Happy Birthday Ashley!!!!

Sweet 16! We love you!!!! Thank you for being a part of our family. You are an AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL girl. We all love you so much!

Rainy Memorial Day

We planned a backyard campout for the long weekend, which we had to cancel due to the rain. We decided to have a makeshift indoor campout complete with a candle campfire. I was surprised how well the marshmallows still roasted with such a tiny flame:) It required a lot of patience, which is possessed only by Caleb and Daddy. The rest of us nuked them for a second in the microwave!

Courtney Lost a Tooth!

Courtney informed me yesterday that her bottom tooth was wiggly.

Caleb has been checking her teeth for her ever since he started losing his, and they were so excited to actually find that one was loose!

Today at a friend's pool party Court was eating some pasta salad when she noticed her tooth was bleeding and getting more and more loose.

Her eyes were full of fire and excitement as she ran around to everyone at the party informing them of her situation. We were all cheering for her. Deb, the homeowner, took pictures and got a little baggie and napkin for Court so Rog could work on the tooth. A couple minutes later...it was out!

Unfortunately even with the baggie...the tooth went missing later that evening. Courtney's note to the Tooth Fairy informed her of the mishap, and we are happy to report that Courtney woke up to 4 quarters under her pillow along with a note made from special fairy paper that said if the tooth was ever recovered, Court could put it under the pillow and the Tooth Fairy would come back to pick it up.

Horsing Around

Courtney's 5th birthday party happened at the cutest little farm only minutes from our house. She was in heaven the entire day waiting and overflowing with anticipation! The kids helped me put the cake together and frost it. We had such a fun time...and the owners of the farm made it such a special day for Court.

So...here's how it all went down

Thurday, April 22nd:

I had a doctor appointment in the morning which left me feeling like I might never go into labor:) I had resigned myself to another week of misery and took Mom and the kids to Lazy 5 Ranch to get our minds off of pregnancy altogether (and to to try and make her trip to North Carolina not so boring and uneventful:)

Around 7 pm I started getting stronger than normal contractions, and started timing them around 8:30 or 9. By around 10:15 or so, they were about 5 minutes apart so I figured it was probably time to get to the hospital. We left at 10:30 and it takes 10 minutes to get to the hospital. The drive was a nightmare! I had NO idea that I was in transition...I just knew the contractions were killing me:) When we parked the car I felt like there was no way I could get out. I sat for a minute and tried walking to the Emergency entrance. I stopped after a couple of steps and could not continue. The baby was literally coming out!

A lady from across the parking lot ran to get me a wheelchair and the nurses came out to help. They sat me in the chair and poor Rog had to hold my legs up and run backwards through the ER and up to the Labor and Delivery floor. The nurses were telling me not to push which was impossible...but we made it up to our room quickly. I got on the bed just in time for my water to break and yelled for a couple of minutes waiting for the midwife to get to the room. When she finally came in I was in agony! Seriously it was unreal. Like a scene from a movie. Two pushes and Natalie was here.

Despite the pain and how scary it was...it was nice for it to be over quickly and not to have an IV, epidural, needles, moniters, and everything else. It's over...she's here...and everything's great:) She's an angel! Doesn't cry much, and is very alert. We are sooo happy:)

Becca no longer the baby...

It's amazing how big your 3 year old "baby" looks when you add a new one to the family!

Natalie Brooke

Happy Birth-day:)

8 lbs 11 oz.

19 1/2" long

10:52 pm

April 22, 2010

Yet Another Violin Project

Caleb's life can be tracked by "focuses". Thomas the Tank Engine (age1-4), Polar Express (age3-4), Bambi (age5-6), Biplanes (age6-present), and the violin from (age5-present). And when I say "focused" I mean more appropriately "fixated". He lives, drinks, and breathes his fixation! It's hilarious, but can really be a problem for his family sometimes when we want to do or talk about something else...anything else! This is Daddy and Caleb's new project...to build a real violin out of wood. The staining and strings will come next. I love it!

Kids Can "Tri" Too!

Caleb and Court competed in a triathalon last week through the YMCA. They did the whole swim, bike, and run. It was so cute to see them working so physically hard. They did a great job and both finished the whole thing.

Eye Tricks

I looked over at Courtney the other day during lunch, and she was crossing her eyes! I couldn't stop laughing! I don't know how she figured it out! We've all been trying to do it too, but none of us (except Rog) can do it! She's so funny:)

Halloween Already??

I never thought I'd be that mom who has all her Christmas shopping done in October and Halloween costumes ready in August. It's almost embarrassing!

Resourceful With Ribbon

When you drive across the country...you're bound to run into a variety of weather. We hit a huge thunderstorm in Missouri. It was hard to see a couple feet in front of the car. We pulled over to get gas at one point, and when I was turning the car back on to get going again...the wipers started going fast like they had been when we were driving. All of the sudden one of them flew off the windshield. It just broke! We prayed in gratitude a million times over that we hadn't been going 80 mph in the storm when that happened!

Then in Wyoming (the windiest state ever) we were driving about 75 or 80 when we heard this huge crack. We pulled over and walked around to the back of the car. It felt like someone had rear ended us. We saw that the bumper had been ripped off the rivets, cracked, and almost flew off the car completely! All because of the wind.

So, Rog, being as resourceful as he is, borrowed a couple of hair ribbons from the girls and literally tied the wiper and the car back together!

Okay...that's it!

To all of my amazing sisters, friends, relatives and locations we saw this summer that did not make it on my blog...I'm so sorry, but you are lost! Most of Sister's Week except for the episode with disfunctional whipped cream can which I will post below...thank goodness! (luckily I was not the historian), Cynthia and Dave (some of our greatest friends in the whole world!), the St. Louis Arch (we rode to the top!), Nashville, Kansas City, Chalise and Danny (and kids...who we spent most of the summer with and did SOOO many fun things with!), The Storms (our most recent greatest friends in the whole world who moved to California and we are lost without!), and everyone else who we got to see this summer. We love you and miss you!

Some of our great friends from Orem. We miss you guys so much!

The Bonds and Grandma Cummings. We had such a great time in Utah!

Popcorn and a movie with Mamalaw in Colorado!

Great Great Grandpa Nielsen. What a priceless picture!

One of our only couple pictures...in front of the Bountiful temple at Kelsie's wedding. We were married there too...seven years earlier. It's hard to believe.

A couple summer Utah trip updates

After a long summer hiatus we are back! I was so sad that I lost some trip pictures I didn't have the heart to start blogging again. Now we have a new crop and are back in the swing of things. It has definitely been a crazy summer. It's hard to believe it's already over! A couple summer highlights from the pictures that weren't lost and we're moving on...

Colorado Garden of the Gods and Cave of the Winds. It's hard to believe that I grew up here! And now ten years later I have a husband and three children here with me:)

Cardboard Violin

Caleb had been wanting to make a violin for the longest time...so I finally gave in:)

They had so much fun with it! A couple nights ago, Courtney accidently bent it and made it too weak to hold the rubber bands any longer. Caleb came in with tears in his eyes and told me what had happened. He was devastated and poor Court felt horrible. I explained that cardboard violins weren't inteded to last forever, but I'm guessing I haven't heard the end of this one:)

King Benjamin

The kids and I made a "King Benjamin on the tower in a shoe box lid" to represent what we're studying in The Book of Mormon right now. We had a temple in there, but it didn't end up in the picture. They loved learning that when you do service for others you are only serving God.

Courtney's 4!

We had a fun "horse" birthday party with some friends from the ward and a couple from our neighborhood. (Steph...please don't laugh at my sorry excuse for a horse cake...I was most worried about you and Jannah seeing it!) I've never seen a happier Courtney. Not being used to having all the attention on her constantly...I think she was a little overwhelmed with all the food, friends, and presents:) We did an obstacle course (taking cues from her cousin Brinley's party a couple years ago...thanks Carrie:), some fun games like animal charades, opened presents, and had yummy cake and icecream. Courtney couldn't believe all of it was for her!

I took her away from the chaos at one point to calm her down, and told her a story about her actual "birth day."

"I went in to the hospital with a "huge tummy" ready to have a beautiful baby girl. When the doctor checked me, expecting everything to be normal, he looked up in surprise and said, "She's flipped!" You had been perfectly positioned the entire pregnancy, but had decided for whatever reason the last possible week...that you did not want to come out! (I fold my arms with a stubborn affectation, and Courtney laughs) So, they took me and tried to turn you back around inside my tummy! You were already such a big girl and had the cord wrapped around your neck...so there was not much they could do. Mommy and Daddy decided that we wanted you to come as safely as possible and so the doctors cut open my tummy and took you out safe and sound. (I couldn't decide if the truth was too gruesome...but she seems to appreciate me a little more after I tell her:) You were so beautiful and peaceful when you came and as healthy as a peach! Mommy and Daddy took turns holding you all the time. I wanted to hold you forever (I say as I cradle her like an infant) but you started to grow bigger and you were so full of life and curiosity. You have so much strength, in fact, when we took you to the doctor at 4 months old he was watching you lay on your tummy to see if your neck muscles were getting stronger. When you lifted your head up and looked at him...he said "Good, good," but then you pushed yourself up completely on your arms! He was very surprised, but not as much as when you suddenly lifted one arm completely off the table supporting your entire upper body on just one hand! He dropped his clipboard and yelled, "Whoa! I have NEVER seen that kind of strength in a baby that little!" (Courtney's eyes are wide and she is surprised at herself:) But, Court, I say, that's not all! When you were 9 months old, you were climbing up the ladder of Caleb's bunkbed. You scared poor Mommy so much! Then at 2 years old at another doctor's appointment, the doctor asked you to come over so he could check your reflexes, and you said in a clear, full sentence, "Where do you want me to stand, Doctor?" His jaw dropped this time and he said, "Someone in this room is brilliant and I know it's not me!" You have amazed me and everyone around you with your strength and maturity! Daddy and I love you soooo much, Miss Court." (She smiles peacefully, but I know inside she feels ready to conquer the world.)