Family

Utah holds a different meaning to me now. The word immediately makes me think of family. We enjoyed every second.

The drive there was full of excitement and energy. Being stuck in the car for so long made the kids into little monkeys at McDs. Katelyn is wearing Troy's shorts after getting a ton of food on hers. I was obviously too lazy to find her clothes. 

 

We drove through the night. Mockingjay kept us awake. We had to switch every 3 hours or so. It was hard to do, but definitely made it easier for the kids. 

I didn't take that many pictures. We just enjoyed the moments. 

Saturday: We arrived! Talked with Ben's family and slept. So happy to be there. 

Sunday: Church, naps and dinner with my family. We loved the food and games. Megan, Michael and Maddy are so cute with the kids. Halli can attest to that. We loved visiting with everyone: Corey, mom, Alan, Malika (sp? Sorry), Devin, Sarah, Tim, Megan, Tyler, Halli, (Annie was at home with newborn girl Hayden), Michael, and Maddy. We caught up the Jason and Lindsey (Michaels wife :) that week. 

Monday: Still recovering from driving through the night but wanting to take advantage of every minute. Devin, Sarah and Tim came over and played games with us during naps. Then we went to Cafe Rio. Oh how I miss that place. That night we went to a movie, edge of tomorrow. 

Tuesday: played in the morning. These boys are so lucky. Look at that fun Grandma! I don't even do that. 

Then we drove to my moms. She watched the kids while Ben and I went to lunch with Jason. So fun. We came back and hung out with my mom. The kids love playing there. They are so lucky to have Grandma Jana. Dinner was back in Lindon. Alit and Brittany stayed the night. Love this family! I can't remember when, but Kaylene took me shopping for my birthday and totally spoiled me. I hate deciding on things to wear, and she gives great advice that helps me. We even got the shirt I wore to the wedding. 

Wednesday: Went to Lindon pool. 

Katelyn, Liam, Ben, Brayden and Brittany

Troy and Grandma were probably together somewhere. 

Devin and Sarah came too but I didn't get a pic! Tim was so stinkn cute in his floater. 

Katelyn LOVES the water. That is a face of joy, if you can't tell. 

Liam kept getting cold, so I took his shirt off. Bad idea. I should have put more sunscreen on him. He fried his shoulders. Blisters and all. Great mom award. But he never complained. Such a tough kid. 

 

That night Ben and I went to dinner and dessert with Rich and Rachel. We could talk for days I think. I really miss them. 

Thursday: Visited Grandma and Grandpa Allsop in the morning. My mom came over and we tried on Katelyn's skirt that she made. So cute. Way to go mom. 

Got to meet Hayden Rose Andersen. UGH. So cute. And visit with Annie. Time goes way too fast. 

Went to Devin and Sarah's while the kids napped at Grandmas. I miss being so close to them. We lived on the same street as them and Alan. It was awesome. (I really do like Texas, but missing is okay too)

Then we went to Thanksgiving Point with the Merrill side. SO fun. Everyone had a blast. I lost Liam only a couple of times. Success I think. 

My thumb is really the highlight of this picture. 

We ate at J Dawgs nearby. Another Utah treasure. I love just hanging out and talking. We will have to do that more with my family in December when people are not working :)

Friday: Wedding day! Kaylene watched the kids while we went to the Draper temple for the sealing. Then the ring ceremony and luncheon in Sandy. (Look at previous post.) car broke down. Fixed while we hung out at my moms. Went to reception and loved seeing all of my extended family. They are pretty awesome. 

Saturday: left home on our 22 hour drive. We made it!

Michael and Lindsey Westbrook

Michael and Lindsey got married last Friday! They are so sweet together. I'm excited to get to know Lindsey better, but I can tell she is a great catch already ;) 

The temple sealing was such a wonderful experience. Ben and I still talk about it. The ring ceremony was full of great advice from the bishop that Michael has been working close with for the past year. The lunch was SO good and the reception was beautiful. I'll post more pictures later. The kids were NOT happy to take pictures. But I'm still excited to see how they turned out. 

Michael and Lindsey Westbrook

 

Devin, Alan, Jason, and Ben

Liam attacking a tree outside. 

Troy is crying because we are getting in Sunday clothes. The ice cream made him much happier. 

Katelyn was really good but I didn't get a very good picture. The hair clips and boy's ties were made by Sarah and the skirt by my mom!

Sidenote: our car broke down right after the luncheon. It was a huge blessing. The car slowly died and it completely stopped right in front of a car repair shop. Ben pushed us in. I was so glad the kids were at Ben's moms napping. We found out our alternator died. Yikes, we were supposed to drive home to Texas the next morning. Luckily they fixed it before they closed and we got it right before the reception. Expensive, but still cheaper than flying. The kids fared pretty well in the Corolla. It is a LONG drive. But it was worth it!

More on our trip to come. 

Katelyn Update

Katelyn 16 months

Katelyn has been growing up so fast. She is a petite little girl with big smiles. She is our entertainment most days. Troy and Liam love to make her laugh and I love to just watch her explore. She is very happy most of the time but pretty clingy and will not let anyone else hold her. I guess she does okay when we leave her with babysitters, but I'm dreading the introduction of nursery.

I love that she loves us so much though. We can not get enough of her, to say the least.

Katelyn has been a huge daddy's girl. Constantly following him and grabbing his leg. She has learned that if she holds his leg, he can't go very far. He has a hard time saying no, so he usually ends up holding her while eating dinner. He finally put his foot down and told her no, and she just cried forever. She doesn't cry very much. She definitely whines, but doesn't really cry. She usually just needs to sleep if she's whining. And then she wakes up like this..

Yay for naps! Katelyn is talking a little bit. She says shoes "shs", mama, dada, uh-oh, and waves. I can't wait for her to start talking more so that she can communicate what she wants. Right now she resorts to going limp and whining on the floor. Not very effective. We've tried signing, like I did with Troy, but she is pretty stubborn and does not want to do it. So, hopefully words will come quickly. 

Katelyn loves to play with her brothers. If they give daddy a high five, she does it too. If they play with balls, she goes and gets her own ball. If they leave their bots out, she goes and plays with them. Haha, she thought she was in trouble when I snuck up behind her.

"Uh-oh." Oh those curls and eyes. Her dainty hands and feet. We are smitten!

Favorite food: chicken pot pie, by a long shot, I think she would eat the entire pie if I let her
Favorite toy: shoes, outside toys
Favorite activities: laughing, walking in circles, playing the piano, going outside
    She also loves to point at you and touch your nose, or smack your head. It's a game the boys think is funny. It was fine, until she smacked another little boy on the head at playgroup and laughed. Woops.

Liam Update

Liam 3 1/2

Liam, my little energy ball is such a happy boy. Everything he does is with a little extra umph. If he throws, he throws really hard. If he runs, he runs as fast as possible. If he gives you a hug, you might need a couple of minutes to recover. If he yells, it's REALLY loud. If he wants to show you love, he tells you a lot.

Liam likes to move. The picture above was supposed to be taken above the bridge, but obviously he was moving up and down, and it turned out great! You think he's not paying attention when he is moving, but then he will repeat me word for word. He picks up on things very quickly. I have not specifically taught him anything, but he has picked up a lot from Troy. Counting, letters, colors, etc.

Liam is very independent and always has been. Here is his first peanut butter and honey sandwich that he made while I was not in the kitchen. Ironically, he doesn't really like pb sandwiches, so he didn't eat very much of it. He is a turkey sandwich guy.

Liam loves to play with his brother and sister all of the time. His favorite is when we are all together. He doesn't like it when someone is napping and constantly asks if he can go get them. He doesn't know his own strength or when to stop climbing. Ben sees it as a great potential for talent in sports. I told him to stop climbing up the kitchen counter, and Ben said, "Oh let him, he's building his core strength." Well, that's where the knives are... so, no. Anyway, he is definitely a thick kid. And all he does (with Troy) is throw, catch, putt, shoot, etc. The world cup has gotten us more into soccer. He also has a hard time containing all of that energy sometimes. So, he hits. He knows it's wrong, so he usually doesn't hit us. He will sometimes hit me or Troy if he is mad, and time out resets him. I tell him to punch the couch or the ground. Both Troy and Liam have been literally acting like apes, thanks to Tarzan. It's pretty funny.

Favorite saying: "Can I have a hug?" I brace myself. But I LOVE it!
Favorite food: Pretty much anything. He eats any dinner I make. BEST trait ever.
Favorite color: Red
Favorite shows: Wild Kratts, Croods, Jake and Neverland Pirates, Rescue Bots, Super Why, Daniel Tiger
Favorite toys: Whatever Troy is playing with and balls.
Favorite songs: I Am a Child of God, Silent Night, Book of Mormon Stories
Favorite activities: splash pad, anything to do with a ball, eating, being with this family, running

Troy Update

Wow, this has needed to be done for awhile!

Troy 5 1/2

Troy is at a wonderful age. He wants to please me, be a big helper, and loves to play with Liam and Katelyn. His one vice is that he loves to tease Liam and make him yell. Makes for lots of fighting, but I would say it's getting better.

Troy is learning to swim lately. He puts his face in the water and is learning to hold his breath while kicking. Swimming is kind of a must in Houston. He absolutely adores his friend, Michael, who lives a few doors down. He asks to play with him every day. Liam tags along of course. They even decided to write and draw stories the other day. Michael is very creative. I hope it rubs off on Troy, because Ben and I are NOT.

Troy loves bedtime stories about him and Michael and another great friend, Dameon. He is really into pretending lately. Yesterday he asked if we could pretend to go to Utah. I think he misses family! On the 4th of July he kept asking to see the fire ants. I was so confused. When the fireworks started, he started screaming, "fire ants!"

Troy finished his reading book today! (Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons) Easy? Maybe the first half. Woo, that was a lot of work and patience, but you would not believe how much his speech has improved with it. We have been doing it since February? I think? He's finished the BOB book series as well, but we are re-reading them. He's not very smooth, but he knows the words and what's going on. He loves his kindergarten work book. I've started teaching him piano the last couple of months. A friend with 5 kids told me that starting piano the summer before kindergarten is the time to start. For Troy, she was totally right. He is about 2/3 of the way through the primer books. I am LOVING this age because he gets excited to do piano and reading. Well, I should clarify, he likes the BOB books. He kind of hated the big book by lesson 60 and cried when I brought it out. We definitely took some breaks from it, but the last few lessons, he has been much more positive (since the end was in sight.) We spend about an hour each day while Liam and Katelyn are napping. I am going to treasure it while it lasts, because I know it won't last forever.

Favorite Foods: Mac n Cheese, juice, peanut butter and honey on bread (how he remains alive)
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Shows: Rescue Bots, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Super Why, Daniel Tiger, Tarzan
Favorite Toys: Rescue Bots, Squirt Guns
Favorite Book: The Game (BOB book)
Favorite Activities: playing with Liam, Swimming, playing with friends, splash pads, being with family
Favorite Songs: Gethsemene, He is Risen, Book of Mormon Stories

July 4th

We had a fabulous 4th of July with friends and neighbors. The Bick's even stayed the night. I absolutely love having them over. Our neighborhood did a fireworks show that could compete with Stadium of Fire. I'm serious. Ben has the pictures, I'll have to get those. We kept thinking it was over, and then it got bigger. There is some serious American pride here.

Our ward put on a breakfast and wonderful program. I'm so grateful for the reminders of the sacrifice given and miracle it was that America was born. I felt a greater faith after listening. 

Since the 4th, we have been getting sick and dealing with it. Ben got really bad allergies/cold and Troy got a bad fever. I lost my voice and have no energy. Liam occasionally coughs and Katelyn has somehow stayed healthy. I hope she makes it!

We still had a great performance of Book of Mormon stories in FHE. 

I was going to make apple pie for the 4th and then time got away. I made it Monday, before I felt yucky, and it was SO good. Got the recipe from Melissa Kitchen, because we loved hers at Thanksgiving!

I was stepping all over Cheerios by the time I was done.

 Totally worth it ;)