I'm sad:-(

When I heard our ward was splitting I thought the news was handled pretty well considering there would probably be some significant changes (I don't do very well with change). We all talked amongst one another reassuring ourselves that even though we're in different wards...we'd still hang out. However, I felt like it was the first day of school when I walked into church today. I kept peeking around the chapel to see if I recognized anyone from the "old ward" and saw a few familiar faces. When I took Sades to nursery that's when I had to hold back a few tears. When we walked in Sadie didn't want me to let her go. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to let her go. All her little buddies are in the other ward now. She didn't recognize anyone! I think she would have stayed because she loves nursery but I used her as my crutch to walk out before anyone saw the tears well up in my eyes. We both mustered up some courage and she finally went back in and actually had a great time. Leave it to me to be a bigger wimp than my three year old. I am excited to meet all the new families in our ward and glad that I still have a few friends to sit with in Relief Society, but a small part of me feels a little excluded. I feel like I've been kicked out of a very fun club because nearly everyone I hang out with is in the other ward. I think the real reason why I'm a little blue is because I worry about Sadie. Call her a crutch or not, but I'm sad that there isn't one little girl her age in the entire ward whereas before there were five or six. The mama bear in me has kicked in and I want her friends back!! I know the pioneers left their homes and families behind and I can certainly go to a different ward, but that doesn't mean it's not going to sting a little. I don't like change. I don't like it one bit. So sorry for the complaining post but I just feel a little sad today.

Pumpkin Patch

We switched things up a bit this year and instead of going to cox farms we headed to Burke's Pumpkin Patch. It's a little smaller so I don't have to worry as much about her disappearing. The slides are also not as treacherous and Sades LOVED them. I was grateful because even though Jack and I went down a couple of slides with her, it became pretty exhausting holding him and making sure she was ok. Pretty soon she was racing down them all by herself. We called her "brave" for the day which in Sadie's book is the highest of compliments.
We went there with all her preschool friends. Sadie loves her little buddy Peyton and I love Peyton's Mom. We always have a fun time talking. My favorite part was the skinny mirror. Wishful thinking I guess:-) We had fun but a part of me still has to go back to Cox farms at least once this year. And when I go I'm taking Chase with me because it is very tiresome lugging Jack up and down those hills. Too much exercise for my liking. Skinny mirror here we come.

The Resheries

It was so fun to have Resh and Lindsey stay with us last week. We always discover how boring we are when people come to visit. They get us off our lazy bums and out exploring. I love D.C. but I often forget how magnificent it really is. It was fun to tour downtown again and see all of my favorite buildings. I always feel like a young intern again when we eat at the Cosi cafe. Chase and I would eat there everyday when we worked together at the Treasury Department. Of course, we were on an intern salary so we just ate their free samples and brought a sack lunch:-) We love the Jefferies because they are so easy going. They were pretty much up for anything which is always nice. After their red eye flight they stumbled into bed on Friday and Saturday we explored. We first went to a fun little festival where Sadie and Owen rode their first pony. We say baby pigs whom if you pay three dollars you can hold...no thanks Swine Flu. Jack's nickname for the day was "Squishy" as he was called from the pony lady. Doesn't he look squishy to you? Sadie got some ice cream and the car ride into D.C. was VERY quiet. It's probably the only times she is ever really quiet....when she eats her ice cream. Owen was a total crack up. The kid is as happy as can be with very little sleep. He kept us all entertained until Lins and Resh decided it was going to take a car ride to get him to close those sticky eyes. He LOVED our ceiling fans and was often found upstairs pointing to them saying "nan" over and over again. You can imagine his delight when we actually turned them on and he watched them spin round and round. His smile is infectious and we love him to pieces. Thanks again for the visit guys. We love you!! Come back soon!!

Crossing the Line

When Sadie is told to stay in her room at night, this is usually what happens. Anyone who knows Sadie also knows that she will push me as far as possible to see if I'll totally loose it. Sometimes I think she actually likes to see her Mom turn into a wild beast. We've compromised with her that if she stays in her room when it's bedtime, we will keep her door open. I guess she is technically in her room and it's not like I can close the door. I am terrified for the teenage years.

I Miss Grandpa

I found these pictures on my camera from our beach trip. Sadie obviously took the photos and asked Grandpa to make a "silly face" in all of them (if she didn't...then....no offense Dad). Sadie loves her "Grahmpa." The other day we were driving home from preschool and she mentioned out of the blue, "I really miss Grahmpa." To which I replied..."so do I Sades." She got a little teary eyed and said "I want to play with him right now. I love him...I really miss him." Hopefully this post will persuade more visits.

Rosemary Beach

The white sands of Rosemary Beach welcomed the Etherington's once again this year. It was a short weekend trip but so worth every second we were able to spend with one another. I love my family. I don't see them enough. Everyone had a splendid time and even though I was mostly in the shade with Jack the whole time, I still returned home a little "sun kissed." As you can see from the pictures, this beach is amazing. We spent hours in the hot tub pool in the back yard and collecting sea shells with Sadie. She could have spent the entire day in that hot tub. It made the trip for her. Lizzie and Jane spent most of their time searching for clams and hermit crabs. Brooke saw a shark, we all saw dolphins, and avoided as many jelly fish as possible. There is quite a bit of wild life down there. The funny thing about the trip was that there were three little babies so by the end of the week we were all sleep deprived and loopy. I don't know how a baby can sleep so well at home and wake up three or four times a night while sleeping in a pack n' play. I'm just glad ours isn't the only baby the kept the house awake at night.

One of my favorite memories from the trip was when all the men took off for Priesthood session and left us women home with the kids. The mood immediately changed as Emily ran to the bathroom to throw up (preggers). Andrew followed her screaming and Jane followed Andrew to console him while he watched his mom puke. I tried to handle the insanity by keeping Sadie from jumping on Jack. My mom through all the chaos says "I think the guys got the better end of the deal here." We all agreed.

Things cooled down quite a bit after we put in Sleeping Beauty and Andrew said over and over again "I wike Prince Phillip" in his raspy little voice. I just love all these little kids. The only things missing from this trip was Grandma F. She was in our thoughts and we all wished she could have been there to tell us all her stories and entertain us with her dry and witty sense of humor. I wish we all lived closer so we could see one another all the time. Maybe one day. Until then Rosemary will continue to settle ours cravings for marvelous mayhem. The more we multiply, the crazier we get. It's great to be an Etherington....at least we think so.

Aunt Jane taking a little breather on the proch swing. I love porch swings. Every home should have one!!

The three little ones. Eloise, Jack and Alice. They don't know it yet, but they're going to be bust buds.

I took some pics with my new camera. Have I mentioned before how much I love my camera? I get great pictures and it does all the work for me:-)

Reading books with Mimi...what could be better?

Two otherwise very busy men, relaxing on the beach.

Sadie loves her Aunts Lizzie and Jane.

Ruby, Mimi, and Sades.

All tuckered out. Poor Jack had to take several naps on the beach instead of in his crib. I just had to be outside and I wasn't about to sit around all day while he slept. What a trooper he was.

We buried Sadie first and she screamed her head off. Once she saw Dad do it, that's all they did for the rest of the afternoon. He dug, she jumped in, and the goal was to see how fast she could get out.

Story hour with the "Book Lady." When I was growing up my mom had story hour all the time at her little bookstore...the Children's Hour. Word got out about her impeccable taste in children's books so she was invited to be on the afternoon news every Thursday to review the best books for moms at home. We watched her every week. I was famous at Uintah Elementary. What a treat for these kids to have an hour of their very own.

Jack being admired. He was quite entertaining on this trip with his low pitched coos and facial expressions. He had everyone charmed.

Crab hunt!! A tradition in our family is to grab flashlights and head out to the beach at night to see all the creepy crawly crabs scurry about. I don't know why we get so excited.....they scare me to death. It's just like running into a large sea spider if you ask me. Sadie loved every minute of it.

Searching for sea shells.

Grandpa, Ruby, and Sadie. He must know that these kids absolutely adore him.

We didn't get home until 1 a.m. but lucky for us, our kids slept the whole flight and in the car ride home. Thanks for a fantastic trip Mimi and Grandpa. We miss everyone already.

The Binky Fairy

I don't know why we didn't do this months ago. I always said Sadie would be done with the binky by age 2. Well I think Chase and I were more attached to it than Sadie because we just kept giving it to her in the car, on planes, and for naps (when she took one). So when Sadie wouldn't take a nap one day I told her if she wasn't going to sleep, she couldn't have her "bibi" anymore. I told her I was going to cut it (because I've heard that once it's cut, they don't want it anymore). She shocked me when she said "OK Mommy, I don't need it anymore" and while jumping up and down she said "I'm a big girl...I don't need it anymore." So I cut it in front of her and she almost seemed excited about it. I gave it back to her to try and of course she didn't like it anymore.

The next day we put the binky under the pillow and she woke us up EARLY the next morning to tell us that the binky fairy had come and left her something but she didn't know what it was because it was still dark in her room. We turned on the lights and found a Snow White dress. Hooray for Sadie!! She hasn't had any issues since. I can't believe how easy that was. I guess I just had to wait until Sadie was ready because no one tells Sadie what to do without putting up a fight. She's had a big month. She no longer uses Pull Ups at night anymore. We were down to the last one and I told her that her pull ups were all gone. She had a few accidents and was so uncomfortable that they never happened again. I can't believe my kid is potty trained, sleeps in a big girl bed, can read and spell, and finally got over her binky. I also can't believe I have to do it all over again with Jack.

I Love This Man!!

How could you not!!