DC Trip

I first want to say thank you to everyone that helped to watch our kids while I was gone. Sean had a very busy time at work and I felt so relieved knowing that my kids were in good hands.



Last week I had the privilege of flying to Washington DC for 5 days on my own to be with my sis. Her sweet husband came up with the idea and what a great trip! I definitely had the better end of the stick because the real reason I went was to help "take care" of Belle after her PRK surgery. The surgery is amazing and the recovery was better than expected. So...by the end of the trip B & J were "taking care and waiting on" me. They are great hosts!

It started out with a rough flight. It was the most turbulant flight I have ever been on with people letting out screams, the man in front of me throwing up, and the woman next to me clutching the hand rest and doing "Lamaz-type" breathing. She told me, "if you need to put your hand on mine, it's OK." I declined her offer. Once I was on the ground I loved every minute! Some highlights...watching the actual surgery, long talks, eating healthy, being inspired, having Zilch tournaments (and winning :), subbing an interesting Primary class, being in on a missionary discussion, movies, Pilates...ha ha, Thai food and watching Belle recover and see better...yay! Thank you Jon and Belle for an unforgettable trip!

Right before surgery.

Right after surgery.
Recovery. My favorite glasses ever!







Not only did I get to see my "bestest" sister, but I also got to see Bridget! We've known each other and been "bestest" friends since we were 2 yrs. old. She was the one to cut off one of ponytails when we were playing barber shop at age 4, the one that went skateboarding with me on her driveway and B...you know what, the one that was there during the "BB gun shootings", the one that roomed with me at BYU, and the one that was one of my bridesmaids and I was one of hers. I was even there on her first date with her now husband. The list goes on, but she is now living in VA, so she drove up one night (even leaving her 9 month old baby)and we talked until the late hours of the night...so fun! I can't believe we're both grown with 4 kids! The next day Noelle slept, so we did some sight-seeing. We packed in the Washington Monument, the Capitol (well CVC as they told us :) Library of Congress and the Museum of Natural History. All along the way we were able to talk and reminisce. I treasure that time we had. I don't know if we'll ever have that kind of time without kids again. Thanks Bridget.


At the Washington Monument with George. Sweaty day.




Library of Congress.

Fun Times!

Well I'm trying to feel back to real life. Within a week... the stomach flu went through ALL SIX of us! It started with Taylor and ended with Sean, with the rest of us somewhere in between. I was reminded again how much I don't like cleaning up throw up. The next week I got sick again, but with the yucky cold stuff. I'm hoping these sick days are not to be repeated anytime soon! Fun times!

Besides the stomach bug and cold we have truly had some fun times in the last month. A few Saturdays ago Sean and his dad took Tay and Jake to an Air Show in Ft. Worth. I was sorry to miss out on this one, but Austin REALLY wanted to go to his soccer game. Tay and Jake got to do this!













The next week was the BYU/TCU game. Reed White is on the BYU team and Sean was excited to see him. The night before the game the BYU team put on a fireside at our stake center. Sean was able to go to Reed's hotel after and reminisce about "old times". The next night we took our kids to the game in Ft. Worth. They loved everything about it, except for the score :( We also got to see Reed again before they had to fly out. Thanks for the tickets Reed and our kids think you are famous!












Last week we had a visitor in our house. It was late and Sean saw something move in our ficus tree. He realized it was a baby bird! It was the sweetest little bird and it probably flew in as we were going in and out on Saturday. It was flying upstairs and down, so we ended up turning off all of the lights except one outside. We opened the front door and it eventually flew out. Too funny.












Our special Jakey boy had his 7th birthday! We love you! I can't believe he's so old...he'll be in Senior Primary next year...wow! I'll never forget having him the month after 9/11 and when the Diamondbacks were in the World Series. When I got to the hospital I was at a "7" and had Jake about an hour later. The doctor didn't make it for the delivery. Jake came so fast that his little face was purple from broken blood vessels. That is our Jakey today...still movin' in the fast lane. A friend from his football team made this video of Jake as he was playing quarterback this season! (He's #48)


Jake had a family party this year with Grammy, Pappaw, Uncle Bill and Aunt Gloria. I think Jake got everything he wanted AND more. It was great to spend time with family. The kids sang a song for them as we ended the night. Fun times!













Here is Matthew's new "pull toy", yep...the beaters.












Lastly, Halloween is always a treat! Taylor was a cute witch, Jake was a Clone Trooper, Austin was a Power Ranger, and Matthew was Pooh Bear. They loved every minute of it. The boys were done early and Taylor stayed out as long as she could with Joy and Justin. This was the 1st year I stayed and handed out candy (cuz I was feeling yuck), while Sean went with the kids. Fun times!