Graduation Day!

Today was the culmination of a lot of time spent schooling.  6 years of papers and tests.  6 years of loans.  6 years of late nights and early mornings.  6 years of commutes.  6 years of missed events. 6 years of school poor.  6 short years compared to the career that will bless our family for a lifetime.

Worth it.  Every moment.

Even he couldn't hide his smile.

It was the best day!  One of the highlights of my life.  Dallas' sister Sierra Schvaneveldt also graduated from the University of Utah that morning with her Doctor of Pharmacy.  She is my hero!  We could not be more proud of her and are so grateful for her example to our kids.

We spent the day spending time as a family at our Aunt Laurel's in Salt Lake.  I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect day; great weather, great food, great company.  Dallas' brother Austin even drove all the way from New Mexico just to be there for the day.

Not only did Dallas and Sierra graduate, but Seth did, too!  His commencement was last week and he graduated from Weber State with a degree in Technical Sales.  Such a smart family I married into!

Laurel Morris, Seth, Sierra, and Joel Morris.  We had our graduation BBQ in their back yard.  They are huge Ute fans, if you can't tell...

Grandma Kaiserman says I earned my PhT.  "Putting Hubby Through."

Grandpa Kaiserman was a huge influence in Dallas getting his degree in Civil Engineering.  Grandpa is a Civil Engineer, and his dad was a Civil Engineer as well.

This picture right here is why I wanted Dallas to walk.  Will is going to remember this!  Maybe one day he'll want to follow is father and be a Civil Engineer as well.  We have high hopes for our smart boy!

Grandma helped put us through school one Sunday dinner at a time.

We have been so very blessed by family and friends that have supported us through this journey.  We have always been taken care of, and are so thankful.

When Dallas walked across the stage with his degree and fist pumped the air as we cheered, there was no greater moment!  HE DID IT!

Happy Easter!

It's officially spring!

The swing is up!  Come on over, swing with me, and I'll feed you a cookie.

St. George

For Family Home Evening a couple of weeks ago we talked about "The Family: A Proclomation to the World."  In the proclomation it talks about the importance of "wholesome recreational activities."  Dallas and I decided when we first married that we were going to work hard to ensure that we went on a family vacation every year.  This year we let the kids choose where they wanted to go, and they chose Zion.

It was splendidly warm, the kids were sweet, and we had a wonderful time hiking around in redrock country.  Our favorite of the trip was Pioneer Park- located just blocks from our hotel.  Zion was beauitful, but having to ride the shuttle was difficult with three little ones, and the kids were beat after just one hike.  Lease favorite part?  Getting to the hotel we had originally booked and realizing it was a mess!  Thankfully Best Western had a room available and we were happy to pay triple the amount of the other just so our beds didn't fall over.

A few random joys:  Pools, wings, Target, General Conference, no cooking!, sun hats, sandals, sand, lizards, the temple, cacti, and smiles.

Paigey Abigail turns one!

We celebrated a "Bird-Day" at our house!  Our sweet Paige turned one.

We had some family join us at grandma's in celebration of Paige.    I decided on a bird theme and pulled out some craft skills- which is a HUGE deal for me because I do not craft.  (Last time I crafted the item ended up in the garbage.  Being a perfectionist is rough when you have no skill).  I ended up making tissue balls, a bib and onesie, and a fun birdie timeline.  Here are some of the details.

We had "bird food" (chicken salad sandwiches, fruit and veggies), birdie sugar cookies, and birthday cake.  Paige was a little overwhelmed with opening presents, but ended up loving what was on the inside.  She especially loved her Minnie Mouse Airplane from mom and dad.

At cake time she picked like a true bird!  And then ended up eating fruit instead.

The kids did a little crafting themselves!  They painted birdhouses... and ruined shirts in the process.  Sorry Jenn!

James, Annie, John, Will

Alli, Miles

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!

O-N-E

Paige.  It breaks my heart a little to know that I'm writing about your one year milestones!  A whole year with a perfect angel.  At one you are:

18 lbs 1 oz (8%)
30.5 in (90%)

• Still nursing, and struggling to get you to take a formula bottle.
• Intermittently sleeping through the night, but if you wake up, mama lets you cry.
• Crawling champion!  You will walk around furniture or holding onto fingers.  You like climbing the stairs- I think the challenge excites you.
• You say- mama, dada, dog, ball, uhoh, wow.  "Uh oh!" was your first word.  You will also sign "more."
• 5 teeth- 3 top, 2 bottom.
• Giving biting kisses.
• Patting my back when I pick you up.
• Loving the outside!!!

We are so thankful you came to our family a year ago.  Can't wait to learn more about you over the next year!

Annie & Paige

To be fair- these two are the best of friends, and will be for all of time. 

Mad Hatter

The hats that I wear take many shapes

Some are small, some are big, and some make me late;

I’ll share them with you, if you can give pause,

And then you will see which hats have good cause.

In the early morning I wear hat of runner,

You would think at 5 I could find something funner.

A hop, skip and a jump and then I am home,

Only to mark what I did on my cute green iPhone.

A minute goes by, ten, twelve, or twenty?

How much time have I spent?  I can tell you- plenty.

I put it down for there are babies to bathe!

On goes hat number three- children servant.  Or slave?

A mother am I, and this hat is my favorite!

They take most my time, but I try to savor it.

Each babe is fed, dressed, and looking so cool,

Then on goes the chauffeur hat and off to the school.

Along with that hat I wear one or two more,

Multitasking at hand, I make the telephone grand tour,

“Hi Bre, Audra, sister, grandma,  mom, and hi Jenn!”

“Hello!”  as I wear hats of daughter, sister and friend.

At home once more and the youngest asleep,

I’ve got a mess to clean up and a floor to sweep.

On goes my maid hat as I fold endless loads.

It’s easy to see this is the hat that I loathe...

The day goes on as I wear hat of teacher,

Helping kids in brother’s class become better readers.

A cook I am also! See chef hat so white,

Come into my kitchen and I’ll share a bite!

Some days I also pretend to be younger,

Cute girls forgive me when often I blunder.

At work an apron instead of a hat,

A coach also! A whistle I use for that.

It’s hard to remember that I’m also a wife.

Almost 11 years ago I promised my life,

To be sweet and serving to my working man,

This hat’s something I actually wear on my hand.

My final hat that I’ll choose to share,

 Is a hat that requires such delicate care.

I must tend to it daily, sometimes by the hour,

For it is a hat that is filled with power.

A daughter of God, and a Queen’s crown I wear,

There’s something about this I really must share.

You each wear this crown, I hope you believe it.

I know that at times it seems hard to see it.

For God loves you.  You’re his.  He wants you to know,

That even through all other hats, this one shows.

Take time to read, study, pray and ponder,

That is how Father will talk to his daughter.

He will help you to know what hats you can put down,

Because sometimes the weight of the hats makes you frown.

Some hats must stay on, and those He will steady,

He’ll be there to catch some until you are ready.

So gather your hats! Though they may drive you mad,

With the help of our Father they won’t be so bad.

-Amylee Nicoll

March 2014

Too Fast

This is me. Right this very second, actually. I'm holding my baby when I should be cleaning my house/preparing a church talk/reading with my big kids. But I just can't do that right now. 

My baby is almost one. 

Paige's first birthday is less than two weeks away, and I'm not ready. I'm not talking about balloons and presents and cake. I'm talking about starting on cow's milk, and weaning her, and walking, and talking. I'm not ready for her to grow up. 

I feel like I've done my best to soak up every ounce of her baby-ness. I haven't rushed her milestones. In fact, I'm so happy that she is still just crawling and not cruising much around furniture. I even love her bald head! It makes her still seem small. And so perfectly perfect. 

Dallas has been teasing me because I have to actually fight back tears when I think about her turning one. 

It's because I now have a boy that is almost 8. HE still feels like he should be my baby. But he's not. He's choosing to be baptized this fall which is an important life decision- his first really. And I don't know how he even got this age when just yesterday we were sending tiny cars down a track.  

The kids grow like weeds no matter how desperately their mother wants to hold tiny hands and wash little faces. They never ask if I'm ready for the next step; they just suddenly make if known that they want you to take off training wheels, or walk to school with a friend, or go to their primary class alone, or that they only want hugs instead of kisses. Mom's don't really get a say. We just feed, water, love, and watch. And then suddenly they don't need us anymore. 

So, Paige, I'm going to hold you while you sleep today because tomorrow you'll be going to college and leaving your mama with a broken heart.

It has gone too fast, and I know it won't slow down. 

Will & Paige

I've mentioned before how Paige and Will have a special relationship.  She seems to just feel safe with him; and she is.  The other day he held her while they were watching cartoons, and she fell asleep.  She rarely does that with me anymore!  I was so lucky to capture this moment.

Happy Birthday, Dalin!

When Dallas and I were first married my Grandma Jewel called him Dalin.  It has kind of become a pet name that I call him.  We laughed out loud when his sister Kallie sent him a text yesterday that said, "Happy Birthday, Dalin!" 

Dallas celebrated his 31st birthday.  It was low key, but wonderful.  I surprised him with a new tent- big enough to fit our whole family and our whole kitchen on the inside.  We had friends over for chicken tacos and then topped our bellies off with his favorite chocolate applesauce cake.

Dallas is truly the most wonderful husband and father.  He is definitely the fun parent!  I feel so grateful that my Father in Heaven guided me to him all those years ago.  Happy Birthday Dallas!

Red Rock Dixie

This weekend I had a run-cation in St. George to run the one day relay Red Rock Dixie.  It was beautiful, sunny, and such a fun group of girls.  I got to lay on the grass, get a bit of a tan, and touch a wild burro!  I ended up getting pretty sick and really struggled running through one of my legs.  I didn't think I was going to be able to finish, but prayers were answered and I started to feel so much better.  It felt like a miracle to me.  I was so thankful I had such a sweet and understanding team and it all worked out in the end.

Our team was "Here we go again!" and it included Breona Carter, me, Mindy Kohler, Jill Tuttle, Amy Lloyd, and Katie Cummings.

Paige at 11 Months

This is the last monthly update of how my baby is growing- sad!  Nothing flies quite like that first year.

Paige has really started showing a lot of her personality this month.  She is picky, opinionated, sweet, goofy, and patient.  She hates food, bottles, and sleeping through the night.  She loves nursing, her mama, standing up to furniture to walk around a bit, crawling, playing peek a boo, and the word "uh oh!"  Paige weighs 18 lbs 13 oz, has 5 teeth (3 on top, 2 on bottom), and no hair :).

Will this morning said, "I don't want Paige to turn one.  I want her to stay little forever."  Me too, Will.

Where's Paige?

There she is!