Puerto Rico was a BLAST!

The kids' favorite part was swimming in the pool at the hotel. It was rather awesome. We did that every night before bed time, and most days too.

I don't think I had a favorite part. We swam, walked around Old San Juan, saw El Morro (a Spanish fort),

donned hard hats for a walk through a cave at Camuy,

walked around in El Junque and hiked up to a water fall (breath-taking, exhilarating, and heaven on earth),

laughed w/ my siblings (one just freshly home from his mission), and hung out w/ sisters at Hard Rock Cafe. Oh yeah, and huge, strange road kill. Good stuff!

After Puerto Rico, we spent five days in Georgia. We were all there (though we had to drive to Columbus, GA to include Spencer - He'll be a 2nd Lieutenant on Dec. 17th!) hanging out and chasing kids ;) It was great fun to be all together. I also learned how to make gum paste/fondant flowers. I didn't get pictures of the best ones, but I'll be working on some more soon. Thanks Alana!

Strictly Visual

What A Trip! (complete now)

We went to UT for a week over Poppy's birthday. We had a really wonderful time, strengthened our relationships, and got some wild memories from it all.

Friday I flew into SLC with the children. We intended to hang out at the airport for a few hours to wait for my mom who would be flying into SLC later that afternoon. Instead, my sisters decided to come to pick me up early. The kids and I got pizza, went to the potty, picked up our bags, and headed to the pick-up area. Perfect timing! Leah and Alissa (my cousin) came together to take us to Willard. We stopped off at Wal-Mart on the way home to pick up some necessities. I stayed in the car w/ all of the sleeping kids. While I was waiting my kidney (right) started to hurt. So I unbuttoned my pants (the pain was also in my abdomen) and tried to occupy myself. Soon the pain increased significantly and we started for home (Poppy's home that is). As soon as we parked I left the kids and ran into the house and threw up my guts and then some. My sisters and cousins all pitched in to make my kids feel comfortable. Thank You! I sat on the couch, lay on the floor, and called Brad. I needed to go to the ER. Again everyone pitched in with my kids, and Leah took me to the ER in Brigham City. A lady postponed her break so that I could sign in and then we went to the watiting room to wait. Excruciating! Leah helped them move their process up a bit to help me sooner. 2mm kidney stone was the diagnosis and I got Loratab to help me w/ the pain. I threw up two more times that night and again, more helping w/ my kids.

Saturday I was feeling better and we went to the Hislops house to hang. We got to see new chicks (Peanut Butter and Angel), lambs, ewes, chickens, turtles, and birds. We had a fun time there. Gram and Grandad showed up and brought dinner and a b.day cake for Frank. I went to Poppy's for dinner, but everyone offered to keep Frank (and the other kids too). I had a blast w/ my cousin Danny, my sisters, my mom, my aunts and uncle, my grandpa, and my other cousins who came by. Great few hours. Then I went back to the Hislop abode. Everything was wonderful and in order. Then Harper threw up. We played Pinochle (LOVE that game) and Chick was my partner agains Lance and Teresa. Great partner!! Fun game, more throw up, and then it was time to sleep (or so I thought). Bedtime came and Frank threw up. My wonderful sister Teresa tended to Frank for three or four hours while I tended to Harper. What a life saver! We didn't get much sleep, but we were well taken care of.

Sunday morning came slowly but surely. Eden woke up at 5 AM feeling like she needed to throw up. Harper felt like eating breakfast and so did Frank (Yay!) so Teresa made waffles. We got to eat them with her homemade cherry syrup. YUM! We painted nails, chewed gum, the kids played imaginative games and Leah and Alissa brought us our Sunday clothes. We went to church and settled down. Shortly after the sacrament was passed, Frank threw up. I barely made it outside. Tannah and Grace were heaven sent our whole time there. I'm so grateful for their help. Despite our sickness, we went back to Poppy's. It was his b.day that day and it was a good one. Eden finally threw up that evening and promptly ate some lasagna. She held it down along w/ some cake.

The cake was a tripple work of art. Alana made cup cake shaped cakes, and regular cup cakes too. One was german chocolate (poppy's fav) and the other two were spice and yellow cakes. We made them special to Poppy's life and the kids helped. Good memories!

Monday was a blur. The kids went swimming in a small pool in the yard, we pic-nicked in the same place, and generally enjoyed each other's company. Frank and I were sick all that night and the night before.

Tuesday was the first day that nobody threw up. I think. And Leah showed us some music that Grandma had written years ago. She's working to turn it into a book. She also showed us music that she arranged that we were planning on singing for Poppy. Timing wasn't right to sing, but I really enjoyed learning it and was excited about it. Well done Leah!

Wednesday, Alana and I planned to attend the Oquerrh Mountain Temple open house with Brad's parents. We got out of the house nice and late, but we still had a chance to make it to the temple on time. We met the Noels at the Hislop house and there discovered that all of those wonderful children were throwing up, AND Miles had pink eye, and all while Teresa was gone for the week. Ha Ha Ha right? :( So off we went. 20 minutes later Eden threw up all over herself. I crawled back, stripped her down, and wiped her off. I put her in Harper's spare jean shorts w/ no shirt. Five mins after climbing back into the front seat, Frank threw up all over himself. I had Alana pull over and took care of that mess.

Because we were going to a temple, we figured some clothes would be in order. We stopped at a Target and fixed them up. The Noels bought us some cups and Gatorade which was loving and good thinking. Aparently they've done this before :)

We arrived at the temple w/ time to spare. We dressed the kids and fixed ourselves up and headed in. It was a wonderful experience. Eden matched the rooms on the program sheet to the rooms that she saw. We were spiritually uplifted and impressed with the beauty of that building. Afterward we had cookies and took pictures. Then the Noels took us to Chick-Fil-A. mmmmmmm.

I got to spend that evening at the Noels house and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. We saw more animals, Eden got shocked by a low level (thank goodness) electric fence, Eden and Harper got to ride Dancer while Gram and Grandad led and steadied them. They couldn't get enough of that part. Frank threw up right after dinner. Oh, did I mention that it was probably the result of him falling down a flight of stairs? We had to say goodbye eventually and I was sad to go.

Thursday was another wonderful non-throwing-up day and I learned to make frosting roses. That part was a dream come true thanks to my sister Alana. She took the Wilton classes and now they want her as an instructor. Amen sister. Represent!

Friday my mom and I left Willard. I was sad to see it go and would have liked some more non-sick time there w/ Poppy. The drive was a good one. I really enjoyed spending that time w/ my mom. When we got to the airport, one of the guys gave us a luggage cart at no charge. Thank goodness for that thing. Mom pushed the cart w/ the two kids helping and our friends (the Flamms) let me borrow wheels for Frank's car seat. SUCH a wonderful thing. Thanks!! Mom helped us through security (holy many many grey bins of stuff). bought us Burger King (yummy thanks), and got us to our gate on time. Then she said goodbye. We were sad to see her go. And we did get to see her go too. We watched her plane back out and head for the runway.

We hunkered down for a while, took two trips to the bathroom (Chore), and nobody took a nap. Frank threw up on the plane so I gave him some Dramamene and he seemed fine. Lucky guess. Seeing Brad at the other end was a welcome and needed sight. Eden ran to him w/ her backpack bouncing the whole way. So cute to watch. And with a kiss and our luggage, we headed home.

The next morning Eden threw up...

Tadpoles

Yeah, our pond is nasty green (thanks to lugnut who decided one day to chew through the power cord to our pump). So naturally we have tons of tadpoles surfacing for air throughout the day. Well, we've discovered them! And for the record, buckets work better than shovels for catching. I'm excited to see them sprouting legs and all that jazz. We'll see if my kids are just as willing to catch and hold them at that point :) Until then it has become a daily ritual to go outside and enjoy nature.

Speaking of nature, eating outside ROCKS! Just ask Frank. He'll eat anything outside ;)

Catching Up

Boys are sleeping! Eden's happy! Sun is hiding and bring on the rain!

We have been walking on and off the last few months. We have a new dog named Lugnut. Actually, he was new in April, but it's been that long since I updated anything. He's six and cool. A mut if I ever saw one, and so he fits right in.

We went to Disney with Blaine and Cathy Noel and family. We got to camp with them for a few nights. It was pretty wet the whole time, and I didn't pack well. Luckily for me my family rocks, so I had some quarters to throw things into the dryer each night :) Thanks guys!

Brad was with us the first day, and then he had to go back to work. We got to see all kinds of people. And Anistasia Tremaine (from Cinderella) danced with Harper and kissed him on the forehead afterward. It was fun to see. The Buzz Lightyear ride rocked so much that we rode it Twice! and Harper wanted to ride it on the third day too. We had a lot of fun.

Then we got to go to GA to see more family. Such a good time. I enjoy watching my children play with their cousins. And I really like playing Rock Band. Life is good.

And now, a word from Eden. Life is good for her too :)

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Outside Much?

Oh boy do we love being outside! Trees, sprinklers, beaches, grass, bubbles, and all things dirty!

It's fun to see all of the fun children around here growing up, and it's crazy to see all the other children (via pictures and stories) not out here growing up. Wow. Talk about a generation of bright, fresh minds. They have the world at their fingertips and I think only lizards escape them (well, mine atleast).

Not much to report besides the general growing up. Frank is starting to take steps like he knows how to walk already. He doesn't, but I let him try. He's still in the 97th percentile for height (don't remember what that is just now), and he weighs a bit over 24 lbs. Sheesh! He just took a solid two hour nap. That hasn't happened for a long time. Go Frankie! Go!

It's time to cut the back yard again, and I will as soon as I get the rest of the bougainvillia branches cut and chucked. Our garden is still in milk jugs but should be all planted and settled this weekend. We're also about to make some more headway on our bathroom project. I need to find tile this week. Ack!

And to wrap it up, my NCAA Bracket was SOO off this year. I'm glad I wasn't risking anything on my picks. Yikes. And I even filled out a brand new bracket for the final four b/c I had no teams to cheer for by then. Again, Yikes. And...way to go Tar Heels! (No, that wasn't my final pick). I should have filled out another bracket for the championship game. *Shaking head* Sad. I know.

And so, life goes on.

Bring On The Sand

We went to the beach last week! I was worried about taking all of the kids. I went with my friend Krysta and her two youngest. It turned out so wonderfully. Frank has no issues whatsoever with being covered in sand, and he ate his share of it. Harper loved it, Eden loved it, and the other children loved it. What's not to love?

At one point all of the children were standing where the water meets the sand. You know how sometimes you feel disoriented when the water goes back out to sea and you're not moving? Well Harper was obviously effected by that b/c he walked crooked and slanted and drunk for a good 15 feet and then fell flat on his face. Oh, that was funny :) He stayed away from the waves mostly after that.

It got cold near the end of our time and I had to convince Eden to get out of the water. She really loved it. I think we'll go back again soon.

We've been outside a lot lately. Today was muggy. I'm trying to get back into the habit of walking...I was doing SO well until Sophie got nailed. So now she's doing fine and I'm back to being lazy. Ick. I'll figure it out.