Spring Break

Bryan's birthday kicked off spring break.  Unfortunately the night before he got killed with work but thankfully he got enough rest for us to celebrate a little bit.  I was worried we weren't going to be able to make it happen but thankfully my parents came up and we hit our favorite birthday restaurant.  We all splurged and got some expensive and delicious meals.  Julia and Bryan love the steak.  She is definitely her father's daughter.

 I don't think Bryan even realizes how adored he is.  We all worry and think about him all day and won't leave him alone from the second he gets home.  He is going to be very well taken care of that's for sure.

 I just love Audrey's face in this picture.  Pretty much sums up how much we love this guy.

 The next day we headed on a little vacation.  It was so needed.  I feel like Bryan as he is building a practice doesn't take enough days off so this was a breathe of fresh air.  We had him all to ourselves and loved it.  Grace was still teeny at this point so I let the kids swim with Bryan while I sat with the baby.  I would actually walk laps around the hotel while they swam and I could watch them through the windows.  I think that the big highlight of the trip was the swimming.  The girls would beg and beg every day to go.

 Then again, I must admit that their very VERY favorite thing was Snow Canyon.  They could have hiked for hours.  I regretted not packing in a lunch because we could have stayed much longer.

 I love the way the rock formations are so kid friendly.  Even Lily was able to hike around without a problem.

 Though she did have to be carried every once in a while.

 It had been rainy in this dry part of the country so we found a couple of little ponds here and there.

 Oh man they loved it so much.  They often beg to go back.

 I did quite a bit of sitting in the car with this precious babe.  I was worried about traveling with her being so little but was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it all went.  She loved the baby carrier so I was able to hike a lot, she was super in her car seat and just slept most of the time and she still slept pretty good at night so I wasn't totally exhausted.  I had nightmares of her screaming the entire time we were driving but it just didn't happen.   I was so thankful for that little tender mercy on our much needed vacation.

 Bryan's mom came and joined us on our second day there and we were so happy to have her.  We had heard of a gypsum mine that we just had to check out so we set out to see if we could find it.  Unfortunately the directions weren't great and we got a little lost.  We ended up at the dinosaur tracks, and thankfully they were pretty awesome so our detour wasn't a total bust.

 I didn't think we would actually be able to see the tracks but we did!  They were easy to see and it was amazing to think that they walked there all those many many years ago.

 Grandma was so great with all of the girls.  They adore her so much and it was so fun having her there.  She stayed with Lily the entire time because she was so upset the sand was getting in he sandals.  She is the epitome of patience.

 We distracted Lily from the sand in her shoes by having her do awesome poses on the sand less rocks.

 Thankfully because of Bryan's smarts he was able to guide us to the gypsum mines.  This was a highlight for the girls.  The rocks seriously looked like clear glass.

 It was all piled up and there was tons to gather and enjoy.  I was really glad we were able to find it.

 Once again I hung out with this little beauty for a lot of the time.  I really wouldn't have had it any other way.

 We took a drive by my Grandpa's old apartment there in Saint George.  I have so many memories of this place.  It was a tiny little apartment but my sister and I would usually sleep on his couch to keep him company when we would visit.  I loved doing all the things we did with my girls and I'm so glad I could make these memories for them.  I miss my Grandpa so much and it was great to come back to the place I loved spending time with him.

 Gracie in the hotel just looking as cute as can be.  She was just as good on the drive home as well.  I feel so incredibly blessed to have had such a good baby.  I was really nervous it could have been different and with moving, the craziness of life, Bryan's busy and hectic job and all the other things we have to do I am just so thankful she has been good.  So so thankful.  I feel like this was something I really needed and I feel blessed every day for her.  She has brought peace and happiness into our home and our lives.

End of March

Bryan and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary on March 21.  We went out for dinner and had a really nice evening together.  It is crazy to look back on these pictures of when we were so young.  We didn't have any idea about anything that's for sure.  I feel like 12 years has brought so many good/bad/sad/crazy/busy/joyful/hard/happy/etc. times.  What I do know is that even though we have experienced a great deal I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.  Bryan and I are a good fit for one another and I'm so thankful for him.  I feel like we balance one another out and I absolutely adore him.

 The day I came home from the hospital with Grace we noticed our cat Laroo had obviously been attacked by something.  Being as I was just one day home from the hospital the poor cat fell pretty low on our list of priorities.  Unfortunately she wasn't making a great recovery and started getting a fever and the wound site was obviously very infected.  The cat took a turn for the worst on a Sunday afternoon and Bryan broke down and drove the cat to the animal E.R. with Julia.  It was an interesting experience for our family because as we were getting ready Julia was praying so hard that Laroo would be ok.  She even wanted to start fasting that the cat would recover.  We have always talked to her about prayer and how Heavenly Father listens to her, but I'm going to be honest.  I didn't think the cat was going to make it.  I was preparing myself for all kinds of pep talks and how Heavenly Father doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want him to.  Bryan said the waiting room at the animal clinic was pretty grim as they watched family after family walk out with a box containing their beloved family pet.  Julia would cry and wail each time.  When it came time to hear about Laroo she was so happy it turned out to be good news.  They said with some surgery, draining and antibiotics she would make a full recovery.  Though the 600 dollar fee was very very hard to swallow I was so thankful that my sweet little Julia's prayer was answered.  She truly loves this cat and it reminded me how aware our Heavenly Father is of each of his children, even when it's a prayer about a cat.

Poor Laroo looked pretty grim when we brought her home.  They had to shave her hind end and put a cone on her head.  She hated that cone with every fiber of her being.  It was pretty sad to see her so distraught over it all.

 She really wouldn't even look at any of us for quite a while.

We had a few scares after this that the wound would refill with infection and drain but I will have to say that since I am writing about all of this in June, she has really made a full recovery.  She is her frisky self and is back to killing mice, birds and even a baby bunny!  Now that she is our 600 dollar cat she better be killing those mice!

 Now on to more happy and adorable things...

 I just have to keep taking pictures because there is so much change going on!  Grace is a month old here.  She continues to be such a sweet little baby.  She sleeps pretty good at night and is a good eater.

 All in her carseat ready to go.  Poor little thing has to spend so much time in her carseat as I cart her from place to place.  She really has been so easy going about it though.

 I absolutely love this picture.  These sisters are just too cute.  Lily is always helping me and has been so incredibly gentle with her.  Grace could not ask for a sweeter big sister to watch out for her.

 The weather is getting nice outside.  Julia loves to make her and her sisters special "drinks."  She gets them some kind of fizzy pop and cuts a strawberry and puts in on the side of the cup.  I think it's great how excited they get about something so simple.

March

I just keep taking pictures of this sweet little lady.

 Such a sweet little sleeper.

 We went and visited Bryan at work and had dinner.  I had to grab a picture in front of the windows.  I'm pretty sure there is not a hospital anywhere that has as incredible a view as this one.

 I had to take this picture before I gave Grace her bath because just look at her!  So teeny tiny.  They get big so fast you forget how tiny those bodies once were.

 All cleaned up and smelling so good.

 We had a little ward Easter Egg Hunt.  The kids absolutely loved it.  It was so fun to get together with their little friends and hunt for eggs.

 I couldn't keep up with the other girls for a picture but I grabbed one of these two cuties.  This is Lily's very good friend Clara.  We have her over for lots of play dates and they just love each other.

 Oh this baby.  She's the sweetest.

Newborn Photos

I had such beautiful newborn shots taken of Grace.  It was by far my smoothest newborn photo shoot ever.  Meghan came to my house and let me keep Grace all swaddled so it just went so smoothly.  Grace just slept the entire time and I thought the images turned out just beautiful.  Meghan did such a great job and I feel like these precious pictures are just priceless.

 I felt weird having so many pictures taken of me but I do love the way they turned out.

 This is one of my favorites.  I do love smelling that sweet baby head.

I love this picture so much of the girls.  Little do you know that Julia and Audrey were literally punching each other at one point over who got to hold the baby.  "Please don't punch each other while we are taking pictures or while you are holding the baby!"  Thankfully the photographer didn't catch that moment.  Stinkers.

 Those sweet cheeks get kissed a whole lot.