Mimi's tea party

My cute mom hosted a little tea party for all the grandchildren. You would have thought she was planning a wedding! She bought flowers for the table and more for decorating head wreaths. She bought scones and macarones from a french bakery and had such fun crafts for the kids. They were all in heaven.

Of course my camera's battery decided to die right after it started so the Iphone took over for the rest of the party. In fact, most of the pics I took in Utah were taken with my phone. It's just WAY more convenient than lugging my big Canon around.
The girls made wreaths and sparkly wands while the boys made robin hood hats and wizard wands.
They all looked so cute around the table sipping their lemonade and eating their cookie cutter sandwiches.

Aunt Jane brought out her violin and serenaded them while they ate but once the music started all the kids wanted to do was dance. They played Ring Around the Rosies and just danced all over the back yard while Jane played tune after tune.

Such a fun little party. Thanks Mimi!!

In some places, water falls from the sky

It doesn't rain very much in Texas so Jack was pretty excited about how much it rained in Utah. The kid loves water and will do just about anything to play with it. I can't count how many times I had to change his outfit while we were in Utah after finding him with the water hose, playing in the toilet, or just dumping his water cup all over himself.
Apparently rain storms happen to be his favorite. He loves stomping in the puddles and playing in the gutters. A lot of fun for Jack and lots of laundry for Mom!

An introduction...

By far the best part of being in Utah this summer was being able to meet little Emma Dalton. I was there for big sis Alice's birth too. Perhaps I'll make it a tradition. She is the snuggliest little bundle and I immediately fell in love!!
Lizzie had an amazing labor and delivery. She and Chad went in for a scheduled induction and had the baby a few short hours later. What a woman!!
The proud father. These two have a great gene pool! Dalton babies are adorable!!
I headed over to the hospital and took some pictures of the little nugget and then Sadie and I continued to go over to their house whenever Jack was sleeping at Grandpa's house so we could get another snuggle.

A little scare...

When Chase went back to work in Texas we really missed him. You never realize how much you depend on a person until they leave. It was nice to have Emily there at the same time to keep me company but it just wasn't the same as having Chase and Patrick with us. Many phone conversations later we had to convince Sadie that even though she missed her Dad, it was WAY better to be in Utah with 80 degree weather than Texas where it was so hot in the 100s that we couldn't even go outside.

Of course when Chase left, doing it all on my own was hard on my body. After Wheeler farm, the zoo, and This is the Place park, I was exhausted from all the walking and lifting and actually ended up having a little scare on Em's birthday. I noticed that I had started bleeding a little bit where you aren't supposed to bleed when your preggers. This had never happened with the previous pregnancies so I was completely hysterical and thought for sure I had miscarried at 14 weeks.

The first thing that popped in my head was wanting an ultrasound IMMEDIATELY to let me know the baby's fate. I had to know either way. I started thinking of where I could go in SLC with out actually having my doctor there. I called urgent care and was informed they didn't have the equipment to do ultrasounds. I was about to go wait for hours in the emergency room when it popped in my head to call Connie. Aunt Lori (her sister) has a son in law who happens to also be a OBGYN out at the hospital in Murray. I called Connie and I'm surprised she could even understand me on the phone because I was crying so hard. Somehow she translated through the sobs and called Lori right away.

She called me right back and told me Dan's office could see me ASAP and that I could head over there immediately. Jim and Connie were literally on their way out the door. They were packing the car to drive up to Vancouver to meet Cate for a harp festival. I was amazed at how they literally dropped everything to not only call the office but also offered to drive me over there when they really should have been on the road by then.

Connie drove me to the hospital while I cried the whole time in the passenger seat. I had so many mixed emotions. It's amazing how attached you can become to a little person you haven't even met. I kept thinking of how utterly devastated I would be if I had lost the baby and also kept thinking of how hard I had worked to get to this point. My first trimester was a nauseated mess and the thought of having to do those three months over again was just too much to bear or even think about.

Connie talked to me about the several miscarriages she had when trying to conceive Curtis. It broke my heart to hear about all she had been through and it also put things into perspective for me. If others can handle multiple miscarriages, I certainly could too. In retrospect I am grateful for the experience because it hopefully will make me more empathetic towards other friends and family that have and will miscarry in the future.

Still, I was very emotional and borderline hysterical when I walked into the office. I tried avoiding the eyes of all the other patients in the waiting room and through tears and gasps of air I told the receptionist who I was and that I was told I could have an ultrasound right away. They immediately whisked me into the backroom and away from the gawking reception area to a dark room where I heard that GLORIOUS heartbeat and burst into tears all over again. The baby was alive, had a strong heartbeat and was the most beautiful living creature I had ever seen on screen. Connie was right there holding my hand and it was so amazing to have her there to comfort me. It was also fun for her to see the ultrasound as I believe she never saw them with her own children.

While they were checking everything to make sure the baby was ok, I asked if they could tell this early on what the sex was. They said they would try and apparently it wasn't too hard to notice that there was another little BOY in the there!!!! So amidst all the chaos and hysterics, we found out that we had another son on the way and that he was as healthy as can be. I was told to "take it easy" and also that I had to return the next day to get a rogham shot to prevent any further problems with my O negative blood type.

Those two days were just full of needles. That morning before I had started bleeding a nurse came to my parents house to do a physical for our life insurance policy. She had to draw blood for that and I got to hear all about her nasty divorce and dating again at 40. Poor thing! That afternoon after the ultrasound I had to get my blood drawn again (in the same arm mind you) for preparation of the rogham shot the next day. No fun at all!! The next day I went back for the rogham and it hurt!!! I don't like needles but at that point I was so happy that the little man was alive I would be willing to take a shot wherever they wanted to poke me.

Through the whole experience I learned many things but overall that I have AMAZING in laws. They have always taken such good care of all of their children and spouses and you could never deny their love for all of us. As you can see, nothing is inconvenient enough than to help one of us out. I was so overwhelmed with their kindness that I couldn't talk about it with out crying. They exemplify Christ in so many ways and I feel so fortunate to have them as part of my family. Connie and Jim....we love you!!!

Spoiled!!

We were never bored in Utah which is saying a lot coming from being inside all day every day in Texas with this blasted heat. We have felt so spoiled not only to have so many fun people to hang out with but with so many fun places to go as well. We met up with Aunt Brooke and the kids at Hogle Zoo one day and gratefully Jess let me borrow her double stroller. I am always impressed with how much Hogle zoo has improved since I was a kid.
They had a great dinosaur exhibit that both intrigued and terrified some children. Sadie was fascinated and we searched all afternoon for the enormous T-Rex. We found him!
Jack was more on the terrified side and could only stare in disbelief at the enormity and terror the monster in front of him beheld.
The next day we met up with Jess and the kiddos at This is the Place Park which is another place I was totally impressed with. There was nothing there when I was a kid. They had train rides, and trolley tours, animals and pony rides.
The heat of the day started to get to me a little. Sometimes I have to remember I'm pregnant and take it easy.
The hills at hogle zoo really wore me out. I feel like when I'm pregnant my body totally rejects any form of exercise. I don't know how these women run and do their spinning classes when their 8 months prego. It's ridiculous. I'm only jealous, that's all.
Jess eventually took her kids home and I took mine over for a pony ride before we headed home ourselves. Of course we spotted an ice cream store and had to get one of those too.

They only had one size...BIG. I'm used to getting Sadie a kiddie cone. It took her FOREVER to finish this cone and she eventually had to throw the cone part away. It was too much for her. I never thought I would ever have to throw away extra ice cream when it came to Sadie.

Makeshift Double Stroller

There was no way I was going to take my double stroller plus the car seats and all of our luggage to Utah for the summer. I feel like Sadie is old enough to walk these days and she'll have to be once this new baby arrives. Of course every once in a while she "just can't walk anymore" and this is what happens.

Temple Square

I love walking on the grounds at Temple Square. Chase's flight was cancelled so we were able to spend a little extra time together. Temple Square seemed to be a good place to visit that night.
The best part was running into Brecca Bowen, my mission president's daughter who was then 13 when I was serving. She now has a baby and is pregnant with her second. Made me feel VERY old!! I saw her and knew she had to be a Bowen. It was wonderful talking to her and getting an update on her parents.
Trying to keep Jack out of the water was a challenge and eventually we gave up trying. He just loves it too much.

The Weber 2011

We made our yearly pilgrimage to the holy land this summer. You can't go to Utah with out spending at least two to three days up the Weber. It was on the top of our list while Chase was in town and it held up to every expectation. We love it up there!
The Olson's joined us this year and the kids had a fantastic time playing in the river and hiking to the waterfall. They only stayed the afternoon and even though we thought Sadie would go through Ruby withdrawals, she had the horses to keep her company. Year after year, she continues to be obsessed with the ponies.
She of course named one particular pony that continued to come over to her whenever she was seen with a handful of grass. The others weren't amused but "Rose Petal" was quite taken with her. She was the only horse that would eat our left over corn on the cob.
I was cracking up while listening to Sadie talk to Miss Rose Petal. "There you go girl, easy, easy, that's a good girl. Come on girl, eat the grass." Sadie continues to wonder why she still hasn't gotten a horse even though every time she throws a penny in a fountain, she wishes for one. We've had many discussions over "realistic wishes." They seem to be going in one ear and out the other. She REALLY wants a horse.
I love taking pictures of the kids at the cabin. It's just so beautiful and you see them in their raw, unprimped state. I enjoy capturing their smiles and thrills with nature's every encounter. Of course there were ponies, but we saw beavers, and a nest full of baby birds as well.
If I didn't always sleep so horribly up there we would have a hard time leaving. We always have such fantastic late night talks with Pops and CC after the kids are asleep and I could go on and on about Pop's special eggs in the morning. He even made a pregnancy run for me all the way to Oakley to get me some much craved nacho cheese Doritos. What a father in law!
We love you WEBER. We'll see you next year!