We're So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

After being away for 3 solid months, Matthew has come back!  Life is just so much better when we are all together!   I can't tell you how happy Austin, Kensley and I are to have him with us.  Matthew is also very happy to be back with us :)  He had some good experiences at the hospitals he worked at and now gets to spend 3 months working in Salt Lake City.  Since Matthew has been back we have some some fun family outings together.  Our time in Utah is limited so we are trying to do as many fun things as we can.

First we made a trip to BYU campus.  I love being back on campus! So many fun and happy memories there.  We mostly just walked around, saw some of the new things they have done to campus and shopped a little bit at the bookstore but I loved it!  My little sister Kayla is a junior at BYU this year and she was able to meet up with us for dinner at the CougarEat.  She even skipped a class to meet up with us. So fun to hang out with her. She just tried out for the BYU ballroom team this past week and made it!! So happy and excited for her!

The new Cosmo statue on campus

Got matching BYU hats at the bookstore

We visited the classroom where we first met!  This was a Latin ballroom class.  Sooo many memories :)

Last weekend we went to the Chalk Festival at the Riverwoods in Provo.  They had one whole parking lot full of artists drawing pictures on the ground out of chalk.  So cool!  There were some amazing pictures.  They also had  live bands playing, vendors, food and just a fun atmosphere.  We walked and admired all the chalk drawings, listened to music, and window shopped.  It was a spur of the moment decision to go but it turned out to be such a great family outing.

My kids adding their pictures to the awesome chalk drawings

Funny story.  We decided to get Kensley's face painted.  She thought it was make-up and wanted it on. So we asked the lady to do a flower.  Kensley sat so still the whole time and was loving getting make-up on.  However, this is what we got...

Really?!  Matthew and I couldn't stop laughing!  We had imagined a small flower on her cheek.   Nope, we got flower face.  And what is with that tiny extra petal on the side? Poor girl had to wear that the rest of the night.  

Check out those awesome chalk pictures in the background ( and my cute kids!) 

Yesterday for Family Night we decided to go up to the canyon before it gets too cold.  It was such a beautiful night and smelled like Christmas pine.  I think the kids could have thrown rocks into the water for hours if we let them.  We brought brownies and just enjoyed the mountain air.

Miss Kensley

Kensley is 18 months now.  She has really grown into her personality and definitely has her own opinions about things. She is getting really vocal and can say tons of words.  I think the cutest are waa-you (water), ah-tin (Austin) and errie-al (cereal).  Sometimes she tries to tell me something but I can't even decipher what she is saying and then she gets upset that I am not giving her what she wants.  She really loves animal sounds too.  Especially cow, horse, duck and donkey (we have a book about it). Her hee-haw is pretty darn cute! She also is really good at imitating different words or sounds people make.  She loves to try and copy anything Austin says.

I can't really name a favorite toy because what she loved to do best is doing daily things like trying on everyone's shoes, brushing her teeth, putting on necklaces and bracelets, pretending to clean, etc.  She also loves reading books and playing musical instruments.

She has become a really picky eater.  Sometimes it literally feels like she will only eat applesauce, cereal, cheese, fruit or crackers. But she has become really good with a spoon and fork and likes to eat just like Austin eats.  She has a huge sweet tooth though and begs for more if I bring out candy or cookies.

She loves to be involved with everyone but she also likes to go off and do her own thing. She is a mama's  girl and loves to be wherever I am.  She has just started nursery and loves it! However, I don't know how she would do without me because I am now the nursery leader :)    She can be a big tease sometimes but has this cute, little voice that is just so feminine and precious!

Her stats at 18 months are: 25 lbs (80th %) and 32 in. (65th %).

She loves playing with sand and water. She could scoop and pour all day.

We spent an evening in Salt Lake last weekend.  A random stranger took this picture of Kensley and was nice enough to email it to me. 

At the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake at their new splash pad.

Playing with play dough. She is so focused while playing sometimes. It's cute to see her concentrating so hard. 

We all just love this little girl so so much!

Road Trip

I am happy to report that I successfully completed a road trip with the kids by myself!  I feel pretty awesome about it.  Matthew is on the East Coast all summer but had a conference in Las Vegas at the end of July.  Since we are about 6 hours away, I felt like we were too close to not do anything about it. I was very scared about being by myself with kids needing things and I've never driven that far by myself.  I mean I have been on lots of road trip but I never really do much driving.

But with about 4 stops each way we made it happen.  It was only 6 hours of driving but with all the stops we made each trip took all day long.  I also underestimated how long packing and unpacking the car can take by yourself.  (That's another part of road trips I am usually not involved in)  Of course we had good and bad moments in the car.  Actually Austin did so good. He was such a trooper and helped out a lot.  Kensley on the other hand had a tough time. I would hand her something and about 10 seconds later she would drop it and want it back.  Not much I could do about that.  She also has had some bad diaper rash and sitting on it that long wasn't too comfortable for her either.  The best part of the drive was stopping both ways in St. George to visit my friend Emily.  She fed us lunch and our kids played and we were able to chat and catch up. I think we stayed a couple of hours both times. I'm so sad we didn't get a picture!

I am so glad we went.  The kids and I LOVED seeing Matthew and it felt so nice to spend time as a family. We didn't really do that much but just soaked in our time with Matthew. The kids hadn't seen their dad in almost 2 months.

For two of the days, Matthew had to attend his conference so the kids and I hung out at the hotel and found some things to do. We filled our time with visiting a splash pad, playing some miniature golf at the hotel, swimming, hanging out and building forts with hotel blankets.

I'm so glad I decided to brave the trip!  

Birthday Boy

My Austin turned 4 last week on July 18th. I have a 4-year old! He was very excited about his birthday and asked for days if it was his birthday yet.  In the morning we went to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake.  Austin was able to pick out a special birthday prize at the gift shop and we let him decide which animals we should go see. At the bird show we went to he was picked to help feed some birds right out of his hands.  He was so brave, it was a big bird.  So cute to see him standing up there in front of everyone.  After the zoo, we made cupcakes at home and had a little family party in the evening and opened presents.  It was such a great day.  So good that now he keeps giving me ideas to use for his next birthday. :)

Kensley and I watching Austin help during the bird show at the Zoo.

Austin helping feed a bird during the show. 

Eating pizza at his party

Singing Happy Birthday! This is a classic face for him when he is the center of attention or is embarrassed. 

Austin opening presents, Kensley eating presents.

He is such a fun little boy and we are sure blessed to have him.  These are the things that I want to remember about Austin right now:
-He still LOVES cars and trucks.  He could play with them all day long and frequently does.
-He is also really into rocket ships, submarines and airplanes.
-He loves playing with friends.  He is kind of having a hard time with not having all his AZ friends to play with. He had so many friends there! Thank goodness for his little cousin Aaron, who we live with. Those two play so well together.  We haven't really made any new friends yet which is why we didn't have a friends party.  He has a big primary class but has had a hard time going to primary since we moved here.  He doesn't enjoy being the new kid and not knowing anyone.  Every week I am the mom with the screaming kid in the hall.  Not fun.  But it makes me so sad that he is having a hard time adjusting.
-He has gotten really into legos.  He loves to create and recreate anything that drives.  He got some for his birthday that he plays with non-stop.
-He is so good with Kensley. He loves his little sister and tells her all the time.  He loves to give her hugs but also wishes she could wrestle with him. :)  His is very helpful with her and is an awesome big brother.
-He has become a VERY picky eater which ha been frustrating but his favorite foods are macaroni, donuts, waffles, apples, and and type of treat.  He picked donuts as his birthday breakfast.
-Austin is still very much a Mama's boy.  He wants me in sight all the time.
-It seems like Austin really cares about being funny.  He really wants to make people laugh and is always being silly and goofy.
-I just love this little dude so much!

4th of July

We started off the 4th really early in the morning this year.  In Provo, they were doing a big balloon festival where you can watch all the balloons fill up from the ground and I thought my kids would love to see it but it started at 6:30am. I thought it would be worth it and I really wanted to do something cool this year so I decided to wake my kids up at 5:45 and go.  My plan was to stop by this cute bakery across from the balloons to get cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Well as soon as we drive up I realize there are no balloons being filled up.  It was really overcast and a little windy and it turns out they cancelled it due to weather.  So really, I woke my kids up for nothing.  I was very bummed the kids didn't get to enjoy the balloons. Then we head over to the bakery and it's closed.  So much for my fun holiday plans.  Well we were all starving and headed over to the local Denny's to decide what to do.   It was crazy packed in there.  Everyone  had come to see the balloons and then everyone's plan B was to come to Denny's.  It took forever but finally we were all fed and a little more happy.  But then the Provo Parade was about to start which we weren't planning on going to but I wanted to do something festive so we found a spot and stayed.    I'm so glad I had a stroller and lawn chairs in my car.  The kids loved the parade and it ended up being a fun morning. 

In the afternoon we went swimming at a neighbor's pool and had a very yummy bbq with Matthew's extended family.  In the evening we let the kids do sparklers since they were going to be long asleep before real fireworks started.   Austin was a little hesitant at first but as soon has he watched his cousin Aaron do it he was all in.  

Nonna got all the grandkids matching outfits.

Even though it started rough it turned out to be a great day.  Later that night we watch fireworks from our back porch. Since the house sits a little higher on the mountain we had a great view of everyone else's fireworks.  It was pretty cool. They just kept going and going until very late! Fun way to end the day. 

Visiting Matthew

My birthday was last week and I turned 28.  Sure don't like being that close to 30!  However on my birthday I was able to fly out and go visit Matthew.  Matthew has been in Rhode Island the whole month of June and then will be in Virginia the whole month of July.  It was kinda funny when people on the airplane asked me where I was going and I would respond, "Oh I'm going to visit my husband."  And then I had to explain our situation.
 I should probably mention I went without kids!  My wonderful mother in law Sara and my sister in law Aubrey were so gracious and willing to watch my kids while I went.  They are so good with my kids that I was totally comfortable leaving them and knew they would have fun and be well taken care of.  I can't even explain how nice it was to travel without my sweet children!  Just little things like being able to read or sleep on an airplane instead of entertaining kids was just amazing!  Plus with a layover and about 9hrs total of travel time, it was heavenly to just worry about myself!
It was so nice to see Matthew!  This was our first trip without kids ever and we just couldn't get over how much freedom we had.  However I did feel bad for Matthew since he hasn't seen our kids in over a month now and he was really missing them.  The first two days, Matthew still had to put in 10-12 hour days at the hospital and he felt really bad that he was leaving me all alone at the hotel but really two days to myself to do whatever I want?  Yes, I will be just fine!   Both days I was able to work out and take a nap-- two things that kids make it hard to do.  One day I drove out to the Boston Temple.  It was over an hour away but I had plenty of time.  I love visiting other temples and especially when I am in an unfamiliar place by myself I loved the feeling of coming to such a place of beauty and comfort. The other day I spent some time in the Providence Mall.  It was seriously huge, like 5 levels huge, and I took my time shopping, and looking around.  So very fun!

Boston Temple

Me and the Atlantic

My view from inside the mall

Then on the weekend we made our way down to Virginia.  Oh my traffic!  We hit some really bad construction and congestion around New York City and a couple of other places along the way but I loved driving along the east coast and seeing the scenery.  And oh my toll bridges.  They were really cool to cross over but we probably spent over $40 just in tolls.
We stopped in Annapolis, MD to see my roommate Laura.  I never thought I would make it to the East Coast to visit her but this worked out perfectly. We were able to go on a date night with her and her husband and they showed us around the town and took us out for some awesome seafood and homemade ice-cream.  So fun to see her new house and cute kids too!

On our last day we were able to tour around Washington DC. I had never been there before so we decided to hit as many monuments as we could.  We first started out at the Arlington Cemetery.  It was huge and really neat but it suddenly started pouring rain on us. It was overcast but I didn't think it would pour.  We were in the middle of the cemetery with no where to take cover, no umbrella and I was wearing white pants.  We decided to just go with it since there was nothing we could do about it and I'm glad we did because we made it to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just in time to see the changing of the guard which was really cool.

After that we rented bikes and rode all around DC looking around and taking pictures.  This was probably our favorite day of the trip since we got to be together the whole day doing fun touristy things.

Waiting for the DC metro

Martin Luther King Monument

 "Holding" the Washington Monument :)

Lincoln Monument

White House

Bikes. I was only a spaz on it a couple of times :)

This was such a fun and needed trip for both of us.  Matthew is working so hard at the hospitals and has such long, long days.  And for me it's so hard knowing that my husband is not coming home tonight, night after night.  But this trip has given us a little break from both of our daily responsibilities and real life.  Loved it!

All Moved In

We made it to Utah! Those last few days in AZ were pretty crazy trying to get everything packed and ready to go but it's done.

My "helpers" while packing.

We are so grateful that Matthew's brother Ben was able to fly out and help pack and load the truck especially since Matthew had to work every day up until the night we packed the truck so I was grateful for the help.  Also, a huge thank you to friends who helped watch my kids while I got things done!
We now live in Cedar Hills, in the American Fork area, with Matthew's parents.  They have plenty of room for us which is so nice.  Matthew's sister Aubrey and her family live here in the basement too which has been so fun. We each have two kids and they are roughly the same ages so we have instant playmates!  However, soon after we we got here my kids got really bad colds. Like the worst they have ever had. Then I start feeling bad with a fever, chills, the worst headache ever and a sore throat.  With two miserable, sick children, I dragged myself to urgent care to find out I had strep.  Really?!  As least I could get antibiotics for it. But still we had 4 really horrible days with all of us sick out of our minds and sleepless nights of kids coughing up lungs. Worst. Days. Ever. Then the kids seemed to not be getting much better so I took them into the doctor and found out Austin had strep and Kensley had an ear infection. In one week we had 3 doctor trips, bought 4 medications and having just moved here, none of us have health insurance yet.  Did I also mention Matthew is out of town for the whole summer?  Yeah, it was a really rough week but the worse of it is over.  Not a fun way to start our year here, but things can only better now!
While we were not sick...
We went and got cupcakes for Aubrey's birthday this week. This place won the show Cupcake Wars from the Food Network and is minutes from our house!  They were so so yummy! Seriously the cutest place ever.

Kid picture: Kensley, Selina (Matthew's youngest sister), Austin, Aaron, and Declan.

First Sunday in Utah.  

Kensley at a park that is walking distance from our house

Getting some fresh, local tacos

 Found a beach in the middle of Utah.  My kids felt right at home. :)

It's funny how everyone keeps saying how hot it is here, but moving from AZ, it has felt so nice! We are loving the mild summer!