Zion National Park

 

We took a trip to Zion National Park. This was Jerry's first time and he loved it. We hiked to the Temple of Sinewava. We decided one hike was enough for the first trip. There is so much history in the park and lots to see. We are grateful to be living so close.

Splash Park

Jerry got home early on Friday and we decided to get a pizza and go to the splash park. It was actually built by Jacobsen and is behind the new library downtown. The kids had a great time and we ended the outing by going to Blue Bunny for ice cream. It had previously been closed but is open again. It is so fun to be together as a family.

Our Favorite Burger Place

We just wanted to let you know IN-N-OUT BURGER has arrived and yes, Jerry did get a burger there on the first day it opened. He actually tricked me into waiting in line for him by asking me to "check it out" on the way home from the store. I drove in and ended up stuck in line for 30 minutes. He said his Double Double Animal Style burger was worth it!

Basketball Game

 

Landon and Lauren have started playing basketball. They take the laundry baskets and place them at each end of Lauren's room. They they invite you to the game and you get to watch. The great thing about it is they tell you what to say and how to cheer for them. It requires very little thinking and is also entertaining. Today Lauren's team was named STAR ANGRY. I asked her if she meant STAR ANGEL but she assured me it was STAR ANGRY (which is a very appropriate name for her personality at times). Landon's team was STAR COWBOYS (this can be attributed to his Dad's love for the Dallas Cowboys). I will let you guess which team won:>!

Saturday

We had big plans for the day but we ended up working on organizing our closet for most of it. I attribute this to the late start Avery and I had. Avery has not been a happy baby this week and we have spent a good portion of several nights together with her screaming and me wanting to! She has some tummy issues we are trying to fix but no such luck yet so Jerry let us sleep until 10 am. The cleaning of the closet is project always talked about but only done a few times a year which is why I chose to document it with photos. Jerry also did some spring cleaning and of course we did laundry which is a constant thing at our home. Lauren and Landon made up a fishing game which I also chose to document. They spent a good portion of the day doing this while we cleaned and organized. All in all it was a successful day with the highlight being loading the car with bags to take to the Deseret Industries.

Mud

We had a playdate today with Sue and Monu. Sue had Dustin bring home pizza dough from the Pizza Factory and the kids made mini pizzas. They tasted so good and the kids had great time making them. The house they are renting has a yard which is fun for the kids. Landon dug a hole, put water in it and made mud. You can imagine how that turned out. Monu had never had mud on him before and was not sure he was happy about it. Lauren and Landon had a ball. I eventually threw them in the car and came straight home for a bath. Unfortunately the red mud is not the easiest to clean up but I kept reminding myself they were having fun. Isn't being a mom the best?!

Four Months Old

I can't believe Avery is already four months old. I took her in today for her four month check up. She is doing really well. She weighs 12 pounds 15.5 ounces and is 24 1/2 inches long. She should be weighing a bit more so he encouraged me to start her on rice cereal. She is a chubby baby but not quite as big as the other two. This is strange for us but our pediatrician assures me it is normal and she will be fine. She is making all sorts of noises and starting to roll over. She is sleeping well in her pack and play. She is more interested in toys and grabbing things. She likes Landon and Lauren to blow on her tummy. It makes her laugh out loud. She likes her Dad to hold her and is all smiles when he comes home.

Slide

This is what happens when you try to slide into second base at a softball game in shorts. The sad thing is they still lost the game. He can only say, "It seemed like a good idea at the time.....".

Utah Jazz

We had a really great weekend. Thanks to Jerry's connections through work, we were able to go to the Jazz game in SLC. We left Friday around 2pm and went to Uncle Landon's and Aunt Dana's. They are the best hosts! They prepared an amazing meal and we all ate till we were stuffed. We had a great time visiting with them. They planned a "North Family Birthday Party" and we celebrated with cupcakes. They got the kids gifts, a golf set for Landon and a little sprouts cabbage patch for Lauren. They have not stopped playing the the toys. Today we asked Lauren when her birthday was and she said she already had it at Aunt Dana's. It was a great party. On Saturday we went to Cabela's and the mall. Dana and I realized the fish feeding is a bit gruesome when Landon commented the little fish looked scared...yeah because they were swimming for their lives! Sissy commented on the worms by saying, "yummy!" We went to the mall and it was quite the adventure because Lauren was not in a stroller. Not a good experience. She has a lot of energy....just ask me or Aunt Dana. We ate lunch at the Macaroni Grill and then headed to the hotel to swim. We stayed at the Radisson right next the the Energy Solutions Arena. Jerry and Landon threw the kids in the pool and entertained us all. Landon and Dana were gracious enough to watch Landon and Lauren at the hotel. We took Avery with us to the game. We had a suite to watch the game in with food and good company. We had a great time and even got to meet Thurl Bailey. Thanks so much to Landon and Dana for taking such great care of the kids. We drove home today and stopped in Springville to see Jill and Brent's new home. We are so happy they were finally able to move closer to BYU. They have a cute home and are two blocks from Clyde and Jeannette. We were also able to see Clyde and Jeannette and loved the time we spent there. They are such special people. We made it home and Landon said, "We sure made it home safely!" It was a fun weekend.

Conference Weekend

We had a great weekend due to the General Conference proceedings. It was fun to be here as a family together and enjoy watching conference. Jerry has been working longer due to finishing one project and the start of another so it was nice to have him all to ourselves this weekend. On Friday we rented a movie and then ended up watching a movie on TV after the rental. We spent the rest of the weekend being tired but we enjoyed our "date night." On Saturday it was neat to be part of a solemn assembly and sustain a new prophet. We is still a little strange not to see President Hinckley there but I am sure with time we will become more accustomed to the new presidency. Jerry and Landon went and flew kites in between sessions. We have enjoyed the kite season this year and the kids (Jerry, Landon and Lauren) have loved to fly their kites. We are on our second Dora kite and needing to buy another Diego kite after Saturday's excursion. Jerry attended Priesthood and really enjoyed that session. He and Landon have been building Landon's train together after getting some needed extension pieces. It takes up most of Landon's room but he loves to play with it. We found out on Sunday the Jerry's uncle Val had passed away. Their family is in our thoughts and prayers. On Sunday we watched all of conference. I loved Elder Ballard's talk and can't wait to print it off and read it again. We went on a walk and visited with the Bishop and his wife. They are really good people. We feel lucky to be in this ward. The weather was beautiful and we throughly enjoyed the weekend.

Cool

So I decided to start letting my kids help me clean more. After talking to my sister-in-law who I really admire, my motivation was there. She had her kids getting up at 5 am to feed cows when they were only 4 years old! She said the hardest part is teaching them how to do it and helping them follow through but it will be worth it. I am realizing that my kids really want to help and if I turn them down now, they may not want to help later. I also was thinking about how being idle brings more contention and I noticed the kids seemed to do better when they are working. Landon just says everything he has to do for jobs now is "part of the family." He will ask me to be sure it is "part of the family?" before he agrees to do it. Jerry led the way by getting up a few Saturdays ago and having them help with everything. They did really great. I always feel frustrated when trying to clean during the week so after watching conference and receiving encouragement, I decided to make Mondays our cleaning day. Instead of being frustrated because the kids won't stay busy while I am trying to clean, I had them help me. They did really well. Landon insisted on wearing his shades and looking really cool while vacumning the stairs. I had to take this picture to remind me of his cute personality.

Avery