Festival of Colors 2015

Adam, Tessa and Daddy have been looking forward to the Festival of Colors for weeks! They didn't get to go the last 2 years because of Dad's school schedule. Uncle Ben and Uncle Andrew joined them this year and they all had a lot of fun! 

 Aunt Angel said Daddy looked like Tinkerbell throwing her fairy dust in this picture. 

 Tessa dumped an entire bag of pink powder on her Daddy's head. It took several showers and baths (and days) to get it all out. 

These kiddos are so lucky to have an awesome Daddy to take them to fun events like this. We love making happy memories and having such fun traditions together.

Welcome Home, Uncle Ben!!

We have been anxiously waiting for this week to arrive. (Little) Uncle Ben returned this past Wednesday from serving a mission in Chile. In some ways it seems like he has been gone for years and in other ways, it seems like he just left. We have been so excited to have him home again and are so proud of him for serving so faithfully for 2 years!

Tuesday night, the kids all made posters to hold up at the airport. 

 They were proud of their signs. Especially Gwen. Adam's sign says, "You missed my first game!!" (His first soccer game was the evening before Ben got home.)

 Some of the Welcoming Committee. 

We waited for what seemed like forever to see Ben. There were like 15 missionaries coming home, so the airport was busy!

 Such a happy site! She was a happy Mama to have her boy back!!

 Gwennie was just a baby when Ben left. She wasn't too sure about him at first, but now she loves him!

 Ben says Mattman has changed the most since he has been gone. He isn't used to seeing Matt with hair. 

 Adam was so excited to see Ben again! He is excited to have another sports buddy around. Adam is our sensitive boy and cried when he hugged Uncle Ben. These 2 boys look so much alike!

 Meeting Caleb. 

Caleb just wanted to grab Ben's mission tag.

 Tessa was shy, but happy to see Ben. 

 Gwen was tired of being at the airport and not in the mood for pictures. 

 Sometimes I feel like these brothers of mine are my own children. I am a protective big sissy and am so grateful they have all returned home to us safely. 

 He came home all grown up! He's a good looking Elder!

 We had to stop at In-n-Out for lunch on the way home. No one complained about that!

 They wasted no time we got back to Ma and Pa's house. Adam is so happy to have uncles to play with!

 Mommy got to go with some of the family to meet with the Stake President and participate in Ben being released from his mission. It was emotional as always, but I loved hearing his testimony and seeing the growth in him. I am so glad he was able to serve the whole 2 years, despite a lot of health problems. It was a hard 2 years for Ben, but they are 2 years he will never forget or regret!

 The boys never like this part. They take their picture off the missionary wall and Mom gets to remove their tag. 

 Dad got to remove the tag off of Ben's shirt. 

It was an emotional day for all of us and totally overwhelming and exhausting for Ben. But, we are so proud of him for serving so faithfully and we are so grateful to have him home with us again. We have a few years to gear up for our next missionary, which will be Adam. But this Mommy can't handle thinking about that yet. I know it will go by so fast!

Caleb's Surgery

Last week was a rough one for our Little Man. On Thursday, he had surgery up at Primary Children's Hospital. We've know this was coming for a while and we are glad it is finally over. When Caleb was born, he had what they call a High Scrotal Attachment or a Webbed Penis. Basically, his penis and his scrotum were too close together. So, the surgery was necessary so he can be a happy, functioning adult. 

Thankfully, the doctor we were referred to was wonderful and took good care of Caleb. Mommy was far more worried than anyone. The surgery itself didn't bother me, but knowing that he would be put to sleep and have a breathing tube made me nervous. 

He couldn't eat anything after midnight and his surgery was scheduled for 8:45am. Luckily he could care less about eating and so he was as pleasant as could be that morning. 

 The nurses took us back to the prep rooms and we got him washed down and changed and they took his vital signs and did some other assessing. He looked adorable in the little hospital clothes. 

 While we waited for the Surgeon and Anesthesiologist to come get Caleb, he watched Mickey Mouse and tried to eat his hospital tag. A productive morning for a 7 month old.

 It was awful to just hand him off to strangers and walk away. His surgery lasted about 45 minutes, but we didn't see him for a while after that . When we finally got to go to him, he was coming out of the anesthesia and was not a happy boy. He was screaming mad and there was no consoling him. The nurse said the mad part of his brain woke up, but nothing else. Mommy finally got him calmed down and back to sleep, but not before he kicked his IV out and bled all over everything....including Mommy.

 He woke up a while later after sleeping for a bit and getting some food. He was a bit groggy, but was happy and acting totally like himself. We were relieved and so grateful to have our happy boy with us again!

 The nurse gave him a little book as a prize and he LOVES it! It's his new favorite thing to eat. Thankfully his recovery has gone well. We have seemed to manage his pain fairly well and he has been good-other than not sleeping, but that's nothing new. 

I am so grateful for modern medicine and for skilled doctors and nurses who took such good care of us on Thursday. Most of all, I am thankful for 4 healthy kids. It was sad to sit in the waiting room with other parents that morning and listen to all the other surgeries taking place. Caleb's surgery was a minor one and we are grateful. Having a healthy family is something I hope we never take for granted.

Mommy's Night Out

Mommy got to sneak away for a bit on Wednesday night with all the the girls in the family to see Sheri Dew speak at UVU. Sheri Dew has always been one of my heroines. I want to be more like her!

She spoke on the importance of women being leaders and what qualities and attributes we need to be good leaders. It was an inspiring talk and I felt the power of her message. I felt a great responsibility to not only be a leader, but also to teach my daughters to be leaders. It was a great evening!

Mommy and Jodi

 Aunt Katy flew in for Spring Break and made it just in time for the event!

Ma, Aunt Katy, and Mommy

 Sheri Dew-one awesome and amazing lady!