lime green

 I've been waiting for that couch for a long time.  Dave, Lynnette and Mike are going on missions and so it was finally passed on!  The kids were happy for the additional furniture, as this is where they were hanging out one morning when I walked by.  Notice Isaac's Spiderman shirt and ninja face mask.  Not sure what is so wonderful about the shirt, but I have to point out the dirtiness or the fact that he has worn it for 5 straight days and "I am starting a load right now and will give it back to you in two hours" before he may (or actually may not), take it off for me to clean it.

 I told Adam Thanksgiving morning that I wanted to take a family picture to send out with Christmas cards.  Lily was at Nate and Audrey's so we went there and went out to pose, and while getting the kids set up Adam said "Why are we doing this, why don't you get a photographer to do it?"  Good question, and thanks for letting me know how you felt at the right time!  Anyways this was my favorite of the kids, all of their faces are awesome.

 Bentley Talent Show!  Lily played 'Angels we Have Heard on High', with no hesitation, of course.  She also teamed up with Brooklyn to do cartwheels in the background of Brooklyn listing off all of the U.S. Presidents.  Pretty impressive of Brooke, and pretty hilarious of Lily who was getting pretty tired and dizzy and feel down a few times.  Jackson asked to get up and do something, which I tried to help him prepare but he disappeared, and then when Dave called his name he popped out from behind the stage curtains, it was so funny.  He kind of bore his testimony, not sure what else to call it, as he said he was thankful for the universe, because if we didn't have the universe we would already all be dead.  Isaac and Ada did some gymnastics moves, mostly Isaac because Ada was trying to get to the treat bowl.  It was a great show and so fun.

 Games at the Dabneys, the kids started watching Back to the Future but it was too late for the littles.

Liz and Mom arranged to go to Veyo for skating!  It was awesome since you could bring bikes and scooters as well, so there is everyone but me, Adam is riding on the scooter with Ada.  This week was pretty close to how it felt as a kid, it was a wonderful weekend.  And the food was incredible!  I had a lot of fun this year making pumpkin pie cupcakes and a oreo crusted white chocolate mousse torte.  Tried out fresh vanilla beans for the whipped cream which was a lot of fun as well.  I haven't been creative with cooking/baking for a really long time, it was fun to return to it for the holidays.

trauma

Sunday October 25th at 3:45 p.m., I was in the kitchen about to start making home made macaroni and cheese, requested by Brooklyn for her family birthday dinner.  The doorbell rang, it was Chase telling me that Jack had crashed his bike.  I thought it was a routine fall, put my shoes on and walked out the door where Sam Reber was biking in circles saying "bee-do bee-do bee-do" like the minions.  He was smiling and wouldn't answer when I talked to him, so I continued to not worry about Jack.  I walked a bit faster to the corner in my high heels, then heard him yelling farther down the street so started running.  He was curled up in a ball, obviously in a lot of pain, with some blood on the street next to him.  I didn't want to look at him without Adam, I was pretty nervous by then.  I picked him up and ran up the street and into Liz, who was leaving with Jared.  She told me to go in her house and Jared would look at him.  

We laid him down and he started crying out "what happened??" in a really desperate way.  That's when I realized he had lost consciousness.  We tried to look in his mouth at the blood, I saw that his super loose tooth had fallen out, and sent Lily to go find it on the street (she did, which was very nice since Jack hadn't realized he lost his first one a few weeks ago and so I wanted to make sure he didn't lose track of this one too).  Adam came in and we took him back to our house and laid him on the couch, kind of trying to clean up the blood and get him to talk or respond to us at all.  We asked if he remembered biking to church that morning; no.  Did he remember stopping on the way to get me a flower; no.  Did he know his sister's name; Lil (small relief).  Did he remember going to a movie the day before; no.  He was starting to get upset so we let him rest.  I can't even remember when Adam and Jared gave him a blessing.  I couldn't even be in the room I was crying so steadily - I just stood in the doorway, wondering what was going to be.  When he woke up about 25 minutes later Adam put a show on for him - the Hulk cartoon - and within about 10 minutes he threw up a bunch of blood at the same time as Mom getting a hold of Uncle Kim who said to take him to the ER.  On the way there he threw up a bunch more (he later told the ER doctor "10 times"), was immediately admitted and taken to the Trauma area and got a CT scan and x-rays of his neck.  Up until the CT scan results came back clear, I was basically terrified and crying and feeling pretty hysterical.  Every time they asked him a question I was pleading inside that he would answer them correctly!  I remember some of the fear starting to lift when they asked who he was biking with and he answered "two cousins and two friends."  

We were able to take him right home to go to bed (threw up in the car, most likely from motion sickness).  I can't believe the relief of not having to worry about the other 3 kids and to be able to be with Adam in the ER.  Wouldn't have happened in Ogden; one of us would have had to stay home.  I don't think the kids even realized we had left (except of course Lily, who was super worried about her brother).  It is so different living by family.  The swelling took a while to go down, and in the meantime I can't believe how much it hurt my heart to see his face all banged up and his lips swollen so much he couldn't talk.  Chase came over to play once and after a few attempts at communicating, Jack finally just said "I can't talk." I sure missed that cute smile and deep dimples.

Some of the memorable quotes were when I was threatening Lily and Isaac with a consequence from fighting ALL OF THE TIME in the car, Jackson said "I sure got a consequence, right Mom?"  Also at the hospital he told us "I have two fat lips."  Also when I was saying it was pretty crazy how he crashed - tried jumping on his bike off a flat bed trailer - I asked if he was going to try it again and he was like "NO WAY!  I'm NEVER going to try that again!" with really big eyes.  I'm sure he will, just hopefully it will be with a helmet next time.

oreos and gummy bears

Isaac turned 4!  I love birthdays of toddlers, they are a reminder for a few minutes that the little person that drives you crazy most of every day really isn't old enough to be doing it purposefully.  This boy has so many personality quirks I don't come close to understanding them, which is a shame because I love honoring quirks to a certain degree.  He requested cupcakes with oreos and gummy bears, so fun and easy to decorate and he loved them!  Haha!  I can't believe I spent $100 on Lily's 4 year old cake!

Because he has a big brother and sister, he of course is always talking about how big he is.  Thankfully this year he FINALLY started playing with kids his age instead of Jackson's friends.  Really nice, and soooooo cute to watch him get along with others!  He started out only wanting to play with Zach and Chase, but luckily we have been able to branch out and he had some cousins and other friends to invite to the party.  He wanted to swim and luckily it was scheduled after the downpour that day.  He also requested that his family party be at grandma's house.  He has been asking when we are going to sleep there again, I think he really misses living there (lots of things I miss too).

He requested a buzz cut and was so dead still with a dead serious look on his face during it.  No more candy distractions needed for him.  I was thinking the other day how little things start fading from their childhood, me barely noticing.  I thought he would be in his toddler bed for a few more months before moving downstairs to be with Jackson, but he up and went a few weeks after we moved.  He still comes to cuddle in the morning sometimes but that made him seem so much older to not be in the room next to us.

He is a good big brother!  Ada loves to play with him and they have less disagreements than most of the other kid combinations.  He loves to live next to Aunt Liz and goes over there numerous times a day for snacks and treats.

His preschool had a field trip to the fire station, and he got to turn the hose on and off.  Same thing as the haircut: dead serious face, no emotion, only afterwards he will talk about things as being exciting.

Last time we went to the Crack he wouldn't even consider it and this time he just walked right up with Pete and Henry.  He is such a little peanut.  I wish I could look past our daily struggles and remember more often how soon he will be grown.  We try to get out to go biking/walking to the splash pad, and he is such a wonder of a companion.  He just talks and talks while peddling next to me.  Those are some of my favorite moments with this boy of mine, one of my two babies that I still call babies even though those days are almost gone for this one.

Margaret

When I was Relief Society President, the woman serving as my Visiting Teaching Coordinator was Margaret Hanni.  Her husband of 60+ years had passed away a few weeks before I was called.  I visited her every month to get the VT report once she had it gathered.  In September I received a text saying that she had passed.  Adam was very accommodating to make a weekend family trip up north so we could attend the funeral.   It was so wonderful to be in that ward house again, hearing testimonies of a life so sweetly lived.  She was so kind, so soft spoken.  I was so grateful that we could be there - I was able to see so many of the people that I grew to love so much during our time on Raymond Ave.  I told Adam it was like feeling closure from leaving and getting released, because it was pretty hard to feel that during all of the emotions of moving.  As we drove by her home and I pointed it out to the kids, I remembered what a haven that was during those three years.  With all of the stress, all of the meetings, all of the people complaining about this or that, I knew that when I was in that home all I felt was love and acceptance, and above all happiness that I was there.  Definitely a blessing to have served with her.

We stayed at a hotel downtown (the kids, especially crying Isaac, insisted on getting on the money horse), and were able to drive up highway 89 to get some apples and peaches (huge boxes, but none were cooked and only one got kind of rotted, because my peach-eating buddy Isaac and I usually ate 2-3 a day.  So yummy!), and of course to Warren's for lunch that we ate at the purple park (40th Street Park).  It was a gorgeous day, and now that we are getting so settled in here I'm always surprised that little remembrances of that area make my heart hurt so much.  Just that few of 40th and the tennis parks brought back about 12 memories.  We met Matt and Jana and kids at Ikea for some shopping and a bit more food.  I really miss living closer to them, too.

busy august

 Month of School Starting!  Pretty nerve wracking, who ever wants to start a new school, especially their 4th or 3rd one.  So off to the DI for Lily, who found SO many cute things, it was crazy.  She is super fun to shop for, and loves quantity so the DI was awesome.

 We began frequenting the downtown splash pad before or after the library, which was nice for the heat even though Jackson has a crazy annoying habit of complaining about anywhere that we are going, no matter how fun it is, he doesn't want to do it and just wants to stay home.  Afterwards he will admit that I was right, but then still complains the next outing.

 The day before school started we took Lily and Jack to the Narrows.  So fun with just the older two!  We were able to talk about school and whatever was on their mind, and everything was just gorgeous and fun.  I look at these pictures and my heart just swells with gratitude for these two beautiful people!  (And yes Jack whined most of the 45 minutes there, but that kid loves exploring the outdoors so eventually came around)

 First day of school!  They insisted on riding their bikes because they were beyond excited to go with their cousins.  I went with Ada and Isaac to go and take pictures, Isaac had to wear his backpack too.  Can't believe how brave they were.  It's always strange to see your kids kind of nervous in a new place.

 Without fail, this is what Lily does at Mimi's.  She finally has some accomplices (sorry Nate and Audrey).

 Jackson turned 7!  I wasn't sure if he would want to miss school to do a lunch out with me and Adam, so I asked instead of surprised him, but he was all ready to go!  Later I saw a paper his teacher had filled out and where it said "I am special because" and he answered "my parents take me on lunch dates."  Very glad we started that tradition.  He has totally blossomed with the freedom of this area.  He loves to bike and swim and will work hard for anything he sets his mind to.  He is the sweetest big brother to Ada and puts forth pretty decent effort dealing with his little brother's peculiarities.  He might whine a bit and get super crazy over screen time occasionally, but overall he is such a wonderful part of our family.

 Isaac's first day of school!!!  After looking and looking for a preschool, getting on two waiting lists (???), and then procrastinating like crazy because I felt like I had waited too long to get him in anywhere, I got a few suggestions from his gymnastics teacher, and then I waited longer because I toyed with the idea of doing Joy School with some other moms, and finally called a woman out in Washington who had a little class for 2 hours 2 days a week in the afternoon for $55, the only place that had afternoon which is what I wanted and about half as much as everywhere else and he goes with a little boy down the street named Jones who we carpool with and basically it ended up being perfect and I still don't quite understand how it happened.  But boy oh boy, was this little guy nervous.  I am not used to any of my kids being as clingy as he is, I couldn't believe it.  He was so anxious to know if I was going to stay (no) and if I was going to come pick him up (yes).  My mind refuses to realize that kindergarten comes after preschool and then it is Ada's turn....

 Jackson only invited family and we were worried that he wasn't making friends at school because he was relying on Zach and Chase, so I challenged him to invited two other boys from the neighborhood/school class.  He invited another boy named Jackson and bam!  It seems like Jack hardly is ever at Liz's anymore.  The first time Jackson R. invited him over we were in the basement, Jack ran upstairs and I followed to drive him there, but by the time I got to the garage he had left on his bike.  I still drove out to find him to show him where the house was, but you could tell he was just bursting to be independent and bike to his friend's!  So awesome.

We got Mom and Dad tickets to Tuacahn as a thank you for Cannon Beach, and Mom loved it so much she had me buy tickets with their discount for me, Lily, Liz Brooklyn, and her and Dad to go to Beauty and the Beast.  It was so fun to go with Lily, she was so excited and I love those kinds of productions, they remind me so much of being in the pit orchestra in high school.  Lots of good memories.

next July installment

We went to a few new places in Cannon Beach this time around, this little tucked away place my favorite.  It was a nice little hike to get there, including going over one of those rickety wooden rope bridges.  So beautiful! Here are some July tidbits.  Behind the scenes of these happy shots I was having some serious issues with birth-control-producing-hormones, until I finally came to the conclusion that I need to remove myself from society at certain times.  Unfortunately I didn't realize that too quickly and let's just say it's lucky I'm still married.

Liz was always talking about how great it is in Pinevalley, where I was never overly impressed at being at a cabin where you have to bring your own food and clean up a ton after being there less than 24 hours, all while having little babies that don't really let you experience the peacefulness that place possesses.  I finally caught on to a few tricks like the nearby state park where the kids loved walking through the water - Jackson taking apart the dam, etc - and now the kids are almost old enough to actually entertain themselves, and can help clean up, and who cares if we eat cereal for two days, and now I'm hoping we make it more of a habit.

 Isaac and Pete, the inseparables.  They can just play and play, it is so neat.  We loved having those boys for as long as we did this summer!

 Rock climbing!  Thank heavens for the WCCC who allows all the rock climbing the kids could ever want at $5 a day, PLUS a huge indoor water play area with a hydrotube slide!  This is one of the greatest things about this area.  The kids fell in love the first time we went there, Lily took a few tries before she got to the top of Climb #1, and even though he had been climbing and trying repeatedly for about 45 minutes straight, Jack kept it up until he rang the bell as well.  When he came down I thought he would be ready to swim but he wanted to do it again (and again).

 We took a side trip to Portland to visit the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  It was incredible.  That place could keep a kid entertained and fascinated for a few weeks of intense study.

 S'mores on the beach.  My brain still isn't functioning 100% and I forgot to bring warm clothes for Ada.  Or anyone in the family.  Apparently I couldn't think about coats while in the 110 degree St. George weather.

 Adam got the camera and took a photo-video of me (i.e. like 40 pictures really fast).  Here I am describing the boys sand and water activity by the waves.  They were building a fort of sand and every time a wave came Isaac would run and repeat "Ahoy matey!  Ahoy matey!" and everybody would jump on top.  It was hilarious and so cute.

 The Pig'n Pancake.  Dad loves the idea of taking the grandkids out to eat.  I don't really understand since kids at restaurants are the worst.  Isaac ordered a full waffle, saw whipped cream on it and wouldn't touch it, then proceeded to only eat the whipped cream on his hot chocolate.

 It is lots easier to remember that these kids won't always be around, when they aren't around.

 This park was a main selling point for this house.  We didn't get there until 2 months after we moved!

 For about a month if Ada didn't have pants on, she would take her diaper off.  Immediately.

 My kids love Star Wars and found this app pretty awesome.  Like I have about 30 of these with different characters and backdrops.

Britt visited from California and it was so good to see her as always.  Love how these girls get along even though they only see each other once or twice a year.

Girls at the beach

Accompanying email...
Love this picture.  I will always remember the combined effort to get Mom up the sandy, steep hill at the end of our long walk along the beach together.  We were all laughing like little girls.  So much that people turned to see what we were laughing at.  I suddenly felt so lucky, so grateful for a mom and sisters that I can laugh with.  Laughs of the best kind, deep belly laughs that make me forget everything else and appreciate the happiness of life.  I love you all so much.
Love, Liz

Was this picture the final winner also because of my monster arm?  Haha!  That is some crazy perspective!  (hopefully...)  - Sabrina

I mean, in real life my arm isn't bigger than all of our heads, right?  -Sabrina

Oh my word I just looked at it again and I am totally laughing out loud.  Let's take more tomorrow night!  Hahaha!!! -Liz

Wow, Sabey, your arm IS huge and I look skinny.  Great photo!  -Mom

Hey Sabey,
I hear the 49ers are looking for a new half back.  With those shoulders you are a shoo-in!  -Dad

...and another for June

The kids were super excited to find Sand Hollow Reservoir beach only 20 minutes away from home.  Nothing like sand and water on a hot day.   Such a gorgeous view with the deep blue water and red rock and sand everywhere.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures.  SO HAPPY!!!  She had just put her head down on the ground like playing peek a boo and came up fast and laughing.  Such a cutie.

 One of our last nights at Grandma and Grandpa's, Isaac hopped in the pack'n'play with Ada to keep her company.  They are really starting to play well together.  I hope I can figure out how to foster and encourage more of the same.

Courtesy of Isaac - early morning Ada.  Look at that just woken face and beautiful thick lips!  

That same morning I had slept in a bit and came out to this:  perfectly made cheesy eggs for everyone with the table set and even a bowl of oatmeal for Isaac since he doesn't like eggs.  When I took the picture Lily said "Wait!  The toast is coming!"  She loves to cook!!

Haircuts for the boys.  Awesomely enough, when I asked for the shortest clip to keep his part, Jack said it was too long and said he wanted a buzz.  So of course Isaac asked for the same.  They had so much hair, and were both so excited!  Along with me because it is 2 months later and I have just begun to need to comb their hair on Sunday!

 I bought this shirt which Dad labeled "appropriate."  Mom always gets a big kick out of what a busy girl Ada can be.

 Father's Day weekend we finally had Adam's family over for a pool party.  So many kids!

Ada takes her naps on our bed.  This day I had left her after a diaper change and came back to find she had laid down on the pillow and brought the blanket over too.  Thank heavens she now regularly naps every day!  It was not fun thinking she was done with napping since she refused at Mom's.

Amanda and Tyler left their boys with us while they celebrated their anniversary in NYC.  It was so neat to have them and see their personalities better.  When Amanda swam with Sammy before she left it took me, Adam, and Amanda to get him in a floatie.  But then when she was gone we put him in this little swim vest and with Grandpa's help he was totally independent, kicking wherever he wanted just like Ada.  Those vests are the greatest things ever.  Ada goes wherever she wants, in and out of the pool.  It is wonderful.

Isaac surprised me by going up a level in swim lessons.  I couldn't believe it since he is so darn tiny.  We still have to watch him like a hawk because he can't doggy paddle to breathe, but I'm sure by the time a year is up he will be swimming completely independent.   Which I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Lily and Jackson in swim team!  I had to overcome a lot of anxiety to let Jackson in the 13 foot pool without an instructor, but man was he anxious to try it.  I will never forget the time I went to watch and he was doing back stroke, but sinking like a fish with every stroke, having to hold on to the side to catch his breath and start again.  Every stroke.  It probably took him 8+ minutes to finish 25 yards, but he just kept on trying.  It was so amazing.  He loved swim team and initially I thought it was mostly because Chase and Zach were there, but even when they missed he still would go.  Not sure about Lily, who got out of quite a few practices, and complained a few times that she thought swim team would be fun, and they would just let you swim unless you weren't swimming, then they would say "Why don't you swim a few laps?"  The kids also went to a running camp led by the high school cross country team.  Again Lily complained, and tried to get Jackson to complain, but again he surprised me by going anyways, without Lily.  He definitely got a lot stronger this summer.  We will be a little more discerning next year when it comes to activities for Lily....She seems very happy with gymnastics and so I hope she continues and can see herself excel with that.

Mom got me to take this to show Amanda the zombie children watching TV at Grandma's house.  Ha!