Pioneer Day Parade

We went to the 24th of July Pioneer Day Parade in Salt Lake City with Paul's mom.

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

This summer we went to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens at the point of the mountain in Utah with Paul's mom. They were amazing! They were far bigger than I had ever imagined and perfectly manicured. Aubrey loved to hold the umbrella, though she couldn't quite get it to block the sun.

Paul's brother turned 19 years old this summer and requested a spider cake. This is what Paul and I came up with.

Hailey's hair always used to stick straight up on end. This picture was taken earlier in the summer. Now her hair is long enough that it lays more flat.

Boise Crafts

While I was up in Boise I had a number of crafts to work on. Thanks to the monumental help of my mother and sister, my projects were completed.

These blocks will go above the girls' beds.


These are our new Christmas stockings. I give the credit of the making of these stockings to my sister and mother, who did almost all of the work. Didn't they do a great job?! We can't wait to hang them up this Christmas. The stocking on the end without a name is for our next child...this is NOT an announcement! We aren't pregnant. I just figure we probably will have another child, so might as well make a stocking while we were at it.

Comin' back west

Paul and I traveled back West this summer for Paul's internship. The girls were wonderful on the trip and we have enjoyed our time with family. After spending a few weeks in Utah, the girls and I went up to Boise for four weeks to see my family. I got a lot of craft projects done, thanks to my mom and sisters for their help! We are now back in Utah and having fun. Aubrey loves to go swimming with her daddy!

Birthday girl and boy!

We celebrated Paul and Aubrey's birthday together. Aubrey was old enough to start enjoying presents!

Me and Aubrey

Opening presents

Birthday girl!

Our little family

One cool cat!

We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July in Boise. We started by going to the Boise parade in the morning. We went to my neice's baptism, then back to my sister's house where Aubrey had fun playing in the kiddie pool with her dad! He bounced her along the side of the pool and played with her all afternoon. After we got Aubrey dried and in clean clothes, she snuck and jumped right back into the pool. My sister spent the afternoon painting faces...my face paint is a butterfly.

Family at the parade.

Paul bouncing Aubrey on the side of the pool.

Playing in the pool.

Butterfly face paint.

Baby Blessing

On the 4th of July weekend, 8 of us 9 siblings were together in Boise, Idaho where my neice was baptized and my brother blessed his baby. My sisters and I were all together for the first time in a long time and we had so much fun together. Aubrey loved playing with all her cousins.

Sisters

Mommy and Me

Aubrey having fun!

Paul and I and my parents.

A trip to the ER

I woke up this morning to unbelievable pain in my right back as well as all over my body. I was nautious and feeling really sick. I had been sick the last few days but thought perhaps I just had the flu, although it felt different and more painful than the flu. I also felt the last few weeks as though I had the beginnings of a bladder infection. It burned to pee, but wasn't SO bad. Paul suggestion last night that we go to the ER, but I didn't want to go in and have them tell me I had the flu. This morning things changed. I woke Paul up at about 3:20am and told him I wanted a blessing. He asked if I wanted to go to the ER and I said yes. We tried to call friends from the ward, but no one was answering. (Odd, doesn't everyone jump for joy when they receive a call at 3:30am?!) We finally called our Bishop who came and helped give me a blessing, then stayed with the girls. At the ER the doctor said I probably had a bladder infection, kidney stones, a kidney infection, or appendicitis. After blood and urine tests it was pretty clear that I have a kidney infection. The dr said they admit 50% of kidney infection patients to the hospital because they are so nautious they can't keep anti-biotics down. He sent me home and said to return if I was vomiting a lot. Well, I don't throw up a lot so I surely must be an acception to the rule! I got home and fever struck again. I took a warm bath and had some toast and a pain pill. I laid down and, to my horror, I threw everything up. At this time Paul was at the dermatologist with the girls for an appointment with Hailey. He came home, fed the girls and put them both down for a nap, cleaned up all my nasty throw up, and called a ward member to come watch the kids so we could go back to the hospital. (By this time the pain was coming back because I couldn't keep down any medicine.) The ward member came with some sprite and told us it always made him feel better when he was nautious. I thought to myself, perhaps I can make it through the nausea. We sent the ward member to the store to get some saltines, and I had sprite and saltines for lunch along with some tylenol. Miraculously I was able to keep it down. Since then I have been eating small things constantly and taking pain medicine around the clock to keep up with the pain. All in all, it has been a great adventure and we are so grateful to ward members and friends who have helped take care of us and our girls (Our landlady even brought us over dinner! Panera Bread, one of my favorites!).

Tulip Festival

Paul and the girls.

Pella Tulip Festival

The "big" windmill! The biggest one in North America, as a matter of fact.

We toured the big windmill and this is a picture of Paul and Aubrey at the top!

Aubrey tip toeing through the tulips!

Big wooden shoes!

Our family.

Pella Tulip Festival

Aubrey and the windmill.

Aubrey loved to touch and play with the tulips.

Aubrey and the dutch dancers.

There were dutch dancers/singers performing around the town. They were called The Dutchesses.

Welcome to Pella!
Yesterday we visited Pella, Iowa, to see the Pella Tulip Festival. Going to Pella was like traveling to a Dutch village; the architecture and surroundings were decidedly Dutch. The whole town of Pella must have been involved in the preparation and execution of the festival. Everywhere you looked, people had on their Dutch garb and wooden shoes. The town was beautiful and there were shops where we watched wooden shoe-making, grain grinding, and Dutch letter-making (these were yummy pastries shaped in an "S"). They have a grand parade with floats, Dutch dancers, and other fun things. We did not get to stay for the parade because the girls were tired after a long day and we had to go home. We did, however, get to visit a replicated Dutch village, tour a real grain windmill, visit a museum with a mineature replica of a Dutch village complete with a train going throughout, and eat a Dutch letter. In all, it was a fun time and we hope to return next year to see the grand parade.