Cam and Wend Plus 4

Gotta teach them when they're young

2010-04-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

Cam stuck his hat on Ty and captured this. I LOVE IT!

Jaynee and her "two willow" on March 20, 2010

2010-04-02T22:59:00.001-07:00

If ever there is a favorite picture of mine of Jaynee, I think this would win. I LOVE the look on her face! Jaynee literally told Cam "let go daddy" and she rode off! Once again, she lets me know who is in charge and how "big" she really is!

"Let go dad"

2010-04-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

On March 4, 2010 Nigel Olsen was killed while serving our country in Afghanistan. He was in our ward and I can remember him as a child. I seriously recall him talking about being a soldier, and I think he was only 3 or 4. It was what he wanted to be his whole life! He was only 21 when he died. We owe so much to him and others just like him for giving their LIFE! When I found out they would be flying his body into the Provo airport I checked my kids out of school and drove down to be there to meet the plane. It was such an incredible experience. So reverent! Here are some pictures. They truly can't capture the reverence and spirit that was there, but I wanted to post it anyway. This was the entrance to the airport. I had chills! These are the "freedom riders" that ride around the country to show support and protect the families and bodies of these fallen soldiers. It is all volunteer and I believe many of them are veterens themselves.

They all stood straight forward, saluting and so reverent as Nigel's family drove in the gates. This was an amazing site to see.

When the plane pulled up and they opened the hatch, the first one we saw was Nigel's dad Todd. It was so touching to see him sit in the plane as the escort. He flew back the day before to Rhode Island (I think) so that he could fly his son's body home. I can't imagine.

The marines did such a beautiful job. So precise, so reverent and so respectful.

This is his beautful family. Todd and Kim (parents) are in the middle. I am amazed with his family and am grateful for Todd and Kim for allowing their son to serve our country.

Just some cute recent pics of baby Ty

2010-02-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

He is just starting to smile. It is so fun! I forget how much fun each new stage of development is. Sometime he will just go out cold on my bed while I am getting ready and I love this pic of his little arms out.

Here he is in his new duds, getting ready for his first Sunday at church. He was so good! He slept the whole time!
Precious little piggys.

Ready for another Sunday. Got his tie on and everything! What a good little boy.

Some images of January

2010-02-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

This is Jaynee's boyfriend. I spotted her one night and got the camera. I wish I had the video camera because she was talking to him, and kissing him and laughing like they were so in love! She named him Jake. If you can't tell, this is the post on the end of my bed and she put my sweatshirt on it to make it look like his head. Girls, girls and girls! I am in trouble with this one. Just a side note. While I was blogging this, Emmie walked up and looked at the picture and with no hesitation in her voice says "there is Jaynee hugging Jake!" So funny that even she knows who this Jake is that a I guess lives in our house. This is Nana Chatfield. We went up and saw her in January. She is doing so well, and is amazing for her age. We are grateful that she was able to meet baby Ty.

Kaylee Jo in her piano recital. She played two pieces-Brady bunch and Alvin and the chipmunks Christmas. She did so well and didn't even seem nervous!

New Years 2010!

2010-02-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

I had to put this image on here. Uncle Wado wears some of the best shirts-who knows where he finds them, but that is not the point. This one happens to be my girls favorite (mine too). So just picture this shirt-it is bright yellow with this image on the front. So funny! You'll never eat another Easter Chocolate bunny without thinking of this image. I love it! Aunt Heather enjoying our lazy New Years Eve day, snuggling baby Ty.

Uh oh, whenever Cam has his beanie on, it means he is sick. So of course, Cam was throwing up for new years Eve. What a way to ring in the new year!

The two geeks spending New Years Day with us and...of course their computers!

About 8 o clock we started playing some games the kids. This game was so much fun to watch-and especially fun to listen to them play. Roll the dice, and if you get doubles you have to put on the gloves and then try to open the candy bar with spoons in your hands.

Kaylee finally got the bar opened and was eating as much as she could, as fast as she could.

We decorated gingerbread houses about 9 o clock.

Look how cute they turned out.

Look at these two. The last of the little guys on my side of the family. They are about 4 months apart and couldn't look more different! Hopefully, they will get the chance to be buddies. Ty on the left and Luke on the right.

We started the movie of Napolean Dynamite about 10 o clock. We only lost a few little people to sleep before the movie was over.

I forgot how funny this movie was! Noah enjoyed this movie-close up.

This is how baby Ty decided was the best way to spend New years. I agree.

Most of the little people made it to Midnight. We had sparkling "champagne" and they all had to do their "cheers".

Cheers!

I couldn't believe Jaynee made it all the way to midnight.

Jaynee and Addie did about 50 "cheers" while sitting there.

Midway city did some fire works at midnight and Ty and Heather's place has a huge deck that overlooks the city. So fun to be together this year.

Baby Ty's big day

2010-02-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

December 27th was his blessing day. We wanted to be able to bless him when his uncle Wade was in town from Texas, so we ended up blessing him at him; which was such a wonderful place and day. I really enjoyed being able to do this at home, and to have all those who love him here. The spirit was in the home all day.

The circle of men at Ty's blessing. Its a little hard to look at this picture, because there really is someone missing. But I believe Dad was here, but we just couldn't see him. I really believe he is able to come to certain earthly events of his loved ones, and I believe he was here. What a wonderful group of men. I love them all and am so happy they could share this day with us.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

We had to get a picture of them coming down the stairs and poor little Jo it took her so long! Jaynee got her "barbie" bike, Emmie an art table and silly Santa brought Kaylee some rollerblades. Attached to those blades was a note letting her know that if she worked really hard in her physical therapy she could be using those blades by summer time.

I just thought this was a cute pic-with her little crutches behind her. Sometimes I would honestly forget that she was on them, and they I would hear her little clink clink and I would find myself sad. She is so young to have this, and she is being such a good trooper about it. But, we are grateful that she is doing so well, that the surgery was a success and that she is healthy; it could ALWAYS be worse.

This is how baby Ty enjoyed his Christmas morning.

Grandma bought all the little girls nightgowns. Whenever they sleep at grandma's, they like to wear her nightgown. So she decided to buy them all their own! So cute!The only one missing is Lauren (she got a different-more "grown up" present from grandma.)

Kaylee and her torn ACL

2010-02-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Pre-op...she was excited-she didn't know to be scared. Here is the story (shortened version). She was jumping on her 2nd cousin's trampoline, went up in the air and someone pulled her legs down. She immedietely heard a pop and was in so much pain. We took her to the Dr. and they told her she sprained her MCL. She recovered (or so we thought) about a week later. She decided she was feeling okay to dance around in the living room, and about 5 minutes later she pivoted and apparently her knee didn't and this is where we think she tore her ACL. A week later, the MRI results showed a torn ACL, a sprained MCL and bone bruising. So here we are. Primary Childrens' with an orthopedic pediatric knee surgeon-Dec. 17th. This is about 2 hours after the surgery. It took her a LONG time to come around. Thr surgery was about 2.5 -3 hours. They actually took part of her IT band and grafted it into her knee-to take place of the ACL. This way, they didn't have to drill into her growth plates and potentially damage her growth.

Icing, icing and more icing!!! Kaylee lived on the couch for a week or so. Next step-6 weeks of crutches and physical therapy. She is a really good sport!

Christmas Dance Recital

2010-02-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

I know this image is blurry, but I loved Jaynee's little body in this and had to put it in. She is the one in the front with the 3 little girls in a row in their tutu's and she is in the middle. This was the finale. The three girls after their performances. Kaylee really wanted to be able to do this before her knee surgery, and we barely squeeked it out-6 days before her surgery. If you look close, her left knee is bigger than her right; she has a large "bionicle" looking knee brace on.

This was Jaynee's first turn on stage! She has lived for this moment for as long as she can remember! It was so fun to watch her do her little groove! She is such a little "girl"-the hair, the makeup, the pink costumes...she loves it all.

Look alike?

2009-12-28T16:34:00.001-08:00

I took this picture after Jaynee and I had read books and she had fallen asleep. Most people think Ty looks like Emmie. What do you think? This picture sure makes my little Jaynee look big. It just shows how fast these little people grow!

A quiet Sunday afternoon

2009-12-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

I must admit...I love being home all alone and enjoying this Sunday afternoon with my new little boy. I look at him and can't believe something can be so perfect, and be mine at the same time. Our Heavenly Father instills so much trust in us when he sends us these little spirits. There really is nothing better to me. Here are a few new pics from our day today. I was so excited to catch this little smile-I am sure he did it just for me!
Little tiny stink bug. Now weighing in at 6lbs. 3oz. I overheard Cam changing his diaper yesterday and heard him say "Dude, you gotta gain some weight!"

Sleeping in his little Lazy boy. This is actually called a Nap Nanny. Perfect for my little lazy boy.

Ty is here!!!

2009-12-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

Ty made his grand entrance to the world on November 30, 2009 at 5:28pm, weighing a whopping 6 lbs 10 ounces (this is our biggest by 3 ounces) and 19 inches long. Labor began the night before for me, so this put us at 17 hrs! Crazy considering that Jaynee was only about 4 hours. However, I think he was posterior for most of the labor which caused it to go super slow! In the end, it was a wonderful delivery and super easy! Thank goodness for epidurals, good nurses, a great doctor and a supportive hubby!
This is his first picture after being all cleaned up!
I may look miserable, but I am so excited to be able to meet him soon!
My Dr. passing the little "football" off to his dad! I love my Dr!
Dr. Anderon and Ty meeting for the first time.
My first time meeting the little guy. He howled his little lungs out for the first 15 minutes until he spit up! I was hoping this is not a sign of things heading our way! My Dr. laughed and said that he loves that sound. He says he spends the first few minutes of life making sure they cry, and that mothers spend the rest of their lives trying to get them to quit!
Brand spankin new! My dad would say that he still had the price tag on him.
In the nursery getting all the yucky pokes and pricks, and then for the first bath. The nurse put the funniest little part in his hair when she was done! He was totally a little nerd, but so cute!
Grandma holding her newest (and probably last) little grand baby. I am sure it was hard for her to come without dad. They always came together to see and hold the new little ones. It was hard for me also, but I am sure he already knows this little guy!

Finally got his little boy.
Taking the little package home.
Do you think Jaynee likes him or what?
Kaylee is so great with him. It is nice to have older ones who understand a bit more about the whole baby thing. She is so in love with him, and gets so sad when he cries.
Emmie is such a natural little mother. I have no doubt that she will be so helpful!

Family (including Cam) pedicures!

2009-12-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

ONLY a REAL man would allow three little girls to give him a pedicure!
Hmm, my kitchen floor needed to be cleaned anyway. This way, my kids had no idea they were cleaning it or they probably would have stopped!
This is right down her ally! She loves anything girly! He little feet barely even fit into the foot bath! So cute!
The night after Kaylee's party, Jaynee just couldn't stand the fact that she hadn't got to put her feet in the foot bath and have them all scrubbed and cleaned. SO...Kaylee decided she would give the family a spa night. This of course had to include Cam-the girls would only have it that way! Reluctantly he did it-but deep down, who wouldn't want to? This is why we can have 3 little girls-Cam is a great dad to participate.

Kaylee Jo's 9th Birthday

2009-12-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

Since I had no idea when Ty would be making his arrival, we decided to go ahead and celebrate Kaylee's birthday one week early. We decided on a "spa night". It really was fun and I am so happy that it worked so well. I borrowed some foot baths from friends and family and each little girl had a chance to have a pedicure (done by yours truly, 9 months large!) and then we put on glitter toes, ate individual little cheese cakes, had "sparkling drink" in goblets, made some bath salts and then opened presents. The girls seemed to have a great time, and I really had a fun time "playing" in the girls stuff with them.
This pic is the finished product-after pedicures and after they all had their glitter toes on.
Wow Kaylee-don't look so happy at your own party!
Savana and Emily drinking their sparkling drink and having a foot bath...what could be better!?
The glitter toes took quite a bit of time to dry so I made them sit there on my counter and blow them dry with a blow dryer. I found how to do them on the internet, and I think it looked really good-and so much cheaper!
Here they are getting their pedicures. They each told me that it tickled. I hope it at least felt good though! Actually, one of them let me know that this was the "best birthday party ever", so I felt pretty happy in the end. Happy Birthday Kaylee!

Jazz game

2009-12-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to go to a Jazz game and literally sat on the front row. I could have reached out and tripped the players. It was all thanks to Lisa Bastian who took a group of us; friends of cross country from high school. It was so much fun! I really didn't even know the players, but really, to be that close and to have the best seats in the house was quite amazing. Thanks Lisa for the fun opportunity!

This is the group of girls that I got to go with. We went up in the top of the Energy Solutions stadium before the game began, and ate this AMAZING food. A full course buffet with a killer dessert bar-my favorite of course.

This was after the game. I was pretty happy that little Ty wasn't born there-Cam mentioned that he didn't want to have to name him Kyle Korver! From left to right (Lisa's friend) Lisa, me, Summer, Kelly, Shelby.
Here it is for all of you fans of Kyle. I was sitting right behind him for a few minutes. Then went down on the floor for the rest of the game.
I had to take a picture of the huddle. We were laughing because during one time out, they had the clip board out, they all took a knee and made it look like they were talking, but they weren't. Nobody said a word-not even the coaches. They all just huddled around "posing" as if they were scheming a plan. I wonder how often that really happens?
See how close? I really had to refrain from sticking my feet out on "accident!" It was so fun!

Landon's surgery

2009-12-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

n November, Am'y baby Landon had surgery to remove a portion of his lung that had a cyst growing since he was about 7 weeks in gestation. The surgery went well, but his recovery was brutal! They had an incredibly hard time finding the right medications to keep him comfortable. He also had to be sedated because he would thrash around and try and pull his tubes out; he had an arteriole line, an IV, a chest tube that went all the way from the side of his body clear up to almost his clavicle and then little probes on his chest and back that would monitor his vitals. He would get so mad and in pain, especially from the chest tube, that he would try and pull them all out! This was such a process for Amy and Carter, and so hard to watch him go through. But now, he is about 3 weeks post surgery and back to his normal little self! So happy that all went well and that he is healthy and won't be plagued with this his whole life. This was the day after his surgery when he was still doing really well. Look at his little "boxing gloves" so that he can't get to his IV and arteriole line to pull them out.
We were laughing at how he was looking at us when they transported him from the PICU to the regular floor. His look says "where are you going, and don't you dare think about leaving me...I'm watching you." Notice the ball. There is ALWAYS a ball when Landon is around.
This was after he took his nose dive. He would fall asleep for just a few minutes at a time in the craziest positions. Mom and I spent two days there hoping to allow Amy and Carter to get some sleep.
This was when he was so heavily sedated. He had to have his ball, and then he would sit up, open his eyes for two seconds, and then doze while sitting up, then fall over and sleep for 3-4 minutes. This process literally went on for 24 hours or more.
I loved this shot, it depicted the scenario perfectly-he is asleep, but if you tried to cover him up with blankets and take the ball to help make him more comfortable, he would immediately wake up and start the whole process over. I wish I had pictures of the day he was discharged, so that we can see how much better he looks, but for now, we know he is home and healthy.

Tooth Fairy for Emmie

2009-12-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

This was a letter that Emmie wrote to the tooth Fairy. She mentions that our dog is not scary because the last time she lost a tooth, it seems as though that silly tooth fairy forgot and then secretly went into the living room and hid some money under a pillow on the couch, and I just luckily found it and showed Emmie that it was under the couch, and made the assumption that she must have gotten scared of the dog, and left it in the front room. Good thing Emmie let her know that our whoosey little white fur ball is not scary! Way to go mom! Wish I could figure out how to turn the picture the right way!

Halloween 2009

2009-12-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hungry? Between the ward's trunk or treat, daddy's office and trick or treating the neighborhood, they had enough to feed an army! Look how happy a pile of candy can make them!
This was after the whole day of activities, so they look a bit hammered. This was taken at Amy's house after they went trick or treating with their cousins. Halloween was a bit more quiet for us this year. I let me girls know that I would not buy any costume, they had to come up with them on their own. I found myself giving into Jaynee's request to be "fumbelina" and bought her costume, but the other two found their own. So we had Thumbelina, a gypsy and of course Hanna Montana.
This was taken at Cam's office. Jaynee was so convinced that this guy was real; look how she won't even get slightly close to him, and she wouldn't let Cam put her down or put her on the other side of him.

Selling our house

2009-12-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

This was inevitable. I love my neighborhood, my neighbors, my friends and my house, but we just feel like it is time for us to move closer to mom and family and work. I thought I would post the pics that we posted on the MLS, just for fun. Cam worked so hard on our basement and this is a good way to show off all that he did.
Kitchen-obviously. But, I have to say, this is one of my favorite parts of the house. I love my kitchen and my walk in pantry, my big island/bar and just the layout of the room.
Our bedroom-SO RED! No, we are Cougar fans, and didn't paint it red-it was painted that way before we bought it, but it is fun.

The family room and computer nook (not shown).
Our newly finished laundry room, hallway from stairwell and entrance to playroom. See the window? That was new-our neighbor came over and helped Cam cut it out and pop it in-in only about an hour. It makes the biggest difference!

This was inevitable. I love my neighborhood, my neighbors, my friends and my house, but we just feel like it is time for us to move closer to mom and family and work. I thought I would post the pics that we posted on the MLS, just for fun. Cam worked so hard on our basement and this is a good way to show off all that he did.

1mile cross country race

2009-12-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

We went to a race held by the BYU cross country team, and got a fun surprise. Emmie found out she loves to run and won! She ran the one mile course in 8:44! She ran against other first grade girls, and basically ran the race by herself following the cross country runners who led the way. She ran it a lot like her Aunt Amy used to race-take the lead in the beginning and just keep it the whole time. I kept wondering if she was going to tire out and walk, and to my surprise, she just kept going. This was Kaylee's 3rd time running it, and by this time, I am not sure she loved it so much. She did a great job and finished in 9:13, but said she didn't want to do any more. I am proud of her for doing so well though. These pictures are a bit out of order, but you will catch the drift. This is all the cousins that ran the race. They all finished and did so well!

This pic is of Kaylee about 2/3 of the way done-she says she would rather dance or play tennis. I am glad she at least did it and did well and gave it her best! Way to go Jo! 9:13 is actually a great time for not liking to run!

In this picture, she is getting her blue ribbon. She was so proud of herself!
Finishing...she sprinted all the way from about 100 meters to go and finished with high fives from all the cross country team. So cute.
"Mom, I thought to myself, I know I am tired but I just have to keep going! And I did...and I won!!
In this pic, look past the guy in orange and you can see Jaynee. This is where she was when she realized she wanted to run the race too! So she jumped on the other side of the cones and didn't care that she was smaller than everyone else by A LONG WAY, and that she started way behind them. She was just so happy to be running!
And here she comes! After a whole mile, she ran it all the way into the finish! She totally surprised me and a lot of other people sitting in the stands and cheering her on!
The starting line had about 50 little first grade girls. Emmie was so excited!
This is at about the 150 meter mark, just after climbing a hill. I saw her take off and hoped she wasn't going to try and win in the first bit of the race and then tire out and have to walk.
Jaynee decided she was going to run also. She jumped in right before the first hill (about 100 meters into the race) and NEVER STOPPED! She RAN the whole way with a HUGE smile on her little face! She was in last until the very end when she passed some little girls who were walking. I couldn't believe her!
This was with about 350 meters to go. I knew she was having fun because in the background, they were playing her and Jaynee's favorite song "Oh it's Magic" and it gave them both big smiles.

I need this child in a bubble

2009-09-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

Poor little Jaynee. Seriously, she needs to be wrapped in bubble tape or something cushy. She fell tonight trying to turn off her lamp, and hit her face on the corner of her dresser. This little girl just has the worst luck! She is our first to break a bone, and now the first to have stitches. I really don't want to know what is next!
We quickly made the decision to run over to our friend's house who is conveniently a surgical P.A. It is moments like this where I really really miss my dad. However, I am so grateful to our friend who generously opened his door to us, placed Jaynee on his kitchen counter (just like dad) and went to work. She needed two little stitches, but two stitches for a three year old who is still in recovery for her tonsilectomy is a big deal!The hands you see holding her down are not mine! I just couldn't do it! It is Catherine, Scott's wife and his "assistant".
Poor little thing had a hard time even crying because her throat is still so raw from her surgery-in fact, today is the first day she wasn't mute and trying to play charades all day.
Our wonderful friend, neighbor and P.A. Thank you Scoot and Catherine for being so wonderful and willing to help us!
This is a picture just before she nodded off to sleep-luckily still on some children's Lortab from her surgery. Poor thing!

Tonsils and Adenoids...take two?

2009-09-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here we go again. This time, for Jaynee. I took her to the ENT yesterday, and we were in the operating room this morning. When he finished, he said "those tonsils and adenoids were HUGE." I figure if the ENT says they are huge and he sees them everyday, they must have been really good sized. Poor little thing was always snoring and always complaining that her "mouf" hurt. Apparently for good reasons. I just went up and checked on her in her bed, and the room was so quiet-it almost made me cry to not here my little snoring duck! Cam just went and checked on her too and says "can we go back to last night when we used to hear her snoring?" Change in so hard-even with something as no big deal as this! But that was just always a little trademark of Jayne-her snore!
She was such a good sport-SOOOOO GOOOOD! All the nurses kept coming in saying "oh, I've heard about you-you were our star patient today." Well, so far so good-but I have been through this before and know that the hardest days are usually those to come. I'll take you on our little journey today with a recap of some cute pictures. Her pre-op nurse getting her weight-a whopping 25 pounds!
She was really excited about her nightgown that they gave her-it had bugs bunny and taz on it. I don't think she even knew who they were-it was just cool to where the new nightgown.
Notice the lion in her hands. They gave this to her at the very beginning and it says on his shirt "No LION, I had surgery today." She had to have him with her all day today. Her finger was so small they couldn't get a good reading of oxygen-they tried 3 different times-her finger, her thumb and her toe-not one gave a good reading. The nurse just decided to go off her little happy attitude and decided she had enough oxygen for as happy as she was.
My favorite part of the outfit was the slippers-about 10 sizes too big and twisted-she thought they were so cool.In the pre-op waiting area, they had a little toy room. This was perfect to calm her nerves-wait...what nerves? Where was my toy room? I could have at least used a good tranquilizer or something!
This is my favorite picture-it was so funny! Everywhere she walked, it was just like the T.V. commercials, with the bum hanging out; except this one was little, cute and covered in Tinkerbell underwear.
She started to get a bit nervous when I told her that the nice nurse with the same name as her's was going to take her back to her "office" and let her see where she works all day. This is about where I thought I would loose it. When Emmie had her's out, they gave her a sedative so that she didn't care that someone came and took her to the O.R., and I was really worried she might cry and not want to go.
This was the nurse, with the same name as Jaynee and she brought this warm blanket with her, snuggled her all up and Jaynee just went right with her. I said " I love you" and the nurse told her to say I love you more, and as she walked off, she said "love you more! Bye!" AHHH, the tears started falling! It is silly that this is so hard, but I knew what she was about to go through, and the poor little thing had no idea.
And here we are right after in the recover room. They let Cam and I go back before she was completely awake, and they put her right in my arms. I laid down in a recliner while she took about and hour and a half to fully wake up, drink some apple juice so they could remove her little IV, and then let us go home. She sounded so little-when she would breathe, she would make little tiny whimpering noises. Then she would cough and it sounded like a little barking seal.
Sometimes you can't believe how little their hands are; and how little all the instruments must be in the O. R. to make this possible-look at the tiny I.V.
And here we are on our way home. She was such a good little sport! I am so happy this part of the ordeal is over, now on to her rapid recovery!

Happy Birthday Mom

2009-09-10T20:21:00.001-07:00

I have an amazing mom, and wanted to write a post about her. Today was her birthday (Sept. 9) and I want to tell her how wonderful she is to me. What a year this has been for her! I know she misses dad every minute of every day; in fact, she is so open with her feelings, that it has enabled us to tell her how we are feeling; we can cry together and even laugh together about the wonderful memories of dad. I am so grateful for the example of her for moving forward, and for continuing to be a stready influence of love and support to me and especially to my kids. I believe my dad's memory will live on through her because of how united they still are to this day. I thank Heavenly Father each night for my wonderful parents, who taught me all they did; and they did it together. I feel very strongly that my mom has such a purpose in my life and in the lives of my children and I am so happy that we live close to her, and that they can grow up having a relationship as strong as they do with her. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!

Soccer and first missing tooth-Sept. 9

2009-09-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

No, the two really don't have anything to do with each other, I just thought it would make a good title to this simple post. Emmie is so proud to announce that she has finally lost her first tooth! She has been waiting ever since she was 4-maybe 3, I don't remember, I just know she has been wanting to be "big" and loose a tooth for a really long time. The crazy thing is, that we thought tooth fairy didn't come! Emmie woke up in the morning, checked under her pillow, and was so disappointed that the tooth fairy didn't come, that she was sobbing in her bed when we woke up. I heard the sobs and told her to wait just a minute. I dashed downstairs where I quickly said "hmmm, I wonder if the tooth fairy left some money under the pillow on the couch in the living room by my purse?" To her utter amazement, I came upstairs with the dollar in my hand! We decided the tooth fairy must have been afraid of Daisy who was sleeping on her bed???!!! Silly tooth fairy!
She has gotten a lot better this year, and isn't afraid to throw a few elbows-something Coach Houle taught me when starting out in a race-"sharpen your elbows Wendy", was one of his famous lines. No I didn't teach her to throw elbows, she's just realizing that it works!
She's also gotten more agressive in chasing after the ball, rather than dancing around the field like last year. Go get 'em Emmie!

Cam playing in the makeup

2009-09-05T21:58:00.002-07:00

Well, its bound to happen when you have three girls! Okay, actually Cam was taking a nap, and Jaynee decided it was time that dad tried out the makeup thing. She dolled him up with everything from eye shadow, to blush and lipstick! Sorry Cam, but I had to take it. Don't worry, only a man "manly" enough would let his little three year old put makeup on him-or maybe sleepy enough.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2009-09-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry Erin, but I had to name my "first day of school" the same thing as you, because I actually found myself singing this song! Don't get me wrong, I love my girls, but sometimes a mom just needs a few hours to herself-or at least without all of them at once. They were pretty excited to go, and are enjoying it so far. I am finding myself really enjoying my time with Jaynee before the baby gets here; she is so easily entertained, and really keeps me laughing most of the day.

Family trip to Arizona

2009-09-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is just a cute picture Cam snapped of Jaynee on the bridge at Lake Powell. We took the trip to Arizona to make it Stephanie and Simon's wedding, Bob and LaRee's farewell, and to just make the trip to Arizona so that my kids could see it, and to go to Mount Graham. I always wanted to go with Mom and Dad, and unfortunatly we had talked about going this summer for quite a while, and we were just a bit late to have dad with us; I am so happy grandma could take the trip with us and make it a great memory for my girls.
This picture was taken on our second day of traveling, at the Lake Powell dam. We hung out at the bridge that morning and let the girls explore. I can remember my parents letting us do the same thing, and I enjoyed my girls making some of the same memories.
This is about 5 hours into our second day of traveling; and this is where we decided Jaynee was going to ride the rest of the way!
We made it to Safford that night about 8:00. This was taken the next day after Bob and LaRee's farewell, outside of their house. This is LaRee's golf cart that she cruises around her little neighborhood in. Notice where Jaynee is sitting-she is in the little basket on the back.
The next day we went to Mt. Graham. The memories I have here are priceless. Dad's family has cabins on the mountain, and we would have a family reunion here about every other year when I was growing up. I have always wanted to take my family here and let them experience some of my same favorite childhood memories. This is one of my very favorite-making mud pies, and just "cooking" in the little kitchen that would always be set up.
This swing was amazing! It was put between these two huge tress, so high, and it would swing out over a little drop off. You could go so high because of how long the ropes were. The girls spent so much time here, especially Kaylee Jo.
There was also a big zip line, next to the swing, and Kaylee of course loved this too. She is always up for an adventure. This was also one of my favorite memories, and I had fun watching Kaylee.
Most of Jaynee's time was spent either making mud pies, or "cooking dinner" for someone in the little kitchen. This was her very favorite part-we are talking HOURS and HOURS that she spent right there.
We took a hike and tried to find Bear Caves-not sure why it is called that-not really sure if bears go there, but as a child it was always one of the hikes we would take. However, we never found it! Where is dad when I need him? He always was the leader on our hikes-and I think he only got us lost one time. We were like the children of Israel following Moses in the wilderness- dad leading us with his big old walking stick! But, even though we didn't find it, the kids had a good time getting dirty and being able to use their cool walking sticks.
Kaylee sporting her cool "Hanah Montana" sunglasses on the hike.
We took a crazy turn and ended up going up a really really steep hill, so when we came down, Jaynee just sat down and slid.
While taking a little pause on the hike to take a pic, I noticed something about 150 yards away, with 4 legs and tail!!! I about died right there from being so scared. We still don't know what it was, but Cam looked and looked and finally found it too, but it was so obscured by trees that we just couldn't get a good look at it. I think Kaylee just about lost her lunch she was so scared. Good thing we had our walking sticks! I kept telling my girls we were safe cause we had our "clubs" to help fight with...this was more for my sanity the rest of the hike.
Farrell and little Isaac on the swing.
Emmie finally got brave enough the day before we left to go on the swing and to let Cam push her high.
Go Grandma!! Mom got on the swing and went really high! The little girls were so proud of their grandma!
This picture may not show it, but Cameron and Farrell got me SO high on the swing-careful, pregnant women don't have too good of bladder control-especially when I get nervous or laugh really hard-and I was doing both.
Jaynee was not about to get on this swing alone, so cam had to take her-she loved it as long as she had her dad there to protect her!
Of course Aunt LaRee got on the swing! She is always up for anything fun, and my girls are sure missing her!
Little Isaac learned to go all by himself. He loved this!
Jaynee finally decided she could do it all alone, and she lasted about 10 seconds, and went about 2 feet in each direction. After this time, she decided she would never do it alone again and made Cam or I go with her everytime; little chicken!

She looked like this most of the time-just SO dirty. I didn't bother to wash her off until evening cause she would just go right back to making mud pies as soon as she was clean. So fun for her!
And of course this just topped off the filthiness-a chocolate donut. Actually, not much of the donut was eaten, just the top with the frosting.
Once we came down from the mountains, we went to Mesa for Stephanie and Simon's Wedding. This is right before we said good bye to Jody's cute girls. My girls had so much fun with them, and continue to talk about them as if they are best friends.
Grandma and the girls on the long ride home. I don't know if we would have made it without grandma in the back to keep them all busy with silly games, books, games, games, games...it was a pretty long drive. Here she is drawing on the white board-she literally drew this picture for 45 minutes, and the girls we entertained the entire time.
Here is the fisished product of the 45 minute art project. Look at my big belly! And look at the dog-we laughed and laughed about the "pig dog". Thanks mom for going with us-it was such a better trip to have you with us.

Sleeping Beauty

2009-09-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

This is how I found Jaynee the other night. Notice, she still has her Wall-e pillow! But the older she gets, the more girly she gets, with her necklaces, bracelets, make-up and of course we all need a Tinkerbell Umbrella when we sleep!

Sprague Reunion

2009-08-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

We made a quilt for part of the reunion, and these were the little needle threaders. I would poke my needle down, and about 10 seconds later a little wobbly needle would poke back up so that I could pull it through. They got so good at it that I never had to tell her where to put the needle back up through-it was really pretty funny to see all these little needles wiggling up from the bottom of the quilt.
Hey Linds-had to post it! What is this a picture of? Showing a bit of "pre marriage jitters?" Jeremy made his official debut at the reunion-what a great guy! So happy for you Lindsey!
For every 15 minutes that you work on the quilt, you get to put your name in a bucket and then at the campfire at night with smores, grandma pulls a name out, and you get the quilt. Well guess who only worked 15 minutes on the quilt, but won? ME!

Going, going gone! The next three pics show Jaynee doing her best dive.
Nice form...
Who needs a pool any bigger when you can dive like that!
Kiley with his "jazz hands", proudly celebrating his victory on the tandem bike. Sometimes when we get together, we ride the tandem bike around the block as couples to see who can get the fastest time. Kiley and Christy have managed to win each time...just wait-one of these times I won't be pregnant, and then we are on for a real match!

So Kaylee took my place this year and did a great job! She is my little dare devil-look how she rode the whole time; why not? Make dad do all the work and just go along for the fun ride.
This was Jaynee's ride. Grandad let her ride the bike back to its home. She felt so special. Grandma and grandad have such a fun yard for the kids-a "secret garden", a play house with bushes all around for collecting berries and leaves for salads made in the play house, a big garden, fruit trees, a fire pit and lots of room to run and play. It is going to be a great memory of my kids childhood someday and I am so happy they live close enough that we can visit 2-3 times a year.

Jaynee turns 3!

2009-08-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

I watched Jaynee get on her cousin's scooter one day, and cruise around-so we decided that she could have one for her birthday. She loved it!

Here she is just moments after she opened it-she had to go and try it out right away. She just seems too small to be able to ride it!
I am so glad we have really wide sidewalks, away from the road so that she has plenty of room to cruise around and crash!
She got this purse loaded with goodies from her Aunt Amy! The evening of her birthday, we hiked from Aspen grove, up to the falls and she had to do the whole hike with it around her. She is such a girly girl.
Here is the whole crew on our way up! Lets see if we can all make it!
Yeah, I know my belly is in the way, just look past that and try and find Jaynee. She loved this part. This was my view most of the way-she just took her sweet time and we were quite a ways behind the rest of the group-but she didn't care. She was picking flowers, singing songs, looking for bugs and who knows what else. I was just happy she was going nice and slow and enjoyed listening to her chatter all the way up.
"Follow me mom"
This was our destination. Such a great hike! Even paved the whole way!
Kaylee Jo posing for a shot. She loved this hike. She is my outdoorsy, get dirty, explore girl-this was right down her alley.
The whole crew made it up. This pic doesn't show the "motors" behind Landon's or Eva's stroller; but we all made it to the top.
So pretty! Amazing views on the way back down.
This was the other amazing view! I had to take it! Jaynee decided she was done about 3/4 of the way down the trail, so Cam let her hitch a ride. Good thing it was only grandma and I getting the cute view!
Happy Birthday Jayne! I can't believe you are three!! Where did the time go?

Peaceful Sundays

2009-08-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Just a bit of love given to Kaylee from her little sister Jaynee. Look at her face!! She is actually enjoying that! Poor Kaylee!
When she pulls, she pulls until she gets a fistfull of hair-she has only done it to me once, but Kaylee... way too many times to even try and count.
Just filling up on some of dad's sunday treats-the same each Sunday-HUGE DAD SIZED COOKIES! Too bad I still count them as one cookie each and can eat at least 4 of them!

Here we are-with another quiet Chatfield Sunday afternoon, filled with loads of sugar for the kids provided by Cameron's life size chocolate chip cookies, and plenty of fist fulls of Kaylee's hair in Jaynee's hands! AHHH! This could quite possibly be the longest day of the week for me!-and it seems to repeat itself each Sunday!

Emmie turns 6

2009-08-02T20:24:00.001-07:00

This is what it looks like when your daughter wants to invite all of the neighborhood, plus her little friends from school! We had 15 little girls, all under the age of 7 at our house for Emmie's little party. It was so fun though.
We had the typical birthday party at the house, and then I allowed her to take 3 other little friends to "Color me Mine". Emmie loves to do art, especially anything to do with painting, so Color me Mine was a hit. I can't believe she is six!!!

Cedar City

2009-08-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

I had to take this picture. I have one very similar with Emmie and Kaylee. This is at Cam's parents house. The girls LOVE to go there every summer and play in their yard. It really is so great! They have a flat lot, with a "secret garden", a play house surrounded by little bushes that kind of hide it, a fire pit, a big garden, lots of fruit trees and a quiet little neighborhood. I never fully appreciated it until I had 2 kids, and found out how relaxing and quiet it is to go. Also, my mother in law kept some of the greatest toys her kids had while growing up and it entertains the girls for hours! I can remember going to my grandma and grandpa's house while growing up, and it was such a magical place. I think this is similar to how my girls feel about going to Cedar to see their grandma and grandad. I truly have the greatest in-laws!

Orem Summerfest 2009

2009-08-02T18:49:00.001-07:00

Jaynee "proudly" riding the horsey on the merry go round at the summerfest. This is a 6 year tradition of our family and the Wiltbank family to go together. It started when we lived next to each other, and is still going.
I have pictures almost identical to this of Kaylee and Brecken, who are now on the "big kid" rides and don't have time for the baby rides. This is Jaynee and Jaxton.

This year was WAY different! There was a huge storm-one of the worst I have experienced out doors-if I was inside-it still would have been bad, but not like this. We could see the clouds coming, and we ran for cover under the pavillion. We hunckered down and put umbrellas on one side of us to block the horizontal blowing rain! It was so crazy-I laughed most of the way through it, however, you can tell Jaynee was not amused.
Steven was part of our "wind block". He and Cam held the unbrellas up and their legs were pelted with the rain, but hey...we stayed warm and dry thanks to those two. This is part of why we LOVE Steven-always a big smile, always willing to help and always making the best of ANY situation. Love you guys!

Memorial Day 2009

2009-08-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Grandma helping Andrew (Wade's oldest) tie his card onto his balloon. We gave each grand child a card and had them write a message to grandpa, and then we "sent" them to him on the white balloons.
Ty keeping Noah (Wade's youngest) busy. Noah is a wanderer and is happy to just go exploring anywhere he can.
Erin helping Addie and Drew write their letters.
I had to put this picture in of Jayne. Such a fun age! Don't grow up!
This was my girls first time seeing the headstone. I am grateful that mom brought me up here two days before, so that I could be here alone, without all the kids, and have myself some time to get used to this. It is strange, but if I just don't have to face things like this, then sometimes I can get through a few days or even a week without a little breakdown. Unless you have experienced something like this, seeing things that are so "obvious" like this, you can sometimes make it through the day. However, I am grateful for how beautiful it turned out, and how beautiful the cemetery is.
Kaylee told Grandpa that she hopes he still watches BYU play this year, and that she loves and misses him. Emmie told him she loved him and invited him to her dance recital and Jaynee...(Look below).
This pictures are a bit out of order, but here they are, all posing for a good pic. It was such a beautiful day.
This was Jaynee's letter to her grandpa. She still talks to me about him, how she misses him, and how he "fixed" her arm. Jaynee broke her arm the day before grandpa fell, and he put a cast on it for her. This was one of the last procedures we know of him performing, and I of course still have the cast.
Getting all ready to let the balloons go, and a cute picture of Amy holding Landon.
And there they go. We watched them until they dissappeared. It was really pretty neat to see all of these little love letters go to grandpa, and Emmie and Jaynee were convinced that he got them. I am convinced he was watching and seeing the cute things they each wrote to him. Memorial day 2009 was such a different memorial day than I had ever experienced. It really meant so much to me. I am so grateful to have been surrounded by my family, all of whom felt the same way as I. We spent it together; that is the way we always did, and the way Dad would have wanted us to do it.

Planting our garden-May 23rd, 2009

2009-07-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

So we worked really hard, got the garden all tilled and ready to plant; Cam even made it about 7x10 feet larger this year using his shovel and tons of back labor! It was a seriously hard job because of the type of grass we have, and how hard our ground is. I came out back to get ready to plant and found my little Jaynee using it is her sand box. I even considered taking out the soil and putting sand in for her-she is two and needs a place to dig!

Emmie's Kindergarten Graduation-May 22nd, 2009

2009-07-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Emmie graduated! From kindergarten...and she felt SO old! Her teacher made them their little hats, and then made all the little girls skirts to do a dance in at the graduation.

Here she is with two of her best little friends from her class; Emily C. and Audrey. There were two Emily's, one Emma and Emmie in her class! Her poor teacher!

Jaynee decided to perch herself in the little reading corner and I thought to myself-NO! Slow down! You are not coming here for another 2 years!

"Go go grandma's" funeral-April 18th, 2009

2009-07-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

Silly, but I don't have a picture of her on my computer! Sad! She was an amazing grandma-one of those "magical" grandma's that just made life sweeter and SO MUCH FUNNER! She was all about fun and was a bundle of energy! I am so glad that she finally was able to go though, and be with Grandpa Allen who passed away many years ago. This is just after her funeral in Safford Arizona. She passed away on April 13 and her funeral was on the 18th. I was able to go along with Jaynee, my mom, Amy and her little Landon. Ty and his family were luckily already in Arizona, so it worked out nicely. This is Amy and Shelby-the one with the cute sassy glasses (funniest little thing in all of the world) and then Stephanie and her Fiance Simon.
This is Jaynee showing me the piece of gum that helped keep her somewhat occupied during the funeral. I have to say that taking her was so much fun! I loved having the one on one time with her and to top it off, she was so darn good-except when she dropped her yogurt on the floor in the airport and decided to lick it up before I could get to her!

2009-07-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is at the Luncheon. This is my cousin Justin who I haven't seen in years. He has cerebral Paulsey and just doesn't like to leave his home in Missouri very often. It was SO FUN to see him! He is so funny, so smart and has a memory that you would not believe. I am so glad he was able to be there.

This is at the gravesite; not much in Arizona-just a lot of dirt and a few sparse trees. This is where grandpa Allen is buried also. This is Uncle Farrell-dad's youngest brother, giving mom a big hug.

I see my brother here as a paul bearer and know that dad would be there too; Ty has just stepped in and been there in all the right places. I understand more fully why the Lord blessed my parents with a boy first-what an awesome big brother I have!

Farrell and Mary, Bob and LaRee, Grant and Florene, and then my cute mom! So brave and so steady. She spoke at the funeral on behalf of her and dad and gave an amazing tribute to Grandma, and actually an amazing tribute to dad also.

2009-07-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

After the funeral, we sat around and did exactly what the Allen family does best! Play games! Actually, this family does a lot of things great, but this is one of my favorite memories as a child with the Allen family; hanging out in the mountains and playing games.

Amy, Curtis, Michael and Uncle Grant.

Farrell and some Kayla's kids and Jody's Shelby and little Logan (Carmen's little guy) playing my personal favorite-Rummy Royal!

Since I was sick (about 6 weeks pregnant at this time), I NEEDED a grilled cheese sandwich. So Auntie LaRee took us down to Sonic 10:00pm. Jaynee just thought she had hit the jack pot; staying up late AND eating french fries with grandma and Auntie LaRee.

Easter

2009-07-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday in their matching dresses.
Jaynee telling me how cute she is while getting her hair done for church.
This was the circle of "egg hunters" seeing what they got. Grandma had filled all the eggs and some of them had money and some had candy.

This is out at Ty and Heather's house. The landscaping was still in progress, but such a large area was so fun for an egg hunt. It's quite a hike from the bottom to the top.
The Easter bunny even hid eggs at the bottom of his lot on the tennis court. The kids got a good workout going all over the yard.
The bigger kids had to wait on the tramp while the bunny hid the eggs, and the littler ones hunted for the eggs that were hidden in the front yard.
One of the littlest bunnies all ready to go.
This was the picture of all pictures. This was our first Easter without grandpa, and Ty did a great job as the newest easter bunny. It was always tradition for Grandpa to put his ears on, and for He and grandma to fill the eggs, and then for the bunny to hide them. The kids loved this tradition and it was so fun to have Ty be the bunny and continue this fun tradition.

My first Half Marathon

2009-07-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

This was my first half. I commited to doing it about 8 days before my dad passed away, and actually found the training to be therapeutic. I went to Moab with 1 other mom that I knew (thanks for the invite Em!) and 5 others that I didn't, and came home having 4 new friends. We rode down in that motor home you can see behind us-it was so great! This was a great experience. I really enjoyed the whole thing (except mile 11-13 was pretty brutal). I never thought I would be able to do something like this ever since my back surgery 4 years ago, but pleasantly surprised myself. Not sure I will ever voluntarily run that far again, but who knows what the future holds!

Family vacation to Hawaii 09

2009-07-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

I have decided to try to do a short "year in review" since I haven't blogged since Dec. 08. So, starting with our trip to Hawaii Jan. 31-Feb. 7, here is a little collage of the fun things we did.

Update on the basement and my new blog paper

2009-07-10T18:18:00.001-07:00

This will be the "extra bedroom" or more commonly called "mom and dad's workout room!" Now I will have a place for my beloved treadmill!! And cam's weights will now have a home too! This will also be the room for company, and I am sure all of my primary things, etc. But how nice to have a room for it all. That door to the right will be the bathroom (someday).
This is the view coming down the stairs. I begged for 3 months to please have a window in my laundry room. I knew that when it was finished, it would feel like a dungeon because the only window is in the bedroom. Sure enough, I was right. SO....needless to say, I won the battle!!! It helped so so so much! Now I won't mind doing laundry...well, that was a stretch, but it won't be as bad as it would have been if I would have had to enter a dungeon each time. That room to the right is going to be the food storage room, soon to have lots of great shelves-now, to fill them with food!
Here he is in the playroom. This shot doesn't show how cute it is going to be. He framed two cute little windows and a door, so that part of it will be a little house.

Cam's dad came up last week and Cam took 4 days off, and they sheet rocked the whole thing. Now we are on to muddin'. What messy work! I went down and helped him the other night and thought I was the "master mudder" and told him I was going to go find a job and do this for a living (sometimes I feel better at that than being a mom). However, I was told the next day that Cam was going to fire me! I was so shocked! He kindly said I needed to learn how to "feather". Well, see if I ever mud again!!! Actually, I was slow as tar and I am sure I did more harm than help. Hopefully painting next week, then the carpet. Almost done!!!

And as for the new paper on the blog, I had to laugh when I saw this! I had to put it on here at least for a few days!! When my brother Ty found out I was having a boy (he has 5 girls), he called me and said "Is this the Den mother slash pack mother to be?" I of course said "No way , not me!!!!" and then the realization hit! AHHH! I don't do scouts! I do bows and hair and dance recitals! Boy do I have lessons waiting to be learned! But really, I am so excited to have this new experience! Lots to learn, and that is what makes it more exciting and new again.

Check this out!!!!

2009-07-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

THIS IS REAL!!!!!! We are still in shock in this house full of girls, but that little picture is really ours! While we were in "Toys R' Us" the other day, Cameron picked up a football and asked "do you think we will ever need one of these?" My doctor was so nice and just quickly checked for me today. With all the girls in tow, we looked at the baby and had Cameron on the phone. My doctor said "here is one leg, and here is another, and here is another!!!!" It was so strange to see this for the first time on ultrasound, but totally unmistakable! We are so excited!!!