Tuesday, January 28, 2014

A lot of helpers

Dani often has 4 little willing helpers in the kitchen.  They loved helping make some banana cookies for a neighbor's birthday.


A few weeks later, for Valentine's Day, they all teamed up to make some extra lemony (thanks to Liam dumping in some extra lemon extract) sugar cookies.

They are very enthusiastic helpers!

Kate and Liam finally have their own bedding

After a few months sleeping in their beds, we finally found the right bedding to go with it!  Liam refuses to go under his covers - he prefers to have his thin, holy blanket only.

Kate loves to snuggle up in her pink bed.

Dress up

Kate told Dani that Dani is too big for dress-up.  Dani proved her wrong.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

A day in the park

There are occasional winter days in Oregon that are sunny and gorgeous.  Saturday was one of those, and while Dani was at a baby shower, the rest of the family went to the "red hill park" for the first time in a little while.

Jacob, Kate, and Liam went up the hill, and down the slide almost continually for an hour or more.  Kate and Liam had their own unique ways of going down the slide.

Claire enjoyed playing on the other play structures, climbing to the top of the rope structure and climbing wall.

All of the kids on top of the 'little' red hill

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

How does a single pregnancy look?

Dani at 15 weeks, 19 weeks, and 20 weeks.  
 

 We are happy to report that Dani is much smaller at 20 weeks than she was with Kate and Liam!

Being pregnant is tiring!!!


Saturday, January 18, 2014

10th Anniversary "trip"

This January makes 10 years since we were married in the Timponogos temple!  It is amazing to think back to all the things that have happened in those 10 special years - 
  • 1 temple marriage on a frosty cold January day 
  • 2 sets of twins - and a single baby on the way!
  • 3 college degrees finished, including a Bachelor's in Music and Accounting, and a Masters in Accounting
  • 4 years at Deloitte in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Nearly 5 years at Precoa in Portland, Oregon
  • 6 times moving, including 2 short stints at Jared's parents' house (Dani had moved only once prior to getting married!)
  • 7+ years of blogging
  • an 8-cow wife!
  • 10 of the best years of my life with my best friend, my inspiration, and my partner.

We have felt so blessed during these years.  Over these years, we have taken memorable vacations, shared life events and accomplishments, and have grown to love and appreciate one another in ways that we couldn't have imagined.  It is fun to imagine, and we look forward to reviewing, the many things we will experience and become in the coming 10 years!

So, to celebrate, we decided to go to Mexico!!!  Unfortunately, Dani's body didn't want to.  The night of our anniversary, Jared was on the phone canceling what was going to be a wonderful, and rare, kid-free trip.

Dani began to have severe pains in her sides, similar to the pains that she experienced in her last pregnancy that induced premature labor.  Fortunately, the premature labor didn't happen, but the pains put her in the hospital.  The doctors struggled to see what was causing the pain, but found a small, unknown mass just under the skin on one side.  They ruled out the scary theories and worked to reduce Dani's pain.  After a couple days, the pain was reduced and Dani was ready to be out of the hospital.

The baby was not in any trouble, so we were happy to not need to worry about the baby's health during this.  We did get a few more pictures in the process - and we managed to still not find out the gender!

Jared tried to make the most out of the situation by eating and experiencing some of Portland quirks (a couple walking their pet goats!).  A "grilled cheesus" from The Grilled Cheese Grill (i.e. a hamburger between two grilled cheeses) and the Reggie Deluxe from Pine State Biscuits were the culinary highlights.
 



Many, Many thanks go to Vicki, who had come to watch the kids while we were soaking up the sun in Mexico.  Because she was here, Jared was able to spend nearly the entire time in the hospital with Dani (at least while he wasn't looking for the next cholesterol-bomb!).  She read lots of books and kept the kids active.  The kids loved being with their grandmother, and Vicki was wonderful to come and help.

Monday, January 06, 2014

The Kitty Said, "MEOW!!!" an after-dinner story by Kate

Kate: Daddy, I want to tell you a story.
Jared: Okay.  I'm listening.
Kate: Once upon a time, there was a skeleton.  And a Kitty.
Jared. What was the kitty doing?
Kate: The kitty was saying MEOW!!!
Jared: then what happened?
Kate: The skeleton punched her.
Jared: Punched her?  What did the kitty do?
Kate: The kitty said, "MEOW!!!"
Jared: Okay, then what happened?
Kate: The skeleton bit her.
Jared: Why did the skeleton bite her?
Kate: The skeleton didn't like her to say MEOW.
Jared: So how did the kitty feel?
Kate: The kitty feel sad.  So she said, "MEOW!!!"
Jared: Uh oh.  Then what did the skeleton do?
Kate: The skeleton feel sad.
Jared: So then what did the kitty do?
Kate: The kitty said, "MEOW!!!"
Jared: What did the skeleton do?
Kate: The skeleton went bye bye.

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Mr. X, the student of the week

Jacob was student of the week recently.  Here's the poster that he helped make

Jacob playing his favorite game, Scotland Yard.