July Gettaway #2—Chincoteague, Virginia

So, this second gettaway was kind of a crazy adventure.  Jack had to go out of town for work for almost two weeks.  He thought that it would be fun if I joined him out there for a few days because he just happened to be staying on this beautiful island off the coast of Virginia.  The only problem was that he would be working some of the time—so we talked about it and decided to let Angie come with me and Savannah so I would have a buddy while he was working.  So I got to take my oldest and youngest daughters on a gettaway for a few days while my super mom and sister helped with the other kids. 

Here they are hanging out in our hotel room together.  I just LOVE Savannah’s expression here. 

Here we are at the beach at night…rather windy but fun

Savannah kept being so darned cute in the hotel so we just kept taking pictures of her.

This island is GORGEOUS…beaches, green everywhere…and wild ponies live there.

Angie got to catch some crabs!  But we didn’t eat these ones:)

We found out that the best and least crowded beach on was only bike and hike accessible…so Jack had this idea to put Savannah’s car seat on a bike trailer—and it worked of course like all his crazy ideas do.  And it was so fun and so nice to go to this beautiful beach—so glad I married him.:)

We did more stuff too, but I have got fold some laundry so that’s all for now on this gettaway. 

July Gettaway #1—Eagar on the Fourth!

In case you haven’t noticed (those of you that live here) it is pretty HOT!  So, yeah, we tend to get out of this place in July every summer.  I find that I can handle the heat much better if I know that I am leaving it.  So, one tradition we have is to always go to Eagar for the 4th.

 

It’s a great place to relax…outside…and not have to be wet!

And it’s also an excuse to dress up cute babies in red, white and blue.

and all the rest of us as well…

Gettaway number one was definitely a success!

Oh What do you do in the Summertime?

I always try to have a loose schedule of sorts in the summer so that we aren’t getting up every morning and wondering how we are going to fill the hours.  Each day we generally do something, but of course we can change it if something else comes up.  All three older kids are in swim team in the morning, and then we do different stuff in the afternoons—we have library day, a swimming day, a movie theater day, and on Mondays we have a new thing—making and musical Mondays—which means we STAY HOME!! (This is generally my favorite day.)  We make or cook something and watch a musical.  Also, catch up on laundry and cleaning. 

Anyway, there is a point to this long description of my life presently.  This Monday we made salsa and watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  And for some reason I was much more laid back then usual—probably because we didn’t have to pack up and go anywhere at any specific time.  I found myself spending fun time with all my kids—especially Ella and Conner, who probably need that a lot more these days with Savannah around.  And wow, I really enjoyed my day—and I enjoyed my family.  And it felt so nice!  Then I thought to myself, this must be how Alayne Favereux feels every day!  She is my children’s amazing piano teacher and she seems to have it figured out ya know?  She knows how to ENJOY life and she ENJOYS people.  So, I decided, that’s how I want to be more and more. 

And THAT is what I want to do this summertime.

More of this…

and this…

and this…

and this…

and, uh, this was just a really cute picture. 

Savannah’s Blessing

It was a very nice day. It was a beautiful blessing and I felt the power of the priesthood very strongly when Jack gave the blessing. It also just gave me such a sense of gratitude to be blessed with all these great kids.

One thing that was a bit of a dissapointment though--I figured with a few gagillion relatives sitting by us in church that I wouldn't have to worry about my kids for one Sunday--yeah, unfortunately they still wanted to sit by me! At least, Ella, Conner and Logan all did (and consequently they are my biggest trouble makers). I did still have a lot of extra help though, and Savannah slept through everything beautifully.

Here is the little beauty herself:

Beautiful sisters! ( And Logan and Conner wouldn’t sit for any more pictures anyway... Girls are just more patient.:))

It worked out that my brother Danny and his family were visiting when we did the blessing—they live all the way in North Carolina so it was so nice that they could be here for it.

We love this little one!

Since you can’t all come and see my hallway…

I thought I would post this.  Jack worked really hard on updating these and I just love to walk down the hall and see these hanging up.  Also, they are right across from our changing table and Conner loves to look at them.  So, anyway, here ya go:

Angie growing up:

 

Sunny growing up:

Logan growing up: 

Ella growing up:

Conner growing up:

 

Savannah growing up: (Just a little bit, but unfortunately she is also doing it.)

 

We decided to do this because I really hate school pictures and so we never get them.  Every time Jack updates we just put the old pictures behind the new ones, and some day they will have a lot of them to look at.  Just a fun way to document how fast they grow—sniff, sniff.

Life

I think this picture sums up my life right now…

Angie captured it for me. 

However, despite the craziness of my two monkeys, the fact that school and activities are still happening (yeah that school is out next week!!), and that Jack is back to work full time again, I am surviving and things are feeling more “normal.”  Savannah is a great baby—she eats, sleeps, and poops well.  And I just love having sweet moments with her several times a day.  There’s nothing like a newborn baby gazing up at you to keep you calm in the midst of hearing screaming/laughing/yelling/mischief making all around you.  Babies are such a blessing!!

 

 

And we are falling more and more in love with this one..

Don’t you love the outfit Kari made????

And this beautiful dress that Jennie made—and the hair bow to match!

 

Oh sweetness….

 

Just love this pic—Conner just had to sit next to “Baby” with a blanket just like her.

As this picture points out, there may be some slight neglect of my older children in the morning while they are getting ready for school—okay, actually, this was for crazy hair day—but she did it all by herself so there really was some neglect I guess.  She used a sand toy to get this style—leave it to Sunny!

Happy day!

Mother’s Day, more Savannah, and Whatnot

(This is a very scatterbrained post—it is allegorical because it represents my brain right now.)

 

Mother’s Day started out very nicely.   If it looks like I just woke up, that’s because I did—to waffles, whip cream, and strawberries no less!  I decided to brave church because, well, it was Mother’s Day.  It went…okay.  It’s tough without a husband to sit next to you I tell ya!  I ended up taking Savannah out and having Conner come with to the Mother’s lounge—I think this may happen often—luckily Angie is really good with Ella when I have to go out.  We just take sacrament meeting week by week, so we’ll see how things go next Sunday. 

Here’s Savannah all ready for her first day at church—she was an angel—it’s those other two munchkins that give me trouble—at least after sacrament meeting they are in nursery and primary!:)

I just thought this was a cute moment—Sunny trying to teach Ella rollerskates.  Ella told me she wasn’t very good on the the sidewalk, but she was great on the grass!

 

Classic dad and sleeping baby photo…

The was me on Easter—two days before Savannah was born.

Then two days AFTER Savannah was born, Sunny did this play—she is the Slinky Dog in Toy Story—on the left.  Jack did her makeup because I was a little preoccupied—it was a stretch for him, but I think he did a super job!

 

Savannah bathing..look!  She does open her eyes sometimes!

So, Savannah is doing much better with the nursing and because it is going well I am starting to feel more normal—and become more aware of my surroundings.  And, I have a new challenge—figuring out what to do with my toddlers while I am stuck on the couch!  After helplessly watching them do several crazy things, I decided I might as well nurse with my camera close by so I can at least get a good laugh later…

Speaking of toddlers, these two have definitely been acting out more these days…I am sure it is the new baby, but it is tough—any suggestions on things you have done to help toddlers cope with a new baby?