family portraits and parties

The first Saturday we were in Utah, we had a little family together. By little, I mean six of the ten children and 17 grandkids + my mom and Richard. That's little for us. Before the entire clan arrived, we got some pictures of the available Kinnersley half. Nothing fancy, formal or frame-able as we were missing half of that crew {all the DMKs, both brothers in law and Mr. E who was taking a nap inside}. But, a picture nonetheless. 

Grandma helped me test the lighting. I'm still learning.  

And then we all settled down in Karen's Corner for the shot.

We couldn't be serious for too long - our true colors must shine.

And one with grandma and 75% of her grandkids. My how they've grown!

Sophie the giraffe helped me keep their attention. Sort of.

And then we played. I love this shot of grandma and her grandgirls. All of them.

After the half-group shot, the Hauley half arrived and we partied like crazy for Jaimeson's third birthday. Of course, the only picture I have of the birthday boy is of him and Edward {the aforementioned napper} chowing down on their pinata treasures. 

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the luxurious Utah weather surrounded by family. 

As always, it was a colorful event. Please take note of the cute little photographer in the bottom right corner.

 I think a career in photography is in his future.

 

getting soaked and other downtown adventures

Today we headed to downtown Salt Lake City with my mom and Kelli to check out what all the fuss was about the new City Creek Center. We parked our car in the underground lot and only had to walk a few feet to the fountains to see that it really is all it's cracked up to be. 

Kenzie and Edward literally soaked themselves. So much so that Kelli had to venture into the Gymboree located brilliantly by the fountains to buy them each a new outfit. If you ask me, it was totally worth it. 

I had actually packed an extra set of clothes for Leah just in case, but being the very mature five year old that she is, she was a little more toned down with her excitement, opting to get mildly splashed on rather than soaked while still having the time of her life. 

The two littles stayed completely dry in the double stroller Kelli brought along {and saved my day since I forgot the bjorn for Kate}. 

After we dried ourselves off, we headed across the street to temple square to see the Christus, the temple and the fountains and flowers. We then trekked back across the street and through the entire City Creek center to grab some frozen yogurt courtesy of grandma. She's the best. 

Could not love these crazies more.

sixty years young

Today happens to be what would have been my dad's 60th birthday. So, with my brother who lives in Utah and my sister who arrived yesterday as well, we headed to the cemetery for a little birthday party. 

Three of the four kids and seven of the eight grandkids were in attendance! 

We brushed away the dirt and trimmed the grass that had overgrown the nearly 19 year old headstone. His grandkids did rubbings of a headstone of a man they've only met in heaven. And we took some pictures. 

There were no refreshments, balloons or party hats, but hopefully he felt our love. 

Happy 60th dad. Rise and shout!

flying solo...sort of

It would be an understatement to say I was scared out of my mind to travel solo with my two littles. Kate's entire July wasn't the sunniest and she was sure to let us know with a scream. And Leah can't sit still, which doesn't bode well on a plane. That, and I had to carry luggage for three people packed for three weeks with two hands that were already carrying two people. 

Yikes!

I went over every single scenario in my mind beforehand and figured out what I would do if that situation came up - the list included screaming, diapers, eating, nursing, throw up, ripped handles on bags...you name it, I thought of it and I tried to figure out what I would do before I actually had to do it. 

Thinking of the worst case scenario wasn't necessarily a bad thing because it made the actual flight seem like one of the easiest things I've ever done in my life. 

We picked up my sweet friend Catherine at 4:30 in the morning. I drove to the airport. When we arrived, she sat in the car while I curb checked the big bags and Kate's car seat. She drove my car back home so I wouldn't have to pay for parking for three weeks. I put Kate in the bjorn and Leah in the umbrella stroller. I put the diaper bag and Leah's backpack on the umbrella stroller and carried my small carry on. Easy peasy. 

We got checked in no problem - all documents were conveniently located and organized in a folder in my diaper bag. We then took the elevator to the security line. The elevator door happened to be right in front of the family line, which no one was in, so they ushered me right to the front. The employees at the airport helped Leah through and even helped me repack my bag with all the things I had to take out. When we got to the gate, we got a pre-boarding pass because of Leah's disabilities. I took both girls to the bathroom for a diaper change, waited for a few minutes and then boarded the plane...safely in the back row where Leah's bouncing wouldn't bother anyone. 

The flight attendants were infatuated with both girls, and the woman sitting next to me {the flight was full} just happened to be a single mom who had two grown children and was in Boston for a conference on how to build her business. What was her business you ask? An online resource for single parents. And not just parents who are single because of divorce or death. But any parent who is single - or alone - for any point in time for any reason. This means that, to her, I was a single parent on the plane that day. She was so excited to be sitting next to us. Could I have asked for a better neighbor!? 

I was prepared with snacks, drinks, iPads, iPods, binkies, blankets, bottles, plastic sacks for anything wet, and more. And we used them all. 

Leah either did this 

or this

or this

or this

the entire flight. 

Kate did this

and only cried for maybe a total of 60 seconds the entire seven hours.  

At one point, both girls were sprawled across my lap, sleeping. I didn't dare do more than breathe for fear of waking them. It was too good to be true!

We had a stop in Vegas, but didn't change planes. The flight attendants told Leah to run up and down the aisles and sit in different seats to get her wiggles out. She obliged. 

And they gave Kate a certificate for being on her first-ever flight. 

A quick, hour long flight {that wasn't full so we had an extra seat to stretch out} landed us in Salt Lake City where my mom was waiting with open arms to hug us and help us with our bags. 

Sometimes I still can't believe how smoothly the flight went. My planning, preparing and praying definitely paid off!

if i make it through tomorrow...

If I make it through tomorrow, then I am officially calling this summer a success. Tomorrow the girls and I fly across the united stated to our destination: family. 

Salt Lake City will bring good friends, good food, good shopping, grandmas, grandpas, cousins, aunts and uncles...and most importantly RYAN. 

It was a long summer, but with eight weeks behind us and all three of us still alive, I'm kind of breathing a sigh of relief. 

I loved my morning cuddles in bed with my two {mostly} sweet girls. And spending time with them all day every day.

And I loved our hilarious FaceTime chats with the Mr. {Yes, I took screen shots without him knowing and yes, he called us from a tractor.}

 

On one hand, it's good to know what I'm capable of. I spent a few moments feeling rather proud of what I accomplished all by my lonesome this summer. I can do hard things! And we can have fun in the process!

That moment lasted just a few seconds before I was completely humbled and realized I really didn't do any of it on my own. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the countless offers of help. For dinners and play dates and help to the car. For extra hands at church, the park, the bus stop and home. I'm surrounded by so much goodness it has brought me to tears on multiple occasions. 

So, while I can say that I did it - I lived through the summer - I know, wholeheartedly, that I did not do it alone. 

You know who you are. We did it. Thank you.

The case of the curious throw up

So on our way home from our last excursion in Connecticut, Kristen and I were in the front seat of the car with all five kids in the back. Kristen was driving and I was holding Sydney's well-loved blanket. I smelled something a little off, but just figured it was Sydney's blanket (really, it's well loved). Kristen also smelled something, but neither of us mentioned it. Twenty minutes later, we pulled into her driveway. I hopped out of the car and opened Leah's door to get her out. 

This is what I found:

Seriously. Throw up all over her. Miraculously, it only got on her, her clothes and her car seat. Nothing on the car or even on her shoes!

Neither Kristen nor I heard a thing. Not a whimper. Not a cry. Not a moan. And definitely not the lovely sounds of her insides coming out. 

I felt horrible. 

We got her all cleaned up and about an hour later, we were on the road back home. When we arrived, we were supposed to go to an Olympics opening ceremony party. Leah was tired, but seemed better. She didn't have a fever and I just figured she had either been car sick or ate something funny. Plus, it had been about six hours since the incident, so I took her to the party where she went to sleep on a friend's spare bed. When we went to go get her, we found her again, in a (smaller than the first) pile of throw up. She also threw up Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Just once a day, between 2:00 and 5:00 each time. 

I could not figure it out. It wasn't anything she ate. It wasn't the car. I didn't think it was her medication as she takes that twice a day and it never coincided with that. She had no fever and no other signs of any flu or virus. And it wasn't contagious. I didn't want to take her to the doctor because they'd just ask the questions I had already asked and answered myself and they would send me home. But by day six, I was worried about her hydration levels. So I took her to the doctor. Aaaaaaaaaaand, they asked the questions I had already asked and answered myself, told me she had lost a pound and a half, shrugged their shoulders and sent us home.

The poor girl was starving, but it was liquids only for two more days. She ate again yesterday and today and we've seen no signs of throw up since Wednesday. 

I still have no idea what was wrong, but am so glad she is on the mend. 

I'm not quite sure what to do with my spare time. No extra loads of laundry to do. Hmm....

Out of the mouth of kate

And just because I had to end with a regular one...

Looks like she's joining the ridiculous-blue-eyes-and-incredible-eyelashes-club with her dad and sister. I was not invited to be a member of said club. 

something good in everything...

This morning as we left for church, I, uncharacteristically, didn't pay much attention to Leah's hair. I had tied the front back into a ponytail when she got out of the tub. I let it air dry and as we headed out the door, I stuck a clip in it. Done. 

Now, that said, today was an awful day. 

Terrible. Horrible. No good. And very bad in every way imaginable. 

Okay, not every way. But everything that included Leah today was just horrific. I was planning to go into details, but after reading the following quote a dear friend posted, I have reconsidered. 

"Think the best of each other, especially of those you say you love. Assume the good and doubt the bad. Encourage in yourself what Abraham Lincoln called 'the better angels of our nature.'"

"I suppose no one is as handsome or as beautiful as he or she wishes, or as brilliant in school or as witty in speech or as wealthy as we would like, but in a world of varied talents and fortunes that we can't always command, I think that makes even more attractive the qualities we can command—such qualities as thoughtfulness, patience, a kind word, and true delight in the accomplishment of another. These cost us nothing, and they can mean everything to the one who receives them."

 - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Leah does deserve to have her mother think the best of her and I definitely didn't do that today. I will say, that while being chastised via Facetime by her dear dad, she very clearly told him with her eyes that no, she wasn't in pain and no, she wasn't being terrible because she couldn't control her body, but YES, she was being terrible to give her mom a hard time. 

Awesome. Gotta love a five year old. 

I shed a good number of tears and most of them were at church, which is just embarrassing. But now that she's in bed and I've had a chance to breathe, I decided there had to be something I was grateful for today with regards to Leah. 

I thought and I thought and I thought and I thought and, other than the wonderful people I'm surrounded with that helped me today (that goes without saying...), I decided I was most grateful that I didn't spent a lot of time on her hair. She did a number on it today and I didn't even care. That, and at least I'm raising a child willing to state the truth even if it does hurt.

See? There's something good in every situation. 

hanover green

Spent a perfectly sunny afternoon walking two miles to the Hanover green, stopping to run around in the grass and eat some cuties {except leah, she was only allowed juice...} and walk two miles back. 

A great way to get in some exercise and fresh air and out some wiggles. 

"she's just she's just leah from the block..."

This what happens when 

I'm too lazy to take off her pull up 

and put her in a swim diaper. 

I think she kind of rocks the look, though.