "If the baby is a boy, maybe we can name him Owen.

If the baby is a girl, maybe we can name her Madelyn.

And if the baby is a horse, it goes out back."