Initial Reactions

We were all a little nervous as we walked into the doctor's office. But the ultrasound technician delivered the news. And...


We were surprised...


A little dismayed...


Some of us had to collect our thoughts...


And some of us weren't sure what to think...


But we couldn't be more thrilled to welcome a little BOY to our home later this year! We're wondering if a boy might throw our house a little upside down!

Summer Vacation(??)

In 2 weeks...

*We saw all of our immediate family members plus a good portion of extended family (on both sides).

*We drove several hours in the car, flew on six planes, and set foot in six states.

*Two of our children had strep throat, one (still) has pneumonia, and one pregnant mommy had the stomach flu. We went to the doctor five times, filled five prescriptions, and took a temperature that was as high as 105.2.

*Mommy unexpectedly flew on the airplane with three kids all by herself for the first time ever (and is quite proud of that accomplishment).

*Aubrie boogie boarded for the first time and also had her first spill, swallowing the salty ocean water (and then nearly puked).

*Daddy traveled to his hometown to attend a special memorial service of his cousin Joe -- who has been more like his brother. Joe was on our first date and acted as Dave's best man at our wedding. We miss him but know he is happier now.

*After the funeral, Daddy met up with Bob, his high school best friend, whom he hasn't seen in a decade -- they even ended up having a slumber party since they were both without their families!

*Our girls enjoyed valuable cousin time on both sides of the family.

*Daddy was able to recreate some of his childhood memories at Carpinteria State Beach with our children and his cousins' children.

It was definitely an eventful time, but we are more than happy to be home. We hope Aubrie's pneumonia heals soon. And, we look forward to finding out the gender of our next baby tomorrow! (Please visit our blog and vote for your guesses)

In-flight Entertainment

This guy was my flight attendant on my flight this week out to California. He had the place hoppin'. Enjoy!

Training wheels bite the dust

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For the longest time Aubrie has been petrified of bike riding. It was hard to have patience going on walks because we could literally walk circles around her as she rode her bike. Or, she'd get scared and decide to walk her bike the rest of the way. Thankfully, this is becoming a thing of the past! After a small taste of success last night, she woke up at the crack of dawn today, just so she could practice again. Go Aubrie!!

Let Freedom Ring!

One of my favorite holidays is the Fourth of July. Not only do I love celebrating our great country and freedom, but I love making memories with our family (and it helps that the weather is usually nice too!). We started our day with a red, white and blue breakfast made by Daddy.


And then it was on to the parade. We haven't really found a great parade to watch here yet. There are a handful of them but nothing seems to compare to the parades of my growing up days in Cody, Wyoming!


The parade was packed until it down poured for about five minutes. That cleared a majority of the crowds away, and the second half was much more enjoyable!


Teyah was so much fun this weekend. She's starting to figure things out a bit and was not afraid to seek candy, give hugs to people dressed up as various characters, or play carnival games. Although she was quite frightened by the fireworks at first. But it wasn't long until her "I scary" turned into "Pretty!" "Awesome" "Yeah!!!" "Ohh, purple!" Dave told her the screaming fireworks sound like a baby, so each time we'd hear those she'd say, "It's a baby!" and then she'd make the screaming noise. Even today at church when someone was asking her about fireworks she started making the whiny noise and saying she liked the baby ones.


Aren't they precious?


Many of our neighbors celebrate Fourth of July together. It's great fun, and the kids have a blast. Out of the five houses in a row on our street, we have 11 girls and 0 boys! The lone boy in this picture is from down the cul-de-sac.


One of the neighborhood traditions is a kids parade. They anticipate if for weeks and love deciding how to decorate their bikes, wagons, strollers, etc. and choosing what they are going to wear.


Many of the kids decided to be "dancers," so that's why they are wearing their costumes.


Ellie enjoyed throwing candy.


We have much to be grateful for -- especially a fun, family-friendly neighborhood! The huge aerial fireworks display set off in front of my house was as good as any big show around -- it went until 11 p..m.!

Happy Fourth of July!

The Dancing Queens

These two girls had been anxiously awaiting their dance recital. They were both excited and a little nervous. Because Ellie has not enjoyed being in the spotlight in the past, I was very nervous that she would decide at the last minute that she didn't want to do it.


This series of pictures is taken after their dress rehearsal, which went off without a hitch, and they were obviously a little giddy.




The night of the recital, however, was another story. As we were getting ready, Ellie started to complain of a headache. I got worried because the only time she gets a headache, she has a fever. I took her temperature, and sure enough it was 101. I loaded her up with Tylenol and started praying. Teyah had been sick a few days earlier with a temperature and the throw ups. I was so worried Ellie was going to lose it all on the stage!


Ellie still really wanted to dance, but as I dropped her off, she was very quiet and had a nervous look on her face. I wasn't sure if it was nerves, feeling sick, or both. I kept praying through the whole thing. She danced great, although she hadn't been as smiley as she was the night before. I could just tell by her face that she was not up to par.

Then, when it was all done, I went to get her and she had been bawling hysterically. She couldn't even talk to us to tell us what was wrong. At that point, her Tylenol had worn off, she was burning up, and I felt like the world's worst mother! She seriously screamed uncontrollably, for a good 20-30 minutes straight, until she could talk to Grandma on the phone (the fix-all). Later that night, she told me she threw up in the toilet just before the finale. I'm not fully sure I believe her because she has been telling some fibs lately, but regardless, it was definitely a night to remember. I am so proud of her that she still danced; I just hope she doesn't remember it as a horrible experience.


Both girls worked so hard and knew their dances so well. I was a proud Mama. And, Teyah was copying the moves in the audience through the whole recital. I'm sure she will join her sisters as a little dancer too. Neither Aubrie or Ellie have ever once complained or said anything about not wanting to go to dance class. They just LOVE it!




These clips are highlights from their dress rehearsal.

Happy Birthday Teyah!

My adorable peanut turned 2 this week! Just looking at these pictures makes me realize how grown up she is becoming!




She had a great birthday and had LOTS of help from her sisters when she opened presents!


With our third girl, we sometimes struggle knowing what to get her, but this spinning, bouncing, interactive horse was a total hit! She could hardly stand waiting while Daddy was trying to put it together.


Can you believe Teyah is wearing the exact same birthday shirt she did for her first birthday!?

Some things to remember about Teyah:

*She is petite, however she's had a little growth spell recently and weighed 24.5 lbs and 33 inches at her 2-year check-up (about 20th percentile on both).

*She is easy going, but occasionally when she really wants something she can make a big fit and we see a little feistiness!

*She loves her sisters. She asks for them, she's sad when they are gone, and always wants to do everything they are doing. I never knew a 1-year-old would love playing Polly Pockets, Barbies, etc. but the "big girl" things are what she loves.

*She loves to dance and recently has started to do a lot of singing too. We catch her singing all kinds of songs! She particularly loves the Alphabet Song, the Clean-up Song, and High School Musical Songs. One day in the car, Aubrie and Ellie were having a HSM singing competition, where they would sing and then say who that sounded the most like, and Teyah said, "My turn. My turn. Na, na, na, nah, na, na, na, nah... Rella, Rella" (for Gabriella). She also asks to sing along to "Meemo" which is the "Finding Nemo" soundtrack from the musical. She tries to sing along to the whole thing, and it's so adorable!

*She is a great talker and often says 5 word sentences.

*She had a lot of sickness through the winter, so we are actually considering having her tonsils and adenoids taken out, along with adding another set of tubes in her ears.

*She loves hugs; her blankie; her family; ice cream; her Grandma and talking to her on the phone; and being independent.

*She has been going on the potty for about 3 months now. I'm waiting to completely train her though until I'm not so pregnant sick. This is the earliest any of my kids have been successful on the toilet and at first I was just so surprised that she knew what to do!

Teyah, you are such a sweetheart, and we love you so so much!

Late, but not forgotten

We celebrated the best Daddy in the world's birthday earlier this month. What a special Dad and husband we have! We are the luckiest girls to have such a man in our lives! Love you!

Finally, a lost tooth!!

Mom pulled it out, and Aubrie was surprised and overjoyed!


I think all of her friends have lost a tooth by now, but on the second to last day of Kindergarten, she finally joined the club! It's a good thing because her permanent tooth had almost fully grown in behind her baby tooth. My little girl is growing up!

Big Sisters

We showed up at my mom's house after a late and long flight with all three girls wearing "Big Sister" shirts! It took a bit for my mom to catch on, but soon she got it. We told the girls the news when we gave them the shirts just before the flight. They were ecstatic. They have been telling everyone we see since!

This is also the explanation for me not blogging in the past two months! I have been lucky to get the bare minimum done being so sick. I'm so ready to get my life back in some kind of order. Hopefully this will happen soon! My due date is Dec. 7.

Utah fun

We enjoyed a trip to Utah for Memorial Day and enjoyed many memorable family times. The first was witnessing my Grandpa's wedding to Marina!


We wish them happiness and hopefully many years of good times together!


Another special part of our visit was visiting my new nephew, Liam, who was born a couple days before our arrival! We were so excited to hold him, kiss him, and get to know him.


My little sister Lauren has worked her way to be a semi-professional ballerina and unfortunately I haven't seen her dance in many years, but fortunately she had a performance of Hansel and Gretel while we were there! She is a gorgeous dancer and I am so proud of her hard work and accomplishments!


We spent lots of time with Grandma and enjoyed one of our favorite places in Utah, the Farm at Thanksgiving point.


Teyah LOVED her first pony ride! She had a major temper tantrum when it ended!


We spent Memorial Day having a picnic in the park where Brigham Young was buried. It was a gorgeous park, and the weather was just right.


Admiring cute Liam!


The kids enjoyed some swimming time too. It was a great visit and everything went smoothly until the plane ride home. More on that later...

The Stuntgirl

Check out Aubrie's "Wild side"...

Saturday Morning Jam Session

Three little blessings

By some miracle we ended up with an Easter shot of all three girls smiling!


Most of them turned out more like this. I can't even remember what it was that she was wanting at this moment in time. I am enjoying our little spicy 22-month-old. The temper tantrums seem mild compared to the joy she brings us. I struggled immensely at this age with Aubrie, but it seems so much easier with No. 3. I think because I realize how short of a time it is that the temper tantrums last, and I also realize how fun it is to see her cute little personality come out while she tries so many new things.


It was her first Easter that she could truly enjoy. This is her first time dying eggs.


I realize those tiny hands won't stay bitty long.


Or dyed orange forever!!






Teyah loved finding eggs and knew immediately what to do. (Notice her piggy tails! Her hair is finally long enough!)


Of course, she also knew what tastes good!


All three of these girls bring me such joy!


I am so grateful for my Savior, who died for me, so that I could live with my wonderful family forever.