Gwen Turns 6!

Gwen woke up on her 6th birthday, throwing up. Hoping it was just a fluke, we were still tentatively planning on going swimming that night as a family, per Gwen's request. But Gwen was miserable all day. It was such a bummer. The only good thing about being sick is getting to watch lots and lots of movies, and get out of chores- so she did get spoiled in that way. Luckily she felt good enough by about 6 to eat her requested homemade pizza dinner and chocolate cake. We were so excited to have Taysom and Belen come up to celebrate with us! (Can't believe I didn't get a picture!) They brought her nail polish and lip gloss, Miles gave her another "Goldiblocks" game, Richie and I gave her a book and supplies for a fairy garden. We tried a homemade version last summer and it was a big ol' failure. So I bought a few store made things and they have had such fun pretending with them. But the highlight was opening her very own copy of, "Moana". We finally went to see it at the cheap seats a week or so ago, and that's all the kids have been singing and requesting since then. She was beyond excited and hurried to stick it in the DVD player. It was the perfect way to end a sick birthday.



She was fine the next day, so I was hopeful she'd be able to go to her friend's birthday party. She has the exact same birthday as Gwen and was having a "Moana" party. I think Gwen was looking forward to this girl's birthday party more than her own. She talked of little else for about 2 weeks. Then Friday morning rolled around, and she was sick again! This time, no throwing up. But she was completely miserable and lethargic all day. Fever, aches, chills, lack of appetite...everything. I felt like crying for her. So, we watched "Moana" at home again. :)

We were so happy that she was feeling better the next day. We got out chores done and then finally got to go swimming as a family for Gwen's Birthday at the "Dragon Pool" (What the kids call the South Jordan Rec Center) Miles is finally good enough at swimming we can confidently let him go about without any floaties. (YAY!) Gwen and Lindy stayed close to Richie, and I stayed close to Benson out of the pool. I did put a swim diaper on him for a bit and let him splash around, which he thought was completely fantastic.


So, it may not have happened exactly as we had planned, but hopefully miss Gwen still felt extra special and loved. At one point when she was miserable in bed and crying, I tried to calm her down by telling her all about the day she was born. She knows the story pretty well by now. This time when I got to the part where I say, 'The snow had almost melted all away, but by the time you were born, there was a fresh coat of beautiful, pure white snow- making the world all soft and special and new again, just for you!' She said, "Maybe that's because my name means beautiful and pure." (Something her primary teachers taught her.) Gwen is beautiful and pure. She is thoughtful and kind, distracted and dreamy, talented and capable, has a crazy good memory, passionate and dramatic, easy to please and the best 1st daughter in the world.

Grandma Linda's Funeral

Richie's Grandma Linda passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was expected, and then it wasn't. She was only 74, but her health had not been great the last year or so. She had worked so hard taking care of her aging parents until they passed away within the last couple of years. She had worked so hard helping her children through extremely tough times, especially within the recent past. And I'm sure she just really missed her sweetheart, Grandpa Kenneth, who passed away about 20 years ago. So while we are happy that she is with her sweetheart, we are going to really miss having Grandma Linda with us here on earth.

I'm so glad my kids knew her enough to have specific memories and connections with her. What they specifically remember is that Grandma Linda ALWAYS sent a birthday card with some cash, ALWAYS remembered a Christmas present for them (or cash), ALWAYS had Oreos in the middle kitchen drawer, and had the best toys in her basement. Most of my memories of her include her extreme generosity, although one of my first memories of her was when Makenna was getting married, about a month before Richie and I got married. We were all at the house preparing for the reception that night, and Christy said something to the effect that Makenna should be out here working on the refreshments with everyone, not napping. And Grandma Linda said, "Well she better take that nap now, cause she's not gonna sleep tonight!" :)

After Richie and I got married, we spent some of our honeymoon up at her cabin in Cascade, Idaho. When we arrived, she had a whole new set of plastic dishes, all cutely wrapped, ready for us on the counter. That was in addition to the beautiful quilt she made us, and the new folding table and chairs she got us for a bridal shower. (All of those things, we still use and love on a daily basis!)

We had been married almost a year when we moved to Nampa, Idaho for the summer for Richie to do an internship with his Uncle Joe's company, American Construction Supply, which he had been working at in Rexburg. That summer, he'd be working in the main offices and working more closely with Joe. We lived with Joe and Jolene for part of that summer, but then Grandma Linda insisted we come live with her for the rest of the time. That summer was special for many reasons, one being that I really got to know a lot of that side of Richie's family-especially Grandma Linda. She had trouble sleeping at night, so you could often find her laying in her recliner in the TV room watching a Hallmark movie, or the QVC channel. She wouldn't remember ordering things from the shopping network, so a few times, random things would show up at the door and she'd wonder where it came from. :) She willingly shared sacred experiences that she had after Grandpa Kenneth died. She cooked and shopped, really spoiling my newly pregnant self. We played lots and lots of Canasta, and watched lots of TV together. :) At one point during that summer, Richie had to go stay up at the cabin for a week or so, to do some work at one of the stores nearby. I missed him and drove up to spend some time with him. When I got there, Grandma Linda had a baby sized quilt all set up for me, ready to tie. I think she was looking forward to her first great-grandbaby: Miles. We went up to the cabin at least once with Grandma Linda and her Dad, Grandpa Ewing, so they could go get more firewood. One of my very favorite memories was Grandpa Ewing getting really tired after taking some medication. He started getting loopy, so Grandma Linda was trying to help him get into bed. She was trying to undress him, and said, "Dad, I'm just gonna take off your shirt ok?" and he said, "What? In front of God and country? No!" So then Grandma Linda said, "Ok, then how about your pants?" And he said, "Yeah, you can take those off." :)

They are going to sell the house and the cabin, as well as a bunch of property she and Grandpa Kenneth owned. It was a little sad leaving the house, and walking around the duck pond before we left, knowing that it was probably the last time. It was a beautiful service and we were so glad we were able to make it. As an added bonus, we got to have dinner with some of our friends from Idaho, the Fogles. A quick, and tiring, but wonderful trip.

Lindy turns 3!

This girl is such a bright light. She is full of energy and personality and it just can't be contained. When she is being sweet, she it the absolute sweetest. When she is being funny, it's completely over the top hilarious. When she is being naughty or throwing fits, it's mega! When she is happy, she is not just happy, but ecstatic! Lots of highs and lows with her.
We kept her birthday pretty low key this year. She requested pizza and pink cake. Done and done! :) We started the day off right with balloons and a #3 pancake with nutella. She got special privileges throughout the day like choosing the learning show and what we ate for lunch. At dinner time, we got some Papa Murphy's pizza and the kids all helped me decorate her pink cake. Then we opened presents! Miles got her a barbie doll and Gwen got her some pink gum. Lindy could not have been happier! She was thrilled! We also got her a book, a movie and a plastic beading set thing. She was so happy about it all, especially when we sang happy birthday to her. She sang along with us, "Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to Lindy!" Then the kids watched her new movie, "Dumbo" together. Good, low-key birthday that made her feel really special. Check.

First Half of March

Another art class here, focusing on the element of texture. We painted pictures with different things in the paint, like salt, crushed egg shells, glitter, etc. It gave our paintings really cool texture!


Remember when our basement flooded? Well, it felt like it took forever, but the carpet was finally installed. Lovely, plush carpet. And then we thought, "Hey! We're not already busy enough, let's take on another big project!" :) We figured since the furniture was still all out, we might as well paint and put new baseboards in. (Wish we would have been that ambitious before the carpet was actually installed!) Lots of Richie's family graciously gave up their very valuable time to help us prep, wash, tape off walls, and paint. It is still an on-going process, but without that big push, it would be way too big a task for just the two of us. It's looking fantastic downstairs! Of course, we've realized that home repairs are very much like, "If you give a pig a pancake". Now that we have new paint, carpet and baseboard, I want new trim around the windows, new windowsills, new light fixtures...and a complete bathroom demolition and expansion.... That's not asking too much, right?;)


Cute Mr Benson. He's officially six months old and weighing in at 21 pounds!! He's getting more personality every day and has this particularly high pitched scream that he does all. the. time. When he's happy, sad, bored...you name it. He has finally rolled over from tummy to back twice now, and once from back to tummy. A little slower than I remember the other kids, but with the 4th kid, slower is great! No crawling or teeth on the horizon yet. Ha! We've started him on a few solid foods here and there, and so far, he is not really anxious to dive in. So, I just keep slowly trying to introduce a few flavor here, a new flavor there, and then keep nursing. He continues to be ultra patient. He deals with being dragged along to all the other activities and errands we run and getting his schedule all out of whack. He's patient when Lindy pinches and smothers him with her "kisses". He's patient when I have to stick him in the bouncer for WAY longer than I planned, because I get tied up in other tasks. Perfect #4 baby. He is laughing more all the time now. The people who have the most luck getting him to send out a huge belly laugh is Daddy and Lindy. He loves to give you the most painful, slobbery kisses. It's hard to want to wear my hair down because he pulls out so much of it! He would jump all day if you let him. His bouncer and jumping in your lap are two of his favorite activities. His favorite toy is the wipe refills case- the one that's all crinkly and noisy. He's fascinated by hands! If he's laying on his back, you could entertain him endlessly by just waving your hand above him. :) He's growing out of that tiny baby stage where they'll nap anywhere if they get tired enough. He sleeps great at home, and sometimes in the car. Other than that, forget trying to get him to sleep at church or other events. We love our Benson bear!!


Homeschool Day- African tribal masks, and gold and salt trading sensory box



Homesteading- We bred 3 female bunnies this winter, and only 5 bunnies survived! 1 never became pregnant, the other became pregnant later than we thought, so our timetable was all messed up, and we lost her entire kit. Sad day. Our best breeder had 8 babies, but 3 died. The 5 are so cute and cuddly and at the perfect stage right now! Such a fun thing. Our 6 laying hens we got are growing like weeds! We're working on turning the kids old hand-me-down play house into a chicken coop. :) And we also have around 150 chicks in our garage right now. Yep. Crazy. Richie has been "interning" with a local natural meats farmer on weekends and here and there. He's partnering with him to raise some meat birds to sell this summer. In about 2 weeks when they're bigger and it's warmer outside, we'll move them to some land we're using near Richie's folks house, but for now, we have 150 tiny chicks in our garage. Besides that, we have pretty much all of our basement furniture in the garage too. It's completely ridiculous. We can't wait to have our garage back!

The Rest of February

Towards the end of February, our family was faced with it's biggest decision ever. Richie has requested a transfer to a small town in Utah or Idaho for years now. About a month ago, he mentioned that transfers were coming up and if we didn't get transferred this year, then he was going to stop asking for it and just be happy here. (A big deal for him). Then about a week later, we were told there was a position in Altamont, UT opening up. (in the Uintah Basin, an hour west of Vernal) If he wanted the position, it was his. But 2 major catches were 1. They wanted him to be there for the rest of his career, and 2. They needed to know by Friday. Yikes!! We got them to extend the deadline, and after lots of soul searching/praying/research, we took a day trip on Saturday to check the area out. We left the 3 oldest at the Garners, and took Benson along for the ride. He was such a trooper staying in his car seat pretty much all day!! The area was much smaller than I was anticipating, but we still felt so torn. We debated it from every angle possible and talked to as many people as possible. The biggest temptation for moving there was that we thought we could get a bigger and nicer home on more land, for the same price as what our home here is worth now. However, we didn't find that to be the case. So ultimately we decided that we'll put up with the yucky air quality, the ever growing valley and choose to be really happy here. I say that as if we don't love living here...but we do. It's just hard not to feel like we closed a door on a specific dream of ours. I'm so grateful to be here still, but I'm not entirely ready to say that we will never move, if the opportunity presents itself, and feels right.


Miles is a newbie at scouting and therefore is completely excited and enthralled with the whole idea. He begged and begged me to get his uniform, and then when it took me more than .4 seconds to sew on the patches, it was a life or death situation...obviously! I took a picture because it seemed like a rite of passage. For him sure, but mostly for me. His Grandma and Grandpa Garner have done their fair share of scouting, raising 5 boys and all, and so when we drove out to Vernal and the kids stayed over there, G&G helped Miles build a kite for one of his scouting requirements. Here are the kids trying desperately to fly it. :)


We got Miles his nice set of scriptures for his 8th birthday. I promptly challenged him to read them every day. Then I promptly realized that his reading skills probably weren't quite ready for the sophisticated language of the scriptures. So we made a goal to read the scriptures together every morning before the other kids woke up. If you know me, at all, you realize what a big deal this is. However the sacrifice has brought a multitude of blessings already. The time with just he and I is sacred, we bond together, his reading skills have already vastly improved, and we get a head start on our day. We are working our way through the picture version of the Book of Mormon, of which he can read most of it independently. After we read a chapter of that, I help him read a verse or two in the actual scriptures so that we can put one of those cool see-through stickers in!


This "project" has only been in place for a few months, but I'm going to be so bold as to say that it might be in my top 5 awesome parenting moves yet! I tried to get the kids to journal independently, but they didn't quite grasp the concept. So I started a "mommy and me" journal with both Miles and Gwen. The idea behind it is that they practice their handwriting and composition without even knowing they're working on language art skills, that they record things about their lives right now to look back on later, and it opens up a great form of communication between us that is sometimes hard otherwise. I cried when I read this sweet note from Miles, and then had to chuckle that the next one from Gwen was this.


Two of my nieces and nephews live only a hop-skip and a jump away in the Provo area. They had the genius idea to do pot luck dinner the other night. The kids were in Heaven with Taysom and her significant other, and Tucker and his fiance over! So glad we were able to get together!



Dad and the kids finally finished "The Swiss Family Robinson". Dang, that book is long! I am wishing we would have read it in the summer time and turned it into a unit study of sorts. There are so many cool project opportunities in there! To celebrate we kept it really simple. We ate food I imagined them eating, we made "air fresheners" with oranges and cloves, and then watched the Disney movie. Good times.


Benson is officially 6 months!!! What a chunk!!


My sister Jenn graciously handed down her old smart phone to me, which means I officially entered the smart phone realm and everything that entails. I'm a beginner, so I literally did not know how to answer the phone for almost 3 days. True story. I'm loving some of the perks of having a smart phone. Only one of which is finding all sorts of fun gems in my pictures. :)