{Trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house and cabin}

Andy went on a camp out to Moab with the Priests, so the kids and I went on a little vacation down to Ephraim. I'm starting to really love all of the little towns in Sanpete County, they are all so humble and cute. They remind me a lot of the area that Andy grew up in, up in Wyoming. So I look forward to anytime we get to go down and visit. We went to the Manti temple grounds, and then got some ice cream. Grandma bought Will some little six shooters to go along with his cowboy outfit, which he's kind of into right now. Cael got a Star Wars light saber fighting stick, and Ava picked out a little purse. After we stayed at their house for a few days, we went up to the cabin. The kids had such a great time hiking, swimming, making smore's.

{Easter }

The kids came home from church to find that the Easter Bunny had left a trail of eggs to their hidden baskets. After they found them, they went and looked for all of the other candy filled eggs that were hidden around the house. They got a few new things in their baskets and some more treats. In the past, I've been known to go a little overboard with the baskets...toys, movies, clothes, games, and candy galore...but Andy is continually teaching me that the kids don't need so much "stuff". He was right. They got just as excited about the two things they found in their baskets, as compared to the ten things I usually do. It was a great Easter.

{Cael's BYU Birthday Party }

{Cael's Baptism }

It turned out to be such a special day for Cael. He had so many family members, primary teachers, and friends show up to support him. I especially loved that he was the only child getting baptized from the ward that day, so the entire program was tailored to him. Uncle Mike and Grandma Stratford gave talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost, and they were able to speak directly to Cael the whole time. All the girl cousins and Ava sang a beautiful song, and then Ava did her own little musical number that she has been practicing for months. It was so hard to contain my emotions the whole time. Cael really understood the importance of the day, and he made me so proud to be his mom. He loves his primary teacher, Sis. Jenn Carr, and so it meant so much that she would come. Grant & Tara and kids were there too, but left right when it was over because Tara was helping with the food. We had brunch following the service. It was so fun to visit with everyone. Cael had such a great day.

8 is Great!

Cael is really looking forward to his birthday and baptism coming up this next week. How do I emphasize REALLY? He thinks it's the age that he finally turns into a "man" (is what he says). So needless to say he's pretty excited. He and I were talking recently, and he said, "I'm going to be getting the best present EVER this birthday." I said, "oh yah? and what's that?", thinking to myself that I better find out what he thinks he's getting, because little does he know I haven't even thought about presents. And he said, " The Holy Ghost." It melted my heart. I have yet to hear him talk about any physical gifts that he wants (well, other than a new suit and scriptures), he just wants to talk about his baptism. It's been such a fun thing to see as his mom, that he is realizing the actual importance of this birthday. We're so proud of you, Cael!

Ava turned 5!

For Ava's birthday this year she wanted to stay over night in a hotel and go swimming. So that's what we did. We stayed at a fun hotel in Sandy, and then rode TRAX into downtown Salt Lake. We went to Temple Square, and out to eat. She opened her presents and we had cupcakes back at the hotel.

Tim & Charity

(Andy and I - top left)

One of my very best friends since high school got married! Andy and I were able to attend the sealing, which took place in the Draper Temple. Charity's mission president from ten years back was the one that sealed them, which made it so beautiful. I was so happy to be sitting there holding hands with my eternal companion, and soaking in all of the great advice he was giving T & C. I'm so grateful for the temple and for any time that I get to enter it's doors.

St. George

We LOVE when we can get out of the cold and go visit our Hokanson buddies in St. George. Will and Tracy's new house is so much fun, and the pool is a blast!

{Invention Convention }

Cael usually won't let me have any input on his projects...he really likes to do certain things "all by himself". So when he had the assignment to come up with an invention, my mind started racing with all of the amazing things he (or WE) could create. And even though some of them were really great, since I came up with it he didn't want to do it. So I'm here to say he really did think of it all by himself. He's really into robots lately, and wants one for Christmas, so he decided to build one that would transport items from place to place. I would even find little cool pieces of junk around the house that would've looked so awesome on his robot, but he never wanted to do what I had in mind. He ended up using one of his remote control cars, a capri sun box, a piece of styrofoam, a metal hanger, and some other little things to create his master piece. He did a great job, and his robot was a huge hit. I do have to add he did have a little bit of parental help from his father...who I guess has "way cooler" ideas than me. The kids and Grandma had fun going to the convention and seeing all of the creativity of the second graders.

Many a night, the whole bath plan goes right out the window. I look at my pile of dirty dishes and messy kitchen, then I look at the clock, and then look at the kids, and then say, "nah, you don't look too dirty, we'll do baths tomorrow night." Or sometimes, "Yikes! you absolutely can't wait one more day!" I'm hoping this isn't how it will always be, but since Elle has arrived our priorities are ever shifting. We're slowly getting a better handle on things. Slowly. So here's to a good bath! As rare of an event as they've become in our house. :)

{Elle}

~3 months old
~sleeps from about 10:00 to 6:00
~weighs 13.5 lbs.
~is in the 90th percentile for head, height, and weight
~is always smiling
~gets carried around the house by every sibling...yes, even her 4 year old sister, and two year old brother
~loves to lay on her tummy
~will sit and stare at her daddy for as long as she's allowed too. She's in love with him.
~has the most kissable body parts!

Elle Savannah

Born 08.04.10


Oh how we are loving on this little girl! She was sure a stubborn one to get out, I'll tell you (my hardest delivery yet), but totally worth all the extra work :) She was 8lbs.13 oz., and is continuing to gain weight at record speeds. She was born with a ton of hair (unlike the other 3), and she has a cute little angel kiss on her left eyelid. And she is a total chubster, rolls everywhere! And we love it! She just started smiling, and holds her head up so well. The other kids absolutely adore her. Cael runs in from school each day and the first thing he wants to do is hold her. We always laugh because of everyone in the house, she chooses to spit up on Cael the most. Ava is such a good little mom, always helping me change diapers, and letting me know when she's hungry. Ava is loving that she has a sister to share her room with, even though currently Elle is sleeping next to me in bed, or on the couch, or in the rocker...she's just now starting to sleep for a good chunk of the night, so I really need to start putting her in the crib. We love her SOOOO much, and are so happy she has joined our family.

August Meteor Showers

We heard on the news that there was going to be a meteor shower that would last over a few nights. So Andy and the kids decided to sleep out on the tramp to watch, while I stayed in with Elle. It really was amazing. About every 30 seconds you could see the coolest shooting stars. I had no idea it was going to be that cool. The wind in Spanish Fork gets pretty fierce, especially where we are at the mouth of the canyon, so I didn't expect them to make it the whole night. They did however sleep outside until about 5:00 a.m....


...then in the morning I came down the stairs to this.

Welcome Baby Elle!

Family Night in the Canyon

We hiked...
threw rocks in the river...
built a fire...
explored little trails...
climbed trees...
ate some yummy s'mores...

Our #1 DAD

Cael and Ava had several things planned for Andy on Father's Day morning...like breakfast in bed...but they didn't quite wake up in time to see him before he had to leave for his early morning meetings. So all he got that morning was a strawberry smoothie which didn't really compare to what they wanted to make him. However, he was able to stop back by the house for a few minutes, so that's when the kids gave him his two presents (Will was taking a nap). They also did such a good job in Sacrament meeting when the Primary sang to all the dads. I couldn't ask for a better father to my children. Andy is so hands on, and always so helpful. He is such an amazing example for the kids to look up to, he makes life for all of us so much fun, EVERYDAY! We love you! Happy Father's Day!

Tonight, as I went in to check on each of our kids, my heart just melted at the sight of all of them. Sleeping so peacefully, such precious little beings they each are. I always laugh when I see what they have in bed with them.. I'm so grateful my Father in Heaven has trusted me enough to raise these sweet little spirits, even though I all to often take it for granted. They are growing up so fast. Cael is such a headstrong little guy, and HAS to have things just the way he wants them, and keeps his "things" so organized and knows where each and every little item he owns is at all times. He is such an amazing example to our entire family. The other weekend we were in Star Valley and as we were getting ready to head home on Saturday, so Andy could be at his morning meetings the following day, Cael was invited to stay one more night and drive home with Will,Tracy, and kids the following morning. He loves spending time with his only 2 boy cousins from the Hokanson side, and so this was a dream for him to be able stay at Grandma and Grandpa's an extra night. So Andy was asking him what he wanted to do, and all he was worried about was if he was going to make it back to church or not. We hadn't packed Sunday clothes for any of us because we had intended to be home. I heard him ask Andy, "Wouldn't Heavenly Father just want me to come home?". Andy told him that it was his decision, and that Heavenly Father would be fine with whatever he wanted to do. But, on his own, he decided to just drive home with us, so he wouldn't miss church the next day. I was so proud of him, even though I really had to hold back talking him into staying, and saying that it wasn't that big of a deal to miss a Sunday, and that he would have so much fun if he stayed. But I didn't. It was such a big decision for him, we just told him how happy we were that he wanted to make it back to church, and how happy Heavenly Father was right then. He is always showing such amazing spiritual qualities, and is looking forward and preparing for his baptism this upcoming school year. Oh how I love this big boy of mine!

Ava is such an angel, and such a huge helper to me. Today as we were leaving a store, she and Will were straggling behind Cael and I while we were walking to the car. It wasn't a busy parking lot, and we were parked in the first stall in the lot, so I just kept looking back over my shoulder to make sure there weren't any cars coming while I was unloading the cart into the car. Ava could see off into the distance that a car was headed their way, and I kept hearing her tell Will to "hurry, let's go to mom", and "c'mon, Will, walk faster". He was just taking his sweet time, and she quickly got quite scared that the car was going to get to them before they made it to me...even though it was still a ways away. She all of a sudden started crying a little bit while frantically telling him to "hurry up! Let's go!", all the while staying right by his side, holding his hand. She really had no need to be so scared, because I was watching the whole thing, and would definitely have run to get them both if I needed to. But I got choked up seeing her care so much for Will. Even though to her it was quite a scary situation, she didn't get mad at him, or even think about herself, she just stayed right there. She really does motherly things like that all the time. I wish I could remember every little cute thing. And I love that she considers me her best friend. Right now she is the most excited of any of us to have a baby girl join our family. She loves to tell me in detail how she is going to help take care of the baby. I never knew I could have a daughter like her. She is my everything. I love her so much.

Will continues to be our little firecracker. I've never had a child that was more daring, energetic, free spirited, and accident prone than him. He is currently in the final stages of having a HUGE black eye heal (which came from hitting it on a bed post), and once this injury is gone...he will do something new that will leave some major mark on his body. He makes us laugh everyday with funny phrases and sentences he's learned from the other kids (most of which aren't the nicest things to say), so we have to be SOOOO careful what we say around him, because he picks up on EVERYTHING. We are in the process of moving him down into Cael's room, so we can free up the crib for the new baby. He lets me know where it is he wants to sleep, and it changes everyday. Although he favors his "cib" (crib) over his "cool boy bed", he sometimes will take naps down in the new spot. But just like teaching him to sleep through the night, we are in for a little bit of struggle once he HAS to make the transition. I might be the one that misses him being in with Ava the most. I've loved hearing them say good night to each other, and