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

Dave's Family

We had a really fun week with Dave's family. They came on Tuesday and stopped through on their way through to stay in Mesquite. The next day they came back and the kids and I hiked Snow Canyon with them. The kids had so much fun. It is always an adventure when you go somewhere with Dave. I had forgotten how much fun he is. His kids and wife are great. They are really helpful with the kids. We went to Samurai 21 for dinner and enjoyed a Japanese dinner with our own personal chef! It was a unique experience for them. They stayed with us and we enjoyed that. The next day we went to Zion's and hiked. It is beautiful and I am looking forward to going back this summer. The weather was nice and their are lots of hikes that are kid friendly. Ryan disturbed some bug watcher by stamping on their stink bug accidentally (he was carrying Lauren). They were circled around the bug and Alan came by and kicked the bug Ryan had squashed. They were then told they needed to learn to "respect animals." We got a good laugh out of the whole experience. I think they would have been fine We came back and met up with Jerry to go to Famous Dave's for dinner. It was so nice to not have to cook. The next morning Jerry went with the family to do baptisms at the St George temple. They were also able to see an exhibit of beautiful sculptures at the visitors center right now. Jerry really enjoyed being in the temple with them. We went to the aquatic center in the afternoon and had a good time. Abby had some swimsuit issues but other than that we did great. Jerry, Ryan and the older girls all raced in the big pool. They definitely got a workout. We came home and had a BBQ on the grill and enjoyed the evening. Anne, the girls and I went shopping for a bit and the guys watched movies. Dave and Anne generously replenished (plus so much more) our pantry. Thanks so much! They left on Saturday morning so Anne and the girls could go to the YW broadcast in SLC and Dave could be back for church on Sunday. We had an awesome time and hope they will come back again soon!

Easter Outfits

These are the cute easter outfits Grandma and Grandpa got for the kids!