Two HUGE Occasions

1. Ben passed the PE!!! The PE stands for Professional Engineer. It is an extremely difficult 8 hour exam. Ben doesn't like me to express the difficulty because he feels that everyone else has hard tests, but I would just like to say that they let you take ANYTHING you want into the exam (suitcase of textbooks if you desire) and it's still considered one of the most difficult exams among engineers. It has been such a time consumer for the last year. He has gotten up at 5:30 to study for several months. And I didn't have a husband for the two weeks prior to the exam. It is a HUGE deal!!! I was screaming for like 3 minutes when he came home to tell me. We had to wait for 6 weeks to hear back the results. Civil Engineers can take this test after obtaining a bachelors and have 4 years work experience as an EIT (Engineer in training.) He will receive a stamp and a number that he will sign plans with. He can design our own home if we want! :) Very cool. Way to go sweetheart! You are awesome! (This picture is from our Dallas trip. I love it.)

2. Maddy graduated from West Lake High School! We went to the graduation last night and she looked beautiful. We were in a fun mood, so enjoy our faces.

May Happenings

Troy and Liam moved up to bunk beds! It was a double change, Liam going to a bed and the boys sleeping in the same room. I was terrified. Liam wasn't contained and the boys like to jump off things. It's gone better than I imagined (which was pretty bad.) The first night they stayed up till 11:30. The next few nights I stayed in there till they fell asleep, which took about an hour because they were so excited. I actually didn't mind being next to Liam when he was so quiet. It was a pretty special time for me, but I also need me sleep! It's been over a week now and it's still a struggle but I know we will get through it! We are all a little more sleep deprived.

Troy's last day of joy school was yesterday. I did it the last two weeks because of circumstances. We had a lot of fun! I feel like I am getting more creative on the spot and the kids are much more obedient. I can't believe it's already been the whole school year! My favorite activity was when we made shapes and our names with twizzlers.

Liam is talking so much more. Every time he shoots a ball he says, "Good twy." Whether he makes it or not. He talks in sentences that are not perfect, but understandable. He understands me, but his 2 year old emotions are emerging, and it makes for some whining. 

(Liam LOVES to look at the pictures and camera on my phone. It's the only app he goes to.)

Any time I say no, the whining comes in. I have expected this from Troy, but Liam is new to it. But there are so many things he gets into that I have to say no! Whoever said you need to say yes more than no must not have had a two year old at the time. Maybe if I said, "Yes, you shouldn't be doing/breaking/banging/throwing that." ;) Luckily, Liam gets distracted pretty easily and so he doesn't cry or whine very long. In fact, he fell down yesterday and before he started crying he stopped to look at a bug. He touched it, and then started crying. I thought it was hilarious! Our kids are SO worth the effort. Liam is a huge joy and addition to our home. The trials of patience are treasured sometimes, mainly when they're asleep ;)

We have been going to different parks every Wednesday with a group of moms in our ward. We have a lot of young moms, but a lot of moms with older kids too. It is definitely a highlight of our week. I learn a lot from other mothers, and their stories make me feel better, or at least more normal. I struggled with the idea of staying in Provo after graduation, but one thing I love is talking about the gospel with my neighbors. I am surrounded by women of deep and immovable faith. I have really grown to love Provo. Perhaps we will always be here, but I feel like we are being trained or strengthened by all of the people around us as preparation for our life journey.

A friend of mine, Aubrey Sanchez, just had her third child, shortly after I did. We have been trying out watching each other's kids while we run. Liam and Brigham are playing below. Troy and Linnea are in the tent, probably going through a power struggle. It's only been a couple of weeks, but it works out pretty well. They are on vacation right now, so I took the kids with me to the clubhouse this morning and let them watch a show. Ben and I signed up for the Freedom Run again. Wish us luck!

We had Izek over yesterday because his mom is moving their stuff to their new house. He stayed after preschool and played cars with Troy. Poor Izek misses his mom like crazy, but thanks to Liam, I am the master of distraction... well, almost. We made it for a couple of hours, but then Veggietales came to the rescue. I actually love watching Veggietales. I sing all of the songs. I'm such a mom.

Katelyn loved staring at Izek and Izek was pretty good at playing with her.

Troy was trying to share his cars with Katelyn. Haha. Love it.

Katelyn is 3 months!

Little Miss Katelyn is 3 months! 3 months sounds so short, and yet I feel like she has always been a part of our family.

Katelyn is still SUCH a good baby. She loves to smile and coo at us.

She is even cute when she cries, or lets you know that she might cry by giving you the frownie face.

She is patient with her brothers who want to hold her every day, but they don't really hold her very well. Troy is usually better, but he was focusing on taking the picture! ;)

Bad lighting, I know. But you just take the picture when the opportunity presents itself. These boys just adore their sister. I love it.

(Do you like Liam's socks? He has a new habit of taking off only one sock and throwing it somewhere during the day. We have lots of loner socks. Yay that summer is coming.)

Nick names for Katelyn: Little Miss, "baby siser", Kate, Cutie Kate, Sweetheart, Beautiful

Little Miss is getting chubbier in the cheeks and in the neck, but not very much anywhere else. The first picture is the best representation. She opens her mouth really wide and coos when she gets excited.

She likes to suck on her hands and her dresses, if I don't get the binky to her. She has rocking time with daddy every night (perfect time for ESPN highlights) and falls asleep in his arms. She loves to see people all of the time. She doesn't whine immediately if she is left, but she does start to squirm if no one is making noise or in her sights.

Kate, you bring so much love and warmth to anyone that you are around. Everyone LOVES to hold you. You bring healing and peace on hard days. You remind us of our purpose, why we are here, and the reward of being close to Heavenly Father. Love you baby girl.

Park City Sibling Outing

We have been trying to get together more often as siblings. Mom is very sweet and watches the kids while we go out. We decided to go down main street in park city, shop, and go to dinner. It was a BLAST!

I didn't know about the bookstore that has LIVE cats. Ben had to take a picture and send it to Brittany, the ultimate lover of cats.

Devin, Sarah, Alan, Tyler and Annie. I feel like this needs to have a clever caption, but I got nothin.

Tyler, Devin, Jason, and Annie.

We got ice cream and chocolate at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory. We had dinner at the Blue Iguana. It's mexican food and almost all of us ordered a quesadilla. We had a consensus that it was the best we had ever had. Seriously.

It was perfect weather.

Till next time!

Oh and Alan just bought a townhouse! And it's TWO doors down from us. SO fun!! Now we just need to recruit Tyler and Annie. ;)

The big brother, the crazy, and the sweetheart

These are the nicknames that I have been calling Troy, Liam, and Katelyn lately.

Big brother Troy is always great at his routine. Sunday mornings are easier with 11 am church. Troy gets very excited for church and primary. It's adorable. The incentive to be able to go with daddy is the biggest excitement for him. He said the prayer in primary! I and everyone else in the room, was so surprised that he did it without crying or whining! We talked to Troy about it that morning, and Ben even said the prayer in sacrament meeting (that was an event.) Plus, Sarah was conducting. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Sarah being in primary with Troy?!? Anyway, I came in to help him, but I was on the opposite side of the room. When he went up, I hurried to the front and he looked at me as if to say, "What are you doing here? I'm fine." Haha. He then said the prayer with a little help from me and then got down and went back to his seat. Go Troy boy!!

Troy loves to play hide and seek, as I have talked about before. He also loves peanut butter just as much as his mama.

One funny thing Troy said the other day was about sneezing. I sneezed twice in a row and he said, "Mom! Two sneezes is TWO blessings!" Troy is talking SO much more and in understandable sentences. It is really nice. The other adults understand him a lot better in joy school and in primary. He also got his shots last week like a champ. Ben had to hold him tight on his lap, but he was much more brave than we were anticipating. He is really growing up. 

We love playdates at the parks with our ward friends. Nielson's Grove is a favorite. Liam climbs up the stairs to the big slide, but never actually goes down it. Most of the time he is chasing the ducks, and almost goes in the pond if I don't stop him, over and over and over. Troy LOVES to swing. He is getting more social with friends. I'm thinking about preschool for this next year for that aspect.

Crazy Liam is fun, energetic, constantly laughing, and SO crazy. I say, "You crazy" probably ten times a day. Like when he starts eating or licking off the mud and rocks from his shoes. He is still in his crib, mainly for containment. But he is starting to jump REALLY high. So bunk beds are being stained tomorrow in our garage (thanks mom!) so that the boys can use them next week! I'm excited for them, but not really excited about the transition.

Liam LOVES the ABC's and sings them all of the time. He also loves jingle bells and popcorn popping. But he prefers I am a Child of God or Silent Night for bedtime songs. 

Our deck has become a HUGE problem. Liam WILL NOT stop throwing things off of the deck. And when I thought I finally got him to stop, I found a huge pile of stuff on our neighbor's deck!! Including diapers! I was so embarrassed, I had Ben climb over and throw it back over so that she wouldn't notice. I discipline Liam, but I seriously have a hard time not laughing when I do it because he makes these faces of frownie face and then laughs hysterically at himself. It's been getting a little better because I have really cracked down on him doing it, but it's almost an addiction for him I think...

Liam is definitely getting older and having his own opinions. He is still very independent and gets done what he wants done without asking. It can be helpful or frustrating, depending on what he wants. He loves his siblings SO much and gets the most excited when daddy or mommy get home. Even if I just took out the garbage, he screams MOMMY when I return. He is fun to feed because he will eat anything and say how much he likes it. He makes Sacrament meeting more of a patience and creativity test. Oh, when I talked about Ben saying the prayer, both Liam and Troy started crying hysterically that their dad had left. I'm glad they love him and that I love them enough to endure the tantrums. Actually, I'm most grateful to our ward, who are very supportive of our active boys.

Miss Sweetheart Katelyn is growing so fast and causing our hearts to almost burst with joy. I honestly can't help but smile when I think of her or look at her. She went with me to a mother daughter night at relief society last night. She slept most of the time, but I was SO happy that I have a daughter to go to these things with someday. She smiles a lot more now, especially when daddy gets home. 

I play with Katelyn when the boys are going crazy and I need a therapeutic moment. I honestly think I needed to have her to be a better mother to the boys. She loves her brothers, but gets a little scared when Liam is near. Haha. Ben said, "If I was Liam's size, I would be terrified." ;) But at least it's done in happy innocence and not in anger. She is holding her head up so much more. Her eyes have stayed blue and her hair is still all there, dark, long and a little curly. We love her SO SO SO much.