Karter's Birthday!

OK, so I'm over a month late with this post, but here it is. Our little man is 5!!! With the other kids I remember feeling shocked when they finally reached this somewhat grown age. With Karter I don't feel the surprise. Between his speech delay, ear infections, behavior issues, and surgery, I've had more productive 1 on 1 time with him than any of my other children. It's funny how his challenges have turned into one of my most cherished blessings. I know Karter inside and out. I've watched his growth very closely. So, this birthday comes as no surprise.

This past January I had to do something that no mother enjoys. I had to hand over my baby to a doctor for surgery. When he woke up from surgery he cried so hard the nurse came to get us early. Kalvan went back to comfort him as only one of us was allowed. But Karter didn't really calm down and sleep until I arrived. I felt so privileged to be his mom and to know how much he needs me.

Karter is a charmer, a tease, a ball of fire. He's warm and loving. He's sweet and sincere. He's got a quick slap and a mean pinch. He's full of life and personality. And I wouldn't trade him for all the world. Happy Birthday Karterman!

Fun with Kaleb

This week was a great one! The kids are back to school and so far we haven't had any problems. The kids like their teachers and things are going smoothly. On Wednesday, Karter began his soccer career. His first practice went off without a hitch, for him. Have I ever mentioned that Kaleb is, well, accident proned? The poor boy can be walking along one minute and bleeding the next. There's no telling what could reach out and get him. While Karter was "staying on his feet" at soccer practice Kaleb went to play with a few friends at the playground. About the time the coach was handing out snacks Kaleb came walking over looking a little disoriented with a big goose egg just below his right eye. My first thought was, "what has he done now?" Apparently he was running around the playground as only crazy Kaleb can and ran smack into another kid. His forhead met Kaleb's cheek bone. Lucky for us, one of the other moms at practice is a nurse. So, she checked him out and deemed it unnecessary to take him to the ER, as long as the goose egg didn't exceed 2 inches. We rushed home to put ice on it. The first picture is of Kaleb just an hour after we started applying ice. The goose egg had dimished, but he's still pretty swollen. The second picture is Kaleb today. The swelling is gone, but he's got a bold shiner. Seriously, how dangerous can your 5 year old brother's soccer practice be?

Back to Bryce Canyon

So while Miki did the sister retreat last weekend in Cedar City again, the older kids and I went back to Bryce Canyon National Park for some camping and hiking. Last year 2/3rds of the park was closed due to a fire, so we had to go back to finish what we started. Shay stayed behind in Cedar with the girls, but maybe next year she will be joining us instead. As always, we had a blast. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Bryce Canyon 2010

Three Months

Shaylee is already 3 months old and I can't make time slow. I can't believe our little girl is already so big. In the past month she has learned to smile, gurgle, coo, and eat us out of house and home. Shay smiles easily and is even starting to give us rare little giggles. She's a very easy going baby who brings joy to everyone she interacts with. I've had grandma's offer to hold her while I help my other kids and grandpa's stop to talk. Young and old alike seem to notice her everywhere we go.

I can't begin to express what a joy and blessing it is to have Shaylee in our home. If it's possible to be loved to death, I think this baby is in grave danger. Heavenly Father sent us such a jewel for which I'll be eternally grateful.

Mancos Vacation

Our summer wouldn't be the same without a trip to the outlaws! Kaleb and Sage had Cousins Camp 2010 this year at Grandma's house, so we stayed the following week for a family vacation. Thanks to Miki's parents for putting us up and feeding us so well. We always relish our time with them. For a couple of days, we even had the whole clan together for some family picture opportunities. Those who hadn't were able to meet Shaylee for the first time. We had a blast relaxing, watching movies, playing games, jumping on the trampoline, riding the four-wheelers, horseback riding, working, partying, eating, hiking, and enjoying time together. One afternoon we were able to leave the kids with grandma to ride the four-wheelers up into the forest where Miki and I shared a picnic to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. Since our camera broke in Sacramento, we bought a nice Nikon D90 to play around with while we were there and got some stunning photos of the beautiful scenery (more photos to come later). It seemed much greener to us this year. All in all we had a great time we will always remember. As always, feel free to follow along in the photo album.

Mancos Vacation 2010

Sacramento Vacation

We were once again fortunate to travel to Sacramento July 16-23. We planned that week around my 20-year highschool reunion, but I ended up not even attending. I will have to catch up with past friends later. But I did get to catch up with a few friends while there, which was great! Saturday and Sunday we relaxed and visited with family and friends. On Monday, we went to Folsom Lake, but the boat did not cooperate with us that day. We took it home and bought a new part for it. Tuesday, we went to Fairytale Town in the morning, then back to Folsom Lake for some waterskiing. On Wednesday, we went waterskiing at Lake Clementine. This day my friend Brett and fiance Jessica joined us for the fun. On Thursday, Miki and Shay stayed at home for some needed rest while my dad took the other kids and I up to Lake Englebright to meet up with Kelton, Zeba, and Mason for more skiing. Then on Friday, we all returned to Folsom Lake to do some more skiing with my niece Kaity and Rose. On Saturday we had to drive back to Las Vegas, but I for one had not gotten my fill of waterskiing yet. I think the kids feel the same. Karter absolutely loved helping drive the boat. He said he would be ready next year to try kneeboarding. Kaleb and Sage learned to wakeboard this year to add to their kneeboarding skill. They are little pros! I don't know where they get it from!?! We were a little nervous about how Shay would do with all the car travel and being on the boat all week, but she buried all our fears with ease. She is such the little trooper. Waterskiing everyday is definitely my kind of vacation! Nothing else compares to being on the lake! Thanks to my dad and mom for letting us stay with them, feeding us, and taking us skiing everyday. Love you! Check out just a few of the many pictures below to follow along with all the fun.

Sacramento Vacation 2010

Life with Karter

Have you ever had those moments when you knew you weren’t in the right place to laugh your heart out and yet you couldn’t help yourself? We had one of those experiences today. We were in a very spiritual, heartfelt testimony meeting. The children of the ward were doing such a fantastic job of being reverent. Shay was in my lap content with her pacifier. Kaleb and Sage were sitting at the other end of the bench with Kalvan. In between us Karter was fiddling with his shoe laces. In an instant Karter did a perfect roll right off the bench. He wasn’t hurt, but it only took a second to realize he couldn’t get up. He had gotten both hands stuck in both loops of his right shoe lace. He was lying on his left side looking up at us with a stunned “what the heck?” look on his face. At that moment I would have given anything to have a camera and I would have used it right there in the middle of sacrament meeting. Karter has done some pretty amazing stunts over the years, but I’ve never seen him so totally incapacitated. While trying to stifle a laugh, it took Kalvan at least a full minute to get Karter’s trapped hands out of his shoe laces. Poor Shay was bouncing up and down against my belly as I tried really hard not to laugh out loud. Our whole family was rolling with silent laughter and tears rolling down our cheeks. Life would be so dull without Karter.