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.

Dress Up Queen

Aubrey found one of my clips and wanted me to put it in her hair. I wanted to put the claw high enough so that she could see it in her hair in a mirror. My sister sent Aubrey an awesome package full of dress up necklaces, boas, and hats! Aubrey loves them and isn't so fond of sharing.

Easter Weekend

Yesterday we went to a Primary Easter activity that was so much fun. After the activity and Easter egg hunt we went home to have an egg hunt of our own. Aubrey ran past most of the eggs in order to find the one she really wanted!
Today we had an area conference that was broadcast to us from SLC. The speakers were Elder Snow of the seventy, Sister Lifferth of the General Primary Presidency, Elder Oaks of the quorum of the twelve apostles, and President Thomas S. Monson. It was a fabulous meeting. We came home and Paul and I decorated an Easter cake together. Then we had some friends over for a yummy Easter dinner. What a fun weekend.

Random Pictures

Aubrey's new favorite activity is to take all the toys from her toy basket in the family room and put them on her bed. She giggles as she runs down the hallway. Unfortulately she is not as excited to clean up her toys!

Aubrey in her new Easter dress from Papa J.

Hailey's new Easter dress from Papa J. He always buys the girls such cute clothes!

We love watching general conference and feel it ends too quickly! Paul was helping Aubrey fully enjoy conference by making a tent. He compared his tent to ones in the Book of Mormon when the people gathered to listen to King Benjamin. Similarly, Paul and Aubrey gathered in their tent to listen to the words of a prophet! How cute!!!

Here is my new hair-do. It is hard to get the full effect from this picture. I went in twice because I didn't like how it turned out the first time it was cut. I wanted an A-line and am much happier with the second cut.

Aubrey's Fashion

The other day I asked Paul to buy some white sandals for Aubrey. He came home with two pairs of shoes, one for Hailey and one for Aubrey. Hailey's sandals were much much MUCH cuter than Aubrey's. Paul's purpose in getting Aubrey all white sandals was so they would match more outfits. He got Hailey white sandals with cute colorful butterflies on them. Aubrey immediately wanted Hailey's sandals, not her own, and cried when we tried to put her sandals on her. We attempted to put Hailey's sandals on her, showing her that they were too small for her. When she went down for her nap we hid Hailey's sandals and have not pulled them back out yet. Aubrey still gets a little emotional when putting on her own sandals but she is getting better about it.
The other day I went to a friend's house and she gave me a really cute pair of socks. The next morning I pulled these socks out because I wanted to wear them. Aubrey got a hold of them and brought them to me because she wanted to wear them. I put them on her feet and she walked around that morning in my cute new socks.
This girl definitely has her own sense of fashion!

Blessing Day

We really enjoyed Cory and Jennie's visit to our house. We had a lot of fun. We also enjoyed seeing Scott and his friends, though they did not want to stick around for a picture.


Before sacrament meeting, we paused for a family shot.

Hailey loves her new blanket that Grandma Beddes made her. She wanted to pose on it before being blessed.

We thought we would take a family picture before Aubrey or Hailey could destroy their hair/dresses.