The Price Family

Heartaches And Life

2011-03-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

Phew. I'm feeling overwhelmed tonight. We had another meeting for my mom's Anything For a Friend event, and my emotions are always a little close to the surface after those due to the sheer amount of pressure I feel. But it's good pressure, and good will come of it.

I've been reminded today that the world is full of sadness. That sometimes Heavenly Father tests us with things that everything inside of us screams SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. That young people shouldn't die. That little boys shouldn't get sick.

I've been thinking a lot about heartaches that life hands us lately. There was a period in my life where I felt pretty carefree. For about three years. Yes, there were trials. Bad things happened, and I was sad at times. But none of that really TOUCHED me. I saw it, and I felt sad, but it didn't touch me like things have lately. I thought I was free. That I had had enough trials in the first twenty or so years of my life, that maybe I would get a pass for the rest.

I've had a pretty rough year. I've had some sad things happen to me. Lucky for me I've had the support and love of great family and friends. But it's still been hard at times.

My sister in law has a hard life. She has a seven year old son with autism. He was diagnosed at 18 months. It's been a constant struggle. He is a great kid. But he has meltdowns and she HAS to be tough, physically and emotionally. She doesn't have a choice. She had a baby girl last June. The baby has Down Syndrome. She's a beautiful little girl and a blessing. But my sister in law has had to grieve all the things she will never get to do. And when she thinks of her future, she doesn't see rest from her trials. Just weight on her shoulders. The daily WORK is almost too much. That feeling sucks. It's a very hopeless feeling. And while your heart knows it will all be worth it, your head only sees the endless jobs in your future. It's so hard to see things eternally.

My little sister has had some struggles in their business they hadn't planned on. It's starting to wear on her. She also had a baby, and has had to deal quite a bit with my mom's illness. She keeps telling me this isn't where she wanted to be right now.

As I've had conversations with these two, and conversations with myself, I've thought about how heartaches affect us. I've come to a few realizations.

First, that we are never free from heartache. That the hurt will either evolve into empathy that we will feel for others in similar situations, or it will turn into a different heartache.

Second, we spend so much our time wanting to "get through" whatever we're going through. But in reality, what if it never ends and we've wasted our whole lives waiting for things to get better?

Third, that it can always be worse. I thought having a miscarriage was hard. Then my mom was diagnosed with cancer. And a miscarriage seems like an okay thing to experience in contrast to what is going on now.

I believe there are times when life will flow pretty easily. Where we will be happy and thankful for all we have been blessed with. But I believe there are also going to be times where we simply cannot go on. And in those times, we have to break and allow someone else to carry our burdens.

I also think the sooner we learn to accept our lives, suckiness and all, the sooner we learn how to be happier with what is happening RIGHT NOW. Because, let's face it, it can't be all bad right? There's still good things in the world. Like Szechuan Chicken from the Mandarin and Pace's Cokes. And my amazing children, one of which turns two tomorrow.

I've spent the last year and a half waiting for life to go back. To get through the crap and to be able to just be happy again. Then guess what happened? My mom got cancer. I think that was the first time I realized that it doesn't matter what's happened in the past - ANYTHING can happen in the future. Even if you've had it rough, it can stay rough, and it can get rougher. None of us are exempt from challenges.

But if we sit and have a pity party (which I've done a lot lately), we miss out on opportunities. Opportunities to serve others, opportunities to learn lessons and to feel empathy and love for other people.

The best thought I've had lately is that it is possible to be happy even when it sucks. We're tough. We've been given all that we need to handle it. And we're never completely alone.

Now that I've thrown up all my thoughts, I don't know how to end this post. So that's it. I'm out.

Fun & Not So Fun

2011-02-15T21:57:00.001-08:00

Mom had her second chemo of six this last Friday. I'm just going to throw this out there: chemo sucks. Yes, it saves lives. Yes, I'm thankful for it. But it is awful. I get that claustrophobic, I'm going to freak out and start killing people and I have to get out of here feeling that I hate. I don't get that feeling often. But I sure get it at chemo. So it's super nice when I have fun people to offset the crazy in me. And ultimately, I have to remember I'm not the one it sucks the worse for.

Here's my mom. This whole process is really hard. But she's damn tough. And she looks so cute all the time. Not exactly sure what's up with Sophie in this picture.

Freaking Angie interrogates everyone in the room. What's your story? How many kids do you have? Where do they live? Do you like Utah or BYU? How much money do you make?
I'm totally kidding, but she really is funny. She is genuinely interested in people, and people love talking to her. She made this lady smile at the end of a long day.

Trav stopped by cause he's so awesome, and Angie went to hand Sophie to him. And this is what she did. At least he went back to his faculty meeting looking like he peed his pants.

We both have really lame smiles here, and we both look incredibly pale. But I do have to give a shout out to Amy. She hated being there even more than I did, but she still made us laugh. Like when she asked my mom's nurse not to move her foot while he was rearranging IV bags. That's the nurse in the back by the way. He's Joe. He has four kids. He moved here to be closer to his ex-wife's family. You know how I know all that? Yep. Angie asked him.

We call her Sophie Sofa. Because her last name is Davenport, and a davenport is a sofa. And Bowen calls her Charlie. No idea why.

I also had a birthday on Sunday! That's right, I turned 30. So not a big deal. I don't feel old, and I'm still super hot, so who cares right? I had a great day. I always do. Trav surprised me and spoiled me, I got to cook dinner for my family plus my mom and Mitch, and I had more calls, texts, cards and drop bys than I could count. I have a lot of people who are so so good to me.

I don't have any pictures because I took them all without my memory card in my camera because I'm a thinker. But I'll steal them from my mom as soon as she posts them.

I have to also say that life feels pretty good right now, for the most part. We all still have our days, and sometimes it's overwhelming. But there is so much good in the world. So many people who truly want to do things for others just to do them. Sometimes it baffles me, and Satan gets in my head, and I wonder why people would do these things. What do they get out of it? It's amazing to me how wonderful people are. Truly.

We're planning mom's Anything for A Friend fundraiser also. We just had our second meeting, and I have to say I am so excited right now. I feel so good about all of this. It is going to be so awesome. If you are interested in helping, email me. Or check out her page on this site to see more of what we're doing.

AFAF

It really is something so much bigger than I've ever even thought about doing, and so much bigger than the money we can raise.

Life is good. I'm a happy girl.

Life

2011-02-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

How to explain where I am at these days?

I'm very emotional. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm definitely getting my feelings out instead of holding them in. And after, I always feel better. And always wake up each day with a more positive attitude.

I'm definitely more stressed. More to do, more to worry about, more places to be. And they're not always bad things. Right now a good word to describe everything in my life is this: MORE. More good, more bad. More work, more help. More stress, more relief. Ultimately, the more is turning me into a much better person.

Travis left me again for another ten days. He did some teaching in Mozambique, and he had a very successful trip. Left me on my own for the first time since last August. I've never had a problem being on my own with the kids. Other than missing him like crazy, I do pretty well on my own. But a lot has happened since his last trip. Right after he got home last time, I had a miscarriage. Then another (if you can even call it that). A few months later I had my foot surgery and then my mom was diagnosed with her cancer. Basically, I've learned to depend on him for a lot of things I used to just do myself. Even simply going to the store became more than I could handle some days. Partly because of my foot, partly because it was just easier to let him do it. I had fallen into a major rut of letting him take care of me. I had forgotten that I am strong. That I can do things that are hard. And that although together we are an amazing couple, I am okay on my own. I need to be that way. I absolutely adore my husband, but one of the best parts of our marriage is that we each still have our own identity, and we can each function apart from the other. Bottom line, I'm not usually needy. I have been incredibly needy the last six months. It was wearing on him, and making me feel less like myself, which was hurting my self-esteem. I felt like a huge wimp and didn't know how to get it back.

The week before his trip I was incredibly anxious about him leaving. I knew it was the best thing for both of us. But I was scared. A lot scared.

Well, he left and you know what? I did just fine. In fact, I did better than fine. The kids were great. I dealt with it myself when I had a meltdown. I took care of all household duties without him there to help me. I know it sounds wimpy, but things had become really too much for me, and I hated it. I absolutely hated that about myself. My mom lost her hair while he was gone, and it was really really hard. But I did it. She had her first chemo , and I dealt with it. All things I desperately did not want to experience. But I remembered that I am tough and that I can handle things on my own. I am infinitely better with Travis, but I can also be great by myself.

I believe that's a huge part of a relationship. Being okay independent of the other person. So many people are so desperate to find someone, that they forget to figure out who they are. You cannot be happy with somebody else until you are okay with yourself. I met Travis when I was finally okay with being alone. And because of that, I bring so much more to our relationship. If anything ever happened to either one of us, we would be devastated. But we would pick up and move on, because that's what we have to do. We are such a better couple because we know who we are individually.

I am catching glimpses of my old self, and I love it. How crazy that a few bad things in life can change so much of me so fast? I think I'm pretty tough when things are easy. It's when life gets hard that I figure out who I really am. I feel so much better these days, even with all the scary stuff that surrounds me. It's a hard feeling to explain, so I hope I'm doing it some justice.

The trip was a huge blessing. An answer to a prayer of how to get back to being myself when I had no idea where to start.

So many of you have been so good to me. I have definitely learned who truly loves me through this. I am so thankful to so many of you who have gone out of your way to support me and my family, even if we weren't close before. Character is truly shown when life gets hard. I'm thankful to be able to see that in so many people.

Now, for the best part. Here is one of my favorite experiences we had while Travis was gone. Emory's first dance recital. Yes, he missed it. But don't worry - she has another one.

Putting makeup on little girls is hard.

The finished product.

After the big performance. I see more of myself in her every day. Scary stuff.

Emory and her Meme.

Emory & Sja. That's what Bowen calls her.

The desperate attempt to get my kids together for a picture. Bowen was not having it.

Today, life is good. I have accomplished things, even simple things, that make me feel like I'm making progress. I am sure I will feel differently throughout the next few months, but I have had confirmations that things will be okay. I'm going to hold onto those in the darker moments.

We are working on an awesome fundraiser for my mom. It is an incredible organization, and I know it is the right thing for us to be doing. Check it out if you get a second. We need lots of help.

Anything For A Friend
Just click on my mom's name to see her page. Look at the pictures of other events if you get a second. It's an amazing thing they are doing.

Thank you to everyone who even thinks about me in passing during the day, and especially for those who pray for us. I feel it. I really really do.

Life is good, and I am peaceful and happy.

January???

2011-01-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

Is it really January already? Where did Christmas go? Why am I too lazy to go upstairs and get my camera to upload my Christmas pictures? I hate feeling like I'm neglecting my blog, but sometimes you just have to prioritize.

I am running low on brain power. My whole being is in a constant state of nervousness. Every once in awhile I get a break and I feel light again. But eventually it all sets back in.

I'm scared to death for what the next week holds. Scared that I can't do it. Scared that I don't have a choice. Scared that my mom will give up. Scared that I won't be able to be everything that everyone needs me to be. That's one of my faults. Always trying to fix things and make things better for everyone when sometimes it's better to Just. Let. It. Be. Give people the credit to be able to handle hard things. Not always try to make it all better. My personality exhausts me sometimes. Sometimes it's easier to just expect the worst than it is to hope for the best and be disappointed.

Wow, that's dreary isn't it?

My faith is in a transitional stage. I don't know where I stand. I've struggled the last year. I've had some bad things happen, which strangely enough have helped more than they have hurt. But the aftermath is still sticking around. I know I'm going to need faith. And I'm scared that I don't have it. I'm scared that my lack of it will deny me the blessings I would get if I had it. I feel like I'm searching desperately to get back to a place where no matter what, everything seems GOOD. I haven't been there for awhile.

And now I'm boring myself. The next few months are gonna super suck. But I have a lot of things I'm really excited about. A lot of really good things are happening and have happened already. I have got to learn how to hold onto those when I get in a rut.

I have a great support system.

My husband. He can always make me laugh. Right now he is talking to me through the vent telling me he is my conscience.

My sisters. Tonight during a particularly emotional moment, I looked at Amy and Angie and I could see in their eyes that they were feeling the exact same way I felt. That's the beauty of sisters. You understand each other without even trying.

My aunts. My mom's sisters rock.

My sister in law Lexi. She's definitely taken the brunt of my crazy. And like her life isn't hard enough already. She's definitely talked me down from a few ledges.

My mom. She's an example of everything strong and good to me.

I want to remember all the positive of this experience. I hope that one day I will look back and that's what will be most prominent in my mind. Not the terrified feeling I have right now.

I'll end this incredibly uplifting post with a cute picture. We spent some time at the Sumko's new house last night and got home about 11:30. The kids wanted to sleep on the couch so we decided to let them. Bowen would not hear of going to his crib. He must be where his brother and sister are. We didn't think there was a chance he'd fall asleep, but sure enough here he is. They slept this way all night. Pillow Pets and Quillows (thanks, Grammy) included. They make me happy.

Here's hoping for a better post next time.

Playing Catch-Up

2010-12-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

Any of you who know me know that this last few weeks has been really crazy, hectic and even a little depressing. Not exactly what I wanted this Christmas, but I'll take what I can get.

We've done a few fun things, and I just wanted to show some pictures of how damn cute my family is.

Here is BoBo at Brylee's third birthday party. I dig this picture. He loves babies. Not the real kind, the doll ones. Even Emory didn't really like dolls. He's a weirdo.

Why, oh why, does this picture make me want to cry? Maybe because Jax looks like a dork? Maybe because I have a brand new niece? Or just because I love my boy so much?

I was going to apologize for Emory's outfit in this picture, but I won't. Because it's just her, and I like letting her be her.

And this is Sophie Kate. She is an angel baby. Brylee was a meanie, but this one is so calm. There is nothing more healing than a new baby.

We also had the annual Tangren family Christmas party and took family pictures before my mom does her surgery and chemo. This is just a snapshot someone took, not the real thing. Don't worry, we got a better photographer than that. What the crap is Amy doing?

My mom, Steve and Chad. Yes, Angie's husband looks just like Chad. Creepy.

Carissa, Aunt Linda, Amy and Travis. I love that Carissa lives in my basement and that Amy always comes over. They keep Travis and I young and always make me laugh. Not to mention they are awesome helpful.

Emory now smiles like a chipmunk. What the? These two are either the best of friends or the worst of enemies, depending on the second.

Burke, Morgan, Jax, Brylee and Emory. These kids are awesome, especially.....

...when they act like this. I love Burke in this.

Chipmunk Face, MeeMee and Bry.

This is my Aunt Amy, who we also called MeMe growing up, and her husband Steve. Anyone think I look like her? Oh ya, and baby Sophie's in there too.

I have a whole new appreciation for the man I married after these last few weeks.

Mom gave Bowen a FatBoy and walked off.

And this is how Amy found him. Dad was not happy when he brought the squished up melted ice cream in his hand to him. Someone should be more responsible for that child after they give him food. Sheesh.

For those of you who have asked and are interested, I am hanging in there. I'm not going to pretend like everything is fine. Because it really, really sucks. I have my good days and bad days. Happy, hopeful moments and bitter, angry moments. But I can't give up. How do you even do that? It's one foot in front of the other. I literally feel like I'm floating at times. Like something is carrying me through the day and protecting me from having to think about things too seriously. I think that's how I get through. One day it'll hit, and I'll face it, but that will all come in the right time. For now I'm just trying to feel how I feel. And allow others to do the same, and not expect them to react like I do. I've definitely learned that people react differently to traumatic situations, and that different is not bad. It's just different.

And in the midst of all this, I still look around and see how blessed I am. With the kids I have, the husband I have, the house I live in, the friends and extended family I have. I still get down, but ultimately it's hard to stay down for long when I have so much. I'm so grateful. Every day. And the gospel and my testimony will get me through this. I could not do it without those two things. I have found it much easier to get over myself and the things that have made me sad for awhile, and focus on other people. Sometimes it takes something like this happening for me to remember how tough I am, and to snap me out of my pity party.

Thank you to everyone who has called, texted, emailed, whatever. I am thankful for so many great friends who are truly concerned with my welfare. I love you all.

Happy Anniversary

2010-12-18T20:49:00.001-08:00

Today I celebrated nine years with this guy.....He was thrilled to spend our anniversary at a family party. Actually, he was a really good sport. Just like he always is. He always puts me first. He is great with our kids. He is compassionate and affectionate. Plus he's hot. And the funniest person I've ever met. In fact, the only person who might be funnier than him is Stephen Colbert, and even that's a close one.

I am so glad I made the decision I did nine years ago. I had a little freakout two nights before we got married. I'm so glad that he called me on it and told me to work it out. I know Satan was working on me because he knew we would be a rockin' couple. And we are. The best.

I hope we have 70 more years together. I love him.

Mom

2010-12-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

My mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer. If you want to read about it, go here.

Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

Not many pictures from Thanksgiving. I was mostly on drugs and in pain, but still ventured to Bountiful to Grandma's house. Something about Lortab makes me love everyone and everything. It's really obnoxious. I should be removed from communication with the outside world when I am forced to take pain pills. Otherwise I just embarrass myself.

Fully recognize that I look scary and have glazed over eyes, but look at that kid. Can you believe how cute he is? It's amazing how captivated we are with our third child. We just sit and stare. He is so quirky and funny. So much personality in those three little beings.

(I just noticed Bo looks like he has a lazy eye. Not so.)

Obviously I did not move off this couch much during the day. Keep in mind I had the bone in my foot sawed off two days before. That was painful. But I seriously dig Jaxon. He. Is. So. Cool. Except he always steals my Ipod. Other than the annoying seven year old boy things he does, he is so awesome. And he is such a mama's boy.

My mom is super hot for a mom. And my grandpa is the most awesome grandpa in the world. I love my grandparent's home. It is the most peaceful place on earth.

My last two favorite people. I wish I could explain the feeling I get when I see these four people in my family. Again, probably the drugs talking, but I am so THANKFUL. So incredibly thankful. Isn't she a princess? And he is the best thing that ever happened to me.

I have learned something about myself these past few months. Something that I have been told by people around me forever, but still need to learn myself. I am not good at asking for help. I want to be the one helping. I would much rather baby sit someone else's kids than ask them to watch mine. I would much rather run to the store for someone who just had a baby than have to ask for dinner when I'm down. What is that? Pride? Independence? Wanting to be able to say I did it all on my own, or that I'm so helpful? Who knows. But it's not good. Travis defined it last night in the midst of one of my famous meltdowns as me being selfish. I want to help and hog all the blessings for myself without letting anyone else receive blessings for helping me.

I think there are lessons we are forced to learn whether we want to or not. I think sometimes things happen so that we are forced to recognize our shortcomings and become better people. And I think sometimes we find ourselves in these situations until we learn how to change. I'm obviously a little slow at changing, but I'm getting there.

I have the best support system. I have friends, family, neighbors, ward members, bishopric members, etc. who are willing to go out of their way to help me. I am so thankful for all of them. People who have no real responsibility to me or my family, but help me because they are simply good people. I'm surrounded by people like that. I can't walk outside in my awesome boot without one of my neighbors offering me dinner or offering to take my kids. I usually turn them down (refer to two paragraphs above) but just knowing they are there lightens my load.

I don't love Thanksgiving. Because I'm lame. And because when holidays are split between so many different families, it gets harder to get excited about some of them. But I do love the chance to think of all that I am blessed with.

That being said, my surgery went well. More painful than I anticipated, but also getting less painful more quickly than I thought. That really makes sense in my head.

Went to the doctor today and got everything checked out. It is so super awesome disgusting. I won't disgust you with a picture. But I'll get my stitches out in a week and the pin and the screw out in six weeks. Gross. I'll probably have to take some heavy duty Valium to get me through that one. Not really. I don't abuse prescription drugs. Promise. At least not regularly.

I spent a lot of time in my bedroom (because I couldn't walk on my own) while a lot of different people made me food, brought me treats, watched my kids, cleaned my house (poor Trav and Amy) and made me feel good. It was really really hard for me. I couldn't even walk three feet away to get my drink. So I was forced to rely on those around me. Again, a good learning experience but very tough for me. Hence the meltdown last night. I still can't drive, but I am walking pretty well. One more thing to be thankful for - a fairly major surgery that went well with no complications.

Plus, Bo Bo and I spent a lot of time cuddling on my bed watching "ooh ooh aah aah", AKA Curious George. It was definitely some much needed cuddle time. That's Jaxon's huge head in the bottom corner.
Final thankful item - no more hoof. Although Trav says I look like Frankenfoot right now (which makes me mad cause he said he wouldn't make fun of me anymore) within a few weeks or months I should have an awesome new foot. That doesn't hurt when I wear heels.

And best of all, this has taken my mind off losing a baby, and definitely put things in perspective. I feel very good about where I'm at and where I'm headed. I feel like I'm finally getting myself back.

I'll let you know if that changes in five minutes.

Sophia Kate

2010-11-26T10:26:00.000-08:00

Baby Sophia Kate was born to Angie, Steve and Brylee on Thursday November 18 at about 6:30. I would like to say thank you to everyone who names their babies after me with a name that is not really mine. I still love you. It's okay, I understand. Katie is ugly.

Everyone loves Uncle Travey best. It's incredibly unfair when I spend all my time and money trying to earn their love and all he does is show up. He loves babies.Cutest family. Yes, the baby is in the carseat somewhere and no, Brylee is not possessed.

Oh, she's so cute. Aunt Katie loves babies.

Why do I love this picture so much? This is immediately post bath, which they let daddy give her in the room. It was so cute. Steve's a softie.

Best aunt ever. Duh.

Love it. Brylee ignored her at first then wouldn't let her go. Brylee looks just like Angie and it makes me laugh.

Right after birth. With that weird stuff on her eyes.

My feet don't touch the floor. What am I, five? Seriously. A little height would give me some authority here.

My motha and two of my three sisters.

Scary. Yucky. Angie's all drugged up and flashing us some skin.

MeeMee and Gee, according to Bowen.

I love new babies. She's a sweetie so far, too. Not mean like her big sister was. I think we might even be able to talk Angie into having more after this one.

I also had my surgery. More about that later.

THE Ranch

2010-11-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

We hit the ranch with the Strand family in Cache county a few weekends ago. It was quite the adventure. We did lots of talking, running around and stepping in cow manure. Gross.

Some smooching in the kitchen. Ewwww.

Travis took the kids for a walk in a sweathshirt that was way too small for him, thanks to Joe. And Angie & Dylan and Bowen & I took a good long nap. I really needed it after waking up an hour earlier.

The kids threw some rocks.

Jaxon makes the coolest faces by far.

Super cool place on about a million acres with lots of animals and tons of retro furniture.

Jaxon gets it from Travis.

We ended the weekend with Emory being sick and pizza at Frederico's in Logan. I don't love Logan, but realized I could get used to it if we had to live there. Trav put a stop to that thinking real fast by letting me know he has no intention of ever teaching at Utah State.

Super fun weekend. Or 24 hour period. Either way.

My Hoof

2010-11-07T21:30:00.001-08:00

I have a bone that is too long in my right foot. Because it's too long, I have a big bump on the side of my foot. It's not a bunion. I don't know why there is such negative connotation with that word, but I do feel like I have to point that out. Travis calls it my hoof. And he won't touch it. And for a man who is nowhere near grossed out by anything disgusting (he's a lab scientist, remember), this is saying something.

(I have really veiny feet.)

I scheduled a surgery to get it fixed in early September. About a week after I scheduled it I found out I was pregnant. I called back and cancelled. Well, it turns out I miscarried right before I would have had the surgery, but I was glad I had decided not to do it. Mostly just because it was two days before Peach Days. And what would I have done if I couldn't have gone to Peach Days?

Well, after the miscarriage I called back and rescheduled. This time for October 7th, a month to the day from when I had my D&C. Writing it like that makes it look creepy, but I'm keeping it. Anyway, we went in early on a Thursday morning all prepared for me to have my hoof removed. As they were taking my vitals, the nurses came in, shut the door and sat down. I got a little nervous. They told me my pregnancy test had come back positive. I laughed and told them that wasn't possible. I told them I had recently had a miscarriage and hadn't even had a period yet, and it must have just been the remnants of that. They told me they had tested it twice. I wasn't convinced, and I really had my heart set on leaving there with a normal foot. So I went out in the hall and called my OB's office. The nurse told me it actually was possible to be pregnant this soon. She told me to come in and have some blood work done. I left the surgical center semi-excited and semi-disappointed, and not sure what to hope for.

They drew my blood as soon as I arrived, and we sat for the half hour wait to get the results back and for my doctor to arrive. When they called me back, they told me the blood test had come back positive and my doctor wanted to do an ultrasound. At this point I was getting excited. I couldn't believe it. We weren't even trying, but weren't aware we might need to be preventing. I was a little nervous about what all this could mean for a baby. The doctor did an ultrasound and told me I was just a few days pregnant. In fact, due to the circumstances, I could pinpoint it to about the hour:). He said all he could see was a gestational sac, so we just needed to wait and give the baby time to grow. He asked me to come back in three weeks. Trav and I went to breakfast to celebrate. I was feeling happy, but cautious. After the letdown of my last pregnancy, I wanted to be careful. But since everyone expected me to have surgery, I couldn't keep it a secret from everyone. I told a few friends and my family, so I didn't end up with baby-sitters and dinner for having had surgery.

Just a side note, here are some of the texts received from Trav's family when we told them:

Jamey: Man, your boys don't waste anytime sending in reinforcements. Too bad about not fixing Katie's foot. (Or something to that effect.)

Carson: That's awesome. Sorry Katie still has a stupid foot.

Thanks, Price family, for your support.

The story goes on. A few weeks went by. One Wednesday morning I started spotting. I know from past pregnancies this is perfectly normal. A few hours later I started bleeding heavily. I called the doctor and they brought me in to see a different doctor, since mine was out of town. (Don't obstetricians know they're not allowed to go on vacation??) Since the circumstances around the pregnancy were so weird, I didn't have a due date, or a first day of my last period, or any of that. So the new doctor was a little confused. She told me my urine test was coming up questionably positive, then she did an ultrasound. Let's just say there was nothing there. She told me to go home and do another test. I think she thought my doctor was crazy for telling me I was pregnant. But I have a picture of that little sac, so I was pretty convinced. I came home, took another test, and it still came back positive. I decided to just wait for my next appointment with my doctor, which originally had been for my first prenatal appointment.

The next week I met with him. He did an ultrasound and another urine test. At this point I had bled for about a week and stopped. I knew I was not pregnant, just didn't know if I ever was or if I had lost another one. He confirmed to me that I had miscarried. That sounds much more awful than it was. If I had not been having surgery, I never would have known. I didn't have much sadness with this, just disappointment. I really felt like me being pregnant that fast had been an answer to my prayers. I think now that I needed to feel like I was pregnant for those few weeks to help pull me out of my funk.

We made the rounds once again of letting everyone I'm not having a baby. That was a joy.

So, at this point, I'm pretty over the whole thing. I need some time without crazy emotions to figure out what I want, and when I want another baby. I do want more kids, but am realizing now that emotionally I may need to hold off for awhile. I definitely feel much more grateful that I have the three that I do. And maybe they need more time with mom before we add more.

Moral of the story is: I'm not pregnant. Again. Barring a major slip-up, we may wait awhile.

But I am excited to get my foot fixed the end of November. Nobody wants a hoof. Travis always asks me if I want some hay or when my next appointment with the vet is. He thinks he's funny. Never mind the fact that he has skeleton toes.

All that being said, I'm doing fine. Still pulling myself out of the funk, but getting there definitely. I have a new niece coming and by the end of this month I'll have a normal foot. What more could I want?

Megapost of Pictures

2010-11-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

I apologize for all the melodrama around here lately. I'm figuring out that I feel much better about myself if I don't sleep all day and actually get something accomplished.

Here's what's been going on lately. I'll try to add lots of pictures and not add lots of my thoughts. I'm super boring lately.

Here's a great big picture of Bo's head to start us off. Took him to the doctor the other day. 10th percentile for weight, 50th for height, and 90th for head. I called Travis after and he said "why are our kids built like push pins?" Ha ha ha.

It was Carissa's 24th birthday. For those who don't know, Carissa lives in our basement. Not in a creepy we keep her locked there way, but she chooses to. She's Amy's friend and has had a sucky life, so we adopted her. She's a good girl. We love her. She doesn't really have squinty eyes. It just looks like it. My kids love her. Bo Bo calls her Sa.

I had to post this. One, because I decided I'm secure enough to post ugly pictures of myself, and two because I seriously dig my sister. You should all want one just like her.

This is Bo's girlfriend Kenley. I don't know why she wants to be his girlfriend though. All he does is scream at her and steal toys. But they both climbed in this car (and yes, it was in my living room) and drove around together. So freaking cute.

They shared a little snack in the corner of the kitchen. It started out like this...

...and ended with Kenley finishing off all the food in the corner by herself. Which one do you think is the chubby one? I love her.

Halloween happened. By far my least favorite holiday. But it was so fun this year, despite Jaxon puking all day. We hit the ward trunk or treat, which was freezing cold and rainy, and then took the younger two kids to my mom's condo area to trick or treat. Condo = much more efficient trick or treating.

My brother and Derek. And absolutely positively the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. Especially when he hugged me. Gross.

Bo and Uncle Steve. I have to post this picture. Look at freaking Steve's face. He is so awesome. I promise he's not a creeper, although it would appear differently here.

I think she loves me almost as much as I love her. She'll come to me from her mom and she won't go to her dad from me at first.

Me, Bo, Kenley and her super hot mom Mindy. Mindy is awesome. One of the best friends and neighbors I ever could have. Our kids are the same ages and love each other. I'm so glad we live by each other. She watches my kids for me all the time so I don't murder them. She's also very patient and nice. And my brother thinks she's hot.

I LOVE Bo in this picture. Emory was a Barbie and Brylee was Belle. They were so fun. The weirdos in the back were some creeps that showed up to the ward party. AKA Carissa and Amy.

Me and my freezing cold but not puking kids. What is my hair doing? Flying away?

I could've watched Bo walk around all night. He would go up to door, walk in, take a treat and walk out. He'd get about ten treats in his hand before he'd let me put them in his bag. He was so funny in that costume. And yes, he's a monkey every year. If you know my kids, you know that's totally appropriate.

The end of the night. Poor sleepy boy. That costume is so not carseat friendly.

I'm a bad mom and didn't get pictures of Jaxon. Mostly because he laid on the couch all day, but I did miss taking pictures of his school party. But he came to grandma's for about the last half hour of trick or treating, so he was happy with how things went down.

Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year?

Out of Sorts

2010-10-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't been myself lately. That's a funny thing to say, because who else can I be, but it's true. Probably not since the miscarriage. Or even before that, because then I was sick and pregnant, which are never very happy things for me.

Miscarriage sucks. Or I guess more accurately is that not having a baby when you want one sucks. It messes with your head. And I really don't like that at all. I think I was very spoiled to believe it would always happen just like I wanted it to. I feel like I have a teeny teeny tiny glimpse of what some people must go through when they can't conceive.

A good friend of mine lost her mom recently. Very suddenly and all sorts of complex emotions. My uncle also passed away this last weekend. Not someone I was particularly close to, but a very very good man. One of those men you could feel was good just by being around him. He leaves behind a young wife and three young kids, and I believe four older kids from a previous marriage. Why do things like this happen? The sheer sadness of it is a little overwhelming. Travis lost his dad when he was only sixteen. His dad was only 48. The youngest brother was 9 at the time. It seems so cruel, and yet at the same time, I know there is a reason. Same as I know there was a reason this baby I wanted so badly didn't come.

My mother in law is leaving on a mission next Monday. She is truly a great woman. I am so blessed to have the in-laws I do. They have accepted me and made me feel like one of them, which isn't always a good thing because they're mostly crazy. But I do adore my mother in law. I will miss her like crazy, as will my kids. I think it's finally setting in. But I'm so proud of her.

Tonight Travis came home for about half an hour in between work and his classes when I didn't expect him. I had had a pretty lame day up until that point. Lame as in I laid on the couch until 10:30, got ready, got Emory off to school, put Bowen down for a nap and laid back down on my bed. I finally got my head together about the time Travis got home. We sat together for about twenty minutes while he ate and we talked. Have I ever mentioned how much I really truly like my husband? Something about him just makes everything seem better. Then he left. I made dinner for the kids and started to straighten up. Jaxon looked at me and said "You're the best mom any kid could ask for". And really? I know I'm not the best mom in the world, but to him I am. That's all I care about.

I walked around my house and thought about so many things that make me happy. About how content and at peace I feel in my home. And I was thankful that for a few minutes, I felt truly uplifted. That's one thing I am learning from this experience. That when I feel good, I need to sit and savor the feeling, even if it's only for thirty seconds. Because it will go, but it will come back again for longer. So I'm trying, once again, to live in the moment. To cry when I want to (which seems to be a lot lately) and to feel happy when I feel happy.

I'm thankful that even when there is much sadness around me, the blessings I have still out number the trials by a huge amount. Now if I can just figure out how to not let the sadness become my focus.

They're a little homely sometimes, but they're mine.

The camera comes out and all he wants to say is cheese. Isn't it awesome how he tickles himself when you ask to see his belly? I love little quirks like that.

Who Needs All This Heavy Stuff When You Have Cute Kids?

2010-10-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so school pictures are lame-o. And my kids super suck at getting their picture taken. But I absolutely LOVE these. Doesn't she look so sweet? Goofball smile and my nose for sure, but she's so cute. And I love how his eyes light up when he smiles. Having kids in school is so fun.

So you gotta pay close attention to this one. The kids have been drawing us pictures lately. Then they hide them and we have to find them. It's really fun until they tape something under their bed or some other random place like that and they won't tell us where. Since they got some fun stamps from their Uncle Bito and Aunt Micole, they have taken to drawing pictures themed around the ocean. Look at this closely for a minute.Notice the ocean animals in the water. Notice the dolphins jumping out of the water. Now what's that green thing that looks like a human? And why is it all red? Oh, that's right. It's because that person is being EATEN BY A SHARK!

These are the love notes our kids give us. Do you think some weird things must go on in our house?

Forgive Me For Being Wordy

2010-10-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

I've been wasting a lot of time lately reading blogs, and getting involved in debates. I wanted to write down some of my thoughts on the gay marriage debate and President Packer's recent conference talk. I'm going to do my best to be open.

I'll be honest. When I first heard President Packer speak about this topic (which wasn't even the topic of his talk), I cringed inside. Because, let's face it. He doesn't come across as the most compassionate of the apostles. But I do sustain him as a prophet, seer and revelator. So his words to me, are the same as if they come from God himself. Which, I believe, they do.

The pornography and sexual addiction part of his talk spoke to me. As a person who has seen the devastating effects that sexual sin and pornography can have not only on a person, but on a family, I need to hear things like that. I need to hear it addressed by the church, and I need for people to know that there is help out there. I think our generation is so different than our parent's generation. I think we talk much more openly and address problems so much more effectively. I feel like the church is attacking pornography head on, and while I know that the war will never fully be won until Christ comes again, I am encouraged and believe with ALL MY HEART that prayers are answered and temptations are overcome. That the war CAN be won on an individual basis.

Now we come to the two minutes of a seventeen minute talk that I struggle with. That is the focus of debate all over the world. That seems to have spurred hatred towards us by the same people who are accusing us of being hateful.

I struggled with it. I didn't vote on Prop 8. Because, duh, I live in Utah. I didn't give any money to the campaign. And I asked myself if the same thing were to happen in Utah, how would I handle it?

The answer was that I didn't know. I honestly didn't know. I believe my leaders are inspired of God. I believe what they tell me. I also, heaven forbid, see the point of view of the other side.

I do not believe we are motivated by hatred. I do not believe any of our leaders, or Christ himself, would want us to hate people. I do not believe that our voting against gay marriage means that we hate gay people. What? Where does that logic come from? In fact, I believe that if any person who is homosexual were to spend even a few minutes with one of our church leaders, they would feel nothing but love from them. They would leave that meeting knowing they are loved, and probably understanding even where we are coming from. Bummer that our leaders aren't more accessible to things like that.

I do not understand why African Americans were denied the priesthood for so long, and then things were changed. Travis believes that at the time, it was hard enough to be attacked for your skin color and for being a Mormon. Why tack on one more thing for people to come after you about? That makes sense, but maybe I don't understand exactly. I don't necessarily believe that I am supposed to.

Because if I understood everything perfectly, this life would not require any FAITH of me. And that is such an integral part of the gospel, and of who I am as a person. Faith causes me to rely on God, and to receive answers from him. I would not have a personal relationship with him if I didn't have to have faith. In fact, I'd think I was doing pretty well on my own. People who disagree will call this a cop-out. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But I also would say that I didn't see why it couldn't be the other way too. So what did I do? I thought about it, I educated myself, and I PRAYED nightly that I would have the answer I needed and that I could accept. And I did all this knowing that President Packer is an apostle of God. But that I also have a right to answers and revelation for myself.

I spoke with one of my most favorite people in the world, who I won't name here, but I will share something she said without asking her. I'm tacky like that.

"What it comes down to with me is that I know that the leaders of the church know WAY more than me and have a foresight I do not have. I will ALWAYS do what they say, even if deep down I disagree at the time. They have the keys to prophecies, I do not. I think it's a trial of faith for me, but the more the controversy goes on, the more I see why the church is doing what it has done. It has to stand up and make a very clear statement that we are for marriage as defined by one man and one woman."

I understood this. In my heart it settled me. I may not understand now why it has to be this way, but I absolutely trust that my leaders do. And that is part of faith and obedience. Following not blindly, but UNTIL I receive the answer myself.

So I prayed. And I read and read all the bullet points in the world about how we are hateful and mean-spirited. And it hurt me. Some things made me physically recoil from the computer. I was in a dark place for a few days. But I'm proud of myself. Because I really thought hard about it. About how I felt as a member of the church and a human being. Because this may be the first serious issue I've struggled with, that I have questioned my Heavenly Father and received the answers I needed. Because, really? Don't smoke, drink, do drugs, or have sex outside of marriage? That comes across as pretty much common sense to me. But reconciling love for everyone with a message that the world viewed differently? It was hard. And I felt like a bad member of the church.

I believe in democracy. And the bottom line is, the majority always makes the decisions. I don't believe in universal health care. Some would argue that is a civil right for everyone. But the MAJORITY of politicians did. And they were elected by the MAJORITY of Americans. That is just how it works here. So I will continue to disagree, but also accept that a choice has been made. And I do have the right to continue to fight and voice my opinion. As do all Americans. But Mormons do not make up 52% of the voting public in California. That's a fact. I think we are an easy scapegoat for many Americans who feel uneasy about a topic. And you know what I say? Bring it on. We are strong enough. It will never be a popular standpoint. One thing I learned in high school is that I don't need to be popular. It doesn't get you very far. I need to feel good about my standing with my Heavenly Father, and at the end of the day? I do. And no one can change that. And whether you try to drown out my voice with love or with hate, you're still drowning out my voice.

And maybe right now, gay marriage doesn't directly threaten my marriage. I do believe it will open the door for things that may threaten my marriage and my family, which my gospel teaches is the core of everything. I do believe there are gay members of the church who believe in eternal families, who may want to be sealed to their partner forever, and that may one day turn into a super awesome Supreme Court ruling that threatens my religion. I believe that my leaders are aware of what COULD happen, and will fight tooth and nail for anything that hurts the family.

I also believe that some straight people should not be able to marry and procreate:).

There are many mean Mormons out there. I bet there are times where I have even been one of them. But there are lots of mean people in the world. I hope that I am not judged by every mean woman, or mean white person, or mean short person, or mean person who changes her hair color monthly. I am different than all of these.

At the end of the day, I want to love people more. I want to know more gay people. I want them to feel love from me, and know that I want them to be happy. I also want them to respect my feelings and decisions. I want to help kids who are bullied at school. Because in seventh grade, I was real small, and this big girl used to push me and say she wanted to beat me up, and it was super scary. I don't mean to make light of a serious situation, because I do know how that feels. I absolutely want my children to meet people who are different. To love everyone. And I live in a society where they aren't presented with the opportunity to do that very often. So I hope they learn from my example. And I hope that's always a good example. I'm working on that.

Bottom line is I am thankful for a religion that has leaders who speak to God directly. I'm thankful for a religion that I know is true. I'm thankful I have been blessed with opportunities to gain that testimony, even though they were hard and not so fun. I'm thankful that I am encouraged to receive the answer for myself, and that if my feelings differ from what I'm taught, that people will still love me. And I'm thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who has calmed my heart on this and many other scary topics.

My Perfect Niece

2010-10-03T20:44:00.001-07:00

I stole a picture from her mother. Really? How could you not think these children are perfect? You should go over to her blog and check out all the pictures of the other kids holding her and loving her. She might be the cutest baby I've ever seen.

Wow

2010-09-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

Stole this off Facebook. I'm posting two separate links for both parts on You Tube. If you have fifteen minutes, please do me a favor and watch this. Talk about putting life in perspective.

Here's the first part.

And the second.

If you do watch it, please leave a comment with your favorite line. Here are some of my favorites. Keep in mind I'm paraphrasing.

God sustains you in his mercy, even when you hate him.

There are things we can learn only from the weakest among us.

I'm a princess.

Men - you were made for greatness.

Women - you were made to be fought for.

It's just another jewel in my crown.

Very, very cool. (That one's from me.)

Kiddos

2010-09-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

I guess two weeks in between posts isn't too bad. I've been meaning to do this forever, just obviously haven't gotten around to it. I hate when people state the obvious.

Things are good. I'm feeling much better. Miscarriage was super emotional drama-o-rama at our house. I'm not one of those people who likes to be sick, or who likes life to be hard. I don't enjoy the attention I get from it. In fact, I'm uncomfortable with it. And before you think "who likes to be sick?", admit it. Some people really enjoy getting attention from negative things. I'm not one of those. Although I do like attention. Just prefer the positive kind. Anyway....life is good. Settling into a schedule with the kids, and just trying to enjoy the time I have with Trav.

Here's BoBo. He's my mean child. He screams at people and beats up on kids. And he won't go to nursery on his own. Kill him. I have THAT kid. Hate that. But he is so freaking cute. He puts a backpack on every day and follows Emory around like he's headed to school with her. It's as big as he is, and since he still walks like he's drunk, it about knocks him over. He thinks he's one of the big kids.

Can we say "Little Jax" anyone?

The Booty (yes, that is her nickname) started dance. She loves it. Loves it loves it loves it. I do not care one bit if she grows up to be a soccer player, dancer, or tuba player. I just want her to do something that makes her happy. I feel that way with all my kids. I'd prefer they be smart than that they play sports. Cause come on, half the people you know who played football in high school? They're fat now. It's the valedictorians who really had their future in mind. Plus I don't want to pay for college. But anyway, she's so freaking cute.

First position. With a banana, might I add.

This kid makes me giggle every day. I wish I had so many moments of his life on video tape. He's about as thoughtful as they come. On Saturday, he was up before us and watching TV. Travis came out to see that College Game Day had been recorded. Jax just looked at him and said "I recorded it cause I thought you'd like it." Such a good boy. BUT. He's kind of lazy. We're working on it. Here he is at gymnastics. I love watching him. He's good. But lazy.

Here's some fun videos of him. Notice how he lands on his head a lot? I'm about ready to start punishing him if he doesn't straighten his arms. But in all fairness to him, his arms are really short. They barely reach over his head. AND his head is real big. So it's a little tougher.

Am I the same mom who just said I don't care if my kids are good at anything? Please ignore me in the video. I sound like a psycho. Which I am.

Now I'm going to go sit by Travis on the couch, and we're going to connect our Ipods and we're going to play a rockin' game of Scrabble. Cause that's what married people do on Sunday nights. At least until eleven. After that we either go to sleep or.......

Emory

2010-09-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Emory opening her birthday presents. She is obsessed with the little Asian kid from the old Indiana Jones movies. Anyone remember Short Round? She's quirky like that. Forget Princess Leia, she loves R2D2. Princess Peach or Daisy? Nope, give her Toad or Toadette from Super Mario Brothers. She always loves the odd character. It's part of what I love so much about her. So for her birthday, I found a Short Round figurine on Ebay and bought it for her. Here she is opening it. Watch how happy she is, and then how embarrassed she gets.

I asked her later why she was so embarrassed and she told me because Short Round is a boy, and she's a girl, and everyone was at Fazoli's watching her. She makes me laugh.

Now here she is when she gets a Toad figurine. Listen to her laugh. That is pure happiness.

Fresh Start

2010-09-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Obviously I have given up on the idea of blogging. Until I got this text from my husband the other day:

Will you got back to blogging? Not for other people but to keep some sort of record of our cute family. We don't scrapbook or write in journals or anything, so your blog was the only record of our life and our life is so so good.

Oops. Hard to say no to that. So I wrestled back and forth with the idea of starting a new blog. With making one private and just for us. Instead I worked out my password issues with blogger and just decided to start fresh. So here is where we are in life.

Jaxon started first grade. He absolutely loves it. Of course, he is the smartest kid in his class. No, really. Well, okay, he's the one who gets to read the menu, because he does read really well. I thought that was great until he came home the other day and I asked him what he had for lunch and he said "chicken warp" instead of chicken wrap. And I thought about how smart he probably looked in front of his whole class. He just looked at me and said "Well, why is there a W there?" Good question, kiddo. Don't make fun of his smile. And in all fairness to the other kids, he is a year older than most kindergarteners. I'm not allowed to say we "held him back" but I can't remember how I'm supposed to say it. Let's just say he's a really good kid.
Uh-oh. The day finally came. We did not "hold her back" or whatever I'm supposed to say, both for my sanity and hers. She and Jaxon are both late summer babies, but she is ready. And she does better if she's closer to her brother.

She is my princess. She is outgrowing all the bad that comes with the word "girl" and turning into the sweet. She is funny and kind and wacky. She makes me laugh all day long. And she waltzes out the door like she the queen of the world on her way to school. I thought it would be hard and I would be sad, but it just makes my heart happy.

She told me the other day that she has a new second favorite new school outfit. I asked her what it was and she said the one she had on. She then looked at me and told me she had no idea it would look so cute on her. Yes, my kids are like miniature adults. They talk like it, too.
This is my most recent picture of BoBo. I love him. He is at the best and worst stages of being a toddler. The best because everything is new and exciting, and he does something new every day. The worst because he doesn't understand why he can't do things yet, and he wants to do everything himself. It's frustrating. He finally got tubes in July, and has slept like a baby (ha ha) since then. It's funny how much more you love your kids when they sleep. He's starting to talk. I'm not allowed to say he's "behind" but at this point my other kids were reciting poetry. He says DA a lot. And GINKY, which is binky. But I absolutely do not care. He has been so much fun. It's like discovering all over again how fun it is to have kids, but after you've already learned enough to be able to let all the unimportant things go. He nods his head when he likes something. He steals Jaxon's Star Wars guys all the time. He screams bloody murder if he wants something. Until I pop his mouth. He is tall and skinny, just like his daddy. And he has the four of us wrapped around his finger.

Travis just started up what will be his third year of his PhD program. It is rapidly getting old. Or it did a long time ago. You remember when it was fun to say you were in school? We passed that point about six years ago. He's getting frustrated. It's getting hard for him to go, and hard for me to be supportive. But we're doing it. We've always known it's the right thing. I made him take the summer off (I won't tell you how I got him to agree to that) but I think it may have saved our marriage. We love each other. A LOT. But almost not as much as we needed to. We took the time to actually vacation as a family, play together, simply lay around the house, and learn to get sick of each other again. So it's great.

He also started teaching back up at Weber. He's worked out his schedule up there to lighten up his fall load, again to increase the chances of us staying married. He's a great teacher, and the students love him. But that often translates into less time to get work done when students want to hang in your office all day. But he does what he does because he loves the students, so I only get mad at him about once a week for it. I sure am a downer about school lately, aren't I? Weber is a great place. It has been nothing but good to us, and nothing can steady you like having a solid job with solid benefits when so many others are losing theirs. So we're lucky. Very very blessed.

He had a fun summer. He went to visit his sister in Washington for her fourth baby's blessing. She's tough and she's had some hard things to deal with. This summer she had her fourth baby, her first little girl, who was born with Down Syndrome. And Baby Abby is beautiful and perfect, so Travis had to be the first to meet her. He also spent a few days driving his little brother Jamey to Ohio to start medical school and help him fix up his new house. I think that was pretty painful though cause Jamey is a total crap. He's like the more annoying version of Travis. But we miss him.

He also took his third trip to Mozambique this summer, and finally saw some animals. They took a day and went to Kruger National Park in South Africa. When he's there they spend a lot of time in meetings or observing labs, so they don't have a lot of time to do anything but hang in the hotel. This time it worked out to actually do something to experience the culture. It was an awesome experience for him, but a long ten days out of my life. It's a great thing for him to do, and I imagine he will be going back a few times every year for the next few years. Maybe one day he'll even take me. Except what would I do all day, in Africa, by myself? Boring.

These are the people he works with. I would be lying if I said I knew who they were. I know one is from Chicago with ASCP, one teaches at a University in Louisiana, one is a student at Weber who served his mission in Mozambique, and I would imagine the others are from the CDC office in Mozambique. As you can see, Travis is definitely the coolest. Or the one with the most facial hair. Either way.

I'm doing okay. Just being mom. My responsibilities don't change on the semester like Trav's do, but it's still always an adjustment. I love being back on a schedule, I love the fall weather, and I love only having one kid at home who naps and gives me a three hour break. I do love being a mother. It's the most rewarding thing in the world. It's also the hardest thing in the world.

We've had some negative things happening lately. I know, shocker. Nothing bad ever happens to us. We found out we were expecting number four about a month ago. We planned this one, same as we did our others. Kind of figured it would go like the others. You think by number four you've got it all figured out right? And I wanted to be done having kids early enough that I could still enjoy my husband after they were all grown. Went to the doctor last Friday and found out the baby didn't have a heartbeat. I'm so dumb about this stuff I had no idea what the doctor was saying. Were we going to have a baby with problems? Was I going to be high risk? No, Katie, the baby isn't alive. Oh. Now I get it. Silly me, I thought my body would immediately do what it needed if the baby died. Apparently not. Being frustrated that I was still sick and miserable, and not wanting to wait until my body decided it was time, I had a D & C on Tuesday. Without going into detail, it was a surprisingly pleasant experience and physically I recovered almost immediately. Emotionally, it has been much harder than I expected. If you ask me at 1:15 how I'm feeling, I may say fine. And at 1:21, I may be a basket case. I feel completely post partum without the baby to offset the sadness. Just trying to let myself feel it and let it go.

That being said, I've had some personal experiences that make me know it happened for a reason and that it will be okay. I just need some time. And it helps to maybe be able to understand a little bit why things are the way they are. And even though it's still hard, it DOES help that I have three healthy children and absolutely no reason to think this would stop me from having more. I'm going to be just fine.

So in answer to Trav's request, I think I'll start blogging again. If for no other reason than I NEED to sit down and count my blessings regularly. This helps.

This is what's going on in my basement right now. And I'm being requested to snuggle with. I think I'll go do that. Then I'll work on getting myself psyched up for Peach Days.

I'm going to work on simplifying my life these days. Less emphasis on being perfect and getting everything done, and more emphasis on being me and enjoying each phase of my life. Especially with the little monsters. Because it seems each phase I enter, the more I want the old phase back. So I want to learn to just be happy where I'm at.

Photos

2010-05-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

We had a little impromptu family photo session the other night, being as it was the first time all six siblings and all their kids have been together in about a hundred years. It was...interesting to say the least. My house looked like a bomb had gone off in it after we were done. Here are some of the results.

I sure do like this baby when his ears aren't infected and his collarbone isn't broken. Yep, that's right, he fell down three stairs and managed to break his little collarbone. It really was very sad for about three days, after that I got real frustrated with the crying.

I just have to put this one in there, because really? Look at BoBo. So cute. Jaxon struggles a little with pictures.

Here is all six of us with dad. Angie looks like she's my second head.

Mitch and I look married and so do Amy and Chad. Can you tell my face is all swollen? I hope not.

I. Love. This. Kid.

She can be such an angel and such a psycho at the same time. But I do love her big brown eyes.

Grandma & Emmer

These are about as good as it got with all the grandkids. Really. It was very difficult. And very loud.

Who's kid has a plug in his mouth? Mine does! Whose kids are not looking at the camera? Mine aren't! Whose kid is picking her nose? Not mine!

And of course, it has to end like this. Otherwise we'll all kill each other. We are rather intense. Someone should tell Mitch it's creepy to lick his sister's face. Oh, and Amy.

Thanks, Meem!

My Thoughts Exactly

2010-04-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

It's pathetically sad how many of these little bunnies say exactly what I want to so many times throughout my day.

Phase

2010-03-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'm going through a phase, and it may not last. But I'm starting to feel passionately about something. If you're interested in helping women around the world, check out this site.

Be sure to watch the video.

Also, this site is great.

Or this one.

It might be because Travis just got back from Africa, and plans to do work there for as long as they'll keep him, or maybe it's because of a discussion I've been reading, but I realized today that the hard parts of my life are different than the hard parts of other people's lives. Maybe if we all share the things we DO have, then we can all get what we need.

Just a thought. Or suggestion.

And I'm pretty sure most of the people I know who read this blog have at least ten dollars to donate:).

Also, if anyone knows of any other good sites, or organizations, please let me know. Especially things in this area that we could specifically go out and do.

And, if anyone is interested in joining a lending team with me on the kiva site, please let me know. I think it would be awesome.

Strange

2010-03-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This post will have almost ZERO pictures. Because Travis always steals my camera. So if you don't like words, stop reading now.

I'm in a weird mood tonight (weird=emotional). Probably for a few reasons. One being that I'm just about to start my period. Hallelujah for not being pregnant...yet. Two that I'm lonely. My husband's been gone a long time. And as annoying as he can be at night, I'm starting to get bored without him.

The main reason I'm in weird mode is because of these:

Okay, really, I know, who would have ever thought I'd like being a mother? And that I'd want a bunch? Definitely not me. I haven't always been the sweet, nice person I am now (said in a sarcastic voice). And I didn't used to be such a softie.

The other night at my mom's, my daughter, who is mostly crazy, asked my mom if she could take her scriptures home and have them. Once I got past the embarrassment of never having bought my daughter even one of those little blue sets of scriptures (which are free, I believe), I told her she couldn't have those but maybe grandma had some others she could have. My mom gave her a book we read when I was little with all the scripture stories. One of those ones with pictures that dumbs it down for those of us who go comatose if we read too long. We got home and of course my annoyingly spiritual children asked if I would read them. I read them the first part about the council in heaven. As Jax was walking down the hall to brush his teeth, he stopped and had this conversation with me:

J: Hey Mom, can we set a goal?

K: Sure.

J: Can we read scriptures every night?

The guilt set in right before he said he changed his mind and he only wanted to do it every Sunday night.

I love all my kids. In fact, I truly think there is something special about each of them. Special traits they have that Travis and I notice and know they were sent here with them. But right now I'm thinking about Jax.

We've always said that he didn't come here just for us. That it wasn't just Travis and I that needed him. We were just the lucky ones who had him first. He bridged a very broken relationship between my dad and I. He gave my siblings the desire to follow the right path to be an example to him. He gave my mom something to be excited about when her life was falling apart. He has taught Emory more than we ever could. And he's just plain brought fun to Travis and I.

The other night we got in an argument. Yes, even the good kid gets whiny and screams at me sometimes. When he calmed down and was in bed, he apologized and cried for how he acted. While he was praying he asked Heavenly Father to bless him that he wouldn't act that way again. Remember, he's SIX. He's always been spiritually sensitive, like his daddy. He cries and hugs us when he feels the spirit. I was so proud of him for asking for help to make himself better. He truly wants to do what's right.

Now I'll get to the point of this long post. I've felt very safe with Travis gone. My kids have been amazing, and I haven't run out of patience. Our home feels peaceful, other than that we're missing someone. I feel calm, when typically Travis is what calms me.

I think Jaxon knew I was going to need a little extra help. I think that he asked me to set that goal to bring the spirit into our home. To keep me calm, and to help the kids make good choices. Sometimes he's smarter than I am.

I don't read my scriptures regularly. I get bored, to be honest. I just don't have the commitment I need to do it every day. But every time I do, I'm amazed at how something so simple can make things feel so right, and so much better. My outlook on life improves every time I sit down to read. I don't know why I don't try harder.

We read the story of Noah tonight. About how Noah preached to people for 100 years to stop being wicked, and to repent.

Life is scary and hard. I get tired of defending my beliefs. I get tired of watching bad things happen, and seeing horrible people get away with horrible things. But tonight I thought of how Noah must have felt, after pleading with people for so long. It makes me think I can stand a little bit longer with the hard stuff. And it gives me faith that God is in control, and that good will always win, even when it doesn't seem that way.

Now that I've got my emotions out of the way, I think I'll go watch Pamela Anderson make a fool of herself.

I also have to mention that tonight Emory prayed that we could "feel in our church and our gospel". I think that means feel the spirit. She also prays nightly that Travis can drive home safe from Africa. I love that child.

BoBo's Bertday

2010-03-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

Uh-oh. It happened. The little guy turned one. We had a good fun day, as much as you can for a one year old. Cause come on, let's face it. They could care less about what's going on. But he was happy all day. Of course, because he is always happy.

Here he is in the morning when we went to get him. See that little chunk of hair sticking up on the right side of his head? We call that the "sleep wing". His dad and his brother also get them. Even if they sleep for two minutes their hair always ends up sticking up like that. Even if they don't sleep on that side. It's crazy weird.

After we took the kids to school, we took a little trip to the doctor. What kind of mom takes a baby to the doctor on his birthday, and for shots too? The kind who understands that he is ONE and will not remember any of it. We then went to Wal-Mart, and he kept falling asleep in the cart. I thought I recorded it, but apparently I just took pictures. Everyone thought I was crazy standing around laughing at him.

He would catch me laughing at him and he would giggle at me. He's so happy.

We had a little dinner with cake and ice cream and presents.

The present he loved best was the Star Ward guys from Jaxon. Seriously.

He's not sure what's going on, but I think he likes the lawn mower.

And if he doesn't, Emory sure does. Notice her outfit. We wear it at least four times a week, whether it's washed or not.

Little look-alike boys. See that guy in the back with the freaky moustache? That's Trav's brother Jamey. I keep trying to explain to him why he's not finding a girl to marry, but he just doesn't seem to get it. Moustache = Creepy. But apparently, it's moustache March, so who am I to judge?

Not so much on the cupcake. He grabbed the frosting and smeared it in his ear that is still infected after three weeks. Awesome.
We ended the night in our new monkey pjs with Kenley's binky. He looks like such a tool here.

He polished off a successful birthday by barfing all over his crib and then sleeping through it and rolling around in it and smearing it in his infected ear. That was so much fun.

Total baths for the day = 4.

Bo's not walking yet. He started scooting at about five months and decided he was good with that. He just barely started crawling on his hands and knees about a month ago. He weighs 22 pounds and is 30 inches tall. And his head is monstrous. He doesn't have any teeth. He waves and claps his hands when you ask him to, and says da and ma. He is the happiest baby when his ears aren't infected. I really couldn't ask for better. He laughs like an old man and growls when you growl at him. He absolutely adores Jaxon and Emory. And he gives big open mouthed kisses, but only to his mom. He loves his mama best.

We call him Boberto, BoBo, Boski, Goski, GoGo, Bowen Constrictor and R2D2, to name a few.

I'm interested in something from those who have three kids or more. Is there always something special about your third? I should be bored by now, but I could sit and watch him clap his hands for hours. Travis and I just stare at him sometimes, and I don't even remember being this interested in my first two. Even being pregnant with him was a good experience. And I HATE being pregnant. But I felt a connection with him from the second I found out I was pregnant. It was weird. Anyway, maybe I'm crazy. Or maybe he is just as special as I think he is.

Just ignore my singing in the background on this video. And my awesome video making skills.

I'm Sad Tonight...

2010-02-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

My baby is sick. He ruptured his eardrum. The antibiotics give him diarrhea so he has a really bad rash. He still smiles at me all the time. But I know he's hurting.
Emory is struggling lately. She doesn't see her dad enough. Her brother is growing up and leaving her behind. She's real sensitive. (Or could it be her mom who is so sensitive?)
People say mean hateful things about my religion.
Sometimes I worry that I portray some of those things that make people feel mean and hateful about my religion.
Travis is in Mississippi at a dork conference. I wish he were here to make me laugh.
I'm tired of loving my husband so much and never seeing him.
I paid a bundle for a freaking pair of pants for my birthday and had them hemmed too short. Go ahead, call me shallow. I dare you.
I've been working a little lately. Brings up all sort of conflicting emotions. Am I doing what's right for my kids and for me? Is this part of the reason Emory is struggling? Am I asking too much of others?
How in the world do you ever feel like you're doing enough for your kids? Like you're not missing opportunities, or putting them off when they need you, but still feel like you can keep yourself sane?

I'm trying to look at things this way:
My baby still smiles even when he's hurting.
Emory has a sensitive heart underneath all that crazy spunk.
I have a religion that centers me and my crazy life.
I try hard not to offend people. (But really, you have to want to be offended, in my opinion.)
My husband has a solid, steady job at a real scary time and all sorts of opportunities are opening up for him.
Travis has the opportunity to further his education, and guess what? Weber pays for ALL of it.
I have a job that will let me work when I want extra money, but not so much that I have to feel like I'm "working". My kids have so many people who love and care for them.
I'm doing the best I can. Really. And MOST of the time I feel like it's definitely enough.
How bout I just be happy I have people who love me that I love?

I'm bored with myself now.

Love these two.

Love this girl.

They're freaking insane. But super cool.

Really, shouldn't it get less fun the more you have? At this rate I'll never stop.

Oh ya, and my damn basement is freezing. I think I'll go to bed and try again tomorrow:).

Birthday Fun

2010-02-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

THE birthday was crazy this year. By THE birthday I mean mine. And my grandpa's. We did some serious partying, in an 80 year old way. But it was super fun. And at the reception that night for my grandpa, the Price family really got wild. It was a good day. I'm so thankful I share it with my sweet grandpa. I'll post more pictures later.

And going through pictures, I just found this. Was he really this small? What happened?

I love my family.

Christmas Drama

2010-02-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

Oh and here's a little bit of the Christmas cheer at our house. We let them open a present on Christmas Eve. Apparently they did not like the present. I almost punted the little one across the room. But they apologized sufficiently so they still got to have Christmas the next day. I was super angry at them for this one. But now it's just funny.

Look at Me Go...

2010-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Another post, and not even two weeks later. I'm getting better.

I've also learned that if you ever want a bunch of compliments about how cool you are, you should just do a post like my last one. Will everyone see through me if I start doing that every few weeks??

Over the next few posts, or months, or years, it will become obvious that I absolutely ADORE my third child. All my babies have been happy. I've always had really good kids. Jaxon was just about the easiest baby ever. But this little guy just exudes (for lack of a better word) happiness. He smiles ALL the time. You just look at him and he laughs. Anyone who knows him knows I'm not exaggerating. He still cries and whines, just like every baby. But his little goofy smile makes up for all of it. I went to the store yesterday, and I opted to take him with me. Because he's so fun to have around. I just wish he's grow some teeth so I can feed him without being a stress ball.
We might have let him go crazy with an ice cream sandwich...

...and then proceeded to cut his hair without washing him off first. He was not a big fan. Don't worry, this is the third time I've had his hair cut since he was born. They get that dang thick hair from their dad.
This is my happy child and his girlfriend Kenley. He mostly likes to climb her and suck on her head. I guess that's how you let a girl know you like her at his age. He has absolutely no boundaries when it comes to personal space.

And of course, the other kids are just as great. They really are good kids. But just so it doesn't seem my life is too fluffy, they're still kids. They still whine. And ask for things every six seconds. And lately they've begun the fun habit of picking on each other. That's probably my favorite thing they do. Not.

But isn't she gorgeous? She looks like her aunts (Trav's sisters). I can't complain about that. Oh, and one more picture of Bowen with a huge smile on his face.
Really, he never stops. Except for that month when he was fussy, and we just thought he was teething or had a cold, so we ignored him and complained about how he wasn't sleeping. Then finally I took him into the doctor and he had an ear infection and some serious congestion. I guess you can take that whole "I refuse to take my kid to the doctor for every little sniffle" thing too far.
And Travis, please, just one time when I leave, can you not do something with the kids that might involve them breaking their necks? No wonder they're so excited when mom's gone and they get to hang out with dad. But, I will say the entire mess was picked up by the time I got home. The pictures were the only evidence.

Jax is the coolest kid. Even if the Lego Star Wars obsession is getting out of hand.
She's insane. But I like her. Think she's built like her dad? I never had legs that long. Even at 28.

Trav gets the award for best dad ever. The worst part is we did it again the next day so I could see it. And as we were laughing, Jaxon walked over and took the toy and told us to knock it off because it was mean. Glad there's one adult in the house.

Hello???

2010-01-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

Does anyone even read this anymore? Besides the spam comments and my sister-in-law who leaves snotty comments about me not updating? Is it even worth trying?

Of course. But I'm not going to try to catch up on the last four months. We had Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, family visits, family parties, school activities, Bowen's first year, Trav's trip to Mozambique, birthdays, etc. and I just don't have it in me to try to recreate all that. But I'm going to try better. I'll probably be a lot better now that I took the time to figure out how to get pictures off my new camera.

I had a discussion with some friends about how I started to hate blogging because I didn't feel real. The second I found myself putting things on here to "impress" people, or show people how great my life is, I wanted to quit. Or the second I found myself posting things with certain people in mind, hoping they would see what I was posting. Because I can't stand the "fakeness". So I decided I don't give a crap what anyone thinks. If I say something stupid, or if we're poor one month, or if I want to punch my kids in the face, I'm just going to say it. That's who I am. And sometimes life is awesome, and sometimes I wonder what I've gotten myself into. Some days I couldn't love my family more, and some days I wish I was my 18 year old sister. But ultimately, I'm pretty dang satisfied and content. And MOST of the time, really really happy. And trying harder all the time to live in the moment and enjoy the period of life I'm in. Because I know in five years, I'll look back at now and think about how easy it was.

But, here are some of my favorite pictures from the last four months. And I do love my family. Very much.

Really? Seriously? He's the cutest baby ever. All you have to do is look at him and he laughs like a little old man. Anyone have to wonder why I want another (or five more) already???

Good thing Melanie loves me. We (by we I mean Travis and the kids) went sledding lots of times.

So few pictures of Travis and I. And we're so annoyingly in love. And the damn dog won't stay off the couch. We both look really stupid here, but I love him.

My kids LOVE their cousins. And the Wii. Emory's a freaking princess.

I know it's blurry, but she's so cute. I love gymnastics.

It's the Price coming out in them.

Just looking at him makes me want to smile. And look - you can tell Christmas really did happen at our house.

I love this picture of him, because I just sat there and laughed and laughed as he literally threw that heavy tree on top of our car.

Look, Lex. An update AND your soul went to Africa. And now it resides on my dresser.

I love this picture. Travis took this on the beach in Mozambique. Does this not show things perfectly? This gorgeous coastline. But, wait. A used condom in the water. I don't know why, but that strikes me as really funny. And really tragic. Although I suppose it's good if you're thinking about controlling the spread of AIDS.

Now I'm going to work really hard to make sure it's not another four months before I post again.

2009-10-09T15:27:00.001-07:00

My boys. Love them all.

Me & my girl. She's the best.

I can barely look at this picture. It makes me want to cry. She's so pretty. And look at her big brown eyes.

I am so lucky.

I want to eat him for dinner.

Now, here are some of the un-edited pictures - just so you can see what our family is really like.

Thanks, Chels. Love ya:).

10 Year Reunion & Peach Days

2009-10-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Any of you who know me well, know that I don't do things that are hard for me. If I don't get it the first time, I give up. Not one of my better qualities, but mine nonetheless. I'm learning to get over that, and thanks to my friend Aubrie, I decided to try something I knew would be hard for me.

Another thing that most people know about me is that I hate running. With all my heart and soul. I don't even particularly like exercise. I don't think I'm necessarily LAZY, but I just don't want to get off my butt and do something. Plus, let's be honest. Three kids? A husband with a hefty calling who is also in a PhD program? When do I find time to leave the kids home and go? I know, I know, my life isn't really that hard. I'm not even saying it is. Just that there are other things I'd like to do when I leave the house un-shackled to my children. Like shop. Or listen to music in the car. Or just go to the store all by myself. Or drive somewhere and stare at the sky interrupted for five minutes. Anyway...

Aubrie talked me into running the Peach Days 10K. Now, this is a challenge because not only is it 6 miles, but it's in my hometown. Where everyone can laugh at me as I ran up Main Street. Lucky for me, I grew up and didn't care. So, I decided to do it. Along with my two sisters Amy and Angie, my dad, and my friends Channa, Alisha, Andrea, Mindy and Helena. My only regret is that we didn't get a picture of all of us after the race. That's because they were all showered and sitting with their families by the time I finished.

I was so excited to see my family at this point. Seeing Travis and the kids was awesome. They were so excited.

And I'm off again. After I passed them, I had a hard time staying motivated. Except that I didn't want to finish dead last.

Here's dad and Amy. Apparently no pictures of Angie because Travis was probably mad at her that day. He's a little jealous of her. He sort of has a crush on her husband Steve.

Here we are. Angie, Dad, Me and Amy. Stupid dad went home and showered. We worked hard and had a good time. I hope we can do it again in the future. My dad has always been a runner, so it's kind of fun to have something like this to share with him. And PS, Angie wasted us. She's super tough.

And the night before, my 10 year reunion. Super fun to see people, although a little disappointing that I mostly saw people I usually see anyway. I wish more people would have come. But they did a great job, and Andrea of course is in charge next time, so I'm sure we'll all get to help.

Here's a group of my friends 10 years after the fact. My how life has changed.

Here's our table. Again, mostly people I still talk to.

Here's the whole gang. It was a lot of fun. I would encourage anyone to go to their reunions. Who cares who you were in high school, or who anyone else was? People change (lucky for all of us) and I think we all have more in common now than we did then. Brigham City was a good place to grow up, although Travis thinks it's pretty lame.

On a sad note, Chad's friend Ian Miles passed away during the race. I didn't know him, but he and Chad were roommates for quite a few years. They made some seriously bad choices together, but ultimately he was a good friend and a good person. I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who is the only one who knows the intents of our heart, and is therefore the only one who can truly judge us fairly. I think he will be nicer to us than we have ever been to each other and ourselves. Chad has lost several friends in all his years of drug addiction, and I'm so glad to know that the Atonement gives everyone the chance to live with our Heavenly Father again.

That's it for now:). Chelsea took our family pictures and I'm anxiously awaiting the results....hopefully soon.

Uh Oh

2009-09-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'm behind again! Couldn't get the dang camera to connect to the computer. Travis says it's operator error. I told him to shut up.

Here's the first day of kindergarten. Surprisingly not as sad as I expected it to be. He loves it, although he says they don't teach him anything he doesn't know. Someone thinks he's smarter than the rest of us. Here's him and his friend Parker waving goodbye.

These little boys are all from our neighborhood and are all the same age. It is so much fun.

My little man grew up super fast. Good thing I gave birth to his clone in March.

Here's Boston and Bowen. They're the only boys this age in our ward, and Bowen is a month older. Do you think my baby is skinny???

This little kid is special. I love him.

My favorite thing ever. Emory and Daxton at preschool. For some reason Em is a little more shy than Jax, so it's harder to get her to leave me. And I don't do clingy, so it's been a little rough. But she loves it, and I get three hours off from my older kids two days a week. School is the greatest thing ever.

Isn't she pretty?
They're probably going to get married. Won't this picture be cute on their wedding video? He gets her backpack for her and holds it while she puts it on. Kids grow up too fast. Have I said that yet?LOVE this boy. Doesn't he look just like Jax?

Ya. I have four monkeys. Really, is climbing trees that much fun when you're 30?

Have I mentioned how much I adore her lately? She's my best buddy.

Why is it cool to take pictures of your kids jumping off things?

Birthday party at the park for a friend's birthday.

He loves his mama best. He giggles when he sees me.

We took the FrontRunner to Salt Lake to play in the fountains with the Sumkos. That was a journey. The kids had a blast.

We also met the Brillster and Angie there. Don't you just love this girl's face?

More pictures from Em's birthday party. Grammy bought her this fun scooter thing.

Grandma and Bo Bo.

I can't get over how pretty she is. Teeth are a little weird, but whose aren't at this age?

Love my kids. And where we live.

Sometimes just watching the kids play with dad makes me tired. Do you think this fort ended in tears? Yep, pretty quickly.

If you know the Price family, you will see how my children fit right in. Probably my favorite picture of them ever.

They have turned into the best kids. Who knew it got easier as they got older? They are so helpful and fun.

Well, I'm off to get four little boys to school. This ought to be fun:).

Epic Post

2009-08-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

So, where did summer go? I'm not even going to try to catch up on the last two months. I'm just going through the camera and posting the stuff I can remember. So here goes....

Jaxon played t-ball for the first time. It was super cute. Except the first time he hit the ball and ran right to third base. He's still cute though. And his head is huge.

We moved Aunt Amy to Ephraim. She's going to Snow. I was sad for us, happy for her. I was very jealous when we left her. What a fun phase of life. Emory is still recovering from her leaving.

Here's me with my mom and two of my three sisters.

I love this child. Talk about huge heads.

Aunt Angie & Bo Bo.

She looks super excited to be there huh?

We're buddies.

Turns out I have the damn cutest kids ever....

He's so scrawny. But I love him.

We spent much time at the pool....

...doing sweet moves...

...and teaching each other to jump in.

Went to the ward campout.

Celebrated Em's 4th birthday. What?? Where did my baby girl go?

Bo got some quality time with Nana.

My sister Mandi had her little boy in August.

Bo had his first taste of ice cream. Grandpa Kurt doesn't know what "no dairy" means.

And Jaxon's 6th birthday. He'll start kindergarten next week. I'm a little emotional.

We took a new life insurance policy out on Travis for when he kills himself doing something stupid.

And he went to Chicago with some random chicks. Just kidding. They're his students and they were there for a conference.

Just in case any of you were wondering who my husband really is, I found this picture. Yes, that really is urine in that cup.

Here's the staph infection that kept him home from Africa. Did I mention he should have been in Tanzania for two weeks teaching? Free of charge for us? Well, being the smart guy he is, he went tromping through a bunch of weeds while fishing and ended up with a staph infection four days before he was supposed to leave. It was a bad week. But hey, we bought a new camera for it, so at least we have great pictures of him NOT going on safaris in Africa. These are super old. I don't even know if these are my favorites but I got tired of searching for them, so here's the few I picked. I think these were taken in May.

And just in case anyone wonders why we live where we do, here's the answer.

I'm sure I will find more to post from our summer, but for now we are focusing on Emory starting preschool tomorrow and Jax starting kindergarten next Monday. As much as I love summer it's going to be nice to get back into a routine.

What Time Is It? Summertime! It's Our Vacation.....

2009-06-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy month! We've had lots going on this past month. Here's a few samples of what we've been doing.

The kids flew some kites and discovered it gets really boring after a while.

My baby turned three months old!

Jax and Em spent lots of time hanging out...

And went on their first date. Awww.

Amy graduated from Weber High and from seminary.

Bo bonded with his brother and sister.

Do I not have the cutest kids ever???

And we celebrated Kristin's and Amy's birthdays.

We also finished our basement! Which is part of why I've been out of commission for awhile. We moved the Internet connection downstairs, but not the computer, so I've only had computer access when Trav brings his laptop home.

It's rained A LOT the past week. We've missed out on lots of pool time.

Travis started his third semester of his PhD program and I discovered that we may just not really get along until he's officially done with school. We actually do pretty well, but I am so done with him being in school.

We had stake conference this weekend and Elder Holland came out to split our stake and make a new one. It's awesome that there is so much growth in this area. We love it here so much. The adult session was one of the most powerful meetings I've ever attended. It's nice to have a reminder not only that Heavenly Father loves each of us no matter what, but that we have an older brother who understands how we feel and that He has called such good men to guide us and lead us here on earth. Where would we be without them?

We're loving summer. I don't even mind the rain. But it's a little sunny today so we think we'll hit the pool while we can. Life is good!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family...What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else. - Elder M. Russell Ballard

I spent some of last night laying around feeling sorry for myself. After Travis had fallen asleep, and I lay in bed thinking, I had a small epiphany. The first part is that my life is not hard. Anything that was weighing on my mind could easily be replaced by one hundred blessings. The second was that I was so grateful for my children. Being as they are the reason that I get to celebrate Mother's Day. I would like to say that I dedicated today to my children, but I still kept all the attention for myself.

There are many typical "motherly" things that I am not good at. I don't love to cook. I would rather stick a thousand needles in my eye than make a scrapbook. My house is sparsely decorated and I've almost paid my friend to come decorate it for me. I don't garden, I don't make things for my kids, I don't sew, etc. There are many traditional motherly talents I wasn't given when I came here to earth. But there are other talents that I was given. They may not be traditional things, but they are valuable anyway. I am thankful not only that I was given those things, but that slowly I am learning how to value them more and worry about the things I don't do less. That I am becoming more okay with myself as I recognize the divine gifts my Father in Heaven did give to me.

I am a daughter of God. That's pretty special. I have been entrusted with the most sacred of roles. He has given me three beautiful little babies to take care of, and He has trusted me to help them return to Him. Today, on the day when I feel honored for doing what comes to me naturally from Him, I'm so happy that I have this chance.

Now, happy Mother's Day to me. Since I have recently developed a "small" obsession with High School Musical, this was part of my gift:
The best part about this gift is that I took this picture while laying down on my bed looking up at my ceiling. Can we say sweet dreams to me?

Happy Mother's Day to every single mother out there. I value the example of each mother I come across.

Funny Stuff

2009-05-08T13:12:00.001-07:00

We told the kids they were going to get shots the other day and instead went and bought them a trampoline. That was a traumatic half hour long car ride.

Travis asked Emory what she wants to be when she grows up and she thought about it and said: a window.

Emory called me a snotface earlier today. And Travis got mad at her the other day and she said: "Fine, I'll just go hit mom." What? How did I even get involved?

She also wants a Monsters vs. Aliens vs. Dora vs. Princesses birthday party this year. Wonder who would win? My money's on Jasmine.

Graduation & Blessing

2009-05-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Jamey graduated on Friday, with the same Bachelor's degree as Travis. They've had fun the last few years while Jamey takes Trav's classes. He graduated with honors, received a special acknowledgement for his service and leadership, and was also given the Dean's Award for the College of Health Sciences. He's kind of a big deal. I was so proud. He's a good boy.

Bowen wasn't really into the whole graduation ceremony, but isn't he so dang cute?

Cute boys. It's kind of cool to have Travis in line while Jamey gets his degree.

This is Yas. She was the deparment chair of the CLS department when Travis was a student and when he was first hired to teach. She is now the Dean of the College of Health Professions at Weber State. We credit her with our future and all our successes, since she practically forced Travis into signing up for CLS classes when he first had an advising appt. with her. She's part of our family.

Whoo hoo. My husband and his brothers are so cute.
Uncle Jamey rocks. Don't know what Bo is doing in the background.

And of course, the celebration was then taken to Red Lobster, where we stuck things up our noses and acted like the classy people we are. I've enjoyed a whole new world of "picture faces" since I married into the Price family. If you blow this picture up, you'll also notice that Melanie has Skittles up her nose.

And the big event. We blessed Bo on Sunday. It was a perfect day. We had family and friends over for breakfast before, and Travis gave Bo a beautiful blessing. Melanie came up from Phoenix. She is sweet to us. I appreciate her making the effort. It was a great day. A little chaotic, so I didn't get many pictures, but still a great day.

I'm so lucky to have all these people in my life. My children are perfect (when they're not annoying me), my husband is amazing, and my entire family (extended and in-laws) are so supportive and loving. It was a good weekend.

Randomness

2009-04-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost here. The weather is getting warmer. Travis is done with classes, all except a little grading, and he gets a full EIGHT WEEKS off this summer. That's right, no school for him and no work. And he still gets paid. Who gets that? Am I spoiled? I'll never complain about his job again.

Bowen is getting bigger, but still no closer to sleeping through the night. Emory alternates between making me want to tear my hair out and making me laugh. Jaxon is my challenge right now, but it's still hard to watch him get so big. He's playing tee ball this summer. He'll start kindergarten in the fall. What? How old am I?

Travis is thirty and I'm real tired all the time. Tired and content. How am I so lucky? I don't think life gets much better. Except maybe when you sleep a full seven or eight hours at night.

There may be nothing more precious than watching this little girl take care of her little brother.

Except maybe watching her daddy teach her how to take care of him.

We're also having our basement finished. Today they fixed the plumbing and re-laid the concrete. Travis reminded the children not to go in the basement while I was gone and he was outside mowing the lawn, and this is what we found tonight. Do you think they listened? At least this house will always have our mark on it.

Next step is season passes to the pool, lots of movies and sleepovers with my sisters and friends (that's right, I'm still in high school), visits from family, sleepovers at the cabin and a nice relaxing summer. I'm so so excited.

Oh, and blessing Bowen on Sunday. Blessing my THIRD beautiful child. I'm very blessed. And happy.

Birthday Boy

2009-04-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

My favorite person in the whole world turned 30 yesterday! Old man, I don't think he was prepared for it. We spent the night before at Toad's (used to be Mulligan's). The boys played laser tag and rode go-karts, we played in the arcade and attempted to take one thousand kids mini golfing. Not so much.

He was so proud of himself for winning all these tickets.

I don't think she was supposed to be up there.

Sure have lots of pictures of Trav and Emory. I have to say honestly that I didn't know where Jaxon was half the time. But at least he can't say I hover.

Oh wait, there he is.

Joe and Travis were kind enough to "help" Emory and Dylan golf. And by help I mean totally took over their game after they all figured out they're too old for laser tag.

Don't ask about the slippers. I let her express her uniqueness and personality through her shoes. I pick my battles.

Then on his birthday night we had brownies and ice cream and opened presents at our house. I include this picture so you can all see what Travis did while we were singing happy birthday.

Cute Uncle Jamey came. And Amy and my mom. That was the extent of our happening party.

And we ended the night with an intense game of Battleship. Kill me. Why did I buy this? Sure, Trav wanted it to play with the kids, but he forgets he's gone for about nine hours a day.

If I haven't said it before, I love my husband. He is a good man and he works harder than anyone I've ever seen. It's nice to have a day where I can spoil him and he can't get mad about it.

Apparently his sweet sister loves him too. You can read about that HERE.

Easter

2009-04-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here is our attempt at a family Easter picture. Keep in mind we were running late and we had to use the timer on the camera. Unfortunately, this is the best we came up with.

I think this is the first year I've ever truly understood why we celebrate Easter. I say that fully realizing that I am 28 years old and way behind the rest of the world. I think it may have had something to do with Elder Holland's talk. I felt the Spirit strongly this Easter and truly felt that the Atonement is real. I felt the peace that I feel whenever I learn that something is true.

I am so thankful to my Savior. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who gave his Son so I could return to Him, and be like Him. And so I could spend eternity with my husband and children, who are my greatest blessings. How neat it is that we have an older brother who not only understands everything that we feel, but who loved us enough that he was willing to give his life for us, and for the mistakes that we would make. I can't wait to thank him face to face. And I think until then, I will try to live my life in a way that I can thank him every day. And I'll try to teach my children to do the same thing.

2009-04-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Chels. I love you and wish I was as cool as you. I'm so glad you're my friend.

Update

2009-04-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Bowen got dressed up to go to his Aunt Amy's patriarchal blessing on Sunday. Since we haven't taken him to church yet, I busted out his dress up outfits. Travis reminded me that he's not a doll, but I forgot how fun it is to dress little boys up like little men. So cute.

I love this picture so much. What a dork.

And here's my new toy. My stepmom decided she didn't ever play her piano, so it became mine. I cried when I sat down to play it. I am so happy. And Travis is going to take lessons. Isn't he cute?

It's a little awkwardly situated right now, but we're working on it. Just ignore the DVD player, receiver and Wii on top of it. They're not staying. At least not right there.

And here's some pictures of the other cute little people who live at my house.

Sweet little boy. He is so helpful to me, and such a good example to his sister. I'm so lucky to have two little men.

This girl is so unique. I say unique as a nice word for "totally crazy". She is so much fun to have around. She looks so cute when she sleeps.

Love her, chocolate face and all.

And here's Aunt Amy with Bow and Arrow (as she calls him). Lots of people have spent lots of time on that very same couch holding my baby. I love it. Although he is still missing a few key people he hasn't met yet (hint: they're my husband's sisters).

I'm a mostly frazzled, overwhelmed mother of three, but I'm still so happy.

My Due Date

2009-03-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

is today. I am so happy that instead of being pregnant I have spent the last few weeks doing this:

Look at his cute little fist grabbing my shirt. I love him.

He's such a sweetie, although someone should have reminded me how demanding newborns are. You can't tell them to wait ten minutes when they're hungry like you can older kids. But it's so much fun and I love having a baby. Thanks for this outfit Chan, and thanks for the blanket Lisha. My friends take good care of me.

If you think he looks tiny, it's because he is. My smallest baby, and he just kept losing weight. But he seems to have gotten the hang of eating now, so I'm not too worried. He's tall and skinny. Can't imagine where he got that from.

A few other things that have been going on at our house:

Travis doused my kids in whipped cream one night while I was gone. They did whipped cream artwork on the table, then on themselves, and drew faces on themselves with whipped cream. They make comments now all the time about the fun things they get to do when mom is gone.

We call this one the hair spike. Trav does this in the tub with her with shampoo. Apparently it works even better with whipped cream.

Travis took Jaxon skiing. If he gets going too fast, instead of stopping, he just sits down. Dork.

Do they really go from that small to this big that fast?

And the dog got busted for sleeping on the couch in the middle of the night. She gets away with it until we have to get up with a baby. But doesn't she look cute all cuddled up?

And I have eaten one thousand of these (seriously, my sister bought me a whole box)

and one thousand of these. Oh the joys of being post partum. I get to eat whatever I want and pay whatever I want for it no matter how much Travis mocks me.

I am still feeling overwhelmed and blessed, and very very tired. So far he's not the best sleeper:). But we have been so well taken care of. I am amazed at the amount of thank you notes I have to write. People are so good to us.

Proof

2009-03-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

that my Heavenly Father loves me.

I have had a great week. My emotions are very close to the surface because, well, I just had a baby. The spirit is so strong around him. I can feel how thin the veil is. I can feel how special he is, and how sacred my responsibility as his mother is. I can feel how much his father in heaven loves him. And how scary it must be for him to let these babies go, when he's not sure they'll make it back. And he's not sure they'll be well taken care of.

I can also feel how much He loves me. And that maybe He's a little bit proud of me. And that anytime I have to wonder if I'm special, or wonder if He wants me to be happy, all I have to do is look around and see all that He has given me. Particularly these four people.

This man is the greatest blessing in my life. I wish I could express how much I love him, and how much he does for me. You only have to meet him once to know he's one of the good ones.
And these three. Wow. I must have really done something right to get them.

I'm a happy, really really emotional girl:).

Random Pics of My Baby's Birth

2009-03-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

Bowen Ronald Price. March 9, 2009. 2:11 AM. 7 lbs, 20 1/2 inches.
Travis thinks he looks like his Grandpa Ron. We think they must have been best buds before he came to earth. I wish for Travis that his dad could be here physically, but I believe he is so much closer than we realize. Especially times like these where the veil feels so thin. These little spirits are so special.

Well, we're settling in as a family of five. I need someone to teach me how to be a mother of three kids. And how to pay attention to my older kids while being totally absorbed with my newborn. It's like meshing two worlds. Is there enough of me to go around? I'm hoping I figure it out soon. But I'm so happy. And so blessed. Just scared to death.

And this one is the bunk beds daddy put together while we were waiting to see if my contractions were regular enough to go to the hospital. Do you think they're excited? I love it.
We had so many people take care of us the past few days. But I have to say a special thanks to my two sisters, Amy & Angie. Amy happened to be over on Sunday when we walked out the door saying we may go have a baby. Leaving her with little to no instructions, we came home two days later with a newborn to a clean house and no dirty laundry. With very happy kids. She is only 17, but is wise beyond her years. She and Angie were with us when Bowen was born (don't worry, Grammy came and slept with the kids), and they kept me sane and made me giggle when I felt like I was going to come apart. Then they scrubbed my bathrooms, brought presents for ME and brought my kids to see me at the hospital whenever I wanted. Words can't express how thankful I am for them.

Thanks to everyone who helped. Watching kids, painting my toenails, bringing me treats, gifts, dinner, or even just visiting and making me feel special. It's hard to have a baby when you have two other kids. Who knew? We are so well taken care of.

I am a happy girl.

Baby Bowen

2009-03-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

He's here! Born at 2:11 AM, 7 pounds even, 20 1/2 inches. I pushed four times, for three minutes. Literally. I'm very lucky. And I have very stripey hair right now.

We of course, adore him already. Especially since he came over two weeks early. He is perfect and hasn't cried yet. He loves his mama. His big brother and sister are totally in awe, and a little weirded out by the whole thing. And do I really need to tell you how his daddy feels about having another baby?

The blessings just keep on coming.

All By Myself!

2009-03-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

I went into labor all by myself! I've been having contractions all day long, so we decided to come in. Keep in mind I'm still two and a half weeks from my due date, and I don't do anything on my own usually. But I was at a four, so the doc broke my water. I don't think he was happy to have his Sunday night interrupted. So now I sit here, waiting. Nervous and anxiety ridden. Why doesn't it ever get less scary? Number three and I'm still scared to death. I hope it never gets less exciting or special to bring a baby into this world. I'll keep this updated, or Travis will when I need him to be quiet. He talks a lot when he's nervous. And when he's not nervous.

Anyway, guess we better pick a name!

This.....

2009-02-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

Can only end in tears. Don't worry, Em's butt crack is always hanging out.

He looks bigger than this room. He is very tall.

I love the smile on his face. Jaxon's face, I mean.

I cringe whenever dad brings out the kid's mattresses to jump on, because it usually just means a mess. Yep, supermom is more worried about the mess than her kids having fun. But I couldn't pass this up. The kids are flying all over the room. I'm just waiting for someone to get hurt. It will probably be Travis.

And here's a picture of Em and I bonding a few weeks ago. No, my face isn't really that fat.

Love that girl.

And here she is. 36 and a half weeks. I won't look at the camera because I look like I'm dead. Doctor says I'm almost to a three, but he's just trying not to make me mad. Soon enough. The dog is so confused about everything in her life right now.

Sweet pants huh? I opt to get right back into my pajamas as soon as I get home.

My Birthday!

2009-02-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

I turned 28 on Friday. And had a great day. I also spent some time in the same hospital where I was born, 28 years ago, with one of my favorite men in the whole wide world. He was receiving treatment for prostate cancer in the same place he came to watch me be born - on his birthday. I love being born on my grandpa's birthday. I know he loves me best:). He is truly one of the greatest men I know.
I make Travis promise me that when we are old he will love me as much as my grandpa loves my grandma. He always tells me he will love me more. Awwwww.
When I was a little girl, I would come visit my grandpa for our birthday, and he would take me to a little drive up flower shop to buy me a carnation. So, this year, I took him carnations and he bought me some. I think that's why I love carnations - but aren't they the funeral flower? Morbid.
Cute man. He was so uncomfortable, but put up with all of us bugging him so we could be together. We've never been apart on our birthday, and I've even travelled several places to be with him. And he came home three weeks early from a mission once to celebrate with me.
Here's the whole clan. My aunts Linda & Michelle, Angie, Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Me & Bry, Aunt Donna & Little Sami, and Amy & Emory. Apparently my grandpa has lots of women who love him:).
My sisters took me out to lunch after. What would I do without them? They keep me sane. And then awesome Amy took my kids for the night to Angie's house, and watched all our kids so we could go out. And this is what happened....
I love how huge Brylee's head looks. That's barely bigger than it really is.
I had a great day. I am very well taken care of. I guess you could call it spoiled. Travis took me out to Red Lobster that night and we got to spend some quality time together with no kids. Have I mentioned that my husband spoils me? My mom hosted a family dinner on Sunday night and made me my favorite food and cake. And then my mother-in-law took me to Red Lobster again last night - have I mentioned I love crab??? I got lots of awesome presents, but even better, I had a great day.

Have I mentioned I'm really spoiled???

Made My Day

2009-02-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

So Travis and I are working on finishing the basement. We have about one thousand boxes we should have gone through when we moved (four years ago) and we didn't. So today I was going through all the old kid's clothes that we have. And I came across a treasure.

Anyone remember these babies? Hot stuff.

That's right. I finally parted with all the old leotards and Rockette stuff. Why in the world, ten years later, do I still have this crap? And better yet, I've moved it TWICE. I laughed for a good twenty minutes. I haven't seen this stuff forever. Pretty stylish.

Travis made me throw away the pillows. Jerk.

Anyone remember the Dancing Like Crazy t-shirts??? Come on, Lisha, I know you do.

How sad. I really thought I was a babe.

And even better is the pictures Aubrie found for me for my birthday. Those get their own separate post when I scan them:).

Top 20 Things.....

2009-02-07T14:26:00.001-08:00

I love about my kids. I need to do this. For myself mostly. I become Meltdown Mama when I am pregnant, and naturally it comes out at my kids. Jaxon spent the night at a friend's house last night, and so I got some one on one time with Miss Emory, and as I was laying by her, tickling her back and giving in to all her demands, I thought about all the things I love about her that I want to remember. So here are a few of them:

1. Her pointy little chin. She has the daintiest features, kind of like a fairy. And I've always loved how her chin gets pointy when she pulls a certain face.

2. How she calls me Mom. Not Mama or Mommy, but Mom. Like she's 25 or something.

3. Her little figure. She is tall and skinny with a chubby belly and no bum. Keeping pants on her is an adventure. Obviously, she's not built like her mother.

4. Her love of everything princess. Dressing up in princess dresses, wearing tiaras, watching princess movies, etc. Such a girly thing, and I love it.

5. How she tells me I'm her best friend.

6. How she used to say Dera instead of Dora, and grr instead of girl, and ferk instead of fork, and der instead of door, and on and on and on. And now, how she enunciates each word to say it right.

7. How she has to listen to the same lullaby my mom sang to us when she is going to sleep.

8. Her hair. She has the perfect texture of hair, and it has little blond highlights in it when the sun hits it right. And how she lets me take the time every day to do her hair. And how she makes me use all my expensive hair products on her hair because she has nicer hair than I do.

9. Her stubborness. Have I mentioned she's a lot like me?

10. How even when she's being stubborn, she wants to do the right thing. It's like the little brat part of her won't let her.

11. How she tells me EXACTLY where and how to tickle her back. Little stink. Another thing she may have gotten from her mother. We both drive her daddy crazy.

12. Her maternal instincts. How she carries her stuffed animals around wrapped in washcloths for blankets, or how she used to use baby wipes for a blanket for this ugly little doll she has. She loves taking care of things.

13. How she cuddles with me every single time I lay down on the couch.

14. Her precious little voice when she sings. She really sounds like a little angel. Funny how that same voice can make such ugly sounds sometimes.

15. How much she loves her daddy. They have a special bond, one I would never want to infringe on. He reads to her, tosses her around, watches movies with her, builds forts with her, all the things she loves to do. No wonder she gets so excited when he gets home.

16. How she will eat anything. She loves pasta, beans, sour cream, salmon, and plain baked potatoes. But ask her to eat chicken nuggets and she'll look at you like you're nuts. She has a very advanced little palate.

17. How she wakes up so happy. Mornings are the best time with her. She is so sweet and happy as soon as her eyes open.

18. The time I get to spend with her while Jaxon is at school or with friends. We go to the mall, to the store, or just stay home and watch TV. But I could just listen to her talk the whole time. And I usually do.

19. How much she loves her Grammy, Grandma, Grandpa Kurt, aunts, uncles, etc. She makes everyone feel so good when they see her because she is so excited to see them. Except Aunt Amy. She's a real stink to Aunt Amy.

20. That when people tell her she looks like me she gets mad and says "I don't want to look like mommy, I want to look like Emory!" She's an indpendent little thing.

20a. How the iris of her eye is so big. There's hardly any white around her big brown eyes. They're huge and beautiful and perfect. I love her big brown eyes.

Now, for Jaxon. Isn't it funny how different your kids can be, and how exactly the same at the same time? I see so much that they have in common, and then so much where they are totally different and it makes me crazy. And sometimes I think they are just like me, and other times I think they are just like their dad. At the end of the day, when they're sleeping, I always come to the conclusion that they are huge blessings, and perfect little spirits. I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father entrusted these two to me.

1. His big old head. It has always been huge, and I have to admit it's one of my favorite parts of him. He's pretty much grown into it now, and I think it's so cute. Except when he uses it as a weapon.

2. How when he smiles, it lights up his whole face. He has dimples all over (his sister didn't get any) and his eyes crinkle when he laughs. He looks like the happiest person in the world when he laughs.

3. His prayers at night. They are incredible. Trav and I always stare at each other like "where did this kid come from?"

4. His obsessions with different toys at different stages in his life. Cars, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, etc. It's like he can't not think about them, and he spends hours and hours arranging them.

5. His dancing. It's hilarious.

6. His chubby cheeks. If he's like his mom and his aunts and uncles, he'll have those for a long long time.

7. His sensitivity to the Spirit. It's amazing how sweet the kid can be. He picks up on things Travis and I don't even notice. He's very special.

8. His love of learning. He counts down the minutes until school, and he soaks up new things like a sponge. We obviously have had to learn to be more careful what we say around him after a few embarrassing incidents.

9. His love of flip flops. He would wear them year round, every day if he could.

10. His fascination with sharks. And how he can tell you any trivia fact about them, or tell you what they eat, or tell you which ones are dangerous and how dangerous, etc. Like I said, he's a sponge.

11. How he consciously works hard to be a good example to his sister, to remember to be a gentleman, and to take care of his mom.

12. How every single time they ask for volunteers in primary he raises his hand. We have given more talks, prayers and scriptures in the two years he's been in there than any other kid.

13. Same as Emory, how much he loves his dad. How he tells me he loves me best but dad is more fun. He wants to be just like his dad. He told Travis the other day he wants to grow up and work at Weber State and have an office right by his dad so he can go see him all the time. I couldn't hand pick a better role model.

14. How if he tells me he loves me best, he has to tell his dad he likes him best so neither one of us get our feelings hurt.

15. His ability to empathize with people. It's above and beyond his years. He once saw a balloon in the air at a carnival, and he worried about who had lost it for an hour because they would be sad. It gets old, but I love how sensitive he is.

16. That I can count on him to be a good big brother to all my kids, and even to my nieces and nephews who don't have older brothers. He's a good kid to be born first. A natural leader like his dad, and spiritually sensitive like his dad. He teaches his sister more than I ever do.

17. How he sings along in the car to all my music. And plays the air guitar while he sings. With both hands. Tricky.

18. How much he loves me. He's growing up a little bit, and he doesn't have the need to be with me so much, but he has been my boy since he was a baby. He adores his dad, but nothing can replace his mama.

19. How he will argue with Travis and I about things we obviously know better. Like how he asked me the other day what 23 plus 23 was, and I told him 46. He argued with me that it was 47, then finally told me he was going to ask his dad because he would know better. His friend's mom is his primary teacher, and she said he will argue with her like crazy. Little know it all. Unfortunately, he got that from both his parents.

20. That he loves video games. Just like his daddy. And his daddy spent many years playing video games and not hanging out with friends, and he turned out okay. In fact, if Jaxon could grow up just like his dad, I would be thrilled.

20a. How grumpy he is when you wake him up. How if he takes a nap it will be for three hours, just like me. He's a sleeper. I love it.

So there you have it. They're special kids. I don't really expect anyone to read this, this is more for me. I need to remember daily all the things I love about these kids because it gets really really hard to be patient right now.

Here's hoping the next one, and if there's any more after that, are just as perfect.

Emmer

2009-02-02T12:47:00.001-08:00

So Emory is totally insane. I really think she is. She talks to herself A LOT and she rambles on and on when no one is listening. But this is how our conversation went the other night.

Me: Trav,when do you think we need to work on stopping the voices in Emory's head?

Emory, runs down the hall screaming: No, don't stop the voices!!!

Now she just named her stuffed elephant Baby Jesus, and I have to hold it. Feels a little weird.

Girl's Trip

2009-01-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

We took a little girl's trip to St. George this last weekend. My mom and Angie have the same birthday (today, in fact) and so we took a weekend vacation with no boys and no kids to celebrate. Here are some of the highlights.

We started off on a wild foot. Here's Amy and our friend Jacee sleeping on the way down.

Angie and Kristin (Mitch's "friend") also passed out. Thanks everyone for helping me stay awake while driving.

This is me and two of my three sisters. Poor Angie is always hunched over cause we're so dang short.

Grandma bought Angie some cupcake recipes for her birthday. For some reason my sister is now obsessed with cupcakes. And yes, my Grandma came on our girl's trip. And she was awesome fun. And paid for lots of stuff:).

We ate at lots of really good food places. And didn't feel guilty at all for eating out and not cooking.

Why do people always steal my camera and take crazy pictures of themselves? I'll teach them.

Here I am. 32 weeks pregnant and feeling like I'm going to explode. Already.

Kristin, me, Angie & Amy. Don't know why the picture is blurry.

Jace spent lots of time painting toenails and cutting and braiding hair.

We got Grandma to drink a sip of a RockStar. And afterward she looked at us an in her southern accent said "You guys drink those things for fun?"

Kristin, Amy & Jace

Highlight of the trip may have been the outfits these two bought. So so funny. They tried to get me into one and I said NO WAY. Don't worry, they're not really going to wear them. It's all a big joke.

Me & my little sis. She's so fun. I love her.

We had a great time. But why don't I have any pictures of my mom? I think she's the designated picture taker. I love girl's trips. It's always hard for me to get out of my comfort zone and leave my family, but we always have so much fun. We shopped, ate, played games, watched movies, and shopped some more.

And props to my brother in law Steve and my husband for holding down the fort with the crazy kids while we were gone for four days. They are awesome men. They encourage us to go and spend time together. Even when it means them being on their own with the crazy monsters.

I love family, I love shopping, I love eating out, and I love vacation. So I'm a happy girl this Monday after a fun weekend. Thanks guys.

Dreams

2009-01-15T09:51:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm rounding the corner with this baby into the uncomfortable phase. You know, the "my ribs are sore because there are little feet kicking them all day" phase. Anyone else had that same problem? Oh, and every time baby moves he hits my bladder. It's awesome fun. And somehow he found his favorite nerve in my back to kick. It makes me feet move when he kicks it. Odd. Only 9 weeks and 5 days to go. Counting down....

One of the hardest parts for me of being pregnant is the crazy dreams I have. When I was pregnant with Em, they were straight evil. I woke up feeling sick, and can't even stand to repeat half the things I remember. I hate even thinking about it. This time, they've mostly just been silly.

Like the one where my sister cut off my neighbor's pet snake's head because I was scared of snakes. She cut if off with scissors. In my basement. And I got mad at her. Gross.

Or the one where the dog learned how to say she wanted pork chops for dinner. That one was freaky.

Or how about the one where I had to tell my husband I was leaving him for an old boyfriend? What the??? Not my favorite. Apparently I'm a dream slut.

Or the one where the snake from Kung Fu Panda followed me around my house asking me to be friends. I kept telling it no because I don't like snakes, and it followed me. Everywhere. Even into the bathroom. Do you think I have a problem with snakes? That one was just weird.

I've chosen not to remember the rest of them. My subconscious mercifully lets me forget most of them. And I know I have at least three a night. Most nights I wake up in the middle of the night and say to myself "not another one like that, please".

At least the end result is worth it. And yes, I am grateful that I can even carry babies, so no one needs to tell me to count my blessings. Really. I do it daily. Sometimes even hourly.

Here's my two incredibly gorgeous children on the way to their first primary activity of the year. That's right, my baby is in primary. Where does the time go? Another milestone I wasn't ready for. Maybe someday soon she'll learn how to smile when taking pictures.

What Have I Done???

2009-01-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

I cut off all my baby's hair and now....she doesn't look like a baby anymore. Oh no. I cried. She was fine. And I cried. Good thing she's such a beauty.

If this face doesn't show her personality, nothing does.

Christmas Adventures

2009-01-01T18:54:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I think I have a total of eight pictures on my camera from all the festivities. I thought this blog was supposed to make me better at taking pictures??? Here's our entire month of December...

First we shopped for a Christmas tree. We are one of those annoying families who has to have a live tree. Except this year we think it was fake because it didn't smell good at all. Travis is so mad about that. And yes, the princess must wear the Ctiara (that's what she calls it) everywhere we go. She looks evil here.

And I'm happy to report that this year, Travis didn't drive into the garage with the tree on top of our car.

Here's the princess once again at Grammy's. She loves this little duck. Travis told her it was a goose, but she thought it was a rooster, so now she calls it the gooster. We found her the other night with it wrapped in a blanket sleeping on her lap. She's such a little mommy.

Next came the trek to Phoenix. We only went for a total of four days, but it was so worth it. Again, I took five pictures. Literally. The drive went well, other than some bad weather. But hey, we live in Utah. We're used to that. The kids were champs and had a blast with their cousins. Wellmans, we miss you guys.

One of the main reasons we went down there was to meet up with some of Trav's old high school buddies. His best friend from high school Drew, and his brother Quinn and sister Toria all hosted a little get together at their parent's house. I love seeing where Travis grew up and hung out as a teenager. Although I have to say, I hope my boys are smarter than to make themselves pass out into the pool, or ride their rollerblades into the pool.

Here's Quinn and Cameron, picking her nose. Ha ha ha. Funny picture. Betcha didn't think that would show up on the Internet.

Here's Jaxon and his new buddy Asher playing in the coolest room that has chalkboard paint on the walls.

And here we all are. Drew has been one of Trav's best buddies forever, so it's always fun to see them. They live far away, but maybe one day we will end up within twelve hours of each other. My family looks awesome in this picture...NOT.

Then came.....Christmas Eve. We're home and have already celebrated with my dad, and decide to get our house ready. Travis is busy finishing up the DVD we are making for our parents, so I decide around 11 to open up the kid's toys and set them out. Except...wait, that one has to be put together. Kill me.

Is anyone else impressed that I turned this.....

Into this without killing myself? I now know why my parents hated toys they had to put together. And why parents say lots of swear words. I was proud of myself, but my hands were raw for three days.

I love stockings on the mantel. Especially with a black nativity scene above them.

I found about four more pictures of Christmas morning. We did presents at our house and at Trav's mom's house, but I of course just ignored the camera. Sometimes it's better that way. I got to watch my kids more.

My awesome sister Amy opening presents. She's going to kill me.

My kids got these cute tables they can color on from my mom. And they haven't stopped playing with them.Love her and her princess obsession with all my heart.

Travey got personalized license plates that say LABDORK because, well, that's what he is. And he's proud of it and embraces it, and I love him more for it.

Daddy got a Shel Silverstein book and immediately began reading it to the kids. He's such a good dad. My kids love to be read to.

And...that's it as far as pictures go. I got a new phone, some new perfume and some shopping money at the mall. Pretty much perfect for me. My family knows me so well. We had a great day, and every year I feel emotional at how blessed we are. There is so much we don't understand about going without, and I'm grateful for that. I hope I live my life in a way that Heavenly Father keeps blessing me like he has. We also got to talk to my little bro in Taiwan, and it was awesome. He's an amazing kid. I'm so proud.

The baby is growing like crazy. I'm 28 weeks and 2 days and still feeling pretty good, other than that I feel twice my size. He moves like crazy, and it is making me INSANE, but I'm glad I don't have to wait to feel him to see if he's okay. Went to the doctor yesterday and he said everything looks good, so I am thankful that things have been so easy on me this time around. I cannot wait for this baby. I'm so excited.

School starts again on Monday for Trav, but he's taking it easy this semester, so I think we can handle it. My birthday is soon, spring break is coming up, good weather is just around the corner, and we're having a baby within the next semester. I don't know how life could get any better. I'm thankful daily for all that I have.

I didn't make any resolutions because I know myself well enough to know that I'm not great at keeping them, but maybe this year I'll try harder to give back to others because of all the things my Heavenly Father has given me. Life is so so good.

7 Years

2008-12-17T23:24:00.000-08:00

It's 12:29 AM here early on the morning of December 18th. Today, in about 11 hours, Travis and I will have been married for seven years. SEVEN YEARS!!! Time goes by so fast. When I think about when we were first married, I'm amazed we didn't feel like strangers. I have learned so much more about him, and have come to love him so much more since then. When I think of how little time seven years is compared to eternity, I have to admit it's fun to think about. I get to spend FOREVER with this man who makes me laugh and makes me feel like I am something special. Who never intentionally hurts me, and cries when he accidentally does. Who is committed to the gospel and inspires me to be better. Who tells me daily that I am awesome, even when I'm at my worst. Who loves my children almost as much as I do. And most important, who makes me smile and laugh every single time I am with him. I could list a million reason why I love him and make everyone barf, but I'll just say this - it doesn't get much better than him. How did I get so freaking lucky?

So, in order to celebrate year seven, we are going to put all four of us in the car and drive 12 hours to Phoenix to visit Trav's sister and my brother. Awesome celebration. But he's promised to take me out to dinner somewhere fun and expensive, so I'll be happy once I'm fed:).

What Do You Think?

2008-12-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Is he cute? Still a little alien-ish? No need to comment on how his nose is his dad's - the tech assured us that it is just baby nose. Still struggling with a name. But we always do. Jaxon likes Surfer and Travis calls him Parker Magic Marker. And no, Parker is not one of our possible names. My husband is just weird. Wish I could get some real name-picking help around here.

Super Post

2008-12-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

It feels like it's been forever, but in reality it's only been two weeks. As I go through my camera, I found two main themes for our lives over the past few weeks.

First, November 22, 2008. Brylee's first birthday party, also known as the same day Utah played (or stomped on) BYU. We combined the two events, although I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea to watch the game with fans of the opposite team. Especially when your team is winning.

I woke up to pancakes in the shape of the letter U. Trav was a little out of control.

Then we moved to Aunt Amy's house in NSL for the birthday party. The Fathead (that's for you Jody) wasn't sure how she felt about birthday presents. Her mom's a babe though.

She definitely knew she did not like the birthday cake adventure.

We snuck her into some red pajamas when her daddy wasn't looking so she could watch the game with uncle Travey.

Second comes Thanksgiving. Every other year we travel to St. George to spend Thanksgiving with Trav's EXTENDED family. That means aunts and uncles and grandma and granddad from his dad's side. It always seems like such a hassle, and then always turns out to be the best trip. This year we decided to forego the whole hotel idea, and we rented a condo for the Wellmans, Grammy and the boys and us. We had such a good time. I forgot the camera for most of our adventures, but here are a few.

Grammy spent mucho time reading to the kids. They giggled and laughed and had a great time.

We stayed up late playing games. This picture was of us playing Balderdash. I'm pretty sure I almost laughed myself into labor. Balderdash should not be that fun. I don't think I could ever play it with anyone who wasn't as funny as these people.

We had a rockin' birthday party for Melanie on Saturday night. Obviously, we made the mistake of leaving Jeff in charge of decorations.

Jamey took some annoying pictures of himself with my camera. I'll post this to teach him a lesson.

Chandler and Jax started a shirtless band with Spongebob's hands and feet.

Travis gave Melanie her present, which turned out to be....

A stuffed animal version of himself.

We had a Spongebob pinata. Because Dr. Wellman is weird.

And Melanie beat Jeff up with a mop handle.

Then she blew out her candles on her birthday pie. Jeff bought trick candles, and Blakey brought them to her and told her she was going to be blowing forever. Kind of gave away the trick. Mel, might be my favorite picture of you ever.

We also spent lots of time at a really cool park just down the street. There were always about a thousand people there, and there was still plenty of room for all of us.

Good job Dad! You almost climbed the tiny wall as fast as Jaxon did.

These two are the best of friends. This was right before Jax fell off the rock wall I think. Oops.

Uncle Jamey ate Cody. Check out Jeff climbing the wall in the background.

Cody entertained me for hours on end.

Emory cried a lot. And yes, Travis is a hairy gorilla.

We also ate an awesome dinner at the hotel with the entire family, played games with half the Smart family (I always feel weird saying that, like the other half isn't smart), rocked everyone at our Family Jeopardy playing skills, ate at the Pizza Factory (yummy), missed the Strouds and the Magnussons, shopped at the outlets on Black Friday, looked for critters, and gave thanks for every member of our family and all of our blessings. Thanksgiving was good this year.

I have to say that this year I am very thankful that my husband has a steady job that isn't affected by the economy. We have good benefits and don't have to worry about whether or not he will be employed next week. In these crazy times, I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed us with his job. Especially because I'm too lazy to work.

I am also thankful for my family. Every single one of you, whether distantly related or close. From my kids and husband to my aunts and uncles in law and second cousins once removed, you all make my life happier. Spending time with you gives me something to look forward to. Laughing with you and receiving thank you cards from you makes each holiday a little brighter. Family rocks.

Now for a funny moment. Jaxon always jumps on Travis when he's not looking, and Travis has asked him a thousand times to stop, but he keeps doing it. So one Saturday I heard Travis bugging Jaxon back in his room after Jaxon asked him to stop teasing him. As soon as they came out in the living room, Jaxon jumped on him. As Travis got mad, I reminded him that he had been bothering Jaxon about something and that he had asked him to stop. So they both went to time out. And yes, Travis had to stay in there for 29 minutes. Old man.

One last thing I am grateful for is my home. Here is a sunset from the other night off our back deck. We live in a beautiful place, and so often I look around and am reminded of all that our Heavenly Father created to make our lives prettier places.

24 weeks tomorrow and counting. I can't wait for this baby to come - is this the longest time period of my life or what???

News

2008-11-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

You should all try to catch Travis tomorrow morning on ABC 4 News at 6 AM to hear him and Rocky discuss their bet about the Utah/BYU game. So funny.

It's Almost Christmas

2008-11-15T21:24:00.000-08:00

So I've busted out the good old Christmas music. Along with the classic *NSYNC "Home for Christmas" album, The Forgotten Carols, Sarah McLachlan and the Christmas Box CD, there is an Amy Grant song that has really been resonating with me. Possibly because I am pregnant, but there is a line that makes me stop and think every time.

"Do you wonder, as you watch my face,
If a wiser one should have had my place?
But I offer all I am,
For the mercy of your plan."

Mary truly sacrificed the ultimate of all sacrifices. She gave her son, her CHILD. She watched him suffer and die. She watched him be spit on and mocked. She really was willing to sacrifice all she was and all she had for the plan. Would I do the same? I don't know if I could. I hope it is never asked of me. I have such respect for her. Respect sounds like such a stupid word. I am in absolute awe of her. Thinking of how she must have felt. I hope one day to be able to tell her how inspiring she is. What an incredible person I think she must have been. And Joseph. Such an incredible story in so many different ways. I'm so glad I was raised with it and that I believe in it. I think Heavenly Father must have immense respect for women, based on the trials they have been handed throughout the history of the church. I also thinks He expects us to only speak of women with the utmost respect.

As I feel this new baby kick around inside of me, I think of my children, and how I feel about them. I don't know that I could watch the things she had to watch during Christ's short years on earth. I don't know that I could live through that. But how grateful am I that someone could? That someone stepped up for the call, and gave the ultimate sacrifice for the gospel.

I believe with all my heart that she was someone very very special. I hope I can live up to being a fraction of the mother and servant that she was. And one day, I really hope to meet her.

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7

It's Getting Cold!

2008-11-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

Finally, I feel like we're in Utah. We are some of those annoying people who love the winter and the cold. The other day the kids wanted to play outside, so I got them all bundled up and off they went. They were a little disappointed when they found out mom likes to experience the cold from INSIDE the house, but they got over it. Emory is nuts.
And tonight we had Family Night. We told the kids we'd go buy them a few new puzzles because they love them and have been doing their dinosaur ones for about eight months now, and then we got ice cream and came home and worked on them. Trav tried to help Jaxon put his impossible Spiderman puzzle together, and this is how Emory ended up. She gets bored fast.
And here's the little orphan child. She picks her own pajamas, I promise.This is how Jaxon spends 99% of his life. In head stand form. I have to tell him all the time that he shouldn't do head stands on the back of the booth in a restaurant. Today I got him out of the tub and told him to go get dressed, and found him naked in his room doing headstands. I guess he likes gymnastics though.
We left the kids with a sitter the other night and went out to dinner, and when we got home this is how we found Emory. I guess we forgot to tell the sitter to remove the princess dress before she went to bed.
Life is good here - not much to report. Just looking forward to the holidays and the end of Trav's first semester in his PhD program. We think it may take us awhile because he may have to take a semester off after each one he completes. Who wants to be in school at 30? Not me. But we are heading to St. George for Thanksgiving and looking forward to seeing family, and after that only two weeks before finals. Our schedules revolve around the university calendar around here.

Katie Says...

2008-11-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

Go Utah! Fun game tonight.

Dr. Bierer Says.....

2008-11-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

It's still a boy! Phew. We were a little worried it was going to change again. But I saw it for myself this time. Yay! I can't wait to have another baby!

2008-11-01T20:19:00.001-07:00

We had a really sh**ty week last week. Can I say that? Of course I can, it's my blog. But just in case there's any doubt, it was a sucky, horrible, wish it never happened week.

It started on Wednesday when we learned that my Grandpa Burke was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This in and of itself wasn't too bad because prostate cancer has a low mortality rate. We were concerned most with whether or not it had spread to his bones, but within a few days he had a scan, and it would appear they caught it in time. So after about four months of therapy and radiation, he should be cancer free and fine. The four days in between the news of the cancer and the news of the scan were not fun ones.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this man. I was born on his 51st birthday, and he is a very special man. He has dedicated his life to the gospel. His favorite calling in the church is "Reverence Ranger" in the primary. I love him. We've celebrated our birthday in Nauvoo and in Toronto while he was serving missions. We've never been apart on our birthday, and I'm grateful we're going to have at least a few more.

Then on Friday we received the news of Trav's uncle. It was sudden and shocking and very very sad. We spent a few days over the past week with his family in Sandy. They are strong and faithful, but still suffering. It doesn't feel right and is so very sad. It also kicks Travis back to memories of when his dad died, which adds a whole new element to the sadness. We went to the viewing on Tuesday night and attended the funeral on Wednesday. It was one of the most uplifting and also saddest meetings I have attended. He was a good man, and the common theme through the entire week was his ability to make everyone feel important to him. Gordon, we will miss you so much.

After such an emotionally exhausting day, Trav got some much needed cuddle time with the little princess, who was running a fever. I think it was a small blessing so she could comfort her daddy.

But on top of all the bad news, we also had some good things happen. All three of Trav's sisters flew in for the family events, and two of them brought their kids. We went to the Air Force Museum in Roy (which I haven't been to since fifth grade) and the kids had a great time.

These boys had such a great time. This was one of the huge blessings of everything. They are never all together. Here's Carter, Jaxon, Blake and Cody.

And cute Peyton in the pilot's chair. After this, my camera died, so we'll have to wait for Mel's awesome photography skills.

We also went to the Kangaroo Zoo in Bountiful early Wednesday before all the bad news started for Morgan's (my cousin) birthday. The kids had a great time. My aunt rocks.

My kids were really cute and fun until about six that night. Then the little one melted down and almost killed me. But it was fun while it lasted.And then of course we had Halloween. We celebrated first at Grandma's Halloween party at work which was so cute and fun.

Here's Belle and Captain America. This was the only two minutes during which he wore his mask.

This makes me smile.

Crazy Amy was Juno for Halloween. She makes me giggle. She made me pee on a pregnancy test for her. Sick.

We also celebrated Grandpa Kurt's 53rd birthday on Halloween. He's getting old. But we love him.

Little crap is so dang cute.

Travis and I have pictures from our wedding hanging over our bed. The other day I came out of the bathroom feeling sad, and was overwhelmed by how grateful I am that we are sealed together for eternity. Like someone told Rosemary (Gordon's wife) at the funeral, he is your eternal companion and NOTHING can change that. I am so grateful for that knowledge, and that this man chose me, and made it a priority to get to the temple.

Yes, these are scanned pictures, so the quality is not great. We got married a few years before everything went digital. And yes, I was blond at one point and we did at one time look this young.

Gordon Smart

2008-10-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Trav's uncle passed away yesterday morning. He is a 57 year old father of five and grandfather of one. He died of a massive heart attack out of the blue. He was a good man and was loved by everyone who knew him. This was a man who sent me a huge box of wafer cookies for my birthday last year when I mentioned in passing that I liked them. He could make you laugh at any time. He had the best heart and you could feel that when you were around him. He will be missed so much by all of us. And to his family, we love you all. So much. I've said it once and I'll keep saying it, this is one of the best families to belong to.

Life is way too short. And it's over way too fast for some people. We love you Gordon, and we miss you already.

Love These People

2008-10-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

That sounds like I just said I love myself doesn't it?

Well, it was free family picture time again. I have two professional photographers in the fam - my sister-in-law Melanie and my aunt Amy. So whenever we can we take advantage of them. Here they are.