It's a Girl!

On June 4th, I had my ultrasound to find out what the baby was.  I had been waiting for this day for a while now and was anxiously anticipating the results.   Of course, the baby already is what it is and it doesn't really matter that much.  Either way, we would be excited.  But, I still had my hopes.  The funny thing is that with each of my other babies, I have gone in with a secret hope for either one gender or the other and didn't really want to say it.  AND,  for each of my previous 5 children, it ended up being the opposite of what I wanted- crazy, huh?  And, of course, I was still very happy and love them all so much.  But, this time I got lucky....

It was the first time I got what I wanted.   Yeah-  It's a GIRL!!   Three and three- YEAH!  

After the tech told us what it was, I had to ask her a few times, "Are you SURE?"  I had actually been holding my breath for at least 5 minutes after she had accidentally said "he" at one point while looking around.  Of course, there is a 50/50 chance and you have to be prepared for either one.   The most important thing is that the baby is healthy, of course, but knowing the gender is also very exciting.  

With our last baby, we did the "surprise" that some people rave about.  When Jordan was born, I was excited, but I think I would've been MORE excited had I had 4+ months to think about it.  So we tried it and it was okay, but I am really not much of a surprise person at all.  I even feel bad for Aaron when he will surprise me with something that I really should be excited about and the reaction he gets is not nearly what he had hoped for.   But, the more I think about the idea, the more excited I get.  That's why this time we opted to find out earlier.   And, as with all of my other pregnancies, the more I think about the baby (knowing the gender), the more excited I get about it.  Besides, then you get TWO exciting days with big news instead of one!  

We decided to do something fun for the kids this time to announce the gender.  This is a new thing that a lot of people are doing now-days.  I had really never thought of it before with any of my others.  I wanted to do something that didn't require a lot of work.  We gave the kids each an ice-cream cone with strawberry ice cream at the bottom and vanilla on top.  Then, we let them go and said, "The first one to get to the bottom will find out what we're having!"  (I had told Aaron- "What are we going to do if it's a boy?"  It would have been a lot harder to find blue ice cream.)  Erika got to the pink ice cream first and was really excited.  They each had different reactions but I think they're all really excited to have a new sister.   Knowing for a few months before the birth will give them all time to adjust to the idea, too.  (Heidi has been telling everyone for months that the baby is a girl- so I'm glad I didn't have to tell her otherwise.  I'm sure she was just thinking, "It just makes sense- Jared and Jordan... what comes next?)     In my universe there is perfect balance-  Aaahhh.  :)

The kids playing out back in the "Parkinson Reservoir"

Memorial Weekend/ Heidi's Birthday

We had a fun-packed Memorial Weekend this year.  We stayed at home, but grandma and grandpa Parkinson were able to come stay with us for the weekend.  The night before they arrived (Friday), was Father's and Son's outing for our stake.  Aaron took Kyle and Jared.  It was at Earley Park and they had a lot of fun playing games with the boys and eating dinner.  They also had a spiritual program which was a good experience for the boys.  

The next afternoon, we went with grandma and grandpa to the Dinosaur Museum in Ogden.  It is such a fun place!   I love that not only do they have an indoor museum with all the bones and artifacts, but they also have dinosaur statues outside that look almost real.  The kids really had fun walking around and looking at those. 

Digging for dinosaur bones

The one who enjoyed it the most was Jared, by FAR!!  He was running to each dinosaur and shouting at the top of his lungs, "Wow, look at this one!!"  He just couldn't contain himself, he was so excited!
It was hilarious!   Heidi was really excited about the dinosaurs, too.  She was so giddy, running around and smiling.  Jordan, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to think.  By one of the dinosaurs, they had the sounds playing and when he heard it roar, he started crying and I had to hold him.   I think he was afraid because he actually thought it was real!!

They also had a playground there, which was really fun for the kids.  After the dinosaur park, we all went out to dinner at Golden Corral.  

Jordan just hangin' out with grandpa.

The next morning, Sunday the 25th, was Heidi's birthday!    She was so excited to open her presents.   She got a lego set, some books, an umbrella, a new barbie, and swimming towel and puddle jumper.  

She got her favorite breakfast, crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.  

After church, we had dinner and then she got to blow out her candles.  I made her an "Elsa" cake the night before.   Now, it was supposed to be Elsa from "Frozen", but they were all sold out at the store, so Erika's Hannah Montana barbie would have to do.  

The barbie's dress turned out kind of funny, but oh well.  Thanks to a lot of frosting, I was able to smooth it out enough!  

Heidi looked so pretty in her new dress!  

The next day, Memorial day, grandma and grandpa came fishing with our family at Mantua.  We caught about 15 or so small mouth bass.  

What a good big sister!  Thanks for the ride!

Jared's 4th birthday

On May 19th, we celebrated Jared's birthday.  It was a simple but nice day spent with our family.  The morning of his birthday after we sent the older kids off to school, Jared, Jordan and I went running with the stroller.  Jared didn't want to ride in the stroller- he wanted to run too.  So, I let him go for as long as he could.  I was amazed to see that he could run about 1 and 1/4 miles.  Of course, we went quite a bit slower than I normally run, but he ran that whole distance.  I actually think he could've run longer but I finally said, "Ok, time for mommy to run- get in the stroller!"  Mornings running with the boys are so nice.   I usually go about 4 miles, just jogging around the streets of Garland and enjoying the morning sounds.  

After I showered, we went to the grocery store and got Jared some balloons for his birthday.  He got one with "Lighning McQueen" on it, of course.   Right now Jared is so into "Cars 2" and talks about it all the time.   He wanted a "Holly Shiftwell" cake so I did my best to make one.  This was more like a "Cars 1" cake, but oh well.   Holly Shiftwell arrived in the mail that day, just in time to put her on the cake.  She was the main present Jared wanted.  (Almost every present he got was purchased online- mommy's best friend).  He also got a lightsaber, some cars, and a cars umbrella, and some books.  

That evening for Jared's birthday, he wanted pizza.  So, we made homemade pizza with our family and watched "Cars 2".  It was a great day!  

On Wednesday, 2 days after Jared's birthday,  we had a casual "birthday picnic/playdate" with a bunch of moms and kids from the neighborhood.   We brought around invitations and then people just showed up to our backyard for some play time and brought a picnic lunch.   It was a good excuse for a bunch of moms to get together and visit and allowed the kids some social time, too!  

We love our Jared!!  He is such a fun boy, so full of life and excitement.  I love having him home with me.  He is quite the character.  He is usually so intense- either one way or the other.   He keeps life exciting for us!  

Erika Tavaci

On April 29th, Erika had her spring Tavaci performance, an event we look forward to twice a year.

It was great to go watch her sing.  She loves it and gets so into it!

My parents came up to watch her and brought along my Oma and Opa Michel.  It was so nice to have them come and I know it was a sacrifice for them to drive all that way for just a few hours with us.  It is always great to see them and with their advancing years, I often wonder how much longer they'll be around.

During the show, Heidi enjoyed sitting with my Opa and Oma and I think her love alone brought them so much joy that day.  

A Very Special Easter

We had such a fun Easter this year!  The kids were so excited about the holiday, which made it even more fun.  We have made a few more efforts to make Easter special, and a little different from the traditional one.  As you can see above, we still did the traditional Easter baskets and on Easter morning, but we are making efforts to start new traditions for Easter to make it more Christ-centered.
My mom gave me the book "A Christ-Centered Easter" by Janet and Joe Hales.   (I saw this book on sale at Seagull book the other day for less than $5).  In the book, she has several activities you can do the whole week before Easter to celebrate it's true meaning.  I really like a lot of her ideas.   We only did two of them this year, but plan to try a new one every year until we have a whole week of Easter celebration.

Honestly,  I feel like in our American culture, a lot less fuss is made about Easter  (in the commercial world).  Sure, there is the Easter bunny and the candy,  but it seems like Christmas is celebrated for at least a month before the actual day, by everyone.  (And, in most companies, Easter is not really considered a "holiday", like at the hospital, you do not get "holiday pay" for working Easter like you would at Christmas).  So, Easter is not as recognized as a holiday by the world, but that's okay.  I actually do like the simplicity of it.  Personally, Easter is an even more special holiday to me than Christmas.   For one thing, it is celebrated in the spring, close to the time when revealed word has said that Christ was actually born.  And, it is just an exciting time, when the world outside is just starting to come alive.  Everything is turning green, flowers are blooming...  I love it!!  It is so symbolic of the new life that we receive through our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us.  We not only celebrate his birth, but his death and resurrection.

On Saturday Evening, the day before Easter, we made our first attempt at a "Passover dinner" with our family, to remember the Passover that the Lord commanded Moses to have with the Children of Israel to remember their escape from Egypt.  This same dinner was held by Christ with his apostles the night before he died.  We had lamb served with pita bread, bitter herbs (which was romaine lettuce), grapes, dates, cheese, yogurt, olives, any foods we knew of that may have been eaten at the time of Christ.  I also made homemade hummus, which was super easy!   We would have sat on the floor in the kitchen on a blanket to eat it, but the weather was so beautiful, we just couldn't resist eating outside on our blanket.  During the meal we had the perfect opportunity to talk to the kids about the symbolism of many of the food items, the lamb, unleavened bread, etc.  It was a lot of fun for the kids and we will definitely make it an annual tradition.

After the dinner, we had a "Plan of Salvation treasure hunt" with the kids.  Each clue around the house included scriptures and follow-up questions about God's plan for us.  At the end of the treasure hunt, we added a bit about God's plan for our family-  the "prize" at the end was golden egg, which held the clue.  It was an ultrasound picture.  We announced that we will be having one more baby in our family at the beginning of October.   Yea!!!   The kids were all really excited about the news.

On Easter day, we had a nice breakfast and then after the kids got dressed, they got to find their Easter baskets outside.  We went to Church and had a lovely meeting.  Then, we drove down to Salt Lake to have dinner with my family.  My mother had also made a passover dinner, and it was fun to see the variation.   At the dinner, we gave my parents a small gift- another golden egg, and you know what was inside.  I loved my brother Nate's clever remark about the egg:  "Is it empty like the tomb or full like the womb?"  Ha ha.   He must have know that one was coming!

The kids got to hunt for eggs at my parents' house as well, and my mom had made baskets for each family with scriptures for each item in the basket.  

Here are a few shots of the kids on my dad's "swings" he made for the kids at the barn:

He took a 'horse walker" and put a motor on it.  With 4 swings where the horses would be harnessed, the kids could ride around the circle over and over!  Ingenious!!  

Who needs to go to Lagoon when you can come here?

I am so thankful for the Savior, for all the things he did for us while on this earth, including the atonement and resurrection, and for all He still continues to do for ME personally, daily.  He is my strength and salvation.  Through Him, I have received my greatest "treasures" in this world.  It is through Him that we can find life eternal and a fulness of joy!   I hope, in the years to come, to make Easter more centered on Him!  

Baby Animal Days

We had spring break the weekend of April 3-5th when Aaron and the kids were off school.  Three days off school isn't much compared to some spring breaks, but we'll take what we can get.   Because of Aaron's recent back surgery, instead of going camping or traveling somewhere, we opted to stay at home and just do some things close by.  

On Wednesday evening, we went out to dinner at Pizza Hut in Brigham City and then swimming at Crystal Hot Springs.  It had just been snowing a few hours earlier so we were reluctant to swim, but the hot springs turned out being perfect.  The kids love swimming in the warm water.  It's like a big bathtub!  

The next day, Thursday, we went to Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville, across the mountain.  They only do it once a year and it is a lot of fun!   They have a big farm with a lot of animals for the kids to pet.  They also have wagon rides, pony rides, horse rides, goat milking, and this year they even added a train ride.  This year they also had some baby bears brought down from the Yellowstone Bear world.    The kids also had fun holding some baby turtles and seeing some birds from the Willow Park zoo in Logan.  

Of course, all the kids wanted to cram into the jail car/caboose of the train

I actually think it's kind-of comical that the kids can ride for hours on Opa and Oma's horses, having them all to themselves, and even get to lead them around wherever they want, and yet they will wait in line to ride around in circles for 3 minutes on a pony going nowhere.  I guess they just can't get enough horse rides!  

The kids with their helmets on, getting ready to ride.  

While the other kids were riding ponies, I got to sit with Jordan and get my
laughs at his funny little faces.  He had a few too many oreos, I guess  :)

Jared loved the little baby chicks and ducklings

While we were waiting in line, Jordan found this path between the ropes and I guess he thought it was a race.  He kept going back to the entrance and saying, "Ready, Go!"  and then running as fast as he could.  It was so fun to watch him!  He's training for his first marathon...

Heidi loved the little baby turtles.  

Of course, the baby bunnies were a big favorite and most everyone wanted to buy one, including mommy.   For some reason, those soft cuddly things are too much for any child to resist.