Our 4th of July!

Yes, we DID in fact have a wonderful 4th of July. My mom and I took the kiddos to the Round Rock 4th of July parade. We got a primo spot (right in front of Golden Chick!). Nana even bought the kids ice cream. They ate the gumball eyes and then mostly let it melt all down their hands. This was kind of gross for Nana (who will probably not buy ice cream at a parade again) since she was holding a very sticky Kate. When the parade started, we caught lots of candy and a few toys and necklaces. It was quite a long parade (it lasted for an hour!!) and I was ill prepared by not having brought any ice water...fortunately...Golden Chick to the rescue! I bought us some bottled water and the kids (who had stopped grabbing candy and were watching it scatter about and asking to go home) started to grab candy again (still not as fast as when the parade first began...but at least picking it up). We are STILL eating the candy....s..l..o..w...l...y. We will definitely go again next year!
After a nice nap at home, we went over to Nana and Papa's house for some yummo BBQ with the entire Sharp family! Papa had smoked a briskit...mmmm. The kids played and passed the time until it was time for fireworks. I don't think night time has ever come sooo slowly! We marched across the street and hiked across the golf course with our lawn chairs and children until we found just the right spot on a little hill, and we set up camp. We were actually able to watch 2 different fireworks shows at the SAME time from our vantage point. No loud booming though. The kids enjoyed rolling down the hill through the entire thing. I'm not sure they even noticed that fireworks were happening . LOL-well, maybe they glanced once or twice. They definitely had a good time and so did we! Happy 4th of July!

Through the Eyes of Dallin

This is Dallin's shirt.

Ok, so I was downloading my pictures and going through them and suspiciously found a group of pictures that I did not take. I have caught Dallin with my camera several times, but I didn't know he was ACTUALLY taking pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I got a chuckle or 2 out of the world from his perspective.

One of our quilts

I have no idea what this is

Close-up of our Christmas Wiggles DVD with Dallin's reflection in it.

A pretty good picture of Kate doing something naughty in the kitchen.

Ummm...ok...I think this is someone's ear

Dunno

No clue.

Close-up of the handle of a bug grabber toy.

Decent picture of Kate....note how you can see her entire upper body.

Kate's eyeball and nose

Bracken's head (well part of it anyways)

A finger holding something...I don't know what.

Close-up of a green cup.

Hmmmm.....

Dallin's bed

Our dirty hallway...and look you can see my leg sitting in the doorway watching kids (too bad I was watching the wrong one!)

Close-up of SpongeBob BK toy.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Kate's nose and mouth.

Someone's floor. Not our floor, but someone's floor or maybe table?

Dallin's messy room

Dallin's unmade bed and open closet

Dallin's naked legs...I noticed that I could see pj pants on the floor nearby...hmmm

More of the hallway

Dallin's feet, the feather duster, and the camera bag on the floor

Follow the Prophet

Sorry it is sideways...I can't figure out how to turn it. Also, sorry for the messy floor and half naked child. I just wanted to capture the moment before it passed and wasn't too worried about the other stuff at the time. He was just being so precious. I love my little Mr.
This video is actually from a little while back, but I thought it was so cute because Dallin was flipping through the Ensign frantically trying to find the prophet. He got soooo excited when he found the picture (and I was so excited that he was right). We had just had April General Conference and had let the kids find every speaker. They would always get VERY excited when they recognized the prophet and since that time, Dallin points his picture out everywhere he sees it.

Not Yet....

Well, it appears that we will still be missing that last piece of the puzzle for a while longer. We received a "not yet" this past weekend and had a miscarriage.
Here are the basics for those who want to know. I was just over 12 weeks along. There were no "warning signs"-pain, spotting, etc of any kind until late Saturday night when I had to use the bathroom and found that I was spotting. No pain at all though. By Sunday morning, the spotting was slightly more and I was cramping. It progressed through the day and by the late afternoon I was having contractions. By late Sunday night, the contractions were on top of each other and I headed to the hospital. After blood tests, ultrasound, and an exam in the ER, we were told that our baby had stopped growing at 7w4d and my body had continued to carry it. (This, unfortunately, is not a complete surprise for me since I know that my cervix refuses to open for anything and that is why I have my children c-section...this is also the second miscarriage where I carried for an additional 3+ weeks because I could not open . However, the last miscarriage was earlier on and there was no "baby" present. It was a "blighted ovum"). Anyways, due to the fact that I had carried it an additional 5 weeks, there was some concern about infection setting in. That, and the high levels of pain I was in prompted us to go ahead with the d&c at the hospital. By 6am Monday morning, I was in surgery. Physically, I felt much much MUCH better after it was all over. I am a bit stiff and sore if I get moving around though. We have had a lot of support from family and friends and we thank you all for being there for us during this difficult time.
FAQs
*What caused it?
As is the case with most 1st trimester miscarriages, there is no known cause and no reason to suspect that this would happen again. We were just unlucky. Something did not mesh during development and that was that.
*How are you guys feeling?
We are still wrapping our brains around this. Everything happened so fast....one moment we were 3 months pregnant and then with no warning, we were in trouble and within 36 hours we were no longer having a baby. It is VERY disappointing and makes us very grateful for the 2 beautiful children we ALREADY have.
*How did the kids take it?
We explained to them in very basic terms that our baby needed to leave mommy's tummy and go be with Heavenly Father for a while since it was not time for our baby to come to our family yet. We told them that when it was time, Heavenly Father would send the baby back to mommy's tummy. Dallin seemed eager to "protect" our baby but accepted this explanation.
*Are you guys going to try again?
We definitely still feel like we want to add that last piece to our family, but will be waiting a couple months before we try again to get around the physical and emotional aspects of everything that has just happened.
*What do you need?
We are very grateful to have had so much support already from family and friends. I am recovering quickly and we just appreciate everyone being willing to be there for us. The love and friendship mean the most to us right now.

Our Summer Vacation

At the beginning of June, we went on a kickin summer vacation! The kids and myself (Christopher had to stay and work...boo!) took off in the minivan with my mom, my sister-in-law Tammy and her daughter, Maddie. It was a LONG LONG drive. The kids did great though. We straight shot it to Bluff (2o hour drive) the first day.
Bluff was a ton of fun! We stayed there for a few days and visited with Aunt Nancy and Grandma Faye and got our PARTY on! They always make sure the kiddos have a blast there. There was TONS of things to do. As soon as the sun shone (most of our trip was rainy and COLD!-a nice change of pace from 100 degree days!), Aunt Nancy filled the horse trough and the kiddos went swimming! They always love splashin around in there. Even Maddie got in and splashed around! They didn't last long though since they are now thin blooded Texas weenies.
Almost as soon as they finished swimming they decided to jump on the trampoline. This was probably my kids' favorite thing to do in Bluff (or anywhere else). They love to jump jump jump. Unfortunately, Kate is not big enough to withstand Dallin jumps yet so she only really got jumping good when Dallin wasn't around. I love the shots I got of her jumping though because she jumps like a cricket. She jumps in the air, tucks her little legs underneath her body and then straightens them to push off when she lands. Also, you can see her little pony tails flying every which way. For the most part, her "jumping" consisted of flopping around on the tramp while Dallin bounced and finally getting frustrated and screaming about it. It is terrible, but I found it pretty amusing when Dallin would jump and her bum would take off in the air without the rest of her....I got a picture of that one! LOL













We even got to have a weenie roast! I think this may have been the kids' first one ever because I know it has been FOREVER since I have done one. They had a super fun time, of course, and so did I. It was really fun to see them buddy up and get help roasting their weenies. Dallin planted himself next to Grandma Faye. He shadowed her EVERYwhere and just thought she hung the moon. It was really precious. And Kate ended up with Aunt Nancy. She followed her all over the park and loved getting to be with her whenever she could. The kids LOVED the hot dogs....(and the dogs...the real ones...were grateful for the kids and their "generous" contributions) Dallin felt so sorry for Indy (the GIANT lab...who wasn't supposed to be IN the corral at all) that he kept saying that he would watch after him and he was JUST "lonely" he didn't really want to eat the hot dogs (yeah, right), but we all just melted because Dallin was such a tender little advocate and let Indy stay (who DID in fact want hot dogs...go figure...LOL) I managed to toast a couple of perfect marshmallows, and Dallin thought roasted marshmallows were the BEST thing on the planet and I think he stuffed a couple in his mouth at the same time. All in all, a raging success!
The kids also got to try their hand at "riding" aka sitting on, the horse. They always think this is great! Dallin especially loves it. Kate was more than happy to pet and feed the horses, but getting on one....well....that is a different matter entirely. You may notice her hands on her face in this picture (and several others). It is a nervous habit. We call it her anxious hands. She will put her hands on her face and rub her hands on her cheeks or cup her face in her hands and semi-cover one eyeball. Ironically, my mom has this same nervous habit. Thanks mom! I LOVE weird genetic habits. LOL Anyways, all was well on the horse until it took about three steps. Then Dallin, who was holding Kate, began to slide off and pulled Kate right along with him. Well, of course, the horse stopped and Aunt Nancy, who was right there, pushed the kids back onto the horse. All the while Kate is yelling--"Help! help! I need a carseat! My carseat!" LOL I laughed so hard! The kids also got to ride the 4 wheeler (which I did not get a picture of). I keep waiting for Dallin to ask me for one of his own. LOL Lots of thanks to Grandma Faye and Aunt Nancy for such a good time. We love you guys!
Next, we traveled into Provo where we were met my Christopher's parents. Then it was up to Coalville for4 fun-filled days with Grandma and Grandpa. The kids were soooo excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. The first stop was, of course, the Wal-Mart and Provo for a fun shopping spree. Dallin picked a Spiderman webslinger and Kate picked a princess dress (which you can see in the photo here because she wore it over her clothes and pjs for 3 days and nights!!) I was so busy soaking in all the good times and relaxation in Coalville that I did not take as many pictures as I had thought (Boo!) I am hoping to get some from my sister-in-law, Gabby, and Christopher's mom. The kids spent lots of time being read to, going for walks in the wagon and rides in the truck, coloring, blowing bubbles, baking treats, and being loved, cuddled, and tickled by Grandma and Grandpa. It was really wonderful and very sweet. Friday, Christopher's brother, Leander, and his wife, Gabby came up with their son, Caleb to visit for a few days. The kids had a great time. Dallin and Caleb got along like peas in a pod. They enjoyed going together for walks. While they were here, we ventured out to Coalville Pig Fest. On the way there, the kids got to see a horse and carriage parade come right in front of us down the street! They were very excited! Dallin also spent a lot of time doing this. I don't know why. What? You don't get it? Apparently in 3 year old books, this is the heigth of humor. LOL We had a fun and relaxing time in Coalville and the kids were sooooo happy to see their grandparents and cousin. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We miss you guys!
Finally, it was down to Payson, Utah for a few days before leaving to visit with my cousin, Jenn, and her beautiful family. The kids were WAY excited to see each other. At first Kate was pretty timid and scared. I had forgotten that when we left she was only a year old, so she basically had no idea who any of these people were, but sweet Emma took her under her wing, led her around by the hand and played with her. Soon, Kate was running with the pack and having a ball! We went to McDonalds for lunch on the 1st day and the kids played and ran and ran and played. It was fun to see their dynamic after a year and how much everyone had grown, but how much they all still loved each other. It was a pretty rad McDonalds too. They had all of these musical instruments that made noise when you ran over them. McDonalds has gone super high tech. Remember when it was just the Hamburgler that we would get stuck in? I managed to get some really cute shots of the kids playing. I think the one of Jenna draping herself on the guitar is my favorite. Marilyn Monroe...eat your heart out!
On the way back from McDonalds, thanks to taking the long route by Jenn, the kids fell asleep. I looked back there and saw Dallin cuddling with Emma. It was pretty cute. Except when poor Emma woke up and leaned forward, then dead asleep Dallin slipped right behind her back and she couldn't get him out. LOL Good times!
Next we went to the Payson aquatic center. Let me tell you, the days of the boring community pool are OVER! Seriously, I was stunned. It was like a mini water park! It had a playground , lazy river, sprinker park section, and even a couple of big slides. The kids went crazy-especially Dallin. He and Luke went up the playground to get drenched by the giant dumping bucket, then down the slide and up the stairs over and over and over again...giggling like crazy. Kate mostly enjoyed sticking her face in the sprinklers and then her bum...but mostly her face. At one point they made us get out of the pool for a "10 min pool check" and Dallin must have thought this meant swimming was over or something because by the time I got Kate wrapped in her towel, he was buck naked in front of everyone at the pool. I minced no words in telling him to get his swimsuit back on right now and do NOT take it off again through clenched teeth. I think a timeout even got thrown in there. That kind of thing is just not cute when you are almost 4 and in a public arena full of strangers all staring at your little naked body. Good grief! We had a great time though. It didn't take long for Kate to decide she was "feezing" with her little blue lips and chattering teeth, so she and I hung out on the beach chairs and watched the action wrapped in towels. I confess that I was pretty cold too...yep, I have become a Texas weenie. Soon, I realized that I did not see Dallin and my mommy alarm went off. I got up to look for him and was found by him AND a surprise guest....the lifeguard! Yep, they fished him out, and I got to fill out an accident report. Nothing serious, he stepped in over his head and they yanked him out. I was very grateful that this place was saturated with lifeguards. Dallin got a good talking to about not wandering off by himself and sat the rest of the time with Kate and I. What would vacation be wihtout at least one incident? LOL He was sad about sitting with me, but I think it stuck (and it was getting dark and we were leaving in about 10 min anyways).
The next day, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob came down with my mom and we all went to Jumpin Jacks together. (We did this last year together too and the kids all REMEMBERED! We hadn't mentioned it but they were all stoked about it from the moment they met up!). The kids had a blast and jumped, jumped, jumped until they were worn out. Kate loved playing with Emma and Dallin mostly ran with Luke. A couple of times, Kate wandered off and got REALLY brave by climbing the big ladder and sliding the really big slides all by herself. This kind of annoyed the big kids who got stuck behind her. Of course, mostly they just climbed right over her.l...tough lil girl! LOL One time some cute lil girls had to help her to the top so that the other big kids would not plow her down! They were real sweethearts and looked out for her. The kids had such a blast. They were so worn out though . I don't think any of them fought going to bed that night. (The first night they giggled and giggled and squealed and stayed up till midnight.) Right before we left, I got this picture of them all sleeping together. So sweet! I miss them already!
Thanks Higginson family for having us! We had a blast and loved seeing all you guys! Thanks also to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob for a day full of fun!
We got to see a few other family members before (and as) we headed back-Matt and Robert and Tami Baker and her kids (who now have Dallin completely OBSESSED with the trumpet...LOL) We had such a good time on our trip and loved getting to see all the family who live so far away. If any of you make it down this way...give us a call ya'll!
The trip home was mostly sleeping for the kiddos and planning for the adults. It has taken us almost a whole week to recover. I love the shots I got of the kids sleeping in the car on the way home. It just says PURE EXHAUSTION. How can anyone sleep like that? Good times good times! We are recovering nicely and are already looking forward to another grand adventure in the future!