Category:Family’

A week with Shelby

 - by Brittany

Last week we had a visit from Shelby. She came up to, hopefully, help with the kids a new baby, but apparently this little girl did not like those plans. So, instead, we played. The day Shelby got here, it was raining and cold. Surprise, surprise. But, I forgot the city was turning off power that day for work, so the house was about 63 degrees when we got home. It was a little cold. Luckily, we were only home 2 hours, and then the heater kicked on.

Wednesday, we stayed home so friends could come over, since that was the day their power was scheduled to be turned off. Thursday, we headed off to Pike’s Market. It was barely raining, so it turned out to be a good day to go. We grabbed some lunch and watched this band play while we ate. They were pretty good, and the girl would even dance on her wood to add to the music.

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We bought a bouquet of flowers that Jameson picked out, but Ella insisted on carrying in the house. She almost tipped over, because the bouquet was awkward and heavy for her.

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Jameson showed Shelby how to beat the asteroids and fight the birds in Happy Action Theater. Best game to get kids wiggles out before bed.

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Monday came and still no baby. I figured I needed to be in the hospital by Monday in order to be out before Shelby left to go home. It turned out to be a gorgeous day. The only day, I think, Shelby didn’t freeze. So we walked to the park. That’s about 2 miles round trip. Plus, I was pushing the stroller. Shelby offered to push, but my point was to try to go into labor. When we got home, I vacuumed the house, mopped, swept, did laundry, and dishes. Do you think any of this helped? No. Oh yes, I contracted through all of it, but it did not help progress anything.

Really funny, though. Ella was watching the water shoot out of the ground, when it disappeared. She was checking out the whole, when the water turned back on and shot her in the face. I was laughing pretty hard. She shook it off, but made sure to steer clear the next time.

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Tuesday, we took Shelby over to the Microsoft campus and met Kevin for lunch. We ate in their “cafeteria” which is ridiculous. Pretty much a mini mall but with a better food court. We walked her over to the store, and tried to go to the museum, but it was closed for something. Instead, we headed back to the Commons and played with the microsoft surface they have there.

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After their game, we took the kids home and Kevin headed back to work. Wednesday morning, we took Shelby to the airport and dropped her off with no baby in tow. We had fun, though, so we can’t ask for more.

Weekend Wrap-up

 - by Brittany

We got to spend a lot of time together as a family this weekend. Friday started with a doctor appointment where I was told I was 2 cm dilated. Makes sense. Last week, I had tons of pain, but I was surprised. I’ve never made it that far without already being in labor. Don’t misunderstand. There is no labor pains going on here.

Anyway, I had talked to Kevin about meeting him for lunch. We’ve actually never really been over to the Microsoft campus other than trick-or-treating. Kevin thought that would work out, so I called him as soon as my appointment was over to let him know we would be on our way. It also just so happens, the first Friday of the month is family day. We met up with friends there, and the kids had a blast. They started with a few carnival games, and got prizes… even if they didn’t win. Jameson was determined to knock the ducks down, though.

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Ella was just enjoying her sucker while Kevin got us some lunch. Jameson was busy playing pinball on the machine next to our table.

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After we ate, Kevin took us through the Microsoft museum. The kids loved this. It’s like a giant ipad. Can I say that? Compare a microsoft product to an apple product? Oh well. The kids were putting puzzles together.

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They played a little kinect as well. Then we headed into the Microsoft store. The kids got a new game, which I think I am going to love. Jameson was running in place all night, wearing himself out. On our way back through, we stopped to let the kids make a Fathe’s Day craft.

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We need to take advantage of family day more often. I guess each month is a different theme, too.

Today, Saturday, we did a little shopping. We headed down to the outlets, and we’re able to find Kevin some clothes for some good deals. Jameson was also in need of pajamas. All his shirts show his belly, and his pants are about 2 inches from the ground. Carter’s had their pajamas on sale 70% off plus, I had a coupon for another 20% off. Needless to say, he got quite a few pairs, and should be set now. After shopping, we took the kids to Sub Zero Ice Cream. I’ve wanted to check that place out, but it’s a pretty far drive. Since we were down that way, we thought we’d check it out.

It’s pretty fun. You tell them what ingredients you want, including type of cream, flavor, mix-in, and how hard you like your ice cream. Then, they spray it with nitrogen.

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Jameson was not a fan of the smoke. Is it smoke? I don’t know. Anyway, he did not want it touching his clothes. They flash freeze your ingredients to make ice cream, and then dish it out to you. It was really good. And, they mentioned that they are in the process of trying to open up more locations, so they may be closer in the future. I wish they were, it was  a pretty fun concept and really good ice cream.

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The kids both crashed on the way home. I realized we should probably do a few more things while we can, before we are home bound by a new baby. So we’ll see if we get out for a few more outings this week. Either way, we had a fun weekend.

Sheep sheer

 - by Brittany

Every spring, Kelsey Creek Park does a sheep sheer festival. I always see the signs, but we’ve never been able to make it. This year, we decided to go. Kevin had already planned to kayak the river, so I took the kids that morning to the festival. We got there just in time to see the sheep get their hair cut.

Ella liked watching the sheep, but Jameson was bored after one sheep. They actually cut about 4 every hour. So we finished watching and took off to see what else there was to do. They had some rabbits out of cages the kids could pet. Ella loved it. She wouldn’t leave the rabbits to continue to see what else there was.

I finally got her away from the rabbits. We got some kettle corn, and while I was getting that, the kids watched the dogs below herd the sheep. Once we got our popcorn, we headed down to get a closer view. I think this was their favorite part. They would let the dogs out and have them herd the sheep different ways… splitting sheep up, directing the sheep to the corners.

Kevin finished earlier than we thought, and could have met us, but parking was crazy. So we told him we’d meet him at home. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to push the kids up hill the whole way back to the car which was pretty far away. So yah, by the time we got to the car, I was worn out and contracting. But we made it.

Mother’s day

 - by Brittany

After a fun filled Saturday, Sunday was Mother’s Day. Last year, I was out of town with the kids for Mother’s Day. This year was a little better. Kevin got up early and made me breakfast. He made me waffles, which he doesn’t like, and cut up a bunch of fruit. He even arranged it nicely on the plate, all decorative! He had to wake up the kids (they were still exhausted from Saturday), and we all had a nice breakfast.

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Then, Kevin had to pack and get ready to catch his plane. He had to leave again to do testing for his project. So, I got to haul everyone to church by myself. Luckily, the kids did pretty well. Ella went to nursery with her nursery leader so I didn’t have to deal with her fake crying. Jameson was supposed to give his testimony in primary, so I went with him. The whole morning we were talking about what a testimony is and what to say. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea, and kept telling me he didn’t want to. When we got to the primary room, he said he needed to sit in the front to give his testimony. When it was his turn, I was helping him, but trying to help him come up with something on his own. I asked him why he loved Jesus and his response in the mic was, “I don’t know.” So we wrapped it up pretty quick after that. After church, the kids had Mother’s day presents for me. They had drawn on kitchen towels for us. So cute, and useful.

Jameson wrote his name, a tree with apples, a fence, grass, and I think it was a wolf. His teacher also helped him make me a cookie. She told me he wanted to make me a big cookie. That he did.

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Ella’s towel had her hand prints on them plus some doodles.

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The back had a quote about motherhood. I’ll have to update that later, though. So even though Kevin was gone, it turned out to be a nice day.

A childhood must

 - by Brittany

Kevin got home later then expected Sunday night.  We were out in the back yard enjoying the nice weather May brought us. He walked in, and Ella spotted him in the house. They were so excited after not seeing him in a week. I was too! They went around the backyard and found dandelions. Kevin was trying to teach Ella how to blow the seeds from the stem.

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Something they frequently do is lay on the tramp and watch for birds. Or airplanes. Ella gets so excited when the planes go by.

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We might need to upgrade to a larger trampoline. These kids love their daddy.

Put to work

 - by Brittany

Uncle Paul was here for a visit, so I made good use of his time. I have been bugging Kevin about a swing set on and off for a while now. Well, he had to go out of town for work, Paul was here, and I found some swing sets. I sent emails on two different ones, and only got one response. So, we negotiated a price, and I told Paul he got to move a swing set for me. While we were disassembling it, the other person emailed me, so I asked my friend if she wanted the other one. We finagled some deals and pick up times. Then, the next day, rented a trailer and set Paul to work. We picked up mine, came home to drop it off, then Paul headed out to pick up the other one. In order to get it in the backyard, Paul took apart our fence. I asked the missionaries if they could come help, and they were more than happy to oblige. Jameson had to go get his tools and help, along with Ella.

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After we got both swing sets in the backyards, Paul got the treat of putting them back together. Lucky for him, the next day it rained, so he got to take a couple days off. He got our friend’s put together first, then finished ours on Saturday.

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Once they were all together, we decided a bbq was in order to test them out. The kids loved it. Here is Ella and her best bud, who she also calls Ella even though that is not her name, getting their chance on the swings.

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It has been heaven. Well, when it’s nice enough to send them out to play. The first few days it was nice weather, and the kids went out first thing in the morning. I can actually make dinner without them in the kitchen or fighting. I told Kevin it was totally worth it, and the bright side was, he didn’t have to do anything. It just magically appeared… thanks to Paul.

I had asked Jameson if he wanted to go to the park and he replied, “Mom, we don’t need to go to the park. We have swings right here.” Awesome. When Kevin got back in town and he saw how much the kids love it, he finally admitted it might be worth it. 🙂

Home bound

 - by Brittany

Thursday, April 19th, we started our journey home. It was a big travel weekend. Mom was headed to Utah for Paul’s graduation from BYU, Weston was headed to Idaho to go to prom with his girl friend… yes, you read that right, and I was starting my drive home. Luckily, my cousin was able to ride with me so I didn’t have to make the long trip by myself with the kids. We left in the early afternoon, and made it to Medford a little after 8 pm. We got a hotel for the night, where none of us slept well. Well, maybe the kids did, but Jen and I didn’t.

We got up and got back on the road. The kids did pretty well, until nap time. Ella will refuse to take naps on trips. You just have to let her break down, and then she gives up. We did pretty well, though, and made it home just after 6 pm. The kids were so excited to see Dad, and I was so excited to have everyone in their own beds again.

We had a great trip, and will now be home bound till at least July. My doctor wasn’t too thrilled that I drove that far. But, we got out frequently, and walked around so everything was fine. I had a doctor appointment a few days after getting back, and everything was looking good and on track. We even made it with no one getting car sick on the way home. Success!