Preschool + Cameron

Mr. Cameron started preschool this week. We were both pretty nervous about it. This guy still has a hard time with separation anxiety.

Monday night, we talked about the priesthood for FHE and John gave him a father's blessing. Cam was very still during it and I could tell he was feeling the spirit. Tuesday morning went better than expected. There were still nerves but, he did so well and I was pretty proud of him.

I think it's going to be a great year! He doesn't love getting ready and going ("I don't like preschool!") but, once he's there, he settles right in and is happy when I pick him up.  Love you, Cam the Man!

Year Seven

Porter turned seven last Thursday. Seven! He is such a good kid. He loves Luke something fierce. For the most part he is good to Cameron. :) He loves anything arts and crafts. He's so creative! I constantly find him looking for things to make stuff out of. Throughout school I've been told how kind he is to the other kids. He is caring and hates to see people hurting. He is great at math and reading.

We got Porter out early from school and went to the Brigham City Temple open house. It was gorgeous! My whole family came as well as John's parents. Afterwards, everyone came back to our house to celebrate.

The requested Angry Birds cake. I think it turned out pretty good! When Porter saw it he said,"WHOA! COOL!" His face lit up. Totally worth the effort.

Posing with some of his gifts

It's been a great seven years. Happy Birthday, Porter!

Grade the 1st

It's day four of 1st Grade. Of having my oldest gone for half the day. I miss him. He is a great help with Luke. Cameron doesn't know what to do without his older brother. But it's okay. It's good for us. It's been good for me to remember how much I love him and how much he helps me.

Porter was so excited to start! His teacher is Mrs. Schmidt. Cameron calls her Mrs. Shit. Hee! We're working on getting it right.

He was so ready. And really, so was I. We all need a schedule and routine back. Have a great year, Porter!

First Food

We tried the rice cereal out on Luke a couple of weeks ago. He actually enjoyed it. His digestive system did not.

 It plugged him up so I held off a few days and tried again. Same result. So, it's down with the rice cereal. I think we will be trying out some veggies here soon.

I do love messy baby faces. :)

Michelle's Big Day

July 27th was a beautiful day for my sister's wedding!

Before I go on, I would like to give a shout out to my amazing husband.

The night before the wedding, I realized I had forgotten my temple recommend. Stupid, I know. I blame it on just having surgery. I was so mad at myself! To make a long story short, John drove back to Logan that night (we were in Rigby), got my recommend and four hours of sleep, and drove back up that morning. SUPER.MAN!  When I asked what I could do for him he said, "Just remember this when I do something stupid and you're really mad at me." :)

Back to the main event.....

The sealing was lovely and beautiful. I love the feeling of being in the holy temple with so many family members. Everything comes into focus. All that matters is family. And being there to witness the formation of a new one is completely wonderful!

Nieces and nephews were greeted first by Edward and Michelle. They were all so excited!

Porter giving Aunt Michelle a big hug.

This picture makes me laugh! Of course everyone was wanting pictures and I could never get them to look my way. The sun was quite bright. ;) 



After the temple, we went to the luncheon in Idaho Falls. They had an open house there that night and a reception in Malad the following evening. 

The reception was lovely. Again, it was great to be around family and see friends.

This is my mom's brother, David.  He rocks for many reasons. For example, he took Luke during the entire reception! Well, except for when he needed to eat. ;) I didn't even ask. He just took him and thoroughly enjoyed it. Luke absolutely loved him!

 Of course, how could he not love someone who makes goofy faces?!

My cute Grandparents

The cake/cupcake tower. Cupcakes were decorated by yours truly! 

The beautiful bride and her closed eyed sister.  

Mr. and Mrs. Ricks cutting the cake.

Congratulations, Michelle and Edward! May life bring you much happiness together!

Well, That's a First!

A first kiss, first birthday, first love, first heartbreak..... So many of life's firsts are lovely. Some, not so much. Like having your first surgery. That's definitely one you hope to avoid.

It was Sunday afternoon. We had just gotten home from church. I made myself and the boys lunch and sat down to dig in. I suddenly noticed a dull pain in my lower abdomen. Nothing I was worried about. Until it didn't go away.

By Monday morning I knew something was off. I really thought it was just some embarrassing digestive issue but, I called John at work and told him he better come home.

First, was Instacare where I ended up with a doofus of a doctor. He sent me to my OB (Which is where I should have gone in the first place!). Dr. Horsely took one look at me and said, "You don't look healthy." Not exactly words of comfort. He pushed on the area I told him was the most painful and then said, "If you were my wife, I would take you to the ER. It's most likely your appendix or an ovarian cyst."

"It's a cyst," I thought. I had one years back that landed me in the ER. I was sure I would be sent home in a few hours.

Well, blood tests were all normal. Then an ultrasound and LOTS of waiting in between! After the ultrasound, it was literally right after I got back to my room that the surgeon came in and said it was my appendix. It was pretty bad because he said a lot of times, with an ultrasound, they can't tell anything and end up having to do a CT scan. If I would have waited, it would have burst. I was back in surgery 30 minutes later.

This was all such crappy timing. It was Monday. My sister was getting married Friday. I had so much to do in between then. I just had to let a lot of it go.

Everything went well. It was definitely appendicitis. I went home Tuesday afternoon. I had forgotten how good morphine was. Wow!

I couldn't have gotten though that week without my family. I have awesome neighbors that took my boys when we were trying to find out what was going on. Many prayers were answered. Prayers that I would recover well and  be able to enjoy my sister's wedding despite the pain. And I did!

Independence!

I love the 4th of July! It's right up there with Christmas as one of my favorite holidays. We have always been in Malad for the Fourth. I don't think that will ever change. I was wanting to stay in Logan this year but, I'm glad we kept to tradition. We always get to see a lot of family and have good times! Plus, the population of Malad doubles.

My hometown  parade is the best for many reasons. It's just long enough, the kids get tons of candy and I always see a handful of people I know. 

 Waiting for the parade to start.

Luke is feeling the excitement!

 Just lovin' my baby.

Candy Chaos!

Porter and Cameron totally loving it.

John is protecting Luke's ears from the fire engine siren. IT. WAS. LOUD!!

We had a great time. Due to all the excitement and commotion of the day, Luke got about 2 hours of sleep. He conked out right before the fireworks started and slept 10 hours that night!  

Hooray for the 4th and our freedom!

These Boys...

...Are my everything. They drive me crazy, make me laugh (sometimes cry), give me the greatest joy and an equal amount of angst.  I love that I have a house of boys!

Father's Day 2012

It's been awhile....

What is that I hear? Nothing. Quiet? Yes, sweet quiet! A miracle occurred and ALL my boys are napping! At the same time! I may just bake a cake to celebrate! I kid.

I really can't believe it's been two months since I posted. Summer was not supposed to be crazy. The only thing on the calendar was Michelle's wedding. That's it. But, somehow, we ended up being pretty busy.

Things that have happened in past two months:

Father's Day. Hooray for daddy!
Michelle's bridal shower
We celebrated our ten year anniversary. Ten years!
A fishing trip with Grandpa Stayner
A surprise appendectomy for me. Boo!
Michelle's wedding in Rexburg
The return of book club. Hallelujah!
Luke turned 4 months old.

Porter starts 1st grade in less than two weeks. I may have shed a tear over this a few days ago. He's excited. I'm excited for him. But, he's also growing up too fast. He's going to be seven the day after school starts. Oy!

Well, there's your quick update. I will expound on some of the previous events soon. And I do mean soon. Not in another two months.