Called to Serve

TREVOR

Rover, Roark, Roadkill, Roro, Trev, Ears...and I'm sure there are countless other nicknames for my baby bro that I don't even know of.

Today the girls and I ran down to see him one last time before he left to the MTC.

I'm gonna miss this lurpy kid - always smiling, always joking around, always laughing at himself.

It's amazing how it really, truly feels like yesterday he was 5.

Sometimes I feel a little cheated - being so much older than him, Scott, & McKell. I've missed out on so much of their teenage lives.

But over the last year or so, we've all become closer as adults.

We enjoy eachothers' company so much, and we always have so much fun when we're all together.

I can't wait to see how his mission helps him grow.

After he was set apart last night, I couldn't help but see him as a young man now, instead of this little kid. (I use the term "little loosely - the kid is 6' 5")

We're all so proud of him, and I can't wait to hear every detail of his mission and the amazing experiences I know he's going to have.

LOVE YOU TREVOR!!!

Karma

This just goes to show you that sometimes when you give a gift that you actually want for yourself, the hubs just might come home with a pepto bismol pink one for you!

**sigh of happiness**

Teething = My Enemy

Why does getting a couple of molars spark this demon within my baby??
Wednesday night - had to be held ALL NIGHT LONG in order to sleep. Slept in bed a total of 2.5 hours.
Thursday night - actually slept in bed from 10 until 5:30
Friday night - once again had to be held to sleep. Total time sleeping in bed? 45 minutes!!!!
Left cheek is BRIGHT red.
Drool amount is incredible.
You may be thinking "Hey Kiersti, maybe it's not her teeth?" Yeah, I thought that too, and Bryan took her in to the Dr. Thursday night.
Ears? Clear
Throat? Clear
Everything clear
But funny story came from the on-call doc. He asked Bryan if we had ever talked about our kids and organ donation. Weird, right? Then he said "Because if there was ever a need for cheek donations, your kid could donate for at least 5 others." Classic.
Anyway, so it's the teeth.
I don't know how much more of this I can take.
I'm chronically sleep-deprived anyway because of our schedules, but this is ridiculous.
No one can sleep comfortably on a couch for any period of time with a 20 lb. baby on their chest.
And now I have a sneaking feeling that this whole "hold me while I sleep, my teeth hurt" is going to turn into "hold me while I sleep, because I decided that I really like it, so now I'm going to scream until you do".
And I won't.
This could be a REALLY long next week or so.....
Wish me luck.

Back from the 619

This is a little taste of the pictures my awesome cousin Suz took of our family a few weeks ago - and I can't wait to see the rest! I also think it's a great representation of me & my cheesy siblings. If we are asked to pose for pictures, this is what you get.

I have NO pictures from the actual trip.

That's what happens when your husband takes the bags out of the car at the airport.

Anyway. here are some things I learned while down in mostly-sunny So Cal:
You can fit a Ford Focus basically anywhere
I offiicially HATE football talk
I officially HATE football on TV
But I very much enjoy a live BYU game
The late 80's, early 90's was not a good time in interior design history
9 people can stay in the same house and still be laughing when they leave
Boys stink
My hubby gets the shopping bug on vacation just like I do
Airports are very flexible on what they consider to be a "carry-on"
I wish there was a fro yo joint on every corner here
My hair does hilarious things in the morning fog
Window coverings are a necessity
When you think everyone will forget your b-day, you log on to find over 50 Facebook "happy b-day" wall posts
The San Diego temple really does look like a princess castle
I think 75 is the optimum temperature
You can fit 7 people in a Ford Edge, you just have to be creative
Mya has the craziest "I've missed you!" freak out I've ever seen
You can eventually tune out anyone
Lauren actually prefers that we leave - which I guess is better than crying and screaming
Holly packs a great little b-day package "from Davis" - thanks Holly!
Pidgeons can still walk with broken feet
Beaches can be really creepy at night
Satellite radio is.....interesting
I will take a paper map over a GPS any day
My baby looks a whole lot bigger then when I left
Carlsbad has a killer Outlet Mall
And a killer fish/steak restaurant
I don't know how I feel about 29
We're so blessed to have such great family we can trust our girls with, and who are so willing to take them so we can run off & have fun
My family is hilarious, and I love them so much
I still can't figure out why when the question "should we eat here" is posed, 8 faces automatically all turn in my direction
An unexpected birthday card & gift from a friend is a great pick-me-up
San Diego is apparently a hot spot for childhood friends to vacation the same weekend
4 days is almost too long to not see my girls
And not quite long enough to spend alone with Bryan

Good to be home

The Zoo in the Fall

Monday I decided that I wanted to take the girls to the zoo one last time before it got too cold. And we all know, living in Utah, that could be at any minute. So we packed up the new wagon and headed up first thing in the morning. It was jacket weather, and it was fabulous! No crowds, and all the aminals were out.

One of the tiger cubs

The new baby elephant
Lo got really mad after I took this picture, because I was supposed to be taking pictures of the animals. Not her.
I'm so glad we went, we had a blasty blast and I was glad we were finally able to go when it wasn't raining or we had somewhere else we had to be. We just took our time and really enjoyed ourselves. Can't wait to go again in the spring!

Punk'n Patch

Lo's class went to a pumpkin patch on Thursday for school. It was fun - all of the kids got to pick a ltttle pumpkin to take home, and they got to go through a corn maze.

Here's Lauren's cute little class. I don't know any names except for Sage, because Lauren doesn't talk about anyone else but Sage. I think there's a McKenzie, a Tyler, and a Sawyer. Don't ask me to point them out.
Lauren & Sage - and no, Kalisa & I did not plan the beanie/flower combo. But yes, it's the same beanie & flower, just different colors. Too funny.

Me & the girls. B was not happy to be there. Whatsoever. In any way, shape, or form. At all.
They had about 7 tractors for the kids to climb on. They were filthy, but cute!

Sophie & Chloe

2 of our closest BFF's had their twin baby girls yesterday morning. Amina carried those babies for over 37 weeks in her tiny size-2-at-the-most body with ZERO complications!
They came out perfectly at 5 lbs 4 oz and 5 lbs 6 oz.
And they look JUST like Amina, and have a whole mess of black hair (I'm so jealous!)
They look pretty much EXACTLY alike (still not sure if they are technically identical or not).
For some reason I have not been this excited for babies to come since my own and couldn't WAIT to get to the hospital and love on them!
Somehow, when I got there yesterday afternoon, I was the only visitor for an hour and a half until Bryan got there. And I snuggled, unwrapped, de-beanied, smelled, and just loved on those little sweet hearts all by myself! Each one opened her big eyes for me and just stared around and made little baby squeaks & grunts. Aaaah, what is better than that? And when one is being nursed or checked by the nurses, there's one more for me to hold. It was the best.
And I have a few pictures, mostly of Hyrum's first poopy diaper changing experience (which was pretty hilarious, by the way), but I left our camera at the hospital. Looks like I'll have to go back sometime in the next 3 days to pick it up. Oh darn, that's a shame :)
And Hyrum & Amina are the 2 cutest, proud parents ever. Hyrum calls them his little "buckaroos" - precious! After I'd been there about an hour I asked Hyrum if he'd stopped smiling yet. He just grinned and said "nope". Perfect new daddy.
I'm just so happy for them, and being in that hospital brought back floods of memories for me & Bryan of having our own little bb's.
I will hopefully post pictures in the next few days (with their parents' permission of course)
I'm still smiling.

Happy Birthday Baby

It's hard to believe that in 3 years my little 5 lb 2 oz, 19 inch baby has become a 30+ lb, 38 inch tall gorgeous, fun, wonderful ball of sass.

It's amazing how fast time goes by, and how much happens in that 3 years.

Just wanted to throw in a few more pictures of when she was teeny tiny, because I don't think I ever put them up here.

It's crazy to think that this beautiful little girl somehow came from me. She is a lot of work sometimes, but she is still one of the greatest things to ever come into my life. She's incredibly smart, funny, has an amazing imagination, and the greatest laugh ever. I love this kid more than I ever thought possible, and every day with her is a blessing.

Here are a few shots of what we did on her b-day. We took a little jaunt over to Gardner Village for the Wee Witches Weekend. Turns out Lauren is scared of the clown making her a balloon dog.

Also turns out she's scared of big, fake witches

Opening some of her presents from us. Nothing lights up a 3 year old girl's face like a Barbie Sleeping Beauty.

And a little big wheel type trike, which she for some reason calls her "scooter". And no, she can't figure out how to ride it.

Happy Birthday, Lo! You're my biggest girl, and I love you thiiiiiis much!

Here are a few of her favorite things (at this moment):

Sleeping Beauty

Jelly Man sandwiches

Mac & Cheese

Squirt

Preschool

Skirts

Giselle (Enchanted)

Wearing crowns all day long

Doing "curlies with a headband and a flower"

The slide

Snuggling Daddy

Playing with Mommy's hair

Hanging out with Mya in her room

Being the funnest thing ever

Princess Party Necessities

When having a Princess Birthday Party there are some things that are necessary

Brand new Princess dress, including matching crown

Crowns for all of your guests, with matching "bling" rings

Other princesses: Sage, Lauren, Adylin, Lexi, Emma, and Makayla

Handmade sugar wafer castles, including blue moat, and a ton of candy to decorate them with while discussing your favorite princess

Just an FYI - if you would like to make these castles for your own party someday, I'm pretty much an expert by now. It's all about the disgusting Royal Icing that I never want to make again. They can also double as replicas of the Jordan River Temple if you know what you're doing :)

Dancing

More dancing

Presents
And more presents
And even more presents

Some more dancing

And, of course, a beautiful princess birthday cake

With 3 candles and a crown on top

Lauren had so much fun at her party! Things were absolute chaos, and had it not been for Jennie, I don't know what we would've done! Thanks so much for staying to help control the mayhem!

Lauren got some awesome presents and had so much fun being a princess for the day. She loved everything she got, and I hope all the other girls had as much fun as she did!