Lexi's Party

Lexi turned four in June, and we threw her a birthday party. We invited a few of her friends and told them to wear their favorite princess dress ups. Lexi was so excited to wake up in the morning and find her new Little Mermaid outfit.

Birthday Cake

Party Favors

The girls sat down and decorated frames (that I had already painted pink) with glitter, stickers, and jewels.

They turned out really cute!Then there was a knock on the door...and Ariel came to the party! The girls were so excited. They huddled around her the whole time. She did face and hand paintings for them.

And then put a little makeup on each girl. Jackson didn't want to miss out!

Then Ariel sang songs and danced with the girls.

What cute little princesses! We took pictures of each girl with Ariel to put in their frames.
Then it was time for cake and presents!

A Little Surprise!

Well, I am months behind in my blog after a crazy few months. I'm hoping to get caught up in the next few weeks, since we have had a lot of fun changes, events, trips, etc. in the last few months.

First, a little news. In early June I went to the doctor about terrible headaches I had had for weeks. I get these horrible headaches every few years, and they last for weeks and then are gone. We finally figured out that they are called Cluster Headaches. The doctor asked if it felt like an ice pick stabbing in one spot of my head - and that is a perfect description! They typically hit me in the middle of the night, and they are very intense and painful. The first time I got one in this round, I woke up in so much pain I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. I started just taking some left over ibuprofin when they would hit and rubbing my head until they would go away. Some nights they hit twice. It was miserable. Anyway, I went to a new doctor to talk about what they were and to see what I could do to help and prevent them. Unfortunately, there isn't much known about what causes them or why they come back. Anyway, after a long time figuring out a combination of prescriptions that I can take as well as increasing magnesium and potassium in my diet we started talking about how hormone changes can cause them. After a little more discussion and a urine sample - the doctor informed me that I was pregnant! I was totally suprised, but really excited. I just couldn't stop laughing. Obviously we had to re-vamp the prescriptions he gave me, and the headaches went away within a few weeks anyway. I went home and told Lexi and Jackson, and then when Jeff got home I let Lexi tell him the good news. I'll never forget his response - a little shoulder shrug, and two words: "I'm indifferent!" I've given him a hard time about that one, but we are really excited.

**Feels funny writing about this now, since I am already five months along! A week and a half ago I had an ultrasound, and everything looks great. And as for the baby's sex: we know it's a girl or a boy! :) We've decided to wait this one out the old-fashioned way.

First Performance

I signed Lexi up for a dance camp the first week in June. Some girls in our stake put in on, and it's an hour a day for five days, and on the last day the do a performance for the parents. The best part is it's $10 for the week! I surprised Lexe and picked up Jeff for the performance, which was on the stage at the stake center. She was so excited when she saw he was there. Her group did a dance to "Come on Feel the Noise." It was hilarious to watch. Lexi hardly knew any of the moves, but we were so proud of her for doing it!

Nana and Kurt visit

The day after my trip to Utah, my mom flew into town. We had a crazy few days together. We loved swimming at the Tew's pool, eating out, looking for new houses, and hanging out. Kurt flew in a few days later, and then they went to stay at their hotel on the strip. On Saturday we spent the day with them swimming and lounging around by the pool. It was so nice! I'm so bummed we didn't take any pictures of them, but we loved having them visit. This trip Lexi called Kurt "Curtain" the whole time. It was pretty funny.

They flew out Monday morning but had their hotel room until Tuesday, so I took the kids down on Monday and we spent the day swimming and hanging out. Jeff met us that evening and we ate and then went swimming again. Later that night we decided to walk with the kids down the strip to watch the Pirate show at Treasure Island. We got ice cream and then waited for the show to start.We waited for almost an hour, and then they announced that it was too windy so they cancelled the show. Dang it! But they had the pirates inside the hotel to take pictures. Jackson walked right up to them for his picture. So funny! After we stopped by the Wynn waterfall and then went back to the hotel. We stayed over night and then the kids and I swam until check out at 1. It was such a fun last minute getaway, even though it was so close to home.

Utah Trip

At the end of April I decided to head up to Utah with the kids to see my family. So, on my birthday I packed the kids in the car and off we went! On my way out of Vegas I met Kim at Aliante park. She is always so great at celebrating my birthday. She spoiled me with presents and lunch and we ate and let the kids play while we caught up on life. Thanks Kim!! After the kids had eaten and used up some of their energy we started our drive. My plan worked perfectly - Jackson was asleep within minutes! We got to my parents house that night and had fun catching up.

Thursday was pretty crazy. I met Jane at Thanksgiving Point. She gave me my birthday gift, which I LOVED! It was thirty songs for thirty years. She burned a CD of all the songs she had picked, and she had typed up a little explanation of each one and what part of me or my life it represented. We both cried as I read it! Then we took them to feed the animals at the farm.

and went on a hay ride

After that we went to Jane's house in SLC so the younger kids could nap. Then in the late afternoon we took the kids to the zoo! They were in heaven with the animals and the carousel

and the train ride

happy boy!

I left the zoo and headed back down to Provo. I got a sitter for the kids, picked up Isaac, and we went to my dad's choir concert. They performed Brahms's "German Requiem."

Friday I went back up to SLC to Jane's house. we had a sitter for the younger kids, so Jane and I took Brooke and Lexi to Nordstrom Rack for some shopping and got a few cute things! Love that place! That night Jane and I went to a yummy dinner at Market Street Grill and then met Whitney at the theater to see Duplicity. It was such a fun night out.

Saturday was rainy and cold, so we took the kids to McDonald's so they could play on the indoor playground.

That afternoon I went back to Provo to hang out with Kel and Jess and see the houses my parents were considering buying. That night a bunch of the family hung out and my parents ordered Bombay House for dinner- my favorite! Around 11pm I headed back up to SLC!

Sunday morning I dropped my kids off at Kaira's house and went to Abby's blessing. She is so darling!! And it was so fun to get to meet Warner, my new nephew, too, on the trip.
After the blessing we went to Jord & Taryn's house for brunch.

Love these amazing women in my family!

Then we all went back down to Provo to have a delicious dinner and celebrate my birthday! It was such a busy few days, but it was so fun to see my family and catch up, especially Jess and Kel, who I don't get to see much anymore now that we're all spread out across the country.

Jane made these yummy coconut cupcakes!

Jackson Dancing

I can't figure out how to rotate this the right way, but I thought this was so cute. Jackson will just climb up on the counter and go turn on the iPod. If he doesn't like the song that's playing, he'll move to the next one until he has the right dancing music!

April

April was such a fun month! Here's a quick review:

The first week of April my best friend from growing up, Kaira, came into town to see LOVE. I told here I would watch her duaghter, Maya, while she and her mom went to see the show. I took Lexi with me down to the condo they were staying in, and I had so much fun with these two cute girls who were instant friends - just like their moms! After I fed the girls dinner we went swimming and had a blast. When Kaira and Codi got back it was so much fun to catch up a bit. Codi was my second mom growing up. I think there were weeks that I spent more time at their house than at my own.

The first weekend in April we went to Ally's baptism. Ally is a sweet girl in our ward and we have done some fun things with her family. I was honored that they asked me to give the talk on baptism that day.

We got passes to the Lied Children's Museum. The kids love it, while I stress the whole time trying just to keep track of them! we met Catherine, Cooper, and Brennan there one day and then went again with friends in our ward. Lexi dressed up and had me dance with her on stage!

silly kids
Ward Easter breakfast and hunt

That afternoon we went to Sadie's baptism and then went to her grandparent's house for a really fun party

Nicole made an amazing feast, as always! We ate and talked and hung out and the kids swam in the pool and hot tub

Then the kids found these darling baskets that Nicole made

Nicole does everything over the top. She's AMAZING! These baskets were better than the ones we gave our kids! We had such a great day hanging out with the Luths and getting to know some of their family and friends.

Lexi had her first dentist appointment. She did awesome, but she had four cavities! I honestly didn't even know kids that young could get cavities! We have since implemented a strict brushing and flossing routine at night and only give the kids water in their sippies at night. Two visits later we still don't have her dental work completed. Next visit she's getting the sedation and nitris combo that will hopefully do the trick to get the other fillings taken care of!

I also celebrated my birthday in April - the big 3-0! Jeff took me out to a nice dinner at Texas de Brazil where we ate ourselves sick! Then we walked around the shops at Town Square before we headed to the Strip to see LOVE. Thanks to all of you who made my birthday so great! The night before my birthday I was thinking a bit about my twenties, and I have had ten AMAZING years! From college in Hawaii to travelling the world, working at PwC, awesome callings, getting married, becoming a mom, accomplishing some major goals, spiritual experiences, making great friends... wow! As I thought about all of the blessings in my life I felt so overwhelmed and grateful, and I hope the next ten years of my life are just as good.