Welcome Home Robert!

Well, we can't believe our wait is finally up... My brother Robert just got home from his mission to the Philippines!

While he was gone, Kimberly was born, Bailey was born, AND we bought a house, so we've changed a little since he left. And so has HE... He grew another inch or so on his mission (but my dad's still got him by a millimeter or two!).  It was a good thing we had our cousin Rachel Belle to play with at the airport & at the Stake President's office, or the kids might not have made it through the night!

Well, the kids were a little nervous about Uncle Robert right at first, even though we had his picture up on our fridge & we'd practiced saying "Welcome Home Robert!" over & over again. It probably didn't help that he kept breaking out in Tagolog when he talked to them, or that Skyler was only 2 when he left, but we're super excited to have you home with us again. So as Kimberly keeps saying at random times throughout the day, "Welcome Home Robert!"

Fall Fun

 One of my favorite memories this fall was watching the kids run around like crazy in the rain.  It's one of those things that makes you want to be a kid again!

 The kids have also been finding random "hiding places" around the house to hide in.  Suddenly the house will be all too quiet & I'll go and find them hiding in a hall closet or under a bed, just waiting for me to find them!  The only problem was that one time I heard some giggling when I was outside & I found them hiding under Laron's car!  We had a BIG talk after that about not going underneath cars...

 As soon as the kids go outside lately, they almost always head straight for the grapevines.  They've been eating them for weeks, even BEFORE they were quite ready.  They love that they can just help themselves to a snack that's right at their height!

 Lately, as soon as Kimberly wakes up in the morning, she comes out loaded up with toys already.  Ready to play the day away!

 The kids have been LOVING feeding the horses our rotten apples from our trees... They're both getting braver & braver around them, and the horses are loving the treats as well!

 Kimberly taking out the lint from between Bailey's toes...

Silly kid!

One day after making a big pile of leaves in the front yard, Skyler used his little rake as a baseball bat & batted for leaves... He loved seeing them smash out everywhere!  

Fun memories & fun times!

A Close Call

So, a couple of weeks ago, we had kind-of a scary incident with Skyler... He was playing with a little stuffed animal Elmo, who was pretending to hold a set of keys at the time. Well, he made Elmo jump up on our nightlight in the hallway, which pushed it down a little, exposing the 2 prongs, which then came in contact with one of the metal keys, which completed the circuit & kind-of sparked or caught on fire or something. It ended up charring our wall, the outlet, burning a hole in Elmo & melting 2 spots on the keys & the prongs of the nightlight where they touched. My first reaction was to be mad at Skyler for playing with the outlet, but once I figured out exactly what happened, I realized that it was just an accident, but still, it was an accident that could have been a lot more fatal, had Skyler been the one holding the keys instead of Elmo. Anyway, we knelt down & said a prayer right then and there in the hallway, thanking Heavenly Father for protecting Skyler. It's one of those experiences that makes you realize how frail mortality is & that God is ultimately in charge.

We're sure lucky to have YOU in our lives Skyler!

We're sure glad you're okay!

Snowbird

Last week we had the chance to have a couple days vacation up at my Grandpa Erickson's condo at Snowbird.  My Grandpa joined us for the first night & then we had the place all to ourselves for the next couple days.  And it was SO much fun!  Skyler's finally figured out how to be a little more confident in the water & we hardly could keep Kimberly from jumping in!  Kimberly would have jumped in the pool to Laron all day long if we'd let her!  The kids also really loved just walking around in the mountains, exploring & creating our own pathways.  After our really great week of family time, I really felt like we had more love in our home & could feel the Spirit more... I can really see now how powerful of a thing it is to leave behind the worries of the world & the demands of work & the home & just take time to enjoy each other.  We've got to make sure we continue making family vacations a priority, for sure!

Bailey's Getting Bigger...

Wow, it's so fun to watch these little ones grow!  We've officially decided that Bailey looks like Laron did when he was a baby & she loves to sleep on her tummy.  She's always been a good-sized baby & at her 2 month appointment a little while back she weighed 12 lbs 6 oz, which is in the 76%.  Way to go Bailey!  We just love the sweet spirit that this little girl brings into our house!

"It is not a slight thing

when they who are so

fresh from God

love us."

                                  -Dickens

Family Pictures!

My Dad took these pictures for us yesterday & I was extremely happy with them... It took a little patience with wiggly & distracted children, but my Dad did a GREAT job & was even able to capture some of those "extra" moments. Thanks Dad!

Labor Day

Labor Day this year was a little disappointing, mainly because we had sick kids, so not everyone was able to participate in fun of the whole weekend, but we did the best we could.  On Saturday, I took Bailey to my family's campground at East Canyon & hung out & ate homemade ice-cream while we sat freezing around the campfire (something I don't think I've ever done before!), while Laron stayed home with sick, throwing-up kids.  Then on Sunday, Laron went up to Idaho Falls our niece Adalyn's Baby Blessing while I stayed home with the sick kids.  And finally by Monday, the kids seemed to be doing good enough, so we attempted to hit the last part of my family's campout.  We surprised everyone by showing up just in time for BINGO, which Skyler & Kimberly really loved & Skyler had fun playing Frisbee golf.  He did pretty good for a 4-year-old!  My sister Emily also announced that she is expecting her second baby, so we're excited for her!  Afterward we headed over to Laron's Grandpa Pace's house to hang out & wish him a "Happy Birthday!"  All in all, the weekend didn't go entirely like we'd planned, but we were glad we all got to get out at some point & join in all the fun!

Summer Recap

So, Summer is about over with now, but we've certainly enjoyed it while it lasted!  Kimberly & Skyler LOVED being little buddies & HAD to go outside at least once a day.  Sidewalk chalk was one thing they enjoyed, and even though Kimberly couldn't draw much yet, she would always draw a bunch of lines in a row & call them "fireworks"!

Not that everything went as smoothly as we'd hoped for... I guess that's expected when you have a new baby to get used to. The pictures above sum-up nicely what we HOPED our days to be like & what they ACTUALLY usually turned out to be (notice everyone crying in the top picture!).

 One day the kids were supposed to be eating a roll in the kitchen & I caught them sneaking around the corner to see me... Look at those guilty little faces!

Over the summer the kids got new bunk-beds (thanks to Grandma Vicky!), Kimberly learned to say her prayers (& Skyler LOVED to help her!), they colored out on the porch with their new little table, they went for rides in Dad's wheelbarrow & they played & played & played!  We also noticed that we have a bat in one of our trees in the backyard, so the kids have loved staying up a little late & watching it fly around the backyard eating mosquitoes!

Me & my cute girls!

The matching dresses make me love them even more!

Kimberly has developed quite a personality over the summer... Something Laron said once kinda sums her up: "She's not always happy, but when she's happy, she's a riot!"

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last week I celebrated my 26th birthday & it was a pretty good one! Laron had to work, so I knew ahead of time that it would just be me & the kids all day, & I knew I would feel sorry for myself if we just sat around the house waiting for Laron, so we made some plans of our own...

That morning we took ourselves out to eat & had a free birthday breakfast at Denny's (we just all shared the free meal) & then we headed over to my parent's house... I ended up going to a Bridal Shower with my Mom & then she surprised me by taking me to Ross & watching Bailey for me so I could pick out a few new things! That's something I haven't done in a while! So nice! Then we went back to my parent's house for a while and then headed home where Laron had a nice meal, flowers, peach shakes & presents all ready & waiting for us. And then after he left that evening for work, me & the kids watched a new movie together, complete with special movie snacks given to us from a neighbor.

All in all, it was a perfect birthday! Probably the best one I've had since being a mom... I guess I just finally figured out that having a birthday no longer means that I get the day off or that everything is really going to be "all about me" that day, because I'm still a mom, no matter what day it is, which translates into me taking care of everyone else's needs all day too. But despite that, I still had a really great day & felt very loved. Aren't birthdays great?! Too bad they only come once a year!

Bailey's Baby Blessing

At the first of the month we blessed our sweet little Bailey...  It was so fun to have a day all about her & to really celebrate her contribution to our family.

She was SO well behaved & even showed off her adorable smiles for the camera!  I sure love my little girl... She makes this Mama proud!

A big thank-you to everyone who came... It's always so fun being surrounded by all those we love!

We love you Bailey!

Summer Fun w/ Grandma

My mom is a school teacher, so over the last two summers, she's tried to come over once a week to hang out with the grandkids & to help me out in whatever way I'd like her to.  With having a baby in June however, having her over every week is the only way I think I survived the summer!  She'd take the kids to the park, watch them while I ran errands & even weed my garden for me.  Most importantly, she gave my kids the attention I felt like I couldn't with a new baby in the house & she gave me something to look forward to every week.  Thanks again Mom for getting us through the summer!

Braving Camping...

So the day after Skyler's Birthday, we decided to brave-it & go on our Ward Campout. I've been wanting to take the kids camping for a while now, but Laron was always working on Ward Campout weekends & I guess we just never made the time for it on other weekends. And so, when Laron had the weekend off this year, we decided to brave it (yes, even with a 1-month-old!).
The kids LOVED it & were especially adorable in their little camping chairs! 

Bailey woke up twice that night, but pretty much just went right back to sleep (probably because I was praying the entire time that she would!).

Kimberly especially loved all the rocks & sticks around!  What treasures!  Skyler asked if he could bring his new "Bow & Arrow" up camping with us... I think he showed it off more than he actually shot it, but it was cool anyways.

The BEST part about Ward Campout (besides the fact that someone else was doing all the cooking & that we didn't even have to set up our tent because there were leftover tents already set up from Girl's Camp earlier in the week) was after everyone else left... We purposely were the last people to leave & because of Laron's thoughtful preparation beforehand on packing us a lunch & bringing some fun things to play with, we were able to get in some good quality family time before returning home. It's funny how you go camping to spend time with your family & then you end up spending most of your time all mingled amidst other families on a ward campout. So thanks Laron for making our camping experience a success!