Will you miss the mountains?

I drove Brody to soccer practice today, and we had to hang out in the van for a few minutes waiting for the coach to arrive.  We sat watching a baseball game going on in the distance and of course you can't help but notice the beautiful mountains that surround us.  I asked Brody if he would miss these mountains after we move back to California?  He thought for a minute and answered that yes he would.  Then he suggested that we need to take a family picture here, all together, with mommy and daddy even.  I thought it was sweet, because he was very sincere about it.  When I think about our time here, it really was a special time.  We made some great memories and I believe we grew closer as a family.  So I agree with Brody, time to put that on the bucket list before we leave Utah.

Spring Time at Temple Square

 I love to see the Temple, and I especially love to see if when there are beautiful spring flowers growing all over.  I knew Mema would love to see it so we took a drive up after church.  It was the perfect afternoon.  Mema was enjoying using her new tablet and being able to post her pictures right away. 

Soccer Time

 I would say the highlight of Brody's spring soccer season was being on a team with his best friend, Andrew Allphin.  Whenever these two would get together they would play soccer the whole time, pausing occasionally for some Wii time.  I'm grateful he has such a good buddy. 

Bryan's Rollover

 These images still give me chills.  I remember the day Bryan called me from the side of the highway out in the middle of Nevada to tell me he just rolled in his car.  I didn't know if he was lying in a ditch upside down, in an ambulance or what.  So many thoughts raced through my mind.  Quickly though he assured me he was OK.  That he was on the side of the highway, standing next to a highway patrol officer, waiting for a tow truck.  He was traveling from Reno to Elko and attempted to pass a tractor trailer that was pulling three trailers.  It was raining and he couldn't see anything so passing the truck was the only option.  As he proceeded to pass the truck, he began to hydroplane and rolled off the highway at least one time, maybe two (that detail we aren't sure about).  This happened somewhere close to Winnuemucca.  He was shaken up quite a bit, and had a small bruise on his shoulder, but other than that he was alive and OK.  What a huge blessing!!!  We were so grateful!!  We had to wait a couple more days for him to get home until we could hug him and that was a LONG wait.  It was a good reminder that we should always pray for safety....even when it seems like you always do. 

The Lone Puppy....Ranger

Well up until Maggie was 8weeks along in her pregnancy did we actually confirm forsure she was pregnant, and now we know why.  After being overdue and going through a long, uncomfortable labor, she gave birth to only one puppy.  One little boy puppy, we were shocked.  Four hours after the puppy was born I took Maggie to the vet and confirmed with ultrasound that there were no more puppies inside.  Emery was so bummed, she had stayed home from school and was all prepared to log all of the puppy birth information, time, weights, etc.  Having only one puppy has a term, it is called a singleton.  It is actually a little more complicated to take care of a singleton.  Usually both moms and puppies benefit from a litter.  I'm  not even sure if Maggie was producing very much milk because her pregnancy hormone was so low.  After a couple of days, Maggie got sick again.  This time she wouldn't even get up.  After running a bunch of tests, the vet still wasn't sure what the problem was.  She suspected that she had a uterine infection.  She put her on antibiotics and that meant Maggie would be unable to nurse "Ranger."  My friend Emily Phillips helped me design a shirt for Maggie to wear.  I started bottle feeding him and let Maggie do the rest of the work, we had it down.

Awesome Advice

So every school  morning at 9:05am the younger kids and I pile into the van and head to school.  This morning Brody told us he didn't want to go to school.  I asked him why, and he told me it was because it was specialty day.  This means they go to music, PE, library or computers.  Normally he wouldn't mind this, but I guess today they were headed to music.  He then explained to me that music is boring.  Cambree agreed with him and told me that the teacher doesn't make it fun and it's boring, and that she would prefer to stay home and read her book.  So I was thinking of something positive to say, but all I could think of was, sometimes learning is boring....that is definitely one of my best advice moments ;)

Zions National Park

 We decided to make a quick trip to Southern Utah and go explore Zions National Park.  We couldn't ask for a better weekend, the weather was perfect.  We had so much fun exploring and hiking through the park.  Bryan and I were really surprised how much hiking the kids were able to do.  We did start to lose Landry a little toward the end, but overall they did amazing.  We discovered that all of us are a little scared of strange squirrels that like to get to close to you.  We spotted one squirrel munching on a yellow crayon, at least it's not toxic.  The kids spotted a fuzzy caterpillar on the road and carried him for a little while.

After spending time at the park we headed to St. George to explore.  We went to the Temple and took some pictures. After dinner at Red Robin we headed back to the hotel to swim.  It was a busy but fun day. 

 

Martins swing by for a visit!

 

Left to right: Emery, Trevor, Kelci, Cali, Brooklyn, Cambree, Brody, Amelia, and Landry

So glad that our good friends from Yuba City made a stop during their spring break to visit.  We love the Martin Family and look forward to any time we can spend together.  All 9 kids just always seem to pick up where they left off.  Lorie and I even snuck away to shop a little at the Tai Pan store.  Of course we were sad when they left, but I remember thinking that this next seperation may not be as long as they were in the past.  

Lunch Date

 Spotted the kids eating lunch together out on the back porch.  I'm so glad they tolerate eachother and get along.  But I'm also glad that I get to be there mom and catch these moments on camera.